This Week: 7 ~ Taxes 8-9 ~ Calendar 10 ~ Sports 11-14 ~ Español 20 ~ Astrology
Your nonprofit
community newspaper
Volume 15, Number 50 | January 18 - January 24, 2024
I N L GW L O R
FT H R A! IT Longtime RFTA CEO Dan Blankenship at the South Glenwood park-and-ride bus station at 27th Street in Glenwood Springs, where one of the latest projects that he helped to oversee, a new underpass for the Rio Grande bike trail and Highway 82, is being constructed as part of the Destination 2040 improvements. Blankenship will be retiring later this year after 35 years with the organization. Photo by John Stroud
Blankenship looks back on more than three decades in public transit By John Stroud Sopris Sun Correspondent If you ever wanted the history of today’s version of the Roaring Fork Valley’s public bus transportation system, a long conversation with Dan Blankenship is a good place to start. Be prepared, though … You’ll want to have a full cup of coffee or other beverage of choice and a refresh or two as the longtime CEO of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) reflects on his 34-going-on-35 years with the organization and its predecessor,
the Roaring Fork Transit Agency, including every complicated detail of how it all came into being. Blankenship, 75, officially announced his planned retirement from RFTA late last year. The RFTA board of directors at its Jan. 11 meeting, named current Chief Operating Officer Kurt Ravenschlag as the sole finalist for the CEO position, with a targeted Sept. 1 transition date. In the meantime, Blankenship will stay on to share his vast knowledge of the inner workings of the largest rural transit system in the U.S. — secondlargest transit system in Colorado,
smaller only to Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD).
History of RFTA
The predecessor of today’s RFTA began in 1983, when Aspen and Pitkin County joined forces to combine the local bus system into a regional service that had extended as far as El Jebel by the time Blankenship climbed on board in September of 1989. At that time, RFTA had a contract management firm for which Blankenship and his predecessor, Bruce Abel, worked. Also with the
organization then was longtime general legal counsel for RFTA, Paul Taddune. “Bruce and Paul were great mentors for me, especially coming in cold to the area and into a new job,” Blankenship said. “They knew the organization, and knew the landscape politically, and so they really helped guide me through those early years.” Blankenship grew up in Colorado and had previously worked with the local Area Agency on Aging in Colorado Springs and Durango, before landing his first public transportation job with the Durango continues on page 6
OPINION
Mature Content By Sue Zislis
My dear friend Jack, now 83 years old, has been a decent enough man. He had a rewarding career, a family and a lovely home in a beautiful neighborhood. Jack, however, always had a stubborn streak a mile wide. He never acknowledged needing help. He never considered adjusting his lifestyle to match his changing abilities as he aged. If he had, perhaps the Jack that I just visited for the first time in a year, might not be so depressed. He might be more physically functional, and he might be more likely to do what he really wants: continue aging in his own home. For the past few years, Jack’s family has heard him relentlessly insist that . . . “My hearing is just fine. I’m purposely ignoring you”; “No, I will NOT be walking with a cane”; “I am a better driver than any of you. No one else will be driving my car”; “I will NOT take up my throw rugs or re-arrange my house”; “I like my shoes. If you leave those old man shoes here, I’ll throw them away”; “If I need a damn grab bar, I will install it myself”; “I have my lounge chair, my TV, my snacks … I’m good. Leave me alone.” Jack is not aging gracefully, and he is irritable as all get out. He’s fallen several times and been unable to get
LETTERS
Big thanks, from our birds
Roaring Fork Audubon (RFA) extends a big thanks to RJ Paddywacks for supporting RFA with its annual bird seed fundraiser. Locally-owned Paddywacks donated a portion of its sales towards this important fundraiser, helping our all-volunteer board bring awareness to local conservation issues facing our native animals — especially the birds. Our hope is that awareness and education transfer to protection. Please join us in supporting RJ Paddywacks! Mary Harris, Chair Roaring Fork Audubon
Become a Buddy
In honor of National Mentoring Month [January], the Buddy Program invites you to inspire a young person, and be inspired, through the power of mentorship. The youth of our communities are a gift; a promise of hope and, more importantly, a reminder of the power of connection. What is more inspiring than a
Jack’s guide for aging badly
up from the floor by himself. He no longer hears well enough to engage in normal friendly conversation without everyone yelling. His back and neck are so stiff that it’s an effort to hold his head up when he talks to people. He suffers from dehydration because he refuses to drink or eat very much. I flew across the country and then drove for two hours to visit with Jack. There were two days of hugs and tears and lots of grumble-bum comments. Only when I sat down with him on the third day, when I put my hand on his shoulder, insisted on eye contact and slowly urged him to explain himself, did we get to the bottom of the dehydration mystery. “No, I do not have discomfort when I swallow,” he stated. “No, I’m not starving myself to hurry my final exit. I am intentionally not drinking and eating because I’m afraid I won’t get to the bathroom in time.” More hugs and tears. As far as Jack is concerned, being dehydrated is far preferable to risking this most grievous indignity. Did he share this closely guarded secret with his family or his doctor? NO! But he did ask for a pill to help with his headaches, and joint and muscle pain; much of which could improve by drinking some water now and then. The doctor gave him the pills without asking enough questions. Then, dehydrated Jack experienced side effects from the pills. Low blood pressure and dizziness made him fall more often. Jack is not the only one in this kind of mess. As we age, like it or not, our bodies wear out. This is normal aging. We are each unique individuals who will amble through this unavoidable process in our own way, at our own pace. There are so many variables influencing this journey, many of which we cannot control. But, we
do know what aging looks like. It’s no secret, and for most of us, there’s no need for our experience to be as difficult, as isolated and as apparently frightening as Jack’s. Denial is not the same as maintaining a “positive attitude.” We CAN communicate honestly with people who are trying to support us. We CAN proactively learn what to expect, and how to adapt and accommodate. Our gradually diminishing physical ability doesn’t diminish our human value. With tweaks in strategies, we CAN prolong independence. Here's some advice you’ve heard a million times. Get your hearing checked. You don’t know what you cannot hear. Hearing keeps your brain engaged. Get your eyes checked more often. Keep moving, be social, go outside, eat smarter, hydrate. Stay off of the damn ladder. Your reaction time is not what it used to be. Look at your living space critically. Even if you haven’t stumbled, look for tripping hazards that could sabotage your plans for staying active. Don’t wait until after you’ve fallen to make simple changes to your home. By the time you really need to make those changes, it can be overwhelming and costly to make all at once. It is possible to age with dignity. Stuff that ego under the rug with the tripping hazard fringe. Then, roll the rug up and donate it to a good cause. Take a deep cleansing breath. Whatever your age and situation, you CAN make some changes and enjoy life. You CAN approach this challenge more intentionally than my dear unhappy friend, the ever-so-proud, Jack.
community connected by positive relationships, meaningful experiences and sharing success? The Buddy Program is an organization that formalizes this connection through mentorship and cultivates a pathway toward inspiration by pairing the amazing youth of our communities with our kind and courageous volunteers. I am honored to live and serve in communities where inspiration is at our fingertips, service and volunteerism are valued, and beauty is everywhere we go. Whether it is the kind faces I see in our schools, grocery stores or local attractions, the relationships developing between our children and their teachers and coaches, or our seniors and their social groups, clubs and healthcare providers, or our Big Buddy volunteers to their Little Buddies and their families, I am inspired daily by the sense of belonging that is cultivated through the power of mentoring, both formally and informally. The Buddy Program is here to empower youth through mentoring experiences to
achieve their full potential. If the idea of mentoring a young person inspires you. If you believe in the power of connection and want to make a difference in a young person’s life and your own, I encourage you to reach out and begin this inspirational journey today. Mentoring young people does not take a superpower, unique skill set or experience. It only asks that you come as your authentic self, willing to connect and share in the magic of inspiration. Contact the Buddy Program at www. buddyprogram.org or at 970-920-2130 to see how you can get involved. Andrea Ring, Buddy Program
2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
Mature Content is a monthly feature from Age-Friendly Carbondale.
Immigration
I’d so rather be spending time living the good life in our valley-wide wonderland, but as a U.S. Citizen, longtime Colorado resident and registered Democrat, I am deeply concerned about the direction my country is taking! So many scary things going on, it’s hard to pick, but let’s go with mass immigration. continues on page 22
Editor Raleigh Burleigh 970-510-3003 news@soprissun.com Contributing & Digital Editor James Steindler Editorial Designer Hattie Rensberry Advertising Designer Emily Blong Delivery Frederic Kischbaum Bartlett Proofreader Lee Beck Executive Director Todd Chamberlin 970-510-0246 adsales@soprissun.com Board Members / Mesa Directiva board@soprissun.com Klaus Kocher • Kay Clarke Lee Beck • Donna Dayton Eric Smith • Roger Berliner Elizabeth Phillips • Jessi Rochel Andrew Travers • Anna Huntington
The Sopris Sun Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on second Thursdays at the Third Street Center. The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with a mission to inform, inspire and build community by fostering diverse and independent journalism. Donations are fully tax deductible. Sincerest thanks to our Honorary Publishers for their annual commitment of $1,000+ Lee Beck & John Stickney Kay Brunnier • Frances Dudley Michelle & Ed Buchman Sue Edelstein & Bill Spence Deborah & Shane Evans Greg & Kathy Feinsinger Gary & Jill Knaus • Eric Smith Peter and Mike Gilbert Carly & Frosty Merriott James Noyes • Megan Tackett Patti & George Stranahan Anne Sullivan & John Colson Elizabeth Wysong • Alpine Bank Emily & George Bohmfalk Kathy & Carter Barger Sandy & Paul Chamberlin Karen & Roger Berliner Gretchen Greenwood & Lee Mulcahy Donna & Ken Riley Gayle & Dick Wells
Legacy Givers for including us in their final wishes. Mary Lilly
Donate by mail or online: P.O. Box 399 Carbondale, CO 81623 520 S. Third Street #26-B 970-510-3003 soprissun.com/Donate The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a proud member of the Carbondale Creative District
SCUTTLEBUTT What's the word on the street? Let us know at news@soprissun.com
Our Underwriters and Nonprofit Partners!
Help wanted
The Sopris Sun is seeking a volunteer proofreader to lend an extra pair of eyes to our written content before sending each week’s paper to the press. We are also hoping to expand deliveries by recruiting commuters in the Crystal Valley and beyond. For more information on either volunteer position, please contact news@ soprissun.com
Municipal elections
RJ Paddywacks Cool Bricks Studio White River Books Alpine Animal Hospital Alpine Bank Nonprofit Partners Basalt Library Colorado Animal Rescue Carbondale Arts Interested in becoming an Underwriter or Nonprofit Partner in 2023? Email Todd@soprissun.com or call 970-987-9866
Petitions to run for election to the Carbondale Board of Trustees are now available at Town Hall and can be retrieved from Town Clerk Jessica Markham. There will be three seats available. To qualify, petitions must be turned in by Jan. 22 with 25 signatures from Carbondale residents who are registered to vote. In Basalt, three council seats and the mayoral seat are up for grabs. Basalt also requires 25 signatures, and petitions are due by 5pm on Jan. 22.
Deceased person
El Jebel resident Henry David Twitchell was discovered deceased in Rio Blanco County on Friday, Jan. 12. Twitchell was last seen alive in Carbondale on Thursday, Jan. 4. Later that evening, his vehicle was reported in a slide-off accident around milepost 30 on Highway 13. There was a single set of footprints leading away from the vehicle to the highway, but he wasn’t located at the time and was subsequently entered into the National Crime Information Center as a missing person. The investigation into Twitchell’s death is ongoing.
Giving big
The Aspen Community Foundation provided $582,500 in grants to 15 local nonprofits that support youth social and emotional well-being in 2023. A circle of engaged philanthropists called the Giving Network has invested $2.5 million in our community since 2016. Applications for the 2024 grant cycle are open through Feb. 14. Learn more at www.giving-network.org
Photo contest
Carbondale Rec is seeking original photographs for this year’s Puzzle and Pie Night. Entries should be representative of Carbondale and can be vertical or
Cyclist Spencer McCullough, age 28, stopped in Carbondale on his epic mission to bike to every National Park in the Lower 48 (read all about it at www.bit.ly/SpencerJourney). He left the Black Canyon of the Gunnison just as the snow began to fall heavily, and his ride over McClure Pass was accompanied by below freezing temperatures. Tony Martin snapped this photo of McCullough arriving in Carbondale as the temperature dipped below 18 degrees on Monday. Martin hosted McCullough for the night through "Warm Showers," a website that connects touring cyclists with free places to stay.
horizontal. Submissions must be emailed to mdonnelly@carbondaleco.net by Jan. 31. The winning photo will be made into 16” by 20” puzzles and the winner will receive one team entry for Puzzle and Pie Night on Feb. 25.
backcountry, check the avalanche forecast at www.avalanche.state.co.us.” For more information on the beacon training park, email leanne.veldhuis@usda.gov
Creek guardians
The U.S. Postal Service is requesting that folks help keep mail carriers safe by clearing ice and snow from sidewalks, stairs and porches.
Following up on a “Rights of Nature” resolution passed by the Town of Nederland in 2021, two residents have been appointed “guardians” of Boulder Creek. They will give voice to the watershed when it comes to town policy. This is the first time in U.S. history that guardians have been appointed under a governmental Rights of Nature program.
Beacon training park
White River National Forest Service, in partnership with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, announced the opening of an avalanche beacon training park outside of Minturn. Eight buried transmitters are situated a short climb up the slope at the Mountain Meadow Trailhead next to the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger Station — about a quarter of a mile from the I-70 Minturn exit on U.S. 24. The beacon training park is self-operated and the transmitters can be turned on and off from a control panel. “While avalanche beacons are important if someone becomes buried in an avalanche, avoiding avalanches in the first place is the best strategy,” concludes a press release. “Before heading into the
Clear a path
Wolves named
Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center celebrated the release of five gray wolves into the wild with a naming contest open to all middle school students in the state. Thousands of students participated and the following names were chosen: River, Aspen, Maverick, Ghost and Shadow. Learn more at www.wolfeducation.org
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Joe Flores, Tarie Lahet, Katie Woltjer and Shannon Pelland (Jan. 19); Bryan Alvarez-Terrazas, Brooke Bockelman, Olivia Emery and Lewis Cooper (Jan. 20); Maisa Metcalf (Jan. 21); Joshua Adamson, Melissa Missy Elzey, Peter Green, Taylor Wagner and Abriah Wofford (Jan. 22); Josie Cruz, Jack Green, Bear Matthews, Becca Rogers, Christine Hill Smith and Hone Williams (Jan. 23); Linda Lafferty and Marty Silverstein (Jan. 24).
