News

The little town of Carbondale became the center of the universe last Saturday for the passionate group of people attending the Cosmic Love Blast. The event was sponsored by A Spiritual Center and held at the Third Street Center. The ceremony/celebration was designed to enable participants to “receive an initiation into the new energies of the Great Shift underway for planet earth and humanity,” according to organizer Golden Sha.

Carbondale has made positive strides toward its goal of a more resilient and energy secure economy, but there is still a long way to go. That’s according to information presented at a workshop titled “Clean Energy Progress in Carbondale,” held at the Carbondale Library on March 19. The workshop was hosted by members of the Clean Energy 2020 campaign, a coalition of energy non-profits, the town of Carbondale, and the Carbondale Environmental Board. It was the first of three public meetings designed to inform the community of the town’s energy goals and seek input on how to meet those goals.

Carbondale voters have until 7 p.m. on April 1 to cast their ballots in the 2014 municipal elections. Mayor Stacey Bernot is running unopposed. The four candidates for the three trustee seats are: Katrina Byars, Alexander (AJ) Hobbs, Wayne Horak and Frosty Merriott.
The Sopris Sun asked the candidates the following questions to answer via e-mail. On a related note, The Sopris Sun article about the March 10 candidate forum can be accessed at soprissun.com; so can the GrassRoots TV coverage of the event.

Will new buildings in downtown be 10 stories tall? Will there be a Walmart on Highway 133? The answer to both questions is “no” but now that your interest is piqued, let’s talk about the new Carbondale Unified Development Code (UDC),

Carbondale’s upcoming election is a mail-in ballot with voter service polling centers as well. Election Day itself is April 1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with voter service polling centers (formerly known as “polling places”) at Carbondale Town Hall, the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs and Garfield County Rifle Branch Office. Dates and details from the Garfield County Clerk and Recorder’s office are as follows:

Poet, writer and naturalist Karen Chamberlain, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 68, was many things to many people in the Roaring Fork Valley. To fledgling local writers who were lucky enough to meet her, she was a mentor, coach and most of all, cheerleader.

The Carbondale-based Sunsense Solar has won another SunPower Intelegant Award for Excellence, this time for its solar photovoltaic project installed on the roof of the Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Grand Junction, according to a press release.
“We feel honored to have won this award and we are proud to have been a partner with the General Services Administration (GSA), The Beck Group and SunPower to provide a high profile project with a high quality solution,” said Sunsense Solar president and owner Scott Ely.

The Aspen Clinic is a health and wellness resource center that was created in November 2011 to help all individuals in the valley with their health, but has recently claimed notoriety with the opening of its Fitness and Post Rehabilitation Center. The Aspen Clinic (TAC) helps individuals manage their health by focusing on the whole person (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual). TAC provides health resources, creates educational awareness and facilitates community engagement.

The Third Street Center is making big changes in how it manages its biggest space, the PAC3 performing arts center.
Until recently, the PAC3 has been leased to Josh Behrman and his non-profit, Music for the Mountains. Behrman has booked countless shows at the PAC3, including Bruce Cockburn, Steve Earle, David Grisman, the Wailers and Hot Tuna.
According to Third Street Center board member Gavin Brooke, the TSC board has decided that it now wants to make that space “more available and more of an asset for a broader range of uses in the entire community.”

Last Monday, Lindsay and Hadley Hentschel were elated to receive the phone call they’ve been waiting 3 ½ years to receive: their adopted sons finally will be allowed to leave Haiti and come live with them in Carbondale.
Mykerson (6) and Leander (4) have lived in the same orphanage in Haiti for most of their lives. The Hentschels committed to adopting Mykerson in August of 2010. When they travelled to Haiti to meet him for the first time in December of 2010, they also met Leander, another boy in the orphanage. The Hentschels originally hoped to adopt two boys and it seemed to them that Leander was meant to be a part of their family. By January of 2011 they had officially added Leander to their adoption paperwork.