Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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by Mike Armstrong The Carbon County Visitor Council (CCVC) met at 10 a.m. on July 15 at the Cottontree Inn in Rawlins. This is the second meeting held this summer where the board met in person. Social distancing was still practiced. All board members were present with the exception of the Medicine Bow representative. Rawlins still has no representative. The agenda and minutes from the regularly scheduled meeting held on June 24 were quickly approved. The annual elections for...
At the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins, both the District Court and Circuit Court have gone nearly five months without having a jury trial. That is about to change starting the first week in August as a backlog of criminal and civil cases approach their deadline. "In Wyoming, there's a statutory right to a speedy trial within 180 days of the arraignment and we have run into the instance, because we have continued cases since March, now we're up on people who even charged...
The majority of discussion at the Riverside Town Council meeting on July 16, 2020 centered around the question of whether or not to renew the liquor license for the Mangy Moose. Many were in attendance to see the out come of the Council’s decision. There was not an open seat in the room. The Mangy Moose was purchased last year by JoElla and Desi Vacher. They had obtained one of the two liquor licenses available for the Town of Riverside. The Mangy Moose then sat for 11 months...
Three months after the resignation of Katrina Nuhn from the Town of Encampment’s Department of Public Works, the Encampment Town Council hired a new employee at their rescheduled July 14 meeting. The governing body also approved a pay increase for town employees, the disbursement of funds from the One Percent Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (6th penny tax), the transfer of excess funds and ended late fee suspensions. New Employee At the April 9 meeting of the Encampment T...
Carbon County is seeing the highest spike in cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) since the pandemic began and a little over two weeks since the July 4 weekend. According to Carbon County Public Health, 11 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the last six days. Jacquelin Wells, public information officer for the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team, confirmed to the Saratoga Sun that there had been previous cases either in the Valley or connected to the... Full story
COVID-19 took its toll on the Carbon County Council of Governments’ (CCCOG) meetings for the past four months. The last time the board met was in Rawlins on January 15. CCCOG meets every two months and the March and May meetings were not held due to restrictions set by the state. The meeting was started at 6:30 p.m. on July 15 at the Baggs Community Center. All but Hanna and Medicine Bow had municipalities represented at the meeting. After introductions of attendees, the b...
The Hanna Town Council met at 6:30 p.m. on July 15 at the Hanna Town Hall. All council members were in attendance along with mayor Lois Buchanan. The agenda and minutes from the June 9 regularly scheduled meeting and the special meeting held on June 23 were approved in a quick manner. Buchanan told the council that the High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB) at their last meeting decided to go to with last year’s budget as a blue print for this year’s budget. She asked Ann...
The Town of Saratoga is one step closer to completing their audit of Fiscal Year 2018/2019 following approval of a representation letter to Carver, Florek and James (CFJ) at the July 7 meeting. The letter was approved on a 3-1 vote, with Councilmember Jon Nelson voting against. As was reported previously (see “Bubble gum, duct tape and pickles” on page 1 of the July 1 Saratoga Sun), third-party accountant James Childress urged the Saratoga Town Council to sign the rep...
The Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) met with two attorneys from Corthell and King, the Laramie based law firm selected last month by the SCCIJPB, during their July 8 meeting. At the same meeting, the reappointments of Chairman Richard Raymer and board member Roger Cox were confirmed and the election of officers was held. Corthell and King As was reported previously (see “Water, sewer board engages with attorney” on page 12 of the June 17 Sar...
When the members of the Saratoga Town Council will convene for their next meeting, it will be in the renamed Steve Wilcoxson Town Council Chambers. On July 7, the council unanimously approved Resolution 2020-08, renaming the council chambers in honor of the late Steve Wilcoxson. Wilcoxson passed away on May 29 in a boating accident on the North Platte River. At the time of his passing, he was serving on the Saratoga Town Council. Elected in 2016 following a write-in campaign...
Carbon County Public Health will be facing budget cuts from the State level even as they prepare for a potential increase in cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Cuts to Public Health During the July 7 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC), Nurse Manager Amanda Brown informed the commissioners that a memo had been received from the State of Wyoming warning of budget cuts of up to 20 percent. “They have notified us that there will be budget r...
The Town of Saratoga and other entities in Carbon County will be receiving their first payouts from the 2019 Specific Purpose Sales and Excise Tax (6th penny tax) totaling $1.5 million. At their July 7 meeting, the Saratoga Town Council read and adopted resolution 2020-09 which authorized the Carbon County treasurer to distribute $1,524,249.26 to “sponsoring entities” while depositing $2 million in an escrow account. “We had a meeting July 1 up at Rawlins and had a number of i...
The High Country Joint Powers Board (HCJPB) met at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Elk Mountain Senior Center. Social distancing was in effect with seating six feet apart, although masks were optional. All board members were present with the exception of Medicine Bow representative Sharon Biamon and Hanna representative Bob Patton. In attendance was Hanna mayor Lois Buchanan, and on phone were DEQ personnel helping with Hanna landfill closure, Travis Evans and Craig McComie. The...
