Paul Hagenstein Day!

Tomorrow is Paul Hagenstein Day in Pinedale. Earlier this week, Pinedale Mayor Rose Skinner signed a proclamation commending and thanking Paul for his long time public service to the town and Sublette County. The mayor especially noted Paul's 35 years of service on the Sublette County Historical Society.

Certainly Mr. Hagenstein deserves recognition for his public service, but my family remembers Paul for something more basic - being a kind human being.

My mother, Judi Shaul, remembers the kindness and compassion Paul showed her shortly after my dad died in 1972. The back fence to our house on Tyler Street fell over during the winter, and that spring Mr. Hagenstein found my mom outside struggling with the old fence. "I was young and scared and I didn't know anything," remembers Judi. "I didn't know how to dig a hole with a shovel let alone how to rebuild a fence."

Mr. Hagenstein stopped to help. "His heart went out to me," says Mom. Paul went back to his ranch and brought Mom some cured posts and showed her what she needed to do to get the fence built. "He gave me the courage and incentive I needed to do the job," remembers Judi. "He helped me more than he could ever know."

Another time, my mother was on her way back to town from cooking in Boulder, when the old truck broke down on the highway just across from the driveway to the Hagenstein ranch south of Pinedale. "Paul stepped off his tractor," she remembers, "and walked across the highway to help." She says he opened the hood of the truck, magically adjusted a piece of wire, and the truck ran fine for another year after that.

"Paul's probably one of the most decent people I know in Pinedale," says mom. "He is a terrific human being."

Thank you, Paul, and congratulations.

Skyline Drive Plowing

I'm almost too confused and disappointed even to comment. First, I'm disappointed in Mr. Thompson for not applying for the conditional use permit as he agreed back in December. Betty Fear has a right to be mad.

Second, I'm disappointed in the commissioners for making such a big deal of Skyline Drive. I went skiing at White Pine last Sunday and don't think the road is "treacherous." There is one half-mile section that is slick - but I had no problem driving it as long as I was going slow. The plowing job is no worse than the county-maintained portion of the drive up to the lake and I certainly don't think the county needed to take over its maintenance.

This fight is getting boring.

Power Franchise

Next week, Pinedale's Town Council is scheduled to hold a workshop to discuss re-authorizing the town's electric utility franchise with Pacific Power. Before doing so, I encourage the town to contact Lower Valley Power and Light to see if that company can offer electrical service to town residents, and if so, if it can beat Pacific Power's price.