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10-- December 17, 2015
.
news letter journal Neg%
editor@newslj.com
tO0
800.647.9841
www.rtcom.net
130 South 9th St. ~,
Worland, Wyoming 82401
focations, CectaJ~ res~rictior~s apply. Customer must m~b~;cribe to RT"s voice rote' dat,~ ~ervi(:~ with a l year ~er~ice
agreement. C)({er good through December 3~ 20~5. Contact us for det~ils.
Weston County Library Director Brenda Ayers celebrates the success of last week's perfor-
mance of 2 Across at T & A Brewing Co. with performer Suzanne Voss. Proceeds from the event
behefitted the Weston County Library Foundation. (Bob Bonnar/NLJ)
from page 1 ................................................................................................... ......
The total amount to be provided by the
legislature reached $18.35 million dollars by the
time Weston County met the goal set for them.
Initially, in 2008, lawmakers set a $6.8 million
dollar match to be provided, and they included
a $2.3 million incentive that was to be provided
when a matching dollar amount was raised by
the libraries throughout the state.
"Once $2,300,000 was raised, the State
Treasurer was to transfer $100,000 of that
money to each of the 23 counties throughout
the state," announced Ayers, who noted that the
measure proved to be an effective incentive for
the libraries to raise the required monies.
The legislature amended the total amount
that was to be matched a number of times. In
2010, 2011, and 2012, an additional match of
$3 million each year was created, along with an
additional $250,000 match in 2013. This string
of appropriations ultimately created the total
match that would be provided by state legisla-
ture of $18.35 million.
The goal set to receive the maximum allow-
able grant monies eventually totaled $232,608
to be raised by the Weston County Library, and
under the formula created by the legislature,
Weston County's low population qualified the
local facility for a three-to-one match for all
monies raised. That means the county will
receive an additional $665,660 to add to the
funds collected locally.
Ayers acknowledged that a recent amend-
ment to the endowment challenge allowed coun-
ties to partner together in order to reach their
goal, and a recent partnership with Laramie
County pushed Weston County over their goal.
She admitted that is what ultimately filled the
donor display sign to the top outside of thel
Weston County Library. The sign had been inl
place for a number of years.
With funding secured, the library will now
turn its attention to spending the money, and the
legislature gave some direction in how it is toI
be spent.
"The legislature set up the endowment fund
to set up funds to be used beyond the funda-i
mentals, and for extraordinary things," pro-'.
fessed Ayers, who explained that the money i<
essentially intended for libraries to go above:
and beyond the fundamental purpose of the:
library. She said that the money for fundamental:
services is covered through public revenue from:
the county mill levy.
The money to reach the goal, according toi
Ayers, was raised in a number of ways, includingI
fundraising and private donations. Ayers recog-
nized the generous donations of several groups,
peoples and organizations that were crucial in
the goal being met, and made it clear that the
small donations were crucial as well. She indi-
cated that while those small gifts may not have'.
seemed to be a lot at the time, the small amountsl
added up and led to the goal being met. She also
reported that Weston County accomplished its
mission before a number of other counties met
their goals.
from page 1 .........................................................................................................
WCH$ Thanks you for your service
25 years - Ste.phanie Cohee • 20 years - Susie Velten
t 5 years- Brenna Cra ord • I0 years - Pam Oleson
5 years-Katherine Lawrence, Cryst.aI Suess, Kayo Dickey,
Heather Boyer, Heather Cochran, Donna Cumpton,
Tavis Weidenbach, Beckie Pearson, Ange!a Stanton and
James Krank
I
WESTON COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
1124 Washington Blvd. Newcastle WY 82701 I www.wchs-wy.org
Hospital 746-4491 I Manor 746-2793 [ Home Health 746-3553
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certain corporate employees
and a companywide reduction
in benefits and overhead costs.
Even so, Tokarczyk said
the company recognizes its
employees as valued assets and
"hopes this action will allow
the team to be retained as
[RER] moves forward."
Tokarczyk recalled that the
draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the project
was initially expected from
the U.S. Forest Service last
February, with the Record of
Decision anticipated for this
past November.
"Basically we've had the
deadlines moved up five or
six times in the last year," she
lamented, adding that the most
recent indications are that the
draft EIS will come out some-
time this month.
While the company's cost-
cutting efforts are directly
related to these delays,
Tokarczyk stated, she men-
tioned also that there are
other factors, both global and
domestic, that are currently
effecting the mining sector.
"[With] the continued uncer-
tainty caused by the delays and
the lack of clarity, it's kind of
hard to know what's going to
come out of this process at this
point and what are the mitiga-
tions the Forest Service will
require ..." she stated.
Those things that have
fallen within RER's control
the company has done well,
she maintained. She said the
company has submitted high-
quality permit applications,
defined the unique and impor-
tant rare-earth-element mineral
resources to be provided by
the Bear Lodge Project, and
developed a patent-pending
process that she said moves
value-added processing closer
to being able to be performed
• domestically rather tlaan
shipped overseas.
"Since 2014 Rare Element
Resources has invested $120
million in this project," she
reported.
In response to a question
from Councilmember Mark
Mitchell as to why the dead-
lines for the draft EIS have
continually been moved back,
Tokarczyk answered that
there are a variety of potential
reasons and that she can't say
with certainty.
Though she hasn't been
involved in the NEPA process
before, she admitted, she said
she has participated in a forest
plan amendment process in
the past as a cooperator, and
the number of stakeholders
involved in such decisions
makes them complex.
"There's also a presidentia!
memo that just came out the
first part of November that is
very troubling," Tokarczyk
added. "I encourage you to go
to whitehouse.gov. If you go
to the presidential memos, the
one for Nov. 3, it talks about
natural resource projects on a
landscape scale, and so it will
impact mining projects as well
as other larger projects on ...
federal lands ..."
Tokarczyk said the memo
represents the addition of
another layer of red tape on top
of the NEPA process, though it
doesn't account for the delay~
that have already occurred.
The broadly worde~
memorandum in question is
titled "Mitigating Impacts
from Natural Resources on
Development and Encouraging
Private Related Investment'!
and can be found within the cat.:
egory of Presidential Action~
under the Briefing Room tab
at the official White House site
named above by Tokarczyk.
:' ,:.. ,~I:..~; ~.., ~.. , ,. :~. :'~.:.."
into new worlds
and introduced
her to amazing
Who lived
exciting lives."
-Roaldi i li, Matilda