Memorial Day 2023 is history, July 4th is near, and I’ve been thinking about heroes, fallen soldiers, and how I became a conscientious objector.
My Jewish parents fled from Nazi Austria to America in 1938. I was raised on stories about what and who they lost and on propaganda about heroic victories against “despicable Krauts and Japs.” I remember how frightened I was when the Korean War started, but I never doubted that we, the good guys, had to fight it. When bored in school I sketched American Sabre Jets shooting down Migs.
When my university required basic ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) training, it was no big deal. I began having doubts though, the morning a veteran Master Sergeant taught us about the Browning Automatic Rifle.
“Can anyone tell me?” he asked, "what the flash-hider on the Browning Automatic Rifle, model M1, a2 is for?” I raised my hand.
“Yes, Trooper?” (Trooper? I was 17, majoring in bacteriology.)
“It keeps the flash out of the gunner’s eyes,” I answered.
“That is correct trooper,” Sarge said, looking more pleased with himself than with me. “The flash hider on the Browning Automatic Rifle model M1, a2 keeps the flash out of the gunner’s eyes. It does NOT hide the flash from the enemy because it is impossible to hide the flash from the enemy. If the enemy is directly in front of the weapon, the enemy WILL see the flash.” I couldn’t resist.
“Sargent,” I asked, trying to keep from laughing, “if the enemy is directly in front of the weapon, what difference does it make if he sees the flash?” Sarge looked less pleased.
“That is not the point,” he said emphatically. “The point is that it is impossible to hide the flash from the enemy because…” My first personal encounter with military thinking was uninspiring.
Sarge’s words were still fresh in my memory a few years later when I met Big Abe while working at a summer camp. Five years my senior, Abe was one of the gentlest, most selfassured, and most inspiring people I’ve known. He was also a conscientious objector to war who, at the height of the Cold War, believed that our best chance for survival was unilateral disarmament.
What? If we, the good guys, stood down, the bad Russians
What a beautiful, poetic and loving tribute to her father from Vianne Camara in last week's Sun. I've read it four times now, with more to come, I'm sure. I hope it goes viral. That's one virus I wouldn't mind having. Un abrazo for Oscar Israel Camara Sepulveda for a job well done.
One of the indispensable virtues of a nonprofit newspaper is that there is space for a feel-good story like that! And the fact that it comes to us from another nonprofit in our community reminds me again of how good we have it in our fair valley. These days, that's such a poignant realization that it makes me cry.
Luke Nestler
Somewhere down the river
I am more committed than ever to elevating our community's voices and
and Chinese would invade us and we wouldn’t have a chance. “How do you know they even want to?” Abe asked. I had no good answer because, like Sarge, I was just repeating what the people in charge had always told me. “What if we dismantled 10% of our weapons?” Abe suggested. “We’d still have plenty to defend ourselves, but if they responded in kind, we could do another 10%. If we want peace, isn't it worth a try?” By the time camp ended, I was convinced. When Vietnam heated up, I registered as the conscientious objector I had become.
That ludicrously tragic war popularized many anti-war songs. My favorite was/is Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “The Universal Soldier.”
He's five-foot-two, and he's six-feet-four
He fights with missiles and with spears
He's all of 31
And he's only 17
He's been a soldier for a thousand years
He's the universal soldier, and he really is to blame
His orders come from far away no more
They come from here and there and you and me
And brothers can't you see
This is not the way we put the end to war?
What if universal soldiers refused to fight? Occasionally, it happens. Usually, we call them deserters, and often, we shoot them for it.
One of my favorite peacenik stories happened in 1914. “In the week leading up to 25 December, French, German, and British soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In some areas, men from both sides ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps, while several meetings ended in caroling. Men played games of football with one another, creating one of the most memorable images of the truce.” (Wikipedia)
This brings me back to Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, etc. I don’t want to dishonor dead soldiers for doing what they saw as their duty, but I wish they hadn’t done it and I can’t sincerely honor them either. How on earth, after playing football, sharing rations, singing, and burying their dead together, could they go back to killing one another?
The best I can do is feel sad for them and for all soldiers making the same mistake today. Like me, they grew up drawing things they didn’t understand. They heard countless stories about their countries’ righteous victories without being told or taught to ask who profited from those victories, what unspeakable cruelties their forebears perpetrated to forge those victories, or what unspeakable deeds they might be asked to do to earn their own places in “glorious” stories yet to come. But, unlike me, they never spent a summer with Big Abe.
Mature Content is of monthly feature from Age-Friendly Carbondale.
representing you proudly. Thank you for allowing me to be your representative.
We took on big fights this session, from affordable housing to gun violence prevention to reproductive access, tackling long-standing issues like bad water quality in mobile home parks and language in emergency response.
We brought together folks from all levels of government to keep I-70 open.
I was proud to work closely with local officials, first responders, advocacy groups, constituents and directly impacted people to craft sound policy.
I fought to make sure that the bills we passed under the dome work for us in rural Colorado and that we are not left behind.
It's the honor of my life to represent House District 57. Our working families are feeling the pressure, there's so much more to do. I am proud of the laws we passed, proud to vote on legislation that gave our schools more funding, that dealt with gun violence prevention and
access to abortion and gender affirming care. I’m also proud to support our ranchers and farmers and of the work we did to keep moving toward a clean energy future.
We are stronger together for a Colorado for all!
Elizabeth Velasco, House District 57
Dear fellow activist and philanthropist Paula Crown of Aspen SkiCo, I'm so grateful for so many things — especially my Irish-Catholic roots. As fellow artists, we both believe in freedom, right?
Jim, your billionaire husband, is Chairman Emeritus of the Aspen Institute: Mind, body, spirit!
Would you please drop the hiking ban on public lands that you lease from St. Patty's Day to April 1, 2024, so that I can teach the kids and adults
Editor Raleigh Burleigh 970-510-3003
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Do you have an opinion about commuting along Highway 133 in Carbondale? Age-Friendly Carbondale would like to know. Find their bilingual survey at www.bit.ly/HWY133
The Colorado Department of Transportation expects to open Highway 133 between Somerset and Paonia sometime during the week of June 19. Workers are finishing the installation of a temporary truss bridge that stretches across a chasm in the road, caused by a failed culvert, which has inhibited traffic for over a month. Once the road reopens, motorists should anticipate lower speeds and flaggers. Commercial vehicle traffic will be restricted to 85,000 lbs and an 11-foot width.
Public comments regarding the federally proposed Thompson Divide Administrative Mineral Withdrawal, which would protect the divide from future oil and gas leasing for 20 years, are due by June 16. Visit www.bit.ly/ThompsonDividecomments to comment and for more information.
Carbondale’s John M. Fleet Pool is open for the summer season, from 8am to 11am for lap swimming and noon to 5pm for an open swim on weekdays. Lap swimming begins at 10am on the weekend for now, with an official schedule to be posted at www. carbondalerec.com on June 19.
RJ Paddywacks
Cool Bricks Studio
White River Books
Alpine Animal Hospital
Novus Glass
Nonprofit Partners
Wilderness Workshop
5point Film Festival
Basalt Library
Aspen Strong
Carbondale Rotary
Colorado Animal Rescue
Carbondale Arts
Carbondale Chamber of Commerce
Interested in becoming an Underwriter or Nonprofit Partner in 2023? Email Todd@ soprissun.com or call 970-987-9866
The Garfield County Commissioners are considering altering the county’s mill levy to quell rising property taxes. According to a press release, the board is encouraging other taxing entities, namely the school and fire districts, to also consider a temporary reduction in their levies. Commissioner John Martin noted that all taxing entities have the authority to make this temporary adjustment.
By Wednesday, June 21, Governor Jared Polis is to appoint either Elise Victoria Myer, currently with the Colorado State Public Defender’s Glenwood Springs office, or Donald Richard Nottingham, currently with the District Attorney’s office, to replace Ninth Judicial District Court Judge James Berkley Boyd. The newly appointed judge's term commences on July 1. Comments regarding the two nominees can be emailed to gov_judicialappointments@ state.co.us
Aspen Valley Land Trust (AVLT) and Wilderness Workshop are both hiring for full time positions with benefits. For AVLT, a community engagement manager and administration & outreach coordinator are needed. Applications are encouraged by June 19; visit www.avlt.org/join-our-team for more details. Wilderness Workshop, meanwhile, is seeking a communications director and wishing Grant Stevens blessings as he moves over to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Find details at www. wildernessworkshop.org
Roaring Fork Cycling hosted a BMX race at Crown Mountain Park on Saturday, June 10. Roaring Fork Cycling is a nonprofit that provides skills-based cycling programs, clinics and camps for K-12 students. Learn more at roaringforkcycling.org
Roaring Fork Engineering, based in Carbondale, has expanded its services to include land surveying and construction staking, in addition to their existing civil environmental and water resource engineering and construction administration. Kyle Tesky is welcomed as survey manager, and Jacqui Gossard and Jordan Kehoe are joining the team as design engineers.
Garfield County Search and Rescue (GSAR) made a 2am rescue near Coffee Pot Campground in Dotsero on Monday, June 12. The Garfield County Sheriff’s office received a message relayed through Vail Dispatch regarding a missing 3-year-old around 9pm on June 11. Thankfully, the incident had a happy conclusion. Families are encouraged to supply small children with emergency whistles when visiting the backcountry. Learn more about volunteering with GSAR at www.garfieldcountysar.com
The annual Colorado Wild Public Lands photo contest is underway.This year’s theme is “wild water;” submit a photo to coloradowildpubliclands@gmail.com by June 30 for the chance to win a NEMO Stargaze reclining camp chair provided by Ute Mountaineer.
For the next six to eight weeks, trail closures will be in place Monday through Friday, from 7am to 5pm, in South Canyon while the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety performs reclamation work on the West Coal Seam. Trail users are to adhere to posted closures on the Tramway and Lightning Bug trails.
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Jade Bath, Lynni Hutton and Eileen Waski (June 15); Todd Chamberlin, Garrett Edquist, Vince Simonetti and Lon Winston (June 16); Annie Flynn and Amber McMahill (June 17); Tenzin Byrne, Bill Flanigan and Nancy Smith (June 18); Jennifer Bauer, Forrest Fulker, Matt McBrayer and Garrett del Castillo (June 19); Alyssa Barsanti, Ty Burtard, Todd Fugate, Arleen Ginn, Brandon Jones and Ernie Kollar (June 21).
Photo by Sue Rollyson
By Fred Porter Special to The Sopris Sun
What: The heat pump is a heat multiplier
Cold climate heat pumps are probably the most significant method to greatly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heating our buildings.
For a home with ducted forced air, a whole house heat pump will look like an air conditioner and function as air conditioner. Then, in the winter, it uses one unit of electricity to move more heat from outside to inside. It can work alone or with a gas furnace or electric strip heat.
In the past, these "air source" heat pumps quit working when the outside air was below 30 F or so. Beginning 15 years ago, "cold climate" heat pumps became available. These deliver heat at much lower temperatures, some even down to -20 F. According to the assessor’s listings, 60% of the residential floor area in Carbondale, including most modular homes and "trailers," is heated with forced air, and about 65% of this already has central AC.
There are other alternatives for homes with baseboard electric or hot water, which can be quite simple or involved.
How: Multiplying heat
Inside a heat pump, an electric motor drives a compressor in a piping loop filled with refrigerant. This loop is controlled to create different pressures along it. The refrigerant boils and absorbs heat in one "coil" at low pressure and condenses and releases heat in the other at high pressure. For air conditioning, heat is absorbed inside, in the duct, and ejected outside. In heating mode, a valve reverses the action, and heat is absorbed outside and released in the duct.
When heated with gas, a typical 2,000 square-foot residence in Carbondale emits 10,000 lbs of CO2 each year from the flue and another 5,000 lbs of indirect greenhouse gas equivalents from upstream processing and leaking. This is about the same as driving a 25 mpg vehicle for 17,000 miles.
Electricity in Colorado is sourced 40% from wind and solar. That fraction is higher for Xcel and Holy Cross Energy; typically higher in fall, winter, and spring; and is increasing. This means that the same house using a heat multiplier will decrease heating GHG emissions by around two-thirds. As far as the cost to heat, this past year, this kind of heat pump would save a few hundred dollars per year.
Gas costs went up much more than electricity recently.
When: Before your furnace or AC breaks
When a furnace or AC breaks, a one-one replacement for each is usually immediately available for several thousand dollars. A cold-climate heat pump, or even a more efficient furnace, may require electrical or HVAC upgrades, and may not be possible to schedule when a broken unit needs to be replaced quickly. To get a heat pump by next winter, this is a good time to have an HVAC contractor determine the work needed and schedule deliveries and crews.
A cold climate heat pump will cost several thousand more than simple replacements but is eligible for tax credits and utility rebates, almost offsetting the additional cost.
So, it pays to plan ahead. Assistance is available from CLEER and CORE. And if your home has not been fully “weatherized,” that’s a basic first step which saves money and emissions.
In Maine, heat pump retrofit programs are starting to target mobile homes, and a pilot in Eagle County fully electrified five mobile homes in the Dotsero trailer park in 2021.
In New England, a few gas distribution utilities are diversifying into providing and installing ground loop heat pump components.
Why not just distribute and burn clean hydrogen or “RNG" (renewable natural gas or biomethane)?
