2009 02 26

Sopris Sun THE

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 3 • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

A Growing Business

By Trina Ortega

I

n the face of economic adversity, the town’s “little grocery store” on Main Street — the Carbondale Community Food Co-operative — is holding its own after a little more than a year in its 600square-foot domain.

February marks the co-op’s first anniversary operating the storefront at 559 Main St., and the business is thriving. The co-op now has three employees, 250 members (compared to 200 six months ago and 75 before the store opened), a dozen working members, and a newly seated seven-member board of directors.

“In uncertain economic times, our store is a success story,” said store manager Avtar Perreault. “We can pay our bills and pay our employees and that’s a big thing.”

Over-the-counter purchases by members and nonmembers have kept sales steady, confirmed assistant store manager Katrina Byars.

“Considering what the condition of the world is right now, I think we’re doing really well,” she said. “Even in the face of economic uncertainty, we are continuing to thrive and expand.”

The co-op has made it through what Perreault considered the slow autumn and winter months and now only has to look forward to the growing season, when there will be even more locally grown fresh produce, a top-seller among customers.

“We provide a necessity. People need to buy food,” Perreault said matter-offactly.

“The amazing thing is that it’s breakeven. That’s a lot to say for a business in its first year,” said newly elected board member Allyn Harvey, who shops at the co-op for organic apples, cereals and meats.

In its promotional materials, the coop does state that the goal is not to reap immense profits, but to operate with mutual aid for members and the community at large. That translates to locally grown produce at a fair price.

Carbondale Community Food Co-operative employee Katrina Byars organizes a recent delivery of organic produce outside the store at 559 Main Street.

Photo by Trina Ortega

Fresh local produce

Supporting the region’s independent farmers and ranchers is a priority for the Carbondale Community Food Coop. Meats and eggs travel only a short distance from Carbondale-area ranches, FOOD CO-OP on page 4

Carbondale Commentary Letters

Land use decisions we can’t regret

You would hardly know there’s a recession under way, what with all the major development applications working their way through the review process in Carbondale.

There’s Overlook, a proposal to build about 150 housing units, a 50-room hotel and several thousand square feet of commercial space on 13 acres in the industrial section of town just north of the Rio Grande bike trail. It is currently before the Planning & Zoning Commission.

There’s Thompson Park, a proposal for anywhere from 30 to 100 units, that has another meeting this Thursday before the P&Z. Possibly after Thursday’s meeting, it will be off to the town trustees for final review and likely approval.

There’s the Village at Crystal River (formerly called the Marketplace) on the empty fields west of Highway 133 where a big box mall was proposed in 2001. Voters overturned the approval of the town trustees. The owner has an application for commercial and residential development that is about to start the public review process.

And finally, there is the Town Center, the mixed use subdivision that is sitting mostly vacant across Colorado Avenue from the Carbondale Recreation and Community Center. Its owner is asking for more height and density allowances in order to spur development. That proposal has launched P&Z into broader zoning considerations that could apply to other future development projects. (This is what staffers titled the “Downtown Overlay.”)

That’s a lot of development for this community. We only have 6,000 people living here. How many more are we able to accommodate? Is all growth good? Will we make decisions under the threat of the current recession that we regret later?

How will these developments change Carbondale?

Those are all good questions. But for them to be considered thoughtfully, citizens must have a way to gauge what’s going on. That’s where the Sopris Sun fits in.

As Carbondale’s newspaper, it is our responsibility to boil these applications down to their essence so we can understand what is being proposed. It is also the Sun’s job to interview people on all sides in order to provide Carbondalians with different points of view so that they can arrive at a reasoned opinion.

Land use coverage is not the sexiest thing to read in your local paper. And the Sun strives to cover arts and business and education with equal vigor. But to fulfill our roll as the community’s newspaper, the Sun must also cover government, the primary function of which is to provide public services (police, streets, utilities) and review land use applications.

So as you look at the Sun, take a minute to read the story on Thompson Park in this week’s edition, or whatever it is we cover in next week’s. These developments will shape Carbondale’s future and determine the kind of town we become.

We’re not out to bore you. We’re out to empower you with the information you need to participate meaningfully.

Sopris Sun THE

The Sopris Sun is an LLC organized under the 501c3 nonprofit structure of the Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation, P.O. Box 1582, Carbondale, CO 81623.

The mission of the Sopris Sun, LLC is to inform and inspire community members of Carbondale, Colorado.

Editor: Trina Ortega • news@soprissun.com Reporter: Jeremy Heiman Advertising Director: Jody Ensign 948-9715 Sopris Sun, LLC Managing Board of Directors: Russ Criswell • Peggy DeVilbiss • Allyn Harvey • Colin Laird Barbara New • Elizabeth Phillips • Rebecca Young Sopris Sun, LLC • P.O. Box 399 • Carbondale, CO 81623 • www.soprissun.com 2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

The Sopris Sun welcomes your letters, limited to no more than 400 words. Letters exceeding that length may be edited or returned for revisions. Include your name and residence (for publication) and a contact email and phone number. Submit letters via email to letters@soprissun.com or via snail mail to P.O. Box 1582, Carbondale, CO 81623.

A SISU thanks

The Sun is shining

Dear Editor: On behalf of the Mount Sopris Nordic Council, I would like to thank Alpine Bank and Richard Fuller for their sponsorship of the 17th annual Ski for SISU cross country ski event held February 1 at the Spring Gulch Nordic area.

Mother Nature blessed us with outstanding weather. Ninety-six skiers ranging in age from 2 to 86 participated in this year’s event.

A total of 1,359 kilometers were skied. This year’s longest distance skier Mike Uncapher put in 70 kilometers (43+ miles), Danny Pierce skied 60 kilometers (37+ miles), and Martha Rose skied 55 kilometers (34+) miles. In the “kilometer years” category, which takes the skier’s age times the distance skied, Danny Pierce led the way followed by Suzy Ellison and Jim Githens.

I wish to thank the following businesses for their generous support of door prize donations: Summit Canyon Mountaineering, Bristlecone Mountain Sports, Ute City Cycles, Ajax Bike & Sport, Basalt Bike and Ski, Aspen Cross Country Center, Good Health Grocers, Russets Restaurant, Peppinos Pizza, Sounds Easy Video Rental, La Maison Fine Furnishing, Harmony Scott Jewelers and KDNK Radio.

An event like this is not possible without the help of a wonderful volunteer staff: Jack and Doris O’Neil, Sam and Ann Johnson, Wick Moses, Brad Zeigel, Sherrie Hall, Debra Burleigh, Bob Lucas, Jenny Tempest, Penny Ridley, Katherine Marshall, Dick Wells, Marge Fales, Elliot Norquist and Don Gunther. My all-star trail crew, Megan Larsen and Molly Fales, made sure the course was groomed and marked.

This year’s event raised approximately $5,500 for trail grooming at Spring Gulch. In case you didn’t know, Spring Gulch is located about seven miles above Carbondale, past the Crystal Springs and Perry ranches. It is a nonprofit nordic trail system operated by the Mount Sopris Nordic Council, a 501 (c ) (3). Skier membership is our most important source of funding. It is never too late to join the Mount Sopris Nordic Council: $35 individual, $60 family, $100 Patron, $250 Pacesetter.

Visit our website: www.springgulch.org or call me at 963-9524.

Greg Fitzpatrick Mount Sopris Nordic Council Board Member Ski for SISU Event Coordinator

Dear Editor: Congratulations on your launch of a new Carbondale newspaper; may it live long and prosper. I suspect that it will be a treat to once again have a paper run by people who live in, and care about, Carbondale and the lower valley.

And thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping Jeannie Perry from the obscurity she so richly doesn't deserve.

Bill Gray No Name

Sunny thoughts from Maui

Dear Editor: As a former Bonedaler, the loss of The Valley Journal was a shock and a memory jogger. When I heard of the birth of the Sopris Sun, I could hardly imagine that a replacement could EVER live up the sense of community that the VJ fostered. I was wrong! You folks have done an admirable job and mahalo for providing a link to my old haunts.

Aloha and A Hui Ho! Dave Michaelson Maui, Hawaii

Where dreams happen

Dear Editor: My heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended my hometown book signing for Creative Awakenings at CCAH on First Fridays this month. The community painting party was everything we could have hoped for, and your creative contributions made the event come alive!

