OURAY COUNTY
March 14, 1974 – Members of the Ouray County Chamber of Commerce participated wholeheartedly in a lively meeting led by President Robert Jindra concerning promotion of tourism and possible civic projects to be sponsored by the chamber. Tourist promotional programs led off the longer-than-usual meeting, with committee heads giving their reports.
Werner Henze, in charge of advertising and promotion, presented the newly designed brochure, which was received with favorable comments from the chamber members. All of the chamber’s promotion is directed at having people stay in Ouray longer. Jack Gibson, in charge of designing and erecting three informational signs, reported that the signs will read, “Stay A Week” and list all of the various facilities and activities in Ouray. Brochures will be sent to various colleges who are reportedly organizing package tours.
40 YEARS AGO
March 22, 1984 – Erdme Warswick, 28, died as the result of an avalanche Sunday afternoon on Hastings Mesa near her home off Last Dollar Road in San Miguel County. Warswick was cross-country skiing with a companion who was also caught by the avalanche but managed to stay on top of it. The incident occurred at approximately 3 p.m. According to San Miguel Sheriff Bill Masters, her brother looked for Warswick for about an hour before going for help to the home of friends nearby. An unidentified woman skied to her car parked at Highway 62 and drove to Ridgway to seek help, arriving there shortly after 6 p.m. Meanwhile the brother and another man returned to the avalanche site with shovels to continue the search. The two men had located Warswick, who was buried under 10 feet of snow, just as rescue personnel and other volunteers arrived from Ridgway.
Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was in progress when Dr. David Bachman arrived at approximately 7:30 p.m. via snowmobile and snowshoes, with sled, blankets and oxygen.
30 YEARS AGO
March 17, 1994 – The Ridgway boys basketball team is first, no question about it.
The Demons won the 1A State Boys Basketball title in Fort Collins March 10-12, capping off a perfect 25-0 season and becoming the first boys state champions in Ouray County and the Mountain League, according to Colorado State High School Activities Association, whose records date to 1922. The Demons so easily won almost every game this season that some people doubted they could handle the pressure of a close game, Coach Steve Hill said.
“They weren’t kids any more, they were men after that.” What’s the secret to their success? “Team ball,” said Zach Sullivan.
“We’ve played together since sixth or seventh grade,” adds Kody Parkison, so everyone knows everyone else’s strengths. The Demons were supported at the state tournament by not only fans from Ridgway, but fans from Ouray as well.
They were welcomed home with a parade and party at the school Sunday evening.
20 YEARS AGO
March 12, 2004 – A return trip from Camp Bird became an unforgettable experience for a few adventurers this week as they witnessed an avalanche close up.
Nancy Gilmore, Ouray School principal, her daughter Becca Gilmore, Tomas German Palacios and Ouray School secretary Mary Strate hiked to the mine on Sunday afternoon, March 7. On the group’s trip back down, on Camp Bird Road near the Drinking Cup, the group saw a spectacular sight as an avalanche began on the other side of the canyon. Strate said it appeared as if the snow had leaped from the mountain side. “Our first reaction was: ‘that’s incredible,’” said Strate. Then the group realized the snow could splash beyond the ravine and onto the north side of the canyon where they stood. “That was the scariest moment of my life,” said Gilmore. “When I heard this coming from the other side of the canyon, I grabbed my daughter’s hand to be sure she was calm.” The group emerged unscathed, but coated in snow.
10 YEARS AGO
March 13, 2014 – Ouray’s wastewater treatment plant is in need of some desperate cleaning as sludge buildup is slowly taking over the system, causing excessive levels of pollutant discharge into the Uncompahgre River. While evaluating operations at the plant over the last few months, the city’s public works crew found that sludge levels in the system’s lagoon cells (pond-like bodies of water designed to receive, hold and treat wastewater for a period of time) far exceeded the effective operational level of the plant. According to Public Works Director Dennis Erickson, the plant hasn’t been dredged in over 20 years. Wastewater treatment facilities should conduct sludge removal every two to five years, he added.