There are claims the gas system can distribute low-emissions heating gas made from biomass and hydrogen. But supplies of the former will always be limited and the latter is expensive. The opportunity for heat multiplication does not exist when burning fuel.
Hydrogen fuel can be made from water using wind or solar electricity. With significant effort, the gas grid and furnaces could be modified to burn this. However, the conversion and distribution and combustion steps lose half the energy, and the heat multiplication process is unavailable. So instead of one wind turbine producing enough heat for 2,000 heat pump homes, it would only heat 500 homes.
By Will Buzzerd Sopris Sun Correspondent
Now that spring sprang and flowers are in bloom, it’s time for pollinators to stay busy keeping our ecosystems healthy. However, some locals have noticed what seems to be a decrease in local buzzing, and to that end we’ve performed some research to see what’s the latest with our fuzzy flying friends.
In 2022, beekeepers across the U.S. lost an estimated 39% of their managed colonies. Mark Burrows of Pollinator Chocolates has been a beekeeper for over a decade with a master’s degree in apiculture and reported a total loss of hives over the winter. He noted extensive difficulties related to maintaining a healthy hive — even in diagnosing hive loss.
“There’s easily 15 to 20 diseases of the hive that can take it down,” Burrows commented. “No single one typically takes down a hive, usually it’s a combination of a few things.”
A significant amount of pollinator loss worldwide is being attributed to neonicotinoids — a synthetic pesticide developed in the mid-1990s used in agriculture, lawns, golf courses and in veterinary treatments. Also known as “neonics,” the pesticide functions by attacking the nervous system of insects, overstimulating and paralyzing them. Below lethal doses, neonics can still significantly weaken an insect.
Furthermore, neonics are a systemic pesticide, meaning that they can be applied to the soil or as a coating on a seed. As the plant grows, it takes the pesticide into its system and becomes toxic to insects. According to the National Resource Defense Council, “Once in the soil, neonics remain active for years, and rain or irrigation water can easily carry them long distances to contaminate
new soil, plant life and water supplies.”
Furthermore, “A 2015 study by the U.S. Geological Survey found neonic pollution in more than half of the streams it sampled nationwide.”
In response, on May 17 of this year, the Colorado General Assembly signed a bill which will limit the distribution of neonics. State Bill 23-266 requires that on or before Jan. 1, 2024, the state commissioner of agriculture take action to require the designation of neonic pesticides as limited-use, so that only licensed dealers will be permitted to sell them. This makes Colorado one among several states — including Maine, California and New Jersey — that passed legislation restricting neonics.
While the European Union has restricted the use of various neonics since 2013, the U.S. has been slower to regulate, and it won’t be until 2024 that the Environmental Protection Agency potentially introduces mitigation measures based on a biological assessment released last June.
With regards to neonics, Burrows said that it’s not often worth it for beekeepers to try to identify pesticide poisoning due to the expense of testing and because if the bees are poisoned, it is difficult to pinpoint the origin of the pesticides.
Maintaining general hive health is also tough for beekeepers. Varroa mites — a common parasite among honeybees — are highly difficult to remove, and Burrows compared the intensive chemical treatment to chemotherapy. He noted that, with all these treatments and potential issues for hives, beekeeping can be a demanding practice. “The vast majority of beekeepers quit after the first two to three years because they get tired of watching their bees die.”
Additionally, the majority of statistics available on pollinator health come from beekeeping — which is the controlled support of a nonnative species. “I look at honeybees as the canary in the coal mine,”
Burrows said. “Because there’s a lot more death of pollinators going on than we even know about.” However, Burrows was hesitant to say that we’re headed toward a pollinator apocalypse. “I’d push back on the idea that honeybees are dying and we’re all gonna die… It is a thing, and it is important, and even if that message is slightly erroneous, it has pushed some people to the point of ‘Well, I’m not going to put pesticides on my lawn this year.’” Instead, Burrows argued that attention should be given to soil microbes, which are also killed by chemical products and necessary for ecosystem health.
“The bees are still dying out, but they’re very good at coming back,” Burrows concluded. His recommendation to those who are interested in supporting their struggling local pollinators is simple: “Plant local, native pollinator flowers for the local bee populations, not necessarily the honeybee population.”
1 MILE FUN RUN 5K
Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a casual walker, we’ve got a race for you! Join us for a day of community, friendly competition, and supporting the Buddy Program.
REGISTER TO RACE AT buddyprogram.org/boogiesbuddyrace
Aunque seas un corredor con experiencia o un caminante casual, ¡Tenemos una carrera para ti! Acompáñanos para un día de comunidad y competencia amistosa para apoyar al Buddy Program.
REGISTRATE PARA LA CARRERA buddyprogram.org/boogiesbuddyrace
5
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) will host its second Marble Stewardship Extravaganza on June 24-25. This project focuses on trail and restoration projects in popular recreation areas of Marble, including Raspberry Creek, the Marble Mill Site Park and recently-acquired Marble Wetlands Preserve.
The Extravaganza, conceptualized and brought to fruition in 2021, was meant to take place last summer but was canceled for staff and volunteer safety due to heavy weather conditions.
RFOV offers folks the opportunity to camp with them on Friday and Saturday nights. Slow Groovin' BBQ in Marble will provide dinner during the weekend evenings, and breakfast will be provided on Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, recreational activities will take place including a waterfall hike and history tour.
RFOV Program Director Melissa Daniels explained, "People from our valley are going up there and recreating, and there's not a lot of resources to mitigate the impacts of the recreation we're doing up there. We feel that, as a community, we are responsible for taking care of those places.”
Since her employment in March 2021, Daniels has worked to extend volunteer efforts in the Redstone and Marble areas after noticing that these areas were lacking the same resources as other parts of the Roaring Fork Valley.
"Many government agencies in our Valley — county,
federal, municipal and state — have the resources to provide stewardship for natural areas. However, the Town of Marble doesn't quite have those resources," she said. "It's a small community of people that deeply care for their natural spaces, and we enjoy partnering with them to help care for those places."
Restoration projects planned for this stewardship opportunity include removing invasive vegetation and reseeding the land with native species. Volunteers will also receive training on fire mitigation.
"The people in the Town of Marble who are already involved year-round in these stewardship efforts, like the town manager, the people at the Marble Charter School and the members of the parks committee, are enthusiastic about partnering with us,” said Daniels. “They are just incredibly wonderful people who care so deeply, and we are excited to be able to support the work they're doing continuously.”
Hence the owners of Slow Groovin' BBQ are providing food to volunteers who come out on this and other restoration projects to show gratitude for their efforts. Additionally, this stewardship weekend is able to better educate the community on safe, resourceful and respectful recreational practices.
"People who want to recreate responsibly in Marble can first familiarize themselves with local rules and regulations and follow them, as well as treating the lands the way that they would want their own community and land to be cared for," Daniels explained.
For more information on volunteer projects with RFOV or to sign up for the Marble Stewardship Extravaganza, June 24-25, visit rfov. org or call 970-927-8241.
Editor’s note: Rifle Police Department’s Chief Debra Funston was recently sworn in as president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police during their annual conference and banquet in Estes Park. She is the first female to serve as president of the group, which focuses on the “improvement, safety, effectiveness and professionalism of Colorado Law Enforcement.”
Q: You're the new association president for the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. I'd love to hear a little bit about what, if any, deciding factors you've heard from your colleagues as to why you were chosen for this role.
A: Well, I think part of it is just the willingness to serve. It does have some responsibilities with it. I think that what we try to do in our association is to get a wide variety, geographically, of people that serve those roles within the organization, so that we have representation from around the state — because what happens in the Denver metro area isn't necessarily happening on the Western Slope.
I think to really provide a good balance for the organization, we try to have people from different geographical locations within the state serve. So that did play a big role in my getting nominated.
Q: Speaking of responsibilities, I'd love to hear a little bit more about some additional responsibilities you're taking on with this role.
A: Well, I think it could be a number of things depending on what occurs within the State of Colorado with respect to public safety.
One of the items that we are actively involved in is the legislative session.
We have a group of lobbyists that are looking at bills that are being proposed, and particularly those bills that are pertinent to public safety. Then, as an organization, we try to determine what our stance will be on that.
So, as president, I think I will be heavily involved in some of that, but also kind of providing a face for the Colorado chiefs that are a part of this membership. Another thing that I foresee happening within the organization is that, with COVID and a variety of other things that have happened, everybody's staffing in many professions is at a very low level. So that requires that chiefs a lot of times don't have the ability or the time or the resources to be connecting on a statewide level. I'm focusing this year on how to reach out to all of the chiefs in the state and hopefully provide them a continuous flow of information of things that are going on, and to invite them to future conferences. I'm hoping for a fairly smooth year for the State of Colorado.
Q: You are the first woman to be appointed to this seat, how does that feel for you?
A: I'm very proud to be serving in this capacity, not only for my community, but the community of Colorado and all of our citizens.
I've been going on 35 years in law enforcement, and so I feel like I've worked very hard for it. On the other side of it, with respect to gender, I think it's an exciting time. Law enforcement for many, many decades has been predominantly a male-dominated field. That is rapidly changing, and I just hope that my position inspires other young people, whether male or female, to want to aspire to getting involved in law enforcement. I hope that, if anything, I can be an inspiration to young people.
JUNE 23-28
THE MONKS OF GADEN SHARTSE MONASTERY IN CARBONDALE!
Sand mandala
· Special events
Family activities
· Meditation workshop
LOCATION:
3rd Street Center, 520 S 3rd ST Carbondale, CO
See the full schedule at www WOCDC org
Contact: 970-704-5512 admin@wocompassion.org
KILN GLASS
Join Linda Halloran in this series of five hands-on classes to create small plates or coasters and a large (10”) plate or bowl in glass. No prior experience necessary.
Sat/Sun 1-5pm 8/5-8/19
PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Get off the automatic settings on your DSL camera in this beginner to intermediate class.
Saturdays & Wednesdays 9am-1pm 6/18-7/5
WINES OF VENETO
A deep dive into one of the most exotic wine regions on Earth, Veneto, Italy. This class is appropriate for novice to experienced wine tasters.
Sunday 6:00-8:00pm 6/25
MORE SWING DANCE
Build on the basics of Jitterbug (East Coast) Swing with Charleston, Lindy Hop (West Coast) basics and expand your dance knowledge.
Wednesdays 6:30-8:30pm 6/28-7/26
APOCALYPSE 101: SURVIVING A LONG EMERGENCY
Learn practical knowledge and skills to survive local disasters, or a national/global catastrophe.
Saturday 10am-1pm 7/15
EXPLORE COLLAGE
Express your creativity through the art of collage, and create fun and sophisticated compositions with this versatile medium. 2D or 3-D.
Fridays 10am-2pm 7/7-8/4
NOTE: this is a 1-Credit course. Call 970-963-2172 for registration info.
FOR MORE INFO AND TO REGISTER... coloradomtn.edu/community-education
Carbondale Lappala Center • 690 Colorado Ave
• 963-2172
THURSDAY, JUNE 15
BOOK CLUB
The Third Thursday Book Club discusses "House of Rain" by Colorado author Craig Child at 2pm at the Carbondale Library.
NEW MOON CEREMONY
Sheridan Semple leads a new moon ceremony at True Nature at 6:30pm. Visit www.truenaturehealingarts. com for tickets and more info.
MEDITATION
Join Lisa McKenzie and The Center for Human Flourishing for a Golden Light Meditation at the Third Street Center from 6:30 to 8pm. Register to attend by emailing lmckenzie1light@gmail.com
TRTC SHOW
Thunder River Theatre Company’s production of “The Lifespan of a Fact” continues tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. Closing weekend is June 22-25. Find tickets at www.thunderrivertheatre.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 16
STRAWBERRY DAYS
Glenwood Springs celebrates its 126th Annual Strawberry Days today through Sunday, June 18. Friday’s music features Cody Jeffryes at 4:30pm, Highway 82 Band at 6pm and Funkihpino at 8pm in Two Rivers Park. Find the full lineup and peripheral events at www.glenwoodchamber.com
MEMORY SCREENING
Roaring Fork Neurology in Basalt offers free memory screenings from 8am to 4pm. Email shelby@rfneurology.com for more info. Walk-ins are welcome.
CRYSTAL THEATRE
The Crystal Theatre shows “It Ain’t Over” at 7:30pm tonight, tomorrow and June 22. The Sunday show is
at 5pm. “You Hurt My Feelings” returns tomorrow at 5:15pm.
LOS MOCOCHETES
Denver-based “Xicanx/funk” band Los Mocochetes performs at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm.
GLEN MILLER ORCHESTRA
The world-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra performs at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets are also available for Supper Club before the show at 6pm. More at www.tacaw.org
17
NATURALIST PROGRAMMING
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) kicks off its summer programming with daily educational walks at Maroon Bells, Aspen Mountain and Snowmass through Sept. 4. ACES’ Birds of Prey demonstration also begins and will be held daily, Monday through Saturday, at 4pm at Hallam Lake through Aug. 30. Visit www. aspennature.org for timing options, exact meeting locations and more.
YARN CLUB
The Roaring Fork Yarn Club convenes at Sopris Park at 9am.
STRAWBERRY PARADE
The Glenwood Springs Strawberry Days parade begins at 14th Street and Pitkin Avenue at 10am, moving north toward 7th Street with free strawberries and ice cream served by the Kiwanis in Two Rivers Park after the parade.
