Repeat championship bid falls just short - Ouray County Plaindealer

Ridgway junior Ariel Hessler approaches the finish line side by side with Golden View Classical Academy freshman Veronica Fox during the Class 2A girls' 5,000-meter run on Saturday in Colorado Springs. Hessler finished 24th out of 138 runners, helping the Demons' team to a second-place finish in the state cross country championships. Photo courtesy Tim McDonald/MileSplit

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By By Bernie Pearce Special to the Plaindealer, on November 4, 2026

PREP ROUNDUP

Repeat championship bid falls just short

Ridgway girls finish 3 points shy of top spot in Class 2A state cross country finals

Repeating as champions is inherently tough. Everyone wants to beat the titleholder and, mathematically speaking, the odds simply aren't in your favor. It is often more energizing to chase and catch rather than keep from getting caught.

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Cleared for takeoff

November 4, 2026

Main, News...

Sales tax measure fails

By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

Ouray County voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to raise the local sales tax rate by 0.5% in order to fund future disaster relief, dashing county officials’ hopes to find a new revenue source for e...

Main, News...

Ridgway teen memorialized

Killed in climbing accident, Matsuda remembered for loyalty, passion, work ethic

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

After pulling a 16-hour shift on this summer’s Gold Mountain Fire, Bennett Raley knew he could trust and rely on his young teammate. The volunteer firefighter with the Log Hill Volunteer Fire Departme...

News

Can public save Alpine Ranger program?

With government bowing out, group seeks to raise money for backcountry patrols

By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

With a lack of government funding to continue Ouray County’s Alpine Ranger patrols next year, the task has fallen to locals to raise enough money – $67,000, to be exact – to keep the backcountry patro...

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Jury finds man not guilty in 2023 sex assault case

By By Erin McIntyre and James Hanlon erin@ouraynews.com james@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

A Montrose County jury found the stepson of the former Ouray police chief not guilty of sexual assault Wednesday, at the end of his eight-day criminal trial. The jury handed down the verdict after del...

Letters, Opinion...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Reserve backcountry for lower-impact uses

November 4, 2026

Dear Editor: The Oct. 29 Ridgway Ouray Community Council meeting to fund the Alpine Ranger Program reveals questions about the problem and the proposed solution. Should the public be asked to pay for ...

Letters, Opinion...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Councilors shut out dissenting voice

November 4, 2026

Dear Editor: I guess some of the Ouray city councilors don't want live in the same society as I want to live in. A society with civil discourse, discussion and sometimes listening to a point of view t...

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Looking Back

By Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer

November 4, 2026

Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer 60 Years Ago November 3, 1966 Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Easton from Ontario, California, have purchased...

Letters, Opinion...

Point remains: Beware the strain on business

November 4, 2026

Dear Editor: Well, I certainly seem to have stirred up the paint. My recent suggestion that Ben Jackson might consider painting MTN Lodge pink has produced an unexpected development. Jenny Lee Phillip...

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County proceeds with EMS-fire merger

Commissioners give blessing to plan after leaders trim overall budget, general fund contribution

By By James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

Ouray County commissioners plan to move forward with merging Ouray County Emergency Medical Services under the Ridgway Fire Protection District at the beginning of the year after EMS updated its budge...

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Cello recital meets clown show this weekend

'Delusions and Grandeur' offers poignant, irreverent look at the defintion — and cost — of success

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

November 4, 2026

Karen Hall has played the cello since she was 8 years old, when her mother drove her to the neighborhood elementary school for string classes, lugging a case with an instrument roughly the same size a...

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines