Last week, the City of Gunnison entered a cost-recovery lawsuit against the global manufacturers of a large and harmful group of chemicals that may stay in the body indefinitely once they are ingested. Although small traces of perPFAS A6
NEWS: Medicaid continuous enrollment to end, A8
COMMUNITY: Sweaty Kids
Film Festival enters fourth year, B1
On the night of Gunnison High School’s winter Snowball dance, Principal Jim Woytek and Assistant Principal Robin Wilkinson watch the moment Royce Uhrig won his second state championship title. Between the wrestling team’s state performance and the girls basketball triumph in the first round of districts, it was an inspiring weekend for Cowboy athletics. For more, see B10.
In just a couple years, Gunnison County will have upto-date floodplain maps, replacing the nearly decade-old maps with modern ones. Floodplain maps can affect everything from flood insurance requirements, emergency management plans
and even building permits. Come 2026, these new maps — drawn up with modern technology — may change the boundaries of the floodplain, meaning some residences may need to get fl ood insurance and others may be able to let it go.
A floodplain map uses topographic and terrain data to model where water may travel in the watershed in the event of significant precipitation. The updated maps will capture more than a decade of development in the valley, but also any natural changes in the hydrology or hydrography of the river.
“Through time, the river
Floodplain A6
SPORTS: GHS girls basketball wins first round of districts, B5 OBITUARY A2
OPINION A4-A5
CLASSIFIEDS A14-A17
SPORTS B5
The Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA)
chose the Gunnison Rec Center as its “preferred” location for the future construction of a transit center.
By definition, a transit center is a central hub that serves as a connection point for other bus service lines or methods of transportation. Oftentimes, transit centers act as a “park and ride” facility and a way to reach downtown or major shopping areas. They usually provide
shelter for users waiting to catch a bus or a ride, restrooms and an information center.
In 2019, RTA staff identified potential locations for a transit center within Gunnison during the development of the City of Gunnison’s most recent comprehensive plan, but the pandemic put the search on pause. The sites surveyed included the Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport, the northeast
corner of New York Avenue and Pine Street, Teller and Hwy. 50 near the visitor center and the preferred Gunnison Rec Center. Some of the criteria used to evaluate each possible location were its proximity to affordable housing, Western Colorado University and groceries, as well as ease of access for cyclists and pedestrians and Hwy. 50 and 135. The Gunnison
“In this day and age where everything is for tourists and second homeowners, where everything is being stripped away slowly, bit by bit, this is one last thing that’s just for us.”
— Jessy Hill, participant in Sweaty Kids Film Fest
Richard Lee Ake
Richard “Rick” Lee Ake passed away peacefully at his home in Neosho, Missouri on Feb. 9, 2023.
Rick was born on March 2, 1958. He grew up in Golden, Colorado and moved to Gunnison, Colorado in 1980 where he attended Western State College, graduating with English and geology degrees.
He was a “woodsman of the woods” and had a successful logging business for many years. He also worked at
See story on B1
The Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority (RTA) board recently approved the spring, summer and fall bus schedule, which will begin on April 3, 2023. The schedule includes 28 round trips, up from 19 last year.
While the schedule includes expanded service for riders, it also allows the RTA to retain more staff — creating less of a jump from fall to winter. said Executive Director Scott Truex.
“More year-round employees will mean that it's easier to have more year-round people in our housing units,” he said. “It's all symbiotic.”
The Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office is now charging $5 for VIN inspections at the sheriff's office and $10 for inspections at other locations. It is common practice in Colorado for law enforcement agencies to charge a minimal fee for VIN inspections. The sher iff 's office selected a price that matched what surrounding communities and counties charge.
The City of Gunnison’s Police Department and the Crested Butte Marshal's Office already have their own VIN fee schedules, but Mt. Crested Butte Police Department will absorb these changes as the county contracts with them for service. Revenue collected for these inspections will be placed into the sheriff ’s office general fund.
Last week’s A Glance into History column by George Sibley was mistakenly pulled from Times archives and published without updating, editing or consultation with the author. We apologize for the error.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) in the Gothic Building Rental Shop as a ski repair technician, Curecanti Recreation Area as a trail crew supervisor for many summers and at the LeChot Funeral Home in Gunnison for 12 years. Rick loved the outdoors and all the Gunnison Valley has to offer. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, skiing and boating. He developed a passion for star watching and astronomy and became an active member of the Gunnison Observatory from its beginning.
He was a photographer, painter, writer and storyteller. Rick’s humor and laughter will be missed.
Rick was predeceased by his parents Lila and Dick Ake. He is survived by his brother Jon Ake and family, his extended family and many friends in the Gunnison Valley.
Donations may be made to the Gunnison Observatory in Rick’s memory.
1920sf home and a fully remodeled basement with 2 car detached garage conveniently located near the new library & trail system. Includes a cozy great room & bonus room for storage or crafts. Easy to show! 108 Irwin Street; $649,000.
MAKE AN OFFER 3 bdrm/2 bath, ranch level home with a walkout basement. Open kitchen & dining area with a pellet stove. Property has an attached oversized 2 car garage. Over 1,800sf with great southern views of Sawtooth Mountain & covenants. 851 County Road 18; $435,000.
porch & attached 2 car garage. Interior was recently painted, house is 1,344sf & the garage is 630sf. The yard features aspens & evergreens. 102 S. 8th St; $495,000.
NEW LISTING Fantastic opportunity to run your business out of this 2535sf shop with two 14 foot garage door openings, as well as an 8 foot garage door, ¾ bath & a ½ bath and 665sf of office space. Fully fenced & secure yard for company vehicles, garage doors & new forced air heaters. 555 S. 10th St.; $900,000.
FANTASTIC 3 bedroom/2 bath home with woodstove, large open kitchen, laundry room & work shed in Pitkin. Built in 2012, great condition, tile entryway, tucked away in the trees. 832 River Street; $479,000.
OHIO CITY Opportunity knocks at Sportsmans Resort! Year-round access location, mature trees, positioned on 1.28 acres, would make a great retreat or base camp. Ride Cumberland Pass over to Taylor Reservoir for the day. 116 County Road 771; $499,900.
HOME ON 50 ACRES in Ohio City features an excellent mixture of wildlife, nearby trails, aspen, pines & 300 feet of Gold Creek frontage. 3 bdrm/2 bath house, huge attached garage, large detached barn, touched by Forest Service lands. 5498 County Road 771; $1,750,000.
OVER 1,900SF log cabin on 35 acres features 2 bedrooms, an open living room & kitchen with custom made oak cabinets, Upstairs loft includes additional beds for guests & the woodstove keeps the cabin warm. Well in place & solar panels for electricity. Seasonal pond and sold partially furnished. Lot 1 Stratman Subdivision; $425,000.
MINING CLAIM 9.80 acre high alpine mining claim located outside the town of Whitepine. Forest Service Road 7888; $20,000.
The setting sun illuminated the Lake City Bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir Feb. 11.
Jacob Spetzler
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
The City of Gunnison has been honored yet again with a distinction for creative excellence. In recent weeks, the city was added to Colorado’s Creative Corridor, a 331-mile trail that links the mountain towns of Carbondale, Paonia, Crested Butte, Ridgeway and Salida — and now, Gunnison. The route is meant to offer travelers and tourists an artistic lens through which to explore the rural Western Slope, bringing out-of-towners into the folds of mountain life with the best of what each town has to offer.
The state’s recognition of Gunnison’s artistic scene happened a little over a year ago, when the city was formally designated by Colorado Creative Industries (CCI) as a Creative District, one of only 30 in the state. Gunnison County is the only Western Slope county that has two creative districts within its boundaries, and being a Creative District opened the door for inclusion in the corridor.
State funding that came with designation as a Creative District allowed the nonprofit to form a permanent board of directors and craft a strategic plan. Those funds also supported the continuation of the Gunnison Arts Center events ArtWalk Festival and First Fridays ArtWalk and Music. Those efforts, combined, help the artistic scene have a “bigger and broader” impact in the valley, Gunnison Creative District Board Chair Arly Landry said.
“One of our objectives as a Creative District is to highlight and bolster our creatives within the community,” Carlie Kenton, director of the Gunnison
Creative District, said. “This was one of our first objectives, to join this regional group of partners that are putting their communities out into the world as a place to experience creativity and the arts, along with our beautiful surroundings.”
The Creative Corridor website offers itineraries for every city, highlighting food, music and entertainment options. The corridor is meant to help cities on the central Western Slope share tourists and provide visitors with a multi-weekend or multicity experience in one region, Landry said.
The road that connects cities on the corridor’s map already went through Gunnison, Kenton said, so the addition of Gunnison’s vibrant art scene to the path seemed like an intuitive one. The hope is that adding the city to the corridor’s map will help spread the word about Gunnison-based artists to people around the state. Kenton highlighted the city’s many craft industries, like breweries, coffee roasters and handcrafted body products as reasons to celebrate the artistic depth of valley residents.
The maps are printed and handed out for distribution at cities’ Chamber of Commerce offices, to help tourists decide how to spend their precious few days in the valley.
“It puts us on the map as a creative destination,” Kenton said. "So where you might think of Gunnison as a great place to ride mountain bikes, or go hik-
ing or ski, it puts us on the map as a place to come and experience creatives of all different forms.”
Gunnison Chamber of Commerce Director Celeste Helminski said the chamber has distributed the Creative Corridor maps for years.
“We think that it's a wonderful addition to be able to be on the map that people are following throughout this regional corridor,” she said. “We're just happy to be added on to it. It's a great way to be part of a larger picture.”
Although the city has yet to be added to the Corridor’s website, the Creative District is already working on a directory that will feature artists, creators and makers in the valley, aimed to be discoverable by potential patrons. In just a few weeks, people from all over the state will congregate in Crested Butte for the annual Creative Industries Conference, and Gunnison will host a small satellite celebration.
“There's so many creative makers in this valley, who have a cottage industry,” Landry said. “Maybe they're working from a home studio and a lot of them just don't have the resources to be discoverable or acknowledged for what they are creating. That is something that will be really profound in the lives of creatives in our valley.”
(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@ gunnisontimes.com.)
PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE
God’s power. His promises, “to be partaker of the divine nature” “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness...love.”
Second Peter 1:3-7
Selected and provided by Gene Siemer
Jacob Spetzler
ALAN WARTES MEDIA
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Libby Marsden libby@gunnisontimes.com
Anthropologists from another planet sent here to study human beings would certainly note that we are driven and defined by the pursuit of certain basic needs, like food, shelter, sex and safety. But sooner or later, they’d realize that something else belongs on that list that is not physical, but psychological in nature: our need to know.
What’s over the horizon? What will tomorrow bring? What are my neighbors thinking, and are they friend or foe?
In fact, our passionate — sometimes pathological — need to know probably belongs at the top of the list, because we so often put the other items at risk in search of answers we can use to gain control over our lives.
Not knowing is stressful. Ask anyone who is experiencing a frightening medical condition without a clear diagnosis. Not knowing often feels worse than the symptoms themselves.
That is a descriptive analogy for the state of the world these days: stressful uncertainty as we deal with obvious symptoms of dysfunction without understanding its causes, much less its cure. Examples can be found in every direction.
In this edition of the Times we report on the fact that the pandemic-era extension in Medicaid coverage is coming to an end for a sizable number of people in our community. That includes food benefits as well, and next week we’ll report more on that. The word “uncertainty” hardly covers what those people must be feeling.
We report that trace amounts of potentially dangerous “forever” chemicals are present in our water supply. Not enough to cause harm, it is thought, but what happens when the Environmental Protection Agency lowers legal limits below levels found locally? Who pays for cleanup? The city has joined a lawsuit to try and deal with the uncertainty.
Name the issue — wolves, grocery store mergers, water, inflation, dollar devaluation, war — and you’ll find a lot that we don’t know. It’s enough to keep you awake all night and fearful all day. True, uncertainty is just a part of life, but we might as well acknowledge that there’s a lot more to go around these days than in recent memory. We do ourselves no favors by clinging to denial.
Why? Because that kind of stress puts real strain on a community. It saturates families, schools, businesses, government and churches. Left unchecked it saps hope and poisons possibility.
So, let’s check it.
The great American physicist and philosopher Richard P.
Feynman had this to say about uncertainty.
“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives. We will not become enthusiastic for the fact, the knowledge, the absolute truth of the day, but remain always uncertain … In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar.”
I propose two steps we can take to pull ourselves together to face an uncertain future.
First, let’s challenge those things we know “for sure” that might be wrong. As Feynman suggests, those may be more harmful to progress and resilience than unanswered questions. In recent years, it’s become alarmingly common for people to declare fact to be theory and theory to be fact. Turns out that leaving “the door to the unknown ajar” is the healthier choice.
Second, let’s turn on the light and inventory what we do have, what we do know about ourselves and our community, that sets us apart from other places. Here’s a short list to get us started:
• We have easy access to our elected officials. They live here. They meet regularly, often holding hearings specifically designed to listen to you. Have a concern? An idea? There is nothing stopping you from
engaging and speaking up.
• We have local nonprofits for just about every issue — over a hundred of them. The people who donate their time, work and money to them are our neighbors, not faceless cogs behind a website or on the phone. If you feel uncertain and afraid, nothing will take your mind off of that better than joining them, rolling up your sleeves and getting to work making things better for someone else.
• We have local business owners and entrepreneurs who are deeply invested in the health and wellbeing of our community. Give them your patronage every chance you get.
• We have Western Colorado University. Many students are enrolled in programs that require them to complete a real-world project to benefit the community. They are actively involved in improving health care, environmental conditions, planning and policy and so on.
• We have each other and a shared sense of belonging and accomplishment in surviving here. Try saying that in the big city.
Yes, uncertainty abounds. But so do ample reasons for courage, hope and solidarity in the face of it. Embrace those and we’ll leave open “opportunities for alternatives” that we wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
(Alan Wartes can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or publisher@gunnisontimes.com.)
