October 2017 Interchange

Interchange October 2017

Planning - Programming

Insight into WYDOTs Programming Program

Letters Thank you WYDOT

WYDOT, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Mike Kurz for taking a few minutes to share his knowledge and experience to help me get pointed in the right direction during a project start up here at one of Wyoming’s Trona mines.

I am a process controls technician at Solvay Chemicals near Green River. My job requires me to update technologies and keep current with the ever-changing world in which we live and work. This requires the frequent reading and comprehending of technical manuals.

Usually, if there are questions or concerns about an instrument we are introducing into our plant, we have a factory engineer or a vendor to fall back upon for technical assistance. In this instance, the vendor provided a product and connection, but was unable to provide expertise into the integration of their product into our control system. I really needed to talk with someone with an IT background.

We have IT professionals here on site, and this project was going out of their level of expertise as well. We have corporate IT professionals within the corporation in Belgium, but their solution was a link to the manual, which I already had. I was frustrated and pretty much at a stand still.

I have known Ken Keel for many years and have always known him to be an excellent reference for all things technical.

He referred me to talk to Mike Kurz.

Part of the selling point for these devices was the fact that they are used everywhere, and “WYDOT uses them all over.” In a matter of minutes, Mike had informed me of a few basics for the connection and mentioned something I had completely overlooked, which ended up being the starting point I could not find.

It is good to know that with a little

introduction, two very different, yet very similar departments can talk and solve problems.

I generally do not get hung up on problems like this, but it is good to know that when something like this happens, there are other people out there who are able to help.

Patrick Surline Senior Process Control Technician Solvay Chemicals

WYDOT family is generous beyond words Dear WYDOT family, I would like to extend a most genuine thanks to all those who helped support me during this trying time.

Your heartfelt concern, thoughts and donated time were greatly appreciated.

Your kinds words and generosity are something I will never forget. I can’t begin to thank you enough.

Sincerely, Ken Jimenez

WYDOT Family, My boys and I would like to extend our deepest thanks to all those who helped support us during this trying time. Your heartfelt concern and prayers were most appreciated. Your kind words and compassion were a great comfort in this time of grief.

Thank you for being a light during a dark and difficult time. We have truly discovered the kindness of others. We are overwhelmed by the flood of cards, flowers, phone calls and donations. We cannot begin to thank you enough.

Your kindness will never be forgotten.

Eric Loveland and family

Put a stop to distracted driving.

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October 2017

Interchange

Vol. 45, Issue 10

Interchange is published for employees of the Wyoming Department of Transportation by its Public Affairs Office and a number of field correspondents.

Interchange invites submissions from all employees. Please send them to either your district correspondents or to: Carlie Van Winkle, Interchange editor, 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, Wyoming, 82009-3340.

The Public Affairs Office may also be contacted by phoning (307) 777-4165 or sending email to carlie.vanwinkle@wyo.gov

Staff WYDOT Director: William T. Panos

Public Affairs Manager: Doug McGee

Editor: Carlie Van Winkle

Contributors: Aimee Inama J.L. O’Brien Carlie Van Winkle Matt Murphy Jeff Goetz Stephanie Harsha Ronda Holwell Cody Beers Sgt. Kyle McKay

Public Affairs Public Affairs Public Affairs District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 Patrol

Photography: Rick Carpenter

Public Affairs

Be sure to check out the online version of Interchange at http://issuu.com/wydot.pao or click on the link found on the employee’s internal website home page.

A WYDOT PUBLICATION

Contents

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Features 8 Planning - Programming Insight into the Programming Program

11 G. Clyde Larsen Award District 4 employee awarded for heroism while on duty

11 License plate recycling WYDOT encourages reuse of aluminum plates

12 Two WHP K-9s retire

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Veteran K-9s retire with 17 years combined service

Also in this issue Letters.........................................................................................2 District briefs.............................................................................4 By the Numbers.....................................................................12

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Aeronautics..............................................................................13 District news...........................................................................14 Training.....................................................................................17 Awards......................................................................................18 Passings....................................................................................18 Extra Mile Awards..................................................................18 WTDEA......................................................................................19 Outdoors................................................................................. 20 Break Time.............................................................................. 23

On the cover:

WYO 70 near Dixon was listed on the 2017-2018 STIP for general maintenance.

Photo: Rick Carpenter

Kindly recycle this publication after reading.

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District Briefs

HQ

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n $825,010 to S&L Industrial, of Cow-

ley, to install signs on curved roads in various locations statewide by Oct. 31, 2018;

Photo: Rick Carpenter

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Transportation will reconstruct ​ two miles of WYO 789 (North Federal Boulevard) in Riverton.

The Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded S&S Builders LLC, of Gillette, a $13.9 million contract for the work at its meeting in September. The commission awarded that and 10 other contracts totaling $30.3 million.

WYO 789 is a state road that runs through Riverton in Fremont County. WYDOT is doing the reconstruction to improve the driving surface. The last time WYDOT reconstructed that road was in the 1980s.

Besides reconstructing the road, the contract includes sidewalk upgrades, utility work, storm sewer work and new traffic signal installation.

The work on the ​two miles of WYO 789 will complete the reconstruction of the entire road in Riverton. WYDOT reconstructed another portion of that road about five years ago.

The contract completion date for the ​ two-mile road is Oct. 31, 2019.

The other contracts the commission awarded included road surfacing work, sign installation, bridge repairs and rumble strip installation.

Kilgore Companies, of Rock Springs, was the low bidder on a $7.5 million 6-mile Interstate 80 eastbound lane surfacing contract between Granger Junction and Green River in Sweetwater County.

WYDOT is doing the work to improve the pavement surface. During construction, WYDOT will divert eastbound traffic to the westbound lane. Both directions will then be down to a single lane in the construction zone. The contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2018.

71 Construction, of Casper, won a $2.4 million asphalt patching contract that will take place on various locations such as I-25, WYO 258 and WYO 251 in Con-

CHEYENNE – Twenty-five people from the Wyoming Department of Transportation, Wyoming Highway Patrol, Spradley-Barr Motors and ANB Bank loaded two 16-foot trucks the morning of Sept. 18 with the goods collected Sept.

5-15 for Hurricane Harvey relief.

Nichole Montray, Spradley-Barr social media and public relations coordinator, organized the event. Montray said the trucks were into Houston the evening of Sept. 19.

Montray said a number of Cheyenne organizations were involved in the effort.

