wild turkey cautiously peers out from the bushes to make sure he doesn’t end up on someone’s dinner table./ Photo by Alex Krebs
Ear to the ground:
“It fell off the truck and got ran over, so it was half price.”
– Uh, I think we’ll pass on the “tenderized” turkey
Do not pass go
Feel like you want to take a risk or stir up a little trouble on the big stage in front of thousands of your possibly inebriated neighbors? Then don’t forget to checker out the 2025 Snowdown Follies auditions. Skit auditions take place 6 p.m., Wed., Dec. 4, at the Doubletree Hotel. Folks are asked to arrive half an hour early to fill out paperwork. Chorus line auditions will be held from 12 noon – 4 p.m. Sat., Dec. 7, at The Dance Studio at the Smiley Building. Since 1984, Snowdown Follies have enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the annual fiveday, cabin-fever bacchanal. This year’s event, a board game theme (in case you didn’t get the clue), takes place Jan. 24 – Feb. 1, 2025. Follies skits don’t necessarily have to be theme-related, with many acts a trivial pursuit of local personalities or news events. All are welcome to try out, but organizers say if you’re not organized. you may be sorry.
Music must be submitted in advance and can be emailed to doug@eaglesoundstudio .com with “Follies” and the group leader’s name in the subject line.
Musseled out
Colorado seems to be winning the fight against the zebra mussel – for now. Recent water sampling shows no signs of the highly invasive species as of Nov. 1. The mussels and offspring (known as “veligers”) were first found in Highline Lake at Highline State Park Lake near Fruita in September 2022. They later were found to have migrated to the nearby Colorado River and Government Highline Canal.
Native to Russia, zebra mussels can cause severe economic and ecological damage to bodies of fresh water. The snail-like mollusks reproduce rapidly and can move from lake to lake by attaching to boats. They were first confirmed in Lake Powell in March 2013.
The discovery in Colorado led to quick action by CPW, which stepped up sampling, education and boat inspections along the Colorado River from Glenwood Springs to the Colorado-Utah border. Boaters are reminded to clean, dry and drain their watercraft and gear so as not to give the scurrilous hitchhikers a ride to other waterways.
ster powder
CPW also drained Highline Lake as part of the eradication. The lake will stay empty through the winter to eliminate any remaining veligers or adult mussels. Inspections in early November turned up five adult mussels – all of which were dead.
LaVidaLocal
Gratitude ode
Instead of exchanging corny greeting cards for our anniversary, we celebrated by traveling to Winchester, England. John Keats’ fondness for a footpath through the St. Cross meadows is part of his legacy, and for two months we walked that path almost every day. Of the meadows he wrote, “There is on one side of the city a chalky down where the air is worth sixpence a pint.” After returning to the cheap lodging he shared with his best friend in the fall of 1819, he penned his famous ode, “To Autumn.”
An ode is a literary outpouring of respect or gratitude, and Keats wrote many. Once, after boasting of habitually sleeping until 10 a.m., he composed an “Ode to Indolence.” His most famous poems are in this style: “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Ode to a Grecian Urn,” “Ode to Psyche” and although it sounds awkwardly aligned with an ode’s purpose, an “Ode to Melancholy.”
Two hundred-twenty-five years later, we also visited Winchester, where we retraced Keats’ footsteps and strolled beside the same stream. I admired the lush pastoral scenery, stopping to watch a pair of swans preening their snow-white feathers, counting sheep grazing in the meadow, wondering if he had stepped in the same muck we so narrowly avoided.
But that’s as far as my reverie got. My bare leg brushed against a patch of nettles and the pain was instant. It felt like a dozen bees had suddenly stung me. I hopped around on the narrow path, rubbing my calf until I lost my balance and backed right into another nettles patch.
I could have blamed the entire irritating experience on Keats, but as a 71-yearold writer with a tenderness for poetic justice, I should have known better. The river that feeds this chalk stream is, after all, appropriately named the Itchen. Today, the Wildlife Trust maintains St. Cross Meadow, a nature reserve that offers streams, meadows and woodland. It is gorgeous, but in 1819, its untamed character also inspired Keats to draft letters to his many friends, recommending that they, “pass across St. Cross meadows till you come to the most beautifully clear river – now this is only one mile of my walk, I will spare you the other two till after supper when they would do you more good.”
Thumbin’It
Help for the state’s beleaguered wolf reintroduction, with the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project announcing a $50,000 antipoaching reward for anyone who shares information leading to charges against someone who illegally kills a wolf.
After months of construction and detours, 32nd Street is open, and it sounds like the redesign was worth the wait, with bike lanes, a shared-use path, a landscaped median and streetlights. So slow down and enjoy the ride.
The federal government is suing the “Free Land Holders” responsible for fencing off public land in Chicken Creek. Let’s hope for a peaceful resolution to the weirdness and a peaceful cross country skiing season.
These days, wandering off the meadow path requires you to cross a sporting field, tennis court and parking lot – that is, if you can ignore the postings that forbid climbing over fences and urging visitors to “Please Stay on the Footpath.” But the stream is still like glass, so clear the white chalk shimmers from the bottom. Because chalk is permeable, water percolates easily through the ground to the water table, so chalk streams receive little surface runoff. Fewer than 300 chalk rivers have been identified globally, and 85% of them are in southern England. As a retired teacher who has spent considerable time with a piece of chalk in hand, I couldn’t help reaching into the stream, picking up a pebble and tracing a few swirly white lines on a flat rock beside me. But an ode to chalk it was not.
