Newspaper POACHERS SUCK
Instead of stealing our hard work or robbing your neighbors of the joy of reading the Telegraph every week, here are a few things other than a brand new stack of Telegraphs you can use to start your fire (courtesy Explore.com):
1. Egg cartons and dryer lint (we’re sure belly button and pocket lint would work just as well)
2. Cotton balls and petroleum jelly (think of the fun you could have!)
3. Hand sanitizer (not just for COVID anymore)
4. Waxed paper and dryer lint (twist both ends of the paper to look like a doobie, we know you know how to do that)
5. Chips (the greasier the better, think Hot & Spicy Pringles, Spicy Nacho Doritos and, of course, Flaming Hot Cheetos.)
6. Duct tape (yet another use for duct tape. We’re not sure if this sounds 100% safe, but hey, if in a pinch ...)
Lessons from L.A.
Devastation of California fires could happen anywhere – especially here by Dave Marston / Writers on the
Dog rescue in tight spot as puppies keep coming but fosters don’t by Missy Votel
rescuer
Remembering Animas Stakeholder Group founder Bill Simon by Jonathan Thompson / Land Desk Cut short
Ear to the ground:
“Old Durango houses aren’t built for people with 30 jackets.”
– The classic Durango dilemma: too many jackets, too little closet space.
So Rando
It’s been 10 years since locals Peter Carver and Joe Philpott died in separate avalanche incidents. Since then, the nonprofit organization founded in their memory, Know the Snow Fund, has raised tens of thousands of dollars and handed out hundreds of scholarships for avalanche safety training. In 2024 alone, KTSF supported scholarships for nearly 100 individuals.
Now, folks have a chance to give back and help KTSF celebrate 10 years of helping people winter-recreate safely in the San Juans. (Costumes are highly encouraged. And while skinsuits may look funny, they are not technically costumes.)
On Sun., Jan. 26, KTSF’s annual Rando Race takes place at Purgatory starting at 8 a.m. The event, which is KTSF’s biggest fundraiser of the year, allows folks the rare opportunity to ski uphill (and down) at Purgatory – a practice that is not typically allowed. The event is open to seasoned athletes, casual costume-wearers and those just wanting to get a sweat on for a good cause.
A Gen Z-er’s reflections on another Trump presidency by Maddy Gleason
EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com
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telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
STAFF
The Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, tacky singletrack or mon-
ster powder days. We are wholly independently owned and operated by the Durango Telegraph
A 12th-hour editing snafu last week inadvertently cut off the last sentence and byline of the “La Vida Local” column. The column was written by the wonderful Doug Gonzalez. You can read it in its entirety at: durangotelegraph.com.
On the cover
Stretching the legs and the vistas during a roadtrip pitstop between Saguache and Del Norte./ Photo by Missy Votel
“We invite everyone to join. Whether you’re a competitive racer or a first-time participant, your involvement will help ensure that Know the Snow can continue to offer scholarships and education for many years to come,” KTSF Executive Director Jim Philpott said.
In its first decade, KTSF has given scholarships for Recreational Level 1 and 2 rescue courses, a Youth Recreational Level 1 through Silverton Avalanche School, a course for Animas High School students, and professional courses. In addition, through the donations from BCA, KTSF was able to dispense handheld radios to all scholarship recipients last year and provide radio training to further enhance backcountry safety.
“We are thankful for the support of our donors, volunteers and partners over the years, as well as the strong sense of community we’ve built,” Philpott said. “As we reflect on our 10-year journey, it’s incredibly inspiring to hear from past scholarship recipients who have gone on to pursue careers in the outdoor and winter sports industries, or simply become more confident and safer in their backcountry adventures.”
Past recipients have gone on to pursue careers in snow safety locally, including Purgatory Ski Patrol Manager Blayne Woods and CAIC forecaster, Krista Beyer.
To learn more about Know the Snow, donate or sign up for the Rando Race, visit: www.knowthesnowfund.org ■
LaVidaLocal
An exaggerated year
My first visit to Paul Bunyan’s professed hometown coincided with my first breath. For my mother it was a relief. I was the only child born to my parents in Brainerd, Minn. Paul Bunyan and Babe his blue ox also hold a dubious claim over some kind of birthright there. I do remember the lumberjack actually greeting me by name much later, during a childhood vacation visit to the town’s local tourist attraction called Pioneer Village. Even then, I suspected my parents arranged the encounter. How else would Paul Bunyan have known my name? And besides, his voice sounded kind of tinny for a 26-foot-tall woodsman leaning on his axe.
Bemidji, Minn., and Bangor, Maine, also prominently display Paul Bunyan statues and these cities compete in a good-natured rivalry about the giant lumberjack’s true hometown, along with Oscoda and Ossineke, Mich. Then there’s Westwood, Calif., and one more Paul Bunyan that was sold and emigrated from Baxter, Minn., to North Carolina in 2011. Folklore makes many dubious claims. Out of more than 30 Bunyan statues in America, I alone possess an honest signed-and-sealed certificate to prove my birthright, no matter what the other 30 statues say.
A flurry of ambitious resolutions also arrives with each New Year, revealing a portrait of excesses we have dragged along with us. New goals and better habits are popular. Improved fitness and wiser finances rank as the most popular plans. Drinking less, however, consistently appears near the bottom of the list, supporting the notion that what begins as a raised glass often ends up to be toast.
Before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, small towns across America sought to entice an ever-increasing influx of automobile tourists by constructing gigantic roadside attractions. The tradition led to the world’s largest chile pepper in Las Cruces, N.M., the “biggest” ball of twine in both Cawker City, Kans., and Darwin, Minn. Even a pest control company in Providence, R.I., designed and built a 4,000pound blue termite in 1980. Fondly known by locals as Wiggles Woodaway, it’s an unavoidable reminder to have your house treated for bug infestations.
Folklore’s enduring history and traditions have passed through many generations by word of mouth. They teach us lessons, which are readily recognized as exaggerations. Designed to make us smile, they are so different from the misinformation that clings to our social grapevines – not lore, but lies, enough to overfill the world’s largest paper cup in Riverside, Calif.
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, an ungraded 35-foot-tall Santa welcomes travelers to the Christmas season, and the old 5-foot diameter Times Square Ball in New York City – once illuminated by 100 incandescent bulbs – is now 12 feet wide and uses 32,000 LED lights. Our expectations continue to grow.
