Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Governor Mark Gordon has directed numerous state resources to provide assistance and support to affected communities and teams battling the Mullen Fire. The fire is burning largely on the Medicine Bow National Forest as well as some adjacent private lands. As of the morning of September 28, the fire is estimated at approximately 77,950 acres, with only 2% containment. A large portion of the forest is currently under a closure order and mandatory evacuations have been ordered for a number of communities. The Governor has been... Full story
*Updated: information is current as of September 27 at 12:41 p.m.* The Mullen Fire, which began on September 17 and quickly grew over the weekend, has now increased in size to 14,653 acres according to information on Inciweb. On the morning of September 22, at approximately 6 a.m., a Type II Incident Team-the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Blue Team-took over management of the Mullen Fire. A virtual open house was held at 5 p.m. that same day. A Type II team is a... Full story
by Dana Davis Mayor Greg Salisbury was unable to attend the Encampment Town Council meeting on September 9, 2020. Councilmember Bill Craig acted as mayor pro-tem. After the expedient approval of the agenda, minutes, financials and bills, several guest speakers were heard. Sandy Martin gave an update on a Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) Project. Three signs around Encampment are being repainted. Maretin requested one sign that contains the community slogan “where n...
by Joshua Wood Lenny Layman hasn’t been the Carbon County Emergency Manager for very long, having taken the job in May, but recent events—such as the RR 316 Fire in Hanna—have kept him busy. For Layman, that fire provided a great example of why Carbon County is in need of a coordination center. It just so happens that the Layman and the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) recently accepted a check for $15,000 from the Sinclair Oil Corporation (Sinclair) to go towar...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) met at 6:30 p.m. on September 16 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. Baggs, Dixon, Elk Mountain, Hanna, Medicine Bow, Rawlins and Saratoga had representatives. Chairman Morgan Irene, Vice Chairman Jon Nelson and Travis Moore, Secretary/Treasurer, were present. After all attendees made introductions, the council approved the minutes from the July 15 regular meeting. The treasurer’s report was approved after a quick review. Kara C...
As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rolls out updated flood insurance maps for Carbon County, the Saratoga Town Council is asking residents to closely examine the changes that have been made and how it will affect them. During the September 15 meeting of the governing body, Councilmember Jon Nelson gave a brief synopsis of the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Open House that had been held by FEMA concurrently on Zoom and at the Platte Valley Community Center the...
*UPDATE* Originally named the Savage Run Fire, it is now called the Mullen Fire. Information is current as of September 22 at 12:44 p.m. A fire, which has become established at 60 acres and growing, is burning its way into the Savage Run Wilderness in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest east of Encampment. The fire, which was first reported at approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday, saw response from Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department, Encampment Volunteer Fire Department and... Full story
Governor Mark Gordon, pursuant to a directive from the White House reflecting the U.S. Flag Code, has ordered both the U.S. and State of Wyoming flags be flown at half-staff statewide immediately on Friday, September 18, 2020, for the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The flags will remain at half-staff until the day of internment. Once that date has been established, the Governor's office will send out another notification to advise when the flags will be returned to full-staff.... Full story
Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Superintendent Jim Copeland announced Friday morning that a staff member had tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The staff member, who Copeland said had not had any direct contact with students, has been at home since the onset of symptoms. The announcement came via the school districts eNotes program, which sends out updates through email and SMS messages to those signed up for the service. "The staff member will... Full story
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) is formally requesting an audit of the district’s funds as managed by the Town of Saratoga. The board formally approved a letter to be sent to Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel and the Saratoga Town Council during their September 2 meeting in Riverside. The request from the disposal district comes following a months long wait as third-party accountant James Childress examined the Town of Saratoga’s financial history and new...
The Hanna Town Council met at 6:30 p.m. on September 8 p.m. at the Hanna Town Hall. The mayor, Lois Buchanan and council members Tracy Fowler, Bob Patton and Sam Sikes were present. Council member Linda Schisel was absent. The town clerk, Ann Calvert, told the council that the financials were not ready with the exception of payroll and the financial report had to be amended to reflect that. After the approval of the agenda, the minutes from the July 14 regular meeting, August...
A fatal crash in Rawlins on September 11 claimed the life of one person, according to a press release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol. The crash occurred early Friday morning around 3rd Street and North Higley Boulevard. The driver of 20020 Chevrolet 3500 had stopped alongside the road to check on cargo in the back of his vehicle. The driver, however, had failed to place the truck’s transmission in park. As the driver exited the vehicle, he lost his footing. The truck, still in motion, collided with the driver. The driver h...
