20 09 17

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Carbondale’s weekly

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Early snow...

Volume 12, Number 32 | September 17- September 23, 2020

Nowhere was the early snowstorm more welcome than at Sunlight Mountain Resort, which received half a foot of snow in 24 hours.

Photo courtesy of Troy Hawks

SoprisLiquor.com 970.963.5880 1026 CO-133 Carbondale CO

… doesn’t nix fire risk

By Olivia Emmer Sopris Sun Correspondent

After an unusually hot August came to a close, farmers and gardeners braced themselves for a sudden snowstorm and possible frost the second week of September. The storm brought welcome cooler temperatures and precipitation to our drought-stricken and fire-plagued region. How does a storm like this affect the drought and wildfire danger?

“As far as the fires, like on Cameron Pass, both the Grizzly and the Pine Gulch fires, I’m sure that [storm] helped an awful lot. I don't know if it put them out, but it’s certainly going to slow down anything that’s still smoldering,” said Bill Gavette, Deputy Chief of the Carbondale Fire Department.

While Grizzly Creek Fire containment remained level at 91 percent after the storm, a fire update posted on Sept. 9 on the Grizzly Creek Fire Facebook page confirmed that the “moisture helped further moderate fire behavior.”

Other experts said something similar: while the Sept.

8-9 storm helped, its impact was fairly limited. According to Chad Sewell, fuels specialist for the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit, “What we’re going to see here in the short term is a dip in our fire danger.

We’re going to see an increase in some of our fuel moistures, particularly in our dead and down fuels.” But Sewell was quick to clarify that the storm may not increase moisture very much in live vegetation.

When it comes to live vegetation, its ability to take on moisture is impacted by the dryness of the soil and how badly the drought has stressed the plants. Sewell noted that serviceberry, other shrubs, and even aspen trees are so drought-stressed that they’ve turned brown, essentially going dormant for the season, which prevents the plants from going “through their normal color changing routines they would do in the fall.”

To test fuel moisture, samples are taken from consistent sites around the region that reflect the ecosystems. On the Crown, for example, sagebrush and Gambel oak are the fuels sampled, but on Lookout Mountain officials sample Douglas fir. To determine fuel moisture, fuel samples are collected, weighed, dried out in an oven, and then weighed again. These samples are taken twice a month from approximately May through September to help agencies assess fire risk.

In addition to precipitation, drought and fire risk are heavily influenced by temperature and solar radiation. Sewell explained, “If you want to think of the soil as a bank, those are causing a withdrawal from the bank, and then the moisture is really your deposit slip.”

This sentiment was echoed by Zane Kessler, director of Government Relations for the Colorado River District, who explained that soil moisture has a direct impact on river flows. “When you lose soil moisture, it creates a deficit so that future precipitation ends up going to restoring soil moisture before it goes to the river where it would have normally gone.”

The Roaring Fork Conservancy River Report for Aug. 27 showed that the gage at the Crystal River Hatchery was reading 9.24 cfs, just 11 percent of average for that time of year.

Continued on page 6

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GUEST

OPINION

By Fred Malo

Never been much for superhero movies. I had some interest in Spiderman because Peter Parker is a teenager with real adolescent problems. Jack Nicholson’s creepy portrayal of the Joker made the first Batman movie worth watching.

I don’t really have issues with fantasies, but the message all we need is champions with Herculean powers to violently make us safe misses me. Besides, in this god-awful year of 2020 we have some flesh and blood superheroes right here in our midst — the healthcare workers and wildland firefighters.

Since the pandemic started before the wildfires, we’ll begin with the troops in our hospitals.

Who isn’t moved by the pictures of the emergency room nurses,

The real-life superheroes their beautiful faces scarred by the masks they’ve worn for hours on end, their eyes reflecting not only exhaustion, but the horrors they’ve witnessed watching patients suffocate without respirators? When the health care workers finally do get to go home, they must be reluctant to do so because they don’t wanna infect their families.

Notice I’m not referring to the pandemic in the past tense, as the Republicans did at their convention. It’s not over.

At this writing, a thousand Americans are dying every day of COVID-19. Ominously, the usual fall flu season awaits.

Our government has let down these heroes by not providing them with proper personal protective equipment.

They’re using garbage bags for surgical gowns. No N-95 masks are available, so the healthcare workers wear single-use cloth masks all day. Doctors and nurses are treating critically ill patients on gurneys in hospital hallways and auxiliary facilities because of the lack of hospital beds.

My uncle was a fire captain in Hammond, Indiana, He fought the famous eight-day Standard Oil refinery fire in Whiting, Indiana in 1955. My family lived

10 miles away and the flames turned night into day.

Uncle Ralph told of the worker who was trapped up on a wooden water tower that was burning from the base up.

The firemen held a trampoline beneath him and begged him to jump. The worker couldn’t bring himself to do it and his screams could be heard for miles as he was burned alive.

But I never really gained an appreciation for what the firefighters faced until I stood on a hillside near Storm King Mountain in 1994 covering the fire for the Glenwood Post. As I gazed down upon eleven of the 14 fire tents that were draped over the dead firefighters, I couldn’t help but think of who were under those tarps.

These’re young people from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana who’ve traveled 1000 miles to risk their lives to save a town where they probably don’t even know anyone. These’re the best we have. And now they’re gone.

They can’t be replaced.

The toughest job I’ve ever had was interviewing the families of the fallen. What do you ask?

How do you feel? I chose to ask them to tell me something about their loved ones. What were their interests, their loves, their dreams

and aspirations?

This is the caliber of people that have fought the many wildfires we’ve experienced here locally in the last few years.

The quick reactions of the local firefighters who responded to the wind change that threatened an El Jebel trailer park during the 2018 Lake Christine Fire is legend. During this year’s terrible wildfire season, the fighters of the Grizzly Creek Fire stood their ground to save No Name and Bair Ranch.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to stand up to a raging inferno in impossibly rugged terrain, on a blistering hot day, wearing those fire-retardant suits, and carrying all that equipment on you back. The firefighters must take bottles of salt tablets or they’d be falling down left and right from dehydration.

Republicans insult heroes like this when they suggest Americans won’t work if they’re collecting $600 per week in pandemic unemployment benefits. There’s no amount of money that’d make taking those kinda risks worthwhile.

The heroes do it because there’s a need. Their fellow humans are depending on them. Heroes don’t need that carrot dangling in front of their noses.

Sincerest thanks to our

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Jim Calaway, Honorary Chair Kay Brunnier Scott Gilbert Bob Young – Alpine Bank Peter Gilbert Umbrella Roofing, Inc. Bill Spence and Sue Edelstein Greg and Kathy Feinsinger Carolyn Nelson Jim Noyes True Nature Healing Arts Nicolette Toussaint Jill and Gary Knaus Megan Tackett Ken & Donna Riley Michelle & Ed Buchman CoVenture Lee Beck and John Stickney Deborah and Shane Evans Carly and Frosty Merriott

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LETTERS It is fair to mourn...

Dear Editor: I commend Genevieve Villamizar for her brave and honest column in last week's paper.

