By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
It was a hard fought game, but the Panthers landed on their feet with a 84-69 victory against the male Miners on Friday night in the Platte Valley.
The high-scoring game did not see strong defense from either team, said Saratoga High School coach Rex Hohnholt. Instead, the scoring was high.
For Saratoga, Jake Johnston went up for 35 points. Also in the double digits, David Capozzoli bucketed 20 points while Hayden Hohnholt came out with 16. Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow was not far behind as Matt Larson raked in 22 points, Matt Mayfield had 15 and Justin Palm had 12.
It was a story of strep throat this week for Hohnholt’s team. Seven of his 12 players were home sick throughout the week, leaving four at practice at any given time. They all returned for Friday’s game. “It’s hard to tell them they can’t play,” Hohnholt said. “They went in and did well.”
With a lacking defense, the Panther offense was on their game. They shot the ball well, coming at the basket from the inside and outside.
The Panthers had not won the game by the time halftime came around. Ahead by 10 points as they walked back out from the locker rooms, the Panthers took off from the Miners in the third quarter with enough of a lead that HEM just could not catch them.
The Miners gave Saratoga a run for its money by working the ball inside to the guys they needed to hit, Hohnholt said. The Miner’s 6-foot 5-inch players towered over their 6-foot opponents, making it easy for them to get inside twos.
HEM goes to Little Snake River Valley School at 3 p.m. on Saturday, while the Panthers host Wyoming Indian at the same time.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Hospital recruiting tactics paying off
Another front pager!
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Once a stop for travelers on their way to anywhere and now reaping the rewards of a boom due to temporary workers, Rawlins has long struggled to retain its visitors.
When nurses are in demand nationwide, what does Memorial Hospital of Carbon County do?
They develop a recruitment and retention committee. Composed of about 10 hospital staff, the committee brainstorms ways to attract nurses to Rawlins and then devises ways to keep them here.
Three years ago, the hospital sought Filipino nurses, signing them to three-year contracts. One is still at the hospital, while others have moved to join their families in other states.
The hospital has since abandoned this tactic as the nursing shortage has eased slightly. “We’ve done different avenues,” Nurse Manager Dawn Dingman said.
One route is a connection with Western Wyoming Community College, which reinstated its nursing program. It now provides training for locals who can pour the fruits of their learning back into their community.
Additionally, said Dingman, the hospital has changed the nurses’ work week to match national standards. “We used to work four (12-hour shifts) one week and three the next,” she said. They now work 36 hours each week, generally in three shifts.
Is it working? “We have gotten two people and we are maybe working on our third,” Dingman said. Lately, most of the recruits are from Wyoming. Some previously worked at the hospital and are now returning.
Wendy Thorvaldson, intensive care unit nurse manager, mentioned adopting the 14 ideals, called forces, of magnet hospitals to attract nurses. Magnet status is an award given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria measuring the strength and quality of their nursing.
“It’s a marketing tool (for us),” Thorvaldson said. “Here in Rawlins, and with smaller hospitals, it is very difficult to even look at attaining magnet status. It requires a lot of money and a large staff. But the ideals are important, and that’s what we’re looking at.”
Another thing the hospital touts is its superior medical benefits. “I think I can say with confidence that this is hands down the best insurance (provided by a hospital) in the state,” said Art Canaday, the secretary-treasurer of the hospital board. When the employees know they are in good care, the draw to Rawlins’ hospital is strong.
Most of the hospital’s nurse-recruiting efforts are concentrated in Wyoming. They advertise in Wyoming-based nursing magazines, in newspapers and are attending a career fair in Casper on Feb. 1.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Once a stop for travelers on their way to anywhere and now reaping the rewards of a boom due to temporary workers, Rawlins has long struggled to retain its visitors.
When nurses are in demand nationwide, what does Memorial Hospital of Carbon County do?
They develop a recruitment and retention committee. Composed of about 10 hospital staff, the committee brainstorms ways to attract nurses to Rawlins and then devises ways to keep them here.
Three years ago, the hospital sought Filipino nurses, signing them to three-year contracts. One is still at the hospital, while others have moved to join their families in other states.
The hospital has since abandoned this tactic as the nursing shortage has eased slightly. “We’ve done different avenues,” Nurse Manager Dawn Dingman said.
One route is a connection with Western Wyoming Community College, which reinstated its nursing program. It now provides training for locals who can pour the fruits of their learning back into their community.
Additionally, said Dingman, the hospital has changed the nurses’ work week to match national standards. “We used to work four (12-hour shifts) one week and three the next,” she said. They now work 36 hours each week, generally in three shifts.
Is it working? “We have gotten two people and we are maybe working on our third,” Dingman said. Lately, most of the recruits are from Wyoming. Some previously worked at the hospital and are now returning.
Wendy Thorvaldson, intensive care unit nurse manager, mentioned adopting the 14 ideals, called forces, of magnet hospitals to attract nurses. Magnet status is an award given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria measuring the strength and quality of their nursing.
“It’s a marketing tool (for us),” Thorvaldson said. “Here in Rawlins, and with smaller hospitals, it is very difficult to even look at attaining magnet status. It requires a lot of money and a large staff. But the ideals are important, and that’s what we’re looking at.”
