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City of Gillette police offi cer Jeremiah Wagner received special recognition during last night’s city council meeting in which the City of Gillette also swore in two new police offi cers.

Gillette City Council president Kevin McGrath rec-ognized Wagner after a thank you letter from a North Dakota family arrived at Gillette City Hall. The family expressed their appreciation to Offi cer Wagner for help-ing them with the breakdown of their minivan on July 3 near exit 126.

Wagner helped the family push their broken down vehicle to Flying J, and then he helped them make ap-propriate arrangements. In the letter, the family said they will always remember their time in Gillette because of the kindness they received.

“He was a great inspiration to our family,” the letter said. “We got the van towed by Redrock Towing that day and repaired by Cowboy Up Auto. They were great and we got back to N.D.”

In turn, City of Gillette mayor Tom Murphy was pleased McGrath gave Offi cer Wagner the recognition he de-served.

“Two things happened tonight,” the mayor explained. “One is we swore in two new offi cers to the City of Gil-lette Police Department. I think it’s good that we recog-nized an existing offi cer and his good works and the fact that he’s setting a good example of how this community should be represented. So I think it was wonderful that Councilman McGrath brought that to the attention of the community.”

Police offi cer recognized for helping family

in needBy Paul Wallum, Basin Radio News

How is our new community news-paper coming? GREAT!

Nick - We have come a long way. If you saw the fi rst few editions, you know this just by the looks.

Candice - We hired a new lay-out/design person that has worked in the newspaper business for a long time and really knows how to work some magic.

Nick - We also moved Keary Speer to an editor position which has prov-en to be invaluable. Because of this, we have only had three retractions in four months, and none of these had to do with her.

Candice - She is wonderful! We are lucky to have her.

Nick - There are a few things that we would like to discuss. First, we would like to remind everyone that we are a public submission newspa-per, as most local papers are. If you go to a sports game, a charity event, or something going on in the county, please write a story and submit it.

Candice - And don’t forget pictures, we love pictures.

Keary - Don’t forget, we are a posi-tive paper. We can’t wait for school to start so that we can try to get all the events we can in the paper. Please send us articles on Choir, Band, Sports, Debate, and more.

Nick - Also, we have implemented different pieces like our “joke of the week,” “Where is this,” and “Readers on the road.” If you want to submit to

any of these, please feel free to do so at any time.

Candice - The readers on the road is easy. Take a picture of yourself and your family holding the Camp-bell County Observer while you are somewhere out of the county and submit it in to us.

Keary - Don’t be afraid to submit articles. I will not change the content, just check grammar and punctuation.

Nick - And please try to keep the jokes PG. We are a family newspa-per.

Candice - We also have a new advertising sales manager. We would like to introduce Anne Peterson, who will be taking over that department. We are very excited to have her.

Keary - We are also trying to imple-ment the “Churches Corner” where local churches can submit articles on what they are doing in the commu-nity. Please contact me for more in-formation regarding rules for content. Also, we will take any suggestions when it comes to content. If you know of a small business owner or public servant, for instance, please feel free to e-mail me to nominate them for an interview. It always feels so good to help out individuals in our community with a little well-deserved attention!

Nick - If you notice, we try to stay completely local. This is why we have the FAMOUS Glenn Woods (whom if you listen to his show lives in my van down by the river) who is your local

political talk show host writing the political column for the local paper.

Keary - Your letters to the editor have been great. Keep it up. We love to see people involved.

Candice - We will continue to bring you our quality product for years to come. The feedback from the com-munity has been great, and everyone seems to love the newspaper.

Nick - Just make sure you get involved. The more involvement we get, the better the newspaper will be.

Keary - And thank you for all the heads up about the events going on in town. There are so many here which is what makes this county so great.

Candice - Also, if you go to our website you can vote on the poll of the week which gets printed with the results.

Nick - We are selling at more loca-tions, we are gaining more home deliveries every week, and we are very happy to provide this service to our community. Thank you very much for all the positive support.

Candice - We love ideas to make our product better. Please contact us at any time.

Keary - And don’t forget to contact Elizabeth Albin in Wright, WY for southern county news and events. She is our writer out of Wright.

Nick, Candice, and Keary - Thank you all so much. We hope to hear from you soon.

What’s new at the Campbell County Observer

Editor Keary Speer

Owner/Publisher Candice DeLaat

Owner/Editor Nick DeLaat

Crime Stoppers needs your help in solving a Burglary that occurred sometime between 10:30 a.m. on July 14 and 8:15 a.m. on July 19.

An unknown person(s) broke into a locked storage shed at Sage Valley Junior High School and stole three Specialized Hard Rock bicycles valued at approximately $300 each.

If you have information that can solve this or any other crime please call Crime Stoppers at 686-0400 or the High School Crime Stoppers at 682-4185. You can re-main anonymous and may earn up to $1,000 in reward.

Crime Stoppers featured crime,

burglary, July 28, 2011

GE Energy and the University of Wyoming have announced that the joint work on the High Plains Gasifi cation-Advanced Technology Center has been delayed. The origi-nal project investment plan antici-pated more progress toward certainty in the future of federal energy policy. Future investments will be paced by the development of clear federal energy policy.

Governor Mead is disappointed about GE Energy’s decision to pause development of the High Plains Gasifi cation-Advanced Technol-ogy Center project until uncertainty around coal utilization is reduced. However, Governor Mead feels this decision and possibly other energy sector decisions to delay projects are not unexpected given the lack of a federal energy policy.

“Capital from the private sector only fl ows to large and ambitious projects when there is reasonable regulatory, legal and fi nancial certainty,” Gover-

nor Mead said. “This is a real world example of the local impact of the federal government’s failure to pro-vide a policy path forward for energy use in America. An energy policy must include the responsible use of our coal resources. Without a clear policy, investors and developers do not have certainty and cannot plan for risk, which is critical in making decisions to build modern, effi cient plants.”

“GE technology is ready to provide a cleaner coal solution for America and for the world. When government policy and economic realities are aligned in the U.S., we plan to be a leader in cleaner coal technologies,” said Keith White, General Manager of GE Energy’s gasifi cation business. “We value our partnership with the University of Wyoming and we will reassess the environment in 18 to 24 months.”

UW President Tom Buchanan said, “The University of Wyoming

(UW) stands ready to proceed with continued work to advance the HPG-ATC. In any business relationship, we acknowledge the need for all parties to be comfortable prior to moving forward. The agreement between the State of Wyoming, GE Energy and UW contemplates signifi cant mile-stones in the project development.”

The High Plains Gasifi cation-Advanced Technology Center is a research and technology center fo-cused on looking at coal gasifi cation solutions for coal from the Powder River Basin and other parts of Wyo-ming. Wyoming produces 40% of the nation’s coal and the state provides about 10% of the nation’s energy.

“America and Wyoming have the leadership capacity, the technology prowess and the private capital avail-ability to wisely put our energy re-sources to productive use but we are strangled by uncertainty created by the energy policy vacuum in Wash-ington DC,” Governor Mead said.

Governor Mead disappointed High Plains Gasifi cation Center put on hold

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Clarke and Vicki Kiss-ack is a couple unlike any other. They have the ability to light up a room with their kindness to others, love for each other, and an incred-ibly approachable demean-or. Even when meeting them for the fi rst time, their openness makes it seem like they are old friends. So, it is no wonder that they would start a business revolving around faith, fam-ily, fun and, of course, food!

Cowboy Cuisine is their new venture, an unconven-tional concessions busi-ness that specializes in unlikely, and sometimes in-novative, cuisine. “We will fry up anything and every-thing! ...Some things work and some things just don’t,” Vicki stated. Clarke added, “Apples just don’t work and we won’t do them, but fresh vegetables are good. Cauli-fl ower works great!”

They have tried every-thing out on their family and friends as well as gotten many tips on what to serve. Bull fries, also known as Rocky Mountain Oysters on a stick, are a sugges-tion Vicki received from a friend that worked out ex-tremely well. Their motto: “Some people take the bull by the horns, we take ours by the…”

She added, “We have to try everything twice.” When asked, “Why?” she said, “You may not like some-thing at fi rst, but every-thing deserves a second chance.”

This is a philosophy they do not only practice in their business but is also a life skill they have implement-ed in their life and mar-riage. Like any couple, they have had their fair share of road blocks and this busi-ness is their attempt to build on their relationship, giving them the opportunity to spend time and travel to-gether as a family.

Along with that, the real appeal is getting to share their gifts with others. Vicki shared that Clarke has a real talent for fabrication and welding which will come in handy for their stand as well as his ability to cook up food. Clarke also shared that Vicki is a real people person that can talk to anyone. Together, they create a well-rounded com-

bination to help their busi-ness thrive. Even though this week is their “maiden voyage,” as Clarke put it, it seems that thriving has al-ready taken place and it is just what they do.

Another thing you will notice when walking up to their stand is their logo. The three crosses makes it clear who exactly they are putting their faith into besides each other. Faith in God has made this en-tire endeavor possible for them. They believe that part of their purpose, and the purpose of Cowboy Cuisine, is to spread the word and show people how God can work in their lives. It is a higher calling. They are hoping that, just by be-ing present, people will feel compelled to talk to them about faith and Vicki, with her innate ability for story-telling, can, and will, share their story and how their journey through life and faith in the Lord brought them where they are today.

In fact, one of their main concerns about the busi-ness was having to miss church. However, they remedied the situation with deciding to attend no mat-ter where their travels take them, giving them a real chance to meet the locals and spread their love to others. A lot of their inspira-tion came from what they do in the church.

Another inspiration was their two sons, Garrett, 18, and Justin, 16, who have always brought kids in an out of the house and who Vicki has been feeding all of their lives. Now that they are older and almost out of the house, cooking for them and their friends (something they enjoyed doing) is no longer nec-essary. Cowboy Cuisine seems to fi ll a void created by the progression of life.

Clarke and Vicki are also hoping to set an example for their boys to follow. They want to show their boys that it is important to step out of their comfort zone in order to grow, that they should never be afraid of a little hard work, and that money is not at all the highest form of prosperity. It seems they have also done an excellent job in be-ing an example of true faith

and forgiveness in their re-lationships and an utmost importance for faith in the Higher Power.

On the true business end of things Clarke stated that this is defi nitely not a com-petition. No matter where they go they will always serve alongside of oth-ers and strive to not step on anyone’s toes. For ex-ample, at this week’s fair, they will not be serving hot dogs of any kind in order to preserve their relation-ship with another vendor who exclusively serves hot dogs. When they travel to Laramie they will only be serving desserts and in Ten Sleep they are opting out of their “Chop Stick,” which is a meal on a stick with a pork chop, because there will already be someone serving a pork meal there. It is their way of trying to cre-ate a friendly environment and truly practice what they preach in the statement that money really is not the highest form of prosperity.

This also creates a re-volving menu so they are not limited in what they can, and will, serve to the public. They want to try everything and are hoping for some real, honest, constructive criticism to help them grow.

They will be at the Cam-plex for the fair this entire week serving up things like Bull Fries, various meals on sticks, fried Banana Splits and even some Chocolate Covered Bacon! Their pride and joy, however, as well as their son, Justin’s, favorite is their Sno Cone machine, a welcome relief to these hot summer days. For the more conventional eaters, they will also be serving basic food like breakfast burritos and BBQ.

They will also be serv-ing a free pancake feed on Sunday, the 7th at the fair-grounds. The blessing will start at 7:15 and afterward there will be a church ser-vice at 8:00 given by Mike Morrison Ministries. “Our goal is to run out of batter! That is how many people we hope will show up.”

