40 Years Ago

Taken from the pages of the Dolores Star, Friday, Sept. 28, 1973, Larry and Marilyn Pleasant, Editors

Vega GT. This year's version of last year's Motor Trend Economy Car of the Year, and Car and Driver Readers' Choice as Best Economy Sedan for the past three years. With a reshaped nose, bigger bumpers, nicer carpeting, new stripes and new colors, plus more good things to make it better. At your Chevrolet dealer's Sept. 20.

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Extensive smoke damage was done to the old B.C. Berry home Sunday evening when apparently something caught fire after being left near a floor furnace, according to Fire Chief Wayne Carrigan. The Cecil Gustin family was in the process of moving into the house at the time.

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An accident involving two local people occurred on Tuesday evening, Sept. 18, just about dark near the intersection of Colorado Highway 145 and the West Fork Road. A truck loaded with potatoes and belonging to Walt Henes lost its running lights and attempted to pull off the road and onto a pullout when it collided with a pickup that was in the process of passing. The truck went down an embankment and spilled potatoes over the road.

The pickup was driven by Bill Ragland of Dolores, who received injuries to his face and was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital for treatment. Both vehicles were estimated to be total losses.

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The Catholic Church overlooking Rico got a fresh look last weekend when about 20 persons met and gave the exterior of the building a coat of paint.

Work has been done all through the summer on the church, and work on the interior still remains to be done.

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Work on the laying of a new floor in the school gymnasium was to have begun Monday of this week by the El Paso Floor Co., of Colorado Springs, after the acceptance of their bid for $13,650 at the school board meeting last Thursday.

The board also talked of the possibility of acquiring a school car, and this was tabled in order to look at all possibilities.

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The Southwest Colorado Comprehensive Health Planning Committee will have a board meeting in Mancos in October.

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Rico News & Views by Charles M. Engel: Students of the Rico school were taken on a survival trip on Friday led by Mr. Garrison. They were divided into groups of four with a supervisor for each group.

Provided with only the bare necessities, they spent the day in Ryman Creek, where nine species of edible plants were identified, three shelters were constructed, poisonous plants were identified and studied, and a period of first aid was held.

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A cleanup along SH 145 south of Rico got off to a good start when ready and willing students from the Rico school were taken out on the job to assist the highway crews. The project was short-lived when the weatherman refused to cooperate and rain began falling before the first sackful of trash had been gathered. By noon a snowstorm had moved in, and it was snowing hard under low clouds.

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W.M. Brown from Costa Mesa, Calif., purchased the Trouthaven property about five miles above Rico in mid-August, and since that time he has been busy cleaning up the area, the fish ponds and the ditches leading to the ponds. Brown was a representative for the Remington Arms Co. for the past 19 years and lived in Denver before moving to California 10 years ago.

Brown will have hot showers installed and his overnight parking facilities open by Oct. 1 to accommodate hunters. His plans call for a small mercantile store that will be ready to open by April 1, 1974, along with some permanent parking but catering mostly to overnight parking of campers and trailers. His fishponds will be stocked and ready for fishermen by spring also.