Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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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...
Helen Schmitt, 99, of Elk Mountain, WY died Friday, May 30, 2014 at Deseret Health and Rehab in Saratoga, WY. She was born March 30, 1915 in Dickenson, North Dakota along with her twin sister, Elizabeth to George and Margaret (Joyce) Hamilton. Her family homesteaded at Fayette, N.D., and eventually moved to Olwein, Iowa. Her mother died in 1918 from the flu. Her father moved his family of five girls and one boy to St. Louis, Mo. The children were put into an orphanage until George remarried, and...
Elmer P. Cooper, 77, long-time Carbon County resident, passed away on May 29, 2014, at Deseret Health Care in Saratoga. Services will be held at 11 a.m. June 11, 2014, at the Saratoga Cemetery Chapel. Services will be conducted by friend and fellow school mate, Teense Willford. He will be honored by his friends in the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department. Interment with military honors will follow. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Carbon County Funeral Home. Elmer was born in Laramie...
The Saratoga Sun has received word that Orley Roberts has passed away. A full obituary will appear in a later edition of the Saratoga Sun....
Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) crews opened the gates to WYO 70, also known as Battle Pass Byway, Tuesday. WYDOT said travelers are advised that current high country conditions are wet with cold nights. Motorcyclists and bikers should watch for patches of frozen run-off before the morning sun warms the road surface. All travelers and hikers should be prepared for possible closures due to winter-like weather, WYDOT spokesman Ross Doman said. The Battle Pass Byway opens every summer after WYO 130 over the Snowy Range is opened. The... Full story
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
There is nothing that gets a newspaper reporter’s heart pumping than breaking news. The average blood pressure of the staff at the Saratoga Sun rose considerably last week as we scrambled to cover all of the events happening due to the flood preparations. Long days and long nights became the norm as the staff worked to cover all of the flood events, graduation activities, award events and more. Breaking news never happens during a slow week, but we have discovered there is never a slow week in the Platte Valley. Without the cooperation of t...
Editor, In the next couple months the council will be considering if the town is going to start charging a franchise fee to Carbon Power and Light for the use of town easement/right-of-ways for their power lines. If the decision is made to charge a franchise fee it will be the first time in Carbon Powers history that they were charged a fee by the Town of Saratoga. Carbon Power currently pays the City of Laramie a 5 percent franchise fee on 6-8 meters that are within the City of Laramie and absorb that cost because it is minimum number of...
Editor: First of all let me say thank you to the Saratoga Sun for the opportunity to review and address the comments made by Mayor Zeiger in his letter to the editor included in this week’s edition of the paper. After reading Mr. Zeiger’s comments and as I began writing my response, a quote from the late Paul Harvey kept coming to mind…something about “The rest of the story”. For the most part, the statements made by Mr. Zeiger in his effort to justify the Town of Saratoga’s (Town) need to charge Carbon Power and Light (Carbon) a franchise f...
A state of Wyoming veterans service officer from the Wyoming Veterans Commission will be conducting community outreach serves in Saratoga on June 4 and June 18 at the Platte Valley Community Center. Vicki Richards is available to meet with veterans and their families to discuss state and federal veterans’ benefits, Department of Veteran Affairs claims or VA healthcare. Richards can also help veterans and their families apply for benefits, file claims or request healthcare. Richard can be contacted at 307-214-2112 for more information or to s...
Wyoming farm life and the sport of golf will unite together at the 19th annual Encampment/Riverside Cow Pie Open Golf Classic this Saturday. This unique golf tournament takes place at an Encampment cow pasture, and includes large buckets set in the ground as course holes. More than 90 golfers are already signed up, and community members are welcome to watch the players at work. The tournament tees off at 10 a.m. Saturday, and all duffers should gather at the Hole 19 clubhouse, the big log house...
The Wyoming Natural Resource Foundation (WNRF) will be awarding the annual Gary Beach Memorial Scholarship to University of Wyoming students. The $1,200 scholarship for the 2014-15 school year is available to University of Wyoming students enrolled at the junior level or higher. The Gary Beach scholarship was created in 2006 in honor of Gary Beach, a long time Department of Environmental Quality employee. Beach served for several years as the administrator of the water quality division, and was instrumental in working with local conservation...
