Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Three ambitious military veterans from across the U.S. are hiking the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST). The veterans-Thomas Gathman, Rob Voorhis and Shawn Murphy-are hiking the 3,100-mile trail as part of a "Walk Off the War" trek done through the Warrior Hike program. The program is designed to support all veterans transitioning from their military service by "thru-hiking", as it is called, along America's National Scenic Trails. According to the program website, Warrior Hike...
The Town of Encampment passed the 2014/2015 budget on its third and final reading Thursday evening. The council also amended the 2013/2014 budget. The 2014/15 budget is balanced to reflect revenue and expenditures of $1,243,196.04. The council approved a $2 water rate increase, and to raise the irrigation rate. The irrigation rate increase went from $8 per irrigated lot for a year, to $10 per irrigated lot for a year. Also approved by the council was a $250 service contract for the Encampment...
Two new graduates from the South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Service (SCWEMS) training program were announced at Thursday’s Riverside Town Council meeting. Helen Weiland, EMT and Encampment Station Manager for SCWEMS, said there were two graduates from Encampment who recently passed the EMT class. The two were Virginia Parker and Kelly Ralston. “They both passed their EMT and will be getting their EMT cards, so we have two new EMTs on our service,” Weiland said. “We’re so excited a...
Saratoga High School athletes reminisced on a productive year of sports at the 2014 Saratoga Panthers Athletic Banquet May 29. Student athletes from the 2013-14 year received awards, certificates and letterman honors for several sports, including cross-country running, wrestling, track and field and golf. Coaches, friends and family members were in attendance at the banquet, which took place at Saratoga Middle/High School. Presenters included coaches Rex and Mary Hohnholt, Jared Mason and...
Encampment High School coaches and athletes looked back on a year of strengths, achievements and improvement at the 2013-14 E-Club Athletic Banquet. The banquet, held at the Encampment K-12 School Gymnasium May 27, was attended by coaches, family members, friends and students who participated in school sports over the recent school year. Coaches in track and field, volleyball and boys' or girls' basketball reminisced on their respective seasons, and presented students with awards, certificates...
By Doug Radunich Stacy Crimmins, Executive Director of the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce, recently graduated from the Institute for Organization Management (IOM) in Madison, Wis. The IOM is a professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Awarded to all graduates of the Institute program, the IOM Graduate Recognition signifies the individual's completion of 96 hours of course instruction in nonprofit management. IOM is a four-year nonprofit leadership...
Roland "Rolly" and Cheryl Bowen of Elk Mountain recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on May 8, 2014. Rolly and Cheryl, both longtime Elk Mountain residents, were married in 1964 at St. Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral in Laramie. They said they met sometime in 1961 at a dance hall in Elk Mountain. "I remember when I met her, my heart jumped," Rolly said. "I came up here from Colorado and starting haying for a rancher. I came here when I was pretty young and just stuck around." After...
After more than a year writing for Saratoga Sun, I am officially moving on and heading back to the big city soon. It has definitely been a nice trip and I’ve met a lot of great people, but being a young single guy, it’s time to move on to other opportunities in a place with more people. I have definitely had a lot of fun covering all the summer and winter gatherings here, and of course, all the high school sports events running from August through May. I made a lot of good friends and will alway...
Saratoga High School seniors were presented scholarships at the 2014 Saratoga Middle/High School Awards Assembly. The assembly took place May 30 in the Saratoga Middle/High School Gymnasium. Below is the list of seniors and their scholarships, worth $294,800: Miranda Paddock- Carbon County Commissioners Scholarship, Hathaway Honors Scholarship, Superior Scholarship from Western Wyoming Community College, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Scholarship Heather Oxford- Platte Valley Medical...
On June 12, Saratoga residents Richard and Gloria Rakness will celebrate 60 years of marriage together. Going back to their teenage years, Richard said he first met the former Gloria Esterby at Minot Model High School in Minot, North Dakota. Gloria said she remembers their first informal date, which involved piling into Richard's 1947 Chevrolet Coupe Deville with other kids for "buck night". Richard said he later asked Gloria to the high school prom for their first official and more formal...
As Father’s Day weekend approaches, so does the 54th annual Woodchoppers Jamboree, a long-running Encampment event providing fun for the whole family. “We’re hoping to have a larger crowd and more competitive event,” said Doreen Harvey, who has been chairing the event with her husband, Ron, for the past 10 years. “The event is one of the oldest and longest-running summer events in Encampment, and one of the largest because of its sheer size.” The Woodchoppers Jamboree begins at 10 a.m. on Sat...
Those who come to the Woodchoppers Jamboree rodeo this weekend are in for a real wild-west, roping and riding experience. Different events for the rodeo, which is sanctioned by the Wyoming Rodeo Association, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. All events take place at the Lions Club Arena between Encampment and Riverside. Rodeo spectators can watch events like team roping, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, breakaway roping, bareback riding and...
Wyoming farm life and the sport of golf will unite together at the 19th annual Encampment/Riverside Cow Pie Open Golf Classic this Saturday. This unique golf tournament takes place at an Encampment cow pasture, and includes large buckets set in the ground as course holes. More than 90 golfers are already signed up, and community members are welcome to watch the players at work. The tournament tees off at 10 a.m. Saturday, and all duffers should gather at the Hole 19 clubhouse, the big log house...