Volunteers Needed! CASA of the Continental Divide guides volunteer advocates who ensure a child’s safety, best interest and well-being are at the forefront of legal proceedings. We believe that every child should be given the opportunity to thrive in a safe and loving home. Change a child’s story by volunteering with us today! Apply to volunteer at mtncasa.org or call us at 970-513-9390.
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 3
Town Center shapes up with help from Artspace
By Raleigh Burleigh Sopris Sun Editor
The Town of Carbondale has a unique opportunity toward creating affordable housing units right downtown. Late in 2021, 1.4 acres surrounding the Thunder River Theatre were anonymously donated to the Town. The area was once home to Bonanza, a lively trailer park which was leveled in 2002. Subsequent development failed to gain traction, so the majority of the lots have since remained informal parking. Thanks to a feasibility study conducted in 2017, Carbondale was poised to partner with Artspace, a national real estate development nonprofit. Other project partners, determined via a competitive bidding process in 2023, are JV DeSousa Architecture and Planning and Bldg Seed Architects. Land+Shelter, Connect One Design and Sopris Engineering have also been enlisted for their local expertise. A public process that began in 2022 reached a culmination of sorts early this year, when trustees approved a schematic design for Phase 1, which will be used to formulate a budget for a funding application with the Colorado Housing Finance Authority. The next evening, Andrew Michaelson, director of property development with Artspace, told
a Town Center-specific meeting at Thunder River Theatre that these low-income housing tax credits are highly competitive, so it’s unlikely the application will be approved in its first attempt. If the application is approved, the earliest construction may begin is 2025, with residents moving in sometime in 2026. If the application is unsuccessful this round, the timeline would be delayed by at least one year. “This is the phase where things might go quiet,” Michaelson said. In the meantime, Artspace will focus on securing other sources of funding, planning for Phase 2, identifying commercial users for Phase 1 and, generally, “pulling red tape,” he said. Once constructed, Artspace will manage the project, overseeing necessary maintenance and contracting a local property management company to take care of administering leases, cleaning and other routine business.
Phase 1
Phase 1 forms an “L” shape on the south and west sides of Thunder River Theatre, extending from an alley that intersects the Promenade to 6th Street and then north to Colorado Avenue. It includes 39 residential units and around 2,000 square feet of commercial space. The design incorporates feedback from a bilingual survey, stakeholder focus meetings and two charrettes. Of the 39 apartment units: six
4 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
A view down the Promenade, facing northwest from the alley. Despite how detailed these renderings appear, the project team stated that a lot of design work is yet to come. Courtesy graphic
are studios (500 square feet), 10 one-bedroom (695 square feet), 19 two-bedroom (835 to 1,115 square feet), four three-bedroom (1,080 to 1,190 square feet). Four of these units will be available to people earning 30% of Carbondale’s average median income (AMI), 27 for people making 60% ($41,000 for a single person or $60,000 for a family of four) and eight non-restricted units will be targeted to 150% AMI or below. All will be petfriendly rentals. Ramsey Fulton, principal at Bldg Seed Architects, told stakeholders that while the unit count, unit mix, parking count and site boundaries will need to remain as submitted for funding, “many other aspects of the project
can evolve and develop as the design moves forward.” During the charrettes, 6th Street was determined most appropriate for a residential focus, with more of a downtown commercial appeal along the Promenade neighboring Thunder River Theatre. The schematic design has two buildings connected via a sky bridge, so residents on either side can enjoy shared amenity spaces like a rooftop terrace facing west. A code variance will be necessary for making the first floor along 6th Street residential, as well as for lower ceilings in the commercial spaces to avoid exceeding the 35-foot total height limit. continued on page 19
Crystal River Caucus weighs in on Redstone Castle
By Will Buzzerd Sopris Sun Correspondent
The evening of Jan. 11, the Crystal River Caucus convened for a lengthy discussion concerning the Redstone Castle, Filoha Meadows and the Crystal River’s potential Wild and Scenic designation. The meeting opened with a presentation concerning the latest developments with the Redstone Castle, led by private Land Use Planner Glenn Horn. The Redstone Castle, included in the National Register of Historic Places, is now anticipating a conversion into a wellness and longevity resort. The Castle was purchased in April of 2022 by Stephane De Baets of RC Ownership LLC from April and Steven Carver. Currently, the Castle is planned to become Thailand-based RAKxa Integrated Wellness’s flagship U.S. location. The Carvers initially had a plan for construction on the Redstone Castle property which had been approved by Pitkin County but had not yet been realized, so De Baets and RC Ownership have been developing a new plan to better fit their intentions. In the first plan for the Castle, presented to the caucus in July, the main building and the carriage house would be partially converted into guest rooms. Currently, however, both buildings will only be devoted to treatment. For housing its guests, the current owners of the property propose to construct four cottages and four cabins. These eight buildings were initially part of the previous owners’ approved plan, but the cottages were initially placed in such a way that would disrupt a stand of well-loved Ponderosa pines. After some feedback, the cottages have been moved beside the cabins to keep as many of the old trees standing as possible. Conservation seems to be a priority of the
Castle’s new development, as the new owners have also proposed an 85-acre wildlife conservation easement. De Baets attended the caucus to take questions with Horn, addressing concerns of traffic and access. Because the resort will not be taking day appointments — instead guests stay for a week at a time — and employee housing is provided, the two were optimistic that traffic would not be significantly affected. The two have also worked with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails (PCOST) to ensure that public access to climbing routes through the property is preserved.
Filoha Meadows
Following, Carly O’Connell of PCOST presented on the draft management plan update for Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve. Since the original plan’s approval in 2008, PCOST has acquired two parcels of land to the west and south of the original preserve. The parcel to the south will connect to PCOST’s planned two administrative units beside the Filoha Meadows trailhead, which, once completed, will provide managers with a base of operations not just for Filoha but for other spaces up and down the Crystal River. The Filoha Meadows trailhead has been historically accessed via Dorais Way, known legally as County Road 3b. However, a lawsuit is ongoing between Pitkin County and the Rock Creek Association (RCA), representing homeowners of the area for the usage of this road. In 2020, RCA placed a gate on Dorais Way and closed it to public access, leading to a lawsuit by Pitkin County for stealing property. PCOST’s current plan assumes that Pitkin County will succeed, and that the road will be open for public access, but the lawsuit is ongoing.
Archival photo from the Valley Journal
Wild and Scenic
The last item of the night was a brief update on the Crystal River’s potential Wild and Scenic designation, one of the strongest forms of protection for waterways in the U.S. which would both ensure the river is protected from development as well as remain accessible to outdoor recreation. While this is desirable by many in the caucus, some were concerned about how the designation would affect developments on private property. This designation would also entail a legislative process that can take years, so a committee concluded that pushing for state and local protections — which can be acquired faster — may be ideal in the short term. The Crystal River Collaborative Steering Committee is continuing discussions over the ramifications of Wild and Scenic designation and will continue considering how to balance the designation with other, faster protections through next February before taking specific action.
CENTER FOR MEDICAL CARE ASPEN VALLEY HOSPITAL
Melissa Somers, MD Otolaryngology (ENT), Head and Neck Surgery
Ear, Nose and Throat Care for the Whole Family
Start your healthy journey here. • Hearing and tinnitus exam • Nasal and sinus surgery • Sleep apnea surgery
• Rhinoplasty and Botox
• Facial trauma care
Call to schedule an appointment.
970.544.1460
• Comprehensive medical and surgical services for adults and children
aspenhospital.org |
Aspen Valley Otolaryngology (ENT) Clinic Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:00 pm 0401 Castle Creek Road Aspen, Colorado 81611
Get to know Dr. Melissa Somers
AspenValleyHospital
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 5
RFTA
continued from cover
Opportunity Bus in 1981. Little did he know at the time, but that experience would play a part in some important state legislation many years later, known as the County Powers Act, which was crucial in the eventual formation of the intergovernmental RFTA organization that now serves three counties and eight municipalities. While in Durango, the owner of the youth hostel where Blankenship resided also owned a local taxi company. When the Durango bus system was looking to expand services outside city limits, the taxi operator took it to court saying there was no authority for transit systems to operate outside municipal limits. A few years later, after some time working with a public transit system in Wisconsin, Blankenship returned to Colorado, joined RFTA and, alongside Taddune, helped lobby for the County Powers Act that ultimately gave that authority. The Colorado Supreme Court also ruled in favor of the City of Durango in the taxi operator’s case, paving the way for the current organizational structure of RFTA. It was anything but easy.
“We had to piecemeal it all together, and take the (intergovernmental agreement) around to all of the local jurisdictions, which meant sitting through a lot of long meetings,” Blankenship recalls. Not to mention dealing with the political baggage and rifts between valley governments over the impacts of the growing resort-based economy in Aspen and a commuter workforce that was traveling from farther and farther west in Garfield County to jobs in Pitkin County. “There were communication issues, and impacts on parking in places like Carbondale as this commuter culture was being created,” he said. “But, what we also created was a system of serving the interests of the whole more efficiently.” It included the recognition that some local governments might not be able to contribute financially according to the true cost of their participation in a valleywide bus system, but what they could afford, Blankenship said. “It’s now one of the truly regional organizations that has allowed elected officials from Aspen to New Castle to
get together in the same room to develop programs and services that serve the best interests of the region, not just one community,” he said. There were rough patches, including when the RFTA board agreed to the stillpopular 50% discount punch passes that resulted in a major increase in bus ridership in the early ‘90s. To meet the demand, the agency acquired 10 new buses from a manufacturer that had never made buses before. There were flaws, and Blankenship happened to be waiting for the bus himself one day when a rider was complaining to the bus driver about system reliability. The driver pointed to the man standing behind her and said, “He’s the manager, talk to him.” “We had a very interesting conversation on the bus up valley that day,” Blankenship said. Over the ensuing years, he helped navigate the many changes that came about, from extending service to Carbondale and Glenwood Springs and other major system upgrades throughout the 1990s; to a major fleet expansion when Aspen adopted paid parking in 1995; to a merger with the Roaring Fork Railroad Holding
Chief Operating Officer Kurt Ravenschlag is the sole finalist for the CEO position, with a targeted Sept. 1 transition date. Courtesy photo
Authority and acquisition of the old Rio Grande railroad corridor (now the Rio Grande Trail) in 2001 and partnering on the Railroad Corridor Investment Study; creation of a regional transportation district and formation of the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority; and several efforts to address climate change through the use of alternative fuel buses, including compressed natural gas and now a fleet of electric buses. “It was about 1998 that we were hitting a wall financially and were asking our downvalley jurisdictions to provide more funding,” said Blankenship, who around that same time was asked to
970.989.4203
become an employee of RFTA instead of maintaining the outside management contract. At that time, local governments could only tap general fund dollars to pay for transit services. So, after a regional transportation roundtable was hosted by the former nonprofit Healthy Mountain Communities, then state Representative Russell George of Rifle and Sen. Jack Taylor of Routt County co-sponsored the Regional Transportation Authority Act. It passed and, after much more local political wrangling, allowed for the formation of the transportation taxing authority that exists today. RFTA, through a series of sometimes contentious local sales tax ballot questions, was eventually able to add more funding beyond the dedicated tax funding in Pitkin County. By 2005, New Castle had joined RFTA and a few years later bus service was extended as far as Rifle through an agreement with Garfield County to develop the Grand Hogback Route. A result of the Railroad Corridor Investment Study was the determination that a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system would be somewhat less expensive than continues on page 19 818 INDUSTRY PLACE Carbondale, CO
AFTER-HOURS MEDICAL CARE ASPEN VALLEY HOSPITAL
When You Have Unexpected Medical Needs
Whitcomb rrace
Our After-Hours clinic provides a convenient, cost-effective way to receive the compassionate care you deserve without a visit to the ER.
No appointment necessary, walk-ins welcome!
Weekdays: 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm | Weekends: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
234 East Cody Lane, Basalt | 970.544.1250
Trailer & RV Parking!
After-Hours Medical Care
aspenhospital.org |
8’ x 20’ & 8’ x 40’ Units
AspenValleyHospital
6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
mid-valleyselfstorage.com
CRFPD agrees to property tax credit for 2024 By James Steindler Contributing Editor In the wake of the failure of Proposition HH, temporary mill levy rate reductions were enabled by Senate Bill 23-108 to offset significantly increased property taxes. It’s up to each taxing district to decide what level of relief it will provide, balancing the district’s needs with those of its constituents. During the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District’s (CRFPD) board meeting on Jan. 10, attendees argued that the minutes from the December meeting did not reflect public comments given at the time, in regard to the 2024 budget. The board voted to update the December minutes to better represent the public’s feedback, and will wait to approve them during its February meeting. According to the December minutes, CRFPD Chief Rob Goodwin had “reviewed the assessed valuation history since 2011, noting that the district lost 42% of the total assessed valuation due to the Great Recession. It was noted that the district’s assessed valuation did not reach the 2011 level until 2024.” This point set the tone for the board’s predicament: balancing the expectations of the organization and the public’s outcry for tax relief.
Public comment
“I would again encourage you to look at reducing your mill levy, because this situation will happen next year and likely the year after that when there’s a new assessment and evaluation, and, based on my experience, that number will go up, and, again, your revenues will continue to go up,” resident Davis Farrar told the board during the January meeting. “I understand there’s a need for money and an ever-increasing need for money, but frugality is not a bad thing to have.” One younger resident, Taylor Rogers,
acknowledged that it’s hard for people her age to purchase homes in the area, but questioned how a tax credit might affect the fire department. “What gets taken out on your end — services, equipment, that kind of thing — if you were to give a credit back?” she queried. Goodwin was frank, replying that a tax credit “will push back capital improvement projects, new equipment purchases and will hinder our reserve ability.” He added that it’s been a challenge to ensure sufficient staffing levels in recent years, and that’s also a factor. Resident Allyn Harvey encouraged the board to consider a tax credit this year and see what the state “comes up with” for next year, noting that taxing districts could very well be in the same situation then. Harvey pointed to Colorado Mountain College (CMC) as a shining example, compared to other local taxing districts, when it came to reducing its mill levy. CMC’s board of trustees certified a temporary mill levy rate reduction of 1.264, allowing “the college to provide more than $25 million in property tax relief in the upcoming year,” according to a CMC press release. “I think it’s incumbent on this board to do the same,” stated Harvey.
