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Imagine: citrus trees growing in Medicine Bow, Wyoming all year round. As unlikely as this might sound, Kani and Lyle Flansburg believe it possible and are taking the steps to make this unlikely scenario a reality. They have already built a greenhouse in Medicine Bow that is the beginning of this citrus growing world. "We have started a small permaculture design, food forest and sustainable agriculture demonstration business, WyOasis, LLC," Kani said. For those who don't know what permaculture...
Following the announcement of Wyoming's first confirmed case of COVID-19 on the evening of March 11, events moved rather quickly as the Cowboy State began to make preparations to deal with the novel coronavirus. As the number of confirmed cases increased from one person in Sheridan County, measures were taken in attempts to prevent the spread of the virus. On Sunday evening, an announcement from Governor Mark Gordon and State Superintendent Jillian Balow recommended that school districts across... Full story
The Hanna Town Council met at 6 p.m. on March 10 at the Hanna Town Hall. The agenda and minutes from February 11 were quickly approved and the council went into board and department reports. The first report was from the chairman of the High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB). Toby Smith said that, after the regularly scheduled meeting on March 5, it was realized that the cost of the convenience center at the landfill in Hanna was going to cost approximately $420,000 versus the anticipated cost...
The Medicine Bow Town Council met at 7 p.m. on March 8 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. The room was packed with seats hard to come by. Mayor Sharon Biamon, councilmember Trevor Strauch and councilmember Lyle Flansburg were in attendance. It was business as usual as the agenda was approved as were the minutes from the regularly scheduled meeting of February 10 and a special meeting held on February 26. The financials were the next item to be approved. Liz Ellis of the Medicine Bow...
Bob Smith, owner of the Roan Hill Ranch Guesthouse was represented at the March 10th Planning Commission meeting by legal council, Jon Schnal who moved to dismiss a complaint regarding horse nuisance. Mr. Schnal said the complaint had a lack of merit and was baseless. For almost 11 years, the ranch has been in operation and the horses have been an integral part of the operation. The special use permit for the operation of a guesthouse has been renewed by the town several times in the past. The l...
After the financials were read and approved during the Encampment Town Council meeting on March 11, the floor was opened to guests attending the meeting. Josh Saier and Crystal Gillen of the Sierra Madre Muzzleloaders made a request for use of the Encampment Museum grounds for the Rendezvous and the Marion Baker Invitational as well as a request for a $500 donation. A motion was passed to allow the use of the Museum grounds and donation with many thanks all around for a great event. Schelby...
Mayor Leroy Stephenson attended the Riverside Town Council meeting on March 11 via phone conference. It was a short meeting over all. Helen Weiland, South Central Wyoming EMS Joint Powers Board representative, relayed that their meeting had been canceled last month due to storms. The meeting was rescheduled for Monday in Saratoga. As previously reported on February 19, “SCWEMS update”, SCWEMS had hired a paramedic. However, the State of Wyoming still has not approved her license. The issue is...
As concerns over novel coronavirus (COVID-19) lead to closures of government offices, businesses and schools the Saratoga Sun will strive to keep our readers informed with as much up-to-date information as possible. Please make sure to check this page on a regular basis for updates as they come. *UPDATE* 03/19/2020 5 p.m. - Governor Mark Gordon issued a statewide closure order of all public spaces until April 3. This includes schools, museums, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, coffee shops, self-service buffets, salad bars, gyms, conference... Full story
“First, I need to elaborate that there has been an issue sleeping behind the scenes for the Town for quite some time. Namely, the adjustments from the auditors have simply never been made in the accounting records of the Town.” A February 28 email from James Childress, the Cheyenne-based certified public accountant engaged by the Town of Saratoga, served as the catalyst during the March 3 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council for Councilmember Jon Nelson to vote against approval of accounts pay...
Following James Childress’ appearance before the Saratoga Town Council on February 18, it appeared as if there were some answers to the questions that have been plaguing the Saratoga Town Council since receiving the 2017/2018 audit last year. During the March 3 meeting of the governing body, however, it appears that there are even more questions to be answered following a February 28 email from Childress. In addition to the email serving as a catalyst for a dissenting vote on approving a...
Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School Principal Steve Priest and Hanna Elementary School Principal Jason Greenway provided updates to the Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees at their February 19 meeting on issues of subsidence surrounding their respective schools. Hanna Elementary School and the football field at HEM both sit above Mine No. 4, which was closed and filled with a sand slurry in the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, however, that sand slurry had...
In the state of Wyoming, executive sessions are not uncommon when it comes to public meetings of governing bodies. Indeed, the Wyoming State Statute allows city, county, state and local powers to enter an executive session to discuss a variety of issues ranging from discussion of personnel to matters of litigation or national security. Both the current and previous incarnations of the Saratoga Town Council have used their right to executive session, often remarking that no decisions were made...
