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I hope Santa was good to you over the past Christmas week! Despite no scheduled meetings for the week there are still a number of newsy items of interest to relay. With that, here’s your news roundup for the week of December 22nd, 2024:
Tuesday, December 24th was Christmas Eve. Check out this beautiful photograph from Star Hill in Afton taken that evening. Just had to share this image as it really is breathtaking!
Of note the Star above the town of Afton has been in existence for over 100 years. It received an incredible makeover during the summer of 2024 after a power-line was buried as part of a long-term improvement plan.
Thursday, December 26th, the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew opened Cedar Creek Trail #3078 for snowshoeing. They’ll continue to work on keeping our local trails open for snowshoeing as conditions allow.
Friday December 27th through Sunday, December 29th—Holy smokes, did we get some snow! I neglected to point out in last week’s SVR News Roundup post that Saturday, December 21st was the winter solstice, i.e., the official start of winter. That said, Mother Nature has certainly announced her presence with authority over the past few days to ensure we all are tracking the advent of the new season. How much snow did you get at your house? I think as of today, we are up to about 20” or more at my house. My snow-stake is currently measuring 2 feet, however, that’s after the settling and melting that has been underway the better part of today. And, yes, I do believe the forecast is calling for more snowy goodness overnight and into tomorrow. Happy belated winter solstice folks!
Saturday, December 28th—not much to report on the Middle Branch Bridge replacement project this week. What with the holiday mid-week and then getting clobbered with snow at the end of the week, the job-site looks close to the same as where things left off last week. Here are a couple of photos from yesterday. I’ll work on getting an update on the project for next week’s roundup.
Other news and notes for the week:
There is some good news on the horizon in terms of the Environmental Protection Agency mandated chlorination of the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) water system (ongoing since December of 2023). Just in time for Christmas, the EPA notified TSVR that water system chlorination can be discontinued! TSVR aims to end chlorination of the water system by the end of January 2025. This is terrific news and I will definitely keep you posted on progress!
With the hefty recent snowfall and warmer temperature, a high avalanche warning is currently in effect for the Bridger Teton National Forest to include the Salt River Range. Per the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center “Human triggered avalanches are likely at all elevations today. Natural activity is also possible. Conditions will become more dangerous as the day progresses, as new snow, wind and a warming trend will make avalanches more likely. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended in the latter part of the day.” Please be careful out there folks!
There is one scheduled meeting we are aware of for next week along with a couple of closure notices:
Monday, December 30th, at 6pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) will host a meeting at the Cedar Creek Center Banquet Room to discuss possible interest in forming a Winter Recreation Club.
The TSVR Town Hall will be closed in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday on Wednesday, January 1st.
And, I need to correct information from last week on holiday closure of the SVRA business office at Cedar Creek Center. The correct information is that the SVRA office is closed from December 20th through January 1st. Apologies for not providing the straight date scoop sooner.
Final thoughts—My new greenhouse is disappearing! Well, almost. As a newbie to greenhouse growing, thus far it has been a pretty steep learning curve to try and keep a greenhouse up and running over the winter. I know a number of folks in Star Valley who have greenhouses but don't keep them growing throughout the winter. For the most part, many of the growers I know use their greenhouses to extend the growing season in spring and fall as our climate demands some sort of supplemental heat if you’re going to attempt year-round operations. With that wisdom in mind, I am considering this first winter as an experiment to determine what the art of the possible may be. I’ll keep you posted on how things go. With the New Year’s week nearly upon us, I wish everyone the best of health, happiness and prosperity for 2025!
That’s all for today—hope you enjoyed the read. And thank you for being a subscriber! If you have Star Valley Ranch news or photographs to share, please drop me an email at close2home307@gmail.com. And, if you find this weekly email useful, please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307. Your support and feedback are very much appreciated!
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