From the archives of the Roaring Fork Review, Valley Journal and The Sopris Sun; in collaboration with the Carbondale Historical Society and Carbondale Branch Library
July 11, 1974
An application by Mid-Continent Coal and Coke to dump wastewater in Coal Creek prompted concern by the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association, an inspection by land management agencies and broader concerns about water qualities. Although water from the mines themselves was mostly pumped back into the ground for natural filtering, the wash plant downstream sometimes ran into the stream, with at least two spills recorded that spring. Mid-Continent engineer John Reeves downplayed environmental impacts and reminded readers that “if you want a ton of steel, you have to have a ton of coal to make it with.”
In other news … Glenwood Springs pilot David Force sighted the wreckage of a small airplane that had disappeared shortly after taking off from Aspen the previous March, confirming the loss of all five people aboard.
July 12, 1984
Part-time Fryingpan resident Robert Adams accepted a new position as head of the Smithsonian Institute. Asked why such a high-profile academic chose to spend several months a year in a remote section of Colorado, Adams said it broke up his pattern of living and gave him a chance to concentrate on complex ideas without the distractions of Chicago. His wife, Ruth, found the same for her position editing the “Bulletin for Atomic Scientists” and a number of other experts in everything from biology to particle physics were spread throughout the mountains.
In his new role, Adams hoped that he could reinvigorate the international scientific exchange that had stagnated due to the Cold War. He was less optimistic about his own region of anthropological focus, however: the Middle East, which he expected to remain full of turmoil for the foreseeable future.
In other news … A land trade between the Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) and the Bureau of Land Management added 2,000 acres to the Lake Christine and Toner Creek wildlife areas.
July 7, 1994
The public was just beginning to learn the true horror of the South Canyon Fire, which had overrun the fireline at roughly 3:30pm the previous afternoon. At press time, the Bureau of Land Management was reporting 11-13 firefighter fatalities (the final death toll turned out to be 14). Three more were admitted to Valley View Hospital for burns and smoke inhalation. Local emergency crews scrambled to the scene, many prepped for disaster by the Mid-Continent disaster of 1981 and the Rocky Mountain Natural Gas explosion two years later.
Soon, those crews would be back out fighting fire, with lightning igniting blazes in Spring Valley, Missouri Heights, Thompson Creek, Cattle Creek, Lake Christine, Marble and more. There were already inklings of new camaraderie, with district and political boundaries put aside to create an ad-hoc mutual aid network from Rifle to Aspen. Indeed, the event would ultimately reshape wildfire management on the Western Slope and beyond.
In other news …The Town of Basalt opted to annex 300 acres along Willits Lane, and the roughly 250 new residents in the area were already noticing police patrols. Others speculated on how long it would take the Town to expand a little further and take in the tax base at the El Jebel City Market.
July 15, 2004
After 17 years of managing Mountain Fair, Thomas Lawley passed the torch to Amy Kimberly. She brought with her community connections as KDNK’s development director and know-how as backstage manager at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. And she’d had some assistance from Steve “Social” Horn, Angie Bovee and Gabe Riley. None of them had plans to completely change the fair overnight, but the addition of an “Elegant and Exotic” dress-up theme for Sunday night gave a hint of things to come.
In other news … Thunder River Theatre Company was getting ready to break ground on a new 5,000 square-foot building in the heart of the Town Center development (of which little else would come to fruition).
July 17, 2014
It took 75-miles of dirt trails, Bonedale Bike Week, the Rocky Mountain Omnium, ShakaCross, Bonedale Bike Project and the Porcupine Loop to get Carbondale bronze status as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the National League of American Cyclists. And as the Town prepared to apply for silver status, a $95,000 bike park wasn’t going to hurt. Funded by Great Outdoors Colorado, Garfield County’s Federal Mineral Lease District, the Town and an array of private donors led by Alpine Bank, the facility was under construction next to North Face Park and expected to open by the end of the summer.
In other news … Ernesto the bison sculpture proved a less controversial replacement for the pink bunny that had previously held down the corner of Seventh and Main as part of public art around town — though both would eventually find permanent homes in town.