Even though I don’t have as much time to spend as I’d like on our website, I don’t want to let events and improvements around town go unnoticed. Since I usually have time to take a photo or two of something interesting, I’d like to at least get some of the photos posted.
Last week was Food Truck Friday in Palisade. This dining treat is scheduled for the third Friday of each month through the summer months. A collection of food trucks offering all types of dinner options is set to show up in the parking lot of St. Kathryn Cellars from 5 – 7:30 p.m. on each third Friday.
Tables are set up on the lawn and there is even a live musician providing dinner music. Bring the kids, there are plenty of dinner options to choose from. And dessert. There’s even coffee or wine.
Dozens of diners sampled the goods in Palisade last week. The food trucks gather in Grand Junction on the first Friday of each month in the US Bank parking lot at 4th and Grand, and in Fruita on the fourth Friday, along Mulberry Street. Next date in Palisade will be July 17, so put it on your calendar. Palisade Park and Rec even did a group bike ride from downtown Palisade to the food truck location.
Public Works Director Frank Watt applied for a grant to install an authorized ‘electric car charging station,’ seen here oddly juxtaposed with the entrance to the Palisade Historical Society. Talk about the old and the new! It is hoped that during the hours spent recharging cars, the car owners will explore downtown Palisade. Since this charging station will appear on GPS systems, it will really help to direct traffic off the interstate to the downtown area.
The Palisade Pool is a popular place, especially on Wednesday afternoons, when admission is only one dollar per person. It’s a great place to cool off, what with the temperatures we’ve had lately.
It has also come to my attention that Palisade has not only a swimming pool, we have a swimming team! The Palisade Park and Rec. Dept. is sponsoring the Palisade Platypi, made up of a dozen or so Palisade kids. They practice on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, call Sarah at town hall at 464-5602 for more information, or stop by the pool and sign up.
We may not have the biggest team in the area, but the Platypi are certainly enthusiastic! What else would make you get up that early over summer vacation to jump into a pool of cold water to start your day?
Palisade crews responded right away to the call for help.
Last Saturday morning, June 14, and during Bluegrass, Chief Rupp and the crew were called from Riverbend Park to the Palisade Ace Hardware store on 8th Street, where a van engine had caught fire.
The Fire Department has had a busy month so far. My partner-in-crime here at PeachTownNews, Bill Hoffmann, came upon this garage fire last Monday, June 15, while taking a walk around town. The garage was in the alley between Kluge and Main, and 3rd and 4th.
The new shade structure in the Town Plaza has been finished, ready and waiting for the first official function. The structure was made possible by a generous donation of the Palisade Lions Club, along with the umbrella tables and chairs. Town Plaza has become a very comfortable place to have lunch, and the new “3rd Street Deli” at the Family Foodtown is a great place to get it. They usually have a lunch special along with a selection of deli salads, lunch meats and cheeses, and an assortment of hot items.
The new restrooms directly across Main Street will be finished up soon, construction is proceeding and the final design can now be seen…reminiscent of the livery stables in the early days of Palisade.
Speaking of Palisade history, this weekend is the Roller Dam 100th Birthday Celebration. This dam is responsible for the quality of life that we enjoy here in Palisade today, since it made the irrigation systems of canals and ditches possible.

Official Dedication of the Grand River Diversion Dam with members of the Congressional Appropriations Committee on June 29, 1915.
For more information on the 100th Birthday Celebration this Saturday, click here: Roller Dam Party 2015.
Floods and mudslides are happening on the western slope too! This is the car belonging to Palisade Mayor Pro-Tem David Edwards after being hit by the mud from the Bosley Wash overflow on Thursday, June 11. Evans was lucky he had his windows up! It made quite a mess and tied up Highway 6 while crews cleaned up the mud. The Farmacy Farms fruitstand, directly across the street, called it a close call, as the mud came across the railroad tracks, down the hill, across the highway and into their parking lot. No injuries were reported, just a lot of mud and some very dirty cars!
And, finally, it looks like Main Street is almost ready to begin paving. It’s been a long process, especially for the homeowners and businesses along the street. The rainy spring put the construction process back continually, but the crews from the Town of Palisade and from Ben Dowd Excavating worked overtime and extra days to try to keep the project moving. Thanks so much to everyone involved, it will be such a great improvement for Palisade.