Blog

  • Not your grandpa’s Willy’s anymore!

    Not your grandpa’s Willy’s anymore!

    Camp Jeep lures lovers of four-wheeling at Denver Auto Show

    By Patty Unruh

    Thousands of people visited the Denver Auto Show, one of the biggest such events in the country, over the past weekend, looking at Smart cars, Cadillac’s, Hyundai’s, and dozens of other brand names. (more…)

  • Communications tower at Justice Center in progress

    Communications tower at Justice Center in progress

    Employee severance, monthly reports

    By Lynn Volkens

    Gilpin County Commissioners Buddy Schmalz, Connie McLain and Gail Watson met the morning of March 26, 2013 to review various in-house reports and discuss progress on the communications tower proposed at the Justice Center. (more…)

  • Turning Back the Pages

    Turning Back the Pages

    30 Years Ago – March 25, 1983

      If the U. S. Congress enacts the Assets Management Program and President Reagan signs it into law, over 19,887 acres of national forest land in Gilpin County could be sold. The Clear Creek District includes the southern part of (more…)

  • Brewing beer in Gilpin County for 150 years

    Brewing beer in Gilpin County for 150 years

    Selections from “Of Mines & Beer!”

    By Dave Thomas

    Estimates of the number of non-Native Americans living in Gilpin County within a few months following Gregory’s discovery of gold vary widely from 5,000 to as many as 30,000 in 1860. Enumeration of the number of Native (more…)

  • School Board potpourri

    School Board potpourri

    Finance Reform Proposal, Technology, BOCES, and other matters

    By Patty Unruh

    The Board of Education of Gilpin County School met March 18. Present were members Craig Holmes, President, Brook Ramsey, Charlotte Taylor, Kersten Armstrong, and Rusty Hardy, as well as Interim Superintendent Morris (more…)

  • Commissioners favor solar arrays – but not to detriment of neighbors

    Commissioners favor solar arrays – but not to detriment of neighbors

    Radio communications, shooting range, floodplain ordinance

    By Lynn Volkens

    Gilpin County Commissioners Buddy Schmalz, Connie McLain and Gail Watson met the morning of March 12, 2013. They took steps to move forward in establishing a radio communications network, shooting range, floodplain (more…)

  • Black Hawk purchases Quartz Valley mining properties

    Black Hawk purchases Quartz Valley mining properties

    New bus, new employees, new building codes

    By Lynn Volkens

    Black Hawk City Council met the afternoon of March 13, 2013. Mayor David Spellman and Council members Linda Armbright, Paul Bennett, Diane Cales, Jim Johnson, Greg Moates and Benito Torrez took a brief field trip prior (more…)

  • Sergeant Al Kidd remembered…

    Sergeant Al Kidd remembered…

    September 23, 1951 – March 15, 2013

    The Central City Police Department family and the entire community of Central City lost a respected and popular colleague and friend when Sergeant Albert Taylor Kidd lost his short battle with cancer on March 15, 2013. (more…)

  • Bringing home the wrestling gold for Gilpin Schools

    Bringing home the wrestling gold for Gilpin Schools

    Middle School Results from Kiowa Invitational Tourney

    By Patty Unruh

    The Gilpin County Middle School wrestlers put in a good showing at the Kiowa Invitational Wrestling Tournament March 5. As a team, they had 15 wins and only two losses. (more…)

  • World Series of Poker seeks regions best players

    World Series of Poker seeks regions best players

    The Lodge Casino to host first-ever circuit event in Colorado

    PRESS RELEASE – The World Series of Poker (WSOP) will visit Colorado for the first time ever March 14-25 at The Lodge Casino at Black Hawk. The Lodge WSOP Circuit stop will include 12 official ring events, along with a host (more…)

  • Students “Just Say No” in colorful way

    Students “Just Say No” in colorful way

    VFW contest fosters awareness of drug and alcohol abuse

    By Patty Unruh

    Two students from Gilpin County School placed in the top five in Colorado for their age categories in the recent Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) “Just Say No” to drugs and alcohol coloring contest. Jasmine Arends won second (more…)

  • Gilpin kids reflect creativity in art, literature, and dance

    Gilpin kids reflect creativity in art, literature, and dance

    PTA competition leads to wins at regional level

    By Patty Unruh

    Several students from Gilpin County School were finalists in a regional Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) “Reflections” competition recently. The theme of the event was “Magic of the Moment” and encompassed several categories of creative expression, including literature, musical composition, dance choreography, film production, photography, and visual arts.

    Students who won locally and were regional finalists were Samantha Smith for literature in grades three to five, Jasmine Arends for photography in grades three to five, Aubrey Allen and Gadje Holbird for visual arts in kindergarten to second-grade, and Anna Yocom for visual arts in grades six through eight. The local competition was held last November, with winners going on to the regional level in mid-January. A ceremony for the State level was to have been held February 24, but was postponed due to snowy weather. No Gilpin students went on to become State finalists.

    The Colorado PTA website explains that the Reflections program was first developed in 1969 to encourage students to explore their talents and express themselves by giving them positive recognition for their artistic efforts. Since then, the site says, over 10 million students across the nation have taken part in the popular program. The contest is open to all students attending a school where PTA sponsors the program.

    To allow student projects to be judged at the appropriate age and skill levels, the program is divided into four levels: primary (preschool through grade two), intermediate (grades three through five), middle/junior (grades six through eight), and senior (grades nine through twelve). The entries are first judged by the local PTA unit. Some selected entries are then chosen to represent the PTA at the regional level. Artwork submitted to Colorado PTA from the regional PTA is considered for awards at the State level.

    Curt Halsted, art instructor at Gilpin County School, said, “I encourage my students to enter their artwork and to develop their ideas in art and writing. The students do their projects individually at home and enter the local, judged competition at school.”

    Reflections creations are on display in the hallways at the school.

  • Frozen Dead Guy Days lives up to its frosty reputation with fun for all

    Frozen Dead Guy Days lives up to its frosty reputation with fun for all

    Nederland welcomes guests, contestants, and snow

    by Dave Gibson

    With Boulder Canyon closed due to accidents and a foot of snow falling, Frozen Dead Guy Days was postponed until Sunday for the second year in a row. I saw a lone hearse driver heading north out of Nederland, having given (more…)

  • Turning Back the Pages

    Turning Back the Pages

    30 Years Ago – March 11, 1983

     Steven Lee Bradley, whose real name is Steven James Earl Kemp, 28, was arrested in Springfield, MO, and charged with first degree robbery and armed criminal action for allegedly robbing a restaurant there. Bradley, who had (more…)

  • Gilpin County School Board discusses technology needs

    Gilpin County School Board discusses technology needs

    Tech expert provides advice on future direction

    By Patty Unruh

    The Board of Education of Gilpin County School met March 4. Members attending were President Craig Holmes, Brook Ramsey, Charlotte Taylor, Kersten Armstrong, and Rusty Hardy. Also attending was Interim (more…)

  • Louisiana Voodoo

    Louisiana Voodoo

    A trip down to the warm South

    by Dave Gibson

    In 1719 the French sailing vessels Duc du Maine and Aurora arrived near the newly founded city of New Orleans laden with live cargo. The slave ships held up to 600 individuals whom had endured appalling conditions during a (more…)