Tragedy on 82
On Monday, March 18, a serious traffic accident occurred at the bottom of County Road 114 involving two Colorado Mountain College (CMC) residential students. One student sustained several injuries and was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. The other tragically died in the accident. CMC has counseling services available for all students affected by this news.
CMC changes
Dr. Carrie Hauser, president and CEO of CMC, announced Tuesday she is stepping down in August after working for the college since December 2013. What’s next? Dr. Hauser told her employees she’d be climbing Mt. Whitney in California with her husband in the fall, and “I’ll keep you posted about my next professional steps.” Meanwhile, the board of trustees will meet Friday to discuss the selection process for CMC’s 10th president.
Infrastructure funds
Ten of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s community project funding requests were signed into law as part of legislation enacted on March 9, a press release stated. This included $20 million for Colorado water and infrastructure projects. Among them: $2 million for renovations at the Town of Silt’s water plant; $1.5 million toward improving the Blue Hill section of Cottonwood Pass; and $1.4 million toward the Glenwood Spring’s South Bridge connection across the Roaring Fork River.
Uinta update
On March 4, as reported by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, a group of Utah county governments backing the Uinta Basin Railway, filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting a hearing of the case. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned the December 2021 ruling of the Federal Surface Transportation Board approving the proposed 88-mile railway, which would take oil from Utah through Colorado on the national rail line to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The Appeals Court ruled the Surface Transportation Board did not properly consider the potential downstream environmental impacts. In November, the court rejected a petition for a re-hearing, and in January, the U.S. Forest Service withdrew approval for the railway crossing a roadless area in Utah’s Ashley National Forest. The petition to the Supreme Court claims the D.C. Appeals Court decision took too broad a view of the National Environmental Policy Act review and that federal regulatory agencies did not have to consider the impacts to Colorado or the Gulf Coast communities where the oil would be refined.
CDOT projects
Colorado Department of Transportation officials recently met with the Garfield County Commissioners and outlined some priorities for Region Three which encompasses 15 counties in northwest Colorado, including Garfield. A big priority is replacing culverts. There are more than 20,000 culverts in the region with 295 marked as high priority for replacement. CDOT is also replacing signal wiring, conduit, pull boxes and detection at Highway 82 and Catherine Store Road, constructing a new roundabout at Highway 6 and Castle Valley Boulevard in New Castle and planning to expand the deceleration turn lane at the traffic light on Highway 82 at Spring Valley Road.
Shoshone
Five more West Slope entities made substantial financial commitments toward the preservation of the historic Shoshone water rights on the Colorado River, a press release stated. These include: Basalt Water Conservancy District, committing $100,000; the City of Rifle, $100,000; West Divide Water Conservancy District, $50,000; Palisade Irrigation Company, $50,000; and Mesa County Irrigation Company, $10,000. On Dec. 19, 2023, the Colorado River District and Xcel Energy signed a Purchase & Sale Agreement to protect the flows of the Upper Colorado River in perpetuity. The River District committed $20 million toward the $98.5 million sale price, matched by the Colorado Water Conservation Board one month later.
Scholarships
Credit Union of Colorado Foundation is accepting applications through April 15 for $5,000 college scholarships available to 10 students enrolled in, or scheduled to enter, an accredited college or university. Visit www.cuofcofoundation.org/general-scholarships
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Judy Bartels, Kerwin Hirro and Miles Phillips (March 21); Tanner Hawkins and Evan Piccolo (March 22); Erin Danneker (March 23); Martin Gerdan and Jammin’ Jim (March 24); Ben Canady and Alta Otto (March 25); Ruby Marker and Brian McIsaac (March 26); Shea Courtney and Drea Marsh (March 27).
~ C A L E N D A R ~
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
SPANISH STORYTIME
Basalt Library hosts bilingual storytime at 10:30am.
THURSDAY BOOK CLUB
The Third Thursday Book Club meets at the Carbondale Library at 2pm. This month’s book is “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig.
LOTUS LANTERNS
The Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project teaches participants how to make a lotus flower lantern at the Basalt Library at 5:30pm. Visit basaltlibrary.org for more info.
