By Shannon Lukens.
The Tread of Pioneers Museum awarded Verna Decker Whaley with the 2023 Leckenby Award. Verna has lived in South Routt County for all of her 96 years. The Leckenby award honors someone who has enriched the quality of life in Routt County.
The late, great Carl Ramunno was award posthumously with the 2023 Larson Award. It was accepted by his granddaughter, Lacy Ramunno Morrill. Ramunno was a wrestling coach for over 30 years in Steamboat Springs, leading the team to six state championships. He was National Coach of the year in 1988 and Ramunno is in the Colorado High School Coaches and CHSAA Halls of Fame.
Here’s more from Candice Bannister, Executive Director, Tread of Pioneers Museum; Oct. 5, 2023.
The Tread of Pioneers Museum honored two Routt County residents on October 3 at the annual Leckenby and Larson Awards reception. Both awards focus on volunteerism, contributions to the community, and serving as an inspiration to youth.
The awards committee selected lifelong South Routt resident Verna Decker Whaley for this year’s Leckenby Pioneer Award. Whaley, now 96, continues to exemplify the spirit of the award focused on giving back to the community.
This is not the first time Whaley has been honored for her giving spirit. The “11s Club” in South Routt also celebrated Whaley in 2003. For both awards, Whaley was selected primarily for her compassion, friendship with her elderly neighbors, and commitment as a community volunteer.
Whaley is well known for her regular visits to check on her neighbors. In years past, she would take them to the grocery store, the doctor’s office, or wherever they needed to go. She was known to spend hours assisting fellow neighbors in need.
“It’s just me,” Whaley said at the 2003 ‘11s Club’ award ceremony. “That’s my life. I just love people. I guess I’ve always been that way.”
She said her father ensured she always considered others, a lesson she took to heart. Whaley also volunteers regularly at the What’s New Thrift Shop in Phippsburg. There, she sorts through donations and organizes them for sale. Proceeds from the thrift shop support the upkeep of the town and parks in the unincorporated town of Phippsburg.
Her community involvement includes Phippsburg town trustee, 4-H leader, Routt County Fair, Future Farmers of America, local schools, and more. For decades, she has been an active part of the Phippsburg and Toponas communities and, recently, the effort to revive the heritage and programs at the Toponas Community Center.
Whaley was born in Toponas in 1927. She was one of five siblings of homesteading parents who had arrived in Routt County in the late 1800s. Her father had been a rural mail carrier. She worked hard on her family’s cattle ranch, where they also raised horses, chickens, grains, spinach, and lettuce, and, like most rural kids, gardened and was active in 4-H.
After she married her husband Blaine when he got out of the service, they eventually bought a ranch north of Phippsburg. In addition to ranching with her husband, she usually worked in town for extra money. Blaine and Verna had two children, Lynn and Sue. Now, Verna greatly enjoys her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, volunteering, and playing cards with friends.
This year’s Larson Award winner is Carl Ramunno. He was known as a beloved coach and teacher and served his community in many ways.
Ramunno was born on October 25, 1931, in Trinidad. After Ramunno served in the Army during the Korean War and married Marilyn Johnson in 1953, he began his 37-year career as an industrial arts teacher at Steamboat Springs High School and coached the wrestling team for 32 years. The couple had three sons and two daughters.
Ramunno was well-known and respected in the community and was active in several organizations. He is remembered as much more than a wonderful father, family man, coach, and a teacher. He was a mentor, a champion for students and education, and inspired youth to succeed.
During his 32 years as a coach, he compiled a dual meet record of 365-75-2. He also won six state titles, 18 Northwestern League championships, and 19 district titles. He coached 27 individual champions and 46 other state-place winners. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1988 for all his accomplishments.
In 1995, he was named to the Colorado High School Coaches Association and posthumously awarded the Lifetime Service to Wrestling for Colorado from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, the same year he died at age 68.
Many former coworkers, students, and athletes attended the awards ceremony on Tuesday night to honor “Coach C” and remember him as the best coach, teacher, and person they ever knew. Former coworker Bud Root, who nominated Ramunno for the award, recalled the coach’s pep talks before wrestling matches, “There are only three things that matter. First, your religion; second, your family; and third, you’re Steamboat Wrestler!”
