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What’s really driving Durango’s “Next Steps” debate by Jonathan Thompson / The Land Desk On the cover A mountain biker tries to dodge the cow pies and the cows near Purgatory last weekend./ Photo by Lindsey Nicholson
Ear to the ground:
“It’s kind of like the modern equivalent of walking into a room and forgetting what you went in there for.”
– We’ve all been there: you go to text someone and next thing you know, you’ve lost an hour of your life to mindless reels
Leefapalooza
The gold rush is on, but not in the way you might think. Apparently, every Coloradan and their dog(s) flocked to the mountains last weekend to gawk at Mother Nature’s autumn splendor. And while those of us in the San Juans might have experienced minor frustration over parking at the trail head, the Front Range was a whole different sort of peeping pandemonium.
According to the Denver Post, hordes of leaf oglers parked illegally on mountain roads east of Denver caused hours of backedup traffic and poor driving conditions, frustrating everyone from mountain residents and law enforcement to the leaf-peepers themselves.
“(Guanella Pass) is beautiful, it’s gorgeous, stunning. If you park on the side of the road where there is not room to park, I hope you stub your toe really hard,” TikTok user Laura Von Sonnenschein said in a video posted Sunday. “You are robbing us of autumn joy because you have turned Guanella Pass into an undrivable, one-lane road.”
In the video’s caption, Von Sonnenschein called the drivers a “buncha ding dongs,” which we think is putting it nicely.
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The video shows slow and unmoving traffic as drivers attempt to squeeze past each other on the narrow two-lane road.
“If you want to save three hours of your life waiting in traffic, avoid visiting Guanella Pass,” Dawn Wilson said Sunday on Facebook. “Several areas of the road are gridlocked … Colors looked great, though.”
Another FB post summed up the scene succinctly: “Tried Guanella pass this morning at 9 a.m. … complete sh*t show!” Meanwhile, down in the relatively quieter San Juans, there’s still time to peep. Here’s a list of updated leaf conditions from the San Juan National Forest as of Wed., Oct. 2:
• Durango to Purg: Partial to Near Peak
• Purgatory to Coal Bank: Peak
• Coal Bank to Molas Pass: Peak
• Molas to Silverton: Slightly Past Peak
• Silverton: Slightly Past Peak (but still gorgeous!)
• Silverton to Red Mtn Pass: Peak
• Red Mtn to Ouray: Peak
• Ouray to Telluride: Near Peak
• Lizard Head to Telluride: Peak
• Rico to Lizard Head: Peak
• Dolores to Rico: Partial to Peak
• Missionary Ridge: Near Peak
• La Plata Canyon: Partial to Near Peak
opinion
LaVidaLocal
Freedom, sweet freedom
& in the beginning there’s the word, & the word is known as FREEDOM & that’s the first thing you hear screaming through the speakers when you press play on Regional Justice Center’s new album which is titled Freedom, Sweet Freedom, which holds weighted meaning today because the band started in 2016 after the drummer’s 18-year-old brother was incarcerated, in fact the band’s name refers to the jail where his brother was locked up & so from the beginning, the powerviolence punk band has been an outlet for Ian Shelton, drummer/vocalist of RJC, to reflect on his brother’s incarceration but the band is also an outlet for his brother, Max Hellesto, because you see even while Max was behind bars, he would speak to Ian from a prison phone & excerpts of those phone calls would be included on early albums & it was a way for Max to be a part of the project, it was a way for the brothers to be together again, it was a way to offer freedom & dignity to a locked-up soul & that brings us to the present with this new album because in 2022, Max was finally released & Freedom, Sweet Freedom features Max on vocals & on the first track you can hear him bellow out the word FREEDOM with heart & soul & what I hear in his guttural scream is the way FREEDOM is pronounced like a statement but also a question because Max has had two years to process being free & he’s still working through what it means to be free in a country that constantly criminalizes & punishes & murders more than it nurtures, I mean Max Hellesto’s voice is a tornado that thrashes & mangles any punctuation standing in the way
though those two witnesses kept changing their stories several times before trial & even though the victim’s family pleaded to let Williams’ life be spared & even though the prosecutor’s office that put Williams on trial filed a motion in January to vacate his conviction, the state of Missouri still executed Marcellus Williams by injection of a chemical known to cause extreme pain & suffering
& the album is only 13 minutes long, meaning the 12 songs each clock in around a minute, meaning I keep listening to this album letting each pummeling second throw punches at my heart, I mean the buzzsaw guitars & blasting drums sound like they are tearing down prison walls, I mean that’s the sound of freedom & I need that sound because days after the album came out, the state of Missouri executed a Black man named Marcellus Williams & Williams spent 25 years behind bars for a murder someone committed in 1998 & Williams spent those 25 years trying to prove his innocence & even though the state admitted evidence used against Williams was mishandled by a botched police investigation & even though the two witnesses against Williams were known liars & even
Thumbin’It
The EPA awarded a $4.9 million grant to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to cut greenhouse gas emissions from tribal natural gas sources by 29%.
Jimmy Carter reached a milestone this week with much fanfare, becoming the first U.S. president to reach 100. In hospice, Carter said his goal is to hang on till Oct. 15, so he can vote in the presidential election for Kamala Harris.
OK, so we know it hasn’t exactly been the best fall in some parts of the country, but it sure has been pretty darn nice here in SWCO the past few weeks. Screw work – anyone wanna go for a hike?
