Cheyenne Wyoming Area Expert Connie Webb: May 2010

According to the Humane Society of the United States, (HSUS), moving with your pet can be just as stressful for them as it is for you. With this in mind the HSUS has designed a pamphlet called 13 Steps to Finding Rental Housing That Accepts Pets for concerned and responsible owners.

Gus, my English Bull Dog, is a puppy and if he got lost during a move - that would be heart renching for me.  So I thought I would try to inform and educate anyone who is interested in keeping their animals during a move.  I know that many military people have this problem even to the point of having to give away, sell their animals, or worse. For the military personnel there is a program, to foster, board, or help the service person to keep their animals when they are shipped overseas.  This commitment can be as long as three years for anyone who aides in this program.  The military personnel are required to pay for food, medicines, etc. 

Our own Cheyenne Animal Shelter, has a list for pet owners also which includes some good tips on traveling with small animals, such as hamsters, rabbits, gerbils, etc.  There are other tips on this website that I found to be sensitive and helpful.

I know here in Laramie County and the City of Cheyenne, there are ordinances pertaining to animals, wild and domestic. So if you are contemplating a move to Wyoming check out the ordinances and the American Veterinary Medical Association, (AVMA), for info on traveling with your pet  via car, plane, train, boat, or bus.

Let me hear from you about your moving adventures with Fluffy or Fido.

BusinessWeek's fourth annual survey of the Best Places to Raise Your Kids only confirmed what we've always known - Cheyenne is a great place to live and raise a family. BusinessWeek partnered with OnBoard Informatics, a provider of real estate analysis, to survey and chose a winner for each state. The survey concluded that, in Wyoming, Cheyenne is the best place to raise a family.  For 2010, the second runner up was Casper.

From the survey,"Cheyenne, the state's capital and largest city, plays on its western roots, particularly with the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration, which includes one of the world's biggest outdoor rodeos. But it also has a symphony orchestra, theater companies, and a botanical garden."

They selected towns with at least 50,000 residents (Cheyenne population 54,872) and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000 (Cheyenne $60,832). The list was then narrowed to towns using the following weighted criteria: school performance; number of schools; household expenditures; crime rates; air quality; job growth; family income; museums, parks, theaters, and other amenities; and diversity. For 2010, affordability, safety, and school test scores were given the greatest weight.While the median household income varies by state, they purposely weighted the results to prevent pricing out most people. That's why, towns like Greenwich, Conn., with good private schools, low crime, and abundance of cultural amenities, were left out. It just costs too much to live in those cities.

Onboard Informatics's data sources: Relative safety was measured by the "total crime risk," an index of the combined risks of rape, murder, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, and vehicle theft. Crime scores were based on demographic and geographic analyses of crime over seven years. School performance was based on state reading and math test scores and came from Great Schools. Zoo data came from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and museum, theater, park, and recreation information came from InfoUSA. Air quality information came from the Environmental Protection Agency, household expenditures and diversity data were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, and job growth data came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hello Cheyenne. Summer is finally on the way. Are you thinking of things to do and places to take the kids this Spring/ Summer? You don't have to look any further than Cheyenne, WY's own Botanic Gardens. The Gardens are located inside Lions Park at 710 S. Lions Park Drive.  And, admission is free!

The Botanic Garden is home to the solar conservatory and the Paul Smith Children's Village. Check the website for hours of operation. The public grounds are open from dawn dusk, but the Conservatory and Children's Village hours vary depending on season, school calendar etc. The Children's Village was named for Paul Smith, a long time supporter of the Botanic Gardens and resident of Cheyenne. The Children's Village promotes and supports sustainability. A visit is not only fun but educational.  The Village offers children Storytime & Craft; Family Learning Sessions and, of course, demonstrations on solar heating, solar power and wind power. Check out the calendar of events for upcoming classes and projects.

 Although admission is free, donations are greatly appreciated. The Botanic Garden is a Cheyenne treasurer and should be sustained. You can do this financially but, you can also donate your time. They are also in need of seasonal volunteers. Volunteers provide 90% of the labor at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.  Labor costs are very often the most costly item in any budget. Because maintaining a botanic garden is labor intensive, volunteers offset a huge portion of the labor costs. With volunteers, the Garden can operate on a smaller budget.

Check in here if you would like to donate, volunteer or join as a friend of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.

I agree with you 100%!!!

Dear Military Personnel or Family or Friend of the Military:

I have just been made aware that it may be possible for you to still take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit. There may be an extension for military personnel who were overseas. Please see details below:

Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

I would be happy to help you look for your new home. Interest rates remain low and the inventory is high, so the time is perfect to find that new home.

Click here to Search for Your Cheyenne Home now.