A rockslide closed I-70 westbound near the No Name rest area for over three hours Saturday afternoon. 

CDOT Regional Communications Manager Lisa Schwantes said she was notified of the incident, just east of Glenwood Springs at mile marker 119, around 2:15 p.m.

Westbound traffic was being stopped at Dotsero as maintenance crews cleared rocks and debris from the roadway.       

No serious injuries were reported as a result of Saturday’s rockslide according to Schwantes. However, a semi-truck required towing and rocks scattered along the interstate were large enough to require a front-end loader, Schwantes said.

I-70 westbound reopened at around 5:20 p.m.

In the immediate area of the rockslide, I-70 westbound was limited to one lane and CDOT urged motorists to use caution.

Saturday’s rockslide was the first of the season to cause an interstate closure, Schwantes said.

Editor’s note: The weather isn’t making it easy for many folks to get a print copy of Friday’s paper, so we’ve made the e-edition free to access today. Go here to read Friday’s paper.

Roaring Fork School District has canceled school Friday in anticipation of continued adverse weather.

All after-school and extracurricular activities are also canceled, although Glenwood Springs High School’s girls swim team had already left for an event in Grand Junction and would still compete.

In a statement Thursday night, district public information officer Kelsy Been said early reports point to unsafe road conditions continuing Friday.

“Although we do not usually make snow day decisions this early, we’ve received earlier than usual reports from road and highway plowing operations departments of expected unsafe and hazardous road conditions,” Been writes. “Any decision to cancel school is based on student and staff safety.”

Go here to read Roaring Fork School District’s policy on cancellations.

In addition:

• Colorado Mountain College’s Glenwood Center, Spring Valley, Carbondale, Rifle and Leadville campuses will be closed Friday for the entire day. The Aspen campus remains open. Central Services in Glenwood is closed. For more information, call the CMC Rifle snow line at 625-6990 or the CMC Spring Valley/Glenwood Center snow line at 947-8153.
• Glenwood Springs City Hall will open at 10 a.m. Friday, instead of 8. The Community Center will open at 6 a.m. for normal business hours.

• Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is closed Friday. Friday Afternoon Club is canceled.
• Interstate 70 westbound from Golden to the Eisenhower Tunnel is closed. No alternate routes are available, and CDOT strongly recommends people don’t travel during today’s storm.

A winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service remains in effect until 5 p.m. Friday, with up to 8 inches of snow expected Thursday night and up to 4 more inches expected Friday morning.

Garfield School District 16 schools in Parachute are not canceled for Friday, and Friday is a normal off day for Garfield Re-2 schools.

Call 511 for the most up-to-date road conditions.

Garfield County Commissioners have scheduled interviews for the Garfield County Public Library District Library Board Rifle position on April 30. Initially, there were 17 applicants, but the BOCC narrowed the list down to 11, ensuring that candidates met the Rifle residency requirement.

In recent years, the Library Board would nominate a candidate for a board vacancy, presenting them to the BOCC for approval. However, commissioners have opted to conduct interviews themselves, selecting a candidate from a broader pool of applicants.

“We felt it necessary to have a larger pool of applicants for consideration. The (county commission) historically been responsible for appointing members to the library board,” County Commissioner John Martin said.

All applicants are expected to attend the in-person interviews at the commissioners’ chamber room on April 30. Each candidate will field a series of four or five questions from commissioners, with no provision for public comment to prevent bias.

Following the interviews, commissioners will deliberate individually for seven days before announcing their selection during the May 6 commission meeting, during which public comment will be allowed.

“We will deliberate openly on May 6, ensuring transparency in our decision-making process. We seek a candidate who can effectively represent the people of Rifle,” added Martin.

During the interviews, the chairman and president of the library board, Adrian Rippy-Sheehy, will join the county commissioners, posing pre-determined questions to the candidates.

However, not everyone supports this procedural change. Protect Our GarCo Libraries, a local advocacy group, aims to raise awareness about the library district and the county commissioners’ actions.

