BY KAREN BOSSICK

Wood River Valley residents have all but put the finishing touches on a $9 million campaign to establish the Ketchum Dog Park on the old Warm Springs Ranch, which has been described as one of the last great outdoor spaces in the valley.

So, what comes next? You guessed it: A Cat House.

Longtime resident Justin Pisteoff is attempting to raise another $9 million to save one of the last great indoor spaces in our valley—Perry’s Restaurant. The acquisition of the iconic building, which is slated to be demolished this summer, would give cats throughout the valley a fun and safe place to recreate.

“Cat cafes are huge in Japan,” said Pisteoff. “My vision is to turn Perry’s into Purry’s—one of the finest cat café/sanctuaries in the world. Too much attention is afforded to dogs in this valley. This is a unique opportunity and our chance to preserve a special part of Ketchum, not only for our cats but for generations of cats to come.”

Pisteoff plans to launch his fundraising campaign with his Stay Surly campaign, which he and disgruntled locals unveiled Thursday at a press conference held at their headquarters in the back three booths of Grumpy’s.

The Stay Surly campaign launched with an assortment of banners, stickers and T-shirts that are a cheeky nod to Visit Sun Valley’s Stay Sunny campaign. The stickers are available for free at Madeline and Oliver, 460 Sun Valley Road, with any donations going to The Purry Foundation.

The Stay Sunny campaign, if you remember, painted the town with signs like “Yield to Oncoming Smiles” and “Stay Sunny.” The idea: To remind visitors and newcomers during the pandemic to take a deep breath and enjoy the slower pace of life and other amenities that attracted them to Sun Valley.

Pisteoff’s slogans are more curmudgeonly. They include:

“Slow it Down! Your to-go order will be about an hour and a half.

“You gotta laugh, we’ve got no staff.”

“I can’t afford to Pay It Forward!”

“Buy Local does not mean you have a house here and a house somewhere else.”

“Breathe in that Mountain Airbnb.”

“Aspen. ‘It happened in Sun Valley.’ ”

“We tried ‘Stay Sunny,’ we did. It just wasn’t working for us,” said Pisteoff in a surly tone. “I get it, times are a-changing. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it!”

“Editor’s Note: In case you haven’t guessed by now, this is another in the ongoing April Fool’s Day jokes conceived by our fun-loving Ketchum April’s Fool’s Committee. That said, you can indeed pick up stickers at Madeline and Oliver.

In the meantime, your friends at Eye on Sun Valley would just as soon you “Stay Sunny.”

PHOTO

Egads! Is our beloved “Stay Sunny” campaign, so nicely modeled by Linda and Ray Johnson, under attack.