OURAY COUNTY

November 1, 1973 – Elk hunters in extreme southwestern Gunnison County and northwestern Gunnison County and northeastern Hinsdale County should be alert for signs prohibiting motor vehicles in the newly established Powderhorn Primitive Area, according to Marlyn Jones, Montrose district manager for the Bureau of Land Management. “Department of Interior regulations prohibit motor vehicles in areas such as Powderhorn Primitive Area. So far the agency has found time to post only five signs informing hunters of the prohibition. Signs are located on the primitive area boundary on Indian Creek and the Ten Mile Springs. Three other signs are located two to three miles from the primitive area boundary on spur trails taking off from the long Gulch Truck Trail. The 40,500 Powderhorn Primitive Area, dedicated Sept. 29 by Interior Secretary Rogers C.B. Morton, is located primarily on the Calf Creek and Cannibal Plateaus at elevations up to 12,500 feet.

40 YEARS AGO

November 3, 1983 – Long overdue, Ouray has at last achieved recognition as a National Historical District. News of the designation came from Barbara Sudler, president of the Colorado Historical Preservation Office. Ouray is now on the listing of the National Register – a listing of the nation’s historic resources that are worthy of preservation. Almost all of Ouray is included in the National Historic District. Excluded is Munn’s Park (which was not originally a part of the incorporated limits of Ouray), the new additions to Ouray that are north of the park and swimming pool, the recent development in back of Oak Street (which was not an original part of the Ouray Plat) and the recent area of construction above Third Avenue on “Limestone Hill.” Included are 331 buildings, of which more than twothirds quality for listing on the National Register. Basically, a building to qualify must have been constructed before 1932 and the exterior not have been basically changed since that year.

30 YEARS AGO

November 4, 1993 – Charges of “embezzlement of public property” were filed against former Ridgway Town Clerk Jan Miller on Monday, Nov. 1. The information filed with the court by Michael C.

Stern, district attorney of the Seventh Judicial District, charges that “From on or about March 1, 1990, to through and including on or about Oct 1, 1993… Jan Miller, a public servant in possession of public monies and public property… did unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly convert any of such public monies and property to her own use…” “The charge arises from the allegation that Miller used her position as clerk to embezzle funds from the town,” a press release from the District Attorney’s office said. The town has said that “fiscal irregularities” were brought to the town’s attention by Miller and the town’s auditors. Stern said the amount of money missing is “in the neighborhood of $44,000.”

20 YEARS AGO

October 31, 2003 – Ouray County is steeped deep in history of the Old West.

That authentic western feel is one of the appealing aspects that draw people to the area. With that in mind, ‘tis the season for us to stir the thick stew of genuine, if not true, local ghost stories. Part of Ouray’s past involves its reputation for a citizenry of vigilantes. Once upon a time, Ouray had a record for meting out speedy and unwritten justice, as evidenced in old newspapers across the state. Mary-Joy Martin’s book claims that guests to the old Beaumont had reported hearing screams, gun shots, and seeing blood spatters appear on walls in the room where Ellar Day was shot. In 1896 a hotel clerk had to calm a Kansas City man who ran after “a girl soaked in blood.” Martin’s book continues, “A theory among some paranormal researchers suggests this ‘psychic or emotional energy’ infused into the surrounding material during a highly charged event, ‘may actually increase’ when a building is closed to human habitation.” The Beaumont was closed for decades before Dan and Mary King began to renovate it.

10 YEARS AGO

October 31, 2013 – Despite being forced to cancel a full week of trail building work days with the Southwest Conservation Corps due to the federal government shutdown, the Ridgway Area Trails group has received positive comments regarding the yet-to-be-named first loop of the new RAT trail system on Bureau of Land Management land northeast of Ridgway. The first trail loop, completed this summer, is holding up very well and not eroding, according to RAT President Rod Fitzhugh.

“The buzz is really good, we just want to continue,” Fitzhugh said.