Another thing the hospital touts is its superior medical benefits. “I think I can say with confidence that this is hands down the best insurance (provided by a hospital) in the state,” said Art Canaday, the secretary-treasurer of the hospital board. When the employees know they are in good care, the draw to Rawlins’ hospital is strong.
Most of the hospital’s nurse-recruiting efforts are concentrated in Wyoming. They advertise in Wyoming-based nursing magazines, in newspapers and are attending a career fair in Casper on Feb. 1.
School to drop spring golf
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Carbon County District 1 School board member Juli Miller heralded the message that spring golf would be removed from the Wyoming High School Activities Association sports lineup during Thursday’s school board meeting.
She said the change reflected the outcome of a survey issued to gauge school sports and the time involved in participation. The decision was made in Casper two weeks ago.
Miller said many of the surveys illustrated a difficulty by teams in securing courses to use during weekends, which led to some contests having to be cut short in order for business to resume at the courses.
In other news, a revised school calendar passed its first reading Thursday night. Board members have the chance to review the calendar prior to the next meeting, at which point board members should receive final recommendations and decide whether to approve the calendar for the 2008-09 school year. Next year marks the second year in the three-year calendar survey cycle, so changes should be minor until the community again has a chance to scrutinize it.
The board officially approved a contract for Neil Terhune to become superintendent for the next two school years. Board member also approved the expulsion of four students from Rawlins Middle School. The board plans to consider the expulsion of one Rawlins High School student at 5 p.m. on Feb. 14.
In executive business, a resolution in support of hiring April Oman as a one-on-one para-educator and George Truman as a maintenance worker passed. The resolution also included the hire of two substitute teachers, Lori Voorhees and Sarah Munoz, as well as the resignations of Marc Stauffer, director of technology, and Tina Ellis, para-educator at Mountain View Elementary School. Bill Ingram, of the technology department, was terminated.
With excitement building over the School Facilities Commission’s decision to designate funding for new elementary schools in Carbon County School District 1, the school board pushed at Thursday’s meeting for a celebration of the hard work headed up by Superintendent Peggy Sanders.
After several years of trying to bring the schools to the attention of the commission, the board is momentarily resting on its laurels after seeing its schools listed on the commission’s needs index.
“It is so great that we have an educational reason to come to the SFC and ask for a new school,” board member Kristi Groshart said. She was so enthralled, she called the board to begin planning the celebration.
The rest of the board agreed that Sanders and the others who have pushed for this feat should be recognized. If the idea comes to fruition, the board envisions including community folks who have fought long and hard for gaining funding for the schools, two of which have been standing for more than 50 years.
Part of the reason the schools had been overlooked for so long was because District 1 took such good care of the buildings, board member Dave Dingman said. The commission continued to designate funding for the more poorly managed school facilities in the state.
Times staff writer
Carbon County District 1 School board member Juli Miller heralded the message that spring golf would be removed from the Wyoming High School Activities Association sports lineup during Thursday’s school board meeting.
She said the change reflected the outcome of a survey issued to gauge school sports and the time involved in participation. The decision was made in Casper two weeks ago.
Miller said many of the surveys illustrated a difficulty by teams in securing courses to use during weekends, which led to some contests having to be cut short in order for business to resume at the courses.
In other news, a revised school calendar passed its first reading Thursday night. Board members have the chance to review the calendar prior to the next meeting, at which point board members should receive final recommendations and decide whether to approve the calendar for the 2008-09 school year. Next year marks the second year in the three-year calendar survey cycle, so changes should be minor until the community again has a chance to scrutinize it.
The board officially approved a contract for Neil Terhune to become superintendent for the next two school years. Board member also approved the expulsion of four students from Rawlins Middle School. The board plans to consider the expulsion of one Rawlins High School student at 5 p.m. on Feb. 14.
In executive business, a resolution in support of hiring April Oman as a one-on-one para-educator and George Truman as a maintenance worker passed. The resolution also included the hire of two substitute teachers, Lori Voorhees and Sarah Munoz, as well as the resignations of Marc Stauffer, director of technology, and Tina Ellis, para-educator at Mountain View Elementary School. Bill Ingram, of the technology department, was terminated.
With excitement building over the School Facilities Commission’s decision to designate funding for new elementary schools in Carbon County School District 1, the school board pushed at Thursday’s meeting for a celebration of the hard work headed up by Superintendent Peggy Sanders.
After several years of trying to bring the schools to the attention of the commission, the board is momentarily resting on its laurels after seeing its schools listed on the commission’s needs index.
“It is so great that we have an educational reason to come to the SFC and ask for a new school,” board member Kristi Groshart said. She was so enthralled, she called the board to begin planning the celebration.
The rest of the board agreed that Sanders and the others who have pushed for this feat should be recognized. If the idea comes to fruition, the board envisions including community folks who have fought long and hard for gaining funding for the schools, two of which have been standing for more than 50 years.
Part of the reason the schools had been overlooked for so long was because District 1 took such good care of the buildings, board member Dave Dingman said. The commission continued to designate funding for the more poorly managed school facilities in the state.
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