Memorial services for Jerry Brown of Shell will be at 1 p.m., Friday, May 25, at the Methodist Church in Cody. Jerry, husband, father, granddad, brother, uncle, coach and friend, died May 7 at the Spirit Mountain Hospice House in Cody after a courageous battle with cancer.
He was born May 31, 1931, in Worland, the son of Leland S. and Leona Brown. He spent most of his childhood in Worland and attended Worland High School where he was an all-state football and basketball player. Following his high school graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served two years in Africa.
Jerry moved to Greybull in 1952 where he met the love of his life, Margaret “Weezie” Scott, at the soda fountain at Ortman Drug. They were married in 1953 and shortly thereafter moved to Cody where they raised their four children.
In 1957, the couple started Jerry’s Roofing Company and later established Brown Construction.
In 1998, Jerry and Margaret moved to Shell where Jerry became a full-time rancher and caregiver to Margaret who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Jerry was a well-known boxer. He won the Wyoming State Golden Gloves light heavyweight championship in 1954 and the Midland Empire Golden Gloves light heavyweight championship in 1955. During those years he was touted as the “Pride of the Big Horn Basin.” He devoted 35 years to teaching hundreds of youth about boxing’s life lessons behind the sport.
He coached Golden Gloves, Junior Olympic, Regional and National teams and was honored when named the head coach of the U.S. amateur team, training the athletes for the Olympics in Atlanta.
He loved the outdoors, spending time on his ranch, camping with his family and friends, hunting, searching for arrowheads and fly-fishing the streams of northern Wyoming.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Dee and Bud; one sister, Thelma, and infant granddaughter, Marisa Brown.
He is survived by his wife Margaret; three daughters and sons-in-law, Jerri Lynn and Steve Meyerpeter of San Diego, Lisa and Kenny Michelena of Shell, Julia and Wally Hames of Meridian, Idaho; son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Kelly Brown of Shoreview, Minn.; sister and brother-in-law, Beverly and Marvin Hankins of Greybull; and five grandchildren, Ryan and Stacie Brown, Erin and Kara Michelena and Kersey Hames.
A memorial fund has been established at Big Horn Federal, Box 471, Greybull, WY 82426. Donations will benefit the Mount Carmel Youth Ranch in Clark.
Funeral services for Della Belle Walker were May 15 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ten Sleep. Della, 68, died May 10 at the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater in Rock Springs.
She was born Nov. 10, 1943, in Laramie, the daughter of Laroy A. and Bessie J. White Stewart. The family moved to Manderson when Della was an infant. She grew up and received her education in Manderson and graduated from Manderson High School.
She married Rod Walker June 8, 1963, in Basin. After living in Manderson for several years, they moved to Worland and in 1976 moved to Ten Sleep.
Della was a volunteer at the Ten Sleep Senior Center and at the library. She had been an EMT with the Ten Sleep Ambulance and served many callings at the Ten Sleep LDS Church.
She enjoyed knitting, working with ceramics and spending time in her yard and loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and extended family.
Her parents, her husband Rod in September 2005, four sisters, Orpha Danner, Emily Schell, Ethel O’Conner and Roberta Andreen, preceded her in death.
She is survived by three sons and two daughters-in-law, Herb and Cindy Walker of Worland, Troy Walker and Marty and Amanda Walker, all of Rock Springs; three sisters, Mary Scarrow of Denver, Margaret Nation of Basin and Anna Hall of Manderson; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Memorial donations can be made to the Ten Sleep Friends of the Library in care of Bryant Funeral Home, Box 524, Worland, WY 82401.
Jane Franks, age 68, passed away on May 8, 2012 at her home in Manderson, Wyoming surrounded by her husband and family after a valiant four year battle with lung cancer.
Jane was born on February 1, 1944 in Lovell, Wyoming, the third of six children to John and Hermina (Miller) Gams. She went to high school in Lovell, Wyoming and graduated from Northwest Community College in Powell, Wyoming in 1964.
Jane met Lloyd Franks in Lovell, Wyoming, and they were married on April 4, 1964. They were blessed with three children, Weston, Wendy and Wynette.
