The Durango Telegraph, Oct. 28, 2021

Eating all the Snickers first

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FREE Oct. 28, 2021 Vol. XX, No. 42 durangotelegraph.com

inside

T H E

O R I G I N A L

I N D I E

W E E K L Y

L I N E

O N

D U R A N G O

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B E Y O N D

Ode to campgrounds

Putting out fires

Home, sweet hole

Sometimes, tents and amenities aren’t so bad after all p7

As Durango Fire seeks new home, challenges arise p8

Colorado’s housing crisis has pushed people to extremes p11

Hesperus

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telegraph

lineup

4

4 La Vida Local

Indigenous People’s Day presents opportunity to reckon with 1492

4 Thumbin’ It

Rallying for a cause

by Kirbie Bennett

5 Word on the Street 6 Soapbox

7

7 Land Desk

Happy camping

Sometimes, campgrounds, tents and running water aren’t so bad after all

8 Top Story

by Jonathan Thompson

11 State News 12-13 Stuff to Do

8

13 Ask Rachel

Where to go?

How Durango Fire’s search for a home landed at the 9-R building

14 Free Will Astrology

by Jonathan Romeo

15 Classifieds 15 Haiku Movie Review

11

Home, sweet hole

On the cover: Clouds swirl around the full moon, casting a spooky pre-Halloween glow./ Photo by Alex Krebs

In Park County, land is cheap, but living on it isn’t

boilerplate

by Dan Boyce / Colorado Public Radio

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Kirbie Bennett, Jonathan Thompson, Lainie Maxson, Rob Brezsny and Clint Reid

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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.

telegraph

Ear to the ground: “Does having skinny-person love handles put me in the group for a booster shot?”

– Man who really wants to get boosted

Bananapocalypse

thepole

RegularOccurrences

If you thought 2020 was bad, brace yourself for this one – almost 500 years ago, French astrologer Nostradamus predicted there would be a zombie apocalypse in 2021.

Yikes. It may be time to switch out your N-95 mask for a spiked bat.

Now, we still have a few months to see what happens, but, one wonders, is this a sign the people of Durango will take to the streets on Halloween night to bring back the undead Zombie March?

“We plan for the Zombie March every year, regardless,” Durango Police Cmdr. Ray Shupe said.

Durango’s Zombie March, where costumed late-night revelers take over downtown’s Main Avenue at midnight on Halloween started around 2007, as far as we can tell. How it started? We don’t know. Quite simply, maybe people just oozed out of the bars on Main Ave. one year and started aimlessly walking up and down the street.

The Zombie March, however, became hugely popular, drawing hundreds of people to the unsanctioned, unofficial event. And for years, it’s been a tightrope act to balance the will of a mass crowd taking over a major city street and the need to keep some semblance of order.

In 2011, though, the celebration got out of hand, with people trying to overturn cars (unsuccessfully), throwing glass bottles at police and sitting down in the middle of Main Ave. refusing to move. Marchers took on the “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” chant, which originates from the Civil Rights Movement. How it applies to drunk people dressed as bananas on Halloween, we’re not sure.

Police, in turn, responded with a somewhat heavy-handed approach, using pepper spray and beanbags to disperse the crowd, and even calling in a SWAT team. Durango made national headlines that year after 22 people were arrested.

“I don’t know why those years got out of hand,” Shupe said. “There were a lot of things going on nationally, which maybe played a role.”

Regardless, Durango police realized there had to be a better way, so officers met with members of the community, including Fort Lewis College, to foster a better sense of cooperation for the march. By 2013, tensions were tempered, and now, police usually let people take over Main Ave. for about an hour or so before asking everyone to get on the sidewalks.

And this approach has worked. Aside from a couple drunken fools getting into trouble, there have been no major incidents or mass arrests like in years’ past.

Last year, the Zombie March was nonexistent because of COVID-19 (although the streets that year were actually more reminiscent of a zombie apocalypse, one might say). With Halloween this year falling on a Sunday, there’s no telling if the zombies will emerge Saturday or Sunday night.

Or if at all.

“We’re prepared either way,” Shupe said.

And if you do see a zombie, did you know the CDC has a (tongue-in-cheek) “Zombie Preparedness” page, listing all the essential to survive, like water, food, tools and first aid supplies?

Well it’s true. And no, hoarding mass amounts of toilet paper is not part of the plan.

Oct. 28, 2021 n

3

opinion

LaVidaLocal Reflections on a rally Under the morning’s awning, we poured out into the streets like sunlight. Sipping the receding shade, breathing in the chill of fall, glowing with warmth from the call-and-response slogans that we shout into the sky.

In 1492, a black sun rose over this continent, casting a violent shadow over the cultures and lives of Indigenous peoples who have lived here since time immemorial. Since then, the colonial pen has been trying to narrate our lives, trying to cross out the radical harmony traditionally practiced in our societies, and trying to normalize their murderous desire for conquest and control. In any other story, these thieves, liars and psychopaths would be the villains, yet for centuries, society has accepted and celebrated this history of genocide. But for as long as scribes and court jesters have sought to mindlessly uphold the prevailing order, there has also been a rich history of Indigenous resistance.

Which brings us to the present: even though Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been rightly recognized, this comes at a time when the capitalist death-drive for environmental exploitation continues unabated, while Indigenous land and water protectors face imprisonment by the state; while Indigenous women, girls and twospirit peoples continue to endure violence in a world that closes its ears; while monuments and symbols of dehumanization continue to be proudly displayed. We have all the right reasons to be out in the streets, celebrating our resilience and moving forward in our resistance.

We seek to crush the black sun.

For a moment, I held my friend’s hand and told her how happy I was to be here together. And for a moment it felt like every heartbeat was weakening the swinging blade that hangs over us. And for a moment it felt like every foot step was reclaiming stolen land. We held up our signs beneath leaves bleeding gold and red.

There’s a feeling of subversive joy when immersed in a collective, and our striking hearts bring traffic to a stop. I see it as a garden full of flowers marching through the streets, the vibrant hues of our multitude compel those on the outside to bear witness to our anger; our sorrow; our pleas for justice. And perhaps it’s possible to plant seeds with our footsteps, for our words to travel like pollen. Some are aggressively allergic to the rupture we cause to their whitewashed days. Others can let the message and movement metastasize in their hearts, if they choose.

In the 1970 documentary “Meeting the Man,” James Baldwin has to endure one patronizing question after another by a group of smug white filmmakers. Baldwin, always brimming with prophetic fire, did not let the asinine questions stop him from delivering poignant, prescient social commentary. “Walk down the street of any city, any afternoon and look around you,” Baldwin implores. “Everyone you’re looking at is also you. You could be that person, you could be that monster, you could be that cop. And you have to decide in yourself not to be.”

That day, in my mind, I see Baldwin’s words scrawled across every wall in town.

