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Sunday, May 25, 2008
821 - Hey seniors, don`t leave state just yet
Frequently in this space, I have talked about the “wanderlust gene” that can be found in most of Wyoming’s young citizens. Is it any wonder they want to take off and see the world?
n fact a large portion of our current citizens were born somewhere else and either through fate or fault, ended up here. I like to quote Dick Cheney to explain why I came here 38 years ago: “I wasn’t born here, but I got here as fast as I could.”
Thus is it any wonder that the children and grandchildren of us would want to leave?
But for one of the few times in Wyoming’s 118-year history, staying home definitely will be the best choice of all.
Certainly the bright lights of Denver, Salt Lake City or some other metropolis are enticing. But many of the best opportunities in the world are right here.
The average annual salary in Wyoming is over $40,000 and is sixth highest of any state in the USA.
The young people who are willing to make an investment here now could become very successful, very rich and very happy in the future.
Here are some ideas we’d pass along to grads:
• One of the best thing today’s high school graduate can do is keep his or her mind open. Learn how to learn. And don’t ever quit learning.
• Find mentors. Locate those experienced people who are successful and find out from them how they did it. Make a friend out of this mentor and keep it touch with him or her.
• Be fast on your feet. The speed of business today is very rapid. Often, the person there first gets the good job. Be ready to move when the opportunity presents itself.
It is easy to think of eight different sectors of the economy that will boom here in Wyoming: environment, energy, tourism, manufacturing, entrepreneurship, health, service and government.
Environment – going green can be very profitable. Some of the largest wind farms in the world will be built here. Solar energy is a largely ignored but is a huge asset for our state. The world is changing and young people know that more than anyone. Green is the future.
Energy – Wyoming truly is the country’s breadbasket for coal, natural gas, coal methane gas, oil and even uranium. The chance to work in this maturing industry could provide for a very successful career.
Tourism – Our second largest industry continues to blossom. Tourists, worldwide, love our natural assets. Wyoming has them in abundance. We also can lead the world in eco-tourism and cultural tourism. And our Cowboys and Indians are known the world over.
Manufacturing – This is Wyoming’s big secret. Sen. Mike Enzi has been telling us for years that our state is an inventor’s paradise.
Entrepreneurship – What the heck does this mean? Well, it means you can live in Wyoming and work anywhere in the world from here. Lone Eagles or similar kinds of consultants can lead a very good life here in the Cowboy state.
Health – We keep hearing that Wyoming will have the oldest population in the country by 2020. I do not believe it, but if it happens, there will be terrific business opportunities in catering to these aging baby boomers. These older folks will demand care and have the money to pay for it.
Service – To follow up on the above, Wyoming is a commodities state. If you look at history, some of the folks who made the most money around gold mining, etc. were the people who provided the services to all these workers.
Government – You would think that government would finally quit growing but not in Wyoming. It is a huge part of our economy and will continue to grow plus these jobs offer the chance to do some real good for your fellow man.
Today’s graduating senior faces an entirely different world than the one faced by their parents. They will be competing with workers from China and India as well as from America in their new workplaces.
These graduates face a time when even a college education might not be enough. They face a lifetime of education. A paradigm has occurred here. We are living during a time when the world is changing so fast, good employees will need constant retraining and continuing education in order to be successful. Check out the Kindle, the key to future education. That and distance learning.
Welcome to your new life in that interesting place called the future. Congratulations to the 2008 grads and their families.
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
820 - Winter of discontent
Outside my window there is snow on the ground. The alpenglow on the mountains this morning is beautiful. What a delightful winter morning today is in Wyoming. Yikes!
But today is May 13, 2008 as I write this. What the heck is going on here?
Also, the previous Friday we woke up to four inches of new snow. Will this long winter ever end?
Sure Easter came early this year and we were hiding eggs in snow banks. But what’s wrong with this picture?
This has been a winter of discontent in other places, too. Jackson had record snow and the Big Horn Basin was hit hard, too.
Most parts of the state saw residents complaining about the huge amounts of snow and high winds. It has been a winter for ages. Certainly the worst of this young century.
Here in Lander, we had an all-time record snow of 34.6 inches in December and we had drifts in our yard that did not melt until April.
But down in Rawlins and along Interstate-80 in Cheyenne, Laramie and on to Rock Springs and Evanston, well, it was a doozy.
WYDOT Chief Engineer Delbert McOmie Jr. said of the winter conditions:
“The Rawlins area had way above average snow and lots of wind. Many days along I-80 and I-25 we had gusts over 100 mph. We had folks from Cheyenne, Laramie, Lander, Riverton, and Thermopolis helping the Rawlins effort. At one point we had four rotary snow blowers, two bulldozers and an all wheel drive motor grader working along with plows. Mother Nature was still kicking our behinds.