The first writing left on the wall was "Art is Fun!" Yes, it is, and the walls were positively awash with colorful inventive inspirations. And to my town, friends and loved ones who came out to cheer me on and help me celebrate this amazing moment … I will be forever grateful.

Thank you to Nelson and Julie Oldham and Dos Gringos, who provided a delicious and beautiful spread. To Ro Mead, the staff and board of Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities, your encouragement, support and grants to me over these 20 years, is a huge part of how this moment came to be.

As I say in the dedication of the book, “This is a place where we make our dreams happen. I am grateful every day to be in our amazing community.” Keep on rockin' Bonedale!

Sheri Gaynor Carbondale MORE LETTERS on page 14

Homesteader house is part of development proposal

By Trina Ortega The Town of Carbondale stands to gain what is described as a “turn-key museum” — the house of one of Carbondale’s first homesteading families — as part of the Thompson Park development under consideration by the Planning & Zoning Commission Thursday night.

Developer Frieda Wallison is asking for special consideration from the town.

First, she wants the flexibility to build anywhere from 30 to 100 units on her 10.2-acre parcel, across Highway 133 from the Weant Boulevard intersection.

And second, she wants the town to give her open space credit for the building.

P&Z will continue the public hearing on the proposal, which includes annexation and rezoning, this Thursday.

The initial proposal, which sketched out only a high-density residential neighborhood, has come a long way, according to Town Planner Janet Buck.

“Over time, this has evolved into an interesting subdivision,” Buck said.

Since the public hearing process began in September 2008, the P&Z, town staff and Wallison have come to agree that lower density zoning in some portions of the development is more appropriate. This includes the section along the southern portion of the development bordering River Valley Ranch, according to Buck. The development would transition to higher density units as it nears Highway 133.

Buck said the gap in range of 30 to 100 units is large because “the developer wants to maintain flexibility to react to market conditions” as the project is built on a phased schedule. Changes could include adding more condos or smaller units, for example. However, the town and P&Z will review each phase, Buck said.

If there are 30 units in the development, it would amount to roughly three units per acre, making it among the least dense neighborhoods in Carbondale. In the 100-unit scenario, it amounts to

The Thompson House. Photo submitted by Janet Buck roughly 10 units per acre, ranking it somewhere in the middle.

In comparison, Garfield Apartments (with 35 units per acre) and Carbondale South (17 units per acre) are on the dense end. Old Town (7 units per acre) and Hendrick Ranch multi-family area (9 units per acre) are on the lower end.

The nearby new Keator Grove has a total of 52 units, amounting to 9 units per acre.

Horses graze in the fields adjacent to the Thompson property, which forms a “U” around other private property.

From Triangle Park and the River Valley Ranch to the south and southeast, the Thompson Park land stretches along an irrigation canal and the boundary is dotted with the rusty skeletons of historic farming tractors and ploughs. Standing out are two rosy brick houses: the historic Thompson residence and the nearby carriage house.

Lew Ron Thompson, who will continue to live on a parcel in the neighborhood, said his great aunt Hattie Thompson lived in the historic house at the turn of the 20th century. His greatgrandfather, Myron Thompson, is said to be the first white settler in the Crystal

River Valley.

The house has been called a historical treasure that will connect Carbondale to its agricultural roots.

“I’m hoping that P&Z will do this,” Thompson told the Sun. “For the community to have something that can preserve our history … hopefully they won’t pass this opportunity up.”

Wallison’s company, Cerise Park LLC, has purchased the Thompson house. As part of the development proposal, Wallison wants to deed the house and surrounding lawn and garden over to the town and is requesting that the .84 acres meet a portion of or all of the requirement for open space. Town code calls for 15 percent of the development to be open space (or fees in lieu of park land). In the case of Thompson Park, that would equal 1.53 acres.

In the staff report, Buck recommends that the town accept the deed and furthermore consider designating the house as a local landmark because it presents a “compelling insight” into the first 50 years of life in Carbondale.

The land and house are part of a 20acre area generally called the “County Island” because it is in Garfield County,

surrounded by the Town of Carbondale but not zoned part of the town. Buck said there are no regulations in the county that prohibit the house from getting demolished but is optimistic that the developer has an interest in preserving the house.

The property sale did not include the furnishings inside of the historic house, and the Thompson heirs are now negotiating with the Mount Sopris Historical Society to take over ownership of the furnishings.

“I feel pretty sure that everybody on Town Council knows this is a treasure.

It’s really incredible,” said historical society secretary Linda Romero Criswell, who toured the house more than a year ago. “Except for maybe the Molly Brown house in Denver, I don’t think there’s a house like this in Colorado. …

It’s like being in the Twilight Zone. It is so, so moving. You physically get taken back in time.”

According to Buck, the town officials have stated they recognize the value in owning what Thompson described as a “turn-key museum.” Although the house would not cost the town anything, maintenance would, so P&Z and town officials are weighing the fiscal implications of future ownership.

As far as the annexation itself goes, Buck does not anticipate any red flags moving through P&Z, especially since the development complies with the Town Comprehensive Plan and is so close to the downtown core.

The P&Z meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Thursday and also will be aired on Channel 12.

The Next Step Planning & Zoning Meeting 7 p.m. Feb. 26 • Town Hall Public hearing continues on the Thompson Park development, which calls for 30 to 100 residential units on 10 acres on south Highway 133. This meeting will be aired on Channel 12.

Carbondale scrambles to keep up with cardboard recycling

By Sue Melus Community Correspondent Just three months into Carbondale’s new residential paperboard recycling program, the collection bin overflows with success — literally. Located at the Public Works lot behind GJ Pipe and next to Dos Gringos Burritos, the recycling bin was to be emptied weekly. So far, the town has scheduled pick-ups at least twice a week, twice as frequently as originally budgeted.

The town is pleased with the success of the recycling program, but according to Public Works official Ellie Kennedy, it was intended as an added courtesy for Carbondale residents and not as a recycling drop-off for commercial busi-

nesses. The town commended businesses for their interest in recycling, but maintained that they don’t have the infrastructure or the funds to handle commercial loads.

Carbondale is paying out of pocket for the cardboard recycling service, and unlike Pitkin County, Carbondale doesn’t recoup any of the costs associated with the recycling because it doesn’t have a buyer for the materials.

Without a buyer for the materials, Carbondale Public Works found an alternative with locally owned and operated Caca Loco, a business that turns paper products and sanitation waste into rich, organic compost. Carbondale drops off the paperboard at Caca Loco’s

collection site at the South Canyon Landfill. It is then composted and resold to farmers, gardeners and landscapers who use it to amend their existing soil.

The composting process accepts more types of paperboard than usually is accepted at recycling centers. Caca Loco can work with any kind of paperboard that is biodegradable including phonebooks, magazines, office paper, paper bags, and even wax-coated food containers. The only type it can’t compost is plastic coated paper.

Until Carbondale finds a commercially viable recycling solution, businesses wishing to recycle have a few options. According to Doug Oliver, landfill superintendant at South Canyon,

Carbondale businesses can either haul their cardboard to the Pitkin County landfill where it will be recycled into new cardboard products or they can bring it to the South Canyon landfill in Glenwood Springs where it will be composted by Caca Loco. Businesses wishing to have a service pick up their cardboard can contract with Waste Solutions for a cardboard recycling dumpster.

Waste Solutions will take it to South Canyon to be composted. Interested businesses can team with other businesses for a shared cardboard recycling dumpster.

Carbondale residents can access the cardboard collection bin at the Public Works building 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 3

Carbondale Community Food Co-op distance from Carbondale-area ranches, and in summer, 80 percent of the co-op’s produce is from the region, according to Perreault.

Even in winter, the store’s produce section is colored with true red tomatoes, bright yellow squash, pink curvy sweet potatoes, shapely butternut squash, light green pears, and more.

Bite into one of the Asian pears from Paonia, with its crisp but tender skin, and it bursts with an intense flavor as sweet as candy. It’s as though you walked off the front porch and picked the fruit right off a tree in your own yard.

Buying the fresh fruits and veggies from the co-op may not be that close to the front door but it’s the next best thing, and members agree that supporting local farmers and ranchers is an added benefit.

“I have to support the store because they work so hard to try to support local agriculture. We can’t live without farmers. We can live without a lot of stuff but we can’t live without farmers,” said customer Iris Anda of Carbondale.

