Campbell County Observer

The Campbell County Observer

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Week of April 15 - 22, 2011

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“Health Buddies”Support for Medicaid Clients

Contact: Kim DetiPhone: 307-777-6420“Health Buddies” to Support Wyoming Medicaid ClientsCertain selected Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) clients are beginning to use “Health Buddy” devices for a cost-effective connection to enhanced medical care as part of a new Wyoming Department of Health effort.The new Healthy Together Health Buddy Project, designed especially for the Wyoming EqualityCare (Medicaid) program, will connect certain clients to medical professionals who will directly monitor their health status using tele-health technology.The Health Buddy is a small, easy-to-use device that is placed in a client’s home and is attached to a phone line. The system asks patients a series of individualized and interactive questions. “For patients, it basically involves logging in to a computer over the phone line so that you can answer important questions every day about your health condition,” said Dr. James Bush, Medicaid medical director with the Wyoming Department of Health. “The system also allows for sharing important data such as blood pressure readings or sugar levels.”“For example, we know Medicaid clients who have experienced heart failure are frequently candidates for expensive hospital readmission. This is both costly

to endure so we want to help them avoid future hospital stays or complex procedures,” Bush said.“With this program, we can set up a Health Buddy device in a heart patient’s home,” Bush continued. “Using the Health Buddy, the patient can answer daily questions about medications and potential symptoms such as shortness of breath or weight gain.”

managers, under a contract with the

Aging and Disabilities Conference Set for CheyenneWith a theme of “Powering toward the future,” the 2011 Wyoming United for Aging and Disabilities conference will be held May 3-5 in Cheyenne.The conference, hosted by the Wyoming Department of Health’s Aging Division, will be held at the Little America Hotel and Resort. Conference sessions will cover a variety of topics related to the human

and substance abuse, and disabilities, including developmental disabilities.The keynote/banquet speaker will be Dr. Walter Bortz. Bortz is one of America’s

aging and is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University.Additional session topics include the Wyoming Aging and Disabilities Resource Center, Green House Living, Accessing

Disabilities Panel: Shifting to Self-Direction Care Plans, Multicultural Aging, Medication Use and Abuse, Healthcare

Wyoming Department of Health, will staff the project. These nurses will monitor information submitted by patients and

detect potential problems or increased symptoms of concern. “Depending on the case and the patient’s needs, they may call that patient to discuss their condition or they may help ensure the patient visits a doctor,” Bush said.“The Health Buddy system has been used for a number of years in other programs such as the Department of Veterans

“It’s been proven to reduce the number of hospitalizations and costs associated with managing chronic illnesses.”Bush noted the initial project is limited to 100 patients. “Because we are interested in better patient care and cost avoidance through improved prevention, we are focusing on cases with the highest rate of expense and use,” he said. “We hope to expand the program should we see the good results we expect.”The Health Buddy effort is part of the Healthy Together program offered to all Wyoming EqualityCare clients at no cost. The program, which is operated by APS Healthcare, provides one-on-one support from a nurse, educational materials to encourage the self-management of health and help in coordinating care among multiple providers. Healthy Together also provides EqualityCare clients with information on weight loss, smoking cessation and how to adopt healthy lifestyles. For more information on Healthy Together please contact APS Healthcare at 1-888-545-1710 extension 7089 or visit www.WYHealthyTogether.com.The Health Buddy devices are provided by Robert Bosch Healthcare Inc., a leading provider of innovative tele-health systems. For more information, please contact Edie DeVine at 415-365-8543 or visit www.bosch-telehealth.com.

Reform, Reverse Mortgages, and theAging/Mental Health/DevelopmentDisabilities Panel.A pre-conference session the morningof May 3 from 9 to 11 a.m. will cover emergency preparedness. A post-conference session on May 5 from 12:30 to 5 p.m. will cover emergencypreparedness training in detail.The conference registration fee is $150 before April 24 and $175 after April 25. Online registration is available at http://guest.event.com/d/ldqb91/1Q. Formore information about attending theconference please call the Aging Division at 1-800-442-2766 or send an email to [email protected] conference is sponsored in part by theWyoming Department of Health’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division, the Wyoming Departmentof Health’s Development Disabilities Division, and AARP.Contact: Kim DetiPhone: 307-777-6420

Aging and DisabilitiesConference for Cheyenne

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- 6-10 a.m.- Volunteer Fireman Pancake Feed, 106 Rohan Ave.

- 7 a.m.- Universal Athletic Service Fire-cracker 4 Mile Run/Walk, Bicentennial Soc-cer Fields

- 10 a.m.- Parade, 2nd Street to Osborne Ave.

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What’s Going On for the Campbell Co.Centennial Fourth of July? “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang sepa-

rately.” - Benjamin Franklin, (attributed) at the signing of the Dec-laration of Independence, July 4, 1776

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” - Nathan Hale, before being hanged by the British, September 22, 1776

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” - Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 1, De-cember 19, 1776

“Unhappy it is, though, to refl ect that a brother’s sword has been sheathed in a brother’s breast and that the once-happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?” - George Washington in a letter to a friend

“Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it pre-dominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.” - John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

RetractionIn last week’s letter to the editor, the editor answered with a great reci-

pe. However, he would like to point out that he accidently told everyone to put tobacco in the eggs, not tobasco. Please don’t put tobacco in the eggs; we do not think it will taste good.

2

Community

Follow the yellow brick road. Fol-low the yellow brick road. The song is still stuck in my head. But that is how well all of the performers were.

There were ages ranging from munchkins to lions acting and sing-ing for the 18th annual performing arts workshop. Produced by the Cam-plex and the CCSD, directed by Bruce Barr, the play brought you through two acts.

The fi rst introduces the main characters including a very con-vincing wicked witch of the west, played by Samantha Nutting, a great sounding Dorothy, played by Sammie Jacob, and of course the three partners. The Lion, played by Michael Quinn, had that same fun-ny cowardliness of the movie. The scarecrow, played by Colin Davis, looked the part and moved around the stage with confi dence. The tin man, played by Tony Campese, had the rusty movements down. The munchkins sang together with clarity and all the dancers provided

a graceful addition to the play. The good witch of the North,

played by Eliza Cotton, was very unique to watch. She looked, moved and spoke just like the Good witch we are used too.

The kids acted their hearts out. I am so proud of them,” said Jaymi Gilmour. “They worked so hard for weeks, and it paid off. They were so wonderful.”

Four year old Bevan Evenson, who came to watch the show, said of it “I love the show, mostly when they are dancing. I don’t like the witch though, she scares me.” Of course, my Uncle Tim should have been here. He once told all of us cousins, and now my children, that the whole world was black and white. He said that the world did not turn to color until the movie Wizard of Oz came out. After the play, my son looked at me and said “It’s good that the movie came out fi rst. I don’t want to watch the whole play in black and white.”

Wizard of Oz presented at 18th annual

performing arts workshop

The cast included (left to right) Tony Campese as Tinman, Colin Davis as Scarecrow, Samantha Jacob as Dorothy, Michael Quinn as Lion, and Saman-tha Nutting as Wicked With (in background).

Toto: Bridger Love, Scarecrow: Colin Davis, Dorothy: Samantha Jacob

Tinman: Tony Campese, Lion: Michael Quinn, Glinda: Eliza Cotton, Doro-thy: Samantha Jacob, Toto: Bridger Love

Dorothy: Samantha Jacob, Munchkin Coroner: Savannah Walker, Munch-kins: Omari Jackson and Mollie Taylor

Trees: Shelby Durham, Abigail Schumacher

Toto: Bridger Love, Dorothy: Samantha Jacob, Aunt Em: Lora Sherrod, Uncle Henry: Chandler Lobstein

Dorothy: Samantha Jacob, Lion: Michael Quinn, Scarecrow: Colin Davis

Patriot Publishing is a small publish-ing business starting up right here in Wyoming. We not only publish the Campbell County Observer and cal-endars, but anything in print. We will soon also have a monthly publication that we think you will enjoy. If you have a book and can’t get a major company to publish you, we are a new and Amer-ican-owned publisher that may print your work. Please feel free to contact us at anytime with your idea.

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The Red Cross, spon-sored by the Basin Radio Network and First National Bank (RC Ranch) held a BBQ on Wednesday hold-ing a fundraiser for the families of the destroyed homes in North Dako-ta. Along the Souris (or Mouse) river around Minot ND, serious fl ooding has destroyed homes recently. “People were coming in

showing pictures of friends and families houses, and we thought we could help,” said State Representative and First National Bank employee Gregg Blikre. “There are lots of people here in Campbell County with ties in North Dakota.”

There were burgers and dogs served with all the trimmings, which drew a consistently large crowd.

Basin Radio announced on all stations the event and asked people to come down, give a donation, and get something to eat. You can continue donating to the Red Cross through the Basin Radio Stations and both locations of First Na-tional Bank throughout the weekend.

At the BBQ, $5,024.37 was raised.

Red Cross BBQ

Rick McElroy BBQ’s for the First National Bank and Basin Ra-dio’s fundraiser for Red Cross.

