Durango Telegraph July 22, 2021

Durango’s favorite John-a-thon

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FREE July 22, 2021 Vol. XX, No. 29 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

&

B E Y O N D

Trickle down

Stuck in the middle

In it to win it

How the BuRec is robbing Peter to pay Powell p7

Riverview eyed as new home for Miller amid objections p9

Silverton’s Stanley doesn’t hold back in 2nd Hardrock win p10

2 n July 22, 2021

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lineup

7

4 La Vida Local

Trickle down 4 Thumbin’ It

How the BuRec is robbing Peter to save Powell

by Jonathan Thompson / Land Desk

5 Word on the Street 6 Soapbox

8

7 Land Desk

Pay to play

8 State News

As visitor numbers rise, so do room rates in mountain towns

by Sarah Mulholland / Colorado Public Radio

9 Local News 10 Top Story

9

12-13 Stuff to Do

Residents object as 9-R considers Riverview for new middle school

13 Ask Rachel

Miller time

Ear to the ground: “Stop calling them ‘Karens,” and just call them b****** like an adult.”

– One local who refuses to give in to trends

In a mountain park far, far away…

thepole

RegularOccurrences

Lovers of Star Wars – the trail, not the movie – listen up.

The city of Durango is planning on doing some work on the popular mountain bike trail in Overend Mountain Park, and the time to weigh in is at a public comment hearing next Mon., July 26.

According to the city, the Star Wars trail has seen significantly more use recently, which has led to safety and resource degradation concerns.

As a result, the plan is to address “erosion issues and create more sustainable trail alignments.”

The re-route of Star Wars will happen at the end of the notorious downhill, where it intersects with Perin’s Gulch (formerly known as Slime Gulch), where the trail has become eroded, rutted and, for some, a bit sketchy.

Amy Schwarzbach, the city’s natural resource manager, said the city has been working with Durango Trails to finalize the details of the re-route, which will be shared at a public meeting from 5:15-6:15 p.m. on July 26. Calls to Durango Trails were not returned.

Those interested can access the meeting at Du rangoGov.org/Zoom.

May the power of public comment be with you.

by Jonathan Romeo

14 Free Will Astrology 15 Classifieds

10

15 Haiku Movie Review

Queen of the hill

Silverton’s Sabrina Stanley doesn’t hold back in second Hardrock title

On the cover: A lily blooms on Molas Lake, reminding us that not all wildflowers are land borne./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

by John Livingston

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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

Look away Any starry-eyed hopeful homebuyers may want to stop reading now and flip the page.

According to a new report from the Durango Area Association of Realtors, La Plata County median home prices jumped from $422,500 in 2020 to $527,100 in the 2021, a nearly 25% increase.

The numbers reflect second quarter, year-to-date.

“La Plata County housing sales are still on the rise,” the report said. “This is no surprise. Low supply and huge demand, coupled with low interest rates, have kept the prices high and still climbing.”

Exclusively within city limits, the median home sale price hit (get ready to grab the barf bag) $650,000 in 2021, up more than 15% from last year. In 2021 so far, a total of 95 homes in town were sold.

“No doubt, the current Durango real estate market remains a strong one,” the report said.

“Durango and all of La Plata County remain a desirable place to relocate, and this is showing no signs of slowing down.”

In this case, “strong” may be a bit too strong of a word.

July 22, 2021 n

3

opinion

LaVidaLocal Embers of freedom Days after the Fourth of July, there was a report of an Indigenous woman who was violently assaulted by an unknown group of individuals in Farmington, N.M. The woman recalled hearing statements about white supremacy, alongside celebrations of Independence Day, from the gang that attacked her and left her unconscious in the street.

It remains unclear who the individuals were, or if they will be held accountable for this brutality. And yet, these brutal actions are not uncommon when navigating through reservation bordertowns as an Indigenous person.

The frequency of such violence against the Indigenous community, along with a consistently numb reaction from mainstream society, compelled a group of Indigenous writers and activists to release the book, Red Nation Rising: From Bordertown Violence to Native Liberation. Published in June 2021, it was written and compiled by a collective known as the Bordertown Violence Working Group, made up of Native activists and scholars such as Nick Estes and Jennifer Nez Denetdale, among others. The essays in the book are a refreshingly radical critique of colonialism and the various ways settler governments reinforce power over stolen Native land. With a fiercely unapologetic Indigenous voice, the authors focus on those locations Native communities know all too well: bordertowns.

The authors define bordertowns as “white-dominated settlements that ring Indian reservations and give spatial form to the violence and exploitation that defines everyday Native life, past and present.” Going further, the authors argue that given the genocidal nature of colonialism, “every town is a bordertown, because every town serves as a border that settlers must defend” against the threat of Native bodies going “off the reservation.”

All throughout the book, the authors copiously document historical and contemporary instances of settler violence against Native peoples, whether committed by white vigilantes or militarized police. “From Saskatoon to Santa Fe,” the authors note, “bordertowns are always bloody killing fields.”

As such, in this raw reckoning with the settler state, borders and border-

towns begin to look like chalk outlines of a colonial crime scene.

From the visceral violence committed by white mobs to those enforced subtly by way of bureaucratic legislation – such as the use of residential schools and policies meant to erase Indigenous life and sovereignty –the authors refer to “anti-Indian common sense.” The ideology encompasses everything from racist depictions of Natives in popular culture (like mascots) to more spectacular forms of genocide (like massacres), which pervades settler communities throughout North America.

Among the many infamous bordertowns, the New Mexico towns of Farmington and Gallup are righteously held accountable in the book, with many tragic anecdotes. Concurrently, here in Durango, we have yet to reconcile with our on-going complicity in bordertown violence and colonialism. Along with a racist statue that still resides outside Toh-Atin Art Gallery in downtown, there is also Fort Lewis College’s dark history, starting as a military fort to surveil and suppress the threat of nearby Natives, then transforming into a residential school for Native children who were being removed from their homes and families.

“The American sense of reality,” prophetic Black writer James Baldwin once said, “is dictated by what Americans are trying to avoid. And if you’re trying to avoid reality, how can you face it?” In a similar tone of poignant, fiery passion, Red Nation Rising is an urgent call to action and awareness from Indigenous voices and allies.

On the outside, the book is slim, yet each essay is a raised red fist, delivering one blow after another against the malignant forces of bordertown violence. Personally speaking, this is a book I have been waiting for nearly my entire life – the vibrant, radical message imbued in the text rekindles within me what Fredrick Douglass referred to as “embers of freedom.”

For the Native children whose lives were lost in residential schools; for the missing and murdered Native women and TwoSpirit relatives; for the unsheltered and vulnerable Indigenous members who often encounter the brute force of settler violence, the book serves as a reminder that their lives matter, and those who perished must be honored

by Indigenous-led liberation struggles.

