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Redistricting Maps Approved

DENVER – Redistricting maps submitted by the Colorado Reapportionment Commission were approved by the Colorado Supreme Court on Dec. 12, which will serve to realign districts for the Colorado House and Senate.

The new Senate District 5 will include Lake, Eagle, Chaffee, Pitkin, Gunnison, Hinsdale and Delta counties. House District 60 will include Park, Custer, and Chaffee counties, and most of western Fremont County. Lake and Summit counties will join Delta, Pitkin and part of Gunnison counties in HD-61. Some state Republican politicians publicly complained the maps were redrawn to benefit the Democratic Party.

Gunnison County Commissioners filed a statement of opposition to a plan that would split the county into two separate House districts, HD-61 and HD-59.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – January 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

We officially start our seasons by the equinoxes (roughly March 22 and Sept. 22, when the day and night are the same length) and the solstices (longest day about June 22 and shortest about Dec. 22). And by that measure, winter started this year on Dec. 21.

Around here, though, we might observe that summer actually starts with the opening of passes that are normally closed in the winter: Marshall, Cottonwood, Independence, Old Monarch, Hagerman, Mosquito, etc. And the season ends when those roads close.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – December 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Creepy Crawlies

Water samples taken from Tarryall Reservoir, southeast of Jefferson, contained Quagga mussel larvae, which indicates that there are a substantial number of adult mussels in the lake despite the boat inspection program there.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Busy Beetles

The Leadville Herald Democrat recently reported that a forest-health workshop in Washington DC cited pine beetles as presenting a potentially serious national crisis. National worries were about deadfall and major fires destroying power lines and thereby causing major power outages across the western United States.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – September 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Politics makes for no bedfellows?

There is the old saying that “Politics makes for strange bedfellows.” There was also the observation, 40 years ago after Lurleen Wallace succeeded her husband as governor of Alabama, that “Bedfellows make for strange politics.”

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dry and High

The rivers are running well and the reservoirs are filling, thanks to a heavy snowpack. But not much water has fallen out of the sky recently. The Salida Mountain Mail pointed out that by July 1 in an average year, the city has received about 4 inches of moisture, whereas this year, the total is less than 2 inches.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

New neighbors

For starters, let’s be clear here. There’s the regular Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, based in Salt Lake City and popularly known as the Mormon Church. It forbade polygamy in 1890, and it is grounds for excommunication from the church.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – May 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Sad Homecoming

Casey, a Lab/Australian Shepherd mix belonging to the Helsley family who live in the Burland subdivision near Bailey, started wailing on March 26 after being let out for an evening pit stop. The dog’s “screaming” was heard, and the person dogsitting for Casey went to get her, but she ran. He drove around looking for her, and finally spotted the dog, but she was bleeding, and had numerous deep puncture wounds to the top of her head. Air bubbled up from the dog’s wounds when she breathed, and her motor skills were impaired. The sitter got Casey to a vet within the hour, but the dog suffered from brain damage and was later euthanized.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – April 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

County Emergencies

Both Park and Lake counties have declared emergencies this year. Lake County’s came about on account of potentially toxic water backed up behind a spill in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. The tunnel’s owner, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, has responded by pumping water from the Gaw shaft to reduce the pressure until a bigger pump can be installed, along with plumbing to take the water to the treatment plant.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – February 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Cold and snowy

The climatologists predicted a “La Niña Winter” — that is, an easy one that would be relatively dry and warm. That held up until mid-December, and since then it’s been a season of ample snow and bitter cold.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Climax Reopening

In early December, Freeport-McMoRan announced its intention to reopen the Climax Molybdenum Mine, with production currently scheduled to begin in 2010. Once mining is underway, the facility will employ about 350 workers. And in the meantime construction activities will mean new jobs, beginning with about 150 workers as projects commence next spring, and expected to peak at about 500 workers.

