Brief by Martha Quillen
Local News – April 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Monarch Offers Mirkwood and More, More, More….
On March 3, the Monarch Ski and Snowboard Area opened Mirkwood Basin, which it bills as 130-acres of Extreme Terrain. Skiers must hike about 500 feet uphill to reach the dizzying heights, which now make up Monarch’s steepest terrain.
Mirkwood Basin “marks the second time in the mountain’s 66-year history, the area has opened new terrain for skiers.” But according to Monarch press releases, Mirkwood is just one of many improvements planned by the new owners of Monarch, a team of 15 investors.
Since 2002, they expanded the base lodge with a new deck. And this summer they’re scheduled to stay open for business, offering recreational activities “in abundance (mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding and jeep tours, rafting, kayaking, fishing and simple lounging),” and operating their 10,000 square foot lodge, which was “designed for weddings, family reunions, spiritual retreats and business conferences.”
For those who, like us, were left embarrassingly blank by the name of Monarch’s newest terrain, Mirkwood is better-known as that old Elven Kingdom of Middle-Earth, home of Legolas the Fair, defender of Frodo Baggins, Bearer of the Ring.
(Now we get it; it wasn’t named for Milkwood, or Myrtle Wood, or murky wood after all. We should have remembered. But for some reason, Ed and I suspect that we were not the clientele that Monarch’s marketers had in mind when they came up with that name.)
Coming Attractions
After reading our page two essay, Ed and I realized that we both harbored a sentimental fondness for those tacky tourist traps of old — which still tend to loom large in our memories of long-ago road trips. Perhaps that’s because most “world-class” resorts aren’t very child-friendly. Today, I vaguely recall seeing Radio City Music Hall, the Empire State Building, and the Everglades, but I remember those mystery houses that defied gravity, which seemed to be all over the place more … And the world’s highest public diving platform at a lake in up-state New York: “Defy gravity, take your life in your hands.” And a veritable treasure of “authentic” wax museums in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia (which were probably solvent because they were the only air-conditioned buildings in an absolutely sweltering town).
Colorado, however, seemed rather kitschy tourist-trap deficient, especially recently, which made me wonder if we’d grown beyond unsophisticated attractions for the kiddie-set. Or maybe our society has just grown too old, demographically, for all of those little resort area side-shows. After all, Colorado’s population is graying.
But at least we have the Gator Farm, right here in the San Luis Valley, I concluded. Then I remembered our last trip down Highway 50, past the Royal Gorge Bridge and Theme Park with “the world’s scariest Skycoaster,” the Royal Rush, “the highest on the Planet.” And just down the road, The Northpole, Home of Santa’s Workshop, and Buckskin Joe Frontier Town and Railway.
And Canon City also has The Dinosaur Depot, a fossil museum which is considerably more serious than those thrilling theme parks, but definitely calculated to please the youngsters.
And if you go on into Colorado Springs, you’ll pass by the best old-fashioned tourist attraction signage around, for the May Tropical Museum, which features a huge, disgusting, larger than life insect sculpture at the entrance.
Forget Aspen and Vail, Central Colorado holds its own when it comes to mighty mini-attractions.
Recreational Water In Limbo
In mid March, the Colorado Supreme Court reviewed the recent decision to grant a recreational water right to The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD), for Gunnison’s new river park.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) opposed the granting of that right, and was therefore thrilled when the court reversed the earlier decision.
But the Supreme Court actually ruled that both sides had erred. And according to the Gunnison Country Times, the UGRWCD was pleased to note that the court did affirm “the validity of recreation being a beneficial use of water under Colorado law.”
What seemed to be at issue was that neither side correctly addressed the question of how much water would be necessary for recreational purposes. The lower court failed “to give effect to the phrases ‘minimum steam flow’ ‘for a reasonable recreation experience,'” the Sun Country Times explained.
The UGRWCD argued that the water flowing through the park should reflect the natural hydrology of the river, with low flows in spring which reach a zenith during run-off and then diminish. But the CWCB recommended a flat water right of 250 cubic feet per second.
