Proposed 500-unit project enters next stage of city approval
Alex McCrindle Times Sports Editor
A large housing development slated for the west side of Gunnison made it through the first checkpoint of the city’s planning review process this week.
On June 25, the City of Gunnison Planning and Zoning Commission approved a sketch plan for the proposed West Thorn housing development by a vote of 4 to 2 at a public hearing. The sketch plan approval is the first
SPORTS: GHS basketball competes in Western camp, B6
OBITUARIES A2
OPINION A6
CLASSIFIEDS A20-A24
SPORTS B6
Luna Bakery legacy continues
Now open to the public
Gia Wright Special to the Times
An industrial mixer whirred away in the background at the Luna Bakery, and the mouthwatering smell of fresh-baked cookies filled the air. Employees
Jon Szalankiewcz and Shaylea McMillan were busy mixing dough and prepping a new sheet of drop cookies (the kind that are made by dropping spoonfuls of dough directly onto the baking sheet rather than rolling them or cutting them out). It was Monday and the team was hard at work preparing a fresh round of baked goods for Tuesday — the first day that the bakery opens to customers each week.
The Luna Bakery officially opened its doors as a retail bak-
Deven and Sean Bennett
Gia Wright) Bakery A8
(right) stand in front of the Luna Bakery’s new location at 208 E. Tomichi Ave. (Photo by
West Thorn A8
AMERICAN HERITAGE: Ranchers took part in the Top Hand Series ranch competition at the Cross Slash on June 28. Riders competed in cattle drive, sorting and trail challenge events. The day served as preparation for the Top Hand’s Cattlemen’s Day debut on July 7. For more, see B1 (Photo by Evan Bjornstad)
“Driving cattle is all about knowing when to apply pressure, [and] it’s a back-andforth, almost like a dance. You can only hope it’s a waltz, and not a twist.”
— Trudy Vader, Top Hand Series See story on B1
BLM imposes fire restrictions
Stage 1 fire restrictions will go into effect July 3 for all public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Gunnison Field Office within the boundaries of Gunnison, Hinsdale, Saguache, San Juan, Ouray and Montrose counties. The restrictions align with local orders and guidelines to protect the public’s safety during high fire danger.
Restrictions include:
• Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire except within agency-provided fire grates at developed recreation sites. Devices using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel are permitted.
• Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
• Operating a chainsaw without a USDA or SAE approved spark arrester properly installed and working, a chemical fire extinguisher of not less than 8 ounces capacity by weight, and one round point shovel with an overall length of at least 36 inches.
• Using a welder, either arc or gas, or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame, except in cleared areas of at least 10 feet in diameter with a chemical pressurized fire extinguisher of not less than 8 ounces capacity.
• Using exploding targets/fireworks.
Violation of federal fire restrictions is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 12 months or both. In addition, those found responsible for starting wildfires will also face restitution costs of suppressing the fire.
Correction
In last week’s edition of the Times , we incorrectly reported the address of the Luna Bakery. The correct address is 208 E. Tomichi Ave. in Gunnison. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Matthew J. Cahir
Matthew J. Cahir, 53, died in Crested Butte, Colorado on April 18, 2025. He was the loving father of Henry Stephen Cahir and Phoebe Frances Cahir. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, he was a son of Maureen H. (Crowley) Cahir and the late Thomas H. Cahir.
Matthew loved life. His warm personality made everyone who knew him feel special. Matty could meet a stranger on a park bench and be invited to a family gathering at their home the next night. His enthusiasm for life impacted the world around him and everyone he met. He leaves us countless stories and endless moments of laughter as well as deep contemplation. His big heart and sharp wit kept those who loved him smiling. Quick to crack wise, he also had immense depth of
character. Matty lived his life with honor and integrity. Doing the right thing meant that he sometimes didn’t fit into the crowd or societal norms. He lived life on his terms. When he was a student at Western State College, he dropped out for a time to join an American Indian Movement protest run across the United States.
Matty had deep respect for the sacredness of land and this earth. A sense of adventure took him to mountains and oceans and everywhere in between. In his twenties, he hitchhiked through Mexico and Central America. He was an avid outdoorsman and held great reverence for all that it entailed. He taught his son Henry to honor nature and its bounties, and instilled the same love for the wilderness in him.
Whenever Big Matt was around, he made sure we had ourselves a time. He had a penchant for instigation and was a world-class mischief-maker. He was funny; you definitely wanted to be sitting next to him or within earshot. With four siblings, he joked about being “litter raised.” Matt could give you the business like nobody else. He had an uncanny understanding of people and human nature. He was always the cool-
Whitewater sprints
The Gunnison River Festival held its annual Taylor River Downriver Race on Friday, June 20. Men and women compete separately in the kayak competitions. Kestrel Kunz, the local American Whitewater representative, took first in the women's category, while Sam Reaman took first in the men's. The raft race was competitive but Mike Chavez's team of Three Rivers Resort guides took first while Angie Mauldin's Scenic River Tours guide team took second.
est guy in the room, but also the most approachable. He would take the time to listen quietly to whatever was on your mind. Sometimes all it took was his bright smile and a big bear hug to turn your day around.
Matt was naturally gifted as an athlete and runner. Many summers on vacation in Rhode Island, he’d hang out on the beach in the morning and decide to run the Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race that afternoon. No training, no practice, he’d just put his tennis shoes on and ask for someone to pick him up at the finish. He loved hockey, playing from the time he was little into his 50s. He was a phenomenal skier. His daughter Phoebe’s competitive skiing made him beam with pride. He graduated from Western State college with a degree in business, and made a home in Colorado from then on. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service, and finally for the Town of Crested Butte as a mechanic. In between, he worked on the Lady Lynn, a fishing boat in New England. He would tell stories of how the boat’s engine would catch fire out at sea and barely make it back to port. They’d somehow fix it up, and get back out there. He was a master at patching things up.
The greatest loves of his life were his two children. Fatherhood was his highest achievement in life, and he would be quick to tell you that. The love and awe he felt for them was immense and unconditional. His face lit up with joy as he would recount every minute detail of their adventures. Nothing was more important to him than to provide all he could for them.
You lived a big life, big shifter. You gave so openly and unaffectedly. We take comfort knowing that your loving soul is free.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Matthew on Friday, July 18, 2025 at 10 a.m. in St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, 864 Point Judith Rd, Narragansett, RI. Burial will be private. Calling hours will be Thursday, July 17, 2025 from 4-7 p.m. in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia St., Wakefield, RI.
For online condolences visit averystortifuneralhome.com.
(Photo by Jacob Spetzler)
State patrol announces ‘Heat is On’ DUI campaign
The Colorado Department of Transportation will support Colorado State Patrol and 51 local law enforcement agencies for “The Heat Is On” campaign during the Fourth of July weekend from July 2 to 7. Drivers may see saturation patrols, sobriety checkpoints and additional law enforcement officers on duty during the six-day enforcement period.
Summer is a busy travel season for Colorado drivers and vacationers. During the “100 deadliest days of summer” — the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day — Colorado experiences a notable increase in traffic fatalities. During this timeframe, an average of one in three fatalities involve an impaired driver.
With 28 deaths, last July had the highest number of impaired driving-related fatalities of any month in 2024. Since 2019, July has remained in the top three highest months for traffic crashes involving impairment. There have been 82 impaired drivingrelated deaths so far this year, a 15% decrease from this same time period in 2024.
“Avoid seeing red and blue lights in your rearview mirror this holiday weekend,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Make a plan for your Fourth of July
festivities and avoid impaired driving at all costs. A DUI or impaired driving crash is lifealtering. Never put yourself or others at risk.”
If you plan to host a party this weekend, make sure your guests stay safe by following the tips below:
• Collect your guests’ car keys upon arrival. Encourage them to designate a sober driver or use a ride-sharing service, taxi or public transportation.
• Call a friend or family member for a guest if they have been drinking or offer them a place to stay if a sober ride home is unavailable.
• Stop serving alcohol at least two hours before the party is over. Provide plenty of food and non-alcoholic drink options.
• Be persistent if a guest is intoxicated and planning to drive home. Explain that you care about their safety and cannot let them get behind the wheel.
• Remember that as a host, you could be held liable if a guest you served alcohol to gets in a crash.
CDOT recently launched a campaign to educate the public on the consequences of refusing a DUI blood or breath test. Under Colorado’s Expressed
Consent law, by driving a vehicle in the state, you automatically consent to a toxicology test following a DUI arrest. Colorado has seen an increase in drivers who refuse a toxicology test in recent years. Refusing a test is illegal, and it hinders efforts to keep Colorado roads safe from impaired drivers.
The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year, with 15 specific high-visibility impaired driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events. Enforcement periods can include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and additional law enforcement on duty dedicated to impaired driving enforcement.
For more information visit HeatIsOnColorado.com.
(Source: Colorado Department of Transportation)
Graph displaying the number of impaired driving-related fatalities by month in 2024. (Courtesy CDOT)
(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
RMBL research an ‘emergent property’ of family ties
Lab’s success built on long-term relationships
John Hausdoerrfer
Special to the Times
For 55 years, David Inouye has studied hummingbirds at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL). In that time he has banded up to 300 each year to track their life cycles (including one world-record, 12-year-old hummingbird that called Gothic home). Questions about hummingbirds led to inquiries into 12 species of bumble bees, wildflowers that nourish all pollinators, the snow and moisture that fuel wildflowers and the climate that sustains or disrupts the reliability of moisture.
None of that would be possible had his years at RMBL not turned into decades.
Time has brought a set of discoveries that can only emerge from perpetual focus. Inouye and his colleagues have found that one flower — the monument plant — blooms once in its lifetime and that a monument can live to be one hundred years old.
“They flower like a big star,” he said. “The most I've ever counted was 31,000 between Snodgrass and Emerald Lake. It took me 32 years to learn that the moisture from four years earlier determines the probability of the plant flowering in a given year.”
I asked Inouye what it took to establish such long-term data sets. He reflected as another hummingbird approached his feeder.
“I'm lucky that my sons grew up spending summers at RMBL, and that one of them (Brian) met his wife (Nora) here. Brian and Nora now work here, because they wanted to give their daughter the experience that Brian had of growing up in Gothic.” Inouye pointed across a meadow. “They now own that cabin down there.”
After years establishing themselves at field stations in California, Brazil and Costa Rica, Brian Inouye and Nora Underwood now oversee the long-term plant phenology project at RMBL, which David Inouye started with other students in 1973. For over 50 years, three times a week in summer, RMBL scientists count all the flowers of every species across numerous plots. Among other things, they have learned that the wildflower growing season is a full month longer than it was fifty years ago.
According to RMBL Science Director Jennie Reithel, “impacts of these changes in the timing of flowering (i.e., flowering phenology) are under study, including whether or not pollinators can match the timing of
flowering.”
Brian and Nora reflected on the relationship between family and long-term, cross-species data at RMBL.
“It's a combination of familyfriendly policies and the kind of community-building that encourages people to come back for multiple summers,”
Brian said. “RMBL’s got this collection of oddball little cabins scattered around the townsite, and that makes it feel like a community that people can return to and feel invested in.”
Nora stated, “People take kids seriously at RMBL, and the kids’ observations are interesting to people.”
Family has always made RMBL appealing to scientists, back to when Vera Adams Johnson and John Johnson, Sr. started the lab in 1928. Their grandson, Doug Johnson, after sharing his own childhood memories of catching garter snakes in the 1950s, recently shared,
“Scientists have families that they want the best for. They have personal lives. They're not just these machines that go out and make discoveries,” grandson Doug Johnson said, after sharing his own memories of catching garter snakes in the 1950s.
Former Executive Director Ian Billick and his partner spent summers raising their kids in Barclay Cabin at RMBL.
“RMBL’s long-term research is actually an emergent property of RMBL being family-friendly,“ Billick said.
New families are finding their way into the RMBL community in Gothic. In late June, Tuskegee University’s School of Architecture professor Kwesi Daniels brought his 15-year-old son Indigo to RMBL for a field visit. Watching Indigo draw the parts of numerous Gothic flowers with great care, I wondered how much that childlike love over a century has led to one of the world’s most impactful long-term datasets.
“RMBL is a place built by scientists and their families, for scientists and their families,” Kwesi said. “Such a living architectural history creates a rare bond between people and place.”
(John Hausdoerffer is the RMBL director of storytelling and a philosophy professor at Western Colorado University.)
David Inouye displays a hummingbird he snared at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in June. (Photo by John Hausdoerrfer)
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GUEST COMMENTARY
Time for honest GVRHA dialogue
Melissa LaMonica Special to the Times
Affordable housing in the Gunnison Valley is a critical need and a complex challenge — one that demands honest leadership, transparency and a willingness to face hard truths. Unfortunately, Jennifer Kermode’s recent opinion piece has missed this mark.
On May 28, 2025, I submitted my resignation from GVRHA to accept the chief financial officer position with Gunnison County. It was a difficult decision because I remain committed to the mission of affordable housing and believe deeply in the need for strong, community-focused partnerships. But I believe I can have a broader impact on the community and in affordable housing with this new role.
Ms. Kermode implied that the GVRHA board is struggling to find its purpose and shirking responsibility. That is simply false. In truth, the board is doing precisely what responsible leadership should: asking hard questions, reevaluating the structure of the organization and assessing GVRHA’s long-
LETTERS
Wrong project for the west side
LETTERS POLICY
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Email letters to editor@gunnisontimes.com or send to 218 N. Wisconsin St., Gunnison, CO 81230. Include your full name, address and a phone number — for our internal use only.
