Michael Konsmo returns to lead the discussions.

The program is offered by the Wyoming Humanities Council and is sponsored by the We the People initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  For more information on the council’s programs, call 307-721-9243 or visit the council’s website.

The exhibit continues in the Park County Archives hallway, just past the Children’s Library. There one finds multiple views of the Hayden Arch Bridge and the Buffalo Bill Dam Bridge under construction. There were two Sylvan Pass Corkscrew bridges. The original wooden Corkscrew Bridge dates from 1903 and was replaced in 1913 by a concrete one. Of the over 65 historical photos, most are from a collection donated to the Park County Archives by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. There is even an unidentified mystery bridge. For more information, contact Roween Weems at the Homesteader Museum in Powell  (phone: 307-754-9481, email: Homesteader@bresnan.net.)

Fines may be paid with pet food and with food for human consumption. Patrons are asked to bring enough food to be approximately equal in value to the amounts of their fines. 

Human and pet food items brought to the Cody Library will be distributed to the Cody Cupboard or the Park County Animal Shelter. Items collected at the Powell Branch library will be taken to Loaves and Fishes or Caring for Powell Animals. Food gathered at the Meeteetse Branch library will go to the Meeteetse Cupboard or to the Park County Animal Shelter.

Only canned or packaged dry foods in good condition can be accepted. The libraries cannot accept homemade, home canned or expired items.

The food banks and animals shelters may also need other necessary, non-food items, such as toilet paper, blankets, or soap. Patrons are advised to contact the organizations for more information.

The Food for Fines exchange is meant to wipe out overdue fines, although those who prefer may still pay fines with money. Food cannot be given in replacement for amounts owed for lost or damaged books.

Because of the economic downturn, the library system is aware that charities probably need more donations than usual. For that reason, Food for Fines is starting earlier this year and will extend through December 30.

Photographer Elise Arlton Hickey debuts her work in the library’s November art display.

Although she has taken photographs since she was young, she only began taking nature pictures in the last few years.  Hickey is a self-described impulse photographer, her subjects ranging from a four-eyed cat to rusted junk sedans called “No More Sunday Drives”.

Her landscapes are at once familiar, such as Heart Mountain and Castle Rock, and new, as seen through her lens.  Occasionally she will enhance the contrast on photos taken with her digital Canon camera. 

Many of the photographs on display are of local flora and fauna, large and small.  In the show of more than 20 photos, expect to see a blue heron, a blue bird, an elk cow snacking, a sleeping bee, or a Yellowstone wolf.

Hickey is a member of the Cody Camera Club.  Her companion on photo safaris is longtime friend and driver, Betty Marie Daniels.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place through all of November.

Susanne Lee is the municipal liaison for NaNoWriMo. Participants set their own word-count goals for their novels at www.nanowrimo.org. Writers may work individually or in small groups.

You win NaNoWriMo by writing to your word-count goal by midnight on November 30. There is an opportunity for winners to obtain a free proof copy of their manuscripts, according to the web site.

Lee, a Cody resident, said the objective of the national writing month is to encourage people of all ages to write. She said she has worked with people in Park County participating in NaNoWriMo for three years, but this is the first year the library has been involved.

A writer herself, Lee said she is pleased that NaNoWriMo has grown rapidly in popularity and she enjoys working with writers who join the project. Lee may be reached for more information at 899-1465.

For more information about how the Teen Library is involved in the novel-writing month, contact Waidelich at 527-1889 or at swaidelich@parkcountylibrary.org.

The program will take place both in Grizzly Hall and outside the building and is suitable for everyone 16 years of age and older.

Fleming, who is the training and fire protection officer for Park County Fire District 2, will begin the program with a lecture and slide show about fire behavior, the often-surprising speed at which fire moves, the right and wrong things to do if you are faced with a fire, and the proper use of fire extinguishers.

Rick Fleming

Afterward, he will take the audience outdoors for hands-on training with extinguishers against a live fire in a barrel. The training will proceed regardless of weather conditions except in case of heavy precipitation.

Every person attending may practice with an extinguisher, if they want to do so. Fleming said the training could help someone, who later must deal with an unexpected fire, to respond safely and with more control.

“If you can stop a fire before it spreads, you could prevent serious property damage or even save a life,” Fleming said. “Your quick reaction may even keep a firefighter from risking his life.”

He has been the district training officer for four years. Before that, Fleming was operations manager at Yellowstone Regional Airport, which included controlling fires, and was also a member of the Cody Volunteer Fire Department. His current work includes public education and he provides fire safety programs upon request.