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Thanks to the work of many — and a great partnership with Footsteps Marketing — The Sopris Sun is pleased to present our community with this new, improved website, your portal to all things Carbondale. Let us know what you think! This is just Phase I. We’ll be rolling out many more great features over the coming months. We hope you’ll visit often. Enjoy!

Along the north side of the new Carbondale Branch Library are seven pillars decorated with art glass — a creation designed by local glass artist Shannon Muse, but created by more than 20 hands and more than 100 minds.
The work of art, which is called “Pillars of Light/Pilars de Luz,” contains more than 5,000 pieces of recycled glass along with Swarovski crystals and metallic-sheened dichroic glass. Embedded among the pieces of glass are quotes contained in tiles made of opalescent iridized glass.

The new Carbondale Branch Library has more of everything than before: square footage (13,000 now compared to 3,200 at the old Gordon Cooper Library), books (20,500 compared to 18,020 before), study rooms (four now compared to zero before) and public computers (20 now compared to six before).

Despite its unassuming name, the Pardon My Garden club is 80 members strong, all living and gardening throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. This summer, for the first time in its 20-year history, the non-profit organization is planning a tour featuring 11 gardens stretching from Watson Divide to El Jebel.
The first annual Garden Tour, billed as “Ornamental and Edible Gardens of the Mid-Valley,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 27. In the past, the club has held plant sales and donated the proceeds to individuals or local organizations, typically giving grants totaling between $5,000 and $7,000 a year. The ticket sales from this summer’s tour will be used for the same purpose.

As 11 teenagers took the stage at PAC3 last weekend — rocking out to “Rock and Roll” by the Velvet Underground, harmonizing on folksy ballads, singing delicate acappellas and screaming out rock/punk lyrics — you never would have guessed these same kids arrived at the PAC3 just six days earlier, shy and nervous, unsure about their upcoming week at the Academy of Music and Performance (AMP).
The students spent their week at AMP learning about all that it takes to put on a concert. They developed their vocal and instrument techniques, worked on synchronizing their individual musical roles with one another, and learned a lot about digging deep and pulling more out of themselves than they believed possible.

What did you do last weekend? That’s a common question in these parts, which is often answered with a list of outdoor activities, no matter what the season.
There are now more backcountry recreation options than ever: camping, climbing, cycling, fishing, hiking, horse packing, hunting, skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, trail riding and wildlife viewing to name a few.
With so many locals and visitors enjoying public lands in so many ways, it’s important that everyone do their part to minimize the impact they make on habitat and wildlife.

Go do some cob building • Hike the Middle Thompson • Town still looking for commissioners • Aspen offering childcare help • Library offers Universal Class • Inward Bound starts July 29 • Pro bike race seeks volunteers • Sportsmen’s caucus slated for Eagle

Whenever my life feels out of balance my first instinct is to get on the river. Over the past 19 years I have floated over 15,000 miles of rivers — kayaking, raft-guiding and doing swiftwater rescue/CPR training. The river feels like home to me. However, I have seen and experienced some life-threatening moments in those years.
Recently, I watched a woman lose consciousness after two other boats with small children got surfed and almost flipped in the ledge-hole (on-river left) at the kayak park in Glenwood Springs. Incredibly, the woman was resuscitated by five kayakers that got her to shore. They began CPR and revived her before the paramedics arrived.

According to newly-hired CRES principal Heather Cremeans, one of the most important things she learned while getting her administrator’s license was the importance of a good fit between a principal and a school. The more she learned about Crystal River Elementary School, the more passionate she became that this school was the perfect fit for her.
In her 18 years of education she has always enjoyed working with diverse groups of students, including students from various socioeconomic groups and native Spanish-speakers — the very population she found at CRES. She loves working to create a unified sense of community among students from diverse backgrounds. She speaks Spanish as well.

What’ll it be for the center of the new roundabout at Highway 133 and Main Street?
A specially commissioned piece from Missouri Heights sculptor James Surls?
How about a rotating work of art as part of the town’s on-going Art aRound Town series?
Then there’s always the minimalist approach — nothing but concrete.