LOVELL
i I t '
Ir'Jl!it",:!, rii,j,!l I
What's Inside ...
Domestic violence report __ 5
Byron school clarification __ 6
Fall awards at LHS 11
New LPD officer 16
LOVELL, WYOMING • VOLUME 107, NUMBER 24 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2012 • 75q
Ethan Hendershot, 2, looks a tad skeptical as he visits with Santa Claus
during the Lovell Holiday Mingle at the fire hall on Saturday.
Mrs. Santa Claus, Judy Quarles, greets visitors at her usual post in the
Hen House Saturday evening as one of the living windows for the Holiday
Mingle in downtown Lovell.
State lawmakers deal with health
care law and other issues
BY PATTI CARPENTER
Now that the presidential election is de-
cided and the Affordable Health Care Act
appears to be here to stay, state lawmakers
like Rep. Elaine Harvey of Lovell continue to
analyze how the law will impact the state's
health care system. Harvey is co-chairman
of the Joint Wyoming Labor, Health and So-
cial Services Committee, which held a meet-
ing in Casper on Monday and Tuesday, Nov.
12-13, to look at major issues affecting the
state regarding health care in the state and
the numerous decisions that will need to be
made in order to comply with the require-
ments of the new law.
The committee also reviewed a number
of options that could help reduce the state's
social services budget by 8 percent as re-
quested by Gov. Matt Mead earlier this year.
HEALTH CARE EXCHANGES
The deadline for states to make the de-
cision of whether or not to accept the feder-
al government's health insurance exchange
or develop their own exchange was extended
from November to Dec. 14.
According to Harvey, the last word from
Mead was that he recommends that the
state does not comply.
Harvey's committee researched the im-
plications of the state forming its own ex-
change and found the cost to be prohibitive
because of the relatively low population in
Wyoming.. The committee found that the
small number of individuals in the "risk pool"
made the rates cost prohibitive. One option
under consideration is to partner with like-
minded states to create a larger risk pool
that would theoretically lower costs for those
purchasing insurance products through the
exchange.
"Some states are working really hard
to look deeper into partnerships and we are
continuing to look into partnerships with
other states to form an exchange," said Har-
vey. "We put some feelers out and we're hop-
ing that we will find some partners who
want to do it our way."
In the meantime, the state may be forced
to join the federally run exchange, at least
temporarily.
" Here's the problem we run into with
the federally run exchange," explained Har-
vey. 'The first thing is that we lose control of
our benefits package because the federal ex-
change has a higher expectation of what that
package should include. We think that bene-
fits need to balance out with affordability. So
maybe you would want a Cadillac package
but would be happy with a Ford if that is all
you can afford."
Harvey pointed out that the state would
also lose the ability to have agents and bro-
kers if the federal exchange is implemented.
'This is very big because it will put a lot
of people out of business," said Harvey.
The federal exchange will use "naviga-
tors" instead of brokers. Harvey said this
will put pressure on the present enrollment
system for Medicaid because it will take peo-
ple who may be eligible for Medicaid but are
seeking to buy medical insurance, who feel
they want to pay for their own insurance and
puts them on Medicaid automatically.
SEE 'WYOMING HEALTH CARE,' page 7
Cordner to step down
as mayor of Frannie
BY DAVID PECK
A second town in north Big Horn Coun-
ty will soon be seeking a new mayor.
The very week that Byron Mayor Bret
George announced his resignation, Frannie
Mayor Jack Cordner announced that he
will resign as of 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday,
Nov. 27.
"The outcome of the past election sug-
gests a call for a change in the supervi-
sion of the day-to-day affairs of the Town,"
Cordner wrote in a memo to Town Clerk
Brook Loyning on Monday, Nov. 12.
"In my view, that all can best be an-
swered by the selection of a mayor from
among the newly-elected council members.
While I am resigning as mayor, I have not
resigned my willingness to speak out for,
and represent, the interests of the people of
Jack Cordner
Frannie and the rest of Big Horn County.
"In the meantime, I am truly grateful
for having had the opportunity to be of ser-
vice to this proud town."
In a follow-up interview Monday, Nov.
19, Cordner said he wants to avoid future
contention "with one individual people
elected to the council that, to my under-
standing, has at least one strong support-
er on the council," adding, "It has been my
experience that, even in situations where
you have a majority, if you have two peo-
ple who want to oppose you, being produc-
tive can become a very difficult task at that
point.
"I have mentioned to people in town
that in 2006 I retired from a very stress-
ful job and while I fully welcome any op-
portunity to be of service, if it gets into a
situation of significant stress, I really pre-
fer that someone else handle the position.
I would have two very strong opponents on
the council."
