Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1805 - 1829 of 5184
A Saratoga man could be facing life plus 35 years in prison for attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault and battery, strangulation of a household member and kidnapping. According to the affidavit filled with the Circuit Court of Carbon County, on the night of May 22, authorities from both the Saratoga Police Department and the Wyoming Highway Patrol arrived at Saratoga Lake following a report of a woman yelling for help and saying her husband was trying to kill her....
The Medicine Bow Town Council had their monthly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. on May 13 at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. All council members and mayor were present. There was a public hearing on the liquor licenses of the Virginian, C. Spear Bar and Restaurant and Old West Bar. No person from the public objected to the renewing licenses for all three establishments. All three licenses were renewed. An agenda addition was approved for town resident Jeannette Fisher to speak ab...
The Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) met at 6:30 p.m. on May 15 at the Platte Valley Community Center. After everyone at the meeting signed in and the voting delegates were recognized from each municipality, the minutes from the regularly scheduled meeting of Jan. 16 were approved. The treasurers reports for March and April were approved. County Tax JPB Irene Archibald gave an update on the Specific Purpose tax telling the CCCOG audience the name for the board...
On Friday afternoon, a Facebook page popped up on social media called “Platte Valley Citizens.” The page, along with a website, claimed to represent citizens of the Platte Valley who are concerned with the recent actions of Saratoga mayor John Zeiger. As was reported previously (see “Presentation consternation” on page 3 of the May 29 Saratoga Sun), Zeiger invited Memorial Hospital of Carbon County to the May 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council but failed to inform...
As the United States Forest Service (USFS) begins the maintenance of trails in the Snowy Range and Sierra Madre Mountains this summer, they are partnering with Common Outdoor Ground (COG) to begin assessing those trails. COG, a community organization based in southeast Wyoming, will hike or ride trails with the USFS to assess trail conditions. The Rapid Trails Assessment Program will be focused on Platte River and Savage Run Wilderness trails, according to the press release from Aaron Voos, public affairs specialist for the...
A week after Memorial Day, Wyoming Highway 70 over Battle Pass has been cleared by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) and opened for the season on Monday, June 3. “Crews from Saratoga and Baggs have been working to clear the road from their respective sides of the Sierra Madre and have completed that work,” said WYDOT Public Relations Specialist Matthew Murphy in an email on Monday. “They worked through this past weekend to get the road open this morning.” Murphy also advised that travelers watch for patches of...
During the May 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body of Saratoga did more than listen to a presentation from Memorial Hospital of Carbon County. The council made an appointment to the vacant seat on the Recreation Commission and attempted to make appointments to the newly created Saratoga Airport Advisory Board, but were prevented from doing so by the recently passed airport board ordinances. As was reported previously, a vacancy was created on the...
Despite a fluctuation in weather over the past few weeks, the Wyoming Department of Transportation was successful in opening the Snowy Range Scenic Byway as of noon on May 25. While crews from both Saratoga and Laramie had been able to initially break through snowpack the week before, spring storms added up to two more feet in fresh powder while strong winds created new drifts that had to be removed. While Wyoming Highway 130 is open for the season, work is continuing on...
“I just feel unprepared to have meaningful questions because we didn’t know you were going to be here tonight. At least, I didn’t.” This comment from council member Jon Nelson during the May 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council highlighted what appears to be a lack of communication within the Zeiger administration following an invitation several days earlier to representatives from Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) to speak at the most recent town council meeting...
Since receiving the audit on March 5, and accepting it on April 2, the Saratoga Town Council has expressed a desire to speak with Dennis Tschacher of ACM, the company that performed the audit for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017/2018. As was reported previously (see “On the plus side” on page 3 of the May 8 Saratoga Sun), Tschacher was expected to be in attendance during the April 29 budget workshop, but was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. Despite the audit reporting severa...
The Saratoga Planning Commission is officially down to three members following the resignation of Commissioner Chris Duke via email. Also, during the May 14 meeting, the commission held a public hearing for a variance at 306 N. River Street, heard from Seth “Turtle” Johnson about the property that is currently home to Mom’s Kitchen and discussed the still vacant zoning officer position. Duke Out It was during correspondence that acting Chairman Tom Westring announced Duke’s re...
Before the Hanna Town Council regularly scheduled at 6 p.m. on May 14 at the Hanna Town Hall, there was public hearing at 5:50 p.m. for the submission of a community development block grant. Immediately after that hearing, there was a public hearing at 6 p.m. for the renewal of liquor licenses. The scheduled meeting started at 6:05 p.m. Mayor Lois Buchanan and council members Bob Patton and Linda Schisel were in attendance. The approval of the agenda, the minutes from the...
The Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (CCIJPB) voted to send their proposed water rate structure to Saratoga Town Council for approval during their meeting on May 8. As was reported previously (see “Paying for use” on page 10 of the April 17 Saratoga Sun), the CCIJPB held a public workshop before their April meeting where they tested the rate structure. Following the workshop, Jon Nelson, town council representative on the CCIJPB, was provided the full year of bil...
