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Following its work session before their regular meeting on September 16, the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees has formed a working group to work on a concealed-carry policy for district employees. This process, following state statute passed in 2017, is happening at the same time the Joint Judiciary Committee is proposing yet another bill to repeal gun-free zones in Wyoming. The most recent attempt, House Bill 125, passed both chambers of the Legislature but was vetoed by...
Photo by Joshua Wood All volleyball fans were encouraged to wear teal at Tuesday night's match in Saratoga to honor Laurie Johnston, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer last month. Laurie was involved in the community for more than 40 years, coaching volleyball and track, refereeing volleyball games, working as an aide at the Saratoga Schools and served on the Carbon County School District No. 2. Announcer Larry Cloyd let the audience in a moment of silence before the matches. “We are f...
Town & Country Realty recently announced Broker and owner Amanda Shahadey had been elected the National Association of Realtors’ Director as Wyoming’s Small Board Representative. A National Association of Realtors’ Director has duties and responsibilities for governing the association. The association counts on directors to participate daily as issues in deliberation may impact the members’ business lives. Amanda’s responsible role beginning in January, 2025 will play in the growth and development of the association. She will be asked to...
This week, Governor Mark Gordon ordered the Wyoming State Flag to be brown at half staff at the Capitol in Cheyenne and in Carbon, Albany and Sweetwater counties. The order will be in effect from sunrise to sunset on September 28 in honor of Loren “Teense” Willford. Willford, a fourth-generation Wyoming native, served in the Wyoming Legislature from 1987-1988 representing Carbon County and again from 1993-2002 representing House District 47. He passed away on September 3 following an extended battle with cancer. He was 85 years old. Ser...
With the ballot for the 2024 General Election set, voters in Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) will have the opportunity to ask questions of the candidates running for office this year. According to a press release from the Carbon County 2 Education Association, a School Board Candidates Forum will be hosted at the Platte Valley Community Center. Of the four offices up for election this year, only one of them is a contested race. Incumbents Nick Wamsley, Joe Gaspari and Georgia Miller will be running unopposed. Elk Mountain’s Paul C...
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories of fire mitigation in the Medicine Bow National Forest. More than 30 people attended the Sierra Madre Fire Preparedness meeting September 9 at the Encampment Opera House. Lenny Layman, Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator, organized the meeting with several county and local entities as a panel to explain their coordination when and if there is a fire. Layman said he decided to organize the panel because residents of Encampment w...
“This is a really heavy topic and nobody wants to be having this conversation, but I do think it’s in our best interest to have these discussions and make decisions on our own behalf.” A closing comment from Kassey Westring, chairman of the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees, summarized a nearly hour long discussion at their pre-meeting work session on September 16. The topic, which included both Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken and Encampment Police Chief Kevin Shue,...
Parents send their children to school each morning with the expectation that they will safely return home each afternoon. We entrust their safety to the teachers and staff of their respective schools with the understanding that they care for our children as much as we do. Over the past several years, we have seen school shooting after school shooting where teachers literally laid down their lives to protect their students. In the past five years, the Wyoming Legislature has attempted to repeal all gun-free zones in the state which would allow... Full story
With a resonant voice and a beaming smile on his face, to say Loren “Teense” Willford had a presence in the Valley and beyond would be an understatement. “You can’t fully understand Teense unless you were one of his friends and, of course, everybody was his friend [in] one way or the other,” said former governor Jim Geringer. “If you didn’t get along with Teense, it wouldn’t take long before you did.” Teense passed away early on the morning of September 3 following a long battle with cance... Full story
by D'Ron Campbell and Joshua Wood and Richard Espinoza No stranger to the Valley, Jake Johnston has taken a new leadership role at Encampment K-12 School beginning this school year with the retirement of Mike Erickson after 19 years with Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2). Johnston started his experience in a leadership role at Encampment K-12 as the acting principal for an interim period before Erickson fully retired. Johnston graduated from Saratoga High School in 2008. He also...
Commitment to education in the classroom was the biggest factor for Saratoga Elementary School 3rd grade teacher Heather Strannigan’s recognition as this year’s Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Teacher of the Year. Strannigan graduated from Saratoga Middle High in 2014 and has taught at Saratoga Elementary School for seven years. “When I was in high school, I had an opportunity to be a student aide in a kindergarten class here at Saratoga Elementary School,” Strannigan said. “It gav...
The new school year is now here and I would like to take this time to reach out to both students and parents about the importance of making a new friend. When I first moved to Wyoming, I was scared to make new changes in my life. I wanted to know if people would be kind to me or not. Then I discovered how kind and friendly the people in the Platte Valley are. Every morning when I go to work, some stranger would say good morning to me. Whenever I go shopping some people would say hello to me and...
