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The Platte Valley Arts Council (PVAC) is pleased to present “Two’s the Limit,” a sculpture selected for the public art displays to be revealed in the valley this fall. This work includes a 20-by-15-by-11-inch sculpture of trout leaping into the air by local artist Jerry Wood. The sculpture is one of seven new public art displays in the Platte Valley, that will be revealed this fall. These pieces feature local artists and include murals and sculptures depicting local life and culture. Wood’s sculpture demonstrates his expertise in using translu...
Staff Report Pairing art and repurposed materials is not foreign to Rawlins–born artist John Perue. The Platte Valley Arts Council (PVAC) chose the Saratoga resident to create one of seven new public art displays. Despite no formal art training, Perue learned at an early age that arts, crafts and hobbies could help one through the long Wyoming winters. With limited access to materials, tools and machinery, he learned to be resourceful in recycling and repurposing what was available. Perue has teamed up with his wife Linda Fisher-Perue, an a...
A 58-year-old South Dakota man is dead following an avalanche in the Encampment River Wilderness on March 12. At approximately 1:02 p.m., the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received a call from Roy Simonson of Rapid City, South Dakota. Simonson reported himself and Jon P. LaFramboise, also of Rapid City, had been caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling near Hog Park in the Sierra Madre mountain range. He also reported he had performed CPR on LaFramboise, but couldn’t find a pulse and noted LaFramboise still wasn’t breathing. CCSO...
The Platte Valley Arts Council (PVAC) recently received two grants from two organizations which will go towards the installation of public art in the Valley. One of those grants comes from another Valley organization, Bridge Street Bargains. The other comes from the Wyoming Community Foundation. The announcement of both grants came in press releases on March 15 from Stacy Crimmins, project coordinator for the PVAC. The Wyoming Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization which works with donors to support the charitable causes they care...
While spring may be just around the corner, the cooler weather has been making itself known in the Valley in recent weeks. There’s nothing better to fight the cold touch of Old Man Winter than soup. For the next four weeks, the Saratoga Presbyterian Church will be hosting their popular Lenten Soup Luncheons beginning March 10. The luncheons return after two years of delays and cancellations due to the global pandemic. Members of the sponsoring Deacons, along with volunteers, will be providing an abundance of soups for lunchers to choose f...
The Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP) has received a $500,000 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to purchase an advanced computed tomography (CT) scanner for the North Platte Valley Medical Center. A CT scanner is a high-resolution imaging device that combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around the body and uses computer processing to create detailed cross-sectional images of bones, blood vessels and soft tissues. CT scanning has a wide array of medical diagnostic uses, including for...
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon will end the state’s COVID-19 public health emergency effective March 14, nearly two years since the pandemic first began. The announcement came from the Office of Governor Mark Gordon on February 28. “As we see our numbers and hospitalizations receding, it is time to begin the shift to a new phase. This virus will be with us for the foreseeable future and we should manage it appropriately,” said Gordon in a press release. “That means being personally responsible for one’s own health and respectful of your fami...
The Medicine Bow National Forest is seeking to fill host positions at multiple campgrounds in southeast Wyoming for the 2022 season. Campground hosting is a rewarding volunteer experience that gets people outside and serving the public. Host duties include answering questions and helping campers, posting reservations, and ensuring campsites and restrooms are kept in clean condition. Hosts keep campgrounds running smoothly, contributing to an enjoyable recreation experience for visitors. Campground hosting is a volunteer position with a small...
Food insecurity has become a very real problem in the upper North Platte Valley. The Saratoga Food Pantry, a ministry of the Platte Valley Ministerial Association, provides food for individuals and families in need. Wanda Snell, Food Pantry Chair, said, “The Food Pantry served 124 individuals and families in 2020 and 130 families and individuals in 2021. Between January 1st and February 11th this year, we have served 43 individuals and families.” “Since September, we have seen a steady increase in the number of families who have needed food for...
The Saratoga School Spelling Bee was held on January 21 at the Platte Valley Community Center with 57 students in grades 2-7 participating. Fifth grader Cooper Smith was declared the champion by spelling the word, "rhetorical." Seventh grader Snowdon Williams took 2nd place, and Averie Sanchez, a fourth grader, took 3rd. These students, along with the top 3 spellers from grades 2-7 as identified by their classroom teachers, attended the Carbon County Spelling Bee in Rawlins on February 9. The...
A Casper, Wyoming resident recently died following a snowmobile accident near Ryan Park. The passing of the resident, identified as 64-year-old Sherry Volker, came after the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office received a call at approximately 11:43 a.m. on January 28. The initial report, according to a press release from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, was that Volker had driven off trail and hit a tree on Forest Service Road 225. While unconscious, the report indicated Volker was still breathing. Deputy Patrick Patterson responded to the cal...
Collecting roadkill? There’s an app for that. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming Department of Transportation recently launched new features to the Wyoming 511 mobile app to send authorization for those seeking to collect roadkill. The app is available for Android™ and Apple devices and is the easiest way to request permission to pick up roadside carcasses.Collecting roadkill from select Wyoming roadways became legal in January. Now, people can request authorization to salvage deer, elk, antelope, moose, wild bison or wild tur...
