The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF JANUARY 23, 2025
VOLUME 66 | ISSUE 10
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Morrison eateries ask for help with parking issues Trustees give mixed response, though new spots have been proposed BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Evergreen celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2025 with a year of events.
on historical organizations and speakers. “It’s something worth celebrating,” said chamber president Nancy Judge. “In addition to Evergreen, Colorado as a state will celebrate its sesquicentennial next year. In addition to that, we’ve got a lot of organizations within our community that are celebrating anniversaries — organizations that help make up the fabric of what our community is today.” The Evergreen Players marks its 75th year in 2025, the Hiwan Homestead Museum its 50th and the Center for the Arts Evergreen its 50th.
Three Morrison restauranteurs who recently asked the town board for help with parking in the historic town didn’t get the reaction they wanted. One town trustee suggested improving their restaurant’s offerings is a better way to draw customers than adding parking. “Make your restaurants destinations where the food’s good and people want to eat there,” Trustee Paul Sutton said during the board’s Jan. 7 meeting. “They have threes on Yelp. I come and eat at these restaurants once a year and I think, ‘God, why did I do that?’ It’s terrible. Make better food.” Parking has long been a hot topic in Morrison, but it’s not a subject on which the town board and its business people agree. Some business owners and managers say there aren’t enough spaces, and that the paid parking system implemented in 2021 — and tickets generated through it — are taking a toll on their bottom line. At the same time, board members and some residents say there’s more than enough parking in Morrison. Offering a partial resolution to the issue, local property owner Ross Bradley said his company plans to add as many as 30 new paid parking spots on the main
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SEE PARKING, P2
PHOTO COURTESY OF EVERGREEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Evergreen celebrates its sesquicentennial Year of events will feature monthly gatherings, commemorative beer, clothing and other events BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When former Jefferson County Commissioner Dwight Wilmot first came to Evergreen in 1875, he was struck by its natural beauty. That same year, he asked the fed-
eral government to put a post office in the community, requesting they name it “Evergreen” after the trees he so loved. Because Evergreen is not incorporated, that occasion — the first in which the name “Evergreen” was used — marks the community’s official beginning, according to Historic Jeffco. And that makes this year Evergreen’s 150th anniversary. To honor its sesquicentennial, the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce has lined up a year’s worth of events, including a monthly gathering called “Sacred Spaces” that takes a closer look at the community’s most treasured places and assets, and a July 3 Night in the Park that will shine a spotlight
VOICES: 10 | HAPPENINGS: 11 | LIFE: 12 | PUZZLES: 15
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