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The Saratoga Sun, in partnership with Carbon County School District 2, will be holding a school supply drive from Monday August 7 through Thursday August 31. The goal is to ensure that all of our local students can get the new school year off to a great beginning, with the necessary resources, and help them have a successful school year. There will be four drop off locations: the Saratoga Sun offices, in Hanna at Hanna Elementary School, Monday - Thursday from 8am to 3pm, in Medicine Bow at the C-Spear Restaurant and Bridge Street Bargins in...
District: Jackie Jones, HES/MBES Principal After 28 years in the classroom, I am starting my new role as principal of the North Carbon County Elementary Schools and couldn’t be more excited. I have spent most of my summer working on administration classes and working in Hanna and Medicine Bow Elementary Schools to prepare for the 2023-24 academic year. My husband, Clif, and I were able to take a couple of trips to Yellowstone to do some photography and escape cell phone and internet service. W...
Cheryl Munroe doesn’t seem to know the meaning of slow down. The Wyoming native, born and raised in Riverton, taught for nearly 50 years before she retired. Even up to the day of her retirement from Carbon County School District No. 2 as the Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher for both Encampment K12 School and Saratoga Middle High School, she was hard to catch up with. Munroe, or Mo as she’s endearingly called throughout the county, will substitute teach when she has the chance. Tha...
The county fair brings to mind a number of images: rodeos, a sense of community and parades. The same goes for the Carbon County Fair. Food trucks from near and far gather at the fairgrounds and seem to have their dedicated fans. The most popular place to get breakfast, lunch and dinner, though, seems to be the Carbon County Concessions building. It's common, during fair week, to see a line of customers extending from the order window. It's easy to see why when looking at the menu, which offers...
The Saratoga Sun, in partnership with Carbon County School District 2, will be holding a school supply drive from Monday August 7 through Thursday August 31. The goal is to ensure that all of our local students can get the new school year off to a great beginning, with the necessary resources, and help them have a successful school year. There will be four drop off locations: the Saratoga Sun offices, Hanna Elementary School, Monday - Thursday from 8am to 3pm, in Medicine Bow at the C-Spear Restaurant and Bridge Street Bargins in Saratoga, if...
The Saratoga Police Department is making preparations for the 2023/2024 school year, according to Chief Mike Morris. Morris also provided some updates regarding the hobo pool. In a sit down with Morris, the topic of school bus pickup and dropoff along with maintaining a significant presence around the schools was his main concern. Morris spoke on getting everyone on the same page understanding how a safe and effective bus pickup and drop off at the schools should take place. Last year, with the construction on Spring Street, the loading and...
The Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) High School will be getting a new agriculture education center, the groundbreaking for which was held on July 12 in Baggs. Members of the Carbon County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees and representatives of the engineering and construction companies were in attendance. Others in attendance included FFA officers and students from LSRV High School. The new facility is expected to be completed in February 2024. Federal funding, of $1.7 million, was...
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 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...
Pickle ball was once again on the agenda at Encampment's town council meeting on May 11. Peggy Huntley had brought it to the council at the last meeting, asking if they could clean up the tennis court at the Encampment School in order to make them useable for a pickle ball court. Councilman Steve Reichert voiced his concern about storing equipment in town council lobby. The town council agreed to clean up the tennis courts once the summer help is established, but they want more information...
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...
(This is a corrected article that ran in April 27 issue of the Saratoga Sun.) Joe Gaspari knows the importance of taking care of our children and raising them up “in the way that they should go”. Gaspari was recently appointed by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon to the Wyoming State Board of Education. “I consider it an honor to be chosen. I’m here to help the people’s voices continue to be heard in regards to their children’s education,” said Gaspari when asked about his reaction to being appoint...
Joe Gaspari knows the importance of taking care of our children and raising them up "in the way that they should go". "I consider it an honor to be chosen. I'm here to help the people's voices continue to be heard in regards to their children's education," said Gaspari when asked about his reaction to being appointed. He was elected to serve on the Carbon County School Board District #2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees and has been a board member since 2010. In 2023 he was appointed to serve on the...
With the green grass, and the meadowlark song our thoughts turn to landscaping. First on the April 18 town council agenda was the Saratoga Museum Director Dana Davis addressed the town council concerning the landscaping care at the museum. Davis said that “Ty Brinar volunteered over 30 hours last year to fix the sprinkler system and get the grass looking nice for the community’s use of the pavilion for events”. Ty Brinar is a member of Wyoming Grounds Keeper and Grower Association (WGGA). Davis...
