Archive

  • Locations: News Published

    Temple Grandin giving two talks in Carbondale

    Best-selling author Temple Grandin, who in 2010 was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, will lead two separate public discussions on July 28 at the Third Street Center. Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, is one of the nation’s top experts on humane livestock management. She is also a leading voice on improving the lives of people with autism spectrum disorders. She has developed important inventions and moved the thinking forward in both areas. Grandin’s presentation on her leading-edge work in the area of livestock management is set for 5 p.m. and will be followed by a question and answer session. At 6:30 p.m., she will switch subjects and give a talk and take questions on autism spectrum disorders. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Grandin, one of our state’s and the nation’s leading thinkers about improving the lives of people with autism,” said Sallie Bernard of the non-profit group Ascendigo, who helped organize the visit. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Aspen Science Center responding to STEM challenge

    Dropping watermelons from ladders, making fountains out of soda bottles, and creating geometric structures from zometools are just a few of the activities kids experience when they enter the world of the Physics for Kids BBQs hosted by the Aspen Science Center. On July 22 at 5 p.m., the center makes its way to the Colorado Mountain School (CRMS) campus in Carbondale for its yearly evening of simple BBQ fare and hands-on science geared towards kids of all ages. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Fire district gets mixed grades

    The Carbondale Fire District, as personified in its board of directors and staff, has done “yeoman’s work in navigating the department through very difficult economic times,” concluded a recently submitted draft analysis of the district’s operations. But, despite its reputation for efficient and effective fire-fighting and emergency-medical assistance, the district has a number of problems in its organizational structure, and should act before district staff fall victim to “burnout” and other negative effects appear, according to a draft master plan by Almont Associates, a Florida-based consultant. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Main Street open for Mountain Fair

    Carbondale’s Main Street will not be closed to vehicular traffic for this year’s Mountain Fair, but it might be in the future, following a discussion of the idea by the town’s board of trustees on Tuesday night. The idea was raised by Trustee A.J. Hobbs, who wrote in a July 2 letter that he felt Main Street needed to be closed during Mountain Fair weekend for safety reasons. “I saw too many close calls between pedestrians and cars last year,” Hobbs wrote in his letter, which was addressed to the trustees and town staff. “I feel it is imperative that we close portions of Main Street for all of Mountain Fair.” The letter suggested the closure should be from Third to Eighth streets, and at Tuesday’s meeting Hobbs explained that vehicular traffic could be re-routed to the streets that parallel Main, primarily to Colorado Avenue. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Basalt Boy Scouts looking for a new home

    This year marks the 24th year that Basalt Boy Scout Troop 242 has been meeting in a quaint log cabin located on the outskirts of Willits. Approximately 30 registered Boy Scouts attend weekly meetings and store their equipment there. By the end of this month, the scouts will have to vacate the cabin to make way for a condominium development project. They are getting the word out about losing the space in the hope they can find a similar place to meet elsewhere in the community. Troop 242 has never actually owned the cabin. The original owners, who granted the scouts use of the cabin in 1991, were local architect Michael Lipkin and his family. Since then, ownership of the property has changed hands multiple times. The various owners of the property have always continued to allow the scouts use of the cabin. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Fire committee wants more time, board reluctant

    The ongoing task of writing a 10-year master plan for the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District is being rushed to the point where citizen reviewers do not have adequate time to digest all the information coming from a team of consultants, the district’s board of directors was told at a meeting on Tuesday night. “We feel like we’re being rushed too far, too fast,” said fire board member Carl Smith, who sits on the Master Plan Steering Committee that is working with the fire board to review and mold a draft master plan. “I think the reality is, we’re all looking at some kind of potential mill levy adjustment,” Smith added, referring to the district’s ongoing financial difficulties since the recent recession drastically cut property tax revenues, which are the district’s main source of income. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Carbondale counts 14 marijuana related businesses, two under review

    For a short time several years ago Carbondale had licensed 13 businesses to grow, prepare and sell legal medical marijuana in town, under a voter-approved medical-marijuana law passed as a state constitutional amendment in 2000. Under the 2000 law, patients as young as 18 were eligible for doctor-approved prescriptions to buy marijuana for treatment of a number of ailments. But the number of actual, open medical-marijuana businesses never was that high, said Town Clerk Cathy Derby, who explained that some hopeful applicants got their licenses to open shops but never did. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    “Smart Meter” debate continues on the E-Board

    The local fight over Smart Meters took an unusual turn this week, when Carbondale’s Environmental Board got a look at the question of whether the growing amount of atmospheric electromagnetic radiation [EM] is linked to the disappearance of honey bees and the disorientation of migratory birds as well as potentially posing a health hazard to humans. Carbondale residents Jody Powell and Cedar Rose, along with visiting activist Gary Duncan from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, believe the links are real and told the E-Board members the connections should be viewed as warnings signs of electromagnetic pollution that is threatening wildlife as well as human health. But members of the E-Board, as it is known, were not quite so sure, and asked Powell and Rose to work with the board’s subcommittee on Energy & Transportation to come up with a recommendation that the E-Board can consider. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Butch moving his lobster shack to C’dale

    It looks as though Basalt’s loss will be Carbondale’s gain, as plans jell for the opening of Butch’s Lobster Shack on a now-vacant lot at the corner of Second and Main streets, possibly within a couple of weeks. Butch Darden, who has been in the restaurant business in the Roaring Fork Valley since 1979, confirmed to The Sopris Sun on Monday that he has reached an agreement to lease the lot, owned by Bren Simon, that until recently was occupied by a construction trailer linked to the development of the Marble Distilling Company and Distillery Inn. The distillery is located two doors east on Main from the Lobster Shack’s planned site. read more →
  • Locations: News Published

    Teens Giving Back to Carbondale all summer long

    Denise Wright says “There’s nothing more powerful than a group of kids with an idea.” Wright should know. The Roaring Fork High School teacher has worked with kids for years. This summer, she is the part-time coordinator for a new student-driven group called Teens Giving Back (TGB), which volunteers at CARE, Heritage Park and other public and private organizations. Just this week, TGB volunteers helped pull weeds at North Face Bike Park, part of an on-going project so the town won’t have to spray the invasive plants. “Kids are some of the most generous people you’ll ever meet,” Wright told The Sopris Sun. “They love giving back.” read more →