Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1132 - 1156 of 1488
I haven’t had reliable internet (or a TV for that matter) since moving here. I can get anything I need done at my office, so I haven’t been able to justify the expense. I wasn’t ever a full-blown screen addict, but I’ve always been like most 22 year olds in that I enjoy my streaming videos. Without constant internet, I’ve been powering through the books I never got to read when I was busy watching shows and movies. Most of them are essays, which are my favorite, but I also ha...
For those of you planning to die after July, 1, be sure to factor in an additional $50.00 for an obituary in the Sun. In their infinite wisdom, the paper has decided that an obituary is no longer just a public service. It is a source of money as well. Soon we will probably have to pay for expressing our worldly opinion as well. The Daily Times has a more conservative approach. 450 words or less is still free and a valuable public service as well. So - if you want your creditors to know you’ve “left the country,” call the T...
There are just loads of people out there that leave me with absolutely no idea as to why they are famous. Your mind most likely went to the same place mine went. When you ask a question like; “Why the hell is that person famous?”, almost everybody comes up with the same answer. Okay, I asked that question around the office and nobody came up with an answer at all. So that last statement was just plain wrong. See, I don’t know everything and my perceptions are just as flawe...
Lately I have been cursing myself for my incessant need to over-plan everything. I am not one of those ‘go with the flow’ kinds of people. Planning is my security blanket, and it leads me to make some difficult decisions. So last summer, I was in a situation where one of my most intricately detailed plans fell quicker then I had time to process. I was unbelievably close to a job as an environmental planner. From the time-intensive work I had put into the job hunt, I was con...
I started reading Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It by Geoff Dyer right after arriving in Saratoga on June 12. He writes of a bar in Rome and says that while many restaurants and resorts brag about their exclusive status, the best places in the world are far from exclusive. It's so appealing to him because of the people in it, filled with everyone from drug addicts to models. His writing always covers many different places, focuses on himself and usually one other...
I have been home from college for a couple of months now. Everywhere I go it seems that I run into somebody who is interested in knowing what my first year away from home was like (which I love). It is so nice being from a small community where people are friendly. I figured there is no better place to explain than here. Things went fairly smooth my first year at Central Wyoming College. The biggest challenge for me was being away from home. I missed seeing my dad every night...
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 d...
With all the recent rain, the diversity and number of fungi – what most people call mushrooms – in the woods right now is outstanding. Even though most should NOT be eaten by humans, the seemingly endless variety of colors and shapes make this an ideal time for hunting them with your camera. Role of the Mighty Mushroom Fungi are some of the most important organisms for life on this planet, both in terms of their ecological and economic roles. By breaking down dead organic material, fungi constantly cycle and recycle the lim...
For the last several years, I have been limping around on a bad knee. I admit, I abuse it. I spend a lot of time on the floor taking photos and my right knee gets the brunt of it. For years I put up with the pain. I decided to go to the doctor three years ago and see what was going on. Old age – well, not that old, but in my family, the cartilage doesn’t seem to last too long. I decided to try all the steps before going for the surgery. I started with physical therapy. For...
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 l...
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...
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 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...
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 garba...
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 rambl...
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 hav...
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...
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...
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 app...
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 homest...
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 a...
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 s...
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 S...
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...
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...