Volume 5 Issue 20 Sunday, April 22, 2012

Proud Member of the Associated Press

Dear readers, with the advances The Bird has made to include news from surrounding areas that would be applicable to our loyal Glenrock and beyond readers, we took a tally to see what the effect would be on up-grading the name of The Bird, to The Bird Central. It was con-cluded last week that many of our readers loved the idea, giv-ing them a larger sense of the

areas that we cover now, and will cover in the future. Our coverage of Glenrock will, as always, come first. - Thank you to all of our readers everywhere. We are today and tomorrow to serve your needs and bring to you, the people, the news that matters most.

Very sincerely, Amanda Smith - Editor - The Bird Central

Bird Upgrades to More Centralized Name

HWY 59 CRASH RESULTS IN FATALITY

A semi lies on its side just off HWY 59 outside of Douglas .

On Wednesday, April 18 at ap-proximately 2:52 p.m. the driver, Joan Larsen, of a Chevy Blazer pulled up and stopped at a stop sign from a side road on the east side onto WYO 59. The driver of the semi-truck and trailer, Eli Garza of Scottsbluff Nebraska was northbound on WYO 59.

For reasons unknown, Larsen pulled out into the path of Gar-

za’s tractor trailer combination. According to WHP, Garza at-tempted to avoid a collision by steering to the left however, his tractor collided into the driver’s side of Larsen’s vehicle. After impact, Larsen’s vehicle spun around and came to rest in the middle of the roadway. Garza’s tractor trailer combination went off the left side of the roadway coming to rest in the west barrow

ditch. The crash caused the temporary closure of WYO 59 in both di-rections between Douglas and Gillette for approximately 3 hours. Larsen died at Wyoming Medical Center. The staff of the Glenrock Bird newspaper sends their sincerest condolences to the family of Joan Larsen who was from Douglas.

Famed Author Stoltz and Sidekick Sharkey Visit Glenrock During Book Tour

Paul Chappell of Glenrock enjoys some “joy” time with famed children’s books Author Susan Stoltz and her pup Sharkey. Photo © Amanda Smith

(TBC) Amanda Smith

Sharkey and Author Susan Stoltz spent mid April travelling and reading to many, many stu-dents in Wyoming and sharing their message of help for problems such as sharing, diversity, bullying, and fear.

The duo began their Wyoming tour on Tues-day in Douglas, Wyoming. “Sharkey appeared bright and early to read to hundreds, and I do mean, hundreds of students in the K-2nd grade. She captured the house when from the beginning she sat still as a mouse and looked every student up and down.” stated Stoltz.

As Stoltz read to the students Sharkey kept their attention. Sharkey performed several tricks for the excited group including waving at all of them “the children really loved it.” stated Stoltz. “Her tricks kept them rapt!”

At the end of every session the students each got to take a turn and come meet Sharkey, as well as pet her, and talk to her. The same held true for Grant Elementary in Glenrock, as well as the Branch Library there.

“It was such a joy to see the smiles beaming on the faces of these children and to listen to them repeat what they had learned from each story read. What a treasure these students are and what responsibility I felt to each and every one. Our message about bullying is so perti-nent it was received with great interest and concentration from these young ones.”

Sharkey, a real trooper, kept her concentration and her good will throughout all three days of the book tour. The tour included groups at Glen-rock area schools and the Glenrock Library and Douglas area schools.

On Thursday April 12, 2012 The Natrona County Fire District was dispatched to a grassfire off Salt Creek Highway. Firefight-er Adam Longo was driving the NCFD Squad Truck when he suffered a massive stroke. Fellow firefighters were able to gain control of the vehicle and bring it safely to a stop. Firefight-ers then rendered aid to Longo, who was then transported to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. After several days in ICU Longo passed away on April 18th.

Those wishing to send cards or donations may do so at the fol-lowing address:

Firefighter Adam Longo

P.O. Box 911

Casper, Wyoming 82602

Services for Firefighter Longo will be held at the Casper Events Center on Tuesday, April 24th at 11:00 a.m. Internment will fol-low at Highland Park Cemetary on Fourth and Conwell Street. Participating fire apparatus from the area and neighboring com-munities are asked to please RSVP to Jim Maddox by phone 307-258-1333 or by email jmaddox@cityofcasperwy.com

The Glenrock Bird Newspaper sends its sincerest condolences to the family of Adam Longo, to the departments for which he worked, and to the communities for which he served.

Firefighter Dies In The Line Of Duty

Republican Senator Jim Ander-son has announced that he will seek re-election to the Wyoming Senate representing Senate Dis-trict #2 which includes Converse and Platte Counties.

Anderson was first elected to the Wyoming House in 1996 where he served four years before be-ing elected to the Wyoming Sen-ate in 2000.

Senator Anderson serves as President of the Wyoming Sen-ate. He also sits on the Select Education Accountability Com-mittee.

Anderson is a member of Man-agement Council and the Energy Council.

Senator Jim Anderson

To Seek Re-Election

(TBC) Amanda Smith

During last Tuesday night's coun-cil meeting April 16, Cameco Resources presented a check for $8200.00 to the Town of Rolling Hills. The monies will be used to purchase a covered seating area for the town park in Rolling Hills. "Residents have asked for this so that they may sit in the shade while watching their kids play" stated the Town's Mayor, Devonie Mueller. Suggestions came to Ken Vaughn, Investor Relations for Cameco, from residents in the area who are also employees of Cameco. "The covered seating area was an idea that came from one of our employees, oftentimes most of our ideas for assiting the communities that we work in, comes from our employees who live in the area." The seating area is made primarily of steel and the construction will include a large seating area with a rooftop pro-viding shade. "We're please to support the communities that we work in, this is exciting for us to help out." stated Vaughn.

On hand to deliver the check to Town of Rolling Hills Mayor Devonie Mueller, was Cam-eco General Manager of Smith Ranch-Highland, Brent Berg and Cameco Communications Spe-cialist Ashley Pexton.

The amount of the check will cover the construction, shipment and installation of the new seating area.

Cameco Gives $8200 to Town of

Rolling Hills

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 2

Community Message Board

The Town of Rolling Hills - Where the deer and Antelope really do play! If you haven’t done so already, check out the Town of Rolling Hills great website. Chock full of information so be sure and check it out: www.rollinghillswy.org

Glenrock Library News

Meetings in Glenrock Where: The Senior Center East Door

(thrift store entrance.)When: Monday nights from 7pm - 8pm

American Legion Jessie Martin Post # 9 American Legion Jessie Martin Post # 9 is a non-profit organization in Glenrock. They can be reached at #307-436-4908 or m1f1w111@yahoo.com

American Red Cross American Red Cross has a local office located in Casper WY. They are located at 318 West “B” Street and can be reached at #307-237-8436, Fax#307-265-0324, or emailed to wilkinsonh@usa.redcross.org. Their web page is www.wyomingredcross.org. Like them on Facebook.

Kia’ora!! Hello in Maori from the library! Visit our Mango Foreign Language database on line. Find out how to get con-nected. There are over 80 lan-guages to choose from. Learn from the comfort of your own home. This database comes to us courtesy of the state library. We want to thank Susan Stoltz for visit with Susan Stoltz!! We all had a great time! Her books are on sale on her website at www.sharkeypup.com or su-sanrstoltz.com. or amazon.com

CURIOUS GEORGE is stop-ping in Glenrock on April 25!! He will visit Grant El-ementary and then he will be at the library at 10:00 am. We are so excited!! We will be serving his favorite snack, banana bread with a drink. This is brought to you by the Wyoming Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) of Wyoming. A special thank you goes out to Penny Hotovec of PBS for

making it all possible.

Only two more story times left for this school year!! Come enjoy the last two, May 2 and May 9. Story time starts at 10:00. Then we will take a break to get ready for summer reading!! Our theme for the summer is Dream Big, Read! Registration for the summer reading program starts June 4. For Read Me A Story April 21- April 28: Curious George Plants a Tree by H.A. Rey. April 29 – May 5: In the Rain With Baby Duck by Amy Hest. Pick up the phone and dial 436-2353 to listen to a great story!! We’re on the web at http:wyldweb.state.wy.us/glen or at www.conversecountyli-brary.org. Our phone number is 436-2573. Fax number is 436-8525. Be sure to “friend” us on Facebook!! Just look up Glenrock Library.

