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SMALL TOWN PAPERS, INC
i 217 W COTA ST
SHELTON WA 98584-2263
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October 22, 2015
Newcastle, Wyoming
Year 129 Week 43
Todd Bennington
NLJ Reporter
Talk of the potential move of
Upton's city hall and police depart-
ment to the Upton Community Center
continued at the town council's regular
meeting held at the center last Tuesday.
There, Upton Mayor Dustin Upton
told those assembled that he felt that
the possible option of selling the com-
munity center has proven unfeasible.
"What happens there is that you
have to pay back the moneys that
you generate off of that," Mayor
Upton explained of his discussions
with the Wyoming Business Council.
"An appraisal would be done on the
building ... and then the state would
get those moneys back."
The town would therefore be
unlikely to net any money from
the sale of the currently underused
building, which opened in 2011 with
funding from the Wyoming Business
Council and the Upton Economic
Development Board.
Instead, both Upton and City
Superintendent Mark Lindstrom
seemed to be in favor of pursuing
the possibility of moving the town's
police department and city hall to the
community center for reasons of space
and cost effectiveness.
"It's just one way of combining all
our utilities, insurance, maintenance,
and getting ridding of all the old build-
ings," said Lindstrom. "To do a new
-- See Upton, Page 9
Pieutured at left: Participants gathered at VFW Post
2516 on Saturday afternoon in somber remembrance
of fallen service members Army Staff Sgt. Ryan L.
Zorn, who died in a vehicle rollover in Iraq in Nov.
2009, and Marine Staff Sgt. Brian D. Bland, killed in
a helicopter crash, also in Iraq, in Jan. 2005. Bland's
mother, Beverly, was presented with a flag in honor of
her son by South Dakota Gold Star Mothers. Christine
Bestgen, president of the South Dakota chapter of
what is a national veterans service organization, said
her branch is attempting to reach out to neighbor-
ing states in order to help compensate for what she
described as a breakdown in the group's networking
and communications in Montana, Wyoming, and the
Dakotas. Beverly and Christine are pictured above.
(Todd B ennington/NLJ)
Todd Bennington
NLJ Reporter
SmartAsset.com, a New
York-based financial tech-
nology company, has ranked
Weston County as having the
lowest fuel tax burden in the
state, with the average driver
paying $295 in fuel taxes
annually. That compares to an
overall state average of $351
and a nationwide average of
$243, based on SmartAsset's
calculations.
Wyoming fuel taxes, which
are collected at the level of
supply terminals rather than at
the pump, are consistent state-
wide, so the site's calculations
in determining average fuel tax
burden at the county level actu-
ally took into account a variety
of other factors, such as the
number of drivers and miles
driven.
SmartAsset's methodology,
according to the company,
consisted of first distributing
statewide vehicle miles traveled
down to the county level using
the number of vehicles in each
gallons of gas used per driver
in each county was calculated
using the nationwide average
for fuel economy and multiplied
by the fuel tax.
Data utilized in the study
was derived from GasBuddy.
com (fuel prices,), the
American Petroleum Institute
(fuel taxes), the University
of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute (fuel
economy), the Federal Highway
Administration (vehicle miles
traveled), and the U.S. Census
Bureau (vehicles and drivers
per county).
Given the distance between
municipalities in Northeast
Wyoming, it might seem
counterintuitive that Weston
County drivers are buying less
gas than elsewhere in the state.
A.J. Smith, managing editor for
Wyoming Motor Fuel
Taxes
State excise tax23 cpg
Other state taxes 1 cpg
(goes to DEQ's leaking under-
ground storage tank cleanup
activities)
county. The countywide miles Total state taxes
were then divided amongst the and fees 24 cpg
number of licensed drivers in ....
the c0unt3/, Finally;:fhe average -- See Fuel Taxes, Page 7
Todd Bennington
NLJ Reporter
Varsity soccer coaches Bryce
Hoffman and Josh Paterson presented
to WCSD #1's Board of Trustees a
proposal last Wednesday to expand
the district's soccer program to the
seventh and eighth grades beginning
next spring.
Hoffman, who said the plan would
make the sport available through the
district to both middle school girls and
boys beginning March 2016, explained
the proposal stems from conversations
among district staff that took place in
2013 about how to maintain interest in
sports among students throughout their
school careers and expand turnout for
high school programs.
"I didn't really identify our problem
with [high school] soccer with our low
numbers as a youth program problem,"
explained Hoffman, speaking of the
Newcastle Soccer League. "It's more
of a middle school issue, because the
numbers we have really drop off in the
seventh and eighth grade classes?'
Hoffman and Paterson noted that
their plan involves working with the
league to provide practice space for the
middle school teams and that no more
space would be taken up at the high
school for soccer.
