Billions of dollars frozen for rural Colorado electric co-ops
customers may face rate increases
Bella Biondini Times Editor
Federal funding freezes are impacting Gunnison County residents in more ways than one and may show up in the form of higher electricity bills.
A memorandum, signed in late January, ordered a “temporary pause” of federal financial assistance for activities related
to “foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal.” Financial assistance instead should be dedicated to “eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing,” it stated.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the dayto-day lives of those we serve,” the memo reads.
As a result, the flow of nearly $3.2 billion in grants and Co-op funding A6
$120 million project developed and owned by county
Dave Pinkerton Times Staff Writer
On March 4, Gunnison County commissioners approved the issuance of just under $120 million in bonds, the largest ever in Gunnison County, for the income-restricted Whetstone housing project. The project is protected by a reserve fund of around $7.3 million, the amount needed to cover project payments for one year.
Whetstone A3
School board votes to keep early release
Split decision prompts new calendar task force
Dave Pinkerton Times Staff Writer
After more than a month of debate and continual dissent from parents, the Wednesday early release schedule will stay in place district-wide next year.
In a three-hour meeting on March 10, the Gunnison Watershed School District board adopted a calendar that includes early
release Wednesdays in both Gunnison and Crested Butte. School board members Tyler Martineau, Anne Brookhart and Jody Coleman voted to adopt the proposed early release calendar, while Mark VanderVeer opposed it.
“Something is not working,” VanderVeer said. “If we vote for the same thing [early release Wednesday calendar] we will be in the same boat next year. I cannot accept this calendar because it does nothing to address the problems.”
Early release Wednesday was first implemented four years ago as a way to give teachers time during the school day for Calendar A6
HEY MACARENA: Gabriel Behounek, Blake Hill, Ollie Busby and Samuel Monitello danced for the crowd as their bandmates played a rendition of “Macarena” during a concert at Gunnison High School on March 4. For more, see A11. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)
OBITUARIES
QUOTE of the week
“It’s really fun to watch young kids develop their own [snowboarding] style, because they can be fearless … They start to develop their own little personalities.”
— Nate Meckes, Snowboarding instructor
See story on B1
On March 5, the Gunnison County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of a National Park Service officer, arrested three people traveling together near Blue Mesa Reservoir. They all had outstanding warrants.
Two of the suspects were released from jail on PR bonds, but police determined that the suspects’ motor home had been broken into at the impound lot. The suspects were then located and re-arrested.
Officers found drug paraphernalia and suspected drugs during a hotel room search and in the impounded vehicles. Additional charges were filed on all three suspects to include possession with the intent to distribute the drugs. All suspects are awaiting court advisements in the Gunnison County Detention Center.
According to a subsequent press release from Sheriff Adam Murdie, a “substantial quantity of narcotics has been removed from the streets,” as well as a handgun. While the total amounts are still being processed, over three quarters of a pound (more than 340 grams) of various suspected narcotics including, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, mushrooms and numerous prescription pills, have been seized.
Hurd hosts first ‘Tele-town hall’
According to numerous readers, Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, has been difficult to get in touch with since he took office.
On March 11, Hurd hosted a “Tele-town hall” where he gave an update on his first two months in Congress and his recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. The day prior, Hurd introduced the “Productive Public Lands Act” to unlock resource development. The legislation would “open up the public’s land to be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting, drilling, mining, and other appropriate uses,” said Chairman Doug LaMalfa.
Randy Jean Haggerty Morgan
With shattered hearts, Paul Morgan and his daughters, Dana, Carlee and Mackenzie, announce the passing of Randy Jean Haggerty Morgan. She died as she lived — with grace, strength and dignity, surrounded by love — on March 7, after a hard-fought battle with uterine cancer. This day also marked 31 years since Randy and Paul moved their family to Gunnison.
Born and raised in Succasunna, NJ, Randy met Paul at age 12, and he fondly says he "tricked" her into falling in love. She was, and always will be, his best friend and “Cubby,” whom he will miss every day.
After honeymooning
Feathered friends
in Aspen, Randy and Paul moved to Colorado, where she embraced adventure — running, biking and competing in triathlons. She had a dedicated career in healthcare, finding her passion at the Gunnison County Public Health Department. If locals didn’t see her there, they likely saw her on a run or cheering on Gunnison sports teams.
Randy and Paul traveled countless miles to support their daughters and grandkids, Sydney and Bryce, who lovingly called her “Nammie.” She lived a life of intention, checking off many experiences on her bucket list. Yet, even with a life so full, she and Paul still had dreams left to chase. Her life was cut short, and her endless plans have inspired her family to live with hope, excitement, gratitude and no excuses. She was grateful for every day and reminded those around her to feel lucky.
To honor Randy’s memory, donations may be made to Gunnison Valley Hospice, Gunnison Tough or Living Journeys. The Morgans are endlessly grateful for these community organizations, whose care and support means so much.
As the snow begins to melt, birdsong is once again filling the skies as migrating birds return to the Gunnison Valley. Photographer Jennifer Smith photographed a male bluebird perched atop a fencepost on March 6.
An open-house-style celebration of her life will be held at the Gunnison Community Center on Sunday, March 30, from 2–4 p.m. All are welcome.
Don Bromley
Don Bromley was born March 7, 1944 and passed away Feb. 17, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado.
He lived a fulfilling life as a husband, father and grandfather. He earned a bachelor’s degree and masters degree from Western State College in Gunnison where he played football.
His contributions to the lives of many include teaching math at Northglenn, Paonia, and Gunnison High School for 33 years, coaching football for
28 years, and track at Western State College for five years. He is survived by his wife, Patt, their daughters, Kimberlie Householter, Valerie Bromley and Auderie Rock, and six grandchildren. Don will be greatly missed for his sense of humor and care for others.
Funeral services will be held at Horan and McConaty in Aurora on March 18. An additional obituary is posted on HoranCares.com.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in memory of Don Bromley to Brighton Hospice at 8055 E. Tufts Ave. Ste. 700 Denver, CO 80237.
(Courtesy Jennifer Smith)
Large amount of drugs seized near Blue Mesa
ening market, putting pressure on the valley’s economy. The Whetstone project is designed to address this.
The 13-acre Whetstone parcel is located along Hwy. 135, two miles south of Crested Butte across from Brush Creek Road. At full occupancy, the project could house more than 350 people.
Gunnison County will be the developer and owner of Whetstone. The $120 million bond amount translates to $396 per square foot, which compares to the 2025 median home sale price at $421 per square foot. When the bonds mature in 34 years, the total interest costs are estimated to be $128 million.
To prepare for possible uncertainy, the county hired a consulting firm to model various economic “stress tests.” For example, one test looked at the effect of a drop in occupancy rate to 80%. John Cattles, assistant county manager, said the project could survive for two years before it would not be able to pay its debt. Modeling showed the biggest risk to the project is sustained slow growth as occurred in deep recessions in the recent past, Cattle said. Gunnison County has grown at a slow, but steady 2% annual rate. Housing has not kept pace with that rate of growth, Cattle said. Lost housing due to second homes and short-term rentals has resulted in a tight-
After bonds are issued in six weeks, ground breaking is slated for April. Construction is not expected to be complete until late 2027. Cattles described the construction process.
“The building will occur in phases. The first residences will be walk-up apartments, available in March 2027,” Cattles said.
At full build out, there will be 26 housing structures with 252 separate residences, the tallest structure being three stories along with several townhomes and a few owner-occupied small business spaces, possibly for local contractors who need shop or garage space.
The project will not have all its homes filled until 2028. At that point, the county estimates that it will collect $8 million per year from rents. Operating costs will offset some of the rental income and are projected in 2028 to be roughly $1.7 million or $6,700 per rentable unit annually. Fees come from residents with a variety of targeted income brackets. Brackets are based on the area median income (AMI) for the county. In 2024, the AMI for a two-person household was $120,100.
The project serves residents who earn annually between 60% and 170% of AMI ($72,060 and $204,170). But overall, 67%
of Whetstone residents are slated to earn under 120 % AMI ($144,120).
In the final plan, the project’s guiding principles are stated –support for the local economy, support for the local community and reduction of environmental impacts. According to Cattles, the goal of the project is to build 300 additional workforce rental units to meet an underserved need. That goal will be monitored by the housing authority, which will determine how much progress is being made.
“Our economy has grown substantially, but housing has not,” Cattles said. “The housing that has been built is largely catering to second homeowners, which just creates more jobs and more demand for housing that workers can’t afford,” Cattles said.
(Dave Pinkerton can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or dave@ gunnisontimes.com)
Whetstone from A1
A digital rendering of the Whetstone project, looking west. (Courtesy John Cattles/Gunnison County)
970.641.1414
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We’re not helping the forests help us
There is lots of bad news from the forests recently, from both the natural environment and the “cultural environment” (“environment” being those things around us that we cannot change from where we are, and must therefore learn to live with).
The most in-our-face bad news came from the cultural environment, where the ad hoc “Department of Government Efficiency” posse took a political chainsaw to the U.S. Forest Service, summarily firing 3,400 employees — about a 10th of the already chronically underfunded and short-staffed Forest Service. The local implications of this situation were well covered in last week’s Times , and there’s not been much clarification of the chaos since.
Less publicized, but possibly more important in the long run, is the bad news in a recent study report from the Colorado State Forest Service about the state of our forests themselves. Whether one believes in the climate crisis or not, we all know that our forests are an important vehicle for reducing carbon gases in
the atmosphere, sequestering in its woody mass the carbon in carbon dioxide and putting the oxygen back into the atmosphere for our use.
What the State Forest Service study found, however, is that the 28 million acres of forest land in Colorado have become a carbon source rather than a carbon sink. They are putting more carbon gases into the atmosphere than they are taking out.
On the surface, this appears to just involve the natural environment, something Mother Nature is doing that we have to learn to live with. Healthy living trees sequester carbon gases, but trees eventually die. And when they die, their physical substance goes back into the natural environment. This happens either gradually through rotting, a process of “slow oxidation” which puts some of the carbon into the soil and some back into the atmosphere; or through burning, a process of “rapid oxidation” that puts more carbon back into the atmosphere and less into the soil. When the ratio of dead trees to living trees increases, more carbon will eventually be going back into the atmosphere than the living trees are taking out of it — especially if the forests experience large wildfires.
And that is what has been happening since 2000 in the Southern Rockies. A lot of trees have been dying, and many of the living trees are not very healthy. An extended regional dry spell has seriously reduced the water resources for all the
forest trees, facilitating insect pandemics in the spruce and pine species that constitute most of the region’s forests. Many of our trees are dead, and one consequence of that has been a number of “rapid oxidation” events: wildfires of unprecedented size and ferocity.
But a closer look at this situation shows a fairly heavy human cultural fingerprint on those “natural” phenomena. We have failed to understand the role of wildfire in forest health. In our cool dry environment dead things do not rot quickly enough, and we get buildups of dead and dying plant matter that require “rapid oxidation” — wildfire — to maintain some balance in the carbon cycle. A century of unwise fire suppression has resulted in big buildups of dead “fuel,” and thickets of unhealthy mature trees stressed by inadequate water.
This situation is compounded by a second manifestation of forest-related cultural ignorance: we have unconsciously increased the quantity of carbon gases in the atmosphere by burning vast quantities of formerly sequestered “fossil” carbon substances. These heattrapping gases result in measurable atmospheric warming that further stresses the forests, reducing the supply of liquid water available for living things at a rate of 5-7% for every degree of increase in the ambient temperature.
Correcting these errors of cultural ignorance and returning
our forests to carbon sinks rather than carbon sources requires a massive effort to restore a better balance between living and dead stuff in our forests — and under conditions we don’t really know yet how to address at the forest scale, mostly related to the unignorable impact of measurable warming temperatures. We know it involves largescale investment in “fuel reduction,” either through prescribed burning, mechanical thinning and clearing or plain old logging (a wood house can sequester carbon for a century or so). It also involves learning how to regenerate the forest in burned, or logged areas for a coming age of further heating and diminishing water supplies, as long as we continue to pump more heattrapping carbon into the atmosphere. Drill, baby, drill.
But all of the things we could do to help our forests function as carbon sinks rather than carbon sources require boots on the ground — lots of trained people at work in the forests. Which makes what is currently happening in the cultural environment, with the DOGE posse’s political chainsaw wielded against the Forest Service, an example of degenerative cultural ignorance on par with a century of fire suppression.
In terms of “government efficiency,” it is just making a bad situation worse.
(George Sibley is a Gunnison writer, thinker and elder of the headwaters.)
Gunnison Country’s most valuable asset
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor must be 500 words or less. We favor local topics and discourage argumentative letters addressed to particular people. If you reference data, please include sources for fact-checking.