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term viability. After more than a decade of operating under the “regional housing authority” model, it is not only fair, but necessary to assess whether that model still serves our community.
For the first time in years, GVRHA is meeting the expectations of its funders. They now have full transparency into operations and finances, and the GVRHA board is empowered to make informed decisions — even difficult ones. This is a stark contrast to the state of the organization when I was hired.
The hard truth is, I was told by our board, our funders and our partners that I was on a “rescue mission” — this was GVRHA’s last chance. Years of frustration with poor leadership, broken relationships, failed programs and a lack of accountability left our funders questioning whether to continue their support at all.
If you read Ms. Kermode’s piece, you are probably thinking about now, that this a very different picture than she painted. Imagine my surprise!
I won’t list every inherited deficiency — though I could. I could talk about how it took a full year to clean up the financials to complete the first timely audit without major issues since at least 2016. Or how several programs touted in Ms. Kermode’s letter, including down payment assistance and emergency rental aid, were
closed before ever launching, having never disbursed any funds. Even basic public-facing responsibilities like answering phones, opening the office or responding to emails were not consistently met. And this is but a small sample.
Unlike the county housing authority, GVRHA has not been a significant player in the development or preservation of affordable housing in our community for years. Aside from the GV-HEAT program, the organization has largely functioned as an administrative service provider for our local jurisdictions by managing properties and conducting qualifications and lotteries for deed restriction resales. While these are important services, they do not meet the full promise of what a regional housing authority could be.
GVRHA’s current board structure, heavily composed of council members, naturally brings a focus on representing their individual jurisdictions’ priorities. As a result, discussions can sometimes center more on navigating political considerations or funding concerns than on aligning around the broader needs of our community. This is a common challenge for multijurisdictional boards balancing diverse priorities, but it underscores the need for a clear, unified mission focused on community impact.
To suggest that GVRHA had a “solid foundation” in May 2022
is not just misleading — it’s a revisionist account that ignores the well-documented dysfunction, lack of transparency and deteriorating relationships that defined the period. The only thing Ms. Kermode and I agree on is that this work is hard — and done right, it’s even harder!
In the up-coming months, the GVRHA board and staff will be working closely with our partners and local jurisdictions to ensure uninterrupted service to the community while we work through the details. This is a testament to the strong and ongoing commitment we all have to the mission and to our community.
This is not a moment of collapse. It’s a moment of alignment. By pairing GVRHA’s renewed operational integrity with the county’s proven capacity to develop and deliver housing, we have a real chance to build something more impactful than either could achieve alone. Let’s move forward with a shared commitment to provide affordable housing in the Gunnison Valley. Our community deserves nothing less.
(Melissa LaMonica is executive director of the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority.)
Editor: So the Gunnison Planning and Zoning Commission passed the West Thorn sketch plan. The development calls for 508 units, basically three times the density of Van Tuyl Village. At full buildout, a 20% or more increase to Gunnison’s population.
With such an immense change to the west side of Gunnison, I find it very odd that the planning department didn’t require a public meeting to gauge support. Even the developer mentioned that instead of the typical design charrette with the public, they went to the hockey rink and did “pop up” design charrettes instead. Again, no public meeting for a development that will transform the west side of Gunnison and increase population by 20% or more. What’s interesting is that the “community outreach” conducted never reached out to anyone that’s in the neighborhood affected by this proposal. In their presentation, the developer stated an unknown number of units will be rent-
als for seasonal Crested Butte workers, creating a highly transient neighborhood. They sold the project as “something that’s impactful and transformative.” They’re correct. It will transform the west side into an insanely dense, congested, transient place and impact the surrounding neighborhoods immensely. While Thorn will be a “walkable” neighborhood, the current walkable neighborhoods will be inundated with constant traffic. The question for the community: Are we wanting hot bed housing for transient workers, or building a community that you would want to live in for 20 years.
In the public meeting a commissioner brought up the fact that this development is three times the density of Van Tuyl on basically the same acreage and was struggling to see how it would fit. “Properties are going to be developed in different ways as far as maximum density goes, an appropriate scale, and this project is being proposed to a max density. The PUD is asking for exemption in order to support that maximum density by reducing the parking, they’re reducing the roadway width
and doing all these slight moves to get to that maximum density of 35 units an acre.”
A commissioner asked if anyone else had concerns about this not meeting the seven PUD purpose statements and eight review standards. Two others agreed, the other four were silent. The lack of detailed questions and concerns from more of the commissioners was concerning. Most of the public comments expressed concerns with this project.
This development will serve Crested Butte businesses, meaning a big influx of traffic every day navigating their way through town to Hwy. 135 and back. No connection to the transit system or adequate collector roads connect to the property.
Four-story, 60’ buildings and 75’ towers were described in the plan. They cited the West Gunnison Neighborhood Plan in their presentation, but failed to mention the part where “frequently mentioned was the desire for housing that is built at lower density levels in order to allow for open spaces within the neighborhood.”
Yes we need housing, but this
is the wrong project for the west side of Gunnison.
Don’t dismantle GVRHA
Editor:
(Editor’s note: This letter was sent to Gunnison County commissioners and town council members in Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte.)
Esteemed Public Servants: When I served on the Crested Butte Town Council, creating the Gunnison Valley Regional Housing Authority was my baby. I am extremely disappointed, but not surprised, that the board and the county want to dissolve this critical organization in the midst of a severe housing crisis. Why am I not surprised? Only recently has the community focused on producing workforce housing. In years past, priorities were elsewhere. Speaking with the Valley Housing Fund president the other day, he expressed his frustration with the inabil
Dave Kozlowski Gunnison
ity of the VHF to raise significant funds through contributions. Paraphrasing his words, “nobody donates to affordable housing efforts.” It’s true. Likewise, the electorate shot down two attempts to fund the GVRHA with a dedicated property tax, and the GVRHA never tried again. “We can’t do it. There is no support.”
This community has spent countless millions of dollars to preserve huge amounts of open space, but only a tiny fraction of that on affordable housing. Demand continues to grow as the supply of real estate continues to shrink, and housing prices have skyrocketed into the stratosphere. The result? A town of multi-million dollar miner’s shacks housing the uber wealthy has replaced a real town of working, middle class, and some rich people to the detriment of all. The residents of the “new Crested Butte” enjoy the open space and the panoramic views that affords, but miss the services that a valley this size needs, but we don’t have the capacity to fill. That capacity shrinks day by day, sale by sale, and disposing of the one entity that could have the biggest impact is foolish.
GVRHA is a quasi-governmental agency with taxing authority that could act independently, like the fire district. The county housing authority is an extension of the county government. GVRHA was founded to “effect the planning, financing, acquisition, construction … repair, maintenance, management and operation of housing projects….” In the last decade or so, that mission has shrunk to only those final four items. GVRHA gave up entirely on “planning, financing, acquisition, [or] construction…of housing projects.” When we hired the first Executive Director, we gave him one directive: build affordable housing. Anthracite Place only exists because of his leadership and my tie breaking vote on Council. Otherwise, that would be another hotel or Academy Place. No ED since has even tried to build housing.
So here’s an alternative I ask you to consider: instead of dismantling the Housing Authority, hire someone who knows how to build housing to lead it, pass a property or sales tax to independently fund it, and reclaim those first four goals: plan, finance, acquire and construct the housing we so desperately need!
David K. Owen Crested Butte
left her staff without access to files or passwords.
It is rich that this same individual would accuse the board of losing sight of focus, and not being ready to put in the hard work for affordable housing. As someone who joined the board just as Jennifer Kermode left the Housing Authority, I understand very well the hard work that has been done to try and restabilize the GVRHA, and to make it the resource for affordable housing in the valley. Currently all the jurisdictions involved in the Housing Authority continue to work hard on our housing crisis and want to continue to work together as we solve this valleywide challenge.
I am happy to speak with anyone who wants to take a constructive approach to working on this issue.
Gabi Prochaska Crested Butte
Good, clean library fun
Editor:
How do you spell fun on a Friday night in Gunnison?
A-u-t-o-c-h-t-h-o-n-o-u-s.
That’s right. That was the winning word in the Gunnison Library’s first-ever adult spelling bee. When the over-achieving John Mason enunciated the final letter to complete the final round of the nail-biting competition, the crowd erupted. The cheers were deafening. No one was “ssshhhed,” despite there being more than one librarian in the room.
I haven’t had that much fun on a Friday since freshman year at Western State. Unlike then, there wasn’t a keg in sight.
Kudos to the Gunnison Library, especially the courageous and creative Ellen Davis, who brainstormed and orchestrated the illustrious event. And mad props to the 20 brave souls who stood before their peers and the jeering judges, yours truly included, to bear public witness of their acumen with the alphabet.
Bravo! And encore! Let’s make this an annual to-do. What on earth, you might ask, does autochthonous mean? Grab your dictionary and let the fun begin.
Chris Dickey Gunnison
Lots of ‘wrong’ to go around
Editor:
A GVRHA
rebuttal
Editor:
I am writing in response to Jennifer Kermode in last week's paper. Her letter is revisionist, very misleading and cannot be left to stand on its own.
The dismantling of the GVRHA began in 2022 when the executive director left an unstable organization incapable of fulfilling its mission and purpose. She left an organization which could not pass an audit;
noted that liberals like Clinton and Obama spoke and — in Obama’s case — acted harshly toward immigrants. He’s right that Obama and his administration outstripped Trump's best efforts at deportation. By every metric, even the bad ones, Trump is a loser. Obama, not Trump, is the deporter-in-chief, a title that frustrates liberals and right-wingers alike.
All Trump has is cruelty, a powerful weapon, to be sure, but anyone delighting in cruelty has already lost the moral ground.
As a radical leftist — not a liberal — I despise both administrations for their treatment of immigrants. I despise the Obama administration‘s ruthless efficiency and lack of transparency. I despise Trump's weaponization of cruelty and the way his sycophants “call evil good, and good evil; exchange darkness for light, and light for darkness; and replace bitter with sweet, sweet with bitter,” as the prophet put it.
Whataboutism is rhetoric’s weakest dodge. “Look over here! What about this massive injustice?” Hoping you’ll forget the injustice in front of you. But Neil and I both know that wrong is wrong, no matter who does it, and that decent people will oppose immoral policies and rhetoric.
Neil and I understand that the wanton, aggressive and reflexive abuse of human beings, reducing them to numbers, redefining them as criminals — hell, even abusing those convicted of crimes — is wrong, full stop. It doesn’t matter if our chosen messiahs are doing it.
As a Christian anarchist, I appreciated Neil’s awareness of history. He’s absolutely correct: we’ve done poorly as a nation and we can do better. Clinton was wrong, Obama was wrong and Trump is wrong.
Join Neil and me in opposing injustice.
Ian Wrisley Gunnison
‘Just another day’
Editor:
I was in jail (again) last week. A complaint had been filed against me.
The court was concerned about my behavior in public.
I went before the judge passionately pleading my case, stating that I was a victim of circumstance and that I was striving to become a better citizen.
I usually read Neil Watko’s letters to the editor and think how hard it must be to defend the Trump administration, and even Trump himself.
It’s a Sisyphean task, and worse: instead of pushing one boulder uphill, only to have it roll back down and be pushed up again, Neil is pushing multiple boulders, forced to defend the lunacy and stupidity of the indefensible, each boulder crushing him under the gravity of reason, compassion and raw reality.
But I agreed with him a couple of weeks ago when he
The judge was having none of it and threw down the gavel and gave me 10 days in jail and 100 hours of community service.
The crime: being reasonable.
Neil Diggins Gunnison
West Thorn
hurdle in the city review process. The plan outlines factors such as zoning, housing types and design considerations.
West Thorn is a proposed 500unit neighborhood by Denverbased developer Urban Villages. Urban Villages plans to build on 25 acres in West Gunnison, between Hwy. 50 and the Gunnison River. West Thorn will offer a variety of housing types, ranging from single-family homes to town houses, designed with both seasonal and full-time workers in mind. The sketch plans include modular construction and amenities such as 4.5 acres of open space, community greenhouses, outdoor equipment storage and a cafe.
While the sketch plan provided a broad look at the proposed West Thorn project, it clears the way for Urban Villages to submit the much more detailed plans for the next phase of review. The development’s high density, and impact on traffic and utilities infrastructure will be addressed in future hearings based on those applications.
“It's premature for staff to speculate on what the impacts of this development would be,” City Manager Amanda Wilson told the Times.
At the public hearing, the commission echoed the community’s concerns around density and an increase in traffic. At nearly 35 units per acre, West Thorn would become the highest-density development in Gunnison. Some commissioners and members of the public feared that an influx of nearly 1,000 additional residents could overwhelm utilities
Bakery
ery on June 25.
“It’s exciting, because there really isn’t another bread baker in the county,” Deven Bennett said.
Deven and his brother, Sean, are the co-owners of the Luna Bakery as well as the iconic Gunnison eatery, Powerstop. The Luna Bakery has been around since 2009, the same year that the Bennett brothers opened Powerstop.
In 2012, the previous owner of the bakery, Joel Karinen, convinced the Bennett brothers to use their breads at Powerstop, and they agreed. They ended up being so fond of the bread that when Karinen moved to Alaska to become a bush pilot, the brothers decided to keep the Luna bakery legacy (and bread) alive.
“We took over the bakery eight years ago because we loved the bread and hoagie rolls and didn’t want to lose them,” said Deven.
