By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Rawlins is to Wyoming as the wheel is to your pickup.
Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: The Legacies of Carbon County” lecture should show that, at least in so far as the prison relates to the big picture. The lecture, dubbed “Prisons and Lawmen of Carbon County,” should be held at CCHEC’s main campus on Rodeo Street at 7 p.m.
Tina Hill, director of the Old Pen, and Duane Shillinger, former Wyoming State Penitentiary warden, plan to lay out the rich history of how Rawlins came to be the seat of the state prison and what happened behind its walls once it was established.
“Rawlins has the reputation in the state as being a prison town, when in fact that is not the case,” Carbon County Higher Education Center Director Dave Throgmorton said. Pointing out that each state has its institutional needs and different cities that host them, he said “Rawlins particular work here is a bit grittier. We’re graciously providing a service to the state.”
Manifest destiny is a buzz word for Shillinger, who believes much of the events in pre-territorial and territorial Wyoming hinged on the free spirit fostered by the philosophy. Manifest destiny was thought up by an East Coast journalist named John L. O’Sullivan and is generally defined as the belief that the United States was destined to span “from sea to shining sea,” by having both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans as its borders. Over time, and particularly with the tidal wave of Americans flowing west, it fostered a sense of freedom for conquest and became the justification for many heinous acts.
American Indians were slaughtered, as were a massive number of wild animals. According to Shillinger, pioneers believed their actions were protected by the idea of manifest destiny. The wild West was wild indeed, as prostitution sprang up alongside alcoholism, theft, fighting and killing.
Shillinger should expand on the Wyoming territory’s early years, illustrating what law enforcement was up against and its efforts to combat the surge of crime. In particular, he should hone in on the evolution of the prisons and law enforcement. He plans to focus on Carbon County, but “you can’t look at Carbon County without looking at the rest of the territory,” he said.
Hill should complement Shillinger’s presentation with anecdotes of particular law enforcement officials and notorious criminals who passed through the area. Between the two, the importance of Rawlins as the home of corrections should be reflected.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Film tour planned
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
From the highest mountain passes in the world to ice caverns deep within the earth’s crust, the stories of exploration, adventure and exotic lifestyles come to the screen in the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, scheduled to hit Laramie on Saturday and Sunday.
One man tightropes high above the red earth, practicing his rock climbing balance. A team of snowkiters slide like an above-ground school of fish across the glass of a frozen lake. A woman pauses high atop a Norwegian fjord, taking one last breath before taking a running jump. A badger rolls over in his burrow, waving away the bright camera lights. Skiers explain their respect for the mountain and for the cultures they cross. These are examples of what could appear on screen.
As one of the most widely recognized events of its kind, the Banff festival is held throughout 10 days in Banff, Canada, showing upwards of 60 films along with other events including a book festival. “It is one of the first,” film festivals centered around mountain activities, said Jill Sawyer, media and communications officer at The Banff Center in Banff, Canada. “But there are now many around the world.”
After the festival, which is held in late October, the world tour staff makes a selection of the most well-received films, the award-winners and a handful of others that ensure variety in the presentation. This collection immediately hits the road.
“It will be a collection of high-action, high-energy films,” said Dan McCoy, coordinator of the University of Wyoming outdoor adventure program. He plans to show the award-winners and choose shorter cultural and environmental films to create variety. The university is one of two Wyoming locations to show the film. The other is in Jackson. UW is in its ninth year of hosting the event.
The event should be held in the arts and sciences building auditorium. Seating begins at 6 p.m. both nights and show time is at 7. The event is free and open to the public, but seats are limited.
Times staff writer
From the highest mountain passes in the world to ice caverns deep within the earth’s crust, the stories of exploration, adventure and exotic lifestyles come to the screen in the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, scheduled to hit Laramie on Saturday and Sunday.
One man tightropes high above the red earth, practicing his rock climbing balance. A team of snowkiters slide like an above-ground school of fish across the glass of a frozen lake. A woman pauses high atop a Norwegian fjord, taking one last breath before taking a running jump. A badger rolls over in his burrow, waving away the bright camera lights. Skiers explain their respect for the mountain and for the cultures they cross. These are examples of what could appear on screen.
As one of the most widely recognized events of its kind, the Banff festival is held throughout 10 days in Banff, Canada, showing upwards of 60 films along with other events including a book festival. “It is one of the first,” film festivals centered around mountain activities, said Jill Sawyer, media and communications officer at The Banff Center in Banff, Canada. “But there are now many around the world.”
After the festival, which is held in late October, the world tour staff makes a selection of the most well-received films, the award-winners and a handful of others that ensure variety in the presentation. This collection immediately hits the road.
“It will be a collection of high-action, high-energy films,” said Dan McCoy, coordinator of the University of Wyoming outdoor adventure program. He plans to show the award-winners and choose shorter cultural and environmental films to create variety. The university is one of two Wyoming locations to show the film. The other is in Jackson. UW is in its ninth year of hosting the event.
The event should be held in the arts and sciences building auditorium. Seating begins at 6 p.m. both nights and show time is at 7. The event is free and open to the public, but seats are limited.
SMART boards are parting gift
Times staff report
SMART boards are the parting gift of Carbon County School District 1’s Director of Technology Marc Stauffer.
As the man versed in business technology steps down after three years of building District 1’s hardware and software infrastructure, he hopes his efforts will last for the next five or 10 years.
As part of the overall plan, district officials purchased 12 SMART boards at the beginning of this school year, Stauffer said. They are white boards that connect to a computer, making them interactive. “It gets students interested in learning,” he said. The plan is to purchase 15 more this summer, and the new elementary schools should come equipped with them.
Teachers can use SMART boards the same way they would use a black board, but it also doubles as a projector for movies or a screen for Internet browsing. Teachers can even design quizzes to appear like a game show on screen and students can press buttons for the correct answers.
Students and teachers benefit from this type of learning, Stauffer said. Students are attracted to it because it tends to mirror their after-school activities. When teachers use certain SMART board capabilities, they can get instant statistical feedback on their students’ progress. For instance, 50 percent of the students answer a question wrong in the quiz. The teacher sees this and can ask why that particular question might pose a problem.
Stauffer’s technology plan has two components: reliable technology and teachers who are capable of using and teaching it. The update was necessary in order to match the district’s capabilities with state and federal standards. Stauffer said the hardware update, which goes far beyond SMART boards, is nearly complete and is designed to support itself for at least five years.
The second part should be turned over to Duane DeWald, manager for grants and data analysis for the district, who will use surveys to try to assess what teachers need in terms of technology training. Curriculum developers then try to close the gap.
SMART boards are the parting gift of Carbon County School District 1’s Director of Technology Marc Stauffer.
As the man versed in business technology steps down after three years of building District 1’s hardware and software infrastructure, he hopes his efforts will last for the next five or 10 years.
As part of the overall plan, district officials purchased 12 SMART boards at the beginning of this school year, Stauffer said. They are white boards that connect to a computer, making them interactive. “It gets students interested in learning,” he said. The plan is to purchase 15 more this summer, and the new elementary schools should come equipped with them.
Teachers can use SMART boards the same way they would use a black board, but it also doubles as a projector for movies or a screen for Internet browsing. Teachers can even design quizzes to appear like a game show on screen and students can press buttons for the correct answers.
Students and teachers benefit from this type of learning, Stauffer said. Students are attracted to it because it tends to mirror their after-school activities. When teachers use certain SMART board capabilities, they can get instant statistical feedback on their students’ progress. For instance, 50 percent of the students answer a question wrong in the quiz. The teacher sees this and can ask why that particular question might pose a problem.
Stauffer’s technology plan has two components: reliable technology and teachers who are capable of using and teaching it. The update was necessary in order to match the district’s capabilities with state and federal standards. Stauffer said the hardware update, which goes far beyond SMART boards, is nearly complete and is designed to support itself for at least five years.
The second part should be turned over to Duane DeWald, manager for grants and data analysis for the district, who will use surveys to try to assess what teachers need in terms of technology training. Curriculum developers then try to close the gap.
Panthers win first round
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
It’s been a long haul for the Saratoga High School boys basketball team this last month, but practice made perfect as the Panthers took one more step toward the regional title on Thursday.
The Panthers beat Normative Services 88-59 in Torrington during the first round of the 1A east regional tournament.
However, it wasn’t all a cakewalk. Thursday’s game was a challenge only because Saratoga made it one. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was an overwhelming desire to do well or maybe it was a lack of focus, but the Panthers made too many turnovers, Saratoga coach Rex Hohnholt said.
The Panthers need to sharpen their minds and bodies as they go into Friday’s 5:30 p.m. game against Midwest. Saratoga’s tallest player stands at 6 foot 2 inches tall, 8 inches shorter than one of Midwest’s posts and six inches shorter than the other.
“It’ll be defense by committee, not individually,” Hohnholt said. “We’ll do the job.”
Midwest has speed, but relies mainly on planting the two redwoods at the base of the net. The plan is to try to make Midwest play defense as much as possible and keep the ball away from its end of the court.
Times staff writer
It’s been a long haul for the Saratoga High School boys basketball team this last month, but practice made perfect as the Panthers took one more step toward the regional title on Thursday.
The Panthers beat Normative Services 88-59 in Torrington during the first round of the 1A east regional tournament.
However, it wasn’t all a cakewalk. Thursday’s game was a challenge only because Saratoga made it one. Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was an overwhelming desire to do well or maybe it was a lack of focus, but the Panthers made too many turnovers, Saratoga coach Rex Hohnholt said.
The Panthers need to sharpen their minds and bodies as they go into Friday’s 5:30 p.m. game against Midwest. Saratoga’s tallest player stands at 6 foot 2 inches tall, 8 inches shorter than one of Midwest’s posts and six inches shorter than the other.
“It’ll be defense by committee, not individually,” Hohnholt said. “We’ll do the job.”
Midwest has speed, but relies mainly on planting the two redwoods at the base of the net. The plan is to try to make Midwest play defense as much as possible and keep the ball away from its end of the court.
Surveys to show the way
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
When Carbon County School District 1 Associate Superintendent Neil Terhune takes on the superintendent role in July, he wants to know where the school sits in its goals for creating an educational environment, where it is headed and how everybody feels about it.
Toward this end, the district is in the midst of a series of surveys to establish a panorama of viewpoints. In three phases, the district’s manager for grants and data analysis Duane DeWald is surveying parents, teachers and administrators, and students.
“We want to get a picture from all sides,” DeWald said. He is issuing, tracking and analyzing the data from the surveys. “Parents, teachers and students is our 360 degree evaluation,” he said.
In October 2007, the district kicked off the survey series with phase one, directed toward parents. Phase three, to be issued in March, should incorporate student input on how they view their participation in education.
Currently in phase two, DeWald has teachers and administrators taking three surveys. The set is designed to provide insight into the effectiveness of educational measures, the integration of technology in education and quality of life for teachers.
The first teacher survey is Robert Marzano’s “What Works in Schools” survey. DeWald presented its results at last Thursday’s school board meeting. According to his findings, District 1 teachers and administrators often have different opinions about teaching methods that work. These, DeWald said, are areas for improvement. But the survey also shows marked success in areas that were already targeted for improvement.
