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LOVELL, WYOMING • VOLUME 109, NUMBER 31 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015 • 75¢
Lewis still in place; council votes to advertise for chief
BY DAVID PECK
Nick Lewis remains the chief of police
in Lovell - for now.
After rescinding the chiefs firing last
week and in doing so announcing that he
did not intend to reappoint Chief Lewis,
Mayor Angel Montanez presented his list
of appointments for his four-year mayor-
al term Tuesday before a packed house at
Lovell Town Hall.
The list did not include Lewis as chief of
police, but neither did it include the name
of a replacement. Instead, the council vot-
ed 3-2 to advertise for a new chief. Sup-
porting the mayor in advertising for a chief
were councilmen Brian Dickson and Scott
Allred, who made the motion to advertise.
Councilmen Bruce Wolsey and Kevin Jones
voted against the motion.
Under the Lovell Town Code, Lewis
remains as chief of police until a new ap-
pointment is made and the council ratifies
that appointment, Town Attorney Sandra
Kitchen said Tuesday night.
After being sworn in as mayor at noon
on Friday, Jan. 2, Mayor Montanez fired
Lewis as chief at 7 a.m. the next day, Jan.
3. He then rescinded the termination on
the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 7, writ-
ing to Lewis, "Nick, the purpose of this let-
ter is to advise you that you are not ter-
minated from your employment with the
Town of Lovell. Although I do not intend to
reappoint you, you are still employed with
the Town of Lovell."
Lewis started working regular shifts
again on Monday, Jan. 12, after taking his
daughter back to the University of Wyo-
ming in Laramie over the weekend. He re-
mains as the chief until a replacement is
named by the mayor and the council rati-
fies the selection.
DAVID PECK
Ken Ferbrache addresses the Lovell Town Council during the public comments
portion of the council meeting Tuesday night, which largely addressed Mayor
Angel Montanez's decision to not reappoint Chief of Police Nick Lewis.
APPOINTMENTS MADE
At the start of the appointment process
Tuesday, Mayor Montanez noted that may-
ors have long had the authority to appoint
certain department heads in Lovell (and in
other towns under 4,000 in population). He
called it the "mayor's prerogative."
"These appointments are made by the
mayor with the town council's approval,"
Montanez said, noting the positions of town
administrator, chief of police, clerk-trea-
surer, town attorney, municipal judge and
building inspector. "These are mayor's pre-
rogative. It's been done in the past. A new
mayor comes in and wants to appoint some-
one new, and our code has not changed."
Montanez did not propose an admin-
istrator Tuesday and said the town would
advertise for the position. The council vot-
ed to OK the advertising. He then reap-
pointed Valerie Beal as clerk-treasurer,
which the council voted to accept, then an-
nounced that he will not reappoint Chief
Lewis and said the town will advertise for
the position.
Allred moved to authorize the town to
advertise for a new chief, and it passed 3-2.
Attorney Kitchen pointed out that
Lewis will remain as chief for the time be-
ing since a replacement was not appointed
Tuesday.
"No appointment is going to be made
tonight," the mayor said. "Like Sandee
said, he'll stay in that position until we find
a new chief with council approval."
Montanez appointed Kitchen as town
attorney and Sylvia Gams as municipal
judge, and the council approved both ap-
pointments. He said councilmen Allred and
Jones will research a new emergency man-
agement coordinator and come back with a
recommendation. Keri Wilske recently re-
signed from the post.
The mayor re-appointed John Schnei-
der as building inspector and Tom Dillon
as assistant, and the council approved.
• Montanez then issued council° assign-
ments with Wolsey as parks and recreation
dept. liaison, Jones as streets, alleys and
garbage dept. liaison, Allred police dept.
and Dickson sewer and water. Montanez
said he will be in charge of special projects.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Montanez then opened the floor to pub-
lic comments, and nine citizens weighed in
on the mayor's decision to not reappoint
Chief Lewis.
Jay Brinkerhoff opened the comment
period by asking what would happen if
the town advertises and the council "re-
fuses to accept" any of the mayor's choic-
es for a new chief. Allred replied, "I would
hope that would not happen. My interest
being up here as a councilman, and I'm
SEE 'CITIZENS SPEAK OUT,' page 3
Hospital Association hosts healthcare forum in Powell
BY PATTI CARPENTER
Hospital CEOs, admin-
istrators, trustees and oth-
er stakeholders put their
heads together on Thurs-
day, Jan. 8, to review bills
that will be heard during
the eight-week session of
the Wyoming Legislature
that convened on Tues-
day. The special meeting
was hosted by the Wyo-
ming Hospital Association
(WHA) and held at North-
west College.
The Wyoming Legisla-
ture will vote on a number
of key pieces of legislation
that could potentially im-
pact rural hospitals. Sen.
Ray Peterson of Cowley
and Rep. Elaine Harvey of
Lovell were among the leg-
islators on hand to listen
to the concerns of those at-
tending the special meeting
and to answer questions.
Major issues discussed
included Medicaid expan-
sion, Title 25, the tobacco
tax, a bill that Would allow
surgical centers to build
convalescent care centers
and extension of a loan re-
payment program to nurs-
ing students.
MEDICAID EXPANSION
WHA members and leg-
islators were encouraged
by WHA president Eric Bo-
ley to support Medicaid ex-
pansion. He explained two
potential pieces of legisla-
tion that will most likely
be heard by legislators in-
cluding the "share plan,"
supported by Gov. Matt
Mead and the State Dept.
of Health and the "Medic-
aid Expansion Alternative
Plan," supported by the
Joint Labor, Health and So-
cial Services Committee of
the Wyoming Legislature.