As arable acreage is gradually cemented by development, the stars become obscured by the growing glow of city lights, and wildlife is endlessly displaced... grief is a natural and appropriate response. We are, after all, experiencing a mass extinction event driven by crazed consumption.

The presence of this new store, owned by the largest supermarket chain in the world, is the latest chapter in a short, colonial history.

Abundant meadows once supported many species and seasonal bands of Nuche in what we now call Carbondale. These were plowed by farmers to feed a growing nation. More recently, cows grazed a scenic pasture. Now, a store sits stocked with a different kind of sustenance.

Our sense of loss is a familiar story. I've been working with the Mount Sopris Historical Society on audio productions that depict the lives of five generations of women from the area's history. A pattern that consistently emerges is lament for one's idyllic abode being overcome by ceaseless and sometimes destructive change.

The aptly named “City” Market — and First Bank before it — herald a significant shift in the dynamics of Carbondale. With over 100 apartment units and a lumberyard to come (in addition to the new development northeast of the roundabout and redevelopment of

the Sopris Shopping Center, plus whatever becomes of the old City Market building) this quickly congested intersection will change dramatically in a few years.

Under the conditions of our civilization, this is the trajectory. Carbondale's recent influx of newcomers may someday mourn these changes when they too are changed. Still, two events this year stir us to reconsider our strategies for resilience. The recent closure of I-70, caused by an increasingly frequent wildfire event, was preceded by a pandemic that threatened our centralized supply chain. Change is inevitable and imagination is necessary.

Whatever the new store means to you, may it be a monument for this decisive moment.

Here to stay, until it isn't.

Raleigh Burleigh Carbondale

Jacket angel Dear Editor: Please let me say a public thanks to the angel who took my biking jacket with my phone in the back pocket to the Carbondale Police Station.

After I realized I lost the jacket out of the elastic strap on my camelback, my husband zoomed back up the bike trail, but couldn’t find it. Little did we know that an angel had picked it up and turned it in.

I love the jacket, and hated to lose it, but the thought of losing a cell phone these days is overwhelming. What a relief it was for the phone to be found.

I want to send out a huge thanks to the biking angel who made our world a brighter place. Thank you so much – you rock!

Nancy Gensch Carbondale

Dems need to vote Dear Editor: I would like to take a minute and think about how our country might look right now had we Democrats not been apathetic about voting the last few elections.

Democrats not voting has us being represented by Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner, Donald Trump. Locally, we have John Martin, Mike Sampson, Tom Jankovsky, Perry Will, Bob Rankin, and Joyce Rankin, all Supporters of Trump.

Trump and the GOP have taken us out of the Paris Climate agreement, relaxed environmental laws, and taken steps to do away with the EPA, which was started by Nixon.

Trump and the GOP have made Democrats and Republicans hate each other.

Trump and the GOP are trying to repeal the ACA (a.k.a. Obamacare). This would have serious consequences for a lot of us. Things we will lose if the ACA is repealed: Your employer will not have to cover your children until age 26 any longer (the dependent coverage mandate). Your insurance will not have to cover preventable care at 100 percent. The lifetime maximum payment will be put back in place.

Some people with major medical treatments, Continued on page 14

The views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect those of The Sopris Sun. The community is invited to submit letters up to 500 words to news@soprissun.com. Longer columns are considered on a case-by-case basis. The deadline for submission is noon on Monday.

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

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P.O. Box 399 Carbondale, CO 81623 520 S. Third Street #32 970-510-3003 www.soprissun.com Editor Will Grandbois • 970-510-0540 news@soprissun.com Advertising Todd Chamberlin • 970-510-0246 adsales@soprissun.com Graphic Designer: Ylice Golden Reporter: Roberta McGowan Delivery: Crystal Tapp Proofreader: Lee Beck Current Board Members Raleigh Burleigh, President Marilyn Murphy, Vice President Linda Criswell, Secretary Klaus Kocher, Treasurer Kay Clarke • Carol Craven • Lee Beck Megan Tackett • Gayle Wells Donna Dayton • Terri Ritchie The Sopris Sun Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on second Mondays at the Third Street Center.

Contact board@soprissun.com to reach them.

Founding Board Members Allyn Harvey • Becky Young Colin Laird • Barbara New • Elizabeth Phillips Peggy DeVilbiss • Russ Criswell

The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a proud member of the Carbondale Creative District The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Donations to The Sun are fully tax deductible.

Remembering Roz Turnbull, a friend to Carbondale

By James Steindler Sopris Sun Correspondent Locals remember Rosamond (Rozzie) Turnbull (May 1, 1943 – July 4, 2020) as an exceedingly kind woman with red hair and an infectious smile she never lost — a woman who would take all the time in the world for the sake of a friend or relative. For those that knew her, it goes without saying that she reached the hearts of many a Carbondalian.

Rozzie was born into the local Perry family whose roots reach back to the early days of Colorado’s settlers.

Rozzie felt a strong connection with her grandmother Rosamond Underwood-Perry whom Rozzie was named after. Grandmother Rosamond was an impressive woman who Tom Turnbull, Rozzie’s husband, referred to as, “The light of her [Rozzie’s] life.”

At the turn of the twentieth century, Grandmother Rosamond took the train out west from Auburn, New York to become a school teacher in rural Colorado. Her journey is memorialized in a book, “Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West," written by her traveling companion and closest friend Dorothy Woodruff ’s, granddaughter, Dorothy Wickeden. Because both women were avid letter writers Wickeden had the story laid out for her. Wickeden writes in her book that she first met Grandmother Rosamond in August 1973 and, “Spent my eighteenth summer working on a ranch in Carbondale for Rosamond’s granddaughter Roz, who had three children.”

Born in Glenwood Springs on May Day 1943 and raised in Carbondale, Rozzie witnessed many changes in this town over the years. “She lived here for seventy seven years and she loved Carbondale,” Tom surmised.

She attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School (CRMS) in its early years “It was all in a pick up truck at that point,” Tom joked. After graduating Rozzie went on to study at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

After college, Rozzie went to a weaving school in Banff, Canada. Subsequently she opened a store in Aspen called “The Loom” and ran that business and worked as a waitress.

It was December 1965 when Tom met Rozzie at her sister, Ruth’s, wedding in Carbondale. “We went skiing the next day and courted all winter at the Copper Kettle, where she worked and the ‘Late Show’ at the Crystal Palace,” Tom recounted. It was not long before they were married on June 18, 1966 — Tom’s birthday.

The duo raised four children here in Carbondale.

After starting a family, Rozzie never moved anywhere where she could not see her childhood home — the old Perry place across from the fish hatchery south of town.

Rozzie loved reading to her children and grandchildren. She took pride in her childrens’ education and involved herself in the schooling community throughout their childhoods. Rozzie’s daughter Catherine (Katie) Turnbull recalls school groups coming up to the family’s ranch for field trips to see the dairy cows and other ranch critters and happenings.

While her husband was herding cattle Rozzie was busy churning butter with dairy from their milk cow,

making bread or canning home grown delicacies for her family and friends to enjoy later.

