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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Road through Calhoon land is indeed public
By Jennifer Cram 
April 29, 2026
Dear Editor: I am writing to respond to the paid advertisement by Aaron Calhoon in last week's Plaindealer. There is no doubt that the Calhoons are well-liked, respected and valued long-time members o...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
More needs to be done to protect Yankee Boy
By Alex Menard 
April 29, 2026
Dear Editor: The Ouray County Commissioners' work session on April 15 discussed plans to repair damage to the road in Yankee Boy Basin. The discussion was centered on repair of road areas damaged by a...
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Super El Niño could be boon for parched area
Columns, Opinion...
Super El Niño could be boon for parched area
By Karen Risch 
April 29, 2026
After three months of desperately dry Colorado weather, there’s finally good news. ENSO-neutral conditions are now present and favored from April-June (80% chance). “From May-July 2026, El Niño is lik...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Szwarc’s credentials suit him for SMPA board
By Al Lowande 
April 29, 2026
Dear Editor: Our electric cooperative, San Miguel Power Association, will be conducting an election in June for the board of director position representing Ridgway area and Log Hill Mesa. As we know, ...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Padgett must put needs of county ahead of own
By Dear Editor: 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: There is a need to acknowledge the recent revelations at the special Ouray County Board of Commissioners meeting March 30, where Commissioner Lynn Padgett first denied, then admitted to s...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Padgett’s health issues impact county functions
By Carolyn Dresler 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: I read with concern and consternation the lead article in the April 2-9 edition of the Plaindealer relating to the March 30 public Board of County Commissioners meeting that resulted in t...
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Letters, Opinion...
MTN Lodge shirking responsibilities to town
By SUE HUSCH 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: The full page ad in the April 9-15 edition was interesting to me. In very large print we were given the town manager's email address, and told he and the Ridgway Town Council are out of l...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Free recycling? Hardly the case on Log Hill
By Daryl Gardner 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: Free recycling? That’s funny right there. We live on Log Hill and have Bruin Waste for trash and recycling curbside pickup. We don’t always have a lot of material to recycle each week. So...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Another dangerous part of U.S. 550 needs help
April 8, 2026
Dear Editor: About two months ago, I reported to the Colorado Department of Transportation my concerns about the three-lane area on U.S. Highway 550 that connects the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk entrance to Ridgway...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Support for rural areas makes Weiser good pick
April 8, 2026
Dear Editor: Phil Weiser has been an outstanding attorney general for Coloradans. Weiser has stated: “My track record means I can hit the ground running on day one, stand up to bullies like Trump and ...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Time for Hurd to take climate change gravely
April 1, 2026
Editor’s note: The Plaindealer mistakenly published a previous letter to the editor from Ellie Kehmeier in last week’s edition. We are publishing the letter she most recently submitted in this week’s ...
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Between a rack and a hard place: What to do about single copy sales?
Columns, Opinion...
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Between a rack and a hard place: What to do about single copy sales?
By Erin McIntyre 
April 1, 2026
This week marks our seventh anniversary of owning the Plaindealer. I always remember the date because of April Fool's Day. We were careful to avoid April 1 as our closing date for purchasing the paper...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Public concern led to inquiry into gated road
April 1, 2026
Dear Editor: I appreciate the Plaindealer’s coverage and article on the Board of County Commissioners' meeting about the blocked access to the Greyhound Road. The article correctly stated that there w...
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Letters, Opinion...
Presence doesn’t equal performance on council
March 25, 2026
Dear Editor: As an advocate for responsible remote work, I disagree with the sentiment expressed in the “City: No to more remote governance” article published in your March 5-11 edition. This is not a...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Kudos to Hurd too soon
March 25, 2026
Dear Editor: I was very surprised to see in the March 19-25 edition of the Plaindealer a full-page advertisement, paid for by The Wilderness Society, thanking Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd saying, “R...
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Is there relief for brutally warm, dry March?
Columns, Opinion...
Is there relief for brutally warm, dry March?
By Karen Risch 
March 25, 2026
Early this month, spring 2026 seemed to be yet another hot, droughty season across the West. Since then, March has been abysmally dry and scarily warm, thanks to a highly unusual heat dome parked over...
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Letters, Opinion...
Burn pit would be useful for wildfire mitigation
March 11, 2026
Dear Editor: Not only is a burn pit a good idea, it is a necessity, but not in the way described. Times and codes are changing. The new fire and construction codes will require more area to be cleared...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Burn pit an idea that should go up in smoke
March 11, 2026
Dear Editor: Today is a rare day. Snow capped mountains with a cloudless sky are not rare, but when the air is also clear, that is rare, because too often smoke fills the Ouray and Ridgway valleys. Th...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
New pool house should include solar array
March 11, 2026
Dear Editor: In none of the large, taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects in the city over the past years — the school, the courthouse complex, the pool, the water plant and the sewer treatment plant...
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Wyatt Earp’s brief, quiet chapter in the San Juans
Columns, Opinion...
Wyatt Earp’s brief, quiet chapter in the San Juans
By Carolyn Snowbarger 
March 11, 2026
Wyatt Earp wasn’t born a legend. He was an opportunist, a man with a keen eye for the next horizon and a knack for finding — or perhaps stirring up — chaos wherever he set his boots. While history boo...
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Editor Picks
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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News
More squeeze, less juice: How proposed disaster relief sales tax compares with other communities
A smaller tax base means Ouray County is asking taxpayers to pay more money to generate less revenue
By Chart Riggall 
September 30, 2026
Ouray County’s proposed sales tax hike to fund future disaster relief would take more out of residents’ and visitors’ pockets to provide a substantially less plush fiscal cushion than other Colorado l...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

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