Board response
“When I look at an outfit like CMC saying, ‘We’re only going to take an inflationary factor,’ that may work for them for the way that their programs are operated,” noted board member Michael Hassig. “The assumption that you just take a little bit starts from a premise that things were good to start with — that last year worked,” he continued. “I think what Rob [Goodwin] and staff are trying to demonstrate is that for a dozen years this district has been completely hamstrung
District resident Davis Farrar urges the CRFPD board to reduce its 2024 mill levy during the Jan. 10 board meeting. Photo by James Steindler
in terms of what we can afford to provide.” Hassig cautioned that the fire department will face the effects of climate change and resulting wildfire challenges. “I see challenges around demographics, an aging population, and I see challenges around expectations,” he continued, “what people expect us to be able to do when we respond.” He added that costs, even when it comes to things like training volunteers, are not what they used to be. “So, yeah. We’re going to give some money back … but we’re going to keep some of it, too,” Hassig concluded. Board member Mike Kennedy echoed Hassig, and added that the area’s significant population influx means more calls and higher expectations for response. Sydney Schalit, who has been on the board for about five years, noted that this is only the second meeting where she’s seen public attendance — the first time being the meeting in December. “The most important value to me as a board member, is the safety and security of this community,” said Schalit. “Retention of the continues on page 19
Community Rewards An Easy Way for you to
Help Fund the Sun At No Cost to You Every Time you Buy Groceries
Step 1: Create your Digital City Market Account Step 2: Go to COMMUNITY ---> City Market Community Rewards Step 3: Choose SOPRIS SUN LLC as your preferred nonprofit Step 4: Shop as you normally do City Market then makes a donation to the Sopris Sun
The Power of Community: 10 Sign ups would support a weekly column 100 Sign ups would support our annual Youth Journalism Program 1,000 Sign ups would support the Annual Cost of our local Government Oversight - a journalist covering every local City/Town, County, School Board, Library Board meeting for a full year. 2,500 Sign ups would support the annual printing costs of the Sopris Sun and el Sol del Valle. City Market Community Rewards Program™
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 7
COMMUNITY CALENDAR Visit soprissun.com to submit events
Live in-person service. Live music by Jimmy Byrne.
Sunday, January 28th, 10am at Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist Community Room @ Third Street Center in Carbondale or via Zoom Join Zoom Meeting - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82605258305 Meeting ID: 826 0525 8305 - Passcode: chalice
On the second and third Sundays of each month, Aaron Brown will be speaking in-person at Third truu.org Street Center. Aaron Brown received his Master’s in Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology. He develops coaching and leadership programs for a global consulting firm and has spoken intermittently over the last 12 years at TRUU. He is the father of two teenagers, one who recently started college, the other in 10th grade. He is delighted and honored to be joining the congregation this year as a guest speaker.
CABIN FEVER WINETASTING 15th Birthday Celebration
Thursday Feb 8th 5-8pm Thompson Barn at RVR Sponsored By: Downtown Liquors on Main Street
Hip-hop artist Shaun Boothe presents the “Unauthorized Biography Series,” blending a multimedia presentation with live music, at the Wheeler Opera House on Jan. 24 at 6pm. Courtesy photo
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18
BOOK CLUB The Third Thursday Book Club discusses “The Postmistress of Paris” at the Carbondale Library at 2pm. INTERFAITH DIALOGUE “In times of increasing polarization and conflict, it is even more important to come together for meaningful conversations with those who differ from us.” Join an hour-long community conversation at the Basalt Library at 5:30pm. WALL�MOUNTED PLANTS Botany Houseplant Shop hosts a workshop that includes happy hour beverages and a wall-mounted plant to take home, from 5:30 to 7pm. To register, visit www. botanyhouseplantshop.com GREAT DECISIONS The Aspen Institute invites the community to take part in its eightweek “Great Decisions” series which gives participants an opportunity to discuss key foreign policy issues facing the world today. The series will take place in-person at the institute’s Aspen Meadows campus from 6 to 8pm every Thursday through March 7. Visit www. aspeninstitute.org for more info. WORDS MATTER Julie Oldham teaches “You Are What You Think and Say” at True Nature at 6pm. Register at www. truenaturehealingarts.com HONKY TONK The Glenwood Vaudeville Revue presents “Honky Tonk Laundry” with Jennetta Howell and Alexis States, followed by A Band Called Alexis. The shows begin at 7:30pm tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. Sunday’s show starts at 6:30pm. Find tickets at www.gvrshow.com
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19
VALLEY VISUAL The 45th Annual Valley Visual Art Show’s opening reception is tonight at 5pm at the Launchpad. The exhibit will be up through Feb. 22.
$50 includes fine wines, great food from local chefs plus a silent auction Reserve tickets at soprissun.com 8 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
SOUND JOURNEY Zachary and Krista Cashin lead a sound journey at True Nature from 6:30 to 8pm. Tickets at www. truenaturehealingarts.com CRYSTAL THEATRE The Crystal Theatre shows “The Boys in the Boat” at 7pm tonight, tomorrow and Thursday, Jan. 25. Sunday’s show is at 5pm.
TOWN MOUNTAIN Country-bluegrass band Town Mountain performs at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets at www.tacaw.org
SATURDAY, JANUARY 20
QIGONG Kearns Kelly teaches “Hua Shan Taoist Qigong” at True Nature at 10am. Register for this introductory class at www. truenaturehealingarts.com ‘OYATE’ The Lakota People’s Law Project (LPLP) co-hosts a world-wide watch party of “Oyate,” a documentary that contextualizes the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline and sheds light on issues facing Indigenous Americans today. A Q&A session with filmmaker Brandon Jackson and LPLP’s Chase and Tokata Iron Eyes will follow. The film starts at 1pm (MST). Get the link by registering at www.bit.ly/OyateWorldWide ‘GOODBOY’ Colorado Animal Rescue (CARE) presents “GOODBOY,” a movie by local filmmaker Ashley Mosher, at the Crystal Theatre at 4:30pm. Proceeds benefit CARE (register at www.coloradoanimalrescue.org). The film will screen again on Jan. 27 at the same time and place. ‘THE NATURAL LAW’ True Nature screens “The Natural Law: A Journey Back to Wellness of Body, Mind, & Soul” for free at 6pm. Following the film, Kyle Jason Leitzke, an Ayurvedic counselor, will take questions from the audience. KNOW BODIES BAND The Know Bodies Band performs at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at www.stevesguitars.net SALSA NIGHT Mezcla Socials presents Salsa Night with DJ Zafiro at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets at www.tacaw.org
SUNDAY, JANUARY 21
NORDIC DEMO DAY Independence Run & Hike hosts a free nordic demo day with equipment from Fischer, Rossignol and Salomon at Spring Gulch from 8:30am to 1pm. Call the shop at 970-704-0909 or stop by to register. TRUU The Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist congregation presents “Walking in South Dakota: An Unexpected Lesson on Justice” by guest speaker Aaron Brown at
the Third Street Center at 10am. Visit www.truu.org for more info, including a Zoom link. WORLD CHANT True Nature hosts the Bedside Voices of the Valley for a free afternoon of community singing for gratitude and peace, from 3 to 4pm. Register at www.truenaturehealingarts.com ECSTATIC DANCE Thirteen Moons Ranch, 6334 Highway 133, hosts its first Ecstatic Dance of the year at 6pm. Email alyahowe@me.com for more info.
MONDAY, JANUARY 22
SOPRIS LODGE TOUR Learn all about the Sopris Lodge senior living facility, starting with coffee and donuts and followed by a guided community tour. To register, call Marie Herr at 970-456-6871. IN STITCHES The In Stitches Knitting Club gathers at the Carbondale Library at 1:30pm every Monday. All levels of knitters and crocheters are welcome. JOURNAL TO BOOK Author and journalist Edith Lynn Hornik-Beer offers a course, “From Journal Writing To Book Writing,” via Zoom through Colorado Mountain College on Mondays at 6pm. For more info and to register, visit www. community-education.coloradomtn. edu and search for “From Journal Writing To Book Writing.”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23
RECOVERY YOGA The Meeting Place in Carbondale hosts a free yoga session for people in recovery every Tuesday at 8am. For a list of regular recovery meetings, visit www.meetingplacecarbondale.org COGNITIVE CAREGIVING Lisa Paige, a volunteer community educator with the Alzheimer’s Association, presents “Caregiving Strategies for Middle-Stage Dementia” at Sopris Lodge at 3pm. To register, call Marie Herr at 970-456-6871 GIRLS WHO CODE Basalt Library partners with Girls Who Code to empower students to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and learn the basics of coding with a session from 3:45 to 4:45pm. WHAT THE TECH? Mike Jones, an early pioneer in social media, teaches parents about “tech hygiene” for kids at the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork from 6 to 7:30pm. For more info, visit www. waldorfschoolrf.com/calendar DRAWING CLUB The Roaring Fork Drawing Club convenes at The Art Base at 6:30pm.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24
SHAUN BOOTHE The Wheeler Opera House presents Canadian recording artist Shaun Boothe and his “The Unauthorized Biography Series,” a musical project celebrating the world’s greatest cultural icons through hip-hop. Find tickets for the 6pm show at www.aspenshowtix.com BOOK TALK Book lovers discuss Russell Shorto’s “Revolution Song,” which draws on diaries, letters and autobiographies to shed new light on the founding of the U.S., at the Basalt Library at 5:30pm. Pick up a free copy in advance at the library (while supplies last). PLANT HANGERS Mercedes Brown teaches the knots and patterns necessary to create a macrame plant hanger at Botany
Houseplant Shop. To register, visit www.botanyhouseplantshop.com COMMUNITY NEEDS Last fall, the Garfield County Libraries reached out to more than 80 community leaders in the Valley to inquire about the top needs. The Library District will report back what it learned at each branch, including the Carbondale Library tonight at 6pm. More info at www.gcpld.org
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25
MORTALITY Akaljeet Khalsa hosts “Conversations on Mortality” at True Nature from 4:30 to 6pm. Register at www. truenaturehealingarts.com KNIFE SHARPENING Rolling Stone Knife Sharpening will offer their mobile knife sharpening services out of Botany Houseplant Shop tomorrow. Drop off a knife (or pruners or scissors) by 5pm today, wrapped in a towel or placed in a box, for pick-up on Saturday. MUSHROOM CLUB The Western Colorado Mycological Association meets at the Carbondale Library from 5:30 to 7pm. Dr. Amy Honan will present “A Fungal Odyssey: Unveiling the Mysteries of Mushroom Movement Through Space and Time.” The event is free and open to everyone.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 26
RON STEVEN HOUSTON Ron Steven Houston performs at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at www.stevesguitars.net
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27
LIMITLESS LIVING Joelene Ashker guides meditation and movement at True Nature from 10am to 1pm. Register at www. truenaturehealingarts.com SKI MOVIES The Glenwood Vaudeville Revue hosts a ski movie film fest benefiting the Sunlight Winter Sports Club. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:30pm. Find details at www.gvrshow.com LEFTOVER SALMON TACAW hosts Leftover Salmon for some live “jamgrass” at 8pm. Tickets are sold out.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 28
UNJUDGE SOMEONE Age-Friendly Carbondale and Garfield County Libraries present The Human Library Project in partnership with The Aspen Institute, At Our Honest and Tom Karrel Coaching. The event goes from 10am to 1pm; sign up at www. bit.ly/human-library-carbondale
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30
FLAKES TO FLOW Jeff Derry, executive director of the Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies, presents “From Flakes to Flow: Unveiling the Dynamics of Snow, Water and Climate in Colorado” at the Basalt Library at 5pm. BASALT YARN GROUP Yarn crafters convene at the Basalt Library at 5pm. FRENCH Á LA CARTE Brush up on your French in this interactive, playful and practical four-week class, hosted every Tuesday at 6:30pm, through Feb. 20, at the Third Street Center. To register, email lamb.ericd@gmail.com DRAWING CLUB The Roaring Fork Drawing Club meets at Taco Bell in Glenwood Springs at 6:30pm.
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 9
Rams basketball teams split slate of games to open conference season
By John Stroud Sopris Sun Correspondent
Both Roaring Fork High School basketball teams sandwiched a pair of 3A Western Slope League wins between a couple of tough losses to open the postholiday schedule this past week. The Rams boys, after a nailbiter at Meeker on Jan. 10 that ended in a 43-41 Cowboys win, grabbed wins on the road Friday at Cedaredge, 58-50, and on the home court Saturday, 52-38 over North Fork, before dropping a 61-53 decision to previously winless Grand Valley in Parachute on Tuesday. “Grand Valley did not play like an 0-7 team,” Roaring Fork coach Jason Kreiling said. “It was probably their best game so far, and our worst, even with Noel back.” Senior scoring leader Noel Richardson had to sit out the first three games to start the conference season due to illness, which gave some of the team’s younger players a chance to step it up. Sophomore Ethan Wilson helped fill the gap with 12 points against Meeker, while fellow sophomore Kiko Pena contributed nine. Against Cedaredge, it was another sophomore, Lucas Carballeira, who led the team with 19 points. Then, the 10th-grade trio scored 12, 17 and 12, respectively, in the North Fork win before the hometown fans. “Noel is our leading scorer, so this gave these younger guys an opportunity to show that we can play and compete without him if we have to,” Kreiling said. Before the break, Kreiling spoke to the importance
Locally owned. Accepting new patients. 289 MAIN STREET (970) 963-2826
CARBONDALEAH@GMAIL.COM
of those younger players stepping up to support Richardson and not letting him do all the work. “We saw a different guy each night do that while he was out, and so it was an eye-opening experience for them,” he said. After jumping out to a 15-7 lead on Tuesday at Grand Valley, however, the Rams couldn’t contain the host Cardinals in the second and fourth quarters of the game, during which they were outscored 41-25, with an even 13-13 third quarter. The loss dropped the Rams to 3-8 overall and 2-2 in league play ahead of a stretch of road games that will take them to Olathe this Friday, Gunnison on Saturday, and a rematch with North Fork in Hotchkiss on Jan. 26.
