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Newspaper Archive of
News Letter Journal
Newcastle, Wyoming
April 9, 2015     News Letter Journal
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April 9, 2015
 
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$1.00    1 .  ....... l'* W *** ALL FOR ADC 980 .... • .... :  !ll 'qllllPql!F illlllB: ; SM17LL COTA ST , INC  SHELTON WA 98584-2263 April 9, 2015 Newcastle, Wyoming Year 129 Week 15 Spinnin' Minion Denice Pisciotti/NLJ Weston County Health Services found creative ways to direct potential customers to the new pharmacy that opened in Washington Plaza last week. Wyo business tour here next week Alexis Shultz NLJ Reporter The •Wyoming Business Alliance is interested in hearing ideas about business and economic growth from residents of all of Wyoming's 23 counties, and as part of the effort to generate that input, repre- sentatives of the agency will be in Weston County next week. "Wyoming celebrates its 125th birthday this year. This landmark anniversary of statehood is an ideal time to reflect on the future of Wyoming communities. We share the goal of keeping Wyoming's economic engines running for a sustainable future - but the question is how to get there," states an invitation from the Office of the Governor addressing the "Tour 23" initia- tive that is intended specifically to answer that question. The Wyoming Business Alliance has created "Tour 23"' and representatives of the organization say it is designed to begin conversations in 23 counties. Wyoming Business Alliance Vice President Fred Catchpole informed the News Letter Journal that the tour will actually involve 24 locations and reports because two meet- ings are scheduled for Lincoln County. Weston County has been selected for the second stop on the tour, and the session here will be held at the Upton Community Center on April 15. It begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., followed by the actual program, which starts at 8:00 a.m. and ending at noon. Those who -- See Tour, Page 3 City okays rec center study Alexis Shultz NLJ Reporter On Monday night, the Newcastle City Council agreed to sign on as a sponsor for a grant for a feasability study to look into the idea of a com- munity or recreation center. The council sponsored the grant application at the request of Mrs. Wyoming, Priscilla Pruitt, and her husband, Scan, but Newcastle Mayor Greg James made it clear to the council that sponsoring the study involves no financial commitment or city monies. He also clarified thai city staff will in no way be involved in the writing of the grant. "As long as they are making the commitment, we should at least sponsor the grant," expressed James. Scan Pruitt explained, th the purpose of this study if to determine what would best work for our community in regards to a recreation or com- munity center. He added that the study will also look at existing -- See City, Page 7 A new view on art Denice Pisciotti NLJ Reporter A number of suggestions were made about ways to incorporate more art at Newcastle Elementary School at a Weston County School District #1 Board of Trustees meeting early last month, and since then Superintendent Brad LaCroix and the WCSD #1 leader; ship team have been developing a plan to better instruct elementary students in art. The WCSD #1 Administrative Team first had to determine if the district would be able to continue to offer art at its current level to older classes next year, and LaCroix told'the board at last week's meeting that class schedules for the 2015-2016 school year are still being arranged, but the plan is to keep as many elective classes as possible at both Newcastle High School and Newcastle Middle School. When it comes to art in the grade school, however, hiring a specific instructor to teach art in the school is not likely, but the superintendent suggested the district could do a better job of teaching a different quality of art by taking a new approach. -- See Art, Page 7 Feds put FOCUS on crime victim week Alexis Shultz NLJ Reporter FOCUS Director Donna Howard was proud to announce to both the Newcastle City Council and the Weston County Commissioners that the organization had received a federal grant through the Victims of Crime at the Office of Justice Program at the U.S. Department of Justice in order to host an event on April 21 for Victims Crime Awareness Week. "About a year ago, I wrote the grant," Howard explained, noting that Newcastle was lucky enough to be one of the two grants awarded in the State of Wyoming. A total of only 90 grants were awarded throughout the entire nation. She explained to the commissioners that the grant is aimed at addressing a topic that is not the easiest to discuss, and that her reason for applying for the grant was her desire to bring FOCUS, the Foundation of Caring, Understanding Services, more visible in the community. "The purpose of the event is to make people aware that crime happens all the time, and that we are partners