Cordner said he was referring specifi-
cally to Terry Moore, who was nominted in
the August Primary Election with write-in
votes, and then was elected to a four-year
seat on the council Nov. 6 with 40 votes.
Also elected to a four-year seat was Vance
Peregoy. Elected to two-year seats were
Nadine Kreutzer and Delbert Johnson.
Cordner displayed a letter to the editor
printed on Aug. 18, 2011, in which Moore
defended his actions as a former town em-
ployee, blasting the town and saying that
Cordner "has no backbone and no common
sense."
"I still stand ready to be of service to
the town and to the county," Cordner said.
"I don't believe this will be the last time
you will see my name on a ballot, but I
don't foresee running for an elective office
in the Town of Frannie.
SEE 'FRANNIE MAYOR RESIGNS,' page 7
Hyart board launches
digital conversion project
BY DAVID PECK
The Grand Old Lady of
Lovell is sorely in need of
a makeover, not the super-
ficial kind, but rather the
technological kind.
The Hyart Redevel-
opment Corp. this week
launched a fundraising ef-
fort that must be successful
if the venerable Hyart The-
atre is to survive as a work-
ing movie theater showing
current films.
Speaking at Mon-
day's Lovell Area Cham-
ber of Commerce General
Membership Meeting, Hy-
art board president Mike
Steenbakkers explained
that the world of motion
pictures is rapidly pro-
ceeding to the point where
the industry will no longer
distribute movies on film.
Rather, films will be dis-
tributed in a digital format,
and in order to show mov-
ies in the future, the Hyart
must receive a new digital
projection system.
The Hyart digital con-
version, which will also in-
clude a new sound system,
is expected to cost in the
neighborhood of $130,000
to $135,000 - and the mon-
ey must be raised by this
coming spring.
Steenbakkers said the
Hyart board is looking at
a funding model where one
third of the cost will come
from current Hyart funds,
one third from the com-
munity and one third via a
bank loan - about $45,000
each.
The Hyart has been a
great success since it re-
opened in November of
2004, Steenbakkers said,
thanks to the volunteer
efforts of many people.
Through careful manage-
ment, the board has in re-
cent years been able to pay
a manager and a projec-
tionist and recently is pay-
ing weekend managers to
oversee operations on the
ground for each showing.
Over the years due
to careful spending and
with the decision a year
ago to raise ticket prices
by one dollar (from $4 to
$5), the Hyart Redevelop-
ment Corp. is able to come
up with the initial $45,000,
with a promise of a $45,000
loan in the future if the
community can come up
with the balance.
EmRee Pugmire, Steenbak-
kers noted.
"We're hoping large
'employers realize the ben-
efit the Hyart is to them for
recruiting," he said. "It's a
big part of entertainment,
especially during the win-
ter months. Every five dol-
lars helps, but the plan is to
go to some of the larger em-
ployers. Either we turn the
lights out or we continue to
"We've been able to
keep the doors open and
put some money aside, but
due to the age and size
of the building, it takes a
lot of money to get things
fixed," Steenbakkers said,
noting that committee is
looking at $65,000 for a
new marquee and facade,
$150,000 to re-cover seats
and $35,000 to replace the
carpet.
The Hyart board has
known for some time that
"at some point in the fu-
ture" the digital conversion
must take place, and that
point in time has arrived,
Steenbakkers said. Mov-
ies are getting harder and
harder to get on reel to reel,
he said, and sometimes the
quality of the film is poor.
The board is being told that
there will be limited avail-
ability of movies on film by
next summer and no avail-
ability by the end of 2013.
"It's already getting dif-
ficult to get reel to reel," he
said. "We're forced to make
the change right now."
The Hyart board is
reaching out to the commu-
nity for help, just like the
original committee did in
2004 under the guidance of
operate. It has to happen
over the next 90 days."
Steenbakkers noted
that the Hyart Redevelop-
ment Corp. is a 501c3 cor-
poration so that donations
are tax deductible.
"It's almost overwhelm-
ing," he said. "We either
come up with that or we
close the doors. It takes a
while to get the equipment
ordered and installed."
UPGRADES OVER TIME
The Hyart board has
put a lot of money into the
old theater already. Shortly
after the theater re-opened,
the board installed a new
projector and upgraded the
sound, among other im-
provements, then made
more improvements in re-
cent years. A new $10,000
opcorn machine and a
12,000 digital projector
for screen images were in-
stalled just over a year ago.
New boilers purchased
more than a year ago cost
the board $7,000 in match-
ing funds as part of a
$25,000 project mostly paid
for with a grant.
SEE 'HYART MOVES TO
DIGITAL,' page 7