Community Baptist Church, 301 S 2nd St, Glenrock,Regular Information: Worship service 10:30 AM Sundays, nurs-ery provided. Sunday School 9:00 AM. Every month: open com-munion first Sunday, potluck last Sunday at noon. Info: 436-9091. Church of Christ, acappella, 420 S 2nd St - worship service com-munion 10:00, sermon 10:15 Sundays; Bible study Wed, 6 PM. Assembly of God, 201 N 3rd St - 10:00 Sundays. Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 939 W Birch St -Regular Info: worship service with communion 8:30 AM Sun-days, children's Sunday School after service; Bible study Mon 7 PM, 10 AM Wed. Church of the Resurrection, 506 W Birch St - worship service 8:30 AM Sundays. St. Louis Catholic Church, 601 S 5th St: Regular Information: Mass Sat 5:30 PM, Sunday 9 AM and 7 PM. For more information, call 436-9529 Glenrock Baptist Church, a Bible-believing New Testament Church, 125 N 7th St - Sunday Bible study 9:45 AM, Sunday morning service 11 AM, Sunday potluck 12:30 PM, Sunday after-noon service 2 PM, Wed evening service 7 PM. Les Potter, 315-3218. Chruch of the Resurrection, 506 W Birch St - Easter service 8:30 AM, April 8. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 219 Lookout Dr, 436-2217. Sacrament meeting, Sunday, 9:00 AM. Visitors welcome. Sunday School, 10:10. Glenrock First Southern Baptist Chapel, 485 E Birch St, 251-6688. Sunday services 10:45 AM and 6:00 PM; Sunday School 9:30 AM; youth at Boys and Girls Club 5:30 PM. Tuesday Men's Bible Study at Rec Center 6:30 PM. Wed service 7:00 PM.

(TBC) Tammy Taylor

On March 10th, two Glenrock wrestlers from Windy City traveled to Riverton to compete in the middle school qualifier. The middle school qualifier is held in order for Wyoming mid-dle school wrestlers to compete for the chance to wrestling with Team Wyoming. The top two placers in each weight bracket make up the Gold team and the Silver team. Joseph Tay-lor competed at the 75-pound weight bracket and took a heart-breaking 3rd place in overtime. Jackson Taylor took 1st place in the 126-pound weight bracket. That same weekend, Aftin and Dayton Matthews from the Douglas Wrestling Club partic-ipated in the Douglas Bearcat Brawl. This is a 3-style tour-nament including Folkstyle, Greco and Freestyle. Aftin Matthews took 5th in Folkstyle and 3rd in both Greco and Free-style. Dayton Matthews won the Bearcat Brawler award by taking 1st in all three styles. On March 17th, Joseph Taylor, Aftin Matthews and Dayton Matthews competed at the High Plains Thunder Folkstyle tour-nament in Wheatland. Joseph Taylor took 1st, Dayton Mat-thews took 1st and Aftin Mat-thews took 3rd. The Folkstyle State tournament was held the weekend of March 23rd and 24th. The wrestlers all wrestled strong with the fol-lowing results: Dayton Mat-thews DNP, Aftin Matthews 6th, Joseph Taylor 3rd, Chris-topher Raines 6th, and Jackson

Taylor 1st. On March 31st, the Matthews boys traveled to Riverton to compete in a Greco and Free-style tournament. Dayton Mat-thews took 1st in both styles and Aftin Matthews took 2nd in both styles. On April 6th and 7th, Jack-son Taylor, Joseph Taylor, Chris Raines and Wyatt Sum-mers traveled to Missouri with Glenrock's high school and middle school coach, Nic Dil-lon to participate in the Brute Nationals Folkstyle tourna-ment. These out-of-state, na-tional tournaments are a great place for Wyoming wrestlers to see some new faces and to challenge themselves. Wyatt Summers and Joseph Taylor brought home medals for Glen-rock, Summers going 3-4 and placing 6th and Taylor going 8-2, placing 7th. Chris Raines (3-4) and Jackson Taylor (5-3) both wrestled tough but did not place. According to Dillon, "It is good for our kids to experi-ence this. We need more of our kids to be going to tournaments like this." On April 13th and 14th, Doug-las Wrestling Club wrestlers Wyatt Patzke, Aftin Matthews and Dayton Matthews wrestled in the Douglas Greco and Free-style tournament. Patzke took 4th place in the 70-pound inter-mediate bracket for Freestyle, Aftin Matthews wrestled 75 pounds novice and placed 3rd in Greco and 2nd in Freestyle, and Dayton Matthews took 1st place in the 55-pound bantam brackets for both Greco and

Freestyle. For Windy City, Christopher Raines placed 1st in both Freestyle and Greco at 112 schoolboy division and Jo-seph Taylor double-bracketed, placing 1st in the 75-pound schoolboy and 2nd in the 84-pound schoolboy division. Jackson Taylor traveled with Team Wyoming to Iowa to compete against teams from other states around the country the weekend of April 13th and 14th. This tournament gave the top middle school wrestlers from Wyoming the chance to dual against the top wrestlers all around the country. Team Wyoming wrestled against teams from North Carolina, In-diana, Kansas, Iowa, and Ohio. It was by far the toughest tour-nament many of these kids have seen. They wrestled tough and took 6th place. "It was such an honor to be able to travel with this team. It was nice to be on the same side of the mat with wrestlers that I go up against throughout the rest of the sea-son and it gave us all a chance to get to know each other. I am so happy I got the opportunity to participate." Taylor would like to thank all the individu-als and local businesses that bought raffle tickets from him in support of this trip, includ-ing the Glenrock Bird, Process Power, Eastgate, Glenrock Su-per Foods, Sun City Tanning, Windy City Wrestling Club, and the many, many individuals who helped so much. The wrestlers will be traveling this weekend to Casper for the Sara Tolin Memorial Freestyle and Greco tournament and then begin to prepare for the Free-style and Greco state tourna-ment on May 4th and 5th.

Glenrock's USA Wrestlers Have Been Busy!

Chris Raines, Aftin Matthews, Joe Taylor and Jackson Taylor with their state medals. Photo © (TBC) Tammy Taylor.

(TBC) Tammy Taylor

The Easter Bunny was busy on Saturday, April 7th as the Town of Rolling Hills hosted its third annual Easter Egg hunt this year inlcuing thekids of neighboring town Glenrock.

It was colder than it looked with the Wyoming wind kicking up but children from all around gathered at the Rolling Hills town park to hunt over 3,400 eggs.

The eggs were filled with an as-sortment of prizes from candy and pa-per tattoos to toys and tickets. The tickets could be turned in for prizes numbering approxi-mately 270 and in-cluded large Easter baskets, hula hoops, a candy dispenser, backpacks and holi-day candies.

The hunt was bro-ken up into age groups and differ-ent areas of the park sectioned off with different colored tape, in order to keep it fair for the young children and also in order to not overload the kind volunteers working the prize hut. At one

point, the line of children wait-ing to cash in their tickets num-bered almost 200.

According to Teresa Montgom-ery, the town clerk, there were many people and organizations that work together to put on this event. Individuals anonymously donate items for prizes and the Glenrock Chamber and Deer Creek Drug also donate candy and Easter treats. Thank you to all these generous folks and businesses that have made this Easter Egg hunt such a special tradition for the kids in our area.

Rolling Hills Hosts Third Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Corbin Goodman gathers eggs during Roll-ing Hills Easter egg hunt. Photo © (TBC) Tammy Taylor

Operation Big Broomand Trees For Trash

(TBC) Amanda Smith

Operation Big Broom is de-signed to help residents of the Glenrock community dispose of large items that need to be taken to the landfill.

