Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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When you enter into the new Hanna Elementary School, it's like stepping into the entrance of a coal mine. The 71 students will walk through the long, rounded tunnels, "held up" by imitation wooden trusses, entrance to go to school. To the side, a mural depicts the Hanna's rich history - from the first immigrant coal miners who lived in tents, to the students holding shovels to breaking ground on the new Elementary. The mines in Hanna are all abandoned, but Hanna Elementary School Principal Mark...
If there was even a shred of doubt the Encampment Lady Tiger volleyball team (4-0, 15-1) was a force to be reckoned with, it was surely removed this weekend. The Lady Tigers pulled off two impressive wins this weekend against conference rivals, sweeping both Farsen-Eden (0-3, 5-10), with a scores of 25-11, 25-16, 25-15; and the defending state champions Cokeville (0-2, 9-15) with scores of 25-17, 25-19, 25-21. The wins put the Lady Tigers in first place in the Southwest Conference, 1.5 games...
The past weekend was a tough one for the Saratoga Lady Panthers after they lost to two conference rivals. The Lady Panthers lost to the Burns Broncs in three games (13-25, 10-25, 16-25) and the Niobrara County (Lusk) Lady Tigers in four games (21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 16-25). On Friday night, the Lady Panthers were defeated soundly on their own court by a powerful Burns squad. "We just lost focus," Lady Panther head coach Shayley Love said. "We have to start pushing through the entire game. We have...
The Saratoga Panther football (0-5, 0-6) squad continues to improve, head coach Scott Bokelman said. But the Panthers’ efforts were not enough to get it done in their 6-24 loss against the Burlington Huskies. “It’s the same old story,” Bokelman recalled of Friday’s afternoon matchup. The Panthers are still searching for their first win of the season. However, Bokelman said he is seeing a lot of improvement in his players. They were able to move the ball on the ground and in the air against a...
Comparing to where his team was this time last year, head Saratoga cross country coach Rex Hohnholt is more than pleased with the performance of his team. The Panthers competed at the Cheyenne Invite this last weekend, which will likely be a testament of how well the team will compete at state. With times improving across the board and his runners facing many of the top runners in the state this last weekend, Hohnholt said he is highly anticipating the outcome of his team’s will performance at t...
Members of the Upper North Platte Solid Waste District (landfill board) were presented with a conceptual design of their new transfer station. Craig Kopasz, an engineer with local design firm PMPC, stated the current project has an estimated cost of 1.2 million dollars. With the landfill board expected to receive around $700,000 in State Land and Investment Board grants and loans, chairman Randy Raymer and Kopasz agreed there was some wiggle room in the construction numbers. However, all board...
A new business hopes to fill the gaps of local mental, spiritual and physical wellness in eastern Carbon County. This week Wyoming Wellness, LLP opens its doors to a new, rural-focused counseling clinic in Saratoga. Co-owned by Charles Junkin, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) out of Cheyenne; Tony Phillips, a certified personal trainer (CPT) and a certified fitness instructor—primary (CFI-P) who is also out of Cheyenne and local Saratoga resident Brenda Bush, who is a provisional p...
The Saratoga Panthers (0-5, 0-4) played their best game of the season last Friday - even if the scoreboard didn't show it. Ultimately, the Panthers could not keep up with the passing attack of the Riverside Rebels (3-1, 3-2) in their 18-40 loss in Saratoga. "We played much better," Saratoga head coach Scott Bokelman said. "We are going to continue to keep getting better." After being shut out for two straight games, the Panthers managed to post a season high 18 points against Riverside- which is...
After several years of not commenting, Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger has broken his silence over the pending litigation with Randy Stevens. Zeiger said the Stevens litigation has been turned over to their insurance agency. LGLP, the town of Saratoga’s insurance agency, will ultimately make the decision on when, or if, a monetary settlement will take place. “It’s up to the insurance agency at this point,” Zeiger said. A monetary settlement could potentially cost the town around $250,000. Even if...
It’s the first thing in the morning, when your alarm goes off. You wake up and you look outside. It’s dark. Really dark. You check your clock to make sure you didn’t wake up prematurely. Sure enough, you wake up the same time you have woken up all summer. But it’s not the same. Though it may seem like a cold and dark existence outside, cheer up buttercup! You are actually living in the best time of the year. Many call it “autumn”. Some call it “fall”. But as a person who is enduring his fi...
Saratoga residents found an unwelcome guest running around town. A three-year-old male black bear was spotted in the northern part of Saratoga on Sept. 23. The bear was captured by the Wyoming Game and Fish (WGAF) and was safely released into the wild. Reports of a dumpster on Veterans Island being broken into by a bear were reported to WGAF on the night of Sept. 22. WGAF spotted the bear in the early hours of Sept. 23, and took action to pursue the bear through town. The bear climbed a tree...
Saratoga Town Clerk Suzie Cox said the town of Saratoga is asking the county for $450,000 for the 2015 Street Improvement Project. The project will go towards repairing pot holes and chip sealing town roads. The town is expected to contribute $50,000 towards the project. The town has spent the last four year’s county consensus funds on sewer projects. Saratoga Mayor John Zeiger said on numerous occasions he wanted to use this year’s funds on street projects. The town of Rawlins has req...