Due to flood waters along the North Platte River, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has closed several Public Access Areas (PAAs). Treasure Island, Foote, Pick Bridge, Sanger and Fort Steele/Rochelle are all currently closed. WGFD has also closed the following two PAAs on the Laramie River: the Jelm PAA near Woods Landing and the Monolith PAA four miles west of the town of Laramie. While the roads entering these areas may appear dry and safe to use, the rising flood waters can quickly change and create flooded or washed out roads....
Greetings Saratoga, After completing my 3rd semester in the LCCC nursing program in Cheyenne and receiving my LPN I accepted a temporary nursing position at the Wyoming Cowboy CalleNGe Academy at the Wyoming National Guard Camp in Guernsey. As I was sharing lunch with some acquaintances I was asked “Are people in Saratoga mean?” I was taken back and didn’t know how to answer so I asked “why?”. I was informed that members of the Wyoming National Guard and been called to help with the flood efforts in Saratoga and that it had not had a positive...
Friday morning, the Army Corp of Engineers inspected the Hadsell Slough and told Elk Mountain Mayor Morgan Irene and Public Works Director Gary Martinez he expected the slough to raise a foot overnight. Elk Mountain is surrounded by water, with the Medicine Bow River on the east side of the town and the slough on the west side. Four critical areas were identified, and Martinez was informed that the National Guard stationed in Saratoga would be sending troops to help with the flood effort....
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...
As flood safety volunteers get dirty and work up appetites, a Lander-based business has come to the rescue in a different way. Nu-Way Inc. provides food catering and showers, and the crew of roughly 15 employees spends most of their time on the road, traveling to sites of fires, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disaster emergencies nationwide. Equipped with trucks and trailers carrying mobile kitchens and other facilities, Nu-Way cooks and provides breakfasts, lunches and dinners; tents f... Full story
Although recent flooding had closed it temporarily, the newly-revamped Saratoga Golf Course is expected to receive more play from clubbers around the state. Matt Daubner, Course Manager and PGA Golf Professional, said he had seen many golfers hit the greens so far this season before the flood hit. He said the 3,580-yard nine-hole course, which has a cliff-top tee and three over-water tee shots, officially opened up for spring on April 23. "We've gotten people from all over, including Colorado,... Full story
The high schools from Saratoga, Encampment and Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (HEM) boasted a plethora of All-State and All-Conference athletes from the 2014 high school track season. The students received the honors from both the Wyoming High School State Track Tournament in Casper, and their respective regional competitions. For Saratoga High School, All-State athletes included Hunter Mason, Ben Falk, Alex Ziegler and Cameron Collamer from the 1600 meter relay team, which placed first at...
2 years ago June 5, 1913 Putting in telephone lines J.D. Kilborn arrived here Tuesday with a crew of men from Elk Mountain. Yesterday morning they left for Ten Mile where they will commence the re-construction of the government telephone lines. They will put in all summer in the Medicine Bow forest putting lines to connect the Forest stations all up and down the reserve. They will also connect up Laramie and Saratoga through the Reserve so that any ranger station can be reached from either Laramie or Saratoga. The contract was let to the...
There were five here to play bingo on Tuesday. Two-dollar winners were Janet Lasco, and Betty Dean. Madaline Forbes won the $3 blackout round. We were closed for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday so there was not any bridge. I now have the forms for the Elderly and Disabled Tax Returns. So stop by and get one or call and I will help you fill them out and get them sent back. You have until Aug. 31 to get the forms in. Qualifications are you have to be at least 65, if you are single you can make up to $17,500 per year. Married couples can make...
At Deseret Health and Rehab, residents enjoyed many activities throughout the week. The Activity Department offers a wide variety of activities each week to meet the residents’ interests, as well as the physical, mental and psychological well-being of each resident. Games throughout the week provided fun and laughter. On Sunday afternoon, four residents played Dominoes with Charlotte Gibbons winning. On Monday afternoon, five residents played Yahtzee with Pat Rust winning. On Tuesday morning, five residents played Dominoes with Charlotte G...
Aloha! Yes I said Aloha, there is something about June that puts a smile on so many faces, including mine, and start thinking of warm weather and the beach. So, this month our theme will be “Tropical Hawaii”. Birthdays this month are Dian Bauer, Connie Beckham, Jo Roberson, Francis Herring, and Karen Casson. June anniversary’s are Wade and Rosalie Cousins, Joe and Sheila Remick, Whitey and Alice Stewart, Marvin and Nancy Lynch, Jack and Vonda Weiburg, Orville and Ellen Burgess, Ron and Mary Lou Noton; and that’s a lot of June brides. We will...