WYDOT headquarters, along with ANB Bank and Comfort Inn and Suites were drop off points for the event, in addition to Spradley-Barr. Other partners included KGWN TV and the United States Postal Service.

Groups collected, energy bars, granola bars, trail mix, nuts, water, baby formula, diapers, baby wipes and pet food.

Employees dropped off the items to MI3, a community center off Interstate 45 in the northern end of Houston on Sept.

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n $605,340 to Traffic Safety Services Inc.,

of Bismarck, ND, to install no passing and pass with care signs in various locations statewide by Oct. 31, 2018;

n $420,125 to Surface Preparation Tech

LLC, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, to install rumble strips on several roads throughout the state by Aug. 31, 2018;

n $380,432 to Reiman Corp., of Chey-

(Top) Wyoming Department of Transportation employees (left to right) Mail Clerk Damion Aldana, Storeroom Worker Gary Crawford, Mail Clerk Randy Reynolds and Tag Plant Manager Steve Lund load goods collected for Hurricane Harvey relief on a truck Sept. 18.

(Below) Director Bill Panos with Damion Aldana with relief supplies in the lobby of the headquarters building.

enne, for repairs to the 15th Street bridge in Laramie that a vehicle hit in the spring; and

n $349,203 to Modern Electronic Co.,

of Casper, to install two new dynamic message signs at the US 30/WYO 34 junction near Laramie in Albany County and the WYO 487/220 junction near Casper in Natrona County by June 30, 2018.

Photo: Rick Carpenter

Commission awards $30.3 million in highway contracts in September

verse, Natrona and Platte counties.

WYDOT does asphalt patching, chip sealing and crack sealing as part of its road maintenance. The contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2018.

The commission also awarded Wilson Brothers Construction Inc., of Cowley, a $1.7 million contract for retaining wall work in Shell Canyon in Big Horn County. Crews will repair two locations of retaining wall by removing the older timber walls and replacing them with precast concrete walls.

The contract also includes minor road work. The contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2018.

Kilroy LCC, of Afton, was the low bidder on a $1 million material crushing and stockpiling contract. Crews will crush salt sand and haul it to various locations in Lincoln, Sweetwater, Teton and Uinta counties for winter maintenance. The contract completion date is March 31, 2018.

The commission also awarded contracts for: n $979,100 to Frost Rock Products Co., of Lovell, for chip sealing materials that will be housed in Big Horn and Washaskie counties by April 30, 2018;

Hurricane Harvey relief

WYDOT partners with Astronomers Without Borders to redistribute eclipse glasses CHEYENNE – More than 100 million pairs of eclipse glasses were distributed as part of “The Great American Total Solar Eclipse.”

Sadly, many of those will end up in landfills.

However, WYDOT partnered with Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) to collect and reuse eclipse glasses.

“I’m sure there were more than 100 million based on manufacturers’ numbers,” AWB Founder and President Mike Simmons. “This eclipse was seen by far more than any other eclipse in history.

It’s possible that more eclipse glasses were distributed for this eclipse than all other previous eclipses.”

WYDOT collected the glasses at the following offices: • 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne

In the long-term, it’s about inspiring students and teachers to get involved with and go into scientific fields, he said.

Simmons was in Casper on Monday handing out eclipse glasses up until the event.

AWB distributed 130,000 sets of glasses, mostly in schools in poor areas and children’s hospitals leading up to Monday’s total eclipse Many fake eclipse glasses were distributed during the event. Simmons stopped several people in Casper from using them, giving them glasses he knew would protect their eyes. As part of the process of redistributing the glasses for this program, AWB is working with Explore Scientific out of Springdale, Arizona, to sort through and ensure the redistributed glasses are not fake or damaged before being used again.

Alternatively, if someone cannot get their glasses to one of the locations listed, they can be recycled. The lenses should be popped out of the cardboard before recycling.

the 198 crashes, 31 of those crashes were with injury and one crash resulted in a fatality.

Troopers stopped more than 5,000 vehicles while issuing 3,312 citations and 2,029 warnings for various violations.

One hundred fifty seven of the citations were for seat belt or child restraint violations. Troopers also arrested 25 individuals for driving under the influence and issued 62 citations for possession of illegal narcotics with 59 of those 62 being for possession of marijuana.

• 900 Bryan Stock Trail, Casper • 68 16th Street, Wheatland • 3615 W. Main Street, Riverton

Photo: WYDOT

Simmons said the nonprofit organization collects and redistributes the glasses around the world where there will be upcoming eclipses. Right now, the organization is focused on getting glasses to schools in South America and Asia for eclipses in 2019, helping those schools better prepare for educating students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics who might not be able to afford the glasses otherwise.

Simmons said many schools in these countries don’t have the resources to put labs in schools so students can get firsthand experience with science and redistributing the eclipse glasses gives the schools and teachers the opportunity to do something they wouldn’t be able to otherwise.

“Astronomy is a gateway field,” Simmons said. “It gives a opportunity to bridge into a number of other scientific fields. It’s even more important in other countries where they don’t have the opportunity.”

Photo: WHP

• 1040 E. Evans Road, Jackson

A box full of used eclipse viewing glasses ready to ship to Astronomers Without Borders.

Troopers stayed busy during eclipse CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Highway Patrol stayed busy during the recent solar eclipse while observing a surge in traffic during the event. WHP troopers around the state worked extended shifts to make sure all Wyoming residents and guests stayed safe while keeping traffic moving.

From Aug. 18 to Aug. 21 troopers responded to 7,505 calls for service throughout Wyoming. In comparison to 2016, there were 2,598 calls for service in that same time period. Crashes on Wyoming’s highways also increased with the WHP investigating 198 crashes in comparison to 98 crashes the previous year during the same time frame. Out of

Some of our WHP troopers were in the right spot at the right time for a glimpse of totality during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21.

Cheyenne Driver Services parking lot repaving underway CHEYENNE – The public parking area at the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Cheyenne driver exam station will be repaved this fall the start date was Sept. 25.

The work at 1520 Etchepare Circle, being done by Knife River, will take about three weeks to complete.

Driver Services Deputy Program Manager Misty Zimmerman said the upper lot – which is the public parking in front of the building – will be milled and repaved.

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Cedar Street closure underway

Briefs continued from page 5 Knife River will split the project into two phases, so parking will be available on half of the lot at all times during the construction.