Jane and Lloyd moved to Roswell, New Mexico in December 1964 and then to Escalante, Utah in 1965 where Lloyd worked for Jane’s brother-in-law’s company, Kelley Construction. Jane and Lloyd moved to Orogrande, New Mexico in 1966. In 1975 Jane and Lloyd moved back to Wyoming making their home in Manderson. Jane worked many years in the Big Horn Basin area. She worked as a nurses aide for the Wyoming Retirement Center; as a secretary for the Big Horn Basin School District, Wyoming Retirement Center, Zaring and Gish Law Firm, County Attorney Bob Gish; and the Big Horn County Assessor’s Office. Jane served as secretary for the Manderson Volunteer Fire Department for 27 years. Jane also supported her husband in building and growing their two businesses, Lloyd’s Roofing LLC and Lloyd’s Auction Service.
Jane was preceded in death by her father, John Gams and her sister, Judy Workman.
Jane is survived by her husband of 48 years, Lloyd Franks of Manderson, Wyoming; her mother, Hermina Gams of Lovell, Wyoming; her brother, John (Sylvia) Gams of Cowley, Wyoming; her sisters, Joyce (Terry) Lohrenz of Fishtail, Montana, Ginger (Dennis) Cooper of California City, California, Jerri (Leonard) Torczon of Powell, Wyoming; her sisters-in-law, Barbara Hosman of Denver, Colorado, Beverly Moody of Gillette, Wyoming; her son, Weston Franks of Billings, Montana; her daughters, Wendy (Roger) Brown of Casper, Wyoming, Wynette (Kevin) Culp of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming; six grandchildren, Daniel Culp, Jonathan Brown, Trenton Culp, Christina Brown, Ashlyn Culp and Rachael Brown.
Jane enjoyed sewing, crocheting, arts & crafts, working in her yard, spending time with her family and supporting her grandchildren by attending many of their sporting events and activities. Jane loved camping in the Big Horn Mountains and 4-wheeling with her family by the rivers near her home. Jane was a 12-year member of the Wyoming Auctioneers Association and was their historian for 4 years. Jane was a 37-year member of the Manderson Community Bible Church and served as treasurer for over 20 years.
A viewing will be held from 1 – 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 13, 2012 at the Atwood Family Chapel in Basin.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Basin with Pastor Don Wood officiating. Burial will follow at the Mount View Cemetery in Basin.
Memorials in Jane’s name may be made to the Manderson Community Bible Church’s Building Fund in care of Secu-rity State Bank, P.O. Box 531, Basin, WY 82410.
Atwood Family Funeral Directors, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.
Highway improvements are beginning this week on a 1,500-foot section of U.S. 14 east of Greybull, which was closed for about three weeks last summer following a heavy snowpack-induced landslide.
Mountain Construction Co., of Lovell is the prime contractor on the $692,000 project to rebuild the short section of U.S. 14. The Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded the bid to Mountain Construction Co., last November.
Contract completion date is July 31, 2012.
“We don’t expect any traffic delays for several weeks,” according to Ben Steed, Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer in Basin. “All work on this project involves repairing the slide that occurred last June. Traffic will stay on the existing detour while work is ongoing on the new section of road, so traffic won’t be impacted much until the surfacing tie-in occurs.”
Movement of a 100-foot section of U.S. 14 above Shell Falls — 31.5 miles east of Greybull — was first discovered June 10, 2011. The highway was closed on each side of the sliding highway for about three weeks while the current detour was being built.
An asphalt pavement overlay project started this week on U.S. 16-20/Wyoming 789 between Basin and Manderson.
“The contractor is scheduled, weather permitting, to complete paving next week,” according to Ben Steed, Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer in Basin. “The project will be chip-sealed after June 15, and the chip seal work will take a few days to complete.”
The $877,000 project was awarded to McGarvin-Moberly Construction Co., of Worland in July 2011.
“Traffic is being controlled with flaggers, and motorists should expect traffic delays of up to 15 minutes while the highway is being paved,” Steed said. “This is a quick-hitter project with paving scheduled for eight working days and the chip seal scheduled for two to three days.”
Project work includes asphalt paving with a 1.5-inch leveling layer and the chip seal finish from milepost 191.19 to milepost 195, south of Basin.
Echo Renner, a 41-year-old Republican from Meeteetse announced her campaign for Wyoming House of Representatives District 28 (HD28) during the Park County Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday, April 27.
