Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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As the Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations Committee continues to discuss and debate their current redistricting efforts, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are concerned the rural residents of their county will be left without a voice in Cheyenne. Those concerns were raised by the commissioners at their January 4 meeting as they received an update on the redistricting process from Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett. According to Bartlett, her primary c...
For more than five years, Jacob Mickelsen led the Carbon County Library System as director. He starts the New Year with a new position, departing his home state of Wyoming for Loveland, Colorado. The position Mickelsen has accepted in Loveland is Division Manager for Operations and Customer Service at Loveland Public Library. Along with being the "front face" of the Loveland Public Library, he will also oversee the building itself as part of his new responsibilities. "I'd...
Lindsey West may be the newest face leading the Carbon County Treasurer's Office, but she isn't new to county government. West was appointed to the position of Carbon County Treasurer by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) on December 7, filling a vacancy left by the retirement of Pattie Bentsen. One of three candidates selected by the Carbon County Democratic Party Central Committee on December 4, West brings a variety of experience to her new position. The...
The Saratoga Sun will, again, remain the official publication of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) following their December 21 meeting. The commissioners voted unanimously to remain with the Sun for the third consecutive year following bids from the Sun and the Rawlins Times. Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett opened sealed bids from both publications where it was announced the Times had bid $6 per column inch while the Sun bid $5.94 per column inch. Both...
A vaccine clinic held on November 18 at the Platte Valley Community Center may be the last traveling clinic for the foreseeable future. During the December 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Amanda Brown, Nurse Manager for Carbon County Public Health, provided the board with an update on vaccine progress in the county which included the suspension of traveling clinics. “We have been getting a lot of questions on whether we’re going to be doing any...
While Wyoming and the rest of the country are currently dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid epidemic has raged on in the background. In April 2018, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) engaged Jason Ochs to represent the county in litigation against the makers of opiates. At the December 7 meeting of the BOCCC, Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis provided the commissioners with an update. “I don’t know if the public has thought about this or...
Though the majority of their staff are vaccinated against COVID-19, Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) is pleased with the injunction against a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate announced in late November. At the December 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), MHCC CEO Ken Harman informed the commissioners the mandate had been a point of discussion for the MHCC Board of Directors during their November meeting....
After three meetings and months of discussion, a potential moratorium on energy development from the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) in the Shirley Basin failed by a vote of 2-3 on December 7. The split vote from the county commissioners came after multiple individuals from Medicine Bow spoke out against the moratorium. Prior to the vote by the BOCCC, Chairman John Johnson allowed members of the public to comment on the potential action. Before the comments,...
As the Wyoming Legislature goes through the once-in-a-decade process of redistricting, it appears the 2020 Census may have negative impacts for Carbon County following the December meeting of the Joint Corporations Committee. In an update on the process from Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett on December 7, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) were made aware of the potential dissolution of House District 47. The district, which encompasses most of Carbon...
Just one day after the retirement of Carbon County Treasurer Patty Bentsen, three candidates were selected to be presented to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC) on December 7. The Carbon County Democratic Party Central Committee, led by Chairman Jacob Mickselsen, held a meeting at the Rawlins Library on December 4 to interview potential replacements for Bentsen. The requirements of filling a vacancy in county elected offices is laid out under Wyoming State Statute...
While Patty Bentsen will officially retire from her position as Carbon County Treasurer effective December 3, she will remain in the position for a little longer than expected. At their November 16 meeting, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) unanimously passed Resolution No. 2021-41 appointed Bentsen as Interim Carbon County Treasurer effective December 3. Bentsen originally submitted her resignation letter on October 5, at which point it was expected a nominee...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are closer to placing a moratorium on energy development in the Shirley Basin following their November 16 meeting. While a resolution was presented to the commissioners, the need for further review has pushed any action back to their December 7 meeting. As wind energy projects continue to pour into Carbon County, and specifically around Medicine Bow, an ongoing study from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) appears to...
Who is the ultimate authority when municipal boards are in disagreement? This was the question raised by Councilmember D’Ron Campbell during the November 16 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. As the Saratoga Municipal Airport (Shively Airfield) undergoes its apron expansion project and a rehabilitation of its entryway, the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board is looking for solutions to remove a leach field long used by the fixed-base operator (FBO). The solution preferred by t...
