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Strong thunderstorm tracked in rural Natrona County

By Oil City Staff

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May 16

(Gregory Hirst)

CASPER, Wyo. — The National Weather Service was tracking a strong thunderstorm seven miles northwest of Goldeneye Reservoir, or 30 miles northwest of Casper, moving northeast at 35 mph, around 6:49 p.m.

Winds in excess of 40 mph and half-inch hail are advised.

“This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of northeastern Natrona County,” the NWS said. This includes Interstate 25 between mile markers 211 and 228.

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The evening before Americans lit up the sky with firework displays in celebration of Independence Day, Mother Nature provided a show of her own.

“It looked like Stranger Things!” Tareyn Lauderdale Onderko commented.

Oil City News captured some of the lightning storm as it moved south over Casper Mountain on Sunday, July 3. Readers submitted some photos as well.

Marisela Moreno already runs the successful El Burro Loco, a #Casper Mexican restaurant that she helped her parents open in 2019 and that she now has full ownership of.

Sensing a growing demand for food trucks, she decided to start one of her own. But rather than simply put El Burro Loco on wheels, she decided to take an alternate route.

“I wanted to make it different, pretty much make it El Burro’s competition,” she said. That meant looking to other regions of Mexico’s vast culinary scene for influence.

That’s how Antojitos Shiwas was born, which began serving food over the past couple weeks in a soft opening to work out its process.

Read the full story at OilCity.News!

A convoy carrying the body of fallen #Wyoming #Marine Cpl. Seth Rasmuson was met at the Hat Six and Beverly Street Overpasses over Interstate 25 Monday by first responders, citizens and members of the Wyoming Patriot Guard Riders.

More Patriot Guard members and law enforcement vehicles joined the convoy in #Casper on its way to Rasmuson’s hometown in Buffalo, where he will be buried. Rasmuson was among the five Marines killed on June 8 after an Osprey aircraft crashed in southern California.

“They stood for us, so we’re standing for them” is the motto of the Patriot Guard, members told Oil City at the Hat Six Overpass.

A fund at Platte Valley Bank has been established for a community anxious replace the stolen lawnmowers two Evansville boys were using to mow the yards of elderly, disabled, and veteran members of the town.

Orion, 8, and Draco, 10 were providing the service for free as part of the 50 Yard Challenge launched by the national Raisng Men and Women Lawn Care Service Campaign. The boys’ father, Tim Roundtree, said he and his wife Kelsey encouraged them to take on the challenge to instill the life skills of selfless giving.

Their only payment has been the occasional cookies and soda by grateful community members. Every 10 lawns they mow, they get a shirt from the national program, and if they complete the 50 Lawn Challenge this summer, they’ll get a visit from the program’s founder, Tim said. They were ready to mow lawn number 13 when the two Ryobi lawnmowers, bought new a month ago and valued at $300 each, went missing Monday.

Police say they were stolen from the 500 block of Second Street sometime after 10 p.m. Sunday.

The boys are taking the theft in stride, even challenging the thieves to use their illicit gain to carry on the mission of mowing lawns for free, Tim said.

Read the full story at OilCity.News.

Around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, #Casper’s #amateurradio club was still in the thick of its annual Field Day session, which began at noon the previous day at the #NatronaCounty Fairgrounds.

”We’re a little road-weary,” joked Tate Belden, an officer of the club, sitting outside with several other members.

The goal, which is the same at every Field Day, is to make contact with as many other operators as possible throughout the country and even internationally. The principle of amateur, or “ham,” radio is to communicate without using the Internet, or really any network besides radio waves.

#Natrona County firefighters helped a woman back to safety this morning after she was found stuck on an edge of a 30-foot drop off on the north side of Independence Rock.

The woman had been attempting to find her way down, the Natrona County Fire District reported.

“Emergency personnel climbed to the area above the patient, created a lowering/raising rope system and dropped down to the patient,” the fire district reported. “The patient was placed into a harness, helmet and gloves and raised back up to the edge safely to the rest of the rescue crew.”

“The outcome of this incident was a positive one, which we are all thankful for. With that being said, we would like to remind our residents and visitors to think about your safety, always, when recreating in our county. Whether it’s hiking the trails, swimming in water, climbing on rocks, going off-roading and on; we want you to get home safe and sound,” the fire district said.

(Photos from #NatronaCounty Fire District)

A multitude of fandoms converged at the Ford Wyoming Center Friday and Saturday for #Casper’s fourth annual #Comic-Con. The event will continue on Sunday, lasting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

#Cosplayers showed off their creations, and many different vendors offered toys, comics, art and other collectibles at booths. Oil City Axe Company offered an axe-throwing activity in a caged booth, hosted by a pirate. Patrons could also play laser tag.

Several panels were hosted at the event. Saturday’s all pertained to cosplay, and Sunday’s will include both cosplay topics and collectible investing.

