1 year ago: With a strong snowpack, the Dillon Reservoir will ‘fill and spill’ for the 2nd year in a row

Denver Water announced in May 2024 that the Dillon Reservoir will “fill and spill” for the second year in a row. That is good news for rafters, boaters, fish and regional water interests on both sides of the Continental Divide, according to the public utility agency. Denver Water serves 1.5 million people in Colorado’s capital city and its surrounding suburbs. Performance Tours Rafting owner Kevin Foley said that after a good season on Summit County’s Blue River last year, his team is excited to see that the Blue will be raftable again this year.

— From the May 12, 2024, edition of Summit Daily News

5 years ago: Short-term lodging owners struggle to stay afloat under public health order

More than two months after Gov. Jared Polis ordered ski areas to close, people in the short-term rental business are still looking toward the future with anxiety and trepidation as the county’s ban on short-term lodging looms over their financial stability. While the county has allowed retail businesses and restaurants to open with limitations, the short-term lodging industry is in a holding pattern. In the safer-at-home public health order, county officials prohibited short-term lodging — which includes any lodging that can be rented for 30 or fewer days — from operating until June 1. Having already taken a financial hit, some property owners and managers are preparing for a 50% decline in summer revenue.

— From the May 16, 2020, edition of Summit Daily News

10 years ago: Summit County miner banned from national forest land

A man with longtime mining claims in Summit County was sentenced May 11, 2015, in Grand Junction after he was convicted of threatening a U.S. Forest Service officer and unauthorized use of public land south of Breckenridge. Judge Gordon P. Gallagher sentenced the 72-year-old man to two years of probation, during which he is banned from any national forest lands unless he signs and files a site cleanup and remediation plan with the Forest Service. For the last couple decades, the has lived most of the year in Grand Junction and has spent summers working on his claims near the McCullough Gulch Trailhead east of Quandary Peak. He was convicted in February of 10 counts that include interfering with the duties of a Forest Service employee, destruction of public property, building an unapproved bridge and maintaining an unauthorized residence at his unpatented mining claim.

— From the May 12, 2015, edition of Summit Daily News

15 years ago: Nonprofit says community greenhouses are over budget, in need of money

The Summit Prevention Alliance’s new “ultra-local” food movement has hit a snag. Its Frisco community greenhouse project is way over budget, and alliance staff need to raise $10,000 by June 1, 2010. The project received a $20,000 LiveWell grant fund, which will cover materials and construction, but project coordinator Joanna Rybak reports that they encountered additional unexpected charges, such as Frisco Sanitation District fees and additional costs for materials and construction. Alliance staffers, with the help of Alpine Earth Center in Silverthorne, have already built garden beds and three greenhouses near the Summit County Community and Senior Center. The nonprofit has asked the community to assist with raising additional funds, any donations of garden equipment would be gladly accepted by the community garden.

— From the May 17, 2010, edition of Summit Daily News

30 years ago: Breckenridge officials consider possible gondola to help traffic woes

Breckenridge Ski Resort has plans to add a gondola accessing Peak 8 from the downtown area, resort officials say. However, they are also quick to point out the plans hinge on a variety of factors ranging from economic feasibility to town council approval. The new gondola would likely be located just north of the Breckenridge Town Hall on Ski Hill Road. The enclosed lift is part of the resort’s overall master plan. Plans to potentially proceed with the gondola have stemmed from concerns about parking in the town and traffic to and from the slopes. According to a traffic consultant hired by the town to study parking in the downtown area, a gondola accessing Peak 8 would eliminate about 1,200 vehicles per day on Ski Hill Road.

— From the May 11, 1995, edition of Summit Daily News

125 years ago: Three children drown in the Blue River after horses get spooked on bridge

Three children drowned in the Blue River after the family’s horse team tumbled off the side of a bridge May 13, 1900. Emmett Emmons — with his wife, children and a few other relatives — were on their way to see their relatives on the other side of the river. While crossing the McKinley bridge, the horses started acting ugly, became unmanageable and eventually plunged off the side of the bridge. The river was about 10 feet deep at the bridge. Emmons reached the shore with his baby. His wife was also able to make it to dry land, but two of their children — Elmer, 4, and a girl of 3 — and Leonard McKinley, 2, sank and were drowned. Mrs. Emmons floated downstream for about a mile before being rescued. One of the horses drowned, and the other swam to shore.

— From the May 19, 1900 edition of Summit County Journal