& in the days leading up to Williams’ execution, I saw a statement online that said: “Marcellus Williams could be any of us/ Marcellus Williams is all of us” & I feel those words because I too have done time & I know what it’s like when your fate is in someone else’s hands, I mean when I was young, it was easy for cops & white folks to already assume I was a criminal simply for existing while brown & since my fate already seemed pre-determined, I stopped caring & I got in trouble, each incident worse than the previous & like Max from RJC, I faced serious time at 19 but I jumped through all the hoops of probation & somehow I made it through, but even then I still carried shame & self-loathing from the whole experience, I questioned being alive & found the answer in being numb & for years I had no will to write poetry, what I’m saying is Marcellus Williams stared death in the face behind bars & wrote poetry that will outlive empires, in other words: How innocent do you have to be to avoid being executed? What I’m saying is Max Hellesto picked up the pen & microphone & started screaming his existence back into the world & I know how Max from RJC feels when he screams FREEDOM in that agonized, bittersweet way because it’s hard to feel free again when you’ve witnessed the other side
& I still wonder what my life would have looked like if random mercy didn’t kiss my forehead back then, how much further down the pipeline would I have gone? & so I have empathy for relatives like Marcellus Williams because he may have been more innocent than me but nonetheless the people behind bars & on the margins deserve grace & dignity & like Max from Regional Justice Center, they deserve to shed the chains & step back into this beautiful messy world pronouncing FREEDOM at all volumes, figuring out how to survive better & rest in power, Marcellus Williams who could have been any of us, rest in power, Marcellus Williams whose last words were: All praise be to Allah in every situation… – Kirbie Bennett
The death and destruction toll continues to rise in the wake of Helene. Seems like now, with increasing storm severity, would be a really bad time to follow Project 2025’s idea to gut NOAA and “disband” its climate change research arm.
Original Durango badass Mike Elliott died at the age of 82 this week. Not only was he a three-time Winter Olympian in cross-country skiing, but he also won the first Iron Horse Classic in 1972.
Organizations that help pay abortion costs for women are being forced to scale back how much they can give as demand and travel costs for care rise and the wave of “rage giving” fueled by the overturning of Roe v Wade has subsided.
The Mootrix Sad cows don’t make much milk, and Russian cows are notoriously sad for obvious reasons. So, a few years ago, a Russian dairy farmer strapped virtual reality headsets on his cows to make them think they were in open pastures, and milk production went up 20%. A Russian tech company caught wind of the innovation and produced a larger headset designed specifically for cows, and now that feed prices are skyrocketing globally just like everything else, international dairy farmers are importing the tech to boost revenue. But fortunately for us humans, the obvious bad guys in this story, cows are color blind, so they’ll never choose the red pill and learn Kungfu.
WritersontheRange
Dam’ed if they don’t
Lake Powell operators can no longer turn blind eye to dead pool
by Zak Podmore
In 1998, when I was in fourth grade, I joined a class field trip to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. But when we got to Cortez, the road was barricaded. Hours earlier, three men had stolen a water-tanker truck and killed a police officer before fleeing into the desert.
In his book “Dead Run,” writer Dan Schultz makes the case that the criminals were inspired by Edward Abbey’s 1975 novel, “The Monkey Wrench Gang.” The men were survivalists planning to turn the water truck into a mobile bomb, Schultz says. Their probable goal: To pack the tanker truck with explosives and blow up Glen Canyon Dam.
Back then, the idea of draining Lake Powell was a fringe idea, attractive to anti-government extremists and radical environmentalists. Those who advocated a legal decommissioning of the Glen Canyon Dam, including supporters of the Glen Canyon Institute in Salt Lake City, were often laughed out of the room
In those years, the dam was working as intended. Lake Powell was nearly full in the late ’90s. Hydropower production was going full tilt, and millions of people were visiting the reservoir annually to fish, houseboat and water ski.
But since the year 2000, Lake Powell has been in decline. Climate change has reduced runoff throughout the Colorado River Basin by around 20% compared to the previous century. In 2022, the reservoir – the second-largest in the country after Lake Mead – was less than a quarter full.
Nearly every boat ramp on Lake Powell was unusable last spring, and there was barely enough water to sustain hydroelectric generation. One more bad snow year would have pushed the Colorado River system to the brink of collapse, dropping the reservoir’s surface toward the lowest outlets on Glen Canyon Dam – a point known as “dead pool.”
At dead pool, the 27 million people who rely on Colorado River water downstream from the dam would likely be forced to reduce water use quickly and involuntarily.
But Lake Powell would still stretch 100 miles up-
stream into Glen Canyon at dead pool.
That’s because there is a significant design flaw in the dam: There is no drain at the bottom. Billions of gallons of water would be trapped in the dead-pool reservoir with no easy way to release them into the Grand Canyon.
Luckily, that catastrophic scenario didn’t play out in
2023 thanks to a near-record snow year that brought Lake Powell to around 40% full. After another decent runoff this spring, the reservoir level held steady.
Twenty-four years of low levels in Lake Powell haven’t been all bad, either. Over 100,000 acres of land that were once flooded had been exposed by early 2023, including countless cultural sites sacred to Indigenous people. Along Glen Canyon’s tributaries, whole ecosystems have sprung back to life, biologically diverse and dominated by native species. Ecologists have been surprised by just how healthy the reemerging landscape is, despite spending decades underwater.
The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying potential modifications to the Glen Canyon Dam, including the drilling of tunnels at or near river level that would allow Lake Powell to be emptied if necessary. Until those modifications are made, however, the potential for a crisis – caused in part by the current dam design – remains as real as ever. Two back-to-back years of severe drought, such as we’ve seen several times since 2000, would halt hydropower production at the dam and bring us dangerously close to dead pool.
Allowing the Colorado River to flow freely through Glen Canyon was a radical idea in the 1990s, but the opposite is true today. Climate change and steady water demand in the Southwest have shown us that Glen Canyon Dam, instead of being a boon to water users, is part of the problem. Modifying the dam would give water managers greater flexibility in dry years, and it would allow Glen Canyon to continue its ecological rebirth. Since dam modifications would likely take several years to complete, there is no time to waste.
The extremists today are those who deny climate change, assuming that Lake Powell will refill again soon. In a rapidly warming world, business as usual should be treated as the fringe position. Zak Podmore is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively debate about Western issues. He is a Utahbased journalist and the author of “Life After Dead Pool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River,” published by Torrey House Press in August. ■
A side canyon in Glen Canyon that has reemerged with the receding waters of Lake Powell./ Courtesy photo
Women lose freedoms, maybe even lives
Warning! Two candidates for our Colorado Assembly have stated they will ignore 51% of their constituency, the women and girls of HD59 and SD6. They are elderly males. They are Clark Craig and Cleave Simpson.
Craig states he is happy that Roe was reversed, and Simpson adds that “The State” decides. Women losing freedoms? No big deal, but the future? Their views default to, “I’m fine that women and girls had this freedom taken from them.”