So, come to the fair and show your support for an amazing local couple who really are all about the peo-ple and enjoy their incred-ible food.

A Higher Calling and Second Chances:Cowboy Cuisine

By Keary Speer

Hold the Date!e2e Gillette, August 24, 2011

5:30 PM - 7:00 PMClarion Inn & Convention Center

2009 S. Douglas Hwy. Gillette, WY 82718

e2e welcomes Fred Dowd, Senior Partner at Dowd-Rudkin, LLC.“Work Smarter, Not Harder”

We have all heard this phrase before but can this really be accomplished? Fred Dowd, Senior Partner at Dowd-Rudkin LLC, will tackle this topic as well as share experi-ences from his remarkable career in investment manage-ment. He has developed some creative techniques to help employees balance their work and family life while increas-ing productivity.

Fred is an accomplished money manager who ranked in the top 2% nationally from 1985 to 2005 only behind the likes of Warren Buffett. Recently, Mr. Dowd started a “boutique investment” fi rm with Reed Rudkin, recent UW College of Business graduate, in Buffalo, WY. Their goal is work closely with clients to build wealth using Mr. Dowd’s proven approach.

Hot hors d’oeuvres and a hosted bar will be provided.

To learn more and to let us know if you can attend: Please call 307-766-6395

Event fee included with e2e membership.

For e2e membership information contact WTBC at 307-766-6395 or visit http://www.uwyo.edu/wtbc/join.html

John Fisher displayed a copy of the Campbell County Observer while visiting Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Readers on the Road

***The Campbell County Observer welcomes “Readers on the Road” submisisons. Take a picture of yourself and your family holding the Campbell County Observer while you are somewhere out of the county and submit it to us at 5105 Tarry St., Gillette, WY 82718 or by email at CampbellCountyObserver@gmail.com.

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July 26, 2011- At 10:51 AM to the 100

Block of Four J Road for an EMS assist.

- At 1:26 PM to the area of Church Avenue & East Highway 14-16 for an EMS assist.

- At 1:47 PM to L & J Ct. between L and H and Alpha Coals Warehouse for a 1” gas line that was cut by a track hoe. FD crews were able to clamp the line and shut off the fl ow of gas.

- At 2:54 PM to Axels Ave. for a small grass fi re that was less than 1 acre in size and was started by a cutting torch.

July 27, 2011- At 3:41 PM to the 5600

Block of Hannum Road for an EMS assist.

- At 4:39 p.m. to 157 North Sage Hill Road for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and determined that the fi re was a controlled burn that was not reported to the appropriate agencies.

- At 7:56 p.m. to the area east of Rozet for a grass fi re. CCFD cancelled en route when they were advised that the fi re was a controlled burn that was not reported to the appropriate agencies.

- At 8:29 p.m. to 501 South Emerson Avenue for a report of illegal burning within the city limits. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival determined that the smoke seen by neighbors was from a bar-b-q grill.

July 28, 2011- At 5:11 a.m. to the in-

tersection of HWY 59 and Garner Lake Road for a 2 vehicle collision. No one was injured in the crash and CCFD personnel assisted with traffi c control and con-tained hazardous material leaks from the involved ve-hicles.

- At 8:50 a.m. to the ad-dress of 5834 Winland Drive for a fi re alarm activation. This was a false alarm due to technicians testing the alarm system. There was no fi re and all units were cleared.

- At 10:26 a.m. to the area of South Highway 59 and Interstate 90 on ramp to the west bound lanes for a two vehicle accident. There were no injuries during the acci-dent and CCFD personnel assisted with traffi c control.

- At 3:28 PM o 919 Clarkel-en Road for a grass fi re. A hot ember from a burn bar-rel caught the grass on fi re. Firefi ghters were able to

contain the grass fi re to 1.8 acres and extinguish the fi re before any structures were damaged.

- At 3:34 PM to 509 Elk Creek Road for a timber fi re that was started by lightning. The fi re is located on a re-mote ridge that is not acces-sible by fi re trucks. A fi re line has been dug around the fi re with hand tools to contain it. Approximately 5 acres have burned. The Smoke Busters (honor farm workers) from Newcastle, WY are assisting with the fi re suppression.

- At 7:59 PM to the 400 block of Prairieview Drive for a medical assist.

July 29, 2011- At 3:35 a.m. to the 2100

block of Evening Shadow Court for a medical assist.

- At 4:20 a.m. to the 600 block of South Garner Lake Road for a medical assist.

- At 13:23 p.m. to rail-road mile marker 6.6 on the Campbell Line for a grass fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a 5.4 acre grass fi re burning along the tracks. The fi re was extinguished and the cause was deter-mined to be a sparks from a passing train.

- At 8:35 p.m. to the area east of 65 Constitution Drive for a possible structure fi re. The 911 caller saw smoke coming from the sides of the house but when CCFD re-sponded to the scene it was determined the smoke was from a bar-b-q grill.

- At 8:50 p.m. to 1162 Al-mon Circle for a cat that had been stuck in a tree since noon. CCFD responded to the scene non-emergently and tried to assist the cat in climbing down the tree. It was decided after a few unsuccessful attempts to leave the cat in the tree and wait until morning to see if it would come down on its own.

- At 11:12 p.m. to the area of the Tarver Ranch on the Olmstead Road for a timber fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found a single tree on fi re that had been struck by light-ning. CCFD fi refi ghters cut down the burning tree and extinguished the area burn-ing around the stump.

July 30, 2011- At 6:59 AM to 403 South

Warren Avenue (RENEW Group Home) for a fi re alarm activation. Cooking on a stove top had activated a smoke detector. The fi re

alarm panel reset without incident.

- At 2:20 PM to 2500 Four J Road (Sage Bluffs Park) for an outhouse fi re. An off duty fi refi ghter caught two young boys (age 5 and 7) starting the fi re with a ciga-rette lighter. Fire damage was minimal (the toilet paper dispenser had melted) and is estimated at less than $100.

- At 6:16 AM to 706 East Longmont (YES House) for a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. Fifteen parts per mil-lion (ppm) of CO was found inside the building. A positive pressure fan was utilized to rid the building of CO. Op-erating the natural gas cook stove without the exhaust fan running allowed CO to build-up.

- At 9:58 AM to 2 Redtail Street for a grass fi re that was started by fi reworks. The fi re was contained to less than one acre in size

- At 10:44 PM to 1102 Hi-light Road for a grass fi re

July 31, 2011- At 6:23 AM to Timothy for

an EMS assist.- At 9:32 AM to the Jack

Smith Rd. for a grass fi re that was less than 5 acres that was started by a tractor, the tractor was a complete loss. The cause of the trac-tor fi re is under investigation.

- At 10:48 AM to Wyodak Mine for a report of a loader on fi re, all fi re units were cancelled prior to arrival.

- At 4:10 PM to E. Boxelder for an EMS assist.

- At 4:55 PM to the Hoad-ley Rd. for a grass fi re.

- At 5:15 PM to Almon Cir-cle for a Carbon Monoxide call, nothing was found.

- At 5:38 PM to Antelope T.C. for an EMS assist.

- At 10:14 PM to Interstate 90 mile marker 129 for a 1 vehicle accident with un-known injuries.

August 1, 2011- At 2:52 AM to the Comfort

Inn for a medical assist.- At 3:04 AM to the Nation-

al 9 Inn for a medical assist.- At 8:38 AM to 1115 Gran-

ite Street for a smoke detec-tor in alarm mode. Respond-ing fi re units were cancelled when the alarm company called back stating it was a false alarm.

- At 4:14 PM to South Highway 59 (16 miles south of Wright) for grass fi re.

- At 4:48 PM to the 900 block of Camel Drive for a medical assist

- At 5:13 PM to 4269 High-way 450 for a grass fi re.

Campbell Co. Fire Dept.

University of Wyoming police have released the name of the man who was found dead last week at War Memorial Stadium.

UW police found Erik W. Andrews, 43, of Laramie, at about 6:40 p.m. Thurs-day after being dispatched to investigate a report of a body on the asphalt path-way at the southeast corner of the stadium. Emergency Medical Services were also notifi ed but Andrews was

deceased upon arrival.Though UW police iden-

tifi ed his body, Andrews’ name was withheld last week pending notifi cation of next of kin.

“The loss of life is always sad and diffi cult,” says UW President Tom Buchanan. “We extend our condo-lences to his family and friends.”

UW police say it appears Andrews climbed over the safety rail at the top of the

southeast corner of the sta-dium and jumped.

The incident has led UW to limit access to the sta-dium until further notice to allow for a full and com-plete evaluation of safety protocols. Access will be restricted only to individu-als authorized by the UW Athletics Department. In addition, UW police will increase security checks around the stadium.

Name released of War Memorial Stadium fatality

The Wyoming Air Nation-al Guard is marking its 65th Anniversary with reunion activities Aug. 4-6, at the Air National Guard base, 217 Dell Range Blvd., Cheyenne.

The Wyoming Air Na-tional Guard was fi rst or-ganized in a small hangar on the southwest side of Cheyenne Municipal Air-port, as the Army Air Forc-es’ highly decorated 402nd Fighter Squadron. The squadron was deactivated Nov. 10, 1945, and reacti-vated as the 187th Fighter Squadron. The unit was al-lotted to the National Guard

on Aug. 10, 1946, under Maj. Robert E. Sedman, Reunion schedule:

Aug. 4Noon - Golf tournament

registration at F.E. Warren Air Force Base Golf Course

1 p.m. - Shotgun start at F.E. Warren Air Force Base Golf Course

Aug. 5Historical displays at the

WyANG Main Hangar, 217 Dell Range Blvd.

8 - 11 a.m. - Base Tour, meet at the Dining Facility no later than 8 a.m.

5 p.m. - No-host recep-tion at the Wyoming Air Na-

tional Guard Social Club, 217 Dell Range Blvd.

6:30 p.m. - Milk Can Din-ner and Silent Auction at the WyANG Main Hangar, 217 Dell Range Blvd.

Aug. 69 a.m. - Informal tour of

work centers

Please use this link to RSVP for access to the base, as well for the food count before close of busi-ness on Aug. 5: https://ein-vitations.afit.edu/Wyomin-gANG/anim.cfm.

Wyoming Air National Guard celebrates 65 years

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Resident and nonresident moose and bighorn sheep hunters and nonresident elk, deer, and antelope hunters are reminded that the preference point only application period is now underway. Applications for preference points will be accepted through Sept. 30.

Preference points are available for qualifying big game hunters who did not apply for a moose or bighorn sheep license this year and nonresident elk, deer, and antelope hunters who did not draw their fi rst choice license and did not mark the preference point box on their license application.

Preference points may be purchased through conven-tional mail or online at http://gf.state.wy.us. Applications can also be obtained online or by calling (307) 777-4600. Hunters with eligibility questions or other inquiries about preference points can call (307) 777-4600.

Preference point application period

underway

Weekly Trivia QuestionWhat is the “Train Band”?

A. An Army RegimentB. Locals helping the Artillery TrainsC. Militia UnitD. The fi rst railroad workers

Flip to page 6 for the answer

Joke of the weekSubmitted by Denise Sickeley

A young man, at this construction site, was bragging that he could outdo anyone based on his strength. He especially made fun of one of the older workman. After sev-eral minutes, the older worker had enough.

“Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?” he said. “I’ll bet a week’s wages that I can haul something in a wheel-barrow over to the other building that you won’t be able to wheel back.”

“You’re on, old man,” the young man re-plied. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The old man reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then nodding to the young man, he said with a smile, “All right. Get in.”

