Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met at 10 a.m. on May 20 by telephone and video conference. In addition to the representatives from each municipality for CCVC, grant applicants attended to explain their upcoming events. Those events were The Adventures of Joe Pickett by the Saratoga Museum; 14th annual Music in the Park by Encampment; Riverside Party Day from Riverside, Carbon County Fair; 2020 Bullfest by Saratoga Lions Club; ArtBeat by Rawlins DDA/Main Street;...
“Service is the measure of greatness; it always has been true; it is true today, and it always will be true, that he is greatest who does the most good.” ~ William Jennings Bryan Being the son of veterans, I have great respect for those who feel the need to serve our country by joining the armed forces. I also have respect for those who come back from serving in the military to serve their country as their representative in government whether it be local, state or national. St... Full story
If the amount of candidates who have filed is any indication, the 2020 Primary Election will be one to watch on the national, state and local level. Following the deadline of May 29, a total of 16 candidates will vie for the seat held by Senator Mike Enzi while House District 47 incumbent Jerry Paxton will face three challengers on the Republican ticket. Even the county and municipal elections will see some serious competition with multiple candidates for the Board of Carbon...
Enterprise funds managed by the Town of Saratoga are restricted but those funds should have also been charged an overhead interfund allocation. That appears to be the argument presented by James Childress, the accountant engaged by the Saratoga Town Council, during the May 19 meeting of the governing body. Over the past several weeks, Councilmember Jon Nelson has been determined in his argument that approximately $1.2 million of enterprise funds were essentially “stolen” to pr...
In March, the Town of Saratoga responded to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by closing town hall to appointment only and limiting meetings of the Saratoga Town Council to 10 people or less. While government business has been exempt from the health orders issued by Governor Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Alexia Harrist, local governments throughout Wyoming have still taken precautions. Since then, meetings of the Saratoga Town Council in March, April and May have been...
Over the past several years, Saratoga Lake has arguably been one of the recreational destinations of the area. Aside from being host for the annual Saratoga Lake Ice Fishing Derby for nearly 40 years, Sandy Beach has served as a summer recreation spot. Along with the recreation, however, comes litter. At the May 19 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Bob Keel informed the council of efforts he had recently undertaken to clean the location. "With the quarantine...
For more than two months, regular users of the Saratoga Hot Pool, or Hobo Pool, haven’t been able to soak in the geothermal mineral waters of the longtime fixture. Following recommendations from Carbon County Public Health Officer Wayne Couch, the hot pool was closed to the public and the not-so-hot pool was drained. As restrictions have been eased at both the county and state levels, questions have been asked on social media as to if the hot pool was open. Additionally, o...
During their May 19 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council was faced with the issue of how to gain the attention of Family Dollar corporate headquarters in regards to violation of town ordinance in Saratoga. In a letter from resident Kristen Teubner, concern was raised about the accumulation of trash and cardboard around the Family Dollar store in Saratoga. In her letter, Teubner informed the governing body that she had spent an hour and a half cleaning up trash behind the store...
Election filing for town, county and state offices has been open since May 14 and will close May 29. Up for grabs are multiple town council seats, unexpired mayoral terms and county commissioners seats. Additionally, House District 47 incumbent Jerry Paxton will face yet another primary challenger this year. Encampment Town Council In Encampment, two council seats are up for election which are currently held by Bill Craig and Kim Loftice. As of press time, Bill Craig is the on...
The Hanna Town Council had its meeting a little after 6 p.m. on May 12 at the Hanna Town Hall. Prior to the meeting, a public hearing was held for the renewal of liquor licenses for the 2020-2021 year. The were few people in the audience and no person had any comment. The meeting was attended by council members Bob Patton, Sammy Sikes and Linda Schisel, who called in. Council member Tracy Fowler was absent. Mayor Lois Buchanan was present as were town clerk Ann Calvert and tow...
The Airport Board meeting on Wednesday, May 13 2020 was a little over two hours long in which time, many topics were discussed but not many decisions were actually made. One thing that was decided,was how to use part of the $30,000 allocation from the CARE act, the coronavirus economic relief plan. The grant was submitted for the purpose of operation and maintenance. There is a concern with animals, such as deer, getting into the runway area. The fence surrounding the airport...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) denied an application for subdivision from the Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP) on May 5 following a public hearing. The application for subdivision, reviewed by the Carbon County Planning Commission in April, had been for property south of Saratoga between the United States Forest Service and the Whistle Pig. That property, at one time, had been announced as the future site of the North Platte Valley Medical Center....
by Joshua Wood Though there was a complete agenda for the first time in several weeks, the regular meeting of the Saratoga Town Council on May 5 was relatively short. With all business concluded in under 30 minutes, most of the discussion had by Saratoga’s governing body pertained to the Saratoga Municipal Airport and the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board. In the absence of Mayor John Zeiger, Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson served as Mayor Pro-Tem. Saratoga CARES One of the m...
