STORIES OF THE YEAR: NO. 1 The turmoil involving the two top law enforcement officers at the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office is the Plaindealer’s No. 1 story of 2019. Sheriff Lance Fitz-Gerald was sworn...

STORIES OF THE YEAR: NO. 9 The town of Ridgway’s efforts to implement a new water-rate structure met vocal opposition from business owners, ultimately leading councilors to back off on commercial wate...

Wildlife officials are reminding people not to collect shed antlers on all public lands west of Interstate 25 until April 30. These statewide restrictions are in place to protect wintering big-game an...

STORIES OF THE YEAR: NO. 10 In 2019, the Ouray County Plaindealer was sold to new owners, the latest in its 142-year history. Alan Todd and Beecher Threatt, who owned 550 Publishing, sold the newspape...

  Former Ouray Building Inspector Dave Doherty abruptly quit his job this fall after learning his position would be reduced from full-time to part-time next year. Emails obtained by the Plaindealer un...

  County officials debriefed during a work session last week about the response to the Cow Creek Fire in October, to discuss what went well and what could be improved the next time a similar incident ...

STATE OF COLORADO week plugging numbers into a proposed new school finance formula, squinting at a projection of a computer model to determine “whose cheese got moved.” The phrase — borrowed from the ...

By Carolina Brown & Mike Wiggins For the Ouray Ice Park, whose existence depends upon sufficient water and temperatures consistently cold enough to cultivate and sustain the blue-hued walls of frozen ...

A story in the Dec. 19-25 edition about a potential change in the Ouray City Council meeting calendar in 2020 should have said councilors plan to meet on the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m., not ...

TOWN OF RIDGWAY To those strolling through Hartwell Park or picking up their mail at the post office at the moment it goes off, the siren atop the Ridgway Volunteer Fire Department can be an ear-split...

  Commissioners and staff wrapped up their last regular meeting of the year on Dec. 17 by renewing contracts, agreements and memorandums of understanding for the upcoming year. Most of the county's ag...

SILVERTON - The San Juan County Board of Commissioners, in a unanimous vote on Friday the 13th, approved a $5.2 million budget that pretty much holds the line on expenses. "Most offices and department...

  As a commanding officer for a sheriff’s office staffed by 300 sworn deputies just outside the Washington, D.C., beltway, there was too much opportunity for Jeff Wood to experience the worst in peopl...

  Ouray city councilors on Monday approved a long-term contract with the Ouray Tourism Office to continue to market the town to visitors and operate the Visitor’s Center but made it clear they plan to...

A story in the Dec. 5-11 edition about a program that uses leftover grain from breweries to neutralize acid drainage from old mines should have said the EPA rescinded its support for the state's nonpo...

  Ouray County is opposing a plan to transfer public lands to the State Land Board, designed to satisfy a debt dating back to 1876, when Colorado became a state. About 200 acres in Ouray County are pa...

  Ice climbers who descend on the Uncompahgre Gorge this winter will have more friendly faces greeting them. After a week’s delay due to rain and warm temperatures, the Ouray Ice Park will open Satur...

The commissioners understand and recognize that some citizens are upset by what they have been reading recently concerning the sheriff. The commissioners ask citizens to consider the following: The Ou...

SILVERTON - The Silverton Town Board on Dec. 9 unanimously approved a $3.5 million budget for 2020. “The town experienced a strong financial recovery from the difficult and costly 2018-19 winter seaso...

  Ouray County has an updated code for development in Colona, after the county commissioners and the planning commission approved a citizen-initiated request to update building requirements. Craig Jac...