Additionally, the overflow lot south of the building, which is typically gated, locked and used for CDL testing, will be open and available for additional public parking.

Handicapped parking will be maintained at the front of the building, and handicapped access from the overflow lot will be available as well through use of a ramp.

Knife River will provide signage to direct traffic flow which will change throughout the project.

LARAMIE – As part of the Harney Street Bridge project, Cedar Street between Curtis Street and Clark Street will close for several weeks beginning Sept. 5.

The exact point of closure is where the new Harney Street Bridge will intersect with Cedar Street. Local traffic will be allowed to access businesses and residences on either side of the closure.

While Cedar Street is closed, crews will be performing utility work under Cedar Street.

The closure is planned to be in effect into October.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Harney Street Bridge, crews have begun work on the southbound lanes of Third Street recently.

Construction on Third Street is expected to be complete in mid-October. At that point, Third Street and the section of Harney Street between Third and Fourth streets will completely reopen to traffic.

The $23.5 million Harney Street Bridge project remains on schedule with a tentative completion and opening date in the fall of 2018.

Section of Walterscheid Blvd. closed; I-80 reduced to one lane after truck cargo strikes bridge CHEYENNE – Walterscheid Boulevard is closed between Deming Drive and Fox Farm Road after a truck carrying heavy equipment struck the bridge that carries I-80 over Walterscheid on Sept. 8.

The right lane of I-80 eastbound will also be closed over that bridge indefinitely.

The I-80 closure is a precaution until the bridge can be inspected, and Walterscheid is closed as a preventative measure in case any debris falls from underneath the bridge.

Ramp from West Lincolnway to I-25 southbound to close CHEYENNE – The on-ramp to I-25 southbound from West Lincolnway closed for bridge work on Aug. 29 and 30.

Work occurred each day between 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The ramp was open outside of those hours.

The detour was I-25 north to the Missile Drive interchange and then back south on I-25.

Photo: Rick Carpenter

Erosion control work begins on WYO 251

WYDOT crews inspect the I-80 bridge over Walterscheid Blvd. in Cheyenne.

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CASPER – On Oct. 2, WYDOT began erosion control work on WYO 251 (Casper Mountain Road). The contractor for the project, Knife River, will install various erosion control measures at several locations from the highway’s junction

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with Garden Creek Road southward, and up the mountain, to the end of the state highway.

Work will begin near the Garden Creek Road intersection. Once the erosion control measures are in place there, workers will move up the mountain to the southern terminus and work northward.

During this time there will be intermittent lane closures though the work will take place primarily off of the highway.

Flaggers will be directing traffic when lanes are closed. Work will be performed during normal working hours (7 a.m.

– 5 p.m.) and all traffic control will be removed from the work area after hours each day so that traffic can return to normal.

The contractor plans to begin Monday and perform as much work as possible before winter snow settles in. Any remaining work will be done next spring as weather permits.

Work will be underway on WYO 374 near Little America ROCK SPRINGS – WYDOT worked on WYO 374 at the Little America interchange near exit 69 off I-80 starting this Aug. 28. The work consisted of concrete repairs with grading, milling plant mix, placing crushed base and miscellaneous work on 0.20 miles beginning at road marker 69.77.

Access to Little America was maintained at all times, but there were traffic control devices and delays during the work.

The service road was closed just west of the entrance to County Road 3 (FMC Road) with no access from Little America. County Road 3 (FMC Road) and the mines remained accessible through the Westvaco Interchange near milepost 72.

“We hope the closure won’t be too disruptive to the local mine traffic. Most drivers heading to the mines from both Green River and the Bridger Valley come in off the Westvaco Interchange. Access to the FMC road from the Westvaco Interchange will continue undisturbed,” said WYDOT Project Engineer Chase Cimburek.

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Road work near Little America on WYO 374.

North Federal Boulevard project has tentative start of March 2018 RIVERTON – A March 2018 start is tentatively scheduled for reconstruction of North Federal Boulevard in Riverton.

S&S Builders LLC, of Gillette, was awarded the $13.9 million contract this month by the Wyoming Transportation Commission.

“We visited with the contractor and the contractor is tentatively planning to begin mobilizing equipment to the Riverton area in February 2018,” said Wyoming Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Robert Scheidemantel of Riverton. “The contractor tentatively plans to begin work on North Federal Boulevard in March or April, depending on weather and work scheduling.”

WYDOT and the contractor will hold a joint public meeting prior to the start of construction. By contract, the contractor is required to maintain access, as much as possible, to businesses during construction, and businesses, cities and media will be invited to a weekly project progress meeting.

Scheidemantel said the contractor plans to visit North Federal Boulevard businesses in February and March to discuss staging of concrete and sidewalk placement that provides access to private property.

“We are expecting the construction to take up to two construction seasons,” said Scheidemantel. “The construction

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Multi-agency crackdown in Fremont County nets 10 DUI arrests RIVERTON – As part of the countywide, multi-agency DUI crackdown this past Labor Day holiday weekend, Fremont County law enforcement arrested 10 drunk drivers. During a longer than normal five-day operation, area law enforcement made 331 traffic stops, issued 105 speeding tickets, 80 other tickets and issued 214 warnings.

Fremont County law enforcement agencies have completed 11 multi-agency traffic safety operations since 2016. The next operation will be an impaired driving operation over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The purpose of the Labor Day holiday enforcement operation is to educate drivers about the dangers of impaired driving and to follow up with dedicated DUI enforcement efforts. Fremont County law enforcement also looks to reinforce the importance of wearing seat belts and to enforce the state’s zero-tolerance stance toward impaired driving.

Agencies staffing the Fremont County operation include the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Lander Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff ’s Office, Riverton Police Department, Shoshoni Police Department and the Wind River Police Department.

Partners in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign include Injury Prevention Resources and Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Additional funding for the impaired driving and seat belt campaigns is made possible through a federal grant secured

by WYDOT’s Highway Safety Office.

According to Patrol, there have been 102 fatalities on Wyoming roads to date in 2017, as compared to 83 at this time last year.

Rock removal project began after Labor Day west of Cody CODY – Crews removed more than 10,000 cubic yards of rock overhanging US 14-16-20 west of Cody near Buffalo Bill Reservoir removed on Sept. 5 following the Labor Day weekend.

In addition, project work included removal of loose rock through scaling, and installation of rock bolts and rockfall barriers above the roadway.