Marzano’s survey is based on 35 years of educational research. This is one of the reasons it was chosen. Since the district is currently using Marzano’s theories of how students learn to better design its curriculum, it makes sense to use surveys that relate.
“We want to use surveys that are well-measured and accurate,” DeWald said. “And we need to know the results are applicable.”
The last of the three teacher surveys should finish on Friday. DeWald plans to analyze the data and present his findings to school board members in March. The board members should see the “quality of teacher work life survey” on March 13 and the “level of technology integration survey” on March 27.
After DeWald finishes gathering data, the information should fall into the hands of each school’s development teams so they can design plans for correcting problem areas.
Times staff writer
When Carbon County School District 1 Associate Superintendent Neil Terhune takes on the superintendent role in July, he wants to know where the school sits in its goals for creating an educational environment, where it is headed and how everybody feels about it.
Toward this end, the district is in the midst of a series of surveys to establish a panorama of viewpoints. In three phases, the district’s manager for grants and data analysis Duane DeWald is surveying parents, teachers and administrators, and students.
“We want to get a picture from all sides,” DeWald said. He is issuing, tracking and analyzing the data from the surveys. “Parents, teachers and students is our 360 degree evaluation,” he said.
In October 2007, the district kicked off the survey series with phase one, directed toward parents. Phase three, to be issued in March, should incorporate student input on how they view their participation in education.
Currently in phase two, DeWald has teachers and administrators taking three surveys. The set is designed to provide insight into the effectiveness of educational measures, the integration of technology in education and quality of life for teachers.
The first teacher survey is Robert Marzano’s “What Works in Schools” survey. DeWald presented its results at last Thursday’s school board meeting. According to his findings, District 1 teachers and administrators often have different opinions about teaching methods that work. These, DeWald said, are areas for improvement. But the survey also shows marked success in areas that were already targeted for improvement.
Marzano’s survey is based on 35 years of educational research. This is one of the reasons it was chosen. Since the district is currently using Marzano’s theories of how students learn to better design its curriculum, it makes sense to use surveys that relate.
“We want to use surveys that are well-measured and accurate,” DeWald said. “And we need to know the results are applicable.”
The last of the three teacher surveys should finish on Friday. DeWald plans to analyze the data and present his findings to school board members in March. The board members should see the “quality of teacher work life survey” on March 13 and the “level of technology integration survey” on March 27.
After DeWald finishes gathering data, the information should fall into the hands of each school’s development teams so they can design plans for correcting problem areas.
Saratoga can't take a step forward
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
The Lady Panthers were still shaking off the dust Thursday night after their time off, and it cost them a forward step in the regional tournament.
Losing 52-38 to Hulett in Torrington, the Saratoga High School girls basketball team seemed to not see each other on the court, coach Amy Davis said. They played tough defense, but were slightly outmatched in size. The girls also turned the ball over a few too many times.
“(Hulett) didn’t beat us as much as we beat ourselves,” Davis said. “It just means we have to play more games to get to state. The girls seem to like to take the hard way.”
Channing Love was the high scorer with nine points, followed close behind by Allison Young and Kelsey Jones, who bucketed seven each. Other contributors were Katie Clegg, Brooke Forster and Chelsea Collver.
Facing Upton on Friday at 10 a.m., the Panthers should face great outside shooting from a team that plays up close and personal. They are smaller girls, according to Davis, but play a tough game. “(The Saratoga girls) will have to come with an offense,” she said.
Times staff writer
The Lady Panthers were still shaking off the dust Thursday night after their time off, and it cost them a forward step in the regional tournament.
Losing 52-38 to Hulett in Torrington, the Saratoga High School girls basketball team seemed to not see each other on the court, coach Amy Davis said. They played tough defense, but were slightly outmatched in size. The girls also turned the ball over a few too many times.
“(Hulett) didn’t beat us as much as we beat ourselves,” Davis said. “It just means we have to play more games to get to state. The girls seem to like to take the hard way.”
Channing Love was the high scorer with nine points, followed close behind by Allison Young and Kelsey Jones, who bucketed seven each. Other contributors were Katie Clegg, Brooke Forster and Chelsea Collver.
Facing Upton on Friday at 10 a.m., the Panthers should face great outside shooting from a team that plays up close and personal. They are smaller girls, according to Davis, but play a tough game. “(The Saratoga girls) will have to come with an offense,” she said.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Hospital removes asbestos
This one was a front pager. AND my first to get picked up by the Wyoming AP!
(the top blurb is the AP rendering. the bottom part is what appeared in our paper)
Workers remove asbestos from Rawlins hospital
Eds: APNewsNow.
RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) — Asbestos is being removed from Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
Hospital administrators are closing four rooms at a time to perform the work.
The asbestos removal is part of larger renovations that started in November to help the hospital in Rawlins save on utility costs.
Work has included an overhaul of lighting fixtures and the installation of tinted film on windows.
———
Information from: Rawlins Daily Times
• Asbestos abatement is part of the hospital’s energy savings project.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Hunched over her microscope, Susan Annon was in the midst of evaluating whether it would be safe to re-enter the four closed rooms in the east wing of Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s second floor on Wednesday.
As asbestos is removed, hospital administrators are closing four rooms at a time to perform the precise, dangerous work. The abatement is part of larger renovations that started in November, an endeavor deemed the energy savings project.
The first two stages of the project are complete. One stage included an overhaul of the lighting fixtures that made them more energy efficient. A slightly tinted film was also installed over all the windows to control the temperature in the building. The final stage is to install new heating and air conditioning ductwork, but the project is currently held up in state department offices, awaiting approval. Once approved, the installation should take 20 weeks.
Joe Jones, the consultant overseeing the work, has his hands full with asbestos right now. Several years ago, he did a study on the presence of asbestos in the building and knew it was there. “It’s not harmful unless disturbed,” he said. The ductwork scheduled to take place will go through the asbestos areas, so it needed to be removed.
Jones sought the help of two firms to perform the project. Casper-based Enviro Engineering is doing the actual labor while Annon, an industrial hygienist for Century Environmental Hygiene in Colorado, is checking the progress. By monitoring the air inside and outside the four-room containment areas, she ensures the safety of the hospital’s air.
“We will do nothing to endanger human health and the environment,” Jones said. As the project consultant, he is there as a liaison between the hospital and the contracting companies. His job is to see that everyone’s needs are met, particularly the needs of the hospital in terms of both its business and its patient care.
“The project is extremely clean,” Jones said as he walked into the plastic-shrouded containment area after being informed that the air inside was safe.
“We can’t shut the hospital down,” he said, “so we have to work around it.” Inside the rooms, the walls were covered in thick plastic secured with heavy duty tape. The plastic is pulled inward by a negative air machine. “This machine sucks 99.9 percent of the air out of this room,” Jones said. “No air escapes from these rooms into the hospital.”
The abatement of the four rooms took approximately two days between preparation, removal and cleaning. Even though the plastic was scrubbed clean, Jones said it would be thrown away with the old ceiling tiles that were dressed in paper-like asbestos film to provide fire-proof safety.
(the top blurb is the AP rendering. the bottom part is what appeared in our paper)
Workers remove asbestos from Rawlins hospital
Eds: APNewsNow.
RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) — Asbestos is being removed from Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
Hospital administrators are closing four rooms at a time to perform the work.
The asbestos removal is part of larger renovations that started in November to help the hospital in Rawlins save on utility costs.
Work has included an overhaul of lighting fixtures and the installation of tinted film on windows.
———
Information from: Rawlins Daily Times
• Asbestos abatement is part of the hospital’s energy savings project.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Hunched over her microscope, Susan Annon was in the midst of evaluating whether it would be safe to re-enter the four closed rooms in the east wing of Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s second floor on Wednesday.
As asbestos is removed, hospital administrators are closing four rooms at a time to perform the precise, dangerous work. The abatement is part of larger renovations that started in November, an endeavor deemed the energy savings project.
The first two stages of the project are complete. One stage included an overhaul of the lighting fixtures that made them more energy efficient. A slightly tinted film was also installed over all the windows to control the temperature in the building. The final stage is to install new heating and air conditioning ductwork, but the project is currently held up in state department offices, awaiting approval. Once approved, the installation should take 20 weeks.
Joe Jones, the consultant overseeing the work, has his hands full with asbestos right now. Several years ago, he did a study on the presence of asbestos in the building and knew it was there. “It’s not harmful unless disturbed,” he said. The ductwork scheduled to take place will go through the asbestos areas, so it needed to be removed.
Jones sought the help of two firms to perform the project. Casper-based Enviro Engineering is doing the actual labor while Annon, an industrial hygienist for Century Environmental Hygiene in Colorado, is checking the progress. By monitoring the air inside and outside the four-room containment areas, she ensures the safety of the hospital’s air.
“We will do nothing to endanger human health and the environment,” Jones said. As the project consultant, he is there as a liaison between the hospital and the contracting companies. His job is to see that everyone’s needs are met, particularly the needs of the hospital in terms of both its business and its patient care.
“The project is extremely clean,” Jones said as he walked into the plastic-shrouded containment area after being informed that the air inside was safe.
“We can’t shut the hospital down,” he said, “so we have to work around it.” Inside the rooms, the walls were covered in thick plastic secured with heavy duty tape. The plastic is pulled inward by a negative air machine. “This machine sucks 99.9 percent of the air out of this room,” Jones said. “No air escapes from these rooms into the hospital.”
The abatement of the four rooms took approximately two days between preparation, removal and cleaning. Even though the plastic was scrubbed clean, Jones said it would be thrown away with the old ceiling tiles that were dressed in paper-like asbestos film to provide fire-proof safety.
Carbon City was a hoot
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
It was hazardous and unhealthy, yet raucously fun, to be working and living in Carbon City and its mines in the 1860s.
“It was an active community,” Nancy Anderson, an authority on the history of eastern Carbon County towns, said during Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County” lecture. She outlined and provided anecdotes for the extensive history of a population growing roots in the West, first in Carbon City and then moving with the Union Pacific Railroad on to greener pastures in Hanna.
“They bet on everything,” she said. Horse racing, pigeon shooting, wrestling — the miners and their families watched as well as participated in the events.
There was also music. Carbon City had its own Carbon Boys Band, a group that practiced on combs before their instruments arrived by train.
There still exists a program from the 1888 Fourth of July function, which Anderson said is full of activities for children and adults. Strawberry festivals, opera house events and general jokesters in the community made that blip on the new frontier an amusing place to be.
One jokester in Carbon City made himself particularly memorable. Coffee Johnson was a Swedish traveler who owned a store called General Merchandise, which, according to Anderson, was a favorite among children.
“We was learning a lot right there in Carbon,” wrote Mont Hawthorne in his autobiography, “Them was the Days.” “At night, I’d go to his store and stand and look at the bottle of water from the Dead Sea, the sand from the Sahara, the bullets from Gettysburg, the lion skin from Africa, and the eight-legged lamb that was growed here in Wyoming.”
