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Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD 2) held a special meeting Thursday in Saratoga to discuss projected cuts to the district’s budget due to educational cuts made by the state Legislature. Projecting cuts of approximately $304,000 in state for the 2017-2018 school year, board members heard a presentation by CCSD No.2 superintendent Jim Copeland and business manager Sally Wells, who discussed the results of a survey of teachers and district parents. The survey was intended to gauge stakeholders’ feelings about what should be cut at the... Full story
The Saratoga town council, short two members, met briefly Tuesday and quickly dispensed with routine business. Mayor Ed Glode and councilman Will Faust were not present at the meeting, leaving councilman Richard Raymer holding the gavel. After routine business such as approving minutes, paying the bills and noting correspondence, public statements and council comments, the council moved onto matters such as the town’s new 9-1-1 system and planning for upcoming recreational events as the town begins to prepare for spring and summer. Police C... Full story
The Encampment town council proclaimed March 19 as Lady Tiger Day in Encampment with enthusiastic support from the entire council before discussing the fish pond to be built near a ball field where standing water lets mosquitoes breed. Doreen Harvey, town clerk, reported not taking into consideration specially proposed funds, town sales tax revenue is at 76.92% and expenses are currently at 40.92% of the town budget. Harvey attributed the performance to good decisions by the council and employees. She also listed expenditures that needed to be... Full story
The Saratoga Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board (sewer board) met Wednesday for a longer than usual time to discuss potential improvements to the town’s sewage lagoon. The improvements would be funded by monies provided by the state for the now-abandoned sewer outfall project. That project, which had previously been required to lower ammonia levels in Hot Slough Creek, was abandoned after data provided by the town showed ammonia levels in the creek were within range and had been for several years. However, the town still has access to funds p... Full story
If student interest is any gauge of performance, then Saratoga High School's track team has had a quite auspicious beginning to their season. The Panthers this year will field a contingent of nearly 40 athletes, up from last year when the team had 35 participants. Those on the team embody a sense of school spirit that SHS athletic director Rex Hohnholt hopes will put wind in the sails of other sports at SHS. "We have more kids on than we've had in a long time and that's really exciting," Hohnhol... Full story
The Wyoming Open, Saratoga's annual pool tournament that draws players from around the country and even the world, just keeps getting bigger and bigger. This year's event, to be held March 31-April 2, had already been slated to have 208 players, 16 more than last year's total of 192. That expansion wasn't enough though, and organizers have had to find more tables and add more player slots to accommodate those who want to be a part of the action. "I posted on Facebook Feb. 9 and Feb. 20-11 days l... Full story
Saratoga’s inaugural skijoring event, intended to replace perennial favorite chariot races, was a success that orgabuzers hope will lead to big things for the event in the future. Richard Raymer of the Lion’s Club, one of the organizers of the event, said in skijoring’s first year, attendance surpassed the attendance of chariot races, despite the fact the event was organized only during the last 45 days after a lack of competitors for chariot races forced organizers to abandon that event. “There’s a new winter event in Saratoga,” Raymer said...
Lady Panthers/Tigers Lady Panthers versus Kaycee The Lady Panthers squared off against Kaycee Friday night. Kaycee is no. 2 in their conference but the Lady Panthers seemingly had no problem controlling the game. Seniors Meredith Lincoln had 15 points while Katie Loose grabbed 9 boards in the 45-32 Saratoga win. Lady Panther head coach Heather Bartlett said she was able to play some of the Freshman girls in the fourth quarter and, "It was just a really good game for us." Valley Girls meet... Full story
The Saratoga High School Wrestling team performed well enough at regionals over the weekend in Dubois to send seven of eight wrestlers to State Finals in Casper this weekend. After what coach Zach Schmidt called a “flat start” Friday, team members regained the edge and went on to fight back and finish strong. But it wasn’t all good news for the team; two SHS wrestlers in the 160-pound class had to face off against one another. One wrestler went on to state, the other will stay home. “We ran into a little bit of back luck with some bracket... Full story
The Saratoga Community Garden, at its Monday meeting, discussed the process for the group to become a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit as well as preparations for the upcoming growing season. As a non-profit, the community garden would then manage its own funds and grants without relying on the town of Saratoga to act as a custodian of funds. The move to convert the group to a nonprofit group came after a controversial two months that saw members of the garden board pitted against town council members. In December, town council member Will Faust raised... Full story
At the town of Saratoga’s Tuesday town council meeting, a new 911 system, river work and the appointment of a local resident to the Carbon County Economic Development Board took center stage amid routine business. The council voted to spend $94,000 on a new 911 system to replace the current system owned by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Department the town pays to use. Council members were swayed after figures provided by Saratoga Police Chief Robert Bifano showed the town would save $34 per month at first and would later save $840 per month onc... Full story
Skijoring, a new event blending equestrian riding with skiing and which is replacing chariot races in the Valley for the first time this winter, will be held March 3-5, the weekend that the chariot races would have been held. The event sponsores, the Lion’s and Jaycees, hope the event will draw crowds. According to Will Faust of the Lion’s Club, the racing may be different from previous years, but the event will retain much of the character of the chariot races. Sign up for participants will be held March 3 at the Wolf Hotel, Faust said. Rac... Full story
