Wyoming News Exchange editorial roundup, week of July 2-8, 2024

From the July 8 Cody Enterprise:

A July 4 letter to the editor said that industrial-scale recreation is contrary to our Park County small town feel. We respectfully disagree.

With 4.5 million visitors to Yellowstone National Park in 2023, according to the National Park Service, this is perhaps the premiere example of large-scale recreation in the U.S. With 984,900 visitor-nights spent in Park County according to the Wyoming Office of Tourism, Cody’s participation in Yellowstone tourism seems large-scale as well.

Forestry.com cites over 500,000 visitors to the Shoshone National Forest every year.

The Museum Trustee Association estimates 175,000 visitors per year to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The Cody Shooting Complex has about 550 members and hosts between 1,000 and 2,000 visitors for competitive shoots per year, according to president Wes Hanson.

It would seem that large-scale recreation is what we do in Park County. And that large-scale tourism supports a lot of small-scale hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and other businesses.

The letter writer also suggested that the 2,000 acres proposed for the complex would “gobble up” Park County’s public land. While the writer may prefer other forms of land use, we are blessed with over 3.4 million acres of public land in this county, of which this complex will occupy about 0.05%. We have enough to share.

Highway 22 is critical

From the July 3 Jackson Hole News&Guide:

The recent extended loss of a critical commuter corridor of Teton Pass to Idaho illustrated a multitude of vulnerabilities.

Nearly three weeks passed with commuters driving roughly three times the distance from Teton Valley to Jackson. The pressure on the only alternate highway route reached a fever pitch.

Stressed commuters and infrastructure reveal a need to refocus on sustainability. Affected interests in pass closures run the gamut: work, friends, family, pets, activities, time, gas, expenses, mental health and more.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation did a fantastic job rebuilding a temporary route through the Big Fill Landslide failure, and we expect that the long-term solution now being planned will endure for decades to come.

Local, state and federal response to this closure crisis was impressive. WYDOT summed all its resources and with the help of Evans Construction completed the temporary fix in less than three weeks. The 611 feet of bypass required a team working around the clock moving some 30,000 cubic feet of dirt. Fortunately, with a complete road closure, their construction work has been incredibly efficient in comparison with maintaining a corridor of single lane traffic for weeks on end.

But this is only one turn on a road spanning more than 2,000 feet in elevation gain at extreme grades. The multitude of avalanche paths that regularly shut the road during winter months presents an ongoing logistical challenge.

Highway 22 is the busiest two-lane state highway in Wyoming, and receives phenomenal winter plowing and sanding service by dedicated WYDOT plow drivers. The historical time open percentage is very high. But the state road engineers have much work ahead in keeping our critical road between Wilson and Victor open for business.

Let’s not forget, the weigh station mudslide that originally closed the pass is significant. A small mitigation of an added culvert may not be a long-term solution to avoiding mud across the road each spring season. There are other unstable slopes nearby, including another slow-moving landslide on the incline just above Coal Creek trailhead.

Whether it’s rerouting Highway 22 through a tunnel, adding snow sheds to avalanche paths and reengineering portions of the existing road with persistent landslides or simply repaving the aging road surface, progress is mandatory. We encourage local and state officials to use our recent crises to prioritize keeping the state highways open to preserve critical access to our remote valley.

Festivals, a triathlon and Chauna

From the July 4 Lovell Chronicle:

A few thoughts about this and that on a sunny July day. One down, two to go. With a highly successful Mustang Days in the rear-view mirror, the second of three major summer festivals in North Big Horn County takes place next Friday and Saturday, July 12-13 — Byron Days. Cowley Pioneer Day follows on July 20.

Mustang Days was a humdinger with huge crowds at nearly every event, notably the Drag Main event, cornhole tournament, Follies, Family Fun Night, volleyball tournament, rodeo and the fireworks display.

The fun run may have set a record for entries, with 140 runners and walkers participating, and the parade was long and interesting.

Thanks and hats off to Darece Grant and her Mustang Days Committee, to Tianne Samson and crew for the long hours of planning and prep work for what was an excellent Follies and to all other event chairmen. We well know lots of stress and even some worry comes with running an event, especially when it comes to finding volunteer helpers, but there were so many smiling faces this year from event to event, it was well worth it.

***

Byron Days looks to be extra special this year, perhaps the biggest event ever, with several new offerings including a food truck war, family dance, classic car show, battle of the bands and a tug-of war. Traditional events return, as well, including the famous Byron fireworks presented by

Caleb and Joshua Sanders.

***

It’s wonderful to see the Big Horn Canyon Triathlon return. Ben Zeller ran the event for many years with the help of his family, but the last time it was conducted at the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area was 2018.

Lovell Rec did a good job holding the triathlon in town, but Big Horn Canyon is a spectacular place to hold the event, and when it was formerly held there, triathletes came from all over the West to participate.

Thank you to Lovell Rec for sponsoring the triathlon and moving it to the canyon once again.