Incumbent Lorraine Quarberg of Thermopolis said earlier this year she will not seek re-election. Renner is the first candidate to publicly announce. With the new district boundaries, House District 28 includes the Basin, Burlington and Otto areas in Big Horn County, Hot Springs County, Meeteetse and Lysite and Shoshoni in Fremont County. Candidates for State House must be at least 21, a U.S. citizen, a qualified elector and have resided in the district at least 12 months preceding the election.
The official filing period begins Thursday, May 17. Candidates for state legislative office must file with the Secretary of State’s Office. There is a $25 filing fee. Forms are available online at soswy.state.wy.us.
The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Renner said in a prepared statement, “I am running for House District 28 because I am committed to representing and working for the people in this area, and the people of Wyoming. Rural people, and our way of life, are under attack on many fronts. We need conservative legislators to stand up for state’s rights and private property rights, help control government spending and keep taxes low, and reduce government regulations to clear the way for the private sector to create and preserve jobs. We need to protect Wyoming’s legacy of open spaces, and help strengthen families.”
In a press release announcing her candidacy to the rest of the district, Renner described herself as a writer, historian and political buff. In 2002, she started her own business, Wood River Writing Company, LLC., doing freelance and grant writing, research, photography, genealogy, event planning and social media. She also works as a field editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, writing primarily about ranch histories; the effects of wolves and grizzly bears on livestock, wildlife and people in the area; and natural resource issues. She owns a vintage and antique furniture business Vintage Gypsy Moon Studio with her sister, Kodi Olson. In 2006, she compiled and edited the book “Meeteetse, Wyoming Ranches & Cowboys: A Legacy.” Since 2006, she has produced a monthly newsletter and written for Guardians of the Range, an organization that endeavors to protect livestock grazing on public land.
Politics
Renner, who has always been interested in politics, said in her release that after the presidential election in 2008, she realized that simply learning about the issues and voting was not enough. She believes more grass-roots conservatives need to be engaged in redirecting the ‘change’ in America to protect liberties. In 2009, Renner joined the Park County Republican Women, serving as first vice president 2010-2011 and president 2012-2013. In 2009, she was appointed to fill a precinct committeewoman vacancy, and was elected to that position in 2010.
Background
Echo attended grade school at a country school, and graduated from Hay Springs High School in Nebraska. In 1995, she graduated from Chadron State College with a Bachelor of Arts degree with double majors in journalism and family and consumer sciences, with an emphasis in agriculture journalism. She also studied family and consumer sciences graduate courses at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Montana State University – Bozeman.
Morgan and Echo Renner live up the Wood River, southwest of Meeteetse on Morgan’s family’s cow-calf ranch.
The Renner family homesteaded on Gooseberry Creek between Thermopolis and Meeteetse in 1897, and have been ranching in the area since.
A Shell family lost its home and nearly all of its contents Friday in a fast-moving, early-morning fire that appeared to originate in the garage.
Brett and Lynn Tippets, who moved to the area about six years ago, their son and one of their daughters were asleep inside the home at 1655 Highway 14 when their other daughter and her boyfriend, who were staying in a nearby camper, noticed flames shooting from the garage.
They quickly were able to get everyone — including the family pets — out of the home before the fire overtook the main part of the home.
The fire was reported to dispatch at 4:21 a.m., and within nine minutes the first firefighters were on scene. Shell Fire Chief Mike Nelson said the home was “fully engulfed” when they arrived. They began working the fire and immediately sought help from the Greybull Fire Department, which sent its tanker and some men.
The state fire marshal arrived on scene by midday on Friday.
Nelson said the investigation into what caused the fire has not been completed. He said the suspicion is that it was an electrical issue.
“(The) Greybull (Fire Department) was just fantastic,” said Nelson. “They shuttled water for us and we pumped off their truck.”
Community help
After the fire, the community immediately rallied around the Tippets family.
Two nights after the fire, the Shell Fire Department held a Navajo taco fundraiser at the Shell Community Hall. While the original intent was to raise money for the department, the nearly 150 in attendance, and members of the department themselves, made helping the Tippets family their top priority.
All of the proceeds from a 50/50 ticket drawing were donated to the Tippets family. The total came to more than $400.
Knowing that the Tippets were without a home, the family of Eleanor Anderson, who passed away in 2008, made her longtime home near Shell available to them.
According to Nelson, several other businesses pitched in to help as well.
