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Editor: Last weekend the State of Wyoming and the City of Casper hosted a “Welcome Home Viet Nam Veterans Celebration”. I would like to do two things, the first is to thank Governor Mead, the City of Casper and everyone else that had a hand in making this happen. The second is, as a Viet Nam Veteran, I would like to share with you some very interesting things about the Viet Nam Memorial, or as it is commonly referred to “The Wall”. The Wall is a very simple concept in it’s nature. It is that way for a reason, the architects designed it that, wa...
Over the years I have kept notes about things that I find interesting or might want to write a story about. I have files with several half-finished and half-baked tales (including one about my cats that I can’t believe I haven’t finished yet). I have stacks of articles for research into even more narratives and then … and then I have the scribbles on assorted napkins, thoughts scrawled on scraps, and musings that festoon (I LOVE that word) my desktop calendar pad. It is the latter I will be co...
The nuisance ordinance is starting to take life, again. It is a touchy subject and the ordinance garners a lot of discussion in the Saratoga Sun office. There are lots of arguments for or against the ordinance and its enforcement. We are a town that depends on tourism, especially in the summer. Many of our business owners depend on tourism to supplement their businesses the rest of the year. Should concerned residents who think the town looks “trashy” be able to tell other residents what they should do to their property to make it look mor...
I like to think of myself as a forever skeptic. I avoid letting someone make a political stance for me and I really do my research before I vouch for something. Yes, an intense start to this column, but I find that some conservation practices such as composting and recycling are practices that many disregard because it is only what ‘tree huggers’ do. That negative connotation baffles me. It is astonishing to me that people do not do it. Do you really enjoy taking out the garbage every-other day?...
I must decline credit for the supposed “confusion” caused at the last Saratoga Town Council meeting by the mention of the possibility of a rate increase at the Saratoga Landfill. While I do speak often about recycling in our community at the landfill, as I did in that meeting, I did not mention the possibility of a rate increase. Furthermore my utterances should never be considered official statements of the business of that board, as was so clearly pointed out by the boards’ chairman. Instead please accept them as the rambling of an old man w...
Editor: Especially in these times, I believe in one serving their civic duties, as possible, and I have several issues which I believe could benefit society – certainly Wyoming. Recently Governor Mead has commented (cautioning?) the public concerning the depressed energy situation which may require the state to cut programs. While Governor Mead is employing the best- and typical- resolve at his disposal it well be vastly sufficient and many, many people will be hurt and enduring hard times when considerably more could have been done. The b...
Gardening and harvesting can be therapeutic and rewarding. Gardeners often enjoy the satisfaction of growing the fruits and vegetables they eat. However growing anything successfully in Wyoming can be challenging. Aside from fierce wind and the dry climate, the short growing season can be a major limiting factor. In order to plan a garden and pick appropriate plants for the space, it is important to know approximately how many consecutive frost free days to expect. The National Climatic Data Center has spring and all freeze hazard table...
I have to admit to being a little superstitious in everyday life. For example, I’m the guy who will pick up a penny if it is head side up. If not, I will turn it over so the next guy gets a heads up penny. I try to be a nice guy even when no one is watching. I avoid walking under ladders. Not because of bad luck but because it’s just a generally bad idea. Stuff falls off of them. As a general rule though, I’m not too superstitious. Unless I am watching sports. Recently, I have been watch...
With high school graduations starting up, I find myself contemplating the day I graduated high school. Although it was only four years ago, my perception of college and the importance of it has significantly changed. From my experience, even if you work your hardest during the semester and get stellar grades, it is not enough in this day-in-age. In college you have to always be thinking ahead to your college graduation and how ready you will be for the professional working world. So here I pass...
Spring inevitably brings Road Trip season. Road Trip season is that time of year when you no longer dread skating down the road through blizzard conditions and it finally becomes nice enough to hop in the car and actually enjoy driving. Sunglasses at the ready, you mount up and see what new greenery spring has to offer. When I was younger, a Road Trip was often a last minute proposition to go somewhere wild. “Let’s go to the beach” was a fairly common comment made during my time in Houston. Off we’d go at 3 in the morning just to do it. We...
Editor, I was privileged to attend Mrs. Melanie Fullman’s forest service 4:30 meeting yesterday along with Mr. Larry Olsen, Jim O’Reilly and two esteemed carbon county commissioners. Although somewhat of a curmudgeon, I was not asked to leave and for 2 hours became privy to the current thinking regarding the troublesome snowy range road closure controversy. Of great interest is the hard fact that all volunteers who wish to use chain saws must take and complete a 2 day mandatory OSHA chain saw operation course given by approved teachers whi...
When Gene Roddenberry pitched his idea for “Star Trek” to paramount pictures he called it “Wagon Train to the Stars”—a twist on a popular western television series in the 50s called “Wagon Train” which chronicled the drama of intrepid pioneers that ventured into the unknown mystery of the wild west. Roddenberry’s idea was that someday in the future there would be a next generation of explorers and frontiersmen that would set out across the vast expanse of space to homestead new worlds. In the...
Dear Editor: I want to give a very sincere “thank you” to so many people in the Saratoga-Encampment area, and even beyond, for all the kindness and friendship extended to my parents, Ardyce and Maynard Hoem, over the many years they lived and worked in the valley. They are certainly missed by the family, and I am sure there is someone out there today who would enjoy just one more visit with “Buck” about some work horses or rainbow trout, or lone last cup of coffee with Ardyce while visiting about a new quilt, or maybe about her varied experie...
