Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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As vaccines continue to roll-out across the state and Carbon County, the staff of Carbon County Public Health are preparing to vaccinate residents over 70 years of age. This comes as the first confirmed case of the "UK Variant" of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in a Teton County resident on Saturday. The first doses of the Moderna vaccine were given on January 19 to senior residents in Rawlins. From there, Carbon County Public Health will travel throughout the...
The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH)) confirmed on January 16 the state’s first case of the “UK variant,” or B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant has been identified in a Teton County adult male. While further investigation is ongoing, early information suggests exposure to the virus variant occurred locally. Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH, said the department is not surprised and expected the variant would be found in Wyoming at some point. “It is not unusual for variants to emerge with vi...
Almost two years ago, the first Friday in March, on the Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies ( WFBOTR) food truck made its first appearance in the town of Hanna to distribute food. It was a very different time, when people lined up close together before entering the Hanna Recreation Center to get their food. There was fresh fruit, vegetables, dry goods, gluten free bread, desserts, beverages and chicken. Volunteers took what came off the truck and quickly put it on tables with...
On January 6, vaccination against the coronavirus COVID-19 started for first responders in Carbon County. Melissa Sikes, Director of South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS), received her inoculation. She is happy vaccinations are happening because she is hopeful it will alleviate the spread of the disease. "The vaccinations will help flatten the curve a lot," Sikes said. "The Moderna vaccine that Carbon County got is 95 percent effective at preventing the...
While a run-off election in Georgia was determining who would gain control of the United States Senate on January 5, the Saratoga Town Council was finding their own direction during their first meeting of 2021 as they swore in new council members and a new mayor. Transfer of Powers As the final actions of Councilmember Judy Welton and Councilmember D'Ron Campbell, the Saratoga Town Council went through the customary approval of the minutes, agenda and paying of the bills...
A new AMX420 high-definition portable X-ray machine is helping healthcare workers at the Platte Valley Clinic deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The $133,000 machine, manufactured by GE Healthcare, was recently purchased by the Corbett Medical Foundation and donated to the Platte Valley Healthcare Project (PVHP) as part of Help Us Build a Strong Foundation fundraising campaign. It is currently in use at the Platte Valley Clinic but will ultimately be moved to the North Platte Va...
While the Town of Saratoga will start the year with someone in the mayor’s seat, the Saratoga Town Council is also moving forward with replacing both their legal counsel and their town clerk. Both topics were discussed during the January 5 meeting of the governing body. Legal Proposals As was reported previously (see “New year, new everything” on page 2 of the January 6 Saratoga Sun), following a publication of Request for Proposals (RFPs) the Town of Saratoga had received fiv...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) started the new year off at the tracks as they approved a resolution for pari mutuel wagering to operate in the county during their January 5 meeting. Resolution 2021-03, which was approved by a vote of 4-1, gave approval to Wyoming Downs, LLC (Wyoming Downs) to conduct pari mutuel wagering on live horse racing, historic horse racing and simulcast events at bars within Carbon County. Terminals for the pari mutuel wagering and...
*Update* At the January 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Creed James was appointed to fill the mayoral vacancy. While many people may be hoping for change in 2021, one of the entities in Carbon County that will be seeing the most change is Saratoga Town Council. The governing body will be facing plenty of changes as of its meeting on January 5. Mayoral Vacancy From August 18 to December 31, the Town of Saratoga operated without a mayor following the resignation of John...
After nearly five months without a mayor, the Saratoga Town Council has finally appointed a member of the governing body to fill the vacancy. On January 5, recently elected council member Creed James was appointed just minutes after being sworn in to the town council. The vote to appoint James passed 3-0-1 with James abstaining from the vote. The appointment of James as mayor comes after two meetings in which both he, Councilmember Ben Spaulding and Lindy Glode, a former Carbo...
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met by teleconference on December 16 with all representatives present. The agenda and minutes from the November 18 meeting was quickly approved CCVC CEO Leslie Jefferson went over the treasurer’s report. The board approved the financials. The board approved the 10 percent distribution from lodging taxes collected to the communities and Carbon County in the amount of $5,618.08. The lodging tax collected for the month of November a...
A month after updating health orders requiring bars and restaurants to suspend late night service, Governor Mark Gordon has reversed course with new health orders that will be effective on January 9. In a press release from the Office of Governor Mark Gordon dated January 2, the governor announced that bars and restaurants would be able to return to normal operating hours. Under the current health orders, which took effect December 9, bars and restaurants were required to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., a move which led to frus...
