Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Photo by D’Ron Campbell. As part of its kickoff for homecoming week, Saratoga Middle High School’s pep assembly on October 14 saw Skyler Wood, left, and Principal JD Johnson duke it out with pillows. Check last week’s Saratoga Sun for a schedule of homecoming events....
Small municipalities like Encampment may soon have to add yet another round of testing when it comes to drinking water following new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. Director of Public Works Bill Acord informed the Encampment Town Council on October 10 of the upcoming changes. “Earlier this year, the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] put out new regulations on something called PFAS. There’s over 15,000 PFAS chemicals. Mainly it’s used for your non-stick cookware, your...
As 2024 begins to draw to a close, the Town of Encampment has begun the process of switching who they contract with for dispatch services. At the October 10 meeting of the Encampment Town Council, the governing body briefly discussed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Carbon County for dispatch services. Historically, the Town of Encampment has contracted with the Town of Saratoga for dispatch services. Earlier this year, however, Saratoga’s governing body began discussing the potential o...
The Saratoga Town Council is continuing to amend sections of its municipal code regarding council member participation on committees, a process which began last year with the Saratoga Recreation Department. At the October 1 meeting of Saratoga’s governing body, the municipality held the first reading of two ordinances which would amend code regarding the Saratoga Planning Commission and the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board. Saratoga Planning Commission While the current code regarding the term o...
On Tuesday, September 17 the volleyball gym turned the color of teal in honor and in remembrance of Laurie Johnston, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer in August. Laurie was a coach in Saratoga and Encampment for over 40 years and was a referee for many of the volleyball games. Coach Shayley Love, Athletic Director Greg Bartlett and booster club volunteer Karen Condict felt the Valley competition would be the perfect opportunity to show Johnston honor and respect. Coach Love made teal...
After 125 years in continuous business, RNB State Bank is ready to celebrate. Originally chartered as a state bank, the Rawlins State Bank opened its doors on January 2, 1899 in Rawlins, Wyoming according to advertising in the Rawlins Semi-Weekly Republican. The bank, at the time, listed I.C. Miller as President, WM Daley as Vice-President and J.A. Rendle as Cashier. In 1900, the charter turned to a national level and the Rawlins National Bank (RNB) was born. In 1991, Rawlins National Bank moved into Saratoga, taking over from Westland Federal...
Encampment FFA held a member meeting on September 25, 2024, at 6:30 PM. Ag Advisor Mandy Westerman prepared chili and cornbread, with officers serving the 23 attending members. The meeting focused on electing committees for Fundraising, Community Service, Meeting Planning, and the Halloween Carnival. We also reviewed our performance in the Horse and Livestock Judging Contest held on September 18, 2024. Overall our Horse Judging Team placed second. In Horse Judging, Kannon Gilbert placed 8th,...
With progress seen in the construction phase of “Never Forget Park (NFP)”, the committee in charge of the park is launching a new fundraising appeal designed to raise $1,100 per day until Veteran’s Day — November 11. According to a press release, “Never Forget Park” Construction Phase (curb and gutter and parking lot prep) is finishing this month. Funds for this phase came from generous support from the community, Order of the Eastern Star, Wyoming Community Foundation, The Marget and James K...
The University of Wyoming Extension has released a new, user-friendly resource to help gardeners, landowners and agricultural producers identify effective weed control options. The digital guide, which is presented in an easy-to-read table format, offers treatment suggestions for specific Wyoming state-designated noxious weeds, county-declared weeds and common garden weeds. Potential control methods for each weed are ranked as effective, somewhat effective and ineffective. In addition to the table, which lists treatment options for more than...
Driver fatigue is being investigated as a contributing factor in wreck near Walcott which closed Interstate 80 for nearly four hours on October 9. According to a press release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP), troopers responded to milepost 240 on I80 westbound around 4:30 a.m. for a wreck involving three semi trucks. The first semi rolled over before coming to rest blocking right lane westbound traffic with the bottom of the trailer facing oncoming traffic. The two other semis involved in the wreck collided with the bottom of the...
It may come as a shock to members of Gen Z, but there was once a way to communicate with others before the days of social media. Over the past few weeks, the Saratoga Sun’s opinion page gave a preview of how that once looked as we received at least one Letter to the Editor a week since the end of August. I was absolutely delighted to see a letter come through the mail or email because it showed that people were invested in their community. Letters on the topic of “Where the Trout Leap in Mai...
Though a few months away, the next session of the Wyoming Legislature will likely showcase the recent powershift towards the Wyoming Freedom Caucus if the general election goes the way of the primary election. Meanwhile, next month, the Management Council may be considering a policy which would limit access to the People’s House. Last month, the Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and process voted to effectively ban photojournalist and broadcast journalists from entering the halls which run next to the House and Senate f...
