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Wednesday, October 28, 2015
1545 - Wheatland is small town Wyoming very fine
In the past year, two odd stories have occurred, concerning
women here in Wyoming that made national news. Both women were matriarchs of
their families.
First, here in
Lander, we had the first confirmed death in the state’s history from rabies
when Karen Farthing, 77, died Oct. 3 from complications from an encounter with
a bat.
Second, in
Casper, a well-known businesswoman, Kris Richardson, 61, just vanished in thin
air. Her family has posted an incredible reward of $250,000 for information
about that disappearance.
First, let’s
discuss the Karen Farthing case.
We have known
Karen for 45 years. She was a beautiful
woman who loved her husband Bill very much during 60 years of marriage. She
doted on her three children and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
During her funeral service members of her family recalled her good humor and
wonderful disposition.
Karen had been
in great health and came from a family of long-livers. It could be expected
that she would live to be 100, or at least into her 80s and 90s as did both her
parents.
One night she
had some kind of encounter with bat. The bat somehow touched her while she was
sleeping. She apparently brushed it away
and there were no apparent bite marks. Although scary, Karen and Bill went on
with their lives until she became very sick and went to the hospital. She was
later life-flighted to and died in a Salt Lake hospital. The case was not positively determined to be
rabies until the Centers for Disease Control got involved.
Here is an
official account of what happened:
Testing completed by the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a rare case of rabies
in a Fremont County woman, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).
“While rabies is often found in
Wyoming animals such as bats and skunks, this is the first confirmed human
rabies case ever recorded in our state,” said Dr. Karl Musgrave, state public
health veterinarian with WDH. “Across the United States, there are usually only
one or two human cases in a year.”
While not all details are
available, it appears the woman (Mrs. Farthing) may have been exposed to the
virus via bats, which are a known carrier of the rabies virus in Wyoming. The
most common mode of rabies virus transmission is through bites and virus-containing
saliva.
Working together with Fremont
County Public Health and the Utah Department of Health, WDH representatives
will follow up with potentially affected family members and healthcare workers
in Lander and Salt Lake City to determine who should receive post-exposure
treatment to help prevent development of the disease.
“Unfortunately, rabies is a
serious, deadly disease once the illness develops,” Musgrave said.
Family member and health
professionals involved in the case were all forced to take the painful series
of shots used to prevent rabies from reaching the fatal dimensions.
This type of death for anyone here
in 2015 but especially someone with so much love of life as Karen is just
stunningly horrible.
Meanwhile the Richardson family in Casper
has an opposite problem – they are in the middle of an amazing mystery. A mystery that no doubt will be the subject
of TV show some day.
But they want
this mystery to end. They want their
mother and grandmother back. Or at least they want to know what happened to her
on Oct. 7, 2014.
Kris
Richardson, her husband and their family established a very successful trucking
company based in Casper. Huge
semi-trailer trucks line the company’s yard.
Her husband
died two years ago and she was running the company with her son, that is, until
she vanished one year ago.
Kris is 5-4
and weighs 115 pounds.
Police searched her house the next
day and found a cell phone in her bed, her purse with a large amount of cash,
identification on the kitchen counter and no immediately identified evidence of
foul play, according to an affidavit filed in October. Officers were told a
garage door opener usually kept in her purse was missing, and they observed
stains on the sheets that could possibly be blood or urine.
These two odd cases involving older
Wyoming women were in the news during October here in Wyoming.
In one, the mystery is solved with
a very unhappy resolution.
In the other, the mystery continues and the family is hoping
someone out there somewhere can help them find the answers to their questions.
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Thursday, October 22, 2015
1544 - Two Wyoming women involved in strange stories
In the past year, two odd stories have occurred, concerning
women here in Wyoming that made national news. Both women were matriarchs of
their families.
First, here in
Lander, we had the first confirmed death in the state’s history from rabies
when Karen Farthing, 77, died Oct. 3 from complications from an encounter with
a bat.
Second, in
Casper, a well-known businesswoman, Kris Richardson, 61, just vanished in thin
air. Her family has posted an incredible reward of $250,000 for information
about that disappearance.
First, let’s
discuss the Karen Farthing case.
We have known
Karen for 45 years. She was a beautiful
woman who loved her husband Bill very much during 60 years of marriage. She
doted on her three children and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
During her funeral service members of her family recalled her good humor and
wonderful disposition.
Karen had been
in great health and came from a family of long-livers. It could be expected
that she would live to be 100, or at least into her 80s and 90s as did both her
parents.
