Lake City - The Silver World Newspaper

Bridge Repairs, Limited Reopening

A – Structural repairs to Dillon Pinnacles Bridge, between now and late June, will include the installation of four massive steel plates — 2 at fracture joints and 2 at “structural anomalies.” Structural steel plates shown in blue are 27 feet long, 2 1/2 “thick and between 2 and 2 1/2 feet wide and will be secured with 280 bolts. B – This graphic shows examples of where still plates remedying anomalies on the Dillon Pinnacles Bridge, which will continue this summer into late October. C – Including the two weld fractures and two anomalies to be repaired immediately with steel plates, a total of 183 bridge structure anomalies have been identified which will be repaired between now and late October. Graphics courtesy of CDOT. Structural repairs to the U.S. Highway 50 Dillon Pinnacles Bridge — closed to traffic across Blue Mesa Reservoir since cracks were discovered April 18 — may allow the resumption of limited traffic across the bridge as early as the upcoming July 4 weekend. Participants at a remote webinar hosted by Colorado Dept. Transportation and Gunnison County on Tuesday evening this week learned that four immense steel plates, 27’ long, 2-1/2” thick, 2 to 2-1/2’ wide and anchored with 280 bolts, will be installed in coming weeks to stabilize steel girders on the bridge at the location of two cracks and two other locations within the bridge supports where “concentrations of anomalies” have been identified. At Tuesday’s webinar, CDOT Executive Director Shoshana M. Lew stated “if everything goes right and conditions make it possible,” limited traffic will allow reopening that portion of heavily-travelled U.S. Highway 50 on July 1. In addition to limited traffic with specific weight limits, reopening the 61-year-old Blue Mesa Reservoir bridge is also contingent on shaving off 3” of accumulated asphalt on the bridge decking to literally lighten the load. Including the four steel plates which will be installed in coming weeks to structurally reinforce the bridge, repairs will continue on the Dillon Pinnacles Bridge non-stop between now through October to rectify a total of 183 “anomalies” to the bridge structure which have been identified through ultrasound analysis. An added complication to traffic flow on U.S. Highway 50 even with a partial reopening of the Dillon Pinnacles bridge is resumption of the five-mile highway widening project through Little Blue Canyon, a multi-year effort scheduled for completion this summer under guidance CDOT partnering with Federal Highway Commission. Work on final phases of the project is now resuming with completion of infill terracing, paving, and completion of guardrail. Expansion work through Little Blue Canyon will once again require traffic delays with one-lane traffic flow through the construction zone. CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew was questioned on the potential of expediting completion of the Blue Canyon work which is scheduled for late July. Lew stated a meeting with representatives from the Federal Highway Commission was slated Wednesday morning this week, Lew expressing her hope that with minimal traffic flow on Highway 50 as a result of the bridge closure, the Little Blue Creek Canyon work end date might be moved up to early July…. To read the full story, pick up this week’s edition of the Lake City Silver World or subscribe today!

