By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff reporter
The Tigers hunted, attacked and destroyed their prey in a 66-36 victory against Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow on Friday night.
“It was the best first half of basketball we’ve ever played,” said Encampment High School head coach Clint Bromley.
Everyone played. Everyone shared the ball. Everyone played a good game of defense. “Marion Marchetti did an awesome job on defense,” Bromley said. “And the rest stepped in and did their part.”
According to Bromley, the two star Miners got into foul trouble, allowing the Tigers to sink their teeth in to secure the win.
HEM’s Matt Larson had 12 points while Justin Palm came off the court with nine points. The pair led the scoring effort for the Miners.
“I was expecting it to be a little bit better game,” Bromley said. His team tackled its goals of shutting down the Miner stars and breaking their winning streak.
Bromley’s five starters each rounded off double figures by the end of the night with Marion Marchetti leading the pack with 18 points and nine boards. Brian Lynch dropped 12 points, while Garrett Pantle and Max Doebele walked off with 11 points each. Chat McKinney racked up a solid 10 points to seal the deal.
Friday, January 18, 2008
More babies born is a sign of the times
My first front-pager!
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Births at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County increased 15 percent from 2006 to 2007, mirroring a similar increase nationwide.
Nursing manager Dawn Dingman said the hospital’s obstetrics department had a year-end tally of 136 births in 2007 compared to 118 the year before.
The growth seems to adhere to the report that the U.S. “seems to be experiencing a baby boomlet, reporting the largest number of children born in 45 years,” according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that Carbon County’s population dropped 2 percent between 2000 and 2006. According to the numbers recorded at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County for the same time span, births also decreased, at a similar rate of 4 percent.
The question remains as to whether the increased births may equal population growth in Carbon County.
When asked about the possible correlation, officials shrugged their shoulders. They identified with national demographers who say it is too soon to know if the increase is the start of a trend.
“We have to wait and see,” said Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistician Brady Hamilton. “For now, I would call it a noticeable blip.”
Wendy Thorvaldson, the hospital’s intensive care unit nursing manager, said “The numbers (in the obstetrics department) have grown and they’ve been really busy, but I can’t answer why.”
Rawlins City Manager Dave Derragon theorized that the county’s population is increasing, but for different reasons.
“In the last four to five years, (the city has installed) between 300 and 350 new utility hookups,” he said. “My basic theory is that there must be more people at least equal to the number of utility hookups, especially since we haven’t torn that many down.”
He did not have any speculation about whether more births directly corresponded to increased permanent population.
Dr. Wayne Couch estimates that the growth in the number of births is related to the appearance of temporary workers. Many of the women he saw last year were associated with temporary workers. However, he expects the numbers seen in 2007 to taper off.
“Predicting the future is always impossible,” he said. “But my best guess tells me that (the births are) not going to go down. I’d expect to see about the same this year as in 2007. I think it’s elevated some and you’ll see those numbers remain steady throughout the next year and maybe for the next two to three years.”
Derragon raised the question of when residents are considered permanent and can therefore officially be incorporated in the county’s population. “If these workers are here for two or three years, is that still temporary?” He mentioned that the U.S. Census Bureau has strict regulations on when the switch from temporary to permanent resident occurs.
Dingman said she is unsure of how the temporary workers have affected births at the hospital.
She said overall inpatient numbers at the hospital have gone down, but she attributes that to insurance companies striving for more outpatient operations rather than population trends.
Staff at Couch’s clinic and at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County have not felt taxed with the increase in births. “We’ve worked to accommodate the increase in patients that need to be seen,” Couch said.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Births at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County increased 15 percent from 2006 to 2007, mirroring a similar increase nationwide.
Nursing manager Dawn Dingman said the hospital’s obstetrics department had a year-end tally of 136 births in 2007 compared to 118 the year before.
The growth seems to adhere to the report that the U.S. “seems to be experiencing a baby boomlet, reporting the largest number of children born in 45 years,” according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that Carbon County’s population dropped 2 percent between 2000 and 2006. According to the numbers recorded at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County for the same time span, births also decreased, at a similar rate of 4 percent.
The question remains as to whether the increased births may equal population growth in Carbon County.
