Winter Park Resort opens Vasquez Ridge

Ropes and snow continue to fall at Winter Park Resort this “Snow”vember and an additional 220 acres were opened this week, including the popular Vasquez Ridge area. The additional terrain will elevate Winter Park to over 600 total skiable acres for the season.        

Thanks to 61” of total snow, almost twice the 10-year average for November, Winter Park opened the Sunnyside Lift and corresponding trails on Wednesday, with the Pioneer Lift and all Vasquez Ridge trails opening Thursday, almost a full month earlier than last year.

More snow is expected to continue into next week, which means more terrain openings are soon to come.  For up-to-the-minute trail and lift status, visit www.winterparkresort.com.  

Workforce and Housing Development Discussion

On December 5th, Grand County Economic Development is hosting a Workforce and Housing Open House at the Headwaters Center in Winter Park from 4 – 7 pm. Local business owners or managers, and up to three of their employees, are invited to share their ideas and needs.

One of the solutions identified in a recent study is to create a web-portal that can serve as a central location for available positions and a shared workforce program, housing needs and options, higher education opportunities, child care options, among other concerns. Round table discussions on these topics will be held and input is needed to create solutions to problems experienced throughout the county.

To register, go to: gced.events.idloom.com/openhouse

Pile Burning to continue over coming days on Sulphur Ranger District

Fire managers will continue burning slash piles on the Sulphur Ranger District. Burning generally begins after 10 a.m. and ceases several hours before sunset.

Efforts will be focused in the following areas:

Tabernash: 37 large, machine-built piles. Potential smoke impacts: Town of Tabernash, County Roads 84 and 841, Forest Service Road 128. General location: 2 miles northeast of Tabernash; and,

Keyser Creek Fuels: 250 large, machine-built piles. Potential smoke impacts: County Road 3, Church Park, and Forest Service roads 139, 140, 137, and 259. General location: north and south of Keyser Creek.

Conditions are evaluated each day to determine if ignition will take place. Precipitation, wind, temperature, fuel moisture and staffing all play a part in when and whether ignition occurs. Wind helps disperse smoke created during pile burning operations and snow helps keep the piles contained. Seeing flames and smoke, even after dark, is part of normal operations. This is one way that to help reduce fuels on the landscape under the safest conditions.

Public and firefighter safety is always the number one priority in burning operations. For more information, visit: fs.usda.gov/arp or, inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4648.

Forest Christmas tree cutting begins December 1st

For generations, families from across the Colorado Front Range have made a tradition of cutting their Christmas tree in the Arapaho National Forest. Christmas tree permits are available for $20 per tree at the Sulphur Ranger District Office located at 9 Mile Drive, Granby. New this year, permits can also be purchased online through the Open Forest system at openforest.fs.usda.gov/christmas-trees/forests.
Some tips to make your cutting experience better include checking the weather before heading out and ensuring you have plenty of layers to keep you warm. Be sure to have the tools necessary to cut your tree and know that chainsaws are not allowed. This includes a handsaw or ax and something to tie down your tree securely.
The Elk Creek Cutting Area near Fraser and Winter Park is open for a short window: December 1 – 8, 2018. Buy your permits in advance. No permits will be available for purchase at the gates of the cutting area! Permits are available seven days a week at Murdoch’s, Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce, Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, Fireside Market & Eatery, and Granby Ace Hardware. Roads will be plowed to allow one way traffic of motor vehicles equipped with four-wheel-drive, all-wheel drive, or chained tires to enter from 9 am to 2 pm. Area gates close at 4 pm. Snowmobiles and ATVs are not allowed in the cutting area. From Fraser, travel west on County Road 72, take the left fork and continue on to the cutting area entrance.
For additional information on Christmas tree cutting on the forest, visit fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/xmastrees.

Cooper Creek Square’s Angel Tree helps local families

The Angel Tree is a community tradition providing holiday cheer to Grand County families in need. To participate, you simply pick an Angel card from the tree, complete the receipt at the bottom of the card and place it in the receptacle box by the tree, and then shop for your chosen Angel(s). To ensure that gifts are delivered in time for Christmas, you just need to bring your gifts back to Cooper Creek Square by December 17.