Rozzie was an esteemed cook and the entire cattle rearing community appreciated that. She and her mother, Ruth (Diddy) Brown Perry, coordinated incredible meals which they’d bring to calf brandings and cattle sortings at various ranches around Carbondale.

Organizing large meals and filling her friends’ and family’s bellies was one way she effectively brought her community together.

Woman of the people No matter what the world came up with, Rozzie was there for the people in it. As Tom puts it, “The people were Rozzie’s focus.”

It may not come as a surprise that one of her favorite places, according to her late husband, was the grocery store. Rozzie also appreciated the post office and every Christmas she would take the postal workers a smorgasbord of Christmas cookies.

She reached people on a personal level, so frequently that those individual friendships culminated in a reputation she modestly upheld. “Rozzie loved and mentored a lot of different people for different needs,” said Tom. “She never wore a watch the whole time we were married,” Tom laughed. Katie followed up, “She liked to create her day and base it on other peoples’ needs and priorities.”

From mentoring women adjusting to ranch life in the Roaring Fork Valley in the ‘70s to tutoring a Latina community member through the Literacy Outreach program Rozzie built a legacy which will go down in local history.

“That’s the thing about my mom whatever she did it almost always ended up in a friendship,” Katie endearingly stated. “I describe her as a glue person,” Tom said, “people stuck to her and she stuck to a lot of people.”

Much like her grandmother, Rozzie was fond of writing letters and notes. Toward the end she expressed regret to Tom that she would not be able to reply to some of her pending correspondences; always yearning to show others she was there for them.

Rozzie’s granddaughter, 17-year-old Emily Barron, described her grandmother’s impact, “Her heart was boundless and her sincere love and generosity extended not just to us, but to the larger Carbondale community as a whole.”

After Rozzie’s mother Ditty’s passing, the family contributed a pavilion to the Carbondale Wild West Rodeo grounds in her and her husband, Bob Perry’s, names that stands there today. The family has decided to add something to the pavilion that symbolizes a meaningful way Rozzie brought her community together — a dinner bell.

For those who would like to contribute to the dinner bell and a surrounding landscaping project they can donate to the ‘Roz Turnbull Memorial Rodeo Grounds’ account at Alpine Bank.

Rozzie with her granddaughter Emily Barron. Photo courtesy of Katie Turnbull

With her husband, Tom. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Young

Bearing the smile she was known for near her childhood home. Photo courtesy of Jillene Rector

We offer lessons & help for everything from smart phones & computers to email, the internet & more.

This community ad space is donated by Cool Brick Studios THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 3

SCUTTLEBUTT Castle in the sky Yep; we’re aware the Redstone Castle is on the market again.

We’re working on reaching the Carvers about their time as owners and decision to sell, so expect a full story when and if we do!

A thousand splendid shows It all started when T. Ray Becker played his cool original songs opening for "Angel" a neohippy songwriter from Hawaii.

Since then, Steve’s Guitars has hosted everyone from The Band of Heathens to John Oates to Lake Street Dive to Mandolin Orange.

And shows have continued during the pandemic, albeit online, and this Friday marks a thousand in a row. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 18, the special event includes a taped segment from Steve Standiford, Mary Margaret, Shannon and Little Bear about the old shop, some background on the music biz from Wally Bacon, and music from Wes and Jay Engstrom, the Currys and Valle Musico. Visit grassrootstv.org to tune in!

Paperback writer Werner Neff — a local author and subject of an “Our Town” feature in March — recently released a new book: “Restore Our Democracy — The Case for Equality and Justice.” Published

by IngramSpark, it invites readers to dive into the reasons for the gradual but alarming decline in the quality of the American democracy and our inability to shift toward equality and justice. Meanwhile, Easterner Roger Colley has crafted his own take on our area and some important lessons of life about resolving conflict without violence in his new work, “Sopris.” Both books are available on Amazon.

House dance Dance Initiative and Alya Howe will present “Creating In COVID: An In-Depth Journey Into the Process of Collaboration and Dance Making During a Pandemic” at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Thompson House. Masks required and seating will be assigned to quarantine groups.

This immersive evening will feature the same piece shown three times and conversations with the dancers in between — a rare opportunity to learn more about the choreographic and rehearsal process. Visit danceinitiative.org for tickets — $15 for adults and $7 for kids.

Picnic basket Visit avlt.org and place your order by Sept. 19 to join Aspen Valley Land Trust in celebrating our open lands with a seasonal,

locally-sourced Harvest Picnic on Sept. 26. They'll provide a chefcurated meal from Free Range Kitchen or ASC Catering and you choose the time, setting, and company. Take this opportunity to enjoy a great meal in your favorite special open space (or backyard), and to connect with each other and the amazing valleys we call home. Want to do even more?Your additional $50 gift will provide a basket of fresh, farm produce for a family in need.

Get in the zone Once a year, local teens take a turn helping YouthZone and their communities during the annual Ascent fundraiser. This time, high school students share their perspective of the upsidedown world of 2020 in “An Inspired View of Today’s World.

This fundraiser is vital to the success of the organization, which provides counseling, juvenile diversion, substance intervention and education, life skills classes, community service, restorative justice, and parenting education.

The Ascent event begins on Sept. 23 with a silent auction followed by the festival itself at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25. Tickets are $35 at bit.ly//3j9hhDR — or email cwolff@youthzone.com to become a sponsor.

Helicopters have been a common sight this summer fighting fires, but this one was working on power lines in Missouri Heights. Photo by Roberta McGowan

They say it’s your birthday Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Dani Grace Kopf, Sarah Smith Blanchard, Ken Olson, Vanessa Anthes, Bob Stein and Lori Meraz (Sept. 17); Jackson Burcham, Coral Eva Froning, Frosty Merriott and Nancy Payne (Sept. 18); Kenny Hopper (Sept. 19); Ralph Young, Marty Garfinkel and Josh Smith (Sept. 20); Karen Funk Ireland and Bianca Ortega (Sept. 21); Cheryl Cain, Betsy Browning and Nancy Helser (Sept. 22) Cathy Derby, Barbara Dills, Jerome Osentowski, Marc Grandbois and Kent Jones (Sept. 23)

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Our Valley

Our mission is simple: to inform, inspire and build community within the Roaring Fork Valley, and we invite you to help us champion this cause.

Mission and purpose The Sopris Sun is the only nonprofit print newspaper in the Roaring Fork Valley and we have made it part of our mission to support other nonprofits, charities and worthy organizations in our community.

Gifting advertising spreads exponential love.

When individuals and companies underwrite advertising for nonprofits in The Sun, they help not just one organization, but also allow the newspaper to employ the people who bring you quality content each week. These generous underwriters are helping to ensure that the entire community continues to benefit from free, local, independent journalism.

Most importantly, these advertisements get help to those individuals that need it the most!

