Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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The town of Hanna normally has its voting at the Hanna Town Hall. But due to the social distance measures the town took to keep its residents safe, the voting took place at the Hanna Recreation Center in its gym. The recreation center building had it clearly marked on how close people could stand in line to be socially distant. Masks were not required, but some voters did wear them when they came into vote....
Segments of Forest Road 261 (Cedar Pass Road) and Forest Road 443 (Jerry Accord Road) in the Sierra Madre and Snowy Ranges, Medicine Bow National Forest, will be temporarily closed for public safety during roadside hazard tree removal work into the fall. The closures will impact through traffic, overnight camping and parking. In order to accommodate use during late summer/early fall and hunting season, the following closure modifications have been set: Forest Road 261 (Cedar Pass Road)–The road is currently closed to t...
Fire-prone fuel and weather conditions have prompted the need for Stage II fire restrictions on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland (MBRTB). Restrictions go into effect on Thursday, August 20, 2020 and include National Forest System lands located in Garfield, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties in northwest Colorado; Albany, Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Crook, Natrona, Niobrara, Platte, and Weston counties in Wyoming. Tightened restrictions are necessary due to...
After the August 24 workshop held at Saratoga Town Hall, the Town of Saratoga will submit an initial request of approximately $200,000 for expected impacts from the Gateway South Transmission Line. In an hour long workshop between the Saratoga Town Council, Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) and the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) impact requests included a bulk water fill station, supplies for the SVFD and replacing or repairing the water...
The Carbon County Visitors’ Council (CCVC) had its monthly at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Cowboy Motel in Baggs. All representatives attended the meeting either by conference call or in person. The agenda and minutes from the July 15 regularly scheduled meeting were approved quickly. The next order of business was to approve the treasurer’s report. After the report was approved the council went over lodging tax revenue for August. The revenue actually comes from revenues dur...
At the August 18 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body took action on several items discussed at the workshop held on August 13 including declaring a number of enterprise funds restricted. As was reported previously (see “Finding a path forward” on page 1 of the August 19 Saratoga Sun), the town council had scheduled a workshop to discuss the findings from the audit of Fiscal Year 2018/2019 issued by Carver Florek and James. In what was one of the most agr...
As discussion among the Saratoga Town Council became heated on how to fill the now vacant mayor seat during the August 18 meeting, a statement from legal counsel Tom Thompson appeared to show there’s a first time for everything. “Frankly, I’ve not seen a situation where the council couldn’t agree to filling a vacancy.” By the time the council adjourned the nearly three hour meeting, the seat once held by Mayor John Zeiger remained vacant. The Vacancy In Zeiger’s absence, Ma...
The last time a mayor resigned in Saratoga was on August 5, 1996 when Mayor Brad Cary read a brief statement and then exited the council chambers leaving both his council and town hall staff stunned. A little more than 24 years later, Mayor John Zeiger announced his resignation as well. A distinct difference, however, is that Zeiger did not attend the August 18 meeting nor did he read a statement. The announcement, instead, was posted on social media and read at the meeting...
Less than two years after officially taking office for his fourth term, John Zeiger has resigned from his position as mayor of Saratoga “effective immediately”. In a post made on social media late Monday night, Zeiger cited familial reasons—the upcoming birth of his grandson—as his reason for resigning. The post announcing his resignation comes after multiple vague posts about an upcoming decision. At the August 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Zeiger had appointed Coun...
The August 11 wildfire that burned about two miles outside the town of Hanna did not only burn 106 acres, but was also responsible for the Hanna Town Council being unable to establish a quorum. Councilmember Traci Fowler, who is Hanna Fire Department Fire Chief, and Councilmember Sam Sikes, a volunteer for the fire department, were absent fighting the wildfire outside Hanna proper. Council member Bob Patton was on vacation. One councilmember, Linda Schisel, called in. Mayor...
Hanna Fire Chief Tracy Fowler was in her truck just a little outside of Hanna when the call came over her radio that there was a fire burning outside of town on August 11. She turned around and went to the fire station. The fire's smoke could be seen in town. The location was on a hill 2.7 miles from town heading on WY 291 near the old RAG mine site. RAG International, a German coal mining company, were the last owners of the mines in Hanna before they closed and the land...
Though the agenda for the August 11 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission was sparse, the entire meeting surrounding Octagon Construction and the company’s development of a subdivision west of Saratoga. Bo and Kristen Stocks, co-owners of Octagon Construction, were joined by Craig Kopasz and Levi Wolfe of Engineering Associates to discuss the preliminary plat for phase two of the subdivision project as well as discuss signage for the development. In the case of Octagon E...
