Pitkin County Holds Virtual Community Meeting Thursday
Wednesday, April 1- Pitkin County will hold a virtual community meeting Thursday at 2:00 pm. This meeting will be led by the Pitkin Sheriff's Office, Aspen Valley Hospital, Pitkin County Public Health and the Hope Center.
Aspen Public Radio will broadcast the meeting on our FM frequencies at 91.5 in Aspen and 88.9 in Carbondale.
You can also watch online on the Pitkin County website, tune into Grassroots Television on Comcast channel 11, 12 or HD on channel 880, or listen on KSNO The Mammoth at 103.9 FM.
Carbondale's Emergency Task Force Recruiting Volunteers And Offering Aid
Wednesday, April 1- The Carbondale Emergency Task Force is recruiting volunteers to support the town’s seniors and those in self-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The CETF was launched by the Town of Carbondale in response to the coronavirus outbreak. It’s partnering with Valley Meals and More, a nonprofit that supports seniors in the community. The CETF seeks to recruit volunteers to work directly under Valley Meals and More to expand operations during the crisis.
The CETF is recruiting and managing volunteers who are healthy and able to provide the following types of assistance:
- Runners – individuals who make deliveries and other errands for the high-risk population to ensure that they have essential goods and stay safe.
- Care Callers – volunteers who place phone calls to high-risk individuals to check on their wellbeing, or just to say hello.
- Specialists – others who are able to contribute specific skills to the task force’s “lines of effort.”
Community members interested in providing volunteer support should complete the volunteer questionnaire on the task force website.
Those in need can request help from:
- Valley Meals and More, which offers volunteer grocery and prescription pickup and care calls for seniors and high-risk individuals. To request help, either complete the assistance request form on the CETF webpage or contact Valley Meals and More director, Mary Kenyon, at 970-274-2632 or mary@valleymealsandmore.com.
- The Town of Carbondale Rec Center is available to help quarantined, isolated and high-risk residents by picking up medications, meal delivery from take-out or other senior meal services that are offering pick-up locations, dog walking and emotional support. Those who need support can call the Rec Center’s hotline, 970-510-1292, and leave a detailed voice message. Calls will be forwarded to recreation center staff for quick response.
Pitkin County Shares Initial Results From County Self-Reporting Form
Monday, March 30- The results of Pitkin County Public Health’s symptom tracker and self-reporting form are now available.
The results are from individual community members that have reported COVID-19-like symptoms over the past week, when the form was made available.
To date, approximately 174 members of the community have reported themselves as symptomatic.
“The data from the symptom tracker doesn’t tell the whole story, but it is another tool for us to use tracking the symptoms in our community,” said Karen Koenemann, Pitkin County Public Health Director.
The dashboard breaks down the results of the submissions by the symptoms experienced, date symptoms first began, age group, location, and industry of employment. The most common symptoms being reported from the region are fatigue, headache, cough, and a sore throat.
From the 174 self-reported symptom reports, Pitkin County Public Health will use the data collected to monitor and track symptoms.
The county’s Incident Management Team (IMT) has acknowledged that community spread of COVID-19 is occurring in Pitkin County, but the symptom tracker will allow the IMT to assess to what extent.
There was a large number of individuals who reported their symptoms first began between March 11 and March 18, but the results seem to show that this has started to slow, something the IMT says is “promising.”
The symptom tracking survey can be found on the department’s website.
Roaring Fork Schools Offer Grab-And-Go Meal Service During School Closure
Sunday, March 29- The Roaring Fork Schools will provide free, nutritious meals to all children starting Monday through Friday, April 17. All children 18 years of age and under can receive one breakfast and one lunch per day regardless of where the child attends school. This program is for all children; there are no qualifications or requirements.
“We know the need for food is great,” said Food Services Director Michelle Hammond. “The Nutrition Service team is anxious to meet this basic need for the children of our community.”
Children do not have to be present to receive a meal; parents and guardians can pick up meals for their children. Meals will be provided on weekdays in designated locations in each community, including specific school sites and stops on bus routes. The locations and times are listed on the district website.
Roaring Fork Transportation Authority Institutes Phase 3 Service Reductions
Sunday, March 29- The Roaring Fork Regional Transportation Authority (RFTA) will cut services even further starting Monday, March 30, saying it will now provide the "bare minimum for essential valley workers," as well as access to state-recognized essential services such as hospitals, pharmacies and grocery stores.
Other service reductions were instituted on March 16 and March 23.
Service reductions that will go into effect on Monday are as follows:
- Local Valley service will be once an hour each direction beginning at 4:00 a.m. from Glenwood and ending at 11:15 p.m. from Aspen. Last up valley from Glenwood is at 9:00 p.m.
- BRT service will include only four BRT buses going up valley in the morning between 6:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. and four BRT buses going down valley in the afternoon between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
- The Carbondale Circulator will suspend operation on March 30. Local Valley buses will serve downtown Carbondale.
- Snowmass service will operate once an hour departing from the Brush Creek Park and Ride at 30 past the hour and from the Snowmass Mall at 15 past the hour. The first bus from the Mall will be at 6:15 am with a connection at 6:30 am. The last bus from the Snowmass Mall to BC&82 connecting to DV will be at 11:15 pm with a connection at 11:30pm. The last bus from Snowmass to go into Aspen will be at 10:15 pm with a 10:30 pm connection.
- Hogback bus service will be reduced to two trips to and from Rifle in the morning. In the afternoon, there will be three trips to Rifle and two trips from Rifle.
- Aspen Free Shuttles- The Cross Town Shuttle, Galena and Highlands Direct have all previously ceased operation.
- All remaining Aspen routes will offer more reduced evening hours:
- Burlingame - 7:35am-8:20pm
- Castle Maroon - 8:00am-8:00pm
- Cemetery Lane - 8:00am-8:00pm
- Hunter Creek - 8:00am-8:00pm
- Mountain Valley - 8:15am-7:45pm
Express buses, Snowmass Direct buses, the Woody Creek Shuttle and Ride Glenwood suspended operation on March 23.
