In Briefs: Stabbing in Snowmass Village; river cleanup next week; Aspen food tax refund deadline

Suspect arrested after stabbing in Snowmass Village

A 31-year-old man was arrested in Snowmass Village early Wednesday morning after allegedly stabbing someone at the Stonebridge Inn.

According to the Snowmass Village Police Department, police were dispatched to the Stonebridge Inn at 2:31 a.m after a report of an assault that involved a stabbing victim.

With assistance from Aspen Police Department and Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority, the injured person was found and transported to Aspen Valley Hospital. He was reportedly in stable condition Wednesday.

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Snowmass Police Chief Brian Olson said they have not found the weapon used in the stabbing yet. According to Olson, there were about 40 minutes between the incident and the arrest.

The suspect, later identified as Cory D. Simpson, allegedly fled the scene before being found and arrested nearby a short time later. He is being held in Pitkin County Jail on assault charges. According to police, he has no known local address.

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The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

25th annual Fryingpan & Beyond River Cleanup

Roaring Fork Conservancy’s 25th annual Fryingpan & Beyond River Cleanup is scheduled for next week, April 17-22.

This year’s cleanup will follow the same format as the last three years, organizers said. They are looking for volunteers to pick up trash along rivers throughout the Roaring Fork watershed. 

Organizers said pre-registration is required only for anyone wanting to pick up trash on Frying Pan Road and along the Roaring Fork River through Basalt. All other locations need not pre-register, but all volunteers are asked to:

• Respect private property. Do not trespass.
• Dress appropriately, including proper footwear.
• Wear a bright-colored (blaze orange or yellow preferred) shirt, jacket, or vest if you will be traveling along a road.
• Provide your own gloves and trash bags. Trash bags will only be provided for those cleaning up Frying Pan Road and along the Roaring Fork River through the Town of Basalt.
• Take photos!
• Post photos on personal social media accounts. Tag @roaringforkconservancy on Facebook and #roaringforkconservancy on Instagram.
• Email photos to christina@roaringfork.org by noon Tuesday, April 25, to be entered into a prize drawing.

Additional details, registration and a list of sponsors can be found at roaringfork.org/events Questions? Contact Christina Medved at (970) 927-1290 or christina@roaringfork.org.

City’s food tax refund deadline April 18

The last day to submit food tax refund applications is Tuesday, April 18, at 5 p.m. If you haven’t already done so, city of Aspen officicials ask that you consider completing an application (found on the city’s website) before the deadline, as late applications cannot be accepted.

The city will continue reviewing all received applications during the month of April and residents can expect refund checks to be mailed by early May, officials said.  

To qualify for the Food Sales Tax Refund, applicants must:  

• Submit the Food Sales Tax Refund application by the deadline.  
• Have resided within the Aspen city limits for the full 2022 year.  
• Have been registered to vote in the City of Aspen from 1/1/22-12/31/22.   
• Be able to prove residency within Aspen city limits for 2022, and if still living within the city, ensure your current address is the same as your registered voter address. There are some exceptions to qualify.  

The city created food sales tax refunds as an incentive to encourage voters to support a sales tax referendum. It was intended to reimburse voters for the approximate amount of sales tax that they would pay annually on grocery purchases due to the imposition of a 1% city sales tax.   

Application and more information at aspen.gov/382/Food-Sales-Tax-Refunds. 

If you need assistance completing the application, visit the Finance window, second floor of City Hall at 427 Rio Grande Place.

Safe flying seminar attracted 70 from region

A seminar on safe mountain flying sponsored by Signature Aviation drew 70 people from teenagers to 80-year-olds to the Vail Valley Jet Center last Saturday.

Aviation manager and FAA inspector David Cole from Denver led the half-day seminar. Attendees received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program credits for continuing to improve their knowledge and skills. 

“This was an outstanding opportunity for ‘wing nuts’ — those folks that love airplanes — to review the basics and expand their knowledge,” he said. “Pilots were able to learn from others’ experiences and can apply their new knowledge every time they climb in the cockpit.”

A long-time Aspen pilot and board member of the Aspen Flight Academy, Andrew Doremus, said, “It felt like the old days when pilots would do a fly-in, then sit around and talk about their experiences.” 

Attendees hailed from Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Eagle, Vail, Telluride, the Front Range, and Grand Junction. Among them were three certified flying instructors and five high-school students from the Aspen Flight Academy, plus several teenage students from Alpine Flight Instruction in the Eagle Valley. Pilots from as far away as California and Mexico brought their aircraft to the event. 

Cole highlighted common pilot errors and focused on a basic review of FAA guidelines. Much of his attention was given to solution-based tips to avoid the risks that Colorado mountain airports often see — which are often a result of unstabilized approaches or landing in windy conditions. 

He said small planes with new pilots may not have the experience to adjust for the crosswinds they may encounter during their final approaches. He said many of the accidents in mountainous terrain are attributed to pilot error when reviewing statistics but could be corrected through pilot training.

“Their previous experiences at lower altitudes give them a false perception when flying in the mountains,” he said. In learning to fly, up to 90% of new pilots haven’t experienced 20 knot crosswinds that they face when landing at many mountain airports, he said. 

“This event amplified people’s passion for flying and exceeded my expectations by 300%,” said Paul Gordon, Signature Aviation manager at the Vail Valley Jet Center. “We were delighted to serve as the host for this educational fly-in, and we’re looking forward to a continuing series of educational events as part of our vision for safer skies in Colorado.”

CMC Sustainability and Ecosystem Science Conference set for April 21

Colorado Mountain College’s sustainability studies program will host its seventh Sustainability and Ecosystem Science Conference from 9 a.m.-noon on April 21, a day before Earth Day.  

“Climate Justice and Nature in Colorado” will be accessible by Zoom throughout CMC’s nine-county district and will be followed by in-person events at CMC Breckenridge, Vail Valley at Edwards, Steamboat Springs and Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs. The conference is free and the public is welcome to register and attend.  

Beatriz Soto, director of Conservation Colorado’s Protogéte program, will provide the conference’s keynote address. Soto, a Roaring Fork Valley architect and Garfield County commissioner candidate, was a founding board member of Voces Unidas de las Montañas, a Latino and Latina advocacy non-profit, and was previously director of the Wilderness Workshop’s Defiende Nuestra Tierra initiative. She will be presenting Latino-centered research on the issues of race, economic class, and environmental harms and benefits in Colorado.  

The conference will also feature CMC President Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, who will describe the college’s educational and operational visions regarding climate justice. Additionally, students graduating from the college’s sustainability studies program will give brief research presentations in online breakout rooms.  

Post-conference activities include in-person presentations and a reception at CMC Steamboat Springs, an Earth Day road cleanup at CMC Spring Valley, a community panel at CMC Vail Valley plus films, food and presentations at CMC Breckenridge and Dillon, which are all free and open to the public.  

For more information about all the on-campus activities and to register for the virtual conference, visit coloradomtn.edu/sustainabilityconference/.