The Platte Valley Arts Council (PVAC) recently announced their plans for public art displays throughout the Platte Valley. The pieces will feature local artists and include murals and sculptures depicting local life and culture. According to Stacy Crimmins, a PVAC board member, the public art displays will benefit the community, bringing in economic and community development. “Residents and tourists enjoy the arts,” said Crimmins. “The public art displays will inspire those who see them and increase the Platte Valley’s reputation as an artist...
The Valleys and Headwaters Restoration project in southeast Wyoming has been awarded $2.8 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to support landscape restoration through targeted forestry management. The project is focused on the Medicine Bow National Forest and adjacent state and private lands in Albany and Carbon Counties. It is one of 17 new projects financially supported by the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership, which will help m...
Balance is an important concept to Jeff Mincy. As he takes over the administrative leadership of the Platte Valley Clinic and the Saratoga Care Center, which he will lead until the North Platte Valley Medical Center opens in August, he says it’s important to balance four things for the success of the healthcare system: clinical care, customer service, financial responsibility and employee satisfaction. “These four things have to be in balance to provide long-term, quality healthcare to a community,” Mincy said. “One of my goals will be to prov...
Staff Report Saratoga Elementary School (SES) kicked off their 2nd Annual Health Moves Minds initiative on February 1 with the goal of raising money for a local charity. Last year, SES began working with the National Health and Physical Education Society to bring Health Moves Minds to the school with the initiative fulfilling a main component of the health curriculum by focusing on social emotional learning, or SEL. In addition to resources offered by the Health Moves Minds initiative, a fundraising component allows students to give back to...
The recent cold weather has brought some fun with it as well, as the Kiwanis Ice Rink has officially opened for the season. The Platte Valley Kiwanis announced the opening for the ice rink in a press release on December 31, 2021. For the last few months, those passing by Khe Sahn West Park in Saratoga, next to Lollypop’s, have likely wondered when the rink would be filled with water and ready to go. According to the press release from the Platte Valley Kiwanis, the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department filled the rink with water in late D...
Four Missouri residents were recently rescued while snowmobiling in the Snowy Range, according to a press release from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. On December 17, at approximately 7:34 p.m., the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding four snowmobilers who had three machines break down and were trying to make it to shelter at the Nelson Warming Hut. Deputy Patrick Patterson responded to the call along and activated members of the Rawlins, Ryan Park, Saratoga and Encampment Search and Rescue teams. In total, seven search...
Winter logging activity near Ryan Park on the west side of the Snowy Range has temporarily closed two National Forest System roads and rerouted portions of three snowmobile trails. The impacted routes are near Wyoming Highway 130 in the Medicine Bow National Forest. Forest Roads 225 and 231 are being used as haul routes and have been temporarily closed by a Forest Order, until April 1, 2022 or operations cease. The closures will be in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Forest Road 225 is also the Q groomed snowmobile trail during the...
Less than a month after the Omicron variant of COVID-19 virus was detected in the United States, it’s presence has been confirmed in Wyoming. In a press release from the Wyoming Department of Health on Friday morning, it was reported lab sequencing had confirmed an Albany County adult with recent domestic travel was infected with the variant. Confirmation was also pending for a second Albany County adult as of Friday afternoon. Both cases were initially identified by a University of Wyoming laboratory with WDH involved with confirmation. ...
A nearly 30 year old cold case has been solved by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Cold Case Team according to a press release from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. On July 23, 1995, two Carbon County residents who had been camping in the area of South Spring Creek Reservoir in the Medicine Bow National Forest reported an attack by a male assailant. The male, who was armed with a rifle during the incident, committed multiple sexual assaults and other felon...
The winter weather which closed down much of Interstate 80 this past weekend also closed down the second of two seasonal passes in the Platte Valley. On December 10, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) announced the closure of Wyoming Highway 70 over Battle Pass for the winter season. According to the press release from WYDOT, crews in Baggs and Saratoga made the decision based on weather forecasts and road conditions at the time. The section of Wyoming Highway 70 which connects the Platte Valley and the Little Snake River Valley...
The Wyoming Department of Corrections announced the promotion of Neicole Molden from deputy warden to warden of Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins on Friday. Molden was hired by the Wyoming Department of Corrections in 2009 as a Unit Manager Supervisor. Since being with the Wyoming Department of Corrections, she has held the positions of Associate Warden and Deputy Warden at Wyoming State Penitentiary. In total, Molden has more than 28 years in criminal justice. She hold a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of W...
The Wyoming Community Foundation will award over $200,000 to Wyoming students this year, helping students study at colleges, universities, and trade schools across Wyoming and the country. Until the deadline of March 1st, 2022, students can apply for scholarships for all majors, levels of study, and institutions. Many of these scholarships support multiple years of study, but must be applied for prior to starting college. The Wyoming Community Foundation supports scholarship applicants in several ways. Students should visit...
A preliminary injunction issued by the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri was welcomed by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon on Monday afternoon. According to a press release from Gordon’s office, the injunction halts implementation and enforcement of a rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which would impose a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers. Gordon and Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill had entered Wyoming in a lawsuit with a 10-state coalition which included Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, K...