While the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been one of the major focuses of local governments, the advancement of warmer weather following an extensive winter heralds another major issue; potential flooding. The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) received a brief update from Fire Warden Ron Brown as he made his final report as interim Emergency Management Coordinator on May 5. Brown has served as the interim coordinator since July 2019 following the departure of...
The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses. ~ Malcolm X If meetings of the Saratoga Town Council were being conducted normally, one would have seen this quote from Malcolm X, a civil rights leader and spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, posted as they headed towards council chambers. While we certainly could try and take the time to delve into the context of this quote, we at th... Full story
Dear Editor, Well, here I go again, or should I say here we go again. I stood in front of the last administration in August 2017 and told the town council then they had a terrible track record of failed or incomplete projects at considerable financial loss to the Town of Saratoga. At that time, I read Suzie Cox’s internal memo (town being financially broke) for the record during the meeting. Now it’s 2020 and a new administration, except it’s really an older administration repurposed for a third term in office. Business as us...
Though the 2020 Primary Election may seem to be farther away than it feels, the date of August 18 is rapidly approaching. In addition to this being a presidential election year, there are also a number of state, county and municipal offices that are up for grabs this year as well. May 14 marks the beginning date for those who may be looking to file as a candidate in the upcoming election. On the national level, the seat for United States Senator, a six year term, is up for...
“I think it’s this council’s responsibility to hold the reins on the finances. It’s not the responsibility of our accountant nor, honestly, is it the responsibility of the Town staff.” This comment from Councilmember Jon Nelson came during a heated discussion among members of the Saratoga Town Council during their April 21 meeting. That discussion took up the bulk of the limited meeting and centered around changes made to the Town’s financial statements between February an...
For the second time this month, the ongoing debate over the Town of Saratoga’s finances spilled from the Saratoga Town Council’s chambers and into those of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). At their April 21 meeting, the county commissioners hosted Saratoga mayor John Zeiger, Town of Saratoga legal counsel Tom Thompson and James Childress, the certified public accountant engaged by the Town of Saratoga. As was reported previously (see “Taxation without repre...
by Joshua Wood The Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees is facing a dilemma of land ownership after receiving information that the current lessee of property in Medicine Bow is not interested in renewing their lease for another year. Currently, property owned by the district surrounding the old Medicine Bow High School is leased to MedBow Lodging, LLC. There are approximately 10 contractors staying on the property at the moment. As was previously...
During the first budget workshop for the Town of Saratoga on April 17, the Saratoga Town Council discussed needs for both the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) and the Saratoga Police Department. Both departments expressed a need for updated vehicles, but only one department currently has the funds available for such a purchase. Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department SVFD Treasurer Creed James represented the fire department as he appeared before the council to explain...
During their regularly scheduled April 8 meeting, the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) discussed financials and agreements as it related to ongoing developments with the financial state of the Town of Saratoga. Within that discussion were questions from Councilmember Jon Nelson about whether board members considered water and sewer funds restricted and if the joint powers board would be willing to review and update the joint powers board agreement....
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met by teleconference at 10 a.m. on April 15 for their monthly meeting. The meeting had been scheduled to be held in Hanna but, due to social distancing, the meeting was held by phone and online. The agenda, minutes and financials were approved in a timely manner. It was noted that the downturn in lodging tax had not been felt in all municipalities in March’s figures. Carbon County and Medicine Bow were ahead of last year’s num...
At the Saratoga Town Council’s first budget workshop for the 2020/2021 fiscal year, Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson prefaced the budget discussion by asking for the governing body to consider reducing the cost of liquor licenses for Angus England American Legion Post 54. According to Wilcoxson, who is a member of the American Legion, other such places in the state pay approximately $500 for their liquor license while, in Saratoga, a fee of $1,500 is paid. Wilcoxson added t...
With a little more than two months until the end of the current fiscal year, the Saratoga Town Council held their first budget workshop for Fiscal Year 2020/2021. The workshop was in stark contrast to the workshops from years past in which the governing body and department heads all gathered around the table and discussed the budget line item by line item. Due to the ongoing concerns over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the council members sat strategically in the council...
