Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 201
Lynda Healey tries not to say no when asked to lend a helping hand. "There is not much I won't consider doing, as long as it's legal," she said. "I'm not afraid to try new things." Even if the task involves wearing a gorilla costume, Healey finds herself, not only willing, but sometimes enjoying her job. Healey, since coming up with the idea in 2000 while living in Star Valley, has offered a variety of services to her community, simply because she saw a need. "In every community I have been in,...
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Knickerbocker to compile and review reports on alcohol-related incidents Saratoga’s police chief has taken notice of alcohol-related incidents, and further reports could affect establishments’ abilities to renew its liquor licenses. Police Chief Tom Knickerbocker said he is compiling and reviewing police reports on alcohol-related incidents, such as bar fights and DUIs, and how they relate to establishments over-serving patrons. Knickerbocker said the reports he reviews could affect an est...
I have enjoyed writing for the Saratoga Sun, and reporting on the town and meeting some awesome people. But, my time in Saratoga is coming to a close. By the time you read this, I will be preparing to leave Saratoga to begin my new job as publisher for the Pine Bluffs Post in Pine Bluffs, Wyo. I want to thank the Saratoga Sun for giving me a chance to write, and I want to thank Stevenson Newspapers for giving me an opportunity to move on in the industry. The first story I reported on while...
The Platte Valley Medical Clinic does not offer hospice care, but can provide palliative care to patients with the need. “There is a distinction between hospice and palliative care,” said Dr. Dean Bartholomew, of the Platte Valley Medical Clinic. “Hospice is an actual program. In order to have a hospice designation, you have to have a certain staff.” Bartholomew said, in order to provide actual hospice care at the clinic, he would need to hire a social worker and a pastor, a move not realist... Full story
The eighth Blackhawk Children's Art Show is getting new stars come Dec. 11. For the past seven years, the Blackhawk Art Gallery hosted the children's art show, with proceeds benefiting either Encampment School or Saratoga Middle/High School. This year, the proceeds will go to benefit other art programs in the Platte Valley. "We realized there are other entities that could use the money too, so we decided to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we are also going to work with the Friday School... Full story
The Saratoga Town Council may be taking a closer look at council representation on boards. Town attorney Tom Thompson said allowing council members to vote on some boards gives council members an unfair advantage during the decision-making process. “It’s almost like you have two votes,” Thompson told Council member Steve Wilcoxson in the Nov. 12 Planning Commission meeting. Wilcoxson said he felt it was his responsibility, as a councilman, to vote against and present his side to other counc...
The Xi Beta Epsilon Holiday Bazaar has changed over the last 22 years. “Over the course of time, the focus of the vendors has changed,” said Lisa Burton, a member of the sorority and longtime organizer of the event. “The quality of the Bazaar has improved over the last 22 years.” Between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, vendors from across Wyoming and parts of Colorado will pack the multi-purpose room at the Saratoga Middle/High School. Burton said the number of vendors has increased through... Full story
The Saratoga Planning Commission voted to enforce a cease and desist order against resident Royce Kelley almost five months after the notice was written. Per the motion, Kelley will be charged $100 per day after the next infraction of the cease and desist order, which addressed Kelley's use of a sawmill on his property. Kelley, for the past several years, has used a sawmill on residential property classified as RD 6000 in the Saratoga zoning ordinance. Kelley said he is using the sawmill to... Full story
A forest health task force, an idea generated by Wyoming House District No. 47 Representative Jerry Paxton about a year ago, is coming to fruition. Gov. Matt Mead announced Nov. 6 he formed a task force consisting of a variety of stakeholders to develop recommendations on how Wyoming can best improve forest health. “The health of our forests is critical to local economies in Wyoming as well as to wildlife the forests support,” Mead said in a press release. “The well-being of Wyoming’s forests... Full story
New games aim to build communication, team-building skills at Encampment School When the Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies take on the Milky Ways and other teams, competition can get fierce. "The games are extremely competitive, so our class gets way into it," said Encampment School senior Kaylyn Wessel, a member of the Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies. Since the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, Encampment School seniors have gathered in small groups and competed to earn as many points as... Full story
School board members are aiming for July 1 to have a new superintendent. Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees, after consulting with the Wyoming School Board Association, will use the organization in a nationwide search for a new superintendent. According to a tentative timeline, CCSD 2 may have a replacement for current superintendent Bob Gates by July 1, 2014. Executive director of WSBA Mark Higdon said the first step in the search will gather feedback from school board... Full story
Voices of the Valley (VOV) pitched a $50,000 grant idea to the Saratoga Town Council, an idea the council voted to pursue. The grant, if awarded, will pay for a comprehensive master plan for the town of Saratoga, replacing a plan that was adopted in the 1970s. “It’s a conventional zoning code from the 70s, and it seemed to me parts of it were taken from New York, and how does that apply to the vision that the folks from Wyoming have for their community?,” said Michael Haak, a planner that is cu...