Walk in to a town council meeting in Pinedale, Wyo-ming, and you are likely to fi nd as many as three local reporters scribbling notes and asking questions. That news in a town of 2,030 residents is covered by two newspapers and a web-site is partly explained by the abundance of mineral wealth in surrounding Sub-lette County, which pro-duced $3.6 billion in natural gas last year. Add to that the urgent concern about breaching a local dam threatened by record snow-melt coming from the Wind River Range, and you’ve got a recipe for a small-town media frenzy.

This scene is also illustra-tive of how rural journalism is surviving, even thriving, in the rural West and across the United States, in an era of precipitous decline for major metropolitan news-papers.

In the United States, some 7,500 community newspapers–papers with under 30,000 in circula-tion–still hit the streets, front porches, and mailbox-es at least once a week. A 2010 survey conducted by the University of Missouri, Columbia for the National Newspaper Association produced some enviable statistics: More than three-quarters of respondents said they read most or all of a local newspaper every week. And in news to warm the heart of any publisher, a full 94 percent said that they paid for their papers.

“The community news-paper business is healthier than metro newspapers, because it hasn’t been in-vaded by Internet competi-tion,” says Al Cross, direc-tor of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Commu-nity Issues at the Univer-sity of Kentucky. “Craigslist doesn’t serve these kinds of communities. They have no effective competition for lo-cal news. Rural papers own the franchise locally of the most credible information.”

This is not to say that ru-ral papers are simply going gangbusters. Rural news-rooms make for lean living and busy workweeks. Re-porters have to wear many hats to put out a local paper, interviewing Eagle Scouts, snapping photos of the but-ter queen, writing editorials on the local rec center and stuffi ng supermarket cir-culars. And many of these papers are an advertiser or two away from red ink.

All of this is in the service of developing a relation-ship with the local readers that some people say that mainstream journalism has lost, a relationship with all the complications that inti-macy and proximity bring. “You have only one day a week to beat the daily on timeliness,” wrote the edi-tor and publisher Bruce M. Kennedy in his 1974 book, Community Journalism. But “weeklies can add a personal touch,” he added. “There’s license to ‘visit’ more. You have time and space to be a small-town citizen talking with another about your community.”

“It is more than a little ironic that small-town pa-pers have been thriving by practicing what the mainstream media are now preaching,” writes the broadcast journalist and USC professor Judy Muller in her new book, Emus Loose in Egnar: Big Stories from Small Towns (Univer-sity of Nebraska Press).

Inspired by the local weekly in the working-class Rocky Mountain town of Norwood, Colorado, Muller embarked on a lively, funny and engaging tour of small papers that took her across the country, from Concrete, Washington to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

“I was surprised to fi nd that they’re doing as well as they were,” says Muller, whose book looks at feisty

family-owned papers like the Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Kentucky, whose founders survived a fi rebombing, the Guada-lupe County Communicator, the “sixth smallest weekly in New Mexico,” whose new owner had been a national correspondent for the Rocky Mountain News, and the Dove Creek Press in Colorado, whose editors are so reluctant to deliver bad news that when doc-tors estimate a car crash victim’s chance of paralysis at 99 percent, it writes “the family reports that Kelsi is looking to the 1 percent chance she still has.”

So what are townsfolk waiting for so urgently? “I think the holy trinity of the small town paper is obituar-ies, the police blotter, and high school sports,” says Muller. “That’s what people care about. The police blot-ter is where you fi nd out who’s doing what to whom. The school superintendent beating his wife, from there it gets blown into a big-ger story. The high school sports thing is so huge, I can’t even explain it to a person who doesn’t live in a small town. And births, not just obits, tend to dominate. If you leave town, and you subscribe online, those are the things, ‘Oh my God, old Pete just died’ — that might seem insignifi cant to some-one outside of a small town, but every single birth and death means something.”

But surely local journal-ism has to be about more than recording comings and goings, nighttime calls for help, and salutes to BearCat pride? Muller fi nds ample journalistic inspira-tion in the pages of small-town papers, what she calls “this wonderful crucible of telling the truth, weigh-ing that against living with the people you’re writing about.”

Rural journalism analyst Al Cross says, “The best of these newspapers hold local governments and in-stitutions accountable, by covering meetings and ask-ing for records. They’re pro-phylactics, by exposing bad things that are going on.” But he says, at the same time, “a lot of papers are timid editorially, they don’t take stands. One is a social reason, they’d rather make friends than enemies–al-though personally I think they’re in the wrong busi-ness. Then you have the business reasons. In these smaller markets, some of these papers are an adver-tiser away from red ink, so they’re cautious by nature. ‘Don’t get sued, they say. It’s like they never heard of libel insurance, which is pretty cheap.”

To Muller, biting the hand that feeds you is the defi ni-tion of courageous journal-ism: “Papers that–faced with the loss of revenue from a big advertiser–who speak the truth anyway, that’s just pure heroism.”

Back in Pinedale, the century-old Roundup and its 10-year-old rival, the Sublette Examiner, reach about 3,000 and 2,500 sub-scribers, respectively. The Examiner was started by disaffected reporters from the Roundup after an own-ership change in 2000. The papers came under com-mon ownership in 2006, when the Examiner was bought by the NewsMedia Corporation, an Illinois-based chain that runs 76 papers in nine mostly west-ern states. After moving their publishing dates to opposite ends of the week, the new owners left the two papers largely alone.

“They compete with each other, try to scoop each other,” says Jeff Robertson, who publishes both papers and a third in Eastern Wyo-ming, the Torrington Tele-graph.

Despite consolidation, weekly newspapers actu-

ally have a lower rate of chain ownership than dai-lies, with 60 percent owned by chains, compared to 80 percent of dailies, according to the National Newspaper Association. Nevertheless, the quality of newspapers does not strictly correspond to ownership.

The Roundup and the Ex-aminer are similar in form and content, each of them recently fl ush with color photographs of local events like the high school prom and graduation, horseshoe pitches, cattle brandings, and reader-submitted wild-life photos (which, in this re-gion, are spectacular). And surely to the lasting pride of Mariah Strike’s parents, both papers published the full text of the Pinedale High School valedictorian’s ad-dress, a sign not only of hy-per-local interest, but also of papers with ad pages to spare, positively groaning with legal announcements like foreclosure listings and regulatory fi lings, the kind that have long fattened newspapers in county seats like Pinedale.

The newsrooms of both papers–which stand only 30 to 50 feet apart in an of-fi ce complex made out of a former grocery store–are comprised of almost uni-formly young reporters, like the 24 year-old editor of the Roundup, Casey Dean. The pay is low, says Dean, but it is supplemented by the free housing that the company offers. “One of my report-ers, my intern and an Ex-aminer reporter live in one house,” says Dean. “The ad director and one of the Examiner’s reporters live in company housing. Their offi ce manager and myself live together, and that’s ac-tually because she used to work for both offi ces.”

At both papers, the staffs are small and effi ciencies are everywhere. NewsMe-dia maintains their nearly identical websites, and the newspapers are laid out in South Dakota. “I’ve never seen her in person,” says Dean, “but I’m on iChat all day long with my designer.”

The editors take pride in their reporting on local is-sues, like the dam breach, federal redistricting, wolf management and the 800-pound gorilla of eco-nomic development, the natural gas industry.

Local papers have largely resisted the pressure to offer content free online, sometimes capitalizing on their virtual monopoly on local news. Despite the competition with each other and from the free website Pinedale Online!, both the Roundup and the Examiner limit most online stories to one or two paragraph teas-es for the print edition and paid electronic downloads.

“Publishers in small and medium communities largely think they are safe from the readership and ad-vertising declines that are eating away at most metro newspapers,” wrote the former publisher and me-dia analyst Alan Mutter in a 2010 blog post. “Are they? Yes, no and maybe,” he concluded. Internet com-petition might be the least of the threats to local pa-pers, he wrote, compared to the wider demographic shifts. Rural areas are ag-ing faster than urban and suburban ones, and young-er readers may be less likely to buy newspapers, even when they get older. For small papers, long-time subsidies may be at risk as well: as the U.S. Postal Ser-vice looks for ways to stem its growing losses, the gen-erous subsidy provided by free in-county mail delivery has once again come un-der scrutiny, as well as mail delivery on Saturdays. Per-haps most worrisome of all, rural papers still live and die with local businesses; Wal-Mart, for example, has little use for newspaper adver-

tising, says Al Cross, and most national chains prefer to advertise in national me-dia.

Still, community papers are looking like a haven in the media storm. Near the end of Emus Loose in Eg-nar, Muller cites a remark by Benjy Hamm, editorial director of a rural newspa-per chain in South Carolina: “He is seeing more and more resumés from eager, young editors and big-city journalists who have either been victims of downsizing or growing weary of won-dering if they will be next.”

“As the number of jour-nalism jobs in metro papers declines,” says Al Cross, “I think rural journalism will be an increasingly popular out-let for people who want to take it on as a career. The monetary rewards are not as great, but there’s a great deal of personal reward that can come with it, and also an opportunity to get in on the ownership side.”

Muller agrees, “The rea-son a weekly thrives is be-cause no one else on Earth can cover what they cover, people will not know what’s going on in their town in any other way. They’ve got a monopoly, a little fi efdom, for as long as the advertiser needs the market.”

As for local readers, she adds, “as long as refrigera-tor magnets exist, there will be things to clip and put on refrigerator, if your son was on the high school foot-ball team, it’s going on the fridge.”

This article was produced by the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stan-ford University. Rights to the article have been given to the Campbell County Observer by means of do-nation from Mr. Lane.

Rural newspapers develop relationship with Local Readers

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USDA Rural Development re-cently announced Campbell County Economic Development Corporation has been awarded a $20,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study on de-veloping a business and technology incubator in Campbell County.

Business incubators assist small and emerging businesses by giving them a place to locate their start-up business and an opportunity to gain knowledge for the incubator staff and other businesses. Statistics show

approximately 84% of incubator graduates stay in their community. In addition, companies that launched in incubators remained in business fi ve years later 87% of the time, while only 20% of all new business startups reached the fi ve-year mark that did not start in an incubator setting.

CCEDC determined the need to complete an Incubator Feasibility Study through the Capital for Busi-ness Growth Task Force, as part

of CCEDC’s Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan for Campbell County. The University of Wyoming Technology Business Center has partnered with CCEDC to ensure the study thoroughly evalu-ates all aspects of developing an in-cubator center. The E-2-E program will be a big contributor should an incubator be built.

The Incubator Feasibility Study is slated to begin in September 2011 and will be a six month project.

CCEDC secures funding for Business and Technology Incubator Feasibility study

Friday, August 5-9 a.m.: Sheep Show/

Jr. Llama & Alpaca Show to follow, East Pavilion

-9 a.m.: PRCA Slack, Morningside Park Arena

-10 a.m.- 7 p.m.: Trade Show/Kids Corral Open, Wyoming Center

-3 p.m.: Pocket Pet Show, Plaza Tent

-5 p.m.: Mini-Animal Show, Plaza Tent

-4- 6 p.m.: Open Class Rabbit Entries Due- Pa-perwork Only, Central Pavilion

-7 p.m.: PRCA Rodeo, Morningside Park Arena

Saturday, August 6-6- 10 a.m.: Pancake

Breakfast Fundraiser, Plaza Tent

-8 a.m.: Open Horse Show, Wrangler Arena

-8 a.m.: Jr. Rabbit Show/Open Rabbit Show to follow, Central Pavilion

-10 a.m.- 7 p.m.: Trade Show/Kids Corral Open,

Wyoming Center-10 a.m.: Swine Show,

Central Pavilion-10 a.m.: Fiddle Con-

test, Energy Hall-11 a.m.: Pioneer Din-

ner, Heritage Center-12 p.m.: Open Rabbits

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-1 p.m.: Dachshund Races hosted by Camp-bell County Humane So-ciety, Wyoming Center

-5 p.m.: Free BBQ sponsored by Friends of Methane, Plaza Tent

-5:30 p.m.: Sheep Lead, East Pavilion

-7 p.m.: PRCA Rodeo, Morningside Park

Sunday, August 7-8 a.m.: Church Servic-

es, Free Stage Tent-9 a.m.: 4-H & Open

Dog Show, Wyoming Center

-10 a.m.- 6 p.m.: Trade

Show/Kids Corral Open, Wyoming Center

-10 a.m.: Jr. Beef Show, East Pavilion

-11 a.m.: Youth Rodeo, Wrangler Arena

-2 p.m.: Demolition Derby, Morningside Park Arena

-6 p.m.: Release All Ex-hibits

Release all non-sale animals after Beef Show, but not before 5 p.m.

