Rangely, Stories

Rangely trail project advances while new veterans’ memorial park nears completion

Town of Rangely employees, subcontracted to the Western Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District, cut walkways through Hefley Park in west Rangely last week. The space, which will become a veterans’ memorial park, will feature a 1 1/4-life-sized soldier statue created by Meeker artist John Kobald and funded through collaborative efforts of the Meeker and Rangely VFWs, government entities, businesses and individuals in 2012-2013. An identical statue was unveiled on Meeker’s courthouse lawn on July 4, 2013.
Town of Rangely employees, subcontracted to the Western Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District, cut walkways through Hefley Park in west Rangely last week. The space, which will become a veterans’ memorial park, will feature a 1 1/4-life-sized soldier statue created by Meeker artist John Kobald and funded through collaborative efforts of the Meeker and Rangely VFWs, government entities, businesses and individuals in 2012-2013. An identical statue was unveiled on Meeker’s courthouse lawn on July 4, 2013.
RANGELY I A non-motorized trails project in the works for more than two years approached completion this week while Town of Rangely subcontractors began work on a veterans’ memorial park in the existing Hefley Park last week.
The first link of a 16-mile, five-loop trail system outlined in a 2011 master plan is in its final weeks of construction, Rangely Town Manager Peter Brixius said Monday. Foot and bike traffic will soon cross the 10-foot-wide concrete path traveling the length of Royden Ditch, which joins South White and South Stanolind avenues. An access ramp at Sunset Avenue, gates at trail entrances, fencing and bank work have yet to be completed.
A $136,500 construction grant awarded by Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 2012 paid for the work. So did a condition of the grant, which mandated that 25 percent of the funding be matched by in-kind work or cash contributions. Town employees prepared and compacted the space before Grand Junction’s Mays Concrete poured cement last week, and those same employees will soon add fencing, install gates and finish reclamation work on the ditch’s banks.
Brixius said the project’s delay was probably funding-related.
“For some reason, the state was really pushing back the execution of the contract,” he said. “There must have been some funding issues. Rather than using lottery funds like GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) or state funding, they ended up using the funding from the federal government through Land and Water (Conservation Funds).”
Because sections of the loop system can be completed only when grant funding comes through and the town’s conservation trust fund has sufficient capital to pay for in-kind work, the entire process will take decades to complete. However, code compliance officer Vicki Pfennig is currently researching the next grant the town hopes to get, and when it does, reconstructing the asphalt trail parallel to Kennedy Drive is likely next in line.
“It’s in really poor shape right now,” Brixius said. “I’d hate to move onto something else without addressing that first … A good portion of that trail needs to be overlaid. Other parts need some shoring and retaining walls to prevent the mud from running over the trail.”
One architect’s plan has estimated costs for the Kennedy reconstruction at between $200,000 and $250,000 although altering the current plan could reduce that cost. Brixius hopes grants and in-kind work, the latter of which is always a condition of receiving state and federal funding, will make the project a reality in the next few years.
Just down the road from Royden Ditch, several Town of Rangely employees subcontracted out to the Western Rio Blanco Metropolitan (WRBM) Recreation and Park District have cut walkways through and around Hefley Park with cement scheduled to be poured in the next week, WRBM Executive Director Tim Webber said.
The work is part of turning the green space into a veterans’ memorial park, which will become home to a 1¼-life-sized statue of a soldier crafted by Meeker sculptor John Kobald. An identical statue was erected on Meeker’s courthouse on July 4, 2013.
Several companies have donated or will donate materials and labor for the walkways, pedestal and lighting, among them Grand Junction’s Mays Concrete and Calvin Stucco, Meeker Sand and Gravel and Ducey’s Electric.
“Both the town and recreation district have been really big supporters of this project,” VFW Post 5261 Commander and Rio Blanco County-Rangely veterans service officer Hoot Gibson said. “Without the input from those folks, (the memorial) probably wouldn’t have happened for Rangely, too. The government entities on both ends of the counties have helped Meeker and us get it done. And so many people have donated time and money to make it happen.”
The statue’s placement and unveiling will happen sometime this fall.
Webber hopes the park’s “facelift,” which will include new lawn irrigation and ADA-compliant restrooms, will help draw locals and visitors alike to a part of town that includes W.C. “Bud” Striegel’s car museum and the Rangely Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism’s quarters.
“Ultimately, we want that whole corner to draw people in,” Webber said.
In other town news, Phase II of the water treatment plant’s $5.5 million, three-phase renovation project continues moving forward. Workers are currently installing piping on the plant’s exterior, and after they backfill around the pipes, construction will move back into the plant.
“The water plant itself looks like a missile testing site out there right now,” Brixius said.
Next on the team’s checklist will be constructing a filter apparatus and installing a new sodium hypochloride generator, which enables the town to generate its own chlorine rather than buy the chemical in compressed form.
Once that’s done, workers will replace several outdated electronic controls with new ones, at which point the plant will have complete redundancy, allowing it to produce water continually even if one side of the plant goes offline.
Phase II renovations have gone largely according to plan, though a leaking filter basin has caused some delays to the construction’s progress. Brixius hopes the basin will be remediated by Sept. 1.
The town initially hoped to complete all three reconstruction phases by 2015, but Phase III funding won’t likely be in place until 2016. The town will seek out additional grant money to finish the work, including a $1 million grant it hopes to receive from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).
An algae bloom in the river that clogged filters last month has largely dissipated thanks to rains adding silt content to the river, Brixius said. Silts ground the algae to a finer texture and helped dissipate it.
Supporters of the “Save the Mine” campaign earlier this summer continue to wait for an Aug. 29 decision from the Environmental Protection Agency, which will determine whether a Title V permit will be issued to the Deseret Power Electric Cooperative with its original constraints, require Deseret’s Bonanza Power Plant to install current Best Available Control Technology (BACT) or some measure in between.
Finally, several resurfacing projects on Rangely’s residential streets are done, with a final paving project at the juncture of North Cedar Street and East Raven Avenue wrapping up the in-town road construction season.

