Wyoming

(LETTERS) Americans culpable for Israeli atrocities; Casper council senseless on nuclear waste; 'Affordable' entertainment at Wyoming Ford Center?; Bloated billionaire bill

Published

9 months ago

June 6, 2025

(LETTERS) Americans culpable for Israeli atrocities; Casper council senseless on nuclear waste; 'Affordable' entertainment at Wyoming Ford Center?; Bloated billionaire bill

Oil City News publishes letters, cartoons and opinions as a public service. The content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oil City News or its employees. Letters to the editor can be submitted by following the link at our opinion section.

Dear Casper,

I just watched the 1942 movie “Flying Tigers,” starring John Wayne. An early scene shows Chinese children receiving and eating U.S. food aid. Without warning, Japanese planes swoop down and bomb them. The final image of this scene is of a soot-covered child crying amid destruction. The message is clear: an immoral enemy that deliberately attacks children deserves merciless resistance.

My mind leapt to Gaza today. Instead of fighting like John Wayne against such horrific acts, we Americans are providing the means to the Israelis to commit even worse atrocities, specifically the targeting of children and healthcare workers. Without American military and economic aid, and our carte blanche diplomatic support, the Israelis would not be able to perpetrate what they are doing. This makes all of us Americans equally culpable for their atrocities.

Israel is working hard to control the narrative of their actions in Gaza, notably denying media access. Unfortunately, the label of antisemite is now often attached to those who are critical of Israel. But being outraged at intentional mass killings of civilians, especially children and healthcare workers, doesn’t make someone an antisemite. It means they are a person with some semblance of a moral compass.

We live in a world saturated with extreme media bias. Some may discount my views as regurgitated propaganda. But even staunch allies of Israel are publicly recognizing that Israeli actions in Gaza go far beyond any degree moral acceptability.

Yes, there is so much going on in the world that may anger and shock us. How do we decide which causes are worth fighting for? See if you can find some reputable information on Israeli drones deliberating shooting young children. If you can, then were does this particular cause fall on your priority list now?

We are currently taking hard looks at how the U.S. government spends its money. This involves asking some very hard questions. I would ask, are we OK with cutting healthcare funding for the most vulnerable Americans, while at the same time continuing to bankroll the morally indefensible, systemic actions of Israel? Which side of the moral compass do we want to be on? And how do we square ourselves to the legacy of the Greatest Generation who sacrificed so much to stop the strong from exterminating the weak?

Tom Smyth
Casper

Dear Casper,

Nice to know the City Council is senseless. You obviously don’t care about human life at all. You make decisions like you are the only people that matter. You neglect your duties as a council when you risk the health and welfare of everyone that lives in Bar Nunn with nuclear waste.

Thank you for serving the public and ignoring the people that elected you. I hope come voting time you are all getting an eye opener. Every person on that council will be sued for what you do when the people in our town start getting sick we can hold you all responsible because you failed the people.

Just like with Coates Road, you don’t give two iotas about the people you’re supposed to be serving.

It is blatant disregard for the folks who bought and paid for their property and we pay taxes. Your overall conduct is abhorrent in these matters.

I think you all should quit disrespecting our rights as citizens to live a healthy life safely in our homes. I have lost all hope that you folks care for anything but lining your pockets and building needless tennis courts. Not in our town.

Not our children and grandchildren shouldn’t be at risk. Let’s put the nuclear plant next to your homes. Let’s see how you like it.

Amber Sparks
Bar Nunn

Dear Casper,

In 2016, when the City of Casper entered into an agreement with Spectra Venue Management to oversee operations at then the Casper Events Center, residents were promised more affordable and accessible entertainment — all while reducing the city’s subsidy to the facility.

Further revenue-generating deals followed: a partnership with Sinclair Oil in 2017 to modernize the ticket-buying process, and naming rights sold to Ford dealerships in 2021.

Today, the facility is called the Ford Wyoming Center and is managed by OVG360, which acquired Spectra in 2021. The City of Casper renewed its agreement with OVG360 for another 10 years in 2022, continuing to promise lower subsidies and accessible entertainment for families.

However, my wife and I took our youngest daughter to “Sesame Street Live” recently, and we spent $200 for three tickets and another $14 on stale popcorn and warm soda. This is a steep price for a children’s show.

This raises an important question: Is the original goal of affordability still being met? This wasn’t a Metallica concert — the glory days of cool concerts in Casper are dead and gone. This was Sesame Street — the kind of event that should be packed with toddlers, parents and grandparents. It is a family-oriented show built on characters designed to reach children — many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds. And when families have to think twice or go into debt to attend something as basic as Sesame Street, something is broken.

I’m not writing this to complain for the sake of complaining. I’m writing as someone who remembers the promises made to this community. While I understand that national tours come with associated costs, $200 for three tickets feels out of reach for many working families in our area. And if pricing families out of a children’s show is the new normal, then those promises have fallen flat.

The clearest evidence that prices were too high wasn’t a statistic — it was the rows of empty seats in a venue less than half full. This should have been a sold-out show but the luxury price the management company had set for this show kept families away.

The city leaders and venue management need to do better. A half empty arena should be a wake-up call and they clearly need to rethink how accessibility is being defined. Casper families deserve access to community events without feeling like they have to take out a loan to enjoy them.

Alan Corey
Casper

Dear Casper,

When President Donald Trump unveiled his One Big Beautiful Bill earlier this year, the fanfare focused on slashing regulations and delivering tax cuts. What got buried, first by design, then by damage control, was who would be footing the bill: working-class Americans.