Lady Rams
In Tuesday’s opener, the Roaring Fork girls faced off with the undefeated Lady Cardinals, falling to the defending league champs 65-35 — the host team (now 9-0) opening with an 11-2 run in the first and blowing out the Rams in the second half. “They’re a good team, with some big girls and physical play and some outside shooters,” Rams coach Mike Vidakovich said of Grand Valley. Prior to that, the Roaring Fork girls topped North Fork in commanding fashion at home on Saturday, 5922, and on Friday beat Cedaredge, 43-34, on the road. The Jan. 10 road contest went Meeker’s way, 57-50. Sophomore Carly Crownhart was the leading scorer through all four games, notching 17 points at Meeker, 23 at Cedaredge, 29 in the win over North
Offering: Dentistry Surgery Wellness Geriatric Care Chiropractic Acupuncture Cold Laser
Kiko Pena leaps for the basket during a home game against the North Fork Miners on Saturday, Jan. 13. Photo by Sue Rollyson
Fork, and 14 at Grand Valley. Sophomore Nikki Tardif pulled down 11 rebounds versus North Fork. The Rams girls stand at 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the league, ahead of the same slate of upcoming games as the boys. “The games this weekend are pretty big for us,” Vidakovich said. “After this long road trip is over, we close with six out of seven games at home, so that will be huge.” Roaring Fork returns to the home court on Feb. 2 versus Cedaredge.
D O R I S N E 1930-2024 I L L 2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
We will miss you! - The Scra�le Group 10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
Sol del el
Conectando comunidades desde 2021
Valle
Volumen 2, Número 47 | 18 de enero - 24 de enero de 2024
Irene Wittrock reflexiona sobre dirigir el refugio temporal de Carbondale
Por Eleanor Bennett Aspen Public Radio Traducción por Global Language Services
Durante los dos últimos meses, Irene Wittrock, residente de Rifle, ha estado casi todos los días en el Third Street Center de Carbondale, ayudando a dirigir un refugio temporal para unos 60 inmigrantes. Wittrock trabaja para la organización sin fines de lucro de defensa de los latinos Voces Unidas, con sede en Glenwood Springs, que ha registrado a más de 170 recién llegados desde principios de noviembre. La ciudad de Carbondale planea sustituir el refugio actual por dos más pequeños, sólo para pasar la noche, que serán administrados por una organización regional sin fines de lucro que tiene experiencia en trabajar con personas sin techo. En los próximos meses, Wittrock y Voces Unidas seguirán poniendo en contacto a las personas para que reciban apoyo adicional, como alojamiento para familias, matrícula escolar y trámites de inmigración. Aspen Public Radio habló con Wittrock el 8 de enero sobre sus experiencias diarias de trabajo en el refugio. La conversación a continuación está editada para mayor claridad y por su longitud. Eleanor Bennett: Ha estado aquí en el refugio casi todos los días durante los últimos dos meses. ¿Cómo ha sido todo esto? Irene Wittrock: Al principio empecé a trabajar aquí a tiempo parcial. No sabíamos cómo iba a ser, y cuando empecé a trabajar, fue muy difícil porque no había nadie más, sólo yo. Y tenía que averiguar cómo conseguir comidas calientes para ellos y donaciones de ropa — chaquetas de invierno, botas de invierno y todas esas cosas — y me hacían preguntas. Así que realmente necesitaba estar aquí todos los días. Suelo levantarme a las 6 de la mañana y empezar a prepararme para empezar a trabajar y estar aquí hasta las 10 de la noche, y luego volver a casa y empezar a trabajar allí también — mando correos electrónicos a la gente, llamo a la gente y consigo todo lo que necesitan. Así que fue muy duro, pero también fue genial, porque sentía que nunca estaba cansada. Cada día es diferente. Sí recuerdo cuando cocinaban. Creo que esa fue una de mis experiencias favoritas, poder probar su comida porque cocinan para mí, aunque a ellos no se les permitía cocinar. Por eso digo que necesitan un lugar donde cocinar porque cuando cocinan, puedes ver lo felices que son. No quieren que la gente les traiga comida para cocinar. Quieren poder cocinar por sí mismos y ser independientes. Bennett: ¿Y puede hablarnos un poco de algunas de las personas que conoció aquí? ¿Hay alguien que le llame la atención? ¿O quiénes fueron las primeras personas que conoció? Wittrock: Sí, recuerdo a las primeras personas que estuvieron aquí desde el principio. A esta familia, la conocí el primer día y estaba en el refugio y luego le encontramos una habitación de hotel, luego les llevé a la preparatoria para que pudieran matricularse. Y le saqué una foto, y ese no era mi trabajo, pero me sentí muy feliz de poder hacerlo por ellos. Y está muy contenta en la escuela. Ahora, Valley Settlement les está ayudando a conseguir una vivienda y Voces Unidas
Irene Wittrock, a la derecha, ayuda a Crileidi Carreño y a su hijo, Eliab David Carreño, a tomar un autobús desde el Valle Roaring Fork hasta Seattle, Washington, el 7 de diciembre de 2023. Carreño y su pareja encontraron alojamiento a través de un amigo en Seattle después de llegar a Colorado desde Venezuela a principios de este año. Foto de cortesía
pagó la vivienda. Son alrededor de 10 familias a las que hemos ayudado a conseguir vivienda temporal y apoyo de la comunidad en Rifle y New Castle. Incluso en Aspen, hay una familia que ha estado allí durante dos meses, y ahora están buscando volver a Denver porque es muy caro vivir aquí.
decir que es increíble lo que esta comunidad puede hacer.
Bennett: Usted creció en México. ¿Cree que haber pasado por este sistema de inmigración que no funciona que tenemos aquí en EE.UU., le ha impactado en algo a la hora de querer ayudar a la gente?
Wittrock: Sí. Quiero decir, si hay más gente aquí trabajando para ellos y podemos organizar a todos esos voluntarios [que] quieren ayudar, puede ser más grande, podemos hacer más.
Wittrock: Sí, por supuesto. Vine aquí como ellos buscando el mismo sueño. Y cuando llegué aquí, no sabía inglés, no sabía nada. No sabía que hay muchos recursos para la gente, y sólo necesitamos que alguien nos haga saber que pueden ir a buscar ayuda. Cuando llegamos aquí, ¿qué hacemos? ¿Quién puede ayudarnos? Al menos eso me hizo sentir que quiero estar aquí. Quiero hacerles saber todo lo que he aprendido estos últimos años.
Bennett: El refugio actual de aquí va a ser sustituido por dos nuevos refugios, pero parece que van a ser más pequeños, tendrán menos capacidad: unas 40 personas pueden alojarse allí. ¿Qué cree que va a pasar con la gente que quizá tenga una cama ahora y puede que no en el futuro?
Bennett: ¿Qué opina de cómo ha respondido nuestra comunidad? Parece que se han presentado muchos voluntarios. Voces Unidas y usted obviamente han dado un gran paso adelante, el Third Street Center abrió sus puertas, la ciudad de Carbondale está empezando a recibir fondos estatales de emergencia para intentar hacer su parte, pero hay un valle más amplio en una región más amplia. ¿Siente que toda la comunidad está dando un paso adelante en estos momentos? Wittrock: Sí, por supuesto. Quiero decir que la comunidad es increíble. Se han puesto en contacto conmigo, me llaman, me envían correos electrónicos, y ni siquiera he tenido tiempo de responder. No podía hacerlo todo. Pero la respuesta de esa comunidad fue increíble. Realmente, me ayudaron mucho. Y apoyan, traen desayunos y cenas y cosas para la gente. Quiero
Bennett: Y, sin embargo, usted era casi siempre una sola persona aquí cada día. ¿Cree que hay formas en las que podríamos mejorar como comunidad?
Wittrock: Bueno, sí, eso es muy duro porque yo empecé a trabajar aquí para ellos, esperando que fueran a abrir refugios más grandes y que fueran a tener una mayor capacidad. Y ahora dicen que sólo pueden ir 40 personas. Y no sé cómo la ciudad de Carbondale va a trabajar en eso. Quiero decir que hay gente buscando vivienda. Vamos a ayudarles a pagar el alquiler, pero es realmente difícil. No hay donde alquilar. Y los que pueden encontrar algo aquí, quieren quedarse porque les gusta esta comunidad, pueden encontrar trabajo aquí. No quieren nada gratis. Quieren ganárselo. Bennett: Y parece que ahora que la ciudad va a abrir dos nuevos refugios y va a empezar a trabajar con otra organización sin fines de lucro para administrarlos, usted y Voces Unidas van a ayudar a la gente con sus permisos de trabajo y con el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, por sus siglos en inglés). continua en pagina 13
OPINIÓN
Ask a Broker
Por Giovanna Kennedy
Vender tu hogar puede ser un proceso complejo y abrumador que a menudo coincide con un evento importante en la vida. Si estás considerando poner tu hogar en el mercado, la mejor manera de hacerlo es paso a paso. Como corredora de bienes raíces, mi trabajo es simplificar el proceso tanto como sea posible para mis clientes, ayudarles a obtener el mejor precio posible y estar allí para apoyarlos en esta transición importante, paso a paso. Primero, encuentra un corredor con el que te puedas comunicar y sientas confianza. La comunicación es extremadamente importante cuando estás comprando y vendiendo una casa, ya que deseas sentirte cómodo
Guía del corredor para vender tu hogar expresándote abiertamente con tu corredor para que puedan representarte adecuadamente. La mayoría de las personas venden porque hay un cambio en la vida. Tu familia se está reduciendo o creciendo. Tal vez estés pasando por un divorcio o te tienes que mudar de ciudad o estado. Tu corredor será una parte importante de lo que a menudo es una situación muy personal. Así que quieres trabajar con alguien en quien puedas confiar, ya que los involucrarás en tu vida personal. Luego, tu corredor elaborará un análisis comparativo de mercado para determinar un precio de lista sugerido. Todos amamos nuestro hogar y, a menudo, hemos invertido tiempo y dinero en hacer de nuestra casa un hogar. Si estás emocionalmente vinculado, es difícil ser objetivo, razón por la cual es importante que tu corredor te asesore sobre el mejor precio posible de venta de tu propiedad. Durante la pandemia de COVID, el mercado se volvió loco y los vendedores pudieron listar a precios altos, pero esa ya no es la situación. Es importante
que los vendedores sean realistas acerca de su precio de venta, o la casa no se venderá. Un análisis comparativo es la única forma de determinar el precio por pie cuadrado y calcular un precio de venta preciso. El tercer paso es decidir cuándo quieres vender tu hogar. Por supuesto, puedes vender en cualquier momento del año, pero el mejor momento es cuando llega la primavera, durante el verano y luego hasta el otoño. Debido a que estamos en las montañas, puede haber áreas específicas que son más difíciles de acceder en invierno y que pueden no ser tan atractivas para un comprador. También es importante mostrar la casa cuando el césped está verde y el paisaje este lleno de vegetación para que tu propiedad se luzca más. Luego, tu corredor debería desarrollar un plan de marketing completo que incluirá fotografía profesional, listar tu propiedad en el MLS y otros sitios web de sindicatos como Zillow y realtors.com. Siempre listo todas mis propiedades por encima de $1 millón en Forbes Global Properties y Luxury Portfolio
12 • el Sol del Valle • soprissun.com/espanol/ • 18 de enero - 24 de enero de 2024
para obtener exposición en mercados internacionales. El plan de marketing también puede incluir cosas como publicidad impresa y campañas en redes sociales. Mostrar tu hogar es uno de los pasos más importantes en el proceso de venta. Tu corredor puede asesorarte cómo preparar tu hogar antes de mostrarlo. Hay mucho que puedes hacer para que tu hogar sea más atractivo para un grupo más amplio de compradores, desde la limpieza y la pintura hasta la incorporación de algunas plantas y flores frescas. Una vez que la casa esté lista para ser vista, tu corredor trabajará contigo para crear un plan de “Open House” tanto para el público como para otros corredores. Una vez que comienzan a llegar las ofertas, la tarea de tu corredor es ayudar a determinar cuál es la mejor para ti. Yo creo una forma comparando todas las ofertas que llegan y las diferencias entre ellas. En general, los componentes más importantes de una oferta son las contingencias y el precio. Las contingencias en transacciones inmobiliarias permiten que una o ambas
partes se retiren de un contrato de bienes raíces si no se cumplen ciertas condiciones especificadas. Por ejemplo, si se realiza una inspección y hay problemas en la casa que no se divulgaron o no se sabían y el vendedor no acepta corregir esos problemas o darle al comprador un crédito, es posible que el comprador retire del contrato. En general, menos contingencias hacen que una oferta sea más sólida. Una vez que estás bajo contrato, se establece el tiempo para asegurarse de que se cumplan todas las contingencias. Si todo se completa a tiempo y ambas partes están de acuerdo con los términos del contrato, es hora del gran final: el Día de Cierre. Los vendedores deben estar preparados para desocupar la propiedad antes del recorrido final del comprador. Luego es hora de firmar los documentos para finalizar el trato para que los fondos puedan ser entregados al vendedor. ¡Entonces el trato está hecho! Tu corredor debería estar ahí durante todo el proceso. Recuerda, el proceso es bastante simple: un paso a la vez.
OPINIÓN
Elevando el Futuro
Por Nubia Nicole Merlo Godoy
Hola, mi nombre es Nubia, tengo 18 años, orgullosamente nací en Honduras y formo parte de una hermosa familia de cuatro: mi papá Gustavo Merlo, mi mamá Nubia Godoy, y mi hermano mayor Luis Merlo. Tuve el privilegio de nacer en una familia cristiana en la cual crecí con muchos valores y principios cristianos. Uno de mis deseos desde pequeña que he tenido en mi corazón es primeramente servir a Dios con mi vida y así ser de bendición y ayuda a las demás personas, dejándoles una pequeña parte marcada de mi en sus vidas. Me considero una cajita de talentos. Por ejemplo, ejecuto algunos instrumentos, canto, juego deportes, me gusta cocinar, me encantan los niños, entre otros. Desde pequeña me ha gustado trabajar y dar lo mejor de
Logrando los sueños con CMC
mí y más cuando se trata de mis estudios, ya que tengo muchas aspiraciones futuras. Recuerdo siempre la frase que decía desde pequeña: “Cuando sea grande quiero ser o hacer esto…” Estaba muy emocionada por saber qué era lo que Dios tenía para mí vida. Terminé mis estudios de primaria y parte de la secundaria en Honduras con buenos grados y excelencia. Cursando mi último año de secundaria en Honduras a la edad de 16 años, Dios me dio la oportunidad junto a mi familia de poder viajar a este hermoso país de los Estados Unidos. Una vez más, sigo viendo la obra de Dios actuando sobre mí y la de mi familia. Muchos momentos donde en mi mente se cruzaban palabras como “¿quiero regresarme a mi país, porque estoy acá?” Desveladas, momentos de llorar, tristeza, una puerta se abría y la otra se cerraba, no todo ha sido fácil. En esos momentos es donde me ponía de rodillas y clamaba al Señor mi Dios que, aunque no entendiera lo que estaba pasando, que él siempre fuera mi guía y el centro de mi vida. Sin saber que de tanta adversidad vendría algo bueno, grandioso, maravilloso. Pienso que lo difícil de cada
CHISME DEL PUEBLO Traducción por Jacquelinne Castro
Camino libre
El Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos le está pidiendo a las personas ayudar a mantener salvos a los carteros limpiando el hielo y la nieve de las aceras, escaleras y porches.
