Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 62
The second reading of the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year Budget passed in title only at the May 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Ordinance No. 869 provides the details of the budget. Estimated revenues are based upon the previous year and are prepared using the Budget Preparation Handbook created by the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. For the general fund, $3,395,844.43 is anticipated in revenue. $2,244,408.20 is anticipated to come from taxes. According to the Saratoga Town Treasurer Cori...
I am endlessly fascinated by the mechanics beyond rhetorical argumentation and how we convince others that we are in the right. I spent about four years of my life where competitive debate was my primary focus - one year in high school, and two and a half years in college. Participating on both high school and collegiate debate teams has given me the love of breaking down arguments, and my experience in the activity was at the forefront of my mind when I got to attend the Judicial Learning Day...
The Town of Saratoga Recreation Director Kim Hemenway resigned during the May 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Hemenway gave a report to the council during the meeting and discussed issues involving preparing the pool for the summer season. After her report, Hemenway gave the council a notice of resignation, saying her final day would be June 14. She thanked the Town for the opportunity of being employed there and the experience she gained from the position. She finished by asking the co...
Fifth graders from across the county took a field trip to the Carbon County Courthouse to participate in a mock trial on May 21. Students from Rawlins, Saratoga and Baggs participated in the mock trial to learn about the judicial system with two groups at the courthouse. One held their trial at 9 a.m. and the other at noon. During the mock trial itself, students were given different roles, with some students given scripts and acting as witnesses, and others becoming members of the jury. The...
Many members of the public showed up in strong support of a proposed chicken ordinance during a public hearing at the May 14 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. During a previous Saratoga Town Council meeting, resident Jon Nelson presented a proposed ordinance that would allow people to own chickens on residential lots within town limits, which is currently mostly illegal. Under Saratoga municipal code 18.42.150, the owning of chickens is prohibited in residential zones with a few exceptions....
Filings for the 2024 Primary Elections are currently underway. Many candidates have already applied, however there remain many positions across Carbon County without any filings. The deadline to file for candidacy in all partisan and nonpartisan races is May 31. Here are the current candidates for the 2024 Primary Election as of May 21. For the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC), three seats are open to be filled. Sue Jones and John Espy will be running for reelection. Their most recent...
The Ron Thon wrestling tournament in Riverton was as tough as expected. Over forty schools and 1,000 wrestlers competed for the top spot at the podium, and Panther wrestling had a weekend highlighted by some ‘great wins and tough losses,’ according to head coach Rusty Arnold. Four wrestlers returned from injury to compete in the tournament, and were understandably not in top form. The majority of the competition were from 3A and 4A schools, which made the hill a harder than normal one to cli...
Rural health care has historically been one of the critical issues that policy makers have had to face. In order to discuss the Behavioral Health Redesign being done by the Wyoming Department of Health, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) met with Senior Policy Analyst Franz Fuchs on January 2. This redesign will focus on mental health care in the state of Wyoming. The new system will change how behavioral health services are provided throughout the state. Funding will change to a...
The first Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) meeting of the year started off with a wide slate of topics, ranging from health care to the Rock Creek Transmission Project during their January 2 meeting. To start the meeting, the board approved the bills and monthly receipts before moving into discussing the issues of influenza and advertising for people to get vaccinated. After these discussions, the board listened to an update on the bridge replacement for the structure over the North...
This summer, it's been common to see businesses throughout town closed multiple days of the week. Though staffing has always been an issue for Saratoga businesses, recent developments have exacerbated the difficulty in finding employees. "In our 13 years of having businesses in Saratoga we've always had issues with staffing," said Cassie Orduno. She and her husband own Bella's Bistro, Saratoga Sandwich Company and SunnyCup. According to Orduno, the past couple years have made it more difficult....
The community push for pickle-ball is slowly gaining ground in Encampment. The Encampment Town Council met on June 8 at 7:00 p.m. for their regular meeting, where they discussed ordinances and the pickle-ball court. The pickle-ball discussion in this month’s meeting focused on the acquisition of nets for the courts. Peggy Huntley brought the request for funding before the council in order to buy two nets. She stated that the nets could be placed in the ground, and have the potential to be r...
Rural issues lined the docket as the Riverside Town Council discussed matters ranging from water lines to broadband accessibility. The council met on June 8 for a regular meeting. Liquor license renewal started off the meeting, with both the Bear Trap and the Mangy Moose being successful in their renewal. Flooding was discussed with Councilman Mark Helwick discussing the water levels in the Encampment River Basin. He said that he believed the high point of the water was reached the previous...
One of the most interesting parts of college is getting to take classes you didn’t even know existed. Now I’m a computer science major, and one of the requirements for being a computer science major is taking actual science classes. This was devastating news to me as I did not like Chemistry, Biology, or Physics in high school and knew having to take those classes in college would be a struggle. Thankfully, if you don’t want to take actual Biology, Insect Biology works as a great alter...