Monday, August 8-8 a.m.: Round Robin

Showmanship, East Pa-vilion

-10 a.m.: Awards Pro-gram [4-H & FFA Horse, Poultry, and Energy Hall Awards Only], Free Stage Tent

-4 p.m.: Sale Buyer’s Dinner, Central Pavilion

-6 p.m.: Youth Live-stock Sale, Central Pa-vilion

Campbell County Fair Schedule of Events

Weekly Trivia AnswerAnswer is “C”

Trainbands were companies of militia in England or the Americas, fi rst organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th. The term was used after this time to describe the London militia. In the early American colonies the trainband was the most ba-sic tactical unit. However, no standard company size ever existed and variations were wide. As popula-tion grew these companies were organized into regi-ments to allow better management. But trainbands were not combat units. Generally, upon reaching a certain age a man was required to join the local train-band in which he received periodic training for the next couple of decades. In wartime military forces were formed by selecting men from trainbands on an individual basis and then forming them into a fi ghting unit.

Building codes’ existence protects the welfare, safety, and health of everyone in the form of safer home and building standards. The Deputy Building Offi cial for the City of Gillette wants to infl uence those standards on a national and even in-ternational scale.

Jim Brown is running for the board of directors on the International Code Council, a member-based organiza-tion devoted to the creation of safe communities by of-fering the construction in-dustry safe, sustainable, and affordable procedures through a set of standards used in the design and con-struction process.

“Building codes affect ev-erybody,” Brown explains. “Plumbing codes, electrical codes, pick your poison. Whatever discipline you want to pick. It does have an impact on that to a large degree on how all that func-tions and comes about and is deployed nationally.”

“I’m in the process of run-ning now,” Brown says.

He adds that you have to submit a letter of intent, a resume, and other docu-mentation to be consid-ered for the position. Right

now, Brown has the sup-port of the Wyoming Fire Marshal’s Association, the Wyoming Conference and Building Offi cials, and Wyo-ming Governor Matt Mead.

Brown hopes that sup-port, along with over three decades of related experi-ence, will help him fulfi ll his goal. But it does not stop there. Brown describes the importance of having sup-port from those closest to him.

“Number one you have to have your family support,” he says. “I’ve been talking with my wife about this. It’s a big time commitment, so I have my family support…The votes going to happen on November 2, in Phoe-nix, Arizona at the annual business meeting,” Brown explains.

If elected to the board, Brown’s new duties will not interfere with his re-sponsibilities with the City of Gillette. Rather, he will complete his responsibili-ties with the ICC on his free time.

“I guess maybe I’m a glut-ton for punishment because I have to fulfi ll my responsi-bilities to the City of Gillette fi rst,” Brown notes. “A lot of

this work if elected is going to be my time. I’ll be work-ing evening and weekends on this ICC stuff.”

In fact, Brown has the city’s support to join the ICC’s board of directors, and he needs it.

“You can’t even run for that position without juris-dictional support,” he says. “You have to be an ICC governmental member to run - a voting member - and then I’ve received a letter of support from our city ad-ministrator.”

If elected, Brown hopes to reestablish the relationship between the ICC and vari-ous member communities.

“In a nutshell one thing I think the organization has lost is the support of build-ing code offi cials across the country, and I’ve been getting that message loud and clear and I want to re-establish that connection,” he describes.

“But also, I believe I will have an opportunity to par-ticipate on the international level, and my intent there too is at every opportunity I’m going to be out there promoting Campbell Coun-ty, Wyoming and Wyoming as a state,” says Brown.

Gillette building offi cial throws his hat in the ring

By Paul Wallem, Basin Radio News

Where is this picture taken? See answer on Page 12

Joke of the weekSubmitted by Trevor Overhault

During a terrible storm, all the highway signs were covered with snow. The follow-ing spring, the state decided to raise all the signs twelve inches at a cost of six million dollars. “That’s an outrageous price!” said a local farmer, “but I guess we’re lucky the state handled it instead of the federal gov-ernment.” “Why’s that?”

“Because knowing the federal govern-ment, they’d decided to lower the high-ways.”

“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a

man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

-Winston Churchill

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The Campbell County Observer Staff

Candice De Laat - Owner/PublisherCandiceDeLaat@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Nicholas De Laat - Owner/EditorNicholasDeLaat@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Keary Speer - EditorKearySpeer@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Jenna Flanery - Layout/Design

Owen Clark - Ad DesignOwenClark@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Ken McCoy - Distribution Manager

Pattie Ladd - What’s Going OnPattieLadd@CampbellCountyObserver.com

WritersSandra Boehler (Charities/Fundraisers/Veterans Events)SandraBoehler@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Glenn Woods (Political Column)GlennWoods@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Mike Borda (American History)MichaelBorda@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Elizabeth Albin (Wright)ElizabethAlbin@campbellcountyobserver.com

Lin StephensLinStephens@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Josh Uzarski (Science)JoshuaUzarski@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Ken De Laat (About Nothing)KennethDeLaat@CampbellCountyObserver.com

“Juice” (Political Cartoonist)Juice@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Jeff Morrison (Local History Contributor)JeffMorrison@CampbellCountyObserver.com

Abiding Grace Lutheran Church will be holding their First Annual “Worship in the Park” on Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 10AM in replace-ment of their customary Sunday 9:30AM worship services for this day only. The Worship in the Park will feature contemporary Christian music and a ser-mon by Abiding Grace’s ULLM, Brian Hauschild. It will be held at the Amphi-theater in Lasting Legacy Park (the park next to the old C.C. Rec. Center off of Highway 59) and is open to all who would like to attend. Following the service, there will be a “pot luck” picnic where all attendees are in-vited for an outing of fellow-ship and a great opportuni-ty for visitors and guests to meet the people of Abiding Grace Lutheran Church. AGLC would like to thank Albertsons and Pepsi for donating beverages.

Who are they?: As Wyo-ming’s pioneer church for the American Association of Lutheran Churches, Abiding Grace Lutheran Church in Gillette, Wyo-ming is the newest Luther-an Church to the Campbell County region. On March 21, 2010, Abiding Grace Lutheran Church opened their arms, their hearts, and their doors to the Campbell County holding services every Sunday at 9:30AM at

their current location at the Lakeway Business Center, Suite 500A.

Since their formation, Abiding Grace Lutheran Church’s congregation has seen continued growth in their membership and weekly congregation size. At their current location they hold weekly Sun-day worship services that feature a unique blend of both traditional as well as contemporary hymns and songs and twice a month they celebrate Holy Com-munion. They have an ac-tive adult and youth church choir, and any congregant interested in joining is en-couraged to do so. There is also an active youth group which has children that range in age from pre-school through high school and into college. AGLC offers Sunday School fol-lowing services to youth in attendance. Abiding Grace also offers Confirmation Classes during the school year along with their adult bible study on Wednesday evenings at 6:30PM. The congregation of Abiding Grace Lutheran Church believes that the church is both a place of faith as well as a place of fellowship. Abiding Grace Members enjoy a “small town” wor-ship environment within the growing population of Gil-lette.

As a Church of the Ameri-can Association of Luther-an Churches (AALC), Abid-ing Grace offers a Biblical, Christian foundation for their congregation. Abid-ing Grace Lutheran Church strives to confess the Christian faith in an unsta-ble world, remaining evan-gelical and Christ-focused, being neither partisan nor sectarian. In following the teachings and doctrine of the AALC, Abiding Grace continues in the proud con-servative Lutheran tradi-tion, holding firmly that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and they offer a viable alterna-tive to Lutherans across America who find them-selves unable to feel com-fortable in either of the larg-er Lutheran church bodies. Additionally, Abiding Grace Lutheran Church, in asso-ciation with the AALC, is in Altar and Pulpit fellowship with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and they practice “responsible com-munion.”

Anyone interested in Abiding Grace Lutheran Church who may have questions can contact them via e-mail at abiding-gracegillette@gmail.com, or they can call the church president David Maynard at 307-299-6340.

Abiding Grace Lutheran Church to host a Worship in the Park

By Dave Maynard

Church Corner

Following are road con-struction updates courtesy of the City of Gillette.

4th Avenue4th Avenue between

Greenwood Avenue and Fir Avenue will be closed from Monday, August 1st through Tuesday, August 12th while a contractor installs a water main to Wagonwheel Elementary School for additional fire suppression. This work is being done in conjunction with the Campbell County School District. East 2nd Street (in Inter-

state Industrial Park) East 2nd Street will be

closed Wednesday, July 27th through Monday, Au-gust 8th while crews install a box culvert. This clo-sure is for work related to the City’s Industrial Park Drainage project. Traffic will be detoured to Cones-toga Drive. This project is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Shalom AvenueShalom Avenue from

1850 Shalom Avenue to the intersection of Shalom Avenue and Chara Avenue will be closed from Monday, August 1st through Mon-day, August 15th for street reconstruction as part of the City of Gillette’s Pave-ment Management Sched-ule B, which is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

1st Street / Burma Avenue

The intersection of 1st Street and Burma Avenue will be closed until Tuesday, August 9th* for the installa-

tion of the 1st Street Sewer and paving. Traffic Control Plan [PDF] This closure is part of the Stonepile Creek Interceptor, Phase IIB Proj-ect to install sanitary sewer service and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

*Once the work at this intersection is complete for the Stonepile Creek Sewer Project, the intersection will remain closed for contrac-tors to complete work on the city’s Quiet Zone proj-ect - which will last until approximately mid to late August.

2nd Street2nd Street will be restrict-

ed to two lanes (right lanes heading east and west on 2nd Street) at the al-ley between Ross Avenue and Warren Avenue from Thursday, July 21st and Friday, August 5th. ] This construction is for work re-lated to the Stonepile Creek Sanitary Sewer project.

Alley Closures The alley between Ross

Avenue and Warren Av-enue from 1st Street to 2nd Street will be closed from Tuesday, July 12th through Friday, August 5th while crews install sewer line as-sociated with the Stonepile Creek Sewer Interceptor Phase IIB project.

The alley between Ro-han and 4J from 3rd Street to 4th Street will be closed from Friday, July 29th through Friday, August 13th for the installation on Sani-tary Sewer, in conjunction with the Stonepile Creek Sewer Interceptor, Phase

IIB project. This project is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Boxelder Road (Highway 59 to Fox Park Avenue)Boxelder Road will be re-

stricted to one lane in each direction on Boxelder Road from Highway 59 to Fox Park Avenue from Tuesday, July 26th through Friday, July 29th while contractors fog seal the road for pre-ventive maintenance. Driv-ers are asked to reduce speed and observe posted traffic control information.