Anda is a working member — she paid $250 for a family membership and also volunteers weekly at the co-op.

Based on her hours worked, she receives a 25 percent discount in return.

Membership sets a cooperative apart from a regular grocer. Families and individuals can purchase member shares at $250 or $200, respectively. Member shares are lifetime and can be sold back to the co-op. With membership comes a $20 in-store credit, monthly specials, a vote and voice in all issues, the monthly newsletter, and special orders in the “Buyer’s Club” that entitles a person to also order items by the case.

But membership is not required to shop at the co-op. It’s open to any and all looking for fresh, organic, locally grown foods, bulk grains and cereals, general grocery items and organic dietary supplements.

Cost-effective shopping Anda said that while some products are more expensive at the co-op, many items are not. Avocados selling for $1.99 recently at a chain grocery store cost $1.39 at the co-op. Furthermore, her working member discount and the costeffective quality bulk items make for “a great deal.”

The 25 or so bulk bins are filled with

Industry Place connection may cost $2 million

By Jeremy Heimen Sopris Sun Reporter For some time, Carbondale officials have discussed connecting Industry Place with Eighth Street to create an additional connection from Highway 133 to downtown.

Industry Place is appropriately named, a dead end street that serves a light industrial neighborhood just to the south of La Fontana Plaza. RFTA’s Bus Maintenance Facility is at the east end of the street.

If Industry Place were extended to the east, it would open into Eighth Street nearly opposite Merrill Avenue, allowing traffic continuity into the east side of town. Officials hope that the availability of an alternate route would disperse traffic that is now concentrated on Colorado Avenue, Main Street and Eighth Street.

The engineering firm Schmueser Gor-

don Meyer, hired by the town to study the matter, has drafted two alternative routes, one punching through RFTA’s property and the other skirting the edge of the bus agency’s parcel. In last Tuesday’s special meeting of the Carbondale Board of Trustees, the board did not prefer one alignment over the other.

Town Manager Tom Baker said RFTA, which is currently master planning the use of its Carbondale property, will most likely have some important input on which alignment is chosen.

Baker said the cost of constructing the connection is likely to be about $2 million, with land acquisition costs adding to the total. He said the board will discuss the matter again in about a month to start to pin down a schedule for the work.

“We need that collector from 133 to downtown,” Baker said.

4 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

continued from page 1

everything from grains and nuts to cereals and sweets. Employees and members recently were overheard raving about the new chocolate-covered pretzels. The red quinoa, not available elsewhere, is a score for Anda, who cooks from scratch and doesn’t need the multitude of processed and pre-packaged foods sold at large grocery stores.

Although the bottom line is important for many, the green line is more crucial. In addition to purchasing local produce, poultry and meats, the bulk items reduce packaging, and the store does not offer bags. (So remember to BYOB.) “We’re OK with not offering all of the conveniences because we want people to retrain their thinking about the environment,” said founding board member Tessa Munson Wood. The Colorado Health Department recognized the co-op’s green efforts in 2008 with an environmental leadership award.

Finally, another factor in the co-op’s success story is that it doesn’t overlap on merchandise sold at City Market, Wood said.

“We try to complement City Market as best we can. It’s hard to compete with City Market prices,” she added. Safecatch tuna, Kombucha probiotic bever-

ages, the popular Coconut Bliss nondairy frozen dessert, and homeopathic remedies with barely pronounceable names can be found in the shop. A juice bar and fresh-brewed coffee add to the offerings.

Across the board, shoppers like the community atmosphere at the shop that’s only a little bigger than the typical master suite at River Valley Ranch.

“It’s upbeat, very social. We see a lot of local people come in and out of these doors weekly and daily,” Perreault said.

Anda, whose career keeps her at home alone, also appreciates the co-op for its social benefits. “When I’m working there. The store has such a nice community feeling. It has such a nice energy to it,” she said.

Store hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

Healthy living Carbondale Community Food Co-op Location: 559 Main St. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays Membership info: 963-1375 or www.carbondalecommunityfoodcoop.org

Community spirit shines in support of Spring Gulch

By Jeremy Heiman Sopris Sun reporter Every winter on the first Sunday in February for the past 17 years, the Mount Sopris Nordic Council has held the skiathon “Ski for Sisu” to raise funds for the council’s Spring Gulch cross country ski area southwest of Carbondale. “Sisu” is a word the Finns use to denote determination, perseverance and strength of will in the face of adversity.

Sisu is the ability to get things done.

The Nordic Council is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization with membership open to the public. It operates the ski area on the honor system and does not charge admission. The down side of that arrangement is that some users never join.

“We’re very much like a public radio station — there are always more users than members,” said Nordic Council board member Greg Fitzpatrick. “New members are always welcome.”

The organization is governed by a board selected from among the members. One board member is selected to manage the ski area, and usually does so for a period of about six years.

“You’ve got a pretty sustainable institution,” Fitzpatrick said. “People pass the torch.”

Wick Moses, a board member who passed the torch to Fitzpatrick two years

Top left: Snow angels Megan Larsen and Molly Fales know how to roll the track.

Above: Two fundraisers make laps on the course at Spring Gulch.

At left: Ski for Sisu volunteers Greg Fitzpatrick (kneeling); left to right are Jack O’neill, Sherrie Hall, Doris O’Neil, Elliott Norquist, Megan Larsen and Molly Fales.

Photos by Jim Ryan

ago, managed Ski for Sisu for six years.

Reminiscing while recording the distance skied by skiathon participants on February 1, Moses discussed the founding of Spring Gulch.

He attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School in the 1960s and trained as a cross country skier. The school’s teachers took the students to Marion Gulch, north of Spring Gulch, where they used their skis to set a figure-8 track on old mine roads.

When Moses returned to Carbondale

after college, snowmobilers had begun using Marion Gulch, and cross country skiing there was pretty much out of the question.

Chris Landry, another CRMS alumnus, had an epiphany during a summer bike ride on the Thompson Creek road, Moses said. It occurred to Landry that the hills above Spring Gulch would make an excellent ski touring area. The North Thompson Cattlemen’s Association owns the Spring Gulch area and runs cattle there in the warm months,

but in the winter, the hills have always been abandoned to the magpies and the winter winds that swirl over the ridge from Fourmile and Baylor Park to the west.

Landry joined with Paul Lappala to approach the Cattlemen’s Association and arrived at an agreement to use the Spring Gulch area during the snowy months.

Ski for Sisu

On February 1, the sunshine was intense, a stark contrast to the weather at last year’s skiathon, which was run under a grim sky, in falling snow and persistent winds. As this year’s Ski for Sisu event continued into the afternoon, a breeze rose from the north, chilling the race volunteers a bit, but the sun remained warm throughout the day.

SPRING GULCH on page 14

THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 5

Scuttlebutt Bravo’s makeshift mess hall Local Chef Jimmy Nadell and Bravo Fine Catering were hired by The Food Network to set up a kitchen at the base of the 2009 X-Games for an episode of “Dinner Impossible.” The show places celebrity chefs in impossible situations and asks them to prepare fine gourmet meals on a moment’s notice. Nadell rented a half-semi and took most of the equipment out of the Bravo kitchen, converted it to propane and set up the stage kitchen at the base of the slopes in late January. The Food Network’s celebrity chef, Robert Irvine, took it from there.

On that episode, Irvine had to create a meal with 40 pounds of fresh Rocky Mountain Oysters. The episode airs at 10 p.m. EST April 8.

Just a “normal” guy

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This week KDNK got a special visit from National Public Radio reporter Jeff Brady, who is working on stories related to the Western Slope. KDNK’s news director, Conrad Wilson, said Brady dropped into the station after doing an interview in Carbondale. Wilson was impressed with how “normal” Brady seemed, saying: “It’s nice to know that there are normal people who work there, not just these intense human beings who ride on the front of tanks” to get their stories.

Making (air)waves

Speaking of public radio … Sopris Sun editor Trina Ortega was interviewed for a story by KDNK’s Conrad Wilson. Wilson then contacted Colorado Public Radio station KCFR in Denver to pitch the story of a small-town community that is going against the grain to launch a newspaper during a recession. The interview with KCFR reporter Ryan Warner went just swell, and the story will air on the daily interview show “Colorado Matters.”

