Archive

  • Sections: News Published

    Suspects flee in red Mustang, busted in green Honda

    The two suspects in Monday morning’s marijuana shop armed robbery snagged $1,000 in cash and $3,500 in related product, allegedly fled the store in a stolen red Mustang, and were apprehended south of Glenwood Springs at the intersection of Four Mile and Dry Park roads. That’s the long and short of Carbondale police reports, an arrest affidavit and Sopris Sun interviews. As of Wednesday afternoon, three young men were in Garfield County Jail while a juvenile had been released to his parents. All four were arrested for armed robbery of the Sweet Leaf cannabis shop on Village Road, following a manhunt that involved four different law enforcement agencies and the area’s district attorney’s office. The escapade started on Monday morning when two men walked into the Sweet Leaf cannabis shop and one of the men brandished a gun, according to police, and later walked out with cash and goods from the shop. The arrest affidavit said the men were wearing camouflaged masks and socks on their hands when they entered the shop. Police were alerted to the incident at shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday, according to a statement from the Carbondale Police Department, and were told that the two male suspects had left in a red Ford Mustang. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Artist cracks adult coloring book market

    The publishing world has discovered “adult coloring books” at about the same time Carbondale artist Staci Dickerson printed her own, titled “Mountain Life COLORado.” The coloring books — sold at retail giants such as Amazon, Wal-Mart and Barnes & Nobel — caught the attention of The Atlantic magazine senior editor Julie Beck. In the Nov. 4 issue, in her article headlined “The Zen of Adult Coloring Books,” Beck started out “I have never changed my mind about anything as quickly or completely as I changed my mind about adult coloring books.” I found the trend mostly baffling and a little dumb.” After buying one, however, Beck writes “ … it has filled a particular activity niche for me, which is ‘something to do with my hands while I watch Nexflix. … In part it’s because I feel a little less lazy if I’m making something while I wile away the hours with (the TV show) Friday Night Lights.” She said studies have shown the effectiveness of art therapy in reducing stress, “ … and coloring seems to offer some similar benefits.” Enter Staci Dickerson: “As an artist and a practicing meditator, I am completely aware that drawing and painting calm my mind, relax my body and allow me to be in the present moment.” read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    BLM slates three meetings on gas leases

    The Bureau of Land Management is hosting three public meetings to provide information and accept public comments on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that analyzes 65 existing oil and gas leases on the White River National Forest (including leases in the Thompson Divide area), according to a BLM press release. The meetings will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. They begin with a 45-minute open house in which BLM specialists will be available to answer questions with the public one-on-one. A brief BLM presentation will begin at 4:45 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. The BLM will begin taking oral comments at about 5:15 p.m. The meetings will be held at the following dates and locations: • Dec. 14, Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfson Rd, Glenwood Springs; • Dec. 15, DeBeque Elementary School, 730 Minter Ave, DeBeque; • Dec. 16, Roaring Fork High School, 2270 Highway 133, Carbondale. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Bighorns don’t beware: Avalanche Creek closed

    The Forest Service has implemented its annual winter season closure in the Avalanche Creek area located nine miles south of Carbondale in the Crystal River Valley, according to a press release. Forest Service Road 310 (the Avalanche Creek Road) is closed to vehicles. The area north of Road 310 is closed to human occupancy and the entire area is closed to dogs. The closures to human occupancy and dogs are in effect from until May 1. The road remains closed until June 21, under the White River National Forest winter travel restrictions. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing is allowed on the road, but dog walking is prohibited. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Kroger submits City Market development plan