Thumbin’It
After 15 months of fighting, it appears Hamas and Israel have reached a cease fire agreement, raising hopes that there could soon be an end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza.
Last Sunday in Denver, the Professional Women’s Hockey League set a league attendance record at Ball Arena with 14,018 fans showing up to see Minnesota beat Montreal 4-2 and regain the No. 1 spot.
The City making progress on its promise to increase affordable housing with 72 units at the Residences at Durango, at the old Best Western on HWY 160, expected to be ready by the end of January. The second phase, which will provide 48 units, is expected to be completed this year.
One resolution never reported but always informally offered is “I resolve NOT to make New Year resolutions since I never keep any of them,” which sounds much like what Lewis Carroll’s hookah-smoking Caterpillar thinks while confronting Alice. He sits on his mushroom pedestal and presides over Alice’s altered reality, repeatedly demanding “Who are you?” After confronting her own mind-altering experiences wandering in Wonderland, Alice responds that she’s not sure, and sometimes neither are we. Who can blame us, especially after years spent inhaling the toxic smoke of an ever-changing BIG political lie. Mis-and-dis information has had its way with all of us. Facebook is responsible for over 2 billion daily active users and qualifies as the world’s largest manure spreader. WhatsApp encourages another billion daily users. It appears the taller the lie, the more attention it receives. Alice turns herself into what an onlooker might consider a tourist attraction when she mentions to the Caterpillar, “Well, I should like to be a little larger, sir, if you wouldn’t mind ... 3 inches is such a wretched height to be.” The Caterpillar is sitting on the answer to her wish. It’s right in front of her nose. But when she breaks off a piece from the mushroom’s right side and nibbles on it, she shrinks even more. Then she takes a morsel from the left side and undergoes an unbelievable growth spurt, so tall her head towers above the canopy of trees.
So it is with the challenge to stay sane in our own little Wonderland of political theater. At first I was inclined to close my eyes and ignore the news. Then I heard from a neighbor the rumor of a special where for a mere $360,000 I could live comfortably on a cruise ship for the next four years. Instead of signing up for a GoFundMe platform, I decided to try following Alice’s example: fill my pockets with the sensible nibbles from the left, because being made to feel ever so small by the right is no way to live a life. I’ll just see how gracefully I can rise above it all.
– David Feela
Utah’s continued war on trans rights, with trans girls competing in high school sports now required to meet testosterone levels more than four times lower than the threshold for NCAA college sports.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has joined the legions of spineless big tech leaders bowing to Trump, announcing he will be hosting a black-tie party for Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. We just threw up a little in our mouths.
The passing last week of Bill Simon, founder of the Animas River Stakeholders Group, lifelong environmentalist, Animas River advocate, outdoorsman and beloved community fixture
SignoftheDownfall:
Tonya Herding Texan cheerleader Aubrey Vanlandingham (17) is a showgoat competitor. She thought her 15-year-old rival was cheating, so Aubrey found her competitor’s goat, Willie, and used a “drench gun” to force-feed him pesticides. Aubrey lurked in the shadows until Willie died, and then called her competitor’s mom to say Willie “wasn’t well.” Aubrey was arrested last November and admitted to everything only after being confronted with security footage showing Willie’s murder, and with her own search history, which included “how to poison pets” and “how to clear search history,” which she didn’t do. Aubrey lost her seat as the president of the local FFA, but only because the second “F” doesn’t stand for “felon.”
A wake-up call
Devastation of L.A. fires could happen anywhere – even Durango
by Dave Marston
After fierce winds whipped fire out of brush-covered hills Jan. 7, entire Los Angeles neighborhoods burned down. Within a few days, more than 12,000 homes and businesses had been destroyed as flames ringed the city. And it’s not over yet.
The photos of smoldering neighborhoods and distraught residents are horrific and shocking. Could they also presage the kind of wildfire that might overtake Durango, a town of about 20,000 in southwestern Colorado?
It’s a question worth asking. Local fire experts say Los Angeles and Durango are similar in topography. Durango doesn’t experience the hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that pushed the L.A. fires, but it does often have sustained winds of 30 mph and gusts over 40 mph, which can vault burning embers great distances.
Perhaps more importantly, the big city and the town share the same pattern of development.
Angelenos have long coveted proximity to wooded canyons for their homes. Durango residents crave the same access to nature, pushing housing into the nearby hills. In both places, million-dollar homes have been built among flammable trees.
Other similarities include lax regulations that fail to dissuade wildland builders. Then there’s the question of storing enough water and having sufficient water pressure to fight blazes. Los Angeles ran out of water fast, because attacks on simultaneous fires quickly drew down supplies.
Durango uses around 4 million gallons daily and has two weeks of storage in its Terminal Reservoir. But if the city ran a dozen or more high-flow hydrants, water pressure would plummet in days. Here’s a suggestion: Prioritize building the $11-million-dollar, 36-inch pro-
posed water line from Lake Nighthorse, a nearby reservoir, to the city system, boosting raw water storage to four months.
Durango has a history of large wildfires. In 2002, the 73,000-acre Missionary Ridge Fire torched 46 structures. The town suffered another blow in 2018 when the 416 Fire burned 54,130 acres.
Randy Black, Durango Fire Protection District Chief, is quick to point out that not one structure was lost in 2018, thanks to a coordinated effort by local and state crews. “We got lucky,” he said.
“If the June 2018 fire happened later in the season, resources wouldn’t have been available.” Also key were carefully forged relationships among regional firefighting resources, Black said, along with extensive planning.
One hundred eighty employees and volunteers staff the Durango Fire District, which covers both the city and a 325-square-mile swath of the county. Black said they focus on what he calls the most important aspect of firefighting – mitigation meant to keep wildland fires from starting in the first place.
That means working to create fire breaks between wildlands and urban areas and removing fuels within the urban core. The town participates by thinning wooded areas on its perimeter, and federal agencies manage both thinning and controlled burns.
“If you don’t do the fire mitigation, you run the risk of whole neighborhoods catching on fire,” Black said.
Another similarity between Los Angeles and Durango is that both share dif-
ficulty in getting fire insurance. Some insurers have pulled out of California entirely, and when the Durango Fire District built its new in-town firehouse last year, Black said, no one would insure the structure at first. Colorado insurance companies had just weathered 10 years of property losses to wildland fire, and they were loath to take chances.
