Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 304
Shop at any of your favorite local business during three weeks in March. Hit a home run with a purchase of $20 or more made between March 11 and March 29 at any Platte Valley Business allows you the opportunity to win one of three great Prizes, The event sponsor, Rawlins National Bank, and the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce (SPVCC) have teamed up to provide Chamber Gift Certificates redeemable only at Chamber Member Businesses. Improve your RBI: the more you shop, the more opportunities you have to win! Just bring your dated...
The process of moving a business can often be an arduous task. When Koyoty Sports and Trophy Room Artistry moved in 2015, it was from just south of Saratoga to Bridge Street. For three years, Warden Patzer and Kathleen Cervin called 104 E. Bridge Ave. home to their business. "We'd been leasing the building and our lease expired in November, so when that lease expired we got to looking around," said Patzer. Fortunately for Patzer and Cervin, the farthest they had to look was right next door to...
The Saratoga Care Center was recently listed in U.S. News and World Report Nursing Home Finder as one of the top nursing homes in Wyoming for 2018-2019. The ranking is based on a data-driven methodology that journalists at the U.S. News and World Report developed to evaluate nursing homes. The U.S. News ratings for nursing homes rely on data from Nursing Home Compare, a program run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that determines and enforces nursing...
The last building block in the Economic Development Tiers is “New Business Recruitment”. This gets people really excited when they think about community and economic development. “All of our problems would be solved if we just had a business relocate here and hire 125 people.” “If we had more retail shopping, we could keep people from leaving town.” “We just need to get someone to build a new motel.” These myths have haunted community leaders for decades. In reality, growth comes from within a community. Instead, we need to create an envir...
Byron Barkhurst is already a familiar face in the Valley. The son of Les and Tammy Barkhurst, he helps his parents manage the family ranch and aided in starting Iron Creek Bison Company. Barkhurst also led a successful campaign for the two-year unexpired term on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) and has worked for ERA Shepard and Associates and Century 21 Cornerstone Realty in the past. It was these two past ventures that eventually led him to his most recent endeavour. Located...
The Lodge and Spa at Brush Creek Ranch (Brush Creek) has opened its doors to guests looking to experience the winter beauty of the Valley opening from Dec. 27, 2018 through Jan. 5, 2019 and then Feb. 14 through March 30. Brush Creek is a world-class retreat located in Carbon County south of Saratoga. It has been selected the number one resort in the U.S. four years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler's Reader's Choice Awards and was named the best resort hotel in the Continental U.S. in the 2017...
Over the years, customers of Valley Foods have seen the older model of coolers and freezers slowly get replaced. Beginning with the freezers and moving onto the dairy section, the final coolers have recently been replaced. The open-face coolers that have been in the meat department for years were removed in November and replaced with newer coolers similar to those seen around the rest of the store. "I was going to do the meat first because I felt that they needed the most upgrading, to make that...
Thursday the Saratoga Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce drew the last numbers for the reverse drawing. Member Services Manager Sierra Martinez drew numbers from the basket as Chamber Director Stacy Crimmins kept track of the winners. The first winner, picked at number 50, was Matt Hayes who won a $50 gift certificate. Other $50 winners were Barb Rangitsch (100), Tracy Avery-Peters (150) and Laurie Box (who won $50 twice on the number 200 and 250 picks). The 299th pick was Val Larshied who won...
The last economic development block in the third layer is ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPMENT. This is similar to the adjacent block, Existing Business Development, but focuses on start-ups, new ventures and development of innovative products and services. At one time or another, most of us would have been considered an entrepreneur--your first lemonade stand, babysitting or mowing lawns. The skills you learn when you are young stay with you your entire life: time management, customer service, financial planning, imagination and problem solving to name a...
A familiar face to the Valley and the Saratoga Museum is returning as director. Kimberly Givens, who was employed as director from 2012 to 2014, was rehired by the Saratoga Museum Board of Directors following the departure of the previous director shortly before the end of the regular season. According to a press release from the board of directors, Givens first came to the Valley from Phoenix, Ariz. during a visit in 2007 and decided to stay. The former, and new, director realized she had a...
When the Grumpy Italian Eatery first opened at 113 W. Bridge Ave. in Saratoga, owner Steve Deorio knew that to make his business last he would have to carve out a spot for himself in a community that sported multiple restaurants. One of the things knew he could do was focus on consistency. "When we started off, our business plan consisted of one word and that was consistency. Consistency with our hours, consistency with our service and consistency with our food," said Deorio. "A year later,...
Since starting her business five years ago, Marie Christen, owners of Sweet Marie’s Bakeshop, has filled special orders for the holidays. During Thanksgiving, the Valley baker does pies, but Christmas becomes something else entirely. “For Christmas, usually people have their own tradition. Whether it’s rugelach I’m making, or pies, or a cake for somebody, it varies,” said Christen. “We do, basically, everything and if I don’t know how to do it, I’ll look it up and figure it out and see if I ca...
