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Tourism is now Wyoming’s No. 2 industry, according to Kim Hytrek, Saratoga representative for the Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC). These numbers are based in the data collected from the lodging tax revenue, which is 2 percent right now. As Hytrek reported at the Nov. 17 Saratoga Town Council meeting, these numbers are well above the average for the halfway point of the 2015-16 fiscal year, at $380,002.94. These numbers do not reflect the Sinclair Refinery turnaround, as the lodging tax i...
A ground penetrating radar (GPR) study will not take place on the North Platte River through Saratoga, director of public works Jon Winter said at the Nov. 17 Saratoga Town Council meeting. Brad Carr, of the University of Wyoming, took some baseline measurements to determine whether the town could utilize GPR as a tool for river reformation. The town currently needs to determine the top of bedrock and a bedrock profile in the river, for which GPR would be unsuccessful. Winter reported that the...
Numerous business in the Platte Valley are participating in Small Business Saturday, which takes place on Nov. 28. American Express began the Small Business Saturday initiative for the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2010. Last year, it was estimated that $14.3 billion was spent at small, independent businesses. According to the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), the benefit of shopping small is based off a concept called the local economic multiplier effect. This is built of three e...
The Valley Service Organization (VSO) is hosting Winter Wonderland on Dec. 5 at the Platte Valley Community Center PVCC and VSO President Kate Sherrod said that, like always, attendees have a lot to look forward to. "This is one-on-one contact with Santa Claus, and I have it on good authority that we're his favorite place to come visit before Christmas," Sherrod said. For the last several years, Winter Wonderland has taken place on the same Saturday as the Lighted Christmas Parade. Sherrod said...
The Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) will host the Festival of Trees Gala and Auction on Dec. 4 at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) for its 13th year. Individuals, organizations and businesses donate decorated trees and wreaths, gift baskets, centerpieces, holiday décor and gifts for auction. "It started with trees but now we get a little mix of everything," said Stacy Crimmins, chief executive officer of the Chamber. The Festival of Trees started at the Saratoga...
The annual Lighted Christmas Parade will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The parade begins at Bridge Ave. and River St. and goes through historic downtown Saratoga. Attendees may take advantage of local shops to buy gifts while they wait for the parade to begin. The parade ends at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) just in time to welcome Santa. "It's small, but it's festive," Crimmins said. The parade will have around 10 floats, and Crimmins added that though the parade is...
The Saratoga Airport Board met for a meeting on Nov. 12, however the change in meeting time had not been properly advertised for adequate public notice under Wyoming open meeting laws. Though they could not legally conduct business at this meeting—no motions or actions could be made—the board members said that more people had shown up to this particular gathering than they had for many months, and in lieu of an official, called-to-order meeting, the airport board spent the hour in dis...
Professional firefighters Pat Vining and Ben Spaulding both moved to the Saratoga area in order to work for Sinclair, though they have found a purpose as training officers for the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD). "You can really make anyone a firefighter," Vining said. "Especially now with as much as we train." Vining and Spaulding have been working as firefighters together since their time working in Eaton, Colo. Vining moved to the Platte Valley about two years ago, with Spaulding...
With Saratoga Middle-High School (SMHS) in their second year of failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), SMHS Principal Linda Butler had to come up with an improvement plan based on the scores students earned. The current seventh, eighth and ninth graders showed significant room for improvement especially in English Language Arts (ELA), and Butler believes that reading and writing is a vital area for improvement. Butler presented the intervention plan at Monday’s Carbon County School D...
Linsey Ciepiela, a master’s student at the University of Wyoming has been studying salmonid movement in the Upper North Platte River in order to determine which tributaries are most important to brown and rainbow trout in the region. The Upper North Platte River proved itself as a viable candidate for the project in many ways, significantly because the fishery in the river has a capacity of 4,000 fish per mile. Ciepiela said this is a massive fishery, providing a huge population to study. B...
The Saratoga/Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (water and sewer) continued to discuss the draft ordinance for tap fees at their Nov. 12 meeting. The ordinance, which will raise the rates for water tap installation, indicates price base rates for materials and labor, however the wording for prices on street repair is under deliberation. Board members discussed the motives behind the new tap fee ordinance for clarity, and no action was taken on the draft past sending it to an attorney....
Freshman Paige Powell hit a well-placed spike in the championship match against Kaycee that grabbed the final point for the Encampment Lady Tigers, securing the 1A state title for the first time since 1977. Head coach Robin O'Leary said the final play represented the selfless sportsmanship that the players have shown all season. "Every single person on the floor-all six girls-touched the ball during that point, and so they were all a part of getting that final point in the championship match....
