4 I The Lovell Chronicle I June 21,2012
CHRONICLE
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Community pride
shines forth
The Rose Town of Wyoming will put on its best foot for-
ward this week as our community celebrates Mustang Days.
Local festivals are the highlight of the summer in many
communities, and north Big Horn County is no different.
Each town takes great pride and puts its own particular
stamp on what local residents want to enjoy. Following Mus-
tang Days this week, Byron will celebrate Byron Days on July
13-14, xfollowed by Pioneer Day in Cowley July 20-21.
Many business owners put a fresh coat of paint on their
building and homeowners perform weeding, watering and
mowing just a little more earnestly to look good as visitors
come to town.
We hope family members returning home and others
enjoying the celebration will see a. small town that is up-
beat and vibrant, despite the economic challenges facing
small towns across America. Our community has made great
strides in recent years thanks to strong local leadership and
a strong spirit of volunteerism and community pride. New
businesses are springing up, new homes are being built, fa-
cilities are being improved and numerous projects are under
way or have recently been completed.
Take a drive by the old hospital for the last time while
you're here. Asbestos abatement in the long-closed building
begins next week, and the building should come down this
fall to make room for a senior housing project.
Housing is a top priority for community leaders as they
plan for the future, and now might be the perfect time for
someone who grew up here to invest in his or her home-
town thanks to affordable real estate prices and low interest
rates.
Or why not think about investing in the community by
starting a business? Many small businesses have opened in
recent months, and most are thriving. Lovell is a great place
to call home, with an unparalleled quality of life.
Indeed, there more to Mustang Days than parades and
fireworks and other events. There a tremendous sense of
community pride that shines forth during a week like this.
But what visitors need to realize is that this community
pride reverberates 365 days a year in myriad ways. And that
is something to celebrate. .............
Welcome to Mustang Days. Have a great time!
- David Peck
Letters to the editor
Byron building
owner responds
Dear Editor,
We are excited to be doing
business in the Big Horn Basin
and have received an overwhelm-
ing welcome to our effort to be-
come a part of Byron and the sur-
rounding communities. Our goal
is to bring private enterprise into
the community as well as being
able to contribute a platform for
recreation for all citizens young
and old.
We have been working with
several private companies that
are showing interest in long-term
leases to occupy the facility as
well as fulfilling our pre-purchase
commitment made to a strong
contingency of volunteers and
city officials that have a vision for
a cohesive relationship and a rec-
reation facility second to none.
Currently, hundreds of citi-
zens, many from outside the town
of Byron, enjoy the open gym and
weight room, dance rooms and
other areas each week. To date
NO public funds have been given
or asked for by Postern Capital
to offset any of the costs associ-
ated with the facility and anyone
is welcome to obtain these facts
from their local government of-
flees.
We welcome anyone to stop
by the building at 30 East Main
in Byron or contact myself with
any questions regarding our
plans for business community in-
volvement.
Jeff Noall
Postern Capital
Frankie merely following
misguided orders
Dear Editor,
Congratulations and warm
best wishes go to Byron Police
Chief Frankie Rohrer upon his
well-deserved retirement.
Over the years the late Hon-
orable Senator Cal S. Taggart and
I upon occasion wrote letters to
the editor about that despicable,
destructive, nationally despised
Byron speed trap. There was nev-
er any personal animosity in the
letters toward Chief Rohrer. He
was merely following misguided
orders from superior authority.
To his credit Frankie treated
everyone equally, without def-
erence for wealth or status and
without regard for race, color,
creed, sex, religion, handicap, sex-
ual orientation, or national origin.
He gave them all tickets.
The new chief has a hefty re-
sponsibility to maintain this mis-
guided practice in keeping taxes
artificially low in Byron. At one
point Senator Taggart calculated
the economic impact of the Byron
speed trap. Cal failed to deduct
the lost opportunity costs in the
citizens and industry it drives
away.
If Chief Rohrer gets bored in
retirement, I will be happy to put
in a good word for him with Gov-
ernor Jerry Brown of California
or Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois.
Both states could use his unique
abilities to balance their respec-
tive state budgets.
As a token of appreciation for
Chief Rohrer's years of dedicat-
ed, fearless service, Byron May-
or Bret George should permit
Frankie to keep his bullet.
Sincerely,
Bertha W. Binford (Mrs.)
Indianapolis
MIGHT OR MIGHT
NOT BROAI>I00N
TH' MINI>... .. BUT, IT
SURI00 AS H00CK
STRIffTCHI00$ TH'
BLAI>PI00Rt
To our governme00 Think lint
Think lint. One year when Ken was ....
deployed I was having trouble enforcing
a rule I had made which I believed pro-
tected my kids' safety. They thought it
was stupid and unfair and all of the oth-
er things that kids think about rules they
don't like.
S I sat them down and explained to
them that if I dropped a piece of lint on
the floor and told them to leave it alone,
that was exactly what they were to do.
