Accentuate the positive

Newly hired Saratoga Director of Public Works, Jon Winters, only started his career in public planning on Sept. 15. Winters comes from a long background as an environmental health and safety manager for various mining companies, working on permitting, compliance and reclaiming, among other duties.

"It's a big learning curve, but that's okay," Winters said of his new position. Winters, currently of Douglas, has lived in many different cities, states and countries and is working on selling their house and buying a new one in Saratoga.

"It's nice to back home, living in Wyoming," Winters said of his travels. "It's where we like to be."

"I hope to build upon the good workforce that's already here. We've got a bunch of very experienced, very seasoned individuals in the public works department so I'm just going to try to help them do their jobs better," Winters said.

Coming into his position in Saratoga, Winters said he sees a number of projects underway with the intention of benefiting the town, including continuing to deliver good services to the town that also meets the necessary environmental and state regulations.

According to Winters, he wants to emphasize the "natural attractions in the city," which falls into his philosophy for beautification and improvement. He would like to grow and expand the resources that we already have, using the land in town and making it functional, pointing to the dog park as an example.

"They don't need much direction. They just need someone to get them the things that they need," Winters said of the public works staff.