“The library district was formed in 2006, and since then, the library has conducted interviews and selections, presenting candidates to the BOCC for approval,” noted Carole O’Brien, Protect Our GarCo Libraries’ media contact.

O’Brien expressed concern over the exclusion of non-Rifle candidates, a criterion not stated in the original advertisement. Martin clarified that preference was given to Rifle residents for the open seat, with consideration for external candidates if no suitable local applicants emerged.

Protect Our GarCo Libraries stresses the importance of diverse library content and services, fearing that commission-appointed board members might limit this diversity.

Tensions surrounding this process stem partly from the recent Manga book controversy.

Protect Our GarCo Libraries plans a rally outside the chamber building on April 30, encouraging attendees to wear red as a symbol of literacy. The group will provide buttons and signs but emphasizes peaceful participation, forbidding protests during the interviews.

Martin said he welcomed community involvement in the process while reiterating the importance of maintaining decorum within the chamber room.

TUESDAY:

• Conversational French Classes from 6-7 p.m., at Third Street Center, 520 South Street in Carbondale, $115 for advanced, $185 for beginners, covers four weeks.

WEDNESDAY:

• Trivia at the Brewery, 6 p.m., at Mountain Heart Brewing, 1841 Dolores Way in Carbondale, free. 

FRIDAY:

• Stop the Bleed Classes from 10-11 a.m., and 2-3 p.m., at Grand River Health, 501 Airport Rd. in Rifle, free.
• Carbondale Family Block Party and Pride Parade from 4-8 p.m., in downtown Carbondale, 4th and Main Street, free, fundraiser.

SATURDAY:

• Windwalkers Kentucky Derby Watch Party from 2-6 p.m., at Spring Creeks Ranch, 644 Cowen Drive in Carbondale, tables and tickets available, $100-$2,500.
• Kentucky Derby Race with RIDE from 2-5 p.m., at Miner’s Claim Restaurant, 740 Main Street in Silt, reservations only, tickets $700-$1,500.
• High Country Sinfonia Spring Concert Series: Carbondale from 5-6 p.m., at River Valley Ranch Barn, 33 River Valley Ranch in Carbondale, free. 

RFOV Crew Leader Training from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Glenwood Springs Wulfsohn Mountain Park, 100 Wulfsohn Rd. in Glenwood Springs, free. Also on Sunday, same time and place.

The May library board meeting is being held in the Parachute Branch on Thursday for any attendees and nature journaling for all ages will be held by the New Castle Branch Library, but will be off-site at VIX Park. On Saturday, it’s Comic Book Day, so attend one of the three branch events at Glenwood, New Castle or Parachute. On Wednesday, there are no events or activities. Be sure to visit the libraries’ events pages because some may require pre-registration or include details not listed here. The webpage can be found here: https://www.gcpld.org/news-and-events. 

Library locations are:

Parachute: 244 Grand Valley Way

Rifle: 207 East Ave.

Silt: 680 Home Ave.

New Castle: 402 West Main St.

Glenwood Springs: 815 Cooper Ave.

Carbondale: 320 Sopris Ave.

MONDAY

Parachute:

SPARK at 11:30 a.m. 

Rifle:

Learn to Play the Ukulele at 4:30 p.m.

Silt:

Club de Bolsitas Rojas at 10:30 a.m. 

New Castle:

Exposicion al Idioma Ingles Clase Para Adultos at 6 p.m. 

Carbondale:

Club de Bolsitas Rojas at 10:30 a.m.

In Stitches Knitting Club at 1:30 p.m. 

Move From Your Center at 4 p.m. 

English in Action: Open Hours at 6:30 p.m. 

TUESDAY

Rifle:

Great Expectations Circle of Parents at 10:30 a.m.

New Castle:

Storytime at 10:30 a.m.

Glenwood Springs:

Storytime at 11:15 a.m. 

WEDNESDAY

None

THURSDAY

Parachute:

May Board Meeting at 2 p.m. 

Rifle:

Geri-Fit at 5 p.m. 

FRIDAY

New Castle:

Nature Journaling for All Ages at 4:15 p.m. OFFSITE at VIX Ranch Park

SATURDAY

Parachute:

May the 4th Be With You at 10 a.m. 

