2024 Year in Review

JANUARY

•  With sled dog races being canceled regionally, snow in the Big Horn Mountains was a welcome sight at the Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area. Sixteen mushers competed in the two-day Big Horn Rush Sled Dog Challenge, held annually the weekend before New Year’s. In its seventh year, the event welcomed athletes competing from six states: Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. They raced four-, seven- and 11-mile routes, starting and ending at AB, with one skijor competitor. 

• Paul Thur was rehired as the county’s fulltime airport and land planning manager after an executive session at the Dec. 19 meeting of the Big Horn County Commission

• The Greybull Museum has received a grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources, to complete renovations to the caboose located at the museum. The association will be able to complete the roof replacement, completely refurbish the interior, build an exit stairway for one way traversing of the interior and make the entrance as ADA compliant as possible. 

• The Town of Greybull has sold it fifth and sixth lots in its Frontier subdivision, with lots 22 and 23 coming off the board at Monday night’s meeting of the town council. Robert Williamson nominated the lots for sale, meeting the town’s asking price of $18,000 per acre. 

• The Greybull Buffs snapped a seven-game losing streak at Buff Gym, riding the hot hand of senior Carlos Rodriguez to a 51-48 win. Rodriguez finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals.

• The Greybull High School speech team kicked off its 2024 varsity season with a third-place finish in 1A/2A at the season opener in Thermopolis.

• The Greybull Police Department made more arrests, but responded to fewer calls and issued fewer citations last year than it did in 2022, according to a year-end report prepared by Chief Ken Blosser.

• John Coyne III, the chairman, chief executive officer and president of Big Horn Federal Savings Bank, joined the Fed’s Denver Branch Board of Directors on Jan. 1, 2023 and is one year into his three-year term.

• The Smokehouse Saloon and Silver Spur Saloon hosted the fifth annual Saloon Shootout, a darts tournament started by Pamela and Michael Gorski. The contest has become well regarded in the run up to the state tournament, not just for good times and healthy competition, but also the community behind it. The Smokehouse first hosted the Shootout in 2019, drawing several dozen local and regional dart players to the area for a day’s worth of competition. 

• After four years of dormancy, the Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce has begun the process of rebuilding its membership and charting a course for board elections in the spring. The need to do so arose from the Town of Greybull’s decision last year to abolish its full-time economic development director position which in turn made it unnecessary for the town to continue leasing the downtown chamber building. That lease expired Dec. 31, 2023.

• The Shell Hall Board’s annual meeting was held Saturday, Jan. 20.  Mary Whaley and Tom Harrington were selected to join the board, stepping in to replace Jess Hartman and Jennifer Thon.

FEBRUARY

• Lt. Col. Cole Kelly, a 2001 graduate of Greybull High School and the son of Ellery and Janine Kelly of Shell, was promoted to the rank of colonel in a ceremony held Jan. 14 at the Joint Forces Headquarters in Cheyenne. Kelly’s promotion signifies personal growth, dedication, and a commitment to leadership and service that has spanned over two decades.

• Bob’s Diner raised over $1,000 on Jan. 27, to benefit the non-profit organization Saddles in Service (SIS), represented locally by Tom Bercher of Shell.

• Greybull students found plenty of success at the Northern Wyoming Regional Science Fair on Jan. 23. Greybull had six projects in the fair, with all earning some form of recognition. The big winner was senior Tyler Searfoss, whose project was named the 2024 grand champion and will now advance to the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair in Los Angeles in May. 

• All three high schools in south Big Horn County graduated a higher percentage of their students than the state average last year, according to data released by the Wyoming Department of Education.

• Green Night Out was observed during the basketball games between the Riverside Rebels and the Greybull Buffs. Green is the color for Mental Health Awareness. The event was sponsored by Big Horn County Prevention Alliance. Krystal Crosby of the alliance handed out “cheer paddles.” One side had either the Rebel or Buff logo and school name; the other had mental health facts. Many attendees wore green to show support.

• Greybull-Riverside won three individual titles and placed seventh as a team at its annual memorial tournament held at Buff Gym. Tawny Bertolini and Gabby Dowling reigned in the girls division and Ty Strohschein was the only wrestler to break through in the varsity boys division.

• The marketing of the Greybull area as a place where dinosaurs once roamed freely continues. The latest example is a 10-foot tall, 14-foot-long silhouette of an allosaurus that will be installed west of town along U.S. Highway 14-16-20 as part of a collaboration between Grow Greybull and the Greybull Museum.

