Turner states in her preface: “As seasonal lodging and tourism-based businesses are being hit with property tax increases, unfair utility rates, and increased lodging tax, the burden is immense. We feel some discriminatory action against our seasonal lodging businesses, and we hope to see some consideration.”
The historic Green Garage on 4th Street in Lake City’s downtown historic district — which houses Joe Fox’s Slumgullion Gift Gallery — has just recently completed a rehabilitation of its exterior brick walls and historic windows and door.The building’s owner received grant money from Colorado’s State Historical Fund (SHF) for almost half the slightly over $120,000 cost of the entire project. Hinsdale County Historical Society sponsored an initial SHF Planning Grant to create construction documents for the project, and for the actual repair work the Denver-based non-profit Colorado Preservation Inc. (CPI) sponsored and administered the successful grant from SHF.Lake City Town Trustees, Lake Fork Valley Conservancy, Hinsdale County Chamber of Commerce and several nearby property owners all provided critical letters of support for the project application and SHF awarded and initiated the rehabilitation project in 2023.The building’s brick walls on the south, east and west elevations of the original 1917 building, and its ca. 1930 expansion, were refurbished by Salida-based Agave Landscapes and Masonry headed by Thaddeus Hust, window work was completed by Henry Woods’ Native Sun Construction of Lake City, and door replacement was accomplished by new Lake City resident Jared Boyd of NOMI craftsman firm.Colorado State Historical Fund deemed the project to be successfully complete effective the end of June this year, and Fox tells WORLD that Jacob McDonald is to be thanked for his work on this project.From Colorado Preservation Inc.’s perspective, this successful rehabilitation completes the restoration of Lake City’s largest and only commercially utilized outbuilding, thus furthering CPI’s goal of saving Lake City’s historic outbuildings, which in 2010 were declared by CPI as one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places.The current Green Garage work follows an initial 2010 SHF-funded project, accompanying the 2010 CPI Endangered Places designation, during which Town of Lake City and local volunteers, with assistance from Virginia-based HistoriCorps, rehabilitated several historic outhouses and carriage house/barns in the town’s historic district. Colorado Preservation Inc.’s help has been much appreciated in all these endeavors.Fox especially mentions the invaluable endeavors of CPI’s Jennifer Orrigo Charles and Kate McCoy for taking on this project. Further, Fox gives a shout-out to Architect Tim Stroh of Springboard Preservation Studio in Montrose, who capably dealt with the architectural responsibilities of this project.State Historical Fund monetary support and History Colorado’s participation is also greatly appreciated, according to Fox.To mark the completion of the Green Garage’s rehabilitation, Monday, July 21, the building’s owner, Fox, and Gift Gallery Staff will host an Open House starting at noon, and they and CPI staff will be on hand for a commemoration ceremony at 5 p.m. and an open-to-the-public potluck get-together from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Slumgullion Gift Gallery to celebrate the completion of this notable project.
As a student in law-enforcement academy, Strausbaugh described himself as “active”.
“I was challenging things, asking clarifying questions. There were quite a few times when things weren’t, in my opinion, clearly articulated and I’m thinking, ‘that’s pretty freaking important’, because that lack of clarity leads to the miscommunication leads to someone’s Fourth Amendment rights being trampled on.”
by Jodi Linsey Newly appointed Lake City Fire-Rescue Fire Chief Justin Thompson is earnest in his hopes to provide quality leadership to the largely volunteer fire department. Justin is stepping into the role of Chief following the resignation of Bill Hagendorf, who acted as Chief, Fire Marshal, Training Officer, and Maintenance Officer.Justin and his wife Jacque, along with their nine and one year old daughters, moved to the Lake City area so that Justin could begin work as the Facilities Manager at Sky Ranch at Ute Trail. Justin and Jacque homeschool their children and were pleased to find a co-op in Gunnison that supports their vision.The Thompsons moved from Kirtland, Ohio where they ran a small construction contracting company. When not working as a contractor or playing with his young daughters, Justin spent his time in the Hudson Fire Department, with a mix of paid and volunteer personnel. While there he earned certification in a variety of aspects of firefighting skills, including obtaining Firefighter II certification, which requires a mix of class work, practical skills, and physical abilities.Soon after settling into their temporary housing at Sky Ranch, Justin began volunteering with Lake City Fire-Rescue as a firefighter. He is proud that he has built new connections between Sky Ranch and Lake City as he has encouraged other Sky Ranch employees to volunteer at the fire department.He is enthusiastic when describing the many people he has met through the department and in town. Justin readily described his feelings of being led to accept the position at Sky Ranch and the feeling of coming home to Lake City and the caring and supportive community they have found here.Justin looks forward to exploring the local area and sharing backcountry adventures with his family in what he describes as his “almost mid-life” vanity car, a pristine green Toyota FJ Cruiser.When describing his anticipated duties as Chief, Justin spoke at length about building relationships and providing leadership that the crew can depend on. Deepening relationships between the fire department and other emergency response entities in Hinsdale County is a priority as he anticipates working together to safeguard the Lake City community. Never Miss Another Story! Subscribe and receive the Silver World right to your inbox!