New Castle:

Create Your Own Comic Book at 10 a.m. 

Glenwood Springs:

Comics Festival at 10 a.m. 

SUNDAY

Carbondale: The Lost Art of Random Conversation at 6 p.m.

Basalt and Carbondale middle and high schools don’t have a theater program for the children that go there, instead they support the community theater effort to give the kids a chance to do what they love. 

“We’ve had community productions for the last few years,” said Molly Tiernan, the Dean of Culture at Basalt Middle School and also one of the producers of this year’s show. “We’ve done Mamma Mia, The Sound of Music in past years.”

Because the schools are sans budget for theater and choir, the middle and high schools of Basalt and Carbondale join together, along with Bridges High School, for the community theater program, where 7th through 12th graders get to all act together in a show. 

“This year we’re doing the Mean Girls Junior Musical. It’s appropriate for school and the students selected it,” Tiernan said. “There’s 24 cast members, about 30 kids in total, including tech, and we even have a few elementary schoolers pulling the curtains.”

This year, Tiernan said the people who usually run the community theater for the kids weren’t available, so she got together with a couple of other moms to get this show going. 

“Amy Honey, Katie Hone-Wiltgen, and I all work at the schools, and we just wanted to give this opportunity to the kids. For some, it’s their first show, and for others, it’s their 3rd or 4th as a community production,” Tiernan said. 

The moms worked out how to raise money to make the production happen. Tiernan said that after many generous donations from community organizations, they managed to raise around $23,000 for the production. 

“It’s a full production. We have professional lighting and sound directors, directors for the show. AspenOUT even sponsored microphones for the production,” Tiernan said. She also said they have full costumes and set pieces for the Mean Girls Junior Musical. 

The future is a little uncertain, since the moms got together for only this year’s production. Tiernan added they would like to keep it going if they can. 

“The schools are supportive. We have a core group of people that want to keep this going, we want this to be a sustainable program. It has been four years and the community organizations gave support to really make it happen,” Tiernan said. 

While there are private institutions that offer community theater kids, it is often fee-based, which makes it harder for families with tighter budgets to involve their children in theater. 

“This is school-run, so there’s no fee for the kids to participate,” Tiernan said. “We’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity.”

The kids in the show don’t waste the opportunity; they come in after school to practice and they’ve even come in on off days for around four hours to practice, Tiernan said.

“They’re a total family now,” she said of the kids. “They’re so talented and we’re excited the schools are supporting this.”

The production started in February and now they’re finally ready to show what they’ve been working so hard on. 

The show opens Friday night at 7 p.m. The following two shows will be on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Tickets are available online at simpletix.com/e/mean-girls-jr-tickets-162590 and at the door. $10 for students and teachers and $15 for adults. 

Five acres at the base of Crown Mountain near Emma burned Wednesday after a ditch fire appeared to spread and spark a wildfire. 

No people, livestock, or structures were harmed or damaged in the burn.

Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority responded to the wildland fire call at 2:10 p.m. on Wednesday. Upon their arrival, wind gusts of 10 miles per hour pushed the flames up Crown Mountain.

With the fire running uphill, crews hiked up the mountain with hose packs and flanked the fire with a wet line, soaking the ground on the fire’s perimeter to contain the flames.

“I highly commend the crews for their hard work,” said Roaring Fork Fire Chief Scott Thompson. “They did a very commendable job flanking and stopping the head of this fire.”

The steep hillside and fire behavior made for challenging conditions, he said. Hot fuels like oak brush, pinyon pine, and juniper contributed to 50-foot flame lengths. 

Ranch hands from Elk Run Ranch in Emma concluded a permitted ditch burn around 10:30 a.m., and the fire appears to have spread from there. 

“Unfortunately, something didn’t get put out,” Thompson said. 

Crews were able to contain the fire to private property owned by the ranch. The surrounding land is federally-owned, belonging to the Bureau of Land Management. 

The official cause of the fire is still undetermined until Roaring Fork Fire concludes its investigation. 

