A quiet past seven days with lots of fresh snow over the weekend! Here’s your news roundup for the week of February 25th, 2024:
Tuesday, February 27th, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Trail Crew and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) surveyed Cedar Creek Trail in an attempt to address safety issues resulting from the snowmobile tour of the trail that occurred last week. The Trail Crew and USFS removed a downed tree near the Spruce Grove (at about the 1-mile mark along the trail) and also posted some beautiful photos to the Trail Crew Facebook page. (I’ve reposted one of their images below but do check out the rest as they’re gorgeous!) Thank you Trail Crew for all that you do to keep the winter trails open, accessible, and safe for winter recreation!
Cedar Creek Trail in winter. [Photo courtesy of TSVR Trail Crew via Facebook.] Wednesday, February 28th, the TSVR Planning and Zoning Board held their second meeting of the month at Town Hall. Only a couple of permit approvals on the agenda and the draft minutes can be found here.
One additional item of note, the Board briefly discussed the draft of a new proposed ordinance from the Town Council that endeavors to set design standards and guidelines for single-family home (SFH) construction. The latter is, in part, an attempt to regulate future SFH builds in terms of overall aesthetics and in consideration of how a newly proposed SFH will complement (or detract) from neighboring properties.
Residential dichotomy—in this instance ”Dome versus Barn”.
Also on Wednesday, February 28th the third and final publication date of a Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Request for Bid appeared in the Public Notices section of the Star Valley Independent (SVI). SVRA is soliciting bids to repair a portion of its water irrigation system with work expected to begin in May 2024. You can read the full bid notice at this link (scroll to page 16A).
Other news items for the week are as follows:
First off, I need to publish a correction on information I included in last week’s SVR News Roundup about the family dog recently killed in a conibear trap off of Swift Creek Road near Afton. I am chagrined to say I misprinted the dog’s name as “Jasper” when in fact his name was “Jester”. I sincerely apologize for this error and want to thank the resident who emailed me to bring this my attention. I do, however, have some positive news to share in the wake of this tragic incident. Since Jester’s death there has been an outpouring of support from the local community, leading to the formation of a grassroots group now know as Jester’s Legacy. The group is working to influence statewide trapping regulations with a focus on coexistence between trappers and pet-owners and a desire to increase safety by reducing conflict close to trails and roads. The SVI published an article this past week about Jester and the formation of Jester’s Legacy—you can read the story here.
Jester, an English Bull Terrier and beloved family pet, was killed February 8th in a beaver trap along Swift Creek Road near Afton, Wyoming. Another piece of information to share—I’ve heard there may be a pizza place in the works that would take the place of the Grill at Star Valley Ranch (the seasonal restaurant currently located next to the pool on Cedar Creek Drive). I have a query in to find out more information and will keep folks posted with any updates.
Also, a note for folks to be careful out there as the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center (BTAC) currently has the avalanche danger advisory issued as “High” through today (and likely into tomorrow too). Check the BTAC website for updates before venturing into avalanche terrain.
Lastly, just a reminder that SVRA Board of Directors (BoD) meetings will resume during the month of March. I plan to attend the BoD workshop on the 19th and regular BoD meeting on the 21st and am hopeful an update may be forthcoming regarding the changes in BoD members that have occurred in recent months. Stay tuned…
Not too much on next week’s calendar—here are dates I’m aware of:
Tuesday, March 5th at 5pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.
Thursday, March 7th at 6:30pm, the SVRA will have line dancing in the banquet room at Cedar Creek Center.
Final thoughts—the saying “in like a lion, out like a lamb” seems to be right on target (well, at least the first part) when considering the awesome snow storm we’ve been experiencing since the first day of March. I suppose we can only hope the second part of that weather folklore saying also proves true! If interested, you can read more about March weather folklore in this Farmer’s Almanac article.
In like a mountain lion, out like a lamb... [Photo credit left - Grindstone Media Group/Shutterstock.com; Photo credit right - Edward Westmacott/Shutterstock.com.]
That’s all for this week—thank you for reading! Please invite your neighbors, family, and friends to check out Close to Home 307. Your support and feedback is very much appreciated! Email me anytime at: close2home307@gmail.com