Keats saw his early writing flourish, but his finances suffered. Giving up a medical career to become a poet hadn’t helped. He published three volumes of verse and numerous magazine articles in just four short years, but much of his work was received indifferently by the literary establishment during his lifetime. Like talented creative artists everywhere, he had to die to become famous.
I picture Keats not only roaming the meadow but also spending considerable time inside Winchester Cathedral, absorbing its history and epitaphs, sitting in a corner scribbling notes, even standing beside a memorial to a 41-year-old little-known novelist named Jane Austen, a writer who also found fame only after she died – two years before Keats arrived in the city.
Like Keats, Austen, too, had come to Winchester to receive medical treatment, and she stayed in a house only a stone’s throw from the cathedral. None of her six anonymously published novels were in print at the time of her death, although Keats – who read and studied history and literature – surely had encountered news of her as a novelist.
Austen was laid to rest in Winchester Cathedral in 1817. Keats, just 25, was buried in Rome four years later, 17 months after leaving Winchester, having been advised by his physician to move to a warmer climate. What he found in Rome, I don’t know, but I like to think his ramblings through “our” meadow remained vivid in his memory. For his beguiling words and for pointing out the path, I will always be grateful, but never for his nettles.
– David Feela
Several local families will be out in the cold for child care in an already tight market come December when The Growing Place, a day-care in the Junction Creek nursing home, loses its lease. The nursing home was bought by The Ensign Group, a corporate health-care subsidiary.
China threatening supply chain warfare if Trump follows through on his tariffs bluster. Does anyone think this is a good idea? Well, anyone other than the Cheeto Tyrant?
The plastics industry is using paid TikTok influencers and movie stars to promote the use of plastic by touting single-use bottles as a “closed-loop, zero-waste system.” If by “closed loop,” you mean the particles stay in our bodies, then yeah.
Nicoscreen Companies like Vapezilla and eJuices.com are winning at capitalism because they’ve combined the two most addictive things on earth: nicotine and Tetris. For less than $20, both companies now sell disposable touchscreen vapes that connect to your phone via Bluetooth, thereby allowing users to play games, text/call directly from their vapes, or play music via built-in speakers. They also sell camera vapes that can be used for “surveillance,” but the best part is that they’re all prefilled with nicotine juice in totally grownup flavors like “gummy bear blue ice.” The bad news, however, is that these vapes aren’t yet capable of dispensing birth control, because that would solve just about everything.
by Dave Marston
EScrapping the stigma
Opening up about mental illness will help make us all healthier
ven though one in five Americans is estimated to suffer from mental ill ness, talk about mental health in the rural West remains muted. I’d like to talk about it this Thanksgiving because I’m grateful I got the help I needed after a long-fought problem: I’m bipolar, and I’m being treated for it.
I didn’t start out bipolar. I was 24 when my behavior took a dive. At first, I chalked it up to my job in New York where I was buying and selling stocks all day. I became manic and anxious, prone to periods of depression laced with sleepless anxiety.
During a period of ramped-up men tal anguish, I jumped out of a moving car. It was going fast, over 30 miles per hour. I was with friends when someone made a joke at my expense, and rather than fire back a witty response. I thought, “I’m going to explode.”
I opened the door and jumped. Ten seconds later, I was hobbling down a dark suburban street.
Sure, I was bloody, gravel lodged in my hands, but I was relieved to be out of that car.
Running from problems became my life’s work. It was that or suddenly erupting in anger, seeming without notice.
But for years I dodged seeing a psychiatrist, consulting a therapist instead. I’d grown up in a rural Western community and seeking psychiatric help seemed out of the question.
When I finally sought out a psychiatrist 15 years later, he asked tough questions. What were the most erratic things I’d done? Jumping out of a moving car ranked first on the list. Had I ever been hospitalized for my behavior? No, nothing that severe. He took notes,
then gave me his diagnosis: I was bipolar. I firmly resisted that conclusion.
Skeptically, he offered anti-depressant medication. “Typically, a bipolar person will have a poor reaction,” he said. I had seven bad reactions to seven anti-depressants. I finally gave up, “I’m not saying I’m bipolar,” I said, “but if I were, what medication would you prescribe?”
“I’d prescribe an anti-psychotic,” he said. At that point the continuing anguish of my daily life outweighed my fear of being diagnosed as mentally ill. “I’m ready,” I said.
Sure enough, the medication was effective, and life changed. I slept soundly and could readily work. I experienced calm. I married, had a child and eased into what passes for normal life. But I never talked to people about being bipolar, about the medication that made life worth living. I bought life insurance and
went through a medical exam. Afterward, the agent said I could get a much better rate without an antipsychotic in my daily regimen.
I paid the higher rate for what I called my “bipolar tax.”
In 2022, my family and I moved from New York to Durango. I called psychiatrists in the area and explained I was looking to start treatment locally. One doctor quickly texted me back and asked me to text my medications. “Whoa!” he texted, “I don’t treat bipolar patients.” The next psychiatrist rejected me also.
I tried to wean off medication, but the old hamster wheel of anxious thoughts spun faster and faster. In western Colorado, it took finding a telehealth doctor who would prescribe the medication that allowed me to function.
I also got to know my neighbor John Truitt, who is on the autism spectrum and happy to chat about it. Sensing a kindred spirit, I began, “This is a big secret.” His reaction to my confession was surprising: “Big deal you’re bipolar,” he said. “You’re what’s called 2E for twice exceptional.” That meant I was “neurodiverse” and gifted, he said.