There would be no picking it up, no kick-
ing it out of the way and no grumbling or
tantrums about it being there or there
would be serious consequences.
"Mom, that's really stupid," said my
oldest daughter Tammy. "It's a piece of
lint! It doesn't mean a thing."
"Well," I replied, "it's my lint, my rule
and it stays put. Now, if you can sit down and calm-
ly explai n tO me why that's a silly or unnecessary
rule, I,will]isten." I explained that if their reasoning
was sound, and presented logically and respectfully,
then perhaps the lint could be moved or disposed of
with no repercussions.
By golly that worked! (Well, as well as anything
works with kids 13, 11, and 9.) And it's funny how
that phrase has worked its way into our family's dai-
ly lives. "Think lint" has been a way to remind a fam-
ily member that he or she needs to tone down the
argument and make sense.
Mr. President and Congress, we the people of
the United States, have tried to convince you that
we have some genuine reservations about many of
the laws and regulations you are trying to impose
upon us, the citizens of this country. We have pre-
sented our arguments in every way possible - on the
steps of the Capitol Building, through the court sys-
tem and at the ballot box. We have sent letters and
emails, made telephone calls and even written edi-
torials and columns just like this one. We have as-
sembled peacefully, without violence.
We have given you sound reasons why laws
passed by individual states to protect themselves
from foreign invasion should be respected and sup-
ported. Washington's response has been the feeble
protest that such laws usurp federal law. In which
language is "enforce" defined as "usurp"? (And who
uses silly word like that anyway, but that's another
column.)
We have tried to point out that allowing a de-
partment of the United States Government, the
EPA, to impose additional strangling regulations on
businesses trying to expand is counterproductive to
job creation. Face it, Washington, taxing my carbon
dioxide output isn't going to do a thing for the envi-
ronment as long as the rest of the world gets away
with holding us totally responsible for real or imag-
ined doomsday scenarios.
Our protests against more government spending
are futile. You have decided that your role as sav-
ior of the universe supersedes your duty to protect
Diane Badget
View from the
soap box
US citizens first. When Congress declares
that it is going to impose spending cuts,
one of the first areas to look at should be
U.S. taxpayer dollars supporting foreign
governments. Let them stand on their
own - they don't appreciate our efforts
anyway.
So here's my "think lint" argument,
one more time.
Most of you never read bills, nor do
you read them after they become laws.
Every time an unexpected consequence of
a new law is brought to light you look to-
tally stunned and foolishly announce that
you "didn't realize" that could happen be-
cause you were "unaware of that provi-
sion." Hello - that's your job. That's what
we're paying you for. Don't impose it on
me if you can't justify it better than that.
We are supposed to be a country of law-abiding
citizens. For the most part, we're trying! It's harder
when our own government doesr lhold laws and
instead sues individual states for attempting to fill
the holes the feds create. The only reason the feds
have turned a blind eye to the explosion of "medi-
cal marijuana" is because they hope to gain tax rev-
enues from sales. Isn't it amazing how many sud-
denly horribly sick people under the age of 30 this
country suddenly contains? Federal law declares
marijuana as an "illegal drug." But with a card in
their pocket users can get in their cars and drive on
California freeways or Montana back roads with im-
punity. Cross the line onto federally held lands and
the same baggie of pot a user left home with is sud-
denly illegal. Makes no sense.
Then we have Attorney General Holder and the
Fast and Furious debacle. Do you think we could tell
a congressional hearing, '/ou know, I don't think I'll
cooperate, and I'm going to hide my communications
about this from you."? Um, nope. Illegal weapons are
provided for illegal activities and used in the murder
of a U.S. Border Patrol officer and there will probably
be no punishment for the geniuses behind it. What an
appropriate name for a federal plan - the administra-
tion is running fast and Americans are furious.
Arizona is still in hot water with the U.S. gov-
ernment because they want to enforce immigration
laws. Instead of support, Arizona gets sued because
Washington says immigration enforcement is the
responsibility of federal, not state, officials. Okay,
would someone explain to me the blind eye turned to
"sanctuary cities?" If there was a more blatant disre-
gard for the federal law which requires documenta-
tion to be provided upon request and deportation for
illegal immigrants this is it.
If a law is archaic, or redundant, or just plain
wrong and American citizens have provided calm,
logical arguments which can't be refuted, repeal it
and, if necessary, redraft it. It's time to stop selective
enforcement and political immunity and get back to
equal protection under the law. As I tried to teach
my kids, think lint!
Postmaster: Send address c anges to
The Lovell Chronicle, USF'00; 321-060
234 E. Main, Lovell, Wyoming 00243"
(307) 548-2217
Published every Thur00 lay
Periodical postage pa d at Lovell, Wyom ng
Editor and Publisher: David Peck
www, lovellchronicle,com
2611MEHBER
2010 AWARD-W NNING NEWSPAPER
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