Persona fallecida
El residente de El Jebel, Henry David Twitchell, fue encontrado fallecido en Rio Blanco County el viernes 12 de enero. Twitchell fue visto vivo por última vez en Carbondale el jueves 4 de enero. Más tarde, su vehículo fue reportado en un accidente de deslizamiento en la marca de milla 30 en la carretera 13 en Rio Blanco County. Había un par de huellas alejándose del vehículo a la carretera, pero no fue localizado en ese momento y fue luego registrado en el Centro de información de Crimen Nacional como una persona desaparecida. La investigación de la muerte de Twitchell todavía está en desarrollo.
Dando en grande
Aspen Community Foundation proporciona $582,500 en subvenciones a 15 organizaciones sin fines de lucro locales que ayudan al bienestar social y emocional de los jóvenes en el 2023. Un círculo de filántropos comprometidos llamados Giving Network ha invertido $2.5 millones en nuestra comunidad desde el 2016. Las inscripciones para el ciclo de subvenciones del 2024 están disponibles hasta el 14 de febrero. Para saber más visite www.giving-network.org
joven es saber qué es lo que harás después de graduarse de la escuela. Pues la misma pregunta me hacía, así que empecé a preocuparme, pero una vez más puedo decir que Dios es fiel y que no deja solos a sus hijos. Empecé a aplicar a varias Universidades de mi zona cercana. Un día mi hermano me dijo, “Oye hermana, mira. Me salió un video en TikTok de Colorado Mountain College y se ve muy interesante”. Inmediatamente busqué en todas las redes sociales más información sobre esta institución educativa, CMC. Me impresionó todo lo que ofrecía tanto como el plan de estudio, las diferentes actividades y el trato para que los estudiantes se sientan como en casa. Algo que llamó mi atención fue que CMC apoya mucho a todo tipo de estudiantes, no importando su estatus legal y económico. Gracias a Dios y a esta institución, fui aceptada y he comprobado que toda la información que investigué es verdadera, brindando un excelente personal capacitado en la parte educativa, administrativa y de servicio, estructuras de primera calidad, compañerismo, las diferentes actividades programadas como, por ejemplo, recreativas, sociales, entre otras.
Quiero mencionar que a través de esta institución hay muchas organizaciones que se han unido en apoyo a los estudiantes. Mi objetivo principal es lograr ser una profesional capacitada en el área de trabajo social en donde pueda ofrecer ayuda a las personas necesitadas. Quiero motivar a todos aquellos jóvenes que desean estudiar que esta es una gran oportunidad la cual brinda esta prestigiosa institución y animar a los que ya estamos dentro a continuar con nuestro plan de estudio. No dudamos que siempre van a ver obstáculos o dificultades que se opongan para lograr nuestros sueños profesionales, sin embargo, tenemos que confiar en Dios, en nuestra capacidad como estudiante y en personas que tienen la disponibilidad de ayudarte. No olvidando uno de mis textos bíblicos que siempre ha sido de fortaleza en mi vida: “y sabemos que a los que aman a Dios, todas las cosas les ayudan a bien, esto es, a los que conforme a su propósito son llamados”. Romanos 8:28 Gracias a Colorado Mountain College por este privilegio de formar parte de esta gran familia estudiantil y por ayudarme a estar logrando cada una de mis metas y sueños.
Irene desde pagina 11
Wittrock: Sí, vamos a centrarnos en eso ahora, y voy a tener tiempo para reunirme con una persona y hacer un seguimiento de lo que necesita, porque tienen necesidades diferentes. Algunos califican para el TPS, otro puede calificar para el asilo, otro no califica para nada de eso. Y ya sabe, esta última clínica legal, pudimos completar 17 solicitudes que vamos a enviar. Y cuando recibimos la primera, dijimos: "Esto es una victoria". Bennett: Y parece que incluso este pasado fin de semana (6-7 de enero), llegó más gente y no sólo de Venezuela, ¿es así? Wittrock: Sí, es correcto. Creo que hubo como 30 personas en un fin de semana, eso es mucho. Y vimos algunas personas de Honduras, México, Nicaragua. Y están buscando lo mismo que los venezolanos: un refugio, buscando ayuda donde puedan quedarse, donde puedan pasar la noche. Y es difícil decirles: "Lo siento, no pueden quedarse aquí porque estamos a plena capacidad". Bennett: Y suponiendo que sigamos viendo llegar a más gente al valle, ¿cree que nuestra comunidad puede darles apoyo? Wittrock: Creo que sí, porque si fuéramos capaces de acoger a más de cien personas en el refugio y [con] sólo yo, sólo una persona trabajando en el refugio, quiero decir, podemos hacerlo.
Concurso de fotografía
Carbondale Rec está buscando fotografías originales para la Noche de Puzzles y Pies de este año. Las entregas deben ser representativas de Carbondale y pueden ser verticales o horizontales. Las entregas deben ser enviadas por correo electrónico a mdonnelly@carbondaleco.net antes del 31 de enero. La foto ganadora será hecha en un rompecabezas de 16” por 20” y el ganador recibirá una entregada de equipo para la Noche de Puzzles y Pies el 25 de enero.
Guardianes del arroyo
Siguiendo la resolución de “Derechos de Naturaleza” aprobada por el Pueblo de Nederland en el 2021, dos residentes han sido designados “guardianes” de Boulder Creek. Ellos darán voz a la cuenca cuando se trate de póliza del pueblo. Esta es la primera vez en la historia de los Estados Unidos que guardianes han sido designados bajo el programa gubernamental de Derechos de Naturaleza.
Entrenamiento de baliza
El Servicio Forestal Nacional de White River, en asociación con el Centro de Información de Avalancha de Colorado, anunció su apertura de un parque de entrenamiento de balizas señalizadoras de avalancha a las afueras de Minturn. Ocho transmisores enterrados están situados a una corta subida de la pendiente en Mountain Meadow Trailhead al lado de Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger Station — aproximadamente a un cuarto de milla de la salida Minturn en la I-70 en U.S 24. El entrenamiento baliza señalizadora es auto operado y los transmisores pueden ser encendidos y apagados de
"Sincronías" parte 57, por Leonardo Occhipinti
un panel de control. “Mientras que los señalizadores son importantes si alguien se encuentra enterrado en una avalancha, evitar avalanchas es la primera mejor estrategia”, concluyó el comunicado de prensa. “Antes de dirigirse al campo, revise el pronóstico de avalanchas en www.avalanche.state.co.us”.
el Sol del Valle • Conector de comunidad • 18 de enero - 24 de enero de 2024 • 13
Restaurantes favoritos cont.
Nota del editor: La semana pasada compartimos siete críticas de restaurantes locales escritas por estudiantes del 8o grado en Carbondale Middle School con la maestra Krista Lasko. Esta semana, publicamos las tres que quedaron pendientes.
¡Fridas!
Por Annelise Bumgarner Frida’s es un restaurante mexicana que está en Glenwood. ¡No sólo es auténtico, sino también delicioso! Sirven muy buena comida mexicana y tienen una variedad de platos principales. Ellos tienen enchiladas de pollo, carne asada, y flautas. Tienen otras comidas y bebidas que son muy buenos. Los camareros sirven bebidas como horchata, Sauza gold, y Don Julio 1942. Ellos tienen otras comidas: un barco de ceviche, nachos ricos, ostras rellenas de ceviche. Los postres son flan, churros, sopaipillas, y tiramisú. Mi favorita son las sopaipillas, son muy ricas. Su servicio es muy bueno. Los camareros son siempre amables y serviciales. También son muy rápidos para traerte tu comida, por eso no tienen que esperar mucho. El ambiente es muy tranquilo y pacífico, siempre puedes pasar un buen rato. ¡Espero verte en Frida’s!
CP Burger
Por Miles Molnar CP Hamburguesa es mi favorito restaurante la valle. El ambiente es muy
LIBRARY REPORT
tranquilo y tengo mucho espacio para sientate. El servicio es muy rápido y los camareros muy amables. La comida es muy buena, los platos principales son la hamburguesa y papas fritas con queso, otras comidas y bebidas. Son muchas las ensaladas: una ensalada de col rizada y griega. Tienen muchas bebidas, como té y refrescos. Otras comidas son los perros calientes de Durham Ranch, 100% wagyu, y un wash park kosher y, para top it off, todos los condimentos. Para el postres tiene batidos de cafe, negro y blanco Oreo, munch y bannana split. Otros postres son las galletas de chocolate y los brownies. Y mientras que esperas tu comida, puedes jugar miniatura golfo en el verano o patinar en hielo durante el invierno. Gracias por leer mi revista, ¡y veta allí rápido!
Peppino’s
Por Margaret Brockman Mi restaurante favorito es Peppino's Pizza. Es un restaurante de pizza que sirve almuerzo o cena. Los platos principales de Peppino’s son pizza, un sandwich de focaccia y pavo, y ensaladas. Hay muchos postres en los restaurantes, cerveza de raíz, helado, y malteadas. El servicio es muy rápido y bueno. Otros comidas y bebidas son: sándwiches delicatessen, pan con ajo, y strombolis. Mi plato favorito es la pizza de queso y pan con ajo. El ambiente es amigable y amable, el edificio es acogedor. Además, Peppino’s es muy económico.
SE BUSCA EDITOR/A EDITOR WANTED ¡El Sol del Valle está buscando su próximo/a editor/a! El Sol del Valle is searching for its next editor!
Ayúdanos a informar, inspirar y construir comunidad... ¡en español!
Help us to inform, inspire and build community... in Spanish!
Para saber más sobre este trabajo de tiempo completo, mandanos tu CV y una carta de interés a raleigh@soprissun.com
To know more about this full-time job, send us a resume and cover letter to raleigh@soprissun.com
Visita el enlace para más información: https://soprissun.com/elsoleditor
Visit the link for more information: https://soprissun.com/elsoleditor
Carbondalians learn about ‘Community Interviews’ on Jan. 24
By Lynn “Jake” Burton Sopris Sun Correspondent
Carbondale-area residents will be the first to learn the results of the recent “Community Interviews” conducted by the Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) at 6pm on Jan. 24. Carbondale Branch Library Manager Tracy Kallassy told The Sopris Sun that staff members across the district conducted 83 interviews with “movers and shakers” from around the county, with the aim of learning more about what matters to the people the district serves. “The information we gathered will be used to inform the library district’s long-range planning, as well as to influence day-to-day decisions at the Carbondale branch about the programs and services we provide,” Kallassy said. Carbondale staff members interviewed 18 people with a variety of backgrounds and roles in the community. “We talked to business owners, town officials, non-profit and faith leaders, teachers and community builders. I was so impressed by the passion and drive among those we interviewed,” Kallassy continued. “We learned so much from the people we spoke to, and I hope to continue the interviews even as the official project concludes.” She said that overall, participants’ greatest concern was undoubtedly the lack of attainable housing in the region and its impacts, including the impact on businesses unable to sustain a workforce and a decrease in diversity as more and more people are pushed downvalley. “We heard about a sense of loss of community spirit and a great desire to preserve or regain our smalltown feel, where everyone knows their neighbors,” Kallassy said. “Many spoke about the mental health crisis and issues with obtaining affordable childcare. We also heard about tensions between newcomers
and longtime residents, a lack of civic engagement and volunteerism and concerns about the cultural divide between our Spanish and English-speaking residents.” Kallassy said it was also “very evident” how much people love Carbondale. “We heard so much about Carbondale’s unique personality, artistic core and supportive community. Overwhelmingly people are looking to the future with optimism, positivity and a hope that we can come together as one community.” At the event on Jan. 24, GCPLD Executive Director Jamie LaRue and Branch Libraries Director Nancy Barnes will present the results of the interviews in depth, and share more about the library’s vision for the coming years. Other “Community Interviews” meetings are as follows, all at 6pm: Jan. 29, Rifle branch library, Feb. 5, New Castle branch library, Feb. 6, Glenwood Springs branch library, Feb. 15, Parachute branch library, Feb. 27, Silt branch library.
Human Library event
In another first-time program, the Carbondale Library presents “Human Library: Unjudge Someone” from 10am to 1pm on Sunday, Jan. 28. The GCPLD website says, “Experience a different life perspective through conversation. Participants will get to sit with three of six unique individuals and read them through conversation as if they were books.” Space is limited and registration is required at www.bit.ly/humanlibrary-carbondale The program’s participation agreement reads, in part: “I understand that this is not a space for debating, personal agendas, discrimination or causing harm.”
Board news…
The GCPLD board of directors decided on Jan. 4 to keep its monthly meeting time at 2pm, rather
14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
The fireplace in the Carbondale branch library is dedicated to the late Lanny Kroh, who served on the Garfield County Libraries board of directors. It was designed by Carbondale artist John Hoffmann. Photo by Lynn “Jake” Burton
than switch to evenings. “One of the advantages of the earlier meeting time is that staff gets to attend,” LaRue told The Sopris Sun. The board will offer a Zoom option for its meetings and also record them in the future, he continued. Changing the meeting time, allowing for online attendance and recording the meetings were suggestions from Garfield County resident Trish O’Grady during a recent meeting. The board has experienced a vacancy since last fall. LaRue said the board plans to start advertising for applicants in February. The next library board meeting is at the New Castle branch library at 2pm on Feb. 1. The next board meeting at the Carbondale branch library will be on June 6. Carbondale’s representative is Jocelyn Durrance. She can be reached at jdurrance@gcpld.org For more information on the library board, go to gcpld.org/about-us/board-of-trustees Board meeting packets are generally posted online a few days before the meetings, which are held on the first Thursday of each month.