PARADE FLOATS – superlatives in this year’s July 4 Parade — longest in recent history at over a mile in length snaking its way down Gunnison Avenue and back up Silver Street to bottleneck with tail end of the parade on Gunnison Avenue — were business category Virden’s 50-year-old Mountaineer Movie Theatre’s vintage jeep ably piloted by theater-owner in similarly vintage military uniform and the runner Bennett Levine, also in drab olive military attire, energetically tossing out treats; Mountaineer Movie Theater’s benefit showing of the classic “Patton’ film raised $532 for the Veterans’ Wreaths Across America program.Coker family in the individual category, illustrating a family theme with mountain animals; and, in the non-profit category, the gyrating and stylishly attired crew from Lake City Arts promoting the upcoming star-themed music extravaganza, “Sky’s the Limit”.Although the promised jet flyover mysteriously failed to materialize, leading the parade were marching U.S. Veterans, Peter Breeden in the lead bearing the U.S. Flag, other flag bearers including John Bonner with Space Force, Harvey DuChene displaying the Colorado Flag, and Russ Brown bearing the Prisoner of War Flag. Others were new Lake City resident Tom Hewett, formerly Woodland Park, Colorado, with the U.S. Coast Guard Flag, multi-generational Bruce Heath, U.S. Coast Guard, David Evans, Tom and Tammy Hamel, and Mike Tuttle, U.S. Army.Also near the parade’s start, Bill Reinhardt piloted a Ford pickup with insignia U.S. Army, pulling a frontier model cannon and Army Vet Ben Redler piloting a trailer with comfortably seated veterans including Dennis and Erin Cavit, and Gerry Springer.The marching and seated veterans receiving loud cheers and salutes were followed by an impressive array of highly polished, bright red fire engine apparatus and fire response vehicles, together with marching volunteers collecting donations in buckets and firemen’s hats, followed in turn by a gleaming white array of Hinsdale EMS ambulances and response vehicles, and Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Dept. patrol vehicles.Other intriguing float entries included classic vehicles such as Ken Vigil’s ancient pickup with political sentiments honoring the late Ron and Margaret Ray, Josh Votruba driving R.S. Scott’s red 1970 Mustang, and, from Powderhorn, David and Debbie Irwin in their blazing red 1964 Chevrolet pickup. Other classics were a jaw-dropping 1937 Chrysler Royale, and assorted Willys Jeeps, including Bill Dehmlow driving 1963 Willys pickup loaded with his 10-year-old granddaughter, Grace Henegan and Chelsea Brown Harper with kiddos Will, 1-1/2, and Davis, 5-1/2.Kay Shull was stylish as ever decked out in a red sports car promoting Alpine Pedal; especially interesting to longtime locals was Karen and Robert Hurd’s Sweety’s Wildlife Zoo float with small, printed placards honoring old-time local miners, a majority of whom are now deceased, as well as past and present Hinsdale County Veterans.In describing the float, Karen says that the placards were intended as representational only and “the list goes on and on.”Honorees both mining and military listed on the float included Don Craig, Ralph Martinez, Steve Carricato, Erin and Dennis Cavit, Don Campbell, Scott Campbell, Walter Wright, Bill Burke, Johnny Saville, Russ Brown, Babe Vickers, Phil Mason, Don Farmer, Donny Rightsell, George Hurd, Frank Mendenhall, Brice Pavich, Ronnie Hurd, Martin Davis, Charlie Colopy, Buddy McDonald, Larry Pavich, Mike Schell, Ed Hughes, and Milo Morse. FOOT RACES – first place boys and girls – 4 and under, boys – Cale Chase, age 4, from Windsor, Colorado; 4 and under, girls – Rosalie Carlson, age 4, from Dallas, Texas. Age 5-6, boys – Brooks Brown, age 5, from Oklahoma; age 5-6, girls – Elle Heath, age 5, from Austin, Texas. Age 7-8, boys – Will Stewart, age 8, from Milwaukie, Oregon; age 7-8, girls – Ada Ramsey, age 8, Anaqua, Texas. Age 9-10, boys – Samuel Karssenberg, age 10, from Prosper, Texas; age 9-10, girls – Alyssa Sibley, age 9, from The Colony, Texas. Age 11-12, boys – Isaiah Sibley, age 12, from The Colony, Texas; age 11-12, girls – Cecilia Syracuse, age 11, from Ft. Lupton, Texas. Age 13-14, boys – a tie between Miles Dillard, age 14, from Denver, Colorado and Caleb Smith, age 13, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado; age 13-14, girls – Rebecca Linsey, age 14, from Lavernia, Texas. Age 15-18, boys – Lynden Colson, age 17, from Houston, Texas; age 15-18, girls – Allie Smith, age 16, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Age 19-29, boys – Caleb Dillard, age 19, from Denver, Colorado; age 19-29, girls – Katelyn Jensen, age 19, from San Diego, California. Age 30-39, boys – Nicholas McIntire, age 33, from Gunnersville, Alabama; age 30-29, girls – (name was deleted from scorecard). Age 40-49, boys – Trevor Potts, age 40, from Ardmore, Oklahoma; age 40-49, girls – Kelsey Peoples, age 40, from