Local News

DOTSERO — Interstate 70 was closed for about eight hours Wednesday after a fatal head-on collision between a car and semi truck that morning. A Mazda sedan was traveling eastbound, while the truck was traveling westbound in a construction zone at mile marker 126.5. Due to construction, eastbound and westbound traffic were traveling in the lanes normally used for westbound traffic. The Mazda crossed into the path of the semi and struck it head-on, according to trooper Nate Reid of the Colorado State Patrol. Both cars were engulfed in flames after they collided. The adult female driver of the Mazda …

DOTSERO — Interstate 70 is now open in both directions in Glenwood Canyon after being closed for nearly six hours due to a fatal head-on collision between a car and semi truck early Wednesday morning. A Mazda sedan was traveling eastbound, while the truck was traveling westbound in a construction zone at mile marker 126.5. Due to construction on that stretch of the interstate, eastbound and westbound of traffic are traveling in the lanes that normally used for westbound traffic. The Mazda crossed into the path of the semi and struck it head-on, according to Trooper Nate Reid of the …

Local groups and governments are emptying their piggy banks trying to find any available money to contribute to a 10-mile safety-improvement project on Highway 9 in Grand County. Their cash is crucial to getting the plan approved. High Country stakeholders have to put up 20 percent of the project’s $46 million bill to qualify for Colorado Department of Transportation funding. The owner of the Blue Valley Ranch near Kremmling, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Jones, last month contributed $4 million to the match, leaving a local citizens’ group with $4 million left to raise from the public and local stakeholders …

FRASER —Cozens Ranch Museum, located in Fraser, will be opening a new exhibit on Friday, May 24, called Merrit Esmiol: A Retrospective Exhibit. The new exhibit, which is being presented by the Grand County Historical association, will highlight the life and career of the artist from Kremmling with nearly 20 of the artist’s best paintings from all periods of his career. This retrospective presents Merritt Esmiol’s eclectic art legacy, including classic and detailed renderings of nature and wildlife in Grand County; bold Colorado landscapes; his versions of modern art showing influences of cubism and paint splatter; and a series of …

The Colorado State Patrol and 63 law enforcement agencies across Colorado are joining the nationwide Click It or Ticket campaign by increasing enforcement of seat belt and child passenger safety laws. The ramped-up enforcement takes place Monday, May 20 through Sunday, June 2. The goal is to get more Coloradans to buckle up and ultimately save lives across the state, according to statements released this week. In 2012, 159 people who weren’t buckled up lost their lives in traffic crashes on Colorado roadways, which is down from 185 unrestrained fatalities in 2011. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is focusing …

Expect delays on I-70 near Georgetown I-70 Traffic Stops in Georgetown area; Lane Closure west of Idaho Spring Daytime traffic stops and lane closures are taking place on Interstate 70 at Georgetown Hill and at Fall River Road near Idaho Springs next week for rock scaling and fence installation, weather permitting. Traffic stops will be taking place from 10 a.m. to dark, Tuesday through Thursday, with stops of 20 minutes on eastbound and westbound I-70, about twice an hour The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) must stop traffic whenever rock work is taking place above the highway to maintain safety …

Entries wanted for Hot Sulphur Days Parade The Hot Sulphur Springs Chamber of Commerce is seeking more entries for this year’s Hot Sulphur Springs parage. Awards will be given for the best entry in the following categories: Costume; motorized; non-motorized; organization; and youth Organization. A $50 cash prize will go to the Best of Show of all the parade entries. Take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your business or organization. The parade immediately follows the historical reenactment of the “Texas Charlie Shootout” at noon on Saturday, June 8. Lineup is at Pioneer Park (across the river) at 11:30 a.m. …

Thanks, rescuers, for saving my dog To the Editor: I’d like to thank Hot Sulphur Springs Fire and Rescue and Neal McQuarie of the Sheriff’s office for rescuing my 13-year-old dog. My friend Rich Loos and I searched for two days and found him in a steep canyon on the wrong side of Beaver Creek. The creek was so high and raging we were unable to get him across. Thanks, however, to the cooperation of the fire and sheriff departments, my dog was saved. We were lucky to have such courteous and professional people in Grand County to serve us. …

Lake elevations, May 21 Windy Gap 7,828.15 (full 7,828) Willow Creek 8,126.81 (full, 8,128.83) Green Mountain 7909.07 (full 7,950.38) Granby 8,228.63 (full 8,280) …