Par DrivePar Drive will continue

being under construction from Tuesday, July 25th through Friday, August 5th for construction activities, including: asphalt pave-ment repair, asphalt over-lay and subgrade prep. This project is part of the 2011 Pavement Manage-ment Schedule A, and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Clarion Drive & Clarion Court

Clarion Drive will be under construction from Monday, July 18th through Sunday, July 31st for storm drain installation and as-phalt patching. Clarion Court will be closed for the same time period for asphalt pavement repair, asphalt overlay and storm water subdrain installation. This work is part of the City’s Pavement Manage-ment Schedule A and is funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax.

Enzi Drive WideningBeginning July 5th, traffic

on Enzi Drive will be dedi-cated to the outside lanes of Enzi Drive until July 30, 2011. Traffic control de-signs will accommodate 12’ lanes and the speed limit will remain 20 mph. Pay at-tention to signs, watch for trucks, construction equip-ment as well as workers and flaggers. Trucks and trailers are encouraged to use an alternate route.

This project, funded by the Optional 1% Sales Tax, will be ongoing throughout the summer of 2011. This will widen Enzi Drive to five lanes from the Enzi Drive/West 4J Road Intersection to just south of the Enzi Drive/Shoshone Avenue intersection. The project will also relocate the traf-fic signals at the Enzi Drive and Slate Street to the in-tersection of Enzi Drive and Sinclair Street - which will include a new entrance and exit to CCHS South Cam-pus on Sinclair Street.

Road Construction Updates

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Little League GamesBand ConcertsPlaysLocal Events

Monday morning, 6:03am, August 1st. I am sitting at the control con-sole in my radio studio. Our news anchor, Paul, is read-ing a story that stops my train of thought and I sit up and listen.

DOUGLAS, Wyo. A Wyoming deputy who had rushed into the North Platte River after a struggling girl was discovered after four days of searching. 29-year-old Bryan P. Gross, was found roughly a mile and a half from where he had en-tered the river.

My mind drifted back to the day that he had gone missing, and, much like the town of Douglas, I feared the worse. As the weekend wore on, all hopes faded.

Police offi cers often get a bad rap. Sure, as in any line of work, I think there might be a bad egg here and there, but for the most part I admire the men who, for little pay, and even less respect, as well as the abuse they must suffer through day after day from the general public, is will-ing to strap on a gun and a bullet proof vest and go out and do a job that most of us are either afraid, or unwill-ing, to do.

Apparently, the girl that he was attempting to res-cue was distraught over a boyfriend and she jumped into the river. She was just 14 years old, and in town for the 4-H fair. The North Platte River was above its banks following heavy snows from last winter. The waters rushed faster than an adult male could swim against.

Deputy Gross knew the risks each and every day he went to work. Whether a routine traffi c stop or call to a scene of domestic vio-lence. He knew the risks when he jumped into that swollen river. Yet, without hesitation, he did it anyway.

The news has hit the town of Douglas hard. Gross had worked as a Douglas police offi cer for a couple of years

before joining the sheriff’s department. He worked as a drug enforcement offi cer with a canine partner.

Perhaps the worst of this news is that Deputy Gross had gotten married within the past few months to a re-ceptionist for the city.

I looked past my micro-phone to the computer screen that held the daily news I had intended to rant and rave about. But I just could not do it. My hand reached for the mouse and my fi nger clicked to reduce the stories in front of me. The decision was to open my radio show with news of Deputy Gross. There was no way to do my usual thing after hearing this story.

Being human is hard and strange. The noise and mayhem around us has caused each generation to think that their time was the worst time in history and that things had never been this been before. Everyone yearns for a simpler time. Yet past times were just as hard, if not harder, than the times we live in today. There is always danger. There is always risk. There has always been chaos.

But now and again, some-how, through the noise around us and in our brains, something happens that causes everyone of use to pause, and take notice. Something happens that puts everything into per-spective. Something hap-pens that changes us all.

For the town of Douglas Wyoming the death of their brave offi cer has caused the town to pause. There will be quiet in Douglas, for a time, before people return to their lives. Life must go on. But for a moment they will refl ect on the life of a good and brave man who wanted nothing more from his simple life than to marry his sweetheart and serve his community. They will think of a man who did not think of himself and dove headlong into a rushing river after a distraught little

girl. I’m betting that if we could go back in time and explain it to Mr. Gross, be-fore he leapt; he just might have gone in anyway.

On my way from work that day I saw a police car, on the side of the road, its lights fl ashing, and the of-fi cer cautiously approach-ing the car he had pulled over. Perhaps the driver of the car was gritting his teeth and cursing the of-fi cer. Perhaps the driver is a bit nervous. Honestly, the driver could have one of any number of reactions to being pulled over. The of-fi cer, however, approaches slowly, having no idea what he is up against. Most likely this will just be a routine traffi c stop. But sometimes, it is not. He approaches anyway. It is his job. Some-body has to do it.

Most of us do not know the true meaning of stress. We think we do. But in com-parison, we do not. Most of us will never know the feel-ing that comes, day after day, from a loved one hav-ing to strap on a gun and a vest in order to go out and face the worst that the world has to offer. I doubt that no one ever entirely gets over the feeling. I think of Mrs. Gross as I write this para-graph and the wife of that offi cer as he approached the car, cautiously.

The girl was saved, by others. She is in the hos-pital.

Offi cer Bryan Gross did not die in vain. He has caused many of us to stop, for just a moment. To think. To refl ect.

After Thought:Wednesday morning,

same time, Paul has news out of Rapid city about three offi cers shot. One had died. He had just asked his girl to marry him. The sus-pect is currently in surgery where they are removing a bullet shot into him by one of the offi cers.

There are Hero’s among us, and I don’t think we say it often enough.

Hero’s Among UsBy Glenn Woods

Bold Republic Weekly

To listen to Glenn Woods morning radio show tune in to 1270am KIML Gillette

Monday through Friday from 6 - 10 a.m.

Dear Editor: Could the City have

planned a better way to do all this construction? You bet. This is ridiculous how all the construction is on the main roads going into the west side of town. What is it doing to the busi-nesses?

Fred McKensey

From Editor Keary Speer:Dear Reader,I hear you! It seems like

every year each common route is plagued with con-struction. All we can do is keep in mind that once it is done it will be an improve-ment to our town. Also, we can take a little comfort in the fact that for every site of construction we see, we also see men and women at work. Maybe one day it will come to a standstill and we can enjoy our town as is.

Dear Editor:I just wanted you to know

that I love your delivery guy. He personally walks up to our doorstep; the paper is always in a plastic bag, and hanging on our door han-dle. Usually my papers are in my fl ower bed or at the end of my driveway ready to get ran over with my car. Your man walks up and de-livers it with kindness and a good conversation if I am home. This is the personal quality touch that separates a small business from a big business. Thank you for that customer service and thank Ken for his wonderful delivery.

Donna Shoeler

From Editor Keary Speer:Dear Donna,Thank you so much for

your kind words toward our delivery man. We really like him too! He is a quality per-son with a lot to share with anyone and everyone. We will be sure to let him know how you have enjoyed his work. He will be pleased to hear it as are we. Hopeful-ly, the quality of everyone’s work here at the paper is pleasing to our readers.

Dear Editor:Thank you so very much

for running the story about “Suicide Prevention Walk” in the last edition of your newspaper. It was well written and to the point. If the story doesn’t bring me “walkers” I guess I’ll have to put on billboards and stand downtown. Sort of like the Statue of Liberty people did for the tax preparers.

It is with community sup-port such as yours that I have raised close to $2,500 from businesses and indi-viduals in the Gillette area. During the Opening Cere-monies I will be announcing my Contributors and will be sure to mention the Camp-bell County Observer.

From Editor Keary Speer:There is no need to thank

us for running the story. That is what we are here to do! You are a shining example of exactly why we feel compelled to run this paper. It is you who keeps us going! Congratulations on what you have raised so far. I hope it contributes to your cause greatly!

Dear Editor:I am appalled about the

lack of politics in your pa-per. I tried to write in a let-ter that was 982 words. I know your rules are 300, but sometimes you need to bend those rules. This was all about the debt ceil-ing and needed to be heard by the uneducated public. You claim to be a commu-nity paper, written by the community but won’t allow my submission. We need to raise the debt ceiling, and raise taxes to get out of this debt. The Rich need to contribute more, they have the money. There is no reason for our economy to be where we are, except for the fact that the Tea-party conservatives are holding us back. There is also no reason that if you make more money, that you couldn’t give more. It is up to us, the people, to make sure government has the power (the elected Re-

publican government and therefor “the people”) has the power to do this or we all will fail.

John Hammond

From Editor Nick De Laat:Ok, I had to answer this

one. This is ridiculous thinking. We spend too much, so why not spend more? We are losing pri-vate industry so let’s cre-ate more government jobs? The rich must pay more because they earn more? I could see a fl at tax sys-tem (everyone pays 10%) or something like that. But while the poor get taxes back, the rich sometimes pay up to 52% taxes. Is that fair? I am not rich, but I do not believe in looters.

Let me let you in on a little something. The less taxes I pay for my little company here, the more I can ex-pand my company. If I ex-pand, I hire people. People pay taxes. Get it yet?

How about this; If I am talented enough to start a business from nothing and earn a living, should it be ok for someone who doesn’t want to work to feed off of my profi ts through welfare? That is stealing. I am not talking about elderly or dis-abled, but lazy. Looting is bad.

One more question. If you are in debt in your personal fi nances do you spend more, or cut spending to pay it off? All debt works the same. Just because it is easier to spend other peo-ple’s money doesn’t mean you should.

Rant Done.

Letters to the Editor

All opinions in the Public Pulse section

are not necessarily

the opinions of the Campbell

County Observer

Letters to the EditorYou may submit your letters to the editor the following ways:

Mail your letter to 5105 Tarry St., Gillette, WY 82718 or Email your letter to:

Letters@CampbellCountyObserver.comAll letters must be under 250 words and must be signed with a valid name and telephone number. We reserve the right to not publish any letter for any reason. We will call you before printing your letter for verifi cation that you wrote it for two reasons. The fi rst is that we do not want to print a letter that has the wrong name on it, and the other is that it is the position of this newspaper that any public opinions or writings where the source is hidden is not worth being printed.

9

Sports Report

The first day of practice for all Campbell County High School fall sports is Monday, August 15, 2011 except for football, which begins Monday, August 8, 2011.

All activity participants must have a current school physical dated on or after June 1, 2011. As well, they must sign a drug testing consent form, and show proof of insurance before the start of practice.

Specific practice times are listed below:

Football: grades 10-12Head Coach Vic Wilkerson

Sun (8/7) Check out gear in Locker Room #6 (North Campus)

• Seniors @ 3:30 pm• Juniors @ 4:15 pm• Sophs @ 5:00 pmMANDATORY Parent/

Player Meeting - 6:00 pm (Auditorium)

Mon (8/8), Wed (8/10), Fri (8/12) practice from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Tues (8/9) & Thu (8/11) practice from 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Volleyball: grades 10-12

Head Coach Toni HladkyMon (8/15) – Fri (8/19)

8:00 am - 1:00 pm at North Campus

Girls Swimming &

Diving: grades 9-12Head Coach Josh BottMon (8/15) - Fri (8/19)• 8:00 - 10:00 am at

Aquatic Center• 3:00 - 5:00 pm at Aquat-

ic Center

Golf: grades 9-12Head Coach Rory Wil-

liamsMon (8/15) – Wed (8/17)

7:00 am at Bell Nob Golf Course

Bring golf clubs and be prepared to play 18 holes.