Midland, Texas. Age 50-59, boys – Tyler Heath, age 50, from Austin, Texas; age 50-59, girls – Amy Lovato, age 55, from Westfield, Texas. Age 60-69, boys – Barry Exum, age 61, from Georgetown, Texas; age 60-69, girls – Michelle Robnett, age 67, from Edmond, Oklahoma. Age 70 +, boys – Paul Witsaman, age 71, from Arlington, Texas; age 70 +, girls – Kay Barber, age 78, from Mineola, Texas. SACK RACES – first place boys and girls – 4 years and under, boys – Raymond Perkins, 4, Dallas; 4 and under, girls – Emi Powell, 3, San Antonio, Texas; Age 5-6, boys, first, Corbin Juhl, 6, Brighton, Colorado; girls, first, Maddy Perkins, 6, Dallas; Age 7-8, boys, first place tie, Henry Alexander, 8, and Skyler Walker, 7, both Fort Worth; girls, first, Emilia Picucci, 7, Denver; Age 9-10, boys, first, Bryce Vickers, 10, Denver; girls, first, Kylie Shepherd, 10, Overland Park, Kansas.Age 11-12, boys, first, Isaiah Sibley, 10, The Colony, Texas; girls, first, Caroline Temple, 11, Shreveport, Louisiana; Age 13-14, boys, first, Miles Dillard, 14, Denver; girls, first, Ruby Phillips, 13, San Diego, California; Age 15-18, boys, first, Luke Dillard, 17, Denver; girls, first, Ava Delle, 15, College Station, Texas; Age 19-29, men, first, Caleb Dillard, 19, Denver; women, first, Katelyn Jensen, 19, San Diego, California; Age 30-39, men, first, Shane Austin, 36, Albuquerque, New
by Jodi Linsey Lake City’s own Star Man, Phillip Virden, worked closely with a small but enthusiastic group of astronomy fans to deliver this year’s festival of the stars, the most well-attended one yet in the short history of Star Fest.In just over 24 hours, astronomy fans from near and far packed in a smorgasbord of galaxy related activities, beginning with Cosmic Cocktails at Packer’s Saloon Friday evening, followed closely by Lights Out Lake City, star gazing from the Lake Fork Memorial Park. Early on Saturday, at least for night sky loving people, was Cosmic Insights, a presentation featuring two astronomers. Kyle Davis gave an informative talk on the development of telescopes while Jimmy Neguse took a deep dive into AGNs, or Active Galactic Nuclei.The middle of the day was taken up with a special opportunity for people to visit a portable planetarium set up at the Lake City Community School. Then Mountaineer Theatre had a special showing of the 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet.Saturday night was the finale of the festival with stargazing at the future home of the Lake Fork Earth & Sky Center, located near State Highway 149 on County Road 50, or Deer Lakes Road, near the top of Slumgullion Pass.The evening began before sunset to allow both professional and amateur astronomers to prepare themselves and their instruments for an evening of sharing the wonders of the cosmos with friends, neighbors, and strangers from all over.First the crowd was introduced to some of the wonders they would have a chance to observe over the course of the evening. They were also treated to personal stories of discovery by ever-enthusiastic Virden and other enthusiastic stargazers.Before the sun fully set and the show began, there were already more than 200 people making themselves comfortable, scattered across terrain that featured strawberries, tree stumps, and small currant bushes. They braced themselves for a chilly night, despite the heat of the day. They had chairs and blankets for cushioning and warmth, and many wore small headlights in anticipation of making their way from telescope to telescope.Present that evening were many locals, introverts and extroverts alike. There supporting the cause were representatives of the Lake Fork Valley Conservancy, including Board Secretary Cristina Abbenante, author and photographer Kristen Breeden, and Judy Boyce, the latter revered for her work with recent rehabilitation of the Blue Bird Project.Fervent amateur astronomer Bruce Scodova is a recent transplant to Lake City, in large part for the night skies. His 20” Dobsonian reflector telescope stood almost 6’ tall in the upright position and seemed to be the largest telescope in a field littered with impressive equipment. He is looking forward to getting his new house completed and settling further into the comfort of Lake City. This year’s stellar turnout for Starfest was, according to organizer Phil Virden, the best so far. Above, Jimmy Neguse shows off his high-powered telescope, and at right, with a magnificent mountain sunset blazing behind him, stargazer Bruce Scodova with a large reflector telescope. Seasonal residents Craig and Linda Bennet state that they have participated in this event as long as it has been happening. They are fans of Phillip Virden and happy to support his projects.Karen and Roy Shaw sat with dear friends from their old neighborhood. Lisa and Allen Davis are familiar with the environs of Lake City and the pristine skies in the area. The Davises are also pleased to be able to support their son