How much of his collection actually existed isn’t know, particularly since the autobiography was written late in Hawthorne’s life. Anderson thought it might be possible that some of it existed. She pointed out that when Johnson’s coin collection was stolen and taken to Denmark, the newspapers recorded his endeavors to travel to the European nation to recover it.
Johnson was also photographed throwing a welcome home party with parrots and sombreros from the West Indies. “You know, I always take my sources for what their worth. Even if they’re perceptions, that’s just as real as anything,” Anderson said of Hawthorne’s account of Johnson.
Thomas Henry Butler was another fellow who made life interesting in 19th century Carbon City. As an 11-year-old boy, he started working in the mines and went through all the steps to earn the title of general superintendent of the Union Pacific coal mines. As such a hard worker, Butler earned respect in the community.
Despite his hard exterior, Anderson said, Butler did have a prankster side. He rode in a town parade on a white horse with a bowler hat mechanized to tip side to side, making onlookers giggle with delight.
Carbon City had its entertainers, but it also had its hazards. A community that built wherever it could to extract the coal necessary to fuel the railroad, the town did not have the most ideal planning.
Walking, the primary mode of travel, led some to get caught in the railroad tracks. Others were caught in a surprise spring storm and froze to death. Some drowned, others were victims of accidental shootings. Some were dragged by horses to their deaths.
Diphtheria and typhoid took many children, as is shown by a mass of graves atop the still existing cemetery at the Carbon City site.
The mines also proved dangerous. While there were few explosions, deaths occurred by falling rocks or coal, where entire roofs would collapse on the miners.
A visitor to Carbon City today would note that nothing substantial stands at the site except for the cemetery. “It is very quiet there,” Anderson said.
The railroad altered its tracks to Hanna in the early 20th century to capitalize on better coal. Many of the buildings of Carbon City were moved to Hanna and others were recycled for materials.
There still exists evidence of dugout homes built in the early settling days when workers had to be creative with their abodes. Some stone walls remain.
The elevated spot where the railroad track used to lay is marked by black cinders. Otherwise, there is little to no evidence that Carbon City was once a thriving mining town, chock full of settlers of every nationality, personality and mentality.
Times staff writer
It was hazardous and unhealthy, yet raucously fun, to be working and living in Carbon City and its mines in the 1860s.
“It was an active community,” Nancy Anderson, an authority on the history of eastern Carbon County towns, said during Tuesday’s “The Power of Place: Legacies of Carbon County” lecture. She outlined and provided anecdotes for the extensive history of a population growing roots in the West, first in Carbon City and then moving with the Union Pacific Railroad on to greener pastures in Hanna.
“They bet on everything,” she said. Horse racing, pigeon shooting, wrestling — the miners and their families watched as well as participated in the events.
There was also music. Carbon City had its own Carbon Boys Band, a group that practiced on combs before their instruments arrived by train.
There still exists a program from the 1888 Fourth of July function, which Anderson said is full of activities for children and adults. Strawberry festivals, opera house events and general jokesters in the community made that blip on the new frontier an amusing place to be.
One jokester in Carbon City made himself particularly memorable. Coffee Johnson was a Swedish traveler who owned a store called General Merchandise, which, according to Anderson, was a favorite among children.
“We was learning a lot right there in Carbon,” wrote Mont Hawthorne in his autobiography, “Them was the Days.” “At night, I’d go to his store and stand and look at the bottle of water from the Dead Sea, the sand from the Sahara, the bullets from Gettysburg, the lion skin from Africa, and the eight-legged lamb that was growed here in Wyoming.”
How much of his collection actually existed isn’t know, particularly since the autobiography was written late in Hawthorne’s life. Anderson thought it might be possible that some of it existed. She pointed out that when Johnson’s coin collection was stolen and taken to Denmark, the newspapers recorded his endeavors to travel to the European nation to recover it.
Johnson was also photographed throwing a welcome home party with parrots and sombreros from the West Indies. “You know, I always take my sources for what their worth. Even if they’re perceptions, that’s just as real as anything,” Anderson said of Hawthorne’s account of Johnson.
Thomas Henry Butler was another fellow who made life interesting in 19th century Carbon City. As an 11-year-old boy, he started working in the mines and went through all the steps to earn the title of general superintendent of the Union Pacific coal mines. As such a hard worker, Butler earned respect in the community.
Despite his hard exterior, Anderson said, Butler did have a prankster side. He rode in a town parade on a white horse with a bowler hat mechanized to tip side to side, making onlookers giggle with delight.
Carbon City had its entertainers, but it also had its hazards. A community that built wherever it could to extract the coal necessary to fuel the railroad, the town did not have the most ideal planning.
Walking, the primary mode of travel, led some to get caught in the railroad tracks. Others were caught in a surprise spring storm and froze to death. Some drowned, others were victims of accidental shootings. Some were dragged by horses to their deaths.
Diphtheria and typhoid took many children, as is shown by a mass of graves atop the still existing cemetery at the Carbon City site.
The mines also proved dangerous. While there were few explosions, deaths occurred by falling rocks or coal, where entire roofs would collapse on the miners.
A visitor to Carbon City today would note that nothing substantial stands at the site except for the cemetery. “It is very quiet there,” Anderson said.
The railroad altered its tracks to Hanna in the early 20th century to capitalize on better coal. Many of the buildings of Carbon City were moved to Hanna and others were recycled for materials.
There still exists evidence of dugout homes built in the early settling days when workers had to be creative with their abodes. Some stone walls remain.
The elevated spot where the railroad track used to lay is marked by black cinders. Otherwise, there is little to no evidence that Carbon City was once a thriving mining town, chock full of settlers of every nationality, personality and mentality.
District eyes Suburbans
Times staff report
Carbon County School District 2 officials hope to buy three new Chevrolet Suburbans to drive students throughout the district.
Board members approved the purchase during a Tuesday meeting and said the funds should come from the district’s five-year transportation budget. Old vehicles should be used by staff. Suburbans are used because of their capacity and four-wheel drive, District 2 Superintendent Bob Gates said.
Board members agreed to request bids for the asbestos abatement and demolition of both Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow elementary schools. Bids are scheduled to be read in early April. A bid should be awarded at the board’s mid-April meeting.
The asbestos abatement should be completed in May and demolition should be done in June. However, Medicine Bow Elementary School’s timeline hinges on other agreements and could change.
While the board approved a letter of understanding for a land trade between the school district, the town of Medicine Bow and the School Facilities Commission at its meeting, the town must publicly post an intention of land trade prior to holding a public hearing. At the hearing, the town can agree to the trade or reject it.
In other action, Gates reported that enrollment was up by six students from December 2007 to January 2008. He also reported that the bid for the Saratoga track project’s bleachers was awarded to DGJD.
The District 2 home schooling policy was approved with slight revisions to make it match the state’s policy more closely. The board also approved the home school application submitted by David Deegan for the education of David, Moriah and Joshua Deegan.
Carbon County School District 2 officials hope to buy three new Chevrolet Suburbans to drive students throughout the district.
Board members approved the purchase during a Tuesday meeting and said the funds should come from the district’s five-year transportation budget. Old vehicles should be used by staff. Suburbans are used because of their capacity and four-wheel drive, District 2 Superintendent Bob Gates said.
Board members agreed to request bids for the asbestos abatement and demolition of both Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow elementary schools. Bids are scheduled to be read in early April. A bid should be awarded at the board’s mid-April meeting.
The asbestos abatement should be completed in May and demolition should be done in June. However, Medicine Bow Elementary School’s timeline hinges on other agreements and could change.
While the board approved a letter of understanding for a land trade between the school district, the town of Medicine Bow and the School Facilities Commission at its meeting, the town must publicly post an intention of land trade prior to holding a public hearing. At the hearing, the town can agree to the trade or reject it.
In other action, Gates reported that enrollment was up by six students from December 2007 to January 2008. He also reported that the bid for the Saratoga track project’s bleachers was awarded to DGJD.
The District 2 home schooling policy was approved with slight revisions to make it match the state’s policy more closely. The board also approved the home school application submitted by David Deegan for the education of David, Moriah and Joshua Deegan.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Spanish influenza recounted 90 years later
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
When the flu hit Carbon County 90 years ago, it wasn’t just any flu, nor did it hit under normal circumstances.
It started with usual symptoms, but when family members went to sleep at night not to wake the next morning, the flu strain of 1918 proved itself a deadly mutant.
Within hours of contracting the Spanish influenza, a victim could lose the ability to walk. Taking on a bluish tint to the face, patients would quickly begin coughing up blood gathered in the lungs, while some bled from the ears.
The virus often caused the nose, stomach and intestines to bleed. In some cases, the flu opened the door to pneumonia, whereby a patient died by drowning in his or her own bodily fluids. Nearly all of the Spanish flu’s victims were under the age of 65, while approximately half were aged 20 to 40, according to an article published in the Chicago Journal of Infectious Diseases. It usually killed in less than 24 hours.
“I had a little bird, it’s name was Enza. I opened the window, and in-flew-enza,” chanted children in the streets of post-World War I America. The flu was striking quickly. After the initial bite, a victim only had a day or so to live. Sometimes it was only a few hours. And, in contrast to its relatives, the Spanish flu primarily killed on its own.
Evolving every year, the flu is still often able to capture a few victims before the year is out. The most deadly cases hit the young and the old who are unable to keep their immune system strong long enough to fight the onslaught of pneumonia that moves in for the final kill after five or six days.
Spreading in a pandemic across the county and the world, facilitated by the movement of World War I troops, the Spanish influenza took up to 50 million lives worldwide. Carbon County was no exception.
After losing its hospital to fire in early 1918, Rawlins was in no shape to handle the pandemic virus that did nothing to hide its progress across the country. Despite the onslaught of the flu on the East Coast and its rapid dissemination west, the Rawlins Republican, the newspaper of the time, indicated no sense of worry, at least not until Oct. 10, 1918.
On that date, a notice to the citizens of Rawlins from Mayor C. H. Anderson closed all assembly places, including schools, churches and sidewalks in accordance with a national notice that read, “you are instructed upon appearance of the disease in your city to discontinue all public meetings ...” The schools were closed off and on throughout the end of 1918 and into the new year.
Oct. 10 also saw 40 cases of flu reported in Rawlins. According to a doctor’s report, the flu resembles a “very contagious kind of ‘cold.’” Many of the reports of death at the time indicated a rapid failure of a person’s immune system.
Bridget Hettgar of the Carbon County Public Health Office confirmed the speed of death. “They got it and were gone,” she said. “There was high mortality in a small amount of time.”
The Republican reported another 40 cases in Medicine Bow alone on Oct. 24, where a doctor from Casper was sent for care. Little Snake River Valley and Saratoga had a number of cases, but did not have “enough doctors to care for half of them,” the Republican reported.
In Medicine Bow, three of the four deaths that week happened in 24 hours or less. The school was being used as a hospital to accommodate the number of patients.
From October into the new year, the flu claimed people of all ages. The number of death reports on the front page of the newspaper averaged four or five each week.
