June 2017

The Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Land Management and Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black held an informational community meeting in Rangely Tuesday, June 13, for updates on the Dead Dog and Hunter fires.
The Hunter Fire, located in the Piceance Creek area about 20 miles southwest of Meeker, had burned 992 acres and was 70 percent contained. The fire, which started June 10, is believed to have been caused by lightning and is burning in pinyon, juniper, grass and brush. Despite continued windy conditions, Tuesday brought quick progress with the Hunter fire, as the blaze went from only 30 percent to 70 percent contained with no growth. Wednesday, crews will continue to strengthen containment lines and, as conditions allow, will be relocated to the Dead Dog fire.

The Sopris Sun is conducting a series of interviews with folks you may not have seen in the paper before as a sort of introduction to your neighbors. This week, we caught up with Marianne Millard Ackerman — not to be confused with her neé Quigley counterpart. A mother of three, she has filled many roles and lived many lives, from growing up in the San Francisco Bay area to doing production for The Valley Journal and other local papers to doing early computer work for KDNK’s Labor of Love auction to helping run Ackerman Log and Timber to manning the desk for Colorado Mountain College.

June 16, 1977: Following the “no-snow winter of 1976-1977,” Roaring Fork Valley firefighters, government officials and residents were concerned about the upcoming wildfire season. The final winter and spring tally put moisture accumulation at less than 40 percent of normal. Altogether for the past week, members of the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District had been called out virtually every day, and sometimes more than once a day.

If one were to Google “Carbondale Salon” in years to come, one might learn the inaugural Carbondale Salon at the Launchpad took place from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 17, and featured: Zack Ritchie (drummer); soloist Carolyn Yates and the cast of “Vacuum Carbondale CO” (dance); Sarah Graf (cellist); Stefano Da Fre (filmmaker/actor); and Harry Babar (comedian).
“I am excited to welcome this diverse group of performers opening the first-ever Salon at the Launchpad,” said Carbondale Salon curator Alya Howe. “I find the artists through having seen or hear them perform, through recommendation, and via YouTube/MP3 samples of their work. Then I consider the flow and balancing of a program,” she told The Sopris Sun.

Maybe it was a typical cool summer Wednesday morning at the Third Street Center on June 14. A little before 8 a.m., name tags, coffee and snacks awaited the more than two dozen community leaders who would soon file through the front doors and into the Calaway Room for the new Communities that Care “key leaders” orientation meeting. Due to the Communities that Care meeting, tai chi with Lyn Byars/John Norton was bumped down the hall to the Round Room, while in the Down the Rabbit Hole room that abuts the Round Room, SoL Theatre kids were smiling, laughing, jumping around and dancing to “Happy.” Thirty feet away from the SoL Theatre dance party, back in the Round Room, Norton started his tai chi session “ … We’re finding a still place in the middle of chaos … Isn’t that what tai chi is all about?”

June 9, 1977: Accused serial killer Ted Bundy was on the run in Pitkin County after leaping from an Aspen court room. Road blocks were in place up and down the valley as a manhunt continued in the backcountry. In the process, they happened to catch a Carbondale man with 200 pounds of marijuana in his car.

Redstone rocks this summer with a new ukulele group, new faces in the Redstone Tones, and some imported acts in the Magical Moments series. The free music action kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Redstone Art Gallery Summer Jazz series on Tuesday, June 13, and continues with Magic Moments at Redstone Park through Saturday, Sept. 2. Both series share at least one thing in common: quality sounds rippling through the cool air with the nearby Crystal River providing a gentle backdrop.

The second annual Summerfest drew thousands of people to Crown Mountain Park on June 2 and 3 with everything from free live music to kids activities to a tasty taco competition (Roaring Fork Club took people’s choice for the second year running).