Kyle, whose engaging discussion of the history of stargazing tools kept the audience entertained at the Mountaineer Theatre earlier in the day.Jimmy Neguse, the other speaker at the morning presentation, was found with fellow Dark Sky Colorado Board Member Deborah Price, making adjustments to his own Dobsonian reflector telescope. Deborah and Jimmy were both eager to speak about the importance of dark skies and how easily adjustments can be made that create a ripple of good in today’s overly lit world. One example they spoke about was how bright night lights can upset migratory bird patterns, and they pointed to Dark Sky International’s website at darksky.org or Dark Sky Colorado’s site at darkskycolorado.org for more information on the reasoning behind the dark sky movement.More curious visitors who made the trek to Slumgullion Pass were Sarah (Fry) Tooley and her engaging 9-year-old daughter Remi, with connections to Lake City but living in Utah now. Together with family from Montrose, they were here for a semi-regular visit to the stomping grounds of her youth, when she lived here with her dad, Lake City Community School instructor Brad Fry.From Loveland, Colorado, came Glen and Sara Gilbert. They had an impromptu and solitary episode of stargazing in Death Valley that whetted their appetite for more. This brought them to the Lake City area for the first, but not last, time.Perhaps the couple who most epitomize the mission of Star Fest are Sarah Bailey and Eric Tyson from Denver. Sarah took it as a sign to visit Lake City when it dropped into her social media feeds twice in less than a week. Seeing an ad for Star Fest prompted a discussion with her boyfriend and the discovery that neither of them had ever seen the Milky Way. They aimed to change that and headed to Lake City.Educational and literally illuminating, the Lake City Star Fest provided entertainment for a wide variety of people; older and young, professionals and amateurs and newbies, visitors and locals.The potential for this event is as large as a universe of stars.A twilight highlight at the opening of last weekend’s Star Fest were wide-eyed stargazers assembled on blankets and lawn chairs in Memorial Park Friday evening, June 27, to hear an opening salvo from Star Fest organizer Phillip Virden.Virden, who proceeded to entrance spectators as he pointed out constellations vividly visible from the downtown confluence park such as the Big Dipper, North Star, and Sagittarius, enthusiastically described himself to the spell-bound audience as an astronomy student at STU —Self Taught University.He first became entranced
Warm temperatures and at-times gusting wind on the Continental Divide failed to deter hardy endurance runners in last Saturday’s 30th annual running of the 50-mile San Juan Solstice.In addition to wind and warmth, 292 runners who began the race pre-dawn at 5 a.m. Saturday also contended with a total of seven bracing creek crossings on Alpine Gulch at the race start and, further along on their precipitous trot, slogged through knee-deep patches of snow.The race concluded in Lake City Town Park at twilight, mere seconds before the mandatory 9 p.m. cutoff, as Megan Davey — the last of the 219 runners who finished the race — was wildly cheered as she sprinted across the finish line.On her third San Juan Solstice attempt, Davey finished the race just after 8:59 p.m. — a mere nine seconds before the 9 p.m. cutoff — and once again received cheers as she nimbly accepted the Andrew Kuziuk Award at the celebratory awards ceremony on Sunday morning.Also wildly cheered at both finish line on Saturday afternoon, June 21, and awards Sunday, June 22, was the lineup of three first place men and women Solstice runners, led by Becca Bramley, first among women athletes in the race with a finish time of nine hours, 46.16 minutes, and repeat Solstice contender Ryan Sullivan who was first to cross the Town Park finish line just eight hours, 12.05 minutes after the race start.Sullivan is a well known sprinter from past San Juan Solstices, the Grand Junction, Colorado, runner also finishing first in 2023, eight hours, 39.17 minutes, and third place among men, time eight hours, 37.32 minutes, in 2022.Close on Sullivan’s proverbial heels on Saturday were Matthew Vira, second place with eight hours, 38.10 minutes, and third place male finisher — and again a runner intimately acquainted with the Solstice — Carlo Ruibal, with a nine-hour, 3.24-minute finish time. Ever-exuberant, Ruibal, from Colorado Springs, makes a near-annual appearance at the San Juan Solstice.Gingerly walking to the podium at Sunday’s awards, first place women’s finisher Becca Bramley was joined by Isabella Poulos, second place among women, finish time 10 hours, 12.15 minutes and, in third position, Kaela Gaylord whose town park finish line time was 10 hours, 25 minutes. Poulus, from Telluride, was also a familiar runner on the Solstice trek, finishing last year’s