My gift had once been turning the chaos of financial markets into profitable trades, something I can’t do now while medicated, but I’m fine with that.
Since that day, I’ve told more people about my diagnosis and subsequent learning curve. This spring, I gave a commencement speech at the private Heron School for Twice-Exceptional Students in Moab, sharing with parents, teachers and students my bumpy ride with mental illness.
Looking at the audience, I saw understanding and acceptance.
Because so many of us live with it, mental illness needs to be acknowledged, treated and talked about. I could have saved so much time, energy and pain by seeking the right kind of help earlier. How much healthier would we be if we treated mental illness the way we treat any other illness – with openness and compassion?
Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about Western issues. He lives in Durango. ■
Marston
Fluoridation facts
True: Fluoridation has been around for 75 years. Just because it’s been around for 75 years doesn’t make it safe. We thought that lead in our pipes and mercury in our teeth were safe, but that didn’t work out so well.
True: The scientific fact that water fluoridation is safe has never actually been tested under oath in a court of law until now. Testimony in this recent case was by expert scientists, not by a judge –judges are attorneys that rule on scientific evidence. They are not scientists. In this historic seven-year case tried in federal court in San Francisco (not county court), Judge Chen ruled that the scientific basis that has been used for more than 75 years to justify water fluoridation as safe was finally proven to be false. This is a big deal and should not be treated lightly. In this case, fluoridation was shown to reduce children’s IQ levels. Every .28 Mg/L of fluoride in pregnant mother’s urine = 1 point of IQ loss in children. This is highly concerning, because maternal urinary fluoride levels for pregnant mothers in the United States range from 0.8 mg/L at the median to 1.89 mg/L depending upon the degree of exposure. These exposure
levels put children over the toxic limit. True: Dental fluorosis (discoloring of the teeth) indicates toxic levels of fluoride have been consumed. When Clean Water Durango got the removal of water fluoridation on the ballot in 2017, dental fluorosis was at 40%. Today, it is at 63% in children.
True: 75 years ago, water fluoridation was the only source of fluoride to which the population of the U.S. was exposed. Today, that has changed dramatically. Today fluoride is contained in all processed food and drinks (made with fluoridated water), dental treatments, teas, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is in our air, our food and our drinks. It is in our water without our consent. It is everywhere. Fluoride is an industrial waste and is nearly impossible to get rid of.
True: A recent scientific mega study done by the esteemed Cochran Scientific Review found that because people in the U.S. are getting so much fluoride from so many different sources, the effectiveness of water fluoridation is now 0% for adults and 4% or less for children. This negligible protection in tooth decay is certainly not worth the con-
D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim
sequences to brain health. These are the scientific experts!
True: 85% of Europe does not fluoridate its water and has the same or better
dental health levels than the U.S. True: Cavities come from inside out, not outside in. Cavities are caused by eating too many refined and super re-
Happy Thanksgiving
Plus Two Daily Happy Hours!
9:am - 10:am 10% off non-sale products 7:pm - Close 10% off non-sale flower Daily Deals & Promos throughout the weekend.
PREMIUM CANNABIS FLOWER • HASH & CONCENTRATE • EDIBLES • SEEDS • CLONES PIPES • SMOKING ACCESSORIES • APPAREL • MJ LITERATURE & CONSULTING • ATM ON SITE
fined processed foods and drinks, especially sugar. The average American consumes 23 teaspoons of sugar per day. A typical sweetened beverage contains 15-18 teaspoons of sugar, and we consume eight 12-oz. cans of these sugar bombs every week. This is the cause of tooth decay, not a lack of fluoride. Poor dental health is also a contributor.
False: The fluoride we use in Durango and throughout the U.S. is natural. The fluoride used throughout most of our country is hydrofluorosalicic acid. This is a toxic, unpurified waste product from fertilizer manufacturing plants that goes directly into our water supply. It is not natural. In Durango, we use a special kind of fluoride: sodium fluoride. We import this special fluoride from China. It is the toxic waste product from aluminum manufacturing proven to contain fluoride, lead and mercury. The extra special part is that sodium fluoride is a salt, of which we absorb over 90%. This is much more absorption than the toxins absorbed from fertilizer plants. Fluoride reduces IQ levels. It has also been documented to cause thyroid problems, brittle bones and more.
True: Naturally occurring fluoride is difficult to absorb as it is bound to calcium.
True: The fluoride used in water fluoridation is not pharmaceutical grade. It is a toxic waste product that manufacturers would have to pay a pretty price to dispose of. Instead, they talked Americans into putting it in our drinking water and paying for it.
Our bodies are composed of 70% water. The purer the water we drink, the better our health will be. Time to take the fluoride out!
– Jim Forleo, Durango
Navy needs ships, facilities
The U.S. Navy continues to be over stretched across the oceans of the world against our potential enemies of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran.
Our 11 carrier strike groups (CSGs) should be deploying for about six months at a time but are now deploying to the world's hot spots on the order of nine months or more on a regular basis. We have around 285 naval vessels, when we need at least 300 ships to project U.S. Naval Power around the world.
Libertarian writer and commentator George Will in a recent editorial points out we have only 50 attack submarines, but we need 66 to complete missions.
In addition to securing the needed funding, a major problem is the lack of adequate ship building and maintenance facilities in the U.S. to service our submarine forces and our surface Navy. We are short three drydocks and the workers needed to staff them. Additionally, we are not meeting our goals to recruit naval personnel. An increase of Navy ships from 285 to 300 would probably require an additional 25,000 to 40,000 personnel.
