Johnson County Year-in-Review 2021: September to December

Today we wrap up our look back at Johnson County’s top stories during the last year as we focus on September through December of 2021.

In September, Buffalo Mayor Shane Schrader announced that Buffalo Police Chief Jason Carder had officially given notice of his pending retirement.

Chief Carder would retire in October after working the annual Monster March.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation held a public meeting in November to discuss the upcoming Buffalo Main Street project, which is scheduled to begin in 2024.

The $6.7 million project will resurface Main Street from the I-25 Interchange in the south to the I-90 Interchange in the north, improve ADA ramps, repair the Main Street bridge, and upgrade traffic signals.

Buffalo was one community chosen for revitalization efforts in a new HGTV series called, “Home Town Kickstart Presented by PEOPLE Magazine,” that will give six small towns: Buffalo, Wyoming; Cornwall, New York; Winslow, Arizona; LaGrange, Kentucky; Thomaston, Georgia; and Minden, Louisiana a major boost to re-energize their revitalization efforts.

A gravel pit is currently being considered on lands located at Buffalo’s Veterans Home of Wyoming, but local government officials are hoping to block that from happening.

Johnson County CommissionerBill Novotnysaid the county was contacted by the company that holds a mineral lease on the property, which they were not aware of.

A draft bill will be presented to the Wyoming Legislature in 2022 to protect the Veterans Home and other sites from this type of development.

A threat to schools across the country was taken seriously by the Johnson County School District and local law enforcement.

A Tik Tok Challenge was scheduled for December 17 and officials wanted parents and the community aware of the threat.

Acting Buffalo Police Chief Captain Garth Nicholas said there was law enforcement presence in the local schools and reported no incidents locally.

And those are the top stories in Johnson County from September to December of 2021.