Tennis: grade 9-12Head Coach

Mark MiesslerMon (8/15) – Fri (8/19)• Boys 7:00 a.m. - 9:30

a.m. and 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

• Girls 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

All practices at CCHS North Campus Tennis Courts.

Cross Country: grades 9-12

Head Coach Ron KlineMon (8/15) - Fri (8/19)• 7:00 am at Camplex

Park Shelter #4• 6:00 pm at Camplex

Park Shelter #4Parent Meeting August

15th @ 6:30 pm @ Cam-plex Park Shelter #5

Cheerleading: grades 10-12

Head Coach Kelsey Dewey

Mon (8/15) – Fri (8/19)• 9:00 am - 11:00 am and

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Open try-out Mon (8/15)

at 9:00 amAll practices at South

Campus Cheer Room

Marching Band: grades 9-12

Director Chris LubkenThur (8/11) & Fri (8/12)

9th & 10th Grade only• 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and

1:30 pm - 4:00 pmMon (8/15) – Fri (8/19)9-

12 Grade• 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and

1:30 pm - 4:00 pmMeet in CCHS North

Campus Band RoomParent meeting Aug. 12th

in Band Room, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Dance: grades 9-12Sponsor Donna PackardAuditions will be held on

Thurs. Sept. 1st (one day only) from 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. at the Live 2 Dance studio. Pre-registration is required, call 687-0207. Audition requirements and additional information lo-cated at www.live2dance-wyoming.com.

High School fall sports practice times

The Gillette Roughriders’ season ended Satur-day night as they lost to Cheyenne Post 6 in the American Legion AA State Championship 14-4. For Cheyenne, this is their third straight Wyoming state championship, and they improve to a record of 51-19. The Roughriders, meanwhile, finish the year with a record of 47-24.

Post 6 got out to an early lead against the Riders, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings, and then exploding for six runs in the third before adding another two runs in the fourth. The Riders were al-ready behind 10-0 before they scored their first runs in the top of the fifth. The Riders were finally able to get on the board against Post 6 when Dalton Mc-Cann drove in Westin Hinkel with a single to right field. After two strike outs, Dalton Cowen singled to third base, driving in Kadison Wass. The final run of the inning came from a Turner Lofing single up the middle of the field, bringing in Gavin Reimer. On the same hit, Dalton McCann tried to score from second, but he was gunned out at home by center fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Since the mercy rule was applicable, the Riders had to score at least one more run entering the sev-enth inning as they were behind 13-3. In the end, the Riders would extend the game by a half inning as Dalton McCann scored from second when Turner Lofing singled to right field. With three hits in the in-ning, however, Gillette was only able to add one run. Ultimately, Post 6 won on the mercy rule in the sev-enth inning after Jorden Mossey scored from third on a wild pitch.

For the Roughriders, Dalton Cowen was 2-3 at the plate with one RBI. Turner Lofing hit 2-4 with two RBIs, Westin Hinkel was 1-4 at the plate with one run, and Dalton McCann batted 2-3 with one RBI and one run. Dalton Cowen started out on the mound for Gillette, pitching just three innings, scat-tering nine hits, giving up eight earned runs, and striking out two. With the loss, Cowen’s record fell to 3-4 on the season. Westin Hinkel relieved Cowen in the fourth, throwing for two innings, giving up four hits and one earned run. Matt Fogle finished the game throwing 1 1/3 innings while allowing one hit and one earned run.

With Saturday night’s victory over Gillette, Chey-enne Post 6 advances to the Northwest Regional Tournament in Billings, MT beginning on Wednes-day. For the Riders, they can only look forward to the 2012 season, where they will have several players retuning. Next season, the Roughriders will be with-out Dalton Cowen, JT Zigray, and Robert Markve.

Loss ends Roughriders’

seasonBy Ted Ripko

The High Plains Adult Baseball League is cur-rently forming baseball teams in Gillette and the surrounding area, and they are looking to recruit any-one interested in participat-ing in this year’s inaugural season.

Those interested in get-ting on the field to enjoy America’s pastime are en-couraged to arrive at the Monday night games at Bicentennial Park 15 to 20 minutes early. Currently,

the games begin at 7 p.m. at Babe Ruth field 2. Ad-ditional weeknight games on days other than Monday will be added as new teams join the league.

Even if you believe you are too old, the league says not to worry because you’re still encouraged to partici-pate. The focus of this as-sociation is on having fun, bringing people together in an active, outdoor setting.

Those interested in playing or otherwise be-

ing involved should call Nick Marty at (307) 290-2207. Besides players, the league is also recruiting umpires and other sup-porting people. As well, managers with complete or nearly complete teams are encouraged to call.

For more information, visit the Black Hills Adult Baseball League website atwww.leaguelineup.com/bhabl

New adult baseball league forming in Gillette

By Ted Ripko, Basin Radio Sports

SPORTS BAR

We have a “Celebrity Chef” each Wednesday!

The Chef DRINKS FOR FREE!!!Please allow us to care cab

you home for this one.

1400 n. us hwy 14-16

Bike groups that host one large event each year with The Sports Bar will have two separate evenings

to raise money. The �nal Cruz Night will be donated to our favorite “non bikers” charity,

The Boys and Girls Club of Campbell County.

July 20 - Second BrigadeJuly 27 - CMAAug. 3 - BACCAAug. 10 - Elite FlysAug. 17 - UMFAug. 24 - WBAAug. 31 - Boys & Girls Club of Campbell County

To be in compliance with county ordinances we ask that patrons do not “burn out” when approaching the highway,!!!

The Sports Bar Cruz Nights are back!

10

Sports Report

IMCA MODIFIEDS - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 E5K Eddie Kirchoff Gillette , Wy 40.00 2 1 71 Byran Bettchor Sheridan , Wy 39.00 3 3 92 Harvey Tinnes Greenriver , Wy 38.00 4 4 02 Jeff Cooper Riverton , W 0.00

Late Model - Main Event Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 5 18 Tony Leiker Gillette , Wy 35.00 2 3 44 Eric Mass Rapid City, Sd 33.00 3 4 E5K Eddie Kirchoff Gillette , Wy 32.00 4 6 J Chris Johnson Rapid City, Sd 31.00 5 1 36 Kelly Hample Billings , Mt 30.00 6 9 F16 Scott Anderson Spearfi sh , Sd 29.00 7 2 97 Dan Henrikson Rapid City, Wy 28.00 8 8 21R John Robertson Gillette , Wy 27.00 9 7 71 Morris Oberle Lead , Sd 26.00

Late Model - HeatFinish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 E5K Eddie Kirchoff Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 5 36 Kelly Hample Billings , Mt 9.00 3 3 97 Dan Henrikson Rapid City, Wy 8.00 4 8 44 Eric Mass Rapid City, Sd 7.00 5 9 18 Tony Leiker Gillette , Wy 6.00 6 6 J Chris Johnson Rapid City, Sd 5.00 7 4 71 Morris Oberle Lead , Sd 4.00 8 7 21R John Robertson Gillette , Wy 3.00 9 1 F16 Scott Anderson Spearfi sh , Sd 2.00

LIMITED LATE MODEL - Main EventFinish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 8 6 Danny Allen - 75.00 2 5 2 Marty Erivez Gillette , Wy 70.00 3 2 81 Freddy Molnar Gillette , W 65.00 4 6 12 Brian Allen Gillette , W 60.00 5 4 C4 Toby Smith Gillette , W 55.00 6 3 99G Galen Guzenhauser Casper , Wy 50.00 7 1 71 Donald Molnar Gillette , Wy 48.00 8 7 01 Jason Snyder Gillette , W 46.00

Thunder Stock - Main EventFinish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 8 80P Duane Haines Gillette , Wy 35.00 2 6 13S Seth Cavanaugh Gillette , Wy 33.00 3 5 80 Chad Horst Gillette , W 32.00 4 7 S16 Teresa Schuler Wright , Wy 31.00 5 4 01 Brittni Snyder Gillette , W 30.00 6 3 6 Chris Russell - 29.00 7 2 21 Cyle King Wright , Wy 28.00 8 1 13T Austin Long Gillette , Wy 0.00

Thunder Stock - Heat 2Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 13S Seth Cavanaugh Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 1 21 Cyle King Wright , Wy 9.00 3 4 80 Chad Horst Gillette , W 8.00 4 3 6 Chris Russell - 0.00

Thunder Stock - Heat 1Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 4 13T Austin Long Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 1 80P Duane Haines Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 3 01 Brittni Snyder Gillette , W 8.00 4 2 S16 Teresa Schuler Wright , Wy 7.00

Midwest Mod - Main EventFinish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 1 34H Rob Hoffman Gillette , Wy 35.00 2 4 14 Kenny Bell Gillette , W 33.00 3 2 2J Jerry Martin Moorcroft, Wy 32.00 4 5 10J Scott Joslyn Gillette , Wy 31.00 5 7 1* Scott Edwards - 30.00 6 10 28S Cannon Slawson Gillette , Wy 29.00 7 6 26 Ray Nash Evansvile , Wy 28.00 8 9 23 Ernie Acuna Gillette , Wy 27.00 9 8 23DB Maklain Harrison Gillette , Wy 26.00 10 3 27 Scotty Fischer Gillette , W 25.00

Midwest Mod - Heat 2Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 5 2J Jerry Martin Moorcroft, Wy 10.00 2 3 14 Kenny Bell Gillette , W 9.00 3 4 26 Ray Nash Evansvile , Wy 8.00 4 1 23DB Maklain Harrison Gillette , Wy 7.00 5 2 28S Cannon Slawson Gillette , Wy 0.00

Midwest Mod - Heat 1Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 1 34H Rob Hoffman Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 4 27 Scotty Fischer Gillette , W 9.00 3 5 10J Scott Joslyn Gillette , Wy 8.00 4 3 1* Scott Edwards - 7.00 5 2 23 Ernie Acuna Gillette , Wy 6.00

Mod Four - Main EventFinish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 5 33 Robert Harley Casper , Wy 35.00 2 9 50 Wade Manning Gillette , Wy 33.00 3 4 5 Justin Williams Gillette , Wy 32.00 4 2 00 Benjie Bayne Casper , Wy 31.00 5 3 70X Steve Schickentanz Casper , Wy 30.00 6 8 27 Gene Eckman Casper , Wy 29.00 7 6 307 Tom Manning Gillette , Wy 28.00 8 1 42 Dakota Estrada Cheyenne , Wy 27.00 9 7 55 Duane Manning Gillette , Wy 26.00 10 10 37 Chris Harley Evansville , W 0.00

Mod Four - Heat 2Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 2 33 Robert Harley Casper , Wy 10.00 2 3 307 Tom Manning Gillette , Wy 9.00 3 5 5 Justin Williams Gillette , Wy 8.00 4 1 50 Wade Manning Gillette , Wy 7.00 5 4 37 Chris Harley Evansville , W 0.00

Mod Four - Heat 1Finish Start Car Driver Hometown Race Points 1 1 55 Duane Manning Gillette , Wy 10.00 2 5 70X Steve Schickentanz Casper , Wy 9.00 3 3 42 Dakota Estrada Cheyenne , Wy 8.00 4 4 00 Benjie Bayne Casper , Wy 7.00 5 2 27 Gene Eckman Casper , Wy 6.00

Race Results

Ted Ripko (Basin Radio Sports) and Nick De Laat (Campbell County Observer) Broadcast the Gillette Roughrider District Championship tour-nament live on am1270 KIML. Ted has been broadcasting local sports including baseball, basketball, and football for over 3 years in the area. Nick recently joined the team for the last three home games of the sea-son. Tune in during future sports games to listen to the duo bring you a quality show, great entertainment, and knowledge of your local sports that you will not fi nd anywhere else.