Glenrock Town Planner Kathy Patceg stated that the items need to be in a place where public works can easily get to them, so please have your items curbside. Patceg also stated that residents must come into the water office at Town Hall, or call Town Hall (436-9294) in order to get on the list for pick up, and state what items will be placed for pick up.

Glenrock Public Works Direc-tordave Andrews stated “the Town Crew will pick up just about anything, from yard waste to large appliances, but we will not pick up any hazardous waste materials.” Pick ups are sched-uled for the first week of May.

Trees for Trash, another oppor-tunity for residents to dispose of trash and receive a plantable tree, is scheduled for Saturday May 5th at the Landfill.

For more information on Op-eration Big Broom, or Trees for Trash, please call the Town Hall at 436-9294.

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 3

Converse County’s Premier Travel Section brought to you by The Glenrock Bird

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 4

The Glenrock High School “Close Up” group is planning a Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction on May 1 at 6:00pm, in the Commons area of the High School, to assist in sending the students to Washington, DC. This is a group that Government students belong to and attend. Tickets for the spaghetti dinner are being sold by the Close Up group or you can contact the school to purchase them. The cost is $5/per person. Items for the Silent Auction are:Pinkerton’s Western Collection – Gift BasketWildlife Creations – Deer or Antelope Shoulder MountCarla Nelson – Scentsy Basket

Bruce Johson – Paradise Valley Golf Pkg (lessons and round of golf)Paisley Shawl – 2 Entrees (din-ner for two, drinks not included)Hole Shot Motorsports – Rid-ing Pkg (Helmet, Shirt, Gloves, etc)Sherry Gallagher – Tastefully Simple BasketThe Flower Shop – Gift BasketAV Tack – Gift BasketWyoming Cavalry – Two tix to June 1 game and autographed footballWild Orchid – Customized Fa-cialUgly Bug / Crazy Rainbow – ½ day float tripRocky Mtn Discount Sports – Camping pkg (tent, sleeping

bag, cot, etc)Nate’s Flowers – One Bouquet of flowers each month for one yearRocky Mnt Window Distribu-tors – Gift Basket (they also made a monetary donation to the organization)Meadow Acres Greenhouse - $100 gift certificateSeason’s Day Spa – Massage PkgWind River Casino – Weekend PkgThe Ink Spot – Body Piercing pkgTherese LaHaye – Gift Basket and Towel Rack (she does met-al artwork)

GHS Close Up Students On Their Way to D.C. - Hosting HUGE Silent Auction

The Town of Rolling Hills met on April 3, 2012 for their regu-larly-scheduled Governing Body Meeting. Those present included Mayor Mueller; Council Mem-bers Dority, Maines and Laird; and Attorney Frank Peasley. Ab-sent members included Council Member Hall.

The Council opened the meeting with Council Member Laird stat-ing that she would like the min-utes to reflect more comments made by the public regarding the water rate increase issue. Af-ter discussion, this request was agreed upon. They then briefly discussed approval of bills and claims submitted for April 3, 2012; Council Member Maines asked for clarification regard-ing the purchase of tools for the maintenance department, at which time the Council approved payment.

Council Member Laird stated that a Joint Powers meeting was scheduled for April 4, 2012, in Douglas and she provided the Council with an agenda for the same, as well as minutes from the previous meeting. The Council discussed whether or not there would be anything for Member Laird to vote on at the Joint Pow-ers meeting, and she believed there would not be anything. The Council also discussed any top-ics or questions that they would like Council Member Laird to address at the meeting and there were none. The Town Clerk requested ap-proval to attend the annual IIMC conference in Billings, Montana from May 6-11, 2012. This will be the second conference attend-ed for the purpose of obtaining the designation of Certified Public Finance Administrator. The Clerk offered information to review regarding the accreditations and why attendance would benefit the Council and town. It was agreed upon that she should attend the conference. It was also men-tioned that The Clerk received a flyer for a pesticide workshop to be held in Casper on April 17, 2012. There would be no cost for the workshop other than time and mileage. She stated that an email had been sent to the Wyo-ming Department of Agriculture to find out if the workshop would be beneficial for Rolling Hills maintenance department given that L. Meyer is not yet certified in pesticides; no response had been received yet. The Clerk re-quested that the Council approve attendance at the workshop pend-ing a response from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. The primary reason for certification is to allow spraying for thistles. Four pesticide CEU points would be gained by attendance. Coun-cil Member Laird asked if the County Extension Office could also be contacted and the Clerk stated that she spoke with them last fall but it was too late to spray for thistles at that time; she has left a message with their office regarding certification needs for this year. After discussion, it was agreed to grant attendance pend-ing a response from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. Ray Catellier with CEPI was present to answer questions re-garding the water study and the need to increase the water rates. He read a newsletter by CEPI that was recently sent to residents. Residents in attendance had many questions. Resident Donn Kuhn asked for clarification regarding the forgiveness loan. The prin-ciple forgiveness is 25%. The cal-

culations are the total amount of the project ($1,878,000) less 67% grant funding by the WWDC ($1,258,260). The 33% left ow-ing on the project is $619,740. This 33% will be funded thru a principle forgiveness loan from the SRF. SRF’s principle forgive-ness is 25% ($154,935), leaving a remaining balance of $464,805 on the SRF twenty-year loan with an interest rate of 2.5% with annual payments thereto of $29,816. Resident D. Kuhn asked who came up with the rate figures; CEPI came up with the figures based on what needed to happen in order to pay back the $29,816 per year and make the water fund solvent. Potential growth costs were discussed, and the need for a new well in the future. Resident Kerry Smith inquired about using the gen-eral fund for this major project to which R. Catellier stated that this would completely deplete the general fund. The SRF loan stipulates that the water fund be solvent and can pay for the loan. In order to get the loan, the town has to be able to pay annually $29,816 thru the water fund. Ex-penses of the water system were discussed including water opera-tor salaries and maintenance of the pumps. Mayor Mueller stated the other item that needs to be taken into account is fire stan-dards; right now the water system does not meet those standards. Water pressure to the homes is expected to be more. The ten-tative end date for this project is June 2015 with construction expected to start next year. New rates will go into affect starting with the April bill for March us-age. The process in which CEPI was chosen was discussed. All future work will be based off of CEPI’s study. Residents felt there needed to be better communica-tion from Council. Use of the bul-letin boards, website, Facebook and a newsletter was discussed. Council discussed setting money aside in a sinking fund for future maintenance and a new well. At-torney Peasley explained that the general fund has always subsi-dized the water fund; however, by the town now charging them-selves for water the funds will be moved appropriately. Longevity of the new system was discussed. With regular maintenance, the lines and the tank should last a long time. Pumps can last five to twenty-five years depending on different factors. Next on the agenda, Geran Min-ton with Rolling Hills Riders stat-ed the club started taking mem-berships and have maybe twenty. Mayor Mueller asked if the fire department and police depart-ment had keys. G. Minton said he would check to see if a key was delivered to the police depart-ment. G. Minton stated that there have been a lot of questions from members wanting to know what was going on and if they would get their money back if the Town / Rolling Hills Riders did not keep the lease. G. Minton stated that Guns ‘n Stuff, Yamaha Shop and Short Supply are selling mem-berships. Mayor Mueller stated that the letter to OSLI said that the Town could afford payments of $750 and stated that Rolling Hills Riders would be advised when the Town hears from OSLI. Council Member Maines asked if the Council needed to send another letter if no response was received before April 15, 2012, as he did not want the Town stuck at the current price. Attorney Pea-sley discussed the possibility of holding a special meeting depen-dent on OSLI’s response. Council