Subscription blues

The Sun has been in demand on other fronts, too. The newspaper’s one subscriber, longtime Bonedalian and now part-timer Chris Chacos, made a call last week to Valley View Hospital, wading through the hospital’s phone system to track down Managing Board Member Becky Young to let her know he had not received his latest issue of the Sun. Laurie Loeb has volunteered to mail Chris his paper in Arizona every week, so our subscription base is still intact.

Said too much

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6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

Meanwhile, Sopris Sun board members recently gathered at the Village Smithy to celebrate the new rag and talk business.

Recognizing some of the players, former trustee John Foulkrod came over to let the board know his thoughts about the paper: “It’s too wordy.”

To the ends of the earth It took them 20 months and four days (613 days total) to ride 17,794 miles

from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, but Carbondale bikers Ralph and Pat Wanner have succeeded in pedaling from the tip-top of North America to the very bottom. Ralph and Pat’s epic ride began in June 2007 and they reached Ushuaia, the southernmost city in world on February 11. Pat held true to her promise made in Creel, Mexico – she truly did follow Ralph to the “end of the earth.”

Shutter bug credit

The Sun’s favorite sports photo journalist, Jim Ryan — who has been snapping photos of the Lady Rams on their winning basketball streak — took last week’s back page photo of Maria Flores shooting a basket. No, this is not the answer to a Guess-Who-Took-The-Photo Contest, it’s just our way of saying we’re sorry for inadvertently omitting the photo credit. Jim’s photos of the Nordic Council’s Ski for Sisu event are featured this week on page 5, and more sports shots are on the back page.

It’s in the bag

Chris Carnevale of Carbondale’s Community Office for Resource Efficiency dropped a line to say that Basalt, Snowmass Village and Aspen are among the 26 mountain towns in the Western United States collaborating on a voluntary initiative to reduce consumption of singleuse, disposable shopping bags. Beginning March 1, participating towns will be responsible for tallying the use of every reusable bag used or purchased by a customer at checkout. The winning town receives a $5,000 grant to install a solar panel system at a public school.

Keeping beat

Congratulations to the Carbondale students selected for the District Eight Honor Jazz Band, sponsored by Jazz Aspen Snowmass. The fifth annual workshops with intensive jazz training will take place February 27-28 with more than 50 teenage jazz musicians. Student participants represent 24 middle and high schools in western Colorado. Tim Fox of Carbondale, a freelance musician and member of the Mesa State Faculty Jazz Quartet, is among the faculty members. The local high school musicians are Sarah Rosenthal (RFHS, alto sax) and Laura Nelson (RFHS, trumpet). Middle school musicians include Travis Provost (CMS, alto sax); Logan Sabo (CMS, tenor sax); Dakotah Grett (CMS, trumpet); Tessa Ebert (Waldorf, trumpet); Angel Cruz (CMS, trumpet); and Hattie Gianinetti (CMS, piano). The students and faculty will present a free concert at 5 p.m. February 28 at Glenwood Springs High School.

What’s going on in your world?

Email news@soprissun.com today to let us know about new babies, accomplishments, anniversaries and all of the scuttlebutt that makes up Carbondale.

Town signs solar electric contract for Third Street Center

By Jeremy Heiman Sopris Sun reporter Carbondale has entered into a contract with a company that will build and operate a solar electric system on the roof of the former Carbondale Elementary School, now being remodeled to house a number of nonprofit organizations.

The agreement is similar to a contract Carbondale has with the same company, RC Energy Carbondale, LLC, a subsidiary of Rockwell Financial Group of Centennial, Colo., to operate the solar electric system on the Carbondale Community and Recreation Center next to Town Hall. Except in this case the town has assigned the contract to the Third Street Center as an amendment to the lease of the former school building.

The Third Street Center has agreed to purchase the electric power generated by the solar panels, which will be owned by RC throughout a seven-year contract, after which the Third Street Center or the town may purchase the solar array.

The electricity produced by the system is expected to supply about a quarter of the needs of the building, once fully occupied, depending on the needs of the tenants.

The town leases the former elementary school building to a nonprofit cor-

poration called Carbondale Community Nonprofit Center, which is operating the facility under the name Third Street Center.

The Carbondale-based Sol Energy will install the solar panels on the roof of the building. Owner Ken Olson said the solar electric system will consist of 264 panels, each measuring about 3 feet by 5 1/2 feet. Conergy, a company located in Santa Fe, N.M., will supply the panels. Each panel has an output of 200 watts.

The installation work will begin when asbestos abatement work on the building is completed, Olson said.

“We expect we’re going to be up there the first week in March,” he said.

“The project will be totally finished by June 1.”

On a sunny day, the solar electric installation is expected to produce 52.8 kilowatts, almost the same amount as the array on the Carbondale Recreation Center. Over its first year in operation, estimates are that the installation will produce 75,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power.

The Third Street Center will purchase the energy produced by the solar installation during the first year of operation at 7.75 cents per kWh. The price, under the contract, will gradually increase, until in the seventh year of the contract,

the operator will get 8.73 cents per kWh. RC Energy Carbondale is involved, Olson explained, because of tax benefits and utility rebates it will receive due to the arrangement. Towns (and nonprofits) don’t pay taxes, so they don’t get tax advantages, he pointed out.

The company will get an investment tax credit equal to 30 percent of the value of the system from the federal government. RC will also get a rebate from Xcel Energy, the local utility, of two dollars per watt, and a renewable energy credit, or REC, also from Xcel, at a rate of 14.5 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced.

The town of Carbondale would not get the investment tax credit benefits if it were the investor in the solar setup, and so the system would be more costly without RC. When the seven-year contract has run its course, the Third Street Center or the town of Carbondale have the option to buy the system for a depreciated value, estimated to be about $150,000. The system would continue to produce electric power and the future owner would receive the benefit of the renewable energy credit from Xcel. The useful life of the solar panels is estimated to be 25 years or more, with little or no mainte-

nance required.

One issue as yet not settled is whether the town will waive sales tax on the solar panels, said Town Manager Tom Baker. This is expected to be resolved through discussions in the near future, he said.

THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 7

Journeys in Health Stress … It’s a choice As I look around me these days, it is apparent that many people are stressed about a variety of things, so it seems very timely to address the topic.

Let’s start with what I know to be true. Peace and feeling good are our natural states of being. Our bodies have a natural or neutral state (homeostasis) that our DNA is designed to always maintain or return to, and in that natural state, we experience peace and we feel good. We are, in fact, hard wired for peace and feeling good.

If this is so, what is the stress that so many of us feel and what causes it? Stress is anything that disturbs your natural state of peace in a negative way. There are a lot of things that can disturb your peace, some of which are healthy and support life, and some that do not. I like to focus on the ones that support health and human flourishing.

Let’s start with some beliefs about stress that many peoby Sandy Hargrave ple hold as the “truth.” The first one is that stress is just a part of life and there is nothing you can do about it except try to manage it. The next belief is that stress comes from the outside and happens to us, and is on some level out of our control. Work, family and money are big stressors for many, and in current times, the state of our economy has compounded these.

Generally speaking, if you buy into the Outside/In concept, then it seems only natural to manipulate your outer reality as a way of reducing or eliminating stress.

Some of the common ways people try to make themselves feel better by manipulating their outside circumstances is to change jobs, move, change relationships, and self-medicate with drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and food. These things may seem to reduce stress, but in reality they sabotage health and well-being.

Moving into the stress response is not a given like many people believe. Remember, our natural state of being is one of peace, and we always have the option of remaining in that state of peace no matter what is going on around us.

One of our greatest freedoms — as Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist discovered when he was a prisoner of war during WWII — is our freedom of choice.

He realized the one thing the Nazis could never take from him was his freedom to choose his response. Frankl said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space.

In the space is the power to choose your response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” In our response to perceived stressors lies our health and wellbeing.

An “event” is just an event until we place a value judgment on it, so in essence, it is an “inside job.” Without the value judgment the event has no effect on us so our peace is not disturbed. If we judge the event to be negative then that thought alone, starts us down the road to generating stress inside of ourselves. It starts and ends with our thoughts. Every thought we think, whether positive or negative, sets off a chain reaction in our body making us feel good or making us feel stressed.

In the end, it’s about choice, our choice of how we want to feel, and it is our responsibility or our ability to respond to any situation that supports us remaining in peace or moving into stress. We all have the power to choose a conscious response. Ask yourself, how do you want to feel? How will you use your space between stimulus and response? What will you choose?