Paying it forward With the help of underwriters, The Sopris Sun has produced well over $30,000 of free and discounted advertising to nonprofits such as: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• Roaring Fork Sierra Club • Senior Matters • SoL Theatre Company • Spellbinders • The Buddy Program • Thunder River Theatre Aspen Center for Environmental Studies • Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist Aspen Community Foundation • Valley Settlement Project Aspen Hope Center • VOICES Aspen Jewish Community Center • Way of Compassion AspenOut • Wilderness Workshop Aspen Valley Land Trust • YouthZone Carbondale Arts Carbondale Homeless Assistance Please consider partnering with The CLEER Sopris Sun in support of your favorite Colorado Animal Rescue nonprofit organization.

Davi Nikent English in Action Family Visitor Program By becoming an underwriter, you can Garfield County Senior Program make a meaningful impact upon our Gay For Good - Rocky Mountain community for as little as $25 a week.

KDNK Lift-Up As a reader, you can help us Literacy Outreach out by thanking our advertisers National Alliance on Mental Illness for supporting our community National Brain Tumor Society newspaper! Simply let them know Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Roaring Fork Schools you saw them here.

Contact Todd Chamberlin today to ask how you partner with us and your favorite nonprofit!

Todd Chamberlin | adsales@soprissun.com | 970-510-0246 THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 5

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Between Aug. 5 and Aug. 16, temperatures for Glenwood Springs (the closest site where data is available) were 90 degrees or above, and the peak temperature for the month was 98 on Aug. 11, according to the National Weather Service. The average high temperature for August, based on a 30-year record, is 85 degrees.

"It was pretty hot — 20 days of the month were 90˚or above — of the 31 days," said Matthew Aleksa, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

When it comes to the impact of a single storm on a dry area, a few factors matter. Cooler temperatures help by keeping relative humidity up and slowing the melt off of any snow, allowing soil and fuels more time to absorb moisture. The timing matters too. “We’re also getting into shorter days, longer nights. So, the amount of solar radiation that hits the fuels and dries them out is less and less every day. And it also shortens the active burn period for any new fires that you start or any activity that may occur on our existing fires,” according to Sewell.

The reality of a warming climate suggests that drought and fire years like 2018 and 2020 are going to be more common “With every increase of one degree Fahrenheit [climatologically], we see anywhere between a three and five percent decline in river flow,” said the water district’s Kessler. “In parts of the Western Slope, including Delta County, just right over McClure Pass from us, we’ve already seen a three-and-a-half to four degree increase in temperature over the last hundred years.

If you do the math and you estimate between three and 5 percent decline in river flows for every one degree increase, you’re talking 15 to 18 percent decline in river flows over the last century.” Those increased temperatures do more than just reduce water in the river, they contribute to dry soils and dry vegetation, major factors in fire risk.

Sewell summed it up: “In terms of drought, we’ve had significant soil moisture deficits since last fall and last winter. So, this moisture — while it’s good and beneficial — it’s not going to bring us anywhere near back to where we need to be.”

That said, White River National Forest is reducing fire restrictions in most districts to stage one beginning Sept. 18.

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Early Snow

USDA Forest Service: White River National Forest Eagle-Holy Cross, Aspen, and Rifle Ranger Districts

444 There's a certain irony to a firefighter stuck in the mud after a big snow (above). Photo courtesy of Dusty Calfee Coffee Pot Road and lands north on the Flat Tops are6 open to the public again, but closures continue to the south. Courtesy Map. 0

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Wally Bacon

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Steve’s Guitars 6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

Pandemic, drought impact local ranchers

By Laurine Lassalle Aspen Journalism Ranchers were left with a backlog of cattle earlier this year when meatpacking plants had to close or slow production due to COVID-19 outbreaks among employees and public health orders forced restaurants to shut down indoor dining.

They are now facing the compounding challenge of a drought, which is decreasing the amount of available hay and forcing more tough choices about herd management.

“We had cattle that we would generally sell in like February and March, and that market kind of fell apart right then,” said Brackett Pollard, the Holy Cross Cattlemen’s Association local president who owns a ranch in Silt.

Pollard was finally able to sell some of his cattle in mid-July.

According to data collected by the Food and Environment Reporting Network, there have been eight outbreaks in meatpacking plants in Colorado that have led to more than 500 COVID-19 cases. That includes 316 cases at a JBS facility in Greeley. The facility had to close April 15 to 24. There have been nearly 40,000 meatpacking workers infected nationwide.

COVID-19 impacts at meatpacking plants, as well as market uncertainty as demand fell off from restaurants and schools, meant that commercial feedlots — where ranchers send cows before they are slaughtered — were packed and unwilling to buy additional cattle, according to ranchers interviewed for this story and a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

So Pollard, like many other ranchers, didn’t have any other choice but to keep his yearling cattle that would have been sold or slaughtered earlier in the year.

That meant he had to take land that he would normally use for growing hay and repurpose it to pasture these yearling cattle, which are between 1 and 2 years old. Cattle are typically slaughtered when they are between 18 and 24 months old.

The change in operations could affect him in the long run.

“We not only did we have to keep them because there was nowhere to go with them, and then all of a sudden we find ourselves in the middle of a drought,” Pollard said, noting that he was running low on hay to feed his cattle. “We basically got to the point where we had to get rid of them, whatever price was being offered.”

Pollard said he sold his cattle at their current market value, but if COVID-19 hadn’t happened, he probably would have received $200 more per head.

Beef prices rose, but cattle selling prices went down On July 22, the USDA released the Boxed Beef and Fed Cattle Price Spread Investigation Report, which explored the nationwide surge in retail beef prices. Between late March and early April, a large number of workers at meatprocessing plants got sick, which by mid-April led to facility closures and slowdowns that reduced beef production.

The weekly number of slaughters nationwide fell from more than 684,000 head at the end of March to under 439,000 at the end of April, a decrease of 36 percent.

“This reduced demand for cattle may have contributed to lower fed cattle prices,” according to the report’s summary of impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Feedlot placements by producers and feeders were 22

Carbondale rancher Bill Fales said that in 47 years of ranching in the Roaring Fork Valley, he’s never seen hay production as dismal as in 2020. “I used to think that one of the advantages of ranching here is we had a really stable climate.”

Photo by Laurine Lassalle percent lower in April than in 2019.”

Consumers began stocking up on beef in grocery stores in March when public health orders closing restaurants to indoor dining were first introduced. Demand from restaurants fell off dramatically, and many producers struggled to quickly shift away from restaurants and toward grocery stores, according to the report.

Consumers continued stocking up in April, as news of plant closures and fears of beef shortages spread, further driving up the cost of groceries.

The weekly average choice boxed beef cutout price — which measures the value of a beef carcass based on prices paid by end users — rose from about $255 per 100 pounds at the beginning of April to more than $459 by the second week of May. In the meantime, packers purchased fewer fed cattle and dropped cattle prices because of the meatpacking plant closures or production slowdowns. Fed cattle prices decreased by 18 percent between early April and early May. The gap between the selling price of fed cattle to packers and the retail price of boxed beef increased from $66 per 100 pounds in early April to $279 in the third week of May, a 323 percent increase, the largest spread since 2001, according to the report. The gap started to narrow in June, from $279 per 100 pounds in the middle of May to $119 in the beginning of June.

op, which works mainly with the grocery chain Whole Foods, sets its prices in January for the fiscal year.