One of them was Dirty Annie’s, where owner Jim McLauchlan immediately established a drop location for people wishing to donate food or other items to the Tippets family.
“The Shell Fire Department really appreciates the community’s support, not only in support of the Tippets but also us,” said Nelson. “And a huge thank you as well to the Greybull Fire Department for them to come out and help us in our time of need.”
‘Overwhelmed’
Reached Monday afternoon at the Anderson residence, Brett and Lynn said they were doing “pretty darn well,” considering the events of the past few days.
“This whole community has just been amazing,” said Brett, noting the “overwhelming” donations of food, clothing, pillows, plates … even a deep freeze for storing donated meat.
As he recounted the fire, Brett said it was his youngest daughter’s boyfriend who “heard something pop, woke up and saw a flickering light on the camper. Flames were shooting up out of the garage.”
Once outside, they could only watch as the fire engulfed their home.
“Pretty traumatic, watching your whole house go up in smoke right before your eyes,” said Brett.
The Tippets home, located just behind Dirty Annie’s and within a grouping of structures owned by Ed and Faye Smith, was classified a total loss.
If there was a silver lining, it’s that Lynn had recently sent a manuscript for a book of children’s poetry to her publisher, meaning that another copy of the work existed outside of the home.
A considerable amount of her other work was lost, however, including all of the research she had done on a book based on her grandparents’ courting letters.
Lynn said she writes “a lot of poetry,” and that the book, which she recently sent to her publisher, “is about nature and the outdoors, with a strain of faith woven into it.”
While that was a loss, the most important thing, Brett and Lynn agreed, was that everyone made it out of the house safely, including their children, who had moved here from Pennsylvania and were staying with them until they could line up their own housing.
“Everything was just a blur to me,” said Lynn. “I was just in shock and didn’t snap out of it until (Sunday). It was horrifying to watch the flames take everything away. Our whole life was in that house.
“But God was with us and watching over us. We live in the most awesome place in the world. We are overwhelmed by all of the neighbors — some people we didn’t even know before — who have been dropping things off for us.
“What they’ve done for us has been humbling, overwhelming … we’re proud to be residents of the Shell Valley and Greybull.”
The mayors and town officials have spoken when it comes to the sixth-cent sales tax proposal – well, almost.
Meeting in Deaver Thursday night, mayors and/or town representatives of the nine Big Horn County municipalities met to discuss projects to take to voters at the November General Election for the proposed sixth-cent sales tax initiative.
When Thursday’s meeting began, chairman Bruce Morrison went around the room and asked each town if their projects discussed at the May meeting had changed. Here is the current list as noted by each mayor or town clerk Thursday:
Manderson – Water tank and water main replacement, $2.2 million.
Greybull – Swimming pool operation and maintenance for 20 years, $2.4 million, with the school district also going to voters in the district for $5 million for design and construction of a new pool. It was explained Thursday that not all of the sales tax money can be used for O&M, so a portion must be used to help construct the pool, as well.
Basin – 1) Remodel the currently vacant town hall annex and refurbish the existing town hall for a community center ($200,000); 2) if and when the state builds a new high school in Basin, remodel the existing gymnasium as a recreation center ($200,000); 3) fund operation and maintenance of the recreation center for 20 years ($800,000) – total $1.2 million.
Burlington – Address town’s potable water problems or pave roads in town, $2 million.
Frannie – Rehabilitate the town irrigation water well ($1,216,250) and purchase a new town pickup truck with a snowplow capacity ($46,405), for a total of $1,262,655.
Deaver – Replace in-town potable water lines – mains and service lines — $2 million.
Cowley – Resurface streets and improve intersections with curb and gutter and aprons at the intersections, $2.3 million.
Byron – Matching funds for a sewer line replacement project on the south side of Byron, park improvements, chip and crack sealing and recreation funding — $1,250,000.
“There are still some questions to be answered within our council,” Mayor Bret George said Thursday, noting that the town will hold a public hearing on the sixth-cent projects on May 24.
He said some citizens would like to use sales tax money to refurbish the old school pool, but there are questions about whether tax money can be spent on a building that is now privately owned.
Lovell – New building for the proposed Lovell-Kane Museum, $1.5 million; improvements to the rodeo grounds including a new restroom and concessions building, $110,000; new golf cart barn at Foster Gulch, $40,000; street paving and curb and gutter in parts of town currently without pavement, $550,000 – total of $2.2 million.
