Dear Editor: Proposition II is up for a vote across the state. The increase in tobacco taxes was negotiated to raise funds for a variety of purposes in 2020. How- ever, it turns out, long term evidenc...

Dear Editor: I am writing out of frustration and concern regarding the recent proposals to further restrict short-term rentals in Ouray County. While I wholeheartedly support the idea of fair and bala...

Dear Editor: According to the 2024 preliminary budget for Ouray County, the general fund revenue is expected to increase by $1,004,879, or 53%, as a result of this year’s increase in assessed valuatio...

Dear Editor: Is it too much to suggest that the Ouray Bookshop is Ouray's beating heart? Within its walls it is so much to so many: a repository for local history, a guide to our mountains, a forum fo...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor: After attending last week's Board of County Commissioners work session on short-term rental permits, some words seem to be repeated more than others like parties and ...

Dear Editor: I live in Montrose now but having been a full-time Ouray resident for several years, I read the weekly Plaindealer in one sitting, enjoying much of what that small town has to offer. I kn...

Dear Editor: It was reported in last week’s Plaindealer that Ouray County government had grown 70% from 50 employees in 2003 to 85 in 2023. Simple research indicates that our population grew from 3,88...

Dear Editor: Many thanks to you all for the coverage of David Gottorff and his effect on the community. Your coverage was complete, detailing his family responses and his own. Much appreciated. Ilene ...

Dear Editor: I would like to extend a tremendous “thank you” to the Log Hill Volunteer Fire Department for their rapid response to my home on Sept. 19 at 3 a.m. Station 2 Capt. Paul Oppenheim and Just...

Dear Editor: Since my retirement I have had a delightful part-time position at the Ouray Bookshop. There I get to see youngsters light up when they discover a teepee with a flickering campfire near th...

Dear Editor: A mother knows that it takes a village to raise a child. But we are learning that our village is helping us grieve the loss of one. It is with heavy hearts that we write to express our de...

Dear Editor: As hopefully most of you are aware, Ridgway is currently working on their Athletic Park master plan. As a board member for Ouray County Baseball (a local nonprofit that runs a baseball pr...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor: Allow me to double-down on topics: one very “hot” and prominent, and the other potentially more “hot” but on the back burner. I trust that many Ouray-area citizens an...

Dear Editor: I spent some time last month at the fabulous Ridgway Rendezvous Art and Craft Festival. I must congratulate the organizers, Weehawken Creative Arts and their executive director, Ashley Ki...

Dear Editor: Let me tell you an imaginary story. I live in a small yet diverse community, with generations of my family. My grandma is a wonderful lady who has lived here her entire life, as have I. S...

Dear Editor: Years ago, in response to my wife's death by avalanche, the Ridgway ski community worked together to initiate the first (and last) Winter Carnival for mountain safety. The event was very ...

Dear Editor: One factor in the loss of life from the wildland fires on Maui has been attributed to the lack of warning of the need to evacuate Lāhainā. Their cellphone notification system was not suff...

Dear Editor: It is hard to envision an institution that is more evocative of the Beaumont Hotel's storied and sophisticated past than the bookshop that has occupied the storefront of the hotel since D...

Dear Editor: I am not a resident of Ouray but have been visiting repeatedly since the early 1970s and have frequented the bookstore ever since it opened. It has been a hallmark of the very essence of ...

Dear Editor: Ouray County retail businesses benefi tted immensely from a rapid increase in tourism during the pandemic. Unintended consequences from myriad stimulus programs, top ups and deferments ma...