• An alluring evening at the Elks Lodge drew a crowd of over 130 art aficionados to downtown Greybull in support of the Big Horn County Art Guild’s second annual Art Gala fundraiser. One would not have recognized the revered event space. An elegant entry welcomed attendees with lights and decorations all on theme: Valentine’s Masquerade.

• A year after putting in a new artificial turf football field, Big Horn County School District No. 3 is proceeding with plans to install new bleachers for students and fans who root, root, root for the home team. The board of trustees on Feb. 13 awarded the contract for the bleacher project to Fox General Construction, which is based in Ten Sleep. Fox submitted the low bid of $389,600.

• Greybull High School senior Joel Miller has signed a letter of intent to continue his football playing career at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., where he intends to major in health and human performance. The son of Matt Miller and Tara Miller, Joel was an all-conference selection this past season. 

• The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has released its preferred new long-distance routes for further study and public comment, with one map including Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin and a stop in Greybull. The FRA envisions doubling America’s long-distance Amtrak rail network with 15 new routes, the scale of which has not been seen since the 1950s, when America’s Interstate Highway System was first developed.

• Katrina and Jeremy Clarke opened Hurricane’s Gems in downtown Greybull on Feb. 15. The shop deals in a variety of jewelry as well as T-shirts, paintings, and other local wares.

MARCH

• Senior Ty Strohschein won the 175-pound title and Greybull-Riverside produced its best finish in the team standings since 2020  at the  State 2A Wrestling Championships in Casper. The Hound Dogs took only 11 qualifiers but four of them placed. With Strohschein leading the charge, the G-R boys finished eighth.

• The Buffs sandwiched a win over St. Stephens between losses to Kemmerer and Rocky Mountain at the Class 2A West Regional tournament in Riverton last weekend. Not the results they wanted, but Coach Jeff Hunt said, “I am so proud of our girls and how they finished the season. We improved so much throughout the year.”

• The University of Wyoming (UW) brought its whistle-stop tour to the Big Horn Basin’s high schools on March 4. After kicking off the day in Lovell, University President Ed Seidel, Drs. Tom Minckley and Beth McMillan, Vice Provost Kyle Moore, and several former Big Horn County students visited Greybull High School, where they spoke to local seniors about UW’s myriad connections to the Big Horn Basin and the opportunities waiting for them at Wyoming’s only four-year university.

• From losing their opener and nearly their top player to injury, to surviving a loser-out battle that took two overtimes to decide, before ultimately capturing the consolation title with a shooting performance for the ages, it was a weekend in Casper that the Greybull Buffs and their fans won’t soon forget. The trophy was the school’s first in eight years, dating back to the 2016 team that captured third in Coach Jim Prather’s final year on the bench. 

• Sam Good used a 7-iron to ace the par-three second hole while playing a round at Midway Golf Course.  The shot was witnessed by Joe Holloway and Lonnie Koch.

• In his final game for the Buffs, Greybull High School senior Carlos Rodriguez moved into second place on the school’s all-time scoring list. Rodriguez finished his stellar career with 1,337 points, surpassing the career total of Treston Tracy, who scored 1,336 points while playing for the Buffs between 2012-2016.

• Greybull students put on a dazzling display March 5 at their annual Art in the Dark show, held inside the Greybull High School auditorium. Elena Campos, a junior whose work “Opossums Tea Party” was awarded Best in Show, took home the People Choice’s prize.

• In a historic and collaborative breakthrough for mental healthcare in Wyoming, three leading organizations have joined forces to establish Oxbow Center. Oxbow Center is a product of Big Horn Basin Counseling Services, Yellowstone Behavioral Health Center and Cloud Peak Counseling Center. 

• Five Greybull High School students traveled with their research projects to the 2024 Wyoming State Science Fair in Laramie and returned home with a collection of special awards, category awards and the team title in the Senior division.  Representing GHS were Chaise Benasky, Shay Williams, Tyler Searfoss, Cadence Fostervold and Caroline Boyer.

• The Greybull High School speech team faced two definitive tournaments that brought its 2023-24 season to a close. While the team met unfavorable results at the Wind River District qualifier, Greybull returned from Wyoming State Speech with a second-place trophy in 1A/2A and a host of special awards.