GARFIELD COUNTY REPORT
Library budget approved, malcontent speaks twice
By Amy Hadden Marsh Sopris Sun Correspondent Two Garfield County Board of Commissioner (BOCC) hopefuls for District 2, which is incumbent John Martin’s seat, began this week’s meeting during the open public comment period. Democrat Douglas Salg (Glenwood Springs) invited his Republican opponent Caleb Waller (Silt) and the commissioners to a Garfield County Dems meet-and-greet in Glenwood Springs on Friday, Jan. 15. “It’s important that we show our constituents that our concerns are rooted in the shared values of our community that unite us and not the partisan political issues that sometimes seem to divide us,” Salg said. Waller was up next, inviting commissioners to start a fund for start-ups to inspire the younger generation of Garfield County citizens and to offset the decrease in oil and gas money flowing into county coffers. Library malcontent John Lepkowsky was the third person to speak during the open public comment period. This portion of the meeting is specifically for “citizens not on the agenda;” however, the BOCC usually stops someone from commenting during this time if their topic is on the agenda. The library and its budget approval was the last item on the agenda, but Lepkowsky was allowed to speak with no question. His complaints included the manga books, which he claims are “pornography.” This week, he told the BOCC that he spoke with an (unidentified) Protestant minister, whom Lepkowsky said “feels that the Silt Library is grooming children.” He handed the BOCC and county clerk more information and was told that it would be put in the public record. The Sopris Sun requested a copy of that information through the county record request process immediately after the Jan. 15 meeting but, as of press time, had not received a response.
RFSD REPORT
Lepkowsky complained about the library district budget during the open public comment period but later in the meeting, after the BOCC accepted the 2024 budget, Lepkowsky merely belabored his manga complaints, suggested that the library change the time of its board meetings, and talked about the evils of pornography. He mentioned piloting in the past for a man who was involved in the pornography publishing world. But, despite having the opportunity, he said nothing more about the district’s budget. During the library presentation, Jamie LaRue, library district executive director, told the BOCC that no public comments were submitted during the 30-day comment period about the proposed budget, which the library adopted in December 2023. He added that the district is hiring an archivist who will work with the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, as well as providing short-term internships for children’s librarians. LaRue told the BOCC that the district will not reduce its mill levy this year. He said in an email to The Sopris Sun, “Our analysis showed that reducing our mill levy by 20% would save residential taxpayers about $14 a year — but save the 33 oil and gas companies $35,000 each.” He added that, next year, oil and gas tax revenues are anticipated to drop by some $3 million a year and that the library board preferred to use the $14 per taxpayer to provide services now. “I’ve never had to deal with oil and gas as a driver for the income,” he explained to the BOCC. “So, we’re trying to look at ways to take advantage of some of the money that’s coming in this year.” Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said he received an email from someone who was concerned about the library district’s participation in the American Library Association (ALA). “They thought that was a Marxist organization,” he said. “Or at least the leader was a Marxist.”
"Just keep talking. They won't stop you."
LaRue responded by saying that [Rifle resident] Trish O’Grady filed a Colorado Open Records Act request for a list of salaries and money that the library district spent on the ALA. “I think our total expenditures for the [ALA] are things like conferences and memberships,” said LaRue. “A total of about $2,900.” LaRue also talked about interviews with community leaders conducted by staff in December 2023. The main concerns are housing, mental health, building community, the economy and quality of life, which will drive the library’s longterm planning. The BOCC accepts the district budget annually but does not have to approve it. Other items on the agenda included approval of $20,000 for Coventure, a supplemental budget request for $164,250 for county insurance and $814,206 for the Colorado Counties Casualty and Property Pool. The BOCC also signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service for improvements to County Road 245 aka the Buford-New Castle Road. The final BOCC meeting of the month is Jan. 22. All meeting minutes and archived video is at www.garfield-county.com/boardcommissioners/meetings
School district seeks input on various topics By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent
If you’re keen on understanding the importance of parent involvement in Roaring Fork School matters, there are various avenues for you to explore. After the October resignation of former Superintendent Dr. Jesús Rodríguez, a superintendent search hopes to have final candidates announced by March 18. A July 1 start date is slated for the new superintendent to assume their duties. First, school board directors invited community members to five informal “coffee and talk sessions” in January at coffee shops in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Basalt. The final session, with Board President Kathryn Kuhlenberg, will be held on Jan. 19 at 9am at Starbucks Coffee in Willits. Secondly, the district is also seeking applicants to serve on the Superintendent Search Advisory Committee (SSAC), with the application process closing on Feb. 1. SSAC will interview candidates and, during the week of March 4, will join the board in conducting finalist interviews and visits with community stakeholders. Additional information and the SSAC application, available in English and Spanish, can be found at www.bit.ly/RFSDsuperintendenthire On Jan. 16, RFSD’s Family Advisory Committee (FAC) and wellness committees met in consecutive meetings at district offices in Carbondale. Interpretation services were
available for both meetings. Kelly Medina, RFSD family resource center director, guided FAC discussions around the topic of family partnerships in education, which, according to a meeting handout, include “recognizing the diversity of family structures, circumstances and cultural backgrounds and respect[ing] families as important decisionmakers for their children’s education.” Breaking into smaller discussion groups, the dialogue turned to answering, “What do strong family-school partnerships look like?” One suggestion that came forth was streamlining communications between families and teachers. For instance, parents would like to know if their child is not succeeding academically ahead of attending parent-teacher conferences. FAC meetings for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year are scheduled for Feb. 20 and Apr. 16. If you are interested in participating, email Medina at kmedina@rfschools.com Interim Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole facilitated the wellness committee meeting, which centered on the rollout of the new “3R” (which stands for rights, respect and responsibility) health curriculum. The wellness committee continues to sift through and fine-tune the curriculum to ensure the lessons are age-appropriate. Once again, small groups discussed the 3R curriculum and reconvened to bring concerns and suggestions to the larger group. A concern was
RFSD Board Director Lindsay DeFrates met with community members interested in learning more about the current superintendent search. Photo by Jeanne Souldern
raised about the language and design of the “opt out” form, requesting that the form be revised. One parent believes her second-grade son is “not ready yet,” so she will opt him out of participating in the curriculum. Cole also took the opportunity to tell attendees that alcohol and drug use in the district's high schools has been identified as “a number one priority.” She invited parents to attend relevant upcoming educational sessions, which include time for questions, to be held on Jan. 18 at Basalt High School and Jan. 23 at Roaring Fork High School. Meetings at 6pm will be in Spanish, and at 7pm will be in English, with language interpretation provided at both.
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 15
Uinta Basin Railway: When is a railroad not a railroad?
By Amy Hadden Marsh Sopris Sun Correspondent
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) earlier this month dealt another blow to the beleaguered Uinta Basin Railway (UBR), an 88-mile line proposed to connect oil fields in the Uinta Basin to the national rail network near Price, Utah, in order to access Gulf Coast refineries. The trains coming out of Price would have increased the amount of waxy crude shipped east by rail to between 130,000 to 350,000 barrels per day. Those trains would have crossed Colorado, including along the Colorado River in the I-70 corridor. Attorneys for the USFS, in a joint motion to govern further proceedings filed on Jan. 11 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, stated, “In light of the Eagle County decision, the Forest Service plans to withdraw the July 14, 2022 Record of Decision that is the subject of this petition for review.” The Eagle County decision refers to the Aug. 18, 2023 D.C. Circuit Court’s overruling of the Federal Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) December 2021 decision to approve the UBR. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), three additional conservation groups, Eagle County and several other Colorado communities, including Glenwood Springs. In September, the D.C. Circuit Court judge put the USFS case in abeyance pending a mandate in the Eagle County case. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition (SCIC) and other defendants appealed the August decision, requesting that the case be heard en banc (a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court rather than by one judge or a smaller panel of judges), but the court decided against the hearing and gave its final decision, or mandate, on the Eagle County case in December. “It's good news that the Forest Service is withdrawing this decision,” said Ted Zukoski, CBD attorney, in an interview with The Sopris Sun. “It's good news for the roadless area that the railroad would have gone through and it's good news for the wildlife that uses those lands and forests.” The original USFS approval of the UBR in July 2023 went hand-in-hand with
A Union Pacific oil train runs west through the heart of Glenwood Springs. Photo by Amy Hadden Marsh
the STB approval and relied upon the environmental impact statement and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s biological opinion that were vacated in the Eagle County decision. “This means that the Forest Service is going to have to go back and do more studies before they can reissue a decision approving the railway,” Zukoski explained. So, at this point, the UBR isn’t going anywhere, but about 30,000 barrels of Uinta Basin crude still cross Colorado daily by rail, and producers in the Basin have other plans to increase the flow. “We're happy that we won this battle in court,” said Zukoski, “but the war continues.” And it’s a complicated war. Those other plans involve three transloading facilities in the Price/Helper area — the Savage terminal, the Price River terminal, and the Wildcat loadout facility — that take crude from trucks coming out of the Uinta Basin and load it onto rail cars headed east across Colorado and south to the Gulf Coast. continues on page 19
New staff, and a new diagnostic procedure at RMUC
By Ken Pletcher Sopris Sun Correspondent
As the Rocky Mountain Urology Center (RMUC) enters 2024, its staff is looking back on a remarkable previous year in which it doubled its physician staff and added a new cutting-edge diagnostic procedure for conducting prostate biopsies. The center, based at Valley View Hospital (VVH) in Glenwood Springs, has branch offices in Aspen, Eagle and Rifle.
New staff
“We really felt like we hit the jackpot with our recruiting class in 2023,” Dr. Aashish Kabra stated in a conversation with The Sopris Sun. “We’re entering our golden era,” at RMUC, he continued, noting that the center had assembled a “dream team” staff with the new additions. Early last year, Dr. Scott Castle joined RMUC, coming to the Roaring Fork Valley from Charleston, South Carolina, where he had a urology practice and was an assistant professor of surgery at the South Carolina College of Medicine. In addition to his long experience in general urology, Dr. Castle brought his considerable expertise with the da Vinci surgical robotic system,
which allows surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures using their hand movements to control tiny instruments in real time. In an earlier prepared statement from VVH, Dr. Castle said, “I have a history of cancer in my family, which informs the way I do my job today.” He continued, “I create bonds with my patients so I can give them the same empathy and personalized treatment I wanted for my own family members.” Also new to RMUC in 2023 is Dr. Stephen Williams, who joined the center in early September. He has an extensive background in urologic oncology, including, most recently, a decade as director of that specialty at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego. Asked by The Sopris Sun why he chose this area after more than two decades in California, he said that both he and his wife were from small towns, and after their kids had left home, “We wanted to get back to our roots in a small community.” He continued, “Valley View was the first place I interviewed, and after visiting other places for six months, this was the place I kept coming back to.” Dr. Williams said that RMUC has “always been a
pretty strong department” — which, in addition to Dr. Kabra, includes longtime staff members Dr. Jamie Lowe and advanced practice nurse Ashley Gilley, as well as (formerly) Dr. Brian Murphy, now VVH’s chief executive officer. In addition to addressing all types of urologic disorders, Dr. Williams is looking forward to building RMUC into a center for cancer treatment not only for the region but “throughout the state” and beyond. He is also pleased by the “multidisciplinary approach with the Calaway-Young Cancer Center” at VVH.
New diagnostic procedure
In his conversation with The Sopris Sun, Dr. Kabra was excited to discuss the introduction last fall of transperineal prostate biopsy (TPB) procedures. This method uses needles, guided by magnetic resonance imagery and ultrasound equipment, that are inserted through the perineum (tissue between the scrotum and rectum) to access the prostate tissue being biopsied. The more traditional transrectal procedure involves needle access to the prostate via the rectum, which includes the chance of infection from
16 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
(Left to right) Urologists Aashish Kabra, MD, Stephen Williams, MD and Scott Castle, MD with equipment used during Rocky Mountain Urology Center's first transperineal prostate biopsy procedure, October 2023. Photo courtesy of Valley View Hospital
fecal matter. “The [TPB] procedure dramatically reduces the risk of infection,” Dr. Kabra said, adding, “It provides the best biopsy results and the best patient experience.” This is partly because the newer procedure can access, more accurately, the entire prostate — not always possible with the transrectal method. In addition, TPB typically requires less anesthesia than with transrectal procedures, he noted. Implementing TPB at RMUC was a multiyear project, the doctor told The Sopris Sun. He had begun researching the procedure shortly after coming to VVH in 2019. First, they had to acquire an MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsy machine (which enables precise biopsy of suspected lesions). “Three years ago, a philanthropic
donation from a former patient allowed us to buy the machine,” he explained. Next, as the RMUC team was preparing to launch the TBP procedure last year, Valley View Surgery Center at Basalt opened in March. That facility offered the ideal setting for patients. With those two components in place, it was then a matter of acquiring the software for the equipment and being trained in the procedure. “Bringing Drs. Castle and Williams onboard motivated us to use the new system,” Dr. Kabra added, noting, “We are trying to do [TPB procedures] 100% of the time now.” More information on RMUC can be found at https://www.vvh.org/ urology/ or by calling 970-928-0808.
