Them On Us: JH panic; voting perfection; Sound of Music skiing

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-The bold bid to seek protection for the Wyoming Range and Snake River drainage may be dead in the water. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., had been pushing the bill in carrying on the legacy of the man he replaced – the late Craig Thomas.

The bill would have prohibited any new oil and gas leasing, mining patents or geothermal leasing in a 100-mile-long stretch of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Western Wyoming. It would also protect 387 miles of rivers and streams in the Snake River drainage under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

The fear was the bill would meet with filibustering and eventually get nowhere. Barrasso said he would continue to fight for the public lands package anyway. We read the scoop in the Billings Gazette.

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An economic recession has begun to take hold in Jackson Hole. The Wyoming Business Report said sales tax revenues for Teton County were down 19 percent in September when compared to the previous year’s data. That translates into a loss of $323,400.

And talk about kicking a community when they’re almost down, the News 8 TV report last weekend on Jackson Hole was dreadful. “Fearful Future in Teton Wyoming,” said the graphic as field reporter Carissa Utley painted a grim picture for the winter season in the valley.

Teton County Administrator Jan Friedlund fueled the panic by admitting even 9-11 didn’t have such a devastating effect. “We ended up with an eight percent shortfall,” she said of the September 11 attacks. “I don’t want to wait, the board of commissioners doesn’t want to wait until the time comes and we say ‘Oh my gosh what shall we do?’”

The Chamber’s Heather Falk tried to brighten the picture by saying we were all looking forward to the return of JHMR’s heralded tram and the air services to Jackson were great but when she said, “there’s a lot of optimism,” we caught her looking up and to the left. Any behavior specialist will tell you what that means.

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Despite a few mistakes in the Stough-Roscoe battle, voters in Wyoming went to the polls fairly well-informed. According to a recent Pew Foundation study, Wyoming’s elections Web site ranked in the top 10, nationally. The site is maintained by the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. The Local News 8 TV story said this meant citizens could find the official information they needed to register to vote, check their registration status and locate their polling places.

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Casper Star-Tribune’s own version of Them On Us, called Whole Town’s Talking, noticed a superb piece on last week’s cover of the News & Guide. So did we and, honestly, we wish we’d written it.

The amazing Mr. Binks story was touching and perfectly timed for Veterans Day. Great tribute and a two-box Kleenex job by NAG scribe Kelsey Dayton.

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They’ve got snow fever already in Tampa, Fla. Dan Leeth ran down the nation’s top ski resorts in last Sunday’s edition of the St. Petersburgh Times. Naturally, we were interested to know where JH fell in the lineup, and we still aren’t sure whether we were dissed or not.

“While some skiers love being swaddled by summits, others find close-up crags too claustrophobic. For those who prefer Julie Andrews-style vistas, there’s Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Mountain Resort,” Leeth wrote.

Julie Andrew’s? The reference to the 1965 musical “Sound of Music” was slightly disturbing, but we’ll assume it was meant in a complimentary way since Jackson Hole did get the “Most Voluptuous Valley” award. The real kick in the head was reading that Telluride, Colo., snared the “Most Western Ski Town” title.

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Some people hate us.

Barnard Goshen (his actual name has been changed to protect his privacy) started his latest blog with: “Right now I HATE JACKSON HOLE!!” Stuff like that gets our attention.

It turns out Barnard is miffed because he is forced to sleep alone in Sandy, Utah while his boyfriend is in Jackson helping the Jackson State Bank & Trust through their trying shape-shifting into Wells Fargo.

Barnard threatened on his Web site that he was heading this way, making the five-hour drive to bring back his beau before JH corrupted him. PJH
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Them On Us: JH panic; voting perfection; Sound of Music skiing | Planet JH News Article: General News

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