Wyoming

Wyoming family recovers wildfire losses thanks to community help

Published

2 months ago

September 18, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming family recovers wildfire losses thanks to community help

GILLETTE, Wyo. — Although the Short Draw fire has mostly been contained, the damage has been done.

Thousands of acres of land have been burned and livestock has been lost, but few have lost as much as Jesse Raymond.

The Short Draw fire destroyed his home on the Wyoming side of the border. Now, he just has his family and the clothes on his back.

Luckily, his small community has come together to help him and his family through these trying times.

It’s been a tough and long week for Raymond, his significant other, Cheyenne, and their three children.

“(It’s been) difficult, really emotional, trying to figure everything out,” Raymond said.

The Short Draw fire broke out Sept. 11, about five miles outside his ranchette home in northern Campbell County, Wyoming, about 10 miles south of the Montana border.

He and his family were the among the first to evacuate.

Cheyenne was the first to witness the fire.

Jesse Raymond

Jesse Raymond and Cheyenne

“Cheyenne looked up, and she could see the flames,” he said.

Just a few devastating hours later, they lost everything from their possessions, photos, to a ramp they built for their child back in July.

“Nothing really came out of it… the kid’s baby pictures that we don’t have anymore, all the, anything you could think of, they got burned down to the blocks,” Raymond said.

One thing they do have is community support. His work family at Big D Oil helped Raymond’s family stay in a hotel and started collecting donations from the community. One of his colleagues who’s been super passionate about helping is his regional manager, Joanna Robertson.

“He’s not family, but he’s family. We’ll do anything for him, whatever he needs to get him back on his feet,” she said.

Some of his co-workers even came together to start a GoFundMe.

“Oh, the whole community came together. It’s amazing. It’s amazing how much everybody has jumped in to help us,” Robertson said.

Raymond and his family appreciate all the support from the community. To him, it’s all about those little moments.

“One of my boys, Levi, he’s a little cowboy, and someone dropped off a bunch of cowboy shirts, and this morning he had the biggest smile on his face, tucking that cowboy shirt in,” Raymond told MTN.

Jesse Raymond's family — Jesse Raymond’s family

Even though Raymond and his family are going through a rough patch, his community has his back throughout the entire ride.

“You talk about (help), but when you actually see it, it’s like a a totally different wavelength. It brings everyone closer, and I’m glad that that’s happened in my life,” he said.

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Related Topics:billings Featured Fires gillette Montana short draw fire wildfire wyoming

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Wyoming

Spring registration open at Central Wyoming College

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Spring registration open at Central Wyoming College

JACKSON, Wyo. — Central Wyoming College (CWC) spring registration is now open!

CWC offers in-person and online Associates, Bachelors of Applied Science and leadership programs. CWC gives students the opportunity to pursue higher education while developing skills that will allow them to transition into meaningful careers.

From the creative to the curious, CWC provides diverse programs in high-demand fields such as business, hospitality, culinary, outdoor education, science, nursing and English as a second language. Browse courses here.

Fascinated by shows like CSI and NCIS? Interested in learning more about the art and science of criminal investigations? Criminal Investigation I (CRMJ-2130), is co-taught by Michelle Weber, Chief of Police for the town of Jackson. Open to those interested in pursuing work in the field of law enforcement and for those curious about forensics, interviewing and interrogation, surveillance and more.

Interested in pursuing a career as a writer? Andrew Siegel, a MFA student in creative writing from University of Wyoming, will teach Creative Writing: Fiction (ENGL-2050) in the spring. ENGL-2050 is open to students who have taken the prerequisite (ENGL-1010) and anyone with a college degree (Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Graduate).

Interested in enrolling? CWC is an open-enrollment school, which means all students are accepted once their application has been submitted. Apply below today:

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Wyoming

Wyoming governor pledges to appeal after judge blocks pro-life laws

Published

11 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming governor pledges to appeal after judge blocks pro-life laws

By Kate Quiñones

CNA Staff, Nov 21, 2024 / 06:00 am

Here is a roundup of recent pro-life and abortion-related news.

Wyoming judge blocks state pro-life laws

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court after a county judge blocked two pro-life laws in Wyoming. The judge blocked the Life Is a Human Right Act, which protected unborn children except in cases when the mother’s life was at risk or in cases of rape or incest, as well as a law prohibiting chemical abortions via abortion pills, a law signed by Gordon in March 2023.

Gordon said on Tuesday that the ruling was “frustrating” and that he instructed his attorney general to prepare to appeal the decision to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens ruled on Monday that the two laws violated the state constitution by restricting medical decisions. Owen has blocked Wyoming abortion laws three times since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Now that the ruling has been struck down, abortion is legal up until fetal viability in Wyoming.

The plaintiffs included Wyoming abortion clinic Wellspring Health Access, two obstetricians, two other women, and the Wyoming abortion advocacy group Chelsea’s Fund. Following the ruling, Chelsea’s Fund stated on Tuesday that it “will do everything in our power to uphold this ruling in the Wyoming Supreme Court.”

Montana judge blocks licensing law for abortion clinic

A Montana District Court temporarily paused the state’s recent health department licensing regulations for abortion clinics amid pending litigation. House Bill 937 required licensure and regulation of abortion clinics and included rules for sanitation standards, emergency equipment, and hotlines for women who are coerced into an abortion or are victims of sex trafficking.

Two abortion providers, All Families Healthcare in Kalispell and Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula, and an abortionist sued over the regulations, saying they would have to close if they were implemented. Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Chris Abbot ruled in their favor, saying that H.B. 937 was a shift in “the status quo” that abortion providers “are not generally considered health care facilities subject to a licensure requirement.” Montana voters approved Initiative 128 on Election Day, enshrining a right to abortion in the constitution and allowing abortion after fetal viability.

Virginia bishops condemn fast-tracked right to abortion proposal

Two Virginia bishops recently opposed a proposed amendment granting a right to abortion, which was fast-tracked by the state House Privileges and Elections Committee. Bishops Michael Burbidge of Arlington and Barry Knestout of Richmond in a Nov. 13 statement called the proposed right to abortion “a fundamental tragedy.” Virginia law currently allows abortion up to 26 weeks and six days and allows abortion after that in certain cases. Burbidge and Knestout encouraged Virginia to “work instead for policies that affirm the life and dignity of every mother and every child.”

The bishops also opposed a fast-tracked proposal to remove the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman from the state constitution. The bishops noted that they “affirm the dignity of every person” and “affirm too that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.” Following the election, the bishops encouraged “deep engagement in decisions” that are at “the heart of who we are.”

Kate Quiñones

Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency and a fellow of the College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register, and CatholicVote, and she graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.

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