As the temperature in the Valley approached a spring-like temperature on Thursday, the Riverside Town Council focused on initial planning for summer events. Despite Mayor Leroy Stephenson being on vacation in a much warmer clime, and the absence of new council member Katie Cheesbrough, the council had a quorum and went about its business with mayor pro-tempore Fred Lorenz at the helm. Jan Cook, town clerk for Riverside, said she had submitted a grant for $3,000 for the town park to help defray the cost of salaries and $1,500 the expense of... Full story
The Town of Encampment council met in an 18-minute town council meeting, which was dominated by planning for fair-weather fun. The board quickly disposed of routine business like approving minutes and approving the bills and financial statements. The town also agreed to spend $600 on materials to improve service lines for residents in town. The residents complained of low water pressure and a bad taste in the water likely caused by the old galvanized pipe used in that area, Katrina Nuhn, a worker for the town of Encampment told council... Full story
Saratoga Airport Board’s Wednesday meeting was a hit among attendees, as far as such a thing might be possible. Besides routine business and discussion of installing security cameras at Shively Field, the most time spent at the nearly two-hour meeting was the discussion of the airport board’s hangar leases with lessees. Last month, town attorney David Erickson was scheduled to address the airport board and members of the public about changes to the lease agreements for hangar space at the airport. The leases offered are for land only; pil... Full story
The Saratoga Water and Sewer Joint Powers Board (sewer board) met Wednesday to deal with routine business facing the board, as well as to discuss several ongoing projects. Besides routine business, the board discussed the results of an engineering study prepared by a contractor to find potential improvements for the town’s treatment lagoon, passed a draft ordinance to the town council that would raise sewer tap fees and the board discussed bringing the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)office near the airport on to the town’s water supply and sew... Full story
The Carbon County Invite rolled into the Valley over the weekend, drawing high school wrestlers and crowds to the Saratoga High School gym. Dozens of wrestlers, coaches and staff made treks from across the state to attend the invitational that marked the end of the regular season. Over the weekend, an estimated 200-250 wrestlers representing 17 teams from across the state made the home of the Panthers their arena. In the end, three grapplers from the home team placed, and as a team, Saratoga end... Full story
Joe Parrie was busy on a phone call with a customer during the time that was scheduled for his interview. Eventually, he came out and apologized for the wait and said that dealing with customers and helping them sort issues was what his job was all about, but he was sorry for the delay nevertheless. This year, Parrie is the winner of the Carbon Power and Light(CP&L) employee of the year, an award he says is given to employees who do a particularly good job of working with customers, whom,...
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District’s (Landfill board) first meeting of 2017 was relatively well attended by the public. Board members discussed the opening of the Valley’s new transfer station. The $1.3 million transfer station was completed in December, and the board hopes to have it fully operational by May after a pilot program. The board also discussed some costs associated with the construction of the facility, notably the lighting system. The board, which hopes to have the transfer station fully operational by sum... Full story
Governor Matt Mead’s office announced an initiative Monday that is hoped will diversify the state’s economy and strengthen it. The Governor’s initiative, called “Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming (ENDOW) was created to help develop a comprehensive approach to diversifying the state’s largely carbon-fuel based economy, according to a release by the Governor’s office. The program has received support from the 145-member Wyoming Economic Development Association (WEDA), a group that wants to expand Wyoming’s economy, create jobs a... Full story
The Encampment Boys' Basketball team had a rough weekend facing off against two conference rivals, one of which was ranked #5 in the class. The boys hosted the Farson-Eden Pronghorns Friday and the Cokeville Panthers Saturday. Against the Pronghorns, the Tigers lost 73-57. When it came to the Cokeville Panthers Saturday, the team let that win slide away 68-48. Encampment's record is now 1-5 for the conference, and 9-8 overall. Illnesses that swept through area schools were likely a factor in... Full story
The Encampment School girls' basketball team had a weekend of mixed results against conference contenders Farson-Eden and Cokeville over the weekend. Illnesses that raged through the lower Valley, as well as injury, took their tolls on the Lady Tigers, but did not stop the girls from holding a high-ranked competitor to within 2 points and beating another conference rival. With post season a month away, the Lady Tigers are on the prowl for more wins. The girls' weekend began Friday against the... Full story
Visitors to public schools in the Valley will be required to show a legal ID to enter schools starting Feb. 13, as the Carbon County School District #2 (CCSD #2) implements a new computerized visitor tracking system. The system, purchased from Raptor Technologies of Houston, will allow school personnel to scan a driver’s license, state ID or passport and issue a badge to visit the school property. The visitor will only have to scan their ID one time so the software can conduct a near-instant check to see if the visitor is listed on any state s... Full story
The flu virus, and strep throat, has left scores ill and has caused events across the Valley to be canceled. Kim Deti, of the Wyoming Department of Health, said flu-like activity across the state was on the upswing. Last week’s numbers for flu-like illness was about double the previous week, and that was double the week before, she said. County health officials also say that cases are up across Carbon County, though numbers by individual counties are not available. The outbreak, which has hit Saratoga schools particularly hard, led to the c... Full story
The Encampment High School Girls’ Basketball team, rebounding after a week of illnesses that left a large fraction of the student body—including basketball players—home sick, dealt a loss to conference rival Little Snake River at home in Baggs Friday. The Lady Tigers cruised into town during a week when other schools in the district and the state were canceling and postponing games due to large numbers of players sidelined by a flu bug ravaging the state. Girls’ Basketball head coach and Encampment athletic director Clint Bromley said over th... Full story