Durango Telegraph - March 8, 2018

Better hair than Kim Jong Un

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March 8, 2018 Vol. XVII, No. 10 durangotelegraph.com

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O R I G I N A L

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KingoftheHill:

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Holden Rennaker slides to a first-place win in last Saturday’s Uncle Clyde’s Run & Slide at Purgatory./ Photo

by Jennaye Derge

Shedding light

Seniors rule

In the raw

Local nonprofits join debate over renewable energy p10

Adding whole new meaning to ‘over the hill’ p14

Poke pandemonium takes mainland by tsunami p16

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lineup

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4 La Vida Local

Renewed energy

Local First, San Juan Citizens Alliance join renewables debate

by Tracy Chamberlin

4 Thumbin’ It 5 Word on the Street

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Ear to the ground; “It looks like Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have the same barber.”

– Astute local observation on the state of global politics

A really big hit

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RegularOccurrences

In case you haven’t noticed, the local legal marijuana industry has been growing like a weed. But lest you think we’re blowing smoke, consider a new report compiled by Local First, along with several La Plata County weed-related businesses.

6 Retooned

High flyers

All the action from this year’s Uncle Clyde tubing extravaganza photos by Jennaye Derge

6-8 Soapbox 9 Mountain Town News

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12-13 Day in the Life

Social climbers Seniors Outdoors! celebrates 20 years of getting after it

by Joy Martin

16 Flash 17 Top Shelf

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18-19 On the Town

Go fish

The story behind the latest food fad to wash onto mainland shores

by Ari LeVaux

21 Free Will Astrology

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22-23 Classifieds

What the flock Plus Celtic Fest, Martin Sexton and putting the ‘fun’ in fundraiser

by Chris Aaland

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EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel (missy@durangotelegraph.com) ADVERTISING AFICIONADO: Lainie Maxson (lainie@durangotelegraph.com) RESIDENT FORMULA ONE FAN: Tracy Chamberlin (tracy@durangotelegraph.com)

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he Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph LLC and

20 Ask Rachel

23 Haiku Movie Review

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Lainie Maxson, Shan Wells, Chris Aaland, Clint Reid, Jennaye Derge, Jesse Anderson, Allen Best, Tracy Chamberlin, Joy Martin and Zach Hively VIRTUAL ADDRESS: www.durangotelegraph.com

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distributed in the finest and most discerning locations throughout the greater Durango area.

We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

friend or dog, we will accept full responsibility in a public flogging in the following week’s issue.

Although “free but not easy,” we can be plied with schwag, booze and flattery.

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According to the study released this week, in 2016 (2017 numbers were not yet available), $27.7 million worth of legal marijuana was sold in La Plata County, translating to $37 million in economic output, an estimated 351 jobs and $14.8 million in labor income.

The study was compiled by a third-party consultant, Donna Graves, of Information Services Inc., who has conducted similar economic studies in the region. It was funded in part by several local cannabis businesses.

In addition to compiling economic impacts from 2016, the study also looked at sales tax generated through legal pot sales from 2015-17. Each year, sales tax from pot sales have steadily climbed to total more than $4.6 million. Permits and other licensing fees brought in an additional $658,000 to county and city coffers in the same three-year period.

“Local First is pleased to share the results of this study with the business community and decision makers so that we can better understand the economic contributions of the cannabis industry in La Plata County,” Local First Chair Tim Wheeler said in a news release. “The cannabis industry truly represents a homegrown industry with no economic leakage across state lines, thereby optimizing economic return in our community.”

Statewide, the economic impact was even bigger. According to the study, between January 2014 – when recreational marijuana stores first opened in Colorado – and December 2017, legal marijuana sales in Colorado hit $4.5 billion, with sales tax revenues of just under $640 million.

This study was a first step in quantifying the economic impacts of the cannabis industry in La Plata County, according to Local First. Additional work is still needed to understand more about the budding industry as well as steps local governments can take to provide a conducive business environment.

“Cannabis related businesses in La Plata County are an integral part of the community – not only do we provide support to the economy, especially in hard times like this winter - we also give back to the community whenever we can,” Jonny Radding, founder and co-owner of Durango Organics, said.

The study was co-sponsored by Durango Organics, Aurum Labs, The Greenery, Durango Cannabis Co., Sweet CO2 Oil, Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center, and Sante.

The full report can be found online at www.local-first.org under the “Resources” tab.

March 8, 2018 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Vocal fried It is a truth universally acknowledged that the surest way to prevent one from singing well is to tell one during one’s youth that one cannot sing, as a means of stopping one from singing “On Top of Spaghetti All Covered with Cheese” in the backseat during an unnecessary long road trip to a restaurant across town. The second surest way, of course, is to remove one’s vocal chords.

Alas, I have no personal experience with either of these traumas, as I am an excellent singer. I’m basically like Georgia O’Keeffe with a microphone: I possess a rich palette of colors, endless air, and a skull full of suggestive imagery.

But even Georgia O’Keeffe could have been a better singer if she had taken voice lessons. I decided to take my raw natural talent to new heights after all these years of singing brilliantly. So I signed up for voice coaching.

My vocal performance coach – let’s call her “Ashley” because that is her name – whisked me into an open room furnished with comfy chairs and rock posters and an admittedly large PA system. She started my first lesson by asking me about my goals and motivations.

What do you want out of voice lessons? (I’d like to sing better, please.) Do you see yourself performing? (Only when I look in the mirror.) Am I interested in touring? Songwriting? (Of course! That’s where I’ll get the money to pay for these lessons.) Which singers are my inspirations? (Neil Young.) No, I said SINGERS. (Oh, I misheard. How about Bob Dylan. Tom Waits. Lucinda Williams.

Ernie and Bert.) Alrighty then. Moving on…

Twenty minutes into this, I was absolutely killing it. My genius was unstoppable. Then Ashley sat at the keyboard.

Whoah whoah whoah. The way this artist sings is by singing words. Words!

Words, with all their weight and complex subtextuality. Words like, “Dancing with my seh-elf, oh oh I’m dancing a-with my seh-elf,” or the “nah-nah-nahnah” part of “Hey Jude,” or “I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.” I do not sing mere notes, like those produced by a keyboard.

“Don’t worry,” Ashley said. “These are just vocal warmups. Just like you’d warm up your legs before running. It keeps your vocal chords healthy and helps you out.”

Well, OK. I’m fine with being helped out. So she ran me through a few of these warmups – you know, the old classic “la la la La LA” deep gasp “LA la la laaaaaaaaa” – before she stopped back on that first note (the “la”) and said, “OK, let’s work on hitting this one for a bit.”

NOW we were talking. Any ol’ virtuoso can run scales and jump octaves.

But true art is born of simplicity. If we could unleash my raw abilities on a single note, I could seriously express the music burning in my heart in a way the world has never heard.

Ashley struck the one key – let’s just call it an F, because I think that’s a real musical note – and she sang along with it. “Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh,” she sang.

“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh,” I sang.

She gave me a thumbs-up. Rock. On. I thumbs-upped back.

“No no. Higher,” she said, thrusting her thumb upward like she was a puppeteer or a proctologist.

So I took my F-note higher until she made a face and tamped down with her hand. “Lower.” Thumbs-up. I went higher. Tamp-down. I went lower.

Thumbs-up. Higher.

“No, that was it!” she said. “You nailed it. That’s middle C. Now let’s do something completely different for a bit.”

She talked to me about giving myself permission to make strange faces to get the notes out, and opening my mouth to get the notes out, and some other very helpful stuff about getting the notes out, but I kind of glazed over because getting notes out isn’t, to me, what voice lessons are all about. I was ready to work on some songs!

Then she went to the whiteboard and did some more stuff about vowel sounds that still was distinctly not singing.

Before I knew it, BAM! my first lesson was up. Ashley leaped from her chair to politely open the door for me. But before I left, she said, “Whoever told you you couldn’t sing was wrong, you know. You already have everything you need to be a great singer. We just need to give you the confidence to match your natural abilities.

Not one person with professional singing experience had ever seen me that way before. For decades, my poor meatball had been nothing but mush. I’m not saying I cried when I left that day. I’m only saying that, thanks to Ashley’s support and my own creative expression, I finally feel empowered to sing again – for real, mind you, not just with my seh-elf.

Thumbin’It A recent Local First study that found the legal marijuana industry in La Plata County contributed almost $37 million to the local economy in 2016

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– Zach Hively

This Week’s Sign of the Downfall: The deadly hantavirus once again rearing its head, with recent cases in Denver and Farmington

An 11th hour reprieve for Chaco Canyon, with the New Mexico BLM delaying a planned oil and gas lease sale pending further impact studies

The BLM moving full-speed ahead on its plans for the newly shrunken Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, despite several legal challenges

Federal judges denying Sunnyside Gold Corporation’s attempt to remove more than half of the mines listed for clean up, including two of its own, from the EPA’s Bonita Peak Superfund plan

A new report from Protect Our Winters that found if climate change continues unchecked, warmer winters could spell out a loss of more than $1 billion and 17,000 jobs for the U.S. ski industry

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The other great American pastime A third-grade boys’ baseball team in Missouri is raffling an AR15 as a fundraiser.

One of the boys on the team is fathered by a cofounder of “Black Rain Ordnance,” which is a company that manufactures assault riffles (and tries really hard to sound scary), so getting the gun was easy. But what heralds our downfall is the fact that the 9-yearold players were asked to go door-to-door and sell tickets for a gun exactly like the one used in Florida, even after it happened.

WordontheStreet

Q

With Daylight Savings adding an extra hour of light at the end of the day, the Telegraph asked, “What else would you like more of?”

Terra Toner

“Beer.”

Alysha Carmien

“Unconventional revolution with a post-apocalyptic utopia.”

Samantha Schmidbauer

“Smiles.”

John Mace

“More time to watch reruns of ‘M*A*S*H*.’”

Michael Mote

“Fish in the river.”

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March 8, 2018 n 5

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ReTooned/by Shan Wells

AR-15s – preferred by murderers To the editor, I was looking forward to writing another rant about Trump. The 13 indictments Mueller’s team issued crushes Trump’s ridiculous claim that Russian meddling in the 2016 election was a Democrat hoax. There clearly was an elaborate conspiracy to defraud the American people of a free and fair election, and Americans helped Russia do it.

Also, these indictments in no way whatsoever vindicate Trump. He’s still centered in Mueller’s sights.

So, since I’m not ranting about Trump, instead I’ll spew about gun violence and questioning the justification of owning an assault rifle like the AR-15. Predictably, I’ll be attacked, and liberals will be painted with a broad brush for doing so. Republicans will say this is a typical kneejerk reaction and “we need time to figure this all out” before we can even discuss why this latest murder rampage occurred.

Ironically, if an immigrant kills an American, there’s an actual “kneejerk reaction,” and Trump swiftly signs a poorly written, unconstitutional executive order. So fine, it’s too soon to talk about Florida. What about some of the other mass murders via an AR-15? June 20, 2012: 12 killed and 58 injured at a movie theater in Aurora. Dec. 14, 2012: 27 killed; the killer’s mother, 20 first-graders and six teachers in Newtown, Conn., (Sandy Hook Elementary School).

