Durango Telegraph - October 4, 2018

How about them apples?

elegraph the durango

FREE

Oct. 4, 2018 Vol. XVII, No. 40 durangotelegraph.com

inside

T H E

O R I G I N A L

I N D I E

W E E K L Y

L I N E

O N

D U R A N G O

&

B E Y O N D

Drilling & dollars

Meet the neighbors

For the birds

Ballot breakdown of oil and gas setbacks, schools and more p8

Old Animas City Night bridges town’s north-south divide p14

The move to produce a happier, healthier chicken p16

lineup

boilerplate

4 La Vida Local

The drill

With November right around the corner, we break down this year’s ballot

4 Thumbin’ It

by Tracy Chamberlin

5 Word on the Street

12-13

6-7 Soapbox

The desert is calling

10 Mountain Town News

photos by Stephen Eginoire

12-13 Day in the Life 16 Flash in the Pan

14

17 Top Shelf

The lost city

Bringing recognition to Durango’s long-lost neighbor to the north

18-20 On the Town

by Jennaye Derge

20 Ask Rachel

16

The crusade for humane treatment of the world’s favorite meat

by Ari Levaux

17

by Chris Aaland

he Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph

22 Haiku Movie Review

On the cover: Roger and Cindell Dale harvest what has been a bumper crop of apples in the Animas Valley this week./ Photo by Steve Eginoire.

Plus free balling, caber tossing, beer guzzling and poetry slinging

T

22 Classifieds

23 Murder Ink

Rocktober

RESIDENT FORMULA ONE FAN: Tracy Chamberlin (tracy@durangotelegraph.com)

If you’re headed north next week for a soak or a visit to the Rose of the Mont, be forewarned.

Not only is the weatherman calling for snow, which will require all of us to relearn our winter driving skills, but Red Mountain Pass will be closed. Again.

The closure, which will take place from 8 a.m.

– 12 noon and 1 – 5 p.m., Mon., Tues., and Thurs. is so crews can repair netting and fencing on the cliff face about 3 miles south of Ouray.

Motorists will have a one-hour window at noon to travel through the work zone.

On Monday and Tuesday, northbound traffic will be stopped just north of Engineer Pass junction. However, on Thursday, northbound traffic will be stopped at Ironton to allow for helicopter operations.

On other work days, motorists may encounter periodic, shorter closures of up to 20 minutes. The road will return to regular two-way traffic every evening.

Work is expected to wrap up Nov. 1, although inclement weather may delay the timeline.

21 Free Will Astrology

Giving a cluck

ADVERTISING AFICIONADO: Lainie Maxson (lainie@durangotelegraph.com)

“In college, we tried to burn our bras with a Sterno flame. It didn’t work so well.”

– Local feminist reflecting on a slightly misguided ’90s answer to Gloria Steinem

Rocking and rolling

When it’s cold in the mountains, the desert is just right

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel (missy@durangotelegraph.com)

Ear to the ground:

thepole

8

RegularOccurrences

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Lainie Maxson, Chris Aaland, Clint Reid, Stephen Eginoire, Tracy Chamberlin, Jesse Anderson, Allen Best, Ari LeVaux, Jennaye Derge, Jeffrey Mannix & Shan Wells

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 332 Durango, CO 81302

VIRTUAL ADDRESS: www.durangotelegraph.com

E-MAIL: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

REAL WORLD ADDRESS: 777 Main Ave., #214 Durango, CO 81301

MAIL DELIVERY AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: $3.50/issue, $150/year

LLC and distributed in the finest and most discerning locations throughout the greater Durango area.

We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

friend or dog, we will accept full responsibility in a public flogging in the following week’s issue.

Although “free but not easy,” we can be plied with schwag, booze and flattery.

PHONE: 970.259.0133

telegraph

A healthy outlook

We all grumble about health care, from the crushing cost to the disappearance of it from the employee benefit package. But now Local First, armed with a $25,000 grant, hopes to diagnose the problem – and find workable remedies.

Local First is one of four organizations in the area to receive funds from the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation to assess affordable and effective health care for local, independent businesses and their employees. The yearlong study, which will be done in partnership with the Durango Network and San Juan Basin Public Health, will consist of in-depth focus groups to determine what barriers local independent businesses face in providing health care to employees. In a future phase, the collaboration will test a variety of health-care models in order to determine the best options.

"Local First is thrilled to be one of the inaugural grant recipients in Durango," Monique DiGiorgio, managing director at Local First, said.

“We look forward to engaging business owners, employees and the community at-large in this dialogue.”

The overall goal of the assessment is to provide innovative health-care models that change behavior, increase quality, affordability and access to care, and ultimately improve the health and well-being of residents.

“Addressing access to health care for our local, independent business community is important work and I look forward to hearing the results,” former State Sen. Ellen Roberts, a member of the Rocky Mountain Health Board of Directors, said.

“Our local, independent businesses recirculate money in our economy, and ensuring that business owners and their employees have access to affordable health care is a critical need.”

