April 2017

In the last week of October 2016, Steve Hunter, a concerned local citizen, approached the biology program at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) with a problem.
A young couple of ospreys had nested on top of an 80 foot XCEL power pole next to the RFTA Bus Stop along Highway 133 in Carbondale. The birds presented safety issues such as getting shocked or causing a power outage. Additionally, the nest has twice blown off the power line, though thankfully no eggs or fledglings were in the nest yet.

Residents in a neighborhood immediately southwest of Sopris Park are protesting a building permit that allows for a five bedroom, 4,455-square foot house (with basement and second floor) on a 7,040-square-foot lot, according to documents filed at town hall on March 31. The property, at 728 Euclid, sits between the old Ferguson “farm-house” that is undergoing an extensive renovation, and a single-story contemporary house to the west.

Around here, most kids don’t go to wild, unsupervised parties on high school graduation night.
Instead, you’ll find most of them at Project Graduation, a parent-sponsored event that got its start in Glenwood Springs 28 years ago and has since spread to Carbondale and Basalt.
“It’s usually at least 90 percent turnout, if not more,” said Cathy Derby, one of the organizers for the Carbondale event this year. “I think even more than prom it’s an emotional day. It’s their last night together, and we want to keep them safe.”

Smiley Wise, the current streets foreman for Carbondale’s Public Works department, is a ubiquitous presence around town, checking out the condition of the streets, the progress of ongoing streets projects, and generally being a kind of unofficial ambassador of goodwill for residents and town workers alike.
But on Saturday, April 29, he will be one of the ramrods overseeing the town’s annual Waste Diversion and Spring Cleanup Day, Carbondale’s increasingly popular opportunity for clearing out the house or the shed at a subsidized cost (see related story).

No people or livestock were hurt when a ditch burning got out of control on April 7 and spread to a nearby barn. Carbondale and Rural Fire Department officers responding to a call from the barn’s owner at 11:48 a.m. found the barn almost fully engulfed in flames, and the roof collapsed shortly thereafter.

The law enforcement action is called “asset forfeiture.” Police, sheriff’s deputies and highway patrol troopers confiscate money, vehicles and other assets following what is often a routine traffic stop or call to a private residences or business. The officers seize assets such as cash if they suspect a crime is or was involved prior to their confiscation.

Several dozen valley residents turned up at Pitkin County’s open house on March 30 at Basalt Town Hall, eager to learn more about and contribute ideas to the county’s plans for the property known as the Emma Townsite and Emma Open Space. The open house was called to gather public input about how to approach management of the roughly 72-acre property, which actually comprises two distinct areas straddling Highway 82 near where it crosses over the Roaring Fork River west of Basalt.

In a rapid-fire delivery laced with anecdotes and humor, Mike Johnston, the 42-year-old former Colorado state senator who in January was the first state Democrat to announce his run for governor’s seat, spent about an hour with Carbondale constituents on April 4. He told more than 100 voters about his background in education, his determination to help immigrants get a better deal in everything from school to jobs, and his campaign plan to create “local leadership teams” around the state who can help him learn more about what the voters want from their government.

Saturday, April 8 marks the beginning of Aspen Film’s 26th Shortsfest — in Carbondale, at least. This year, the acclaimed festival features 64 “shorts” — films that are less than 40 minutes long, organized into thematic programs. The Crystal Theatre will host four of those roughly 90-minute programs at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. April 8 and 9. Each event will be followed with a question-and-answer session with the featured filmmakers. The festival is a labor of love, with at least as much of the former as the latter. For this year’s presentation, the Shortsfest programming team sorted through almost 4,000 contending films.

Students, staff and volunteers pushed Roaring Fork High School’s electrical system to its limits as nearly 1500 waffles were served up on April 4. The event was organized in part as a show of support for Vice Principal Keslie Goodman, who was passed over to fill the role of principal in favor of Brett Stringer — a decision which goes before the school board on April 12.