Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Sorted by date Results 1277 - 1301 of 1488
Editor, The stress of moving just got more stressful. On Saturday my sister & brother-in-laws couch was sitting in the front yard (on elm street) with the gate closed, as they went to get a second load, I showed up to clean & there was a couple driving away with their couch. I could not follow as I was on foot. I saw their faces but do not know who they are. So I wanted to write a letter to those who stole the couch. First I don’t know where or when you think it is okay to go into someone’s yard & steal their belongings. Who...
This letter goes out to the voters and constituents of House District 47 and Senate District 11. After a solid month of repeated requests from many in HD47 and SD11 and throughout our great State of Wyoming, I have decided it necessary to formally announce that I am not going to file for a seat in the legislature in this primary election cycle. I cannot tell you how flattering and humbling it is, and has been, to hear from so many people encouraging me to, again, run for the legislature. Actually, in many instances, I am...
This weekend reminded me how true the saying “Good things come to those who wait” is. On Saturday, I was in Laramie at Kayla’s (my girlfriend) graduation from the University of Wyoming. She was graduating with a degree in Elementary Education, and now has a job at Rawlins Elementary School. For anyone who has ever been to a college graduation knows that it’s not as simple as it should be. You wait for long periods of time just to hear someone’s name called once, while the... Full story
Editor A long standing joke in Wyoming has always been: How do you tell it is spring time in Wyoming? The license plates turn green!! The other thing that we see when it turns spring in Saratoga is more people of all ages riding their bikes. There have been some concerns already voiced on bicyclist not stopping at stop signs or yielding to oncoming traffic. Bicyclists can also receive a citation for not stopping or yielding. When riding your bike you need to also stay as far to the right of the road as possible. Remember...
Not quite two months ago, in mid-March, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer and his dog were gunned down in North Carolina. A life-long criminal, suspected of having just murdered his own parents, fled into the woods, then ambushed Officer Jason Crisp and Canine Officer Maros as they tracked his trail. While there was an impressive outpouring of support from the entire community there, Jason’s wife and two young boys are left with holes in their hearts and their home that no words will ever fill. There was no r...
The political season is about to come into full swing. On May 15, people who want to run for office will register. That means these people will also be getting the word out about their platforms, goals and public appearances. Therefore, this is the perfect time to let the candidates, voters and supporters know the Saratoga Sun policies for election articles and advertising. • The Saratoga Sun does not endorse candidates. • All political ads must be prepaid. • Ads must include a disclaimer stating who paid for the ad, i.e....
It has begun. The season where we barely have time to catch our breath before we move onto the next event. School is winding down. Seniors are getting ready for their big day and school concerts are being prepared to show off talents. In three weeks, hopefully, the pass over the Snowy Range will be open and tourists will travel over the pass into Saratoga and the Platte Valley. Every summer I tell myself I am going to take more time for myself. Every summer I fail. The good...
Our life in the Valley is what some folks like to call bucolic. It could also be termed sedate, leisurely, and even just plain slow. Several restaurants around the valley boast a sign that says “If you are in a hurry, you are in the wrong place.” People who are in a hurry here are more than likely to be a little frustrated. I remember when I moved here my bosses at the time would take me out to lunch. While I was anxious that this was regularly taking longer than an hour, my...
Editor. I recently listened to a presentation from a gentleman that had moved to Saratoga a number of years ago to help an organization get back on their feet. The first day that he was here he was approached by a long time resident of Saratoga and told that he might as well leave because everyone in Saratoga was a Communist. A couple days later he was approached by another long time resident of Saratoga who told him “You are a stranger here and you will be a stranger here in twenty years.” This might almost seem comical if...
Judging by the weather outside, it appears that winter is finally over and spring is actually here. The weather is now warm enough to not require a jacket, and on an average day, it feels like it’s about 50 degrees. Of course, this warmer weather gets me excited for the upcoming spring and summer events in the Platte Valley. Last year, I had a blast covering the Woodchoppers Jamboree, Cowboy Gathering, Mountain Man Rendezvous, Microbrew Competition and other huge events t...
Many times, adults forget to look at things and people from a child’s perspective. For instance, it would have never have occurred to us at the Saratoga Sun that children would be frightened of firemen. We, as adults, know they are there to help during a fire. To a child, a fireman in full gear may look like a giant yellow monster. Last week, the Saratoga Fire Department went to Saratoga Elementary School and gave a gear presentation in conjunction with a fire drill. One of the demonstrations included what a fireman looks l...
With springtime comes testing. One test is for the preschools in the Platte Valley like ExCel, and HeadStart programs. This week, ExCel preschool is running an ad offering free developmental screening. I encourage any parent of a preschooler beginning at age one to take advantage of this screening. As a parent, I understand how protective we can be of our children. We want our children to be the smartest in the class, the fastest on the field, and way ahead of everyone...
