GOSHEN COUNTY – Goshen County Commission voted unanimously to approve a contract with Mountain West Technologies to provide fiber internet for the county and the City of Torrington at their regular meeting on Oct. 6.

Jessie Bowen, director of information technology for Goshen County, said the project is in its beginning stages as Mountain West plans to run fiber from South Highway 85, through Torrington and north. Bowen said Goshen County and Torrington have a joint computer network, so they split the cost of services. 

The contract will give residents another internet service provider option. 

“(Mountain West) is going to be providing both wireless and fiber to residents,” Bowen told The Telegram. 

Bowen presented a report to the commissioners with the current cost for the county’s current three ISPs, Visionary Broadband, CenturyLink and Action Communications, which is $10,800. The county, he said, pays $5,400 and the city pays the remainder. 

With Mountain West, that cost will increase to $16,320, so the county portion should increase by roughly $2,760. He said he expects other minor one time costs, but he does not have that data yet.

“That’s if we keep Action as our backup and the new fiber as our primary,” Bowen said. 

If the county decides to drop Action Communications, they will lose the antennas purchased for $18,000, according to Bowen. 

Expense aside, Bowen said the new ISP would bring more reliable internet to residents.

“We’re gonna be gaining about 1,000% more bandwidth by going with Mountain West,” he said. “Also a lot more stability on our network so we won’t have as many outages. We’re going to gain a lot of stability.”

Bowen said the cost will be worth it, especially as residents and businesses continue to utilize more bandwidth amid the pandemic as they turn to video conferencing platforms like Zoom.

“I think this is something that will really benefit the county,” said Commissioner Cody Cox. 

“This day and age, we have to have this kind of stuff,” said GCC Chairman John Ellis. 

In other business, the GCC unanimously approved the Dinklage Feedyard Expansion presented by the Goshen County Planning Commission. 

Dinklage plans to expand from 27,000 head of cattle to 33,000 head of cattle, and Goshen County Planner Gary Childs recommended approval.

Rex Trumbull, general manager of Dinklage, said he appreciates members of both the planning commission and the GCC for coming to tour the grounds.

“We feel like we’re a huge part of this community, we bring a lot to the table as far as money spent in the community and payroll,” Trumbull said. “The expansion will allow us to hire more people.”

Fire Warden Bill Law gave a report and said he recommends the county continue with its partial fire ban for the remainder of October, given the dry forecast and the resources being lent to the Cameron Peak and Mullen fires nearby.

One Yoder Volunteer Fire Department truck remains at Cameron Peak, Law said, and numerous Goshen County units have assisted with the Mullen Fire near Laramie. 

As of press time Wednesday, the Mullen Fire has burned more than 161,000 acres according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

“Every day (the fire) presents a new picture and a new threat, and it’s continuing to grow,” Law said. 

Law said some Goshen County units are committed and others are on standby. For the Cameron Peak fire, units from Yoder spent 14-21 day stints in Colorado, but Law said they cannot do the same for the Mullen fire. 

“We’ll do the best we can in assisting our fellow counties because this is a disastrous fire,” he said. “Hopefully, a lot of people, even to the federal level, will learn about forest management from a new perspective. It has to come. We cannot allow this much destruction in America.”

Goshen County Emergency Manager Shelly Kirchhefer provided a COVID-19 update. The county has recorded 104 lab-confirmed cases total, 37 active and two deaths as of Tuesday at 3 p.m. 

Goshen County Clerk Cindy Kenyon said her office has already received 2,000 ballots for the upcoming November election. Kenyon said each day they’ve received roughly 100 mail-in ballots and seen between 20-30 people voting early in the office. 

“That will continue to increase day by day, up until the day before the general election,” Kenyon said.

During the public comment period, Joseph Randolph, an Eastern Wyoming College student, asked the commission if they could do anything about the college’s decision to hold most of its classes online rather than in-person.

“As a student, it’s way harder for me to learn in online classes because you don’t have the instruction you need, you don’t have the ability to talk to your teacher one-on-one,” Randolph said. “It’s way more different than I thought it would be, coming to college.”

The commissioners said they do not have the authority to make any changes to EWC procedures or COVID-19 restrictions. The resolution they passed in August regarding county-wide coronavirus restrictions does not rule out state public health orders, which govern the actions of Wyoming’s community colleges. 

Cox said he tried taking online classes in college, and he agrees with Randolph’s sentiment.

“I’m with you, I need that hands-on, to go to class every day,” Cox said. 

“Thank you for your comments,” Ellis said. “We appreciate you coming, because the people are going to have to fix it, the government’s not going to fix it.

“Don’t hesitate to keep in touch with us.”

The next GCC meeting will be held at the Goshen County Courthouse on Oct. 20.