November 2015

Before his death in 2000 at the age of 79, Redstone artist Jack Roberts lived to see his western-themed paintings hang in museums, galleries and in private collections across the country – including the colection of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.
At the time of his death, however, Roberts had not seriously painted for years and his legacy seemed in doubt. For one thing, nobody had ever devoted an entire book to the artist, whose grandfather was a Methodist minister and circuit rider for the Indian Mission Conference in Oklahoma Territory (pre-1907). Roberts at one point was one of Colorado’s best-known artists, after stints as a cowboy and a railroad hand.
But then, along came Carbondale author Darrell Munsell.
Munsell did not start working on his book about Roberts until three years after Roberts’ death. Through dozens of interviews and extensive research, however, Munsell recently published “Jack Roberts: Painting the West” (Arcadia Publishing/The History Press). At 170 pages, the book contains 14 chapters that chronicle Roberts’ life, plus almost 70 color paintings and more than a dozen other images.

As Carbondale officials work on revisions to the town’s lighting code in response to concerns about LED lighting on signs, a couple of local establishments in particular have been cited as examples of why the changes are needed — the sign for the Faith Lutheran Church at 1340 Highway 133, and the lights at the Planted Earth nursery business on Highway 82.
Two members of the Carbondale Board of Trustees — Frosty Merriott and Katrina Byars — have specifically pointed to the church sign as an example of the reason for their concerns, and have mentioned that they are worried that further use of LED lights might add to the town’s growing worries about light pollution.
And Merriott confirmed that the lighting at Planted Earth, located outside the city limits along Highway 82, also has caused him concern.
“I know they’re outside the town limits and all,” Merriott said, noting that the business would not be affected by the town’s lighting code in any way.