Oil City News23%
Local veteran to see August home electrical repairs following community support 12%
By Tommy Culkin11%
7/22/2026, 5:33:16 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Optimism Bias, Biased Writer Voice, and Availability Heuristic, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 15.1% saturation with 118 hits. Analysis detected 759 faulty-reasoning hits from 779 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 28.9% and a BS Rank of 12% (19,295 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 88.20% of the article peer group.
Pictured, Casper resident Roxy Helfrick poses outside his home that is currently in dire need of extensive electrical repairs.
(Tommy Culkin, Oil City News)
CASPER, Wyo. — Recently, Casper native and veteran Roxy Helfrick was faced with serious electrical problems at his house and repairs that were out of his price range.
Now, thanks to the support from local nonprofits and other community members, he is expected to see the necessary work done in August.
The electrical issues at the Helfrick residence stem from an outdated Federal Pacific Engineering panel, a type of equipment commonly installed in homes across the United States from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Helfrick said his house, built in 1958, still utilizes this specific system, which has since failed laboratory testing.
The primary defect in the panels, Helfrick explained, is that the breakers often fail to trip during an electrical overload.
Instead of shutting down as intended, the breakers are prone to overheating and starting fires, a problem linked to thousands of residential fires nationwide each year.
“The biggest thing is just the fire risk,” Helfrick told Oil City News.
“I forget what the percentage is, how many home fires they say are starting in the United States every year from these panels, but it’s in the thousands.”
Because of these safety risks, the panels no longer meet modern building codes and would not pass a standard home inspection, Helfrick said, making it difficult if not impossible to sell without an upgrade.
Helfrick said electricians advise against attempting to repair these units because replacement parts are unavailable and any minor fixes are considered an insufficient “Band-Aid” for a serious hazard.
Homeowners with these panels may also face significantly higher insurance premiums because of the documented fire risk, he added.
Helfrick said living with the outdated system requires constant vigilance to avoid overloading the aging circuits.
“You really can’t run the washing machine, TV and air conditioner at the same time,” Helfrick said.
“The breakers won’t trip; they’ll just sit there, overheat and start a fire.”
So worried of fires is Helfrick that he said he’s taken to unplugging every appliance any time he leaves home for an extended amount of time.
He added that the threat of fire is particularly dangerous for him, as significant hearing loss could impede his ability to hear smoke detectors if he does not have his hearing aids in.
Beyond the internal panel, the property faces an external electrical hazard involving the main power lines.
Low-hanging lines currently run from a utility pole directly over the roof of the house to reach a front-mounted meter.
The configuration poses a threat as a downed line could result in live wires lying across the roof of the house.
Helfrick, who has lived at the home for roughly 25 years, said he doesn’t want to be forced to leave.
“I really like it here, all things considered,” he said.
“Leaving was definitely something I wanted to avoid.”
When Helfrick was faced with the costs for the necessary repairs, he knew he was going to need help.
“I had to swallow my pride,” he said with a smile.
“This was one of those things I just couldn’t do on my own.”
A veteran who spent two decades with the U.S.
Navy, Helfrick decided to explain his situation to the Natrona County Veterans Unified Council.
As it would turn out, he found just the help he needed.
Through the Veterans Unified Council he was introduced to Veteran Building Charities, a nonprofit that operates as one of the 16 member organizations that comprise the council.
Through Veteran Building Charities, Helfrick is now receiving the financial assistance needed for the work.
VBC representative Marshall Clayton spearheaded the project, and said he’s been in talks with several contractors, city officials and more.
While an initial GoFundMe campaign was used to jumpstart fundraising efforts for the project, Clayton said they are now close to covering the full cost of the replacement.
While the GoFundMe has been closed, the charity is still accepting donations via check and through its website to finalize the remaining balance.
According to Clayton, work is officially slated for Aug. 25 and 26.
“I’ve just been championing this with Roxy all the way through,” Clayton said.
“I’ve been reporting back to the group just on progress and stuff, so it feels great to see it start to come together.”
For Helfrick, the community support means more than just the home repairs.
“It’s been awesome to see,” Helfrick said.
“It means the world to me.
… It shows that they haven’t forgotten about the veterans.”
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