Recently, I picked up a Farmer’s Almanac and flipped through it because I had heard that it predicted more snow than normal in the area. In fact, the Farmer’s Almanac said that relatively normal temperature and precipitation are to be expected in Saratoga this year. I’ve noticed this every year in Pittsburgh, and it maintains in Wyoming; something got twisted along the way and then we all end up believing it. I have entered nearly every winter of my life fully believing that this will the coldes...
It was announced at the Nov. 3 Saratoga Town Council Meeting that Saratoga Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker resigned. However, mayor Ed Glode called the Saratoga Sun to resolve the issue, stating that Tom Knickerbocker had not resigned and that it had been a miscommunication. The fence ordinance, ordinance 2015-831, was passed on its third and final reading by the council at the meeting. There was no discussion about the home occupation ordinance. The South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical...
“I have no idea where we are going to be when it’s time to get our money next year,” said Randy Raymer, chairperson of the Upper Platte River Solid Waste District (UPRSWD) board at last Wednesday’s meeting. “Our money” refers to the funding model that allows towns with populations under 4,000 to receive 100 percent total project funding for the regionalization mandates that require towns to build transfer stations. This reduces the overall number of landfills in Wyoming by requiring the small t...
"I sure have no regrets about my time spent there," said Jerry Paxton, representing District 47 in the Wyoming House of Representatives, about his time as a military policeman in Germany. Paxton served in the United States Army from 1965 to 1967. "My combat was more breaking up bar fights," he said of his experience overseas. His service was a result of the draft, and Paxton felt that the experience was overall very positive for the trajectory of the rest of his life. "It was a great experience...
Gerald Stanart served as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force, beginning in 1965. Like many others in the service at the time, Stanart was stationed in Vietnam for his time of service. Involved in mobile communications, Stanart recalled a time when his group had to get through an air base to get critical parts. "We took some fire going through town, but we expected that," Stanart said of the journey. They drove through the town so fast that the enemy forces were unable to take anyone...
"I didn't know that I was part of history until my granddaughter came home from school, I said 'What are you studying?' She said 'The Berlin Wall,' and I said 'Hell, I was there." Loren "Teense" Willford, former representative for Wyoming House District 47, served in the United States Army eighth infantry, fourth division, beginning in 1961. Willford was a motor sergeant and part of his job was to patrol the Berlin Wall. "Wherever there were problems, we would try to solve the problem. Willford...
A ground penetrating radar (GPR) study for the North Platte River was to be completed by the University of Wyoming (UW) last week, but was abruptly cancelled. The relevant faculty and student group did not return the Saratoga Sun’s phone calls. According to Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode, the town has been unsuccessful in reaching Brad Carr, who had agreed to conduct the study the week of Oct. 26. The town received an email that stated he was going to Yellowstone and has not received any information o...
Many citizens have complained publicly about the lack of daycare in Saratoga. Local mothers Sarah Chatfield and Myra Kopasz, both studying for their masters degrees, have been spearheading an effort to bring a licensed daycare provider to Saratoga. “It’s always been a problem that there’s not a licensed daycare,” Chatfield said. “You should be able to come into Saratoga and say ‘here is a licensed daycare provider, here is their name and they have room.’” While Chatfield and Kopasz praised...
Although the Saratoga Lady Panthers (4-4, 12-11 overall) faced tough teams at regionals last weekend, head coach Shayley Love feels the season was a strong performance overall. The netters faced off against the Big Horn Rams (6-2, 18-13 overall) first on Friday, ultimately losing against the team they were unfamiliar with (16-25, 14-25, 19-25). According to S. Love, the Lady Panthers could not really find their rhythm against their opponent. “For the most part, they did have a really good o...
Joe Johnston, sixth grade teacher at Saratoga Elementary School (SES), recently completed building a greenhouse for with his class in order to grow their knowledge about agriculture. The project began last year when Johnston applied for a grant to purchase the greenhouse, part of which came from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. "Part of the grant was written that we would use it for fundraising classes and different organizations," Johnston said, adding that the amaryllis flowers...
Ninth grader Leila Randall, of Saratoga, has been accepted to Teton Science School’s Young Women and Science program from Nov. 1 to 6. The Young Women and Science program focuses on engaging girls’ interest in science to inspire leadership in future women scientists. During the week in residence at Kelly Campus in Grand Teton National Park, Randall will focus on the ecology of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem including explorations of disturbance and fire ecology, biotic communities and the are...
Saratoga boys varsity cross country team took home second overall in the state at Sheridan over the weekend, and the girls team made fifth overall. Harriers Jeremy Detterer, who finished second in the state among varsity boys and Katie Loose, the number five female runner in Wyoming, are both honored as All-State athletes this year. According to head coach Rex Hohnholt, the team set off looking to be the best in the state over the weekend, but he cannot find any negatives about the way they...