Member Maines stated his under-standing was that if OSLI does not accept the $750 offer then the Town is done with the lease. Attorney Peasley confirmed that the body of the Council was in agreement that $750 would be the bottom line. The Clerk stated that the second part of the motion previously made was that if OSLI did not accept the $750 offer the Town requested to terminate the lease. Attorney Peasley stated that if an offer came back from OSLI of $755, the Council may want to have a special meeting. Gina Ohlsen and Jackie Emmel with the Wyoming Child and Family Development presented the Council with information about their program, thanked Council for past donations and requested a donation for this next year. Their program serves children ages 0-5 that are devel-opmentally disabled. The types of services provided are occupa-tional therapy, physical therapy, speech and specialized learning programs. Services are given in the home, especially birth to 3, and also at the center. In Converse County, 341 children have been screened. In Glenrock and Roll-ing Hills alone, there have been 73 children screened. WCFD has served 85 children in Converse County and 22 children in Glen-rock and Rolling Hills. WCFD offers 1 before 2 screenings on a monthly basis. Services are provided regardless of income. WCFD have qualified therapists. A resident asked what the legis-lature had done to WCFD. J. Em-mel replied 4% across the board. Attorney Peasley asked if the feds were going after WCFD. G. Ohlsen stated that if it is the re-compete status, it is only certain programs that have been identi-fied. G. Ohlsen stated they just had their federal monitoring and there were no findings. WCFD appreciates the Town’s continued support. With regards to placement of new equipment on the pathway, May-or Mueller confirmed that the equipment needed to be in place prior to the placement of the new sprinkler system. Work on the new sprinkler system cannot start until after SLIB meets on April 12, 2012, and approves the con-sensus funding at the state level. Mayor Mueller stated she would get with Council Member Hall to see if it could be done within the next two weeks. Discussion was had regarding grouping part of the equipment together. Resident J. Bledsoe asked if an-other budget work session had been scheduled. Mayor Muel-ler stated that the Council com-pleted one budget. The Council discussed available dates and a budget work session was sched-uled for April 10, 2012, at 7pm. Council Member Laird asked J. Bledsoe if she knew about the community meeting on April 12, 2012. J. Bledsoe said she did be-cause it was posted on Facebook.

The meeting then moved into executive session at 8:35 pm to discuss legal issues and person-nel issues. The public session was then reconvened. Discus-sions and evaluation took place with regards to giving the Clerk a 4% raise retroactive to March 8, 2012 and this was agreed upon. The Council discussed means of further communication with the residents, planning for a future well and looking at this through budget work session. The meet-ing was then adjourned.

Town of Rolling Hills Council Minutes

Spring cleaning ideal time for Rocky Mountain Power offer to pick up and recycle old fridge or freezer; get $40 incentive! GLENROCK, WY— If you could use some extra cash and more space for spring cleaning, you can definitely use a Rocky Mountain Power program that pays rewards for having old, en-ergy-wasting refrigerators and freezers picked up and properly recycled. Offered throughout the year, the utility’s See ya later, refrigerator program is especially popular right now as people tackle an-nual spring cleaning projects. If customers really don’t need that older, extra refrigerator or freezer chugging away in the garage or basement, they can call Rocky Mountain Power to schedule a time to have it picked up for free. In addition to the extra space they’ll gain, participating cus-tomers in Wyoming receive an incentive check for $40 in the mail a few weeks later. What’s more, the average program par-ticipant saves as much as $150 over the next year through lower

household energy consumption. Older refrigerators and freezers kept in garages and basements are typically so outdated that they require up to three times more electricity to keep running than newer models built to high-er energy efficiency standards.Scheduling a time for a home pickup is as easy as making a toll free call — 1-866-899-5539 — or an online visit toRocky Mountain Power at rockymoun-tainpower.net/recycle“It’s a great way to jump-start your spring cleaning. A lot of people realize they really don’t need the extra cold storage, but they keep a secondary unit plugged in anyway because they don’t know what else to do with it. Well, that’s where we come in. We know exactly what to do with those old clunk-ers — recycle them,” said Carol Hunter,Rocky Mountain Power vice president. JACO Environmental, the company’s vendor in charge of picking up old refrigerators and freezers, operates a national network of de-manufacturing plants that rely on semi-robotic technology. JACO’s process

reduces about 95 percent of each refrigerator or freezer into recyclable materials that find their way into everything from mobile phones to construction rebar. JACO also extracts danger-ous substances from the units such as mercury and toxic oils that can poison the environ-ment when old refrigerators and freezers end up in landfills. Even foam insulation is stripped out, shredded and shipped to power plants, where it’s safely incinerated to generate electric-ity. That way, the old appliances give a little back to the power grid after all those years of wast-ing so much electricity. “If your spring cleaning in-cludes parting ways with an old refrigerator or freezer, this pro-gram instantly pays off by mak-ing you money, and saving you money on your electric bill. And with our technology, virtually nothing from your old refrig-erator or freezer goes to waste,” said Michael Dunham, director of Energy and Environmental Programs for JACO Environ-mental.

Rocky Mountain Power Offers $40 Towards Spring Cleaning

Glenrock Wrestling members took off to Wheatland to par-ticipate in the Brady Read Me-morial Folkstyle and Takedown Tournaments on March 16th and 17th.

Takedown Results:

Isak Elisson placed 1st in the Novice 90lb. bracket.Cody Pinkerton placed 1st in the Novice 120lb. bracket.

Folkstyle Results:

Keegan Roumell placed 4th in the Peewee 45lb bracket.Chad Preston placed 4th in the Peewee 45lb bracket. Ayden Moulton placed 4th in the Peewee 50lb bracket.Isak Elisson placed 3rd in the Novice 90lb. bracket.Derrick Robinson placed 2nd in the Novice 125lb bracket.Cody Pinkerton placed 1st in the Novice 125lb bracket.Kauy Thompson placed 2nd in the Schoolboy/girl 70-77 lb bracket.Trenten Kraft placed 2nd in the Schoolboy/girl 105lb bracket.Kayla Likes placed 3rd in the Schoolboy/girl 120 lb bracket.Joey Pinkerton placed 3rd in the Schoolboy/girl 144lb bracket.Wrestling hard but not plac-ing were: Kamden Thompson Bantam 45lb, Kaden Thomp-son Bantam 55lb, and Dakohta

Reynolds Novice 75lb.

Kolten Thompson was the only Cadet in his bracket of 94 lb and therefore did not get entered into a bracket; however, he was able to wrestle a couple good exhibi-tion matches.

Kayla likes competed with Team Wyoming in OK on March 25 in the Girls National Folkstyle Tournament. Likes placed 7th.

On Friday and Saturday, April 13th and 14th, Glenrock wres-tlers competed in the Casey Uhlich Memorial in Douglas.

Casey Uhlich Memorial Tour-ney GrecoIntermediate-50-55 - Hunter Pickett’s place is 4th.Intermediate-75 - Dustin Sim-mons’s place is 4th.Intermediate-80-87 - Alex St. Gelais’s place is unknown.Novice-75 - Weston Knight’s place is 4th.Novice-80 - Charles Kidd’s place is 4th.Novice-85 - Ian Arnold’s place is 2ndNovice-112 - Noah Halsey’s place is 3rd.Schoolboy/girl-98-105 - Tren-ton Kraft’s place is 3rd.Schoolboy/girl-112 - Christo-pher Raines’s place is 1st.Schoolboy/girl-120-128 - Lo-gan Pickett’s place is 4th.

Schoolboy/girl-120-128 - Kayla Likes’s place is 2nd.

Casey Uhlich Memorial Tour-ney Freestyle PeeWee-50-55 - Ayden Moulton’s place is 4th.Bantam-45 - Kamden Thomp-son’s place is 5th.Bantam-55 - Kaden Thomp-son’s place is 5th.Intermediate-55 - Hunter Pick-ett’s place is 5th.Intermediate-75 - Dustin Sim-mons’s place is 2nd.Intermediate-87 - Alex St. Ge-lais’s place is 4th.Novice-70-75 - Dakohta Reyn-olds’s place is 4th.Novice-75 - Weston Knight’s place is 4th.Novice-100-106 - Noah Halsey’s place is 3rd.Novice-130-140 - Derrick Rob-inson’s place is 2nd.Schoolboy/girl-70-77 - Kauy Thompson’s place is 2nd.Schoolboy/girl-98-105 - Tren-ton Kraft’s place is 3rd.Schoolboy/girl-112 - Christo-pher Raines’s place is 1st.Schoolboy/girl-120-128 - Kayla Likes’s place is 2nd.Schoolboy/girl-120-128 - Lo-gan Pickett’s place is 3rd.Cadet-94 - Kolten Thompson’s place is 1st.Cadet-132-145 - Shae Sim-mons’s place is 2nd.

