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The Ron Thon wrestling tournament in Riverton was as tough as expected. Over forty schools and 1,000 wrestlers competed for the top spot at the podium, and Panther wrestling had a weekend highlighted by some ‘great wins and tough losses,’ according to head coach Rusty Arnold. Four wrestlers returned from injury to compete in the tournament, and were understandably not in top form. The majority of the competition were from 3A and 4A schools, which made the hill a harder than normal one to cli...
Rural health care has historically been one of the critical issues that policy makers have had to face. In order to discuss the Behavioral Health Redesign being done by the Wyoming Department of Health, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) met with Senior Policy Analyst Franz Fuchs on January 2. This redesign will focus on mental health care in the state of Wyoming. The new system will change how behavioral health services are provided throughout the state. Funding will change to a...
The first Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) meeting of the year started off with a wide slate of topics, ranging from health care to the Rock Creek Transmission Project during their January 2 meeting. To start the meeting, the board approved the bills and monthly receipts before moving into discussing the issues of influenza and advertising for people to get vaccinated. After these discussions, the board listened to an update on the bridge replacement for the structure over the North...
This summer, it's been common to see businesses throughout town closed multiple days of the week. Though staffing has always been an issue for Saratoga businesses, recent developments have exacerbated the difficulty in finding employees. "In our 13 years of having businesses in Saratoga we've always had issues with staffing," said Cassie Orduno. She and her husband own Bella's Bistro, Saratoga Sandwich Company and SunnyCup. According to Orduno, the past couple years have made it more difficult....
The community push for pickle-ball is slowly gaining ground in Encampment. The Encampment Town Council met on June 8 at 7:00 p.m. for their regular meeting, where they discussed ordinances and the pickle-ball court. The pickle-ball discussion in this month’s meeting focused on the acquisition of nets for the courts. Peggy Huntley brought the request for funding before the council in order to buy two nets. She stated that the nets could be placed in the ground, and have the potential to be r...
Rural issues lined the docket as the Riverside Town Council discussed matters ranging from water lines to broadband accessibility. The council met on June 8 for a regular meeting. Liquor license renewal started off the meeting, with both the Bear Trap and the Mangy Moose being successful in their renewal. Flooding was discussed with Councilman Mark Helwick discussing the water levels in the Encampment River Basin. He said that he believed the high point of the water was reached the previous...
One of the most interesting parts of college is getting to take classes you didn’t even know existed. Now I’m a computer science major, and one of the requirements for being a computer science major is taking actual science classes. This was devastating news to me as I did not like Chemistry, Biology, or Physics in high school and knew having to take those classes in college would be a struggle. Thankfully, if you don’t want to take actual Biology, Insect Biology works as a great alter...
College has been a great experience so far. Granted, it's not very exciting considering I spend most of my time outside of school work being on the debate team and playing video games. I also spend time with friends, with that time revolving around debate and video games. Usually that time is dedicated to both. A semi-tradition formed during the past school year where a group of friends on the debate team would go to Taco Bell after practice and then spend the rest of the night playing Nintendo'...
Spirits were high at the Saratoga High School as the Class of 2023 graduated. The ceremony began with Principal JD Johnson welcoming everyone, and speaking about the class. Johnson was followed by teacher Jason Williams, leading everyone in a prayer. Next, class president Gabby Johnson spoke. Gabby Johnson started her speech by asking the audience to stand up and spin, saying "I read that if you moved your audience they would never forget you, and we're a pretty unforgettable class so I didn't...
The agenda, minutes, and bills were approved before moving on to a presentation on the Carbon County Prevention Network (CCPN) by Tracy Young. The presentation discussed issues such as drug abuse and suicide prevention, as well as summer events the CCPN will be hosting on June 21 and 22. Town Hall Departments Flooding is still a concern, with the town being on high alert. Residents of Saratoga can request sandbags by contacting Town Hall, but will have to place the bags themselves. There are...
Everything was business as usual at the Carbon County Commissioners Meeting. The commissioners met on May 16 in Riverside for their regular meeting. The meeting started with approval of the bills, then moved quickly into updates from Emergency Management. Flooding concerns were addressed with discussion of the current plans put in place. The commission thanked those who were able to attend during Governor Mark Gordon‘s visit to the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). Commissioner Travis Moore s...
Editor’s note: Kaitlyn is returning for the summer to help us out here at the Saratoga Sun. We are looking forward to her insight into the community and it’s happenings I’ve learned a lot after my first two years of college. Of course there are the obvious ones - the importance of studying and work and going to others for help. However, I’ve also learned to place a strong emphasis on having a social life, and spending time with friends. Hanging out is easy in the summer, but less so during the b...