One night she
had some kind of encounter with bat. The bat somehow touched her while she was
sleeping. She apparently brushed it away
and there were no apparent bite marks. Although scary, Karen and Bill went on
with their lives until she became very sick and went to the hospital. She was
later life-flighted to and died in a Salt Lake hospital. The case was not positively determined to be
rabies until the Centers for Disease Control got involved.
Here is an
official account of what happened:
Testing completed by the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a rare case of rabies
in a Fremont County woman, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).
“While rabies is often found in
Wyoming animals such as bats and skunks, this is the first confirmed human
rabies case ever recorded in our state,” said Dr. Karl Musgrave, state public
health veterinarian with WDH. “Across the United States, there are usually only
one or two human cases in a year.”
While not all details are
available, it appears the woman (Mrs. Farthing) may have been exposed to the
virus via bats, which are a known carrier of the rabies virus in Wyoming. The
most common mode of rabies virus transmission is through bites and virus-containing
saliva.
Working together with Fremont
County Public Health and the Utah Department of Health, WDH representatives
will follow up with potentially affected family members and healthcare workers
in Lander and Salt Lake City to determine who should receive post-exposure
treatment to help prevent development of the disease.
“Unfortunately, rabies is a
serious, deadly disease once the illness develops,” Musgrave said.
Family member and health
professionals involved in the case were all forced to take the painful series
of shots used to prevent rabies from reaching the fatal dimensions.
This type of death for anyone here
in 2015 but especially someone with so much love of life as Karen is just
stunningly horrible.
Meanwhile the Richardson family in Casper
has an opposite problem – they are in the middle of an amazing mystery. A mystery that no doubt will be the subject
of TV show some day.
But they want
this mystery to end. They want their
mother and grandmother back. Or at least they want to know what happened to her
on Oct. 7, 2014.
Kris
Richardson, her husband and their family established a very successful trucking
company based in Casper. Huge
semi-trailer trucks line the company’s yard.
Her husband
died two years ago and she was running the company with her son, that is, until
she vanished one year ago.
Kris is 5-4
and weighs 115 pounds.
Police searched her house the next
day and found a cell phone in her bed, her purse with a large amount of cash,
identification on the kitchen counter and no immediately identified evidence of
foul play, according to an affidavit filed in October. Officers were told a
garage door opener usually kept in her purse was missing, and they observed
stains on the sheets that could possibly be blood or urine.
These two odd cases involving older
Wyoming women were in the news during October here in Wyoming.
In one, the mystery is solved with
a very unhappy resolution.
In the other, the mystery continues and the family is hoping
someone out there somewhere can help them find the answers to their questions.
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Monday, October 19, 2015
1543 - Seven counties, 700 miles of Wyoming
We had so many record rains this past spring that I thought
Wyoming could not get more beautiful that it looked in May and June. Everywhere
we went we saw green, green, green.
Wyoming and
the color green used in the same sentence? Really? Heck yes.
This fall I
have been on the road again and the state now is the more comforting brown, brown,
brown.
And could the
sky be any bluer than it has been during September and October?
With May being
one of the wettest months in history, September could not have been much
drier. Many parts of the state got zero
moisture.
Seems like I put
in more windshield time than a UPS driver as I travel the state promoting my
books. This sort of makes me an expert on Wyoming, and from my vantage point,
what I see looks mighty good.
A recent
725-mile loop drive took me through seven counties. And I absolutely felt like a gawking tourist,
especially going over Boysen Reservoir causeway outside of Shoshoni and then
cruising through Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis. That wonderful little town
could not have looked more picturesque with all its red rock, green foliage,
and the blue Big Horn River winding through it.
Ellen at the
Storyteller has a nice selection of books and serves some of the best coffee
drinks in Wyoming. I made a quick stop
at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center – a truly impressive place. It has several big buildings crammed full of
full-sized dinosaur skeletons including an imposing T-Rex. The most unique is the archaeopteryx, the link between
dinosaurs and birds, one of something like 10 in the world and among the most
complete in the Western Hemisphere.
On to Worland
to the multi-million dollar Washakie Museum and Cultural Center. Cheryl Reichelt
shared with me all the amazing programs they have scheduled.
From there, we
zoomed up Ten Sleep Canyon, which is always spectacular. We were about a week
late to catch the brilliant fall colors. Cloud Peak loomed over us on the pass
as we headed down to another of Wyoming’s prettiest towns, Buffalo. Saw Rob and
Jen Hicks enjoying an afternoon stroll past the famous Occidental Hotel, which
has been restored to magnificence.
In my younger
days I used to hang out at the famous Union Bar in Hudson where the late John
Vinich would hold court. That tavern’s iconic bar is a twin to the one at the
Occidental. Thanks Karl Brauneis.
