Local News

GRAND LAKE —The origins of the Grand Lake’s Memorial Day parade are fuzzy, but Grand Lake’s Historical Society traces it back, in part, to resident Dorothy “Nursie” Young. Young, a World War II veteran nurse who served at Pearl Harbor, hosted fellow veterans at her lodge in town, and was a popular marcher in the parade until her death in 2000. The Memorial Day parade remains a highlight in Grand Lake, both honoring veterans and kicking off the summer season. Administered by the Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce, executing a smooth, organized operation is still no easy feat. Volunteers Donna …

GRANBY — Grand County water managers and leaders gave a tentative sigh of relief following this season’s late spring snowfall. A panel of water experts spoke at the public State of the River Meeting on Wednesday at the SilverCreek Convention Center to discuss the quality and quantity of the Colorado River Basin and its relationship to Grand County. Among the discussion topics were Wolford Mountain Reservoir, background on the Windy Gap Firming Project and wildfire planning. But benefits to Colorado’s water supply following April’s precipitation events dominated much of the discussion. “We’ve had a recent change of fortune,” said Don …

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Grand Lake Memorial Day Parade, flag pole ceremony Parade starts at 10 a.m., Memorial Day, May 27, with the flag pole ceremony immediately following in Grand Lake’s Town Park. Rich Olivio will start with an introduction, followed by an invocation. Olivio and Bernie McGinn will raise the flag. Other events include a performances of the National Anthem and America the Beautiful, a mayor’s address, a parade marshal recognition, benediction, lowering of the flag/taps and honor guard. Phil Panke will provide a speech on the history of Memorial Day. …

WINTER PARK – Beginning June 1, Winter Park residents might need to revaluate the importance of pristine, green, grassy yards. The Winter Park Water and Sanitation District is requiring mandatory water restrictions, which will be in effect until Sept. 30. Residents can only water lawns twice a week and must follow a set schedule. Single-family residents with addresses ending in even numbers may water on Sunday and Thursday. Single-family residents with odd-numbered addresses may water on Saturday and Wednesday. All other properties may water on Tuesday and Thursday. Additionally, watering is not allowed between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The …

GRANBY -- After much thought, research and input from constituents and stakeholders, the Middle Park Land Trust’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to change the name of the organization to Colorado Headwaters Land Trust (CHLT) at its April 11 board meeting. The change was a strategic move to emphasize the importance of the Colorado River and its tributaries in CHLT’s mission to help protect the county’s valuable watersheds, wildlife, biodiversity and scenic and agricultural open lands for the benefit of the public. “The impressive fact that the Colorado River begins in our county — as do several of its headwater …

GRANBY — The East Grand School District Board of Education is on track to pose a mill-levy ballot question in the November election. The mill levy would support technology maintenance and upgrades for the schools in the district. With recent pledged support of the board, the next step is to visit individual schools to solidify needs and budgets to develop what amount the mill levy would be, according to East Grand School Board member Chip Besse, who is heading up a committee charged with studying the issue. “We are going to spend the next month working with the administration and …

GRAND JUNCTION— For the overtapped Colorado River to meet a variety of needs, from agriculture to recreation, West Slope water users need to start rowing in the same direction. That’s the message of a new outreach effort—“Our Colorado River”—launched today by sportsmen’s group Trout Unlimited, which is encouraging Colorado River stakeholders to work together to find innovative water planning and river conservation solutions. The upper Colorado River is the lifeblood of the West Slope of Colorado. The Colorado River mainstem, along with major tributaries such as the Yampa, White, Dolores and Gunnison, nourish everything that happens on the West slope: …

Friday May 24 Grand Lake Boardwalk Sale, All Day, Grand Lake Merchants. Toddler and Preschool Story Hour, 11am-noon, Juniper Library, Grand Lake. 970-627-8353. High Country Conservatives, noon-1:30pm, Maverick’s Grille, Granby. Friendly discussion of local, state and national affairs. Visitors welcome. Art Exhibit Opening – Grand Summer Art Show and Sale, 5-8pm, Cozens Ranch, Highway 40, Fraser. Celebrate our Summer Art Show and sale of Grand County artists. The reception is free and open to the public. The museum is opening a new exhibit on Merritt Esmiol: A Retrospective. Lucky Jim performs at the Daven Haven, 5:30-9pm, Grand Lake. Hayden and …

