For the last full week of the month starting on August 23^rd, here’s your news roundup:

The Roundup

It was a fairly meeting-filled week—here’s a recap:

• Tuesday, August 25^th at 6pm, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council conducted a work session at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can also review the meeting videorecording here on the Town’s YouTube page. Here are a couple of notes:

  • The Council discussed the costs of credit card processing fees that the Town currently incurs.

    • At present, the Town does not pass on these fees to residents when they use credit cards to pay bills (like water bills, license renewals, etc.). The annual fee cost to the Town is between $25,000 and $30,000 dollars.

    • The Council made no decision on this subject but may consider changes in future with regard to how credit card transactions are handled.

  • Work is ongoing by the Public Works Department to prep Plat 20 for chip-seal application in the coming weeks.

  • The Council will consider adopting a new Ethics Chapter ordinance; a first reading will likely occur in October.

• Wednesday, August 26^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. You can review the meeting packet here and the video is embedded below. Here are a couple of notes:

  • The Commission continued work on a new ordinance to codify a new pre-annexation process.

  • The Commission also reviewed two plat amendment applications (one lot combination and one lot line adjustment) and agreed to move both applications forward in the process.

• Thursday, August 27^th at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board (NRB) was scheduled to meet at Town Hall, however, unfortunately the board did not achieve a quorum and therefore an official meeting was not held.

  • If you are might like to volunteer as a member of the NRB, the board does currently have a couple of openings to fill! Please contact the Town Clerk if interested. Thanks!

• Also, on Thursday at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board (WUB) met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and the video from the meeting is posted here. There were quite a few hefty discussion items—here are a few notes that may be of interest:

  • The Town Engineer provided an overview of the preliminary design for the Prater Canyon Spring Water Transmission Line Replacement Project.

    • Note this is a multi-year project to replace the line that brings water from the Prater Spring into the Town’s water distribution system.

    • Replacement of existing transmission line leveling boxes with PRVs (pressure reducing valves) was a key item of discussion with WUB members considering the pros and cons of the proposed design.

  • The WUB also received updates on the status of residential water meter replacements (currently at 293 replaced to date), the status of PRV repairs in the distribution system, and also discussed the Town’s monthly water sampling methods among other topics.

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a couple of other news notes from the week:

• On Tuesday, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) sent out this notice asking residents to please be Bear-Aware as sightings of Ursus americanus, aka the American Black Bear, continue in Town (see photos below). Please folks take these Bear-Aware tips to heart as unfortunately, as the saying goes—a fed bear is very often a dead bear as once they get a taste of human food, they’ll just keep coming back for more. So, let’s keep our furry neighbors wild, wary, and on their way! Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

• Also, this week the SVRA advised residents of upcoming changes to golf course and driving range hours. Beginning in September, the adjusted golf course and driving range hours are as follows: First Tee Time—8am, Final Tee Time—6pm, with the Driving Range open until 6pm. In addition, the Driving Range will close early at 5pm every Monday and Thursday to allow for mowing and maintenance.

• Lastly, below is an audio embed of a recent interview the Town Administrator and I conducted with Dan Dockstader of Star Valley Independent Media to provide a few August updates on Town happenings. Apologies, I forgot to include this last week!

Calendar Items

Only one lone calendar item that I am aware of for next week:

• Tuesday, September 1^st the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

My, my, my, how about all that rain the past couple of days! What a surprising and welcome gift the rain has been this month! Over an inch and a half of rain in August according to my weather station (see graphic below). That precipitation data gives me some hope after the past snowless winter that perhaps this winter will see a return to more normalcy and a greater snowpack. While July seemed very hot and dry in my memory, August has given way to more moisture and cooler temperatures and yet, thankfully, no freezing temperatures thus far. My greenhouse tomatoes are very grateful for that as it has taken them an inordinate amount of time to begin ripening this season (I attribute the delay to the prior hot temperatures). With any luck, I’ll manage to harvest a few yummy Brandywine, Romas and Juliets before the season ends. Lastly, back to yesterday’s rain—check out the photo below taken from my front deck of the beautiful rainbow that appeared in the early evening hours as the sun finally broke through! I hope some of you were also able to see this lovely phenomenon from your local vantage points. And, with that I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a great week everyone and I’ll look forward to talking with you again next weekend.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here’s your Ranch news for the week of August 16^th:

The Roundup

This week’s big event was the Wyoming Primary Election—here’s the rundown:

• Tuesday, August 18^th the polls opened for Primary Election Day at 7am. Residents began filing into the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Hall bright and early and continued casting ballots throughout the day at a steady pace until the polls closed at 7pm. You can find all Lincoln County results at this link, and you can also view statewide results here on the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website. For our local municipal primary election results, see the two graphics below.

  • And, I’d just like to say “THANK YOU” in a big way to all of you who cast your ballot to support me in my bid to serve a new term as your town Mayor. Thank you, Star Valley Ranch!

• Thursday, August 20^th at 7pm, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) held their monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center. Here’s a link to the meeting agenda and to follow are a couple of notes of interest.

  • With the recent resignation of Tony Viollis as the SVRA BoD Chairman, Mike Wardle has now been appointed to fullfill the Chairman role.

  • Playground equipment for the new Cedar Creek Park has been delivered.

  • Work continues to get the Cedar Creek Well up and running.

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a couple of other news notes from the week:

• On Monday, August 24^th, the Town sent out this notice asking residents to please practice Bear-wise Basics to ensure our behavior does not result in another bear being euthanized due to accidental access to foodstuffs in Town. [Some of you may recall in the fall of 2024 a black bear who made regular garbage can rounds in the Vista East area was ultimately trapped and removed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department resulting in his untimely demise.] Know that there have already been multiple black bear sightings on trails and in Town over the past week, so please folks, read and heed the Bear-wise Basics in this notification. Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

  

• This week the Star Valley Ranch (SVR) Trail Crew continued work to maintain our local trails and also made a concerted effort at invasive weed control—primarily Musk Thistle. Thanks to the SVR Trail Crew’s volunteers over 100 Musk Thistle plants were removed. Thank you, Trail Crew!

Calendar Items

For next week, here are calendar items:

• Tuesday, August 25^th at 6pm, the Town Council will conduct a work session at Town Hall.

• Wednesday, August 26^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Thursday, August 27^th at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also, on Thursday at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

My husband and I took a little mini-vacay this weekend and absconded to Cody Country. Our getaway took us through Yellowstone National Park and into Cody Wyoming via the 52-mile stretch of highway known as the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway (this route follows US Highway 14-16-20 along the North Fork of the Shoshone River). If you’ve never made this drive, I highly recommend it. President Theodore Roosevelt famously called it "the most scenic 50 miles in America”. I snapped a few photos throughout the weekend (see below), and the entire trip was just a great respite and soul-soothing 72-hours of soaking in all the things that make Wyoming such a wonderous place to live. And, with that I’ll leave you to the what’s left of the weekend. Thank you again for your support in both being a reader of Close to Home 307 and at the polls this past week. I’ll look forward to talking with you again next Sunday.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here’s your Star Valley Ranch (SVR) news for the week of August 9^th:

The Roundup

A busy start to the week—here’s the roundup:

• Tuesday, August 11^th got off to a running start at 9am with a well-attended Coffee with the Mayor at Town Hall. A Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council work session followed at 10am. The work session video is embedded below and here’s a link to the agenda. To follow are a few notes from the meeting:

  • The Town expects to begin chip-seal road work in Plat 20 within the next 2 weeks.

  • To date, 253 residential water meters have been replaced. Work has slowed on this project due to the Public Works Department shifting focus to complete chip-seal work in Plat 5.

  • The Council reviewed ordinances for the evening meeting to include an update to the Town’s fence regulations intended to address fences on properties along the golf course.

    • This ordinance, while a simple update to specify setbacks for fences on golf course properties, has unfortunately become overly complicated due to what I can only summarize as a lack of understanding on the duties and responsibilities of the Town versus those of the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA).

    • I may have stated this before, but if so, it’s worth repeating. First and foremost a government entity is not an enforcer of subdivision covenants. Wyoming is a strong private property rights state. While a municipality can legally impose different fencing rules on different property owners if the distinction relies on a valid, uniform classification (e.g., commercial vs. single-family residential), zoning laws require equal application within defined zones. In this case all homes in the Town are zoned single-family residential. Therefore, treating similarly situated property owners differently without a rational, documented planning basis will violate equal protection and due process principles. The latter is simply what the law requires.

• Also on Tuesday, the Town Council held their regular meeting at 7pm. Here’s a link to the meeting packet as well as the videorecording. This was a pretty quick affair lasting only about 25 minutes. One item of note from the meeting was the presentation of the Town’s August Ride for the Brand award to Susan Hales.

  • For the past 10 years Susan has dedicated countless hours to helping improve our amazing local trail system. Her dedication has helped preserve our trails and has inspired others to get involved thereby ensuring future generations can also enjoy the beauty of Star Valley Ranch. Thank you, Susan!

• Wednesday, August 12^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. You can find the agenda and meeting packet at this link and the meeting recording in here on the Town’s YouTube page. [Note that the video quality does have some interference in the early part of the meeting, but it improves as the meeting goes on and the audio is fine.] The Commission spent the bulk of the meeting reviewing the draft pre-petition annexation ordinance and also discussing changes to the multi-family zoning codes. Public comment was also provided with some helpful input on both topics.

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a couple of other news notes from the week:

• On Saturday, August 15^th, a mudslide was reported across the Greys River Road in the Murphy Creek area. Fortunately, the U.S. Forest Service was able to clear the road later the same day.

• Also on Saturday, the National Weather Service (NWS) Riverton provided an update on notable rainfall amounts from the week (see graphic below). It sure was nice to see a decent amount of precipitation here at SVR and I had over half an inch at my house. Hope all of you saw a decent amount of rain too!

Calendar Items

Here are calendar items for next week:

• Tuesday, August 18^th is Primary Election Day in Wyoming!

  • Polls will open at 7am and close at 7pm.

  • The polling place for SVR residents is upstairs at Town Hall, 171 Vista Drive.