• Over the past year and since the last census, Big Horn County has been among the fastest-growing counties in Wyoming. A report released by the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information’s Economic Analysis Division showed only three counties gaining population at a faster clip than Big Horn County, which was estimated to have a July 1, 2023, population of 12,018 residents. The county grew by 139 residents, or 1.2%, between July 1, 2022 and July 1, 2023 and by 495 residents, or 4.3%, between April 1, 2020 (the date used for the 2020 U.S. Census) and July 1, 2023.

APRIL

• The strategy may have changed, but the vision of establishing a world-class dinosaur and geoscience museum that would complement the local history and geological exhibits already on display at the Greybull Museum has not At its March meeting, the Greybull Town Council approved the terms of an exhibit agreement with the Big Horn Basin Dinosaur and Geoscience Museum (BHB-DGM). It stipulates that the town will construct a building suitable for housing the exhibits that the BHBDGM secures, pay for the lighting, utilities and general upkeep of the facility and install security and surveillance to protect the building.

• Greybull High School’s prom grand march culminated in the crowning of King Carlos Rodriguez and Queen Julia Paul Blazquez.

• Morgan and Scotty Flitner, the ranching daughters of Greg and Pam Flitner of Shell, will be featured in an upcoming episode of “Ranch Her.” Now in its second season on RFD-TV, the series profiles the extraordinary women of the ranching industry, highlighting their grit, grace, and glory.

• Blanketed in fresh snow, the Big Horn Mountains welcomed outdoor enthusiasts to celebrate the closing weekend of the 23/24 winter season at the Antelope Butte Mountain Recreation Area. Two days of events and live music entertained those who journeyed up the mountain. The lodge and hill was a flurry of activity — one thought they walked into the 1980s with the panorama of clothing sported by guests and employees. Hulk Hogan made an appearance.

• From a Buff to a Battling Bear, Greybull High School senior Kelsie McColloch has signed a national letter of intent to play volleyball at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont.

• When Carol Bell got her first royalty check after country musician Luke Bell’s death, she and Luke’s sisters, Jane and Sarah, knew they wanted to do some- thing meaningful with the money. After thought and discussion, they decided to use Luke’s earnings to support those in the Big Horn Basin seeking change through therapy by founding The Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program [LBMACP]. The program will provide vouchers for 10 therapy sessions with a sliding scale co-pay to any person living in the Big Horn Basin (Big Horn, Park, and Washakie counties) who is over 18 and earns less than $65,000 annually.  

• Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce members have elected a new board, choosing Larry Snyder Jr., April Brown, Sherri Wilkinson Roxanna Harwood, Josiah Mizell and Robert Skillman to serve with Patti Hanson, who will stay on for another year. The new board agreed to the nominations of Skillman as president, Snyder as vice-president and Wilkinson as treasurer and Harwood as secretary.

• Caroline Boyer and Kelsie McColloch share valedictorian honors for the Class of 2024. Tyler Searfoss earned salutatorian honors. The three honor grads will address parents and friends during commencement exercises Sunday, May 19.

MAY

• A recently released report found that between 2014 and 2023, direct travel income in Big Horn County increased by nearly $12 million: in 2014, the direct travel income spent was $28.4 million in Big Horn County; in 2022, it was $38 million; and in 2023, it was $40.1 million.

• Deep dives into the plight of Native Americans in the aftermath of the Sand Creek and Wounded Knee massacres and the Japanese-Americans following their release from internment camps have led to some honors for three Greybull students. Jack Pharaoh, whose documentary was entitled, “With Wounded Knee, We Still Stand,” took first place in the senior division at State History Day held April 29 in Laramie. Middle schoolers Reagan Vigil and Lilliann Otto, meanwhile, placed first with their junior group documentary, “Executive Order 9066 Japanese-American Internment: Behind the Wire.”

• Wyo-Ben, a leading provider of high-quality pet products, has announced the grand opening of Wyo-Ben Pet Canada in Toronto, Ontario. This expansion marks a significant milestone in Wyo-Ben’s commitment to delivering exceptional pet care solutions to customers worldwide.

• Greybull Police Chief Ken Blosser announced a promotion, a hiring and the imminent return of one of his officers at a meeting of the Greybull Town Council. The GPD has been operating without a sergeant since the departure of Mark Dewees. Blosser remedied that, tapping Drew Patrick to become the department’s second-in-command. Blosser also introduced the GPD’s newest hire, Erick Norton, who retired to the Shell area about a year ago after a 25-year career in law enforcement in Bridgeport, Conn.

