Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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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 al...
A recent post on a social media site hit the nail on the head. “When citizens ask questions of their government, it means there is not enough transparency and communication. It doesn’t mean they are looking to discredit the elected officials and staff. Whose money is this anyway, and who are the government’s ‘customers’? If citizens don’t ask, who will?” Those words came from Stacy Crimmins. We, at the Saratoga Sun, think these are wise and true words. Newspapers have been asking for transparency in public meetings for...
Editor: I understand that there are 3 finalists vying for the Carbon County 2 school district (CC2) superintendent position. I would like to suggest four questions for these individuals. Their answers will shed light on important beliefs and convictions they hold concerning the education of our children. Questions are as follows: 1. I would like each candidate to respond to the following quote from the website of Wyoming Citizens Opposing Common Core: “ Student learning is complex and impacted by many factors which i...
A letter to the Editor and to Mayor Zeiger In the Mayor’s letter to the editor last week in this paper one sentence confused me –“In the last nine years there has never been a request for a copy of the audit. After the allegations of misappropriation of funds and the covering up of the same, I wasn’t surprised to have two people come in and request a copy of it.” As one of the folks who picked up a Town audit and was then maligned here, I want to be very clear - I have never suggested this administration misappropriated funds...
“Those who can’t do, teach.” Whenever I hear that saying, it tends to rub me the wrong way. Not that I blame anyone for saying that. Logically, that saying makes a lot sense. It rubs me the wrong way because I know that there is a lot more to teaching than just “teaching”. I come from a family of educators. My mom is a family consumer science teacher, my dad teaches English and Civics, grandparents from my mom’s side were both teachers, my grandpa on my dad’s side was a lo...
“When councilman Wilcoxson read his letter at Feb. 18 council meeting which was an attempt to reprimand me and request or demand an apology from me to City Engineer Chuck Bartlett, I was completely astounded. When asked to comment, I could only think to myself that it was in extremely poor taste and deserved no comment. Since then I have worried that the people at the meeting and the public would think I have done or said anything for which I should apologize to any city employee or council person. I have not. As an i...
Editor, I just wanted to say thank you to the Saratoga Sun, for publishing the findings from the Town of Saratoga’s audit. The audit has always been available for public inspection but we have never published it in the paper. In the last nine years there has never been a request for a copy of the audit. After the allegations of misappropriation of funds and the covering up of the same, I wasn’t surprised to have two people come in and request a copy of it. I support those people that do this if done with the right int...
Choosing an elective in school can be an important stepping stone in your life. I took drafting and architectural drafting in high school which helped in more ways than I would have thought possible when going to college for graphic arts. Looking back on it, I probably would have made a LOT more money had I continued to pursue the architect thing. But hey, then you wouldn’t be reading this would you? Metal shop taught me how to run a lathe and a mill, how to use a torch and ho...
Within days of deciding on three final candidates for the Superintendent of Carbon County School District No. 2, the list had dwindled to one. Even though parents were not involved in the selection process, they took it upon themselves to research the candidates listed on the CCSD#2 website. That research led to parents contacting the Saratoga Sun about a candidate who was the subject of a newspaper story for questionable ethics in handling of funds. The history of one candidate led us to research the other prospective...
Editor: Instead of talking about a town issue I thought I would comment on my experience this past weekend. I had the opportunity to judge for the speech meet in Rawlins. When I was asked to do so I must admit I had reservations as I have never judged one in the past. My daughter had asked me if there was anything I would prefer not to judge. I told her that I would prefer not to judge the debate portion - what a surprise when I found out she didn’t relay the message. I ended up judging four different debate sessions three o...
It’s officially that time of the year again. The winter sports season is drawing to an end, and all the regional and state tournaments are just around the corner. Of course, it makes me happy to hear about our local teams making it so far, but I can’t help but feel a little depressed knowing that all the home games are over and done with. As you may be able to tell from my writing, sports is my favorite beat to cover, and I love covering basketball the most. There is just som...
Editor: This week begins the budget session and of course the true forms of power and egos, yet for whom, the people or the bureaucrat and bureaucracy? The real true bedfellows of legislation are not the politically elected, but the bureaucrat, when funding is laid out on the table! Bureaucracy impedes the actions of legislative actions needed to create a government for the people’s wishes. Wyoming people always hear we will have to look into that, or we’ll have to delay the actions until our departments have time study the...
Everyone seems to think that I am going to write my column this week about my new grandson. Well, he is special and he is my first grandchild, but being only two weeks old, I am not sure I can write 500 words or more about being a grandmother or having a new baby to hold and kiss. He does fill my days with delight and reminds me to slow down. Every time I see him he is sleeping, so there really is not much to write about. I will say, Telitha and Josh are awesome parents. Much...
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...
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 n...
I like to think Mark Twain is a pretty awesome guy. Not only is he one of the greatest American writers of all time, his quotes can be inspirational and extremely hilarious as well. But of all of his witty and humorous sayings out there, I try to live by one of his most famous quotes. “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Yeah, I admit, it’s a weird quote to live by. But allow me to explain. I don’t live by...
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...
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 ar...
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...
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....
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 dow...
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 stron...
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....
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 c...
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 grace...