A new skate park in downtown Cortez held its first public skate session on Tuesday. The Beech Street Skate Park was created and funded by residents and local businesses in Cortez so that skateboarders would have a chance to practice their tricks even during the winter months, when another skate park in town is closed. Annie Seder, a volunteer at the park, says the park operates in a shared warehouse with different pieces that can be set up and put away quickly. Seder says the skate park gives young people and adults in rural Montezuma County the chance to meet up, make friends and do some serious kickflips. And this week, a resident of Ridgway, Colorado was cited by the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly stealing newspapers that published a story on sexual assault allegations. The weekly edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer featured a story on a sexual assault that occurred in the home of the Ouray County chief of police. After hundreds of copies of the newspaper were taken, a local business owner came forward and returned them to the paper’s office.
Chris Clements is a former news reporter for KSJD. He had previously covered literary arts as a reporter for The Chautauquan Daily in Chautauqua, New York, and graduated with a degree in English from Arizona State University. At KSJD, Chris has collaborated with KUNC (northern Colorado NPR) on water conservation stories, and had his spots regularly featured on NPR's national newscasts.