Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Recently, I did a series of interviews with people that work on family ranches. The subject matter was interesting and I learned a lot. During several of the interviews I mentioned that I came from farming stock. Dairy farming stock to be exact. My father was raised on a 200 acre dairy farm in Virginia. I have no idea how many cows were on the farm, although I do have an old picture of the place framed and hanging in my bedroom. I have always liked this particular picture beca...
Even though the idea of Wyoming spending a billion dollars on a gigantic swath of land had some of us scratching our heads about one year ago – well, at least you had to give the project (and Govenor Mark Gordon) high marks for bold imagination. That deal went away when a company outbid Wyoming. But thinking back about that, it makes me wonder if Wyoming should be just a little brash. Be a little bold. Just a bit? Our leaders sometimes act like the proverbial guy who was up to his waist in alligators and forgot all about d...
I’ve been hearing that there’s some outrage about cancel culture and that we need to “cancel cancel culture” and, honestly, I couldn’t agree more. The disservice that was done to The Dixie Chicks (now The Chicks) in the early 2000s after they simply expressed their opinion is shameful. Whether or not you agreed with their comments, having their careers effectively ended for a decade and being blacklisted from country music was just wrong. Wait, we’re not talking about that?...
When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials in the public eye who may have to run for office again. No one wants to be held directly responsible for letting the public down. Case in point is the recent catastrophe in Texas, when unexpected winter storms left 4 million homes without power, ruptured pipes and tainted the water supply for many. Texas’ energy grid essentially collapsed. While Texas Governor Greg Abbott was quick to blame fro... Full story
A little over a week ago, I was getting out of the shower and I saw something that unsettled me; a dime sized black patch on my back. I had never noticed it before and, because it was the size it was, I was surprised I hadn’t seen it before. I have a few moles on my body but, honestly, there aren’t that many. I had noticed a few skin tags popping up around my neck but I knew them to be fairly harmless, so I paid them scant attention. I couldn’t say the same thing about this...
Wyoming’s current economic situation reminds me of the famous business book Who Moved My Cheese? After living off severance taxes from the energy industry for half a century, the Cowboy State is enduring a time when the state is trying to maintain services without the money to pay for them. As fossil fuels decline, severance taxes paid by energy companies for coal, oil and natural gas extracted from Wyoming are diminishing rapidly. That famous Cheese book by Spencer Johnson is about how people react to unpleasant change. I...
Dear Editor, The arctic air mass that descended on Texas vividly illustrated the future of our country with the renewed push by leftists to cripple our capitalist economies. Subsidized renewable energy investments embraced by electricity generating utility companies are caused by buying into the fallacy of “green energy”. That causes the reliable backup generation caseload of gas, nuclear and coal to be severely neglected or even abandoned. How much of the pain and destruction could have been prevented by minimal common sen...
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Saratoga needs traffic lights. I’ll wait for you to calm down from that statement before I continue. Take a couple deep breaths, maybe look at this week’s editorial cartoon and take a sip of coffee. Better? Ok. Saratoga needs traffic lights. Look, I hate writing that probably as much as you hate reading it, but I think it’s a hard truth that needs to be heard. Since moving back into town limits a little over a year ago, I’ve discovere...
"Tis funny about th' constitution," said Mr. Dooley, the legendary, philosophical Irish bartender created by Finley Peter Dunne. "It reads plain, but no wan can undherstant it without an interpreter." The Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the Constitution, but since the dawn of the republic, Americans have engaged in spirited, often heated, debates – constitutional conversations – about how it should interpret the Constitution. This is not surprising for a nation who...
Dear Editor A ban on federal oil and gas leasing in Wyoming could indeed push oil and gas companies to lease and develop more state and private land eventually. After 32 years as a habitat and mitigation biologist though, I have to say, concluding that a ban on federal oil and gas leasing will limit Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s ability to mitigate impacts to wildlife is a cop-out. Ideally, oil and gas development should be done in areas where they can avoid and prevent negative impacts to wildlife in the first place. I...
A couple weeks back, I was in the town of Elk Mountain and a snow squall was making my departure back to Hanna seriously questionable. I guess I have to acknowledge, my trusty white Mazda is not exactly the most snow worthy vehicle. Leaving town, I almost got stuck twice but my trooper of a car pulled through. Driving up WY 72, the road surface was white and I had a feeling it was going to be a harrowing drive. I wasn’t wrong. Because I know my car is not suited for travel i...
When the Wyoming Legislature reconvenes in March, the perennial battle to keep public notices in Wyoming newspapers will return as well. On February 4, the Senate Corporation Committee voted 4-1 to advance to the Wyoming Senate legislation that would remove the requirement for counties and municipalities to publish minutes and salary information in newspapers. Senate File 17 was crafted under the guise of saving the counties and municipalities money during much needed budget crunches. During the nearly two hour meeting,... Full story
Using both tight budgets and a Covid pandemic as excuses, the dumb idea of limiting printed public notices in Wyoming newspapers has reared its ugly head again in the Legislature in Cheyenne. Wyoming citizens should be both outraged at this proposal plus the fact that their taxes are paying for the lobbyists who are pushing for it. Crazy. Here is a fact: There are some people in government who like working out of the public’s eye. They do not like reporters or, worse yet, pesky citizens poking their noses into their work. T... Full story
Dear Editor, Platte Valley Kiwanis would like to thank the community and all those who supported our ice skating rink project this winter! The ice rink could not have been possible without generous support from American Legion, Bridge Street Bargains, E.J. Glode, Jim and Martha Gray, Carrie Haderly, Lollypops, Rocky Mountain District of Kiwanis, RP Lumber, Sinclair, Saratoga Fire Department, Saratoga Resort and Spa, Saratoga Sun, Shively North, and The Grumpy Italian. Our goal was to provide an opportunity for children and...
It’s a warm, fall afternoon. Summer doesn’t feel quite over, but school is in session. Students are watching the clock on the wall wishing for it to move faster and end the school day. As the teacher continues on with the lesson, it begins to sound somewhat like a trombone in a classic cartoon. His voice trails off as he wanders towards the windows of the classroom. The students, finally paying attention now that their teacher isn’t talking, look out the windows. The blue,...
"... Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels." ~ Ann Richards It's been more than 150 years since Wyoming gave all women the right to vote and earned it's official moniker as the "Equality State" and it's been nearly 100 years since Wyoming elected its first, and to-date only, woman governor; Nellie Tayloe Ross. This year, Wyoming elected its first woman senator, Cynthia Lummiss, and re-elected Liz Cheney, who is only... Full story
Enough already. Enough about politics. Enough about the deadly virus. Enough about complaining. Today, folks, this column will be totally devoted to GOOD NEWS. And there is plenty of it. First of all, the days are getting longer. Our long winter of discontent is over in many ways. And our dawns and sunsets are spectacular with brilliant reds. Stop and take in these wonderful and colorful marvels. The weather this winter has been relatively mild in most parts of the state. Interstate 80 has not been closed as much as last...