Fire safety inspections are a good last step
I’m a landlord. I mostly rent small two- to three-bedroom houses. But I have a small apartment building too. So I watched with a vested interest as the Casper City Council wrestled with the electrical safety problems and eventual condemnation of the 35-unit KC Apartments in early October of last year.

Enzi -- Walk or talk
A person in a position to know said last week that collections for medical bills are up in Natrona County. They meant more people are being sued for unpaid medical bills. They added that “these are not deadbeats. They are just people that can’t write a $45,000 check today. And how many of us can do that?”

We are proud to host the best
Large projects are seldom accomplished alone. One of those is the task of keeping five high school state culminating events in Casper. It took dozens, maybe hundreds, of focused people to keep Class 2A/1A and Class 4A/3A state basketball tournaments in town for at least three more years, along with all-class state wrestling and volleyball tourneys, and the outdoor track and field championships.

Path to 2025 is confusing
The Natrona County School District has committed a lot of time, energy and money toward the Path to 2025. This project, as described on the front page of this week’s Casper Journal, will decide the Who, What, Where, When and How of a high school education in Natrona County between now and 2025.

Well into the future
Back in 1958, a gallon of milk cost $1.01 and a gallon of gasoline was 24 cents. A loaf of bread was less than 20 cents and a First Class postage stamp would set you back 4 cents. The average annual income was $4,650; but tuition at Harvard was only $1,250 per year. The first Toyotas were imported. The Everly Brothers topped Elvis in the charts for the last time, and John Coltrane didn’t care.

“In their own words”
What they think matters

Country could learn from Wyoming
You didn’t see this in the national news, but this is big news. Last week, two Republican senators spoke in favor of the nomination of a Democrat to be a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming! The two senators were Wyoming’s Mike Enzi and John Barrasso. The federal judge nominee was Wyoming’s First Lady Nancy Freudenthal.

Keep state tourneys in Casper
Many people in Wyoming really look forward to coming to Casper for state basketball, wrestling and volleyball tournaments, and the state track and field championships each year. I lived in Riverton for 30 years, and I was one of them.

Big beef about politicians
Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was through writing this column. I lied, OK? I lied because I got to thinking it was a skill I should hone in case I wanted to go into politics. Although, truth be told, I wouldn’t go into national politics if you threatened to kill me. I’m so sick of all the duly-elected bozos (regardless of political affiliation) we have sent to Washington I could puke!

We are OK
Gov. Dave Freudenthal spoke at the Wyoming Press Association Convention on Jan. 15 at the Parkway Plaza. As usual, the governor was a mixture of brilliance and aw-shucks humor as he engaged his “last man standing” style of meet the press. He does a nice job of it.

Issues facing state legislators
What are the issues that are on the minds of the community as the Wyoming Legislature heads into its four-week budget session Feb. 8? The Casper Area Chamber of Commerce send out a survey of members, who were given the opportunity to assist the Chamber Board of Directors in focusing on the issues being considered at the state and local levels of government.

No comment? No good
A friend and reader recently gave me some emotional feedback. They were upset with some of the reader comments to online news stories and were advocating removing reader comments entirely from casperjournal.com. Their main objection was that online comments in general are not always civil and often do not contribute to the story.

‘Rainy day’ time has arrived
Less than a month away is the budget session for the Wyoming Legislature, and it certainly is crunch time for our state’s legislators. And perhaps more so than any such session in decades.

Food safety and protecting Wyoming’s health
More than 140 years ago Louis Pasteur showed the world that the growth of microorganisms was responsible for the spoilage of beverages such as milk, and that heating could markedly reduce such spoilage and resulting illness.

What kind of people
Here is an old story that I like.

No small thing--the 2009 Person of the Year
I hardly ever say “you should” in an editorial. But looking back and considering the people that have made a difference in the lives of our community and state in 2009, I think there may be no better words than “we should.”

Tom Stroock--feeling the void
Anyone who knew him probably has their own personal “Tom story.” Tom Stroock was just like that.

Medicaid and Wyoming: Why it matters
Access to quality medical care is a goal we should all embrace for ourselves, for our families and for all Wyoming residents.