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Articles written by Joshua Wood


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  • Riverside Remembers

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 19, 2024

    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 lot to the com...

  • Panthers Play the Classics

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 19, 2024

    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) Miners, the Dubois Ra...

  • Lady Panthers Scratch Out Three

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 19, 2024

    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 being able to shut d...

  • No concern over fluoride, forever chemicals

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 12, 2024

    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 polyfluoroalkyl...

  • Putting my faith in people

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 12, 2024

    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 enough, it was a book calle...

  • How about them apples?

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 5, 2024

    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 teachers they felt gave a...

  • Banking on Bagels

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Dec 5, 2024

    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 someone from the jail...

  • Above Average Results

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    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 Third In Wyoming,...

  • Support Your Local Coffee Klatch

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    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 different locations and diffe...

  • 'This is a human error'

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    “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 County. Wrong Ballots In Ca...

  • Ondrej the Tiger

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    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 thing,” said Ondre...

  • Prime time for prime rib

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    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 get a prime rib roast i...

  • Christmas on the Rocks

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 27, 2024

    Selecting the right gift for a man can be ‘whiskey’ if you’re not sure where to start. Fortunately, there are great options in the Platte Valley for the man in your life—whether husband, dad, brother or son—who has started getting into the world of whiskey. From amateurs to aficionados, you really need look no further than Valley Liquor and the Lucky Pearl. Where to Start? What whiskey to buy for a gift all depends on where the person you’re buying for is on their travels through the spirit...

  • Mad Money

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 21, 2024

    With the scenic Snowy and Sierra Madre mountain ranges, the North Platte and Encampment rivers and breathtaking vistas many Platte Valley residents have likely thought it would only be a matter of time before Hollywood arrived. It has, but probably not in the way most would expect. According to Lieutenant John Moore with the Saratoga Police Department, prop money has recently been found throughout Saratoga. The props are realistic enough, judging by the $20 bill Moore brought with him to the...

  • On road, off road, on foot

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 21, 2024

    Following a chase in vehicles and on foot the afternoon of November 10, a Saratoga man is facing multiple charges, including two felonies. The charges were so numerous, in fact, they required seven feet of paper to print the citations. Aiden Swanson is facing charges including felony possession of methamphetamine, convicted felon in possession of a firearm and nine misdemeanors including littering. The chase, which began in Saratoga, went out onto county roads and through private property as...

  • Strut Your Stuff-ing

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 21, 2024

    “We thought, let’s try a Turkey Trot. Something on Thanksgiving Day to give thanks to the fact that we have the opportunity to help people and provide assistance to some folks.” For the past 10 years, the Carbon County Cancer Fund—operating under Ribbons of Hope—has provided grants to county residents who are undergoing cancer treatments. Over the years, according to Treasurer Copper France, the county-wide organization has looked for different ways to help raise funds. Those fundraise...

  • A New Angle in Education

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 21, 2024

    At Encampment K-12 School, an empty fish tank sits in the main lobby. Soon, however, it will be home to more than 200 trout eggs. Encampment will be one of more than 60 schools taking part in the “Trout in the Classroom,” a program administered by Wyoming Trout Unlimited with the help of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). “Schools are getting around 250 eggs because there is quite a bit of die-off,” said Ian McCreary, Wyoming Trout Unlimited State Coordinator. “They’ll raise them...

  • A River Runs Through Them

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 21, 2024

    Ian McCreary—who grew up in Oregon—remembers being in the 6th grade and getting up around 4 a.m. to go fishing for steelhead trout with his father on the Santiam River. “[I would] get to school at 11 [a.m.], get to class and my teacher would say ‘Where were you?’ I would say ‘I was fishing’ and she did not like that response at all,” said McCreary. “I pretty much grew up fishing in the [Pacific] Northwest.” McCreary has lived in the Platte Valley for nearly five years, moving to the area from ne...

  • Taking Home the Bronze

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 14, 2024

    In the two-and-a-half hours before the October 31 midnight deadline for voting, the lead for the Platte Valley Arts Council’s (PVAC) annual Hay Bale Sculpture Contest changed three times. It made for a late night for Mary Martin, who facilitates the contest each year. When it was all said and done, however, Brush Creek Ranch beat out the other 13 competitors with their entry “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Lauren Trostle and Dakota Lewis, representing Brush Creek Ranch, accepted the traveling trophy...

  • Auditing the Votes

    D'Ron Campbell and Joshua Wood|Nov 14, 2024

    The results of the 2024 General Election are now official following an audit held by the Carbon County Clerk’s Office on November 7. Along with certifying the results of the general election, the clerk’s office also reported a 105% turnout. The audit was conducted in the Carbon County Commissioner’s Room at the Carbon Building — Courthouse Annex Room by Gwynn Bartlett, Carbon County Clerk, and Lisa Smith, Chief Deputy Clerk. Of the 6,446 ballots cast, 75 were randomly selected for Carbon...

  • Returning to my comfort show

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 14, 2024

    We all have our guilty pleasures. Those things that we know we shouldn’t enjoy, but we do anyway. For some people, it’s eating dessert first while for others it's drinking a soda from time-to-time. My guilty pleasure is Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom.” There are multiple reasons, perhaps even countless reasons, why this is a guilty pleasure. First, it's not at all lost on me that I-someone who works in print journalism-enjoy watching and rewatching a show about a fictional broadcast news stat...

  • A Bazaar Day in Saratoga

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 14, 2024

    With just 45 days until Christmas, the annual Saratoga Holiday Bazaar returned to the Platte Valley Community Center on November 9. It seemed the perfect day for it. A heavy, wet snow was falling on the Valley as residents throughout Carbon County made their way around the Great Hall to see what wares area vendors had to offer. The obvious attractions, it seemed, were Pure Dixie—owned by Dixie Berger and her husband, Kirby—and the quaint creations of Mary Hohnholt. Other local vendors included D...

  • Encampment falls to Huskies

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 14, 2024

    For another year, the Encampment Tigers were unable to make it past the semifinal round of the 1A Six-Man Playoffs to walk into War Memorial Stadium. With their season at an end, they can take pride in the fact that their loss to the Burlington Huskies was a hard fought match. If playing in Laramie is the ultimate goal, then battling the defending state champions into triple-overtime is surely a close second. “I’m super proud of everyone on the team. They left everything they had out on the fiel...

  • A Starks New Future

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 14, 2024

    Think WalMart, but local. That’s how Chris and Samantha Starks, the new owners of Aspen Sky Merchant Mall (Aspen Sky) in Saratoga, view their role in the community. “It’s better than WalMart, it’s not a big box store, but you can get everything you need here,” said Samantha. “There’s something, literally, for everybody.” On November 2, the Starks held a grand re-opening of the business they had purchased from long-time owner Linda Rogers. For years, Aspen Sky has hosted a variety of boot...

  • Carbon County goes for Trump

    Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers|Nov 7, 2024

    With a projected 277 electoral college votes and more than 71 million votes as of November 6, former president Donald Trump is the presumptive president-elect according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, Carbon County cast more than 6,000 ballots in the 2024 General Election, turnout surpassed the primary election by more than 1,000. With 6,446 votes cast, the amount was more than the 2022 General Election which saw 5,860 ballots cast. It was just barely under the number of ballots cast in...

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