When Senator Jennings called to ask me to facili-tate a panel discussion on Media and Energy in WY he said it was a good way for me to get exposure as a mediator. He was not wrong. It was also an op-portunity for the media to gain exposure about their opinions on the role media plays in the energy indus-try. The question asked was, what role does the media play in reporting on the energy industry and what is their responsibility to the public?

Panelists included the editor/owner of this paper, The Campbell County Ob-server, and representa-tives from The Cheyenne Tribune Eagle, The Casper Star Tribune and an on-line newspaper Wyofi le. As soon as panelists in-troduced themselves and went quickly through their presentations, the topic was soon challenged by members of the energy in-dustry in the audience who begged to differ with the majority claiming to be fair and balanced. Only one stood out, Nick DeLaat. He declared his right to be per-sonally biased towards the energy industry. Nick said he worked in the industry and is grateful for what they do for the community and for their employee’s safe-ty. The discomfort among panel members was notice-able.

As a disclaimer, in my past life I was a health care media and energy com-munity relations represen-tative in Campbell County as well as a coal industry lobbyist. I noticed the en-ergy shift and tension build. It was exciting! Thoughtful, meaningful civil discourse was welcomed to this panel discussion. It was all out on the table. Audience mem-bers were empowered to challenge the folks that “buy ink by the barrel” as

they used to say before the digital age.

Earlier the representative of the Cheyenne paper had summarized, very profes-sionally and effectively, a featured fi ve part series on energy as part of her intro-duction. Although I had not read it, I knew in my heart she believed it was fair and unbiased. A member of the audience who was not present during her presen-tation brought the series up as an example of not telling the whole story and putting energy in a negative light. She handled it beautifully and said they really tried to stay balanced. She ex-plained the paper was con-templating hiring an energy reporter.

Another energy repre-sentative brought up the example of being “dinged” in a newspaper story on an inspection because a comma was missing on a required sign. “That makes news? Do your research. The permits are on-line”, she said.

The dictionary defi nes Freedom of Speech as the freedom to speak freely without censorship and refers not only to verbal speech but any act of seek-ing, receiving and impart-ing information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. The Editor of the CCO pointed out it was his right to print positive sto-ries about energy as long as it was truthful. It sent a shudder through the panel-ists to hear that someone could have a newspaper and print what they wanted without the pressures of employment by a paper. A few comments about that not being journalism caused me to ask Nick De-Laat, “So you admit to be-ing biased?” He answered, “Yes, I own my own news-paper; nobody can tell me what to print.” He also mentioned that sometimes

although his mission is to print what is good about Campbell County, including dance recitals and other hometown cultural and family feel good events, he sometimes receives calls tipping him off to stories that might be coming up because the caller trusts him. There were glances back and forth and follow up opinions about trusting the media both from pan-elists and the audience. One young reporter in the room, asked, “How do we get that?”

Maybe this was a les-son for all of us. The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech is not to be messed with. All the text books and journalism do’s and don’ts in the world cannot replace honesty and trust. Could this mean that further hon-est public discussion and even discourse between the media and energy is long overdue?

The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Dec-laration of Human Rights. When a small church pick-ets military funerals we reluctantly give them their rights. My husband, a Viet Nam Veteran reminds me these are the same rights men and women have bravely died for in this country and on foreign soils. The lesson is not to be taken lightly. Some-times, I think the very thing America stands for, free-dom of speech, will be the same thing that will take us down. Then I remember where I am and what the lesson really is.

I recently heard a politi-cian say, “let’s hold our heads high in the energy industry. We create good jobs and in America there’s more than enough energy to make us self-reliant.” I wonder if anyone wrote it down.

2011 Energy Expo Panel Discussions

Freedom of the PressBy Sue Sharp, Facilitator/Mediator

Campbell County Observer Will Have Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

On Wednesday July 13th at the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce, the Campbell County Observer will have its open-ing ribbon cutting ceremony. The ceremony will take place at 12:45 in the afternoon. If you would like to meet the owners and staff of the Counties new local newspaper, the ceremony is open to the public.

4

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Community

Joke of the weekOnce, in the 1820’s, a little boy called Sam

was playing in the yard behind his house. During his pretend fi ghting game, he knocked over the outhouse. Now, Sam was upset and worried that he would get into trouble so he ran into the woods and did not come out until after it got dark. When he arrived back home, his pappy was waiting for him.

He asked suspiciously, “Son, did you knock over the outhouse this afternoon?”

“No, pappy,” Sam lied.“Well, let me tell you a story,” said the fa-

ther. “Once, not that long ago, Mr. Washing-ton received a shiny new axe from his father. Excited, he tried it out on a tree, swiftly cut-ting it down. But as he looked at the tree, with dismay he realized it was his mother’s favorite cherry tree,” his pappy paused.” just like you, he ran into the woods. When he re-turned, his pappy asked, ‘George, did you cut down the cherry tree?’ Mr. Washington answered with, ‘Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed chop down the tree.’ Then his fa-ther said, ‘Well, since you were honest with me, you are spared from punishment. I hope you have learned your lesson, though.’ So,” the Sam’s father asked again,” did you knock down the outhouse?”

“Pappy, I cannot tell a lie anymore.” said the little boy. “I did indeed knock down the outhouse.”

Then his father spanked Sam boy red, white, and blue. The boy whimpered, “Pap-py, I told you the truth! Why did you spank me?”

Pappy answered, “That’s because George Washington’s father wasn’t in the tree when he chopped it down!”

For orders and inquiries contact:Morning Rose MarketingOwen C. 307.680.1302 or e-mail [email protected]

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Weekly Trivia QuestionWho was the First President

of our Country?

A. Patrick HeneryB. Ben FranklinC. George WashingtonD. John Hanson

Flip to page11 for the answer

City offi ces will be closed July 4th in observance of the Independence Day Holiday. The city’s Solid Waste Division will not pick up trash on Monday, July 4th and will run double routes on Tuesday, July 5th. If your trash pickup day is Monday, do not put out your rollout on Monday, but please wait until Tuesday and place your rollouts, recycling and yard waste container at the curb by 7 a.m.

The regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5th in the Gil-lette City Council Chambers due to the Monday holiday.

There are many events taking place on Monday, July 4th:

7 a.m. - Universal Athletics Fire-cracker 4 mile run/walk at Bicenten-nial Soccer Fields

6 a.m. to 10 a.m. - Volunteer Fire-man Pancake Feed at 106 Rohan Avenue

10 a.m. - 4th of July Parade from 2nd Street to Osborne Avenue

11:30 a.m. - Registration for Activi-ties at Bicentennial Park on Warlow Drive

Noon - Free Hot Dog Feed BeginsKids Games Begin (Sampson

Field)Chalk it up BeginsMud Volleyball Begins (North side

of Bicentennial Park)12:30 p.m. - Strong Man/Woman

Challenge Begins (Softball Field 3)1 p.m. - Fireman Water Fights

BeginWacky Obstacle Course (Goat-

roper Field)1 - 3 p.m. - KOOL 105.3 hosts The

Boogie Machine Band at Bicenten-nial Park (north of the Concession building)

10 p.m. - Fireworks Display begins at CAM-PLEX

The Gillette Police Department would like to remind the public that fi reworks are not permitted within City Limits - the Police Department would also like to remind the public to Drive Sober, It’s Worth It.

City Offi ces will be closed July 4

The Gillette Police De-partment needs your as-sistance.

Public input sought for federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Gillette Police De-partment needs public in-put on how to use federal funds to improve or en-hance the criminal justice system in Gillette.

The City of Gillette is eligible to receive a fed-eral grant in the amount of $10,612. This grant from the U.S. Department of Justice is intended to pro-vide support to local gov-ernments in their efforts to prevent and control crime and improve the function-ing of the criminal justice system.

If you have suggestions regarding the use of these funds to improve or en-hance the criminal justice system in Gillette, please contact the offi ce of the Deputy Chief of Police at 686-5294 or email [email protected]. Comments will be accepted until July 15, 2011 at 5:00 p.m.

Gillette Police seek input for federal grant

Campbell County Fire Department, along with family members, tests hoses for dura-bility outside of Conestoga in Sleepy Hollow. This is an annual test in which pressures are applied to all hoses, ranging from 250psi to 400psi depending on the hose.

Commemorating another Wyoming fi rst, Governor Matt Mead, State Chief In-formation Offi cer, Flint Wa-ters and the President of Enterprise at Google, Da-vid Girouard, announced today that all 10,000 of Wyoming’s state employ-ees have now migrated to Google Apps for Govern-ment. This puts all of the employees on a single email platform for the fi rst time. Previously the state used more than 13 different platforms.

“As all of you know, one of my top priorities is moving technology forward in Wyo-ming,” Governor Mead said this morning. He also said the agreement with Google Apps is exciting. “This is cloud based computing

and has many advantages. It provides an opportunity for employees to communi-cate with one another bet-ter; it provides an opportu-nity to share documents; it is going to save the state of Wyoming over a million dol-lars per year; it is going to provide better security and better storage capacity and ultimately it will allow us to do our jobs better because we now have a better tool.”