Oct. 4, 2018 n

3

&'(%J$+(+E

$/C!/%CE*%%E&%GHI;%# 1

!"#$%&'(%)%*+&-./!%%%% 223%$1%4"66/7/%8$1% :3;<=>:<>:>:% 2 n Oct. 4, 2018

1 )))1($/)#'(A+&-./!1-"

telegraph

opinion

LaVidaLocal Politics as usual For the last 14 years, I’ve spent nearly every Thursday morning driving the streets of this fine mountain hamlet with newsprint smeared on my face and hands. In fact, the very first Telegraph staff box to bear my name came out precisely 14 years ago today. On the fifth day of each week, you’ll find me armed with a brawny cup of coffee, a weary smile (I’m about as much of a morning person as Nosferatu) and piles of tabloids threatening to topple over from the passenger seat and take me out.

For all these years I’ve zigzagged from downtown to Bodo – and more recently to Bayfield and back – distributing cool vellum hot off the press. My paper route usually begins unceremoniously between the hours of 8 and 9 a.m.

Thankfully I’ve never had to suffer the ass-crack early assignment of other newspaper delivery folk. But last Thursday was different. I made arrangements to be at the loading dock (also known as Missy’s garage) at the exceedingly unreasonable hour of 4 a.m. The streets of Durango were all but empty save for a few rankled raccoons scurrying across the Boulevard.

Why, you might wonder, would I choose to take on such a heinous appointment?

Had I managed to sneak some compromising photos of local celebrities onto the pages of the centerfold and wanted to assure mass dissemination before I made a 6 a.m. get-away?

Sadly, no.

Alas, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. so I could finish my work early and spend my day cemented to my couch, blinking at the battle unfolding on my television. At the time of the morning usually reserved for coffee chat gossip and game shows, I was instead witnessing a political showdown. And I wanted to be front and center. I wanted to see and hear for myself what both the accused and the professor had to say. I wanted to listen, to absorb the testimony without the prejudice of pundits, free from the incomplete bits of information distributed on social media. I wanted to suffer the fullfrontal political picture, unadulterated by any outside influence.

So I turned on C-SPAN and silently listened.

I watched exasperated, as elected officials hyperbolically blamed one another, the way that disobedient siblings do. I watched as the elephants in the room belched partisanship, and the jackasses touted themselves as the heroes of the story.

I listened breathlessly as a terrified civilian selflessly spoke of feeling compelled to do her civic duty even though her life was threatened for attempting to do so. I watched as she explained her motives intelligently, sincerely and calmly. I saw her vigilantly explain the details of a profound personal trauma

before the entire world. And while she nearly cried several times, she did not.

I watched and wondered why an attorney was filling in for paid public servants who were already there collecting a pay check and how much it cost tax payers for this lawyer to attend. I pondered why she would ask about who paid for a polygraph test. (But I guess those tests must be pricey, since people go on Povich for them.)

I noticed as a visibly vexed man entered the room. And I heard him as he hostilely attempted to defend his honor. I concentrated on his words as he angrily flipped through the many pages of a statement that he asserted he had conscientiously written himself. A statement he said he carefully pieced together but with which he presented in a manner that seemed only to illustrate the aggressive behavior of which he had been accused. I saw him shuffle between sniffles and force his tongue into his cheek attempting to keep his composure but failing to do so.

I observed seasoned senators shamelessly ask the meaning of suggestive phrases. (I’d give you definitions of The Devil’s Triangle here but I don’t want to turn this into a Dan Savage column.) And while many committee members attempted, early on, to behave themselves, I saw as some eventually spiraled out of control. They ranted, red faced and wildly, as I tried to understand why Alyssa Milano was there.

I had awoken at an ungodly hour to see this gritty display of political theatre unfold over seven hours. And for what? Just to see another chapter written in the book of the battle of the sexes? Was it just to watch the same age-old he said, she said bullshit between men and women? And, if so, am I predisposed to believe her because we share similar biological attributes? I don’t know.

Does the fact that I was in high school in 1991, when the first third-wave feminists crashed onto American shores, skew my view? Does my having been 16 when a different female professor told her sordid tale of abuse before a committee of men, blight my perspective? Perhaps.

But please don’t think that I’m a she-woman-man-hater or whatever the female equivalent of a misogynist is. Because I am not. I categorically and unequivocally deny that allegation. Do I like boys? Yes. I liked boys in high school, and I like boys now. I mean, some of my best friends are boys – Erik, Jake, Mario, Bryan, Chris, Kynan, Steve and Donnie.

So how will this latest story end? And can any of us really see anything outside the scope of our own personal experiences or those of our mothers or brothers? I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone does. But it is enough to make me want to stay in bed.

Thumbin’It A good, overdue dousing from Mother Nature in just the right amount to allay fire and flood worries – with more forecast to be on the way A successful fund-raising effort by Friends of the San Juans leading to the hiring of a second backcountry avi forecaster for the San Juan Mountains, an area roughly the size of the Swiss Alps Both Mercy and Axis adopting the national “Zero Suicide Initiative” in an effort to reduce suicides in health care settings by including suicide survivors in planning, better training employees and making changes in how care is administered

4 n Oct. 4, 2018

– Lainie Maxson

This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse: A third death in Durango’s open space and parks in as many weeks, with a woman passing away under “suspicious circumstances” in Iris Park last weekend

Congressional failure to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which comes from offshore oil leases and goes to protect parks, forests, cultural sites and water resources, including $268 million worth of projects in Colorado

President Trump’s uncanny ability to continually stoop to new lows, this week by mocking Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser at a political rally

telegraph

You’ve goat to be kidding me In 2010, a goat stalked a hiker through Olympic National Park in Washington for a mile and then attacked the hiker who later died. The reason? Goats in the area have become addicted to human sweat and pee … for real.

