September 12th- 15th - traveling with mom

This is Katie. Mom and I spent the end of this week on the eastern side of the state. We started driving from Torrington, went to Lusk, Newcastle, Sundance, Wright, Gillette, and down to Casper. It was a very busy schedule and we had a lot of time in the car! It was nice to catch up on some work or sleep while the other person was driving, and also to get to know those communities better.

We walked around downtown Lusk with the Mayor - here is a picture of Mom and Mayor Pier. It was interesting to hear him talk about how important the state funding is to Lusk because they do not have a large tax base. He was pleased to show us that there are less vacant buildings then a few years ago. After the tour we enjoyed hot roast beef sandwiches at the senior's center.

In Newcastle, we went first to the Weston County Health Services. The director gave us a tour and was doing some remodeling to add onto the building for nursing home services. He was thankful for the money the State Loan and Investment Board gave for the remodeling.

The next morning we visited the Weston County School District. The superintendent gave us a tour of the schools in the county. It brought back some memories of myself in school! As we were going from class to class and learning about the programs one of the 5th grade classes stopped us. They asked if we would take questions for their monthly school newspaper. I was surprised when they wanted to ask me questions as well as Mom. They asked questions like: "Where is the governor today?" "What is it like to be the governor's daughter?" "Do you live in a house with an elevator?" "What do you do as first lady?" After answering, no we do not have an elevator and Mom answered about her volunteer work as first lady, one of the most surprising questions was from a little boy who asked, "Why do kids drink alcohol?" They were all about 9-10 years old and already asking about drinking alcohol! Mom responded asking "Why do you guys think kids drink alcohol?" They responded with because kids think its cool or their friends do it, or because it is fun. It was alarming to know that this was already on their mind but I couldn't help but think of mom's underage drinking initiative, which targets kids from 9-15 years old. After the questions and answers the teacher asked for some underage drinking literature from Mom. We referred her to the website where people can order materials for free. Mom and I both enjoyed visiting the schools and interacting with the kids.

In Gillette, we went to the early childcare and development center. We first had a meeting where we learned about their programs and facility. After that we went into the 'Rascals' room where the children were singing and dancing. Here is a picture of Mom reading to them. After she read two books, they all ran over to see the pictures closer and discovered the pretty blue beads that hung down from her glasses.

After the 'Rascals' room we went to the 'Cotton Tails' room and chatted with the more children. They even made her a craft painting of a fall tree using their hands and glitter. A few thoughts came to me while we were at the childcare center. One is that child care is in high demand because they had so many children on the waiting list. It also made me think about the parents that had the option to work because their children were being taking care of during the day. It also made me think how healthy it was for the kids to be interacting with other children. It was a really neat facility to tour.

That evening we went to the Gillette Community College Campus. I have never been to that college before and it was a very nice building. We were there to talk about the importance of voting to students. Mom first talked about how it is important to get involved and one vote could win or lose an election, and she also reminded people that there is one thing in your life that no one has to know about, and that is your vote.

I brought pamphlets that tell where students can find their voting ward and we gave them information on how to register to vote. I spoke about how we are a generation that has to deal with the decisions that are being made today and we might as well get our voice heard now. For me it is so frustrating because I will talk to my own college friends and they will ask, "What's a primary?" or "Why is campaigning so much work for your family?" It's like my generation has tuned out of politics because we don't think we matter in it or we have higher priorities like school, keeping up with our friends, or other activities. I was so glad to talk to college classes about politics and the democratic process. I asked them how many of them have voted and not too many hands went up. Next I asked okay so how many of you have complained about government or our country? Then most of the hands went up! I emphasized that the best communication device to get their concerns addressed is through their vote.

Mom also talked about how we need to be actively talking to our legislators and elected officials because they represent us. She relayed the fact that she could not keep custody of her son from her first marriage because there wasn't any childcare available and she was a law student without a meaningful income. It was devastating to her that because she did not have a degree or a job she could not raise her own child. One of the girls in the class raised her hand and said that hit home for her because she has an infant child and she needs the childcare services. We talked about how government DOES affect our lives in some way or another through taxes, availability of housing, finding a job, getting a decent education, or even decent childcare.

I was so glad that the students were participating and asking questions. We heard things like, "Well I don't vote because I don't know who the candidates are and I don't want to vote for the wrong person." We gave examples of venues of learning about the issues and the candidates by reading the newspaper, listening to the radio, or going to a political debate. We also heard, "Well my issue does not matter to the government." We said that your representative has to listen to you and you can fill in the blank on the issue. You can complain about a street lamp that has gone out and you will be directed to the city government. You can ask and if they can't help you, they will direct you to the proper place that will address your concern. It was so nice to have a discussion with students and express that they CAN and SHOULD be involved in the democratic process. It seemed like they were listening because they were participating at least!

Overall we had a great trip around the state. We enjoyed our times in Wright and Sundance as well.  In Wright we walked around businesses and ate lunch at the mall. I have never seen the area where the tornado hit so it was interesting to see that subdivision. Now you can barely tell that there was such devastation. It was nice that the mayor of Wright joined us for lunch and gave such a great recommendation. My mom is still wishing for another Coney dog at the Killian's Koneys that came here from Michigan!

In Sundance we stopped by the paper and checked out the vintage papers from over a century ago! While we were there John Shoffstal was kind enough to take us around town to meet local people. I like the Sundance community and think it is one of the hidden beauties in Wyoming. On our way back down to Cheyenne we stopped at the Casper Fire Fighter Appreciation Event. It was nice to see such a great turn out for the event and the strong local support for the firefighters that helped protect peoples homes and the community of Casper.