Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 201
A flicker of someone whizzing by the corner of your eye. A knife levitating in the air, then dropping on the counter. An opaque being staring, smiling at you. These are some of the sights those who entered the Pine Lodge in Encampment have reported seeing. These people say the Pine Lodge is defiantly haunted, making it one of several ghostly places in Carbon County. "The hauntings are definitely more than rumor," said Jimmy Ramirez, a previous owner of the building. "Everybody that worked for... Full story
For as long as Saratoga’s Mayor John Zeiger can remember, council members have had a place on town boards as voting members, and that has never been a problem. Currently, every Saratoga Town Council member serves on a board, and most boards have a council representative. “It’s just been a practice ever since I have been here,” said Saratoga Town Clerk Suzie Cox. According to one board member, however, the council representative trend needs to change. Planning Commission member Chris Shannon...
If you get a notice in the mail soliciting money for property information, chances are you can get the same information for little to no cost. Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett said she and several other Carbon County residents received letters through the mail labeled “Deed Processing”. The notice promises to send a “property profile” containing information including address, owner’s name, comparable values, legal description and parcel identification number for a fee of more than $80. The...
Voices of the Valley is pushing for a grant to fund a housing study. VOV director KayCee Alameda, board member Jim States and other VOV affiliates, have been talking to Saratoga Town Council members and the Planning Commission in order to push for a grant in the amount of $25,000, a grant the town may have to match with $6,000. The Saratoga Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the town council match the grant to pay for the housing study, which could benefit residents in the long r...
Carbon County School District No. 2 school board members anticipate having a new superintendent lined up before Bob Gates retires at the end of this school year. “We anticipate that, in the spring, we will be offering a contract to a new superintendent who will resume the duties July 1,” said CCSD 2 Board of Trustees Chairman Greg Bartlett. The CCSD 2 Board of Trustees unanimously voted Monday to consider using the Wyoming School Boards Association (WSBA) for the search of a new sup...
Luz Garcia, of Rawlins, may have trouble finding a new preschool program for her child if Carbon County Head Start programs are forced to close their doors. Garcia said she depends on Head Start for her child because it provides free education to her child, and allows her to attend college courses at Western Wyoming Community College in Rawlins. If Head Start closes, Garcia said she doesn’t know what she will do for a child care provider. “It will be difficult because of the hours I go to school...
The Airport Board approved a new private lease agreement for hanger space Oct. 9. The new agreement, to go into effect January, reflects several changes for hanger owners at Shively Field, including the timeframe of the lease, the cost of the lease, the storage of personal items in hangers and other small changes. Town Attorney Tom Thompson met with the board at its regular meeting Oct. 9 to go over the changes the Airport Board had discussed in a previous workshop meeting. “As a result of t...
Tiffany Jones has sold the hoodie off her back at least three times since she got in the custom attire business. Fortunately, she enjoys making more. Jones said she can spend hours upon hours putting together new designs for customers or for herself in her studio on the computer. From there, she can have the designs cut into vinyl signs, car decals, wall decals and print for hats, hoodies, shirts and other clothing. “I can envision something in my mind. I can design it. I can create it. I can p...
Editor’s note: a more in-depth story on board appointments and council representation on boards will be published in a future edition of the Saratoga Sun. Emotions ran high in the last Planning Commission meeting as the board members discussed internal issues. Board members Rory Grubb, Steve Wilcoxson, Chris Shannon and Greg Cooksey talked about board appointments, bylaws and meeting conduct at the Oct. 8 Planning Commission meeting. Board member Bob Thrasher was absent for the meeting. Late in...
Town-owned front end loaders and dump trucks could be spotted Friday after a heavy snow left broken tree branches in the street. Crews worked Friday collecting large branches with a front-end loader and piling them into a dump truck. Saratoga resident Steve Wilcoxson worked Friday morning removing broken limbs that had fallen on his roof to the sidewalk curb for removal. Saratoga Mayor and Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator John Zeiger said the snow started falling Thursday night,...
Carbon County voters may not have the opportunity to vote on the fifth penny tax come 2014. A member of the Carbon County Council of Governments (COG) and Hanna Town Council member Linda Wagner addressed Carbon County Commissioners Oct. 2 with concerns of the fifth penny tax’s renewal in Carbon County. Wagner said COG members expressed concern that residents may vote against the fifth penny tax come 2014, despite it being approved by voters every year since 1977. Wagner said COG representatives...
My mother and I have always disagreed on what is considered junk, and that has always been infuriating to me. My definition of junk: If you do not know where it goes, or if it doesn’t have a place within your home, just throw it away. My mother’s definition of junk (as far as I can tell): If it can be fixed, keep it. If it has the slightest amount of sentimental value, keep it. Don’t worry about where it goes. Just throw it into the pile. As a result, the house I grew up in was always clutt... Full story
A retired educator living in the mountains near Centennial wants to bring education to the hub of Wyoming communities. The United States is ranked 17th in the world in literacy. The No Child Left Behind Act is producing too much paperwork for teachers, preventing them from focusing on teaching. The United States has one of the highest dropout rates in the world. These are problems Melanie O’Hara sees, and she wants to take a step to correct the problem. “This is not good news,” she said. The pro...