5Point Dream Project: Local students make dreams a reality By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent
Now in its 14th year, Carbondalebased 5Point Film has awarded local high school students three 5Point Dream Project scholarships. Tracy Wilson, 5Point Dream Project coordinator, has witnessed how the opportunity can be the catalyst for shaping a student’s future. “Many of them, through these projects, have launched a path to what they’re pursuing in college or elsewhere,” she said. The students whose projects best exemplify the 5Point’s guiding principles — purpose, respect, commitment, humility and balance — are awarded $2,000 to make their dream a reality. Since its inception, the 5Point Dream Project has given over $110,000 to 77 students. Dream Project recipient Rye Rothman, a junior at Colorado Rocky Mountain School, intends to collaborate with self-defense instructors to teach scenario-based defense skills and personal safety tactics. Rothman transferred from Fairview High School in Boulder, where she was assaulted during her freshman year. As a part of her healing process, she learned kickboxing. Through the classes, she realized that “empowerment is not just emotional, but physical,” she said. Classes can be expensive, so
Angie Aguilar
Rye Rothman Courtesy photos
Rothman’s goal is to hold free selfdefense workshops, empowering people to protect themselves, and making the community a safer place where people can feel more comfortable. Candace Samora, a junior at Roaring Fork High School (RFHS), will focus on her Navajo heritage by taking a language class over the summer and learning the traditional Navajo art of rug weaving with her mother and grandmother (Másání), who live on the Navajo Native Reservation. “Weaving is a dying art, so I’m motivated to weave rugs because I know by the time I'm my grandmother's age, there will be even fewer people who know how to continue our tradition in our culture,” Samora shared. Navajo rug weaving uses yarn dyed in natural colors and
Candace Samora
woven on a cedar wood loom. Samora said learning the language is the first step toward her goal of working in anthropology, studying Navajo culture through participating in traditional practices. Angie Aguilar, an RFHS junior, has a dream to create a stronger bond between Latino children and their parents by promoting Spanish literacy in young people. Aguilar, born in the United States, moved to Mexico when she was 3 years old and returned when she was 7. She has concerns about Spanish speakers losing their language skills. She has participated in the Roaring Fork Pre-Collegiate Program since she was in the seventh grade. Her mentors are Roaring Fork School Board Director Kenny Teitler and his wife,
Karla Stukey, who she plans on traveling with to the Guadalajara International Book Fair. She aspires to bring knowledge back to help young bicultural students build their Spanish vocabulary and take pride in their heritage. “I'm specifically gearing this toward younger kids to make the connection with their language and their culture while they're young,” Aguilar said. Wilson said the $2,000 award brings another level of support to the students. “For a lot of them, it's one thing to be supportive, but it's also something to say we believe in you enough to financially support this project,” she stated. For more information about 5Point Film and the Dream Project, go to www.5pointfilm.org
Love and grief live side by side in ‘Goodboy’
By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent
Award-winning Carbondale filmmaker Ashley Mosher said the title of her 40-minute documentary film, “Goodboy,” blends the words “goodbye” and “good boy.” It’s a true-life story of the cross-country journey of Mosher, her husband, Mark Millhone, and their 15-year-old chocolate Labrador, Kenya, who was diagnosed with bone cancer before they moved from Portland, Oregon, to rural Vermont. The screening on Jan. 20 at the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale at 4:30pm is a fundraiser for a local nonprofit, Colorado Animal Rescue (C.A.R.E.). Because the Jan. 20 showing is already sold out, the film will screen again on Jan. 27 at the same time and place. Wes Boyd, executive director of C.A.R.E., said, “We are thrilled to partner with Ashley and present ‘Goodboy’' as a fundraiser for our shelter pets. Thanks to past success hosting the now-retired Bow Wow Filmfest at the Crystal Theatre, we knew this special film would touch the hearts of many in our community.” Mosher moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2004 after earning a degree in sports psychology from the University of Minnesota. After about five years of consulting, she and a friend founded the nonprofit organization Feed Them With Music (FTWM), which brought musicians and music fans together to raise money for meal programs in Haiti
and other impoverished countries. Through FTWM, she worked with high-profile musicians, including Michael Franti, Gavin DeGraw, David Wilcox and others, to create intimate music videos, incorporating backstage footage and interviews, for artists to share with their fans to raise funds for FTWM’s mission. In 2013, she moved to Los Angeles to learn narrative storytelling. During that time, she realized filmmaking was her calling. It was also where she met her husband, a fellow filmmaker and the dean of a filmmaking school. “Within a year or two, I realized documentary storytelling aligned more with my values, beliefs and activist heart,” Mosher explained. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she worked on a film project about immigrants but observed something more urgent. “Everyone seemed so deeply terrified, particularly of getting sick and dying. I thought that was a fascinating highlight of our humanness. I hadn't thought about how much we fear death and dying and being close to death and being sick,” Mosher shared. Mosher and Millhone decided to move to Vermont to be closer to his children, but a profound shift occurred when Kenya was diagnosed with bone cancer. With Kenya’s fate in the balance, Mosher reflected on her experiences with loss and death and “I eventually turned the camera on us and Kenya to document the process,” she said. Through the declining health
of her trusted canine companion, Mosher found herself noticing parallels between the passing of her father, who was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 15-years-old and died when she was 17. “Goodboy” delves into how the stories we tell ourselves about our past shape our choices in the present. “How I dealt with my dad's passing informed how I was dealing with Kenya's passing. I was fighting that reality and doing everything I could to keep it from happening again. Ultimately, the lesson I learned was that you can't,” Mosher shared. Pet ownership is common, and pet loss is inevitable. According to a 2020 study conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, 63% of pet-owning children will experience the death of a pet before their seventh birthday. When asked if the film is appropriate for children, Mosher suggests parents watch the movie trailer to decide, adding, “It's a great platform for parents to talk with their children about death and dying, which we often avoid and tuck away. I believe in exposing them to it and letting them know it's an important part of life,” she explained. Kenya played a pivotal role in reshaping Mosher's beliefs about loss. “I had a choice to either celebrate that or be completely broken by it. Kenya helped me realize that embracing it was a better path. This story is the culmination of what I learned by turning towards it instead of away from it,” she explained.
In a still from the documentary "Goodbye," filmmaker Ashley Mosher and her 15-year-old chocolate Labrador, Kenya, share a quiet moment together. Courtesy photo
“Love comes with grief — they live side by side. It's bittersweet because we're grateful for the time that we had together, and then there's the grief of not having them with us any longer, and it all exists at the same time. And, that’s life,” Mosher said. A post-screening Q&A session on Jan. 20 will include Mosher, Boyd, Robyn Hubbard, a grief and loss counselor from Pathfinders Aspen and a local veterinarian. At least some of these same faces will be back for the Jan. 27 screening. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at www. coloradoanimalrescue.org
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 17
Glenwood Springs makes it on Destination America
By Myki Jones Sopris Sun Correspondent
Renowned chef, disc jockey and author Christian Stevenson, known as DJ BBQ, and his esteemed film crew recently found themselves getting ‘lost’ in Glenwood Springs. Stevenson hosts the budding Destination America TV series “Lost In with DJ BBQ,” where he and his crew travel to towns all over the U.S. highlighting hidden gems such as restaurants, entertainment venues and more. Other towns he and his crew have gotten lost in for the first season include: St. Petersburg, Florida, Camden, South Carolina, Macon, Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota. The season finale is set in historic Glenwood Springs, and premiered on Dec. 14, 2023. It follows Stevenson and his team who visited some of its main attractions and restaurants, such as the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Glenwood Hot Springs Resort, Defiance Rafting, Bair Ranch Western Adventure with Glenwood Adventure Company and Smoke Modern Barbeque. Additionally, a section of the episode is dedicated to the history and legend of John Henry “Doc” Holliday. The episode is titled “Land of Water” and is highenergy and captivating with Stevenson’s elevated sense of curiosity, and a hint of nostalgia, keeping viewers hooked. It was shot during the series’ debut on Destination America in September. After graduating from The University of Maryland in 1990, Stevenson flew out to Colorado and landed a job at KZ radio in Avon. He worked a myriad of radio jobs in both the Vail Valley and Summit County. He explained that Glenwood Springs was a wonderful place for him to get away from the hustle and bustle of
the entertainment world at the time. “I spent so much time in Glenwood Springs in the ‘90s. I lived in Vail from 1990 to 1996, and Glenwood was a wonderful journey to take and hit the hot springs. Since then, it has changed a lot, especially the food scene,” Stevenson told The Sopris Sun. “There’s so much going on there, man, it is incredible. [During filming] I said to myself, ‘I want to come back and live in Glenwood Springs, I want to retire in Glenwood Springs.’” The opportunity to film in Glenwood Springs came about when the production team called the city’s tourism department — somewhat last-minute — which welcomed them with open arms. He and the crew experienced the mouth-watering prime rib and mac’n’cheese of Smoke Modern Barbeque. Stevenson liked it so much, he returned there after filming. A soak at the Glenwood Hot Springs and a whitewater rafting adventure with Defiance, each highlighted the treasured natural waters of Colorado. The TV host shared that the most exhilarating experience was at the Glenwood Springs Adventure Park, where he and the crew went caving and jumped on both the rollercoaster and cliff swing. “I just dived in everywhere I could, even though it felt claustrophobic and scary at times,” he said. “Despite that, it was an exhilarating caving adventure. Then, there was that rollercoaster. Holy crap! That was one of the craziest things, next to that swing. When it flies over and you’re just looking straight down that cliff wall. Wow! You guys have some crazy stuff in Glenwood.” Stevenson naturally incorporates humor into the dialogue with guests on the show. The banter and chemistry between him and the operators of each location did not come off as forced or
2024 Event Program ADVERTISING SPECIAL Photo Credit: caitofosterphotography.com Photo Credit: Sarah Overbeck
Photo Credit: Mark Burrows
53rd Annual Mountain Fair
Green is the New Black DUAL DEAL Fashion Extravaganza
There certainly are worse places to get "Lost In" than Glenwood Springs. Photo taken Tuesday evening, by James Steindler
scripted. He credits the inspiration for the show to the late chef and traveling documentarian Anthony Bourdain, who passed in 2018. “His shoes are impossible to fill, but I think ‘Lost In’ does a pretty good job of creating content similar to what he was known for, which I think is lacking a bit. Media revolves around going to the more off-thebeaten-path places; getting to meet the people, trying the food, the booze, the adventure, the music and getting into the underbelly,” concluded Stevenson. Stevenson is hoping for an approval of a second season of “Lost In” and said that if that should happen, he would be open to exploring more places in the Valley. At this time, the episodes exploring Greenville, South Carolina and Macon, Georgia are available to watch for free on the show’s official Youtube Channel.
I'm just waiting until you say the magic word…
Tre a t s !
RESERVE AN AD IN BOTH EVENT PROGRAMS FOR... Ad Rates Per Program Rack Rate $3,000 $2,600 $2,400 $1,250 $800 $500
Reservation deadline
Monday, February 19 by 5 p.m.
AD CREATIVE deadline
Monday, February 19 by 5 p.m.
Content for Sopris Sun Created ads Wednesday, February 14
DUAL DEAL PRICING $2,100 $1,820 $1,680 $875 $560 $350 In Association with:
Size BACK PAGE (6.75” x 9.63”) FULL PAGE PREMIUM (6.75” x 9.34”) FULL PAGE (6.75” x 9.34”) HALF PAGE (6.75” x 4.5”) 1/4 PAGE (3.3” x 4.5”) 1/8 PAGE (3.3 x 2.2”)
Program Distribution • Inserted in The Sopris Sun • Given directly to attendees • Available online at www.soprissun.com
CONTACT: Todd Chamberlin I adsales@soprissun.com I 970-510-0246
18 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
El Jebel, Colorado 970-963-1700 RJPaddywacks.com
CRFPD Mill levy
continued from page 7
team we have, and growth to really meet the need that the growth of this community is facing, is a critical piece for me.” Noting the board’s intention to provide a temporary tax credit, Schalit added, “We will be doing a reassessment every year until the state … gives us some direction.” She concluded, “The underlying frustration around the cost of living here is felt by everyone on the board, by everyone on the team, for sure, and, obviously, by all of you.” Board President Gene Schilling chimed in that the day before the January meeting, 13 calls were made to CRFPD in a 24-hour period. The board voted unanimously on a slew of resolutions to effectively adopt the 2024 budget and account for a temporary one mill rate reduction, roughly a 30% difference from its assessed increase, reducing CRFPD’s 2024 estimated property tax revenue by $647,979. To review the board minutes and 2024 budget, visit www. carbondalefire.org
RFTA
continued from page 6
commuter rail. Additional funding approval from voters, plus major federal funding that came out of President Obama’s recession stimulus package, led to the BRT launch in 2016.
To today
More recent years saw the launch of RFTA’s Destination 2040 system upgrades, after the 2018 voter approval of a first-ever property tax to fund transit upgrades and trail system improvements. Among the projects that resulted from that effort is the 27th Street (South Glenwood station) pedestrian underpass project that’s under construction. “That really gave RFTA the capability to be sustainable for the long term,” Blankenship said. Federal relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic helped RFTA navigate the challenges of providing bus services in a safety-conscious way, and ridership has continued to increase in the years since. “Thirty-four years goes by pretty fast … it all seems like the blink of an eye,” Blankenship said in summary. “I think back to August of 1989 towing my tiny U-Haul trail up Highway 82, just hoping I could last longer than six months, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m either going to make it or I’m going to break it.’” Looks like he made it.
a free winter speaker series
born to be wild The Ecological Benefits of Wild & Scenic Rivers
Wednesday, Jan. 24 | Roaring Fork High School, 6pm Thursday, jan. 25 | ACES Hallam Lake nature center, 6 pm
Uinta Basin Railway
continued from page 16
“All three of those facilities are seeking approval to increase the volume of throughput,” Zukoski explained. Producers want to increase throughput by at least 100,000 barrels per day, which would maintain the amount of oil traveling across the country that was proposed by the UBR. “When they’re seeking to increase the volume, they need new tanks, they need new facilities,” explained Zukoski. New facilities, more trucks and a rise in Basin crude production will also increase air pollution. “All of that will require approval by the Utah Division of Air Quality with some oversight from the federal [Environmental Protection Agency].”
Uinta Basin oil producers and their supporters are also working on funding improvements to Highway 191 through Indian Canyon to handle the increase of trucks traveling between the oil fields and the loadout facilities. Zukoski added, “It is evident that they're moving on to Plan B and that they are desperately trying to get more oil out of the Basin and into the markets away from Salt Lake [City].” At the Jan. 11 SCIC meeting, UBR proponents stated that, since the recent Circuit Court decision, they weren’t sure of their next step but were not dissuaded by what they called “standard action” on the part of the USFS. Representatives of the USFS were unavailable for comment before press time.
Town Center
continued from page 4
Outdoor aesthetic
The Promenade is considered key for making Town Center a vibrant addition to Carbondale’s downtown. It already extends from Main Street to the Rio Grande Trail and could eventually meander into Downtown North. Part of the existing walkway will be removed during Phase 1 construction to allow for excavation and building foundations. It will be disturbed various times until all construction along the Promenade is completed. In addition to reimagining the Promenade, Connect One Design is looking to break up some of the sidewalk along 6th Street and introduce more landscaping. They’re keen to free a few street trees from their grates and cease treating them with growth inhibitors to see what happens. Thunder River Theatre Company is expected to play a grander role in Phase 2, given the nonprofit’s central stake in what unfolds around its building. Sign up for updates at www.artspace.org/towncenter
Working To gether For Pets A nd Their Peo ple 2801 Glenwood S CR 114 prings, CO (970)947-9 173
CARE h a n d 2 gasu10 dogs and 5 cats inea pigs availa ble for ado
ption.
.A.R.E. KS offers a “C RJ PADDYWAC adoptive families, ew package” for n s for Points” plan aw including a “P t e 1 5% disc oun and a first timpet. for your new
Bella the D oberman is a t o p -n o t c h m o u n t a in ad venture bu dd bouncy, socia y! She’s a l 10-monthold who want s to explore e ve r y c o r n e r RJ Paddywacks of C o lo r a d o w 400 E Valley Rd. # I/J it h Next to City Market you. Let’s pla in El Jebel y! 970.963.1700 rjpaddywacks.com
Your Mid-Valley Real Estate Expert Professionally Representing You with 16 Years of Experience
FREE REGISTRATION AT WILDERNESSWORKSHOP.ORG AND ASPENNATURE.ORG
GOLD SPONSORS:
SILVER SPONSORS: *A livestream of all Thursday lectures will be available on YouTube and Facebook, thanks to Grassroots TV.
