Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| June 11, 2015 News Letter Journal |  |
|
©
News Letter Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 16 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
June 11, 2015 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
1 00
June 11, 2015
Westor . Cou- ty
************ALL / DC 980
1054 02- 06- 16 -[ ,4P 2T
SMALL TOWN PAPERS, i
217 W COTA ST /
SHELTON WA 98584-2263
hdl'illliilil'ili,lJi,l,el,l,dilil,hi lHilli,dliiqlh
Newcastle, Wyoming
Year 129
Week 24
Ertman convinces
commissioners to
table landfill vote
Alexis Shultz
NLJ Reporter
Despite Commissioner Randy Rossman's
insistence at their May 19 meeting that the
Weston County Commissioners needed to make
a decision on June 2 regarding the estab-
lishment of a solid waste district for Weston
County, that decision was again postponed after
Commissioner Marry Ertman moved to table the
resolution until their June 16 meeting.
The commissioners approved that motion
despite indications that the majority of the group
was in favor of creating the district.
Denice Pisciotti
NLJ Reporter
Combining resources to
utilize recreational facilities
already in place in Newcastle
through the hiring of a full-time
Community Recreation Director
was the topic of discussion at a
joint meeting of members of
the Eastern Weston County
Recreational District and the
Newcastle City Council.
School Board Trustees Bob
Bonnar, John Riesland and Joe
Corley represented the recre-
ation district, with council
members Linda Hunt, Steven
Ladwig, Kara Sweet, Todd
Quigley and City Eflgineer Bob
Hartley representing the City
of Newcastle on Wednesday,
"In my opinion, there is no harm in cre-
ating that board," declared Commissioner Tony
Barton, noting his belief that the group had to
form a countywide solid waste district and get
the ball rolling before more significant issues
arise (see related story on page 7).
Barton had a resolution prepared that would
establish a Weston County Solid Waste District
and create a board that would be tasked with
exploring all options the county has moving
forward in their effort to address concerns over
the imminent closure of all the existing landfills
in the county.
County ARorney William Curley announced
that he had no further legal information regarding
the topic, but was comfortable with the resolu-
tion written by Barton.
One of the toughest hurdles in forming a
countywide district is caused by the existence
of a solid waste district in the Osage area, but
-- See Landfill, Page 7
June 3.
The purpose of the meeting
was to see if the interest in
hiring a Community Recreation
Director was genuine on the
part of both entities, and both
groups quickly agreed that it
is financially more prudent to
combine their efforts and hire a
Rec Director than it is to fund a
new facility.
It was also quickly pointed
out that no decisions will be
finalized until the issue is
brought before both full boards.
"Building buildings sounds
great-- we have some nice
ones-- but they come at a cost.
Just (look at) the pool alone,
which is a great recreational
facility-- very under-used but
yet very costly to continue to
operate. My biggest fear is you
build a building, and everyone
celebrates this year, but after you
have to come up with mainte-
nance and utilities and wear and
tear, then we are back to square
one," Weston County School
District #1 Superintendent Brad
LaCroix said at the onset of the
meeting.
The Wyoming Business
Council's Northeast Director
Dave Spencer has been, con-
tacted with proposals from
Eastern Wyoming Recreation
District #1 about a Community
Recreation Director, and also
by residents Scan and Priscilla
Pruitt about the possibility of
building a new community rec-
-- See Reeroatlon, Page 3
Uplifted
Crew leader Kelsey Wood plays a game with the children assigned to her group on the first
day of Vacation Bible School at the First United Methodist Church. Several area churches
combine resources to provide the event. Activities will continue from 1-4 p.m. every day
this week. Event organizers are encouraging families who have not yet participated to
bring their children to the church to experience the fun and' l~arning provided. (Calbi
Ausmann for NLJ)
Alexis Shultz
NLJ Reporter
The county commission's efforts to
secure easements for all roads main-
tained by the Weston County hit a
snag- or a speed bump- when property
owners who own the piece of land
where one of the county's main arteries
runs requested a number of concessions
in writing before agreeing to sign an
easement.
At their June 2 meeting, the Weston
County Commissioners discussed
recent requests made by John and
Sharron Ackerman regarding a long-
sought easement for the portion Salt
Creek Road that goes past their house.
The Ackermans had approached the
commission in person at their May
19 meeting, and then provided a letter
that will not be detrimentalto those
who will be affected several years from
now, due to the probability of greatly
increased flow of traffic on Salt Creek
Road," declared the Ackermans in their
letter. The increase in volume they
refer to is the traffic that they believe
will coincide with the creation of the
Wyoming Club, a proposed golf resort
listing their requests, in order of pri- " located a short distance down the road
ority, at the urging of the commission, from the Ackerman property.