Our defense budget needs to be increased from 3% of GDP to somewhere around 6% or 7% of GDP.
– Donald Moskowitz,
Londonderry N.H.
‘A Life Well Lived’
When I was a little boy me and my grandfather would often just hang out, watch movies, go fishing, play chess, hike, go to lunch, just guy stuff.
He regaled me with stories and what to expect in life; how to treat people, how important family is, how important God and country are, made sure I brushed my teeth and to never be embarrassed or ashamed to hug or show affection toward the family – lessons of life.
Lessons of life I’ve carried with me that have sculpted me into the man I have become and who I want my kids to know and emulate.
But the stories, good God, the stories Pop would tell me were tales of adventure and excitement beyond belief.
As I grew older, I grew more skeptical and began silently to question the veracity of his sagas.
After Pops passed and my father was in his golden years dad agreed that Pops truly was long winded and imaginative but dad confirmed to me that everything Pops had told me was absolutely true.
Pops, I should never have doubted a single word. A life well lived… –
– Larry Bourland, Durango
by Allen Best
CRenewable momentum
Colorado’s decarbonization journey will continue despite Trump triumph
hris Wright, president-elect Donald Trump’s choice to oversee the U.S. Department of Energy, founded Liberty Energy, a company headquartered on the 24th floor of a downtown Denver building. The company deploys hydraulic fracturing and other innovations that have produced a bounty of hydrocarbons in Colorado and other places.
Wright is a hydrocarbon evangelist. He says only fossil fuels can lift people out of poverty. He acknowledges human-induced climate change but downplays the potential costs. Renewable generation will take a century or two to displace fossil fuels. “We should push ahead, but if you push ahead at all costs, you end up harming people’s lives,” he said in Greeley in 2021.
In Colorado, the energy transition is well under way. Consider Holy Cross Energy, the electrical cooperative serving the Aspen and Vail areas. During October, Holy Cross managed to achieve more than 90% electrical generation from wind, solar and other renewable resources. Bryan Hannegan, chief executive, believes Holy Cross can achieve between 95% and 100% emissions-free electricity by 2030.
The cost? Surveys of Colorado’s 50plus electrical utilities consistently show Holy Cross having among the state’s lowest rates.
Colorado legislators in 2019 adopted goals for economy-wide decarbonization, the first big milestone being 50% by 2030. That’s a difficult goal, and we’re currently lagging behind the pace we need. Will a Trump White House and a Republican Congress further slow Colorado’s journey?
Likely not, because Colorado has such strong momentum, is what I hear. Beginning with a big bill-signing festival amid solar panels in Arvada in May 2019, Gov. Jared Polis has signed scores of clean energy bills into law. Those laws collectively push and pull Colorado toward low- and no-emissions technologies.
This big pivot has been made easier by rapid price declines in wind and solar in the last 15 years. Keep in mind that Trump, when campaigning in Grand Junction in 2016, had promised to put
coal miners back to work. Guess what?
During his time in the White House, Colorado utilities made plans to close all their coal plants. They’re too costly.
I posed the question of a Trump presidency and Republican Congress to Jigar Shaw in October 2023. He oversees the Department of Energy loan program.
“Four major technologies have thrived to the point where they’re super cost-effective today: solar, wind, lithium-ion battery storage and electric vehicles,” he replied. “All four were not only unscathed but (actually) thrived under the Trump administration.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, the deceptively named climate-change law passed by Congress in 2022, has funneled great sums to both rural and urban Colorado. (Holy Cross Energy is getting none).
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the electrical provider for 17 of Colorado’s 22 electrical cooperatives including La Plata Electric Associ-
ation, is to get $2.5 billion to help it replace coal plants with renewables and natural gas. The Denver Regional Council of Governments got $200 million to help reduce natural gas consumption in buildings. A representative assured me that the money is secure.
Can the Trump administration redirect money to other purposes, such as for erecting a wall in Arizona? Probably not in any significant way. After all, well more than half of the IRA money has gone to the nation’s congressional districts represented by Republicans.
The greatest near-term threat may be to the $7,500 federal tax credit for purchase of electric vehicles. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, dislikes subsidies. According to the New York Times, he told shareholders in July that shedding the tax credit will hurt competing auto manufactures more. Losing that tax credit could slow Colorado’s embrace of EVs. EVs and plug-in hybrids were responsible for about 28% of all new-car
sales in the third quarter of 2024. Renewables still have challenges. Because of their intermittency, we need more storage. And just as we once built costly interstate highways, we will build costly transmission lines for more energy sharing across broad areas. We have a long way to go in this marathon. Wright, Trump’s energy nominee, discounts the immediate threat of global warming. Colorado River flows that have declined 20% attest to a big problem today. Part of it is natural drought, but a new study shows that warming temperatures have been swinging the heavier bat in this aridification. Grand Junction can attest to this. Temperatures last summer averaged over 80 degrees, a record.
To be clear, it would be far better if the Trump administration wanted to accelerate the pace of the energy transition. But will Trump’s triumph stall Colorado’s progress? Not much.