The $1.68 million project is being driven by numerous falling rock events and input from local citizens, according to WYDOT Resident Engineer Todd Frost of Cody.

The project work is between mileposts 44.39 and 45.37, which is about a mile west of the long tunnel on US 14-16-20 and ends at the long tunnel.

Prime contractor on the project is Wilson Brothers Construction of Cowley.

Project work is scheduled through November. “There will be blasting on the project, and there will be traffic delays,” Frost said.

Traffic will be controlled by flaggers and pilot vehicles. n

Photo: WYDOT

project is a two-phase project. One phase is between Washington Avenue and Forest Street, and the other phase is between Forest Street and the end of the curb and gutter section of Federal Boulevard north of Walmart.”

Contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2019.

Photo: WYDOT

The completion date for this work is Oct. 31. The contract was awarded to DeBernardi Construction Company Inc. for $807,000.

Rock removal and scaling near Buffalo Bill Reservoir to reduce falling rock events.

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PLANNING PROGRAMMING

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Photos: Rick Carpenter

By J.L. O’Brien

State Planning Engineer Martin Kidner jokes he sometimes has to explain to people that he doesn’t know anything about computer programming.

It’s an honest mistake many might make when Kidner tells them the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Programming department falls under him.

He explains programming is all about ensuring efficiency.

Kidner, with State Programming Engineer Tim McDowell, oversees the three primary functions of programming: The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Program Development and the WYDOT Research Center.

Functionally, these groups provide vital services to the department and the public.

Kidner • The STIP is a needs analysis and tracking of work from today to six years into the future.

• Program Development provides needs analysis for seven years into the future and further.

• And the research center ensures department personnel has the latest data and shares that data with other states and the public.

The STIP The STIP is a familiar document to department employees and those who do business with WYDOT, but Kidner said much more goes into the STIP than most people realize.

While the STIP is where WYDOT tracks what projects the department is working on, it also tracks the primary benefits and purpose of each project, categorizes and tracks the assets (pavement and bridges), and is a record of how money is being spent and performance measures ensuring money is being spent to reach specific department goals.

Projects are tracked and updated in the document for six years.

Christy Stone, STIP coordinator, said the money tracking is critical because different roads get different types of funding.

Program Development Kidner said Program Development serves three functions: 1. Asset management 2. Project scope 3. Mapping Program Development Engineer Tom Adkins said asset management, which used to be called needs analysis, means working with other areas of WYDOT to track miles of road, number of bridges, condition of those assets, the most effective ways to accomplish maintenance, and turning all of that data into a single plan which is then made available to the public.

Another way to look at it, Kidner said, was: “What do we have?

What condition is it in? What condition do we want it in? And how will we get to where we want to be?”

While the STIP is a six-year plan, Adkins said asset Continued on page 10

Each of these efforts plays a part in the department’s over-arching goals.

“For instance, what do we want our bridges to look like in 10 years?” Kidner said. Through use of programming, the department tracks how efficiently it is working toward that goal, tracking projects and ensuring resources are being used appropriately to reach that goal.

Programming is a clearing house for data about all the current, future and past department projects.

McDowell said programming keeps in touch with the districts and all departments, monitoring money, rules and performance goals. This includes tracking the requirements of shareholders like the Wyoming State Legislature and the Federal Highway Administration.

“It’s not just budgeting, but ensuring a feedback loop that ensures we are addressing the department’s broader goals,” he said Maps are created for the STIP to illustrate locations of current and proposed projects around the state.

Above, all seven Transportation Commission Districts are shown with projects for 2017 and 2018.

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Photo: Rick Carpenter

WYDOT Research Center

A pavement overlay on WYO 230 southwest of Laramie.

Photo: Matt Murphy

Continued from page 9 management is the department’s plan for seven years to infinity.

Program Development also ensures the scope of WYDOT’s projects are clearly defined.

“The earlier in a process we can define what a project is – what we intend to do and what it will cost – the better it is for the department,” Adkins said. “If our estimates are off, it requires us to reallocate resources, which can be disappointing to the public.

So a good idea of scope helps us alleviate that.”

Program Development’s mapping services make the information WYDOT has about the state highway system easy to use for the public. Adkins said the mapping is cartographic, meaning it is about presenting only the information that is needed.

While many processes within the department use GIS, Adkins said GIS can sometimes be harder to interpret and may not be as useful to the average person, despite it’s accuracy.

Program Development maintains 208 different maps with varying levels of detail, Adkins said.

Another way the department ensures efficiency is through the research center. The department selects research projects to fund, which then help the department improve practices, not only in the state, but in the region.

Research Manager Enid White said the type of research is broad, covering environmental impacts, wildlife migration, collisions, mudslides, avalanches and, of course, myriad engineering applications.

Individuals can request funding through the research center’s advisory committee quarterly to study department practices.

This often involves academics and professionals from outside of the department and state. The department routinely partners with professors from the University of Wyoming, Colorado schools and the Colorado Department of Transportation. Proposals are evaluated against WYDOT’s goals and mission statement, White said. The committee makes recommendations to executive staff and the FHWA, where the final decision is made.

“It’s a great checks and balance,” White said. “It’s performance based.”

The data from successful projects is then tracked and shared.

White curates the research and puts it in a library database so WYDOT employees, and others, can access it and use it to improve the work being done. White said the data improves the department’s ability to ensure that the work it does is cost effective. The database also helps the department comply with federal requirements.

In addition to tracking the data from new projects, the research center has been busy going through historic data the department has generated since 1969, inputting that info into the database.

Kidner also oversees the Planning, Environmental Services and Local Government Coordinator programs. Look in future issues of Interchange for features on Environmental Services and Local Government. n

Laramie’s Harney Street new viaduct construction and enhancements take shape the summer or 2017.

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Noteworthy

and off the job and as members of their communities. Rich is an amazing man who went above and beyond to help save a man’s life.”

The incident happened around 4 p.m. on June 26 on I-90.

Hall, an area maintenance supervisor for Sheridan and Johnson counties, was in his WYDOT truck when he saw Peters and his son and daughter off the side of the road collecting their boxes of bees, which fell off their truck.

By Aimee Inama Peters just finished moving the last of the boxes off the road Rich Hall didn’t hesitate for a moment. when he collapsed and fell on the ground. Although his son As soon as he saw John Peters on the ground, he immediately called 911, Hall was already there helping. started giving the Buffalo man CPR. Sgt. Alan Kiefer was the off-duty Buffalo police officer who ar“The Buffalo police officer who was there yelled to me and rived moments later, and assisted Hall in performing CPR. asked if I was trained in CPR,” Hall said.

