Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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The roar of Panther fans filled the Encampment K-12 School gym on January 11 as the Saratoga Panthers were hosted by the Encampment Tigers for the first conference match between the two Valley teams. Despite the very vocal support, Saratoga appeared to struggle through most of the game even as they worked on a comeback in the third quarter. Ultimately, the Panthers were just barely dealt their first conference loss of the season. ‘We came out a little flat and rusty after the...
Whether it was a second-half comeback by the Encampment Lady Tigers or a struggle to put together all four quarters, what appeared to be a game for the Saratoga Lady Panthers to win became their first conference loss. “It was a game of two halves,” said Head Coach Logan Wright. “We really came out strong and executed our gameplan. In the end, we are a young team that is growing and learning daily.” The Lady Panthers started off strong as they won the tip-off against Encampment...
The New Year, in the cases of some governing bodies, also means new leadership. In other cases, it means the same familiar faces. Here is where changes did, and did not, occur in the Platte Valley, Rawlins and on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). Carbon County Commissioners For the past two years, Commissioner Sue Jones has served as chairperson of the BOCCC with Commissioner Travis Moore serving as vice chairperson. On January 7, Moore was officially voted...
In the 43 years since Chuck Box—then the CEO of the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce—started the Saratoga Lake Ice Fishing Derby, there have only been two years the event was cancelled. Both times were due to a lack of stock from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department treating the trout fishery. It’s one of the few events which has been held regardless of weather or even when there’s areas of thin ice or open water. “Obviously, in 41 years, there’s been a couple year...
The potential of a closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 has taken a detour following the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). As previously reported, Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz sent a letter to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) requesting a closure gate for Wyoming Highway 71 for instances when Interstate 80 is closed during the winter. The reasoning for this, Fritz wrote in the letter, was a matter of...
The importance of communication not only between state departments and the public, but with other state departments, was a topic of discussion during the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). The topic came up under a report from Carbon County Public Health as Dr. Duane Abels—the county health officers—revisited a case in 2024 involving anthrax detected in Elk Mountain cattle. As was reported by WyoFile, in September more than 50 cattle and...
The Rawlins Police Department is looking for the suspect of an armed robbery which occurred on the evening of January 13. According to a press release from the City of Rawlins, at approximately 8:25 p.m. on Monday evening, an armed robbery was reported at the Stinker Store at 302 Airport Road to the Rawlins Police Department. The suspect, seen in security camera footage, is an African-American male with dreadlocks and wearing tan pants, face mask, black shoes and a gray...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are hoping to prevent travelers misguided by their GPS from going down at least one county road. On December 17, the commissioners authorized a letter from Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The letter, which Fritz read at the meeting, requests WYDOT install a seasonal closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 south of Rawlins. "We feel a good place for this sign...
It’s an exciting but bittersweet time for Gwynn Bartlett. On December 17, the Carbon County Clerk tendered her resignation from the office she has held since 2007. On January 7, she was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). It’s a new chapter—and a new form of public service—for someone who has worked in the county clerk’s office for more than 27 years. In July 1997, Bartlett signed on with the Carbon County Clerk’s Office, wor...
With president-elect Donald Trump promising not only to crack down on immigration, but to begin mass deportation in the United States of undocumented immigrants, it appears Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reaching out to local law enforcement regarding already existing programs. According to Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken at the December 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners, ICE reached out to several state and local law enforcement agencies...
“My hope is we’re going to see a group of elected representatives working hard to address the issues that affect the voters of Wyoming and not just special interests.” With the 2025 General Session scheduled to convene on January 14, House District 47 Representative Bob Davis (R - Baggs) is preparing for his third session since being elected in 2022. Davis’ second general session will be one with even more freshman legislators following the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ victories...
In their last preseason tournament before the holiday break, the Saratoga Panthers dealt two losses and took one of their own while at the Wrangler Invite on December 19 and 20. “The Wrangler Invite is always a great tournament for us, we get strong competition and see some other teams in the state, including a lot of teams in the Northwest conference and our own conference,” said Head Coach Jason Williams. “Overall it was a good weekend and we got to see some things we were...
The Saratoga Lady Panthers had another well-played preseason tournament as they competed in the Wrangler Invite in Shoshoni on December 19 and 20. Saratoga, under the leadership of new coach Logan Wright, went 2-1 as they dropped the 2A Shoshoni Lady Wranglers and the Meeteetse Lady Longhorns but fell to the RIverside Lady Rebels. On Thursday, Saratoga defeated the Lady Wranglers by nearly 20 points with a final score of 38-20. Then, on Friday, they fell to a strong Riverside...
