Will Grandbois

Money talks, as the adage goes. During Potato Day weekend, a little money can say — and do — a lot. As both printed books and vinyl records continue to enjoy industry-wide renaissances, locals will have the opportunity to expand their collections in both arenas without paying retail prices — all while helping two Carbondale nonprofits.
Carbondale Homeless Assistance (CHA) will be temporarily taking over the 689 building on Main Street for their second annual book sale from 9 a.m. Oct. 6 to 3 p.m. Oct. 8.

While “fire” is right there in the name, it’s just one small facet of the services Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District provides across 323 square miles and six stations. “Maybe Emergency Services is more accurate but not as much fun to say,” observed Deputy Fire Chief Rob Goodwin. In fact, volunteers actually spend more time running the ambulance. According to data provided by the department for the past 12 months, of 1,197 calls for service, 576 were emergency medical service (EMS) related, with 101 motor vehicle accidents included in that figure.

It’s hard to miss the newest addition to the True Nature Peace Garden: a 6-foot-tall, 2,860-pound granite statue of Ganesha, a well-loved figure in Hinduism and Buddhism.
“Ganesha is a very important deity in India. He is the remover of obstacles to our happiness and purpose in this life,” Eaden Shantay, co-founder and co-owner of True Nature, said in an email while in Costa Rica. Shantay shares his founder and owner credits with his wife, Deva Shantay. In December, the pair traveled to Tiruvannamalai in southern India to further their studies of Vedanta, a spiritual philosophy based on India’s sacred scriptures.

The end of September and the close of summer brought with it the departure of some of Carbondale’s most honored guests: the 220 goats that munched their way along several miles of the Rio Grande Trail destroying weeds and rehabilitating soil in year two of three in a standing contract with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA). After about 36 days of being corralled in temporary enclosures along the iconic trail, the goats were loaded into trailers and moved to their next job reducing potential wildfire fuel near the location of the infamous Storm King fire. Moving with them were co-owner Donny Benz, full-time employees Harmony Davies and Russ McKenna, and a couple of sturdy sheep dogs.

In days of yore, Homecoming meant balloons on Veterans Memorial Bridge, painted signs in every shop window and most of the town watching the game. While the Rams still enjoy community support, Athletic Director Jade Bath wouldn’t mind if it stepped up a notch this week. “I think it’s huge for the kids to see the stands full,” she said. “It means a lot to them whether they’re winning or losing, but particularly if they’re not having the best season.”

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.

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.