When asked about the possible correlation, officials shrugged their shoulders. They identified with national demographers who say it is too soon to know if the increase is the start of a trend.
“We have to wait and see,” said Center for Disease Control and Prevention statistician Brady Hamilton. “For now, I would call it a noticeable blip.”
Wendy Thorvaldson, the hospital’s intensive care unit nursing manager, said “The numbers (in the obstetrics department) have grown and they’ve been really busy, but I can’t answer why.”
Rawlins City Manager Dave Derragon theorized that the county’s population is increasing, but for different reasons.
“In the last four to five years, (the city has installed) between 300 and 350 new utility hookups,” he said. “My basic theory is that there must be more people at least equal to the number of utility hookups, especially since we haven’t torn that many down.”
He did not have any speculation about whether more births directly corresponded to increased permanent population.
Dr. Wayne Couch estimates that the growth in the number of births is related to the appearance of temporary workers. Many of the women he saw last year were associated with temporary workers. However, he expects the numbers seen in 2007 to taper off.
“Predicting the future is always impossible,” he said. “But my best guess tells me that (the births are) not going to go down. I’d expect to see about the same this year as in 2007. I think it’s elevated some and you’ll see those numbers remain steady throughout the next year and maybe for the next two to three years.”
Derragon raised the question of when residents are considered permanent and can therefore officially be incorporated in the county’s population. “If these workers are here for two or three years, is that still temporary?” He mentioned that the U.S. Census Bureau has strict regulations on when the switch from temporary to permanent resident occurs.
Dingman said she is unsure of how the temporary workers have affected births at the hospital.
She said overall inpatient numbers at the hospital have gone down, but she attributes that to insurance companies striving for more outpatient operations rather than population trends.
Staff at Couch’s clinic and at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County have not felt taxed with the increase in births. “We’ve worked to accommodate the increase in patients that need to be seen,” Couch said.
HEM girls fight off Tigers
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff reporter
Encampment High School’s inside-shot strategy just wasn’t enough to split the Miners’ wall on Friday night as the Lady Tigers left the court with a 43-37 loss.
“We missed too many easy buckets,” Encampment coach Jami Krein said. “We came out aggressive in the first half, but in the second we didn’t play as hard and had too many unforced turnovers again.”
Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow stuck to what it knew and pounded the basket with outside shots. The Tigers were too tame to stop them. Amanda Booth scored 15 points and added seven steals. Jennifer Korkow netted 12 points and Penny Blauvelt added 13 rebounds and five assists for the Miners.
Encampment did push toward getting the second shots. Chelsea Knotwell took down seven boards, while teammate Jamie Marchetti had six. Mackenzie Rakness and Kindle Soderberg walked off with four each.
Teamwork paid off to earn the Tigers’ 37 points. Knotwell contributed 10, Marchetti had eight, and Shelby Wilder bucketed six. Rakness, Soderberg and Lacey Hooker walked away with four points each.
“It was a better game than we’ve played in a while,” Krein said. “Almost everybody put up some points for us.”
“It was great to go on the road and get a conference win,” Miner head coach Jackie Jones said.
Times staff reporter
Encampment High School’s inside-shot strategy just wasn’t enough to split the Miners’ wall on Friday night as the Lady Tigers left the court with a 43-37 loss.
“We missed too many easy buckets,” Encampment coach Jami Krein said. “We came out aggressive in the first half, but in the second we didn’t play as hard and had too many unforced turnovers again.”
Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow stuck to what it knew and pounded the basket with outside shots. The Tigers were too tame to stop them. Amanda Booth scored 15 points and added seven steals. Jennifer Korkow netted 12 points and Penny Blauvelt added 13 rebounds and five assists for the Miners.
Encampment did push toward getting the second shots. Chelsea Knotwell took down seven boards, while teammate Jamie Marchetti had six. Mackenzie Rakness and Kindle Soderberg walked off with four each.
Teamwork paid off to earn the Tigers’ 37 points. Knotwell contributed 10, Marchetti had eight, and Shelby Wilder bucketed six. Rakness, Soderberg and Lacey Hooker walked away with four points each.
“It was a better game than we’ve played in a while,” Krein said. “Almost everybody put up some points for us.”