More than 55 #lemonade stands opened in #Casper on Saturday, manned by #LemonadeDay’s young entrepreneurs.

This is the eighth annual Lemonade Day. Each year, Hilltop Bank sponsors an opportunity for kids to practice entrepreneurial skills; participating kids follow a 14-step process to develop their stands, and get to keep 100% of their earned profits.

Candidates for three #Wyoming House and Senate seats met for a forum Wednesday at Washington Park, differing most notably on issues surrounding the state government’s role in developing industries and whether the state had a legal Constitutional basis for laying claim to the lands and minerals.

The forum is part of the Politics in the Park series being held every Wednesday at Washington Park, hosted by the #NatronaCounty #Republican Women. Many candidates for local and state offices attend each week. Social hour begins at 4:30 p.m. and the forum begins at 5:30 p.m.

#Casper

A #Casper angler has literally outdone himself, breaking a #Wyoming fishing record he set in 2021, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said Thursday.

Christopher Bobo, 34, caught a 19.5-inch longnose sucker out of the North Platte River in May, 1.5 inches longer than the longnose sucker he caught out of the same stretch of river in May 2021. The previous record to his 2021 catch was set in 1998, according to Game and Fish.

Bobo’s 2022 record-breaking catch was a fish that weighed 2 pounds, 4.5 ounces and had a girth of 9.25 inches. While he broke the record for longnose sucker, Bobo was fishing with a worm with the aim of landing trout, according to Game and Fish.

Casper’s been known as the “Oil City” since the beginning. Naturally, Casper’s fossil fuel industry has a deep connection to automobile culture.

Countless images in the Casper College Western History Center’s archives have automobiles directly and indirectly featured. We decided to gather some of them together for a ride down memory lane.

Photos courtesy of the #Casper College Western History Center.

Eight-year-old Emma Elkins can’t wait to go camping with her family. She’s excited to fish, hike, and make s’mores by the campfire.

The fact that she’s able to walk, much less camp like a champ, is something her dad describes as a miracle. She was born in trauma due to a nuchal cord, said her dad Derek Elkins.

Make-A-Wish Wyoming director of development Nicole Tholson said her wish was in progress for a few months before it came together. Smith RV general manager Cassidy Fitzpatrick says this is the third time they’ve worked with #Make-A-Wish #Wyoming to make a wish come true.

The family is taking Emma to the Shriner’s Hospital in Salt Lake for more treatment, but after that they hope to make their first trip in their new camper.

#Casper

Hundreds gathered Tuesday on #CasperMountain to celebrate the longest day of the year and the imaginative legacy of #NealForsling, the homesteader and storyteller who built Crimson Dawn.

“Neal was a brave and independent woman who built a monument to her love of the area,” said Jessie Bell. She portrays the Black Witch, one of Neal’s enduring cast of characters.

The annual celebration began in 1931, and attending is a tradition three or four generations deep for some families, according to Crimson Dawn Association Director Rebecca Hunt. She first attended the festival as a ten-month old baby, and she’s carried on the lead storytelling role as Neal’s stand-in for 31 years.

#casper

The director of the Platte River Trails Trust, an organization that has created the Tate Pumphouse, the whitewater park along the North Platte River and trails around the #Casper area, has been honored with an award from the #Wyoming Community Foundation.

Angela Emery, executive director of the Platte River Trails Trust, was presented with the Tony Cate Prize for Nonprofit Leadership at the Wyoming Nonprofit Conference, the Wyoming Community Foundation said on June 17. The prize is named after H.H. “Tony” Cate Jr., who was a generous philanthropist who donated a significant endowment from his estate to the Wyoming Community Foundation.

Each year, the award is presented to a resident of Natrona or Converse County who has demonstrated a history of outstanding organizational leadership in the nonprofit sector.

#NatronaCounty law enforcement officers will be giving $5,847 to #SpecialOlympics #Wyoming following their Tip-A-Cop fundraiser last week.

From Tuesday, June 14, to Thursday, June 16, local officers were stationed at Texas Roadhouse Restaurant in Evansville to collect funds in which 100% of the proceeds go to support Special Olympics Wyoming.

The event is part of the continual support law enforcement gives to #SpecialOlympicsWyoming, including by joining athletes annually in carrying the Flame of Hope to the Opening Ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions and State and National Games.

(Photos courtesy Natrona County Sheriff's Office)

The 93rd annual Midsummer’s Eve celebration will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, at Crimson Dawn, 1620 Crimson Dawn Road on #CasperMountain.

Rebecca Weaver Hunt, PhD, has been the event’s storyteller for 31 years and will again bring the Crimson Dawn characters created by Neal Forsling to life during Tuesday’s summer #solstice celebration.

Hunt is now seeking someone she can train to become the next storyteller to keep the tradition alive.

Until an apprentice can be found, Hunt will remain the storyteller and is encouraging people to come participate in the celebration on Tuesday.

#Casper #CasperWyoming #Wyoming

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