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Friday, July 3, 2009

Sheridan Mayor Comments on the Possibility of Photo Radar in the Future - During his regular visit on KROE'S Public Pulse program, host Kim Love asked Sheridan Mayor Dave Kinskey about the possibility of digital photo radar coming to Sheridan.  While the mayor admitted that it isn't something he sees in the immediate future, he has changed his stance on the idea. Kinskey says that traffic violations continue to be a concern among Sheridan residents. To hear more of the interview with Mayor Kinskey, click on the Public Pulse link on the left hand side of the homepage. From there, you can click on the Wednesday edition of Public Pulse and listen to the program in its entirety.  It will be saved through next Tuesday, July 7th.

WYDOT Still Has Several Construction Projects Underway in the County - Many people will be traveling this 4th of July weekend as they get together with family and friends.  Some make very detailed plans for their travels, and one thing to consider is highway construction.  The Wyoming Department of Transportation has several projects underway in the area.  The Brundage Lane construction will still make lanes tight for another month or more, although, the passable lanes will shift to the south side of the road in the next couple of weeks.  Elsewhere, what should you expect if you’re headed over the Bighorn Mountains on U.S. Highway 14? That’s WYDOT Region 4 Public Involvement Specialist Ronda Holwell.  She says that once work resumes, drivers should expect to encounter loose gravel and areas of no pavement during the rest of the project.  The daily delays for blasting on the highway are finished. Now that they have excavated that hillside near Sand Turn, the realignment project can continue.  Most of the debris has been cleaned up and new striping was painted this week.  Neither project is expected to be completed this season.

The Equality State Policy Center Wants To Bring Severance Tax Into State Budget Discussions - There's been a lot of discussion lately about state budget cuts, and whether or not an increase in severance taxes is a good option for the state to consider.  Equality State Policy Center Executive Director, Dan Neal, explains why the center is behind raising the severance tax. Neal said that as the boom slides toward the bust, that it's appropriate and necessary to examine state spending priorities, as well as ensure that all tax-supported programs provide value and are managed efficiently.

Joey’s Fly Fishing Foundation Off To A Good Start - Last week, Joey’s Fly Fishing Foundation held their grand opening event, which raised several thousand dollars for the organization.  The foundation is still growing, but it is not brand new.  Executive Director Joey Puettman (PIT-man) has spent the last five years taking kids fly fishing.  Finding out what works and what doesn’t has been a process of trial and error.  He’s been doing it long enough that he can see the effect on the youth in the program. The non-profit foundation’s mission is to take children and teach them social skills and confidence through the process of fly fishing.  Kids in the program tie their own flies, make their own lunches and some even build their own fishing rods.  Then they get to go fishing and feel the sense of accomplishment in catching a fish with the things they created.  So what’s next for Joey’s? Joey’s Fly Fishing will serve more than 80 kids this summer and Puettman plans to offer programs for kids, such as rod building, that can be done in the off season.  The program is designed to help kids with social or behavioral issues, but anybody is welcome to apply.  To learn more, click here: www.joeysflyfishing.com

Tips for Keeping Your Pets Safe During Loud Weekend - With the 4th of July holiday just about upon us, we thought we'd check in with the Dog and Cat Shelter of Sheridan for some tips on keeping your pets safe during a big weekend of fireworks. Sheridan Media's Ron Richter has the story.

Oil Field Equipment Auction in Wyoming Nets $8.2 Million - GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) - Amid a slowdown in the energy industry, a Wyoming auction of oil field equipment has netted $8.2 million from 1,100 bidders.  The auction was Tuesday in Gillette. A dozen companies offered 480 pieces of equipment, including trucks, trailers, tractors, loaders and hydraulic excavators.  The total bid was about what auctioneers had predicted.  The sale was conducted by Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers. The company says 450 Wyoming bidders were registered, but only 142 of them bought equipment.  Ritchie Brothers says about 60% of the equipment left the state.  Steve Merich, regional manager for Ritchie Brothers, says prices for heavy equipment are depressed everywhere, not just in the Powder River Basin around Gillette in northeast Wyoming.  He says prices are down between 15 and 25% from a year ago.

Construction of Cemetery in Gillette Uncovers Coal - GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) - Workers building a new cemetery in Gillette have hit an unexpected seam of low-grade coal on the site.  Corky Stetson is the engineer on the Mount Nebo cemetery project. He says the 100-acre plot contains about 100,000 yards of coal -- far more than crews had anticipated.  The coal presents problems because it's not good for burying caskets. Cemetery board members also are concerned about the possibility that it might catch fire.  The cemetery board on Monday rejected the idea excavating all the coal as too expensive.  A more likely option appears to be to move the coal elsewhere on the cemetery site for later removal.

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