County manager resigns

Ouray County Manager Connie Hunt listens to county commissioners discuss her job performance during a work session at the Ouray County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. After commissioners criticized her performance during an annual evaluation on Feb. 5, Hunt spent much of a more than three-hour meeting Tuesday responding to the criticism and defending her work, only to resign at the end of the meeting. Erin McIntyre — Ouray County Plaindealer

Main, News

By Deb Hurley Brobst Special to the Plaindealer on February 12, 2025

Week after criticism, Hunt defends herself, then gives notice

Ouray County Manager Connie Hunt resigned from her position after meeting with commissioners for more than three hours Tuesday to discuss her performance evaluation. Commissioners reiterated they were unhappy with some of her work and gave her a score 14 points lower than last year.

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Partners in crime

Contracting police services common across Colorado, notably in rural areas, mountains

By Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins erin@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com

February 12, 2025

A fix to the city of Ouray's ongoing challenges with its police department may be just a block down the street — at the Ouray County Sheriff's Office. Other municipalities in Colorado that have had di...

News

Board awards $4M contract for athletic field

Groundbreaking set for March for Ridgway synthetic turf soccer field, eight-lane track, other amenities

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

February 12, 2025

The Ridgway School Board agreed Tuesday night to award a nearly $4 million contract to a Grand Junction construction company to build a new multipurpose athletic field behind the Ridgway Secondary Sch...

Feature

A TOAST TO WINTER IN OURAY

Third-annual wine festival returns to Wright Opera House on Saturday

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

February 12, 2025

There are wine festivals where tasters are herded like cattle, where swollen crowds jostle for space, where there’s no time or ability to visit with winemakers to gain a better understanding and appre...

News

Sheriff, victim services to host domestic violence meeting

Community conversation on Feb. 20

By Plaindealer Staff

February 12, 2025

The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office and Ouray County Victim Services will host a community conversation about domestic violence on Feb. 20. The event is intended to provide the public with information a...

News

Two killed in separate accidents

By Plaindealer Staff Report Plaindealer@ouraynews.com

February 12, 2025

Two motorists were killed in separate traffic accidents that occurred less than 24 hours and four miles apart on U.S. Highway 550 near Ridgway last week. Mandy Johnson, 33, of Montrose died in a singl...

Feature

LENDING A ‘LISTENING EAR’

While Partners mentorship program provides role models for youth, adults often find they gain as much as they give

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

February 12, 2025

Sometimes they’ll talk about Minecraft, movies or lunch at school that day. Other times they’ll play video games and dream up plans to bike around or play basketball when the weather warms up. One Fri...

Calendar & Events, Feature...

CALENDAR & EVENTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13

CALENDAR & EVENTS

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14

February 12, 2025

LIVE MUSIC: Gasoline Lollipops, 8 p.m. at The Sherbino, 604 Clinton St., Ridgway. $20 advance tickets, $25 day of show. Tickets at sherbino.org. STORY AND CRAFT TIME: "Double Bass Blues" with Gina Wen...

News

Opioid settlement grant money available

By Plaindealer Staff

February 12, 2025

Grant money aimed at initiatives seeking to address the opioid crisis and substance abuse is now available to eligible applicants in Ouray County and surrounding counties. Groups, local governments an...

News

Single-car rollover follows head-on collision that killed one on Wednesday

Fatal accident closes highway

By Plaindealer Staff

February 6, 2025

U.S. Highway 550 is closed at mile marker 101 after a fatal accident was reported at 4:18 p.m. Few details were available Thursday night about this accident, and it was unclear when the highway would...

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CREATING SPACES FOR OTHERS

Ouray's new parks director seeks public collaboration to make most of city's jewels

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

February 5, 2025

Long after the early winter sun dipped behind Twin Peaks, after he filled the daylight hours contemplating grant applications and reviewing plans spread across a conference table, Joe Brown took the s...

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Manager faces criticism

Hunt 'crushed' after commissioners insist on improvement

By Deb Hurley Brobst Special to the Plaindealer

February 5, 2025

Ouray County commissioners spent more than an hour Wednesday criticizing County Manager Connie Hunt’s job performance in the last year, saying they felt some recurring issues hadn’t been addressed, sh...

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines