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News in Brief

ASPEN ” On May 24, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) presented the first AAM College Scholarship awards to graduating high school seniors Kathleen Bird, of Aspen High School, and Lucas Pulver, of Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale.

Both graduates were awarded a $5000 scholarship toward their continuing education in fine art at the college level. AAM College Scholarship awards are based on students’ academic intentions toward a future in fine art, as well as their demonstrated financial need.

Both Bird and Pulver wrote brief essays and submitted records of their academic interests and achievements and examples of their visual artwork, as well as written recommendations from their high school instructors, guidance counselors and other academic or civic leaders.



This spring is the first time the Aspen Art Museum has offered college scholarships. The generous contribution of an anonymous Aspen Art Museum donor made the awards possible.

GLENWOOD SPRINGS ” “Banjo” Joe Creek has come to Glenwood’s farmers market since the early 1980s.




He’s selling fresh tomatoes, cherries, peanuts and more from Palisade. Recorded bluegrass music wafted out from behind his stand of good where his banjo sat on the ground. A sign on the inside of his truck said in jest, “Hippies use side door.”

“Picking peaches is what I do,” Creek said. “I love peaches they make me sing.”

Palisade is the peach capital of Colorado, he says, and the soil has helped Forte Farm’s crops.

“The valley there it’s so fertile because it used to be a giant lake, a giant dam that broke and created the Grand Canyon,” Creek said.

The Book Cliffs heat the valley and keep it warm, and in great peach-growing conditions, Creek said.

Creek works for Forte Farms, which was just one of the vendors who set up shop ” or tent ” at the farmer’s market Saturday. Anything from bread to produce to honey and flour was available directly from the producer in a casual, open-air atmosphere. Vendors this year have come from places like Palisade, Grand Junction, Peach Valley and Delta.

“Did Peter roast these?” one woman asked.

“He roasted them with his own hands,” Creek answered.

Creek likes that selling at the farmers market puts the grower directly in touch with the buyers.

“It’s nice because you get rid of the middle man, so your prices are better and the other thing is it’s good to get to talk to the people,” Creek said. “And everyone is so nice ” mostly.”

He recommends taking it easy when squeezing the vendors’ tomatoes.

Ed and Gen Doak, of Glenwood Springs, bought a bag of sweet cherries Saturday morning. They raise things in their own garden, so a lot of the stuff they don’t need to buy. But the dark red cherries caught their eyes.

“Desert ” just eat ’em fresh,” Gen said.

They also like the cheaper prices, and it’s been a tradition for them for over 20 years.

“We’ve come here every Saturday as long as they’ve had it,” Ed said. (Glenwood Springs Post Independent)

VAIL ” As many as 500 parking spaces would be created for Vail next winter under a “stopgap” plan.

Some worry Vail Resorts’ new, discount Epic Pass could exacerbate the parking problems in Vail, where the parking garages filled 48 times this season. The town aims to limit overflow parking on the frontage road to 15 times per year.

“If, this winter, because of the Epic Pass, we have an epic problem, we have to find a way to solve it,” said Dan Telleen, owner of Karats, a Vail Village jewelry shop, and a member of the panel that came up with the plan.

The town currently has 2,815 spaces of public parking. The new 550 spaces would include:

180 spaces at the town’s Chamonix property. It would cost $200,000 to prepare the lot.

35-60 spaces along the Frontage Road in West Vail at a cost of $50,000-$150,000.

70-90 spaces in Donovan Park when there aren’t other events going on there.

Renting 100 spaces and creating a park-and-ride lot at the rodeo grounds in Avon at a cost of $50,000-$100,000.

50-75 spaces at the Forest Service office at Dowd Junction to be used as a park-and-ride lot.

The Vail Town Council will review the recommendations at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday. (Vail Daily)

EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado ” Residents from East Vail to Cordillera will have to put their water conservation efforts into overdrive this weekend due to a water shortage.

Drinking water is safe, the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District says, but problems at the Avon Drinking Water Facility have forced the agency to ban lawn watering and ask residents to curtail indoor use.

“There is no problem with the quality of the water,” said Diane Johnson, a spokeswoman for the water district. “Anything that’s coming out of your tap is safe to drink”

Outdoor water use consumes the largest amount of water by far, so turning irrigation systems off is particularly critical so that drinking water and fire protection are not put at risk, Johnson says.

Any home or business with an automatic irrigation system should turn it off. Many irrigation systems are programmed according to the district’s “odd/even” watering schedule, which means some are set to turn on Friday evening or after midnight through Saturday, Johnson said.

Indoor water use ” particularly laundry and dish-washing ” should be limited as much as possible.

The Avon plant was shut down after operators identified an overabundance of a coagulant used in the water treatment process, the water district says.

The plant was shut down at about 8 p.m. on Thursday, and operators worked throughout the night trying various methods to recover. At about 8 a.m. on Friday, water operators began pumping the affected water out of the treatment facility and flushing the entire plant. (Summit Daily News)

SUMMIT COUNTY ” No horse show, no ribbons awarded to meticulously crafted leatherworks, no prize zucchinis, no rodeo.

These are the consequences of the end of the Mountain Community Fair, which due to low funds will not celebrate its 27th year this summer.

“I grew up here, and I’ve been going to the fair my whole life, and it’s a huge disappointment” said Valerie Long Connelly, vice-president of the board of directors. “My mom would send my sisters and me with $20 a piece and we would live at the fair for three days. It’s a non-threatening environment for kids to hang out at, to get them out of their parents’ hair.”

Lower attendance last year resulting in fewer funds for this year’s fair ” about $20,000 short ” have made putting on the fair impossible, said Connelly, one of only three remaining members on the fair board.

“It’s never been profitable,” said former director Kevin Faulkner. “A few years we’ve lost a few thousand, up to $7,000. I think the fair can happen next year. Someone just needs to go do some fundraising.”

In addition, the fair does not have its own land and leases property from the county.

“The overall picture is we need to look for a permanent home,” Faulkner said.

Fairs with permanent facilities can rent them out during the year to bolster their bottom lines.

Connelly said it may be possible to bring the fair back if there’s enough interest, or the board may explore hosting just a rodeo.

“I’ve always liked having it around and being able to ride and have a lot of fun,” said Erin Goodell, who is president of the TROTS (The Riders of the Summit) 4-H horse club. “People come out and see us and how much we’ve worked throughout the year.” (Summit Daily News)

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