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When I was about 10 years old, my family piled into our 1997 Ford F-250 with a 1,000-pound camper on the back of it and took off to Yellowstone. To this day, I remember driving through the national park and thinking “wow, I could totally live in Wyoming.” About eight years later, I remembered that trip when I chose to go to University of Wyoming. I thought it would be great to go to school in the shadow of the great Teton Mountains. But when my plane landed in Laramie for the first time, I notic...
By Mike Dunn As America celebrates its 238th birthday, Valley residents will be putting on their own celebrations this weekend. Cancer Walk For the third year in a row, the SkillsUSA chapter of Saratoga High School will be hosting their annual Cancer Walk in Saratoga. Starting at 8 a.m. on July 4, residents will participate in a walk through downtown to benefit the Wyoming affiliate of Susan G. Komen. Over the past two years, SkillsUSA raised $8,000. This summer, they hope to raise at least $10,000 for cancer research. More than 120 people...
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a series about Michelle McWain. She is a wife, a mother, a Carbon County School District No. 2 employee and a breast cancer survivor. *** When Michelle McWain received the call telling her she had breast cancer, there was no time for her to feel sorry for herself. Her life was at risk, and waiting was not an option. “The most frustrating thing was being your own advocate,” Michelle said. “You are trying to deal with the shock of being diagnos...
A Medicine Bow student's art will help save lives. Bethany Howard, a third grade student at Medicine Bow Elementary, won the Kids for the Cure art contest. As first prize, her drawing will be featured on the shirts of children at the Wyoming Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. When she heard she won, Bethany said she was surprised. But it was hardly a surprise when looking at the votes. Using Facebook "likes" to determine the winner, Bethany's drawing won by a landslide, receiving the most...
The Saratoga Town Council passed the 2014/2015 budget on the third reading at their June 17 meeting. Ordinance 826 provides the income necessary to finance the 2014-2015 fiscal budget, which will raise $4,186,002.80 for the town of Saratoga. The budget shows an 84 percent increase in expenditures from this fiscal year to last year. Most notably, the sewer department increased from $232,701.00 to $1,561,200.00 this year. The 571 percent increase in expenditures for the sewer department is due to...
The town of Saratoga will receive a grant to develop a master plan. Mayor of Saratoga John Zeiger said they received a $49,000 from a community development block grant. Community development block grants come from the state of Wyoming. The money has not yet been given to the town of Saratoga, but Zeiger said “the check is in the mail.” The town of Saratoga will have to contribute around $16,000 towards the master plan project, and Voices of the Valley is contributing an additional $2,500. The mo...
Town of Saratoga planning commission board member Bob Thrasher submitted his letter of resignation at the June 10 meeting. In his letter, Thrasher said after the May Saratoga planning commission, he has “had to really think about what the planning commission can actually accomplish.” Thrasher’s letter listed several reasons why he was leaving the board. The letter said the present board has no power to act or enforce the zoning ordinances, and the double-vote situation by councilman and planning...
Wearing his signature cowboy hat, award-winning author C.J. Box was back in Saratoga on Friday to sign books, meet with fans and participate in the first ever C.J. Box Trivia Night. Box said the trivia night, put on by the Saratoga Museum, was the first of its kind. The event was attended by more than 50 people, and raised nearly $1500 for the Saratoga Museum. Though Box said he was honored by the trivia night, he was nervous he might not know the answers to the questions about his books. “With...
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks, the Saratoga Sun will share the story of Michelle McWain. She is a wife, a mother, a Carbon County School District No. 2 employee and a breast cancer survivor. *** Michelle McWain led an ordered life. Her house had to be clean. Her job in human resources and accounts payable at the Carbon County School District No. 2 office had to be precise. To Michelle, everything had its place. If something was not right, she would drop everything and take care of it. But, two years ago, her outlook on life had c...
Saratoga Airport Board chairman Mike “Hack” Patterson submitted a letter of resignation in April. Patterson did not cite a reason for his resignation in his letter. The letter has already been seen by the Saratoga Town Council and was effective at the June meeting. The board has already received a letter of interest from a Saratoga resident Tyler Trevillyan. Vice-chairman Lance Grubb will take over the position of the chairman on the Airport board. With low attendance at the meetings, the boa... Full story
Members of the Town of Saratoga/Carbon County Joint Impact Powers Board (Water and Sewer) were not pleased with the $12,000 offer from Reiman Construction to help pay the retainage fee for the water meter project. At the June 11 meeting, PMPC engineer Ken Schwerdt and Engineer for the Town of Saratoga Chuck Bartlett, said they told Reiman construction the $12,000 offer was too low, and consequently proposed an undisclosed counter offer. Scott Reiman, with Reiman Construction, was reportedly...
Veterans Island has seen better days. However, after this year's flood, Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger is optimistic the park will be ready for use soon. The popular park became a part of the North Platte River between May 25 and the early part of June, as water several feet deep moved across the island. After the 2011 flood, the town of Saratoga took precautions to ensure the island could withstand another flood. The town placed liners underneath the trail so the route would not wash away with the...