A few weeks ago I wrote that words matter, referring to verbal words, and this week, as we observe National Newspaper Week I am going to discuss other words that matter — printed words in newspapers. This year’s theme is Tell Our Stories, meaning for us newspaper folk to tell why we got into this business and for me the theme says it all. That’s why I do this — to tell our stories. I started in Thermopolis at the Independent Record while a senior in a career class. Students were placed with businesses in areas where they had a potenti...
Last Sunday, I was asked to bring the morning sermon for a wonderful church in the country called Mt. Lebanon Methodist. I had a dream recently about delivering a message and when I awoke, I went I into my office and asked God to please not let it dissipate before I could write down as much of it as I could remember. Dreams are like the morning fog that fades when the sun comes out. I was noticeably rattled and was typing feverishly. How many know when God gives you a word it’s not a suggestion? I ended up separating the content into four p...
CHEYENNE — Elle Sanderson’s son, Raylan, is diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, SYNGAP1, that affects his ability to communicate. Two years ago, right before school let out for the summer, his school refused to let him take home his augmentative assistive communication (AAC) device. The AAC is an iPad her son used during the school year to communicate with his teachers. “I didn’t know why it was wrong; it just sounded terrible to me,” Sanderson said. She called several people at the school and told them it was “wildly inappropria...
Lawmakers are scrambling to draft a bill that would restrict what wildfire victims can claim damages for when electric utilities spark blazes. Insurance premiums for utilities are exploding due to class action lawsuits stemming from utility-caused wildfires that have resulted in death and property damage — particularly in the West. Some utilities fear they may lose insurance coverage while increasing insurance rates threaten to raise costs for electric customers and bankrupt some power p...
Saratoga Middle High School kicked off its homecoming week on Monday with a pep rally which included a pillow fight between Principal JD Johnson and senior Skyler Wood. During the pep rally, the homecoming court was crowned with Wood and Madi Johnson crowned as the Homecoming King and Queen. As part of the rally, the Saratoga Panther mascot took the Southeast Cyclones—portrayed by Griffin Bartlett—to the mats. On Tuesday, students and staff participated in a dodgeball tournament organized by...
After tearing through two other conference rivals, the Encampment Tigers nearly saw their undefeated streak ended as they hosted the Dubois Rams on October 11. On paper, it looked as if the Rams would have been an easy match for Encampment as they had dealt a 59-6 loss to the Farson-Eden Pronghorns and an 82-33 loss to Casper Christian over the past two weeks. Leading up to the match, the Rams were ranked No. 3 in the 1A South Conference with a season record of 2-2 and a conference record of 1-1...
For most of their season, the Saratoga Panthers had defied expectations. On their third coach in three years, the Panthers secured a win over Lusk for the first time since 2004. They followed that up with their third win in three years over the Wright Panthers, this time with a double-digit lead. Last year, they felled Wright 6-0 and the year before they won 4-0. It’s been history in the making for both Saratoga Panthers fans and high school football fans. As was noted by Patrick Schmiedt of w...
The Northwest Conference team of Burlington’s Lady Huskies are undefeated in their conference this season with a record of 7-0, and the Encampment Lady Tigers (3-3) got a taste of going up against this team Oct. 12 at the Kaycee Tournament. The Lady Tigers took a few licks from the Huskies, but the opposing team had to do it in three sets. The Lady Tigers fell in the first set 18-25, but came back to beat the Lady Huskies in the second set 25-20. The third set ended with a score of 10-15. The H...
The Saratoga Panthers cross country team ended their regular season in Cheyenne at the Leroy Sprague Invitational Meet on Friday, October 11. The varsity team racers continued to improve their individual times leading up to the state championship which will also be held in Cheyenne. “The performances from our high school kids left me very optimistic heading into the state cross-country meet held in two weeks,” said Head Coach Rex Hohnholt. “It was great to see all the athletes challenge themselves on what I think is the truest cross...
The Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process voted last month to bar photo- and broadcast journalists from entering the halls that run next to the House and Senate floors. The rule change eliminates the opportunity to gather eye-level images of lawmakers at work in each chamber, relegating journalists to documenting what’s happening on the floors from the galleries above. If adopted by the Management Council in November, the policy change would become the latest in a s...
Like a sip of sweet southern tea on a warm summer day, it’s hard to have a bad day after having a conversation with Amanda Lane. Originally from Standord, Kentucky, Amanda has called Saratoga home for nearly a decade. For most of that time, she has worked at Valley Foods & Liquors where she greets everyone—especially children—with a beaming smile. “About two weeks from the time I moved in [to Saratoga], I got my job here and I’ve been here ever since,” said Amanda. “I love working here. I love...
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