Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 86
Dear Editor, Our world is dealing with an unprecedented time that has not been seen in generations, if ever. We are being asked to do things we would never consider as normal–social distancing being the most prominent. There is no one immune from this. It is a global issue. We all see the news showing how the numbers of those infected and having died from this virus continues to grow exponentially on a daily, or even hourly, basis. That said, those of us in Wyoming, and Carbon County in particular, have opportunities to deal with this better t...
Dear Editor, Do we citizens of Carbon County want the Federal Government to have total control over our natural resources? Fishing, hunting, agriculture, ranching, energy, recreation, water, air, mineral, timber, our economy (to name a few) are our heritage and way of life. Unfortunately, we are in a very sad state of affairs when our County Commissioners don’t appreciate or seem to want representation from all the people to formulate a Natural Resource Management Plan for Carbon County. The Commissioners voted on March 17, 2020 to have only s...
Dear Editor, Tourism is a growing industry in Carbon County. Carbon County’s tourism growth and economic change has been exciting and impressive over the last seven years. Carbon County not only provides temporary housing to industry workers but has a thriving visitor economy. In the past, Carbon County was more of a stop on the way to or from another tourist destination but, over the last few years, has become a destination for visitors. Evidence to support this is in the numbers. As reported in the Dean Runyan Associates 2018 Wyoming T...
Editor, In response to the article by Mike Armstrong,”A Missed Opportunity” I would like to support both Mr. Armstrong’s reporting and the members of the CCVC as well as other tourism partners. As Bill Sniffen noted in “Tourism is a runaway success for the Cowboy State,” tourism is the second-largest industry in the state, with promises of greater growth and expansion ahead. If you are a conservative who believes in trickle down economics, tourism spending is essentially putting money in the bank. For every dollar spent on promoting tourism,...
Dear Editor, I write this letter with a heavy heart, while I prepare to leave Saratoga for a new job. I came to Saratoga last March to join the healthcare staff at Platte Valley Clinic. I came here under the pretense the town was moving towards establishing a critical access hospital. In that time, I have seen and participated in the passionate debate of moving forward with the CAH. I have listened as misinformation has been spread, and what appears on the surface, to be conflicts of interest for whatever the underlying reasons. There has been...
Dear Editor, I have read with interest the latest news (Sept. 25) about Saratoga finances and the questions being raised by council member Mr. Jon Nelson. I also ready with interest the week before about the $80,000 being the responsibility of Saratoga to pave the airport parking. I would like to ask three simple questions: 1. To begin with, why is Mr. Lance Grubb, as representative of the airport board, say he is sure he could come up with $80,000 within the “community” of Saratoga or County budgets? The majority of Saratoga town res...
Dear Editor, Bridge Street Bargains is in need of volunteers in order to continue our service to the community. We are a nonprofit thrift store and the money earned is returned to the community. Since September 2015, we have given approximately $70,000 to nonprofit organizations in our valley. Anyone is welcome to join our team and we would love to have you. Hours are flexible and the volunteer establishes their own hours. So, come in and talk to us. We understand everyone is busy but if you can spare a couple hours a week, it would be a great...
To the Saratoga Sun Staff, Anyone who has worked in the newspaper business knows it is hard work getting a newspaper out when everything goes right, and it rarely goes right. I am impressed with how the team came together and published the paper two days after losing their leader, Keith McLendon. This says a lot about his team and the way he led it. That was not an easy task. You should be proud of yourselves. I know Keith would have been. Good job, Liz Wood Saratoga...
Dear Editor, The past couple of weeks you have run letters from readers who feel Brush Creek is changing the valley in a way that they don’t approve of. I would make the opposite argument. I would start by the obvious and that is that they are targeting a clientele that no one else in the valley targets, and they are doing it successfully. They are obviously providing them with an experience that they find attractive and are bringing a national awareness to their facility. The fact that they continue to grow and attract a different clientele is...
Dear Editor, We want to express my appreciation to Brush Creek Ranch and the White’s for their investment in Wyoming. We believe that our state benefits in many ways from Brush Creek and it’s employees and guests. Many of the employees of Brush Creek Ranch live in our communities and thus contribute to the overall success of our region. They buy homes, pay taxes, shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants, support our community center, and have children enrolled in our schools. We realize that most of the guests of Brush Creek Ranch probably do...
I just read the letter from Mr. Carl Beach. I have been coming to Saratoga for a number of years and have always enjoyed the area. 3 years ago I decided to retire and make Saratoga home. I have been watching Brush Creek buy up more and more land for the use of the 1% as Mr. Beach stated. I do agree that the vistors of Brush Creek do not care about the locals or the history of carbon county. I now feel like a prisoner, I can’t enjoy the valley as I did years ago. I did see a group of kids with the Brush Creek camp at the Encampment museum the o...
Dear Editor, I just wanted to let you and your town know that I love coming to Saratoga. I happened upon the hot springs by accident and that was the icing on the cake! I usually camp at Ryan Park in one of the Brush Creek campgrounds and also at the lake for a few days. I have made a few friends at the hot springs, early in the morning. I’ve learned a lot about Saratoga from them. Thanks, Dick Perue, Dale and Lori, Ken, Clyde, Marilyn (that has moved away) and Steve for giving me some good company and sharing with me some of the town’s his...
