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Volume 12, Number 50 | January 21-27, 2021
Gliding Along
Crystal River Elementary School first graders enjoy the snow on cross-country skis, looping around the Ron Patch Memorial Baseball Field. More winter sports on Page 9. Photos by Sue Rollyson.
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OPINION
The View from the Therapy Pool By Fred Malo
Did the smoke rising from last summer’s Grizzly Creek Fire scare the hell outta you? Was it frustrating to go outside because you thought you’d be safer from the coronavirus and be choked by the smoke and ash? Does it make you heartsick to drive through our beautiful Glenwood Canyon and see how the fire has scarred it? Like me, did you move to the mountains to get away from the endless days of 90-degree heat only to find it here? Were you horrified reading the reports of the unprecedented and deadly wildfires on the West Coast? These aren’t natural disasters. These are man-made calamities caused by our ravenous consumption of fossil fuels. I know, lightening started the Pine Gulch Fire in a largely uninhabited area of Mesa and Garfield Counties and something in the I-70 median strip caused Grizzly Creek, but these infernos were as bad as they were because of blazing hot, bone dry, windy conditions caused by climate change. Never have we seen wildfires spread so quickly. Embers were flying miles
God said, “The fire, not a flood next time.”
over the canopy. During last summer’s wildfire season, the worst in Colorado’s history, three major fires were taking turns being Colorado’s largest. The Cameron Peak Fire in Larimer and Boulder Counties won that dubious distinction at 209,000 acres, followed closely by the 192,000 acres in the East Troublesome Fire in Grand and Larimer Counties. The East Troublesome stands out because, backed by 70 mph winds, it grew 100,000 acres in 24 hours, destroyed 366 homes, and cost two lives. At 139,000 acres in late July, the Pine Gulch Fire was the early leader in the race to be the state’s largest. Despite all these larger fires in Colorado and the exploding holocausts on the West Coast, Grizzly Creek was named the nation’s top priority because it severed I-70, Colorado’s lifeline. Turned out, the interstate was closed for two weeks, the longest in its history, causing extreme hardships on the West Slope as goods and medicines from the Front Range were delayed. An angry spat between the Garfield County and Pitkin County commissioners resulted over the closing of Independence Pass. Hot dry weather and high winds aren’t the only way climate change contributes to wildfires. Warm winters allow pine beetles to reproduce multiple times in a season rather than the normal once. While laying eggs, pine beetles deposit a fungus in the trees that kills them, some 1.87 million acres in Colorado since 2000. It’s estimated 41% of Colorado’s spruce/fir growth is
infected with the fungus. Besides eliminating the carbon dioxide absorbing capacity of the trees, the dead trees provide volatile fuel for forest fires. Wildfires are a self-perpetuating calamity. Not only are they caused by climate change, but they’re contributing to the problem. A Stanford University study has shown the carbon dioxide released by last year’s wildfires in the West more than made up for the reduced emissions from transportation and power plants during the pandemic. The planet is warming ten times faster than it did when it was coming outta the last ice age. It’s been recently announced that 2020 was either the hottest year on record, the second hottest to 2016, or tied with 2016 depending on whether you believe the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, or the European Union’s climate agency. Regardless, if 2020 was second, it was by a hair’s breadth. Twice as many acres per year have burned over the past two decades compared with the previous 15 years. Dry conditions are exacerbated by the earlier melt of the snowpack. There’s no question these conditions are caused by the greenhouse effect from fossil fuel extraction and consumption. What can we do to have an immediate impact? Not much. The seeds of today’s climate crisis were planted about 20 years ago and the greenhouse gases we’re emitting today will impact the climate our children and grandchildren will face. We could ban all fossil fuels
today and this year’s fire season would be just as bad. About the only instantaneous effect we can have is to follow the advice that our former forest ranger in chief, Donald Trump, gave to California – get out the rakes and clean up the forest floor. Rakes, of course, won’t do it, but with some chainsaws and backhoes we could remove a lotta dead trees and undergrowth. Forest management is a positive step, but it’s really pissing in the ocean. If the forest canopy is tinder dry from heat, drought, and wind, it’ll still explode with the slightest spark. The Pine Gulch Fire and most of the fires on the West Coast weren’t forest fires. They occurred in open spaces. Plowing all that under would be impractical. Some old advice is still good advice. Smokey the Bear said to build your campfires only in contained fire pits. If you must smoke, use an ashtray. Don’t let chains dangle from behind your rig. During high fire danger periods, don’t play with your guns, tracer rounds or otherwise. I’m afraid we’re gonna continue to have bad fire seasons in the near future, but if you’d like the next generation to not hafta experience these conflagrations, join the fight against climate change. That’s a noble and unselfish goal, isn’t it? I happen to believe the place to attack climate change is the demand. Get the internal combustion engines off the road and shut down the coal and natural gas power plants and the supply will wither away on its own. We can all play a role in those efforts without the help of government.
LETTERS A Love Letter to the Sopris Shopping Center When I came back to teach at CRMS in ’70, we had to drive to Glenwood to Safeway to shop for “fresh’’ food. After I stopped teaching in ‘72, I bought a house on the Crystal and I believe it was in the Fall of ’72 or ‘73 that Circle Super opened up and we had a real supermarket! It felt like Carbondale had really arrived at being a town. Later, in the ‘70s, Mr. C’s opened up and I started buying my beer there. It was located to the left of Ming’s. After the disastrous sale of my business in ’83, I went to work for Dale and Susie Titus managing it. It was small and the parking lot flooded in the spring so we moved over to the City Market shopping center. Mr. C’s eventually became Sopris Liquor & Wine. After I moved back to Carbondale from Denver in ’92, I was thrilled that Staci Dickerson had opened Sounds Easy Video & CD Exchange in a small space! Annie Fynn and I became good friends with Skip Naft, who later became KDNK’s Program Director, since we all were movie buffs. He turned us onto so many great indie films. When
Stacy moved into the anchor space where Ragged Mountain is now, and expanded her inventory, we were regulars! The most remarkable business there was Sezan, a top flight sushi bar and Japanese restaurant that opened in the mid ‘90s. Annie I became good friends with Kawa San, always eating at the sushi bar. In my time in Carbondale, I can remember when there was no place to eat dinner and look at us now! My final retail job was at Life Cycles, which I called “Vicious Cycles.” It was my idea of retail hell since Steve Wolfe had us play lame Christmas music starting in early November! Recently, I have become a great fan of Ming’s and I’m glad that they are moving and continuing! This is as much a love letter to all the people who had a business idea and then the courage to actually start one. As someone who owned a business for 11 years, I know what it takes to have a good one and what a bad one smells like! It’s also a thank you for providing spaces where so many of us hung out, or met looking for a video, or eating, and did something people love to do: communicate with each other.
