WHEATLAND – At their Feb. 18 meeting, Platte County Commissioners approved the establishment of an extension of E. Johnson Road, an existing county road north of Wheatland off N. Wheatland Highway.  The extension will follow along the railroad easement to connect to county road 13.

The commissioners expect the extension to clear up any issues with legal and/or emergency services access to residences otherwise remotely isolated on the far side of the tracks from the state highway.

Commissioners also approved an encroachment request from Oftedal Construction for a laydown yard to be located in the county on the corner of Redf Fox and Swanson Roads. The yard will be for the purpose of holding construction materials for the joint Town of Wheatland and WYDOT project to update 16th Street, beginning this spring.

The commissioners also approved an encroachment license from Black Hills Energy a.k.a. Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power regarding the power transmission line they will be constructing across Platte County.

In maintenance department updates, maintenance department supervisor Jim DeWitt reported he believes the issue with leaking plumbing at the county detention center facility has been fixed. Though there are more toilets which will have flush-restriction devices placed on them, the ones which have been completed seem to be working very well, Dewitt reported. Though, he added some of the inmates have complained they don’t like the restrictions, which only allow a short flush then a five-minute wait before a subsequent flush can be done.

Commissioner Ian Jolovich commented, “Well, at some point, [the inmates] are in jail.”

The commissioners said they were pleased with the progress DeWitt has made to address the water leaks at the jail.

The last item on the commissioner’s agenda in February listed resident Sharon Utter regarding Services for Seniors, Inc. She, along with a group of concerned senior citizens at the meeting, requested answers concerning rumors they had heard around town, and changes they saw happening at the senior center. The group shared their concerns, but commission chair Steve Shockley said the commissioners don’t have oversight of Services for Seniors.

It was explained the county collects a 2-mill levy from property taxes that is overseen by the County Senior Service District, which ensures all the funds are used to benefit seniors in the county. Members of that board are voted into their positions by the general electorate of the county. The senior service district board chooses to approve funding to go to Services for Seniors, Inc. (SFS), which has its own board that oversees the day-to-day operation of four senior centers in Platte County.

Attending the meeting were SFS director Jeni DeSmith and county clerk Malcolm Ervin – who is also on the board of Community Action of Laramie County (a non-profit agency assisting SFS with addressing their financial issues) – addressed the questions brought by Utter. The same questions and answers were addressed at a public meeting at the senior centers in Wheatland and Guernsey last week by the Services for Seniors Board (see related story in this week’s issue of the Record-Times.)