IR THERMOPOLIS INDEPENDENT RECORD VOLUME 115, No. 46, November 13, 2014 THERMOPOLIS, WY 82443 USPS 627-300 75¢

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Mary Margaret Nutter, Bobbi Zupan and Mel Kress work to convince Terry Tonn that he needs one of the adorable puppies up for bid during the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Hunter's Ball Saturday. Michael Byrd looks on in the background. The event raised $4,800 for RMEF. -Lara Love photo

byZacharyWhiteA lifelong entrepreneur, Linda

HughesmovedtoThermopoliswithenoughgoalstofillalifetime.Butherfirstgoalisclosetocomple-

tionwiththesneakpeakopeningofhernewbusiness,TheSupperClub.Startingat5p.m.Saturdaypar-

ticipants will be able to tour thenew business and socialize. Then,around6p.m.,HugheswillexplainhowmembershiptoTheSupperClubworksandherdreamofeventuallystarting a hospice house in Ther-mopolis.

Hughes said starting a hospicehouse is importantbecausepeopledeservepeacewhenthey’redying.“Dyingwithdignity,comfort,and

careisimportant,”shesaid.Followingher introduction, food

willbeserved.Hughes’ daughter-in-law Lyn-

daHughes, a former cook,will bepreparingaprixfixemenuthatin-cludesaYampaValleySoup,bistrosalad, barbecue tri-tip steak andcarrotcake.Andfollowingdinner,Hugheshas

aspecialguestperformanceforat-

tendees.TheYampaValley Boyswill be

performingat7p.m.andcoffeeanddessertswillbeservedduringabreakintheirperformance.LocatedatTheBarn,352BarNone

Drive,Saturday’seventwillgoun-til10p.m.andcosts$25,withhalfthemoneygoingtowardsthehospicehousefundHugheshassetup.

Hughes’ dreamHugheshadaplantostartabusi-

ness,andeventuallyahospice, foryears.Butwhen the propertyThe

Barnisonbecameavailable,shehadtohurryupherplans.“Therealtorhadthisoneinthere

(with the other properties) and Ithoughthewasnuts,”shesaid.However,shesaidwithbeautiful

scenicviewofrollinghillsandredrocks she and her husband, Mat-thew,fellinlovewiththelocation.Hughes plan for the barn is to

makeitarentablelocationforpeopletodoweddings,honeymoons,home-comingpicturesandanyothereventthatmayneedspacefor.Throughout the past twoweeks

HugheshastraveledbackandfourthfromCalifornia,whereshewasliv-ingbefore,tomoveallherstuffintothenewplace.Followinghermove,Hughesson

DiedrichandhiswifeLyndamovedintotownfromMontanawiththeirdaughterNovaJeane.With the help of her family,

Hughes hopes to expand the busi-nesstothepointwhereitcansus-tainahospicehouse.“But I’m gonna need help and

that’s gonna take a community,”shesaid.

byCindyGlassonThe Wyoming Department of Education

(WDE) released the results produced fromfederalandstateaccountabilitysystemslastFriday,Nov. 7, indicating howHot SpringsCountySchoolDistrictNo.1schoolsaredoing.There are four classifications for schools:

notmeeting expectations, partiallymeetingexpectations, meeting expectations and ex-ceedingexpectations.Ofthe353schoolsmeasuredbytheWyoming

AccountabilityinEducationAct(WAEA),over

17%areexceedingexpectationswith13%notmeetingexpectations,leavingtherestoftheWyomingschoolssomewhereinthemiddle.Smallerschoolsinthestatearenotrequired

toparticipate.InHotSpringsCounty,RalphWittersEl-

ementarywasratedasmeetingexpectations,ThermopolisMiddleSchoolisexceedingexpec-tationsandHotSpringsCountyHighSchoolisratedaspartiallymeetingexpectations.Thefederalaccountabilitysystem,referred

to asNoChildLeftBehind, and the state’s

system, known as the School PerformanceReports,areused intandemtodetermineaschool’sranking.The WDE is leading an effort to ensure

thatallWyomingstudentsreceivethequal-ity education they deserve, and identifyingweaknesseswithina school is just one stepinthatprocess.

Please see page A4 for an in-depth explana-tion of the rankings for Hot Springs County Schools by superintendent Dustin Hunt.

Sneak peek of The Supper Club Saturday

Everyone loves puppies

WDE releases HSCSD rankings

byCindyGlassonTheThermopolisTownCounciltooknoaction

onarequestfromtheFireDistrictregardingalargewatertapfortheproposednewtrainingcentersouthofThermopolis.

TheDistrictisrequestingasix-inchtapforthefacility,whichwoulddrawwaterfromthetanksonthehill.

ThetapwouldbepartoftheSouthThermop-olisWaterandSewerDistrict(STWSD)expan-sionproject.

NeilMillerindicatedthesizeofthetapbeingrequestedwouldbe“overkill”andconsideredhazardous,requiringextensivemonitoring.

Costsforthelargertapwouldbeintheneigh-borhoodof$70,000whileasmallertapwouldbemorelike$8,000-$10,000.

Council member and volunteer firefighterMarkNelsonagreedwithMiller,sayingthefa-cilitywouldonlybeusedonceamonthandaminimalamountofwaterwouldbeuseddur-ingtraining.

Nelsonsuggestedabettersolutionwouldbeasmallertapanddrawwaterfromapitastheydoatthefirehallon14thStreet.

Withtheabilitytodrawwaterat200psi,itwould literallydrainthetanks inamatterofminutes,whichcouldcauseallkindsofissuesforhomeownersandbusinessesalongtheline.

TownengineerHeathOverfieldsaidhedidnotbelieve thesix-inch tapwasnecessaryei-ther,sayingperhapsatwo-inchlinewouldbemoreappropriate.

Thecouncildecidedtotabletheissueuntilalaterdateandwouldliketohavearepresenta-tivefromtheDistrictattendthenextmeetinginordertodiscusstheissuefurther.

LandfillThecouncilalsodiscussedthefutureofthe

landfillwithOverfield,findingoutwenowsit23rd on the list for grantmonies to create atransferstation.

Overfield said a couple of other communi-tieshigheronthelistturnedthemoneydownastheyhadalreadymadeotherarrangements.Thismovedushigheruptheline.

The concern is the legislationmay changesoonregardinggrantfunding,puttingsomead-ditionalpressureonthetowntomakeadecisionaboutthelandfillsoon.

Thelegislaturewillbelookingforcommunitiesthatwanttogettheirtransferstationsstartedthesoonestforfundingdistribution.

Overfieldsaidhewouldputtogetheralettertosendtothestateoutliningourintenttomoveforwardwithatransferstationandbringittothecouncilforapprovalattheirnextmeeting.

Bigger not better for training tap

The sign "Welcome To Our Barn" hangs as a reminder to all visitors that The Barn is a place created for the com-munity to share.