Buffalo’s Office Stationery and
Book Store needed some books and even took some of my earlier offerings from
1993 and 2001, which made my day.
On to Sheridan
to the incredible Mill Inn, known as the Best Rest Out West, where the walls
are adorned with black and white historic prints that matched the ones by
famous photographer Charles Belden, which we colorized in our new book.
At dinner that
night with Kim and Mary Kay Love at their restaurant Frackelton’s, I had the
best duck ever. I have always loved
Sheridan. Sort of a giant Lander. Lots
to do in that town.
The next day
we headed to Gillette. The high plains had a comfortable and familiar brown
tone to it. Crossed the famous Powder River, which is well-known for being a mile wide and an inch
deep. I did shout “Powder River, Let’r Buck” as we drove over it.
In busy Gillette,
we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Prime Rib with owner Ken Barkey. He invited
me to help him “taste wine” as he was choosing some new selections. His place has 800 different branded wines.
Now that is amazing.
On to Douglas.
Enjoyed a memorable cruise through the Thunder Basin National Grassland. Brought back memories of our first trip on that
road when we ran out of gas almost exactly 45 years ago near Bill. Of course, I love any place named Bill.
The weather
stayed spectacular as Helga Bull reminded it is always nice in her town. She should say that, as she is the director
of the local Chamber of the Commerce. We checked out the new Eastern Wyoming
College center there where I will make a presentation in November. What a nice
addition to their town.
From there it
was back to Interstate 25 and over to the energy hub of the state, Casper. Always treated well at the remodeled Ramkota
and made a few calls. Then it was time
to complete the loop and head home.
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Friday, October 9, 2015
1542 - Tourism is booming in Wyoming in 2015
In the past six months, the energy economy in Wyoming has
taken some serious hits leaving folks from Gillette to Rock Springs and
Cheyenne to Cody nervous and pessimistic.
Even Gov. Matt
Mead has responded by saying he anticipates implementing $200 million in budget
cuts now and during the upcoming legislative budget session.
But all is not
so dim when it comes to the state economy.
In fact the one
aspect of Wyoming’s economy that is bright is so bright, it is positively
blinding.
Tourism, the state’s
number-two industry, has never seen a year like 2015.
For the first
time ever, more than 10.1 million people visited the Cowboy State. Yellowstone National
Park may hit 4 million, which is a staggering number. This is a 14 percent increase over last year.
All these
visitors spent a staggering $3.3 billion with motels, gas stations, gift shops
and restaurants. Ten years ago, the total was $2 billion. This industry is really growing at a steady
pace.
Tourists spend
money in all parts of Wyoming. There truly is no place that does not benefit
from the visitor.
Grand Teton
Park and Jackson Hole are up 6 percent. Even places like Fossil Butte near Kemmerer
are up 17 percent.
All these
tourists paid $163 million in local and state taxes during 2015, which is an
amazing number. Sales taxes, alone, are up 18 percent.
The state’s
investment in new welcome centers is paying off with a 6 percent increase in
visitation.
Much of this
and more were revealed to the members of the tourism industry during a recent
summit in Riverton. Director Diane Shober was ecstatic about the numbers and
said the programs are really working.
Earlier at the
event, members of the industry were warned the 2016 Legislature might try to
cut the marketing budget of the tourism department because of the
afore-mentioned dip in state revenues,
My advice to
them would be to do just the opposite.
If this is the one area of state government that is making money, why
not spend even more and make even more money?
Wyoming’s
tourism industry is supported on a three-legged stool of state spending, local
county lodging board spending and industry spending. Our state is the envy of the country and it
is obviously why – it is working!
Every so often
we hear some shrill opponents who decry spending state money on tourism
promotion. They are simply wrong. This
is a program that works very well. We
all need to get behind it and try to grow it even more.
Tourism as the
state’s number-two industry boasts 31,520 jobs.
As an industry, it creates new jobs in the rapidly disappearing middle
class sector.
During the
evening banquet at the summit, a large group of high school students from Riverton
served delicious food and desserts. They are members of the ProStart class,
which occurs in nine high schools around Wyoming.
These schools
teach young people the hospitality business both from the restaurant side and
the hotel/motel business. This has been a wonderful program providing young
people with the training so they can get good jobs. And it has been a boon to
the industry seeking new employees at the tourism industry expands in the
state.
Gov. Mead was
the speaker at the banquet and praised the industry for its non-stop growth
during the past 15 years. It has certainly been a beacon of hope for the state
economy during this time.
