Campbell County

The committee was launched in 2018 to help address these issues in the county, but was disbanded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be revived in January with city, county, educational, prevention, and nonprofit organizations having a presence in addition to the public, which will have a larger role. This comes as Campbell County has set a record for suicides in a single year in 2022.

The Edible Prairie Project provides non-perishable food items via repurposed newspaper stands at several locations in Gillette and one in Wright. A recent $1,000 grant from the Gillette Elks Lodge will allow for more food to be purchased for those in need at a time when demand for it is at record levels. Two more newspaper stands are set to be added to the network of pantries in January.

The coal commercialization facility near Gillette that was the recipient of the "Overcoming Adversity" award from the Mid-American Economic Development Council. It recognizes projects, initiatives, or best practices in a community that are meant to overcome challenges faced by communities, states, or regions to provide a stronger future.

The 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee, also known as Camporee, is a major gathering held every five years by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Gillette was selected to host the event early last year, which will bring more than 50,000 people for a week in August 2024 and again in 2029. An amphitheater is currently under construction near the Cam-plex that will accommodate attendees.

The board has attracted both praise and criticism from members of the community over the past 15 months due to the library including books on sex education and LGBTQ topics in their collection aimed at children and teens. They also voted to cut ties with the Wyoming Library Association, amend the library's mission statement to include language on reflecting community values, and continue with plans on forming a commission to vet books for children and teens for content.

The city regularly hosts a wide variety of athletic events, including events and tournaments for baseball, basketball, wrestling, soccer, hockey, football, swimming and diving, and dance, among others. An increased emphasis has been placed on hosting additional events. There are also tentative plans on expanding the city's athletic infrastructure to increase capacity. Sports tourism has proven to provide a boost to the local economy when seasonal tourism slows down.

Window clings began to be distributed last month in addition to coasters to area bars and restaurants that provides a QR code and resources for suicide prevention resources available in the county as well as more generally. This comes as Campbell County's suicide rate is on the rise.

Around 8,800 students are enrolled this school year at the district's 24 traditional and virtual schools. School officials say that the the demand for mental health services is increasing about 10 percent each year, with an additional 10 percent of students at each school seeking them out. Efforts to improve the mental health of students has led to a decline in the district's suicide rate, which is on the rise in the county.

The partnership between Campbell County Health (CCH) and Sheridan Memorial Hospital was agreed to this week. Emergency medical services will begin under the new agreement on Nov. 19, which forms Wyoming Regional EMS, an LLC that will be funded by both entities but managed by CCH. This comes as many rural EMS providers nationwide are struggling financially and often find themselves short-staffed to meet demand.

The Fort Union Industrial Park northeast of Gillette will host the soon-to-be constructed facility, which is owned by Atlas Carbon and seeks to produce products, such as bricks and construction materials, made from Powder River Basin coal. Other stakeholders include the UK-based engineering and consulting company Wood, University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources, and Polaris Asset Corporation.