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Editor Not only a right, but a responsibility to bear arms. A group has formed in a Southern Wyoming Town dedicated to the study of the Founders’ Bible. Their study of this foundational text revealed interesting material regarding the second amendment controversies. William Blackstone, an eminent English jurist and philosophical scholar, has been identified as one the most significant contributors to the thinking that constructed the Constitution of the United States. He declared the right to bear arms flowed from the natural right of r...
Editor: Recently the Wyoming State Supreme Court rendered a decision on the constitutionality of SF104. The 3 to 2 decision found that SF104 was unconstitutional legislation. The Governor and the responsible legislators crossed the line, in an attempt to marginalize and diminish the character and reputation of Cindy Hill, the peoples elected choice. The petition drive to repeal SF104 was never about Cindy Hill personally, it was the peoples issue with a Governor who decided he and his minions in the legislature could remove an elected official...
You never know what you have until it’s gone. That is a truism that has been proven again and again as, well … true. For instance, I have gotten used to using the toilet on a “regular” basis. I also enjoy having a hot beverage like coffee or tea on my desk as I work. Neither of these things are possible without having one very important element around. Okay, two elements combined. Freakin’ sticklers … Anyway, water is the topic of today’s verbal torrent. The reason for all the lamentation i...
Everybody knows that 48th annual Super Bowl, featuring the Denver Broncos versus the Seattle Seahawks, is coming up this Sunday. I’ve never been in the Platte Valley during the Super Bowl, but I can predict it’s going to be a huge deal. I’m sure every bar in town will be showing it on TV, and people will be at home glued to their televisions or computers. Super Bowl house parties will most likely sprout up across the Valley. Of course, I don’t need to ask if people here are Broncos fans, s...
Thursday night, the Saratoga Panther Wrestlers will be competing in their own gym. This happens usually once during their season. If you have been reading the sports section, then you know the Panthers have been having a winning season. This past weekend, they returned with a second place finish at the Dogger Invite in Lingle. Nine wrestlers competed against much bigger teams to earn the points for a second place finish. That is pretty impressive. The Panther wrestling team is one of the smallest teams to compete in the Doggett Invite, with...
The Saratoga Sun staff earned second place in general excellence and editorial leadership this past weekend. We also won three first place pacemaker awards, three second place pacemaker awards and one honorable mention. There is nothing more rewarding than having your peers classify your work as exceptional. This was my ninth year attending the Wyoming Press Association Convention. I always learn something new and try to implement what I learn into the Saratoga Sun. The opportunity to network...
The use of chemical weapons is not acceptable. Chemical weapons are nothing but harmful ways of ending war or starting one. The chemical weapons countries create just destroy other countries. The chemicals in the weapon do more harm than actually help the real problem going on. Chemical weapons seem like a quick and simple way to end a war, but they truly only cause more problems in the long run than before. Chemical weapons are actually just a destructive creation. In Syria things are coming to an end for chemical warfare. Syria has been at...
Editor’s note: When the Saratoga Sun ran what we thought were the last of the student guest column’s on Dec. 4, 2013, we were notified that three of them had not been published. They had been lost somewhere in cyberspace. Encampment english teacher Leslie McLinsky emailed them to us again, so that we might run them in the earliest issue possible. Sometimes it can feel like living in a small town like Encampment has nothing but drawbacks. Many people love living here because of the benefits our community has to offer. The downfalls to small tow...
Editor’s note: When the Saratoga Sun ran what we thought were the last of the student guest column’s on Dec. 4, 2013, we were notified that three of them had not been published. They had been lost somewhere in cyberspace. Encampment english teacher Leslie McLinsky emailed them to us again, so that we might run them in the earliest issue possible. People join the military to fight for our country. We should not put our military at risk by sending them to fight someone else’s war. Many soldiers in the military have a strong point of view on fi...
This past month I’ve had to do a lot of learning. I’ve had to figure out bank accounts, car insurance, how to register as an official Wyoming resident (which is much harder than it seems). In addition to all of the “adult stuff” I’ve had to learn how to do, I have had to learn my profession and all the things that are going on in this area. Basically, there is a lot more to being an adult than I originally thought. But as I was looking through Facebook on Jan. 13, many of my college friends on F...
A fellow employee came into the office last week bearing a package – the sad body of a recently deceased eagle. Not the type of “gift” one might want to receive during the holidays (or ever). The eagle had been struck and killed by a vehicle while feeding on the carcass of another victim of a collision with traffic. While the first fatality might not have been reasonably prevented (suicidal deer or bunnies running into the road, for instance), that of the eagle probably could have been. By most accounts, eagles are graceful, elegant deniz...
In the Dec. 4, 2013 issue of the Saratoga Sun, Encampment School student and guest columnist Jennifer Morgan described her perception of an incident involving the Little Snake River Valley junior varsity volleyball team. What she did not include in her column was that this incident happened four years ago....