Colorado’s new, state-backed Fair Plan offers a last resort for home insurance, but it’s bare-bones coverage of homes worth up to $750,000. With building costs in Durango now estimated to be $500 to $700 per square foot, losing a 2,000-square-foot home to wildfire means rebuilding a much smaller house.
I’ve talked to many wildland fire experts about how towns can fight these multiple, destructive blazes. Their suggestions boil down to three basics:
• First, make building requirements stringent for any home proposed in wildlands.
• Second, get residents involved. The Durango Fire District offers homeowners free assessments of fire risk, and it also advises the creation of three zones around a house: Remove anything flammable within 5 feet, include a turnaround big enough for fire vehicles, and allow only widely spaced trees and mown grass out to 100 feet.
• A third step is “hardening” existing structures with fireproof building materials. Black, who built his own house, said he chose cement siding and a metal roof.
If homeowners take these steps, say insurers, they stand a better chance of keeping their insurance policies. Twentyfour people have lost their lives in the Los Angeles fires as of Jan. 12. Their deaths are a wakeup call to everyone living in the West – especially Durango.
Dave Marston is the publisher of Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to lively discussion about the West. He lives in Durango. ■
2023 was a controlled burn on Animas Mountain. Next time may not be so lucky./ Photo by Dave Marston
SoapBox D-Tooned/
Put P.O. in mall
I retired in Durango in 2000, and back then we had three post offices in town: the main one downtown on 8th Street; a contract office at 32nd and Main; and one in the Durango Mall. The north and south contract stations closed in about 2003, leaving just the main downtown office. It was built in 1979 when Durango had a population of about 11,000. Although the Bush administration passed the ADA in 1990, the downtown post office has not installed auto door openers, because they say it was grandfathered in. Well, tell that to a grandma with a walker.
I think the city might move the post office to install auto doors. This is 2025. The city could also buy the post office and the land to make more parking next to the Transit Center. The post office could then move to the south end of the Durango Mall, where JCPenney was. There is lots of parking and room for semi trucks.
The city is growing south with housing and business … so why not? Durango is about 19,000 now, and the post office is outdated. Just think, the south
end of the mall will be active again and parking issues downtown improved. No need to cut 50 parking meter spots or have a new post office built.
– Bob Battani, Durango
The irony of Jan. 20
This coming Monday is the Martin Luther King holiday, celebrating a visionary man’s life and achievements in U.S. history. It also is the day the incoming president is to be inaugurated. The irony is obvious in what these two men represent and committed their lives to doing. King was a humble man born into a preacher’s family who became a Baptist minister. Trump was born into a wealthy family raised in a mansion in Jamaica Estates, Queens, N.Y. Trump earned a bachelor’s degree in economics after attending a private military school. King eventually earned a PhD after a Master in Divinity. King went on to give speeches and organized marches in support of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the Civil Rights Act, helping both to become law.
Trump has made it harder for Ameri-
by Rob Pudim
cans to vote – particularly voters of color, voters with limited English proficiency, voters with disabilities, older voters and other marginalized voters –and spread false, debunked theories de-
signed to undermine confidence in the integrity of our voting system. On civil rights, Trump has vowed “retribution” against his enemies, in particular the Justice Department, and the current
Civil Rights Division staff, possibly using Schedule F, which he authorized to fire some 50,000 civil servants.
Retribution and threatening his perceived enemies is how Trump works for change, evidenced early on when he threatened his high school, colleges and the College Board with legal action if they released his academic records. King was an advocate of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience to enact change, such as resisting the Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination.
King was jailed several times. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover saw King as a radical and had agents investigate him for being a communist, spied on him and mailed him a threatening letter. King persevered, and in 1964 won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality via nonviolent resistance.
Perhaps one of Trump’s best-known efforts to effect political change was his support of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump will be inaugurated with the support of billionaires and will hold the distinction of being the only U.S. President to gain office as a convicted and sentenced felon.
How can one reconcile this Jan. 20 as a day of celebration with two such different personages? I choose to celebrate
King and his “dream” that we all deserve the same right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
– Tim Thomas, Duran go
A stark contrast
News of the death of Jimmy Carter was very sad, and I took time to reflect on his life. He is known for doing more in his post-presidency than any other president, working around the world to help people. During his presidency, he was most well known for facilitating a peace plan in the Middle East.
He was gracious and well-spoken, his life and actions reflected his faith, and always told the American people he would never lie to them. Such a contrast to our incoming President Trump, who is the epitome of “ugly American:” an arrogant liar, felon and coward. He hid in his office during the insurrection, which also makes him a traitor trying to undermine our democracy. He’s also a womanizer who is currently naming folks who are completely unqualified to cabinet positions.
He will work to undermine Social Security, Medicare, our health system and, most importantly, all the work to save our planet by “drilling for oil” and impeding the work to move to renewable
energy and decrease burning of fossil fuels. Not only are fossil fuels causing climate change, but they are causing the extinction crisis.
Folks, do you know and care about all the marvelous life on our Earth?
Trump will work to gut the Endangered Species, Clean Air and Water acts. Americans, you must fight. Those of you who voted for him: your grandchildren will be ashamed of what you’ve done. Please educate yourselves and act for the planet on which we all depend.
– Margaret Mayer, Durango
Respect for the office
Whirling, swirling, in the heart of the land
Misleading, deceiving, out of hand
To dishonor our president
The White House resident
Working against him, right from the start
Proposing division with all their heart
The fracas continues, the man claimed a devil
On trumped-up claims by buffoons not on level
Ignoring the evils of Congressional extortion
Lobbyists, corruption and greed their
absorption
Put down his detractors
With more truthful factors
He is our leader, we owe him that honor
While vowing his actions and decisions to monitor
Without being reticent
With our 47th president
To speak up loudly,
To cry out proudly
We are Americans, through centuries of struggles
Still preserving our liberties despite many troubles,
Freedoms we will work with him to preserve
And ensure as our duty he’ll honorably serve
Like him or not
Trump’s what we’ve got
So take him or leave him
But do not believe them
Who dishonor our land
Joining the condemning band...
Covering up the real story
Of the swamp in its glory...
Sheltering its massive corruption
By creating contentious disruption.
So onward to 2025 to respect the choice
With less dissention, a more honorable voice...