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Donate by mail or online. P.O. Box 399 Carbondale, CO 81623 520 S. Third Street #32 970-510-3003 www.soprissun.com Editor Raleigh Burleigh • 970-510-3003 news@soprissun.com
Wick Moses Carbondale
Praise for The Gillespie Street Angels In this difficult time of pandemic, incredible financial inequality and a divisive/ dysfunctional national government, it is inspiring to discover a well-organized health operation serving the citizens of Pitkin County. Due to my age, I was among the first to be treated at the Gillespie Street makeshift medical outdoor facility set up on the Aspen Music Tent parking lot. All those wonderful young people working in freezing weather were extremely efficient, polite and wellrehearsed for performing their various duties. Indeed, their performance was just as outstanding and inspiring as any given in the Music Tent during the summer. Furthermore, their commitment to doing a professional job will save lots of lives. For this reason, I call them “The Gillespie Street Angels.” Continued on page 12
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 • January 21 - January 27, 2021
Sincerest thanks to our
Executive Director Todd Chamberlin • 970-510-0246 adsales@soprissun.com Graphic Designer: Ylice Golden Reporter: Roberta McGowan Delivery: Crystal Tapp Proofreader: Lee Beck Current Board Members Linda Criswell • Klaus Kocher Kay Clarke • 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.
42nd VVAS carries on a tradition By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent The 42nd Valley Visual Arts Show (VVAS) opens on Jan. 22 in the R2 Gallery at Carbondale Arts (CA). The event will celebrate the work of 50 artists from the Roaring Fork Valley. 2021 marks Carbondale Arts’ 50th anniversary, and Executive Director Amy Kimberly notes, “The VVAS kicks off our 50 years of art for Carbondale Arts. This year is really about celebrating all the talent, love and energy this community puts into the arts, and the VVAS exemplifies this.” Brain Colley, CA gallery manager, explained that about four years ago, they implemented a lottery system to award up to 50 artists entry into the show. Limiting the show’s entries, Colley says, “allows us to keep the gallery not feeling overwhelmed and still looking professional.” These are a few artists who will be exhibiting work: Mark Ronay grew up in Aspen and recalls a passion for Ansel Adams’ black-and-white photography in high school. When he was nine years old, he told his mother’s cousin that he wanted to be a photographer. Two weeks later, a box arrived in the mail with a camera, lens and accessories. As Ronay says, “I always had an artistic itch that needed to be scratched.” He counts CA as a valuable resource in his artistic journey. He calls it “fantastic” for making available staff like Colley and Staci Dickerson for expertise around new ideas and calls for exhibition entries. Ronay explains that his current photography was inspired by the Claude Monet exhibition at the Denver Art Museum in 2019. His entry, titled “Emma Coop,” captures what he thinks looks like a chicken coop in Emma. He often rides by it on his bike, so he photographed it one morning last fall and developed it to look like a painting. Deborah Shannan lives in Basalt and moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 2017 to attend Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) professional photography program. While there, she learned a technique called platinum-palladium print processing. It incorporates painting emulsions
of platinum and palladium metal solutions onto paper and produces a broader range of tones in the finished image. She says that the process creates “subtle variations, so you can be guaranteed that no two prints are exactly the same.” Shannan was a science teacher for 29 years and is also an avid gardener. For three years, she worked on a project in Iowa restoring native prairie grasses and wildflowers and planting an organic vegetable garden. After its completion, she decided to bring together her passions of science, gardening and photography. Shannan says VVAS is unique because it is “a diverse group of work all coming together in one show, which gives you an incredible flavor for what this Valley is capable of.” Liz Heller, an Aspen ceramicist, and Dave Kodama, a Carbondale woodworking artist, have a piece titled “Geo Metrics Series 001.” They have collaborated since 2017, showing work at the Carbondale Clay Center, Red Brick Center for the Arts and Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Heller calls these geometric units “hexagonal pyramids.” They are made of walnut and porcelain. She made her clay shapes first and then Kodama made walnut shapes to match in size. These components were then assembled into a design. Heller says, “I think Carbondale Arts does an amazing job with their shows and their programming.” She adds, “I think out of all our institutions in the Valley, they are probably one of the best at getting people in the door, so it’s good exposure for us.” The VVAS runs from Jan. 22 through Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday in the R2 Gallery. Viewing is limited to up to eight visitors at a time. The show will also be available for viewing online with a virtual tour and works can be purchased via an online store. Attendees can cast their vote for the People’s Choice Award. In addition, ten “golden ticket” prizes, hidden under sculptures and behind paintings, will be given to the persons purchasing the corresponding work of art.
"Geo Metrics Series 001" by Dave Kodama and Liz Heller.
"Desert Agave" by Deborah Shannan.
"Emma Coop" by Mark Ronay.
Literacy Outreach ZOOM Sessions Want to give back to the Garfield County community with the gift of adult literacy? Interested in becoming a volunteer tutor?
Join an upcoming Literacy Outreach information session to learn how you can become a tutor.
PLEASE REGISTER TODAY! Tues, Feb. 9 at 12p.m. http://bit.ly/3bbeGZm
Wed, Feb. 10 at 5:30p.m. If you can read this, http://bit.ly/3bfB57Q you can help.
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NOT A KDNK MEMBER? CALL 963-0139 GO TO KDNK.ORG
1127 School Street • Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 3
SCUTTLEBUTT Comp plan redux
Pay back
Celebrate
Carbondale Trustees agreed during a work session on Jan. 19 to move forward with a process to update the Town’s comprehensive plan. By the estimations of town staff, this could take around nine months and will involve multiple opportunities for balanced input. Proposed areas of focus include the northside of downtown, 12 acres of industrial land owned by C’Dale LLC.
The Garfield County Treasurer’s office received $5.8 million from URSA, a mining company, for 2019 taxes, payable in 2020, amid bankruptcy claims filed last year. URSA was acquired by Terra Energy Partners after a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale in November. “Staff from the Garfield County Attorney’s and Treasurer’s offices worked in tandem to make the best decisions possible in obtaining the funds owed to the county by URSA. We are pleased that the efforts have come to fruition,” said Garfield County Treasurer Carrie Couey.
The Carbondale Chamber is accepting nominations through Friday, Jan. 22, at noon for 2020 Business of the Year. There are categories for both nonprofits and for-profit businesses that exemplified quality, customer satisfaction, community service, employee wellness and overall dedication in 2020. Nominees must be a Carbondale Chamber member in good standing.
Check close Meanwhile, a Sopris Sun reader reported receiving stimulus money from the federal government in the form of a debit card. After confirming that the money transferred successfully, she wishes to alert folks to open their mail, even when it looks questionable, in case it is government money.
Scam alert Local police departments have received an increase in reports of fraud relating to false unemployment claims. Residents are encouraged to be cautious of identity theft. In essence, criminals are filing unemployment claims with the State pretending to be the victim of a stolen identity. If you have not filed an unemployment claim and receive benefit information, you’re encouraged to contact local police.
