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Here’s your Ranch news roundup for the week of June 2nd, 2024:
On Tuesday, June 4th at 6pm the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Roads Advisory Board met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda. The Board is working on a survey for residents to help prioritize roads-related items for the Town. You can also find minutes from last month’s meeting here on the Town website.
On Saturday, June 8th from 10am to noon, TSVR Safety Day was held at the First Response Center at the corner of Vista West Drive and Vista Drive. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Mid-Valley Fire District (MVFD) and TSVR’s Public Works Department along with other vendors were all represented. Children had the opportunity to get up close to heavy equipment with the touch-a-truck display featuring an excavator, road grader, and plow. MVFD also had their fire truck on display. Attendees were also treated to free donuts and giveaway items. A good time was had by all!




On additional news item from Saturday—while this isn’t Star Valley Ranch specific, it warrants mention as it is a developing situation that will impact many of us who live in this part of Wyoming for quite some time. Early on the morning of June 8th, Highway 22 in Teton County experienced a catastrophic road failure at milepost 12.8 on Teton Pass. A long term closure of Teton Pass is expected. Read more here in the Jackson Hole News & Guide story and also in this Facebook post from the Lincoln County Homeland Security & Emergency Management office. Wow!

Other news and notes from the week:
An update on paving work that was supposed to begin in TSVR this week—it seems that HK Contractors had some problems with their asphalt batch plant facility which has delayed the start of the various projects they are currently under contract to perform. These projects include paving Brambleberry Drive (in Plat 5) and laying down chip-seal on a number of other Town roads. The TSVR Public Works Director has been in communication with HK and the contractor does expect to begin work next week. I’ll continue to keep folks posted on these projects as the month goes on.
Heads up outdoor enthusiasts! It’s spring run-off time in our local canyons and water is running high and fast in both the Prater Canyon drainage and along Cedar Creek. Thanks Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew for keeping us informed and for making our local trails some of the best in the valley!
Heavy water flows along Cedar Creek and in the Prater Canyon drainage this week. Be careful out there! [Photos courtesy of the SVR Trail Crew.] Residents can continue to place brush and tree trimmings along the side of town roads in preparation for the annual TSVR Firewise pickup. TSVR Public Works will begin collecting brush piles on June 17th and continue through June 20th. Remember all brush should be cut in lengths of not over 8 feet and placed along the side of the roadway but not in the road right of way. Thanks!
The Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) election is right around the corner (ballots must be in by June 22nd). If you missed it last week, you can read responses to questions I posed to each of the six candidates in this SVRA BoD Candidate Q&A post in the Election 2024 section.
To date responses have been received from candidates Patty Judge, Fred Lamming, and Deborah Larson. I will update the Q&A post with additional candidate responses if/when received.
Last but not least—I am pleased to announce the names of the five candidates who filed at the end of last month to run for the two open TSVR council seats. Those individuals are incumbent Councilman Taylor Ellis, Lars Robinson, Charlie Fritz, Katie Toolson, and Martin Occhi. Read about all of the candidates you can expect to see on the August primary ballot in this week’s Star Valley Independent news story and also look for more information in the Election 2024 section of Close to Home 307 in the coming months!
Here’s a look at a busy next week full of calendar items:
Tuesday, June 11th has the following schedule of events:
Coffee with the Mayor, 9am at Town Hall
Town Council Work Session, 10am at Town Hall.
TSVR Municipal Court, 2pm, upstairs at Town Hall
Town Council Meeting, 7pm at Town Hall.
Wednesday, June 12th at 5pm the TSVR Planning and Zoning Board will meet at Town Hall.
Saturday, June 15th at 10am TSVR’s 13th Annual Arbor Day will be celebrated at Fox Run Park. Please stop by for the festivities which will include a raffle, tree plantings, and more. See you there!
Final thoughts—feels like the warmer weather may finally be settling in. Hopefully this observation won’t jinx things! Enjoy what’s left of spring and be safe in and around town as traffic starts to pick up with the summer season right around the corner.
That’s all for now—thank you for reading. If you have Star Valley Ranch news 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 is very much appreciated!
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