Allen Best writes about Colorado’s pivots in energy and water at BigPivots.com. ■
Mount Sopris rises in the background of the Sunnyside Ranch Community Solar Array, a 1.8-megawatt project adjacent to the former Carbondale landfill. Holy Cross Energy buys electricity produced by the array, and the array is an important part of the 43,000-member energy cooperative’s distributed grid. / Photo by Dennis Schroeder, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
GossipoftheCyclers
Life in the slow lane
Opportunity and frustrations for cycling infrastructure in Durango
by Jennaye Derge
About this time last year, Bike Durango (myself and my co-director) applied for a grant from the national bicycle advocacy organization PeopleForBikes. The grant would help fund a project to build removable, temporary bike lanes around Durango with the purpose of demonstrating what a protected bike lane feels like and how they could be implemented into our community. (Currently, Durango has zero dedicated protected bike lanes.) I remember the day I got the email we had received the grant. I was, ironically, sitting in yet another City meeting, participating in a discussion of another infrastructure project fighting the people, again, who want more parking, when I saw my phone light up with the subject line: “Congratulations on Your Successful PeopleForBikes Community Grant.”
I cried happy tears in public because thus far, my attempts to convince anyone that safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in Durango is needed has been like pulling my hair, teeth and nails out. It seems like parking is more important than anything else. Parking, however, is not actually what we need.
between 14th and 15th streets. The idea was to provide a safe connection between the Animas River Trail and downtown Durango.
spots you keep taking away?” John H.
• “They’ll be destroyed. People will fall over them and sue. Total waste of money,” Shana T.
What we need is for cyclists and pedestrians to have a safe way to get around. According to Durango’s 2023 Multimodal Plan, 40 pedestrians and 30 cyclists were hit by motor vehicles between the years of 2016-21 in city limits. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 1,105 bicyclists in the U.S. were killed by a motor vehicle in 2022 – the highest number ever recorded (2023 stats have yet to be released). More people are getting hit, injured and killed by vehicles every year (yet no one has ever died from lack of parking). While, at a national level, we are starting to take steps toward better infrastructure, at a local level, there is work to be done.
That is why Bike Durango decided to try out a demonstration protected bike lane – a “pop up” if you will. After we received the grant, bought the removable bike lane delineators (called “The Wave” and made by Saris, if you’re interested), we made a plan to build the temporary bike lane on E. 2nd Avenue
My co-director and I spent all afternoon one day in late October setting up the temporary delineators, posting signs, setting up traffic cones and making the bike lane easy to understand for cyclists and drivers. The pop-up bike lane was permitted to stay up for one week, and in that time, the hope was to have as many people as possible test out the lane.
When the test was over and the bike lane disassembled and put back in the garage, we sent out a survey asking about users’ experiences. We received 21 responses, and about 93% said they were either nervous, scared or very scared to ride their bikes in areas of Durango that are not protected (pretty much everywhere but the ART). All 21 said they felt better riding in the protected bike lane (86% felt way better, 14% felt a little better). Also 100% said they’d like to see protected bicycle lanes in town.
So why don’t we have more? Perhaps some comments received on Facebook can shed some light:
• “I don’t understand what that’s supposed to do other than taking more space out of traffic lanes,” Paula M.
• “When are you building a parking garage? You know, for all the parking
In all, 178 comments were made –some very supportive of bike and pedestrian safety – but the nay-sayers, the loud squeaky wheels, took the spotlight. Unfortunately, the “what do you mean I can’t go 50 mph in a 35 mph zone in my fully loaded F150?” kinds of folks cannot be ignored, and because of that, we will continue to get more parking downtown instead of safer bike lanes and wider sidewalks for pedestrians. And as long as the naysayers show up to City Council meetings, write letters, talk to their neighbors, make phone calls and post on social media, I can guarantee protected bike lanes will stay dusty in the garage, and bicycle/pedestrian/ vehicle crashes will continue to rise. No amount of grant funding will stop that.
To be more involved, visit the City of Durango Multimodal Transportation website www.durangoco.gov/362/ Projects. You can also sign up for newsletter updates on the City’s “Engage” page: engage.durangoco.gov/ or email: multimodal@durangoco.gov or any (or all) of our City Council members asking for better and safer ways for cyclists and pedestrians to get around Durango. ■
Cyclists check out the “pop-up” protected bike lane on E. 2nd Avenue between 14th and 15th streets in October./ Photo by Jennaye Derge
FlashinthePan
Nothing compares
The best ever butternut squash ravioli a la celebrity chef Todd English
by Ari LeVaux
True culinary brilliance is revealed by the creation of extraordinary food from the most humble of building blocks. For example, the butternut squash ravioli that stole the show at the Whitefish Food and Wine Festival this year. Nothing more than flour, egg, cream, squash, almonds and Parmesan (of which, the chef noted, you can never have too much), those succulent and nubile stuffed noodles, frosted with brown butter foam, were arguably more delicious than the wagyu meatballs at the adjoining table.
I am pop-food-culture illiterate. I haven’t watched food TV since Julia was on. I had maybe heard of Todd English but without being prepped, I was able to meet him with no preformed opinions.
A server handed me a small plate of wild mushrooms on polenta, and suddenly I could feel the chef behind me. Not so much Chef English as the bubble of fanboys and girls that drifted into my personal space. I turned around to see a man who appeared unlike his East Coast fancy pants Englishman persona. He was more like a redneck who just crawled out of an outbuilding. In other words, someone I wanted to party with. His cheffing done for the day, English wore a pair of greasy jeans and what appeared to be a buckskin vest.
I introduced myself and told him I hoped to nerd out about food. Gravely, arms folded across his barrel chest, he nodded in agreement. Then he motioned the server to add more balsamic reduction to my chanterelles.
