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In Saratoga, there are various signs pointing to the approach of summer. For some, it’s the opening of the Snowy Range Scenic Byway. For others, it’s the steady increase in out-of-state license plates. In the council chambers of Saratoga Town Hall, it is the perennial discussion of the process through which special events in town limits are permitted. On May 3, the Saratoga Town Council held their second reading of Ordinance No. 862 which amends portions of Chapter 5.30 of the Saratoga Mun...
It was a sunny, but breezy, Wednesday afternoon when Aaron Grow was looking for a spot to fish. The first spot he visited was one of his favorites on the North Platte River; the historic Pick Bridge. When Grow arrived, he told the Saratoga Sun, a white vehicle was on the east bank of the river. Not wanting to bother them, he went to look for another location. When he returned, the white vehicle was gone and a fire was racing along the east bank of the North Platte River. The breeze, which had...
An Encampment man could be facing more than 10 years in prison following charges of felony child abuse and domestic battery according to documents filed in Carbon County Circuit Court on April 29. Dustin Gene Buffington was arrested on April 28 and charged with felony child abuse and domestic battery. According to an affidavit completed by Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Investigator Dale Miller, CCSO Deputy Kelly Finn had been notified by dispatch about a report of an assault at E...
The sound of sirens filled the Platte Valley on the night of Friday, April 29 as what began as an attempted traffic stop in Saratoga resulted in a high-speed car chase eventually ending in Encampment. According to Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr, he had been preparing to turn off Rochester Avenue onto 1st Street in Saratoga when a vehicle-the driver of which was later identified to be a woman-came through Saratoga at approximately 60 miles per hour. Preparing to do a traffic stop, Lehr followed...
“Depression isn’t a war you win. It’s a battle you fight every day. You never stop, never get to rest. It’s one bloody fray after another.” ~ Shaun David Hutchinson Normally, I try to avoid columns on difficult topics such as mental health. With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, however, it felt important to write something. That being said; I don’t know about anybody else, but each day I struggle with an inner voice whose sole intention is to bring me down. Sometimes it comes as a...
As the State of Wyoming moves forward with the process of monthly mineral ad valorem tax collection, counties affected by the process are now eligible for loans impacted by delayed payments for production in 2020 and 2021. During the 2021 Legislative Session, Senate File 60 established a monthly collection of mineral ad valorem taxes, changing it from biannual collection of such taxes. Included within this legislation were provisions which deferred payment on production for the later half of...
By Joshua Wood Of the four bridges maintained by Carbon County which were proposed by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) for repair or replacement using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, only one will be substituted. The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) were first notified of WYDOT’s plan to use funds from the infrastructure law during their March 15 meeting. Kandis Fritz, Carbon County Road & Bridge coordinator, told the commissioners during that meeting s...
While the date of the 2022 Primary Election—August 16—is more than four months away, those considering a run for Saratoga Town Council will be able to file their candidacy as soon as May 12. It was announced during the April 5 meeting of Saratoga’s governing body that candidates for municipal seats would be able to file beginning May 12. This election cycle, nearly every seat on the council is open with three council seats and one mayor seat set to appear on the ballot. The term for Councilmembe...
Outdated state salaries and higher paying alternatives appear to have all but depleted the amount of staff at Carbon County Public Health. Amanda Brown, Carbon County Public Health nurse manager, informed the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) of her ongoing staff shortage during their April 5 meeting. Brown, who was in attendance to request permission to advertise for three positions in her department, told the commissioners a full-time position had remained open for more than a...
Elk Mountain may be in the sights of Bair Energy as the potential future home of a green hydrogen plant, but that hasn’t stopped CEO Nicholas Bair from making the rounds to other communities. On April 5, Bair appeared before the Saratoga Town Council alongside Yvonne Johnson, executive director of the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation. While Elk Mountain—specifically Simpson Ridge—is being proposed as the site of the green hydrogen plant, Bair told Saratoga’s governing body his com...
Providing healthcare for Carbon County is no easy task. With 10 municipalities and a county nearly 8,000 square miles in size, it can be difficult to try and meet the needs of every resident. That doesn't mean, however, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) isn't trying. On April 1, formally released their Community Health Needs Assessment. "Every three years, we go through this process. It needs to be this ongoing evaluation of our health needs within our area across the entire county. As w...
When I was younger, I used to wonder what it would be like to time travel. The ability to go backwards or forwards through time was such an exciting concept and I had a mental list of all the places I’d want to visit, from the Ancient Pyramids of Egypt—when they weren’t so ancient—to some far off future. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized all one needs to do to time travel is blink. It seems like just yesterday my wife, Telitha, and I were dropping our son, Jareth, off for his first day of kind...
The April meeting of the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees may get a dose of cheer. During the March 21 meeting of the Board of Trustees, CCSD2 Superintendent Jim Copeland and Saratoga Middle/High School (SMHS) Principal J.D. Johnson informed the board two parents had expressed interest in starting a cheer group for the high school. According to Copeland, the parents said they were considering self-funding the program. This would not be without precedent, as the six-m...
