Gazette chosen as county’s legal paper of record

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The Weston County Gazette will once again be Weston County’s legal newspaper after a 4-1 vote on Jan. 5. Newly seated Commissioner Don Taylor was the lone commissioner to vote against the motion to award the Upton paper the bid. 
During the first meeting of every new year, following the appointment of new officers for the board, the commissioners must select the legal paper, after a closed bid process. Both the Weston County Gazette and the News Letter Journal meet legal requirements set forth by state statute. 
After Chairman Marty Ertman read the bids from each paper, Commissioner Tony Barton moved to make the Gazette the legal paper. Barton said that his reason for doing so was fiscal, noting that the News Letter Journal’s bid was more than the Gazette’s bid. 
Taylor argued that while he understands the commission’s need to be fiscally responsible, he also feels the commissioners have a need to get the information to as many people as possible, which would be achieved through legal publications in the News Letter Journal. The News Letter Journal has more than twice the circulation of the Gazette. 
According to bid information provided by County Clerk Becky Hadlock, the Gazette reaches 690 people weekly and the proposed bid for publishing the minutes was $364.50. With an average distribution of 1,762 issues per week, the News Letter Journal’s bid was $608.  
“The price may be higher, but you have
to think about how much you are paying to reach how many people,” Taylor said during the discussion. 
He said that when you compare the number of people reached, the county would be paying far less per person if the Newcastle-based paper was chosen. 
“The News Letter Journal is read by more Weston County residents than any other publication that is eligible to publish county minutes. I encourage the Weston County commissioners to make it easier for the public you serve to remain aware of issues that concern them, and to participate in the decision-making process, the commission undertakes at its meetings by printing the county’s legal notices in the News Letter Journal,” Publisher Bob Bonnar said in the bid letter. 
Bonnar noted that the required minimum weekly distribution is 500 copies, set by Wyoming Statute 18-3-519. Also required in state statute is a minimum of 52 publications annually. 
Despite Taylor’s argument, the commission voted to award the legal paper bid to the Weston County Gazette without further conversation.