NEWS | COMMUNITY | SPORTS | CULTURE | OPINION D BU ESTE TTE R NE E C W H S T ’ CrCrestedested ButtButtee NNewsews See page 25 the News never sleeps | www.crestedbuttenews.com VOL.60 | NO.51 | DECEMBER 18, 2020 | 50¢ Gunnison County begins COVID-19 vaccinations Priorities outlined but process will take several months [ BY MARK REAMAN ] Two local doctors and a resident of the Gunnison County Senior Care Center were slated to be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Gunnison County late Wednesday afternoon at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center at the county fairgrounds. Dr. Lor-Anne Gibans, geriatric physician for the nursing home residents; Dr. Shay Krier, Emergency Department physician and medi- cal director of EMS, who also won the Colo- rado EMS director award for 2020; and Lucy Hudgeons, a resident at the Senior Care Cent- IT’S HERE!: Gunnison County Coronavirus Team Incident Commander C.J. Malcolm took possession of the first 300 doses of the er, were the first to roll up their sleeves and COVID-19 vaccine that arrived Tuesday afternoon. The first shots were scheduled to start Wednesday. photo by Nolan Blunck receive the first of two injections of the newly approved vaccine. They will each have to get a second dose in three weeks. “These are some of the highest risk and Local man Gunnison Country Food Pantry frontline folks dealing with the coronavirus,” explained Gunnison County public informa- injured in an ramps up efforts to feed the valley tion officer Andrew Sandstrom. “Part of the reason they were selected to be the first ones in the county to get the vaccine is to show it is “It’s neighbors helping cent, with 1,425 households asking for safe and set an example for the community.” avalanche on help. “This was dramatic. It’s big,” says neighbors” The vaccine arrived at the county Health Dix, who noted the need typically grows and Human Services building on Spruce Street [ BY KENDRA WALKER ] by 6 percent or 7 percent each year. in Gunnison about 1 o’clock on the afternoon Snodgrass Dix says the food pantry saw a of Tuesday, December 15. The 300 doses al- The Gunnison Valley was hit espe- significant influx of new households in “Small avalanches can have larger cially hard with food insecurity issues April and May earlier this year. “That located to Gunnison County came via FedEx than expected consequences if they this year, as many community mem- was when people were frightened from and were packed in dry ice to keep the vaccine push you into a terrain trap such as bers experienced food insecurity for COVID and they didn’t know what extremely cold. It was then transferred to one °F freezers. The the first time as they faced hardships their economic future looked like.” of the county’s ultra-cold –80 trees or a gully” - resulting from the COVID-19 pan- Now as we head plan was to distribute the first doses of the vac cine at the Fred Field Center Wednesday from demic. However, this into winter, the need [ BY THAN ACUFF ] 5 to 8 p.m. in order to catch local health care year also brought to is beginning to pick workers either leaving their shift or coming on light how many people up again, she says. Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CB- to their evening shift. in the community are “We think there SAR) was called into the field on Tuesday, The county’s vaccine distribution plan December 15 at 2:28 p.m. to respond to an in- fighting hunger, with are approximately has several tiers. The first group prioritized or without a global 2,300 households jured man who had been carried between 200 to receive the vaccines is health care workers and 300 feet in a soft slab avalanche through pandemic. In the spirit living below the on the front lines of the pandemic, along with trees on Snodgrass Mountain. According to of the giving season, subsistence level. the Gunnison Country We know we’re those living in senior housing. The hope is that Mt. Crested Butte police chief Nate Stepanek a state program organized with Walgreens will two hours later the injured man, 42-year-old Food Pantry is hard serving over 1,400 at work to help all in take care of the vaccinations for those in Colo- Ian Schaul of Crested Butte, was in a Care- of them.” But Dix need of food assis- estimates that at rado’s senior care facilities. But if that doesn’t Flight helicopter bound for Grand Junction - tance. least 400 families happen in a timely fashion, the county will in with a severe lower leg injury. courtesy photo clude those local people in the priority group. Schaul and his partner were on a north- The need in this that live under the Not including