The Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave., announces its 2015 annual open house will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday throughout the hotel.

More guestrooms will be open this year for the public to tour, and people will be able to tour the rooms and the hotel at their leisure. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available as well as live music. Five more rooms will be announced for the ongoing room dedication project now in its fourth year.

Sugar Creek will perform in the Henry Strater Theatre with all proceeds benefitting the Durango Bluegrass Meltdown Festival. A $5 donation is suggested.

For more information, visit www.strater.com.

Free essential-oils class to be offered

Durango Olive Oil Company will host a free Essential Oils 101 Class at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Everyone who attends will receive a gift.

To RSVP and for location, call 247-0410 or email [email protected].

CDOT to perform bridge repairs

The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin a project in Region 5 spanning Archuleta, Dolores and La Plata counties to conduct bridge-deck repairs on multiple bridges, install waterproofing membrane, replace expansion devices, and resurface and re-stripe the roadway over those bridges.

Work began April 13 and will last through December. The work is expected to progress on the following schedule:

Through June 1 work will be underway at these locations: U.S. Highway 550 north of Hermosa at mile post 36.62 and on U.S. Highway 160 between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs over the Piedra River.

June 1 through Sept. 1 work will be underway at these locations: on U.S. Highway 160 between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs over the Piedra River and on U.S. Highway 160 between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs over Devil Creek.

Sept. 1 through Dec. 1 work will be underway at these locations: on Colorado Highway 172 over the Florida River north of Ignacio and on U.S. Highway 160 over the Los Pinos River, at the west edge of Bayfield.

Normal working hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon Fridays. There will be single-lane closures and lane shifts throughout the project. The speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph. Wide-load restrictions are likely at all locations on U.S. Highway 160 during working hours. Truckers should check restrictions at www.cotrip.org/truckers.htm. There will be no wide-load restrictions at the Ignacio, Dove Creek and Hermosa locations.

For more information, email [email protected] or call (844) 253-3185, option 3.

Professional Women’s Network to meet

The Professional Women’s Network of Durango announces that Tonya Gander Ensign will speak at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, 1150 Main Ave.

Ensign will speak to her more than 25 years as a female professional, professor, coach, mentor; and how she began to excel as a professional after she realized the importance of understanding herself and becoming more self-aware. Members will be given time to network with each other, as well as schedule time to meet and greet with Ensign and other business women.

To become a member, visit www.pwndurango.com. Membership is free. The network holds monthly events and has a standing meeting on the second Tuesday of the month.

Rotary club to meet Tuesday

Gordon Clouser will speak about the mining history of the Silverton area to the Rotary Club of Durango at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

A member of the club, Clouser is a retired Air Force Colonel fighter pilot who made Durango his home in 1991. Currently, he rides the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad answering questions about the local areas as a volunteer for Rail Rangers, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service. Visitors are welcome.

For more information, call Bruce Rodman at 385-7899.

Documentary to be screened locally

United Way of Southwest Colorado, the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado, Seeds of Learning, and the Montelores Early Childhood Council will host the screening of a 32-minute documentary by Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Station suggesting the U.S. should invest more in the youngest children at these locations:

From 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Miller Middle School.

From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 23 in the Liberty Theater at Pagosa Springs.

From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 28 at the Sunflower Theater at Cortez.

Investing in high-quality early care and preschool pays for itself in many ways and many times over.

For more information, call 375-5807.

Daybreak rotary club to meet Wednesday

Zoe Nelson, coordinator of Animas High School’s LINK program, a three-week internship program that matches 11th-grade students with mentors in the community, will share information about the project with Durango Daybreak Rotarians at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the Durango Community Recreation Center, 2700 Main Ave.

The public is welcome.

For more information, call Mary Oswald at 749-6332.

Trout Unlimited to meet Wednesday

5 Rivers Trout Unlimited will host its general meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, 1150 Main Ave.

A report on the bug study in the Animas River will be given by Scott Roberts of Ecosphere Environmental.

Mancos library accepting donations

Mancos Public Library, 211 West First St., will celebrate National Library Week through Friday.

The theme for 2015 National Library Week is “Unlimited Possibilities @ your library.”

To make a donation to the library, mail the tax-deductible donation payable to “Mancos Public Library” to P.O. Box 158, Mancos, CO 81328 or visit www.mancoslibrary.org and click the “Donate” button.

Herald Staff