Sandy Hargrave is the founder of Journey to Wholeness Life Skills Education and Counseling. She is a trained spiritual psychologist, transformational speaker and passion test facilitator, who works with individuals, couples and groups to experience full rich lives at the authentic-self level.

8 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

Yoga for cancer patients

Valley View Hospital Integrated Therapies offers free yoga classes for cancer patients. The series of six- and seven-week courses runs March 4 through April 15.

The classes are “Relax and Renew,” from 4-5 p.m. Mondays, designed for oncology patients currently in treatment or those who have completed treatment and are seeking tools that allow the body’s nervous system to de-stress. This form of active rest B has an extremely healing effect. The class “Vibrant Health” will be from 11:30 a.m. t to 12:45 p.m. and is a “survivors" class utilizing breath work, asana (postures) and t visualization/relaxation to begin to bring a vital energy back to the body. Open to a all who feel physically able to begin using inner core power to build strength, balance and stamina. Included will be some discussion on nutrition for cancer survivors and the ancient art of Ayuervada. To register, contact Valley View Integrated Therapies at 384-6954.

L

Stop smoking series Is there a better time than now to stop smoking? Valley View Hospital offers a smoking cessation series scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m. March 2; from 6-7:30 p.m.

March 9; and from 6-7 p.m. March 11. Participants must attend all three classes.

The cost is $45. Classes will be held at Valley View Hospital. Call 384-7555 to reserve your attendance.

Parents’ workshop offered The Roaring Fork Family Resource Centers presents “Love and Logic for Parents,” a six-week workshop taught by Janet Earley. The classes will be from 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays at The Bridges Center, March 10 through April 21.

Love and Logic provides simple and practical techniques to help teachers and parents have less stress and more fun while raising responsible kids. The workshop offers useful techniques that teachers and parents can begin using immediately.

The series is $30 for families within the Roaring Fork School District and $100 for those without children in the RFSD. Child care is $30 per family for the series.

Space is limited to 16 participants, and registration is required. Call 384-5689 or email kjmarshall@rfsd.k12.co.us to sign up.

Community Briefs

Library launches Big Read

Film festival aids women’s groups

Garfield County Library District is one of 189 communities participating in The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. This year’s selection is Dashiell Hammett’s 1929 mystery “The Maltese Falcon,” and loaner copies are available at the Gordon Cooper Library and other Garfield libraries.

Gordon Cooper will host a number of events, including the WhoDunIt Mystery Scavenger Hunt beginning March 1; the “Adventures of Sam Spade” on KDNK March 2-6; a Book Talk and film at Crystal Meadows at 1 p.m. March 5; Mystery Puppet Show at 10:30 a.m.

March 11; Literary Night with Thunder River Theatre Company at 6 p.m. March 22; All Book Club Night at 6 p.m. April 2.

The hunt is on in Carbondale for the priceless statue of a falcon that is at the heart of Hammett’s classic mystery. Keep your eyes peeled each week, because the bird will move from location to location five times beginning the week of March 1. Upon spotting the falcon, fill out the simple form at the Gordon Cooper Library to report the location of the falcon.

A winner will be drawn each Saturday for gift certificates to Village Smithy, Sounds Easy, Ace Hardware, Pour House and City Market.

For further information on the Big Read events, go to your local Garfield County Library or find them online at www.garfieldlibraries.org.

Stroller Strides will present LUNAFEST, the fundraising film festival dedicated to promoting awareness about women’s issues, highlighting women filmmakers, and bringing women together in their communities, on March 21 at The Barn at Colorado Rocky Mountain School.

The film festival highlights women as leaders in society, illustrated through 10 short films by women filmmakers. The films range from animation to fictional drama, and cover topics such as women’s health, motherhood, body image, sexuality, cultural diversity, and breaking barriers.

Proceeds from LUNAFEST will benefit the Breast Cancer Fund and Advocate Safehouse Project. Stoller Strides and LUNA, share the common goal to help local and national charitable causes. Last year’s LUNAFEST/Carbondale raised more than $8,000 for the Advocate Safehouse Project and the Breast Cancer Fund.

The event includes a Pre-Event Reception/Evening Show at 6 p.m. March 21 (advance tickets only) and a 4 p.m. matinee and 7 p.m. evening showing of the films.

General admission is $15 for the Pre-Event ($20 at door); Evening Show with Reception is $30 (advanced purchase only). Tickets are available through Advocate Safehouse Project by calling 945-2632, ext.104.

Rotary scholarships available The Carbondale Rotary Club is seeking Roaring Fork Valley college students, graduate students and working professionals to apply for scholarships in the Rotary International Scholarship program. These educational programs are dedicated to promoting international understanding by bringing together people from different countries and cultures. Individuals may apply for Ambassadorial, Cultural or World Peace scholarships that allow the students to study at a foreign university.

The Rotary Foundation Scholarships is the world’s largest privately funded scholarship program, granting $5,000,000 to 40,000 students over the past 60 years.

The application deadline is March 30. To learn more or to apply, visit www.rotary.org and click on Student and Youth and then Educational Programs. Applicants may also call Charlotte Vanderhurst at 963-2379.

Computer workshop for kids Computers for Kids (C4K) offers the “Build Your Own” interactive workshop for elementary through high school students and their parents who need a computer at home to support their education. At Build Your Own, participants receive an introduction to computers, taught by our own staff of Student Technicians. Students will build their own computer from a kit prepared by C4K for the workshop, and participating families are eligible for low-cost Internet access. The workshop includes one flash drive per participant, refurbishment and a C4K T-shirt for all graduates. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend the workshops, which cost $30 per student and an additional $20 fee per sibling. To sign up for a BYO, call 963-7259.

CMS highlights student work Carbondale Middle School will hold a Student EXPO on March 4 to highlight student projects and performances. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and activities begin at 6 p.m. The EXPO is intended to create positive energy for students, staff and community and generate opportunities of meaningful discussions about academic content and performance. There will be coffee, treats, and door prizes. Come meet the faculty, staff and students.

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26 S. 3rd Street • Carbondale • 963-9990

THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 9

Gaynor’s ‘Creative’ book takes wing, encourages women to fly

by Jessi Rochel Community Corresponsdent “What in your life is calling you?”

After hearing that question, local artist and recently published author Sheri Gaynor knew the answer. “I was terrified. But I also knew I couldn’t live an inauthentic life,” she said.

Gaynor’s epiphany came during a 12-month sabbatical with her husband. The pair toured the country in an RV, spending the first six months with family members and the rest of the trip blowing with the wind across 25 states.

“The trip transformed everything. It allowed me to step in and stand as my authentic feisty self.”

When Gaynor returned home, she founded Feisty Females Coaching and Consulting, a company that strives to “help women step boldly in the direction of their dreams,” through creative workshops, individual projects or just talking.

She tells her clients: “You’re here to make a mess and there are no rules. Anything goes.”

Gaynor can divide her life into thirds. She is a native New Yorker, having lived

Mountain Fair applications now available

Applications for the 38th Carbondale Mountain Fair Arts and Crafts and Food booths are available now at carbondalearts.com. The Carbondale Mountain Fair will be held on July 24-26 in Sopris Park. The fair attracts more than 20,000 people throughout the three days to enjoy the over 125 arts booths, international food and lots of entertainment.

The Mountain Fair is a juried show. Artists must produce their own work and cannot have more than three employees. Original and unique arts and crafts are preferred. Deadline for submittal is March 6.

Many nonprofits and local restaurants raise money by selling food during the Mountain Fair. Easy, healthy fare is usually the best. The Mountain Fair is a green event, composting and recycling most of its waste. Deadline for food applications is April 17.

For more information call CCAH at 963.1680 or go to www.carbondalearts.com

10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

there for her first 16 years. Then she relocated to Florida, where she was a “fish out of water — or rather a mountain girl in the water,” for 15 years. She has spent the last 20 years as a resident of the Roaring Fork Valley.

A lifelong artist, Gaynor has known her calling from the beginning. “I always wanted to be an artist,” she said. However, Gaynor struggled with drawing due to spatial dyslexia. Then she found photography. “Photography was a way to express what’s inside me without having to draw it.”

Gaynor’s specialty is digital collage, telling narrative stories through mixed media. She uses layers of paint and layers of paper to allow the story to unfold.

“I’ve always been a storyteller and story collector. But I’m not just an observer. I’m a participant,” she said. Which leads to Gaynor’s recently published book, Creative Awakenings: Envisioning the Life of Your Dreams Through Art. Gaynor’s book was a three-year process and culminated in a collaborative effort by 11 other nationally-recognized artists. The artists utilized Gaynor’s EnVision Art of Intention process, creating some sort of artwork and writing a correlating essay to describe their experiences.

When asked how she decided to publish the book, Gaynor replied: “I think the book decided for me. There was always a book somewhere.”

Gaynor launched her book last week during February’s First Friday at CCAH. She was on hand to sign her book, as well as take part in the second annual Community Painting Party. The party was packed last year and some of the participants even sold their work afterwards.

She is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, life coach and artist. In addition to these titles, Gaynor is also a telemark skier, wife of a blues musician, owner of a rescue dog named Blue and a traveler. “Travel opens us up in a way daily life doesn’t.”

“I really love what I do. I still struggle but it’s worth every moment. Especially when I see a woman put her wings on and fly,” she said. “We all have something to deal with, but there is potential beyond that. Ask yourself, ‘And then what?’ What is calling you?”

Todd Snider: A troubadour who tells it like it is

By Amy Kimberly Mountain Fair Director Todd Snider is an “all right guy.” Not only does he let us know that in his songs, but his storytelling, videos and web pages all confirm this.

A guy that has 732 fans on Facebook can’t be bad. Roaring Fork Valley residents can find out for themselves when KDNK brings Todd Snider to Carbondale for a benefit concert on Sunday, March 1.

“Todd Snider’s music has been a staple at KDNK since he began recording,” stated KDNK Music Director Luke Nestler. “He is a perfect fit for the Roaring Fork Valley and our independent radio station.”

Snider, himself, agrees: “I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for those types of stations. I don’t think I’d still have a gig that anyone would go to. Now I feel like I have friends all over the country.” That’s because Snider is a self-made musician. He is smitten with the vagabond life of man, his guitar and the open road.

Snider spoke on KDNK about his first realization that this was the life he wanted to lead. “I didn’t have a dad with a job set up for me. I didn’t go to college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and I loved music. I saw Jerry Jeff Walker, and he was singing about the kind of life I was leading. I went out and bought a guitar, learned a few chords and ever since then I had a strength,” he said.

He is a prolific artist, writing songs that capture everything from underage beer purchasing in his now-famous anthem, “Beer Run” to direct disgust at the practices of the former U.S. administration in his latest recording, “Peace Queer.” He does not write to push buttons. He writes to express his opinions. After all, Bob Dylan is his favorite musician.

Snider’s fan base ranges from high school students to 75-year-old cowboys. Coming out of the Grunge Period of the Northwest music scene, Snider still embodies a bit of that punk and rock skater boy image, but his lyrics are insightful. His storytelling embellishes every song with a laugh or two. Snider slips from a country tune to spoken word comfortably, taking the audience on a journey of modern life. His next recoding, due out in June, features famous Rolling Stone producer Don Was and a smokin’ duet with Loretta Lynn. In June he will share the Telluride bluegrass stage with Elvis Costello, Emmy Lou Harris and our usual bluegrass favorites.

“This is a great way to support community radio and see a performance that you won’t soon forget,” said KDNK Station Manager Steve Skinner.

After all, a guy who says his idea of perfect happiness is “a heaven full of dogs and beaches where everyone goes and no one dies” sounds like a show we can relate to.

Find out more about Todd Snider and his views on life and music at www.toddsnider.net.

‘An all right guy’ Who: Todd Snider, with opening act Jonny Burke What: Benefit concert for KDNK When: 7:30 p.m. March 1 Where: RFHS auditeria Tickets: Sounds Easy, Great Divide or KDNK (963-0139)

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THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 11

Community Calendar Events take place in Carbondale unless noted. To list your event, email information to news@soprissun.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursdays.

Daily Planner FEBRUARY 26 • MEETING The Trails Committee holds its regular monthly meeting at 8 a.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month at Town Hall.

FEBRUARY 26 • LEGISLATOR TALK State Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, will host a town hall style meeting to discuss happenings at the state Legislature and topics, such as the state budget and transportation from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center. Speaker of the House Terrance Carroll and Garfield County Commissioner Trési Houpt will attend, as well.

FEBRUARY 27 • ARTS DEADLINE The deadline for visual artists to apply to the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities’ Valley Visual Art Show is February 27. All mediums welcome to this non-juried exhibit. Call 963-1680 or visit www.carbondalearts.com for the application.

FEBRUARY 27 • FINE ART The group show “Extending Boundaries,” featuring the clay work of Carbondale’s Lea Tyler (among other valley artists), continues at the Aspen Chapel Gallery. Hours are 5-8 p.m.

FEBRUARY 26-28 • THEATER Thunder River Theatre Company and Aspen Stage present “Parallel Lives,” featuring Wendy Perkins and Peggy Mundinger and directed by Brad Moore, continuing February 26-28. Written by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy, “Parallel Lives” is a montage of scenes that depict various women and men and their response to the circumstances of their lives. All performances start promptly at 7:30 p.m., except the Sunday matinee, which starts at 2 p.m. Visit www.thunderrivertheatre.com for tickets and info.

FEBRUARY 27 • LIVE MUSIC Steve’s Guitars presents the Crowlin Ferlies at 8:30 p.m. February 27 at 19 N.

Fourth St. For more www.stevesguitars.net.

info,

visit

FEBRUARY 28 • MEMBER DRIVE KDNK begins its spring membership drive beginning February 28. The community-access radio station hopes to cut the drive by three days, so that means members must pony-up and new friends must join right away. Events include Women's Arm Rastlin’ at 10 p.m. February 28 at Phat Thai; Todd Snider concert March 1 at RFHS; live broadcasts throughout the week; Seuss-A-Palooza A celebration of Dr. Seuss from 6:30-8 p.m. March 4 at Steve's Guitars. Visit www.kdnk.org or call 963-0139.

FEBRUARY 28 • PARENTING CLASS The Parenting Through Divorce fourhour class is designed to equip parents with the skills to raise well-adjusted children, despite the challenges encountered through the process of divorce and beyond. The class will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. February 28 in Carbondale.

Call Tammy Perry at 379-5124 for further details.

FEBRUARY 28 • MEETING Sen. Al White and representatives from the Colorado Attorney General’s office will hold a community meeting at 2 p.m.

February 28 at the Colorado Mountain College West Garfield Campus, 3695 Airport Road, Rifle. This meeting is to address the continued disparity of gasoline prices in our valley compared with the rest of the state. Gas suppliers will be in attendance. Call 625-6902 for further information.

FEBRUARY 28 • LIVE MUSIC Storyhill will perform live at 8:30 p.m.

February 28 at Steve’s Guitars, 19 N. Fourth St. Featuring Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson, Storyhill is an acoustic/pop duo with sharp, observant songwriting and close, brother-like harmonies. For more about the band, visit www.storyhill.com.

12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

FEBRUARY 28 • JAZZ The public is invited to a free performance featuring the students and faculty of the District Eight Honor Jazz Band at 5 p.m. February 28 at Glenwood Springs High School. The honor jazz band includes students from 24 middle and high schools from Aspen, Carbondale, Eagle, Summit County, Steamboat Springs, Soroco, Granby and Leadville, who participate in two days of intensive jazz training with a faculty of professional musicians chosen by Jazz Aspen Snowmass. For more information, contact JAS at 920-4996 or visit www.jazz-aspen.org.

FEBRUARY 28 • BENEFIT The Roundup River Ranch Campaign for Laughter will hold an après ski event and presentation about the Roundup River Ranch, a camp in Dotsero for children with chronic or lifethreatening illnesses. The presentation will be at 4:30 p.m. at 289 Exhibition Lane, Aspen Highlands. RSVP by February 23 to Tiana Plath at 926-2448 or tiana@roundupriverranch.org.

MARCH 1 • LITTLE LEAGUE Tryouts for the Three Rivers Little League for ages 9-14 will be in early March. The season begins in April. Cost is $100. Pick up forms at Carbondale Middle School or Crystal River Elementary School.

Coach and umpire volunteers still needed.

Contact Laurel Lamont at 704-1933 for info and a Web site with the form.