BACHATA
Learn some Bachata basics with Carlos Cinta at Lock Rocks Studio in Willits from 11am to 3:30pm, with social dancing from 6 to 10pm. For tickets, contact Claudia Pawl at info@mezclasocialsdance. com or 970-963-8425.
MUGSY & AVERAGE JOEY
Carbondale’s own Mugsy Fay performs with Average Joey at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm.
BASALT MARKET
Basalt’s Sunday Market begins this week and continues through Sept. 24, every week from 10am to 2pm.
MYSTICAL MARRIAGE
Gary Springfield, author of “Source Dialogues,” presents “The Mystical Marriage IS Enlightenment” at the Third Street Center from 4 to 5:30pm. RSVP by emailing info@TCfHF.org
VR DEMO
Sample Garfield County Libraries’ virtual reality headsets at the Carbondale Library at 2pm. This event is available to teens and tweens for free.
KNOW YOUR TREES
Hallam Lake hosts a Tree
Identification Walk every Monday, today through Aug. 28, at 4pm. Visit www.aspennature.org for more info.
STAR MOUNTAIN
Carbondale Library invites kids to design and construct a “star mountain roller coaster” while enjoying pizza at 5pm.
SALIDA CIRCUS
Mother-daughter team, Joan and Jay Lobeck, bring a magic circus for all ages to the Carbondale Library at 11am. The event will repeat at the Glenwood Springs Library on June 21 at 11am.
BIOMIMICRY
Join the Aspen Science Center to learn about biomimicry, engineering designs inspired by nature, at the Pitkin County Library from 11am to noon.
UKULELE LESSONS
Fourth to 7th graders are invited to a six-part ukulele course at the Carbondale Library at 3pm every Tuesday through Aug. 1. Visit www. gcpld.org for more info and to register.
PEACEMAKING
Barbe Chambliss, author of “Women
Peacemakers: What We Can Learn
From Them,” presents “Recipe for Doing Acts of Conscious Peacemaking” on Zoom at 4pm. Register online at www.bit.ly/june20peace
TRAIL WORK
Join Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers for trail maintenance on Red Hill from 5 to 8pm. Register at www.rfov.org
WEEKLY WILD YOGA
Beginning today, PJ Murray leads a weekly all-levels yoga class at Hallam Lake every Tuesday at 5pm through Aug. 29. Visit www. aspennature.org for more info.
DANCE WORKSHOP
Mezcla Socials leads a creative dance workshop for ages 11-14 at The Arts Campus at Willits from 5:30 to 7pm. Tickets at www.tacaw.org
DRAWING CLUB
The Roaring Fork Drawing Club travels to Redstone for a session at the general store at 6:30pm.
STEVE’S GUITARS
Julie and John Pennell perform with Martin Gilmour at Steve’s Guitars at 8pm. Tickets at www.stevesguitars.net
FARMER’S MARKET
Carbondale’s farmers market continues all summer on Wednesdays from 10am to 3pm through Sept. 27!
All are welcome to The Sopris Sun’s SUNcribers Soiree at the community oven behind the Third Street Center for a free pizza potluck and lawn games from 5 to 8pm. RSVP by emailing Todd@SoprisSun.com
SOLSTICE CONCERT
Seán Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band kicks off a week-long Solstice celebration at True Nature Healing Arts with a free concert at 5:30pm. They will also perform during a yoga class on June 22 from 10am to noon. Find tickets at www.truenaturehealingarts.com
BASALT CONCERT
Basalt’s summer concert series begins in Triangle Park with the Tyler Rust Band performing at 5:30pm followed by Buffalo Commons at 7pm. The series will continue every Wednesday through Aug. 30.
VOICES IN OUR VALLEY
Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist’s speaker series continues with Alan Muñoz of Voces Unidas de las Montañas and “Advocacy and Civic Engagement” at the Third Street Center at 6pm.
SOLSTICE CEREMONY
The Center for Human Flouring hosts a cacao ceremony with reiki and sound healing from 7 to 9pm in the round room at the Third Street Center. Tickets at www.tcfhf.org
PRISCILLA
Aspen Film celebrates Pride Month with a showing of “The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” at the Isis Theatre at 7:30pm. Tickets at www.aspenfilm.org
THURSDAY, JUNE 22
NATURAL OILS & DYE
Head to the Botany Houseplant Shop for its “Essential Oils and Botanical Dyeing Happy Hour Workshop” at 5pm. Sign up at www.box-eleven.com
NARRATIVE ENNEAGRAM
Learn more about a personality system describing nine distinct patterns of thinking at True Nature at 5:30pm. This is the second class in a series and drop-ins are welcome. Learn more at www.truenaturehealingarts.com
EQUITY SPEAKER
MANAUS’ Equity Speaker Series continues with Pattie Gonia, a drag queen-environmentalist community organizer, presenting at TACAW at 6:30pm. Register for free at www.tacaw.org
HEALTHY HEARTS
The Center for Prevention and Rootbound Cooking will teach a free cooking class, “Food for a Healthy Heart,” at the Third Street Center at 7pm. To sign up, contact rootboundcooking@ gmail.com or 970-424-2175.
THEATRE ASPEN
Theatre Aspen presents “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical” with preview shows tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30pm and a preview matinee on Saturday, June 24 at 4pm. Saturday performances (June 24, July 1 and July 8) are at 8pm. The June 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, as well as the July 3, 5, 6 and 7 shows start at 7:30pm. Matinees are on July 1 and 8 at 4pm and July 6 at 2pm. Visit www.theatreaspen. org for tickets and more info.
GRATEFUL Aspen Film presents the 11th annual Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies, featuring footage of a 1991 concert at Chicago’s Soldier Field, at the Isis Theatre tonight at 7pm and on June 24 at 3pm. Tickets at www.aspenfilm.org
The Town of Basalt presents
FREE Concerts Wednesdays
Music starts @ 5:30 PM | Headliners @ 7 PM Concert details at basalt.net/concerts
Triangle Park • Willits
JUNE
JUNE 21 Elk Range BUFFALO COMMONS
JULY AUGUST
JUNE 28 LOS MOCOCHETES
Brothers of Brass
Basalt River Park • Downtown
JULY 12 DRAGONDEER Mama Lingua
Feeding Giants
JULY 19 CAITLIN KRISKO & THE BROADCAST
JULY 26 THE MAÑANAS Collidoscope
Taylor Shae
AUG 2 A BAND CALLED ALEXIS
Aggie Flores
AUG 9 THE CAVE SINGERS
AUG 16 JWJONES
Gabrielle Louise with Ryan Dilts
AUG 23 KILTRO Know Bodies Band
AUG 30
Natalie Spears
CRUZ CONTRERAS
Travel sustainably! Walk
PRESENTED BY
By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent
Elk Range, a local bluegrass group that went viral after entertaining winter commuters stuck in the Glenwood Canyon earlier this year, will compete in the 2023 Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest on June 16-17.
Hugh Phillips, bassist for Elk Range and leader of the Hugh Phillips Band, explained that Elk Range unexpectedly received a band contest ticket when another band had to withdraw due to a mishap. The band happily accepted the windfall, and Phillips chuckled about the twist of fate, saying, “The universe must really want Elk Range to perform at the band contest, telling us, ‘Get your butts to Telluride, get on stage and do some good!’ So, no pressure.”
Elk Range is one of 12 bands performing in Friday’s preliminary round, of which four will advance to the final round on Saturday.
The band consists of Phillips on upright bass, Curtis Fiore on acoustic guitar, Ken Gentry on mandolin and Betty Hoops on harmonica. Their motto is, “If
it ain’t fast, it ain’t Elk Range,” and their live performances will put some pep in your two-step.
Participating in the Telluride contest has been a consideration for the band for years. Still, Phillips said, “We were hesitant to commit 100% to it because we had a busy show schedule, and going to Telluride is an expense.”
They recognize the exceptional opportunity that winning the competition can bring. Previous winners, like The Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks) and Greensky Bluegrass, saw their careers take off after winning the contest.
Carbondale’s Jackson Emmer is one of 10 finalists in the “troubadour” category for singer-songwriters, “so we’ll have quite the Carbondale representation there,” Phillips said.
The first-place band winners receive an EP recording package, a cash prize and a mainstage performance to open the 2024 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The contest also attracts music executives and industry professionals scouting for new talent.
Elk Range was formed in 2015 by Gentry and homegrown Carbondalian Fiore. About five years ago, they met Hoops at an open-mic night at Aspen’s Red Onion, and afterward, she began joining in on their jam sessions, accompanying them on harmonica. Two years ago, Phillips was enlisted to play bass to complete the quartet. Phillips acknowledged that while he owned an upright bass, he didn’t know how to play it at the time. But, he shared, “there was a need, so I filled it.”
Originally from New Jersey, Phillips spent his formative years in Carbondale and is a 1987 graduate of Colorado Rocky Mountain School. He said, “In 1989, I moved to Durango and pretended to attend college.”
After living in Portland, Oregon and owning a used car dealership in Grand Junction, Phillips and his wife, Kelly, moved to Missouri Heights about five years ago. Being back in the Roaring Fork Valley, “just makes my heart really
happy,” he said, “like when the hay is cut and it’s all stacked.”
The Hugh Phillips Band and Elk Range “are taking off immensely quickly,” he shared. His solo career has led to an artist development deal with a Nashville record label and he has already been to Nashville three times this year, writing and recording. He co-wrote a song with a Nashville artist that will “soon be pushed out to commercial country radio, so that's a really big deal.”
Radio continues to reign supreme for many country music fans. As Phillips explained, “People on
their tractors or driving to work don’t want to mess with streaming on their cellphones to listen to country music, so they turn on the radio to hear what's going on in the hog markets, and then they want to hear a great country song.”
As corporate conglomerates dominate the broadcast radio landscape, “those premade playlists, beamed in by satellite, to stations with no phone numbers to call or DJs to take listener requests have lost the personal touch. But when
continues on page 26
Award-winning singer-songwriter Jeremy Facknitz will perform at Steve's Guitars on June 23. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, his sound is a kind of indie rock with pop-punk and folk influences, creating a medley all his own — nostalgic yet refreshing and new.
Facknitz first played at Steve's in 2020, at the height of streaming concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic. He opened for Birds of Play and performed songs from his 2020 album, “From Those Sweet Ashes;” an album in which he tried on several hats and personas as he found his sound.
"I tell people, ‘I'm not three chords from the truth, I'm 11 to 15 chords in cryptic cynicism.’" He joked, "That album in 2020 opened up some doors for me. I was a Kerrville New Folk finalist with a couple of those songs off that previous album, so I was coming back to this point of trusting myself again as a songwriter."
His career began at the age of 17 with a band called The Ottomans, who beat out a now renowned rock group, The White Stripes, at the Detroit Music Awards in 2001. Facknitz then went on to form a duo with his brother, Jarod, before breaking off around 2003 as a solo cover artist. He made a living playing in pubs, at corporate events and weddings.
"It has been 26 years since my first professional gig, and I'm immensely grateful for what I have now and where I'm at,” he expressed.
Currently residing in Colorado Springs, Facknitz is touring to promote his new album, “Smilin' at the Future,” a conceptual retelling of stories from his life after graduating high school blended with current events. The album and song of the same name were inspired by a headline in his hometown's local newspaper and the photo caption.
"When I graduated, this woman took a picture of me and my friends while we were talking outside. She said, 'Look this way,' and she snapped the picture… The next day, there was my picture on the front page of the local newspaper and just: 'smiling at the future," Facknitz explained, "I came across that little newspaper, and I thought of that line that's in the song. 'I was the future of smiling at the future,' and wrote the whole song based on where I'm at in life now as a 45-year-old."
While his career has been adventurous, it has also had hardship. In 2017, he suffered from a bad headache that would not go away. He was later diagnosed with viral meningitis. After four days of being in the hospital thinking about life, death and everything in between, he realized it was time for a change.
"I started honing in the craft of songwriting, entering into song contests, trying to make that leap from playing in bars to touring and making a living off of my own music, and that was almost six years ago now," he said. “It's been a trip.”
Facknitz will be at Steve's with his six-piece band, consisting of a saxophone, violin, keyboard, drums and bass. He is excited about his upcoming performance for several reasons, but what he looks forward to the most is building a connection with the audience.
"What I love about what I do is that connection, and seeing that connection while I'm on stage with people when maybe they wipe away a tear, or they laugh … It's like, 'You are me right now, and I am you.' This is your song," he explained.
He elaborated that his vulnerability in performing and the vulnerability of audiences are mutually rewarding. When he finds himself questioning music, he reminds himself of his conversations with fans after his shows throughout his creer, which triggers fresh inspiration.
"I'm just chasing those moments. That's why I love going on the road, playing shows and playing my material; especially for a guy who played in bars singing 'Brown Eyed Girl' a million times to be out now and making money and playing my songs for people and getting that connection."
He reminisced, "Often as a kid, I felt terminally unique, and there might be people out there who feel that way too. So I share myself, and they connect, and they don't feel so alone. It's the best."
For updates on Facknitz’ music and tour schedule, visit jeremyfacknitz.com, or follow him on Instagram: @jeremyfacknitz.
For tickets to the Steve’s Guitars show on June 23 at 8pm, visit www.stevesguitars.net
| Closing Date: 06/27/2023
Sealed bids for the construction of the WWTF Digester Building HVAC Improvements will be received from invited Bidders by the Town of Carbondale (“OWNER”) at Town Hall, 511 Colorado Ave, Carbondale, CO 81623, until 1:00 PM on June 27th, 2023, at which time the Bids received will be publicly opened and read. The MUA Replacement project consists of the removal and relocation of an existing Digestor Building MUA to the Upper Mechanical Building, and the installation of new duct work to an existing exhaust fan located on the Upper Mechanical Building roof. The work also includes the installation of a new MUA on the Digestor Building (pre-purchased by owner), installation of three new exhaust fans, and removal and installation of duct work to all HVAC equipment.
Bids will be received for a single prime Contract. Bids shall be on a unit price basis as indicated in the Bid Form. Bidding Docu ments will be provided to prospective Bidders as electronic PDF files.
The Issuing Office for the Bidding Documents is Roaring Fork Engineering (RFE), 592 Hwy 133, Carbondale, CO, 81623 (Contact: Maggie McHugh, PE (614) 256-4714, MaggieM@rfeng.biz). Prospective Bidders may examine the Bidding Documents at the Issu ing Office on Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 8 AM to 5 PM and may obtain copies of the Bidding Documents from the Issuing Office as described below.
Bidding Documents are available as electronic portable document format (PDF) files. Alternatively, printed Bidding Documents may be obtained from the Issuing Office via in-person pick-up, for a non-refundable charge of $75 per set. Checks for Bidding Docu ments shall be payable to Roaring Fork Engineering. The date that the Bidding Documents are transmitted by the Issuing Office will be considered the date of receipt of the Bidding Documents. Partial sets of Bidding Documents will not be available from the Issuing Office. Neither Owner nor Engineer will be responsible for full or partial sets of Bidding Documents, including Addenda if any, obtained from sources other than the Issuing Office.
A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held at 1:00 PM on June 13, 2023 at the WWTF located at 0101 Highway 133, Carbondale Ave in Carbondale, CO.
A 5% bid security shall be furnished in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders. Bidders shall submit proof of qualifications to perform the Work as described in the Instructions to Bidders.
June 21, 5-8pm
Celebrate The Sun with a free, family-friendly, yard party-potluck at the Community Bread Oven behind the Third Street Center on Wednesday, June 21 from 5 to 8pm.
We will provide pizza dough and non-alcoholic beverages, you can bring special toppings or a side dish to share, a lawn chair, lawn games (think croquet, bocce, cornhole, frisbee toss, etc.), family and friends!
WHEN: Wednesday, June 21, 5 to 8pm WHERE: 3rd St. Center Bread Oven
Please let us know you are coming! Send an RSVP to Todd@Soprissun.com
Después de unas primeras semanas agitadas para los nuevos propietarios del parque de remolques 3-Mile MHP (Mobile Home Park) en las afueras de Glenwood Springs, los residentes se encuentran ahora en las primeras etapas de la organización para tomar posesión de la tierra bajo sus casas.
Solo unos días después de que la Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation (RFCDC) cerrara el 27 de abril la compra del parque de 20 plazas situado junto al arroyo 3 Mile, la organización dirigida por Manaus se encontró con posibles inundaciones provocadas por los escurrimientos primaverales.
Félix Jiménez, residente del parque desde hace treinta años y jefe de mantenimiento del mismo, terminaba sus largas jornadas gestionando el sistema de riego de un rancho local y volvía al parque para vigilar los niveles del arroyo durante la noche.
Afortunadamente, no se produjo ninguna inundación, pero en un momento dado una roca se desprendió de un declive cercano y dañó una tubería de drenaje. Jiménez se puso inmediatamente manos a la obra, como lo ha hecho durante los últimos 30 años.
Pero con el cambio de propietario, se toma un descanso de las tareas de mantenimiento para poder tomar decisiones con los demás residentes, "y no ser solo el que arregla las cosas", dice Sydney Schalit, director ejecutivo de Manaus y de la RFCDC.
"Ahora el trabajo será real para nosotros, pero es algo que nos estamos preparando para asumir", dijo Jiménez sobre los próximos pasos para tomar propiedad del parque. "Nos sentimos muy bien respecto al futuro de la comunidad".
La RFCDC se formó para servir de intermediario para recaudar fondos y conseguir un préstamo para comprar el parque, con el objetivo a largo plazo de conseguir cinco parques de remolques de la zona en cinco años y facilitar la propiedad comunitaria.
Tras anunciar sus intenciones en otoño de 2022, la organización pudo cerrar el acuerdo de $2.4 millones de dólares con los antiguos propietarios de 3-Mile MHP, la familia Krueger del condado de Eagle.
Como en la mayoría de los parques de remolques o casas móviles, las casas son propiedad de quienes viven en ellas, pero los residentes pagan un alquiler por el terreno que hay debajo de las viviendas. Así pues, el objetivo es trabajar con los residentes para que el terreno pase a ser propiedad común de los propietarios y asegurar su vivienda en el futuro.
Esto es cada vez más importante, ya que muchos parques de Colorado y de todo el país están dejando de ser propiedad local y están siendo comprados por grandes empresas de inversión inmobiliaria, lo que provoca un aumento en el alquiler de los espacios y la perspectiva de remodelación.
"Si bien estamos en el juego para garantizar la preservación de la comunidad, ahora entendemos íntimamente las dificultades y la burocracia con la que los residentes de parques de remolques deben navegar para comprar la tierra debajo de sus casas", dijo Schalit. "Estamos más firmes que nunca en nuestro apoyo a las oportunidades de propiedad de los residentes en nuestros valles y en toda la Ladera oeste y esperamos que otras entidades como RFCDC intervengan para ser los propietarios provisionales mientras los residentes coordinan sus esfuerzos colectivos".
Una antigua organizadora comunitaria escolar se une al equipo
La compra es sólo uno de los muchos pasos hacia ese objetivo, dijo Schalit. Entretanto, la RFCDC actúa como arrendador provisional mientras los propietarios se organizan para convertirlo en un parque propiedad de los residentes.
La RFCDC ha contratado los servicios de Common Good Management, una empresa específicamente diseñada para prestar servicios de gestión a parques de remolques de propiedad comunitaria en Colorado.
Brianda Cervantes, de Glenwood Springs, trabaja en el lugar para Common Good como administradora de propiedades del parque y como organizadora comunitaria designada. Cervantes trabajó anteriormente para el Distrito escolar de Roaring Fork como enlace comunitario y ayudó a poner en marcha la escuela Riverview en Glenwood Springs, la primera escuela pre-K-8 totalmente bilingüe del distrito.
"Estar en la escuela durante seis años me dio las herramientas para organizar", dijo Cervantes, quien también ha recibido formación en organización comunitaria a través de su trabajo con el Proyecto voces de la montaña de Manaus.
"Ese trabajo me ha preparado para emprender un proyecto como éste, y para ser capaz de conectar con la gente y empezar a construir esas relaciones en la comunidad", dijo. "La gente aquí es muy amigable y cálida, y está dispuesta a resolver esto".
La mayoría de los residentes de 3-Mile MHP son latinos, y ser latina y bilingüe también puede ayudar a construir esa confianza, dijo Cervantes.
El lunes, Cervantes hizo una de sus visitas regulares al parque para hablar con los residentes sobre cualquier pregunta o preocupaciones que pudieran tener en cualquier asunto del parque.
Esa interacción con los residentes del parque es gratificante, dijo.
"Esto me ha permitido seguir creyendo en la humanidad, y saber que organizaciones como (RFCDC) realmente se preocupan por el bienestar, la seguridad y la estabilidad de sus comunidades", dijo Cervantes. "Estoy extasiada de formar parte de este esfuerzo de equipo y me emociona ver a la comunidad de 3-Mile reunirse, desarrollar sus habilidades de liderazgo y organización comunitaria y prosperar para convertirse algún día en propietarios de tierras".
Durante su visita, pasó a dejar unas flores en maceta para la familia Terrazas. Marvin Terrazas detuvo el proyecto de renovación de su casa para charlar un rato sobre la perspectiva de la propiedad comunitaria.
"Es una gran oportunidad", afirma. "Y gracias a toda esta gente estupenda que quiere ayudarnos".
Lucía Moreno, residente del vecindario, dijo que su familia se siente ahora segura sin la posibilidad de tener que mudarse en caso de que el parque se hubiera vendido para su remodelación.
"Mis hijos nacieron en la comunidad 3-Mile y seguirán criándose en ella", dijo en un comunicado de prensa emitido en el momento del cierre. "Mis pequeños son autistas, y tener un entorno estable es muy importante para ellos. Estábamos deseando ser propietarios del parque y ahora sentimos que tenemos esa oportunidad".
Un proceso largo
Schalit explicó que la organización se encuentra en la segunda de las cinco fases previas a la entrega del parque a los residentes. Denominada "fase de estabilización", consiste en asegurarse de que los residentes se sienten cómodos con el nuevo acuerdo y en iniciar el diálogo sobre los próximos pasos.
Las reuniones mensuales de la comunidad se centran en cuestiones básicas como el pago puntual del alquiler y las mejoras necesarias en el parque. A principios de este mes, la RFCDC recibió la noticia de que la Autoridad de financiamiento y vivienda de Colorado (CHFA por sus siglas en inglés) le había concedido un subsidio de asistencia técnica para desarrollar un plan de mejoras de capital.
"Podemos traer a expertos de CHFA para ayudarnos a entender la naturaleza de cómo esas mejoras de capital se verán financieramente, identificando prioridades,
Volumen 2, Número 16 | 15 de junio de 2023 - 21 de junio de 2023Residentes de parque de remolques se preparan para comprar el terrenoLa administradora del nuevo parque de casas móviles 3-Mile y organizadora comunitaria, Brianda Cervantes, habla con la residente Lucia Magallón durante una visita al parque el lunes por la noche. Foto por John Stroud
"Ser gay no es una elección" es un mantra, un tambor al son del cual he bailado desde que tomé la mejor decisión de mi vida: dejar de ocultar todo mi ser. No fue una decisión fácil de tomar en aquel momento, ya que durante los primeros 23 años de mi vida me habían condicionado a que ser gay no era bueno.
Ahora que escribo esto, tengo 33 años, y me parece una buena oportunidad para reflexionar sobre el hecho de que estos últimos 10 años han sido los mejores de mi vida. Eso no quiere decir que no hayan sido difíciles. Me han llamado "maricón" personas que eran mis amigos y otras
que ni siquiera conozco fuera de nuestra casa de Glenwood Springs, donde ondeamos con dignidad la bandera del Orgullo.
La realidad es que todos estamos condicionados a tener prejuicios. Sin embargo, sé que tenemos la capacidad de aprender a aceptar y afirmar en los demás lo que no se puede cambiar. Hice mi primera amiga transexual en la universidad y, durante más tiempo del que me gustaría admitir, no me resultó natural dirigirme a ella por sus pronombres adecuados. Hoy, nos seguimos de cerca en la distancia y me alegra poder decir que no vive en silencio, sino orgullosa de ser la hermosa mujer que es. Siempre le estaré agradecida por haberme hecho darme cuenta de que ambos tenemos una cualidad dentro de nosotros que nunca podría ser sofocada en un campamento cristiano, ni a través del auto-ridículo. Somos quienes somos y eso es hermoso e inmutable.
La cuestión es que ninguno de nosotros es perfecto y todos estamos aprendiendo. Y, está bien aprender de la gente que es más joven - yo ciertamente lo hago. Sólo podemos
esforzarnos al máximo, y rendir cuentas cuando ofendemos. Algunos pueden llamarlo "susceptibilidad", otros "decencia común".
En todo el país, la comunidad LGBTQ se siente condenada al ostracismo por los legisladores. Incluso aquí en casa, donde nuestra congresista, Lauren Boebert, se burló del mes del Orgullo el 1 de junio con un Tweet: "¡Estoy ORGULLOSA de ser estadounidense!".
En el valle, la ciudad de Carbondale parece haber abierto el camino a la afirmación de sus electores LGBTQ, con una marcha del orgullo anual que coincide con la Family Block Party, convirtiendo todo el centro de la ciudad en un espacio seguro para todas las edades -incluidos aquellos que apenas empiezan a darse cuenta de su identidad y orientación sexual. Sin este tipo de apoyo, ciertamente por el momento, tendremos a decenas de niños cuestionándose si los sentimientos que no pueden evitar son "normales", lo que dará lugar a un aislamiento que puede acarrear las peores consecuencias - y ciertamente ha sucedido.
El Distrito escolar de
Roaring Fork está llevando a cabo cambios en su plan de estudios y administrativamente para ayudar a asegurar que todos sus estudiantes se sientan bienvenidos. Aunque se ha encontrado con bastantes reacciones en contra, es reconfortante saber que se está hablando de ello.
Glenwood Springs celebró su segundo evento anual del Orgullo el 10 de junio.
Kaleb Cook, de Cook Inclusive, llevó las riendas en la organización del Festival del orgullo de Glenwood Springs de este año. Cook, de hecho, inició la tradición cuando trabajaba para la ciudad el año pasado, puesto que ha dejado.
La ciudad es uno de los principales patrocinadores, "haciendo que el evento sea una realidad", dijo Cook. "Pero, realmente lo han devuelto a la comunidad", continuó.
