Week of October 31, 2024
Week of October 31, 2024
On Wednesday, October 16, a fire broke out at the gun range outside Saratoga igniting the tires used as a backstop at the far side of the range and the surrounding sagebrush. Firefighters from Saratoga immediately responded to put out the flames and tamp down the black smoke which could be seen all over town. Units from Ryan Park, Encampment, Sinclair, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the United States Forest Service joined in the containment that occurred an hour after the discovery of the...
History of Saratoga’s famous “Hobo Pool” and “Mineral Hot Springs” will be revealed Thursday evening, Nov. 14th, during a slide program at the Saratoga Public Library. Friends of the Saratoga Library invite folks to soak in the photos and stories beginning at 6:30 p.m. Come for the show, stay for the conversation and refreshments. Local historian Dick Perue will present more than 100 photos of the healing waters, with support from Chilly Rolison concerning Indian lore and Jamie...
The Encampment Lady Tigers are going to State Regionals as a 3rd seed in the Southwest Conference. With a record of 5-4 in the conference and 9-7 overall, the girls have a chance to get a spot in the state bracket, but they will have to get past the Burlington Lady Huskies first. The top four teams of the 1A West Regionals go to the state championship in Casper, November 8-10. The 1A West Conference is held in Lander and Encampment will play the Lady Huskies (7-2) (15-9) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday....
In the first half of their home game against the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers, the Encampment Tigers managed to lead three times. No small feat against one of the top teams in both the 1A South Conference and the state. Both teams took to the gridiron with an undefeated record with only one assurance: someone would leave with their winning streak ended. When the final game of the regular season came to an end, the Tigers found themselves on the losing side of a 42-point deficit....
It wasn’t an easy end to the regular season for the Saratoga Lady Panthers, being dealt three conference losses in the final week. On October 22, the Lady Panthers fell to the Encampment Lady Tigers in five sets (see “Valley rematch comes down to the wire” on page A1 of the October 24 Saratoga Sun). Then, on October 24, the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers left the Panther Den dealing a loss in three sets to Saratoga. On October 26, the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns evaded...
The Saratoga Panther cross-country team finished their season at state in Cheyenne on October 26 with freshman Vanessa King earning all state honors. “A big congratulations goes out to our newest All-State performer, Vanessa King,” said Head Coach Rex Hohnholt. “A great honor for you Vanessa and you and others are just scratching the surface of what you can achieve in the future.” While the teams did not stand on the podium for a team win — the gains made over the course of the season...
I have never been a very creative person. I do not do crafts or artwork that require drawing or painting, even though I have tried. It all comes out abstract. In elementary school, I had an art teacher that was more interested in the final product than the process and I never developed an interest in art. For those of you who know me, know I am a professional photographer and love taking photos of nature. I always say my husband is the true artist, as he creates his art and I just take pictures...
The Wyoming Tribune Eagle recently reported on a bill before the Legislature’s Corporations, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Committee that would allow Wyoming municipalities to build and operate power plants, which could become another source of revenue. It remains obscure while in committee but will come before the full legislature in 2025, likely bringing with it some controversy. “I asked the legislature to study giving us the authority to do this,” Mayor Patrick Collins of Cheyenne told the Enterprise. He credited the...
It’s not often there’s a win for transparency in our line of work but, last week, Wyoming’s Fourth Estate got one. After first voting to recommend a policy change which would restrict the access of photojournalists and broadcast journalists, the Select Committee on Legislative Facilities, Technology and Process reversed course on October 24. The policy change first passed on a 4-2 vote, with Senator Cale Case (R- Lander) and Representative Mike Yin (D - Jackson) voting against the measure on September 18. With the recommendation for...
A pre-Thanksgiving meal featuring baked ham with cranberry sauce tops the menu when folks next “Gather at the Table” for free food, fun and fellowship Monday evening, Nov. 4th, from 5:00 to 6:30 in the Saratoga Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall at the corner of Third and Bridge Streets. Also on the menu is buttered rice and gravy, fried cabbage, pan dressing, sweet potato pie cake and a beverage. Everyone, especially the hungry and lonely, are invited to gather for this monthly meal. No...
“They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still; the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea; for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.” These words are from the third verse of the wonderful English hymn “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” that Anglicans often sing on All Saints’ Day. All Saint’s Day, November 1st, is the day set aside by the Roman...
For those who pay no attention to national and social policies, this election will pass by like every other day and they will hardly notice or care about what it means for all of us. However, if you are someone who tries to keep up with the latest events and decisions that involve our country and world, as an informed voter you have probably already made up your mind about your choice for president. We know the country is divided about many issues and one side will be greatly disappointed with the results, but I pray that everyone can stay...
“I did not have it in my mind to be involved in the business,” said Mike Glode, 3rd generation co-owner of Shively Hardware in Saratoga. “That came later on when I was too stupid to get a real job.” Mike, at 75 years old, still heads in each day to the business which was bought by his grandfather, E.J. Shively, in 1925. He’s not hard to miss, he’s tall and has a broad smile on his face. Mike will often stand near the entrance to the local hardware store, greeting people as they come...
*Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series on Platte Valley school alumni returning as teachers* The author Thomas Wolfe once wrote, “You can’t go back home to your family, back home to your childhood.” Wolfe obviously never attended school in the Platte Valley, where many of those who now teach were once students. Case in point, Encampment K-12 School this year welcomed three new teachers—Mandy (Harris) Westerman, Bailey Miller and Noelle Peterson—who graduated from Encampment...
It has been said art is in the eye of the beholder. Nowhere was this more evident than during the recent visit by the University of Wyoming’s Ann Simpson Artmobile (Artmobile) to Saratoga. Saratoga Art Teacher Noel Shepard’s elementary art classes were introduced to the Artmobile Oct. 23 at the Platte Valley Community Center. The first graders sat down to listen to a story read by Sarita Talusani Keller, the Artmobile Educator. The students were given clipboards, paper and pencils and asked...
The Encampment K-12 3rd grade class paid a visit to the Saratoga Sun on October 16 to learn about the newspaper and its history. The class, led by Rayna Greenwood, spent about two hours in the Sun office where they learned about the history of the newspaper and had their writing edited. The writing assignment, given by Greenwood, paired students off before their visit to the Sun to interview each other about what they liked about their school and the Platte Valley. Joshua Wood, the interim...
As students are in their classes in the Saratoga Elementary School, an angel is secretly at work. Thursday morning, paraprofessional Valerie Larscheid had 21 paper bags lined up on a table. She was filling them with single serving items to provide breakfast and lunch for the students for the three-day weekend as there was no school on Friday. During lunch, she puts the bags in the students’ backpacks. What started as a program sponsored by Walmart in 2014 has become a community effort at the...