English, an Italian master of the Irish goodbye, quickly vanished, leaving me to contemplate how the balsamic reduction perfectly enhanced the chanterelles. I felt like I was eating music. Then I sauntered over to the wagyu meatballs, where, after washing them down with the closest glass of red I could find, I concluded it doesn’t get any better than this. And then I met the ravioli that changed my life.
In my first bites of those fragrant clouds, my weekend peaked. Possibly my life. At the very least, I should have retired from eating right then. Because nothing that has followed compares to those plump, fluffy, creamy squares.
Later that evening, I cornered the Chef at the bar, where we proceeded to nerd out. “Music is just noise until it hits your brain,” he said. “It’s your brain that perceives all those sounds together as music. And it’s the same with food ... our brain translates it into a symphony of flavors.
“I love a good symphony, with cellos, violins and clarinets. But I also like a simple quartet, be it classical or …,” he trailed off. I was waiting for him to say “AC/DC,” but just then his sensors tripped. He pushed away the glasses on the bar in front of him as two pizzas were set down. The Chef grabbed the red meaty one and absconded.
The night was young, as was the weekend of wine and food-fueled debauchery. The last time I saw The Toddfather was in the ski lodge atop Big Mountain. Like a true Montanan, he was grumbling about not being able to find any ranch dressing. His vision was to use ranch to bind caviar onto onion rings. As soon as the ranch appeared, he got to work. The fanboys and girls lined up, and one by one the famous chef placed a ranch’d, caviar’d onion ring into their mouths.
Weeks later, when the wine stains had long dried, my son, Remy, and I recreated that ridiculous ravioli, following the recipe English so generously gave me. With a pasta attachment to the Kitchenaid, we rolled out sheets of fresh pasta and filled them with a mixture that was more intoxicating than the contents of any bottle. Those ravioli are a true symphony, created from the simplest of notes, possibly discordant until they reached my brain where the array of flavors was understood to be a masterpiece. I will never look at a squash the same way again.
The artistry here is in the filling and sauce. For the pasta, follow the ravioli recipe of your choice.
Butternut Squash Ravioli
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
6 c. butternut squash (or Hubbard or kabocha)
1/2 c. ground amaretti cookies (or crushed almonds)
1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add squash. Cook until squash starts to caramelize and becomes golden brown – about 10 minutes. Add water to cover and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti, bread crumbs, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
Brown Butter Sauce
1/4 pound butter
1/8 pound Parmesan grated
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
Fresh sage leaves
Heat olive oil and fry the sage leaves on medium-high until crisp but not burnt. Meanwhile, melt the butter in pot, reduce heat to medium, whisk until milk solids cook to a golden brown. Add cream, bring to simmer. Add Parmesan. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Whip with emulsion blender, spoon foam on top of pasta. Garnish with crispy sage leaves. ■
Nov. 23-25 & Dec. 14-22
Relatives coming? You clean the house, we ‛ll clean up your pup! Call 970-375-9700 for details. Grooming, boarding, and dog day care
970-375-9700
571 Turner Drive, Bodo Park
Thursday28
Manna’s Community Thanksgiving, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Manna Soup Kitchen, 1100 Avenida Del Sol
Durango Turkey Trot, 10 a.m., Fort Lewis College clocktower
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Adam Swanson – Ragtime plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Dave Mensch plays, 8 p.m.-12 midnight, Sky Ute Casino, Ignacio
Sunday01
Irish Jam Session, 12:30-3 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.
Board Game Sundays, 2 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.
Weekly Peace Vigil & Rally for Gaza & Palestine, every Sunday, 4 p.m., Buckley Park.
Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Joel Racheff plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Monday02
Free Strength and Balance Yoga for cancer survivors, 9:30-10:20 a.m., Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Register www.cancersupportswco.org/calendar
Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Joel Racheff plays, 5:30-10 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Leah Orlikowski plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Comedy Open Mic, 7 p.m., The Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Swing & Brewskies dance lessons, 7-9:30 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.
Tuesday03
Mornings at El Moro Networking and Learning, 8-9 a.m., El Moro Tavern, 945 Main Ave.
Jason Thies plays, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Compañeros Co-Executive Director Enrique Orozco-Perez presents to the Rotary Club of Durango to discuss the critical work of helping immigrants, 6-7 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.
Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Jazz Ensemble Concert, 7 p.m., FLC Community Concert Hall
Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Wednesday04
Free Restorative Yoga for cancer survivors, 9:3010:45 a.m., Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Register www.cancersupportswco.org/calendar/
Matchstick Production’s “Calm Beneath Castles,” screening to benefit the Durango Winter Sports, doors at 5:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio
Donny Johnson plays, 5:30-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Word Honey Poetry Workshop, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 East 3rd Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Springboard Community Networking Event, 6:30-8 p.m., Center for Innovation, 2nd floor of the Main Mall, 835 Main Ave., Ste. 225
Ladies Night fundraiser for Women’s Resource Center, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Kroegers Ace Hardware, 8 Town Plaza
Armchair Boogie with Lavalanche, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.
AskRachel Speed warp, frank incensed and adulting
Interesting fact: In “Home Alone,” Macaulay Culkin had a 30-year-old stunt double. I’d like one of those to handle all my adulting stunts, please.
Dear Rachel,
I’ve been getting all grumpy about Christmas movies, and Christmas music, and Christmas candy, and all that Christmas jazz. But then, it hit me… Christmas is not even five weeks away. I swore when I was young I’d never say what my parents always said. That time is going faster than it used to. But it’s true. Is this the curse of adulthood?
