4 I The Lovell ChronicleI November 18, 2010 www.LovellChronicle.com
i
With the closing of Rocky Moun-
tain High School in Byron this summer,
the Town of Byron is trying to figure
out what to do with the empty space.
There are a lot of good ideas going
around about opening the pool for
community use or filling the building
with jungle gyms for kids to play on,
or even opening the former school as
a "haunted house" of sorts.
I think these ideas are all great
for Byron, but the community should Brad
first look at getting rid of some of the Devereaux
old building. Maybe it's easier for me
A Flock of Words
to say, "tear it down" because I didn't
live in this area growing up, and never
attended classes there. But I think losing some of the dead
weight is essential for the Town of Byron to get a well-func-
tioning building and protect themselves from potential fu-
ture issues.
The Byron Town Complex was recently finished and
houses much-needed space for town meetings, a small mu-
seum, offices and the rec department. Is there much else
that could be happening in Byron that can't be held in that
great new facility?
Why not clear out a nice patch of grass on Main Street
and landscape a town park, complete with outdoor play-
ground equipment. If it's feasible, keep a few portions of
the building such as the pool, auditorium, gym and/or a few
classrooms/offices to make a community rec center that will
have plenty of room for residents of the small town.
If residents think they don't need another park, the land
could be used for residential development or for new con-
struction of storefronts in Byron. Many people say it's better
to leave the school standing and attract businesses to move
in, but a committee has already put in a lot of hard work
into getting that done, and in the end, it didn't go through.
I commend the Byron School Committee for being proactive
and trying to get something going for the town but their
work uncovered some of the difficulties in that avenue.
If the town decides to leave a portion of the RMHS
building standing, I think it could be a great compliment to
the town complex (lunchroom) building. Byron could have
a nice campus feel in the middle of town and be free from
much of the future risks of having to pay for costly demoli-
tion.
A smaller building would be just that, small, and would
probably rule out multiple businesses from moving in, but
are there currently many businesses waiting to start up in
Byron but can't because they lack space? Would new busi-
nesses be more likely to move in with new commercial
space to call home?
It would be great to have a huge building, but with a
huge building comes huge maintenance costs. While wait-
ing for a business to move into the building, can the town
afford to cover maintenance?
However, it's not too late to obtain grant funding to
make the entire building more energy efficient and if that
avenue is possible, the town could keep all or most of the
large building.
I think the town needs to cut out at least some of those
costs and make a bright future for what's left of the school.
I agree that the school has a rich history and could be use-
ful to Byron residents in the future, but it's just too big.
Why not cut it down and work on a project that is a little
easier to swallow?
Letter to the editor
Thanks for the fund-raising support
Dear Editor,
The Lovell Elementary Par-
ent Council would like to thank
all of those that helped make the
Little Caesar Pizza fundraiser a
HUGE success.
We appreciate all you do for
your school and the community.
Carrie King
Lovell Parent Council
2010 MEMBEB
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
The Lovell Chronicle, USPS 321-060
234 E. Main, Lovell, Wyoming 82431
(307) 548-2217
Published every Thursday
Periodical postage paid at Lovell,
Wyoming
Editor and Publisher: David Peck
News Editor: Brad Devereaux
Staff: Gladys McNeil, Pat Parmer, Dorothy Nelson,
Erin Henson, Marwyn Layne,
Teressa Ennis, Jason Zeller.
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GETS TIRESOhtE--
BUT WE'RE I>EAUNG
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Letters to the editor
Dear Editor,
I read with great interest Gary
Noth's letter printed in the Lovell
Chronicle on Oct. 21 regarding
that despicable Byron speed trap.
Except for the cheap shot in
calling me ignorant, Mr. Noth's
letter was well reasoned and welt
written. He offers creative solu-
tions to this critical problem.
Think of what this speed trap
is doing to people. The fear in lit-
tle children when Daddy is ar-
rested in this forlorn town is trau-
matic.
What is it doing for the youth
of Byron and surrounds to have
as the role model of the most re-
spected and productive man in
town being the guy running the
speed trap?
Think of Frankie. What does
it do to a man to have as his ma-
jor professional focus in life being
to make his quota by fleecing good
tourists out of their hard earned
vacation money!
Moreover, it is hurting eco-
nomic development in the entire
north Big Horn statistical area.
No significant business or indus-
try has moved into the area since
the inception of that malignant
speed trap.
Sincerely,
Bertha W. Binford (Mrs.)
Dear Editor,
I received a letter last week
from a Lovell resident chastising
me about my letter about moving
trick-or-treating.
After re-reading my own let-
ter I could see how someone might
not understand my point of view
on this by the words and phrases
volved.
I believe the proclamation
should have come from the reli-
gious leaders of the churches in
Love11. The wording could have
been something like this:
"We, the religious leaders of
the below listed churches, are
asking residents of the Town of
The letter I received also stat-
ed that her son was in the mili-
tary to support my right to free
speech. I also spent four years in
the United States Marine Corps
helping to protect the freedoms
that our great country enjoys
and, yes, to protect my own right
to free speech.
