December 2017

’Tis the season for reflection on the past and resolutions for the future. So we asked a few locals who were out and about after the holidays about their plans for 2018. Compiled by Megan Tackett

Looking to ring in 2018 right here in Carbondale? Here are some of the offerings we know about.

One man died and another was hospitalized as a result of apparent overdose on Dec. 28, according to a Carbondale Police Department press release.
First responders arrive at a Carbondale home around 5:30 p.m. and found a 30-year-old man dead, the release said.

There’s no way a single issue can truly capture all the happenings of a year in Bonedale and beyond, but hopefully our 51 other issues have given readers a good sampling. We’ve been in the first row for folks’ highs and lows, tried to branch out without losing the basics and given readers what they want as well as hopefully what they need. The list that follows is far from comprehensive. We have tried to focus on things we felt made the year stand out, as well as those that might have lasting impacts on years to come. We have also tried to hold our remembrance of those passed until the end, while the news of the newborns has yet to be written.

The Garfield County Planning Commission voted unanimously Dec. 13 against a proposal to allow a significant change to its comprehensive plan, a guiding document that attempts to envision how the county should grow.
Had it passed, the amendment would have allowed a developer’s request to build up to 400 small homes in the pasture northeast of the intersection of Catherine Store Road and County Road 100 to be considered by the Commission. With the denial, the county will keep its highest density land use designation as “rural high density,” which would allow only 124 homes in the pasture.

It’s become something of a norm for a kid from another country to be staying with the Strouds, but doesn’t make it any less enriching. “We’ve been doing it so long that the house would feel empty if he didn’t have an exchange student,” noted Tami Stroud who, along with her husband John, has hosted youngsters from France, Germany, Argentina and Austria through Rotary International’s Youth Exchange program.

Jose Miranda grew up raising Asian water buffalo on his family’s 3,000-acre ranch in the flatlands of central Venezuela. He helped his father care for 500 water buffalo, 100 of which were milking cows, and he made cheese every day. Due to the political and social climate in Venezuela, however, his father sold the ranch.

Dec. 22, 1978: Well before his own stint as a trustee, sculptor John Hoffman presented the town with a gift in the form of “Unckle Henry,” a life sized man constructed of railroad spikes bearing the inscription, “To the kids of Carbondale.” It still sits in a section of the Garfield Avenue right-of-way near Sopris Park.

While distrust of law enforcement increases nationwide, Carbondale cops do double duty as notaries, locksmiths, driving instructors and special event security. In an effort to further emphasize that small-town approach, the Carbondale Police Department took it a step further with its first “Shop with a Cop” event. Chief Gene Schilling, Officers Mike Zimmerman and Brandyn Rup and some of the office staff offered needy kids some extra support for the holidays.