Although the brothers have kept the Luna Bakery open since 2017, up until now it has mainly been a wholesale bakery supplying bread to the Powerstop and other restaurants in the valley like the T-Bar, Harmel’s and the Double Shot Cyclery. Aside from being for sale occasionally at
and existing traffic infrastructure. Discussion also centered around whether the development would be compatible with surrounding land uses.
“Yes we’re looking out for the future, but we also have to be conscious that everything isn’t built out to the max in Gunnison,” Commissioner Travis Scheefer said at the hearing. “The PUD is asking for exceptions in order to support its maximum density. They’re reducing their parking areas and their roadway widths to allow for 35 units per acre. So is it compatible with the surrounding land use, and what’s built in the future there too?”
Both commissioners and residents raised additional concerns about an increase in traffic.
“I ask the commission to address what is being done to ensure that Gunnison has adequate infrastructure in place for the West Thorn development,” Gunnison resident John Gregory said at the hearing. “Specifically, expanded roadways, traffic lights, sidewalks, sewer lines and public transport to accommodate the additional population and traffic.”
Andy Sovick, former chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, however, stated West Thorn’s high density is encouraged in the city’s comprehensive plan.
“I looked into the plan to cure my bias in my reaction to the development,” Sovick said. “In quoting the plan, ‘Density is important in creating affordable compact housing developments.’ Housing development code goals, ‘Encourage compact and high density development patterns that will limit unnecessary outward sprawl expansion and help preserve the local landscape.’”
During the meeting, Public Works Director Pete Rice
the Gunnison Farmers Market, the delicious baked goods from the Luna Bakery have not been available for retail purchase by the general public.
The baked goods at Luna are “locally produced, preservative-free, and use top-quality ingredients. It’s healthy bread,” Deven said. “We even use locally-produced flour in some of our breads.”
The list of baked goods includes loaves of fresh-baked sourdough, rye, marble rye, wheat bread, olive bread, garlic bread, baguettes, hoagie rolls, cinnamon rolls, a wide selection of pastries, sweet and savory scones, cheddar bacon biscuits, sugar cookies, drop cookies, gluten free cookies and take-andbake pizzas.
The Luna Bakery storefront is located at 208 E. Tomichi Ave. in Gunnison, next door to the Wet Grocer. It is open for bread and pastry sales Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., but showing up earlier in the week is encouraged, as their breads and pastries tend to go fast.
“By the end of the week we are fairly wiped out [of products] and then we spend the weekend preparing new items,” Deven said.
For more information visit thelunabakery.com.
(Gia Wright is a Gunnison-
writer.)
announced that the city plans to conduct its own traffic study with the intent of staying ahead of new development on the west side of town. The document, which will be completed this fall, will assess potential vehicle congestion near West Thorn, the capacity of Thornton Way and how vehicles will access Hwy. 50.
“These were all of the questions that were asked tonight … What we are trying to do is bridge that
gap so that you can make decisions based on data,” Rice said. Urban Villages will submit the additional applications in the coming months, and turn their attention to the concerns raised at the hearing. The commission will schedule future hearings upon submission of the two applications. The West Thorn development is aiming to break ground in 2026.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)
based freelance
Luna Bakery staff hard at work on the week’s baked goods.
from A1
Proposed West Thorn housing development. (Courtesy City of Gunnison)
Dispatch teaches 911 safety for kids
Outreach aims to make young people more responsive in an emergency
William Spicer Special to the Times
(Editor’s note: This is the final installment of a series on the Gunnison Regional Communications Center.)
For the Gunnison Regional Communications Center, also known as “dispatch,” outreach to children is a key part of their mission. Children don’t call 911 very often, said dispatch supervisor Whitney Bergman, but if the need arises it’s important that they know how to do it.
“[Kids] think that cops come to get bad people,” Bergman said. “We have to emphasize a lot that you’re not in trouble. They are going to come help you.”
Whitney Bergman GRCC
GRCC conducts outreach programs through the schools, and also encourages parents to talk to their children about what to do in an emergency, Bergman said. That’s especially relevant now, during the summer, when children may be a little less supervised, she said.
If a child is at home alone and an emergency arises, the first thing they should do is try to find an adult, Bergman said. But if no one else is around,
they shouldn’t be afraid to call.
“If you feel like you need to call 911, just call,” she said, “You’re not going to be in trouble.”
An important consideration is to teach children how to keep themselves safe in an emergency. Kids often get instructions like, you can’t leave the house until mom and dad are home, Bergman said. But if, for example, the house catches fire, kids need to know they should leave immediately and call 911 from somewhere safe, she said.
When a child calls 911, the dispatcher who picks up is going to ask them a lot of questions, so it’s important they understand that the dispatcher is someone they can trust. They will need to answer the dispatcher’s questions calmly and clearly, and follow any instructions the dispatcher gives them.
One concern dispatchers must deal with is that children can be uncomfortable if they think the police will be involved.
“They think that cops come to get bad people,” Bergman said. “We have to emphasize a lot that you’re not in trouble. They are going to come help you.”
Once a dispatcher realizes they are talking to a child, one of the first things they will do is ask their age. Dispatchers know how to phrase their questions in a way that’s age appropriate, say, for a kindergartener versus a middle schooler.
As with any emergency, the dispatcher needs to determine the caller’s location. When the caller is a young child, that can present additional challenges.
Parents can help by teaching children from an early age how to describe basic elements of
their surroundings. As a result, for example, a dispatcher might be able to direct responders to look for a blue house with a red car outside, even if they don’t have a specific street number.
One important instruction the dispatcher will give to a child who calls 911, is to stay on the line and not hang up until responders arrive. That way, the dispatcher can confirm that the responders are in the right place.
“We want to make sure we’ve put two and two together,” Bergman said.
Sometimes a parent will give an old, disused cellphone to a child so they can play games on it, and that can result in unintended emergency calls.
“Most people don’t realize that any cell phone with a battery and a charge can call 911,” Bergman said, even if the phone
is out of minutes or no longer part of a calling plan.
If a child (or an adult for that matter) does call 911 by mistake, it’s very important they don’t just hang up, Bergman said. That’s so the dispatcher can speak with them and confirm there is no emergency. “It happens all the time,” she said. “You won’t be in trouble.” For more information about calling 911, scan the QR code below.
(William Spicer is a Gunnison-based writer.)
Dispatch conducting a public outreach event in Lake City. (Courtesy Gunnison Regional Communications Center)
Sundays@6 rocks Legion Park
Once again the Sundays@6 concert series took over Legion Park with live music, food and fun for all ages. Hosted by the Gunnison Arts Center, this week’s concert featured Roka Hueka performing a blend of ska, rock and Latino funk. Attendees enjoyed cuisine from the food truck, Vegan AF, Third Bowl ice cream, face painting and activities from the Trailhead Children's Museum. Free concerts are held every Sunday at 6 p.m. through Aug. 17 at Legion Park.
(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
required approval for well from the Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District which can be transferred at closing. Buyer of lot may also pay for tap fees to hook into the City water and sewer main that will has already been extended north by the City.There is a shared road/driveway into the subdivision and it will be completed by this fall as well. Lot has been surveyed and a building envelope has been established for a single family residence but other dwellings such as barns/sheds etc. will be allowed. Come enjoy some country living with incredible views of mountains up Ohio Valley and the Palisades while being so close to town.
457 Ute Dr. (Arrowhead) MLS# 820145 $40,000 Beautiful, secluded 1 acre lot located on the north edge of the Arrowhead subdivision off of the main road. Bring your RV or plan to build your private mountain retreat on this sloped,
Western alum named top game warden
‘It’s all about the resource’
Seth Mensing Special to the Times
Long before Ross McGee, who graduated from Western Colorado University in 2013, won the most prestigious honor in Colorado wildlife management, he was a kid who knew just what he wanted. For him, it was game warden or bust.
“I just had a love for hunting and fishing and wanted to pursue being a game warden,” he said. “I really didn’t have a plan B.”
Growing up in Grand Junction, Colorado, McGee hoped for a career that would keep him close to home, working with the wildlife he knew and loved. But those jobs are hard to come by. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) employs a relatively constant number of game wardens, and only a limited number of positions open up on the Western Slope every year.
schools to teach students about wildlife conservation, who works with landowners to find workable solutions to complex challenges, and one who was likely born 150 years too late.
“It’s about the resource, and it’s about the people who use the resource. It’s about treating people fairly,” McGee said. “We all get into wildlife management to work with animals. But mainly we’re working with people and trying to treat people fairly. It’s pretty simple.”
Several universities in the region offer degrees in wildlife or fisheries biology, which he would need to get his foot in the door. But, in such a competitive field, it would take more than just a degree to get where he wanted to go. He would need to find a university that had connections.
When he considered his options, Western had the right mix of a small college with small classes, a small town, and a landscape where a kid who loved wildlife and the outdoors could thrive. Western also has a record of creating pathways from college to career for students studying wildlife and conservation biology.
While he was a student, McGee worked closely with professors like Kevin Alexander and Pat Magee. Magee’s immersive teaching style takes students out of the classroom and puts them into the field with working biologists in the ecosystems they’re studying and managing.
“Western, being in Gunnison, is a wildlife-rich place. So it draws people who want to work with wildlife,” he said.
In 2016, CPW hired McGee to serve as the district wildlife manager for Area 6 in Meeker, Colorado, where he’s the game warden for nearly 1,000 square miles of public land and private ranches, from the sagebrush steppe to the high-elevation pine and spruce forests. It’s a job he waited his whole life for.
And the role suits him well. Just ten years into the job, his colleagues nominated him for the John D. Hart Wildlife Officer of the Year, which recognizes one exceptional game warden in all of Colorado each year. In their nomination letters, they wrote about a man who runs an education program in the Meeker
In granting McGee the coveted award this year, CPW stated, “Officer McGee distinguished himself through community engagement, innovative conservation efforts, and his commitment to addressing complex wildlife challenges. He has fostered private-public partnerships that opened more than 4,500 acres for public hunting and wildlife surveys, while also managing significant big game migration corridor challenges. Officer McGee’s leadership, expertise, and firm yet humble approach to law enforcement make him a deserving recipient of this prestigious award.”
After achieving his goal and finding success in the career he’d always hoped for, recognition for his service was just icing on the cake.
“When your peers nominate you for something like this and officers from around the state vote on it, it’s very humbling and it’s a lot to take in,” he said. “It’s easy to do good things when you work with good people.”
For McGee, the award also reflects the values that shaped him, from the time he was a boy out hunting and fishing on the Western Colorado landscape to his time as a student at Western.
“The passion for the resource rubs off on you,” he said. “And that’s what it takes in the field of wildlife management. You just have to be passionate about it because it’s not about the paycheck. It’s about the resource.”
(Seth Mensing is the Western Colorado University media and communications manager.)
Ross McGee. (Courtesy Western Colorado University)
32
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The Mountain Office Joel Vosburg & Charlie Farnan 970.349.6692 joel@bbre1.com charlie@bbre1.com
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$1,450,000 MLS# 825654
Charming Ranchette nestled in a peaceful neighborhood. Cozy 3 bedroom, 2 and ½ bathroom home on 6.290 acres with a 2 car garage. Grassy backyard with fenced dog yard, wood storage and shed. 40’x40’ heated shop/barn with bonus space above. Fully fenced property, it is the perfect setting to bring your horses.
$3,500,000 MLS# 813963
3,330 S.F., 3 bedrooms & 2 bathroom home on 1.85 acres. 2-car garage, oversized shop, attached 939 S.F. 1-bed, 1-bath apartment. Lot allows for a max potential of 10,000 sq. ft. total-- Live onsite while you build. In-floor radiant heating, wood burning stove, Geothermal Heating and Cooling system. Asphalt circle driveway, irrigated landscaping, a hot tub off the primary bedroom, and full RV hookups.
14 TOMICHI LANE
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Rural living just 2 miles from town and located outside of City limits. This 2,090 square foot home offers 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, two heating sources and all electric appliances. A must have for the collectors or car enthusiast, this property comes with a 4-car 30' x 40' detached insulated garage. The .917 acre parcel has various outbuildings, corrals and loafing shed. This property is great for your small business or mini farm
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Fore! Sage Grouse Lounge opens
On Saturday, June 28, the new Sage Grouse Lounge opened its doors for the first time, welcoming in a crowd of excited customers. The Sage Grouse Lounge features two pool tables, darts and a full size golf simulator. With expertly crafted cocktails and an outdoor patio, the Sage
Grouse Lounge is located at 110 East Georgia Avenue.
(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
(Courtesy Ellen Davis/Gunnison County Libraries)
A tale of a first Gunnison Fourth
Independence Day, 1874
David Primus Special to the Times
(Author’s note: The following is based on documented facts; I have added details as I imagined them.)
In the spring of 1873, Sylvester Richardson joined the Parsons Expedition in Denver, serving as geologist. They traveled to the Gunnison Valley to prospect for mineral riches near today’s Crested Butte and Taylor Park. At the end of the summer, all but Sylvester went back to Denver. He had fallen in love with the Gunnison Country and stayed throughout the fall to explore the area. Back in Denver during the winter, he talked of the beautiful Gunnison Valley and how it would be an ideal place to start the Gunnison Colony, without the evils of liquor, gambling and prostitution.
May 12, 1874 was a brisk, blue-sky day as Sylvester and his party of colonists viewed the Gunnison Valley from today's college hill. They had just arrived after an arduous trip,
getting stuck in a spring snowstorm near Colorado Springs, then crossing the Continental Divide over Cochetopa Pass. Looking at the scene before them they saw a broad expanse of flat land, surrounded by mountains. Lush grasses and wild hay covered the valley floor. To the left, they saw the meandering Tomichi Creek heading toward its confluence with the Gunnison River. Nearby was the Los Pinos Agency's cattle ranch, managed by Alonzo Hartman. Both rivers were lined with willows and cottonwoods, creating welcoming green, shady areas.
