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Dear Editor, I would like to remind the elected officials of our town that it is their duty and responsibility to answer to the constituency. Questions from other council members are not an inconvenience to be overcome; they are means to discovering and understanding the truth. The public is not an inconvenience to be overcome; they are the citizens of this town to whom you answer. The financial activity of the town is not a mere inconvenience to deal with; it is a priority for you to manage. You chose to sit behind that bench. You chose the...
Dear Editor, Black Lives Matter marches and protests around the country have had a secondary significant benefit beyond raising social awareness of race related issues in our society. It has put our elected officials in a position that they have little rational reason to reimpose the draconian measures associated with the COVID pandemic. In my opinion, the overwhelming majority of the country imposed restrictions that did much more harm than good. Elected officials at all levels, from City Mayors to Governors and public health officials,...
Dear Editor, Time to get involved folks! This is a call to the voices of all Carbon County residents to provide input based on your personal expertise, knowledge, experience and desire to develop the Natural Resources Management Plan for Carbon County. This plan will be the product of a non-partisan committee. Why is this important? Because without a plan for our county, the Federal Government can step in and dictate to use how to use our resources! We chose to live here, in good part, due to these unique, limited and irreplaceable resources....
Dear Governor Gordon, May I ask who cuts your hair? I assume someone in Cheyenne - or someplace close to there. When I see you on the TV your hair looks mighty good. If I just knew who dun’ that I think mine also could. Indeed, it is a long ol’ drive from Encampment all that way. But, with an early start I’d be back in just a day. As you know, shops here are closed and all over the State, I guess. If you do not let them open We’ll become a hairy mess. You see, I’ve always kept well trimmed since I was just a lad. Now after weeks without o...
Dear Editor, Well, here I go again, or should I say here we go again. I stood in front of the last administration in August 2017 and told the town council then they had a terrible track record of failed or incomplete projects at considerable financial loss to the Town of Saratoga. At that time, I read Suzie Cox’s internal memo (town being financially broke) for the record during the meeting. Now it’s 2020 and a new administration, except it’s really an older administration repurposed for a third term in office. Business as usual. And what this...
Dear Editor, With the advent of the COVID-19 virus, those unfamiliar with the workings of the beef industry were shocked to learn that Beef Packers were charging large increases for boxed beef and that, at the same time, had dropped the prices they were paying for the live cattle ready for slaughter thereby making huge profits at a time when the producers of cattle and consumers were under stress dealing with the virus and weather related losses. How did this happen they ask? Directors and members of ICOW, other independent cattlemen...
Dear Editor, Now, when we are stuck at home, is the time—the perfect time—to reflect and think about your and your family’s history. There are valuable stories and pictures just waiting for you. You think there is not anything interesting to tell? You’re wrong. We find that our grandchildren are fascinated with our stories when we visit together but we should all write, record and preserve these stories. Fancy writing is not necessary. Just honesty and feeling. Childhood, parents, youth, memorable moments. Play, education, activities, jovial...
Dear Editor, One of my favorite books in the Saratoga Museum is “Saratoga and Encampment Wyoming: An album of Family History.” Residents, tourists and researchers use this reference to the Platte Valley to explore and learn about their families. I would like to ask those with history in the Valley to reach out again to their families. Maybe there was not enough time with the last edition or maybe they always wanted to but thought they didn’t know enough details. We can turn staying at home into a positive with teaching children how to gathe...
Dear Editor, Over the last several decades the world has witnessed a spate of new health threats in the format of SARS, HIV, Ebola, Bird flu, Swine flu. All of these in the form of highly communicable diseases which at one time have threatened the health of the planet. Now we are experiencing another such virulent disease in COVID-19 which is currently attacking countries around the world. In addition to the public health implications, it also reveals the diminished response capability of our government at all levels of society and highlights...
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...