– St. Nick of Time
Dear Christmas in July,
Dude. I caught myself the other day saying how it still felt like September – 2023. Is this what passes for camaraderie among us elderly? Maybe we should all ask for a reduction in duties for Christmas. Or at least a skilled personal assistant, willing to work for free. – Santa’s house elf, Rachel
Dear Rachel,
I just learned about congressional franking. Congresspeople (and, you know, presidential type people) can just have some intern print
Open Mic with Leigh Mikell, 7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.
Karaoke Roulette, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Ongoing
“Low Light Conditions” fine art featuring Nathan Bennett, thru Nov. 29, Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B
Holiday Family Drive, thru Dec. 13, TBK Bank, 259 W. 9th St.
SJMA Christmas Trees for Conservation Lot, thru Dec. 21, 12-6 p.m., D&SNG parking lot
Cowboy Tuesdays, every other Tuesday, Nov. 5 - April 15, 12 noon-3 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
“Given Time: Sensory Aesthetics of Reclamation,” exhibit exploring Indigenous relationships to land, FLC Center of Southwest Studies. Show runs thru April 24, 2025.
their congressional signature where the stamp goes and they don’t have to pay money like the rest of us. Supposedly for official business only, but who’s checking? What does it take for the rest of us to get franking privileges?
– Frank Hardy
Dear Frank Further,
Get yourself elected to Congress. If Lauren Boebert can do it, how hard can it be? There’s at least 400 of the 535 members who make you wonder how they got this far in life. I really shouldn’t single any one out, when I can single ALL OF THEM OUT for costing the USPS money when I still have to wait in line to mail a package.
– Frankly, Rachel
Dear Rachel,
My mom is marrying her boyfriend. She wants to wait for me to finish high school first. I’m a junior. My mom feels bad asking me to move into a new house with one year to go in school because they will move into his house. I think she should move in and leave me our house for senior year. I’m not a party kid, and I think it would be good practice for the real world. How can I convince her?
– Home Alone
Upcoming
Backpacking and Hiking Etiquette, presented by City Ranger Tosh Black, Thurs., Dec. 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center
Blues Night with the Ed Squared Blues Band, Thurs., Dec. 5, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Mancos Brewing, 484 Hwy 160 E. Frontage Rd.
Tune and Brews ski tuning meetup, Thurs., Dec. 5, 6-8 p.m., Durango Tool Library, 278 Sawyer Dr., Unit 4A
“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” presented by Merely Players, Dec. 5-7, 18-20, 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.
Holiday Arts and Crafts Festival, Dec. 6, 1-5 p.m.; Dec. 7, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; & Dec. 8, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds
The ArtRoom Collective First Friday Noel Night, Fri., Dec. 6, 4-7 p.m., The Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.
Noel Night, Fri., Dec. 6, all day around Durango
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
Dear Kevin,
Anytime someone wants to bemoan the younger generation, I’m going to point them to you. Your signoff makes me think you’re familiar with the 1990 Chris Columbus classic, which might be the last great Christmas movie to be made. This means that the kids are alright. Ma, you done good for the first 17 years. Let this one have the house. The burglars don’t have a chance, whatever month of the year.
– The Incredible Culkin, Rachel
FreeWillAstrology
by Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Mozart had a sister nicknamed Nannerl. During their childhoods, she was as much a prodigy as he. They toured Europe performing together, playing harpsichord and piano. Some regarded her as the superior talent. But her parents ultimately decided it was unseemly for her, as a female, to continue her development as a genius. She was forcibly retired so she could learn housekeeping and prepare for marriage. Is there a part of your destiny, Aries, that resembles Nannerl’s? Has some of your brilliance been suppressed or denied? The coming months will be an excellent time to recover and revive it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Do you know if you have any doppelgangers? I bet you will meet one in the coming weeks. How about soul friends, alter egos or evil twins? If there’s no one like that in your life, they may arrive soon. And if you already know such people, I suspect your relationships will grow richer. Mirror magic and shadow vision are in the works! I’m guessing you will experience the best, most healing kind of double trouble. Substitutes and standins will have useful offers and tempting alternatives. Parallel realities may come leaking into your reality. Opportunities for symbiosis and synergy will be at an all-time high. Sounds like wild fun!
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Humans have been eating a wide range of oranges since ancient times. Among the most popular in modern times is the navel orange. It’s large, seedless, sweet, juicy and easy to peel. But it didn’t exist until the 1820s, when a genetic mutation on a single tree in Brazil spawned this new variety. Eventually, the navel became a revolutionary addition to the orange family. I foresee a metaphorical development in your life in the coming months. An odd tweak or interesting glitch could lead to a highly favorable expansion of possibilities. Be alert for it.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): You are a finalist for our “Most Resourceful and Successful Survivor of the Year” trophy. And if you take a brief trip to hell in the next two weeks, you could assure your victory. Let me be more exact: “Hell” is an incorrect terminology; I just used it for shock effect. The fact is that “hell” is a religious invention that mischaracterizes the true nature of the realm of mystery, shadows and fertile darkness. In reality, the nether regions can be quite entertaining and enriching if you cultivate righteous
attitudes. What are those attitudes? A frisky curiosity to learn truths you have been ignorant about; a brave resolve to unearth repressed feelings and hidden yearnings; and a drive to rouse spiritual epiphanies.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In my astrological opinion, you deserve big doses of fun, play, pleasure and love. Amusement and enchantment, too. As well as excitement, hilarity and delight. I trust you will schedule a series of encounters and adventures that provide you with a surplus of these necessary resources. Can you afford a new toy or two? Or a romantic getaway to a sanctuary of adoration? Or a smart gamble that will attract a stream of rosy luck? I suggest you be audacious in seeking the sweet, rich feelings you require.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): December will be Home Enhancement Month for you Virgos. Get started immediately! I’ll offer tips but ask you to dream up your own ideas. 1. Phase out décor or accessories that no longer embody the style of who you have become. 2. Add new décor and accessories that will inspire outbreaks of domestic bliss. 3. Encourage everyone in your household to contribute creative ideas to generate mutual enhancement. 4. Do a blessing that will raise the spiritual vibes. 5. Invite your favorite people over and ask them to shower your abode with blessings.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran songwriter and producer Kevin MacLeod has composed more than 2,000 pieces of music – and given all of them away for free. That’s why his work is so widespread. It has been featured in thousands of films and millions of YouTube videos. His composition “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” has been played on TikTok over 31 billion times. (PS: He has plenty of money, in part because so many appreciative people give him free-will donations through his Patreon page.) I propose we make him your inspirational role model. How could you parlay your generosity and gifts into huge benefits for yourself?
