Wyoming saw its first rabies case of the season in Sheridan County, the state’s Department of Health reported Wednesday.

The case was reported in May in Sheridan County. A rabid bat was found in the backyard of a home in a downtown residential neighborhood, according to the health department.

Humans and pets can become infected from bites and scratches of an animal with rabies. Rabies is not spread through the touch of an infected animal or its feces or urine.

Bat bites are not always visible. Anyone who has direct contact with a bat or who wakes up with a bat in their room should immediately contact a doctor or public health provider for assessment.

There were six confirmed cases of rabies in Wyoming animals last year.

Tips for preventing rabies:

• Don’t touch or feed wild or stray animals.
• Treat animal bites with soap and water and contact a medical professional immediately.
• People waking to find a bat in their room or a child’s room should contact a medical professional immediately.
• Vaccinate dogs, cats, ferrets, horses and other selected livestock for rabies and keep vaccinations up to date.

For more information about rabies exposure in Wyoming, please visit:

https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/infectious-disease-epidemiology-unit/disease/rabies/ [links-2.govdelivery.com]

A number candidates attended the Take Back Wyoming: Non-Freedom Caucus Republican Candidates Shop Party at Ryan Brothers Trucking last Friday. The event was hosted by and was a fundraiser for a House District 28 candidate.

The group was comprised of Wyoming Republican voters, who have become disenchanted with the Freedom Caucus, which currently controls the Wyoming State Legislature, and with actions taken in recent months by the State of Wyoming Republican Party to change the party’s By-Laws regarding support for candidates prior to the primary election.

Since moving to Wyoming many years ago, and having lived in a few towns around the state, I find that some town and city rivalries must be addressed. Some are based on past conflicts that still cause pain to this day. Some are unexplained.

For example, to this day, all of Johnson County still does not trust Cheyenne after the Johnson County War of 1892. Cattlemen in Cheyenne sent a hit squad hired by the barons to invade Johnson County to eliminate alleged rustlers. A shootout that lasted several days ensued.

Other town rivalries include:

Green River vs. Rock Springs: The two towns are close together and share one of the most intense and oldest community, cultural, and athletic rivalries in the state.

Lander vs. Riverton: Located in Fremont County, this rivalry dates back to 1922 and divides the area over high school football bragging rights. They talk a lot of smack about each other.

Cheyenne vs Casper: The towns just HATE each other. I’ve lived in both, and I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with either town. But I’ve come across people in both towns who talk about their hatred of the other.

There is not a lot of love across Wyoming for Jackson, mostly because of the mega-rich liberals who live there. Many of those mega-rich liberals look down on the rest of Wyoming.

Folks talk smack about Laramie, but in a very different way than people talk smack about Gillette.

Having traveled around Wyoming, I can tell you that most of this hate is just nonsense and a waste of time. In the end, we are all Wyomingites. Just one big bickering family who still have each other’s backs when it comes down to it.