• The Tipsy Cow Pizza and Pasta opened. Owners Paul Flath and Jane Forschler purchased Lan’s Beijing Garden in downtown Greybull. Forschler said they are living their dream; Flath  called it “our adventure.” They also own The Tipsy Cow on First Avenue South.

• Eighteen Big Horn County women recently completed the Annie’s Project program, which empowers farm and ranch women to be better business partners through networks by managing and organizing critical information. The graduating class included Tracy Haley, Amie Hatch, Shauna Brewer, Beckie Bates, Tera Sanchez, Devan Costa-Cargill, Melissa Cook, Melodi Allen, Michelle Arnett, Morgan Flitner, Melody Brown, Chelle Schwope, Mary Schwope, Linda Schwope, Kelly Annand and Tiffany Tanner.

• Already one of the largest employers in the Big Horn Basin, Wyo-Ben is poised to experience even more growth in the months to come as it ramps up production to meet worldwide demand, according to its chief executive officer, David Brown. When Wyo-Ben announced the acquisition of M-I SWACO’s bentonite assets in the Greybull area early last November, Brown hinted that growth may be on the horizon, but not even he saw it coming this soon.“Things have gone better than I would have predicted,” said Brown. 

• Joel Kuper, Brett Hanlin and Dee Robertson are retiring this year from Big Horn County School District No. 3.

• The foursome of Marlee Henson, Kelsie McColloch, Chaise Benasky and Julia Paul-Blazquez captured second in the 400-meter relay and freshman Wyatt Whaley earned fourth in the shot put to pace the Greybull Buffs at the State 2A Track and Field Championships in Casper.

• Kathy Clucas, who is retiring, has cleaned out her desk, packed up her favorite songs, said goodbye to the students she has enjoyed working with and taken a last look at the three Greybull schools where she has spent the last 20 years.

JUNE

• “Long Live Cowboys,” is the theme of this year’s Days of ‘49 celebration. LaWana Rainey and Morris Smith have been selected by the committee as co-grand marshals. 

• Spring certainly sprung for The Early Learning Garden, located at 101 Sandy Row. Marking the recent opening of a safe and clean environment for your children, The Early Learning Garden has since opened the doors to children of all ages. “We’re a little different than most daycares. We aren’t just a babysitting service, we’re committed to getting kids ready for school,” operator and owner Adriana McDaniel said.

• A Greybull woman has earned the title of Miss Wyoming and will represent her state early next year at the Miss America competition in Orlando, Fla. Baylee Drewry, the daughter of Scott and Brandi Drewry, was crowned on the campus of the University of Wyoming, where she’s enrolled as a student.

• A 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible owned by Ty and Carol Gossens of Greybull won the People’s Choice Award at the Greybull Car Show held in conjunction with the Days of ‘49 celebration. A vehicle entered by Bill and Linda Miller of Cowley won the Mayor’s Choice Award. Mike Howe, organizer of the car show, said 94 cars were registered. “This was our best as far as participants in our 11 years of doing the car show,” he said.

• The Town of Greybull and its chief of police, Ken Blosser, have parted ways.

• Wyo-Dirt recently had a grand opening to celebrate its new location in Wyld Sage Coffee House in Greybull. Co-owner Mike Herebia explained his success story. “Just start. Be ready to work hard, learn from your challenges and be flexible. It doesn’t matter whether it works out or not; what’s important is that you give it a try and gain experience along the way.”

• A Greybull man has won the Wyoming Governor’s Wild Bison raffle, which raised $8,300 this year for conservation projects around the state. Gerald Crist said this was the third year he has purchased a raffle ticket. He did it online when he was applying for his hunting tags. “I was just donating to donate because I thought it was a good cause,” Crist said this week. “I certainly never expected to get a license out of it.”

• One-hundred fifty-one cyclists, ranging in age from 11 to 73 and coming from as far away as Florida, left Cody for the start of the 13th annual PEAKS to Conga fundraiser for cancer patients living in the Big Horn Basin. While the turnout fell just shy of last year’s record of 167, organizers of the annual event still came away pleased, reporting zero wrecks and only a few flat tires along the 66-mile route ending in Shell. “The roads were well groomed by WYDOT and we had lots of police presence along the route as well as the Greybull police controlling traffic at the Greybull turn-off,” said Laurie Stoelk, one of the event’s organizers.