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): According to my grandmother, I have such a mellifluous voice I should have pursued a career as a newscaster or dj on the radio. In eighth grade, my science teacher urged me to become a professional biologist. When I attended Duke University, my religious studies professor advised me to follow his path. Over the years, many others have offered their opinions about who I should be. As much as I appreciated their suggestions, I have always trusted one authority: my muses. In coming weeks, you may, too, re-
ceive abundant advice about your best path. You may be pressured to live up to others’ expectations. I encourage you to do as I have done. Trust your inner advisors.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I invite you to get a head start on formulating your New Year’s resolutions. Jan. 1 is a good time to instigate robust new approaches to living your life, but the coming weeks will be an even better time for you. To get in the mood, imagine you have arrived at Day Zero, Year One. Simulate the feeling of being empty and open and fertile. Imagine that nothing binds you or inhibits you. Assume the whole world is eager to know what you want. Act as if you have nothing to prove and everything to gain by being audacious and adventurous.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): There was a long period when many popular songs didn’t come to a distinct end. Instead, they faded out. The volume would gradually diminish as a catchy riff repeated over and over again. As you approach a natural climax to one of your cycles, Capricorn, I recommend that you borrow the fade-out as a metaphorical strategy. In my astrological opinion, it’s best not to finish abruptly. See if you can create a slow, artful ebb or a gradual, graceful dissolution.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): When he was young, Aquarian musician and sound engineer Norio Ohga wrote a letter to the electronics company now known as Sony. He complained about the failings of their products. Instead of being defensive, executives at the company heeded Ohga’s suggestions. They even hired him as an employee and made him president of the company at age 40. He went on to have a stellar career as an innovator. In the spirit of the Sony executives, I recommend you seek feedback and advice from potential helpers who are the caliber of Norio Ohga. The information you gather could prove to be highly beneficial.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): What would your paradise look and feel like? If you could remake the world to suit your precise needs for maximum freedom, well-being and inspiration, what changes would you instigate? Now is an excellent time to ponder these possibilities. You have more ability than usual to shape and influence the environments where you hang out. And a good way to rouse this power is to imagine your ideal conditions. Be bold and vivid. Amuse yourself with extravagant and ebullient fantasies as you envision your perfect world.
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 durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133
Classes/Workshops
Yoga and the Aging Process
Aging is a process unique to everyone. In this 1 ½ day workshop, you will construct a yoga practice that effectively addresses your unique process. Smiley Building Rm 20A, Sat Dec 7 (9-4); Sun Dec 8 (9-1) Facilitated by yoga therapist Matthew Sommerville. Call 970-6321188 to sign up and for more info. Or go to www.TreeOfLifeYogaTherapy.com.
Wanted
Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970259-3494.
Books Wanted at White Rabbit Donate/trade/sell (970) 259-2213
ForRent
Professional Offices Downtown near Main Ave, sunlit patio with Buckley Park views. Lease terms negotiable. 970.247.1233
Announcements
Public Comment Period
Southern Ute Indian Tribe Proposed Revisions to Water Quality Standards: A 50-day public comment period on proposed revisions to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s water quality standards will be held from November 12, 2024, to January 2, 2025.
These revisions have been proposed as a result of a triennial review of the Tribe’s water quality standards and reflect updates as necessary to comply with applicable federal regulation or to meet Tribal water quality goals. For all interested individuals, a public hearing regarding the Tribe’s water quality standards proposed revisions will be held on:
Thursday, January 16, 2025
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
To attend in person:
Large Conference Room, Southern Ute Environmental Programs Department 71 Mike Frost Way Ignacio, CO 81137
To attend the hearing online, please register at: http://bit.ly/3NXTng7 before the event. After the event, the live online hearing will be recorded and posted to the Tribe’s website.
The proposed water quality standards revisions can be found on the Tribe’s website at: www.southernute-nsn.gov/ govern ment/departments/epd/public-comments/
You can submit your comments two ways: On the Tribe’s website at: https://www.southernute-nsn.gov/government/departments/epd/public-com ments/ or via email: wqs@southernutensn.gov (preferred)
BodyWork
Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.
Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
Need Help With Yard Work? and raking leaves or shoveling snow?
Call Chris 970-317-5397. Hourly rate plus a flat rate if I haul debris off to the dump
‘The Thief Collector’ A New Mexico couple stole a de Kooning Um … allegedly – Lainie
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.