Those Wonderful Wrestlers of Glenrock Just Keep on Keepin’ On!

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 5

O r e g O n T r a i lr u r a l h e a l t h c l i n i c

A n E x t E n s i o n o f C A r E f r o m m E m o r i A l H o s p i t A l o f C o n v E r s E C o u n t y

111 South 5th Street ~ Douglas, Wyoming

307-358-2122

MeMorial Hospitalof Converse County

Advanced Medicine. Hometown Care.

525 E. Birch St. ~ Glenrock, Wyoming

307-436-8838

oregon trailRural Health Clinic

Advanced Medicine. Hometown Care.

Oregon Trail Rural Health Clinic provides quality basic medical care to the communities of Glenrock and Rolling Hills. Unlike other Rural Health Clinics, Oregon Trail is part of Memorial Hospital of Converse County, one of the most trusted healthcare providers in the area. Memorial Hospital operates Oregon Trail RHC as an extension of care. The clinic is connected to the hospital by a dedicated high-speed network, and more importantly, dedicated providers who ensure their patients receive the best possible care.

Our clinic, combined with some of the most respected healthcare providers in the area, creates a unique healthcare experience for Glenrock and its neighbors.

In addition to stuffy noses, sore throats, and wellness exams, the clinic staff also perform EKG’s, minor surgery procedures, women’s health services, blood tests, physicals, and much more.

Carla Bloem, PA-C, and her team provide healthcare services Monday thru Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM; closed over the noon hour.

Glenrock resident Carla Bloem is a Certified Physician’s Assistant trained and licensed to practice medicine in Wyoming under the supervision of Memorial Hospital doctors. Carla has been treating family and friends in Glenrock for more than a decade. Her background in medicine and love for small town living provides Glenrock area residents the perfect mix of Advanced Medicine and Hometown Care. Carla’s experience, combined with the clinic’s diagnostic services, ensures Glenrock area residents have access to basic health services close to home.

In addition to Carla, Dr. Brian Retherford—Memorial Hospital’s Board Certified obstetrician and gynecologist—also sees patients at Oregon Trail Rural Health Clinic. Dr. Retherford is trained in a broad array of women’s reproductive health issues as well as all aspects of pregnancy healthcare. He performs yearly gynecological checks and deals with common women’s disorders such as endometriosis, infertility, urinary

incontinence, and menstrual problems. Dr. Retherford also performs minimally invasive surgeries for

gynecological disorders.

Dr. Brian Retherford

Carla Bloem, PA-C

Fridays are a little more casual at Memorial Hospital of Converse County.

In exchange for a monthly $10 donation to charity, staff from Thunder Basin Orthopaedics and Memorial Hospital of Con-verse County are permitted to wear blue jeans to work on Fri-days.

The fundraising idea came from Vicki Litzinger and the staff at TBO.

“I have heard of other places do-ing similar things to raise money and wanted to see it implement-ed at Memorial Hospital” said Litzinger.

CEO Ryan Smith, thought Blue Jean Fridays was a great idea and a fun way for employees to raise money for local groups.

The hospital’s CAREisma Club heads up Blue Jean Fridays.

During the employee group’s monthly meeting, members de-cide which organization Blue Jean Fridays will support for the upcoming month.

The group also collects and tracks the money donated from individuals and from payroll de-ductions.

In an effort to encourage em-

ployees to participate in the fundraising efforts, CEO Smith agreed to match employee contributions up to $500 each month.

To sweeten the pot even more, TBO’s Dr. Mark Murphy agreed to match whatever funds CEO Smith contributes.

In March, the employee group, along with matching funds from Smith and Murphy, raised $1,622.50 for the Laramie Peak Humane Society.

In April, the employee group will be raising money for the Douglas Boys and Girls Club.

MHCC’s Blue Jean Friday Raises Money For Humane Society

Converse County United Way is pleased to announce that it is the time of year for non-profit agen-cies to apply for funding. Fund-ing opportunities are available to any Converse County non-profit agency with a 501(c)3 who completes an application. Our primary focus for funding is on direct “people” services.

Your local United Way is a group of volunteers from Douglas and Glenrock who work throughout the year collecting donations.

The current Board consists of Melanie Cielinski, Nancie Fink, Cari Igo and Linda York.

All donations that are raised stay in Converse County.

Converse County United Way has provided funding to Douglas and Glenrock Senior Centers, Boys & Girls Club of Glenrock & Douglas, Youth Develop-ment Services, Converse County Library Foundation, Converse County Coalition Against Fam-

ily Violence & Sexual Assault, Douglas Youth Hockey, Jubilee House, Glenrock Early Child-hood Center, Wyoming Child and Family Development, Local Chapter of Red Cross, and more.

If you are interested in applying for funding, or have questions about United Way of Converse County please Melanie Cielinski 307-436-9206 or Linda York at 307-358-1402 to receive an ap-plication. Deadline for applica-tions is Tuesday May 8.

Converse County United Way Offers Funding For Non-Profits

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gov-ernor Matt Mead under-scored Wyoming’s first in the nation rules for hydrau-lic fracturing are based on sound science and protect public health, safety and the environment. According to Governor Mead this is why the Bureau of Land Manage-ment’s proposed rules for hydraulic fracturing are un-necessary and unreasonable.

In a letter to Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, Gov-ernor Mead wrote, “I have heard no concern from the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) about the adequacy of Wyoming’s regulatory struc-ture. It is troubling, then, to learn that the BLM has draft-ed similar rules pertaining to hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production… I am concerned that the pro-posed rules will duplicate and possibly be sequential to Wyoming’s rules.”

Governor Mead points out that the proposed rules seem to go against President Obama’s Executive Order 13563. That Order requires

the least burdensome tools for achieving regulatory ends and the promotion of predict-ability and certainty. “The BLM’s exercise to regulate what is already state-regulat-ed does not meet the letter or the spirit of the President’s Order.”

Governor Mead recommend-ed that the BLM not dupli-cate Wyoming’s regulations and defer to states, like Wyo-ming, which adequately and effectively manage hydraulic fracturing.

Governor Says Wyoming Rules for Hydraulic Fracturing Should Lead

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 6

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ser-vice (Service) euthanized an old female wolf, which had settled into a populated part of Jackson, Wyo., on Tuesday, April 17.

Mike Jimenez, the Service’s wolf recovery coordinator for Wyoming, trapped and eutha-nized a large white wolf, which settled with another female wolf in the outskirts of Jackson over the past two months and had been reported to the Service by concerned citizens. Recognizing the potential conflict with Jack-son residents, Jimenez began tracking two wolves using the signal from a functioning radio collar to pinpoint their location during telemetry flights.

“Unfortunately, in this case these two wolves settled into a high human density area and seemed to be forming a pack. Due to safety concerns, the

Service believed this was un-acceptable. We tracked one of the wolves down, captured it and humanely euthanized it late yesterday afternoon,” said Mike Jimenez, the Service’s wolf recovery coordinator for Wyo-ming. “Thanks to the effective conservation of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf popula-tion there is a healthy, robust population of wolves on the Wy-oming landscape now. With this increased number of wolves, there is increased potential for wolves to come in conflict with human beings. The Service is prepared to deal appropriately with such conflicts and did just that in this instance.”

One wolf remains in the hous-ing area. Jimenez will continue to track the remaining wolf, but it's possible the lone wolf will wonder off as a disperser and not need to be controlled.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Euthanizes Wolf Inhabiting

Jackson, Wyo.

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by Samuel Western - Wyofile

For a native Wisconsinite (go Badgers, as he was fond of quip-ping) Dennis Curran had an un-canny understanding of what made Wyoming work.