Pitkin County Sheriff’s Deputy Rachel Maxfield said that one residential structure was at risk, but responders were able to contain the fire away from the building. Horses at the ranch were evacuated safely. 

A Holy Cross Energy power line runs right over the fire site, but a Holy Cross employee on the scene said service was not impacted by the fire. He said that Holy Cross will likely return Thursday morning to check for damage. 

Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Jenny Cutright said crews requested a Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) and a helicopter for aerial extinguish strategies, but the call was canceled after they were determined unnecessary. 

As of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, crews were working on soaking the burned area with cold water and planned to do so until dark. They will return on Thursday morning to check for hot spots or other areas of concern to ensure the fire does not recatch. 

The fire closed Hooks Lane between Hooks Spur and Emma Road for about an hour, and deputies limited traffic on Emma Road. 

Thirty-eight responders from Roaring Fork Fire, Carbondale Fire, Aspen Fire Protection District, Glenwood Springs Fire Department, Upper Colorado River Fire Interagency Management Unit, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office were on the scene.

This story is from AspenTimes.com

On Wednesday, Apr. 24, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released the latest map showing collared wolf activity over the last month.

The map, published on the fourth Wednesday of each month, does not show actual locations where the wolves have been, instead depicting watersheds where at least one GPS point of wolf activity has been detected.

Between March 26 and Apr. 23, wolf movement has been confirmed in watersheds east of the Continental Divide and into the Front Range. Wolf activity continues to be detected in the Eagle River Valley watershed.

Between Dec. 18 and 22, CPW released 10 gray wolves onto public land in Summit and Grand counties. In addition to those 10 wolves, two male wolves captured in the North Park area of Colorado in February 2023 were fitted with collars and are part of the map data.

While all 12 wolves had working collars as of February’s map report, there are now only nine wolves with working collars.

One of the collars stopped working in March, and a second collar that was partially functioning in March has since failed.

“The animals with the failed collars are traveling with other animals with functional collars, which currently allows CPW to monitor those animals,” CPW said in the report. “CPW has confirmed that the animals with the malfunctioning collars are still alive based on visual confirmation from an airplane.”

Last week, one of the 10 wolves re-introduced in December was found dead in Larimer County. While initial evidence suggests that the wolf died of natural causes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has sent the carcass for a necropsy to produce a final determination of the cause of death.

Since the last report in late March, wolves have been blamed for the deaths of six cows in Grand and Jackson Counties. Currently, ranchers are entitled to compensation from CPW for the market value of cattle lost to wolves and can take dedicated nonlethal measures to protect livestock against wolf attacks.

This story is from VailDaily.com

May 16, 1935 – April 13, 2024

Shirley I. Allen Boulton was born May 16, 1935 in Winterset, Iowa to Frank E. and M. Oleta Allen. She had one sister, Cleda, and two brothers, Bill and John. She graduated from Winterset High School in 1953, and shortly thereafter married Lewis Young. They had two sons, Kenneth and Thomas. They divorced in 1962, and in 1966, she married Bob Peters and they and the boys moved to Rifle, Colorado. When that marriage ended in 1972, she later married J.R. Boulton.

Shirley worked for attorneys Gavin D. Litwiller and Stephen L. Carter for twenty years, and then for the Garfield County Treasurer’s office for eighteen years. She also worked for Sam Potter Agency and Commonwealth Title for short periods of time.

Shirley never met a stranger and was loved by everyone who knew her. She was “Mom”, “Gramma Shirley”, and “Aunt Shirley” to so many people. Her hobbies were reading and playing cards, and she enjoyed horseback riding and playing golf. The highlights of her life were spent with her sons, whether pinning the wings on Kenny at the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division Jump School Graduation or traveling with her son Tommy as they attended Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concerts and sold merchandise.

Shirley was predeceased by her parents, sister Cleda, Brothers Bill and John. She is survived by her sons, Kenneth and Thomas, as well as many special nieces and nephews. She passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family April 13, 2024, at the age of eighty-eight. Her positive influence through her great example and wonderful two boys leaves a legacy and tradition of love and service.

