December 13, 1973 – The Ouray County Chamber of Commerce has passed a resolution to request a change in Ouray zoning which would allow larger signs than the zoning ordinance presently provides.

A month ago, at its last regular meeting, Hal Hall presented a resolution to the chamber to this effect. It was tabled, and a committee of Hall, Jack Scoggins and Doug Walker was appointed to study the matter and report back to the chamber this month. At Monday’s regular noon meeting, Hall presented a resolution he had drafted, and this was passed by the membership present. About 15 people attended the meeting.

40 YEARS AGO

December 15, 1983 – On Friday, January 6, 1984, the Community Center in Ouray will be transformed into Hampton Court, one of the largest palaces in England.

There King Henry VIII, his queen Catherine of Aragon, and the court and all its followers will celebrate the Twelfth Night of Christmas in the tradition of medieval times. The event is being organized and sponsored by the Community Center Committee as a benefit to raise funds for the center. Because Twelfth Night is a community function, volunteers are needed to contribute and prepare food, to decorate, to help set up the hall, to make banners and to entertain.

30 YEARS AGO

December 16, 1993 – EDITORIAL: We received an unsigned letter from “a frequently frustrated” volunteer who says that it’s really not so easy to volunteer in Ouray County. “Frustrated” was responding to the Plaindealer’s Dec. 2 feature story and editorial on area volunteering. The writer points to the typical “NKOTB” (New Kid on the Block) and “NIH” (Not Invented Here) syndromes as being just as prevalent in Ouray “as in many less beautiful and unique places.”

This individual said “new arrivals” may find themselves waiting in line for many months before “old-timers” allow them to participate. And when allowed, the volunteer assignments for “new arrivals” may not match their years of past volunteer experience. How can potential volunteers connect with volunteer groups? We think this newspaper can be a clearinghouse.

We’re asking that Ouray County volunteer groups send us their group’s name, contact person and a phone number. We will compile a list of volunteer opportunities to include in the newspaper at least once a month during 1994. Volunteers are a terrible thing to waste! Let’s not discourage a single volunteer in Ouray County in 1994. – Marcia Wood, co-publisher

20 YEARS AGO

December 19, 2003 – The Ouray Mountain Rescue Team has found property to build a new facility to house its trucks and equipment. On Monday, the Board of County Commissioners endorsed an agreement for cooperation participation with the OMRT. The document includes stipulations that the county will provide land for lease by OMRT; the City of Ouray will provide sewer and water utility connections; and OMRT will pay for facility construction. “This is probably one of the better and most gratifying things we’ve been able to do this year,” said BOCC Chairman Don Batchelder.

OMRT Captain Steve Lance expressed his gratitude and that of all members of the rescue team. “We appreciate the efforts of everyone in this room,” Lance said. Preliminary discussions by the all-volunteer team call for construction of a two-story “barn,” with bays for three vehicles on the ground floor. The parcel of county-owned land is near the Ouray Ice Park.

10 YEARS AGO

December 12, 2013 – All Ouray County offices will move to a four-day week, excluding Social Services, according to the budget message discussed by the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting on Dec. 10. The county’s 2014 budget was approved unanimously during Tuesday’s meeting. County Administrator Connie Hunt explained that county offices would adopt the reduced work week to accommodate a property tax revenue reduction of 16.36% compared to last year. Adoption of the 2014 budget message, stating the board’s intentions with the budget, was tabled until Dec. 17, although only minor revisions were recommended, including language highlighting the potential for the loss of federal Payments in Lieu of Taxes funding. Hunt explained full-time employees’ hours and compensation would be reduced to 36 hours per week and emergency medical services, law enforcement and the Ouray County 4-H Event Center would also provide services under a modified work schedule.