MARCH 1 • BIG READ The Garfield County Libraries launches The Big Read with numerous events focusing on this year’s selection, “The Maltese Falcon”

by Dashiell Hammett. The Gordon Cooper Library will host the WhoDunIt Mystery Scavenger Hunt throughout the month. Beginning March 2, KDNK will host “The Adventures of Sam Spade.” There will be a book talk March 5, a Mystery Puppet Show March 11, a literary night at Thunder River Theatre Company on March 22, and an All-book Club Night on April 2 and a Black & White Gala on March 21 at the Hotel Colorado. For more information, visit www.garfieldlibraries.org.

MARCH 1 • FUNDING DEADLINE The deadline for organizations to apply for the 2009 Special Events and Projects Fund is March 1. Funds from the 2 percent lodging tax go toward a Special Events and Projects Fund to help support and “grow” local events and projects by attracting visitors to Carbondale both within and beyond the Roaring Fork Valley. Events/projects scheduled before June 2009 are eligible under the March 1 deadline. For events/projects scheduled between July and December 2009, applications are due July 1. For more information, call Andrea at 9631890 or email tourism@carbondale.com.

For the application and details, go to www.carbondale.com/sitepages/pid132.php.

MARCH 1 • SPEAKER SERIES The Church at Redstone will host a Winter Series presentation that documents the relationship between Redstone and a small mountain community in the Andes of Peru. This presentation will feature the most recent trip in October 2008, when six people from the Crystal Valley went to the orphanage, Casa del Aquila, with the primary goal of taking and installing a system to filter and chlorinate their domestic water.

That goal was accomplished and the team was also able to serve in a variety of ways. The presentation is at 7 p.m.

March 1 at the Church in Redstone.

MARCH 1 • LIVE MUSIC Folk Troubadour Todd Snider will play a concert for KDNK's membership drive at 7:30 p.m. March 1 at the Roaring

Fork High School. Call 963-0139 for more information.

MARCH 3 • LIVE MUSIC Tuesday Night Live Jazz is open to all who want to jam or enjoy the sounds of improvisational jazz. Sessions start at 8:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month at Steve’s Guitars, 19 N. Fourth St.

Further Out MARCH 4 • MEETING Prospective tenants can learn more about the Third Street Center (nonprofit center at the old Carbondale Elementary School) at noon on the first Thursday of every month. The next meeting is March 4. Location is 520 S. Third St., Carbondale. For general inquiries, call Sara Plesset, Land + Shelter, 963-0201.

MARCH 4 • LIVE MUSIC White House Pizza features live music every Wednesday night from 7-10 p.m.

MARCH 4 • CMS STUDENT EXPO Carbondale Middle School will hold a Student EXPO on March 4 to highlight student projects and performances.

Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and activities begin at 6 p.m. The EXPO is intended to create positive energy for students, staff and community and generate opportunities of meaningful discussions about academic content and performance.

There will be coffee, treats, and door prizes. Come meet the faculty, staff and students.

MARCH 5 • MEETING The Historic Preservation Commission will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 5 at Town Hall.

MARCH 6 • LIVE MUSIC The Redtones perform live at Steve’s Guitars. The concert begins at 8:30 p.m.

March 6 at 19 N. Fourth St.

MARCH 5 • GYMNASTICS Thunder River Gymnastics begins another session of kids’ classes that will run March 5 through April 30 at the Crystal River Elementary School gym.

Beginner class (ages 3-5) is 4:30-5:15 p.m. Thursdays and advanced beginners/intermediate (ages 6 and older) 5:15-6:15 p.m. Thursdays. Call 9487252 or email cmcnice@comcast.net for more information and to sign up.

MARCH 7 • LIVE MUSIC Guggenheim Grotto combines pop, folk, soaring melodies, haunting harmonies and emotionally intelligent lyrics. The group performs at 8:30 p.m. March 7 at Steve’s Guitars. For more about the artists, go to www.guggenheimgrotto.com.

MARCH 6 • LIVE PAINTING Majid Kahhak will paint live from 68 p.m. March 6 for First Fridays at Kahhak Fine Arts & School, 411 Main St. The painting will be inspired by St. Patrick's Day, and suggestions from spectators are welcome. Beverages and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

For more details, call 704-0622.

MARCH 6 • ARTS DEADLINE Applications for arts and crafts vendors for the Carbondale Mountain Fair, which will be July 24-26, are currently being accepted at the arts council office. The deadline to submit applications is March 6. The cost of an artist booth for Roaring Fork Valley residents who are members of CCAH is $100 per artist, plus 15% of sales or a flat fee of $350. The other option is to participate in a Local Artists' Gallery booth, which is a group of local artists who share a space and responsibilities (participants must be CCAH members). The entry fee is $25 per artist plus 15% of sales. Applications are available at the office or online at www.carbondalearts.com.

MARCH 6 • ART WALK First Fridays art walk takes place in downtown Carbondale. Galleries host openings, businesses stay open for extended hours and refreshments.

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MARCH 8 • MOVIES The Redstone Art Foundation presents free movie nights. Flicks begin at 7 p.m. in the Osgood Room. Open to the public. Scheduled movies are: “Frida,” March 8; and “Alfred Stieglitz: the Eloquent Eye,” March 22. For further details, call 963-1389.

MARCH 9 • MEETING The Town of Carbondale Tree Board meets at 6 p.m. March 9 at Town Hall.

MARCH 10 • MEETING The Carbondale Board of Trustees meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. The next regular meeting is 6:30 p.m. March 10 at Town Hall.

MARCH 11 • MEETING The Roaring Fork School District Board of Education will hold its regular bimonthly meeting at 4 p.m. March 11 at the District Office, 1405 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs. Meetings are held the second and fourth Wednesdays.

MARCH 11 • MEETING The Parks & Recreation Commission meets on the second Wednesday of the month. The next scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. March 11 at Town Hall.

MARCH 12 • WORKSHOP The Colorado Mountain College Sustainable Living Series is designed for people who have an interest in green living and want to learn more. To register, call 945-7486 or 963-2172. Upcoming workshop: • Dan Richardson, a senior consultant in clean energy solutions for Schmueser Gordon Meyer, will present “Investing in a Clean Energy Economy” from 6-9 p.m. March 12 at the Lappala Center.

“The learning cycle, Imagine, Create, Play, Share, Reflect” Michael Resnick, “Scratch” @ MIT

“Scratch” @ MIT is National Science Foundation funded, Microsoft supported, and one of the several courses now being taught for the new CMS Afterschool Program.

ACCESS ROARING FORK is collaborating to provide the first comprehensive, school-based after school program in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Please visit our website, www.accessrf.org or call us at 970-963-5646 for more information about our afterschool program and what it means for your children, regardless of the school they attend.

Plans are underway to expand our program and extend it to other valley schools. Join us now!

AFTERSCHOOL FOR ALL THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 13

Spring Gulch skiing the product of many volunteers By the end of the day, more than 90 skiers had gone out onto the meticulously groomed loops of 3.5 kilometersand 10 kilometers designated for the fundraiser. The total kilometers skied by participants, who ranged in ages 2 to 86, was 1,359. That amounted to 66,070 “kilometer years,” the number of kilometers skied multiplied by the skier’s age.

The amount raised was about $5,500, said event manager Fitzpatrick.

The concept of kilometer years was dreamed up by former Nordic Council board member Jack O’Neill as an age equalizer. O’Neill volunteered for this year’s Ski for Sisu, as he has every year but one since the fundraiser began.

“Anyone of any age will have a

Letters A Great Dance Party Dear Editor: The Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities thanks all who helped on the Mid Winter Mountain Fair on February 14. The Carbondale Rec Center was transformed into a great dance party venue. Elemenopee and Bumpus kept the floor jumping and The Bubble provided lots of conversation and lounging.

A special thanks goes to: Main Street Liquors, Liquid and Lux, Seth Neacamp, The Town of Carbondale, KDNK, Mac and Monk, New Belgium Beer, Halcyon Sound and Lights who put on a fantastic light show, KSPN, Dos Gringos, Todd and Holly Gresset and all the volunteers that made the Mountain Fair spirit seep into our winter bones.

It is important to remember that a great way to keep our nonprofits afloat in these economic times is to support their events. If everybody gives a little, our community organizations stay strong, plus a good time will be had.

CCAH provides arts programming in our schools, supports artists through the CCAH Gallery Space on Main Street, as well as created First Fridays and the Valley Visual Art Show. Other CCAH gems include the Carbondale Mountain Fair, the Summer of Music free concert series and a continuing humanities series.

