It’s bear:30 up on Log Hill lately.
A few bears have helped themselves to the hospitality of a few homeowners up here in the past week.
“Hi all,” a neighbor began his post on the popular Nextdoor app, “please be aware and lock your doors and windows. We had a bear come up on our deck and inside the house through an open screen window last night around 4a.m.”
The first reply was a suggestion to call someone at the Department of Wildlife because surely the bear would be back.
“Hi,” another reply read, “looks like we’re catty corner from you. The bear (I’m assuming the same one) also entered our house at about 4:30 a.m. through a lower window. We’re in touch with DOW but I’m sure they’d like to hear from you, too. From what we saw…cinnamon with black ears.”
Meanwhile, a reply from the owner of the scene at the first crime: “We scared it off the first time, then I guess it circled around because a few minutes later it was coming back up the deck stairs. Pretty brazen.”
Then, a tip to deter bears was offered: “Put a balloon filled with vinegar and wrap it in toilet paper and cover it in honey. Place it on your deck or access spot. The bear bites into it and the vinegar shocks him, discouraging him from returning.”
As the hot, dry summer continues there will be more and more of these stories.
Speaking of large critters, there has also been an inordinate number of mountain lion sightings on Log Hill.
There have been reports of the big cats bedding down in yards, protecting their kill near houses and even roaming around Ridgway near the elementary school and tennis courts.
Fly fishing may be put on hold for a while, and probably should be in lower elevation waters.
A few years ago when we were dry and water levels were low, I stayed out of the business of fly fishing due to the stress it puts on trout.
This summer is a repeat of that.
Already, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has called for voluntary closure of fishing on the Colorado River from Kremmling to Rifle. “Please fish at higher elevation lakes and streams or in other regions where environmental factors are much less severe,” the CPW notice reads.
High temps and low oxygen levels in the water are the issue.
Additionally, stress from catching, handling, releasing and wading may result in the onset of disease and/or fish mortality.
Several businesses were closed in Ouray on July 4, an odd occurrence since it is one of the busiest days for restaurants and merchants all year. One large retailer was closed because the owners wanted to spend time with family. Another smaller one was closed for similar reasons.
One in particular, though, a large restaurant, was closed all day, putting a strain on the thousands of visitors looking for a bite to eat.
Was it closed due to being understaffed? It didn’t say. More likely, I was told, it was closed as some sort of oxymoronic response to the lack of “affordable housing” in Ouray County.
The hollow gesture, if in fact that was the intent, made no sense.
Why would you protest the fact that your employees can’t find affordable living in the county by creating a day in which they can’t be paid?
And while you’re at it, perhaps you should be open as much as you can so your business can afford to pay your employees more.
Thing is, as a long-time Ouray resident told me, front line employees couldn’t afford to buy housing in Ouray 15 years ago. The problem is nothing new.
Exacerbating the issue this year, obviously, is all the incentive not to work. The extra unemployment pay created during the pandemic has had the unintended effect of sidelining workers.
Think that’s not the case? Then ask yourself why Colorado Governor Polis signed an executive order to pay unemployed workers who had been collecting unemployment pay $1,600 in May and $1,200 in June if they’d just go back to work?
Lack of low-rent housing isn’t affecting business in Ouray.
Ready for this? April 2021 sales tax in the City of Ouray was $130,866.
How does that compare, you ask?
In 2020, April sales tax was $42,445. But that was a pandemic number when businesses were limping along, so that’s not a fair comparison.
In 2019, April sales tax was $57,878, and in 2018 it was $56,980.
The lodging and occupancy tax is way up, too. Through April this year, the city has collected $97,325, compared to $64,862 for the same period in 2019. That’s a 50% increase.
Somebody in the city can afford the housing.
Ladies and gentlemen, the state of the union is strong.
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