THE GUNNISON COUNTRY TIMES (ISSN 0892-1113) is published weekly by Alan Wartes Media LLC., 218 N. Wisconsin St., Gunnison, Colorado 81230. Periodical postage paid at Gunnison, Colorado. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Gunnison Country Times, 218 N. Wisconsin, Gunnison, CO 81230-0240
Winter Hours: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday through Friday
On Feb. 15, the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association (GCSA), filed detailed written comments on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife draft plan for the introduction of wolves into western Colorado with the Colorado Wildlife Commission. The association — one of the state’s oldest and most respected livestock associations — is seriously concerned about the process laid out by CPW and the future of both their long standing ranching operations as well as the existing big game and other wildlife in the Gunnison Valley.
Coming from the GCSA, an organization long regarded by many as a progressive leader throughout the West in integrating high altitude ranching with the needs of the local environment, community and wildlife, the comments note the potential for imminent harm to the Gunnison Basin from
CPW’s proposals in their present form.
A further analysis of the comments raises the specter of a CPW process going “off the rails” without adequate transparency or funding and with the required federal approvals lacking and out of sequence.
Over six weeks in development by a coordinated legal and technical team, the 20-page comment document was endorsed by 51 ranches and
individuals in the Gunnison Valley, representing almost all the working ranching lands in the area. The comments detail major concerns about CPW’s proposal to introduce gray wolves into the “fishbowl” of an already highly coordinated resource management scheme in the upper Gunnison Valley.
“Since Gunnison Valley is the centerpiece of the CPW introduction proposals for 2024, we took a really serious look at the whole process CPW is undertaking,” said GCSA President Hannah Kersting.
Noting that their review of the CPW process is “on-going” and “in-depth” , GCSA’s comments called out several deficiencies in the CPW planning process at the present time.
“If commenters at the hearings are going to be severely limited in both time and number to such strict formats, which has happened at all of the pub-
lic’s opportunities to testify so far, then we felt compelled to go all in with our concerns in writing,” Kersting said.
Those concerns include CPW moving forward without:
• dedicated funding for the programmatic costs of the wolf introduction and its associated mitigation and depredation costs, and no actual plan for on the ground staffing and operations
• a mature Section 10(j) rule under the Endangered Species Act from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to authorize the management of wolves in Colorado and the terms thereunder
• federal NEPA authorization for the use and occupancy of the federal lands in the area, when Gunnison County is 80% federally owned and the state lands in Gunnison County
continued from A4
amount to only 1.1% of the total land area, CPW citing lack of funding and support for the required NEPA analysis
• analysis of potential and likely impacts of wolf introduction upon the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse and the thousands of acres of private lands (many of which are held by members of the GCSA) covered by sage-grouse Candidate
Editor:
I’ve been recording the price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at City Market since Dec. 30, 2022:
December 30 - $3.09
January - $3.19
January 21 - $3.59
January 27 - $3.79
January 31- $3.99
February 14 - $4.09
February 16 - $ 4.19
Welcome to the California mixture of gasoline and the 35% increase in six weeks. Add this to the $6 for a carton of eggs (if you can find them), increases in rents, taxes and insurance. Ten thousand dollars more per family to live here since the beginning of Biden/Polis inflation beginning two years ago.
The stress meter for families living paycheck-to-paycheck in Gunnison is off the charts. All for the sake of climate change. Families struggle while Biden is involved in blowing up Nord Stream II that emitted over 400,000 tons of gas into the atmosphere. Add the $113 billion of aid to Ukraine to our federal deficit closing in on $32 trillion.
Inflation takes aways your freedom. Freedom to have the money to take that vacation, buy your children that special item or provide the healthy meals they deserve.
If you don’t petition your local, state, and federal officials nothing will change. The ball is in your court.
Neil Watko Gunnison
Editor:
KBUT is so incredibly grateful for the support of our community during our Pledge Drive, which ended Friday the 17. Six months ago, we asked for $50,000 for the first time ever during our Summer Pledge Drive, and our listeners helped us reach our goal before the last day of the drive started.
We raised the stakes for our Winter Drive, asking for an unprecedented $60,000 in community support, and still reached our goal more than a day early. Each of the last four drives at KBUT have been accurately described as "the most successful in KBUT history,” and this one was no exception.
In the coming weeks you’ll hear thank yous to the dozens of local businesses that kept the DJs, phone ops and staff fed
Conservation Agreements with Assurances and Certificates of Inclusion
• acknowledgement of the expensive winter feeding programs to protect and save the Gunnison elk and deer herds through very harsh Gunnison winters undertaken by CPW, Gunnison ranchers and members of the Gunnison community over the years and the impact introduction of wolves on those steep slopes and in deep snow
will have on that investment. The final public hearing by the Colorado Wildlife Commission on the draft wolf plan was held on Feb. 22, 2023 in Denver.
(Ken Spann is a fifth-generation Gunnison Valley Ranch and a member of the Gunnison Valley Stockgrowers’ Association.)
during the drive. There are too many to thank here. We’d like to thank I Bar Ranch, The Corner Cupboard and Blackstock Bistro for donating prizes for our early bird drawing and Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the Vail Epic Promise Foundation for donating our grand prize.
On behalf of the staff, volunteers and board of directors at KBUT, I just want to say that we are humbled, grateful and absolutely blown away by the love this community has shown KBUT over the years. The level of financial support we receive from our listeners has grown with the station, inflation and the rising costs of keeping community radio for the Gunnison Valley going strong.
We need the money to keep operating, but feeling so much love from our community is really what keeps us doing what we do. Thank you to the Gunnison Valley, and all our listener members worldwide. We love you back.
Jackson Petito KBUT
Editor:
The Gunnison CARA Gymnastics team would like to extend a huge thank you to the Elks Lodge for hosting our benefit bingo Feb. 17. We are beyond thrilled to have this successful fundraiser back after a few years away due to COVID.
The support of the Elks staff along with many businesses and individuals in Gunnison and Crested Butte is greatly appreciated. We are working hard in preparation for our summer competition season and grateful to the community for your support. Thank you!
For the community, by the community
Editor:
On behalf of the Crested Butte Ski Patrol we want to thank all of you for the tremendous outpouring of support to this year’s Wall to Wall community fundraiser.
In spite of challenging times for many, people really rallied this year to help support the community. It was awesome and encouraging to see all the support and the event was a
huge success.
We are still making our final counts, but we have already raised the most money in this fundraiser's history. We want you to know that all proceeds go directly back into the community in the form of grants to assist those in need. Nominations will stay open until March 10, 2023 and recipients will be voted on based on the greatest demonstrated need. Grant recipients will be notified by March 15.
Many community members have benefited from grants to help with challenges such as serious injury, medical diagnoses requiring ongoing care, family hardships, high medical expenses and much more.
If you or someone you know is experiencing any form of hardship and could benefit from a grant please apply. To nominate please stop at the patrol shack below the top of Silver Queen to fill out a form or email CBSPcommunityfund@ gmail.com. Please cc rwry1@ vailresorts.com with: the name of the person you are nominating and a brief description of how they could benefit from the support. The deadline for nominations is March 10.
Thank you to everyone that showed up, donated and supported this event. And a very special thanks to our major sponsors. For a list, please see page B9 in the Times this week. This is an event for the community by the community and we could not have done it without you. Thank you all so much for coming out to show your support.
Rachel Wry Crested Butte Ski PatrolThank you for the care and comfort
Editor: The family of Marilyn Katheiser would like to thank everyone for the meals, cards, phone calls and kind words in our time of loss. A very special thank you to our local hospice for their wonderful care, comfort and support when we needed it most.
Katheiser Family Parlin
and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, have been detected in the city’s groundwater system, the exact source is unknown.
The Colorado Rural Water Association — which provides training to water and wastewater operators that serve small communities in Colorado — and 49 other rural water affiliates have voted to engage with the national law firm, Napoli Shkolnik to fi le the action. Th e firm is fighting to win compensation for water utilities that have been impacted or need to remediate these chemicals.
If successful, the lawsuit would provide an opportunity for water and wastewater systems to recover expenses for future testing and treatment of PFAS contamination. Approximately 900 water utilities around the country have joined the case so far, including the Colorado municipalities of Thorton, Walden and now the City of Gunnison. Th e trial date is set for June 5, 2023 in Charleston, South Carolina.
At a regular meeting on Feb. 14, the city council unanimously voted to join the multijurisdictional litigation, which comes at no cost to the city. Staff encouraged council to join the lawsuit to protect not only the health of the community, but to guard against any potential rate increases needed to mitigate any PFAS levels found in Gunnison’s drinking water.
Because PFAS are called
from A1
changes and more development takes place,” City of Gunnison Building Official Eric Jansen said. “Structures are lost and things change.”
More precise measuring may change the maps, Gunnison County Planning Director and Floodplain Manager Hillary Seminick said. This could include changes to the boundary of a given floodplain, changes to the base fl ood elevation — which is the height of the 100-year flood event — or even changes to the marked boundary of the river. As these boundaries change, so too could insurance requirements. Residences may be added or completely removed from the “Special Hazard Area,” within flood insurance is required.
“It's important to update these maps because it allows floodplain managers like myself to use the most accurate information to manage, develop and identify risks within the floodplain,” Seminick said.
Flooding can occur within city limits any time of the year, but the risk is especially high during spring snowmelt season or in winter, when ice obstructs waterways. The city’s floodplain area, as defined by the 2013 map, primarily includes the reaches of the Gunnison River from Garlic Mike’s down to the Gunnison Whitewater Park. Construction in the last
“everywhere” and “forever” compounds, they do not disintegrate in the environment, said Sam Wade, a water consultant for Napoli Shkolnik. These chemicals have water- and grease-resistant properties and are used in an exhaustive list of products, such as non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, fast food packaging, shampoo, paints and firefighting foams.
“They're literally in everything that we come into contact with on a daily basis,” Wade said.
Increased exposure to the chemicals can cause numerous types of cancer, thyroid problems and pregnancy risks. Studies show that 94% of the population has detectable levels in their bloodstream, he said. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 120,000 facilities around the country may expose communities to PFAS — the biggest clusters found in Oklahoma and Colorado.
Although PFAS have been manufactured since the 1940s, worry about their impact on human health escalated in the early 2000s when it was detected in the blood of people and animals. Since then, hundreds of diff erent PFAS chemicals have been found in water, soil, fish and even in the air. As researchers learn more about the chemicals and their effects, many public utilities anticipate that regulatory changes from the EPA will follow.
Last summer, EPA revised its health advisories for PFAS, reducing the previous guideline from 70 parts per trillion
decade has precipitated a need for better maps, Jansen said.
Two floodplain studies are currently underway in Gunnison County.
International firm WSP Engineering is conducting the surveys and models. The first is mapping portions of the Gunnison River through the City of Gunnison, and a portion of Coal Creek near the Town of Crested Butte. Another county-wide project aims to map drainage basins greater than a square mile, Marta Blanco Castaño, flood mapping program assistant with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), said.
Updated mapping has already significantly changed the boundaries of floodplain designations in neighboring counties. In Ouray County, for example, mitigation projects, like rerouted streams, have made development in the area less risky and reduced the size of the floodplain.
Local, state and national organizations collaborate to create these maps. The current effort began in 2020, when CWCB applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding for the project. Scoping of the land and analysis ran for two years, before meetings with county stakeholders began in the summer of 2022. The county and city have the chance to weigh in on and guide the project, as they have managerial and permitting authority over the area.
(ppt) for per (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in drinking water by more than a thousandfold — to 0.02 ppt for PFOS, and 0.004 ppt for PFOA. levels are so tiny that they are not accurately measurable or enforceable, but the new limits will provide direction in setting federal and state drinking water restrictions in the future.
Part of the EPA’s plan is to establish an enforceable contaminant level as soon as next month, Wade said.
“We're all waiting to see what level that will be set at,” Wade said. “Our advice to utilities is, if you have detections at any level, it's going to cost money.”
Gunnison’s Public Works Department detected minute amounts of PFAS in the city’s well system during a voluntary sampling study in 2020, said Director David Gardner. Five out of the city’s nine wells showed low, but traceable amounts of PFAS. These are not yet levels that need to be treated, Gardner said.
Gardner recommended that the city enter the litigation, anticipating future costs for further testing and clean up, if needed.
“The EPA has lowered those limits, and may keep on lowering it to a point where we're going to have to do something,” Gardner said. “That's where this [lawsuit] comes in, because taking PFAS out of the water is going to be expensive, especially for a small system like we have here.”
It can be difficult to visualize how minute a particle one part
Local mapping reflects FEMA’s shifting priorities, Castaño said. In the past, 20 to 40 years could lapse between studies, with rural places like western Colorado traditionally getting less attention. But the early 2010s saw a resurgence of funding for floodplain mapping in regions with smaller populations, she said.
“Th e purpose of these studies is not just to study things in the middle of nowhere, it's to study where the risk is, based on development and where the people and property are,” Castaño said.
The notable difference between the 2013 maps and those being drafted now is mapping technology. The new maps are being drafted with a combination of bootson-the ground surveying and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), a remote sensing system that uses lasers to measure distances between objects. LiDAR creates exact contours of the land without surface fixtures like trees or houses, giving officials more precise digital imagery of river basins. Using LiDAR reduces the margin of error for these maps from two or three feet to one tenth of a foot, Jansen said.
The county is also a member of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which is administered through FEMA. The program is designed to provide an alternative to federal disaster assistance for property damage
per million really is, Gunnison Water and Wastewater Superintendent Mike Rogers told the Times. To get an idea, one part per trillion is the equivalent to a single drop of food coloring in 18 million gallons of water. Even though there are only trace amounts present in Gunnison’s water, Rogers believes that any amount of PFAS is too much. It’s also the perfect time for the city to get ahead as it begins the process of constructing a new water treatment plant, which can include a special filtration system to
caused by floods. Residences located in Special Hazard Areas with mortgages from government-backed lenders are required by FEMA to obtain this flood insurance. These maps provide the basis for property owners, insurance agents and lenders to determine what structures are eligible for flood insurance.
