6 I The Lovell Chronicle I September 10, 2015
DAVID PECK
Afternoon light bathes the walls of Big Horn Canyon on a recent Sunday afternoon. A photographer
found glassy water on Big Horn Lake near where the Layout Creek drainage enters the canyon.
yron s
BY BOB RODRIGUEZ
A full house audience
sat in stunned silence in
the Byron Town Hall on
Thursday night, Sept. 3, as
they thought that the belea-
guered Recreation Depart-
ment would be discussed
during a special meeting,
only to be told that it could
not be held because of an in-
correct legal notice as to the
intention of the gathering.
Mayor Heidi Bright-
ly brought the l 1-minute
meeting to order for the au-
dience of some 45 persons
with the comment that the
session was called by the
last week. The council ap-
parently was not seeking
a new ordinance, but the
chance to clarify points of an
existing ordinance covering
various appointments and
the authority behind them.
Bair and the mayor
each took responsibility for
the lack of communication
and apologized to the audi-
ence. In a related matter the
mayor was taken to task by
Councilor Sydney Hessen-
thaler for the town not get-
ting the agenda to her and
her fellow council members
prior to the meeting. She
the scheduled summer ac-
tivities," she said. "Howev-
er, we have met as a com-
mittee and have advertised
and posted our meetings. In
the nine months that Hei-
di has been mayor, she has
attended one Rec meeting
early on and she has not
participated in any event
sponsored by the Rec during
her tenure.
"She requested a list of
committee members, vol-
unteers, policies and proce-
dures and has been given
all requested information
several times. It would
citizens who use the facili-
ty, whether it be the weight
room, the dance fitness
classes, the kids programs,
or the senior luncheon will
be able to continue with
their schedule program as
usual. Our current adviso-
ry committee has only been
working together less than
a year and members are
perplexed by the mayor's
arbitrary actions and lack of
concern or interest in feed-
back from the many people
in the community who par-
ticipate with the recreation
department on a regular
and Bair are of the opinion seem if there was a concern basis."
council. Byron Police Offi- that if prior notice to them on her part about the Rec Summer Lofgran, a
cer Noe Garcia and part- had been provided soon programs, she would have dance instructor for the Rec,
enough they would have
seen the discrepancy. The
mayor countered that when
Bair came to the Town Hall
to talk about the meeting
and the agenda he should
have seen the posting on the
front door, and she believed
that what was posted was
what the council wanted.
After 11 minutes Bair
abruptly stated, "I move
to adjourn," which caused
several in the audience to
protest, saying that they
wanted to speak. Hessen-
thaler seconded Bair's mo-
tion and Brightly ended the
gathering.
With regard to the em-
battled Rec, after Brightly
announced last week that
she was firing all staff and
instructors, a statement
was issued by Pam Hopkin-
son, chairman of the Rec
Advisory Committee.
"The volunteer commit-
tee and others were very
busy with Byron Days and
called us in or come to a
committee meeting to share
her concerns so that we
would have the opportunity
to address them. As it is, we
have no idea what it is she
wants from us or why she
would dismantle a success-
ful department of the town.
We have several contracts
that need to be fulfilled in-
volving our location, and
each and every member has
signed a contract; the Lovell
School District uses the gym
twice a week for their dance
team.
"We have scheduled
classes and asked teach-
ers at their own expense
to become certified so that
we can offer the many fit-
ness opportunities that we
do. We have turned in a full
page of proposed activities
for all members of our com-
munity, preschool through
senior citizens, as well as a
detailed budget for the com-
ing year. We hope that the
said after the meeting that
as far as she can tell, she is
the only one of three dance
teachers terminated by the
mayor. Her feeling is that
some sort of vendetta is oc-
curring and she said that
she is compiling detailed
information about certain
incidents during the past
eight months that could in-
dicate a campaign.
Regarding her unilat-
eral action last week, the
mayor said that she is "do-
ing what I feel is best for the
town" and that the advisory
committee and others in the
Rec have not been coopera-
tive with her. Brightly add-
ed that "some in the commu-
nity" seem to want different
programs than what is of-
fered and that those in the
Rec "have a personal agen-
da." The mayor also noted
that, "I've given them eight
months to work with me;
this (the Rec) is not their
own world."
time Officer JeffAngel stood
by at the rear of the room.