The franchise agreement between the town of Saratoga and Carbon Power and Light (CP&L) not only contributed a large amount of controversy in Saratoga, but left a large gap in the town’s 2014-2015 fiscal budget. The budget lists $299,600 in revenues to arrive from franchise agreements. The number was increased by more than $259,600 from the 2013-2014 fiscal year budget. After it was announced at the July 15 meeting there would not be a fee imposed on CP&L, town departments quickly went to work o...
"We both lost our wives. And life without your partner - it isn't great. It isn't even close to good," 83-year-old Curt Campbell said, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. Next to him was 79-year-old Jack Riddick, who nodded in agreement. The two men couldn't be more contrasting. Riddick was a long-time educator from Ohio. Campbell was a criminal investigator from California. Riddick stays year round in Saratoga. Campbell heads south for the winter. Riddick is soft-spoken. Campbell enjoys chatti...
The Saratoga Panthers (0-4, 0-3) Football Team continue their woes after a 0-53 loss to the Shoshoni Wranglers (1-3, 1-1) last Friday. “We just didn’t play very well at all,” Bokelman said. The Panthers special teams struggled throughout the game. The Panthers fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff, which they managed to recover for a touchback. However, the Wranglers went on to block two of the Panthers’ punts, which set the Wranglers up for scoring drives. Bokelman said the blocked punts brok...
The Saratoga Town Council decided to take closer look at the proposed sewage fee after postponing the second reading on ordinance 828 at their Sept. 16 meeting. Mayor John Zeiger said he felt the ordinance was written unfairly because several households in town would not be paying the same increased fees. The ordinance is written to charge a single-family residential unit a $30 base-rate for sewer fees, with a 3 percent annual increase to those rates. While the base-rate increases for larger...
An ordinance of the Saratoga Municipal Code pertaining to disturbing the neighborhood needs further examination, Councilman Steve Wilcoxson told council members at the Saratoga Town Council meeting on Sept. 16. Ordinance 9.20.050 states “No person shall between the hours of ten p.m. and seven a.m. maliciously or wilfully disturb the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or family within the town limits by loud or unusual noises or by tumultuous or offensive carriage, threatening, quarreling, c...
The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies (2-0, 2-1) had plenty of time for another score when they got the ball inside the Panther five yard line. Instead they did the honorable thing; they took a knee to run down the clock. The Grizzlies then went to the sideline to celebrate their 0-28 shutout of the Saratoga Panthers (0-2, 0-3). After playing a tough team like Rocky Mountain, Saratoga football head coach Scott Bokelman said he was pleased with the performance of his players. "I thought we played hard,...
Even though it may seem the Platte Valley has received more rain than usual, meteorologist Shawn Leibl with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said precipitation is up in the Platte Valley, but not as much as you might think. The last two months, Saratoga has seen 5.3 inches of rain as of Sept. 12 — which is slightly above normal rainfall. Leibl said there is an average of 4.14 inches of rain between July and now. While the last two months have seen a larger amount of r...
Lower scores on the 2014 PAWS (Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students) and SAWS (Student Assessment for Writing Students) tests are nothing to fear, Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD#2) Superintendent Jim Copeland said. Copeland said the test results will likely reflect lower scores from previous years, as they make the transition to meet Common Core standards. The tests were taken by students in March and April of 2014, and their results will be released to the public on Sept. 22....
The fencing ordinance will receive another makeover. The planning commission voted to amend the fencing ordinance which will allow for a seven-foot fence, with 75 percent visibility in fences higher than four feet. The planning commission wrestled with the changes for more than an hour. The major topic of concern was how high does the fence have to be to keep deer out of a homeowner’s yard. Initially, the proposed ordinance called for a maximum of a six-foot fence, with 50 percent visibility i...
When you go to play a powerhouse team like Cokeville, some pre-game jitters are to be expected. But Saratoga football head coach Scott Bokelman said the jitters ended up getting the best of them in their 48-9 loss to the Cokeville Panthers. Bokelman said his team did not play nearly as well as he expected. “We came into the game just a little bit intimidated,” he said. The game against Cokeville was a wake-up call for the Panthers, Bokelman said. He said in order for them to compete in fut...
The Encampment Lady Tigers beat Little Snake River in four sets Friday night in front of a full house at the Encampment School gymnasium. With purple on one side of the bleachers and red on the other side, there was constant cheering during the match. In the first set, the Lady Rattlers had a strong start with three unanswered points before the Lady Tigers stepped up and took charge. It would take a few of Alyssa Barkhurst's stinging kills before the Lady Rattlers would react to Barkhurst. The... 
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Whether it's teaching the finer aspects of drawing, or the molding of clay, Noel Shepherd is excited to be the new art teacher at Saratoga Middle/High School. Shepherd is from Rawlins, and she graduated from the University of Wyoming with a degree in art education in 2012. "I have always loved art, that's why I have decided to pursue it as a career," Shepherd said. "I also love teaching. I consider both of them to be passions of mine." This is Shepherd's first job at a public school, but she is...
Saratoga residents will likely be paying higher prices for sewer services At the Sept. 2 Saratoga Town Council meeting, the council passed Ordinance No. 828 on the first reading. The ordinance will increase the base rate for sewer service of business, commercial and residential users throughout the town. The rate increase was proposed by the Town of Saratoga/Carbon County Joint Powers Board (water and sewer board) in order to provide the necessary revenue to make improvements to the wastewater o... Website