The Riverside Town Council gained another council member at the August 13, 2020 meeting. According to LeRoy Stephenson, Mayor of Riverside, Mark Helwick didn’t exactly submit a letter of interest for the open Town Council seats. Instead, he simply wrote “Yes, I am interested” on a Riverside public notice. Stephenson said, “as far as I am was concerned, that is better than any letter”. Although, Helwick is currently on the primary election ballot as the only person running f...
The Saratoga Town Council appears to be moving forward with plans to address findings from the audit of the 2018/2019 Fiscal Year following a workshop on August 13. As was reported previously (see “What’s the plan?” on page 3 of the August 12 Saratoga Sun), the workshop had been scheduled following questions from Councilmember Jon Nelson to Mayor John Zeiger and Councilmember Judy Welton, who serves as the liaison to Town Hall, about how they believed the findings shoul...
*Editor's Note* An earlier version of this article listed the time of the workshop as 5 p.m. on August 13. In the days the following the meeting, the time was changed to 4:30 p.m. This article has been updated to reflect those changes. The recently accepted Fiscal Year 2018/2019 was just one of many topics of discussion for the Saratoga Town Council during their August 4 meeting. With Councilmember Bob Keel in attendance, Councilmember Jon Nelson initiated discussion on how...
Moving forward, the Saratoga Town Council will meet an hour later than they have in recent years. The change in time comes following a failed attempt at an ordinance to change the meeting date of the governing body. In addition to changing the time of the town council meetings, the council appointed one of two remaining candidates to the open seat for the remainder of 2020. Time Change On the agenda, under Town Hall, was the first reading of Ordinance 858. The only...
The council chambers in Saratoga Town Hall once again served as the battleground for Councilmember Jon Nelson’s continued pursuit for answers in regards to the Town of Saratoga’s finances. During the August 4 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Nelson reiterated his request for material from town hall and questions in regards to discrepancies between amounts approved by the council and amounts expended by the Town of Saratoga. Additionally, questions surrounded the timeline...
The High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB) convened their regularly scheduled meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Hanna Town Hall. All board representatives from the towns were present with the exception of Bob Patton of Hanna. All mayors of Elk Mountain, Hanna and Medicine Bow were present. The board quickly approved the agenda and the minutes from the regular scheduled meeting held on July 2. Toby Smith, chairman of the HCJPB, said the landfill closure was going well....
UPDATE: Following an executive session in which two candidates, D'Ron Campbell and Michelle Cook, were interviewed the Saratoga Town Council voted unanimously to appoint Campbell to the seat left open by the passing of Councilmember Steve Wilcoxson. Glee Johnson, according to Mayor John Zeiger, had withdrawn her letter of interest prior to the meeting. More than a month since Mayor John Zeiger announced that three candidates for the open seat on the Saratoga Town Council...
The Hanna Town Council, the High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB) and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) representative Craig McComie met at 6:30 p.m. on July 29 at the Hanna Recreation Center gym to talk to the residents of Hanna about the landfill closure and dumpsters. The Hanna landfill, which served the towns of Elk Mountain, Hanna and Medicine Bow, was closed at the end of June. Currently the towns of Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow have dumpsters throughout...
The Planning Commission meeting on July 14, 2020 started with a public hearing regarding the horses on Robert Smith’s property where he runs a bed and breakfast. There had been a nuisance complaint from one of the neighbors who was in attendance citing dust problems and issues with the expansion of the on going business. The Smiths rebutted that the complaint was in retribution for their own complaint to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding an illegal gravel...
A special meeting of the Riverside Town Council was held on July 28, 2020 to revisit the liquor license for the Mangy Moose since the Wyoming Liquor Commission informed the Council that it is not possible to issue a license for a term of three months. At the beginning of the meeting there was discussion regarding a letter that had been recently written to the Riverside Town Council which council member Ed Golden found offensive. He reminded the audience that the position of...
In the past two weeks, Carbon County has seen a continued increase of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as tourists pour into the state and parents prepare to resume school. According to local health officials, the number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began has reached 61 with 26 of those having recovered. There are currently 35 active cases of COVID-19 within Carbon County. In addition to the 61 total confirmed cases, there have also been six... Full story
At the July 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body voted 3-0 to officially accept the audit of Fiscal Year 2019/2020 by new auditors Carver, Florek and James (CFJ). Councilmember Bob Keel was not in attendance. As was previously reported (see “Audit accepted, questions remain” on page 1 of the July 29 Saratoga Sun), Councilmember Jon Nelson asked Councilmember Judy Welton and Mayor John Zeiger how they proposed to address some of the findings in the audit....
At their July 21 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council formally accepted the Fiscal Year 2018/2019 audit from Carver, Florek and James (CFJ) as the 2020/2021 fiscal year begins. Along with the highly anticipated document came additional questions from Councilmember Jon Nelson in regards to the town’s finances. Councilmember Bob Keel was not in attendance as he was “tied up at work” according to Mayor John Zeiger. More or Less? The release of the audit followed the 3-1 appro...