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It A new state report that says since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2014, pot arrests have seen a sharp decline, while tax revenues increased a whopping 437% (we know, so close to the magic number).

Monsoons returning to Southwest Colorado, delivering enough moisture to lower fire restrictions and offering locals respite from their watering bill.

Residents stepping in to try to save the Ohana Kuleana Community Garden by urging the City to buy the parcel.

4 n July 22, 2021

– Kirbie Bennett

That same state report finding marijuanaimpaired DUIs increased significantly since legalizations seven years ago. And, there remains a racial disparity for those arrested in pot-related crimes.

The need to drain three Colorado reservoirs, including Navajo Lake, to help keep electric power production going at the increasingly dwindling Lake Powell.

As if a novel virus pandemic wasn’t enough, the actual plague has arrived in La Plata County after health officials confirmed local fleas collected from a south central part of the county tested positive.

telegraph

Poo Bomber Caught Amanda Lee, 50, from Cheshire, U.K., has 15 convictions stretching back to the early ’90s, and most of them were from Lee’s habit of pooping in her neighbors’ yards.

Her 25-year “harassment campaign,” as it’s been called by Lee’s neighborhood, earned her the nickname “Poo Bomber,” and now, if she’s caught defecating outdoors for any reason, she faces a mandatory sentence of five years in prison. But the good news is that thanks to Lee’s new restrictions, her neighbors have turd immunity.

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With drought gripping much of the West and reservoirs at all-time lows, The Telegraph asked: “How are you conserving water?”

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Billy

“I’m taking shorter showers.”

Sierra

“Mulching our yard.”

Mariah

“If it is yellow, let it mellow.”

Daniel

“If it is brown, flush it down.” telegraph

July 22, 2021 n 5

SoapBox Cattle stripping vegetation (The following letter was written to Sean Kelly, range conservation manager for the Columbine Ranger District, ad cc’ed to the Telegraph) Greetings Sean, First, welcome to your new Columbine District range conservationist position, and thank you for your public service to our public lands! I am a Colorado native, and have lived in Hermosa, CO since 2006. I am so very grateful for ALL that our state has to offer in natural beauty and resources, and seek to sustain and conserve what we have.

On Tuesday morning this week, I hiked up Elbert Creek (from the Needles parking lot) to Castle Rock – this was the first time I had been up that drainage since 2017.

(Side note: It was also after I, with three other motorists, put out a road-side fire on 550 at the Rockwood turn-off, and then met the Durango Fire Dept. to confer about the possible causes once they arrived. With that, I was hiking in a heightened, and grateful, mindset.)

Of course, the dry creek beds and pine beetle presence was expected, BUT I was quite distraught to find the hillside meadows by the two cabins almost completely decimated of wildflowers and bushes, obviously due to ridiculous amounts of cowpies, caused by cattle.

I can’t use the term “cattle grazing” because what I saw was more like “cattle gorging.” Almost everything was stripped, except for our state flower, the Columbine – which is obvious that cattle do not consume.

I was up this very same trail on June 30, 2017, prior to the 416 Fire (during which our home was evacuated) and had found a lush hillside meadow teeming with healthy, noninvasive vegetation. There were cattle present in 2017, too, but clearly not causing this extensive damage.

I’m highly concerned that there has been either a breach of the cattle-grazing lease agreement (more cattle than the

lease and/or land can handle?) My understanding of biodynamics, even with our unstable climate, is that the natural, native vegetation stabilization is regenerative to our forests and public lands. Whereas, what I saw was “hamburger on the hoof” as highly degenerative in this area.

I hope you can provide me and our constituents (human, and of the forest) some insight into what is happening in this area. I am happy to support you in conserving and sustaining our natural resources.

All the best to you!

– Kelly Bowman von Stroh, Durango

Desalination can help drought Lake Mead at the Hoover Dam is at 37% capacity, which is the lowest level since the 1930s. It provides water to about 40 million people in Nevada, Arizona and California, but a severe drought and diminished snowfall in the Rocky Mountains have significantly reduced the supply of water. Other lakes in the region are at historically low levels.

It appears current water conservation measures will have to continue and probably be expanded in the Southwest along with the reuse of treated wastewater for agriculture.

Although sea water desalination plants are costly, typically about $4 billion, people in the Southwest need drinking and agricultural water to survive. There are about 20,000 plants in the world, including a plant near San Diego providing 50 million gallons of water per day to 10% of residents. Another 10 plants operate in California and 10 more are proposed.

Drawbacks of desalination plants include construction costs, high cost to produce the water, disposal of briny residue water and impacts on sea life, but the cost of running out of water far exceeds the costs.

Although desalination plants might only provide 10%

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6 n July 22, 2021

In 2021, we have seen far too many attacks on our right to vote. I’m sure many of us heard about the law in Georgia that made it illegal to give voters water while they’re waiting in line to vote. Well, for every voter suppression law we did hear about, there are 20 more we didn’t. So far this year, 17 states enacted 28 new laws that make it more difficult for eligible Americans to cast their ballots, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The only answer to this crisis is a response from the federal government. We need lawmakers in Congress to pass legislation that will create national standards to safeguard our right to vote as soon as possible.

There are already two bills in the mix that, if passed, would go a long way to securing our freedom to vote. The first is the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the second is the For the People Act. Congress has everything it needs to pass sweeping voting rights protection with these pieces of legislation. I am asking them not to squander it or let the filibuster get in the way.

–Matt Cornell, Durango

“We’ll print damned-near anything” The Telegraph prides itself on a liberal letters policy.

We have only a few requests: letters must be limited to 750 words; and writers must “sign” letters using their real names and place of residence. Thank-you lists and personal attacks are unwelcome. Send your insights to: tele graph@durangotelegraph.com. Let the games begin ...

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LandDesk

Robbing Peter to save Powell The Bureau of Reclamation is draining reservoirs to fill reservoirs

by Jonathan Thompson

T

he Horseshoe Bend overlook, which affords some 50,000 selfie-snappers a month a gander at the Colorado River as it bends back on itself, is surely one of the most popular viewpoints in the Southwest. I’ve passed it many atime but have never been tempted to stop. Instead, I rev the engine on the ol’ Silver Bullet, drive into the western fringe of Page, past the McDonald’s and the most-out-of-place golf course on the planet, and then take a left turn to get to my favorite viewpoint: The one that offers a stunning, explicit, full-frontal look at Glen Canyon Dam. It gets me every time – an almost physical blow to the gut coupled with the insta-vertigo inflicted by confrontation with the sublime.