    The Kroger national grocery store chain, owner of the King Soopers and City Market chains in Colorado, has submitted a development plan to build a new grocery store on the central portion of the property known as the Crystal River Market Place (CRMP), located along the west side of Highway 133 and the north side of West Main Street in Carbondale. The proposal was received at Town Hall last week, and the development application documents are available for public inspection at the front reception desk. Town Hall is located at 511 Colorado Ave. The site of the proposed development currently is owned by Crystal River Marketplace LLC, a development group that tried to develop the CRMP project over the course of about a decade. Those plans were twice shot down by Carbondale voters, once in a 2003 vote about the CRMP, and again in 2012 concerning a second development plan called the Village at Crystal River. The present City Market proposal, known as the Carbondale Marketplace, has been in the works for about a year and calls for development on three distinct lots, which are to be purchased by Kroger from CRMP LLC at some undetermined point. The remainder of the 24-acre property, or roughly 14 acres, is labeled as “reserved for future development.” read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Carbondale trustees OK cat crack down 4-1

    Carbondale’s Board of Trustees overrode objections from the town’s top police official at a meeting on Nov. 24, and by a vote of 4-1 approved a new law providing stricter oversight of domestic cats in town than the previous town code. But the new law is not as strict as some wanted it to be, in that it does not require that cat owners have their pet cats spayed or neutered, licensed and vaccinated for certain known feline diseases. Instead, cat owners are “encouraged” under the new law to arrange to have the cats fixed, licensed and vaccinated. The sole dissenting vote at the trustee meeting came from Trustee Pam Zentmyer, who at one point argued that the fees linked to the new ordinance might result in cats being abandoned if they are picked up by police on some infraction. Zentmyer was agreeing with sentiments expressed by local real-estate agent Cindy Sadlowski, who has run a volunteer organization known as the Street Cats Coalition for the past 15 years, trapping and treating feral cats in Carbondale and other communities. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Alternative 4: What it does and doesn’t do

    Opponents of gas drilling in the Thompson Divide area rejoiced recently after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed recently to cancel 18 oil and gas leases in the hotly contested back-country region, and significantly reduce the size of seven others. But there remain 40 leases located within the original boundaries of the 225,000-acre region known as Thompson Divide, that were left in place under existing lease rules and stipulations, as well as the seven leases that were reduced in size, all of which still are open to exploration and mineral extraction. And as part of its recent proposal, the BLM has predicted that under its proposed Alternative 4, which cancels some leases and shrinks others, those leases essentially left whole and developable could represent several hundred wells drilled over a total land mass of more than 50,000 acres. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    “Bottle bombs” found at RVR

    Police on Monday discovered several devices, described as “bottle bombs,” at the fishing pond in River Valley Ranch. But while the devices might have caused harm if disturbed by an unsuspecting or curious bystander, according to Carbondale Police Off. Michael Zimmerman, that did not happen. “Fortunately, the items had been improperly mixed and did not explode, so officers were able to dispose of (them) properly,” Zimmerman said in a press release. The devices, according to Zimmerman, initially were noticed by an RVR resident who was near the pond when he saw one of the “bombs” at the edge of the slightly frozen body of water. The resident approached to examine the item, concluded it might be hazardous and called police, Zimmerman told The Sopris Sun on Monday. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Shop Small this season

    As a “Neighborhood Champion” of Small Business Saturday, the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce is actively supporting its 475 members and local businesses with a Shop Small campaign, launching to coincide with American Express’ nationwide Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28. In the run-up to Small Business Saturday, the Carbondale Chamber is distributing Shop Small merchandise and encouraging members to promote the retail day now considered to be one of the biggest retail spending weekends for consumers, according to a press release. Chamber members include boutiques, restaurants, studios, galleries and outfitters across Carbondale and the Roaring Fork Valley. read more →
  • Sections: News Published

    Fire district supporters miss campaign deadlines

    The organization that campaigned for passage of a Carbondale fire district tax hike owes the Colorado Secretary of State’s office $500 for twice filing its campaign finance reports late, according to state records. The organization, an issues committee named Citizens for a Safe Community, missed its campaign contributions and expenditures filing deadline on Oct. 13. The report was filed instead on Oct. 20, drawing a seven-day penalty of $50 per day from the Secretary of State, totaling $350. Next, the committee missed its filing deadline of Oct. 30, filing it instead on Nov. 2, according to documents on file with the state. That drew a three-day penalty of $150. read more →