Councilor Alan Bair stated
that the meeting could not
be held because of"a discon-
nect (regarding) the inten-
tion" for it, especially due
to the incorrect announce-
ment: "First reading of an
ordinance to formally create
a Town of Byron Recreation
Department."
Bair continued that "on
advice of legal counsel be-
cause proper notice was not
given, we can't approve the
agenda and we can't have
this meeting. I feel bad and I
don't wish to cast any shad-
ows." He indicated that be-
cause the reason for the spe-
cial session "was not posted
properly" there could not
be a meeting. He said that
there was a gap in commu-
nication between him and
the mayor as to the intent of
what the council wanted to
address regarding the Rec,
which Brightly dismantled
Plant now
BY MELINDA MYERS
Don't pack away that
shovel and trowel. Fall is
a great time to plant a few
new additions in the land-
scape. Here are just a few
ideas for adding immedi-
ate and long-term beauty to
your garden.
Add cool season annuals
like pansies, snapdragons,
ornamental kale and stocks
to brighten the fall garden.
Consider adding cold hardy
pansies. They provide color
in the fall garden, survive
most winters, and are back
blooming in the spring just
as the snow melts.
Fall is also a good time
to plant perennials, trees
and shrubs. The soil is
warm and the air cooler, so
the plants are less stressed
and establish more quickly.
Select plants suited to the
growing conditions and be
sure to give them plenty of
room to reach their mature
size.
Plant trees so the root
flare, the place where the
roots curve away from the
trunk, is even with the soil
surface. Dig a hole, the
same depth as the root ball
and two to five times wid-
er. Roughen the sides of the
hole and backfill it with the
existing soil. Water thor-
oughly and spread a two to
three inch layer of mulch
over the soil surface, keep-
ing the mulch away from the
tree trunk.
Follow a similar plant-
ing procedure for shrubs.
Plant these so the crown,
the place where the stems
meet the roots, is even with
the soil surface. And be sure
to keep the mulch away
from the stems.
Plant daffodils, tulips,
hyacinths and other bulbs
in fall for extra color next
spring. Set the bulbs at a
depth of two to three times
their height deep. Then
cover them with soil and
sprinkle on a low nitrogen
slow release fertilizer, like
Milorganite (milorganite.
com). This organic nitro-
gen fertilizer promotes root-
ing without stimulating fall
growth subject to winterkill.
Start planting spring
flowering bulbs after the
nighttime temperatures
hover between 40 and 50 de-
grees. Be patient - waiting
now and
until the soil cools reduces
the risk of early sprouting
that often occurs during a
warm fall.
Those tired of battling
the animals may want to
plant resistant bulbs such
as daffodils, hyacinths, Frit-
illaria, alliums, Camassia,
glory-of-the snow, snow-
drops, squills and grape hy-
acinths. You may find it is
easier to avoid the problem
than battle the animals with
repellents and scare tactics.
Plant a few short sea-
son vegetables in your gar-
den for fresh-from-the gar-
den flavor this fall. Simply
count the days from plant-
ing to the average first fall
frost to determine how many
growing days are left in your
area. Select vegetables that
will mature and can be har-
vested in that amount of
time. Leaf lettuce, spinach,
mustard greens, radishes
and carrots are fast grow-
ing, cool weather tolerant
vegetables that make great
additions to the fall garden
and your dinner plate.
Get these vegetables off
to a good start with a side
dressing of low nitrogen fer-
in the
tilizer. Incorporate it into
the soil prior to planting
or sprinkle a narrow band
along the row of plants.
This organic nitrogen will
provide needed nutrients
without damaging the ten-
der seedlings.
Extend the harvest sea-
son with the help of floating
row covers. These fabrics
allow air, light and water
through while trapping the
heat around the plants. No
construction is needed; just
loosely cover the plants with
the fabric, secure the edges
with pipes, boards or land-
scape staples and let the
plants provide the support.
So be sure to get a jump
on next spring's garden sea-
son with a bit of fall plant-
ing now.
Gardening expert, TV/
radio host, author & col-
umnist Melinda Myers has
more than 30 years of hor-
ticulture experience and has
written over 20 gardening
books. Myers is also a colum-
nist and contributing editor
for Birds & Blooms maga-
zine. Myers" web site, www.
melindamyers.com, offers
gardening videos and tips.
