Ear to the ground:
It wouldn’t be so bad if I went to prison. Then I could get my teeth fixed.”
– Local weighing the pros and cons of a life of crime
Rigging in Ridgway
A local artist will be making his mark on Ridgway.
Durango sculptor and builder Bryan Saren was chosen unanimously by the Ridgway Town Council to build five sculptures for the town. The outdoor public art pieces will be part of the town’s RAMP project – a $12.5 million overhaul of Ridgway’s historic downtown streets, done in conjunction with CDOT.
 Bryan Saren with “Focus.” /Photo by Lily Stroud |
The project, which broke ground March 2015, includes sculptures on each of four pilasters on the HWY 63 (Sherman Street) bridge across the Uncompahgre River as well as a fifth sculpture near the town center.
Saren created the metal sculptures with the history of Ridgway in mind. The four, 9-foot bridge sculptures include: “Heart,” symbolizing the convergence of paths; “Harvest,” representing the area’s agricultural history; “Resource,” a nod to water and wind; and “Endemic,” a native headdress.
The fifth, and biggest, is “Focus,” a 15-foot sculpture that will be located at North Lena and Sherman streets. It will be built out of old railroad ties and be illuminated using solar panels.
Saren told the Ouray Plain Dealer that he designed the 15-foot sculpture to set Ridgway apart from its stereotype as a gateway to Ouray or Telluride. “I saw that corner piece just being a beacon,” he said. “From my time here, (Ridgway) isn’t a gateway. Ridgway seems like this is the place to be.”
Construction should be done by June 2017.
Televised revolution
Channel flippers may recognize a few familiar faces on the tube this Saturday night. The nationally broadcast TV series “Respectful Revolution” will feature a segment on Durango this Sat., May 7, at 9:30 p.m. on cable channel Free Speech TV out of Denver.
The 30-minute segment includes video portraits of: Linda Illsley, former owner of Linda’s Local Foods; Linley Dixon, of Adobe House Farm; Charles Shaw, owner of the Smiley Building; and Katrina Blair, author, educator and founder of Turtle Lake Refuge.
The show features people from all walks of life who work to make the world better. The show is hosted by Gerard Ungerman and Stacey Wear, of Chico, Calif., who do most of their travel via motorcycle.
Free Speech TV can be seen on: Dish Network, channel 9415; Direct TV, channel 348; or livestreamed at www.FreeSpeech.org