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  • Locations: News Published

    In 4B, CMC seeks relief from Gallagher

    Despite the state-mandated wording on the Nov. 7 ballot, Colorado Mountain College is not asking that its district taxes actually be raised — it merely wants to mitigate future losses as property taxes continue to decline in rural Colorado. It may be 2017, but the institution’s current — and future, if 4B does not pass — financial situation comes back to an amendment made to the state constitution in 1982. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Meet the faces behind those Roaring Fork Facebook groups

    If you live in the Roaring Fork Valley, you’ve likely used any one of the several Facebook group pages that exist specifically for residents’ needs. There’s the Roaring Fork Swap, Roaring Fork Rentals & Roommates, Roaring Fork Events, Roaring Fork Road and Weather… and those are just some the larger groups with “Roaring Fork” in front of their names. With more than 22,600 members, Roaring Fork Swap is the undisputed behemoth among the groups — in fact, many of the other pages that are now staples for communities sprang from the Swap’s posts and comments outgrowing the platform’s intent. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Carbondale Fire District looks to hold steady with 4C

    Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District has two budgets: one for if voters approve ballot issue 4C to maintain the current level of funding, and other with a more than $600,000 reduction in income. It’s a cycle the mostly property-tax- funded organization has been caught in since 2013, when the 2-mill increase that had helped offset the worst of the recession expired. The board pursued a more substantial increase with no expiration, but it failed to pass, dropping the district to 5.903 total mills while property values continued to fall. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Pages of the Past: Recreation, resignation and the king’s deer

    Oct. 20, 1977: Wildlife Officer John Seidel reflected on five years as “guardian of the king’s deer” before leaving his post to spend some time in South America. “Recreation will become more and more of a major industry,” he wrote. “With the population, the inflation and the recreational pressure, I’m sure the shock of the way this place will change in the next ten years will be important to everyone who lives here now. And in looking at all this pressure, you can use the wildlife as a good barometer of change. When you start losing your wildlife and eventually you’ll start losing all the other qualities of life that make it desirable to live here.” read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Crystal Trail: east side, west side… no side?

    While the question of the moment for The Crystal River Trail has been where exactly it should go, a sizable contingent at a public meeting on Oct. 17 urged Pitkin County to consider not building it at all. It’s far from a new perspective in the decades long debate. According to Open Space Director Gary Tennenbaum, the trail was first considered in 1994, with a feasibility study in 2004 and the first five miles completed in 2011. Governor Hickenlooper recently lent urgency to the project by highlighting it among the “Colorado 16” regional trail gaps in the state. read more →
  • Locations: Columns Published

    So much more than a firefighter

    Did you know that the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District, answers more than 1,200 emergency 911 calls annually? Seems like a lot of fires, right? On average, Carbondale Fire responds to 420 emergency fire calls and nearly 800 emergency medical calls annually. How does that work, you might ask? read more →
  • Locations: Columns Published

    Humans vs. Vampires: on which side will you fall?

    Don’t forget! Humans vs. Vampires begins Friday the 13th. Get your ribbons at Bonfire Coffee or Dandelion Market. You can still sign up after the official start, but your chances of winning decrease the more you delay. Start as a human with a yellow ribbon clearly displayed around your wrist. Vampires can’t tag you when you’re actively holding a copy of The Sopris Sun. If you put it down or stash it in your back pocket, one little tag and you’re one of them. Surrender your human ribbon to your sire, don the red one and begin seeking out your prey. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    RFHS homecoming week nurtures community in and out of school

    Roaring Fork High School senior Iliana Castillon Prado admits that when she dresses up for the school’s Spirit Week that culminates with the homecoming dance, she looks in the mirror and thinks: “Wow, I look really stupid.” “But as soon as you walk through the high school doors, you think, ‘Wow, we all look really stupid,’ which makes it worth it,” Prado said, reflecting on RFHS’s themed costume days that took places last week. Spirit Week aims to strengthen the school community and build pride. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Pages of the Past: Cranes, trains and automobiles

    Oct. 13, 1977: About 40 concerned citizens turned out at an organizational meeting for a proposed gravel pit and batch plant northeast of Carbondale. Mostly, they were there to protest, with concerns ranging from traffic and noise to increased water temperatures and mosquito population. On the flip side, the town was set to receive 6 cents per ton extracted and the 30-acre parcel was to be donated to the town by 1988. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Clear out the toxins at town Hazardous Waste Day

    According to the Environmental Protection Agency, driving one mile emits about 411 grams of carbon dioxide. So, roundtrip from Carbondale to the South Canyon Landfill in Glenwood Springs, the average driver will emit 12,330 grams of carbon dioxide — not to mention having to spend more than one hour in the car. Fortunately, locals wanting to also be exemplary environmental stewards won’t have to make that trek Saturday; they can simply go to the town’s Household Hazardous Waste Day. read more →