“After he asked me if I knew CPR, I found a location below For his quick thinking and dedication to helping others, the his rib cage and started pumping,” Hall said. “A lot of folks in my Wyoming Highway Commission recently awarded Hall with the situation would have done the same thing.”

G. Clyde Larson Memorial Award, which recognizes employees Emergency responders arrived on scene and took Peters to who perform acts of heroism either on or off the job.

Johnson County Healthcare Center. After The commission established the award doctors evaluated him, he was then taken in 1969 in honor of G. Clyde Larson, who to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. died in 1968 while serving a six-year comDoctors diagnosed him with a ventricumission term that started in 1965. His son, lar fibrillation, the most serious cardiac Grant, finished his father’s term and later rhythm disturbance, which causes the served as a Wyoming state senator. lower chamber of the heart to quiver.

Since its inception, the commission has When this happens, the heart can’t pump honored 52 employees with the award. any blood.

“We are so fortunate to have employees Doctors performed triple bypass surgery at WYDOT like Rich Hall,” said WYDOT District 4 Transportation Commissioner Rick on Peters on July 3 and expect him to Director Bill Panos. “Our employees Newton (left) with District 4 Area Maintenance make a full recovery. n continually strive to do their best both on Supervisor Rich Hall with wife, Christine.

Photo: Rick Carpenter

WYDOT employee given G. Clyde Larson award for act of heroism

WYDOT encourages reuse, recycling of old plates

By J.L. O’Brien Over the course of the eight-year license plate design for the state of Wyoming, WYDOT will produce between 3.5-4.5 million sets of plates.

This amounts to more than 1 million pounds of aluminum every eight years that WYDOT Tag Plant Manager Steve Lund said WYDOT hopes will be reused or recycled.

The initial run of the new license plates was 1.2 million sets of plates. By January 2019, all vehicles on Wyoming roadways should bear the new plate. After the initial run to get ready to distribute the new plates, the department produces between 350,000-475,000 sets of plates each year, Lund said. And each plate weighs roughly 2.5 ounces.

The department does what it can to see to it that plates don’t end up in the landfill.

Many people simply return their plates to the county. When they do, WYDOT recollects the plates to sell them at the scrap aluminum market price.

There are a number of other things people do with the plates, Lund said.

“They own them,” he said. “They can keep them if they want.”

Lund added people sometimes collect, sell and trade their plates. People sell plates online, and he said that he’s heard of swap meets in Colorado. Lund said some collectors even collect

the stickers to update registration.

License plates on eBay sell from a few dollars for a newer plate, to $100 or more for a plate from 1940s or 1950s.

“Embossed plates sell best,” he said.

Others recycle the plates themselves, keep them as decorations or make things with them. Lund said a store in Gillette was selling boxes made from old license plates, an attempt by a local high-schooler to start his own business. The young man was not the only one with that idea.

Lund said that WYDOT no longer sells the returned plates through surplus because of a program through the Wyoming Department of Corrections. Corrections now buys all the plates WYDOT has to offer so inmates can produce a number of products with the material.

WY Brand Industries, a branch of WDOC, sells products made by inmates, including products made with old license plates. Inmates make simple products like pencil cups, business card holders, file organizers and paper stands. They also make lunch boxes, barn stars, bird houses and even airplanes out of the recycled material.

The effort helps inmates learn job skills and positive attitudes and work habits to help them in re-entering the workforce after incarceration, as well as reduce the tax burden on Wyoming taxpayers.

The products are sold by small businesses throughout the state.

“We want people to give them to the county treasurers’ offices,” he said, so the plates can serve another purpose. n

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Noteworthy Two of WHP’s fourlegged finest retire

balls, lying around and enjoying a well deserved retirement. Tippy has also taken on a new duty with Patrol. He has been assigned to be the new K-9 coordinator for the agency.

Trooper Jeramy Pittsley and K-9 Wendy were stationed out of Cheyenne.

During the course of Wendy’s career, she was deployed 646 times and sniffed out: n 671.4 pounds of marijuana

Two Wyoming Highway Patrol K-9s retired from service. Recently, on Aug. 1, K-9 Basil retired after nine years of service and K-9 Wendy retired with eight years of service on Aug. 21.

Basil was assigned to Trooper Barry Tippy in the Rock Springs area. Trooper Tippy and Basil started their partnership in the fall of 2008.

During the course of Basil’s career, he was deployed 473 times and sniffed out: n 720.4 pounds of marijuana

Total number of employees: as of Sept. 1, 2017

n 123.6 grams of cocaine

1,909

n 8,261.7 grams of methamphetamine n 215.7 grams of other illegal narcotics

One month ago

Wendy was also responsible for finding five guns that were used in the commission of drug trafficking and helped confiscate $192,552 in currency.

Wendy plans on living the retired life with Pittsley chasing tennis balls followed by resting and lying around. Pittsley will continue his career as a K-9 handler with Patrol.

Patrol currently has 10 narcotic and two explosive detection dogs across the state. n

n 122 grams of cocaine n 470.8 grams of methamphetamine n 93 grams of heroin n 1,180.5 grams of other illegal narcotics

Basil was also responsible for finding 12 guns that were used in the commission of drug trafficking and helped confiscate $401,985 in currency.

Basil loved being petted and getting all of the attention when he attended special events around the state. Basil will now spend the rest of his time chasing tennis

1,928

One year ago

1,899

WHP

Trooper Barry Tippy and Basil

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Photo: Carlie Van Winkle

Photo: Carlie Van Winkle

Total number of highway fatalities: as of Sept. 21, 2017

Trooper Jeramy Pittsley and Wendy

October 2017

107

One year ago

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Aeronautics Richard G. Sugden, M.D., of Jackson, who played a pivotal role in establishing aviation assisted emergency medical services in the Jackson Hole area, is the 2017 inductee into the Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame.

An induction ceremony in his honor will be held 6 p.m., Sept. 19 at the Teton Aviation/Warbirds Restaurant at the Driggs, Idaho, airport.