College has been a great experience so far. Granted, it's not very exciting considering I spend most of my time outside of school work being on the debate team and playing video games. I also spend time with friends, with that time revolving around debate and video games. Usually that time is dedicated to both. A semi-tradition formed during the past school year where a group of friends on the debate team would go to Taco Bell after practice and then spend the rest of the night playing Nintendo'...
Spirits were high at the Saratoga High School as the Class of 2023 graduated. The ceremony began with Principal JD Johnson welcoming everyone, and speaking about the class. Johnson was followed by teacher Jason Williams, leading everyone in a prayer. Next, class president Gabby Johnson spoke. Gabby Johnson started her speech by asking the audience to stand up and spin, saying "I read that if you moved your audience they would never forget you, and we're a pretty unforgettable class so I didn't...
The agenda, minutes, and bills were approved before moving on to a presentation on the Carbon County Prevention Network (CCPN) by Tracy Young. The presentation discussed issues such as drug abuse and suicide prevention, as well as summer events the CCPN will be hosting on June 21 and 22. Town Hall Departments Flooding is still a concern, with the town being on high alert. Residents of Saratoga can request sandbags by contacting Town Hall, but will have to place the bags themselves. There are...
Everything was business as usual at the Carbon County Commissioners Meeting. The commissioners met on May 16 in Riverside for their regular meeting. The meeting started with approval of the bills, then moved quickly into updates from Emergency Management. Flooding concerns were addressed with discussion of the current plans put in place. The commission thanked those who were able to attend during Governor Mark Gordon‘s visit to the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). Commissioner Travis Moore s...
Editor’s note: Kaitlyn is returning for the summer to help us out here at the Saratoga Sun. We are looking forward to her insight into the community and it’s happenings I’ve learned a lot after my first two years of college. Of course there are the obvious ones - the importance of studying and work and going to others for help. However, I’ve also learned to place a strong emphasis on having a social life, and spending time with friends. Hanging out is easy in the summer, but less so during the b...
While the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain by Brush Creek Ranch (BCR) has faced much controversy, it successfully moved to the next stage of approval during a special meeting by Carbon County Planning Commission on July 26. The PUD will be sent to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC) for review and potential approval. The planning commission staff created a series of amendments for the PUD guide after the July 12 public hearing. Some amendments were minor changes to...
The crowd gathered at the Bear Trap Cafe and Bar on July 24 was unusual, but not surprising given the event. Midget wrestling returned to Riverside for a Saturday night, giving the crowd a chance to see the wrestlers duke it out. The event was first introduced to Riverside in 2018, with MicroMania performing last year's show. This year's show by MicroMania proved to be popular, having sold over 100 tickets before the night even began. Laughter roared as jokes and insults were thrown, a...
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek will be moving on to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) for review and potential approval following a special meeting of the Carbon Country Planning Commission on July 26. Brush Creek Ranch began the process for a zone change from Residential to PUD in order to develop a ski resort on Green Mountain. The commission was presented with an amended version of the PUD guide. Notable changes include the helipad usage...
Saratoga may not be getting a new recreational vehicle (RV) park after all. Jimmy and Jamie Campbell, owners of JaJaCa Properties, have been attempting to build an RV park along Wyoming Highway 130 but have faced several roadblocks along the way. At the June Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, they were attempting to make RV parks a permitted use under Highway Business (see “Deal or no deal” on page 1 of the June 16 Saratoga Sun). After the July meeting, it seems JaJaCa Properties has thr...
While discussion of the Green Mountain zone change dominated the conversation at the July 8 Encampment Town Council meeting, it didn’t completely hog the spotlight. During the meeting, Saratoga resident Lela Konecny spoke to the council regarding a lease on the lumber mill at Grand Encampment Business Park. Konecny gave a presentation as a representative of Meriwether Timber. The lease on the mill is currently owned by TNT Forest Products. TNT currently has no business license, having been a...
The July 12 public hearing for the Green Mountain ski area zone change was packed full of citizens voicing their concerns for the development. Representatives from Brush Creek Ranch presented their case to the Carbon County Planning Commission for a zone amendment from Residential to Planned Unit Development (PUD). While the majority of public comments were about water concerns, there also appeared to be an underlying culture war sentiment in regards to the application. The hearing began with...
Over a decade of history converged at the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. Chris Shannon, co-owner of The Yard music venue, attended the meeting to voice his concerns about the definition of resort and the current zoning of The Yard. These issues have been expressed before (see “And the party never ends” on page 1 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun and “Resort definition questioned again” on page 3 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun). Shannon stated resort zoning comes with a list of accesso...