May 12Canine community policingThe Cheyenne Police Department’s best ambassadors to the community may not be human. They have four legs. They can bark, chase, search, find and bite when necessary. The CPD’s four canine officers have a stealth advantage that the department’s array of 100-plus officers cannot hope to top: They are cute…Canine5 min readCanine5 min read
Apr 25Roadside PolicingImagine you have just been pulled over by the police for a traffic infraction. A typical law-abiding citizen, you are unaware of the safety tactics officers may use in these situations. As we learned during a recent class of the Cheyenne Citizens’ Police Academy, an officer may temporarily blind you…Police3 min readPolice3 min read
Apr 1Correctly Spelling ‘Evaporation’ Nets Cooper Smith a Trip to Scripps National Spelling BeeROCK SPRINGS — Cooper Smith on Saturday afternoon won the opportunity to represent Wyoming in a closely watched national spelling contest. The sixth-grade student from Carbon County correctly spelled the word “evaporation” in the ninth orals round of the 2023 Wyoming State Spelling Bee. This means that Smith, who is…Wyoming6 min readWyoming6 min read
Mar 20SRO city meeting told shelter and Cheyenne might extend their dealIt was again standing room only, at another City Council hearing that included discussion on safeguarding stray pets, this afternoon at the Municipal Building. Many from the community and the Cheyenne Animal Shelter turned out. They weighed in on whether the city should move its contract from CAS to its…Pets5 min readPets5 min read
Mar 2End of the LineIt was a strange day on the railroad — and not even a long day, either. Letting me go did not take long, and I am appreciative of that fact. It was handled with a decent amount of tact, by people I like. That helps immensely. I received a call…6 min read6 min read
Feb 26Extra passengerIt was an interesting day on the railroad, by far the most eventful for me yet. It started early in the morning, as many work trips do these days. We went out to our train, which had been sitting there unoccupied. We got things turned on and brakes turned off…Mental Health5 min readMental Health5 min read
Feb 7Up all night — and all dayRailroad time simply does not move like regular clock time. In so many ways, and for so many reasons. Freight railroads, at least in my extremely limited experience, do not really operate according to any predictable schedule. While they do actually have schedules (not to mention timetables and many other…Productivity3 min readProductivity3 min read
Jan 26I’m a goner for ‘Gone Girl’Both of them surely deserve each other. That is the natural takeaway of this completely delightful and addicting novel by Gillian Flynn. The husband and wife protagonists Amy and Nick inspire very little sympathy by the end. I can’t believe it took me all this time to finally read this…Gillian Flynn4 min readGillian Flynn4 min read
Jan 13A graduation of sortsYesterday felt like a small milestone at work. Every member of our class of half a dozen conductors in training, plus even me, has completed our training. What this means is that we will now be working on the railroad without a partner-trainer conductor who knows their stuff inside and…Work Life Balance3 min readWork Life Balance3 min read
Dec 26, 2022Review of ‘Guncle’This is one of the most fun books I have read in a while. Even among works of fiction, it just has a certain vitality to it. I think we can credit the main character, Patrick, for that. This is a nice twist on a tale of kids losing one…Books2 min readBooks2 min read