Fales said at the outset of the pandemic, he experienced a slowdown in the amount of cattle he could send for processing. But as Whole Foods’ shelves were emptying in April, the grocery chain began asking for more beef. The cooperative was able to shift cattle to different processors to keep up with the demand, Fales said.

Amy Daley and Nicholas Krick are partners in Daley’s family-owned ranch in New Castle that also is part of the Country Natural Beef network, and they also sell beef products through their own business, nickandamysfarm. com. Like Fales, they were able to maintain their selling prices but still were left with an excess of cattle.

“We ended up reducing the amount of head that had been scheduled to go in to be processed, which left a lot of our animals still in the feedlot or unable to be processed,” Krick said. “We’re spending more money for that feed when they should be a beef product.”

Krick said they still have a backlog of cattle but are getting back on schedule.

Dry weather challenges ranchers Perhaps most worrying to ranchers is the

drought. This summer’s windy, dry conditions have made it difficult to grow hay, which is used to feed the cattle over the winter.

The National Drought Mitigation Center’s map and data released Sept. 1 show extreme drought in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties.

For the first time since 2013, the entire state is experiencing some level of drought. About 54 percent of Colorado is experiencing severe drought, and more than 35 percent extreme drought.

When drought is considered severe, snowpack and surface water levels are low and river flow is reduced, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. When the drought becomes extreme, which is a worse condition, wildfire risk increases, pasture conditions worsen and reservoirs are extremely low. At any stage, drought forces farmers to reduce planting and ranchers to sell cattle.

Fales was cutting hay near Catherine Store in Carbondale, a few miles from his ranch. This year’s drought didn’t allow the hay to grow as high as usual.

“I used to think that one of the advantages of ranching here is we had a really stable climate,” Fales said. “I’ve been ranching here since 1973 — I’ve never seen less hay production than this year.”

Fales, who was hoping for a better second hay cutting, said his first cutting is down 40 percent from what he would normally harvest.

“I’m going to have to sell cows because I just don’t have enough hay, and it’s too expensive to buy to feed to cattle,” Fales said.

The hay shortage will probably lead to a surge in production costs for ranchers.

“We’re going to be having to make some decisions this fall, going into reducing herd numbers or buying hay — and from where we are getting that hay,” Daley said.

When a drought occurs, Pollard said, the increase in hay prices usually leads to a decrease in production and a surge in prices paid by consumers if demand remains the same.

For ranchers, he said, spring was the cattleraising season, so many weren’t selling cattle yet.

“Now comes October,” he said, “(and) if the market hasn’t rebounded by then, there’s a real chance it could be very difficult for young ranchers or farmers, or those who have a lot of debt.”

Working through packer issues According to Carbondale rancher Bill Fales, the gap between what ranchers are getting for their cattle and what consumers are paying for beef illustrates the problem with “packer consolidation,” or fewer meatpacking firms controlling more of the marketplace.

“It really showed the problem with the kind of conventional beef system because people who had cattle ready to be slaughtered got just slammed,” Fales said. “If they could get them killed, the price they were selling for went way down, (and) the packers started paying way less and charging way more on the other side of the plant — to the consumers.”

Fales wasn’t impacted by the drop in selling prices, he said, because his cattle are part of a program called Country Natural Beef.

Country Natural Beef is an Oregon-based cooperative of nearly 100 family ranches located in 13 Western states and engaged to produce beef from vegetarian fed cattle. The co-

Bill Fales cutting hay near Carbondale last month. This summer’s drought led to a 40 percent smaller crop than what he would normally harvest at the first cutting of the season. “I’m going to have to sell cows because I just don’t have enough hay and it’s too expensive to buy to feed to cattle,” Photo by Laurine Lassalle

THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 7

Schooled in a barn

Photos and text by Laurel Smith Sopris Sun Correspondent

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Just days after announcing that virtual learning would continue for all students, the Roaring Fork School Board has moved that K-3 education would resume in person learning on Sept. 28.

As of press time, no decision had been made as to when and if older students would be able to return to the classroom, leaving grade 4-12 parents having to balance how to facilitate their kids’ virtual education and provide for their families. To support district employees, the district partnered with local community organizations to facilitate online learning for the children of faculty and staff and also provide enrichment activities for kids when they are offline. Wind Walkers, a therapeutic riding and learning center just outside of Carbondale, is hosting a learning pod three days a week of eight middle school students.

“We took this on because we all have academic backgrounds,” says Executive Director Gabrielle Greeves. She sees the learning pod as a way to help teachers and administrators focus on their jobs so they can reach more students.

She continued, “We want teachers and the staff writing curriculum to trust where their kids go to do their academics.”

Academics are the priority for this pod of students. Former teacher Melissa Taylor already ran an established riding and literacy program for kids with dyslexia, and her employment was extended to provide in-person math and literacy instruction to students.

While this program has been a positive solution for this small group of students, it is not a permanent one. As the winter approaches the cold weather will be a huge challenge and if schools stay virtual, Greeves does not think that the program will be able to extend past October.

“We are offering what we can for as long as we can,” she said.

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Pre-order at ting.com/roaringfork Drayton Smalley attends a virtual lesson from the Wind Walkers barn which has been converted to a temporary classroom for student’s distance learning.

8 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

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Students wear winter clothing on a cold morning in their open-air classroom.

THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 9

GOVERNMENT BRIEFS GarCo plans for federal lands Garfield County has concluded its Federal Lands Natural Resources Coordination Plan and Policies document, which will guide the county’s policy decisions on public lands with the principles of coordination, multiple-use and sustained yield.

The plan’s policies cover important issues requiring coordination with agencies that manage public lands in Garfield County, including range improvements; travel management plans; water projects; utility and infrastructure projects; land transfers; wildlife management; forest and timber management; energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, oil shale, coal, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric; air quality; recreation and tourism; RS-2477 rights of way; mining and more.

Grizzly Creek gets emergency funds The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has approved the first tranche of Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) funds for $5 million worth of projects in Colorado to mitigate and recover from wildfires. The funding will benefit EWP projects in Mesa, Garfield, Larimer, and Grand Counties. In addition to EWP funds, each state and federal agency outlined the additional resources that may be available to assist with watershed restoration and protection of the canyon. U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and other members of the Colorado delegation urged USDA to approve the City of Glenwood Springs’ request for additional financial assistance.

$13 million granted to RFTA Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet has announced that the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) will receive

a $13,009,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program to construct their Regional Transit Center (RTC) in Glenwood Springs. RFTA is the nation’s largest rural transit agency by ridership, providing more than five million rides per year throughout Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin Counties.

These grant funds will help complete a regional transit hub to improve operations and mobility management for the agency. The RTC will meet RFTA’s current and future transit maintenance capacity needs and support the growing transit demands throughout the region.