They rummage around camp sites and stalk hikers because the goats are drawn to the salt and minerals in our excretions. To fix the problem, the goats are being airlifted out of the park. So remember, if you see a goat in Washington, run, because urine trouble.

Q

WordontheStreet With the Cowboy Poetry Gathering this weekend, the Telegraph asked: “What

“Ride an ass.”

“Reverse cowgirl.”

else shouldn’t you do with spurs on?”

Charlie Malone

“Apply for squatter’s rights.”

“Go rafting.”

“Probably shouldn’t play soccer – unfair slidetackling.”

Nathan Parker

Elaina Allen

Noah Clements

Sam Redman

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 5

SoapBox

ReTooned/by Shan Wells

A look at congressional non-action To the editor, It’s important from time to time to pay attention to just what our state elected officials are doing. Of course, a bill must pass both Colorado’s House of Representatives and Senate before being signed into state law by our Governor. Colorado’s House has a Democratic majority, while our Senate has a Republican majority.

The paralysis of our state Congress on crucial issues makes a lot of folks want to flip the Senate Democratic.

Hundreds of voters want to elect active, effective candidates like Guinn Unger – willing to actually listen and develop policy based on voters’ real problems instead of party line bull. Politics shouldn’t be about parties – it’s about people’s actual lives and getting something done. If Republicans were taking the lead, they’d have my vote.

But they’re actually blocking progress.

Check out below a small sample of the roughly 160 Democratic bills that were killed in committee by Senate Republicans since January 2017: • HB 17-1328 Require Candidates to Disclose Income Tax Returns • HB 18-1318 Require Presidential Candidate to Disclose Tax Return • SB 17-150 Restrict Employment of Relatives by Public Officials • HB 18-1378 Equal Pay for Equal Work Act • SB 18-004 Funding for Full-day Kindergarten Are you concerned about drought protection? For whatever reason, our climate is shifting, so fire and water-supply risks are high. We need concrete action to ensure protection of our lands, livestock and crops. Most outdoor folks can see these changes and risks, so they recognize value in some version the following bills, which Democrats originated and Republicans killed:

• HB 17-1366 Measurable Goals Deadlines Colorado Climate Action Plan • HB 18-1274 Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

• SB 18-064 Require 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2035 But even office workers (who are perhaps less in tune with local ecosystems) can agree on these bills:4

!"#$#%&'$($)"*+&%",&"$-./0.$1"23 H?I K ?JEH

2-34!35$67!!38 *'()*'+!##!("!)0'1$"&'30'''' 45*6(746844(

57-%9:;8 <$53'9'&&#!'9&60'1$"&';<=0' 45*63846>?@= *'(5'A@'3(30'45*673B67(C) 2;-!3=D *'))*7'E6'FG"$'9&0' 45*68B86B8**'

!!%&!

!"#$%&'#()*'+,#$-#./0(1#

!")%"+-((#(++)"%'*(.(/"*$12(' "'+)"+"*(.(4!%6&"*(.(8%' +,)"*(.(:8;(('(*%+" !"#"$%&'( <" )""+%('"&=(>=??(:;(@(A=??(B;( ;"!% "&=(>=??(:;(@(C=DE(B; FG(+,++&"(++)""+H(I'%+*(J1K(H(>F?LGE>LMCFD

6 n Oct. 4, 2018

telegraph

)'&*#+,-.$/012$345$6&789 <" )""+%('"&(:!,&+(I*"(N'&-= >=??(:;(@(A=??(B;( MF(2<(GMGH(>F?LDGCLDMAO

• HB 18-1297 Climate Change Preparedness and Resiliency • HB 18-1301 Protect Water Quality Adverse Mining Impacts • SB 18-117 Collect Long-term Climate Change Data Why were these killed? I am very disturbed that our elected officials are not protecting our ranching and agricultural communities – and the rest of us – against drought and rising heat levels from carbon overuse.

How is your health care coverage and accessibility? I’ve got to hand it to Colorado House and Senate Democrats – they’ve been working hard to improve our health care.

We apparently need to flip the Senate to Democratic majority, in order to pass great bills like these: • HB 18-1205 Defray Individual Health Plan Costs • HB 18-1260 Prescription Drug Price Transparency • HB 18-1207 Hospital Financial Transparency Measures • HB 18-1009 Diabetes Drug Pricing Transparency Act • HB 18-1001 Family Medical Leave Insurance Program • HB 18-1384 Study Health Care Coverage Options • HB 17-1121 Patient Safety Act • SB 18-080 Wholesale Canadian Drug Import Program • SB 18-152 Prohibit Price Gouging on Prescriptions Why do Republican senators vote against defraying health-plan costs? And against cost transparency of hospital charges and drugs? Who benefits from not importing less costly Canadian drugs? Why do our Republican senators protect the profits of Big Pharma, insurance and hospital conglomerates, while ignoring the rest of us who must choose between rent and treating our child’s illness?

I’m 62 years old, and I can remember Republicans doing great work on health care – why is that no longer true?

Health care costs are either the largest expense in the monthly budget or downright unaffordable for most folks.