After starting Jackson Hole Air Ambulance in 1980, Sugden served as medical director, trained more than 20 flight nurses and EMTs, and he and other pilots flew more Sugden introduces two Young Eagles to the Bell 47 helicopter. Sugden helped establish a scholarship program to train young pilots through the private pilot’s license. than 1,000 flights without incident. Sugden also served as medical director for Grand As a pilot, Sugden has logged nearly 11,000 hours of flight time Teton National Park for 25 years. in numerous categories, such as backcountry flying, aerial dogIn addition to improving emergency air service in the region, fighting, formation flying and air racing. He also has restored Sugden was heavily involved in a program to encourage youth to many vintage military aircraft that he shows at air shows across enter the aviation industry. As part of the Experimental Aircraft the nation.

Association Young Eagles program, more than 2,000 people He took his backcountry pilot experience with the Wyomingbetween 8-17 years of age took their first flying lesson. Sugden built Aviat Husky to Kenya and trained wildlife service pilots. also established a scholarship to help high-school students earn He also donated a new Husky to the service to assist in efforts to their private pilot license. Many of those young pilots went on to reduce elephant and rhinoceros poaching. careers in aviation and the military.

Sugden is a licensed FAA Class I, II and III medical examiner.

Sugden, who served in the Navy as a flight surgeon, also He is the author of aviation safety articles and has presented volunteers for wounded veteran programs, including the Veterto the Flying Physicians Association. He has served on many ans Airlift Command, which provides free air transportation for boards, including the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Board post-9/11 combat-wounded veterans and their families, and the of Directors, Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, EAA Warbirds Honoring Our Veterans program, which offers transportation to and the Bird Aviation and Invention Museum Board of AdviJackson for veterans to enjoy outdoor recreation. sors. He also has served on numerous local boards, including the But Sugden has served his community in many other ways as Jackson Hole Search and Rescue, Quiet Birdmen Jackson Hangar well. In addition to his contributions to aviation, he has practiced and the Teton County Experimental Aircraft Association. family medicine in the region for more than 40 years, delivering Sugden was born in Orinda, California, in 1942, but moved more than 1,000 babies. to Jackson Hole in 1947 where the family owned a dude ranch Despite these efforts, Sugden remains humble about being for several years. In high school he began flying and earned his honored and, saying that what has meant most to him was his private pilot’s license at the age of 16. After graduating from wife’s recognition of his efforts, saying only, “It’s personally reBaylor College of Medicine, he joined the United States Navy as a warding to be able to help others.” flight surgeon in 1970, and was the flight surgeon for the Navy’s Sue Sugden was involved in nominating her husband for the test center and Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland. He award. The high-school sweethearts were married in 1966 and retired from the military in 1975, and he and his family relocated have two children. to Jackson where he established his medical practice.

Billy Walker, a retired pilot for Frontier Airlines, put the nomiThe Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organizanation together with the help of Sue and others, including a little tion which operates in cooperation with the Wyoming Aeronaustar power. Actor Harrison Ford, who is involved in promoting tics Commission. It honors individuals who have made outstandaviation in young people’s lives through the Young Eagles proing contributions to the establishment, development and/or gram, wrote a letter supporting Sugden’s nomination. advancement of aviation in Wyoming. n Sugden encourages others to get involved as he has.

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space,” he said. “Chip in. Win! Win!”

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Photo: WYDOT

Sugden to be inducted into Wyoming Aviation Hall of Fame

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District News Headquarters

Welcome Laura Curtis, Human Resources; Jordan Gonnoud, Laramie Traffic-Striping; Elijah Ellis Hathaway, Patrol-Safety and Training; Kyle Hemphill, PatrolSafety and Training; Benjamin Hockett, Patrol-Safety and Training; Dillon Hunt, Patrol-Safety and Training; Andrew Kelly, Patrol-Safety and Training; Anmol Pakhale, Bridge-Engineering Design WYDOT Headquarters Jacob Rinker, Patrol-Safety and Training; Stephen Toalson, Financial Services-Revenue; and Daniel Yorio, Driver Services-Policy and Records.

Jennifer Marshall, Patrol Dispatch – 20 years; Dawn Pratz, Facilities ManagementCustodial – 20 years; Daniel Sutton, Materials-Surfacing – 20 years; Timothy DeVoss, Maintenance Staff – 15 years; Doug Jensen, Contracts and Estimates – 15 years; Julia Ray, Motor Vehicle Services-Registration/Title – 15 years; Davin Birge, GIS/ITS – 10 years; Scott Prettyman, Telecom-District 1 Radio Shop – 10 years;

Promotions and Transfers Scott Grauberger, Highway Development-Photogrammetry/Survey; and Christopher Rehm, Right of Way-Negotiations.

Marshall

Grauberger

Rehm

Service Awards Charles Cisco, Materials-Bituminous – 30 years; Lacey Bruckner, Compliance Investigation – 20 years; Kirk Hood, Geology – 20 years;

Bruckner

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Pratz

Sutton

DeVoss

Bret Lamblin, Financial Services-Disbursements – 5 years; Troy McAlpine, Port of Entry-Cheyenne US 85 – 5 years; and Jacob Smith, Driver Services-Policy and Records – 5 years.

Retirements Alicia Clements retired from WYDOT on Aug. 2 after 30 years of service with the state. Clements, whose hometown is Simi Valley, California, worked as a dispatcher for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Clements

James “Bill” Thompson retired from WYDOT on Aug. 5 after 42 years of service with the state. He worked as a policy and planning analyst with the Planning Program.

Kathy Wenger retired from WYDOT on Aug. 2 after 34 years of service with the state. She worked as a field data collection and lab analyst technician in Environmental Services.

Wenger

Congratulations

Cisco

Jensen

Lamblin

Hood

McAlpine

Smith

n

October 2017

Christina Spindler has been selected as the assistant state Traffic engineer for Traffic Design and Operations effective Sept. 1.

Spindler has worked at WYDOT since June 2002, most recently as the Geometrics and Markings principal engineer. n

District 1

District 2

Welcome

Promotions and Transfers

Retirements

Richard Carpenter, Laramie Maintenance; Jasmine Kintzler, Driver ServicesRegion 1; and Galvin Sandoval, Laramie Maintenance.

Shawn Cooney, Wheatland Construction; James Howe, Casper Maintenance; and Geoffery Morgheim, Casper Mechanics.

Promotions and Transfers

Service Awards

Shop Foreman Todd Greenamyre retired Sept. 9 from the Torrington Mechanics shop with 36 years of service to the state.

