Thumbs up to Jim Stringer’s induction into the High School and Middle School Coaches Hall of Fame by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

July 18 will mark one year since the beloved Powell High School football coach’s sudden death from a heart attack at the young age of 44. 

On July 24, Stringer will be inducted in the Hall of Fame. We’re glad to see him honored and remembered in this way.

Under his leadership, the Powell Panther football team won four Class 3A state championships. Stringer would have entered the 2014 season with three consecutive state titles and a 27-game winning streak.

We admired coach Stringer for the lessons he taught both on and off the field. 

In addition to being a dedicated and hard-working coach, Stringer was a respected teacher and a loving father and husband. 

The Powell community continues to feel the loss, but we know that Stringer’s legacy will be long remembered.

Thumbs up to the expansion of the Briess malt barley facility near Ralston. The two new 750,000 bushel bins will bring the total onsite storage to 3.8 million bushels.

We’re encouraged to see signs of growth in the agriculture industry, both in the thriving fields surrounding Powell and in the new storage bins under construction.

Briess Malt and Ingredients, based in Wisconsin, is the leading producer of specialty malts in North America. With the craft brewing industry growing at 18 percent per year, the expansion of the Ralston facility is good news for area barley growers and our local economy.

“The craft brewing industry is very interested in the barley here because of the high quality and the stability of the crop,” said Rick Redd, regional manager for Wyoming Barley Operations.

Last week, MillerCoors celebrated the local crop during Barley Days in Powell.

“We’re here because we just care so much about what you do,” said Pete Coors, chairman of MillerCoors, addressing the growers.

Whether they grow barley, beans, sugar beets, gluten-free oats, sunflowers or a variety of other crops, local ag producers remain the bedrock of our community.

Thumbs down to the deteriorating conditions of Wyoming’s roads, particularly Interstate 80. 

On an average day, more than 8,000 vehicles travel on I-80, with trucks accounting for more than half of that traffic, according to The Associated Press. The state’s chief highway engineer told the AP that Wyoming is struggling to cover the wear and tear created by those heavy trucks.

We don’t often complain about traffic in Wyoming. The state is blessed with wide-open spaces and gridlock traffic is a rarity here. Usually, the only traffic jams we see in this corner of the state are in Yellowstone, when drivers stop in the middle of the road to see a bear, bison or other wildlife.

But higher traffic volumes are a concern on I-80 and other heavily traveled routes in Wyoming. What makes I-80 unique is that 85 percent of the traffic doesn’t originate in the state or have a destination in Wyoming — the drivers are simply passing through, said Del McOmie, chief engineer with the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

Truck traffic is taking a toll on I-80, and state leaders must consider how to pay for maintenance costs in the future.

Thumbs up to the Freedom Celebration in Cody on Friday afternoon. All veterans will be honored during the event, with a special tribute to those who served in Vietnam.

Hosted by the Park County Republican Party, the annual celebration begins at 1 p.m. Friday at the State of Wyoming Veterans Memorial Park in Cody.

Honored guests will be in attendance, including Joe Medicine Crow. The 101-year-old veteran also will serve as the grand marshal in the Cody Stampede parade on Friday and Saturday. A World War II veteran, Medicine Crow is the last member of the Crow tribe to become a war chief. In 2009, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.

Other honored guests include Lt. Col. Raymond O’Leary, USMC Retired, Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, Vietnam veteran Bob Richard and the Marine Corps mounted color guard.

Amid the parades, rodeos, food and fireworks of Fourth of July festivities this week, the Freedom Celebration offers a time to honor and thank the men and women of America’s armed forces.