When we gather around the grotesque racist statue outside the Toh-Atin Gallery, the organizers of the event – primarily Indigenous women – speak with ferocity as they denounce the statue, its degrading depiction, its connection to the ongoing dehumanization of Indigenous peoples by the settler state, and the business owners who refuse to acknowledge these realities, clouded by the white gaze of denial.

At one point, these speeches come to a pause when a white woman awkwardly tries to drive through the alleyway where we are gathered. Unfazed, perhaps even unaware there was a rally happening right in front of her, she is determined to pass through. With her turn signal on and an impatient expression on her face, we move away, giving her space to drive by. We were baffled by her actions, but it was no surprise. When Indigenous-led movements become visible enough, reminding the world of our existence, we risk exposing ourselves to such foolish acts. Throughout the rally, the Indigenous speakers urge white allies to hold themselves and other white folks accountable, to shed the violence of whiteness, to be accomplices in decolonization. If anything, the incident with the vehicle served as a reminder of that.

As the car sputters away, the speeches continue. A banner is attached to the base of the statue, reading, “Racist imagery is one of white supremacy’s favorite tactics.”

When my friend and I leave, we are approached by observers asking about the whole point of it. One guy can’t believe we are calling the statue racist. He storms off, repeatedly saying the statue isn’t racist. For a split second I follow, trying to reason with him, hoping he could see the visibly crude caricature for what it was. I sigh and stop. From there, we continue our exit.

I find it hard to readjust to the slow decay of a “normal day” after attending these demonstrations.

It takes a while to come down from the emotions that swell through the body. And one hopes to walk away into a world that has incrementally changed for the better. But sometimes one immediately encounters those with doubt and disdain for what you put energy into.

“Love has never been a popular movement,” Baldwin said in the documentary. “The world really is held together by the love and the passion of a very few people.” I pin these words to my chest and think of the women and queer folks from Indigenous communities who helped organize this rally. They are those very few people holding everything together. They are long-distance runners in this ongoing struggle for justice, and I, among many others, have so many miles left ahead to catch up to them.

However long it takes to bring down this statue will depend upon voices in this community, especially those in more privileged positions, joining in solidarity to put more pressure on this business. And whether it’s outside an art gallery, on the frontlines defending sacred land and water against treaty-violating pipelines, or in the streets condemning violence against Native women, children and LGBTQ folks, we will continue to assemble. While others weigh the value and risks of choosing the bottom of their hearts over the bottom line of profits, we will continue to make our voices heard. The failure among others to see the humanity in our demands only speaks of a failure to find that same humanity within themselves.

It would be easy to give in to despair and callously stare from the sidelines. Much like the gallery owners choose to let that racist statue remain, it doesn’t take much effort to perpetuate the daily violence of the settler state. One can give in and get used to the blood on their hands by merely numbing the beat of their hearts.

To rupture against injustice means to shed the privilege and injuries the world inscribes onto one’s skin; to stand with those miraculously alive, thereby impossibly free, despite the shadow of celebrated genocide. To speak truth in the teeth of power. To let our collective striking hearts stop the pulse of this beast.

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It

4 n Oct. 28, 2021

– Kirbie Bennett

Just months after a massive rock fall wreaked havoc in the Ouray Ice Park, a robust effort to make repairs has officials confident the park will be up and running this winter.

News this week that for the second year in a row, Noel Night will be canceled.

No, this isn’t the latest in the War on Christmas. Organizers say it’s a matter of employee safety and indoor capacity.

A cyclist in Alaska surviving an attack from a 500-pound brown bear by “kicking” it. Cue up those Jane Fonda workouts!

The White House not hosting the traditional Halloween celebration because President Biden is overseas. Damn, really kinda wanted to see him in a sexy Pope costume. Oh well, next year.

The Pentagon this week saying climate change is a risk to “national security.”

Uhh, ya think?

Jan. 6 insurrectionists telling Rolling Stone they met with Rep. Lauren Boebert days before leading a protest against the 2020 election results. Boebert has responded, saying “the media is acting as a messaging tool for the radical left.”

telegraph

You smell like crap.

Authorities in southern India confiscated 8 kilos of whale feces and arrested the two poopetrators (sorry) who intended to sell it for over $1 million. Apparently, sperm whale poop, or “ambergris,” is special: it’s hard and waxy so it doesn’t dissolve easily in the ocean, and over time, it develops a “marine, fecal” smell that’s important in the perfume industry. Ambergris is legal to trade in most European countries, but it’s outlawed in India given that whales are often killed for it, which, admittedly, would be much easier than following a whale with a bucket.

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WordontheStreet With the scariest day of the year upon us, the Telegraph asked, “What movie forever haunted you as a child?”

Q

Jackie

“‘The Ring.’ That creepy girl in the well gave me nightmares.”

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Emma

“‘Turtles Can Fly.’ It’s about the Iraq War, and I watched it when I was 8 years old.”

Kim

“‘The Exorcist.’ I was older, too, and it still freaked me out.”

Joe

“Honestly, and this is embarrassing, in ‘James & the Giant Peach’ the rhino made of the clouds freaked me the hell out.”

Trevor

“‘Cape Fear.’

Robert De Niro was freaking creepy!”

telegraph

Oct. 28, 2021 n 5

SoapBox Vote responsibility, science for 9-R One of the critical challenges in beginning this school year was the vital importance of getting our students back into the classroom safely amid a pandemic. With the delta variant surging, the Durango School District 9-R Board of Education made the unanimous decision to follow the science and CDC guidance by requiring masks in our schools to keep our students, teachers and staff safe so in-person learning could occur.

We have all read how difficult it was for students to make progress remotely and how critical it is for our children to return to the classroom. Two of the board members who made this responsible decision, Andrea Parmenter and Erika Brown, are running for reelection and I hope you will join me in supporting them. Both are well-qualified in terms of background, experience and education, and both have children in our Durango schools.

Andrea has a degree in geology with minors in chemistry, environmental science and spanish, plus a Master’s in earth science. She has an extensive background in research and program management. Erika has a degree in biology and a graduate degree focusing on environmental policy and communication. She has worked as a communications manager and environmental advocate. Both have the knowledge and experience to make our schools even better. I am also supporting Rick Petersen, a Scout leader and strong advocate for community youth. I hope you will vote for these outstanding candidates.

– Karen Pontius, Durango

Prop 119 a scam that robs schools Supporters of Prop 119 are misleading voters. Their misguided proposal would cut millions of dollars that support classroom supplies, educational programming and teacher salaries to pay for privatized education services, including religious-based institutions.

Work should be undertaken to properly fund public education, not take money out of classrooms where teachers often use personal funds to buy textbooks and school supplies. The measure was crafted by dark money conservative groups to sound great, but in reality, Prop 119 is a tax hike and creates an unelected, unaccountable board with sole discretion for spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

These private programs would syphon off almost $56 million from our schools in the first year, growing to $138 million by 2024-25. The annual budget of this new bureaucracy would equal nearly twice the annual budget of the entire Colorado Department of Education. Public education dollars must stay in public schools so we can recruit and retain the best teachers – not create more bureaucracy.