If you haven’t got time to shop, you can also give a cash donation, and, Angel shoppers will take care of the shopping and gift wrapping for you! To make a cash donation, or, for more information, contact Stephanie Carey at stephanie@skybluecolorado.com

Grand Concerts seeking Executive Director

Grand Concerts has been bringing talented, world class musicians to Grand County since 2004. They recently announced their 2019 Concert Season line-up which features six performances, beginning with Shelley Waite on January 11, 2019. A 501(c)(3), they are currently searching for a part-time Executive Director. The Executive Director performs grant writing, sponsor solicitation, fundraising and marketing functions. For more information, contact: concertssecretary@gmail.com. To buy tickets for the upcoming season, visit grandconcerts.org.

CDOT looking to fill over 100 snowplow driver positions

A shortage of drivers holding commercial driver’s licenses has affected the ability for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to plow our roads efficiently. On Tuesday, CDOT announced incentives they hope will attract drivers to the seasonal and permanent positions. The incentives include an increase in hourly wage, from $19/hour to $22/hour, housing stipends in some regions, and, six-month residency waivers for those hired from out of state. To view the list of available positions, visit codot.gov.

Stillwater Chapel looking for musicians

Stillwater Community Chapel is in search of musicians. If you have a nice voice, can play an instrument and are interested in being part of Stillwater’s needed band, pleases contact Pastor Dan on his cell: (719) 216-4750. Stillwater Community Chapel is located on 10300 US Highway 34, Grand Lake.

BLM’s Northwest Resource Advisory Council meets December 6

The Bureau of Land Management’s Northwest Resource Advisory Council will meet Thursday, December 6 at the BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office in Silt, 2300 River Frontage Road.   

“The Northwest RAC is a diverse citizen advisory board that provides valuable perspectives for managing BLM lands in northwestern Colorado,” said Northwest District Manager Andrew Archuleta.    

The meeting runs from 8 am to 3 p.m. and is open to the public, with public comment periods scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Agenda items include wild horse management, a BLM land tenure overview, mineral management, consideration of a letter supporting wildland fire mitigation, and district and field manager updates.

The Northwest Colorado RAC is one of several citizen advisory councils to BLM Colorado. Its 15 members are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and represent a broad range of public land interests, including livestock grazing, environmental, local government, and commercial activity. The Northwest RAC advises the BLM Colorado Northwest District, which includes the Colorado River Valley, Kremmling, Little Snake and White River field offices. For more information about the NW RAC, visit: www.blm.gov

Governor-elect Polis hosts teleconference town hall meetings

On November 28th, Colorado Governor-elect, Jared Polis, began hosting a series of dial-in town hall meetings to be held through December 8th. On November 28th, Polis covered Consumer Services, and, on November 29th, he hosted Transportation, Infrastructure & Local Affairs.  

On December 1st, from 12-1 pm, he’ll talk about Energy, Natural Resources & Agriculture; on December 3rd, Public Safety, Military & Corrections will be discussed from 6-7 pm; on December 5th, from 12-1 pm, the topic will be Education; and, from 2-3 pm, he’ll be talking about Health & Human Services. He will end series on December 8th with a discussion on Economic Development & Labor from 10-11 am. For information on how to call-in or log-on to any of the meetings, visit boldlyforward.co/events/.

Fraser PAYT Trash and Recycling facility gains momentum

The Drop continues to see a steady increase in traffic for both recycling and trash. Since The Drop’s July 7th opening,over 24 tons of recycling has been received, over 1,400 pay as you throw

(PAYT) trash bags have been sold, generating about $12,000 in revenue, and, the town has received about $500 in donations to support the facility. Revenues from PAYT trash bag sales and donations are currently covering about half of the cost to service and operate the facility. Town staff is hopeful that as they ramp up the marketing campaign for The Drop, it will soon be self-sustainable and be able to finance other sustainability programs on site.

PAYT bags are available at the Fraser Town Hall, Safeway, Murdoch’s, Fraser Ace Hardware and the Winter Park & Fraser Chamber Visitor Center.

To learn more, visit: frasercolorado.com.

CSU Extension Sugar Chalet Party

On Friday, December 21st, CSU Extension will be hosting their annual Sugar Chalet Decorating Party at the Exhibit Hall in Kremmling (210 11th St). All youth between the ages of 5 and 18 are invited to attend this fun event. It will start at 2 pm and will be done by 4 pm. All building materials will be provided for the $5 fee. RSVP required by December 19th: lstovner@co.grand.co.us or call (970)724-3436. If you have a disability for which you seek an accommodation, please notify Grand County Extension at least 7 days before the event.