Will Grandbois

“It was sort of like a pep rally,” said Re-1’s Chief Academic Officer Rob Stein, describing the school district’s visioning meeting in Carbondale on Oct. 3. “I’ve never before seen crowds of people cheering for academic choices,” Stein told The Sopris Sun. The meeting drew about 150 community members, approximately 80 percent of whom were parents of current students.

Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District residents are being asked to permanently increase their property taxes by approximately 50 percent on mail-in ballots that the Garfield County clerk and recorder will send out later this month.
If the ballot issue is approved, the total mill levy will stand at 12.038, according to a resolution approved by the five-member district board in September. The new levy will combine a 2.233 temporary hike voters approved in 2011, with a new levy of 3.902.

The ribbon for the Prettiest cake went to Jessica Gonzales for her lovely vanilla cake. Tastiest was the yummy salted caramel layer-cake with butterscotch dipped potato chips baked by Nikki Smeins. The chocolate potato cake made by Heather Wilson and the Carbondale Community School won for Best Representation of Carbondale because it was made with local potatoes harvested by the students.

The market for recreational marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and retail sales in Colorado officially opens for business this coming January, but the licensing process actually began this week at the state level. Carbondale is among a handful of communities around the state that has adopted local marijuana licensing rules so that existing medical marijuana businesses can expand into the recreational side of the market, and new businesses can open.
The Sopris Sun put together a list of questions about what the legalization of recreational marijuana means for Carbondale and sent them over to Town Hall for answers. Those answers are informative and revealing about the near-term future for this new industry.

The playfully modern furnishings that Brad Reed Nelson crafts in his Carbondale studio are sold nationwide, and it’s easy to see why. Despite the name of his company — Board by Design — he’s clearly not!

When the proposal to build a museum curated by and featuring the art of sculptor James Surls goes in front of the Town Trustees on Oct. 8, it will likely face opposition from neighbors.
The trustees will be deciding whether to rezone the site of the old library, on Fourth Street between Main and Garfield, from Residential/Low Density to Historic Commercial Core.

The 104th annual Potato Day celebrates all 125 years of Carbondale’s history, with the Tater Trot on Sept. 27 and a parade, farmer’s market, barbecue, music and more on Sept. 28.
Naturally, this year’s parade theme is “Happy Birthday, Carbondale.”
Service sorority Xi Gamma Tau, with about 15 members, is the primary organizer this year, according to Lisa Quint, although don’t be surprised to see members of Beta Epsilon pitching in.

Carbondale joins 10 other Colorado municipalities after trustees approved a retail marijuana licensing ordinance 5-0 on Tuesday night. Among other provisions, the ordinance allows for up to five retail marijuana establishments to open sometime after Jan. 1, 2014. After the meeting, trustee Frosty Merriott said the board’s vote reflects the will of Carbondale’s voters. “ … 71 percent voted for Amendment 64,” Merriott told The Sopris Sun

“There is a country where students start school at a later age … spend less time in school per day … have barely any homework … are rarely tested … .” So begins a video showcasing Finland: the country whose education system consistently ranks at the top of the world by almost every measure. Portions of this video and others were screened last Monday at an event organized by Our Children, Our Schools (OCOS) — an ad hoc group of parents from local private, charter and public schools and other community members who are working to spark conversations about innovative ideas in education.