It's an idea that has bagged supporters in San Francisco apparently, and now there may be a day soon where the question in Rawlins may never again be asked.

Paper? Or plastic?

The Rawlins Daily Times reported in its May 1 and 2 editions that there's support for an idea by City Councilman DeBari Martinez to eventually replace all the plastic shopping bags with a more environmentally-friendly grocery tote.

"I'd like to draw some attention to the plastic bags," Martinez told the Daily Times for its May 1 edition. "I know the state of California is trying to do something like this."

This proposal from the same city that once put forth an ordinance to ban any future smoking bans in Rawlins.

In fact, San Francisco has enacted such a ban, as have some others, including in New York.

Martinez told the paper that he got the idea for the ordinance after counting 11 plastic bags in 11 separate trees around town, the paper reported.

The next day, the paper reported of a small group of like-minded individuals who showed up at a City Council meeting to voice their support for a ban.

"There is the cost of cleaning up these bags and there is the hidden cost of people not coming to Rawlins or not stopping in Rawlins because it looks like people don't care about it, but of course we do," said Rev. Rebekah Simon-Peter was quoted in the Daily Times at the council meeting.

City fathers are looking into the idea, which will be complemented by public input, the paper reported.

Who was that hairy guy?

Now how many guys would try this?

Especially if you were only in the fifth grade, where peer pressure is perhaps at its height of insanity?

Austin Kinley was fearless in his quest. He would grow his hair out for charity.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide reported in its May 2 editions that Austin Kinley indeed completed an 18-month quest to complete his project to grow his hair for cancer patients.

Not that it was easy, Kinley told the paper.

"Some days I even came home crying," Kinley said. "I said I was doing it to give to bald kids, and they said that was even stupider."

Ah, misguided youth who mocked this young man.

On April 26, Kinley, 12, showed up at Jackson Hole Barber Shop and had his locks shorn, to be given to Locks of Love, which provides wigs and hairpieces to children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

Fellow barber Debbie Bancroft chuckled: "I see why you were being teased: You're pretty!" she told the paper.

Donating hair is apparently nothing new for Austin Kinley's family - his sister Amanda donated her hair five years ago.

Where, oh where has the little dog gone?

When he was alive, Larry Stott was a fixture around Buffalo, always with his service dog Trout, leading the way.

The Buffalo Bulletin reported in its May 3 edition that the town is concerned about the welfare of the dog, now that Larry Stott has passed. Stott died April 9, and since that time Trout has been shuffled between homes of a friend of Stott's and now in the care of another friend who lives at Sheridan Manor.

Trout's new home, at the retirement center with Gary Ketchum, seems to be working. "When I brought him back to the Manor, he ran right to my room," Ketchum told the paper.

Trout's service dog status has raised questions about the dog's new living arrangements.

There are some that are concerned that Trout's new arrangements don't constitute that of a service dog, the paper reported.

Ketchum, who has multiple sclerosis, has food and water in his room and says he takes the dog for walks several times a day.

"Trout makes my days go by faster," Ketchum told the paper. "He really is the belle of the ball."

A new place to play, in record time

There's a new place for the kiddies in Riverton, the (Riverton) Ranger reported in its May 1 edition.

What seems miraculous, at least in the eyes of a few, is the speed at which the playground at Jaycee Park was built, and the sheer number of people who made it happen.

The playground, which includes a castle, monkey bars and a climbing wall, was constructed by 1,000 volunteers over a span of just five days, the paper reported.

The playground was funded through $200,000 raised by a group of Riverton women, the paper reported.

"They were so organized," Candace Whitlock said of the people who worked on the project. "Everybody did a phenomenal job making sure the project was completed, from the very beginning all the way through build week."

Wear your birthday suits only

Hot Springs County sheriff's deputies were treated to an unwanted surprise recently at Hot Springs State Park.

Apparently, the (Thermopolis Hot Springs) Independent Record reported on May 3 of three individuals sunning themselves sans clothing on April 27.

"The men and the woman were sitting in the water," Deputy Jeremie Kraushaar told the paper. We'll just let him tell the tale, as he did to the paper in its most recent edition:

"They were lathering themselves up in the mud from the river, you know, the black smelly stuff. The woman had a large bandana covering her to p and both of the guys were naked."

The woman, Sarah Reid, 22, of Missouri, told deputies she didn't know it was a crime to be naked in a river in the U.S., the paper reported.

The three, when asked, all complied and put their clothes back on and piled back into their Volvo, where deputies found a small bud of marijuana, the paper reported.

Got a tip or an item you'd like to see in this column? Contact Night Editor David Mirhadi at (307) 266-0616 or david.mirhadi@casperstartribune.net