GRAND LAKE — The familiar F-16 Fighting Falcons won’t be seen jetting through Grand County skies this Memorial Day. Automatic budget cuts from the federal sequester have canceled all holiday flyovers nationwide. The flights include one or several aircraft used for aerial salutes and memorials. They’re common across the country at sporting events, Independence Day celebrations and veteran memorials, including the Grand Lake’s Memorial Day ceremony. “It pains us greatly as Colorado Guardsmen, particularly those of us that spend time in Grand Lake, not to be able to participate airborne,” said Lt. Col. James Reeman, who has participated in past …

Embrace nature with an eco-family vacation in Grand GRAND LAKE — Two nonprofits, Shadowcliff Lodge and the Rocky Mountain Nature Association, have merged their educational missions to introduce an Eco-Family Vacation on June 23-28 at Shadowcliff, overlooking the town and lakes of Grand Lake. The Nature Association is committed to increasing the presence of its field seminars on the west side of Rocky and this first multi-day lodging experience is a great example of that commitment. Shadowcliff has for more than 20 years been the site of multi-day educational workshops designed to encourage participants to reconnect with the natural world. …

On April 26, Columbia College presented its Distinguished Alumni Award for 2013 to Grand County resident, Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D. Dr. Hamilton was selected for this honor based on her regional and national recognition in the field of aviation education — with particular emphasis on teaching women to fly — and for her many other achievements. With her husband, Bill, she co-holds a world aviation speed recognized by the National Aeronautic Association and the International Federation of Aeronautics. In 2011, Dr. Hamilton was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. Dr. Hamilton is the author of two history books …

The Craig office of Northwest Colorado Fire Management reports fire danger is low the Memorial Day weekend, which means currently the potential for large intense wildfires is at a minimum. However, fire safety always needs to be observed as lighter vegetation, like grass and brush, can dry out quickly and combined with dead vegetation from last year can easily carry fire, especially if there is wind. Recent rain has moderated the fire danger in many northwest Colorado areas and snow is lingering at some higher elevations. “While our area has received rain and green-up is underway in fine vegetation, the …

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Lake Elevations, May 23 Windy Gap 7,825.11 (full 7,828) Willow Creek 8,126.88 (full 8,128.83) Green Mountain 7,910.24 (full 7,950.38) Granby 8,229.91 (full 8,280) …

KREMMLING — Artist Howard Neville will be creating a sculpture to immortalize Dr. Ernest “Doc” Ceriani, a Kremmling doctor who was made famous through W. Eugene Smith’s photographs and essay published in Life Magazine in 1948 titled “Country Doctor.” Eugene Smith’s photo-essay of Ceriani chronicled the everyday life of a rural doctor over a 23-day period, where the words “general practitioner” take on a whole new meaning. Ceriani took over the new hospital in 1947 after the Middle Park Hospital Association bought the home of the town’s previous doctor, Dr. Arthur Sudan, and converted it into a hospital with four …

In memory I would like to thank, as good neighbors, the Grand County EMS, Granby Firefighters, Granby Police, County Sheriffs and the Middle Park Medical Center for all of their efforts in trying to keep my wife Devon alive on Wednesday, May 1. They all were very caring and professional in all aspects of those words. They are to be commended, although the damage after her cardiac arrest was irreversible, she passed away on Friday, May 3. Please accept my gratitude for your efforts and keep up the good work. Gratefully Yours, Richard Hawkes …

The buck should stop with the president To the Editor: Power Corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In case you aren’t noticing, we are witnessing that very phenomenon in the current Obama administration. The latest most frightening of a series of power misuses involves the Benghazi deaths and the IRS admittedly targeting conservative/patriot/religious groups. Add in the targeting of news outlets by email and phone record seizing/wire taps and the revelation that the administration was warned not once but twice by another country that the Boston Bombers were dangerous radicals. Four Americans died (including our ambassador) in an Islamist attack …

GRANBY – Most campgrounds on the Sulphur Ranger District will be open by Friday, May 24, for Memorial Day Weekend, and with a forecast of warm weather and sunny skies, it should be an ideal time to enjoy the Arapaho National Forest. Late spring snows and recent rains have left much of the Forest’s road system soggy and mucky, so gates will remain closed across much of the Forest, and seasonal closures are still in place to protect the road surface. According to the ranger district’s Motor Vehicle Use Map, which can be obtained for free at the district office …

The Lake trout are still shallow but are starting to move deeper. Trolling, jigging and casting are producing some very large fish. Browns are hitting very well, any crawdad pattern in rocky areas seem to be working. Rainbows are hitting a variety of baits and soft plastics around the inlets. Bernie Keefe has been a fishing guide on Lake Granby for longer than 15 years. Contact him through his website www.fishingwithbernie.com. …