June 12, 2016: 49 killed and 50 injured at an Orlando nightclub. Oct. 1, 2017: 58 killed and hundreds injured in Las Vegas. Nov. 5, 2017: 26 killed at a church in Texas. And just days ago an AR-15 was used to efficiently murder at least 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla. Sadly, that’s the edited-for-space list, the complete list takes a while to scroll down.

The Sandy Hook tragedy struck me as the most horrific, these were first-graders gunned down as a consequence of the right to own weapons of mass destruction. And that is

exactly what they are designed to do; quickly kill people on a massive scale. Apparently the trade off is (in America) I get to have a machine gun and your 5-year-old girl could

be murdered with one in exchange. This is not a false equivalence. This is the price families will pay for the right of some insecure, selfish American to have a deadly toy 4

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they should not have. No one wants your hunting rifles, shotguns or handguns used for self defense. This is not a “slippery slope” argument. It’s certainly reasonable to outlaw average Americans from having a rocket launcher.

What’s the difference? I mean c’mon, I can pass a background check. Air Force One ... nevermind.

So here’s my challenge to the NRA trolls out there, defend the right to own a semi-automated weapon but living with these tragedies is the price that must be paid. How would you defend your right to own this WMD to the grieving mom returning from the cemetery, her daughter killed with an AR-15? Seriously, you’re going to tell this devastated mom “it sucks that your daughter’s dead, but I have a Second Amendment right to have this weapon?” I know it sounds overly dramatic, but that is the choice that’s been made for us.

Even though 80 percent of Dems and close to 60 percent of the GOP support the Assault Weapons Ban, Congress allowed it to expire.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (aka “Little Marco”) said that gun restrictions would not have prevented the mass shooting in his home state last week. By no coincidence, little Marco had received $3.3 million from the National Rifle Association as of October 2017. Other politicians have made similar statements and accordingly, receive similar cash from the NRA. There was a time when Tommie guns and machine guns were illegal in this country. The cops were being slaughtered by the mob, and so Congress passed common sense legislation. But that was before the rise of the NRA. How many more first-graders have to die in exchange for the right to own a toy that average citizens simply should not have?

– Bill Vana, Durango

Seeing red over parking tickets To the editor, I live in the avenues in downtown and recently received

a ticket for parking too close to a stop sign. The curb that I was parked on is not painted red, while curbs a block away in in any direction are painted red in front of stop signs to keep vehicles from visually impeding the signs.

One can challenge a parking ticket to the court in writing, and I did so, explaining that the curb wasn’t painted.

I, of course, would not have parked in a red zone as a lawabiding citizen adhering to good, clean living standards.

The City denied my request to drop the ticket, citing a law that states that the City of Durango is under no legal obligation to paint curbs where it is illegal to park. I dutifully paid my $25 fine.

If the City painted no curbs at all, this law would kind of make sense, but to paint most but not all is tantamount to entrapment. The tickets for this infraction in my neighborhood seem to come in waves, as if the City knows that it will be an easy way to make a buck.

After receiving my ticket, I have regularly seen large UHauls and RVs completely blocking signs where curbs are not painted, and not once in the last three months have I seen anyone actually blocking a stop sign with a painted curb. If a family of four gets plowed over because the driver can’t see a stop sign, whose fault is it really?

The employees of the City writing these tickets are simply upholding the law and doing their jobs. It is time that the lawmakers of Durango do the same.

– Jeffrey B. Henderson, Durango

Trump adds up to one big psycho To the editor, About 14 months ago, in a letter to the editor in the Durango Herald, I tried to warn voters in La Plata County about the perils of electing a sick psychopath to be president of the United States. Trump supporters bristle at that characterization. You be the judge.

In the field of psychology, the gold standard for measuring psychopathy is the Hare PLC-R checklist. The PCL-R

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measures 20 personality traits and behaviors. Score 2 for “often;” score 1 for “sometimes;” score 0 for “not really.”

They are: glibness/superficial charm; grandiose estimation of self; need for stimulation; cunning/manipulativeness; lack of remorse or guilt; superficial emotional responsiveness; callousness and lack of empathy; parasitic lifestyle; poor behavioral controls; sexual promiscuity; early behavior problems; lack of realistic long-term goals; impulsivity; failure to accept responsibility for own actions; many short-term marital relationships; juvenile delinquency; revocation of conditional release (for prisoners – score zero); and criminal versatility. People with no criminal background normally score around 5. Psychopathic criminal offenders score around 22. A score above 30 qualifies a person for a diagnosis of psychopathy in the United States. In the UK it is above 25. They have a higher standard for sanity than we do.

Trump is a narcissistic, tyrannical, misogynistic, unpredictable, dangerous man. He is a threat to our environment, civil discourse, our ideals of inclusiveness and principles of democracy. For the sake of our country he must be removed from office as quickly as possible. Rational people must unite and work toward that goal.

– Jack Morrison, Durango

Oil and gas, the invisible killer To the editor, According to the 2018 Conservation in the West poll, Coloradans overwhelmingly favor health-protective rules that keep us safe from air pollutants and climate-changing methane emissions. Seventy-four percent want government to require the oil and gas industry to do more to prevent leaks and capture methane on public lands. Unfortunately, some in Congress are pushing for the exact opposite.

Congress is working on a federal funding bill that endangers public health and the environment. The bill includes a host of harmful policy riders known as “poison

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SoapBox from p. 7 pills,” the term for unrelated amendments attached to must-pass legislation.

For example, some of these riders would block Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management rules limiting dangerous methane pollution from fracking operations. These rules require the oil and gas industry to use cost-effective technologies to reduce natural gas venting and flaring as well as to find and fix leaks from equipment and operations.

The Obama administration’s EPA estimated that the agency’s standards would avert 510,000 tons of methane pollution in 2025, which is equivalent to burning 12.3 billion tons of coal.

Stopping leaks also reduces toxic emissions. Published studies have highlighted the connection between living close to fracking operations and increased health risks.

Researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health identified dangerous levels of benzene – a powerful carcinogen – near fracking operations as well as elevated risks of cancer for residents living within a half mile of a drilling site. Additional peer-reviewed research has shown increased risks for birth defects and childhood leukemia in babies born to mothers living in close proximity to oil and gas drilling operations. Asthma and preterm births have also been associated with fracking.

Methane also accelerates climate change. It is 86 times more potent over its first 20 years than carbon dioxide.

Coloradans are already seeing impacts of climate change in the increasing number of wildfires and decreasing amount of snowpack. Climate Central reports that Colorado is one of the 10 states experiencing the fastest warming summers. These increased temperatures can lead to increases in illness and death for our most vulnerable people, namely children and the elderly.

Fugitive emissions from drilling and rising tempera-

tures both contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, the primary component of smog. This is a major problem for Colorado. The Front Range has failed to comply with EPA ozone standards since 2012, and by some estimates, compliance may not be possible before 2030. The Four Corners area is under the largest methane cloud in the nation as a result of venting, flaring and leaks from drilling operations. Ozone levels are increased under the methane cloud, and elevated ozone levels result in increased incidence of asthma and respiratory infections, with children and the elderly being the most vulnerable. Ozone itself is linked to approximately 10,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year.

In June 2017, the State of Colorado joined other states in a lawsuit challenging the EPA administrator’s decision to stop the EPAs rules to reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants from oil and gas operations on federal lands.

We urge Rep. Scott Tipton and Sen. Cory Gardner to follow this example and oppose poison pill environmental riders, like the methane riders, in the final 2018 spending bill. (Sen. Michael Bennet has consistently voted for environmental and public health protections.)

We also urge local, state and federal policymakers to support the expansion of clean renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and battery backup. Only then can we begin to reduce the risks to our health caused by the mining and burning of coal, oil and gas.

– Dr. Lauri Costello, Durango, and Dr. Larry Moore, Manitou Springs, Colorado Physicians for Social Responsibility

Weak unions strengthen the 1% To the editor, The Supreme Court is now hearing a case about whether “fair share” or “agency fees” should be continued under a 1977 Supreme Court ruling upholding mandatory fees for non-union members as constitutional.

The court said they were justified by the state’s interest in maintaining labor peace and eliminating “free riders”

who gain benefits without paying their “fair share.” The idea is that if you choose not to join a union but reap the benefits covered by the contract – wages, leave policies, grievance procedures, etc. – then you should bear some of the cost of negotiating that contract.

I tend to think of this in terms of collective goods, say schools, roads or national parks, that we all use, benefit from, or have access to whether we choose to use them or not. In the case of public employees, say police, fire fighters, teachers or health-care workers, if a majority of them at a given site vote to be represented by a union, that union becomes the exclusive bargaining agent for the workers.

Since unions can and are political in their advocating of member benefits, what if you don’t agree with the union’s politics? Well, unions are required to send all nonmembers a one-page form allowing them to check a box and automatically be exempt from sharing the expense of the union’s lobbying and ideological activities.

So maybe the “free riders” are now taking advantage of what appears to be a more conservative supreme court with the nomination of Neil Gorsuch.

But consider that even while conservative justices like John Roberts say it’s a “money” issue, and that the unions speaking on behalf of members might limit free speech, I have to laugh thinking of how the Citizens’ United case gave corporations with their virtually unlimited pots of money, the same free speech rights as individual citizens.

Granted, labor unions represent a meager 6-7 percent in the private sector; in the public sector, it’s closer to 30-plus percent. Take a moment to consider that in the United States, the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent (that’s .01 percent) owns as much as the other 90 percent of the population.

And according to the AFL-CIO (a labor union), corporate CEO pay in 2016 averaged $13.1 million.

So why is the Supreme Court possibly going to cut union support by letting the “free riders” not pay for collective bargaining? Because as Justice Roberts says, “It’s all about money.”

– Tim Thomas, Durango

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MountainTownNews Big snows and a rash of ski deaths Snow has killed in many ways in the West during recent weeks as snow finally arrived in some areas while growing ever-deeper in other areas during this unusual La Niña winter.

The avalanche toll for the winter reached 18 in the United States, all in Western states and Alaska. The latest victims over the weekend were a backcountry skier and two backcountry snowmobilers who were killed in separate accidents in Washington state.

Tahoe-Truckee resorts got around 5 feet of snow in 48 hours last week. On the north shore of Lake Tahoe, along the CaliforniaNevada border, authorities issued avalanche warnings in an area covering 160 homes. People were advised to limit activity outdoors.

More advanced warnings would have instructed residents to leave the area or to avoid windows and upslope facing walls.

More unusual were the deaths Sunday of a 50-year-old woman and her 7-year-old son at California’s Kirkwood Resort. They were skiing to a slopeside condominium when snow slid from a rooftop, burying them.

“It was horrible timing. They were right beneath that one piece of roof, and it just unloaded,” Alpine County Undersheriff Spencer Case told the Reno Gazette Journal. “A few feet one way or another, and it could have come out differently.”

Rare in-bound avalanches hit two California resorts. At Mammoth, an avalanche hit eight people, causing minor injuries to six of them. Nobody was killed.