  • Please get out and vote!

• Thursday, August 20^th at 7pm, the SVRA Board of Directors will hold their monthly meeting at Cedar Creek Center.

Final Thoughts

The hummingbirds are still mobbing my feeders as they make their way south. I just love watching them flit about this time of year! I’ve had to refill the feeders on my back deck daily for the past week. Lots of thirsty Black-chinned, Rufous, and Broad-tailed hummingbirds! We have wire railing out back and the hummingbirds love to perch on it while waiting for an open spot at a feeder. It’s difficult to get a photo since they don’t sit still for long, but I did finally get a half-way decent one which I have shared below. So, last thought before I let you go, is to make note of the upcoming Primary Election Day on Tuesday August 18th. I’ll really be glad when the whole campaign season is over, but this is the first hurdle to overcome and with that I will humbly ask for your support at the polls. I do have a campaign website up and running (see the banner below) if you’d like to check it out and as always, if you have any questions or comments for me, please do not hesitate to email me at close2home307@gmail.com. And, with that I’m done for the day. Do enjoy what’s left of your weekend and I’ll look forward to providing another recap of our local news and events next Sunday.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

For the first week of a new month, here’s your news for the week of August 2^nd:

The Roundup

It was a week of candidate forums, here’s your roundup:

• Monday, August 3^rd at 7pm, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) hosted a Meet the Candidates forum for the seven individuals running for the two open Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council seats. This event was held in the SVRA Barn. I attended along with a good contingent of other residents. While the recording and audio are a bit choppy, here is the link to the SVRA Facebook page post from the forum and I was actually able to embed the video below—it was a big file but I was able to get it to upload which will facilitate access for those of you who don’t do Facebook! Just click on the video embed below the view.

• Tuesday, August 4^th at 4pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board (RAB) met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can watch the videorecording of the meeting on the Town’s YouTube page here. I was not able to attend this meeting; however, the RAB continues to do yeoman’s work on the task of implementing Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) assessments of Town roadways.

  • As a reminder the PASER assessment is a standardized visual method used to evaluate road surface conditions.

• Also, on Tuesday at 7pm, the SVRA hosted a Meet the Candidates forum for the three of us running for TSVR Mayor. This event was held in the Cedar Creek Center Banquet Room. Here’s a link to the meeting recording on the SVRA Facebook page and I was agan able to upload the large videorecording file below so you can just click on the video embed if you do not have Facebook access. While the video and audio on this one are also a bit choppy, it’ll still give you an idea on the qualifications of the candidates running.

  • Note that I truly want to thank the SVRA for putting on both the Town Council candidates and Mayor candidate’s forums! These were terrific events for our community!

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a couple of other newsy notes from the week:

• On Wednesday, the Town sent out this email asking for assistance from the public regarding a series of incidents involving illegal activity on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF) trail system. The photos below depict individuals riding motorized bikes (either E-Bikes or dirt bikes) on the Prater/Murphy Trail. These same individuals have also been observed on other nearby trails, including the Vista/Prater Trail between Green Canyon and Prater Canyon.

  • All of these trails are designated non-motorized, which means no motorized use is allowed of any kind. In addition, over the past five weeks, seven “No E-Bike” signs have been stolen and one “No Motorized Vehicles” sign has been removed from trail areas.

  • This is a serious public safety concern as these trails are heavily used by hikers and horseback riders, and many areas include sharp corners, blind turns, and steep drop-offs. A motorized vehicle entering these areas unexpectedly could create a significant risk of injury to trail users and horses. The U.S. Forest Service is very strict regarding non-motorized trail designations.

  • Motorized use can also pose significant damage to the trails by accelerating physical trail erosion, creating severe safety hazards due to mismatched speeds, disrupting sensitive wildlife habitats, and conflicting with the peaceful expectations of hikers and equestrians.

  • If you recognize the individuals in these photos or have any information that could assist, please contact the Town Clerk at clerk@starvalleyranchwy.org or the SVR Trails Chairman Craig Adler at SVRtrails@gmail.com. Your assistance is greatly appreciated as we work to protect our trails and community resources.

• Saturday, August 8^th starting at 9am, the SVRA hosted a Community Yard Sale. While I did not make the rounds for this event, I imagine there were most likely a few treasure items discovered by patrons!

Calendar Items

Next week is a busy one, here are calendar items to make note of:

• Tuesday, August 11^th will have 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, August 12^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

I’m not going to take much of your time today as if you’re inclined to try and parse through the candidate forum videos in this post, you’ll no doubt already be quite worn out! One thought I will make with regard to the mayoral candidate forum this past week, is that I was actually quite surprised at how unprepared my opponents were. Yes, I get it, I’ve been the Town Mayor for the past 18 months, so I do have a bit of an advantage. However, it is not difficult in this day and age with everything being available online to at least obtain some basic knowledge on applicable statutes, local ordinances, and Town financial information. I can tell you I did that fundamental homework when I first ran for Town Council back in 2022. I understand folks are fed up with roads and dust and any number of other things that impact them directly. In response to those concerns I will say, please know that as a Town we are trying to address all of these concerns and that it takes a lot of time and effort to do so. I’m not sure my opponents fully understand that. Forgive me, for the campaign commentary, this part of holding public office is the one thing I really dislike—it would seem I am not much of a politician. That said, if you have any questions or comments for me, please do not hesitate to email me at close2home307@gmail.com. And, with that, I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. There’s a busy week ahead perhaps I’ll see a few of you along the way!

PS: It’s hummingbird migration season! If you have feeders, I bet you are seeing lots of activity, here’s a quick snippet of the frenzy going on at my house this week. Enjoy!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

For the week of July 26^th, here’s your Ranch news roundup:

The Roundup

Here’s a recap of Star Valley Ranch (SVR) meetings from the week:

• Tuesday, July 28^th at 6pm, the Town of SVR (TSVR) Town Council held a work session at Town Hall. You can find the agenda here and also watch a video recording of the meeting via the embed below. Here are a few notes:

  • A representative from Caterpillar, Inc. reviewed options with the Council regarding the Town’s leased LaRue snowblower which has not been utilized as expected and has also experienced operational issues.

  • The Town Administrator provided an update on speed bumps placed around Town to include thefts and removal of the latter by unidentified individuals.

  • Additional applications of dust guard were applied in various locations around the Town on Tuesday.

  • The Roads Advisory Board Chairman provided an overview to the Council of the board’s use of the Pavement Surface and Evaluation Rating (PASER) system to assess the condition of Town roads.

• Thursday, July 30^th at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and also a link to the video recording on the Town’s YouTube page. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this meeting due to being double-booked at Town Hall that afternoon. One note I can relay is that an update was provided during the meeting on progress with the Town’s residential water meter replacement project. As of the end of July, some 232 old water meters have been replaced. And, interestingly about 12% of those exhibited failures to record or transmit water usage or were found to have accounting/billing issues (such as the wrong base rate being charged).

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a few other news notes from the week:

• On Thursday, July 30th, the Star Valley Independent (SVI) hosted a candidate forum for a number of county and state offices up for election this November. If you missed the live radio broadcast, you can still watch a video-recording of the interviews here on the SVI Media YouTube page.

  • Interviews with Representative Scott Heiner, Lincoln County Commissioner candidates, County Treasurer and County Assessor candidates are all included.

• Also this week in their Friday email, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) notified residents that effective August 1^st Cedar Creek Pool hours will be 12 noon to 6pm with lap swim on Fridays from 9am to 12 noon.

• Today the Lincoln County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office posted this notice (and the graphic below) to their Facebook page advising “Critical Fire Weather conditions in the outlook for today. Red Flag Warnings in effect for many areas in the region. Even if it’s not red flag where you are, it is not a good day to be starting fires. Things can get out of hand quickly, and conditions favor rapid spread.” Be careful out there folks!

• Lastly, as it’s the time of year when many young raptors are fledging, please pay attention to the following information on what you should do if you find a young raptor on the ground. Most of the time, the best course of action (unless the bird is obviously injured) is to just let the little fledgling be. You can read more about what to do if you find an injured raptor on the Teton Raptor Center (TRC) website using this link.

Calendar Items

Upcoming calendar items are as follows:

• Monday, August 3^rd at 7pm, the SVRA will host a Meet the Candidates forum for the seven folks running for the two open TSVR Town Council seats. This event will be held in the SVRA Barn.

• Tuesday, August 4^th at 4pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also on Tuesday at 7pm, the SVRA will host a Meet the Candidates forum for the three individuals running for TSVR Mayor. This event will be held in the Cedar Creek Center Banquet Room. I hope to see you there!

• Saturday, August 8^th starting at 9am, the SVRA will host a Community Yard Sale.

  • If you would like to be included on the map of town locations participating in the sale, please notify the SVRA Administrative Office by August 5th at 4pm. You can email them or call (307) 883-2669.

Final Thoughts

It was an interesting weather week with lows in the upper 40s and highs in the mid 90s! Quite the temperature rollercoaster we’ve been on. All the ups and downs did create some pretty spectacular scenery across the valley though—how about that fog on Thursday morning! I snapped the below photo of the waning Full Buck Moon from the previous day setting atop the fog bank hanging over the Salt River. It was an amazing sight! Also, today as I was out working in the garden, I noticed that many of my flowers are hitting their peak. I also added a couple of photos of some of the loveliest blooms below for your enjoyment. I hope all of you were able to enjoy some time outdoors despite the heat and also make the most of the fleeting summer days we have left. And, with those thoughts, I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. It’ll be a busy week ahead, but I hope yours is a good one. I’ll talk with you again next weekend!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here’s your Ranch news roundup for the week of July 19^th.

The Roundup

A quieter past week in terms of meetings at Star Valley Ranch (SVR)—here’s a recap:

• Wednesday, July 22^nd at 5:30pm, the Town of SVR (TSVR) Planning Commission met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and you can also watch the videorecording via the embed below. The key discussion items during the meeting centered on the Commission’s work to develop a pre-annexation process to include drafting an ordinance requiring this additional step for any future annexation applications. Also, the Commission continues to work on revising the Town’s land usage regulations with the intent to remove multi-family zoning.