I’m not sure what it is about the dam that invokes such a strong reaction. Perhaps it’s just the sheer size – 700-feet high, 1,500 feet long at the crest, 300 feet thick at its base – or the ungodly amount of water it holds back. Maybe I’m mourning the hundreds of miles of Edenic canyons that were inundated. Maybe it’s a combination of terror and anticipation of the power that would be released if the dam finally cracked and crumbled.

Or maybe it’s the hubris that the dam represents, the belief that, with enough concrete and engineering ingenuity, we humans could control that wild, tumultuous creature known as the Colorado River and harness it to turn thousands of miles of desert into lawns and alfalfa fields and golf courses and housing developments. Sure, it worked. Until it didn’t. And now Lake Powell’s water levels have taken a great fall, and all of Bureau of Rec’s engineering, and all of Bureau of Rec’s plumbing, can’t put Powell back again.

Still, they’re trying. Last week the Bureau of Reclamation announced that it would crank open a few valves on the massive plumbing system known as the Upper Colorado River, releasing extra water from Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa and Navajo reservoirs in order to shore up the rapidly declining water levels in Lake Powell.

The point of this exercise is not to keep houseboats from scraping bottom – which is already happening – but to preserve what remains of Glen Canyon Dam’s hydropower generating capacity. Already the dam has become less potent in this respect, because as water levels drop, so does the pressure the water exerts, meaning that the same amount of water run through the turbines generates less power. More worrisome is what happens when the level falls below 3,490 feet, or the minimum power pool: Generation stops altogether.

That would mean that Glen Canyon Dam’s electricity output would plummet from 10,000 megawatt-hours or so of juice each day – enough to power some 350,000 homes – to near zero. That would be very bad for the Southwestern electricity grid, which is already strained by heat-induced soaring demand coupled with diminished hydropower generation across the West. Grid operators

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would have little choice but to turn to natural gas to fill the gap, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and electricity costs.

Over the course of one month, from mid-June to midJuly, Lake Powell lost 416,000 acre feet of water – or 135 billion gallons (which translates to about 5½ feet of surface-level elevation). About 36,000 of those acre feet vanished via evaporation. The rest was sent through Glen Canyon Dam’s turbines, destined for the Grand Canyon and then shrinking Lake Mead. If levels continue to drop at that rate, Powell will reach minimum power pool a year from now. (The Bureau of Reclamation is projecting a slower rate of decline, even in its worst case scenarios.)

The feds know they can’t stop the drop with this scheme. But via the planned releases – totaling an additional 181,000 acre feet over the next six months – they can slow it down, theoretically. Instead of falling another 28 feet by the end of the year, the surface level should only drop by, wait for it, 25 feet, assuming a continuation of current rates of decline. Basically, the Bureau is draining down three reservoirs in order to offset evaporation

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from Lake Powell.

It just might succeed, in delaying the inevitable. But without a lot of help from Mother Nature in the form of massive winter snowfall across the entire Upper Colorado River watershed, there is little chance that the planned plumbing adjustments will amount to much. And if the snows don’t come, what happens to the depleted upper basin reservoirs and the people who rely on them?

The plan seems even crazier in light of a proposal to build a pipeline that would siphon yet more hydropower-generating water from Lake Powell and ship it to southwestern Utah, or plans to divert yet more water from the Colorado River Basin toward the urban centers of Colorado’s Front Range. But then, none of it is any crazier than building the dam in the first place with the belief that doing so would turn a desert into an oasis.

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 forthcoming Sagebrush Empire. To subscribe, go to www.landdesk.org. n

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telegraph

July 22, 2021 n 7

StateNews

Pay to play Colorado’s mountain towns see 40% spike in lodging rates

by Sarah Mulholland Colorado Public Radio

C

olorado’s resort lodging properties are already locking in big revenue gains well ahead of peak season, a sign that people are splurging on travel again.

Room prices for the month of December in the state’s mountain towns are up more than 40 percent compared to 2019, according to DestiMetrics, a unit of Inntopia, a travel marketing firm. That equates to about $720 a night on average. The data set includes hotels, condos and professionally managed rental properties.

As of June 30, Colorado’s lodging properties already had an occupancy rate of 16 percent for December. While that might not sound like a lot, the occupancy rate for the winter holidays is typically between 10 and 12 percent this far out, according to Tom Foley, senior vice president with Inntopia.

A spike in prices is driven by a number of reasons. The trend toward renting larger properties with more privacy that took off during the pandemic appears to be sticking for now, Foley said. Naturally, those types of accommodations often cost more.

8 n July 22, 2021

“As people re-emerged, they started engaging in what I like to call … isolation travel,” Foley said.

On top of that, people who kept their jobs – which is much of the income bracket that frequents ski resorts – saved money by staying home during most of 2020 and are now flush with cash. Many visitors are using credits extended by resorts when pandemic restrictions led to canceled trips, according to Foley, boosting their budgets further.

Hotel occupancy so far for the summer months in Colorado is up about 3 percent compared to 2019. That’s behind the 7 percent bump seen in the broader Mountain West region, which includes Wyoming and Utah. That’s a typical pattern for the warmweather months, when people flock to established summer destinations like Yellowstone National Park and Lake Tahoe, according to Foley.

Even if summer occupancy rates in Colorado haven’t risen as much as other mountain destinations, room rates aren’t lagging. In Breckenridge, the occupancy rate for the summer is about flat compared to 2019, DestiMetrics data shows. But the average cost of a room is up 43 percent.

Visitors line up at a crepe stand in Breckenridge in June.

As visitor numbers have risen, so have accommodation rates in mountain towns, with average rates for December 2021 up 40% compared to 2019./ Photo by Hart Van Denburg/CPR News

Hotel room rates in Colorado – and across the country – are jumping as consumers suffer sticker shock on everything from used cars to gasoline. Economists are debating whether a spurt of inflation is a temporary reaction to reopening the economy or a longer-term trend.

Foley’s group at Inntopia is tracking what happens to room rates throughout the Mountain West closely. The unprece-

telegraph

dented economic forces at play in the wake of a global pandemic make forecasting difficult.

“My guess is that this is some version of pent-up demand that’s going to soften as we move forward, but it’s really difficult to say right now because consumer behavior is unique,” Foley said.

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

LocalNews

Stuck in the middle Residents object as 9-R considers Riverview for new Miller Middle School site

by Jonathan Romeo

B

lindsided by a recent proposal to relocate Miller Middle School to the Riverview Sports Complex, some Durango residents are up in arms in an attempt to save the popular park and open space.

“Since we’ve caught wind of it, we’ve been trying to spread the news to neighbors,” Ericka Curlee, who lives in the Riverview area, said. “It’s a heavily used park, and we’re just trying to save a little piece of open space.”

