Month: December 1997

Uncle Mose devastated by jail election outcome

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Essay by Jerry Mosier

Prison politics – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Uncle Mose devastated by jail election outcome

by J. T. Mosier

CHICO FLATS, SAN LUIS VALLEY, COLORADO — Uncle Mose has been shaking his head and mumbling into his coffee since the 32 drubbing on election day of a proposed 100-bed jail for Chaffee County, and the consequent shattering of his hopes for a new career as a for-profit prison consultant.

“Commissioner Frank McMurry almost hit the nail on the head…weren’t any ORGANIZED opposition that killed our chances for the new jail; it was all that UNorganized opposition we didn’t count on…”

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Getting the shaft

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Essay by Martha & Ed Quillen

The golden obelisk – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

THIS IS THE SEASON of peace on earth, but it doesn’t appear that detente, perestroika, or nuclear test ban treaties are going to establish that peace any time soon.

An outfit in Crestone, however, has a new idea for establishing world peace once and for all. They plan to bring heaven to earth with a towering obelisk.

One of our spies in Crestone reports that, with the great pink-granite pyramid in apparent hibernation among the enlightened, some vortex attention has been diverted to a proposed obelisk.

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Fleeing to the desert

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Letter by Doug & Lindy Barnes

Colorado Central – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Fleeing to the desert, away from Salida’s woes

Editors:

Good morning from the Sonoran Desert.

It’s not often that I take the time to write to a magazine and its parents regardless of how it moves me (either very good or very bad). However, I must write and tell you how much I enjoyed reading “The Constitution Comes to Salida” by Ed Quillen.

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Mensa need not recruit in Salida

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Letter by John Walker

November 1997 edition – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Mensa needn’t recruit anywhere near Salida

Editor:

“How deep is the Arkansas River?” is now a stupid question? (“Stupid-Question Season,” November 1997)

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Colorado needs transportation, not monuments

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Letter by Donald Leach

Transportation – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado needs decent transportation, not monuments to egos

Editors:

Recent articles in The Denver Post concerning rail transportation in Summit County and neighboring counties make it evident that a campaign for the public’s mind is in progress. The emphasis on megabuck, megaprojects of the multi-billion dollar variety is conspicuous, as the supposed salvation for traffic and pollution problems. This is understandable, since the promotion, construction, and property interests can only make multi-millions from projects that are multi-billion. A thoughtful and insightful response to these drumbeats is essential and mandatory.

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The Oft-Neglected Symptoms of Rural Road Rage

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Essay by Ed Quillen

Rural Life – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

RECENTLY THE MEDIA, from national network specials down to the local weekly interviewing a convenient state trooper, have been bombarding us with messages about the horrors of Road Rage.

Since four out of five Americans live in Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas and endure freeways, the features have focused on eight-lane provocations and reactions: the aggravating jerk who insists on driving at the speed limit, the aggressive weaver pinballing to the exit ramp, the aggrieved 18-wheeler operator so wired on crank that he hallucinates obstacles rising from the pavement and feels compelled to smash them.

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Hard Rock from Turret

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Article by Dick Dixon

Mining – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

FEW MINERS in the Turret Mountain Mining District in 1897 realized the immortality they sought for their tiny towns would come in pink granite piled on the Capitol grounds in Salt Lake City, Utah, rather than gold deposits in bank ledgers and history books.

Men who founded towns and camps such as Turret, Minneapolis, Manoa, Whitehorn, Nelson, Cameron, Badger, Minnman, Kraft, and others in the Ute Trail country northeast of Salida were after gold. They took granite for granted. It was everywhere.

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How to make charcoal, a few tons at a time

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Sidebar by Lynda La Rocca

Charcoal – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

How to Make Charcoal, A Few Tons at a Time

The hearth method of charcoal-making required a hearth about 40 feet in diameter, slightly raised in the middle for drainage, and surrounded by a ring of clean soil free from stones and organic debris.

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Charcoal, the black gold of early Leadville

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Article by Lynda La Rocca

Local history – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE REMNANTS of Leadville’s wild and woolly frontier mining boom days are evident throughout the “Cloud City,” from the weathered headframes and tailings piles of its historic mining district to the 1879 Silver Dollar Saloon on downtown Harrison Avenue.

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Magic Here and Now

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Brief by Central Staff

Real Estate – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Magic here and now…

On the other hand, maybe we won’t need to wait a full thirty years for Vail to arrive, judging by the July 18 edition of The Vail Trail’s Real Estate Section, which contained a full-page advertisement, part of which is reproduced here.

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A Glimpse into our ‘Magic’ future?

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Brief by Central Staff

Real Estate – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

A Glimpse into our `Magic’ Future?

In this advertisement from the September 29 Denver Post, the Game Trail development outside Buena Vista asks “Want to see what Vail and Aspen were like 30 years ago?”

Well, as we recall, Aspen in 1967 was one of the meanest and harshest places in Colorado — unless you were a millionaire, you weren’t welcome, since a long-haired kid loitering on Hyman Street might sour the high-roller Eurotrash on Aspen and make them think about wintering in Gstaad instead.

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Briefs from the San Luis Valley

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Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

You Know You’re in the Rural West …

…When a dispute involving four people constitutes a riot. An Alamosa Valley Courier article told of a “riot” in our region this October.

As the story goes, law enforcement officials from two counties and the State Patrol were called to San Luis to arrest four people, two of whom were protesting logging of the Taylor Ranch by chaining themselves to a logging truck. The other two had allegedly brandished weapons at the protesters.

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Has the fat lady sung for Elephant Rock

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Brief by Central Staff

Water – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Has the fat lady sung at Elephant Rock?

“Sometimes it has seemed that [Colorado Springs] Utilities has gone out of its way to infuriate other communities. For example, a few years ago, Colorado Springs announced plans to dam the Arkansas River [at Elephant Rock]…

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Region’s voters pass a few tax increases

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Brief by Central Staff

Politics – December 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Region’s Voters Pass a Few Tax Increases

ODD-YEAR ELECTIONS in Colorado are catchalls — school boards, city councils and mayors, bond questions, and local tax rates appear on various ballots.

Mainstream pundits may argue that Americans are totally opposed to raising their own taxes, but that wasn’t the case in Central Colorado, where several tax increases were approved by voters.

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