Floodplain maps are not only used by insurance brokers. Gunnison County Community and Economic Department refers to these maps when reviewing any development within a floodplain, Seminick said. The department will then advise the public if they are in that floodplain and guide them through the floodplain development permit application process, as any permanent development in a floodplain, even a footbridge, needs this permit.
The valley has experienced several flooding events in the last 30 years, most recently in 2016 as a result of an ice jam — a reminder, Jansen said, that flooding isn’t limited to the spring runoff season. Floods in 1984, 1996 and 2008 damaged property in town. Gunnison County Emergency Management Manager Scott Morrill worked Search and Rescue during the 1984 flood, and recalled providing people who lived south of the McCabe's Lane Bridge
remove the chemicals, he said. Other municipalities won’t be so lucky, if new limits are enforced, and may face millions of dollars in cost to alter their treatment processes.
“The thought is, if a giant corporation made this forever chemical, why do the residents have to have rate increases to pay for that new treatment?” Rogers said.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@ gunnisontimes.com.)
with food and water while their homes flooded.
Drought conditions can exacerbate flood damage, Morrill said, because when the soil gets dry enough, it can become hydrophobic, meaning it's so dry that the surface cannot absorb water, which ends up beading on the surface and rolling off. Over time, agencies that monitor snowpack and runoff are taking soil health into consideration, to help gauge how water will actually re-enter the ground.
The Gunnison River Basin is experiencing above-average snowpack this year, sitting at around 140%, meaning valley residents should start preparing for snowmelt flooding early, Morrill said.
“Now's a good time for people to start thinking about that and start preparing, should we get a lot more snow and the snow comes off in a hurry,” he said.
For more information about flood season scan the QR code below:
Rec Center, already a stop along the RTA’s bus route, was the only spot that checked all of the boxes. At a regular meeting on Feb. 17, the RTA board unanimously approved the potential location with plans to present the site analysis to city council in April. With approval, construction could begin as soon as 2025.
RTA Executive Director Scott Truex priced a transit center at about $3.5 million — a cost that will be reduced by a $1 million grant the RTA recently received from the state. To cover the remaining gap, Truex hopes to apply for more funding. But it is difficult to apply for a grant without having a project location, he said. At the same time, the deadline for another significant grant cycle is quickly approaching.
The preferred transit center location is situated on the southeast side of the Gunnison Rec Center property near the present bus stop on Spencer Avenue. It also sits right on top of one the Rec Center’s two U-9 soccer fields.
This land is owned by the city, which cannot sell it without first receiving voter approval. But city staff can provide a long-term lease with approval from city council — speeding up the process and the likelihood the RTA will be eligible for more grant money for the project.
Once complete, the transit center would link the RTA’s current commuter bus route between Gunnison and Crested Butte to other transit services within the valley. This would include the Bustang line that moves riders to and from Denver — and possibly west to Montrose in the future — and a potential “fixed route” system that just moves riders just through Gunnison. The this location also leaves room for Gunnison Valley Health’s senior buses as well as hotel shuttles.
The only change to the RTA’s
route would be adding a stop at the new transit center when the bus is northbound. This would replace the stop at the corner of Denver and Hwy. 135 in front of Mochas.
RTA board member Jim Miles said that although he supported the location, he worried about the amount of parking space needed for a functional facility. Boe Freeburn, another member of the board, agreed. The pair also serve on Gunnison’s city council.
Space may be available to the north of the existing parking lot, but there still is a chance it is used for phase three of the Rec Center, Freeburn said.
“There's no parking available as it is now, so if we have the demands of a bus terminal there, that would be a problem,” Freeburn said.
Laura Puckett Daniels, the newest member of the board, said she worried about the loss of the valley’s field space — a commodity already in shortage.
“For the RTA, this is absolutely the best location,” Puckett Daniels said. “I'm not saying don't pursue it, but you might face some resistance from folks that are already desperate for fi eld space, because there is very little fl at irrigated land that can be expanded.”
Board member Liz Smith asked about the viability of moving the project to the north of the existing Rec Center building, where there is mostly vacant land.
Th e western side of the parcel was selected as a “backup plan,” Truex said. The RTA selected the south side for its decent line of sight to all of the bus stops, allowing people waiting inside to see when buses arrive. He also noted significant drainage problems to the west.
“From a passenger standpoint, this is a better location,” Truex said.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@ gunnisontimes.com.)
In just a few months, some Gunnison residents may lose their Medicaid eligibility as the end of the three-year national COVID public health emergency is rapidly approaching. During the health emergency, a federal law provided for Medicaid “continuous enrollment,” meaning states were not re-evaluating individuals’ eligibility for the program, allowing people to stay in the system for years even if their income increased. Come May, Colorado Medicaid officials will officially begin re-evaluations, calling into question millions of Americans’ health insurance status.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a law including a requirement t hat, in exchange for enhanced federal funding, Medicaid programs keep people continuously enrolled through the end of the public health emergency. Essentially, since January of 2020, each state has stopped doublechecking to see if its residents continue to qualify for Medicaid.
This “continuous coverage requirement” also applied to Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), another federally-subsidized health insurance program
available to pregnant people and children. In the last three years, the continuous enrollment provision has substantially grown the number of people enrolled in Medicaid and lowered the national uninsured rate. Colorado’s Medicaid program, Health First Colorado, saw nearly 500,000 people enrolled since the beginning of the pandemic, growing from 1.2 million in January of 2020 to 1.7 million in February of 2023.
As part of a year-end spending bill, Congress “decoupled” the Medicaid continuous enrollment and emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from the public health emergency. This means that even if the president were to extend the emergency again, Medicaid and food stamps still go back to pre-pandemic eligibility. The Biden Administration estimates that this administrative change will leave upwards of 15 million people, or a sixth of total Medicaid enrollees, without coverage. In Gunnison County, ripples could hit the nearly 4,000 people enrolled in the program.
“I think there are going to be a fair amount of individuals and families that are going to be deemed ineligible for Medicaid, primarily for being either over income or overresourced,” Brad Wheaton, deputy director at Gunnison Department of Health and Human Services, said.
Health and human services
1. Connect for Health Colorado. Individuals can receive tax credits from the state to access more affordable health insurance. Individuals will have 60 days after their Medicaid benefits end to sign up for coverage on the state’s health insurance marketplace.
2. Employer-sponsored insurance. Some employers will offer private health insurance plans.
3. Family member’s insurance. Individuals 25 and under may qualify for coverage under a parent or relatives’ health insurance.
4. Medicare. This is a federal health insurance program for people 65 or older, or people under 65 with certain disabilities or end-stage renal disease.
5. TRICARE. A health care program for active-duty and retired uniformed services members and their families.
6. Child Health Plan+. Even if parents are no longer qualified for Medicaid, depending on what that income is, their children could be covered through CHP, which covers kids from birth through age 18. It also covers women during pregnancy and 12 months after giving birth.
works directly with Medicaid recipients, as staff there determines eligibility for those going onto the program. Th e biggest barrier people will face getting onto, or back onto, Medicaid is making too much money, Wheaton said.
“If a single adult has a gross income over $1,507, you pretty much get pushed to the marketplace to purchase private health insurance,” he said. “So, the bar is fairly low.”
The state has been sending out notices via email, social media and snail mail for people on Medicaid and food stamps, Wheaton said. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), the office that manages Medicaid enrollment, will take 12-14 months to transition back to normal eligibility rules. The county will continue to review eligibility requirements per the month the individual originally signed up.
“Not having health coverage can lead to devastating financial consequences in the event that someone were to become ill or be injured, and accrue severe hospital bills or health care bills related to their illness or injury,” HCPF Public Information Officer Marc Williams said.
Even though the enrollment window on the state’s health insurance market, Connect for Health Colorado, closed, the end of the public health emergency will count as a “qualifying event,” making a buyer once again eligible to enroll in
subsidized health insurance.
A variety of things will remain from pandemic-era healthcare, Williams said, including telehealth. Although federal funding will dry up for the online service, the legislature approved general fund support for telehealth visits for both Medicaid and CHP+ members.
It is critically important for people to take action, he said, and provide the information that is requested and sign the renewal notice. People enrolled in Medicaid tend to move fairly frequently, he said, so one of the biggest reasons that people often get dis-enrolled — even though they may financially meet the requirements — is they neglect to sign that form.
“We end up having to deny their benefits, because they didn't completely fill out the paperwork that we sent them,” he said. “It's not a time to panic. But when they do receive an enrollment packet, it is important that they fill it out and return it within the deadlines that are requested.”
Individuals can visit co.gov/ peak to update their contact information or opt-in to text or email renewal notices. A PEAK health app is also available for both Apple and Android phones.
(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@gunnisontimes.com.)
A new food pantry has formally opened its doors to serve students at Western Colorado University. Mountaineer Food Hub, operating in the basement of Western’s Leslie J. Savage Library, opened on Feb. 7. As soon as the doors opened, students were lining up for distributions, and the hub served nearly 30 students on opening day alone.
“Almost every student who walked into that food pantry that day, their eyes were wide and their jaws dropped,” said Gunnison Country Food Pantry Executive Director Jodi Payne. “It's a humble space, it's a small space, but students were so grateful.”
The wheels started turning nearly a year ago, when the food
pantry was invited to participate on Western’s Hunger Free Campus Committee, to help the university address food disparities on campus. At the time, there was a once-a-month popup pantry for students, but in 2022, the group facilitating the project, honor society Omicron Delta Kappa, disbanded. In response, students started brainstorming how to keep the service available.
“I'm not sure people believe, or take seriously, student food insecurity,” Payne said. “People often have the perception that mom and dad or whoever is footing the bill for college is in the picture and helpful financially. But time and time again, we're finding that that's not the case for Western students.”
Need intensified after the pandemic, as costs of living rose across the board, said Christine Spiers, program coordinator for student health and wellness and Western student. That reality boils down to daily sacrifices, she said, like skipping a meal to buy a textbook or eating pro-
cessed food to save for utilities.
“Most students are paying for school as well as paying their rent and paying for food,” she said. “And so as students, we often skip meals in order to meet our needs.”
In 2022, Western’s student affairs and student health and wellness departments began working with the pantry to build the program. Half a year later, students were lining up outside room 115 for food.
The hub receives food from Care and Share Food Bank, a Colorado nonprofit that distributes food to pantries all over the state. Through the partnership with the food pantry, the hub is also eligible for food from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans. It also receives funding from the school and community donations.
The details are still being hammered out. The food pantry is working with Western to decide how much food it will need regularly and what should
be in the inventory. So far, the hub has been able to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables and gluten-free and non-dairy alternatives. The goal is to serve the student population, Spiers said, which means including snacks alongside more nutrient-dense, fresh food.
The partnership is mutually beneficial, Payne said. When one of the pantries receives an excess of a certain type of food, trades can occur to even the scales for both locations.
“The food pantry could get something ridiculous, like 10 pallets of watermelons, and we don't know what to do with that,” she said. “But [Western’s] ordering side is a little different from ours so they might get four pallets of peanut butter, and because we have this relationship, we're able to trade. Ultimately, I think this will mean less food will go to waste.”
Spiers said the feedback on opening day was positive, focused on how the food hub was serving a real need in Western’s student community. The food hub is open for stu-
dents twice a week on Tuesdays and the fi rst Friday of every month from 2-4 p.m.
As part of its big game season structure (BGSS) planning process, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is seeking input from resident and nonresident big game hunters about certain topics under consideration.
CPW is encouraging the public to complete a comment form on the current season structure and potential changes CPW is considering. The opportunity to comment will be open through March 15, 2023. The following are BGSS topics being considered:
• Alternatives regarding overthe-counter archery and rifle elk licenses
• Alternatives for rifle season date structures for deer and elk
• Adding rifle deer opportunities to the first regular rifle season
• Adding a second regular rifle buck and doe pronghorn season
• Early season (archery and muzzleloader) date structures
• Current weighted-point draw system for bighorn sheep, mountain goat and moose
The options provided in the comment form are starting points for discussion and not final options to vote on. These options will be further considered and modified as needed during public meeting opportunities in the spring and summer of 2023. Sign up for CPW’s monthly email newsletters to be notified of details, dates and locations of those meetings. Input gathered through the comment form and public meetings will be used to develop BGSS recommendations to the Parks and Wildlife Commission.
What is the big game season structure planning process, and why is it important?
The BGSS planning process is a critical component of big game management and big game hunting regulation development. The central purpose of the BGSS planning process is to determine w hat, when and where types of big game hunting opportunities are available and how opportunities are divided among hunters. Through this planning process, CPW is better able to maintain healthy wildlife populations in keeping with management objectives and provide recreational benefits for the hunting and non-hunting public.
Why is CPW evaluating BGSS now?
CPW evaluates and updates the BGSS to gather internal and external input, evaluate the current season structure and identify emerging issues related to season structure. CPW then uses that information to develop policy recommendations for the upcoming framework. This approach helps ensure the administration of hunting is continuously aligned with big game management needs as well as sportspersons interests.
To learn more or submit a comment, scan the QR code below.
(Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife.)
Crested Butte Nordic hosted the 17th annual Gothic Mountain Tour in snowy conditions on Sunday, Feb. 17. The 22-mile backcountry ski event circumnavigates Gothic Mountain with an accumulated vert of 5,000 feet, and is often used as a training tour for the Grand Traverse. Proceeds from the event benefited Crested Butte Nordic and the Crested Butte Avalanche Center.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorned herself with her jewels.
Verse 11
For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
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Lazy K, Gunnison’s newest subdivision has several units still available for purchase by individuals or institutions/businesses! MORE UNITS COMING THIS SPRING. We have 2 units at 80% AMI units meaning if you make less than $50k-$70k/year depending on household size, you may qualify to purchase this new 2 bedroom/1.5 bath unit at $268,271! Applications to determine your eligibility can be found at GVRHA.org. To arrange a viewing or questions about the property, please contact Gunnison Real Estate & Rentals.