"Our hope is to sign an :easement Prior to agreeing to the easement,
the Ackermans requested that the com-
mission promise to apply magnesium
chloride to the road every two years for
dust control, claiming the road had not
been treated with the chemical in four
years. The commissioners, however,
disputed that claim, and when reading
the letter during the June 2 meeting,
suggested that the couple must not have
realized that the road had been treated
in the summer of 2014.
The Ackermans also requested that
the county install two approved speed
bumps, one above the turn into their
driveway and the other below their
driveway, near the sharp comer on Salt
Creek Road near their home.
The couple would also like the
county to abolish all prior easements
on their property, and it was pointed
out that currently the county does have
a road easement for the location, but it
-- See Easement, Page 3
,:%
Pisciotti
NLJ Reporter
Newcastle science teacher Doug Scribner, left, and Rare
Element Resources' Mike Finn show part of the personal rock
collection of Lewis B. Lee being donated to Newcastle High
School by his family on behalf of Rare Element Resources
(RER). Daughter of the late collector is Robbin Lee, Director
of Investor Relations for RER. She and her family said they are
pleased that the collection, which consists of approximately 200
samples, has found a new home at the school. (Submitted Photo)
Bob Bonnar
NLJ Editor
Rare Element Resources has made two significant announce-
John Olenyik has taken two different
career paths since the 1980's. Both of them
brought him to Newcastle, and after a two
year sojourn in Sheridan Cougty, his path
, has brought him back to Weston County
again. -~:
When the county manager position at
Northern Wyoming Mental Health opened
up in Weston County, O!enyik, who has
a Masters of Divinity arid is a Licensed
Professional Counselor, was asked to
return to Newcastle to fill the vacant
position in Weston County. His famil-
iarity to the community made the position
appealing to the counselof, but a new task
piqued his interest as well.
"Part of what will make this a chal-
lenge is that our county manager up in
Sundance, in Crook County, Jerry Solyst,
is retiring at the end of June, so we have
decided as an agency to combine the
two offices. We will still have an office
in Crook County, and we will still have
one in Weston County, but I will be the
manager over both offices now," reported
Olenyik.
His time will be divided between
ments in recent weeks pertaining to its proposed Bear Lodge the offices in Sundance and Newcastle,
Critical Rare Earth Project located in northeast Wyoming, and and as the county manager he has dual
company officials believe both developments will help push the responsibilities-- both as manager of the
project forward, agency and also as a counselor who will
On April 29, :the company officially announced that it had see clients. His position in Sundance,
however, will mean he will not see as
,~ -- See RER, Page 6 many patients as past managers have in the
Newcastle office.
That said, he is looking forward to
seeing new clients, and taking the case
load of the previous county manager, Chris
Winter, who resigned from the agency
to take another position. Olenyik will do
the same in Sundance when the county
manager leaves next month.
When asked by NWMH Executive
Director Lynne Whittington to come back
to Newcastle to combine the offices in both
counties~ the answer was easy, not only
fr~ma practical aspect because he still
owns a house in town, but also because
he has a long term relationship with the
community.
In the 1980's, Olenyik originally
came to Newcastle to serve as the United
Methodist Minister. He later left to serve
other communities in the state and in
neighboring Colorado. After he retired
from the ministry and changed careers,
he came back to Weston County to start At the I~ewcastle office for Northern Wy-
a substance abuse program at Wyoming oming Health, secretary Julie Domino,
Boot Camp. When a position at NWMH counselor Myra Ford and County Man-
opened up after former manager Mike ager John Oienyik discuss the schedule
Ratigan retired, Olenyik began working, forthe day on Thursday, May 14. (Denice
for the agencY he still works for today, Pisciotti/NLJ)
but almost two years ago, Olenyik left the /
counselor position in Newcastle to be the in Sheridan than we do in our other three
county manager in Sheridan County. counties combined;' he acknowledged.
He said working there was beneficial As a firm believer in the necessity and
and helped him grow in his career, value of community mental health, he
"I saw that as a good opportunity, a wants the Newcastle office to provide any
good learning experience and a challenge, and all mental health services possible for
Sheridan is our largest service area. We
provide more services and see more clients -- See Olenyik, Page 7
:Thursday I Friday Saturday Sunday rhu.ders,orms I Tuesday Wednesday INSIDE
Thunderstorms Thunderstorms Thunderstorms Sunny Partly Sunny
l% Hi75Lo51 Hi 78 Lo 54 Hii7, LoSA Hi 78 Lo 56 l Hi 80, L i6
l.o 50 I Partly Sunny Hi 79 Lo 54 Land Lords, Page 6
: Inspired, Page 8
I::;: (J H0op Dream, Page 9
i
m