Sustainability

Sustainable buildings sprouting in Willits

By Marlo Bowman Sopris Sun Correspondent

On Thursday, June 30, Amanda Poindexter helped organize a tour of the electrical buildings in Willits for both U.S. Green Building Council members and the general public.

After a brief meet and greet, the tour explored two buildings. The first was The Hub, which is primarily housing for Aspen Skiing Company (SkiCo) employees. The second building was The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW), a new performing arts center.

The tour was primarily guided by two SkiCo employees, Phillip Jeffreys, director of housing development, and Ryland French, director of facility operations and energy.

Starting at The Hub, Jeffreys began by sharing some simple facts about the building. In this building, there are roughly 150 bedrooms and 84 bathrooms. Along with housing SkiCo employees, they also have a mission to house early childcare providers. On another note, Jeffreys is a strong believer in having no parking garages, so if a resident needs a parking spot it will be ground level for a slight extra fee.

Moving inside to an apartment with three bedrooms, Jeffreys and French discussed various features. For example, two of the bedrooms had loft bedding with a desk and storage on the bottom, and stairs to the bed on top. Also, the walls were designed to be soundproof.

Then began the more in-depth discussion on how the building is run with renewable energy. French stressed how essential it is to “use data and science to make important decisions” while developing electrical buildings.

The top of the roof contains most of the machinery that makes this possible. Solar panels, space heaters and air to water heat pump systems are all ways the buildings run fully electric.

There was heavy discussion about the air to water heat pump systems and concern about below freezing temperatures common in the winter. The guides explained that these systems are very good at enduring in negative conditions, functioning even when temps drop to -24 degrees. The heaters, meanwhile, can maintain up to 140 degrees, guaranteeing hot temps for showers, sinks, etc.

TACAW had a very similar set-up, except there were half the amount of water heaters in the basement and likely not as many solar panels on the roof. But it was all similarly run with renewable energy.

After exploring both buildings, it is clear that the use of all electric energy is rather efficient. Even with substantial funding needed to build these projects, it becomes clear that renewable energy is more efficient and beneficial in the long run.

Rooftop solar in Willits, photo by Marlo Bowman

Bury this paper

Photos and text by Kate Collins, Special to The Sopris Sun

Need some newspapers for your garden project? We've got you covered! Contact The Sopris Sun at news@soprissun.com or 970-510-3003.

Bill Kight and I took advice from the CSU Extension Office for reclaiming sod and building soil. The first step was to obtain old Sopris Sun newspapers. The instructions include laying the newspapers down, five pages thick, then overlapping them so that no air or sun can peek through. The papers are then covered with mulch. With the help of moisture and two to four years of time, all of this will decompose appropriately to create nutrient-dense soil ready to grow native, drought-tolerant, low-water plants. Some of the mulch was obtained from the Buy Nothing Carbondale Facebook page!

By Raleigh Burleigh Sopris Sun Editor

Have you ever been thinking about someone when suddenly they call? Or, maybe you’ve had a dream that came true? Well, you may just be psychic. In fact, local intuitive Ann Ob’Brien would bet on it. Her new book, “Everyone is Psychic” is a practical how-to manual and workbook for training your intuitive muscles.

“The best way to develop intuition is practice,” O’Brien told The Sopris Sun. She came into this work as a teenager, teased as a witch for her keen interest in tarot, astrology and other forms of divination. In her 20s, O’Brien formally studied at a school for psychics and was told that she and her classmates were different from other people. Over time, she began to feel that wasn’t true. “Everyone is psychic,” she writes, “yet at that time fewer people were open to it.”

O’Brien went on to study writing and literature and travel as a musician. By 2020, her business as a professional psychic, offering personal readings and various trainings, was well established. When March rolled around and the world came to a halt, she saw a surge in interest for her online classes. As her business prospered, O’Brien thought to compile some of her materials from a decade of teaching into a useful book for anyone seeking an introduction to developing their intuitive abilities.

“Everyone is Psychic”, her second book, was released this April. The book is divided into nine sections with topics ranging from “energetic anatomy” to “energy healing and manifesting.” Energetic anatomy, for the curious, describes chakras, auras and creative rings. The book is filled with meditations and also writing prompts.

