Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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"I don't really like the term affordable housing," Jezria Latham, broker and owner of Provident Realty said. "I have been trying to figure out another term because, clearly, what is affordable to some people is not affordable to others." Latham prefers to think of affordable housing as income-based housing and there are different tiers and brackets. "What I am seeing for those looking to come into the Valley-such as police officers, teachers and entry level health care...
It was a warm, nearly cloudless, fall day in Encampment as columns of white and black smoke rose from the firepit at Grand View Park on September 12. The source of the smoke came not just from wood, but from American and Wyoming flags being placed on the open flame. Such a sight was surely shocking to some, especially two young boys who witnessed the act and raced home to tell a parent. The parent, equally concerned, called dispatch at the Saratoga Police Department. It was, i...
by Greg Johnson Laramie Boomerang Via Wyoming News Exchange An unruly and disruptive group of local residents nearly derailed Wednesday’s Albany County School District Board of Education meeting minutes into it. The group, many not wearing face masks, were there to speak about the board’s consideration of extending a mask mandate for district students and staff. The current mandate is set to expire Friday. But before the board could get to the public comment part of its agenda, the group had pushed its way into the room and...
Riverside Town Council’s September 9 meeting began with discussions about the fire district proposed at recent meetings of the Carbon County Council of Governments. Riverside focused on deciding between two options on how the fire protection district would be established; a resolution by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners or a petition of 25 percent of 25 percent of property owners. The council’s decision came down to how the community would represent itself. Having a p...
Encampment Town Council was in session September 9 and first on the agenda was Brush Creek Ranch and their planned unit development (PUD) on Green Mountain. The community and council hope to make it clear to involved protection agencies that it is a cumulative project and not an individual unit. The PUD is in the Encampment watershed protected area, which the town defends. Citing multiple red flags already in the process by the developer, as well as lack of inspections at the...
The Town of Saratoga has filled two vacant positions and hired a fourth police officer following the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. The position of treasurer, which has been open since the departure of Sammy Flohr in May, was filled with new treasurer Georgia Gayle sworn in by Mayor Creed James on Tuesday evening. The governing body also announced the replacement for Lisa Burton, former recreation director, who resigned August 13. New treasurer While there...
Financials, as they have been for the past 36 months, were discussed by the Saratoga Town Council during their September 7 meeting. Along with making a substantial transfer from four enterprise funds into reserve accounts, the governing body also discussed the ongoing issue of delinquent accounts. The biggest question, which was eventually answered by the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) the following night, was whether the accounts of deceased...
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag in regards to the presence of certtain drugs within Saratoga, it appears some community members are concerned about the Saratoga Police Department “going overboard”. During the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Ron Hutchins told Chief Ken Lehr he had been approached by “a few people” about the increased citations and names in the police report published each week by the Saratoga Sun. “I think the fact...
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met on August 18 at the Cowboy Inn in Baggs. Newly elected Chairperson Danny Burau called the meeting to order. The agenda was quickly approved and the meeting went immediately into the financials. The board approved the distribution of 11 checks to municipalities and the county treasurer for a total of $17,222.37. The total collected from Lodging Tax revenue for the month of August was $172,223.68. This time frame is actually monies...
The Platte Valley VFW 6125 and Angus England American Legion Post 54 will be hosting a retirement flag ceremony on September 12 at 1 p.m. at Grandview Park in Encampment. Retiring flags which are no longer usable will be accepted at Town and Country Realty in Saratoga or at Good Things in Encampment. Flags should never be thrown away, Commander Jason Campbell, said. They should be respectfully retired by burning them, then burying the ashes and grommets. According to the US Flag Code, the preferred method for retiring a...
When the third Hanna resident was taken away by ambulance for COVID complications on Thursday, Mayor Lois Buchanan, came to the conclusion action was warranted. Buchanan, herself in quarantine after testing positive, was concerned COVID was starting to spread in her town. The town clerk had tested positive after being exposed to someone who came in the office. Thursday's ambulance call was the third in the week with patients being taken to the hospital with COVID problems....
Carbon County Sheriff's Office K9 Zeus has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Zeus' vest was embroidered with the sentiment "This gift of protection provided by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.". Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and...
Black Hills Energy, the natural gas provider to Saratoga residents, will be undertaking a main replacement project in the near future. In a press release from the natural gas provider, it was announced the company had contracted with NPL for the project. The replacement of natural gas mains will encompass the alleyways between Saratoga and Main avenues from North River Street to North 5th Street. The purpose of the project, according to the press release, is to replace aging steel pipelines with new polyethylene pipe which...