race in third place, time, 10 hours, 47:35 minutes.Runners with a local association in Saturday’s Solstice were Logan Rhodes (finish time 11 hours, 34.16 minutes), Wade Wandrey (paced final portion of the run by Sarah Poet, finish time 12 hours, 14 minutes), Maddie McClure (12 hours, 26.48 minutes with pacer and past Solstice competitor Isaac Borchers), sister and brother combo Megan Levine and Bennett Levine (Megan 12.20:31 with boyfriend, Devin Paredes, 10.56:33, and Bennett, paced part of the way by former schoolmate Jaden McNeese, 14.15:03), Journey Fleishman (13.54:17), Gunnison journalist Chris Dickey (11.52:15) and Medical Center EMS Director Avery MacKenzie (13.36:38).Local runners starting the race but not finishing were Sarah Eby, Seth Withrow, Titus Humphreys, and Patrick Woods.Top men and women runners were cheered by family and fellow racers who were seated in the park while chowing down on a delicious awards breakfast on Sunday, and amiable announcer Amanda Hartman.Cheers repeatedly erupted as Hartman categorically coordinated impressive lineups of, first, runners who had crossed the finish line under 10 hours, followed by applauded lineups of runners who finished the race under 12, 13, 14, 15 and, finally, 16 hours.Hartman also presided for awards presentations on Sunday, including Davey for the Kuziuk Award, Sibling Award to local sister and brother runners Megan Levine and Bennett Levine; Jonathan Shaw who received the Persistence Award for finishing the race despite dislocating his shoulder on Alpine Gulch, and Nicholas Fender who received the coveted Marriage Saver Award after acknowledging running is easier when not accompanied by his wife, Amanda.During competition for Ugliest Feet Award, Solstice, Inc. Chairman Jerry Gray closely inspected a variety of bruised and bloody feet, torn toenails, etc., before declaring Mike Patrizi the most unfortunate in terms of painful foot injuries.In addition to custom embroidered Black Diamond jackets, caps and other colorful blind, top winners were presented with custom contour maps of the race route by Olson Designs. 197th place finisher Tom Feore, from Phoenix, Arizona, thoughtfully studied the wood contour map on Sunday, thoughtfully pointing out, “oh, I hated this spot” and, “oh, here’s another spot I especially hated” before concluding that in his mind only the finish was “awesome.”In accepting their awards, each of the top place men and women finishers were highly complimentary of the well-oiled San Juan Solstice organization for precision and enthusiastic volunteers from start to finish.Among the seated audience on Sunday was Mark Wing, Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Preservation Officer and leader of the Red Sky Drum Group, from Towaoc near Mesa Verde, Colorado, who spoke at the Solstice runners’ orientation in the Amory on Friday afternoon, June 20, and performed individual aromatic smudge ceremonies for the runners’ benefit.Wing was accompanied by his wife, Rita Pensoneau-Wing, Mrs. Wing’s brother and sister-in-law, Vincent Jacket and Nelia Naha, and their daughter and granddaughter, Madeline Jacket, 36, and Kaitlin Koinva, 16, who live on the Hopi Reservation near Flagstaff, Arizona.Madeline Jacket was among the 292 runners who lined up pre-dawn at the start of Saturday’s San Juan Solstice but returned to Lake City with a fellow runner after a severe head to toe dunking in Alpine Gulch. Jacket describes the creek crossing as “shockingly cold” but, on a brighter note, “the scenery was glorious.”Sixteen-year-old Kaitlin is a champion cross country runner at Hopi High School and was wide-eyed at her mother’s description of chilly Alpine Gulch but, with her mother, vows to return to Lake City and plans to compete in a future San Juan Solstice. During Mark Wing’s remarks at Friday’s runners’ orientation, he noted that Lake City and the Solstice race route are located within ancestral Ute Indian lands and urged runners to be buoyed by the spirits of his
With the summer season officially upon us, Lake City is awhirl with activity and fun events for all ages and interests.Thursday, July 3 will be a day for family fun in the park, beginning at 4 p.m. in Town Park. There will be a beer garden with snacks and drinks available for purchase, as well as rousing games of cornhole, then a street dance with the band Coal Creek Connection performing from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. from Memorial Park, weather permitting. Additionally, anyone interested in pumping some iron can head over to the Lake City Armory at 6:30 p.m. for Elevated Physique’s strength and conditioning class. Visit lakecity.com to reserve your spot.On July 4, kick off the day with a hearty breakfast at Lake City Community School, which will be hosting its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser beginning at 8 a.m. through 10 a.m. for $10 per person. Also beginning at 8 a.m. at the school