Emergency room physicians know best how to treat crashing blood pressure with critical hypoxic hematocrits of six instead of a healthier 13. But now, physicians go to prison for quick, lifesaving action. You know that saying, “white as a ghost and cold as ice?” That was my 26-year-old hemorrhaging patient with a lethal miscarriage.
We got her into surgery immediately, hung three units of blood in the rapid infuser. No time to judge if it was rape or incest. We not only saved her life, but we saved her uterus, too. We wanted her to live to be a new mother someday.
That’s how we do it in Colorado, but not in Texas, Oklahoma or 39 other states as of today.
I fear things could get much worse. Will Craig and Simpson be happy if “The State” bans mifepristone or birth control?
I’ll be voting for Katie Stewart and Vivian Smotherman for HD59 and SD6, because they resist forced pregnancy and will protect all women and girls of SW Colorado.
– Barbara Day, Durango
Deport farm labor, and we all will pay
Trump wants to deport 11 million people if elected. He says undocumented migrants are taking jobs away and are not good for America. Well, half of the farm workers in America are undocumented. Texas and Nevada have more than any other state.
Labor-intensive fruits and veggies harvested would be most affected by this deportation. So don’t complain when they go up in price, if you can get any people to even pick them.
Milk will be two times higher without an immigrant workforce (National
Milk Producers.) One in five undocumented workers are employed in construction. Joshua Correa, a builder in Dallas, says a home will cost $40$50,000 more on a $300,000 home. Some 350,000 immigrants work in the health care field, and 160,000 clean homes. Unauthorized workers pay $13
billion into Social Security, $35 billion in federal tax and $13 billion in state tax. Yet, they get no Social Security. We need to hire more people to get them citizenship. If you were them, you would want to live in America. And good luck finding someone to pick your food. – Bob Battani, Durango
Taking a dive into Project 2025
We’re hearing a lot about Project 2025, but what is it? It is an 887-page recommendation of policy changes for a conservative president based on the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate for Leadership program, which has been issued every four years since 1980. The Foundation said former President Trump implemented 67% of their recommendations in his first year.
Here are 25 key points I’ve collected from many sources, including both pro and con meetings, media and reading through it. See how they may affect you.
The project proposes to:
• Disassemble the Department of Education, ending all federal financial support for public schools and all Title I programs for low-income students.
• Shift the tax burden from the wealthy onto the middle class. If you make more than $10 million annually in Colorado, you’ll see a tax cut of $1.5 million; if not, a typical family of four will pay about $2,776 more.
• Cut Social Security by raising the retirement age from 67 to 69 and cut benefits for those receiving it.
• Limit or add a lifetime cap on Medicaid benefits, affecting low-income and disabled residents.
• Raise the cost of prescription drugs by eliminating out-of-pocket Medicare drug costs and limiting the government from negotiating lower prices.
• Eliminate some emergency contraception medications from free preventative care requirements.
• Instruct the Department of Justice to misapply the Comstock Act, a pair of laws from 1873 and 1909, to criminalize the mailing of abortion medication, even where abortion is legal.
Another 1st Place Win!
• Charge the DOJ to take legal action against officials who refuse to bring cases against women and doctors who violate state abortion bans.
• Eliminate Head Start, which provides access to nocost childcare for low-income families. In Colorado, one in five daycare spots will be lost.
• Replace income- and family-size driven student loan repayment plans with a one-size-fits-all program that will increase payments for all borrowers. Payments may increase by $2,700 to $4,100 each year.
• Remove health care protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
• Allow employers to deny workers access to birth control through insurance.
• Persecute LGBTQ+ Americans by removing all federal protections in employment and marriage.
• Allow the government to monitor pregnancies for miscarriages and penalize states that don’t submit data on how many abortions take place within their borders.
• Tax employer-paid health insurance.
• Instruct the Department of Labor to focus health and safety inspections on only certain offenders, usurping state and local government prerogatives. It would also amend hazard-order regulations, allowing children to work “dangerous jobs” in “dangerous fields.”
• Eliminate overtime pay by allowing employers to average workers’ time over a longer period.
• Eliminate public sector unions and collective bargaining rights.
• Fire all civil servants and give the president the power to hire, bypassing Congress.
• Center power in the executive branch to crack down on political dissent, using the Insurrection Act
to quash all protests.
• Allow for widespread firing of librarians and educators who teach or lend certain books.
• Ban all universal school meals, because the federal program is an “entitlement program.”
• Shift to a more nationalistic and America-first approach, away from being global citizens.
• Encourage the rollback of environmental concerns affecting public health and climate change.
Of note, this report mentions restrictions on women 101 times, and fewer than 20 on men.
And there’s more … .
– Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango
An ode to autumn
Golden crowned ridgelines
Ablaze with Autumn colors
Luckily no smoke
“We’ll
print damn near anything”
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– Karen Carver
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TheLandDesk
Theory of evolution
On historic preservation, cars and Durango’s main drag redesign
by Jonathan Thompson
It has been with some dismay that I’ve read about people stridently opposing Durango’s proposal to make its downtown safer and more pleasant for pedestrians. It’s baffling that such a benign plan – which at its core is widening the sidewalks in places – could generate such vitriol and even fear.
The opponents give all sorts of reasons (I’ll get to those in a minute). But ultimately, the pushback seems to be sparked by a deeply held fear that the automobile’s supremacy will be diminished, as well as an almost primal fear of change. And that is what makes wider sidewalks a universal battle that plays out in many forms across the West.
The proposed redesign would stretch nine blocks along Durango’s Main Avenue. Historically, this was the city’s central business district, lined with hotels, restaurants, bars, banks, gas stations and even a couple department stores. Up until the 1970s it was also the main artery going through town. Travelers wanting to go from, say, Silverton to Farmington would drive down Main Avenue, turn left on 6th Street (now College Drive), and then turn right onto 8th Avenue and State Highway 3.
In the ’60s, Camino del Rio, aka the “Truck Bypass,” was built, routing traffic around downtown, and later the High Bridge was built, firmly establishing Camino del Rio as Durango’s main through-artery. The downtown segment of Main Avenue gradually shed its role as a thoroughfare, the hardware stores and such shifted over to Camino del Rio and, ultimately, out to the big box-land south of town.