In the November 2020 election, nearly 72% of voters approved a $90 million bond for Durango School District 9R for aging schools and other infrastructure needs, and atop the list was the timeworn Miller Middle School.

However, 9-R, at the time, said the improvements would happen on the current Miller Middle grounds, at 2608 Junction St. “This bond will … rebuild and renovate the existing Miller Middle School campus,” the ballot language read.

So residents were a little taken aback when 9-R released a new study this summer that looked at five different options for the future of Miller, three of which would move the school to a completely different location.

Especially concerning, several residents told The Durango Telegraph, was the move to the Riverview Sports Complex ranked as the most preferred option, notwithstanding it would completely eliminate the open space and sports fields there.

“The fact that it would be bulldozed is just unacceptable,” Mary Prouty, who has lived in the Riverview area since 1985, said. “I can’t tell you how important (the park) is for so many people who use it.”

A needed makeover In 2019, the school district released a “master plan” that looked at the long-term future needs of its buildings. The nearly 60-year-old Miller Middle, ripe with asbestos and failing infrastructure, was pegged as a top priority.

The proposal sold to voters during the 2020 election, however, said 9-R would demolish and rebuild the school on its current site at an estimated $45 million, by far the most expensive project.

Samantha Gallagher, chief financial officer for 9-R, said at a public meeting Tuesday that since planning began in March 2021, significant challenges with rebuilding at the current location emerged. Namely, concerns over 450 students having to attend class in modular buildings for two to three years, and the impact that would have on learning.

So, 9-R went back to the drawing board and evaluated five possible routes: two for building at the current Miller site, as well as three off-site options at Three Springs, the La Plata County Fairgrounds and Riverview.

“As a district, we felt it was important to do our due diligence to provide the best building we can,” Gallagher said.

“The last bond increase we had was 2002, so we really want to … make the most informed decision possible.”

Communication breakdown The problem is, many resident reiterated, 9-R failed to communicate this shift to the public. The new study was presented to the school district’s board June 22, but many residents had to find out on social media or word of mouth.

“A lot of people are very emotional about this issue, and wondering why we’re even talking about it,” Riverview resident Jessica Corley said Tuesday. “It should not be something that happens during summer break with poor public awareness.”

Erin Glick, who said she works for the school district, said at Tuesday’s hearing she didn’t find out about the pro-

The 11.22-acre Riverview Sports Complex, seen here Tuesday, is being eyed by 9-R as the potenetial new home for Miller Middle School. The current middle school is slated for the wrecking ball. Other ideas include housing students in modulars on the current middle school site or building a new school at Three Springs or the fairgrounds./Photo by Jonathan Romeo posals until she started receiving emails from Riverview residents trying to spread the word to save the open space.

“I’m a little sad that’s how I found out about it,” she said.

According to the study, each site is ranked based on a number of pros and cons. Riverview, which placed the highest, was seen as a spot with a good location, already owned by 9-R that required minimal off-site work.

Residents, however, were quick to lambaste the report, arguing not only would the community lose the popular park and fields, it would also create a traffic nightmare in the neighborhood, exacerbated by the adjacent Riverview Elementary School.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tiffany Mapel, who has taught at Miller Middle for nearly 20 years, said. “I am for keeping Miller on its current site. But the old building needs to come down and a new one needs to come up.”

If not there, where?

If rebuilding at the existing Miller Middle location is out of the question, it appeared the consensus Tuesday was to move the school to the current site of the La Plata County Fairgrounds, which is expected to relocate in coming years to Durango Mesa Park.

The fairgrounds property, however, is owned by La Plata County. 9-R spokeswoman Julie Popp said in an interview that relocating to the fairgrounds, however, would take much longer than the timeline anticipated with other options.

County spokesman Ted Holteen said 9-R has not approached county officials about using the fairgrounds.

“There’s been absolutely no discussion between the two parties,” he said.

The other off-site location, Three Springs, was seen by many speakers Tuesday as too far a commute for parents and students who mostly live on the north end of Durango, some as far as Purgatory Resort an estimated 26 miles to the north.

telegraph

And, though Riverview Sports Complex is in a centralized location, it still remains unclear how many sports teams would be displaced. City spokesman Tom Sluis did not return requests for comment on how many leagues use the grounds.

Slow down As it stands, the 9-R school board is expected to make a decision Aug. 31 so it can keep its timeline for construction to start in 2022, in the hopes of opening for the 2024/25 school year.

But newly arrived superintendent Karen Cheser said Tuesday if more time is needed, the deadline can be extended. While not in her position as superintendent until recently, Cheser said 9-R will make a better effort to be transparent.

“We will do better communicating,” she said. “We want to do what’s right for our community.”

Popp, 9-R’s spokeswoman, said modular buildings were always part of the original plan, but Cheser, upon her arrival, brought renewed concerns given past experience with modulars. Still, Popp emphasized the project remains in its evaluation phase, and no decisions have been made. More public hearings are scheduled for early August.

“It feels very quick, but this is just the start of it,” she said. “If we have to go back to the drawing board, we will.”

Popp said 9-R believes the ballot language does allow for the construction of a new Miller Middle off-site.

Nearby residents, however, challenge this notion, and said Tuesday they have consulted attorneys should it come to that.

“There are a number of folks prepared to take legal action,” Corley said. “We need to think about these decisions before we waste valuable school dollars on legal ramifications.” n

July 22, 2021 n

9

TopStory

In it to win it Two-time Hardrock womens winner Sabrina Stanley unapologetic competitor

by John Livingston

S

ilverton’s Sabrina Stanley had given all she could for more than 100 miles. For the final few hundred feet to the finish line, she gave even more.

The 31-year-old ultra runner claimed her second win in the women’s division of the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run on the morning of Sat., July 17. She was the first woman to kiss the finisher’s rock in Silverton in 27 hours, 21 minutes, 48 seconds, which was sixth place overall. Her time was only 3 minutes, 24 seconds behind the women’s course record set by four-time winner Diana Finkel in 2009.

Stanley has lived in Silverton since 2018, when she earned her first victory on the 100.5-mile course through the San Juan Mountains. Her first win came running the clockwise direction of the course. After two years of race cancellations, Stanley was back this year to defend her 2018 title and set out to earn “true Hardrocker” status by completing the loop in the opposite direction. But Stanley wasn’t out only to finish. Like every race she enters, she was there to win.

“Sabrina embodies that ‘wild and tough’ thesis we abide by,” Hardrock 100 director Dale Garland said. “She’s such a great competitor, and she has so much strength. Her living and training in Silverton, knowing the course and what it takes, she knew exactly what she had to do to finish and win again. Even when she hit her lowest point, she knew how to keep going.”

