July 2013

By S. Michael Jundt
With a diverse resume in the corporate world, Susan Burr, owner of Susan’s Flowers & Gifts, has not always been surrounded with the serenity she finds in her current profession. Originally from St. Louis, Susan graduated from Tulsa University with a degree in graphic design.
“Over the past 30 years my design skills,” says Susan, “were used in both the oil and electric industries. I also drew schematics for the aviation world and created package designs for specialty foods.”

In one of the most eagerly awaited dates in recent history, the new Carbondale Branch Library opens at 10 a.m. on July 20.
The new library covers 13,000 square feet compared to the old library’s 3,600 square feet. The $5.2 million library was funded by a property tax that was levied after residents voted to form the Garfield County Public Library District in 2006. The district also retains a 1/4-cent sales tax for part of its operating budget, according to GCPLD Director Amelia Shelley. Other libraries have been built, expanded or are planned for the five other towns in the district.

Carbondale trustees are still a few hits away from putting a fine point on the town’s pot regulations, but they are starting to take shape.
At Tuesday night’s work session, trustees indicated they’ll allow retail outlets to cook and sell products such as marijuana-laced brownies, but to do so will probably require a special use permit. The town might establish zone-district “overlays” to determine where retail marijuana stores can and can’t operate. The trustees decided to measure minimum-allowed distances from pot shops to schools as the public would travel them, rather than as the crow flies. The trustees also instructed staff to draft a memo to address the issue of whether to ask voters to put a 5 percent additional sales tax on legally-sold marijuana.

Mountain Fair notes • Off to the CrossFit games • Wyly news • GCSO members excel

Carbondale’s art scene continues to expand with the opening of its newest gallery, Art 215. Located at 215 12th Street, this large, airy space contains artwork of every style, size and price, with much of it being sold on consignment.
George Scott and his wife, artist Suki Scott, told The Sopris Sun they are enthusiastic about their new venture, which features many oil paintings done by Suki as well as traditional and contemporary works from a variety of other artists.
The gallery’s first room (on the ground level) is comprised primarily of consignment art, George said, with European prints, works by Louis Icart and “early Suki work.”

Imagine a world where dreams come true. That’s the world being created by the visionary children of Camp Run-a-Muk, an after school and summer camp in Carbondale. Last week they celebrated the realization of a wish made by a special Roaring Fork Valley resident, Amanda Boxtel, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident in 1992.
For the past 21 years, wheelchair-bound Boxtel has dreamed of walking again. It was a dream shared by many, including Jennifer Soucie who taught preschool with Boxtel before her accident. Believing in the power of intention, they created a ritual of envisioning Boxtel walking, which they kept to nearly every day at 11:11a.m.

Huge drum sale after the circle • English in Action seeks volunteers • Davi Nikent goes M4W • Clay Center holding classes • RFC seeks monitors

Thanks to the work of many — and a great partnership with Footsteps Marketing — The Sopris Sun is pleased to present our community with this new, improved website, your portal to all things Carbondale. Let us know what you think! This is just Phase I. We’ll be rolling out many more great features over the coming months. We hope you’ll visit often. Enjoy!

Along the north side of the new Carbondale Branch Library are seven pillars decorated with art glass — a creation designed by local glass artist Shannon Muse, but created by more than 20 hands and more than 100 minds.
The work of art, which is called “Pillars of Light/Pilars de Luz,” contains more than 5,000 pieces of recycled glass along with Swarovski crystals and metallic-sheened dichroic glass. Embedded among the pieces of glass are quotes contained in tiles made of opalescent iridized glass.

Despite its unassuming name, the Pardon My Garden club is 80 members strong, all living and gardening throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. This summer, for the first time in its 20-year history, the non-profit organization is planning a tour featuring 11 gardens stretching from Watson Divide to El Jebel.
The first annual Garden Tour, billed as “Ornamental and Edible Gardens of the Mid-Valley,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 27. In the past, the club has held plant sales and donated the proceeds to individuals or local organizations, typically giving grants totaling between $5,000 and $7,000 a year. The ticket sales from this summer’s tour will be used for the same purpose.