OURAY COUNTY

February 21, 1974 – There was noticeable lack of enthusiasm at the Ouray City Council meeting Monday night for the proposal to close 7th Avenue, between the two present school buildings, in order to expand the school facilities. I’ve talked to a lot of townspeople,” said Frank Massard, “and not one is favorable to the idea.” The matter was brought before the city council again by Dan Kerr, school superintendent, and Rick River, president of the school board. A set of preliminary floor plans was presented, requested at an earlier meeting, showing the proposed enlargement of facilities, which included an underpass sidewalk for foot traffic through on 7th Avenue. Kerr said, “The state could close us down in 48 hours, as things stand.” Sympathizing with the desire of the board, but faced with negative reactions in the community, Mayor Massard tried to help find alternatives.

None seemed satisfactory. The school could build onto the present playground area, “but then the kids will play in the street the city doesn’t maintain anyway,” Kerr said.

40 YEARS AGO

February 23, 1984 – Raymond Greene, 34, of Scottsdale, Arizona, has been formally charged with first degree murder in Montrose District Court, according to Charles “Pete” Peterson of the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office. Kathie Ann Cologgi, 34, also of Scottsdale, was being held for investigation of being an accessory to a crime, but has since been released and no charges have been filed against her. The charge against Greene was the result of an investigation of a burning automobile containing a body charred beyond recognition which was discovered Feb. 14 about a mile south of Ouray on Highway 550. The body has since been identified through the use of X-rays and dental charts as that of Linda June Greene, 39, of Olathe. She was Greene’s wife, but separated from him. A gag order has been issued by Judge Richard Brown prohibiting the release of specific information in the case, including the cause of death as determined by an autopsy.

30 YEARS AGO

February 24, 1994 – It is said that while swimming is a sport of individuals, it is the team that counts. For Ouray High School the individual is the team. Freshman Carrie Nixon is the lone swimmer for Ouray, but as a team she has defeated numerous other high schools this season and by herself was the number one “team” in 1A, 2A, and 3A schools at the State Meet held last weekend in Colorado Springs. That statistic is a little misleading but for an equally impressive reason.

Nixon was the only competitor from either a 1A or 2A school to qualify and was the only person to place from a 1A, 2A or 3A school taking 7th in the 50 meter freestyle. She was the only girl on the Western Slope to place and the only freshman to make the finals. Somewhat modest, she understates what was a very impressive season. “It was fun. I was happy with the way it turned out,” said Nixon. Nixon ended the season with a total of one second place, one third place, one fourth place and 18 first place finishes from meets across the state.

20 YEARS AGO

February 20, 2004 – Michael Penny is headed to Washington next week, hoping to bring home some big money. The city administrator told the City Council Tuesday he will ask the feds for $5.5 million to improve Ouray’s parks and $1.1 million for continuing upgrades to the city’s water system. Penny and Jennifer Martinek, grants program manager for McLaughlin Water Engineers — the firm which the city is contracted with for its improvements — will be in Washington, D.C. on Feb 24-25 to place grant assistance as part of its proposal to the City of Ouray.

10 YEARS AGO

February 21, 2014 – A proposal by a city committee to authorize $19,600 for a geothermal study met stiff opposition from city council Tuesday night, but in the end council approved the request on a four to one vote. Since October, the Hot Springs Pool Capital Improvement Committee has met weekly. The bottom line, said Chairwoman Tamara Gulde, is “how much hot water do we have and how do we get it to the pool.” Discussion with council during a work session and at the end of the regular council meeting centered on the current pipeline and data regarding temperatures and flows.

Finally, committee member Vicky Clark stood and addressed Mayor Bob Risch directly, saying, “I’m really angry because we spent all this time (weekly meetings) and no one has given us the numbers that we now find out are out there. Mr. Mayor, you knew this was going on.” Risch said some of his data was given to Rick Noll, a committee member. Noll said those were just spring flows from a certain time period, and even if they had all the data from Risch the committee would not know how to analyze it without expert assistance.