After a 6 a.m. start in Silverton on Fri., July 16, Stanley ran to Lake City and then to Ouray. From there, it was off to Telluride before a return to the finish in front of the Silverton School. Along the way, she and the 145 other runners were tasked with 66,100 feet of elevation change on a course with an average elevation of 11,186 feet and a high point of 14,048 feet atop Handies Peak between Lake City and Silverton.

“My No. 1 goal was to win this race in both directions,” Stanley said. “Mentally I don’t think there was ever any question; just physically could I go as fast as I thought I could? I wish I could have run faster at times, but I was also running faster at times than I thought I was going to.”

Stanley said she knew during the last 2 miles that she wasn’t going to be able to break Finkel’s record. But that didn’t stop her from pushing as hard as she could to the finish.

“I still wanted to get as close to it as I possibly could,” Stanley said of the record. “I ran as hard as I could, and that’s all you can ask for. There’s a lot of things that went

Sabrina Stanley cruising through Maggie Gulch, outside of Silverton, Fri., July 16, en route to her second Hardrock womens win. She finished in 27 hours, 21 minutes, 48 seconds, sixth overall and only 3 minutes, 24 seconds behind the women’s course record set by four-time winner Diana Finkel in 2009. /Courtesy iRunFar.com wrong, but there’s a lot of things that went right, so I don’t know if things had been different if I could have gone any faster that day. My time is my time, and it’s what I have to accept, and I am really proud of my time.”

Along the way, Stanley passed ultra running superstar Courtney Dauwalter, of Golden, who was the overwhelming favorite to win in her first career start at Hardrock.

Stanley said she ran hard at the start of the race before dialing back her pace. Dauwalter passed her a little more than 15 miles into the loop and built a 32-minute lead after 31 miles. But Stanley was able to make up the time and pass Dauwalter and build her own 30-minute lead. Dauwalter dropped out after 62 miles because of stomach issues that wouldn’t allow her to keep down food or fluids.

Stanley also had stomach issues along the way, especially around the 80th mile. But she refused to give up at a

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10 n July 22, 2021

race that has repeatedly chewed up and spit out the best in the world.

“As tough as you think you are, there are going to be moments where you physically or mentally can’t push past certain barriers but you just have to keep going forward,” Stanley said.

Stanley burst onto the ultra running scene with her first Hardrock 100 win in 2018. It capped a year in which she had put together podium finishes at races such as the HURT 100 in Hawaii and Western States Endurance Run in California.

She has continued to strive for greatness in a sport where athletes are regularly celebrated for cheering on rivals rather than approaching races as fierce competitors.

Stanley has done it her own way, with throwback competitiveness that is no longer a norm. 4

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1099 Main Ave., under the big clock Mon.- Thurs., 7:30am-3pm and Fri., 7:30am-1pm

“I’m supposed to accomplish big things.

I believe that. My soul has ached for greatness since I can remember having conscious thoughts. ‘You’re going to know my name one day.’ It is a fact in my brain, not a dream or a goal, but a certainty,” Stanley wrote three days after her latest win. “I get frustrated when people don’t understand my passion, my drive, my dedication. If they don’t understand me, I’ve begun to realize it’s because they’ve never felt the constant hunger for success I do every second of my life. It’s who I am. Maybe it’s ego driven or maybe it’s deeper. A trait passed down from my ancestors that they needed to survive. It presents itself unbridled and savage as ever in my heart, fierce and raw, and ready to attack.”

Before the 2018 Hardrock, Stanley made the decision to move from Steamboat Springs to Silverton to train every day on the trails that make up the course. Following her debut victory running the clockwise route in 30:23:36, Stanley committed to staying in Silverton along with her boyfriend, Avery Collins, to prepare to defend her title in 2019.

But the race would be canceled the next year because of avalanche debris and highwater conditions after a winter of heavy snow. Again in 2020, it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collins and Stanley remained in Silverton, and during the course of four years, the town of 600 residents has become their home. She could feel it along the course where a large group of locals came to cheer her on to victory.

“Especially, after winning this, it’s crazy.

The supermarket has a little sign in support of me and just to see the town’s excitement to have a local win was awesome,” said Stanley, who is originally from Onalaska, Wash. “Walking down the street, you know everybody. I grew up in a really small town, so it’s really comfortable for me to be in this kind of environment.”

Durango and Silverton continue to grow as havens for the world’s top mountain athletes. Elite local ultra runners include Kyle Curtin, Meredith Edwards, Hannah Green, Joe Grant, Maggie Guterl, Meghan Hicks and Jason Schlarb. Hicks was third in the women’s field at this year’s Hardrock 100.

“Silverton is becoming known as this ultra-athlete playground and base of operations,” Garland said. “It’s a feather in the cap for Silverton to attract these high-caliber athletes to live there and call it home.

The people there embrace adventure races and Hardrock, and it can be a real positive toward making it a destination yearround.”

More from Hardrock The men’s race victory went to France’s François D’Haene. The 35-year-old completed the course in 21:45:50 to set a new record, as he surpassed three-time champion Kilian Jornet of Spain, who ran this direction in 23:28:00 in 2015. It also set a new overall Hardrock 100 record, also set by Jornet in 2014 in 22:41:33.

“With François, I was impressed with him from the start athletically,” Garland said.

“He’s just a mountain running beast. Like a true Hardrock champion, he was gracious but was also competitive. Every time I saw

Stanley digs deep at the Silverton finish line Saturday./Courtesy iRunFar.com him on the course, he was laser focused.”

D’Haene had the assistance of Durango’s Dakota Jones, who paced him through the night from Telluride to Silverton. D’Haene held off the hard-charging pursuit of Dylan Bowman, of Portland, Ore., who finished second in 22:45:50, a time that also would have beat the previous course record.

This year, 112 athletes finished the run before the 48-hour time limit. The 76.7% finish rate was the lowest since 2014.

Garland admitted he was worried two years of cancellations would hurt

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Hardrock’s prestige. But with D’Haene and Stanley both holding off incredible challengers and chasing course records, he called it one of the top five Hardrock runs of all time.

“The level of energy and enthusiasm on all fronts, from volunteers to spectators to runners, it was special this year,” Garland said. “We were so thankful to everyone who was a part of our little run. We were worried it would lose a little of its luster, but it was an incredible year, and we can’t wait for the next time.” n

July 22, 2021 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday22 Cafe au Play free outdoor baby group, 10 a.m.12 p.m., 495 Florida Road (behind Christ the King church). 970-749-9607 for info.

Virtual Colorado Redistricting Forum, 6 p.m., hosted by League of Women Voters of La Plata County.

More info. at lwvlaplata.org

’80s Video Dance & Costume Party, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E College Drive.

Saturday24

Chamber Concert, 5:30 p.m., River Bend Ranch.