JULY

•  Big Horn County School District No. 3 is looking for a new ag teacher and FFA advisor. The resignation of Jennifer Schultz, who spent six years serving in those capacities, was one of three personnel items on the agenda of a special board meeting at the central office.

• After three days of competition and parties, Jordyn Stamstad found herself being crowned Little Miss Wyoming 2024-25 in Sheridan, where she competed in a pageant with other girls from around the state.

• For more than five decades, pharmacist Ron Wendling has been dispensing medicine and helping patients in their greatest times of need, occasionally even meeting them after hours to dispense medication or provide supplies. His dedication was recognized at the Wyoming Pharmacy Association annual convention in Thermopolis when he was awarded the Bowl of Hygeia. The highest award given in pharmacy, the Bowl of Hygeia is reserved for those who have devoted their lives to improving the profession. 

• Recent Greybull High School graduate Jeremy Holloway tied for 12th place as an individual and his Wyoming team captured third place overall at the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships held at the Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Neb.

• Less than a month after parting ways with its police chief, the Greybull Town Council has hired his replacement, tapping a Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office deputy who began his law enforcement career in Greybull. The council approved the appointment of Travis Davis, whose first day with the GPD will be July 23. He will replace Ken Blosser, whose six-year run with the town ended June 14.

• A Greybull business has landed a $10,000 improvement grant and will be in the mix for an additional $30,000 through the Backing Small Business grant program administered by American Express and Main Street America. Bob’s Diner & Bakery is one of only four businesses in Wyoming to receive the grant; the others are Horseshoe Bend Motel in Lovell, CDW & Co+ the Makery in Evanston and Dayspring Natural Health Center in Thayne being the others. Nationwide there were 500 grant recipients.

• An annual report produced by the Big Horn County Assessor’s office shows a slight decline in the combined value of all property compared to 2023 when it topped $300 million. The county’s 2024 valuation was set at $276.7 million, a decrease of nearly 10% from last year’s $303.4 million. In dollars, it amounts to about $26.708 million. Even though it dropped, the $276.7 million figure is still the seventh-highest total of the past 20 years for Big Horn County, which saw it top out at $307.7 million in 2009, sit between $277.6 and $294.6 million between 2012-2015 and soar past $303.4 million in 2023.

• While fireworks were launched into the night sky, four-course meals were served and time was spent with family as Americans celebrated Independence Day, a group of 17 travellers from Greybull celebrated a little bit differently this year. Their Fourth of July included foreign beaches, ancient European architecture and rushed connection flights. Landing in the metropolitan city of Barcelona, Spain, travelers ventured through the deserts and beachside towns of Spain, over the Pyrenees Mountains and through the French countryside until reaching their final destination of Paris, France.

• Scotty Flitner did not set out to be a milliner.  She’s a bonafide cowgirl and sixth generation rancher, who studied art, then equine dentistry, and cowboyed the Idaho-Nevada border before returning to her home state of Wyoming. She’s also insatiably curious, loves learning and is always ready to meet a new challenge with a pragmatic, can-do, never-quit attitude. Following several years of independent study, apprentice work and a four-month intensive in Billings with Randy Rains of Law Dog Hat Company, Flitner’s own hat shop, Dirty Scotty’s Hats of Ill Repute, opened in downtown Greybull recently, taking over the Mackey’s Custom Hats business.

• Friends and family of the late Jeff Probst gave him a fitting sendoff at Midway, playing a round of golf and raising money for his favorite course before celebrating his remarkable life at a wake in his honor.

• Two members of the Greybull-Riverside wrestling team competed with Team Wyoming at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior & 16U National Tournament in Fargo, N.D. The tournament is billed as the largest in the world, with more than 7,000 competing. Gabby Dowling and Tawny Bertolini will be a senior and sophomore, respectively, this fall at Greybull High School.  Dowling, competing in the junior division, won one and lost two at 140 pounds. Bertolini, meanwhile, went 0-2 in her weight class in the 16-and-under division.

• Around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, a hailstorm moved into the Shell area, marking the beginning of what would soon become a natural disaster. Three inches of rain flooded Trapper Creek and left the area in disarray.

