30 years ago – July 18, 1986
Eugene Labriola is the new principal at Gilpin County School. The decision to hire him was announced by the school board at the regular monthly meeting on July 11. According to School Board President Kay Lorenz, Labriola is originally from the Metro Denver area. Prior to accepting the principal’s position here, he was in the Buena Vista area. Board member Jeni Joslin said this week that Labriola is a “real positive person.” She added that he has both elementary and secondary school experience, which is what the board wanted. Lariola was in the process of getting acquainted with the school this week. Joslin said his salary is still in the negotiating stage. It is being negotiated by Superintendent Fred Meyers. Labriola will replace the former principal, Dan Ryan. His resignation was effective in May.
The Forest Service this week reaffirmed its intent to permit a continuous route along the 34 mile Moffat Road over Rollins Pass in a decision notice signed by Raymond O. Benton, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest supervisor. “After partial cave-ins and safety hazards required closing parts of the Moffat Road in the Rollins Pass area, the Forest Service stated its desire to reopen the route,” Benton said. “Today we are able to describe in detail who we see taking responsibility for various parts of the restoration work and what process needs to be followed to get things started.” The original Moffat Road, located on the old Denver and Rio Grande Railroad grade over the Continental Divide, has been closed because of cave-ins in the Needle’s Eye Tunnel and unsafe conditions on the Devil’s Slide trestle. In 1980 the Forest Service studied various alternatives to reopening the route and agreed to pursue repair of the tunnel and trestles. Since that time, various government and private sector organizations have sought funding to restore the facilities. Progress was slowed because several groups raised some of the funds needed for restoration, but no one had enough to do the total job. In the new decision notice, the agency will look to other sources, mainly county road departments, to complete repairs and maintenance for the Needle’s Eye Tunnel. Since the cost of restoring the Devil’s Slide trestles may be prohibitively high, the Forest Service has agreed to complete a bypass road around the trestles. This road will allow crossing the pass in a four wheel drive vehicle.
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