The book also delves into six kinds of psychic gifts that a person may carry with varying strength: telepathy (sending and receiving thoughts), clairvoyance (seeing mental pictures), clairsentience (feeling things), claircognizance (simply knowing), clairaudience (hearing spirits or one’s higher self) and mediumship (channeling spirits and traveling outside of your physical body).

“I felt passionate about young people getting the book, so they don't go as long with support,” O’Brien told The Sopris Sun.

In the introduction, “You’re not crazy, you’re psychic,” O’Brien writes, “Some who are psychic and don’t know it turn to drugs or alcohol or other substances. Some live with dark feelings or mean voices they don’t know they can turn off. Others get sick or really do seem to go crazy.”

The book teaches one to trust their inner voice, release unhelpful emotions, protect from negativity, manifest abundance, discern fear and hope from true intuition and, importantly, to have fun.

“The greatest teachings are the simplest,” O’Brien said. Also an experienced Aikido teacher, she has observed that these practices work best when approached playfully, from a place of childlike curiosity. Otherwise, the mind interferes.

O’Brien is keenly aware that becoming receptive can also be a burden. For this reason, she dedicates 40 pages to “psychic self-care” early in the book. One exercise of particular importance is “clearing” which returns in many of the meditations.

Here is a simple clearing meditation presented toward the beginning of the book:

Somethings Have Always Been Worth The Drive! Somethings Have Always Been Worth The Drive!

-Find a cozy place to sit with your feet flat on the floor and your spine upright. -Exhale, soften your body and gently allow your breath to flow all the way out. At the end of the outbreath, notice your belly drawing in toward your spine. -Inhale, sit taller and observe your belly, diaphragm and heart getting fuller. -Continue this breathing pattern at a relaxed pace, without effort. -Snuggle your sit bones into your chair or cushion and feel your feet. -Imagine a tree trunk, waterfall or beam of light connecting your tailbone to the center of the earth. Make it as wide as your hips, fully connected and rooted. Breathe, let go and feel the security of this “anchor” to Mother Earth. -Let your breath flow out and imagine a trap door opening at your pelvic floor. Allow gravity to draw out of you anything that is not yours to hold. That could be the stress of your day or week, your loved ones’ emotions, or energy you picked up from the world. If it’s not yours, it has to go as soon as you simply decide to release it. -You can also release old stories, past trauma and unhelpful beliefs or pictures. Sometimes you won’t know what you're letting go of, but you’ll feel better after the fact.

Courtesy image

“It’s much easier to release other people’s energy than it is to process it,” O’Brien writes. “When an energy is not yours, as soon as you let it go, it’s gone. It’s like having a puzzle piece to someone else’s puzzle…”

The book is available at True Nature, White River Books and online, also as an audio book. Catch a conversation with O’Brien this Thursday on Everything Under The Sun at 4 p.m. on KDNK community radio.

You can also engage with O’Brien’s online offerings, including an intuitive community platform with events, weekly challenges and a chatroom, by visiting: www.annobrienliving.com/community/

I'm just waiting until you say the magic word… Treats!

July’s Monthly Special

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El Jebel, Colorado 970-963-1700 RJPaddywacks.com

Your source for showcasing local fi ction, poetry and more! Send your creative pieces to: fi ction@soprissun.com

Out the back door By Melissa Sidelinger

There are moments in your life that change everything; that send you down a path of no return; that draw a line of black ink down the page of your story clearly delineating the life you lived before, and your life after. A chance meeting, a choice, a serendipitous occurrence or a tragic accident.

For me, it was a night in May, in a downtown bar above a pizza parlor in a small town in an obscure corner of America. Just a Friday night, like any other, with a band playing in the corner by the window, the tables littered with wine glasses and the dance floor swirling with people.

I can't remember who the band was, what music they played, what dress I wore or what conversations I had that night. What I do remember, so clearly that it will forever be burned into my subconscious, was that at the end of the night when the music was over and people were preparing to leave, my friend and I had the choice to go out the back door and down the stairs to the alley or through the restaurant and out the front door. Since the bar was still crowded we decided to go out the back; and that's where I met him, lounging on a couch near the exit. That's where he introduced himself to me, and that's where my life's trajectory was forever altered.

I will always wonder what my life would be like if I had left through the front door instead.