We will not print letters from candidates for public office.
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.
The deadline is Tuesday at 12 p.m. Letters may be edited for grammar, clarity or length.
For years now, our concern for the future of the federal agencies managing public lands and research activities in the Gunnison Country has been growing, and now, we have a serious incident to deal with.
Even before the new administration began to shred the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service, we knew the agencies were struggling to attract and hire new employees. Across the nation, these units are underfunded and understaffed considering the vast acres of land they are
responsible to manage. Last fall, we learned they would not hire necessary seasonal employees because of uncertain budgets and over-spent accounts.
Since late January 2025, the new leadership in Washington D.C. has taken a devastating pace and scale in their efforts to defund (and damage) the federal government: a hiring freeze cancels job offers and prevents anyone who leaves from being replaced; the termination of probationary employees (i.e. the next generation), just as they got their foot in the door; and more recently the Reduction in Force has given many folks in senior program management and leadership a good reason to resign and retire.
It’s already gone too far, and at High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) we are focused on raising the value of public lands and the people who work for them in our community. HCCA is working to push the pendulum to a place
where our public lands are not only recognized, but honored as our most valuable community asset.
It begins with emphasizing the economics of the situation.
It’s a fact: unspoiled and wellmanaged public lands provide thousands more long-term jobs than mining, oil and gas or timber extraction. Four thousand outdoor jobs are created on the Western Slope because of the 3.2-million-acre Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests, as well as 8,000 jobs by Bureau of Land Management lands in southwest Colorado. In addition to the public service opportunities offered by the Forest Service, the BLM and the Park Service, our public lands create jobs that drive our local economy through tourism, recreation, agriculture and research.
The importance of tourism to Gunnison County’s economy is evident, accounting for over 28% of total employment,
according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics from 2022. Government employment around here accounts for 17%. Mining employment in Gunnison County is 4.2%. Bottom line, our local economy quickly disintegrates if our public lands or water quality suffer.
It looks like in the next few years the federal land management agencies, yet again, will have to battle their way back from forces working against them. Let’s be ready to rebuild our land management offices as soon as possible. A great way to support them is getting behind elected officials who are champions for our public lands and the federal employees who steward them.
When folks experience what is coming on our public lands — from resource impacts, to overflowing and further deteriorating facilities, to no response from federal offices, and a malaise that comes from ripping the soul out
George Sibley Special to the Times
Jon Hare Special to the Times
of a “can do” workforce — let’s have the model ready to build land management units focused on protecting our communities from wildfires, enhancing critical wildlife habitat, creating better access and recreation infrastructure, administering permits and preventing multiple use conflicts, maintaining roads and trails and restoring disturbed areas back to natural condition.
These land management agencies are all over our mountains taking care of our public lands. They should have top-notch facilities, the safest equipment and prioritize employee health and wellness given the dangerous and difficult work they are frequently tasked with.
Additionally, our community needs to keep supporting legislation like the proposed Colorado Outdoor Recreation
LETTERS
Facts about TABOR
Editor:
The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) was approved by voters in 1992. Colorado voters approved a measure which amended Article X of the Colorado Constitution that restricts revenues for all levels of government (state, local and schools).
Under TABOR, state and local governments cannot raise tax rates without voter approval and cannot spend revenues collected under existing tax rates without voter approval. Revenue in excess of the TABOR limit, must be refunded to taxpayers. Under TABOR, the state has returned more than $2 billion to taxpayers.
For 32 years Colorado citizens have received a TABOR check with no conditional requirements. Last year, taxpayers received an $800 check for one qualifying taxpayer or $1,600 for two qualifying taxpayers filing jointly.
Today’s Colorado Department of Revenue’s web page states:
“Attention, please remember that you must claim the state sales tax refund (TABOR refund) when filing your state income tax return or Property Tax/Rent/Heat Rebate (PTC) Application. If you claimed a 2024 refund, the TABOR refund will be combined and issued with your tax refund. Unlike the 2022 Colorado cashback, no separate check will be issued.”
Now you, the taxpayer, must opt in your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” from your Federal Tax Report to determine your TABOR refund. If you do not fill in lines 31 to 34 on your state 2024 Colorado individual income tax return form DR 0104, you will not receive a refund. No $800 or $1,600 checks this year.
In 2024 the Democrat majority state legislature and Gov. Jared Polis are running a $1 billion shortfall in the $16 billion general fund for the fiscal year that begins July 1. According to Colorado Congressman Ken deGraaf, Colorado is more
and Economy (CORE) Act, and the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act. They will further protect the federal lands adjacent to our communities from the whims of any elected official in the nation’s capital. If these bills become law, they will protect our public lands by keeping them the way they are right now.
In the short term, local organizations such as HCCA, Gunnison Trails, Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association, Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Gunnison Valley OHV Alliance and the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District are already doing work to steward our public lands. Pick an organization that aligns with your passion and become a public lands steward yourself.
While the dumpster fire in Washington D.C. continues its
rampage to harm and remove the government services essential to steward our public lands, I take encouragement in the legacy of our land management agencies. The public lands in this country have the greatest conservation story in the history of the world, and our land management agencies have rebounded and evolved from hard times before.
Let’s work together and through our local commitment to conservation, we can fight to raise them up. Ultimately, people will benefit from these public lands long into the future.
(Jon Hare is the Advocacy Director for High Country Conservation Advocates.)
like $4.5 billion in the hole if you count “Certificates of Participation” — money the state owes but is creativelyaccounted as “not debt”. All this debt despite record state revenues.
Insult upon injury, the Democrat majority state legislature voted down reducing both the state income tax rate and taxes on social security. Colorado is one of nine states that taxes Social Security. No help for the elderly affected the most by inflation.
A U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee’s report measured each state’s inflation from 2021 to 2024. Coloradans experienced the highest rates of inflation. Using the December 2024 Consumer Price Index data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Joint Economic Committee State Inflation Tracker estimates that the average household in Colorado is paying $1,329 more per month to purchase the same basket of goods and services as in January 2021. Cumulatively, the average Colorado household has spent $43,408 more due to inflation since January 2021. This happened with a Democrat Governor and majority state legislature.
You get what you vote for.
Cori Dobson Neil Watko Gunnison GOP
To my fellow veterans
Editor:
With recent and proposed workforce reductions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), our national veteran service organizations — such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Fleet Reserve Association, and others — are working tirelessly to protect the services and benefits we have earned. These organizations are our voice in Washington, advocating for us through congressional testimony and direct engagement with VA leadership, including Secretary Collins. Access to quality health care
remains a priority, especially in rural areas like ours. More local veterans are discovering that they can receive primary care through the VA Mobile Medical Unit, now offering appointments at the American Legion Post 54 building in Legion Park. These dedicated health care professionals are here to serve you — please take advantage of this valuable resource.
Since 1919, American Legion Post 54 has been a welcoming hub for veterans and the Gunnison community. We remain committed to supporting one another, fostering camaraderie and ensuring that no veteran navigates their journey alone.
If you or a fellow veteran needs assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find us on Facebook at American Legion Post 54 Gunnison, email us at gunnisonpost54@gmail.com, or call me directly at 970.596.2841.
A special thank you to Gunnison County Veteran Services for their ongoing support of our veteran community. Veteran Services Officer Steve Otero can be contacted at 970.641.7919.
John P. Nelson American Legion Post 54
Write the Oval Office
Editor:
March 15, 2025 is the date to send a postcard to this administration for how you feel they are doing. You can send one or as many as you like to overwhelm this post office. Gunnison County can help this effort! Send your postcard to this address:
Donald Trump
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
Thank you for your time on this matter.
Susan Tyzzer
Crested Butte South
Co-op funding from A1
loans to Colorado rural electric cooperatives and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has stalled. The funding freeze could affect the Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA), as TriState is its power supplier.
GCEA is a member-owned, nonprofit electric cooperative that delivers electricity to homes and businesses throughout Gunnison and Hinsdale counties and parts of Saguache.
A portion of the frozen funds was granted to Colorado communities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Passed in 2021 under former President Joe Biden, the legislation was intended to help repair and modernize the nation’s aging infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, public transit systems and utility grids. The rest came through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America program, or “New ERA,” meant to aid the transition to cleaner, more affordable energy.
The pause in federal assistance has the potential to hinder electric system upgrades around the Western Slope and other rural areas of Colorado. One project in Gunnison County is not only designed to improve the reliability of the grid, but to decrease the chance wildfires are ignited by aging powerlines. Others are meant to help Colorado shift to more solarand wind-generated power. In case funding is not restored, utility customers will ultimately be responsible for covering a portion of the cost.
As a member of the Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA), GCEA is working with other co-ops to preserve the grant funding. Some managers, including GCEA Chief Executive Officer Mike McBride, visited Washington D.C. in early March to advocate for all of these projects. A number of co-op directors have plans to return in April.
CREA serves 1.5 million people, many of whom live in some of the most “economically challenged” areas of the state, according to a letter sent from CREA Executive Director Kent Singer to Colorado representatives and senators. The recently announced freeze on the dis -
tribution of BIL and Inflation Reduction Act money has “cast doubt on the viability of these important projects,” which help communities increase grid reliability and provide affordable energy, the letter states. Without the certainty the money will be disbursed, contracts may be lost and the price of supplies and construction materials may rise.
“We're actively trying to do all we can to get these funds … The loss of those grant funds do seem to have a higher impact on rural America. That's the message we're going to be carrying,” McBride told the Times
In May 2024, GCEA received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to replace a roughly 33-mile section of aged, overhead electric lines that run along Hwy. 149 between Gunnison and Lake City. By increasing the durability of the lines, the project will create redundancy within the electric grid and reduce the risk the system accidentally sparks a wildfire. Government funding was supposed to cover approximately 70% of the project.
Across the United States, old power lines, paired with hotter, drier weather, are increasing the chance of fire. A downed power pole is believed to have started the largest wildfire in Texas’ history in 2024. Strong winds and downed power lines were investigated as possible causes of the catastrophic fires in Hawaii in 2023, and the California fires outside of Los Angeles earlier this year.
“We've seen wildfire issues related to antiquated infrastructure, not here in our state, but we've definitely watched it in other[s],” said Hinsdale County Commissioner Kristie Borchers.
“That's another reason why we're glad to support this.”
The electrical distribution lines that serve customers between Gunnison and Lake City have not been updated since the 1960s, and over the last two years, the area has experienced more than 70 power outages due to extreme weather events. This included a 28-hour outage during sub-zero overnight temperatures in February 2023. And during the winter, many residents rely on electric heat.
“With the remoteness already of our community … we really feel the impacts of that electricity being out,” she said.
According to McBride, the
intent is to start the power line upgrades this year, with or without the grant funding. If GCEA must borrow money, some of the costs associated with the project would be reflected in rate increases. It would be shared by all of GCEA’s customers.
“The grant funding is a real help to the community, but regardless, the project has to be done,” McBride said. “I think we will be moving forward even if there's some uncertainty.”
Frozen funding at Tri-State could have a similar impact on electricity rates, McBride said.
The Colorado-based electric cooperative, which provides wholesale power to customers in four states, received $2.5 billion in grants and low-interest loans from the New ERA program. The money was set aside
to help the co-op weave more renewable energy sources into its power portfolio, support the early retirement of coal power plants and meet the state’s requirements for greenhouse gas reductions.
Tri-State goes through a resource planning process every three years with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to look at different possible energy mixes. The resulting project approvals are not dependent on the grants’ arrival, McBride said. If Tri-State is forced to borrow money at a higher interest rate than the co-op would have received through the federal programs, it will have a rate impact for GCEA members. He estimated it could be as much as a 4.5% increase in the early years of the new debt.
“Tri-state has a multi-faceted [energy] resource plan, and generally speaking, this big federal assistance was going to help pay for all of that,” McBride said. GCEA has been laying the groundwork for a renewable energy project just outside the Crested Butte. The 1,125-kilowatt solar array will be owned by GCEA. Luckily, this project is not as dependent on federal grants, McBride said. Despite rising interest rates and supply chain problems, the co-op is still striving to build the array this year, he said.
(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)
professional development. But for many parents, especially in the south end of the valley, the extra 1 hour and 45 minutes of unsupervised time was a child care burden and disrupted family routines.
Ryan Romero, a parent who spoke at the meeting, lives six miles west of town and said he has to take vacation time to pick up his children on early release days.
“My wife and I are burning through a ton of paid time off to get our kids on early release days,” Romero said.
In the weeks leading up to the
vote, the school district had formulated seven alternative calendars for the board to consider. These alternatives included moving early release to Fridays, full days for teacher professional development and no early release days.
