Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
A controversy that has been simmering between the Saratoga Community Garden Board and the Saratoga Town Council may be on its way to an amicable solution after a recent discussion between Garden Board member Steve Deorio and members of the Saratoga Town Council last week. For weeks, the Garden Board and Town Council members struggled to come to accord and find a way to spin the garden board off into a self-managing nonprofit. The issue began late last year during a town council meeting where council member Will Faust...
Budget cuts to the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish have spurred lawmakers to approve increases in the price for most hunting licenses and game permits in the state. The increases, while modest, are intended to recoup losses to five Game and Fish programs which saw cuts of around $10.8 million over the next two years, according to a release by the department. To help make up for the budget shortfalls, the legislature has approved cost increases for most types of hunting...
Encampment High School’s track team may have been short by quite a few athletes because of a conflict with another school activity, but the seven athletes who attended the meet Friday in Casper brought home plenty of glory for the school. According to the team’s coach, Kegan Willford, only seven of the team’s 18 athletes could travel to Casper this weekend because of a conflict with the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) convention that was attended by many of the team’s athletes. Despite the scant a...
Saratoga High School’s track team returned from its second outing in a row in Casper over the weekend, bringing home several wins for the team and individual athletes, as well as having set a strong pace for the rest of the season. Relay performances seemed especially strong for the Panthers this weekend, something the team’s head coach, Rex Hohnholt, attributes to the combined strengths of athletes on the team. Three tracksters on the boys’ side also showed strong individual strength by earning placement in state final...
Coach Jackie Jones and the Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow High School (HEM) track team got 20 miles outside Rawlins before discovering the Big Piney Track Invitational was canceled due to weather in the western part of the state. “It is the risk you take,” Jones said when she decides which invitations to accept. She does like to mix it up for her team when it comes to meets, so the track team gets exposure to many athletes in the state. “Big Piney is a quality meet where...
Patrick Ellis and Landon Jones, who have known each other since kindergarten, are two students of Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow High School (HEM) awarded the highest degree the Wyoming state Future Farmers of America (FFA) can bestow upon a student; The State FFA Degree. Both seniors, 17-year-old Jones and 18-year-old Ellis, are going different paths once they finish high school in May. Jones currently lives on a ranch about 20 miles north of Hanna and will go into the Army...
The town of Hanna has a new town clerk but her face is recognized by many. For years new clerk Ann Calvert has helped customers at the Hanna Branch of the Rawlins National Bank. Vivian Gonzales, who was the town clerk for eight years, is now the Hanna Recreational Center Director. Calvert said, "I have some big shoes to fill. Huge." According to Calvert the town looks up to Gonzales for her knowledge on countless issues. She said, "I never realized until I started training,...
The cuteness factor was high as kids skipped downcourt, drove past defenders tying their shoes and sometimes forgot to dribble while playing in the Utah Jazz youth basketball program Saturday. Though the children appeared happy enough when they scored, they also seemed merrily oblivious to the scoreboard. Kindergartners through 12th-graders are eligible to participate in Jr. Jazz and the youth program emphasizes teamwork, fundamental basketball skills and positive adult...
With only four members in attendance at the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Conference, Saratoga was one of the smallest chapters. However, that didn't deter them from enjoying the keynote speaker, Laymon Hicks, learning at the provided workshops, making new friends, having fun at the social events and competing in a variety of business related events. Saratoga Middle/High School seniors Sarah Burton, Katie Loose, Meredith Lincoln and Thomas Ingraham were the...
Sierra Schutte recently joined 23 of her Big Bend Community College peers in joining the Rho Zeta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Phi Theta Kappa is the international honor society for community colleges and to enter the group a student must be enrolled in an accredited institution offering an associate degree program, have completed at least 12 hours of coursework that may be applied to an associate degree and generally have a grade point average of 3.5. receive an invitation...