• On July 27, Ayden Skillman received a total heart transplant at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado (CHCO), which his family hopes will be the culmination of a lifelong journey. Born on May 15, 2006, Skillman was diagnosed with a rare, congenital heart condition at just three days old called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which affects 2-3 of every 10,000 live births worldwide.

AUGUST

• As July ends and August begins, the expansion of the Leavitt Reservoir remains on schedule, providing hope to ranchers in the Shell area that they will soon have additional water for their late-season irrigation needs. In June, the SVWID awarded the bid for Contract C, the construction of the transfer pipeline and diversion structure, to Mountain View Building, based in Sheridan.

• A Powell man suffered severe burns at Saturday’s Park County Fair demolition derby, after his car became engulfed in flames. Bryce Kelso was being treated in an intensive care unit and was under heavy sedation at a specialized burn center in Idaho Falls. While personnel at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center are waiting to officially categorize the extent of Kelso’s burns, staff at Powell Valley Hospital initially estimated that he’d suffered second- and third-degree burns on 45% of his body, said family member Don Adams.

• A Greybull native is one step away from earning her license to practice law in Oregon. Jarely Castro, daughter of Ramon and Marisela Castro, graduated in May from Willamette University College of Law with a Juris Doctorate.

• The numbers are in, and it was another record-setting year for the Big Horn County Fair’s junior livestock sale. Buyers shelled out $331,263.50 for the 121 animals that were auctioned, easily topping last year’s record haul of $275,083. “The sale started strong and carried through,” said Casey Sorenson of the Bank of Greybull, which clerked the sale. “We had nine more animals, but our sale was up over $57,000.”

• The Burlington caboose located in front of the Greybull Museum is now open. The caboose was donated to the town of Greybull by Burlington Northern Railroad in 1973 and moved to its present location in 1974. It was initially used to house the Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce. When the Greybull Museum reopened in 2023, the caboose was in such a bad state that it stayed closed due to safety concerns. A project to “reopen” the caboose was begun in the summer of 2023. A small grant allowed the exterior to be painted to original color. Realizing that there would not be enough money from that grant to complete the project, the Greybull Wyoming Museum Association turned to the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. Receiving a grant from the trust fund in January, work began on the interior of the caboose and replacement of the roof.

• John Barrasso and Harriet Hageman easily won their respective Republican nominations for Congress Tuesday, and Big Horn County voters matched the statewide vote, strongly supporting each incumbent. 

• Big Horn County School District No. 3 begins the year with eight new employees. The new full-time teachers include Patricia Anderson (special education), Brandon Douglas (elementary computer science), Mikelle Gaines (high school language arts) and Holly Thomas (high school science).

• On Aug. 17, Greybull resident Steele Davis, 17, was presented with his Eagle Scout award in front of his family, friends and Boy Scout Troop 312 at a ceremony held at the Shell Community Hall. The Eagle badge is both the highest honor afforded by the Boy Scouts of America [BSA] and the most difficult to achieve. Davis, who has participated in scouts since he was 6 years old, was required to earn 21 merit badges, serve his troop in a leadership role and complete a service project in his community before applying for the award.

• The Big Horn Basin Dinosaur and Geoscience Museum [BHBDGM] announced the acquisition of two new specimens on Aug. 23, during the museum’s annual paleontology barbecue. Dr. Erik Kvale shared with guests that the museum has obtained a clutch of 24 extremely rare Allosaurus eggs.

• A familiar pairing rose to the top of the gross division at the 48th annual Security State Bank golf tournament, as Jeff Vail and Chris Bundren, both of Worland, successfully defended their titles from last year. The tournament attracted 23 two-man teams.

SEPTEMBER

• It wasn’t just another day in the life of a small business at Bob’s Diner and Bakery. A film crew from “America’s Best Restaurants” was visiting the downtown Greybull restaurant and just about every seat and bar stool was filled — either by someone who’d received a special invitation from owners Robert and Deanna Skillman or was simply curious about what all the fuss was about.

• Big Horn County School District No. 3’s opening week enrollment fell for the third straight year, as the three buildings counted 447 students. The Greybull district began the last school year, 2023-24, with 465 students. The year before that, 2022-23, its opening enrollment was 471.

• Father Andrew Kinstetter recently started a six-year term as pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Greybull and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lovell, both of which are in the Archdiocese of Cheyenne.

• Doughboy Bakery and Cafe, owned and operated by Trudy Sawyer and her son, Michael, opened in downtown Greybull on Sept. 1.