Let’s get some work done in this next term. Let’s elect a team of dedicated grassroots leaders who have been working on these issues consistently, like Guinn Unger for Colorado Senate.

– Kirby MacLaurin, Durango

Dismantling a rigged system To the editor, As a member of the Thrive Living Wage Coalition, I urge you to hear Chuck Collins at one of three free events Oct. 4-6. He will be addressing wealth inequality and what needs to change. Collins was born into wealth but chose to give away his inheritance at age 26. In his recent book, Born on Third Base, he explains how the U.S. economic system has changed in the past 75 years from a system designed to benefit the majority of citizens to one that favors the rich.

After WWII the U.S. government enacted programs including mortgage assistance, educational assistance, and infrastructure projects, all of which resulted in an economic boom, increased tax revenues and prosperity for the majority of Americans. Many of us benefited from these programs indirectly through our parents or our grandparents. Doesn't it make sense to continue these benefits to the next generations?

Unfortunately, in recent years economic and tax policies have been hijacked to preserve the wealth of those who already possess it rather than providing for the security of everyone. After reading Collins’ book, I have come to understand how our system is perpetuating huge income inequality. I believe we need to identify public policies that will build an economy that works for all of us.

Please join me in learning how we can reverse these trends and level the playing field for all. See thrivelaplata.org for more information.

– Jenny Pritchard, Durango

Christian, female and pro-choice To the Editor, Commenting on Bill Vana’s letter to the editor (Telegraph, Sept. 20) he gives the very reason we do not need religion involved in our country’s politics. As a Christian my whole life, I cannot believe the “so called men of God” are backing an immoral, narcissistic, liar, con man,

circus clown as our current president. Do you truly, in your heart, believe he is a Christian?

The abortion issue is the one and only reason they back him. May I ask these “men of God” what happened to “judge not,” compassion and forgiveness for the women who are facing one of the most difficult decisions they will ever have to make? These pastors have their congregations believing all women are using abortion as a birth control method ... which is as big a lie as our president tells when he says he believes in a God. His God is money and his daughter.

When a woman who is facing this decision and decides to go ahead with the procedure, these men are condemning her to a possible death sentence and the opportunity to later “repent,” as they so frequently spout in their sermons. The God I know will forgive them, and that child they aborted will nevertheless be in the arms of Jesus the moment his or her life is gone. More than likely it will be better than a life here on Earth, where who knows what would have happened to that little person.

I’ve seen enough children who were abused and neglected to know their life is forever in chaos because they were unwanted.

I know I will hear a chorus of people saying “adoption”... well where are you, are you ready to give that baby a home, help out the mother in her hour of need or be there for a woman who has more than she can care for and a husband who is a terrible husband and father and will abuse this child?

Who will cast the first stone, step forward all who judge. Think about what Jesus meant when he said, “Judge not lest you be judged.” Let them all step forward, cowards that they are, these men of God who are so against places like Planned Parenthood, which truly does try to give all the information for choices to these women. Step up, look your God in the eye, and explain to Him who loves these women as much or more than you, that your plan is to condemn them to death.

– Pat Akers, Bayfield

6',7)8 899: !"##$%&'()*+,-%./()/0112%./() 3+4)5+0&()*1+03%./

()*'(+,-) ./0,(**-)1 C$#0'&:#A&B60*&($+'&B:#&60!% B!0:#& +$)&& %)%E'& (00(6F& G)( B&)#B6+&5$$A&$&&G.'B).('&A$&#$( &0:!!+&A$&(60&(&.B =&H60&0&.'&#$ G0((0&& *:+& & (6:#& G&)'6.#8I& J$& '":!!0&& "$)(6'& )'0& +$)&& 5.#80& $&&:&KLH.%=&M#A&G0&')&0&($&)'0 '%0B.:!&A$8&($$(6%:'(0I !"#$%"&&'! !"#$%&'()&"*+( ,&".!0&*0'(&$5&(60&7$8&9:&

***=60:!(6+6$)#A':#A5:(B:('=B$"

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 7

TopStory

Drilling & dollars

Lawsuit filed over methane rule

Ballot breakdown looks at oil, gas, taxes and more

by Tracy Chamberlin

T

hirteen is the magic number this November. That’s how many statewide measures are on the ballot. This week, the Telegraph tackles a few of these statewide measures – oil and gas development, property owner compensation, and payday loan limitations – to help demystify the ballot. How lucky is that?

Proposition 112: Increased setbacks

Proposition 112 would require a setback for all future oil and natural gas development of 2,500 feet from occupied structures (aka: buildings where people live or work), water sources and other areas considered vulnerable (parks, sports fields, reservoirs and more).

On the pro side, this measure is all about public health and the environment. It would reduce health risks and other hazards for those living and working near oil and gas wells.

It would protect community water sources and recreation areas from possible contamination. It would even be a valuable tool for property owners, who would know exactly where future oil and gas development could occur.

On the other side of the debate, there are questions about what oil and gas assets – if any – would be left to develop.

According to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state agency in charge of development, about 85 percent of all non-federal lands in Colorado would immediately be off the table.

Christi Zeller, executive director for The Energy Council, a nonprofit trade organization representing natural gas operators, industry suppliers, and mineral and surface owners, said in La Plata County it would exclude 99 percent of all non-federal lands – including those with existing well pads.

