Drill time: Tornado test scheduled I Page 8
,q
Thursday,
April 16, 2015
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be housed between
fairgrounds in Sundance
and would focus on live-
~pc~care :and produc~
will include a barn with
a lean.to and corr~s~
as well as a natiye plant
garden; orchard and
animal projects. The
ast week agreed to sign
-~ Now
Sundance has switched
froma landfill to o trans-
fer station, residents ~ll
not be |hVited to br~
t~is yean Instead, ev ~
them to one free use of
the transfer station facilk
before the expiration
date. According to Pub-
lic Warks Director Mac
the coupons
are a way to better serve
the public byallowing
them to make use of the
offer at their leisure. At
the same time, it
the burden on the City,
which is especially nec-
essary with the new way
of working and makes
it a win-win situation for
all concerned. Efickson
advises citizens to check
their upcoming bgls for
the coupon.
4116
the low 30s.
57134
A few clouds. Highs in the u~r
50s and lows inthe mid 30s~
Sat 63134
4/18
Times of sun and clouds. ~: in
low 60s and lows in tim mid
30s
Sun 52/28
4119
Windy with a .mix of sun ,and
clouds.
Mon 56132
4120
Times of sun and douds. Highs.in
the mid 50s and lows.in the low
306,
@2009 American Proft~ Hometown Content Se~Ice
Jeff Moberg photos
Businesspeople and government officials from across Crook County listen as Bill Schilling discusses demographic
and business climate information at Monday's Tour 23 event.
President
Rog r :lies a handout
.during the discussion.
BY SARAH PRIDGEON
Tour 23 kicked off at the RAM Center this
week, the first stop in a statewide effort to un-
derstand current economic needs. The tour will
stop in at each county over the next couple of
months to take a deeper look at what makes
each county unique and what economic chal-
lenges each is facing.
Crook County may have been a natural
first stop geographically, says Bill Schilling,
President of the Wyoming Business Alliance,
but that was not the only factor behind the
decision,
has its own unique features," he explains.
Crook County's historically steady employ-
ment also factored in, he continues. In par-
ticular, he points to the fact that the county
is not experiencing employment growth com-
mensurate with the need to provide jobs for
graduates wishing to come back to or stay in
the county.
=It is a natural resource-based county. As a
county, the dtizens have tremendous pride
in their county and respective communities,"
Schilling says.
"It's also a county of people who are very
neighborly and enjoy each other's company."
According to Linda Tokarczyk, Rare Ele-
ment Resources, who helped to coordinate the
meeting, the turnout was outstanding and the
venue lent itself perfectly to the event.
=Bverybody was invited to partidpate, so even
ff you weren~ at the table you had the oppor-
tunity to be a part of the breakout groups and
=I wanted to start with some rural counties input part," says Tokarczyk.
because, when you look at the economic activ- "We tried to do a diverse group of leadership
ity landscape in Wyoming, the action tends to
move towards the larger populated areas, and See Tour J page 7
yet every county in Wyoming, rural or urban,
County to keep
rally licenses local
BY SARAH PRIDGEON
Planning ahead for the 75~
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the
County Commissioners last
week discussed their policy on
the issuance of temporary food
and malt beverage licenses for
vendors wishing to capitalize
on tourist traffic during Rally
week. The commission opted
to stick with its traditional
view that licenses should be
reserved for businesses already
operating within the county.
Commissioner Jeanne
Whalen posed the question
with the knowledge that the
City of Sundance had already
received enquiries for licenses
from out-of-area people and
that the county was asked last
year and said no. Her inten-
tion, she said, was to provoke
a discussion to ensure that the
commissioners are all on the
same page.
Commissioner Steve Stahla
commented that he worked the
rally from 1995 onwards and
it has always been the case
that licenses are kept local,
parry because there is a limit
on the number of personnel
available to control the event
and partly because, for people
who hold county licenses, rally
is a significant portion of their
income.
=There are legitimate reasons
for what you're doing," added
County Attorney Joe Baron.
Baron explained that busi-
nesses already holding a license
with the county have already
been inspected, know the rules,
are usually appropriately in-
sured and know the area well.
=We want a well-managed
event and we're going to keep a
handle on it," commented Com-
missioner Kelly Dennis.
Old West makeover proposed for downtown area
chamber, from Land Use Plan- Project has requested Sun- and the Downtown Business
BY SARAH PRIDGEON
The Sundance Chamber of
Commerce, in partnership
with the city and Land Use
Planning, is hoping to begin a
long-term process to transform
Main Street and the business
district into a traditional Old
West experience. The sugges-
tion forms part of the city's de-
sire rtO join the Wyoming Main
Street Project throughwhich it
will welcome visitors and tour-
ists to partake Of Sundance's
businesses and attractions.