The original version didn’t include eliminating home heating aid, cutting food assistance or slashing Medicaid. Those were last-minute additions made to appease Republican deficit hawks in the House who were alarmed by the cost. And they had reason to worry. The bill would add nearly a trillion dollars a year to the national deficit, mostly to pay for massive tax breaks for corporations and high-income earners.

Nobody proposed smaller tax cuts. Instead, they demanded more spending cuts, all on the backs of seniors and working people, especially the working poor. Defense spending stayed intact. Subsidies for big oil and Wall Street giveaways stayed intact. But if you’re poor and trying to stay warm, feed your kids or afford basic healthcare, you were the first to be thrown overboard.

LIHEAP, the heating assistance program that helps more than 6 million low-income households — including thousands in Wyoming — was zeroed out. Not reduced. Eliminated. No more federal help heating your home in the middle of a Wyoming winter.

Medicaid, which covers more than 70 million Americans, including low-wage workers, children, seniors in nursing homes and people with disabilities, faces billions in cuts. Millions will lose care. Many will die. And the rest of us will still pay for it, only now through higher emergency room costs and local hospital bailouts.

Food assistance is also on the chopping block. Fewer groceries, more hunger.

And if all that weren’t enough, the bill quietly raises taxes on people making under $30,000 per year by phasing out deductions and tightening eligibility for refundable credits. The people with the least will pay more and get less, so the people with the most can pay less and get more.

This reverse-Robin Hood bill has been called by The Nation and The Atlantic the largest transfer of wealth in U.S. history.

These cuts weren’t in Trump’s original proposal. They were added to make the math appear to work, or at least to let House Republicans pretend it did. What passed the House is not just cruel. It is dishonest.

Now Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the only way this bill will pass is with even more cuts. More cuts?

Wyoming may be a red state, but we are also a working-class state. Many of us live paycheck to paycheck or survive on modest Social Security checks. These cuts are not abstract here. They are personal.

It’s time for Sens. Barrasso and Lummis to stop hiding behind slogans and stand with Wyoming families.

They must vote no. No to tax hikes on the working poor. No to gutting Medicaid and food aid. No to freezing out Wyoming just to pad the yachts of billionaires.

Senators, Wyoming is watching. Don’t betray us.

Gina Douglas
Casper

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Wyoming

Group asks judge to restore abortion rights, block Human Heartbeat Act

Published

4 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Group asks judge to restore abortion rights, block Human Heartbeat Act

A group of abortion access advocates are asking the Natrona County District Court to block the Human Heartbeat Act. The law went into effect on March 9 and bans most abortions at six weeks.

That’s because cardiac activity can be detected with a transvaginal ultrasound at about six weeks — a time when abortion advocates say many people don’t know they’re pregnant yet.

The motion to the court states that the new law involves the same “fundamental problem” as other abortion-related laws already being considered by the court.

They are asking to add the law to an ongoing case over separate laws, which would require building renovations at abortion clinics and require transvaginal ultrasounds 48 hours before an abortion. Both of those laws have been temporarily blocked.

“[The Human Heartbeat Act] transgresses the constitutional guarantee of Plaintiffs’ and individuals’ to make health care decisions without interference from the government,” says the document filed on the afternoon of March 10 by Robinson Bramlet LLC.

Wyoming Public Radio obtained the filing from Chelsea’s Fund, an abortion-rights nonprofit and one of the plaintiffs in the case — part of the same group that has been challenging the state for years to protect abortion access.

They recently won their case in the Wyoming Supreme Court, when the majority of justices decided to strike down two near-total abortion laws enacted in 2024, saying they violated residents’ right to make their own healthcare decisions, which is specifically protected in the Wyoming Constitution.

The Legislature quickly got to work on more anti-abortion legislation, such as the Human Heartbeat Act, which Gov. Mark Gordon signed on March 9. It carries an exception for cases where the health of the mother is in jeopardy, but not for rape or incest victims, which Gordon called an “unfortunate flaw.”

Chelsea’s Fund Executive Director Janean Forsyth said she was disappointed the state again restricted access to “vital care.”

“I’m thinking about everyone from the 15 year old that we supported, whose grandmother actually reached out, a victim of sexual assault,” Forsyth said. “I’m thinking about a family with a very wanted pregnancy that we supported in eventually seeking an abortion for a severe fetal anomaly.”

Forsyth added that abortion laws like this result in medical providers leaving the state.

“So it’s not only affecting access to abortion care, it’s affecting reproductive healthcare access generally for parents and children, which is really unfortunate,” she said.

Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the state’s only abortion clinic, is cancelling appointments with patients seeking to end their pregnancies later in their term, according to Executive Director Katie Knutter.

Speaker of the House Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) sponsored the law. He said he wasn’t surprised it was met with legal action, as that’s been the trend in recent years.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Neiman said in a voicemail to Wyoming Public Radio after the lawsuit was filed. “And we’re going to move ahead and the people of the Legislature, Wyoming has spoken.”

Lawmakers decided against putting the issue directly before Wyoming voters as a constitutional amendment this fall. That’s after Gordon urged them to do so to end the legal cycle.

Neiman couldn’t be reached by publication time to comment on the decision to not pursue a constitutional amendment, but in a Jan. 26 town hall, he expressed worries that voters could codify the right to abortion.

In 2024, 64% of Nevada voters supported enshrining the right into the state constitution. A majority will have to vote in favor again later this year to recognize the right.

In his voicemail, Neiman added, “There’s folks out there that are completely good with killing kids, killing babies in the womb, and there’s other folks out here like the Legislature that are fighting desperately to preserve their lives.”

The abortion-rights group said it will ask the court to issue a temporary restraining order and block the new law while the legal challenge proceeds.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

16 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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