May 23, 2024 No Comments

Look Back

Lake City news items of the past 140 Years AgoLake City MINING REGISTER, January 19, 1884 – Our lakes and rivers afford good skating, and the lads and lassies are enjoying it.Hinsdale 1883 output in dollars, paid for ore, was $390,000. An average of $60 a ton, this would equal one hundred and twenty-five tons a week.It is so cold up at Silverton that the solitary dairyman carries his milk in a gunnysack and chops it off with an ax for his customers.On Friday, January 11, the thermometer registered 18-degrees below zero at 7 a.m. Clear and pleasant all day. At 2 p.m. 40-degrees above zero; 10-degrees above at 6 p.m.The Henson Creek road is open for teams as far as Capitol City. Beyond that point the traveler must use snow-shoes. Snow slides cover the road; but the snow-shoeing is good.A dispatch from Weiser, Idaho, tells the story of the brutal lynching of Charles Deitard who in 1876-77 was a resident of this city. According to dispatch, a masked mob took Deitard, the murderer of Buck Bozie, from his cell in the jail, and shot and beat him. They then dragged him a mile to the slaughter house and hanged him to the windlass, which is used by the butchers.John Murphy, an employee of Mendenhall & Pride, butchers, was severely wounded last Friday evening by a ferocious boar. Mr. Murphy encountered the animal in the yard attached to the slaughter house, when he turned on him and showed fight. Instead of taking refuge in flight, the gentleman stood his ground. The boar struck him in the thigh, cut him and knocked him down and then made a dash at his head. John threw up his arm as a guard, when the animal seized his hand and inflicted a severe wound, and then attacked his foot, driving his sharp tusks through his boot. Murphy kicked at the savage hog, scrambled, scratched and rolled, and finally got away.130 Years AgoLake City TIMES, January 18, 1894 – Thirty-one degrees below zero Saturday morning.Very few cars of ore from the Golden Fleece Mine are shipped that bring less than $5,000 each.Everybody was out last Sunday afternoon, either sleighing or skating on the ice south of town.Never before in the history of Lake City were the schools of this place in a more flourishing condition than now. The corps of teachers now employed are certainly doing all in their power to advance the pupils in their studies.A number of horses, burros and cows are reported to be in a starving condition on the flat just across the river from town. The owners should be made to care for the stock or sell them to someone who will see to it that they don’t want for something to eat.The Lake City Drum Corps are expecting their new uniforms to arrive this week. The suits will consist of coat, pants, and cap, and a heavy plume in the cap. The coats are nicely trimmed with braid and heavy brass buttons, and altogether make very pretty uniforms.110 Years AgoLake City TIMES, January 22, 1914 – Stanley and Lee Williams have been busy with a crew of men on Oscar McCreary’s lake at the north end of town the past week getting out Lake City’s summer supply of agua fria and which is being stored in the Williams’ ice house.A dangerous incident in a two-seat cutter occurred near Hobo Spring on Henson Creek last Friday morning when the sleigh overturned on ice throwing its occupants into icy Henson Creek. The party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Henrie, with their infant, Walden, along with Mr. and Mrs. Beckwith, and Lon Bryson. After the overturn, baby Walden was completely submerged in the water, Mr. Henrie and his sister, Mrs. Beckwith, both partly under water. With rare presence of mind, the men extricated themselves and quickly got the others out. Aside from a thorough soaking and numerous bumps, no one seriously injured.

January 19, 2024 No Comments

Intent EMT Students…

Students and observers were spellbound earlier this month during an initial welcoming lecture by EMS Director Buffy Witt at the start of a five-month Emergency Medical Technicians class at Lake City Area Medical Center. A total of seven students are enrolled in class which began last Tuesday, January 9, and continues with classroom instruction on a weekly basis from now until June, after which students prior to certification will complete required clinicals.Seven apt students enrolled in the class are Eric Barker, Sarah Decristino, Kelly Elkins, Eli Loper, Grant Loper, Roxanne Loper, and Danny Oge, shown above in photo by Katherine Heidt with EMTs Dan Humphreys and Amanda Hartman, foreground, who are among those on tap to assist with EMT instruction during the class. Others who will be assisting with classroom instruction are Andrew Spangler, from Pagosa Springs, together with locals including Rachel Moore, Melody Crump, Leslie Nichols, and Sara Barker.Early word on this winter’s EMT enrollees is that they are enthused and are imminently up to the hard study ahead.