At Squaw, nobody died but there was a close call when a 400yard-wide avalanche roared down a gulch, hitting five people. Two people were injured, one seriously. But one without injuries had the closest call.

The man, who was on the first day of a three-week trip in the Sierra Nevada with his wife, was completely buried. Only the tip of his snowboard was above the surface.

Others began digging, according to an account in the San Jose Mercury News. He had blacked out after about 45 seconds but came to once his face was cleared of snow. His first words were “Where is my wife?” He had been under the snow for six minutes.

Earlier that day, the body of a 42-year-old snowboarder who had been reported missing was found in a tree well using RECCO technology that links to sensors embedded in ski coats and pants. The snowboarder died in an inverted position, his head three to four feet under the snow, according to David Clark, chief deputy corner of Placer County.

The snowboarder was one of up to eight people who have died this winter in Western resorts from suffocation. Two died at Montana’s Whitefish Mountain Resort. One, a 56-year-old skier, died after falling into a tree well inbounds. As is common with such deaths, he had become separated from his skiing companion, reported the Flathead Beacon. The other died there on New Year’s Eve. In Oregon, two people died on the same day at Mt. Bachelor.

The Bend Bulletin reports that a 24-year-old snowboarder had fallen into a tree well on an expert run and was buried in 6 feet of snow.

A friend was digging frantically to get the snow away, and then others joined in. Once they had fished him from the hole around the tree, they begin administering CPR, but it was to no avail. He was pronounced dead at the ski area’s parking lot.

Two hours later, another skier went missing on the last run of the day. That victim, a 19-year-old skier, was skiing alone on an advanced run. She was reported to be an honors student at the University of Oregon.

Opioid epidemic strikes ski towns, too JACKSON, Wyo. – Heroin and opioids have not afflicted ski towns the same way they have decaying coal-mining towns in Appalachia. But there are problems.

From Telluride comes a coroner’s determination that a 29-yearold employee of the ski area died of an overdose of heroin and other unspecified drugs. The Telluride Daily Planet says the victim, whose name was not given, had been found in his apartment in Mountain Village on Jan. 20.

In Wyoming and Idaho, there is sorrow about the heroin overdose death of 26-year-old Jacob “Jake” Wade, who also died in Colorado. He grew up first in Alta, Utah, and then on both sides of the Teton Range, first in Driggs, Idaho, and then Jackson, Wyo. As a child, the outdoors was his playground. He first traversed

MorePlease:

The sun’s last rays hit the West Needles recently as seen from Electra Lake. Despite a string of February storms, the local snowpack still sits at a paltry 43 percent./ Photo by Missy Votel

the Tetons at age 8 and, during his life, stood atop the 13,776-foot Grand Teton three times. He was also a talented freestyle skier who took second in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association freestyle combined competition.

He was also the sort of guy who wanted to give his clothes to the homeless and work at the food bank.

Where did it go wrong? His parents tell the Jackson Hole News&Guide’s Kylie Mohr that it began when Wade broke his neck while doing a sunset photo shoot at Grand Targhee. Surgery was needed for the C4 fracture. Although his body fully recovered, he was introduced to extended-release morphine, known as MS-Contin, at the age of 14.

His parents wonder – but don’t know – whether the injury also damaged his brain. What they do say is that after that their son had recurring problems.

“He was a different person after that,” said Dave Wade, his father. “He just was. It’s so hard to describe. He went from being super-motivated to having struggles with depression. It all starts innocently enough, and then it snowballs into something that’s problematic for these folks who have an addictive nature.”

Opioid pills were easy enough to come by at Summit High School in Jackson. During those years and then later he was treated repeatedly. One of his most successful treatments was at a soberliving facility in Boulder, called Choice House. But he couldn’t stay there forever.

He eventually landed in Denver, where he remodeled homes while attending a community college. He had a solid relationship with a girlfriend for more than three years.

“I’ve got to emphasize, although he was an addict, most of the time he was clean,” said David Wade. “He really battled it. But he would have slips. Most of the time they’d only last a day or two.”

Last April he almost died from a heroin overdose. He was revived by his girlfriend, who performed CPR, and paramedics. Doctors told his parents that if he had been found a few minutes later they would have been donating his organs.

In November, as his health declined, he was treated for pneumonia. Two days after being discharged from the hospital he was found dead. The autopsy identified a heroin overdose.

His parents want people to know that addiction is a medical problem, not a moral failing.

“I don’t know how many people said to me, especially when he was younger, ‘He should find something else to get addicted to, like road biking,’” said his mother, Cathleen Imo, a hospice nurse.

“I said, ‘It doesn’t work like that.’”

– Allen Best

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The landscape in La Plata Electric Association’s service territory isn’t suited for all types of renewable energy. Ones that could work include biomass, hydroelectric and solar. In the eastern mountains of the Rio Grande National Forest, top right, biomass projects that turn wood waste - like dead beetle-kill trees - into energy could create power and help with fire mitigation. Small hydroelectric projects could be utilized along local rivers, like the Animas, above left. In the high desert regions of the Southwest, larger solar arrays could add even more to the renewable energy mix./File photos

Renewed energy Local groups file motion, spotlighting region’s renewable energy debate

by Tracy Chamberlin

T

hey might have been a little late, but the timing was perfect.

Two local nonprofits, Local First and San Juan Citizens Alliance, recently filed a motion supporting Delta-Montrose Electric Association in its bid to grow its renewable energy portfolio and take on Tri-State Generation and Transmission in the process.

Although, the groups didn’t make the deadline and can’t officially be considered in the case, their efforts put the spotlight back on the issue of renewable energy generation in the Southwest and a desire for local energy independence.

Local First, a nonprofit business alliance serving La Plata County, and San Juan Citizens Alliance, a Durango-based conservation advocacy group, co-authored a motion

10 n March 8, 2018

to intervene, which is like a letter of support, in the case between Delta-Montrose and Tri-State.

The motion essentially backs a 2016 decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that gives Delta-Montrose the ability to get more of its energy locally.

“We’re here to support the energy producers in our community,” Monique DiGiorgio, executive director for Local First, said. “We want renewable energy here.”

Taking on Tri-State Several years ago, Delta-Montrose, a regional electric cooperative, wanted to work with a small hydroelectric power producer in their area.

The catch was that the contract between Delta-Montrose and Tri-State – just like the contract between La Plata Electric Association and Tri-State – limits the amount of local renewable energy the co-op can gen-

erate to just 5 percent of its total power needs. The other 95 percent must be purchased from Tri-State, and Delta-Montrose was already at 5 percent.

But, there was a way to sidestep the cap.

PURPA, or the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, was originally passed in the wake of the 1970s oil crisis that left Americans fighting over limited supplies of gasoline. The law was meant to encourage energy conservation, efficiency and development in renewables. One of the ways the law achieved its goals was by creating what’s called “qualifying facilities.” Projects with qualifying facility status got special rate and regulatory treatment, making it easier for small power producers to get in the energy game.

So, Delta-Montrose asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC,

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to give its hydroelectric project qualifying facility status. The federal agency did.

In response, Tri-State created a cost-recovery mechanism, which would allow it to recover the revenues lost as a result of Delta-Montrose going over its 5 percent cap. FERC, however, put the kibosh on this idea.

Not only was this a win for Delta-Montrose, it signaled to other co-ops, including LPEA, that they too could expand their renewable energy portfolios by tapping qualifying facilities.

The Tri-State tax Mark Pearson, executive director for San Juan Citizens Alliance, said one of the volunteers for the conservation organization, Jeff Bork, really sparked the conversation about qualifying facilities and their potential to open the door for local renewable energy. 4

But these discussions also coincided with recent changes pursue over the next 15 years,” according to the co-op’s to the commission. website.

The original decision in the Delta-Montrose case was acOne thing the committee will not be doing is calculating tually made by staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Com- exactly how much it might cost to buyout the Tri-State conmission. When it was handed down in 2016, Tri-State tract. With the ever-changing energy landscape, it turns out requested the commission take a look at the staff’s decision it’s not so easy to come up with a number. and reconsider it.

LPEA’s CEO Mike Dreyspring presented board members At the time, however, there were several seats open. This with some initial information on the subject during their meant there weren’t enough commissioners to hold a quo- February meeting. It’s the first step to what Ron Meier, rum and they couldn’t take up the issue until more mem- LPEA’s manager of engineering and member relations, bers were confirmed. called “deeper considerations to a buy-out.”

New commissioners, who are appointed by the president One company that’s often referenced in discussions of a of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, were possible buyout is Kit Carson Electric Coop, based in Taos, recently appointed by the Trump Administration.

N.M., which bought out its contract with Tri-State in 2016.

Because of the long delay, there’s a backlog of items for The contract details are not public, so it is often debated the new commission to whether Kit Carson is a tackle, and there’s no comparable model for telling exactly when LPEA or not. they’ll get to revisiting For example, LPEA the Delta-Montrose defocuses solely on eleccision. tricity. Kit Carson has Nevertheless, Local several other ventures, First and the Citizens including telecom, Alliance wanted to propane and broadspeak up because they band. believe the commisAlso, Kit Carson is sion’s ultimate decision adding several solar ar– Monique DiGiorgio, Local First Executive Director matters to Southwest rays to its portfolio – an residents. initiative that could “The ‘Tri-State Tax’ makes it hard for local generators to generate 35 megawatts of solar energy – in an effort to be compete,” DiGiorgio explained. “We wanted that piece of able to provide members with 100 percent of their electricthe story to be heard.” ity during the summer, daytime hours by 2023. But generIf the commission does not allow Tri-State to move for- ating that much electricity with solar might not be an ward with its cost recovery fees – or the “Tri-State Tax” as option for LPEA. DiGiorgio called it – the door would be open for more Powered by the people small, locally-based renewable energy projects. And that is The landscape in LPEA’s service territory isn’t suited for something Local First and Citizens Alliance want to see. all types of renewable energy. Wind farms, for example, Buyout battle wouldn’t work, according to Pearson. But other types of faAnother way some LPEA members are looking to achieve cilities would, like small hydro and solar arrays. independence is to buyout their contract with Tri-State – a DiGiorgio said it would likely take a mix of options to debate that has been playing out recently in the pages of achieve independence. Not just utilizing local generation local papers, including the Telegraph. Some would prefer to options, like the ones Pearson suggested, but also working buyout the contract today. Others are seeking a more tem- with power brokers on the open market. pered approach when it comes to transitioning to local reIt’s a resource Kit Carson tapped to supplement its needs, newable energy. contracting with Guzman Energy, a Florida-based group One of the things everyone does agree on is that the with offices in Denver. landscape of the energy industry is changing – and fast.

“I think the most important thing is to set a goal,” DiFor some, this means the co-op should be careful not to Giorgio explained. “Then look at all the options to reach chase the latest trends and take risks with member’s money that goal.”

– many of whom can’t afford to pay the price for mistaken The goal for Local First and the Citizens Alliance is to investments. For others, the time to act is now – before the have 80 percent of the energy in LPEA’s service territory boat sails and it’s too late to make a difference. generated locally by 2030. It’s a goal DiGiorgio thinks is There is, however, common ground between the two. achievable – as long as Tri-State doesn’t thwart progress.