“Specific to La Plata County, the natural gas industry currently pays over 26 percent of all property taxes in the county, which is vital to funding local school districts – including Bayfield, Durango and Ignacio – as well as road and bridge, and health and human services,” Zeller said in an email. “If Proposition 112 passes, La Plata County will lose millions of dollars in tax revenue, and the county and special districts will be forced to slash their budgets.”

8 n Oct. 4, 2018

A pump jack runs near a farm in the Oxford area. Such sights could become a thing of the past if Proposition 112 passes./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire It’s accepted by both sides of the debate that property tax, income tax, sales tax and other types of revenues would decrease, but there’s no way to estimate those losses.

Currently the COGCC requires a setback of 500 feet from a home or other occupied building, and 1,000 feet from a high-occupancy building, like a school or hospital. The commission does have the authority to increase the setback.

The commission can also accept waivers in certain situations with the approval of a building owner. However, Proposition 112 would not allow the COGCC to retain this authority.

Amendment 74: Compensation for property owners

The first thing to point out is that because Amendment 74 would change the Colorado Constitution, it requires at least 55 percent of voter approval to pass.

This amendment is meant to compensate property owners in the state “when a government law or regulation reduces the fair market value of the property,” the ballot measure reads. 4

telegraph

Last week, a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over what they describe as a “gutting” of the 2016 methane waste rule.

The suit claims when the Bureau of Land Management rescinded the rule last month, it ignored the rule’s benefits to public health and the environment. In addition, the BLM’s cost-benefit analysis of the rule did not include key global climate costs.

“Communities here in the Four Corners, under the methane hot spot, have spoken out again and again in support of common-sense protections from unnecessary methane waste,” Mike Eisenfeld, energy and climate program manager for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, said in a press release. “We are being harmed by unnecessary air pollution and its public health consequences, and our tax dollars are being needlessly wasted.”

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by Earthworks, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, WildEarth Guardians, San Juan Citizens Alliance and others.

Enacted at the tail end of the Obama administration, the 2016 methane waste rule requires oil and gas companies using public land to take specific measures to prevent the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The rule rests on two main pillars. First, capturing the methane instead of releasing it, which would be a financial windfall worth millions in lost royalties every year. Second, the rule could help address the methane hotspot hovering over the Four Corners. Estimated to be about 2,500 square miles, it was discovered by NASA in 2014.

Once the rule became official, the only way to completely repeal it was a vote from Congress. Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the rule, but the Senate chose to keep it in place. Since then, the Department of the Interior has looked into ways of delaying or limiting the rule.

Last month, the BLM announced it was removing most of the provisions of the rule, which the coalition’s members said essentially “gutted” it. In response, they filed suit.

So far, there has been no response from the BLM, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke or the Trump administration.

– Tracy Chamberlin

The specific language that would go into the state’s constitution does explain who might decide on this compensation, but it doesn’t put any limits of what kind of laws or regulations would be applicable. And, therein lies the rub for opponents of the measure.

“If Amendment 74 passes, it will allow any business or individual to sue over any law they disagree with, opening the floodgates to frivolous and costly lawsuits,” Lisa Pool, southwest field organizer for Conservation Colorado, said in an email. “To pay for these legal claims, taxes could go up, and essential community services, like police and fire, could be reduced.”

An example of the pro argument would be, if voters passed a measure that banned coal mines, any resident who owned coal mines that were then worthless would be compensated by the state or local government responsible for the ban.

Under current law, the government does compensate property owners for losses due to regulatory changes, but only if it’s an almost-total loss.

Amendment 73: Funding for public schools

With the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, commonly referred to as TABOR, the only thing any state or local government can do without voter approval is lower taxes. Municipalities cannot take out loans, raise taxes or even make adjustments to dedicated funding without putting it on the ballot.

This is why Propositions 109 and 110, as well as Amendment 73 are on the ballot.

Also, like the previous ballot measure, Amendment 73 would amend the Colorado Constitution and, therefore, requires 55 percent voter approval.

This amendment has two specific parts. First are the changes to income taxes.

Currently, everyone in the state pays the same income tax rate of 4.63 percent. This measure would change the tax tables and rates people pay. Individuals and joint filers making less than $150,000 would see their rates go up by .37 percent to 5 percent. Those earning $150,000 or more would see incremental increases topping out at 3.62 percent for those

making more than $500,000 for a total rate of 8.25 percent.

The corporate tax rate – for all earners – would go up 1.37 percent to 6 percent. These income tax and corporate tax increases would be dedicated to public school funding.

The other part of Amendment 73 is a change to property taxes.

Under the current property tax formula, the rate used to calculate assessed values will drop next year to 6.1 percent.

This measure would raise the residential rate to 7.0 percent – and keep it there. The nonresidential rate (commercial property tax rate) would be lowered from 29 percent to 24 percent.

These changes to property tax calculations would only apply to school district funding (making it even more fun to figure out your taxes).

The pro and con arguments for this ballot measure are almost as tangled as the measure itself. For example, on the pro side, some argue this amendment provides long overdue relief for commercial property owners who have historically paid a much larger piece of the property tax pie.

On the other side, some question the fairness of giving commercial property tax owners a break at the expense of residential property owners.

