Wyoming

Wyoming family recovers wildfire losses thanks to community help

Published

3 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

UND commits 29 turnovers in falling 73-41 at Wyoming

Published

1 hour ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

UND commits 29 turnovers in falling 73-41 at Wyoming

LARAMIE, Wyo. — The UND women’s basketball team went into Christmas break by committing a season-high 29 turnovers in a 73-41 loss at Wyoming on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Hawks, who were outscored 17-3 in the fourth quarter, dropped to 5-8 overall with two Division I wins.

UND ranks last in the Summit League in turnovers at 17.7 per game. The team is also last in the Summit in assists with 314.

Wyoming, which improved to 6-6, also beat South Dakota by 34 earlier this season.

UND was led by Grafton native Walker Demers, who finished with 13 points. No other Hawk ended with more than six points.

Grand Forks freshman point guard Jocelyn Schiller and sophomore Nevaeh Ferrara Horne both added six points.

Coming off a season-high 25 points against Mayville State, Kiera Pemberton was held to four points on just 2-for-3 shooting against Wyoming. She had six turnovers.

Pemberton, a sophomore from Langley, B.C., had scored in double figures in every other UND game this season.

The Hawks trailed by five after the first quarter and 13 at halftime.

UND cut the lead as close as 10 in the third quarter but trailed by 18 by the end of the frame.

UND was just 2-for-13 from 3-point range with Demers 0-for-4 and reserve Sydney Piekny 1-for-5.

Wyoming committed just 10 turnovers and had 17 assists. Three players finished in double figures, led by Tess Barnes with 16 points.

UND only shot four free throws — all by Demers, who was 3-for-4.

UND starts the post-Christmas schedule on the road, at Omaha on Jan. 2 and at Kansas City on Jan. 4.

The Hawks return home Jan. 9 against Oral Roberts and Jan. 11 against Denver.

Staff reports and local scoreboards from the Grand Forks Herald Sports desk.

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Wyoming

Wondrous Wyoming (12/21/24)

Published

9 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

CASPER, Wyo. — “Taken in Casper, Wyoming before the sun rose,” writes photographer Tashina Williams.

Do you have a photo that captures the beauty of Wyoming? Submit it by clicking here and filling out the form, and we may share it!

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Wyoming

Wyoming Is One of the Best States in the Nation for Protecting Elders

Published

17 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming Is One of the Best States in the Nation for Protecting Elders

Elder abuse is a growing concern throughout the country. It costs Americans billions of dollars and unfortunately encompasses a wide range of abuses, including physical, psychological and/or sexual harm, in addition to other concerns like neglect and taking advantage of seniors financially.

A new study conducted by personal finance website, WalletHub, recently listed the “States with the Best Elder-Abuse Protections”, and the Cowboy State was ranked in the top 15.

Wyoming was ranked 11th overall on the study.

WalletHub broke down the methodology for the study stating:

To identify where elderly Americans are best protected, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 16 key indicators of elder abuse protection in 3 overall categories. Our data set ranges from each state’s share of all elder abuse complaints to their laws concerning financial elder abuse.

A few of the key metrics illustrate why Wyoming scored so high (including the one that kept us from scoring even higher):

Prevalence Rank – 19th
Resources Rank – 5th
Protection Rank – 47th

While overall Wyoming is doing considerably better than 80% of the country, there is definitely room for improvement. Considering some of the elderly horror stories that have made it to different news outlets around the state over the last couple of years, it’s nice to see us rising on this list.