***

Chauna. The mention of that name brings a smile to the face of almost anyone who attended Lovell Elementary School over the last 25 years.

Chauna Bischoff retired following the 2023-24 school year after leading the Lovell Elementary School music program for 2-1/2 decades.

It’s hard to imagine a grade school program without Chauna at the helm conducting, gesturing, singing along and encouraging. Her students have always been well prepared and inspired to excellence. For many years this editor has sat next to Chauna at many a concert or program, amazed by her energy, talent and love for her students, who clearly loved her back.

Chauna made music fun, and she taught so many facets of music performance beyond singing including dance, guitar, recorders and more – all carefully choreographed.

Chauna is also intensely patriotic and has not only shared her great love of her country with her students but has served the community at countless programs on Memorial Day, Veterans Day and others, leading students in song.

Something tells us that one of the reasons Chauna taught past the normal retirement age is that she worried that the school district might cut the program in the name of budget savings and return music to classroom teachers.

Here’s hoping District Two will keep music education at the forefront for many years to come. Music is a lifelong joy and passion for millions, especially when an excellent foundation and love is established by teachers like Chauna. Emilie Asay follows, and we know she will do a great job, though she has big shoes to fill.

Enjoy your retirement, Chauna. It is well earned, and we will miss you.

— David Peck

Celebrating independence

From the July 4 Northern Wyoming News:

248 years ago our founding fathers declared their independence.

I think in this time as we celebrate with parades, rodeos, barbecues and fireworks we must take time to read the Declaration of Independence and fully appreciate what those 13 colonies did back in 1776.

The Declaration of Independence is too long to republish here. It lists a lengthy set of grievances against the King of Great Britain. The founding fathers wrote in part, “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

I found it interesting as I was rereading this again this year about the part that states, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.”

I may be wrong but as I read this it is telling me that we can expect hard times, we can expect times of suffering and that does not mean we abolish the government every time this happened.

“Governments should not be changed for light and transient causes.” It seems in today’s society that is what we try to do. If something is not going our way, whether city, county, state or federal, well then we need to change it. You hear comments “Get rid of all of them (in Cheyenne or Washington, D.C.).”

That is not what our founding fathers expected. They were fighting against “a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” It was not just a few weeks or years, it was an ongoing tyranny that they decided to fight against.

Take time to read the list of grievances and you will gain a new appreciation for what the colonists were truly fighting.

Some of them include:

“He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.”

“He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.”

“He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”

“For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.”

“He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.”

The declaration ends, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Does one think with our divided country we would ever “mutually pledge to each other Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor?”

I leave that question for you to answer as you celebrate that which they began 248 years ago.

— Karla Pomeroy

Have a happy Fourth of July

From the July 2 Powell Tribune:

It’s been nearly two years since I left the Cody Enterprise for the Powell Tribune and left behind the hassle of working in a tourist town during the summer.

Now, I can pretty well avoid Cody if I want while it’s swamped with tourists, but I won’t be doing that this week.

Independence Day week is always a blast in Cody and I hope some of you will join me in enjoying what our county seat has to offer during what is likely its busiest week of the year.

The events, in my opinion, are well worth dealing with the mass of tourists, even the ones who will simply stop in the middle of the street to take a picture of a deer on the side of the road, or stand in the middle of Sheridan Avenue to take a picture of, I kid you not, the Wells Fargo bank building on the edge of downtown.

Do you like parades? The Kiddie Parade is Tuesday at 10 a.m., with the two main parades starting at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a chance to see Larry the Cable Guy and all of the cool floats and tricked out vehicles — and horses — following along.

How about All American patriotic displays? The annual Freedom Celebration, put on by the Park County GOP, is at 1 p.m. Wednesday, this year at Choice Aviation. Our Washington, D.C. delegation is expected to be there as usual, and plenty of other state and local dignitaries. There’s also an Independence Day Rally at 1 p.m. Thursday, on the Fourth of July, at the Holiday Inn Ballroom in Cody with Rep. Harriett Hageman (R-Wyo.) as the main speaker along with Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody).

You can join me at the Cody Stampede where I’ll once again be, along with our stellar photographer/designer Carla Wensky, covering at least one night of the first-class rodeo, which looks to feature at least a few contestants from the region and a handful of Northwest College alum. See a future Tribune for pictures and stories from that.

Finally, of course, there’s the fireworks Thursday night across the Shoshone River from town. That’s one activity you don’t need to go to Cody for, however. The annual Fourth of July Celebration in Cowley starts at 5:30 p.m. with a potluck dinner and concludes with fireworks starting at 10:15 p.m.

Or, if you live out in the county like me, just look outside after dark any one of those nights you’re bound to see a neighbor lighting up their little patch of sky.

Whatever you do, I hope you have a great Independence Day and that you take at least a second to think of how we got here today — the brave Founding Fathers and others who put this great experiment together, and the men and women who have fought to keep it going.