TRUU film screening
Thirty Chairs of Colorado’s County Democratic Parties delivered a letter to congressional leaders requesting an investigation into ties between Rep. Lauren Boebert and extremist groups. Accompanying the letter was a petition signed by more than 5,000 residents of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
Two Rivers UnitarianUniversalist Church, in conjunction with the Roaring Fork Valley’s Interfaith Council and Sanctuary Unidos, is showing a Zoom presentation of the documentary “Welcome Stranger” on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. This film takes a compassionate look at the challenges faced by immigrants and asylum seekers. Sarah Jackson, founder of Casa de Paz, will speak following the screening. The Zoom meeting ID is 828 7946 5444 and the passcode is chalice.
Mourning a loss
Full Moon Winter Tri
Margaret (Peggy) Manson Chain passed away at home on the morning of Jan. 14. A full obituary will be provided soon.
Carbondale Rec. hosts the third annual Full Moon Winter Triathlon on Saturday, Jan. 30. The event is designed for all
Rep. Boebert challenged
levels and based around having fun. Individuals or teams of up to 10 can compete with staggered times beginning at 4 p.m. Details and registration at carbondalerec.com
February focus Beginning Jan. 30, at 4 p.m., Mindful Life Program initiates a 28-day cycle of daily practice within a supportive circle of trained mindfulness teachers and other practitioners. More information is at mindfullifeprogram.org
Redstone runs The Sopris Sun is seeking a volunteer to deliver stacks of newspapers to Redstone weekly. We now deliver to a box at Propaganda Pie and at the Redstone Inn. Please contact Cystal@soprissun.com for details.
Gay Ski Week A large rainbow banner is was unfurreled at the Aspen Chapel in honor of Gay Ski Week. Sunday’s guest preacher will be Jonathon Stalls, an artist, social entrepreneur and social justice advocate that identifies as LGBTQIA+.
The Redstone General Store is now open and offering 10 flavors of Colorado ice cream. Annalise Basso prepares espresso to accompany a brisk afternoon. Photo by Raleigh Burleigh.
They say it’s your birthday Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Peter Green, Wick Moses and Taylor Wagner ( Jan. 22); Josie Cruz, Jack Green, Bear Matthews, Becca Rogers, Christine Hill Smith and Hone Williams ( Jan. 23); Linda Lafferty and Marty Silverstein ( Jan. 24); Felina Cruz ( Jan. 25); Alli Powell, Kat Taylor and Arick Zeigel ( Jan. 26); Laura McCormick Grobler and Elizabeth Ritchie ( Jan. 27).
Carbondale Police Department
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234 Cody Lane, Basalt Monday - Friday 3:00 – 11:00 pm Saturday & Sunday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm aspenhospital.org |
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4 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 21 - January 27, 2021
is accepting applications for the following: Police Officer. Starting salary: $57,268. For application and full job description visit: www.carbondalegov.org Open until filled.
OUR TOWN
If you know of someone who should be featured in “Our Town,” email news@soprissun.com or call 510-3003.
Meet Ed Holub, our bona fide Deadhead By Ken Pletcher Q: Where did you grow up? A: In New Jersey. I lived in Newark for 13 years and then moved to a place called Cranford. My parents were both Polish immigrants. My dad was taken to Siberia during World War II, and my mom was run out of her village and taken to Germany and worked on a farm, kind of forced labor, during the war. They both immigrated here after the war … and met here in the states. My folks were always big on education. I have a younger sister. I’m a lawyer and she’s a doctor, so my mom got the American dream. Q: Where did you go to college? A: I did my undergrad at Rutgers, and my junior year I [went] to the University of Nevada, Reno. That was my first exposure to the West and I fell in love. I finished my senior year at Rutgers and promptly moved to San Diego to go to graduate school and law school. I lived in San Diego for 10 years, mostly in northern San Diego county. It was kind of like the Roaring Fork Valley. You had these little towns up and down the coast, and they each had their own unique personality. Q: Were you practicing law there? A: I took the California bar and a year after I passed, I moved to Denver and practiced personal injury law there for 25 years.
Q: How did you get into that? A: I always liked fighting for the underdog. My dad worked in a ball bearing factory his whole life and he lost his hearing because of that. Workers’ comp gave him a $7,000 check and that is just so wrong. Fighting the powers that be, I always thought was a noble undertaking. Q: When did you move to the Valley? A: My wife Libby and I moved up here in the summer of 2018. Q: How and when did you get interested in the Grateful Dead? A: You kind of have to be turned on to the Dead — someone has to deem you worthy of entering into this little secret group. [Laughs]. There were a lot of Deadheads in my high school. A guy gave me a tape of a 1977 concert recorded off the radio. Q: When did you see your first concert? A: March of 1980. It took a couple of times and then I got hooked. [During college] we would do anywhere from five to 10 shows in a row. Q: Would you travel with the band and camp out? A: In the early ‘80s that zoo hadn’t quite developed. We’d pack six people
in a hotel room, go to the show and move on to the next town, then rush back to classes. Reagan had just gotten into office, and Dead concerts were an oasis of sanity. Jerry Garcia is probably the biggest influence on my life, other than my folks. The Dead used to say, “We’re the last great adventure.” Early on, it didn’t matter what you looked like … if you were there you were welcome. It was just one big, happy family. Q: In all, how many concerts did you attend? A: Between 1980 and 1995, more than 100. Q: You’ve become quite an archivist of the Dead and other live music. A: I started helping my friends tape shows and collecting tapes. I started trading tapes and had a huge tape collection. After a while, certain [concert] dates mean certain things. That’s how I got to the format of the show I do on KDNK. Q: How did you get involved with the station? A: I remember seeing an ad in The Sopris Sun about DJ training. My first on-air date was in Oct. 2018, and I was given my own slot starting on Mar. 8, 2019. Q: Describe the format.
COVID-19 TESTING Aspen Valley Hospital is partnering with Pitkin County Public Health to provide COVID-19 testing for our community.
ASPEN
AVH’s Respiratory Evaluation Center
Location: • Aspen Valley Hospital at 0401 Castle Creek Road, Aspen Hours of Operation: • Evaluation of patients with moderate to severe symptoms: Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 12 pm • Community symptomatic testing: Monday - Friday, 1 - 5 pm, and weekends 12 pm – 2pm, with a physician referral • Asymptomatic and Antibody testing available by appointment.
Details: • Physician referral required. • If you do not have a physician, call Aspen Valley Primary Care at 970.279.4111. • Cost (insured) – Tests will be billed to insurance. There is no out-of-pocket expense to the patient after insurance. • Cost (uninsured) – PCR testing is free – AVH is committed to cost not being a barrier to testing. Antibody testing $150 – $200.
