50 YEARS AGO

May 10, 1973 – Postal Service Week was commemorated at the Ouray Post Office this past week by honoring a uniquely outstanding postal customer: Dora S.

Merling, who has used the Postal Service for 93 years in maintaining her flourishing personal correspondence. Beginning in her home town of Avoca, Pennsylvania, where she was born to J. Frank and Catherine Ferguson Sanders, Mrs.

Merling wrote often to her parents who had moved west to help establish Delta as an up-and-coming town. Her letters continued as her parents moved to the well-known Bachelor Mine, and the post office known as ASH. Postmaster Barbara Spencer called on Mrs. Merling in her home close to the school and enjoyed the lively reminiscences. The postmaster presented Mrs. Merling with a rose bouquet, a special commemorative envelope and Postal People stamps, and because the Postal Service really appreciated its cooperative customers, a small box of candy was added as a token of their esteem.

40 YEARS AGO

May 12, 1983 – At the Monday night meeting of the Ouray City Planning Commission, Chairman Carl Dismant said he will be requesting a hearing with the Colorado Highway Department to try and save some signs in Ouray the department wants removed. The signs include those of the Episcopal, Baptist and Catholic Churches, as well as the Plaindealer sign near the Nugget Restaurant and a Jeep Rental sign. The directional signs, all of which are along Main Street, have to come down, the state says, because they are not tourist related. Dismant says, however, that if there was an existing sign at the location prior to 1966, then there is justification for leaving the signs in place.

30 YEARS AGO

May 13, 1993 – Some people complain that their office has become their jail cell. But Jerry Wakefield is quite happy with his jail cell office. The Ouray County sheriff, with help from friends, is almost finished transforming an unused jail cell in the Sheriff’s Department into an office for himself and Undersheriff John Radcliff. The room will allow privacy not available until now for activities such as confessions and interviews. Yet, at the same time, the office will reflect the sheriff’s personality. Wakefield started his law enforcement career at Montrose in 1965 after a few years as a painter and decorator. He used these skills to salvage unused material and hand-medowns from friends, resulting in a room brimming with antiques and anecdotes.

Wakefield plans to hang a rifle his father bought for $15 from a sheriff in Arizona.

The story goes that a man bought the gun from a store, then walked next door to rob a bank.

20 YEARS AGO

May 9, 2003 – A plea agreement was reached in District Court in Ouray last week during a disposition hearing for former county assessor Donna Ashley French. French agreed to a guilty plea on two counts of official misconduct, a misdemeanor. The remainder of charges were dismissed. Original charges brought against French by the District Attorney’s Office for the 7th Judicial included one felony count for a computer crime and 10 misdemeanor counts of first degree official misconduct. District Court Judge J. Steven Patrick sentenced French to one year unsupervised probation, fees and costs of $218, and 185 hours of useful public service to be completed within one year.

10 YEARS AGO

May 16, 2013 – Off-road enthusiasts can start hitting the trails now that Jeep roads have officially begun opening up for the summer. The Ouray County Road and Bridge crew started plowing the roads earlier this month and is getting through more quickly than usual. “Progress is good, it’s going really well,” said Road and Bridge Supervisor Chris Miller. “We’re pretty far ahead of schedule right now.”

Though the process usually takes more time, this year has been exceptional as snowfall has been less than average this past winter. It’s hard to say exactly how much snow was left over, but Miller reported that they’ve come across pockets as deep as eight to 10 feet, with other patches where the snow had already melted down to the road. Roads open and ready to be explored include Yankee Boy and Red Mountain Town. The crew is currently clearing Engineer and Corkscrew passes.