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As the Wyoming Legislature continues to debate funding education, school districts across the state are closely examining their budgets to find where and what to cut and Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) is no different. According to CCSD2 Superintendent Jim Copeland, the school district has been told to remove $650,000 for next year’s annual budget. Nearly half of those cuts will come from the non-personnel budget according to a document on the district’s website. In that doc...
On February 25, the Office of Governor Mark Gordon announced the removal of one health order and the relaxation of other health orders. According to a press release from the governor’s office, the decision comes as Wyoming’s metrics around the coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to improve. Health Order No. 3–which addresses the operations of barber shops, nail and hair salons, tattoo parlors and other personal car services–was eliminated as of March 1. While that health order has been removed, the businesses that were affected by this order m... Full story
Betty L. Raymer of Saratoga, Wyoming passed away peacefully from natural causes while at Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming on February 19, 2021. She was born on November 2, 1934 in Denver, Colorado. Prior to retiring at age 75, she spent 25 years as a real estate professional. She is preceded in death by her husband, Alfred Raymer, also of Saratoga; her mother, Ruth Tripp; her father, Charles Tripp; and her brother, Douglas Tripp. She is survived by her brother, Dean Tripp; her children... Full story
Dr. Ronald Gordon Custis (90) died February 17, 2021 at his home in Dubois, Wyoming. Born May 25, 1930 in Sheridan, Wyoming to John Norman Custis and Helen Willian Schneider Custis, he grew up in Big Horn, Wyoming and graduated from Big Horn High School in 1948. He joined the National Guard 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion in 1947 and trained as an artilleryman until January 1949 when he was honorably discharged with the rank of Private First Class. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1949... Full story
The importance of tourism to Carbon County is everywhere if one knows where to look. The iconic hotels and good restaurants are not the only places that serve visitors. Gas stations, retail establishments, law enforcement agencies, museums and even town halls benefit from tourists. Almost all Carbon County residents of benefit from tourism to varying degrees and it is in the county's best interest visitors leave with a positive impression of the area. The Carbon County Visitors Council (CCVC)...
A day before Upper Valley Search and Rescue held their annual poker run, search and rescue teams from Encampment, Saratoga and Ryan Park were dispatched to locate two missing snowmobilers. According to a February 23 press release from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, the office received a call at approximately 4:32 p.m. on February 13 reporting two juveniles who had been separated from their group while snowmobiling. The last known location of the two was near Slash Ridge. While the search and rescue teams were responding to the initial c...
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Saratoga needs traffic lights. I’ll wait for you to calm down from that statement before I continue. Take a couple deep breaths, maybe look at this week’s editorial cartoon and take a sip of coffee. Better? Ok. Saratoga needs traffic lights. Look, I hate writing that probably as much as you hate reading it, but I think it’s a hard truth that needs to be heard. Since moving back into town limits a little over a year ago, I’ve discovered that our sleepy little to...
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Dear Editor, The arctic air mass that descended on Texas vividly illustrated the future of our country with the renewed push by leftists to cripple our capitalist economies. Subsidized renewable energy investments embraced by electricity generating utility companies are caused by buying into the fallacy of “green energy”. That causes the reliable backup generation caseload of gas, nuclear and coal to be severely neglected or even abandoned. How much of the pain and destruction could have been prevented by minimal common sense? Arctic cold fro...
Wyoming’s current economic situation reminds me of the famous business book Who Moved My Cheese? After living off severance taxes from the energy industry for half a century, the Cowboy State is enduring a time when the state is trying to maintain services without the money to pay for them. As fossil fuels decline, severance taxes paid by energy companies for coal, oil and natural gas extracted from Wyoming are diminishing rapidly. That famous Cheese book by Spencer Johnson is about how people react to unpleasant change. It stars some mice a...
Two Saratoga students were among the 101 recently named by the University of Wyoming (UW) as having received the university’s top academic scholarship, the 2021 Trustees’ Scholars Award. The scholarship, available to Wyoming resident high school seniors, covers actual credit hours taken as well as room and board costs for eight semesters at UW, starting with the fall 2021 semester. The 101 students selected come from 34 high schools throughout the states. According to a press release from the university, recipients of the scholarship are evalua...
While the Saratoga Planning Commission recommended approval of a zone amendment for the Octagon Construction Group (Octagon) during their February 9 meeting, that recommendation did not come without some discussion. That discussion mainly centered around whether the proposed zone was appropriate for the proposed use as well as the process for zone amendments. The piece of property that Bo Stocks, owner of Octagon, is looking to rezone is currently zoned RD 9000, sits along Sierra Madre Avenue...