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BASALT
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A: I’m so attuned to dates that I thought, I’ll just find stuff that was played on the date you’re on the air and put together a show. In my opinion, the Dead created their own genre of music: the jam band. There are so many great bands that allow and promote taping, so there’s a wealth of live music out there to choose from. I have about 3,000 CDs of live music. Most times, I have way too much music to play. Q: You always provide a wealth of information about each show. A: There’s a book called “Dead Base” that has all the shows and
set lists. As a tape trader, that was kind of the bible. I have a lot of that [information] committed to memory. Q: What are your other interests? A: Libby and I are big hikers and I’ve gotten into uphilling out here. One of the goals I had was to climb all of the fourteeners. That took 10 years, and I dragged Libby up about 30 of them. Our favorite hikes are the one we just did and the one we’re looking forward to doing. DJ Grateful Ed can be heard on KDNK every other Friday afternoon, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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0401 Castle Creek Road, Aspen, CO 81611 | 970.925.1120 aspenhospital.org |
Ed Holub hikes near Cathedtral Lake. Photo by Libby Rife.
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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 5
Too late for a moratorium on Highway 133? OPINION
by Frosty Merriott The cover of the Sopris Sun last week along with the timely interviews of displaced small businesses at the Sopris Shopping Center in Carbondale touched my heart. Quite frankly, as a former Trustee for 10 years, it was quite upsetting. The actions by Stein Properties, LP make a mockery of maintaining the small-town character called for by our Comprehensive Plan. Of course, Town Government needs to belly up to the bar as well for their part in this outcome. Since I was there for so long, I take some responsibility as well. Actions like this should just never happen in Carbondale, not in the name of 15 affordable housing units. In case you have missed this, let me list for you the nine businesses which will be shut down at the Sopris Shopping Center, some temporarily but some for good: Ragged Mountain Sports, Sopris Laundry, Los Cabos Mexican Grill, JC’s Breakfast and Lunch, High Q, CV Phones, Ming’s Cafe, El Pollo Rico and Sopris CrossFit. I hear the argument that we need more affordable housing but keep in mind that Carbondale’s current code calls for 20% of units to be “affordable,” so all the other 59 will then be market-driven. When there are about 500 applications for the latest affordable housing in Aspen and only about 20 units
then we become a dog chasing its proverbial tail. Maybe we should have upped our affordable requirement to at least 30% if that is indeed what we are attempting to accomplish with our infill. Or maybe instead of building 60,000 square feet of climate controlled storage for out-of-towners, we could have 120,500 square feet of affordable housing units? Or maybe we should accept the fact that we can’t just build our way out of this. To be clear, when I use the dreaded word “moratorium,” I do not mean anything that is already in the development pipeline. There should, however, be strong consideration for a targeted moratorium on Highway 133. It should be for a one-year period to let things like traffic, pollution, noise, dark skies and energy use — all indicators of our small-town character — play out. Carbondale needs to take a deep breath while we update all of our building codes and integrate our Climate Action Plan into the Unified Development Code (UDC). I mean, if Holy Cross should be at 100% renewables by 2030, so could we. Governor Polis has declared that Colorado will rely on 100% renewable energy by 2040. For Carbondale to continue to add to the building inventory that we must retrofit before 2030 is like the definition of insanity. You know, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If we can incorporate current codes into the UDC in six months, then the moratorium could be for a shorter period. The Trustees could add a meeting date to each month like we did when we were considering the new City Market. It is that important. If we can delay implementing our Climate Action Plan and updating codes for two years, can we pause development for a year? We need to fully understand all of the full impacts in the 133 corridor from existing approvals. I do not want people to turn around in one
This rendering of 1201 Main St. portrays a new building currently under construction next to the roundabout. Courtesy image. year and say, “Holy crap! What happened to our little town? I am moving to Satank!” Make no mistake, Carbondale is in the crosshairs of developers right now: both commercial and residential. There is a mass exodus from the big cities and the desire to be digital nomads. There are between 40 and 50 residences in the pipeline at River Valley Ranch (RVR) right now and most are building to the 2012 green building code. These are mostly in the range of $1.5 to $2.0 million and do not even have a solar requirement unless they are 5,000 square feet or more. One of the new RVR residents even clear cut the riparian habitat adjacent to the Eagle Preserve so that they could see the Crystal River better. Unintended consequences from too much, too fast? You tell me. There are around 400 residences in the pipeline for the rest of town, bragging about building to Carbondale’s green building code. Unfortunately, it was the 2012 green building code, not the 2018 code which came into effect in July of 2020. Moreover, the 2021 International Green Construction Code is due out in March. Green building is changing at warp speed — oh man, dilithium crystals would be a big help right now — and the energy code that we are currently building from is based on the International
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Energy Conservation Code from 2015, so it’s six years old. There is no reason that all this new development should not be building to more recent codes. Renewable requirements need to be updated, new buildings should be fully electrified — no natural gas lines —, electric vehicle charging stations should be required on certain sizes of buildings to encourage electric vehicles and lighting and energy upgrades need to be made. I would be remiss if I did not also cover the Crystal River Market Place. I must admit complicity in this new City Market as I was a town trustee when it was approved unanimously. Judging from social media, it has been a disappointment to many in Carbondale. A positive coming from the City Market is that our sales tax collections are up significantly. There was promise of a “flagship store,” a real “mountain community grocer,” with lots of local beef and veggies, off-site solar and “way more energy efficient than our old store,” even though it is much larger. In short, we could all be proud of our new grocery store. Instead, the grand opening with the huge balloons at either end of the building — all the red, white and blue flags —, the LED outside lighting on 24 hours a day and the new service station that lights up the night skies … these were a real disconnect with the small-town
character of Carbondale. This was nothing though compared to when I walked in and saw all the single-use plastic that Carbondale was endeavoring to reduce the use of. Carbondale had just hired a consultant to advise us on how to reduce the use of single-use plastic; plastic that is now not only poisoning the oceans but is being found in the bellies of our local wildlife. The fossil fuel companies are planning to make even more plastic as more electric cars and non-electric buildings are utilized. We can do a targeted moratorium or relax and continue with the status quo. We can pretend all is well in our little valley and Carbondale. That is, until we see an 18-wheeler, a la “Yellowstone” with Kevin Costner, rolling through the roundabout carrying local ranchers’ beef from up 133 down to their winter pastures out on Catherine’s Store Road. That is when we will know that there is no longer any such thing as the “smalltown character” of Carbondale. Frosty Merriott is a CPA and has lived at RVR since 1998. He has served on the RVR Executive Board, Carbondale Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, the Environmental Board, the Town Planning and Zoning Commission and served 10 years as a town trustee. Frosty loves our small-town character and will continue to work to keep it.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
& BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT
Open seats on the Town of Carbondale Planning & Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment. Contact Janet Buck 970.510.1208. Applications may be found at www.carbondalegov.org or at Town Hall. Applications are due by February 1, 2020 at 5 pm.
Plotz for Plosky’s and kvell for Kula
By Olivia Emmer Sopris Sun correspondent
Mark Hardin (left) and David Eisenson (right) stand on Colorado Avenue in front of the partially-constructed building that will house their deli, Plosky’s, which will feature bagels and lox, reubens, pastrami on rye and other classic New York sandwich fare. Photo by Olivia Emmer.
