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4 I The Lovell Chronicle I January 12, 2012
The massive fortress in Salzburg
towers over the city, much like the
nearby Alps that dominate the land-
scape outside the city.
Austrians love high places, it seems.
Wej0ined more of our European
exchange families in Salzburg after
spending Christmas in Berlin. Daugh-
ter Danielle, who is spending the
school year Studying in Berlin, joined
us for two days in Austria before re-
turning to Berlin for New Year Eve David Peck
festivities. Observations
Our wonderful hosts in Salzburg
were exchange son Daniel and his
parents Wolfgang and Herta. We were also joined by Ger-
man daughter Larissa Demel and her parents Klaus and
Aitxa of Karlsruhe, Germany, and for one day by Lukas Sla-
meczka and his friend Birgit of Vienna. Lukas lived with Bob
and Elsie Martens for a school year in Lovell.
Salzburg is a marvelous small city for walking and sight-
seeing, with new and delightful vistas around every corner
and the mountaintop fortress ever lurking. Our hotel was a
short tunnel walk through the M6nchsberg (Monk Moun-
tain) to the Altstadt (Old Town), with its winding streets, old
churches, historic buildings and colorful plazas.
Like other European cities and villages we visited, Salz-
burg was beautifully decorated for the holidays, and the
decorations were tastefully done - not overdone ala Clark
Griswold in "Christmas Vacation" - with oftentimes simple
white lights adorning a Christmas tree, building or street.
Daniel, Wolfgang and Herta took us to many places and
had our visit planned perfectly: the huge baroque Salzburg
Cathedral, a rooftop terrace restaurant looking over the city
and the river, the Red Bull soccer arena where Daniel works
during the summer and Wolfgang covers the local team
as a sportswriter and editor, the Museum of Modern Art,
Mozart birth house, the aforementioned Hohensalzburg
Fortress, a city fortress built in 1 077 that was never defeat-
ed, and the Residenz - a sprawling medieval palace for the
ruling bishops some 500 years ago with ornately decorated
rooms.
One of our joys was getting to experience a variety of
restaurants from the huge Augustiner Br ustQbl beer hall to
the upscale Carpe Diem. We found words familiar to Wyo-
ming Cowboys fans adorning the wall at Zwettler pub and
restaurant: (in German) "In Heaven there is no beer, that
why we drink it here." We also spent time at Murphey Law,
an Irish pub near our hotel that featured good beer, sports
on TV and wonderful conversation. And speaking English
was encouraged. The young lady who was our bartender
was from Newcastle, England. L told her have a New-
castle in Wyoming. She th D nve '13r0ncoSgame On'
TV for us.
The birthplace of Mozart, Salzburg is a very musical city,
from classical music to rock and roll, blues and jazz. On a
Friday evening we enjoyed a "funk jazz" band at the Jazzit
club, which interestingly used to be the Communist Party
headquarters in Salzburg.
We also enjoyed a fascinating evening watching the
press run at Wolfgang huge city newspaper -with its intri-
cate insert machine bringing fliers and newspaper sections
together with meters and meters of section-carrying mov-
ing chain, crisscrossing high above our heads in a building
the size of a football field. Amazing.
it was also fun to visit Daniel hometown, Seekirchen,
and see where he went to elementaryschool and second-
ary school.
One of our best days was New Year Eve Day, spent on
one of the many local lakes - the Wolfgangsee - aboard a
series of boats, really floating cafes, that took us from village
to village: St. Gilgen, Strobl and St. Wolfgang. It was a fun,
relaxing day with our German and Austrian family.
On New Year Eve we ate a leisurely dinner, then walked
along the river as the city exploded with celebratory fire-
works - literally. Hundreds and hundreds of people were
firing off rockets and fountains, sometimes just a few feet in
front of us from a fencepost or railing, and the streets and
sidewalks were crowded with New Year revelers. It was
an amazing sight to see. By the next morning the city was
clean as a whistle, the city cleaning crew having swept the
place spotless.
Even with everything we saw and experienced, the best
moments during our five days in Salzburg were the many
moments just enjoying each other company- laugh-
ing, joking, telling stories and talking about Wyoming and
Austria and Germany and our families and lives. Traveling
with European families we have come to love and admire is
priceless, and the setting, though wonderful and, at times,
awe-inspiring, was secondarY to the friendship and com-
panionship we experienced once again.
Like the Hohensalzburg Fortress, our spirits rose above
everything else during our visit to Austria.