The Campbell County High School Lady Camel fast pitch softball team will be holding tryouts for the fall season on Monday, Au-gust 15, and Tuesday, Au-gust 16, at Sampson Field at 6pm both nights.

Players are required to attend both days of tryouts. The Lady Camels will also be having open fi eld nights

on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the next two weeks at Sampson Field from 7-8:30pm.

This will be the 2nd full season for the Lady Cam-els who played their inau-gural season against teams from South Dakota. They will now be adding other Wyoming teams to their season schedule. This sea-

son The Lady Camels will have doubleheaders once a week against teams from South Dakota and then have league games on the weekends in Gillette and across the state.

The fall 2011 fastpitch softball season will wrap up in October with the 1st ever Wyoming High School Fast Pitch State Tournament.

High School Fastpitch Fall Ball tryouts

By Ted Ripko, Basin Radio Sports

“A tough day at the offi ce is even

tougher when your OFFICE

contains spectator seating.”- Nik Posa

Friday, August 5-Roughriders @ Northwest Re-

gional Tourney, Billings, MT, TBA

Saturday, August 6-Roughriders @ Northwest Re-

gional Tourney, Billings, MT, TBA

Sunday, August 7-Roughriders @ Northwest Re-

gional Tourney, Billings, MT, TBA

Monday, August 8-Roughriders @ Northwest Re-

gional Tourney, Billings, MT, TBA

Thursday, August 11-CCHS Marching Band Camp, 9

a.m.-4 p.m., North Campus

Friday, August 12-Roughriders @ American Le-

gion World Series, Shelby, NC, TBA

-CCHS Marching Band Camp, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., North Campus

What’s Going On In Sports?

Gillette Roughrider’s Broadcasters

Patriot Publishing is a small publish-ing business start-ing up right here in Wyoming. We not only publish the Campbell County Observer and calen-dars, but anything in print. We will soon also have a monthly publication that we think you will enjoy. If you have a book and can’t get a ma-jor company to pub-lish you, we are a new and American-owned publisher that may print your work. Please feel free to contact us at anytime with your idea.

P

atriot Publishing

When we think about what we use in life today, many things come to mind. Cell phones, portable music, computers, tele-vision, and much, much more. However, something not many of us think about is how they came to be so accessible, and who made it possible. The answer lies with one man: Thomas Edison.

Thomas Alva Edison was born February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. In the next 84 years there would be few men that matched his contributions to his-tory and technology. As a boy he attended only three months of school, before his lack of concentration on the work relegated him to homeschool-ing.

He moved to Michi-gan in 1854, where he began creating businesses to help him earn some extra money. Later he found work as a teleg-rapher, which would ultimately provide the springboard to his future as it was there he met his mentor, inventor Franklin Leonard Pope. These ventures would prove to be just the beginning, however, of an extraor-dinary career.

Living with Pope in New Jersey, it was there Edison came up with the idea for his phonograph in 1877, allowing people for the first time to record audio and replay it

back (although the audio quality left some-thing to be desired).

With the money he acquired from the sale of his phonograph, Edison was able to, in 1879, make the best light bulb to date. While they had existed previously,

Edison was the man who finally made it cheap and reliable, perfect for a growing American population.

While Edison’s sto-ry could take up many more pages, it seems appropriate to, in-stead of writing about the rest of his life, sum up his life’s work with those things that his mind brought to life. The following are a few of the highlights of his career and the 1,093 patents Edison held – the inventions of a true innovator.

• Phonograph • Motion Picture Camera• Filament Light Bulb• Electric Vote Counter• Vacuum sealed food • Electric Grid• General Electric (Founder)• Stock Ticker• Alkaline BatteryIt is amazing to think of what these in-

ventions have become today, and where they will be in another 80 years. We can only imagine.

11

Toys (ATV’s, Boats, etc.)

Toy Parts & Accessories

Home Appliances/Furnishings

Sporting Goods

Lost & Found

Personals

Boat for Sale with trailer. Needs work. Call 670-8980 for info.

2006 Cabella’s “Lowes Sun Cruizer” 20 ft. Pontoon 95 HP Mercury Outboard Motor (less than 50 hrs). Good Condition. Call 680-2982 or 696-7512.

Stock pipes for Sportster. 500mi. Stock pices for Dyna Wide Glide. 1500mi. Email baxtersmom62@gmail.com for info.

Small washer. Needs new belt, $25. Email USSailorPatriot@gmail.com

Microfiber couch with 2 recliners com-bined. Green. $100 Call 299-4967.

Booth Table. L-shaped. With Chairs. Seats 6. $500.00 Call 299-4967

Like new Horizon Elliptical. $300 obo. Call 299-7058 for more info.

Wanted to BuyI Buy Militaria. Swords, uniforms, bayo-nets, medals, guns/parts, field gear. 682-7864

Newspaper vending machines. Contact us at: CampbellCountyObserver@gmail.com

Interested in founding a Sherlock Holmes Society in Gillette? Contact gillettesher-lockians@gmail.com for info.

FOUND: one large trampoline. Currently located at 5350B M&M circle. If yours, please pick up any day any time. If not yours, do not trespass.

Autos, Trucks and Vans

Campers & Motor Homes

1981 Harley Davidson FXB-Sturgis, 1st dual-belt drive to commemorate Hill-Climb @ Sturgis, Jack-Pine Gypsies rally started in ‘41, 50th anniversary model. 12K on straight-up original paint, new Moetzler’s driven-by beefed Shovel, 102hp at wheel. Perfect in every aspect, serious inquiries only, loan is $15K and value of over 25K. Ben 680.7464, 3-other older bikes and this has to go to the right person!

2008 Hyundai Sonata LMTD, 40,000 mi. $13,500, Call 307-660-2532.

‘76 Electra-Glide would consider trade on Pan or Knuck if ya know of anyone, ‘81 sent it to LA-S&S, 11.5to1 and dual-plugged to run regular-gas, had burn-out time at Hog-Jam! Ben 680.7464.

1994 Ford Ranger. Black. With Topper. Runs Good. 85k Miles. 2300 obo. Call 307-299-0223

1997 32ft. Class A Motor Home. Sleeps 6, Only 31,000 Miles. Asking $17,000. Call (307) 660-7520.

Large Private RV/Camper Lot for rent. Big yard, trees. All utilities available. $400 per month, $400 deposit. 1 year lease. Call (307) 660-1007.

Local journalists wanted. Always wanted to try? Must be 16 yrs of age. Contact us at CampbellCountyObserver@gmail.com

Advertising Sales for our weekly paper. Great commission rate, set your own hours. Contact us at CampbellCountyOb-server@gmail.com

Contributors wanted for weekly newspa-per. Need a doctor, a Politician, a lawyer, and more to contribute an article a month. E-mail CampbellCountyObserver@gmail.com for more information.

Sports writers, event writers wanted. Gil-lette, Write, Recluse, Rozet. Call 670-8980.

Help Wanted

Minnows, crawlers, leeches, fishing tackle, boating and camping supplies. Fully furnished cabin rentals, 50 Amp Full Hookup RV sites 5 minutes from Key-hole Reservoir in Pine Haven. Empire Guesthouse & RV Park 307-756-3454. www.empireguesthouse.com

Camping/Fishing

Home for sale by owner in Western Way. Asking $239,000 for the 1,800 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an unfinished basement and a two car garage. Fully fenced, large landscaped yard with a sprinkler system. Home is within walking distance to the new recreation center and the new elementary school that is being built. Please contact me at 307-670-1209 if you are interested.

Homes for Sale

Welsh Corgi Puppies. 3 females, and two males. 682-2598

Pets

Cook needed at Lu La Bells. Motivated and Energetic. Days Only. Apply at Lu La bells.

1-5 bedroom units available for rent. Please contact Real Estate Systems of Gillette Inc at 307-682-0964 for all the up-dated details.

Apartments for Rent

Tri-level house for sale 4 bed 2 bath $209,000 (307) 670-1925.

- LIMITED TIME ONLY - Free Classified Ad - 10 words or less

(Private ownership only - No businesses)For more details visit www.campbellcountyobserver.com

or call (307) 670-8980

WILL PAY CASH FOR CAMPERS. Call Scott (307) 680-0854.

Classifieds

Heavy Equipment/Trailers6x10 trailer. Great shape, fits your biggest Harley. $1,400 obo. 299-4967.

Our Roots

Gorgeous 3 Bedroom 2 Bath with a Den. 1800 sq. ft/ Culdesac lot. Financing avail-able. For a personal showing call 687-0222

Looking for office space to rent. Afford-able, 1000 square feet or more. Call 6700-3037

Office Space Needed

Thomas EdisonBy Mike Borda

Central Campbell County Improvement and Service District and the Sleepy Hol-low Homeowner’s Association are now ac-cepting applications for the administrative secretary position. Need to have good of-fice skills with experience in Quickbooks and office software a must. This is a part-time position, with variable hours. Also, must be able to obtain a notary. Need to have resume turned into the office at 6304 Irving Blvd. no later than August 10, 2011.

Friday, August 5-Campbell County Fair-BACA- Wright-Teen Open-Play Video

Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL-Cody Canada & The De-

parted with Walker Williams Band @ Jakes Tavern

-Senior Center Summer Soiree, Carry In Dinner 5 p.m., Dancing 6-9 p.m.,

Musician Eddie Prazma, $5 per person or $7 per cou-ple, 686-0804

-AVA-Uncorked! 7-9 p.m., $35 Class Fee, 682-9133 for more info.- MUST BE 21 TO ATTEND

-Movies in the Park, 7:30 p.m., Cars, Camplex Park Shelter #3, $5- Children 4 & under FREE

Saturday, August 6-Campbell County Fair-BACA- Wright-Keyhole Rhythm & Ribs

2011, Pine Haven, www.pinehavenchamber.org for more info.

-Farmer’s Market, 8 a.m.- 12 p.m., Gillette College

-Trash to Trees, 8 a.m.- 12 p.m., Gillette College Tech. Center

-Campbell County Hu-mane Society Dachshund Race, 1 p.m., Camplex

-4th-6th Grade Wii Play Saturdays, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

-Teen Open-Play Video Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

-Car Racing; CLMA/WDRA, 7 p.m., Gillette Thun-der Speedway

-Walker Williams Band @ Jakes Tavern

Sunday, August 7-Campbell County Fair-CCPL- CLOSED-UMF Meeting @ Jakes

Tavern-Lions Club Tournament,

Gillette Golf Club, 682-4774 for more info.

-Senior Center Carry-In Game Day, 12 p.m., 686-0804

Monday, August 8-Senior Center Golf Scram-

ble, 686-0804-Wyoming Nature Camp,

Aug 8-12, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., 1-6 Grades, $150 per child,

Call (307)733-1313 or visit www.wynaturecamps.org for more info.

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-AVA-Kidz Summer Art Camp for Boys 8-12 yrs. Old, Aug. 8-11, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.,

$60 Fee, 682-9133 Pre-Registration Required

-AVA- Life Drawing Class, 7 p.m., 682-9133

Tuesday, August 9-HealthCHECK Testing,

7-11 a.m., CCMH Lab, 688-1222 for more info.