Most recently, the LPEA Board of Directors voted unaniFor example, there’s one local renewable project still mously to create a subcommittee tasked with exploring the waiting to get off the ground, and the roadblock has been possibilities for the co-op’s future.

Tri-State.

Specifically, the mission is “to identify several possible J.R. Ford, owner of Pagosa Land Co., developed a bioenergy scenarios and emerging trends that LPEA could mass project in the eastern part of LPEA’s coverage territory

“The ‘Tri-State Tax’ makes it hard for local generators to compete ... We wanted that piece of the story to be heard.”

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that basically turns wood waste into electricity. His project is not just about the power; it’s also a tool for fire mitigation.

LPEA officials had said they were willing to offer a higher price for Ford’s biomass energy, but they couldn’t afford to go as high as Ford needed to make it work. The key player was Tri-State. If the energy supplier paid a little more, they all might be able to move forward. So far, though, Tri-State hasn’t agreed, and the project sits in limbo.

The most important number in Ford’s biomass project was also the key number in the FERC decision – the minimum price Tri-State and LPEA pay for power.

When LPEA negotiates with an energy provider like Ford, the rate the co-op can offer depends on Tri-State’s numbers. The two amounts are basically hitched.

But, the 2016 Delta-Montrose decision from FERC unhitched the two rates. Under that, LPEA would no longer need to offer the same rate as Tri-State and, more importantly, wouldn’t be required to pay the difference between the two. That’s why Local First and the Citizens Alliance filed their motion.

If Tri-State can dictate the price of electricity in cases like this, Pearson said, some qualifying facilities might not step forward. But if LPEA isn’t limited by Tri-State’s rates, it would have the opportunity to work on projects, like Ford’s, as well as explore new opportunities.

“There’s a lot of innovation that would be unleashed,” he added.

While everyone waits for word from FERC on the DeltaMontrose decision and LPEA’s subcommittee begins to tackle the co-op’s future, LPEA and its members are preparing for the board elections to be held this April.

Currently, the co-op is accepting submissions from potential candidates. All the paperwork is due by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14, and can be turned in at the Durango or Pagosa Springs offices.

“We try to support candidates that are the most creative and provide leadership on local renewable energy,” DiGiorgio said.

One thing’s for certain, no matter who throws their hat in the ring, local renewable energy will likely be a hot topic during the elections. n

Follow the green Don’t worry if things look a little different with La Plata Electric’s Green Power Program, they’re just making a few tweaks. Funds collected by members and used to support local renewable energy projects, like adding solar panels to schools, libraries or low-income housing, will see some changes in the coming months. The programs aren’t going away, the co-op’s just changing the way members contribute and recipients apply. To find out more or ask questions, call LPEA’s customer service line at 247-5786 or 888-839-5732.

March 8, 2018 n 11

dayinthelife

T

otally ubular

by Jennaye Derge

W

hat goes up must come down. But just to make sure, Uncle Clyde's Run and Slide race put that theory to the test on the Purgatory tubing hill last weekend. The second annual relay race, hosted by the Durango Running Club, included two heats, a 60-minute and a 90minute version. The race pitted teams of two against each other to see who could crank out the most laps without throwing in the towel, or up their breakfast. As always, costumes were not required but highly encouraged – because if you're vying for king or queen of the (tubing) hill, you want to look the part.

Top: Shaun B., part of team Pickle Juice Power, sets a blistering pace during the 90-minute relay.

Left: Kristina Siladi slightly resembles Engineer Peak as she runs past en route to another run.

Below left: At least Roxy Vojta enjoys the ride, if not the slog back up.

Below: Don’t let the short shorts, tutus and knee-highs fool you; these competitors are fierce.

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March 8, 2018 n 13

thesecondsection

Seniors rule Durango’s Seniors Outdoors! celebrates 20 years of adventures

by Joy Martin

A

ge is more than a number; it’s an unapologetic excuse to ski, hike, bike and chit-chat to your heart’s content. At least that’s the tale for the fine folks of Seniors Outdoors! (exclamation point intended) – Durango’s outdoor recreation and social group for locals 50 years old and beyond.

In fact, they’re so busy living that it was hard to track down any of its 600 or so members to interview. I probably would have had better luck planting myself at the bottom of Chair 1, on the lookout for a group of baby boomers bombing down.

“We don’t think we’re old,” 82-yearold member Betsy Petersen says. “I still felt like I was 16 until a couple of years ago on my 80th birthday.”

This spring, “the SO!,” as members call

JusttheFacts What: Seniors Outdoors! 20-year Reunion Party & Potluck When: 6:30 p.m. Tues., March 13 Where: Durango Rec Center For info: www.seniorsoutdoors.org

it, celebrates 20 years of summits, canyons, tailgate parties, newcomers, old timers and a boatload of Rocky Mountainhigh experiences.

The group was founded in 1998 by Charlie Speno, director of the Durango Area Agency on Aging. He projected that, by 2008, Durango’s seniors in need of services wouldn’t be the 60-year-olds (the “seniors-in-training”) but rather the 70and 80-year-olds.

Not that there’s anything wrong with knitting, chair yoga and bingo, but Speno’s solution to ease the burden on city and county coffers was to keep seniors’ bodies and minds sharp.

He put a notice in the newspaper inviting seniors interested in forming an outdoors club to meet at the Durango-La Plata Senior Center. Eight people showed up to the first gathering. They planned a hike in the phantasmagorical Bisti Wilderness. The next month, 16 people went on an adventure near Needles. The demand was obvious; it was time to get organized.

First on the agenda was to select a club name. Their “by-the-people, for-the-people” approach led to a vote; Second Wind Outdoor Seniors, Vintage Vagabonds, Durango Mountain Hoppers and The Happy Wanderers didn’t make the cut.

They also set membership dues at $10 a year for singles and $12 for couples. The money would mostly cover mailing costs for the newsletter, The High Point, but would also support purchasing a tripod for group photos.

14 n March 8, 2018

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Clockwise from top: Grand Turk/Sultan, 2015; Vermillion Peak, 2005; Yankee Girl Mine, 2017./ Courtesy Seniors Outdoors!

A Board of Directors was chosen, and the SO! was officially off to the races, doubling in size each time they gathered. Outings were shaped to meet the needs of different ability levels, and subgroups developed for interests beyond hiking, like horseback riding, cycling, skiing and happy-hour-ing.

The speedy growth spurt would not have been possible without the indefatigable leadership of Dell Manners, who was sworn in as the first SO! president.

Having moved to Durango in 1997, the then-64-year-old spry newbie was one of the first members.

“I needed to find people to play with,” she says.

With SO!, she found plenty of people who can (mostly) keep up with her seemingly boundless energy. Her perfect day,

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she says, is chockfull from start to finish: skiing in the morning, riding horses in the afternoon and ballroom dancing into the night. She thanks eight decades of bebopping and “good genes” for keeping her strong.

Despite a double knee replacement a few months ago, she’s still two-stepping at the Wildhorse with the present love of her life, Bert, whom she picked up seven years ago at the SO! Singles (SOS) club.

Finding love is a common story for the not-so-lonely-heart-club members, though others prefer their independence these days. One of these happy bachelors, John Montle, also happens to be the oldest member of the group (the 85-yearold, who instigates many of the ski outings, didn’t know he was the oldest until this article). He retired 21 years ago and

moved to Durango – just in time to get involved with SO! in the early years.

His greatest SO! memory is a full-moon snowshoe hike he planned years ago at Molas Pass. Thanks to a volcanic eruption halfway around the globe, ash in the atmosphere made the moon a lovely, hazy red. As if that wasn’t cool enough, a total eclipse was also in the forecast, AND Saturn’s iconic rings were in view – something that happens every 17 years.

He didn’t know if anyone would want to snowshoe on a cold winter’s night, but he hiked out early to face one telescope toward Saturn and the other to track the moon. Manners donated firewood, and Montle brought hot dogs to roast.

“Forty people showed up,” says Montle, still in disbelief. “It was one member’s first outing, and I remember her 4

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saying,‘I can die happy now; I’ve seen the rings of Saturn.’”

One time, Montle met a wife at SOS but now finds his freedom to be the absolute berries. He fills his week skiing, hiking, golfing and volunteering, which is just as big of a part of SO! as having fun.

At each of their four SO! potlucks throughout the year, members collect food and money for local nonprofits, like the Volunteers of America, Durango Food Bank and Manna Soup Kitchen. Passionate about preserving nature, SO! Members donate to the San Juan Mountain Association, Colorado Trail Foundation and Trails 2000 and adopt two segments along Highway 550.

Despite tireless efforts to be good stewards of public lands, some members of the SO! got in trouble with the law over this very issue.

The longest-active member and hiking leader of the SO! is 82-year-old Howard Drake. In 2011, he and a buddy, Harry Hance, were hiking on BLM land northwest of Cortez. They stumbled upon a Native American burial site, where a shallow grave revealed a dusty human skull. For the retired teacher and scientist, this might as well have been buried treasure. The two marveled at the relic before covering it up.

“I think you should be reburied after 800 years,” says Drake.

He and Hance told fellow SO! members about the discovery, and an excited group hiked out to see the ancient corpse. After the show-and-tell, Drake covered it back up, naive to the fact that touching the skull is illegal, classified as “a disturbance of artifacts” or “excavating” under federal law. Unfortu-

nately for Drake and Hance, one of the hikers in the group was actually an undercover BLM officer, who had heard rumors of the Indiana-Jones-esque mission.

After asking to see the skull, the secret agent reported the incident, and the puzzled hiking leaders were arrested. A trial determined that 76-year-old Drake and 81-yearold Hance were guilty, and the rogue explorers were handcuffed, fined $1,000 each and sentenced to jail. Drake got 10 days, and Hance, three.

“It upset Harry so much that he moved to Arizona,” says Drake.

Since the episode, the SO! doesn’t take many outings to explore archaeological sites.

Rather Drake enjoys leading hikes near his home in Silverton, where he’s lived since 1986. He’s famous amongst SO! members for his apres-hiking treats of coffee and chocolate cake.

While Drake might be the only member to serve time for an SO! activity, Betsy Petersen points out that these mishaps are what make SO! rich.

“A lot of us do things we might not have done had we not joined SO! and met one another,” says Petersen. “We do have some near calamities, but we survive. Those are the things we remember: what almost happened.

We’re just full of those.”

As motivated as they are to find adventure, safety has always been a priority for the SO!, which boasts very few incidents over the years. On every hike, leaders carry walkietalkies and first aid kits, equipment that’s funded by membership dues, which is now $15 per person per year.

Seniors Outdoors! Wednesday Wanderers walk along the Animas River Trail this week. The group has more than 600 members./ Photo by Jennaye Derge “We always have a sweep,” says Petersen.

“If a person has to go slower, they can go slower. If they need to turn back, they can turn back with a buddy.”

There was an almost-heart-attack, says Petersen, and once, a group member got separated on a hike and ended up in Rico. But he ran into some friends and got invited to a birthday party, so no harm came to him.

