Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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GILLETTE - The Campbell County Prevention Council plans to roll out a new suicide prevention training program this spring. The program's ethos stands in stark contrast to another program that was supposed to be implemented last summer, said Ashley McRae, the county's suicide prevention specialist and a board member of the Campbell County Prevention Council. "It was completely unsafe," McRae said. "It would've probably set us back 30 years." That state pilot program went up...
POWELL - Shortly after being sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday, Donald Trump declared that "the golden age of America begins right now." Gov. Mark Gordon is equally optimistic that it will be an especially good time for the state of Wyoming. Speaking to representatives of the state's newspapers on Thursday, Gordon said the departure of the Biden administration and arrival of Trump's team means "we're going to be paid attention to." Under the Trump...
CHEYENNE — Communities across the state are lacking in workforce housing, defined as homes affordable to middle-income people. Experts cite many reasons for Wyoming’s housing crisis, and an overregulated environment for builders is among them. In 2023, local residents protested and ultimately derailed a plan by a Cheyenne developer who wanted to build an apartment complex with exercise facilities, a swimming pool and up to 195 units as workforce housing. Following a zoning protest that spurred a required supermajority City Co...
SHERIDAN - A bill to offer broadscale property tax relief could have adverse impacts on local governments and tax authorities, according to various organizations. House Bill 169 - Homeowner tax exemption - 2025 and 2026 - would exempt 50% of a home's first $1 million in fair market value from property tax assessment. In Sheridan County, that would mean the median home would be assessed for a fair market value of $143,241.50, rather than an estimated value for 2024 of...
JACKSON - Should partisan politics trickle all the way down to the local level, potentially impacting decisions about how to educate children as young as 5? That's a question on the minds of lawmakers from the opening day of the Wyoming Legislature on Tuesday, when Senate File 98 was already on the drawing board. The bill would require school trustee candidates to declare a party affiliation when running for a seat. It is sponsored by Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, who is vice...
CHEYENNE - Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon welcomed members of the 68th Wyoming Legislature on Wednesday and reminded them that their legislative decisions have consequences. "I congratulate you on your election and wish you Godspeed. We do have a lot to do, and I have no doubt that the people in this room can get it done," Gordon said. "We have serious responsibilities that require us to work together to serve those who have entrusted us with our positions, and we are all part of...
The New Year, in the cases of some governing bodies, also means new leadership. In other cases, it means the same familiar faces. Here is where changes did, and did not, occur in the Platte Valley, Rawlins and on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). Carbon County Commissioners For the past two years, Commissioner Sue Jones has served as chairperson of the BOCCC with Commissioner Travis Moore serving as vice chairperson. On January 7, Moore was officially voted...
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Department of Transportation has seen a plow strike in each of its five districts already this winter, with four strikes occurring since the Christmas holiday alone. WYDOT plow drivers want to issue 10 reminders ahead of what is typically Wyoming’s snowiest months: - Give plows room to work. Snow plows are huge machines capable of moving tons of snow every minute. Like all vehicles, plows have blind spots; for safety, avoid following too closely. - Avoid passing a plow truck when it's plowing sno...
In the 43 years since Chuck Box—then the CEO of the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce—started the Saratoga Lake Ice Fishing Derby, there have only been two years the event was cancelled. Both times were due to a lack of stock from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department treating the trout fishery. It’s one of the few events which has been held regardless of weather or even when there’s areas of thin ice or open water. “Obviously, in 41 years, there’s been a couple year...
The potential of a closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 has taken a detour following the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). As previously reported, Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz sent a letter to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) requesting a closure gate for Wyoming Highway 71 for instances when Interstate 80 is closed during the winter. The reasoning for this, Fritz wrote in the letter, was a matter of...
The importance of communication not only between state departments and the public, but with other state departments, was a topic of discussion during the January 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). The topic came up under a report from Carbon County Public Health as Dr. Duane Abels—the county health officers—revisited a case in 2024 involving anthrax detected in Elk Mountain cattle. As was reported by WyoFile, in September more than 50 cattle and...
During the December 16, 2024 Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) meeting for the Board of Trustees' meeting, the annual reorganization of the board took place. Reelected as chairperson was Kassie Westring, Joe Gaspari was reelected vice chairperson, Nick Wamsley was reelected as clerk and Georgia Miller remained as treasurer. Good Sportsmanship in Football The Encampment Football team was recognized by the Wyoming High School Athletic Association for their excellent sp...
Editor’s Note: This the second in a 3 part series TRANQUILIZED On Jan. 10, 1995, a 20-person capture crew based out of Alberta’s Switzer Provincial Park started working to capture the first wolves bound for the states. Aerial crews darted 28 wolves from what they believed were 11 different packs during the operation, and Canadian trappers managed to nab more — many of which were collared and returned to the wild to monitor the donor wolf population. By month’s end, 14 wolves h...