Following their dissolution by the Saratoga Town Council, the members of the Saratoga Airport Board held their final meeting on May 8 to take care of unfinished business before the appointment of the Saratoga Airport Advisory Board. Financials, however, proved to be difficult to close the books on as the board did not have a proper financial report and had questions about the town audit. Suzie Cox, Saratoga Town Clerk, was at court and, so, was unable to provide a financial...
The Encampment Town Council met at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Encampment Town Hall. Mayor Greg Salisbury was present as were council members Shannon Fagan and Kimberly Loftice. The Agenda and Minutes from the regularly scheduled council meeting on April 12 were approved. The financials were gone over by treasurer/town clerk Doreen Harvey. After Harvey concluded, the council approved paying the bills. Janette Stremel, representing the Grand Encampment Cowboy Gathering, an event...
Spring may feel like it's finally arriving in the Valley, and summer is right behind it, but up on the Snowy Range Scenic Byway it seems as if winter has no intention of letting go. While the "official" date declaring the beginning of summer may vary depending on who you ask, the opening of this section of Wyoming Highway 130 is often considered the start of the season. Down here, the river is rising, birds are chirping and trees are budding. Up on Snowy Range, however, crews...
The largest turnout yet was seen at a Healthcare Sustainability Project Subcommittee (HSPS) meeting held Wednesday, May 8 at the Platte Valley Community Center to hear about a proposed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and ask questions of the presenters. After introductions of the subcommittee and speakers present, the approximately 65 people present watched a video describing the present and possible future situation of healthcare in the Platte Valley. That video is available...
The Riverside Town Council met on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Town Hall to a full house. Mayor Leroy Stephenson and council members Katie Cheesbrough and Fred Lorenz were in attendance. Josh Craig, of Mother Mountain Anglers, came before the council to ask for support for the disc golf event on June 29, the Tale of Two Cities. The town park will be used. The council approved the date and support of $100 for the event. Next, Stephenson acknowledged the 6th Penny Tax had...
“The past council can’t bind this council until 2022. I’m sorry.” This statement, from Mayor John Zeiger, came during the May 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council during a discussion of the current lease agreement between the Town of Saratoga and Platte Valley Clinic, LLC., a subsidiary company of Health Manage Services, LLC. (HMS). During their March 5 meeting, the council had made the motion to review the lease in May. Town attorney Tom Thompson was on hand to explain...
Unofficial results from the May 7 special election on the One Percent Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (6th penny tax) showed an overwhelming support for the tax at the polls when they were initially released at 8 p.m. Out of 1,634 ballots cast, 1,236 of them were in favor of the 6th penny tax and put the approval at 75 percent. Only 398, or 24 percent of ballots cast, were against the tax. When official results were released by Gwynn Bartlett, Carbon County Clerk, the...
Nearly an hour after polls closed across Carbon County, unofficial results from the Carbon County Clerk's Office reported that the One Percent Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (6th penny tax) passed by a 75 percent margin. Approximately 1,637 votes were cast with 1,236 "yes" votes and 398 county residents voting "no." Statistics available from the summary report also showed that, with 5,563 registered voters in Carbon County and only 1,637 casting a ballot, the special...
Following four lengthy budget workshops, the fifth workshop for the Town of Saratoga saw council members and department heads end up with a budget putting them $3,000 in the black. Despite being advertised for 6 p.m., the workshop on April 29 began at 5:30 p.m. and lasted for three hours. As has happened with previous budget workshops, Mayor John Zeiger quickly handed the workshop over to Councilmember Jon Nelson. Nelson informed those gathered of the work he had done since th...
Recycling was, again, the hot topic of discussion for the Upper Platte River Solid Water Disposal District (UPRSWDD) during their May 1 meeting held at the Encampment/Riverside Branch Library. With the price of baled old corrugated cardboard (OCC) showing no sign of moving up from $0 per ton, the Saratoga Transfer Station is finding itself holding onto the bales of cardboard. The UPRSWDD also set the dates and times for two education workshops in June and July, held the...
Parents with children attending schools in Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) were notified last week via letters sent home with students about an active case of chickenpox, also known as varicella, that had originated in the elementary school portion of Encampment K-12 School. “This is to let you know we have an active case of Chickenpox in the Encampment Elementary school,” the letter, dated April 29 and signed by CCSD2 nurses Karen Patton and Melissa Copeland, rea...
On Thursday, the Healthcare Sustainability Project Subcommittee (HSPS) held their first meeting at the Grand Encampment Opera House. The goal of the meeting was to include the south Valley in discussions about the future of healthcare in eastern Carbon County. HSPS member and Riverside representative Leslie McLinskey opened the meeting with introductions of subcommittee members. The members of the subcommittee are: Encampment teacher McLinskey, Saratoga businessmen Will Faust...