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  • Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
  • Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
  • Bailey is our first Marketing Mixology partner and we are excited to help her promote this fun event along with the Meeker Colorado Chamber of Commerce!

Bailey and Real Estate West will host the second annual Easter Egg Hunt March 25th-29th. Go follow her page so you don't miss any clues!
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Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! 

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  • More freudenfreude, less schadenfreude… Hear from our Editor in her column this week online at ht1885.com.
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“For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.”
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Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
8 hours ago
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Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
9 hours ago
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@bailey_waldref_rew 

💚💚💚

Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! 

#locallove #locallovespotlight #lovemeeker #marketingmixology #shoplocal #superchargeyourmarketing
Bailey is our first Marketing Mixology partner and we are excited to help her promote this fun event along with the Meeker Colorado Chamber of Commerce! Bailey and Real Estate West will host the second annual Easter Egg Hunt March 25th-29th. Go follow her page so you don't miss any clues! @bailey_waldref_rew 💚💚💚 Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! #locallove #locallovespotlight #lovemeeker #marketingmixology #shoplocal #superchargeyourmarketing
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1 day ago
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🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Herald Times! 🍀 According to the Census Bureau, over 31 million people - or 9.5%! - in America claim Irish ancestry! Everyone have a safe and fun Patty's Day celebrating your Irishness, real or honorary!
🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Herald Times! 🍀 According to the Census Bureau, over 31 million people - or 9.5%! - in America claim Irish ancestry! Everyone have a safe and fun Patty's Day celebrating your Irishness, real or honorary!
2 days ago
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The Cowboys played in their first golf tournament in the spring at Chipeta, “it was a bit of a cloudy and windy day but it was awesome to see some grass and a golf course,” commented head coach Amanda Back. Vivian Brown, pictured on the left, broke 100 and shot a 94 and Jayda May second from right shot a 99. From the far right, excluding those that have been mentioned, Averee Woodward, Joelle Soler, Mia Pinzon, Aurora Stalling, and Kailynn Watson all played scramble. This was Pinzon’s, Stalling’s and Watson’s first tournament as Meeker High School girl golfers. “It’s going to be a great season,” ended Back.
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
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Mountain Sage Therapeutics held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for their new business at 640 Main St. in Meeker. Owners Teresa Wilde and Justin Noller offer movement, energy, and massage therapy for animals and their human companions. They are pictured here with the Chamber of Commerce and local citizens who attended. View their service on their website at www.mountainsagetherapeutics.abmp.com and contact them for an appointment 970-706-8445.
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
Members of the Rio Blanco Golf Association got a jump on spring this past week as volunteers shoveled and blew the snow off the greens. The winter’s snow and ice layers suffocate the fragile bent grass putting surfaces and getting the snow off allows Mother Nature to start her healing process earlier.
“For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.”
Board members and volunteers are very hopeful that this will be a turnaround year for the local 9-hole course which plans an early April opening, weather permitting.
Members of the Rio Blanco Golf Association got a jump on spring this past week as volunteers shoveled and blew the snow off the greens. The winter’s snow and ice layers suffocate the fragile bent grass putting surfaces and getting the snow off allows Mother Nature to start her healing process earlier. “For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.” Board members and volunteers are very hopeful that this will be a turnaround year for the local 9-hole course which plans an early April opening, weather permitting.
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
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The 2024 Colorado State Champions hosted their annual awards banquet Sunday. Head Coach JC Watt and Assistant Coach Carl Padilla commented on this year’s team’s success as a product of work in the room, dedication by wrestlers and coaches, and a champion mentality. Read the story online at ht1885.com.
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