The new list of projects now amounts to $16,812,655. At an estimated payoff of $1.4 million in sales tax revenue per year, it would take 12 years to pay off the sales tax, and with the cost of getting up-front money through a bonding process, the total bill could be up to $22 million and the payoff would be longer, officials said Thursday, perhaps 15 to 16 years.
At a Basin Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Amy Kania said each town has been asked to look at other revenue sources for funding projects to scale back the total amount. Councilor Dave Cooper asked about putting a capcap on each town, suggesting $1.5 million. Kania said it was discussed but towns were encouraged to exaine other funding sources in addition to the tax first.
Business concerns
Cowley mayor Joel Peterson said one concern he has is that an extra-cent sales tax would drive even more shoppers out of the county to Park County or Montana, so the payoff would take even longer. If there is a 2-cent differential between Park and Big Horn counties, for instance, he said a contractor or private individual could save $2,000 on $100,000 worth of lumber by purchasing it in Powell.
Frannie mayor Jack Cordner argued that a 1-cent sales tax isn’t enough to drive people to change their shopping habits, noting that most business is generated from small purchases a little at a time. He said people aren’t going to drive miles and miles to save 1 percent.
But Peterson said he worries about the county not being business friendly. He said people making major purchases in Montana are supposed to stop at the Port of Entry for sales tax notification but don’t.
“I don’t think we can guarantee $1.4 million (in revenue) every year,” he said.
But again, Cordner said he doesn’t see people changing their shopping patterns, noting, “With all due respect, the concern about people rushing to Park County or Montana is a red herring.”
Richard Hawley of Sen. Mike Enzi’s staff said a high percentage of sales tax is paid by people visiting or passing through a community, some 60 percent in Lincoln County, a county similar to Big Horn, he said. He agreed with Cordner that 1 cent won’t change people’s shopping patterns, asking the the assembled officials if people stopped shopping at Wal-Mart in Cody when Park County enacted the optional 1-cent sales tax a few years ago.
“People don’t think of a fifth or sixth penny,” he said. “ It’s not a major buying decision for people.”
Peterson countered that small businesses will have to eat the extra sales tax to stay competitive, so the tax will actually come out of each business’s bottom line.
Some officials wondered about the timing of the sales tax initiative, noting that the process seems rushed and wondering if they could fund a lot of the projects through SLIB, with the sales tax merely providing the match.
“I feel that way,” Deaver mayor Fred Yates said. “It’s going pretty quick. We need to do homework to see what SLIB could do. Maybe we’d only need $1 million. Can we get people educated, or are they going to say ‘I don’t want another tax.’?”
Some mayors wondered about the money it would take to prepare for the tax and the accompanying bonding, but Greybull councilman Bob Graham noted, “That’s a pretty cheap way to find out if there’s support. If it fails we’ll find out why and continue forward.”
Lovell mayor Morrison agreed, noting, “I don’t think we stop here. We are in dire need enough and Big Horn County is poor enough that we’re always looking at options to do things.”
Graham said people would logically want to support business in Big Horn County to support the projects the sales tax would pay for, rather than buying in Park County and paying for Powell or Cody projects.
“If people vote for the tax we’re all saying we’re willing to pay an extra penny so communities can get something viable and make people want to live here or pass through and spend time here,” Graham said. “If you buy in Cody you’re paying for their library or Powell’s pool. Why would you do that? Why would you go to Cody instead of going across the street to Red Apple or buying a set of tires from Minchow’s?”
The answer, Peterson said, is that people want to take care of their money.
“We compete directly with Park County every day,” he said. “We have to be as cheap as Park County. It (the extra tax) comes out of my share. It always has. It doesn’t just magically appear.”
Finding support
The point is, Peterson said, that the towns need to make a strong case to the voters because they are going to have to pay the tax for many years under the current proposal. He said Cowley, like other towns, has needs the tax would meet.
“We need these things,” he said. “We’ve done nothing to our streets in 20 years. It’s a great opportunity for us, but I’m just telling you I’m not sure in this environment that the people will support it.”
All at Thursday’s meeting agreed that unity is the key. Morrison said one Lovell councilman (Brian Dickson) has stated that if people vote for the sales tax they should be willing to pay for it by doing their shopping locally.