Walking down the hill, they came to a crossroads. The trail continued west, but the most heavily traveled trail headed north, toward the high mountains. Richardson had already chosen a location for his colony — an important stop for travelers, a well-known ford of the Gunnison River at today's Hwy. 135 bridge. It would be a busy summer for the colonists — erecting tents, staking homestead claims, planting potatoes and alfalfa, and building a bridge over the river. By the spring of 1875, the colony had been moved south to the site of present-day Gunnison. As Independence
Day approached, Richardson planned a big celebration. It was to be held at "Old Colony Park," the first location of the colony. Three miles north of town, the colonists loved the park near the ford of the beautiful cottonwood-lined river. In preparation for the celebration, a large bonfire ring was built, the brush cleared, and makeshift tables constructed.
On the morning of the Fourth of July, almost all the settlers of the valley, some coming nearly twelve miles, walked or rode horses to the park. They brought wonderful dishes to share, all
made from local products. A fatted calf had been roasting in a pit overnight. Sylvester Richardson, known as "The Professor," climbed to the top of a stump and gave the first speech. He talked on the importance of their new settlement in the west, and how it would succeed for many reasons.
"Its most characteristic feature is the entire absence of intoxicating liquors,” he said. “Instead, the Gunnison River afforded a cool and refreshing beverage which never had, nor ever can have, a superior." He told of "the brave men who ninety-nine years prior had signed the Declaration of Independence and thereby forfeited their lives and estates. And today it required brave men, and women, too, to carve out homes in such an isolated wilderness."
He went on to talk about the benefits of the Gunnison Country — plentiful, highquality coal, silver and gold in all directions, and easily irrigated fields for growing hay and crops. He and Lon (Alonzo Hartman) had big plans to layout a town with streets wide enough to turn around a sixhorse team and wagon. Each street would have a small ditch to allow residents to easily grow
trees and lawns, just like they remembered back east.
Sylvester raised a large American flag, and invited everyone to eat lunch and enjoy themselves. The afternoon was filled with horseshoes, fishing and horse racing. Others relaxed on picnic blankets, enjoying the view of the mountains and the flag waving in the slight breeze. As evening came on, a large bonfire was lit. Sylvester surprised everyone by tossing small pieces of strontium and barium into the fire, resulting in vibrant colors of red and green.
(David Primus is a Gunnisonbased historian and writer.)
Sylvester Richardson (Courtesy David Primus)
GUNNISON WATERSHED SCHOOL DISTRICT
See GWSD website for details gunnisonschools.net
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. 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!”
GUNNISON LIQUOR (The Ghost) is currently looking for part-time help. Nights and weekends a must. Pay DOE. Stop by with a resume. 603 W. Tomichi Ave., Gunnison.
WE’RE HIRING: Bluebird Bottleshop in Gunnison is looking for a full-time Associate to join our friendly, knowledgeable team. $20/ hour + profit share, wine/spirits education, and a fun, supportive environment. Must be upbeat, detail-oriented, and able to work 4+ shifts/week. Drop off a resume or email us at bbbottleshop@gmail.com. Come grow with us.
DISHWASHER WANTED AT PUBLIC HOUSE: This role will load and unload dishwashing machines, monitor the cleanliness of machines, ensure dish cleanliness, and properly dry and store clean dishes in designated areas. This part-time, seasonal role starts at $18 - $20/hour, plus tips. The season runs to October. Please apply online at elevenexperience.com/ careers/ or email jobs@elevenexperience. com for more information on how to apply.
PROJECT HOPE OF THE GUNNISON VALLEY seeks a Program Advocate for a 28 hour/week position to serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and/or stalking. To apply, send resume, cover letter, and 3 references to: director@hope4gv.org. See further info on our website at hope4gv.org/employment.
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT ASSOCIATE:
Alan Wartes Media is recruiting for an Advertising Account Associate for the Gunnison Country Times and Gunnison Country Shopper. We’re seeking a proven sales professional that has a demonstrated track record of driving growth and new business development. Great opportunity for an experienced media sales rep, recent college grad or those looking to make a career change from outside of the media business. We offer an excellent compensation plan ranging from $50K to $80K+, great support and training, a fun work environment and lots of autonomy.
Position Overview:
The Advertising Account Associate is responsible for managing client relationships, developing advertising
GUNNISON COUNTY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Patrol Deputy Sheriff: Full-Time, 40 hours/week, the annual salary range is from $72,397.26 to $102,405.83 plus full benefits. Take home vehicle & uniform allowance provided by the Sheriff’s Office.
Heavy Equipment Operator
Public Works: Full-Time, 40 hours/ week, hourly range from $23.60 to $31.69 plus full benefits.
Shop Technician I Public Works: 40 hours/week, hourly range from $26.51 to $30.19, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Summer Seasonal Public Works: 40 hours/week, hourly range from $21.20 to $24.14, depending on experience, plus partial benefits.
IT Help Desk Technician
Information Technology: 40 hours/week, hourly range from $26.51 to $30.19, depending on experience, plus partial benefits.
Public Health Nurse II – Nurse
Family Partnership
Health & Human Services: 32 hours/week, hourly range from $34.81 to $42.31, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
APPRAISER I Assessor: 32 hours/ week, hourly range from $27.84 to $31.69, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Utility Water/Wastewater Manager
Public Works: 40 hours/week, hourly range from $39.11 to $44.53, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Planning Technician/Planner I
Community Development: 40 hours/week, hourly range from Planning Technician: $27.84 to $31.69 Planner I: $31.28 to $35.61, depending on experience, plus partial benefits.
For more information, including complete job descriptions, required qualifications and application instructions, please visit GunnisonCounty.org/jobs.
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strategies and ensuring client satisfaction. This role requires a blend of sales, marketing and communication skills.
Key Responsibilities:
Client Management:
- Act as the primary point of contact for assigned clients.
- Build and maintain strong, long-lasting client relationships.
- Understand clients’ business objectives and advertising needs.
Strategy Development:
- Collaborate with internal teams to develop effective advertising campaigns.
- Present campaign proposals to clients and negotiate terms.
- Monitor campaign performance and adjust strategies as needed.
Sales and Business Development:
- Identify and pursue new business opportunities.
- Prepare and deliver sales presentations.
- Engage in networking activities.
- Meet and exceed sales targets.
Reporting and Analysis:
- Provide regular reports on campaign progress and results.
- Analyze data to identify trends and insights.
- Present findings to clients and internal teams.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Proven experience in sales or account management, preferably in the advertising industry.
- Strong communication, negotiation and presentation skills.
SAGUACHE COUNTY is soliciting a qualified Management Consultant to assist in the project management of development of county-owned properties for future affordable housing projects that will serve as a liaison between the architect, builders, contractors and elected officials, facilitating regional collaboration with municipalities, and tracking, documentation and reporting of Proposition 123 requirements.
Saguache County is seeking to hire a qualified consultant with housing expertise that will also support county staff with grant related reporting and activities and expertise to increase professional capacity.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Consultant will assist in the management of the construction of affordable housing projects in the Mobile Home Estate Subdivision (aka Casita Park), while working as a liaison between the architect, builders and contractors while facilitating regional collaboration with municipalities and elected officials. This consultant will also in the support of County staff with grant related reporting and activities.
1.3 Qualifications
Previous project management experience and outcomes, including contact information for a minimum of three (3) relevant projects of similar scope and scale. Knowledge of local building standards, codes, and practices.
• Knowledge of Proposition 123.
• Knowledge of grant related activities and reporting.
• Experience with workforce/affordable housing development and construction. Responses must be submitted to the Saguache County Administration office –505 3rd Street, Saguache, CO by Thursday, July 24, 2025. Responses may also be emailed to Wendi Maez, Saguache County Administrator at wmaez@saguachecountyco.gov.
SEEKING PROJECT LEAD FOR
IMMEDIATE HIRE: residential construction, terrific opportunity with growing, locally born company. Call or Text 970-765-7414.
POWERSTOP is looking for head cook. Pay is $50,000 minimum, position also offers paid time off and health insurance reimbursement. Pay is based on 40 hours a week. Applications must be able to work mornings or evenings and weekends. Resumes to be in a sealed envelope attention Sean. Drop off at Powerstop.
THE MT. CRESTED BUTTE WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT is accepting applications for a full-time Wastewater Operator and/or Licensed Electrician to join a team responsible for operating and maintaining the wastewater treatment plant and collection system for the District. Entry-Level: Starting salary $53,100 to $59,500. A valid Colorado driver’s license is required, and a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is preferred at time of hire or must be obtained within one (1) year. A State of Colorado Collections and Wastewater license, or the ability to obtain both within one (1) year, is required (training material provided).
Experienced Operators or Licensed Electricians: Starting salary $59,500 to $75,000. Operators must meet entry-level qualifications and have experience in construction, field operations, lab analysis, and electrical/mechanical/maintenance repair.
- Ability to build and maintain client relationships.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Skills
- Client Relationship Management
- Sales and Business Development
- Strategic Planning
- Communication and Presentation
- Data Analysis
Interested candidates should apply directly with an email message and resume to Alan Wartes at publisher@gunnisontimes.com.
GOLDEN EAGLE is looking for CDL and nonCDL drivers. Pay is based on experience. Call 970-641-3230.
THE CLUB AT CRESTED BUTTE is hiring the following part-time and full-time seasonal positions: Front Desk Attendant, $18-22/hr. (Saturday and Sunday AM or PM shifts); Servers, $16/hr. + gratuity; Market Attendants, $16/hr. + gratuity; Bunker Crew Team Member, $18-$20/hr. Employee benefits include employee discounts and complimentary golf. For more information or to apply, please visit theclubatcrestedbutte. com or email to jobs@clubatcrestedbutte. com.
PROJECT HOPE OF GUNNISON VALLEY seeks a Director of Community Engagement for a 25 hour/week position to plan and execute our annual fundraiser that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and/or stalking. To apply, send resume, cover letter, and 3 references to: director@hope4gv.org. See further info on our website at hope4gv.org/employment.
Operators work a 4-day, 10-hour work schedule, participate in an on-call rotation, including select weekends and holidays. The District offers an excellent benefits package including the following: 100% employer-paid family health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance premiums, 12 paid holidays, paid vacation, personal and sick leave, a wellness bonus, employer-provided uniforms, boots, personal protective equipment, and a retirement plan with up to 8% employer match. To apply, please submit a 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 it is filled. Full job description available at mcbwsd.com. MCBWSD is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
THE CLUB AT CRESTED BUTTE is hiring a summer seasonal Assistant Racquets Professional. Pay range is $20-21/hr. + commission. Commission rates for private instruction DOE. Employee benefits include employee discounts and complimentary golf. For more information or to apply, please visit theclubatcrestedbutte.com
manage the waitlist and pace the seatings in our fast-paced restaurant. This part-time, seasonal role starts at $15+/hour, plus tips. The season runs to October. Please apply online at elevenexperience.com/careers/ or email jobs@elevenexperience.com for more information on how to apply.
FRONT DESK AGENT: The Lodge at Mountaineer Square and Grand Lodge. Spend your summer in beautiful Mt. Crested Butte with an awesome team and a fun, fast-paced work environment! We’re hiring full time or part time Front Desk Agents who are friendly, dependable, and ready to make guests feel at home. Highest compensation rates in the industry and many perks including 40% off retail, great team vibes, and a summer full of adventure. No experience? No problem—we’ll train the right people! Starting Wage: $20/hr. Apply now and make this summer one to remember!
LOCAL EVENT COMPANY hiring for summer event set up crew. Work outside. Event and tent set up, full and part time hours available, $25/hr, housing available. Contact via phone or email for a complete job description. 970-596-2145. info@ alpengloweventsco.com.
THE CLUB AT CRESTED BUTTE is hiring a part-time yoga instructor. $50/hour must be certified. For more information or to apply, please visit theclubatcrestedbutte.com or email jobs@clubatcrestedbutte.com.
THE TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE
PARKS AND RECREATION Open Space & Trails Department is seeking Recreation Instructors for a variety of programs including Skateboarding, Soccer, Flag Football, Gymnastics, Indoor Climbing and Umpiring. Pay range of $19-22/hour dependent on program role. Come help provide valuable programming to your community by being a facilitator for one of our many programs! Please submit your resume via email to jobs@crestedbutte-co.gov. Town of Crested Butte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
TOMICHI TREES IS HIRING: Ground Worker: $30/hr minimum, more DOE. Experience is a plus, but not required. Will be working with chainsaws, chippers, aerial lifts, ropes, loading grapples and dump trucks/trailers. Call 970-901-6680.
GUNNISON SAVINGS AND LOAN IS
ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR A
TELLER: We have served the Gunnison Valley for over 100 years are looking for an individual who wants a career in banking. This position allows for hands on interactions with customers and requires work to be completed with professionalism, accuracy, and in accordance with company standards and policies. Preferred Qualifications: Excellent communication and customer service skills, ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality, experience with office equipment and familiarity with Microsoft products, and cash handling experience. Benefits: Competitive Salary (entry level skills $35,000 - $45,000; higher with experience) 401(k) retirement plan; Group life and health insurance plans; paid time off; paid Federal Holidays; free checking account; Work Environment: Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8am5pm. Dress: Business Casual. Please submit your resume, references, and letter of application to Imbra Taramarcaz, Vice President/Chief Savings Officer 303 N Main Street, Gunnison, CO 81230 itaramarcaz@ gunnisonsl.com 970-641-2171.
