This week in history: Keystone’s first mayor, Snow Sculpture Championships, prison escapee found

Robert Tann/Summit Daily News
1 year ago: Keystone elects its first mayor and town council members
A mayor and six council members were chosen by voters on Jan. 30, 2024, in what was the third election Keystone has held since voting to incorporate in spring 2023. Ken Riley was elected mayor after running unopposed. Gretchen Davis, Dan Sullivan and Aaron J. Parmet all won four-year seats on the town council while Valerie Thisted, Sarah Keel and Carol Kerr were elected to two-year terms. Davis, Sullivan, Thisted and Keel all served on the charter commission that collected input from residents and eventually produced a draft charter that was approved by voters.
— From the Jan. 31, 2024, edition of the Summit Daily News
5 years ago: Leadership departures signify new chapter for Summit district
In a letter to parents Jan. 28, 2020, Summit School District Superintendent Kerry Buhler announced that she will retire from her position effective on June 30, 2020. Buhler had been district superintendent since March 2016. Before becoming superintendent, Buhler was principal of Upper Blue Elementary School in Breckenridge for 13 years. She was a first and second grade teacher in the district for seven years before that. A few days later, Bonnie Ward, who had served as president of the Summit School District Board of Education and board director for four years, submitted her resignation for board approval during the Jan. 30 school board meeting, effective immediately.
— From the Jan. 31, 2020, edition of the Summit Daily News
10 years ago: Snow Sculpture Championships celebrates 25 years of competition
During the 1980 Ullr Fest, Rob Neyland flipped a coin with his team from Breckenridge Associates Real Estate over whether they would do an Ullr Parade float or a snow sculpture. The coin came up heads — snow sculpture — and changed the history of the town forever. Over the next few years, Team Breck took its game outside of Colorado borders and quickly became a force to be reckoned with. After building up its reputation nationally and abroad, Team Breck, with the help of the town of Breckenridge, finally hosted its first international competition in 1991. The event celebrated its 25th iteration as competitors finished their snow sculptures and the judges walked on the scene on Jan. 31, 2015.
— From the Jan. 31, 2015, edition of the Summit Daily News
15 years ago: Wildlife officials look for leads in death of lynx near Heeney
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The Canada lynx is listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 states — the large, gray cats were reintroduced to Colorado in 1999 into the San Juan Mountains, and by 2005, more than 200 of the animals had been released, followed by a number of kitten litters. The lynx killed near Green Mountain Reservoir was one of the first released into the San Juans. Agency officials believe the feline was killed on Jan. 16 or 17, 2010. The Division of Wildlife received a “mortality signal” from the lynx’s radio collar on Jan. 18. Officials later recovered the collar, but the animal’s body was missing. Division officers concluded the lynx was likely killed near the spot they found the collar, and that someone had removed the collar.
— From the Jan. 29, 2010, edition of the Summit Daily News

30 years ago: School district, Breckenridge agree to jointly acquire ‘airport parcel’
The Summit School District Board of Education and the Town of Breckenridge entered into an intergovernmental agreement Jan. 24, 1995, to acquire the land known as the “airport parcel” at the north entrance to Breckenridge. During their respective meetings Jan. 24, both the school board and the Breckenridge Town Council adopted resolutions to make the joint offer on the property. The land, originally designated for an airport, was replanned as part of the Breckenridge Gateway Planning Initiative. New plans include a 30-acre parcel designated for an elementary school and several multi-purpose fields. In addition, the site could accommodate a new middle school if the school district continues to grow.
— From the Jan. 26, 1995, edition of the Summit Daily News
125 years ago: Escaped Summit County convict caught in Creede
F. P. Jackson, who was arrested in the summer of 1899 for robbing the Oro mill, was apprehended in Creede late in January 1900, where he was engaged in driving a team. Upon receiving information about his whereabouts, Sheriff Detwiler went to Creede and, with the aid of the Mineral County sheriff, made the arrest and brought him back to Summit County, where he is boarding at public expense in our new jail.
— From the Feb. 3, 1900, edition of the Summit County Journal

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