The Governor and State CIO Waters thanked state employees for their work to move to a new email plat-form. Waters said, “Once again we are leading the world in how we innovate. We are a small state by population but we are mov-ing forward very well.”

The President of En-

terprise at Google, David Girouard, came to Chey-enne to mark this occasion. “Wyoming likes to be fi rst and that is a great mes-sage to us,” Girouard said. “This is the fi rst state-wide implementation of Google Apps, so it’s something we’re very excited to part-ner with Wyoming on.” He also said he was heartened to hear that the Governor’s Offi ce wanted to be on the leading edge of this imple-mentation. Governor Mead and his staff were in the fi rst wave of employees to move to Google Apps.

Governor Mead ended this event by saying that he will always look for ways for state government to op-erate more effectively and effi ciently.

Wyoming is the fi rst state in the country to “Go Google”

Readers on the RoadWe are launching something fun called “Readers on the

road.” Take a picture of you, your friends, or your family hold-ing an Issue of the Campbell County Observer, submit it with the names of the people in the picture and where the picture was taken, and submit it in to us. Have Fun!!

5

Community

Jerry Stouffer served in the United States Army from 1960-1966. Jerry was twenty-two years old when he was drafted to serve his country. He did his ba-sic training at Fort Riley in Kansas. He was then sent to Ford Ord in Cali-fornia. From there, he was transferred to Fort Belvoir in Virginia, then onto Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, then to Fort Bliss in Texas. He served thirteen months in Korea with a Hawk mis-sile battalion, during peace time where his group was helping do security dur-ing his stay. He was sent back to Fort Leonard Wood where Jerry decided to re-enlist in the army.

His next stop was Fort Eustis in Virginia, and once again back to Fort Leonard Wood Missouri. He did tem-porary duty at Camp Mc-Coy in Wisconsin then was back to Fort Leonard Wood before he was shipped out to Vietnam. Jerry served fourteen months from 1965-1966 in Vietnam. He was with a construction engineer department that

builds an air base along with an airport at Phan Rang. During his stay they encountered some sniper fi re but was fairly safe in his area. Jerry returned to the United States and was dis-charged at San Francisco California.

Jerry recalls his return home was neither an easy nor welcoming experience. Like so many servicemen and women of that era, they were confronted with the protestors. How sad to experience this kind of treatment from Ameri-can citizens that you have spent your life defending.

Jerry is a member of the American Legion along with the American Legion Drill Team and also a Life-time member of the Veter-ans of Foreign Affairs. He is very active as a legion member. He spends count-less hours helping with functions, cooking and any of the many events that are held at the Legion. Jerry is, not only as a great man but as an “AMERICAN SOL-DIER”.

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Paul Young, President of Gillette College, sat in the front row on Saturday afternoon enjoying the great music coming from the stage. “Terri Ander-son had the idea in 2005 and we have been going ever since.” The Donkey Creek Festival started off back then off of a back porch, with around 55-60 people attending. Now, it has grown well into the hundreds, venders, food,

wine tasting, booths, and the best part…three days of great jazz.

Families sat around qui-etly while a light Montreal jazz 3-some played out of the American Songbook of Standards. Lead singer Ni-cole Madison’s voice was moving, causing people to dance and listen intently as she had the perfect sound for the music. “I love it!” she said after her perfor-mance. “Learning the mu-

sic and knowing the writers is most important.” With a smile on her face, she then added that “it’s all about love. I love the music, what it represents, and the peo-ple I sing too.”

At the festival, there was plenty of venders includ-ing rustic furniture, artists, and jewelry. Food included Pokeys BBQ, Indian Ta-co’s, and Fresh Lemonade.

The Headliner this year was Matt Costa, singer and

songwriter. Many other bands were included for the three day event includ-ing the Big Horn Big Band, who has been with the fes-tival since the beginning.

So, next year if you want great jazz and a weekend of relaxing fun for the fam-ily, “Come out to the festival for the best jazz you will hear this side of the Missis-sippi,” said Steve Oakley of the Big Horn Big Band.

Donkey Creek Festival

Singer Nicole Madison (above) performed at the Don-key Creek Festival.

Owners of the Campbell County Observer (right) dance to a slow version of Some-where over the Rainbow.

Photo by Clark Sandars

Wyoming is one of four states ca-pable of covering health-care and pension promises to retired state-em-ployees without incurring debt.

The Chicago-based Institute for Truth in Accounting announced today completion of a study of all 50 states’ assets and liabilities, including pen-sion and retirement health-care obli-gations.

The study determined that six states carried a burden of more than $20,000 for each taxpayer in the state.

Those are Connecticut – $41,200, Illinois – $26,800, Hawaii – $25,000, Kentucky -$23,800, Massachusetts – $20,100 and New Jersey – $34,600.

The “taxpayer burden” represents the money needed to pay commit-ments the state has accumulated di-vided by the state’s taxpayers.

Wyoming has promised to pay more than $3 billion in pension and health-care benefi ts to retirees.

Unlike most states, the difference between Wyoming’s assets – less capital and restricted assets – and all its obligations on-and-off the balance sheet exceed the state’s obligations. Wyoming’s liquid assets exceed the obligations by $15,100 per taxpayer,

the non-partisan, non-profi t Institute reported.

The full report will include a more complete picture of each state, said Nancy Mathieson, operations director at the Institute. That will be available in the near future.

“If governors and legislatures had truly balanced each state’s budget, no taxpayer’s fi nancial burden would exist,” said Sheila Weinberg, founder and chief executive of the Institute, in a statement. “A state budget is not balanced if past costs, including those for employees’ retirement ben-efi ts, are pushed into the future.”

The study found four states – Ne-braska, North Dakota, Utah and Wyo-ming – have assets available to pay their debt and obligations related to pension and retirees’ health care.

The study reviewed each state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Re-port to offset assets against liabilities.

Employee compensation packages include retirement benefi ts. Those benefi ts are earned each pay period and should be included in the current budget as a portion of current em-ployee compensation costs.

Most states handle many benefi ts on a “pay-as-you-go” basis. That

hides the costs of the benefi ts from current budgets, pushing them into future budgets.

“Though 49 of the 50 states have constitutional or legal requirements to balance budgets, most states em-ploy a variety of fi nancial maneuvers to circumvent this requirement,” said Roger Nelson, chairman of Institute for Truth in Accounting and former vice chairman of Ernst & Young. “The largest of these maneuvers is related to employee compensation.”

To Subscribe to the Cowboy State Free Press, go to www.thewyonews.net

Wyoming one of four states able to keep promises to retirees

By Bill McCarthy, Cowboy State Free Press

Reminder from the Gillette Police Department - Fireworks are not al-lowed within City Limits

This includes fi recrackers, Roman candles, sky rockets, torpedoes and other combustible fi reworks.

Posted Date: 6/24/2011 8:30 AMThe City of Gillette’s Police Depart-

ment would like to remind the public that fi reworks are not allowed within City Limits. Per City Code:

§14-9. Fireworks--Discharging, etc. Except as provided in 14-11, no per-

son shall discharge, explode or fi re or cause to be discharged, exploded or fi red within the city any fi recracker, Roman candle, sky rocket, torpedo or other combustible fi reworks or other like explosives.

Please be considerate of your neighbors and avoid setting off fi re-works in City Limits.

For more information contact the Gillette Police Department at (307) 682-5155.

Gillette Police remind residents that fi reworks are not allowed in City Limits

6

The Campbell County Observer Staff

Candice De Laat - Owner/[email protected]

Nicholas De Laat - Owner/[email protected]

Keary Speer - [email protected]

Jenna Flanery - Layout/Design

Owen Clark - Ad [email protected]

Ken McCoy - Distribution Manager

Pattie Ladd - What’s Going [email protected]

WritersSandra Boehler (Charities/Fundraisers/Veterans Events)[email protected]

Glenn Woods (Political Column)[email protected]

Mike Borda (American History)[email protected]

Elizabeth Albin (Wright)[email protected]

Lin [email protected]

Josh Uzarski (Science)[email protected]

Ken De Laat (About Nothing)[email protected]

“Juice” (Political Cartoonist)[email protected]

Jeff Morrison (Local History Contributor)[email protected]

Community

Where is this picture taken? See answer on Page 7

On Wednesday June 22nd, the Sports Bar host-ed another fundraising event. This event, which changes every Wednes-day, was for the A.B.A.T.E. Motorcycle Club.

“The money goes into the general fund which will be paying for our Toy Store,” Said Mike Argue, Presi-dent.

The Toys go to the Coun-cil of Community Service which, for families that qual-ify, gives kids the Christmas

that their parents cannot af-ford, are coming on hard times, or are away (i.e. mili-tary). Last year, there were 6 truckloads of toys brought to around 800 kids.

“There are a lot of good local groups out there,” said Mike Argue. “If you have any questions, ask. Whether you ride or drive, come support your local A.B.A.T.E. charity.”