REAL ESTATE
10 ACRE MINING CLAIM: Established in 1896. Hand dug shaft, unit 66, spring-fed pond, partially fenced, good hunting, easy access off Hwy 149. $47,000. Call 970-7846722.
ARTIST STUDIO SPACE: Please see beautiful artist studio spaces at 235 Off Main studios in the rear alley. $225 for the first 6 months. Call Paul 970-710-9604 or 847-7697800.
PITCHFORK MT CRESTED BUTTE: 3 bedroom, 3 BA furnished garage 1.5 space, and Fireplace, hardwood floors, laundry new, pets ok with deposit, Available August 1. $4,200 plus utilities 847-769-7800 or Angelovskimar@gmail.com
FLAT LAND FOR LEASE AVAILABLE IN GUNNISON: Easy access - call Geoff 978473-9256.
BUSINES FOR SALE: Red Mountain Logworks is a 30 year established business, building outdoor furniture. All tools, equipment, materials included. Must move locations. Lease is expiring. Owner is retiring. Will train. $125,000. Call Reggie Masters Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties. 970-596-3568 for details and showing.
PRIME GROUND FLOOR RETAIL SPACE
Next to City Market in Gunnison - 1,500 sqft of prime ground floor retail space available in the Meadows Mall next to City Market in Gunnison - Huge parking lot, tons of foot traffic, excellent 135 highway visibility - For more information, call Jordon Ringel at 817733-6947 or visit GunnisonMeadows.com.
$1,750/share with 100 shares minimum. West lot with walk out potential $2,500/share with 100 share minimum. Call 970-641-5641.
CARS & TRUCKS
2022 FIFTH WHEEL: Grand Design Reflection, 280RS. Asking $45,000. 330414-6625.
Legals
NOTICE OF INTENT TO DISPOSE
INTENT TO DISPOSE:
Notice is hereby given to the following parties that their personal items stored at Discount Self Storage, 246 Buckley, Crested Butte will be sold or disposed of unless claimed prior to July 10th:
Unit Dwn-16 - Braham Kreb
Date of Redemption: July 10th, 2025
Unit Dwn-28 - Matt McGrath
Date of Redemption: July 10th, 2025
Notice is hereby given to the following parties that their personal items stored at Discount Self Storage, 1825 N. Hwy 135, Gunnison will be sold or disposed of unless claimed prior to July 10th:
Unit L89 - Andrew Young
Date of Redemption: July 10th, 2025
Notice is hereby given to the following parties that their personal items stored at Slate River Storage, 469 Riverland Dr, Crested Butte will be sold or disposed of unless claimed prior to July 10th:
Unit 231 - Brendon Gage Daugherty
Date of Redemption: July 10th, 2025.
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of June 26 and July 3, 2025.
17714
NOTICE OF NAME CHANGE
PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME
Public Notice is given on June 18, 2025 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 Luke Andrew Diggs-Marshall be changed to Luke Andrew Diggs
Cirenda S. Fry Clerk of Court/Deputy Clerk /s/ Cirenda S. Fry
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado. Publication dates of June 26, July 3 and 10, 2025
17751
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE OF AUCTION:
This is to advise that household and personal property belonging to the following: Darien Medina unit 99 at 410 Secure Storage located at 410 South 10th Street in Gunnison, CO; will be sold to the highest bidder at 410 Secure Storage on Monday June 30th, 2025 at 10:00 AM to satisfy the owner’s lien for rent in accordance with Title 38. PROPERTY -REAL AND PERSONAL
LIENS Article 21.5. Self-Service Storage
Facility Liens. All contents sold “as is” and by unit only. Seller neither warrants title to any items sold and does not make any express or implied warranties to any items sold. We reserve the right to refuse any and all bids.
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado
Publication dates of June 26 and July 3, 2025
17712
PUBLIC NOTICE
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA
LOCKE SUPPLY CO., an Oklahoma Corporation
Plaintiff, v. SLATE RIVER SYSTEMS, INC., a Texas Corporation; BENJAMIN YORK, an individual; and CHRISTOPHER YORK, an individual
Defendants
Case No. CJ-2025-3325
NOTICE BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA TO: Benjamin York
You are hereby notified that an action has been filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma, Case No.
CJ-2025-3325, styled Locke Supply Co., an Oklahoma Corporation v. Slate River Systems, Inc., a Texas Corporation, Benjamin York, an individual, and Christopher York, an individual, by Plaintiff Locke Supply Co, an Oklahoma Corporation. This summons is specifically direct to Benjamin York. The nature of the suit against you is for unjust enrichment, fraud, tortious interference, and piercing the corporate veil. The recovery of money damages sought is in excess of $5,000,000 but not in excess of $10,000,000, plus all recoverable interest, fees, and costs.
You are hereby notified that you have been sued in this action and must answer the Petition by Plaintiff on or before the 11th day of August, 2025. You are further notified that in the event you do not appear and respond to the allegations contained in the Petition, the allegations will be taken as true and judgment will be entered in Plaintiff’s favor, together with the requested relief prayed for in the Petition.
WITNESS my hand and seal this 25th day of June. 2025.
RICK WARREN, COURT CLERK OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
By: DEPUTY
Approved as to form:
Christopher M. Scaperlanda, OBA #31703
Gatlin C. Squires, OBA #34795
Justin R. Cajindos, OBA #36063
McAfee & Taft A Professional Corporation 8th Floor, Two Leadership Square 211 N. Robinson
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-7103
Telephone: (405) 235-9621
Facsimile: (405) 235-0439
christopher.scaperlanda@mcafeetaft.com
gatlin.squires@mcafeetaft.com
justin.cajindos@mcafeetaft.com
Attorneys for Locke Supply Co. v.
SLATE RIVER SYSTEMS, INC., a Texas Corporation; BENJAMIN YORK, an individual; and CHRISTOPHER YORK, an individual Defendants
NOTICE BY PUBLICATION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA TO: Benjamin York
You are hereby notified that an action has been filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma, Case No. CJ-2025-3325, styled Locke Supply Co., an Oklahoma Corporation v. Slate River Systems, Inc., a Texas Corporation, Benjamin York, an individual, and Christopher York, an individual, by Plaintiff Locke Supply Co, an Oklahoma Corporation. This summons is specifically direct to Benjamin York. The nature of the suit against you is for unjust enrichment, fraud, tortious interference, and piercing the corporate veil. The recovery of money damages sought is in excess of $5,000,000 but not in excess of $10,000,000, plus all recoverable interest, fees, and costs.
You are hereby notified that you have been sued in this action and must answer the Petition by Plaintiff on or before the 11th day of August, 2025. You are further notified that in the event you do not appear and respond to the allegations contained in the Petition, the allegations will be taken as true and judgment will be entered in Plaintiff’s favor, together with the requested relief prayed for in the Petition.
WITNESS my hand and seal this 25th day of June. 2025.
/S/ RICK WARREN, COURT CLERK OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
By: DEPUTY
Approved as to form:
Christopher M. Scaperlanda, OBA #31703
Gatlin C. Squires, OBA #34795
Justin R. Cajindos, OBA #36063
McAfee & Taft A Professional Corporation
8th Floor, Two Leadership Square 211 N. Robinson Oklahoma City, OK 73102-7103
Publication dates of July 3, 10 and 17, 2025 17874
SUMMONS
SUMMONS
DISTRICT COURT, GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO
Address: 200 East Virginia Avenue Gunnison, Colorado 81230 (970) 642-8300
Plaintiff: CHRISTOPHER BROADFOOT v. Defendants:
ESTATE OF ENID BEAN, Deceased; ESTATE OF WILLIAM BEAN, Deceased, individually and as heir to the Estate of Enid Bean; PHILLIP LYNN BEAN, as heir to the Estate of William Bean and the Estate of Enid Bean; DAVID ALLEN BEAN, as heir to the Estate of William Bean and the Estate of Enid Bean; DOUGLAS ISAAC BEAN, as heir to the Estate of William Bean and the Estate of Enid Bean; JEANETTE BEAN WARNER, as heir to the Estate of William Bean and the Estate of Enid Bean; the unknown heirs of the Estate of Enid Bean; the unknown heirs to the Estate of William Bean; ESTATE OF DALE MADSEN aka JOSEPH D. MADSEN aka JOSEPH DALE MADSEN aka J. DALE MADSEN, Deceased; ESTATE OF JEAN MADSEN, Deceased, individually and as the heir to the Estate of Dale Madsen aka Joseph Dale Madsen; DALENE FRANCIS, as heir to the Estate of Jean Madsen and the Estate of Dale Madsen; LYNETTE WILKES, as heir to the Estate of Jean Madsen and the Estate of Dale Madsen; MELODY LONGHURST, as heir to the Estate of Jean Madsen and the Estate of Dale Madsen; TAMMY DAVIS, as heir to the Estate of Jean Madsen and the Estate of Dale Madsen; the unknown heirs to the Estate of Dale Madsen aka Joseph D. Madsen aka Joseph Dale Madsen aka J. Dale Madsen; the unknown heirs of the Estate of Jean Madsen; ESTATE OF WILLIAM CRAIG, Deceased; ESTATE OF MAURINE CRAIG, Deceased, individually and as the heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; WILLIAM J. CRAIG, as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; DIANA DEFRIEZ, as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; ELLEN ATWOOD; as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; FRANCEEN JONES, as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; JANET HAZELTON, as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; DAVID CRAIG, as heir to the Estate of William Craig and the Estate of Maurine Craig; the unknown heirs of the Estate of William Craig; the unknown heirs to the Estate of Maurine Craig; and all unknown persons who claim any interest in the subject matter of this action.
Attorney for Plaintiff: Ann Jefferson, Atty. Reg. #: 44695 JVAM PLLC 114 Old Stage Road, Unit A Salida, CO 81201 Phone Number: (719) 960-4847 E-mail: ann@jvamlaw.com
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:
This is an action of declaratory judgment and to quiet title to certain real property located in Gunnison County, Colorado, described as follows:
A PORTION OF H.E. SURVEY NO. 324, IN TOWNSHIP 51 NORTH, RANGE 4 WEST, N.M.P.M., DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:
BEGINNING AT A POINT 20 RODS SOUTH 20°17’ WEST OF CORNER NO. 1, FROM WHICH THE STANDARD QUARTER CORNER TO SECTION 34 IN TOWNSHIP 15 SOUTH, RANGE 89 WEST 6TH P.M. BEARS NORTH 4°1’ EAST 226.56 CHAINS DISTANT AND RUNNING THENCE SOUTH 20°17’ WEST 40 RODS; THENCE SOUTH 69°36’ EAST 16 RODS; THENCE NORTH 20°17’ EAST 40 RODS; THENCE NORTH 69°36’ WEST 16 RODS TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING.
ALSO, ONE-FOURTH OF ONE CUBIC FOOT OF WATER FROM WEST SOAP CREEK FOR USE WITH SAID LAND.
COUNTY OF GUNNISON, STATE OF COLORADO.
Tax Parcel Number: 3509-000-00-005, at TBD Forest Road 721, Gunnison, CO 81230 (the “Property”).
All Defendants personally interested in this matter are hereby summoned and required to file with the Clerk of this Court an Answer or response within 30 days after the date of the last publication of this Summons. A copy of the complaint may be obtained from the clerk of the court. If you fail to file your answer or other response to this Complaint in writing within the applicable time period, judgment by default may be entered against you by the Court for relief demanded in the Complaint without further notice.
Respectfully submitted June 20, 2025.
JVAM PLLC
Ann Jefferson, Atty. Reg. # 44695
Attorney for Plaintiff Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of June 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24, 2025.
17725
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
2025 Emergency and On-Call Water and Wastewater Services Gunnison County, Colorado
Gunnison County is seeking contractors for Operations and Repair Services to provide repair services and operational assistance on an as-needed basis to support the Water and Sewer District. The County has not set a maximum number of Task Orders to be awarded to any single firm but intends to distribute discipline-specific assignments among the selected firm(s). Submitting qualifications and executing an on-call contract related to this RFQ allows for the County to have a developed list of prequalified contractors able to respond to the District’s needs.
On-Call contracts may be bid and awarded without a specific public works project or scope of work in mind but rather are categorized around general types of anticipated work or trades. When a specific scope of work is identified, individual work orders are authorized based on either a not-to-exceed time and materials basis or on a negotiated lump sum amount, using unit prices bid by the contractor and the contractor proceeds to complete the work. Most typically, on-call Contracts may be used for repair, renovation, and maintenance of public facilities and are typically on an annual basis, with optional renewals. This on-call RFQ is related to water and wastewater work.
Responses to this Request for Qualifications (“RFQ”) will be used to identify a qualified contractor or contractors to lead or support this organizational need. This RFQ is intended to be consistent with the Gunnison County Procurement Policy (Policy Number 1.2.10). All submittals must be submitted digitally to: Martin Schmidt, Assistant County Manager for Public Works mschmidt@gunnisoncounty.org
Submittals must be received no later than 4 pm on July 31.
Questions generated by respondents and subsequent answers by the County will be answered and posted on the County website at: https://www.gunnisoncounty.org/Bids. aspx. The County will answer questions from potential respondents only in writing, no verbal responses shall be considered binding. All such questions and the County’s answers will be provided by numbered addendum, by email and by public publishing. Please email questions to: Martin Schmidt, Assistant County Manager for Public Works, at: mschmidt@gunnisoncounty.org. Please allow 2-3 work days for responses. No answers will be provided after April 30th.
