Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1201 - 1225 of 5184
Though Carbon County has received some much needed moisture in the past few days, fire departments throughout the county have been dealing with an increasing number of wildland fires due to a dryer-than-normal spring. During the May 4 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), interim Carbon County Fire Warden John Rutherford informed the board none of the fires were what he considered accidental. “Unfortunately we’re having fires already. Little Snake Riv...
The combination of visitors to the Valley and contractors for the ongoing wind energy projects in northeastern Carbon County is, apparently, leading to extra work for the Saratoga Police Department according to Chief Ken Lehr. Lehr informed the Saratoga Town Council about the increasing workload for his department during the May 4 meeting of the governing body following a request from Councilmember Ben Spaulding. “Chief, I know you guys are getting taxed with a lot of s...
Council President Lucinda Schofield called the Medicine Bow Town Council to order on April 12 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. Those present were Schofield and Councilmembers Cindy Chace, Sharon Kahl (via speakerphone), and Dawndee Yocom. Mayor Sharon Biamon was absent. Also, present were Town Clerk/Treasurer Karen Heath, Town Marshal David Redding, Fire Chief Peter Andrews. The minutes of March 8 were approved and the bills were ratified by the council. Ordinance 1-2021B...
Nearly two months after appointing a new town clerk, the Town of Saratoga will begin the search for a new town treasurer. The resignation of the current treasurer, Sammy Flohr, was announced by Mayor Creed James during the May 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. Additionally, while the governing body will begin advertising for another town hall vacancy, it appears an audit of Fiscal Year 2019/2020 will finally take place. A proposal from an accounting firm in Lander was...
As the 2022 election cycle seems to be heating up early, election precincts and municipal boundaries were a point of discussion during the May 4 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners. The discussion stemmed from concerns raised by Joey Correnti IV, Carbon County Republican Chairman, to Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett. In addition to the discussion of election precincts, Bartlett also briefly talked to the commissioners about the voter identification law...
Just one day after Paul Zamora's effective retirement as the Carbon County Coroner, the Carbon County Republican Party Central Committee unanimously selected a candidate to fill the vacancy. Brittany Nyman, who served as chief deputy coroner under Zamora, will be presented to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) during their May 4 meeting in Rawlins. As was previously reported (see "No finer professional" on page 1 of the April 28 Saratoga Sun), Zamora's...
Just two weeks after former Councilmember Bob Keel announced his resignation, the Saratoga Town Council was able to make an appointment to the vacant position. On April 20, Saratoga resident Ron Hutchins was sworn in by Mayor Creed James. This, however, was not the first time that Hutchins had submitted a letter of interest. When Councilmember D'Ron Campbell was re-appointed to the governing body, Hutchins had been one of three applicants-including Campbell-who interviewed...
Carbon County Road 351, also known as Seminoe Road, may be seeing far more traffic than normal. It also may be seeing more attention than normal. During the April 20 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Kandis Fritz discussed a potential road use agreement for County Road 351 as well as potential grants for repairing the deteriorating road. Sand mines Fritz informed the commissioners that she had received a call the day before the meeting about...
The Hanna Town Council met on April 12 at the Hanna Town Hall. The council members present were Sam Sikes and Bill Dys. Council members Tracy Fowler and Jayson Nordquist were absent. Mayor Lois Buchanan was present. The council heard reports from the different departments and boards and once they were completed, the council approved them all. The bills to be paid up to March 31, totaling $35,341.87, were ratified. The bills to be paid on April 14, totaling $19,194.03, were...
In coming weeks, Medicine Bow National Forest fire personnel are hoping to conduct prescribed burns in the northwest portion of the Sierra Madre Range. The targeted burns will improve vegetation conditions and wildlife habitat, as well as reduce fire danger by mitigating fuel loading. Primary burn units this spring include approximately 220 acres in the Divide Peak area and are part of the Divide Peak Prescribed Burn Project. Located on the northern end of the Sierra Madres in Carbon Co., Wyoming, this project area is nearly...
Governor Mark Gordon signed legislation on April 21 that officially launches the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in Wyoming. The program will utilize $200 million in federal funding to cover rent and utility costs for Wyomingites struggling financially due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gordon signed an Executive Order in February directing the Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) to create the administrative infrastructure for the program so that funds could be distributed quickly upon...
With budget sessions beginning this week for the Saratoga Town Council, the search continues for an accounting firm to audit Fiscal Year 2019/2020. At the April 20 meeting of the governing body, Mayor Creed James stated he had been in contact with several firms since being informed by Carver Florek and James that they would not engage with the Town of Saratoga for a second year. In similar financial business, the town council discussed two different State Homeland Security...