But Main Avenue did not shed its thoroughfare design. Which is to say it looks like downtown Delta or Montrose, both of which have major highways running through them. Up until several years ago, there were six lanes for cars: two for parking and four for driving. That now has been reduced to five lanes, with wider parking areas, two driving lanes, and a middle turn/delivery truck lane. That’s an improvement, but still, it’s five lanes on a street that is not a throughway.
Durango’s Main Avenue in 1978, when it was still used as a thoroughfare. Note the lack of trees along the sidewalks and the six lanes for cars (two for parking and four for driving). Though the businesses have mostly changed and the mid-century signs have disappeared, it still looks pretty similar and the street is still very wide.
So, for more than four decades, residents, business owners and city leaders have worked to make Main Avenue look and feel less like a major highway and more like a business district. In fact, in the early 1980s my father, who was on the City Council, floated the idea of closing a block or two off to cars and converting them into a pedestrian mall. It was shot down, in part because people still thought of Main Avenue as a thoroughfare. And besides, it would totally disrupt the teenagers who liked to cruise Main. More incremental, less disruptive efforts continued, however, some taking hold (such as planting trees), some not.
When COVID hit, and indoor dining became a no-no, the weakness of rel-
atively narrow sidewalks was driven home. There was simply not enough room for restaurants to put tables out front, meaning if they didn’t have a patio in back, they were out of luck. The temporary “bump-outs,” which allowed businesses to put patios in the parking zone, were a hit, and gave a push to long-simmering efforts to redesign Main. That, along with at least three pedestrians being hit by cars, has led to the current “Next Step” proposal that’s stirring up so much ire.
Downtown’s Next Step preferred concept (which is preliminary) would widen the sidewalks with bump-outs near intersections and in the middle of the block on some segments. It would in-
clude pedestrian crossing “bulbs” on all corners, and there would be a lot more trees along the sidewalks. And that’s really about it. Every block would still have segments with five lanes for cars, and the delivery/turn lane would remain, meaning there are no segments with fewer than three lanes for cars.
It doesn’t sound that scary to me. But some folks think it would destroy life in Durango. Let’s go through a few of the reasons for opposition:
• The main gripe is with the net loss of parking spaces along Main Ave. Some even imply visitors will go somewhere else if they can’t park directly in front of a specific business.
• Others worry fire trucks or large de-
livery vehicles won’t be able to navigate around the pedestrian bulbs, and the bulbs will put delivery truck operators at greater risk of being hit by a car.
• One letter to the editor writer asked: “Wider sidewalks, why? They will steer shoppers away from businesses.”
• And then there is the claim that it would diminish the historical character of downtown and even “destroy the integrity of this special place,” as one person put it.
I’ll take these one by one:
• There are currently 1,641 public parking spaces within a five-minute walk of downtown Durango, according to the city. Surveys by the city, along with my own observations, have found that even during the busiest times, there are ample vacant spaces – from 10% to 50% or more – within a couple blocks of Main. The Next Step would eliminate 47 of those spaces, or about 3%, which is about the same that were lost during the COVID bump-outs. It will not, by any stretch, cause a parking shortage. It will mean fewer people jamming up traffic while trying to parallel park on Main, but is that really a bad thing?
• The city says it tested fire trucks on the concept and found that the bulbs could, in fact, be navigated.
• The main danger to delivery truck drivers who park on Main is being hit by a passing car. Narrowing the road will actually slow traffic, reducing danger, not increasing it.
• I don’t think I need to respond to the “wider sidewalks steer folks away from businesses” argument. Come on!
• And, finally, we get to the historical character argument. In a letter to the Durango Herald, Sidny Zink, speaking on behalf of the La Plata County Historical Society, decried Next Step’s potential to destroy Durango’s integrity and jeopardize downtown Durango’s status as a nationally registered Historic District. “It is the intent of the Registry that the Historic District be preserved with the streetscape of the period of the 1880s and ’90s.”
This is where the less restrained would make some snarky comment about there being no cars back in the 1880s, so really we’d need to tear up the asphalt, ban automobiles and bring back the streetcar that ran down the middle of the avenue. Or maybe whether “preserving the streetscape” includes restoring the manure that piled up in the gutters. And what about the thick cloud of coal smoke from homes and the smelter that coated all the buildings with grime and reduced visibility?
But, I’m not like that. So I went back and found the 1980 document nominat-
ing the Main Avenue Historic District for the registry. It says the district consists of “104 commercial buildings that collectively reflect the late 19th and early 20th century history and architecture.” Eighty-six of those buildings contribute to the historic integrity, it said, and of those, nine were particularly important.
Nowhere does the document mention streets, parking spaces, sidewalks or streetscapes. That’s because trying to preserve the historical integrity of a streetscape by banning alterations to sidewalks or parking spots is as absurd as depriving the Strater Hotel (one of the nine important buildings) of indoor plumbing in order to maintain its 1880s character. In fact, it didn’t even apply to signs: The same City Council that pushed for the registry listing also passed a strict sign code that phased out all of the gaudy, if historic, signs in town.
Historical preservation is not freezing something in time. Nor is inclusion on a historic register meant to block or prevent change or evolution. And yet, this is exactly what opponents are trying to do. I was born in Durango 54 years ago and in the ensuing decades have seen a lot of changes, some good, some not so much. Looking through the historic district nomination and the list of structures and businesses in them in 1980, really drives this home. It’s like a deluxe version of the Used-to-Be Game – while most of the buildings remain, only a handful of the establishments have survived.
There’s no more Treasure Tunnel or Francisco’s. The Galloping Goose and the Gold Slipper are gone, as are Alpine Sports, Farquahrts, Woolworths, the Warm Flow (a hippy restaurant with an unappetizing name), Pacesetters, Johnson Jewelry, The Tannery, Landis Shoe Store, Ski Fritz Sports, Mr. Rosewaters, Cat & the Fiddle, Lost Pelican, French Hardware, New York Bakery, JCPenney, Hogans, Coast-to-Coast, Panhandler Pies, Peterson Office Supply, Penningtons, Model Tire Store, Stuart’s… and I could go on.
