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Category Archives: August 2015
Hospital seeks support for new wing
Montezuma County has had a hospital serving its residents for the past century. And this would be a great time to begin a new era of more efficient, hightech patient care, said July Schuenemeyer, president of the Montezuma County Hospital … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Users asked to avoid trail
Like cats, trails don’t come any prettier than the Calico. From its northern launch point just off the Dunton Road north of Rico, the trail meanders through moist meadows bursting with greenery, across burbling brooks and beneath pines before it … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Village at Wolf Creek awaits court ruling: Construction on the controversial resort is halted by a stipulation agreement
No work will be done on the Village at Wolf Creek until a lawsuit filed in late June against the development is resolved in federal court, according to a recently signed stipulation agreement. The agreement, signed in July, halts all … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Village at Wolf Creek
Cautious about cannabis, blind to booze?: Local officials struggle to navigate issues around mood-altering drugs
When area residents first heard that a competitive pot-smoking event called a “Bong-a-Thon” had been planned in Montezuma County for July 31-Aug. 1, most had one of two reactions: It sounds like fun. I’d like to go! This has got … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Animas River reopened for recreation
The Animas River has been reopened for recreational use as of noon on Friday, Aug. 14. La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith made the decision to open the river based on tests conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Spill will have long-term impacts, officials say
By Gail Binkly Long-term impacts are expected from the spill of more than 1 million gallons of toxic mining waste into the Animas River on Aug. 5. “We anticipate as this plume moves downstream, the sediment will settle out and … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Animas River, Gold King Mine, toxic spill
Notes from a disaster: Part 2
Commentary by Janneli F. Miller Aug 7/8 midnight I can’t sleep. the spill haunts me. I close my eyes only to see that hideous orange-yellow river in my brain imagery. I am obsessed with knowing all that I can, & … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Animas River, Gold King Mine, toxic spill
Notes from an environmental disaster: The Animas River contamination
By Janneli F. Miller Thursday afternoon, Aug. 6 4 p.m. I’m just above the 33rd St put-in in Animas City. The Gold King Mine clean-up near Silverton has gone awry & at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, a toxic sludge of mining … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Animas River, Gold King Mine, toxic spill
Words’ worth: A vote to strike down a Navajo fluency requirement raises questions
Editor’s note: This online version corrects mistakes concerning figures that were contained in the print version of this article in the August 2015 Free Press. The Navajo Nation’s July 21 passage of a referendum eliminating the requirement for presidential and … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged navajo nation elections
Animas River closed to recreation because of spill
The Animas River has been closed to all watercraft as of 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, because of the contamination of the Animas River from a spill of mining waste. La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith issued an order pursuant … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Animas River, Gold King Mine, toxic spill
Oil boom leads to crime (Prose and Cons)
There remain in the New West a select few old-school Westerners on whom a Stetson truly fits. Perennial New York Times-bestselling mystery/thriller author and Wyoming native son C.J. Box is one. Box’s Stetson-wearing bonafides derive primarily from his series of … Continue reading
Published in August 2015, Prose and Cons
Tagged Badlands, C.J. Box, Scott Graham
Judge accused of bias in Lyman case
Motion seeks Shelby’s recusal; prosecution calls charge ‘unfounded’ A federal judge’s friendship with the legal director of an environmental organization has led to a motion to have him removed from a case against two Utah men involved in a protest … Continue reading
Published in August 2015
Tagged Recapture Canyon protest, san juan public lands