Sorted by date Results 1324 - 1348 of 1447
Editor, This hunting season, I have witnessed a much greater gory display of harvested animals than I ever have in my time in the valley. Folks who do not hunt may not care one way or the other about hunting, but upon being confronted with the stark and gory display of a harvested animal, the sight may force them into opposing hunting. We don’t want a concerted effort to outlaw hunting to begin out of the discomfort instigated by a few hunters. Not every child has grown up in a home seeing dead deer and elk, and it could be quite shocking f...
Editor, I would like to respond to Mr. Shannon’s comments made in the October 16, 2013 Saratoga Sun. It os not my job to notify the Council of actions that are not recommended by the Planning Commission. The procedure for that is as follows: The Chairperson, or the designated representative, which has been Chuck Bartlett, informs the Town Clerk of the Commission’s recommendations, it is then put on the agenda for the Council to approve or disapprove after discussion. This has been the procedure that has been followed since my first term as a C...
Phrases like “government shutdown” and “debt ceiling” are becoming household terms these days. Government employees who have been furloughed are frustrated because they want to be at work, but can’t because they have been declared non-essential. Those who are working don’t know they will receive a paycheck. Facebook is filled with threads discussing firing all the legislators or implementing a law if they don’t come up with a balanced budget, they are ineligible for re-election. I read a commen...
October is Fire Prevention Month. Saratoga residents are lucky enough to have 32 dedicated volunteer firefighters as first responders in the community. The Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department responds to about 60 or 70 calls a year, and is the first-responding organization for Saratoga and surrounding communities. In past months, the Saratoga Sun staff has shared stories of these individuals bravely fighting fires with quick response times. Regardless of the time of day or night, they volunteer their time to keep us safe. These volunteers train...
Editor, I would like to request a correction be put in the paper. It is a correction to a police report that was submitted to you on 10/7/2013. The correction is a Dog At Large warning from 9/30/13 the person given the warning read Jennifer Glee Johnson Stewart-Hamilton and it should have read Gwendolyn Glee Johnson. I am sorry for this confusion and if there are any questions you can contact the Chief or I for a clarification. Brenda Mistelske Dispatcher Saratoga Police Department...
Editor, At a recent talk on communication, presenter Dick Brooks asked us to write down what “Quality of Life” meant to us. Some of the responses that were given were, open spaces, safety for our family, a clean, abundant watershed, and few people. He talked about Strategic Communication and how to set goals and achieve those goals with proper communication. What do we want to happen? Who can make it happen? What do they need to hear, to do what we want? What do they need to hear and who do they need to hear it from? He encouraged us to look at...
My mother and I have always disagreed on what is considered junk, and that has always been infuriating to me. My definition of junk: If you do not know where it goes, or if it doesn’t have a place within your home, just throw it away. My mother’s definition of junk (as far as I can tell): If it can be fixed, keep it. If it has the slightest amount of sentimental value, keep it. Don’t worry about where it goes. Just throw it into the pile. As a result, the house I grew up in was always clutt...
Editor, The snow storm last week reminds all of us that we should always be prepared for what might come our way. We should not only be prepared to take care of our families, but let’s not forget about the furry members of our family as well. A to go kit for our pets should include: • Make sure you take their medications • Medical/Vaccination/Shot Records • Special Medical/Behavioral Instructions • Picture of your pet, Picture with you with your pet • All identification numbers • List of Identifying features/markings • Emergency Conta...
Week after week I continue to be inspired by these young Platte Valley athletes, whether it be those who participated in football, volleyball, cross-country running or golf. I am always impressed by how they can win so many games, and be so physically active for long periods of time without shutting down from sheer tiredness. Before I moved to Saratoga, I was the complete opposite of these kids. I was kind of lazy and didn’t exercise or eat healthy like I should have. Being the food-loving guy I...
Editor, I appreciate District Manager Epperson setting the tone for this meeting by informing all of us via an email letter to the Saratoga Sun and Daily Times that the Postmaster has the full support of the USPS and that he won’t make personnel decisions based on politics or popularity. It appears that, without hearing one person here talk about our problems, he has drawn some interesting conclusions. It does not appear that he comes to this meeting with an open mind—ready to listen. When we met last week I did not hear anyone mention pol...
I recently got a letter from the state Department of Transportation informing me that my driver’s license was about to expire and did I want to renew it by mail. The letter went on to inform me that renewing by mail is a very simple process and all I had to do was send them the documents from the enclosed list. The list was not short. Apparently federal and state law now requires: 1. Verification of identity. These screwballs sent me the letter informing me of my license’s impending inv...
Encampment and Riverside residents have been more than serious about the US Postal Service (USPS) at the Encampment Post Office. Several residents gathered at Encampment Town Hall Thursday night with the collective goal of replacing Wendell O’Connell, who has served as Encampment’s postmaster for several months. These residents spoke out against O’Connell with real passion and real concerns, and the least USPS can do is grant Encampment a representative with real authority. USPS did not have such a person at the meeting Thursday. Instead, Curt...