Reading this list makes me a bit sad, because it reminds me of my childhood and how far behind me it is, and it also reminds me how much has changed in my hometown. Most of the functional, practical stores – places to get a pair of Levis, a new suit or your shoes repaired – have vanished, replaced by big boxes out on the fringe, real estate offices, tourist shops and upscale eateries. The 1980s-era character has changed dramatically (as can be expected), even as the architecture and the “streetscape”
has remained relatively unchanged.
When Durango old-timers push back on progressive initiatives like the Next Step or the town acquiring open space, establishing new parks, building boat ramps or extending the Animas River Trail, I don’t think they’re actually worried about historical integrity. They are actually afraid of another kind of change, one that’s more fundamental and cultural. And to some degree, the fear is justified: If you do things to improve quality of life, it’s going to make that place more appealing to non-residents, who will then move in, buy property and drive up prices. That, in turn, will push out the less wealthy people and the less profitable businesses. Newcomers will make their own “improvements,” leading to a sort of gentrification feedback loop.
That sucks. But you’re not going to stop it by trying to lock downtown into place. A community can’t block these sorts of changes, and attempting to do so by shooting down quality-of-life initiatives is futile. A community has to accept the changes while mitigating their negative effects, which can be done by expanding public transit, improving pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure (to render those parking spaces obsolete), building affordable housing, buying lo-
cally, supporting the arts and raising wages.
Durangotans can lament the changes, while also celebrating them. They can enjoy the Animas River Trail and all the great singletrack and tasty new restaurants, even though they may have contributed indirectly to the breakneck growth and housing crisis. They can take heart in the fact that some of those downtown businesses survive and even thrive: Gardenswartz, Maria’s Bookshop and Mountain Bike Specialists, to name a few. You can still get a haircut at Tucson’s, a beer at the El Rancho and some green chile at the Diner. And if the Next Step ever happens, you can even enjoy those things out on one of the bump-outs.
In the 1980 national register nomination form, the author wrote: “The Main Avenue Historic District in Durango is significant because it represents the essence and core of both the evolution and development of business and commerce in the most important town in Southwestern Colorado.” The key word? Evolution.
The Land Desk is a newsletter from Jonathan P. Thompson, author of “River of Lost Souls,” “Behind the Slickrock Curtain” and “Sagebrush Empire.” To subscribe, go to: www.landdesk.org ■
BetweentheBeats
Rocktober in Durango
Hopping month includes Calexico, BoomBox and African beats
by Stephen Sellers
Greetings, dear readers! Happy fall to you all! May the amber and iridescent leaves flow gently on your path. Here’s a list of 10 must-see shows for October. The Animas City Theatre is packed with an incredible lineup, while iAM Music, Stillwater and the Community Concert Hall continue to bring high-profile international, national and local acts into the mix. Be sure to check their calendars online, and keep an eye on the Union Social House, 11th St. Station and the Diamond Belle for your dose of local musicians. Be a baddie, and go buy a ticket for yourself and a friend to help keep our music scene alive and thriving! See you on the dance floor!
• Ezra Bell, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 3, 7 p.m.Calling all Americana enthusiasts! Ezra Bell stops in Durango for a night of intricate harmonies, dynamic instrumentation and beautiful melodies that create an indie rock-leaning yet timeless sound. Joining them is Chicago’s very own LowDown Brass Band. If you dig the sounds of New Orleans-style jazz bands like Galactic and Rebirth, this band is surely already on your radar, having opened for both multiple times.
• Space Travelers Union, Indigo Room at iAM Music, Oct. 4, 8 p.m. - Space Travelers Union blurs the line between space rock and jazz – the perfect band for you to blast off with at the intimate Indigo Room. Expect tight grooves, extended jams and psychedelic space sounds.
• Showman and Coole, Jimmy’s Music, Oct. 9, 6 p.m. - Jimmy’s continues to offer intimate shows. Showman and Coole, the Canadian duo of John Showman (fiddle) and Chris Coole (banjo), blend old-time, bluegrass and folk. The duo has played together for more than 20 years. Their unique roots-driven style draws heavily from influences like John Hartford, Hank Williams and The Band, alongside traditional fiddle by legends like Eck Robertson and Ed Haley.
• Desiderata and Yope, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 11, 8 p.m. - Durango’s hottest indie rock band, Desiderata, is slated for their first headlining show at the Animas City Theatre with direct support from local prog-rockers Yope. If you haven’t heard Desiderata’s chanteuse Autumn Ford strut her stuff, this is the time to buy tickets and prepare to be amazed!
• OTT, Bloomurian, DJ I-Gene, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 13, 8 p.m. - Psychedelic dub, downtempo and ambient mastermind OTT returns to the Animas City Theatre for what will surely be a sold-out night of heady, bass-laden vibes. Get ready for a night of ethereal, spiritual and psychedelic sounds. Of special note is local DJ I-Gene opening the show with two turntables and a stack of vinyl sure to set the mood.
• BoomBox, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 16-17, 8 p.m. - One of my greatest musical joys in 2023 was seeing BoomBox at the ACT, and they are back for a two-night run. While some might call their sound “jamtronica,” the duo is better described as combining electronic and organic rock elements. You might hear a few special Grateful Dead remixes, or maybe not. One thing is for sure: these guys bring a partyready vibe from the moment they hit the stage. Don’t sleep on this – it will sell out both nights!
BoomBox, aka singer-songwriter Zion Godchaux and producer Russ Randolph
• Bongeziwe Mabandla Trio, Blessing Bled Chimanga, Durango Arts Center, Oct. 19, 7 p.m. - I love music from the African diaspora, so this is my must-see show of the month. Big shout out to iAM Music for bringing high quality music from around the world. This opportunity is just too good to miss. Expect a night of intimate, soulful folk sounds with touches of electronic music production via synthesizers and drum loops, with lyrics sung in Xhosa.
• Calexico, Community Concert Hall at FLC, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. - It’s officially desert season, and what better way to kick off all things dusty and mystical than with a performance by indie rock darlings Calexico at our most high-profile venue? Calexico’s sound incorporates a myriad of desert-inspired rhythms and melodies, creating a vast, cinematic landscape of high-lonesome sounds.