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Guest columns
I'm not sure if it's old age that is
causing me to enjoy life so much more,
or past experiences. I do know that the
raspberries I pick out of my yard and
the apple crisp I make from my apples
seem to just taste so much better. The
jerky I make, just food in general, has
been tasting so much better.
I know quitting smoking four years
ago, has helped although I do indulge
a smoke now and then, but one versus
three packs a day is quite a change.
Dumbest thing I ever did was start
smoking. Be smart, don't start!
So there I am driving down the
highway the other day, and I noticed a semitruck
heading into my lane. It brought back the memo-
ry of going on vacation to put four years of being
laid up behind me when I noticed an 80-year-old
gentleman headed straight toward me at 70 miles
an hour in his 60-foot motor home pulling a car.
I still remember that he had the biggest smile on
his face and fortunately, he got back in his own
lane in time. Phew, that was close!
So here I am facing a semi going about 65, me
going 65 and headed toward each other. I knew if
we hit, it did not bode well for me. Fortunately he
got off his cell phone in time and got back over the
line. No wonder I have become a home body.
Then this past week or so, I received a call from
Bill Miller asking if I would do a handgun safety
course for his Hunter Ed program. If you all know
Bill, you know how much he cares and works with
the youth of our community and safety is number
one on his list. Not only did I do the handgun part
but was invited back to do the shooting exam for
Gary Noth
Sweet Noth-ings
each student. I wish I had remembered
to call the Chronicle to get pictures as
these kids deserve recognition.
What a fabulous experience to be
working with such fine young students
who not only learned the lessons well,
but their enthusiasm to learn more was
overwhelming. Bright, smart, courte-
ous, respectful and safety conscious. I
commend the students from this class
on how well they did.
Of course, Mother Nature had to
have her fun. It was raining, cold and
windy. Hmm, sounds like we live in Wy-
oming. Five minutes before they were
to start the shooting exam, she was kind enough
to stop the rain. Still, each one of those stu-
dents braved the cold wind, which was ferocious
at times, to demonstrate what they had learned.
They laid on the cold ground and carefully loaded
the rifle, sighted in their target, fired, unloaded
and made the firearm safe. All this while shiver-
ing in the cold. To share such an experience with
such wonderful young people is just amazing! I am
so blessed.
They showed they knew their lessons and
they demonstrated that they are tough, that even
Mother Nature was not going to deter them from
their passing that day and they did so with flying
colors. I applaud them for their fortitude and their
parents for raising such fine children. Working
with such outstanding young people, it warms the
heart that we live in Wyoming and especially in
this areo. We can be assured that our children will
be up for the challenge after we leave this world.
No wonder everything seems better. Life is good!
When I ran for a seat on the town
council of Cowley, I didn't know that one
of the things I would take away from
the entire experience was a civics les-
son. I slept through civics class in high
school. In my defense we had a teacher
who spoke in a monotone, and since my
class was right after lunch, it was difficult
not to be lulled to dreamland. And then,
some 40 plus years later in a little town
in Northern Wyoming, I got my first and
most humbling real life civics lesson.
When the council of Cowley began
crafting a livestock ordinance, I knew it
was going to be unpopular. It doesn't take
a genius to see that when a few people
meet a couple of times a month, and plan
changes to something as downright "Cow-
ley" as livestock in town, folks are going
to be upset. This ordinance was something that we
began discussing early in the year, but when the
first written draft of the ordinance was crafted I was
in Denver.::I sometimes joked th t: might be better
off to stay therd until the dust settled, but in reality
I was in the loop during my time away.
We did a fair job on the first few drafts, but there
were things that I didn't like, and things that oth-
ers on the council weren't happy with as well. But it
was a starting place. We made changes to both sub-
stance and wording over the next several weeks. It
wasn't perfect, but major changes to a town's entire
lifestyle will never be perfect.
We had our first reading of the proposed ordi-
nance in November. Although our work meetings
and council meetings are always open, no citizens
arrived during the first reading to provide input or
objection. The meeting was televised, and as usual
the minutes were publicly posted. Soon copies of the
proposal were being distributed throughout Cow-
ley. Text messages were flying all over town. Some
things being said about it were accurate, some were
a little distorted, and some were just plain wrong,
but the community was talking.
