Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| October 1, 2020 News Letter Journal |  |
|
©
News Letter Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 3 (3 of 18 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
October 1, 2020 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
editor@newslj. com
Our View
The NLJ Skyline is changing too!
Weston County certainly hasn’t
escaped the impact of the global
pandemic that has been a part of our
lives for most of 2020, but you really
couldn’t tell by looking around here.
We can’t help but marvel yet again
at our community this week because
we’re awed by the fact that there
have been so many significant steps
towards progress here at a time when
much of the country has been crippled
or shutdown by the pandemic (and
countless other calamities) for more
than six months.
During that same time frame,
Newcastle has been transformed
from the opening of the new Decker’s
Market and the ongoing construction
of the travel center at the east end of
town to the instantaneous change on
our western skyline when the refinery
tower was slowly lowered
on Tuesday.
There are countless other signs of
positive change in our community,
and the News Letter Journal is proud .
to have been able to undertake our
own facelift at such an exciting and
historic time. We hope the wall mural
that is rapidly coming into form at
the top of Main Street will offer a
welcome change of scenery and join
the list of other improvements that
will make 2020 mean something a
little different and more positive - to
folks around here than it does in other
parts of the world.
While the mural may be our
most obvious and visible change, the
News Letter Journal has been quietly
undergoing a much more significant
transformation in our operation over
the course of the past year.
Like these other Newcastle busi—
nesses, we have decided to “go big
or go home” by making significant
investments in our operation with an
eye towards serving this community
well into the future.
It is no secret that the nation has
lost a number of newspapers in the
past decade as the internet has grown
in popularity, and while the NLJ has
remained strong through this media
transition, we hope to grow even
stronger in the future by recently
embracing the internet much more
than we ever have before.
We have taken big strides with our
website, newslj.com, in the past six
months and our social media presence
is unrivaled by any other news and
information outlets in our region.
The changes we have made allow
us to provide Weston County with a
credible local news source that uses
modern technology to engage with
readers and deliver the news they
need on a whole new level.
If you haven’t done so yet, we
invite you to join the nearly 2,500
people who now follow us on
Facebook (News Letter Journal), or
jump on our new Twitter feed (@
NewcastleNLJ) to keep up with the
news that impacts you from Weston
County - and across the state and
the world.
Of course, our best online product
is the News Letter Journal’s award
winning website, newslj.com, and
we urge you to check out everything
it has to offer from our local news
and photos to the biggest headlines
from across the state. You’ll quickly
see why we’re averaging well over
a million hits per month since the
beginning of this year!
Most of all, we hope you keep
picking up or subscribing to the print
edition of the News Letter Journal,
” which will also be undergoing some
changes as we move forward over
the course of the next year. The paper
copy}, of the NLJ is still our flagship
product, and will continue to be until
the people of Weston County tell us
they are ready to move on and get all
of their news online. Until then, the
newspaper will continue to provide
Weston County with a vibrant and
effective voice, while making it an
even greater reflection of the com-
munity we serve.
But it is now safe to say that the
News Letter Journal is no longer just
a newspaper. We are a newspaper
media company, and we will do our
best to produce a high quality of
online products to meet the growing
demand for digital news delivery in
our world today.
‘ We are excited that so many of
you are embracing our efforts to
provide news online so you can
access it anywhere and anytime, and
we hope we can count on you to
support these efforts by purchasing
print and online subscriptions. We
will be offering other promotions to
our readers in the weeks and months
to come that will provide additional
opportunities for you to support local
journalism financially through spon-
sorships, and humbly ask that you
consider those requests as well.
It is no secret to news consumers
that the advertiser-supported business
model that finances most newspapers
including this one is changing sig-
nificantly. The newspapers who hope
to survive and succeed in the modern
world will have to generate financial
support in other ways, and we are
excited to announce that we plan
to unveil a number of community-
supported packages and campaigns in
the weeks to come both in print
and online!
This newspaper has grown to
become one of the finest in Wyoming
and the nation as a whole over the
course of the past 130 years, and we
owe that to the partnership we enjoy
with not only our readers, but also our
business and civic partners.
Thanks to your trust and loyal
support, we are confident that the
News Letter Journal will continue '
to be yet another source of pride for
a community that is blessed with so
many of them already. ‘
Letter to the Editor .......................................... ..
Flag etiquette is
simple
To the Editor:._ , .