Colorado expands opioid treatment

The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) will receive $41.6 million over the next two years from the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant, a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant that provides states funding to address the opioid crisis. OBH will receive $20.8 million per year beginning Sept. 30. Including the new funds, SAMHSA has awarded CDHS $95.3 million in opioid-related funding since May 2017, with the main goal of increasing access to medication-assisted treatment, which pairs therapy with anti-craving medications. The announcement comes as more Coloradans seek substance use disorder treatment, according to the latest OBH Drug Trends Report.

Gardner pushes for energy storage U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, joined a bipartisan group of nine U.S. Senators in a letter advocating for longterm energy storage funding and research and

Stay up-to-date.

Stay present.

development coordination as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) works with associated National Laboratories throughout the country. In the letter to Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, the Senators highlight their support for the Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC), which aims to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy, further develop the clean energy economy, and decrease emissions.

Postal Service launches election website As part of its ongoing effort to ensure that voters and election officials have the information they need to successfully use the U.S. Mail to vote in the November general elections, the U.S. Postal Service has launched a new Election Mail website. Visit usps. com/votinginfo for direct links to federal election resources as well as links to state-specific resources.

The site also highlights what the Postal Service views as the most critical information for voters who opt to vote through the U.S. Mail: that, in requesting or casting a mail-in ballot, they not only must comply with their local jurisdictions’ requirements, but also should start the process early.

Bennet holds listening sessions Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet's Grand Junction staff will be holding weekly telephone office hours this fall. Traditionally, the office has held in-person listening sessions, but opted for a remote approach due to safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From Sept. 22 through Nov. 17, residents of Montrose, Delta, Mesa, Garfield, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco counties are encouraged to email Alyssa_Logan@bennet.senate.gov or call 2416631 to schedule a chat. You can also visit bennet. senate.gov for more information.

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Contact your elected officials about the issues that matter to you Senator Michael Bennet 261 Russell Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-5852

Senator Cory Gardner 354 Russell Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-5941

Congressman Scott Tipton 218 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-4761

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CO Rep Perry Will 200 E Colfax, 07 Denver, CO 80203 (303)866-2949

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10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

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Counting folks during a pandemic

By Ken Pletcher Sopris Sun Correspondent The decennial census of U.S. citizens, mandated by the Constitution (Article I, Section 2), is a daunting task in any year. In 2020, however, the national enumeration has been particularly challenging, principally because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which early in the count process prevented census workers from personally contacting households.

However, as U.S. Census Bureau spokesperson Laurie Cipriano stated, “It has never been easier to respond on your own, whether online, over the phone or by mail – all without having to meet a census taker.” She added, “This is the first year the census has been conducted primarily online, which has helped with responses during the pandemic.”

The self-response rate of households to the initial census invitations, sent out in March, varied widely among locations in the state, per the Census Bureau. Numbers for Garfield County were about 66 percent of households overall, with some 57 percent of those responding via the internet, while those for Pitkin County were significantly lower (37 percent). Among local communities, Carbondale had the highest rate (70 percent), and Marble the lowest (37 percent).

The pandemic forced the Census Bureau to push back the completion date for the census operation from the original July 31 to Oct. 31, but that date was later revised to Sept. 30 – reportedly

to allow Congressional apportionment data to be delivered to the White House by the end of the year. A lawsuit, scheduled to be heard in federal court in California on Sept. 17, however, seeks to restore the Oct. 31 deadline.

Census takers, following COVID-19 health guidelines, began inperson follow-up with nonresponding households in early summer. Their efforts have been paying off, as the total number of enumerated households has steadily climbed. As of press time, the overall completion rate for Colorado had reached the mid-90s.

Specific comparable numbers for counties and local communities were not available, but the percentile of follow-up work completed by census takers for the region that includes Garfield County was about 90 percent as of press time. The rate for the region that includes Pitkin County was again lower, in the mid-60s.

Part of the reason for the lower response rate upvalley stemmed from the fact that many housing units there are not primary residences. Per census taker Illène Pevec of Carbondale, who has been canvassing there, “It is very challenging getting that information.”

She noted that it was also an issue in the Carbondale area (notably in River Valley Ranch) but less of one.

Although the continued progress in the census count has been promising, concern has remained about a population undercount statewide and locally – especially with a potential end-of-month deadline looming. The

Aspen to Parachute Complete Count Committee (A2PCCC) has pointed out that Colorado will lose $2,300 in federal funding for each person not counted, revenue that is distributed at both the state and county level. In addition, as Carbondale City Planner Janet Buck noted in an earlier Sun article, “Some state funding, such as lottery dollars which the Town does receive, is calculated based on the population count.”

Also potentially at stake this year is Colorado’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. The state’s population has grown significantly this past decade, and it is possible that it could receive another House seat once apportionment has been completed.

That would require districts to be redrawn, which could affect the political makeup of the state.

The Census Bureau has gone to great lengths to find and enumerate individuals not in standard household settings. This has included census takers counting people served at soup kitchens and shelters; homeless people living under bridges, in parks, etc.; and those living in group quarters, such as halfway houses.

Of particular note for our area is the effort to find and count those living in remote locations, including what the Census Bureau terms “transitory locations” – campgrounds, RV parks, marinas, etc., if they do not live elsewhere.

Census worker Stacey Volgt was

Census Taker Zuleika Kodama Pevec out on the job. Photo by Olivia Emmer one of those tapped for those assignments, “because I have a fourwheel-drive vehicle,” she explained.

“We would follow the line of a census block,” e.g., a trail in a remote area, such as off Kebler Pass Road,

“to see if anyone was living back there.”

Anyone still needing to complete their census questionnaire can visit a2pcensus2020.com for information in both English and Spanish.

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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 11

6 of 33

ATTACHMENT A

New pool design proposed

By Will Grandbois Sopris Sun Staff The John M. Fleet Pool probably won’t be replaced by a year-round water park, but a vision for a ground-up overhaul is beginning to take shape.

The result of a two-day design charette with a working group of users was presented to trustees on Sept. 15, with Design Workshop’s Darla Callaway encouraging them to see the design as kit parts that could be moved around. The proposal comes with a pair of pools in an east/ west configuration (to ease glare for lifeguards), a hot tub, a larger (potentially two-story, multi-use) bathhouse, a better connection to Sopris Park and a third-party (potentially rotating) food vendor.

At its Sept. 9 meeting, the Parks and Recreation Commission had expressed hopes that the final plan would be environmentally sustainable — with plenty of bike parking — and incorporate the arts. Faced with the potential choice between a slide and a diving board they favored the former, and debated the merits of placing the “splash pad” next to Sopris Park or along Eighth Street.

The trustees were more interested in one of the most fundamental questions: where the facility should be.

A spring survey of the public

— originally intended as just one phase of community outreach, but luckily seeing strong participation during quarantine — offered the possibility of locating it behind the Carbondale Rec. Center. Roughly half of respondents liked that idea, with the remainder split between the existing location and no preference.

But the potential move proved more complicated than anticipated.