It might have been spring break for Saratoga schools, but that didn’t stop the Panthers from competing in the Wheatland Invite on April 1. On Friday, a number of Head Coach Rex Hohnholt’s student athletes placed in the top 10 of their respective events with some taking 1st place. The run to Wheatland gave the Panthers one more meet under their belt for the season as they prepared to host the Burt Willford Memorial Invite this weekend. Girls In the 200 meter dash, Whitney Bennett took 5th place w...
The Saratoga Town Council will be practicing bipartisanship and building bridges in the very literal sense. During the March 15 meeting of the governing body, Mayor Creed James read correspondence received from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) regarding the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. "It says the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill dedicated $45 million per year for five years to the State of Wyoming to replace or r...
Place your bets! More than a year after granting approval to Wyoming Downs, LLC (Wyoming Downs), the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) have granted approval to yet another horse racing business to set up shop in the county. While Wyoming Downs has yet to secure any location in the county, another company appears ready to establish their fourth location in Rawlins. Kyle Ridgeway, CFO of 307 Horse Racing, Inc. appeared before the commissioners at their March 15 meeting along with CEO...
By Joshua Wood As the Saratoga Town Council seeks to, at the very least, start construction on Never Forget Park in Memory of Staff Sergeant Tyler Pickett this year there seems to be one minor hurdle for the governing body. A small sliver of land less than half an acre in size which the Town of Saratoga may have to conduct a land swap to obtain. The discussion came during the March 15 meeting of the governing body. For more than a decade, various incarnations of the town council have discussed...
In February, Darren Jennings, principal at Saratoga Elementary School, was offered a contract as district superintendent for Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2). Jennings accepted, which left the CCSD2 Board of Trustees with the task of finding someone to fill his position for next school year. The search wasn’t long and came down to two candidates; Stephanie Long and Seth Hetherington. Long currently teaches 6th grade at Saratoga Elementary School and Hetherington currently teaches k...
As the end of Fiscal Year 2022 draws ever closer for the Town of Saratoga, the governing body has finally received the results regarding the audit of Fiscal Year 2020. On March 15, the Saratoga Town Council was provided a 30 minute presentation by Tim Fixter of Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda. The Lander-based accounting firm was engaged by the Town of Saratoga in May 2021 to conduct an audit of Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021. It is the third firm engaged by the town council in as many years. Joining the...
A matter of miscommunication. That’s what appears to have led to what Saratoga/Platte Chamber of Commerce board members Amanda Shahadey and Cheena Parsons have described as a “deer in headlights” moment. The board had hired Wyo Laffs Comedy, a duo consisting of Daren Bulow and Don Haines, to perform standup to the room of Chamber Members and award winners. Suffice it to say, the comedy routine was not well received. Haines began the routine and was eventually cut off while Bulow did not get a...
Does America have a “Free Speech Problem”? It probably depends on who you ask. If you ask the New York Times’ editorial board, it certainly does. In a March 18, 2022 column (“America Has a Free Speech Problem”), the editorial board wrote Americans are “losing hold of a fundamental right as citizens of a free country: the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions in public without fear of being shamed or shunned”. In the words of the great swordsman Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it mea...
Saratoga is no stranger to sports involving four-legged mammals, considering the popular rise of Skijoring over the past few years and the popularity of chariot racing the decades before. On March 18, another popular sport was held at the Saratoga Recreation Department. Donkey Basketball-a sport invented in the 1930s as Depression-era entertainment-is still alive and well in the 21st century and drew quite a crowd on Friday evening. A total of four teams took to Kristen Campbell Court for a...
The Saratoga Track and Field team ran off to Pavillion over the weekend to compete in the Wind River High School Invitation on March 19. While there, the girls team would place 2nd out of 14 teams with the boys team placing 8th. A number of the girls athletes also got their pre-qualifications for State Track and Field Meet out of the way early. Girls In the Girls 800 meter run, Madison Teichman placed 1st with a time of 2 minutes, 43.59 seconds and was followed by Rhiwan Williams in 2nd place...
For the past few years, the expenditure of county resources to rescue visiting motorists stranded on seasonally closed county roads has frustrated the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) and Carbon County Road and Bridge. The motorists, often passing through the county when winter weather forces the closure of Interstate 80, have relied upon the unreliable direction of their map applications. Despite ample signage or warnings from locals, the end result has been the need to rescue said...
The locking of doors during business at one of Saratoga’s liquor establishments was a topic of discussion during the March 15 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr informed the governing body of Saratoga of an incident involving Sergeant Tyler Christen on Saturday evening at the Rustic Bar (Rustic), which is one of three businesses on Bridge Avenue which holds a liquor license. According to Lehr, when Christen went to the Rustic to conduct a bar check he found t...