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Medicine Bow National Forest fire personnel are hoping to conduct prescribed burns in the northwest portion of the Sierra Madre Range in the coming weeks. The targeted burns will improve vegetation conditions and wildlife habitat. The burns will also reduce fire danger by mitigating fuel loading to reduce future fire hazard. The primary burn units this will include approximately 430 acres near Forest Roads 435 and 456, between Jack Creek Campground and the National Forest boundary. The burning operations are part of the Divide Peak Prescribed...
The Carbon County Economic Development Corporation (CCEDC) met on September 27 at Michael’s Big City Steakhouse in Rawlins. The board approved the agenda and regularly scheduled meeting July 12. The financials were approved next. Yvonne Johnson, Director of CCEDC gave her report. She said the office operations changed on August 2. Johnson said when they switched from CenturyLink to Spectrum, the CCEDC website was lost because CenturyLink owned the domain and email. A proposal from Cindy Loose o...
When it comes to traveling in Carbon County, there are many unsung heroes who make it possible. Chief amongst those are the employees of the Carbon County Road and Bridge Department. On September 7, Encampment resident Gary Jacobsen appeared before the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) to change that. In what Jacobsen would later call a “good precedent”, he proposed the county commissioners consider naming the road and bridge building in Encampment to honor long time employee Dav...
As growth continues to come to Saratoga, the topic of affordable housing appears to be becoming more and more relevant. In May 2021, Saratoga resident Steve Niccolls appeared before the Saratoga Planning Commission and requested the board examine what options were available. For several months, that discussion didn’t appear to take place until the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council when the subject was raised by Councilmember Ron Hutchins. Now the topic has been brought up, it m...
While the Platte River may be low this time of year, a minor flood occurred in front of the Saratoga Town Hall during the October 5 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. As the governing body was going about their twice-monthly meeting, Sergeant Tyler Christen requested a short recess for council members to use their vehicles. Upon exiting the front of the town hall, water could be seen bubbling up from under Spring Street and running towards 1st Street. The large break caused a sudden loss in... Full story
Is there a need for affordable housing in Saratoga? This is the question at least one member of the Saratoga Town Council is hoping to answer. As housing itself continues to be scarce in Saratoga—as of September 27 only 10 houses were listed on the Wyoming multisting website with only two of those below $200,000—the subject of affordable housing has also come up. Councilmember Ron Hutchins brought up the subject of affordable housing under the council comments portion of the meeting. “Re...
On any given day, entering 1st Street/Wyoming Highway 130 in Saratoga from Bridge Avenue typically requires saying a prayer, holding your breath and stepping on the gas pedal. It can be just as dangerous on foot when crossing that same intersection, often with the feeling of recreating the classic arcade game “Frogger”. While not as busy as Interstate 80, which sits 20 miles north of Saratoga, 1st Street is by no means a quiet street. Though there aren’t any plans in the near future of insta...
Members of the Sinclair Town Council found themselves in a bind in April. Mayor Asa Meeks had not shown up for several regularly scheduled council meetings. Further, there was no contact with town hall to explain why. Additionally, one of the council members, Leo Black, was missing the same meetings and there had also been no contact to explain the reason. "They just stopped showing up at the meetings," Current Sinclair mayor Leif Johansson said. "We never received anything from either on why...
With the highwater season all but a distant memory, flooding concerns may be the last thing on most people's minds. At the September 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, however, a request to do river work was heard by the governing body. Ralph and Ann Hicks, who own a home behind the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, wrote a letter to the council which was read by Councilmember Ron Hutchins. "We are lifelong summer residents of Saratoga and each year we are river watchers. This year has...
On September 14, the decades-old saga of Green Mountain took a significant step forward as the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) unanimously approved the Planned Use Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek Ranch. The approval of the PUD followed nearly two hours of public comment in the Great Hall of the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga. Along with testimony from representatives for Brush Creek Ranch, Valley residents spoke both in favor and against the PUD prese...
Meeting on September 15 at Elk Mountain Town Hall, the Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) covered two major topics; the proposed fire district and recently released data from the United States Census Bureau. Representatives from Rawlins, Sinclair, Hanna, Elk Mountain, Saratoga and Carbon County were present. Fire District Travis Moore, Carbon County Commissioner and CCCOG chairman, began the meeting by informing the group Riverside and Dixon had sent him correspondence indicating they...
The Hanna Town Council met on September 14 at the Hanna Town Hall. Mayor Lois Buchanan and council members Sammy Sikes and Bill Dys were present. Council members Tracy Fowler and Jayson Nordquist were absent. There were few in the audience and the council moved quickly through the department and board reports. Buchanan said the High Country Joint Powers Board would be meeting once every six months, a change from meeting every three months. She said Viper Construction would be working on Sunday t...