It was difficult to find a dry eye in the Medicine Bow Senior Center on April 20 as Carbon County Coroner Paul Zamora announced his resignation via letter to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). “It is with great sorrow and trepidation that I inform you of my decision to retire at the end of this month. This decision stems from the current treading of my illness,” wrote Zamora. “It is time to focus all my energy on treatment and a little fun.” The letter, read by...
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing to reduce antelope license quotas for the 2021 hunting season. In many hunt areas, the proposals cut the quota due to impacts from persistent drought conditions and the record-breaking 2021 spring blizzard. The license reductions should be short-term, according to wildlife managers who believe the conservative proposals for each herd will stabilize pronghorn populations and allow them to bounce back. Fluctuations of the number...
Rehabilitation of a leaking, bolted water tank west of Saratoga appears to be off the table. Discussion of the tank came up during the April 14 meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) with two vastly different estimates from two companies to repair the tank. For the past several years, the tank has had either massive water stains or large chunks of ice along its side. When the special election for the One Percent Specific Purpose Sales and Use...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) met in person at on March 31 at the C4 headquarters building in Rawlins. The C4 (Carbon County Coordination Center) building was picked for the meeting to allow elected officials from the local municipalities to take in firsthand the Carbon County facility built to be the command center for emergencies. Chairman Morgan Irene started the meeting by welcoming all attendees. All Carbon County municipalities were represented with...
With construction having begun on the North Platte Valley Medical Center at 13th Street and Bridge Avenue, surrounding property has the potential to be of value. The closest property with the possibility to be developed is a five acre parcel on the east side of 13th Street owned by one person. On April 13, local business owner, and owner of that property, Randy Raymer appeared before the Saratoga Planning Commission with a preliminary subdivision plat. “I bought that whole s...
As Carbon County receives national, and international, attention for its embrace of wind energy, the influx of wind energy projects shows no sign of stopping. On April 6, Michael Svedeman, Senior Manager of Development for Invenergy, appeared before the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) to discuss yet another upcoming wind project. Inevergy’s appearance before the county commissioners comes nearly two years since the Illinois-based company transferred ownership o...
Carbon County has been getting a lot of national and international attention recently. So, too, has former county commissioner and current Rawlins mayor Terry Weickum. On page A1 of the March 4 New York Times, a train was photographed carrying its cargo with windmills stretching out on a landscape of the high desert. Underneath the picture was the headline 'Wind Rises in Coal Country" (Editor's Note: the headline now reads "Wyoming Coal Country Pivots, Reluctantly, to Wind...
As the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) continues its pursuit of extremely delinquent accounts, potential changes to the municipal code may help streamline that process. During the April 13 meeting of the joint powers board, Director of Public Works Jon Winter presented the board members with changes to Saratoga Municipal Code 13.60.010 and 13.60.020. These two sections of the code pertain to delinquent charges and termination of services. When the...
Wood’s Fields may continue to be the home for Platte Valley Little League (PVLL) despite previous discussions to rehabilitate and use the ball fields owned by the Town of Saratoga south of the Saratoga Library. Discussion over the use of the field and a potential long-term lease came about during the April 6 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. The governing body also discussed their Fiscal Year 2019/2020 audit and received an update from Director of Public Works Jon W...
While the arrival of spring may have more people thinking about floods rather than fires, four recent events that began as controlled burns are showing just how dry things are before the spring runoff. During the April 6 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), the commissioners were informed about the recent events by Lenny Layman, Carbon County Emergency Manager, which took place on April 3. “We had three to four controlled burns that got out of control,...
Recently, the Town of Medicine Bow has been working on grants for various purposes. Generators, museum improvements, COVID relief, a Roadside Message board sign and Volunteer Fire Department Communication Equipment are just a few example of the recent grants. On October 5, 2020 the Wyoming Community Foundation approved a grant for $5,000 to the Town of Medicine Bow to help fund the purchase of two body cameras and two tasers for the Marshal’s Office. This Grant was approved by the Wyoming Community Foundation and made p...
As the warmer months approach and there continues to be a push to return to a pre-coronavirus mentality, the administering of vaccines is still ongoing. On March 31, the Office of Governor Gordon announced that all Wyomingites over the age of 16 years old were eligible to take the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Only residents over the age of 18 are eligible to receive the Moderna vaccine, which has been primarily administered in Carbon County. Carbon County Public Health continues to administer vaccines throughout the county with t...
Of the three individuals elected to the Saratoga Town Council in 2018, only one remains following the resignation of Councilmember Bob Keel on April 6. Keel, who was elected alongside Councilmember Jon Nelson and former mayor John Zeiger, had been absent in recent meetings of the governing body but was in attendance to announce his resignation. The announcement came under the council comments section of the meeting, with Keel reading from a prepared letter. "My time as a town...