The Sports bar hosts a charity or fundraiser every Wednesday night.

Sports Bar hosts fundraising event

for ABATE Motorcycle Club

A state-wide effort to help bring closure to families who lost a veteran began last June with monthly me-morial services conducted by the Wyoming Army National Guard’s Honor Guard Team, in partnership with the Wyoming Veterans Commission.

The next ceremony will be held in Casper, at the Oregon Trail State Veter-ans Cemetery, June 30, at noon, with participation from the Natrona County United Veterans Council, other individual veterans, and the Wyoming Army Na-tional Guard Honor Guard. The public is encouraged to attend.

The goal is to provide military honors to a larger number of deserving Wyo-

ming veterans.The service opens with

the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer, the reading of the names of the Wyoming vet-erans who died during the month, a rifl e volley, and the playing of “Taps” with the folding of the U.S. fl ag.

The Wyoming Army Na-tional Guard provides free military honors for veter-ans’ individual services; however, some veterans, for one reason or another, never receive the honors due.

Veterans’ organizations interested participating in future services should contact the Wyoming Army National Guard’s military funeral honors offi ce at 307-772-5136.

WyARNG hosts monthly memorial

for veterans in June

Monday, July 4- INDEPENDENCE DAY

Tuesday, July 5- Mayor’s Art Council Meet-

ing, 5-6 p.m., 3rd Floor Con-ference Room, City Hall

- City Council Workshop, 6:30- 7 p.m., 3rd Floor Con-ference Room, City Hall

- City Council Pre-meeting,

7- 7:30 p.m., 3rd Floor Con-ference Room, City Hall

- City Council Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Council Cham-bers, City Hall

Wednesday, July 6- Joint Powers Lodging Tax

Board, 5 p.m., George Amos Memorial Bldg.

What’s Going On In Government?

Commissioner Shoeber offi cially announced at the veterans break-fast on Tuesday that the Wings of Freedom Tour will be comming to Gillette. The Collings Foundation, who puts the tour on, is presenting a North American P-51 Mustang, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and the

Famous Consolidated B-24 Lib-erator, which was the plane the Mr. Shoeberts father fl ew in Italy during WWII.

For $425.00 you can fl y in one of the aircraft, any one of your choos-ing. All WWII veterans fl y free. The event will take place at the Campbell

County Airport. There will be tours where you can walk all the way through the planes. Come in and take in a fl ying expirience in a WWII aircraft. Times of the Tour below.

July 5th-12pm-5pmJuly 6,7-9am-5pm

Wings of Freedom Tour comes to Gillette

Josh Herman and Sierra Oliveri play “fi nd a beat” at Cam-plex. The 20 and 25 year old musicians hand out at Cam-plex during most weekends perfecting their drum skills.

7

Donkey Creek Car Show a HitThe Car show at the Donkey

Creek festival, sponsored by Campbell County Classics and the Texas Trail Cruisers, drew a consistent crowd throughout the day on Saturday. Claude Baman was the organizer. This was the 2nd year of the show. Below are some of the cars that were included.

Black 46’WC Dodge with a 216 ci. engine owned by Eldon Peyrot

1927 Ford Roadster with a 355 Chevy engine (142 blower)

1955 Chevy Bel Air with a 402 big block owned by Rich Rogers

1929 Model A Ford owned by John Guthmiller Jr.

Community

Campbell County Memo-rial Hospital CEO Robert Morasko has co-authored a book on board gover-nance entitled “Unlocking the Secrets to Better Board Governance”. The book is now available in paper-back or e-reader. The de-scription on Amazon.com describes the new book as “… a treasure chest of knowledge that accelerates the learning cycle for any-

one seeking to understand what it takes for a board of directors to govern most effectively for the owners they represent. Through a practical, no nonsense ap-proach, the authors reveal the best-practices that are all too often overlooked by governing boards.”

Bob’s brother Jerry Mor-akso, CEO of Avita Health Systems in Galion, OH and Ruth Ann Watry, Asst. Pro-

fessor of Political Science at Northern Michigan Uni-versity, Marquette, MI, are the other

co-authors.As a result of working

for and with a number of different boards, Mr. Mo-rasko and his co-authors sought to improve the suc-cess of the facilities where they worked by developing a more basic, less com-plicated and easier to un-

derstand system for board governance.

“It’s very gratifying to have a book published,” said Mr. Morakso. “It was a long process, about fi ve years, but I’m proud to have contributed something rel-evant to my profession. I hope some of our regional boards will take the oppor-tunity to read it.”

CCMH Chief Executive Offi cer authors book on Board Governance

Answer: City Hall

Subscribe Now

12 Weeks - $12.00

26 Weeks - $25.00

52 Weeks - $50.00

Mail this form, along with payment,

to our office at 5105 Tarry St. Sleepy Hollow

(Campbell County), WY82718

NameAddressPhone Number

To Pay with a Credit/Debit Card, please call our office at (307) 670-8980

or visit our website at www.campbellcountyobserver.com

“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” - Clarence Darrow

“There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head!” - John Hancock after signing his name in large letters on the Declaration of Independence

“The distinctions between Virgin-ians, Pennsylvanians, New York-ers, and New Englanders are no more. I Am Not A Virginian, But An American!” - Patrick Henry in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party.

“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” - Patrick Henry

“One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bot-tom of the ninth.” - Joe Garagiola

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of sup-porting it.” - Tom Paine

“Unhappy it is, though, to refl ect that a brother’s sword has been sheathed in a brother’s breast and that the once-happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtu-ous man hesitate in his choice?” - George Washington in a letter to a friend

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” - Na-than Hale’s last words before being hanged by British

“That these are our grievances which we have thus laid before his majesty, with that freedom of language and sentiment which be-comes a free people claiming their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.” - Thomas Jeffer-son, 1774

“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.” - John Paul Jones, 1778

“But a Constitution of Govern-ment once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” - John Adams

“Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.” - John Adams

8

Business

It has been a long time since I have had two of my favorite things. The fi rst, which is spending a quiet dinner alone with my wife, we haven’t been out to a dinner together since 2007 without our kids, and authentic Italian food. On Saturday, I did both, much to my enjoyment. The time with my wife was great, ac-tually being able to have a decent conversation while relaxing about anything else.

Now, I know that when you go to Olive Garden that they claim to be Italian, they are not. There are not too many places in the United States outside of Detroit, Boston, N.Y., and Chicago, but we have one right here in Gillette.

When I was in the Navy, I was stationed at N.A.S. Sigonella, in Sicily. While there for 3 years I traveled, ate, drank the best wine in the world, and made many friends. While try-ing to learn the language, I got adopted in by a Sicil-ian family whom did not speak a word of English. I learned the languages (Si-cilian and Italian) and ex-perienced much about the culture around me.

Food was a big part of that culture. Italians take a pride in cooking like I have never seen, but since have adopted. They are the best when picking out quality for their ingredients includ-ing meats, vegetables, and herbs.

Yes, we do have a true authentic Italian restaurant here in Gillette. Adriano, the owner and head cook, takes special time with ev-erything. He brings the Ital-

ian food to life, and does it with passion. An immigrant from Italy, could you think of anyone else suited for the restaurant?

We asked Adranio what he wanted to feed us in-stead of ordering our-selves, which is always a good choice because then you will get the best that day. After a glass of white wine and a carafe’ of Chi-anti for me, the sampler platter was brought out. It was full of food and almost a meal in itself. Candice, my wife, said of the grilled garlic shrimp on toast that it is “to die for.” She loved the perfect bite of zingy garlic that she loves, and expect-ed this to be her favorite dish. She was wrong. She then raved about the cala-mari, which she said “you know how most restaurants don’t have good breading and the calamari is really rubbery?” The calamari at Adriono’s is far from. The calamari is cooked to a perfect tenderness com-plemented with the right breading.

Next, we had a bowl of Pasta Fagioli. This was just as good, with the smell of oregano emanat-ing around your head while you eat. The broth was a perfect mix of the ingredi-ents to bring out the fl avor justly. Finally, we had 4 dishes. My wife had the Carbonara tortellini and the Putanesca linguini. The Putanesca was so good that you could watch her slowly enjoying it, every taste at a time. “It is a little spicy but not peppery or hot spicy, but sweet spicy. I have never had anything like it.” She then went on

to the Carbonara to which was so good that she ex-claimed that she was “very sad that she couldn’t fi nish it.” She did though; as she made sure we were bring-ing it home. “The kids are not getting any of this!” she said.

I had the Veal Cal-abrese and the Chicken Adriano. The chicken was complemented with a great tasting cream sauce and my favorite meat topping mushrooms. I could not stop eating it. The veal brought me back to a day when a few service broth-ers of mine and I were eat-ing at a restaurant on the coast of the Mediterranean eating this dish, watch-ing the sea, sitting below a castle, and on our way to a 3000 year old amphi-theater. The plate was so good that I could almost smell the salt of the water right then and there. The cuts of veal are cut just like they are supposed to be and cooked to perfec-tion. The rest, well, I’ll let you order.