“Mrs. Cluff had gone to bed in the evening feeling badly,” the Jan. 6, 1919, Republican read, “but her illness was not considered serious, and in the morning she was discovered dead in her bed.”
A cartoon in a U.S. Public Health Service official health bulletin read, “coughs and sneezes spread diseases as dangerous as poison gas shells.” Pertinent, since the country was mourning the death of its soldiers as well.
The health bulletins recommended collecting any mucous from coughing or sneezing on gauze, rags or paper napkins and sending them out to be burned. The suggestion mirrored the methods of sequestering the 17th century European black plague.
In November 1918, while the number of new flu cases was decreasing, the cases themselves were more severe. This report was ironically on the same front page that announced the world at peace.
Name after name after name appeared in the pages of the Republican during this time, announcing deaths. Increasingly, the flu was taking the working class of the county, a detrimental effect not only to families but to the economy. In the third week of December, the flu took two railroad workers, an auto truck driver in the oil fields and a sheep herder.
According to local historians Rans Baker and Dan Kinnaman, the flu wiped out a third of Carbon County’s population. “It hit entire families,” Baker said. “And there was no rhyme or reason as to why one died and another survived.”
Blame it on the birds
Researchers brought the Spanish influenza virus strain back to life in 2005 to study its behavior.
Rebuilding it from the tissue of an Alaskan victim buried in permafrost in isolated conditions, they hoped they could unearth some clues as to the flu strain’s evolution. The effort was partly to shed light on the past and partly to prepare for the future.
By piecing together biological functions of the strain, today’s researchers were able to discover that the Spanish flu may have actually originated with poultry. The strain likely spliced genes derived from the human virus with genes from the avian virus of the time.
Evidence outlined in a report published in Science on Oct. 7, 2005, suggested the virus may have jumped directly from birds to humans, similar to the cases of avian flu prevalent in eastern countries today.
The Spanish flu will likely not strike again, primarily because most people today have immunity to that particular strain of the virus. However, authorities consider a future pandemic virus likely, if not inevitable. Studying the 1918 virus enables the medical field to recognize and prepare for new flu strains that may pose a threat.
Times staff writer
When the flu hit Carbon County 90 years ago, it wasn’t just any flu, nor did it hit under normal circumstances.
It started with usual symptoms, but when family members went to sleep at night not to wake the next morning, the flu strain of 1918 proved itself a deadly mutant.
Within hours of contracting the Spanish influenza, a victim could lose the ability to walk. Taking on a bluish tint to the face, patients would quickly begin coughing up blood gathered in the lungs, while some bled from the ears.
The virus often caused the nose, stomach and intestines to bleed. In some cases, the flu opened the door to pneumonia, whereby a patient died by drowning in his or her own bodily fluids. Nearly all of the Spanish flu’s victims were under the age of 65, while approximately half were aged 20 to 40, according to an article published in the Chicago Journal of Infectious Diseases. It usually killed in less than 24 hours.
“I had a little bird, it’s name was Enza. I opened the window, and in-flew-enza,” chanted children in the streets of post-World War I America. The flu was striking quickly. After the initial bite, a victim only had a day or so to live. Sometimes it was only a few hours. And, in contrast to its relatives, the Spanish flu primarily killed on its own.
Evolving every year, the flu is still often able to capture a few victims before the year is out. The most deadly cases hit the young and the old who are unable to keep their immune system strong long enough to fight the onslaught of pneumonia that moves in for the final kill after five or six days.
Spreading in a pandemic across the county and the world, facilitated by the movement of World War I troops, the Spanish influenza took up to 50 million lives worldwide. Carbon County was no exception.
After losing its hospital to fire in early 1918, Rawlins was in no shape to handle the pandemic virus that did nothing to hide its progress across the country. Despite the onslaught of the flu on the East Coast and its rapid dissemination west, the Rawlins Republican, the newspaper of the time, indicated no sense of worry, at least not until Oct. 10, 1918.
On that date, a notice to the citizens of Rawlins from Mayor C. H. Anderson closed all assembly places, including schools, churches and sidewalks in accordance with a national notice that read, “you are instructed upon appearance of the disease in your city to discontinue all public meetings ...” The schools were closed off and on throughout the end of 1918 and into the new year.
Oct. 10 also saw 40 cases of flu reported in Rawlins. According to a doctor’s report, the flu resembles a “very contagious kind of ‘cold.’” Many of the reports of death at the time indicated a rapid failure of a person’s immune system.
Bridget Hettgar of the Carbon County Public Health Office confirmed the speed of death. “They got it and were gone,” she said. “There was high mortality in a small amount of time.”
The Republican reported another 40 cases in Medicine Bow alone on Oct. 24, where a doctor from Casper was sent for care. Little Snake River Valley and Saratoga had a number of cases, but did not have “enough doctors to care for half of them,” the Republican reported.
In Medicine Bow, three of the four deaths that week happened in 24 hours or less. The school was being used as a hospital to accommodate the number of patients.
From October into the new year, the flu claimed people of all ages. The number of death reports on the front page of the newspaper averaged four or five each week.
“Mrs. Cluff had gone to bed in the evening feeling badly,” the Jan. 6, 1919, Republican read, “but her illness was not considered serious, and in the morning she was discovered dead in her bed.”
A cartoon in a U.S. Public Health Service official health bulletin read, “coughs and sneezes spread diseases as dangerous as poison gas shells.” Pertinent, since the country was mourning the death of its soldiers as well.
The health bulletins recommended collecting any mucous from coughing or sneezing on gauze, rags or paper napkins and sending them out to be burned. The suggestion mirrored the methods of sequestering the 17th century European black plague.
In November 1918, while the number of new flu cases was decreasing, the cases themselves were more severe. This report was ironically on the same front page that announced the world at peace.
Name after name after name appeared in the pages of the Republican during this time, announcing deaths. Increasingly, the flu was taking the working class of the county, a detrimental effect not only to families but to the economy. In the third week of December, the flu took two railroad workers, an auto truck driver in the oil fields and a sheep herder.
According to local historians Rans Baker and Dan Kinnaman, the flu wiped out a third of Carbon County’s population. “It hit entire families,” Baker said. “And there was no rhyme or reason as to why one died and another survived.”
Blame it on the birds
Researchers brought the Spanish influenza virus strain back to life in 2005 to study its behavior.
Rebuilding it from the tissue of an Alaskan victim buried in permafrost in isolated conditions, they hoped they could unearth some clues as to the flu strain’s evolution. The effort was partly to shed light on the past and partly to prepare for the future.
By piecing together biological functions of the strain, today’s researchers were able to discover that the Spanish flu may have actually originated with poultry. The strain likely spliced genes derived from the human virus with genes from the avian virus of the time.
Evidence outlined in a report published in Science on Oct. 7, 2005, suggested the virus may have jumped directly from birds to humans, similar to the cases of avian flu prevalent in eastern countries today.
The Spanish flu will likely not strike again, primarily because most people today have immunity to that particular strain of the virus. However, authorities consider a future pandemic virus likely, if not inevitable. Studying the 1918 virus enables the medical field to recognize and prepare for new flu strains that may pose a threat.
Roofs take a beating
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Feb. 2, Carbon County residents may have wondered what six more weeks of winter would do to their roofs, especially if they are flat.
In what many call the toughest winter in 15 years, the snow, ice and wind that first breathed its icy breath across the county in October have pushed the limits of residential and commercial flat roofs.
Flat roofs trap snow, and while it takes seven or eight feet of snow to really press the structural limits of a flat roof, the melting process is what stresses its ability to withstand winter.
And so, in snowy areas of the county, residents often climb atop their house to remove snow in anticipation of spring.
Don Brinkman, director of maintenance for the city and a homeowner in Ryan Park, said he keeps his roof clear through the hired help of Eddie Gross. Gross said there are some homes in Ryan Park that currently stand under four feet of snow. Sometimes, the houses collapse under the weight of the snowflakes. “You have to watch it,” Brinkman said.
Flat roofs atop the city of Rawlins’ buildings see a lot of trouble from the melting process, according to Brinkman. The problem doesn’t arise until the sun comes out on a warm day, he said. Then, the snow begins to melt and flows toward the drains. When there is heavy snowfall, it doesn’t all melt at once, so what Brinkman called an “ice dam” forms when the melted snow freezes that night. The next day, the same thing happens. It occurs over and over until the roof has a solid block of ice covering its drains.
“Whoever says water can’t flow uphill is wrong,” Brinkman said. According to Brinkman, as the snow melts and hits the ice dam, it freezes again. Then the water becomes trapped and starts seeping under the plastic membrane protecting the roof from leakage. He believes this is the harshest winter since 1984 in terms of city roof care, since there has been a constant wind chill keeping the roofs from completely thawing and draining on their own.
Currently, the city’s Public Works building is in need of repair due to leakage of the type Brinkman talked about. Likewise, City Hall is having trouble keeping Rawlins City Manager Dave Derragon’s office dry. Hones Veterinary replaced its roof this year, but employees said they did not have significant trouble with it before.
New roofs are costly and often need repair more frequently in Wyoming than they do in other places. Brinkman said a new roof on a building the size of the Rawlins Family Recreation Center would cost $70,000. New guttering and a membrane replacement on City Hall might cause a $25,000 dent in the city’s budget.
“Flat roofs are bad in this area, yes,” Brinkman said with a laugh. “No doubt about it.”
Times staff writer
When Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Feb. 2, Carbon County residents may have wondered what six more weeks of winter would do to their roofs, especially if they are flat.
In what many call the toughest winter in 15 years, the snow, ice and wind that first breathed its icy breath across the county in October have pushed the limits of residential and commercial flat roofs.
Flat roofs trap snow, and while it takes seven or eight feet of snow to really press the structural limits of a flat roof, the melting process is what stresses its ability to withstand winter.
And so, in snowy areas of the county, residents often climb atop their house to remove snow in anticipation of spring.
Don Brinkman, director of maintenance for the city and a homeowner in Ryan Park, said he keeps his roof clear through the hired help of Eddie Gross. Gross said there are some homes in Ryan Park that currently stand under four feet of snow. Sometimes, the houses collapse under the weight of the snowflakes. “You have to watch it,” Brinkman said.
Flat roofs atop the city of Rawlins’ buildings see a lot of trouble from the melting process, according to Brinkman. The problem doesn’t arise until the sun comes out on a warm day, he said. Then, the snow begins to melt and flows toward the drains. When there is heavy snowfall, it doesn’t all melt at once, so what Brinkman called an “ice dam” forms when the melted snow freezes that night. The next day, the same thing happens. It occurs over and over until the roof has a solid block of ice covering its drains.
“Whoever says water can’t flow uphill is wrong,” Brinkman said. According to Brinkman, as the snow melts and hits the ice dam, it freezes again. Then the water becomes trapped and starts seeping under the plastic membrane protecting the roof from leakage. He believes this is the harshest winter since 1984 in terms of city roof care, since there has been a constant wind chill keeping the roofs from completely thawing and draining on their own.
