Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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The New Year, in the cases of some governing bodies, also means new leadership. In other cases, it means the same familiar faces. Here is where changes did, and did not, occur in the Platte Valley, Rawlins and on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). Carbon County Commissioners For the past two years, Commissioner Sue Jones has served as chairperson of the BOCCC with Commissioner Travis Moore serving as vice chairperson. On January 7, Moore was officially voted...
The potential of a closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 has taken a detour following the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). As previously reported, Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz sent a letter to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) requesting a closure gate for Wyoming Highway 71 for instances when Interstate 80 is closed during the winter. The reasoning for this, Fritz wrote in the letter, was a matter of...
The importance of communication not only between state departments and the public, but with other state departments, was a topic of discussion during the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). The topic came up under a report from Carbon County Public Health as Dr. Duane Abels—the county health officers—revisited a case in 2024 involving anthrax detected in Elk Mountain cattle. As was reported by WyoFile, in September more than 50 cattle and...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are hoping to prevent travelers misguided by their GPS from going down at least one county road. On December 17, the commissioners authorized a letter from Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The letter, which Fritz read at the meeting, requests WYDOT install a seasonal closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 south of Rawlins. "We feel a good place for this sign...
It’s an exciting but bittersweet time for Gwynn Bartlett. On December 17, the Carbon County Clerk tendered her resignation from the office she has held since 2007. On January 7, she was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). It’s a new chapter—and a new form of public service—for someone who has worked in the county clerk’s office for more than 27 years. In July 1997, Bartlett signed on with the Carbon County Clerk’s Office, wor...
Carbon County Commissioner Sue Jones received the 2024 Riding for the Brand award from the Wyoming County Commissioner Association during the WCCA Winter meeting in December. “I was very surprised and pleased,” Jones said about receiving the award. “ In my mind, that award has been historically given to people, like John Espy, that are going to Washington D.C. for the National Association of Counties and not somebody day-to-day in the trenches.” Her work in the trenche...
With president-elect Donald Trump promising not only to crack down on immigration, but to begin mass deportation in the United States of undocumented immigrants, it appears Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reaching out to local law enforcement regarding already existing programs. According to Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken at the December 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners, ICE reached out to several state and local law enforcement agencies...
“I think it’s important for us as clerks to all know what happened so we can prevent the same thing from happening again.” Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett, in her post-election update to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) on November 12, touched on the ballot errors reported out of Weston County. In her last election update as county clerk, Bartlett also voiced her opposition to hand-counting ballots, a process which was given a trial run in Campbell Count...
On the ballot November 5, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County’s (MHCC) hospital district initiative barely failed to pass by 89 votes. Per a press release, this does not mean MHCC is closing its doors. The hospital does face financial challenges, but this was only one component of the overall financial picture. “I personally look at the campaign as a win. To take a grass roots approach to the campaign and to have accomplished what we did in just under 4 months is inc...
With a projected 277 electoral college votes and more than 71 million votes as of November 6, former president Donald Trump is the presumptive president-elect according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, Carbon County cast more than 6,000 ballots in the 2024 General Election, turnout surpassed the primary election by more than 1,000. With 6,446 votes cast, the amount was more than the 2022 General Election which saw 5,860 ballots cast. It was just barely under the number of...
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 H...
Preparing and mending county roads, vaccines and winter preparedness, and health of the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County were some of the hot topics at the Board of Carbon County Commissioners' (BOCCC) meeting on October 1 at the Courthouse Annex in Rawlins. Improve For Next Year Road and Bridge Coordinator Kandis Fritz presented plans to improve roads in Carbon County by seeking funding for Magnesium Chloride on multiple county roads. In 2001, a study was conducted with...
Discover Carbon County recently announced it has been awarded a Wyoming Office of Tourism Destination Development Grant which will be effective for the 2024-2026 Biennium. According to the press release, the Destination Development Grant Program is a biennium grant program that was created in early 2023 by the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s 27 local Lodging Tax Boards. “This grant will enable Discover Carbon County to come along side and partner with communities, organizations and agencies on new or continuing projects,” said...
