Month: September 2005

Expensive gasoline and the rural lifestyle

by

Column by Hal Walter

Rural Life – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT IS A SOURCE of some minor wonderment to me that nearly every time I drive somewhere — which really isn’t all that often compared to many people — I see the same bright-yellow Humvee on the highway.

I’ve seen this vehicle heading into Westcliffe and out of Westcliffe. I’ve seen it on the road to Pueblo. I’ve seen it leave and enter its actual home driveway. I’ve encountered the vehicle in a variety of time-frames between sunrise and sunset. I have seen this vehicle so many times that I have come to believe this big yellow box on wheels is in perpetual motion at virtually all times, at somewhere between 10 and 12 mpg.

Read more

A water warrior looks back

by

Article by Marcia Darnell

Ralph Curtis – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ralph Curtis has seen 25 years of water wars. Unlike most grizzled veterans, however, he’s survived with honor — esteemed, respected, and liked by those around him.As head of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, he has witnessed dramatic changes in demographics, farming practices, land use, water use and water supply in the San Luis Valley. On the verge of retirement, he looks back on a good life’s work.

Read more

Christo and Jeanne-Claude come to Salida

by

Article by Doris Dembosky

Art – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHAT’S A PERSON to believe? Are installation artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude monsters or high priests? And what exactly is “Over the River” anyway?

Fresh from “The Gates,” their successful New York City installation that saw 7,500 orange nylon panels hanging above 23 miles of walkways in Central Park in March, Christo and Jeanne-Claude were in Salida on August 1 to jump-start their stalled “Over the River” project.

Read more

Deadly delusions

by

Essay by Martha Quillen

Politics – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

IF THERE’S ONE THING that history can teach us, it’s that people have seldom loved their neighbors. And in our age of terrorism, and wars on terrorism, that should provide some small comfort. At least our enmity is nothing new.

Read more

The wolf at the door

by

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Rural Life – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Martha,

Thanks for allowing space for me to express opinions different than your own, but your rebuttal (August) seems more based on your own construction and less on what I wrote or implied. Re-read my words, please. Here’s what I didn’t say.

Read more

Appalled by the law

by

Letter from Withheld By Request

Drug Laws – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Colorado Central Magazine:

I’m disappointed and appalled at the way our government is treating its citizens. We allow the DEA to ignore state law in regard to what the people have fought to enact. Federal immunity is another way of saying they are above the law and can do as they please.

Read more

No trespass problems yet

by

Letter from Roger Williams

Recreation – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Democrat, Lincoln and Bross in the Mosquito Range closed by private land? (Aug. 2005, p. 9, “DO NOT ENTER”). That’s news to me. When I climbed them, plus nearby Buckskin Mt., a few years ago, the only signs I saw were on some old mines by the road up the valley posted “No Trespassing.” They obviously applied to the mine properties, not the road.

Read more

Hazards of ‘Over the River’

by

Letter from Nancy Markman

Art – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Residents of Chaffee and Frémont Counties are deeply divided about Christo’s proposed draping of the Arkansas River. I have no interest in debating the merits of his art ; some will like it and some won’t. For those who love Christo’s work and for those interested in anything that would cause an economic boon, please, Christo, come down and drape something other than the canyon which is gorgeous, just as it is. Many of us dread the untold harm this proposed project could cause:

Read more

A missing attraction

by

Letter from Chuck Downing

Recreation – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Martha & Ed,

In your August 2005 edition, you have a section called “Central Attractions”. While several attractions in Leadville were included there, I was disappointed that there is no mention of the Mineral Belt Trail.

Read more

Of matters near and far

by

Letter from Stephyen Glover

Sundry – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed:

It’s been a while since I’ve felt the urge to expound, but somehow today seems right. There are a number of both local and world issues that I’d like to comment upon, in no particular order.

1) The world energy crisis. First, thank you for publishing a letter to the editor that referred to “Hubbert’s Peak” in regard to the upcoming energy crisis. I so wish that more people understood the notion. The math is pretty simple and the implications are huge. What the world, and we in the US in particular, are going to face will be nothing like the oil “crisis” of the ’70s. That was strictly a political gesture. This crisis will admit to no quick, clean or political fix.

Read more

Nothing but late summer

by

Column by George Sibley

Mountain Life – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

I GRUMP AND MUMPFH about this or that so often in this column that you might think I never stop to look around and smell the whatevers. But that’s not really the case, and I need to remind you, as well as myself, why this is a place worthy of all that concern. Like the recent Sunday when my partner Maryo and I went hiking up a high valley here (name suppressed to protect the innocent) – a great day for it: on the hot side, but around noon a little breeze started ricocheting around the valley that kept the bugs at bay, except for half a dozen incredibly slow flies that even I was fast enough to whack before they got a bite. The light cirrus clouds that had relieved that boring perfect blue began to conspire into modest piles, and up toward the pass took on the bruised underbelly that implied afternoon showers, but nothing that was going to dampen our day down in the valley.

