by Bob Bonnar
Newcastle News Letter Journal
October 12, 2006

Only two weeks after his wife and daughter made their way through Newcastle and heard from residents about concerns they have with state government, Governor Dave Freudenthal paid his own visit to the community to speak with voters firsthand.

One of the first stops on the governor's journey through Newcastle was at the local refinery, where issues regarding the safety of the plant's operation have cropped up repeatedly in recent years.

"You still have some folks here who are incredibly angry about the refinery," Freudenthal said.

However, the governor said he believes oversight of the refinery and its operation is being properly handled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and other regulatory agencies charged with ensuring that the plant is not posing unnecessary dangers to the community.

"I don't buy the broad indictment on DEQ, EPA and the refinery being involved in some plot," he said emphatically.
Freudenthal also spoke to residents about other issues, and encouraged voters to speak to their legislators about a number of them, including the amount of money that trickles from state coffers to the communities of Wyoming.
"I heard a lot about wanting more money for cities and counties. I wanted more, and didn't get it," he told the News Letter Journal.

Freudenthal also spoke about the hospital and manor, and expressed pleasure over the remodeling and construction that is going on there right now. A significant portion of the work is being funded by a state grant.

He visited the Weston County Senior Services Center, and although he wasn't able to stay for lunch, he did spend some time talking to people who use the center.

"We talked about the progress on the living spaces next door," he reported, noting that he is happy to see things going well on that front. He said that finding money for such entities is something he places a great deal of importance on.

"We're committed to try to get them more funding," Freudenthal promised.

He said that voters at the Center also expressed gratification for the repeal of the food sales tax by last year's state legislature, a measure that Freudenthal championed.

"They were really quite positive about that," he reported.