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UPDATE: The tagged bear seen recently around Saratoga was tranquilized at a residence at the corner of 2nd Street and Saratoga Avenue Monday night and relocated. Overturned trash cans may be a common sight for the near future in Saratoga. In recent days, at least one black bear has been seen behind the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort. Another bear, or possibly the same bear, has also been spotted in the area of Hugus Avenue and 2nd street. The bear spotted behind the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort is...
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek will be moving on to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) for review and potential approval following a special meeting of the Carbon Country Planning Commission on July 26. Brush Creek Ranch began the process for a zone change from Residential to PUD in order to develop a ski resort on Green Mountain. The commission was presented with an amended version of the PUD guide. Notable changes include the helipad usage...
Former U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi died late Monday after being seriously injured in a bicycle accident in Gillette on Friday. A post on Enzi's Facebook page said the former Wyoming legislator died Monday at the UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado, where he was flown for treatment after the accident. "Former Wyoming U.S. Senator Mike Enzi passed away peacefully (Monday) surrounded by his family," the post said. "His family expressed their deep appreciation for all of the prayers...
Saratoga may not be getting a new recreational vehicle (RV) park after all. Jimmy and Jamie Campbell, owners of JaJaCa Properties, have been attempting to build an RV park along Wyoming Highway 130 but have faced several roadblocks along the way. At the June Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, they were attempting to make RV parks a permitted use under Highway Business (see “Deal or no deal” on page 1 of the June 16 Saratoga Sun). After the July meeting, it seems JaJaCa Properties has thr...
Carbon County will have a new health officer as of August 1 following a split vote by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) on July 20. Dr. Marvin Wayne Couch II, who served as the county health officer for two years, will be replaced by Dr. Duane Abels. The decision to enter into a contract with Abels comes after two meetings—one on June 1 and one on July 6—in which the county commissioners discussed the county health officer position. It also comes as Wyoming begins to see a ris...
Carbon County Fire Chief John Rutherford gave a presentation to the Carbon County Council of Governments (CCCOG) on July 21 at the Valley Community Center in Baggs on the need for a fire district in Carbon County. There were representatives from all municipalities with the exception of Encampment and Riverside. “Thank you for letting me address you about this topic for Carbon County,” Rutherford said. “This organization allows the municipalities to work together, yet have differences of opini...
“We’re going to clean up this ordinance, we’re going to make everything abundantly clear as to what the rules are and you guys better follow them from now on. Got it? Agreed?” Apparent frustration from the Saratoga Town Council in regards to music events at The Yard was encapsulated by Councilmember Jon Nelson in a stern comment to Cindy Bloomquist and Chris Shannon, owners of the music venue. The comment came during discussion over a late-submitted special events application for The WHAT Thing,...
Less than a year after an ordinance to amend Saratoga Municipal Code regulating specially permitted events failed on first reading it appears changes may be coming yet again. At the July 20 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Jon Nelson discussed potential minor changes to Chapter 5.30. The apparent catalyst for those changes is The Yard, a music venue owned by Saratoga residents Cindy Bloomquist and Chris Shannon. Shannon, in recent meetings of the Saratoga Planning Commission,...
While discussion of the Green Mountain zone change dominated the conversation at the July 8 Encampment Town Council meeting, it didn’t completely hog the spotlight. During the meeting, Saratoga resident Lela Konecny spoke to the council regarding a lease on the lumber mill at Grand Encampment Business Park. Konecny gave a presentation as a representative of Meriwether Timber. The lease on the mill is currently owned by TNT Forest Products. TNT currently has no business license, having been a...
The Wyoming Department of Transportation urges caution to travelers on highways near wildfire burn scars this weekend out of concern for flash flooding and the potential for debris in the roadway. Heavy rains the night of July 29 caused mud, sand and debris from the Mullen Fire burn scar to fill the storm water ditch in a section of Wyoming Highway 230 near Woods Landing. Debris and mud then overflowed onto the travel lanes, causing the highway to close briefly while WYDOT maintenance crews cleared it with snow plows. The National Weather...
The July 12 public hearing for the Green Mountain ski area zone change was packed full of citizens voicing their concerns for the development. Representatives from Brush Creek Ranch presented their case to the Carbon County Planning Commission for a zone amendment from Residential to Planned Unit Development (PUD). While the majority of public comments were about water concerns, there also appeared to be an underlying culture war sentiment in regards to the application. The hearing began with...
The Medicine Bow Town Council met at on July 12 at the Community Hall with all council members and mayor in attendance. The council quickly approved routine matters before listening to town clerk/treasurer Karen Heath go over the bills. The total expenditures came to $79,035.27. The Council ratified the financials. Mayor Sharon Biamon opened up the meeting to a public hearing on the rodeo grounds. Council member Sharon Kahl asked about the idea of trading the land which a resident had shown inte...