• Stillhouse Junkies, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 2526, 7 p.m. - Durango’s beloved Stillhouse Junkies return to the Animas City Theatre for their annual two-night run. The Junkies have added two new players to the lineup and are looking to kick things into high gear with their unique blend of bluegrass-inspired, roots-driven sound. Fresh off a stop at the IBMA in Raleigh, N.C., the Junkies are well overdue for what will surely be a sold-out homecoming featuring Pretend Friend on night one and Mamma’s Marmalade on night two!
• BabyDel & Red, Animas City Theatre, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. - Looking for a proper Halloween dance party? BabyDel has officially taken the reins from beloved artists like Posh Josh and Soul Atomic as the de facto Animas City Theatre dance party programmer, turning the ACT into the place to be whenever she performs. This time, she invites upcoming underground favorites Red to join her for what will surely be a night of big bass, house and techno. Where are the afters gonna be? ■
MurderInk
A Gentleman and a Thief
Diamonds are a man’s best friend in true story of jazz-age rogue
by Jeffrey Mannix
“AGentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue,” written by Dean Jobb and published by Algonquin Books in Chapel Hill, N.C., is billed as narrative nonfiction. It’s hard to decipher what narrative nonfiction means, but it’s safe to assume from the title that this book is forensic reporting in an anecdotal form. New to me, and probably new to readers of crime fiction.
We’ll let that simmer for a moment while we probe the possibilities of documenting crime of whatever nature by taking the facts of the exploit itself and writing something like a movie script. Actually, fictionalized murder, thievery or espionage cannot possibly be as finely drawn as the forensics of the real crime it depicts. So I volunteered to give “A Gentleman and a Thief” an evening read to find out if this should be brought to “Murder Ink” readers.
The title is certainly seductive, and Algonquin Books has a history of taking gainful flings on offbeat subjects, with current otré titles like “Inciting Joy,” “The Healing Season of Pottery” and “The Museum of Failures.” So there’s a level of trust we can have in Algonquin, and by association with Robb, to paste together good drama from the fumes of police reports and veiled witness testimony.
“A Gentleman and a Thief” is a pricy hardcover of 331 pages comprising eight delineated sections, 37 detailed heists performed by the most modest, charming and famous second-story burglar that ever lived. And if you’re skeptical of the verisimilitude of these exploits, 100 pages of endnotes sourcing every last piece of investigation, evidence, sensational news article and testimony follows the story.
“A Gentleman and a Thief” is a treasure trove of Promethean daring from a man who was, in almost every case of missing heirloom jewelry, an invited and esteemed guest before and even after heists of irreplaceable diamonds.
A charming and unflappable thief to the end, Arthur Barry was a man we would all like as an uncle or even a partner. A man of enormous courage, poise and even compassion, he would work the townhomes of Manhattan, trendy mansions of Long Island and avant-garde homes of Westchester County in the 1920s.
He’d arrive at night, make cer tain the family was asleep, borrow a ladder from somewhere, climb up to the master bedroom he had reconnoitered at a dinner party and quietly search the obvious places where the matriarch would keep her jewelry. He’d then climb back down the lad der, which he returned, and fence the irreplaceable jewels the next day in Manhattan. He grew rich.
It would be senseless to de scribe all of Barry’s capers, but in Jobb’s endnotes is a list of all his preeminent heists, including the value of the jewels stolen. You will know some of the victim’s names: Edwina and Louis Montbatten, cousin of the Prince of Wales, waking to find $170,000 of jewelry missing (worth millions in today’s valuation); Jessie Woolworth and hus band, James Donahue, missing $700,000 of diamonds the morning after a lovely dinner party; Isabel and Percy Rockefeller, nephew of John D. Rockefeller, missing $25,000 of jewelry.
awoke. She approached Barry after just climbing out the window and asked if he would please leave behind the diamond necklace that had been bequeathed to her from a great grandmother and meant the world to her. He gave the necklace back, wished her goodnight and forfeited $50,000 in a gesture from the heart.
On one midnight heist in a dark bedroom with sleeping owners, Barry quickly found the stash of jewelry, and on his way to exit, the woman of the house
“A Gentleman and a Thief” is a book of amazing interest. The research alone is worth the price of the book, but the writing of such an incredible story in Jobb’s dramatic narrative is spellbinding and highly recommended for the studious reader.
Before I leave, and speaking of unvarnished true crime, I have been waiting for months to make a quick introduction to what certainly must be the most elaborate and gifted designed compendium of true crime the publishing industry hasn’t before seen. Thames & Hudson has published two books of illustrated murder maps for the collector of true crime murders. The first is titled “Murder Maps USA: Crime Scenes Revisited, Spanning 1865 - 1939.” The second is “Murder Maps: Crime Scenes Revisited throughout the world from 1811-1911,” including the introduction of phrenology and fingerprinting. There’s nothing more I can say about these prestigious offerings except that they are collectable treasures, with true Smyth signature stitched bindings, embossed boards and no price printed anywhere within. If you’re a collector of fine books and a fan of true crime and/or crime fiction, you will find treasures at Thames & Hudson. ■
Thursday03
Recovery Yoga, free class series, 4:30-5:45 p.m., Oct. 3-Nov. 21, Smiley Building. Registration at innerpeaceyogatherapy.com
Ska-B-Q with music by Pete Guiliani, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Trivia Night, 5-7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.
Gary Watkins performs, 6-9 p.m., Cliffside Bar and Grill at Tamarron
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Adam Swanson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Raven Narratives live storytelling, “friendship” theme, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center
“The Thanksgiving Play,” presented by FLC Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Also takes place Oct. 10-12
Dead Floyd in concert, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.
Sunday06
Aztec Highland Games, Riverside Park, Aztec
Ranger led tour of Yucca House, 9 a.m., Mesa Verde National Park. Register at 970-529-5037.
Irish Jam Session, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.
Merely Players presents “The Book of Will, a Sparkling Ode to Shakespeare,” 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.
Board Game Sundays, 2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
FLC Symphonic Band performs, 3 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC
Weekly Peace Vigil & Rally for Gaza & Palestine, every Sunday, 4 p.m., Buckley Park.