Coming up in March is the first “Green is the New Black” fashion extravaganza.

We hope to see you there!

Ro Mead, Amy Kimberly and Holly Gresset

14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

tremendous value when they come and ski for us,” Fitzpatrick said. “It allows a senior skier to make a really nice contribution.”

Laying track Money raised at Ski for Sisu goes toward operations of the ski area, and is primarily spent on the salaries of the trail grooming team of two, on purchase and maintenance of snowmobiles and other trail grooming equipment, and on insurance.

Fitzpatrick had nothing but praise for groomers Megan Larsen and Molly Fales. “They’re doing a great job for us,” he said.

The first Ski for Sisu event was held to raise money for a snow cat for grooming. In the ensuing years, however, the Nordic Council found that snowmobiles pulling rollers and grooming devices were better suited for the Spring Gulch terrain. But the work puts a lot of wear and tear on the machines.

“We’re running those things more like you would a tractor,” Fitzpatrick said. As a result, the machines need (and get) a lot of routine maintenance.

Board member Wick Moses said snowmobiles only last about five or six years with the kind of use they get at the ski area.

continued from page 3

More than the snow, volunteerism and community spirit are the basis of the success of Spring Gulch. Ski for Sisu brings out dozens of volunteers, dressed in their warmest clothes, helping with registration, refreshments and recording the laps skied by the participants.

Rancher Marge Perry, a quasi board member representing the Cattlemen’s Association, and whose daughter is on the grooming crew, put in a stint as a volunteer while her husband Bill Fales skied a lap in his blue jeans. Sam Johnson relieved Moses, who relieved Jack O’Neill at the task of recording the distance skied by each participant. Sherrie Hall, Doris O’Neill and a host of others worked on registration.

Fitzpatrick worked everywhere, a friendly Michelin Man in his down-filled jacket, helping one skier with a recalcitrant binding, helping others put on their numbered bibs, coordinating the shift changes of volunteers, and offering hot chocolate to his troops.

“To me, it seems like you have to make ’em as comfortable as possible, so they’ll come back next year,” Fitzpatrick said. “You get cold, standing still.”

Information on membership, contributions and volunteer opportunities: http://www.springgulch.org/membership.htm.

Neighborhood parking crisis aired

Bonedale Biz Reaching out in the Sun

By Jeremy Heiman Sopris Sun reporter

By Allyn Harvey Does Carbondale want a newspaper that shines a light on government and business? A paper that features its children’s achievements? One that puts our art on the front page?

If the answer to those questions is “yes,” then we – all of us – need to support the Sopris Sun. The Sopris Sun is Carbondale’s newspaper. It doesn’t try to cover Glenwood, Basalt, Redstone or Aspen, unless something happening in one of those places affects Carbondale.

The paper is being set up as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. But don’t let that nonprofit status fool you. The Sun is out to sell advertising and generate the income like any other newspaper. Money is necessary to pay the Sun’s employees a living wage and improve its product. The nonprofit structure is simply a way to protect the Sun from the fate of The Valley Journal, which was shuttered in December because it wasn’t making enough money for a couple of women in Reno, Nev., who own it.

For the Sun to succeed, it needs your support in the form of readership and advertising.

Readership is the easy part. Like every other paper in this part of Colorado, it is free. Just look for the bright yellow news box, and chances are it contains the latest edition of the Sopris Sun. Advertising isn’t quite so easy. It costs money, which in this economy is more precious than ever. But for many local businesses, advertising is an essential part of attracting customers. Advertising in the Sun is also a chance to remind the community that your bank, flower shop or restaurant is here, open for business, looking forward to serving all of us moms and dads and single folks and workers and retirees and teenagers who make up Carbondale.

I can think of no better place to reach out to your customers than in the Sun, with its circulation of 3,000 in 81623, the valley’s largest ZIP code area.

Our advertising director is Jody Ensign. When she stops by your business, please sit down with her and see if there’s a place to advertise your business in your community paper. Or drop her a line. Jody’s email is jodye@sopris.net and her phone number is 948-9715.

Residents of the Wheel Circle/Wheel Drive neighborhood turned out in force for a discussion with town officials on chronic parking problems on their streets Tuesday, February 17, filling the council chambers at Town Hall.

The neighborhood has seen parking get out of hand as homeowners and landlords have sought to maximize the number of people living there. Zoning ordinances require two off-street parking places per dwelling unit, but several of the homes in the neighborhood have seen their garages converted to bedrooms, simultaneously adding population and reducing parking.

These parking problems regularly cause difficulty with snow removal, poor visibility at intersections and conflicts between neighbors.

Town staff members conducted two parking surveys in recent weeks, on Wheel Circle, Wheel Drive and Buckingham Drive, and found 82 cars parked on the streets. The capacity of those streets is 69 cars. The parking counts found vehicles double-parked, blocking driveways and sidewalks, and parked heading in the wrong direction.

Residents who attended the trustees meeting for the most part wanted action on the parking situation, and the trustees wasted no time in directing town staff to take a series of steps to correct the parking problems.

Police will ticket parking violations in the neighborhood, and Police Chief Gene Schilling will report monthly to the trustees on the number of violations. Zoning department officials will send a letter to each residence in the neighborhood asking for information on any suspected violations of town occupancy ordinances and enforce the occupancy requirements.

Officials will determine whether each residence has two off-street parking places, in compliance with the town ordinance. They will review any residences where garages were converted into living space and check to see whether those conversions were done with permits.

“They wouldn’t have been able to get a permit if they couldn’t show two parking spaces,” said Town Manager Tom Baker.

Town staff will put up “No parking here to corner” signs where they are appropriate, and in spring, the town will stripe the streets to define parking spaces throughout the neighborhood.

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Sopris Shopping Center, Carbondale 963-1303 www.myvideostore.com/soundseasyvid THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009 • 15

Sports Rams and Lady Rams advance in district tourney The Roaring Fork High School Rams’ recent basketball wins have ensured the season continues, as both the boys and girls teams advance in the 3A Western Slope League district tournament.

On Monday, the boys went up against Olathe and won, 57-44. Leading the scoring drive were Ryan Weimer with 24 points and had eight rebounds; Arick Zeigel chalked up 7 points; and Jake Strack-Loetscher scored 7 points.

The Rams were facing the Aspen Skiers Tuesday night in Aspen. The winner tips off against the winner of the Gunnison-Cedaredge game. That matchup will be Friday in Palisade. The losing teams of both those games will play on Thursday.

The top five teams move on to the regional tournament that takes place March 6-8. If the Rams win Tuesday night’s game, they are guaranteed a berth at regionals.

Meanwhile, the Lady Rams gained another win in their Monday night push against Aspen.

In Monday’s game, Shea Courtney led the scoring with 15 points and 11 rebounds; Alli Zeigel scored 12 points with four assists; and Maria Flores shot 10 points and had three steals.

The 46-39 win over the Skiers positioned them to face Olathe, the number one-seeded team, on Wednesday.

RFHS sophomore Joey Clingan goes up against Coal Ridge’s Tory Veridieck in Saturday’s game. Photo by Jim Ryan

Rams’ senior Ryan Weimer shoots against a Coal Ridge player on Saturday. Although the Rams lost to Coal Ridge (59-47), their Monday night win against Olathe advanced them in the district tournament. Photo by Jim Ryan

Unclassifieds All-star athletes

Through the gates Carbondale Community School and Aspen Valley Ski Club (AVSC) J4 racers Dani Bronwell (pictured) and Heidi Small placed first and third, respectively, at the Roaring Fork Race Series on February 14 at Buttermilk.

Ladies Unique Boutique 402 Seventh, Suite 1B Glenwood Springs In the Hotel Denver 970.945.0990 16 • THE SOPRIS SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2009

A number of players from Roaring Fork High School’s fall season athletics made all-conference. Pictured left to right, front to back are: Jake Hawkins (football), Dana Holley (football), Bryan Wiemer (football), Michael Black (football), Felipe Gomez (honorable mention/football), Diego Rubio (soccer), Nate Soucie (football), Matt Alberico (honorable mention/football), and Bryan Salinas (soccer).

Not pictured are Soren Phibbs (football), Jake StrackLoertscher (honorable mention/football) and Micah Evonitz (golf).

Photo by Trina Ortega

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