This newspaper is my 501st issue of the Saratoga Sun. I know this, because we were talking about it the other day and I decided to take the time to add it up. In 19 short weeks, I will have completed 10 years at the Saratoga Sun. I say “short weeks”, because since I started working at the Saratoga Sun, boy does time fly. My weekly joke is if I put out a perfect paper, I will retire. Well, as you can clearly see, retirement will have to wait. Earlier this month as I was taking photos at prom, I r...
Dear Editor, We attended the public meeting on Tuesday regarding proposed road closures by the Forest Service. I would like to compliment the Forest Service and Melanie Fullman, District Ranger, on their professional conduct. Public employees are often accused of mismanagement of funds and also of having too many employees. This was brought up several times by some of the attendees. I am not sure where they obtain this information or was it just an assumption. I do know that budgets are being cut to many agencies both at the state and national...
Dear Editor; In response to Linda Huntley’s letter last week regarding handicap access to the Health Fair Blood Draws, we apologize for any inconvenience that our location may have caused Mrs. Huntley or anyone else. We moved the Health Fair to the Platte Valley Community Center several years ago in order to accommodate more individuals, offering more phlebotomy stations as well as data entry/cashiers, a food area, and health screening areas for blood pressure, bone density, etc. In prior years we were located at the Senior Center which was v...
In the April 21 Travel Management Land meeting, a comment was made by a member of the audience that maybe the state of Wyoming should take over the public lands like the state of Utah is trying to do with the passing of legislation. While we all agree that we need more time to come up with alternatives for the Travel Management Project – we need to take a step back and look at the forces that started this process to begin with and what the consequences could be for rash reactions. The sale of federal public lands to the state of Wyoming m...
Dear Editor, I attended the meeting hosted by the National Forest Service on 4/21/15 in Saratoga. I was given the chance to speak and gave my comments on several topics but unfortunately was given the “times-up” by the monitor so I appreciate the Saratoga Sun’s involvement to continue the dialog of the forest service planning of closing roads that are dear to many people, many of which could not attend this meeting. My son and I drove over from Laramie where we live. I grew up in Rawlins and Saratoga and still do most of my hunting, fishi...
This weekend my boyfriend, Keith, and I were planning on spending the entirety of the weekend in Denver. It was his birthday on Friday, I requested the day off, I bought tickets for his favorite band, the Drive-By Truckers for Sunday night. From the warmer weather that we have had lately, I obviously forgot that if it snows, you have to change plans. Maybe I was in denial, or delirious. Friday rolls around and along with that is the notice that I-80 is closed. If there were no money invested in...
Dear Mrs. Fullman: Thank you for the phone call yesterday morning. As a Saratoga resident and Snowy Range Forest user since 1936 when my father hauled logs to the R.R. Crow & Co. sawmill for many years, I must express my immediate hurry-up concerns to your proposal to close and reduce use on many Snowy Range Forest roads.The most immediate problem I have is that you dropped this road closure bomb on our area in the third month of the 10th and final year that Congress declared that the U.S. Forest Service administrators and employees prepare...
Editor: I have a question for the politicians, federal government, and American people. From 1776 to 1976 (200 years) we did not have much of a problem with horses in the western states. In 1971 the federal government passed a law called “The Wild Horse & Burro Act” By 1976 the BLM had approximately 17,000 horses and 8,000 burros on hand to feed and take care of with a budget of $1 million. After 44 years of poor management, the American public now has 48,000 horses and burro in small pastures and pens also as of March 2015 there are still 49,...
When we at the Saratoga Sun found out there were going to be public meetings for the West Side Snowy Range Travel Management Notice of Proposed Action (NPA), we were excited. Giving the public a chance to speak their concerns is a vital component of the NEPA process. This project stirs up a lot of emotion. We have heard many of these perspectives from the public; folks that grew up camping, hunting and fishing in these regions. Seeing roads that have been driven on for decades on the chopping block upsets a lot of people. That’s perfectly u...
It was with some concern that we, the board of directors for the Wyoming Press Association, read recently of the American Civil Liberties Union’s decision to close its Wyoming office. Over the years, the ACLU and its Wyoming staff have been crucial in the ongoing effort to maintain government transparency. Without the steadfast support of the ACLU, some of the advances made in Wyoming’s open meetings and public documents laws would never have occurred. The ACLU has been a true and loyal supporter of the cause of open government. But this is...
Much has been said about the shortened school week in this valley recently. Encampment has been historically opposed, although omnipotent school board members have again chosen to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to their Encampment constituents. The shortened week became more of a reality than ever before when my three grandsons came home after school to tell me their version of it. Their young minds could not grasp why they would be required to go to school less. They talked about how this did not make any sense to them. These young men and...
Most people who live in the Snowy Range area, as well as many visitors to it, have come in part because of the environmental amenities it offers. For many of us, access to the area is an important contributor to our quality of life, a major factor in our choice to live here, often forgoing opportunities for more lucrative lifestyles elsewhere. Any potentially significant change in our access to those resources, as may be the case with the U.S. Forest Service’s West Side Snowy Range Travel Management Notice of Proposed Action to remove as much a...