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The Saratoga Sun's own Joshua Wood has been named Carbon County Board of Realtors 2021 Business Person of the Year. Each year, the Board of Realtors take nominations from their membership as to who should receive the award. One person is selected by the board. Listed in the nomination are business accomplishments, business impact, special endeavors and other comments from realtors. "Established in 1888, the Saratoga Sun has been devoted to providing factual and accurate reporting for over 125...
The Saratoga Town Council waded into the polarized and politicized debate over vaccines on November 2 as they unanimously passed a resolution relating to vaccine requirements, despite apparent concerns expressed by legal counsel prior to the meeting. Resolution 2021-04, which was drafted by Councilmember Jon Nelson, did not appear on the agenda for the meeting but was added by the council member following the Call to Order. After reading the resolution into the record, Nelson elaborated on his...
Though the Town of Saratoga is well into the Fiscal Year 2021/2022, work is continuing on the audit for Fiscal Year 2019/2020. During the October 19 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Mayor Creed James informed the rest of the council the audit had been “a lot more in depth” than the auditors-Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda-had originally anticipated. Due to the increased amount of work, Tim Fixter of Fagnant, Lewis & Brinda had submitted a change order as it was believed it would require an addition...
Though the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) hasn’t yet painted crosswalks at the intersections of 1st Street and Bridge Avenue, the Town of Saratoga has taken steps to address both driver and pedestrian safety. At the October 19 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Jon Nelson informed the rest of the governing body he had approached business owners at the intersection about extending the “No Parking” zone along 1st Street. Those businesses are Koyoty Sports, Laura...
While it may not be affordable for some people to live in Saratoga, one can spend eternity here for nearly dirt cheap prices. The low cost of burial plots at the Saratoga Cemetery was a point of discussion for the Saratoga Town Council during their October 19 meeting. According to Town Clerk Marie Christen, the current cost for a burial plot is $50. “People laugh and they want to buy 20 plots because it’s so affordable,” said Christen. “I know, when my grandma passed away a couple years ago, the...
It isn’t a secret how busy the intersection of 1st Street and Bridge Avenue in Saratoga is on any given day. Wyoming Highway 130, which becomes 1st Street once it enters town limits, is the route to the Snowy Range, the Sierra Madres and Northern Colorado. For that reason, vehicles of all shapes and sizes—from sedans to recreational vehicles to semi-trucks—make their way through the center of town. This, however, also creates a safety issue. We at the Saratoga Sun would like to commend Councilmember Jon Nelson for speaking with the Wyomi... Full story
If there’s one thing I can agree with the Saratoga Town Council on when it comes to the issue of income-based housing, it’s there is no quick or easy answer. To be honest, I don’t think anyone expects there to be a quick or easy answer. It’s probably why it was listed as a concern in the 2016 Saratoga Master Plan which, as Pastor Steve Niccolls put it during the October 5 council meeting, is collecting dust at town hall. A number of goals were presented in the document to address the forecas... Full story
Flooding is not often a concern of Saratoga's in the fall months, as it is usually low water season. On the night of October 5, however, the Saratoga Town Council called a brief recess because water was literally flooding Spring Street in front of town hall. The culprit was a broken water main running from River Street to 1st Street. As council members and town hall staff moved their vehicles from the front of the town hall, it almost seemed like a small-scale disaster movie. Water, no longer co...
The discussion of affordable housing returned to the chambers of the Saratoga Town Council on October 5 as Reverend Steven Niccolls addressed the governing body on behalf of the Platte Valley Ministerial Association. During the September 21 town council meeting (see “Determining the need” on page 1 of the September 29 Saratoga Sun), Councilmember Ron Hutchins raised the subject under council comments and asked if anyone in town had any information. Primary among the questions Hutchins had was...
As growth continues to come to Saratoga, the topic of affordable housing appears to be becoming more and more relevant. In May 2021, Saratoga resident Steve Niccolls appeared before the Saratoga Planning Commission and requested the board examine what options were available. For several months, that discussion didn’t appear to take place until the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council when the subject was raised by Councilmember Ron Hutchins. Now the topic has been brought up, it m...