This measure is not in the best interests of our kids or taxpayers. It would allow the newly created board to give themselves exorbitant salaries without any oversight. In

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim addition, there is no guarantee it would help our most vulnerable students. The private providers selected by the board could simply refuse to serve students with disabilities or other groups of disadvantaged children.

In addition to taking marijuana taxes, this measure would redirect millions from the State Land Trust, which was designed to fund public education, particularly for rural children, and deliver it into private hands. This siphoning likely violates the Enabling Act of the Colorado Constitution, which has protected State Land Trust money for public schools for more than 150 years. The measure would be devastating to local school districts, which are already among the most poorly-funded in the nation, ranking 47th in per-pupil spending. Rural Colorado would suffer disproportionately, and current teacher shortages would become even worse.

Prop 119 is a scam that reduces our students’ chances of success by taking money from our public schools and giving it to private providers to do whatever they choose: teach inaccurate history, allow religious groups to indoctrinate our kids with extreme ideas, or whatever. For more info, see https://noonprop119.com.

Learning Opportunities for Colorado’s Kids is leading the “Yes on Prop 119” campaign. The committee reported $1.85 million in contributions and $1.67 million in expenditures. Gary Community Investment Co. gave $1.45 million and, together with Ready Colorado, were the source of 94% of the contributions. Who are these groups and why are they spending all this money?

Prop 119 is opposed by Taxpayers for Public Education, a Colorado-based, bipartisan, 501(c)(4) organization whose members are parents of children enrolled in public schools. In opposing the initiative, they said “(Prop 119) is a school voucher scheme that would undermine Colorado’s public schools and potentially divert money into private institutions that could discriminate against students based on their religion, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, or heritage.” The measure is also opposed by Coloradans Against School Vouchers and the Colorado AFL-CIO. Don’t be fooled. Public education is not for sale and we will not be deceived. Vote no on Prop 119.

– Carol Cure, Durango

Plants over vaccines In response to “Scrap the Conspiracy Theories” from Sept. 16, I’ll say there are more points of view about what is happening in our country and on a global scale than your letter can address. I’ll respond to your point about public health mandates and whether or not they are political in nature.

Personally, I enjoy my choices when it comes to my health care and my immune system. I prefer plant medicine that comes from wild and cultivated plants. It’s not simply a hobby. It is a path I walk in my life. It is spiritual

in nature. It helps me on a deeper level than modern medicine. That’s my personal experience. And I will keep practicing it regardless of what the government and its institutions are telling me what they want me to do. I am thankful I’ve had teachers who share this knowledge, which has been nearly wiped out by colonial forces on every continent through the dominating forces of people who believed themselves to be superior to those they were committing genocide against. So when you say vaccines are not political, I beg to differ.

From where I stand, it is more colonialism and acts to assimilate us into one controlled and homogenized race.

And ultimately an attempt I believe will always be destined to backfire with unintended consequences. I believe human beings are born with innate intelligence, and as difficult as it may be to understand what some people do or don’t do, we are never going to experience or see everything in the same way. It’s not a conspiracy theory.

It’s not even a theory. It’s an observation of history and history repeating itself. If one group believes they are right and they have the power to push their agenda onto everyone regardless of whether or not it’s wanted, it’s totalitarianism.

I will pose a rhetorical question: When have we ever been able to trust the federal government at face value?

Same with the medical industry? Some of us are making the choices we make because it’s what brings us peace.

And if we’re talking about science, what about the science of natural immunity, soil health and biodiversity and how the attempts to eradicate disease will always be a futile pursuit?

Have a lovely life.

– Daniel Wilson, Durango

Fall into Jimmy’s Hours: mon - Fri 11-6 & Sat 11-5: www.jimmysmusic.supply 1239 Main Ave • 970-764-4577 6 n Oct. 28, 2021

telegraph

LandDesk

Ode to campgrounds How I learned to stop hating developed sites – and tents

by Jonathan Thompson

M

y parents first took me camping before I could even walk, and throughout my childhood our version of a family vacation was to pack up the decrepit station wagon or the oilguzzling International Harvester, head out into the land of sage and sandstone and set up camp underneath some old cottonwood. We’d throw our sleeping bags in the dirt and my dad would cook over the fire one of his delicacies – Dinty Moore stew topped with those crispy chow mein noodles out of a can, perhaps, or Hormel chili with gobs of cheddar cheese – and then I’d crawl into my shitty little bag and lie shivering as I stared up at tree-branch skeletons silhouetted against the bowl of stars.

It was a wonderful, if not always comfortable, childhood.

We almost never stayed in campgrounds. We were dispersed camping devotees. Maybe we were purists or maybe we were just poor, the latter also being the best explanation for our lack of adequate camping gear. We eschewed tents and stoves and warm sleeping bags and even functional sleeping pads. Our water purification system was an empty Clorox bottle filled with warm, murky pothole fluid, the taste redolent of stone and bleach and possibly tadpoles.

As an adolescent I began camping with friends. For the first several years none of us were old enough to drive, so our parents had to haul us out into the mountains or desert and drop us off and come back and pick us up a few days later. Usually we were “backpacking,” albeit only a few miles, at most, so staying in campgrounds wasn’t really an option.

But looking back, and considering how young we were – 12, 13, 14 – you’d think our parents wouldn’t let us stay anywhere except campgrounds.

Our parents weren’t like that, though.

Nor were we. As I grew older, my distaste for tents and developed campsites grew stronger. Why put up a barrier between oneself and the stars? Why pay to be surrounded by other people when the whole point of camping is to get away from it all – especially other humans?

I suffered due to my stubbornness. I’ve lost count of the number of interminable soggy-sleeping-bag nights. Winter camping, even with a decent bag, can be a sleepless hell without a tent. And in the summer, I often woke up in a blind panic, my eyes swollen shut from nocturnal mosquito and gnat attacks. Over time, the regular dispersed campsites were trampled and trashed, the lower branches of all the trees cut or busted off

for fires. There were times when we’d set up camp in one of “our” spots, only to have someone else come along and plop down right next to us.

It wasn’t until I was almost 30 that I bought my first tent. My wife and I wanted to take our daughter, a toddler, camping, and sleeping under the stars just wouldn’t cut it. So we headed down to Walmart and picked up a cheap dome deal and headed west to – egad! – a campground. And you know what? It wasn’t so bad. Lydia, our daughter, loved the tent – she cried when we took it down –and I woke up without a single gnat bite. As I dismantled the tent I noticed a scorpion that had been nestled up underneath the ground cloth, and I

shuddered as I thought of where it might have been had we been tentless. Staying in a place with a picnic table and built-in shade and bathrooms and running water and trash cans made camping with a 1year-old downright pleasant.

Maybe I had seen the light, at last. Or perhaps it was more like surrender. Either way, I’ve become a devotee of both tents and campgrounds in the years since.

