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News Letter Journal
Newcastle, Wyoming
April 9, 2015     News Letter Journal
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April 9, 2015
 
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editor@newslj.com April 9, 2015 -- 3 news letter journal N@W$ CEO visits hospital Denice Pisciotti/NLJ Weston County Health Services Board Trustee, Barry Peterson, Pharmacy Manager Tavis Weidenbach and Angela Phillips, Infection Prevention, Employee Health and Credentialing Coordinator, listen to Regional Health's Chief Executive Officer Brent Phillips talk about ways he can help the critical access hospital. Regional Health has a Management Agreement with WCHS to help operate the facility through the employment of the hospital's Chief Executive Officer, Maureen Cadwell. Although Cadwell is employed by Regional Health (which also owns and operates the local clinic), she is selected by the local hospital board. Regional Health also provides consulting services for the depart- ments withinRegional Health. Council deals with leave :lexi$ 'z that policy is stated in days instead of days and half days, NLJ Reorter instead of hours, which would provide for all The Newcastle City Council passed a resolution at their regular meeting on April 6 that will change the wording When it comes to how city employees' vacation, funeral, ]nd sick leave will work. City Clerk/Treasurer Charita Brunner addressed the issue in a Personnel Committee Meeting in March, explaining that a Newcastle Police Officer had needed three days of paid leave for a funeral, Because members of the police force work 10 hour shifts, that was equivalent to 30 hours, which created some confusion because most city employees would only get 24 hours of paid leave for a three day absence. Previously, the funeral leave was set up so an employee could take up to three days, which the officer did, but Brunner feared that a precedent :had been set that was unfair to employees that only work an ight hour day, as compared ,to the ten hour days work by police officers. "- The committee discussed at the issue lies in the fact L;' "Everything works on hours anyways," Chief of Police Jim Owens suggested, noting that employees still work a 40 hour week regardless of whether that is covered in eight or 10 hour shifts. He said there are incon- sistencies in other aspects of the policies as well, and spe- cifically mentioned the issue of vacation leave, which is taken in either half day or full day increments. He explained that because of the department's ten hour shift schedule, his officers are losing out when it is worded this way because half days are described as a four hour period, while full days only cover an eight hourperiod. : 'q totally understand his concerns With vacation: Funeral leave is my only issue," declared Brunner, expressing concern that the officer received a six hour benefit over what everyone else would receive for the same situation. City Councilman Roger Hespe offered a solution to the committee that would simply involve changing all leave hours to cumulative hours employees to access the same amount of time. City Attorney Jim Peck wrote a resolution that addressed these issues, and it was presented by Mayor Greg James on April 6 at the coun- cil's first meeting of the month. The resolution converted leave days to hours, and established that vacation can be taken in one hour increments and sick leave can be taken in 15 minute intervals. It also established that funeral leave can include no longer than 24 hours, but there was no limit on how many times an employee can access funeral leave. "Unfortunately, deaths happen,Y. : professed Hespe, the former':A'gton County Coroner, wberV, discussion arose concerning the number of times an employee can access the funeral leave. The resolution passed the City Council with no discussion and everyone in favor of the motion made in support of the resolution by Councilwoman Linda Hunt and seconded by Councilwoman Kara Sweet. Gas selection period underway • SourceGas Distribution LLC ("SourceGas") launched the start of the 2015 Wyoming Choice "Gas selection period on Friday, April 3, 2015, which runs through Thursday, April 23, 2015. Residential and commercial natural gas cus- 0mers will have their annual opportunity to select from one of seven pre-qualified sup- pliers. During the three week selection period, suppliers are competing to provide for each customer's natural gas commodity needs for the upcoming Choice Gas period, which runs from June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016. SourceGas customers should have received their selection packets on or before April 3. The participating natural gas suppliers will provide information on various pricing options to customers during the three weeks of the selection period, either directly or through .advertising. "The Choice Gas selection period gives customers an easy way to choose the supplier and price option that suits them best, thus man- aging their monthly natural gas utility bills," said Rich Brewer, Choice Gas Administrator. e'We encourage all our customers to actively participate by evaluating the different pricing options offered by the Choice Gas suppliers and making a selection that makes the most sense for their energy needs and budget. SourceGas will continue to provide their utility distribution and billing service regardless of which supplier the customer chooses." The Wyoming Choice Gas Program, entering its 19th year, has always experienced high customer participation. For further informa- tion on the Wyoming Choice Gas program, contact SourceGas at 1-877-245-3506 or visit the Choice Gas website at www.choicegas.com. TOUr from page 1 .......................................................................................................................................................... attend the session, according to Catchpole, can look forward to inclusive dialogue aimed at generating ideas. "Tour 23 is designed to begin conversations in 23 counties with 23 business and community leaders in an open forum," the invitation declared, and Catchpole explained that the session will give the private and public sectors of the business world an opportunity to convene in a common 'work space and include themselves in dialogue 'that will hopefully generate ideas. He continued that another question he hopes can be answered is "What do we do in the future?" in order to help continue ongoing success for Wyoming businesses. "These conversations will culminate in a report on public and private economic activities and best practices across the state," proclaimed the invitation. Cathpole reported that after the meeting at every location, a document will be generated that will serve as a draft report. He clarified that the reason for doing this is to ensure that nothing gets left out of the report and that it can be compiled with the most accurate information from the sessions. In actuality, Catchpole continued, there will be a total of 24 draft reports due to two sessions being held in Lincoln County. These draft reports will then be combined into an overall statewide report showing the economic activities and prac- tices for the entire state. "The report will be featured at the Governor's economic forum in November of 2015," the invitation concluded. Catchpole expanded on this, adding that the report will also be available for anyone wishing to view it because it is going to be completely public. Tour 23is set to kick off on April 13 in Crook County, and it will continue across the state until early summer. The tour is being endorsed by. the Wyoming Bankers Association, the Wyoming .Economic Development Association, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, chamber of commerce, state legislators, and others. ,::: Visit us online at www.newslj.com! e Memorial Hospital of Converse County Orthopedic and Sports Medicine specializes in the treatment and repair of sports related, injuries, traumatic injuries, fracture care and total joint replacement. The group's anterior approach to hip replacement typically involves an overnight stay in the hospital, faster recover times and less pain. Newcastle Clinic Located at North Platte Physical Therapy 360 West Main Street Newcastle, WY 82701 . Call to make your appointment (307) 358-7302 Memorial Hospital of Converse County Department of Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Douglas, WY 82633 ....... www,ConverseHospital,com - (307) 358-2122 - Equal Opporturdty Provider Dr, Scott Croft