The Platte Valley Arts Council is giving Valley residents the opportunity to take the colors of Autumn and make something creative. The council is bringing Wyoming artist Georgia Rowswell to the Valley Oct. 18 and 19 for a paper making workshop and talk. “What we are trying to do is provide people in the Valley with creative opportunities, so they aren’t just looking at beautiful pieces of art, but they are actually making them,” said Platte Valley Arts Council member Pam Kraft. Rowswell will... Full story
Heated discussion continued after the Airport Board chairman adjourned a workshop Monday. The Airport Board called the workshop meeting to reveal proposed changes in the new private lease agreement between hanger owners and the town of Saratoga, but discussion, after about two hours, veered toward subleases. “I have three people in this room that would like to rent my hanger,” said Saratoga resident and hanger owner David Worthington in the meeting. But he does not want to pay the same as oth...
Tensions and emotion in Encampment quickly escalated Sept. 26 after United States Postal Service representatives said they wanted to give the postmaster a chance to improve service. “I really want to give Wendell an opportunity if at all possible,” said USPS District Manager of Colorado and Wyoming Selwyn Epperson. Epperson met with Encampment residents Sept. 26 at Encampment Town Hall, along with other USPS representatives, including Acting Manager of Postal Operations in Wyoming Curt Art...
Saratoga’s new police chief said the chain of command in the department is efficient, and will not be immediately hiring a new assistant police chief. Saratoga Chief of Police Tom Knickerbocker, who was promoted to the position late September, said he has other staffing priorities, other than strengthening the chain of command. “Our chain of command is efficient as it is right now,” Knickerbocker said. Knickerbocker said his main staffing priority is to hire a new school resource officer and r...
A group from Minnesota is coming to Saratoga to chat. The group, Strong Towns, wants to talk about local government and infrastructure, among other things, but it wants to get a clear point across. Strong Towns wants small town USA to rethink the way they fund large infrastructure. Strong Towns aims to support a model for growth that allows America’s towns to become financially strong and resilient. The way Strong Towns gets its message across is in an on-going nationwide presentation called ...
An explosion and subsequent fire occurred at the Sinclair Oil Refinery Friday night. Sinclair Chief of Police Jeff Sanders said he reported to the incident at about 10:04 p.m. and conducted scene control until 3 a.m. Sanders said no injuries were reported. Spokesman for Sinclair Oil Corp. Clint Ensign said in an email the fire was handled internally by the refinery’s emergency response team. “The SWRC Fire Brigade responded promptly to the scene and had the fire under control by 3:00 a.m... Full story
With golden shovels in hand, Hanna Elementary School students broke ground at the sight for the new elementary school. “This project has been going on for a while and all of you put hard work into making this new school happen,” Superintendent Bob Gates said at the sight before the groundbreaking commenced. Each class had something prepared to show their gratitude and appreciation for the new school. Kindergarteners did a cheer, as they raised letters that spelled “School”. First graders...
More than 100 Encampment and Riverside residents packed Town Hall Thursday night, all prepared to testify against the behavior and disservice of the postmaster. Residents spent more than an hour in the meeting sharing stories about and lack of service from Wendell O’Connell, who has served as the town’s postmaster for several months, in hopes for immediate action. Wyoming Representative of House District 47 Jerry Paxton called for the meeting after sending a petition to Wyoming rep...
The town of Saratoga is drafting a new water user agreement with the Old Baldy Club. The two parties entered an agreement in 2005, stating the town of Saratoga could continue to use water rights owned by Old Baldy in exchange for potable water at a fixed rate. The town has not used those water rights since switching from a water processing system to water wells, meaning the 2005 agreement is null and void. Public Works Director Chuck Bartlett reported to the Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board la...
All sports in Carbon County School District No. 2 are allowed two coaches, after the Board of Trustees changed a regulation on Sept. 16. The regulation, IGDJ-R, regulates the number of kids needed to maintain a team in each sport, how many players needed to maintain three coaches and, before a vote, it regulated how many players needed to maintain two coaches in middle school sports. The regulation states a second assistant coach will be provided to middle school volleyball, basketball and...
Acting Chief of Police Tom Knickerbocker got a swift promotion Sept. 17. Mayor John Zeiger officially swore Knickerbocker in as Chief of Police at the regular Saratoga Town Council meeting Sept. 17. The action means Knickerbocker is officially the chief of police of the Saratoga Police Department. Knickerbocker was named acting chief of police in a previous town council meeting, a meeting Zeiger was absent for. Zeiger said he wanted to name Knickerbocker chief of police, but could not attend...
The Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board made a million dollar decision Wednesday. On Sept. 11, the board voted to approve submitting resolutions and applications for a grant and loan that will fund a project to reroute sewer lagoon discharge to the Upper North Platte River. The project could mean increases in fees for Saratoga residents, said PMPC engineer Gary Steele. The project Currently, the town of Saratoga routes all sewer lagoon discharge north of the facility in a cell called Hot Slough...