Nearly a month since the Wyoming Department of Health announced the initial receipt of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Carbon County Public Health announced the phased approach taken by the department in distributing vaccines throughout the county. Initial deliveries of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were made to the public health departments in Casper and Cheyenne and to hospitals in Cody, Jackson and Gillette (see "Wyoming receives COVID...
As the governing body of Saratoga faces rapidly approaching deadlines related to the audit of Fiscal Year 2019/2020, the Saratoga Town Council discussed a re-engagement with James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting during their December 15 meeting. While no formal action was taken on the engagement letters from Childress, much of the discussion was haunted by the specter of interfund overhead allocations. Such allocations have faced vocal opposition from...
As their final action of 2020, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) tabled a conditional use permit from Rocky Mountain Power for Segment D-1 of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project during their December 15 meeting. The vote to table the permit appeared to come as a surprise to Rod Fisher, Director of Community Relations for Rocky Mountain Power, who joined the meeting via phone. The current path for the Gateway West Transmission Line plans for 1,000 miles...
At the final meeting of 2020 of the Saratoga Town Council, held on December 15, Councilmember Jon Nelson continued to express his frustration and concern with payments to James Childress, the third-party accountant originally engaged by the governing body in September 2019. Over $8,000 The concerns from Nelson came early in the meeting, as Saratoga Town Treasurer Sammy Flohr read the accounts payable for the council. Among those accounts was an invoice from Childress...
The Riverside Town Council meeting on December 10, 2020 began as all meetings with the minutes and financials being approved quickly. The main topic of discussion for the night was the town’s website, which currently is not as user friendly as the council would like. Jamie Waugh, creative designer of Bandita Design Co., has experience in web design and was asked to assist in developing a new website. She presented the town council with two options. According to Waugh, Wix woul...
The bulk of the Encampment Town Council meeting on December 10, 2020 was once again centered around the discussion of Union Wireless upgrading their tower is located in the town of Encampment, one block from the school and directly across the street from a daycare facility. Mayor Greg Salisbury told the Union Wireless Representative that he wants to err on the side of caution and make “dang sure” that the public will not be affected by radio waves. There were many que...
Local historian Nancy Anderson was with her husband Victor some years ago taking care of their cattle, when they made a discovery in a gulley. A type of shed lying on its side, basically in the middle of nowhere. "Apparently, when the railroad disposed of these structures they just, as they frequently did, hauled them off to the nearest gulley," Anderson said. "This one had been lying on its side for quite a long time." She said Victor had to replace all the siding where the...
As 2020 comes to a close for the Town of Saratoga, the Saratoga Town Council will be entering the new year without a mayor, town clerk, legal counsel and potentially without an accounting firm to perform their audit. This revelation came about during the December 15 meeting of the governing body as the municipality stares down and will likely fail to meet a December 31 deadline to submit an F66 form to the Wyoming Department of Audit. In emails sent by Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel...
Just in time for Christmas, the Corbett Medical Foundation has received a $25,000 grant from the Sinclair Wyoming Refining Company (SWRC) in support of the Platte Valley Healthcare Project's "Help Us Build a Strong Foundation" fundraising campaign. The check was presented December 16 by Annette Penman, grant coordinator for SWRC, to Laura Bucholz representing the Corbett Foundation and Irene Archibald and Sonja Collamer of the PVHP. According to Archibald, treasurer for the...
“It is time to move forward in a positive manner. The Town of Saratoga has had too much conflict.” During the December 15 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body was addressed by former Carbon County Commissioner and Saratoga resident Lindy Glode as she voiced her support to appoint Councilmember D’Ron Campbell to the mayoral vacancy. As was reported previously (see “Choice or lack of options?” on page 5 of the December 9 Saratoga Sun), two motions to make a...
When the Saratoga Planning Commission meets in January, it will be unclear as to how many members the advisory board will have. While, according to Saratoga Municipal Code, the planning commission should be composed of seven members, it has struggled to retain that number and has even, at times, struggled to maintain a quorum according to its own bylaws. During the December 8 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, Commissioner Tom Westring reminded the few in attendance...
As various sections of municipal infrastructure age and need to be replaced, the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) is looking everywhere for potential revenue sources. One of those sources is the money owed to the Town of Saratoga from delinquent water and sewer users. During their December 9 meeting, the SCCIJPB discussed the delinquent accounts—some only 60 days past due and others more than three years in arrears—and how best to collect on them. On...
As announcements of vaccines for the coronavirus (COVID-19) began to roll out across the country, many Wyoming residents likely wondered when those vaccines would arrive in the Cowboy State. During the December 1 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), County Health Officer Wayne Couch announced that the vaccines were forthcoming and that they would be distributed to frontline workers first. On December 11, the Wyoming Department of Health officially...