The Hanna Town Council met on July 13 at the Hanna Town Hall. Mayor Lois Buchanan, Council members Jayson Nordquist, Sammy Sikes, and William Dys were in attendance. Council member Tracy Fowler was absent. The minutes of June 8 and special meetings on June 14 and June 21 were approved along with the agenda. Buchanan said board and department reports would be gone over if there were any questions from the council members. Sikes asked if there was a representative from SCWEMS (South Central...
Senate File 60 and the collection of ad valorem taxes were, again, heavily discussed by the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) during their July 6 meeting. A continuation of concerns and frustrations expressed by Carbon County Treasurer Patty Bentsen in May and June, the discussion was primarily led by Jeremiah Reinman, executive director of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA). The root of the concerns for the county commissioners and treasurer appears to be the...
Maintenance crews with the Wyoming Department of Transportation will begin seasonal paving operations in Carbon County on Monday, weather permitting. Work will begin on U.S. Highway 30/287 near Medicine Bow, between mile markers 263.8-264.2. This operation is expected to take about two days. Once that section is complete, crews will focus on portions of Interstate 80, including the eastbound lanes near Elk Mountain from mile markers 261.2-261.5 and westbound at mile markers 245 and 247.8. Other routes scheduled for paving include: · Small...
Despite having three candidates, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) appears to be in a holding pattern in regards to the county health officer following their July 6 meeting. For nearly two years, Dr. Wayne Couch has served as the Carbon County Health Officer. In August 2019, Couch was appointed by the BOCCC and was, according to Nurse Manager Amanda Brown, was the only applicant interested in the position. When the contract came up for renewal in June 2020—just two months into t...
Little more than a year after being told the Town of Saratoga was “in a pickle”, the Saratoga Town Council made three motions at their July 6 meeting to correct years of miscoded expenditures. The most recent action by the governing body—at the recommendation of third-party accountant Stuart Webster—appears to conclude more than two years of questions surrounding the Town of Saratoga’s finances originally asked by Councilmember Jon Nelson. In June 2020, those questions led to the announcem...
WHATFest, an annual Wyoming music festival, will be returning to the Platte Valley, albeit in a limited form. During the July 6 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, The Yard co-owner Chris Shannon appeared before the governing body to inform them of a music event which would take place at his venue on July 24. “I thought, since there was a meeting I should just run down here and let you guys know because the last time we were together, Councilman (Ron) Hutchins thought despite the need for a p...
Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles on the Green Mountain ski area. On July 12, representatives from Brush Creek Ranch will appear before the Carbon County Planning Commission in regards to a zone amendment for the Green Mountain ski area from Residential to Planned United Development (PUD). The public hearing comes almost 20 years to the day after the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) approved a previous zone amendment for all of Section 36 of Township 14 N...
Over a decade of history converged at the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. Chris Shannon, co-owner of The Yard music venue, attended the meeting to voice his concerns about the definition of resort and the current zoning of The Yard. These issues have been expressed before (see “And the party never ends” on page 1 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun and “Resort definition questioned again” on page 3 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun). Shannon stated resort zoning comes with a list of accesso...
A World War I monument restored over the winter was not presented to the public on July 4 as the Hanna Basin Historical Society (HBHS) board had hoped. About two weeks ago, the HBHS board decided, with all the construction around the monument, it was not a good time to try and have a re-dedication ceremony. The monument sits on a site which has been temporarily taken over by C. J. Mahan Construction Company (Mahan) for cement production. The company is contracted by AML (Abandoned Mine Lands)...
The history of a local music venue known as The Yard is long and fraught, and may be gaining a new chapter this summer. The Yard, owned by Chris Shannon and Cindy Bloomquist, is located across from the Angus England American Legion Post 54 on Southeast River Street in Saratoga. One of the first major incidents with music in the Valley occurred at the July 6, 2010 Saratoga Town Council meeting. In the meeting, members of the town came before the council to ask why a musical festival at Veterans...
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series on the Green Mountain ski area. When Brush Creek Ranch purchased the Green Mountain Ski Area in June 2019, many residents in Encampment and Riverside assumed, or perhaps feared, the luxury resort would develop the 620-acre property. A public notice in the June 16 Saratoga Sun seemed to confirm those assumptions with the announcement of a public hearing on July 12 for a zone change from residential to a planned unit development (PUD). Along with the z...
The Saratoga Hot Springs Resort (previously known as the Saratoga Resort and Spa) has had a convoluted history with zoning. Additionally, the history of retail business zoning seemingly goes hand in hand with the history of the resort. When the retail business zone was first established, there was no language for many types of businesses under retail business. This included resorts, as the business was established before zoning districts were introduced in the 1980s. For much of its lifespan,...
Following discussion between Octagon Construction and the Saratoga Town Council during their June 15 meeting, the question remained as to who should pay water and sewer connection fees; the developer of a subdivision or the individual lot owner. A two-and-a-half hour workshop between the governing body and the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) on June 23 and a special council meeting on June 25 appeared to have answered that question … for now. As was reported p...