With the start of the 2020/2021 Fiscal Year, the Upper Platte River Solid Waste District (UPRSWDD) has begun to follow through with their intention of handling their own billing for the Saratoga area. At their July 1 meeting, the district board also discussed rates for the Town of Saratoga. Town Rates While, historically, the Town of Saratoga had served as a point of collections for the UPRSWDD, that relationship was effectively terminated prior to the 2019/2020 Fiscal Year...
For three days, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office conducted a second search for a hunter who went missing last October. Mark Anthony Strittmater went missing on October 19, 2019 while hunting in the Medicine Bow Forest. From June 26-28, Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Allison and search and rescue teams initially searched Forest Road 801 and Forest Road 830, the Deep Creek/Rawlins South Road and Deep Jack Road, respectively. The search area was then expanded to include Strawberry Draw and Dexter Peak. According to a press rel...
Prior to the July 4 weekend, two confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were added to Carbon County bringing the total number to 15. The two additional cases come as Wyoming continues to see increases in confirmed cases across the state. On July 2, Carbon County Public Health Nurse Manager Amanda Brown issued an announcement that local officials were notified of the 14th case by Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. According to Brown, an adult male under the age... Full story
Following a weekend altercation with Michael Pearce, Albany County Republican Chairman, at the 2020 Wyoming GOP Convention in Gillette, Carbon County Republican Chairman Joey Correnti IV has issued an official statement. “It is unfortunate that Mr. Pearce chose to engage me in a physical alteration without provocation. I was blindsided with a punch and naturally reacted by restraining him on the ground for his own safety, my safety and the safety of everyone else in the a...
While a nearly two and half hour discussion over a report from James Childress and two executive sessions took up the majority of the Saratoga Town Council meeting on June 23, the governing body also passed two budgetary items on third reading. Ordinance No. 856, an ordinance amending the 2019/2020 Budget, and Ordinance No. 857, an ordinance setting the 2020/2021 Budget, were both passed by a 3-1 vote with Councilmember Jon Nelson voting nay both times. Over the past month,...
The Medicine Bow Town Council met at 7 p.m. on June 8 at the Medicine Bow Community Center. Mayor Sharon Biamon along with council members John Cowdin, Lyle Flansburg, Lucinda Schofield, and Trevor Strauch were present. The agenda was approved. Town Marshall David Redding said he would like the minutes from the regularly scheduled May 11 meeting corrected to read “with a second officer there would only be 20 hours per week not covered,” instead of “the second officer would...
The Carbon County Visitor Council met at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Hanna Town Hall for their monthly meeting. It was the first time the board has met in person since February. The monthly meetings for March, April, and May had been done by teleconferencing. Encampment representative John Farr put forth an amendment to the agenda asking to discuss improving the sign at the Riverside Information Center. The amendment was approved. In attendance was John Farr, Danny Burau from...
"You're going to see, 2010 through 2018, that whole time we're below the bar. That ends up being $3.7 million in total losses through that period of time. So, again, the town's in a pickle." Five weeks after his last appearance before the Saratoga Town Council, James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting appeared before the governing body on June 23 to provide sobering news. Not only did the general fund see a deficit of $3.7 million over eight years, but Childress...
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) approved four firework applications during their June 16 meeting, but not without some discussion in regards to equitable enforcement of the process. Applications from Brush Creek Ranch, Old Baldy Club, Seminoe and Randy Arnold were all presented to the commissioners by Fire Warden Ron Brown. Brown informed the BOCCC that he had personally visited each site and that they had passed inspection. His only suggestion was that the...
The Hanna Landfill will close June 27 as a general dump for the towns of Elk Mountain, Hanna and Medicine Bow. To get the job done, roughly two dozen contractors went out to the landfill on Thursday to survey what needed to be accomplished for the closure. After looking over the landfill bids were submitted. On June 26, the bid will awarded. Watching the trucks come into the dump was Robert Young, the new landfill operator. He came to work at the landfill about three weeks...
For the second time this month, the Saratoga Town Council held a special meeting on June 17 as business previously thought addressed in the first special meeting required further attention. As was reported previously (see “Special meeting to special meeting” on page 7 of the June 17 Saratoga Sun), the council had approved an amended representation letter for James Childress of Childress Accounting and Consulting on a 3-1 vote. On June 15, an email sent to council members and...
"I kind of feel like (King) Solomon here with the baby. We've heard a lot of comments to and fro, we've received a lot of comments to and fro and I feel like I'm a fenced turtle on this." This statement from Commissioner John Espy appeared to reflect the thoughts of the entire Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) during their June 16 meeting in regards to the proposed Saratoga-Ryan Park Museum District. As was reported previously (see "Saratoga-Ryan Park Museum...
