Buy a vacuum - get free baking soda

If someone bangs on your door and asks if you want a decrepit box of baking soda, it may not be a knock-knock joke.

Apparently, door-to-door Kirby Vacuum salesmen have been traveling through the Big Horn Basin over past months using a bizarre method to get their foot in the door.

They were apparently in Cody this past summer, in Cowley in November, and tried unsuccessfully to hit-up Powell last month. Two vacuum salesfellows were issued misdemeanor citations here, Dec. 14.

My step-brother-in-law, Hauns Schnackenberg of Cody, had a salesman try the routine this summer. He recently recounted the strange presentation.

Hauns recalls answering a knock at the door around 9 p.m. one night. A windowless van was parked in front of his house, and a young man was standing on the doorstep, holding a beat-up box of generic baking soda.

"You want some baking soda?" the guy asked.
An unrepresentative photo illustration. Baking soda was reportedly generic, and the vacuum, though unwanted, was nice and new.
Hauns was a bit confounded. "If I had been on my toes, I would have said, 'Yeah, I just ordered this,'" but instead, "I was like, 'I don't know. I guess? Whatever.'"

That was a mistake.

"I took the baking soda, and the next thing I know, he was sprinting to his van," Hauns recalls. "And he came back with a big box."

The entryway entrepreneur quickly began pulling parts from the box, rapidly assembling something as methodically as an Army Ranger putting together a rifle. Hauns asked what he was doing.

"Oh, just a minute, I'll have it put together - you'll see," said the assembling young man.

It quickly became apparent that the ware in question was a vacuum cleaner.

"When I saw what it was, I was like, 'Aw, no!" Hauns said.

It took a concerted effort, but Hauns was eventually able to convince the salesman that he was not going to buy a vacuum. The seller headed for the exit, and, perhaps predictably, "on his way out, he takes the baking soda back," Hauns said.

The obvious question in the whole thing, is why anyone would use free baking soda as a way to get into someone's home. Kirby sellers elsewhere have used promises of complimentary carpet cleaning - using baking soda to demonstrate the device's suckiness (one example). But using the soda as the bait seems a bit off.

"I think the reason is it's so baffling to people," Hauns said. "It catches them off guard."

In December, in what appears to have been a similar presentation format, a pair of Casper vacuum pitchmen were cited by Powell Police for violating the city's Green River ordinance (yes, named after that Green River).

Basically, Powell's ordinance requires that door-to-door salesfolk - or "transient merchants" - get a $35 city permit approved by the Chief of Police before peddling their wares in town. Additionally, it's illegal to knock on someone's door for commercial purposes unless you've been invited to do so. You can read the the City Code here (PDF). The relevant section starts at 5.28.010.

The two Casper gents had been warned to stop the day before, but continued anyway, said Police Chief Tim Feathers. The offense carries up to a $750 fine. They were ultimately fined $60 in municipal court, Jan. 7.

BBC doc features Powell, Shoshone Irrigation District

Scenes from Powell and the Shoshone Irrigation District will be on TV this month as part of a four-part documentary series airing on BBC America.

Last spring, as part of a series on the U.S. and the West, Oxford Film and Television of London videoed the Powell area and a few locals (see May 13, 2008 Powell Tribune article).

The film, titled “The American Future,” will air Jan. 19 and 20 in two episodes each day.

Here's a synopsis of the documentary from the BBC site:

Shot against the backdrop of the recent US Presidential election, historian Simon Schama reveals how voters, anxious about a shaky prosperity and an on-going war, have become disillusioned with their government in numbers that haven’t been seen since Watergate.

Schama takes a look at four of the critical issues facing the country: war, religious or moral fervor, immigration, and the relationship between the expectations of prosperity and the reality of economic and environmental limits.

The film crew appeared to enjoy their experience here and passed their appreciation to Shoshone Irrigation District Manager Bryant Startin and company for their help.

“We really can’t make these films without people giving us great stories and wonderful locations,” said Oxford Film and Television in a letter to the District.