Maybe this was because his un-flappable demeanor included su-perior listening skills; or perhaps it was because he had spent time in Montana, covering bitter par-tisan politics (he had a column at the Missoulian called Den’s Den), and that he grasped the importance of getting all sides of the story. As a reporter and editor in Wyoming, he bent over back-wards to understand issues and not make assumptions.

Curran embodied old-school re-porting, a world-view that held decency and fairness at its core. Curran had little fear of asking difficult questions but, by all ac-counts, utterly lacked malicious intent. This balancing act made for compelling man. “For quite a

length of time, he was the heart and soul of Wyoming journal-ism,” said Scott Farris.

Farris was United Press Interna-tional’s Cheyenne bureau chief at a time when Curran occupied the same position for UPI’s main competitor, the Associated Press. Their offices sat directly across the hall from each other. “We could be very competitive on bigger stories,” said Farris, “but when we stay up late on winter nights, trying to get in those last high school sports scores, Denny would say, “All right. I’ll give you the game in Hulett if you tell me what went on in Sundance.”dennycurran_mug

Denny Curran (1944-2012)

Curran rarely disappointed the recipients of his copy. “He was peerless as a wire service reporter: he was thorough, ac-curate, and fast,” said Pete Wil-liams, former news director for K2 News in Casper and now the U.S. Supreme Court reporter for NBC. “He was also very smooth. His writing always looked like he had spent weeks polishing it up.”

Curran was renowned for his culinary skills and apprecia-tion of fine food. Those camp-ing with him could expect a full compliment of spices and hors d’oeuvres on the trail. Curran de-marcated road trips by distance between restaurants and eater-ies. He knew them all. His an-nual fete for reporters still evokes memories. “Every year before the legislature started, Denny would have the press corps over to his house for a meal,” said Wil-liams. “It was understood among reporters this was a far more im-portant gathering than anything we attended at the legislature.”

At these parties he was often seen, glass of scotch in hand, stroking his clipped beard and listening to someone’s passionate diatribe and then saying, “Well, I don’t know about that. Have you considered it from another point of view?”

He

loved history and politics, espe-cially Wyoming politics. “When I was working at K2, I could call him up and ask him about anything. He mentored many a young reporter about Wyoming politics,” said Williams.

“He always had the bigger pic-ture in mind and wanted to tackle subjects beyond the stereotypical Wyoming story,” said Farris.

It’s not a moneyed life, being a journalist in Wyoming, and Cur-ran tried on other hats. For nearly eight years, he served as press secretary for Governor Mike Sullivan, who remembers Cur-ran for his loyalty, professional-ism and courtesy. Sullivan recalls valuing Curran for his ability to speak plainly. “If you (as gover-nor) don’t surround yourself with those willing to speak the truth, you’re in trouble.”

Yet “I never heard him speak a bad word about anyone, nor a word in anger. He was always calm and level-headed,” said Sullivan.

He tried lobbying for a spell, then running a consulting firm. Even-tually, journalism pulled him

back in. At an age when most consider retirement, Curran, almost single-handedly, began in April of 2000 to put together the Wyoming Business Report. When Curran declared himself editor emeritus eleven years later in April, 2011, ready to give re-tirement a serious shot, the paper had a staff of 10 and circulation of 6,500.

He kept on writing, though.

“Denny decided Wyoming was this great place,” said Farris. “He loved Wyoming as much as any native, probably more,” said Farris. “And not only did he like writing stories about this place, he also thought it should prosper and grow and diversify.”

As he grew older, he stopped serious hiking and running mara-thons (he completed 10), but carved out his hours, as Shake-speare might have said, fly-fish-ing, especially the Encampment River, cooking, and looking after his family. “He was one of those rare people who brought people together,” said Farris. “Good food, good wine and good con-versations meant the world to Denny. He was a dear, dear friend and shall be missed.”

Longtime Wyoming Journalist Dies

Denny Curran. Photo courtesty Wyo-File

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 7

Decision puts politics before country’s fiscal health, ignores debt.

Washington, D.C. – The Sen-ate missed an opportunity to make real progress in reducing the nation’s unsustainable debt, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who expressed disappointment that members will not be able to work on, amend, or vote on a budget in the Senate Budget Committee today. The budget markup was suspended due to pressure from the majority leader and his cau-cus. Enzi issued the following comments in his opening state-ment before the committee:

“Once again, we’re passing the buck because the majority lead-er doesn’t want his caucus to have to make politically tough votes. By avoiding these votes, he has been avoiding solutions.

We cannot wait until it is politi-cally expedient to do what must be done. We cannot keep talking about the problems, promising solutions, and then shying away from substantive discussions and votes.

“We are spending more today than ever before and we are seeing trillion dollar a year in-creases in the debt. It has led to the situation we currently face – where we are borrowing more than 40 cents on every dollar we spend.

“This isn’t the way legislation is supposed to work. We’re sup-posed to come together and do the hard work in the committee. We’re supposed to find the areas where we can agree and push them forward. That’s not what we’re doing today.”

America’s Budget Suspended

Until After Election

A Choice: Submit or Stand Up!

At least we in Converse Coun-ty are not confronted with the ominous shadow of the tyran-nical Parliament of Great Brit-ain breathing threats as they did toward the early colonists from Massachusetts in 1774. However, many are convinced our constitutional rights are being routinely trampled upon by this administration, the courts, regulators, and most notably by President Obama’s unprecedented grab of our healthcare system that is tan-tamount to fiscal and econom-ic tyranny at best. Not everyone in the early colonies was looking for a fight with the British, even with a series of seminal events that transpired from 1764 to the Boston Tea Party in 1774. Many tolerated further intru-sions into the affairs of the colonies, and tried to rational-ize their allegiance to the king and obedience to the Parlia-ment. The former was found-ed on protection: the latter on representation. But both were systematically being eroded in the minds of patriots through-out the colonies. In 1768, for example, the British Customs Commission seized the merchant sloop Liberty, charging a wealthy Boston merchant, named John Hancock, with smuggling wine. They served him with a warrant for 9000 pounds sterling(that is over 14,000 US dollars today) and later ar-rested him. Further instances of indecent and outrageous behavior of British troops in May, 1769, multiplied, and the intimidation efforts escalated to the point that the citizens believed that a spirit of rebel-lion was said to be spreading in the colonies like a plague. To punish the citizens of Massachusetts for their rebel-lious act known as the “Bos-ton Tea Party” the Parliament passed four acts, which the colonists labeled the “Intoler-able Acts.” First, they closed the port of Boston until the colonist paid for the tea; sec-ond they enacted laws against those committing the crime; third, they altered the colonial charter to weaken local con-trol; and fourth, required the colonists to provide food and shelter for British soldiers. Those acts served to fuel the fears and suspicions of the colonists, and, accord-ing to Ebenezer Baldwin, a Danbury, Connecticut Pas-tor, awakened them that there was indeed a “fixed plan to enslave the Colonies.” In his own words, Baldwin sum-marized those fears, “Now if the British Parliament and ministry continues the course they have embarked upon, it seems we must either submit to a dreadful state of slavery or must by force of arms stand up in defense of our liberty.” He concluded, “The thoughts of either is enough to make our blood recoil with horror.” They didn’t have the privi-lege we enjoy: to vote the tyrants out of office. Their choice, similar to ours today, was to submit or stand up. With the renewal of grass

roots movements such as the “tea partyers” in 2010, and talk of renewed interest in the political process, polls indi-cate there remains a “mass political ignorance”. For ex-ample, while more than 90 per are able to identify the President, however, less than half of adult members of the population could name their