CHEYENNE - The 68th Wyoming Legislature will convene for a 40-day general session starting Tuesday, and more than 600 bills sponsored by committees and individual lawmakers are expected to be filed for consideration. The topics of greatest concern to Wyoming residents – and therefore most likely covered by the state's media - include education funding and school policy, property tax relief measures, affordable housing, election policies and gaming legislation and the s...
POWELL - The American bald eagle needs no introduction. It first appeared on a coin in 1776 on a Massachusetts copper cent, and it was emblazoned on the coat of arms for the new country's Great Seal in 1782. But somehow it took 242 years as America's favorite emblem to finally get its due, and the majestic bird still faces serious environmental threats. In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law officially naming the bald eagle as the national bird. Meanwhile,...
CASPER - Matthew Thomas always had a desire to author a children's book, and while working in Jackson Hole, he came up with the idea of writing about the local wildlife. Two animals especially captured Thomas' attention: Hoback the Moose, a majestic bull moose also known as the King of the Tetons, and Grizzly 399, known as Queen of the Tetons. This week, Thomas told the Star-Tribune that he had already started his book, titled "Queen of the Tetons: The Legacy of 399," well...
CHEYENNE — More of Wyoming’s teenagers are joining the workforce, with health care and social assistance among their top employment choices, according to Wyoming Department of Workforce Services data. DWS Research and Planning Research Supervisor Michael Moore presented labor statistics for workers between 15 and 19 years old to the Wyoming Workforce Development Council on Thursday during its quarterly meeting. “We all know the number of youth working in the U.S. and Wyoming has declined over the last couple of decad...
POWELL — The Yellowstone area grizzly will not be delisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Biden administration, as the service instead announced an alternate proposal Wednesday. Idaho had asked for an evaluation of the grizzly bear listing and Montana and Wyoming, which together represent the three states with Greater Yellowstone Area grizzlies, had also petitioned the service to delist the area grizzlies. The service found the petitions “not warranted.” Instead, the service proposed changes to how the grizz...
BUFFALO - Local leaders are hoping that an active uranium mine in southern Johnson County will yield much-needed mineral tax revenue in the coming year. Uranium Energy Corp. purchased Uranium One Americas and its Christensen Ranch and Irigaray Processing Plant in December 2021. For two years, the uranium production company monitored rising uranium prices and solidified plans to ramp up production once the process proved profitable. The company resumed production this August...
CHEYENNE - Members of the public may soon be allowed to concealed carry firearms within the Wyoming Capitol and its underground extension after the state's top five elected officials unanimously passed a set of rules governing a new policy Wednesday morning. Firearms are currently prohibited in the state Capitol, but Gov. Mark Gordon promised, after vetoing a 2024 bill that would have lifted all gun-free zones statewide, to consider lifting gun-free zones in state-owned...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are hoping to prevent travelers misguided by their GPS from going down at least one county road. On December 17, the commissioners authorized a letter from Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The letter, which Fritz read at the meeting, requests WYDOT install a seasonal closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 south of Rawlins. "We feel a good place for this sign...
It’s an exciting but bittersweet time for Gwynn Bartlett. On December 17, the Carbon County Clerk tendered her resignation from the office she has held since 2007. On January 7, she was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). It’s a new chapter—and a new form of public service—for someone who has worked in the county clerk’s office for more than 27 years. In July 1997, Bartlett signed on with the Carbon County Clerk’s Office, wor...
Carbon County Commissioner Sue Jones received the 2024 Riding for the Brand award from the Wyoming County Commissioner Association during the WCCA Winter meeting in December. “I was very surprised and pleased,” Jones said about receiving the award. “ In my mind, that award has been historically given to people, like John Espy, that are going to Washington D.C. for the National Association of Counties and not somebody day-to-day in the trenches.” Her work in the trenche...
D’Ron Campbell, a 24-year resident of Saratoga and the Platte Valley, has been named the editor and publisher of the Saratoga Sun. Campbell previously served on the Saratoga Town Council, Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber Board, and Saratoga Recreation Commission and is a current member of the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board. She joined the Saratoga Sun in August 2024 as a reporter. “I am more than pleased that D’Ron has accepted the position of editor and publisher,” said Joshua Wood, operations director with Stevenson Newspap...
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a 3 part series By the 1930s, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s wolves had been systematically hunted and trapped out of existence. In their absence, it didn’t take long for humankind to rethink the wisdom of eradicating the ecosystem’s apex canine predator. Aldo Leopold, a visionary conservationist, thought of reversing course as early as 1944. “Why, in the necessary process of extirpating wolves from livestock ranges of Wyoming a...
