Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Editor, Last week’s letter about the Good Samaritan helping the exhausted bicyclist was wonderful and I knew immediately who this was. It is her nature, she helps people and animals all the time and has for years. She is the ultimate volunteer and is a certified EMT and serves on the ambulance crew. This Valley is built on volunteers that help each other and community projects like 4H, fire departments , search and rescue, Jamboree, and many more activities and events. Virginia Parker is a dedicated community person and h...
Tonight, the first of three candidate forums begin. All will be at the Platte Valley Community Center. The county candidate forum is at 6 p.m. tonight. On July 29 at 6 p.m., the Saratoga mayoral candidates will present their platforms. The Saratoga council candidates have their say on July 30 at 6 p.m. The Valley Service Organization hosts these forums during election years and they are invaluable for voters. This is an opportunity for you to weigh the candidate’s positions, past performances and future promises against newco...
Dear Editor, We would like to take this means to thank all of the people involved in the river rescue on June 26th. We didn’t get the names of everyone, but we are so grateful for all of the help and support and comfort we were offered. Many different organizations were involved and we hope this thank you reaches everyone. We feel very blessed and grateful. Thank you one and all. Sherri Kaisler, Jo Anderson, Rick Anderson, Laramie, WY...
When I was 15 years old, my sister pressured me to take the driver’s permit examination with her. My sister, who is one year younger than me, couldn’t wait to drive. I had friends who drove or I took the bus, so I really didn’t care. Living in a city without a driver’s license is a lot easier than in rural Wyoming. My dad, who did a lot of mechanical work in his spare time, thought it would be a good idea to teach my sister and I how to change the oil and rotate tires before...
Dear Mayor and Council Members: 70 years ago I watched the first Power Plant construction occur across from my home on West Bridge Street. The Town Fathers invited and welcomed the non-profit Co-Operative Company composed of the citizens of Saratoga to invest and construct this power plant so we would have dependable electric lights and power and retire the candles and coal-oil Kerosene lanterns. By intent & implication, if not actually documented in old Town government minutes, this locally owned Co-Operative was invited to...
Spring cleaning has come late for me this year. I normally try to do this during the appointed time of year, but if you recall spring this year was a rainy and extremely windy one. I know that some folks have managed to be on top of the spring cleaning thing because of the abundance of garage sales we have already had. Garage and yard sales, I would think, are a pretty good indicator of the whole spring cleanup in general. When I get around to the pre-summer flushout I like...
Editor: A few days ago I was riding into your area. The day was nice when we left Walden, but as we bicycled along the weather began to fade into gloom. My friend was about a mile ahead of me. A stronger cyclist, she usually gets to our destination 30 minutes before I do. As the wind howled, the dust flew and then the rain started, I realized I wasn’t going to bicycle any further. By then, I was still at least 3 miles from town. I was pushing my bike along the highway, looking for a flat spot to get off on. I was also b...
Editor: It was a bright, warm, late June morning. Platte Valley Trout Unlimited and Project Healing Waters were collectively hosting their annual Wounded Warrior Event float trip. The two groups embarked on different sections of the river that Thursday. One group of veterans and their guides launched at Bennett Peak while a second group consisting of veterans from the Cheyenne VA Hospital departed from Treasure Island. The beauty of the river, the challenge and fun trying to land a big trout, and observing the many creatures...
When I was about 10 years old, my family piled into our 1997 Ford F-250 with a 1,000-pound camper on the back of it and took off to Yellowstone. To this day, I remember driving through the national park and thinking “wow, I could totally live in Wyoming.” About eight years later, I remembered that trip when I chose to go to University of Wyoming. I thought it would be great to go to school in the shadow of the great Teton Mountains. But when my plane landed in Laramie for the...
Editor, I write in opposition to the Town Council passing an ordinance which would add a 4% franchise fee to the franchise agreement in negotiation now with the Carbon Power and Light (CP&L) which would begin July 1, 2014. This would affect the CP&L bills of the 1032 households and 262 commercial accounts within the Town of Saratoga. This is an anti-business maneuver by this administration that will last for the next 10 years. In the last 10 years our water bills have gone up greatly, despite the “money-saving” wells tha...
Editor It is time to dump our Mayor and his administration and get new blood to run our town that will hopefully demonstrate some administrative competence that has been totally lacking. Here are a few of the in-competences demonstrated by the current administration: 1) The new $4M budget they approved that is an 84% increase. That is ridiculous! 2) The disastrous water meter/sewer line replacement project. I am an engineer and I watched the implementation of this project with total dismay. I did not see a city official...
Editor: Is Saratoga friendly to bicycle tourists who come peddling through town almost every day in the summertime? I’m inclined to think not after observing a situation that occurred this last Friday the 27th. I watched two young men as they approached town hall after 5 p.m. Since the business day was over, they went around the corner to the police station, where I learned later, they asked directions to the nearest camp site and were told they had to go to Saratoga Lake. As I was finishing up my recycling for the day, I w...
As one of my favorite musicians, Red Knuckles, used to say “mighty fine and a great big howdy!” After 17 years of being an archaeologist I am very happy to be starting a new career as a reporter and photographer here at the Sun. My wife and I have been in Saratoga full time for just about two years now, but since I still don’t know many of you I’ll give you a brief introduction to myself. I was born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, but raised in the suburbs of Washing...