elected member of Congress, and fewer know their Senator; and less than 10 percent are aware that the Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution. With few exceptions, recent polls indi-cate that a small percentage of adults have any specific knowledge of their state and local officials either. The dearth of political acu-men is eclipsed only by politi-cal apathy. Consider that less than one percent of the Ameri-can adult population ever run for political office; less than 10 percent are active in a po-litical party or campaign; less than 20 percent ever write or contact a public elected offi-cial; and of those that actually vote, the range is a dismal 30 to 55 percent. And, you say, “Who cares?” It is ironic that the demo-cratic process we enjoy sur-vives considering the apparent general apathy of the elector-ate, marked by disdain and political indifference by the majority of eligible voters. In the face of these rather dismal statistics, we have fortunately reaped the benefits from a recent “constitutional activ-ism” regardless of the stripe, that has catapulted us into a “return to the constitution” movement, and a renewed of-fensive to unseat the “elite” who have voted with abject disregard for our interest, and a host of unelected czars that represent the interest of their cronies, lobbyist and financial bundlers from both sides of the isle. We hastened the election of an “elitist activist” President Obama, who foisted “Obama Care” upon us; so we now have shifted our reliance on the Supreme Court to supplant self-government, following an uniformed and ignorant voting block in 2008 that ush-ered in this draconian version of “hope and change.” The first Watergate prosecu-tor, Harvard Law School pro-fessor, Archibald Cox, warned that “excessive reliance upon courts instead of self-gov-ernment through democratic processes, may deaden the people’s sense of moral and political responsibility for their own future, especially in matters of liberty…” The GOP and a host of “conservatives” alike dur-ing the 2012 Primary droned, “Anyone but Obama.” Some of us are still reticent to join that throng. To place another moderate in the White House, or again in the Capitol at Cheyenne, will be a quixotic attempt to stem the intrinsic tide of big government bu-reaucrats and elected officials parasitic appetite for spending our money. It will only slow down the speeding, out of control profligate spending, however, it will not halt the erosion of our liberties that are secured in the Constitution of the United States. A solid, staid trust in the Lord of the Old and New Testament in-oculates one from the “sting” of all this political, ethereal uncertainty.

How about you? What do you think?

As Americans send their hard earned tax dollars to Wash-ington this week, it’s clear that much of their money will pay for the President’s health spend-ing law.

Instead of improving health care in our country, the Obama administration is devoting hun-dreds of millions of dollars to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate whether or not Americans buy health in-surance. The Hill newspaper reported that the Obama Ad-ministration is quietly sending an additional $500 million to the IRS.

Today, U.S. Senator John Bar-rasso (R-Wyo.) spoke out against the Obama Administra-tion’s decision to spend millions of dollars to investigate Ameri-cans’ personal health care deci-sions.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate:

“And so I come to the floor be-cause it seems to me that instead of using much of the money to improve medical care in Amer-ica, this administration is de-voting hundreds of millions of dollars to whom? The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.).

“In fact, ‘The Hill’ newspaper reported on April 9th of this year that the Obama administra-tion is quietly sending an addi-tional $500 million to the I.R.S., the Internal Revenue Service.

“The money is transferred out-side of the normal appropria-tions process, and that's a con-cern. And it goes to the very tax agency that is responsible to implement many of the key pro-visions of the health law.

“You would think that maybe you would have doctors and nurses implementing many of the provisions of the health law. No, we have the I.R.S. This includes the controversial and unprecedented mandate that all Americans must buy a govern-ment-approved product, health insurance.

“The Hill’ article goes on and it says that this Obama Health and Human Services department has to date transferred almost $200 million to the I.R.S. over the past two years and plans to send another $300 million this year.

“These secretive transfers hide the true cost of the health care law. They also make it difficult for Congress to perform the agency oversight that is part of our obligations.

“What does the I.R.S. Intend to do? They want to hire more than 300 new employees next year to

implement the tax code changes such as the taxes imposed on drug companies, device manu-facturers and health insurers.

“The I.R.S. also has to imple-ment and monitor the law's pric-iest component, the exchange subsidies. Congress is asked to fund another 537 new employ-ees dedicated to administering just the subsidies.

“Last week, Mr. President, the Ways and Means Chairman, Chairman Camp, sent a letter to the I.R.S. Commissioner asking that the commissioner provide specific details about these re-ports. Chairman Camp spe-cifically asked the I.R.S. Com-missioner to tell the committee how many employees are being hired and which tax increases the agents will be working on.

“You know, the American peo-ple deserve to know how their dollars are being spent, where these tax dollars are being used, what the I.R.S. is doing with the money.

“They deserve to know because the health care law actually in-creases the I.R.S.'s power to insert itself into the American people's lives.

“How is it that the health care law increases the I.R.S.'s power to insert itself into Americans' lives?

“Well, by one, having the I.R.S. Verify that Americans have ac-ceptable government-approved insurance. Also by having the I.R.S. penalize Americans if they do not have acceptable government-approved insur-ance. Also, by having the I.R.S. confiscate Americans' tax re-fund dollars if they don't have government-approved insur-ance. Finally, by having the I.R.S. having additional power in terms of auditing our Ameri-can citizens' lives.

“Mr. President, this is all includ-ed in the health care law. This is not health care reform. The I.R.S. should never be allowed to intrude into the private health care decisions of the American people.

“The American people deserve to know how this alleged $500 million transfer is being spent and how many additional I.R.S. Agents will be hired to inves-tigate their private health care decisions.

“When Americans send their hard-earned dollars to Wash-ington, they want to make sure that their money is being spent wisely. The American people want to know that they are get-ting value for their tax dollars. They don't want their dollars to create more bureaucracy and further invade their privacy.”

Barrasso Audits Obamacare’s IRS Spending

Tax Day a reminder of broken promises, cost of governmentThe sheer cost of government is apparent to every American who is putting the finishing touches on their taxes, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who said that Tax Day is another unwelcome reminder that the federal government taxes and spends too much. Enzi issued the following comments today:

“Every year American taxpay-ers see the size and the cost of government grow. Despite promises by President Obama to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term, his policies have increased the national debt

by nearly $5 trillion and seek to impose massive tax increases to keep his spending priorities alive. Taxpayers should not be punished for Washington’s inac-tion and unwillingness to spend within its means.

“For years, we have tried to hide it, disguise it, and ignore it. We have acted like it is okay to keep spending money that we don’t have. The reality is that we have spent every last tax dollar and even the money we have bor-rowed from countries like China. That’s not the message Ameri-can’s want to hear on Tax Day, but it’s the truth.”

Tax Day Another Reminder of Broken Promises

“Tax fairness” trades tough decisions for political distractionsThe “Buffett Rule,” which would raise taxes on many small business owners to pay for more Washington spend-ing, does not address rising gas prices, high unemploy-ment, or trillion dollar defi-cits, according to U.S. Sena-tor Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who said that the Senate majori-ty’s proposal is nothing more than a political gimmick in-tended to distract Americans from the tough political de-cisions that cannot wait until after the 2012 elections.

Enzi issued the following comments today.

“The Senate majority is turn-ing the nation’s attention to a talking point, a shell, a sham, a political hoax designed to distract this country from our real financial problems and the real solutions we will need to get us out of this mess. The “Buffett Rule” is by President Obama’s own admission, a gimmick. Our country can no longer afford photo op governance.

“There is a better path for-ward to achieve the desired result of the “Buffett Rule.” That path includes com-prehensive tax reform that results in a tax code that is simple, fair, and pro-growth. If we combine that with ap-propriate spending cuts our country will be able to get out from under the heavy weight of our current and es-calating debt burden.

“This bill is not a significant debt and deficit reduction measure. It’s simply an at-tempt to raise taxes on own-ers of capital and job creators when they can least afford it. It’s not a step in the right di-rection because it distracts us from real solutions. It’s a political stunt.”

Buffett Gimmick Advances Politics Of Envy

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 8

TJ Casey is a singer/songwriter, story-

teller, composer and enter-tainer. He was raised up on ranches in Wyo-

ming and Montana and now teaches the "Code of the West"

and poetry to students all across America. Check him out at: www.tjcasey.net.

To Be A Cowboy

Eliminating Plastic Wraps

Is It A Health Issue?

In this new quest for sustain-ability I decided to try to cut way back on my use of 'covers' for leftover foods. It seems, like most of us, I was in the habit of tearing off a piece of plastic to cover things that go in the fridge.