The court indicated that the CWCB couldn’t just opine its perception of the appropriate stream flow, and it wasn’t the organization’s place to determine how much water would constitute a “reasonable recreation experience.” Yet this amount apparently needs to be addressed.
Both sides claimed a victory this time around, but the UGRWCD is discouraged about the mounting expenses.
Malicious Misdeeds
In February, vandals went on a week-long spree spray-painting anti-immigration messages on more than a dozen Gunnison buildings, The Gunnison Country Times reported.
In response, the police launched an investigation and handed out graffiti cleaner, which apparently wasn’t very effective on old brick walls. Selma Eastman, the owner of The Toggery, told the newspaper that she would probably have to sandblast the words, “Americans for an American America” off of her building.
But by the following week, four Gunnison teenagers had been caught in the act, painting “vulgar” messages on the Gunnison County Courthouse and Webster Hall. Although the police couldn’t be sure whether the teens they’d apprehended were responsible for all of the messages in town, they told the newspaper that there were “definite similarities.”
The teens were summoned to appear in court with their families. And the vandalism ceased. Although “happy” may not be the ideal word — considering the remnants of hard-to-remove paint and the inevitable emotional fall-out provoked by such unkind messages — it should have been a reasonably agreeable ending. But acrimony simmered.
In the February 17 Gunnison Country Times, Ellen Pederson, the director of Gunnison’s Multicultural Center said the “hate painting” made her “very nervous.” (And that’s all she was quoted as saying.)
Then on February 24, Michael Holzmeister of Denver wrote a letter protesting her reaction. He ridiculed Pederson for being nervous about something “as trifling as spray paint on a wall.” He went on to accuse “multicultural center directors” of “all being cut from the same cloth” and believing “that only white people are capable of committing a racially motivated crime,” and having “the misconception that people of African descent are incapable of racism.”
“To my mind,” Holzmeister continued, ” an American America is a place where everyone is tolerated and respected, though disagreeable they may be. Pederson is intolerant and disrespectful of people who do not fit into her multicultural view of the world. She may preach acceptance of differences, but when it comes down to it, she is probably about as tolerant as your average moron with a can of spray paint.”
It seemed pretty amazing that Holzmeister could find so much to criticize in Pederson’s cryptic comments. But his remarks made it clear that he was basing his judgements on other people’s actions, somewhere else.
One couldn’t help but suspect that Holzmeister felt that he had been treated unfairly in the past. And after reading Holzmeister’s remarks, Pederson undoubtedly felt that she’d been treated unfairly. And so it goes. The letters quickly dwindled and life went on. But the whole episode, from beginning to end, tapped into a well of animosity which left a bitter and lingering taste.
Do The Gates Lead Over the River?
Now that artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have completed “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park, Arkansas Valley residents are starting to talk about the artists’ proposed project here. For “Over the River,” Christo and Jeanne-Claude propose to suspend translucent fabric over six to seven miles of the Arkansas between Salida and Canon City.
But according to The Mountain Mail, the Bureau of Land Management river manager said he hasn’t heard from the artists in two years, so he’s not sure whether the Arkansas project is their next art project or not, and the BLM field manager said even if Christo arrived tomorrow, it couldn’t happen until 2008 (due to the environmental impact reports and permits necessary). But Kathryn Wadsworth, the permit coordinator for the “Over the River” project, told the paper that she had recently met with the artists in New York, and the project is still on.”
So local talk about the project is escalating, and letters have started to trickle into the newspaper. Some locals love the idea, but others hate it. The primary local objection has been environmental, and includes worry about local wildlife and damage to the terrain.
But the artists’ supporters generally scoff at such objections. One of their websites says:
“So-called environmentalists, in the past, have claimed, before each project, that Christo and Jeanne-Claude will hurt the environment. They realized, after the completion that:
* 1. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are the cleanest artists in the world, all is removed, their large scale works of art are temporary.
* 2. The sites are restored to their original condition and most materials are recycled. Except in Florida, for the Surrounded Islands. That site was luckily not restored to its original condition. Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s workers removed, before the project, at Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s expense, 40 tons of garbage from the eleven islands (one of the islands was called “beer cans island” – of course the garbage was not restored to the Islands!