Blue Moon Ramblers play, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Rob Webster plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Cha Wa New Orleans funk, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E College Drive.

St.

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., TBK Parking Lot, 259 W. 9th St. Live music from Music in the Mountains. www.durangofarmersmarket.com

Adam Swanson, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Flyfishing 101, 10-11:30 a.m., Pine River Library, Bayfield.

Authors in the Parklet, featuring Cherry Odelberg, 4-5:30 p.m., in front of Maria’s Bookshop.

Jose Villareal, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Rocky Mountain Surf Report plays, 3-6 p.m., Purgatory Resort.

Star Wars Trail reroute public hearing, 5:15 p.m., more info at durangogov.org

Live music, 6-8:30 p.m. every Thursday, James Ranch, HWY 550, Hermosa.

Durango’s Picnic at the Park, 4 p.m., Rotary Park, 1565 East 2nd Ave. Celebration of culture, community and legal defense for all.

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

Online at www.durangodharmacenter.org

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

Trivia night 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio. Fresh Air Meditation with Katie Siber, 6:30 p.m., Claire Viles Park, more info. at durangodharmacenter.org Ben Gibson plays, 7 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon. To submit an item, email: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Playful Interludes: Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra Concert, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.

Larry Carver & Jack Ellis, 5 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Leah Orlikowski plays, 5 p.m., The Nugget Mountain Bar, 48721 N. Highway 550.

The One Stan Band plays, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewery.

Monday26

Bill Edwards plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Rob Webster plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Aikido, 6 p.m., 121 W 32nd St. #B, www.durangoaikido.com

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

Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

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

Matt Rupnow plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Twin Buttes Farm Stand, 3-6 p.m., Tuesdays thru October, 165 Tipple Ave., www.twinbuttesfarm.com

Friday23

Gary Walker plays, 6 p.m., Dandelion Café, 725 E. Second Ave.

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

Ben Gibson plays, 6 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave.

Bill Edwards plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m., Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave. Crystal Hartman art showing, 3-8 p.m., Studio & Gallery, 1025 Main Ave. Sturtz plays, 5 p.m., 11th Street Station.

John Till plays, 5 p.m., The Nugget Mountain Bar, 48721 N. Highway 550.

Jake Dulln plays, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewery.

Adam Swanson, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. The Assortment play, 6 p.m., Fox Fire Farms, Ignacio.

Larry Carver & Jack Ellis, 6 p.m., Furtrappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Smelter Mtn Duo plays, 6 p.m., Union Social House, Ben Gibson plays, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Disco Night, 6-9 p.m., Chapman Hill Roller Rink.

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

12 n July 22, 2021

Disco Night, 6-9 p.m., Chapman Hill Roller Rink.

The Crags play, 8-9:30 p.m., Tico Time Resort, 1 mile south of the stateline.

Sunday25

Tuesday27

Sean O’Brien plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave Bitcoin Study Group, 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesdays, Zia North patio. For info., call 970-426-2464 or email bitcoinstudygroup@protonmail.com

Durango Art Market, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 11th Street Station. www.durangocreativedistrict.org.

Geologist Jeff Brame speaks at Rotary Club of Durango, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Chad MacCluskey plays, 12 noon, 11th Street Station.

LPEA electric vehicles webinar, 6 p.m. More info. at lpea.coop

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

Live Music on the Range: Jose Villareal, 2-5 p.m., Hillcrest Golf Club.

Authors in the Parklet, featuring Katie Terrel-Ramos and Sylvester Alred, 4- 7 p.m., in front of Maria’s Bookshop.

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

Bach and Burritos: Music in the Mountains

telegraph

Acoustic Music Jam, 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays, Rotary Park, all instruments and singers welcome. Info: 970-259-3408.

Live music, 6-8:30 p.m. every Tuesday, James Ranch, HWY 550, Hermosa.

Wednesday28 Summer reading series, 10 a.m., Sunnyside Library, party with balloons and root beer floats.

Spanish Conversation Hour, 1-2 p.m., Pine River Library, Bayfield. 4

AskRachel

Podcast therapy, not-so Southern charm and #bashnews Interesting fact: As of April 2021, there were only 2 million podcasts in existence with 48 million episodes.

So while not everyone has a podcast, everyone has probably appeared by now as a guest on one.

Dear Rachel, Do you have a podcast? Everyone has a podcast, so I assume you do. I wonder what yours is about. Do people call in, like on “Frasier,” so you can help them with their problems in real time? Or maybe you spend an hour dissecting one person’s problems. Or maybe you get really esoteric and go off in some tangential direction that you don’t get to dig into by answering people’s questions in the paper. Tell me! I want to subscribe.

– I’ll Leave Five Stars Dear Michelin Rating, No, I do not have a podcast, but only because I have not landed a sponsorship deal with the right mattress company. The right mattress company, first and foremost, would be the one willing to pay me the most amount of money. Even better if they give me a free mattress without making me return it after the trial period. If they did that, I’d have to switch sponsors to get a new free trial mattress, and so on, forever and ever, until the heat death of our sun.

– Wherever you get your podcasts, Rachel Six Dollar String Band plays, 3-6 p.m., Purgatory Resort.

Animas City Night Bazaar and Passeggiatta, 5-8 p.m., Durango’s North Main District. Art, music, food and fun. Info. at: animascitynightbazaar.com Bill Edwards plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Dear Rachel, What is it about Southern people and their ability to sweetly and savagely undercut anyone at all by saying the nicest things? Is it the accent?

Or is there some deep cultural tradition that I could study my entire life and never emulate just because I’m from the West?

– Sweet Tea Dear Darlin, I am not qualified to answer this question, but it is 100% the accent. And also probably the culture. I do know the opposite, though. I had an Austrian exchange student friend in high school. She would say the bluntest, harshest things, with love in her cold Teutonic heart. Like, “Oh, your new braces are really ugly,” or “Your haircut looks terrible. Did you do it yourself?” But I soon learned to appreciate her entire lack of euphemism, and I will always remember the last thing she said to me: “You know, we will probably never talk again.”

– Ja wohl, Rachel Dear Rachel, It’s clear you’re a biased journalist. You bash Trump, you bash people who don’t think like you, you bash parents, you bash friends, you bash siblings. Why not just come out and say you hate everyone. You are what is wrong with the media today. What ever happened to decency and respect in journalism?

– Fair and Balanced

“Summer Color,” paintings by Patrice DeLorenzo, Animas Chocolate & Coffee Co., 920 Main Ave.

Word Honey, 6 p.m., 81301 Coffee Shop. Join the Hive and Durango Public Library for a free writing and performing workshop.