There are images of Italy on the television, great music in the atmosphere, and a full house. The wait-resses are kind and profes-sional, and Adriano himself comes out of the kitchen every half hour to talk to the customers in his heavy Ital-ian accent. He makes sure your food is good. That is the pride of the owner of the new restaurant in town. If you want authentic Italian, don’t go to olive garden, go to Adriano’s. Believe me when I say that you will keep coming back!

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9

Public Pulse

Fourth of July.Food, friends, family, fi reworks, fun.Of all the holidays out there, this is the one that brings

out the simmering celebratory side of all of us. It is not only the most precious of the summer holidays but it is generally accompanied by fairly good weather, involves time off from work, draws folks to water, and has an overabundance of focus on merriment for merriment’s sake. It grays the boundaries of just what illegal fi reworks are defi ned as for a couple of days, thus allowing boys in men’s bodies to create noise and fl are while risking fi ngers and eardrums. Sparklers, a distinctively seasonal product, make their way into the stores and are pur-chased allowing kids to participate in playing with fi re-like objects for one day a year. Parades involving pomp, politicians, and patriotism abound as do potato salad-populated picnics and outdoor parties where hot dogs and hamburgers dominate the menus.

In the evenings, everyone has their favorite spot to witness fi reworks while listening to those people who are compelled to bring up how expensive they are and what a waste it is just prior to oohing and awing over the daz-zling displays.

It is all about having a good time and for good reason. It is a birthday celebration.

For everyone who calls this great country home, it is a commemoration of the time an unruly group of renegade British citizens decided it was time to create a new kind of nation, then set forth to do so. It is about freedom. It is about liberty. It is about a country that is by no means perfect, by no means always right and by no means al-ways headed in the right direction, but for all its imperfec-tions is ours. For every fl aw in us there is a ton of things right about us.

When I use this space to criticize our politicians or our governmental system I get folks who agree with some things I say and folks who dislike things I say (the ones who dislike tend to be more vehement for some reason) but, whether in agreement or not, the true beauty lies in the fact that I am allowed to do it. Like other citizens I am allowed to question authority, carp about governmental inadequacies, and tilt tirades toward leadership that looks ludicrous at times.

Because we can. When we dislike someone in those roles enough we can dislodge them. Vote them out. Form our own party and run for offi ce if we so desire.

Ok, our freedom may be taking some major hits of late and there is a general disenchantment with the way things are heading sometimes but at the core of this whole thing we call our country is that, hard as it might be to accomplish, we have the power to change things if enough of us want it to happen and you just don’t get that everywhere.

So celebrate. Eat a hot dog, play lawn games, light off a few fi reworks, and refl ect on the thoughts of people who have said it better than I could ever hope to.

“Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and ex-perimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority--literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.” Ignazio Silone

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hard-ship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.”-JFK

“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”-Benjamin Franklin

“Everything that is really great and inspiring is cre-ated by the individual who can labor in freedom.” -Albert Einstein

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” -Martin Luther King, Jr

“The real democratic idea is, not that every man shall be on a level with every other, but that every one shall have liberty, without hindrance, to be what God made him” -Henry Ward Beecher

“Better to starve free than be a fat slave”-Aesop“So, Two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits

variety and two because it permits criticism” - E. M. Forster

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”-Elmer Davis

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its indepen-dence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who fi le by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the fl ies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”-Erma Bombeck

“Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and re-freshed - else like a fl ower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower

“This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith. “Lyndon B. Johnson

“That which distinguishes this day from all others is that then both orators and artillerymen shoot blank cartridges.”-John Burroughs

“Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better. “-Albert Camus

“The United States is the only country with a known birthday.”-James G. Blaine

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. “-William Faulkner

“How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.”-Paul Sweeney

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”-Abraham Lincoln

“Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.”-Moshe Dayan“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be

cured by what is right with America.”-William J. Clinton “Freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of

life. What would a man not pay for living?” -Gandhi“This land is your land; this land is my landFrom California, to the New York IslandFrom the redwood forest, to the gulf stream watersThis land was made for you and me.”Woody GuthrieHappy Birthday everyone.

Throughout world history, most of the human population has not en-joyed freedom. From the earliest re-corded periods of human history most people of the world have lived under the heels of a lord or king as servants. Very few have ever experienced the ability to shape their own lives and decide their own destiny.

“Man is born free, yet he is every-where in chains.” - Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

If you repeat this fact you will, in most cases, be met with a bit of sur-prise. In America, most everyone has known nothing but freedom; there-fore, most Americans take their free-dom for granted. The fact is that most of the rest of the world’s population, even today, lives under authoritarian regimes of one kind or another, and the number of free nations is shrink-ing, not growing.

On January 13, 2011, Freedom House released its fi ndings from the latest edition of Freedom in the World. The study is of global political rights and civil liberties. According to the survey’s fi ndings, 2010 was the fi fth consecutive year in which global free-dom suffered a decline. If this is true then this would be the longest period of setbacks for freedom in the nearly 40-year history of the report. These declines threaten gains dating to the post–Cold War era in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the former So-viet bloc. The current struggle in the Middle East is against a string of dic-tators who have kept their people in poverty, uneducated, and under their boot heels for generations. The ques-tion here is whether it will be freedom that arises from “The Arab Spring” or just another form of dictatorship.

Seeing these facts, it is not an un-

derstatement to say that America is a rare island of freedom in a world of slaves. There is good reason the celebrate the 4th of July, the freedom that was won for us by our founding fathers, and kept for us by those who bravely fought and died since then.

Freedom has never been free, as the bumper sticker says. Our free-dom came as it has always come; by brave people fi ghting their oppres-sors in fi erce combat.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demand-ed by the oppressed.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Once freedom is established it must be guarded, and not just from outside forces, but from those would rob it from us from within. The great-est threat to freedom does not always come from outside oppressors. Most often it comes from those inside who come to you with offerings and prom-ises in exchange for liberties.

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” - Thomas Paine

“The law will never make men free, it is men that have to make the law free.” - Henry David Thoreau.

There are always those who would threaten our freedom from without. As one current example, take a look at the words of the Islamic Fascist who abhors the very idea of Western free-dom. Islamic Mullahs preach to their congregations against the freedom of thought and the right of citizens to vote. One famous sign held up by Islamic protesters in Europe reads, “Freedom Go To Hell.”

But an even greater threat today is coming from within our own govern-ment, from those who are working to

take away from us our right to choose everything from our own healthcare provider, what sort of light bulb we use in our homes, and if we are al-lowed to buy our kids a “Happy Meal.” Believe it or not there are even towns that have banned July 4th fi reworks for “environmental reasons.”

More frightening are not the people who work, tirelessly it seems, to take our freedoms, but those who are too complacent to fi ght for them. How can some give in so easily, without a fi ght, to a few spineless unthinking politicians and bureaucrats yet at the same time say they honor, on the 4th of July, those who fought for and de-fended our freedoms with their very lives?

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” - Elmer Davis

“America is much more than a geo-graphical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the fi rst community in which men set out in principle to insti-tutionalize freedom, responsible gov-ernment, and human equality.” - Adlai Stevenson

This July 4th, fi ll your belly with hot-dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and beer. Enjoy the fi reworks. (Be glad they have not been banned in Camp-bell County). Breathe in the free air and thank God that you are an Ameri-can. --- Then, take a moment and re-member that after this day is over you will once again be needed to defend the cause of freedom for yourself and future generations. We need you on the front lines for the cause of free-dom, no matter if the enemy is abroad or at home.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigi-lance.” - Thomas Jefferson

Why the Fourth of July is so importantBy Glenn Woods

Bold Republic Weekly

To listen to Glenn Woods morning radio show tune in to 1270am KIML Gillette

Monday through Friday from 6 - 10 a.m.

About NothingBy Ken DeLaat

Dear Editor, Have we lost our sense? While we

celebrate the fourth of July we are losing the freedoms we obtained that day. Many people proclaim they want more liberty (that which has been tak-en away by government) yet want to create restrictions as it suites them. They want more freedom, yet they want to control others according to

their morals. They want their own say, but do not want to let others speak. I don’t understand this hypocritical thinking, but what can you do? Noth-ing because people will not listen to reason.

Chris StilardEditor: I do not believe that most

people have lost their reason. I meet someone every day that has studied the constitution. I listen to someone every day who is interested in our history. I have had great conversa-tions with people who are frustrated with the heading of our ship of Liberty and do not know how to help drive the boat. There are many things you can do, however, doing nothing will only serve one direction.

Dear Editor,Happy 4th of July. I know that you

are passionate about these holidays, and I love to see others passionate

about it too. I would like to talk about not being able to light off fi reworks in the City. The fi reworks celebration comes from the original celebration of lighting off muskets and cannons. It is our nation’s birthday. Let us celebrate it without more and more regulations. To regulate our nation’s birthday is deplorable.

