VETERANS DAY HOLIDAY HOURS

Just a reminder - all Alpine Bank branches will be closed Monday, Nov. 12, in observance of Veterans Day. Although our branch locations will be closed, you can still bank with us anytime, anywhere using Alpine Online at www.alpinebank.com, AlpineMobile or by calling the Alpine InfoLine at 888-4-ALPINE (888-425-7463).

NO DRILLING AT STANDLEY LAKE

Highlands Natural Resources Corp. dropped its application for all 28 wells it had proposed drilling near Standley Lake in Westminster. Fourteen of the wells were proposed to be drilled under the lake which provides drinking water to 300,000 people and 14 were planned for the nearby 420-acre Westminster Hills Off-Leash Dog Park, which is just north of the lake. The 1,063-acre Standley Lake is the third-largest reservoir in the Denver-metro area.

PROP. 112: WHERE IT PASSED, WHERE IT DIDN'T

Proposition 112, the voter initiative that would have drastically increased drilling setbacks from homes, businesses and waterways to 2,500 feet was defeated by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent as of Thursday. The oil and gas industry spent more than $30 million to defeat the proposition and a survey of results shows the measure lost decisively in counties with sizable drilling activity, such as Weld County where more than 75 percent of voters were opposed and Mesa County where it lost 73 percent to 27 percent. Resort communities on the Western Slope came in strongly in favor with Pitkin County (Aspen) 72 percent in favor; and San Miguel (Telluride) almost 75 percent in favor.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS KEYSTONE PIPELINE PERMIT

U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris in Montana Thursday blocked the Trump administration's permit allowing the Keystone XL pipeline and barred any construction of the long-delayed project until completion of a supplemental environmental review. The judge ruled in favor of environmentalists and indigenous rights groups in saying the pipeline expansion by TransCanada Corp. to take oil from Alberta to Nebraska had not considered all impacts as required by federal law.

ASPEN MOUNTAIN WILL OPEN 5 DAYS EARLY

Aspen Mountain was scheduled to open Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, but the Aspen Skiing Co. announced Thursday that Aspen Mountain will open Nov. 17, five days early. There was no announcement of how much terrain or what lifts and runs would be open. Jeff Hanke, Skico vice president of communications, said, "at minimum, we'll do Nell and Bell," meaning the Little Nell chairlift at the base and the Bell Mountain chairlift, which climbs to an elevation of about 10,500 feet. The amount of terrain that opens will depend on how much snow falls before Nov. 17.

ASPEN SNOWMASS CENTRAL RESERVATIONS NOW 100 PERCENT OWNED BY SKICO

The planned, phased take-over of Stay Aspen Snowmass, the central reservations system for Aspen and Snowmass, was completed this week, with the Aspen Skiing Co. becoming the sole owner and operator of the reservations system. In 2016, the Skico and the other SAS shareholders signed an operating agreement stipulating that Skico would become the sole owner in 2018. SAS was previously owned in equal parts by Skico and representatives of Aspen Lodges and Snowmass Village lodging properties. Bill Tomcich, who had been president of SAS since 1998, oversaw the transition and is leaving the organization, with his contract with SAS ended Oct. 31.

OURAY SHERIFF'S VOTE STILL TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Even two full days after Tuesday's election, the vote remains too close to call in the contest for Ouray County sheriff. The unofficial results show unaffiliated candidate Lance Fitzgerald is leading current undersheriff Joel "BB" Burk by 2 votes, 1,503 to 1,501. The Ouray County Clerk and Recorder next week will undertake the counting of outstanding ballots. Outstanding ballots include those which were rejected due to signature verification; those mailed from overseas and military voters; or those that were inadvertently placed in drop boxes outside Ouray County.

BRENDA MACON NEW DURANGO ARTS CENTER HEAD

The Durango Arts Center has named Brenda Macon its new executive director, replacing interim director Jamie Wienk. Wienk had served as interim director since the departure of Christie Scott in May. Macon had been building her business as a full-time painter, but she has experience in managing both profit and non-profit operations, managing her family's law firm and serving as executive director of Leadership Ann Arbor, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is also a certified volunteer mediator.

WINTER COMES EARLY TO VAIL PASS RECREATION AREA

The Dillon and Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger Districts are closing roads in the Vail Pass Recreation Area to wheeled vehicles because of the amount of early season snow that has fallen. The roads closed to wheeled vehicles: Shrine Pass Road (FSR 709) will be closed at Vail Pass and at the lower road near Red Cliff; and Resolution Road (FSR 702) and McAllister Road (FSR 708) will be closed at Camp Hale. Yesterday, Nov. 8, the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area opened to over-the-snow vehicle travel.

SUMMIT COUNTY JOBLESS RATE REMAINS CLOSE TO ALL-TIME LOW

There are plenty of job openings in Summit County, but finding workers to fill them is very difficult. According to the latest unemployment figures from the Frisco Workforce Center, the jobless rate in Summit County is 2.1 percent, barely above the all-time low of 1.9 percent hit in September 2017. Employers in Summit County have confronted the difficulty in recruiting and hiring workers for quite a while now and have used a variety of incentives to lure workers, including providing longevity bonuses for as little as three months, providing housing or offering higher-than-normal pay.

BEST B-SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY

Businessweek surveyed 26,699 MBA students, alumni and recruiters as well as evaluating compensation and job-placement data from each school to generate the Best Business Schools, 2018:

1. Stanford
2. Warton, University of Pennsylvania
3. Harvard
4. Sloan, MIT
5. Booth, University of Chicago
6. Haas, U. of California, Berkeley
7. Columbia
8. Kellogg, Northwestern
9. Darden, University of Virginia
10. Johnson, Cornell

RED FRIDAY: REMEMBER EVERYONE DEPLOYED

When you think about the sacrifice our American military men and women have made for this country, it feels right to honor them on Veterans Day and every other day of the year. Veterans, we thank you for your service, which protects our freedom each and every day. During the month of November we will be wearing red every Friday at Alpine Bank to show our support for R.E.D. or Remember Everyone Deployed. We invite you to join us in support of these special Americans. Alpine Bank proudly partners with Colorado veterans:

• Glenwood Springs: Western Slope Veterans Coalition
• Denver: Rocky Mountain Honor Flight
• Steamboat Springs: The American Legion – Local VFM Chapter
• Telluride: American Legion Telluride
• Delta: VFW Post 3571
• Montrose: Montrose County Veterans Services & VFW Post 4663
• Ouray: Ouray Elks Lodge
• Durango: Durango Elks Lodge – Veteran’s Program
• Grand Junction: Operation Revamp – Veterans Day Art & Music Extravaganza
• Basalt: Huts for Vets
• Eagle: Project Healing Waters and Pat Hammon
• Frisco: Frisco Elementary Veterans Day lunch
• Dillon: Wall of Heroes – Dillon Branch