Another aspect of this measure is its effect on taxpayers in the Durango 9-R School District, who approved a local property tax increase to fund education needs in 2016. This measure would certainly increase those taxes even more, and it’s unknown what the district would do with any excess funds – further adding to the debate.

Proposition 109: Bonds for highways & Proposition 110: Transportation taxes and bonds

These propositions are considered to be competing with each other. Proposition 109 would allow the state to borrow $3.5 billion for specific highway projects – but that’s it. The measure does not include any language on how Colorado would pay off those loans.

And here are, essentially, the arguments for and against it: The state needs to invest in highway projects, however, there needs to be some assurance these loans can be paid back without gutting other state programs.

telegraph

This is where Proposition 110 comes in. The measure allows the state to borrow more money, $6 billion, and it offers a payment solution: a sales tax increase of .62 percent.

The current sales tax rate in Durango is 7.9 percent. This includes a state tax of 2.9 percent, a county tax of 2 percent and the city’s 3 percent.

If Proposition 110 passes, the state’s rate would go up to 3.52 percent – an increase that would sunset in 20 years and be used exclusively for transportation projects.

In two ways, Proposition 110 also has a direct effect on Durango and La Plata residents. First, 40 percent of the tax revenues would go to local governments across the state and 15 percent to multimodal transportation projects.

There’s no doubt some of these funds would end up in Southwest Colorado, helping with transportation and transit shortfalls. How much, however, is an unknown.

Second, the city of Durango is also asking voters for a sales tax increase. If both measures pass – the city’s rate would be 3.55 percent, the county’s 2 percent and the state 3.52 – the total sales tax rate in Durango would be 9.07 percent (compared to the current rate of 7.9 percent).

In addition, if both measures pass and the city receives some help with transportation funding, the revenues raised from Question 2A would go even further to help fund police and provide for other public safety needs.

Proposition 111: Limitations on payday loans

The final financial matter for voters to consider is Proposition 111. Essentially, it simplifies what payday loan companies can charge customers – a 36 percent APR, or annual percentage rate. It also expands the definition of unfair or deceptive practices for these companies.

The pro argument is this will help protect consumers from predatory lending. The con argument is regulating these companies will drive them out of Colorado, leaving their customers in an even worse financial situation – bouncing checks, using high-interest credit cards and more. n The Telegraph returns next week with the other half of Colorado’s lucky – or not so lucky – 13 ballot measures. To keep up with the breakdown, visit www.durangotelegraph.com.

Oct. 4, 2018 n

9

MountainTownNews Whistler ponders e-bikes on trails

Stunning lot in Durango Ridge Ranch

! 360-degree views of the La Platas, Twin

Buttes and Perins Peak

! Telephone, electric links underground ! Private community with 35-acre lots ! Country living just minutes from town

$225,000 MLS #728959

WHISTLER, B.C. – E-bikes have been selling hand over fist. A 2017 industry report found that e-bike sales had doubled in growth from 2016-17.

“This quick rise has taken North America by surprise,” points out Whistler’s Pique, “and policy-makers are trying to catch up with a technology with little to no hard science to go on.”

The article on the sometimes-passionate debate focused on pedal-assist e-bikes, where riders have to pedal to engage the motor.

They have become the most common e-bikes on mountain trails.

By one definition, they can attain a maximum speed of 32 kilometers per hour (20 mph) and a maximum power of 500 watts.

But do those pedal-assisted-bikes belong on trails? It’s a gray area, says Daniel Scott, lead author of a new policy for Whistler. “They’re the new kid at the playground, and we need to figure out how they’re going to play nice with everyone else.”

In the French ski resort of Les Deux Alpes, e-bikes have been integrated. Having observed that integration, Cathy Jewett advocates for e-bikes. “We need to find a compromise and make it work for everybody,” Jewett, a member of the Whistler council, says.

Environmental impacts and safety of e-bikes have been debated.

“The concern is that the e-bikes can go twice the distance and place more wear and tear on trails,” Craig McKenzie, who represents the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association, says. “People can cover more ground in the same length of time, and that creates maintenance issues. The bikes are heavier, so the trails have to be built to a higher standard to absorb the momentum, especially the down trails. This means increased costs.”

That doesn’t mean that McKenzie thinks this is an obstacle.

Whistler, he says, should seize the opportunity for e-bikes because in many places, they have been banned from trails.

There’s also the issue of safety. Whistler’s trail system was built with the assumption that if you had the skill to get up the trail, you had the skill to make it back down, even if it’s a double-black-diamond. Getting up the trail with an e-bike could be easier.

The take-home message? “The technology will only advance, so we need to adopt the best approach that’s flexible as things evolve,” says Scott.

Idaho stop discomfort in Crested Butte CRESTED BUTTE – Idaho in 1982 adopted a law that allows bicycle riders to treat a stop sign as a yield sign. Colorado adopted a law this year that gives local jurisdictions similar latitude, if they so choose.

In Crested Butte, the police chief warns of bad things to come if stop no longer means stop.

“I am not comfortable giving my blessings to this,” Mike Reily told the Town Council at a recent meeting covered by the Crested Butte News. “Will people blow through stop signs without due regard? It’s like giving all the kids in town a pair of sharp, pointy scissors. Most of them will not hurt themselves, but a few will.”