Morlene DickinsonEditor: Happy 4th to you. Yes, Me-

morial Day, Veterans Day, and the 4th of July are my favorite holidays. I have been proud to serve our na-tion and these holidays represent a cause greater than any of us. As far as the fi reworks ban, if you petition the City Council to hear arguments from the public, you may see it lifted (no promises). The point of rejoicing this holiday is that we fought to have a Republic. We wanted representa-tion. We now have it. The question is, will you exercise that right?

Letters to the Editor

All opinions in the Public Pulse section are not necessarily the opinions of the Campbell County

Observer

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Our Public Servant

Jo Rempfer is not neces-sarily the person you would like to see. If you do, you are in the emergency room of the Campbell County Memorial Hospital, and you or someone you know is hurt. However, you could not ask for a better person for the job. If you meet her, she has a kind voice with a love and understanding for humanity. “This is my 40th year as a nurse. I love my job, and I love helping people.”

Starting school at N. State University, she origi-nally went to college to become a cripple and men-tally handicap children’s teacher. After her fi rst se-mester, she was frustrated by the fact that she had to take many courses that did not pertain to the job she was trying to get an educa-tion for. “I went home, and told my dad that I was not going back. He asked me what I was going to do. I didn’t know, so he told me that I had better fi gure it out.”

Then her mom had the idea of nursing. Jo had been born by a mitten

hand, and “after 3 years of surgery I could use it for anything. This helped with my decision to help people. I had great care during the long months in the hospital as a 3-5 year old. I wanted to be a part of that.”

She then signed up for the Sioux Valley Hospital School. “This made sense because you were learn-ing to become a nurse right away.”

Right now, her job as an RN is to organize triage, perform lab call backs, and organize patients. “If you are waiting in the emer-gency room, it is not on purpose. We know you are worried and in pain. But if there are people that need life or death emergency care, please be patient while we save a life. We will treat you as soon as possible. We want to. We wouldn’t be in this profes-sion if we didn’t care.”

Jo and her husband Jim spend their time either gold panning in South Dakota, or visiting Grandchildren in San Diego. Her oldest son is a nurse in the Navy, holding the rank of Lt. Colo-

Jo Rempter

nel, while her younger son, Andrew, works at buckskin mine.

In four years, she plans on retiring. It will be hard though because she loves her job, and enjoys working with people. She is proud of the people she works with, stating with certain-ty, “I truly believe that we have an outstanding staff of nurses and doctors in emergency. They are the best I have worked with in 40 years.”

So, if you see Jo in the emergency room, remem-ber: you are in good hands. If you see here outside of work, remember: you are in good company.

June 22, 2011 - At 4:17 a.m. to Dakota

Court for an EMS assist. - At 12:29 p.m. to Indepen-

dence Drive for an EMS as-sist.

- At 1:03 p.m. to 4J Road for an EMS assist.

- At 3:34 p.m. to West I90 for vehicle fi re. Upon arrival the engine compartment was on fi re. Firefi ghter extin-guished the fl ames and kept the fi re out of the passenger compartment.

- At 8:31 p.m. to Emerson Avenue for a hit gas line. Owner had hit gas line with lawn mower. Upon arrival found a one inch gas line leaking. Evacuated the area and plugged the gas line.

- At 9:08 p.m. to East Hwy 51 for an EMS assist.

June 23, 2011- At 1:15 p.m. to 2501

Dogwood Avenue for an automatic fi re alarm activa-tion. CCFD was cancelled en route by the alarm moni-toring company when it was determined there was no emergency.

- At 1:20 p.m. to the inter-section of Country Club Road and HWY 59 for a 2 vehicle collision. No one was injured in the crash and no fl uids leaked from the involved vehicles. While CCFD was working at the fi rst collision another 2 vehicle collision occurred in the opposite lane at the intersection of Coun-try Club Road and HWY 59. One occupant of an involved vehicle was transported with injuries to CCMH-ER. CCFD contained fl uids leaking from the involved vehicles.

- At 4:50 p.m. to the inter-section of HWY 14-16 and Echeta Road for an oil spill. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival found approximately 10 gallons of oil spilled in the intersection

and west on Echeta Road for approximately 100 feet. CCFD applied Bio-Solve to the spill and City of Gillette Street Division employees applied sand to it. The sand will be removed on the morn-ing of 6/24/11by the Street Division.

- At 7:18 p.m. to Wrangler Road for an EMS assist.

- At 10:55 p.m. to Prai-rieview Drive for a citizens assist.

June 24, 2011 - At 1:58 a.m. to 2201 West

4J Road for a structure fi re. Initial reports were that a garage was on fi re at the address but it was quickly determined that only a pole mounted transformer and the surrounding area were actu-ally on fi re. CCFD responded to the scene and upon arrival extinguished the transformer and grass fi re. A vehicle, lilac bushes, and garage under-neath the pole were damage by heat from the fi re but did not actually burn. The cause was determined to be a mal-function in one of the pole mounted transformers and total damage was estimated at $4000.

- At 1:18 p.m. to Camel Drive for an EMS assist.

- At 2:30 p.m. to North Hwy 1416 for an EMS assist.

- At 6:16 p.m. to Hwy 51 for a railroad tie fi re. Upon ar-rival found that railroad per-sonnel had extinguished fi re.

- At 7:16 p.m. to Blue Ave for an EMS assist.

- At 10:12 p.m. to Rock Road for an EMS assist

June 25, 2011- At 12.04 a.m. to Yucca

Court for an EMS assist.- At 11:07 AM to approxi-

mately 20 miles west of Gil-lette on Echeta Rd. for a 1 acre grass fi re caused by a passing train.

- At 11:47 AM to Echeta and Highway 14-16 for a re-port of a 4” natural gas line that was hit by a construction crew, the line was clamped as well as a 2” feeder line. Before crews could leave the scene a second 4” line was hit by an excavator, this line was also clamped by fi re crews.

- At 4:25 PM to Frisky Ct. for an EMS assist.

- At 10:32 PM to Patrick Henry for a report of a pos-sible structure fi re, upon ar-rival it was determined to be a controlled burn.

- At 11:47 Pm to Oregon for a vehicle vs. pedestrian, the pedestrian was transported to CCMH ED.

June 26, 2011 - At 6:26 AM to the 400

block of Butler Spaeth for an EMS assist.

- At 3:13 p.m. to Grosven-tre Way for an EMS assist.

- At 4:30 p.m. to 1013 E. Boxelder Rd for a cigarette receptacle that was on fi re and had been put out by by-standers. CCFD cooled the receptacle. The damage was contained to the receptacle.

Campbell Co. Fire Dept.

To place a classifi ed ad, email us at Classifi [email protected]

Include name, phone, e-mail and physical address.

For more information go to www.campbellcountyobserver.net

11

Toys (ATV’s, Boats, etc.)

Toy Parts & Accessories

Home Appliances/Furnishings Sporting Goods

Lost & Found

PersonalsBoat for Sale with trailer. Needs work. Call 670-8980 for info.

2006 Cabella’s “Lowes Sun Cruizer” 20 ft. Pontoon 95 HP Mercury Out-board Motor (less than 50 hrs). Good Condition. Call 680-2982 or 696-7512.

Stock pipes for Sportster. 500mi. Stock pices for Dyna Wide Glide. 1500mi. Email [email protected] for info.

Small washer. Needs new belt, $25. Email [email protected]

Like new Horizon Elliptical. $300 obo. Call 299-7058 for more info.

Wanted to BuyI Buy Militaria. Swords, uniforms, bayonets, medals, guns/parts, fi eld gear. 682-7864

Newspaper vending machines. Con-tact us at: [email protected]

Interested in founding a Sherlock Holmes Society in Gillette? Contact [email protected] for info.

FOUND: one large trampoline. Cur-rently located at 5350B M&M circle. If yours, please pick up any day any time. If not yours, do not trespass.

Autos, Trucks and Vans

Campers & Motor Homes

1981 Harley Davidson FXB-Sturgis, 1st dual-belt drive to commemo-rate Hill-Climb @ Sturgis, Jack-Pine Gypsies rally started in ‘41, 50th an-niversary model. 12K on straight-up original paint, new Moetzler’s driven-by beefed Shovel, 102hp at wheel. Perfect in every aspect, serious in-quiries only, loan is $15K and value of over 25K. Ben 680.7464, 3-other older bikes and this has to go to the right person!

2008 Hyundai Sonata LMTD, 40,000 mi. $13,500, Call 307-660-2532.

‘76 Electra-Glide would consider trade on Pan or Knuck if ya know of anyone, ‘81 sent it to LA-S&S, 11.5to1 and dual-plugged to run regular-gas, had burn-out time at Hog-Jam! Ben 680.7464.

1997 32ft. Class A Motor Home. Sleeps 6, Only 31,000 Miles. Asking $17,000. Call (307) 660-7520.

Large Private RV/Camper Lot for rent. Big yard, trees. All utilities available. $400 per month, $400 deposit. 1 year lease. Call (307) 660-1007.