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are other news notes from the week:

• The TSVR sent out a number of email notices this week. Here’s a summary:

  • On Thursday the Town notified residents via this email that chip-sealing road work will begin in Plat 5 starting Monday, July 27^th.

  • Also on Thursday, this notice advised residents that Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are currently in place on the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

    • Folks, it’s dry and hot out there—so, please heed fire restrictions on the forest as well as fire regulations here in Town. Thanks for your cooperation!

  • And, on Friday the Town sent out this email asking for residents to voluntarily conserve water when possible.

    • Note there is no water emergency in the Town or mandated water restriction, however, due to the sustained high temperatures in order to keep up with current water demand our Town wells (we have three of them) also need to pump to augment water supply from our freshwater Prater Canyon Spring. The increased usage of our wells puts extra wear on our water pumps which can lead to additional maintenance, therefore, the Town is just asking for folks to converse water use where they can. Thank you for being a responsible user of our precious and valuable water resources!

• Also on Friday, the Star Valley Independent published this news article recapping the regular Town Council meeting held earlier this month to include comments made by Mid-Valley Fire District Fire Chief Ted Jenkins regarding wildfire preparedness and evacuation planning.

• On Saturday the Friends of the Bridger-Teton (FBTN) “Friends Fort” was up and running at the Cedar Creek Trailhead. This effort is part of the TSVR-sponsored Trails Ambassadors program this season in collaboration with the TSVR Natural Resources Board and SVR Trail Crew. The mission of the Friends Fort (staffed this Saturday by FBTN interns) was to interact with hikers, accomplish data gathering, and to provide information about our beautiful western side of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

  

• Finally, in last week’s SVR New Roundup post I asked if anyone attended the Natural Resources Board (NRB) sponsored “Starry Nights 2026”, a stargazing convergence held at Fox Run Park. The SVR Trail Crew reports that some 50 people stopping by to gaze at the night sky. Great job NRB!

  

Calendar Items

Here are upcoming calendar items:

• Tuesday, July 28^th at 6pm, the Town Council will hold a work session at Town Hall.

• Thursday, July 30^th at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town Hall.

• And, just to look ahead to two important events upcoming in the first week of August, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) will sponsor two Meet the Candidates nights for the individuals running for our local municipal offices.

  • Monday, August 3^rd at 7pm, the SVRA will host a Meet the Candidates forum for the seven folks running for the two open Town Council seats. This event will be held in the SVRA Barn.

  • Tuesday, August 4^th at 7pm, the SVRA will host a Meet the Candidates forum for the three individuals running for TSVR Mayor.

    • I’m looking forward to this one!

Final Thoughts

Where has the summer gone? Hard to believe next weekend we will flip the calendar into August. And, it sure has been hot! Too many 90+ degree days in a row for sure! The fans in my greenhouse have certainly been working overtime. Despite the heat I do have some green tomatoes finally coming along. I’m sure the fans help with pollinating as sometimes you have to help that along by hand if you’re greenhouse gardening. Around my property, Mr. Fox made a couple of appearances again this week—one morning when I was watering he strolled by a mere 18” inches away. It’s really quite something to have him around and seemingly so unafraid. Although, that also worries me as he might be better off learning that a good dose of caution around humans is probably in his best long-term interest. Okay, that’s it for today. Have a great week ahead and I’ll talk with you again soon!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

It’s SVR News Roundup time! Here’s the skinny for the week of July 12^th.

The Roundup

A fairly busy week at the Ranch—here’s a rundown:

• Tuesday, July 14^th was a busy day at Town Hall starting with a well-attended Coffee with the Mayor at 9am. A Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council Work Session was next up at 10am; you can find the agenda here and also the videorecording is available on the Town YouTube page at this link. [Note that there were some technical difficulties with the recording of this meeting so be prepared for some spans of frozen video although the audio recording is just fine.] Here are a couple of notes from the meeting that may be of interest:

  • On Tuesday morning, the Public Works Department (PWD) put down the first application of the new flake mag (magnesium chloride) dust control product on Vista West Drive. The PWD had been using up last year’s remaining stock of liquid mag prior to the Tuesday morning application of the flake mag.

    • I was out on Vista West Drive on Friday, and it seemed to me that the new flake mag was still holding up, but I’ll be anxious to hear any feedback from residents if dust control is improved following application of this new product.

  • SilverStar Communications Vice President Eric Heap was in attendance at the work session and gave an update on the fiber optic installation in Town to include implementation of mitigation measures to prevent any further power outages which had been problematic in prior weeks.

  • To date, the Town has installed 236 new residential water meters.

• At 2pm, also on Tuesday, TSVR Municipal Court was in session upstairs at Town Hall. Cases on the docket included a dog bite along with a citation for water meter tampering.

• And to round out the day, at 7pm the regular monthly Town Council Meeting was held at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the packet and the videorecording can be found here. [Note that unfortunately video was entirely unavailable during this meeting, but again, the audio is fine.] Here are a couple of notes from the meeting:

  • Deborah Johnson received the TSVR “Ride for the Brand” community service award for her dedication to all things flora and fauna as the NRB Landscaping and Community Garden Committee Chair.

  • Chief Ted Jenkins from the Mid-Valley Fire Department provided an update to include the acquisition of a new fire engine and discussion of wildfire preparedness within the Town.

• Thursday, July 16^th at 7pm, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) met at Cedar Creek Center for their first gathering since the election in June. Here’s a link to the meeting agenda. Alas, I did not find a link for a meeting recording; however, I’m still trying to navigate my way through the new SVRA website so maybe I just missed it! In any event, to follow are a few notes:

  • Mike Wardle was selected to fulfill the remaining term of BoD member Carolyn Thacker, who recently resigned.

  • The SVRA purchased the vacant lot property at 115 Vista East Drive.

  • The SVRA is in the process of rehabilitating the Cedar Creek well site with good progress reported to date with the project.

• Friday, July 17^th and Saturday July 18^th at 9pm, the NRB hosted “Starry Night 2026”, a stargazing convergence at Fox Run Park.

  • Did anyone happen to attend as I am chagrined to say I could not make either evening. Let me know if you did!

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are other newsworthy notes from the week:

• The Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew worked Cedar Creek Trail this week to clean out water bars and dips from the trailhead to the 1.3-mile point. The Trail Crew was also supported by a youth group from Preston Idaho earlier in the week who helped with a multitude of trails infrastructure projects along the Green Canyon Trail. Thank you, SVR Trail Crew, for everything you do!

• I am sad to report that the past week also saw some bad behavior in and around town.

  • On Monday, July 13^th the SVRA reported Cedar Creek Golf Course was the targets of vandal(s) over this previous weekend. The person (or persons) maliciously damaged the greens of hole #15 by pouring out a substance similar to a fuel stabilizer. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was notified and if you have any information on this incident, please contact the SVRA Administration office at (307) 883-2669.

  

  • Also, this week, illegal dirt bike activity continued on the Prater Canyon Trail which is designated and signed as non-motorized! In addition to the damage these dirt bikes are causing to the trail, the culprits are also intentionally destroying rock water bar barriers installed by the SVR Trail Crew to mitigate water run-off on the trail. The Trail Crew has worked for more than 5 years on the Prater Canyon Trail to enhance the hiking experience for everyone. Unfortunately, these dirt-bikers are doing extensive damage to the tread, water bars, and the mountain in general each time they violate the non-motorized regulations.

    • At the request of the Trail Crew Lead I am not going to post the photographs captured by trail cameras of these culprits until next weekend as further coordination with the U.S. Forest Service is currently ongoing.

Calendar Items

A quieter week ahead with one lone calendar item that I am aware of:

• Wednesday, July 22^nd at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

A couple of brief words about our town election season. This week was pretty disappointing for me in terms of realizing there is a good bit of misinformation being promulgated on various social media platforms, as well as by some individuals, about myself as Mayor and also the Town Staff. I get it. It’s an election cycle and some folks are just going to play it that way. However, I won’t stoop to that, and I’ll let me record and my integrity speak for itself. If, by chance, any of you have any questions or concerns about anything happening within the Town and would like to talk with me directly, my door is always open. Please call Town Hall at (307) 883-8696, and let’s set up a time to talk. Other than the campaign distractions, the rest of the week was pretty amazing especially with the visit of a very friendly red fox at my house on Friday (he was completely unperturbed by me taking video and my husband snapping photos). See the video clip below. Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now as I’ve kept you long enough. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and I wish you the very best week ahead. Talk to you soon!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Wow! Some hot, hot, hot weather this week! Here’s your news for the week of July 5^th.

The Roundup

A couple of meetings and events to cover—here’s a recap:

• Tuesday, July 7^th at right about 3pm, The Wall That Heals motorcade passed by the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) along Muddy String Road in route to its exhibition location in Afton. Residents were out in force to honor the convoy, and it truly was a sight to behold! I cannot thank residents enough for their show of support. Embedded below (in case you have not already seen it), is a video I put together for the Town to documents this once-in-a-lifetime event. If you weren’t able to pay your respects along Muddy String Road on Tuesday, hopefully this video will give you a sense of how memorable the occasion was.

• Also on Tuesday, at 4pm the TSVR Roads Advisory Board (RAB) met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can also watch the video recording of the meeting here on the Town’s YouTube page. About 40 minutes in length, during the meeting the RAB received an update on grant applications submitted by the Town during 2026 and also discussed conducting a PASER (Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating) assessment of Town roads. The PASER system is a visual 1-10 grading scale used by municipalities and engineers to evaluate road conditions.

  • On the grant topic, note that unfortunately the Town was notified earlier the same day that their BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) program was not selected to be funded. While that’s a real bummer, the Town will continue to seek additional resources to improve roads within the municipality.

• Wednesday, July 8^th at 5:30pm the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. You can find the agenda and meeting packet here and also use this link for the video recording. This was a fairly brief meeting with the Commission agreeing to move forward with a memo to the Town Council recommending elimination of multi-family zoning from the Town’s land usage code. The memo’s intent is to take the Council’s pulse on the subject, before the Commission moves ahead with draft ordinance revisions.