I never expected to find myself trapped in an abusive relationship. I can look back and see the red flags now, but only with the benefit of hindsight. He was too charming. The relationship moved too quickly. He had a dark side to him, but he hid it well.

The abuse was subtle when it began but escalated over the four years we were together. It's like the cliche frog in the kettle of boiling water. No one jumps into a situation of domestic violence by choice, they are slowly drawn in as the temperature rises and the water begins to boil. It's a slow burn and by the time you realize the truth you may or may not be able to get out.

I got out, but just barely. I got out but with the physical and emotional scars tattooed across my body and burned into my memory. Someday, I think I'll cover the physical scars with real tattoos of black and red ink. The emotional scars I'm not too sure about. Those scars will be harder to move beyond than the marks cut and burned into my skin. Harder to leave behind than my apartment and that small town when I finally escaped him — driving away from my old life in a snowstorm at dusk one December evening; harder to reconcile than the years lost to him or the life thrown into chaos and uncertainty after leaving.

I like to think that those emotional scars will heal with time. Maybe they will, or maybe I will find a way to tattoo over them with metaphorical ink. It's a hope, at least. A hope that someday I will put my pieces back together again.

But still, I wonder, what would have happened if I hadn't walked out the back door that evening?

Haikus & Poetry Whitewater

By Jampa

Th undering along Boiling silver water moves Bouncing hard downstream!

Th e Bookstore

By summer-2022 CMC Creative Writing Workshop

Towers of books Streets of magazines Noiselessly chatter away Bits of blue, red, yellow And black and white Mix, mingle, stream To a river of Pictures and words Th eir cacophony melodious In its harmony A Lorelei’s song

TOUCH ME NOW

By Luke Nestler

Touch me now Take your life from me Touch me now

I am clean I am free

Touch me now

If you were never told to pray Touch me now and play

Give thanks Touch me now free Take a chance Follow me I will follow you Together we will follow all through

As deep as thunder Before a hard rain As light as young fl owers As all as the breeze that Touches every tree

Touch me like that Easy free

Touch me now Coo loo a-lay Coo a-lay loo Touch me now Coo loo a-lay Coo a-lay loo

university, teach journalism and starve to death on a teacher’s salary, the B students become reporters and starve to death on a newspaper’s salary and the C students get into public relations and make all the money.

I was a C student, but not being very materialistic, I decided to become a reporter. I wanted to tell it like it is, not necessarily how it sells.

I’m happy for you, Roger. You’re much more suited to be working for a locallyowned publication like the Aspen Daily News than the billionaire-owned national chain Ogden Newspapers. As for The Aspen Times, count your blessings. At least you’re not owned by a hedge fund.

Fred Malo Jr.

Carbondale

Garden Club

On behalf of the Glenwood Springs Garden Club, we want to say “thank you” to many who helped make our recent Welcome to Our Gardens Garden Tour so successful.

First, the planners of our 2022 Garden Tour committee spent months in preparation meetings. Second, our sponsors enabled our club to have wonderful flyers, posters, pamphlets and ads. Third, Kelly Cory of KO Creations shared her expertise and volunteered to design those promotional materials.

Fourth, The Sopris Sun, KDNK, KMTS and the Post Independent interviewed us and shared information and stories about our upcoming tour with the public. Fifth, the gardeners who welcomed the tour guests to their lovely gardens for all to view and learn more about successful gardening in our area.

We so much appreciate all the women and men who visited the gardens and shared their compliments and appreciation. Those smiling faces will long be remembered! Thank you so much everyone!

The GWS Garden Club welcomes guests to our meetings and new members always. For information about joining or about meeting topics, please call 970-384-2835.

Ann English, Judy O'Donnell, Michele Diamond

GWS Garden Club

Grand Mesa Byway

Took a nice long drive yesterday…

Carbondale through Paonia and up and over through Cedaredge and then back from Grand Junction. High altitude, 11,000 feet, a lot of lakes and resort cabins, etc. Surprisingly cooler in temperature than down below, even on a hot day.

