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News
March 5, 2025
NEWS BRIEFS

Ridgway school district hires interim principal for permanent job

Ridgway Elementary School will keep Perri Gipner as principal permanently, after selecting the interim principal for the long-term position.

Gipner, who previously worked at the school as a reading interventionist, has already served in an administrative position. She previously worked as the secondary school principal in Norwood, where she worked for the district for 10 years, and also served as the suicide/threat coordinator for five school districts in the region.

Gipner has served as the interim principal since former principal Heidi Hanssen left her position for health reasons shortly after school started in the fall. She died on Sept. 2 after battling cancer.

The district received four applications for the position, according to Superintendent Susan Lacy. A screening committee selected two finalists – Gipner and Winifred Lezine, the current principal of Fort Lupton Middle School. The finalists interviewed last week and Lacy announced Gipner was selected for the position on Monday.

 

Horsefly fire organization receives donated truck

The Horsefly Volunteer Fire Protection organization has received a hand-me-down fire vehicle, a 25-year-old truck that is now the newest vehicle in the fleet.

The 2000 F450 – equipped with a pump, water tank and storage – will be used for wildland fire response in northern Ouray and southern Montrose counties.

The Telluride Fire Protection District donated it to the Horsefly volunteer organization, after purchasing a new vehicle.

The fire truck has less than 16,000 miles on it, and will be retrofitted and ready to begin the fire season this year.

The all-volunteer Horsefly district serves an area in northern Ouray County that is rugged and remote, focusing on putting out lightning strikes and preventing wildfires from growing in the hot, dry summer.

Its service area includes Simms Mesa, where the last large wildfire in the county destroyed a home and other property after a prescribed burn set by the U.S. Forest Service flared up and became out of control in 2022.

 

New EMS sleeping quarters in Ouray

Ouray County Emergency Medical Services now has sleeping quarters in Ouray in addition to Ridgway, meaning the department can more readily respond to calls for service on the south side of the county.

As of Feb. 25, two on-duty paramedics can stay overnight in a unit rented from the former Ouray Chalet Inn, which local business owners purchased for affordable workforce housing in 2021.

New EMS Chief Nathan McCullough told county commissioners on Tuesday staffing the Ouray station, which houses additional ambulances, was a big priority in his new role. He was focused on eliminating the 14-minute trip between the sleeping quarters in Ridgway at the fire station and the Ouray station. Paramedics will now respond to calls as they come in on each respective side of the county, McCullough said. For bigger calls, paramedics in Ridgway and Ouray will respond jointly. The $11,000 worth of annual rent was already in the department’s budget. In the future, he said he’s looking at what the department could do on Log Hill.

 

County to review nonprofit requests at once

Ouray County commissioners tabled a $10,000 funding request from Ouray County Baseball, saying they want to look at nonprofit requests all at once during budget season, rather than case by case.

Commissioner Jake Niece recommended this approach during a work session on Tuesday, saying he wanted to take an approach similar to the town of Ridgway. The town solicits nonprofit applications for a specified amount of grant dollars with an annual deadline in September.

Ouray County Baseball approached the county before fully launching a capital campaign to fundraise $3.2 million for two new baseball fields within the Ridgway Athletic Park. Representatives with the nonprofit told commissioners they’d update their request with more information before July and August, when county leaders said they’d begin to review those requests ahead of budget season.

Crews start to gain ground on South Rim Fire
Main, News...
Crews start to gain ground on South Rim Fire
By Lia Salvatierra 
July 18, 2025
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON – Firefighters finally began to gain ground Friday on the South Rim Fire burning in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, though a timeline for reopening the par...
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News
Ridgway keeps water restrictions
By Erin 
July 16, 2025
Ridgway remains in Stage 3 watering restrictions, upheld during a July 9 meeting by town councilors who cited concerns about persistent dry conditions and no permanent fix allowing the town to access ...
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Hunting down the ghosts
Main, News...
Hunting down the ghosts
Veterans services officer finds and assists those who served with benefits, problems
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
During his time as a bus driver in Telluride, Mikael Madsen encountered many of his fellow veterans struggling to survive a Western Slope winter. At the time, Madsen was what he calls a military ghost...
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Wildfires surge across region
Main, News...
Wildfires surge across region
Brief monsoon could bring relief — or lightning — before dry spell returns
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
Four lightning-sparked wildfires that had scorched more than 20,000 acres in southwestern Colorado as of Wednesday continue to churn through tinder-dry terrain, as hundreds of firefighters struggle to...
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Judge to rule on land condemnation
News
Judge to rule on land condemnation
Town seeks slice of property for walking trail; resident c laims use unnecessary
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
A district judge is expected to rule this week on whether the town of Ridgway can seize a slice of a resident’s property to create a walking trail, after a trial concluded last week. The conflict date...
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Aspen Democrat seeks to unseat Hurd in Congress
News
Aspen Democrat seeks to unseat Hurd in Congress
Alex Kelloff, first-time candidate for public office, stumps in western Colorado
By Mike Wiggins and Erin McIntyre mike@ouraynews.com erin@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
An Aspen Democrat tried and failed twice in the last two elections to represent the 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House. Now, a different Democrat from Aspen hopes he’ll have better luck in 2...
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Trio of incidents keeps rescuers busy
July 16, 2025
The Ouray Mountain Rescue Team kept busy last weekend, rescuing or assisting two hikers and a paraglider who were injured over three consecutive days. The first incident happened around 12:30 p.m. Jul...
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News
County to tackle problem with addresses
Irregularities create trouble for emergency responders
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
Sometimes it takes Ouray County emergency responders knocking on doors and waking people at three different homes at 2 a.m. to find the person who needs their help because no addresses are listed on t...
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Funding issue postpones Ouray wildfire mitigation
News
Funding issue postpones Ouray wildfire mitigation
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
July 16, 2025
A 93-acre wildfire mitigation project in the hillsides above Ouray is on hold until at least next fall, while project leaders keep their fingers crossed for more than $500,000 in federal money. The Ou...
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News
Application period opens for county manager job
July 16, 2025
Ouray County's next administrator will be required to live within the county. That's just one of the requirements listed in the application to become Ouray County’s next manager, which is open after c...
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Calendar & Events
Calendar & Events, Feature...
Calendar & Events
July 17-30, 2025
July 16, 2025
THURSDAY JULY 17 "Natural Tie–Dye" activity with the youth garden club for ages 8–18, from 3:30–4:30 p.m. at the Ridgway Public Library, 300 Charles St. Tech Thursday – Get help with quick tech proble...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

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