"Para potenciar un evento dirigido por la comunidad, hemos ido traspasando la organización del evento a los líderes de la comunidad LGBTQ", compartió un portavoz de Glenwood Springs, "para que tengan la propiedad del festival".
Fue un evento trilingüe, con
estableciendo un calendario y asegurándose de que los residentes entienden y tienen voz en los asuntos", dijo Schalit.
También se ha previsto una jornada de limpieza comunitaria a finales de este mes, que incluirá una celebración vecinal con comida y música una vez finalizadas las obras.
Como parte de la siguiente fase, la RFCDC espera iniciar el trabajo con una organización de conservación de la tierra en la primavera de 2024 para colocar en una servidumbre de conservación una parte de la propiedad con un declive, alrededor de 10 acres al sur del parque de remolques .
"Si conseguimos eliminar esa parte de la propiedad, eliminaremos un gran lastre y podremos pagar parte del préstamo y rebajar el precio cuando llegue el momento de venderla", explicó Schalit.
Mientras tanto, la RFCDC tiene la intención de empezar a colaborar con expertos de diversas agencias estatales y otras organizaciones de vivienda sin fines de lucro que han logrado la transición de parques de remolques a entidades de propiedad comunitaria, dijo.
Nuevos esfuerzos estatales recientes, como el Programa de empoderamiento de residentes de parques de remolques de la División de vivienda del departamento de asuntos locales de Colorado, también podrían aprovecharse para ayudar con la compra de residentes de 3-Mile MHP.
El programa establecido a través
interpretación al español y al lenguaje de señas en inglés. Hubo más de 30 vendedores, comparado a los 10 que hubo el año pasado, formados por organizaciones al servicio de las comunidades LGBTQ y de discapacitados. Después del evento del año pasado, Cook explicó que las organizaciones de vendedores vieron un aumento en la participación en el programa, especialmente entre los jóvenes que fueron expuestos a sus servicios durante el Orgullo 2022.
"La principal esperanza es conseguir que más gente acceda y abra la puerta a los servicios que tenemos en el valle", continuó Cook. "Úsenlos, son gratuitos, son increíbles".
Los representantes de distintos patrocinadores, entre ellos AspenOUT, la ciudad de Glenwood Springs y REI, pronunciaron discursos, comenzando con una declaración especialmente grabada del Gobernador Jared Polis. Despues, subieron al escenario las incomparables drags Roaring Divas.
Visita www.pflagrfv.org para ver una lista de los eventos que se celebrarán este mes en todo el valle, así como los recursos al servicio de los jóvenes y adultos LGBTQ.
Tengan todos un feliz mes del Orgullo.
de la legislación aprobada en 2022 proporciona $28 millones a través de tres administradores de programas de préstamos diferentes, y fue anunciado la semana pasada por el gobernador Jared Polis. Establece un programa rotatorio de préstamos y subsidios para proporcionar asistencia y financiamiento a propietarios de parques de remolques para comprar sus parques.
Se espera que el esfuerzo del parque 3-Mile proporcione un modelo para futuras compras de parques de remolques por parte de la RFCDC u otras corporaciones de desarrollo sin fines de lucro como parte de la iniciativa "cinco en cinco años" de Manaus. Sin embargo, como la RFCDC tiene un préstamo que utilizó para comprar el primer parque, es posible que en el futuro tenga que recurrir a recaudar fondos adicionales, a donaciones benéficas y, muy probablemente, a compras en efectivo, dijo Schalit.
"Pero también tenemos el modelo que dice: okey, esto puede ser duplicado", afirmó.
El contrato de préstamo estipula que los alquileres pueden aumentar un 3% al año. Pero eso es poco comparado con los porcentajes de dos dígitos que han subido los alquileres de muchos residentes de parques de remolques en los últimos años.
John Stroud es un escritor independiente con base en Carbondale y un veterano periodista con 35 años de experiencia en el valle de Roaring Fork.
Por Víctor Zamora
En la frontera pasan cosas, aparte de ser un núcleo económico importante para la región, se describe como un punto histórico y de gran relevancia para entender subculturas urbanas; para algunos sociólogos las denominadas tribus urbanas. Es bien entendido por todos que a nivel global las ciudades tienden a tener diferentes comportamientos entre grupos, los cuales empiezan a caracterizarse por tener cierta identidad con núcleos o colectivos sociales los cuales los ayudan a tener cierta personalidad.
Es muy común que en el post-modernismo que estamos viviendo este comportamiento se da entre adolescentes, digamos que es el parteaguas de este comportamiento. Podrían atreverse a denominar en términos filosóficos a la nueva generación como generación cuántica debido a la gran relación que ahora
los adolescentes tienden a conectarse con el uso de la tecnología. En Estados Unidos se les denomina generación Wake, para críticos, generación de cristal o bien generación Alfa, quienes los relacionan totalmente sumergidos en la tecnología.
Es muy cierto que no podemos generalizar ya que también debemos considerar el factor económico que determina ciertos patrones evolutivos en la sociedad. La Globalización, conceptualiza el capitalismo actual que tiende a determinar patrones de comportamiento sobre superación personal. Por ejemplo, como el buscar un trabajo que te satisfaga con las necesidades personales, también el sentido de pertenencia de personas hacia cierto estrato social o status como se le considera en diferentes países de Latinoamérica.
Esta relación económicosocial se hace más fuerte cuando se generaliza la ideología global, la cual se complica ahora más al definirse una humanidad en sentido individualista. Antes se definía al adolecente en su descubrimiento en términos grupales como tribus urbanas, colectivos ya cuando hablamos de grupos más
Encuesta de la carretera 133
¿Tiene alguna opinión acerca de sus viajes en la carretera 133 en Carbondale? Al grupo Age-Friendly Carbondale le gustaría saber. Encuentre la encuesta bilingüe en www.bit.ly/HWY133
El departamento de transporte de Colorado espera abrir la carretera 133 entre Somerset y Paonia en cualquier momento durante la semana del 19 de junio. Los trabajadores están terminando la instalación de un puente temporal que se extiende a lo largo de una brecha en la calle, causada por una alcantarilla fallida, el cual ha dificultado el tráfico por un mes. Una vez que la calle sea reabierta, los motoristas deben anticipar velocidades más bajas y señalizadores de tráfico. El tráfico de vehículos comerciales será limitado a 85,000 libras y con un ancho de 11 pies.
La piscina John M. Fleet de Carbondale ya está abierta para la temporada de verano, de 8 a.m. a 11 a.m para vueltas de natación y de mediodía hasta las 5 p.m. para la natación abierta en los días de semana. Las vueltas de natación comienzan a las 10 a.m. los fines de semana por ahora, y con un horario oficial que será publicado en www.carbondalerec.com el 19 de junio.
El comisionado del condado de Garfield está considerando alterar los impuestos sobre bienes inmuebles del condado para reprimir el aumento de los impuestos de propiedad. De acuerdo con
grandes u organizaciones sin fines de lucro. Podemos ejemplificar algunos aspectos, por ejemplo, el decir que todo adolecente pertenece a la generación Alfa ya que la tecnología es accesible a todos.
Considerablemente esto no puede ser concluyente en ningún sentido estricto y es lo que complica la identidad de las personas y el entendimiento de ciertas identidades entre los adolescentes. Por ejemplo, en los 90 muchos de los adolescentes colectivamente se juntaban en la esquina de cierto parque a practicar skateboarding o monopatín en las calles de manera libre, y en cierto sentido, como una expresión de arte a la hora de practicar ciertos trucos.
Hoy en día deportes como este se han convertido en deportes que participan en los juegos olímpicos lo cual para muchos dificulta la identidad personal a la hora de hacer de lado esta expresión artística corporal como ejecutar un kickflip o cualesquier truco en la patineta por lo que se ha dividido en free skateboarding y skate olímpico.
Lo mismo pasa con otros deportes como la escalada la cual se denominaba
en los años 60 como una expresión al aire libre y la relación a la liberación espiritual. El conectar con la naturaleza y el lograr ascensos que te permitían estar en un presente estado de meditación y ejecución. Muchos escaladores siguen mencionando este tipo de deportes como algo que ejemplifica su conexión con la madre tierra o con Dios en dado caso que seas creyente. En este sentido se relacionaban algunos libros como los de Carlos Castañeda que mencionan la conexión espiritual con Don Matus y sus enseñanzas a la hora de vivir en un presente por medio de la psicodelia y otros productos de aquel entonces en el México contemporáneo.
Cuando lo que se denominaba arte o expresión individual y social de tribus urbanas o recreacionales como los denominados Dirt Bags, han dejado todo un movimiento subversivo en el intelecto social pero muy poco tomado en cuenta ya que han sido siempre parte de la minoría. Gracias a esta globalización, queremos atender al individuo por sus emociones y colonizar ciertos conceptos que socialmente ya están establecidos.
Al final de cuentas, es insostenible poner atención
el comunicado de prensa, la junta está alentando a otras entidades de impuestos, especialmente los distritos escolares y de bomberos, a también considerar una reducción temporal en sus impuestos. El comisionado John Martin observó que todas las entidades de impuestos, quienes él argumento podrían potencialmente duplicar sus ingresos, tienen la autoridad de hacer este ajuste temporal.
Búsqueda y Rescate del Condado de Garfield (GSAR por sus siglas en inglés) hicieron un rescate a las 2 a.m. cerca de la zona de campamento Coffee Pot de Dotsero el lunes 12 de junio. La oficina del alguacil del condado de Garfield recibió un mensaje transmitido a través del equipo de despacho de Vail con respecto a un niño de 3 años quien desapareció alrededor de las 9 p.m. el 11 de junio. Afortunadamente, el incidente tuvo una conclusión feliz. Las familias son alentadas a proveer a los niños pequeños con silbatos de emergencia cuando visiten los campamentos.
El concurso de fotografía anual de Colorado Wild Public Lands está en marcha. El tema de este año es “agua salvaje”, entregue una foto a coloradowildpubliclands@gmail.com antes del 30 de junio y obtenga la oportunidad de ganar una silla de campamento reclinable de NEMO Stargaze proporcionada por Ute Mountaineer.
Cierres en el sur del cañón
Por las próximas seis a ocho semanas, cierres de
a las necesidades de cada individuo ya que en el colectivo las tribus siempre han existido y no podemos generalizar conceptos utópicos debido a pequeños grupos vulnerables o minoritarios.
No podemos des escatimar la alianza entre el pensamiento conservador, el cual a delimitado la evolución social y la seguirá delimitando si contraponemos ideologías en un sentido extremista. Olvidamos que raramente los valores considerados en la antigua Roma prescribieron bastante bien al bienestar del hombre pero que hoy en día sigue sin fundamentarse enteramente en el colectivo humano.
Es decir, mucha tela de donde cortar cuanto defendemos las minorías es importante, ya que claro está la evolución social necesita despertar en una conciencia poli lateral y no unilateral. Es ahí cuando la pregunta en cuestión es, si este unilateralismo social de pensamiento Cuántico en los nuevos jóvenes necesita establecerse de esta manera cuando vemos que la globalización como la llaman o en términos revoltosos, colonización discreta, ¿será exactamente lo que necesitamos para despertar?
No a la colonización, si a la libertad y autonomía colectiva.
senderos tomarán lugar de lunes a viernes de 7 a.m. a 5 p.m. en el sur del cañón mientras que la División de Reclamaciones, Minería y Seguridad de Colorado procede con un trabajo de reclamación en West Coal Seam. las personas que frecuentan los senderos deben adherirse a los cierres en los senderos Tramway y Lightning Bug.
Glenwood Springs’ Second Annual Pride Fest saw a big turnout at Bethel Plaza the evening of Saturday, June 10. Guest speakers, who took up about an hour with heartfelt speeches, included: Colorado House District 57 Representative Elizabeth Velasco, Glenwood Springs Mayor Ingrid Wussow, Kevin McManamon with Aspen Out and a recorded welcome from Governor Jared Polis. From there, the Roaring Divas took the stage, and, as is custom in drag, dipped down into the crowd where young and old danced and clapped along, celebrating Pride Month 2023.
La Segunda Fiesta Anual del Orgullo de Glenwood Springs contó con una gran asistencia en Bethel Plaza la noche del sábado 10 de junio. Los oradores invitados, que ocuparon alrededor de una hora con discursos conmovedores, incluyeron: Representante de Colorado House District 57 Elizabeth Velasco, Alcalde de Glenwood Springs, Ingrid Wussow, Kevin McManamon con Aspen Out y una bienvenida grabada por el gobernador Jared Polis. A partir de ahí, las Roaring Divas subieron al escenario y, como es costumbre en drag, se sumergieron en la multitud donde jóvenes y mayores bailaron y aplaudieron, celebrando el Mes del Orgullo 2023.
High water levels are creating potentially dangerous conditions. Always check conditions before going on the water.
DANGEROUS CURRENTS
Debris and trees create invisible and dangerous underwater currents
COLD WATER
Cold water can result in potentially fatal hypothermia
UNSTABLE RIVER BANKS
Riverbanks can erode and break away without warning
LIFE JACKET
Always wear a life jacket while boating, paddleboarding or jet skiing
BOAT SOBER
Boating while impaired can be deadly
BOAT WITH FRIENDS
Never boat alone. Let someone know where you are going and when you will return PROPER EQUIPMENT
Use equipment designed for the river or lake. Pool toys will not keep you safe
By Myki Jones Sopris Sun Correspondent
In April, fishermen in Pueblo caught a walleye trout that had caught something itself, myofibrogranuloma, better known as sandy flesh disease. The angler noticed symptoms of the disease while processing filets off his catch and reported the findings to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), which identified the sickness.
In a press release from CPW on April 5, aquatic biologist Carrie Tucker of Pueblo was cited: “It’s not a shock that it has reached Colorado since it occurs in so many neighboring states, but it is unfortunate … We don’t expect it to have a big impact, because it typically only shows up in a small number of older walleye.”
The press release urged anglers who come across infected fish not to consume the meat or dispose of infected corpses in the waters, but rather to bury or throw away the remains with other household refuse.
According to officials, the rare disease resembles a type of muscular dystrophy; no infectious agents have been shown to be associated with it. “It is unknown how likely it is to spread amongst other fish. To date, there is no evidence that an infectious agent is responsible for the disease.” explained Dr. John Drennan, CPW state fish pathologist.
The first case recorded in walleye was in North Dakota waters in 1975 and it has primarily been observed in walleye and sometimes troutperch. It has also been observed in Minnesota,
Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nebraska.
Drennan elaborated that this suggests the only route of possible spread is during spawning. However, no evidence exists to confirm that the disease is related to genetics. Since so little is known about sandy flesh, CPW advises that fishermen carefully examine any filets from walleye and report any findings to their local CPW office.
“[There is] not any information as to how a person would be affected if they consumed an infected fish,” he explained. “The granulomas and calcium deposition within the affected muscle areas would be very hardened, expanding the entire filet depth.” He said that eating meat from an infected fish would likely be tough, chewy and off in the typical flavor.
“Information is limited, and very little research has been done on this disease. In order to gain more information on the prevalence of this disease in our walleye populations, a creel survey or individuals bringing in affected filets to a CPW area office would benefit our understanding,” Drennan stated.
For updates, visit cpw.state.co.us or call 970947-2920.
According to a recent letter, the Roaring Fork School District’s Superintendent Housing Task Force has wrapped up after five meetings. The task force included all five school board members and 14 community members, ranging from teachers, parents, other district employees and general community members. The school board did not vote on recommendations at the final meeting, “and did not have a voice in composing this letter of recommendations.”
“We acknowledge it took a while for us as a task force to build understanding about, and come to agreements on, the need for superintendent housing,” continued the letter from the task force. “We strongly recommend the board commits to working with the community through town halls, local media and other opportunities to build this same understanding as they move forward.”
The task force came up with two recommendations for the board to explore when it comes to Superintendent housing: building or buying. The task force agreed to table a third option, equity investment, for discussion at a later time.
With either the buying or building option, the housing would be reserved for an active superintendent who would rent the unit. After the superintendent moves on from their position, the housing would be available to their successor. If a superintendent does not wish to reside in the provided housing, it would become available to other staff at the board’s discretion. Either recommendation would require that the Superintendent not already own a home in the district, but no other asset limitation would be applied.
“Buying or building a home reserved for the superintendent is the most common practice in other districts with whom we compete for talent, and is the most consistent approach when compared to our existing staff housing program,” the letter stated.
Visit www.bit.ly/SHLetter to read the letter from the Superintendent Housing Task Force in its entirety.
Some think of ham radio as a relic form of communication, but that’s simply not the case, and it can serve as “a lifeline during times of need,” as mentioned on the American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) website. Amateur radio is a means of communication that does not require an internet or cellular connection, and can be done from anywhere.
The Glenwood Springs-based Ski Country Amateur Radio Club (SCARC) is a friendly group of ham radio enthusiasts who communicate with other amateur operators around the world.
Back in the day, amateur radio operators were not controlled and commercial and government operators often became frustrated with the radio interference, referring to the amateurs as “hams.” Despite its critical connotation, the term was adopted by amateur radio operators themselves, and it stuck.
In 1912, Congress passed the Radio Act which required amateur operators to be licensed. In 1914, ARRL was founded by Hiram Percy Maxim.
Today, there are three forms of radio communication: voice, digital and CW (Morse code). Of course, CW was the original means.
Since 1933, every fourth weekend of June, AARL invites all ham radio operators to randomly communicate with their operators across North America. This year, the ARRL Field Day takes place June 24-25. SCARC will host fellow operators and general observers at an outdoor site near Silt.
SCARC was first formed in 1969 ahead of the 1970 ARRL Field Day. It was originally known as the Glenwood Amatuer Society. There were ham radio operators in the Valley before then, but this was the first attempt at organized activity, according to the SCARC website.
Bob Ludtke (call sign: K9MWM) is the club’s
president emeritus, a title he graduated into after serving as the president for about 20 years.
“It’s an emergency operation simulation,” is how Ludtke described Field Day. “Hams from all over North America participate in this. Right now there’s about 740,000 ham radio operators in the U.S. It’s the major event of the year for amateur radio.”
Because the power grid could likely be out during an emergency, Field Day operators are to use alternative modes of energy such as generators, solar panels or even wind power.
You don’t have to have a call sign to participate in Field Day. Lay people can watch, and even operate, as long as a certified ham radio operator is with them. “We encourage that,” noted Ludtke, “especially when it comes to young people.”
He added that there will be three tent-stations, one for each mode of communication: voice, digital and CW. Outside of set-up and takedown, the actual operation occurs from noon on Saturday, June 24, to noon on Sunday, June 25. Operation will continue through the night.
The communication is random, and the point is to connect with as many other operators as possible, logging each connection in computer software. “That’s kind of the fun of the event,” said Ludtke, “because you don’t know what area of North America you’re going to talk to.”
People interested in the mechanical side of things are welcome to show up during set-up which will begin at 3pm on Friday, June 23.
“We’re a very friendly group, so don’t be shy,” said Ludtke. “Walk up to anyone there and ask them, ‘What’s going on?’ Tell them you’re a visitor, and that’s absolutely enough to get to the right person.”
SCARC has a club meeting once a month, and a volunteer examiner is generally present to administer
The late Bob Cutter, a founding member of Ski Country Amateur Radio Club (SCARC), delivered an informative presentation during SCARC’s monthly meeting in March 2023 about the evolution of Morse code and its application during emergency situations in the area, including the 1897 New Castle train wreck. Photo by James Steindler
the required Federal Communication Commission exam for prospective hams. Visit www.k0rv.org for more information and a map to the Field Day site.
By Tom Mercer Sopris Sun Correspondent
According to The History Press, Apollo was the Greek God of almost everything, including music, poetry, art, prophecy, archery, healing and the sun. But for those of us who followed NASA’s Apollo launches and subsequent space shuttle missions, the exploratory events were far more than a nod to Greek mythology. They were truly “epic.”
I was fortunate enough to personally witness a space shuttle launch in 1995. Ever since then, I have been fascinated by our country’s space exploration programs, and I have tried to keep abreast of NASA-related news and achievements. There was, however, one particular Apollo mission that many Americans will always remember: Apollo 13, which launched on April 11, 1970, from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That mission featured one of the most dramatic events in the history of our country’s space program.
It may come as a surprise to Sopris Sun readers to learn that a resident of the Roaring Fork Valley was instrumental in the design and creation of critical components for both NASA Apollo and Shuttle missions. His name is James Lester.
Lester worked for Beech Aircraft and then Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado from 1960 to 1989. Both companies were NASA subcontractors charged with the development and creation of critical equipment for NASA’s space program. Lester worked on the development of cryogenic storage tanks for super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which were essential components on Apollo and all subsequent NASA shuttle missions.
Lester describes the tanks as “metal, spherical thermos bottles, each two to three feet in diameter.” The Apollo spacecraft’s service module held four cryogenic tanks: two for hydrogen (at a pressure
of 250 lbs per square inch), and two for oxygen (at a pressure of about 900 lbs per square inch). According to Lester, the contents of the tanks would generate electricity, maintain air pressure in the crew capsule and provide air for the crew to breathe. Each tank was critically important.
The launch went as planned, but as the Apollo 13 capsule was nearing the moon, Mission Control heard Commander Jim Lovell say, “Houston, we have a problem.” All pressure had been lost in one of the oxygen tanks, and the other oxygen tank was losing pressure fast. Mission Control asked Lester to estimate how much time the astronauts had before the Command Capsule’s oxygen was totally depleted and his answer was “45 minutes.”
Lester believes that one of the oxygen tanks may have actually exploded due to an electrical problem within the tank. He thinks that the explosion may have blown a hole in the side of the service module. Whatever the cause, the astronauts were in deep trouble and far from home.
Knowing that they had to act quickly, the crew moved from the Command Capsule into the Lunar Lander, which Lester said “had a limited amount of oxygen and battery power.” They went around the moon and headed straight back to Earth, only returning to the Command Module for re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere and “splashdown.” There was no available oxygen in the Command Capsule, but the crew still had some bottled oxygen that was intended for use while wearing their space suits, so the crew returned to Earth unscathed.
Lester said, “We didn’t think it was a miracle, but a fortunate set of circumstances that allowed us to work out of the problem successfully.” However, to the layperson, it was a “close call” that closely resembled a miracle.
All trustees were present for their first June meeting with the exception of Colin Laird. The consent agenda was approved unanimously (accounts payable, meeting minutes, an application for RFTA grant money to fund the new bikeshare program with the Town matching $66,939, liquor license renewals for Tiny Pine and Brass Anvil, a special event liquor license for Dance Initiative) and no members of the public attended to comment on items not on the agenda.
During general comments by trustees, Chris Hassig relayed citizen concerns about impacts of the Forest Service building replacement on trees. Particularly, a maple along Weant Boulevard that is on the Town’s property would be felled for the new vehicle pullthrough. “I think we have a right to protect our asset, it’s been there for probably 30 years,” he said. “It would take another 30 years to reachieve that level of shade, and it’s a key tree that sort of ties the whole downtown to Sopris Park.”
“We just looked into this last week, because it came up from another direction, and I believe that they’re replacing that tree with five other trees,” Town Manager Lauren Gister chimed in. “They won’t be mature trees like that one, but there is a plan.”
Mayor Ben Bohmfalk gave an update from RFTA’s recent board retreat, announcing that if RFTA electrifies all its buses, the organization would be carbon-neutral. He also stated that both the first Carbondale Wild West Rodeo and Mexican Rodeo of the season “went off well.” He commended Parks and Rec Director Eric Brendlinger for fielding concerns, comments and “sometimes outright complaints” on weed management, river restoration and rodeos. “I’m confident in our staff and really appreciate Eric’s patience and grace,” he said.
Next, a $380,400 bid was unanimously awarded to Stutsman-Gerbaz, a general contractor, for the Euclid/ Alley Crystal Circle Sewer Project using American Rescue Plan Act funds. Public Works Director Kevin Schorzman described the project as “a very isolated repair” with excavation affecting only one property directly.
Trustees then unanimously approved a resolution and addendum to an agreement with HomeAway, Inc. (aka VRBO) to be able to collect the short-term rental tax approved by voters in November 2022. The company has not collected this tax to date but will begin on July 1; property owners that use HomeAway, Inc. are still on the hook for taxes from the beginning of this year.
Carbondale Arts received unanimous approval for
By Will Buzzerd Sopris Sun Correspondent
On June 13, Basalt Town Council convened for its regular meeting to discuss e-bike rebates, electric vehicle infrastructure and the costs and risks of pausing Midland construction for the summer.
During the opening call for public comments, citizens continued to voice concerns over the Midland Streetscape project, especially the decrease in parking spaces closer to businesses. Many of these businesses have asked the Town to pause construction during the summer.
Town Manager Ryan Mahoney announced during his report that Basalt’s e-bike rebate program is live. In partnership with local retailers Basalt Bike and Ski and Nox Cycles USA, a $250 rebate will be provided to 250 full-time Basalt residents toward the purchase of an e-bike. Interested residents can apply online at www.basalt.net and sign a commuter pledge to replace a minimum of three vehicle trips per week. They will be informed via email of their acceptance. Upon acceptance, applicants can pick up the rebate certificate at Town Hall for a brand new, environmentally-friendly e-bike. Mahoney also reported on two letters, one from MountainPACT asking for the Town’s support for withdrawing the Thompson Divide from oil and gas leasing and the other from the Town to Governor Jared Polis expressing concern about
new regulations for the Basalt State Wildlife Area which would now close from Dec. 1 to July 15 each year. Mahoney stated that he does not anticipate much compromise on the proposed rules after meeting with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
There was also a presentation from Eagle County Climate Action Collaborative (CAC) representative Gina McCrackin about the County’s new electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure plan. CAC’s current timeline is for a 50% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and 80% by 2050 (possibly 100% based on new goals recently released by the state). McCrackin stated that transportation is the second highest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado, and in order to meet reduction goals, Eagle County has set a target of a 2% increase each year in EVs as a percentage of registered vehicles until 2030.
This projection requires the development of additional charging infrastructure, and McCrackin highlighted particular areas which would benefit from installing EV chargers, such as the El Jebel City Market and multifamily complexes in Basalt. McCrackin also emphasized the need to “future-proof” the infrastructure such that higher costs are avoided as the demand for chargers increases.
Next was an update on the Midland Avenue Streetscape Project by Town
the 52nd annual Mountain Fair special event liquor license. Chief of Operations Debra Colley was given the opportunity to highlight some changes coming this year. She announced that the fair will be condensed back into Sopris Park and no longer spill onto Main Street. Food vendors will be along Seventh Street, with a portion across the ditch, to prevent damage to the Sopris Park lawn. Volunteer supervisors will receive Incident Command Systems 100 training, as well as crowd management and CPR training.
Trevor Cannon, president of the Roaring Fork Pickleball Association (RFPA), then asked trustees
continues on page 26
Engineer Catherine Christoff and Planning Director Michelle Thibeault.
Christoff reported that responses have been received from two contractors regarding the effects of pausing Phase II construction for the summer. This portion of construction will close a section of Midland in front of many businesses.
Both contractors responded that the duration of Phase II would increase to between three and five years, and costs would increase to 50% or more. Additionally, they noted that winter construction would increase project complexity and risk, overall strongly recommending against halting construction during the summer. Staff simply reported these findings and expects to return on June 27 with an additional update on Phase II.
After this was a long line of council actions, three of which were easement agreements with various property owners along Midland Avenue for the installation of infrastructure related to the streetscape project, all of which were passed unanimously.
After that, Town Council approved
an intergovernmental agreement between Basalt and the Roaring Fork School District to split the costs for installing solar panels. Energy cost savings would also be split evenly between the two parties.
Continuing the theme of energy saving, the Town also amended its building regulations, mainly to adopt the most current international building codes, which will require increased energy efficiency for new buildings and infrastructure for future EV charging units.
Following this, the Town approved an ordinance to amend the 2023 budget in order to account for expenditures and sources of revenue which were not fully quantified when the budget was first presented for approval.
Last was a second reading of license and easement agreements with Basalt Center Circle which would permit the usage of its parking spaces for both emergency access and public events. These agreements, according to Town Attorney Jeff Conklin, simply uphold the status quo for these spaces. They were unanimously approved, concluding this week’s meeting.
By Amy Hadden Marsh Sopris Sun Correspondent
Monday’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting at the Parachute Library was short and sweet. Very short, like, maybe half an hour. First up, but not on the agenda, were two area residents, Wesley Kent and Coreen Hamilton, who live on County Road (CR) 302. Actually, said Hamilton, “It is a county road from CR 301 to the first cattle guard and a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) road from the cattle guard to my property.” At issue is road maintenance and who is responsible for it. Kent mentioned increased traffic due to overall area growth, and promotion by the USFS and the Town of Parachute. “It’s the gateway to the Battlements,” explained Kent.
It’s also apparently the gateway to the Rulison blast site, where a 40-kiloton nuclear bomb was detonated underground in 1969 to release natural gas from oil shale. Sort of a nuclear fracking experiment gone wrong; the gas ended up radioactive and nonmarketable. Rulison was one of several fracking experiments included in Project Plowshares, the brainchild of President Dwight Eisenhower and physicist Edward Teller, to find peaceful, civilian uses for nuclear energy.
Rulison was followed by the final experiment in 1973 — three, 33-kiloton underground detonations near Rifle, dubbed Project Rio Blanco. Kent said the U.S. Department of Energy has a monument and signs on CR 302, commemorating the Rulison blast.
He also said the road is in bad shape with two-
foot deep ruts and washboard sections. “We’ve had fatalities, rollovers in the past due to the condition of the road.” Hamilton said she counted 536 vehicles traveling the road over 56 days.
“I have signs out there, trying to slow them down to 15 mph, but those ATVs fly by,” she explained. She told the BOCC that her son was almost run over more than once and that the Garfield County Sheriff’s office told her to contact the State Patrol. “Who do we call in an emergency?” she wondered. “Is Fire and Rescue going to be able to make it up the road?”
Kent mentioned an agreement between the county and the USFS to maintain the road once a year. “But, they haven’t touched sections of it in four or five years,” he said. “They haven’t cleaned the culverts, they haven’t cleaned the cattle guards, the infrastructure that they spent a lot of money putting in is not being maintained.”
Both Kent and Hamilton invited the BOCC to come up and see the road for themselves, and to find a way to remedy the situation. The BOCC said they’d look into it.
The sole big-ticket item on the agenda was to approve new energy codes. John Plano, Garfield County’s chief building official, talked about how HB19-1260 requires local jurisdictions to adopt one of the most recent versions of the International Energy Conservation Code beginning July 1. Plano said the choice is among the 2015, 2018, or 2021 codes, and that the county has chosen 2018.
“The tough part is that they’re not allowing us to weaken the energy performance whatsoever,” he
explained. “We can’t change or amend the code to make it less stringent.” If the county does not make a decision by the deadline, he added, it will be locked into the 2021 code. Plano said that code restrictions could add at least $1,600 to the costs of building a new $500,000 home. “Between 2009 and 2018, that’s the national average,” he explained. “Our prices here are probably more expensive now.”
Plano described the county’s outreach efforts, which have included work sessions, emails to architects and builders, free software for commercial building compliance checks, and links on the county website to training videos and hand-outs. “The major differences that we’re going to be dealing with is air sealing and ventilation,” he explained. “Because this code requires blower door tests.”
Plano described various methods at testing leaks inside a home, including blower door tests and infrared cameras, and how to ventilate within the code restrictions. He added that the first year would probably be about educating contractors and architects. “In my previous employment, it took about a year to two years for the insulators and everybody to come up to speed on where they need to seal and how they need to seal it,” he said.
The BOCC unanimously approved the use of the 2018 code with amendments. The 2018 Energy Code Adoption Tool Kit is available at www. garfield-county.com/community-development
Editor’s Note: This review contains minor plot spoilers
So far this season, Thunder River Theatre Company (TRTC) has given us a dionysian invasion of suburbia in “Hurricane Diane,” a clever tête-à-tête between genius and madness in “Proof” and a raucous, comical, ensembledriven whirlwind in “You Can’t Take It With You.” This month, they close the 2022-2023 season with the sharply focused contemporary morality play, “The Lifespan of a Fact.”
The facts of the play are simple. John has written an essay. Emily thinks it is quite good, and wants to publish it, but needs Jim to check it for accuracy. He has five days.
Unfortunately for Jim, John’s relationship with facts is noncommittal, at best. Unfortunately for John, Jim’s relationship with demonstrable truth is steadfast and obsessive. The tumult that ensues is, though predictable, delightfully entertaining.
Jim wastes no time overwhelming himself with how many times the essay strays from the truth. In the first sentence alone he finds four departures. In a matter of days he comes up with 130 pages of comments for a 15-page essay that took John years to craft. With a deadline looming, Emily steps in to
mediate the tussle.
The strength of the production is in its acting and direction. Jack Trembath, making his mainstage debut with TRTC, plays Jim with confident, youthful energy. Jim is a newcomer to the publishing world, and Trembath honors the tenacity of the character’s commitment to truth-seeking. With each new allegation of untruth, Jim’s disbelief at John’s lack of concern for facts only grows, culminating in a masterful tirade about a traffic jam, complete with hand-made cardboard diagram and accompanying mathematical calculations.
In the opposite corner, TRTC veteran Owen O’Farrell plays John with calm bravado. O’Farrell navigates the opening jabs to his character’s honesty with laughs and a few jokes. As Jim continues to poke holes in his work, John counters with fury. He defends every word of his essay with the force of a heavyweight boxer.
In the script, John and Jim do not share any words of affection, but on stage there is an undeniable chemistry of animosity. They bicker, banter and bully as though they’ve had a lifetime’s worth of practice. Trary Maddalone LaMée, as Emily, is a worthy intermediary. She reins in each man’s worst impulses, while harnessing their usefulness, all in pursuit of a story worth publishing without fear of legal action. LaMée is powerful when she needs to be, yet
vulnerable enough to show a crack or two in her authoritative armor.
Clearly Director Renee Prince has inspired her cast to explore their characters fully and openly. She has also been specific enough in her direction to allow both John and Jim ample opportunities to sway Emily toward their own ways of thinking. By the time the dust settles on the closing arguments, we, the audience, are torn. The result is that the story stays nestled in our thoughts long after the (figurative) curtain has come down.
If the show has any problems, it is in the play’s narrative structure. While Emily Penrose is a fictional character, John is in fact the essayist John D’Agata, and Jim is Jim Fingal, a former fact checker who now, much to our collective relief, designs software for a living. The five-day debate that makes up the bulk of the play was, in fact, a seven-year saga that resulted in the eventual publication of D’Agata’s 2010 essay entitled “What Happens There,” and then in 2012, the subsequent publication of “The Lifetime of a Fact,” a book that details Fingal’s myriad objections to D’Agata’s initial draft.
Playwrights Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell chose to adapt and condense this years-long collaboration into a five-day slugfest, and, more confusingly, they kept Fingal and D’Agata firmly lodged in their own ideological corners, refusing to concede
a word.
The play tasks its audience with answering difficult, relevant questions. What is a fact? Is it the same as nonfiction? What does it take to create a beautiful piece of writing in the age of Chat GPT? Can beautiful words be true? Can true words be beautiful? How far can a writer bend the truth in service of a well-told story before breaking the reader’s trust?
The answer lies somewhere in the middle, of course. D’Agata and Fingal learned this the hard way, spending the better part of a decade arguing before eventually deciding to tell their story in a unique format.
So, if you enjoy thinking and talking about the role facts play in our cultural and journalistic landscape, do not miss “The Lifetime of a Fact” at TRTC. The quality of the acting and direction, despite the limits of the script, will launch you into previously unexplored moral and philosophical territory. The good news is, you won’t be alone.
Editor’s note: The 1493 Doctrine of Discovery has formed the basis of Western expansion and oppression of original peoples globally for more than 500 years. In March 2023, Pope Francis repudiated the Doctrine. This is the second in a series of interviews with Indigenous leaders about the Doctrine of Discovery and the implications of the Pope’s announcement.
Regina Lopez Whiteskunk is a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Towaoc and lives on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. She has served as a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal council. She is former co-chair of the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition and past education director for the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose. She is pursuing a Master’s of Environmental Management at Western Colorado University and strongly believes that the inner core of healing comes from knowledge of the land and elders.
She spoke to The Sopris Sun
in May. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
It's a little difficult to process. Within the last few years, with the upheaval in Canada, they finally acknowledged residential schools. It's very similar here in the United States. A lot of those schools were run by the church.That's the part that makes it difficult to process, because there's so much that's unsettled. And, I don't mean just in apologies. A part of us has lost something that will never be made whole, you know? For generations upon generations, our people have prayed for those individuals that never made it back, people who might have suffered at the hands of churchled inquisitions.
How can one individual come to that point, and think about the generations and hundreds of years of atrocities in one fell swoop? You can't say ‘I'm sorry’, and it’ll all be erased and everything be undone. It's not that easy. There's many of us who still feel that pain.
There's unresolved grief that our people have gone through. I think we've normalized grief. We don't even realize that a part of the symptoms of the state of unhealthiness goes back to those moments in time that we can never amend.
It’s above anybody to be able to say that they have that authority to do that in one breath because in our beliefs, there's only one being [who can do that]. That's the Creator. It's through him that we learn to forgive.
When thinking about all the historical traumas and atrocities and how we got to where we are today, living in the systems that we live in, we have a lot of anger and animosity. A lot of it comes from not quite reconciling those hundreds and hundreds of years of someone reaching above and beyond a people to “save them from themselves,” identifying them as nothing more than animals because they don't live the way the church or people in that space have lived.
We have a hard time thinking about how we can forgive in one breath like that when we're still coming upon
these identified remains, like in the boarding schools. We're still resolving those. I often sit with myself and think, oh my god, what heartbreak and loss and pain it had to have been for young people to be separated from their family, from their homes, from the land that they grew up in. And, find themselves in a place where they were so heartbroken, where there are language barriers, where there’s a lifestyle that’s different. The people taking care of them found great power in disciplining them. To them, it was discipline to help them into the process of assimilation, beating one's lifestyle into another person and sometimes individuals being literally beaten to death. That’s the part that is hard to come to terms with.
I say this time and time again in my own community, when we think about suicides, when we think about alcoholism, drug addiction, the rate of domestic violence, even the missing and murdered Indigenous women, these are all symptoms that come from that point in time when somebody changed us, or attempted to change us, or assimilate us or bring us into a more “civilized” space. We've always been viewed as not
being “civilized,” not being educated.
But all the years and generations of traditional knowledge, which have held steadfast within our people, that keeps us grounded and keeps us in places that are important to us, you know, the natural life. Coming back to some of that and coming into those spaces again, that's where we're finding reconciliation to life itself.
So, it's a hard thing to discuss that someone can hold themselves in the same space as the Creator. It’s interesting that someone in the same life form that we
all live in can say, “Okay, we're sorry for thousands of years of atrocity and turmoil.” Is it really that simple? Look at the ripples in the pond that it caused over centuries and centuries.
At the 2023 Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, you were on a panel to talk about the Colorado River. You started to talk about the Doctrine of Discovery, but you shifted into a timeline of Ute and Indigenous displacement and assimilation into White society in the U.S. What is the connection between the Doctrine of Discovery and what you talked about on that panel?
The Doctrine of Discovery started the ripples. Each one of those items that I listed were all ripples that led us to a point where finally, we as Indigenous people, tribal governments, in a system that was not ours to begin with but what has been given to us to operate under, have collectively gotten together.
This is how we are going to stand for things like water rights. Even the
coalition, the five tribes, standing for Bears Ears, see collectively braiding our sovereign voices together as one of our biggest ways that we as people are going to bring forth basic human rights. Even in this country, our government hasn't adopted the U.N. Resolution on Indigenous Rights. So how do we reconcile the beginning of a ripple that ends up in all kinds of policies, all kinds of ways that have left us where we are, decisions that have been made in our best interests, indoctrinating us into systems that were naturally never ours? These are the realities of today.
It's interesting to see how the systems of oppression live in my own tribal communities. We're an IRA tribe. We're a part of the [1934] Indian Reorganization Act, where we were given a constitution that we adopted. Hence, we now elect seven members to our tribal elected body that govern the tribe. They administer departments within the tribe, natural resources, education, things like that.
We employ largely tribal community members. Sometimes, we have non-members at the leadership levels, like department heads and supervisors, because of educational standards or equivalencies that are set. Our people get hired for the lower positions. Our tribal employees don't
feel empowered to be able to work within departments to bring forth our tribal life ways, our culture and customs.
I don't think people understand that our traditional governing ways were impacted by seasons, by the availability of natural resources. That is what dictated our movement through the land. Now that we're on reservations, we don't have the movement. We have almost overharvested several places within our reservation boundaries. So, when you think about the Doctrine of Discovery, all of that has impacted us down to the lowest levels of our existence as Indigenous people.
Exactly. Even as Indigenous people, and especially for tribal leaders who have held positions for numerous terms, I don't think they realize that they're a part of it too;that they've internalized it, learned it so
Carlos Loya Rico is the foreman for Carbondale Public Works Department’s Street Crew. He sat down with The Sopris Sun to share with readers a little about his personal history. The interview has been edited for clarity and fit.
Tell me about how you ended up in the Valley.
My first trip to the U.S. was in 1984, and I stayed in Mesa, Arizona for a year and a half. I came here because I’m from Chihuahua, Mexico where we have a lot of apple trees.
From 1985 to 1988, I’d come to Hotchkiss to pick apples. The season for picking is September to the middle of October, so in those days I’d go back to Mexico in December. But, I would have rather worked here for as long as I could.
In 1989, the owner of the orchard in Hotchkiss, Ralph Melville, who also owned the Mountain Chalet in Aspen, sold the orchard and brought everybody to Aspen. I started work at Mountain Chalet as a dishwasher.
How did you come to work for the Town of Carbondale?
In 1991, I brought my wife and oldest son and we stayed here full-time. I worked for Mountain Chalet for seven winters, but in the summertime I worked in construction for Marty Schlumberger. I stayed in Aspen until 1993, when I bought our first mobile home in Basalt. In 2000, we moved to a bigger mobile home in El Jebel; we had three kids and needed more space.
In 2000, I quit working for Schlumberger Construction, and started working for Jack Wilkie Builders. But, in 2005 the sawdust started to give me asthma. So, I stopped and bought a dump truck. I started a subcontractor business: Carlos Trucking.
In 2007, came the big recession. There was no construction, no work. But, with my dump truck,
I’d come into Carbondale for snow removal in the wintertime when Smiley Wise was a supervisor [for Public Works]. I became an operator for the town. So, I've been here from 2007 to now.
Is it a good job?
Oh yeah, I love my job. Now, I am the foreman and heavy equipment operator. I’ve put up the Christmas Tree lights on Main Street for the last 16 years. I’m so happy with the people I work with, and I hope to retire from here.
Do you live in Carbondale now?
No, I live in Glenwood where we bought a duplex in 2015.
Why did you decide to come to the United States?
In the ‘80s, in Mexico, there was no work, no money and almost everybody had the American dream.
Tell me about the immigration process.
Before I became a citizen, I was a resident. I got my first green card in 1987. It took seven years to get a green card for my wife. She got one in 1996. Before she had a green card, we could stay in the U.S. but we couldn’t go back to Mexico.
Was it hard to leave your family? Do you go back to visit?
Yes. After we fixed the papers, we traveled maybe twice a year to Mexico. I arranged to fix a green card for my mom and my dad; and my wife fixed a green card for her mom. Our mothers both passed away, but my father, 89, is in Mexico now because it’s too cold here.
When did you become a U.S. citizen?
We have been citizens since 1998. I was taking my GED at Colorado Mountain College. We studied so hard because we needed to know American history. There were 100 questions on the citizenship test and
well, that it's almost being practiced as though it became a part of tradition and culture.
We're identifying that maybe we don't really know who we are sometimes because we've learned these ways. Because of so many years of education and trying to cope and become part of larger communities, we've just learned to accept this and live this way.
Something that I'm watching is the reintroduction of the gray wolf. It's pretty sad when you think about that species being reintroduced and all the controversy and conversations. I flip it around and I say, how about the reintroduction of the Utes back to this land? We're not a species, we're human. We're like everybody else, but we've also been taken away from these places. It's a huge honor for me to put my feet down where my ancestors once were. I really want people to understand that while you're having these thoughtful discussions about reintroduction of the gray wolf and other species, remember there were people that were dispossessed from these same places, too, and we want to be back out there and feel the same familial locations of our people.
you could only fail four or five. But, we did it. It was a great, great day for us.
Do you have any siblings?
Yes, my brother is a citizen and lives in El Paso. My sister is a citizen too and lives in Glenwood Springs.
Do you feel connected with the Latino community in the Valley?
Oh yeah. I have a little history about that. Jackie Morales, who ran Asistencia para Latinos in the ‘90s, was my friend. She helped Latinos in the Valley with interpretation and more, and I volunteered for her organization. She passed away, but left a legacy for Latinos in the Valley.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’m so happy here. Carbondale is my home.
The Doctrine
Discovery is so ingrained in so-called U.S. Indian Law and Policy that some people don't know it's there. It's like systemic oppression that has gone on for 500 years and it's almost invisible now.
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I’m free! That was what I was feeling when my dad let loose of the back of my bicycle seat as I wobbled down Fair Street. He had been holding on and keeping me upright as I learned to peddle the 20-inch red bike that my Uncle Mel had given me. It had been my cousin Dorothy’s and she had outgrown it. It was a girls model that my parents and he figured would be good for me to learn on as it didn’t have that pesky crossbar that I could damage myself on when I bailed off.
If my memory is correct, it took a couple of hours in the late afternoon or early evening of my dad following me up and down the street before he finally let go and I began my life on two wheels.
It was 1955, and I was five years old. We lived on the corner of Church and Fair Street, where my parents
had a candy store and a dry cleaning pick-up and delivery business. Church was a main sort of street that ran from downtown to the West End, so it had a bit of traffic. Fair was a side street that had very little traffic.
After I was able to ride/wobble on my own I was told that I could ride on Fair between Church and Washington, one block, but only if my mom or dad were watching. I don’t know how long that lasted. However, eventually I was able to ride on my own, but still just one block. Ronnie Clow, our neighbor, saw and started riding with me. He was two years older, had a big bike and taught me how to skid the back tire with the brakes. He also convinced me to ride past Washington Street one block to the railroad tracks.
Soon, I was granted permission to ride to the end of the block, turn left, ride to Miller Street (one block), turn left and ride up to Church Street. I then had to turn around and ride back home. I could do this as many times as I wanted, but I was NEVER to ride on Church — under
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penalty of losing my bike privileges. I did that a lot and occasionally turned onto Glen Park Drive from Miller to do a couple of laps around the park.
I did that one day and then got back on Miller. As I was approaching Church, I noticed either someone new had moved in or whoever lived there had gotten a new dog. Whatever the case, the dog didn’t like me riding by. It ran out, latched onto my left leg and wouldn’t let go until I dropped my bike and started kicking it with my right foot. Meanwhile, I was screaming in pain and scared. The dog let loose and ran away. I noticed I was bleeding and needed to get home. It would be faster if I rode on Church Street, so I did.
Fortunately, dad was home with the car and I was off to the hospital for another long line of tetanus shots. I continued to explore the neighborhood north of Church, west to Mattis Avenue and east to McKinley Avenue. But, I did my best to stay away from barking dogs.
In 1956, I started first grade at Doctor Howard School. I would walk to school with my sister Vicki as she was older and my parents figured she would keep me from walking out into traffic.
When I got home, if it was nice, I would grab my bike and continue exploring. I would ride to Washington and go west to Mattis, then turn around and ride to McKinley — back and forth until dinner. I did that so many times that I still dream about it.
Halfway through second grade, my folks closed the candy store and moved to the Southwest edge of town. Where we moved to was just starting to be
developed, so I had a whole new world to explore as well as a creek behind our house. The creek cut into my bike riding time a bit, but given a choice between riding and walking, the bike won most of the time. Besides, you can only catch so many crawdads.
The streets were tar and gravel, so I learned about turning in loose gravel after eight or nine years of my knees and elbows having scabs most of the spring and summer. More tetanus shots.
I learned shortcuts, like when the street ended at a cornfield, but the tough part was when it ended at the creek. I would ride/push along the bank until I found a place that looked shallow and narrow enough to try wading across, find a new street and continue exploring with my U.S. Keds squishing muddy water and silt. Fortunately they were going great guns in building streets, houses and finally a bridge so I could ride all the way to Mattis Avenue where Southwood Drive ended.
There was a farm across Mattis, so I had to turn right or left. That opened up a whole new world to check out. If I turned right, I would be heading out into the country and I didn’t know what was there: corn, beans, cows, pigs and possibly wild animals. Left took me towards civilization, up to Kirby where there was a Texaco gas station I could put air in my tires, get a candy bar if I had a nickel (which wasn’t very often) and look at all the new neighborhoods that were sprouting up, making a note that I had to explore them soon.
To be continued…
LETTERS continued from page 2
from the Texas church that my Dad helped start… at Buttermilk? Passing out flyers is American. We'd all be grateful. God bless America.
Lee Mulcahy, PhD & Mama Sandy Mulcahy, Chair, Africa Water Wells Arlington, Texas & Basalt
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Shorter letters stand a better chance of being printed. Letters exclusive to The Sopris Sun (not appearing in other papers) are particularly welcome. Please 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.
you call our local radio stations, the DJ is right there talking with you,” Phillips
Phillips credits local community radio stations for introducing listeners to his music. As a professional musician, he acknowledges that “DJs are really the unsung heroes of music and airplay.” He added that he’s thankful for DJs like KDNK’s Amber Sparkles (Spinstress Sparkles) and April Crow-Spaulding (Ape on the Dink), “who spin my records and are just great, great folks.”
Last June, Phillips was one of the artists participating in the CMA Music Festival, Nashville’s annual gathering of country musicians, including established
He attended the multi-day festival solo, spending time meeting and visiting with country music fans. His booth faced singer-songwriter Kasey Musgraves, and they both interacted with attendees, handing out music and signing merchandise. He remarked, “She's slightly prettier than I am, so she had a longer line.”
While that anecdote reveals Phillips’ self-deprecating sense of humor and his down-to-earth nature, he was back at CMA Fest at the beginning of this month — a sign that his star continues to rise. With Elk Range’s participation in the prestigious Telluride competition, this may be the added momentum that propels the band to country music stardom.
For more information about Elk Range, visit: www.elkrangemusic.com
For more information about the Hugh Phillips Band, go to: www.
for a court expansion at North Face Park, adding three to the existing six. RFPA membership has grown from about 250 members in September 2022 to 468 members, Cannon said. “We’ll be 500 in three weeks, it’s growing that fast.”
They approached the Parks and Rec Commission with this request last spring. RFPA will raise the funds if the Town allows the courts to be built, along with a shade structure for the general benefit of North Face Park users. The land was once specified for futsal, Cannon said, and the plan still allows for futsal adjacent.
A memorandum of understanding will be revisited once funds are raised, which Cannon anticipates can happen “fairly quick.” Carbondale’s pickleball-specific courts remain the only ones between repurposed tennis courts in Snowmass Village all the way to Grand Junction. This weekend, they will host a RFPA member tournament with 154 people competing.
The meeting concluded with Dave Myler representing the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition (WMRHC) and their efforts to establish a regional buy down program by which working residents receive financial help to purchase homes in exchange for converting them into permanent deed-restricted affordable housing units. In early March, WMRHC submitted a request to the Department of Local Affairs for $3 million to create a pilot program.
“Between January 2022 and June 2022, there were 27 properties in Basalt and Carbondale that were purchased that would have met the criteria for our program,” Myler said. “Seventy percent were purchased by second home owners and people moving to the area to retire.”
Trustees were asked to contribute with funds at any level, with other sources being pursued including from the employer community. “When you’re talking to employers, how do you initiate those conversations and who do you talk to?” asked trustee Lani Kitching, noting Carbondale has many small businesses.
Myler answered that, with around 50,000 employees in the region, if businesses each gave $100 per employee per year, that would generate $5 million which could be leveraged. He said the upside to the businesses would be like funding the fire department: “it’s essential for the overall health of the community.”
“Our commitment and priority right now is our own project,” said Mayor Bohmfalk, referring to the Town Center opportunity. “We're really interested in the buy down program, we don't know exactly what we can contribute.”
“I get that, you guys are in a unique situation,” responded Myler. “I’m thrilled you're considering using your funding sources this way.”
Next week’s work session will begin at 5:30pm with the annual Garfield County Commissioners check-in. Topics on the agenda include transportation, the housing coalition, rodeo and property taxes. Then, trustees will workshop changes to the short-term rental tax and regulations.
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