Music in the Mountains, classical music festival, July 11-Aug. 1, www.musicinthemountains.com

Trivia night, 6 p.m., every Wednesday, Mancos Brewery.

The Jeff Solon Jazz Duo plays, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays thru Sept. 8, Dandelion Café, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Ongoing Telluride Theatre presents Shakespeare in the Park with “Macbeth,” 8 p.m. thru July 25, Town Park Stage. www.telluridetheatre.org “Tracing Lines,” by Hannah Green, art exhibit runs

Rockfest music festival, July 30-Aug. 1, Tico Time River Resort, 1 mile south of the stateline.

Summer reading program at Durango Public Library, Tuesdays thru July 31. Programs and events for babies, kids, teens and adults. For info, stop by or call 970-375-3380.

Family Magic Show with Mysto the Magi, 7 p.m.

Fridays thru the summer, Tico Time Resort, 1 mile south of the stateline.

Dear Fairly Imbalanced, I take umbrage with your use of the term “journalist.”

There are real journalists out there, embedded in war zones, risking their lives to deliver the stories about what matters. There are real journalists out there, asking questions in the White House (finally) and reporting on the machinations of Congress. There are real journalists out there, self-producing podcasts because that’s the only way to make a living as a journalist these days. And you dare to call me a journalist?

– Bless your heart, Rachel Smelter Mountain Boys, July 30, 5 p.m., Gazpacho Restaurant, 431 E 2nd Ave.

through July, Recess Gallery at Studio &, 1017 Main Ave.

Terry Rickard plays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

Carve Wars, July 30-Aug. 1, Purgatory Resort. www.purgatoryresortcom Kids Program: Ducky Races, July 31, 11a.m. – 3 p.m., Pine River Library, Bayfield.

Larry Carver & Jack Ellis, July 31, 5 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Pollinator Workshop, July 31, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., south of Bayfield. More info. at lposc.org

Mamma Mia! thru Aug. 1, Lions Wilderness Amphitheatre, Farmington. Info at: www.fmtn.org/shows.

Sunnyside and Fort Lewis Mesa libraries open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Fri. thru Aug. 20. Summer reading Wednesdays at 10 a.m. thru July 28. 375-3816 for more info.

Upcoming

Burt Baldwin book signing for “The Amazing Adentures of Gander Anthem,” Aug. 1, 5:30 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. Trail Party Enduro Race, Aug. 1, Purgatory Resort. www.purgatoryresort.com La La Bones plays, Aug. 4, 5 p.m., Community Concerts in the Secret Garden, Rochester Hotel, 726 E. 2nd Ave.

Black Velvet Duo, July 29, 6 p.m., Dandelion Cafe.

The Motet plays KSUT’s Party in the Park, July 30, Buckley Park. For info or tickets, go to: www.ksut.org.

“Golden Gate” play reading from Durango PlayFest, Aug. 5, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E 2nd Ave.

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FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Valerie Andrews reminds us that as children, we all had the “magical capacity to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unselfconsciously to the soughing of the trees.” Oh, how I would love you to be able to recover even a fraction of those talents in the coming days.

My reading of the current astrological potentials tells me that your chances of doing so are much better than usual. Your ability to connect with the eternal child and wise animal within you is at a peak.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus singer Barbara Streisand has a shopping mall built below her large home. Its purpose isn’t to sell consumer goods to strangers but rather to stash her precious belongings and show them off when friends come over. Among the storefronts are an antique store, doll shop, costume shop and candy store. The coming weeks would be an excellent time for you to start building a shopping mall beneath your home, too, Taurus. If that’s too expensive or complicated, here are alternatives: 1. Revitalize your appreciation for your treasured possessions. 2. Acquire a new treasured possession or two that will inspire you to love your life even more than you already do. 3. Reacquaint yourself with the spiritual powers that your treasured possessions arouse in you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Dalai Lama says there are core similarities between science and Buddhism. Both keep searching for ever-more complete versions of the truth. Both employ firsthand observation and experimentation to do that noble work. If they find new information that contradicts previously held versions of the truth, both are willing to discard them. Now that you Geminis are entering the Deep Questioning Phase of your astrological cycle, I’d love you to make generous use of the Buddhist/Scientific approach. More complete versions of the truth will be available in abundance in the coming weeks – if you’re alert for them.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian artist A⁠rtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) achieved the impossible: She became a supremely skilled and renowned painter in an era when women had virtually no opportunities to become artists. Many aspects of her work distinguished her from other painters. For example, she depicted women as having strong, agile hands and arms. In Artemisia’s world, the power of women’s wrists, forearms, and fingers signifies their

14 n July 22, 2021

ability to put their mark upon the world, to accomplish strenuous practical tasks with grace and flair. If I were going to paint images of you in the coming weeks, I would also portray you as having strong, agile hands and arms. I suspect you’ll have potent agency to get things done – to adeptly manipulate the material world to serve your ideals. (Thoughts about Artemisia’s hands come from art historian Mary D. Garrard.)

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Once upon a time:” That’s your phrase of power these days. What do I mean by that? I’m suggesting that you will strengthen your problem-solving abilities by engaging in playful pretending for the sheer fun of it. I’m predicting that you will boost your confidence by dreaming up amusing magical stories in which you endure heroic tests and achieve epic feats.

And I’m proposing that you will fine-tune your ability to accomplish practical feats if you regard your robust imagination as crucial to your success.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Virgo singer-songwriter Fiona Apple says she’s not religious.

On the other hand, she regularly kneels on the ground and announces to whatever great power might be listening, “Thank you for my problems, and I send my love everywhere.” She’s sincere. She regards her sadness and her challenges as being equally important to her happiness and success. The difficulties teach her what she didn’t even realize she needed to know, and make her appreciate the good times more intensely. I suggest you borrow from her approach right now.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Nobel Prize-winning author Albert Camus wrote, “Great feelings bring with them their own universe” – which he said may either be degraded or splendid, selfish or generous. I love that he allowed for the possibility that great feelings could be positive and noble. So many renowned thinkers focus on negative and ignoble states of mind. In accordance with current astrological potentials, Libra, your task is to cultivate feelings that are splendid and generous. These sentiments should exalt you, uplift you, and empower you to spread transformative benevolence to those whose lives you touch.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “How can you hold on to something that won’t hold still?” asked Scorpio poet Benjamin Fondane. In general, you Scorpios have more talent than every other sign of the zodiac at doing just that: corralling wiggly, slippery things and making them work for you. And I expect this skill will be especially in play for you during the coming weeks. Your grasp on the elusive assets won’t ever be perfect, but it will be effective to accomplish small wonders.

telegraph

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Sagittarian Calvin Trillin is a witty writer with a good imagination and a flair for inventive language. But back in school, he confesses, “Math was always my bad subject. I couldn’t convince my teachers that many of my answers were meant ironically.” You Sagittarians are authorized by the cosmic powers-that-be to borrow your style and attitude from Trillin in the coming weeks. So you shouldn’t be fixated on mathematical precision and fastidious logic; your task is not to be conceptually impeccable and scrupulously sensible.