=As the first Wyoming town
for east to west travelers be-
tween Mount Rushmore and
Yellowstone, people come roll-
ing into Wyoming looking for
the Sundance Kid, the Devils
Tower- the true western expe-
rience," said Steve Lenz, Land
Use Planning and Chamber
of Commerce, at last week's
meeting of the city council.
=We don't really provide that
at this point. I believe that this
would be a very attractive way
of presenting our Main Street,
but it will take a commitment
from the council, from the
ning, to set forth some building
codes and rules to make that
a reality."
At last week's council meet-
ing, Matt Garland requested a
variance to allow Deluxe Harley
Davidson to construct an Old
West-style storefront between
the store and its neighbor,
Vilas Pharmacy. According to
Lenz, allowing the variance for
Deluxe Harley Davidson could
kick start an overarching Old
West feel.
=Their finished product is to
make it look like an Old West
storefront," said Lenz of the
variance.
=They'll be using the build-
ing in this go-around for some
light storage and possibly to
sell souvenir items during the
Rally event."
The council approved the
variance later in the meeting
to allow the business to create
a structure resembling an old
livery stable.
Switching hats to speak as
a member of the Chamber of
Commerce, Lenz commented
that the Wyoming Main Street
dance apply for a planning
grant to assess its facilities and
develop a plan to move forward
with turning the city into a
main street community.
Lenz and business owner
Katie Allen requested that the
city partners with the chamber
. District for a $25,000 planning
grant through the Wyoming
Business Council. The idea, he
said, is to redesign the down-
town area to be a more western
community, finish Old Stoney
See Mokeoverl page 7
Jeff Moberg photo
Work is underway this week on the new storefront
adjacent to Deluxe Harley Davldson on Main Street.
uncil
passes
reso
BY SARAH PRIDGEON
At this month's regular meet-
ing of the Sundance City Coun-
cil, the mayor's signature was
approved for a resolution in
support of a solid waste district
for the whole of Crook County.
Mayor Paul Brooks explained
that all towns have been asked
to sign resolutions that can then
be taken to the County Com-
missioners.
The commissioners may
choose to hear the idea if all cit-
ies agree, he continued. It would
then need to go on the ballot for
the public to decide.
Discussions were held regard-
ing reclamation of the old Cole
Water Tank site, to which the
city is obligated per its original
contract with the Cole Ranch
LLC. As the hill is sliding, how-
ever, debate continues as to how
much should be removed and
what should be left in place.
Some confusion arose from a
letter in which it appeared that
the LLC agreed to leave the
pipe under the surface in place.
Larry Cole told the council that
the agreement was not that
the city should remove no pipe
whatsoever and that the LLC is
only willing to leave pipe in place
that will not be exposed when
the hill slides and that meets
DEQ regulations.
The council stated that more
discussion will be needed before
a firm decision is made.
The council discussed traffic
complications for the upcoming
75th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally,
expected to bring more visitors
to the region than ever before.
Suggestions to keep traffic flow-
ing around town have included
instituting right-hand turns
only and temporary traffic lights
in the downtown area, said
Brooks.
The mayor told the council
that he is offering advance
warning that citizens are con-
cerned about traffic. Police Chief
Todd Fritz commented that stop
signs may be a good idea but
pointed out that bikes tend to
move in packs, while Council
Member April Gill stated that
volunteers with flags direct the
traffic during Rally in Hulett.
Discussion was held regard-
ing the necessity for all houses
within Sundance to feature
their address prominently to
allow first responders to find
them quickly and easily. Coun-
cil Member April Gill suggested
that city bills include a question
asking whether a residence is
addressed and, if the response
is no, for the city to send a let-
ter explaining why it would be
beneficial.
Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Lenz
shared with the council that the
Farmer's Market group led by
Joni Spaulding wishes to run
a tasteful scarecrow contest
later in the year and would like
permission to tie the entries to
the city's light poles. Discussion
was tabled until the council can
explore the legal ramifications of
allowing this.
Dell Atkinson of the North
East Wyoming Economic De-
velopment Coalition visited the
council to share a description
of what the organization does,
explaining that it has been try-
ing to help smaller communities
with their economic develop-
ment since 1995 and works
closely with the Wyoming Busi-
ness Council.
Every year, said Atkinson,
NEWEDC writes a comprehen-
sive strategy for the region and
See Council [ page 7
SUNDANCE, WYOMING CONTINU NG THE CROOK COUNTY NEWS SINCE 18,8,4
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