As flood safety volunteers get dirty and work up appetites, a Lander-based business has come to the rescue in a different way. Nu-Way Inc. provides food catering and showers, and the crew of roughly 15 employees spends most of their time on the road, traveling to sites of fires, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disaster emergencies nationwide. Equipped with trucks and trailers carrying mobile kitchens and other facilities, Nu-Way cooks and provides breakfasts, lunches and dinners; tents f...
Although recent flooding had closed it temporarily, the newly-revamped Saratoga Golf Course is expected to receive more play from clubbers around the state. Matt Daubner, Course Manager and PGA Golf Professional, said he had seen many golfers hit the greens so far this season before the flood hit. He said the 3,580-yard nine-hole course, which has a cliff-top tee and three over-water tee shots, officially opened up for spring on April 23. "We've gotten people from all over, including Colorado,...
The high schools from Saratoga, Encampment and Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (HEM) boasted a plethora of All-State and All-Conference athletes from the 2014 high school track season. The students received the honors from both the Wyoming High School State Track Tournament in Casper, and their respective regional competitions. For Saratoga High School, All-State athletes included Hunter Mason, Ben Falk, Alex Ziegler and Cameron Collamer from the 1600 meter relay team, which placed first at...
Two students became the first from Carbon County School District No. 2's speech team to compete at the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC), held May 9-11 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. Speech students Kaylyn Wessel and Becca Treat, both Encampment High School seniors, competed using Jodi Picoult's "My Sister's Keeper" as their duo piece. Individually, Wessel competed with her drama piece entitled "January First" by Michael Schofield. The duo did not...
In celebration of its quarter-century as a Wyoming chapter, the Nature Conservancy is hosting two activities in Saratoga next month. At 2 p.m. June 7, there will be tree planting along the North Platte River. Participants should meet at the Saratoga hot pools, and bring work gloves and a water bottle. Later that same day, at 6 p.m., the Nature Conservancy is hosting the Hi-Water Hoedown concert with the WYOmericana Caravan, which takes place at The Yard in Saratoga. In Saratoga, the Nature Conse...
Students from Rawlins received outdoor lessons on nature, wildlife and historical artifacts during Saratoga Lake Environmental Education Day, held May 16 near Saratoga Lake. Fifth-graders from Rawlins Elementary traveled to the lake’s surrounding land area, where they were taught by representatives from Carbon County Weed and Pest, Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Saratoga Museum, and the Carbon County Fire Department. The school’s fif...
Discussion about the possibility of forming a county-wide fire protection district took place last week in Rawlins. The meeting took place May 21 at Fire Station #2 in Rawlins, and many residents from across Carbon County and Wamsutter attended. All five Carbon County commissioners, and Carbon County Fire Warden John Rutherford, were present and in favor of going forward with the proposed fire protection district. According to a handout with calculations based on an estimated three mill levy...
Breaking a school record in the process, the Saratoga High School boys' 1600 meter relay team sped to first place at the 2014 Wyoming High School State Track and Field Championships. During the final track event of the three-day weekend tourney, Cameron Collamer, Ben Falk, Hunter Mason and Alex Ziegler raced toward a time of 3:32.09, which broke the 2012 SHS boys' 1600 meter record of 3:32.25. Collamer, who placed first at state last year with the 3200 meter relay, said there was steep...
Nearly a month after busting her school's long jump record, Encampment High School sophomore Alyssa Barkhurst became a 1A champion leaper again at state. Barkhurst, who broke Encampment's 32-year-old long jump record at the Saratoga Invite, brought home another first-place in the event at the 2014 Wyoming High School State Track and Field Championships in Casper. Competing against 15 1A girls in the finals, Barkhurst delivered a gold-winning long jump of 16 feet and 2.5 inches. In final running...
Hanna/Elk Mountain/Medicine Bow's Trevor Rice earned first in the 400 meter dash at last weekend's Wyoming High School State Track and Field Championships. In addition to his first-place time in the 400 finals, Rice also scored second place in the 800 meter run finals, long jump and triple jump. The highest ranker for HEM's Lady Miners was Cheyenne Tompkins, who earned second place in both the long jump and triple jump finals. HEM results from the 2014 tournament, held May 22-24 at Kelly Walsh...
High school graduation time for the Platte Valley is right around the corner, and for some reason I can’t help but feel a little depressed all of the sudden. I know you’re probably wondering why a guy like me would be bummed about graduation. I don’t have any kids or other close relatives receiving their diploma and moving on this year. I also remember feeling like I escaped prison when I myself left high school, so I’m definitely not nostalgic for my own graduation experience. I think it’s th...
During a special meeting Thursday, the Carbon County Commission voted to increase the salaries of six elected officials beginning in 2017. The majority of the commissioners agreed to increase the salaries by 1 percent beginning in January 2017, and by 2 percent starting in January 2018. The increases for the elected officials, which include the assessor, clerk of court, coroner, county clerk, sheriff and treasurer, come as their departments will likely take up to a 5 percent budget cut. The...