Read more

Bankruptcy: The end of the line for ASARCO?

by

Article by Steve Voynick

Mining – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

ASARCO LLC, formerly ASARCO Inc., a company that most old-timers still call the American Smelting & Refining Company, or simply “AS&R,” has been part of Leadville for more than a century. AS&R quickly grew beyond its Leadville roots, first becoming the keystone of the Guggenheim family fortune, then a multinational, billion-dollar conglomerate of metal mines, mills, smelters, refineries, and related businesses.

Read more

Other mountains with access issues

by

Sidebar by Allen Best

Recreation – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

In the Telluride area, a landowner threatens to block use of his land that is commonly used to reach three fourteeners (Wilson Peak, Mt. Wilson, and El Diente) while he seeks a land trade with the U.S. Forest Service.

Read more

Trespassing at high altitude

by

Article by Allen Best

Recreation – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

MAURY REIBER can claim a distinction like no other in Colorado. He owns the highest of Colorado’s privately owned high-end real estate, the summit of Mt. Lincoln. At 14,291 feet, it’s Colorado eighth-highest mountain.

But even if very few people own a mountain summit, Mr. Reiber remains in rarified company in another way. He is Colorado as it used to be – a person who values Colorado real estate as much for what can be grubbed from it as for its scenery. He is, at heart, a miner.

Read more

UAWCD loses bid to expand to all of Frémont County

by

Brief by Central Staff

Water Politics – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District cannot expand to cover all of Frémont County because the petitions did not have an adequate number of proper signatures.

District Judge David Thorson made that ruling on July after several days of hearings in Cañon City. The District had accepted the petitions (technically, it was called “verified consent”) and presented them to the court.

Read more

Regioneal Roundup

by

Brief by Ed Quillen

Regional News – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Feast or Famine

Our weather seems to mimic the Colorado economy: Boom and Bust. We complain about how little rain we get, and then suddenly there’s too much.

That happened on Aug. 5 about 10 miles northeast of Salida, when a thunderstorm dropped 1.6 inches of rain in about 30 minutes. The water from a 35-square-mile drainage roared down Dead Horse Gulch, washing out a private road that served more than a dozen residences. It also washed out Spiral Drive, the road that leads to the top of Tenderfoot Hill.

Read more

A possible definition for ‘High Country’

by

Brief by Allen Best

Food – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Many enterprises in Colorado use the expression “High Country,” as in High Country News of Paonia and High Country Bank of Salida. However, they have never specified where “high” begins. Does “high” begin at 5,000 feet, 8,000, or 10,000 feet or more?

Read more

Hefley might face a challenge

by

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Hefley might face a challenge

Joel Hefley, who has served nine terms representing Colorado’s 5th Congressional District in Washington, may face a challenge for the Republican nomination next year.

The 5th District currently comprises El Paso, Teller, Frémont, Chaffee, Park, and Lake counties; the rest of Central Colorado and the San Luis Valley are in the 3rd District, represented by John Salazar.

Read more

High Society and the Mining Hall of Fame

by

Brief by Central Staff

Mining History – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

On Sept. 17, the National Mining Museum in Leadville will induct five new members to its Hall of Fame. All are pioneers of the mining industry.

Four made their careers outside Colorado: John M. Longyear, 1850-1922, iron mining in Michigan; John McDonald, 1848-1918, copper mining in Utah; Julius E. Raht, 1826-79, copper mining in Tennessee; and John D. Ryan, 1864-1933, copper mining in Montana.

Read more

Gunnison ranchers now selling directly to public

by

Brief by Central Staff

Agriculture – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Several ranchers in the Gunnison Country have started selling directly to the public. The Gunnison Valley Beef Producers brand was formed last year, and its three brands are Jack’s Cabin Graziers, Mill Creek Natural Beef, and Spring Creek Natural Beef.

Read more

Briefs from the San Luis Valley

by

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

La Sierra Mas

La Sierra, aka the Taylor Ranch, was opened to 410 more people. The access, granted to the descendants of the pre-1960 users, allows hunting, grazing and firewood gathering. Access was closed for decades by private owners, resulting in bitter, sometimes bloody, conflict. More applications for access are under review.

Vote Previews

Read more

Giardia may not be that big a threat

by

Brief by Allen Best

Health – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

You know you should never, never drink water from streams in the backcountry. For 30 years we’ve heard warnings that you can get Giardia lamblia cysts and other microscopic miscreants that can cause diarrhea and other great unpleasantness.

Read more

County Fair: I hope he is good eating

by

Essay by Janelle Holden

Rural Life – September 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine –

IN THE RURAL WEST, July and August are months of heat broken up by haying, a wedding or anniversary celebration and the county fair. It’s the time when 4-H projects ripen and months of work culminate in a coveted ribbon.I was raised on a northern Montana cattle ranch and participated in 4-H despite my mother’s objections.

Read more

Western Water Report: September 2, 2005

by

UNION PARK RESERVOIR: JUDGE CUTS OFF FIRM’S RIGHTS

Union Park Reservoir, the controversial plan to tap the Gunnison River headwaters for Front Range communities, suffered a serious setback last week when a state judge revoked a key water right. Denver Post, 08/08 <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2922672>

Read more