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Top 5 stories on SummitDaily.com, week of July 14

This rendering shows concepts for Fourth Street Crossing, a massive project covering an entire city block with a new hotel, market hall, parking garage, commercial and housing assets and more in downtown Silverthorne.
Courtesy of Milender White

Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.

1. A Breckenridge resident is the alleged culprit of Independence Pass snowmobiling case; pictures posted to social media

The U.S. Forest Service opened an investigation last week into a case of two men snowmobiling on snow-free terrain in designated wilderness on Independence Pass after receiving tips that one of the alleged culprits posted pictures of his illegal activity on social media.



Breckenridge resident David Lesh posted pictures about snowmobiling on the Pass the next day on his Instagram and Facebook accounts. On Facebook, the outdoor clothing company Lesh founded, Virtika, posted three pictures of Lesh riding a snowmobile with the caption “@davidlesh sledding today on Independence Pass on Independence Day.”

Snowmobile use is only allowed on Highway 82 on the Independence Pass corridor. It’s never allowed in wilderness, where all motorized and mechanized uses are prohibited.



— The Aspen Times

2. Local historian tells the tale of the Dillon Reservoir

In 1961, 100 years after the county was founded as one of Colorado’s 17 original territories, the construction of the Dillon Reservoir officially began. The reservoir’s need was first realized in 1907, when the city of Denver realized it would require a lot more water as it grew.

Local historian Sandra Mather recounted the history of the construction at the Frisco Historic Park and Museum as part of the town of Frisco’s Lunchtime Lecture series.

“If you look at the Dillon Reservoir, it’s beautiful; but for some people, it brings back some very painful memories,” Mather began. “For some it’s a symbol of newness, change, opportunity and progress. For others, it symbolizes the death of a very old and comfortable way of life.”

— Deepan Dutta

3. Deal closed, work begins on $80 million Fourth Street Crossing development in Silverthorne

The town of Silverthorne’s decade-long dream of building a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use ‘Main Street’ is about to be fully realized. Arvada-based construction corporation Millender White announced this week that it had closed the deal and started work on the $80 million Fourth Street Crossing development.

The Fourth Street Crossing complex will be built between Third and Fourth streets off Highway 9, just north of the I-70 interchange. It will encompass 13 buildings across a 3.8-acre site spanning two blocks between Highway 9 and Adams Avenue, and will include a 29,000-square-foot market hall featuring drinks and dining.

Once built, the Fourth Street Crossing is hoped to be the thriving “town core” Silverthorne dreamed of since 2007, when a community survey revealed that residents wanted a “real downtown” area that made the town feel more like a thriving, bustling community.

— Deepan Dutta

4. What’s forest bathing and why are so many people in Colorado doing it?

The latest outdoorsy trend gaining traction in Colorado — forest bathing — is all about slowing down (way down), trading elevation gains for slow-paced walks in the woods and simply connecting with nature. While you intuitively know spending time in nature feels good, several studies underscore the health benefits of forest bathing, a practice that originated in Japan in the 1980s as a form of preventive health care.

“We don’t go far and we don’t travel fast,” said Kayla Weber, who is based in Vail and leads forest therapy outings. “We take the opportunity to slow down and connect back to our surroundings.”

— The Denver Post

5. Service restored after fiber optic cut causes widespread phone outage, including 911

A widespread telephone service outage last week affected northwest Colorado, including 911 service in Summit County. Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons confirmed the cause of the outage was a broken fiber optic line somewhere between Breckenridge and Bailey. Service was restored early the next morning.

— Sawyer D’Argonne


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