Before the vote, Coleman proposed a multi-part amendment that would require the district to continue addressing the concerns of district professionals and parents. The first part of the amendment directed the superintendent to hire a part-time position to coordinate academic and creative engagement for students from the end of school to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Further, the amend-
ment authorized the establishment of a task force to find solutions to parents’ calendar concerns. Finally, the amendment requires an implementation plan that includes updating the board regularly.
During the discussion, Superintendent Leslie Nichols said professional development that is scheduled as part of the faculty work day offers the most “bang for the buck” for increasing teacher and student performance. Early release Wednesdays are intended to provide teachers and staff extra time at the end of the school day on Wednesdays to increase teaching skills.
Gunnison High School principal Jim Woytek also supported
the existing early release schedule, which increases time for teachers to improve teacher effectiveness. He referenced research that says teacher efficacy is the No. 1 predictor of student performance. Teacher efficacy is when educators can work, look at data and plan together to support teaching and learning, he said.
A number of administrators spoke in support of the continuation of Wednesday early release because of the time it provides teachers to collaborate and improve their skills. Middle school assistant principal Lance Betts also said he was also in favor of early release Wednesdays.
“We do not have the flexibility in our master schedule to provide
common planning time for teachers. It would be really hard for us to replicate what’s going on now if early release Wednesdays were gone,” Betts said.
Robert Speer, director of special services for the district, said the time associated with early release Wednesday is important for his staff.
“It has really been beneficial for me to be able to get my groups of people together in a room [on Wednesdays],” Speer said.
(Dave Pinkerton can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or dave@gunnisontimes.com.)
Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) lineworkers work to restore power. (Courtesy Justin Hulick/ GCEA)
Grateful for Gunni Gals
The Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce is celebrating Women’s History Month with a “Grateful for Gunni Gals” campaign. Community members can nominate a woman in their lives who has inspired them, who contributes to the health and wellbeing of others or is an “unsung hero.” One of this week’s nominees is Dulce Marisol Luna Garcia. Garcia is the owner of d’Luna Mexican Store on Main Street. “Marisol is an excellent role model and example of a female small business owner,” said her anonymous nominee. “She brings her culture and unique products to not just the Latin community, but all of the Gunnison Valley.” For more information visit gunnisonchamber.com/grateful-for-gunni-gals/.
(Courtesy Gunnison Country Chamber of Commerce)
$995,000 817506
Gorgeous
$3,600,000 818987
4,232
www.BHHSTodayRealty.com
With a heart full of gratitude
Editor:
Part of how KBUT conducts our semi-annual pledge drives is writing a letter like this at the end to thank the community for its support. Our drive ended on Feb. 21, and it was another historical success.
But I knew there would be more thanks to give and news to share, so I waited to write to the newspaper. In the meantime, we've announced the winner of our grand prize, held another amazing Mardi Gras parade in downtown Crested Butte and started preparations for two more great events. But first, the drive.
As of Monday, March 10, we've brought in more than $94,000, absolutely blowing away our $75K goal. I try not to speak for people, but I'm comfortable speaking for the staff and the board of directors when I say we're honored and proud to share this accomplishment with each and every one of the 120-plus volunteer DJs and phone operators, food donors, new and renewing members, prize donors and listeners around the globe that made it happen.
It takes an amazing organization, working together all year, and over the course of years, to make a radio station that small and large donors are happy to support when we ask. Our volunteers contribute to this beautiful effort all year, and it's so, so appreciated.
Donors who contributed before the drive even started were entered to win our early bird prize: a trip to either Vail or Beaver Creek, including lift tickets and dining and shopping credits, courtesy of CBMR's Epic Promise. Drew Holbrook and Molly Susla won that prize. Everybody who gave during the drive, including early birds, were entered to win the grand prize, a Region 3 Trek in Nepal, courtesy of the Karuna Project. Nick and Tina Kempin won the grand prize. KBUT is so grateful for every donation, large or small, and to the businesses who donated such great prizes, which we know drove more donations.
Last Tuesday, we held a Mardi Gras parade, and once again we were blown away by the community's level of participation. Andrew Hadley Architect offered a $500 prize for best float or Krewe, but KBUT wanted a stiffer competition, so we matched the prize. The Flauschink float, complete with beloved Has-beens, took the prize, and walked away with $1,000.
February and March have kept KBUT super busy, and it's not over yet. As I type this on Monday afternoon, there are still a couple tickets available for Yurt Bingo on Thursday and Friday night this week at the Magic Meadows Yurt. Then we head right into prep for Disco Inferno coming up at the Center
for the Arts Crested Butte.
All I can say is thank you. Everyone at KBUT feels blessed to be part of an organization that enjoys such wide and deep community support all year, but especially the last few, and next few, weeks. KBUT loves the Gunnison Valley community, and you guys make it clear that you love us back.
Jackson Petito KBUT
These would negatively impact our rights
Editor:
Colorado gun owners, no less than 13 bills relating to our Second Amendment right to bear arms are/were being proposed in the state legislature in Denver. In my opinion, eight of these bills — if passed — will negatively affect that constitutional right.
HB-1055: Unfortunately, the initiative to “Repeal Firearm Dealer Requirements and State Permit,” was killed in a House committee on Feb. 27.
The eight “baddie bills” are as follows:
• HB-1133: “Requirements for Sale of Firearms Ammunition” (Increases the state's restrictions on ammunition).
• HB-1238: “Gun Show Requirements” (States restrictions on vendors and customers allowed at gun shows).
• HB-1250: “Gun Violence Prevention and Parents of Students.” (Allows schools to distribute anti-gun propaganda in-house).
• HB-1225: “Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act.”
• HB-1262: “Regulate Private Security Officers and Agencies.”
• SB-158: "State Agency Procurement and Disposal of Certain Items." (The "certain items" are firearms).
• SB-059: “Supports for State Response to Mass Shootings.” And lastly, the crown jewel of them all:
• SB-003: The 2025 Semi-Auto Firearm Ban and Gun Owner Registry. (This bill's title says it all).
Unfortunately, it appears that our Colorado politicians are in a World Wrestling Federation competition with several other states with its quest to shred the Second from the first Ten Amendments of individual rights enshrined within our United States Constitution.
The first pillar of gun control is “Slow the sale of firearms to the public.” The second is "Create a firearm owner registry." The third pillar is "A total ban on the private ownership of guns followed by confiscation."
Jon Matuszczak Gunnison
Young dancers spun and jumped around the Gunnison Arts Center dance studio during an African dance class on Feb. 27. Instructor Fara Tolno led the group through a series of lively movements to the beat of a hand drum. Tolno is a member of the Guinea-based Kissidugu Foundation.
Hamburger helpers
Each year, the Gunnison Valley Cattlewomen host a giveaway with hamburger meat from local beef producers as the prize. This year, eight lucky winners took home seven pounds of hamburger each. Jay Miller (pictured with a friend) was all smiles as he collected his prize last week.
(Photos by Mariel Wiley)
(Courtesy Melody Roper/Gunnison Valley Cattlewomen)
accessible via exterior stairs, presents exciting opportunities. Whether you need additional storage or dream of an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit), the potential is yours to explore with City of Gunnison approval. Don’t miss the chance to make this new construction your forever home. Contact us now to schedule a viewing and witness the epitome of contemporary living!
TBD W Denver Ave. MLS# 816647 $599,000 Spectacular 2.5 acre level lot located in Gunnison’s new subdivision Elk Ranch. This parcel is located just outside City limits on the west side of town and seller has it set up to be built on immediately. Lot has a well permit already in place along with the 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 be extended north by City this fall. 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
Food for thought
A conversation with Food Pantry ED, Jodi Payne
Alan Wartes Times Publisher
(Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from an episode of the Gunnison Country Times podcast, Think Radio. It has been edited for length and clarity.)
down to $5, over time, we'll be saving money. And also we're trying to procure more grants that instill that sort of value into our organization. $150,000 is a lot of money to pump into our local economy. That's a lot of money to use locally and to support local farmers. Who is the typical pantry client?
Jodi Payne is executive director of the Gunnison Country Food Pantry. In this episode of Think Radio, she discussed her journey from volunteering at a shelter in Marquette, Michigan, to the world of professional non-profit management.
What's your impression of how we do food security as a society?
One thing that comes to mind is that 40% of all of the food produced in America is wasted, and a lot of the time that's not due to the food being bad or edible. It's the way that our retailers push food on and off the shelves so that you get the most fresh — air quotes around fresh — products, when really products have a much longer shelf life than consumers are made aware of. And so I think we have a bit of a waste issue.
You mentioned the pantry spends about $150,000 a year on supplemental food. Where does that money go?
For many years, we were working with the retail market, shopping primarily at Kroger in the past. As food prices have increased — let's just look at eggs, for example — we've started looking into some purchasing contracts with local producers. Because if a local carton of eggs always cost $6 maybe that seems high, but when the prices of eggs at the grocery store creep up to $12 and then maybe they go back
I love this question. A stereotype would be, maybe someone who's in and out of work or does not hold a job, maybe is on unemployment. I think a lot of folks think of under underserved minority populations. Even when I first started working with unhoused folks that was my first initial bias — these are folks with mental health struggles, or people who are actively in and out of addictive habits. I learned pretty quickly that that is not an accurate depiction. In Gunnison in 2024, 56% of those who used the food pantry recorded having one job, two jobs, working seasonally or that they were a student; 10% who opted to just not answer; then 2-3% of folks said they are on fixed incomes. So a majority of the guests at the food pantry say they are working people.
Listen to the rest of the conversation at gunnisontimes.com or by following the QR code below.
(Alan Wartes can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or publisher@ gunnisontimes.com.)
Jodi Payne
Band buddies
Middle and high school students united on stage for a joint band concert at Gunnison High School on March 4. During the middle school band’s rendition of the “Macarena,” four students stood at the forefront to dance along. The high schoolers played a medley of John Denver’s top hits, a performance which band director Keith Koepsel dedicated to his wife. Earlier that week, students Riego Koepsel, Ian Busby and Gavin Vasquez traveled to Alamosa to perform with the Top of the Nation Honor Band at Adams State University.
(Photos by Mariel Wiley)
Cimarron Wealth Management wins national award
Late last year, Cimarron Wealth Management earned a spot on USA Today’s list of the Best Financial Advisory Firms 2024. Cimarron’s Gunnison branch has been ranked 265th in the country, eighth in Colorado and is the only firm on the Western Slope to make the national list. The Cimarron team is honored to receive this award and extends their thanks to the Gunnison community, Cheryl Dillard, Cimarron Director of Client Services, said in an email to the Times. “We also have a team of incredibly talented people who all deserve awards for the work they do every day,” Dillard said. “In other words, we knew we had a good reputation in Western Colorado, we just didn’t know that reputation was being recognized nationally.”
Gunnison
970.641.6691
Crested Butte
970.349.6691
bbre1.com
rolling stone bringing dreams home
BIZ CENTS
‘The more, the merrier’
New boutique joins Toggery Elevated on Main Street
Mariel Wiley Times Photo Editor
In December, only one holiday window display glowed at 147 N. Main Street, as opposed to the usual pair. The windows of the former Hope & Glory-Misty Mountain Floral storefront were cast in shadow beside Toggery Elevated’s cheery display complete with hanging snowflakes and glowing Christmas trees.
“People got a little taste of what downtowns look like if [buildings] are empty. It drove me crazy to have those windows empty over Christmas,” said Toggery Elevated owner Stephanie Dawes.
Thankfully, they won’t be barren again next holiday season, Stephanie said. After Hope & Glory closed its doors last fall, building owners Stephanie and Ryan Dawes jumped into an extensive renovation process to prepare the space for a new tenant. The pair wrapped up the project this month, just in time for longtime Gunnison resident Deena Buffington to set up shop with her new home decor boutique, Sugar B’s.
The Dawes’ began renovating the former Hope & Glory space in November without yet knowing who would take over the space. Rather than renting the space out to the first person that came along, Ryan and Stephanie held out for another potential retailer, hoping that a
new business would give customers another reason to come downtown, Ryan said.
“We wanted to create a space that’s beautiful, new and fresh and shows people what they can do with some elbow grease and determination,” Stephanie said.
In addition to completely gutting and refinishing the nextdoor retail space, the Toggery Elevated will get its own spring refresh to celebrate their 10th anniversary. The couple plans to expand the Toggery’s line of men’s clothing in addition to a fresh coat of paint and new lighting. Also on the to-do list is a mural on the store’s interior. The Dawes’ will reveal the updates during Toggery Elevated’s annual “Spring Soiree” on April 24.
