Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1227 - 1251 of 1488
Editor: Yes as was highlighted in last week’s Sun, I got my bell rung at the August landfill meeting in Saratoga for not offering my recycling services at the Bullfest and National Night Out event. In chairman Raymer’s angst over my failure to volunteer some more, the real problem was overlooked. The proper handling of the recyclable trash at all public events rests solely with the event organizers. The responsibility to recycle all we can from our trash rests, not with an old man and his old truck but with each of us, our...
Editor: The sad tale about mail continues at the Encampment Post Office. Despite all the training and platitudes, getting the mail delivered is still an issue with the Postmaster. Somehow he does not connect people with their address in the Post Office. Recently I received a return of a first class letter to my box. The box number was correct but the name, the town and the zip code were not! The name was a lady and her town is Rock River in Albany County which has a different zip code from Encampment. In his view, one out of...
Dear Editor, Regarding Erik Gantt’s article about the impacts of mosquito spraying in the Saratoga area: The article claimed that mosquito spraying doesn’t harm any other creatures, while citing studies that sound to me shockingly inadequate to prove any such assumption. In particular, I can’t let the near-demise of the nighthawk in this valley go unquestioned. In the 1960s when I was growing up out in the countryside near Saratoga, my family and I would climb to the top of a ridge on summer evenings to witness a spect...
Editor’s note: a sentence was inadvertently left off John Blue’s letter to the editor in the Aug. 13 edition of the Saratoga Sun. The Saratoga Sun staff apologizes for this error. Editor, This is sort of a combination letter to the editor and an open letter to Wendell D. O’Connell, the post master in Encampment. Many of the readers of this paper will recall that about a year ago there was community outcry to have Mr. O’Connell removed from his position. That did not happen and he continues to wreak havoc on the distrib...
Moving to the Platte Valley requires adjustment. As you make friends here, you will find one of those adjustments will be learning to fly fish. This does not, as you might expect from the name, involve very small fishing poles with rotting bits of meat as bait for flying nuisances. It’s much worse than that. The west, in general, is chock full of “ideal fly fishing spots” and we have an abundance of them along the entire length of Platte Valley waterways. You see, Wyomi...
The Saratoga Sun has been following the recent, sometimes heated, discussions at South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Services (SCWEMS) Joint Powers Board (JPB) meetings with interest. Everyone who lives in this area is affected by the availability of timely and effective ambulance and first responder services. It appears to the Saratoga Sun that SCWEMS is experiencing growing pains, and needs to learn some lessons about the accountability of their actions. An article in the Aug. 6, 2014 edition of the Saratoga Sun shows...
Editor, This is sort of a combination letter to the editor and an open letter to Wendall D. O’Connell, the post master in Encampment. Many of the readers of this paper will recall that about a year ago there was community outcry to have Mr. O’Connell removed from his position. That did not happen and he continues to wreak havoc on the distribution of mail in our community. And here as I see it is the problem. Mr. O’Connell fails to understand that the sole purpose of the USPS is to deliver mail to the customers of the post of...
Dear Editor, The Aug. 6 edition of the Saratoga Sun featured an editorial opposing any town involvement in a campground for bicyclists and suggested the town’s constrained budget should not have to bear the cost of an in-town bicycle campground. It may be that Saratoga residents do not want a bicyclist campground in town, but it shouldn’t be because it will break the budget. The town already intends to recreate Good Times Park behind the hot pool, listed by the Sun as a location having been suggested for a bicyclist cam...
Carbon County Fair is over. The kids who did well are now at the Wyoming State Fair to see how they do against the top in the state. Fair week is always an exhausting week for me, so I can’t even imagine what it is like for the parents and grandparents who spend the week at fair working with their children, advising them on how to get their animals ready to show. These families have spent months working with their kids, reminding them to do chores, taking them to pre-fair s...
Big changes are coming to the Saratoga Sun. Perhaps you have seen our ads about some of the changes. The place where we have printed our paper for many years is closing down their press. It came as a shock to us, but as newspaper people, we adjust to change. We looked at several options and starting next week the Casper Star Tribune is printing our paper. Technology makes this possible, as we have been sending our paper up to the current printer by FTP (File Transfer Protocol). What this change means for our readers and our...
As cross-country bicycling becomes more popular, towns like Saratoga are faced with a small dilemma of who is responsible to provide in-town campgrounds. Should the town of Saratoga provide an in-town campground for bicyclers who ride through our town? The Good Times Park behind the hot pool has been suggested as a place to have a campground for bicyclists. When most bicyclists are planning a trip across America, they just don’t decide to jump on a bike and start pedaling. They plan, prepare and research their route. B...
On Aug. 19, 2009 I woke up in my empty room one last time. It was 4:30 a.m., and on any other day, it would have taken me an hour to pull myself out of bed. But not this day. I was headed to Spokane International Airport. The day I had waited for all my life had finally come: I was moving out and was finally on my own. My mother made me an omelet that morning; just as she had done almost every morning while I was in high school. I was dressed in full Wyoming gear. She looked...
Editor, I urge Carbon County voters to contact [email protected]. and [email protected]. or call 307-777-7881 or [email protected]. asking them to support Medicaid Expansion for Wyoming. This expansions will help 17,600 senior and low income people to get the help they need. It will bring 47million dollars into Wyoming per a report from the Wyoming Department of Health. Right now if you use all your assets and are in a nursing home and need state help, you will have to wait til some one dies. I know of a...
Editor, Our unthrifty Mayor and his Town Board of Directors just unanimously passed the new very unpopular Carbon Power Franchise Fee 10 year Ordinance on third reading within a few minutes of the last Town Council meeting. Just a quick motion, second, several audience comments and then a unanimous vote to stick every homeowner and business with 8 years of new pass thru monthly electric “fees”. I commended their 2 year carrot “gift”, but read on for the “big stick.” Also, look out, there are still new big increases i...
The archaeologist in me is continually amazed at how many people currently living in this Valley have ties to the earliest families, ranches and named places in the Platte River Valley and surrounding mountains. Even before I began working with the paper, I made friends with Judy Bellamy who’s father-in-law was the surveyor who named Lake Marie and many other spots up in the Snowy Range. Having worked on hundreds of historic archaeological sites in Wyoming, I have always h...
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...