Currently, the city’s Public Works building is in need of repair due to leakage of the type Brinkman talked about. Likewise, City Hall is having trouble keeping Rawlins City Manager Dave Derragon’s office dry. Hones Veterinary replaced its roof this year, but employees said they did not have significant trouble with it before.
New roofs are costly and often need repair more frequently in Wyoming than they do in other places. Brinkman said a new roof on a building the size of the Rawlins Family Recreation Center would cost $70,000. New guttering and a membrane replacement on City Hall might cause a $25,000 dent in the city’s budget.
“Flat roofs are bad in this area, yes,” Brinkman said with a laugh. “No doubt about it.”
Gillette: Best swimming you get
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
The Rawlins High School boys swimmers had their shot at glory. On Thursday and Friday, they’ll get that chance again.
A week and a half ago, the Outlaws let the conference championship slide through a grasp that just wasn’t tight enough. Only time will tell if the team’s spirit can recover going into the state meet scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Gillette.
What is for sure, however, is that Lander High School is poised to be ahead of the pack. Defending champions for 12 years running, Lander still has its depth and has not lost its speed.
According to Rawlins head coach Don Brinkman, the powerhouse has four qualifiers in every event. “That’s enough to gain them two in the top six and two in the bottom six at least,” Brinkman said. It’s tough to catch a team that attracts points like a magnet over paper clips.
Brinkman plans to take a team of eight to Gillette. His team is larger than Worland, Newcastle and Douglas, but the teams brought by Lander and Sublette should be substantial.
On the bright side, Brinkman believes his team has the potential to place third in the state meet. However, they could also place as low as seventh. Really, it depends on how hard the swimmers go and how the rival coaches arrange their teams.
Attracting the most attention on the Outlaws’ roster is Ryan Palmer, who “has all the potential” to be a state champion diver, Brinkman said. Palmer should also compete in the 50-yard freestyle as well as the 400-yard freestyle relay. He will join the DeMillard-Palmer relay team in the 200-yard freestyle relay, alongside his younger brother, Jimmy Palmer, and the DeMillards, Daniel and Eric.
Placing second his sophomore and junior years, Palmer goes into the state meet with “the highest degree of difficulty in optional dives of all my divers from my 32 years of coaching,” Brinkman said. That includes his two sons, both of whom walked away with state championships in their tenures at Cheyenne East High School.
Also diving on Thursday and Friday, Andrew Gile earned the eighth-place slot on the top 10 board at Rawlins High School, earning 235 points in the mock meet against Laramie last Friday. Jimmy Palmer also plans to dive in the event.
Keep an eye out for Daniel DeMillard and James Laux, two seniors who are expected to finish in the top six in their events. Daniel DeMillard should be entered in the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle, while Laux should swim the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke. Though he qualified in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 6:12.12 in the Laramie meet, he does not plan to swim it in Gillette.
Laux and Daniel DeMillard should be part of relays as well, with Daniel DeMillard in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays and Laux in the 200-yard medley relay, swimming backstroke, and the 400-yard freestyle relay as anchor.
Jimmy Palmer ought to be one to watch in the 50-yard freestyle, as he has elevated himself to be among the fastest on the team in the event. He currently stands right behind his brother and Daniel DeMillard. He should also appear in the diving event and as anchor in both the medley relay and the freestyle relay.
“He really stepped up this year,” Brinkman said. He pointed out that Jimmy Palmer just qualified for the state meet in the 50-yard freestyle, earning a time of 26.11 seconds in the Laramie meet.
The true colors should show for the Outlaws as they seek to finish in the top three. The swimming preliminaries begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday, while the diving preliminaries begin at 7 p.m. Finals for both should be held Friday, starting at 11 a.m.
Times staff writer
The Rawlins High School boys swimmers had their shot at glory. On Thursday and Friday, they’ll get that chance again.
A week and a half ago, the Outlaws let the conference championship slide through a grasp that just wasn’t tight enough. Only time will tell if the team’s spirit can recover going into the state meet scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Gillette.
What is for sure, however, is that Lander High School is poised to be ahead of the pack. Defending champions for 12 years running, Lander still has its depth and has not lost its speed.
According to Rawlins head coach Don Brinkman, the powerhouse has four qualifiers in every event. “That’s enough to gain them two in the top six and two in the bottom six at least,” Brinkman said. It’s tough to catch a team that attracts points like a magnet over paper clips.
Brinkman plans to take a team of eight to Gillette. His team is larger than Worland, Newcastle and Douglas, but the teams brought by Lander and Sublette should be substantial.
On the bright side, Brinkman believes his team has the potential to place third in the state meet. However, they could also place as low as seventh. Really, it depends on how hard the swimmers go and how the rival coaches arrange their teams.
Attracting the most attention on the Outlaws’ roster is Ryan Palmer, who “has all the potential” to be a state champion diver, Brinkman said. Palmer should also compete in the 50-yard freestyle as well as the 400-yard freestyle relay. He will join the DeMillard-Palmer relay team in the 200-yard freestyle relay, alongside his younger brother, Jimmy Palmer, and the DeMillards, Daniel and Eric.
Placing second his sophomore and junior years, Palmer goes into the state meet with “the highest degree of difficulty in optional dives of all my divers from my 32 years of coaching,” Brinkman said. That includes his two sons, both of whom walked away with state championships in their tenures at Cheyenne East High School.
Also diving on Thursday and Friday, Andrew Gile earned the eighth-place slot on the top 10 board at Rawlins High School, earning 235 points in the mock meet against Laramie last Friday. Jimmy Palmer also plans to dive in the event.
Keep an eye out for Daniel DeMillard and James Laux, two seniors who are expected to finish in the top six in their events. Daniel DeMillard should be entered in the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle, while Laux should swim the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke. Though he qualified in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 6:12.12 in the Laramie meet, he does not plan to swim it in Gillette.
Laux and Daniel DeMillard should be part of relays as well, with Daniel DeMillard in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays and Laux in the 200-yard medley relay, swimming backstroke, and the 400-yard freestyle relay as anchor.
Jimmy Palmer ought to be one to watch in the 50-yard freestyle, as he has elevated himself to be among the fastest on the team in the event. He currently stands right behind his brother and Daniel DeMillard. He should also appear in the diving event and as anchor in both the medley relay and the freestyle relay.
“He really stepped up this year,” Brinkman said. He pointed out that Jimmy Palmer just qualified for the state meet in the 50-yard freestyle, earning a time of 26.11 seconds in the Laramie meet.
The true colors should show for the Outlaws as they seek to finish in the top three. The swimming preliminaries begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday, while the diving preliminaries begin at 7 p.m. Finals for both should be held Friday, starting at 11 a.m.
Panthers head north
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
The lady Panthers head into uncharted territory on Thursday as they face teams in the regional tournament they haven’t seen this season.
With a 7:15 p.m. tip off on Thursday at Torrington High School, the game against the Hulett Red Devils should be a good one, as the teams are well-matched, Saratoga High School coach Amy Davis said. Not very big, the Devils pack a punch with their speed, which mirrors the assets of the Panthers.
Still, Davis expects a tough one. In order to advance, “we will have to play at the top of our game,” she said.
If her ladies move forward, they play at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Davis anticipates meeting Arvada-Clearmont in the quarterfinals if the Panthers make it that far. If they don’t, their game is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday.
“They’re tough,” Davis said of Arvada. The 2A state champions last year, Arvada has all five starters returning to the tournament this year. “They and Southeast will be the toughest two teams,” she said. The Panthers met Southeast once in the regular season and lost. They can only meet in the final game of the regional tournament.
Saratoga will have to step up to overcome the odds. Three weeks ago, the team lost its center to a knee injury, which she had surgery on recently. As one of the top three shooters, the loss hurts the team. However, Davis remains hopeful. She has filled the position and altered her strategy and her players’ positions to accommodate.
The Panthers go into this tournament youthful and inexperienced. Four freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one senior make up this year’s regional team, forming a total of three who have seen playing time in the final tournament of the season.
“It’s a little to our disadvantage (to not have an older team),” Davis said, “but then again, it may be to our advantage... (the team) won’t know what to expect.” The Panthers go into the tournament with the philosophy that what they don’t know can’t hurt them. They plan to just play basketball to win.
Times staff writer
The lady Panthers head into uncharted territory on Thursday as they face teams in the regional tournament they haven’t seen this season.
With a 7:15 p.m. tip off on Thursday at Torrington High School, the game against the Hulett Red Devils should be a good one, as the teams are well-matched, Saratoga High School coach Amy Davis said. Not very big, the Devils pack a punch with their speed, which mirrors the assets of the Panthers.
Still, Davis expects a tough one. In order to advance, “we will have to play at the top of our game,” she said.
If her ladies move forward, they play at 3:45 p.m. on Friday. Davis anticipates meeting Arvada-Clearmont in the quarterfinals if the Panthers make it that far. If they don’t, their game is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday.
“They’re tough,” Davis said of Arvada. The 2A state champions last year, Arvada has all five starters returning to the tournament this year. “They and Southeast will be the toughest two teams,” she said. The Panthers met Southeast once in the regular season and lost. They can only meet in the final game of the regional tournament.
Saratoga will have to step up to overcome the odds. Three weeks ago, the team lost its center to a knee injury, which she had surgery on recently. As one of the top three shooters, the loss hurts the team. However, Davis remains hopeful. She has filled the position and altered her strategy and her players’ positions to accommodate.
The Panthers go into this tournament youthful and inexperienced. Four freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one senior make up this year’s regional team, forming a total of three who have seen playing time in the final tournament of the season.
“It’s a little to our disadvantage (to not have an older team),” Davis said, “but then again, it may be to our advantage... (the team) won’t know what to expect.” The Panthers go into the tournament with the philosophy that what they don’t know can’t hurt them. They plan to just play basketball to win.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ten years later, track is reality
a front pager...
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Ten years ago, a Saratoga High School junior opened the phone book and started dialing numbers.
He told the folks on the other end of the line that he was having a meeting in the back of a restaurant and invited them to come hear what he had to say.
Laying out his plan in front of the 10 or so who gathered that night, Scott Stevens wondered what he had gotten himself into. He was not the first to propose building a new track to replace Saratoga High School’s dirt oval that saw an average of seven to eight days of use a season due to its perpetual muddiness. Stevens had started an uphill battle and more than one person in the community reminded him that the project failed before.
To a high school junior, even two voices can be a roadblock, and Stevens remembers that. But he had other plans. “I told them thank you for your help, but I’m going to learn the hard way. So you can either help or don’t come back,” he said. “A few said I couldn’t, so that got me motivated.”
Holding a few more initial meetings, Stevens dragged in members of the community to ask for help, but soon enough, he was getting calls from those who wanted to be involved. Eventually, the core group materialized and formed itself into the Saratoga Track Association. The group, with Stevens as its youngest and most vigorous member, gained nonprofit status and created a mission statement. “It was a huge learning experience,” Stevens, now in his late 20s, said. “I had no idea how to really start it.”