Marty Stouffer

Carbondale

Editor's note: In response to Fred Malo Jr.'s letter and in keeping with transparency, we have published both of his rejected columns online and leave it up to our community to decide the merit of those decisions. As communicated to Malo in early 2021, "I wonder what feelings you wish to inspire with your columns in these times of great woundedness?" Acknowledging truth as our ultimate virtue, The Sopris Sun also seeks to be a publication in service to healing and community above blame and division.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Trustees of the Town of Carbondale has adopted a Resolution initiating annexation and rezoning proceedings for a 25.950 acre parcel located in Garfield County, Colorado (“Red Hill property”). A Public Hearing will be held before the Board of Trustees for the purpose of finding and determining whether the Red Hill property meets the applicable requirements of Colorado law and is considered eligible for annexation and rezoning. The applicant is the Town of Carbondale. The property owners are the Town of Carbondale and Colorado Department of Transportation (“CDOT”).

The Town of Carbondale acquired the Red Hill property in 2020. After acquisition, the Town of Carbondale did extensive trail work on Red Hill, including improvements to the lower and upper parking lots adjacent to Highway 82.

In 2020, Garfield County and the Town of Carbondale entered into an agreement which requires that the Town of Carbondale annex the newly-acquired Red Hill property, including the portion of CDOT right-of-way necessary to encompass the portions of the lower parking area, the portions of the connecting road between the lower and upper parking areas, and the portions of County Road 107 up to and including the entrance to the parking lot access (approximately 200 feet north of Highway 82) which are located within the CDOT right-of-way. The total annexation area would be 25.950 acres. The portion of property in the CDOT right-of-way is 1.541 acres.

The property is legally described as follows:

A Parcel of land situated within a portion that property described in the document recorded as Reception No. 907792 of the Garfield County records and within a portion Colorado Department of Transportation Highway No. 82 ROW per Project No. C 0821-091; said Parcel of land being located in Lot 7, 8, 9 and 21 of Section 28, Township 7 South, Range 88 West of the Sixth Principal Meridian and is further described as follows:

Beginning at a point on the Northerly right-of-way of Colorado Department of Transportation Highway No. 82 Project No. C 0821-091 whence a found 3.25” 1986 B.L.M. Aluminum Cap monumenting the Northwest corner of the John Kelso Claim ( Northwest corner of said Lot 7) bears N.13°55’16”.E a distance of 849.86 feet; thence S.47°46’57”.E a distance of 196.24 feet; thence S.09°11’06”.W a distance of 77.42 feet; thence N.84°37’21”.W a distance of 161.47 feet to a point being 1 foot northerly of an existing fence; thence the following eight (8) courses one foot northerly of an existing fence:

1) N.87°02’15”.W a distance of 80.20 feet; 2) N.73°13’00”.W a distance of 31.29 feet; 3) N.83°35’25”.W a distance of 119.62 feet; 4) N.81°38’11”.W a distance of 84.78 feet; 5) S.86°53’55”.W a distance of 19.76 feet; 6) N.81°13’49”.W a distance of 165.40 feet; 7) N.67°41’13”.W a distance of 253.53 feet; 8) N.72°54’00”.W a distance of 69.76 feet to a point on the Northerly right-of-way of said Highway 82;

thence the following four (4) courses along said right-of-way:

1) 170.20 feet along a non-tangent curve to the right having a radius of 1760.10 feet and a central angle of 05°32’26” (chord bears N.70°07’47”.W, a distance of 170.14 feet); 2) N.60°21’09”.W a distance of 288.32 feet; 3) N.62°45’15”.W a distance of 149.95 feet; 4) N.61°55’48”.W a distance of 324.64 feet to a point on the North-South ¼ line and west line of said Lot 21 of said Section 28, said point also being the Southwest corner of said property;

thence the following seven (7) courses along the boundary of said property:

