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Volume 8, Number 1 | February 11, 2016
Trustee distressed over deer incident By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer
A
Carbondale trustee, distressed by the recent handling of a dead deer along Highway 133 near the new Ross Montessori School, is calling for the town and the state to get together on how such situations will be handled in the future. One outcome of the discussion may be a speedlimit reduction along the stretch of highway between the new school and Roaring Fork High School, which is located at the southern end of Carbondale. Another outcome could be the designation of the stretch of road near the Montessori school as a “wildlife crossing zone,” in recognition of the fact that deer hang out during the winter months in the River Valley Ranch (RVR) subdivision and in the small patches of trees along the highway between Ross Montessori and the northern portion of RVR. These deer frequently stray onto or across Highway 133 and occasionally are hit by passing cars, which at that point typically are traveling at or above the posted 40 miles-per-hour speed limit. The dead deer in this instance, which was hit around at 7 or 7:30 p.m. the night of Feb. 4 by a vehicle about 200 yards south of the Montessori School’s entrance, was left there until the next day, Feb. 5, according to Trustee Frosty Merriott, who said on Monday that he was planning to raise the matter at this week’s Board of Trustees meeting to see if it could have been handled differently. (Editor’s note: The trustees now meet on Wednesday, after The Sopris Sun has gone to press). Merriott, who lives in RVR, wrote in an e-mail made available to The Sopris Sun, that he was driving home on the evening of Feb. 4 when he saw a Carbondale police cruiser parked by the side of the highway with its emergency lights on. Merriott said he saw police officer Michael Zimmerman standing by a downed deer, which was alive but unable to rise due to its injuries.
Jason Thraen, a Carbondale Recreation Department coordinator, does a victory lap after the department and Aloha Mt. Cyclery teamed up to win top prize for their float at the First Fat Friday Mardi Gras parade on Feb. 5. For more Mardi Gras pics, please turn to page 8. Photo by Jane Bachrach
DEER INCIDENT page 9
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On the SE Corner of Hwy 133 and Main Street in Carbondale