Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is announcing the death of a hospitalized Laramie County man previously identified as a laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case. The older man represents Wyoming’s second reported death associated with COVID-19. There have been 287 confirmed and 105 probable cases reported so far from across Wyoming. “Unfortunately, we have seen this disease touch another Wyoming family in the worst way,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with... Full story
While the Encampment Town Council meeting on April 9, 2020 was still open to the public, as government business is exempt from the State Health Officer’s order, seating was limited and spaced apart according to the new social distancing practices. Doreen Harvey, Encampment Clerk/Treasurer, had taken Governor Gordon’s recommendation and prepared the council with as much information as possible in writing ahead of time to make the meeting utilitarian as possible. The min...
While the Saratoga Police Department is hoping to obtain funds from a Mineral Royalties Grant (MRG) through the State Lands and Investments Board (SLIB) for two new vehicles, they will be adding a used one following the April 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. At the regular meeting of the governing body, a new resolution was passed for the MRG application and lengthy discussion was held on the purchase of the used truck. New, Old Resolution As was reported previously (se...
The issue of whether or not to pay the full amount of a bill received by the Town of Saratoga from Childress Accounting and Consulting was just one of multiple discussions in the shortened meeting of the governing body on April 7. While the paying of the bills is often a routine matter for most boards, councils and commissions, it has not been uncommon for there to be dissenting votes from members of the Saratoga Town Council. Following a reading of the account payable in the...
The Saratoga Museum and Historical Association (Saratoga Museum) has acquired enough signatures to follow through with their pursuit of a special tax district. As was reported previously (see “Saratoga Museum pursuing tax district” on page 2 of the February 26 Saratoga Sun), announced their intention to both the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) and the Town of Saratoga at their February 18 meetings. During the April 7 meeting of the BOCCC, Carbon County Clerk Gyw...
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Victim/Witness Program recognizes April 19-25, 2020 as National Crime Victims’ Rights Week by raising awareness about crime victims’ issues, promoting victims’ rights and honoring victims of all crimes. The 2020 theme “SEEK JUSTICE, ENSURE VICTIMS’ RIGHTS, INSPIRE HOPE” reminds us that the rights of crime victims are best protected when all participants in the criminal justice process—not only victims—are appropriately educated about victims’ rights. When we come together as individuals and as...
Despite the grip that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has on Wyoming, Carbon County is one of the counties with the fewest confirmed cases. As of Monday afternoon, the county had only four confirmed cases. Two of those cases were discovered and treated out of state and three of the cases are fully recovered. While confirmed cases in the county are limited, Carbon County Public Health and the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team are still preparing for additional co...
The Town of Riverside implemented a web based video conferencing application, Zoom, for the meeting on April 9, 2020. Limited seating was still available for any members of the public that wished to attend the meeting. According to a press release from the Wyoming Press Association, governmental bodies can meet their open meeting obligations, while practicing social distancing to help protect public health, by conducting meetings via telephone or video conferencing if the...
“We have people that are not in the town of Saratoga that are receiving benefits from this joint powers board. It’s almost a taxation without representation issue if the Town of Saratoga can take the money and do whatever they want.” This statement from Carbon County Commissioner John Espy came on April 7 as the issue of whether or not enterprise funds held by the Town of Saratoga are considered restricted or unrestricted reached the Board of Carbon County Commi...
As Wyoming continues to try and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) through the public health orders issued by Governor Mark Gordon, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) is concerned about possible blind spots in those orders. During the April 7 meeting of the BOCCC, Kandiz Fritz, Road and Bridge Interim Manager, informed the commissioners that contractors are beginning to arrive in Hanna and Medicine Bow for work on slated wind energy projects....
The North Platte River received some unexpected traffic early Thursday, April 9, as a semi-truck and trailer plunged into its frigid waters near Fort Steele. The sight must have been something to behold as vehicles as large as this can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. One could imagine a mighty splash as the truck plunged into the river bed after threading the needle between a tree and the railing of the overpass. The recovery of the vehicle, however, was not as...
The first death related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wyoming was confirmed on Monday by the Wyoming Department of Health. The death comes nearly a month after Governor Mark Gordon issued his first public health order closing public spaces and a month since Wyoming had its first confirmed case of COVID-19. According to the press release from the Wyoming Department of Health, the first confirmed COVID-19 death is a Johnson County man who had been hospitalized and... Full story
A hospitalized Johnson County man previously identified as being infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has died, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). The older man had health conditions that put him at higher risk of severe illness and complications related to COVID-19. There have been 275 confirmed and 98 probable cases reported so far from across Wyoming. This is the first reported death associated with the pandemic in the state. “This is a sad development we hoped we wouldn’t see in Wyoming and... Full story
The Department of Workforce Services (DWS) is readying to update its Unemployment Insurance (UI) system to distribute unemployment funds from the Coronavirus stimulus package to boost jobless benefits. DWS is reviewing information received over the weekend from the U.S. Department of Labor to begin putting processes in place to distribute important funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act. Congress and President Trump have enacted emergency programs to assist those left unemployed by...
With new national recommendations encouraging the targeted use of personal face coverings due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) official is updating residents on why using them at key times could be helpful. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other measures meant to keep people apart are difficult to maintain such as grocery stores and pharmacies. Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health... Full story
As the date for the closure of the landfill outside Saratoga gets ever closer, the Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) may finally have a direction in how to proceed with their dead animal pit. The question of what to do once the dead animal pit at the Saratoga site is closed has plagued the UPRSWDD board for nearly three years. With concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the temporary closure of Saratoga Town Hall to ancillary...
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected people’s lives, and livelihoods, both across the world, and closer to home right here in the beautiful Platte Valley. Jon Winter, Platte Valley Kiwanis president, told local Kiwanians, “The financial impact of COVID-19 on people is going to be significant and I challenge our club to think of ways we can help serve our community.” Platte Valley of Wyoming COVID-19 Assistance was formed to provide that support in the form of grocery gift cards to owners and employees of small busin...
COVID-19 did not stop the swearing in of Dave Redding as the new Marshal for the town of Medicine Bow. On March 30 at 6 p.m., before the town council, mayor and town clerk/treasurer, Redding was sworn in as the law enforcement officer for the town at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. It has been decades since Medicine Bow has had a Marshal. Because of the restrictions on how many people could be in the room, only Judy Redding, the new marshal's wife, was in attendance. "I'm exc...
Carbon County residents may be shocked to find that the State of Wyoming has over $1 million belonging to them. In a time when the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) are putting a pinch on pocketbooks, the State Treasurer’s Office is wanting to remind residents that there is money due them currently being held by the Unclaimed Property Division. “We were planning to visit Carbon, Lincoln and Uinta counties in April as part of an outreach mission to help local cit...
On April 3, Governor Gordon added another directive in conjunction with three statewide orders that had been issued in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Those orders, which had an original sunset date of April 3, had been extended twice; first to April 17 and again to April 30. The directive released on April 3, like Gordon’s other orders, is intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. The directive is for individuals who are arriving in Wyoming from another state o... Full story
Over the weekend, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wyoming continued to increase as testing continued and the virus spread. As of 4 p.m. on April 6, the total number of cases in the Cowboy State was at 210 with 52 cases recovered and no deaths. Of the 23 counties in Wyoming, 17 have at least one confirmed case. On Friday evening, Carbon County had one more added to its count with a fourth confirmed case from the Wyoming Department of... Full story
“So steadfast is my faith in you, the Wyoming people, to do the right thing, that I have not issued a statewide ‘shelter in place’ order. You already know how important it is to take responsibility for your actions. Do the right thing, do it the right way and do it right away!” As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to climb in Wyoming, Governor Mark Gordon has expressed hesitancy at ordering residents to “shelter in place” even as sur...
With the emphasis that has been placed on the importance of social distancing, and with one of three public health orders prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people, this may leave regular attendees of meetings wondering how to attend. While the order forbidding gatherings of 10 or more people specifically exempts government business, boards and councils throughout the state have worked to find ways to promote social distancing. According to Wyoming State Statute 16-4-403(a),... Full story
It is still unknown how dire the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will be on our economy as Carbon County, Wyoming and the nation are still dealing with the spread of the virus. According to a report from the United States Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending March 21 rose to 3.2 million. The previous week was 282,000. “This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the h...
While testing for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues throughout Wyoming, there was recently a bit of good news for Carbon County. In a little more than a week since the first case of COVID-19 in the county was announced, two of the three confirmed cases are reported to have completely recovered. That information came on Sunday night through the daily situational debrief sent to media outlets by Jacqueline Wells, public information officer for the Carbon County... Full story
