A4 — December 3, 2020 Northern News

The News Editorial Readers’ Views Building permits dated damages could not be punitive, American Legion Magazine had an ar- Opportunities to give but that the government (or owner) ticle about the creation of a Medal of should be had to show a loss before they could Honor Museum. In that article Major be assessed! What were the damages General Patrick H. Brady says, “The eliminated incurred by the county for the contrac- key to success in life is mental, mor- more abundant during tor being four days late? The liquidat- al and physical courage, and God has Dear Editor, ed damage amount of $2,057.06 per made this gift infinitely available to Many of you probably saw the ar- day is an outrageous amount and in all of us; you can’t use it up.” He fur- a pandemic ticle in last week’s paper concerning no way can be justified! ther states about future visitors to the a decision by the city council to waive ue to the COVID-19 pandemic and a desire to So much for Washakie County be- Medal of Honor Museum, “They will the $8,166 building permit fee for the keep everyone healthy and safe, Pinnacle Bank ing business friendly! learn that fear is an emotion, but cour- new library. This fee is used to rip-off made the tough decision to cancel this year’s I am calling on the county and/or age is a decision, and it is the great D people wanting to start a new busi- the agency responsible to reverse this equalizer in life producing great peo- Festival of Trees. ness in Worland as they get nothing The festival showcases wreaths and trees decorated by outrageous decision and pay the con- ple from those among us who were not back from the city for this fee! businesses and organizations, along with other Christmas tractor this amount back to them. born with great ability or opportunity.” Apparently, both the city and the décor, which are then sold at an auction to help support Also it is time for the county com- There is not a doubt in my mind county feel that they are autonomous dozens of organizations and groups. missioners and their staff, to head that Dr. Zimmerman’s actions will in taking this action! Tuesday was “Giving Tuesday” but there is still plenty of back to contracting school so they can lead to some people, especially the The city’s waiving of this fee has time to give this Christmas season, giving to help others. learn the difference between an RFP most vulnerable old citizens (like me now sets a precedence that people who The Worland Food Pantry is always looking for monetary and an RFQ which they currently in my eighties) and those with pre-ex- are required to obtain a building per- or non-expired, non-perishable food items. don’t know! isting conditions, needlessly dying a mit fee can now have it waived simply The Food Pantry is open from 9 to 11 am on Monday, Terry Rehak lonely and excruciating/brutal death by appearing before the city council! Wednesday and Friday. Call 347-6123 for more information Worland of slow suffocation from a Covid-19 How many people knew they had during business hours. The pantry is located at 620 Big infection. this option when it came to their Horn Avenue. If Dr. Zimmerman or anyone else building permit fee? This is an outra- Thank you Dr. In addition to the food pantry, the Washakie County had rushed to the scene of a vehicle geous ethics violation on part of both Ministerial Association is doing its annual Christmas Bas- Zimmerman for accident and rescued a single trapped the city council and the county com- kets and Angel Tree program. Angel Trees with suggested victim from a burning wreck, he/she missioners. gifts for children in the community are located at several doing what is right would be awarded a civilian bravery Contact your city council member businesses in the community including Blair’s, Big Horn medal for saving someone’s life. Dr. or the mayor’s office and let them Dear Editor, Cooperative and Security State Bank. Zimmerman effectively accomplished know that it is time for this fee re- I want to publicly thank Dr. Zim- Applications for families to sign up for the program were the same results by bravely stepping quirement to be done away with for merman for courageously taking the due prior to Thanksgiving but donations to help these fami- outside of his comfort zone and doing good! The phone number for the city actions necessary to implement a lies are being accepted. what was the right thing to do, given of Worland is 347-2486. You can also Mask Mandate for Washakie County. Here at the Northern Wyoming News we are sponsoring that our elected officials refused to leave a comment on the website www. Sometimes staff personnel in govern- our third annual Silver Tree for Seniors. We have