Opinion

What is this? The Sin Bin is The Valley Signal’s advice column for people who don’t deserve it. The sin bin is the penalty box, where you go when you’ve screwed up. You write in with the mess you’ve made of your life, or your neighbor’s, and Sully tells you what you already know but you’re too soft to admit. No soft problems. No participation trophies. No closure. Every story has a pylon, the useless person standing there while the play moves around them. If you can’t spot yours, it’s you. Keep it short or get benched, and send it to [email protected].

Dear Sully,

After decades fighting fires across the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Rocky Mountain, Northern Rockies and Great Basin regions, earning degrees in fire science and public safety administration, and graduating from the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program, I've learned that wildfire management rarely offers simple solutions.

What is this? The Sin Bin is The Valley Signal's advice column for people who don't deserve it. The sin bin is the penalty box, where you go when you've screwed up. You write in with the mess you've made of your life, or your neighbor's, and Sully tells you what you already know, but you're too soft to admit. No soft problems. No participation trophies. No closure. Every story has a pylon, the useless person standing there while the play moves around them. If you can't spot yours, it's you. Keep it short or get benched, and send it to [email protected].

As America approaches its 250th birthday, I've been wondering what citizenship actually means. Not in Washington, the media, or on Facebook, but here at home, face-to-face in Teton Valley.

Like the majority of Teton Valley residents, I've tried to stay out of the controversy over the Victor sewer fight and the future of wastewater treatment in our valley, mostly because I'm not all that interested in digging deeply enough into the issue to understand all the facts. Why? Because I trust the men and women we've elected to lead us, particularly Victor's Mayor Will Frolich, City Councilors Stacey Hulsing, Sue Muncaster, and Emily Sustick, as well as our dedicated city staff. I trust they share my values of environmental stewardship and responsible growth. I trust they are trying to do what is right. But the vitriol has gotten so ugly, I feel compelled to weigh in and voice my support for the City of Victor.

You've got problems. I've got a beer getting warm. Let's make this quick.

Meetings are long. Voices are louder. People are organizing, questioning, challenging, and showing up in new ways in Victor. That’s not a failure of democracy—it’s a sign of people caring deeply about this place and the decisions shaping its future. Right now, though, we are far better at breaking things down than building anything back up.