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Bagel-lovers rejoice, a new Jewish-style deli is on its way. Slated to open in June 2021 is Plosky’s, the new venture of long-time local chefs David Eisenson and Mark Hardin. The pair met working at Six89, the much-loved restaurant by Mark Fischer that closed in 2012. They’ve both worked at various eateries throughout the valley including Phat Thai, The Pullman, Aspen Skiing Company restaurants and Town, where Eisenson was head chef when they unexpectedly closed in 2017 due to lease negotiations. Mark Hardin currently runs Field to Fork, a catering company he founded in 2015. When Town closed its doors, Hardin recruited Eisenson to cook with him at the catering company, where they have collaborated for several years. As that business grew, they began to search out a larger kitchen. Eisenson, originally from New England, had been in the Valley since 2011, and the lack of Jewish-style delis left him feeling like there was a big sandwich-shaped hole in Carbondale’s foodscape. In addition to the growing needs of the catering company and his deli dreams, Eisenson and his wife Cari had long dreamed of deeper collaborations between their two businesses. Cari Eisenson is the owner of Kula, a yoga studio that was on Main Street in the Dinkel building for nearly 10 years. David would cater special events for the studio and the couple ran several yoga retreats in Mexico, where Cari taught yoga and David cooked. After a year or two of viewing properties between Glenwood and Basalt, realizing they all wanted to be in the Carbondale core, and despairing to find the right space for their unique collaborative vision, they learned about the development on 1201 Main St. 1201 Main St. was most recently an unpaved parking lot on the northeast side of the roundabout next to Crystal River Spas. The 0.785 acre parcel is now being developed by Loge Properties, guided by business partners Jack Schrager and Riley Soderquist. Currently under construction and aiming for occupancy this June, the building features 18 studio apartments, of which five are affordable housing, and nine twobedroom apartments. The developers hope to fill a need for single people, couples and empty nesters, many of whom currently struggle to find affordable places to rent on their own. In an interview, Jack Schrager said, “There have been
a couple of housing studies done for the entire Roaring Fork Valley in the last couple of years and most of them have concluded that the valley is several thousand housing units short.” David reflected, “I did a full tour of the valley from Glenwood to Basalt and there were not great, comparable opportunities. That will change when people like Riley and Jack take on these older strip mall developments from the ‘80s, but a lot of what I saw was really old, or really, really expensive.” The approximately 3,000 square feet of commercial space will be split between the deli on the Colorado Avenue side, the yoga studio on the Main Street side and a shared lounge space on the corner facing the roundabout. The lounge space will serve as a place for deli patrons to nosh and for yogis to schmooze before or after classes. Kula’s space will boast a larger studio that can accomodate classes of up to 43 people, more natural light and expanded locker and bathroom areas. “When the place opened off of 133, it was definitely a bittersweet decision to make because we’ve been planted on Main Street the entire time that Kula has been around,” commented the studio’s owner Cari. “Plain and simple, there’s just growth taking place in Carbondale and we had outgrown our space on Main Street strictly for its size. The classes at Kula had started to get to be too big and we had to turn people away at the door.” The deli, named Plosky’s after a business David’s Jewish great-grandfather once operated in the Bronx, features a large kitchen where Mark and David can cook for both Field to Fork and the deli. The front of the space features a prep area where David will assemble sandwiches for breakfast and lunch service. The deli will operate counter-style, with butcher and grab’n’go cases featuring local meats, private label packaged foods and prepared foods. There are no plans for table service, but there will be a few seats in the deli for folks who just can’t wait to stuff their “punims” with juicy reubens and crunchy pickles. As Mark Hardin explained, “We want to make something that’s going to be sustainable. We think that if we focus on the food and giving people a good product, and eliminate the need to have table service, we’re going to be able to focus on our product and give people a better product for the price.” David doubled-down, “This is a 10-year lease with an option to extend, so we’re in it for the long haul. We’re Carbondale people.” Finally, don’t be misled by this author’s playful use of Yiddish. The deli will not be kosher and will, in fact, serve house bacon.
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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 7
Overdue fees eliminated at Garfield County Libraries By Kate Phillips Sopris Sun Correspondent
Garfield County Public Libraries (GCPL) is once again setting the standard for community engagement and free education by eliminating overdue material fees — indefinitely. Although overdue fees have been removed, library materials still have a due date and items 60 days past due will have a replacement fine added to the account. Fortunately, if the item is returned then the replacement fine will be removed, according to GCPL Collection Manager Whitney Jordan. Decided by the library district’s board in 2020, the initiative went into effect for all six branches on Jan. 1, 2021 as part of a nationwide initiative to increase library patronage and reduce financial barriers. “There’s a big movement to go finefree,” Jordan said. “A lot of libraries that talked about going fine-free say that eliminating [fees] has increased their library usage and brought people back into the library.” When the Denver Public Library went fine-free in Jan. 2019, they saw 35% of their patrons with fines reengage within the first 12 months, according to the Denver Post. Other major cities that have gone fine-free include Chicago Public Library, Boston Public Library, and Minnesota’s St. Paul Public Library System. All reported positive reengagement with patrons, according to Forbes Magazine.
Jordan explained that in the past, fines were used as a way to encourage timely returns for materials. However, GCPL found what libraries across the nation were discovering: fines were a deterrent for some patrons. According to Jordan, the fear of being unable to pay a potential fine kept potential patrons away and others, who had incurred heavy fees on their accounts, felt incapable of paying so they never came back. “No matter how small they are, even if it’s only 10 cents, community members can feel like they are being judged when they come in and that creates barriers,” Jordan said. “We’re not here to do that. We’re here to remove those barriers and provide access to the materials and services that we have. The library should be a space that is welcoming to the community and free of judgment.” So, will this change increase hold times on popular materials? According to Jordan, research indicates otherwise. In Oct. 2019, fines were eliminated at the Chicago Public Library and they saw a 240% increase in book returns within the first few weeks, according to the Chicago Tribune. Additionally, when Dayton Metro Library eliminated fees in Jan. 2018, they reported over 20,000 overdue items returned through May — more than double the number from 2017 during that same period, according to Dayton Daily News.
