Archives May 2026

by I. B. Lyon

Valley City residents are fed up with Canadian geese. It seems like their population in The Valley continues to grow year after year. Many Valleyans feel the birds have become a nuisance. The issue was brought up at the this month’s Valley City city board meeting on Tuesday.

Valley City resident Mark Trudeau contacted City Hall to get the geese issue put on the agenda. He contacted some other residents to be present at the meeting, and there were about 7 people there to voice their concerns about the geese. Trudeau said, “I’ve been living in Six Oaks since it was built about 3 years ago, and I love living there. But, the Canadian geese have gotten out of control; they’ve almost taken over the neighborhood. Something has to be done to get rid of them.”

Trudeau added, “Those stupid things are pooping everywhere- all over my yard, on the sidewalk, on the street, and everyfreakinwhere. Now, a couple of them have babies, and they’re very protective. My little yorkie, Coco, can’t even go outside to pee and poop, because she’s so scared of the geese. A momma goose got after her the other day, and she’s now terrified to go outside. We gotta do something.”

At first, the board of aldermen didn’t seemed too interested in the matter. However, it changed when Bubba Ledbetter said he was going to take matters into his own hands if the city didn’t act. Ledbetter said, “If y’all don’t do anything, I’m gonna take care of these dang birds. I got a few options to take care of them- my bow, my 12 guage, and my Rottweiler Bruno. Y’all better do something.”

After hearing from Trudeau, Ledbetter, and a few others, the board agreed they needed to address the matter. After some discussion, the board and mayor agreed to pass a resolution to deport the geese back to Canada.

Valley City Mayor Ronald Bush said, “I don’t know how we’re gonna deport all these geese. I guess I’ll give ICE a call to see what they can do. If they can’t help us, I guess I’ll have to get my animal control guys to round them up. They’d probably like to take a road trip to Canada. We’ll see what happens.”

You rarely see everyone agree on an issue, but it looks like just about everyone in Valley City is happy with the board’s decision. I talked with quite a few people at City Hall after the decision, and I perused social media. Everyone was happy with the decision to deport the geese.

One man said, “Gosh, I’m so glad they’re doing this. They’ve taken over the county club. They crap everywhere, even on the greens. This past weekend, I smoked one with a drive. I think I killed it, but I’m not sure. On the next hole, a mother goose got after me because I guess I got too close to her babies. That was probably karma. They’re out of control though.”

One lady said, “Yay! It’s about time they did something about those things. It seems like every freakin morning I have to wait on those things crossing the street in my neighborhood. I swear it’s everyday. Now, they have babies, so it takes even longer for them to cross the road. They’ve caused me to be late for work multiple times.”

A gentleman added, “Why are these things here now? Aren’t they supposed to go back home to Canada in the warmer months? I think they’ve gotten lazy and entitled. It may be climate change. Who knows? We’ve put them on government benefits, and now we can’t get rid of them. But, ICE is gonna take care of them! Deport them all!”

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

It seems like there is a kerfuffle at a baseball or softball tournament every weekend these days. Most of the time they’re between a coach and an umpire, but sometimes they’re between a parent and an umpire. Unfortunately, some of these kerfuffles have resulted in assaults and arrests. Because of these crazy coaches and parents, many umpires have become fearful for their safety. A local jiu jitsu gym has come to the rescue.

Valley Jiu Jitsu Academy will offer free jiu jitsu lessons for baseball and softball umpires. I was able to catch up with the gym’s owner and Professor, Gordon Gracie. Gracie said, “My son plays travel ball, and we’ve seen quite a few dust ups between coaches and umpires. It’s crazy that people act like that at sporting events for kids, but that’s the way it is these days. I’ve had a few umpires come up to me recently, and say they wanted to start taking lessons from me. So, I decided I would do some free lessons for umpires only. I appreciate what they do, and I love to help the community. We started lessons on Monday night, and I had 6 umps show up. I’ve talked to a couple since Monday that plan to come next week, so I think we’ll have even more join us.”

I was able to talk with a couple of the umpires that attended the initial training. One ump said, “Look, people are crazy these days. You’ve seen the videos on social media. I just want to be able to defend myself. I’ve never gotten into a physical altercation with a coach or parent, but I’ve had a couple close calls. I just wanna be ready, because I think it’ll probably happen sooner or later.”

Another ump said, “Look, I can throw hands. I can defend myself. Thank God I haven’t had to yet, but that time will probably come. But, I want to learn jiu jitsu so I submit a crazy coach. Wouldn’t it be crazy to see a psycho coach have to tap out on the field? I hope it never happens, but I wanna be ready.”