and running through 1 p.m. will be the annual yard sale in the school’s gymnasium.At 9 a.m., be sure to head over to Lake City Library for their annual book sale, and don’t forget to pet the kitties, Holmes and Watson.The annual parade, themed 150 Years in Lake City, A Walk Through Time, begins at 10 a.m., with the reading of the Declaration of Independence at the Hinsdale County Museum immediately following. This year’s Town Crier and reader will again be Schuyler Denham, who, according to wife Carol Robinson, has acquired a new spiffy set of duds for the event. The exhilarating USAF flyover is planned for 10:45 a.m.Events in Town Park begin at 11 a.m., with Tannah Snow singing the National Anthem, and continue through 3 p.m., including shoe kick, egg toss, a variety of foot races for all ages, beer garden with beer, wine and seltzers, and multiple gastronomical offerings, including the newly-opened Summit Wing House food truck. Lake City Community School will also have brisket plates available in Town Park for $15, with all proceeds going toward the D.C. fundraiser. The Pioneer Jubilee Women’s Club will once again have their hot dog booth adjacent to the park, and the Chamber of Commerce tent will be offering a variety of beverages and snacks.Always a competitively-charged and well-attended event is the 3 versus 3 basketball tournament fundraiser, beginning at 2 p.m. at Lake City Community School. The cost is $45 per team.At 3 p.m., folks can head over to Memorial Park for the Ducky Derby. Ducks will be dropped into Henson Creek at Pumphouse Park and collected in the confluence at Memorial Park. Tickets can be purchased at the Visitor’s Center, the Country Store at BINGO or at the Town Park during Independence Day festivities. The cost is $5 per duck, or 5 ducks for $20. Typically there are hundreds of multi-colored ducks travelling down the river and it is quite a sight to see. Cash prizes are $500 for first place, $250 for second place, $125 for third and $50 for the last place duck.At 4 p.m., crowds head back to Town Park for BINGO, and a raffle drawing. Don’t forget about the ghost tour on Independence Day evening; meet at the Hinsdale County Museum at 7 p.m. Also, at 7 p.m., the movie Patton will be shown at the Mountaineer Movie Theatre.On July 5, be sure to be at the corner of Bluff Street and Second Street at 1 p.m. for the Old West Cowboys western re-enactment to experience tales of the old west – this year’s show theme: Adventures in a Lawless Land.Directly after the performance, at 2 p.m., head over to the Hinsdale County Museum, where Dr. Mette Flynt will be giving the Lost Lake City walking tour. You’ll learn about early African-American entrepreneurs, Jewish community leaders, the railroad, the Red Light district, and forgotten people and places erased by fire, flood and social changes in Lake City. This is a 1.5 hour walking tour and tickets can be purchased at the museum or on lakecity.com.Also on July 5, Lake City Arts will host their First Friday art opening, an exhibit called Respect the Wildlife, honoring the beauty and wild spirit of the creatures that call this region home. The show invites attendees to pause, reflect and appreciate the natural world through the eyes of local artists. The exhibit opens at 4 p.m. in the Moseley Arts Center gallery.On Sunday, July 6, beginning at 9 a.m., Breakfast Hangout and Euphoria at 925 Oceanwave Drive will be serving delicious bruch with live music from Tim Mallory. Reservations are strongly recommended – call 970-944-4244.Additionally, the annual Community Church Service starts at 10:00 a.m. in the soccer field across from the Medical Center. Be sure to bring your own blankets or chairs. Also, probably not a bad idea to bring an umbrella as well.An offering is requested at this service every year, with the entire amount collected going towards local charity Community Christian Services (CCS).All of the Lake City churches, Community Presbyterian, First Baptist, Grace Fellowship, Saint James Episcopal, and St. Rose of Lima, will all be participating, with members of each congregation doing a reading. This year’s sermon will be delivered by Baptist Church’s Dan File.Also at 10 a.m. July 6, Dr. Mette Flynt will be conducting this season’s second Ute-Ulay mine tour, taking visitors through one of Hinsdale County’s most significant mining complexes. Dr. Flynt will be exploring the history of the Henson community, the infamous 1899 strike, the technology of mining and more. This is a walking tour with steep inclines, if you attend, be sure to wear proper walking shoes and attire. Tickets can be purchased at lakecity.com or at the Hinsdale County Museum.In the evening of July 6, head out to Lake San Cristobal for Art with a View at Inn at the Lake. The event begins at 5 p.m., and artists Nam Phanthong, Michael Underwood and Susan Farm-Heumann will be speaking on their respective crafts, with wine and charcuterie served.