• Thursday, July 9^th at 9am, I attended the opening ceremony for The Wall That Heals exhibit on the grounds of Star Valley Middle School. This was a very somber and moving event with a key note address delivered by Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. Never forget.

Other News & Notes for the Week

A couple of other newsworthy notes from the week:

• Unfortunately, I failed to include the Natural Resources Board (NRB) Annual Garage Sale for Trails & Parks in last week’s calendar items! Nonetheless, the NRB held this event on Friday July 10^th and Saturday July 11^th in the parking lot area by the First Response Center at the corner of Vista Drive and Vista West Drive. The sale was a big success with initial reports tallying over $13,000 in sales! Way to go NRB and a big “Thank You” to all the volunteers who made this year’s sale such a success!

• One additional note, during the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) 4^th of July event a week ago on Saturday, it appears a box of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFS) jackets went missing. These are the grey bomber-style jackets worn by the VFW members during the flag raising ceremony. If you have any information about the whereabouts of these items please drop me an email. Thanks!

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for the busy week ahead:

• Tuesday, July 14^th will have 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

• Thursday, July 16^th at 2pm, the TSVR NRB will meet at Town Hall.

• Also on Thursday at 7pm, the SVRA will hold a Board of Directors meeting at Cedar Creek Center.

• Friday, July 17^th and Saturday July 18^th at 9pm, the NRB will host “Starry Night 2026”, a stargazing convergence at Fox Run Park. See the info notice below for details and plan to attend if you can!

Final Thoughts

Last week, you may recall my despair at the ongoing aphid outbreak in my greenhouse. Well, this week, 150 ladybugs arrived (by mail-order from Nature’s Good Guys) and I’ve steadily been deploying them in batches over the past few days. I am happy to say those little beetles are already having a positive impact! I’ve also removed some of the most belaugered plants so along with the latter and the cute (but predatory) bug deployments I think the tide may be turning in my favor. The jury is still out, but for now I’m feeling more positive. I made a rather comical little video compilation of some of my ladybug deployment efforts which is embedded below. Hope you enjoy. Okay, with that I’ll keep this final missive brief and let you get back to the rest of your Sunday. Have a great week everyone and I’ll talk with you next weekend.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

America’s 250^th birthday took center stage this week! Here’s your news roundup.

The Roundup

No official meetings this week, but lots of Independence Day celebrations, here’s a recap:

• Wednesday, July 1^st the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) got busy hoisting a new holiday flag—a beautiful 18-foot by 25-foot Star-Spangled Banner folks! Also, Town Hall was dressed up with some red, white, and blue buntings, and flags were placed on fenceposts on the east side of Muddy String Road from the entrance to the Ranch south to the RV park. Lastly, flags were placed along Vista Drive. I don’t know about you, but I think it looks amazing!

• Thursday, July 2^nd the TSVR Town Hall was closed in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

• Friday, July 3^rd, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) administrative offices were closed in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

• Saturday, July 4^th, the SVRA hosted their 29^th Annual Independence Day Celebration at Cedar Creek Park. It was a wonderful day of festivities that got started with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) flag raising at 7:30am. For those of you who attended the early morning ceremony, did you notice that as taps was being played, the sun finally broke through from Cedar Creek Canyon and illuminated the American Flag at the top of the flagpole? Wow—was that an incredible moment! After the flag raising, a pancake breakfast was next up followed by games, a golf cart parade, carnival, and more. It was a really amazing and fun-filled day! Great job SVRA and all of you who volunteered to make the day so special!

Other News & Notes for the Week

One additional news update from the week:

• I am pleased to report the Town was able to come to a resolution with the United States Postal Service (USPS) following last week’s mail delivery interruption. Thanks to some intervention by Senator Lummis, who filed a Congressional inquiry on our mail delivery issue, on Wednesday the Town received a commitment from USPS to return deliveries back to normal “immediately”. The Town sent out this email update advising residents there was an end in sight to the mail delivery problem. Additionally, from Wednesday through Friday the Town Staff along with some resident volunteers assisted our mail carrier in clearing the backlog of packages downstairs at the Town Mail Center by hosting package-pick up times from 2pm to 6pm each day. I want to thank the Town Staff and the residents who volunteered along with everyone who provided words of encouragement (and baked goods!) throughout this situation. What a great community we have here at Star Valley Ranch!

  • And, to summarize why this all happened in the first place, based on information relayed to me by USPS (I received multiple phone calls late Tuesday and into Wednesday), there was a decision made in the Denver District USPS office to cut funding to our mail carrier’s contract resulting in her being unable to continue mail and package delivery. This decision was made without following internal USPS processes and no formal notification of the change was provided to the Town. USPS has now committed to rectifying the contract issue and to continuing our mail deliveries as they’ve always been handled for the past 18 years.

  • Lastly, on Friday at the request of the Star Valley Independent, I provided a live radio interview about our Town’s mail delivery crisis and its resolution. The audio file is embedded below in case you’re interested.

Calendar Items

A steady start to our America 250 month; here are calendar items for next week:

• Monday July 6^th, the SVRA administrative offices will be closed in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

• Tuesday, July 7^th, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also, on Tuesday—and this is a big deal—The Wall That Heals motorcade will pass by the Town of Star Valley Ranch along Muddy String Road at approximately 2:45pm as it makes its way to its exhibition location in Afton.

  • Residents and all those who wish to honor The Wall That Heals as it passes by are asked to be in place along the east side of Muddy String Road in between Vista Drive and the RV park from 2:30pm to 3pm. Please plan to come out and pay your respects to the procession as it passes. Thank you!

• Wednesday, July 8^th, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Thursday, July 9^th through Sunday, July 12^th, The Wall That Heals exhibit will formally open to the public. The memorial will be on display at the Star Valley Middle School Grounds, 999 Warrior Way, Afton, WY 83110 and will be open 24 hours a day throughout the exhibit dates.

Final Thoughts

What beautiful fireworks displays all across Star Valley last night! I am blessed to be able to see fireworks from Thayne, Freedom, and around Etna—all from the comfort of my back deck. While I enjoyed the displays (that went on until well after 11pm), my English Bulldog Gus was not so enthralled. He kept pacing around the house and didn’t really settle down to sleep until after the firework booms and crackles had faded away. Now with the holiday in the rearview, today, I spent some time catching up on yard and garden chores. Gosh, there are a lot of weeds out there! I sprayed four gallons of Range Star! While I was out and about, I also came across a fabulous looking moth who was clinging to the red, white, and blue flag light hanging from my back deck railing. After doing a little research, I think it was a Big Poplar Sphinx Moth. If anyone has other thoughts on possible identification, do let me know. In the greenhouse, things are doing well, although I do have an aphid breakout I’m now dealing with. Icky little buggars! I did also spy one brave ladybug making the rounds on the Swiss Chard devouring the aphids, but he definitely needs some back-up so I ordered him 150 friends this afternoon which I hope will arrive later this week. I’ll be sure to take some photos when I deploy his reinforcements. One additional photo to also share below, I’m quite pleased with how a new squash variety I planted in the greenhouse is coming along. It’s called 8-ball zucchini and I harvested the first one today (it’s about the size of a tennis ball and seems like it’ll be perfect to include in a meal for two people). And with that, I will wrap this up and leave you to the rest of your Sunday. I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day and that you were able to celebrate with family and friends. Have a good week and I’ll talk with you again next Sunday.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Lots of activities and meetings this week, so buckle-up-buttercups because here comes your Ranch news for the week of June 21^st.

The Roundup

More than a couple of meetings this week, here’s the roundup:

• Monday, June 22^nd at 4:30pm the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Water Utility Board (WUB) met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and the videorecording of the meeting can be found here. To follow are a few notes that may be of interest:

  • The board discussed the problem of air in town water lines and potential causes of this problem.

  • A presentation was provided by the outgoing board chairman recommending the Town use the Producer Price Index (PPI) instead of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) going forward when considering town water rate adjustments.

    • Note that the CPI reflects the cost of living for households while the PPI tracks changes in the actual costs of goods, equipment, and services required to produce and distribute water.

  • With the departure of board chairman Steve Crandall, the board elected Dave Roberts as the new WUB chair.

    • Dave had previously served as an advisor to the board.

• Tuesday, June 23^rd at 6pm the Town Council held a work session at Town Hall. You can find the agenda here and the video of the meeting is embedded below. Here are some notes:

  • The Town Administrator provided an update on chip-seal operations reporting that the third layer had been applied to Vista Drive, Butte Drive, and East Street.

  • A Town Council Rules & Procedures Handbook was reintroduced for consideration. The handbook would provide local procedures for the Council and also detail rules of decorum for Council conduct (the latter are not currently defined in state statutes).

  • The Council reviewed upcoming ordinances to include fence regulations for properties that border the golf course as well as new proposed rules to govern town inspection and permitting of septic tank installations.

• Wednesday, June 24^th at 5:30pm the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and the videorecording is available on the Town’s YouTube page at this link. This was a relatively brief meeting with the Commission approving a variance submitted by a property owner to share a portion of a driveway with a neighbor along with further discussion on potential changes to the Town’s zoning code with regard to multi-family housing.

• Friday, June 26^th through Sunday June 28^th the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) held their Property Owner’s Weekend. I attended the annual member meeting on Saturday morning along with about 30 other residents. A couple of items of note include the debut of the SVRA’s new website (which is quite snazzy) and can be viewed at this link. Good job SVRA! Also, the SVRA did achieve a quorum for their Board of Directors (BoD) election. The outcome, revealed later in the day, saw Julie Christiansen and Kieran Dulan elected to fill vacant BoD seats. Congrats Julie & Kieran!

Other News & Notes for the Week

Here are a couple of other newsworthy notes from the week:

• Ah, the United States Postal Service (USPS). The USPS was not a friend to the Ranch this week. Two weeks ago, the Town was notified that USPS was considering changes to mail delivery services to our Town Mail Center. To ensure residents were made aware of this potential issue, the Town provided this email on Thursday following by another email update on Saturday when USPS—without providing any notice to the Town—unilaterally cut funding to the Town’s contracted mail carrier’s delivery contract resulting in her being unable to deliver mail or parcels to our Town Mail Center this weekend.

