The text from the White House press liaison came while we were at dinner in Avon. My wife Bonnie would be credentialed and able to join me the next day (Oct. 12) at the ceremony where President Joe Biden would dedicate the new Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument! We had learned that the event would […]
Ken Pletcher
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Forest Service to hold El Jebel property open house
The U.S. Forest Service will hold an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the El Jebel Community Center, 20 Eagle County Rd., El Jebel. The purpose of the event is to give the public the opportunity to obtain more information on the service’s plan to sell or lease an […]
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BLM headquarters’ Colorado sojourn: Short and maybe not so sweet
In July 2019, then-U.S. Senator Cory Gardner announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — a component of the Department of the Interior (DOI) — was relocating its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction. The Republican had been among those championing the move for years, arguing that since almost all of the nearly […]
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Letter from Michigan, ’22 (when “normal” maybe isn’t so normal)
Hello again, fellow Bondalers and Valley dwellers, from verdant, humid southwestern Michigan! Bonnie and I made it to our old stomping grounds a little later than usual but in time for a mostly great July 4 weekend here (see below). I can report that during the journey east through the Great Plains and Midwest things […]
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Huts for Vets set to kick off 10th season
Huts for Vets (HFV) is preparing for its 10th season of operation in the Roaring Fork Valley. The Carbondale-based nonprofit’s first of six four-day, all-expenses-paid retreats for military veterans to backcountry huts will depart June 18. HFV is the brainchild of longtime local journalist, author and environmentalist Paul Andersen. It provides a “unique wilderness therapy […]
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Redstone Park renovation poised to start
After a nearly two-year planning process, Redstone Park is set for an extensive renovation and restoration project. The work, budgeted at some $536,000, is scheduled to begin on June 1. The park lies between the Crystal River and Redstone Boulevard and is popular with both residents and visitors. It is managed by Pitkin County Open […]
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Local artist shows at the Launchpad
It took a while for The Sopris Sun to get an interview with longtime Carbondale artist John Toly — roughly three years. Polite requests would be gently rebuffed by the quiet, humble 83-year-old. But then he worked with Carbondale Arts to line up a solo art exhibition at the Launchpad in Carbondale that opens Friday, […]
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Garfield Clean Energy looks back and ahead
In early March 2021, Garfield Clean Energy (GCE) launched the Solarize Garfield County (Solarize) initiative, aimed at increasing the number of homes and businesses in the county with photovoltaic power arrays. One year later, GCE announced a new campaign, ReEnergize Garfield County (ReEnergize), whose purpose is to improve the energy efficiency of homes in the […]
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10th Mountain huts film to screen at TACAW
“We have finally arrived at the next chapter in this four-year saga!” So began an email from Carbondale filmmaker Hamilton Pevec to The Sopris Sun about the upcoming premiere screening of his film, “It’s All Up Hill from Here: The John Seipel Story,” scheduled for Feb. 24 at The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW) in […]
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Jackson Emmer to release 22 songs in 2022
It started out as one song per month; twelve new singles that Jackson Emmer wanted to release during the year. Then his wife suggested doing 22. “All the best ideas come from Olivia [Emmer’s wife],” he observed to The Sopris Sun. And so, the 22 singles in 2022 project was born. Singer-songwriter Emmer has been […]