CONSTRUCTION STRUGGLES AMID DOWNTURN | BUSINESS 3AA
$1.00
HONORING WORKERS LIFT-UP recognizes volunteers
CATCHING ON
ROUTT COUNTY 1D
Routt County track teams take on ja javelin SPORTS 1C C
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009
VOLUME 122, NUMBER 41 • STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO • www.steamboatpilot.com
The fast track
Ski Corp. joins $7M gondola project Tom Ross
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
FILE PHOTO
Fire consumes lodgepole pines in late July 2008 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Pinedale, Wyo. The National Interagency Fire Center is reporting “normal significant fire potential” in the Rocky Mountain region for April through July.
Steamboat Springs could have a new people-mover gondola by early next ski season. Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. officials and Wildhorse Meadows developers confirmed this week that they are close to finalizing a cost-sharing
deal that would allow construction of a new, eight-passenger public gondola this fall. The goal is to open the gondola as soon as January 2010. It would link a remote parking lot and new luxury condominium hotel with the base of Steamboat Ski Area. “Now is the best time to get it done,” Wildhorse principal Brent Pearson said. “We’re working well See Gondola, page 9A
TOM ROSS/STAFF
The new public gondola from Wildhorse Meadows to the ski base would crest the knoll between The West condos and Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel before descending to the entrance of a new plaza between Gondola Square and One Steamboat Place.
Late snowfall lessens risks
Wildfire danger could change quickly with weather patterns, officials say Brandon Gee
On the ’Net
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
March and April snowstorms have left the regional snowpack in good shape approaching wildfire season, but the gathering impact of the mountain pine beetle epidemic still has forest officials on the edge of their seats. The National Interagency Fire Center is reporting “normal significant fire potential” in the Rocky Mountain region for April through July. The center’s prognosis notes that “a significant snow storm during the last full week of March provided much-needed precipitation to Colorado.”
■ To read the federal and state forest services’ 2008 forest health highlights, visit www.steamboatpilot.com. Additional mountain pine beetle information can be found at www.fs.fed. us/r2/bark-beetle/. ■ To read the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s award-winning, five-part series on the beetle epidemic, visit www. steamboatpilot.com/thelaststand.
As of Friday, the average basin-wide snow water equivalent for the Yampa and White rivers basin was 103 percent of average, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. District Forester John Twitchell, of the Colorado State Forest See Wildfires, page 9A
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Waitress Susan Cardenas serves breakfast to Dinty Moore’s Family Restaurant regulars, clockwise from left, Chuck Klesath, Eugene Germain, Chris Neil, John Maynarich, Bob Johnson and Pete Koler on Thursday morning in Oak Creek. The restaurant closed Saturday. A new restaurant called The Oak will open in its place.
State Democrats tout their efforts
Eateries adapting
Sen. Michael Bennet supports path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
Economy, changing ownerships affect Oak Creek restaurants
P. Solomon Banda THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER
Sen. Michael Bennet, potentially wading into a heated political debate a year before he runs for his first election, said Saturday he supports a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. Speaking at a news conference of four Colorado congressional Democrats touting Bennet efforts during Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office and the new Congress, Bennet said a path to citizenship along with increased border enforcement should be part of comprehensive immigration reform. “The current status quo is clearly unacceptable on so many levels,” Bennet said.
PAGE DESIGNED BY AMANDA PHILLIPS
He said the path to citizenship should come with requirements, including completing education, learning English and holding a job. “Opponents of this, so far as I can tell, have said they don’t believe there should be any of that,” he said. “But they have no theory about what to do with the 12 million people who are here in the United States illegally or in an undocumented way, and they haven’t offered one.” Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams said Bennet comes close to supporting amnesty. “The two main principles of the Republican Party are strong border security, and we are against amnesty,” Wadhams said, declining to comment about what to do with those already here. “That’s all I can say.” See Democrats, page 8A
ROUTT
SUNDAY FOCUS
OUTSIDE
INSIDE Business . . . . . . . . Classifieds . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . Comics . . . . . . . . . Crossword . . . . . . .
T
he “Blights of the Round Table,” as several Oak Creek locals jokingly call themselves, are being bounced from restaurant to restaurant as eateries in the town change hours, owners and menus to cope with the economic downturn. Gathered around a table at Dinty Moore’s STORY BY ResZACH FRIDELL Family taurant on Thursday, the group of regulars who gather for morning coffee said they had to move across the street from their usual perch at the Colorado Bar & Grill because the bar had closed for mud season. Saturday was the last day for the group to sit around Dinty Moore’s table, too, as
3A 2B 6A 5D 6D
Horoscope . . . . . . . Obituaries . . . . . . . Outdoors . . . . . . . . Viewpoints . . . . . . . Weather . . . . . . . . .
COUNTY’S
6D 6A 6C 4A 2A
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Customers sit outside The Mugshot coffee shop in Oak Creek. Jane Sindell, the restaurant’s owner, is putting the shop up for sale with no intention of closing it.
Mountain Tavern, owner Douglas Diamond said the recession has forced him to cut back everything he can. Staff, menu offerings and hours of operation all have been sliced as much as possible to help the restaurant make it through
DELIVERY PROBLEM?
VIEWPOINTS LAST WEEK: Is the economy affecting your mud season plans? Results/5A
A snow shower early, then a rain shower. High of 46.
THIS WEEK: Should the city relax its dog leash laws?
Page 2A
NEWSPAPER
the restaurant held its final food-serving shifts under owner Tina Zywicki. When her lease came up for renewal, Zywicki said, she decided she had had enough. “My lease was up, and I got thinking about it. I’ve been cooking for 12 years, and I’m just burnt out,” she said. The building next will hold The Oak, a restaurant that received a liquor license from the Oak Creek Town Board on Thursday evening. Everything inside Dinty Moore’s is for sale through Tuesday. Zywicki said the economic slump made business difficult, but the restaurant was sustainable. “It’s been hard, but we’ve been getting through,” she said. The restaurant primarily employs Zywicki’s family members. Up the street at Black
OF
RECORD
SINCE
1885
To report home delivery problems, please call 970-871-4250 on Sunday from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Missed papers will be delivered by 10:30 a.m.
www.steamboatpilot.com
the slump. He eliminated four staff positions and has stopped serving lunch. He said he will not offer pizza until early May because the few pizzas served per night don’t See Oak Creek, page 8A
��������������� �����������������