Roaring Fork Valley

Although the Aspen to Parachute Dental Health Alliance is young, they have a handful of successful projects that are helping to bring education, prevention and access to oral healthcare from Aspen to Parachute. Carrie Godes is a member of the Dental Alliance board of directors and works for Garfield County Public Health. She shares the organization's history and programs. 

Learn more about the Aspen to Parachute Dental Health Alliance at www.mygreatteeth.org. 

The Aspen Police Department is fully staffed again, after a handful of officers announced earlier this year they were leaving. Four officers are joining the department. Two graduated from the Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy on Friday.

Two of the new officers are already residents of the Roaring Fork Valley - Adriano Minniti and Seth DelGrasso. Josh Uhernik is from out of state. Duxton Milam is from the Front Range. Two of the four bring previous law enforcement experience.

The Wilderness Land Trust grew from the small town of Aspen to the Western United States. In its 25-year history, the organization has turned thousands of acres of private inholdings into designated wilderness.  Executive Director Reid Haughey shares some of the organization's recent projects in California and their goals for the next 25 years. 

Learn more about The Wilderness Land Trust at www.wildernesslandtrust.org. 

The Wilderness Land Act was created 51 years ago in order to "establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good for the whole people, and for other purposes"  (1964).  

Jean Hocker has an extensive history in land conservation. She's the Chairman of the board of The Wilderness Land Trust and discusses the organization's current project of cleaning up The Painter Mine on Idaho's Salmon River. Hocker also shares the organization's challenges and goals. 

Twenty-five years ago, Jon Mulford, a lawyer from Aspen, was driven to start The Wilderness Land Trust after the purchase of a large private inholding, which the buyer intended to develop. The organization buys inholdings and sells the purchased land to the U.S. Government to be protected as wilderness. Since its founding in 1992, the organization has expanded from the Roaring Fork Valley to seven states in the Western U.S. 

Mulford discusses the history and progression of the organization. 

An effort is underway to get people to conserve water across the Roaring Fork Valley. On Tuesday a public meeting will be held in El Jebel on the Regional Water Efficiency Plan.

For more than a year, major water suppliers in the Valley like the Cities of Aspen and Glenwood Springs, have been creating their own water efficiency plans. Those plans make up a larger effort. It lays out ways to use less water.

Meghan Hurley is the Mental Health Therapist at River Bridge Regional Center. She discuses her work with survivors of child abuse and how talk therapy can be the best method for healing. And Kerry Ach, the Community Outreach Coordinator, give details about Imagine 3, the organization's annual fundraiser on April 4th. 

Learn more about River Bridge at www.RiverBridgeRC.org, and Imagine 3 HERE. 

The non profit Aspen Film announced Wednesday its co-directors are leaving. After 20 years at the helm, married couple Laura Thielen and George Eldred are stepping down. 

Thielen and Eldred have been part of Aspen Film for more than half of the non-profit’s existence. It formed in 1979 to educate and entertain through film. Each season it holds major movie events. Thielen says she and Eldred have worked hard to bring Aspen Film to where it is today: financially healthy and well-regarded.

Survivors of child abuse come to River Bridge after an allegation has been made, there's suspicion, or maybe they come years after an incident. The colorful little building is designed to make kids feels safe and give them the opportunity to share their stories and experiences. Kerry Ach is the Community Outreach Coordinator and Forensic Interviewer at River Bridge. She describes her job (both the rewards and the challenges).  

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is reporting a handful of rare black bear sightings in the heart of winter. Warm weather in January and February got a few bears up and moving, and looking for food. 

A local Epicurean group is researching what kind of “food hub” is right for the Roaring Fork Valley and now Pitkin County is chipping in. 

The Roaring Fork Food Policy Council is the behind the food hub idea. Food hubs strengthen regional food systems by simplifying the way producers get their products to consumers. A hub could include an online farmers’ market, a small demonstration farm or an online information sharing site that links consumers with local food.

Blythe Chapman, the Executive Director of River Bridge Regional Center, discusses the center's history and importance in the Roaring Fork Valley Today. The nationally-accredited child advocacy center helps survivors of child abuse in Pitkin, Eagle, Garfield, and Rio Blanco counties. It is the only child advocacy center on the I-70 corridor between Denver and Grand  Junction. 

Jeff Leahy is the head of the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. He talks about CRMS's longtime outdoor and classroom-based curriculum, the future of the education landscape, and how CRMS is looking to improve their programs. 

Learn more about the Colorado Rocky Mountain School at www.crms.org.