Ray K. Erku / Post Independent
Rifle sports icon Coach Gordon Cooper was treated to a pleasant surprise Saturday.
Basking in some late-morning sun at the rotunda entrance of the Veterans Nursing Home, a hefty motor procession circled by to wish him happy birthday.
The man who many simply refer to as “coach” just turned 91 on April 1.
“You’re awesome!” former Rifle High School baseball player Brian Rust, a product of the Rifle’s 1985 state title, whooped to Cooper through a pick-up truck window. “He was an awesome coach. He taught us a lot.”
Members of the Rifle Police Department as well as a bus-load of Bears varsity football players en-route to take on Basalt later that afternoon also joined former players, friends and those who revere the beloved Cooper.
Large icicles hang from the ceiling of the lower ice cave, also known as the Ice Palace, dwarf a a visitor to Rifle Mountain Park last weekend north of Rifle. Kyle Mills / Citizen Telegram
Looking back at 2020, the city of Rifle and western Garfield County saw their fair share of interesting stories. Here’s a trip down memory lane as as we take a look back at some of the headlines from the Citizen Telegram in 2020:
BIG PLANS FOR DOWNTOWN
After visiting reconstruction concepts and receiving public feedback, the city of Rifle made final plans in February to revitalize downtown with a new project slated for 2021.