Upon the recent death;
of Supreme Court Justice '
Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
the president signed a
proclamation that flags on
all state and government
buildings be flown at
half-mast till sunset of the
day of her internment.
Being a veteran, I have
always flown my flag in
honor of our great country and for those who
died under her colors. I applaud those citizens
I think it sends
flag when a proclamation is sent out to do so,
a confusing message when a
neighboring business lowers theirs and you do
. i not. Personally.
‘1!"
I;think. it -i$tlllri999‘}§lfidb but: 5;.
a
l
:10»;
understand gitsis agcitoige to do so.. .5
Flag etiquette is sixnple:
always shine a light on it when
flying at night, never let her touch
the ground and replace her when
she begins to fade and show signs
of being tattered and worn.
Taking the extra step to fly her
at half-mast when a proclamation
is issued, to me shows respect and
love of country. If you ever have
any questions about flag etiquette, contact your
American Legion; we would be happy to help
and businesses who chose to fly the flag, but find answer any questions
you might have.
it disturbing when they chose to ignore proper
flag etiquette.
While you are not mandated to lower your
— Deb French
American Legion District Commander
HT; /
i
I
if:
. Need totalk to a...
public servant? '
County Commission Members’ contacts:
746-21 08
Ed Wagoner (Chairman) ,
Marty'Ertman ‘ ’ 746-2351
Tracy Hunt 746-8898
Barton 7 756—2561
ether? tad; 468-2381
’ ' leeurtty Clerk) 746—4744
ngovw.eom
Outback took a beating during this summer
yoming’s gigantic
back yard its
national forests and
wilderness areas took a
mighty beating this summer
as Americans tried
to escape from urban
areas and get away
from the scourge of
the COVID—l9 virus.
From one end
of Wyoming to the
other, campgrounds,
isolated trails, and
hidden lake areas
were discovered
by a new kind of
visitor. These were
folks desperate to
find pristine mountain places
away from the dreaded virus
that has claimed over 200,000
people in the USA since
March. They wanted open
air where they could breathe
without masks and could
socially interact with their
families without worrying
about getting sick. They were
looking for Wyoming’s famed
Outback.
My friend Jim Hicks in
Buffalo said he heard local
reports that the campgrounds
and restroom areas in his Big
Horn Mountains were littered
with human droppings, toilet
tissue, and miscellaneous
junk left by people not used
to showing respect for the
Bill 5mm...
My Wyoming
back country.
He said you look up at the
mountains and see camper
trailers and pickups in places
you have never seen people
parking before. It
must have been
crowded.
Some 200 miles
to the southwest,
the obscure back-
country trail head
at Big Sandy, east
of Pinedalc, had
its parking lot
filled with 400
vehicles on the
last weekend in
August, according
to noted photographer
Dave Bell.
Bell said he counted 300
vehicles at the Elkhart Park
trailhead lot at’ the same time.
He said: “It’s been quite a
summer. Never seen anything
like it. Reports are all major
trailheads were like this——
Green River Lakes, Spring
Creek Park, Scab Creek plus
the two mentioned earlier.”
‘Bell also lamented: “And
now with the incredible
blowdown which occurred,
the trails are in very bad
shape with downed timber. It
looks like pick-up-sticks.”
My daughter Shelli
Johnson, who roams the Wind
River Mountains all summer,
remarked on the numbers of
people in formerly empty
areas plus increased amounts
of litter, which just was not
seen in _pfevious years.
Former lbngtime
Fremont County Sheriff
Skip Hornecker said: “I
experienced the same thing
while riding for cows up the
Popo Agie River. It was very
common to run across two to
three groupsof backpackers
each day. Unfortunately, it
appeared that some were not
prepared for the adventure
they were on. The early
September snow storm caught
several unprepared and the
Sheriff’s OffiCe had over
seven rescue situations as a
consequence.”
Mountain Journal
founder and columnist Todd
Wilkinson wrote: “At Forest
Service campgrounds near
Jackson, piles of human
waste and toilet paper were
ubiquitous and so was litter.
The smelly messes were
spread throughout an area in
the middle of public land fre-
quented by bears, including
at times the famous Jackson
Hole Grizzly 399 and
her cubs.
“When talking with
managers of state and federal
public lands these pandemic
days, two issues popped
up: what to do about large
amounts of human feces
deposited in wild places
and how to handle far too
many visitors,” he continued.