Startin said he hopes the documentary will help people realize the importance of water and irrigation in the West.

BBC America is on Direct TV channel 264; Dish Network, channels 135 or 879; Bresnan, channel 162 and TCT West, channel 72.

Powell volunteer firemen take strong-arm approach

Don’t get me wrong - I have no wish to make light of the situation that involved a serious car accident. But I was mighty impressed with Powell Volunteer Fire Department muscle recently.

This week, a gal from Cody rolled her Ford Explorer over a guardrail after sliding in slush. It was a bad wreck.

Fortunately, the driver was released from the hospital the same day.

Her car was wheels-up - like a turtle with a smashed shell kicking the sky. Rather than employing jacks or winch trucks to right the very-wronged rig, the boys simply flipped it over by hand.Sorry the photo is not more dramatic, but the operator was slow with the shutter. I ain’t no ace photographer, but I try.

The firefighters are an awesome bunch, responding to scenes of devastation and often saving the day.

I would encourage joining the fire department, but make sure you have a strong stomach and are cool under pressure. It is no job for namby-pambies. Often, their job is downright grim - not to mention stressful - at highway accidents.

If fighting fires or lending a hand at grisly car wrecks is not your cup of tea, try volunteering with civic groups or other meaningful community organizations.

Volunteering can be a pain in the posterior. It is often time-consuming and you don’t get paid a darned thing. The unparalleled bonus, however, is the warm feeling of serving your community and making it a better place to live for all.

Email interview: Christopher Sanders and the illegitimate Yellowstone evacuation notice

An unqualified geologist is in a bit of trouble with the United States Geological Survey after issuing an bogus evacuation warning for the area surrounding Yellowstone National Park.

On Jan. 1, Christopher C. Sanders posted a YouTube video and web announcement warning everyone within a 200-mile radius of Yellowstone's volcanic caldera to evacuate, and used a USGS logo to do so. He was apparently spooked by the large number of small Yellowstone earthquakes in recent days.

The only problem? The USGS has seen no data suggesting a supervolcanic eruption is on the way and is/was not issuing any sort of warning.

(For those of you busting out Google Maps right now, Powell's definitely included in the 200-mile range.)

Sanders, who claims to be a natural gas operator based in California, dubbed himself a geologist, put the USGS logo on a Web page, and told folks to pack their bags under the header "Yellowstone National Park - State of Emergency."

On Wednesday, the USGS issued a news release denouncing the warning, and said they were taking legal action to have the logo and evacuation notice removed.

I was blown away by the audacity of the whole thing, so I had sent out an email to Sanders last Friday, and got this response early Saturday morning (Jan. 3). I was saving the comments for a column-in-progress about the whole situation, but with Internet buzz now focusing on the guy and him being apparently unreachable now, it seems appropriate to share his email in its entirety.

My only edits to his reply were some formatting tweaks to make it easier to read. Typos are his. My questions are in bold.

1. Is your evacuation warning serious, or are you just pulling off a prank?

C.J. Baker - I am serious. I think it safe to stay away while the earthquakes are showing movement. I have been right predict many disasters over the last decade in California.

2. Why a 200 mile radius as opposed to the 600 mile radius scientists have predicted would be devastated?

based on seismology and the results I have given a radius of 200 - 300 miles. I am looking at the data.

3. Why should folks believe your advice over that of government officials and more established geologists?

- Government officials will listen when they know that one of their BLM officials is speaking out. My wells produce 17% percent of the nations natural gas in the Barnett shale in Texas, New Mexico, and the Bakken Shale in Montana.

I am a federal operator with the BLM / bureau of land management and am the S&P's highest paid consultant for natural gas in the United States. No one is more established than I am underground. I feel as though I am the most established geologist as my drilling record speaks for itself and who else is paying attention to the movement? People should know the facts and get moving and aware. Its also good advice for news and media in the area to monitor all movement for the sake of what is real news.

For to die in a volcano cloud like Mt. Saint Helen's - did you see what that did? Well we have the same exact signs here. Only this is a bigger volcano.