-Wyoming Nature Camp, 8 a.m., 1-6 Grades, Gil-lette College Tech. Center, (307)367-7007

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-AVA-Kidz Summer Art Camp for Boys 8-12 yrs. Old, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., 682-9133

-Story Time, 3-5 yr. old, 10:30 a.m., CCPL

-AVA-Adult Beginner Paint-ing, 6:30 p.m., 682-9133

Wednesday, August 10-Children’s Immunization

Clinic, 8-11:30 a.m., Public Health

-Wyoming Nature Camp, 8 a.m., 1-6 Grades, Gil-lette College Tech. Center, (307)367-7007

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-AVA-Kidz Summer Art Camp for Boys 8-12 yrs. Old, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., 682-9133

-Story Time, 3-5 yr. old, 10:30 a.m., CCPL

-Teen Open-Play Video Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

Thursday, August 11-WGSA Tournament, 23rd

Mid Amateur,(All Day), Bell Nob Golf Course

-HealthCHECK Testing, 7-11 a.m., CCMH Lab, 688-1222 for more info.

-Wyoming Nature Camp, 8 a.m., 1-6 Grades, Gil-lette College Tech. Center, (307)367-7007

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-Senior Center- Tin Lizzie Bus, 9 a.m., 686-0804

-AVA-Kidz Summer Art Camp for Boys 8-12 yrs. Old, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., 682-9133

-Toddler Time, 18 months-3 yrs. Old, 9:30 a.m., CCPL

-Story Time, 3-5 yr. old, 10:30 a.m., CCPL

-Dry Fork Station Dedica-tion Ceremony, 10:30 a.m., Dry Fork Station, Call 682-3673 for more info.

-August Business After Hours Mixer, 5-7 p.m., Gil-lette College Tech. Center

-AVA-Adult Intermediate Painting, 6:30 p.m.

-CC Cowgirls/Cowboys, 6:30 p.m., Camplex Wran-gler Arena, 687-0566

-Families & Jammies, Birth- 6th Grade, 6:30 p.m., CCPL

-Outdoor Connections, 6:30 p.m., McManamen Park, Provided By NWOC, 660-5076

Friday, August 12-WGSA Tournament, 23rd

Mid Amateur,(All Day), Bell Nob Golf Course

-2nd Annual City Tennis Tourney, (All Day), Rec. Cen-ter Field House, 682-8527

-Wyoming Nature Camp, 8 a.m., 1-6 Grades, Gil-lette College Tech. Center, (307)367-7007

-Wright Annual Used Book Sale, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Wright Library

-Teen Open-Play Video Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

-Mark Twain 100 Years Later- Endowment Fund-raiser, 5:15-7:30 p.m., CCPL

-Couples Night, Gillette Golf Course, 5:30-6 p.m., 682-4774

-Artist Reception for Cen-tennial Committee, 6-8 p.m., Camplex Heritage Center South Lobby,

682-8802 for tickets-Movies in the Park, 7:30

p.m., School of Rock, Cam-plex Park Shelter #3, $5- children 4 & under FREE

-Stone Monkey Band @ Jakes Tavern

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12

Our Roots

Providing a suffi cient amount of water to meet the demands of an ever-growing population has al-ways been a challenge in Gillette, requiring creative, not to mention costly, so-lutions even in the earliest days of our town’s history.

The very fi rst water crisis began the day the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail-road made the decision to run the track north of an existing community call-ing itself Donkey Town and created a new settlement, named after one of the rail-road’s track engineers, two miles north. Donkey Town, named after the creek, had a source of water. The new town had a mostly-dry seasonal drainage wash, optimistically named Stone Pile Creek. Not only would the new population require drinking water, but steam engines required water as well. Added to that was the plans for a large stock yard for shipping sheep and cat-tle from Gillette to eastern markets, which would also require water.

From 1891 to 1906, the new community of Gillette made do with what water they could get from shallow wells, hauling water from Donkey Creek and pump-ing water from a nearby seasonal pond we now call Burlington Lake. But it was apparent to all parties that, in order for the town to grow, something needed to be done. Fortunately, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad had a solution. The proposed to the town a canal sys-tem that would divert wa-ter from Donkey Creek to Stone Pile Creek and from Stone Pile Creek into the seasonal lake, which would be enhanced with a dirt dike. In a 1920 article, the Campbell County Record said of the original pro-posal “… strange as it may seem, there were few those days who thought that the town would ever grow to any proportions and it was generally talked among our residents that it was bet-ter for the town to permit of the building of the ditch than of getting the ill will of the company and losing the freight division point, and thus it was put through.” A very good point, consider-ing railroad communities either thrived or withered on the whims of railroad of-fi cials who decided where certain off-shoot business-es would be built along their lines.

Construction of the Burl-ington ditch began in 1907 and was completed in 1908. The ditch ran from Donkey Creek, through the lower part of present-day Sutherland Estates and Sage Bluffs subdivisions, crossed to roughly parallel with Boxelder Road where it runs between 4-J and Highway 59. It then ran di-agonally northwest, cross-ing Gillette Avenue next to where the George Amos Memorial Library would

be built in 1941, and con-tinuing back to 4-J road. Running due-west, south and parallel to what would become Highway 14-16, it crossed the road at the Rock Pile, wound around the town’s main landmark then turned northwest again to feed into Stone Pile Creek just north of the railroad tracks and west of Burma Road. Although the natural streambed of Stone Pile runs north of the tracks until just east of Brooks Avenue, at some point an-other portion of ditch was run on the south side of the tracks, dividing the tracks from the town. Two wooden bridges were constructed on either side of Gillette Av-enue to facilitate passen-ger traffi c between the de-pot and town. This portion of the ditch fed back into Stone Pile Creek at Brooks Avenue. A third portion of ditch was dug from Stone Pile, just west of modern-day the baseball fi elds at Bicentennial Park and ran east to the holding pond, which had by this time a va-riety of names: Burlington Lake, Burlington Reservoir and Gillette Reservoir.

As with most Gillette wa-ter projects, it was a costly endeavor. Expenses went far beyond just digging a ditch. Buildings in the path of the ditch had to be moved. Several bridges had to be constructed and maintained. Head gates, dikes and dams had to be installed along the ca-nal system. All of this was done at the railroad’s ex-pense, which meant that the entire water system, once completed, belonged to the railroad. This was both good and bad. The railroad was, indeed, re-sponsible for the mainte-nance of the ditch system and everything relating to it, however permission had to be granted by the rail-road for anything crossing it. This included things like proposed bridges crossing over it and town water sup-ply pipes crossing under it. Early on this was not much of a diffi culty, but it became increasingly burdensome as town growth came into confl ict with the ditch. At one point, permission to move the city dump from one side of the ditch to the other had to be granted.

Another problem became apparent early on. The ditch was prone to fl ooding during heavy rains. In 1909, the fl ash fl ood caused by a large hail storm wiped out a half mile of dike at the head of the ditch. But the worst disaster occurred one Au-gust evening in 1912, when nearly two inches of rain came down in a two hour time period. During the del-uge, the ditch overfl owed and the water turned Gil-lette Avenue into “a veri-table sea of water,” accord-ing to the Gillette News, “the gutters being utterly inadequate to carry off the immense volume, and as a result many business hous-

es were caught by the over-fl ow, cellars were fl ooded and fi rst fl oors inundated, ruining several thousand dollars’ worth of goods of different kinds.”

Burlington ditch broke in several places, washing out nearly every bridge that crossed it. The sidewalks on the east side of Gillette Avenue, all being made of wood, fl oated away down the street. Most of the businesses that existed on Gillette Avenue at the time suffered fl ood dam-age. Passengers, debark-ing from train number 43, were faced with the choice of staying put at the station or trying to wade across the rushing, waist-deep torrent of water that sepa-rated them from the hotels in town. The Goings Hotel fl ooded both its cellar and some of the lower rooms to a height “suffi cient to cover the mattresses on the beds.”

At the Montgomery, one block down from the Go-ings, and across the street, the water fi lled both cellars and six inches of water cov-ered the fl oors on ground level. The water also lifted off the cellar door that cov-ered an opening in the front of the building. J. A. Wood, foreman of the Burlington roundhouse, was walking by the hotel and stepped into the open cellar hatch, and sunk out of site. Ac-cording to the Gillette News, “He managed to pull himself out of his perilous plight uninjured and ahead 35 cents for a fi rst-class bath.”

At the Dodd and Fowlston saloon, patrons decided to save the establishment by building a bulkhead across doorways. Two feet of wa-ter showed on the outside, but the bulkheads kept all but two inches of water out of the building. Presumably they saved happy hour.

The greatest amount of property damage was suf-fered by the Daly Brothers general store where it was estimated they lost about $5,000 of goods. Accord-ing to one account, about $1,200 of this was a ship-ment of prunes. They sued the railroad for damages and received $1,000 in res-titution, then allegedly dried the prunes out and sold them later that summer.

Demands to fi ll the ditch in probably started that next day, but it was not un-til 1920 that a serious look into removing the ditch got people’s hopes up. The railroad went so far as to send offi cials to Gillette with a plan to rework the canal system by rerouting from Donkey Creek on a path that would have tak-en it around the west side of dump hill, similar to the Burma Road extension. It would then join up with the existing ditch near the Rock Pile. Part of the plan called for a portion of it to be subterranean. It also included a larger dam to be built at Burlington Lake

Water Projects,Early Gillette Style

By Jeff Morrison

so that it could hold even more water. The only prob-lem was that it would cost an estimated $125,000 at fi rst-blush. By January of 1921, the railroad reneged on the proposal due to the expense, and the ditch stayed, even though it cost them a small fortune to maintain it and the bridges crossing it. And the growing town was demanding more bridges every day.

It took another twenty years before the railroad relinquished ownership of the ditch to the city in 1942, and another fi ve years be-fore the ditch was mostly fi lled in and the old bridges removed. In the mean-time the ditch continued to fl ood from time to time, but fortunately never to the extent that it did in 1912. As the ditch disappeared, so did the ground water in northern Gillette. When I was growing up in the late 1960s and 1970s, Stone Pile Creek was a dry gul-ley that ran behind my best buddy’s house, where we road bikes, had dirt-clod fi ghts and built forts into the banks. I did not even know it had a name until I was an adult. Burlington Lake was a hit or miss mud pud-dle. Some years it would fl ood enough to wash out part of Warlow Drive, but most years there was not any water in it. It was later dredged to become a per-manent lake and bird ref-uge.

Very little of the Burling-ton ditch remains today. There is a small section of it that has been preserved on the corner of 4-J and Boxelder, along with some equipment that was used for maintenance of the ditch. However, the best preserved portion of the ditch can be seen at the Rockpile Museum on High-way 14-16. Here, the ditch was dug into the slope on the eastern side and bends around the Rock Pile and runs northwest toward the corner of Burma Avenue and First Street. The ditch that ran from Stone Pile Creek to Burlington Lake remains intact. It was re-worked by the city in 1964 to draw spring fl ood water away from the housing that was built just north of the railroad tracks along Stone Pile Creek. The portion of ditch that ran in-between First Street and the railroad tracks is actually still there, but it has slowly been cov-ered over with cement slabs until it has become a tunnel.

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“The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy

appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.”

-Ronald Reagan

Answer: Gillette College outside of the

Science Department.

Monday, August 8-CCCD Board Meeting,

4-6 p.m., District Conference Room

-City Council Work Session Meeting, 6-7 p.m., 2nd Floor Community Room, City Hall

-Planning Commission Meeting, 7 p.m., Council Chambers, City Hall

-Wright Town Council Workshop, 7 p.m., Council Room, Town Hall

-Wright Town Council Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Council Room, Town Hall

Tuesday, August 9-Board of Examiners,

12:30 p.m., Community Con-ference Room, City Hall

Thursday, August 11-Parks & Beautifi cation

Board, 5:30 p.m., 2nd Floor Community Conference Room, City Hall

-Campbell County Public Land Board, 7 p.m., Cam-plex Board Room

What’s Going On In Government?