For Stephanie, the key in supporting a thriving business ecosystem is “community over competition," she said. This involves creating opportunities for other business owners wherever possible, and giving back to the wider community in what is a “symbiotic relationship,” Stephanie said.
“I really have the thought process of ‘the more, the merrier,’” Stephanie said. “Some people think it’s counterintuitive to want more stores to open, but my mentality is, the more you have downtown, the more you have to offer. That’s just going to encourage more people to come and stay longer.”
Sugar B’s Boutique Longtime Gunnison resident Deena Buffington, as a self-proclaimed “professional shopper,” had often dreamed of opening her own store. Friends and family members encour-
aged her to pursue this passion, but it would take one final push from a friend at the Hope & Glory closing event to inspire Buffington to take a chance on her vision.
At first, Buffington laughed the idea off. But after sitting with it over the Thanksgiving break and sharing ideas with her husband and her daughter, Bristol, she decided to give it a go.
“Right now, it’s that anxiety of ‘Can we fill the void of [former Hope & Glory owners] Bob and Jerry that everybody’s missing’?” Buffington said. “I’m starting from scratch, and I have no background in this whatsoever, but I’m also excited for a new adventure.”
Buffington plans to draw inspiration from the previous Hope & Glory offerings, while incorporating fresh styles of home decorations, furniture and art pieces created by local artists. Floral bouquets from Janniebird Farm will also be available for purchase.
Bristol, a student at Gunnison High School, was “more excited than anyone” when hearing about Buffington’s plan, and immediately volunteered to create a logo for Sugar B’s. Bristol will join the boutique’s staff when she’s not in class, alongside two previous Hope & Glory employees. Sugar B’s Boutique is slated to open this Mother’s Day weekend.
(Mariel Wiley can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or mariel@ gunnisontimes.com.)
Stephanie and Ryan Dawes stand in front of the soon-to-be Sugar B’s Boutique storefront. (Photo by Mariel Wiley)
A curious case of mistaken identity
Over the past couple of weeks, rumors circulated that an uncollared wolf had been spotted northeast of Gunnison. On March 10, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) posted a Facebook update debunking the sighting. The alleged “wolf” is actually a black German shepherd and husky mix named Bonnie. The foster dog was out for an off-leash walk at the same place and time the photo of the potential uncollared wolf was taken. While Bonnie does wear a collar, it is sometimes not visible beneath her thick fur, and her foster provider has assured CPW the dog will be leashed and wearing a brightly colored bandana during future walks. CPW managers will continue to monitor Colorado’s radio-collared wolves and any future movements into Gunnison or surrounding counties. CPW publishes a monthly gray wolf activity ap on their website on the fourth Wednesday of every month to inform the public of collared wolf movements by watershed. Anyone who believes they have seen a wolf should fill out a wolf sighting form, found on CPW’s website.
We have one board member seat available to serve through November, 2025. Interested parties may submit a letter of interest and résumé until Friday, March 21, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
VACANTE PARA SER MIEMBRO DEL CONSEJO ESCOLAR
Tenemos un puesto disponible para servir siendo miembro del Consejo Escolar hasta noviembre del 2025. Las personas interesadas pueden enviar una carta de interés y currículum vitae a no más tardar del 21 de marzo del 2025 a las 3:00 p.m.
(Courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
CITY OF GUNNISON EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Part-Time Openings: Lifeguards: $23-$29.33/hr.
Special Events/Project Assistant: $20.91 to $23.64/hr plus $1.78 incentive completion bonus.
The City of Gunnison offers a competitive benefit package, including 75% of medical, dental and vision premiums paid for the employee and their dependents, 5% of gross wages in a retirement plan, 3 weeks of vacation (increasing based on the years of service), 13 paid holidays and 12 days of sick leave per year.
For more information, including complete job descriptions, benefit packages, required job qualifications and application instructions, please visit GunnisonCO.gov/HR.
ID SCULPTURE is a leading designer and manufacturer of commercial playground equipment and public art in Gunnison. We are seeking an Assistant CNC operator to join our team. You’ll be working in a unique fabrication environment using cutting edge digital fabrication equipment. The ideal candidate will have a strong attention to detail, a desire to learn and the ability to work in a fast paced, highly coordinated environment. Some CNC experience is preferred. Full time position with benefits, PTO and opportunities for growth. Starts at $22/hr. Please send your resume and references to hello@idsculpture.com.
ID SCULPTURE IS HIRING:
Would you like to make the world’s most creative playgrounds, climbing boulders and interactive art? ID Sculpture designs and manufactures climbing boulders, playground sculptures, and fine art sculptures for parks, schools, and public spaces across the country. We use a combination of technology and traditional methods to create unique interactive environments.
IDS provides secure, year-round indoor and outdoor work in a unique fabrication environment with opportunity for travel and room for advancement. We offer benefits including PTO, healthcare, and retirement. ID Sculpture is an equal opportunity employer.
We are currently seeking:
Production Assistant(s) Ideal candidates possess a positive attitude, good work ethic and are eager to learn. Applicants must have physical strength, hand-eye coordination, and endurance. Initial responsibilities are to provide general labor and assist artists, fabricators and shipping departments as needed. Compensation is $22-$27/hr. DOE.
Project Fabricator(s): The ideal candidate for this position has: construction trades experience (min 5 years), welding experience (structural certification required), steel fabrication (min 2 years), the ability to work well with a team, and a positive attitude. Responsibilities are to fabricate various components for standard and custom products using steel and a variety of other materials. Compensation is $26.00$35.00/hr. DOE.
To apply for this unique opportunity, please provide a resumé, cover letter and references to hello@idsculpture.com with the position of interest in the subject line, or drop off your resume at 591 S. Boulevard St. Gunnison CO 81230
Learn more about what we do at idsculpture. com.
THE TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE is looking for a Facility Property Manager.
Qualifications: high school diploma or equivalent and five (5) years of property management or relevant work experience. The preferred candidate will have a college degree, some college, or trade school. Must
WESTERN COLORADO UNIVERSITY
seeks applicants for our fully-benefitted Executive Assistant to the President position.
This salaried position (range of $60,000 - $65,000) is responsible for managing the daily operations of the President’s Office. This includes supporting Board of Trustees meetings, campus event planning/ execution, research and analysis on assigned topics and special project oversight. This position is FLSA exempt. Western offers an excellent benefits package including shared premiums for a comprehensive health insurance plan, dental insurance, retirement plan, life insurance, and other insurance options. After one year of employment, Western provides free tuition for dependents enrolled full time in undergraduate programs for up to four years.
To view the full job announcements and apply, visit western.edu/jobs and click on “View Careers” (EOE)
possess a valid Colorado Driver’s License or obtain one within thirty (30) days of employment. This is a full-time position with benefits. Starting pay is $73,815 - $88,578 DOQ. Benefits include fully subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance. Paid holidays, vacation time, sick time, disability insurance, life insurance, and retirement are also position benefits. Full job description is available on the Town’s website at www. townofcrestedbutte.com. Please submit application to Town of Crested Butte, Attn: Human Resources, PO Box 39, Crested Butte, CO 81224 or email jobs@ crestedbutte-co.gov. Position is open until filled. The Town of Crested Butte is an Equal Opportunity Employer. o submit.your.resume25@gmail.com.
LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE IN CB SOUTH is hiring a full-time teacher! This position is with 4 year olds and there is lots of potential to sub in other classrooms to create a full time position. This is a wonderful family environment with fabulous kids and teachers! Creativity, flexibility, and calmness under pressure are traits that help with success in this job. Multiple ways to grow in the field. Great pay, huge benefits, and year round stable employment. Please inquire with resume and interest letter to lilredschoolhouse1@gmail.com.
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT: The Development Assistant will support Crested Butte Land Trust’s fundraising and outreach efforts, communications, data entry, and event coordination. This role will also help with marketing and general administrative tasks, including maintaining records and supporting donor campaigns. The Development Assistant will be detailoriented, creative, and comfortable working both independently and as part of a team. Strong communication and organizational skills are essential. This is a seasonal (appx. May 1-Sept 30) part-time (appx 10-20 hours/ week) position with flexible work hours primarily Monday through Friday with some weekends. This position is based on Crested Butte, CO and reports to the Development Manager. For more information about the Crested Butte Land Trust, please visit www. cblandtrust.org. Cover letter and resume must be submitted to hiring@cblandtrust. org by March 30, 2025. The Crested Butte Land Trust is an equal-opportunity employer. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. Pay rate: $21-23/hour DOE.
PROJECT HOPE OF THE GUNNISON
VALLEY seeks a Bilingual Advocate for a 25-27 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.
GOLDEN EAGLE is looking for CDL and non-CDL drivers. Pay is based on experience. Call 970-641-3230.
RECREATION AND CONSERVATION
RANGER: The Recreation and Conservation Ranger will provide recreational users with information about safe and sustainable outdoor recreation; will assist Crested Butte Land Trust staff with maintenance, monitoring
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.
Detention Deputy Sheriff: Full-Time, 40 hours/week, the annual salary range is from $65,056.55 to $92,022.40 plus full benefits. 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.
Accountant I
Finance: 40 hours/week, hourly range is from $27.84 to $33.84, depending on experience plus full benefits.
Deputy Finance Director
Finance: 40 hours/week, monthly salary range is from $9,071.59 to $11,028.17, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Community Resource Specialist HHS: 6 hours/week, hourly range is from $25.01 to $28.48, depending on experience, plus partial benefits.
Administrative Assistant –Evidence Custodian
Sheriff: 40 hours/week, hourly range is from $22.47 to $25.59, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Detention Captain Sheriff: 40 hours/week, monthly salary range is from $6,778.80 to $8,240.87, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Shop Foreman Public Works: Full-Time, 40 hours/ week, hourly range from $34.81 to $39.63 plus full benefits.
Treasurer’s Technician
Treasurer: 40 hours/week, hourly range from $23.30 to $28.69, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Emergency Management Director
Emergency Management: 40 hours/week, monthly salary range from $7,616.73 to $9,018.73, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
Communications Director County Manager: 40 hours/ week, monthly salary range from $7,616.73 to $10,773.85, depending on experience, plus full benefits.
and improvements on conserved open spaces and recreation sites; and will conduct and compile surveys of recreational users. The Recreation and Conservation Ranger will possess a diplomatic and engaging character, will enjoy communicating with land users with diverse points of view, and will be comfortable working outdoors in variable weather conditions. The position entails walking long distances and standing for long periods of time in natural areas on a daily basis, and will require regular physical labor, for example trail building, fence repair, and noxious weed control. This is a seasonal (appx. May 31-August 15) full-time (40 hours/week) position based in Crested Butte, Colorado reporting to CBLT’s Stewardship Director.
For more information about the Crested Butte Land Trust, please visit cblandtrust. org. A Cover Letter and Resume must be submitted to hiring@cblandtrust.org by April 1, 2025.
The Crested Butte Land Trust is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will
receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Pay rate: $21-23 /hour.
POLICE OFFICER: The Town of Mt. Crested Butte Police Dept. Full-time $69,876-$90,828/yr. - Performs general law enforcement duties to protect the lives and property of the residents and visitors of the Town of Mt. Crested Butte by enforcing laws and ordinances, preventing, solving and detecting crimes, assisting with emergency services and maintaining peace and order. POST Certification preferred but not required. Opportunity for financial aid for housing. Employer paid health, vision and dental for employee and dependents. For more info go to www.mtcb.colorado.gov/ employement or call 970-349-6516. PROJECT HOPE OF THE GUNNISON VALLEY seeks a Director of Operations for a 32 hour/week position to provide bookkeeping and administrative support. To apply, send resume, cover letter, and 3 references to: director@hope4gv.org. See
references to: director@hope4gv.org. See further info on our website at www.hope4gv. org/employment
DOS RIOS GOLF CLUB is accepting applications for the 2025 season. We will be looking for full & part time line cooks, servers, cart barn, and maintenance. Experience preferred but not required. Apply in person Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm or contact Stacy at 970-641-1482.
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.
SEASONAL POSITION OPENINGS: The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District is seeking two temporary, seasonal restoration technicians to help implement projects for the Wet Meadows Restoration Program. These positions will be responsible for implementing various restoration projects and treatments in the Upper Gunnison Basin sagebrush ecosystem. Crew members must be comfortable working in remote field settings, operating 4WD vehicles over rugged terrain, doing physically intense labor, and working in settings where there are ticks, mosquitoes, and extreme weather. Bachelor’s degree or current enrollment in hydrology, natural resource management, watershed management, or related field is required. Hourly pay is $21.00/hr. Please submit a cover letter, resume, and two references to: aaulenbach@ugrwcd.org. Visit https://ugrwcd.org/wet-meadowsprogram/ for more information.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN TREES AND LANDSCAPING now hiring for the summer season. Come join a team who’s deeply rooted in the Gunnison valley. Visit rockymountaintrees.com/employment/ to view available positions.