about 35 lead responsibly. cityofworland.org. ment agencies, be they city, county, seniors from the Worland community who could use a little I cannot say that I am surprised In the same article it was noted state, or national, must step forward help to make their Christmas bright. Come pick up a bell with Dr. Zimmerman’s actions. It is that the county is assessing liquidated outside their comfort zone to cause an and return the gift to the Northern Wyoming News by Dec. what most of us would expect from damages in the amount of $8,228.22 agency to take responsible actions, es- 15. The gifts will be delivered to the Worland Senior Center a former United States Marine Corp against 71 Construction for finishing a pecially when elected officials are too for specific distribution to the seniors, and to the Worland Medic. project four days late! Several decades fearful to intelligently lead. Healthcare and Rehabilitation to the residents on the list. Richard (Dick) Kroger ago the federal courts ruled that liqui- The January 2020 issue of The And if those opportunities are not where you feel led to Worland give, consider one of the many groups that usually seek funding from the Festival of Trees, including, but not limit- ed to the Worland Community Center Complex, VFW 3093 Auxiliary, D.A.R.E., Search and Rescue, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Worland Fire Department, Washakie County 4-H, Worland Community Garden, Worland Middle School Choices That Matter, Elks Diaper Bank, Children’s Re- source Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Washakie Hospital Foundation, Washakie Museum & Cultural Center, Ameri- can Legion, Washakie County Youth Alternatives, Worland Youth Learning Center, Big Horn Enterprises, Wyoming Championship BBQ & Bluegrass Festival, Washakie Coun- ty Special Olympics, O.W.L. Unlimited, Washakie County Library System, Friends of Ten Sleep Library, Friends of Washakie County Library, Crisis Prevention and Response Center, Bighorn Enterprises and Worland Aquatic Center. There is also the Worland and Ten Sleep Senior Centers who look to be having budget cuts due to the downturn in the economy. And don’t forget helping our furry friends at New Hope Humane Society, money, food or newspapers are appreciated. Everywhere you look there are opportunities to give locally to help someone you know, a neighbor, a co-worker, a fellow resident or even a stranger in your community. In Thermopolis there is the Thermopolis Senior Center and the People For People program. Many of these organizations hold fundraisers to help keep the services they provide going but in a year of the COVID-19 pandemic and many health restrictions fund- raisers have been canceled or scaled back. By helping local charities you are helping your commu- nity. So, if you are looking to give this Christmas, look to give locally first, the need here is just as great or greater as the many national and global charities that have money to Three notable Wyoming personalities advertise on television or send you free gifts in the mail. ack in November 2015, I wrote connection with the 1902 killing of Tom Gor- You may not get a free “gift” when you give locally but you a column about three distinctive man by his brother, Jim. This was a complicat- will be blessed by knowing you helped your neighbor have a people I’d written about in one ed event in which Jim apparently fell in love merrier Christmas. B book or another, folks from Wyoming who with his older brother’s beautiful wife, Maggie, Karla Pomeroy were caught up in the fight for law and and ended up killing Tom with a hatchet. At order back in the late 19th and early 20th first Big Horn County charged both Jim and Letter to the Editor Policy centuries. And at the end of that column, I Maggie, but then withdrew the complaint mentioned three other people, all lawyers, against Maggie when she agreed to testify Letters to the editor are encouraged. Letters should be timely, brief (350 who were also characters “with sharp per- against Jim. Jim was first convicted of man- words or less) and contain no libelous statements. Letters must be in ref- erence to an item that has been published in the Northern Wyoming News sonalities” — Willis Van Devanter, Walter slaughter (carrying a 20-year prison sentence), during the past 2 editions, or be of local public interest. As always the Stoll, and E. E. Enterline. I then said “these asked for a new trial and was given one, and Northern Wyoming News reserves the right to edit or reject any letter for three played especially significant rules in then was convicted of first degree murder brevity, content and/or clarity. Letter writers are limited to two letters per the great Wyoming struggle