It is sometimes hard for me not to miss the life I had overseas because, often, it was a lot of fun. At one point I was writing for a magazine where my job was going to different nightclubs in Taipei reviewing their “Ladies Night.” My work at the magazine was part-time because I lived in Taichung, a three to four hour bus ride away. Back then the train was not much faster. although that has changed. Using the ‘Bullet Train’, a person can be in Taipei from Taichung in an hour-and-half. The oth... Full story
While the Platte River may be low this time of year, a minor flood occurred in front of the Saratoga Town Hall during the October 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. As the governing body was going about their twice-monthly meeting, Sergeant Tyler Christen requested a short recess for council members to use their vehicles. Upon exiting the front of the town hall, water could be seen bubbling up from under Spring Street and running towards 1st Street. The large break caused a sudden loss in... Full story
Is there a need for affordable housing in Saratoga? This is the question at least one member of the Saratoga Town Council is hoping to answer. As housing itself continues to be scarce in Saratoga—as of September 27 only 10 houses were listed on the Wyoming multisting website with only two of those below $200,000—the subject of affordable housing has also come up. Councilmember Ron Hutchins brought up the subject of affordable housing under the council comments portion of the meeting. “Re...
On any given day, entering 1st Street/Wyoming Highway 130 in Saratoga from Bridge Avenue typically requires saying a prayer, holding your breath and stepping on the gas pedal. It can be just as dangerous on foot when crossing that same intersection, often with the feeling of recreating the classic arcade game “Frogger”. While not as busy as Interstate 80, which sits 20 miles north of Saratoga, 1st Street is by no means a quiet street. Though there aren’t any plans in the near future of insta...
With the highwater season all but a distant memory, flooding concerns may be the last thing on most people's minds. At the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, however, a request to do river work was heard by the governing body. Ralph and Ann Hicks, who own a home behind the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, wrote a letter to the council which was read by Councilmember Ron Hutchins. "We are lifelong summer residents of Saratoga and each year we are river watchers. This year has...
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 county. There were...
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 against the PUD prese...
Meeting on September 15 at Elk Mountain Town Hall, the Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) covered two major topics; the proposed fire district and recently released data from the United States Census Bureau. Representatives from Rawlins, Sinclair, Hanna, Elk Mountain, Saratoga and Carbon County were present. Fire District Travis Moore, Carbon County Commissioner and CCCOG chairman, began the meeting by informing the group Riverside and Dixon had sent him correspondence indicating they...
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag in regards to the presence of certtain drugs within Saratoga, it appears some community members are concerned about the Saratoga Police Department “going overboard”. During the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Ron Hutchins told Chief Ken Lehr he had been approached by “a few people” about the increased citations and names in the police report published each week by the Saratoga Sun. “I think the fact that we started pub...
Financials, as they have been for the past 36 months, were discussed by the Saratoga Town Council during their September 7 meeting. Along with making a substantial transfer from four enterprise funds into reserve accounts, the governing body also discussed the ongoing issue of delinquent accounts. The biggest question, which was eventually answered by the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) the following night, was whether the accounts of deceased residents should...
The Town of Saratoga has filled two vacant positions and hired a fourth police officer following the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. The position of treasurer, which has been open since the departure of Sammy Flohr in May, was filled with new treasurer Georgia Gayle sworn in by Mayor Creed James on Tuesday evening. The governing body also announced the replacement for Lisa Burton, former recreation director, who resigned August 13. New treasurer While there was no public in...
"I don't really like the term affordable housing," Jezria Latham, broker and owner of Provident Realty said. "I have been trying to figure out another term because, clearly, what is affordable to some people is not affordable to others." Latham prefers to think of affordable housing as income-based housing and there are different tiers and brackets. "What I am seeing for those looking to come into the Valley-such as police officers, teachers and entry level health care personnel that are just...
The Platte Valley Arts Council is sponsoring the 5th annual Hay Bale Sculpture Contest. All local ranches, businesses or families are invited to show off some good ole’ fashioned ranch ingenuity that could give their outfit creative bragging rights for a year. The rules state that sculptures must be made predominantly of hay, whether loose, round, square or rectangle bales but then are given artistic leeway to incorporate wood, metal, wire, paint, canvas damns, or anything other medium they could dream up. The council did want all of the v...
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met on August 18 at the Cowboy Inn in Baggs. Newly elected Chairperson Danny Burau called the meeting to order. The agenda was quickly approved and the meeting went immediately into the financials. The board approved the distribution of 11 checks to municipalities and the county treasurer for a total of $17,222.37. The total collected from Lodging Tax revenue for the month of August was $172,223.68. This time frame is actually monies collected from...
It is often easy to forget how insulated our communities are in the Platte Valley until something happens which seems to shatter that peacefulness to which we’ve been so accustomed. I am reminded of the 1998 film “Pleasantville” in which two modern-era teenagers are transported into a 1950s sitcom. Everything in the world seems perfect, bathed in the neutralizing tones of black and white, but reality quickly invades the world of Pleasantville. Soon, that perfect but mundane world is chang...