INTERESTED IN A CAREER WITH BENEFITS? The Crested Butte Bank, a branch of the Gunnison Bank and Trust Company, has an opening for a full-time teller to join the operations side of our growing bank. Applicants should have strong customer service skills, the ability to multitask, and a willingness to learn. GB&T fosters a learning environment where you will gain exposure to multiple areas of the bank with a strong foundation in operations. Pay starting at $19. Robust benefits package includes 401(k), medical insurance, vision insurance, life insurance and disability insurance (ST and LT). Pooled transportation is available. Send resume to abrown@crestedbuttebank. com or lbeda@gunnisonbank.com.
GUNNISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:
The Chamber is an organization dedicated to helping businesses succeed in the Gunnison Valley and are seeking our next Executive Director to lead us into the future. Apply by March 7th!
We’re looking for someone who’s a:
- Leader and passionate about helping businesses thrive and reach their goals
- Connector of people and facilitator of ideas, education, and resources
- Relationship builder for all members and potential members
- Organizer and diligent manager of all chamber operations
This position acts as the managing director of the organization and is responsible for the overall direction of the organization in accordance with its vision and mission. This includes chamber program, finances, resource development, human resources, member services, communications and board development. The Executive Director works under the guidance of the Board of Directors. The pay range is $57-62k.
QUICK DRAW CEANING is hiring Carpet, Window and Duct cleaning Technicians!
Full and part time positions starting in April. Training and beginning wages starting at $24.00/hr. Scan the code for more info.
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.
OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR WANTED FOR ESTABLISHED LAW FIRM: Law of the Rockies, in Gunnison, Colorado. Candidate must be organized, detail-oriented, efficient, self-motivated, and able to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
Administrator will be primarily responsible for business management tasks, but will also be required to perform legal assistant tasks as necessary. Prior experience in a legal or accounting environment is preferred, but not mandatory. Microsoft-based environment. College degree required. Fulltime with benefits. Initial salary $55,00075,000, depending upon experience and qualifications. Long-term growth potential. Visit lawoftherockies.com to learn about our firm. Email cover letter, resume, and references to Marcus Lock at mlock@ lawoftherockies.com by April 7th.
SAGUACHE COUNTY is seeking an On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Inspector. This position is responsible for maintaining and enforcing public health regulations relating to the community’s environmental
health. Through investigation, inspection, education and enforcement, the On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Inspector takes action to mitigate or eliminate public health hazards. Inspections and investigations occur indoors and outdoors facilities such as residential homes, restaurants, swimming pools, public schools, penal institutions, childcare facilities, nursing homes, body art facilities, cannabis/hemp facilities, campgrounds, mobile home parks, public accommodations, bars/ lounges, etc. On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Inspectors are assigned primary responsibilities in specific environmental programs but are required to possess knowledge of all programs in order to respond to public health emergencies.
Salary to be determined on experience starting at $37,000/year. Applicants must have a valid Colorado Drivers License, must pass a criminal background check as well as a pre-employment drug test.
The County Employee benefit package includes vision, dental and health insurance coverage, paid time off, 12 holidays per year, and a generous 401k retirement plan.
The employment application and job description can be found on www. saguachecounty.colorado.gov, picked up at the Saguache County Administration Office, 505 3rd Street, Saguache, CO or can be emailed to you, please contact April Quintana at 719-655-2231.
Completed applications can be hand delivered to the Saguache County Public Health, Attention Mona Lovato, 505 3rd Street, mailed to PO Box 68, Saguache, CO 81149 or emailed to mlovato@ saguachecounty-co.gov. Applications will be accepted until filled.
Saguache County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER/PRINT SPECIALIST
Dove Graphics in Gunnison seeks creative professional with Adobe Suite expertise for design, file preparation, and hands-on print production. Computer skills essential; will train on printing equipment. Friendly, flexible team player needed. 25-30 hrs/week. $2025/hr DOE. Apply: www.dovegraphics.net
BE PART OF THE LOCAL ART
MOVEMENT: The Paragon Gallery is always accepting applications for local artists to potentially become a working member of the gallery or as a Guest Artist. Currently, we are looking for a Floor Display Artist to become
a full member starting this summer. The application deadline for this jurying is March 27. Hurry in! Jurying will start after 3 p.m. on April 2, 2025. Applications can be picked up at the Paragon Art Gallery, 132 Elk Ave., Crested Butte. Or print out an application at Paragonartgallery.com. Fill it in and bring it to the Gallery. We are open seven days a week 11 a.m.-7 p.m..
WE AT THE INN AT TOMICHI VILLAGE are seeking a friendly, professional and reliable Front Desk Associate to join our team. This part-time position will involve providing excellent customer service, managing front desk operations and supporting our team in creating a welcoming environment for our clients. To apply stop at the Front Desk at 41883 US Hwy 50.
BE PART OF THE LOCAL ART MOVEMENT: The Paragon Gallery is always accepting applications for local artists to potentially become a working member of the gallery or as a guest artist. Currently we are looking for a floor display artist starting this summer. The application deadline for this jurying is March 29. Hurry in! Applications can be picked up at the Paragon Art Gallery, 132 Elk Ave., Crested Butte, Colorado. Open 7 days a week 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Application available at paragonartgallery.com..
SEEKING A BOOKKEEPER with some desire to learn project management. text 970-765-7414 www.VuhausLLC.com.
THE TOWN OF CRESTED BUTTE is hiring a Building Inspector/Energy Efficiency Analyst to join the Community Development team. This position will ensure building code compliance, review plans and permits, manage energy efficiency programs, and enforce building regulations. Candidates with construction management experience may qualify for a highergrade role involving design, planning, and construction management support for Town facilities. Must have or be able to obtain ICC Residential Building Inspector certification within one year with the ability to earn additional certifications. The hiring range for this position is $67,105 - $80,526 (Base), or $73,815 - $88,578 (With Construction Management). This year-round position includes an excellent benefits package with 100% employer paid health, dental, vision, life insurance, and contribution to retirement plan after one year of employment. Full job description is available on the Town’s website at www.townofcrestedbutte.com. Please submit application, cover letter, and resume via email to jobs@crestedbutte-co. gov. Position is open until filled. The Town of Crested Butte is an Equal Opportunity
Employer.
ADAPTIVE SPORTS CENTER SUMMER
INSTRUCTOR: The Adaptive Sports Center is seeking qualified adaptive instructors to facilitate exceptional adaptive sport and recreation activities for the 2025 Summer Season. Pay ranges from $21-$30/hour based on experience. Benefits for full time seasonal staff include pro-forms, certification and membership dues, exam reimbursement, paid sick days, 5-day stipend and a 401(k)
REAL ESTATE
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
§1-13.5-513(6), 32-1-104, 1-11-103(3) C.R.S.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Gunnison Conservation District, Gunnison County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third day before the election, there were not more candidates for director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby canceled pursuant to section 1-13.5-513(6) C.R.S.
The following candidates are hereby declared elected:
Jesse Kruthaupt until May, 2029
(2 or 4 year term) 4
Holly Conn until May, 2029
(2 or 4 year term) 4
Tom Rozman 4 until May, 2029
(2 or 4 year term) 4
Jon Mugglestone 2 until May, 2027
(2 or 4 year term) 2
/S/ Tonya Carr
Designated election Official
Tonya Carr (970) 707-3047
216 N Colorado St, Gunnison CO 81230
Gunnisoncd2006@gmail.com
PROCEDURAL INSTRUCTIONS: Publish
(CRS 1-13.5-501, publication defined) and post at all polling places, in the office of the Designated Election Official, and in the office of the County Clerk and Recorder.
File a copy of this notice, oaths of office, and a current faithful performance bond or proof of crime insurance with the Division of Local Government no later than 30 days after the date of the regular election.
The board or DEO shall notify all candidates that the election was cancelled and that they have been elected by acclamation.
The original notice is to be kept on file with the special district as part of the official election records.
Tonya Carr
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado.
Publication date of March 13, 2025 16497
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the Gunnison County Fire Protection District, Gunnison County, Colorado, that at the close of business on the sixty-third day before the election, there were not more candidates for director than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates; therefore, the election to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby canceled pursuant to section 1-13.5-513(6) C.R.S.
The following candidates are hereby declared elected:
Heath Smith, for a 4-year term, until May, 2029;
Thomas Stoeber, for a 4-year term, until May, 2029.
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado
Publication date of March 13, 2025 16449
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, 500 S. Blvd will be sold or disposed of unless claimed prior to March 27, 2025
Unit 39 – Jacob Neil
Date of Redemption: March 27, 2025
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado
Publication dates of March 13 and 20, 2025
16450
NOTICE OF NAME CHANGE
PUBLIC NOTICE OF PETITION FOR CHANGE OF NAME
Public Notice is given on March 3, 2025 that a Petition for a Change of Name of an Adult has been filed with the Gunnison Combined Court.
The Petition requests that the name of ARYSSA JANE FAIRLESS be changed to ARYSSA JANE GERRITY
Heidi Duryea
Clerk of Court /s/ Heidi Duryea
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of March 6, 13 and 20, 2025 16413
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Estate of CRAIG ERWIN ANDERSEN
Deceased
Case Number 2025PR30006
All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to the District Court of GUNNISON County, Colorado on or before July 6,, 2025 or the claims may be forever barred.
AARON J. HUCKSTEP, ATTY.
ATTORNEY FOR APPLICANT PO BOX 2958 CRESTED BUTTE, CO 81224
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado
Publication dates of March 6, 13 and 20, 2025 16366
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Estate of Neal Frederick Brady Deceased
Case Number 2025PR
All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to District Court of Gunnison County, Colorado on or before July 6, 2025 or the claims may be forever barred.
Neal D. Brady 765 Madouse Ct. Whitmore Lake, Michigan 48189
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado. Publication dates of March 6, 13 and 20, 2025 16365
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
In the Matter of the Estate of KENNETH L. DARBY, aka KENNETH DARBY, aka KEN DARBY, aka KENNETH LLOYD DARBY, II
Deceased
Case Number 2025 PR 30003
All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to District Court of El Paso County, Colorado on or before July 13, 2025, Catherine Anne Seal P.O. Box 6 Colorado Springs, CO 80901-0006
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of March 13, 20 and 27, 2025 16429
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE OF FILING OF PETITION FOR EXCLUSION OF LAND
To: Tax-Paying Electors of the City of Gunnison
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Petition for Exclusion of Land was filed in the Gunnison County District Court, Case No. 2025CV030012. The Petition seeks to exclude the municipal boundaries of the City of Gunnison from the territory of the Gunnison County Fire Protection District. A copy of the Petition may be obtained from the City of Gunnison Clerk’s office.
City Hall, 201 W. Virginia Avenue, Gunnison, CO 81230 (970)641-8140.
PETITIONER: The City of Gunnison, Colorado, A Colorado Home-Rule Municipality And
RESPONDENTS: The Tax-Paying Electors of the City of Gunnison, and the Gunnison County Fire Protection District, as a class
KATHLEEN L. FOGO, P.C.
Attorney for Petitioner
Original signature on file and available for inspection upon request pursuant to C.R.C.P. 121, §1-26(9)
/s/ Kathleen L. Fogo
By: Kathleen L. Fogo
Atty. Reg. #: 24612
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado Publication date of March 13, 2025 16512
REQUEST FOR BIDS
REQUEST FOR BIDS
The Gunnison County Water and Sewer District is requesting bid proposals from qualified consultants to conduct a comprehensive water and wastewater rate study. Please contact Gunnison County Public Works at 970-641-0044 or visit https:// gunnisoncounty.org/Bids.aspx for bid details.
Gunnison Country Times
Gunnison, Colorado Publication date of March 13 an5 20, 2025 16516
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Town of Mt. Crested Butte Municipal Court Judge Services
INTRODUCTION
The Town of Mt. Crested Butte is inviting proposals from qualified individuals to provide Municipal Court Judge services to the Town. The Town of Mt. Crested Butte is a Home Rule Town, and the Home Rule Charter (Article VII(B)) addresses the Judiciary and Municipal Judge. Mt. Crested Butte Municipal Court is a Court of Record and meets as required but typically once per month for an hour.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, proposals should be prepared and submitted in a form that addresses the needs outlined herein. Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposals will be accepted until 5:00pm, April 11, 2025. Proposals shall be sent to:
Tiffany O’Connell, Town Clerk Town of Mt. Crested Butte P.O. 5800 Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225 toconnell@mtcb.colorado.gov
OBJECTIVE
The objective is to choose a reliable and experienced individual with demonstrated knowledge in providing municipal court judge services in a comprehensive, timely, effective and efficient manner. Interested individuals should have significant experience in matters addressed by municipal courts. The Municipal Court Judge will work with the court clerk to preside over the Municipal Court.