by Gianna Morera Last April, Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) was awarded a $5-million grant under a federal initiative to deploy clean energy in rural and remote America. Work on the multi-phase infrastructure improvement project, which will ultimately result in a more flexible and resilient electric grid for Hinsdale County residents, is planned to begin this summer.The stretch of distribution line running between Gunnison and Lake City is one of the oldest in GCEA’s service area, according to GCEA Strategy Execution, Technology, & Member Experience Manager Matt Feier.By the end of 2026, 138 existing poles dating from the late 1950s will be retired and replaced. An additional 83 poles will be installed to support a new heavier, thicker distribution line with greater capacity. The upgraded line will take Lake City from one source of energy to two, making the community less vulnerable to prolonged outages.“The Lake City substation gets a transmission lineVol. 48, No. 12 Friday, June 20, 2025 Lake City, Hinsdale County, Colorado 81235 U.S.P.S. No. 436-63075¢feed from Tri-State Energy. If that were to go down, we could feed the whole community on this new line,” explains Feier.Electrical substations convert high-voltage electricity from power plants to levels that can be delivered to customers. The existing distribution line is undersized to provide power to all of the homes and businesses in Lake City, but the new line will enable GCEA to feed in enough backup power from Gunnison to get the town back up and running should the primary feed or local substation fail.“That redundancy creates quite a bit of resiliency for the community. Had we had this upgrade already done, the people that experienced a 28-hour outage [after a substation failure in February 2023] would’ve experienced more like a one hour outage.”Critical to securing the grant was the other important benefit of this work – the ability to take advantage of alternative energy sources. An Jonesupgraded line would be able to tie in to renewable power projects, such as hydroelectric or solar, which cannot be done with the infrastructure in place today.One such source could be the disused hydroelectric dam at the location known locally as Crooke Falls, suggests Feier. “We will be in a better position to take advantage of options like that because we’ll have a line with available capacity that can accept inputs of energy,” he says.GCEA has contracted with Englewood-based Ward Construction to complete the field work. During the first phase of the project, scheduled to begin July 2025, Ward will replace poles and upgrade transmission lines between the Iola boat ramp at Blue Mesa Reservoir and Powderhorn. In Summer 2026, work will continue on the lines from Iola back to the Skito substation outside of Gunnison and another 3-mile stretch south of Powderhorn, for a total of 33 miles.The $5-million in grant money will cover about half of the cost for these first two phases, and GCEA will fund the rest via amortized rate increases for their members.Funding for the last roughly 20-mile stretch between Powderhorn and Lake City has not yet been secured, leaving the timeline for completion undefined.