“Our hike coordinator, John Martin, said this group is just the greatest because they just lead themselves,” she adds. “And no-

body complains or says ‘why don’t we do this or that?’ We don’t compete with each other, but we certainly encourage each other.

We just have a good time.”

If you’re plotting how to crash the SO! Reunion party next week, or any other enticing SO! outings, club members have a go-to oneliner that no one will claim as having said first: “You can join, if you can keep up.”

For more info. on SO! visit www.seniorsout doors.org. n

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March 8, 2018 n 15

Flashinthepan

Taking the mainland by tsunami

by Ari LeVaux

A

round half-past eight the other night in the small Hawai’ian town of Naalehu, which happens to be the southernmost town in the U.S., I walked into Shaka, America’s southernmost bar. “Sorry, sir, the kitchen is closed,” said a nice man behind the counter with a shaved head and wispy goatee. “What about poke?” I asked. He directed me to a refrigerated Coca-Cola case.

Poke, pronounced poekay, is the Hawai’ian version of sushi. It consists of cubes of raw fish, most often ahi tuna, tossed in flavorings.

Conspicuously absent is any acid like lime juice, which would cook the poke into ceviche. Without such acid, poke is officially raw. In addition to ahi, other Hawai’ian fish like ono and mahi mahi can be made into poke. More recently other fish like salmon or yellowtail have been discovered to make great poke, along with octopus, shrimp and other shellfish, both fresh and frozen. Hawai’ian poke is regularly made with ahi that isn’t fresh, carefully identified as “previously frozen” when sold in stores. To those of us who don’t live in Hawai’i, this is your cue that it’s possible to make poke at home that a Hawai’ian would eat.

Hundreds of restaurants on the mainland have figured out as much in recent years, with the number of poke outlets more than quintupling. There are more than 600 poke-eries nationwide, in almost all 50 states.

Until I opened America’s southernmost vintage refrigerated beverage display case, the best poke I’d had on the Big Island was from ChoiceMart, a grocery store in Captain Cook. On the mainland, of course, buying raw fish at grocery stores with names like FoodLand or 7-Eleven constitutes risky behavior, but it’s different in Hawai’i.

There are people here who understand how to handle these types of fish, tossing them with various proven permutations of spices, onions, sauces, oils and other goodies like kim chi or flying fish eggs.

Poke was originally a verb that meant “to cut or slice crosswise into pieces” in native Hawai’ian. To this day, when ahi is sliced properly the grain is visible. Along with the cubes of fresh ahi, the original poke included salt, seaweed and kukui nuts, aka candlenut, named after

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the fact that lamp oil can be extracted from them. Strung onto beads, candlenuts were burned for light; the duration of a single nut’s burning was used as a measure of time. Fishermen used to chew and spit the nuts into the ocean to cut the glare and give better visibility into the water from their boats.

Over the centuries, other ingredients were incorporated into the palate of poke seasonings. First onions, then tomatoes and so on. But the poke recipe that has taken much of the world by storm in recent years is the shoyu-style, aka soy sauce, sesame oil, scallion, ginger, sesame seeds, chili peppers, salt, pepper and sometimes kukui. Shoyu isn’t my favorite poke from the ChoiceMart, or anywhere else. I much prefer the spicy ahi, which includes mayo, hot sauce and green onions. I also enjoy a creamy wasabi version with pistachios. Third place goes to the so-called Hawai’ian-style, which includes limu seaweed, salt and ground kukui.

I opened the glass door to the fridge and looked at the poke. The edges of the fish cubes were sharp, and the cut faces glossy, meaning the cuts were fresh. It looked much better than what I’d seen earlier that day in Hilo, at the venerable Suisan Fish Market. The 110-year-old establishment has its own fleet of boats and has been distributing poke island-wide since long before it was popular off-island. The magnificent poke bar at ChoiceMart, no less, is stocked by an early-morning delivery across the island from Suisan. But an early-morning batch of poke will be soft around the edges by mid-afternoon, no matter how recently the fish was caught. Once the fish is cubed, the clock starts ticking.

I asked the man, “Do you have anything to serve the poke with, like maybe ... “ “Rice,” we both said at the same time. “You want a

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poke bowl?” he asked, reaching toward me in a manner that said hand over the poke.

“Please,” I replied, as I relinquished the poke, trying in vain to contain my excitement.

He returned moments later with a styrofoam take-out box and placed it on the bar, along with a caddy stocked with bottles of soy and Tabasco sauces and slender yellow packets of Best Foods mayo, among other seasonings that were not relevant to my interests. Inside the box: two scoops of rice, my poke, and a plastic dish containing small pieces of nori, sesame seeds, salt and particles of dried fish.

Other than the fish, it contained little more than salt and minced green and sweet onions. But with fish that fresh, and freshly cut, less is more. And with the Tabasco and mayo from the caddy I was able to massage the poke and seasonings into a spectacular spicy ahi with a decidedly Japanese feel.

“What do you call this flavor of poke?” I asked.

“Oh,” said the man, with the makings of a grin around his goatee. “We just call that Hawai’ian style.”

But unlike the ChoiceMart Hawai’ian-style, this version didn’t have any kukui nuts or limu. Only that seaweed seasoning, which I asked my host about.

“That’s furikaki,” he said with a growing grin.

“Oh,” I said, “you mean the Japanese stuff?”

“Yeah,” he said and straight-up started laughing like I just told him a funny joke. It was a big, booming laugh that shook the room.

It was no joke when the CEO of Suisan, of Japanese descent, was interned during the war. To this day, many Japanese practices pervade the company, which guarantees its boats never go out for more than two days, so the fish is never older than that when cut. Because at a certain point, fresh is no longer best. And fresh poke made from frozen fish is better than old poke made from fresh fish.

I mentioned to the man that it didn’t look like his poke was made at seven that morning. “That’s just three hours old,” he confirmed. I took another pack of America’s southernmost poke from the Coke fridge and brought it home to the rental house, where I ate a second poke bowl on salad greens.

The next morning, the cut edges of the leftover poke cubes were less sharp, and the sheen on the faces had gone flat. I squeezed in lime juice from a tree out back, and called it good. Good ceviche, that is.

When I return to the parallel universe of Montana, I’ll be seeking out ahi that was frozen on the boat, preferably in steaks that were sliced across the grain. I’ll be looking to thaw and cube that ahi steak and make some poke that’s more than OK. n

TopShelf

The big 5-0, Celtic fest, folk and ‘The Flock’

by Chris Aaland

vout fanbase known as “The Flock,” and have been tearing up dance halls across the country. Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers s the clock ticks down on my 40s – just a few more opens. weeks until the big Five-Oh! – I take refuge in the memIt bums me out that I won’t be able to attend tonight’s soldories of my past … fishing trips with grandfathers long out Shovels & Rope concert at the Sheridan Opera House in Teldead, concerts and festivals when I was in my prime, drinking esluride, but perhaps you’re luckier. The Opera house keeps busy, capades and more. Last though, with several other weekend, I was watching concerts this week, includcollege basketball, and reing Keller Williams & membered the feeling and the Monophonics (9 p.m. smell of my old red basketFriday), an encore performball kneepads. Nobody ance by the Monophonics wears kneepads anymore.

(9 p.m. Saturday), and the But suddenly I was 10 years King of Telluride himself, old, suiting up for a Rifle Sam Bush, at 8 p.m. MonPee Wee Basketball League day. game. Then Duke worked The Met: Live in HD the ball inside against continues at 10:55 a.m. SatNorth Carolina and I was urday in the Vallecito back in the present.

Room of the FLC Student The Durango Celtic Union with Rossini’s Festival takes place “Semiamide.” This mastonight through Sunday at terpiece makes its first Met the Henry Strater Theatre appearance in nearly 25 and Irish Embassy Pub. years and features an allHighlights include headlinstar bel canto cast. Rossini’s ers Old Blind Dogs at epic is set in ancient Baby7:30 p.m. Saturday and lon (now modern-day Iraq), Folksinger Martin Sexton plays a twin bill with guitar maestro AnDAIMH at 7:30 p.m. Fria kingdom that flourished dreas Kapsalis at the Animas City Theatre at 8 p.m. Thurs., March 8. day. Old Blind Dogs have between the 18th and sixth stood on the cutting edge of Scotland’s roots revival since the centuries BCE. early 1990s and have released 13 albums. They’ve also won the For the 20th year in a row, KSUT Public Radio will send prestigious title of Folk Band of the Year in 2004 and 2007 at the one of its members to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as Scots Trad Music Awards. DAIMH is a Gaelic supergroup that the grand prize winner in its spring membership drive. The drive champions Highland music. They, too, won the Scots Trad Music itself starts Wednesday morning, and listeners will get the chance Awards Best Band of the Year award in 2015. Local and regional to win prizes all week long through Tues. March 20. The New Ortalent like The Hydes, Kitchen Jam Band and Patrick Crossing, leans trip is more than just the chance to see acts like Aerosmith, among others, rounds out the bill.

Stevie Wonder and hundreds of Crescent City favorites at one of The Southwest Colorado Concert Association presents one of America’s premier festivals … it also includes five nights’ lodging my favorite groups, the Hot Club of Cowtown, at 7 p.m. Sunin the French Quarter and round trip airfare for two from Duday at the Montezuma-Cortez High School auditorium. The trio rango. The winner will travel from May 2-7 and attend four days of Whit Smith (guitar), Elana James (violin) and Jake Erwin (dogat the festival eating Cajun cooking, drinking hurricanes and house bass) is no stranger to the Four Corners, having first played dancing to jazz, blues, rock, gospel and more. an old DSCPA show following the release of their 1998 debut, With the Trump administration proposing the elimination of “Swingin’ Stampede.” Ever since, they’ve championed the music public radio funding, local community radio stations are threatof Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys and other swing innovators. ened with the loss of a huge chunk of their budget. A gift to Albums like “Ghost Train” and “Dev’lish Mary” have garnered these stations will continue to allow music and the arts to thrive them tour opening slots for the likes of Willie Nelson and Bob in the Four Corners. Call 970-563-0255 or visit ksut.org to pledge Dylan. your support.