– Katherine A. Reynolds, Durango
Dog days of winter
Parker’s Animal Rescue in dire straits as puppies keep coming, fosters don’t
by Missy Votel
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to better the world for humankind? Or dogkind? Well, here’s your chance to make good on that promise. And even if you aren’t the resolutions type, it’s still a great way to get warm fuzzies – and maybe a few slobbery kisses – from something warm and fuzzy. Durango’s nonprofit, mostly-dog rescue (they do get the occasional kitten. And parakeet – just kidding) Parker’s Animal Rescue is in dire need of dog fosters. “I hate the word ‘desperate,’ but we are in a crisis,” PAR’s executive director Lisa Parker said Tuesday. “We haven’t been able to find fosters for two months.”
For those not in the know, PAR, formerly known as Lisa Parker’s Puppies, works on a foster system, where puppies are put into local homes until forever homes can be found. Since starting about 10 years ago, PAR has found homes for about 1,100 animals that may otherwise have met an unlucky fate.
Typically, PAR has about 100 dogs a year that need foster care. However, last year, Parker could only find homes for 80, and so far, 2025 is off to a less-than-stellar start, with only six dogs in foster homes as opposed to the average of 16-18.
“Usually, we kind of wane in November and December; it’s the holidays and people are travelling,” she said. “Then in January, everybody is willing to foster again. But this year, it didn’t happen, and I was like ‘oh sh**.’”
Pardon her French, but particularly worrisome is the arrival of four new (adorable fluffball!) puppies this week for whom she has yet to find foster homes. (For the record, Parker refers to this special variety of dog as “Durango purebreds.”)
“You can make all the pleas you want on Facebook and Instagram, and people are like, ‘She’ll figure it out. She always does,’” Parker said. “But, we’re about to go under. Obviously not financially…but I have four puppies coming in and not one foster. I turned the
heat on in my garage, in case I have to take them.”
Parker gets most of her puppies from the shelter in Espanola, N.M. “We’re pulling from shelters that are even higher-need than local shelters,” she said.
Over the last several years, she has built a solid relationship with the shelter there. “They spay and neuter them, they parvo test them, they giardia test them, they deworm them – they do everything. And they drive them to us,” she said. “They’re just doing it right. It’s a good relationship.”
How to save a life
However – and this is where we would cue the Sarah McLachlan song or maybe Primus’ “Too Many Puppies” – without fosters, those fluffballs may not go on to know what it’s like to swim in the Animas River, frolic in the mountains or prance around in a bandanna and answer to a name like “Klondike” or “Everest.”
“Every shelter has to humanely euthanize,” Parker said. “I never use the word ‘kill,’ because it is not fair. It’s just so hard.”
Lisa Parker with two of her recent intakes. Parker takes in between 80-100 dogs a year to be fostered locally, most from the shelter in Espanola, N.M. Lately, there have not been enough fosters to care for them until they get adopted./Courtesy photo
In addition to that, post-pandemic owner surrenders are still at a high level, she said.
Here’s another gut punch: According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), in 2023, about 3.2 million dogs entered shelters in the United States. This was a 0.2% increase over 2022. And while the number of dogs entering shelters is remaining relatively steady, the number of adoptions is not keeping pace. Economic factors like job loss, inflation and housing are making it difficult for owners to keep or adopt pets in the first place.
That’s the doggy downer. But now for the puppy upper. “Fostering just one time saves a life,” said Parker. She points out that if every PAR adopter fostered just once, that would be 1,000 dogs fostered.
“It’s a great way to give back, and even people who didn’t adopt from us, every person who fosters, that’s huge,” she said. “Our community’s not big, but I think there’s enough people willing to do this.”
For the foster curious, there are oodles of foster testimonials on PAR’s website, www.parkersanimalrescue .com. PAR tries to offer as much support as possible, providing food, leashes, collars, crates, blankies, treats, toys, medical care and vet visits, fill-in day care and puppy play times at their facility, and, most importantly, behavioral advice.
Looking for a forever home
And speaking of the PAR facility, Parker said the nonprofit’s recent capital campaign garnered enough money to buy a larger facility than their existing space on N. Main. The new space could house up to 12 dogs, although she will still rely heavily on the foster model, becasue she feels it is best for dogs to be in a home setting.
“I do want to remain foster-based,” she said. “That’s why our return rate is less than 1 percent. It’s very powerful.”
However, finding a spot for the new facility has been a little like, well, a dog chasing its own tail.
“We have the money, but it’s hard with the zoning,” Parker said. “We’re classified as a kennel, and there’s very little space left for kennels. We’ve put in a dozen feasibility or change-of-use requests but haven’t been able to get into a spot. We’ve been looking for over a year.”
Farther down the road, Parker envisions a second nonprofit, sort of a “puppy pipeline,” if you will, that will connect shelters with space or special demands (say small dogs) with shelters that are overflowing (or, say, have a lot of chihuahuas).
But in the meantime, Parker said even if she has to scale back the number of dogs she can accept, she will continue the good fight – looking for foster and forever homes, for the dogs and her operation. “It’s great. I love it, you’re making a difference,” she said of her 10-year labor of love.
“To see a dog happy and relaxed in their foster home is the greatest joy of my life.”
And for those would-be fosters still sitting on the fence, maybe it’s time to stand up. It’s just a few weeks out of your life, and who knows? You might even enjoy the warm fuzzies so much, you never sit on the fence again.
“There’s always the option, ‘That went great. I’d totally do it again,’” she said.
For more on fostering (or adopting!) or to fill out a foster application, go to: parkersanimalrescue.com.■
Parker with some pups at a recent Friday afternoon puppy party. The parties allow the dogs to build social skills and blow off steam while giving potential adopters a chance to meet them./Courtesy photo
Watershed warrior
Stakeholder Group’s Bill Simon dedicated life to cleaning up Animas River
by Jonathan Thompson
The San Juan Mountains lost a powerful advocate and influential character Jan. 5 with the passing of William “Bill” Simon of Durango and Silverton. I first met Simon in 1996, shortly after I moved to Silverton to work for the Silverton Standard & the Miner I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but I imagine I had sought him out since, to the dismay of my bosses, I was interested in writing about mining-related pollution and was told Simon was the go-to guy.
I probably expected to find some sort of nonprofitstyle bureaucrat sitting in an office, working up lawsuits. But no. Simon was at his welding shop, a lanky guy with longish, unkempt hair, a mustache, and dressed in grungy jeans and a denim shirt. He struck me as a bit of a hippy, albeit one who could wield a welding torch and pilot a backhoe.
