Competitors in the Pole Pedal Paddle race are used to persevering: Through spring snow squalls that seem to hit with some regularity, through logistical challenges of managing gear for four or five different sports, through the typically stiff Wyoming wind on the cycling and river legs in particular.
In 2020, participants were hit with two additional Ps: pandemic. Postponed.
After a year of coping with COVID-19, this week the community welcomes back the PPP, a celebration of Jackson Holeâs athletic traditions and as much a rite of spring as baseballâs Opening Day or the arrival of the Easter Bunny.
Longtime Wilson resident Ronald S. Novak died Jan. 24 after living valiantly for many years with Parkinsonâs and Lewy Body Disease. He was 82. His family provided the following.
Ron was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1938 and graduated from M.I.T. in civil engineering. He served in the U.S. Army and volunteered for paratrooper training. He parachuted five times at Fort Benning and never did it again. Ron worked in Montana for one year and then married Rose in 1962, and after extended travel in Europe, they settled in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. He worked in a family business that did extensive major construction work in New York City and the surrounding area. They had two daughters, Mara and Leila. He played tennis, skied, worked out, and ran in two New York Marathons.
Outfitters and river access advocates are worried about a budget decision to furlough a longtime county employee who coordinated commercial use of the Snake River between Wilson and South Park boat ramps.
Snake River Angler owner Will Dornan was incredulous at the decision to furlough Mike Estes, a recreation program coordinator who has worked for Teton County for 24 years. Make that 28, if his time spent as a Teton County Search and Rescue volunteer is included.
âYou just got rid of your very, very best,â Dornan said.
Since 2017 Estes has coordinated commercial use of the county-administered stretch of the Snake River, overseeing the river management program, which was revised and made final in 2018. Dornan didnât originally want the program, and, specifically, the permits that came with it. But he said Estes managed it well, and he was concerned about letting him go.