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 raised concerns it...
Bailey Miller 5th Grade - Encampment K-12 School Bailey Miller is one of three Encampment alum returning to the hallways, having graduated from Encampment K-12 School in 2017. She will be teaching 5th grade, the role previously held by Principal Jake Johnston. “I have a bachelor’s in elementary education. I started in Casper and did two years there and I was on the rodeo team. Then I went to the University of Wyoming where I continued my education and was on the rodeo team,” said Miller. “From...
When going to the Carbon County Fair, it’s a given that you have to enjoy the fair food. The grounds hold a wide variety of vendors who spend the week at the fair, from various food trucks to people in stands selling lemonade outside the exhibit hall. The concessions stand is a mainstay, offering a wide variety of foods to fair goers. The stand is run on a volunteer basis, with all proceeds going to Carbon County School District No. 1 (CCSD1). Students from CCSD1 work at the stand, giving t...
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 by asking Bartlett,...
Andrea (Andi) Dee Ward was born February 2, 1965 in Dillion, Montana. She was raised in the beautiful mountains of Beaverhead County and later moved to Lovell, Wyoming. Andi loved the western way of life; rodeo, hunting and fishing with her grandfather instilled a life-long passion for the outdoors. After graduating from Lovell High School in 1983, she moved to Saratoga, Wyoming to be closer to her parents, Roger and Suzie Cox. In 1988, Andi met and married Will Ward. Together they had two... Full story
The Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted its 3rd Annual Platte River Independence Day 5K Run/Walk on July 4. Runners and walkers appeared excited as a crowd gathered at the starting line to see them off. Kids and their guardians participated together to kick off the 4th of July weekend as young children also took part in the half-mile kids' fun run. Chamber CEO Amanda Knotwell said she had coordinated the event to take place during the annual Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department...
Fiery back and forth took place as the Saratoga Town Council held a special meeting to hire a new pool manager on June 26. Emery Penner, Director of Public Works, began the meeting by presenting the hiring recommendations from the interview board formed by Mayor Chuck Davis for the pool manager position. The board interviewed two candidates for the pool manager position. They recommended the council hire Sandy Beffa as the pool manager. Councilwoman Kathy Beck questioned whether Beffa was...
Carbon County School District No. 2 is being awarded the Innovative School Lunch Makeover Award, in recognition of their efforts to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches. The district applied for the Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provided $149,589 to go towards equipment, supplies, training, student engagement and farm-to-school activities. The Innovative School Lunch Makeover “recognizes improvement in the n...
Every morning, Principal Mike Erickson greets students at Encampment K-12 School. Standing in the middle of the foyer, he gives fist bumps to both primary and secondary students as they start their day. On May 31, he will be giving fist bumps for the last time. After 19 years as principal and 30 years in education, Erickson will be retiring. According to the outgoing principal, now’s a good time to retire. Rather Early Than Late “There’s a lot of things that I’ll miss but anybody who knows m...
Seniors of Carbon County School District No. 2, you are about to officially take your first step into the “the real world.” I would make a reference to a popular reality television show which used to be on MTV, but I’m not sure if you’d get that reference. Nor am I sure I want to age myself, though I’m going to be doing that now. I, along with 35 other members of Saratoga’s class of 2005, sat through my own graduation ceremony 19 years ago. At 36 students, we were one of the largest classes to...
For over 50 years, Wee Folks Preschool has been an important part of the Hanna community in helping children succeed in early education. Recently, the program was on the brink of closing its doors. Due to a lack of funding, Wee Folks was left with no choice but to leave the building near Miners Plaza Shopping Center because of the cost of rent. This left parents concerned about where to send their preschool-aged children if the program couldn’t operate. Carbon County School District No. 2 S...
Linda Kay Fisher-Perue went to be with her Lord on April 25, 2024. She was born on December 12, 1947 to Howard and MaryLee (Stock) Weinert in Falls City, Nebraska. She grew up on a small farm near Falls City and attended a rural school through 8th grade. Linda graduated from Falls City High School and then went to the University of Nebraska for one year. From there she went to Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska, not far from where she was raised. She obtained a teaching degree, for home...
The 2024 Wyoming Legislative session was February 12 to March 8, 2024, at the State Capitol in Cheyenne. With this being my first budget session, I learned a lot and have a new respect for the process and the work and time that is put into the state’s budget. We heard 350 bill and passed a $10.6 billion Biennium Budget. One of the big issues this session was to find tax relief for the people of Wyoming. We passed 4 new bills for tax relief - HB0045 Property tax exemption for residential structures. - HB0004 Property tax Refund Program is an e...