Pages of the Past: Ranch hands stabbed in bunkhouse brawl

Nov. 23, 1977

The Roaring Fork Ram football boys were headed to the semi-final following a 42-8 victory against Del Norte at home.  Marty Nieslanik made a 47-yard touchdown pass in the lopsided playoff game, while Tracy Cerise, John Yocom, Neil Jensen and Mike Stark all contributed to the offense and Al Joyner, Scott Maynard and Cary Soucie shut down the Tigers offensively. As the Rams prepped to take on Sheridan, Coach Rocky Whitworth told The Journal, “We’ve come too far this year to have any negative thoughts about the game and we believe we’ll win it.”

In other news… Garbage disposals became more common in town, causing problems at the sewage treatment plant and inspiring the town to increase tap fees for those installing them.

Nov. 25, 1987

A local ranch hand was on the run after three men were stabbed in a bunkhouse brawl. A deputy arrived at the Ashley Carrithers Ranch — “the old Charlie Thomas place” — south of Carbondale in the wee hours of the morning to find ambulance crews already treating a trio of abdominal wounds. Two of the men reportedly started a fight when one of them grabbed a kitchen knife and the remaining men were injured trying to break it up.  

In other news… Rumors of potential foreign investors in Mid-Continent Resources abounded although, as The Journal pointed out, “if an even vaguely Asiatic looking stranger should drive through town, a good portion of us will swear that the Koreans are here to buy the coal mine.”

Nov. 26, 1997

With the mines shut down, White River National Forest was looking at ways to put Coal Basin to use recreationally as it drafted a new 15-year plan. Public access had been severely limited under the previous plan, but the Redstone Inn had hopes of opening it up with snowcat tours as early as the next winter. “Redstone’s economic base has turned from coal mining to tourism,” the draft proposal asserted, “Its economic viability is now dependent on development of a winter business.”

In other news… Highway 82 Project Manager Ralph Trapani was optimistic that a passenger train would be built in the valley within 10 years, saying “It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”

Nov. 29, 2007

Adam Odoski and Mick Murdock were putting the finishing touches on a new Indonesian furniture store in the Churchill Building, with recycled accessories like handbags made out of toothpaste containers  and wallets made from old tire tubes. “We want to deal with people doing good things for good people and taking care of the environment,” said Odoski. “Via Viva” was slated to open Dec. 7.

In other news… The Board of Trustees was mulling whether to allocate $140,000 to the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) as they had the previous year.