Northwest Colorado News for Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025

February 26, 2025 Shannon Lukens

By Shannon Lukens.

A Celebration of Life for Pete Van De Carr is scheduled for 3 p.m. today (Thursday, Feb. 27) at Howelsen Ice Arena. Dress warmly since it is at the ice rink. Extra parking will be in the rodeo lot. Or walk or ride your bike. The longtime local businessman and owner of Backdoor Sports died skiing at Steamboat Resort last week. There will be a live video stream on the Steamboat Radio YouTube channel, through our website.

Dave Grabowski has been named as the 2025 Colorado Middle School Principal of the Year. Grabowski is the principal of SoRoCo Middle School and High School. He has been with the South Routt School District for three years, and for two of those years, SoRoCo has been recognized as a Colorado District of Distinction. SoRoCo Middle School has also been listed as a Colorado Trailblazer Middle School to Watch. The distinction is from CASE, which is the Colorado Association of School Executives.

More on the Story — Grabowski from South Routt School District is Colorado Middle School Principal of the Year

Nancy Gray was celebrated Wednesday night as this year’s winner of the Hazie Werner Award, for her longstanding commitment to the Yampa Valley community. Steamboat Resort chooses each year’s winner. This year’s award was presented to Nancy from Hazie’s son, Loris “Bugs” Werner.

“I’m so happy to share this honor with the many people that have had it before. Hazie was such a mentor to all of us.”

Nancy Gray was born and raised in Steamboat Springs and taught swimming, and she worked and taught skiing at Steamboat Resort for 53 years. She has been very involved and committed to the Heart of Steamboat United Methodist Church and the Professional Ski Instructors of America. She also supports her late brother’s legacy, Moose Barrows” with the Moose is Loose Golf Tournament and Mickey’s Fund.

More on the Story — Nancy Gray is honored as this year’s Hazie Werner Award winner

Seven outstanding nominees from Craig and Steamboat Springs were recognized Wednesday night by the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Colorado. The Youth of the Year is Karson Fedenic, a junior at Moffat County High School.

“Being able to be a part of this club and being able to find out who I am, who I want to be, and being able to impact kids who face similar struggles that I went through, I wanted to get up here and I wanted to talk about that. I wanted to show people how amazing the club is for kids, and teens alike, and staff, all of us.”

Karson will receive a $10,000 scholarship while each of the other seven nominees receives a $5,000 scholarship. He’ll compete at a state competition for Boys & Girls Club early next month.

The other nominees are:

Eme, Senior at SSHS
Espy, Junior at MCHS
Gabriela, Senior at SSHS
Hailey, Senior at SSHS
Lelle, Senior at SSHS
Molly, Senior at SSHS

More on the Story — Karson Fedenic is Youth of the Year for Boys & Girls Club of NW Colorado

Courtesy photos

Hannah Kilpatrick from Moffat County High School has qualified for the DECA Nationals in Orlando, Florida, April 25-29, in Business Services Marketing.

Hannah qualified at the state DECA competition this week, in Colorado Springs. Moffat County High School brought 25 kids to compete. Then 21 students will compete at the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) State competition in Denver April 21-23.

Friday is the deadline to pay the first half of your property taxes. This is for those taxpayers who pay their taxes in two equal installments. The first half is due Feb. 28. The second half is due June 15. Or one payment in full can be made by April 30.

There are several ways to make your payment:

Online: Pay by credit/debit card or electronic check. There are no fees for electronic check payments.
By Mail: Send payments to Routt County Treasurer, 522 Lincoln Ave Suite 22, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487. Payments postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service on or before February 28 will be considered timely.
In Person: The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Drop Box: Use the secure 24-hour drop box located in the alley behind the historic courthouse at 522 Lincoln Ave, Steamboat Springs.

To ensure proper credit, please reference your account number(s) on your check and include your payment coupon(s). More information can be found online.

Per Colorado Revised Statutes, failure to meet the deadlines will result in delinquent interest being assessed on late payments.

If your property taxes are paid through your mortgage escrow account and you have questions, please contact your mortgage company for further information.

If you have not received your Routt County property tax notice for 2024 taxes payable in 2025, or have any other questions, please contact the Routt County Treasurer’s Office at 970.870.5555 or email treasurer@co.routt.co.us.

In sports…

The Steamboat Sailors Hockey Team is headed to the Frozen Four in the CHSAA 4A State Hockey Playoffs after a big shutout Wednesday night at Howelsen Ice Arena. The #2 ranked Sailors face the Pine Creek Eagles at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. Listen on KTYV 105.7 Sports on FM. The other game is Glenwood against Summit.

Paralympian and four-time World Champion Noah Elliott won the Crystal Globe as the overall champion Wednesday at the FIS Para Snowboard World Cup at Steamboat Resort.

“Winning today in Steamboat with the overall, like this is just a testimony for all the years, the dream, the fight, the training, and I just really used the energy from the Yampa Valley to be able to bring it home today. So it really meant a lot to me.”

Elliott is a former instructor at STARS, which is Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports. He started coming to Steamboat with the Sunshine Kid Foundation, with a camp for kids with cancer. This is the first time the FIS Snowboard World Cup has been back in the United States since 2017.

More on the Story — Noah Elliott wins overall at FIS Para Snowboard World Cup in Steamboat

Walker Overstake with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is NorAM Cup Champion in the Parallel Giant Slalom. Overstake has also qualified to represent the United States in the 2025 FIS Snowboard Alpine Junior World Championships in Poland, March 3-6. Sam Carpenter is also an SSWSC athlete who will be competing, but representing Great Britain. It is Carpenter’s third time qualifying for the Junior World Championships.

From Norway, the FIS Ski Jumping World Championships start today (Thursday, Feb. 27). Three of the ten athletes representing the United States are from Steamboat Springs. They are Annika Belshaw and her brother, Erik Belshaw, and Jason Colby.

U.S. Ski Jumping Team World Championships Roster Announced

The 2025 FIS Nordic World Championships also start today in Norway. Six of the U.S. athletes competing are from from Steamboat Springs. They are: Alexa and Haley Brabec, Annika and Niklas Malacinski, Ella Wilson, and Erik Lynch.

The Varsity Colorado State Championships for Nordic Skiing are Thursday and Friday, at Howelsen Hill.

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.