A retirement party was held for him on Sept. 8 in the Torrington shop.

Schlichenmayer

Retirements

Congratulations

Stroud

Three technicians from the Casper Shop and one technician from the Douglas shop passed their Fundamentals of Service (FOS) tests.

From Casper, Daniel Francom, general shop and administrative procedures; Robert Wiginton, power trains, general shop and engines; and Tucker Whitt, administrative procedures.

Schaff

Photo: WYDOT

Gary May retired Spenny Aug. 1 from Elk Mountain Maintenance with 40 years of service to the state.

May began his career with WYDOT’s predecessor agency in 1977 as a highway maintenance worker and was working from the Arlington maintenance in Sept. 1978.

May had several promotions throughout his career and in 2009 became area maintenance supervisor in Arlington.

Photo: WYDOT

Aaron Spenny, Rawlins Construction – 15 years; and Steven Rothwell, Laramie Construction – 5 years.

Congratulations

From left: Daniel Francom, Robert Wiginton and Tucker Whitt.

From Douglas, Cameron Rissler passed six of the FOS tests: hydraulics, power trains, rigging, electrical, administrative procedures and engines. n

le Afte yc

r ading!

Re

Brand Fogg was hired as the new area maintenance supervisor at Arlington. He will oversee shops in Arlington, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow. Fogg was promoted to foreman in Pine Bluffs in 2010. He started with WYDOT Fogg in 1989 and had been in Pine Bluffs since 1993. n

ease Re c Pl

Gary May’s retirement celebration was held at the Arlington Maintenance Shop on July 27.

District 1 Surveyor Dave Hammond, Maintenance Technician Josh Baker, District Traffic Engineer Randy Griesbach and District Maintenance Engineer Ralph Tarango participated in the Cathedral Home for Children’s 5th Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser this summer.

Photo: WYDOT

Service Awards

Stanly Schlichenmayer, Wheatland Construction – 35 years; Shawn Stroud, Wheatland Patrol – 20 years; and Landon Schaff, Casper Construction – 15 years.

Photo: WYDOT

Brian Erickson, Pine Bluffs Maintenance.

Cameron Rissler from the Douglas shop.

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District 3

District 4

Welcome

Service Awards

Dannette Edelmayer, Driver ServicesJackson/Afton.

Jamie Dickerson, Sheridan Maintenance.

Service Awards

Promotions and Transfers

Guy Phillips, Gillette Maintenance – 10 years; and James Donahue, Moorcroft Maintenance – 5 years.

Welcome

Derek Anton, Gillette Maintenance; Jason Smelser, Gillette Maintenance; and Teresa Sutton-Tenke, Sundance Port of Entry.

Peter Stinchcomb, Rock Springs Construction – 10 years; and Carl Bennett, Jackson Maintenance – 5 years. n

Anton

Stinchcomb

Phillips

Donahue

Retirements Cheryl Jordan retired on Aug. 6 from the Sheridan Port of Entry with more than 11 years of service to the state. n

C

IT

OR

ET

LICK

T IC K

Smelser

Sutton-Tenke

Jordan

District 5

Welcome Troy Mackey, Thermopolis Construction; and Doyle Yarbrough, Lander Construction.

Cradle Call

Robert Marchant retired Sept. 6 as a supervisor from the Frannie Port of Entry after more than 39 years of service to the state.

Steven and Amanda Otto recently welcomed new daughter Audrianna. She was born June 23 and weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 19 inches long.

Proud dad, Steve, is the District 5 Traffic supervisor. n

Service Awards

Forton

Scott Hall retired on Aug. 5 from the Wyoming Highway Patrol in Cody with more than 15 years of service to the state.

Hall has served honorably with the U.S. Army and the Wyoming National Guard.

Prior to serving with the WHP, he worked for the Casper Police Hall Department.

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October 2017

Robert Marchant celebrated his retirement with coworkers in early September. He has worked at WYDOT since January 1978 and retires with more than 39 years of service to the state. From left, Sheri B ​ aston, Barb Pierson, Marchant and Capt. Steve Sanders.

Photo: Steve Otto

Retirements

Photo: WYDOT

Jess Forton, Lander Traffic-Striping – 10 years.

Training

including Training Services, Employee Safety, Driver’s Services, Maintenance, Construction and Human Resources.

Employee Features in the new WELL

By Jim Boyd, Training Services Coming early 2018, Training Services will introduce the new WELL (Wyoming Employee Learning Library) to all WYDOT employees. In the last few Interchange articles, we’ve been writing about the new WELL and some of the features we’re configuring the system to do. In this article, we’ll break down the features employees can expect to see and use, while next month, we’ll break down the features that supervisors can see and use.

First, let’s discuss the old WeLL vs. the new WELL. The new WELL is an upgrade, of sorts, to the old WeLL. Among others, the old WeLL enabled you to: n Search a catalog of professional development e-Learning courses and books brought to you by Skillsoft (WYDOT’s e-Learning provider). n Add professional development e-Learning courses to your

learning plan and access them at any time.

n Launch, resume and complete an e-Learning course from

your computer.

n Print a transcript of the e-Learning courses you took in the

WeLL.

The new WELL adds to, AND centralizes some of the information the old WeLL didn’t include. We are working on configuring the new WELL to enable you to: n Search for training content from all WYDOT programs,

n Find both e-Learning AND live classroom events (we’ll

start calling them ILTs - Instructor Led Trainings) which will include video conference courses over TLN as well as webinars.

n Self register for any of these trainings (live ILT and e-Learn-

ing) and in some cases, cancel from the classes as well.

n Add training that you’ve taken outside the agency (e.g., if

you’ve attended a training program through WCA, or another outside provider).

n Access your own training transcript to include courses from

all WYDOT departments as well as any training you’ve entered from an outside provider.

After launch, we’ll continue updating the WELL in phases. We will be working with our external partners to get outside training accessible from inside the WELL. Some of these partners might include: n Risk Management (Flagger and Defensive Driving e-Learning courses). n Skillsoft or another e-Learning provider (Professional devel-

opment e-Learning courses).

n Security Mentor (e-Learning courses related to computer

security) and more.

Additionally, as Training Services and WYDOT grow with the WELL, we’ll look to implement development tracks that help employees and supervisors identify the training that employees need to be safe and effective in their jobs. The WELL can help employees and supervisors manage training that is required by WYDOT. n Check out these upcoming training opportunities from WYDOT-U, the Transportation Learning Network (TLN) and WeLL.

Coming in October: Date Class 10/16/17 10/16/17

10/20/17 10/24/17 10/25/17 10/25/17 10/26/17

New Employee Orientation Autonomous, Connected Vehicles & Smart Highways – Technology and Policy Implications The Power of Positive Language Intentional Leadership Conversations Good Judgement John Maxwell: 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Snow Fences

Coming in November: Date Class 11/2/17 11/14/17 11/15/17 11/27/17 11/28/17 11/28/17 11/29/17

Construction Site SWPPP Compliance, Tools, Tricks and Tips MBTI & Teams Customer Service in the Public Sector New Supervisors Orientation Backing Safety & Blind Spot Awareness Trenching Safety & Confined Spaces Professional Communication in Today’s Electronic Workplace

PMI Competency

Location

New Employee Orientation

WYDOT-U

Vocational Communication Leadership Judgment & Decision Making Team Player Vocational

Webinar Webinar WYDOT-U WYDOT-U TLN TLN

PMI Competency

Location

Vocational Team Player Customer Service New Supervisor Orientation Vocational Vocational Vocational

TLN WYDOT-U WYDOT-U WYDOT-U TLN TLN TLN

To register, or for more information, visit the Training Program intranet page.

October 2017

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Passings

Awards

Robert Hehr

Photo: Rick Carpenter

Service Award Recipients

Service award luncheons are held by the Transportation Commission for employees celebrating milestones of 25 years of service or more.

Service award recipients at this month’s luncheon were: (standing from left) Curtis Olson, 25 years; Mathew Sanders, 35 years; Pat Lewis, 25 years; and Mark Briggs, 30 years; (seated from left) Frances Reed, 25 years; Debra Shuler, 25 years; and Claudia Fredrick, 30 years.

Congratulations to our August recipients!

WYDOT salutes the following Director’s Extra Mile Award recipients. The award is presented to individuals who have traveled the “extra mile” in service to WYDOT.

Brandon Graves Jennifer Hoffman Brett McKinley For more information about the Extra Mile Award or to nominate someone, contact Katherine Castaneda at Katherine.Castaneda@wyo.gov.

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October 2017

Robert “Bob” Hehr, 66 of Riverton, died Aug. 25 at Sage West Hospital, Riverton. A celebration of life was held Sept. 22 at Brooks Lake.

He worked for WYDOT in the Hehr Dubois Maintenance shop for 20 years before becoming the shop foreman in Shoshoni. He retired in 2010 with 32 years of service to the state.

Hehr was born in Casper on Jan. 30, 1951. After graduating Kelly Walsh High School in 1969, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving from 1969-1974. He was honorably discharged as sergeant E4 specializing as a weapons maintenance specialist explosive operator. He married his wife, JoAnn, in 1973 at Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. In 1975, he and JoAnn purchased the Yellowstone Motel & Service Station in Dubois with the help of his parents. Together, they ran the business for nine years. While living in Dubois, he served the community as an EMT from 1977 until 1990.

He was his children’s biggest fan – whether it was watching his daughter’s volleyball and basketball games, or traveling with his son for Special Olympics. He was always there for them. As his kids grew up, he took them fishing and camping and loved just hanging out with them.

Hehr loved fishing and looked forward to his annual fishing trip with his brother to Port Mansfield, Texas. He loved watching Wyoming football and basketball, and enjoyed teasing his son-in-law about being a Seattle Seahawks fan.

The apple of his eye arrived six years ago when he became a grandpa to his beautiful granddaughter. He instilled his love of reading in his granddaughter by taking her to the library to get her first library card and book. n

WTDEA

WTDEA State Board photo contest results; WyHy donates $2,500 to Employee Relief Fund The WTDEA State Board photography contest came to an end in early August and winners were chosen by WYDOT employees via online voting.

State Board received 40 photos for the sixth annual contest. This year’s winners are: Kim Ashley, Shawn Coggins, Chrystal Fauver, Wayne Hassinger, Nick Hines, Tina Phillips, Amy Pittsley, Vernon Romine, Debbie Sherman, Ella StrongLopez, Tom Styles and Carlie Van Winkle.

Thank you to all who participated and voted. The 2018 cash calendar will be sold as a fund raiser for the WTDEA Employee Relief Fund.

WyHy Federal Credit Union contributed $2,500 to the WYDOT Employee Relief Fund, the fifth year it has done so.

WyHy CEO Bill Willingham presented the check to Director Bill Panos and State Board President Ryan Sorenson.

All active WYDOT employees are eligible for crisis assistance from the relief fund. The fund has received 10 requests from department employees so far this year, and provided $6,000 in assistance, WTDEA State Board Treasurer Audrey Hobbs said. The fund assisted 10 employees last year. n

Photo: Rick Carpenter

2018 WTDEA Cash Calendar – photo winners

At the “big check” presentation for WTDEA, from left: WTDEA State Board treasurer and Headquarters chapter secretary Audrey Hobbs; Headquarters chapter president Jason Bogstie; WyHy chairman and Headquarters chapter treasurer Pam Fredrick; WyHy CEO Bill Willingham; WYDOT Director Bill Panos; WTDEA State Board president Ryan Sorenson; WTDEA representative Heidi Martin; and WTDEA State Board vice president Robyn Eifert.

October 2017

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Photo: Richard Bailey

Photo: William Hasely

Outdoors

Photo: Tucker Whitt

Richard Bailey from the Arlington maintenance crew caught this massive halibut while he visited Homer, Alaska in July. It weighed in at 125 pounds and was 67 inches long.

William Hasely, an engineer with the Wheatland construction office, shot this antelope north of Casper with a Diamond compound bow.

“I hadn’t been sitting in the blind for more than a half hour before he came in and I was able to shoot him at 21 yards,” said Hasely.

Casper shop employee Tucker Whitt (right) and friends Ian Anthony (left) and Derek Watson went shed hunting in mid-May in central Wyoming. Whitt and his friends pulled out nine sheds that day.

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October 2017

Photo: Jason Aldridge

Photo: Jason Aldridge

Photo: Jason Aldridge

Photo: Jason Aldridge

Jason Aldridge from the Thermopolis engineering crew took these shots of the total solar eclipse from his telescope on Aug. 21.

October 2017

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October 2017

Break Time

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Intermediate Mazes Book 9, Maze 10

Š 2010 KrazyDad.com

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