“Most of the libraries in Colorado that have gone fine-free have seen people returning those items on time,” said Jordan. “They haven’t found a correlation between the elimination of fines and an increase in late returns or longer wait times. We’re expecting the same results.” To further reduce wait times, she said that when Garfield County voters approved Ballot Initiative 6A in Nov. 2019, one of the library’s goals was to purchase additional copies of popular books and materials. This has already shown to be helpful and will continue to be with the elimination of fines. Financially, this move makes sense for GCPL as well. Considering that overdue fines accounted for less than 1% of GCPL’s annual revenue, this is not a major financial loss for the library. “It’s a common misconception until you really run the numbers and pull the data,” said Jordan. “Across the U.S., it ends up being a very, very small percentage and by not collecting those overdue fines anymore, it is not going to be a very big hit for us.” The excitement of this new initiative is apparent. Jordan said that she looks forward to seeing the libraries full again, when it is safe to do so, and hopes that with fine elimination new cardholders will be added throughout the year. “The hope is that this will make the library a more welcoming, judgement-free place,” Jordan said. “I hope this increases engagement with
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Amy Krakow demonstrates generosity at Carbondale Branch Library. Photo by Sue Rollyson. the community and shows that we are about this.” Ready to get your library card? there for them; that we have resources https://garfield.marmot. for you to check out because you’re Visit to looking to be entertained or looking to org/MyAccount/Self Reg learn something. We’re really excited register today!
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Sticks and poles and skates ... Oh my!
Crystal River Elementary School students are enjoying winter sports. A new ice skating rink was created by PE teacher Marty Madsen and parents Ernesto and Flor Cuc, owners of Cuc Construction. Funds were used from the annual Rams Run fundraiser to build the rink and purchase various sizes of new ice skates, plus crosscountry skis, boots and poles. Marty now takes all grades, kindergarten through fourth, out to ski and skate. Photos by Sue Rollyson. THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 9
Emergency vets save lives
It’s 2 a.m. and your cat is staggering and having seizures. What can you do? It may be time to immediately contact the closest emergency vet clinic. Fortunately for residents of the Roaring Fork Valley, Basalt’s Valley Emergency Pet Care (VEPC) treats small animals like household pets. The clinic, according to Practice Manager Serena Moring, also treats stray animals brought in due to injury or illness and brings the animal to a nearby shelter like Colorado Animal Rescue in Glenwood Springs. The closest emergency vet practice besides VEPC is in Grand Junction, a two hour drive away.
How is the quality of care? Louise Herman, a pet owner who has relied on the clinic several times since it opened more than a decade ago says, “I was calling [our dog] to come inside from our large, fenced yard around 9 p.m. When she didn’t respond, I went outside and found her lying down, totally unresponsive. We rushed her to VEPC, where the vet couldn’t find a vein, so he used a scalpel to open a leg and was able to get an intravenous infusion going with the critical medication she needed. He saved her life. The vet told us this was the first time in 20 years he had to do that.” This past November, as posted on the VEPC website, pet owner Raquel wrote “You guys are so amazing!! We had to take our chihuahua there a few times for emergencies. Tonight was no exception. We
were devastated at the thought of leaving him. Not only is he receiving the best care, but Amanda sent us an update on him and a picture of him cuddled up on his blanket on one of their soft, cozy beds.” Among its services VEPC provides not only emergency care, but also acts as a referral hospital for the Western Slope of Colorado. Specialists include a critical care specialist, an orthopedic surgeon, a cardiologist, an ophthalmologist, a certified ultrasonographer, a radiologist and a veterinarian specializing in avian/ exotic medicine and surgery. Additionally, VEPC can perform a variety of surgeries for issues like orthopedic, head and neck, soft tissue, thoracic and minimally invasive procedures. VEPC veterinarian Alison Ordelheide recalled, “We had a three-week-old puppy come in suffering from pneumonia, and is now okay. Another dog, one and a half years old, had been very lethargic for a few days.” Turns out, she said, the animal had a urinary tract infection. When trauma happens, she added, it can be a difficult situation for owners to comprehend. “I think it’s a psychological process, as many people are not quite prepared for the suddenness of the situation.” Pathways Vet Alliance owns this and 390 other practices around the country, including 19 in Colorado, and is based in Austin, Texas. Valley Emergency Pet Care is located at 180 Fiou Lane in Basalt and is open 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday, and all day and night on weekends. They can be reached at 970-927-5066.
Registered vet tech Jen Bailey draws blood from her dog Gunner. As a blood donor, Gunner is required to have his blood work run annually. Photo by Laurel Smith.
When to call an emergency vet from the American Veterinary Medical Association
• • • • • •
Severe bleeding or bleeding that doesn’t stop within five minutes Choking, difficulty breathing or non-stop coughing and gagging Bleeding from nose, mouth, rectum, coughing up blood or blood in urine Inability to urinate or pass feces, or obvious pain associated with urinating or passing stool Injuries to your pet’s eye(s) You suspect or know your pet has eaten something poisonous (such as antifreeze, xylitol, chocolate, rodent poison, etc.) Seizures and/or staggering Fractured bones, severe lameness or inability to move leg(s) Obvious signs of pain or extreme anxiety Heat stress or heat stroke Severe vomiting or diarrhea — more than two episodes in a 24-hour period, or either of these combined with obvious illness or any of the other problems listed here Refusal to drink for 24 hours or more Unconsciousness Any concern about your pet’s health warrants, at minimum, a call to your veterinarian.
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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 11
PAGES OF THE PAST
“Movieland” comes to El Jebel
From the archives of The Valley Journal and The Sopris Sun
Jan. 8, 1981 Fred Pulver wrote about the Banzai Flu after contracting it. “One minute you’re fine, the next flat on your back with the worst splitting headache, chest congestion, cough (the hacky, dry kind) and that sweet all-over achy, hot and chilled feeling.” With the virus then reaching epidemic proportions, Dr. Gary Knaus helped him out, advising rest above all else. In other news … locals sighed in relief as the first snow in more than a month graced Carbondale in what was “shaping up to be a disturbingly dry winter.”
Jan. 10, 1991 The Eagle County Planning Department approved construction of a multi-screen movie theatre in El Jebel, along with a two-story, 12,000 square foot commercial building. Planning staff generally liked the idea because “the commercial center does not orient itself toward Highway 82 and it turns its concentration onto itself.’” Developer Charles Moss is quoted saying that the midvalley “is no longer just a transportation corridor but now its own community.” In other news … cloud seeding by Aspen
Skiing Company was thought responsible for an abundance of snowfall in Carbondale after eight silver iodide-exuding machines were newly installed between Aspen and McClure Pass. Meanwhile, the Methodist Church in Carbondale hosted a peace vigil to protest war in the Middle East.
Jan. 4, 2001 A mid-afternoon vehicle break-in at the Spring Gulch parking area resulted in a minichase into town with both the victim and an alleged juvenile suspect left facing charges. The chase ended at the police department parking lot where a frozen bottle of water was lobbed into the suspect vehicle’s windshield by the robbery’s victim. In other news … developers of the controversial Crystal River Marketplace shopping center faced solid opposition with Mountain Folks for Global Justice, a local citizens’ activist group, hosting a community design charrette offering alternative ideas for the property. Approximately 180 people attended a board of trustees meeting on Jan. 23, 2001 to discuss the topic with then-former trustee Brad Hendricks in favor of the project, stating “The only reason that whole side of the highway still looks like a cattle ranch is because of CRMS [...] If we want to continue to function as a town, we need to develop this property.”