1) N.01°15’25”.E along said North-South ¼ line a distance of 241.21 feet to the Center ¼ corner of said Section 28; 2) S. 89°14’35”.E along the East-West ¼ line of said Section 28 a distance of 1856.57 feet, to the Southwest corner of said Lot 7; 3) N.00°28’09”. W along the westerly line of said Lot 7 a distance of 199.71 feet to the Northwest corner of said Lot 7; 4) N.88°28’22”.E along the northerly line of said Lot 7 a distance of 154.32 feet to a point on the westerly line of County Road No. 107 right-of-way as recorded in Book 673 at Page 648 of the Garfield County records; 5) leaving said northerly line S.04°40’55”.E along said westerly line a distance of 60.20 feet; 6) continuing along said westerly line S.25°33’55”.E a distance of 137.53 feet; 7) continuing along said westerly line S.31°11’05”.W a distance of 74.60 feet; thence leaving said westerly line 80.28 feet along a non-tangent curve to the left having a radius of 247.00 feet and a central angle of 18°37’19” (chord bears S.42°24’08”.W, a distance of 79.93 feet); thence 10.41 feet along a reverse curve to the right having a radius of 100.00 feet and a central angle of 05°57’46” (chord bears S.36°04’21”.W, a distance of 10.40 feet); thence 36.69 feet along a reverse curve to the left having a radius of 150.00 feet and a central angle of 14°00’59” (chord bears S.32°02’45”.W, a distance of 36.60 feet); thence 63.94 feet along a reverse curve to the right having a radius of 58.00 feet and a central angle of 63°09’38” (chord bears S.56°37’05”.W, a distance of 60.75 feet); thence 14.56 feet along a reverse curve to the left having a radius of 50.00 feet and a central angle of 16°40’52” (chord bears S.79°51’27”.W, a distance of 14.51 feet); thence S.71°31’01”.W a distance of 76.25 feet; thence 69.02 along a curve to the left having a radius of 304.00 feet and a central angle of 13°00’30” (chord bears S.65°00’46”.W, a distance of 68.87); thence 27.44 feet along a reverse curve to the right having a radius of 100.00 feet and a central angle of 15°43’26” (chord bears S.66°22’15”.W, a distance of 27.36 feet); thence 175.11 feet along a reverse curve to the left having a radius of 150.00 feet and a central angle of 66°53’10” (chord bears S.40°47’23”.W, a distance of 165.33 feet); thence S.07°20’48”.W a distance of 28.86 feet; thence 157.36 feet along a curve to the left having a radius of 340.00 feet and a central angle of 26°31’07” (chord bears S.05°54’45”.E, a distance of 155.96 feet); thence 75.24 feet along a reverse curve to the right having a radius of 290.00 feet and a central angle of 14°51’52” (chord bears S.11°44’23”.E, a distance of 75.02 feet) to the point of beginning.

Said Parcel of land containing 1,130,384 square feet or 25.950 acres, more or less.

County of Garfield

State of Colorado

The proposal is to rezone the property from the Red Hill PUD (Garfield County zoning) to Open Space (Town zoning).

Said Public Hearing will be held at the Carbondale Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO at 6:00 p.m. on August 9, 2022.

Copies of the proposed application are on file in the Planning Department office, Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO and may be examined by interested persons during regular working hours, 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The application may also be reviewed on the Town’s website at www.carbondalegov.org

Scientists of all ages converged at Coffman Ranch for a bioblitz: a biological inventory done over a short period of time with many observing eyes, ears and other senses. With help from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University (Director and Chief Scientist David Anderson pictured here), the folks at Aspen Valley Land Trust counted over 145 plant species (mostly graminoids, aka grasses, sedges and rushes). Using acoustic monitoring equipment, at least 10 bat species were identified. Photo by Raleigh Burleigh

FICTION! FICTION! FICTION!

The Sopris Sun is now a home for creative works, in addition to local news. If you'd like to share a story, a poem or an illustration, email your "work in progress" to Fiction@SoprisSun.com

FINANCE DIRECTOR

Full time position, salary range $108,000 to $162,106. Closing date 7.15.2022 at 5:00 pm. A complete position profile, job description and required application forms may be obtained at www.carbondalegov.org. Click on Employment Opportunities.

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, six professional references and completed employment application to the Town of Carbondale, Human Resources Department, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, Colorado 81623 or email the same to: rgustine@carbondaleco.net.

The Town of Carbondale offers a generous benefits package that includes health and life insurance, 401A retirement plan, vacation/sick time off, paid holidays. Carbondale is an equal opportunity employer.

Geese by Larry Day

SERVICE DIRECTORY

Practicing minimal contact check-in.

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Locally Owned by David Zamansky

Locally Owned by David Zamansky Locally owned by Jake Zamansky 500 Buggy Circle, Carbondale, CO 500 Buggy Circle, Carbondale, CO

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For more info contact Todd Chamberlin: adsales@soprissun.com or 970-510-0246