January 19, 2024 No Comments

Local Items

With the one-year anniversary of the 28-hour power outage in and around Lake City coming up in early February, Lake City night owls were perhaps reminded of the importance of electricity during a brief power outage which occurred between 12:55 and 2:05 a.m. last Saturday, January 13.Local linemen Brent Boyce and Logan Rhodes once again came to the rescue after being notified of the outage, the men identifying a breaker at the Ball Flats substation which had mysteriously opened, shutting off power to a total of 937 meters extending from the middle of Lake City up valley as far as Sherman.Boyce and Rhodes checked local overhead lines on the chance a downed tree or heavy snow load had caused the breaker to open. Finding no interference, they returned to the substation and successfully closed the errant breaker to restore electric service.No negative impacts such as frozen pipes were reported as a result of the brief outage.By coincidence — and again during last weekend’s cold, snowy days — an OCR (Oil Circuit Recloser) on the C Phase electric line near Powderhorn failed on Sunday morning, January 14. Gunnison County Electric Lineman Dustin Cadwell responded to home turf and after checking the lines for any obstructions, re-energized the line after closing the circuit. The Powderhorn area electric outage lasted from 8:27 to 9:04 a.m. and impacted a total of three meters extending from Milk Gulch Ranch to Blue Mesa Subdivision.Kathy and Harvey DuChene are back in town after two weeks in Belize with Silver Street summer residents Tom and Myreta Davis. After spending a day in Belize City, they took a one-hour water taxi ride to the Caye Caulker barrier island where accommodations were thatch-roofed bungalows near the beach. There are no automobiles on the Caye, only golf carts, but bicycles are part of the accommodation package so they were able to ride almost everywhere on the island. Highlights included multiple meals featuring rock lobster and ceviche (which quickly became favorites), along with the “occasional” pina colada or Belikan beer. After a few days on the Caye, another water taxi ride brought them back to Belize City where a hired a cab took them to Santa Elena on the west side of the country. Accommodations again were bungalows, this time in the rain forest at Maya Mountain Lodge. The rainy season in Belize was later than normal this year, and everyone quickly learned why it’s called a Rain Forest. The humidity was close to 100 percent most of the time.Finding the cab driver who drove them to Santa Elena is an interesting story. On their first full day in country, they were visiting an old navigation light on the coast near Belize City where there is a monument to Baron Bliss, a British Royal who, in 1926, wanted to visit British Honduras but never got there. He died on his yacht before he made it to shore. He was fascinated with the Colony, so he bequeathed to it about 1 million British pounds on the condition that the money be used for the benefit of the people. It has been used as seed money for parks, libraries, schools and museums. Luis Rodriguez, a young Belizean cab driver and freshly licensed tour guide was at the Bliss Monument with his mother and niece and told the travelers this story.Kathy and Myreta are masters at chatting people up, and before they knew it, they had tentatively arranged for Luis to pick them up after their stay on Caye Caulker and drive to Santa Elena. Luis, who lives in Santa Elena, became the couples’ tour guide and even invited the Lake Citians to his home to celebrate the New Year with him and his extended family. While in Santa Elena, the couples visited Mayan ruins of Caracol, paddled canoes through the Barton Creek Cave archaeological site and took a day trip to world-famous Tikal National Park in Guatemala. Tikal is a world heritage site and ranks in importance with the Acropolis in Greece, the Great Pyramids of Egypt and Machu Picchu in Peru. Other places are the Botanical Gardens of Belize, a Butterfly Pavilion, and the Belize Zoo.All of this was accomplished while dodging frequent rainstorms and one especially heavy downpour which, fortunately, happened while they were under a pavilion having lunch. The frequent rains meant that a lot of time was spent avoiding mudholes and puddles and caused a proliferation of biting insects which feasted on the tender norte-americanos.On the last day in Santa Elena, Harvey and Kathy took a cooking class and learned how to maketamales (Belize style) and hot chocolate the way the ancient Maya made it. Chocolate was the drink of kings in the Maya world, and was not made for common folks. They drank it anyway. If a bunch of Maya warriors shows up in Lake City, they are probably looking for the local chocolate drinkers.When the two weeks was over, all agreed that this had been an interesting trip. Abundant bug bites are persistent reminders of the experience. Sympathies are extended to former county sheriff Ron Bruce whose 97-year-old mother, Doris Opal (Guffey) Bruce, has died in Sun City, Arizona. Mrs. Bruce, who was born in November, 1926, was a native of Vandalia, Illinois, and was the last in a large family which included four sisters and four brothers. Her husband, a Southern Baptist Minister at Columbia, Missouri, and later Casa Grande, Arizona, predeceased in July, 1971.Following her husband’s death, Mrs. Bruce continued work as an elementary teacher at Tempe, Arizona. She later moved to Peoria, Arizona, which continued to be her home until her death.In addition to Ron, her eldest son, Mrs. Bruce is survived by two younger sons, Dave Bruce and his wife, Barb, who live in Maryland, and Mark Bruce, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Graveside services were planned in Tempe, Arizona.Fourteeners’ home basketball games last week against the local heroes’ counterparts from Moffat and Center in the San Luis Valley were wisely called off as