“It was great to go on the road and get a conference win,” Miner head coach Jackie Jones said.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Miners and Tigers and hoops, oh my
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
At 4 p.m. on Friday, the gym at Encampment High School should be an exciting place as Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow goes head to head with the Tigers in both girls and boys basketball.
All four coaches representing the Tigers and the Miners anticipate strong competition.
Both girls coaches agree that the teams are evenly matched. Their teams have similar height, experience and records, so the coaches are expecting a good game. “It being a conference game always adds to the excitement and competition,” HEM coach Jackie Jones said.
The Miner girls are coming off a win on Tuesday over Chugwater, 48-42. Coach Jones got great performances from younger girls including Penny Blauvelt, Kayla Brown, Jennifer Korkow and Lexy Bayles. Blauvelt led the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Korkow contributed 14 points and Brown netted eight points. Jones said Bayles was “big off the bench,” playing aggressive defense and recording four steals.
Encampment coach Jami Krein expects the Miners to rely on outside shooting. “The game plan is to not allow them any open outside shots and really rebound hard defensively.” She plans to counteract HEM’s shooting with inside shots and offensive boards to get second attempts at the basket.
Krein also said HEM star Amanda Booth will be a strong force on the court. Additionally, she said her team’s “goal is to take care of the ball on offense. We’ve struggled with too many unforced turnovers in the last few games.” She is relying on her entire team to shoot for a win.
On the boys’ side, HEM coach Clif Jones said “Encampment is the favorite to win the conference.” They have been successful the past few years and have a lot of kids with a lot of experience, he said. “They are having a good season so far.”
Jones expects the Tigers to feature numerous defensive sets. “Really, they’re the complete package,” he said. However, he plans to send his team out to “play how they know how to play. They’ll run faster and shoot a lot.”
On the other hand, Encampment coach Clint Bromley expects a good show from Miner stars Matt Larson and Justin Palm. “If we can deal with those two, we think we can win the game. But those two guys are really tough.” Both players are 6 foot 5 inches tall.
“We definitely aren’t overlooking them at all,” Bromley said. “They’ve been playing really good as of late.”
Times staff writer
At 4 p.m. on Friday, the gym at Encampment High School should be an exciting place as Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow goes head to head with the Tigers in both girls and boys basketball.
All four coaches representing the Tigers and the Miners anticipate strong competition.
Both girls coaches agree that the teams are evenly matched. Their teams have similar height, experience and records, so the coaches are expecting a good game. “It being a conference game always adds to the excitement and competition,” HEM coach Jackie Jones said.
The Miner girls are coming off a win on Tuesday over Chugwater, 48-42. Coach Jones got great performances from younger girls including Penny Blauvelt, Kayla Brown, Jennifer Korkow and Lexy Bayles. Blauvelt led the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Korkow contributed 14 points and Brown netted eight points. Jones said Bayles was “big off the bench,” playing aggressive defense and recording four steals.
Encampment coach Jami Krein expects the Miners to rely on outside shooting. “The game plan is to not allow them any open outside shots and really rebound hard defensively.” She plans to counteract HEM’s shooting with inside shots and offensive boards to get second attempts at the basket.
Krein also said HEM star Amanda Booth will be a strong force on the court. Additionally, she said her team’s “goal is to take care of the ball on offense. We’ve struggled with too many unforced turnovers in the last few games.” She is relying on her entire team to shoot for a win.
On the boys’ side, HEM coach Clif Jones said “Encampment is the favorite to win the conference.” They have been successful the past few years and have a lot of kids with a lot of experience, he said. “They are having a good season so far.”
Jones expects the Tigers to feature numerous defensive sets. “Really, they’re the complete package,” he said. However, he plans to send his team out to “play how they know how to play. They’ll run faster and shoot a lot.”
On the other hand, Encampment coach Clint Bromley expects a good show from Miner stars Matt Larson and Justin Palm. “If we can deal with those two, we think we can win the game. But those two guys are really tough.” Both players are 6 foot 5 inches tall.
“We definitely aren’t overlooking them at all,” Bromley said. “They’ve been playing really good as of late.”
County, ranching are intertwined
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Rancher Colleen Stratton presented the past, present and future of Carbon County’s agricultural and ranching industries to attendees at Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County” lecture.