As president of the association, Stevens partnered with Laurie Johnston, making the assistant track coach his vice president. Together, they rode the roller coaster of success and defeat.
Stevens and Johnston faced their first and most difficult task in obtaining the land for the track and planning how to supply water to it. With the help of Saratoga-based PMPC Civil Engineering, the association chose the site. It immediately faced a problem: The land belonged to Carbon County School District 2, and the school district could offer no money to fund a project that was in its flighty dream stages.
“I told them all we want is the land. No need to give us money. If they gave us an inch, we could see how far we could go,” Stevens said. “They gave it to us.”
Stevens and Johnston soon found that their board of parents, teachers, coaches and community members was going to have to collaborate with Saratoga’s Town Council, other officials and the school board. With no success in other attempts to locate water, the association found it needed to tap into the town’s supply to begin work at the site. More long hours paid off when an agreement formed and the town gave the green light to proceed with design.
Even under normal circumstances, building an all-weather track is time intensive in Wyoming’s cold climate. In the track association’s battle, one year quickly turned to two, which quickly turned to eight, nine, and now 10. “I can’t believe it is going to be done, after this long,” Stevens said. “It’s kind of surreal.”
When Stevens went to college, Johnston took the reins. “It’s just awesome that she continued one young man’s dream,” Stevens’ mother, Laurie Forster, said of Johnston. Johnston was flanked by Saratoga High School athletic director Rex Hohnholt and she eventually conceded the presidency to Jim Larscheid, who by day works for Sinclair Oil Corporation.
In 2005, after eight years of hard work and in-kind donations of time, services, materials, supplies and money from the community, the Saratoga Track Association successfully won the funding of the school capital facilities system.
“Because of the ground (the community) had laid, it was enough for them to give us the money,” Johnston said. She said the association received approximately $300,000 of donations from the community and businesses of Saratoga, as well as grant money from the District 2 recreation board. The project is ultimately worth more than $700,000.
Stevens, now a Wells Fargo employee and owner of Impulse night club in Des Moines, Iowa, pointed out that by the time they finally brought the project under the noses of official funding sources, it was more than halfway complete. “We got to the point where we needed a track, and the school and government could just complete the one we’d started,” Stevens said.
The Saratoga track is the largest project that Stevens has been involved in. “It’s cool to think I made all the first calls,” he said. But he wasn’t the one who finished it. “The town did that,” he said. “This track is not just a track. It’s what the town has done together. It shows it can pull together and do great things.”
Johnston agreed. She named the companies, individuals and board members who endured year after year of monthly meetings to see the project come to fruition, all on volunteer time. “The community was showing us that they wanted to do it,” Johnston said.
In early March, 10 years of sweat and tears should pay off when the track finally opens. Johnston’s proudest moment will be to see the track finished.
“The kids now run on pavement in the streets or on the golf course,” she said. “Just to see them actually have a facility where our jumper can jump outside, our runners can run on an all-weather surface ... is probably the greatest sense of accomplishment ... to see that we finally have a track,” she said.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Ten years ago, a Saratoga High School junior opened the phone book and started dialing numbers.
He told the folks on the other end of the line that he was having a meeting in the back of a restaurant and invited them to come hear what he had to say.
Laying out his plan in front of the 10 or so who gathered that night, Scott Stevens wondered what he had gotten himself into. He was not the first to propose building a new track to replace Saratoga High School’s dirt oval that saw an average of seven to eight days of use a season due to its perpetual muddiness. Stevens had started an uphill battle and more than one person in the community reminded him that the project failed before.
To a high school junior, even two voices can be a roadblock, and Stevens remembers that. But he had other plans. “I told them thank you for your help, but I’m going to learn the hard way. So you can either help or don’t come back,” he said. “A few said I couldn’t, so that got me motivated.”
Holding a few more initial meetings, Stevens dragged in members of the community to ask for help, but soon enough, he was getting calls from those who wanted to be involved. Eventually, the core group materialized and formed itself into the Saratoga Track Association. The group, with Stevens as its youngest and most vigorous member, gained nonprofit status and created a mission statement. “It was a huge learning experience,” Stevens, now in his late 20s, said. “I had no idea how to really start it.”
As president of the association, Stevens partnered with Laurie Johnston, making the assistant track coach his vice president. Together, they rode the roller coaster of success and defeat.
Stevens and Johnston faced their first and most difficult task in obtaining the land for the track and planning how to supply water to it. With the help of Saratoga-based PMPC Civil Engineering, the association chose the site. It immediately faced a problem: The land belonged to Carbon County School District 2, and the school district could offer no money to fund a project that was in its flighty dream stages.
“I told them all we want is the land. No need to give us money. If they gave us an inch, we could see how far we could go,” Stevens said. “They gave it to us.”
Stevens and Johnston soon found that their board of parents, teachers, coaches and community members was going to have to collaborate with Saratoga’s Town Council, other officials and the school board. With no success in other attempts to locate water, the association found it needed to tap into the town’s supply to begin work at the site. More long hours paid off when an agreement formed and the town gave the green light to proceed with design.
Even under normal circumstances, building an all-weather track is time intensive in Wyoming’s cold climate. In the track association’s battle, one year quickly turned to two, which quickly turned to eight, nine, and now 10. “I can’t believe it is going to be done, after this long,” Stevens said. “It’s kind of surreal.”
When Stevens went to college, Johnston took the reins. “It’s just awesome that she continued one young man’s dream,” Stevens’ mother, Laurie Forster, said of Johnston. Johnston was flanked by Saratoga High School athletic director Rex Hohnholt and she eventually conceded the presidency to Jim Larscheid, who by day works for Sinclair Oil Corporation.
In 2005, after eight years of hard work and in-kind donations of time, services, materials, supplies and money from the community, the Saratoga Track Association successfully won the funding of the school capital facilities system.
“Because of the ground (the community) had laid, it was enough for them to give us the money,” Johnston said. She said the association received approximately $300,000 of donations from the community and businesses of Saratoga, as well as grant money from the District 2 recreation board. The project is ultimately worth more than $700,000.
Stevens, now a Wells Fargo employee and owner of Impulse night club in Des Moines, Iowa, pointed out that by the time they finally brought the project under the noses of official funding sources, it was more than halfway complete. “We got to the point where we needed a track, and the school and government could just complete the one we’d started,” Stevens said.
The Saratoga track is the largest project that Stevens has been involved in. “It’s cool to think I made all the first calls,” he said. But he wasn’t the one who finished it. “The town did that,” he said. “This track is not just a track. It’s what the town has done together. It shows it can pull together and do great things.”
Johnston agreed. She named the companies, individuals and board members who endured year after year of monthly meetings to see the project come to fruition, all on volunteer time. “The community was showing us that they wanted to do it,” Johnston said.
In early March, 10 years of sweat and tears should pay off when the track finally opens. Johnston’s proudest moment will be to see the track finished.
“The kids now run on pavement in the streets or on the golf course,” she said. “Just to see them actually have a facility where our jumper can jump outside, our runners can run on an all-weather surface ... is probably the greatest sense of accomplishment ... to see that we finally have a track,” she said.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
School board meets Tuesday
Times staff report
The Carbon County District 2 School Board should plow ahead with plans for school construction during its meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
With funds secured from the School Facilities Commission, asbestos abatement can begin at the Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow elementary schools. Board members are to consider issuing a call for bids to perform the work on both schools as well as for the installation of a new heating and boiler system at Saratoga Elementary School.
Board members are scheduled to finalize and vote on a memorandum of understanding between the town of Medicine Bow, the SFC and the District 2 board concerning the exchange of the village square land in Medicine Bow and the town’s current elementary school property.
Superintendent Bob Gates should report on the district’s enrollment and update board members on the upcoming building projects. He is scheduled to announce the bid award for the bleachers for the nearly complete Saratoga Middle and High School track.
The Carbon County District 2 School Board should plow ahead with plans for school construction during its meeting on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
With funds secured from the School Facilities Commission, asbestos abatement can begin at the Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow elementary schools. Board members are to consider issuing a call for bids to perform the work on both schools as well as for the installation of a new heating and boiler system at Saratoga Elementary School.
Board members are scheduled to finalize and vote on a memorandum of understanding between the town of Medicine Bow, the SFC and the District 2 board concerning the exchange of the village square land in Medicine Bow and the town’s current elementary school property.
Superintendent Bob Gates should report on the district’s enrollment and update board members on the upcoming building projects. He is scheduled to announce the bid award for the bleachers for the nearly complete Saratoga Middle and High School track.
Design for new school tops $1 M
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Twisted Sister set the mood at Thursday’s Carbon County District 1 School Board meeting, which was filled with banter, teasing and laughter, among other things.
When “We’re not going to take it” blared from the boom box at the end of the sixth-graders skit, parents, teachers and children alike had smiles on their faces. Rawlins High School freshmen class president Tanner Nicholls and vice president Brittany Gale then took the floor to present the class’s progress.
After the usual report of regular council meetings, fundraisers and event organization, Gale said, “And we don’t particularly like the lunches.” She and Nicholls said pizza twice a week is a bit much. That, and they don’t enjoy having a closed campus for lunch.
Though overshadowed by student presentations, the board still conducted its business. Duane DeWald reported on the first of three surveys being issued to District 1 teachers and administrators, which highlighted concerns about communication between the teachers and administrators.
Curriculum Director Marilyn Vercimak announced the launch of the selection process for the reading literacy series, in which elementary teachers from across the district are given a chance to evaluate each textbook’s ability to meet the district’s standards and benchmarks as well as its needs for ESL and special education students.
Superintendent Peggy Sanders talked about the Feb. 24 legislative forum, when the school board has the chance to visit the state Legislature to “see the impact the school board can have,” she said.
The board also approved on first reading a laundry list of policies and construction agreements, including the agreement between the district and the School Facilities Commission for the design of two new elementary buildings in Highland Hills. The designs of the kindergarten through second-grade building and the school for grades third through fifth should cost $707,490 and $281,290, respectively.
In the executive session, the board approved the employment contracts of the District 1 administrators for the next school year. Additionally, it worked toward the expulsion of one Rawlins middle school student and one RHS pupil. The hearing for another expulsion has been set for Thursday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.
With her hair covered in red hair spray, Rawlins Middle School teacher and co-chair of the Carbon County District 1 Teacher Education Association Denise Ashline substituted her report on the associations progress with an explanation of why she had such a terrible hairdo.
“Some young ladies wanted a picture for the yearbook,” she said.
Ashline consented to letting the girls paint her hair for Valentine’s Day and snap the shot, but on one condition: “They have to maintain a B average for the whole year,” she said. If they don’t, they can’t use the picture in the yearbook and Ashline gets to play hairdresser on them. She said the bet was extended to others in the girls’ class as well.
Times staff writer
Twisted Sister set the mood at Thursday’s Carbon County District 1 School Board meeting, which was filled with banter, teasing and laughter, among other things.
When “We’re not going to take it” blared from the boom box at the end of the sixth-graders skit, parents, teachers and children alike had smiles on their faces. Rawlins High School freshmen class president Tanner Nicholls and vice president Brittany Gale then took the floor to present the class’s progress.