• QUALIFICATIONS OF APPLICANTS
• Attorney at law admitted (active) to practice in Colorado who is at least twentyone (21) years of age. Ability, capacity, and skill as a prospective judge.
Ability to meet the time requirements of the Town (approximately 1 hour or less per month).
• Reliability, character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency.
• High performance quality in previous or current judge contracts, if any.
• Ability to determine compliance with applicable laws and ordinances.
Availability and adaptability of services to meet the needs of the Town. Resident of Gunnison County, Colorado.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The Municipal Court Judge presides over Municipal Court matters in which the Municipal Court has jurisdiction.
• POWERS AND DUTIES
• The Judge shall have all judicial powers and duties as provided in the Town’s Charter and ordinances and in the Colorado Revised Statutes applicable to municipal judges, except as otherwise provided by Charter or ordinance.
The Judge is authorized to exercise contempt powers, and enforce subpoenas issued by any board, commission, hearing officer, or other body or officer of the Town authorized by law or ordinance to issue subpoenas, and all other powers inherent with the office.
• The Municipal Court convenes for at least one (1) regular session of the Municipal Court on the first Wednesday of each month and more often as needed. Sessions of the Court are typically held at 9:00 A.M.
The Municipal Court complies with HB23-1182. Remote access is provided for the public to observe court proceedings.
• TERM OF OFFICE
The term of office of the Municipal Court Judge would begin June 4, 2025 and expire on May 31, 2027, unless otherwise terminated by the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council.
PARTICIPATION BY AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE TOWN
The Town expects that the Municipal Court Judge will preside over court in-person, keep abreast of current legislation and obtain ongoing education and training, remaining current on all matters relating to municipal courts and municipal judges. Costs associated with these efforts may be shared with the Town with prior approval and as budgeted.
COMPENSATION
The Town will pay the Municipal Court Judge for judicial services rendered at a rate of $300.00 per court session or compensation set by the Town Council, the amount of which shall not be dependent upon the outcome or number of matters to be decided by the Municipal Court Judge.
• KEY-DATE (May 6, 2025)
The Town Council, at its discretion, may invite applicants to deliver a short presentation during the regular Town Council meeting on May 6, 2025 addressing the proposals submitted.
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED/ SUBMITTED
The following information must be included in your written proposal. It is important as it may be your only opportunity to present your qualifications.
• Name of the person who will be in charge of providing Municipal Court Judge services to the Town. This is the person who will be recommended for appointment to the position of “Municipal Court Judge” by the Town Council. A resume of this person’s background and experience should emphasize the municipal law experience of that person and the level of responsibility in this area.
• Specific information on the certification, licensure/registration and continuing education training for the preceding calendar year, including such information as may be necessary to establish that the applicant is an active attorney at law admitted to practice in Colorado.
Please disclose any potential conflicts of interest that you may have in relation to the Town of Mt. Crested Butte.
Provide details regarding your existing workload and how you will fit this contract into your existing work priorities.
Provide a list of references with whom you have worked in the past five (5) years.
If you have provided municipal court judge services to municipal or government clients in the recent past, please submit municipal or government client references as well.
• Each respondent’s proposal and bid should address the ability to perform this scope of work, along with the specific expertise, education, and experience.
The proposal should address the topics covered in Sections C and G and the municipal court judge’s ability to perform services within this operating framework.
• SELECTION
The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive irregularities or informalities in proposals, and to re-advertise for proposals if desired. After considering proposals and information provided during the application process, the Town will select the individual who is the most advantageous to the Town from the standpoint of service, previous experience, and ability to deliver or for any other reason deemed by the Town to be in the best interest of the Town.
The Municipal Court Judge Services Proposal must be received by the Town Clerk, Tiffany O’Connell, by 5:00pm, April 11, 2025, at PO Box 5800, Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225 or via email to toconnell@mtcb. colorado.gov. Any proposal received after that date and time will not be accepted. In consideration of the environment, we request that your proposal should be black and white, two-sided copies without binders.
The Town of Mt. Crested Butte Judicial Subcommittee may perform an initial screening and may interview potential candidates. Finalist(s) will be selected for final interviews by the Town Council and may be asked to appear before Town Council on May 6, 2025.
The Town reserves the right to undertake its own investigation to evaluate any candidate. The Town shall have the sole discretion to accept or reject any proposal. All proposals become the property of the Town upon receipt and will not be returned. Whether the proposal is accepted or rejected will not affect this decision.
The Town operates under applicable public disclosure laws. Proprietary information must be identified and will be protected to the extent that is legally possible. Your costs in developing the proposal, attendance at any meetings relating to the proposal, and other costs relating to the proposal are your responsibility and will not be reimbursed by the Town.
The Town of Mt. Crested Butte thanks you for your interest in providing us with a proposal for Municipal Court Judge services. Please
submit any questions regarding this RFP in writing and directed to the Town Clerk, as soon as possible after receipt of the RFP at the address below.
Tiffany O’Connell, Town Clerk Town of Mt. Crested Butte P.O. 5800 Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225 toconnell@mtcb.colorado.gov
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of March 13, 20 and 27, 2025 16514
SUMMONS
DISTRICT COURT, GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO
Address: 200 East Virginia Avenue Gunnison, Colorado 81230 (970) 642-8300
Plaintiff: SAW CONTRACTING LLC, a Colorado limited liability company, v. Defendants: ADAM MASONBRINK Case No. 2024CV30050
Attorneys for Plaintiffs: HUCKSTEP LAW, LLC
Aaron J. Huckstep, Atty Reg No. 39898 426 Belleview Ave, Unit 303 P.O. Box 2958 Crested Butte, CO 81224
Telephone: (970) 349-2009
Facsimile: (970) 797-1023 E-mail: huck@hucksteplaw.com
SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION
TO THE DEFENDANT NAMED ABOVE: You are summoned and required to file with the Clerk of this Court an Answer or other response to the attached Complaint. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you within the State of Colorado, you are required to file your Answer or other response within twenty-one (21) days after such service upon you. If service of the Summons and Complaint was made upon you outside of the State of Colorado, you are required to file your Answer or other response within thirty-five (35) days after such service upon you.
If you fail to file your Answer or other response to the Complaint in writing within the applicable time period, judgment by default may be entered against you by the Court for the relief demanded in the Complaint, without any further notice.
The following documents are also served herewith:
District Court Civil Cover Sheet Complaint Exhibit A to Complaint
This Summons is issued pursuant to Rule 4, C.R.C.P., as amended. A copy of the Complaint must be served with this Summons. This form should not be used where service by publication is desired.
TO THE CLERK: If the Summons is issued by the clerk of court, the signature block for the clerk or deputy should be provided by stamp, or typewriter, in the space to the left of the attorney’s name.
Signed this 11th day of February, 2025 /s/ Aaron J. Huckstep
Gunnison Country Times Gunnison, Colorado Publication dates of February 13, 20, 27 and March 6, 13, 2025 16211
Reptilian readers
The Gunnison County Library offered a glimpse into the Mesozoic Era with a “T-rex T-party” storytime on March 8. The young audience, some dressed as dinosaurs, danced around with egg-shaped maracas to get all the wiggles out before settling in for some stories.
Faith Directory
Bethany Church
909 N Wisconsin St.
(behind Powerstop) • 970-641-2144
Two services at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
FREE lunch for college students following the 10:30 a.m. service gunnisonbethany.com
9 a.m.: Family Service with nursery & children’s church
Check out our website for updates!
Or download our app on the App Store by searching, Gunnison Bethany.
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.
Sunday 3/9/25, 3-5 PM; Purim Family Hamantaschen Class at Cake Me Away
Friday 3/14/25, 6-8PM; Shabbatluck, pls bring a dish/drink to share, in Gunnison
Saturday 3/15/25, 10:30 AM-12 noon: “Kibbitz with the Rabbi” at the Daily Dose in CB
Saturday 3/15/25, 2-5PM, Purim Glow Dance Party, Crested Butte
For more details and locations go to bnaibutte.org
Spititual 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
First Baptist Church
120 N. Pine St. • 970-641-2240
Pastor Jonathan Jones
SUNDAY
Sunday School at 10 a.m.
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.
St. Peter’s Catholic Church
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 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. Taize – 1st Wednesday, monthly - 7 p.m. goodsamaritangunnison.org
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
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.
(Photos by Mariel Wiley)
Lights & Sirens
GUNNISON POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT
MARCH 5
INFORMATION — 910 W. BIDWELL
AVE.
WARRANT SERVICE - OTHER JURISDICTION — W. HWY. 50 MM 149
WELFARE ASSIST — 600 N. COLORADO ST.
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE: UNLAWFUL POSSESSION - EXCEPT MARIJUANA — 880 N. MAIN ST. MARCH 6
AGENCY ASSIST — CR 17
WARRANT SERVICE - OTHER JURISDICTION — 880 N. MAIN ST. CHILD ABUSE — S. 7TH ST.
WARRANT SERVICE - OTHER JU-
RISDICTION — 911 N. MAIN ST.
WELFARE ASSIST — 411 E. TOMICHI AVE.
MARCH 7
JUVENILE PROBLEM — 800 W. OHIO AVE.
HARASSMENT: STRIKE/SHOVE/ KICK — N. 12TH ST.
DEATH INVESTIGATION — W. TOMICHI AVE.
THEFT - COMMITS TWO OR MORE THEFTS AGAINST THE SAME PERSON — 900 N. MAIN ST.
THEFT - COMMITS TWO OR MORE THEFTS AGAINST THE SAME PERSON — 900 N. MAIN ST. THEFT - COMMITS TWO OR MORE THEFTS AGAINST THE SAME PERSON — 900 N. MAIN ST.
FRAUD BY CHECK — 1140 N. MAIN ST.
WEAPONS OFFENSE - FAILURE TO SECURE FIREARM — 1011 W. RIO GRANDE AVE.
DRIVING WHILE ABILITY IMPAIRED - ALCOHOL — 300 N. MAIN ST.
MARCH 8
INFORMATION / INVESTIGATIVE REPORT — 124 N. MAIN ST. HARASSMENT: STRIKE/SHOVE/ KICK — 123 S. COLORADO ST.
MARCH 9
CHILD ABUSE: INJURY OR THREAT OF INJURY — S. 11TH ST. PROPERTY - FOUND — 707 N. IOWA ST. JUVENILE PROBLEM — 600 N. COLORADO ST.
ANIMAL - RUNNING AT LARGEMUNICIPAL — 419 N. PINE ST. DISORDERLY CONDUCT: THREATEN/ABUSE ANOTHER IN PUBLIC — 201 W. RIO GRANDE AVE.
ANIMAL - RUNNING AT LARGEMUNICIPAL — 1010 W. VIRGINIA AVE.
MARCH 10
TRAFFIC - SPEEDING — 300 W. TOMICHI AVE.
CRIMINAL TRESPASS: FIRST DEGREE - VEHICLE — 122 FLORESTA ST.
MARCH 11
FRAUD / HACKING - COMPUTER
INVASION — N. 7TH ST.
THEFT: INTENDS TO PERMANENTLY DEPRIVE — 300 N. ADAMS ST.
PROPERTY - FOUND — 200 S. ADAMS ST.
THEFT: INTENDS TO PERMANENTLY DEPRIVE — 510 W. BIDWELL AVE.
TRAFFIC - NPOI — 821 W. TOMICHI AVE.
GUNNISON COUNTY SHERIFF’S REPORT
MARCH 4
-Vicious dog report
MARCH 5
-Warrant arrest – out of county -Unlawful possession of a controlled substance report
MARCH 6
-Agency assist to Colorado State Patrol – accident report -Tampering with physical evidence report
MARCH 7
-Disorderly conduct report -Trespassing report
-Information report – family dispute
MARCH 8
-Vicious dog report -Information report – search and rescue
MARCH 10
-Information report – missing person
-Information report – welfare check
Dr. Edgar Girtain, IV Director of Choirs Western Colorado University
Edgar Girtain (b. 1988) is an American composer and pianist with a catalog of over 100 works for orchestra, mixed choirs, chamber music, solo voices, and instruments. He began composing at the age of 12.
In 2025, his works will be featured on multiple commercial recordings, including albums by the Miari Brass Quintet, trombonist Sarah Paradis, and his first monographic release with the Japanese label Da Vinci, in collaboration with virtuoso violinist Emmanuele Baldini.
