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Shaylee Martin has no problem admitting that she was the “weird kid” who was fascinated by dead animals when growing up. “Growing up, when my dad would get an elk, he’d always be like ‘Here, clean this out,’” said Martin. “So I was always the one out back after everybody was done tinkering seeing what I could get cleaned off.” That interest in cleaning a harvested animal grew as Shaylee grew, starting with an interest in taxidermy at an early age. How amazed would young Shaylee be, then, to see...
The Saratoga Panthers started off their season with a trio of wins as they co-hosted the Carbon County Classic—a preseason non-conference tournament in Saratoga, Encampment and Hanna. The Panthers faced off against the Burlington Huskies and the Dubois Rams on Friday in Saratoga, then took on the Rock River Longhorns on Saturday in Hanna scoring more than 70 points in each game. Panthers vs. Huskies “We felt like the boys came out and played really well this past weekend,” said Jason Willi...
It was a strong start for the season for the Encampment Tigers as they hosted the Carbon County Classic over the weekend and went 3-1. The Tigers faced off against the Midwest Oilers, the Burlington Huskies, the Dubois Rams and the Ft. Washakie Eagles dealing losses to everyone except for the Huskies. Even then, Burlington barely left Tiger Nation with the win. “It was fun to kick the season off. I thought our team competed well and played well together,” said Jake Johnston, head coach of the...
Out of 15 players on the bench this season for the Saratoga Lady Panthers, Head Coach Heather Bartlett has only two returning starters, the other three having graduated last school year. That’s not to say, however, there’s any lack of experience. “Our junior class is pretty heavy with players,” said Bartlett. “So we have quite a few junior players that are coming back and giving us some good experience this year.” That returning experience is giving Bartlett some hope for this upcoming se...
Green but determined is probably one of the best ways to describe the Saratoga Panthers this year. According to Head Coach Jason Williams, of the 21 student athletes which will be donning jerseys only a few have previous experience. “We have a lot of new faces; there’s only six kids in the program that have been in the program at all before. At this point, we’re seeing what your strengths are and seeing what we need to work on,” said Williams. “These first couple of weekends are going to be rea...
The Encampment Lady Tigers are beginning their season with a total of nine girls, but with only four having played for the red and black previously. "Five of the nine girls did not play for Encampment last year," said Kevin Pantle, head coach for the Lady Tigers. "Two foreign exchange students, one transfer from Saratoga and one did not play last year because of an injury." According to Pantle, who is a first year head coach for the Lady Tigers, the girls aren't letting a lack of experience in T...
The Encampment Tigers are hitting the hardwood with 12 players this year, led by experienced coach Jake Johnston. Johnston coached the Tigers from 2017 to 2021 during which Encampment made three appearances at the 1A State Championship. “We are still pretty young as a team, but our goal each week is to just keep improving,” said Johnston. “We need to stack good days together.” According to Johnston, the young team has been working hard on communication well during practice. As long as that co...
Christmas magic was on full display at the 21st Annual Festival of the Trees, held at the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga on December 1. According to Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Amanda Knotwell, the annual event had approximately 250 people in attendance—the highest turnout in the past five years. This year’s event also raised more than $43,000 gross with $36,875 of that from the live auction held that night. While a number of items were auctioned off between $10...
At the November 21 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, the governing body approved the hiring of two part-time and one full-time dispatcher for the Saratoga Police Department. The two part-time dispatchers are Tiffany Moore and Tana Davi, the full-time dispatcher is Joshua Mathieu. “We’re doing the onboarding right but we’ve still got a couple of hoops to jump through to get the full-time going,” said Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris. “Then we’ll be able to put him on the schedule and start t...
Ugly sweaters have had a place in popular culture since the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that they truly entered the mainstream with Clark Griswold. On December 2, more than a dozen ugly sweater clad people could be seen dashing up Elm Street. “We only had 13 people show, which wasn’t too bad considering it was maybe 20 degrees and the wind was blowing 40 miles per hour,” said Kim Hemenway, director of the Saratoga Recreation Department. “We had some brave souls come out. The course wa...
When it comes to birthdays or holidays, a hand-made gift from a child will always carry a special place in the hearts of parents and grandparents. While that warm and fuzzy feeling can be great, sometimes children want the feeling of buying something for a loved one. That’s where Bridge Street Bargains and their annual Kids’ Shopping Day comes in. For the past several years, the all-volunteer thrift store has hosted a day where students from Saratoga Elementary School are able to shop for fam...
On the night of November 9, downtown Saratoga resembled something similar to a Hallmark movie as people milled in and out of businesses with shopping bags in tow as they participated in the inaugural Jingle Mingle. The shopping event was sponsored and developed by the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce and its CEO, Amanda Knotwell. According to Knotwell, the idea of the Jingle Mingle first began in September. “I was out visiting businesses and stopped in to Strong Tower Designs,” sai...
