Month: April 1998

Trout Fishing in the Arkansas

by

Column by Hal Walter

Wildlife – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE CAST LANDED SOMEWHERE in the vicinity of where I wanted it to, and when the fly drifted into the riffle it stopped dead. I lifted the rod’s tip, probably too quickly. There was a big splash and a yellowish flash. The big brown trout rolled over and, using the tension of my rod, sprung the fake bug right back at me. The fly nearly hit me in the face, and the rest of the line floated loosely through the air, coiling at my feet.

Read more

Utah is welcome to the winter olympic games

by

Essay by Ed Quillen

Politics – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

FOR THOSE OF US who remembered a similar scene 26 years earlier, there was something eerie about the finale of the 1998 Winter Games.

The 1972 Winter Olympics were also held in Japan, and the closing ceremonies at both Nagano and Sapporo symbolized the transfer of the torch to a city in the Mountain West of the United States for the next competition, four years hence.

Read more

Priced out of Colorado, they’re headed for Oklahoma

by

Sidebar by Terence Corrigan

Restoring old cars – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Headed for Oklahoma

Dennis Francis grew up with old cars, helping his uncle Stan around the shop in Howard.

Although he tried truck driving for 13 years, he eventually decided to return full-time to the antique car and truck body restoration business. “I have always come back to this because I enjoy fabricating parts and working on old cars,” he said.

Read more

Stan Frances of Howard is trying to retire (again)

by

Article by Terence Corrigan

Restoring Old Cars – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

AFTER 41 YEARS OF RESTORING and building antique truck and car bodies, Stan and Mary Francis of Howard are retiring.

“This is the second time we’ve decided to retire,” Stan said, as he serviced the antique sewing machine he uses to stitch upholstery, convertible tops, and side curtains.

Stan and Mary’s first retirement started 21 years ago after they closed their Denver business, Golden Restoration, and moved out of the city to Howard. At its peak, Golden Restoration employed 32 workers.

Read more

‘Rocky Mountain High’ should be our state song

by

Letter by Ken Davies

Colorado – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

`Rocky Mountain High’ should be our state song

With little more, in 1972, than a guitar, his voice, and a remarkably clear artistic insight, John Denver placed an image into the world of Colorado’s most known and admired identity attribute. Since then, “Rocky Mountain High” has emotionally captivated hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of people and burned into them their image of Colorado.

Read more

Reducing government would control ‘right wing extremists’

by

Letter by Lindell Cline

Politics – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Reducing size of government is best way to control `Right-Wing Extremists’

To the Editor:

Regarding Riff Fenton’s review of the book Harvest of Rage:

It would seem that in reviewing books, book reviewers should confine themselves to reviewing book books, rather than promoting their own extremist agendas, especially when they appear to largely agree with the author. Only an ultra-extreme liberal could believe that the media are dominated by conservatives.

Read more

Water meter woes have just started

by

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

Salida politics – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Last summer, Salida started putting in water meters.

But now, with half of the city’s meters already in, there still seem to be a lot of questions and concerns regarding Salida’s metering project, including:

First, since the water meters were designed for median strips, there was some question about whether they should be driven over. Yet, because a lot of Salida’s streets don’t have curbs and sidewalks, many meters have already been installed where people ordinarily park.

Read more

Is this any way to run a business?

by

Essay by Martha Quillen

Politics – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

RECENTLY, A LOT OF PEOPLE have been clamoring for state’s rights, for dismantling the Federal government’s stranglehold on our concerns, for returning power to the people.

Those in favor of “less government” talk of New England town meetings, of participatory democracy, and about unfunded Federal mandates. The theory seems to be that the smaller the government entity the better — because then the citizens will have more say.

Read more

How rain and rocks can produce pollution

by

Sidebar by Ed Quillen

Pollution – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

IF MINE DUMPS consist of unprocessed rocks that were already present, albeit underground, how can they contribute to water pollution?

Most mineral deposits hereabouts are either sulfides or sit with sulfides, which are compounds of metals with sulfur. Molybdenite, the stuff that made Climax a profitable industry for several generations, is molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Galena, the principal ore of lead, is lead sulfide (PbS). Argentite, a silver ore, is silver sulfide (Ag2S). Zinc’s main ore is sphalerite (ZnS). Gold seldom forms sulfides, but it’s often found with pyrite — iron sulfide (FeS2), better known as fool’s gold.

Read more

Leadville’s Mine Dumps: Monument or Menance?

by

Article by Sharon Chickering

Mining – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

An oversized golf course. A tiered wedding cake. Just plain overkill.

Those are some assessments of the reconstructed mine waste piles in Leadville’s Stray Horse Gulch.

AFTER MORE THAN FOURTEEN YEARS of study, investigation, and analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, huge dump trucks and other heavy equipment rumbled over the east side of Leadville and up East 5th Street last summer. Work had finally begun on designated portions of the approximately 16.5 square miles of the California Gulch Superfund site.

Read more

Art in High, Dry Places

by

Brief by Central Staff

Local art scene – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Art in High, Dry Places

The San Luis Valley sits just upriver from Taos and Santa Fé, and the connection appears to be growing.

The Denver Post featured Valley art in a March 15 article, which observed that “The arid, mountainous landscape and the multicultural mix of Anglo, Spanish, and Indian traditions that inspired the Taos school of Southwestern art … exist here, too. Even the culture of Taos’s fabled artist colony earlier this century has been somewhat replicated…”

Read more

Quotable Quotations from Around the West

by

Brief by Betsy Marston

Miscellany – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Mysteriously emerging from the Internet recently came this note from “the trees”: “StoP tHE LoGGing or wE WiLl coNtInUE to Kill oNe CeleBriTY Each WEek. TheRe ARe nO SkIing accIdenTs.”

In Montana recently, a couple of dozen hunters dined on cougar roasts at a banquet sponsored by an outfitter. Afterwards the Missoula Independent claimed the cougar meat resembled turkey mixed with ham and was so tasty one man said it made him want to “roast his house cat.”

Read more

Briefs from the San Luis Valley

by

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

There Goes da Judge

James Mrzlak, 49, resigned as Saguache County Court judge after pleading guilty to a drunken-driving charge in February. It was His Honor’s second such offense.

Mrzlak pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired. He was granted a deferred sentence for a year and must complete alcohol counseling, perform 48 hours of community service, and pay court costs. His earlier offense resulted in three points against his driver’s license.

Read more

Total recall in Park County

by

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Total Recall in Park County

Park County voters recalled all three of their commissioners in a special election on Feb. 27, and it wasn’t even close.

In District 1, Richard Trast was ousted 1,600-754; Steve Benninghoven lost 1,717-643 in District 2; and Douglas Walters was on the short end of a 1,908-445 tally in District 3.

Read more

How to help Colorado’s highest town

by

Brief by Central Staff

Alma rampage – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Rampage devastates Alma

The same week that Park County recalled its commissioners, one of its towns suffered from an incredible rampage.

Alma, with about 200 residents, sits a few miles up Hoosier Pass from Fairplay. On the evening of Feb. 26, its former mayor, Willie Morrison, was killed in the town hall as he conducted an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Read more

10 minutes under the snow is enough for a lifetime

by

Essay by Mark Matthews

Outdoors – April 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

I COULDN’T SLEEP LAST NIGHT. I spent the day writing about avalanches. In bed, bad memories returned of the ten minutes I once spent buried under snow. As I put my head to my pillow I again experienced the hysteria of claustrophobia. I felt as if I couldn’t suck enough air into my lungs.

Read more