  • This is an evolving situation, and I will definitely keep everyone posted as there will be a number of meetings tomorrow (Monday) involving the Town, USPS, and our Wyoming Congressional Delegation. Should be a fun time! Stay tuned!

• Last week, I reported about the completion of the exterior lining of the Green Canyon Water Storage Tank—an Environmental Protection Agency mandate the Town has now satisfied. I took a tour of the work over the past weekend and wanted to share a photo of the results (see below).

Calendar Items

A quieter week ahead as far as meetings go, but lots of Independence Day festivities. Here are calendar items:

• Thursday, July 2^nd the TSVR Town Hall will be closed in observance of the upcoming Independence Day holiday.

• Friday, July 3^rd and Monday July 6th, the SVRA administrative offices will be closed in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

• Saturday, July 4th, the SVRA will host their 29^th Annual Independence Day Celebration at Cedar Creek Park. See the flyer below for details.

Final Thoughts

My, my, my—that sure was a spectacular round of rain and thunderstorms yesterday! My weather station recorded an inch and a half of rain in barely an hour—Wow! And, then there was all that hail in the midst of it, it was all really quite something. Of course, having that much rain was a very good thing. Today as I’ve been puttering around in and out of the house it has felt more like a fall day outside than an early day of summer. Gotta love the unpredictability of Wyoming weather. Also today, a very handsome mule deer buck made his way through the back lot, stopping and grazing as he went. I love how their coats transition from that dull shaggy winter color to the beautiful fawn hue of spring and summer. I am reminded on a daily basis what a blessing it is to live her. And with that, as this has been a little longer post than usual, I will wrap this up and leave you to the rest of your Sunday. I hope to see some of you at the SVRA Independence Day Celebration next weekend and I wish all of you the very best 4th of July possible. Happy 250th Birthday America! Cheers!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

A quieter past seven days, here’s your Ranch news for the week of June 14^th.

The Roundup

Only one regular meeting this week, here’s the recap:

• Thursday, June 18^th at 2pm the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Natural Resources Board (NRB) met at Town Hall. I attended this meeting and there were all sorts of interesting topics covered. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can watch the video recording of the meeting via the embed below. A presentation was provided to the NRB by a U.S. Forest Service biologist about native plants. Note that the board will be working toward sponsoring a native plant sale (possibly next spring). The board is also hard at work getting ready for next month’s annual Garage Sale for Trails and Parks. Lastly, with the departure of Victor Padilla as chairman of the NRB, board member Joanne Leeper was elected as the new chairman. Congrats Joanne! I know you’ll do an amazing job!

Other News & Notes for the Week

A couple of other newsworthy notes from the week are as follows:

• Lining of the outside of the Green Canyon Water Storage Tank was completed this week. The project, which began last fall with the lining of the inside of the tank, was an Environmental Protection Agency mandate. Glad we have that monkey off our backs!

• Also, this week, the Town got back to work in earnest to finish off chip-sealing projects started last fall. By the end of the day on Friday, some 9,100 feet of chip-seal had been put down on Town roadways to include Vista Drive and Plat 21. The Town will continue chip-seal operations next week (weather permitting).

Calendar Items

Here are your calendar items for next week:

• Monday, June 22^nd at 4:30pm the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Tuesday, June 23^rd at 6pm the Town Council will hold a work session at Town Hall.

• Wednesday, June 24^th at 5:30pm the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Friday, June 26^th through Sunday June 28^th is the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Property Owner’s Weekend. Checkout the graphic below for a rundown of SVRA activities and perks!

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned in last weekend’s post—today is the Summer Solstice. And, what a fabulous day it was! It’s almost as if the plants in my greenhouse and garden know that summer is officially here! You know how, when you see someone on a regular basis you don’t really notice much of a change, but if it has been a long time since you’ve seen a family member or friend you are more likely to notice the effects of time? Well—just over the last couple of days going out to my greenhouse each morning now seems like it has truly been ages since I’ve visited because everything is growing like gangbusters! I’ve got flowers on one of my tomato plants as well as on my eight-ball zucchini! Love it! While it’s year two, I’m still in the learning phase with the greenhouse in terms of figuring out what really thrives and what doesn’t. And that just reminds me that gardening in Wyoming is a challenge, regardless of if you plant inside a greenhouse or out. Today is also Father’s Day—a holiday date that honors and celebrates fatherhood, and the positive contributions of fathers and father figures. It is a day to express gratitude for the love, guidance, and sacrifices of fathers. I’d like to wish all of you out there who are a “Dad”, or father-figure to someone, a most glorious day! And with that I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a great week and I’ll talk with everyone again soon!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

I’m back after my little break! It was a busy seven days, so let’s get to your SVR News Roundup for the week that began on June 7^th.

The Roundup

It was Town Council regular meeting week, so always a bit more hectic than the rest. Here’s your recap:

• Tuesday, June 9^th at 9am the day got off to a good start at the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Hall with a well-attended Coffee with the Mayor followed by a Town Council Work Session at 10am. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can also watch the video-recording of the meeting here on the Town’s YouTube page. Here are a couple of notes:

  • The Town Council discussed the need for carryover of some funds appropriated for capital projects during the current fiscal year (namely completion of chip-seal operations and continuation of work on replacement of the Prater Spring water transmission line) into the new budget which will begin on July 1^st.

  • The Council also reviewed the third reading of the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget ordinance to be presented during the regular Town Council meeting later in the day.

  • There was considerable discussion on ordinances and processes surrounding the Town’s intent to take over septic permitting and inspections from Lincoln County.

• Also on Tuesday at 7pm, the TSVR Town Council held their regular monthly meet upstairs at Town Hall. You can find the meeting packet here and the video is embedded below. Here are some highlights:

  • The Lincoln County Commissioners (LCC) Chief of Staff, Stephen Allen, provided an update to the Council on county activities and other items of interest.

  • Star Valley Health Chief Executive Officer, Dan Ordyna, made a presentation to the Council regarding the current status of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in north Lincoln County following the LCC’s vote at the end of May not to establish an EMS Special Tax District.

  • The Town Council approved the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget on third reading.

• Wednesday, June 10^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. This was a fairly short meeting with the agenda focused on continued review of the Town’s land usage ordinances and specifically on zoning districts. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and the meeting video is posted here.

• Saturday, June 13^th starting at 10am, the TSVR Natural Resources Board (NRB) hosted the Town’s 16th Annual Arbor Day Celebration. The event marked the Town’s 15th year as a Tree City USA community. Turnout was terrific and eight new trees were planted. There were also lots of raffle giveaways with a good time had by all. Thanks NRB!

Other News & Notes for the Week

A couple of other items of interest from the week are as follows:

• The Town spent the early part of the week picking up Firewise slash piles. Great job residents for getting all that hazardous ignitable timber and combustible vegetation cleared off your properties!

• On Thursday late in the afternoon SilverStar hit a Town water mainline on Hardman Road while conducting boring operations to install fiber optic cable. Residents primarily in the areas of Last Chance Drive to Middle Branch Drive were without water for nearly 7 hours. The Town worked until almost midnight to get the water line repaired. The boring equipment shattered the water line from the point of impact in both directions—see the photos below. Thanks to the Public Works crews who did not stop until the job was done!

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for next week:

• Thursday, June 18^th at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also, on Thursday and again on Friday, June 19^th from 12pm to 3pm (both days) the Dynamite Dogs and Cloverbuds Dogs 4-H clubs will hold their annual Dog Wash Fundraiser at the fairgrounds in Afton.

  • Come on out and support these hardworking youngsters and while your pooch is having a spa day, you can watch the Stock Dog Trials!

• Lastly, TSVR will continue conducting roadside weed spraying next week. If you don’t want the area in front of your home sprayed or have any questions please call Town Hall at (307) 883-8696.

Final Thoughts

It was good to take a little time off and while it was great to be away on a mini-vacation—it was also really nice to get back home again. This weekend after the busy past week, I enjoyed the festivities of Arbor Day on Saturday and then spent some time today catching up on some greenhouse planting and gardening. We are now headed into that beautiful season of longer days and nights that manage to stay above freezing (most of the time). Next Sunday we will observe the Summer Solstice when we will experience the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Summer Solstice marks the official start of astronomical summer and occurs when Earth's tilt toward the Sun is at its maximum. And with that factoid I will leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a great week everyone and I’ll be back again soon!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

It’s time for a little break, so just a quick SVR News Roundup today and no post next weekend. My next regular news update will be on Sunday June 14th and will recap the preceding week. For now, here’s a very brief look at the week that began on May 24^th.

The Roundup

Here are events from the week:

• Monday, May 25^th, was Memorial Day.

• Tuesday, May 26^th at 6pm the Town Council conducted a work session at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can find the video recording of the meeting here on the Town’s YouTube. The Council discussed updates to the third reading of the Town’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget as well as other ordinances.

• Wednesday, May 27^th at 5:30pm the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. This was a short meeting of about 30 minutes where the Commission spent most of its time discussing changes to zoning and land usage regulations. Here’s a link to the meeting packet and the meeting video is embedded below.

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for next week:

• Tuesday, June 2^nd at 4pm the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Wednesday, June 3^rd at 2pm the TSVR Travel and Tourism Board will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

As I noted at the beginning of this post, I’ll be taking some time off the next couple of weeks. For now, I wanted to close with letting all of you know I have filed to run for another term as Town Mayor. Since becoming Mayor just 16 months ago, I have worked to make multiple changes (for the better) in how the town operates and especially to improve how we communicate with the public. During that time the Town has also embarked on a whole host of projects many of which have already been completed, and others (such as major road improvements) that are still in progress. Seeing these projects to fruition as well as being able to continue serving the residents of our Town are the two primary reasons I decided to seek a new term in office. I would be honored and humbled should the residents of the town provide me with the opportunity to continue serving as Mayor. I’ll look forward to talking more with residents and readers about all this in the coming months. And with that—have a great rest of your weekend and a good week to come. I’ll talk to you again in two weeks!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

For the week of May 17^th here’s your Ranch news roundup.