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1207 Van Tuyl Circle, 3 bed 2.5 bath, 1628 sqft $710,000 MLS#798505
This hidden gem, single family home within the Van Tuyl Subdivision consists of 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, approximately 1628 sqft. with a detached one car garage with a carport. Updated, move in ready, high ceiling, recessed lights, and open kitchen with an island separating the kitchen from the living room, pellet stove. The abundant natural light from the makes this home appealing and speculator. The other two bedrooms are upstairs with a 3/4 of a bathroom that consists of a walk-in shower with modern touches located in-between inviting, and intriguing home with a master suite downstairs with its own entrance and mini fridge/microwave section. The modern walk-in tiled shower and glass door is an impeccable touch. The storage space in the utility room is fully utilized with shelving and cabinets with front loading washer/dryer easily accessible. It's a must see property that's very inviting worth calling your agent today.
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Xavier Fane
ly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been identified around the state in free-ranging wildlife, most recently in a dead mountain lion in Gunnison County. This HPAI strain, H5N1, has already killed over 90% of the state’s egg-laying hens in the last eight months, and until recently, had only been cropping up in domesticated hens. The Times sat down with state veterinarian Maggie Baldwin to learn more about these new detections and get clarity about how the disease spreads.
How is this strain of HPAI infecting larger mammals, and is it unexpected?
Influenza A viruses are prone to reassort and change species susceptibility. What's unique about this particular outbreak is we've had a high viral load in wild birds. There's a lot of predator species of wildlife that rely on those sick birds as a food source. So, for some of these species, it's not very surprising that we're seeing eating connections, because they're either coming in direct and prolonged contact with these sick birds, or they're eating them as a meal source.
From our perspective, biologically, it makes sense, because they're in that environment, they're in constant contact with that virus and they're consuming birds that are likely infected with this virus. They’re not a primary host of this disease, it's more incidental … We don’t think that these other wildlife mammals that we've detected are going to play a role in transmission, they just end up being
Have there been any detection in domestic mammals like dogs or cats?
We have not seen domestic mammal detections. We haven't seen domestic dogs, cats or people getting sick from this, because they're not really out there interacting with wildlife. They're not out there hunting and preying upon those sick and dying wild birds. Really, what we're seeing is those species that are in constant contact, and with really high viral loads, are likely the mammalian species that are ending up infected.
What do these “species jumps” mean for the potential for avian flu to infect people in the future?
It's hard to say this is a “species jump,” because this virus is not an avian virus, specifically. It is an influenza virus that can impact on all kinds of species, and we've called it a zoonotic disease, because we know it has potential to impact people, although we haven't seen that.
We really still believe that the risk is very, very low, because we've been monitoring thousands and thousands of responders across the U.S. and have had no clinical cases of avian influenza. But influenza viruses just in general can change and they can affect multiple species. We don't believe, at this point in time, that these other mammals are going to be a primary host for this virus.
Traditional forestry methods in the Taylor River Basin such as forest thinning, prescribed fire and attempts to attract beavers back to the floodplain are often considered tools to combat the of a rapidly changing climate. But researchers like geologist Kenneth Williams believe that this type of active management, although designed to boost forest health, can have potential consequences on the watershed
The Taylor River, nearly 50 miles in length, twists and turns through canyons and forests — its flows feeding abundant fisheries and rapids for rafters. In addition to aspen, spruce and Douglas-fi r, Taylor Park, where the Upper Taylor River lies, is home to one of the largest contiguous, mature lodgepole pine forests in Colorado.
Due to the abundance of natural resources it off ers, the Taylor River Basin is “ground zero” for forest health and land management experiments that may give researchers clues about how the watershed and forests interact — providing data that is especially valuable as drought persists across most of the Western Slope.
Research within the Taylor River Basin, often collaborative, is coordinated by the U.S. Forest Service. It is aimed at increasing the drainage’s ability to respond to growing stressors such drought and insect outbreaks, as well as protecting the surrounding communities from the risk of w ildfire.
With access to the timelines of proposed management projects, Williams, who has been studying the valley’s watersheds for nearly a decade, hopes his research team can start taking snapshots of how the forest functions before new projects begin to shape
continued from A12
Were there any of these mammalian detections during the 2015 outbreak of HPAI?
There were not any mammalian detections during that outbreak. What was different about that is that it came in with the migratory birds and it left with the migratory birds, so we didn't have this reservoir of virus in our resident wild bird populations like we are seeing now. That's the reason that we're seeing mammalian spillover, we
the river basin — collecting years of baseline data before the human hand interferes. His desire to get out in front of these projects may lead the team to begin taking measurements in the Taylor River Basin as soon as this summer.
The goal is to “tease the signal apart from the noise,” Williams said. This will give researchers a better chance of detecting any changes to streamflow or how snowfall accumulates and melts before land management activities alter the nature of the forest.
“ These systems are inherently noisy in terms of snowpack, snow melt and runoff,” Williams said. “Every year looks a little bit different. If you want to have any ability to detect a change associated with that management, it's extremely helpful, I would argue almost compulsory, to have that precursory data before you've done any manipulation.”
One example is looking at
now have it in our resident wild bird populations. We've recently detected it in crows and other birds that we really don't think of as migratory birds. So it's here, and because it's here and because it's continuing to remain present, that’s why we’re seeing spillover.
What’s important for the public to know about this strain of HPAI?
We anticipate that as we see an increase in migration in the
Sonja Chavez
Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District
where, when and how snow accumulates in an overgrown forest before trees are thinned either from timber sales or prescribed fire. Although some
coming month or so that we're going to see an increase in the virus detection in both wildlife and potential for spillover into our domestic poultry. Th e important thing for our producers, whether you're a backyard producer or a commercial producer, is going to be to continue the practice of security measures. These mammalian detections are a little bit out of the norm and they can seem a little bit concerning, but it isn't unexpected.
snowflakes that land in a tree’s canopy will melt and reach the forest floor, a large fraction of that intercepted snow doesn’t make it there, Williams said. Th is snow then isn’t able to recharge the soil and feed creeks and streams.
“It's lost from the system,” he said. “Imagine you're altering the density of that forest cover such that more snow makes its way to the land surface. Now you have an opportunity for that snow to melt to replenish soil moisture.”
Overstory data available from Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) — fl ights normally used to help water managers understand the volume of water in their snowpack — are also giving Williams a more complete picture of the characteristics of the forest ecosystem below the wings of the plane.
These flights use a laser imaging system called LiDAR, which calculates snow depth by comparing the eleva-
What can farmers or members of the public do to help prevent the spread of disease?
It doesn't currently hold a threat to the general population in terms of the virus being infective. What's important is awareness that this virus is happening. If you're walking around the park, be aware of what you're tracking in your shoes. If there's geese in the park, and they're defecating, they are shedding the virus in
after the Grizzly Creek Fire.
“Immediately after a forest fire, I think your brain probably has a good handle of what that looks like — a bunch of dead standing black trees,” Williams said. “But it's really the days and weeks thereafter, where you start to see the potential changes for stream characteristics, particularly in terms of water quality.”
With climate change and prolonged drought — fueling a shift to aridification — forests are very much under threat, he said. As water availability decreases, the model used to manage forests across the western U.S. is changing as more researchers try to look at the bigger picture.
“It's really about fi lling gaps in our knowledge,” said Sonja Chavez, general manager at the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District. “We know vegetation management is necessary to reduce wildfire risk. I think his question is what impact does those practices have on the watershed?”
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
their feces. You could also be walking through the virus and transmitting that virus unknowingly to a farm or an area with poultry. Always practice good biosecurity steps so we're not being a vector of disease unknowingly.
(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@ gunnisontimes.com.)
We know vegetation management is necessary to reduce wildfire risk. I think his question is what impact does those practices have on the watershed?
Gunnison High School held its annual Winter Ball last weekend, bringing together students of all grades to dance the night away adorned in shimmering dresses, button-down shirts and Chuck Taylors. Mario’s catered the event, providing pizza and salad to th
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GUNNISON WATERSHED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Gunnison Watershed School District believes that students thrive when they are connected to something bigger than themselves. That’s why we create learning experiences that spark curiosity, helping students discover who they are and how to make a difference in the world around them. And as they excel in academics, athletics, and the arts, students find the confidence to pursue any opportunity in life. Our team is “Driven to be the Difference”
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GUNNISON LIQUOR (The Ghost) is currently looking for part time help. Nights and weekends a must. Stop by with a resume! 603 West Tomichi Ave., Gunnison.
LOADER OPERATORS NEEDED ASAP
IN CB: Very high pay for qualified people. Willing to train the right person. Ski pass and end of season bonus. Call Jean at 970-2758731.
DAVID GROSS GENERAL CONTRACTORS is seeking finish carpenters at top pay. We offer ski passes, 401k, profit sharing, paid vacation and potential health insurance benefits. No subcontractors please. Call DG at 970-901-1798.
City Manager
Full-time: $190,000-$225,000/yr. Working at the direction of the City Council, the City Manager is the city’s chief administrative officer, responsible for day-to-day administration and all her or his duties set forth in the City Charter. Transitional housing is available.
Police Officer Full-time: $62,200-$84,000/yr. $29.90-$40.38/hr.
Performs technical, professional, and administrative duties related to maintaining the security of the City, protecting constitutional guarantees of all persons, protecting life and property, preserving public peace and order, preventing, solving and detecting crimes, facilitating the safe movement of people and vehicles, and other emergency services as needed. POST Certification not required. The City will pay for the Police Academy if needed and pay a cadet wage while attending the Academy. Includes a $5,000 signing bonus.
Part-Time Openings: Tree Dump Gatekeeperup to $23.24/hr. Parking Attendantup to $25.44/hr.
The City of Gunnison offers a competitive benefit package including 75% of medical, dental and vision premiums paid for the employee and their dependents, 5% of gross wages in a retirement plan, 3 weeks of vacation (increasing based on the years of service), 12 paid holidays and 12 days of sick leave per year.
For more information, including complete job descriptions, benefit packages, required job qualifications and application instructions, please visit GunnisonCO.gov/HR
BIG AL’S BICYCLE HEAVEN IS HIRING FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER SEASON: Experienced bike mechanic. Must have shop experience and a positive attitude. FT and PT. Mechanics Apprentice Want to learn? Get your foot in the door as a bike assembler / rental mechanic. FT and PT. Sales Staff. Love bike stuff, Crested Butte and know how to talk to people? Join our team of sales super stars. FT & PT All positions start as soon as March 6. Must start by June 1 and commit through Sept. 5. Competitive pay, seasonal bonuses, employee discounts and a fun place to work. Email resume to info@bigalsbicycleheaven. com or apply on-line at bigalsbicycleheaven. com.
NO EXPERIENCE? NO WORRIES: We provide on-the-job training. The Town of Crested Butte is looking for a Public Works
*Housing is held for Gunnison County employees and may be available for you to rent*
Seasonal Noxious Weed Program Technician Public Works: Seasonal, 40 hours/week, hourly rate range from $21.72 to $30.72.
Patrol Deputy Sheriff: Full-time, 40 hours/week, monthly salary range from $4,989 to $7,057 plus full benefits.
Family Planning Nurse Practitioner/Physician’s Assistant HHS: Part-time, 6 hours every other week, hourly rate range from $38.15 to $53.96 plus full benefits.
Public Health Nurse II: Family Planning Coordinator HHS: Parttime, 30 hours/week, hourly rate range from $32.03 to $45.31 plus full benefits.
Public Health Nurse II: Child Care Health Consultant HHS: Part-time, 6 hours/week, hourly rate range from $32.03 to $45.31.
Patrol Deputy (Marble and Somerset Area) Sheriff: Full-time, 40 hours/week, monthly salary range from $4,989 to $7,057 plus full benefits. Work in the Marble and Somerset area.
Detention Deputy Sheriff: Fulltime, 40 hours/week, monthly salary range from $4,229 to $5,982 plus full benefits. Only work 14 days a month.
Heavy Equipment Operator I Public Works: Full-time, 40 hours/ week, starting hourly rate $21.72 to $30.72 depending on experience, full benefits.
For more information, including complete job descriptions, required qualifications and application instructions, please visit GunnisonCounty.org/jobs.
AMERIGLIDE
Don't let the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today! 1-877-418-1883
Grow your Career in the Outdoor Industry @ Campfire Ranch
Apply now for our General Manager position in Gunnison-Crested Butte Colorado www.campfireranch.co/team
Need a quality employee?
Are you a skilled automotive technician who is compassionate about quality service and want to work for an employer that values your skills. Precision Automotive is interviewing for master and apprentice positions.
Give Steve a call at 970-641-4040 for pay and benefits info, all inquiries confidential.
THE TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE seeks applicants for a building inspector and efficiency coordinator position to join the Community Development team. The building inspector and efficiency coordinator performs a variety of commercial, industrial, and residential building and safety inspections of new and existing properties for compliance with Town adopted regulations and building codes and coordinates building efficiency and renewable energy programs for the Community Development Department’s responsibilities to the Town of Crested Butte’s Climate Action Plan. This yearround position includes an excellent benefits package with 100% employer paid employee and dependent health, dental, vision, life insurance and matching contributions to a retirement plan after one year of employment.
Starting salary is $50,958 – $60,585 DOQ. Full job description is available on the Town’s website at townofcrestedbutte. com. Please submit an application, cover letter and resume via email to HR at jobs@ crestedbutte-co.gov. The position is open until filled. The Town of Crested Butte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
ALL WEATHER EARTHWORKS is looking for laborers and operators. General knowledge of construction preferred. Must be a hard worker. Will train the right people. Pay will be discussed in interview. Please send resume to awearthworkskyle@outlook. com.
