Stuff by Will Grandbois

  • Sections: News Published

    Carbondale native fighting for his life in Nashville hospital

    A Carbondale native, who was shot in the stomach during an apparent robbery attempt in Nashville, Tenn., on the night of Sept. 26, remained in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Oct. 3 after reportedly undergoing several operations to repair injuries sustained in the incident. Hospital representatives, citing “federal law” as preventing them from saying more, would only confirm that Dietrich Minor, 27, whose nickname is “Deetz,” was still in the facility. He had been listed in critical condition the day after the shooting, and a report on the Aspen Real Life website on Sept. 29 indicated that he was “stable and on a ventilator” at that time. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Steve’s Guitars: A Carbondale institution on Fourth Street

    On a show night at Steve’s Guitars, a group of friends who gathered on the sidewalk walks in the door on the corner of the Fourth Street alley. They drop their money into a bucket where the evening’s price is posted. When the stage lights go up, the focal point is a bass drum hanging high in a corner with the words “Green but Growing” hand-painted in a big nostalgic font. “The Shop,” as it is affectionately called by proprietor Steve Standiford, has seen 750 consecutive weeks of music and about 1,500 shows. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Trustee Heather Henry: Recreation roots run deep

    It is not uncommon to fondly remember playing sports as a kid, but most people don’t reflect back years later on a parks and recreation infrastructure that allowed them to participate in the first place. Heather Henry does. Having become the University of Connecticut’s starting goalkeeper in a national championship soccer match, as well as having served on the Carbondale Parks and Recreation Commission for four years, Henry has made the connection. “The recreation programs that I got to do as a kid are what set me on a path to play higher and higher level soccer,” she told The Sopris Sun. “I attribute so much to playing sports and being involved in group dynamics … . Those are the things that raise great citizens.” read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Odds maker picks Spudman

    A Las Vegas odds maker is reportedly picking Spudman to defeat Batman in Saturday’s epic Potato Day showdown. (See page 5). Tom “The Genius” Sapiro tells The Sopris Sun he has been researching the strengths and weaknesses of each superhero, and has determined our hometown guy will send Gotham City’s boy packing. “The thing with Spudman, and really with all potatoes,” says Sapiro, “is he’s got eyes all over the place. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Reflecting on a year as a Rotary Foreign Exchange student

    When I was younger, I pondered being an exchange student. I had a wild desire to explore Western Europe, the UK and Ireland. I wanted to see the places my ancestors had come from decades and even centuries ago on old wooden ships. By the time my junior year of high school came around, I decided to make it less of a dream and more of a goal. So I applied to Rotary in October of 2014. In April of 2015, I was informed that I’d be spending my senior year in Argentina. My junior year of high school was a long, stressful one. Before leaving for Argentina, I applied early to Colorado Mesa University and was accepted, read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    CVEPA: Still in the enviro-game after 44 years

    A relatively unheralded local organization called the Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association (CVEPA) has been working doggedly but quietly for decades “to protect the unique environment of the Crystal River Valley,” as stated on the home page of the organization’s website (www.cvepa.org). Started in 1972 by a group of citizens hoping to quash a move to put a lift-served ski area next to the hamlet of Marble, CVEPA has been in the trenches in nearly every battle over development in the Crystal River Valley — from fighting to force the bankrupt Mid-Continent Resources coal mining company to clean up Coal Basin, near Redstone, after mining shut down in 1991, to the ongoing effort to have 39 miles of the Crystal River designated as Wild & Scenic, CVEPA and its members have been there. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Explore slates Pevec book signing

    Explore Booksellers in Aspen holds a book signing for Illène Pevec and her new book “Growing a Life: Teen Gardners Harvest Food, Health and Joy” at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 23. In the book, published by New Village Press, Pevec features interviews with more than 80 youth, illustrating how mentored gardening programs help young people, and especially those from underprivileged neighborhoods, to build nurturing and thriving community environments, improve their mental and physical health, and open their eyes to previously unseen opportunities. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Local school test results show promising growth

    The spring of 2016 marked the second year that students in grades three through nine in the Roaring Fork School District took the state mandated PARCC test (Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career). Several other states use this same test, but in Colorado it is referred to as the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) PARCC. The test results, released this month, are reported in two ways: first, as “performance data,” which refers to the students’ test scores at a single point in time (in this case, spring 2016) and is presented as the percentage of students who “meet or exceed grade level expectations;” and second, as “growth summary data,” which refers to the gains students made on the assessment from 2015 to 2016, compared to their academic peers. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    B/P/T Commission kicks streetlights to trustees

    Monday night, the Carbondale Bikes, Pedestrians and Trails Commission sent the issue of streetlights and public safety to the board of trustees, following an assault and attempted sexual assault on women after dark earlier in the summer. The B/P/T recommendation reads, “That the Board of Trustees should address adequate lighting along priority corridors to be determined. The Board additionally recommends that additional lighting should be one piece of a more comprehensive approach to address citizen safety in town.” read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Trustees pick Henry for vacancy, Byars abstains

    Heather Henry — a long-time member of Carbondale’s Parks & Recreation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission, and well-regarded local businesswoman — was chosen by the town board of trustees (BOT) on Tuesday night to replace recently-departed trustee A.J. Hobbs on the board. Henry, according to statements made at the meeting, will be sworn in on Sept. 27. Her selection — she was nominated by Trustee Ben Bohmfalk, with a second by Trustee Marty Silverstein — was approved by a 4-0 vote, although there were five at the meeting: Frosty Merriott, Acting Mayor Dan Richardson, Katrina Byars, Bohmfalk and Silverstein. Byars abstained from voting because, in her words, “this process doesn’t feel right to me.” read more →