Kincaid Concert Hall in Quigley • FREE event! March
Sponsor a concert or become a
FREE WORKSHOP: WATER PROJECT FUNDING PROGRAM
Piano Recital
Care designed for ... Healthy Vision
OPHTHALMOLOGY SERVICES
Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Leslie Moskowitz-Elfenbein provides expert screening, diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of eye conditions, including:
• Glaucoma care
• Diabetic eye conditions
• Macular degeneration
• Dry eye relief
• Eye infections & inflammation
CATARACT SURGERY
• Eye injuries & trauma, including eyelid & eye socket conditions
• Optic nerve disorders
• Amblyopia (lazy eye)
• Retinal detachment
At Gunnison Valley Health, we o er comprehensive screening, diagnosis, and treatment for a wide range of eye conditions to help preserve and enhance your sight.
Dr. Michael Solomon, a board-certified, comprehensive ophthalmologist and refractive eye surgeon specializes in cataract procedures that may reduce the need for glasses following surgery. He sees patients monthly for both clinic visits and surgeries.
To learn more or schedule an appointment, contact the Specialty Clinic at 970-641-3927
Dr. Leslie Moskowitz-Elfenbein
Dr. Michael Solomon
COMMUNITY: Cleared for takeoff, B7
POETRY: Lessons of the landscape, B7
SPORTS: Ivey Schmidt earns RMAC honors, B4
COUNTRY TIMES • THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2025
(Courtesy
A new way of learning for next generation of snowboarders
Mariel Wiley Times Photo Editor
At the magic carpet lift located beside the Crested Butte Mountain Resort Ski & Ride School, young skiers trail behind blue-coated instructors like lines of ducklings, while snowboarders slowly zig-zag downhill like leaves falling from a tree. Fallen riders dot the slope, obstacles the others must nimbly dodge. But out from the melee zoomed one tiny snowboarder, standing tall as his instructor stabilized his board with a novel contraption: the shaft and handle of a snow shovel, bolted to the rear of the board. Longtime instructor Nate Meckes invented the new teaching device called the “Baby Boarder Stick” to help snowboarders of all ages learn
BABY on BOARD
GUNNISON
Instructor Nate Meckes teaches his nephew, Bond, how to snowboard using the Baby Boarder Stick.
Nate Meckes)
Snowboarders
to ride with confidence.
Meckes has witnessed children as young as 16 months find success on their first day on the mountain with the help of the Baby Boarder Stick. By preventing an excessive number of tumbles, the device enables kids to develop a love for sport and “get hooked on the mountain life,” Meckes said.
Learning how to snowboard typically involves a lot more falling than learning how to ski. Skiers can move each foot independently, giving them the ability to effectively walk through flatter areas and another limb to prevent themselves from taking a tumble. Snowboarders, with both feet strapped into one board, don’t have as much opportunity to prevent a fall when catching an edge of their board on the snow.
“It’s really fun to watch young kids develop their own [riding] style, because they can be fearless.”
Nate Meckes
Snowboard instructor
Likely because of this, the idea that children should wait until they’re older to learn how to snowboard, as opposed to a younger start with skiing, still persists in many parents’ minds to this day, Meckes said. Even at CBMR’s Ski & Ride School, where Meckes has been instructing since 2004, ski class sizes for children aged 3-4 — the youngest ages permitted — far outnumber snowboarding class sizes.
Meckes’ own journey as a boarder began in his home state of New York. He had been drawn to the sport since early childhood, but his family cautioned him to wait until he turned 10 to strap on a board for the first time. Meckes dove into the sport with vigor as soon as his 10th birthday rolled around.
His first job in high school was working as a snowboarding instructor, and he’s been teaching the next generation how to ride ever since. Meckes has never considered a different career, dedicating decades of his life to coaching new riders of all ages to conquer their fears and get out on the slopes. In early 2023, Meckes wrote and developed a children’s book titled “Heel-Side Hero,” which encourages kids to make turns with both sides of their snowboards, despite the fact that it can feel scary at times.
The idea for the Baby Boarder Stick came to Meckes after a frustrating session
teaching his 16-month-old nephew, Bond, how to snowboard in December 2023.
“I was in a full squat position trying to hold him up as we snowboarded down, and it was just killing my back,” Meckes said. “I was like, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’”
Determined to find a solution, Meckes sawed off the head of a shovel, leaving behind the long wooden shaft and a handle. He bolted the cut end to the back of Bond’s board, creating the first prototype of the Baby Boarder Stick. The Stick allowed him to ride normally behind his student, while still providing stabilization and some help with steering.
Over the past year, Meckes worked with Western Colorado University engineering students and welders from Crested Butte’s Blackstar Ironworks to fine-tune the design. The current iteration — although incredibly similar to the original prototype — consists of a removable baseplate that attaches beneath the rear foot binding on any board. A wooden shaft connects to the plate with a socket, allowing for greater mobility. Future renditions of the device will incorporate more lightweight, yet stronger, materials that can withstand wear and tear from regular riding use.
Parents or instructors can operate the device like a boat tiller while skiing or snowboarding directly behind their rider-in-training (no squatting required). The extra stability provided by their hand on the device allows the learner to focus on the finer motor skills required for successful riding. This includes turning onto their toe and heel sides and using the edges of their board to control their speed.
Since he first shared his creation on Instagram and on his website, eager parents and instructors flooded the comment sections under each post and Meckes’ email inbox with requests to buy the device. This spring, Meckes has been working with a manufacturer to prepare an order of 1,000 units. He plans to spend the summer assembling them all just in time for the 2025-26 winter season.
While the device was originally designed to help young children, it has potential to help other riders to find their footing on the snow as well, Meckes said. For older children aged 5-10, the device can be attached to their boards temporarily to help them fine-tune more advanced skills, such as riding through steep or bumpy terrain where connecting turns is more difficult.
The device may also be a promising tool for use by adults with mobility issues, he said. Adaptive Sports Center guides could incorporate the Stick into their sessions as needed.
At the heart of the project, though, is Meckes’ passion for sharing his love for the sport with others, and encouraging riders to get involved at younger ages.
“It’s really fun to watch young kids develop their own
device allows an instructor or parent to stabilize their learner’s board and prevent excessive falls.
[riding] style, because they can be fearless,” Meckes said. “They start to develop their own little personalities, and you can really see what they enjoy about the mountains. They’re still becoming people, and then they’re becoming snowboarding people.”
(Mariel Wiley can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or mariel@ gunnisontimes.com.)
Meckes with nephew Bond.
The
GUNNISON COUNTY LANDFILL
Down Valley Draw Club
Join us at the Double Shot Cyclery on March 13 from 6:30-9 p.m. for the Down Valley Draw Club, a free, informal, all-level creative meet up in and around Gunnison. BYO-everything and remember to tip your bartender.
Honoring Vietnam veterans
The Gunnison High School Legion Club is sponsoring a "Honoring Vietnam Veterans" assembly on April 10 at the Gunnison High School auditorium from 10-10:30 a.m. All Vietnam-Era veterans are welcome to join us. RSVP by calling 970.901.8400. Our guest speaker will be former Sheriff Rick Murdie.
Gunnison Valley Producers’ Guild
Join the Gunnison Valley Producers' Guild on March 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the GAC Blue Box Theatre for the third annual Farm & Garden Poetry Slam. Register online to bring a poem related to local food, farming or ranching or just come and enjoy an evening of poetry & learning about local farms. Dress like a farmer for a chance to win prizes! Suggested donation is $10 and a cash bar will be available.
Call for a muralist
The Gunnison Creative District seeks a muralist to design a new landmark public artwork on
the High Country Floors building at 111 S. 10th Street. Visit GunnisonCreativeDistrict.org to apply. Deadline is March 17.
Rotary grants
In response to the school district’s suspension of the Summer Experiences program, the Rotary Club of Gunnison invites proposals from nonprofits serving Gunnison area youth in summer, 2025. A limited number of $1,000 awards will be made to groups expanding, discounting or making free their summer programs to accommodate more young people. Priority will be given to ideas emphasizing low-income youth. The deadline for receipt of completed applications is March 21. Grant announcements will be made on April 3. To obtain guidelines and the application form or for questions, email gunnisonrotarygrants2025@gmail.com.
Grant opportunity
This is a reminder to anyone living in the City of Gunnison that once again the City is providing reimbursable $400 microgrants for activities whose purpose is to build ties among neighbors. In the past, the grant has assisted with block parties, a shared meal at St. Peter's between members of the English- and Spanishspeaking congregations and an afternoon when gardeners at Bill's Park shared gardening tips, recipes and a meal. For more information and the application, go to gunnison.gov/microgrants. Also available in Spanish.
GUNNISON ARTS CENTER BRIEFS
Moonlight Concert SeriesSalem Band and
Film Event
Join us March 15 at 6:30 p.m. for an exciting evening featuring Northward and Cresta Alta, two powerful climate documentaries, followed by Salem’s high-energy live performance blending alternative rock and environmental advocacy. Don’t miss this unique combination of film and music.
Souper Bowl
Join us March 23 from 5-8 p.m. for an exciting evening at the Souper Bowl MMXXV—a celebration of art, soup, and
Après Jazz: Annie Booth
Cap off a great day on the slopes or join us after work on March 19 at 5 p.m. for some casual jazz in the Kinder-Padon Gallery at the Center for the Arts. We’re thrilled to announce that jazz legend and educator Annie Booth will join us from the front range to tickle some ivories.
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Join Crested Butte Search and Rescue on March 21-22 at 7 p.m. in coming together to celebrate the spirit of adventure and fundraising. CBSAR is host-
fun, supporting the Gunnison Arts Center’s Clay Studio. Enjoy tasty soups, live entertainment, handmade bowls of all sizes and friendly competition, all while supporting local artists. All ages welcome.
Moonlight Concert SeriesTiger Electric
Join us March 28 at 7 p.m to rock out to Tiger Electric. This doo-wop garage, rock, surf, punk band from Gunnison will bring the heat to the end of this cold winter! Alden Burt will be the opening act. Seats will be pushed back and our theater will be open for a dancin' good time.
ing two nights of adventure and mountain cultural films presented by the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. The cost is $25.
Opera Colorado: “Hansel and Gretel”
On March 25 at 7 p.m. follow the trail of breadcrumbs to Opera Colorado’s production of “Hansel and Gretel.” Stranded in the Magic Forest, things look “Grimm” indeed for Hansel and Gretel. The pair encounter everything from a magical sandman to a witch with a sweet tooth and a taste for children. The cost is $10-$45.
SATURDAY HOURS
Please be advised that the Gunnison County Landfill will RE-OPEN ON SATURDAYS effective April 5, 2025. We are currently still within the sage grouse restriction period so Saturday hours of operation will be 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. until May 15, 2025 then will change to 8:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. on Saturdays. If you have any questions please contact Gunnison County Public Works Department at 970-641-0044 or Gunnison County Landfill at 970-641-5522.
The Region 10 SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) is a grant-funded program to help you navigate Medicare.
Trained & Certified SHIP Counselors provide help and guidance at no cost to current and soon-to-be Medicare Beneficiaries.
Medicare options can be confusing but… SHIPcan help.
R10 Main SHIP: 970-765-3129 R10 Gunnison SHIP: 970-765-3146
MIPPA (Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers)
If you have limited income and resources, you may qualify for help to pay for the Part D Prescription Drug Plan: https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/Ee001View.action
SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol)
Potential fraud, claims, problems, or questions? We can help you get answers. Report suspected fraud here: https://smpresource.org/you-can-help/report-fraud
WE NEED YOUR HELP. Become a Region 10 SHIP volunteer. Volunteers are trained and certified as Medicare experts. Find out more at https://www.shiphelp.org/volunteers Register to volunteer at: Region10.net/volunteer REGION 10 SHIP 970-765-3129
This project was supported, in part by grant number 90SAPG0060, 90MPPG0033, 2201COMIAA, 2201COMISH from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship` are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.
GHS girls basketball falls to Broncos
Postseason loss final test for strong senior class
Alex McCrindle Times Sports Editor
The GHS postseason run ended in heartbreak for the girls basketball team.
The Cowboys lost in a backand-forth defensive stalemate against the No. 16 Platte Valley Broncos in the first round of the regional tournament on March 7. GHS finished the season with a 15-9 overall record, and a 10-4 record in the 3A Western Slope league. The game marked the end of a seven-year run for seniors Kylee McDougal, Sienna Gomez, Yaslin Hernandez, Maria Sabas, Eden Williams and Dayna Castro, who have played side-by-side since middle school.