Road and Bridge Road and Bridge Manager Kandis Fritz gave the commissioners a breakdown of the the winter costs accrued by Carbon County Road and Bridge including fuel from December of 2022, through March 2023, the total expenditures were $152,155.72. The yearly fuel budget for Road and Bridge is $220,000.00. This year with overtime and comp time payout from January 1 to March 17, 2023 the staff accrued 1,947 hours of overtime. The cost for overtime totaled $53,438.91. Fritz told the...
The sound of gunshots echoing off of lockers and traveling down the hallways of the Saratoga Middle High School, dropped a veil of reality over the participants. Given the realism of the scenario as the incident played out, it would be no surprise if those taking part were impacted in some way, reminded of what has happened in the past decades in schools across the country. This presentation was led by Joe Deedon the founder and president of TacOne Consulting. TacOne Consulting is a company...
The Platte Valley has long been home to artists of varying mediums. One such artist was Virginia Frederick Large, whose creations can still be found throughout the Valley. Large's artwork still adorns the walls of the Carbon County School District No. 2 Central Office, the Doc Culleton Building at the Grand Encampment Museum and the Saratoga Presbyterian Church. On March 16, local historian Dick Perue presented the life and work of Large at the Saratoga Branch Library. The program, narrated by...
The Saratoga Town Council received updates on the Saratoga Lake project from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) during their March 7 meeting. The governing body also approved the application for three grants for Never Forget Park totaling $70,000. Saratoga Lake updates Mark Cufaud, habitat and access biologist for WGFD, updated the council on the Saratoga Lake Project. In September 2022, the WGFD applied rotenone to the trout fishery which is managed by the state department in response...
Cindy Larson has been driving buses for the norther schools of Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) for more than three decades. This year, the roads faced by her and other drivers in the Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow area have had more treacherous conditions than any time in recent memory. Larson, who is now head bus driver and on her 35th year with the district and lives in Elk Mountain, has been around long enough to see a few generations get on and off her buses. She's also...
Winter Storm Olive was ushered in with wind gusts topping 78 miles per hour west of Laramie and 83 miles per hour south of Casper. Blowing into Wyoming, Olive wrought havoc on transportation, supply chains, medical needs and education. The National Weather Service called for severe cold temperatures with heavy snow and high winds which came to fruition on the evening of February 20. Olive entered the east side of Wyoming, caused by a dip in the jet stream and a low-pressure system which flowed...
As investigations continue into recent fentanyl overdose deaths, community members from the Platte Valley and Carbon County gathered at the Platte Valley Community Center on February 23. Those who couldn't attend in person either attended via Zoom or watched livestreams offered by the Saratoga Sun and the Town of Saratoga. The community roundtable, which lasted 90 minutes, was facilitated by Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris and Joshua Wood, interim publisher of the Saratoga Sun. Over the...
In the past, school resource officers were typically pulled from the local police department. In a historical move, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Carbon County Sheriff's Office and Carbon County School District No. 1, establishing a full-time District One School Resource Officer for the Sheriff's Office. Deputy Joel Robertson, who was worn in Monday, February 28, will become the first School Resource Officer in the history of...
The Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers chased their place at the State tournament which takes place next weekend. The team raced north to Lander on Monday, hoping to avoid the storm in the forecast. The Rattlers arrived in Lander on Monday, but didn't face a team until Thursday. Gillies said, "We tried not to stay in the hotel very much, but it was hard on us as I am sure it was on all the teams who came early." The Rattlers faced Burlington's Lady Huskies on Thursday, Friday saw the...
Students at Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School and Hanna Elementary School have recently spent the 3rd Friday of each month out on a limb. Or, rather, a STEM as they are involved in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program. In February, students from the University of Wyoming visited HEM and gave presentations in their fields of study to both high school and elementary students. It was the first endeavor of this kind to mix the students of all ages in a learnin...
In the Platte Valley, it seems the name Jerry Paxton is synonymous with education. Paxton, who served as House District 47 representative from 2013 until 2022, has been involved in education since the early 1970s. For five decades, he has been involved with education with nearly 30 of those years as a teacher at Encampment K-12 School. After teaching for 27 years, Paxton became principal before retiring in 2005. Along with serving four terms in the Wyoming Legislature, Paxton also served as...