May 2017

Up to 45 eighth graders at a time have been staying late at Carbondale Middle School on Mondays to discuss social issues and will offer suggestions at a forum in Denver, and propose a resolution to the Carbondale Board of Trustees. The students are members of the school’s new Issues Club. Speakers so far have included a 9th Judicial District public attorney, a police officer, local mayor, and spokespeople from Planned Parenthood and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, among others.

The Town of Basalt has reached an agreement with town manager finalist Ryan Mahoney, who is expected to sign a contract with the town later this week. Mahoney currently works as the Development Services Director for the City of Marana, Arizona and previously served as town manager in Buena Vista and Dolores.

The Sopris Sun is conducting a series of interviews with folks you may not have seen in the paper before – a sort of introduction to your neighbors. This week, meet Dave Dixon, the proprietor of Strange Imports on the Main Street level of the Dinkel Building.
THE SOPRIS SUN: Is the Carbondale Strange Imports the only location?
Dave Dixon: Right now, yes. We used to have a few others. One in Vail for a few years, one in Aspen for a couple as well.

May 10, 2007: Students at Roaring Fork High School staged a walkout in response to what they viewed as the forced resignation of longtime teacher Jill Knaus — part of a broader trend of teacher turnover. “Our school has lost its meaning — it is education,” said senior Jay Engstrom. “A lot of… the most important teachers in our school are being pushed away when we need them.”

There’s a story behind the some of the seeds and starts you’ll see at Dandelion Day, and Casey Piscura is happy to tell it.
“When you buy a start from us, it’s been under the Colorado sun the whole time,” he told The Sopris Sun. “I’m giving you a packet of seeds for four bucks that are outgrowing hybrids in our greenhouse that are a dollar a seed.”

The Thompson Park housing project, which has been in the works for nearly eight years, is likely to be reduced in scope in the coming weeks, according to town officials and developer Frieda Wallison of Basalt. The project, which initially was planned for a little more than 10 acres along Highway 133 between Triangle Park and the Keater Grove neighborhood, at one time was expected to result in construction of between 45 and 85 homes.

War and cancer are rightly viewed as among the world’s worst things to endure. But two graduates from the Colorado Mountain College nursing program used their experiences with deadly conflict and disease to learn how to care for others.
The nursing program at Spring Valley and Breckenridge awarded Associate of Applied Science and Bachelor of Science in nursing degrees to the class of 2017 on May 6.