After the usual report of regular council meetings, fundraisers and event organization, Gale said, “And we don’t particularly like the lunches.” She and Nicholls said pizza twice a week is a bit much. That, and they don’t enjoy having a closed campus for lunch.
Though overshadowed by student presentations, the board still conducted its business. Duane DeWald reported on the first of three surveys being issued to District 1 teachers and administrators, which highlighted concerns about communication between the teachers and administrators.
Curriculum Director Marilyn Vercimak announced the launch of the selection process for the reading literacy series, in which elementary teachers from across the district are given a chance to evaluate each textbook’s ability to meet the district’s standards and benchmarks as well as its needs for ESL and special education students.
Superintendent Peggy Sanders talked about the Feb. 24 legislative forum, when the school board has the chance to visit the state Legislature to “see the impact the school board can have,” she said.
The board also approved on first reading a laundry list of policies and construction agreements, including the agreement between the district and the School Facilities Commission for the design of two new elementary buildings in Highland Hills. The designs of the kindergarten through second-grade building and the school for grades third through fifth should cost $707,490 and $281,290, respectively.
In the executive session, the board approved the employment contracts of the District 1 administrators for the next school year. Additionally, it worked toward the expulsion of one Rawlins middle school student and one RHS pupil. The hearing for another expulsion has been set for Thursday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m.
With her hair covered in red hair spray, Rawlins Middle School teacher and co-chair of the Carbon County District 1 Teacher Education Association Denise Ashline substituted her report on the associations progress with an explanation of why she had such a terrible hairdo.
“Some young ladies wanted a picture for the yearbook,” she said.
Ashline consented to letting the girls paint her hair for Valentine’s Day and snap the shot, but on one condition: “They have to maintain a B average for the whole year,” she said. If they don’t, they can’t use the picture in the yearbook and Ashline gets to play hairdresser on them. She said the bet was extended to others in the girls’ class as well.
Nonprofits seek team effort
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
With lofty goals being proposed for nonprofits in Carbon County, a group has formed to turn the goals into a reality.
The group met Friday during a roundtable luncheon at the Carbon County Higher Education Center, allowing their thoughts to mix and meld.
Baggs resident Linda Fleming, a member of the Wyoming State Nonprofit Association, sees the “energy corner of the state” as the least active in promoting its nonprofit organizations.
“We need to realize just how powerful we are in our communities,” she said. “Be it in Baggs, Elk Mountain or (Rawlins).”
Stephanie Moles, executive director of The Woman’s Heart organization in Casper and also a member of the state nonprofit association, said nonprofits fit alongside governmental and private enterprises to form cohesive, functioning communities. Moles emphasized the economic benefits provided by nonprofit services.
By fostering support among nonprofits and forming a more unified effort to fulfill southern Wyoming’s community needs, each nonprofit’s function can grow exponentially. Nonprofits applying for grants are also more likely to get the attention of financing organizations, a huge help when groups have to compete for funding.
The group set goals for future progress, including a follow-up meeting in six months. The group hopes to establish a set of workshops to turn area nonprofits into smoothly functioning machines. The workshops may be held at the Carbon County Higher Education Center in the future. The Carbon County Visitor’s Council has a head start with a “how to start a nonprofit” seminar already on its calendar, so nonprofits should have a choice of where to find guidance. Other CCHEC classes could include executive director training, grant writing, volunteer organization and marketing.
The group pushed for the creation of a resource databases to help the groups work more efficiently. Fleming kicked off a networking effort by asking attendees to supply their mailing and e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers. The group also recognized the benefit of a newsletter, keeping everyone aware of the progress and needs of other community nonprofits.
As the luncheon wrapped up, one attendee raised a critical question. “Are we re-inventing the wheel?” she asked. She warned that groups in Carbon County have a tendency of charging forward with ideas that others have already developed. Before expending too much effort trying to build everything from scratch, she said, resources could already be available.
Times staff writer
With lofty goals being proposed for nonprofits in Carbon County, a group has formed to turn the goals into a reality.
The group met Friday during a roundtable luncheon at the Carbon County Higher Education Center, allowing their thoughts to mix and meld.
Baggs resident Linda Fleming, a member of the Wyoming State Nonprofit Association, sees the “energy corner of the state” as the least active in promoting its nonprofit organizations.
“We need to realize just how powerful we are in our communities,” she said. “Be it in Baggs, Elk Mountain or (Rawlins).”
Stephanie Moles, executive director of The Woman’s Heart organization in Casper and also a member of the state nonprofit association, said nonprofits fit alongside governmental and private enterprises to form cohesive, functioning communities. Moles emphasized the economic benefits provided by nonprofit services.
By fostering support among nonprofits and forming a more unified effort to fulfill southern Wyoming’s community needs, each nonprofit’s function can grow exponentially. Nonprofits applying for grants are also more likely to get the attention of financing organizations, a huge help when groups have to compete for funding.
The group set goals for future progress, including a follow-up meeting in six months. The group hopes to establish a set of workshops to turn area nonprofits into smoothly functioning machines. The workshops may be held at the Carbon County Higher Education Center in the future. The Carbon County Visitor’s Council has a head start with a “how to start a nonprofit” seminar already on its calendar, so nonprofits should have a choice of where to find guidance. Other CCHEC classes could include executive director training, grant writing, volunteer organization and marketing.
The group pushed for the creation of a resource databases to help the groups work more efficiently. Fleming kicked off a networking effort by asking attendees to supply their mailing and e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers. The group also recognized the benefit of a newsletter, keeping everyone aware of the progress and needs of other community nonprofits.
As the luncheon wrapped up, one attendee raised a critical question. “Are we re-inventing the wheel?” she asked. She warned that groups in Carbon County have a tendency of charging forward with ideas that others have already developed. Before expending too much effort trying to build everything from scratch, she said, resources could already be available.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Board won over
Skits prompt lunch tray change
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
The middle school students awkwardly gathered in the center of the board room, whispering instructions to each other.
When they looked up, they faced their parents, teachers and friends in the audience to begin. They found they were facing the wrong way.
Abashed, they turned around to face the Carbon County District 1 School Board, the student’s intended audience. They whispered and poked each other and then began speaking.
“We are concerned about the environment,” one boy declared.
He peered down at the sheet of paper prepared by his fellow sixth-graders at Rawlins Middle School. “Our goals are to reduce... recycle... and find an alternative to Styrofoam trays in the lunchroom,” he said, outlining the ways he and his classmates are focusing their effort to help the environment.
In a three-act skit, the students illustrated to the board how detrimental it can be to use plastic foam trays. Kids can get sick from hot food leeching to the toxins in plastic foam, was the message of the first act. Next up was a reporter announcing, “This just in: Girl diagnosed with cancer because of Styrofoam trays used at school.” In the last act, strikers protested the 300 trays delivered daily to the landfill, declaring them not biodegradable.
The students let Twisted Sister have the final word in the skit. “We’re not going to take it” came the cry from the boom box in the corner.
The sixth-graders finished their presentation with a mini report based on their research. “Styrofoam is a petroleum-based product that takes thousands of years to degrade,” one student read. “Each year, our school puts about 54,300 trays in the Rawlins Landfill ... We admit that our food stays on the trays for a very short time and the potential harm is low, but we still ask that you find an alternative method of serving food.”
Parents, teachers and the board erupted in cheers and applause when the students’ brief battle ended. Board member Kristi Groshart motioned, Jeff Hitchcock seconded, and the board approved an accelerated investigation of environmentally safe ways to serve food to the Rawlins youth.
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
The middle school students awkwardly gathered in the center of the board room, whispering instructions to each other.
When they looked up, they faced their parents, teachers and friends in the audience to begin. They found they were facing the wrong way.
Abashed, they turned around to face the Carbon County District 1 School Board, the student’s intended audience. They whispered and poked each other and then began speaking.
“We are concerned about the environment,” one boy declared.
He peered down at the sheet of paper prepared by his fellow sixth-graders at Rawlins Middle School. “Our goals are to reduce... recycle... and find an alternative to Styrofoam trays in the lunchroom,” he said, outlining the ways he and his classmates are focusing their effort to help the environment.
In a three-act skit, the students illustrated to the board how detrimental it can be to use plastic foam trays. Kids can get sick from hot food leeching to the toxins in plastic foam, was the message of the first act. Next up was a reporter announcing, “This just in: Girl diagnosed with cancer because of Styrofoam trays used at school.” In the last act, strikers protested the 300 trays delivered daily to the landfill, declaring them not biodegradable.
The students let Twisted Sister have the final word in the skit. “We’re not going to take it” came the cry from the boom box in the corner.
The sixth-graders finished their presentation with a mini report based on their research. “Styrofoam is a petroleum-based product that takes thousands of years to degrade,” one student read. “Each year, our school puts about 54,300 trays in the Rawlins Landfill ... We admit that our food stays on the trays for a very short time and the potential harm is low, but we still ask that you find an alternative method of serving food.”
Parents, teachers and the board erupted in cheers and applause when the students’ brief battle ended. Board member Kristi Groshart motioned, Jeff Hitchcock seconded, and the board approved an accelerated investigation of environmentally safe ways to serve food to the Rawlins youth.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Hospital records are going digital
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
Two years after implementing a new software system, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County staff are on track with digitizing electronic medical records, allowing the hospital to comply with possible federal legislation.
As he began his second term in 2004, President Bush pushed for hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and other health care facilities to create electronic records. The hope was to create a national medical network that would lead to better accuracy in medical care and “avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs and improve care,” Bush said.
Four years later, there is little progress. However, some care providers have recognized the value of digital records and have streamlined their systems.
Choosing the health management system software to work toward that end, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County staff are continuing to iron out the bugs. However, Chief Financial Officer Florence Kostic said the software makes record keeping more efficient.
“We had numerous systems — separate lab system, hospital documentation was all done manually and we had a separate radiology system,” she said. “When we made the change in 2004, we moved to the fully integrated system.” Now, most hospital functions can communicate seamlessly despite the ongoing troubleshooting.
Kostic said the national system could be implemented in 2010. In anticipation, hospital staff chose compatible software. Listed as a certified provider of software compliant with national initiatives and with more than 400 users nationwide in 2003, the health management system seemed to be the best option, according to Kostic.
Dr. James Bush, Medicaid medical director at the Wyoming Department of Health, scoffed at the idea that the national system would be up and running by 2010.
“They are just now reaching interoperability standards,” he said, describing the need to standardize databases so different software can easily communicate. “The 2010 deadline is falling by the wayside.”
Still, James Bush realizes the value of a unified network. He is currently working to roll out the red carpet on a statewide Medicaid network, scheduled to launch this summer.
The ongoing question of privacy in health records has slowed national progress toward a fully electronic system, and it has not been ignored by staff at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. The privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act prevents full access to patient records by care providers, making the security of software systems a hot ticket in debates.
Terry Webster, director of health information management at the hospital, said hospitals get paranoid when information is put on a computer. “But there’s the same worry when it’s on paper,” she said.
