Dear Editor: The election for county commissioner between Lynn Padgett and Michael Perkovich presents us with several important contrasts. Many jurisdictions around the country have learned the hard w...

Dear Editor: The Plaindealer’s Sept. 26 story about the plight of Ridgway’s businesses got me thinking. The interstate highway system made travel faster — but at a price: Hundreds of small towns throu...

Dear Editor: Driving around the county and the city of Ouray you will find two homes each with two political yard signs – one for Mike Perkovich and one for Kamala Harris. It struck me that this is ab...

Dear Editor: One year ago, on a Tuesday — Sept. 19 of last year — I faced the life-changing experience of brain tumor surgery. The tumor was massive and, thankfully, it was benign. As I look back on t...

Dear Editor: When reviewing this latest short-term rentals ordinance from Ouray County, it’s hard not to feel concerned about its direction. The dense legal language could leave the average resident u...

Dear Editor: Currently, Ouray County has a good balance of three commissioners who are taking on more challenging issues than ever before. It’s my opinion that Ouray County needs all three that have e...

It’s raining on a late September Saturday afternoon and a cold 48 degrees as I begin this column. Pristine snow drapes the mountains above timberline. A remarkable gardening season ends at 7,736 feet ...

We all know this year's election is a big one, nationally. But locally, we have one contested race for county commissioner, House District 58 and Senate District 6 races and a bunch of statewide ballo...

Dear Editor: A year ago, I addressed the Ouray City Council regarding the approximate 65% increase in residential property assessments in Ouray County (published in the Plaindealer in July 2023). Base...

Dear Editor: Last July I sent the four questions listed below to the Ouray Board of County Commission candidates Padgett, Niece and Perkovich and also to Commissioner Nauer. Padgett, Niece and Nauer r...

Dear Editor: Recent letters and ads supporting Mr. Perkovich have asked “where did the money go.” The innuendo, of course, is that the current commissioners, and Lynn Padgett in particular, have done ...

Dear Editor: Many years ago before short-term rental regulations, I ran an STR. I self-managed, ensuring HOA guidelines were enforced. Many inquiries were denied because it wasn’t in the neighbor’s be...

Dear Editor: With very little warning, Ridgway has just had its beating heart ripped cruelly from its tiny chest. We lost our patron saint and the poignant reason that many of us felt welcome when we ...

Dear Editor: I thoroughly enjoyed the humorous letter from a Ridgway resident regarding commissioner candidates in Ouray County. I laughed out loud when I read about "our bare-bones county government....

Dear Editor: Lynn Padgett deserves the vote of Ouray County citizens. She is the most experienced commissioner and has a thorough knowledge of the key issues important to those of us who live in Ouray...

Dear Editor: As an unaffiliated voter, previous Democrat, I am voting for Mike Perkovich to become the next county commissioner for District 1. Mike does believe in the “... sanctity of the election p...

“Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountain side The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling, It’s you, it’s you must go, and I must bide.” The history o...

Dear Editor: I write to commend the editors, reporters and entire staff of the Plaindealer on the many awards the paper received last week from the Colorado Press Association. Your work without a doub...

Dear Editor: I have lived in Ouray County for 25 years. My reasons were probably the same as many of yours: the incredible landscapes and community. I soon learned that this was not a given. There wer...

Dear Editor: As I walked out to Sherman Street Monday morning to watch the Labor Day rodeo parade with my granddaughters, I was shocked to see an endless procession of vehicles bearing enormous Trump ...