THE ADAPTIVE SPORTS CENTER is hiring an office coordinator (OC). The OC is responsible for providing administrative support for the ASC. Key duties include managing office communications, ordering supplies, other administrative support and customer service tasks. The OC position is also responsible for managing key systems within the ASC such as its email, phone, POS/Square, locker room, and emergency action plan. See our website for more details adaptivesports.org. This position is full time, year round. Starting pay is $18 - $20 an hour plus approx. $4/hr. in benefits which include PTO, paid holidays, sick, 401(k), and health benefits. ASC has been rated Outside Magazine’s 50 Best Places to Work many years in a row, come join a great team. Please email cover letter and resume to chensley@adaptivesports.org
HARMELS ON THE TAYLOR se prepara para otra gran temporada. Estamos buscando contratar mantenimiento, calificados y no calificados. Los puestos pueden ser a tiempo completo o parcial y estacionales o permanentes. Salario: $15 o más. Puede llamar a 970-641-1740 o envié un correo electrónico a stay@harmels.com
START YOUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CAREER WITH WONDERLAND NATURE SCHOOL the only nature-based early childhood center in the Valley. Now hiring starting at $1618 depending on experience. Full time preferred, but part-time hours may be available. Retirement match, mental health and paid training benefits provided. We are a supportive, friendly work environmentjoin our team and make a difference in our little ones’ lives. Email us at admin@ wonderlandnatureschool.org.
K.R. WELDING AND FABRICATION is looking for fabricators. Knowledge of general construction preferred. Welding experience preferred. Quick learner, hard worker a must. Pay will be discussed in interview. Please send resume to krobbins2011@hotmail. com.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER POSITION:
Gunnison County Electric Association, Inc. is currently seeking applications for an electrical engineer position. This is a full-time position that will be reporting to the Gunnison Headquarters location. This position is responsible for the design, coordination, overcurrent protection, voltage regulation, load balancing, planning and troubleshooting of the cooperative’s electric power distribution system. This position will assist other departments using, configuring, and maintaining AMI, SCADA, GIS, OMS, and Billing systems. The wage for an electrical engineer is between $87,568$116,750 annually. Actual compensation offer to candidate may vary outside of the posted hiring range based upon work experience, education, and/or skill level. Applicable overtime pay may apply occasionally or when needed. Upon meeting eligibility requirements this position offers health care benefits, retirement benefits, paid time off and paid scheduled holidays.
To see the complete job description and to learn how to apply please visit our website at gcea.coop, About tab, Careers. Job will remain opened until filled.
CONSTRUCTION OPERATOR/ SERVICE TECHNICIAN/DISTRIBUTION
OPERATOR:
Are you looking for a career opportunity in Gunnison Colorado?
Atmos Energy Corporation, one of the largest natural-gas-only distributors in the US, is looking to add a Technician to our Gunnison, CO team. This position is responsible for distribution system construction and maintenance as well as customer service field activities.
Atmos Energy requires attendance in several high quality training programs that requires travel (paid for by Atmos Energy). Due to our extensive training program, consideration will be given to all applicants regardless of previous experience.
The successful candidate must have a HS Diploma/GED and a valid driver’s license (CDL preferred). Candidate must be computer literate and willing to participate in random drug testing, per DOT regulations. This position requires standby and callout for after-hours emergencies on a shared rotation typically every fourth week for a week at a time. Atmos Energy offers competitive pay and an excellent benefits package, including medical, dental, 401k and Paid Time Off. To apply, go to www.atmosenergy.com and click “Careers” no later than end of business day on 3-15-2023. EOE M/F/D/V
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER (PYTHON): Join our team to create warehouse automation solutions from our ski-in, ski-out office in Mt. Crested Butte. We are building hybridcloud containerized applications to move products faster and more efficiently using robots. If you have Python skills and want to be part of a growing team in the mountains, send resume to Chris Ladoulis at Slate River Systems (SRSI) at cladoulis@gosrsi.com. See seetheraft.com.
Pursuant to Sections 40-3.5-104(1) and (2) C.R.S., the City Council of the City of Gunnison hereby gives notice of a Public Hearing to be held on proposed changes to the City of Gunnison Electric Rates. The Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 5:30 PM, in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 201 West Virginia Avenue, Gunnison, Colorado 81230. Each municipal utility customer shall have the right to appear, personally or through counsel, at this hearing for the purpose of providing testimony regarding the proposed new schedule. Copies of this proposed rate are available for inspection at the City Clerk’s Office, 201 West Virginia Avenue, Gunnison, Colorado during regular business hours. The proposed electric rates are as follows:
These rates and charges set forth herein, if approved and adopted of the required ordinance, shall be effective as of May 10, 2023, and thereafter.
THE MOUNT CRESTED BUTTE WATER SANITATION DISTRICT is accepting applications for a full-time water operator position to be part of a team environment focused on operation of the water plant and distribution system for Mt. Crested Butte. Important qualifications include a combination of construction, field operations and electrical/mechanical/maintenance repair. A State of Colorado Water and/or Distribution license or the ability to obtain such within one (1) year is mandatory (training for certifications provided). Operators are required to take on-call responsibility including select weekends and holidays. A valid Colorado driver’s license is required. Starting salary is $44,500 to $51,500 for entry level. $58,000 to $75,000 salary available for operators with experience and appropriate State licenses. Excellent benefits package including 100% employer
20. Not wide 24. Pastries 26. Turns away
paid premium family health, dental, vision and life insurance, 12 paid holiday days, two weeks paid vacation, employer contribution to retirement plan (5% automatic mandatory employer matching with 1-3% optional additional matching), employer provided uniforms and a seasonal ski pass. Full job description is available at mcbwsd.com. Please submit cover letter and resume to Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, PO Box 5740, Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225 or email info@mcbwsd.com. Position is open until filled. MCBWSD is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
LOCATION FOR LEASE: North main street office, retail, brewery or restaurant. 1600 to 2200 sq. ft. Call 970-596-9999.
Work Session Agenda February 27, 2023 Lake Conference Room 5:30 pm and by distance using the video conferencing platform ZOOM. Please check the GWSD website for further instructions.
Work Session discussion item:
1. GVH Clinical Therapists presentation
2. Lake School Presentation-Jennifer Kennedy
Gunnison Country Times
909 N Wisconsin St. (behind Powerstop) • 641-2144
Two services at 9 & 10:30 am
Visit our website for more information - gunnisonbethany.com
9 am: Family Service with nursery & children’s church
10:30 am: Western Student Service with FREE lunch for college students following Check out our website for updates!
Or download our app on the App Store by searching, Gunnison Bethany
Friday 3/3/23, 4pm- 5:30pm: Hebrew School with Ofra and Rabbi Mark Kula (RSVP needed)
Friday 3/3/23, 6:30pm: Purim Shabbatluck dinner at the home of Joel Benisch
Saturday 3/4/23, 10:30am: Coffee with Rabbi Mark at Rumors
Saturday 3/4/23, 4:30pm-6pm: Come bake with B’nai Butte! Hamantaschen baking at Janet Farmer’s. RSVPs needed- please RSVP to Bnaibuttegmail.com
Sunday 3/5/23, 11am: Torah Study, Hosted by the Rolfes www.bnaibutte.org
Jewish communities of Crested Butte, Gunnison and the East River Valley in Colorado PO Box 2537 Crested, Butte CO 81224 bnaibutte@gmail.com
Spiritual Leader: Rabbi Mark Kula; available for you at RabbiMarkKula@gmail.com (305) 803-3648
CHURCH OF CHRIST
600 E. Virginia • 641-1588
Sunday Morning Bible Class: 9:30 a.m.
Sunday Morning Worship: 10:30 a.m. Sunday Evening Worship: 6 p.m.
Wednesday Night Bible Class: 7 p.m.
COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GUNNISON
107 N. Iowa • 641- 0925
Pastor Larry Nelson
Sunday Morning Worship 9:30 a.m. Nursery & Age-Graded Ministry
Weekly Student Ministry | Weekly Adult LifeGroups
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 9:00-4:00
For more info: ccgunnison.com or email info@ccgunnison.com
Join us in-person, listen to our broadcast on 98.3 FM, or view online stream on YouTube
Transforming Lives • Building Community
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
Virginia at N. Pine St. • 641-2240
Pastor Jonathan Jones
9:30 A.M. Share & Prayer Fellowship / 10 A.M. Sunday School Classes 11 A.M. Morning Worship Service / 6 P.M. Evening Service
Wednesday 7 PM - Children's Patch Club / Gunnison Bible Institute
Thursday 7 PM - College & Career Christian Fellowship
www.firstbaptistgunnison.org.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH
307 W. Virginia Ave. • 641-0429
Rev. Laura Osborne, Vicar
Sunday Morning Holy Eucharist, Rite II 9 a.m.
Children's Sunday school 9 a.m. - 9:40 a.m. | Office Hours: M-Th 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. www.goodsamaritangunnison.com
Visit our partnership church: All Saints in the Mountains, Crested Butte
Holy Eucharist, Rite II, Sunday 5 p.m.
Union Congregational Church, 407 Maroon Ave., Crested Butte.
GUNNISON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
United Church of Christ
Open and Affirming · Whole Earth · Just Peace
Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
Casual, Relaxed, “Come As You Are” Worship
www.gunnisonucc.org • 317 N. Main St. • 970-641-3203
GRACE COVENANT CHURCH GUNNISON
Meeting at the Historic 8th St School House
101 N. 8th St. Gunnison
Reformed, Confessional & committed to Expository preaching
Sundays 10:00 a.m.
Thursdays 1:00 p.m. Women's Bible Study gracegunnison.com
MT CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH
711 N. Main • 641-1860
Bible Study and Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays Church Service at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays
Pastor Robert Carabotta, Pastor Jacob With
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
1040 Highway 135 (1/4 mile N. of Spencer Ave.)
Sunday Morning Worship 9:30am
Nursery and Children’s ministry through Middle School
“Remedy” Worship Nights
Small Group Ministries www.rmcmchurch.org - 641-0158
ST. PETER’S CATHOLIC CHURCH
300 N. Wisconsin • 641-0808 • Fr. Andres Ayala-Santiago (www.gunnisoncatholic.org | www.crestedbuttecatholic.org) or call the Parish Office. St. Peter's - Gunnison Sat 8:30 am, 5 pm & Sun 10:30 am, 12:00 pm (Spanish) Mass
First Sunday of every month bilingual Mass at 11am
Queen of All Saints - Crested Butte, 401 Sopris Sun 8:30am Mass
St. Rose of Lima - Lake City Communion Service, Sat 4:00pm
TRINITY BAPTIST CHURCH
523 N. Pine St. • 641-1813
Senior Pastor - Joe Ricks
Sunday Service 9:30 a.m.
Adult Bible Study 8:00 AM
www.trinitybaptistsgunnison.com
Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication date of February 23, 2023
7891
NOTICE OF INTENT TO DISPOSE:
To the following parties that have their personal property stored at Plott’s Mini Storage, LLC. 312 W. Hwy 50 Gunnison, CO
81230.
All property will be sold or disposed of, unless claimed and/or all rent and fees paid prior to February 28, 2023
Unit A41 - Adrian Lopez
60 - Ricardo Sanchez
L12 - Bradley Morton Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication dates of February 16, 23, 2023
7777
County Commissioners Meeting Room, 200 E. Virginia Ave., Gunnison, Colorado 81230. Comments may be made in writing to the Gunnison County Clerk & Recorder, Kathy Simillion, 221 N. Wisconsin St., Gunnison, Colorado 81230 prior to the hearing or in person at the hearing.
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication date of February 23, 2023
7802
PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR
CHANGE OF NAME
Public Notice is given on January 31, 2023 that a Petition for a Change of Name of an Adult has been filed with the Gunnison County, Colorado Court.
The Petition requests that the name of Erica Marie Kinias be changed to Erica Marie Nunn-Kinias
Cirenda S. Fry Clerk of Court/Deputy Clerk /s/ Cirenda S. Fry
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication dates of February 9, 16 and 23, 2023
7769
INVITATION TO BID
CDOT Project Number: SAR C350-001
Location: Crestone, Colorado CDOT Project Code: 23034 Name: Crestone Safe Routes to School Project
Separate sealed BIDS for the Crestone Safe Routes to School Project will be received by Saguache County, Colorado at the office of Davis Engineering Service, Inc. located at 1314 Eleventh Street, P.O. Box 1840, Alamosa, Colorado 81101, until 2:00 P.M. local time on March 23, 2023, and then at said office publicly opened and read aloud.
The project consists of the following: constructing ±3,196 linear feet of concrete multi-use pathway with associated curb, gutter, curb ramps, asphalt paving, asphalt patching, Aggregate Base Course Class 6 placement, excavation, embankment, removal work, traffic control, traffic signage, public information services, pavement markings, surface drainage, ditching, best management practices of erosion control measures, and trail side landscaping including topsoil, conditioning, seeding, and mulching.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) sets the goals for Underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (UDBEs) in participation for a part of the work of this Contract. The goal for participation in this Contract by certified DBEs who have been determined to be underutilized has been established at 4%. The On-The-Job Training (OJT) goal for the project is 0 hours
ORDINANCE NO. 2, SERIES 2023:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GUNNISON, COLORADO, APPROVING A MAJOR CHANGE TO AN EXISTING PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE LAZY K PUD
A full copy of the ordinance can be found on the City of Gunnison’s website at www. gunnisonco.gov in the City Council e-packet information or at the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall, 201 West Virginia Avenue in Gunnison or by calling 970.641.8140.
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication date of February 23, 2023
7884
ATTENTION GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL
SENIORS
The Saguache County Board of County Commissioners are accepting scholarship applications for graduating seniors who will be graduating high school in 2023.
Commissioners will be awarding graduating seniors’ college scholarships that will be paid through the Marijuana Excise Tax funds. Scholarships may be used at a trade school, college or university but you must reside in Saguache County to apply and possibly receive scholarship funds.
Applications are due by April 14, 2023 and are available through our website at www. saguachecounty.colorado.gov to download the application or by contacting Wendi Maez at 719-655-2231 or by email at wmaez@ saguachecounty-co.gov.
