News

• Telluride Ski Resort to Close
• Sheridan Opera House Celebrates the Holiday Season
• A Look Back: Ten Years of Good Curling

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Remembering Joseph Paczosa

Telluride lost a member of its community this week.

Joseph Paczosa was found dead Monday in his home in Placerville. He was 59.

According to the San Miguel County Coroner’s Office, mountain life had been in Paczosa’s blood since birth. He moved from Colorado’s Front Range to live deeper in the mountains. He was a skilled blacksmith known for crafting hearths and metal art.

The cause and manner of death are under investigation. Crippin Funeral Home will handle services.

Paczosa is survived by his wife, Courtney; his children, Cole and Quin; his parents, Terry and Jan; and his siblings, Diane, Gary, Rob and Dan.

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Telluride Ski Resort to Close

The Telluride Ski Resort will close indefinitely beginning Saturday.

In a news release, the resort said the decision followed a vote by the Telluride Ski Patrol Union to authorize a strike.

Telski representative Steve Swenson said the resort will “continue to work on a plan that allows us to safely open again as soon as possible.”

Contract negotiations between Telski and the Ski Patrol Union began in early June, and the previous contract expired in August. The two sides held a final round of negotiations over the weekend. On Sunday, ski patrol presented a contract proposal.

Telluride Ski Patrol Union President Graham Hoffman said the union made significant concessions.

“We significantly lowered our ask, and eliminated the ask for the health care stipend entirely, we lowered the wages, put a cap on some things. We went uncomfortably below what we considered our bottom line. We were abundantly clear with the company that this is the bottom number,” Hoffman said.

Telski countered with what it described as its “last, best, and final” offer, which had originally been proposed earlier this month. The Ski Patrol Union overwhelmingly rejected that offer, with 99% voting against it on Dec. 8. Telski has previously described the offer as “generous and market leading.”

The Ski Patrol membership voted down the proposal again Tuesday night.

“After a very long, honestly painful, very honest and open conversation with our membership, we took everything into consideration of our group, of what’s been going on, of our community, of our friends and how this is going to affect everything. It was honestly a very hard conversation. It was very difficult. We voted to authorize a strike,” Hoffman said.

Following that vote, the Telluride Ski Resort announced Wednesday afternoon that it would close.

In a statement, resort owner Chuck Horning said the decision to close was not made by the resort, placing blame on ski patrol. Horning said the company was “naturally disappointed that the Ski Patrol made this choice during such a busy time.” He added, “we are concerned that any organization, particularly one that exists to help people, would do something that would have such a devastating effect on our community.”

In a statement to KOTO, Ski Patrol Union Treasurer Jess Lyles disputed that characterization.

“Rather than give us a fair contract, Telski has made the decision to close the mountain,” Lyles said. “Don’t be fooled, this is on Chuck.”

On social media, Telski announced it will offer refunds to ticket and pass holders, including advance-purchase lift tickets, ski and snowboard school products, and unused multiday lift tickets. Pro-rated refunds will also be provided for season pass holders.

Ski patrol members will continue working through Friday. The union plans to begin picketing at 9 a.m. at the base of the gondola in Telluride and Mountain Village.

“We would love for anyone to come stand with us. Put on some red, or whatever you’ve got at home and come support us on the picket line. We’ll be there every day. We don’t know how long this is going to go,” Hoffman said.

The Telluride Ski Resort is scheduled to close Saturday, Dec. 27.

Customers with questions about refunds can contact [email protected] for lift tickets and passes and [email protected] for ski school refunds.

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Sheridan Opera House Celebrates the Holiday Season

The Sheridan Opera House is decking the halls with a week of celebration leading up to the ball drop on New Year’s Eve with its Holiday Concert Series.

“It is one our biggest fundraisers,” said Kylie Kirkpatrick, PR and marketing director at the Sheridan Opera House.

“So, we thought this would be really fun week to have really diverse programming and spread some really fun, different shows,” she said.

The Holiday Concert Series kicks off Friday and Saturday, Dec. 26 and 27, with TEASE the Season, a holiday burlesque extravaganza in collaboration with Telluride Theatre’s House of Shimmy Shake.

