September 2017

An interagency team of law enforcement officers removed over 2,700 marijuana plants from an illegal grow site near Redstone on Sept. 28, according to a White River National Forest press release. In addition to the plants, infrastructure including irrigation pipe, camping gear, trash, tarps, chemicals to deter wildlife and fertilizer was removed, and one suspect is in federal custody.

Education. That is the word that comes up again and again regarding last summer’s death toll on Colorado’s highest peaks. Of the 11 people whose lives were claimed by the state’s fourteeners, eight of the incidents occurred on mountains in Pitkin County. Mountain Rescue Aspen recovered five bodies from Capitol Peak, two from Maroon Bells and one from Conundrum, MRA president Jeff Edelson said of the climbing season. Those are not numbers anyone wants to see in future years.

With plenty of help from Aspen Valley Land Trust, Carbondale may end up owning almost 25 acres of land at the base of Red Hill — allowing the construction of a new parking lot and trail getting hikers and bikers off the road. “With the recent [Sutey-Two Shoes] land exchange, we’re just going to see more use in Red Hill,” said Town Manager Jay Harrington.

Sept. 30, 1987: In honor of the town’s centennial, the journal published a special edition entitled “The Carbondale Echo” featuring 32 pages of local history. “A comprehensive history dealing with the political, religious, sexual, civic, architectural, anthropological, economic, ethnic, cultural, agricultural, civil, educational, technological, nutritional and scientific evaluation of the community has yet to be written. Maybe it shouldn’t be,” wrote Pat Noel in his introduction.

We have a winner! It snowed some on Sept. 22, but the real dump — which we’re still seeing on the slopes days later — was on Sept. 23. That day belonged to The Sun’s own Jane Bachrach, who obtained photographic evidence of her victory. The only person likely to dispute this decision is the bloke who guessed the day before (since that snow is presumably also still there underneath), but luckily that happens to be Editor Will Grandbois.

For choreographer Stacee Pearl and her company dancers, this weekend’s Spectrum Dance Festival is all about work and progress, so it’s fitting that a work in progress is exactly what they will be showcasing Saturday, Sept. 30 at the Launchpad.
“Wherever we are, that’s what you’ll see,” Pearl said of the modern-dance debut’s status. The piece will be the culmination of a weeklong in-house residency sponsored by Dance Initiative, an arts-focused nonprofit that co-facilitates the Launchpad and produces the Spectrum Dance Festival.

As word of Town restaurant’s impending closure began to spread, Mark Fischer imagined how nice it would be if he could sit down and explain everything at one big table. Some would see sitting down with the newspaper as almost the same thing, but Fischer isn’t sure there’s a story here — at least not a controversial one. The mind and money behind not just Town, but also Phat Thai across the street and The Pullman in Glenwood, he’s Carbondale’s version of a celebrity chef .

On Sept. 18 at 8:58 p.m., a rash of car break-ins on Main Street culminated in the theft of a Toyota Tacoma, which was subsequently spotted at the Cowen Center. There, according to police chief Gene Schilling, officers encountered a pair of teenagers — one from El Jebel and one from New Castle — who appeared to be under the influence of an age-restricted drug.