Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND – The Washakie County Commission met in their chambers Monday for the first of two February meetings, awarding funds for a new county internet server, and receiving department reports.

The new server, at a cost of $17,638, will replace the county’s main server and will be offline for a minimum of one day, later this year, for data transfer.

TEN SLEEP SEWAGE

County Maintenance supervisor Tom Schmeltzer expressed concern, if Worland is to take excess sewage from ten Sleep during a project to fix the Ten Sleep lagoon.

According to Schmeltzer, Worland’s facility is currently running at 80 percent pressure, and an additional load could jeopardize the system. Schmeltzer suggested having a spare pressure valve on hand, while the commission suggested a pressure reduction valve, at less cost. Both alternatives will be researched.

Ten Sleep awarded a bid to fix the town’s lagoon, which has breached its original bentonite liner, in November. Bornhoft Construction of Riverton won the bid, at a total cost of $675,225.

The leak was discovered last summer, and town engineer Lidstone and Associates recommended replacement rather than repair to the facility.

The lagoon will be emptied and re-lined with a synthetic liner, starting this winter. Depending on Bornhoft’s decision, the lagoon will either be emptied completely, or one side at a time as repairs are made.

ROAD SIGNS

Newly-appointed Road and Bridge Supervisor Keith Bower discussed with the commission a plan to erect warning signs on two county roads. Previously, the commission discussed a plan to restrict the two heavily-trafficked county roads to local-only traffic.

The two roads in question, Washakie Ten and the Lower Nowood Road west of Ten Sleep, have seen much recent damage due to heavy out-of-state and semi-truck traffic, and residents have expressed their concerns to the commission regarding high rates of speed along those roads.

After much feedback on a recommendation to limit traffic on two county roads, commissioners announced in November that the plan had been modified and they were no longer looking at policing the roads with a separate ordinance.

“We take federal funding to maintain the bridges along those roads, so they are public and so we can’t restrict traffic on them,” explained Chairman Fred Frandson.

Instead, the commission, with approval from Big Horn County, could place “caution” signs at the entrances to the roads, and suggest alternate route information for travelers.

As explained by Commissioner Aaron Anderson, the roads in question were never built to handle highway-level truck traffic, but the county doesn’t want to impede local business traffic either.

On Tuesday, the commission expressed that they still need to finalize details with Big Horn County regarding how the signs would be worded, before installation. The two counties share the road in question, and Washakie County would like to see a sign place in Manderson, in Big Horn County.

NO MEASLES

Amanda Heinmeyer with the county public health department reported no cases of measles in Wyoming at this time, although a case had been reported in South Dakota.

The department also reported that they will be working in conjunction with the Senior Center to provide Healthy You classes later this year, to highlight how to control chronic illnesses.

It was also reported that lunch hour prenatal classes will begin at the health clinic in April.