Thumbs up to the recent snowfall. It’s easy to gripe about shoveling snow and scraping off windshields, but this week’s snowstorm is excellent news for the Big Horn Basin and Wyoming as a whole. 

On Monday, the Big Horn River Basin held 80 percent of the average snow water equivalent, and Wyoming overall was at about 90 percent, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

It had been particularly dry out there, and now it looks like the snow water equivalent is getting closer to normal. 

Buffalo Bill Reservoir’s levels were low, and everyone in the Basin depends on reservoir water supply for everything from field irrigation to taking a shower. This week’s snowstorm was a much needed boost to that and rejuvenates vegetation in the area — meaning more forage for wildlife and less risk of wildfires as long as everything stays wet. 

Let’s just hope this precipitation keeps up so that spring and summer will have plenty of green.

Thumbs down to the price of gas going up while the price of oil remains low. Gas gets more expensive to produce as refineries switch over to the summer-blend for gasoline, according to AAA. 

But, the numbers never really seem to match up.

Right now, a barrel of oil costs $38.50 per barrel compared to one year ago when oil was between $60-$65 per barrel. Meanwhile, prices at the pump now are about the same as they were a year ago. 

It doesn’t really matter how expensive gas gets, if oil continues to be low then our local oil workers will remain unemployed and Wyoming’s financial troubles will continue. 

It would be nice to see the price of gas more directly reflect the price of oil — but it would be nicer to see oil go up enough to at least get Wyoming’s gears turning more smoothly. 

Thumbs up to the Powell-Shoshone FFA Club’s success at the Northwest College contest earlier this month. An added bonus to Powell hosting this event means NWC had a lot of potential future students take a look at the school and the city.

The horse judging team came in second place, livestock judging placed fourth and meat judging ranked sixth as they competed against hundreds of other FFA students from across the state.

These contests function similar to speech and debate tournaments, but with an agricultural theme. It helps to be knowledgeable about livestock and agriculture, but being able to communicate that knowledge clearly and convincingly is what really brings in the points, and our local students did very well. 

The team will compete at the state FFA contest next week in Cheyenne, and we wish them luck. 

Thumbs down to the increasing production costs farmers are facing locally and nationally. We understand that inflation happens and costs increase over time, but this is normally a gradual process. 

It is a difficult pill to swallow when feed has increased 16 percent in just one year’s time, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Everything from parts and repairs to supplies have increased in cost at a rate that has a lot of farmers “scratching their heads” on what to do, according to Wyoming Seed Certification Manager Mike Moore. 

The ag industry is literally our bread and butter — nobody eats without it, and it’s a major source of revenue. 

For every dollar production costs go up, that’s one less dollar in a farmer’s pocket. That means not only do they have less to spend, but it also makes the profession of farming less appealing to potential future farmers. 

Thumbs up to the tenacious Powell High School soccer players. As the spring season was getting started, they insisted on continuing to have outdoor practices despite foul weather. 

One of the players reportedly said, “If we’re going to be playing in this type of weather, we’d better practice in it.” This is a fine example of our young local athletes stepping up to the challenges that come with spring sports, and we’re excited to see where that hard-working attitude takes them on the field and in life.