Column by Hal Walter
Rural Life – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
IT IS BUT A VAGUE SUPERSTITION that life tomorrow will be anything like it is today. If you don’t think this is true, go read the book, or see the movie, Grapes of Wrath. It is perhaps the best documentary metaphor for our current times.
Column by George Sibley
Government – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
A TRILLION. Two trillion. That’s the size, in dollars, of the budget proposed by another of those Presidents who was supposedly going to cut federal spending. Turns out he only meant to cut revenues; we just assumed that meant he would also be cutting spending.
Letter from Earle Kittleman
Preservation – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
The state budget crisis is sending alarm signals throughout rural areas such as Salida where local historians are worried that funds may dry up to accomplish projects that are just now getting started.
Letter from Slim Wolfe
Review – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
Your editorial on the inadequacies of America brings me to an interesting point, the realization that our proposed war is neither about weapons or oil, but it is about an inferiority complex. Listen to the rhetoric from Washington. What I hear is that if we can make some other nation roll over and, to be blunt, offer us the flaming rear end of surrender like a baboon, we might deceive ourselves into believing we are not on a sinking ship.
Letter from Dave Skinner
Political economy – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
George Sibley’s approach in “On the Ground” seems to be to socialize everything possible. As a “libertarian Republican,” I’ll try to refute him without resorting to “religious ideology.” To begin, one word explains why airline nationalization is wrong: AEROFLOT.
Letter from Rex And Lavonne Ewing
Review – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
We wanted to thank Kirby Perschbacher for the spirited and honest review of our book, Logs, Wind and Sun. As a builder, Kirby was able to offer a great deal of insight that would have been missing had the book been reviewed by someone who had not lumbered down the same road we did. And we absolutely agree that anyone wishing to build their own home — log or otherwise — and power it from renewable energy sources, should not rely on our book as the sole source of information (though, for purely egotistical reasons, we do think our book should be the primary source).
Letter from Larae W. Essman
Media – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Martha,
A little slow getting to the January, 2003
Review by Kay Matthews
Public Land – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
This Sovereign Land: A New Vision for Governing the West
By Daniel Kemmis
Published in 2001 by Island Press
ISBN 1-559-63842-7
Review by Ken Wright
Outdoors – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Cedar Mesa: A place where spirits dwell
By David Petersen, with photographs by Branson Reynolds
Published in 2002 by University of Arizona Press
ISBN 0-8165-2234-0
Review by Ed Quillen
Wildflire – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
In Fire’s Way – A Practical Guide to Life in the Wildfire Danger Zone
by Tom Wolf
Published in 2003 by University of New Mexico Press
ISBN 0-8263-2096-1
Article by Lynda La Rocca
Local Artists – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
WHEN ARTIST MICHAEL CHÁVEZ begins a new painting, he isn’t thinking about the finished product.
In fact, he’s trying not to think about design or hue at all. Instead, Chàvez lets the creative process engulf him. And the result is canvasses filled with evocative shapes and vibrant colors, which create a world of abstractions where form generates meaning based on the viewer’s personal experience.
Article by Allen Best
Public Lands – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
FORMER MONTANA CONGRESSMAN Pat Williams was talking about Yellowstone National Park and snowmobiles, but he could have been talking about public lands anywhere.
“Have you ever driven a snowmobile into Yellowstone’s wonders?” In many ways “it is a delight,” he said.
Sidebar by Mike Feeley
Ku Klux Klan – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
From the Opening Day remarks of Colorado State Senate Minority Leader Mike Feeley, January 7, 1998
There is another gentleman from Colorado that many of you have heard of, maybe some of you haven’t. His name is Billy Adams. He was from Alamosa. Billy Adams was first elected to public office as county commissioner in Conejos County in 1882. Four years later he was elected as a representative from Alamosa, after one term in the House he was elected to the State Senate where he served, in this chamber, for 38 years. Billy Adams was a Democrat and almost all of his long tenure he served as a member of the minority party.
Essay by Ed Quillen
Ku Klux Klan – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
MY FATHER often commented, in the course of some discussion or another, that “back in the ’20s, the Klan pretty much ran Colorado.” When I was in college, a friend who grew up in Denver’s southern suburbs had discovered that the flagpole at the old Englewood High School building (by then converted to a junior high) still bore a plaque stating that it had been donated by patriotic local Klansmen in the 1920s.
Article by Orville Wright
Ku Klux Klan – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
POLITICIANS ARE AFRAID of skeletons in the closet — especially around election time. No matter how squeaky clean a candidate claims to be, the opposition usually manages to dredge up dirt from some obscure location and proceed to start slinging mud. You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all recently been force-fed an overdose of political nonsense, so the point won’t be taken any further here.
Sidebar by Marcia Darnell
Local Attractions – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Here’s a partial list of summer events at the Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center. Please check with the museum for details and changes.
Sidebar by Marcia Darnell
Local Attractions – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Friends of the Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center get a slew of special privileges for a modest fee.
Article by Marcia Darnell
Local Attractons – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
IT’S NOT A PLACE that just puts an “OPEN” sign in the window and waits for people to show up.
The Rio Grande County Museum and Cultural Center lives up to its name, especially the latter description. The small facility, tucked away on a side street of Del Norte, generates more interest and education than a college professor stoked up on grant money.
