James Hanlon

A proposed countywide sales tax to address fires, floods and other natural disasters appears to have a clear path to the November ballot, while a potential use tax on construction materials to raise more money for Ouray County roads and bridges is off the table for now.

Advocates for a county-wide consolidated fire and emergency response authority still believe there is a path forward, even though the proposal suffered another setback last week when the Ouray City Council declined to consider an agreement.

The Ridgway Town Council approved creating four metropolitan districts at its Aug. 12 meeting for a proposed residential and commercial development on 19 acres in north Ridgway.

“Rocks” says a simple sign extending over the sidewalk on Ouray's Main Street, adorned with a columbine flower. Inside, long narrow displays invite customers to explore toward the back, receding into Earth's primordial history as they go. It's like a natural history museum with all manner of shiny, colorful and jagged crystalline minerals, as well as dinosaur and shark teeth, leaf fossils, petrified wood, fossilized shells and trilobites.

Ouray County has had two emergency- related employees on paid administrative leave since the early days of the Gold Mountain Fire.

Sometimes, I journal to process major life events. I've lived in a lot of places worth journaling about and my latest move is no exception. I've been in Ouray for six weeks now and I'm struck by the similarities to a mountain village in Japan where I taught English for three years after college.

Ouray County has hired Henry Mitchell as the recovery manager, a new position in the Emergency Management Department to coordinate the county's recovery from the Gold Mountain Fire.

The Ridgway Town Council appointed Terry Schuyler and Christiane Frischmuth to the Ridgway Sustainability Advisory Board after brief interviews at the Sept. 9 council meeting.

A district court judge has ordered Ridgway's largest hotel to stop housing construction workers who are building a new Four Seasons in Mountain Village.

Ouray County's draft budget for next year proposes five staff reductions from general fund departments – all of which are currently vacant positions.