Gracie’s free lessons for umpires will last for 10 weeks. Every umpire that completes his program will receive a certificate and small jiu jitsu patches to wear on their uniforms. Gracie and the umpires hope that patch will deter some of the crazy aggressive behavior of the coaches and parents.

by Offe Hisczrocher

It appears that clothing manufacturers are making clothes smaller these days. Inflation might be the cause; maybe the price of cotton and other materials have increased. Therefore, clothing companies are using less material to save cost. Or, maybe people just like to wear more revealing clothing, and the clothing companies are giving their customers what they want. Regardless, everywhere you go these days you see skin- cleavage, stomachs, legs, buttocks, and guys’ thighs.

Valley City passed what many called the Dress Code in November of 2023, and it was controversial at the time. But, Valley City really never enforced it until now, and heads are turning. Four females have been cited in the past two weeks, and the latest two ladies that have been cited has created quite the buzz in Valley City and on social media.

The most controversial part of the ordinance was that any female age 45 or older that was in violation would be fined $500 and have to spend a night in jail. Again, no lady 45 or older has been cited until now. Mrs. Stacy Sweeney, the wife of Valley City’s high school principal, was cited last week. Yesterday, Mrs. London Hilton, the wife of the Valley County Hospital CEO, was cited. Both ladies were ordered to pay the fine, but neither had to spend a night in jail. But, both prominent women were humiliated by having their pictures and offenses posted on social media by the Valley City Police Dept. (VCPD).

The mayor and the police chief couldn’t be reached for comment, however I was able to get a statement from the VCPD spokesperson. He said, “This ordinance has been on the books for over 2 years now. It was well publicized when it was enacted. It hasn’t been enforced, but things have gotten out of hand. It’s understandable to occasionally see teenage girls wearing revealing clothing, so we’ve been lenient on them. But, we’ve seen way too many women 45 and over showing off their stomachs recently. Many of these women have kids in high school and college, and some of them are actually grandmothers. It was time to enforce the ordinance. The VCPD doesn’t care about your social status or who you’re married to; we’re going to enforce the ordinance going forward. Also, no one in violation has spent a night in jail, but that could change in the future. You’ve been warned.”

I was able to talk with some Valley City residents, and I perused local social media groups. The feelings in the community are mixed. Many young people think the VCPD has gone too far, and many older people are glad they’re finally enforcing it.

One young lady and mom said, “This is so crazy. What am I supposed to wear? I want to look trendy and cute. The clothes are just made this way these days. I guess I can’t wear a crop top in town anymore; I’ll just dress like my grandma. It’s so ridiculous! The police chief must be trying to get fired. They tried to make an example out of these high-profile ladies in our community. They better not actually put one of us ladies in jail for a night. It will be on then!”

An older lady commented, “It’s about time they started enforcing this! Every time I go downtown, I see skin, skin, and more skin. It’s not that hard ladies and young men. Cover yourselves up! If you’re a mom or grandma, you shouldn’t be showing off your stomach, legs, or butt. I think most reasonable people agree with that.”

Will the VCPD back down? The next city board meeting should be interesting. Many women on social media have said they will be attending the meeting to have their voices heard. The SRVO will be there to cover it.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Travel or select baseball and softball are very popular now. Families are packing up and traveling all over the place each weekend playing games and tournaments. They’re practicing a couple nights each week working on their crafts. A whole industry has been created around these sports. Organizations and tournament organizers are making a lot of money off these kids and families. But, the families and kids are not getting a piece of the pie. Now, they have a tool to help with expenses and possibly even make money.

The Strong River Valley Technology Initiative (SRVTI) got back in the lab this past week and created 5Tool. One of SRVTI’s members has a son that has a promising future as a baseball player, and he brought the issue of the cost of the sport up to the SRVTI board. They got to work, and created this awesome tool for young ball players.

5Tool will allow young baseball and softball players (ages 7-12) to obtain name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals just like college athletes. Parents can setup a profile for the kids on the site, and businesses and organizations can choose kids to sponsor off the site. Parents are in charge, and it’s free to join.

5TOOL APP

Parents and coaches are excited about 5Tool. One 12U baseball coach said, “I have at least 4 future college players on my team now. They’ve had no way to make money and help pay for ball expenses. 5Tool will help them build a brand, and it’ll help them market themselves to businesses and sponsors. This could really change the travel ball game.”

One softball mom said, “Lillie Ruth has had multiple teams and coaches try to poach her off her current team. They’ve promised free gear and money to help with travel, and I don’t like it. It just doesn’t seem right to be doing that to a 10 year old. 5Tool will give her an opportunity to make some money the right way, and she can get her true worth. I think it’s great.”