Sure, I still occasionally sleep under the stars and at the mercy of scorpions and mosquitos, I still back pack, and I still frequent a few very special dispersed carcampsites. But in recent years, I’ve found the nondesignated camping areas to be just as crowded as the designated campsites. And because the former lacks the amenities – toilets, fire pits, trash bins, and so forth – the impacts to the site and the surrounding area are greater.

Camping alone, I feel I can do the dispersed thing with minimal impact. The more one adds to the party, however, the more untenable dispersed camping becomes. What starts out as a contained campsite grows as folks head out into the fragile surroundings to find private tent spots or hammock-hanging trees or a good place to park the car or their own under-a-juniper crapper. Cooking for a group is a pain without some sort of table, so you’ve got to fork out for the rollup tables when dispersed camping as well. Staying in a campground soothes such concerns.

And so it is that I learned to stop being a cantankerous young jerk and aged into a fondness for both tents and campgrounds.

The Land Desk is a thrice-weekly newsletter from Jonathan P. Thompson, longtime journalist and author of “River of Lost Souls,” “Behind the Slickrock Curtain” and the recently released “Sagebrush Empire.” To subscribe, go to www.landdesk.org. n

Open enrollment is around the corner.

Apply for health insurance starting Nov Nov 1.

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Oct. 28, 2021 n 7

TopStory

Putting out fires As fire district tries to find new home, challenges arise with sites

by Jonathan Romeo

I

n what could be one of the most monumental changes to Durango in years, plans are in motion to establish a massive, new emergency services center in the middle of downtown.

For years, the Durango Fire Protection District (DFPD) has searched for a permanent location to serve the downtown area, with its current facilities near the Powerhouse Science Center out of date and in disrepair. The property itself is owned by the City of Durango, which may have its own plans for future development at that location.

Over the summer, in a sudden and shocking move, DFPD announced plans to purchase the 9-R Administration Building on E. 12th Street, next to Buckley Park, for its new headquarters. Soon after, the fire district floated a lofty vision of inviting the Durango Police Department (also in search of a new location) to create a new facility that would be a cornerstone of downtown, where the majority of the district’s 2,000 calls a year take place.

Those plans, however, have not been without detractors who say relocating to the 9-R building would be a disaster, pointing to the already congested traffic in the tight area that would increase response times to emergencies. And, opponents of the plan say, the new center would have a disastrous effect on Buckley Park, the only green space downtown that hosts festivals throughout the year.

Over the past couple weeks, these tensions have surfaced at City Council meetings from members of the public who say the logical choice is to rebuild a new fire station at its current location near River City Hall. And, from the onset, there’s been a great deal of confusion from the public and even city councilors on the basic facts of DFPD’s proposed plan.

In a joint meeting between DFPD and the City of Durango last week, Chief Hal Doughty attempted to clear the air, but opponents are still fighting the project.

“9-R is our site,” said Doughty, who became chief in 2015. “Sure there’s challenges, but there’s challenges at every site we look at.”

‘What do we do now?’

The organization now known as Durango Fire Protection District moved into the River City Hall location in 1983, which at the time was seen as a temporary fix while a more permanent spot was secured.

(A conglomerate of fire districts came together in 2002, forming DFPD as a separate entity from the City). But, once the fire department was settled in, the effort to relocate lost momentum.

“Looking back now, it would have been wiser to have that rise up on the list of things we needed to do,” Bob Ledger, who retired in 2017 after 24 years as city man-

8 n Oct. 28, 2021

Durango Fire Protection District’s station on Camino del Rio is out of date and cramped, there’s no doubt about that. But for years, finding a permanent location has been a wild goose chase for properties around town./ Photo by Jonathan Romeo ager, said. “But it didn’t take on a life of its own in those days like it has now.”

Over the years, major issues have surfaced at River City Hall. For one, the fire station itself doesn’t meet fire codes. Recently, water started leaking through the roof and into the building. And whereas the fire department used to have three to five people on duty, usually all men, the station is now staffed with a minimum of eight people, both men and women, with the bunkrooms too small to house everyone safely.

“There’s more room in a cell at the La Plata County Jail,” Doughty said. “It is absolutely jam packed.”

About five years ago, Doughty picked up the effort to find a permanent fire station, evaluating 32 sites around town – some City owned, some private. The two biggest obstacles, Doughty said, were finding sites big enough to house all the department’s needs, as well as properties actually for sale.

The most viable site that emerged was on the corner of Camino del Rio and College Drive, which now serves as the parking lot for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and is City-owned. DFPD invested $40,000 to conduct evaluations and analyses of the site, but the plan was

derailed when the idea of a convention center took priority.

“Which was incredibly disappointing,” Doughty said.

Doughty then scheduled a meeting with then-City Manager Ron LeBlanc. The two started formulating plans to make DFPD’s current location at River City Hall work, which included relocating city staff. Despite all the challenges, Doughty said the plan started to grow legs.

But then, in April 2019, two new city councilors were elected – Kim Baxter and Barbara Noseworthy. Five months later, after differences with LeBlanc, City Council abruptly terminated his contract in September 2019, and plans for the fire station fell by the wayside. “It just became clearer and clearer that the favor of the council was that River City Hall should not be a fire station,” Doughy said.

Who said what?

Here’s where the confusion sets in.

Baxter and Noseworthy, for their part, are adamant they did not oppose any plans to keep DFPD at River City Hall, arguing they were never even given a complete and full rundown of the situation. But Doughty maintains it was his sense the City had

telegraph

other plans for the river-front property, whether as the site of the Camino underpass or future high-end development.

And it’s not like River City Hall is not without its own complications. For one, the site is located in the 100-year flood plain, making grant funding more difficult to secure. Above all, old uranium tailings were used to build the roads in that area decades ago, which could make new construction there incredibly expensive, carrying huge unknowns. (It should be noted the 9-R building has a big asbestos and lead paint problem, too). But to date, there has been no real study on how to mitigate the uranium tailings or the risk it poses to human health.

“That’s missing,” Noseworthy said at a council meeting last week. “And it would be needed for any work on that property.”

Then, the situation drastically changed when Durango School District 9-R put out to bid this summer its historic administration building at 201 E. 12th St. DFPD, learning of the sale about a week before bidding closed, quickly put together a proposal with the help of an engineer. Doughty admits the process happened fast, with virtually no public knowledge, which has rubbed some people the wrong way.

“We decided it was upon us as a fire district to take matters in our own hands,” Doughty said last week. “I felt like I was sneaking around trying to spend taxpayer dollars in secret, but I was in a competitive process, and felt like there was a need for confidentiality. So we kept it quiet until 9R announced the successful bidder.”

In June, after reviewing four different proposals (including one by the Shaws, developers of the adjacent Smiley Building, for a mixed-use development with affordable housing for teachers), 9-R announced it would sell to the fire district for $5 million in cash and nearly $2 million of inkind services. This plan includes an already in-motion plan with 9-R to sell Buckley Park to the City.

A train wreck coming?