• A Greybull man has been fined the maximum of $10,000 and sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison for providing the fentanyl-laced drugs that resulted in the Jan. 2, 2023, death of former Greybull resident Jordan Jackson. The sentencing hearing for Anthony M. Fuentes was held in Park County District Court in Cody, with Judge William Simpson presiding. Lasting more than six hours, the hearing included emotional testimony from the family and friends of both the victim and the defendant.

• The annual late summer Wine and Art Walk was a sell-out success with a record crowd. Not only did they run out of commemorative glasses, but also – wine. Seven storefronts took part with specials, drawings, and giveaways.

• Myron Cook and Melissa Brown emerged as champions of the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, at the Midway Golf Club’s tournament.

• The title of Mini Elegant Miss and the prestige that comes with it passed from one Stamstad, Jordyn, to another, Hannah, at the Wyoming Elegant Miss Scholarship Pageant’s ninth annual state finals held in Casper.

• E.J. Panetta, Joe Panetta, Taylor Sweet, Della Eppler, JT Collingwood and Keon Norris clinched wins in their respective season-long points races at the Big Horn Rodeo Circuit finals held at the fairgrounds in Basin.  The circuit honored Lacee Good and Casey Good as its all-around champions for 2024.

• Lucas Bolzer scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left, capping an eight-play, 68-yard drive and giving the Greybull Buffs an 18-14 win over Rocky Mountain in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd at Jim Crawford Field.

OCTOBER

• Along the foothills west of Shell in the sagebrush and tumbleweeds a new sign has been installed. Welcoming travelers and locals along Highway 14 as they round the bend to enter Shell, a wood and metal 5 foot by 10 foot sign. A labor of love years in the making brought to the community by the Big Horn County Citizens for Economic Development (BCED).

• The smell of smoke and sight of ashes falling from the sky drove home the fact that, while Big Horn County has to this point been spared, devastating wildfires are raging in other parts of Wyoming. The worst of them are the Pack Trail and Fish Creek fires in the Dubois area and the Elk Fire on the other side of the Big Horns in the Dayton area.

• Karma Hanson and Wyatt Didrickson reigned as the queen and king of Greybull High School’s homecoming week. 

• Three Rivers Health’s new partnership with Monida Shared Imaging began to bear fruit with the arrival of a mobile MRI trailer that be making scheduled stops at health care facilities across northern Wyoming and eastern Montana.

• A Greybull teenager who has spent most his life fighting food insecurity in the Big Horn Basin was among a group of volunteers recognized by First Lady Jennie Gordon and her Wyoming Hunger Initiative. Jack Pharaoh founded Jack’s Box about nine years ago. He’s now a junior at Greybull High School. 

• Greybull cowboys continue to excel on the college rodeo scene. The Central Rocky Mountain Region’s fall season ended with both Colton Farrow and Jake Schlattmann at or near the top of the standings in their specialty events. Farrow, a senior at the University of Wyoming, leads the bareback riding with 755 points. Schlattmann, meanwhile, ended the fall season in third place among bronc riders with 440 points. He is a sophomore at Sheridan College.

• As the varsity squad looks ahead to the playoffs and the possibility of hosting a first-round game, there are signs that suggest this season is not going to be an outlier. Every Greybull football team that took the field this fall posted either a .500 or better record, including an eighth-grade squad that just completed the first undefeated season under the leadership of Logan Burningham.

• On Oct. 23, Prairie Puffs opened its doors to downtown Greybull. The vape store, owned and operated by Oscar Garay and Cynthia Gomez, is the latest business to open on Greybull Avenue. The shop sells vapes, tobacco pipes, and water pipes for more advanced smokers. In addition, Prairie Puffs carries vape juice, batteries, backup cartridges and other accessories.

NOVEMBER

• Myles Foley was re-elected to serve a fifth term as mayor while Pam Flitner, Todd Dalin, Bette Rae Jones and Mike Whaley staked their claim to seats on the school board in the most prominent local races that appeared on the general election ballot.

• Voters in Big Horn County followed state and national voting patterns in the general election: a Republican sweep of key offices. County voters chose former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, in landslide fashion, with all 13 county precincts preferring the GOP nominee over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, 4,867 to 742, unofficially. Libertarian Chase Oliver received 82 votes.