The Roundup

A quieter week at Star Valley Ranch (SVR), here’s a rundown of meetings that may be of interest:

• Tuesday, May 19^th at 1:30pm the Lincoln County Commissioners (LCC) met and voted on the question of establishing an Emergency Management Services (EMS) Special District. I attended this meeting via the video-link available in Afton. In somewhat of a surprise outcome, the Commissioners voted not to establish the EMS Special District. The tally was one yea from Commissioner Bowers and two nays from Commissioners Connelly and Shumway. It was noted during the meeting that the commissioners only received 22 comment letters from the public (13 opposed to forming the district and 9 in favor).

  • Ultimately, while acknowledging the need for sustainable EMS, Commissioner Connelly pointed to the process of forming the district and noted having the public bring forth a petition (as was the case with establishment of the Mid-Valley Fire District) where board members could be elected by the public rather than appointed by the LCC could be a more palatable solution.

  • The Star Valley Independent (SVI) published this story on Wednesday about the outcome of the meeting.

• Wednesday May 20^th at 2pm the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Natural Resources Board (NRB) met at Town Hall. Note this was a change from the previously advertised date of Thursday, May 21^st at 2pm. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can also watch the meeting video here on the Town’s YouTube page. The NRB is gearing up for their busy season with work planned to complete landscaping at the Town’s front entrance on Vista Drive at Muddy String Road, Arbor Day and the Garage Sale for Trails and Parks happening in June, as well as a number of other events throughout the summer.

• Also, on Thursday at 7pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors held their monthly meeting in the Banquet Room at Cedar Creek Center. Here’s a link to the agenda, but no meeting video posted yet (at least none that I could find). A couple of notes from this meeting are as follows:

  • The Cedar Creek Pool will have a soft opening on Friday, May 22^nd (weather permitting).

  • With the early opening, golf revenues are ahead by about $100k so far this season.

  • The SVRA is working on a revised layout for the new Cedar Creek Park.

  • Jay Conley representing The Wall that Heals addressed the meeting participants. This three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will visit Afton from July 9^th to the 12^th this summer.

Other News and Notes for the Week

A couple of other news notes from the week:

• This week, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Jackson Region announced the appointment of Sam Stephens as the new South Jackson wildlife biologist. Sam officially began his role in May, following the recent retirement of SVR’s very own Gary Fralick. I’ve spoken with Gary many times over the past several years about wildlife topics affecting the Ranch. Going forward, if anyone needs to contact Sam Stephens on similar wildlife biology matters you can reach him through the Jackson Regional Office at (307) 733-2321 or via email at sam.stephens@wyo.gov.

• The SVR Trail Crew had a busy week with lots of trail work, wildflowers, and wildlife sightings along the way. Check out this cute little pine martin on the trail! And, you can see all the regular photo postings by visiting the SVR Trail Crew Facebook page. Thanks Trail Crew!

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for next week:

• Monday, May 25^th the TSVR Town Hall and SVRA administrative office will be closed in observance of Memorial Day.

• Tuesday, May 26^th at 6pm the Town Council will conduct a work session at Town Hall.

• Wednesday, May 27^th at 5:30pm the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Lastly, the filing period for qualified residents interested in running for an open seat on the TSVR Town Council ends Friday May 29^th!

  • Note Town Hall will be open on Friday May 29^th until 5pm.

  • Anyone interested in running for municipal office should contact the Town Clerk for more information.

Final Thoughts

I had a crisis in my greenhouse this week—something was eating my lettuce! This has been another learning week for me. The first lesson being, that while growing veggies inside a greenhouse certainly helps to prevent infiltrations by hungry invaders (and heaven knows we have plenty of those types of critters around here)—growing in a greenhouse does not mean nothing gets in. Thus, the second lesson being, I’ve developed a false sense of security. I will attempt to be brief in telling the rest of this tale. In checking on the greenhouse on Thursday, I noticed that one of my lovely little romaine lettuces was wilting. Hmm, whatever could be the cause? I thought perhaps overwatering, or too much heat, but the next day to my chagrin, the little romaine was effectively torn to pieces. After examining what appeared to be a chewed-on leaf, I surmised it must be a rodent and promptly set about deploying some traps. I also placed some protective wire netting over the two remaining heads of romaine and for good measure set up a game camera to catch the little buggar in the act!

Imagine my shock upon entering the greenhouse on Saturday only to find one of the two “protected” lettuces wilted and partially destroyed. With no guilty party caught on camera, more research ensued. Could this be a cutworm? I was skeptical, as I still had rodent on the brain. But, I went ahead and opted to pour a gallon of soapy water all around the lettuce bed and—Holy Moly! Look what crawled to the surface! Yuck!

After tossing Mr. Cutworm to the tree swallows, I deployed some organic spinosad that hopefully will do away with any other icky relations that might still be trying to make themselves at home in my greenhouse. What a relief to find the reason behind the demise of my romaine, but what a bummer to realize how much damage one little worm can do! There endeth the lessons for the week. And with that, have a great rest of your holiday weekend and I’ll talk to you again soon!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here’s your Ranch news for the week of May 10^th.

The Roundup

It was a fairly busy meeting week. Let’s get to the roundup!

• Tuesday, May 12^th was a hectic day at the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Hall. Coffee with the Mayor got the day started at 9am followed by a Town Council Work Session at 10am. The agenda for the work session can be found at this link and you can also watch the video recording of the meeting here. To follow are a couple of notes that may be of interest from the work session:

  • The Town Administrator provided an update on road maintenance underway for the spring/summer season.

    • The road maintenance update was posted to the Town website later in the day; you can find it at this link.

  • Replacement of residential water meters is ongoing with 143 completed as of the date of the work session.

  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a sanitary survey of the Town water system this week.

    • An EPA sanitary survey is a proactive, on-site review of a public water system to evaluate its capability to consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water. The survey is typically conducted every three to five years.

• Also on Tuesday at 7pm the Town Council held their regular monthly meeting at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the packet and you can watch the entire meeting using the video embed below. To follow are some highlights from the meeting:

  • The Town’s Ride for the Brand community service award for the month of May was presented to resident Jack Benson for his tireless efforts in tending to our local Canine Commons Dog Park.

  • The Town Council passed the second reading of the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget.

  • The main event for the meeting was the first scheduled reading of the annexation ordinance for the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation.

    • Prior to the Council vote on the ordinance, public comment was taken from residents. Approximately 40 residents were in attendance at the meeting and 10 individuals spoke with most expressing opposition to the annexation.

    • The Council vote to approve the ordinance (done by roll call) came in at 3 nays, 1 aye, and 1 abstention. The ordinance to annex the Mountain Estates subdivision was defeated thereby formally ending the annexation process.

      • If you just want to watch the ordinance vote you can fast forward through the video to about the 1 hour, 7 minute and 25 second mark. The meeting wrapped up shortly after the vote!

• Wednesday, May 13^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission met at Town Hall. This was a fairly short meeting with no members of the public attending. The Commission discussed the need for some land usage ordinance updates in the wake of the recently concluded annexation process. The Commission will also get back to work on completion of the Town Master Plan update. You can view the meeting packet here and the video of the meeting can be accessed at this link.

• Thursday, May 14^th at 4pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board (RAB) held a special meeting specifically to address prioritization of the $500,000 of road projects planned for the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget. Here’s a link to the agenda and also the meeting video is posted here. The RAB considered the following prioritization options:

  • Finish chip seal of Plat 20; apply road base, blade, shape, and fix drainage issues on the majority of the Town’s unpaved roads; chip seal Vista East and Vista West; or, a combination of the preceding options.

  • The RAB voted to recommend the Town pursue applying road base and repairing roads to the greatest extent possible with the half-million dollar budget allocation.

    • The Town Council will consider this recommendation at their upcoming work session on May 26^th.

Other News and Notes for the Week

A few of other notes of interest from the week:

• Over the past couple of weeks the Town has been installing speed bumps on a number of municipal roads. Here’s a look at some of them.

• It was Annual Spring Cleanup time at the Ranch over the past week. Alas, I didn’t see too many yellow bags deposited at intersections over the weekend, although I did spy this one at Cedar Creek and Alpine Way.

  

• While it’s still a tad early, folks are already gearing up for the growing season at the Town’s Crop Circles Community Garden. Garden tanks in the alley currently have some lovely daffodils blooming.

• Lastly, this story in Cowboy State Daily caught my eye over the weekend. A hiker had the rare opportunity to see a wolverine while hiking the Lower Green River Trail in the Wind Rivers! Wow! I’d sure love to see one of those critters!

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for next week:

• The filing period for qualified residents interested in running for an open seat on the TSVR Town Council continues this week.

  • Anyone interested in running for municipal office should contact the Town Clerk for more information. The filing period ends on May 29^th.

• Tuesday, May 19^th the Lincoln County Commissioners will vote to determine if an Emergency Management Services Special District should be formed.

  • I think this meeting is at 1pm but I had some difficulty determining the time as the links to the meeting agenda were not functioning on the Lincoln County website.

• Thursday, May 21^st at 2pm the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also on Thursday at 7pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors will hold their monthly meeting in the Banquet Room at Cedar Creek Center.

Final Thoughts

I’m looking ahead to the summer to come. With all the Town business in recent months it has been difficult to really think about much else. Now, with big decisions in the rearview, it is time to look at what’s next and also all those other things I’d like to accomplish. I’d really like to get out and spend a day or two with our local Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew. I’d also like to make another video about Town happenings—haven’t done one of those since January! Then of course, there are all those personal things to attend to—my greenhouse comes to mind as well as some vacation time with my husband. It is the season to do many things. I’m sure many of you feel the same. And, with that, I’ll keep this short and leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a great week and I’ll talk to you again soon.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here we are in the month of May! Let’s get to the roundup for the week of May 3^rd.

The Roundup

A quieter meeting week—here’s the recap:

• Tuesday, May 5^th at 3pm, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council held a Special Meeting which went directly into an Executive Session. Here’s a link to the agenda. This meeting was a new addition to the calendar and was held to enable Town Council consultation with their annexation special counsel.