One of the main criticisms, however, is that DFPD has committed to move without first conducting traffic studies and evaluations on emergency response times for operations out of the 9-R building. Whereas River City Hall is located along an arterial road, Camino del Rio, the 9-R property is nestled among side streets and congested travel areas, leading some to believe it will take longer for emergency crews to respond.

Doughty has taken a hard stance that he will not conduct studies until the property sale is final, citing the past experience with the D&SNG parking lot, when the district spent $40,000 on studies and ultimately was shot down. “I would love to have every single question in the bag before we close on the property,” he said. “But my (board of directors) is not inclined to spend a bunch of money… to develop plans for a station that may not happen.”

Even still, Doughty said he’s not worried that response times will be drastically impacted. Initial plans call for fire trucks to leave out of the front of the building onto 12th Street, a tight road with diagonal parking on both sides. To head south, trucks would presumably have to go down E. Second Avenue or head west down 12th Avenue and make a left onto Camino del Rio. Doughty has promised neighbors he would not use Third Avenue as a route. This means vehicles would have to go west on 12th, then turn right to head north on Main to access emergencies north of town.

To get back to the station, trucks would have to access a back bay on 13th Street, amid the bustling traffic of the Smiley Building. This would also require fire trucks to travel up two steep roads: E. Second Av-

enue or 13th Street.

But members of the public aren’t convinced this will work.

“This is a potential train wreck coming with emergency services in the wrong location,” Ted Wright, a Durango resident, said at a city meeting recently. “It’s very puzzling to all of us.”

While it seems the traffic situation holds endless scenarios, Doughty maintains things are workable and in fact, this is an opportunity to fix existing traffic issues. “Traffic is the most critical factor, we know it’s already a known problem,” he said. “But in our minds, we have a good plan.” When asked last week by the City Council if the district was still interested in River City Hall, Doughty doubleddown on the 9-R location.

One question continually raised is: What if DFPD purchases the property, only to conduct a site analysis and find the issues can’t be fixed? Doughty, for his part, said it would be a “travesty,” but worst case, the property would still be a highly sought-after piece of real estate for resale.

A lot of “what ifs” As far as next steps, DFPD can’t finalize the sale until the City approves the subdivision of the 9-R building property (3.3 acres) and Buckley Park (1.5 acres), which is expected to happen Nov. 2. Then the most intensive planning of the fire station can begin, Doughty said.

One major part of the equation is involving the Durango Police Department, although the City maintains nothing is official and it’s still evaluating the feasibility of this plan. The full build-out for the center would be around $14-$17 million, and Doughy is confident the fire district can fund the project even without the police department, though it would be a major “blow to the program.” All the moves and money involved would mostly come from taxpayers.

And, of course, a lot of “what ifs” remain. Will parts of Buckley Park be lost to accommodate the new fire truck traffic?

How will events like San Juan Brewfest shut down Main Avenue along 12th Street if emergency traffic needs that route? And what about the trees and sledding area? ​“The fire district seems to think … the fire chief’s opinion is enough planning,” Holly Johnson, a Durango resident, said at a City meeting. “We should be holding them accountable for an accepted methodology on planning a fire station.”

Robin Wiles, who owns property near the proposed project, said the public has not

DFPD Capt. Nate Baier says the bunkroom situation at the station on Camino del Rio makes it tough for crews who spend overnight shifts./ Photo by Jonathan Romeo been well informed on the ramifications.

“This is creating an all-emergency service center in the middle of a residential neighborhood,” she said. “Something this consequential requires serious consideration, and the public deserves to be heard.”

Acknowledging the confusion, the City and DFPD vowed last week to be more transparent. “I think the communication and openness hasn’t been the best,” said Baxter. “There’s a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding out there.”

Everyone agrees finding DFPD a permanent location is a necessity for the safety of the community. But for years, the district

telegraph

has been strung along or problems have nixed any potential relocations. The problem has only gotten worse as real estate in Durango becomes ever harder to come by.

In a pinch, it appears Doughty saw an opportunity with the 9-R building and now is committed to making it work. And while issues have taken forefront, Doughty said the positives of relocating and the benefits to the community have been lost.

“I’ve got this vision of something that can be really great for our community,” Doughty said. “We get that people are concerned. We will never please everybody, but we do have to serve everybody.” ■

Oct. 28, 2021 n

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10 n Oct. 28, 2021

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StateNews

Home in a ‘hobbit hole’ Colorado’s housing crisis pushing people to extremes

by Dan Boyce Colorado Public Radio

I

f you ask Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw about the housing crisis in his jurisdiction, he’ll describe a picture of extremes. It’s a place where it’s nearly impossible to buy an existing home for under $500,000 and one of the costliest regions in the state to build. Those high costs mean it doesn’t benefit developers to build affordable rental properties. And second-home owners can make a lot more money on short-term rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO. At the same time, plots of land in Park County can be found for less than $10,000.

McGraw said that attractive prospect has led those with limited means to buy these lots, sight-unseen, and move to the region with visions of homesteading their own piece of the American West.

It’s often less than a year before their land is abandoned again.

Indeed, Jim McKinney’s place looks in many ways like a 19th-century homestead.

It’s little more than a hole dug into a hillside, fronted by two squat walls of sunbleached aspen logs. It’s all topped with layers of canvas and blankets. He calls it his “Hobbit House.”

Recently, while driving the county’s backroads, McGraw stopped to chat with McKinney. The landscape was scattered with rusted RVs, teepees and shipping containers. There were broken-down school buses, and tires hung on fence posts that read “No Trespassing” in stenciled white letters.

McKinney, 56, brings in about $800 a month in disability payments from the federal government. He describes it as “definitely scratching out a living,” but some of his neighbors have it much worse. The cheapest lots in South Park’s wide-open valley sit along gravel roads, far from cell phone service and utility lines.

“A lot of people are out here solely because of the fact that they’re broke,” McKinney said. “I know one person ... they wanted to go south, they couldn’t afford the gas to get out of here. So, they suffered through the winter, and it is suffering.”

Park County is nearly the size of Delaware but only has two incorporated towns, Alma and Fairplay. Unincorporated communities dot the landscape, from Hartsel and Guffey in the south to Como and Jefferson in the north.

The majority of the county’s sparse population – a little more than 18,000 people – lives in and around unincorporated Bailey.

The county has a reputation as a bedroom community for other, well-known destinations, leaving the cash-strapped Park County Planning Department performing many duties normally associated with municipalities.

“When you get into rural areas, it’s very expensive to build infrastructure for housing,” County Commissioner Richard Elsner

Jim McKinney in his temporary “hobbit house” Oct. 5 in Park County./ Photo by Dan Boyce/CPR News said. “When you get to areas around Hartsel where people can buy 5 acres of land ... it is a good deal, until you try to build on it.”

Elsner said the resources just don’t exist to provide many services to these remote and isolated regions. In that case, Colorado law states property owners have to provide those services themselves.

“We have a lot of people moving trailers on and motorhomes and that type of thing.

The problem is, what do you do with the wastewater?” Elsner said. “You’ve got to have a way to treat the wastewater, otherwise you’re going to pollute the environment.”