Editor, I would like to take this opportunity to address concerns raised in a recent article about the state of local mail delivery in Encampment, WY. I apologize to any customer who has been unhappy with our service or communications and want to assure them these issues have our immediate attention. However, I object to State Rep. Jerry Paxton’s call for the removal of the Postmaster. The Postmaster has the full support of the U.S. Postal Service and as an organization, we have a fair due process and we can’t and won’t make personnel decis...
Editor, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes are coming … no matter if you view this as a step forward or backwards. We are starting to field questions on the changes and thought that we should make some of these reputable sources known to the community. www.healthcare.gov is the official website of the federal “marketplace” which also has been known as the health insurance exchange. Residents of Wyoming who are looking for insurance coverage will be able to buy coverage from this website. Small businesses will also be able to buy coverage at...
Editor: As you are probably aware, there is a fight going on in Washington D.C. regarding various funding and budget matters, and the future of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. A few years ago, Nanci Pelosi said, “We’ve got the pass the bill to find out what’s in the bill.” Well, they passed it, and now it’s becoming clear to the majority of Americans that the bills author, Max Baucus, is correct when he says, “It’s a train wreck.” And this from one of the guys who wrote the bill and pushed it through. I needn’t go down the list of folks...
Big Brothers Big Sisters in Saratoga taught a “Mission to Mars” program this summer. The program allowed children who attended to explore what it would take to go to Mars, and how to survive when they got there. I witnessed some of their projects, including the making of a garden that could grow in a Mars colony. What the children came up with was impressive. The goal of the project, of course, was not to actually plan a trip to Mars. The goal was to teach children about space and the solar sys...
Editor: At a recent training the quote “I will not ‘should on myself’ today” was used. The whole point behind the quote is not to second guess ourselves in the decisions we make. This applies not only in our personal lives but applies if we are an elected official, business owner, a volunteer sitting on a board, or any job that we may choose to do. As an elected official it is a given that on whatever decision we make it will be wrong in somebody’s eyes. Once we make that decision we need to be willing to stand up for it even if we have to take...
Liz Cheney was wrong on both counts when she said, “Newspapers are dying, and that’s not a bad thing.” Cheney made the pronouncement in Jackson after the newspaper in that community reported — accurately — that she had purchased a resident fishing license prior to establishing residency in Wyoming, and paid a fine for making the claim of residency before she was entitled to do so. One of the biggest criticisms of Cheney since she announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is that she has not lived in Wyoming l...
On Thursday I begin my ninth year at the Saratoga Sun. Where did the time go? I would like to share the top ten things I have learned during the past eight years. Number 10 Don’t assume that people will understand your intentions when writing columns, stories or editorials. Columns are our personal opinions. They do not necessarily represent what the rest of the staff believes. Editorials are written by the newspaper staff as a whole, sharing a belief that we have as a newspaper. It also has a call to action. News stories are stories we write w...
Well kids, it’s officially that time of the year again when school has recently started, yet you’re probably still missing your fun summer season like crazy. This was the time of the year I dreaded most as a kid. Mostly during junior high or high school, I always hated being back in school right after a long, fun summer break, and I remember getting that nervous, uneasy feeling in my stomach on the morning I had to go back to school. Well, it was more like I had that feeling for a whole week or...
I didn’t have what you would call a quality high school education. It’s not easy talk about, but it is a discussion worth having. I left high school unexcited about my own future, and the only motivation to go to college was my mother’s concern and the Hathaway Scholarship, money I am truly grateful for receiving. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college I began to get excited about writing, all because one professor taught me what I should have learned in high school – that writing i...
Editor: The Encampment post office is a small post office, which serves 500 people (at the most) in the two communities of Encampment and Riverside. We don’t have mail delivery to our homes and must have our mail come to a post office box. I’m writing this letter out of frustration with our new postmaster here at the Encampment post office. The postmaster has begun sending letters and packages back when they don’t meet his addressing requirements. Letters and packages addressed to our physical addresses are no longer being placed in our post of...
Plenty of stellar student athletes from across the Platte Valley are ready to win their way up to the top, but most importantly, have fun during this fall sports season. With our young determined athletes busting their butts during football, volleyball, cross-country or golf practice, what can we adults do to help them and make them feel respected and appreciated during games? What can we do to make them feel like their many hours spent practicing and competing in sports, even with their busy...
With news of the National Security Association going through your emails and listening to your phone calls, I want to know if you feel like you are being watched enough. When a respected magazine like “Popular Science” writes an article entitled “The NSA Sucks More Than You Thought”1, you should really begin to question why and how these people got the authority to sift through your personal communications. God only knows what drones are watching us across the country. So, we’re being watched o...
Editor: The date is January 1st, 1998 the location is Green River, Wyoming: Susan McDonald mother of 5 year old Carlie McDonald after becoming intoxicated choose to place Carlie in the front seat of her car and drive. Susan entered I-80 and at 75 mph rear ended a slow moving semi-trailer. There was un-survivable damage to the right front passenger side of the vehicle where Carlie had been placed instead of the back seat. Carlie who loved the movie “The Lion King” and her dog, died at the scene of the accident. I thought of young Carlie on Mon...