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Regional roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – December 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Charges reduced

An 18-year-old student at Western State College, Addie Kubisiak of Parker, faced serious charges last winter after the body of her newborn son was found in her dorm room: first-degree murder, child-abuse resulting in death, and concealing a death. That could have meant life in prison.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – October 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Bear Tales

In some parts of the state, it was drought. In others it was an early frost. Elsewhere a late frost. In all cases, it meant that black bears (which actually come in many hues) were having trouble finding enough to eat in the backcountry. And they need plenty to eat, about 20,000 calories a day, as they prepare for hibernation this fall. So they’ve been pursuing other food sources, like gardens, fruit trees, homes, and trash cans. The result is a large number of bear sightings and problems in Central Colorado.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – September 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Gunnison Mine Makes Headlines

A mine cave-in in Utah recently led to a nation-wide review of safety conditions in coal mines, and The Denver Post concluded: “While the safety record of Utah’s Crandall Canyon Mine, where six workers remain trapped, has come under scrutiny, Colorado’s own Elk Creek Mine has a more significant record of safety issues, according to federal data.”

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – August 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Strange Winds

We get plenty of wind in Central Colorado, but seldom a tornado. However, a funnel cloud was spotted in Custer County on June 29, and it touched down briefly at 3:55 p.m. without causing any damage.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – July 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Jack Frost hangs around

One might ask “Where’s that Global Warming when we need it?”

When Marcia Darnell sent in her “SLV Briefs” from Alamosa on June 8, she commented that “Hey , it froze here last night!” The official reading of 28° put that morning’s low in Alamosa well below freezing.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Home Sweet Home Under Construction

On May 5, Sergeant Christopher Fesmire and his wife, Willow, attended a ceremony at the site of their new home, which is currently under construction southwest of Hartsel. Their home is being built by Homes For Our Troops, a program that provides housing for disabled veterans. The homes are designed with wheelchairs in mind and equipped with modern devices to make life easier.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – April 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Undercover Operation Outed

Lake County Sheriff Ed Holte was shocked into action after reading the Leadville Herald Democrat on February 21. It wasn’t a fascinating front page article that jolted him; it was the required legal notice listing county expenditures, including payment of salaries and services. There, in the newspaper listed with the sheriff’s deputies for the edification of anyone who cared to look, was the name of his department’s undercover drug informant.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – January 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Money to burn?

When an election is very close, there’s an automatic recount, paid for by the government. In Colorado, the margin is 1/2 of 1% of the highest vote total in the contest. If Candidate A got 1,000 votes, and candidate B got 990, there would be no automatic recount because the difference of 10 votes is more than 1/2 of 1% of A’s 1000 — 5 votes in this example. A candidate can, however, get a recount at his own expense, no matter what the margin.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – October 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Suspect and Friend Commit Suicide

When Chaffee County Sheriff’s Deputies and an 11th Judicial District Investigator attempted to serve a search warrant at the home of Justin Jimerson, 24, in September, things went awry. The authorities wanted to search Jimerson’s home in connection with a suspected arson at Rocky Mountain Pine Cone in Poncha Springs. The business burned in June, an arson investigation ensued, and owner Candus Wolfe, 49, was arrested on July 31 and released on bail. Two business associates, Wayne Eugene Clements and Jesamiah Davis, were also arrested in connection with the suspected arson and released on bond. Justin Jimerson was an employee at Wolfe’s business, and her boyfriend. Though he’d been questioned during the investigation, he was not arrested.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – July 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Return of Elephant Rock?

Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, the Colorado Springs water department proposed building a dam across the Arkansas River north of Buena Vista, and the resulting impoundment would be Elephant Rock Reservoir, named for a monolith near the river popular with rock climbers.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – June 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Creativity Needed

Too many subdivisions have names that are too much alike, according to the Chaffee County Planning Commission, which would like to put “Mt. Princeton” out to pasture.

The suggestion came at an April 25 meeting which dealt with the “Mt. Princeton Foothills” sketch plan. A change to “Cody,” the name of the family requesting the minor subdivision, was suggested, since the county already has “Princeton Estates,” “Mt. Princeton View Estates,” and “Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort.”