Shirley’s Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, April 27th at 1:00 p.m. at the United Methodist-Presbyterian Church in Rifle, Colorado.

The Hispanics in Local Leadership, part of the Colorado River Valley Chamber, is holding a Cinco de Mayo celebration, taking place on Friday, May 3, at the Garfield County Fairgrounds in Rifle. 

There will be contest competitions in best pozole, agua fresca and salsa. The entry deadline for the contests is Monday April 29. Contest entry fees are $40 for Chamber members and $60 for non-members. Cash prizes will be awarded for the best pozole ($300), best agua fresca ($100) and best salsa ($100), the Chamber said. 

At the celebration, there will be dancing, held by the Aspen Santa Fe Folklorico group, in between live music by Y Puro Norte, merchandise and food vendors, including margarita and beer tents, the Chamber said.

The entry fee for the celebration is $10 for adults, $5 for students with ID and any children under 10 years old have free entry, the chamber said. 

For more information call 970-625-2085.

A number of items were discussed during the Rifle City Council meeting held April 17 in Rifle. The council heard presentations regarding a municipal code amendment, a planned unit development, park equipment upgrade, and other agenda items.

An amendment to Rifle’s municipal code was considered on Wednesday’s meeting about accessory dwelling units (ADUs) being in commercial and light industrial zones. ADUs are, in the current language of the code, only allowed to be attached to the building on the property.

In section 16-3-60 B – Accessory dwelling units in commercial and light industrial zone districts that have commercial or light industrial uses shall be attached and limited to only the top floor of the building, and the total area developed with accessory dwelling units shall not exceed the total interior area of the commercial space in the building.

These ADUs must be no less than 300 sq. feet and no more than 850 with no more than two bedrooms. There can only be one built onto the premises.

Geir Sverdrup, Senior Planner for the city of Rifle, wrote to city council that: “As written, the current language provides an avenue for a commercial or light industrial property owner to do anything more than an attached ADU. A detached ADU would provide the property owner with an opportunity to provide housing for employee housing that could include their family or someone not associated with the company.”

Sverdrup also wrote that this would go above and beyond the scope of a caretaker/sleeping quarters, which is permitted in industrial and light industrial zone districts, but not commercial zones. City council chose to approve this consideration. 

In other council action, the Marketplace and 14th Ecodwelling Development sought approval for their final plat, zoning and subdivision improvement agreement. 

The planned unit development includes 3,000 sq ft lot size in the Community Service Business District, there will be restriction to only residential uses in the development; setbacks of 5 ft in the side yards, 10 ft in the rear yard, and 10 ft in the front and street side yard; carports may encroach into front setback to a 5 ft lot line; storage sheds can encroach into side and rear setback to a maximum area of 100 sq ft; and no requirement to provide garages.

In addition, the homeowners association will only be responsible for maintenance of roads and open space areas. Property owners will maintain their own property.

This project was originally approved in 2009 and amended in 2011. These are the final plans for the development of 12 single family residences. A park has been added to the middle of the property, which has been subsequently divided into lots. 

Concerns about possible effects of flooding were raised during public comment, however, city staff addressed this and stated that it was decided to raise the grade of the road slightly to deal with this possibility. City council also approved this consideration. 

Rifle Police Department has a recurring purchase order from the Garfield County Communications Authority for use of record-keeping technology. New World/Tyler Technologies is where Rifle PD maintains all records of criminal history queries, drivers license queries, contacts, and the keeping, managing and queries of all records within the police department. It also covers the mobile units’ access to this database. 

These law record expenses were billed at $1.168 per incident per agency. Rifle PD was billed for 14,826 incidents, totaling $17,319.33 for them. Additionally, the law mobile expenses are calculated for the number of mobile units per agency, which was 24 units for Rifle PD. This comes out to $11,340.77. The grand total comes to $26,660.10. 

Every agency is billed at the same rate, according to Chief of Rifle Police, Debra Funston, and this purchase was accounted for in the police budget portion of 2024. Council approved this purchase.

