Taken from SUN files of
October 9, 1925
The following dispatch was sent from Denver by the Associated Press on Oct. 1st and appeared in the Durango Democrat last Friday morning. This is good news to every resident of the San Juan basin, who hope the governor’s promise will be effected:
Governor Morley today announced he intends to make provision in the state highway budget next year for widening and improving Wolf Creek pass road, regarded as the principal artery from eastern Colorado over the mountains to the Mesa Verde park region. The executive contemplates the assignment of 300 convicts to work on the road and estimates the cost of rebuilding it to be $100,000.
Governor Morley was a visitor in Durango a few days ago, driving in by automobile. He is said to have been awed by the “death trap” over Wolf Creek pass and immediately pledged himself to do all in his power to alleviate conditions.
Taken from SUN files of
October 6, 1950
The water department this week completed the installation of another several hundred feet of water main in the southwest part of town. The four inch main now reaches to the corner just north of the Gus Apostle house. This will do much to eliminate the water shortage in that part of town and will give the residents added fire protection.
The water committee of the town board stated that this was part of the plan to rehabilitate the water system and to give more consumers a plentiful water supply. Heretofore the system in that area had been a network of small inch and a half pipes.
The new addition to the water mains will not give the town much added revenue in water rents as most of the inhabitants there had been on the old system of small pipe.
The annual Library Drive has started. Every year the Women’s Civic Club sponsors a drive in October to raise funds to finance the public library. The chairman of the drive this year is Mrs. Dick Devore. Collections are being made from business houses and also from residential districts. Some twenty women were appointed to do the collecting. Banks are placed in various places of business for those who would like to contribute. Be sure you are helping in some way.
Taken from SUN files of
October 9, 1975
The big excitement this week seems to be about the report that some sort of a religious group is headed this way. In this case it is not the Christian religion but rather a group of people that believe that some beings from outer space will be arriving to pick them up and take them to their version of heaven. To date there are not signs of the group but authorities say that it is possible that they will be in the area. They are, at least for the time being, classed as not dangerous to the general public.
Oiling is now in progress on Wolf Creek Pass and if the weather holds just a very few days it will be completed. The work is going ahead very rapidly and by winter time the highway should be in good shape. Ed Teem, weather observer up on Wolf Creek, said this week that the plows have been out once when 1/2 inch of hail was received September 21. September was dry on Wolf Creek and temperatures have been moderate. There was some new snow on the high mountain peaks Tuesday of this week.
Taken from SUN files of
October 5, 2000
An anonymous donation of $125,000 to the Upper San Juan Hospital District has allowed the district to begin the process of bringing two paramedic employees back to full-time status and improving the district’s ability to respond to medical emergencies.
The donation was received Sept. 7.
Two paramedics were taken from full-time to part-time status in mid-August following discovery of a $230,000 shortfall in the district’s annual budget.
The budget shortfall was discovered in July by the district’s auditor. It resulted from internal accounting errors on the revenue and expenditure sides of the ledger. The auditor found no misappropriation of funds, of missing funds, or of wrongdoing; but the new budget picture required cost-cutting measures and safeguards, including regular review of district bookkeeping practices were put into effect to avoid similar budget problems in the future.
Because of funds provided by the donation, the district now has one paramedic back to full-time work and the second will be on the job full time in the near future, said Bright.
