Top 5 most-read stories: Pet adoptions dwindle; police recover stolen motorcycles
Kimberly Nicoletti/For The Aspen Times
We’ve rounded up the top five most-read stories on Aspentimes.com from last week.
1.) Pet adoptions dwindle in Aspen, high country, as abandonments rise
On a road trip from Arizona to Colorado, the vehicle ahead of us pulled over as it approached a hill. My parents and I arrived just in time to see a person dump a dog out, and abandon it. The dog ran after the truck, which immediately sped away, leaving him on the side of Highway 160, in the middle of a desert.
We hadn’t seen houses or signs of life for the prior half hour of driving. No snow or water existed for a dog to survive in this desolate part of Arizona, and, as it turned out, we drove 30 more minutes before we saw two trailers off in the distance — the only sign of life.
Fortunately, the abandoned dog turned around once it couldn’t catch the dashing vehicle and headed our way when we pulled over. It accepted a treat from my dad and looked me in the eye, cocking its head as only an adorable puppy can.
—Kimberly Nicoletti
2.) Police recover stolen motorcycles, make arrests
Details are scarce as snow on the Fourth of July, but the Aspen Police have recovered three motorcycles stolen from the Aspen area, along with a trailer to haul them that apparently also was stolen to do so.
Police Department officials said they will be releasing an official statement within the next 48 hours about their operation that transpired in the town of Silt and also another part of Garfield County.
Assistant Aspen Police Chief Linda Consuegra said that search warrants were served in Garfield County and stolen property was recovered.
—Julie Bielenberg
3.) Snow detectives are in the mountains to solve a mystery: Where’s all the snow going?
The route to the research site feels like a polar expedition. High in the mountains above Crested Butte, a team of scientists trudges single-file through the whiteout, following a chain of orange flags marking the route.
Each plod of their skis squishes down into the pillowy snow below, the kind that melts on contact and drenches jackets and gloves.
During some portions of the trek, the snowglobe conditions make it hard to tell where the sky ends and the ground starts. But after a few miles, a cluster of narrow, gray columns starts to come into focus.
Eli Schwat, a member of the research team, stared up at the thin metal towers — each holding high-tech monitoring equipment — through a tightly-cinched jacket hood.
—KUNC
4.) School board says no menu changes at Aspen schools
The Aspen School District Board dug in its heels on Wednesday to remain the only district in the state not to join the National School Lunch Program.
District staff presented a report comparing comparing the free lunch program to the district’s current program to the Board of Education, and members unanimously elected to stay with the district’s current food service department. The board also stressed to staff that they do not want to hear alternative food plans annually unless something better than the current program comes along.
“I think I would like to see us with the intent of continuing (the district’s current) program unless there is something that could possibly be better,” board member Stacey Weiss said at the end of the presentation. “I really have a hard time imagining that. I just don’t want to have it constantly coming back on the agenda here.”
—Josie Taris
5.) AVSC chief Mark Godomsky recruited home, takes job with Gould Academy
With his youngest son graduating from Aspen High School and Maine calling, Mark Godomsky is heading home.
The Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club announced on Thursday afternoon that the executive director would return to where he grew up, went to college, worked at ski resorts, coached skiing (and football), and had been offered a new job at Gould Academy, the private boarding school in Maine’s White Mountains he had left in 2016 to lead AVSC.
AVSC Board President Ryan Smalls broke the news in an email to club members, noting that Godomsky and wife Heidi were driven largely by desire to be closer to family and close friends, and that Smalls could see just how difficult their decision was. Aspen has its pull on the heart, as well, and this is where sons Max, Ben, and Nick spent formative years.
—Don Rogers
Hardened Aspen High School graduates receive diplomas, prepare to turn page in life’s story
Simi Hamilton gushed over Aspen. Ricardo Saucedo thanked his parents for their sacrifices. Sarah Strassburger paid tribute to the late Carson Clettenberg.
