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Newspaper Archive of
News Letter Journal
Newcastle, Wyoming
March 12, 2015     News Letter Journal
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March 12, 2015
 
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8 -- March 12, 2015 news@newslj.cora news letter journal N@W$ NEED TO FEED A LARGE GROUP? Call in your order, pick it up and take it to your location. Real Food. Really. 834 S. Summit • 746-2176 Tues- Thurs 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday - Saturday 11 a,m. - 9 p.m. 108 W. Adams, Riverton, WY 82501 Medicare Beneficiary Assistance Provided: • Low-Income Extra Help • New to Medicare Counseling • Applying for Medicare & Social Security • Medicare Fraud & Abuse • Understanding Medicare Summary Notices • Questions/Concerns/Issues • Counselors available statewide LOCAL HELP FOR PEOPLE WITH MEDICARE 307-856-6880/800-856-4398 Toll Free II nl ...... April 24% 25 'h & 26% 21115 cn 11003 6 utg II00: l00.omino Horse Expo Something for Everyone... Free Admission ('.linicians. Stallion Alley, Vendors, 4-H Judging, Guest Speakers, Private Treaty Horse Sales, Parade of Horse Breeds, Kids Games, Concessions For more. information, contact 307-358-3862 or 307-358-3675. "Promodotml support prorided b: the (;onrJe Couttv "It trism ? romotion Board." Fees 0 "0 Blood cannot be manufactured, and there is no substitute. Its only source is a healthy volunteer donor. Please donate today! BIoodUnited'?'iii Services Call UBS in Rapid City at 800-834-8525 or log on to www.unitedbloodservies.org to make your appointment! Four Generations Sitting left to right: Parents Brooke Schmidt and Jeff Brown hold newcomer Jaxson Richard Dean Brown, who is in town visitin great grandparents Joyce and Dick Brown. Standing: Grandparents Shona Little and Brian Wriz took advantage of the opportunity to reconnect with family, old and young, as well. (Submitted Photo) Home visit program may get funding Alexis Shultz NLJ Reporter On Feb. 19, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced $1 million in grant awards to support the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, or the Home Visiting Program, in Wyoming, according to a news release. It may take some time, however, for any of that money to make its way to Weston County. The Home Visiting Program is one part of President Barack Obama's Early "It will be awhile before we get briefed," Bickford explained. She said that when money comes from the federal government, there are gen- erally strings attached and those strings determine what the money can be used for. Those guidelines will also determine who gets what portion of the money made available to Wyoming. "Over time, the money will be sent to Wyoming," Bickford professed, noting again that it will likely take some time to process the grant, and it will be awhile before Wyoming actually sees this money. Learning Initiative that focuses on high- According to the news release, $386 ., a.fant and toddler careL The,,railtion was awarded nationally to states; r: , administered by the::Health d;ritones, and nonprofit orgamzaUons to :: esource's and Services Administration in support the Home Visiting Program, with close partnership with the Administration of Children and Families. Weston County Public Health Nurse Lori Bickford told the News Letter Journal that at this time she does not know spe- cifics about the money because the grant was awarded so recently. a total of $1 million coming to the state of Wyoming. The Home Visiting Program has conducted more than 1.4 million home visits nationally and serves children in 721 counties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. The program served 115,000 parents and children across the nation in 2014, with[ nearly 80 percent of participating families having household incomes at or below the federal poverty level. Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., RN, and administrator of the Health Resources and, Services Administration, explained thall the program gives parents who choose to, participate the tools they need to suppo positive health outcomes for their children She adds that evidence-based home vis- iting services are proven to help improv both maternal and child health, as wellj as prevent child abuse and neglect and enhance school-readiness. "Home visits by a nurse, sociall worker, or early childhood educator) during pregnancy and in the first years of life can make a tremendous difference ir the lives of many children and their fami! lies," stated Secretary Burwell. "Today's awards give Wyoming the flexibility to tailor its home visiting programs to address the specific needs of the com- munities it serves." I WCHS Contractor one has dealt with them yet. It took him a couple of weeks, and inquiries at different offices in Cheyenne, to find the answer to whether the contractor, Scull, could still be hired to do the job at WCHS, and after much research, Peck determined that the work the company would be doing at the facility in the pre-construction phase would actually determine if in state preference would apply. A special WCHS board meeting was held on Tuesday, March 3 to discuss with Peck and the project architect what the construction manager job would .entail. It was decided Scull's duties would be that of a managerial service, as opposed to a contractor who would actually be building the project. Because they are providing a professional service, Scull could be hired to oversee the project. "As we talked about at the last board meeting, we are having a special board meeting just for clarification on our general contractor, and to see if a decision needed to be made for a change. That is why we are here," WCHS Chief Executive Officer Maureen Cadwell stated to the four board members in the room-- Jill Sellers, Connie James, Georgeanne Materi and Jimmy Long. The attorney reported the key question to be answered was whether they were hiring a construction manager agent or a con- struction manager at risk. Peck said the difference is that the first is a professional providing managerial services, while the second is technically a "contractor." Architect Mike Glassing was asked to review Wyoming statues to determine which of these applied to the position in question. "I asked them to concentrate on looking at the difference between whether it was professional services or building. They basically sent me an email that stated that they considel'ed the job that would be done would be more professional. The company would provide some building services. That would be part of the contract but very little. It would mainly deal with infection control. Otherwise, if there was anything that the company would like to bid on, they would bid on it just like any other company would. It would be basically managerial services overseeing the project, putting the specs together, but not the same as a construction manager at risk," informed Peck. All parts of the contract will still be bid out, with appropriate 1 from page 1 ............................................................................................................................... t I preference given to in-state bidders according to PecM "We do this in other states with a lot of the same rules-- the CMGC (Construction Manager General Contractor) not doing the work. If they do, they have to bid on it just like everyone else," Glassing reported. Peck indicated the statues were a "hodgepodge." They indicate residency is required for the architectural firm, which is CTA,', Before the meeting in January, the attorney had looked into the matter and decided that of the company's two offices in Wyoming, they have a presence in the state, j "I think Mike and I spoke for about an hour, and he wen through the different projects and what they would be doing. I came away, and my feeling was that we could justify that what we are hiring is managerial not building. The statute that actually applies here-- I have tried to get clarification on this from thei attorney general's office, and they just sent me the statute-- it says e excluding contracts for professional services. Those are the magic words," said Peck. When the bids were looked at by the selection committee t earlier this year, among the choices was a Wyoming contractore Dick Anderson Construction, which is a Montana corporatioq that has offices in Wyoming qualifying it as a resident business. However, the decision to hire the out-of-state construction manage was made due to a number of different advantages, with the mai deciding factor being the proximity of Scull's resources if needed.e Those resources are only an hour away, explained Glassing. The board decided to stick with the original decision to hire Scull. Trustee Long referenced the document used to grade con- 3 tractor choices, and said the clear answer was Scull, even if they were more expensive. ,; "I think as long as we have appropriate documentation that we. have done our due diligence to make sure that we are complian with state statues, we have done what we needed to do. We have already made that decision, and I think, in my personal opinion they (DAC) are still a Montana company and I think we are better, off, even if they are cheaper. If we have closer access, especialli with the time line we have got for construction, they (Scull) can get things here within the hour," said Trustee Chairman Sellers. r Locally owned businesses recirculate 70% more money back into our community. 111" 1 14 West Main Street • 746-2777