Local journalists wanted. Always wanted to try? Must be 16 yrs of age. Contact us at [email protected]

Advertising Sales for our weekly pa-per. Great commission rate, set your own hours. Contact us at [email protected]

Contributors wanted for weekly news-paper. Need a doctor, a Politician, a lawyer, and more to contribute an ar-ticle a month. E-mail [email protected] for more in-formation.

Sports writers, event writers wanted. Gillette, Write, Recluse, Rozet. Call 670-8980.

Help Wanted

Minnows, crawlers, leeches, fi sh-ing tackle, boating and camping supplies. Fully furnished cabin rent-als, 50 Amp Full Hookup RV sites 5 minutes from Keyhole Reser-voir in Pine Haven. Empire Guest-house & RV Park 307-756-3454. www.empireguesthouse.com

Camping/Fishing

Home for sale by owner in Western Way. Asking $239,000 for the 1,800 sq. ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath home with an unfi nished basement and a two car garage. Fully fenced, large land-scaped yard with a sprinkler system. Home is within walking distance to the new recreation center and the new elementary school that is being built. Please contact me at 307-670-1209 if you are interested.

Homes for SaleWelsh Corgi Puppies. 3 females, and two males. 682-2598

Pets

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1-5 bedroom units available for rent. Please contact Real Estate Systems of Gillette Inc at 307-682-0964 for all the updated details.

Apartments for Rent

Tri-level house for sale 4 bed 2 bath $209,000 (307) 670-1925.

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WILL PAY CASH FOR CAMPERS. Call Scott (307) 680-0854.

Sports Report

“One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing

the bottom of the ninth.”- Joe Garagiola

At Gillette Thunder Speedway, the races are on. The beautiful noise of horsepower, the crowd, and the technology come together in Campbell County’s own raceway. They race every Saturday night and the Campbell County Observer will soon start covering the event every week. Come on down and enjoy our County’s own races.

Monday, July 4- INDEPENDENCE DAY

Tuesday, July 5- Roughriders @ Douglas,

5:30/7:30 p.m.- Rustlers @ Sheridan, 5/7

p.m.

Thursday, July 7- Rustlers @ Hargens/Lei-

sy Tourney, Gillette, TBA

Friday, July 8- Roughriders @ Gopher

Classic Tourney, Minneapo-lis, MN, TBA

- Rustlers @ Hargens/Lei-sy Tourney, Gillette, TBA

What’s Going OnIn Sports?

Sports Question of the Week

Should the all-star baseball game decide home advantage

in the world series?“Yea, it gives them something to play for.”

- Jose Diago

Weekly Trivia AnswerJohn Hanson

The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation. This document was actually proposed on June 11, 1776, but not agreed upon by Congress until November 15, 1777. Maryland refused to sign this document until Virginia and New York ceded their western lands (Maryland was afraid that these states would gain too much power in the new government from such large amounts of land). Once the signing took place in 1781, a Presi-dent was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Wash-ington). In fact, all the other potential can-didates refused to run against him, as he was a major player in the Revolution and an extremely infl uential member of Con-gress.

Friday, July 1- AVA- All Fired Up! 9-11:30

a.m., Pottery Class Fee $60, Call 682-9133 for more info.

- Teen Open-Play Gaming, 1-4 p.m., CCPL

- AVA- All Fired Up! 1-3:30 p.m., Pottery Class Fee $60, Call 682-9133 for more info.

- Teen Summer Reading- Africa, 2-4 p.m., CCPL

- Open MIC Night, 7 p.m., Brother’s Coffee

- AVA- Uncorked! 7 p.m., Fee $35, Must be 21 years of age to attend, Call 682-9133 for more info.

- Mesa Drive @ Jakes Tav-ern

Saturday, July 2- Trash to Trees, 8 a.m.-12

p.m., Gillette College Tech. Center

- Car Racing; CLMA/WDRA, 7 p.m., Gillette Thun-der Speedway

- Mesa Drive @ Jakes Tav-ern

Sunday, July 3- CCPL CLOSED

Monday, July 4 - INDEPENDENCE DAY- See Campbell Co. Cen-

tennial Fourth of July What’s Going On Section for List of Events

Tuesday, July 5- AVA Miniature Art Show

Starts July 5-29, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Call 682-9133 for more info.

- Physician Recruitment & Retention, 12:15 p.m., CCMH

- Wings of Freedom Tour, 2-5 p.m., Campbell Co. Air-port, Walk-Thru Tours & Flight Experiences, (800)586-8924 or www.cfdn.org

Wednesday, July 6- Wings of Freedom

Tour, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Camp-bell Co. Airport, Walk-Thru Tours & Flight Experiences, (800)586-8924 or www.cfdn.org

What’s Going On?- AVA Pint Size Picassos,

All Day Event, 682-9133 or www.avacenter.org to regis-ter in advance

Thursday, July 7- Wings of Freedom Tour,

9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Campbell Co. Airport, Walk-Thru Tours & Flight Experiences, (800)586-8924 or www.cfdn.org

- AVA Pint Size Picassos, All Day Event, 682-9133 or www.avacenter.org to regis-ter in advance

- 1-2-3 Webinar: Economic Gardening for Small Busi-nesses, 2-3 p.m., Your Desk-top, mike [email protected] for more info. & to register

- Prenatal Series Classes Start, Call 688-2200 to Reg-

ister Free, CCMH- Coffee with Bob, 4 p.m.,

CCMH- AVA- Painting- Adult Be-

ginners, 6:30-8:30 p.m., 6 week session till July 14, $125 (all supplies included) 682-9133 for more info.

- CC Cowgirls/Cowboys, 6:30 p.m., Camplex Wran-gler Arena

Friday, July 8- AVA Tile Glazing, All Day

Event, Call 682-9133 or www.avacenter.org to regis-ter in advance

- Badger Horse @ Jakes Tavern

- Couples Night, Gillette Golf Club, 5:30-6 p.m., 1800 Country Club Rd.

12

Our Roots

June 25th marked the 135th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was both the greatest victory of the Sioux, Chey-enne and Arapaho in their war to maintain an ancient way of life and freedom to choose their own destiny, and the greatest defeat the United States military suf-fered during a half-century of armed confl ict collective-ly referred to as the “Indian Wars”. One of the most in-teresting and controversial participants of the battle was Captain Frederick W. Benteen, who has been branded both a hero and a villain for his actions that day in 1876.

Frederick Benteen was born on August 24th, 1834 in Petersburg, Virginia. His family later moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1849. On September 1, 1861, Benteen joined the Union army as a 1st Lieutenant in the 1st Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. This did not sit well with his father, Theodore Benteen, who was loyal to the Confederacy. He sent his son off to war with the admonition that he hoped Frederick would be killed by the fi rst bullet, preferably fi red by a relative.

By August of 1862, Ben-teen, now a captain, cap-tured several blockade running steamboats on the Mississippi. One such boat, the Fair Play, listed among its crew a chief en-gineer named Theodore C. Benteen. Most of the crew was released shortly af-ter the boats capture, but Chief Engineer Benteen found himself cooling his heels in a federal prison camp until the war’s end. It is presumed that Captain Benteen had the imprison-ment prolonged to keep his father out of harm’s way.

Benteen fought in several major engagements dur-ing the Civil War, includ-ing: Westport, Pea Ridge, Vicksburg and Mine Creek. By war’s end he would achieve the brevetted rank of lieutenant colonel and command of the 10th Mis-souri Cavalry.

After the war, Colonel Benteen served briefl y as commander of the 138th Colored Volunteers, which was mustered out of ser-vice in 1866. He was then accepted into the regular army with the rank of cap-tain, and assigned to the newly formed 7th Cavalry. He served in the 7th with distinction for the next 16 years.

Benteen was well liked by his men, and held in high respect by his fellow offi cers. One of these was a young lieutenant named Hugh Scott, who would one day become the Army Chief of Staff. He wrote, “I found my model early in Captain Benteen, the idol of the Seventh Cavalry on the upper Missouri in 1877, who governed mainly by suggestion; in all the years I knew him, I never once heard him raise his voice to enforce his purpose.”

In sharp contrast to this command style was Ben-teen’s new lieutenant col-onel, George Armstrong Custer. Benteen formed an unfavorable opinion of the “Boy General” at their fi rst meeting. That opin-ion continued to erode as time went on, even after Custer’s death in 1876. Benteen later admitted, “I am only too proud to say I despised him.”

From Benteen’s perspec-tive, Custer had a bad habit of doing the wrong thing. Some of Benteen’s troop-ers went across the river to buy groceries in town with-out permission and Custer

punished them as severely as if they had been outright deserters. Custer once asked Benteen for a loan of $100 and neglected to pay it back for over a year. Shortly after the death of one of Benteen’s children, Custer refused him a leave of absence to be with his wife who was gravely ill.

Not that Benteen was without his faults. He had a knack for letting his opin-ion be known regardless of the consequences. And he had a strong opinion about literally everyone. He once slapped Major Marcus Reno in front of a group of offi cers and challenged him to a duel.