Rammuno’s granddaughter, Lacy Rammuno Morrill, said she was honored to receive the award for her late grandfather. She spoke about how he impacted many people, including her family members like his sons, who have also enjoyed lifelong careers as reputable coaches and teachers, just like their father. He was also a skilled industrial arts teacher “who could fix anything, even a hairdryer,” and Morrill feels he influenced her career and love of design.
Since the museum posted the awards announcement on social media, dozens of comments have come in from community members supporting this year’s two award recipients. Every year, the museum’s committee is challenged to choose just two recipients from a long list of highly qualified nominees, and this year was no exception. Yet Whaley and Ramunno are standouts in their ability to connect with and inspire people around them. Their influence helps us strive to be our best each day for ourselves, our family, and our community.
The closure of a section of the bus/bike lane along Hwy 40 at Old Fish Creek Falls Road and the sidewalk there, is being disregarded by some. Utility and excavation work is being done there on the pools at Old Town Hot Springs.
Garret Bock lives up there and he says he has seen people going around the closed area, into the lane on Hwy 40 to get through, since there isn’t a walkway right now.
“I’ve seen some kids do it. This afternoon, I saw a lady with a baby stroller pushing it. Everybody who walks this way makes this choice: bikes, pedestrians, all kinds.”
Elise Thatcher with Colorado Department of Transportation says the signage is up in the right places to tell people to not go through the section that is blocked off.
“It is really important for folks in the area to, if they’re bicycling or walking, especially if they’re walking their dogs, or walking their kiddo to school. You want to make sure you’re following the detour signs so that you’re not walking in the flow of traffic. You want to make sure you’re following the detour signs so that you’re on a safe route to where you want to go.”
That detour is marked. The re-route is up to Hilltop Parkway and then across Highway 40. Then travel on the Core Trail up to 3rd and Lincoln to cross. The closure on the highway could last for two to seven more weeks.
Vanessa Cory is the Operations Director for Old Town Hot Springs.
“Our construction team must follow the safety guidelines mandated by CDOT. We understand the temporary closure is an inconvenience, especially for those located on Old Fish Creek Falls Road. Please know that the team at Native Excavating is working diligently to complete the work as quickly and safely as possible. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”
BIKE/BUS LANE CLOSURE NOT ALWAYS BEING FOLLOWED ALONG HWY 40 NEAR OTHS
The Women of Moffat County group is disbanding because they couldn’t find volunteers to fill the open board seats. The name will stay registered with the Secretary of State’s office so it could start up again, if there is interest. If that is you, send an email to WomenforMC@gmail.com
The Moffat County Extension Office in Craig is hosting a Youth Mental Health First Aid session on Friday. It helps those in the class to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges in children and adolescents, ages 12-18. It’s from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, at the Moffat County Extension Office at 1198 W. Victory Way in Craig. Register by emailing education@partnersyouth.org
A voluntary closure starts tomorrow, at the confluence of the Yampa River and Fish Creek. It will run at least through the end of October. It is being done to help protect the fragile native mountain whitefish population during their annual spawn migration and concentration. The closure runs about 100 feet upstream and about 200 feet downstream on the Yampa River, as well as up Fish Creek to the Safeway bridge. There are signs out there.
Hayden Town Council meets at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Hayden Town Hall on Jefferson Avenue.
The Steamboat Sailors have a football game today. It’s at 3:30 in Westminster, against The Academy of Charter Schools. Listen on KTYV 105.7 Sports on FM.
It’s Homecoming Week for Moffat County and Hayden.
The dress theme for the Bulldogs today is Icon Barbie so each class dresses as a different Barbie theme. Teachers are Holiday Barbie. Then the Bonfire is at 8 p.m. Thursday. Friday is Pink Power. The parade is at 1 p.m. Friday and the football game is at 7 p.m. There’s more volleyball on Saturday morning. Wear pink as it is a Pink Out Game. Then the Homecoming Dance is Saturday night.
For the kids in Hayden, Thursday is School Pride with Tiger Gear. The Pep Rally is this afternoon followed by the parade is at 3 p.m. Friday is WHITE OUT day with volleyball starting at 3 p.m. and the football game at 7 p.m. The Tigers are playing Vail Christian. There is a Hayden High School alumni celebration from 6-7 p.m. in the school commons.
And, the new Winter Sports Club bus has hired a bus driver, for when those after school trips get going next week. The person hired heard about it here on the radio.
Check out what’s happening in the Yampa Valley on the Community Calendar on our website.
For the KRAI Time, Temp, and Weather Hotline, call 970-824-1918.