The county works with local nonprofits to try to bring down the cost of putting in septic systems. Still, that pollution remains a problem. Sheriff McGraw said he and his deputies can attest to that.

“We’ve had so many cases where we go out to these places and they’ve got 5-gallon buckets sitting all over and they’re filled with human waste,” McGraw said. “Or 55gallon drums filled with it.”

As he continued his rounds, driving up into the hills, McGraw spoke of his appreciation for the culture of Park County. A conservative Republican himself, he identifies with the region’s fiery individualism and focus on property rights. He said he understands those he encounters who have an entrenched skepticism for any form of government.

But, he also knows there are vulnerable populations suffering out here. He told a story of a woman beaten by her husband last winter. When deputies responded to her call, they found her husband in a garden shed from Home Depot.

“He had built a wood-burning stove inside the shed, and when we got there to arrest him, there were two babies sitting in cribs right next to the fireplace. He was keeping them warm, but the conditions were just horrible,” McGraw said.

The majority of the makeshift shelters out on the landscape have been long abandoned, he said. More often than not, the people living in them either ran out of money, were not equipped to handle the cold or could not meet the county’s septic system requirements. It’s usually cheaper for the landowners to desert their property entirely.

At the hobbit house, McKinney keeps a stack of papers: signed permits and engineering schematics for the small permanent home he’s building on his land. He brought up the permits immediately after Sheriff McGraw got out of his truck. The sheriff assured McKinney that he wasn’t there for code enforcement.

McKinney looks for the best deals he can find on materials. A small trailer on the property is packed with windows he got for free on Facebook Marketplace. He works on building his house for as many hours a day as his back will allow.

At a time in Colorado when many people are being priced out of stable housing, McKinney sees himself as fortunate. He was living on the street for a time in his 40s and knows what it’s like to be truly homeless.

For McKinney, he’s hoping to move into at least part of his new house before winter sets in.

For more from Colorado Public Radio, go to www.cpr.org ■

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Oct. 28, 2021 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday28

Nightmare on Elk Street Haunted House, 6 p.m., Durango Elks Lodge, corner of 9th St. & 2nd Ave.

Fruit Glean Happy Hour, 4-6 p.m., harvest excess fruit from Durango back yards, RSVP at goodfoodcollective.org.

Matthew Marcus McDaniel plays, 6 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Devo Halloween Bike Parade and Party, parade leaves Durango Rec Center at 4 p.m., ends at Powerhouse Science Center, 1295 Camino Del Rio. Sponsored by Durango Devo.

Tracks and Treats Dance party, 10 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Friday Nights at Fire Fox Farms, 6-9 p.m., 5513 CR 321, Ignacio.

Durango Tire Fire Halloween Party, 7 p.m., El Rancho, 975 Main Ave.

“Pandemic as Portal,” exhibit by jetsonorama, opening reception 4:30-6 p.m., Lyceum Auditorium, Center for Southwest Studies, Fort Lewis College.

Sunday31 Open Mic, 1 p.m., Mancos Brewery.

Anthony D’Amato plays, 7 p.m., Smiley Café, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Halloween celebration, 2 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

The Hive Grand Opening, featuring haunted house, dance party with live music and grand opening of new skate park. More info. at thehivedgo.org.

Richard O’Brien’s “Rocky Horror Show,” 7 & 10 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. durangoarts.org.

Downtown Children’s Halloween, featuring free safe trick-or-treat options for kids 10 and under, 4-6 p.m., at participating businesses on Main Ave.

Climbers Beer Night, 5 p.m., Carvers Brewing, 1022 Main Ave.

Marvel Years & Maddy O’Neal, Underlux, Omega play, 9 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College

Open Mic night, 4 p.m. every Sunday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Durango Green Drinks, featuring Grand Canyon Trust and American Rivers, 5-7 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Sponsored by Sustainability Alliance of SW Colorado.

Saturday30

Halloween Dance Party, 5 p.m. Mancos Brewery.

Durango Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., TBK Parking Lot, 259 W. 9th St.

SkaBQ, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing headquarters, 225 Girard St.

Spooktacular Arts & Crafts event, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Oxford Grange, 8016 HWY 172 in Ignacio.

Jack Ellis & Larry Carver play, 6-9 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Rainbow Flag Giveaway, 10 a.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango, 419 San Juan Dr.

Gary Watkins plays, 6-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon. To submit an item, email: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Secret Circus Society & DJ-Calvin, DJ Vanny Vance play, 9 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Food drive at the DHS football game, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to support the Durango 9-R food pantry and Mental Health Colorado. DHS students who bring canned food receive free admission. Sponsored by DECA student business and marketing organization.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Trivia night 6:30-8:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino Del Rio.

Three Springs Fall Fest, 11 a.m.-2 p.m, featuring live music, pumpkin patch and trick or treating. 175 Mercado Street.

Comedy open mic, 7 p.m., Olde Tymers Café, 1000 Main Ave.

Children’s Nightmare on Elk Street Haunted House, 12 noon, Durango Elks Lodge, corner of 9th St. & 2nd Ave.

Hoodfoot w/ Jeff Nelson plays, 7 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Beam Me Up Starlight Trivia, weekly 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Matthew Marcus McDaniel plays, 12 noon, 11th St. Station.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 8-10 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr.

Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Friday29

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

“Addams Family: The Musical,” Oct. 29-Nov. 13, presented by Durango High School Troupe 1096. Tickets at: troupe1096.weebly.com.

Jack Ellis & Larry Carver plays, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Monday01 Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30-6:15 p.m.

Online at: www.durangodharmacenter.org Pumpkin & Leaf Drop-Off, Nov. 1-2, 7 a.m.-6 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds or Pine River Shares in Bayfield.

Tuesday02 Bingo night, 5 p.m. every Tuesday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Acoustic Music Jam, 5-7 p.m., all instruments and styles welcome, 11th St. Station.

Wednesday03 Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Trivia night, 6 p.m., every Wednesday, Mancos Brewery.

Nightmare on Elk Street Haunted House, 6 p.m., Durango Elks Lodge, corner of 9th St. & 2nd Ave.

Ongoing

Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

After School Programs, thru Dec. 16 and starting again in 2022, Sunnyside & Ft. Lewis Mesa libraries. Info at: 375-3816.

Halloween Dance Party featuring music by Thee Fearless Peasants, 7-10 p.m., American Legion Dance Hall, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Community Coat & Wool Sock Drive, thru Dec. 7, drop off at Outdoorsy, 934 Main Ave. All donations must be in good condition and clean.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main.

Ben Gibson plays, 6-9 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

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12 n Oct. 28, 2021

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AskRachel

Enya face, the white light and coffee jitters Interesting fact: Enya has recorded songs in 10 different languages. She’s also sold 75 million records, so clearly someone out there likes her stuff.

Dear Rachel, I have been living a closeted lie for something like 30 years now. I am a massive fan of Enya.