The Animas City Theatre has a cool twin bill tonight (Thurs., Finally, BREW Pub & Kitchen continues to roll out the barMarch 8) with folksinger Martin Sexton with opening support rels for its fifth anniversary celebration, culminating with a perfrom acoustic guitar maestro Andreas Kapsalis. Sexton is a formance by the Lawn Chair Kings from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. longtime favorite of Four Corners music fans, with more than a Brewmaster Erik Maxson taps a different barrel-aged beer each half-dozen Durango dates under his belt the past 20 years. Sexton day. got his start busking on the streets and in the subways of Boston The best thing I heard this week was the latest from Canabefore being discovered by John Gorka. Albums like “Black dian singer/songwriter Lindi Ortega, “Liberty.” It’s an elegant, Sheep” and “The American” are personal favorites of mine. The goth-country gem that stands alongside prior releases by Neko only time I ever saw Kapsalis was an intimate gig at BREW Pub & Case, Maggie Björklund and Daniel Lanois-produced Emmylou Kitchen a few years back. He immediately struck me as a guitarist Harris records. She recruits the spooky Nashville duo, Steelism, in the vein of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges and Michael Gulezian to back her on the record with lush steel and guitars. There’s … one who was adept at Gypsy jazz, flamenco, classical and also no shortage of Spaghetti Western instrumentals, which tie other forms. Doors open at 7, with music starting at 8. the concept album together. My favorite cuts include “Liberty,” Pigeons Playing Ping Pong returns to the ACT at 9:15 “Afraid of the Dark” and “Lovers in Love.” The street date is p.m. Friday. This group’s high-energy, psychedelic sound features March 30. electro-funk grooves and undeniable high energy. Jim Belcher, the bassist for Sky Pilot who knows just a thing or two about the How it shines in the moon’s silver light? Email me at chrisa@go jam, sings their praises. This Baltimore-based quartet has a debrainstorm.net. n

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Thursday08 Durango Celtic Festival, March 8-10, Henry Strater Theatre, 699 Main Ave. durangocelticfestival.com.

Coffee with the Mayor, 9-10 a.m., Steaming Bean, downstairs at the Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave. www.durangogov.org.

Baby Meetup, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Columbine House at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 419 San Juan Dr. Storytime, 10 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Older Adults Coffee Klatch, 10 a.m.-noon, Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

Toddler Storytime, 10:30-11 a.m., Durango Public Library.

“Venus, Mary and Mildred” with Judith Reynolds, part of the Winter Art History Lectures, 3:30 p.m., Durango Arts Centers, 802 E. 2nd Ave. www.durangoarts.org.

“Doc Swords,” PTSD Social Club for Veterans, 4-6 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave.

a.m.-noon, Mesa Verde National Park, meet at Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum. 529-4631.

Open Art Studio, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

Preschool Storytime, 10:30-11 a.m., Durango Library.

After School Awesome, 3:30 p.m., Pine River Library.

STEAM Lab: Origami, 3:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Submit “On the Town” items by Monday at noon to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Meet and Greet with Durango Regional Food Recovery Coordinator Ian Chamberlain, 5:30-7 p.m., upstairs at Ska Brewing Co., 225 Girard St. Open Mic Night, 6-8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave. “Dolores,” documentary on farm worker’s activist Dolores Huerta, discussion to follow, 6 p.m., Durango Public Library.

“Traveling the world with Alexander Von Humboldt,” part of the Life-Long Learning Lecture series, 7 p.m., Fort Lewis Noble Hall, Room 130. www.fortlewis.edu/professionalassociates.

“Five Women Wearing the Same Dress,” 7 p.m., show also runs March 9-10, and 2 p.m., March 11, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. www.durangoarts.org.

“Sled Dog Dances: Trials and Adventures of Mushing,” part of the Life is an Adventure Series, 7 p.m., Mancos Library.

Open Mic & Stand-Up Comedy, 8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave. Karaoke, 8 p.m.-close, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave. Martin Sexton with Andreas Kapsalis, 9 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. animascitytheatre.com.

Friday09 Durango Early Bird Toastmasters, 7-8:30 a.m., LPEA headquarters, 45 Stewart St. 769-7615.

Free yoga, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Lively Boutique, 809 Main Ave.

Free guided hike along the Petroglyph Point Trail, 10

Monday12 Yogalates, 9 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Mystery Book Club, featuring Outfoxed by Rita Mae Brown, 11:30 a.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, featuring Joe Hertler and The Rainbow Seekers, 9 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. animascitytheatre.com.

Saturday10 “The 7 Habits of Happy, Healthy Moms” with Christina Albrecht, 9-10 a.m., Durango Rec Center. christinaalbrecht.com.

Seed Exchange and Seed Starting Workshop, 10 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield. 884-2222.

Aikido Open House, 10 a.m.-noon, Durango Shin Budo-Kai, 1140 Main Ave. www.durangoaikido.com.

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Café, 601 Main Ave. 570-650-5982.

MakerSpace Skill Sessions, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

VFW Indoor Flea Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1550 Main Ave. The Met: Live in HD, featuring Rossini’s “Semiramide,” 10:55 a.m., Fort Lewis College Student Union, Vallecito Room. www.durangoconcerts.com.

Spring Fever Music Series, featuring Dave Mensch and beer garden from Golden Block Brewery, noon-4 p.m., Kendall Mountain Ski Area, Silverton. www.skik endall.com.

Indivisible Durango Meeting, presentation on “Communicating to Create Grounds,” 2 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Back in Black: Concert on the Beach, featuring AC/DC Tribute Band, 4-6 p.m., Purgatory Resort.

The Black Velvet Duo performs, 5:30 p.m., Digs at Three Springs. 259-2344.

Gentle Yoga, 1 p.m., Durango Senior Center.

Open House for Durango Montessori Elementary School, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., Unit 6.

769-3590 or www.durangomontessori.com.

Gamer Club, 3:30 p.m., Pine River Library. 884-2222.

La Plata County Thrive! Living Wage Coalition Meeting and Potluck Dinner, 5:30 p.m., The Commons Building, 701 Camino del Rio. www.ThriveLaPlata.org or 335-8114.

Sitting Meditation and Talk given by Erin Treat (dharma leader), 5:30-7 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., 382-3875 or durangodharmacenter.org.

Salsa/Bachata/Merengue dance classes, 6:30 p.m., social/practice time 8-9 p.m., VFW Hall, 1550 Main Ave. 317-0742 or www.salsadancedurango.com.

“The High Cost of Coal,” examining the negative impacts of coal, with speaker Don Schreiber, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Classic Movie Mondays, featuring “Ox Bow Incident,” 7 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Learn to Square Dance, with Wild West Squares, 7-8:30 p.m., Florida Grange, 656 Hwy 172. 903-6478.

Tuesday13 Yoga for All, 9 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Zumba, 9:30 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Little Readers Storytime, 10 a.m., Pine River Library.

Storytime, 10 a.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. Storytime, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Mancos Public Library.

“Media and foreign policy,” part of the Great Decisions series, 11:45 a.m., Durango Public Library. www.lwvlaplata.org.

ICL Knitters, 1-3 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

BREW Pub & Kitchen’s 5th Anniversary Party, Lawn Chair Kings perform, 6-9 p.m., BREW, 117 W. College Ave. 259-5959.

Zumba, 9:30 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Caregiver Cafe, 10 a.m., Pine River Library. 884-2222.

Blue Moon Ramblers, 7 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

“Chacoan Astronomy, Cosmography, Roads and Ritual Power: New Insights into Chaco’s Powerful Expanse using New Technologies,” a special presentation from Anna Sofaer, Richard Friedman and Robert Weiner, 7 p.m., Noble Hall at Fort Lewis College, Room 130. www.solsticeproject.org.

DJ Noonz, 8 p.m.-close, Moe’s, 937 Main Ave.

Sitting Meditation, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., 382-3875 or durangodharmacenter.org.

Free Tax Help, 1:30 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield. Register at 553-9150.

Jammin’ Juniors, 10 a.m., also Wed., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Robby Overfield, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

The La Plata Quilters Guild meets, social time 5:30 p.m., meeting 6 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds. 799-1632.

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Café, 601 Main Ave. 570-650-5982.

A Night of Exhibit Openings, 5-7 p.m., Durango Arts Center gallery spaces, 802 E. 2nd Ave. www.durangoarts.org.

Open Mic Night, 7-11 p.m., Steaming Bean, 900 Main Ave.

Lacey Black performs, 5-8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave. 259-8111.

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Comedy Cocktail open mic stand up, sign up 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave. DJ Noonz, 8 p.m.-close, Moe’s, 937 Main Ave.

Baby Storytime, 2-2:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Tuesday Too Cool, gaming and STEAM programming, 3:30 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield. Register at 884-2222.

Inklings Book Club, for 3rd-5th graders, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

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Terry Rickard, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Seniors Outdoors! Spring Potluck and 20th Anniversary Celebration, new member orientation 5:30 p.m., celebration 6:30 p.m., potluck 7 p.m., Durango Rec Center. seniorsoutdoors.org.

Rotary Club of Durango, presentation from Durango Police Chief Kamran Afzal, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave. 385-7899.

Amazing Authors Food Series, featuring Katrina Blair from Turtle Lake Refuge, 6 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Knit or Crochet with Kathy Graf, 6-7 p.m., Mancos Library.

Adult Board Game Night, 6-7 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Folk Jam, 6-8 p.m., Steaming Bean, 900 Main Ave. 403-1200.

Super Ted’s Super Trivia, 6:12 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. animascitytheatre.com.

Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Trivia Night, 7-10 p.m., Durango Brewing Co., 3000 Main Ave. Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.-close, Moe’s Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Wednesday14 Morning Meditation, 8:30 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

884-2222.

Bird Walk, 9 a.m., bring binoculars and meet at Rotary Park.

StoryTime, 10-11 a.m., Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

An unsung American hero comes to the big screen What: “Dolores,” a documentary on activist Dolores Huerta When: 6 p.m. Thurs., March 8 Where: Durango Public Library In honor of International Women’s Day, the Durango Pubic Library will host a free screening of “Dolores,” a film on American labor leader and civil rights activists Dolores Huerta. The documentary will be shown at 6 p.m. Thurs., March 8, at the library as part of its “Indie Lens Pop Up” series.

Possibly one of the more unsung activists in American history, Huerta helped found the National Farmworkers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers) and organize the 1965 Delano grape strike in California alongside fellow activist Cesar Chavez.

A native of the northern New Mexico coal-mining town of Dawson (now a ghost town), Huerta moved with her mother and siblings to the central California town of Stockton as a young child. She attended college in Stockton and later got involved in farm workers’ rights while working as a

Fired Up Stories, story time with Durango firefighters, 10:3011:15 a.m., Durango Public Library.

The Wolves Visit the Mountain, Wolfwood Refuge visits Purgatory, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., education talk 12:30 p.m., Purgatory plaza.

Pine River Valley Centennial Rotary Club, noon, Tequila’s in Bayfield.

Free Trauma Conscious Yoga for Veterans and Families, noon-1 p.m., Elks Lodge, 901 E. 2nd Ave. Green Business Roundtable presents “Envisioning a Clean Energy Future,” noon-1 p.m., Henry Strater Theater, 699 Main Ave. sanjuancitizens.org.

Celebrating Healthy Communities Parenting Class, 6 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

school teacher in the 1950s. “I couldn’t tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes,” she is infamously credited as saying. “I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than trying to teach their hungry children.”

Huerta credits her businesswoman mother with instilling in her a sense of social justice.

In her life, she has received numerous awards for her advocacy for workers, immigrants and women’s rights, including the Eugene V. Debs Outstanding American Award, Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was inducted in the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993, the first Latina ever inducted.

The originator of the phrase “si se puede” – “yes, we can” – the intensely private mother of 11 continues to tirelessly fight to this day, at age 87. The film reveals the raw, personal stakes involved in committing one’s life to social change.

The screening is free and open to the public.