The Saratoga Museum and Historical Society (Saratoga Museum) is beginning to follow through with steps to form a special museum tax district. At the February 10 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners, Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett informed the commissioners of the Saratoga Museum’s intent. Members of the Saratoga Museum board appeared before the Saratoga Town Council on February 18 to inform the governing body of the process. Connie Patterson, board president, spoke for the m...
The Medicine Bow Town Council met at 7 p.m. on February 10 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. Mayor Sharon Biamon and all council members were in attendance. Before the minutes from the meeting of January 13 could be approved, resident Troy Maddox said he would like to correct the record. He said, in the January 13 meeting, it had been stated by Kenda Colman that he had been contacted by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) about keeping pigs and had been told he could not keep them...
The Saratoga Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) has cleared all initial hurdles in applying for a loan and grant program from the Wyoming Business Council (WBC). As was reported previously (see “Tapping into town services” on page 3 of the December 18, 2019 Saratoga Sun), Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP) Chairman Will Faust had approached the joint powers board about sponsoring the non-profit group for funding from the WBC. Following a public hearing before their reg...
“If we just think something has happened and we don’t know more about it, then we’re talking about a significant amount of cost and a significant amount of time to tell people that nothing has happened there.” Following months of questions about the Town of Saratoga’s financial health and the status of several fund balances, there seemed to be some answers as James Childress appeared before the Saratoga Town Council on February 18. Originally engaged by the governing body on September 18 at a s...
The Hanna Town Council met at 6 p.m. on February 11 at the Hanna Town Hall. All members of the council and mayor were present. The agenda was approved after it was amended to show that Carbon County Fire Warden John Rutherford would not be making the meeting due to road conditions on US 30. After the agenda was approved, the minutes for the regular meeting of January 18 and special meeting on January 28 were approved. Mayor Lois Buchanan gave a quick overview of the public works report. She...
At the February 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body discussed two letters of engagement that had been presented from James Childress, an outside accountant the Town of Saratoga had engaged with in September 2019. While the letters had originally been presented at the January 21 meeting, the majority of the council felt that the letters were too vague in scope. To address those concerns, the council had directed legal counsel Tom Thompson to write a letter to Childress...
Following the January 4 Saratoga Town Council meeting, it appears that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Town of Saratoga and Platte Valley Little League (PVLL) may finally be in place after nearly a year of discussion. As was previously reported (see “PVLL moves forward” on page 8 of the November 27, 2019 Saratoga Sun), the governing body unanimously approved a motion for an MOU between the municipality and the non-profit organization. The motion, made by Councilmember Bob Kee...
Following a request for public input on purchasing new security cameras, the Saratoga Town Council directed Saratoga Police Chief Ken Lehr on February 4 to present estimates at the next town council meeting. As was reported previously (see “Keeping an eye out” on page 5 of the January 29 Saratoga Sun), the Saratoga Police Department had approached the governing body about purchasing five new frog eye cameras. While three would be placed at Saratoga Town Hall—two for each parking lot and one i...
John Farr has lived in Encampment for several years. Farr is also the Encampment representative for the Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) and is pleased with how the board promotes the county to the nation and world. “It has some sharp people on the board and you can tell they love their area they represent in Carbon County the way I love Encampment,” Farr said. He started out a Colorado native, but came to the Valley years ago for fishing and knew this was the place he wanted to ret...
At the January 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body voted unanimously to begin removing abandoned vehicles currently being stored at the east baseball field behind the Saratoga Branch Library. The property, owned by the Town of Saratoga, is technically zoned RD 6000. The council also discussed a decision made by the Saratoga Planning Commission pertaining to property owned by Randy Stevens. Good For The Gander The Town of Saratoga property was brought up at the January 14...
Saratoga resident John Hornbeck appeared before the Saratoga Town Council during the January 21 meeting of the governing body to request a signature on a petition for a zoning amendment. After significant discussion, however, Hornbeck was directed to obtain additional signatures before requesting one from the Town. As was reported previously (see “MHCC moving forward with clinic” on page 20 of the January 15 Saratoga Sun), Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) had approached Hornbeck abo...
The Saratoga Town Council is requesting public input before purchasing five new security cameras to be used at the Hot Pool and Saratoga Town Hall. At the January 21 meeting of the governing body, Sergeant Tyler Christen of the Saratoga Police Department provided a quote for five frogeye security cameras. Two would be placed at the Hot Pool, two placed on either side of Town Hall and one inside the council chambers. The estimate for all five cameras is $16,560.20. “We have had problems outside o...
The Saratoga Planning Commission discussed a variety of topics at their January 14 meeting. Cattle Nuisance A complaint was made to the Saratoga Planning Commission regarding a cattle nuisance. The property in question is a 17 acre plot of land within the Town of Saratoga. Owner, Randy Stevens, appeared before the commission. He had purchased the property and along with it, the territorial irrigation water rights. The property has always been used for agricultural purposes; hay has been cut...