EDITORIAL: A salute to former and new chiefs of fire department

Posted 1/29/15

Joey Darrah stepped down after nine years in charge of the department. We applaud him for his years in the white helmet, and note that he will remain a firefighter.

Darrah’s service is a family tradition. His father Joe also was a fire chief. …

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EDITORIAL: A salute to former and new chiefs of fire department

Posted

Thumbs up to Damian Dicks, who is the new chief of the Powell Volunteer Fire Department.

Dicks, a 12-year veteran of the department, had been the assistant chief for three years. At the end of 2014, firefighters elected him chief.

Joey Darrah stepped down after nine years in charge of the department. We applaud him for his years in the white helmet, and note that he will remain a firefighter.

Darrah’s service is a family tradition. His father Joe also was a fire chief. It’s a calling, something these men feel obligated to do for their community.

These volunteers respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to fires, vehicle crashes and all sorts of emergencies. We admire them for their service and are confident Dicks, a Northwest College employee, will provide another steady hand on the reins.

Thumbs down to the idea of allowing people to retrieve road kill, apparently for the meat.

The Wyoming House of Representatives is dealing with a bill proposing that. Supporters say it will allow people to feed their families while getting the carcasses of animals slain by vehicles off the roads.

We can think of numerous reasons this is a bad idea: The meat may be spoiled and could be dangerous to consume. The animal could be diseased. The bill could lead to people purposefully striking and killing animals; this is no way to hunt.

The proposed law also would expose people to great risk, since they would be taking the animals off roads that are busy enough that cars struck and killed them. This may lead to some human road kill, and we’d hate to see that happen just so someone can fill a freezer or obtain a taxidermy mount.

We’re not naive enough to believe this doesn’t already happen. But passing a law will only encourage more of it and place people, and perhaps game animals, in harm’s way.

This is a poor idea. The Legislature needs to drive on past this proposal.

Thumbs up to the warm winter of 2015.

There is little to no snow on the ground, and we saw an unusual January rainfall on Wednesday. The highs have been in the 40s and 50s. And yet the calendar indicates it’s January.

Unless we’re experiencing a mass mini-Rip Van Winkle, and it’s actually April, this is a remarkable winter. The warm conditions are predicted to remain for weeks; there is a chance we really won’t experience much winter this year.

Some are missing the bite in the air, the chill of the morning, the icy cold of the evening. Don’t include us in that number. We like these pleasant conditions.

Of course, we’re concerned about moisture, but since snowstorms in March and April are frequent events here in the high desert, we will hope that part of the year is more normal.

In the meantime, enjoy the warmth.

Thumbs down to the reliance on political dynasties in America.

Right now, Hillary Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, is the Democratic frontrunner for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016. Clinton has been a successful lawyer, senator and secretary of state in addition to serving as first lady, but there’s little doubt her last name is a major asset.

The Republicans, meanwhile, are looking at former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, as a leading candidate for 2016. It’s easy to see why —the GOP has not won a U.S. presidential election without a Bush on the ticket since 1972.

The GOP won five with a Bush running — 1980, ‘84, ‘88, 2000 and 2004.

Bush met last week with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is strongly considering a third try at the White House. Romney’s father George was a popular Michigan governor before mounting a failed run for president in 1968.

Of course, the Kennedy family produced a president and two brothers who sought the presidency. For decades, a Kennedy was a leading figure in the Democratic party.

Does this republic secretly crave royal families? Is it simply a matter of the power of brand names? Or are these people really the best choices for the nation?

We hope voters take a close look and listen to the candidates next year and ignore their last names.

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