The alternate location is 12 years into a 25-year grant contract with Great Outdoors Colorado. While that could potentially be renegotiated, it might be more desirable for an expansion of the rec. center itself — which will have its own bonds paid off in 2024.

As commission member Hollis Sutherland observed, “When people find out that I’m on Parks & Rec., the first thing they say is that the Rec. Center’s too small.”

She also noted the potential noise impact on neighbors, who have already expressed concerns about public and private events at the existing facility.

And while Trustee Heather Henry proposed taking some space from the lightly-used back lot, Parks and Rec. Director Eric Brendlinger pointed out that unofficial parking on a private lot across the street may not be available for much longer. Besides, he seemed pleased with the plan.

“When you go in with a municipal pool in mind, our park space is really a gem of location,” he noted.

The only other hangup, at least for Trustee Ben Bohmfalk, was undergrounding the ditch along the west side of the existing property, but Callaway explained that health and safety requirements made it next to impossible to leave it open and within the facility.

In general, she explained, a lot of decisions came down to basic practicality.

“The size of the pool and the shape of the pool all have cost implications,” she said. “Let’s put the money where it matters most in terms of programming.”

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t cause for excitement. The pair of pools not only roughly doubles swim capacity, it allows for lap swimmers and loungers to benefit from different temperatures. The second level of the bathhouse could offer housing or, as Trustee Marty Silverstein suggested, a classroom. Silverstein also joined Lani Kitching in advocating for programming and hours for the aging population. And the splash pad’s status as “water in transit” means it could be open without a lifeguard — effectively extending the hours and days of use.

The desire to have the new

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Aquatics Center site concept plan by Design Workshop. Courtesy graphic facility open for more of the year was tempered somewhat by the desire for sustainability, with Mayor Dan Richardson foreseeing “an arm-wrestling match between an extended season and a net-zero pool.”

Meanwhile, the next step is to assess the potential cost of the project and identify sources of funding.

“When you open up a survey

to the public, you’re going to get a lot of dreams, but now we have to break it down into reality,” Brendlinger explained. “We’ll go after some grants like we always do, but it will probably require a bond, which would require a vote of the people.”

So don’t expect much action before November 2021.

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www.carbondalefamilydental.com 12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

Carbondale Town Ordinance: Sec. 7-3-60 (b) No person, including but not limited to an owner, occupant, lessee, person in possession or control, homeowners’ association officer, property manager or agent of a given premises, shall place any refuse or garbage container in any street, alley or other public place or upon any private property, whether or not owned by such person, within the Town, except in proper containers for collection, as provided in Section 7-3-50 above. No person shall place any such refuse or garbage container in any public street right-of-way for trash collection purposes by the Town or a private trash hauler, except for on the day collection occurs. For purposes of determining compliance with this requirement, refuse and garbage containers may be stored in a public street right-of-way only between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the day of collection. Placement of refuse or garbage containers outside of this time period shall result in the levying of fines, pursuant to Subsection (g) below. Except for between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the day of collection, and except in the instance that a refuse or garbage container is bear-resistant, as defined in Section 7-3-10 above, all refuse and garbage containers must be stored in secure enclosures when not out for collection.

Help keep the bears out of town and Carbondale safe.

OPINION

SLOW IS THE NEW FAST

By Gwen Garcelon

Is the future of our food security as close as our own backyard? Alas, it’s not that simple, because “wicked problems”, like rebuilding local food systems, never are. But our backyards have a vital role to play.

Years ago, when I saw a documentary about how Cuba survived being cut off from its oil supply after the fall of the Soviet Union (“The Power of Community,” 2006) I started to understand how essential it was to reinvent how we grow food. Everything about our current global food supply depends on oil — the petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, the scale which requires gas-powered machines, and of course the transportation of food from distant lands. When Cuba was cut off from oil overnight they began

Yes in my backyard a grassroots food-growing effort that continues to inspire me.

When our country went into lockdown this spring, and it was clear that many more in our communities would be food insecure, people started talking about “victory gardens.” This was successful in the 1940s, when the government encouraged planting food gardens at residences and in public parks, which eventually provided 40 percent of the nation’s produce.

The moment was ripe for an effort I’d been thinking about for years.

I’d watched and supported other efforts to start public and private food gardens. When I met a master gardener at a regional local food summit who explained to me the volunteer hours she had to fulfill to meet the requirements of the CSU Extension program, a light went on.

I had experimented with a backyard garden before, but I never felt like I knew what I was doing. I was winging it. And it never produced enough to make me feel like it was worth all the time, effort and water.

But what if it were possible to match folks who wanted to start backyard gardens with a master gardener who would be their personal mentor for a whole growing season?

And what if it were possible to get those folks compost, topsoil and other materials that would make starting a garden easier?

With that kind of support new gardeners would know where to put

their garden, how to prepare the soil, how to set up irrigation, how to do “companion planting”, how to deal with pests and disease, etc. With all of this support a new gardener could create a highly productive garden — maybe productive enough to have extra produce to share with our local food pantries.

All of this did happen this summer — and the Home Food Garden Project was a beautiful bright spot in an otherwise very challenging summer. Through a partnership of the Roaring Fork Food Alliance, CSU Extension Master Gardener Program, and UpRoot Colorado, this beautiful vision came to life through 20 gardens started from Rifle to Aspen.

As I’ve spoken with some of the gardeners who participated, it sounds like it was truly empowering for them too. There’s nothing like watching things grow. There’s nothing like that first home-grown kale salad, or tasting that first tomato or cucumber. And if you end up with more than you can use, there’s nothing like sharing what you’ve grown with those who really need it.

Like with any multi-institutional collaboration, this year was about starting to build relationships and organizational infrastructure. It was about being patient with not being able to serve everyone the way you may have hoped. But it was mostly about trusting that it’s possible to put existing resources together in

A backyard garden. Courtesy photo creative ways to meet community needs — and it was extraordinary.

I got pretty excited about the project and with my family started four new garden plots, so I could experience and test the program first-hand. Since I don’t have a backyard, two of them are at the Demeter Garden, the community garden at the Third Street Center in Carbondale, where lots of the gardeners were already growing extra food for the nearby LIFT-UP food pantry.

With the help of my Master Gardener mentor, our gardens have been so productive that I am often overwhelmed with the amount of vegetables they keep producing. But what I love most is the village I see in my garden — the gallons of tomatoes that have come from the 15 starts donated

by a friend, the huge squash jungle from Wild Mountain Seeds starts, the gorgeous broccoli grown from Zephyros starts, and the marigolds that line my beds from a friend’s seeds whose flowers I always admired.

The next step is to continue to hone the program over the winter, so that next year we are able to reach more people who want to start gardens. Hopefully we will be expanding into more counties to continue to test the program and make sure it works to house it institutionally within CSU Extension. This could be a big victory for an effective backyard garden movement — one that will build greater connection, health and resiliency in our communities.

One small step into the backyard, one big leap for our future.

COVID-19 TESTING TESTIMONIAL “We have had the pleasure of working with Trudi Watkins-Johnson on several real estate transactions. She is always thorough and does extensive research to find the best properties for her clients. She examines the market and does not overprice sales or rentals. Nothing is worse than watching your property repriced downward and then downward again.

