Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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After 30 years with Head Start in Saratoga, which operates under Carbon County Child Development, Pat Forbes is retiring as director. Forbes had an interesting journey before working at Head Start. While she always loved kids, childcare was not a career she planned on from the start. “I was going to be a stewardess. I had a degree in Spanish and Sociology. In 1974, when I graduated from college the first time, there was a fuel embargo. Everything shut down in the United States, including Pan A...
Hard questions regarding zoning were grappled with at the June 4 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC). During the meeting, the commissioners held a public hearing regarding a zone change for the Blackhall Minor Subdivision near Riverside. The 40-acre area was originally zoned as ranching, agriculture and mining (RAM) before being redesignated as residential (RD-10) in 1982. The requested zone change in the June 4 meeting was from RD-10 to residential (RD), which would...
Two appointees were approved to the Carbon County Visitors’ Council (CCVC) at the June 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Per the Carbon County website, the goal of the CCVC is to promote “local travel and tourism within Carbon County and its municipalities and to receive and expend the revenues from the excise tax on lodging services.” Members of the council are appointed by several separate municipalities in Carbon County, as well as one appointment from the Board of County Commi...
Carbon County School District No. 2 is being awarded the Innovative School Lunch Makeover Award, in recognition of their efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches. The district applied for the Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provided $149,589 to go towards equipment, supplies, training, student engagement and farm-to-school activities. The Innovative School Lunch Makeover “recognizes improvement in the n...
Children took the future into their own hands at the June 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council as they discussed plans to renovate the bike park behind the Saratoga Public Library. Jaxon Owen, age 12, and Archer Burau, age 10, went before the council with a petition for a new bike track. “I’ve been a Saratoga resident for my whole life. I enjoy living here. I also enjoy riding my bike,” Owen said. “I would enjoy a nice bike park here.” Owen outlined various safety issues around the current p...
Fundraising progress continues for Never Forget Park. Stacy Crimmins, a member of the Never Forget Park Committee, provided an update on the park to the Saratoga Town Council at their May 21 meeting. Crimmins went before the council to ask for approval to apply for a grant from the Wyoming Intertie Community Investment Project (WICIP) on behalf of the Town of Saratoga, which would grant $50,000 if awarded. The WICIP gives impact money for the Wyoming Intertie Project, which will build a...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC) discussed road issues and tourism during the May 21 meeting. Arla Strasser went before the commission to discuss the issue of putting magnesium chloride, or mag chloride, on Carbon County Road 201 east of Riverside. Mag chloride is put on unpaved roads to help control dust from drivers. Strasser spoke about the current conditions of the road, and raised concerns about how mag chloride may further deteriorate the road. She pointed to the issues the...
Families experienced outdoor fun on Jim Hammer Memorial Kids Fishing Day on June 1. Kids’ Fishing Day is sponsored by the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, Saratoga National Fish Hatchery and Saratoga Lions Club. The event takes place on Free Fishing Day, when the Wyoming Game and Fish Department allows anyone to fish without a license. The other fishing regulations such as catch limit remain in place. Children under the age of 12 are invited to participate in Kids’ Fishing Day, where the three spo...
The Saratoga Town Council failed to appoint a member to the upcoming vacancy on the Carbon County Visitors' Council (CCVC) at the May 21 meeting. Per the Carbon County website, the purpose of the board is to "to promote local travel and tourism within Carbon County and its municipalities and to receive and expend the revenues from the excise tax on lodging services." Members of the council are appointed by several separate municipalities in Carbon County, as well as one appointment from the...
Bub Barhurkhust, who was appointed to the Saratoga Town Council on May 7, met with the Sun to share his reasons for applying for appointment and what he hopes to accomplish on the council. The council had a vacant seat in February due to the untimely passing of Jacob Fluty. Barkhurst, owner of Barkhurst Collision Center, was one of two people to send a letter of interest to fill the open seat. In his letter to the council, Barkhurst wrote “as a long time resident and business owner of this commu...
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...