Rather, you have a license to be extra lyrical and lush and rhapsodic and humorous and irrepressible.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 2011, an eBay seller produced a 19th-century photo that he said proved Capricorn actor Nicholas Cage is a time-traveling vampire. Although the character in the image did indeed resemble the Oscar-winning star, he rejected the theory and emphatically declared that he is not a time-traveling vampire. Maybe that all sounds absurd, but I must tell you that you may soon have to deal with people’s equally inaccurate and off-kilter theories about you.

My advice: Don’t take it personally. Simply correct others’ misimpressions and rely solely on yourself for definitive ideas about who you are.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’ve assembled excerpts of love poems for your inspiration. Why? Because you’re entering the Intensified Intimacy Phase of your astrological cycle.

Consider using the following riffs as inspiration when you interact with loved ones. 1. “I profess the religion of love; it’s the belief, the faith I keep.” 2. “Holding your hand, I can hear your bones singing into mine and feel the moon as it rolls through you.” 3. “Raw light spills from your eyes, utterly naked, awakening an intoxicating shimmer of adventure.” 4. “I ask you please to speak to me forever.”

(Poem fragments are from Ibn ‘Arabi, AlSaddiq Al-Raddi, Herman Hesse, Sara Eliza Johnson, Alejandra Pizarnik.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): An Australian witch named Michelle Clinton praises the joys of a “moon garden.” It features flowers and plants that reveal their full beauty after dark. Among the flowers that bloom at night are evening primrose, angel’s trumpet, and Dutchman’s pipe cactus. As for the flowers whose aromas are most potent after the sun sets: night-blooming jasmine, garden heliotrope and honeysuckle. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will have resemblances to a moon garden in the near future, Pisces. Be alert for opportunities to glow and grow in the dark. (More: tinyurl.com/LunarGarden)

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 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 Want Loose Stones For your unique one-of-a-kind jewelry creation? Lanka Blue Jewelry has large inventory, at 701 Main Ave. 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 Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

Team UP AmeriCorps Serve SW Colorado’s kids & Communities. 2 positions include free housing!

Start 9/7. Living allowance, health insurance. teamup-swco.org/open-positions/ We’re Screwed!

After 17 years, the Telegraph’s esteemed advertising sales aficionado is moving on. If you’re interested in filling these sassy, go-getter shoes, we want to hear from you. Strong command of English language, broad knowledge of pop culture and darkish sense of humor a plus. Good hygiene and local knowledge also required. Great pay and fun times!

About 30 hrs/week. Commission + base pay. Send resume to: telegraph@duran gotelegraph.com Dietz Market is Hiring full-time, part-time and shipping!

Come join our team. Stop in or email resume to: info@dietzmarket.com Caregivers $20/hr Disabled man needs help with care.

Call Johnny, 970-749-2692.

Lost/Found Lost Silver Cannon Camera At Santa Rita Park. $100 reward. 559361-0007.

Classes/Workshops

Laundry Customer Service 1-2 very responsible, reliable, friendly, multi-tasking, self-directed team players with strong customer service skills are needed! Responsibilities include doing laundry, helping customers, cleaning, etc. ~20-40 hrs/wk. Training is provided. $12.50+/hr DOQ (plus wash/dry/fold commissions of roughly $1-$2+ per hour, tips and free personal laundry)! Nice facility, customers, co-workers, and owners!

Please apply in person at the College Plaza Laundry, 509 E. 8th Ave.

Want Loose Stones For your unique one-of-a-kind jewelry creation? Lanka Blue Jewelry has large inventory, at 701 Main Ave. Reruns Home Furnishings Great selection of yard furniture, yard art and garden pots. Mid-century cabinet.

Tall bar-style dining table, vintage desk, nightstands, lamps and side tables. Vintage Lane dresser, very cool vintage iron patio set with love seat and table. Come in today. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Wanted Rental House in Durango Wanted Retired couple seeks home for rent.

Ideal property has two bedrooms, two baths and a one car garage. One older, well-behaved cat. Please email lovnfly fishing922@gmail.com with available home info.

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

Services RSE Handyman Service Home repair - yard work - odd jobs, 970-903-0449.

HelpWanted Shuttle Driver Part-time shuttle driver needed for mountain bikers and backpackers on San Juan National Forest. Flexible schedule $25 per hour. Clean driving record. Email us at info@hermosatours.net.

ForSale

Friendly Carpentry and Painting Stucco repair, 707-806-3456.

Medicinal Mushroom Workshop Aug. 14 & 15 at Wild Cooperative Permaculture Demonstration & Educational Site, Crawford, CO. For more info or to register: https://www.osadha.com/rockymountain-mushrooms-medicine-nutrition/ Walks; medicine making; cooking; learn local edible, medicinal, and poisonous mushrooms. Camping available.

Summer Spanish Class Now accepting students for beginner thru advanced Spanish. Finally, in-person learning is back! Call 970-309-5966 or visit www.espanolahora.net

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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.

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.

HaikuMovieReview ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ This film wanted so badly to be ‘Kill Bill’ but was more ‘Dick Tracy’ – Lainie Maxson Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199. massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 18/19/20. Couples, cupping, local CBD. Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984

CommunityService Volunteers Needed With the reopening of the Durango/LaPlata County Senior Center, we are in need of volunteers. Volunteers are needed for all areas at the center; Meals on Wheels deliveries, Council on Aging Thrift Store and front desk reception. Contact Bernice Madril at 970-3826428 for further information.

Durango PlayFest Needs Volunteers Volunteers in a variety of capacities are needed for the festival, which takes place Aug. 3-8. Volunteers receive a T-shirt and a ticket to the play of their choice. If interested, email molly.mollymartin.mar tin@gmail.com.

Summer Downtown Art Market Seeks local artist to apply for booth space. Market takes place 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sundays, July 11-Sept. 5 at the 11th Street Station. If interested, contact Alyssia Alex with the Durango Creative District at alyssia@durangocreativedistrict.org.

Call for Artists for the 11th annual San Juan Mining & Reclamation Conference: Solving Pandora’s Box. The San Juan Mining and Reclamation Conference is looking for artists to add to and expand on the conversation surrounding mining and reclamation. Selected artists will receive compensation of $250 or more. Submission deadline: July 9. Conference takes place Sept. 22-24 in Telluride. For more info., go to: www.mountain studies .org/sjmrc July 22, 2021 n 15

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