Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Preparing and mending county roads, vaccines and winter preparedness, and health of the Memorial Hospital of Carbon County were some of the hot topics at the Board of Carbon County Commissioners' (BOCCC) meeting on October 1 at the Courthouse Annex in Rawlins. Improve For Next Year Road and Bridge Coordinator Kandis Fritz presented plans to improve roads in Carbon County by seeking funding for Magnesium Chloride on multiple county roads. In 2001, a study was conducted with Engineering Associates giving an estimated $2...
Zoning was the main topic of discussion during the October 1 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council as the governing body denied a previously tabled zone change and discussed the zoning and restrictive covenants of the former skilled nursing facility. Rousu Zone Change For nearly two months, David Rousu has been undergoing the process of a zone change for property he purchased at 804 W Bridge Avenue. The application was approved on a split vote at the August 13 meeting of the...
CHEYENNE — A Wyoming Board of Pharmacy meeting in September adjourned prematurely when the governing body could not continue as more than 100 members of the public packed the meeting room and shared passionate speeches and testimonials in support of City Drug Pharmacy and Mercantile in downtown Cheyenne. The board was holding discussions on whether the business would be allowed to stay open, but board President Brenda Upton made it clear at the start of the meeting that no public comment would be taken. Many of the a...
SHERIDAN — Polarization in American politics is nothing new, but national polarization comes in waves, Andrew Garner, a professor of political science at the University of Wyoming, said earlier this week. The Center for a Vital Community and the University of Wyoming partnered to offer a seminar called “Crisis of Democracy Around the World?: From Polarization to Populism and Possible Solutions” on Tuesday. Tom Dougherty, a visiting professor of political science at UW and former U.S. ambassador to Burkina Faso, said Ameri...
*Editor’s Note: This is the final story in a series about the LaVA project in the Medicine Bow National Forest* Matt Schweich, Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) Implementation Coordinator for the United States Forest Service (USFS), invited the public to follow him on a field trip September 25 to monitor the status of fire mitigation areas adjacent to Joe’s Park in the Sierra Madre Mountains. Employees of the USFS and other entities met at the USFS District Office in Sar...
Following its work session before their regular meeting on September 16, the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees has formed a working group to work on a concealed-carry policy for district employees. This process, following state statute passed in 2017, is happening at the same time the Joint Judiciary Committee is proposing yet another bill to repeal gun-free zones in Wyoming. The most recent attempt, House Bill 125, passed both chambers of the Legislature...
JACKSON — With the Town of Alpine signaling that it will consider a lease on city-owned property for the construction of a charter school, two powerful allies, Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, and Alpine Airpark resident and developer Steven Funk, have championed the Utah-based American Preparatory Academy for consideration of the only available western Wyoming charter school slot. While there has been broad, longstanding support in Alpine for a new public school, even a charter, not all residents support the application from A...
CHEYENNE — As the University of Wyoming considers allowing conceal carry on campus, students, faculty and other community stakeholders took the opportunity to express their concerns during Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting. Current campus regulations prevent dangerous weapons from being carried in university facilities. According to the university, exemptions can be granted on a case-by-case basis by the UW Police Department. The university sought input on potential changes to campus firearm policies following Gov. Mar...
A community meeting on property valuation, taxes, and relief will be presented by Carbon County Treasurer Lindsey West and Carbon County Assessor Renee Snider in various locations from October 7 through October 23. The discussions will involve property assessment, Wyoming property tax structure and calculations, and existing and new relief programs available to qualifying Wyoming residents. Time will be set aside to answer questions from attendees, and applications for 2024 HB0003 will be available. 2024 HB0003 is legislation...
Dinayla Augustine performs a Young Ladies Fancy Dance at Saratoga Head Start while her shadow looks as if a bird is watching over her. The Wyoming Indian High School Heritage Club Youth Dancers stopped and performed on September 25. See more photos in next week’s Saratoga Sun....
The Carbon County Library System is now down to seven branches following the closure of the Sinclair Branch Library on Monday. The announcement came from Maria Wenzel, executive director of the Carbon County Library System, in a press release late Thursday morning. According to the press release, the majority of the funding for the library system comes from the Carbon County Government at approximately 80%. This funding primarily goes to staffing and operations of all eight branches of the library system. Following a county...
*Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of stories about the Sierra Madre Fire Mitigation meeting held September 9.* Chris Otto, Fire Management Specialist with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), was at the Sierra Madre Fire Mitigation meeting on September 9 to explain the BLM’s role in fire mitigation. Otto explained there is not a lot of timber relative to the United States Forest Service (USFS) lands on BLM land, but they have had two commercial timber sales in the...
CHEYENNE — Teachers at Ten Sleep School are allowed to conceal carry firearms in the classroom, but some school officials and students are worried about letting just anyone walk into the building with a gun, according to school representatives. Washakie County School District 2 has one K-12 school and is a concealed carry district, said Superintendent Annie Griffin. It takes law enforcement 18 minutes to reach the school, Griffin told lawmakers Thursday afternoon, which is why the district allowed its staff to carry c...