The federal budget cuts known as the sequester have taken effect and are affecting some local institutions and federally funded entities. Among the hardest hit by the sequester is Rocky Mountain National Park, which is on track to loose 6 percent of its budget, cut 10 ranger positions, reduce programs, and will keep Glacier Basin Campground closed while the park is open. Local schools also will be feeling the budget cuts and are expecting a 15 to 20 percent reduction in federal funding, though the schools will be able to absorb the loss and should continue to operate as normal, …

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Tabor Scholl had the top individual effort for the West Grand Mustangs at this past weekend’s Colorado Class 2A State Track Meet in Denver, winning the 1600-meter race, placing second in the 800-meter race and sixth in the 3200-meter run. Scholl, a sophomore athlete at West Grand, has a total of three state championship track medals, with 800 and 1600-meter wins as a freshman last year. In this year’s 800-meter, Scholl and the winner of the event, Jennifer Celis of Hotchkiss, both broke the state track meet record held by Jessica Brown of West Grand. Celis crossed the line at …

Colorado High School State Track and Field Championships Jeffco Stadium, Lakewood 3A Girls High jump--10. Ellis Linke, Middle Park, 4-10 Triple jump--9. Kelly Allen, Middle Park, 32-8.5 Pole vault--4. Abrah Masterson, Middle Park, 8-6; 9. Olivia Butrymovich, Middle Park, 7-6 Long jump--9. Allen, Middle Park, 16-2 Boys Pole vault--7. Kellen Lutz, Middle Park, 11-9 4x200 relay--8. Middle Park (Whitford, Southway, Lutz, Potts), 1:33.13 2A Girls High jump--11. Kristina Ekren, West Grand, 4-8 3200--6. Tabor Scholl, West Grand, 12:05.76 800--Scholl, West Grand, 2:15.06 Pole vault--8. Anna Cunico, West Grand, 8-2; 10. Erica Lucas, West Grand, 7-8 1600--1. Scholl, West Grand, 5:06.01 …

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Saturday was the last day of skiing for me this season as I forced myself to get as many bump runs in at A-Basin as I could. Thanks to encouragement from my skiing partner, Chris Rain, we fought through the hot spring day and partiers at the beach to squeeze in a few laps on Pallavicini as well as some steeps in the Montezuma Bowl. For the first time in my life I am looking forward to the end of the winter season. I had no idea how long and cold the winters are in Grand County, though I did …

The Colorado Legislature ended the first regular session of the Sixty-ninth General Assembly on May 8, with a number of historic bills being passed through the Democratic controlled House and Senate. One bill regulates the sale of recreational marijuana to people over the age of 21, which was voted into the Colorado Constitution by voters in November. Other bills are one outlawing high capacity magazines for firearms, which goes into effect next month, and a bill legalizing civil unions in the state. Representatives of Grand County sponsored bills that extended income-tax incentives for homeowners who complete wildfire mitigation work on …

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Questions remain on Byers Peak project To the Editor: I am still not clear on some of the issues involving the annexation of Byers Peak Ranch. Thank you (developer) for answers to many of the questions I asked in my last letter. I am confused as to why you didn’t answer the question that I felt was the most important one. How many CFS are needed to support BPR at build out? I see you are building a holding facility of 60 CFS, and if I heard right, you are deeding over that much water rights to Fraser water “taxpayer …

Fraser doesn’t need a newer ‘downtown’ To the Editor: Annexation is fraught with complexities. Personally, I’m against the current proposal, but I’m willing to hear the developer out regarding municipal water, storage reservoirs, unsightly gravel pits, and the possible community-wide benefits of annexation. But there is one aspect of the plan — largely overlooked in this contentious debate — that is absolutely absurd, namely the idea that Fraser somehow needs a newer, better “downtown.” For more than a century, through booms and busts, the town of Fraser has consisted of a downtown core where people shopped for what they needed. …

Do not let April’s powder skiing and late-season snow shoveling deceive you. Western Colorado is still in the grip of a drought and the reservoirs in Grand County (like Granby and Wolford Mountain) still have big holes to fill after last year’s near-record dry year. Storing and moving water are two of the main solutions to enhance the environmental health of rivers and streams and improve water quality and quantity for municipal and other uses. A panel of key water leaders that negotiate these and other solutions will discuss and respond to questions about the progress of the provisions of …