It was a warm, nearly cloudless, fall day in Encampment as columns of white and black smoke rose from the firepit at Grand View Park on September 12. The source of the smoke came not just from wood, but from American and Wyoming flags being placed on the open flame. Such a sight was surely shocking to some, especially two young boys who witnessed the act and raced home to tell a parent. The parent, equally concerned, called dispatch at the Saratoga Police Department. It was, if anything, an oppo...
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag in regards to the presence of certtain drugs within Saratoga, it appears some community members are concerned about the Saratoga Police Department “going overboard”. During the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Ron Hutchins told Chief Ken Lehr he had been approached by “a few people” about the increased citations and names in the police report published each week by the Saratoga Sun. “I think the fact that we started pub...
Financials, as they have been for the past 36 months, were discussed by the Saratoga Town Council during their September 7 meeting. Along with making a substantial transfer from four enterprise funds into reserve accounts, the governing body also discussed the ongoing issue of delinquent accounts. The biggest question, which was eventually answered by the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) the following night, was whether the accounts of deceased residents should...
The Town of Saratoga has filled two vacant positions and hired a fourth police officer following the September 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council. The position of treasurer, which has been open since the departure of Sammy Flohr in May, was filled with new treasurer Georgia Gayle sworn in by Mayor Creed James on Tuesday evening. The governing body also announced the replacement for Lisa Burton, former recreation director, who resigned August 13. New treasurer While there was no public in...
Encampment Town Council was in session September 9 and first on the agenda was Brush Creek Ranch and their planned unit development (PUD) on Green Mountain. The community and council hope to make it clear to involved protection agencies that it is a cumulative project and not an individual unit. The PUD is in the Encampment watershed protected area, which the town defends. Citing multiple red flags already in the process by the developer, as well as lack of inspections at the site, the Town of...
"I don't really like the term affordable housing," Jezria Latham, broker and owner of Provident Realty said. "I have been trying to figure out another term because, clearly, what is affordable to some people is not affordable to others." Latham prefers to think of affordable housing as income-based housing and there are different tiers and brackets. "What I am seeing for those looking to come into the Valley-such as police officers, teachers and entry level health care personnel that are just...
Riverside Town Council’s September 9 meeting began with discussions about the fire district proposed at recent meetings of the Carbon County Council of Governments. Riverside focused on deciding between two options on how the fire protection district would be established; a resolution by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners or a petition of 25 percent of 25 percent of property owners. The council’s decision came down to how the community would represent itself. Having a population of sea...
by Greg Johnson Laramie Boomerang Via Wyoming News Exchange An unruly and disruptive group of local residents nearly derailed Wednesday’s Albany County School District Board of Education meeting minutes into it. The group, many not wearing face masks, were there to speak about the board’s consideration of extending a mask mandate for district students and staff. The current mandate is set to expire Friday. But before the board could get to the public comment part of its agenda, the group had pushed its way into the room and confronted the boa...
The Platte Valley VFW 6125 and Angus England American Legion Post 54 will be hosting a retirement flag ceremony on September 12 at 1 p.m. at Grandview Park in Encampment. Retiring flags which are no longer usable will be accepted at Town and Country Realty in Saratoga or at Good Things in Encampment. Flags should never be thrown away, Commander Jason Campbell, said. They should be respectfully retired by burning them, then burying the ashes and grommets. According to the US Flag Code, the preferred method for retiring a damaged American flag...
The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) met on August 18 at the Cowboy Inn in Baggs. Newly elected Chairperson Danny Burau called the meeting to order. The agenda was quickly approved and the meeting went immediately into the financials. The board approved the distribution of 11 checks to municipalities and the county treasurer for a total of $17,222.37. The total collected from Lodging Tax revenue for the month of August was $172,223.68. This time frame is actually monies collected from...
On the evening of August 26, the hunt for a suspect involved in a drive-by shooting in Denver came to a dramatic end on Highway 789 between Baggs and Rawlins. By the time law enforcement apprehended 30 year old Jose Valdez of Craig, Colorado, he had been pursued across state lines and through five Wyoming communities. Encampment K-12 School also initiated a two-hour delay on Thursday morning to allow law enforcement to search the property. With the pursuit of Valdez beginning in Colorado, both...
A common saying in Wyoming is the population of pronghorn in the state outnumber that of people. While that's not entirely accurate-there are 400,000 pronghorn in Wyoming compared to 550,000 residents-the Cowboy State is home to more speedgoats than any other western state. Due to the large number of pronghorn in the state, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has not conducted any in depth studies on the animal until now. At the August 17 meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners...
When the third Hanna resident was taken away by ambulance for COVID complications on Thursday, Mayor Lois Buchanan, came to the conclusion action was warranted. Buchanan, herself in quarantine after testing positive, was concerned COVID was starting to spread in her town. The town clerk had tested positive after being exposed to someone who came in the office. Thursday's ambulance call was the third in the week with patients being taken to the hospital with COVID problems. "On the better side...