Basin mayor Amy Kania said each town must ask if its project is viable, and if not, the project won’t sell. Peterson said he worries that people in each community would only see their own project as viable.
That’s part of the educational process, Burlington town clerk Penny Jones said. Communities must think in terms of the revenue benefitting the entire county, she said, noting that individual parts are hard to sell.
Peterson said he’s like to see a final, solid list of projects, and Morrison said that list can be solidified over the next two months, but what he wanted to know Thursday is whether there were any dissenters.
George said Byron still has to solidify its projects, noting that the community portion of the now privately owned former school is on a lease that can be terminated by either party in 30 days. Hawley said that, typically, a privately-owned building must have at least a five-year lease for public use in order to receive public money.
Graham noted that each town government is going to have to sell its specific project or projects to voters, and Peterson agreed that the towns must be united, but he added, “We’re going to have to talk like silver-tongued devils to get this to go.”
Kania noted, “Any time you add to the quality of life in your community, you have a much better chance of surviving and growing instead of dying…We, as citizens, have to be willing to help ourselves.”
The mayors agreed to gather again on June 7 in Frannie at 6:30 p.m.
Riverside High School recently announced the students who will be the valedictorian and salutatorian of the 2012 graduating class. Michael Miller with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.9 is the 2012 valedictorian, and Hannah Hoffman is the salutatorian with a GPA of 3.6.
After high school both Miller and Hoffman have decided to attend college. Miller said his ultimate goal is toreceive a degree in mechanical engineering from Montana State University in Bozeman, but before attending MSU-Bozeman, he plans on attending Northwest College. He said this would help lower his college expenses. Hoffman said she plans to attend the University of Wyoming to major in elementary education.
Miller attributed his success to self motivation and the motivation of the people around him. He said his mother, Brenda Miller, was his greatest supporter, because she was constantly checking his grades and making sure all of his assignments were complete. Hoffman said she has her father and mother, Jim and Holly Hoffman, to thank because they always reminded her how important education is and gave her support in her achievements and studies. She said her friends, particularly Taylor Hodge, her best friend, have always been a great study help.
Both Miller and Hoffman said being successful in school has always been a goal for them since around the sixth or seventh grade. Hoffman said an education is very important for a successful life. She said it is a lifelong stepping stone to help one to the next level. Miller said
“How successful you are in life completely depends on your education.”
The advice they both gave for the remaining students is to be sure to set goals and to keep them.
Miller added, “Do not be afraid to fail.” Hoffman said, “Do the best you can do and do not compare yourself to anyone.”
Miller and Hoffman are members of the National Honor Society and held titles on student council. Miller was president of FFA for two years, in the Spanish Club and was on the football and basketball teams. Hoffman was also in the Spanish Club, she was also taking certified nurses assistant (CNA) classes, and was on the volleyball team.
The town of Basin will be moving up one of the electrical capital improvement projects on the five-year list — connecting the north and south substations.
Mayor Amy Kania said some upgrades that Big Horn REA will be doing to lines coming into the south substation has prompted the town to move the project forward. She said the REA work will require the south substation to be shut down at times and without a transmission line between the north and south substations that means residents would be without power.
“This project has been part of the original plan since before the north substation was constructed,” Kania said. “We will be putting in a full transmission line.” She added that most people won’t even notice because it will follow a current distribution lines, using the same poles.
Kania said engineering plans are being completed and the town will have a special meeting at that time when they know an estimated cost of the project. She said there are several options for funding the project including approaching the electrical joint powers board formed between Basin, Gillette and Torrington.
While that project is beginning, the town continues to move forward with trying to obtain the final easement and completing engineering for moving the electrical lines in the Mecklem Acres subdivision.
The old existing line runs through several private properties. This area was without power for nearly a full day last summer, Kania said. Since the town needs to replace it, it’s the ideal time to shift the line to run down the alley to Wyoming Avenue.
“The benefits are that right now the lines run right up against their homes and other structures. This will bring it up to code. It also provides a more efficient system for those households,” Kania said.
During Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, Town Attorney Kent Richins reported that he is presently negotiating with one of the resident’s attorneys on the easement. He said they want the town to be required to remove any lines rebuilt later on and are still pursuing compensation. Richins said he has told the attorney that the compensation is the new line and improved service and removing the old line once it is abandoned.
Loading ...