A question and answer meeting will be hosted on Microsoft Teams on July 24th at 1pm.
Please contact Martin Schmidt for the meeting details and login information.
FOR THE FULL RFQ PLEASE VISIT THE GUNNISON COUNTY WEBSITE AT GUNNISONCOUNTY.ORG.
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado Publication date of July 3 and 10, 2025 17875
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NOTICE OF JOINT PUBLIC HEARING
CONCERNING DESIGNATION OF A SPECIAL AREA PURSUANT TO GUNNISON COUNTY LAND USE RESOLUTION SECTION 1-110: PROCESS FOR DESIGNATING SPECIAL AREAS
HEARING DATE, TIME AND LOCATION: The Gunnison County Planning Commission and Gunnison Board of County Commissioners will conduct a joint public hearing on August 7, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in the meeting room upstairs in the Gunnison County Courthouse, 200 E. Virginia Avenue Gunnison, CO 81230. in Gunnison and/or by ZOOM meeting. If attending by Zoom please go to the online meetings tab at https://www.gunnisoncounty.org/144/Community-and-Economic-Development for the ZOOM meeting link to hear public comments concerning this Special Area Designation.
APPLICANT: Gunnison County Board of County Commissioners
PROPOSAL: The Special Area Regulations (SAR) establishes the regulatory framework to: align community goals, streamline development review, create opportunities for attainable and Essential Workforce Housing, reduce sprawl and proliferation of wells and Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems (OTWS) in the City of Gunnison water supply, and enhance multimodal connectivity.
LOCATION: The proposed Special Area includes the areas identified in the map below. A list of all parcels in the Special Area is available in the project file.
HOW TO VIEW THE PROJECT FILE: A copy of the application is available online at: https://permitdb.gunnisoncounty.org/citizenaccess/. Select “projects” and type SG-25-00001 in the application number field. If you have questions or issues accessing the files, contact the Community Development Department at (970) 641-0360.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The public is invited to submit oral or written comments at the hearing, or to submit written comments by email: planning@gunnisoncounty.org, or by letter (Community Development, 221 N. Wisconsin, Suite D, Gunnison, CO 81230), so long as they are received by 5 p.m. the afternoon before the date of the meeting so that they may be submitted for the public record during the hearing.
ADA ACCOMMODATIONS: Anyone needing special accommodations as determined by the American Disabilities Act may contact the Community Development Department prior to the day of the hearing.
/s/ Hillary I. Seminick, AICP Planning Director Gunnison County Community Development
QR Code to Permit Database. Select “projects” and type SG-25-00001 in the application number field
Special Area
Colorado Publication date of July 3, 2025 17869
$60 for an entire year, or only $3 for one week’s
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison,
Bethany Church
909 N Wisconsin St.
(behind Powerstop) • 970-641-2144
One service at 9 a.m. with nursery & children’s church.
Faith Directory
First Baptist Church
120 N. Pine St. • 970-641-2240
Pastor Jonathan Jones
SUNDAY
Sunday School at 10 a.m.
Check us out on YouTube at Gunnison Bethany. gunnisonbethany.com
B'nai Butte Jewish Congregation
PO Box 2537 Crested Butte, CO 81224 305-803-3648 bnaibutte@gmail.com
Serving the Jewish communities of Crested Butte, Gunnison and surrounging areas.
July 5 at 10:30 AM-12 noon: “Kibbitz with the Rabbi” at the Daily Dose in CB 6:30 PM, Havdallah/dessert, Crested Butte South
July 6 at 10:30 AM, Today’s Torah, Gunnison
July 10 - Benefit Concert featuring Stillhouse Junkies
Spiritual leader: Rabbi Mark Kula is available for you at RabbiMarkKula@gmail.com bnaibutte.org
Community Church of Gunnison
107 N. Iowa • 970-641- 0925
Pastor Larry Nelson
Sunday Morning Worship 9:30 a.m.
Weekend Services 9:30 a.m.
Nursery & Age-Graded Ministry
Weekly Student Ministry
Weekly Adult LifeGroups
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs, 9-4
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
Sunday Morning Worship at 11 a.m.
Sunday Evening Service at 6 p.m. (during school year)
WEDNESDAY (during school year)
Truth Trackers Kids Club at 6:30 p.m.
Youth Group for Teens at 7:30 p.m. firstbaptistgunnison.org.
Gunnison
Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
317 N. Main St. • 970-641-3203
Reverand Ian Wrisley
Welcoming, Open and Affirming, Building a Just world for All.
Sundays, 10 a.m.
Fridays Meditation, 12:30-1 p.m.
“Come-as-You-Are” Worship gunnisonucc.org
Trinity Baptist Church
523 N. Pine St. • 970-641-1813
Senior Pastor - Joe Ricks
Sunday Service 9:30 a.m.
Adult Bible Study 8 a.m. trinitybaptistsgunnison.com
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church
711 N. Main • 970-641-1860
Senior Pastor Robert Carabotta
Assoc. Pastor Jacob With
Childrens Sunday School – Sunday 9 a.m.
Adult Sunday School – Sunday 9 a.m.
Divine Service of the Word – Sunday 10 a.m.
Starting March 5 - Wednesday night service at 7pm.
New Song Christian Fellowship 77 Ute Lane • 970-641-5034
A Christ Centered Gospel Sharing Community where we want to be part of a community who encourage and support one another in our spiritual journey.
300 N. Wisconsin • 970-641-0808 Fr. Andres Ayala-Santiago gunnisoncatholic.org crestedbuttecatholic.org or call the Parish Office.
St. Peter’s - Gunnison Sat 5 p.m. & Sun 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m. (Spanish) Mass
First Sunday of every month bilingual Mass 11 a.m.
Queen of All Saints - Crested Butte, 401 Sopris Sun 8:30 a.m. Mass
St. Rose of Lima - Lake City Communion Service, Sun. at 10 a.m.
Church in the Barn 8007 County Road 887
Waunita Hot Springs Ranch • 970-641-8741
Sundays, 10:30 a.m. Non Denominational Come as you are.
Church of Christ
600 E. Virginia • 970-641-1588
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.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Gunnison Branch 810 N 11th St. 970-648-4804 Sacrament Meeting 10 a.m.
Attending church each Sunday is a respite from fast-paced daily living. Join us to worship God, strengthen your spiritual connections, and focus on Jesus. Worship with a community of people who are trying to be more Christlike and learn from each other.
The Good Samaritan Episcopal Church
307 W. Virginia Ave. • 970-641-0429
Rev. Laura Osborne, Vicar First Sunday of each month –11 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II Alternating at Good Samaritan and All Saints in the Mountains
Check our websites for location
Second Sunday-Fifth Sunday –9 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Children’s Sunday school –2nd and 4th Sundays, monthly Office hours: M-TH 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Visit our partnership church: All Saints in the Mountains, Crested Butte
Meeting Second-Fifth Sundays at 5 p.m., Holy Eucharist, Rite II
403 Maroon Ave, Crested Butte
Visit our website for location of 11 a.m. Holy Eucharist, First Sunday of each month allsaintsinthemountains.org
Calling all music lovers
Free concerts plentiful all summer
Enid Holden Special to the Times
Summer in Gunni is in full swing with fine weather and seemingly endless opportunities to enjoy free music in the streets, local businesses and public parks.
Sundays@6
The annual Sundays@6 concert series hosted by the Gunnison Arts Center is well underway with multiple local sponsors and enthusiastic crowds in the past three weeks.
“Over five hundred people attended the concert last Sunday night,” Katie Lewinger of Professional High Fivers said. “This year’s lineup is a mixture of local musicians and out of town bands.”
Lewinger was contracted to arrange the series and does everything from booking bands, arranging hotel accommodations for out-of-town musicians and collaborating with sound technicians, such as Darren Mclean of Gunnison Valley Sound.
This past Sunday featured Denver-based Roka Hueka, a seven-piece band with members from Mexico, Colombia, and the U.S., blending ska, rock and Latino funk with a vibrant, high-energy sound that rocked the crowd and kept them dancing. Food trucks participate in these events and there are tables for other non-profits such as Trailhead Children’s Museum, which provide sensory hands-on activities for kids. There is usually also a face painting booth and the whole
scene is laid back and definitely a community driven celebration.
Music Cruise
The Music Cruise, presented by the Gunnison Resiliency Project, Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley and the Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce, features a mobile stage that travels through Gunnison. Bike riders and skate boarders follow the cruise, which has varied starting and ending sites and different neighborhood routes.
Information and maps can be obtained at gunnisonco. gov/community/resiliency.
php. Upcoming performances include Sunny Downpour (July 15); Fuerza Cora Brasil Musical (Aug. 19); and the WCU Music Department (Sept. 17).
Mid-Week on Main Street
The Mid-Week on Main Street live music series is put on by the Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce in IOOF park once a month on Wednesdays from 5.30 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Upcoming concerts include Opal Moon (July 16); 9 Mile Mule — Chris Coady and guests (Aug. 20); and the Western Jazz Band and drums (Sept. 17).
Chamber Director Leora Wallace said that the midweek events encourage folks to get out, connect and have fun.
“While there is a lot going on in the summer, to have a free event midweek adds a vibrancy to the downtown area for residents and visitors,” she said.
“The location is kid-friendly with the toys and water fountains and offers easy access to support local businesses for meals or shopping.”
Crested Bucha open mic nights
A newcomer to the music scene is the open mic on Thursdays at Crested Bucha on Main Street in Gunnison. Show up, bring your instrument and sign up to perform to a roomful of eager listeners while they enjoy Todd's brewed kombucha, bar drinks and appetizer selections.
Pavilion
Dance Series
Lizzy Plotkin and Darcie Perkins are the movers and shakers behind the Pavilion Dance Series held at the Three Rivers Resort in Almont, which is free for everyone under twenty one. This includes a weekly dance lesson followed by a band performance related to the dance style taught. It all happens in the octagon building which was historically built as a dance hall. This series hopes to reclaim some of that dance and music history and foster a love for different styles of music on Wednesday evenings, June 11 to Aug. 6. Dance Lessons start at 6 p.m. with live bands from 7:30-9 p.m.
Other local businesses set up to host music events are Blue Mesa Music, a Saturday morning picking circle at Dobrato Resophonic Guitars, Double Shot open mic, Blackstock Bistro and the new Sage Grouse Lounge. The Gunnison Farmer’s Market has bands lined up to play in the adjacent park every Saturday morning through the season.
(Enid Holden is a Gunnisonbased freelance writer.)
Evelyn Roper and Friends performs at Mid-Week on Main last July. (Times archive)
Western writing students awarded scholarships Program honors work of Mari Sandoz
Seth Mensing Special to the Times
Two students in the Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing Nature Writing concentration are the beneficiaries of the newly established Mari Sandoz Scholarship.
Claire Thompson, recipient of the 2024 inaugural scholarship, is a teacher, writer and U.S. Forest Service trail worker who returned to school to prioritize her own writing and have the rigor and community offered by one of the few place-based environmental programs in the country. Thompson is currently working on her thesis and is writing about her place, its past people and its current struggles.
“With Sandoz's work and legacy in mind, I've spent my first semester delving deeper into explorations of my own relationships to the landscapes and communities that have shaped me,” she said.
Laura Pritchett, who directs the Nature Writing program, hoped to express just how much the financial contribution means to students.
“The simple truth is that money is the number one reason talented applicants are not able to pursue an advanced degree,” she said. “Let’s face it: Schooling is expensive, writing is often not lucrative and money is a barrier. This scholarship not only supports significant writing about place and helps a student, though — it also has the benefit of reminding contemporary writers of one of our great forebears. Sandoz’s name and spirit are kept alive.”
Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) was a novelist, biographer and one of the earliest writers of creative nonfiction, as seen in her biography, ”Crazy Horse: The
Strange Man of the Oglalas.” Sandoz’ writing emphasized the environmental and human landscape of the West and was recognized for her no-nonsense yet deeply evocative style.
The Mari Sandoz Society, which also sponsors the Storycatcher Festival, held in the spring at Western Colorado University, offers this scholarship to ensure the legacy of Mari Sandoz and her passion for writing and love of the landscapes and peoples of the West.
(Seth Mensing is the Western Colorado University media and communications manager.)
The 2025 recipient is Lizbeth Bárcena, a writer, naturalist and designer exploring the desert Southwest. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she now splits her time between Los Angeles and the desert community of Borrego Springs, where she volunteers for the state park and nonprofits in the Colorado and Mojave Deserts.
“I am humbled to be able to acknowledge Mari Sandoz’s work and contribute to her message and legacy that revered the landscapes and Native People of the Great Plains and the West,” she noted. “Receiving this scholarship means the opportunity to advocate and further investigate the landscapes and voices of the West, which have been the focus of my literary explorations.”
Lizbeth Bárcena (Courtesy Western Colorado University)
Claire Thompson
‘Ruby Range’ crevice garden
The Top O’ the World Garden Club has awarded Gay and Greg Austin Yard of the Week! Their house is located at 600 N. Iowa, at the corner of Iowa and Ruby.
“We moved into the old Eastman 1890’s Victorian house in 1992. We had a weedy lawn that my husband got tired of watering and mowing. We got rid of part of the lawn and built a large berm garden on the southwest corner using weed barrier, round river rock on top of he ground and a few native plants each year. It helped resolve part of the weed problem but the rocks kept moving down the berm. The weed barrier was also difficult to cut through to plant new plants.
