◆ Office opens at 11 a.m., Public is invited.

The Star Valley Field Office for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis will officially open at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 13, at 80 First Ave, Suite 105 in Afton. The public is invited to the opening.

“Its ’s a first for Star Valley and a first for Sen. Lummis,” said Sarah Hale, the Senator’s Southwest Wyoming director.

Hale advised Sen. Lummis is reaching out to the rural areas of Wyoming with plans for the Star Valley office and a new Sundance office in the coming weeks. Other offices could be considered at later dates. “Sen. Lummis is interested in hearing from the whole state, so she is putting some offices in small communities,” Hale said. “Before, you had the Casper, Gillette and Cody offices.”

Hale will base out of the Star Valley office and will oversee a five-county area, including Lincoln, Teton, Sublette, Uinta and Sweetwater counties.

“I spend a lot of windshield time getting out into those communities and relaying their concerns to Sen. Lummis, Hale said of her travels throughout southwest Wyoming.

Her responsibilities include meeting with constituents and dealing with specific case work such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, federal lands, veteran’s affairs, passports and other matters directly related to the federal government.

Hale, the former editor of the Star Valley Independent, emphasized the importance of in-person meetings with her responsibilities.

“Face-to-face conversation are infinitely better than over the phone and over the Internet,” she explained. “It cuts through the red tape with a face to face conversation, simply because there is not time wasted trying to understand an issue. You can actually see the person and get a feel for what their issue is and maybe see a pathway to help them. “

When Lummis is traveling in western Wyoming, Hale is also responsible for coordinating meetings for the Senator.