August 9 and 12, 2016 Sublette Examiner and Pinedale Rounup Vote in Sublette County Page 5

& Answers
Kara Losik

Tom Noble

Mack Rawhouser

Kristin Roork

Courtney Skinner

Doug Vickrey

I have served on many local

boards and have been involved with many others. I
felt like this was the next,
best step in serving our
county.

I want be instrumental in
the growth and development of our county. As a
current member on the zoning board, I bring a knowledgeable and positive outlook to the table.

I have the proven ability

to LISTEN and work with
others towards a common
goal. That goal will always be what is best for
the people of Sublette
County.

I am running for county

commissioner because I
want to know how our
county is administered and
to ensure that our tax monies
are used responsibly.

I believe now is the time

when my leadership experience, tenacity and broad
background is most needed
by the county. I promise to
make us the best we can
be.

After living here all my

life, it is just time to give
back to the county that has
been good to me and my
family.

There are a lot of challenges,

but I believe the biggest
challenge besides the economy is maintaining our infrastructure for the future.
We enjoy many amenities in
Sublette County that require
good management and funding to maintain.

The residents of the county

and state have become accustomed to, and in some
cases, dependent upon, the
benefits of an operating
natural gas field in our
county. The challenge is
how to continue without
that huge revenue source.

As a county, we need to be
able to discuss issues and
learn from one another.
Then we can bring these
ideas together and with the
commissioners leadership, we can make good
decisions in the best interest of the county.

The biggest problem in our

county is the lack of foresight by the commissioners
with respect to the health,
safety and welfare of the
citizens of Sublette County.
The mandate of the county
commissioners is to plan
far ahead.

Lack of a common and

united vision to move toward the values we all hold
so dear. Our lifestyle should
reflect the reason why we
moved to this area in the
first place.

Maintaining the infrastructure we have in

place. With millions invested in facilities and a
road system second to
none, we cannot allow
deterioration. Prudent allocation of maintenance
funding will be a must.

Under W.S. 18-3-504, commissioners have a wide

range of duties, but my top
three priorities are to be
professional and understanding at 1.) Representing
the county. 2.) Examining
and settling all accounts. 3.)
Providing for the construction and maintenance of
county assets. We need to
take care of this county to
ensure that it will be sustainable for many years to
come.

Carefully maintaining
services and infrastructure
with less money.
Working with all county
entities to maintain a strong
presence at the federal
level for multiple-use of
public land.
The wellbeing and prosperity of businesses and
citizens of Sublette County.

In the Wyoming state

statute, county commissioners are charged with
the HEALTH, WELFARE
and SAFETY of the
countys residents. I take
these priorities seriously.
By continuing to focus on
these priorities, I believe
we will be able to do what
is best for Sublette
County.

The top three priorities of

the commissioners are
safety, which means law
enforcement and fire department. Second is health
care, including both clinics
and EMS. Health care includes care of the elderly
with safe housing and independent/assisted
living
with a new nursing home
facility. The last would be
infrastructure, as in road
maintenance and maintenance of county buildings.

1. Encourage public input

through open and aboveboard meetings, 2. Seriously consider the input,
and 3. Be fiscally responsible when acting upon it. As
a public servant, it is imperative that I clearly understand and be inspired by
the thoughts and ideas of
my constituents.

Being responsive to the

electorate. They are the
ones who have put you in
a position of trust and
leadership.
Being fiscally responsible. Seeing that that our
tax money is spent as prudently as possible.
Gather information. Decisions should be made
based on all available information.

Ultimately, we represent the

residents of Sublette County
and work for them. With an
open mind, I have invested
many hours of research on
the proposed CAH but do
not believe it is supported by
our community at this time.

The studies and surveys

that have been purchased
need to be thoughtfully
reviewed and the results
considered for implementation. We need to use the
information and not ignore
it.

Health care in this county,

in my opinion, is one of
the most important issues
facing all of us. I have
tried to stay current on this
issue but it is challenging.
I need more information
before I can decide.

I am in favor of the critical

access hospital. The RHCD
board has been working on
this project for two years
and after extensive research, the CAH is the only
viable alternative to continue excellent health care
in Sublette County.

Emphatically FOR. Sublette County is the only

county in Wyoming that
does not have a hospital.
The distance to medical
help is expensive, timeconsuming and life-threatening. Cost reimbursement
allowed under critical access hospital designation
will return Medicare dollars
to the county.

Against. At this time our

population and economy
does not justify the millions necessary to put a
CAH in place. I believe
our money will be better
spent keeping our clinics
and emergency services
operating at the highest
level possible.

I believe that reserves are just

that reserves. The reserve
accounts are not open to be
tapped into. They are split
into three funds, the cash reserve, equipment reserve and
the depreciation reserve,
which are all earmarked already and set aside in specific
reserve accounts for future
use. Our annual operating
budget is $49 million, which
doesnt allow much leeway.

There are approximately 25

reserve accounts in next
years budget to support the
operation, and maintain the
infrastructure of the county
for an estimated five years.
Use of these reserves needs
to be evaluated each year.
The commissioners need to
strive to continue to live
within their revenue.

Present county commissioners and past commissioners have done a

fantastic job putting
money away in reserve accounts. In these uncertain
times, I believe that reserves should only be used
to maintain the programs
we currently have. As new
initiatives/programs are
proposed, the funding
sources should be clearly
identified. I would need a
compelling argument to
use any reserves.

$165 million sounds like a

lot of money, but running
county services with tax
revenues decreasing by almost 50 percent makes it
extremely worrisome. The
old saying of Is it a WANT
or a NEED? must be the
criteria of the future commissioners when deciding
whether to continue to fund
any project, even if it has
been in existence for years.

More important is what it

should not be used for.
The criteria must be to
benefit every citizen of
Sublette County, not just
special interests. At the
moment, the only expenditure I know that meets
the criteria is the critical
access hospital. Other
considerations could be
those in alignment with
the shared vision, once defined.

County reserves are in

some way akin to our personal savings accounts.
They should be used very
sparingly. The when
and what for will be determined by the needs of
the future.

I believe in doing my homework. Its important to make

sure you deal with the right
office and appropriate level
of government for an issue.
Document everything and always be professional and understanding.
Never
underestimate the power of
visiting in person and always
organize to amplify your
voice!

Federal agencies are required to provide and offer

cooperative agency status
and coordinate with the
countys natural resource
plan. Working one on one
with our local and regional
managers and directors will
be key in maintaining a productive representation for
the citizens of Sublette
County.

In my experience, get involved at the state and federal level on committees,

and be able to spend time
as a commissioner on any
issues involving Sublette
County. I have the time
and I am excited about the
challenges of working at
the state and federal level
for Sublette County.

I would ensure that our federal representatives knew

us on a personal level. I believe that in government,
the squeaky wheel gets the
grease. Frequent contact to
inform them of our opinions, wants and needs is
part of the commissioners
responsibilities. They work
for us, not the other way
around!

I have personal experience in this area. I have

lobbied for and testified
for the Wilderness Act. I
was recently asked to be
the Wyoming representative along with others
from Montana, Colorado
and New Mexico in D.C.
in regards to the minerals
industries.

The current commission

has done a very good job
seeing that Sublette
County has been adequately represented on
federal issues in this
county. To maintain this
level, I refer to the old
adage If its not
broke, dont fix it.