I used. It was not my intention to Lovell to keep Sunday the 31st ofSpeaking of free speech, I
disrespect anyone,s religion and October a. day of Sabbath, a holy feel that is, pne, thing lacking in
if anyone was offended I deeply day ancl celebrate'the custom, of this town.:M in3 people know
apologize, trick-or-treating for Halloween things that go 9P in this town
My intention was to point
out the reason stated for mov,
ing trick-or-treating was a lame
excuse and using children to ex-
press your view was uncalled for.
Also, I wanted to point out the
mayor's proclamation was out
of line for government to get in-
on Saturday evening instead of
Sunday evening. Thank you for
your cooperation in keeping Sun-
day a holy day."
Had this been done and been
straight forward from the begin-
ning many residents would not
have been upset.
that are not proper and leg but
are afraid to speak out because
of being chicken-hearted, for fear
of embarrassment or for fear of
their very lives.
Is this the kind of town we
want?
Jim Szlemko
I appreciate those who give hugs and encouragement
Dear Editor,
In this season of Thanksgiv-
ing, there are countless things
to be thankful for. There are two
that have been on my mind for
quite a while that I feel a need to
address.
First, I have been reminded
in recent months that there is no
such thing as "just a school bus
driver." When my daughter was
distressed over her bus driver,
Miss Nancy, retiring, I didn't real-
ize the bond that my daughter had
formed with Nancy was so strong.
I would see Miss Nancy give Ni-
cole a little hug as she got on the
bus occasionally, and appreciated
her smile and wave.
Those hugs, smiles and en-
couraging words that seemed like
small things, over time, were the
big things. She'd give the kids gum
occasionally for good behavior and
take them out for ice cream at the
end of the year, too. But when I
asked my daughter why she was
so distressed about Miss Nancy
retiring, she told me, "She always
knew the right thing to say when
I was having a bad day."
So to all the bus drivers, lunch
ladies, janitors, teachers, secre-
taries, principals, paras, I want
to express my gratitude for each
and every smile, hug, and word of
encouragement that you give to
our children. You touch lives in
wonderful ways with each kind
gesture, and make a huge differ-
ence in the lives of the next gen-
eration.
I also need to say "Thank
You" to the school district's su-
perintendent, Dan Coe, and the
board of education for approving
of five teachers for kindergarten
this year. When I learned in late
spring that there would be nearly
80 children in kindergarten this
year, it concerned me that there
were only three teachers.
Then I heard there would be
four. But even then, that would be
20 children in each class, which
is a high number for any grade,
let alone kindergarteners. They
require so much hands-on, indi-
vidual time to teach them the ba-
sics that even 20 would be a lot.
Then the good news came that the
school district had hired a fifth
teacheE
I really appreciate our school
district's understanding and fore-
sight in hiring another teacher to
be sure that each child will receive
the attention they need to build
a solid foundation for the rest of
their schooling. My youngest is
one of those kindergarteners, so
I do have a special interest. But
each of us in the community has
a special interest in the educa-
tion our schools provide, because
these children will one day lead
our country. I am very thankful
for Lovell's school district.
Mrs. Gerber was the school
secretary in my grade school many
years ago, and each morning, my
sister and I would go see her and
get our hugs. I missed those hugs
as I entered junior high. Now, to
Mrs. Gerber, Miss Nancy and all
the other people in our schools
who make a positive impact on
our young children, Thank You,
Thank You, Thank You!
Sharon Hall
on commission
Dear Editor:
Why does Big Horn County
only have three county commis-
sioners? Who decides whether
there should be three or five? I
don't remember voting on that is-
sue. Was it on a ballot, and if so,
when?
I notice that there are 15
counties in Wyoming that have
three commissioners.
Park County, Sheridan,
Campbell, Weston, Fremont,
Teton, Natrona and Converse
counties have five; all the rest
have three, one of which is Big
Horn.
Carol and I remember talking
to Colin Simpson before the elec-
tion at the Irma Hotel in Cody.
Somehow the subject of commis-
sioners came up. I asked how
many commissioners Park Coun-
ty had and he said five. He said
originally there were five but for
some reason they went to three,
because the commissioners said
they could save the county money
if there were three to pay instead
of five. He also said that didn't
last very long (not sure how long)
before they went back to five,
which is where they are today.
The reason, I believe, is be-
cause not every area of the county
was being represented;' just as it
is with our commissioners today.
Keith Grant represents the north
end of the county (Love11), and
Jerry Ew, en represents east end
of the county (Greybull/Shell).
Scotty Hinman lives in Ba-
sin but has property on Rang-
er Creek Road. (What area does
he represent?) There is no rep-
resentative from the Burlington,
Otto and Emblem area (west).
There is no representative from
the Manderson HyattviUe area
(south of Basin).
I say no taxation without rep-
resentation. Therefore, I will not
i
*n
be paying any more property tax-
es, as I am not being represented.
I intend to do as much business
as I can in Billings (no sales tax)
or Park County where I have re-
cently purchased some property.
At least Park County is only 4 i
percent sales tax.
If the commissioners keep
spending our (taxpayers money)
the way they have then we can
expect property taxes to keep go-
ing up and more than likely an-
other percent or two in sales tax-
es.
I would like for a response
from the commissioners to this
letter to the editor. Or anyone
can e-mail me their response also
at csparks@tctwest.net.
This is just my opinion and
no one else's.
Let's let the people make up
their own minds.
Wayne Sparks
Basin