Boley indicated that
the WHA had no prefer-
ence regardifig which bill is
passed, but that it is crucial
for hospitals in the state
that some sort of expansion
takes place to help shore up
the tremendous losses hos-
pitals are experiencing in
Wyoming as a result of the
estimated 17,000 individu-
als who remain uninsured
in the state.
"WHA has no pref-
erence on which one is
passed," said North Big
Horn Hospital CEO Rick
Schroeder, who is also the
current chairman of WHA
Board of Directors. "The
important matter at hand
for us is that we have com-
munity members across
Wyoming who have no in-
surance or are underin-
sured and have little or no
ability to pay for medical
care. Whichever version is
passed will help the unin-
sured, underinsured and
health care facilities across
the state.
Schroeder said any
form of Medicaid expansion
could potentially help non-
profit hospitals like NBHH,
which for the most part are
just trying to break even.
"In 2014, NBHH provid-
ed over $1,000,000 worth of
uncompensated care health
care services," said Schro-
eder. "A significant amount
of that would be covered by
Medicaid expansion (if the
state would have allowed
Medicaid expansion)."
TITLE 25
Title 25 allows law en-
forcement and medical pro-
viders to evaluate, detain,
and hospitalize persons
with acute mentally illness
for a 72-hour period of time.
This includes individuals
who may be contemplating
suicide. It is a program that
is not profitable for most
hospital providers. NBHH
currently works with local
law enforcement agencies to
SEE "TITLE 25 NOT
PROFITABLE,' page 3
County looks to change annex
agreement with Town of Lovell
BY KARLA POMEROY
Big Horn County will
be looking to renegotiate
the terms of the agreement
they have with the Town of
Lovell for use of the county
annex in Lovell.
County Maintenance
Supervisor Fred Werner
told the commissioners
Jan. 6 that the contract
was up in February and he
would like to see the town
of Lovell assisting with util-
ities. He said regular oper-
ations for the annex costs
the county about $21,000
annually, $18,000 of that in
utilities.
He said on a normal
month the county uses the
facility about 25 percent
of the time. The town uses
the facility to house its dis-
patch center and municipal
court office, as well as us-
ing the courtroom for mu-
nicipal court.
The county uses the fa-
cility for circuit court of-
fice and use of the court-
room, a small office space
twice a month for the clerk
and treasurer, C.A.R.E.S.
office and an office for the
deputies.
Werner said there is
the possibility that more of
the newly remodeled emer-
gency management build-
ing could be remodeled to
accommodate office space
for the clerk, treasurer and
deputies if needed.
Commissioner John
Hyde said, "First and fore-
most the county needs to
maintain a presence in
Lovell. That building is
about our only presence. I
understand the issues with
the maintenance. I guess
Lovell should be asked
to rent at a rate that is
SEE 'MAINTENANCE AN ISSUE
AT ANNEX,' page 3
PATT CARPENTER
The Big Horn County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees announced
Lovell Elementary School Principal Cheri Hoffman's plan to retire at the end
of the school year at its regularly scheduled meeting held at the district's
administrative offices on Monday night.
Hoffman announces retirement
BY PATI'I CARPENTER
Principal Cheri Hoffman announced
her plan to retire at the end of the current
school year, on June 12, 2015. Hoffman
has served most of her educational career
at Lovell Elementary School, including
seven years as a teacher and most recently
as the school's principal for 13 years.
Her resignation was announced on
Monday night at the Big Horn County
School District No. 2 board meeting, where
the board reluctantly accepted her resigna-
tion and thanked her for her many years
of service.
Supt. Rick Woodford said though he
hasn't worked with her long, he is very im-
pressed with her work.
"One thing that's been really evident to
me since I've been here is that Mrs. Hoff-
man has put her heart and soul into her
job," said Woodford, who became the dis-
trict's superintendent only last summer.
"She loves the kids and I think she's done
a fantastic job.
'You walk through the school and
there's a culture there. Some schools lack
that culture and you're just not sure what
that school is all about, but when you go to
Lovell Elementary School you see a posi-
tive culture there. It's all about teaching
and learning. The love for kids resonates
through that building. And it is her leader-
ship which has caused that circumstance.
It's been a pleasure for me to work with
her, even though it's been for only a short
time."
Hoffman said she is retiring to spend
more time with her husband, John, who
has already been retired for five years,
her grown children and especially her 16
grandchildren.
"I love my grandchildren and just
want to be a part of their lives," she said.
"This will allow me to travel to be with
them. I feel like I've missed a lot already."
Hoffman said she has several grand-
children who live in other parts of the
country, including six in the Washing-
ton, D.C. area. She said she also loves to
collect antiques and spend time with her
horses on the farm she and her husband
own just outside of Lovell.
"We are planning to stay here, this
is our home and we love this communi-
ty," she said. "I want to contribute to the
community in some way, especially to the
schools. I'm not sure yet exactly what I
will do."
She said it was a difficult decision to
retire because she will miss working with
the children and her staff, which she said
are like "family" to her.
"I will miss the children, of course.
They are so delightful and funny and hon-
est and just good," she said. "They make
me laugh every day.
"I will also miss my staff. They are
the most dedicated people I've ever met
in my life. They work tirelessly. You can
drive by the school any time and see their
cars still here because they are working
on their own time."
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