A purchase for new playground equipment for Arnold and Moki Parks was also approved. City staff reported that the parks’ equipment has been around for more than 30 years, and is in need of replacing. Rifle’s Parks and Recreation Department will be removing the old equipment, as a cost-saving measure. This will put more money towards the parks’ new equipment. 

They have chosen Altitude Recreation for the project at $334,250, which was budgeted at $360,000. The project is estimated to be completed by the end of July.

In other items, the council approved the purchase of new flooring and installation services for the Justice Center in Rifle. The building was built in 2008 and currently has some duct tape holding pieces of the flooring together. Rifle’s Parks and Recreation has determined that Luxury Vinyl Tile and carpet tiles will be the best option for installation. 

Although $80,000 was budgeted for this project, $85,651.35 will be paid to AG Flooring for the project. While it is over budget, the city staff stated that there are enough savings to cover this extra cost. This project will last around two weeks to be completed in phases and will disrupt operations in the Justice Center, but it will be short periods of time. 

Rifle City Council approved the replacement of epoxy coating on the influent channels of the wastewater treatment plant. This serves to protect the pipes. City staff informed the council the coating is failing and needs to be replaced. C&L Water Solutions was awarded the contract to blast off the former coating and apply the new one. The Influent Channel Coating Project will cost $381,280. 

Although this project is also over budget, which was originally for $366,500, city staff stated that the Wastewater Fund has enough in its reserves to absorb the increase over the budget. 

In other items of interest, trash cans and recycling bins are being swapped out, these past two weeks. New cans, both for trash and recycling, are being distributed. Citizens may keep their smaller recycling containers, but if you want your recycling to be taken, it must be put into the new, bigger bins that will go out onto the curb. Contact Mountain Waste if there are any issues at 970-963-3435 or visit their website mountainwaste.com/contact-us. 

The traffic light for the White River Ave. intersection will be delivered soon, hopefully in the next week or so. It should be opening by the end of April or the beginning of May.

The city council meeting on July 3 will be canceled due to the July 4 celebrations the next day to allow, not just city council some relaxation, but the rest of city staff.

Colorado Mountain College Rifle graduates will participate in two ceremonies on May 3 and 6 at the Clough Auditorium at CMC Rifle, 3695 Airport Road in Rifle.

At CMC Rifle, the general commencement ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 3. Mario Carrera, former chief executive officer of Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization, and former chief revenue officer of Entravision, will give the keynote address. 

As a media and marketing communications professional with over 20 years of experience, Carrera works to strengthen Colorado’s Latino community and voice and has a passion for empowering Latinos through leadership development, advocacy and policy research. 

No one in Carrera’s family spoke English when they immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was 9 years old. Eight years later, Carrera was awarded a full scholarship to Harvard University. 

With his work at CLLARO and Entravision, Carrera has been recognized with multiple awards such as 14 Emmys and honors for his professional and community contributions, such as the Hispanic Heritage Award from the Denver Broncos and the NFL. 

Carrera will also give the keynote address at Spring Valley’s general commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 4. 

Rifle’s concurrent enrollment commencement ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 6. Students who have earned college credentials will celebrate with a ceremony at the Clough Auditorium at the Rifle campus. Giving the keynote address will be Collin Weeks, a CEPA and Grand Valley High School alumni who is now the employee relations specialist at Grand River Hospital District in Rifle. 

Weeks earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2019 and is just completing an MBA from Colorado Christian University. He began working for the Grand River Hospital District in 2019 as a human resources generalist and was promoted in 2021 to his current position. 

Visit coloradomtn.edu/graduation for more information.

Collegewide, 12 ceremonies total will be held at 11 locations throughout CMC’s region on May 3, 4 and 6 to celebrate the accomplishments of the college’s graduating class of 2024. 

Reflecting CMC’s range of educational offerings, students will receive bachelor’s and associate degrees, certificates of occupational proficiency and high school equivalency, general education, adult high school and workforce diplomas. Additionally, regional high school students in CMC’s concurrent enrollment program will walk alongside graduates to receive their college-level certificates and degrees.