I remember my grandmother having reusable plastic with elastic on it that she would wash after use and put in the drawer. But plastic is rife with BPA (bisephenol A) and if you're anything like I am, you haven't a clue what that is or what it does. Here is the short non-scientific explanation: BPA is used primarily to produce plas-tics and is an endocrine disrup-tor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects. Canada declared BPA a toxic substance in 2010. Long story short, this PBA leaches into our food when we use plastic in the freezer, mi-crowave, refrigerator, or to store food. The USA has established 'safety' levels of BPA, but in my opinion, anything that can have a negative effect on my overall health doesn't have a safe level.

So, being that just about EV-ERYTHING we use is made from one sort of plastic or an-other including the keyboard upon which I type this blog, just where do I start? My logi-cal point of beginning was in the food I ingest, which goes

directly into my system. My use of plastic is so extensive it's difficult to know what to cut out first. So I began with the easi-est; plastic wrap.

Researching for days I discov-ered a wonderful little company that makes cloth covers for bowls that are lined with a BPA free vinyl. I used one of them that evening to cover leftover pasta, which has a tendency to dry out in the fridge. The next day the food looked great and the cover had done it's job well, with no BPA's leaching into the food - at least from above. It then occurred to me that the bowl I used was plastic. FAIL!

It's clearly evident that I have lots of re-thinking to do! The money spent on plastic wraps and foils can accumulate to approximately $50 per year or more. The cost of three cov-ers is $20 and will more than pay for itself with years of use, and less waste of energy and re-sources to produce plastic wrap. But for me the health benefits of eliminating a big source of BPA's is the most compelling reason of all. Even better it helps to get rid of my reliance upon a store and increases my independence and sustainability in a savvy way!

For more information on where to buy reusable covers without BPA's visit my website: http://susanrstoltz.com/eliminating-plastic-wrap-and-tin-foil-is-it-a-health-issue/

Simplicity

One of my most favorite things in this world is sim-plicity. Anybody that knows me knows that I love Apple as a company, and that the late Steve Jobs is absolutely my idol and will remain that way even though he has left this Earth. The reason why? He thought simply.

People these days are too complex. They think of life as a video game, and it doesn’t ever end. People play games with people’s minds, hearts, jobs, every-thing. Maybe that’s our natu-ral primitive instincts, but I believe that there’s some-thing different there.

Think back to more simplis-

tic times without comput-ers, cell phones, and most importantly the Internet. In-formation wasn’t super read-ily available at our finger tips, and things truly were of a simpler nature. When you decided to purchase a car, you had to have trust in the person to know they were telling you the truth. When you bought a house you didn’t have hundreds of lenders running to you via email and mail to get you to pre-approve online and sign up for mortgages without reading the fine print. People didn’t have a nifty device that scans bar codes and tells you that Target has a better price on canned tuna than the Wal-Mart you’re currently standing in. It truly was a more simplistic time.

So, what can you do to sim-plify your life a bit? Well,

technology is ever-changing and will never go away. You can’t escape it, you can’t hide from it, and it’s most definitely not a bad thing. However, there are ways to relax a bit and simplify your life.

I challenge you to shut off your cell phone, computer, iPod, iPad, whatever you have for one day. Don’t even turn on your TV. Just relax and read a book. Play a board game with your kids – or go to the park (the exercise may do you all some good.) Take your family out to dinner, or go treat yourself to your favorite beverage. Go for a walk with your spouse or go for a hike in the gorgeous mountains that are in your back yard.

My big point is to take some time, at least once a week,

and clear your head. It helps you reduce your stress, anxi-ety, and keeps you sane. This ever-changing technological world keeps going and go-ing and going and you have to remember to slow down, think simplistic, and relax.

The reason why I looked up to Steve Jobs so much is be-cause even though his tech-nology connects us more, the technologies he put in place made our lives simple. They aren’t complex, they don’t require a lot of thought to use, and what his aim (and the aim of Apple today) was, is to keep these things simple so you can get back to what matters most - your life.

Questions or topics for Wes? Email me at wes@theglen-rockbird.com!

Hello Seattle!! Let me start of by saying first time shame on him, second time shame on you. It is natural to have all these old skel-etons jump out when you are ready to embark on another venture that seems so similar to one that rocked your life.

There is nothing you can do or say that can prevent those old feel-ings from rising to the surface. Your husband knows how you feel, he has assured you that it won’t happen and that is all the time that needs spent on this topic. Why ruin the time you have left with him here, already stressing and talking about something bad that may or may not happen? An affair once over gives everyone a chance to sit and dissect such a happening. Why, when, how, and who’s fault. I’m sure you can look back and answer all those questions and maybe say “I can see why that happened.” Now don’t get me wrong, that doesnt mean he had a good reason. But, give him the benefit of the doubt. Once you get to Seattle if he indeed stepped out of line again, put your foot where it hurts!!!!! Oh yeah and take him for every penny.

Keep me posted.

Sassy. Do you have a question you’d like to submit to Sassy? Send it to: Sassy@theglenrockbird.com

So my husband has taken a new job in Seattle - He will leave before myself and my two young children (ages 5 and 7) and we will follow in three months. Several years ago my husband took a job here in Wyoming, and also left before us. During his first several weeks here in Wyoming he started an affair with a young woman that was working in the same office as he was. He dumped her before I found out, but she had already gone through his phone, obtained my cell number and so after he dumped her, she called me and told me what had been going on. I will never forget her words "I am telling you this because I am ashamed, I didn't know he was married and I didn't know the two of you had children." I didn't believe her. For weeks I blamed it entirely on her. Thinking that she had probably come on to him. I talked with my mother and father about this, and it was my father who said that most times its the man that makes the first move. And suddenly my world turned upside down. I had to accept that my husband initiated this affair, and even if he didn't he certainly participated in it. This woman literally stayed away from him, left her job, left this area and relocated to Sheridan, AND kept in contact with me. I realized that I believed her story. Long story short, my husband and I worked through it "for the kids" we have a better relationship than before the affair and I still truly love him. However, I am newly concerned again, with his leaving, that yet another woman will waltz into his life. I have voiced my concerns to him, even my 7 year old son asked his daddy if he was going to "leave us for another lady." He assures me daily that this will never happen again, however the dark side of my mind that remembers that hurt and pain on the day I received that initial phone call continues to create a sense of overwhelming distrust. I recently told my husband I do not want him to accept the job offer, to which he responded "we have to do this." How do I trust that this will not happen again? Especially knowing I will once again be uprooting my family to move to a new state? If it does happen again, what if the next woman doesn't leave the area and I am then forced to deal with the other "her?" I want to trust him... but with this new change coming in our life again, I realize that I simply don't. Heading to Seattle whether I like it or not,Worried.

If you’re gonna be a cowboy

there’s a lot you have to know;‘bout cows and

wild horsesand makin’ good

grass grow.

Be a steward of the range land;

gotta learn to rope and ride.

Takes more than boots and a cowboy

hat;it take lots of cow-

boy pride.

Cowboys ain’t made overnight

there’s a lot of work involved;

and ya gotta work with experienced

handsto get yer problems

solved.

If you wanna be a cowboy

then you gotta do it right.

You don’t become a

dern good hand;at least not over-

night.

A cowboy always shoots straightand he always

keeps his word.You can trust him with yer own lifeand every cow in the doggone herd.

A cowboy thrives on common sense;don’t complain cuz

he’s got salt.He’s kind to horses,

dogs and womenand he’s generous

to a fault.

A cowboy rides his own colts

and knows how to doctor cattle;

and many days from dusk ‘til dawnyou’ll find him in

the saddle.

He shoes his own string of horses;he’s got integrity.

He does the things he says he’ll do

and that’s a guar-antee.

He’ll look ya in the eye;

when he grabs a holt yer hand.He don’t back

down from a fight;if he’s right, he’ll

take a stand.

Don’t call a cowboy mister;

it’s insulting to his kind.

He lives by a code of ethics;

that most places you won’t find.

The cowboy is a hero

and he always rides for the brand.

Just be sure you keep things honestor you’ll be findin’ another cowhand.

Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 9

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Sunday April 22, 2012 The Glenrock Bird Page 10