Werner: Fair went well this year
BY TAMMY THORNBERRY
Maintenance direc-
tor Fred Werner told the
Big Horn County commis-
sioners during their Au-
gust meeting that he felt
this year's fair was very
successful.
"It went really well.
There were no major is-
sues," he said. "Everyone
was happy ... I was real-
ly proud of the volunteers
and superintendents of the
different classes."
Werner went on to
say that Pepsi had donat-
ed a three-door cooler that
was used for cakes, baked
goods and flowers which
was of great help. Blair's
Market in Greybull is go-
ing to be remodeling and
may have coolers for sale
that the county could buy,
he added.
Commissioner Felix
Carrizales said he attends
many sales where alumi-
num benches may be pur-
chased for use in the fair-
ground sales arena in the
future. Werner replied
that currently the school
in Basin loans benches to
be used during the fair and
if a new school is built, the
county may be interested
in buying them also.
However, there are
still electrical issues to be
worked out, as there was
not enough power for the
vendors and events, Wer-
ner concluded.
In other business:
• An auditor from the
James Reilly C.P.A. firm
asked the commissioners
if they were aware of any
fraud taking place. There
was no answer by the com-
mission. County Clerk Lori
Smallwood explained the
question is asked of all
elected officials and de-
partment heads as part of
the annual audit.
• While performing the
usual bills payable task,
the commission questioned
Deputy Clerk Marquerite
VanDyke whether Visa
and Mastercard bills are
being closely monitored.
She replied yes, but she
was awaiting documenta-
tion from one office.
torney was presented for
signature. It was noted by
the commission this has al-
ways been done such as in
the case of former Deputy
Marcy Argeris.
• Discussion was held
concerning recent inter-
action with the Bureau of
Land Management about
the Resource Management
Plan. Environmental Re-
search Group (ERG), a
contractor from Missoula,
Mont., has been hired to
provide technical data.
• Patriot Day on Sept.
11, in honor of those who
were killed or injured
during the 2001 terrorist
attacks, was discussed.
• A resolution to trans-
fer $23,843 in funds from
the Wyoming Department
of Health to the county Eb-
ola unit was approved. It is
a "pass-through" fund from
the state to the county,
Smallwood explained, not
an expense.
• Big Horn County As-
sessor Gina Anderson and
Deputy Marj Graham de-
scribed the 2015-2016 Irri-
gation and Drainage Bud-
get Amounts to the board.
A resolution concerning
the same was adopted.
Anderson said that al-
though the county doesn't
receive any payment as it
is collected from the dis-
tricts and passed on, it cre-
ates a lot more work. "This
is another one of these
things about Big Horn
County that is unique in
that we have more irriga-
tion districts than any oth-
er county in the state and
yet being one of the poor-
est counties, we are still
mandated with collecting
this money," Commission-
er John Hyde commented.
• Joe Sylvester, Kris-
ti Bonnel-Phillips, Judy
Jordan and Director Cyn-
thia Johnson representing
the South Big Horn Coun-
ty Senior Citizens Center
appeared before the board
to explain upgrades need-
ed to correct problems with
heating and cooling issues
with the building. Sy!yes-
ter suggested a 50/50 cost
share with the county for
It was noted that fuel the project.
bills have gone up for the Johnson said Big Horn
sheriff's office due to more
trips-back and forth to
Lovell to help cover law en-
forcement due to the short-
age-of manpower in the
Lovell Police Department.
Carrizales commend-
ed Airport Manager Carl
Meyer for wisely using
funds for fuel, filling tanks
and reselling it.
• A certificate of com-
pletion from the Wyoming
Business Council was
signed for. the Economic
Development Plan Project.
• A resolution for a
full-time deputy county at-
Heating and Cooling of
Worland has been ex-
tremely helpful and rea-
sonably priced for issues
that have arisen. Carriza-
les commented that anoth-
er company out of Billings
had been very expensive to
utilize. The project would
be advertised for bids, ac-
cording to Johnson. Grant
money is available to apply
for, Smallwood said. Com-
mission Chairman Jerry
Ewen suggested energy ef-
ficiency such as insulation
should be looked at to bol-
ster a grant application.