Officials, of which they said they
already have several in mind, would
be recruited locally, and Paterson con-
tended that, by offering soccer, strain
-- See Soccer, Page 8
Alexis Shultz
NLJ Reporter
The Newcastle Area
Chamber of Commerce plans
to provide local children
with something else to do on
Halloween, and Chamber
Director Susan Love approached
the Newcastle City Council last
month to discuss the group's
proposal to close off a portion
of Main Street for the "Monster
Mash Street Bash."
The Newcastle Area
Chamber of Commerce, with
the help of KASL Radio, plans
to host the Halloween Mash
Street Bash downtown from
4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on October 31.
"I didn't want to go out
and set it all up without the
city's permission first," Love
told the 'council, noting that her
group didn't want to dive into
details of the event until they
had brought the city council
into the loop.
She primarily attended last
month's meeting to seek per-
mission from the city to have a
block of Main Street in down-
town Newcastle closed off for
the event before she proceeded
with hammering out too many
specifics.
Love did report that she
had met with downtown busi-
ness owners the previous week
to discuss the event, and she
could confirm that a number
of businesses and individuals
had already committed to
hosting a trunk or treat event
downtown on Halloween. She
also indicated that a costume
parade and contest would take
place and she hoped to pos-
sibly feature a haunted house
as well.
Flyers have been distributed
recently that invite community
members to bring trunks of
treats downtown, and also
announced that T&A Brewery
will be the site of a haunted
house sponsored by RPM Days.
The flyer also announced that
the Wedding Closet will offer
spooky ghost jugs and there
will be costume contests and
parades at both Maverik and
the library.
Love said the intent of the
event is to provide merchants
with an opportunity to promote
their business while distrib-
uting candy to children through
what is known as a "trunk
or treat," where children can
trick-or-treat in a smaller and
more controlled environment
than is offered through tradi-
tional trick-or-treating activi-
ties around town.
The Newcastle City Council
unanimously approved closing
of the 200 block of Main Street
for the event from 4:00 p.m. to
6:30 p.m. to allow for set up
and tear down to occur before
the road opens back up. Police
Chief Jim Owens did mention
that it might be wise to have
no parking signs put up by city
crews at 3:00 p.m. that day in
order to guarantee the road
will be cleared prior to the
scheduled closure.
Magic Show
A week before Halloween,
members of the community
will have the opportunity to
enjoy a bit of the mystical and
help aid in funding the local
Home Health Services office at
the same time when that orga-
nization hosts a magic show
at the Weston County Senior
Center at 7 p.m. on October 24.
The magic show will feature
Philip and Henry, who have
been dedicated to captivating
the imagination of all ages for
over 20 years.
"We are about $10,000
short on funding for the next
fiscal year," declared In-Home
Services spokesperson LeAnn
.Kenagy.
She explained that a majority
of the monies used to fund
in-home services comes from
grants, but as is the case with
other grants, a match of funds
must be made by the receiving
entity. Kenagy indicated the
facility is about .$10,000 short
-- See Halloween, Page 7
BHP employees, with the help of 26 community volunteers, stepped up to help customers
lower utility costs at its annual Weatherization Day in Newcastle, Upton and Osage last week-
end. Customer service and energy efficiency experts identified candidates for free weather-
ization assistance and then performed an energy audit to determine each home's require-
ments. Those customers also received a complimentary package of energy-saving compact
fluorescent light bulbs. Black Hills Power also partners with the Newcastle Ministerial
Association, which administers the Black Hills Cares energy assistance fund for all its cus-
tomers in Weston County. "We realize that even after weatherizing and taking advantage of
the billing options they qualify for, some customers may struggle to make ends meet," Nichols
said. "We want to help, and our Black Hills Cares energy assistance program is another way
we give back to the community." Following the weatherization effort, a community chili feed
hosted at the Weston County Senior Center raised $7,500 directly benefiting the Newcastle
Ministerial Association's Black Hills Cares fund. A $1,000 donation from Wyoming Refinery,
plus over $250 contributed by attendees will be matched by Black Hills Power. The company
also presented a check for $5,000 to the program, which is available to its customers in need.
Pictured is volunteer Rachel Henlde. (Bob Bonnar/NLJ)
Thursday
PM Showers
Hi 57 Lo 41
Friday
Prt Cloudy/Windy
Hi 55 Lo 31
Saturday
Sunny
Hi 57 Lo 33
Sunday
Partly Cloudy
Hi 54, Lo 33
Monday
Mostly Sunny
Hi 56 Lo 31
Tuesday
PM Showers
• Hi 55, Lo 29
Wednesday
Partly Cloudy
Hi 56 Lo 32
INSIDE
• 50 Years Strong, Page 3
• School Notes, Page 8
• Best Ultle Tidbits, Page 9
• History Awards, Page 10
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