It’s been nearly a year since the Mullen Fire began southeast of Encampment, Wyoming. The fire, which began on the border of the Savage Run Wilderness Area before burning over 176,878 acres in Carbon and Albany counties in Wyoming and Jackson County in Colorado. The Savage Run Wilderness Area, a part of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, was included for treatment plans in the United States Forest Service’s (USFS) Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project. Now, a Supplemental Information Report for the project has...
On the evening of August 26, the hunt for a suspect involved in a drive-by shooting in Denver came to a dramatic end on Highway 789 between Baggs and Rawlins. By the time law enforcement apprehended 30 year old Jose Valdez of Craig, Colorado, he had been pursued across state lines and through five Wyoming communities. Encampment K-12 School also initiated a two-hour delay on Thursday morning to allow law enforcement to search the property. With the pursuit of Valdez beginning...
A common saying in Wyoming is the population of pronghorn in the state outnumber that of people. While that's not entirely accurate-there are 400,000 pronghorn in Wyoming compared to 550,000 residents-the Cowboy State is home to more speedgoats than any other western state. Due to the large number of pronghorn in the state, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has not conducted any in depth studies on the animal until now. At the August 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon...
*Editor's Note* An earlier version of this story cited an "active shooter situation" as the reason for the two-hour delay. This has been corrected to the reason being an individual who may be armed and dangerous. Parents of Encampment K-12 School students likely woke up to a shock Thursday morning as they were informed of a two-hour delay to the school schedule due to an individual who may be armed and dangerous. The situation began early Thursday morning when a car chase... Full story
The Parco Sinclair Theatre first opened in 1924, and the interior walls were hand painted and the seating was premier for the era. Its exterior is a unique Spanish style like the rest of the business distict. The Sinclair Oil Corporation owned the theatre along with almost the rest of the town. In 1968 residents could purchase homes and the town purchased the theatre. The theatre stopped showing movies in the 1960s and, though there was an attempt to keep the theater going in...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) held a special meeting on August 18 at the newly renovated Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex. The meeting was a continued discussion from the July 21 regularly scheduled meeting (see "More expensive, more stringent" on page 6 of the July 28 Saratoga Sun). Carbon County Fire Chief John Rutherford had come before CCCOG to make a case the county should consider creating a fire district. In that meeting, Rutherford said he believed...
by Morgan Hughes Casper Star-Tribune Via Wyoming News Exchange By the time Wyoming hit its COVID-19 hospitalization peak last November, nearly 250 people were being treated for the virus statewide. The physicians who were caring for them were largely working without days off, filling in for colleagues who had either tested positive or been exposed to the virus themselves. Then, cases began to fall. Gov. Mark Gordon approved a statewide mask requirement in mid-December, which the state’s top infectious disease experts later c...
by Morgan Hughes Casper Star-Tribune Via Wyoming News Exchange More Wyomingites received a first COVID-19 vaccine dose in the last two weeks than in any two-week period since mid-May, state figures show. More than 7,400 people received a first shot between Aug. 6 and Friday, according to a count of Wyoming Department of Health numbers performed by the Star-Tribune. In the two weeks prior to that, roughly 5,700 people sought a first dose, and in the two weeks prior to that, just over 3,400 did. That translates to a nearly 20%...
Last year, Yvonne Johnson was hired as the executive director of the Carbon County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC). Since then, she has traveled around the county visiting as many municipalities as possible. On August 17, Johnson made her first appearance before the Saratoga Town Council. Her visit came just days before the CCEDC’s Black Ties & Boots event held at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. For the past three fiscal years, the contribution to the...
Like an exposed nerve, the recently unveiled drug issue in Saratoga doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Despite only having three full-time officers, the Saratoga Police Department continues to make drug-related arrests as they search for housing for more officers. K9 Sergeant Justin Brown, attending in place of Police Chief Ken Lehr, provided the Saratoga Town Council with an update at their August 17 meeting. Drugs and fishing holes Two weeks prior, during the Augu...
The old Wyoming adage “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting” seemed especially true during the August 12 meeting of the Encampment Town Council. Both the Encampment Town Council and Encampment residents are preparing for the September 14 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), when the county commissioners will hold a public hearing on the highly debated Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek Ranch. It wasn’t just Encam...
by Micky Jones Passions ran high at the Encampment Town Council meeting on August 12 as the governing body heard two proposals regarding a lease for the Encampment Mill. First on the agenda at the council meeting was Meriwether Timber, represented by Lela Konecny who informed the council of her 25 years experience in the lumber industry. At the July 8 meeting, the Saratoga resident had appeared before the council but was asked by Councilmember Stas Banach to return with an...