And though
energy growth exploded in the 21st century, the hospitality industry
has quietly been chugging along showing impressive and consistent growth, too.
Over the past
four decades, Wyoming’s economy has surged up and bottomed out, due to
fluctuations in energy prices. But one industry has shown steady, steady growth
and that is tourism.
This year is
our state’s 125th anniversary of statehood and I have been studying
how the state came into being. It always
astonished me that Montana and Idaho allowed Yellowstone to be in this new
state rather than grabbing it for themselves.
Yellowstone is
the beacon that drives all Wyoming tourism and what a beacon it is! It is truly
being packed all season long from April to October.
So what does
10 million tourists over a year’s time do to a state of 584,000 people? Well,
if you divided all those folks over 365 days, it would create a city of over
27,000 people, making it the state’s fourth largest city.
Amazing.
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Sunday, October 4, 2015
1541 - Life in small-town Wyoming
It might have been former U. S. Sen. Al Simpson who said all
politics in Wyoming is personal. I would
expand on that by claiming Wyoming is such a small state “everything is
personal.”
On a recent
Monday we experienced events that might only happen in a small town. Two members of our community had died. Their
families used different funeral homes. And, unfortunately, both funerals were
scheduled the same time, Monday morning at 10.
Luckily,
Lander is a city of about 7,500 people with not very long streets. We would try
to be two places at once. This could get tricky.
Nancy loaded
her famous scalloped potato dish that was required at the Catholic Church for
Mickey Simmons Sr.’s funeral luncheon into my little car (easier to maneuver)
and off we went to Holy Rosary. I handed
the dish to Annette Yates in the kitchen. Then we went to the front of the
church. After we signed Mickey’s guest
book it was off to funeral #2 at United Methodist Church.
Joyce Nations
Hornecker, 65, was a nice gal whose dad had been an editor years ago at our
newspaper. She was revered for having operated the senior center for years.
After signing
her guest book and greeting old friends like Cody Beers, Jean Mathisen Haugen,
Sheriff Skip Hornecker, Pastor Mark Calhoun and City Councilman Dick Hudson, it
was time to sit and listen to Ralph Mesa sing a few songs and hear about
Joyce. Her brother Jim Nations and her
nephew Cody said some wonderful things and a slide show flashed life events
about Joyce and her husband Johnny behind them on two big TV screens.
It was a nice
funeral full of pioneer Wyoming folks. The Hornecker family has a long history
in the Lander area, much of it in ranching.
Since we had
sat in the back, we quietly slipped out and got into my little car and headed
back to the Catholic Church. Since
Mickey’s service was a Mass I knew it would be longer so this was going to work
out just fine. Got there in time to sit
with Mayor Del McOmie just behind former Mayor Mick Wolfe and his wife
Marge. Fr. James Schumacher and Deacon
Rich Miller conducted the service.
The elder
Simmons, 82, was a long time member of the parish and his son, Mickey Jr., had
been public works director for Lander for many years.
After
communion, the decedent’s eldest grandson Lucas Anderson gave a wonderful
eulogy. In his tribute to his grandpa, he said the gentle older man left him
with two big life lessons: first was to
always be willing to say you are sorry and second, to be quick to offer
forgiveness. Pretty neat lessons.
Lucas and
Becky Murdock provided the vocals during the service. Becky plays one of the
best cellos I have ever heard.
After the
service we slipped out and drove back to the Methodist Church. There we joined
the Hornecker family and friends having a brunch following and paid our
respects to Joyce’s husband Johnny.
Not sure how
many miles we put on but then went home and changed clothes and I headed to the
golf course.
As a former
vice-chairman of the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission, the annual Wyoming airport
operators group meeting is always fun. They had invited me to be their banquet
speaker. And since someone had cancelled a spot in their golf scramble, they
asked if I wanted to play? Sure, I told
them, but I might be late since I have TWO funerals to attend that
morning.
I managed to
play the last nine holes with two guys who help run the Cheyenne airport. Later Bob Hooper, Cody, who is president of
the WAOA, called me a sandbagger. I had
luckily made four long putts in the nine holes I played and ended with a pretty
good score.
That evening,
we joined the airport folks. There was a
lot of gossip about the future of Wyoming’s home-owned airline Great
Lakes. Lately the struggling carrier has
seen its market share slip. This has boosted flights out of Casper’s airport
according to manager Glen Januska.
His staff counts license plates in
their parking lots. He says on a typical day their lots are full of cars with
Fremont, Johnson and Sheridan license plates.
It appears to be obvious that folks who used to fly out of Sheridan and Riverton
on Great Lakes are now flying out of Casper.
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