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication dates of February 9, 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and April 6, 13, 2023.
7719
PUBLIC NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Pursuant to the liquor laws of Colorado Sapinero Village Inc LLC dba Sapinero Village has made an application dated February 3, 2023 to the licensing officials of Gunnison County to grant a Liquor License to Sapinero Village Inc. dba Sapinero Village. Sapinero Village Inc, located at 16020 Highway 50, Gunnison, Colorado 81230. A hearing will be held on this application on March 7, 2023 at 8:30 A.M. at the Gunnison
CDOT Form 606 – Anti-Collusion Affidavit and CDOT Form 1414 – Anticipated DBE Participation Plan (all included in Appendix A) must be submitted by all bidders with their bids. If these forms are not submitted, the bid is considered non responsive and shall be rejected. CDOT Form 85 – Contractor’s Proposal, (also in Appendix A) shall be submitted with the bidder indicating whether the fuel cost adjustment shall apply to the contract. If the bidder fails to indicate a choice or fails to submit Form 85, the fuel cost adjustment will not apply to the Contract. Please refer to SECTION II, Information to Bidders of the CONTRACT DOCUMENTS for more information on the required Bid Documents.
The provisions of Form Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 1273 apply to all work performed under the CONTRACT and are to be included in all subcontracts. Please refer to APPENDIX D: Colorado Department of Transportation Standard Special Provisions of the CONTRACT DOCUMENTS for more information. This project includes funding by CDOT administered FHWA grants; therefore, the Davis Bacon Wages will apply. Saguache County, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 US.C. §§2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that any Contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. An EEO1 Report must be submitted to the Joint Reporting Committee if the Contractor and subcontractors meet the eligibility requirements (29 CFR 1602.7). For additional information regarding these federal requirements, please refer to: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/ faq.cfm
Copies of the CONTRACT DOCUMENTS and PLANS may be obtained on or after February 27, 2023, at the office of Davis Engineering Service, Inc. located at the address mentioned above, upon payment of $85.00 for each set. No refund will be made for returned copies.
A mandatory pre-bid conference and inspection trip for prospective Bidders will be held at the Crestone Charter School, 330 East Lime Avenue, Crestone, CO 81131, at 2:00 P.M. local time on March 13, 2023. For questions contact Davis Engineering Service, Inc. at (970)-264-5055 ext. 105.
Date: February 23, 2023
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication dates of February 23 and March 2, 9, 16, 2023
7908
— FLORESTA ST.
FEBRUARY 17
CRIMINAL TRESPASS: FIRST
DEGREE - VEHICLE —
415 S. 14TH ST.
TRAFFIC - DUS —
999 E. TOMICHI AVE.
HARASSMENT: REPEATED
COMMUNICATIONS —
SUNNY SLOPE DR.
SEXUAL ASSAULT: ON A CHILD —
N. 11TH ST.
INFORMATION — N. 11TH ST.
ACCIDENT - HIT & RUN — 218 N.
12TH ST.
CRIMINAL TRESPASS: FIRST
DEGREE - VEHICLE — 501 S.
12TH ST.
PARKING VIOLATION — 600 N.
COLORADO ST.
CRIMINAL TRESPASS: FIRST
DEGREE - VEHICLE — 415 S.
14TH ST.
ANIMAL - VICIOUS / DANGEROUS
- MUNICIPAL — 614 W.
GUNNISON AVE.
FEBRUARY 18
DISTURBING THE PEACE -
ALLOWING OTHERS —
1007 W. TOMICHI AVE.
VIOLATION OF PROTECTION
ORDER: CRIMINAL ORDER —
E. GEORGIA AVE.
FEBRUARY 19
THEFT - UNDER $100.00
MUNICIPAL — 800 N. MAIN ST.
PROPERTY - FOUND — 711 W. RIO GRANDE AVE.
FEBRUARY 20
JUVENILE PROBLEM — N. COLORADO ST. CHILD ABUSE: NO INJURY OR DEATH — W. TOMICHI AVE.
FEBRUARY 14
-Deputies issued a summons to an individual for criminal mischief for damage done at residence
-Welfare check on a person in an outpatient treatment program who missed their appointment
-Deputies took one person into custody for an in-county warrant for domestic violence
-Deputies assisted the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado State Patrol with a onevehicle car accident in Saguache County where one person was taken into custody for an out of state warrant
-Deputies took a dog bite report
-Deputies arrested one person for driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding
-Deputies took a missing person report and the individual was found safe in Hinsdale County
FEBRUARY 15
-Deputies are investigating a fraud case where someone is using someone else’s information to buy a vehicle
-Deputies took a missing person report where the victim was later contacted safe
-Deputies arrested one person for a felony and two misdemeanor incounty warrants
-Deputies issued a citation for failure to obey a traffic control signal
-Deputies took a barking dog complaint
-Deputies responded to a business for a panic alarm activation
FEBRUARY 16
-Deputies assisted a stuck semi needing a heavy rescue to get back on the highway
-Deputies assisted the Emergency Medical Services with a person who collapsed
-Deputies issued a citation for driving when Driver’s License Canceled / Suspended and for speeding
-Deputies took one person into custody for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol
FEBRUARY 17
-Deputies found a black and white husky running down the middle of the road. The dog had a collar and address and deputies were able to return the dog to his home
-Deputies assisted a stuck vehicle waiting for a tow that was on a blind corner
FEBRUARY 18
-Deputies returned a found wallet to the owner
-Deputies checked on a vehicle partially blocking the roadway with no driver present
-Deputies took a cold dog bite report at Hartman Rocks
-Deputies assisted the Gunnison Police Department with a Driving Under the Influence of Drugs as well as other charges
-Deputies assisted finding a person who went out to help another stuck vehicle and became stuck himself
FEBRUARY 19
-Deputies responded to a dog at large call where two dogs were running on the road. Deputies were able to locate the owner and issued a warning for Dogs at large
-Deputies got a call thru Pitkin dispatch for a woman needing help getting her vehicle out of the snow but a neighbor was able to get her unstuck
-Deputies got a report of a possibly abandoned vehicle on a private lot
-Deputies assisted the Gunnison Police Department with a disturbance call at a local restaurant
FEBRUARY 20
-Deputies stopped to check on a vehicle having trouble with their radiator
-Deputies assisted the Gunnison Police Department with a disorderly subject at a local business
-Agency assist to the Colorado State Patrol with a car versus deer accident
Read the Times on our app.
The traditional O-Be-Joyful Ski Meet returned to Cranor Hill on Presidents’ Day. More than 50 young local skiers and snowboarders — clad in tutus and neon jackets — gathered to compete in the annual event. The meet includes four ski and snowboard events: slalom, downhill, distance jumping and freestyle jumping. Family, friends and volunteers cheered as the athletes zipped down the snow-packed slopes.
Downhill - 1st Place
6 and Under: Cooper Czillinger, Quincy Erikson
7-8: Emmett Hare, Rori Dyar
9-10: Finn Metcalf, Kaya Brown
11-12: Alpine Leonard, Kerstyn Metcalf
13-16: Dylan Boscaro, Elizabeth Klingsmith
Slalom - 1st Place
6 and Under: Cooper Czillinger, Quincy Erikson
7-8: Emmett Hare, Rori Dyar
9-10: Ruke Dyar, Paisley Betts
11-12: Julian Klingsmith, Claire New
13-16: Dylan Boscaro, Elizabeth Klingsmith
Big woody distance jump1st Place
6 and Under: n/a
7-8: Emmett Hare, Cece Marquis
9-10: Ruke Dyar, Kaya Brown
11-12: Alpine Leonard
13-16: Dylan Boscaro
Freestyle jump - 1st Place
6 and Under: Marshall Hom
7-8: Emmett Hare, Aspen Malcom
9-10: Gun Funke, Lillian McElyea
11-12: Julian Klingsmith
13-16: Dylan Boscaro
Abby Harrison
Jacob Spetzler
and Sports Editor
Earlier this month, the familiar smell of armpits and beer filled the Majestic Theatre for fourthever Sweaty Kids Film Festival. The festival, which consists of everything from short edits and films to TikTok videos, all made by local athletes, filmmakers and any old sweaty kid with a camera, screened for just over two hours.
Content ranged from slickly edited short films of last year’s Pearl Pass bike ride to jumbled iPhone edits of big air snowboarding and summertime skateboard sessions.
The festival’s return to the Majestic marks a full-circle journey. It was born in 2019 when Carrie Wallace, Conrad Kaul and Jake Scott were all employees. With time on their hands, Scott had an idea for a locals-only film festival that would give valley the ski bums a place to show their outdoor edits or mini-movies. Approximately 90 people attended the first year, proof that the community dug the idea.
When the Majestic shut down in 2020, the founders went looking for a new venue. Initially the Crested Butte Center for the Arts was scheduled to host, but a COVID surge in the fall led to its cancellation. Unwilling to let all the hard work fall the wayside, Wallace and Kaul put the pieces together to air a livestream from the basement of the Public House. The stream amassed around 1,000 views.
The following year, in 2021,
B2
Sweaty Kids screened live at the Center for the Arts. Wallace, who serendipitously had become the event director at the Center by that time, said the bar sales from that night far outmatched any other film screening and was more akin to a Leftover Salmon concert.
In the fall, the Majestic reopened as a non-profit with Wallace and Kaul at the helm and Sweaty Kids returned to its birthplace. Wallace said the festival screened more than 20 edits to over 100 audience members. Some of the content came from long-time contributors such as Gareth Van Dyke, who has submitted every year so far. Van Dyke showed two films this year, ‘Old Habits Die Hard’ an ode to powder surfing and a tribute film to his friend Luke Shaffner who passed away from cancer earlier this year.
"I just like documenting the winters,” he said. “Then you end up having a memory later on, especially if you get to a point where you can't enjoy the things you love to do.”
Other clips came from the new generation, only recently old enough to participate. A young snowboarder, who goes by the name Meatball, showed a TikTok video his instructor made called “Meatball’s toe edge video.”
The short movie is a particular point of pride for Meatball, said his mom, Sara Reese, as he’s been working at the toe edge for almost two years, and it stands as a testament to his achievement. The audience agreed, and when the 30-second clip finished screening the crowd began to chant “Meatball, Meatball, Meatball!”
“Good,” is how Meatball described the experience, and he said he’s excited to make more edits in the future.
On the other end of the production value spectrum sit films
by creators like Trevor Bona of Elevate the Media. His film, “Pearl Pass Klunker Tour 2022,” follows a group of ragtag local cyclists as they set off to mirror the journey originally undertaken by the Grubstake Boys as depicted in the film Klunkerz — attempting to ride early mountain bikes from Crested Butte to Aspen.
The stars of Bona’s film — locals such as Eli Weitzman, Jack Mullen and Alex Pennimen — wore jean cut offs and facial hair reminiscent of those early mountain bikers. While the original film is a grainy VHS film from the early 80s, Bona’s version is filled with swooping drone shots and crisp digital renderings of the group's adventures.
Between each film, Wallace emceed and held a raffle while Kaul worked the technical magic from the projector. At intermission, the packed theater exploded into the entrance area as the audience refilled empty beer cups and bought extra snacks.
Moviegoers from the other theaters wandered out to see what the commotion was all about.
It was a perfect incarnation of the film festival, Wallace said. The filmmakers agreed. Jessy Hill, coowner of Uphill Motorworks, who made a film featuring dogs riding snowmobiles, said the festival represents the magic of Crested Butte.
“In this day and age where everything is for tourists and second homeowners, where everything is being stripped away slowly, bit by bit, this is one last thing that’s just for us,” she said. “This is for us to enjoy each other and what we're doing out here and it reminds us why we live here.”
(Jacob Spetzler can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or jacob@gunnisontimes.com.)
Leonard Kreuger’s home, tucked away in the snowy sagebrush hills near Cochetopa Creek, serves as a church, a hotel and sometimes a barn when newborn calves are laid by the stove to keep warm during winter. The family has also spent nearly two generations monitoring the area’s precipitation and temperatures, making the remote spot a cooperative weather station — with seven decades worth of long-term data.
Leonard records the highs and lows by hand each day, the outside temperature illuminated on a small monitor in the backroom, just past the mounted jackalope in the hallway. On Feb. 17, the low was 14 below zero, but by the afternoon it was a balmy 9 degrees. The snow was deep enough in some places to reach his knees. He uses a metal tube to collect the snowfall and measures its water content with a ruler, each number carefully recorded on a spreadsheet.
He’s stuck to the same routine for nearly 20 years, volunteering to watch the skies like his father, Harold, before him. This month, the National Weather Service (NWS) out of Grand Junction presented Leonard with the Family Heritage Award for 75 years of volunteer weather observing in Gunnison County. Leonard hopes his son will carry on the tradition.
The Kreuger family has been recording the daily weather for the NWS since 1947. Harold moved to the Cochetopa Canyon area, which is situated 15 miles southeast of Gunnison, in 1916. He established the Cochetopa Creek station at the Weather
Service’s request after another rancher in the area asked to be relieved of the duty.
Harold took observations for just under 55 years, continuing his work well into his 80s and without cell phone service. According to the NWS, extra effort was taken to obtain service in case the station needed to call in significant or severe weather.
Leonard, who was born and raised in the Cochetopa, took over the observations in March of 2002, while keeping up with the ranch and working as a hunting guide. One monitor outside of his office reads the temperature, while other instruments measure snow depth and moisture just a short walk down the road.
The long-term data set collected by the Kreuger family helps the NWS have a better understanding not only of the climate for the area, but also for the Western Slope, said Data Acquisition Program Manager John Kyle, who gave the award.
The more “ground truth” information the agency can collect the better, he said. The data is then plugged into its weather models, determining climate trends as well as every day forecasts and warnings.
The Grand Junction forecast office, which services eastern Utah and western Colorado, works closely with approximately 75 weather observers on the ground. Individuals are scattered across the region, from Cimarron and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to Lake City and Taylor Park — each collecting data from their little pocket on the landscape.