Editor, The first reality television show was Candid Camera that started back in 1947. In 2002 another reality show “Survival” saw the largest ever television audience for their first episode. We now have such reality shows as Duck Dynasty, Biggest Loser, and The Voice. However my personal favorite is Undercover Boss where the CEO’s and others from large companies go undercover and work side by side with their employees to see what the employees think and how they might be able to improve things. At the end of each show...
I have been a sports fan my entire life. Being the son of a long-time high school football and baseball coach, I have really never been away from sports. Whether it is supporting the Wyoming Cowboys, my alma mater, or the Seattle Mariners, there are few things I enjoy more than sitting down and watching a well-played event. Yet, as I was listening to the Seattle Mariners lose to the Oakland Athletics Sunday (which ended in a 6-3 loss), I came to realize something very...
I hope that all of you survived April Fool’s Day. For those of you still cleaning shaving cream and the like out of various places … you might need a chance to read about some other’s misfortune. Since I have already done a column about the origins of April Fool’s Day I decided to share some other practical joke vignettes with you. While none of these were actually pulled on April Fool’s Day I still couldn’t think of a more fitting time to present these stories. NICK THE HI... Full story
Editor, At the WAM Winter Workshop our guest speaker this year was Inspirational Speaker Matt Jones. He has conquered cancer 3 times and went on to run in five marathons. This was his victory in life and encouraged us to look at our lives as a victory. He reminded us that there are 86,400 seconds in a day and challenged us to know how we were going to use those seconds. He reminded us that not only is our finger print unique but so are we in our life. Another interesting fact that he shared was that an average four year old...
Editor, The million-dollar pipeline to return water to the river illustrates the heavy hand of federal government on citizens of our country. The discharge permit of Saratoga for wastewater treatment is in jeopardy if the citizen boards don’t accept the proposals and money to meet EPA’s changed guidelines and standards. This may be leverage to some folks, but it smells like bureaucratic corruption to me. The discharge water will end up in the same North Platte River, but unbuffered by passage through a considerable dis...
Editor, Lest you may forget “as the world churns” inside the Saratoga Town Hall, new people with fresh blood are moving into town. They bring ideas, questions and professional backgrounds. They may register to vote; they may run for office and be elected. Brace yourselves. The next generation is coming. Lois Rupert Dillon, Colo. and Saratoga...
I don’t know about you, but I tend to have many moments where I get nostalgic for life in the 20th Century. I’m constantly surrounded by reminders of it each day. Here in the office we listen to a lot of timeless classic rock music from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and sometimes the still-modern-sounding rock from the 90s. It’s always fun to go through our archived newspapers from the last 125 years, and see what the news or town makeup of Saratoga was like in the 20th Centu...
Recently, the staff at the Saratoga Sun had to look up legals from two different agencies that ran several years ago. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, we are happy to oblige. Fortunately, it is not a problem, because we have newspapers dating back to 1891 to research. Those requests reinforced how important it is to have legals running in a newspaper. The Saratoga Sun provides affidavits for legal advertisements to the advertisers, whether it is a private citizen or an entity in the state government. It’s pro... Full story
I grew up in a family of volunteers. My mom and dad volunteered for different clubs, depending on what my siblings and I were involved in during our school years. It wasn’t easy, because my siblings and I were all in different schools at one time or another. My grandma was always volunteering for Easter Seals, working with children with disabilities. When I was a young girl I would stay for a week during the summer time and go with her. Watching members of my family v... Full story
Letter to editor: Mike of‚“DUNN in the SUN”: Great column defending and supporting teachers. As usual I have to add my two cents worth which relates to your situation. Years ago, back when I was a newspaper reporter, I was covering the local school board meeting and giving a member of the board a bad time. After reciting the statement, “Those who can’t do, teach,” I added, “and those who can’t teach become administrators, and those who strike out as superintendents get elected to the school board.” The former ranch hand... Full story
Editor: Kudos to Barry Cole! Some great questions for prospective supers. Here is one more, are you aware that Article 7 Sec. 11 of the Wy. St. Constitution forbids the legislature and superintendent of public instruction from prescribing text books for school instruction? Further, where does that authority then lie? Rusty Rogers Saratoga, WY.... Full story
Editor: Since Ms. Johnson conveniently left out a number of points in her 3-5-14 letter to the Editor I felt I should provide the citizens of Saratoga with the “rest of the story” so to speak. The following are facts, supported by the minutes of the Council Meetings and the people that were there, of the issues between myself and Ms. Johnson. 1. At the 1-21-14 Council Meeting Ms. Johnson presented a number of questions concerning the improvements to Saratoga Waste Facility, some of these were addressed at the meeting but som... Full story
Editor: Mr. Cole of Encampment wrote a good letter which was published in The Sun last week. However one could possibly infer that Cindy Hill was helpful in implementing the constitutional awareness program in the Encampment High School. That was not the case. Most of the credit for implementation that goes to the principal and the history teacher in Encampment and to Mr. Hymas himself. We have a great many public officials, both elected and unelected, that swear an oath to uphold the constitution but, in fact, have little... Full story