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Cleared for takeoff
Main, News...
Cleared for takeoff
Halloween full of tricks and treats
By Erin McIntyre 
November 4, 2026
Ouray’s Main Street was a spooky place to be on Halloween, with witches at the Wright Opera House including Gayle Veum of Log Hill. The “King of Pop” and a member of the Jackson Five were spotted tric...
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Main, News...
Sales tax measure fails
By Chart Riggall 
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...
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Ridgway teen memorialized
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...
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UPDATE: Body of Ridgway man found in Chaffee County
Main, News...
UPDATE: Body of Ridgway man found in Chaffee County
By Mike 
October 28, 2026
The bodies of a college student from Ridgway and another man were found Wednesday afternoon in Chaffee County, five days after they left for a weekend hiking trip and got caught in a snowstorm. Kaden ...
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A well-deserved honor
Main, News...
A well-deserved honor
By Erin McIntyre 
October 28, 2026
The Telluride Foundation is honoring Williams with its 2026 Volunteer of the Year award. Williams, who moved to Ouray in 1975, is a longtime volunteer and former Ouray city councilor. Her experience i...
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College student from Ridgway missing near Buena Vista
Main, News...
College student from Ridgway missing near Buena Vista
By Mike 
October 27, 2026
A firefighter with the Log Hill Volunteer Fire Department and another man are missing near Buena Vista after they went hiking last weekend and didn’t return. Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, and Jackson...
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‘This is the challenge that I needed in my life’
Main, News...
‘This is the challenge that I needed in my life’
Ouray Ice Park's new executive director trims staff, seeks more buy-in from recreational climbers amid financial crunch
By Chart Riggall 
October 21, 2026
In the waning weeks of the 2019 ice climbing season, a 27-year-old Tres Barbatelli stood at the bottom of the Uncompahgre Gorge wondering what he’d just done. Minutes before, he’d rappelled down into ...
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Police department dissolved
Main, News...
Police department dissolved
Council turns over services to sheriff; remaining employee laid off
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
October 21, 2026
The city of Ouray terminated the sole employee of its police department and turned over its police services to the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, officially dissolving a stand-alone law enf...
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Will Coloradans choose the ‘right to hunt’?
Main, News...
AMENDMENT 83
Will Coloradans choose the ‘right to hunt’?
Proposed constitutional amendment asks who should dictate wildlife policy
By Chart Riggall 
October 14, 2026
Colorado’s vote next month on whether to amend the state Constitution by codifying the right to hunt and fish has intensified debate among hunters, conservationists and legal experts over exactly who ...
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Main, News...
City hit with another police suit
Ex-admin assistant claims Ouray lost personal info, violated policies
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com 
October 14, 2026
The city of Ouray faces another lawsuit from an ex-employee of the police department. In a complaint filed last week in district court, former Ouray Police Department administrative assistant Lucy Ree...
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Main, News...
County OKs police deal
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
October 14, 2026
Ouray County commissioners approved a revised contract Tuesday that would make the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office the full-time provider of police services in the city of Ouray — but at a higher cost t...
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A Monster celebration
Main, News...
A Monster celebration
October 7, 2026
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City, county near pact on police services
Main, News...
City, county near pact on police services
Boards to vote this month on sheriff 's $1.1M annual proposal to police Ouray
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
October 7, 2026
Ouray County and the city of Ouray are hammering out the details of an agreement that would enlist the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office to provide full law enforcement services to the city for potentiall...
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Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate
Main, News...
Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate
By Chart Riggall 
October 7, 2026
Federal legislation to transfer ownership of Crystal Reservoir to the city of Ouray cleared the U.S. Senate last week, sending the bill to the House of Representatives as the clock winds down for Cong...
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Crystal Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate, but clock’s ticking
Main, News...
Crystal Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate, but clock’s ticking
By Chart Riggall, chart@ouraynews.com 
October 2, 2026
Federal legislation to transfer ownership of Crystal Reservoir to the city of Ouray cleared the U.S. Senate this week, sending the bill to the House of Representatives as the clock winds down for Cong...
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A Skyway show worth seeing
Main, News...
A Skyway show worth seeing
September 30, 2026
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Main, News...
Budget slashing begins
Board considers own pay cut, trimming staff, claiming leftover road paving funds
By James Hanlon 
September 30, 2026
Department by department, piece by piece, Ouray County commissioners worked toward cutting $1.5 million from the county’s draft budget at all-day budget sessions Sept. 23 and 29. Commissioners set a 1...
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Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
Main, News...
Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
What does the only remaining full-time police employee do for work? Nobody — including Matt Troxell — will say
September 30, 2026
Each weekday, the Ouray Police Department’s sole full-time employee hops in an unmarked black and white SUV for the 15-minute commute from his home in Ridgway to his job in Ouray. Sgt. Matt Troxell ba...
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Popular trail needs new steward
Main, News...
Popular trail needs new steward
Uncompahgre Riverway Trail founder, longtime volunteer ready to step down
By James Hanlon 
September 23, 2026
Chip Marlow, the man who spearheaded the construction of the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail from Ridgway to Ridgway State Park, has maintained the multiuse path largely by himself for many years. Now 80 y...
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Main, News...
‘Super El Niño’ won’t be savior for West Slope
Officials: Warming Pacific temps may bring more snow but won't wipe out drought or fill reservoirs
By Chart Riggall 
September 23, 2026
GRAND JUNCTION — Amid a stream of bad news for Western Slope water stakeholders last week, Russ Schumacher had the pleasure of opening the sluice. Nearly on the far side of the state’s worst drought y...
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Editor Picks
Can public save Alpine Ranger program?
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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News
Jury finds man not guilty in 2023 sex assault case
By Erin McIntyre, James Hanlon 
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...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reserve backcountry for lower-impact uses
By Alex Menard 
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 ...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Councilors shut out dissenting voice
By Jen Donovan 
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
Feature
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...
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First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

Ouray County Plaindealer
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Ridgway, Colorado 81432
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