Carbon County Higher Education Center Director Dave Throgmorton introduced the lecture by summarizing the role of ranching in the lives of Carbon County residents. “Agriculture is not just an industry, it is a way of life,” Throgmorton said.
The lecture was primarily attended by members of the ranching community, he said. “It was a ranching audience and they were loving one of their own.”
Stratton presented an hour and a half of information that dated back to the days of the first settlers of European decent — fur trappers — in Carbon County in the 1800s and ended with future implications to ranching.
“I’m so impressed with the homework that Colleen did,” Throgmorton said. “If that wasn’t a 30- or 40-hour job, I don’t know what was.”
She provided anecdotes to her facts with vignettes about specific ranch families, including her own.
According to Stratton, the Union Pacific railroad played a large part in the growth of agriculture and ranching in the West. The trains provided transport for sheep and cattle. They also carried west the population that would become modern-day ranchers.
“Ranchers then weren’t anything like the ranchers of today,” Stratton said.
The travelers, who originally headed west for the California gold rush, instead found themselves in Wyoming to run trading posts to supply goods to other folks on their westward journey.
Later, ranchers would come directly from Europe, the heritage from which Stratton herself descends. They were often poor and would work for shares of sheep, which eventually gave them the opportunity to go into business for themselves.
These early trade post managers began gathering wild horses and longhorn cattle that roamed the open land, Stratton said. She said the early ranch animals were released from Hernando Cortez’s conquistador party in Mexico. Grazing patterns brought them to Wyoming.
Cattle kicked off Wyoming’s ranching industry, but when sheep arrived 10 years later with the Mormons, Stratton said, it became more prominent, lasting through the 1950s. Sheep ranching then began to consistently decline while cattle ranching was on the rise.
Stratton indicated that as the industry grew, the reins tightened on thievery and poor herd management. Both practices simultaneously allowed some settlers to get started in ranching, but plagued the ranchers already in business.
Additionally, Stratton indicated that the rancher-railroad partnership grew in a different direction as track managers began to sell land to ranchers. The land often positioned them to continue to ship their livestock via the railroad.
Land regulation agencies appeared as the original draws of Wyoming agriculture — free water and free land — dwindled. Branding, counting, trailing regulations and fencing regulations all became common practice. Additionally, ranchers began paying fees to use grazing lands.
At this time, cattle feed transitioned from grass grazing to stationary feeding with hay, Stratton said. Cowboys stopped going home in the winters and instead stayed on the ranches to work with the hay.
A more recent trend in ranching is the reduced slaughter age for cattle, Stratton said. Slaughtering currently occurs at 18 months, while historically, the cows were slaughtered at 3 to 4 years of age. Stratton speculated that the nomadic nature of the ranching industry up to the early 1900s forced ranchers to take longer to fatten their cows after trailing them between winter and summer locations.
Stratton finished by raising questions about the future of ranching. She recently held a poll of fellow ranchers about their future in the business. Even with the obstacles they face, she said, they agreed that ranching in Carbon County should stay strong for years to come.
Throgmorton felt that most of those attending the lecture are already experts in the industry, “they learned some facts, odds and ends that they didn't know before.”
“And I always get a kick out of that, when you get a room full of experts and you can teach them something they don’t know about.”
Future Concerns
Colleen Stratton outlined five specific areas of concern to the future of Carbon County agriculture:
• Land disturbance due to oil, gas and methane well access roads. Drilling reduces acreage available for ranching and dust blown off these sites affects grazing.
• The sage grouse teeters on the edge of appearing on the endangered species list, which would cause state and national limitations on the use of land for ranching purposes.
• Recurring droughts force ranchers to sell herds and buy hay, forcing little profit and damaging business. Additionally, water calls exercised for endangered species in Nebraska often further damage a rancher’s access to water.
• Governmental reallocation of corn for the production of ethanol for fuel purposes increases feed costs. As the abundance of corn crops increase, wheat production goes down, which affects grocery prices.
• Higher paying jobs elsewhere in the state and region prevent family members from returning to work on the ranch. Additionally, the increased cost of land and the nearly 50 percent consolidation of family ranches since the 1940s has changed the landscape of the industry.
Times staff writer
Rancher Colleen Stratton presented the past, present and future of Carbon County’s agricultural and ranching industries to attendees at Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County” lecture.
Carbon County Higher Education Center Director Dave Throgmorton introduced the lecture by summarizing the role of ranching in the lives of Carbon County residents. “Agriculture is not just an industry, it is a way of life,” Throgmorton said.
The lecture was primarily attended by members of the ranching community, he said. “It was a ranching audience and they were loving one of their own.”
Stratton presented an hour and a half of information that dated back to the days of the first settlers of European decent — fur trappers — in Carbon County in the 1800s and ended with future implications to ranching.
“I’m so impressed with the homework that Colleen did,” Throgmorton said. “If that wasn’t a 30- or 40-hour job, I don’t know what was.”
She provided anecdotes to her facts with vignettes about specific ranch families, including her own.
According to Stratton, the Union Pacific railroad played a large part in the growth of agriculture and ranching in the West. The trains provided transport for sheep and cattle. They also carried west the population that would become modern-day ranchers.
“Ranchers then weren’t anything like the ranchers of today,” Stratton said.
The travelers, who originally headed west for the California gold rush, instead found themselves in Wyoming to run trading posts to supply goods to other folks on their westward journey.
Later, ranchers would come directly from Europe, the heritage from which Stratton herself descends. They were often poor and would work for shares of sheep, which eventually gave them the opportunity to go into business for themselves.
These early trade post managers began gathering wild horses and longhorn cattle that roamed the open land, Stratton said. She said the early ranch animals were released from Hernando Cortez’s conquistador party in Mexico. Grazing patterns brought them to Wyoming.
Cattle kicked off Wyoming’s ranching industry, but when sheep arrived 10 years later with the Mormons, Stratton said, it became more prominent, lasting through the 1950s. Sheep ranching then began to consistently decline while cattle ranching was on the rise.
Stratton indicated that as the industry grew, the reins tightened on thievery and poor herd management. Both practices simultaneously allowed some settlers to get started in ranching, but plagued the ranchers already in business.
Additionally, Stratton indicated that the rancher-railroad partnership grew in a different direction as track managers began to sell land to ranchers. The land often positioned them to continue to ship their livestock via the railroad.
Land regulation agencies appeared as the original draws of Wyoming agriculture — free water and free land — dwindled. Branding, counting, trailing regulations and fencing regulations all became common practice. Additionally, ranchers began paying fees to use grazing lands.
At this time, cattle feed transitioned from grass grazing to stationary feeding with hay, Stratton said. Cowboys stopped going home in the winters and instead stayed on the ranches to work with the hay.
A more recent trend in ranching is the reduced slaughter age for cattle, Stratton said. Slaughtering currently occurs at 18 months, while historically, the cows were slaughtered at 3 to 4 years of age. Stratton speculated that the nomadic nature of the ranching industry up to the early 1900s forced ranchers to take longer to fatten their cows after trailing them between winter and summer locations.
Stratton finished by raising questions about the future of ranching. She recently held a poll of fellow ranchers about their future in the business. Even with the obstacles they face, she said, they agreed that ranching in Carbon County should stay strong for years to come.
Throgmorton felt that most of those attending the lecture are already experts in the industry, “they learned some facts, odds and ends that they didn't know before.”
“And I always get a kick out of that, when you get a room full of experts and you can teach them something they don’t know about.”
Future Concerns
Colleen Stratton outlined five specific areas of concern to the future of Carbon County agriculture:
• Land disturbance due to oil, gas and methane well access roads. Drilling reduces acreage available for ranching and dust blown off these sites affects grazing.
• The sage grouse teeters on the edge of appearing on the endangered species list, which would cause state and national limitations on the use of land for ranching purposes.
• Recurring droughts force ranchers to sell herds and buy hay, forcing little profit and damaging business. Additionally, water calls exercised for endangered species in Nebraska often further damage a rancher’s access to water.
• Governmental reallocation of corn for the production of ethanol for fuel purposes increases feed costs. As the abundance of corn crops increase, wheat production goes down, which affects grocery prices.
• Higher paying jobs elsewhere in the state and region prevent family members from returning to work on the ranch. Additionally, the increased cost of land and the nearly 50 percent consolidation of family ranches since the 1940s has changed the landscape of the industry.
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