LOUNGE
HeadQuarters hosts its first “Book Club, Journal, Draw” event, where participants draw inspiration from literature to unlock the power of journaling and artistic expression in a social setting at 6pm at its headquarters in Basalt. The event will repeat every third Thursday. Visit headq.org for more info.
CRYSTAL THEATRE
The Crystal Theatre presents “Dune: Part Two” at 7pm. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” opens tomorrow and continues Saturday, Wednesday and next Thursday at 7pm with a 5pm showing on Sunday.
KT TUNSTALL
Grammy-nominated Scottish musician KT Tunstall performs at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets are sold out.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22
BREAKFAST CLUB
Roaring Fork Conservancy invites folks to hike/skin up Buttermilk to enjoy a discounted breakfast at the Cliffhouse restaurant. Participants are encouraged to look for watershed related trivia items on the way up the mountain for a chance to win giveaways at the top. More info at roaringfork.org
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Crystal River Ballet School presents “The Sleeping Beauty Ball” at the Thunder River Theatre at 6pm.
MOUNTAINFILM
MountainFilm makes a stop at the Basalt Library to present a slew of inspiring short films at 6pm. More info at basaltlibrary.org
LVDY
Kathleen Hooper and Aubrey Mable perform uplifting and intimate music at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at stevesguitars.net
MONOPHONICS
The Monophonics, a soul rock group, performs at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets at tacaw.org
SATURDAY, MARCH 23
FIELD DAY
Seed Peace hosts a field day at Sunfire Ranch from 10am to noon. The day will consist of helpful lessons to ready gardens and farms for spring! To sign up, visit www.bit.ly/FieldDayMarch23
COLLAGE TECHNIQUES
Learn collage techniques from artist Elizabeth de Wetter with an interactive workshop from 10am to 1pm at The Art Base. Register at theartbase.org
ARTISAN CLAY
The Aspen Hive, a boutique jeweler in Aspen (429 East Cooper Ave) hosts potter Diane Wuslich and a display of her work from 11am to 6pm.
PRUNING WORKSHOP
Colorado Edible Forest, UpRoot Colorado, CSU Extension, & Pitkin County Open Space offer a free fruit tree pruning workshop in Basalt from noon to 4pm. An intermediate hands-on workshop will be offered in Emma on March 30, also noon to 4pm. Visit coloradoedibleforest.com/workshops to register.
KICK THE TURF
Join Bee Friendly for a hands-on workshop for anyone interested in replacing their turf with native plants. Bring an aerial image or the approximate square footage of your garden and Bee Friendly can help create a landscape design, select plants and answer questions about Carbondale’s new turf buy-back program. It all takes place at the Carbondale Library from 1 to 3pm.
HORSE HEALTH
Farrier Josh Aikens teaches about identifying, diagnosing and treating laminitis, a painful equine disease, at the Hoffman Hotel in Basalt from 1 to 4pm. The Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council will host three more horse health symposiums in 2024. To register, visit bit.ly/RFVhorses
BREATHWORK
True Nature offers a somatic breathwork immersion beginning today at 4pm with at-home practice through April 2 and a closing integration session. Find details at www.truenaturehealingarts.com
LIARS’ CONTEST
Roaring Fork Valley Storytellers hosts its annual Liars’ Contest event for free at Aspen Mountain Chalet from 5 to 6pm. For more info, call 970-379-2224.
SUNDAY, MARCH 24
WINDWALKERS
WindWalkers, a horse therapy nonprofit, hosts an “Emergency Procedures” volunteer workshop from 1 to 3pm. Email info@windwalkers.org for more info.
ECSTATIC DANCE
Move to the groove at the Ecstatic Dance hosted at 13 Moons Ranch, south of Carbondale, from 6 to 8pm. Email alyahowe@me.com or call 970-309-2582 for more info.
TRTC CABARET
Toddy Walters presents “Trying Myself on for Size” at 6:30pm at the Thunder River Theatre. Tickets and more info at thunderrivertheatre.com
MONDAY, MARCH 25
SPRING BREAK
Rocky Mountain Kid CLUBS offers childcare from 8:30am to 4pm daily through March 29. More info at www.rockymtnkidclubs.org
MOTHERING 101
The Basalt Library offers an eight week moms group where participants learn about baby wearing, infant feeding, milestones, sleep and more. Pregnant moms 35+ weeks and moms with newborns 6 months or younger are invited. The class starts today and occurs every Monday at 10:30am. Mothers can drop in for a session or attend the entire series. Call 847-894-6546 with questions and to register.