4. Why brand your web page with a USGS logo? Couldn't that mislead people into thinking you're an official USGS scientist? Is that the intent?

I am a scientist. The web page is posting direct facts about what is happening under the ground. I am showing where it is coming from. I want people to know where these facts that are coming from our own government - that is the point.

I produce Oil & Gas on BLM lands - I operate federal leases and I have for the last three administrations. I also will be continuing me services for the BLM with Obama. Who else should tell the people? Why is anyone else not telling the people? Perhaps Christmas and the New Year has taken everyone's attention away from the earth and mosy people do not live in your area.

Why is it not news? Why is hurricane Ike not news? We only have about 5 cities devastated around Galveston Texas leaving over 500,000 people without homes - that is not news either. No our banking industry and what we are doing with that money has taken the limelight versus our own safety.

This is official information in everyway. I would rather be wrong than have the death of countless people on my conscious. If I am right everyone in the area could die - If I am wrong - I am only wrong for an amount of time. I am merely suggesting to pay attention and to leave the area while we have underground activity. - and yes to the USGS.gov and to my site for updates.

The email was signed:

Chris Sanders
President
The Gas Company
chris.sanders@yahoo.com
7510 Sunset Blvd. Suite #1073
Los Angeles, CA 90046

NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION
http://www.thebarnettshale.com

PLANT A TREE TODAY!
http://www.kiritree.com

WORLD WIDE WATER PLAN
http://www.worldwidewaterplan.com

We'll have more on this as things develop.

Coulda sworn I did this last week...

Constitutional Amendment A necessitated a take B for Park County Commissioners Dave Burke and Bucky Hall.

You may recall that in Tuesday's Tribune, we ran a photo of the two commissioners getting sworn-in on Dec. 30. Here it is (from l-r: Judge Steven Cranfill, Hall, and Burke):Turns out, it didn't count.

Back on Nov. 4, in addition to electing Burke and Hall to the commission seats, voters also approved Amendment A, which shortened and modernized the oath of office taken by elected officials. Last week, Burke and Hall were mistakenly asked to recite the old pledge.

The situation was rectified yesterday over lunch break in District Court Judge Steven Cranfill's chambers. Both commissioners swore to the new oath and signed off, making things officially official, even though their dress was bit less formal.Burke and Hall had already conducted a morning's-worth of business, but Judge Cranfill said he didn't believe there were any legal issues. He quipped that the commissioners were now "doubly sworn in."

Five bizarre things you probably didn't know about our '08 elections

Public processes can get a little messy, and no more so than at elections time. From hanging chads to lost ballots, things can get strange.

Here are the five most bizarre things I ran across this election cycle in Park County. Now one more than month removed from the election, I think it's safe to put together a final list.

1. Getting a text message from Park County Commission candidate Hank Whitelock on Primary Election Day, asking me to vote for him. In a race where no candidate even set up a web site, getting invasive electronic campaigning was a little bizarre. I'm pretty sure he simply texted everybody in his address book (I had previously called him from my cell), but it was still weird.

Speaking of weird, for the record, that's not my hand. It belongs to composition whiz Carla Wenksy.

2. The flood of emails from anti-Obama campaigners on election eve. On Nov. 3, everyone at the Tribune with an email address - from the front office folks to the press room - was inundated with messages letting us know of Obama's promise to like to bankrupt the coal industry, in hopes we would run a story about it. Through some investigative email replying, it was learned that the barrage was orchestrated by PUMAs. The PUMA movement (which originally stood for "Party Unity My A**", but was later changed to "People United Mean Action") began after Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic Presidential nomination.

And apparently, their mailings were effective in some areas.

One emailing supporter who was gracious enough to respond to my inquiries, explained the movement's origins this way:

"They saw the fraud at the caucuses. It's not about them losing and they are somehow sore losers. They saw the sexist tactics used by the Obama team in the primaries and carried forward into the general election. They came together in anger, but they quickly turned that anger into action against the Obama presidency.

