Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Photo by Richard Espinoza Terry Nash recites a poem during the first night of the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering. See story and more photos on B9....
Carbon County’s population decline, or net outmigration, and the state’s increase in baby boomers marks some trends in a recent report by the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division. The population in Carbon County declined more than in any other county in Wyoming from July 2022 to July 2023, according to a report by WEAD. The population decline for Carbon County during this period was 1.4% or 203 persons, said Wenlin Liu, Chief Economist with the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division. Population numbers are based on the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau est...
The Saratoga Town Council heard from their new appointment to the Carbon County Vistor’s Council (CCVC) during their regular meeting on July 16. Ellie Dana Raymer, the Saratoga representative to the CCVC, spoke to the council to talk about recent initiatives and the 2023 Tourism Master Plan. She highlighted specific portions of the master plan that she thought the town council “might be interested in.” Under “The Visitor Experience” portion of the master plan Dana Raymer focused on goals suc...
The past two weeks have been, for lack of a better word, interesting for Jason Williams who teaches history and government at Saratoga Middle High School. Within the span of a week, the country witnessed the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump and the decision by President Joe Biden not to seek re-election. Were these events to occur during the school year, rather than in the middle of summer, Williams likely would speak with his students about both of them. Not just from a...
Members of the public got a chance to interact with and ask questions to local political candidates at the July 9 Valley Service Organization (VSO) Public Forum Three of the five candidates for Saratoga Town Council attended the forum, with Mike Cooley and Chia Valdez being the four-year-term candidates and Bub Barkhurst being the two-year-term candidate. Sophia Borg, the other two-year-term candidate, and Cory Oxford, a four-year-term candidate, did not participate in the forum. Each candidate...
Nearly a year after a shoot-out with law enforcement at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the Saratoga man involved has been sentenced to 55 years in prison. Wyatt James Fluty, 29, was sentenced by Judge John Fitzgerald in Meade County Court on July 17. As part of a plea bargain announced In May of this year by Attorney General Marty Jackley, Fluty pled guilty to attempted first degree murder involving a law enforcement officer and commission of a felony while armed with a firearm. The incident—whic...
As seems to be common anymore around midsummer, Saratoga Lake is under a harmful algal bloom advisory as of July 18 according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This is the sixth consecutive year the lake has been placed under an advisory for harmful algal blooms—or blue-green algae—since 2019. Previous advisories issued by the Wyoming Department of Health and the Wyoming Livestock Board have included the following recommendations: - Avoid contact with water in the vic...
The current election season chaos continued in full force at the national stage as President Joe Biden announced he was ending his bid for reelection on July 21. The move, coming after weeks of calls to end his candidacy, was a huge upheaval for both parties. Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump quickly decried the move, saying the Republican party should be “reimbursed for fraud” for the money spent attacking Biden. For the Democrats, the party has been left with no primary can...
The News Letter Journal would like to applaud the Newcastle City Council for taking a step to ensure that the members of local boards possess the training and knowledge they need to appropriately spend taxpayer dollars and make decisions on behalf of the public. But we would be remiss if we didn’t share some concerns about the council’s decision at their July 1 meeting to require service providers and/or 501c (3) that receive funds from the city to complete the board training program that is now being required of many public boards across Wyo...
Editor, The unsung heroes in this Valley are the nurses and nurses aides at our hospital. What they do every hour of every day boggles my mind. They even have one ER nurse named Sam that could make a dead man smile. Then there is Laura Bucholz and her team that got this beautiful hospital built in this little ranch town in the first place. Beyond belief and timely for me. Thank you, Art Leys Saratoga, WY...
On September 25, 2000, two years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, 19-year-old Kevin Hines in a state of chaos and despair, attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He fell more than 220 feet to the freezing dark waters of the Pacific Ocean, slamming into it at 75 miles per hour. The fall took only 4 seconds, and no one was more surprised that he had survived than Kevin himself. You see, the bridge was completed in 1937 and since that time nearly 2,000 people are known to have jumped to their deaths. What...
What do you seek in life? Wisdom? Strength? Wealth? These are not necessarily the best things to pursue. You might consider seeing and knowing God as your highest goal in life. In the Old Testament, Jeremiah quotes the Lord in Jeremiah 9:23, [23] Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; [24] But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness i...
A time machine won’t be needed this weekend to get a glimpse into the ways of life in the 19th century. All one needs to do is head to the Grand Encampment Museum on July 25 and 26. Volunteers dress in period clothing and teach the public the old ways. The museum has all the buildings open so everyone can visit them and get a glimpse of days gone by. History comes to life through the efforts of Tim Nicklas, the director of GEM, and the many volunteers and staff that are dedicated to preserving h...
Bike riding enthusiasts across the United States and worldwide recently came together to participate in the 26th annual Tour de Wyoming. Tour de Wyoming came to the Platte Valley on July 14 and again on July 17. Bikeriders camped at the Lazy Acres Campground and RV Park in Riverside as part of a six-day tour. Bike riders started at 7 a.m. and took different routes each day. Amber Travsky, the founder of Tour de Wyoming, said this year at least 250 riders participated. “Every year we entice 250 r...
POWELL — As the State of Wyoming moves forward with plans to build a world-class shooting facility, a panel is recommending that the complex be built in Cody. Following months of proposals, pitches and site visits, a task force voted 8-4 to favor a chunk of state land south of Cody over a competing spot near the Campbell County Cam-plex in Gillette. Campbell County put together an appealing proposal that included millions of dollars of funding and property that’s easily accessible and all but shovel ready. In contrast, Cody’s remote site impre...
The Platte Valley Trout All-Stars season ended on July 18 as they lost their third straight game to the Platte County All-Stars, 3-2. Head Coach Ben Spaulding said, despite the three losses, he was proud of his team's effort and sees a bright future for next year., Spaulding added his team needs to work on their hitting. He said he will be looking for ways to help them during the off-season. “The kids played very well defensively. Great pitching from Jackson Kopasz and Beckett Spaulding and o...
Western music and poetry brought out a range of emotions during the 22nd Annual Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering as people laughed, smiled and shed a few tears. Every song or poem from each artist told a story of romance, drinking, farming, family, traveling, and adventure in the eyes of a cowboy. Floyd Beard has performed music and poetry since the late 1970s. Beard said he always had a love for rhyming with words, which helped him become a poet. “I have always been in love with rhyming w...
Two conservation groups came together to raise awareness about protecting rivers and lakes in the Platte Valley. On July 18, Trout Unlimited and Rivers Are Life united to clean up Veterans Island. Local and out-of-state volunteers participated in cleaning up trash, cigarette butts, and waste. High school students also volunteered, learning the responsibilities in maintaining a healthy environment for parks, rivers and wildlife. “This is the first year Trout Unlimited is doing an expedition c...
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