Walter, Thorpe Win Triple Crown
The triple crown in burro racing was won by both Hal Walter of Westcliffe and Karen Thorpe of Salida in a first-ever sharing of the elusive crown.
Walter won his seventh World Championship and, at age 53, is the oldest person to have won the event in its 65-year history. Walter won his races with the help of the burro Full Tilt Boogie, and Thorpe gained her crown with the assistance of her burro, Kokomo. Please see Hal’s column this month.
Bike Museum Moving to California
The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Museum is departing Crested Butte for the more populated and well-heeled setting of California’s Marin County.
Both places claim to be the birthplace of mountain biking, but in different ways.
“Fairfax (a town in Marin County to which the museum is being moved) is the true birthplace of the sport,” says Don Cook, co-director of the Hall of Fame.
“Klunkers were being used in Crested Butte at the same time for commuting around our pothole streets. In Marin, the sport aspect was a real focus. From there it grew into what is now known as mountain biking. Crested Butte was quick to pick it up, and the history exploded out here after about ’76 with the Pearl Pass tour.”
To the Crested Butte News, Cook further summarized the chronology as this: “They had the technology and we had the terrain.”
By why move to California? Because Marin County wants it. It offered space and support for staffing. In Crested Butte, the museum seemed to be operated on a shoestring. Founded in the mid-1980s, its contents even went into storage for a few years.
Plus, there’s this small fact: Marin County is just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco and the Bay Area’s 7.1 million residents. Crested Butte is four hours from Denver and the Front Range population of about 4 million.
Cook said that more than downhill skiing, mountain biking put Crested Butte on the map. Except, of course, for mining – but that’s long, long gone. Unless, that is, the Wyoming company that owns the right to mine the molybdenum in nearby Mount Emmons finds a buyer. But that slow-moving story has been going on since the 1970s. – By Allen Best
Judge Rules in Favor of Media
An effort by a public defender in Lake County to limit pretrial publicity in a criminal case was denied by District Judge Karen Romeo.
Public defender Sommer Spector was attempting to prevent media from publishing any facts or details in the case against her client, Afonso Stoddard, in his criminal case, in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, according to the Leadville Herald Democrat. Attorneys for that paper successfully challenged the motion. A gag order about the case still remains in place.
Test Bores Coming
If commissioners approve it, the city of Aurora hopes to drill a pair of test bores within a right-of-way in Lake County.
Future mining or a reservoir on a nearby piece of land owned by Aurora may be the reason for the tests. The city of Leadville is also considering test bores on its own piece of land nearby.
Christo, BLM Ask for Dismissal
The artist Christo and the Bureau of Land Management have reasserted their defenses of Christo’s Over the River project against the group ROAR, whichhad filed a lawsuit to stop the project.
BLM officials asked Senior Judge John Kane to dismiss the lawsuit, denying many of the allegations made by ROAR. Decisions have yet to be announced.
Shorts
• The town of Silver Cliff was awarded a $25,000 prize by the Petsafe company to build a dog park. The canine playground will be located at Dundee Memorial Park.
• Jonathan Shamis has been appointed judge in Lake County in Colorado’s Fifth Judicial District, replacing Dewey Wayne Patton, who was appointed to the district court.
• The Western State mascot, Mad Jack, is undergoing a facelift and the new Mountaineer mascot will be unveiled Aug. 30.
• Salida city council members voted 4 to 2 not to increase compensation for elected officials at their Aug. 8 meeting.
• The rodeo arena at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds has been renamed Fritz Rundell Arena in honor of the former fair announcer.
• The U.S. Forest Service has decided to ban the use of exploding targets in all national forest and grasslands. There goes your chance for a true wilderness experience.
• The former town of Chihuahua in Summit County has been legally abandoned and has been ceded to the U.S. Forest Service. The old mining town was abandoned after a fire in 1889.
• The Salida city council passed a retail marijuana ordinance Aug. 20 on a 4 to 1 vote.
“Notable Quotes”
“Have you tried Silver Cliff? There’s a whole different cast of characters there.” – Westcliffe town trustee Joe Cascarelli, asking a Breckenridge businessman why he would want to open a marijuana cultivation facility in Westcliffe. – Wet Mountain Tribune, Aug. 8, 2013.
“When 95 percent of your top scientists believe that a certain theory or principle is working, it concerns me.” – Governor Hickenlooper, at a luncheon in Salida, when asked about his thoughts on the science of climate change. – The Mountain Mail, Aug. 15, 2013.
“If we can, we’d prefer to let nature take its course and encourage the cat to go to more appropriate areas.” – CPW Area Wildlife Manager J. Wenum, discussing options for a young male mountain lion that showed up in downtown Gunnison. The animal was tranquilized and returned to the wild. – Gunnison Country Times, Aug. 15, 2013.
“It’s almost as good as catching your first trout.” – Cooke Fisher, during the King Boletus Mushroom Festival in Buena Vista. – The Chaffee County Times, Aug. 22, 2013.
“They are out of control. We stay here all winter, and we don’t get to enjoy our summer.” – Leadville resident Gloria Gonzales, who has presented ballot language to Lake County Commissioners that would limit the annual number of bike and foot races in the county. – Leadville Herald Democrat, Aug. 15, 2013.
“You want my rights, you’re going to have to take them.” – Steve Brancato, a star of the reality TV show “Prospectors,” at a hearing before the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board, which ordered Brancato to file a reclamation permit for his mining activities near Mount Antero. – The Chaffee County Times, Aug. 22, 2013.
“It truly was bad luck for the bear to open the door and have it shut on him once he got in.” – CPW wildlife technician Charlie Blake, remarking on a bear that broke into a Honda Civic near Buena Vista. The car’s interior was destroyed and the bear euthanized due to its aggressiveness. – The Chaffee County Times, Aug. 1, 2013.