On November 4, for one day only, the hot springs at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort weren’t the only things heating up. In the Saratoga Room, just past the Silver Saddle Room, five couples learned Argentinian Tango. The class, which was taught by Amy Beaudet and Ilya Lisenker, was sponsored by the Platte Valley Arts Council. “When I first got onto the Platte Valley Arts Council, it came up as a possibility of bringing tango to the Valley. I think one of the long-time members had brought it up...
The famed author and satirist Mark Twain once said “write what you know.” Former Saratoga local and author Sarah “S.E.” Reichert did just that with the Sweet Valley series, her newest romance trilogy. Reichert, a graduate of Saratoga High School, spoke at the Saratoga Branch Library on November 21 to a group of dedicated fans about her newest series which begins with “Raising Elle,” released in May 2023. No Place Like Home “The book is loosely based in the Valley and I think if you know your way...
Over the past several years, Cassie and Tommy Orduno have added a number of businesses to Saratoga beginning with Bella’s Bistro and then adding the Saratoga Sandwich Company and SunnyCup. Now, the couple have added yet another business with The Lucky Pearl at 100 N. 1st Street. The location had previously been the home of the Laura M Art Gallery until owner, Laura Morrow, chose to close her business last year. When Laura M made her announcement, Cassie said she briefly considered opening s...
As the year draws to a close, the Saratoga Planning Commission is preparing for 2024. At their November 14 meeting, the planning commission discussed potential ordinances, a brownfield grant application and goals for next year. Processing Code Changes Emery Penner, zoning and planning director, raised the idea of a potential ordinance to the planning commission in regards to meat processing facilities. Currently, under section 18.39.020(B) of the Saratoga Municipal Code, a meat packing plant or...
The Saratoga branch of RNB State Bank recently presented checks totalling $600 to members of the community. On November 3, two checks for $200 each were presented to two Valley non-profit organizations and one check for $200 was presented to Liandro Escobedo. The presentation of the check to Escobedo was due to his success in a recent program called “Saving Makes Cents” in which people were asked to guess the amount of pennies in a jar. “We just decided to select a jar, fill it with penni...
The same struggle of employee shortages plaguing emergency call centers around the nation will also soon impact the Saratoga Police Department, which already has a small staff of dispatch workers. At the November 7 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Chief Mike Morris told the council that he would soon be down to only two full-time dispatchers. The typical amount of dispatch staff for his department is four full-time employees. Dispatch Shortage “We’re running into a little bit of an iss...
In the southeast corner of Wyoming sits the state’s only university, home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys and alma mater of current NFL players such as Josh Allen and Logan Wilson. Just a stone’s throw away from War Memorial Stadium—which arguably becomes the most densely populated location during home football games—is a surprising looking structure with equally surprising contents. The American Heritage Center (AHC) is located within the Centennial Complex which catches the eye with its u...
At a special meeting held on November 2, the Carbon County Republican Party Central Committee selected three candidates for the vacancy on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) following the resignation of Commissioner Byron Barkhurst. As was previously reported, Barkhurst’s resignation was accepted by the commissioners on October 17. At the same meeting, the BOCCC also declared a vacancy and provided a written letter to the chairman of the Carbon County Republican Party. The c...
As goes the Red Desert, so goes the rest of the country. This is the concern of Representative Bob Davis (R - Baggs) of House District 47. Davis’ district, while encompassing most of Carbon County, also includes portions of Sweetwater County which is included in the Red Desert. Since it was released in August of this year, the draft resource management plan from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the Red Desert has been the center of controversy and debate. Conservation groups have p...
The Encampment Tigers’ nearly undefeated season came to a heartbreaking end on Friday as they were dealt a loss by the Burlington Huskies in the semifinal round of the 1A Six-Man Playoffs. A mere 7 points separated the Tigers and Burlington. “Our game against Burlington was a shootout as anticipated,” said Kegan Willford, head coach of the Encampment Tigers. “Burlington has a great team and they execute very well. Our team played hard and fought all game to try and gain the advantage but, in...
When Eric Soyez joined the United States Navy, he became the 3rd generation in his family to serve in that branch of the Armed Forces. His father and his grandfather had both served and had been jet mechanics. “I’ll be honest, I was a little bit of a hellraiser when I was a kid and I got myself in a little bit of trouble,” said Soyez. “I thought maybe it was time to turn the other direction and do something with my life.” While he followed—in a way—in the footsteps of his father and grandfather,...
Justin Brown can be pretty easy to pick out in a crowd. He stands at over six feet tall and is covered in tattoos. When he speaks, he has a bit of a southern drawl. Though he owns and operates TYK9 just outside Saratoga now, he was once a Ranger in the United States Army. He also spent six years working for Blackwater. Now a civilian, Brown works with domestic dogs and does K9 training shepherds and malinois. The drawl he has when he speaks is a holdover from being raised in the south, growing u...
Alan Brundage looks very unassuming. He’s tall, standing over six feet, and sports a beard and mustache. He speaks in a soft tone but with purpose and intent, making one feel that if he’s talking they better listen as it’s likely something worth being said. Brundage, who has lived in the Platte Valley for around two years now, spent nearly 50 years working for the federal government when one includes his time in both the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force. His stint...