  • Note the latter is part of the overall annexation process and by law, no final decisions were made within the Executive Session.

• Also, on Tuesday at 4pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board (RAB) met at Town Hall. You can find the agenda here and the video recording of the meeting is embedded below. One item of note from the agenda was RAB discussion of town collector roads prioritization.

Other News and Notes for the Week

A number of other newsy notes from the week:

• On Tuesday the Town sent out an email asking all residents to please complete a short Lead and Copper Survey. Completing the survey will help the Town better understand the materials used in water services lines throughout the municipality. The Lead and Copper Survey is an Environmental Protection Agency requirement and ensures our community remains in compliance with state and federal drinking water regulations. If you haven’t taken the survey it is quick and easy to complete—use this link to participate. Thank you!

• Also, a reminder that it’s Annual Spring Cleanup time at the Ranch! See the flyer below for details and please plan to get out there and help tidy up the Town this month. Thank you for keeping our community beautiful!

• Lots of spring work by the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew this week. At week’s end the Trail Crew provided an update to their Facebook page on Prater-Murphy Trail #3077 noting a “significant dense snow avalanche occurred [sometime this winter] down the first Avy Chute into the Prater drainage—about 100 yards from the Prater Trailhead”. Yikes! Check out the photo below courtesy of the Trail Crew. The Prater-Murphy Trail is covered for about 20 yards with 4 to 6 feet of snow/debris which will likely remain an issue well into June (although the trail is passable). Beyond the snow the trail is dry and in good shape to the second Prater drainage crossing. Thanks for the heads-up Trail Crew!

• And finally, in this week’s Star Valley Independent (SVI) newspaper a couple of local articles that may be of interest:

  • Use this link to access a story about the Town’s Public Hearing held at the end of April to obtain public comment on the Mountain Estates annexation.

  • And, in this story the Town Administrator and I visited some sixth grade students at Etna Elementary to discuss local government as well as the Town’s current regulations prohibiting backyard chickens and ducks. It really was a fun time and the kids had a lot of thoughtful things to say.

Calendar Items

Here’s a look at calendar items for the busy week ahead:

• Tuesday, May 12^th will have 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

• Also on Tuesday, please note the Star Valley Ranch Association offices will be closed for a scheduled power outage.

• Wednesday, May 13^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Thursday, May 14^th the filing period begins for open seats on the TSVR Town Council; the filing period runs through May 29^th.

  • Anyone interested in running for municipal office should contact the Town Clerk for more information.

Final Thoughts

Today is Mother’s Day. Up until now I hadn’t really thought too much about the founding of this date on the calendar, so I took a few minutes to look into it. Mother's Day was officially established in the United States in 1914 by Anna Jarvis to honor her mother. In establishing the observance, Jarvis followed the example of earlier suffragists namely Julia Ward Howe. Howe, best known as the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” was an abolitionist, a women’s rights advocate, and a peace activist. In 1870, after witnessing the horrors of death and destruction during the Civil War, Howe issued her “appeal to womanhood throughout the world” later to be known as the “Mother’s Day Proclamation”. Celebrated on the second Sunday in May, ironically, Jarvis later campaigned against the holiday due to its rapid commercialization. And, so there you have it, a short history of the founding of Mother’s Day which brings us back to the present day replete with its abundant commoditization. With that—I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. For the mothers out there—I wish you the very best and hope you were able to celebrate today with your family and friends! Cheers!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

It’s the end of another month! Here’s your Ranch news for the week of April 26^th.

The Roundup

A couple of meetings this week—here’s the recap:

• Tuesday, April 28^th at 5pm, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Council held a work session upstairs at Town Hall. Here’s a link to the agenda and you can also find a video recording of the entire meeting here on the Town’s YouTube page. A couple of notes from the meeting follow:

  • The Council discussed the second reading of the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget. No major changes were made.

  • The Council agreed to authorize the purchase of a 3/4-ton pick-up truck for use by Public Works. This newly purchased truck will replace a similar truck that is no longer operable. The purchase will be made out of funds identified, but not yet expended, for a vehicle purchase within the current year budget.

  • Road work prioritization projects were also discussed with new information planned for posting on the Town website in the near term.

• Thursday, April 30^th at 5pm, the Town Council held a Public Hearing (in accordance with WY Statute §15-1-405) to take public comments and consider recommendations on the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation. This was the big meeting of the week and it was very well-attended (I counted 98 in attendance underscoring the term standing-room only for our Town Hall’s upstairs council chamber). You can find the meeting packet here and the nearly 2-hour video recording of the meeting is embedded below. Here are a couple of highlights from the meeting and also a brief note on next steps:

  • Public comments were made by 17 individuals. Everyone conducted themselves with civility and decorum (which was greatly appreciated).

  • The Town Council voted unanimously at the end of the meeting to accept all public comments received to date and also accept the recommendations of the Planning Commission and Water Utility Board.

  • The next step in the annexation process will be the Town Council’s first up-or-down vote on the annexation held during the May 12^th regular Town Council meeting.

Other News and Notes for the Week

A number of other newsworthy notes from the week:

• On Thursday the Town sent out an email announcement with information about this year’s upcoming mid-term elections. The office of Mayor along with two Town Councilman seats will be on the ballot. Read the complete email here and please consider running for office if you’d like to serve our Town. Thanks!

• Friday the Town sent out this email announcing its time for our Annual Spring Cleanup! See the flyer below for details and please plan to get out there and help tidy our town up this month (if you have the time and inclination). Thanks in advance!

• Also on Friday, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) sent out their weekly email with lots of updates for members about when election packets will be mailed and the upcoming Welcome Back Party on May 15^th among other items. Read the entire SVRA email here.

• There was also all kinds of work done by the Star Valley Ranch (SVR) Trail Crew this week. The Trail Crew completed projects in Fox Run Park and also finished two major projects on Cedar Creek Trail #3078 (removal of a very large downed fir tree at the 2.3 mile point and completion of some log water bars on the upper part of trail at the 1.9 mile point). The Trail Crew reports that Cedar Creek Trail is in great shape up to the 2.5 mile point. So, get out there folks and enjoy! Thanks Trail Crew!

• And finally, in last week’s SVR News Roundup I made note of a house fire that occurred in Town on Cedar Drive. The Star Valley Independent published this story about the fire in this week’s newspaper and I am saddened to report it was incredibly devastating for the property owners. The news article notes that a Facebook auction has been set up to help the owners and an account has also been set up at the Bank of Star Valley under the name “Victor and Sonya Noles Benefit Fund.” Please help if you can. Thanks for considering!

Calendar Items

Looks like a lighter week ahead—here is a lone calendar item:

• Tuesday, May 5^th at 4pm, the TSVR Roads Advisory Board will meet at Town Hall.

Final Thoughts

What a beautiful week! Over the weekend I spent most of the time outdoors working in the yard, lots of lawn mowing, and some greenhouse planting too. There were also hummingbird feeders to refill (lots of those little guys buzzing around now) and also regular bird feeders and birdhouses to tend to. Over the holidays, my daughter sent me a birdfeeder with an integrated camera. She knows I’m a bird-nerd from way back, and well, I love this new feeder! So much fun to see which feathered creatures are visiting, and of course there is an app to add to the phone. I did have to turn off the app notifications already as I got tired of hearing the nearly constant “ping” given the upticks of spring visitors at the feeder. I’m embedding a short video of one of my favorite birds below enjoying some sunflower seeds. And, with that—I’ll leave you to the what’s left of the weekend. Have a good week all and I’ll be back next Sunday!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

It’s Ranch news roundup time for the week of April 19^th—here we go!

The Roundup

A lighter meeting week for Star Valley Ranch—here’s a recap:

• Wednesday, April 22^nd at 5:30pm, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Planning Commission met at Town Hall. You can find the agenda at this link and the meeting video recording is posted here. This was a fairly speedy and low-key meeting—the first one without the annexation on the agenda as has been the case the past several months. The major items covered by the Commission included agreement to move ahead with the administrative task of rezoning Sunrise Mountain Estates (from planned residential development to single-family residential) and they also recommended approval of a plat amendment (lot combination) for the Town Council’s consideration.

• Thursday, April 23^rd at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board (WUB) met at Town Hall. Here’s the agenda and the meeting video is embedded below. Fair warning if you’re inclined to watch the video as this was a very long meeting. Updates were provided on progress with the Town’s residential water meter replacement effort and Councilman Bitter also walked WUB members through the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget; the latter will be up for second reading before the Town Council next month. A good deal of time was also spent debating a newly introduced alternative WUB recommendation memo regarding the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation. While the Town Council had been privy to a prior near-final version of the WUB recommendation memo this late-to-emerge, alternate version had not been shared with them. During the meeting the WUB chairman raised concerns that the language within the alternate memo version may be in violation of Wyoming state law.

• Also, on Thursday at 7pm the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) hosted a “New Homeowner Open House” in the banquet room at Cedar Creek Center. As I was otherwise engaged in the WUB meeting, I was not able to make it to this event. Hopefully there was a good turnout!

Other News and Notes for the Week

One other newsworthy note from the week:

• On Saturday I am sad to report there was a house fire in Town. The fire did extensive damage to a home I believe was located on Cedar Drive. A massive local fire department response kept the blaze contained and thankfully there were no additional impacts to neighboring homes or the surrounding forest.

Calendar Items

Here are calendar items for next week:

• Tuesday, April 28^th at 5pm, the Town Council will conduct a work session upstairs at Town Hall.

• Thursday, April 30^th at 5pm, the Town Council will hold a Public Hearing (in accordance with WY Statute §15-1-405) to take public comments and consider recommendations on the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation.

