January 2007

Breckenridge,

GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Vail Resorts has received several environmental and conservation awards recently. In a statement the company emphasized its commitment to protecting and enhancing the spectacular natural surroundings in which they do business. Vail was praised for their commitment to renewable energy and resource management. Among the awards:

-National Green Power Award

- US Forest Service Regional Forester Award

-State of Colorado Environmental Leadership Gold Award

These awards were received for exceeding the requirements of environmental regulations and promoting the goals of sustainability.

While the Colorado Department of Transportation continues to twiddle its thumbs and push back the tough decisions on how to improve the I-70 transportation corridor, the citizen organized I-70 Mountain Corridor Coalition has taken the proactive approach. A system of traffic monitoring systems letting drivers know what the delays are at peak times and an incentive based plan aims to spread the traffic out to keep it moving smoothly. Some of the incentives being discussed include close-in parking for carpoolers and free parking for those who travel during off hours. The Coalition also continues to promote the mass transit option for the corridor in contrast to the tunnel vision of CDOT’s assertion that the only option involves adding more lanes of pavement to the interstate. CDOT claims technology doesn’t exist for mass transit to operate in the mountain environment. Since a freeway widening project will take twenty years to complete the coalition is confident in its claim that the technology is not that far away to ignore the possibilities.

In the continuing development of the Breckenridge Art District the town was proud to announce the recent opening of the Tin Shop. Located behind the Barney Ford Museum in a restored historic building the shop will provide studio space for visiting artists to work and do public demonstrations. The upstairs provides temporary living quarters while they are in town. The shop is already slated to host 18 artists from around the world in its first year. To find out more about the schedule for workshops, lectures and demonstrations go to www.TownofBreckenridge.com .

The Breckenridge Art Festival dates for the upcoming summer are as follows:

July 6, 7, 8 th at Main St. Station, S Main St and Park Ave.

July 27, 28, 29 th and Sept 1, 2, 3 rd at the N Main St and Wellington Rd.

Frisco will hold an art festival over the July 4 th holiday and Dillon is holding its first July 22, 23, 24 th

More good info can be found at: http://www.BestoftheRockies.com

ALL THE GOOD NEWS…

Summit Cove Elementary is setting new standards in the academic world. The school’s state accountability report card has come in excellent the last three years running. They also received the John Irwin School of Excellence award given to schools with academic performance in the top 8 percentile. Additionally no student scored unsatisfactory on the state tests.

Summit County has two of the world’s best Orthopedic Centers. The Steadman-Hawkins clinic receives celebrity patients on a regular basis, the have rebuilt Peekaboo Street several times, while the Vail-Summit Orthopedics has some of the finest technology available today. VSO claims a digital X-ray machine that makes taking images faster, clearer and more precise than the old fashioned film type. Additionally they have a full MRI machine that save the extra expense and a trip to the hospital. Additionally with 14 exam rooms and nine full time physicians you will not only get the finest care but get it quickly as well.

The 19 th annual Hartford Ski Spectacular took place in Breckenridge last month and over 800 athletes with disabilities took part in a series of workshops, training and competitions. The group included 100 wounded veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The event was sponsored by the Disabled Sports USA who in many cases sponsored the vets to help them get a new direction in life. As you can imagine many newly disable vets turn to drugs and alcohol to find peace in their new situation. This is a fantastic way to get them back into athletics and competition so they can return to a positive state and a positive lifestyle.

School News

Check back, with the holidays there wasn't much happpening.  I will update you on the winter sports and new programs being developed as the new technical training center nears completion.

Think snow, always!

Contact Tom if you need tips on where to stay, eat or play.

LEADVILLE/ TWIN LAKES NEWS

Looking for some small time fun? The Village of Twin Lakes is proud to announce its first annual WinterFest celebration. It will be some down home fun with a potluck, some amateur snow sculptures and perhaps a bingo game. The fun starts at noon and snow shoeing and Ice Golf will be available. Yes, Twin Lakes is home to the world’s highest Championship Ice Golf course. They will even soon have four wheel drive golf carts for your pleasure. Call Charlie at the Nordic Lodge for a tee time. Go to www.VisitTwinLakes.com for more information.

Sad news during the holiday season. A long time local of Leadville, Nick Palmer age 19, was gunned down by a sniper in Iraq . A star athlete in high school, Nick was born to be a Marine. He trained religiously for a year before he went to boot camp. Nick was buried locally with full military honors between Christmas and New Years.

In really big news for Leadville and Twin Lakes it was recently announced that Lance Armstrong, yes that one, will be riding in the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. The Trail 100 bike race, along with its sister race the Trail 100 foot race, are considered some of the toughest endurance tests anywhere. The race runs from Leadville along the Sawatch mountain range to Twin Lakes and back. The race is open to 750 racers and has so many entrants that a lottery determines the final roster of racers. This will get Leadville noticed for something other than being a mining town.

The next generation of snowshoe was debuted in Leadville recently. Called the Flight System the product eliminates the bulky boots usually strapped onto a frame. Instead a common shoe is zipped into a foam insulated bootie which then clips into a step-in binding. The piece de resistance is the booties have built in crampons so if the trail gets packed or icy you can take off the deck, or snowshoe, and be in control. The system was designed with racers in mind; they can quickly switch from boots to snowshoes as the course conditions change. The Flight System was designed by Bill Perkins, the man who last changed snow shoeing with the invention of the Red Feather plastic webbed frames. The shoes are produce by Kahtoola and can be purchased at: www.kahtoola.com .

The Lake County Youth Leadership Council at the high school will be granting $8000 to local non-profits. They will emphasize improvements in community recreation, animal shelters and the prevention of violence, drugs and alcohol abuse.