IN STITCHES
The In Stitches Knitting Club convenes at the Carbondale Library at 1:30pm.
PIONEER HISTORY
Sue Gray from the Carbondale Historical Society teaches about Hattie Thompson, daughter of Carbondale’s first homesteader, at the Carbondale Library at 6pm.
TUESDAY, MARCH 26
GIRLS WHO CODE
Students of all genders learn the basics of coding at their own pace at the Basalt Library at 3:45pm.
COAL BASIN STUDY
Last year, CORE and Delta Brick & Climate Company conducted research on the methane escaping from abandoned mines at Coal Basin. They will present findings and recommendations for mitigation at 6pm today in Basalt and Thursday, April 4 at the Church at Redstone. Register for the Basalt event at tinyurl.com/CoalBasinBasalt and for the Redstone event at tinyurl.com/CoalBasinRedstone
SCIENCE ON SCREEN
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Aspen Film presents “Women in the Equation” at the Isis Theatre with special guest Dr. Nausheen Shah, associate professor of physics at Wayne State University. The film “Hidden Figures” will be paired with a short film by students. The show starts at 6:30pm. More info at www.aspenfilm.org
ELEPHANT REVIVAL
The Wheeler Opera House presents Elephant Revival at 7:30pm tonight and tomorrow night. Tickets at aspenshowtix.com
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27
RECOVERY YOGA
The Meeting Place in Carbondale hosts Yoga for People in Recovery at 8am. The Meeting Place offers two dozen recovery meetings every week. Find out more at meetingplacecarbondale.org
STORYTIME WITH TACAW
The Basalt Library partners with The Art Campus at Willits to bring early literacy storytime to the Treehouse next to the library at 10:30am.
STEP W/O THE STEP
Linda Loeschen guides a fun dance class that is “like a step fitness class without the step” at the Basalt Library at 11:30am. Call 970-927-4311 or email edewetter@basaltlibrary.org for more info.
TEEN DEFENSE
Girls, 15-19, learn self-defense techniques based on Krav Maga at 2:30pm at the Basalt Middle School gym on Wednesdays. Call 970-927-4311 x1004 or email bcrooke@basaltlibrary.org for more info.
SPEAK SPANISH
The Spanish Conversation Club meets at Bodegón this Wednesday and next from 5 to 7pm.
BOOK TALK
The Basalt Library invites you to this month’s Book Talk to discuss “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett at 5:30pm. Free copies are available at the circulation desk while supplies last.
350 FILM
Join 350 Roaring Fork for a screening of “A Land Out of Time” at the Carbondale Library at 6pm. This film examines oil and gas drilling in western Colorado.
THURSDAY, MARCH 28
MORTALITY
Akaljeet Khalsa hosts a conversation about dying with grace at True Nature from 4:30 to 6pm. This community offering is free.
SOUND JOURNEY
Danielle Klein performs a Spring Equinox sound journey at True Nature from 6 to 7:15pm. Tickets at www.truenaturehealingarts.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 29
BOOT TAN FEST
Sunlight Mountain Resort hosts the third annual Boot Tan Fest today and tomorrow. “Designed for women and femme folks,” the weekend includes music, games and more. Tickets at www.boottanfest.com
STEVE’S GUITARS
Haley Harkin and Carly Anne perform at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at www.stevesguitars.net
MONDAY, APRIL 1
DEATH CAFE
Death Cafe offers a safe place to share thoughts and hear others’ on the subject of death and dying at the Basalt Library from 5 to 6:30pm. This is not a bereavement or counseling session but an opportunity to bring comfort in talking about the subject. All are welcome and tea and cake will be provided.
BRYAN BIELANSKI
No joke! Bryan Bielanski returns to Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at www.stevesguitars.net
TUESDAY, APRIL 2
THE BIG FIVE
The Big Five, hosted by HeadQuarters in Basalt, helps participants leverage the power of their nervous system to boost mental fitness, emotional well-being and overall health every first and final Tuesday of the month at 6pm. Visit headq.org for more info.