SWEETWATER COUNTY The Sweetwater County Commissioners unanimously voted 3-0 to approve 16 Community Charitable Relief Program Grant agreements during their meeting Tuesday morning.
Commissioners Jeff Smith and Lauren Schoenfeld were absent from the meeting, while Chairman Randy Wendling, and Commissioners Roy Lloyd and Mary Thoman voted to approve the agreements.
Of the agreements, 15 separate organizations will be reimbursed for lost revenue experienced during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, totaling over $736,800. United Way of Southwest Wyoming applied for both rounds of funding for different revenue losses, bringing the number of grant agreements to 16.
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The Charitable Organization Relief Program is a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funded program being provided to charitable and non-profit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
SWEETWATER COUNTY Ambulance service funding in Sweetwater County has become difficult, and if Rock Springs and Green River do not start chipping in, Sweetwater Medics will no longer respond to 911 calls by the end of the month.
The Sweetwater County Commissioners announced in December 2020 they would no longer be able to fund ambulance services without help from the cities. The Commissioners said they are terminating the current service contracts and all associated funding with Sweetwater Medics and Castle Rock Ambulance Service on March 31, 2021.
In January, the Commissioners met with the cities and towns in Sweetwater County and established a committee to explore solutions for funding ambulance services. Commissioner Jeff Smith said that committee is hard at work, but a longterm solution has still not been found at this point.
SWEETWATER COUNTY Sweetwater County Fire Warden Mike Bournazian provided a 2020 fire year briefing to the Sweetwater County Commissioners on Tuesday, and was also approved in a 3-2 vote to hire 14 seasonal firefighters.
Bournazian said the Sweetwater County Fire Department responded to 100 calls in 2020, 50 of which were wildland fires.
The largest fire the department worked on was the Richard Mountain Fire, which was a lightning-caused fire that burned into Utah. The Sweetwater County Fire Department worked on this fire for about five to seven days. While lightning is the biggest threat for fires in the county, Bournazian said human-caused fires went up this year in Sweetwater County.
FARSON A new exhibit from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum is now on display at the Eden Valley Community Center in Farson.
“Celebrating Historic Eden Valley” provides vivid images of early life in the Farson-Eden area, including photographs of the Eden Valley Hotel, the first school bus in the valley, the old Whitehair Hall, and members of the Farson-Eden Women’s Progress Club. Local residents will recognize many of their ancestral family and friends in the exhibit.
Settlement of Eden Valley began in 1907 as a result of the Carey Act. Also known as the Federal Desert Land Act, this legislation was introduced in Congress by Senator Joseph Carey of Wyoming.