He spoke slowly and thoughtfully in a gravelly voice, and it soon became clear that while he may have been an environmentalist – he was among the founders of Earth Day during his grad school days in Berkeley – he was first and foremost a scientist and intellectual who embraced the complexity of the hydrologic situation in the San Juans. He had no agenda, just a keen desire to understand the issues, improve water quality to whatever degree possible and work with whomever he could to accomplish that.
Simon was not only an invaluable source as I reported on these issues but also a role model. He inspired me to seek out complexity, nuance and gray areas – especially when it comes to environmental issues. Simon will be greatly missed. The following is his obituary:
William “Bill” Simon of Durango and Silverton, Colo., passed away peacefully Jan. 5, 2025, under the care of doctors and nurses of the Mercy Hospice House. He will be remembered for his selfless dedication to understanding water quality issues of the upper Animas River watershed and his uncanny ability to bring disparate groups together to tackle the problems.
Simon was born Nov. 27, 1944, in Milwaukee, Wisc., to Jim and Jane Simon. When Bill was 3 years old, the family moved to Loveland and started a farm. At a young age, Bill and his brother largely took over the farm and raised sheep, learned animal husbandry, gardened and ran a trapline. Bill grew up hunting, fishing, skiing and jeeping and worked for a summer on a Wyoming ranch.
Simon attended Western Colorado University in Gunnison, where he raced on the alpine ski team, before transferring to the University of Colorado, Boulder. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in botany, he went to UC Berkeley on a NASA fellowship to pursue a doctorate in evolutionary ecology. He helped start the Environmental Studies College there and was on the founding board of Earth Day.
But when the military started taking interest in Simon and the work he was doing, the young scientist, who had also been active in the anti-Vietnam War effort, took a “permanent leave of absence” from Berkeley. He and his wife, Arlene, landed in Silverton, where they opened a candle-making, leather-working and crafts business.
Simon also worked underground at the Sunnyside Gold Mine before breaking out on his own as Alpine Mine Construction. He did large-scale welding, operated heavy equipment and did reclamation work for various mines. Oftentimes, after completing work he was hired to do, Simon would clean up some of the junk from the old mines and even plant trees. He also began to wonder whether the streams, which the state had declared “dead” due to mining pollution, could actually support fish.
In 1984 Simon was elected to the San Juan County Board of Commissioners. It provided him an opportunity to test his fish question. With a group of miners, who were also anglers, he hiked into the backcountry carrying thousands of tiny brook and cutthroat trout, donated by the state Division of Wildlife, and poured
them into the healthiest-looking streams and lakes. To nearly everyone’s surprise, many of them survived, proving that, with adequate cleanup, some segments of stream could support a fish population.
In 1994, Simon and other volunteers worked with the state to create the Animas River Stakeholders Group to address water-quality issues with a community-based, collaborative approach. Simon was the coordinator. “We figured we could empower the people in the community to do the job without top-down management,” Simon said. “Giving the power to the people develops stewardship for the resource.”
For the next two decades, the ARSG thoroughly researched the Animas River watershed, educated the public and, with the cooperation of the industry and regulators, worked on dozens of projects aimed at improving water quality. Within 10 years of ARSG’s founding, the Animas River grew cleaner, and trout populations and diversity increased. Simon and his colleagues also pushed Congress to pass “good Samaritan” legislation that would allow volunteers to clean up mines without liability. President Biden finally signed the bill into law in December.
Simon was featured prominently in numerous stories about the ARSG and mining-related pollution, including “River of Lost Souls,” by Jonathan Thompson. And the sixth episode of “Acid Mine Nation,” a documentary series by filmmaker Tom Schillaci about the Upper Animas watershed, is dedicated to Simon. Simon and the ARSG were awarded many honors, including the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Regional 2007 Partnership of the Year Award, and the Interior Department’s Cooperative Conservation Award. The Mountain Studies Institute honored Simon and his ARSG co-founders, Peter Butler and Steve Fearn, with a sculpture and plaque along the Animas River. Simon also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at a Sustaining Colorado Watersheds Conference.
Somehow Simon found the time for his many hobbies, including skiing (he and his friends pioneered many San Juan backcountry routes), ski jumping, ice skating, gardening, drumming, traveling and making jewelry. He was also a member of the Durango Gem and Mineral Club. Simon spent the last years of his life enjoying his farm in Hermosa, the fruits of a 50-year dream he and Arlene worked tirelessly for.
Bill is survived by brothers Bobby and Don; his wife of 52 years, Arlene; daughters Heidi (Matt, Lindsey and Paige Rettmer) and Brook; and granddaughter Whitney. Those who wish to do so can make a donation in Simon’s memory to the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease. A Celebration of Life will take place in the spring.
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 ■
Bill Simon in the 1980s when he was running for San Juan County Commissioner. / Photo courtesy of Arlene Simon.
I’ve been let down
A Gen Z-er’s fear, loathing – and hopes – for another Trump presidency
by Maddy Gleason
Waking up to the news that we as a people had chosen to elect a convicted felon guilty on 34 counts and accused of sexual assault by at least 26 women was not as much of a shock as I had expected – but it still stung.
The night of Nov. 5, 2024, left me with a deep pit in my stomach, one I know won’t let up for at least the next four years. Hatred won, once again. Trump’s victory in all seven swing states resulted in 312 electoral votes, beating Harris’ 226. Quite a disparity in votes for a country that pretends to love women. But it’s my belief that it’s quite the opposite. In terms of policy and representation, we have become a country that loathes the female body. Or loathes anyone not born with white, male privilege.
For anyone paying attention, this is nothing new. With Trump’s inauguration next week, we’ve got to band together and spread love, not hate.
This doesn’t dismantle the pockets of hope that exist nationally and are incredibly strong, the networks of support that protect anyone who identifies as a deviation from the white, straight male trope. But it puts more pressure on them to survive.
It’s been difficult to organize this piece. I feel so lost, I’m not sure how my writing is supposed to show the opposite. I keep coming back, not sure how vulnerable I want to be. I’ve also been told I don’t have enough years, enough experience to make some of these claims. I reject that: if the sexualization of the female body can exist, so should the right and journalistic responsibility to speak about it.
Young women in America are fed so many messages that we are expected to digest with humility: don’t make yourself a victim; stand up for yourself; reject systems of power.
What we are taught in our smaller circles doesn’t reflect on a larger scale. If you feel sad, if you’re sick, if you need advice, talk to your mom. Maybe this isn’t true for everyone, but I feel like it’s the rhetoric I’ve been fed as I grow up.