Final Thoughts

Another variable spring weather week—but at least all my outdoor plants were covered up! Seems like just as things start to dry out, we get another batch of moisture and the yard turns to mud again. It is the mud season after all and I won’t complain too much as I’m sure most of you would agree we can certainly use the extra precipitation after the dearth of winter snow. The daffodils in the yard did look rather enchanting with their recent white blanket. Inside the greenhouse things are tucked in and came through the week’s cold snap without any issues. Indoors I also have some more sensitive seeds sprouting and just waiting to get into the soil. However, I won’t be able to transplant those into the greenhouse for a few more weeks. Patience, must have patience! And, with that—I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a good week all and I’ll look forward to next weekend’s updates.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

Here’s your news from the week that began on April 12^th:

The Roundup

A fairly busy week at the Ranch and you might want to get some popcorn before embarking on this rundown—here we go:

• Tuesday, April 14^th was a full day at the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Town Hall. Things got underway with a very well attended Coffee with the Mayor at 9am followed by a Town Council Work Session at 10am. The work session ended up being marathon-length in duration—clocking in at just over three hours! The video can be found here if you’re up for it! And here’s a link to the agenda along with a few notes on the many items discussed:

  • The Council reviewed the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation with their Special Counsel who participated via Zoom.

  • Ken Kuluski, Planning Director for Lincoln County talked with the Council about opportunities to influence and update the Star Valley Ranch Overlay.

  • The Town Public Works Director provided an update on dust mitigation and other road work planned for the upcoming season.

  • The Town Engineer answered Council questions about the water system to include planning for replacement of the small Prater Canyon water storage tank. The Town Engineer also answered water-related questions about the Mountain Estates subdivision annexation.

  • There was also discussion by the Council on the first-reading version of the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget with considerable disagreement on the inclusion of a sizable appropriation for Lucky’s Place.

    • Note that per the Wyoming Constitution Article 3, Section 36, appropriating public funds for charitable and private non-profit purposes is expressly prohibited.

    • While some municipalities craft loopholes to the latter by entering into contracts or agreements for services with charitable and non-profit organizations, it can be a very slippery slope to tread upon. Any such agreement must be exceedingly specific and demonstrate services that directly benefit the municipality (given the Constitutional prohibition on such appropriations).

    • Please don’t get me wrong here folks, I think Lucky’s does amazing work for Star Valley, however, our Town Council must abide by State law and spend your public funds within the letter of the law.

• Also, on Tuesday at 7pm the Town Council held their regular monthly meeting upstairs at Town Hall. You’ll find the agenda and packet here. The video of the meeting is embedded below. Note there was an unfortunate lack of decorum demonstrated by one resident during the meeting which required reminders about the Town’s public comment policy and the resident being advised he could be removed from the Council chambers if he continued to disrupt the meeting. Beyond that, here are a couple of other highlights:

  • Stephanie Wardle was presented with a Ride for the Brand community service award for her many contributions to the Town and Star Valley.

  • The Council approved the third reading of the Short-Term Rental ordinance and also approved the first reading of the Town’s 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Budget ordinance.

  • The Council approved two Travel and Tourism Board Lodging Tax grant applications:

    • One for the Wall that Heals, for $12,000, and a second to the Friends of the Bridger Teton National Forest Ambassador Program for $12,597.

• Wednesday, April 15^th at 2pm, the TSVR Natural Resources Board met at Town Hall. I was not able to attend this meeting; however, you can find the agenda here and the video recording at this link.

• Thursday, April 16^th at 7pm, the Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) Board of Directors (BoD) held their monthly board meeting in the banquet room at Cedar Creek Center. Here’s the agenda that was covered and while I did not see the meeting video posted to the SVRA webpage, there are draft minutes which you can review at this link. Here are a handful of notes from the meeting.

  • April 28^th at 4pm will be the deadline for filing an application packet at the SVRA administrative office if you are interested in running for an open BoD seat.

  • The SVRA General Manager reviewed a preliminary Cedar Creek Park design during the meeting. The design calls for an additional pool, splash pad, walking and bike path, and possible pickleball courts among other features. Comment was made by a member who was unhappy that the committee previously formed to provide input on the park design had not been involved with the design being reviewed during the meeting.

  • A representative from The Wall That Heals provided an overview of the event for those in attendance. The event will take place from July 9^th through 12^th in Afton. Many volunteers will be needed to ensure the event is a success—if you are interested in getting involved please check out the website and sign-up. Thanks!

Other News and Notes for the Week

A couple of other quick items from the week:

• On Monday, Star Valley Independent Radio posted a recent interview I participated in along with our Town Administrator. Dan Dockstader conducted the interview (embedded below) and discussion items included the Mountain Estate subdivision annexation as well as recent and upcoming Town events.

• And, on Saturday, the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew shared some beautiful photos to their Facebook page while doing trail work this weekend. The past week’s mixed precipitation has left wintery conditions once more along Cedar Creek Trail #3078. Thanks Trail Crew for all the work you do!

Calendar Items

Here are calendar items for next week:

• Wednesday, April 22^nd at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission will meet at Town Hall.

• Thursday, April 23^rd at 4:30pm, the TSVR Water Utility Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Also, on Thursday at 7pm the SVRA will host a “New Homeowner Open House” in the banquet room at Cedar Creek Center.

Final Thoughts

This was a fairly long week, and this is a fairly long post—so I’ll keep these final thoughts brief! Driving home from Thayne yesterday I stopped on Clark Lane to snap the below photo. What a beautiful vista looking north toward Etna and Alpine. Really takes your breath away. When I was in Thayne, I noticed the Rolling Pin Bakery has closed and is for sale. That’s a shame as I enjoyed stopping in there from time to time to pick up something delectable. I wish the best for the owners and hope they move on to bigger and even better pursuits. That seems to be the way it goes here in our valley, businesses come and go and I can only imagine the challenges that entrepreneurs face when hanging up a new shingle. I always try to patronize local ventures, and I hope all of you do too. It’s one of those small town things that makes our valley unique and wonderful. And, with that—I’ll leave you to the rest of your evening. Have a good week and I’ll be back next Sunday.

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307

From the first full week of the month—here’s your news from the week that began on the Easter Sunday, April 5^th:

The Roundup

Just a couple of scheduled meetings during the week, here’s a recap:

• Tuesday, April 7^th at 4pm, the Town of Star Valley Ranch (TSVR) Roads Advisory Board met at Town Hall. Here’s the agenda and you can also watch the meeting on the Town’s YouTube page at this link. During the meeting the board spent a good deal of time discussing the prioritization of Town roads for chip seal as well as dust abatement.

• Wednesday, April 8^th at 5:30pm, the TSVR Planning Commission meet at Town Hall. The main event on the agenda was a Public Hearing conducted by the Commission to make a final determination and recommendation to the Town Council on the Mountain Estates annexation petition. Public comments were taken (in person and via Zoom) and there were good number of them. The video recording of the meeting is embedded below and to follow are a few notes to pass on from the meeting:

  • I am pleased to say that the majority of folks in attendance and those who made public comment conducted themselves with decorum (which is always appreciated whenever there is a topic at hand that may generate emotional responses).

  • Ultimately, the Planning Commission voted to recommend the Town Council conditionally approve the Mountain Estates annexation petition.

    • The Planning Commission provided this Determination and Findings document to support their unanimous recommendation. This document and many others are on the annexation information page of the Town website.

  • The Town Council will make a final decision on acceptance of the annexation petition at a Special Meeting scheduled for April 30^th.

    • Note that the April 30^th meeting is not the end of the road, however, as in the event the Town Council does vote to accept the annexation petition, an annexation ordinance will still have to be approved in three separate readings before the Town Council. So, please stay tuned!

Other News and Notes for the Week

A few other items for the week are as follows:

• On Wednesday, the Town sent out this email (and also posted a notice to the Town’s website and Facebook page) asking residents to complete a short Lead and Copper Survey. This survey is part of the Town’s compliance activities associated with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) requirements issued in October 2025. The email survey will help the Town better understand the materials used in water services lines throughout the community and enable compliance with state and federal drinking water regulations. If you received this email or saw one of the online notices, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey at your earliest convenience. Thanks!

• The Friday Star Valley Ranch Association (SVRA) email reminded residents there is still time to submit an application for open Board of Director (BoD) seats up for election this summer. There are two 3-year BoD positions available. Candidate packets are due to the SVRA office by 4 pm on April 28^th.

• Lastly, the Star Valley Ranch Trail Crew was taking advantage of the spring weather this week to accomplish work on the Cedar Creek Trail #3078, Vista-Prater Trail #3050, as well as Fox Run Park. The Trail Crew noted there are already beautiful wildflowers blooming at Fox Run Park—how about that! Thanks Trail Crew for keeping our local trails in such fabulous shape!

Calendar Items

Here are calendar items for next week:

• Tuesday, April 14^th will have 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, April 15^th at 2pm, the TSVR Natural Resources Board will meet at Town Hall.

• Thursday, April 16^th at 7pm, the SVRA BoD will hold their monthly board meeting in the banquet room at Cedar Creek Center.

Final Thoughts

The past week was certainly a mixed bag of spring weather, although we certainly had our fair share of sunshine to go with it! My lawn and garden are really starting to green-up and I’ve seen lots of little wildflowers peeking up too (mostly dandelions and yellowbells). The latter are so delicate and lovely. Things are also coming along quite well in the greenhouse, although I’m probably being a little overexuberant in terms of all the things I’m planting already. Guess we will see how all that turns out. Today I planted some peas (outside of the greenhouse in one of my raised beds) and I’ve also got a lot of onion starts ready to go but just haven’t managed to put them in the ground yet. Hopefully this week I’ll manage to do that. I hope all of you have been enjoying time outdoors this week too—whether it’s gardening, or walking, or golfing, or just sitting outside on your porch enjoying this beautiful Town of ours. I know I’m thankful every day I live here. And, with that—I’ll leave you to the rest of your Sunday. Have a terrific week and I’ll look forward to writing about all the newsy happenings again next Sunday!

Thank you for being a subscriber and I hope you enjoyed the read! If you have Ranch news or photographs to share, please send them my way via email to 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 appreciated!

Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll mid-way down the page to learn how to update your settings.

“The views and opinions expressed on Close to Home 307 are those of the author and do not reflect the official policies or proceedings of the Town of Star Valley Ranch or the Star Valley Ranch Association.”

Share Close to Home 307