While the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain by Brush Creek Ranch (BCR) has faced much controversy, it successfully moved to the next stage of approval during a special meeting by Carbon County Planning Commission on July 26. The PUD will be sent to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC) for review and potential approval. The planning commission staff created a series of amendments for the PUD guide after the July 12 public hearing. Some amendments were minor changes to...
The crowd gathered at the Bear Trap Cafe and Bar on July 24 was unusual, but not surprising given the event. Midget wrestling returned to Riverside for a Saturday night, giving the crowd a chance to see the wrestlers duke it out. The event was first introduced to Riverside in 2018, with MicroMania performing last year's show. This year's show by MicroMania proved to be popular, having sold over 100 tickets before the night even began. Laughter roared as jokes and insults were thrown, a...
The Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain at Brush Creek will be moving on to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) for review and potential approval following a special meeting of the Carbon Country Planning Commission on July 26. Brush Creek Ranch began the process for a zone change from Residential to PUD in order to develop a ski resort on Green Mountain. The commission was presented with an amended version of the PUD guide. Notable changes include the helipad usage...
Saratoga may not be getting a new recreational vehicle (RV) park after all. Jimmy and Jamie Campbell, owners of JaJaCa Properties, have been attempting to build an RV park along Wyoming Highway 130 but have faced several roadblocks along the way. At the June Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, they were attempting to make RV parks a permitted use under Highway Business (see “Deal or no deal” on page 1 of the June 16 Saratoga Sun). After the July meeting, it seems JaJaCa Properties has thr...
While discussion of the Green Mountain zone change dominated the conversation at the July 8 Encampment Town Council meeting, it didn’t completely hog the spotlight. During the meeting, Saratoga resident Lela Konecny spoke to the council regarding a lease on the lumber mill at Grand Encampment Business Park. Konecny gave a presentation as a representative of Meriwether Timber. The lease on the mill is currently owned by TNT Forest Products. TNT currently has no business license, having been a...
The July 12 public hearing for the Green Mountain ski area zone change was packed full of citizens voicing their concerns for the development. Representatives from Brush Creek Ranch presented their case to the Carbon County Planning Commission for a zone amendment from Residential to Planned Unit Development (PUD). While the majority of public comments were about water concerns, there also appeared to be an underlying culture war sentiment in regards to the application. The hearing began with...
Over a decade of history converged at the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting. Chris Shannon, co-owner of The Yard music venue, attended the meeting to voice his concerns about the definition of resort and the current zoning of The Yard. These issues have been expressed before (see “And the party never ends” on page 1 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun and “Resort definition questioned again” on page 3 of the June 30 Saratoga Sun). Shannon stated resort zoning comes with a list of accesso...
The history of a local music venue known as The Yard is long and fraught, and may be gaining a new chapter this summer. The Yard, owned by Chris Shannon and Cindy Bloomquist, is located across from the Angus England American Legion Post 54 on Southeast River Street in Saratoga. One of the first major incidents with music in the Valley occurred at the July 6, 2010 Saratoga Town Council meeting. In the meeting, members of the town came before the council to ask why a musical festival at Veterans...
The Saratoga Hot Springs Resort (previously known as the Saratoga Resort and Spa) has had a convoluted history with zoning. Additionally, the history of retail business zoning seemingly goes hand in hand with the history of the resort. When the retail business zone was first established, there was no language for many types of businesses under retail business. This included resorts, as the business was established before zoning districts were introduced in the 1980s. For much of its lifespan,...
It appears the recreational vehicle (RV) park saga might not be over yet. Over the past year, JaJaCa Properties owners James (Jimmy) Campbell and Jamie Campbell have attempted to construct a new RV park along Wyoming Highway 130. The project was brought to a halt in March, when the couple pulled their special use permit application (see "RV park hits the brakes" on page 1 of the March 17 Saratoga Sun). At the June 8 Saratoga Planning Commission meeting, a letter was received from the Campbells....
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) held their first meeting of the year in Riverside on January 6. The meeting began with site reports and talk of grinding instead of burning trash. It was determined that the issues with burning and the cost involved made grinding the better option, but they will get a burn permit as a backup. In billing reports, the gate fee was brought up in regards to the monthly rate. It was stated that it is $25 a month compared to $50 a trip....
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) met on December 2 at the Platte Valley Community Center to discuss ongoing matters involving the landfill. After site reports and discussion of ongoing billing issues, the board met with Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel to address the James Childress report. The report was criticized in the town council meeting the day before, and this trend continued to the landfill board meeting. Keel started by discussing Childress’s overview of the r...
The Upper Platte River Solid Waste Disposal District (UPRSWDD) met on December 2 at the Platte Valley Community Center in order to discuss ongoing matters involving the landfill. Following the site reports, the board decided to talk and finalize what they were going to do about the past due accounts. Over the past few months, the district has been struggling with people failing to pay their dues on time, with some not paying for over four months. To begin, Ellie Dana-Raymer gave a report to the...