• On Oct. 30, Greybull High School hosted Ty Nieters of the Wyoming National Guard and Daniel Brown, a special agent from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program [ICAC]. They were invited by Principal Ty Flock to address parents and community members about the unique challenges facing children in the 21st century online. The agenda focused primarily on the perils of child sex abuse online and the risks posed to underage social media users.

• Less than a week and a half after Grizzly 399 was hit and killed by a car in the Snake River Canyon, federal land and wildlife managers decided to cremate her body and return her ashes to Pilgrim Creek. None of her body parts were retained for educational purposes or otherwise, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said.

• When the Wyoming Legislature convenes in January, a new group of Republicans will be in charge. The hard-line Wyoming Freedom Caucus racked up enough wins in Tuesday’s general election to secure a simple majority in the House, wresting control from the traditionalist Republican Wyoming Caucus. In the Senate, conservative allies of the Freedom Caucus retained control of the upper chamber.

• Greybull High School students continue to produce one of the best publications in the state. For the second consecutive year, and eighth time in the past 11, the staff of The Paintbrush is basking in the glow of a Golden Pony. The award, celebrating 1A/2A top publication, was awarded Oct. 28 at the Wyoming Student Media Association (WSMA) state convention in Casper.

• The East was the beast of Class 1A nine-man football this season, as three of the four teams from that side of the state prevailed in the opening round of the playoffs, including Pine Bluffs which ended Greybull’s season with a 75-22 victory Friday afternoon.

• The Greybull Lady Buffs entered the Class 2A West Regional tournament as the top seed from the Northwest, but their state hopes were dashed when they failed to win two before they lost two at re-gionals and were sent home by the Lady Blue of Shoshoni.

• Three Rivers Health has been named Wyoming’s 2024 “Community Star” by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH). On the third Thursday of November, NOSORH leads National Rural Health Day (NRHD), an annual celebration that shines a light on those who serve the vital health needs of the nearly 61 million people living in rural America.

• About halfway through its two-year construction timeline, the engineers and contractors tasked with completing the $78 million Leavitt Reservoir expansion say they are pleased with the progress that’s been made so far and plan to work through the winter.

DECEMBER

• A $25,000 grant from the Big Horn Rural Electric Company will allow the Big Horn Basin Dinosaur and Geoscience Museum (BHBDGM) to add the cast of yet another dinosaur to the list of exhibits for its proposed 3,500 square foot museum on Greybull Avenue. Erik Kvale, who serves on the museum’s eight-member board of directors, said the cast will be of “Baby Toni,” which he described as “the only fully articulated, 95% complete in terms of bone count, baby sauropod known to science.”

• An art fundraiser that culminated in a drawing at Big Horn Federal brought in approximately $1,500 in contributions to help offset the medical and travel expenses incurred by the Ayden Skillman family. Ayden, 18, received a total heart transplant at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado on July 27.

• The Big Horn Co-op retail stores in Greybull and Basin, along with those in Buffalo, Powell and Worland will close at the end of December as part of a restructuring announced last week by the cooperative’s board of directors. In a Dec. 4 press release, the board announced a shift in focus toward its energy and agronomy products, which have been the most profitable part of its operation in recent years. Only one retail location — the farm store in Riverton — will remain open beyond this year. So, too, will the Co-op’s convenience store in Worland, its tire store in Powell and its cooperative headquarters northwest of Greybull.

• Funding provided by the CDC and State of Wyoming, which went toward providing mental health resources and education to students and their families in schools across the Big Horn Basin, will lapse at the end of December. 

• Justin and Toni Winkler emerged victorious in this year’s holiday lighting contest sponsored by the Greybull Area Chamber of Commerce. The Winklers, now in their second year competing, took first place, followed by Magdalena Harlow in second and Maria Rivera in third.

• Greybull High School Principal Ty Flock has announced his intent to retire at the end of the school year. In a letter to the administration, Flock, who has been at GHS for 13 years, said it’s been “an honor and a privilege to serve” and thanked past and present school board members, administrators, teachers and support personnel.

• The Greybull Town Council is proceeding with its plan to increase water and sewer rates in early 2025 to adjust for inflation and build adequate reserves for the anticipated cost of providing those services to its customers for the next 10 years.

 

• The Wyoming Airports Coalition has honored Paul Thur as its 2024 airport executive of the year. Thur, of Greybull, has served as Big Horn County’s airport manager since May 2021, when he resigned as Greybull’s town administrator and finance director.