Due to the extremely variable terrain types such as high peaks
and canyons included in Grand Junction’s forecast area, many zones have microclimates and weather patterns of their own — making forecasting a challenge. At the same time, it is becoming more difficult to get individuals to volunteer to do the same thing, at the same time every day, making the Kreuger family’s contribution even more valuable, he said.
“When you consider what Leonard and his family have been doing for 75 years, it's just awesome that that data record is compatible within itself … I can't always do it just based on rural and remote areas.”
Leonard said his father was always interested in the weather. He still remembers what the weather station used to look like, when his father had to spin the thermometers to get the mercury back to the top.
For the Kreugers, tracking the weather always gave the family an idea of what was ahead, Leonard said.
“If we don’t have much moisture, we know we are going to have a drought, but if we have a lot of moisture we know we are going to be in pretty good shape,” he said. “That makes a difference in our decision making.”
He recalled a trend around 1925 when Gunnison residents gathered around the community Christmas tree on Christmas Day with no coats. But he also remembers weeks so cold when he was a child there were times when the lows would hit 40 below and the high only 20 above zero for seven days straight.
“Things are warmer now, but that ain’t telling me that we've got a weather problem because of the trends that I have seen and heard of in my family,” he said. “Next year it may be 40 below and 20 below. That’s just the way it is … It may be rough, but it has never let us down completely, that’s the uniqueness about the Gunnison Country.”
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
PEOPLE & HAPPENINGS
Get free legal advice on the second Wednesday of every month from 2-5 p.m. at the Gunnison County Library at 1 Quartz St. in Gunnison and at the Old Rock Community Library in Crested Butte. Volunteer attorneys will offer assistance one-on-one, via computer link. In Gunnison call 970.641.3485 or in Crested Butte call 970.349.6535 to be added to the sign-up sheet.
Living Journeys
Living Journeys hosts free and confidential monthly support groups — open to all Gunnison County residents.
-Caregivers Support Group: 1st Monday of each month.
-Bereavement Support Group: 2nd Monday of each month.
-Cancer Support Group: 1st Thursday and 3rd Monday of each month.
MAJESTICTHEATRE SHOWTIMES
FRIFEB24-THURSMAR2
ANT-MANANDTHEWASP:
QUANTUMANIA(PG-13)
WEEKDAYS:4:15&7:15PM
SAT&SUN:1:15,4:15,7:15PM
COCAINEBEAR(R)
WEEKDAYS:4:30&7:00PM
SAT&SUN:1:30,4:30,7:00PM
RENTAL&SPECIALEVENTINFOAT
Kids 10+ will learn to make fresh and delicious meals from scratch this Spring with our Kids Cook! 6-week course!
March 22nd - May 3rd
Crested Butte
Wednesdays from 2:15-4:15 p.m.
March 20th - April 24th
Gunnison Mondays from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
mountainrootsfoodproject.org/kids-cook
Professional therapists facilitate in-person and zoom meetings, no RSVP necessary. Get details at livingjourneys.org/ Calendar.
GWA annual membership meeting
Gunnison Valley Pet Expo
Leashed, friendly dogs are welcome and bring the kids along to meet a donkey. To be a vendor please email kaycebarnett@ gmail.com.
‘Go As a River‘ book release
Dementia caregiver support group
Cheatgrass treatment workshop
Please RSVP to Petar Simic at happyhabitatsgunnison@gmail. com or 248.881.6982. Lunch will be provided to registered participants.
Band Bingo
GUNNISON ARTS CENTER BRIEFS
for sale. Contact any middle or high school band student for tickets or call Mr. Koepsel at 970.641.5904.
Band concert
Fiber art
Gunnison Gallery is located at 124 N. Main St. and is open Tuesday through Saturday.
Monarch slopestyle
comp
Registration for the March Radness Steel City Slopestyle event is $20 per competitor and will take place the day of the competition on the Monarch Mountain deck from 9-10 a.m. All competitors will be required to have a season pass or day ticket to access the lifts and compete as well as a signed release of liability waiver by a parent or guardian.
A competitor meeting will be held at the top of the Steel City Terrain Park at 11:00 a.m. and the competition which includes two judged runs per competitor will begin at 11:15 a.m. Competitors will be judged on style, technique, and amplitude. For more information, call 719530-5013 or email kathryn@skimonarch.com.
Presents: ‘The Greatest and Best Play in the World’
This year's production follows a small town community writer's group as they attempt to write the greatest and best play in the world. This night of laughter will be one for the Gunnison books. Tickets are $20 Thursday nights and $25 for Friday and Saturday nights. Doors open at 7 p.m. and curtain is at 7:30 p.m.
Adults Intro to Wheel Throwing
Beginners cooking course with Danny
Jacob
SpetzlerPhoto and sports Editor
The GHS wrestling program is well on its way to establishing a dynasty after last weekend’s state tournament in Denver, which took place Feb. 16-18.
Royce Uhrig earned his second state championship, making him the first in Cowboy history to win multiple titles. Three other grapplers took the podium — co-captain Miles Harris in third, while Brock Fry and Damyon Funk each finished sixth. As a team, Gunnison finished seventh out of 50 teams.
Ten Gunnison grapplers qualified for the tournament, including two on the girls team — Caroline Sudderth and Ava Witzel — and eight on the boys team — Funk in the 106-lb divi-
sion, Cody Casebolt at 113, Talon Kibler at 120, Fry at 126, Uhrig at 132, Harris at 138, Preston Gomez at 190 and Kleber Flores at 215.
If Uhrig’s path to the championship last year was ever uncertain, this season sealed the deal. He pinned his first three opponents in the first period. In the semifinals, Uhrig pinned Luke Tressler of Pagosa Springs in 30 seconds. In the finals, Uhrig met Carson Hawkins from Bennett and though the match lasted all three rounds, Hawkins was unable to score and Uhrig took it 9-0.
The referee held Uhrig’s hand up as the winner. Uhrig briefly flashed two fingers to signify his second title while pointing to his Gunnison supporters in the crowd. Uhrig said he was proud to earn another state championship, but said he’s looking at the tournament from a team perspective. The real excitement is still to come, as freshman gain experience and athletes who
are a product of recently revitalized youth programs enter high school, he said.
“It’s motivating to see that we’re in it as a team even without seniors,” Uhrig said. “I think next year we can win it.”
If that’s true, it’ll be the first time the Cowboys win a team title since the early 60s. But Uhrig said his primary focus is establishing a culture that will outlast his own high school wrestling career. That said, he hasn’t taken his eye off of a potential third state championship next season. Everyone from the lighter weight classes made it past the first round, but Casebolt, Kibler and Funk all fell in the quarterfinals. The tournament ended there for Casebolt and Kibler, but Funk fought his way back to the podium. He won two consolation rounds in a row before falling in the consolation semis. Then he fell again in the fifth place match, earning himself sixth overall.
The GHS girls basketball team prolonged its end-ofseason winning streak into the playoffs on Tuesday night, beating Cedaredge 39-30 at home in the first round of the district tournament. It’s the first time in years a Gunnison girls basketball team has stepped it up on the court and the momentum shows no sign of slowing.
The Cowboys topped
Olathe, 63-4, on the road on Feb. 17 to qualify for a firstround district game at home. GHS holds a 12-8 overall season record, and the win over Cedaredge means the Cowboys are already set to compete in the regional tournament.
Tuesday night's game started slowly as both the Cowboys and the Bruins tried to find holes in the other's defense. Gunnison only scored five points in the first quarter, while Cedaredge put up eight.
The second quarter began similarly with a series of back-and-forths, but halfway through, Gunnison found its footing and the net. With Cedaredge still in the lead, Ava Stewart and Kylee McDougal began to close the gap with a pair of 3-pointers.
Girls hoops B7
Though the tournament ended earlier than he hoped, Kibler’s weekend was impressive. Though he is only a sophomore, this is the second time he has competed at the state level.
He went in with a 10-13 record for this season, but started hot with an incredible upset over No. 2 Aiden Young from Sterling, who held a 41-5 record.
Head Coach Dave Uhrig said Kibler’s first and second matches were two of the most exciting of the weekend. Kibler said the experience was positive and something he plans to use going into the future.
“It was a great way to get better,” Kibler said. “I’m proud of the team … now we know what we need to work on for the off season.”
Two weight classes up, Harris’ journey through the tournament was likely the most dramatic. After finishing in fifth last year, he had his eye on a state championship — and with a 47-3 record, he certainly shot.
Going into the state tournament, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. The seeding meant he would have to fight his way through a series of difficult matches. He ultimately fell, 2-1, in a heartbreak semifinal round to Isaak Chavez from Mullen.
Though disappointed, Harris
fought back through the consolation semis to the third place match. There he met top ranked Brayden Bach who holds a 40-9 record for the season. Harris pinned him in the first 47 seconds to secure the third-place spot.
Harris echoed Kibler and Uhrig in his assessment of the weekend. Though the team performed slightly worse compared
to last year, it’s likely a sign of incredible things to come, all three wrestlers said.
“It was tough, but it was still fun to go to state and compete,” Harris said. “I think next year we’ll put a lot of people in the finals, which will be fun to watch.”
On the girls’ side, Sudderth and Witzel lost their first rounds. Witzel battled and won the first
consolation round 10-0 over Velvet Taylor from Mesa Ridge, but fell in the second round.
Despite the losses, Coach Uhrig said the weekend clarified what he sees the team needs to work on during the coming months between now and the start of next season.
“Kleber, Preston, Cody, Ava and Caroline all got a lot of great experience and everybody is
coming back next year,” he said. “We hope to get them wrestling a lot in the off season. But our big goal is to get them lifting a lot. We need to get stronger to get to the next level.”
(Jacob Spetzler can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or jacob@ gunnisontimes.com.)
The Western Colorado University track team wrapped up its regular season with another spectacular outing on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Western Colorado Alumni Open which was held at the Western Colorado University Mountaineer Field House. Eight athletes provisionally qualified for nationals, including a school record and six all-time qualifiers. For the third time this season, Ali Aldrich broke the university record in the women's shot put — this time with a provisional qualifying heave of 14.81 meters. That mark earned her a first-place finish in the event. Aldrich also came in first place in the women's weight throw, with a provisional qualifying toss of 18.33 meters (60-01.75), which also is a third all-time mark.
Five athletes received NCAA provisional qualifying marks at the meet. Logan Butterfield had a stellar performance in the men's weight throw, moving up to third all-time with a provisional qualifying toss of 18.29 meters (60-00.25). Earning a provisional time and cruising to a first-place finish in the women's 800-meter, Emma Kjellsen finished with a time of 2:13.04, Now tied for fourth all-time, Timothy Ellis earned a provisional qualifying mark in the men's pole vault, with a clearance of 5.00 meters (16-04.75). The mark also earned him first-place spot.
The Mountaineers earned two provisional times in the men's mile. Patrick Jirele came in second place with a time of 4:08.75 and Aidan Scott came in third place with a time of 4:09.71. Will Johnson crossed the line in a provisional time of 8:18.61 in the men’s 3000-meter, landing in second place.
Soon Cedaredge fell into foul trouble, giving Sienna Gomez, Stewart and Lily Wild chances on the line — which they all converted into a larger lead. With only 20 seconds left, Wild put up a perfect 3-pointer to tie the game. After a couple successful free throws from the Cowboys, the score read 21-17 at the break.
The scoring slowed down in the third. Meredith Diamond put in two baskets and Gomez and McDougal each added a couple free throws. But the Cowboy defense stood strong and held Cedaredge to only three points for the quarter. Between periods, Cedaredge readjusted and the fourth was a brutal back and forth as the Bruins desperately tried to claw back into the game. But the Cowboys stuck with them and neither team put together a cohesive drive.
The Cowboys held onto their lead as the clock ticked away, closing the game with a final score of 39-30. The gym erupted in cheers and the student section rushed the court after the two teams shook hands.
Looking back on the last few weeks, the Cowboys attribute their recent wins to a cohesive team culture.
“It was really satisfying,” Gomez said. “We put in a lot of work and it shows.”
Wild said she thinks the recent success is the kind of momentum that should carry through the next few games.
“I’m beyond proud of everyone, we played as a family,” she said. “We can do anything
we put our minds to. I totally believe that.”
The Cowboys will play in the second round of the district tournament on Friday, Feb. 24, in Grand Junction. Regardless of whether Gunnison wins or loses, the team will play again in Grand Junction on Feb. 25 in either the championship game or the third-place game. Either way, the Cowboys have secured their spot in the regional tournament with the team’s win over Cedaredge. That tournament will begin next weekend.
(Jacob Spetzler can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or jacob@gunnisontimes.com)
Alex McCrindle
Times Sports Intern
The GHS boys basketball team won its away conference matchup 52-35 at Olathe on Feb. 17 and traveled to Meeker on Feb. 21 for a chance at state qualification.
Before Fridays tip-off, the Cowboys withstood nine consecutive games without a win, leaving their record 2-10 within the 2A Western Conference, and 4-14 overall. Head Coach Cristian Aguilar said the results have not always been reflective at the effort shown by his team.
“It’s not the best record, but the results have not represented the way these guys have played their hearts out,” Aguilar said. “They’ve fought, it's been gritty and I’m really proud of that.”
The Cowboys came to life early in the first quarter during the Olathe game with Wyatt Howery sinking a 3-point basket
and later completing a threepoint play at the free throw line. Justus Williams made two baskets alongside two points from Rylan Richter. The Cowboys stood strong defensively and only allowed seven points from the home team.
Jacob Riser hit his stride in the second half, scoring nine points with three from behind the arc. The Cowboys continued to capitalize on their lead with Mike Riser, Williams and Howery all contributing to the scoreboard. At the half-time buzzer, the
Gunnison boys had scored 19 and headed into the locker room with a 31-17 lead.
Both teams struggled to find rhythm in the third quarter, though GHS continued to defensively suppress a comeback from Olathe. Richter scored four points
from inside the arc to increase the Cowboys lead to 17 points heading into the final minutes of the game.