The option for voters on whether or not to establish a hospital tax district to benefit Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) will be placed on the general election ballot in November. The decision to place it on the ballot came following the August 6 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). The proposed hospital district would give an increase in property taxes to those living within its boundaries. Proponents of the measure say new taxes will provide...
Following one of the lowest voter turnouts in the primary election since 2016, Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett encouraged more voter involvement—and education—ahead of the general election. Her comments came during the August 26 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) as she provided the board with a post-election update. Low Turnout “Turnout was low, as you know, about 56%. That’s 10 to 15% lower than I anticipated it would be. We had 5,388 registe...
As landowners and sportsmen alike await a decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals regarding a corner crossing case which originated in Carbon County, local law enforcement are left without a clear directive should a similar incident happen again. Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken, called the lack of direction “a little disappointing and a little detrimental” during the August 26 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). Hunting for Answers Under his...
In a county where more than half of the land is public, determining where the county sheriff authority has jurisdiction can be difficult. A discussion at the most recent meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) over which agency has the ultimate jurisdiction within Carbon County used terminology from the constitutional sheriffs and country supremacy movements. Somewhat Political The discussion, which lasted just under 30 minutes, was prompted by Saratoga...
Complex questions regarding zone changes were raised during the August 13 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, following a public hearing on a zone change request from retail business (RB) to residential (RD7200). David Rousa said he was requesting the zone change for his property on 804 W Bridge Avenue. Emery Penner, Director of Public Works, said the buildings on the land currently surrounding the plot were residential, making them non-conforming lots. Rousa said...
A public hearing on short term rentals (STRs) at the August 13 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commision saw fiery discussion from a packed crowd. Many members of the public participated in the hearing, giving reasons both for and against regulation of STRs. Discussion on this issue originally began in 2023, when the Planning Commission considered creating an ordinance to limit the number of STRs in Saratoga. The proposed ordinance was tabled after Town Attorney Kylie Waldrip...
Beginning August 8, registered Republicans in Carbon County began receiving election mailers for supporting Garrett Irene, John Espy and Sue Jones as incumbent candidates for the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC). There was just one problem. None of the candidates knew about the mailers until they arrived in the mail, nor were they aware of the group which paid for the mailers: The Western Way Action PAC (Political Action Committee). While the mailers were...
Garrett Irene ® P.O. Box 8 Elk Mountain, WY 82324 [email protected] - Over the past few elections, there seems to have been confusion as to what a county commissioner can and cannot do. Can you summarize what authority a commissioner has? - A County commissioners job has a ton of tasks and responsibilities. Their main job is overseeing the operation and administration of the county. One of the hardest jobs a county commissioner has is running the county’s budget. Th...
Next Tuesday, Wyoming voters will take to the polls for the primary election which means that, starting next Wednesday everyone’s mailbox will be far less clogged with election mailers. Carbon County, it seems, has been mostly spared the divisive, politically charged mailers which have plagued other parts of the state. Perhaps that’s because, in House District 47, incumbent Bob Davis is running unopposed in the primary while House District 15 is seeing three new candidates without the incumbent—Don Burkhart, Jr.—running. Our...
Valley residents saw new and returning candidates for the Board of Carbon County Commissioners participate in the Valley Service Organization (VSO) public forum on July 9 in preparation for the 2024 election. The candidates running for the three open seats are Gwynn Bartlett, Sue Jones, Jimmy Hinkle, John Espy and Garrett Irene. Jones, Espy and Irene all currently serve as commissioners and are running for reelection. Irene did not attend the forum. Patterson began the forum...
“It was sad that it has come down to this, to somebody possibly losing their life over it.” Following an attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Saturday, Saratoga mayor Chuck Davis and other local elected officials echoed comments on the national level about the need to “turn the rhetoric down.” Mayor Davis said while he hopes the country can steer away from violent political rhetoric, he’s not sure it’s possible. “There’s so much hatred in the world today...
The Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) is looking to form a tax district which would help provide funding for the hospital. Stephanie Hinkle, MHCC Director of Strategic Operations, spoke with the Saratoga Sun to discuss the initiative and the process for the potential district. The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) will vote during the August 6 meeting to determine whether the formation of the hospital district will be put on the November 2024 ballot. If the...
