The following letters to the editor appeared in the April 8, 2026 edition of the Star Valley Independent.
Small Towns, Real Power
By Amber Hyde
Disclaimer: The following article is protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and reflects the author’s opinions based on publicly available, information and legislative proceedings.
In Lincoln County, Wyoming, we pride ourselves on independence, grit, and community. But there’s a hard truth we need to face: self-government only works when the public actually shows up. Not online. Not in comment sections. Not behind anonymous profiles. In person. Town councils, county commissioners, school boards, and special districts are where decisions are made that directly impact your property taxes, your land use, your schools, and your freedoms. These meetings are not ceremonial. They are the legal heartbeat of local government.
When seats are empty, decisions still get made—but without you. When the room is full, elected officials behave differently. Questions get sharper. Transparency improves. Accountability be comes real. Under Wyoming’s Public Meetings Act, government bodies must conduct meetings openly, provide advance public notice, publish agendas when available, and keep official minutes. All schedules should be available on the Government or Board website. If they are not listed, Call and find out.
Public records—including meeting minutes, budgets, and communications—are accessible under the Wyoming Public Records Act, and are generally posted to the agencies web page. Locally, Government leaders and elected officials are your neighbors. That proximity is power—but only if you use it.
How to Participate
Find meeting schedules online.
Show up early. Make notes of your questions and their answers.
Be concise and factual.
Follow up in writing.
Request documents when needed.
Social Media Isn’t Accountability. Posting online may feel productive, but it carries no legal weight and creates no official record. Government bodies are not required to respond to social media posts—but they are required to respond to formal public comment and records requests. State Representatives Work for you. Contact them before and during legislative sessions. Be specific, respectful, and persistent.
The Bottom Line …Freedom is not maintained by opinion—it is maintained by participation.
Show up. Ask questions. Put your voice on the record. Just decisions from leadership can not be expected without out oversight from the citizens their decision directly affect. Silence is as good as consent.
Paid for by Amber Hyde
My Two-cents Worth
Dear Editor
My total today at the grocery store was $20.78, so I handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill, three quarters and three cents. “It’s actually $20.80” said the cashier. I looked at the receipt and it said “$20.78”. The cashier explained that they no longer give back change in pennies. “I don’t need any change. I’m giving you the exact amount” I said. “We now round it up. It’s called “cash rounding”. So, I took back my three cents and paid a nickel.
It’s not about the money.
It’s the principle of the thing.
Val Chadwick Bagley
We Need a Digital Privacy Act
Dear Editor,
The US Constitution does not express an explicit “right to privacy” however the Supreme Court has recognized implied privacy protections derived from several amendments. In 1977 they acknowledged that the Constitution protects a right to privacy for “information and against the disclosure of personal matters”.
The State of Wyoming is at a crossroad where data privacy for legal entities, whether a natural or juridical person, is at risk for the sake of Federal Financial requirements while assuming National Security trumps Constitutional protections without due process.
The Fifth amendment provides a clear right to refuse disclosure of personal information which should be applied against wholesale data collection. The Fourth amendment, guards against government access to personal information without probable cause. The First amendment supports refusing disclosure in contexts where revealing identities and or affiliations would chill protected expression or associations.
It is disconcerting that the State of Wyoming has not adopted a digital privacy act which requires best efforts to collect personal data only when having a justified cause, protects data that does not belong to the state, assumes restoration for data breaches, and would disallow the exposure of personal ownership data to third parties, as SB-0082 does.
My intent as a Wyoming resident and technologist is to advise the Wyoming Legislature to adopt a digital bill of rights that includes data privacy protection law. I also believe that when the state can take steps to protect their own data (like parcel ownership) which would substantially reduce fraud, they should be obligated to perform those steps.
Individuals also have a duty to encrypt and protect their own data. Shouldn’t the State, federal government, and financial institutions have the same duty? And if your jurisdiction changes, does their right to hold your data still apply? The idea that using privacy protection implies guilt, or that only total transparency proves innocence, is false. This notion undermines the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Protect Wyoming’s rugged individualism, limited government, and personal freedoms.
David Roland
Protesting
Dear Editor,
On March 28, I protested in both Jackson and Thayne and was proud to be there with over 1000 people in Jackson and 75 in Thayne.
I protested over our Congressional members who are unresponsive with our concerns. Senators Lummis and Barrasso email me back but with canned responses.
I have called Representative Hageman numerous times and I have yet to receive any type of response from her. I am a Veteran and I’m concerned about health care. I noticed today that the Republicans might want to cut health care costs to help fund the War.
How can this President have no plan. I used to always vote Republican but no longer. Millions of Americans are mad and upset. And you should be too!!
Jeff Bowen