“It’s not just burlesque. There’s comedy, there’s live music. It’s a really fun, raunchy thing, to go out with your girlfriends, bring your guy friends. It’s going to be a blast. Our whole community is there,” Kirkpatrick said.

The performance will showcase tantalizing tease, tasteful tatas and cheeky holiday spirit.

On Sunday, Dec. 28, Jane Monheit’s The Merriest will take the stage.

“She is a multi-Grammy nominated vocalist. She has such an elegant, a beautiful voice. This is going to be a very elevated show. It’s our one seated night of the series,” Kirkpatrick said.

“She is doing The Merriest jazz show. We’re bringing in a baby grand. It’s just going to be a really beautiful evening,” she said.

Yesterday, The Las Vegas Beatles Show, endorsed by Sir Paul McCartney, will perform Monday, Dec. 29.

“As you can imagine it’s going to be really loud, chaotic, sing-along evening. We’re going to get rowdy,” Kirkpatrick said.

The series wraps up with a New Year’s Eve gala hosted by the Sheridan Arts Foundation featuring Grammy-winning blues-rock sister duo Larkin Poe.

“I feel so fortunate to have them at the opera house and have them on our stage,” Kirkpatrick said.

Telluride audiences may remember the duo from the 2021 Blues & Brews Festival.

The night will include more than just a concert.

“We’re going to have a champagne toast at 12, a balloon drop, some light nibbles,” Kirkpatrick said.

Proceeds from the series support the Sheridan Arts Foundation, which operates the Sheridan Opera House.

“I think the programming at the Opera House makes Telluride such a fun community. With the Sheridan Opera House being the ‘crown jewel of Telluride’ built in 1913. What a space to experience it. You can really feel how special it is, and we continue to make it special as a community. Please come and contribute to it,” Kirkpatrick said.

Tickets for the Sheridan Arts Foundation Holiday Concert Series are available at sheridanoperahouse.com. Silent auction baskets will also be available for bidding throughout the series.

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A Look Back: Ten Years of Good Curling

As 2025 draws to a close, KOTO News is revisiting some of its biggest stories from the past year. Today’s rebroadcast looks back to March, when the Telluride Curling Club reached a major milestone.

More featured stories from the year, along with KOTO’s full daily newscasts, are available at koto.org under the News tab.

Megan and JD Wise were living in Scottsdale, Arizona, during the 2010 Winter Olympics when they saw a sport on TV that caught their eye.

“We started curling during the 2010 Olympic cycle. Like most folks, we were watching on TV and got really interested,” said JD Wise.

“We learned to curl there. Then when we moved to town in 2013, we felt like curling would be a really good fit in Telluride,” he added.

Curling is a game dating back to the 16th century in Scotland. Two teams compete to score points by sliding large stones down the ice toward a target.

“We found our first two sets of stones on a lease-to-own from the Denver Curling Club, and lo and behold, we were able to get the club started in 2015. We had two sheets and ran our first mini leagues and had a lot of interest and excitement in curling,” JD Wise said.

Ten years later, the Telluride Curling Club has grown to 80 league members. The club offers two adult leagues and a youth program. It has also sent teams to curling competitions, known as bonspiels.

This weekend, Telluride Curling is hosting a party in Mountain Village to celebrate its 10-year anniversary.

The rules of curling are relatively simple. Two teams compete on a lane of ice – called a sheet.

“Each team throws eight stones,” said Patty Jen Arndt, skip for the Sweeping Beauties (curling team name, Jersey Curl). She has been curling with the club since the beginning.

“You have a skip who is your head strategist, coach, coming up with how they want the team to play. They’re reading the ice, and they try to coach the team on where to place the stones. Everyone throws two stones, and the other two who aren’t throwing are sweeping,” Arndt explained.

The aim is to get your team’s stones into the house – essentially a bull’s-eye. The team with the closest stone to the center – or button – wins points. The winning team gets one point for each stone that is closer to the button than the other team’s closest stone.

While the rules are straightforward, JD and Megan Wise, the other co-founder of Telluride Curling, note there’s always the urge to keep going.

“There’s a tremendous amount of strategy that’s also part of the game. Curling is sometimes called chess on ice. There’s always another level you can take it,” JD Wise said.