The friction between Custer and Benteen came to a boil shortly after the battle of the Washita in present day Oklahoma. Sometime during the bat-tle, Major Joel Elliot and 19 troopers separated from the rest of the command in pursuit of some fl eeing Indi-ans. Custer chose to with-draw after the capture of the Cheyenne village, leav-ing Elliot to his fate. The bodies of Major Elliot and his command were found several days later. Joel El-liot had served with Ben-teen during the Civil War and was his good friend.

Later that year, an anony-mous letter surfaced in the papers. It was a scathing rebuke of Custer and his indifference to the where-abouts of Elliot during the battle. Knowing that the letter had to have been written by an offi cer of the 7th, Custer was livid and summoned his offi cers to a meeting in which he challenged the offi cer to step forward to be horse-whipped. Benteen imme-diately stepped forward and claimed authorship. Custer was dumbfounded. He dismissed the other offi -cers and told Benteen they would speak of the matter further. It was never men-tioned again.

Custer’s reluctance to revisit this issue may have been an attempt to bury the hatchet between them. If so, it speaks well for him. Unfortunately it just added to Benteen’s scorn. The offi cers of the 7th were already divided between those who were among Lt. Col. Custer’s “inner circle” and those who were ever destined to draw the worst details and duties in the regiment. Benteen’s not-so-discreet loathing of the regimental commander just made that gulf wider.

In 1874, Custer was ordered to lead a “scien-tifi c” expedition through the Black Hills, which was strictly off-limits to white men by treaty. Word was promptly leaked to the press about gold discov-ered on the expedition. The resulting stampede into the Black Hills by gold prospec-tors, coupled with systemic corruption of Indian agen-cies throughout the west, helped set the stage for the Sioux War of 1876 and the Little Big Horn.

Captain Benteen, and the three-company “wing” of cavalry he commanded, did not participate in the open-ing round of the battle. Just prior to reaching the val-ley, Benteen was sent on what he would later call a “pointless” reconnaissance of the hills and ravines to the south. Custer then di-vided his force some more, giving Captain MacDou-gall command of the pack train and 130 men; Major Reno was given command of three companies, while Custer retained command of fi ve companies - a little less than half the regiment.

Custer instructed Reno to cross the river, attack the front of the largest In-dian village any white man had ever seen and Custer would support him with “the whole outfi t”. The attack had barely begun when Custer rode north, taking his fi ve companies with him. They would not live to see the sun set.

After several miles, Ben-teen decided he’d tired his horses enough on his wild goose chase and turned north with the idea of catching back up to the rest of the regiment. He stopped to let the men wa-ter their mounts when they reached the creek they had been following all morn-ing. Shortly after resuming their march, a rider came from Custer’s command with orders to hurry up the pack train. Benteen di-rected him rearward to the creek crossing where the pack animals had showed up just as they were leav-ing. A second rider, a trum-peter from Benteen’s own company H, showed up a few minutes later, bearing Custer’s last written com-mand. “Benteen. Come on. Big village. Be quick, bring packs…”

Captain Benteen rode on, but instead if fi nding Custer, he found a highly demoral-ized Major Reno and what was left his three compa-nies, taking refuge on the high bluffs after a disas-trous mauling by the angry inhabitants of the village they had attacked. Benteen decided to wait for the pack train and give assistance to Reno. That decision most likely save the lives of half the regiment and possibly sealed the fate of the other half.

While Benteen effectively took command of the sol-diers on the hill, Custer and his command were dying a few miles away. An attempt to ride in the direction of Custer’s advance was quickly repulsed by Indians and they were forced to dig in.

And so began a two-day siege on the bluffs. The combined force of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho numbered somewhere be-tween 2,000 and 5,000, while the remnant of the 7th Cavalry numbered about 300. It was during dire situ-ations like this where Cap-tain Benteen was at his best.

“…I think in desperate fi ghting Benteen is one of the bravest men I ever saw in a fi ght,” Scout George Herendeen later said in an interview. “I think Captain Benteen saved the fi ght on the hill.”

William O. Taylor, another trooper who survived the ordeal recalled, “All this time Captain Benteen was in full view of the Indians, making no effort whatever to seek any shelter. You could see the bullets throw-ing up dust as they struck all around him while he, as calmly as if on parade, came down to our lines and, after his errand, returned in the same manner carrying in his hand a carbine, with which I observed him mea-suring the distance from his foot to a point where a bullet had just entered the ground in his front less than two feet away.”

The next morning, Ben-teen led a charge down the hill to the river which took the Indians totally by sur-prise. This action cleared that part of the bluffs and al-lowed the soldiers to bring water to the wounded.

Unable to dislodge the stubborn soldiers from their hill, the Indians broke camp and dispersed just

before the arrival of Gener-als Terry and Gibbon with the Montana Column. It was Captain Benteen who surveyed the aftermath of Custer’s “Last Stand” and identifi ed the body of his long time nemesis.

Benteen served six more years with the 7th, see-ing action again the next summer at Canyon Creek, near Billings, during the Nez Pierce War. In 1882 he was promoted to major and transferred to the 9th Cavalry, one of the “Buffalo Soldier” regiments, an as-signment he had reputedly turned down in 1866 to join the 7th Cavalry. During his service with the 9th, which lasted until 1887, he would be posted in Kansas, Utah and Fort McKinney, just outside present day Buf-falo, Wyoming.

The Little Big Horn contin-ued to haunt Benteen to the end of his life, as it did most of the survivors of the bat-tle. He became more bellig-erent toward his colleagues and insubordinate with his superiors. He drank more frequently. In 1887 he was suspended from the army for one year for drunken-ness on duty and conduct unbecoming an offi cer. Shortly after his return to active duty he chose to re-tire due to poor health. He was brevetted with the rank of brigadier general in 1890 for gallantry in action at the Little Big Horn and Canyon Creek. He died in 1898.

Frederick Benteen was considered one of the best military offi cers of the post-Civil War/pre-World War I army. He was at his best when under fi re, but during peace times he became his own worst enemy. He’s in good company. The same could be said of George Patton, Douglas MacAr-thur, Ulysses S. Grant and, ironically, George Arm-strong Custer.

The best summation of Benteen’s life he made himself in writing to a friend late in life. “I’ve been a loser in a way, all my life by rubbing a bit against the angles--or hair—of folks, instead of going with their whims; but I couldn’t go otherwise--’twould be against the grain of myself.”

Frederick W. BenteenBy Jeff Morrison

While we are all familiar with historic wars such as the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II, there have been plenty of lesser-known fi ghts. One of these fi ghts was a skirmish which would become known as the Honey War.

The Honey War, offi cially a territorial dispute between Iowa and Missouri during 1837, began over state lines. The area in question was only a 9.5-mile piece of land, but it played a large factor in the histo-ry of these two states. Until 1837, the lines of these two states were largely unclear. Since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, there had been numerous Native American treaties, giving portions of land to the lo-cal tribes. These treaties left the land to the United States without having been properly surveyed.

That changed in 1816 when the government sent John C. Sullivan to survey the land and establish borders between the territories. However, Sullivan was vague in his descriptions of the boundaries, not noting specifi c landmarks, but instead general traits of the land. This would only add to the upcoming confusion.

In 1837, the government of Missouri decided to resurvey the land yet again. At this time, Iowa was still a part of the Wisconsin Territory, and not yet and offi cial state. When they learned of Missouri’s plan to resurvey the land, Wisconsin at fi rst abstained from participation. But because they refused to participate, the surveyor, who was, naturally, from Missouri, decided then to not use the traditional boundary, but look for a new line which would also fi t Sullivan’s vague description. He found one 9.5 miles into what was then Iowa’s land.

Since the Missouri government had accepted the survey, they sent tax collectors into this “new” area of their state to begin collecting funds from the residents. This, naturally, did not sit well with the people residing in this disputed land. However, this is where the story becomes interesting.

The Iowan residents, instead of paying the taxes, took up their pitchforks and other farm “weapons”, and chased away the collectors back to Missouri. However, on their way out of the men chopped down several honey bee trees, so that they could return with some type of payment if not actual money. This act led to the name of the dispute.

In retaliation to the non-payment of the residents, the Governor of Missouri, Lilburn Boggs, sent the state militia to the disputed border. They were met with a mob of locals, who had already captured and jailed a Missouri county sheriff who had been in the area. According to descriptions found about the event, the Iowan mob was armed not with rifl es and muskets, but with swords and old guns that had not been manufactured for centuries, possibly fl intlocks and blunderbusses.

However, in an act of restraint, none of the forces fi red a shot. The governors of the two territories contacted the United States Congress, who drew a line in the middle of the disputed land and called it a truce. That line, like the others though, did not last long. When Iowa applied for statehood in 1849, they were admitted with the disputed land landing all in Missouri, a decision that was upheld in court.

While we all know of the large wars, these smaller disputes and skirmishes make up a unique part of American history, and teach us how we became the country we are today.

Honey War

By Mike Borda

“Unhappy it is, though, to refl ect that a brother’s sword has been sheathed in a brother’s breast and that the

once-happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But

can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?” -- George Washington in a letter to a friend

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