Upcoming Yoga Flow, 8 a.m., March 15, Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Free maintenance clinic, hosted by Mountain Bike Specialists, 6-7:30 p.m., 949 Main Ave. 247-4066.

Heartbeat Durango, support group for individuals affected by suicide, 6-8 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, look for the Heartbeat sign. 749-1673.

Extraordinary Women Award Dinner, presented by the Women’s Resource Center, 5:30 p.m., March 15, DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio. Powerhouse Pub Trivia, 6:30-8:30 p.m., March 15, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. www.powsci.org.

Bluegrass Jam, 6-9 p.m., Steaming Bean, 900 Main Ave. Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 6:30 p.m., BREW Pub & Kitchen, 117 W. College Dr. 259-5959.

Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana performs, 7:30 p.m., March 15, Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. www.du rangoconcerts.com.

MakerSpace Skill Sessions, noon-4 p.m., Ignacio Library.

Open Knitting Group, 1-3 p.m., Smiley Café, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. BookMarks Book Discussion, featuring The Likeness by Tana French, 2 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

San Juan Basin Archaeological Society meets, featuring “West to East and Kidder to Morris: A Historical Perspective on the Basketmakers of the American Southwest,” 7 p.m., Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. sjbas.org.

Terry Rickard performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Floor Barre Class, 3-4 p.m., Absolute Physical Therapy, 277 E. 8th Ave. Register at 764-4094.

Tween Time: Food Lab, 4-5 p.m., Durango Public Library.

The Black Velvet Duo performs, 5 p.m., Rochester Hotel, 726 E. 2nd Ave. Greg Ryder performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Happier Hour for People in their 20s and 30s with meditation, tea and snacks, 5:30-7 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave. 382-3875 or durangodharmacenter.org.

Thank the Veterans! potluck, Peter Neds and Glenn Keefe perform, 5:30-8:30 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave. 828-7777.

Thursday Night Funk Jam, hosted by The Renegade Funk Band, for experienced musicians, 9 p.m.-midnight, March 15, Moe’s, 937 Main Ave. Bonnie J. Albright Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser and Silent Auction, Six Dollar String Band performs, 5-8 p.m., March 16, Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Yoga en Español, 7:30-8:30 p.m., YogaDurango, 1140 Main Ave. Karaoke, 8 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Karaoke, 8 p.m.-close, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Ongoing FLC Student Juried Exhibition, thru March 26, Fort Lewis College Art Gallery. 247-7167.

“Splendor of the Rockies,” plein air works by Moab artist Carolyn Dailey, thru May 5, Eno, 723 E. 2nd Ave. 385-0106.

Deadline for “On the Town” submissions is Monday at noon.

To submit an item email: calendar@durango telegraph.com

Teen Time, 3:30 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, Pine River Library.

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AskRachel Interesting fact: The upright bass got a boost in the 17th century when wound gut strings appeared for the first time. Hey, they had to do something with all those animals they ran over on the river trail.

Dear Rachel, There’s a bass player in town who I’m absolutely in love with. It’s a small world, so I won’t even use the bassist’s gender lest (s)he get offended. But I desperately want to make a move. You know, something like saying “Hi” and seeing if the bassist even sees me. I can’t even think about asking for a date; I just want a real conversation. How can I cold-call someone so incredibly talented and with such big hands?

– All About That Bass

to go watch all sorts of artsy movies, and then I get lured outdoors, and next thing you know, we’re back to the same old two movies at the Gaslight. Most of these movies will never see the light of day again. So am I a horrible person if I try to pirate the movies on my laptop so at least I can watch them?

– Silver Screener Dear Long John Silver Screen, I have not cleared this answer with my legal team, but I believe that pirating artwork is one of the greatest compliments an artist can get. You want to see their work so much that you’ll break the law to do it! But you know what’s an even bigger compliment? Paying money for the privilege.

– Pony up, Rachel

Dear Bottom End, I had an answer all ready to go, and then you threw out the big hands comment. Now I can’t stop wondering what big hands have to do with anything. Are you concerned about the massive “howdy pardner” wave you’ll get in return? Or do the hands excite you when you think about them plucking whatever gender parts you have? I’m half troubled and three quarters intrigued.

– A one and a two, Rachel

Dear Rachel, I need a ready-made snappy comment to make to people who let their dogs run off leash on the River Trail. Actually, it’s not off-leash I have a problem with. It’s off-leash and on the wrong side of the trail. The owner’s on the right, the dog’s on the left, and there’s no place for a bike to avoid running someone over. Hollering “On your left” doesn’t work for a dog, either. Not the dog’s fault, but what can I do to get through to the oblivious humans?

– Make Way

Dear Rachel, I completely missed the Durango Film Festival… again. Every year I have the best intentions

Dear Logjammed, A picture is worth a thousand words. So picture this: you holler “Riding up your butt!” and if the human does-

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Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com n’t get out of the way, you ride up their butt. Speaking as someone who ran over a dog on the River Trail once (sorry, boy!) because of an oblivious human, riding over the nincompoop would be a way more pleasurable experience. Unless the human is a bassist. Who knows what they’d do to you with those hands.

– On your right, Rachel

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): The men who work on offshore oil rigs perform demanding, dangerous tasks on a regular basis. If they make mistakes, they may get injured or befoul the sea with petroleum. As you might guess, the culture on these rigs has traditionally been macho, stoic and hard-driving. But in recent years, that has changed at one company. Shell Oil’s workers in the U.S. were trained by Holocaust survivor Claire Nuer to talk about their feelings, be willing to admit errors and soften their attitudes.

As a result, the company’s safety record has improved dramatically. If macho dudes toiling on oil rigs can become more vulnerable and open and tenderly expressive, so can you, Aries. And now would be a propitious time to do it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): How will you celebrate your upcoming climax and culmination, Taurus? With a howl of triumph, a fist pump and three cartwheels? With a humble speech thanking everyone who helped you along the way? With a bottle of champagne, a gourmet feast and spectacular sex? However you choose to mark this transition from one chapter of your life story to the next chapter, I suggest that you include an action that will help the next chapter get off to a rousing start. In your ritual of completion, plant seeds for the future GEMINI (May 21-June 20): On April 23, 1516, the Germanic duchy of Bavaria issued a decree. From that day forward, all beer produced had to use just three ingredients: water, barley and hops. Ever since then, for the last 500+ years, this edict has had an enduring influence on how German beer is manufactured. In accordance with astrological factors, I suggest that you proclaim three equally potent and systemic directives of your own. It’s an opportune time to be clear and forceful about how you want your story to unfold in the coming years.

between things like mistletoe, which is neither quite a plant nor quite a tree, and mist, which is neither quite rain nor quite air, and dreams, which are neither quite waking nor quite sleep.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, in-between phenomena will be your specialty in the coming weeks. You will also thrive in relationship to anything that lives in two worlds or that has paradoxical qualities. I hope you’ll exult in the educational delights that come from your willingness to be teased and mystified.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The English word “velleity” refers to an empty wish that has no power behind it. If you feel a longing to make a pilgrimage to a holy site but can’t summon the motivation to actually do so, you are under the spell of velleity. Your fantasy of communicating with more flair and candor is a velleity if you never initiate the practical steps to accomplish that goal. Most of us suffer from this weakness at one time or another. But the good news, Virgo, is that you are primed to overcome your version of it during the next six weeks. Life will conspire to assist you if you resolve to turn your wishy-washy wishes into action plans – and then actually carry out those plans.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the 2002 film “Spiderman,” there’s a scene where the character Mary Jane slips on a spilled drink as she carries a tray full of food through a cafeteria. Spiderman, disguised as his alter ego Peter Parker, makes a miraculous save. He jumps up from his chair and catches Mary Jane before she falls. Meanwhile, he grabs her tray and uses it to gracefully capture her apple, sandwich, carton of milk and bowl of Jell-o before they hit the floor. The filmmakers say they didn’t use CGI to render this scene. The lead actor, Tobey Maguire, allegedly accomplished it in real life – although it took 156 takes before he finally mastered it. I hope you have that level of patient determination in the coming weeks, Libra. You, too, can perform a small miracle if you do.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): What’s your most frustrating flaw? During the next seven weeks, you will have enhanced power to diminish its grip on you. It’s even possible you will partially correct it or outgrow it. To take maximum advantage of this opportunity, rise above any covert tendency you might have to cling to your familiar pain. Rebel against the attitude described by novelist Stephen King: “It’s hard to let go. Even when what you’re holding onto is full of thorns, it’s hard to let go. Maybe especially then.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot was a connoisseur of “the art of roughness” and “the uncontrolled element in life.” He liked to locate and study the hidden order in seemingly chaotic and messy things. “My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents,” he said. “Yet when I look back I see a pattern.” I bring his perspective to your attention, Scorpio, because you are entering a phase when the hidden order and secret meanings of your life will emerge into view. Be alert for surprising hints of coherence.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In his book Whistling in the Dark, author Frederick Buechner writes that the ancient Druids took “a special interest in in-

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): I suspect that in July and August you will be invited to commune with rousing opportunities and exciting es-

capades. But right now I’m advising you to channel your intelligence into well-contained opportunities and sensible adventures. In fact, my projections suggest that your ability to capitalize fully on the future’s rousing opportunities and exciting escapades will depend on how well you master the current crop of well-contained opportunities and sensible adventures.

Making the most of today’s small pleasures will qualify you to harvest bigger pleasures later.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): If you saw the animated film “The Lion King” you may have been impressed with the authenticity of the lions’ roars and snarls. Did the producers place microphones in the vicinity of actual lions? No. Voice actor Frank Welker produced the sounds by growling and yelling into a metal garbage can. I propose this as a useful metaphor for you in the coming days. First, I hope it inspires you to generate a compelling and creative illusion of your own – an illusion that serves a good purpose. Second, I hope it alerts you to the possibility that other people will be offering you compelling and creative illusions – illusions that you should engage with only if they serve a good purpose.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I do a lot of self-editing before I publish what I write.

My horoscopes go through at least three drafts before I unleash them on the world. While polishing the manuscript of my first novel, I threw away over a thousand pages of stuff that I had worked on very hard. In contrast to my approach, science fiction writer Harlan Ellison dashed off one of his award-winning stories in a single night, and published it without making any changes to the first draft. As you work in your own chosen field, Aquarius, I suspect that for the next three weeks you will produce the best results by being more like me than Ellison. Beginning about three weeks from now, an Ellison-style strategy might be more warranted.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): According to my assessment of the astrological omens, you’re in a favorable phase to gain more power over your fears. You can reduce your susceptibility to chronic anxieties. You can draw on the help and insight necessary to dissipate insidious doubts that are rooted in habit but not based on objective evidence. I don’t want to sound too melodramatic, my dear Pisces, but THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY! YOU ARE POTENTIALLY ON THE VERGE OF AN UNPRECEDENTED BREAKTHROUGH! In my opinion, nothing is more important for you to accomplish in the coming weeks than this inner conquest.

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classifieds

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon. Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted via: n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 777 Main Ave., #214 Approximate office hours: Mon., 9ish - 5ish Tues., 9ish - 5ish Wed., 9ish - 3ish Thurs., On delivery Fri., 10:30ish - 2ish please call ahead 259-0133.