“We ran out of sand in Cheyenne Jan. 1 and had to buy 10,000 tons for $180,000. I-80 in District one (Southeast Wyoming) was closed 270.5 hours on 15 occasions from Jan 1 to Feb 15. I-80 in District 2 was closed 233 hours on 12 occasions during the same time period. Some overlapped as one district asked the other to close due to traffic backups filling up local communities.
“As of March 1 we have had 23 of our snowplows hit by motorists, ten were on I-80, seven on I-90, one on I-25 and five off the interstate. Nine were by autos and 14 by trucks. One snowplow on I-80 was hit by three different semis before he ended up off the road. One patrol car was also hit five times north of Cheyenne on I -25.”
WYDOT Director John Cox heaped praise: “I admire and appreciate the difficult work our maintenance people have done. They worked across district boundaries to help with storms. All worked unbelievable hours. They kept at it when the conditions were dangerous and they`ve been subjected to crash after crash, showing bravery and dedication that seldom gets noted.”
And then the winter weather caused some other kinds of discontent, too.
Readers of this column may assume that I am a champion of energy development in Wyoming. It’s obvious the numbers associated by our hydrocarbon developments fascinate me. And the overall economic development effects and the associated “boom” sure make for interesting fodder to write about.
But one thing has seemed to be muted is a loud environmental response to all this activity? Sure there have been critics and all the usual suspects had have their say but generally speaking, the vast majority of Wyomingites seem to be enjoying the boom and are not complaining.
But recently in Pinedale the ozone has hit the fan.
Tests by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality showed that at certain times this winter and spring, the air in Pinedale was above EPA standards.
And some folks in Sublette County have raised heck with the energy companies that they blame for causing it.
And that is where the winter discontent comes up again. Residents were upset when the DEQ put out warnings when weather conditions were predicted that could make higher ozone readings more likely based on their monitoring.
Like most of Wyoming, Pinedale had more snow this winter and for a change, less wind. This combination reportedly saw ozone become embedded in the snow and then when the snow melted, the ozone was released and this may have created the anomaly,
Once the snow melts and the wind starts blowing again, everything seems to go back to normal.
Tell that to the 45 Pinedale residents who staged a peaceful sit-in last Sunday. Their questions are legitimate. If their air is polluted, well, the bloom is off their boom. You can’t get more personal than the air you breathe.
Yes, it was a winter to remember (or forget.)
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Friday, May 9, 2008
819 - States talking about Wyoming
Montana has more coal than Wyoming. They produce 400 million tons a year south of us. And we only produce just 40 million tons. Why? – Montana gubernatorial candidate Roy Brown.
During my zigzag trip last week to Montana, Colorado and Texas, it seemed like every newspaper I picked up had major stories featuring Wyoming.
Although my flight destinations were Kalispell, MT and Dallas, TX, as usual, we flew to Denver first from Riverton. As the old saying goes, even when a Wyomingite dies and goes to heaven, they first have to go through Denver. And typically, to fly north by air, you first have to fly south.
My copy of the Denver Post featured an article decrying how Wyoming’s average salary had surpassed Colorado’s. Wyoming families were now ranked sixth in the country at about $40,000 per year. This was ahead of Colorado for the first time in memory. Colorado was at $39,000, which ranked tenth.
Teton County ranked second in the country for highest average family salary behind a New York county while Aspen’s Pitkin County ranked third among all counties in the USA.
After that Denver stop, my trip took me to the beautiful Flathead Valley in northwest Montana. Just 60 miles from Canada, it was just as pretty as my Wind River Basin but the grass was much greener.
A local newspaper called the Flathead Beacon had a lead article about the two men running for Montana governor and Wyoming was mentioned repeatedly.
Challenger Roy Brown continually slammed Gov. Brian Schweitzer for how their state is lagging behind Wyoming in many ways.
Besides the coal production issue, where he claimed his state produces one-tenth what Wyoming produces, the state senator was critical of what that lag means to Montana schools.
“And their schools are some of the best in the nation. Any time they have a school over 20 years old, they tear it down and build a new state-of-the-art school. Their teachers are paid twice as much as ours are,” State Sen. Brown said of Wyoming. “We could be doing very similar but instead we are just talking about developing coal and not doing anything about it.”
After leaving Kalispell, it was back to Denver and I picked up some more newspapers.
The Denver Post editorial on this day was an earnest plea to Colorado legislators to raise their mineral severance taxes “like Wyoming.”
They pointed out that Wyoming’s “effective levy” on minerals is 11.7 percent compared to 5.7 percent currently for Colorado. It was pointed out that New Mexico has a tax of 9.4 percent and Oklahoma has 7 percent. Only Utah with 4.5 percent has a lower rate than Colorado’s, the editorial implores.
Meanwhile full page, four-color ads in both the Post and the Rocky Mountain News proclaimed “wind is clean energy” for a Danish company called Vestas, which touts itself as Number 1 in Modern Energy.