HILARY PORTERFIELD
Call me, I love to talk real estate! 970.319.5757 • hilary@hilaryporterfield.com • roaringfork-homes.com ©2023 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated.
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 19
OPINION
Sun Signs
By Whitney Will
2024 will not be a year you remember in singular fashion. In astrological terms, it nestles in between the fierce vicissitudes of the COVID years and the remainder of the decade that hosts decidedly dramatic astrology. This is not to say that this year will be calm or boring, but that in hindsight it will pale in comparison. I am both comforted and humbled by this fact, knowing that, turbulent as it may be, there is some familiarity and simplicity here. That will not remain for very much longer. Savor it. Pluto defines generations and cultural phenomena. It is on the edge of a new epoch. Since 2008, with the financial crisis, Occupy Wall Street, Citizens United v. FEC, to the present moment of late-stage capitalism, we have experienced the dangers of the consolidation of power and wealth while Pluto moved through Capricorn. In 2024, Pluto will enter Aquarius
The astrology of 2024
— the sign of the people, the future, and freedom — and over 50 countries, home to over half the global population, will hold elections. Pluto was in Aquarius when the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written, championing (imperfectly) the ideals of democracy. They are being challenged, their cracks are showing, whether we can be flexible enough to expand and transform without having to crumble first, remains to be seen. Hold onto your ballots, the world is voting on the future. The other signification of Aquarius is technology. When Pluto briefly ingressed into Aquarius in the spring of 2023, ChatGPT was introduced to the public, an artificial intelligence that has since woven itself into the fabric of our daily interactions. This emergence highlights the symbiotic relationship between astrology and technological progress, as if the cosmos itself is nudging humanity toward a future intertwined with innovation. As Pluto's journey through Aquarius unfolds, we can anticipate a surge in technological breakthroughs, challenging our perceptions and reshaping industries. The fusion of Pluto's transformative energy with Aquarius' forward-thinking nature propels us into an era where technology becomes not just a tool but a force for societal evolution. Pluto will dip back into Capricorn from Sept. 1 to Nov. 19, 2024, then
20 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
remain in Aquarius until 2044. The month to look out for this year is April. April is filled with explosives. A gnarly total solar eclipse on April 8 will be visible in much of the United States. Eclipses signal sudden beginnings and endings, destabilizing things in surprising ways. This eclipse is followed two days later by a SaturnMars conjunction in the sign of Pisces. These two planets each represent problematic forces; when combined things can become quite tricky — think March 2020. Their meet-up in Pisces hints that whatever woes they portend are likely to be aquatic. On April 20, Jupiter will conjoin Uranus. Here is where we might see some payoff from the tumult of Uranus’ time in Taurus since May 2018. Uranus shakes up anything stagnant, sabotages anything complacent, and bucks under oppression. Jupiter expands and builds, offers opportunities and a bit of luck. I think we have the potential to see innovation in financial and real estate topics, as well as grassroots organizations championing the good of the people. I am optimistic about it, but not expecting it to be gentle. Finally, a Mercury retrograde in Aries will be active the entire month, so do not expect for the dust to settle until mid-May when Mercury leaves the post-shadow. In April, events will unfold with
unforeseeable consequences, and their commencement might be notably surprising. By the end of May, Jupiter will have made its annual sign change and entered the cerebral tangle of Gemini. Questions will arise as to what to believe, as artificial intelligencegenerated media will make sorting through spurious marketing and political zealotry quite confusing. Opinions and confidence will abound, but it is doubt and skepticism that will hone our discernment in the year to come. Jupiter will be in Gemini from May 25, 2024 until June 9, 2025. In the fall we will have two eclipses — one in Pisces on Sept. 17, and another in Libra on Oct. 2. Two out of the three presidential debates will fall within a day of these. We think we know who will be on our ballots, but I am not so confident. Finally, in the last month of the year, Mars will station retrograde in the sign of Leo. His retreat will take him into the new year and into Cancer, with a poignancy of vulnerability that will be hard to ignore. All this, and still I say 2025 will be bigger. It is important to remember that as individual lives go, 2024 will be a mixed bag. Some of us will have a fulfilling year, some of us will have a challenging year, some of us will have both, and that is the best we can hope for as we create lives of meaning in the face of all the beauty and all the chaos. We certainly live in interesting times.
Share your works in progress with readers by emailing illustrations, creative writings and poetry to fiction@soprissun.com
Comparte tus proyectos creativos aún en proceso con nuestros lectores. Puedes enviarnos un correo electrónico con tus ilustraciones, creaciones literarias y poesía a fiction@soprissun.com
Tree Poem
Text and photos by Frosty Merriott Arkansas Have you heard them singing in the spring with the breeze? Have you seen them resting providing all with shade? Have you marveled in their splendor as they welcome us to our home? Have you seen them standing dormant dreaming yet of spring? Have you heard them screaming in the night when you dream?
CALL FOR ENTRIES DEADLINE IS January 19, 2024
at the Aspen Chapel Gallery in partnership with The Sopris Sun Carbondale, Colorado
The Aspen Chapel Gallery’s 4 Rivers Biennial Exhibition is seeking Roaring Fork Valley artists to submit work for the juried show. Jurors Lissa Ballinger and Andrew Travers will pick the $1000 Judges Award and a $250 People Choice Award will be chosen by attendees. Three ways to get an entry form: aspenchapelgallery.org, pick up an entry form at the AspenChapel Gallery, or contact Michael Bonds at studiomb628@gmail.com. Submissions deadline is Friday, Jan.19, 2024.
How to Enter: • Complete the entry form and mail it with your non-refundable entry fee before January 19 to: The Aspen Chapel Gallery, Attn: 4 Rivers Biennial, 77 Meadowood Drive, Aspen, Colorado 81611 • Email original digital images as jpeg attachments (5 megabytes or less) to: studiomb628@gmail.com by Friday, January 19. Entries will NOT be reviewed until payment is received. THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 21
LETTERS
Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from all over the world are pouring into the country. What’s up with that? If you were paying attention to what Europe has been experiencing, it wouldn’t be a surprise that, now, it’s our turn. But, the most puzzling question is, “Why”? Why is the Biden administration not just turning its back (on what is definitely a major national security risk), but is actually helping facilitate this mass migration? We are a compassionate country, many of us are first-generation immigrants ourselves, and we do need workers, but this is lunacy. Why? It doesn’t make sense that our own Government would do this … unless … just like Rome, we’re being brought down from within by an ingeniously dark coup … of sorts. A loony right winger I am not (remember, I’m a Democrat), and this isn’t about right or left; it’s about the survival of our very way of life. We’ve had it so good for so long that we’ve forgotten how precious it is to live in a free society. Don’t forget! Do something … anything … pick up your phone and apply some pressure on OUR elected officials to stop this mass migration. Oh, and Happy New Year! Jackie Chenoweth, Carbondale
Keep Basalt Special
The significant growing public opposition to the Basalt Black Mountain development is the result of the dissemination of developerprovided information, staff referral and public comment provided via the free internet by a small unfunded group of volunteers. All of the information has been uploaded to the website www. keepbasaltspecial.com This information is otherwise publicly available, but not always easily searchable, from various public sources, agencies and governments — thus, the website. Contrast this with the splashy advertising/public relations campaign the developer has just launched, with opening salvos of expensive pieces in local newspapers. Previously, the only public face this developer has presented, beyond the usual news reporting and the poorly-attended requisite hearings, is the almost invisible and certainly illegible notice in a field off of Highway 82. Obviously, development will happen. Clearly affordable housing for Aspen employees is sorely lacking. But, the Jadwin site on the south bank of the Roaring Fork River is wrong on many levels, and has been turned down twice before for developments that also included housing. The reasons for these failures in approval still exist, and the Basalt Master Plan, so laboriously created, states clearly what the public wants. The Black Mountain development does not follow the Master Plan. For instance, critical sections of the frontage road connecting the project with Highway 82 will be unable to handle the dramatic increase in traffic. See the independent engineering opinion using the developer’s own data at www.
22 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024
continued from page 2
keepbasaltspecial.com This important section of the river will be degraded by the hundreds of residents, guests, glampers and their pets. There is no river crossing provided across the river. This proposed precedent-setting dense housing development should be judged by information free from the influence of an expensive PR campaign. Why not simply provide information to a citizenry that can think for itself? Edward Williams, Basalt
Ceasefire march
End America’s support for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Ceasefire Now RFV is holding a protest Sunday, Jan. 21 at 12pm at Centennial Park (Grand Ave. and Ninth Street) in Glenwood Springs, to demand Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper and Representative Boebert support a ceasefire. Israel’s assault on Gaza has now killed over 24,000 people and counting — 1% of the population — most of whom are women and children. It has displaced 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, and destroyed 60% of the buildings. Gazans are starving, while Israel allows only a trickle of aid in. The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 30 that Israel had dropped 29,000 bombs, shells and munitions on Gaza, causing destruction “comparable in scale to the most devastating urban warfare in the modern record.” By comparison, the U.S. dropped 3,678 munitions on Iraq from 2004 to 2010. The U.N. documented 10,076 civilian deaths in 21 months in Russia’s war in Ukraine. By contrast, Israel is killing 8,000 people a month. South Africa is charging Israel with genocide in the International Court of Justice. Israeli and American officials say Hamas must be destroyed. Such rationalizations reveal how little Palestinian lives matter in their minds. In no moral universe are the deaths of 24,000 Gazans justified for the deaths of 1,200 Israelis. The way to defeat Hamas is to end the 56-year occupation and give Palestinians hope for a state. Americans are complicit. The Biden Administration blocked five U.N. Security Council ceasefire resolutions and went around Congress to rush $250 million in tank ammunition and other weaponry, all while the world watched Israeli bombs and shells flatten apartments, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches. Join us on Sunday and make sure our members of Congress hear you. Seth Bontrager Robyn McBurney Will Hodges Letters policy: The Sopris Sun welcomes local letters to the editor. Shorter letters stand a better chance of being printed. Letters exclusive to The Sopris Sun (not appearing in other papers) are particularly welcome. Please cite your facts and include your name and place of residence or association. Letters are due to news@ soprissun.com by noon on the Monday before we go to print.
PARTING SHOTS
The abundance of snowflakes that fell on Sunday created a picturesque (or postcard -like) environment, enhancing this already photogenic old barn up Cattle Creek Road. Photo by Jane Bachrach
Correction: In last week’s article, “Vigil sets somber scene at USFS office in Carbondale,” it was stated that the group opposing the demolition and reconstruction of the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District office in Carbondale collected “at least 600” petition signatures, when, in fact, they collected 1,400 signatures.
Smartie, an all-electric Mercedes-Benz, is responsible for hauling The Sopris Sun up to Redstone during the summer. In wintertime, Smartie enjoys a well-deserved rest. If you are someone that regularly commutes between Carbondale and the Crystal Valley, we are seeking volunteers to help distribute newspapers. The workload for our standard route is just about maxed, so we welcome any and all help spreading The Sopris Sun far and wide, into Aspen and Snowmass Village, down to New Castle, Silt and Rifle, etc. Please contact us at news@soprissun.com to plan logistics. Photo by Bartlett (an extraordinary volunteer).
LEGALS Elizabeth Claire Vock has legally changed her name to Claire Elizabeth Rayes. Case number: 23C195
WELLNESS WORKING
Collaborative
$25 DAY
DAILY DROP-IN
$150 FLEX DESK MONTH $250 DEDICATED MONTH DESK
BOOK NOW
NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT
NOTICE: This Ordinance was introduced, read, and adopted at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Carbondale, Colorado, on January 9, 2024.
NOTICE is hereby given that on December 29th, 2023, at 12:00 p.m., final settlement will be made with Stutsman Gerbaz Earth Moving Inc., 30376 State Highway 82, Snowmass, Colorado, 81654 by the TOWN OF CARBONDALE, 511 Colorado Ave., Carbondale, Colorado, on a contract for labor and materials for a project known as TOWN OF CARBONDALE Euclid Alley and Crystal Circle Sanitary Sewer Improvements and that any person, co-partnership, company, association of persons, or corporation who has an unpaid claim against Stutsman Gerbaz Earthmoving Inc., or its subcontractors, for labor and materials, may, at any time, up to closing of business the last work day prior to final settlement, that is, by December 28th, 2023, file a verified statement of the amount due with the TOWN OF CARBONDALE Attn. Scott Wenning (swenning@carbondaleco.net) pursuant to Section 38-26-107, C.R.S., as amended.
This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication of this notice. The full text of said Ordinance is available to the public at www.carbondalegov. org or at the office of the Town Clerk, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, Colorado, during normal business hours.
Failure on the part of the Claimant to make such verified statement, prior to the final settlement on the contract with Stutsman Gerbaz Earthmoving Inc.., will relieve the TOWN OF CARBONDALE from any liability for such Claimant’s claim.
ORDINANCE NO. 1 SERIES OF 2024 AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE, COLORADO, APPROVING AN EXTENSION OF THE DEADLINE TO COMPLETE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE EASTWOOD SELF-STORAGE FACILITY.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held before the Carbondale Planning and Zoning Commission for the purpose of considering a combined application for Annexation, Rezoning, Administrative Site Plan Review, Subdivision Exemption, and Conditional Use Permit to allow the development of a food truck court, dining room, and commissary kitchen. Project Description: The project proposes to annex a 1,731 square foot parcel and to merge with 111 Main Street, for a combined lot containing 0.122 acres (5,311 square feet) to repurpose and expand an existing structure (1,744 square feet) for the development of a food truck court, dining room, and commissary kitchen. The project includes annexation, merging of two lots, rezoning the lots from C/T (Commercial/Transitional) to HCC (Historic Commercial Core) and making improvements to the Main Street right-of-way. Property Location: 111 Main Street; Outlot B and the East 17 feet of Lot 24 in Block 1 of the Town of Carbondale. Applicant: Robert Schultz Consulting LLC Owner: Richard & Kathryn Camp & Terrance McGuire Said Public Hearing will be held at the Carbondale Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO beginning at 7:00 p.m. on February 8, 2024. Copies of the proposed application are on file in the Planning Department office, Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO and may be examined during regular business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The application may also be viewed on the Town’s website at: https://carbondalegov.org/departments/planning/current_land_use_applications.php
WWW.HEADQ.ORG
If you would like to submit comments regarding this application please send them via email to jbarnes@carbondaleco.net by 5:00 pm on February 1, 2024. The comments will be entered into the record. If you have questions regarding the application, please contact Jared Barnes, Planning Director, at 970-510-1208.
THE SOPRIS SUN • Your weekly community connector • January 18 - January 24, 2024 • 23
24 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 18 - January 24, 2024