It is often joked that in Wyoming the wind is so prevalent, when there’s a day without it everyone in the state falls flat on their faces. This seems especially true for Carbon County, especially around Hanna and Medicine Bow. Due to the surplus of wind in the area, the past decade has seen a number of energy companies converge on the Cowboy State with wind energy projects. What has been unknown since windmills and transmission lines began cropping up, however, is the i...
Booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech (Pfizer) and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in Carbon County. Amanda Brown, Nurse Manager of Carbon County Public Health, provided the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) with a number of updates surrounding vaccines during their November 2 meeting. These included the status of booster doses in Carbon County, pediatric doses of Pfizer and their availability, and Carbon County's vaccination rate. Boosters "I've been getting...
The Encampment town Council had a busy agenda for their October 14 meeting. The possibility of a police drone was one topic of attention. Mother Mountain Anglers and Encampment Preschool Director Rachel Swanson were in attendance as well. Other guests included Carbon County Commissioners Travis Moore and Carbon County Emergency Manager Lenny Layman who were in attendance to give the council an opportunity to clarify any questions they may have about the proposed fire...
Too few buildings and too many good employees. That appeared to be the reasoning given by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) during their October 5 meeting when they revisited the idea of naming a county building after a former county employee. As was reported previously (see “A building by another name?” on page 1 of the October 6 Saratoga Sun), Encampment resident Gary Jacobsen appeared before the county commissioners to consider naming the road and bridge bui...
After nearly four decades working for Carbon County, Treasurer Patty Bentsen is preparing to retire. The announcement was tearfully delivered by Bentsen during the October 5 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). While the commissioners ultimately accepted Bentsen’s resignation, effective December 3, it was not without statements from Bentsen’s fellow elected officials. “On May 13, 1985 Mary Aydelotte gave me an opportunity to become a part of (the)...
When it comes to traveling in Carbon County, there are many unsung heroes who make it possible. Chief amongst those are the employees of the Carbon County Road and Bridge Department. On September 7, Encampment resident Gary Jacobsen appeared before the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) to change that. In what Jacobsen would later call a “good precedent”, he proposed the county commissioners consider naming the road and bridge building in Encampment to honor lon...
After a difficult summer in 2020, the Hanna Basin, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow museums invited Carbon County residents and outsiders to come and visit the Hanna Basin Museum to welcome them back on September 19. Directors of all three museums welcomed the visitors with a food spread donated by restaurants from Elk Mountain, Hanna, Medicine Bow and Saratoga. To raise money, there was a 50-50 raffle and a silent auction which had items donated by businesses from all over the...
The Hanna Town Council met on September 14 at the Hanna Town Hall. Mayor Lois Buchanan and council members Sammy Sikes and Bill Dys were present. Council members Tracy Fowler and Jayson Nordquist were absent. There were few in the audience and the council moved quickly through the department and board reports. Buchanan said the High Country Joint Powers Board would be meeting once every six months, a change from meeting every three months. She said Viper Construction would be...
On September 14, the decades-old saga of Green Mountain took a significant step forward as the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) unanimously approved the Planned Use Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek Ranch. The approval of the PUD followed nearly two hours of public comment in the Great Hall of the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. Along with testimony from representatives for Brush Creek Ranch, Valley residents spoke both in favor and ag...
Riverside Town Council’s September 9 meeting began with discussions about the fire district proposed at recent meetings of the Carbon County Council of Governments. Riverside focused on deciding between two options on how the fire protection district would be established; a resolution by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners or a petition of 25 percent of 25 percent of property owners. The council’s decision came down to how the community would represent itself. Having a p...
A common saying in Wyoming is the population of pronghorn in the state outnumber that of people. While that's not entirely accurate-there are 400,000 pronghorn in Wyoming compared to 550,000 residents-the Cowboy State is home to more speedgoats than any other western state. Due to the large number of pronghorn in the state, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has not conducted any in depth studies on the animal until now. At the August 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) held a special meeting on August 18 at the newly renovated Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex. The meeting was a continued discussion from the July 21 regularly scheduled meeting (see "More expensive, more stringent" on page 6 of the July 28 Saratoga Sun). Carbon County Fire Chief John Rutherford had come before CCCOG to make a case the county should consider creating a fire district. In that meeting, Rutherford said he believed...