Article by Central Staff
History – July 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Have you been wondering what was happening in July, 200 years ago? Probably not, but just in case:
On July 15, 1806, Lt. Zebulon Pike of the U.S. Army left Belle Fontaine (a landing near St. Louis, Mo.) with orders to reach the Arkansas River, ascend to its source, proceed south to the headwaters of the Red River, and descend the Red to its junction with the Mississippi River in Louisiana.
Sidebar by Central Staff
Tabor Opera House – August 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Tabor Opera House Performances for 2005
July 23: The Denver Concert Band performs at 7 p.m., admission $5.
August 6: A Portrait of Molly Brown, a fast-paced portrayal of Colorado’s legendary heroine, at 7 p.m., $7 in advance, $10 at the door.
Brief by Central Staff
Oikutucs – October 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
Central Colorado’s political situation is in a state of flux. We can start with congressional redistricting. In the 1990s, our area was all in the Third Congressional District, which covered the Western Slope, the San Luis Valley, and the Arkansas Valley down to Pueblo.
Brief by Central Staff
Politics – September 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Does it matter where Ken Chlouber hangs his hat?
He’s a state senator from Leadville, and he’s running for U.S. Congress from Denver. Several people have asked us how the veteran Republican lawmaker can do that, given that there are residency requirements for candidates.
Brief by Central Staff
Water politics – June 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Only one election will be held this year for a seat on a water conservancy district board. Generally, such directors are appointed by a district judge, but it is possible (but not easy) to petition for an election.
That election will be held June 18 for the Division 7 seat in the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District. Steve Schechter will challenge Jim Cochran, who was appointed earlier this year to fill out the term of George Stowell, who had resigned.
Brief by Central Staff
Drought – June 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
The ongoing story this spring is drought, as in “Dry as a Baptist wedding” or “So dry that the jackrabbits are carrying canteens and compasses.” (Other metaphors for aridity are welcome, and those which are printable will be published.)
Statewide, Colorado averages 4.92 inches by mid-May; this year, it’s 1.58 inches, and precipitation has been below normal since last August.
Brief by Central Staff
Mountain West – April 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
One reason we picked Colorado Central as a name is that we’re reasonably close to the center of Colorado. Salida’s not on top of it, though — Guffey is probably the closest post office to the center of the state, which is a few miles south of the summit of Wilkerson Pass. You get the idea that the prospectors of 1859 — the “Pike’s Peak or Bust” people — designed their new territory by drawing a big rectangle with Pike’s Peak at its center, more or less.
Brief by Central Staff
Politics – October 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Rep. Gary Condit of California’s 18th Congressional District has been much in the news lately after the May disappearance of Chandra Levy, an intern from his district with whom he was having an affair. (Her internship was not in his office, but with the federal Bureau of Prisons.)
We note that he represents the only other Salida in the United States — Salida, California, a suburb of Modesto in the Central Valley and home to some almond-processing plants.
Brief by Central Staff
Wildlife – October 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine
Hunting season does a pretty good job of keeping deer away from the roads, but the deer seem to know that it’s illegal to hunt in town — and that yards and gardens often offer an abundance of fine dining.
This problem is not unique to Central Colorado — it’s a national phenomenon, according to an article in the Aug. 21 edition of the Wall Street Journal, which pointed out that America’s deer population has gone from 500,000 to 15,000,000 in the past century.
Brief by Central Staff
Closed Basin – October 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
It was a dry summer — so dry that the Rio Grande went dry in parts of central New Mexico on account of diversions by the Middle Rio Grande Water Conservancy District (MRGWCD).
A dry riverbed is pretty hard on fish, and among those fish is the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – August 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
One of Chaffee County’s most direct links with its past was severed on July 8 when the heirs sold the 448-acre Nachtrieb ranch at auction for $1.7 million.
The heirs — Joe, Chris, and Dan Nachtrieb — all have other careers, and decided to sell the family ranch. They are the great-grandsons of Charles Nachtrieb, a Denver storekeeper who ventured to California Gulch with goldseekers in 1860.
Brief by Central Staff
History – September 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
The historic Leadville Mining District may be a cleaner place, thanks to all the millions of dollars of work the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has done in recent years, but it’s also an endangered one.