I have written about how everyone waves at each other around here and I have detailed some of the curmudgeons scampering about the Valley. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this is a friendly place. I had it illustrated to me again the other day, but in an entirely new way this time. I was sitting in the back room of the Sun eating some lunch and flipping through some past articles when I caught the tail end of an interview our new reporter, Mike, was on. Mike wrapped up the interview by say...
Editor, The Mayor’s letter to the editor on Dec. 24th in the Saratoga Sun gave the impression that the people willing to attend meetings and offer a different opinion were all rebels, instead of being people who believe strongly in the voice of the public. People that believe open government should be just that: open. They do not expect the governing body to alway agree with them, they want the governing bod to hear different opinions in hopes that they too will have a good open discussion before voting on issues that affect the Town of S...
I don’t know about you, but I am completely blown away by the fact that it is already 2014. We are already officially 14 years into the 21st Century, and 14 years past the highly-anticipated, millennium-changing year of 2000. Being a 90s kid, I still constantly look back on my childhood and say things like, “Did that really happened 15 or 20 years ago? It seemed like only yesterday!” In addition to being surprised at how quickly time as flown by and how many years have passed, I’m also surpris...
At the Dec. 17 Saratoga Town Council meeting, Mayor John Zeiger introduced a new ordinance for first reading. Ordinance No. 822 covers the dismissal of employees and removal of board members. One sentence is particularly disturbing to the Saratoga Sun. “All board members serve at the pleasure of the mayor and may be removed by the mayor for incompetence or neglect of duty.” Since when do boards appointed by the governing body serve “at the pleasure of the mayor”? Boards, along with the governi...
Editor I would like to explain the reasoning behind Ordinance 822, as I said in the council meeting one of the main reasons for introducing the ordinance is the concerns I have over Conflict of Interest with board members discussing or voting on items that could be perceived as benefitting them. ( 9-13-106. Official decisions and votes. ) Other reasons for the introduction to the ordinance were the fact in the last year we have had to have police officers attend the planning meeting on occasion because of concerns for the behavior of board...
Editor, The Mayor’s letter to the editor on Dec. 24th in the Saratoga Sun gave the impression that the people willing to attend meetings and offer a different opinion were all rebels, instead of being people who believe strongly in the voice of the public. People that believe open government should be just that: open. They do not expect the governing body to always agree with them, they want the governing body to hear different opinions in hopes that they too will have a good open discussion before voting on issues that affect the Town of S...
Does it feel weird to you that Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year? When holidays fall in the middle of the week for a weekly newspaper, it is always a quandary. Do we print a day early, or a day late? The Saratoga Sun is printed by the Rawlins Daily Times and we have been working on the question since September. The Saratoga Sun has staff who need to travel out-of-town to see family, or spend Christmas alone. It takes planning and communication to plan to print the paper on another day....
Editor, I have a big thank you to give to one of our finest in the valley. Since she is retiring I wanted do something a little different. Instead of recognizing someone after they passed away and that are not here to know they were recognized for the very special job they did. I would like to take this opportunity and tell Sue Bartlett and job well done. Thank you for keeping our valley well and giving the children their immunizations. For keeping up-to-date with new information. Thank you for researching answers to questions you didn’t h...
Editor, Writing a letter to the editor is a lot like posting on Facebook, once you hit the submit button it’s there for everybody to see. I have no plans to stop doing both of these. At the December 17th meeting it was questioned why comments made by the public under public comment were not being added to the minutes. Wyoming Statue 15-1-110 states: The governing body is required to designate a “legal newspaper” and to publish once, the minutes of all regular meetings, special meetings, workshops where council action is taken, and title of al...
Four-and-a-half years ago, I set foot in southeast Wyoming for the first time. As a young, arrogant, long-haired 18-year-old kid walking into the University of Wyoming, I had no idea at that time that this area would change my outlook on life as much as it has. I originally hail from the small town of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., about 30 miles northwest of Spokane. I lived there for about 12 years until I decided to go to UW without even setting foot on the campus first. I didn't care where I went...
If you want your voice heard, this is the week for it. Several crucial meetings are taking place which allow for public comment. The first two meetings were last night . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife hosted an open house at the Platte Valley Community Center to discuss and listen to your concerns about the potential environmental impacts that an eagle take permit will have. Scoping comments for the permit will be taken until Feb. 3. 2014. Before the town council meeting, the town had a public meeting and took comments about applying for a...
Driving in Wyoming is a mystical and beautiful experience … … most of the time. Wyoming scenery is beautiful in summer, explosively colorful in fall, serene in winter and refreshing in spring. These visual attributes can make a long drive seem much shorter. There are, however, other factors that can come into play that can make even short trips a long and living hell. WIND: The first, and most nearly omnipresent, of these miseries is the wind. While wind-farmers can always boast a bumper cro...
Editor, Mr. Lee’s letter last week, spoke to the concerns that many of us have about the quality of public education. As a disgruntled former employer, 40 plus years in the construction industry, I have experienced first hand the lack of math skills, difficulties in conceptualizing or solving problems, and the inability to communicate solutions. I find it frightening that we continue to look to a federal gov’t for direction in education (common core), when this same gov’t has shown an inability to come to grips with their own issues. Right...
