Hotchkiss business owner, rancher and County Planning Commission member Kim Shay has announced her intent to run for the District 3 County Commission seat, facing Wendell Koontz for the position.

Think about the bombast of the Big Top and then visualize the Las Vegas extravaganza of Cirque du Soleil. Now think of something in between and add an educational component and you have an idea of what Homestead Circus Productions is shooting for.

A number of Paonia citizens gathered recently to talk about why they chose to stand-up to their town council and petition it to place a water moratorium on the sale of domestic water taps.

In Paonia, a certain downtown cat shelter aims to fight the overpopulation of cats by spaying, neutering and adopting out.

Results from Paonia’s first Master Plan Community Survey highlights concerns over housing options and utilities. The second survey, online now, covers economic development, transportation and community sustainability is available until Jan. 6, 2020.

“Let’s Talk, Paonia!” workshops hosted by the North Fork Valley Creative Coalition and the Paonia Creative District will be held Jan. 8 to 11. The workshops led by a CU Boulder theatre and dance group will facilitate conversations related to recent economic and social changes in the community.

Darlene Sprague, RN, has successfully completed a training course in restorative nursing. A long-time employee of Volunteers of America health services, Sprague is now certified as a restorative nurse which allows her to help long-term-care residents maintain or improve their abilities relat…

After serving as Hotchkiss trustee and two terms as Hotchkiss mayor, Wendell Koontz recently announced his intent to run for the District 3 County Commission seat.

Approximately 1,000 Paonia voters within the city limits will have the final say on a citizen proposed water moratorium in a special election on Jan. 7. Last October, Paonia’s trustees decided to put the matter in the hands of citizens rather than adopt a moratorium by ordinance via petition…

Paonia’s town board made progress during the Nov. 26 regular meeting despite tumbling headlong into a lengthy discussion over potential pot sales within city limits.

Nestled in the rolling hills between Hotchkiss and Paonia, the hemp operation known as Zenzen Organics is a unique blend of old-fashioned values and new ideas. To help with weeding, owner Cindie Sorensen acquired a pair of vintage McCormick Farmall Cub tractors which were manufactured in 194…

The 27th Paonia Holiday Craft Fair hosted by the North Fork Valley Creative Coalition and the Blue Sage Center for the Arts delighted holiday shoppers on a mild-fall afternoon. Gift hunters filled the arts hall on Grand Avenue for the two-day event which featured dozens of vendors with uniqu…

Here’s a sure-fire recipe to ensure that hundreds of holiday gifts are successfully prepared for this coming weekend’s North Fork Children’s Christmas Party:

Organizers of the 28th annual North Fork Children’s Christmas Party are expecting a record crowd of children and families this year. The annual holiday event distributes gifts to needy children. Each year the party committee sends out applications to local schools to identify children. Now t…

Second Story Studios in Paonia is taking North Fork Valley high altitude art to the next level. Visitors to the atelier on Grand Avenue must traverse century-old stairs to reach the roost above the iconic Blue Sage Hall that occupies the original owners’ residence of the town’s hardware store.

Paonia’s town board made progress during the Nov. 26 regular meeting despite tumbling headlong into a lengthy discussion over potential pot sales within city limits.

One local World War II veteran can rest a bit easier at night thanks to a new bed provided by the Hotchkiss Elks and the Colorado Association of Elks.

The December StoryWalk book on the trail at Crawford State Park is ‘The Mitten’ by Jan Brett. When Nicki drops his white mitten in the snow, he goes on without realizing that it is missing. One by one, woodland animals find it and crawl in. First, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and …

The Friends of Paonia Library will hold its annual holiday book sale 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, in the Paonia Library community room. A special holiday table will have great buys on higher value gently-used books, which make wonderful gifts.

Paonia residents will have to wait a bit to find out which lights the town will choose to install after a delay by DMEA.

The two panels that broke during engraving of the Miners Plaza memorial wall at Paonia Town Park were installed Oct. 31 by Morris Monument, bringing the number of panels up to 125. Project organizer Dave Bradford states that of the panels, 12 are historical entries and 113 have names of thos…

The Hotchkiss Community Chamber of Commerce held its annual meeting Nov. 12 and took time to honor local achievers. Sue Whittlesby was named Citizen of the Year. Western Slope SUP received Business of the Year honors and the Rogers Mesa Modern Woman’s Club was recognized as Non-Profit of the Year.