With seven board positions and four board members, the Saratoga Planning Commission only had two members in attendance for their September 8 meeting at Saratoga Town Hall; Chairman Jim Beckmann and Council Representative D’Ron Campbell. Commission members Tom Westring and Mike Lamprecht were not in attendance and Deb Clark had officially resigned from the commission in August. This also marked the first meeting since the resignation of Kent Smith, who had been serving as t...
Last week, Carbon County Public Health (CCPH) raised eyebrows as they appeared to change their approach in how they respond to cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Throughout the pandemic, CCPH and the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team have been vague when reporting confirmed cases of the virus. On Tuesday, however, two specific businesses in Rawlins were mentioned as possible points of community exposure. An email sent to media outlets on September 8, and... Full story
At their September 1 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council began the process of moving excess revenues from Fiscal Year 2019/2020 into corresponding reserve funds. While the council appeared to agree that such an action needed to take place, the governing body disagreed on the how and the timeline. A four month period, proposed by Mayor Pro-Tem Keel at the guidance of third-party accountant James Childress, drew criticism from council members Jon Nelson and D’Ron Campbell. The e...
Two weeks after the resignation of Mayor John Zeiger, the Saratoga Town Council is no closer to filling the now vacant position. During the September 1 meeting of the governing body, Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel read a letter from legal counsel Tom Thompson regarding the vacant position. Discussion among the council appeared to show the town council agreeing to wait on filling the position until after the general election. In his letter to the council, Thompson wrote that he had...
The historic Hugus-Ferguson Building will not be home to the Carbon County Museum anytime in the near future. Nearly seven years after the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) and the Carbon County Museum purchased the building, built in 1895, Museum Board President Ken Klouda informed the commissioners it wasn’t feasible to pursue the project. “You asked us for an update of where we are on the Ferguson Hugus (Hugus Ferguson) Building. I got on the museum board bec...
The process of expanding cell phone coverage in Carbon County began for Union Wireless on September 1 as four public hearings were held during a meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC). All four conditional use permits, which are the first of many, were approved on a 3-2 vote. Before holding the public hearings, Deputy Zoning Administrator Kristy Rowan informed the commissioners that Union Wireless had requested a four year period in which they could leave...
Around 11 a.m. on September 5, a few Hanna residents noticed smoke on the railroad tracks not far from the Hanna Basin Museum. Probst Electric (Probst) employees saw a small fire and took their water trucks to douse the blaze. Hanna Fire Department quickly came and, a little after noon, the fire was under control Hanna Marshal Jeff Neimark and Mayor Lois Buchanan were at the scene and were relieved the fire was not any danger to the town. They gave credit to the water trucks...
*This article was updated on September 7 at 2:15 p.m. to reflect the most recent information available.* Approximately 67 families, including 200 individuals and 100 animals, are temporarily displaced following a massive fire on the outskirts of Hanna. The fire, which began on September 5 along Carbon County Road 316, spread quickly due to high winds and dry weather. According to Lenny Layman, Carbon County Emergency Manager, the 67 families forced to leave Hanna due to the ma... Full story
Hanna Town Council held a special meeting on August 28. In attendance were Mayor Lois Buchanan, Council members Sammy Sikes, Linda Schisel and Bob Patton. Council member Tracy Fowler was absent. Before the meeting, Buchanan informed the council there was a bid to resurface the Hanna Recreation Center gym floor. “It has come in at $59,081,” Buchanan said. “Dynamic, a company from Texas, are the only company to have placed a bid.” The council quickly approved the agenda and the...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) have amended their personnel and benefits manual, updating it from the 2016 version. The proposed amendments cover several issues and the BOCCC will be taking public comment until October 20. Cathy MacPherson, who worked with Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett and Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis on the changes, appeared before the commissioners on August 25 to discuss some of the updates. “The notice of intended a...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be hosting a series of virtual open houses for Carbon County residents in two weeks. The open houses, which will run for three consecutive days, will allow residents to learn about their flood risk and how to protect their property. The virtual open houses, which are being held over Zoom, follow the release of the preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The new FIRM was developed in cooperation between FEMA, Carbon County and local municipalities and is based on...
Following two special meetings, one on Tuesday and one on Friday, between two counties and several municipalities, it appears that the entities have settled on a request to be presented to the Industrial Siting Council (ISC) for the Gateway South Wind Project totaling $6,097,769. The lion’s share of the request is easily Carbon County which put in a combined request of $4.5 million and accounts for approximately 74 percent of the total request. Of that, the Board of Carbon Cou...
Despite the impact felt by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Carbon County Library System (CCLS) ended the 2019/2020 fiscal year relatively well according to Jacob Mickelsen, CCLS director. Mickelsen provided an annual update to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) during their rescheduled August 25 meeting at the Platte Valley Community Center. As part of that update, the director provided the BOCCC with information on multiple subjects including the economic...