Trudi sold my mother’s house an hour after listing it. Her negotiating advice has been always been right on the money. Her attention to detail in writing contracts saved me from a costly oversight on a recent property sale. Trudi is tenacious and will give 100% effort all the time. A person cannot go wrong having Trudi at Trudi Watkins Real Estate LLC handle their real estate needs.”

John Filippone and Susan Atwood - Seller | Carbondale, CO - March 2020

If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19-related symptoms: • Cough • Fever • Shortness of breath Call your primary care physician.

Your physician will evaluate your symptoms and can give you a referral to be tested at AVH’s Respiratory Evaluation Center.

If you do not have a primary care physician, call Aspen Valley Primary Care at 970.279.4111.

RESPIRATORY EVALUATION CENTER

HOURS OF OPERATION Reminder, a physician referral is required for testing.

EVALUATION OF MODERATE TO SEVERE SYMPTOMS Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 12 noon

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I am always available to answer any questions you may have concerning real estate throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 13

LEGALS NOTICE PURSUANT TO THE LAWS OF COLORADO COLORADO PRODUCT SERVICES, LLC DBA DOCTOR’S GARDEN has requested the licensing officials of the town of Carbondale to transfer the location of its retail marijuana store to sell retail marijuana and retail marijuana products at 655 Buggy Circle, Carbondale, CO 81623 Public participation to be held via zoom Date And Time: October 27, 2020, At 6:00 P.m. Date Of Application: August 25, 2020, 2020

By Order Of: Dan Richardson, Mayor Applicant: Gerald Greenspoon and Michael Paulin Information may be obtained from, and Petitions or Remonstrance’s may be filed with the Town Clerk. Carbondale Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO 81623

LETTERS

like a kidney transplant, will not have to be covered once you hit your lifetime maximum.

This is a small sample of all we have lost and will lose if the Democrats do not vote this election. The Trump supporters will be voting their hearts out. I will be voting for Democrats all the way down the ballot. We have some great Democrats running for office this election: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, and local candidates Beatriz Soto, Leslie Robinson, Karl Hanlon, Colin Wilhelm, Mayling Simpson and Diane Mitsch Bush. All we have to do is vote, all of us Democrats, then we can move forward again.

Register to vote, or update your voter registration at http://govotecolorado.com/ Thank you everybody.

James Gilliam Carbondale

Voter hell Dear Editor Postmaster General Dejoy's actions — of withdrawing sorting machines from POs and removing drop boxes from areas where it is difficult to get to the post office — have engaged the United States Postal Service in premeditated, national, election interference, a felony.

John Hoffmann Carbondale

Mitsch Bush for Congress

CARBONDALE’S LONGEST RUNNING CELEBRATION! Saturday, October 3rd Featuring: Farmers’ Market, Potato Harvest Scavenger Hunt

and virtual events for the whole family!

Event info available on Facebook @CarbondaleAnnualPotatoDay Visit carbondalerec.com to register for Market and Scavenger Hunt 14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • September 17- September 23, 2020

Dear Editor: I support Diane Mitsch Bush for the US Congress because she will work for the common good. Her support for public education and the expansion of public health care shows she puts people’s well being first on her agenda.

Her support for and from unions is based on the research that belonging to a union, as her mother did while raising her, improves the economic and social outcomes of all union members, particularly women and people of color who are often treated inequitably without union representation. I know how much our family income and health benefits improved when my husband joined the IATSE union while we were raising children. Supporting unions does not mean one is a political socialist.

It means one supports the safety and well being of all workers, and fair access to good wages.

Diane understands the needs in rural communities. Her experience in the Colorado congress and as a Routt County commissioner during the last recession has prepared her to represent our rural area’s needs NOW. Please support Diane and vote for a healthier, saner future for us all.

Illène Pevec Carbondale

Seeking social justice Dear Editor: When our staff gathered for our weekly meeting that took place days after George Floyd’s death, I felt a bit paralyzed to put words and actions in place for our organization to take a stand against the injustice of, not just his death, but the entire system of racism in America.

What could our small organization do to

Continued from page 2 make an impact from our corner of the country?

I am incredibly grateful for my colleagues who helped me jump start a series of discussions at the staff and board level to define and articulate the Buddy Program’s role in actively speaking out against racism and oppression.

What follows is the Buddy Program’s Social Justice, Diversity and Inclusion statement. We acknowledge that writing and sharing publicly this commitment is one step in a journey ahead and that our work in this area will never be complete. What follows is a platform from which we will take these steps on this journey.

We welcome your input and experiences as we navigate this time together.

At the Buddy Program, our mission is to empower youth through mentoring experiences to achieve their full potential.

We envision a thriving community in which all members are supported and connected through meaningful relationships and experiences to achieve success. We recognize that many members of our community, especially those that identify as black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), may not have equitable access to employment, a living wage, housing, healthcare, education, and may experience discrepancies within the criminal justice system. These barriers and disparate conditions result in a lack of equity that serves as an impediment to many youth achieving their full potential.

Social justice extends beyond attitudes and into actions that we take to promote a safe, accessible, and honoring space for all individuals to thrive. We recognize our responsibility to, and leadership within, our community through the following commitments: Consciously cultivating an inclusive and welcoming climate and organizational culture among staff, board members, volunteers, participants and donors that embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people.

Creating and maintaining programming free from discrimination.

Continued, sustainable growth and allocation of resources as an organization that addresses the complexities and needs of the diverse communities we serve.

Movement beyond tolerance and toward active inclusion, affirmation, and the celebration of our differences.

Ongoing self-examination of our attitudes, formal and informal policies and practices, assumptions and judgments, and assessment of our privilege with the end goal of acting in alliance with BIPOC and other marginalized community members.

Visit buddyprogram.org/core-values/ to read the Buddy Program’s updated Core Values as well as our Anti-Discrimination statement.

Lindsay Lofaro, Executive Director The Buddy Program

Spooked Dear Editor: A BOOM! of thunder Critters scurry and scatter Languid rain follows JM Jesse Glenwood Springs

PARTING SHOT

A week of weird weather brought an array of unusual birds to the area, many of whom seemed awfully confused and some of whom didn't make it. Of course, this caused curiosity among local children.

Photo by Laurel Smith

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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • September 17- September 23, 2020 • 15

Thinking about upgrading your home dining experience?

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Fall is coming and we’ll all be eating in more. If you’re looking to level up your dining room—or find a table to use as a desk for #WFH or #remotelearning—we’ve got you covered. From large to small, fancy to casual, we have the dining room table and chairs for you—all at 25% off. Best of all? When you shop at our Habitat for Humanity ReStore, you’re helping us to build homes with local families in need of affordable housing. It’s what we like to call a win-win for everyone involved.

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HabitatRFV.org Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, closed Sunday. | Shop online 24/7 at HabitatRFV.org For your safety, and the safety of our team, we are following all state and local social distancing guidelines. To learn more, visit HabitatRFV.org