But if a woman can be trusted to
hold a family together – to provide and to care – why can’t she be trusted to run the country or hold positions of power in a space other than emotional support? I’m not equating the mere existence of womanhood to being capable of running the country, but the fact that these two paths haven’t intersected makes it clear just how much America values women when the uterus isn’t in-
volved.
I’m lucky enough to live in Colorado, where bodily autonomy, choice and freedom are valued. But I feel deeply for the women in states where that choice isn’t theirs to make. I feel sick thinking about the women who have or who will experience violation of their bodies and identities through assault. If coming forward wasn’t discouraging enough be-
fore, how will survivors of sexual violence cope with seeing Trump, a confirmed abuser, sit on his golden toilet and evade all responsibility of these horrific actions?
The problem with Trump’s second presidency is that it essentially encourages disrespect of women. And what I’ve come to realize in the past couple months is that the women who voted red might not realize they’ve contributed to the female population being backed into a corner, surveilled at every turn.
The very presence of womanhood threatens a stable patriarchy, which has been made clear by the fight for bodily autonomy and constant efforts to restrict it. It’s seeming like anything will be done to dismantle femininity if it’s not expressed in a traditional way – no woman is safe. The patriarchy doesn’t care who you voted for – if you are a woman, you are lesser than your male counterpart.
This anger has mobilized me; it makes me want to prompt conversations with those I may disagree with in a respectful way. I want to learn about their perspectives, and I want them to learn about mine. Maybe that way we can find middle ground. That’s the only solution to bridging the gap. I hope I can put aside my hatred for the hatred that exists – I know I can, but it will be challenging. Nothing’s going to be easy for a while, but at least we have each other.
Trump’s presidential victory in 2016 marked my 15th year of living – this time around, I’m 22 – and just as scared. But I’m privileged to be part of a white, middle-class family in Colorado.
Coming of age as a young woman in the Trump era has been disappointing, liberating and mobilizing all at the same time. Existing in femininity is an uphill battle but one I am proud (and lucky) to fight.
Maddy Gleason is a recent graduate of journalism and Spanish programs at CU Boulder and former co-head editor of the Durango High School newspaper El Diablo. She lives in Durango where she loves reading books in the sun, enjoying the altitude with her dogs and has rediscovered her crafty side. ■
Jan. 16, 2025 n 11
Thursday16
Spanish Conversation Hour, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Plant identifying & Primitive Fire-making with City Ranger Tosh Black, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center, 2700 Main Ave.
Brain Yoga, brain health workshop with Linda Illsley, 5:30-7 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Bluegrass Jam, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.
Tim Sullivan plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Trivia Night, 6:30-9 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio
Drag Trivia Night hosted by Aria PettyOne, 7:309:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Big Richard - GIRL Dinner Tour night one with special guest Birds of Play, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.
Open Mic Night, 8-11 p.m., The Tangled Horn, 275 E. 8th Ave
Friday17
Larry Carver and the Rando Zone with Randy Crumbaugh play, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Ed Squared Blues Band, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co., 484 Hwy 160 E., Mancos
Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
“The Life and Music of Claude Debussy,” presented by San Juan Symphony, 7 p.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave.
Big Richard - GIRL Dinner Tour night two with special guest Stillhouse String Band, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.
Saturday18
Food Drive for TARA Food Pantry in Arboles, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Albertsons and S. City Market grocery stores
English Conversation Circle, 10-11 a.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
National People’s March, 11:30 a.m., meet at train station and march to Buckley Park for speakers
Durango Wedding Expo, 12-3 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.
Live Clay Painting with Eunika Rogers, 12-6 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B
National People’s March workshops and planning, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Kirk James plays, 5 p.m., Cliffside Bar and Grille, 314 Tamarron Dr.
Euchre Tournament, 5:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Karaoke, 6 p.m., Durango Beer & Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.
Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Adam Swanson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Sunday19
Food Drive for TARA Food Pantry in Arboles, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Albertsons and S. City Market
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
Funk Jam Session presented by Jimmy’s Music & Supply, 5-7 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave.
Blue Moon Ramblers play, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Charlie Henry plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.
Monday20
Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.
Joel Racheff plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Comedy Open Mic, 8 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.
Tuesday21
Cowboy Tuesdays, 12-3 p.m., The Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Wade Griffith presents to the Rotary Club of Durango on Shanta Foundation’s efforts to end extreme poverty in international communities, 6-7 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.
Terry Rickard plays, 6 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Cookbook Club: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nostrat, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.
Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Fierce & Fabulous Drag Bingo, 7-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.
Wednesday22
Lunch & Learn: How Your Website Can Boost Profits, 12 noon-1 p.m., Community Room, TBK Bank, 259 W. 9th St.
Womenade Donor Event, 5:30-6:30 p.m., 701 Public House, 701 E. 2nd Ave.
Donny Johnson plays, 5:30-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Open Mic with Leigh Mikell, 7 p.m., EsoTerra Ciderworks, 558 Main Ave.
Karaoke Roulette, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.
Ongoing
Mark Johnson Photography Exhibit, thru January, Create Art & Tea, 1015 Main Ave.
Christmas Tree Drop Off, thru Jan. 31, Santa Rita Park, 149 S. Camino del Rio
“Given Time: Sensory Aesthetics of Reclamation,” exhibit exploring Indigenous relationships to land, FLC Center of Southwest Studies. Show runs thru April 24, 2025.
Heartwood Cohousing 4th Friday Potluck, every 4th Friday thru Oct., 6:30 p.m., 800 Heartwood Ln, Bayfield, heartwoodcohousing@gmail.com to reserve a tour
Upcoming
Pain Care Yoga, free series, Tuesdays, Jan. 21March 11, 4:30-5:45 p.m., Registration required: innerpeaceyogatherapy.com/locations/durango
Recovery Yoga, free series for individuals in recovery, Thursdays, Jan. 23 - March 13, 4:30-5:45 p.m.Registration required: innerpeaceyoga therapy.com/locations/durango
AskRachel A bookworm’s dilemma, buttered up and selling out
Interesting fact: The butter compartment is, reportedly, the warmest part of the fridge, thus keeping butter easier to cut. And here I thought that’s what electric knives were for.
Dear Rachel,
Plane etiquette question. Nighttime flight. Everyone’s tired. The cabin lights go down. Most everyone is asleep or trying to be. But not me. I just got airport coffee and a smutty paperback and am rarin’ to go. I turn on my reading light. It stands out. Maybe three of us on the whole flight have lights on. My seatmate has the gall to ask me to turn it off. I don’t think I have to. But should I? And why not?