“A friend gifted us a small grow-light setup and Gay began collecting small amounts of native plant seed in the fall. The seed was always left out on the porch over winter to cold stratify the seed. Not all the seed germinated but it was fun seeing little native plant seedlings coming up in March.
“In 2019 we decided to remove another portion of our lawn. Kenton Seth, a landscaper from Grand Junction, hand-placed large granite boulders deeply in the soil for our ‘Ruby Range’ crevice garden. The east half of the garden has clay soil under the rocks, the west half sandy soil. The rocks don’t move when stepped on and there are little pockets of soil for planting in. Most of the lower elevation cactus that were planted died after a year of two. Most of the native plants thrived.
“However, the town resident deer often munched on seedlings until sprayed once a week or twice a month with Fence, a deer and rabbit deterrent. Gay was very excited to successfully grow purple fringe, pasque flower, evening primrose, Indian paintbrush, pine dropseed, Colorado tansy aster, violet milkvetch, to name a few special ones.
“Future plans for our gardens include growing out more native plants from collected seed, testing pine needle mulch as a weed preventative, and planting golden banner next to our ditch.”
Pederson
(Courtesy Top O’ the World Garden Club)
ONCOLOGY
Lead by board-certified oncologist, Dr. Paulette Blanchet, our skilled oncology team provide personalized treatment in a calm, supportive and comfortable setting - right here in Gunnison County.
ONCOLOGY NURSE
NAVIGATION
An oncology nurse navigator is a professional registered nurse with oncology-specific clinical knowledge. We o er individualized assistance to patients, families and caregivers to help navigate treatment. We specialize in helping patients and survivors cope with a wide variety of symptoms and concerns. Our therapists will support and empower you on your journey back to optimal health, activity and well-being.
CANCER REHABILITATION
Top Hand series coming to Cattlemen’s Days
Trudy Vader’s cattle drive competition to feature July 7
Alex McCrindle Times Sports Editor
Morrill Griffith and Kelly Porter pushed three yearling heifers around a tire and toward three downed logs. The two riders were competing in the Top Hand Series cattle drive at the Cross Slash facility on June 28, and needed to navigate their cattle through one final obstacle. Seconds away from the finish line, Morill’s horse stamped a bit too close to a heifer’s heels.
The cow’s right ear flicked — like a turn signal on a 2000s-era Toyota — and bolted off course in a cloud of dust.
This summer marks the third consecutive year of the Top Hand Series at the Cross Slash, in East Gunnison along Hwy. 50. The ranch competition returns for seven dates this season, and hosts events like the cattle drive, trail challenge and open sort. Unlike the glitz and glamour of traditional rodeos, the Top Hand Series showcases the grit, sweat and skill of working cowhands, who rarely compete in the spotlight. After gaining popularity over the past three years, the Top Hand Cattle Drive will make its debut on the big stage at Cattlemen’s Days on July 7.
“These events are what we have to do up in the hills,” Griffith said. “It doesn’t have to be pretty, but it makes the rider and the horses think. The competition is totally different [from other rodeo events]. When we’re moving cattle, in order to go fast, you have to go slow.”
In the summer of 2023, fourth-generation rancher Trudy Vader started the Top Hand Series to support sustainable ranching and celebrate Gunnison’s cattlemen tradition. The event started with sorting and cutting competitions, and tested the cowhands' ability to separate and herd cattle. Vader later designed the trail challenge and cattle drive events to emphasize horsemanship. In the trail challenge event, riders move their horses through a series of obstacles, inspired by challenges faced on the range. On June 28, competitors weaved through a series of tractor tires, stopped to fill a coffee mug and attempted to complete a “side pass,” — a maneuver where the horse moves sideways through an “L” shaped gate. The rider who
completes all the obstacles in the fastest time is crowned champion.
While the trail challenge is an individual event, two riders team up to compete alongside — or oftentimes against — three unruly heifers in the cattle drive. The hands work together to steer the cows through a series of obstacles, and one rider and all three cows are required to complete each task.
On Saturday the route started with a simple gate-opening maneuver. But after pushing the heifers in a clockwise loop around a tire, the riders approached three downed logs.
That’s where the cattle grew restless. Within seconds, the heifers start to plot an escape route. After a slight twitch of the ear, a first-place time can collapse in disaster.
“Driving cattle is all about knowing when to apply pressure, [and] it’s a back-and-forth, almost like a dance,” Vader said.
“You can only hope it’s a waltz, and not a twist.”
After the morning events, both the riders and cattle took a break from the afternoon heat. The cowhands gathered around a table for an hour-long lunch — a staple that Vader said has helped develop a strong sense of community.
“Part of the western culture is, when you’re out on the range working cattle, you stop and eat lunch together,” Vader said. “We all do a lot of different equine disciplines. But because we break bread together at lunchtime, there’s a kinder, gentler support for each other that I’ve never experienced in any other
equine activity.”
In three years, the group includes members from across western Colorado, and has grown to include 23 riders in the trail challenge, 28 teams in the cattle drive and 25 teams in the sorting competition. Vader said the Top Hand Series has become nearly “too successful,” and she is exploring options to expand to a two-day structure, or run events simultaneously.
For the first time, the event will shine under the bright lights of Cattlemen’s Days. On July 7, 40 cattle drive teams from four divisions will compete in the professional rodeo arena at the Fred Field Center for a jackpot prize. For more information, visit Cross Slash LLC on Facebook.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@ gunnisontimes.com.)
Trudy Vader oversees the Top Hand Series from the press booth at the Cross Slash.(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
A herd of Angus heifers cool off after the morning action.
Annie Mears cuts a herd of cows in the sorting competition.
(Courtesy Julian Rubinstein)
How to have a tasty Fourth of July
Enid Holden Special to the Times
To celebrate our nation’s founding, how fun to start off with an easy-to-assemble, flag-themed Memorial Day smorgasbord using red salami or sausage of your choice, white or pale cheese like Brie or white cheddar and blue corn chips in rows or concentric circles. Some local supermarkets also stock blueberry jelly for the blue at the cheese counters.
Another fun idea is to do a flag colored Caprese salad with tomato, Mozzarella cheese and substitute the traditional basil with blueberries. Don’t forget to drizzle olive oil over the cheese and tomato sections.
When it comes to main courses it’s likely you’ll be catering for a bigger crowd. How about ribs marinated in red sauce, a colorful contrasting coleslaw with white and red cabbage swimming in homemade dressing, baked potatoes with sour cream or classic potato salad and spicy red Spanish rice and beans?
Here’s what you need to succeed in the kitchen this Fourth of July:
For an easy and tasty pork rib marinade, try mixing tomato paste, soy, mustard and honey or agave with chili pepper and a little water. For a more elaborate marinade:
Rib Marinade
3 4 cup soy sauce
1 4 cup Worcestershire sauce.
2 Tbs mustard
21 2 tsp salt
1 Tbs black pepper
1 2 cup wine vinegar
11 2 tsp parsley
1 3 cup lemon juice
2 cloves crushed garlic
11 2 cups oil
2 cups tomato puree Classic Coleslaw
Dressing:
1 cup Mayonnaise: Don’t go overboard with mayo in coleslaw, but in the right amount it makes a creamy dressing that clings to cabbage like no other.
1 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar: Cabbage and apples are a good pair. So, naturally, I go with apple cider vinegar for the dressing. The vinegar thins out the mayonnaise and enlivens it with a tang.
2 Tbs Dijon Mustard: Feel free to use any brown mustard you’ve got. Celery Seed: Optional - I love the way this classic pickling spice adds a touch of appealing bitterness and some concentrated flavor.
1 Tbs sugar
Whisk the dressing ingredients together until well combined. The dressing should be highly seasoned. Taste to confirm.
Salad:
Green and red shredded cabbage: Either color will work on its own, but a combination of the two lends the dish extra pizzaz and nutrition. Red cabbage is a natural antioxidant that acts against free radicals. White cabbage has a more significant amount of vitamin A, helping with the vision, hair and skin. Both contain Vitamin C. Carrots add a just-right sweetness. I love to add apple, celery chunks or even avocado bits to provide a new twist(optional).
Cut out the core and slice the cabbage thin but not too thin — about 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Try to stick to a uniform thickness and slather on the dressing
Red Spanish Rice
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 cups long-grain white rice. It’s best to use a long-grain white rice here, such as jasmine or basmati. You can also use brown rice, but it requires a longer cook time.
1 cube chicken-flavored bouillon and 4 cups water (or 4 cups chicken broth - and no bouillon)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin dash garlic pepper
Beans: humble canned kidney beans. Feel free to use pinto beans instead. Canned beans are budget-friendly, and a great source of protein and fiber.
Aromatics: Onion and garlic form the foundation of this dish. For extra flavor, you can also toss in celery, bell pepper, or carrots.
Fire-roasted canned tomatoes or tomato puree. Fireroasted tomatoes add smoky depth. Or, you can use a jar of your favorite salsa.
Spices: Spanish food is known for delivering some serious flavor. In this recipe, I suggest chili powder, paprika, oregano and cayenne for an extra dose of spice.
(if making the recipe for kids or those with low spice tolerance, omit the cayenne.)
Olives: I love finishing rice and beans with a bright, briny kick of sliced black olives
Parsley: For fresh, herby top notes. Alternatively, you can use cilantro.
Lemon juice: To round out each bite with brightness and acidity.
Directions:
Start by heating some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic during the final minute so as not to burn.
Cooking spices in hot oil helps unlock their full flavor potential. This only takes 1 to 2 minutes–any longer and you
burn the spices. Stir in the rice and let it cook for about 2 minutes, which helps deepen its flavor. The rice will begin turning translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer the mixture for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
Lastly, drizzle the lemon juice, scatter the olives over the top and sprinkle on parsley or cilantro.
Dessert:
Vanilla cake with raspberry and blueberry has been done to death. How about delicious raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake served with fresh blueberries instead?
Preparation: 25 min.
Bake: 1 hour
Chilling time: 20 minutes
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients:
11/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
Filling:
3 packages (8 ounces each)
cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white chocolate baking chips
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, flour and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in the chips. Pour over crust.
In a microwave, melt raspberry jam; stir until smooth. Drop by teaspoonfuls over batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
Place pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. Place in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325° for 80-85 minutes or until center is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.
(Enid Holden is a Gunnisonbased freelance writer.)
(Courtesy Enid Holden)
(Envato
Fantastic facts about fireworks
This Fourth of July, these little-known facts can help you enjoy the fireworks at Jorgensen Park even more than usual.
Smithsonian magazine reports that pyrotechnics displays have been astounding audiences all over the world for centuries. As early as 200 B.C. fireworks were developed in China to first scare off mountain men and, later, evil spirits. However, soon the Chinese incorporated “fire drug,” essentially saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal (a recipe for gunpowder), into their cultural celebrations. Early Chinese fireworks consisted of the gunpowder mixture stuffed into bamboo tubes.
Fireworks have evolved since then, but, by and large, they’re still composed of the same main parts: an oxidizer, fuel and chemical mixture to produce desired colors. Fireworks are a wonder to behold when they are part of professional displays, and their history can be interesting as well.
• While the Chinese invented fireworks, Italians helped finetune them. Italians are credited with designing aerial shells and figuring out that certain metallic powders could create specific colors.
• The largest consistent fireworks show in the United States is the Macy’s show in New York over the Hudson River on July 4th. More than three million people view the show, which includes more than 40,000 shells.
• The Walt Disney Company is the largest consumer of fireworks in the world, according to Business Insider. It also is the second largest purchaser of explosive devices, behind only the U.S. Department of Defense.
• High-energy metal compounds like copper chloride emit colors like violet and blue
in fireworks. Low-energy compounds like strontium chloride produce orange and red.
• The pattern fireworks will produce in the sky is determined by how stars are arranged inside of the shell. Stars are the cubes or spheres that contain the chemicals needed for the firework reaction.
• “Daytime fireworks” are made up of colored smoke and can be seen during the day.
• Individuals who are employed in the manufacture of fireworks must wear cotton clothing, including undergarments, as synthetic clothing can create sparks capable of detonating fireworks.
• Various fireworks shapes have their own names. They may be called willows, palms, crossettes, horsetails, rings, cakes, and more.
• New Castle, Pennsylvania is known as the “Fireworks Capital of America” because Zambelli Fireworks Internationale and Pyrotecnico both got its start there in the mid-nineteenth century.
Fireworks will soon be booming in towns and cities all over, and their history is as interesting as their displays are aweinspiring.
(Source: Metro Creative)
NOTICE OF VACANCY
UPPER GUNNISON RIVER WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS VACANCIES
Please take notice that a resignation presents the opportunity to apply for appointment to the following seats on the Board of Directors of Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District
Division Term Expiration 6 Division Area Ohio Creek Division June 2026
Applications for appointment as director will be accepted until 5:00pm, Friday, August 15th, 2025. To apply, please send a letter of interest for the board seat you are seeking, along with any letters of recommendation, to the Honorable Kellie Starritt, District Court Judge, Gunnison County Courthouse,200 E. Virginia, Gunnison, Colorado 81230, who will make the appointment.
A description of the geographical boundaries of the divisions listed above may obtained from the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, 210 West Spencer, Suite A, Gunnison, Colorado, 81230, (970)641-6065, sue@ugrwcd.com or from the District’s website: www.ugrwcd.org.