Brief by Central Staff
Insects – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
There are times when the drought seems like a blessing of sorts. More precisely, the one time was last summer, when we were at a potluck in Saguache and were able to sit outdoors without fighting off mosquitoes. The water table was too low to support the ponds they breed in.
But there were some mosquitoes hereabouts last summer, and a few of them were carrying West Nile Virus. It is most deadly to horses — about 30% of those infected die — but there is a vaccine. As for us humans, less than 1% of those infected will die.
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
If all goes according to plan, steam will return to the Royal Gorge in 2005 when the Cañon City & Royal Gorge Railroad puts No. 19 back into service.
The 2-8-0 locomotive began its career on the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad, hauling taconite (a kind of iron ore) on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In 1989, it was acquired by the Grand Canyon Railroad in Arizona; its sister, No. 20, remains in use there, hauling passenger excursions from Williams to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.
Brief by Central Staff
Forests – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Piñon trees have always seemed quite durable — they can live to be 200 — but they’re suffering from the drought, too.
The piñon problem is an indirect result of dry weather. When there’s not enough water, the trees cut down on their sap production — and that’s their major defense against a tiny beetle known to science as Ips confusus. It’s about the size of a grain of rice.
Brief by Greg Kielian
Politics – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
As we went to press, the Colorado General Assembly was considering a law which would require all public schools, courthouses, and state offices to post “In God We Trust, the National Motto of the United States of America.” Greg Kielian of Long mont sent us this suggested design for the plaque:
Brief by Martha Quillen
Current events – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Not So Peaceful Peace March
On February 15th, more than a million people marched for peace in Rome and Barcelona; ¾ of a million in London; 70,000 in Toronto; and hundreds of thousands gathered in U.S. cities — without incident. At the same time, 3,000 to 4,000 protesters assembled in Colorado Springs — where police resorted to tear gas, rubber bullets and a stun gun.
Brief by Central Staff
Water Politics – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Rep. Paul Weissmann of Louisville kept his campaign promise to introduce a bill for regular elections in water conservancy districts. But that’s about as far as it got.
His proposed legislation, HB-1195, would have put water conservancy districts on the same basis as most other special districts, like hospital and fire-protection. People would petition to be on the ballot. If there was only one candidate, no election would be held, and if there were no candidates, the remaining directors could name someone.
Brief by Allen Best
Recycling – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
A study is underway to examine whether a construction materials reuse center is feasible in the Gunnison area.
Spare lumber is often used for firewood, but most unused material ends up in the landfill, says one of the center’s proponents, Melanie Rees. The idea is to collect building scraps, unused materials, and items displaced during remodeling such as sinks and maybe even furniture. These items are then paired with new owners.
Brief by Allen Best
Science – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
A 30-inch telescope is expected to be placed at a new observatory just south of the town of Gunnison. The county government had placed a down payment on the telescope in hopes it will attract professionals, students, and amateur astronomers to the area, reports the Crested Butte News.
Brief by Central Staff
Rural life – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
At Boom Days in August, Leadville holds an outhouse race, with crews pushing privies on wheels down Harrison Avenue. It’s the only such race we know of in Colorado, although they are held elsewhere.
Brief by Allen Best
Wildlife – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Missing Pikas
Pikas are disappearing from the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada in what researchers say is the first link between global warming and the widespread disappearance of entire animal populations.
Brief by Marcia Darnell
San Luis Valley – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Barely There
Good luck opening a porn shop in Alamosa. The city council adopted regs about adult-oriented businesses that prohibit operation within 750 feet of schools, day care centers, churches (you’d think their faith would protect them), medical facilities (you’d think antibiotics would protect them) and residences. There’s a slew of other restrictions, too. Better stick to the Internet.
Brief by Central Staff
Water – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
When we started this magazine nine years ago, one reason was to define a region: Central Colorado. On that account, we feel a minor sense of accomplishment (warranted or not) when we see the sign for Central Colorado Regional Airport or a Central Colorado Widget Co.
Essay by Ed Marston
Rural Life – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
I WAS PUSHED OUT OF New York 30 years ago. I couldn’t take the city as it was, and I couldn’t change to meet New York on its terms. We moved to Colorado, where a mountain loomed in our backyard.
There were challenges, of course. A tiny coal-mining town is alien to someone raised on pavement. But after a decade, Paonia began to fit. I was pleased with the city-for-country trade until the recent northeast storm, and I saw people skiing on my former city’s streets and in its parks. And until I heard from New York friends that trains, cars, buses, dinner parties, work and noise had stopped. They loved it.
BLACK CANYON WATER RIGHT SETTLEMENT
The United States announced a settlement agreement with the State of Colorado regarding the federal reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The agreement provides a minimum year-round stream flow of 300 cfs with a 1933 appropriation date. The remaining flow needs for the Canyon will be provided by a 2003 state appropriation, through its Instream Flow Program, that will be based on annual snowpack within the Upper Gunnison Basin. The releases from the Aspinall Unit, above the Black Canyon, will be determined by annual consultation between the federal, state, regional and local water agencies. This arrangement is intended to make the Park Service’s rights junior to all other water rights within the basin. [This is very bad precedent for resolution of all future federal reserved water right claims by removing the seniority of federal claims based on when federal lands were reserved.]
