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These days it may seem as if election cycles never end, but only bleed into one another. While it can be easy to get fatigued by the constant election rhetoric, the civic importance of elections shouldn’t be lost. This year is a presidential election and, in Wyoming, one senate seat and the lone congress seat are also on the ballot. Also on the ballot are a number of county and municipal offices. Three of the five seats on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be on the ballot this e...
“Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring to your own life.” ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger. Last week, the Town of Saratoga began advertising for the vacancy on the Saratoga Town Council. The seat, previously held by Jacob Fluty, will be on the ballot as a two-year unexpired term this year. Whoever is appointed to the vacancy will onl...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners announced today that it will pay off approximately $9.6 million in debt related to the Courthouse and Carbon Building Improvement Project. The project, which renovated the two buildings was partially paid for using $18 million in specific purpose tax funds, otherwise known as the 6th penny tax funds that were passed by the voters in May of 2019. That left approximately $10 million the county financed with NBH Bank to complete the remodels. In October 2022 the county accepted $8,789,400 from the US Depart...
As municipalities throughout the county struggle with law enforcement, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office appears to be expanding to meet those needs and is also being creative in how to meet those needs. During the February 20 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Sheriff Alex Bakken provided the commissioners with updates on his department. These included the explanation of an extraterritorial deputy, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Town of Riverside and t...
In recent years, some emergency medical services in Wyoming have struggled to stay in business. According to Dirk J. Dijkstal, Health Readiness and Response Section Chief for Wyoming Department of Health, at least 11 agencies have been replaced by another, consolidated or closed their doors since 2015. The State of Wyoming does not mandate county government to provide emergency medical services. As a result, these operations have to find other ways to fund their businesses. Emergency medical service is a high-cost industry and healthcare...
"If we were fully staffed and looking at equipment cost, that's one thing. We are truly one power bump or one illness away from not being able to keep the door's open 24/7." Supported by other law enforcement and first responders, Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris laid out the case as to why a county-run centralized dispatch was likely a matter of when, not if. Morris, who was appointed to the position of chief last year by Mayor Chuck Davis, explained how staffing and infrastructure issues...
Rural health care has historically been one of the critical issues that policy makers have had to face. In order to discuss the Behavioral Health Redesign being done by the Wyoming Department of Health, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) met with Senior Policy Analyst Franz Fuchs on January 2. This redesign will focus on mental health care in the state of Wyoming. The new system will change how behavioral health services are provided throughout the state. Funding will change to a...
The first Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) meeting of the year started off with a wide slate of topics, ranging from health care to the Rock Creek Transmission Project during their January 2 meeting. To start the meeting, the board approved the bills and monthly receipts before moving into discussing the issues of influenza and advertising for people to get vaccinated. After these discussions, the board listened to an update on the bridge replacement for the structure over the North...
While it is known unlicensed and unregulated tattooing is going on in Carbon County, neither the county nor the City of Rawlins regulates the activity at this time. Megan Cragun, Communicable Disease Unit Outreach Coordinator for the Carbon County Public Health Department, said the county does not have any regulations or policies on opening a tattoo shop or on tattooing. “Anybody can tattoo a person in their garage or wherever,” Cragun said in an interview. “Some counties have funding to suppo...
County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett told the Carbon County Commissioners at their December 19 meeting she is going to submit a comment on Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s proposed new rules on drop boxes. The county drop box, located at the courthouse, is a way after hours to submit to the clerk’s office such items as child support payments and vehicle registration, for example, Bartlett said. She said the Secretary of State is proposing absentee ballots be submitted to the clerk inside the office. He wants the box to be placed inside the clerk’s offic...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners received a variety of updates during their December 5 meeting, including county roads and the status of COVID in the county. Road conditions and closures Kandis Fritz, coordinator of the Carbon County Road and Bridge Department, said, at the Commission meeting Dec. 5, she has prioritized the following for any grant opportunities the county may secure: The South Road, County Road 401 (Sage Creek Road) for double chip seal, the Seminoe Road, County Road 351 for double chip seal and 12 bridges around the...
The Carbon County Commissioners at its recent meeting appointed Elk Mountain resident Garrett Irene to fill a vacant seat on the Board. The position became available when Byron Barkhurst resigned with one year remaining in his term. Irene said in an interview he has lived in Wyoming his entire life. His family has lived in Carbon County since the late 1800s. Making the motion to appoint Irene, Commissioner John Johnson said Irene fills a demographic that has been missing on the Board. Irene...
The Carbon County Board of Commissioners appointed Garrett Irene to fill the seat vacated by former Commissioner Byron Barkhurst, who resigned. Irene’s term will expire in January 2025. Irene will be sworn in December 5. Prior to making their selection, the Board interviewed three candidates during their November 21 meeting. The other two candidates were Emilee Berger and Joey Correnti. Commissioner John Johnson made the motion to appoint Irene saying a “demographic has been missing” on the Board that Irene will fill. The Board approved the mot...