– Lighting the Way
Dear Bookworm,
Ah, the question you’re asking might well be this: Is there a place in society anymore for the bookworm? Your seatmate should have been more concerned about whether you had a blanket over your lap, reading racy novels like that. Maybe you should bring a flashlight next time so you can cover yourself entirely in your blanket and read in your own private bubble. Just inform the flight attendants ahead of time so they don’t pass you over for snacks.
– Coming in for a landing, Rachel
The FUN-Official Kickoff of Snowdown with Durango Chamber Business After Hours, Thurs., Jan 23, 57 p.m., DoubleTree, 501 Camino Del Rio
“Animal Tracking and Tracks,” presented by City Parks Ranger Tosh Black, Thurs., Jan 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center, 2700 Main Ave.
Permit Party Fundraiser featuring the Lawn Chair Kings, presented by Dolores River Boating Advocates, Fri., Jan 24, 6-10 p.m., Dolores Community Center, 400 Riverside Ave., Dolores
Snowdown 2025: The Board Game Edition, Jan. 24- Feb. 2, various locations
Black Velvet with Larry Carver & Nina Sasaki, Fri., Jan 24, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
Mixed in Mancos 2024 Album Release Party featuring music by Farmington Hill and Little Wilderness, Sat., Jan. 25, 5-9 p.m., Mancos Brewing, 484 Hwy 160 E. Frontage Rd, Mancos
Larry Carver and Ben Gibson play, Fri., Jan 31, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.
AILEY II The Next Generation of Dance, Thurs., Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m., The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Dear Rachel,
What makes butter so special? Why, out of all the dairy products and toast spreadables, does butter get its own penthouse in the refrigerator? Fruit and veggies make sense. They have humidity needs and could easily get squashed by a gallon of milk. But butter? It’s already solid. It comes in little boxes, and then in paper. It’s protected. What gives?
– Good Butter Best
Dear Stick Up Your Butter, The butter worked this into its contract: it wanted a space distinct from milk and cream and the other butter wannabes. Butter is the only dairy that isn’t afraid of heights. Mingling with the other ingredients is not its jam. Butter knows it makes everything taste better, so it doesn’t want to taste like anything else. (Sometimes it’s salty about this.) But butter is also a voyeur; thus, the see-through walls of its pad. I can’t believe it’s not a better penthouse, to be honest.
– Spreading misinformation, Rachel
Dear Rachel,
News media is going the way of the billionaire class. Really glad that the Telegraph is staying true. But are you? Or has no one offered you enough money to sell out yet? What would it take to buy your voice and/or the paper’s?
– Totally Not an Interested Party
SOLAS Celtic ensemble, Thurs., Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Valentine’s Day Showdown hockey game fundraiser for girls hockey, Durango Betties face off against the DAYHA Girls U19 Team, Fri., Feb. 14, 5-7:15 p.m., Chapman Hill Ice Rink
“Outdoor First Aid Basics,” taught by City Parks Ranger Tosh Black, two-week class, Thurs., Feb. 6 and 13, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center, 2700 Main Ave.
Hiking and backpacking essentials for going into the backcountry, Thurs. Feb. 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center, 2700 Main Ave.
International Guitar Night XXV, Wed. Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m., The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Outdoor etiquette and how to go potty in the wilderness, Thurs. Feb. 27 and March 6, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Rec Center, 2700 Main Ave.
Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet, Wed. March 5, 7:30 p.m., The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Backstage Pass Concert Series presents Stephen Espaniola, Wed. March 26, 7:30 p.m., The Community
Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com
Dear Moneybags, Everyone has a price. Me included. You could sponsor me right now! I’d simply add, to every column, “Funded in part by Moneybags,” so that every reader with sense could read between the lines and figure out that maybe I’m actually making fun of my sponsor. But I wouldn’t really care. I’d be flying first class, where you can get the flight crew to read to you so you don’t even need a reading light.
– Know your worth, Rachel
Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Jarabe Mexico “Bordeno-Soul,” Wed. April 2, 7:30 p.m., The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Cirque Mechanics “Pedal Punk,” Wed. April 9, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Magic Rocks! Illusionist Leon Etienne, Sat., April 19, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
An Evening with David Sedaris, Fri. April 25, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Deadline to submit items for “Stuff to Do” is Monday at noon. Please include:
• Date and time of event
• Location of event
FreeWillAstrology
by Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Abdulrazak
Gurnah is a Tanzanian writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021. He has also been shortlisted for four other prestigious awards. I find it odd that his acclaimed novels have received mediocre scores on the prominent book-rating website, Goodreads, which has 150 million members. Why is there such a marked difference between expert critics and average readers? I speculate that those in the latter category are less likely to appreciate bold, innovative work. They don’t have the breadth to properly evaluate genius. All this is my way of encouraging you to be extra discerning about whose opinions you listen to in coming weeks – especially in regard to your true value. Trust intelligent people who specialize in thoughtful integrity. You are in a phase when your ripening uniqueness needs to be nurtured.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Every joke is a tiny revolution,” author George Orwell said. I agree, which is why I hope you will unleash an unruly abundance of humor and playfulness in the coming days. I hope you will also engage in benevolent mischief that jostles the status quo and gently shakes people out of their trances. Why? Because your world and everyone in it need a sweet, raucous revolution. And the best way to accomplish that with minimum chaos and maximum healing is to: 1. do so with kindness and compassion; and 2. be amusing, joyful and full of joie de vivre.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Research suggests that if you’re typical, you would have to howl with maximum fury for a month straight just to produce enough energy to toast a piece of bread. But you are not typical right now. Your wrath is high quality. It’s more likely than usual to generate constructive changes. And it’s more prone to energize you rather than deplete you. But don’t get overconfident in your ability to harness rage for good causes. Be respectful of its holy potency, and don’t squander it on trivial matters. Use it only for crucial prods that significantly change things for the better.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I invite you to write a message to the person you will be in one year. Inform this Future You that you are taking a vow to achieve three specific goals by Jan. 15, 2026. Name these goals. Say why they are so important to you. Describe what actions you will take to fulfill them. Compose collages or draw pictures that convey your excitement about them. When