Colorado Preservation, Inc., which bills itself as “a statewide organization dedicated to promoting and advancing historic preservation in the State of Colorado,” just issued the “Colorado’s Most Endangered Places List,” selected from nominations submitted from citizens throughout the state.
Brief by Central Staff
Geography – June 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine
Has Chaffee County joined Club 20? Or merged with Gunnison County?
Look closely at the above logo for Club 20, which has outlines of member counties. Working down on the right, there’s Jackson County, then Grand, Summit, and Lake.
Below Lake, where Chaffee normally abides, there’s an expanded Gunnison County, and no Chaffee at all.
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.
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.
Brief by Central Staff
Pack-Burro Racing – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine
Triple Crown Series
Pack-burro racing is the only sport indigenous to Central Colorado, and the schedule is at its peak now, with the Triple Crown series:
1) World Championship Pack-Burro Race on July 27 in Fairplay, 29 miles to the summit of Mosquito Pass and back.
2) International Pack-Burro Race on August 3 in Leadville, 20 miles to the top of Mosquito Pass and back.
3) Gold-Rush Days Pack-Burro Race on August 10 in Buena Vista, 11 miles into the Mosquito Range and back.
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine
GO BACK 60 years or so, and the arrival of a steam locomotive pulling a passenger train through Salida would not have been a special occasion — it happened several times every day.
But it certainly drew a crowd on June 22, 1997, when an excursion train powered by the Union Pacific’s No. 844 stopped for lunch on its way to Tennessee Pass after threading the Royal Gorge.
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation – April 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine
Our Holy Highways
After a spate of TV-sweeps sensations, the Vail/Beaver Creek Times assured its readers that the pits marked by orange cones on U.S. 24 in Minturn were not asteroid craters.
Brief by Central Staff
Mining – December 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
Mining Ends in Leadville
The Black Cloud, which employed about 120 workers near timberline a few miles east of Leadville, is shutting down. It has been on stand-by since last summer, when production halted on account of problems in the mill.
Brief by Central Staff
Media – December 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
KBVC, a new FM station, should be reaching most of Central Colorado by now. It broadcasts from Mt. Princeton at 104.1 mhz and 600 watts.
Mark Elliott, the station’s manager, was still testing when we went to press, so he wasn’t sure how far his signal would reach.
Brief by Central Staff
Outdoor Recreation – December 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
What we had here was a failure to communicate
Like the national forests, the Arkansas River is a realm of multiple uses, and sometimes those uses conflict.
That happened last spring, when upstream tourism and downstream irrigation needed the river at the same time. Upstream wanted low water, and downstream needed high water.
Brief by Central Staff
Growth – November 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
Funny, none of the winners came to accept their awards
Remember Gov. Roy Romer’s “Smart Growth Summit” in 1995? From it emerged 14 guiding principles, such as sustainability, public participation, and coördination of planning. Our governor now issues annual Smart Growth Awards to projects which best follow the principles.
Brief by Central Staff
Transportation – September 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
You want the big story on the UP-SP merger and its effect on the Mountain West? Don’t look for it in Colorado Central, even though we have close connections with the guy who wrote it, Ed Quillen.
Brief by Central Staff
Salida politics – August 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
Back to the planning board
Salida’s proposed comprehensive master plan (the one reviewed in the July Colorado Central) was turned down by the planning commission at a July 8 hearing.
Sidebar by Central Staff
Art – December 1994 – Colorado Central Magazine
Helper, Utah, is an old railroad and mining town, similar in many ways to Salida, since it was built at the same time for the same purpose. However, Helper still has several blocks of shuttered stores downtown.
Sidebar by Central Staff
Art – December 1994 – Colorado Central Magazine
This summer, the Steam Plant Theatre in Salida was open for business and hosted numerous events. But now it’s closed for the winter, and back under construction.
Sidebar by Central Staff
Transportation – November 1994 – Colorado Central Magazine
1880: The Denver & Rio Grande wins the Royal Gorge War with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé, and builds a narrow-gauge line west from Ca$on City up the Arkansas as far as Crane Park, near the summit of Tennessee Pass.