Despite taking less than an hour, the last meeting of 2024 for Riverside Town Council had no shortage of items for discussion. The governing body remembered those the Platte Valley lost this year, heard of a rate increase from the Sierra Madre Water Joint Powers Board and discussed statutory obligations regarding the publishing of minutes and ordinances. A Moment of Silence “We don’t normally do this but this past year just seems to have been fraught with people who meant a l...
The Saratoga Lady Panthers started off their season with a roar, going 3-1 as they co-hosted the Carbon County Classic in Saratoga on December 13 and December 14. While the Lady Panthers took a loss from the Burlington Lady Huskies, they also dealt two losses to the St. Stephens Lady Eagles and a loss to the Dubois Lady Rams. “We lost to a very strong Burlington team. It was a 5-point game halfway through the third quarter before it got out of hand due to turnovers and not b...
The sharp punctuation of dribbling and the squeak of sneakers heralded the return of high school basketball to the Platte Valley on December 13 and 14 as Saratoga co-hosted the Carbon County Classic. With a young team under his wing, Head Coach Jason Williams led the Saratoga Panthers to their first four wins off the season. The Panthers won with substantial leads in three of their four games. Saratoga dealt double-digit losses to the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Mi...
I’m not much of a religious person, which is probably not surprising considering my generation. Only about 49% of millennials, according to a Pew Research Center survey in 2020 and 2021, identify as Christian. I was raised Baptist and, growing up, attended either Baptist or Southern Baptist churches. By the time I was a pre-teen, we had stopped attending church though my mom was—and still is—a believer. When I was in my 20s, I tried to find my religion again. Oddly enoug...
Under the Biden Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued another new ruling related to municipal drinking water across the country while a federal judge has ordered the agency to further regulate a common water additive. Focus has been on the EPAs ruling regarding Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, which has a stated goal of replacing all lead pipes within 10 years. This year, the EPA issued another ruling regarding testing for perfluoroalkyl and...
The gifting of an apple to a teacher is one ingrained into popular culture, a tradition carried from the Old World to the American Frontier with apples serving as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. While teachers may not receive apples from their students anymore, the Platte Valley Legacy Foundation hands out crystal apples each year. This year, they awarded two of them on November 21 at the Hotel Wolf in Saratoga. “The Platte Legacy Committee (Foundation) has chosen t...
Zachary Fall and Bryana Yukniewicz are some of the most recent residents of the Platte Valley, having moved here in January. In less than a year, however, the two have found that the best way to a community’s heart is through its stomach. Zach and Bryana are the couple behind Bagels & Badges, a small business which started earlier this year and rapidly increased its revenue tenfold. “They’ve exploded pretty quickly,” said Bryana. “We started in March with our first sale to som...
When it comes to the main dish during the holidays, turkey may be king for Thanksgiving but Christmas is the prime time for some prime rib. If you’re hungry for that savory, mouth watering cut of meat with a great crust then your best bet is to go to the Historic Hotel Wolf in Saratoga or 307 Pub & Grub in Encampment. If you insist on doing it yourself, then there are some ways you can make sure to serve up the tastiest prime rib for friends and family. The best place to g...
During the Encampment Tigers’ six-man football season, there was one player who was head-and-shoulders above the rest. Literally. Seen during the defensive plays, No. 40 looked more like he belonged in a college or professional game than a high school game. Standing at over six feet in height, it was hard to miss him when he took to the field. “I’ve never played football [before], this was my first time. It was a great experience and I’m very grateful I could experience such a...
“I think it’s important for us as clerks to all know what happened so we can prevent the same thing from happening again.” Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett, in her post-election update to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) on November 12, touched on the ballot errors reported out of Weston County. In her last election update as county clerk, Bartlett also voiced her opposition to hand-counting ballots, a process which was given a trial run in Campbell Count...
It seems that every small town and every community has a coffee klatch, a group of people—typically older—who gather at a chosen place to talk over their morning coffee. I’ve never had the time to sit in on one of those klatches, which seem to be overflowing with both coffee and wisdom. Yet, for some reason, I know where most of them are in Saratoga. To the best of my knowledge, our little town of less than 2,000 people has at least four coffee groups which meet at diffe...
Across Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2), administrative staff encourage the relationships between educators, students and parents to ensure academic success. The results of such a relationship are probably most evident at Encampment K-12 School, which is seeing success with both primary (elementary) and secondary (middle school and high school) students when looking at American College Test (ACT) and Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WYTOPP) scores. Taking...