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – May 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Er, ah, Leadville resident?

Is a Leadville resident a Leadvillite, a Leadhead, or a Leadvillian? Marcia Martinek, editor of the Leadville Herald-Democrat, has been grappling with that question in recent editions. She was charmed by Leadvillian in 19th-century papers, and wanted to use it. However, she surveyed readers, and Leadvillite came out ahead.

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Regional roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – March 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Boilers behaving badly

Even though Leadville operates the highest school system in the United States, and there are winters when the Cloud City gets plenty of snow, its schools have never closed on account of snow.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – February 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Unhappy Holidays

The big topic for citizen input this December was Christmas greetings. The national media focused on the phrase “Happy Holidays,” and people from all over our region wrote to their local papers to complain about “happy holidays.”

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Central Staff

Local News – January 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Cold enough for you?

Nothing like some frozen pipes to remind you that we still get some winter around here, notwithstanding concerns about global warming. Some arctic air settled over Colorado on Dec. 7, and a few records were set. One was in Colorado Springs, where 2°F was the “lowest high” ever recorded for that date.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – December 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

DOW Seeks Info on Missing Lynx

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is asking for help in solving the mystery behind three missing lynx near Durango. Recently the DOW recovered two radio-telemetry collars that had been cut from lynx in southwest Colorado and also reported that a third collar was emitting a “mortality signal.”

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – August 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Jail Sued

Moises Carranza-Reyes, 29, has brought suit against the Park County Jail. In a Fairplay Flume interview, Carranza-Reyes said the facility delivered substandard medical treatment, housed him in filthy conditions, and lacked a qualified translator, which he claims all contributed to the infection which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee; the removal of part of a lung; 60 days in intensive care; and consequent physical therapy and permanent disability.

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Regional Roundup

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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.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – November 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Cold Case File

The remains of a Boulder man who had been missing for nearly two years were discovered in Lake County in late September near the top of Independence Pass. The bones were near his car, which had rolled so far off the road that no one had noticed it since he went missing on Sept. 26, 2004.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Martha Quillen

Local news – October 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Missing Persons

Missing persons have made the news in several local papers recently.

James Rowe, 26, of Crestone disappeared on July 30th after visiting friends. According to a Mountain Mail story, Rowe had indicated that he was going to a hot springs, but his jeep was subsequently found abandoned about twenty miles north of Crestone.

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Regional roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local News – July 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Natural Remedy?

The State Health Department has issued numerous warnings about West Nile Virus, which is carried by one species of mosquito. Colorado residents (at least those below about 10,000 feet) are advised to wear insect spray containing DEET (diethyl-meta-toluamid), except that small children shouldn’t put DEET on their skin.

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Regional Roundup

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Brief by Ed Quillen

Local news – January 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Lost and Found

The first heavy snows of winter are generally welcomed, since they mean skiers now and water next spring. But those storms aren’t a good place to spend the night.

On Nov. 17, 30-year-old Matt Rhoads of Salida parked atop Monarch Pass and headed south along the crest. He had his snowboard and his dog, a mix of shepherd and border collie; they reached the head of Foose’s Creek.

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Fire destroys part of St. Elmo

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Brief by Central Staff

Local News – May 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

The town hall building was one of five historic structures that were destroyed by an April 15 fire in St. Elmo, which sits along Chalk Creek about 20 miles west of Buena Vista and was one of the best-preserved and most-photographed ghost towns in America.

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Medano Pass opens for season

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Brief by Central Staff

Local News – May 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

April 15 wasn’t just Income Tax Day, even for the federal government. It’s when Great Sand Dunes Naitonal Monument opened Medano Pass “for the summer” — an early summer, on account of this year’s drought. On opening day, the road was mostly dry, and the creek fords were passable. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are required from the Point of No Return to the top of the pass.

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