During the fourth, both teams put 13 points on the board. Howery, Richter and the Riser brothers led the Cowboys’ offense with seven points combined. The game finished with a final score of 52-35, providing the Cowboys with their fourth win of the season and an opportunity to qualify for state.
The Cowboys traveled to Meeker on Tuesday, Feb. 21, but results are not available by press time. A win at Meeker could extend their season by two more games and if the team wins both, the Cowboys will qualify for the state competition. Aguilar said the team has to be perfect for the remainder of the regular season, but they are excited for the challenge.
“These guys want more time with each other, they are a brotherhood, and postseason is a different ball game, so we’re really looking forward to it.” he said.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414.)
The Crested Butte Titans boys varsity hockey team’s regular season concluded with a string of three losses over the past week. On Feb. 15, the Titans played Glenwood Springs, which ended in a final score of 2-1. Then, over the weekend, Crested Butte played a series of games against Steamboat Springs. The run began with a 3-2 overtime loss on Feb. 17, and another 4-0 loss Feb. 18. The results moved the Titans to a 12-6-1 overall record, and 5-5 in the 4A Mountain League.
In their final home battle on Feb. 15, the Titans were put under immediate pressure from Glenwood. The away team registered 13 shots to the Titan’s eight in the first period. Despite the strong start from the opposing team, Dominick Cerio scored an unassisted goal on a power play with 10 minutes left on the clock — giving Crested Butte an early 0-1 lead.
At the whistle of the second period, Crested Butte closely matched Glenwood’s attack and recorded 10 shots on target. With the clock winding down, the Demons took advantage on a power play, and leveled the score 1-1.
Glenwood Springs continued its strong display in front of the goal and scored the winner at the beginning of the third period. The game ended in a 2-1 loss for Crested Butte.
In the first of two consecutive away games against Steamboat Springs, the Titans went toe-to-
toe with the home team during the first two periods. Sam Dukeman scored in the first, assisted by Grady Dietrich and Marshall Spann.
In the second period, Dietrich scored early to take an initial lead for the Titans with an assist from Cael Medina and Dukeman. Steamboat quickly equalized the scoreboard, cementing a 2-2 score that would remain throughout the third period, sending the game into overtime.
With the clock winding down on the first period of overtime, Steamboat scored with 4:52 left on the clock — sealing a 2-3 win over the Titans.
The Titans chased redemption the following evening in the second matchup against Steamboat. Despite 25 total shots on target, the Titans were left without anything to show for the battle. Steamboat scored two in the fi rst, and continued to fight through the game’s final periods. Th e team fi nished the game with a 4-0 win over the Titans.
After losing four out of five of their recent games, the Titans sit third in the 4A Mountain League and qualifi ed for a bye week before heading into the quarter finals.
Head Coach Billy Watson said although the team is suffering from injuries, he was glad give some vital varsity experience to younger players and still qualify for a week off
“Even though we’ve lost our last four, a bye week will be crucial before we head into state,” he said. “Hopefully a rest period will give us a full-strength roster and a boost in the quarter finals.”
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414.)
• Feb. 22 (12:45 p.m.): Understanding Alzheimer’s & Dementia. This important workshop will provide information for you and your loved ones about Alzheimer’s and dementia in a safe and supportive environment. All are welcome! Presenter is Woo Bandel, Community Engagement Manager for Western Colorado, Alzheimer’s Association. RSVPs requested for planning purposes.
• Feb. 23 (RSVP Required): Nordic Ski Excursion - Sargents & Tomichi Trading Post for Lunch. Costs: Current Senior or Rec Center membership and $5.00 fee.
• Feb. 28 (RSVP Required): Snowshoe Hike - Middle Quartz Creek. Rated Intermediate. Contact the Senior Center for more info: egillis@gunnisonco.gov or 970-641-8272.
• March 7 (RSVP Required): Snowshoe Hike - Gothic. Rated Intermediate +.
• Tuesdays @ 10 a.m. - Splash Class is back! Be in the Leisure Pool, ready to enjoy Gwen’s teaching for the month of March!
• Tech Time Individual Appointments: Call to make an appointment for tech questions about your phone, laptop or tablet. 970-641-8272. Times vary.
Mondays & Wednesdays in the Gym
9:30 a.m.: Silver Sneakers Boom Muscle - active adults
10:15 a.m.: Silver Sneakers Classic - all levels
Tuesdays & Thursdays in the Senior Center
10:15 a.m.: Silver Sneakers Splash - strength & balance in the water for all levels
Tuesdays in March: 10 a.m. Splash Class in Leisure Pool
NEXT WEEK’S MENU:
• Mon., Feb. 27: Beef Soup, homemade bread, cottage cheese
• Weds., March 1: Pork Tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls
• Fri., March 3: Spaghetti, salad, bread sticks
Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays – 11:30 a.m. arrival.
Pick-ups from 11 – 11:15 a.m. $5 per meal.
Advance orders encouraged: 970-641-8272. Homemade desserts with every meal!
AT THE SENIOR CENTER 200 E. SPENCER AVE. ALL SENIOR CENTER PROGRAM INFO & RSVPS: EGILLIS@GUNNISONCO.GOV OR 970-641-8272.
Monday
• Computer Use (9 a.m.)
• Bridge (1 p.m.)
Wednesday
• Book Club (1st Wednesday)
Thursday
• Bridge (1 p.m.)
Friday
• Art Club (12:30 p.m.)
• Mahjong (1 p.m.)
Experts report major increase in recent years
Times Staff Report
Consumers can never let their guard down when it comes to identity theft. Personal information is much more accessible in an increasingly digital world. Consequently, instances of identity theft and consumer fraud continue to grow.
• The Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC) reported a record number of data compromises in the United States in 2021, amounting to a 68% increase over 2020.
• The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network received more than 5.7 million reports of fraud and identity theft in 2021.
• Many Americans have been victims of pandemic-related fraud, including scams involving fake testing, vaccines and treatments and charities.
The FTC says identity theft is when someone uses your personal or financial information without your consent. Commonly stolen data includes addresses, credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers or medical insurance numbers.
Though thieves can gather information by intercepting
it through digital channels or simply by stealing mail or going through trash, many times people inadvertently share personal information with scammers themselves. Here’s a look at five common scams.
Phone scams
Phone scams may involve telemarketers trying to sell you something in exchange for personal information given over the phone, as well as people impersonating government agencies or credit card companies. “Please confirm account information” or “We’ll need your financial information to process” are some of the phrases these scams utilize. Never give out personal information over the phone unless you’ve confirmed the individual you’re speaking to is legitimate.
Text links
The Pew Research Center says 81% of adult mobile phone users use text messages regularly. Scammers utilize text messages to try to gain information. The text includes a link to a site that will request personal information. Do not respond to such texts and avoid clicking on the links.
Phishing emails
These emails look like they are coming from legitimate sources, but they often contain malware that can infiltrate computers and other devices to steal identity data. Phishing increased during the pandemic
lockdowns as more people were working from home, according to the ITRC.
Medicare card verification
Older individuals have long been targets of criminals. Seniors are now being called, emailed or even visited in person by scammers claiming to represent Medicare.
Perpetrators of this scam offer new services or new chipped Medicare cards in exchange for verification of Medicare identification numbers. Medicare numbers should be carefully guarded, and seniors should keep in mind it’s highly unlikely Medicare representatives will contact them in this way.
Data breaches
It’s not just a home computer or phone breach you need to worry about. Security experts indicate many major companies are being breached. By the time it’s discovered that data was stolen, your personal information, which usually includes credit card numbers, email addresses and home addresses, has been circulating for some time. While it’s impossible for private citizens to prevent this type of data breach, a credit monitoring service can alert consumers if their information shows up where it seemingly doesn’t belong.
Identity theft is an ever-present threat and consumers must exercise due diligence to protect their personal information.
ON BEHALF OF THE CRESTED BUTTE SKI PATROL WE WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE TREMENDOUS OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT TO THIS YEAR’S WALL TO WALL COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER.
In spite of challenging times for many, people really rallied this year to help support the community. It was awesome and encouraging to see all the support and the event was a huge success. We are money in this fundraiser's history! The funds raised from this event
TO NOMINATE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT SHOWED UP, DONATED AND SUPPORTED THIS EVENT. AND A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS
ASLAN CONSTRUCTION is building a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ouray.
In search of team members who enjoy developing a wide variety of skills. ALL EXPERIENCE NEEDED. $25/hour
APPLY ONLINE WWW.ASLANCONSTRUCTION.COM.
ACC MOUNTAIN WEST
Starting this year, students from Gunnison and Crested Butte high schools have a new opportunity to learn about the medical profession through a partnership between GHS and Gunnison Valley Health (GVH). The Medical Pathways Program joins the Certified Nursing Assistant and Medical Assistant programs, available to Gunnison students.
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Pathways allows students to pursue classes through a nontraditional setting. The classes are held each Wednesday in the evenings and continue until April 12, when students will participate in a graduation ceremony with their classmates and families.
Each week, students are guided through a variety of health care specialties available at GVH, including microbiology, multiple operating and surgical rooms, cardiovascular, family birth centers, radiology and oncology. Each class is taught by experts, and students experience handson learning with sterile tools, mannequins and fake scenarios.
Still to come are behavioral
HIGH SCHOOL: Intro. to Field Biology, July 24-Aug. 4, 2023. High School and college credit expected to be available. Spots still open, scholarships available for local students!
MIDDLE SCHOOL: Project Eco-STEM. Two sessions. July 10-14 and July 17-21. Currently full, waitlist available!
K-5: Weekly Nature and Science Camp sessions. June 19th-Aug. 10th**. Application period OPEN NOW until Feb. 28th. Scholarships availble.
**Offering transportation from Gunnison during the week of July 31st!
For more information and to register visit www.rmbl.org or email youthscience@rmbl.org
health, EMS ride-alongs, primary care, hospice and infection prevention. This program is a valuable opportunity for young people who are unsure of their future career path to see if this profession would be right for them.
GVH Marketing Director Joelle Ashley is the event coordinator, along with Bobbie Hamblin, marketing assistant, and Jason Amrich, CEO of the hospital.
The certified nursing and
medical assistant programs are offered in partnership with the Technical College of the Rockies in Delta. Students will be prepared to take the state board exam at the end of their courses to become certified to work in the medical field in Colorado, if they get their medical license they will be able to work in any hospital, medical, or long term care facility as a certified nursing assistant.
In the Gunnison Valley there are hundreds of local skiers, but only a fraction of those compete and train at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Four GHS students represent the valley in competitions across the nation in various events, including downhill ski racing and free ride competitions.
Rowen Downum at a competition. Courtesy
970-697-6001
Sam Anderson is a freshman who participates in the Mountain Sports Program. Anderson started skiing when he was 4 years old. At 8, his parents signed
him up for the Mountain Sports Program. He quickly excelled in the sport and now loves to compete. His favorite memory from his career in skiing is winning nationals in Aspen, but his favorite resort to ski at is SnowBird in Utah, because he gets soft powder while still having similar terrain to Crested Butte. Anderson will compete in freeride and big
mountain this season.
Atalaya “Aya” Hausdoerffer started skiing before she was 2 years old. She started competing in the big mountain category when she was 8. At the FreeRide World Tournament in Breckenridge in April of 2021, she placed 41st out of 252 female skiers, her best showing. continued on B11
continued from B10 Sam Anderson receives a first place medal after a competition in Aspen.
Her favorite mountain to ski is Snowbird in Utah. She recently completed 100 consecutive months of skiing, following the snow year-round.
Emma Commerford is the only competitive ski racer who attends GHS. She is a sophomore, and competes in slalom, giant slalom, super G and other downhill events. Commerford got into skiing at age 3, but she didn't start racing until 9 years later. Since then, she has fallen in love with this sport. Commerford is unsure of what she wants to do in the future with ski racing, but is currently trying to have as much fun skiing as possible.
Rowen Downum started skiing when he was 3 years old. He competes in up to six freeride competitions each year. This season, he hopes to qualify for the North American Series in Kicking Horse, Canada. One of his favorite tricks is either a Slowrotated 180, backflip, flat spin or
Courtesy
Corked-mute 360. His favorite memory from skiing is when he first visited the waffle shack after a four mile tram ride at the very top of the mountain at the Jackson Hole Resort in Wyoming.
Isis Thiede Giddyup Staff Writer
Spanish exchange student
Cristina Ivars is attending GHS for the spring semester, after spending the fall semester in Louisiana.
“I really love it here, I chose to come, and I’m glad I did,” 16 years-old, Ivers said.
Her sister was also an exchange student at GHS during her senior year in 2021. Ivars and her family came to the valley to visit her sister’s exchange family for Christmas and she fell in love with the area. However, at the time she was at a high school in Louisiana, but she was very unhappy there.
“The school was hard, and the people weren’t very nice. I also
did not get to practice my English skills very much, because there was a group of other Spanishspeaking exchange students,” she said.
Nothing about going to school in the U.S. is similar to the Canary Islands, where she is from. There, the grade level system is divided into primary school (grades 1-6) and secondary school, which continues for four grades. After that, students have the choice to go through with higher education, which is called Bachillerato (Baccalaureate) in Spain.
Ivars enjoys traveling, socializing, art and going to the beach. Art is her favorite class at GHS, she said. She has traveled to many places, including eight states in the U.S., including New York, Washington, California and Illinois. She also enjoys listening to music, Taylor Swift is one of her favorite artists.
After the spring semester, Ivars hopes to stay in the U.S. and live what she calls the “American experience.”
“There
nowhere else I would rather go
Musical melodies filled Quigley Hall on Saturday afternoon as community members gathered at Western Colorado University to enjoy performances from the Colorado Brass Band and the All Colorado Honor Band. The university welcomed Tom Davoren as a guest conductor for the honor band and Western Symphonic Band. The event was held as a part of a benefit series for the Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department.
