By Shannon Lukens.
A statewide ban on single-use plastic bags goes into effect Jan. 1. This was already in effect in Steamboat Springs. Between the 1st and June 1, a store may provide plastic carryout bags for $.20 but only from their remaining inventory. After that, no plastic bags at any grocery stores, large or small stores, roadside markets or stands, festivals or temporary vendors.
PLASTIC BAG BAN FOR ALL STORES GOES INTO EFFECT JAN. 1 STATEWIDE
Seasonal closures are in place on about 12,000 acres in Routt National Forest. It’s the winter range areas for deer and elk. This includes trails such as Mad Creek, Red Dirt, Upper Spring Creek, and Hot Springs Trail. Those trails are marked with a Trail Closure sign.
SEASONAL TRAIL CLOSURES IN PLACE FOR WINTER RANGE AREAS FOR DEER AND ELK
Register your pet with the City of Steamboat Springs. It’s a law that all dogs and cats in the city and within Routt County have to be licensed every year and that license has to be on your pet’s collar. That goes for pigs and goats within city limits. Licenses expire Monday, and you have to renew by Feb. 1, at your local veterinarian’s office or Routt County Humane Society. It’s $5 for altered animals and $25 for those that aren’t. And you have to provide proof of rabies vaccination. Residents within the city limits of Hayden, Oak Creek and Yampa require their own city license. Check with town halls in each location for additional information.
GET YOUR PET LICENSED AS IT’S THE LAW
The City of Steamboat has received a $100,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation. It’s for a plaza area on 10th Street, where the new City Hall building is going. The money comes from the Revitalizing Main Street Grant awarded to 22 communities across Colorado.
Applications for the state-sponsored property tax exemption for eligible veterans are now available. The exemption is for 50% of the first $200,000 of valuation and is available to veterans with a 100% disability rating, surviving spouses of veterans who had this benefit, and surviving spouses of veterans who died in the line of duty or of a service-connected disability. For more information or to get an application, call Routt County Veterans Service Officer Gaylon Kent at 970/870-5469.
Skate with the Grinch at Howelsen Ice Arena. Join Steamboat Skating Club for their Holiday Exhibition and then Family Skating, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 29-30. The skating club will have pizza, cookies, and hot chocolate. It’s $12 a person or $40 for a family of four and that includes skate rental. All are invited, and festive attire is encouraged.
Celebrate the New Year at the base of Steamboat Resort Sunday. The New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Light Up Snowcat Parade starts at 5:30 p.m. The Steamboat SnowSports instructors will be doing their synchronized skiing illuminated by torches and the snowcats will be lit up as well. At the end of the parade, fireworks will light up the sky over the resort to ring in 2024. (Note: I will be there, playing music and having fun so I hope to see everyone there. From DJ ShanDawg.)
Craig Youth Hockey is hosting a skating party on New Year’s Eve. It’s from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31, at Loudy-Simpson Park Ice Arena.
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.