for law and (carrying a death penalty). Enterline’s client month or one every two weeks. Anonymous letters will never be consid- ered for publication. The Northern Wyoming News will not publish political order. But I’ve run out of space for now. May John Davis wasn’t happy about the manslaughter convic- endorsement letters or political campaign letters or letters that single out visit them later.” tion and asked for a new trial. The prosecution commercial businesses for praise, thanks or criticism unless that informa- I ran across this old column the other day, and, recogniz- readily agreed and in the ensuing trial Jim Gorman was tion is related to an issue of public interest. We off er a forum of expres- ing my very tardy inaction, decided to make that visit now. convicted of first degree murder, which carried an automatic sions of thanks through paid advertising. All letters must be signed and include complete contact information. Deadline for all letters is noon on Willis Van Devanter and Walter Stoll first came to my death penalty. Enterline appealed (an appeal I think was Monday. Letters can be dropped off at the offi ce, mailed to P.O. Box 508, attention in connection with the 1892 . meritorious), and I read all the briefs he drafted. They were Worland, WY 82401 or emailed to [email protected]. Van Devanter was the attorney for the big cattlemen, who concise and persuasive; the man obviously had a gift for the staged an invasion of Johnson County with 50 armed men, effective use of the language. Before the appeal could be killed two Johnson County men, but were then surrounded heard, however, a mob raided the Big Horn County jail and and captured by a huge posse. Enter Willis Van Devanter. killed Gorman and two other men (one a deputy sheriff). He was a force of nature. Through superior lawyering, he got Enterline had a long career, brilliantly acting as a pros- all his clients off, though they were all obviously guilty of ecuting attorney in the 1909 Spring Creek Raid cases, and first degree murder. Then he managed, for a little while, to ending up in Casper. He served as the president of the Wyo- stave off the consequences of the November 1892 landslide ming State Bar Association from 1931 to 1933. against the Republican Party (the invaders were associated The third man I mentioned was Walter Stoll, the Lara- Serving the Big Horn Basin since 1905 with Wyoming Republicans and Wyoming voters were angry mie County (Cheyenne) attorney, who was the prosecuting www.wyodaily.com about the invasion). attorney in the 1902 case of State v. . Horn was Postal Permit - (USPS 396-320) Online Subscription - 12 months $48.00 Of course, I didn’t agree with the results Van Devanter supported by a number of big cattlemen, who procured some Mail Delivery Subscription Rates 201 N. 8th St. Phone 347-3241 In Wyoming wrought – from my extensive research about the Johnson of the best attorneys in the state for him. There were six P.O. Box 508 Worland, Wyoming 82401 3 Months $12.00 6 Months $24.00 County War I was persuaded that the liberation of the big or seven good lawyers representing the defendant Horn, KARLA POMEROY, Editor/General Manager 12 Months $48.00 cattlemen was an exercise in getting away with murder. but the whole batch weren’t as good as one Walter Stoll. I JANE ELLIOTT, Production Manager Outside of Wyoming 3 Months $15.00 But that wasn’t Van Devanter’s problem; his responsibility read the long 700-page transcript of the two week-long trial Offi cial Newspaper of 6 Months $29.00 was to use all legal means to benefit his clients, and boy, did as part of the investigation for my book “The Trial of Tom Washakie County, Wyoming, 12 Months $58.00 Worland Postmaster: Send address changes to: he ever. Van Devanter later went on to be appointed to the Horn,” and was mightily impressed by Stoll. He won a case Periodical Postage Paid Northern Wyoming News United States Supreme Court, the only Wyoming lawyer that had been impossible to win in previous years whenever at Worland, Wyoming Post Offi ce P.O. Box 508, Worland, Wyoming 82401 Wyoming News Exchange to so serve. Walter Stoll was involved here, as Van Devant- one of the big cattlemen’s guns got into trouble. Wyoming Press Association er put together a “dream team,” apparently adding Stoll A mighty step forward for law and order in Wyoming. Published Thursday mornings by Grand Teton News. Inc. because he was such an obvious talent. More about Stoll a John Davis was raised in Worland, graduating from W. H. 0(0%(5 Single Copy $1.00 little later. S. in 1961. John began practicing law here in 1973 and is $ZDUGZLQQLQJ1HZVSDSHU I first encountered Sheridan attorney E. E. Enterline in retired. He is the author of several books.