Live music by the Blue Moon Ramblers, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Monday07
Meditation and Dharma Talk, weekly, 5:30 p.m., in person at Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave., Ste. 109, or at durangodharmacenter.org/
Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond
AskRachel Creepy veep, wrung out and exercising restraint
Interesting fact: The first washing machine was invented in the 1760s, and I’m pretty sure you can still get a dinged one at Home Depot if you know who to ask.
Dear Rachel,
Are we seriously going to keep talking about how avocado toast is keeping millennials from accomplishing anything? We’re all 40 or damn close. If I stashed $10 every day for the last 20 years, instead of eating some mythical avocado toast, I still wouldn’t have my student loans paid off let alone a 401k or a Durango mortgage. What are we gonna say to blame Gen Z and Gen Alpha for being blocked out of a good life?
– Gen Broke
Dear Avocadon’t,
I don’t know that WE are still talking about that. I wonder if some vice presidential candidate said something else stupid that you’re referencing. I would believe that. Because it’s already apparent a certain candidate has an issue with eggs, as evidenced by how forcibly his children worry about them. Maybe, instead of blaming an entire older generation, the younger gens will just blame that veep candidate for everything screwy.
– Getting toasty, Rachel
Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Gary Watkins plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Singo with Devin Scott, 6 p.m., Grassburger South, 360 S. Camino Del Rio
Author Event & Book Signing with Rebecca Clarren, 6-8 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.
Tuesday08
Circles of Support, free presentation on aging in place, 1-3 p.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.
Pain Care Yoga, free class series, Tuesdays 4:30-5:45 p.m. thru Nov. 19, Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., innerpeaceyogatherapy.com
Rotary Club of Durango presents Charles Hakes on NASA program at FLC, 6-7 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main
Game Night en Español, 7:30 p.m., Word Travellers Language School, 575 East 4th Ave.
Adam Swanson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Dear Rachel, I didn’t listen to my parents when I bought my house. They told me to buy the most basic washer & dryer. So naturally, I went with a fancier set (on sale, though!) While they’re holding up fine, they don’t actually do a good job. Like sheets get bunched up in the fitted sheet and the washer can’t even spin without an error code. Do I sell and get another, even though it means admitting I was wrong?
– Soggy and Sorry
Dear Little Brother,
You’re clearly no doormat, standing up to your parentals like that. (Nor are you a laundromat, but that’s besides the point.) I think you can stay proud of your ability to rebel against wisdom well into adulthood. But it’s time to suck it up, sell your machines for much, much less than you paid, and cash those couple 20s into quarters for the actual laundromat.
– Quick wash, Rachel
Dear Rachel, Ughhh I’m having a hard time staying motivated to exercise. I know it’s good for me, but it’s no fun. I need some other reason to do it because being in good shape, and living longer are not motivating enough.
– Not Working Out
Making a Difference Speaker Series with Elizabeth Smart, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC
Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight, 937 Main Ave.
Wednesday09
Green Business Roundtable, lunch featuring Wade Griffith of the Shanta Foundation, 12 noon, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio
2025 Snowdown Kickoff and Poster Reveal, 5:30 p.m., Public House 701, 701 E. 2nd Ave.
Adam Swanson plays, 5:30-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Musically Speaking with San Juan Symphony’s Maestro Thomas Heuser, 6-7 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center
Showman & Coole of The Lonesome Ace String Band, 6-9 p.m., Jimmy’s Music and Supply, 1239 Main Ave.
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
Dear Pumped Down,
If staying alive and well isn’t motivation enough, I recommend something much more trivial. Think of something ridiculous you’d like to accomplish. Like, I dunno, giving your bestie a piggyback ride up to Perin’s Peak or selling sexy photos of yourself to pay for your avocado toast habit. As soon as you commit to doing the thing out loud, to other people, you’ll have no choice but to follow through.
Karaoke Roulette, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Ongoing
Durango Public Library Literary Festival, Oct. 519, featuring readings, book signings, conversations and writing workshops Info at: www.bit.ly/3Z7qMvE
Durango PlayFest is accepting play submissions through Oct. 25 for 2025. www.durangoplayfest.org
Upcoming
Community Apple Harvest for Apple Days, Thurs., Oct. 10, 5-7 p.m. More info and RSVP at www.goodfoodcollective.org/event
Oct. 3, 2024 n 13
FreeWillAstrology
by Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During some Wiccan rituals, participants are asked, “What binds you? And what will you do to free yourself from what binds you?” I recommend this exercise to you right now, Aries. Here’s a third question: Will you replace your shackles with a weaving that inspires and empowers you? In other words, will you shed what binds you and, in its stead, create a bond that links you to an influence you treasure?
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): If I had to name the sign that other signs are most likely to underestimate, I would say Taurus. Why? Many of you Bulls are rather modest and humble. You prefer to let your practical actions speak louder than words. Your well-grounded strength is diligent and poised, not flashy. People may misread your resilience as passivity. But in coming weeks, you will be less likely to be undervalued. Even those who have been ignorant of your appeal may tune in to the fullness of your tender power and wisdom.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In coming days, I invite you to work on an essay called “People and Things I Never Knew I Liked and Loved Until Now.” To get the project started, visit places that have previously been off your radar. Wander around in uncharted territory, inviting surprise. Call on every trick you know to stimulate your imagination and break out of habitual ruts. A key practice will be to experiment and improvise as you open your heart and eyes. In the frontiers, you will encounter unruly delights that inspire you to grow wiser.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Now is an excellent time to search for new teachers, mentors and role models. Cooperate with life’s intention to connect you with people and animals who can inspire your journey. A good way to prepare yourself is to contemplate the history of your educational experiences. Who are the heroes, helpers and villains who have taught you crucial lessons? Another strategy to get ready is to think about what’s most vital for you to learn right now. What are the gaps in your understanding?
