Teacher retention, and employee retention in general, has increasingly been a problem in the Roaring Fork Valley. Recently, it has become a crisis. As COVID-19 spread throughout the Valley and schools shut down, teachers were put under immense pressure and many even quit.
There were many reasons… read more →
Art and creative expression programs have always been somewhat limited to students in the Roaring Fork Valley. Both inside and outside of school, the focus is often more on the importance of mathematics and science compared to art and writing. However, in recent years, various programs have been introduced… read more →
An in-depth study issued this fall has detailed the status of and potential for solar power in the tri-county region — Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin counties — and has outlined a series of steps for how to implement its findings. Titled “Three-County Solar + Storage Study and Action Plan,” it… read more →
A regretful thing happened in March 2020. After roughly 70 years of serving up provisions, the Redstone General Store temporarily went dark. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before a partnership between Oriana Bier-Moebius, who was raised in the Crystal Valley, and manager Rochelle Norwood set out to re-store the magic.
Far… read more →
The latest Board of Town Trustees meeting saw all trustees in attendance, plus much of Town staff. It was a momentous meeting that included approval of a contract to hire Lauren Gister as the Town’s next manager. Gister was selected through a process led by national recruiting firm Columbia ltd.… read more →
The Basalt Town Council buzzed through its business on Nov. 23. All seven members voted in roll calls to unanimously approve 10 different measures, including the momentarily problematic adoption of the Town’s $49.3 million 2022 budget. Town Councilor David Knight and Town Manager Ryan Mahoney participated via Zoom. Less than… read more →
On Jan. 17, Carbondale will welcome Lauren Gister as the next town manager. Gister currently resides in Chester, Connecticut, where she is serving her fourth term as first selectwoman.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sopris Sun: Congratulations!
Lauren Gister: Thank you. I’m so excited… read more →
Swift sells
Swift Communications, parent company of the Glenwood Springs Post Independent and The Aspen Times, is selling its local media and publishing businesses to West Virginia-based Ogden Newspapers, the companies announced on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The deal is scheduled to close on Dec. 31. After that date, Swift will… read more →
From the archives of the Valley Journal, Sopris Sun and Roaring Fork Rampage
Dec. 3, 1981
The Aspen Center for the Visual Arts was hosting the first major display of the late Frank Mechau’s work in the Valley — where he spent his boyhood and… read more →
I met with writer, musician, producer, director Dave Taylor, a man of many titles, at the Village Smithy Restaurant, just a stone’s throw from his place of work, Cool Brick Studios. The historic downtown house is solidly built with muted-pink bricks giving it that “cool” aesthetic which is now repeated… read more →