with crime no matter what, whether it's a family member or a friend" pro- claimed Howard. For the event, Howard and her employees interviewed a variety of groups and individuals from both Newcastle and Upton. Those people told their story of crime, and how it has person- ally affected them. She made it clear that the organization made sure to discuss the issue with a variety of people, from a variety of back- grounds-- including youth, seniors, minorities and ex-law enforcement. "From that conversation, we developed a core board that represents their story," Howard revealed, adding that these 10 core boards will be unveiled at the April 21 event, and those involved in the project will have the opportu- nity to share their stories. News Letter Journal Publisher and Editor Bob Bonnar will attend the event, and has agreed to share the stories of those that wish to remain anonymous, Howard revealed. "I'm especially excited because Newcastle was awarded one of these federal grants," Howard beamed. Commissioner Randy Rossman asked Howard why she thought Newcastle received one of the grants, and she jokingly replied that it was "because she wrote such a wonderful grant," before indicating that it was likely because the federal government was trying to choose projects that were unusual. She feels that the plan submitted by FOCUS was very unique in comparison to others. She also added that a part of the government's decision could lie in the fact that her project involved working one-on- one with people and groups to create the final presentation. The event planned by Howard and FOCUS is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, April 21, at 6 p.m at the Weston County Senior Services Center, but she hopes the core boards will become a traveling display that can be used throughout the state. City wants to install cameras Alexis Shultz NLJ Reporter "We've been experiencing a lot of vandalism," declared Mayor Greg James to the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting that followed the regularly scheduled meeting of the city council on April 6th and after little discussion on the topic City Engineer Bob Hartley received full support in purchasing and installing cameras at three loca- tions throughout Newcastle. "Bob's suggestion is to spend the money and install some security cameras;' professed James. Hartley explained that the city had purchased and installed a security camera at the bathrooms located at Dow Park and within 24 hours they had found a member of the youth whom had been building fires in the sinks. He continued that since the installation of the camera the vandalism there has seemed to stop. "If we have two more cameras, maybe three," Hartley reported, adding that this would allow for one to be installed at the bathrooms at the baseball field, the bathroom at centennial park, and another to be installed at the skate park. All of these loca- tions seem to be prime targets for the vandalism in the area. Hartley shared with the committee how the cameras work, he stated that the cameras record constantly and when an incident is reported they can go and access the camera and download the recording onto a laptop that can then be taken to the police station for further investigation. Few issues come with the installation of the cameras which cost between $3,000 and $4,000. Issues that will have to be addressed when installing the cameras include having an electric source to power the camera, as well as locating the camera so civilians can not reach and destroy it but where city employees can access it. "I think we should go for it Bob, because we've got to stop this," affirmed Councilwoman Linda Hunt. Councilwoman Kara Sweet added that the word will quickly spread through town that there are cameras at these locations and that once you set a precedent that suspects will be caught and you will face consequences than this should help with the issue. "Catching is one thing but prosecution is the other thing," announced Councilman Todd Quigley. Mayor James agreed that prosecution is part of the solution but declared that he does not know what that will look like with the county attorney but in his opinion the suspect should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The committee came to a general consensus supporting Hartley and the city crews purchasing and installing cameras at these three locations in order to help prevent and solve the large van- dalism problem that is plaguing the community we live in. Photo courtesy of Linda Hunt City responds to recent vandalism, llke this recent attack on Serenity Trail with plans to install security cameras in various places around town. " Thursday Friday  Partly Cloudy Partly Sunny  Hi 50 Lo 28 Hi 60 Lo 33 I Saturday Partly Sunny Hi 68 Lo 38 Sunday Partly Sunny Hi 57, Lo 32 Monday Windy Hi 58 Lo 36 ,.% J Tuesday Wednesday INSIDE Partly Sunny Partly Sunny Hi 69, Lo 35 Hi 56 Lo 3] • Got Gas?, Page 3 • Junk Junipers, Page 6 • Science Stars, Page 8 • Simply the Best, Page 11 l