I found them when I went out researching the PUMA's' that had been referenced on another blog, and I, like several others, at PUMA Pac am a Republican. The thing is we are ALL serious about getting the info out to defeat Obama."

I'll second the serious part. They referred to their mass mailings as a "daily prowl" and sent their messages to everyone they could at the Lovell Chronicle, Lusk Herald, Casper Star Tribune, Torrington Telegram, Guernsey Gazette, Douglas Budget, Jackson Hole News and Guide, and Platte County Record Times.

What makes the whole thing especially weird is that while Wyoming is a coal state, the PUMAs apparently overlooked the poll numbers showing Obama already hopelessly trailing in the Cowboy State.

Weeks before the election, even Obama's state director, Michelle Sullivan, was encouraging Wyoming residents to lobby their neighbors ... in Montana.

Then again, the PUMAs also predicted that despite poll numbers to the contrary, McCain was going to sweep the election in a landslide.

3. The importance of Ralston. The two Park County precinct results sought by national vote-tracker Edison-Mitofsky were the Cody Auditorium, and Ralston. With absolutely no disrespect to Ralston, there just aren't that many people there to effect the state-wide races Edison cared about. There must be something particularly special about those few hundred votes in precinct 21-1. Had the Lummis-Trauner results been a little closer, organizations like Edison-Mitofsky would have used data from Ralston to help predict a winner. Think about that one the next time you're tempted to say your vote doesn't count.

4. Having your boss run for elected office. I'll be frank - having Tribune publisher Dave Bonner seeking the House District 25 seat was awkward at times.

I remember when I first learned that Pat Slater was running a write-in campaign; I mentioned to Dave how cool it was to have some competition in the race. Then, I caught myself, realizing that for him, it meant more stress, time, and money. The paper, myself, and I think Dave, all welcomed another voice in the campaign, but that doesn't mean it was fun for him.

I don't think our coverage of the District 25 race was ever anything other than fair. Dave is pretty hands-off in terms of day-to-day editing these days, and he specifically stayed away from stories on his race. And contrary to some rumors, Dave paid for the Tribune ads out of his own pocket, not the Tribune's.

However, despite our caution, there was a slip-up in October.
On Oct. 14, we ran the at-left advertisements on page 4 of the Tribune Plus (the free ad mailer sent to non-Tribune subscribers in the area).

The advertisement urging readers to subscribe to the Tribune featured the April 3 cover of the newspaper. In that issue, the lead story was "Rec District Director Calls it Quits." Of course, that director was Pat Slater. And directly below that - same column width and everything - was Dave's campaign ad. That unintentional mess potentially created the impression that the goal was to disparage Slater while promoting Dave.

In reality, that Tribune subscription ad had been running at least since May - months before Pat decided to run his write-in campaign, and even days before the original filing period had closed.

It was an innocent mistake, but a stupid one on our parts. I think the Tribune consensus was that we should have caught it. It ended up not catching our attention until someone raised the issue.

Again, awkward.

5. The loser should have, could have, won in the hotly uncontested race for the Northwest College board seat for the Meeteetse area. James Sessions took the race with 45 votes to claim the NWC seat, defeating fellow seat-seeker Larry Todd, who fell 2 votes short with 43. Both Sessions and Todd were write-in candidates, as neither had filed for seat. Oddly enough, Todd actually had more people write in his name. However, Sessions had more supporters remember to fill in the corresponding "Write-in" bubble, said Park County Clerk Kelly Jensen. Both the name and bubble must be completed on the ballot for it to count.

Moral of the story? Never underestimate the importance of ballot access.

Or the complexity of the American electoral process.

Audio: Brian Doyle, soccer, and the Dalai Lama

Essayist Brian Doyle, editor of Portland Magazine, shared stories and read from his works at the inaugural Northwest College Winifred S. Wasden Memorial Reading back in October. What follows is an excerpt from Doyle's presentation, in which he talks about his four minutes of face time with the Dalai Lama.

Brian Doyle meets the Dalai Lama - 10:15
If the audio player doesn't work in the space above, you can download the recording here.