Kent Cowherd, a member of the council, also was leery. “As a former firefighter, I have seen accidents at intersections. If it contributes to the loss of one life, it would be horrible,” he said.

No action was taken.

Assessing energy impacts of mansions ASPEN – In 2000, Aspen and Pitkin County effectively adopted the first carbon tax in the country. The renewable energy mitigation program, or REMP, took aim at larger houses and exterior energy use, such as for heated driveways.

If you want to build a larger home with an outdoor swimming pool and heated pavers, the regulations said, you will have to either mitigate the increased energy by securing your own renewable energy resources or pay a fee.

Most homeowners, at least at first, chose just to pay the REMP fee, which was then distributed for various purposes, such as energy efficiency improvements in local homes and buildings.

But is it enough? And, to go back to square one, is this really good public policy to begin with?

Pitkin County’s elected officials are looking at substantial increases in fees assessed on homes larger than 5,750 square feet. The Aspen Times reports that instead of the current $1 per additional square foot, the proposal from county staff members would push

10 n Oct. 4, 2018

telegraph

the price to $45 a square foot for those homes between 5,750 and 8,250 square feet.

As home sizes increase, the proportionate fee would also increase. For example, the builder of a 6,500-square-foot house now exacts a fee of $750 unless there’s mitigating renewable energy. The proposed increase would push the fee to $33,750.

Larger houses would pay a proportionately larger fee. Somebody building a 9,000-square-foot house now pays $6,250. If the fee increase is adopted, the builder would pay $195,000.

Outrageous? The Aspen Times quotes several commissioners who say that the community’s wealthy second buyers won’t blink. “It’s a drop in the bucket,” Commissioner George Newman said.

“Frankly, I think the elephant in the room is an elephant.”

Also to be considered is whether to assess additional charges for snowmelt and other exterior energy use in the cold climate. Brian Pawl, the chief building official, says that one in five new house permits requests a pool. The staff has received at least one request recently for an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Eagle, Crested Butte and Telluride all have similar programs.

Residential and commercial energy use remains a daunting challenge. In May at a conference in Carbondale, Santa Fe architect Ed Mazria reported that 45 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to buildings. His accounting includes industrial buildings as well as homes and businesses.

Mazria heads an effort called Architecture 2020 that seeks to dramatically change energy use in buildings in North America & China.

In metropolitan Denver, Chuck Kutscher looks at the charges levied against big houses with skepticism. He’s now retired from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory after spending 40 years trying to find ways to decarbonize our energy. But he worries that policies viewed as punishing lifestyles send the wrong message.

“I’d rather not go after people’s lifestyles,” Kutscher says. Instead, he argues for the end of subsidies to fossil fuels or, more broadly, a carbon tax applied to everyone, not just the wealthy.

“You can tell people how to put in attic insulation, but you can’t really tell people you need to live in a 1,000-square-foot house with three other people, because that gets into lifestyle.”

Kutscher, a co-author on a college textbook called Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems, agrees on the imperative to take action.

“The unsustainability of fossil fuels makes an energy transition necessary. Climate change makes it urgent,” reads the book’s preface.

But singling out owners of larger homes would not be his first choice, says Kutscher. “It almost seems like a cultural war. We should focus on the root of the problem, which is carbon dioxide.”

Vail, again, discusses highway noise

VAIL – Interstate 70 will be put underground through several miles of Denver in the next several years. Might Vail get a similar cut-and-cover deal?

The executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation offered to meet with the Vail Town Council this week.

Michael Lewis, the director of CDOT since last December, has some experience with highway tunneling. In Boston, he directed the Central Artery Tunnel project, more commonly known as The Big Dig. For Vail, the highway has long been a mixed blessing. It makes for easy transportation. Unlike Aspen, there’s no maddening congestion. But there is pollution, most notably noise. One long-term resident said last year she no longer ever ventures onto her front porch. It’s just too loud, she said.

In 2004, the din and roar spurred a study of five alternatives.

The idea of a cut-and-cover of I-70 for 8 miles through Vail was discarded because of the cost, in the range of $2.8 billion - $3.5 billion. The idea was that the highway would be put underground then covered, with the land above used for limited residential and commercial real estate development but also for open space, a city street and wildlife passages.

The other four options all envisioned tunnels under Vail Mountain from Vail Pass, which would bypass Vail. The study found those options pricey, too, running into the billions. CDOT has total revenue this year of $1.6 billion.

Vail officials have taken a keen interest in the last year in understanding the great changes in transportation now beginning.

This meeting, however, was initiated by the state.

– Allen Best

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 11

dayinthelif

The dry season

by Stephen Eginoire

B

oth austere and gentle, the desert is a place of contrast

Few places so close to home exemplify the follies o

short-sighted humans as well as the pure magic of which

mother nature is capable. The desert can burn us dry and

then wash us away in the same day. It can be a teeming ri

parian oasis and sparse as Mars in the same mile. We can

dam rivers, mine coal, frack the shales and suck the wate

table dry, but in the end, the desert gets the last word. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

more apparent now than ever. With that in mind, now i

the time to add a little contrast to your busy work schedule

and bask in what can surely fill us up like nothing else. So

find the nearest canyon and drop in, or read a good book while perched stop its rim. Desert season is here.

Water-sculpted mud in Bears Ears National Monument.