I put myself through the University of Maryland being a bartender. I was able to work on Capitol Hill for political organizations that paid meager wages because I could supplement my income. When I moved to work on my masters at the University of Hawaii my first job was making drinks for tourists. After I left Hawaii, I moved to Taiwan where my English teaching pay was added to by working at bars. I tell people I was destined to be a bartender because at the age of five, my...
Platte Valley Kiwanis currently have scholarship applications available at Encampment and Saratoga schools. Two $400 scholarships will be given to seniors who demonstrate a need and help out in the community according to Kiwanis member Connie McGuire. Deadline for application is May 5. The group will also be holding their annual Stars of Tomorrow talent show April 2. Students from Saratoga, Encampment, Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow aged kindergarten through 12th grade will be demonstrating a wide array of talents. The...
The Saratoga Town Council met Tuesday for its second meeting of the month to handle routine business and discuss the rapidly approaching summer season. Council members approved a 24-hour alcoholic beverage permit for Duke’s bar to remain open and serve drinks for 24 hours during the weekend of the upcoming Wyoming Open pool tournament to be held March 31 through April 2. The council also approved a special event application for the Aug. 19 Steinley Cup (see story on the front page). Chief of Saratoga Police Department R...
Ann Calvert, new Hanna town clerk, with help of past town clerk Vivian Gonzales, started the Hanna town council meeting March 21. The council discussed the water project and the applications needed for State Revolving Fund (SRF) and Mineral Royalties Grant (MRG) loans. Mayor Tony Poulos and council members Tracy Fowler, Bob Patton, Linda Schisel and Pat Gregory were present. Karl Smith, from Saratoga firm Engineering Associates, went before the council to explain what the...
The Hanna library will be featuring local artist's work for the month of April. Tammy Paige, Hanna branch manager said the art program starts April 3. Each week will feature new artists through the month. The first week has Cheyenne Hunter, Ed Schaffer, Jackie Nelson and Conor McGraw displaying their art. The week of April 10 will feature Kelsie Irene, Perri Freeman, Jason Nelson, and Cloe Olsen. The week of April 17 brings James Hughes, Olivia Tanner, Rhia Wentz, Caycee...
Gary Wayne Francis died March 20, 2017 at the Saratoga Care Center. He was born April 2, 1945 in Orem, Utah and grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Gary married Tina (Smitherman) Francis on February 20, 1988. They finally got to move to Saratoga in 2001 where Gary got his dream shop. He spent hours making furniture and items he donated for fundraisers. Later he took up radio controlled planes. He loved building them and flying [crashing?] them. Gary was truly a wonderful man,...
In Loving Memory Betty Ellen Merrill 9/13/1925 – 3/20/2017 Betty Ellen Bixler Merrill entered this world on September 13, 1925, in Parco (now Sinclair), Wyoming to Pearl and Charles Bixler. Betty settled in Encampment at a young age and attended Encampment schools. She married Dale Merrill on October 30, 1942 in a double ceremony with Slim and Charlotte Kraft who remained lifelong friends. On the first day of spring, March 20, 2017, Betty chose this beautiful morning for h...
Amongst shrinking tax revenues in the state, Wyoming drivers will be paying more for car registrations and drivers’ licenses, according to new rules enacted by the state Legislature and allowed to become law by Governor Matt Mead. Under the legislation, state registration fees for private vehicles will increase an average of about 94 percent and commercial vehicle registrations will cost about 10 percent more. All types of drivers’ licenses and permits will double in price. The new prices will take effect July 1. The cos...
A large wedding, a memorial service and a rare astronomical event—a total solar eclipse—could be a boon or a bust for organizers of the 23rd annual Steinley Cup, Saratoga’s microbrew beer fest, which will be held Aug. 19 in Saratoga. Stacy Crimmins, CEO of the Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce, told members of the Saratoga Town Council Tuesday that innkeepers in Saratoga have been reporting since fall that they are about 95 percent booked that weekend due to the wedding and the memorial service, meaning many loyal visitors to...