At a special meeting held on November 2, the Carbon County Republican Party Central Committee selected three candidates for the vacancy on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) following the resignation of Commissioner Byron Barkhurst. As was previously reported, Barkhurst’s resignation was accepted by the commissioners on October 17. At the same meeting, the BOCCC also declared a vacancy and provided a written letter to the chairman of the Carbon County Republican Party. The c...
In the midst of the United Auto Workers strike—which reached a tentative agreement with General Motors on October 30—law enforcement departments have had to be creative when it comes to restocking their fleet. Carbon County is no different. At the October 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Sheriff Alex Bakken requested permission from the commissioner to purchase two used vehicles, both Ford Explorers which were already police packaged. “It means they are ready...
The Rock Creek Wind Gen-Tie Transmission Line hit a snag last week as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) withdrew its decision to grant a right-of-way for the project to cross federal public lands in southeastern Wyoming. The announcement came in a press release from the group Albany County Conservancy who, along with retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Mike Lockhart, were plaintiffs in a legal challenge to the decision. The Rock Creek Wind Gen-Tie project is part of the Rock Creek...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) accepted the resignation of Commissioner Byron Barkhurst at their October 17 meeting in Medicine Bow. Barkhurst, who was first elected to a two-year unexpired term in 2018, was nearing the end of his four-year term on the five-member board. The BOCCC accepted Barkhurst’s resignation, which was dated October 11, and declared a vacancy in the office of commissioner. Chairman Sue Jones signed a letter providing written notice of the vacancy to the c...
Carbon County will potentially forgo the state-required competitive bidding requirement in obtaining a new ambulance for Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC). The decision comes as the United States is facing nationwide ambulance shortages and the United Auto Workers have gone on strike. At the September 19 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC), Clerk Gwynn Bartlett spoke to the commissioners regarding the procurement process. Bartlett reminded the board the County had...
Carbon County Planning and Development is starting the process of updating the County’s Land Use Plan, which is intended to be a guide for future development and growth for Carbon County. The land use plan should provide a functional plan for 10 years, with an outlook out to 20 years. Carbon County wishes to update its land use plan utilizing a planning process that is engaging, well-conceived, and professionally facilitated. The County expects the plan to be a community-based effort emphasizing citizen involvement with representation and c...
An update on the TransWest Express Transmission Project was given by Kelly Cummins, Vice President of Land and Environmental Services at the August 1 Board of Carbon County Commissioners regular meeting. She told the Commissioners that the project is 732 miles, crossing four states, fourteen counties, three national forests, and nine BLM offices. The project has taken about 12 years, but they are now in the construction phase. Cummins said the final configuration of the project is 3,000...
Schools in Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) will soon have a resource officer following recent approval of an agreement by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). The commissioners approved the Memorandum of Understanding with CCSD2 during their June 20 meeting. The officer will cover six of the seven schools throughout the district, as the school in Elk Mountain doesn’t have any students enrolled. The SRO will be provided by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office in an agreement like one already in place between Carbon Cou...
The Carbon County Commissioners approved the annual wildland fire management plan last week, allowing the county’s fire department to cooperate with other agencies in the area when responding to wildland fires. Fire Warden John Rutherford said the agreement is between federal, state and county firefighting agencies. “It’s how we conduct business,” he said. The agreement is beneficial to Carbon County as it stipulates that each agency absorbs its own costs while fighting a fire. While the county has several trucks, it doesn’t have the aerial re...
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is close to reaching an agreement with Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) to provide a school resource officer for its facilities. Sheriff Alex Bakken told the Board of Carbon County Commissioners on June 6 the district had tentatively agreed to provide $40,000 annually to fund the position. The resource officer would travel throughout the district, covering seven schools and three high schools. “This is still in the early stage,” Bakken said. “Luckily we can pull a lot of our (Carbon County School) d...
Everything was business as usual at the Carbon County Commissioners Meeting. The commissioners met on May 16 in Riverside for their regular meeting. The meeting started with approval of the bills, then moved quickly into updates from Emergency Management. Flooding concerns were addressed with discussion of the current plans put in place. The commission thanked those who were able to attend during Governor Mark Gordon‘s visit to the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). Commissioner Travis Moore s...
Living within the North Platte River floodplain can be concerning with the coming spring rains and snow melt, and the possibility of flooding. In the May 2 town council meeting, many of these concerns and solutions were offered up to the residents. Carbon County Sheriff Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken briefed the town council on what the Sheriff’s office is working on. Carbon County School District #1 has a school resource officer program with one deputy on duty in the school district #1 schoo...