Scott and Michelle McIlvaine wanted to help out the American Legion, specifically with Tyler Pickett Park. To that end, the McIlvaines purchased 85 trees and 35 wreaths worth $3,500. After paying that bill, all the profits will go to the American Legion. The pair will be selling those trees in Veterans Park which is located downtown between Lollypops and Studio T. Already, several community members have purchased trees or wreaths and donated a little extra to the cause. Of this, Michelle said....
"The biggest difference between a bank and a credit union is we are member owned," Jeanne Stapleton, vice president branch manager for Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union said. She has been at this branch in Carbon County for four years, but has been working for credit unions for years. As Stapleton said, credit unions differ from banks and other financial institutions in that those who have accounts in the credit union are members and owners. The members elect their board of directors in a one...
On Oct. 30, just shy of their six-year anniversary of buying the business, Bobby and Danyel Chitwood, and daughters Dallys and Austyn, worked their final shift at Lollypops before closing the doors one last time as the owners of the nearly 30-year-old Valley institution. "A lot of the questions have been, 'Are you happy?' 'Are you sad?' and I would just honestly say it's a bag of mixed emotions," said Danyel Chitwood. The Chitwoods had officially purchased the ice cream parlor and restaurant fro...
Wyoming businesses seeking new markets for their products and services have a new resource at their disposal thanks to a revamped Trade Show and Market Expansion Grant program through the Wyoming Business Council. The new program expands the grant-eligible activities to include networking at industry-specific trade shows and conferences and traveling to attend meetings with potential buyers, in addition to displaying and selling products and services at traditional trade shows. "Wyoming is...
Elk Mountain is a small community that enjoys tremendous beauty around it. Though the town has plenty of history from pioneer times, it has become a bedroom community. There are now very few businesses in the town proper. Bow River Crossing, an establishment where residents can buy dry goods, food stuffs and alcohol, had its grand opening party on Sept. 29. The store actually opened on July 23, but according to Bill Jones, one of the founders, the decision to wait before throwing a grand...
Jezria Collins recently established a new Saratoga business, Provident Realty. "I am very connected to Carbon County since I was born and raised here," Collins said. "I got my brokers license at 20 and I have been involved with real estate 18 years. It feels like natural progression to open my own real estate company." The name she picked out for her business is special to her. "I came up with the name because I always loved the words provident and providence because of what it means," Collins...
As a part of Rocky Mountain Power's Energy Vision 2020 initiative last week the company began testing the process of replacing wind turbine nacelles and blades at the Seven Mile Hill wind farm. Rocky Mountain Power's Energy Vision 2020 initiative includes a re-powering plan to upgrade its existing wind fleet with larger blades, higher capacity generators, improved control systems and other new technology. "The rehearsal will identify efficiencies in the re-powering process which is scheduled to...
The second layer of the Economic Development Tiers Includes Quality of Life and Workforce Development. This month my thoughts turn to the third block: Infrastructure Development. Living in a small, rural, isolated community can be thought of as a negative situation. But many of us feel the exact opposite. We choose the Good Times Valley for a multitude of reasons and relish those attributes. Such as a sense of calm and quiet. Feeling safe. Knowing our neighbors by name. Support. However, when it comes to infrastructure, we want the same things...
Marcy Cooley is a total Carbon County girl, although in her early years, she was raised in Rock River. When her father told her the family was going to live in Encampment, Cooley was resistant. She considered the school a major rival. However, once settled in, she fell in love with the Valley. In 1994, when Cooley was in her early 30's, she found herself wondering if she should make the leap into the real estate profession. She had taken part time jobs, but her focus was raising her kids....
Doing business in the 21st century means thinking about the possibility of data breaches. Technology has become so prevalent in our everyday life, we don’t often think about what could happen if we lost all that information. When starting a small business, one may not think about the logistics of protecting the important data that becomes invaluable to running that business. CyberWyoming, through its Made Safe in Wyoming program, is looking to change that by partnering with Green House Data. In a recent press release from the Laramie-based comp...
Depending where you live in Carbon County, summer jobs for high school students can be difficult to find. Basil Phillips, a junior at Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Middle/High School and Tylor Goodro, a senior at HEM have been working for the town of Hanna to do mostly yard care. They also do yard work for residents in the town. Goodro and Phillips often work together. Both are glad to have jobs because, in north Carbon County, the opportunities for summer jobs is limited. "It was not...
Now that the "Susan Lucci curse" has been broken, Laura Morrow can add yet another award to her collection following the Women of Influence awards on Aug. 16. Morrow had already been awarded the Carbon County Board of Realtors Businessperson of the Year, but was also nominated for both the Lifetime Achievement Award by Cindy Loose and the Business of the Year by Elizabeth Wood. On Thursday, Morrow received the award for Business of the Year during the Women of Influence dinner at Little America...
Firewater Public House (Firewater) turned one year old on Aug 19. "It is shocking to me that it has been a year already but simultaneously it feels slow but there is relief we got here, there is no doubt about that," Danny Burau said. "It feels like a good notch to have in the belt to say a year, even though nothing really changed." He said there were a few surprises over the past year. Burau had been told he would probably have trouble getting good staff, but he said that was not the case. "I...