Archive

  • Locations: News Published

    Mountain Fair bound

    At 89 years old, Paul Markham might be the oldest arts/crafts vendor at this weekend’s Carbondale Mountain Fair. In the summer time when the overhead door is open, passersby near Eighth and Colorado can see him inside his tidy shop creating wooden cutting boards and other wooden items, such as “T” puzzles that he warns “nine out of 10 people can’t solve,” “ring” puzzles whose solving apparently requires a less lofty IQ, novelty items, cleats for hanging clay pots on deck posts, and decorative creations like thimble-sized birdhouses affixed to long dowles that add interest to any flower bed or pot. “The ladies love them,” he said with a smile during a tour of his shop. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Daily wildfire patrols prep before they roll

    In lightning lexicon, the strikes are called “hold-overs.” The inside of a tree can smolder for two or three days after being hit by lightning before burning all the way through to outside air. Once the fire burns through, with the right conditions, such as high wind, the fire can spread. After that, wildland firefighters can have a catastrophic blaze on their hands. “Many fires start from hold overs,” Carbondale Deputy Fire Chief Rob Goodwin told The Sopris Sun on Tuesday. Making sure those hold overs don’t flare and fuel what could become national news stories (a la the Coal Seam fire just outside Glenwood Springs a few years ago), the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District reinstated its wildfire patrols last week, thanks funds provided by private donors. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Stableford brings farmers to Town. (restaurant)

    Award-winning photographer Tyler Stableford is about to do something he’s never done in his 20-year career. The internationally acclaimed photographer/cinematographer lives in Carbondale with his wife, school teacher Megan Currier and two children, Annabelle and Sam. He’s lived here for 17 years and his photography studio is here. Stableford and his team — which includes Draper White, Kate Rolston and Ben Thomas — spend most of their time on commercial photography and film. “One of biggest things I’ve been doing lately is directing national TV commercials for Cabela’s,” Stableford told The Sopris Sun, adding that the entire team is actively engaged in shooting “stills” and “motion.” read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Introductions: Meet some “undercover bonecrushers”

    Under the ever-protecting gaze of Mount Sopris, myself and many other Carbondaleans have found a life of peace in this beautiful town. To me Carbondale was my second chance at life, my saving grace. I proudly call this mountain haven my home and the birthplace of my passion: rock climbing. I still remember the first pair of shoes I bought at Ragged Mountain Sports, the first time I tied into a rope, and the first mountain I climbed. I could explain how this town was and is the catalyst to my climbing lifestyle, but I would like to tell it through the eyes of a few people that walk among us. My heroes and my friends, they are the undercover bonecrushers, aka, the climbers that ride just under the radar that “crush” at climbing. They exist, quietly supporting a family, or working in a gear shop to make their dreams a reality. They don’t need to be in the limelight, and often prefer to avoid it entirely. There are not just a handful, but a bucketful of world-class athletes, drinking beer with us on Friday nights. Here are a few of their stories. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Crew breaks ground on Carbondale bike park

    When it comes to cycling, there’s lots to love about Carbondale: more than 75 miles of dirt trails located less than 10 miles from downtown, Full Moon Cruiser rides, Bonedale Bike Week, the Rocky Mountain Omnium, Aloha Mountain Cyclery ShakaCross cyclocross series and Bonedale Bike Project, and the Porcupine Loop annual mountain bike race. Carbondale is additionally recognized as a Bronze-level “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the National League of American Cyclists and will apply for Silver status before the end of summer. And in a little more than a month, a two-acre professionally designed and built bike park on the south end of town will be the next big amenity adding to the town’s pedal-powered revolution. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Vandalism causes Ron Patch ball field’s closure

    Bob Dylan once wrote in a song, “The pump don’t work ’cuz the vandals took the handles,” and it appears that something similar has happened in Carbondale, with the closure of the Ron Patch Memorial Baseball Field at the south end of town. The fields, jointly managed by the town and the Roaring Fork School District Re-1, were closed to public use last week following an incident in which an unknown group of ball players disabled the sprinkler system that waters the field, apparently after the sprinklers came on during a game, according to Mike Dumond, grounds crew supervisor for the school district. The field is named after the late Ron Patch, father of Carbondale Mayor Stacey Patch Bernot, and one of 14 coal miners who died in a 1981 coal mine fire near the village of Redstone on the Crystal River. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Hemp proponents form co-op, face numerous challenges

    A relatively small but growing group of advocates is working to make Colorado one of the first states in the union to grow and use hemp, the non-intoxicating cousin of the marijuana plant, since it essentially disappeared from U.S. agriculture in 1957. Specifically, the group is hoping to establish a Valley Hemp Co-op (www.valleyhempco-op.org) of farmers and other interested parties, which could work with an already established organization, the Colorado Hemp Cooperative, or other such organizations, to make hemp cultivation and manufacturing a reality in the state. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Trustees vote to accept Surls sculpture, a few locals object

    The Carbondale Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved an agreement to accept a large sculpture, titled “Sewing The Future,” from internationally renowned artist James Surls, to be the centerpiece of a new traffic roundabout now under construction at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 133. The decision, passed by a vote of 6-1 with Trustee Pam Zentmyer dissenting, overrode objections from local residents who argued that the year-long selection process leading to the agreement was flawed and did not involve adequate citizen participation. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    State picks Carbondale for “creative district” program

    The town of Carbondale was recently chosen to participate in the 2014-15 Creative District program, instituted by Colorado Creative Industries — a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. “These (creative districts) are great examples of how the arts create exciting places for people to live and visit,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in a press release. Carbondale began its creative plan in 2013, focusing on “connectivity” and “wayfinding” (signage), according to Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities Director Amy Kimberly. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Doctors reflect on a half-century of family practice

    Carbondale is about to take its next step in the continuing evolution of small-town medical care, when the doctors, nurses and technicians who have met the town’s medical needs for decades move into a new building and a new kind of business arrangement. The Roaring Fork Family Practice clinic, 1340 Highway 133, will move later this month to a new home just two blocks away, at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Highway 133 — a short stroll for a pedestrian but a big jump for the doctors. read more →