Wind energy, of course, is huge in Wyoming and work is being completed right now on creating a power line that will stretch from SE Wyoming to Colorado to provide that state with clean energy.
It was also in the news about how Tri State Energy saw its plans for two coal-fired plants in Kansas go down the drain with a veto of the projects by that state’s governor.
It was big news in Colorado since 85 percent of the power produced in these Kansas coal plants (powered by Wyoming coal) was destined for Colorado.
Tri-State, which has a huge plant in Wheatland, has now indicated it will be looking at nuclear when it comes to future power plants in Colorado.
Folks in Holly, Colo., have mixed emotions about the announcement that it might be the site for the nuke plant.
Tri-State is also looking into adding 100 megawatts of renewable energy from wind power and solar projects. Tri-State serves folks in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas.
And finally, here I was in Texas reading about the struggles of the new Dallas mayor Tom Leppart. The previous mayor had led the charge to stop construction of nine coal-power plants, which would have used Wyoming coal.
Now they are talking about nuclear power – which will take a long, long time to develop.
“What, me worry?” seems to be the theme of the Dallas administration, as they do not seem to be worrying about the impending brownouts and power shortages.
I would not like to be in Dallas in August, 2009, when the electricity runs out, that is for sure. That is the date cited by national experts when Texas utilities will no longer be able to keep up with demand.
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Friday, May 2, 2008
818 - My Wyoming Bucket List
We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round. Jack Nicholson.
The concept of figuring out those things that you want to do before you die was the theme of a popular 2008 movie called The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
I found the movie inspiring and immediately put together my own personal bucket list.
On the big picture I want to visit the Holy Land, South America, Africa, China, do some major charity work, make a movie, write a novel, spend lots of time with grandkids and well, you can see how this works.
But I also put together my own “Wyoming Bucket List,” – those places in our great state that I would like to experience before kicking the proverbial bucket.
Now, my portfolio of places in the state already visited is terrific. Readers of this column have shared vicariously some of those experiences.
We experienced some doozies in 2007. For example, it was my first time visiting the Medicine Wheel. And that trip involved the mind-boggling scenery of US Highway 14A from Lovell to Burgess Junction.
This past summer was my first time to travel that exotic road between Saratoga and Laramie. It also marked my first visit to the original Hobo Spring in Saratoga.
As a long-time aficionado of Flaming Gorge, this past year was my first ever visit to the Fire Hole area, a Grand Canyon-like location at the north end of the 91-mile long lake.
Perhaps in the early 1970s I once drove on highway 191 south of Rock Springs, but I have forgotten it. In 2007, we took that journey and wow, the vistas were expansive, to say the least.
There were probably a few other “firsts,” last year but what I want to share with you now is my list of things that are on my Wyoming Bucket List for 2008 and the future. Here goes:
• Hoping to get back to Frontier Days this summer – there is nothing like this event in the world.
• A closer look at Veduwoo area outside of Laramie deserves better. Again, I have driven by hundreds of times. It is time for a closer look. Also, to spend some time at Curt Gowdy State Park.
• There is a man-made rock arrow in the Red Desert that points toward the Medicine Wheel. It is between Jeffrey City and Wamsutter and will make a nice quad runner trip.
• Between Jeffrey City and Muddy Gap is an odd rock formation I call Stonehenge. Reportedly it has names written in it including John Sublette. Sometime this year it will finally get checked off.
• Our family lived on Squaw Creek for 23 years outside of Lander and our view looked out at Red Butte. Hope to climb it this summer.
• If Fossil Butte is not on this list, my friend Vince Tomassi will let me have it. He serves incredible meals every Thursday night in Kemmerer-Diamondville at Luigi’s. Perhaps a tour and dinner, Vince?
• I have snowmobiled Yellowstone a couple of times but not for 20 years. Hope to do that again.
• The Killpecker sand dunes north of Rock Springs are unique. Sounds like another great quad runner trip.
• In 1993, I spent a very nervous time hunting a bighorn ram in the Double Cabin Area northeast of Dubois. Would love to go back for a more relaxed trip this time around.
• Some 36 years ago, I photographed what looked like a horrible scar on Togwotee Pass when the area was clear-cut. Would like to go to those areas and see if the timber has recovered or not?
• Is there anyone out there who might give me a tour of the “breaks” north of Lusk? I flew over that area by private plane many times and looked down in awe at this rough country.
• NE Wyoming is an interesting area including Keyhole Reservoir and the Vore Buffalo Jump. Would like to spend some quality time around Devil’s Tower, too.
• A tour of Wyoming’s giant coalmines makes sense.
• Would like to do some fishing in Bighorn Canyon.
• It is easy for me to get LaGrange and LaBarge confused – perhaps I need to visit them.
• On the Wind River Reservation, I would like to visit the Arapaho Ranch and also visit the mountains at the extreme north end of the rez.
• And finally, I want to spend some quality time in Bill, Wyoming.
So that’s my Wyoming bucket list. What’s yours?
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