A handful of representatives from the Platte Valley non-profit organizations attended a meeting sponsored by Brush Creek Ranch on June 17 at the Platte Valley Community Center. Michael Williams, with Brush Creek Ranch announced that Valley Strong, a non-profit organization is bringing Sawyer Brown to Saratoga to perform at 8 p.m., July 20 at the PVCC and that local non-profit organizations will benefit from any tickets sales they make. Williams explained three tiers of ticket...
Editor, I am writing to express support for the Lodging Tax, it’s Board of Directors and to clear up some apparent misinformation submitted by Leroy Stephenson in his letter to the editor on Thursday, June 19th. (Editor’s note: the letter was submitted to the Rawlins Daily Times and the Saratoga Sun. Since Stephenson is a candidate for mayor in Riverside, the Saratoga Sun is not printing the letter.) Before I begin, let me first disclose that I have previously served on the Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC) Board of Direc...
Editor, And the Three Ring Spending Circus came to Town again last night! And the Un-Thrifty Mayor who won’t Resign was in Center Ring and prevailed again to over-spend next year’s budget (2014-15) by $89,000.00 on top of this year’s budget (2013-14) over-spending of $659,000.00. This Three Ring (2 Council Members and Mayors yes vote and one sane no vote) in spite of Citizens objections to another unbalanced budget. Saratoga Jonny Homeowner’s must balance their budgets to avoid bankruptcy or negative Credit Ratings. No cons...
So you’re running for office. Congratulations. No, really. I commend your effort and desire to make things better. There are a few things you should know though. People are going to start giving you their “Here’s what you need to do …” speech. I won’t be doing that here. Folks will be telling you to “Go door to door”, “Get out and knock on some doors” and the like. The reason I never did that when I ran two years ago is that A.) I’m basically lazy and B.) I don’t like it w...
Editor, First I want to all the people who were involved in the effort to keep the river out of Saratoga: the military, the volunteers, the town staff, and the local businesses and employees who supported those who were doing the work of filling and placing sandbags. Thanks to Mayor Zieger for making it all work smoothly. It is my understanding that some people think it is up to you to get the river work done and that you have the money to do that. Please write a letter to the Sun explaining what all is needed to make that...
My son Josh got married earlier this month. I didn’t think there was too much to planning a small wedding. My husband and I offered to help where we could, and we were happy to be able to do it. My husband and I eloped to Esbjerg, Denmark, so we never had a real wedding. It was called the Darling Denmark Tour. It sounds romantic, but is wasn’t. We checked in on Sunday, registered on Monday, toured the city for three days and got married on Thursday. We said our vows so fas... Full story
Editor: How many of the newspapers that come into Saratoga each day or week get recycled? As the Paper man I bring 1,378 papers into Saratoga each week. This paper, the Sun, brings in another 1,700 papers each week. That means we bring in a total of over 3,000 papers a week, or 12,000 a month. That works out to be well over 144,000 newspapers a year that come into our fair town. How many of these papers get recycled? This large number of incoming papers does not include all the other news papers, magazines, periodicals and...
Editor At the WAM meeting last Friday, I had the opportunity to personally thank Governor Mead for sending state resources to help with the flood efforts in Carbon County and Saratoga. With the 2014 flood event behind us and if there are no unforeseen damages to the water line that crosses the river at the Saratoga Inn or damage to the bridge at Veterans Island, the estimated cost to the Town of Saratoga is estimated to be between $125,000 and $150,000 this includes all costs not just sandbagging. The State of Wyo. cost was...
Editor, An acknowledgment to the Saratoga’s “Magnificent 9” - Glee Johnson, Lynda Healey, Ed Glode, Don Sherrod, Chris Duke, Joshua Wood, Will Faust, Dave Jeffers and Richard Raymer. You have stepped forward and committed yourselves to keeping the Town of Saratoga and its checkbook above water. Thank you for caring. Lois Rupert Dillon, Colo. (Part-time Saratoga resident)...
When the Saratoga Sun’s Mike Dunn interviewed the retiring teachers this year, one theme was common. The teachers will miss the students. We are very fortunate to have the quality of teachers in our school district that we do. The teachers retiring this year are no exception. Their experience varies from 20 to over 40 years and in that time these teachers have seen a huge change in technology, school curriculum, superintendents, principals and school boards. It is not easy adjusting to a new boss every few years, or to e...
Editor: "I am not a teacher, but an awakener."-- Robert Frost This past weekend, I visited my hometown of Saratoga, Wyoming. The reason for the trip was bittersweet. My favorite teacher retired this year. He was honored Saturday evening, and I was blessed to be a part of the celebration. Mr. Patrick was my English and Humanities teacher, and my Speech and Debate coach for four years. He, and his infamous red pen, served to strengthen my early writing by, often, not-so-gentle critiques. It stung to see the red lacerations on m... Full story
After more than a year writing for Saratoga Sun, I am officially moving on and heading back to the big city soon. It has definitely been a nice trip and I’ve met a lot of great people, but being a young single guy, it’s time to move on to other opportunities in a place with more people. I have definitely had a lot of fun covering all the summer and winter gatherings here, and of course, all the high school sports events running from August through May. I made a lot of good fri...