Town-leased dumpsters may be off limits for residential use, according to conversations in the Nov. 5 Saratoga Town Council meeting. According to Carbon County Commissioner Sue Jones, who also serves on the landfill board and is co-owner of Sunrise Sanitation Services, others depositing garbage in town-or-business dumpsters in Saratoga is a "real problem". Mayor John Zeiger said he had heard concerns about the Saratoga Municipal Pool dumpsters specifically, and how that area looked with so much... Full story
Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD 2) implemented a new online forum, which can be found on its website. The new forum allows community members, teachers, administrators and others interested in CCSD 2 to provide feedback on a list of topics. "We have to have some kind of avenue where we can put out an idea and collect input on that idea," said Superintendent Bob Gates. The open forum currently has five topics: activities, student attendance, food services, gifted and talented education,... Full story
Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD 2) wants to give its attendance policy more teeth. CCSD 2 and Carbon County School District 1 administrators met with the Carbon County Attorney’s Office Nov. 6 to discuss possibly changing policy regarding student attendance. The current CCSD 2 policy states administrators will send a letter addressed to a student on the seventh day of that student’s absence. Another letter will be sent on the 15th day, Gates said. On the 20th day, Gates and the pri...
The eighth annual Blackhawk Children's Art Show is getting new stars come Dec. 11. For the past seven years, the Blackhawk Art Gallery hosted the Children's Art Show, with proceeds benefitting either Encampment School or Saratoga Middle/High School. This year, the proceeds will go to benefit other art programs in the Platte Valley. "We realized there are other entities that could use the money too, so we decided to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we are also going to work with the... Full story
Editor’s note: Read more about the superintendent search for CCSD 2 in a future edition of the Saratoga Sun. The search for a new superintendent for Carbon County School District No. 2 will need plenty of feedback from the community, according to board members. The CCSD 2 Board of Trustees spoke with Executive Director of the Wyoming School Board Association Mark Higdon in a teleconference Tuesday to explore the option of using the Association in a search for a new superintendent. Higdon p...
I only changed my aspirations three times as a kid. At age 5 I wanted to be a detective because I was a big fan of Batman. Later, I decided I wanted to be an archeologist after my exposure to Indiana Jones and Egyptology. It wasn’t until high school I realized I enjoyed writing, and I could make a living doing it. A creative writing teacher at Rawlins High School showed me the joy in writing, and I followed my newfound interest all the way to college, where I pursued a degree in English e... Full story
Carbon Power and Light is expecting a rate increase for its CP&L customers in 2014, the first time in five years. “We haven’t had a rate increase for CP&L since 2009,” said General Manager for Carbon Power and Light Chuck Larsen. “We absorbed all of the increased cost of doing business up until now and we can no longer continue.” Larsen said Carbon Power and Light tries to set rates so they are relevant for three to four years. “We typically try to set our rates so they last three to four yea... Full story
Murder is in the air. Fake murder, that is. Starting Nov. 16, the Grand Encampment Opera Company will host its second annual Murder Mystery Dinner. “It takes place in the Old West after a big poker tournament,” said Vicki Loftice, a board member of the Grand Encampment Opera Company. Tickets cost $20, which buys a western-themed dinner, and participation in the murder mystery. The doors open at 5:30 p.m., and at that moment, is when you begin playing your character, Loftice said. However, tic... Full story
Union Wireless expects to have its faster internet service available to Platte Valley customers in about two to three weeks. “We are done installing the hardware, and within the next two to three weeks we will do some testing,” said Brian Woody, Chief Customer Relations Officer for Union Wireless. The company installed all the equipment necessary to bring internet service that could produce speeds up to 20 megabits per second, as opposed to 1.5 megabits per second, the current fastest speed avai... Full story
Encampment resident Robert Kelly is getting more mail since U.S. Postal Service representatives visited Encampment in September. Before their visit, Kelly estimated Encampment Postmaster Wendell O’Connell returned about 50 percent of his mail to a distribution center in Cheyenne. USPS has made vast improvements to service in Encampment, Kelly said. But, overall, he is not satisfied. “For me, it’s too little too late,” Kelly said. Kelly and many other Encampment and Riverside residents protest...
Dave Tatum of Platte, S.D., feels like he was welcomed into a family when he started working for Carbon County Weed and Pest. "I don't feel like I've been hired to do a job, I feel like I have been accepted into a family," he said. Tatum began working for the county Oct. 10 after Larry Justesen announced his retirement. Tatum will take over Justesen's duties Nov. 1 as Carbon County's new weed and pest supervisor. Justesen, after working more than 30 years for the Carbon County Weed and Pest...
Make it with Wool will honor a longtime advocate for the program who died earlier this year from a rare disease. Roxana Johnson was a huge advocate in Carbon County for agriculture, sewing, 4-H and other activities in her community, said Charlene Abbott, Roxana's friend. Roxana also helped bring a Bountiful Baskets Food program to Encampment. "We could always call on Roxana," Abbott said. "She was always volunteering." Roxana, of Encampment, volunteered her time with 4-H, and helped youth in...