Like, I would own a special wardrobe for Enya concerts the way other people do for Gaga or Guns N’ Roses. But I don’t feel like I can share this fandom with anyone. It’s not just “we like different music” for my friends who love metal or rap. If I, a fairly burly dude, piped up to say I like Enya, I dread that record-scratch sound as the room goes dead silent. Is it worth it to out myself? Might there be more Enya-heads like me out there?

– Orinoco No-no Dear Closet Celt, If the Dead have Deadheads and Jimmy Buffett has Parrotheads, I think your gang has to be called Enya Face. Because that’s the kind of swagger you’ll need to pull this off. You’ll never know what other macho men feel soothed by the Irish tones of the Celtic Siren until you out yourself. So you just need to do it like this: “I like Enya. Enya face!” Then strut home and watch the end credits to “Fellowship of the Ring” with whoever joins you.

– Outya bad self, Rachel Dear Rachel, As I walk on the streets of Durango and come

Upcoming Friends of the San Juans fundraiser, featuring the film “Stoke the Fire.” Nov. 4, 5:30 & 8 p.m. showings, Durango Arts Center, 802 E 2nd Ave. “So The Thing That Happened Was…,” one woman show, Nov. 5-6, showings at 7 p.m. & 8:30 p.m., Merely Players Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. Friends of the Library Book Sale, Nov. 5-6, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Durango Public Library. All proceeds benefit Durango Public Library.

Hesperus Ski Patrol Ski Swap, Nov. 6, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds. Gear check-in Nov. 4. Info. at: www.hesperusskipatrol.org Girls on the Run of Western Colorado, featuring 5k run, Nov. 6, 11 a.m.

More info. at gotrwesterncolorado.org.

Dancing Earth performance, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m., FLC Community Concert Hall. durangoconcerts.com

to a stop light I see the following for cars and trucks. The colors are great with red, yellow and green. I push the button to go across the street and I see a red hand to say stop, and then a white guy to say go. I ask the question: Why a white guy? Green is for go, so why white? You might have to be a detective to find out. I say it should be the Jolly Green Giant, and go before the red numbers tell you get moving to get to the curb.

– Jay Walker Dear Whitey, Clearly this demonstrates another insidious plot by Anglo men. That little light should be black or brown if it’s to be truly inclusive. Green would be a nice non-denominational color, except it prejudices color-blind people, who are predominantly male, which just goes to show how deep the Illuminati are in the traffic light game.

– A walking rolling stop, Rachel Dear Rachel, I need desperate help to determine the difference between a friendly coffee invite and a potential-date coffee invite. I feel like coffee straddles that plausible deniability line if it turns out to definitely not be a date. But because it’s also not clearly a date, it turns into this game of chicken. Is either of us going to try to find out? Or are we going to sit back and ignore the ambiguity into oblivion?

– Murky Waters

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear Thick of It, Ah, the non-committal coffee get-together. I mean, if it’s any time after 6 pm, the intent is clearer. But there is no legitimate way to tell the difference without asking directly – and when has that ever worked for anyone?

My best trick is to fish for something vulnerable. If the person across the table will fess up to liking Enya, they’ll have no shame in showing themselves naked.

– Pour some sugar, Rachel

GA-20 and JD Simo play, Nov. 6, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. Professional Women’s Network Inspirational Speaker Series with Heather Hooten, Nov. 9, 5-6:30 p.m., Purple Cliffs Building, 1305 Escalante Drive.

Winter Artists Market, Nov. 12-13, 2 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Event takes place weekends in December.

“All Together Now,” cabaret show, Nov. 12-13 at 7 p.m. & Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., Merely Players Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon.

Email your stuff to: calendar@durango telegraph.com

telegraph

Oct. 28, 2021 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries philosopher Emil Cioran wrote, “When I meet friends or people I know who are going through a difficult period, I usually have this advice for them: ‘Spend 20 minutes in a cemetery, and you’ll see that, though your worry won’t disappear, you’ll almost forget about it and you’ll feel better.’” I don’t think you’re weathering a terribly difficult phase right now, Aries, but you may be dealing with more riddles and doubts and perplexities than you’re comfortable with. You could be feeling a bit darker and heavier than usual. And I think Cioran’s advice would provide you with the proper stimulation to transform your riddles and doubts and perplexities into clarity and grace and aplomb. If you can do Halloween without risk from COVID19, here’s a costume suggestion: the spirit of a dead ancestor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to some spiritual teachers, desire interferes with our quest for illumination. It diverts us from what’s real and important. I know gurus who even go so far as to say that our yearnings deprive us of freedom; they entrap us and diminish us. I strongly disagree with all those ideas. I regard my longing as a primary fuel that energizes my drive to free myself from pain and nonsense. How about you, Taurus? In alignment with astrological omens, I authorize you to deepen and refine and celebrate the yearning in your heart. Your title/nickname could be: 1. Yearning Champion. 2. Desire Virtuoso. 3. Connoisseur of Longing.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author Jessamyn West confessed, “I am always jumping into the sausage grinder and deciding, even before I’m half ground, that I don’t want to be a sausage after all.” I offer her testimony as a cautionary tale, Gemini. There’s no astrological reason, no cosmic necessity, that decrees you must become like a sausage anytime soon. Such a fate can be easily avoided. All you must do is commit yourself to not jumping into the sausage grinder. Also: In every way you can imagine, don’t be like a sausage.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Our fellow Cancerian, author Franz Kafka, told us, “It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.” And yes, some of us Crabs go through phases when we crave safety so much that we tolerate, even welcome, being in chains. But the fact is that you’re far more likely to be safe if you are free, not in chains. And according to my reading of the astrological omens, that’s extra true for you now. If you can celebrate Halloween without risk from COVID-19, here are costume suggestions: runaway prisoner, escape artist, freedom fighter.

14 n Oct. 28, 2021

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Some of us yearn for allies who can act like saviors: rescue us from our demons and free us from our burdensome pasts and transform us into the beauties we want to become. On the other hand, some of us do all this hard work by ourselves: rescue ourselves from our demons and free ourselves from our burdensome pasts and transform ourselves into the beauties we want to become. I highly recommend the latter approach for you in the coming weeks, Leo. If you can do Halloween without risk from COVID-19, here is a costume suggestion: your own personal savior.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): Jungian psychotherapist and storyteller Clarissa Pinkola Estés reminds us, “In fairy tales, tears change people, remind them of what is important and save their very souls.” I hope you’re open to the possibility of crying epic, cathartic, catalytic tears in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. According to my analysis, you have a prime opportunity to benefit from therapeutic weeping. It could chase your fears and cure your angst and revivify your soul. So please take advantage of this gift from life. Be like a superhero whose superpower is to generate healing by crying.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “One of the reasons people are so unhappy is they don’t talk to themselves,” says author Elizabeth Gilbert. “You have to keep a conversation going with yourself throughout your life to see how you’re doing, to keep your focus, to remain your own friend.” Now is a favorable time to try such an experiment, Virgo.

