OURAY COUNTY
February 7, 1974 – OPINION: Dear Ms.
Jorgensen: We received our first issue of the Ouray County Plaindealer on Thursday and know we will enjoy our subscription very much. We bought some property in Ouray last summer. We were alarmed to read in one of the letters to the editor of some project by the Kemmerer Coal Co. that might bring air pollution into Ouray. As we lived in Denver for three years, we know how absolutely awful smog can be; and seemingly once it happens, not much is done about getting rid of it. We would like to know more about this project and who to write in protest. Ouray is far too lovely to spoil with any type of pollution. Any information you can give us would be appreciated. Sincerely, Mr. & Mrs. Leland L. Hurst, Liberal, Kansas.
40 YEARS AGO
February 9, 1984 – The ad hoc pool committee met Feb. 2, and as part of their meeting, committee members took a test swim in the Ouray pool. Recently about 2,000 square feet of the pool was separated from the rest by means of a temporary wall in a successful attempt to keep the water temperature in that section high enough for swimming in cold weather. According to David Vince of the committee, the members encountered a water temperature of 104 degrees while splashing in the separated part of the shallow section, 90 degrees in the rest of the shallow end, and 65 degrees in the deep part of the pool. In addition to enjoying themselves, the committee members also discussed alternatives for heating the bathhouse. Geothermal coils in the floor and baseboard heaters are two of the alternatives being considered. The committee is also considering the use of a heat exchanger to heat the shower water with geothermal water instead of using electricity to heat the water, as is done now.
30 YEARS AGO
February 3, 1994 – Back in 1981 when 19-year-old Michelle Olin went to work in the Ouray County Clerk’s office, she never expected to be running for the position of county clerk and recorder. But times change, and in January, Olin announced her candidacy for the position of county clerk. “I started with Addie (Sim) in June 1981. I worked as her deputy doing everything mandated by law in the office,” she recalls. In June 1987, Olin left the office to become a trainer for the State of Colorado’s Motor Vehicle Department.
Since her area was the Western Slope, that meant traveling to many courthouses and branch offices. “I trained people in 28 of the 63 Colorado counties on motor vehicles and bookkeeping and systems operations,” Olin said. When Sim said that she planned to retire and not run for re-election as county clerk in Ouray County, Olin decided to enter the campaign. “I just want to come back home to work,” she said.
20 YEARS AGO
February 6, 2004 – The Colorado Division of Wildlife’s anti-poaching initiative, Operation Game Thief, is getting a financial boost from an unlikely source: a convicted poacher. On Jan. 6, George Allen Waters, 53, of West Branch, Iowa, was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for his part in the poaching of dozens of trophy quality deer and elk on the Uncompahgre Plateau northwest of Ridgway beginning in the early 1990s.
Under a plea agreement, he paid a restitution of $30,000, of which half will go to Operation Game Thief. A judge in Rock Island, Illinois, also imposed a hunting ban on Waters that is expected to remain in effect during three years of supervised probation following his prison term.
Waters pleaded guilty to federal poaching charges in September. He admitted to poaching 45 trophy-quality animals valued at $270,000.
10 YEARS AGO
February 6, 2014 – OPINION: Dear Editor, While I was sitting in the lobby of the Ouray Mineral Pools one evening, several young people came in to register.
The smell of marijuana was prevalent as if they had been in a closed car. My first thought was a prayer, “Oh, God please protect our city from this curse.” They are so blessed to live in this beautiful area that God created. This is a mecca for families and young people from all over the world to come for the summer and winter activities that Ouray offers. Ouray is truly unique. It is the “Little Switzerland” of Colorado. I know of no other place so beautiful. There is everything to offer.
There is no need to conform to outside pressures of inviting a substance for sale that would contaminate our city. Have we not learned our lesson with tobacco and alcohol that has destroyed many lives? We, as responsible adults, have the charge to provide and maintain a healthy environment for our youth and families that live here or come here for pleasurable vacations. Let us not betray our beautiful Ouray for 30 pieces of silver. – Dodie Merritt Drechsler, Ouray.
