PINEDALE – While the extended discussion on the Jackson Fork Ranch during the Sublette County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Dec. 7 took up the majority of the public’s attention, it was only one significant portion of a meeting that spanned from a 9 a.m. start to a 4:33 p.m. adjournment.

Overall, it was a day of gravity. The meeting started with a moment of silence out of respect for the lives lost and altered by attacks at Pearl Harbor 80 years earlier and the afternoon discussion on the Jackson Fork Ranch rezoning brought the weight of a community and ramifications for the future. Somewhere among the discussion came the time for photos and pride.

The Sublette Centennial Committee presented this board of commissioners with a commemorative Henry .30-30 lever-action 24k gold-plated rifle to celebrate Sublette County’s 100-year anniversary. The rifle is etched with wildlife and landscaping from the county on one side of the walnut buttstock and art commemorating westward migration on the other. The etched gold on the receiver commemorates the cattlemen, mountain men and fur trade that founded the county and the oil and gas industry that drives much of its economy.

Only 25 commemorative rifles were made. The Centennial Committee chose No. 23 to present to the commissioners.

The rifle has been secured with a hammerlock out of safety concerns and will be kept in a shadowbox for display in the county commissioners’ room inside the Sublette County Courthouse.

Union talks

Tony Kelly of Union Wireless came before the board of commissioners to talk about fiber-optic cable and to clear the air. He said there are no plans of selling the company, following the death of his grandfather earlier this year. Kelly said the company is more than a cash crop, cited the history Union had in the area and said he was not for sale.

In an update, Union Wireless officials said they were about a third of the way through installing cables through Pinedale town limits. They hope to finish installing cables throughout all the towns of Sublette County within the next two years. Kelly said this is the future and it will ensure quality connection among Sublette citizens.

Union is seeking grants and federal funds to install fiber optic faster in the county and asked for commissioners to write an approval letter. Union officials asked all three towns in the county to sign approval letters as well.

Commissioners conditionally supported Union’s efforts in hopes of furthering a chance to attain those grants and could sign a letter at their upcoming meeting on Dec. 21. 

Other items

• Commissioners agreed to post job applications for the county’s director of information technology opening on national websites. County administrator Matt Gaffney also hosted a conference call with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, where commissioners ultimately decided not to accept a county sanitary applicant until the county receives an updated MOU from the state department of agriculture. Commissioners agreed with Gaffney and signed an MOU to be part of the Bureau of Land Management Cooperating Agency for sagebrush focal areas, so the county would have a seat at the table when decisions would be made.
• Deputy county attorney Clayton Melinkovich said he would get in touch with counsel for the Sublette County Hospital District to work out some final items on delegation agreements. SCHD administrator Dave Doorn said he felt the district was moving closer to finishing the loan process and that he felt “very strongly” the district will complete the process.
• Commissioners agreed to appoint Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office as special prosecutor at the suggestion of county attorney Mike Crosson. A Sublette County Attorney’s Office employee received a citation and it would be a conflict of interest for the local attorney’s office to be involved.
• Commissioners heard an update on redistricting from Rep. Albert Sommers, filled a golf committee vacancy and approved bonds, payroll and accounts payable without discussion or questions.