And if you already have skill in the art of carrying on a vibrant dialog with yourself, now is a perfect moment to upgrade and refine it. Try this experiment: Imagine having a conversation with the Future You.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Filmmaker Wim Wenders said, “Any film that supports the idea that things can be changed is a great film in my eyes.” I’ll expand upon that: “Any experience, situation, influence or person that supports the idea that things can be changed is great.” This is a useful and potentially inspiring theme for you to work with right now, Capricorn. In accordance with astrological rhythms, I hope you will be a connoisseur and instigator of beneficial, beautiful transformations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “In the absence of willpower, the most complete collection of virtues and talents is worthless.” Libran occultist Aleister Crowley wrote that, and I agree. But let’s phrase his idea more positively: To make full use of your virtues and talents, you must develop a strong willpower. And here’s the good news, Libra: The coming weeks will be a favorable time to cultivate your willpower, along with the assets that bolster it, like discipline, self-control and concentration. If you can do Halloween without risk from COVID-19, here are accessories I recommend for you to carry with you, no matter what your costume is: a wand, a symbolic lightning bolt, an ankh, an arrow, a Shiva lingam stone or crystal.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Mardi Gras is a boisterous festival that happens every February all over the planet. One hotspot is New Orleans. The streets there are filled with costumed revelers who enjoy acting in ways that diverge from their customary behavior. If you want to ride on a float in the parade that snakes down Royal Street, you must, by law, wear a festive mask. I invite all of you Scorpios to engage in similar festivities for the next three weeks – even if you’re not doing much socializing or partying. It’s a favorable time to experiment with a variety of alternate identities.

Would you consider adopting a different persona or two? How could you have fun playing around with your self-image?

telegraph

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Fitness buff Jack LaLanne was still doing his daily workout when he was 95. He was also famous for performing arduous feats. At age 65, for example, he swam a mile through Japan’s Lake Ashinoko while towing 65 boats filled with 6,500 pounds of wood pulp. I think you’re currently capable of a metaphorically comparable effort, Aquarius. One way to do it is by mastering a psychological challenge that has previously seemed overwhelming. So meditate on where your extra strength would be best directed, and use it wisely! If you can do Halloween without risk from COVID-19, here are costume suggestions: fitness buff, bodybuilder, marathon runner, yoga master.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): When birdwatchers describe a bird, they speak of its “jizz.” This term refers to the distinctive character of its habitual movements, flying style, posture, vocal mannerisms and coloring. One aficionado defines jizz as the bird’s “indefinable quality,” or the “vibe it gives off.”

I’ve got a theory that right now you’re as bird-like as you’ve ever been. You seem lighter and freer than usual, less bound to gravity and solemnity, and more likely to break into song. Your fears are subsiding because you have the confidence to leave any situation that’s weighing you down. If you can do Halloween without risk from COVID-19, here’s a costume suggestion: the bird that has your favorite kind of jizz.

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 www.durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2 Approximate office hours: Mon: 9ish - 5ish Tues: 9ish - 5ish Wed: 9ish - 3ish Thurs: On delivery Fri: Gone fishing; call first

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

HelpWanted Work and Live near Pagosa Springs Tara Mandala Buddhist Retreat Center in Pagosa Springs, CO has 2 jobs open: Maintenance Staff and Resident Cook.

Apply Online. No phone calls. www.tara mandala.org/connect/employment-opportunities/

Classes/Workshops Spanish Classes Now accepting students for in-person beginner thru advanced Spanish. Call 970-309-5966 or www.espanolahora.net

Services RSE Handyman Service Home repair yard work odd jobs 970903-0449.

Drew Gunn Personal Trainer Endurance, strength, and mobility training for all ability levels. Specializing in training for trail running and mountain sports. ACSM certified. drewgunn training@gmail.com Friendly Carpentry and Painting Stucco repair, 707-806-3456.

Harmony Cleaning and Organizing Residential, offices, commercial and vacation rentals, 970-403-6192.

Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

welcome. Contact 970-247-5702 or visit https://sjbpublichealth.org/covid-19-vaccine/ for more information. SJBPH is also hosting a winter clothing and blanket drive in October. Items should be clean, washed and in good condition. Donations will be collected at clinics marked with ** through Nov. 1 • 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mondays - Fridays, and 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturdays, La Plata County Fairgrounds** • 9 - 11 a.m. Thursdays, Manna Soup Kitchen, 1100 Avenida del Sol • 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. Fridays, Purgatory Mountain Resort • 2 - 6 p.m. Fri., Oct. 29, TARA Community Center, 333 Milton Lane, Arboles • 2 - 6 p.m. Sat., Oct. 30, Old Main Post Office, 1060 Main Ave. • 8 - 11 a.m. Sat., Oct. 30, Marvel Grange Pancake Breakfast, 217 CR 133A

HaikuMovieReview ‘Prevenge’ What a shame that this brilliant brain child was not well executed – Lainie Maxson • 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sat., Oct. 30, Durango Farmers Market (last clinic of the season), 259 W 9th St. ** • 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sundays, Durango Flea Market, 2500 Main Ave. • 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Wed., Nov. 3, The Commons, 701 S Camino Del Rio #301, Durango • 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Wed., Nov. 3, Purple Cliffs, CR 213 • 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Wednesdays, PJs Market, 67 Trimble Lane

NewspaperOrigami

BodyWork Lotus Path Healing Arts Now accepting new clients. Offering a unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics, 24 years of experience. To schedule call Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

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

ForSale

massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 18/19/20. Couples, cupping, local CBD. Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984

Blue Massage Table Gently used with head piece, cover, linens, $150. 970-382-2594.

CommunityService

Reruns Home Furnishings New inventory including nightstands, higher-top bistro tables, bar cart, side tables, nice rugs, dresser and several bookcases … Come in today! 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Wanted

In-Person GED and ESL Classes Nov. 1 The Adult Education Center in Durango and Cortez kicks off in-person winter GED (high school equivalent) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. All classes are free and begin Nov. 1. On-site child care for evening classes.

Registration is required and runs thru Oct. 28. Visit www.durangoadulted.org or call 970.385.4354 for more information.

Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

SJBPH Vaccine Clinics Free vaccine mobile clinic provided by San Juan Basin Public Health. Walk-ins

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Jack-o-lantern Oct. 28, 2021 n 15

Liv Sta e on ge!

Happy Halloween!

All Treats, No Tricks.

The Alternative Resource Variety of Strains • Hash/Concentrates • Edibles • Tinctures • ATM Bodo Park (Durango)

Grandview (Durango)

Cortez

REC: 9am-8pm MED: 9am- 6:45pm 72 Suttle Street, Units F/G 970.259.3674

REC ONLY: 9am-8pm 37 CR 232 970.426.4381

MED & REC: 9am-8pm 1104 E. Main St., Cortez 970.565-6500

16 n Oct. 28, 2021

Farmington Civic Center October 21-31, 2021 wWw.fmtn.org/shows • (505) 599-1148

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