January 31, 2022 |
Snow from a month of storms was plowed and stacked high along the streets of Encampment Saturday as the town hosted the Winter Carnival. It was the 35th annual mid-winter celebration featuring all kinds of family fun, including sled races and snowmobile sprints down the street by Grandview Park.
Things got cooking early at the Opera House where VFW Post 6125 hosted a pancake breakfast. One of the first arrivals was Wyoming Senator John Barrasso. The senator put a donation in the can, but declined any pancakes saying he just wanted to visit with the early risers. Senator Barrasso said he was happy to be away from Washington, D.C., and spending another weekend back home in Wyoming.
Pictured above: Sen. John Barrasso visits with Encampment resident Bob Herring at the pancake breakfast hosted by VFW Post 6125 during Encampment’s Annual Sierra Madre Winter Carnival. Photo courtesy Sen. John Barrasso/Twitter.
The senator had driven down from his home in Casper. Barrasso has spent nearly every Thanksgiving for more than a decade visiting Wyoming troops serving overseas. On Saturday, he chatted with veterans, one of whom said he was among the first Americans to arrive in Kuwait in 1990, Operation Desert Shield. Now, 32 years later, American soldiers are preparing for deployment to Eastern Europe. Senator John Barrasso said the conflict brewing over Ukraine is the result of weakness in the White House.
The senator’s remarks came a day after President Joe Biden said he will send 8,500 troops to NATO countries in Eastern Europe “in the near term.” Russia has deployed over 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an imminent invasion. It could be a defensive move as NATO ramps up its presence near the Russian borders. The U.S. last week sent Ukraine hundreds of missiles and other military supplies.
Barrasso said other enemies are emboldened by a White House that has bungled other challenges over the last year, from the third-world invasion at the U.S. southern border, to COVID and the economy.
Barrasso said he believes the U.S. should place stringent sanctions against Russia, including blocking the 745-mile Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline running from western Russia to northeastern Germany under the Baltic Sea. It was completed in late 2021.
NATO countries have threatened to block the flow of Nord Stream 2 gas if Russia invades Ukraine. Barrasso favors preemptive action.
Senator Barrasso had put 1,779.5 miles of distance between himself and Washington, D.C. as he visited with Platte Valley residents Saturday morning in Encampment. He wasn’t able to leave the problems behind. In fact, one could say the followed him, or even that that they beat him here. That’s why when he goes back, Sen. Barrasso has a simple message.
The senator is back in Washington today.
