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VOL. 142. NO. 14 | THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 | $1.00
Hospital grapples with travelers, volume loss Staff retention and cost recovery a primary goal moving into 2023 Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
(Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part article on news affecting Gunnison Valley Health. The next will appear in the April 13 edition of the Times.) Last week, the Gunnison Valley Health Board of Trustees gave county commissioners an update on the hospital’s operations. The meeting comes at a time when the state-wide landscape for healthcare going into 2023 is harder for rural providers than it was just a year ago, as COVID funds dry up, staffing challenges abound and, as result, profit margins sink closer to zero. For GVH, solutions may lie in staff retention and cost recovery, as a strong workforce will keep residents in-valley for service.
Abby Harrison
Disco coronation Under an awe-inspiring, shimmering light display and nonstop disco music, valley residents Zach Guy and Isabel Russell were crowned king and queen of KBUT’s annual Disco Inferno event. A number of bell-bottomed disco-lovers competed for the titles, shimmying and shaking all night long on an elevated stage. But in the end, only two could have the crown. For more photos, see A20.
GVH A3
INSIDE
TODAY
NEWS: STOR Committee plans for the future, A8
COMMUNITY: Western Boxing Club celebrates 50th anniversary, B1
SPORTS: Cowboy baseball back on track, B9
OBITUARY, BIRTHS A2 OPINION A4-A, A10 CLASSIFIEDS A14-A17 SPORTS B9 ONLINE GUNNISONTIMES.COM
Wilder’s market moves to Almont Natural grocery store will rebrand for a fresh start up-valley
Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer
Wilder’s Organic Market, a Gunnison staple for unique and healthy snacks in recent years, is preparing for the next phase of business after shut-
tering its space along Main Street just a couple months ago. The shop, now renamed Blue Sky Mercantile, has found a new home 10 miles north of Gunnison, in the Almont Resort. During the store’s year and a half tenure in Gunnison, owner
Cassia Montgomery helped to support farmers all over the Western Slope, bringing in produce from the Gunnison and the North Fork valleys. “It was really nice to get to know so many of the local and Wilder’s A7
Need a hand in the kitchen? Students are here to help. Student volunteers relieve staffing shortages in Gunnison school cafeterias Bella Biondini Times Editor
On Monday afternoon, students swarmed into the Gunnison Community School cafeteria for lunchtime, the line running out of the door. Working alongside the school’s kitchen staff were students — filling their fellow classmates’ trays with nachos, cherry tomatoes, fruit and Volunteers A6
Gunnison Community School students line up for lunch on April 3.
Bella Biondini