Several Carbon County School District No. 2 teachers are retiring this year. The following is a look at those retiring from Saratoga schools. Jack Patrick Whether it’s teaching the use of complex human emotion in Shakespeare’s writing, or the proper use of a semicolon, Jack Patrick has spent the past 41 years teaching the English language to students. Patrick began his teaching career after graduating from Dickinson State Teacher’s College (now Dickinson State University) at the age of 20. P...
Kevin Sharp and his family lost everything they had in a house fire. But after only a few short months, he and his family are ready to give back. This weekend, the Sharps, along with several other community members, are setting up a raffle and benefit to raise money for Saratoga’s Volunteer Fire Department. According to Sharp, the event started when he went to buy a Rock River AR .223 rifle for a gun raffle to benefit the fire department. He said when others heard about the raffle, it turned i...
Despite the short agenda and 20 minute meeting, the June 3 Saratoga Town Council meeting was filled with heated discussions between Mayor John Zeiger and Saratoga residents. Ordinance 826, an ordinance to provide the necessary income to finance the 2014-2015 fiscal year, was passed by the Saratoga town council on the third reading. The ordinance proposes the town raise $2,954,874.41 for the general fund. Saratoga resident and candidate for Mayor of Saratoga Glee Johnson asked the council if a... Full story
The Upper Platte Valley Solid Waste District (Landfill Board) may get help with converting the landfill to a transfer station. Randy Raymer said there is a movement to remove GAAP (General Accepted Accounting Priniciples) requirement tied with applying for a SLIB (State Land Investment Boards) grant. One of the reasons the Landfill Board was denied the grant in May was because they did not use GAAP accounting. Even if the movement goes forward, it would take a year before the landfill board...
As the river starts to recede under flood stage, Saratoga and Carbon County communities survived its second 100-year flood in four years this past week, despite water levels hitting record highs on the North Platte. Even with 10.5-foot river flows, many in Saratoga said they felt safer this year than they had in previous years. Rob Cleveland with Homeland Security's Bravo Team had a simple explanation for this year's success: they were more prepared. Cleveland said his team had stayed relatively... Full story
When the flooding began in the town of Saratoga more than a week ago, several businesses went out of their way to help. Local restaurant and catering service, JW Hugus, provided food for the National Guard and Honor Farm inmate crews. Owner of JW Hugus Trevor Ingraham said he was approached by Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger, Town Engineer Chuck Bartlett and Homeland Security Bravo Team member Rob Cleveland to provide breakfast, boxed lunches and dinners to crew members. Ingraham said they had...
With shovels in hand, crews hailed from all over the region to assist in the flood control efforts. Along with hundreds of Honor Farm inmate crews and National Guard, as many as 225 volunteers helped fill and toss sandbags alongside the North Platte River and in other Carbon County communities. University of Wyoming volunteers Poke Pride extended beyond the confines of War-Memorial Stadium on Friday, as more than 70 members of the University of Wyoming football team and UW staff came to the...
I am a writer. I get paid to write. Sometimes, I write things that I like to write about. Sometimes I write things I do not like to write about. I like when I can write well; when I can go for hours without stopping. When my thoughts are perfectly in-line with what I want to write. That kind of writing makes me enjoy what I do. As I write, it is 9:21 a.m. on Tuesday morning, we are only a few hours until we are going to press. It is my week to write a column. I have to write at least 400 words.... Full story
Lynda Healey is seeking $189,833.42 in damages from the town of Saratoga in a wrongful termination lawsuit. Healey, who was the treasurer for the town of Saratoga from 2006 to 2012, was fired on Oct. 18 2012, with insubordination as the grounds for termination. Her lawsuit argues the town violated section 15-2-102(a) of the Wyoming Statutes Annotated, which states a town treasurer can be removed for “incompetency or neglect of duty.” Additionally, she says the town violated Section 2.08.020 of...
The North Platte River is in the midst of its third major flood in five years. The flood has closed Veterans Island, the Saratoga Hot Pool, along with several public access points around the river. Encampment/Riverside, Sinclair, Elk Mountain and other Carbon County communities have experienced flooding as well. High snowpack and rainstorms Friday night created perfect conditions for rising waters. The river went from 8.13 feet on noon Saturday to 9.17 on Monday. "I held up Friday, I wanted to... Full story
The hiring of Saratoga Town Treasurer, Sammy Flohr, was not approved by the Saratoga Town Council. At the May 6 town council meeting, Flohr was introduced as the new treasurer for the town of Saratoga. Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger said Flohr had been working as treasurer since May 5. According to 2.08.031 of the Saratoga municipal code, “the town clerk, treasurer, chief of police, attorney and municipal judge shall be appointed by the mayor with the consent of the governing body and may be r...
Many Saratoga residents spoke out against the Carbon Power and Light’s (CP&L) franchise agreement with the town of Saratoga at the May 20 town council meeting. As the current franchise agreement will end July of this year, town attorney Tom Thompson asked the council for guidance to draft an ordinance for CP&L’s franchise agreement with the town. Thompson requested the council decide how long the franchise agreement would last, and how much the agreement would charge the power company. The franc...