Edgar Macias-Moreno is to serve 40 years in prison for the 2018 strangulation murder of Madelaine Loh.

The air was filled with anticipation the night of Nov. 15 at the Blue Sage Center for the Arts in Paonia as 10 local non-profit representatives shared their organization’s vision and goals prior to receiving a portion of the $34,375 grant money from the West Elk Community Fund (WECF).

Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part series on how the Delta County School District was among the first in the nation to provide technology-based instruction. Part I, “Retired PHS teacher recalls taking the lead in technology-based learning,” ran in the Nov. 13 DCI, and is available …

Colorado can be proud of Bailey Miller.

Paonia Players

Thirty years ago, computers in primary and secondary classrooms were virtually unheard of. But in middle schools in Kansas, and in the North Fork Valley of Delta County, some of the earliest models of computer-based learning were already preparing students for the future.

North Fork law enforcement agencies anticipating an increase in their budget for 2020 will have to make do after voters narrowly defeated the Delta County Public Safety Improvement Sales Tax in the Nov. 5 combined election.

For the past six years, eighth grade students throughout Delta County have had an opportunity to learn about solar energy through the Solar Energy International Solar in the Schools program.

More than a decade ago, the Big B’s organic juice company tapped into an opportunity to fill a niche in a growing industry: hard ciders.

It’s been a gas station, a feed store and several other businesses over the years. But since last spring, the small, indistinct building at 297 W. Bridge St. in Hotchkiss has been home to Olden Guitars.

Leather jackets, fine crystal, an old stoneware crock. Movie memorabilia, a watchmaker’s desk, a signed poster of the 1992 USA basketball team. A vintage orchard ladder. A collection of antique cameras.

Owners of electric vehicles, or EVS, can now charge up in Paonia thanks to the recent installment of a 25-kilowatt direct-current EV fast charger station in the public parking lot on Main Avenue near Third Street. The station was installed by Grand Junction-based Atlasta Solar with help from…

In an impressive showing of community support, some 400 people attended the Oct. 18 Pink Night fundraiser at Paonia High School, and watched the volleyball games between Meeker High School and Paonia.

It’s never too soon to start thinking Christmas in Crawford. The annual Crawford Christmas Festival will be held Saturday, Nov. 30, at Crawford Town Hall.

In 2005, Poulos Park in downtown Paonia was little more than a glorified vacant gravel lot. Wanting to make it a place of community pride, the Rotary Club of Paonia (now Rotary Club of the North Fork) adopted park renovation as its “Rotary International Centennial Project.” Rotarians spent $…

Music has a way of healing wounds and bringing people together.

About 16 years ago, the family of Hotchkiss resident Tom Roberts set aside $5,000 in seed money for a youth baseball project. Roberts was a big supporter of little league baseball. Because of his dedication to kids and his vision for a place they can call home, others stepped up to support t…

In the 1975 cult classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” things get out of hand on the big screen. But add a group of live shadow-cast performers and an audience ripe with mischief, and things go from insane to entirely unpredictable.

When a dedicated group set out, back in 2004, to build a new and bigger library in Paonia, it was met with some doubt. But it persisted.

The North Fork Pool, Parks and Recreation District received the 2019 Collaboration Award at the annual Special District Association of Colorado (SDA) conference held in September. The award recognizes the special district’s work with The Nature Connection, a nonprofit providing outdoor recre…

When Big B’s expanded its beverage offerings to include hard cider, the Hotchkiss-based company had no idea it was on the cusp of something big.

Paonia residents interested in an appointment to the town Board of Trustees can submit a letter of interest by Oct. 31.

Paonia voters will be asked whether to place a moratorium on sales of water taps and future water sales. Paonia Town Board of Trustees voted to hold a special election rather than adopt a moratorium under a petition recently submitted to the town.

The Delta County Planning Commission will recommend approval by the Board of County Commissioners for re-subdividing of the recently-approved Farmer Frank’s Subdivision, with conditions.