August 9 and 12, 2016 Sublette Examiner and Pinedale Rounup Vote in Sublette County Page 7

Answers Continued
Kara Losik

Tom Noble

Mack Rawhouser

Kristin Roork

Courtney Skinner

Doug Vickrey

I think the county does a

good job. Meeting minutes,
special meetings, bids and
contracts, employment opportunities, the budget are
all published and available
online. All reports are public. I would like to see the
meeting agendas better advertised though.

The county business and

records are public. As individuals, you have access. If
you want to know what is
going on please ask, research or attend meetings.
Dont rely on rumor and
media.

All the information one

needs that pertains to
county business can be
found at the courthouse,
online or at the commissioners meetings. I feel
everything is crystal clear;
we just have to ask the
questions, as citizens.

The minutes of the commissioners meetings leave

out a lot of information.
The meetings are held
when most people cannot
attend. The fact that the official business was being
printed in a publication
that isnt readily available
says it all.

There appears to be limited

opportunity for citizen engagement in the commissioners decision-making
process. I believe the commission should listen to
concerns, serve the people
and be accessible to everyone. There should be a
congenial and open environment for citizens.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give

them a six. Even though it
has improved, the commission agenda should be
more precise so people interested in certain agenda
items could schedule their
day accordingly.

I disagree with the commissioner/WYDOTs decision

to construct a new bike path
from Trappers Lane to the
airport. I voted against it on
the Rec Board. There are
bike paths covering the
county that need maintenance. We continue to appropriate funds for new
projects that will also need
maintenance.

Not here to dwell on the

past. Looking to move forward in a positive manner.

My experience on many
boards shows that tough
decisions must be made.
They cant be made haphazardly or quickly. All
the information must be
gathered and discussed to
make the best decision,
knowing there will be 50
percent of the constituents
that disagree.

The decision by the commissioners to have a public

survey done on their
feelings about the critical
access hospital was so
poorly done as to be laughable. The commissioners
were so badly informed on
the issues that they shifted
the responsibility for their
decision to the public.

I disagree with an acrossthe-board cut to all organizational funding without

regard to the service being
affected or the organizations ability to bring revenue or impact into the
county. A good example is
the Museum of the Mountain Man. This is a reflection of our heritage and
should be nurtured.

Land purchase in Bondurant without an appraisal. I believe any land

or structure the county purchases should be done with
appropriate appraisals.

The county should support

community organizations as
funds allow. The current
process of organizations applying to appropriate boards
for grants should continue.
The funding/grants are
awarded depending on need
and the number of residents
that are benefited. With
county budget cuts, funding
will be more limited in the
future.

I do support these entities,

although as the economy
continues in a downturn
with revenue, we need to
prioritize and focus on duties that are required by
statute. It would be in their
best interest to become less
dependent on the county.

The countys first obligation is to do everything

they can to maintain a balanced budget. The answer
to this question goes back
to our legislative mandate.
That mandate establishes
our priorities, and that,
along with NEED vs.
WANT, is what I will consider in making decisions.

I am generally against supporting private organizations with public funds.

The exception is the Sublette Center since it involves the health and
welfare of our communitys elderly. This community
has
been
innovative and generous
with donations and financial support from its citizens and will continue to
be so.

I believe that true nonprofit 501(c)(3) or other

public entities should be
supported both financially
and encouraged. Many
gaps between for-profit
business and government
are filled by nonprofits. It
is important, however, that
public funds are not used
to fund organizations that
are not true nonprofit
501(c)(3).

Yes, but on a discretionary

basis. All support does not
have to be financial. A
prime example is Rendezvous weekend, where
county equipment and personnel help several organizations.

Our county stands out! People want to live here; they

just need the means to support themselves. We need to
continue to improve our
communications infrastructure to be able to promote
and sustain online business
and manufacturing. Transportation and distribution
can also be improved promoting and possibly expanding our airports.

Having better Internet

bandwidth and cell-phone
coverage would be beneficial.
Reliable communications
services would help our established businesses and
residents while improving morale, countywide.

Lets do what we can to

establish a sound foundation for the businesses we
do have and look to encourage more diversity.
People in Sublette County
are our greatest asset. We
want to make certain that
the business community
beyond our county is
aware of that asset.

Tourism should be promoted in as many ways as

possible. Our county
should encourage cottage
industries. We could use
attention to our zoning
rules and clean up the view
on the roads into our
towns. The rules are on the
books.

Old Wyoming was sustained by ranching, tourism

and minerals. One leg of
the stool has fallen off and
we need to find a way to
right ourselves again. We
need to capitalize on our
most precious natural resource our mountain
ranges. The recent mountain festival was a great
start.

Enhance what we have.

Wintertime activity is
pretty well established with
snowmobiling, ice fishing
and White Pine. The
uniqueness of the Wardell
Buffalo Jump, the Sommers Homestead, the drive
up Elkhart Park, Photographers Point and a myriad of
other interests could delay
travelers to Jackson or Yellowstone.

It Changes Communities
The presidential election isnt the only one you should be fired up to influence at the ballot box. In
fact, your local representatives, mayors and council members have more day-to-day impact on your
life than the president.
Local elected officials make decisions on policies that directly affect
your taxes, home value and professional
life.
The kids
Children cannot vote, but our communitys laws and policies still impact
them, especially when it comes to education. Our children are depending on
us to represent their voices at the voting
booth, and we must work to make sure
we dont let them down.
And speaking of children, one of the

best ways to ensure a bright horizon for

our democracy is instilling a voters
mindset at an early age. Talk to your
children or students about why voting
is so important to America and how it
can impact things that are important to
them like school, playgrounds and
public parks.
The impact
Your local representatives fight hard
for your personal rights at the highest
levels. Wages, pay equity, fairness in
hiring, pension security, taxes and

health insurance issues are a few of the

most important aspects of your life that
can be influenced by your local officials.
When you vote you are telling
elected officials how you feel about
these issues. Your vote can influence
decisions on funding for schools or
roads that you or family members may
use every day.
Local credibility
Citizens who vote hold more credibility over their non-voting counter-

parts when talking about issues in

their communities. Around the water
cooler at work or in the bleachers at
the high school football game, politics
are likely to pop into the conversation.
When you place your vote, your
voice becomes more powerful and justified to publicly convey your feelings
on specific issues. Whether you agree
or disagree with a certain policy or legislative item, your thoughts will be considered more vital in the political arena
if you vote.