Major public recreational improvements are being unveiled to the public at the start of the 2025 summer season, including Hinsdale County’s new ADA accessible fishing pier at Lake San Cristobal Peninsula Park and — for the first time since 2021 — the inaugural reopening of Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests’ Deer Lakes on Slumgullion Pass.Although unrelated, both projects received significant funding through Colorado Parks & Wildlife, $150,000 funding through Parks & Wildlife’s Fishing is Fun Program with 25 percent local match enabling the county to proceed with its long-envisioned EZDock railed walkway and pier which is now open at Peninsula Park.With county match, total cost of the new fishing pier aggregates $193,925 which includes $165,925 paid to the EZDock firm, $3,500 to Ediger Construction, $21,525.45 to Hinsdale Road & Bridge for site work and installation last fall and this spring, and $2,282.80 materials, together with $510.60 administration costs.With mixed reviews and an earful to Hinsdale County Commissioners, Gunnison National Forest has also now unveiled both fishing lakes and adjacent Forest Service campground at Deer Lakes which has been closed since a washout of the complex’s uppermost lake in June, 2021.Funding for GMUG’s refurbishment at Deer Lakes totals in excess of $1.5-million and includes $400,000 from Colorado Parks & Wildlife for rock rip-rap reinforcement and other improvements — including easily accessed ADA fishing pier — at the fishing lakes, as well as a $1-million federal Great America Outdoors Act grant to the Forest Service for a major overall and expansion of the adjacent campground.A caveat to this season’s inaugural Deer Lakes Campground opening is widespread public outrage referenced during county commissioners’ open discussion at the Wednesday morning, June 4, meeting resulting from realization that Forest Service concessionaires at the popular campground are now charging a day-use fee for parking.A popular summer fishing destination since Hinsdale County Chamber of Commerce built the lakes on Forest Service ground on the upper Cebolla side of Slumgullion Pass in 1954, the newly implemented day-use fee for both fishing and parking at the campground impacts not only fishermen but also wildlife-watchers, in particular locals and visitors who frequent the lakes to catch sight of moose.In addition to the new day-use fee for parking at Deer Lakes, a new $18-per-night charge has been implemented for overnight camping, reflecting upgrades completed by Forest Service contractor Mike Davis & Sons, Grand Junction, last fall which increased designated trailer and tent camping from 11 to 13 spaces, three new double-vault toilets, picnic tables, fire rings, and bear-proof food storage lockers.In the wake of critical comments during last week’s open discussion — Commissioner Hurd reflecting he has been contacted by 40 or more “highly upset” people — Hinsdale Administrator Sandy Hines issued a press release on June 5 reiterating that the campground concessionaire at both Deer Lakes and the upper Lake Fork’s William Creek Campground is contracted to RRM — Recreation Resource Management of America.In the county’s press release, Hines states the newly instigated day-use fee at Deer Lakes is $8, “allowing people to park at the day use area to use the facilities such as the restroom, picnic tables, throw trash away, hike the trails, and fish. If folks want to just picnic in a campsite for up to two hours, then they will charge them $6.” “There will be a drop box for people to pay, and there is a host on site as well.”On behalf of the Forest Service, Hinsdale County also advises that RRM, the campground concessionaire, is offering an inaugural, first-year season pass for $50 which increases to $100 per year for subsequent years.Members of the public with additional questions on the newly implemented day-use charge are advised to contact the GMUG’s Delta, Colorado, office, 970-874-6600, or the Forest Service’s Gunnison office, 970-641-0471.At open discussion on June 4, Hinsdale Commissioners Levine and Hurd indicated they had been “blindsided” by the decision to require a day-use charge at Deer Lakes, Commissioner Hurd declaring there “is no way” fishermen — who have already paid for a fishing license — should be assessed a further charge for using public lands. Hurd stated he had conferred with GMUG Supervisor Dale Funka who indicated the decision to implement a day-use charge was the result of a decision further up in the government echelon.Both Hurd and Levine indicated they would like to revisit the day-use charge in advance of next summer, both men expressing the hope that a no-charge solution might be reached next year.Commissioner Borchers stated that in her view the bulk of the money used for the campground refurbishment came from federal sources. “The Forest Service spent a ton of money,” according to Borchers, while minimal funding was required from Hinsdale County. Commissioner Levine countered that the county has funded some signage at Deer Lakes, in addition to being “big proponents and heavy advocates” for the enhancement project at both the lakes and campground.By way of background, Deer Lakes on Forest Service land began in 1954 as the brainchild of Hinsdale County Chamber of Commerce with the goal of expanding fishing opportunities in the region. Volunteers from the chamber used heavy equipment to construct a series of four lakes, funding coming from private individuals who donated cash in return for the lakes being named for the donors.Routed wooden signs on display at Hinsdale County Museum recall the lakes’ early names, including Lake Hildegarde for Hildegarde Wupperman, together with lakes named for Emory Carper, Slug Stewart, and Art Weaver. Although located on Forest Service property, Colorado Parks & Wildlife historically maintained and regularly stocked the increasingly popular lakes after it was determined it was not legal to post signs naming each of the lakes on public lands.Beaver activity, together with the heavy tread of moose was cited as the reason for an unexpected breach of the top lake on June 27, 2021. As initially engineered, the top lake fed in succession on descending levels through Deer Lakes Nos. 2, 3, and 4, although as a result of the