"The Valley Lark," a special winter edition of The Valley Journal, published this map by Mindy Miller in 1990/1991.
Jan. 6, 2011 Satank’s 110-year-old bridge was lifted back into place after months of being rebuilt in a local shop. The project cost $800,000 and was proposed years before with advocacy from thentrustee John Hoffman. The bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places and was used in a scene for the 1990s film “Flashback” starring Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland.
In other news … three parcels in the downtown core, surrounding the Thunder River Theatre, were turned over to a bank as GoldenTree InSite Partners pulled out of town. Meanwhile, Wake Up Now gathered citizens in front of Town Hall to honor victims of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
LETTERS
Continued from page 2
I strongly urge health personnel from the other three counties in the Roaring Fork and Crystal Valleys (Garfield, Gunnison and Eagle) to get permission to visit the Gillespie Street operation in order to replicate it in their own counties. Clay Boland Jr., retired CMC professor of Communications and Humanities Carbondale
Thanks from the birds Roaring Fork Audubon (RFA) extends a big thanks to RJ Paddywacks for supporting RFA with its annual bird seed fundraiser. Locally-owned Paddywacks donated 20% of its sales toward this important fundraiser, helping our allvolunteer board bring awareness to local conservation issues facing our native animals, especially the birds. Our hope is that awareness and education transfer to protection. Please join us in supporting RJ Paddywacks! Mary Harris, RFA president Carbondale
Holiday Baskets Program The Holiday Baskets Program, run entirely by volunteers, recently completed its 39th year of providing new gifts, toys and clothing to 250 families — approximately 1,000 people— in need in our valley. We also gifted $25,000 worth of food gift cards. As one can imagine, this was a different year of operating since we were not able to utilize the large numbers of volunteers who usually participate. Nevertheless, the response was amazing; more families were adopted than ever before. The monetary contributions were so generous that we have sufficient funds remaining to supply families with additional food gift cards later this winter! I wish to especially thank our Steering Committee: Elaine Bonds, Marsha Cook, Kathy Dreher, Elizabeth Parker and Bobbi Teliska. They
spent many, many hours and lots of energy matching families with Adopting Angels and making sure that all the gift bags were ready on pick up day. We are extremely grateful to Mike Garbarini who put all the applications online so that we could operate virtually. We also greatly appreciate St. Peter’s Church in Basalt for providing space in which to coordinate and distribute the thousands of gifts. Anne Blackwell, chairperson Carbondale
In defense of Lauren All the liberal letters denigrating Lauren Boebert’s 2nd Amendment support are mere extensions of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Gun-haters believe limiting law abiding citizens’ gun rights will decrease crime. These same naive souls ignore the tens of thousands of murders that have been happening in Dem controlled hellholes for decades. I greatly appreciate the breath of fresh air Lauren brings to the stinking swamp that is Washington. Bruno Kirchenwitz Rifle
Changing of the guard As a liberal, independent businessman, I once again see that a republican administration is passing on a shattered economy, rife with societal and social unrest, to a democrat. In `94 it was HW Bush with his little Kuwait war and protests, passed on to Bill Clinton who presided over seven years of mostly-balanced budgets, peace and prosperity. VP Al Gore’s loss to GW Bush in 2000 set the U.S. up for Sept. 11, 2001, when George Bush randomly lobbed missiles into Taliban sites in Afghanistan for a year, bringing the Cheney-Rumsfeld formula for perpetual warfare into fruition.
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Bush handed off massive debt, the Iraq War, unrest and banking practices that caused house values to plummet — for the first time ever — to Barack Hussein Obama. Obama and Biden quickly initiated FEC banking curbs on mortgage bundling, funded a trillion to infrastructure improvements and instituted a radical departure toward national health insurance. They kept a lid on the right’s favorite wars, while slowly building the economy and environmental regulations back to strong, healthy confidence. Relative calm, despite seething racial undertones on the right, was maintained. Trump squeaked the electoral college, taking the country’s strong economy and social calm and then, by repeatedly demeaning people and kicking ant pile after ant pile, he freed our most debasing instincts and he turned the U.S. into a howling basin of social unrest and mind-blowing federal budget deficits. Despite no foreign wars — except Bush’s — he now holds the U.S. on the brink of civil war with a planet in the grips of a pandemic and a climate on the point of no return for habitability, as he hands the country over to smiling Joe Biden. I suppose the conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh will be busy for a while longer. John Hoffmann Carbondale
Book review “The Iron Curtain Over America” by John Owen Beaty, 1951, is a book for all history buffs and is just as relevant today as when first published. It can be purchased as a hard copy or downloaded as a pdf. Steve Campbell Glenwood Springs
For more info contact Todd Chamberlin adsales@soprissun.com
The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Donations are fully tax deductible. 12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 21 - January 27, 2021
970-510-0246
OBITUARY
Mark Stranahan
Jan. 30, 1957 — Dec. 30, 2020 The world is more dimly lit since Mark Stranahan, the middle child of George and Betsy Stranahan, died on Dec. 30, 2020 at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a result of complications of septic necrotizing pancreatitis. He was 63. Mark’s journey began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Jan. 30, 1957. He grew up the third of five siblings and his father had a sixth child in a later marriage. Because of his father’s career as a physicist, the Stranahan family lived in West Lafayette, Indiana and Okemos, Michigan during the school year. His father started the Aspen Center for Physics, so summers were spent in Woody Creek. As a young boy, Mark enjoyed reading, camping, hiking, fishing, time in the wilderness and building things. His first love came at the age of 12 in the shape of a springer spaniel named Stonewall. She lived until Mark was 23, during which time they were constant companions. Her portrait graces Mark’s home to this day. Mark spent summers of his high school years working construction and once rode to work with his boss, Basalt-based architect Harry Teague, who became a role model and mentor. Mark had a fondness for springtime desert camping and old Jeeps. After graduating from Colorado Rocky Mountain School in 1975, he took his Korean War-era ¾ ton Dodge M-43 Army ambulance, fitted with colossal Boeing 707 tires, on a tour of the West at 45 mph, ultimately enrolling at the University of Oregon. At this time in his life, he purchased a former turkey farm in Elmira, Oregon and hatched great adventures, developing many lifelong friendships. He left Oregon to finish his education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor while starting a family of his own with his new