“Throwing the stone is kind of this finesse. It’s kind of like golf, where if you get a good shot, you want to do it again. You’re hooked. It’s trying to get the speed of not throwing it too fast or too slow, too far or too light, getting it just right. When you get it, you want to keep coming back,” Megan Wise added.

But it’s not just the game itself that creates the curling culture. There’s an affinity for fun team names:

“The Sweeping Beauties, I Swept with Your Wife, The Telluride Stoners, The Jud Sweepies, Sweep Caroline, and many, many more. I could go on forever,” Megan Wise said.

There’s also camaraderie. Curling welcomes everyone. Logan Cormier is on the Gorronhoe’s. He’s new to curling this year and signed up with some of his friends.

“I’m from Louisiana, so we don’t have any of this stuff. Being from Louisiana, doing this, I never thought about doing it. We wanted to find a new activity besides skiing and snowboarding. So, we came along, started playing,” Cormier said.

“You always want to encourage your team and the other team. There’s very little heckling in curling. You cheer a good shot to your opponent, as well as your team. One of the most important rules is that the winning team buys drinks for the losing team. We also start and end the game with a wish of ‘good curling’ to the other team,” Megan Wise said.

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Telluride Water, Wastewater Rates Increase in 2026

Water and wastewater rates in the region will increase in 2026.

Telluride Town Council last week approved new water and wastewater rates, including a 5% increase beginning next year.

Rates vary depending on whether customers are residential or commercial and whether service is provided in town or outside town limits.

The increase is based on a 2023 rate study that recommended an 18% increase for 2026. Town staff, however, recommended a lower 5% increase because of changes related to the future of the wastewater treatment plant.

Town officials say the higher rates are necessary to address rising operational and capital costs associated with maintaining and improving Telluride’s water and wastewater infrastructure.

The new rates will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and will appear on residents’ water and wastewater bills early in the year.

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Colorado Wildlife Surveys Underway on Western Slope

Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft will traverse Colorado’s Western Slope this winter as Colorado Parks and Wildlife conducts its annual classification and capture flights to monitor deer, elk and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.

The flights help wildlife officials assess how many young animals are surviving into adulthood, determine sex ratios, and estimate population sizes. Winter is chosen to reduce stress and potential injury to the animals.

In addition to classification, CPW will capture and collar elk and deer to study survival rates and causes of mortality.

The flights began in December and are scheduled to continue through January 2026.

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New Laws Take Effect in Colorado

More than 20 new state laws took effect Thursday in Colorado, including measures aimed at renters, health care, and consumer protections.

Two laws expand protections for renters, including a ban on so-called “junk fees,” or hidden charges attached to rent. Another law broadens Medicaid coverage for abortion services, implementing part of a 2024 ballot measure that established a constitutional right to abortion in Colorado.

Other measures give consumers the right to repair personal electronics, make it easier for food trucks to operate in different parts of the state, and add protections for wild bison.

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Trump Denies Federal Disaster Aid for Colorado Fires, Floods

President Donald Trump has denied Colorado’s requests for federal disaster declarations for recent fires and floods, even though the losses exceeded FEMA’s threshold for federal assistance, according to the governor and the state’s two Democratic senators.

The Elk and Lee fires burned more than 100,000 acres in Garfield and Rio Blanco counties this summer. In the fall, remnants of Pacific hurricanes caused widespread flooding in southwestern Colorado.

State officials said a federal disaster declaration would have unlocked FEMA funds to support recovery efforts across Western Colorado. Elected officials called the administration’s decision “malicious and obscene,” saying it played political games with people’s lives.

Since July 2024, Colorado has spent over $57.5 million responding to the Elk and Lee fires, flooding and other disasters, and officials say the state no longer has the capacity to assist affected communities without federal support. They also cited research showing that for every dollar Coloradans pay in federal taxes, the state receives only 90 cents in federal investment.

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NORAD Marks 70 Years of Tracking Santa

It’s Christmas Eve, and children around the world are eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival.

Some will call volunteers in Colorado Springs to find out exactly where Santa is on his journey.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s tradition of tracking Santa, Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Maeve Conran reports.

Story beings at 18:20.