Webster recently came to Rawlins from a Montana hospital that was part of a four-hospital network. The Meditech system they used prohibited access unless the patient provided an access code for their records. James Bush said that with patient confidentiality at the top of the list of priorities, software providers are nearly guaranteed to safeguard their systems.
Kostic listed another problem area in the ambitious project — the question of care providers being technologically savvy. “Many physicians’ offices aren’t able to purchase the sophisticated equipment that is required, so how will they fit into the network?” she asked.
James Bush said that when care providers, no matter how tech savvy, see the benefits of an integrated system, they will jump on board. “It is one of those true win-win situations,” he said of the developing Medicaid system.
State to go digital as well
Wyoming Department of Health officials are set to launch the “total health record” this summer, the state’s version of an electronic program centered around Medicaid patient care.
Headed by Dr. James Bush, the Medicaid medical director at the Department of Health, the statewide program should open the door for the state to more efficiently allocate its resources and maximize its care. Bush said the program also benefits patients and care providers.
Wyoming has the chance to be a national leader in implementing electronic medical records, Bush said. This is particularly due to the state’s small population, making it easier to implement a centralized system.
The Medicaid program should be administered by the software company Cyber Access. The main goal is to promote a patient-centered medical home, Bush said. It would push patients to get most of their care from a general physician, promoting preventative care and ideally reducing instances of large Medicaid claims that come with dramatic health problems.
Phase one, electronic billing, has been implemented, Bush said, with participation from 20 clinics. The system should be offered for implementation in physician offices with the highest percentage of Medicaid patients.
Times staff writer
Two years after implementing a new software system, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County staff are on track with digitizing electronic medical records, allowing the hospital to comply with possible federal legislation.
As he began his second term in 2004, President Bush pushed for hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and other health care facilities to create electronic records. The hope was to create a national medical network that would lead to better accuracy in medical care and “avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs and improve care,” Bush said.
Four years later, there is little progress. However, some care providers have recognized the value of digital records and have streamlined their systems.
Choosing the health management system software to work toward that end, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County staff are continuing to iron out the bugs. However, Chief Financial Officer Florence Kostic said the software makes record keeping more efficient.
“We had numerous systems — separate lab system, hospital documentation was all done manually and we had a separate radiology system,” she said. “When we made the change in 2004, we moved to the fully integrated system.” Now, most hospital functions can communicate seamlessly despite the ongoing troubleshooting.
Kostic said the national system could be implemented in 2010. In anticipation, hospital staff chose compatible software. Listed as a certified provider of software compliant with national initiatives and with more than 400 users nationwide in 2003, the health management system seemed to be the best option, according to Kostic.
Dr. James Bush, Medicaid medical director at the Wyoming Department of Health, scoffed at the idea that the national system would be up and running by 2010.
“They are just now reaching interoperability standards,” he said, describing the need to standardize databases so different software can easily communicate. “The 2010 deadline is falling by the wayside.”
Still, James Bush realizes the value of a unified network. He is currently working to roll out the red carpet on a statewide Medicaid network, scheduled to launch this summer.
The ongoing question of privacy in health records has slowed national progress toward a fully electronic system, and it has not been ignored by staff at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. The privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act prevents full access to patient records by care providers, making the security of software systems a hot ticket in debates.
Terry Webster, director of health information management at the hospital, said hospitals get paranoid when information is put on a computer. “But there’s the same worry when it’s on paper,” she said.
Webster recently came to Rawlins from a Montana hospital that was part of a four-hospital network. The Meditech system they used prohibited access unless the patient provided an access code for their records. James Bush said that with patient confidentiality at the top of the list of priorities, software providers are nearly guaranteed to safeguard their systems.
Kostic listed another problem area in the ambitious project — the question of care providers being technologically savvy. “Many physicians’ offices aren’t able to purchase the sophisticated equipment that is required, so how will they fit into the network?” she asked.
James Bush said that when care providers, no matter how tech savvy, see the benefits of an integrated system, they will jump on board. “It is one of those true win-win situations,” he said of the developing Medicaid system.
State to go digital as well
Wyoming Department of Health officials are set to launch the “total health record” this summer, the state’s version of an electronic program centered around Medicaid patient care.
Headed by Dr. James Bush, the Medicaid medical director at the Department of Health, the statewide program should open the door for the state to more efficiently allocate its resources and maximize its care. Bush said the program also benefits patients and care providers.
Wyoming has the chance to be a national leader in implementing electronic medical records, Bush said. This is particularly due to the state’s small population, making it easier to implement a centralized system.
The Medicaid program should be administered by the software company Cyber Access. The main goal is to promote a patient-centered medical home, Bush said. It would push patients to get most of their care from a general physician, promoting preventative care and ideally reducing instances of large Medicaid claims that come with dramatic health problems.
Phase one, electronic billing, has been implemented, Bush said, with participation from 20 clinics. The system should be offered for implementation in physician offices with the highest percentage of Medicaid patients.
A world away, Filipino nurses make Rawlins home
By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer
In 2003, a small contingent of Filipino health care professionals found themselves transplanted to the tiny blip on the world map known as Rawlins.
About 7,500 miles away from home, Sherry Longog and Angie Colson stepped onto a small plane in Denver to head to Rock Springs. It would be one of the last legs of their long voyage to begin work as lab technologists at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. One from the southern Philippines and one from the northern part of the archipelago, Longog and Colson were missing home, but at least they had each other.
“We knew there were mountains,” Colson said. “We looked it up before coming. But we were looking down from the plane and wondering why there were no houses or buildings. Who were going to be our patients? We thought the hospital was on top of the mountains.”
Landing in Rock Springs, the pair finished out the trip along Interstate 80. “When we got here,” Colson said with a laugh, “it wasn’t so bad — the hospital wasn’t on top of the mountains.”
More health care professionals are being produced in the Philippines than the country can use, so many often work abroad. A 2004 report by Health Affairs listed the nation as the leading source for nurses being recruited by countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“Filipino nurses are in great demand because they are primarily educated in college-degree programs and communicate well in English,” the report read. Receiving countries can therefore expand health care work forces, which have been notoriously shorthanded for years, Professional Healthcare Resources recruiting agency wrote.
The trade is reciprocal: New recruits often send home remittance income, bolstering the Philippines’ economy. Health Affairs reported that in 2004, Filipinos living abroad sent more than $800 million back home.
Longog said hers and Colson’s agency, then known as Agape, recruited physical therapists, nurses and technologists. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s two Filipino nurses, Suzette Enriquez and Jeraldine Lebanan, came through Troy Professionals. The two nurses are now friends, but have much different stories.
Lebanan did not originally want to come to the U.S., but knew she had the opportunity to gain the duel benefit of getting out of financial trouble, while simultaneously fulfilling her lifelong dream of having a child. Of all the Filipinos still at the hospital, Lebanan had the most difficulty adjusting.
“I had a hard time,” she said. “If I had to choose, I’d work in the Philippines because I’m used to it and my friends are there and I can speak my native language.” Lebanan worked in the Philippines for 11 years prior to moving.
On the other end of the spectrum, Enriquez took full advantage of the opportunity to go abroad. “It was my dream since I was a little kid to come to the U.S.,” she said. While waiting for her application to go through, she worked in Saudi Arabia’s Turaif Government Hospital for three years.
Culturally shocking for a woman accustomed to equal rights, Saudi Arabia was a good experience for Enriquez. “I went there to experience working there and (meet people of) other nationalities,” she said. “The language was very hard, though. I didn’t know it before going. I carried a dictionary, but it didn’t help. I just learned (Arabic) by speaking to patients.” Finally, in 2003, she got the chance to come to the U.S.
Of the more than 10 Filipino nursing and technologist recruit to pass through Memorial Hospital of Carbon County, these four remain. Many departed after their three-year contracts were complete, hospital Human Resources Director Beverly Young said. The four have stayed at least two years longer than their contracts lasted.
“(These four) have developed within the community,” Young said. “They’ve bought homes, they’ve had children, they’ve married... they’ve integrated into the community.”
Times staff writer
In 2003, a small contingent of Filipino health care professionals found themselves transplanted to the tiny blip on the world map known as Rawlins.
About 7,500 miles away from home, Sherry Longog and Angie Colson stepped onto a small plane in Denver to head to Rock Springs. It would be one of the last legs of their long voyage to begin work as lab technologists at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. One from the southern Philippines and one from the northern part of the archipelago, Longog and Colson were missing home, but at least they had each other.
“We knew there were mountains,” Colson said. “We looked it up before coming. But we were looking down from the plane and wondering why there were no houses or buildings. Who were going to be our patients? We thought the hospital was on top of the mountains.”
Landing in Rock Springs, the pair finished out the trip along Interstate 80. “When we got here,” Colson said with a laugh, “it wasn’t so bad — the hospital wasn’t on top of the mountains.”
More health care professionals are being produced in the Philippines than the country can use, so many often work abroad. A 2004 report by Health Affairs listed the nation as the leading source for nurses being recruited by countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“Filipino nurses are in great demand because they are primarily educated in college-degree programs and communicate well in English,” the report read. Receiving countries can therefore expand health care work forces, which have been notoriously shorthanded for years, Professional Healthcare Resources recruiting agency wrote.
The trade is reciprocal: New recruits often send home remittance income, bolstering the Philippines’ economy. Health Affairs reported that in 2004, Filipinos living abroad sent more than $800 million back home.
Longog said hers and Colson’s agency, then known as Agape, recruited physical therapists, nurses and technologists. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s two Filipino nurses, Suzette Enriquez and Jeraldine Lebanan, came through Troy Professionals. The two nurses are now friends, but have much different stories.
Lebanan did not originally want to come to the U.S., but knew she had the opportunity to gain the duel benefit of getting out of financial trouble, while simultaneously fulfilling her lifelong dream of having a child. Of all the Filipinos still at the hospital, Lebanan had the most difficulty adjusting.
“I had a hard time,” she said. “If I had to choose, I’d work in the Philippines because I’m used to it and my friends are there and I can speak my native language.” Lebanan worked in the Philippines for 11 years prior to moving.
On the other end of the spectrum, Enriquez took full advantage of the opportunity to go abroad. “It was my dream since I was a little kid to come to the U.S.,” she said. While waiting for her application to go through, she worked in Saudi Arabia’s Turaif Government Hospital for three years.
Culturally shocking for a woman accustomed to equal rights, Saudi Arabia was a good experience for Enriquez. “I went there to experience working there and (meet people of) other nationalities,” she said. “The language was very hard, though. I didn’t know it before going. I carried a dictionary, but it didn’t help. I just learned (Arabic) by speaking to patients.” Finally, in 2003, she got the chance to come to the U.S.
Of the more than 10 Filipino nursing and technologist recruit to pass through Memorial Hospital of Carbon County, these four remain. Many departed after their three-year contracts were complete, hospital Human Resources Director Beverly Young said. The four have stayed at least two years longer than their contracts lasted.
“(These four) have developed within the community,” Young said. “They’ve bought homes, they’ve had children, they’ve married... they’ve integrated into the community.”
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