Saratoga’s Shively Airfield supports nearly 200 jobs and generates more than $16 million for the state and local economy, according to a recent study conducted by the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The last Statewide Economic Impact Study from WYDOT was in 2013 and showed that aviation in Wyoming generated approximately $1.4 billion. That number increased in 2020 to $2 billion. Additionally, aviation in Wyoming was found to support 9.5 percent of statewide employment resulting in more than 27,000 jobs. With a more specific look a...
When local historian Nancy Anderson donated a railroad shed to the Hanna Basin Museum in December, she was not sure what it was actually used for (See "Shedding a mystery" on page 10 of the December 23, 2020 Saratoga Sun). "I am curious, as a historian, to learn more about this shed," Anderson said. "I would like to know if there is anybody alive or anybody who knows stories about such a shed." Anderson noted she remembered a wire of some sort hanging out of an obvious hole. She wondered if it...
The route used by Hanna and Elk Mountain residents to travel between the two towns has always had some challenges to travel in the winter time. Parts of the 11 mile stretch can drift up but, until this year, nothing has compared to the drifts that have accumulated on the area known as Sand Hill. This incline is about two miles from the Hanna Junction of US 30 and WY 72. The reason for drifts can be attributed to the lack of plant life that had always been present until the RR 316 Fire the first...
Since the Saratoga Panthers returned to the Valley as the 1A State Champions last season, fans have been anxious for the Panthers to make a return to Casper. Despite a season filled with restrictions, a two week quarantine and the general difficulty of the 1A Southwest Conference Saratoga will walk back into the Ford Wyoming Center. The Panthers do so as the No. 1 seeded team in the 1A West following a 3-0 weekend. On Thursday, Saratoga hosted the 1A Southwest Regional Quad where they fended...
The Saratoga High School wrestling team cracked the top 10 in the 2A division at State as the team scored a total of 91 points Josiah Stockwell placed 2nd in a standout performance in the 106 weight class. He accounted for 23 points. Jerry Everett,wrestling at 126, came in 4th place and contributed 19 points. Tuker Carricato placed 5th wrestling at 113 and scored 15 team points. Another wrestler who gained 15 points for the team was Slayd Daley who wrestled at 138 and also came in 5th. Other...
It can be difficult to get many points when a wrestling team is small. While the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School wrestling team was able to send four grapplers to State, they did not place. HEM went up against 19 other schools in the 2 A division. Howard Bame was able to bring 3 points to the school's score. The other grapplers did not fare so well, although it was recognized by a Hanna resident who was watching the team did their best. "They tried really hard," Sunshine...
Though the Encampment Tigers had been able to make appearances at the 1A State Basketball Tournament the past few years, they won't get the chance this year. On Thursday, the Tigers–like many teams throughout Wyoming–dealt with the "one-and-done" format of the modified regional tournament as they competed in the 1A Southwest Quad in Saratoga. Coming into Saratoga's Panther Den, Encampment faced the Farson-Eden Pronghorns, with whom they were tied for the No. 2 seed in their conference. The Pro...
While the Saratoga Lady Panthers had made significant strides in previous seasons towards making appearances at the 1A State Basketball Championship, this season was cut short due in part to the modified regional format and a loss to the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns. “I’m not going to pretend like we aren’t disappointed with how the end of the season turned out,” said Heather Bartlett, head coach of the Lady Panthers. “I felt the regional format for this year was so unfair, not just for us but fo...
The last time the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners met Guernsey-Sunrise Vikings, they lost to the Vikings 55-72. In regionals, where the two teams faced off to see who would continue to State, the Miners lost but the game was much closer according to Head Coach Cliff Jones. The score indicated he is right. The Vikings won 43-51. “It was a closer game than what the final score was,” Jones said. “It was a two possession game down to the very end. They made a little bit of a run w...
The Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners knew they had to beat the Rock River Lady Pronghorns in Torrington in order to go to state. “We had to win our first game,” Head coach Jackie Jones said. “We beat Rock River the first game and that is what moved us forward to the tournament.” Jones said although the Lady Miners beat the Lady Longhorns 41-29, the outcome was never a given. “Rock River is a scary team,” Jones said. “With that being said, we took care of business and...
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Governor Mark Gordon announced Wyoming will remove its statewide mask requirement and allow bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms to resume normal operations on March 16. The decision reflects the state’s continually improving health metrics and is consistent with the Governor’s approach of balancing public health with protecting livelihoods. Wyoming has seen a declining number of active COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and has seen significant success rolling out the vaccine, with the state’s most vulnerable residents having access to th... Full story