the senior care residents, there east aspect of Snodgrass Mountain at around valley is larger than subsistence level we see on the surface, says Gunnison are not coming to the food pantry are 420 individuals expected to get the vaccine 10,000 feet in elevation when the avalanche as soon as possible. - Country Food Pantry executive direc- or other organizations in the valley. occurred. CBSAR president Randy Felix con The second priority group will be other firmed the party was able to make a 911 call tor Katie Dix. According to Dix, one in There are many barriers for why one six families in Gunnison County lives might not ask for assistance, Dix says, health care workers in the valley who have from their position and rescue teams jumped less regular direct contact with coronavirus in poverty. One in three families lives including stigmas around asking for immediately into action. cases. That would include first responders “We had 15 members of CBSAR re- below the subsistence level. help; pride; privacy; mobility and and medical office personnel, for example. spond,” says Felix. “It was a good turnout.” Last year, 801 households asked accessibility; mental health; language; and education. That group is estimated to have between 800 The call was made to get a helicopter en-the food pantry for food assistance. This year, the need increased 78 per- CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 and 1,000 people. route as well and CareFlight 4 out of- Mon CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 trose was airborne, headed to the location of the accident as determined by GPS from the 911 call. Meanwhile, CBSAR initiated their [ OvOverhearderheard ] response, sending a hasty team out Gothic Road. “Why not just vaccinate “The Crested Butte Fire Department captain recommended to get a helicopter people while they’re coming and we had a hasty team on -snow waiting in line at the mobiles to get eyes on it from Gothic Road,” 12 30 P.O. or the ski lift?” says Felix. Santa Sighting Nordic Race CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 2 | December 18, 2020 EDITEDITORIALORIAL Crested Butte News WWORLDORLD NEWNEWSS WORLD Rare “Christmas Star” to light up night sky for first time in hundreds of years Look up at the night sky on December 21 and you may see some- thing truly spectacular. The planets of Jupiter and Saturn will appear on the winter solstice to be so close to Earth that they’ll look like one gigantic shining star, even though they’ll actu- ally be 450 million miles apart. The so-called “Great Conjunc- tion“ last happened in 1623 but could not be seen from Earth. 2020’s celestial event has been christened by some scientists as the “Christmas Star” or “Star of Bethlehem,” due to its proximity to Christmas Day. “ —information compiled from Huffington Post Johnson and EU vow to go “extra mile” to thrash out Brexit deal Britain and the EU enter the final stretch of the Brexit negotiations with renewed hope of a deal being struck within days after Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen agreed to “go the extra mile” and ordered the resumption of talks in Brussels. There were reports over the weekend that government sources had put the chances of no deal at 80 percent. The leaders’ phone call at noon Brussels time photo by Nolan Blunck on Sunday had been presented as a point by which a “firm deci- sion” would be made on the prospects of a trade and security deal, with Johnson saying on Friday that it was “very, very likely” the Light in the dark days talks would end in failure. —information compiled from The Guardian It is during these darkest to try to overturn what many has jumped with the pandemic. days of the year that I appreciate in Donald’s administration (Bill Helping families feed their fami- NATION the light… any light. We have a Barr and Chris Krebs, among lies is of vital basic importance. Electoral College makes Biden’s election win official Christmas tree in the house. We others) said was a “free and Other non-profits are cen- The Electoral College on Monday confirmed President-elect Joe light the Hanukkah candles. We fair” election without any major tered on the arts that bring light Biden’s victory over President Trump in the November elec - have the luminarias that will go fraud. One state suing another to our community, or backcoun- tion. Biden received the electoral votes of the battleground states out on the solstice. I went outside over how it conducts elections is try safety. We again learned where Trump tried to overturn the results. That gave him 306 elec- in subzero temps to try to see the trying to subvert the U.S.