“Bothrissues have served as
a wake-up call to both land
managers and environmental—
ists about the downsides of
recreation.”
Let’s hope this summer
was an exception. If these
folks liked what they experi-
enced and plan to come back,
then we need to educate
them.
Facts show that tourists
did come to Wyoming in
near-record numbers, which
was a shock. The season
started slowly because of the
COVID-19 epidemic but then
about July 4, the floodgates
opened and they came to
Wyoming from all- directions.
Yellowstone National
Park had its second largest
August visitation ever, which
is truly remarkable because
of the lack of Asian tourists.
In recent years, the park has
been flooded by Chinese,
Indian, Japanese, and other
Asian folks. .
And yet, the park visita-
‘tion numbers soared.
These were Americans I
escaping the bondage of
social distancing and strict
laws concerning social gath-
ering and travel.
Besides the folks visiting
the main tourist attractions,
the number who wanted to
escape to the hills was an
all-time record, too. Records
were set at campgrounds
all across the state. It was
hard to find a camping spot
without a reservation.
This would have been
a great summer to sell an
RV. Companies that rent
motorhomes and campers
were sold out.
We love tourism. It is our
No. 2 industry and certainly
the brightest spot in the
Wyoming economy going
forward, virus or not. But
perhaps we need to somehow
let our visitors know that just
because they are out in the
wide-open spaces, it does not
give them the right to prac-
tice bad habits.
Bill Sniffin is a retired
newspaper publisher who has
penned a number of books
about Wyoming. He appeared
for author’s receptions at
both the Weston County
Library and News Letter
Journal. Check out additional
columns written by Bill at
www.billsniffin.com, and find
volumes from his coffee table
book series, which have sold
over 30,000 copies, for sale
at the News Letter Journal.
October 1, 2020 — 3
News Letter Journal:
WPA and NNA
Award Winner
1* . ‘
loll Bonner
Publisher
Kim Donn
Managing Editor
Moxie Barker
' News Editor
Katolvnn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
Soul- Karl!
Sports Reporter/
Photographer
IIII‘IIIIII m
NLJ Correspondent
Waller Sprout
Arts and Culture
Reporter
Dillon Mongol:
Siri Karr
Dodger.
Amy Menerey
WWI:
Ann Cottrell, James Lane
We strive to cover all the news
and entertainment important to
the people of Weston County,
Wyoming. Our entire staff takes
part in the decision-making
process of what appears in these
pages and all content is locally
generated. If you have a story
idea please contact any of the
people you see here. NLJ editori-
ale appear in theupper leftmand
corner of this page and are writ-
ten trom the position of the news-
paper, usually with the influence,
of several people, and in the hope
that they will carry the weight of
our 100-plus years of leader-
ship. The personal columns and
letters appearing elsewhere on
this page, and others, represent
the opinions of single individuals
and do not necessarily reflect the
position of the newspaper. The
NLJ welcomes and encourages
your Letter to the Editor. We will
print all signed, original letters
of local interest. Please provide
a phone number for verification.
We will not publish letters that are
libelous or scurrilous in nature.
Letters of thanks are offered at
a reduced price in our classified
section.
Stop In Monday—Friday
at 14 West Main Street,
Newcastle, Wyoming
POSTMASTER: Please send
any address changes to the
News Letter Journal, PO Box
40, Newcastle, WY 82701.
Annual Subscription Rate,
Print OR Online
In Weston County ........ .. $45.50
Out of County ................... ..$57
Senior Citizens (65+) ........ ..$30
Military .......................... .. FREE
Student, In State ............... ..$27
Student, Out of State ........ ..$33
Print + Online, add $5
.. H E
News Letter Journal is
published each Thursday at 14 W.
Main Street in
Newcastle (Weston Co.) WY
82701. Periodicals postage paid
at Newcastle, WY.
USPS No. 389-940.
Deadline for advertising is
the prior Friday at 5 pm.
To provide news and
entertainment for, and to serve
the best interests of, the people of
Weston County
VISIT US
ONLINE
news'lj.com
Serving Weston County since
1889. All contents are property
of the News Letter Journal,
(NLJ) Copyright 2019.
NLJ is a publication of
News Letter Journal, LLC,
Robert H. Hicks, owner.
' ‘_-".-€'x" MTV;
t..
.DOOOOQOQ
ll