Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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WHATFest, an annual Wyoming music festival, will be returning to the Platte Valley, albeit in a limited form. During the July 6 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, The Yard co-owner Chris Shannon appeared before the governing body to inform them of a music event which would take place at his venue on July 24. “I thought, since there was a meeting I should just run down here and let you guys know because the last time we were together, Councilman (Ron) Hutchins thought d...
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles on the Green Mountain ski area. On July 12, representatives from Brush Creek Ranch will appear before the Carbon County Planning Commission in regards to a zone amendment for the Green Mountain ski area from Residential to Planned United Development (PUD). The public hearing comes almost 20 years to the day after the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) approved a previous zone amendment for all of Section 36 o...
Over a decade of history converged at the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. Chris Shannon, co-owner of The Yard music venue, attended the meeting to voice his concerns about the definition of resort and the current zoning of The Yard. These issues have been expressed before (see “And the party never ends” on page 1 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun and “Resort definition questioned again” on page 3 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun). Shannon stated resort zoning comes with a...
The history of a local music venue known as The Yard is long and fraught, and may be gaining a new chapter this summer. The Yard, owned by Chris Shannon and Cindy Bloomquist, is located across from the Angus England American Legion Post 54 on Southeast River Street in Saratoga. One of the first major incidents with music in the Valley occurred at the July 6, 2010 Saratoga Town Council meeting. In the meeting, members of the town came before the council to ask why a musical...
Following discussion between Octagon Construction and the Saratoga Town Council during their June 15 meeting, the question remained as to who should pay water and sewer connection fees; the developer of a subdivision or the individual lot owner. A two-and-a-half hour workshop between the governing body and the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) on June 23 and a special council meeting on June 25 appeared to have answered that question … for now. As w...
The Saratoga Hot Springs Resort (previously known as the Saratoga Resort and Spa) has had a convoluted history with zoning. Additionally, the history of retail business zoning seemingly goes hand in hand with the history of the resort. When the retail business zone was first established, there was no language for many types of businesses under retail business. This included resorts, as the business was established before zoning districts were introduced in the 1980s. For much...
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series on the Green Mountain ski area. When Brush Creek Ranch purchased the Green Mountain Ski Area in June 2019, many residents in Encampment and Riverside assumed, or perhaps feared, the luxury resort would develop the 620-acre property. A public notice in the June 16 Saratoga Sun seemed to confirm those assumptions with the announcement of a public hearing on July 12 for a zone change from residential to a planned unit development (...
Justin Brown had every intention of becoming a pastor. He even obtained both a bachelors and masters degree in theology. According to Brown, however, he's "too rough around the edges" to lead a flock. Instead of leading, he's protecting. Brown is the newest officer to join the Saratoga Police Department, replacing former officer Robert Bifano. Having moved here from Trinidad, Colorado, he isn't hard to spot. At well over six feet tall, the new officer is also broad shouldered...
During their June 15 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council held the third and final reading on two ordinances. Ordinance No. 859 set the budget for the Town of Saratoga’s 2021/2022 Fiscal Year while Ordinance No. 858 amended Chapter 5.08 of the Saratoga Municipal Code. Ordinance No. 859 After multiple budget workshops and three readings, the Town of Saratoga has approved a general fund budget of nearly $3.2 million and an enterprise fund budget of $5.6 million. In the general f...
While summer technically began on June 21, the above average temperatures this month may be seen as a portent of things to come. At the June 15 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Mayor Creed James and the rest of the governing body discussed the potential of issuing water restrictions later in the summer. The discussion came under the council comments portion of the meeting and was initiated by James. “I was contacted by Jon Winter from public works about a concern over o...
As Saratoga sees substantial development for the first time in many years, the Town of Saratoga and the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) appear to be in disagreement on the subject of tap fees in relation to subdivision development. During the June 15 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Kristen Stocks, co-owner of Octagon Construction, appeared before the governing body to provide updates on Octagon Estates, a subdivision being developed south of...
It appears the recreational vehicle (RV) park saga might not be over yet. Over the past year, JaJaCa Properties owners James (Jimmy) Campbell and Jamie Campbell have attempted to construct a new RV park along Wyoming Highway 130. The project was brought to a halt in March, when the couple pulled their special use permit application (see "RV park hits the brakes" on page 1 of the March 17 Saratoga Sun). At the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, a letter was received...
As construction appears to be ramping up in the area, the Town of Saratoga is once again operating without a planning and zoning officer. The Saratoga Town Council discussed the potential of making the position full-time during their June 1 meeting. The discussion comes following the resignation of Alex Dorothy, who had contracted with the Town in October 2020 to perform building inspections and review building permits. The Town of Saratoga, in fact, has been without a...