Plan to reduce testing time is good, if implemented correctly

From the July 6 Wyoming Tribune Eagle:

Ever since President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, many teachers, parents and students have complained about too much time being spent on standardized testing.

Some teachers object to having to “teach to the test” in order to keep their school from being punished for being ineffective, as well as the large amount of time both test prep and the testing itself takes away from student learning.

Parents have some of the same complaints, with the addition of the stress it puts on their children, even if they’re good test-takers.

Most students simply don’t like taking tests, and either have anxiety about them or they see them as a giant waste of time.

So, are they right? To some extent, yes. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, students in traditional K-12 public schools spend an average of 16 school days each year taking standardized tests, and teachers estimate spending 14 more days preparing their students to take state-mandated exams.

That’s 30 out of Wyoming’s required 175 days of annual instruction time spent on tests like WY-TOPP (Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress) and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). Most people would probably agree that 17% of a school year spent on testing is too much.

But is it a complete waste of time? Absolutely not. While they’re not the only effective measure of a student’s academic knowledge and ability, they do serve as one objective measurement of what they have learned up to that point. They also show teachers which academic areas may need more attention, and, over time, they can be one way of helping administrators determine whether a teacher is effectively helping students advance in their knowledge of core concepts, as defined by state standards.

To some extent, standardized test scores also can help prepare students for the rigors of college courses, as well as certain careers.

Of course, for each of the arguments above, the opposite claim can be made, often just as accurately. The bottom line, then, is that while they’re a useful tool, they are just that — one tool in the toolbox for measuring academic success.

That’s why we were interested to read State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder’s “Assessment Reduction and Efficiency Plan” when it was released June 20. In it, she outlines five significant proposed changes to the Statewide Assessment System, two of which require approval from the Wyoming Legislature, as well as the State Board of Education. Those proposed changes are:

• Reducing the length of math tests by decreasing the number of items on those tests by at least 30% in grades 3-8.
• Removing all interim assessments for kindergarten, and grades 1 and 2.
• Removing the grade 3 writing portion of the English Language Arts assessment.
• Reducing grade 9 assessments from required to optional.
• Reformatting high school math tests to move from testing current specific math subject areas to comprehensive math skills.

The last two are the ones that require legislative changes, and for good reason. We’re certainly not experts when it comes to K-12 education, but we tend to agree with Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, who told a Wyoming Tribune Eagle reporter that he isn’t sure it’s a good idea to remove the requirement that incoming high school students be tested.

The transition from junior high to high school can be difficult for many students, and it seems wise to test freshmen at some point to gauge how they’re doing. If test results show a drop from the student’s eighth-grade year, teachers and administrators would be able to address the situation early. Plus, as a superintendent in Sheridan County said, students are currently given WY-TOPP in grades 3-10, so does it make sense to take a year off?

And when it comes to math tests, we believe students should be tested on cumulative skills attained, not a specific course, which may or may not be what they’re currently engaged in as they take the test.

Again, we’ll leave the specifics to the experts, but from the outside looking in, it seems like there are other issues with standardized testing that also should be addressed, including:

Providing some kind of incentive for students to take the test seriously and give their best effort. Anecdotally, we know there are kids who go into the test with the attitude that since it doesn’t affect their grades, why shouldn’t they just randomly pick answers?

Others, especially as they get older, know these test scores can lead to placement in advanced or remedial courses, as well as give them a leg up on college admissions exams like the ACT and SAT. But not every student is concerned with such things.

More explanation to students about how the test results will be used might help them want to do well. Plus, it’s worth keeping in mind that cynicism is contagious, even if not spoken in front of the students; parents, as well as educators, have a role in encouraging their students to do their best on every test day.

Making sure the tests match the goals for academic success. “Teaching to the test” isn’t a problem if the tests are designed to evaluate knowledge of subject areas and specific content contained in state standards.

More data needs to be made available to parents and teachers so they can do what’s best for each student. We’re glad to see this is part of Superintendent Degenfelder’s plan.

The proposed additional diagnostic tools include a new data platform that would provide parents and teachers with test results by student, as well as “enhanced assessment authoring tools,” which we assume means ways for teachers to have a say in how tests are created.

Teachers shouldn’t have to sacrifice real-world experiences for testing. We don’t know the answer, but it’s worth asking whether teachers are taking their students on as many field trips to the state Capitol and other places as they used to. If not, is it because of testing, or is it a budget issue?

We believe it’s important for students to get out of the school building and see what’s going on around them. If less testing helps teachers and support staff make that happen, we’re in favor of it.

Ultimately, standardized testing needs to be done often enough to make a positive impact on student performance, not simply to make a school look good. And officials at all levels must remember that these snapshots in time are just that — a single measurement at a specific point in time that can be useful, but far from the only way to measure student achievement.

Here’s hoping Superintendent Degenfelder, the State Board of Education and lawmakers are able to find the right balance.