January 19, 2024 No Comments

Avalanche Danger, Snowpack Soar After Massive Storm

Colorado has weathered its first major storm, the snowfall — upwards of 9” over the weekend in LakeCity — combined with gusty winds resulting in significant avalanche danger as of mid-weekthroughout the San Juan Mountains. As of Tuesday portions of the Elk Mountains including the towns ofCrested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte were listed in red as Category 4 with dangerous conditions, whilethe San Juan Mountains, and both southern and northern portions of the San Juan Mountains,including Lake City, are within an area of unstable and drifting snowfall which is considered of“considerable” avalanche danger according to Colorado Avalanche Information Center.For the San Juans, says the information center, a Special Avalanche Advisory remained in effect as ofWednesday with new snow and powerful wind creating dangerous conditions with the likelihood ofhuman-triggered avalanches. Recreationists are advised to limit their activities to slopes less thanabout 30-degrees without steep overhead slopes. “You can easily trigger an avalanche at all elevationsand on all aspects,” says the Avalanche Center“ recent avalanches, shooting cracks, and collapsesare signs of unstable snow and signs to stick to lower-angle terrain.”Apart from snow field fissures and unstable, wind-blown cornices at higher terrain, last weekend’swindfall in terms of snow and water content comes at an opportune time following recent months andweeks with minimal, below average snowfall. Natural Resources Conservation Services’ 11,560’-elevation SnowTel site on Slumgullion Pass above Lake City is now up to 89 percent medianprecipitation as a result of last weekend’s storm and continuing, intermittent snowfall this week.Snow depth at the upper Slumgullion snow gauge site was just 17” as of January 1 and increased to 20”depth on January 10; following last weekend’s snow dump and as of Tuesday, January 16, SlumgullionSnoTel now stands at 29” snow depth with a corresponding 5.8” of weather content. Median snowwater content for this time of year on Slum is 7.4” water, hence we are now at 89 percent of the medianin terms of water which is locked in the snow. The median — as patiently explained by BruceHeath — is the point where there are as many readings above as there are below based on snowdata which has been collected from 1991 to 2020.As a result of this most recent massive storm, Gunnison River Basin, which includes the Lake Fork,is now 94 percent of the 30-year median while adjoining Upper Rio Grande is slightly less, 71percent of long-term median. Percentages for these and other Colorado water basins are highlighted in Natural Resources Conservation Service map whichis illustrated below. In addition to the Slumgullion SnoTel site, other neighboring SnoTel site readings post-storm includeWager Gulch, 11,132’, on the upper Lake Fork which as of Tuesday clocked 23” snow depth with 4.2”water content; by comparison snow depth at the upper Wager Gulch reading site stood at just 13”snow depth with 2.7” water on January 1.On the Upper Rio Grande, the Bear Town snow measuring site, elevation 11,600’, had 45” snowdepth with 8.1” water content on Tuesday this week — more than double just 21” snow depth with 5.0”water on January 1.Cochetopa Pass, 10,061’, measured 78 percent of median precipitation on Tuesday, January 16, with14” snow depth and 2.2” water content; in the northern Gunnison River Basin, Butte SnoTel Site, at10,200’ elevation, has a whopping 47” snow depth with 8.8” water content which is 133 percent of the30-year median; Schofield Pass, 10,653’, stands at 99 percent median precipitation as of Tuesday, 63”snow base with 13.4” water.

January 19, 2024 No Comments

Tag: Lake City

Bridge Repairs, Limited Reopening

Look Back

Intent EMT Students…

Local Items

Avalanche Danger, Snowpack Soar After Massive Storm