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The English language has more synonyms than any other language. That’s in part because it’s like a magpie. It steals words from many tongues, including German, French, Old Norse, Latin
and Greek, as well as from Algonquin, Chinese, Hindi, Basque and Tagalog. Japanese may be the next most magpie-like language. It borrows from English, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, French and German. I invite you to adopt the spirit of the English and Japanese languages in the coming weeks. Freely borrow and steal influences. Be a collector of sundry inspirations, a scavenger of fun ideas, a gatherer of rich cultural diversity.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Here are my bold decrees: You are entitled to extra bonuses and special privileges in the coming weeks. The biggest piece of every cake and pie should go to you, as should the freshest wonders, the most provocative revelations and the wildest breakthroughs. I invite you to give and take extravagant amounts of everything sweet, rich and nourishing. I hope you will begin cultivating a skill you are destined to master. I trust you will receive clear and direct answers to at least two nagging questions.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): On those infrequent occasions when I buy a new gadget, I never read the instructions. I drop the booklet in the recycling bin immediately, despite the fact I may not know all the fine points of using my new vacuum cleaner, air purifier or hairdryer. Research reveals that I am typical. Ninety-two percent of all instructions get thrown away. I don’t recommend this approach in coming weeks, however, whether you’re dealing with gadgets or more intangible things. You really should call on guidance to help you navigate your way through introductory phases and new experiences.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): I knew a Scorpio performance artist who stationed herself on the rooftop of a building and for 12 hours loudly described everything she felt guilty about. (She was an ex-Catholic who had been raised to regard some normal behavior as sinful.) If you have ever felt an urge to engage in a purge of remorse, now would be an excellent time. I suggest an alternate approach, though. Spend a half hour writing your regrets on paper, then burn the paper as you chant something like: “With love and compassion for myself, I apologize for my shortcomings and frailties. I declare myself free of shame and guilt. I forgive myself forever.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Be HEARTY, POTENT and DYNAMIC, Sagittarius. Don’t worry about decorum and propriety. Be in quest of lively twists that excite the adventurer in you. Avoid anyone
who seems to like you best when you are anxious or tightly controlled. Don’t proceed as if you have nothing to lose; instead, act as if you have everything to win. Finally, ask life to bring you a steady stream of marvels that make you overjoyed. If you’re feeling extra bold (and I believe you will), request the delivery of a miracle or two.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Nineteenth-century Capricorn author Anne Brontë wrote “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,” which many critics regard as the first feminist novel. The main character, Helen, leaves her husband because he’s a bad influence on their son. She goes into hiding, becoming a single mother who supports her family by creating art. Unfortunately, after the author’s death at a young age, her older sister Charlotte suppressed the publication of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.” I bring this to your attention, so as to inspire you. The coming months will be a favorable time to get the attention and recognition you’ve been denied but thoroughly deserve. Start now! Liberate whatever has been suppressed.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): What is the most important question you want to find an answer for during the next year? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to formulate that inquiry clearly and concisely. I urge you to write it out and place it in a prominent place in your home. Ponder it lightly and lovingly for two minutes every morning upon awakening and each night before sleep. (Key descriptors: “lightly and lovingly.”) As new insights float into your awareness, jot them down. One further suggestion: Create or acquire a symbolic representation of the primal question.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Scientific research suggests that some foods are more addictive than cocaine. They include pizza, chocolate, potato chips and ice cream. The good news is that they are not as problematic for long-term health as cocaine. The bad news is they are not exactly healthy. (The sugar in chocolate neutralizes its modest health benefits.) With these facts in mind, Pisces, I invite you to reorder your priorities about addictive things. Now is a favorable time to figure out what substances and activities might be tonifying, invigorating addictions – and then retrain yourself to focus your addictive energy on them. Maybe you could encourage an addiction to juices that blend spinach, cucumber, kale, celery and apple. Perhaps you could cultivate an addiction to doing a pleasurable form of exercise or reading books.
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-Wed: 9ish - 5ish
Thurs: On delivery
Fri: Gone fishing; call first
Announcements
Join the Community Foundation’s Making A Difference Speaker – Elizabeth Smart to hear about her heroic journey from abduction to empowerment. Smart shows us that it is possible not only to overcome extreme adversity and take control of your future, but also to light the way for others. For more information & tickets: swcommunityfoundation.org
Applications for Advanced Standing
MSW Program Students with a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) are eligible for a one-year Masters of Social Work program through the University of Denver. The program starts summer 2025 and classes are taught in Durango. Stipends for child welfare, integrated behavioral health care are available. Native American tuition support to eligible students is also available. For more info contact Janelle.Doughty @du.edu or www.du.edu/socialwork.
Learn to Dance Fridays 6pm, 7pm, 8pm VFW. Get on notifications list at durangodancing.com
Wanted
Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/trade/sell (970) 259-2213
Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum
Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970259-3494.
HelpWanted
Heartwood West Tree Service LLC
seeks skilled trades people. ISA Certified preferred. Send letter of interest to: Heartwoodwest@gmail.com
Nonprofit Seeks FT Coordinator
Wildfire Adapted Partnership seeks a full time Operations & Outreach Coor. to work out of WAP’s Durango office, assisting the Executive Director with the dayto-day operations of the organization and conducting wildfire preparedness outreach. For the full job announcement please visit: www.wildfireadapted.org or call 970-385-8909 .
ForRent
Functional Medicine Office
Seeking professionals to join our Integrative Clinic. View of Buckley Park, natural sunlight, licensed and insured only. $900 970.247.1233
ForSale
Mobile Home for Sale
Located in Hermosa/Durango, at Lone Pine Trailer Park. See website for details: sanjuanhighlands.com $65,000, lot rent per month $600. Near hot springs, Purgatory ski mtn, golf course. Ready to move in
Reruns Home Furnishings
Lots of new furniture/cool furnishings for home, office or dorm. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.
Services
Need a House Sitter?
I'm local, dependable & trustworthy. Please call 402-206-4735 or 970-424-1962 for more info and rates
Helping to build a strong family team. 970-403-3347.
Chapman Electric
Mike, 970-403-6670. Colorado licensed and insured. 25 years serving the Four Corners .
Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
Twice’ Intoxicating thriller with memorable malice, just desserts – Lainie Maxson
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
Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.
Lotus Path Healing Arts 24 years of experience. To schedule call Kathryn, 970-201-3373.
CommunityService
Durango Area Association of Realtors is accepting grant funding requests from local nonprofits. Deadline to submit is Fri., Oct. 18. For more info., call 970247-9604.
