Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Editor, As I run my hand through the wool chaps, I imagine cow punching during the winter months in 1890. Seeing the beaver pelt, I wonder if trading amongst Native Americans and town folk always went well for the Mountain Men. Exploring the Rudefeha mine, approaching the tram towers, the random wagon wheel you stumble upon, leaves me astounded with these historical pioneers and their successes. This day; in CCSD 2 we have five historical museums which are accurately geologically represented within this district. Each museum has attracted...
Wyoming legislators, under the guise of “cost saving measures” for local governments, are again attempting to remove vital legal notices from the pages of your local newspaper. Though the Wyoming Legislature is not in session and many legislators will not return to the capitol in January following primary defeats, they are still working on interim topics. One of those topics, approved on a 10-3 vote by the Joint Corporations Committee on September 11, would remove the requirement for municipal and county governments to publish meeting min...
Editor, The ongoing restrictions regarding indoor attendance numbers mandated by Governor Gordon, on the advice of Dr. Alexia Harrist-WY State Health Officer, obviously affects state-wide public school sporting events. These mandates are adopted by the Wyoming High School Activities Association which, in turn, local school districts are required to abide by if they want to participate in sports. The correlation between unlawful mandates–meaning they were never legislated by a governing body elected by the people–and using our youth to make us...
About three weeks ago, I was at the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow High School football field. It was the second game at home and I was walking by the EMT crew that was nearby the ambulance to help any injured player. There looked to about dozen, give or take, standing around the ambulance. I really admire this group of people because it is pretty much volunteer. These folks save lives not only in Hanna, but also in nearby towns. Then there is the highways. Throw in how the weather can...
A few weeks ago the 1st grade class from Saratoga Elementary School was getting a tour of downtown Saratoga from Sherry McCay, a volunteer with the Saratoga Museum. As they made their way down Bridge Avenue, they stopped in front of the Saratoga Sun where Sherry began telling them about the newspaper. Even though it was a Monday, deadline day for our small weekly paper, I opened the door and asked if the students would like a tour of the newspaper office. Fortunately, their teachers appeared to...
Wyoming’s gigantic back yard—its national forests and wilderness areas—took a mighty beating this summer as Americans tried to escape from urban areas and get away from the scourge of the COVID-19 virus. From one end of Wyoming to the other, campgrounds, isolated trails, and hidden lake areas were discovered by a new kind of visitor. These were folks desperate to find pristine mountain places away from the dreaded virus that has claimed over 200,000 people in the USA since March. They wanted open air where they could breathe without masks...
Dear Editor, Dr. Osborne did have the remains of “Big Nose George” Parrot, one the two outlaws who killed Robert Widdowfield and Tip Vincent. Parrot’s remains were stored in a barrel. Some of the skin of Parrot was used to make a pair of shoes and a small patch. Dr. Osborne gave one of the items to James Fisher, a relative of Widdowfield. James gave it to his son Richard who left it in a trunk at the ranch for his son, also named Richard, my husband. Many folk passed through the ranch including employees tending sheep, hunters, fishe...
Probably one of the smartest things I have ever done was start to keep a journal my senior year of college. I can’t say it was my idea. A friend of mine was relentless in keeping track of her day to day life in a book I first met her in the dorm while we lived at the University of Maryland. Trish had been doing it since she started high school. She was a smart young woman, starting college at 16 and finishing law school when most are getting their undergraduate degrees. I am still in touch a...
“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.” ~Anthony Bourdain Author’s note: This column was originally written shortly after the passing of Anthony Bourdain. With it being Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I felt it fitting to finally publish. I woke up early on June 8, 2018 and I checked my phone as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I caught the words ...
I thought it would be clever to write my thoughts on Saturday as I waited to see if I was going to have to be evacuated due to the 316 fire and the potential of losing pretty much everything I owned. I can’t tell you how interesting the story was because when the order came that the town was under a mandatory evacuation, I shutdown my computer without saving the document. When you are in a hurry, you do careless things. Ironically, I was at the first fire that started on the railroad tracks a...
Editor, An American historian once defined our national politics as the “systematic organization of hatreds.” Although this observation was made years ago, it is just as true today. In 2020, who you hate is who you are. Our parties today are largely driven by “tribal politics”, by what they are against, rather than what they are for. Political scientists call this phenomenon negative partisanship, and its dominance was on full display at both the Democratic and Republican conventions. The type of partisanship on display by both parties was fil...
“Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers.” ~ T’Challa “Black Panther” On August 28, the actor Chadwick Boseman passed away at the age of 43 after a four year battle with colon cancer. Something that was amazing, to me, was that he had been struggling with this disease all while filming and it didn’t even leak to the public....
To the Editor: The staff of the Carbon County Museum have been following Mike Armstrong’s recent series of articles about the county’s museums and historical sites with great interest. It is wonderful that someone is taking the time to call attention to the hardworking people who founded these institutions and have kept them open to the public. I would, however, like to note a few inaccuracies in his recent article on Carbon (August 19), to ensure that the proper information is shared. First, he misspelled the name of Palma Jack twice. Pal...
Editor, I’m all for defunding! Defunding welfare so you can’t riot, burn, loot, steal assault and throw urine, feces, rocks and explosives at police when you have to work for a living. Wake up, America. Left unchecked, these lovelies will soon be visiting your neighborhood (their words, not mine). Art Leys Saratoga, Wyoming...
National history concerning women was made in Wyoming last Tuesday – and it occurred on the 100th anniversary of national suffrage for women. You just cannot make this up. The four major party candidates for U. S. Senator and U. S. Representative will all be women in the general election on Nov. 3. This is simply amazing. The election also marked a historic statewide election when a number of prominent Republicans were knocked off by their more conservative counterparts. But first, back to the women: One of the women brings another amazing s...
Dear Editor, Since elected to serve on the Saratoga Town Council, I have strived to encourage public discourse and to promote civic engagement. I believe our best council meetings are the ones when the room is full, when citizens are vocal, when ideas are exchanged, when tough questions are asked and when rigorous debate unfolds about issues that matter to the residents of Saratoga. For some time now, much of that conversation has been about the Town’s finances. Understandably, this has been an important topic to everyone who cares about the f...
Dear Editor, There is an old expression that says if you are in a hole and want to get out quit digging. The controversy in the City Council of the “missing” $3.7 million is without question a hole. But it is not a hole that is likely to be filled because, from all appearances, it appears to be money that was spent but not properly accounted for. It seems to be something of a waste of energy, irrespective of the strong emotions involved on both sides of the discussion, to spend all your time on the past without doing something about the fut...