Things were a little different at the second read-
ing in December. The town hall was packed with
the good people of Cowley and each of them had the
opportunity to speak. Although there was no doubt
that they were not at all in favor of this ordinance,
for the most part they were respectful and voiced
their objections clearly. They may not have liked
all we had to say, but they listened. In the end, the
resolution was tabled and they were offered the op-
portunity to form a committee and then present
the council with their ideas in a special meeting we
scheduled for January 3.
I arrived at that meeting not knowing quite
what to expect. I should have had more faith in the
fine folks of Cowley. They had obviously done a lot of
Diane Badget
View from the
soap box
research and had worked hard to rewrite
the ordinance in a way that was concise
and well thought out. They appointed a
spokesperson, who did a great job in rep-
resenting them.
We as a council listened respectful-
ly and asked some questions of Rosanna
Rusch, the group's spokesperson. She
was ready with answers. Then others in
attendance asked us questions and we
tried to answer them as completely and
openly as we could. In the end the coun-
cil agreed that many of their changes had
merit and were worth incorporating.
This is how it's supposed to work.
When given the opportunity it does. I
came away from that meeting with re-
newed hope for the success of this ordi-
nance, despite its unpopularity in the be-
ginning. The "governing body" of the town saw an
issue that needed to be addressed and took action to
propose an ordinance. The meetings v ere all open
to the public and the proposal asf ailab],e
one who wanted to read it. ......
We did not dismiss the concerns of the citizens
of Cowley when they attended the second reading
and offered public comment; we invited them to ad-
dress those concerns and bring us back some input.
When they responded we did not dismiss them or
their ideas - our decision was that there would be an
ordinance enacted but we recognized that it would
be a better ordinance if the people it affected were
involved in the process and the final resolution. I be-
lieve we treated each of them with respect and cour-
tesy. In exchange they presented good ideas and did
so very well.
Give and take. Speak and listen. Compromise.
It's easy if you remember that when your mouth is
open your ears aren't working.
This is a much smaller scale that than of our
state and federal government, but it is still the way
things need to be done in order to get things done.
A governing body proposesa law. It accepts public
comment. The people give those comments and pres-
ent alternate solutions. And both sides listen.
How about you, Washington? Are you listening
to how it's done in Cowley? And what about you,
American Citizen? Are you seeing what can happen
when you let your representatives know how you
feel by speaking up? I said when I ran for council
that America's backbone is the people who serve her
cities and towns as councils, commissions, and may-
ors. We must leave our egos at the town hall doors.
We can't hide in marble edifices behind anonymity.
We face the people our decisions affect every day.
I'm proud of our council, our Mayor and of Cowley.
It's all about communication. And our little town got
it right.
Letter to the editor
Dear Editor, What I also found interesting even lab draws. I most definite-
I felt compelled to write af- is that they listed 21 individuals ly agree there is a need for those
ter reading the hospital board who may be in need of those ser- types of services, however, Medi-
meeting report. In the article Mr. vices. My question would be what care does not reimburse for those.
Schroeder discussed the estab- type of services these individu- Our agency has even initiated
lishing of a "visiting nurse pro- als would require. Home healtha private pay service to provide
gram through the clinic." Much agencies have very strict restric- some of those services, but again
to my surprise the article goes on tions on the type of patients that they cannot be billed to Medicare
to state that there is not a home they can see and be reimbursedor Medicaid as they are not quali-
health agency serving the Lovell for those services. Under Medi- fying services.
area. care and Medicaid those services Of course, I have no way of
I am surprised because I amare to be skilled with the patient knowing exactly what kind of ser-
an RN with Powell Valley Home being homebound. The services vices the clinic in Lovell wants
Care, who most certainly does see are also to be acute and intermit- to provide, and possibly they are
clients in the Lovell area. While tent under the CMS (Center forlooking at other payor sources or
our agency is not in Big Horn Medicare and Medicaid Services) programs. But I just wanted to
County, our HH/Hospice agency guidelines, make clear that there is indeed
actually serves a 60-mile radius I suspect that to have 21 in- a fully-staffed Medicare-certified
from Powell. We see patients in dividuals lined up they are prob- Home Health agency that serves
Clark, Frannie, Meeteetse, up to ably referring to care that is most 90 percent of the Big Horn Basin
Basin, and all areas within that likely "custodial." These types of and is more than willing to see
circle. We are fully staffed with services would be such things as qualifying patients in Lovell.
RNs, PTs, an MSW and CHHAs only bathing, setting up pill box- Michelle M. Hoyt, RN,
(Certified Home Health Aides). es, routinely checking vital signs, CHPN, CWCN
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