you’ve done all that, write, “I pledge to devote all my powers to accomplish these wonderful feats.” Sign your name. Place your document in an envelope, write “MY VOWS” on the front, and tape the envelope in a prominent place in your home or workplace.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Congratulations on all the subtle and private work you’ve been doing to make yourself a better candidate for optimal togetherness. Admitting your need for improvement was brave! Learning more about unselfish cooperation was hard work and so was boosting your listening skills. (I speak from personal experience, having labored to enhance my own relationship skills!) Very soon, I expect you will begin harvesting the results of your artful efforts.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Construction on the Great Wall of China began in the 7th century BCE and lasted until 1878. Let’s make this monumental accomplishment your symbol of power for the next 10 months! May it inspire you to work tirelessly to forge your own monumental accomplishment. Take pride in the gradual progress you’re making. Be persistent in engaging the support of those who share your vision. Your steady determination, skill at collaborating and ability to plan will be your superpowers as you create a labor of love that will have enduring power.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): We are all accustomed to dealing with complications and complexities –so much so that we may be tempted to imagine there’s never a simple solution to any dilemma. Nuance and paradox surround us, tempting us to think that every important decision must inevitably be taxing and time-consuming. As someone who specializes in trying to see all sides, I am especially susceptible to these perspectives. (I have three planets in Libra.) But here’s the unexpected news: In coming weeks, you will enjoy the luxury of quickly settling on definitive, straightforward solutions. You will get a sweet respite from relentless fuzziness and ambiguity.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): When my daughter Zoe was 11 years old, she published her first collection of poems. The title was “Secret Freedom.” That’s a good theme for you to meditate on in the coming weeks. You are currently communing with a fertile mystery that could ultimately liberate you from some suffering and limitations. However, it’s important to be private and covert about your playful work with this fertile mystery – at least for now. Eventually, when it
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ripens, there will come a time to fully unleash your beautiful thing and reveal it to the world. But until then, safeguard it with silence and discretion.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): From a distance, Brazil’s Rio Negro looks black. The water of Rio Solimões, also in Brazil, is yellowish-brown. Near the city of Manaus, these two rivers converge. But they don’t blend at first. For a few miles, they move side-by-side, as if still autonomous. Eventually, they fuse into a single flow and become the mighty Amazon River. I suspect the behavior of Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes could serve as a useful metaphor for you in coming weeks. Consider the possibility of allowing two separate streams to merge. Or would you prefer them to remain discrete for a while longer? Make a conscious decision about this.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): During the next three weeks, doing the same old things and thinking the same old thoughts are strongly discouraged. For the sake of your spiritual and physical health, please do not automatically rely on methods and actions that have worked before. I beg you not to imitate your past self or indulge in worn-out traditions. Sorry to be so extreme, but I really must insist that being bored will be forbidden. Shed all weak-heart conceptions and weaksoul intentions. Be of strong heart and robust soul.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Wilderness campers have developed humorous terms to gently mock their fears and anxieties. The theory is this alleviates some stress. A “bear burrito” refers to a hammock. It addresses the worry that one might get an unwanted visit from a bear while sleeping. “Danger noodle” is a stick that turns out to be a snake. “Mountain money” is also known as toilet paper. I approve of joking to deal with agitation and unease. (And scientific research confirms it’s effective.) Now is an excellent time to be creative in finding ways to diminish your mostly needless angst.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you were producing the movie of your life, what actor or actress would you want to portray you? Who would play your friends and loved ones? How about the role of God or Goddess? Who would you choose to perform the role of the Supreme Being? These will be fun meditations for you in coming weeks. It’s an excellent time to think big about your life story – to visualize the vast, sweeping panorama of your beautiful destiny. I would also love it if during your exploration, you arrive at interesting new interpretations of the meanings of your epic themes.
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
HelpWanted
Public Works Director – Silverton, CO
The Town of Silverton seeks a qualified leader to serve as Public Works Director, overseeing vital infrastructure and operations including water, wastewater, streets, and sanitation. This position requires strong management, planning, and technical skills, with responsibilities in budgeting, compliance, staff supervision, and quality control. The Director will ensure the proper operation of critical systems and work closely with town officials and the community. Competitive salary of $85,000-$95,000 with excellent health/ dental/ life/ short-term disability/ and retirement benefits and a housing stipend. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience preferred. CDL required within a reasonable time frame. Apply by sending a cover letter, resume, and 3 references to: mmarks@silverton .co.us and deputyclerk@silverton.co.us by February 24th, 2025. For inquiries, call 970-880-4087 and for a full job description please visit https://townofsilverton. colorado.gov/employment
Lost/found
Cat Cid
green eyes. Last seen near 18th St. and E. 2nd Ave., by St. Columba. Reward. Call 970-403-6192
ForSale
Dry Firewood
Pick up or delivery. Call Gabe, 970403-2784 .
Reruns Home Furnishings
Lots of new furniture/cool furnishings for home, office or dorm. Nightstands, coffee tables, kitchenwares, rugs and more. Also looking to consign smaller furniture pieces. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.
ForRent
Professional Offices Downtown near Main Ave, sunlit patio with Buckley Park views. Lease terms negotiable. 970.247.1233
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
Services
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.
Chapman Electric 970-403-6670
Specializing in all things electrical. Colorado state licensed and insured
Need Repairs, Remodels or Renovations? Durango Wrangler quality constr. 970-708-7451
Boiler Service - Water Heater
Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917
Electric Repair
Roof, gutter cleaning, fence, floors, walls, flood damage, mold, heating service.
BodyWork
Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.
CommunityService
Dog Fosters Needed
Parker’s Animas Rescue urgently needs foster families to provide temporary
HaikuMovieReview
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ But the living sure do, in this superb “Deadwood” style Western tale – Lainie Maxson
homes for rescued dogs. We supply all necessary items and cover vet visits. You provide the love and guidance. Our support includes volunteer dog walkers to assist with care. Join our mission to help these pups flourish and prepare for their forever homes. Apply to become a foster by visiting: parkersanimalresuce.com.
MOLAS Scholarship
The Community Foundation serving SW Colorado has a scholarship opportunity for first-generation college students. The MOLAS Scholarship (Meaningful Opportunity through Learning and Advancement Scholarship) is a need-based scholarship for La Plata County students. Scholarship will cover up to 85% of tuition, room & board at any Four Corners or Colorado public college, university, trade school or vocational school. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years. Deadline to apply is March 2. Online application at: swcommunityfounda tion.org/scholarships.
My
is Missing Long hair, white with black spots,