As the Saratoga Town Council continues their quest to obtain information and data from the Saratoga Police Department, the governing body received a visit from Sally Patton, Carbon County Prevention Specialist, during their June 1 meeting. Recent meetings have seen the council—especially Councilmember Jon Nelson—questioning Police Chief Ken Lehr on discrepancies between information provided to the council outside of public meetings and what has been included in published pol...
For the past year, the coal mines under the town of Hanna have been one of multiple projects taken on by the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The process has been to fill the miles of shafts under the town with grout to prevent any future subsidence. Last summer, the Hanna Elementary School and the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Junior/Senior High School were the focus of AML before the agency expanded to...
Each year, the ladies of the Valley Service Organization (VSO) bestow the title Woman of Distinction on a woman who has made significant contributions to the North Platte Valley. In previous years, honorees have included influential Valley residents such as Elva Evans (2018) and Cheryl "Mo" Munroe (2019). This year, the VSO awarded the title Woman of Distinction to five Valley residents for their hand in filling a need for childcare in the area. Tiffany Jones, Cheena Parsons,...
The Saratoga Town Council unanimously passed their budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 on 1st reading during their May 18 meeting with Ordinance No. 859. While the governing body is anticipating more than $3 million in general fund revenues, the council still has work to do as the budget currently shows a deficit of nearly $300,000. The council has just two more readings to close the delta before the beginning of the fiscal year. The majority of the anticipated general fund...
At the May 18 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr cited an increase in drug related offenses and violent crime in a request to advertise for a fifth police officer. While the town council unanimously approved the request, it came following a lengthy discussion led by Councilmember Jon Nelson about the communication, or lack thereof, between the police department, the council and the public. Build it, they will come Following Lehr’s request, N...
This summer will mark 13 years since Staff Sergeant Tyler Pickett lost his life to a suicide bomber in Iraq. Since then, the promise of a memorial park for the Saratoga High School graduate has gone unfulfilled. Hopefully, that will be changing soon. A member of the Class of 2000, Tyler Pickett was 28 years old when he was in Iraq on June 8, 2008. By all rights, he should have been home as he was originally supposed to be on leave at that time. However, his leave had been deferred. Pickett would end up being the first and...
The Hanna fire department is volunteer, the same as many small towns in Wyoming. Finding people to commit to the time and training needed to be a volunteer isn't easy and, when a town fire department does, it wants to make sure it can give these folk the best equipment possible. The problem? Money doesn't come easy to small towns to fund a fire department, especially a town like Hanna which doesn't have many businesses within its limits. Fundraising can be very difficult, yet...
Less than a year since the failed first reading of an ordinance that would amend Chapter 5.30 of the Saratoga Municipal Code, the discussion of specially permitted events and outdoor music appears to be returning to both the planning commission and the Saratoga Town Council. At the May 11 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, the discussion was started by Saratoga resident Chris Shannon. Shannon is the co-owner of The Yard, a music venue across from the Angus England...
The combination of visitors to the Valley and contractors for the ongoing wind energy projects in northeastern Carbon County is, apparently, leading to extra work for the Saratoga Police Department according to Chief Ken Lehr. Lehr informed the Saratoga Town Council about the increasing workload for his department during the May 4 meeting of the governing body following a request from Councilmember Ben Spaulding. “Chief, I know you guys are getting taxed with a lot of s...
Council President Lucinda Schofield called the Medicine Bow Town Council to order on April 12 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. Those present were Schofield and Councilmembers Cindy Chace, Sharon Kahl (via speakerphone), and Dawndee Yocom. Mayor Sharon Biamon was absent. Also, present were Town Clerk/Treasurer Karen Heath, Town Marshal David Redding, Fire Chief Peter Andrews. The minutes of March 8 were approved and the bills were ratified by the council. Ordinance 1-2021B...
Nearly two months after appointing a new town clerk, the Town of Saratoga will begin the search for a new town treasurer. The resignation of the current treasurer, Sammy Flohr, was announced by Mayor Creed James during the May 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Additionally, while the governing body will begin advertising for another town hall vacancy, it appears an audit of Fiscal Year 2019/2020 will finally take place. A proposal from an accounting firm in Lander was...
For more than a decade, Tyler Pickett Memorial Park has been a “someday” project for the Town of Saratoga. Despite assurances over the years that the project was nearly shovel ready, it has remained in the planning stages. However, that appears to be changing following the May 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Joe Parsons, Vice Commander of Angus England American Legion Post 54, appeared before the governing body requesting Mayor Creed James approve the formation of a w...