Dear editor, I am appalled at the lack of critical insight and awareness on display in the July 3rd column “Saratoga is famous too” by Joshua Wood. Without a hint of sarcasm or irony, Wood has reaped praise on a company that continues to recklessly gobble up our previously locally owned land in the name of corporate profit and status-sharing among the elite of our nation. Brush Creek Ranch has never been a “win” for our community, no matter how much publicity it brings, because of the exact nature of the tourism Wood shamelessly describ...
Dear Editor, The letter from Jake and Nicky Shoales of Spokane, Washington—re: their experience at the “city” supported hot springs, while wonderful, reported no working water fountains plus slippery steps. Neither condition reflects well on the Town’s repair and maintenance nor its concern for the health and safety of residents and visitors. The Shoales suggested that landing fees be established for corporate jets and used to fund needed repair and maintenance. Obviously they were not aware that landing fees are already collected for transient...
Editor, On our recent travels through the wonder-filled state of Wyoming, we stopped in Saratoga to enjoy the hot springs. It is truly a wonderful concept that a city supports a hot springs for residents and travelers alike to enjoy at no charge. After soaking in the waters for awhile, I was thirsty and wanted a drink of water. But the water fountains do not work. And the steps are bit slippery. I understand cities can be strapped for cash to keep up maintenance of their recreational facilities. Still, it would be nice to have a cool drink of...
Dear Editor, I have been following the debate regarding healthcare in Saratoga with great interest. After studying the proposals to date, I am convinced that we are headed in the wrong direction. There is a medical emergency in rural America. More than 100 of the country rural hospitals have gone broke, then closed in the last decade turning some of the most rural parts of the United States into what experts now call “health hazard zones.” Looking at the information on Saratoga’s situation I believe that we are on the verge of becoming the l...
Editor, I went to the Town Council meeting at the Community Center last week. I am appalled and frightened with the division in our community over the Clinic. If you are a pot stirrer please sign your name to your verbiage and argue with whoever in private. Many people in our valley do not read the paper or listen to the radio—they listen to the inconsistent and sometimes untruthful and sometimes ignorant Facebook or web pages. Find out all sides—talk to the people involved—before stirring the pot and spreading gossip. We need our clini...
Dear Editor, I have been trying to keep up with the banter regarding the project. From what I have surmised from all of it is that this is a big boondoggle where a big fancy new complex will be built in Saratoga. From my understanding, it will be built with money acquired from grants and other funding. It sounds nice. However, after it is completed, where, realistically, will the money come from to pay the bills to maintain the complex? What we need in Saratoga is the same medical center now standing. It is in good shape and ‘big enough.’ To...
Editor, When issues surrounding the Platte Valley Medical Clinic began publicly last fall, I attended a Saratoga town meeting and I was dismayed to learn most all the discussions and possible solutions were being strictly discussed by the Saratoga council, not including the rest of the Platte Valley communities. I spoke after the meeting with, then, Councilman Faust, and impressed upon him the need for the rest of the valley towns to be included in working on a solution, as the Platte Valley...
Editor, As the second-largest industry in the state, it’s no surprise that tourism is big business in Wyoming. During 2018, Wyoming welcomed more than 8.9 million overnight visitors who spent more than $3.8 billion dollars in our state, while generating $196 million in local and state tax revenues. And while the tourism industry pumps substantial funds into the Wyoming economy, it also directly supports 32,290 full and part-time Wyoming jobs—which account for 8 percent of the state’s workforce. Here in The Upper North Platte Valley, our resid...
Dear Editor, I implore anyone considering supporting a tax increase on Wyoming’s wind-generated electricity to first consider the studies conducted exclusively on wind energy development, taxation, and the renewable energy market and know all the facts. After years of closely considering all issues, we in Carbon County and other counties know that keeping taxes at the current level for wind plants is fair and gives us the best opportunity for securing new economic diversity and billions of dollars in new investment in Wyoming. Two studies c...
Editor, I would like to protest the upcoming changes with the Carbon County Public Defender’s office. The powers that be are proposing getting rid of administrative support staff in Rawlins thus making defendants call Laramie for assistance. As a longtime administrative assistant for a busy real estate agent I can not imagine what a disaster this is going to be. Waiting around for the lawyer to show up when, if there was a paralegal at the office you could get a quick question answered or that piece of paper signed and notarized. How are the f...
Editor, As I write this letter we don’t know who will be the next Mayor of Saratoga but felt I needed to respond to Lynda Healy’s letter in the October 31 edition of the Saratoga Sun. She stated that the previous Mayor (that be me) had entered into a lawsuit with Randy Stevens that even the insurance company would no longer honor. First off, the mayor doesn’t have the authority to enter into a lawsuit without council approval or under the advice of the town’s attorney. Secondly, her claim that the insurance company would no longer honor t...
Editor, Has anyone but me noticed the new 7 vehicle junkyard at the corner of Rochester and 4th St. Both state statues as well as our own nuisance ordinance clearly specify a maximum of 4 unlicensed rigs on private property. The obvious reason is so Saratoga can be a more pleasant place to live. Obviously someone isn’t doing their job of enforcement. If the present city council, mayor, planning officer or police chief isn’t interested in enforcement why not just dump the existing nuisance ordinance we spent hours developing and rename Roc...
Editor, Election time is November 6th. I am writing to remind everyone how the dismal state Saratoga’s financial affairs came to be. The previous mayor had entered into a lawsuit with Randy Stevens that even the insurance company would no longer honor and left Saratoga financially vulnerable. Over a quarter million dollars was spent out of the reserves that I know of for sure. The current Mayor and Council are still paying on the remnants of this. The town is also financially responsible (court ordered) should that $70,000 wall ever fail c...