Applications must specify that the applicant has resided within the District for a period of one year and resides in and is the owner of real property within the Division for which he or she seeks appointment. Applicants shall be knowledgeable in water matters.
(Photo by Mariel Wiley)
Bird-to-Bird ride
Join us for a free inaugural gravel bike ride uniting the communities of the Gunnison Valley and supporting our trails systems. Starting in Gunnison July 27 at 7 a.m. at Bluebird Real Estate in Gunnison, 218 N. Main St., and ending at Bluebird Real Estate in Crested Butte at 211 Elk Ave. Show your support for our trails by becoming a member or making a donation to gunnisontrails.org and/ or crestedbuttemountainbike. com. Sign up at tinyurl.com/ bird2bird.
Two free dances
Celebrate July 3-4 at the Three Rivers Almont dance pavilion with music by Pete Dunda's Old Time Polka/Variety Band. Polkas, waltzes, swing, Latin and country music will be featured. BYOB and snacks. Dancing on July 3 will be from 7-10 p.m. and on July 4 from 2-5 p.m. Donations welcome. For more information call 970.641.2388.
Volunteers needed
Mountain Roots needs volunteers for our upcoming Feast in the Field Fundraiser on July 26. We need help with event setup, check-in, bartending, waitstaff, service staff, break down, dishwashing and parking help on July 25-27 at Red Dog Ranch, 80 Studley Lane in CB. All volunteers will get dinner and beverages the night of the event, plus two free tickets to Harvest Hoedown in September. If interested, please email Jen Greene at Jennifer@mountainrootsfoodproject.org.
Hunny
B’s Rhapsody
Based in Las Vegas in the winter and Lake City in the summer, mother/daughter duo Cindy Bea and Chelsea Dee are Hunny B's Rhapsody. They are performing at the Malardi Mountain Theater in Crested Butte June 28 at 8 p.m. Performances frequently sell out so get your tickets now. For more information, visit hunnybsrhapsody.com.
GUNNISON ARTS CENTER BRIEFS
Broadway Bound musical theater camp ages 8-13
Join us July 14-18 with Macy Vinther from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. for Broadway Bound. This camp offers young performers a fun and supportive introduction to live theater, where they’ll build acting skills, grow in confidence and showcase their talents in a final performance for family and friends.
Mixed
media art camp
Join us on Wednesdays July 9-30 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. for a four week art camp that combines artistic techniques such as sculpture, drawing, collage and blending of materials. Caroline Toomer will guide students to think outside of the box and find new ways of creating.
Movie screening
Join us on July 9 from 8-9 p.m. for “The Tingler 1959 (ft.
Wonder Junction Vacation Bible School
Join us for a week of fun, games and activities learning about the life of Jesus. July 28-Aug. 1 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. For ages 4 to 11. Email gunnisonbethanykids@gmail.com for more information.
Veteran
breakfast
The Independence Day Veteran Breakfast will take place at American Legion Post 54 on July 5 from 9-11 a.m. Veterans, bring friends and family.
We want your event announcements!
The Gunnison Country Times publishes nonprofit event announcements free of charge.
• Please keep your announcement brief (3 sentences).
• Our deadline for submissions is noon on Tuesdays.
• Please send details to publisher@gunnisontimes.com.
SIDEWALK CHALK
Alpenglow:
JD Clayton
Join us July 7 from 5:307:30 p.m. for JD Clayton an Arkansas-born singer and songwriter. JD’s sound is a bridge between the southern rock on which he was raised and the truth telling tradition from the 70s era of country music that he most favors.
Summer Classics in the Courtyard
Join us July 8 from 5:30-7 p.m. for the Gypsy Jazz Social Club. A consortium of versatile musicians scattered throughout western Colorado and commonly inspired by the style of acoustic string-band jazz known as "Le Jazz Hot.”
Percepto),” an immersive film experience inspired by William Castle’s legendary interactive movie gimmicks—tickets available at the door.
Drawing the figure
Join us in a figure drawing class on either July 10 or 24, Aug. 7 or 28 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. This interactive class features a live nude model, whether you are a beginner or brushing up on fundamentals, this class is a great way to connect with your art and the human form.
2025 Arts Ball
Join us for live performances, art, a dinner with fine wines and a live auction at the Arts Ball, July 10 from 5-10 p.m. This event champions the Center’s mission to bring arts and culture to everyone.
Boys basketball defeated by Basalt
GHS falls 44-27 at Western camp
Evan Bjornstad Times Staff Writer
The GHS Boys basketball team took on the Basalt Longhorns in the opening game of the Western Colorado Mountaineer basketball team camp on June 27.
Senior Landon Miller jumpstarted the Gunnison offense, scoring a quick two points to pile the pressure on early. Basalt responded quickly on offense, taking advantage of back-to-back three-point plays to reclaim the lead at 6-2.
Sophomore Asher Woytek helped Gunnison fight back, earning a bucket in the paint, along with two free throws. Basalt continued to exploit the Cowboys defense, and scored another four points to quench the comeback.
Woyek once again took over in the paint after a new set of subs entered the game. His putback layup snagged another two points for Gunnison. The Longhorns continued with their steady offensive pace, and capi-
talized on another contested layup.
Despite battling against Basalt's raging attack, the Cowboys kept their hopes alive after Jack Stone dove for a loose ball to gain possession. Bing O'Rourke cashed a three and carried Gunnison back up 12-10.
The Longhorns drove another layup past Gunnison’s scrappy defense. With the ball in hand, Max Peluso weaved through traffic on the other end to rack up two points, cutting the lead to 14-12.
Basalt's offense cashed in three straight layups to extend the lead. The Cowboys, now trailing 20-12, retaliated with a layup of their own.
The Longhorns scored four more points before the first clock expired. Gunnison finished the first half trailing 26-14.
The second half started hot for Gunnison with Peluso scoring two early. Basalt scored their own two in response. After a Longhorns turnover, Jorge Perez gained possession and trimmed the lead by two with a contested layup.
Basalt delivered the dagger with a clutch three-pointer to extend the lead to 13. Gunnison's
offensive attempts fell short, despite Perez drawing a foul and making his free throws.
Even with the score at 31-20, Basalt continued to control the Gunnison defense. The Longhorns scored six unanswered points to maintain a 37-20 cushion. After a lay up from Miller, Gunnison's offense strug-
gled to keep up as the away team raced away
After a Longhorns three, the Cowboys Rylan Sahagun responded with a three-pointer of his own, moving the score to 40-25. Still, Basalt kept their foot firmly on the gas, and scored two more. The game ended as a Longhorns victory with a final
score of 44-27.
The Gunnison boys would go on to win their next game against Caliche before losing their next four games at the camp.
(Evan Bjornstad can be contacted at 970.641.1414.)
Noble named RMAC Man of the Year
Mountaineer wrestler makes school history
Gregg Petcoff Special to the Times
Dean Noble, a May 2025 graduate of the Western Colorado University men’s wrestling program, was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Man of the Year on July 2. Noble is the first RMAC Man of the Year in Mountaineer history, and the first wrestler to win one of the RMAC’s four major individual awards — Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Male ScholarAthlete and Female Scholar-
Athlete of the Year.
He graduated in May with dual bachelors degrees in business administration and exercise and sport science. Noble completed his coursework at Western with a cumulative GPA of 3.506.
On the mat, Noble wrestled to a pair of All-American honors. He placed seventh in the 149lbs bracket at the 2024 NCAA Division II championship before taking fourth place at 149 lbs at the 2025 DII championship. He also qualified for the 2023 national tournament after winning the 141-lbs bracket at the DII Super Region VI championship.
Noble has earned National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Scholar All-American honors from the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, and has
been named to the RMAC AllAcademic Honor Roll three times in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
On June 17, Noble earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2024-25 Academic All-District At-Large Team and was selected to advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.
At Western’s annual end-ofthe-year WESPYs ceremony, hosted by the Mountaineers’ Student-Athlete Advisory Council, Noble was presented the athletic department’s Paul Wright Award, given out annually to the top male and female senior athletes based on a combination of athletic accomplishments, scholarship and character.
Noble completed his AllAmerican final season as a
(Courtesy Western Colorado University Athletic Communications)
Mountaineer with a 22-5 record, numbers that elevated his career record to 95-41.
( Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
Bing O’Rourke dribbles at the top of the key. (Photo by Evan Bjornstad)
Camp crimson and slate
The Western Colorado University football program hosted three community football camps June 3-11. Youth football players across all ages fine-tuned their fundamentals under the guidance of the Mountaineer players and coaching staff.
SAGUACHE
County Courthouse lawn and Saguache Hotel courtyard-Downton Saguache/4th Street Call Carla Quintana for more information about the Hollyhock Festival @ 719.530.1707
Email Sarah Krantz for more information about the Arts Walk @ saguacheartswalk@gmail.com
Pitkin
JULY 18 AND 19, 9AM TO 4PM
Newcomb Community Center 800 State Street, Pitkin CO Featuring the work of the artisans of Pitkin and the Quartz
Gunnison Country Folks With Common Sense
Gunnison Country Times & Shopper
Account: Gunnison Country Folks With Common Sense
Contact: (970) 209-9890
As most of you are aware we no longer are required to sort the glass brought to our Center into different color categories. The company that we sell the glass to for recycling has optical reading machines that sorts all the glass they receive into different color categories. This change allows us to process product faster and recycle more glass product.
GunnisonCountryCommonSense@msn.com
Size: 2 x 6 ad - color
Insertion Dates: July 4,11,18,25 and August : July 4,11,18,25 and August 1,8,15,22
Even though colors are now combined we take clear, green and brown glass ONLY. The list of glass items that we DO NOT take is the same: blue glass, glass blocks, windows, tempered glass, vases and ceramics.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Gunnison County Public Works at 970-641-0044 or come visit our Recycle Center at 195 Basin Park Drive, Gunnison.
(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
(Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
VETERANS’ VOICE
‘Semper Gumby’ — always flexible
Ryan Dawes Special to the Times
When the United States joined World War II, civilian contractors were used to build roads, runways, barracks and any sort of infrastructure needed. This was mostly handled by the U.S. Navy as the only way to get men and equipment across the ocean. At the time, international law prohibited civilians from participating in their own defense as they would be considered guerillas.
However, there was a solution that would lead to one of the military’s most unique organizations — the Navy Seabees. At the time, Admiral Ben Moreell oversaw the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps. The admiral, who would become known as the “King Bee,” put forth the proposal that sailors who could already build be trained by the U.S. Marine Corps to also fight. Thus, the Seabees were officially formed on March 5, 1942, and adopted the Latin phrase, “Construimus, Batuimus” which translates to “We Build, We Fight.” This motto, along with “Can Do,” remain the two officially recognized phrases for the Seabees. Any service member can tell you, there are a boat load of unofficial phrases that get much more use.
When reading the words Semper Gumby, you may or may not recognize them. This “dog Latin” phrase is used throughout the U.S. military so naturally there are disputed claims of its origin. I like to believe it was invented by a grunt Marine in the field who received some less than stellar orders yet pivoted, carrying them out regardless of his situation.
I initially heard it while on my first field exercise during a particularly hot August at Fort Hunter Liggett in California. I scoffed when my squad leader told me this phrase, as I did
not have a clue what it meant. He was a former Marine turned Seabee who had separated in the late 1990s only to reenlist in the Navy following Sept. 11, 2001. The petty officer 2nd class was kind enough to explain that I would need to have a yoga master’s level of flexibility to succeed in the Seabees, and, quite frankly, life.
My time as a builder in the Seabees spanned eight years from November 2006 to November 2014, and I was honorably discharged as a Petty Officer 2nd class. My first five years were spent as a part of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Five based in Port Hueneme, California. The last three years were spent with Explosive Ordinance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit One in Coronado, California.
During my time with NMCB Five I deployed to Guam then back-to-back to Afghanistan. It was not until a few months after my first deployment to Afghanistan that I would finally understand that lesson imparted to me years prior. One morning after muster, our commanding officer called us into a large semi-circle, informing us that the battalion would be returning to Afghanistan the following April as a part of the “troop surge” in 2010. For perspective, my next deployment was supposed to be to Rota, Spain and who would not want to go to Spain?
This change shortened our homeport cycle from 12 to seven months. Additionally, I was a part of the Convoy Security Element. Our training would be condensed from eight to just three months. Deploying to Afghanistan meant the very real possibility we would be conducting logistical convoys, and we did. Rather than wallowing in self-pity I stayed positive and reminded myself I volunteered to join the Navy. I asked to be a Seabee, includ-
ing deploying to Afghanistan. I returned from that deployment as a combat veteran and had earned a Navy and Marine Corps achievement medal. I met my future wife, Stephanie, three months later in February 2011.
Now, after becoming a father, relocating to Gunnison, having a short career as Crested Butte Marshal and graduating from Western Colorado University, I am now a boutique owner/ operator who recently completed his sixth property renovation. I wonder what my old squad leader and Gumby would think all these years later. My advice, stay flexible.
)
(Ryan Dawes has lived in Gunnison for the past 11 years with his wife, Stephanie, and their two sons, Mack and Emerson; Steph and Ryan own Toggery Elevated.
Ryan Dawes in 2008 at the Orote Point Quarry, Naval Station Guam. (Courtesy Ryan Dawes)
Ryan Dawes on patrol in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010.
Painting with light
On Saturday, June 28, the Gunnison Arts Center filled with eager artists of all skill levels for a class in the indirect technique known as Mischtechnik by renowned artist Amanda Sage. Since 2010, she has been teaching painting workshops around the world at various visionary hubs, festivals and retreat centers.