Announcements Job Fair at Dalton Ranch Hiring 30+ positions for 2018. Restaurant, bar, kitchen, golf & grounds. Mon. 3/12/18 10am-5pm at Dalton Ranch.

The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Climbing Zine, The Great American Dirtbags, American Climber, Climbing Out of Bed and Graduating From College Me are available at: Maria’s Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

Pets Love Your Dog! At the Durango Dog Wash behind Liquor World in the Albertson’s parking lot. Open every day!

Needs New Home Very sweet, 12-year-old indoor cat looking for new home due to changes in home circumstances. Loves people, does not do as well with other cats. Likes attention, generally very mellow. Call (970)769-6026 to ask about Bo Jangles.

Wanted Turn Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. into Cash! at RJ Metal Recycle, also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

HelpWanted San Juan Basin Public Health is hiring a Programs Manager. This position will lead administration and management of several public health

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programs focusing on positive youth development and prevention of problem behaviors. The ideal candidate will have knowledge and experience in program development and evaluation, budgeting, coalition building, as well as grant reporting and compliance. The Programs Manager will supervise staff who implement daily program operations. Bachelor’s degree in nursing, social work, human services, public health, environmental science, or related field and five years of human services or public health programs related experience. This position pays $25.92-$38.89 per hour plus benefits. Although the full salary range for this position is provided, appointments are typically made at or near the range minimum. Position is scheduled to close 03/15/2018, or until an adequate pool is reached. To apply go to www.sjbpubichealth.org.

San Juan Basin Public Health is hiring a Senior Programs Technician. This position focuses on educating our community on tobacco and substance use (particularly among youth), develops activities to prevent these behaviors, and participates in local coalitions with similar goals. The ideal candidate will have knowledge and experience in program development and evaluation, data collection and analysis, and authentic community engagement. An associate’s degree and two years of healthcare, public health or related experience is required. Bachelor’s degree is preferred. This position pays $17.80-$25.81 per hour plus benefits. Although the full salary range for this position is provided, appointments are typically made at or near the range minimum. Position is scheduled to close 03/15/2018, or until an adequate pool is reached. To apply go to www.sjbpubichealth.org.

Interested in Psych, Human Services or Corrections Careers?

Work with at-risk students in a secure detention facility. *Detention Specialist/Coach Counselor (FT,PT, days, nights) Open interview/tour at DeNier Youth Services, Tuesdays 9:00 am or 5:30 pm, Thursdays 3:00 pm or 5:30 pm.

Must be 21 yo and pass drug/background tests incl THC. Email resume sana.iftikhar@rop.com or apply at 720 Turner Dr, Durango

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Experienced Prep/Line Cook wanted. Looking for responsible individual with excellent knife skills to fill full-time position at BREW Pub & Kitchen. Email resume to brewpub kitchen@gmail.com Payroll Specialist The Payroll Department is one of the best places to work in Durango – at least that’s what our employees say – and we are adding a member to our growing team. Ideal candidate must have solid computer and MS Office skills, outstanding phone manner, excellent attention to detail and an innate desire to serve and support our clients and our Community Payroll Service mission. Benefits include a 6% 401k match, health insurance, yoga class twice a week, and more - all in a great team oriented environment.

Check out our website to learn more about us, and if you are interested, email resume and cover letter to: tanyac@payrolldept.biz

Classes/Workshops Blacksmith Classes Learn the art of blacksmithing in a working blacksmith shop in Mancos Colorado. More info www.cowboyforge.com Sedona Method Releasing Group Join us for an evening of self inquiry and letting go. 2nd and 4th Wednesdays 6:30-8pm. Call Vanessa 970-403-4150 to register.

Race, America & You Six-week course to help white people understand racism. Tuesdays 12:45-2:45. Starts next week. Contact tarafrazer@yahoo.com for more info and to register.

Yoga & Acupuncture for Fertility Workshop March 16th; 5:00-8:00PM at Yogadurango 1485 Florida Rd. With Megan Lott, L.A.c. and Michele Lawrence. Cost: $65. Registration and info at yogadurango.com/workshops.

Yoga Classes Starting March 12 For students of all levels with Kathy Curran drop ins welcome. New class for beginners on Tuesdays. Smiley Building, Room #32 259-4794. www.4corners yoga.com

Hope Yoga with Dr Keneen Hope McNiven DC New 6 week series: starts Tues. 3/13, 12-1:15 and/or Wed. 3/14, 5:30-7. Alllevels Anusara certified yoga - Smiley Studio 10. “My energy has greatly increased and my chronic shoulder tension is gone! Dr Keneen Hope will not only transform your body and health, but also your life!” – Madeline Sinclair. www.hopehiroyoga.com or 303-5138055 to pre-register.

Mommy and Me Dance Class Come join the fun! Now registering for classes. Call 970-749-6456. mom myandmedance.com.

Services Architectural Services Residential/commercial design services including new construction, additions, remodels and site analysis. William Koskovich, licensed architect 970-7598448 or email: koskovichb@gmail.com Free Fitness Consultation Hey, ladies! Want practical tips for improving your health and fitness? Call personal trainer Tina Albrecht to schedule today - 970-588-3702.

Southwest Serviceman LLC Insured and professional handyman service 970-749-5581.

Low Price on Inside/Outside Storage Near Durango, RJ Mini Storage. 970259-3494.

Harmony Organizing and Cleaning Services Create harmony in your space this year by organizing and cleaning your home, vacation home or office. Martee 970-403-6192.

Spray Tans! Organic & Beautiful!

Meg Bush, LMT 970-759-0199.

Advanced Duct Cleaning Air duct cleaning specializing in dryer vents. Improves indoor air quality; reduces dust and allergens, energy bills and fire risk. 970-247-2462 www.advanced ductcleaninginc.com

Typos Are Your Worst Enema A good editor is your ally. Full-service text editing for websites, businesses, books, papers and tattoo ideas. Write to zach@zachhively.com

BodyWork Elevate Your Massage Experience Mel Higbee, L.M.T. offers relaxing massage and pain relief with integrative methods and myofascial therapies. Please call or message for consultation, scheduling, and questions. 970-238-0422 Lic. #0009320 Massage Intervention ...

24 years of experience. Check out reviews on Facebook and Yelp. Couples massage! 970-903-2984.

Intuitive Deep Tissue, Swedish Flow Massage Hot stones and essential oils, Jennifer 970-946-8524.

New Client Special Therapeutic bodywork @ Pura Vida Healthcare. 60 & 90 min. Intro rate $60/90.

Hannah Hanford, LMT 970-403-2993.

Qi-Source.com “Energy Healing” My technique is a uniquely customized treatment that combines myofascial release,

therapeutic pressure and quantum energetic therapy. This variety of modalities can assist in healing from sports injuries, pain and past trauma so your body to heal itself and function the way it was designed to. (Intro: 50% off first hr) Rich 970-946-9920.

Meg Bush Massage 30, 60 & 90 min. 970-759-0199.

call/text 769-4089 for info.

CommunityService

2011 Kawasaki Vulcan 900cc, great condition. 13K miles. Windshield, saddle bags, new tires. $4,600 970769-4757.

Call to Artists 42nd annual DAC Juried Show, deadline to submit works is April 22. For more info, visit www.durangoarts.org.

Hot Tub – New 6HP pump, 50 jets. Cost $8,000. Sell $3,750. 505-270-3104.

Massage with Kathryn Downtown location. Introductory rate $65/hr. Offering deep tissue, therapeutic stretching and acutonics. 970-201-3373 for more information.

RealEstate Radon Services Free radon testing and consultation. Call Colorado Radon Abatement and Detection for details. 970-946-1618.

ForSale Tristan’s Stained Glass Specializing in repairs, custom orders.

Sheet glass and art glass supplies. 970- 4032011.

Beef Soup Bones Grass fed, natural beef bones $5.00/#.

Offfamilyranch.com 259-5366.

2017 Devicni Troy Mtb Motivated seller. Great deal for a local

Reruns Home Furnishings Spruce up your home with unique and useful treasures. Household store full of furniture & décor - tall iron bistro table with barn-wood, glass top and two copper-tone stools. Great lamp selection, cool retro glassware & dishware. Nice wool rugs, tables, rustic storage bench. Daily markdowns. 572 E. 6th Ave. 385-7336.

ForRent 2 Bedroom /1 Bath House One block from downtown, off 3rd Ave and 10th Street. Hardwood floors, washer/dryer, tons of light, deck, fireplace, fenced in yard, and lots of room for storage. $1,600 + utilities. Email jnderge@gmail.com or stagi@hotmail.com for more info.

CommercialForRent Share OFC FT & PT avail. Includes lg rm w/shared waiting area. 247-9076.

Drinking&DiningGuide Himalayan Kitchen 992 Main Ave., 970-259-0956 www.himkitchen.com Bringing you a taste of Nepal, Tibet & India. Try our all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. The dinner menu offers a variety of tempting choices, including yak, lamb, chicken, beef & seafood; extensive veggies; freshly baked bread. Full bar. Get your lunch punch card – 10th lunch free.

Hours: Lunch, 11am-2:30 pm & dinner, Sun. - Thurs., 5-9:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. ‘til 10 p.m. Closed 2:30 to 5 daily $$

The Dorothy Gore Scholarship sponsored by P.E.O. Chapter CS is available to any La Plata County graduating senior girl who has shown academic promise, leadership potential, serves her community and has at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. This $1,000 scholarship honors Dorothy Gore, a retired long time Durango teacher. All applicants to an academic college are considered although priority is given to applicants to Cottey College, a four-year women’s college in Nevada, Missouri, owned by the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Applications for the scholarship are available at high school counseling offices. The deadline is Thurs., April 19. Call Mary Colgan at 970-259-4039 with questions.

HaikuMovieReview ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri’ There are moments of stunning hilarity for such a hostile film – Lainie Maxson

Embrace your wild side.

Crossroads Coffee 1099 Main Ave. 970-903-9015 Crossroads coffee proudly serves locally roasted Fahrenheit coffee and local baked goods. Menu includes delicious gluten-free muffins and bullet-proof coffee.

Come in for friendly service and the perfect buzz!

Hours: Mon.- Fri., 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. $ BREW Pub & Kitchen 117 W. College Drive, 970-259-5959 www.brewpubkitchen.com Experience Durango’s award-winning brewery & restaurant featuring unique, hand-crafted beers, delicious food - made from scratch, wonderful wine & cocktails.

Happy Hour, Mon.- Fri. 3-6 pm & all day Sunday with $2 off beer, $1 off wines & wells & 25% off appetizers. Watch the sunset behind Smelter Mountain as the train goes by.

Hours: Sun.-Thurs.11 a.m. - 9p.m., & Fri. & Sat.11 a.m. to 10 p.m. $$

Now available wherever you find the Telegraph or online at www.gulchmag.com.

Get in the Guide! $20/week. Email: lainie@durangotelegraph.com

To find out about advertising opportunities, email steve@gulchmag.com

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