* 3. The Real Environmentalists … know how much Christo and Jeanne-Claude spend to make the public aware of the environment, through the art work, much more than Environmentalists can afford to do.”
In a television interview aired during the Central Park extravaganza, the artists said that they expected protest, and had come to see it as part of the challenge.
But at this point, the permits still have to be obtained, and the project fleshed out, and the arrangements made, which will probably take years. And the famous artists are getting pretty old at this point — so it’s difficult to predict what will come of this project.
Cottonwood Controversy Continues
Years ago we did a story about the two sides of the Cottonwood Pass controversy. In short, both sides of Cottonwood pass (which connects Buena Vista and Taylor Park) were supposed to be paved. But as it turned out many Gunnison County residents were against it, and protested, so the Gunnison side was never paved.
The objections of Gunnison County residents were varied, but two common reasons were cited: 1) it would allow too much traffic to travel from Chaffee County into quiet Taylor Park 2) tourists could subsequently visit Taylor Park without passing through any Gunnison County towns, or even so much as buying gas.
Now, however, citizens in the Gunnison Country want the Taylor River Road, which goes from Gunnison to Taylor Park, improved (with federal assistance). But federal officials challenge the idea of improving a paved “transportation corridor” that’s only partially paved.
According to the Gunnison Country Times, in a county work session where local and federal officials discussed the future of the Taylor River Road, Glenda Wilson, a Forest Service spokesperson said, “If we were starting this project today, we would not improve the ends and leave the middle unpaved.”
Nothing was resolved in that meeting. But since many of the proposed improvements for the Taylor River Road aren’t supposed to happen until 2008, that’s hardly surprising.
Former Leadville Principal Sentenced
Linda Lewis, the former principal of Pitts and West Park Elementary Schools in Leadville was found guilty of one misdemeanor child-abuse charge, in connection with swatting a boy on October 16, 2003. According to the Herald Democrat, the boy was butting his head against Cathy McGeorge, a paraprofessional who had him in a safety restraint hold, when Lewis decided he should be stopped before he hurt McGeorge, so she swatted him. Lewis was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and fines of up to $169.
Lewis was acquitted of charges stemming from an accusation that she slammed a little girl into a chair in September of 2003.
Radio Reduction
Mary Wood, AKA Mary Rose, news director and familiar voice at KVRH, is now the former news director, after the station terminated her job — without notice.
Station manager Michael Kerrigan told The Mountain Mail that “Mary did a tremendous job for us and has been a positive influence.” Kerrigan said it was a business decision which came from upper management. “We were asked to restructure her job and reorganize the news department.”
The initial newspaper report said that Wood was terminated without severance or vacation pay, but that was apparently a misunderstanding, and the station subsequently paid Wood her back vacation pay and a small severance.
Although Wood would like to stay in the area, there aren’t many local jobs in her field so she is looking both here and elsewhere for work. She will be staying until summer, though, because that’s when her brother is scheduled to retire from the military and return from Iraq. Thus Wood will be here — so they can visit for a little while and he can pick up his things.
A Righteous Rescue
Scott and Sandy Jackson, a Gunnison couple, were on their way home from Denver when they noticed lots of smoke. They turned off to see what was causing it, and came upon a house in Bailey with a deck and some siding in flames. The Jacksons pounded on the door, roused a sleeping mother and daughter, then Scott scooped snow on the fire, until the groggy girl helped him find and hook up a garden hose. Scott sprayed water on the flames, and in the meantime, Sandy went into the unaffected part of the house and called 911. The firemen arrived and the house was saved. Later, Josie Dubois, the woman who was rescued, said, “They were God-sent.”
Hardscrabble Scrambler
The Wet Mountain Tribune in Westcliffe reported a substantial slide in Hardscrabble Canyon on March 4, which blocked both lanes. The debris included some huge boulders, but there were no injuries, and crews managed to get one lane open in fairly short order. Finishing the job took longer, though, because they had to blast the boulders to get them down to manageable size and blast the cliff side to remove loose rock and prevent future slides.