wife, Julie Fruehauf (now Mariouw). He earned both a B.S. degree in Architecture (1987) and M.S. in Architecture (with high distinction, 1998) from the University of Michigan. The most significant milestone of this time was becoming the father of Laine and Stephen, then known as Gus. Mark’s proudest accomplishments were his cherished children and being a father was the role he valued most. When Laine and Gus were students at Emerson School, he became an enthusiastic advocate for progressive independent education. In 2005, Mark married Karen Prochnow, a lifelong friend with whom he fathered Mason and Max, now middle school students at Summers-Knoll in Ann Arbor. Mark’s heart was always west of the Mississippi, and he yearned to live west of the Continental Divide, but his education and then his children kept him in Michigan. While an undergraduate, Mark had the opportunity to work in China, which led to a lifelong friendship with visionary architect Richard Britz of Vashon Island, Washington. In the last decade of his life Mark purchased a second home on Vashon Island, and designed a Russian stove decorated with Motawi tile. It is a work of art and energy efficiency. Mark advocated for sustainable design and green development, environmental responsibility and progressive education. Mark created human-centered, beautiful spaces, whether renovating a home or designing a school layout. Later, while running his own home inspection business, his meticulous eye for detail, encyclopedic knowledge of structures and personal integrity made him highly-respected. He appreciated human-crafted beauty in the form of music, literature, art, craftsmanship and
Mark Stranahan. Courtesy photo architecture. He was a guitarist, writer, photographer and visual artist. He flew airplanes, mountain biked, skied and paddled canoes, always studying how to become more expert. Mark’s international travels took him to Mexico, Nepal, China, Italy, France, Australia and the Adriatic. Mark loved cars and speed and won a regional formula Mazda championship in 1996. He was an inveterate learner and a deep thinker. His many and varied interests included pottery, machinery, natural history and leatherwork. He was extraordinarily well-read and enjoyed long conversations about diverse topics, including political and economic theory, art history, anthropology, sociology, systems theory and critical theory. Mark was an autodidact and always had a book or two on his person. There was never a topic of conversation to which he couldn’t lend some wit or thoughtful commentary. He was a good listener, a caring friend, had a wicked sense of
Valley of Love
humor and enjoyed practical jokes. Mark will be remembered by many for his helpfulness, kindness, generosity, friendship, curiosity and wisdom. Mark’s remaining family are grieving the loss of this unique star from their family constellation. They include his four children, Elaine Fruehauf Stranahan (Laine), of Berlin, Germany; Stephen August Stranahan (Gus), of Garden City, Michigan; Mason Duane Stranahan and Maxwell Quinn Stranahan (Max) who reside with their mother, Karen Prochnow, in Ann Arbor. Mark is also survived by his partner, Gaia Swan of Detroit, Michigan; as well as his father, George, and stepmother, Patti, of Carbondale; siblings Molly and her husband, Tom Curtin, of Tucson, Arizona; Patrick of Bozeman, Montana; Stuart and his wife Linda of Bainbridge Island, Washington; Brie of Nederland, Colorado; and Ben of Los Angeles, California; along with nieces Madison Stranahan of Bozeman, Rayna Miller of Lake Tahoe, California; and
nephews Austin Stranahan of Santa Barbara, California; Taig Miller of Nederland; and Francisco Stranahan of Bainbridge Island. Mark was predeceased by his mother, Betsy Lamb Stranahan of Ann Arbor, in 1993. Mark was a consummate volunteer, working passionately to elevate the causes he cared about including Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley in Ann Arbor. He served on the boards of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Summers-Knoll School and The Neutral Zone. If you are drawn to make a contribution in his memory, Mark would have appreciated support for organizations whose work was close to his heart. An online memorial is planned for Jan. 30, 2021, which would have been Mark’s 64th birthday. The family intends to host an in-person gathering when the pandemic allows, perhaps in Colorado during the summer, to continue to honor Mark’s life.
Let someone know how grateful you are, propose marriage, share your love for our beautiful valley or simply tell someone that you miss seeing them! Full on Love (Full page) - $400 Big Hearted Hug (1/2 page) - $225 Wild Heart (1/4 page) - $125 Puppy Love (1/8 page) - $65 Soft Spot (1/6th page) - $25 Individuals and businesses can take part in this sweet deal by calling Todd 970-510-0246, or by email: adsales@soprissun.com
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THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 13
By Suzie Brady
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Sopris Lodge at Carbondale
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Elevated Senior Living is Coming to Carbondale Sopris Lodge at Carbondale Senior Living is a lifestyle community offering independent living, assisted living and memory care for the Roaring Fork Valley. We support resident wellness, choice, and healthy living, allowing you to live well, age well.
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265 Main Street, Carbondale, Colorado | 970-440-2628 | SoprisLodge.com Independent Living | Assisted Living | Memory Care | Managed by 14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • soprissun.com • January 21 - January 27, 2021
PARTING SHOTS
LEGALS PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearing will be held before the Carbondale Board of Trustees for the purpose of considering an application for Major Site Plan Review, Subdivision Exemption, Conditional Use Permit (ground floor residential and self-storage facility) and Alterative Compliance (landscaping) for properties located at 1201 Colorado (Sopris Self-Storage) and 900-958 Highway 133 (Sopris Shopping Center). The proposal is to develop a mixed use project on the westerly portion of the property along Highway 133, and construct an additional self-storage building directly to the west of the existing storage buildings. The existing self-storage facility will remain in place. The property would then be subdivided to place the self-storage development on one lot and the mixed use building on another lot. The applicant is Carbondale Center Place LLC. The owner is Stein Properties, LP. Said Public Hearing will be held at 6:00 p.m. on February 9, 2021. You may watch a live streaming of the meeting on You Tube. Search Town of Carbondale meeting February 9, 2021. Please be aware that you will experience a 15-30 second delay. If you would like to submit comments regarding
this application, email your comments or letter to msikes@carbondaleco.net by 3:00 pm on February 9, 2021. This email or letter will be entered into the record. If you would like to comment during the meeting, email msikes@carbondaleco.net with your full name and address by 3:00 pm on February 9, 2021. You will receive instructions on joining the meeting online prior to 7:00 p.m. Also, you may contact msikes@carbondaleco.net to get a phone number to listen to the meeting, however, you will be unable to make comments. Wifi will be available in the lobby of Town Hall and a phone will also be available in the lobby for the public to listen to the meeting. Please email Janet Buck at jbuck@carbondaleco.net or call 970/510-1208 by 3:00 p.m. the date of the public hearing if special accommodations are necessary to participate in the meeting. Copies of the proposed application are available on the Town's website at www.carbondalegov. org. Please contact msikes@carbondaleco. net<mailto:msikes@carbondaleco.net> if you are unable to view the application on the Town's website and would like to request an alternate method of review. Janet Buck, Town Planner
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970-963-3891 While she stands outside under hanging tarps, Wendy Boland teaches AP Stats to both RFHS and GSHS students, both virtually and in-person, on the other side of the window. She avoids indoor contact with students because she takes care of her 89-year-old father. That's dedication! Photos by Sue Rollyson.
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Gift certificates available! Did you know that just like people visiting from lower elevations, pets can also get altitude sickness too? Oxygen cages provide air with a Downtown by Sopris Park | 704-1310 higher oxygen content to animals. For more on Basalt's Valley Emergency Pet Care, see page 10. Photo by Laurel Smith. THE SOPRIS SUN • Carbondale’s weekly community connector • January 21 - January 27, 2021 • 15