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While testing for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues throughout Wyoming, there was recently a bit of good news for Carbon County. In a little more than a week since the first case of COVID-19 in the county was announced, two of the three confirmed cases are reported to have completely recovered. That information came on Sunday night through the daily situational debrief sent to media outlets by Jacqueline Wells, public information officer for the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident...
“So steadfast is my faith in you, the Wyoming people, to do the right thing, that I have not issued a statewide ‘shelter in place’ order. You already know how important it is to take responsibility for your actions. Do the right thing, do it the right way and do it right away!” As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to climb in Wyoming, Governor Mark Gordon has expressed hesitancy at ordering residents to “shelter in place” even as surrounding states have...
It is still unknown how dire the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will be on our economy as Carbon County, Wyoming and the nation are still dealing with the spread of the virus. According to a report from the United States Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending March 21 rose to 3.2 million. The previous week was 282,000. “This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the history of the s...
With the emphasis that has been placed on the importance of social distancing, and with one of three public health orders prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people, this may leave regular attendees of meetings wondering how to attend. While the order forbidding gatherings of 10 or more people specifically exempts government business, boards and councils throughout the state have worked to find ways to promote social distancing. According to Wyoming State Statute 16-4-403(a), “all meetings of t...
A week after the initial public health order closed schools throughout Wyoming, along with other public spaces, it was announced that Governor Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Alexia Harrist had extended that order, along with two others. With an original date of April 3, that order was extended to April 17 on March 27. As was reported previously (see “CCSD2 continues to work for students” on page 12 of the March 25 Saratoga Sun), Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) has been wor...
I guess, in a way, I am glad I went through the experience of living in Taiwan through the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic in Taiwan back in 2003. It made me understand how serious it can be to combat an unknown virus and the steps needed to make sure it doesn’t decimate a population. Don’t get me wrong. It killed people and as I wrote in my column about my time during SARS (see “Tis truly the season to be careful” in the February 12 edition of the Saratoga Sun), my restaur...
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Dear Editor, Do we citizens of Carbon County want the Federal Government to have total control over our natural resources? Fishing, hunting, agriculture, ranching, energy, recreation, water, air, mineral, timber, our economy (to name a few) are our heritage and way of life. Unfortunately, we are in a very sad state of affairs when our County Commissioners don’t appreciate or seem to want representation from all the people to formulate a Natural Resource Management Plan for Carbon County. The Commissioners voted on March 17, 2020 to have only s...
Dear Editor, Tourism is a growing industry in Carbon County. Carbon County’s tourism growth and economic change has been exciting and impressive over the last seven years. Carbon County not only provides temporary housing to industry workers but has a thriving visitor economy. In the past, Carbon County was more of a stop on the way to or from another tourist destination but, over the last few years, has become a destination for visitors. Evidence to support this is in the numbers. As reported in the Dean Runyan Associates 2018 Wyoming T...
The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated – famous quote by Mark Twain concerning American press reports of his demise while on a speaking tour in Europe in 1897. And like Mark Twain, reports of the death of media are also wildly exaggerated. Media, especially here in Wyoming, consists of a hardy lot of men and women who, although taking some blows, are still reporting the news and are nowhere near expiring. They have been pricked, pickled and pummeled, but the newspaper people, broadcast people, digital media people, and others are...
Bill Jones is part owner of Bow River Crossing, the convenience store in the town of Elk Mountain that has been open for about a year and a half. What is remarkable about Jones is that he lives in Laramie and has only missed coming in to run the store once until this past February. That one time was due to road closures. He does admit that there were a couple times, if roads were bad, he had some people that would open the store for him. All and all, he said the first year he was able to make...
By Mike Armstrong Joshua Wood loves the communities of Carbon County that he has lived and interacts with on a daily basis. He got his dream job of being a reporter for the Saratoga Sun, a little over two years ago where he was able spotlight different stories of the Valley. When the tragic death of Saratoga Sun editor Keith McClendon occurred, he found himself trying to console the community and work alongside the grieving staff to keep the paper going. A few weeks later he found himself in...
by Joshua Wood Even before the arrival of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wyoming forced the closure of multiple businesses in the Valley, a wave of support was beginning to form. As small businesses took a hit, posts on social media were encouraging people to purchase gift cards from those that would eventually be forced to close their doors. That is exactly what Scott Bokelman, industrial technology teacher at Saratoga Middle/High School (SMHS), decided to do. "I just actually saw a post...
Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC) hosted a social media livestream on March 27 with several of their clinical staff as they worked to provide answers to residents of Carbon County amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During the course of the one hour question and answer session, the medical providers on the panel answered questions relating to treatment of COVID-19 and testing for the virus. Edward Zimmerman, who works in the MHCC emergency room and serves as county he...
Between the time that school in Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) was cancelled and the time that Governor Mark Gordon issued a public health order prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people, there was a brief sliver of time in which Valley children were able to learn about the game of disc golf. In the days following the closure of schools within the district, Encampment resident Shannon Fagan-Craig quickly put out a call to parents in the area. With school no longer an option,...
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Covid-19 did not stop the swearing in of Dave Redding as the new Marshal to the town of Medicine Bow. On Monday evening before the town council, mayor and town clerk/treasurer, Redding was sworn in as the law enforcement officer for the town at the Medicine Bow Community Hall. It has been decades since Medicine Bow has had a Marshal. Because of the restrictions on how many people could be in the room, only Judy Redding, the new marshal's wife was in attendance. The Sun will be doing a feature...
As reported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continue to go up and because not everyone who may be ill can be tested, a Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) official is offering advice on what residents who are sick with a respiratory illness should do. “Most reported cases of COVID-19 in Wyoming so far can describe a likely source of infection, such as contact with a known case,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH. “But there are others with an unknown source of infection and there are likel...
Because of testing supply issues, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) will be limiting testing available through the Wyoming Public Health Laboratory for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to the department’s established priority patients and situations. “It’s been clear for some time that materials needed for sample collection and testing are in very short supply in Wyoming and across the nation,” said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH. “We’ve done well so far at our lab, but our concern abo...
Governor Mark Gordon and State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist have extended the three existing statewide health orders through April 30 to slow community transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect lives. The Governor continues to emphatically state that people need to stay home whenever possible to prevent or slow the spread of the virus. These orders are meant to enforce that direction through April. Specifically, the current orders closing public places including schools, prohibiting gatherings of 10 people or more in a single...
*UPDATE* 3:41 p.m. April 4, 2020 After further investigation, it was announced by the Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team that there is indeed a fourth case connected to Carbon County. The individual is a male over 50 years old who tested positive out of state and is being treated out of state. *UPDATE* 6:40 p.m. April 3, 2020 The Carbon County COVID-19 Incident Management Team has issued the following statement: "We were notified by several local residents that the Wyoming Departmen...