After six months of planning, the Sewer Lagoon Project - Phase 2 for the town of Encampment is getting closer to a design. Jon Nelson, with North Fork Engineering, proposed a design review workshop for the Phase - 2 project to the Encampment Town Council September 12, as the deadline to submit the design to the Department of Environmental Quality is November 22 The town council voted to hold an hour-and-one-half hour workshop on Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m. The design, while it has...
The Wyoming Department of Health is inviting teachers, law enforcement representatives, clinicians, loss survivors, community members and other stakeholders to attend the 2024 Wyoming Suicide Prevention Symposium in Casper. The free two-day event begins at 9:30 a.m. on October 3 at the Best Western Downtown in Casper. “While we have started to see potential signs of fewer deaths in recent years, Wyoming continues to have one of the nation’s highest suicide rates,” said Rachel Nuss, Community Prevention Unit Manager with...
Discover Carbon County recently announced it has been awarded a Wyoming Office of Tourism Destination Development Grant which will be effective for the 2024-2026 Biennium. According to the press release, the Destination Development Grant Program is a biennium grant program that was created in early 2023 by the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s 27 local Lodging Tax Boards. “This grant will enable Discover Carbon County to come along side and partner with communities, organizations and agencies on new or continuing projects,” said...
Photo by Joshua Wood All volleyball fans were encouraged to wear teal at Tuesday night's match in Saratoga to honor Laurie Johnston, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer last month. Laurie was involved in the community for more than 40 years, coaching volleyball and track, refereeing volleyball games, working as an aide at the Saratoga Schools and served on the Carbon County School District No. 2. Announcer Larry Cloyd let the audience in a moment of silence before the...
*Editor’s Note: This is the second story in a series about fire mitigation in the Sierra Madre Mountains.* Since 2018, the United States Forest Service (USFS) has been working on the Medicine Bow Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA), which includes most of the Snowy Range and the Sierra Madre Range. The effort is to mitigate fires burning at a high heat intensity when and if a forest fire begins in the Medicine Bow National Forest (MBNF). This is a formidable task, since L...
This week, Governor Mark Gordon ordered the Wyoming State Flag to be brown at half staff at the Capitol in Cheyenne and in Carbon, Albany and Sweetwater counties. The order will be in effect from sunrise to sunset on September 28 in honor of Loren “Teense” Willford. Willford, a fourth-generation Wyoming native, served in the Wyoming Legislature from 1987-1988 representing Carbon County and again from 1993-2002 representing House District 47. He passed away on September 3 following an extended battle with cancer. He was 85...
Town & Country Realty recently announced Broker and owner Amanda Shahadey had been elected the National Association of Realtors’ Director as Wyoming’s Small Board Representative. A National Association of Realtors’ Director has duties and responsibilities for governing the association. The association counts on directors to participate daily as issues in deliberation may impact the members’ business lives. Amanda’s responsible role beginning in January, 2025 will play in the growth and development of the associati...
David Rousu, who purchased a lot at 804 W Bridge Avenue earlier this year, will have to wait to find out whether or not he can build a house on the property. Despite being surrounded by residential homes, the lot is located in retail business as are the other lots surrounding it. While the Saratoga Planning Commission recommended approval of a zone change for Rousu’s lot—with Mayor Chuck Davis providing the tie-breaking vote—the Saratoga Town Council voted to table the zone change at their September 17 meeting. Davis was n...
Investing local funds to achieve higher returns on investments re emerged on the agenda at the September 3 Saratoga Town Council meeting. Another local government investment pool representative visited the council to inform them about governmental investment opportunities and options. As was previously reported, on August 6 Troy Hunsacker from Wyoming CLASS presented information from their investment pool. Joan Evans of Wyoming Government Investment Fund (WGIF) said “Saratoga already has some funds in WGIF in the liquid a...
CHEYENNE — Detainment time for adjudicated undocumented inmates was increased from two hours to 48 hours by Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak. The change will bring detainment times in line with a nationally accepted standard and has been a long-term goal of Kozak’s since he was elected sheriff. Federal law states that state and local law enforcement authorities may only hold persons on immigration detainers for 48 hours after the completion of their jail time. “I know that some criminal aliens were released into our commu...
LARAMIE — More than two-thirds of University of Wyoming students recently surveyed by the Wyoming Business Council said that a future in Wyoming is a “maybe” or a “no.” Additionally, more than 60% of people who are born in Wyoming leave by the time they’re in their 30s. Most do not return. Rather than lament statistics, the Wyoming Business Council came together with University of Wyoming students Tuesday night for a comprehensive event and panel discussion to encourage discussion between leaders and students in the hope of b...
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories of fire mitigation in the Medicine Bow National Forest. More than 30 people attended the Sierra Madre Fire Preparedness meeting September 9 at the Encampment Opera House. Lenny Layman, Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator, organized the meeting with several county and local entities as a panel to explain their coordination when and if there is a fire. Layman said he decided to organize the panel because r...