Archive

  • Locations: News Published

    Roundabout sculpture fund-raising under way

    Houston and Carbondale don’t seem to have much in common. Houston boasts a population of 2.1 million, while Carbondale logs in at about 6,000. Houston sits near the Gulf of Mexico, while Carbondale rests in the Rocky Mountains. Houston is generally hot and muggy, while Carbondale is cool and dry. Houston is home to a National Football League team, while Carbondale must rely on the Roaring Fork Rams for its football fix. And, Houston probably has more yoga studios than Carbondale. So, what’s one noticeable similarity between Houston and Carbondale? Come October, Carbondale’s soon-to-be roundabout at Highway 133 and Main Street will be graced with a 20-foot-tall James Surls sculpture, the 35-foot sister piece of which was installed at a prominent intersection in Houston’s Upper Kirby district earlier this month. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Curbside dining coming to town this summer

    Curbside dining will be coming to Main Street in Carbondale this summer, when at least two restaurants — phat thai, 343 Main St., and Allegria, 335 Main St. — erect dining platforms in the parking spaces in front of the two adjacent establishments. The Carbondale Board of Trustees gave its approval for the plan on Tuesday at the trustees’ regular meeting. “We contemplate the design/construction of a contiguous platform the length of our collective storefronts and the depth of a standard parking spot,” stated a letter from the restaurants to the trustees, which was part of the meeting packet on Tuesday. The wooden platforms are to be nine feet deep from the curb outward into the street, and traverse the storefronts of the adjoining restaurants, eliminating several parking spaces on Main Street. The sidewalk would be left open to pedestrian traffic. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    C’dale fire district expands defibrillator placement

    You and a friend are strolling down Concourse B at Denver International Airport on a slow Thursday evening when a middle-aged German tourist named Hans falls over right in front of you – and he’s not breathing. You and your friend do not panic. Instead, your friend rushes to grab the automated external defibrillator (AED) on the wall next to a restroom while you start hands-only CPR. Within a few minutes the two of you have literally shocked Hans’s heart back to life before paramedics arrive to speed him to the nearest hospital. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Environmental board’s roots date back 30 years, still growing

    In recent years, Carbondale has developed a reputation for being an environmentally friendly place, but 30 years ago the Town lacked any sort of environmental regulations. Taking matters into their own hands, a group of citizens calling themselves “Down Valley Trash” started working on a recycling program. The group, which included Steve Standiford and Jeff Dickinson, eventually formed an informal “environmental board” to deal with broader issues. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Applicants put new twists on old library uses

    An arts center, a chamber of commerce, a startlingly non-traditional cafe and gathering spot, and a boarding house or hostel — those are the four options being proposed for the still-vacant former home of the old Gordon Cooper Library in Carbondale. All four were presented to the town’s board of trustees at a work session on Tuesday, and all four will be the subject of a future, formal town board meeting, probably on May 13, said Town Manager Jay Harrington. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    RFHS boosting its Advanced Placement offerings

    Since starting as principal of Roaring Fork High School in 2012, one of Drew Adams’ primary goals has been to enhance the rigor of every student’s educational experience at RFHS. As part of that effort, three new Advanced Placement (AP) courses were added to the curriculum this past school year, and three additional AP courses will be offered next fall. Advanced Placement is a program created by a non-profit organization, The College Board, which designs the curriculum, and creates and grades the final exam for each AP course. Most colleges grant credit to students who receive a high score on the final AP Exam. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Fire district explains what happened with plan

    As Carbondale voters prepare to cast ballots in the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District board election later this month, one issue that has remained of concern for some voters since late in 2013 is the lack of a current fire district master plan for operations and expenditures. The election is being conducted by mail, with ballots to be sent out between April 14 and 21, and to be counted on Election Day, May 6. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Paddywacks expands, ready for economic upswing

    For R.J. Paddywacks owner Eric Berry, a recent purchase was a telltale indication the local economy is finally headed in the right direction. “A man bought a dog-cooling jacket,” Berry told The Sopris Sun on Tuesday. “Usually, that’s something people buy in July … but people now have the money to look ahead. That wasn’t happening a few years ago.” R.J. Paddywacks Pet Outfitter has sold pet supplies in Orchard Plaza in El Jebel since 1996 and a year before that in the Mid-Valley Design Center. Berry enjoyed a few years of ups (financially and emotionally), followed by downs that started during the nationwide recession of 2008-2009. Just keeping his doors open proved difficult until the last year or so. Berry said if he put his sales on a graph, 2008-2012 was “a perfectly flat line.” read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Shop owners turning downtown into antiques district

    With three antique stores now clustered in a one-block section of Main Street, shoppers can amble between the Old West and ancient Orient, ogling treasures at Strange Imports and Out West Antiques, then stop for coffee at Bonfire and later on hop across the street to peruse period French and English furniture and other items at European Antiques. And then there’s the venerable Miser’s Mercantile (“The best second hand store in the West”) at the east end of Main Street, and Back Door Consignment just north of Main Street behind The Pour House. Both stores see a steady flow of antiques, collectibles and vintage items come and go through their busy doors. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Fire election heating up

    Just when voters in the Carbondale area thought they could relax for a while following the recent municipal election, the ongoing contest for seats on the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District board of directors has been heating up in anticipation of another Election Day, May 6. Two challenging candidates are charging that the current members of the fire district board have lost touch with the 15,000 or so residents they serve, as shown by the voters’ rejection last year of a proposed property-tax hike, and that new blood is needed to face the district’s fiscal challenges. read more →