“We all grew up playing basketball together,” Hernandez
said. “I’m most proud of how much effort we put into the season this year. We were all disappointed in ourselves after the game, but we also knew we gave everything we could.”
The Cowboys entered the postseason as No. 17, and faced a first-round challenge against Platte Valley. The Broncos boasted a 15-8 overall record, and sat seventh in the dominant, 3A Patriot League. GHS came into the matchup on the heels of a narrow loss to Roaring Fork. Head Coach Chad Terry hoped the defeat would prepare the girls for Platte Valley’s speedy pace and fullcourt press.
The game opened up just as Terry expected. The Broncos pressed the Cowboy guards, and transitioned rapidly into offense. But GHS rallied behind its season-long defensive stability, and held Platte Valley to only 8 points in the first quarter. Williams splashed a 3-pointer from behind the arc to give the Cowboy offense a needed
Basketball B6
Mountaineers eliminated in tournament
Ivey Schmidt earns RMAC honors
Gregg Petcoff Special to the Times
The Western Colorado University women’s basketball run to the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship tournament ended in the semifinal round.
The Mountaineers fell to the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) 69-55, after a dozen Mountain Lion 3-pointers. Western's Ivey Schmidt led all scorers with 21 points. Still, it wasn't enough to slow down the UCCS attack that shot 40% from behind the arc, and earned 29 points from the bench.
After hitting a pair of free throws to open the game, UCCS took advantage of a Western
turnover and dropped the first of its 12 triples for a quick 5-0 lead. The Mountaineers tied the game at 7-7, and again equalized late in the first quarter after a turnaround jumper from Schmidt.
UCCS took a 21-16 lead into the second quarter. The team doubled its advantage in the opening minute with a jumper from Mountain Lion Ellie Reynolds and a 3-pointer by Breelyn Robinson. Robinson's make from behind the arch was the first of three consecutive 3-pointers. Still, Western attempted to keep pace from the free throw line. The Mountain Lions extended their lead to 42-28, shooting 58% from the floor at half time.
The Mountaineers came out of the halftime recess with determination, scoring the first 8 points of the third. Cockman started the run with an opening possession layup followed by a pair of free throws by Schmidt.
Both teams experienced short scoring droughts, which ended with a Schmidt defensive rebound and driving layup. Brooklyn Seymour grabbed the next defensive rebound, and started a possession that finished with a turnaround jumper by Schmidt.
The Mountain Lions halted that run, and added another 3-pointer to its total. Western scraped back within 8, but headed into the fourth trailing by 11 points.
The death blows came in the first minute of the fourth as Mountain Lions Jayla JacksonAllen and Krystina Hagood drained 3-pointers. Cockman converted to cut the deficit to 14, but UCCS added another triple that pushed the Mountain Lions’ lead back up to 17 points. With less than 8 minutes to play, Western whittled the lead to 13 points. But UCCS finished off its wire-to-wire win with a 14-point
final advantage, winning 69-55. At the end of the conference tournament, Schmidt earned recognition on the RMAC AllTournament Team.
(Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
Ivey Schmidt’s 21 points led the Mountaineer scoring against UCCS, and earned her a spot in the RMAC All-Tournament Team. (Courtesy Western Colorado Athletic Communications)
Kylee McDougal darts inside the key against Roaring Fork on March 1. (Photos by Evan Bjornstad)
spikes at
pickleball tournament in the Mountaineer Field House on March 8.
(Photos by Mariel Wiley)
Basketball
boost. GHS trailed by 3 points into the second quarter.
The Cowboy offense struggled to find its groove before half time. Gomez opened her account with a bucket and free throw, and Kaylee Vincent added a shot from mid-range. The girls fell behind 19-11 headed into the locker room.
“I’m most proud of how much effort we put into the season this year. We were all disappointed in ourselves after the game, but we also knew we gave everything we could.”
Yaslin Hernandez
GHS senior
“We didn’t panic at halftime, and fought super hard in the third quarter,” Terry said. “I’m
always proud of these kids, and ultimately, we held a team that has scored in the 70s, to just over 40.”
The Cowboys earned a reputation as a mentally-strong and gritty team, especially in second halves this season. Armed with five starting seniors on the floor, the girls’ leadership and strong chemistry has proven to be a game changer. McDougal led from the front throughout the third quarter. The senior captain drained a 3-pointer and added 2 more points to her tally, while Gomez contributed 5 points.
Hernandez splashed home another shot from behind the perimeter, sending the traveling Cowboy fans into raptures.
But on top of the offensive flurry, the girls held Platte Valley to only 2 points in the third, and poached a 24-21 lead. It all came down to a nail-biting fourth quarter.
Ashlyn Cowan started off hot, finishing three times inside the paint. McDougal kept her foot firmly on the gas, and added 4 key points as the clock wound down. But crucially, the Cowboys struggled to convert from the free-throw line, and the Bronco guards banked in two shots from behind the arc. Platte Valley stole the lead, and the contest ended, 41-34.
The defeat eliminated the Cowboys from the postseason, and proved to be the final stand for the GHS tight-knit senior core.
“I hope our class leaves a legacy that includes everyone, regardless of what grade you’re in,” Hernandez said. “We set the record pretty high this year.”
Frosty faceoff
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@ gunnisontimes.com.)
The Western Colorado University club lacrosse team hosted the Crested Butte Titans in a frozen, preseason scrimmage on March. 6. Despite the high winds and slick surface, the game prepared the Titans for a 9-8, season-opening victory against Eagle Valley on March 8. The Titans will take on Fruita Monument on March 13, before hosting Telluride on March 20.
(Photos by Alex McCrindle)
Maria Sabas pulls up for a 3-point attempt.
Lessons of the landscape: rooting down to rise up
Wendy Videlock Special to the Times
Where are you from? How has the place you were raised, or the place you now live informed the stories you are telling, the songs you are singing, the language you are making, the gifts you are bringing and the human you are being?
These are the questions we should all be sure and ask ourselves now and then. A teacher of mine often says, “Be noble for you are made of the stars; be humble for you are made of the earth.”
Wendell Berry tells us if we don’t know where we are, we don’t know who we are. Dolores LaChapelle reminds us to find a beloved place, set down roots and build the community of which you want to be a part.
Gary Snyder tells us wherever we are, know the flowers and tread softly.
I myself was raised in the American Southwest, otherwise known as Ute and Hopi Land, Navajo Nation, Scorpion
Country, the Four Corners, the plateau, The Place of Stones that Glow, The Middle of Nowhere, or Dry Land. The Southwest is the companion which has been with me all my life.
I’ve an affinity for ghosts, and so, dwelling as we ghostly do, with the caw and the screech and the pinyon moon, where the freeze and the thaw and the witness are together alive and together entombed, here on the edge of a high desert world
where all is stone, and all is sky, here where an ancient sea surged forth and slowly died, here where the ruins and the peaks have changed their names to butte and bluff, here where the Ute had slowed their feet and harvested the pinion seed, here where the reach of the canyon ends or begins, or infers — like knowledge, it’s always a rapture or a bit of a blur — (one could soar on the wing or fall in) — here where the rolling stone knows the world is only made of sand, and the arc is the mark of the fallen star, here where the ghosts and the slopes are wan,
Six Points client takes to the skies with local pilot
Alex McCrindle Times Sports Editor
Mark Tredway grasped the airplane’s yoke and studied the blinking gauges along the instrument panel. His eyes widened at the sight of white ridges snaking across distant humps and hollows. The hum of the engine muffled the cabin and brief turbulence rattled the seats, but Gunnison pilot Tanith Martinez gave an encouraging smile from the passenger seat, and the pair soared along.
Tredway, who was born with an intellectual disability, has spent more hours at Avflight — the Gunnison airport’s fixedbase operator — than some of the most seasoned local pilots. For nearly four decades, the aviation enthusiast has spent mornings sipping cups of coffee from AvFlight’s private lounge, watching planes shuttle in and out from the lobby window, and chatting with the staff. But this January, Tredway received an invitation to fly with Martinez, and traded in his lobby chair for the pilot’s seat in her Cessna 182.
and empty of virtue and of sin, I lower a bridge, and watch the morning fog roll in.
The tenets of the Southwest include sandstone, snaky little creek beds, collared lizards, quietude, palo verde, trails of quail, cat tracks and vast, breathtaking vistas. The spiritual core of the desert is ancient, tragic, mythic, historic and marked by grains of sand.
Make no mistake: in the desert there will be abandoned refrigerators, tumbleweeds and piles of spent bullet shells alongside morning glory. There will be the bones of a crow scattered within a patch of globe mallow in the spring. This is the lesson of the desert. The old artists called this lesson memento mori, the necessary reminder of death or decay — the little tap on the shoulder that reminds us all of this is fleeting.
Without warning, rocking chairs that tell a story, blades of grass and morning glory, corridors and canyons forming, arrowheads and autumn storming, endlessness, memento mori.
I was raised in the Sonoran Desert, on the outskirts of a
burgeoning Tucson, which has become a sprawling city, so it made sense that after living in various places, (across the world and across the Southwest), that I should set down roots at the rural edges of red rock country here in western Colorado.
My father was Syrian. My mother, Irish Catholic. They settled in the desert. Culture for me was a kind of landscape connected to the mysteries of language and spiritual pursuit. How could I not become one undeniably drawn to the murmurings that stir within the religions, stories, myths and history that haunt this land?
My husband and I moved to the Grand Valley, (Palisade, specifically), 30 years ago. We had no jobs or family here, a few scant dollars in the bank, two kids under the age of 2, a dog, a cat, a Chevy Blazer and a determination to embrace the adventure of our new lives.
Since then, I’ve explored this little valley and its surrounding towns and changing landscapes. I have listened, taken notes, made inquiry, written poems, taught in all kinds of venues, schools and universities, written a few books, raised a couple kids, loved a whole bunch of critters and humans, learned a few disciplines, practiced my craft, worn lots of hats, shed a few skins, enjoyed myself and suffered my sins, have
Cleared for takeoff
Martinez and Tredway’s friendship began at the airport.
Martinez is a flight instructor, and operates a flight school and scenic business, called “On The Fly Aviation,” in Gunnison. The two immediately enjoyed “talking shop together.” Martinez granted him access to her upstairs office, which offered a better view of the tarmac, and the pair shared aviation books and flight gadgets.
“Mark is extremely knowledgeable about aviation,” Martinez said. “He knows quite a bit about my plane, so it was always fun to talk with him — he really is an aircraft systems guru.”
As a client with Six Points Evaluation and Training, a nonprofit that serves Gunnison Valley residents with special needs, Tredway has been a frequent visitor to the airport since the 1980s. In those days, the airport was a hub for a charter company, and the tarmac buzzed with private aircraft. Tredway recalled memories of touring a military helicopter with a Six Points group, and watching a Boeing Chinook helicopter cruise over the Gunnison sagebrush.
“I always came by to see the planes take off and land,” Tredway said. “I like to watch them work on the planes and put fuel in them. I love it down
served and underserved my community.
There have been many changes, but through it all, I remain a wide-eyed child of the high desert landscape. There is nothing more necessary to my peace of mind than the sight of a red-tailed hawk perched on the gnarled limb of a cottonwood tree. Nothing more spellbinding than the desert sky at night. Nothing more chillingly beautiful than waking to the sound of a pack of coyotes celebrating a kill down in the arroyo.
Everything about my life, my understandings of the world, my paintings, my books and my poems arise from my relationship to the land which surrounds me — and lies underneath my feet.
So, I ask you, dear readers, where are you from, what stories are you telling, what songs are you singing, what gifts are you bringing and what human are you being? If you would like to send me your responses I’d be delighted to read them. I would love to include snippets from your answers in an upcoming column.
(Wendy Videlock of Palisade serves as poet laureate of western Colorado. Reach her at westernslopeword@gmail.com.)
here, it’s become a second home almost.”
This January, Martinez, Tredway and Six Points staff member Nikki Real braved the frosty temperatures along the runway, and prepared the fourseat plane for takeoff. The front propeller whipped to a start, and Tredway’s nerves shifted to excitement as the small aircraft glided into the air.
His eyes lit up at the sight of the Gunnison River Basin. The trio cruised northwest into Mill Creek, spotting the craggy spires of the Castles from thousands of feet above, and the summit of South Baldy Mountain. Then, Martinez handed the controls over to Tredway, and he piloted the craft high above the West Elk Wilderness. “I was nervous at first,”
Tredway said. “But then I got up there, and saw the mountains and the hills and ranches. I’m so grateful to live in Gunnison County, it was so much fun.”
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@ gunnisontimes.com.)
Tanith Martinez, Mark Tredway and Nikki Real stand next to Martinez’ Cessna 182. (Photo by Alex McCrindle)