12

n Oct. 4, 2018

teleg

! "#$"%&''( )%*#+%$%,&--./0#.

1&2 203%"#.&4450$0.%6

t.

of

h

d

i-

!"#$%$&'(()*+$,).(/-0)*$123$455

n

er

A houseboat sits high and dry near Lake Powellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bullfrog Marina.

!"#$%&'(&"$(#)$*+,-#. /#+-0$1'0*$,#$#2'+-$&)$-#00#)$3+-'#.

45(6)#0$7897!97"

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

is

e

o

k #!8=>?#=8#? $! ##>$/+6"$A3#.

BBB.C61D6*%C#".%&1$ Signs of civilization along the open range.

Beef jerky.

Fallen leaves decorate a spring-fed pool in Bears Ears.

!"#$%#&'(%()&*+#$,%&-.&/(0#)&$)&-1+&)2-&"-3$4-5%6 #""&9$(5&:'#;&<&! "&9$(5&:'#;?&*1+$5@.-+&@(A%&.+-,&)B#&C(,$"$D$%

!"#$%&'()*#"$+, !"#$"%&'() !"#*"%&'() !"#++",-./0) !"#12"3/(0"4'50"/'&6 !"#77")080/6"922(% 0:;<80) !""#$%&'()#&*'"+,(#-./

Vast skies and a full moon over Highway 160 near the Four Corners.

graph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 13

thesecondsection

Meet the neighbors

p

w b

Old Animas City comes alive with evening of activities & lore

p

b w

u

b

w Animas City back in the day. Originally founded in 1860 by Capt. Charles H. Baker, of Baker’s Bridge fame, it was abandoned shortly thereafter.

About a decade later, settlers moved back in. This time for good./Photo courtesy Animas Museum

by Jennaye Derge

A

fter you’ve lived in Durango for a while, you start to think you know the town a little too well. You know every twist and turn on your favorite trail, your dog’s favorite spot to pee, and every crack in the sidewalk on your way to work. And when you live and work downtown and force your friends to socialize with you downtown, maybe you don’t always pay attention to the northern outskirts as much as you should.

That is, until you get out of your safety bubble and venture north on the main drag only to discover a cool new bike shop or ice cream store you’ve never seen before. And that’s when you realize, there’s life north of 15th Street, things you’ve never seen before. North Main’s got it going on – almost like its own little town.

Which is kind of funny since, unbeknownst to many of us smug south towners, it was here first.

Durango resident Erin Murphy knows all about the OG North Durango, which was actually called Animas City. For years, she’s been interested in closing the gap between north and south, but also in getting to know the area in a more intimate way. With the help of Denver-based leadership program, Colorado Creative Industries’ Change Leader Institute, and the La Plata County Historical Society, she’s dug up the history of the area.

What she found is a doozy of a story, one she’ll share and celebrate with all comers next Wednesday at “Old Animas City Night.” A fund-raiser for the Animas Museum, the event is the latest installment of the Animas Farmers Market and Night Bazaar, which takes place at the corner of 30th Street and N. Main from 5 - 7 p.m.

“If we care about a place, then we are so much more likely to pitch in, take care of it and take care of each other,” Murphy reasoned. “That's what community is all about and it's powerful medicine.”

According to Murphy and other local history buffs,

14 n Oct. 4, 2018

Justthefacts What: Old Animas City Night at the Animas Farmers Market and Night Bazaar Who: A fund-raiser for the Animas Museum When: 5 – 7 p.m., Wed., Oct. 10 Where: 30th Street and N. Main Avenue, with tours of Old Animas City and Animas Museum the story of Animas City has gone greatly untold. And perhaps rightly so, as it turns out there is little information on it. Twenty years Durango’s senior, Animas City, which takes its name from the nearby river, first put down stakes in the winter of 1860-61 about a mile and a half north of Durango. It was founded by Capt.

Charles. H. Baker who, upon finding gold in the San Juans, trekked south to the Animas Valley in search of more riches. Baker and a group of his best money-hungry friends dug and dug, and while they found nothing, they created something. They called it a city, and then called it a day.

Soon after the city was abandoned, the Civil War reared its ugly head and Baker (a Confederate, if you must know) and his buddies left the area with no gold but an awesome bridge bearing the Captain’s name. He survived the war and returned to the area, only to be killed by Indians.

Animas City though, was not dead. About a decade after Baker and his buds flew the coop, a new group of prospectors settled in. Animas City’s epicenter was pinpointed at the present day junction of Main Avenue and 32nd Street, and once the fresh population came flooding in, the town began to spread, spilling south and west to Junction Creek and tapering to the north.

These new folks were curious about gold, too, but were more willing to adapt to farming, cattle, big city dreaming and some socializing. Once the first saloon

telegraph

opened in the newly formed civilization, the first jail naturally followed as well as the need for law and order.

On Oct. 5, 1878, Animas City was officially incorporated – a full three years ahead of its now more-cosmopolitan sibling to the south. Its first order of business: laws and taxes.

A man named E.H. Cooper was elected Animas City’s first mayor, and he wasted no time making a few rules and collecting cash. A personal favorite is Ordinance No. 8, which stated that every able-bodied man between 21 and 50 years of age must take to the streets and alleys with mops and buckets to “labor.” If they did not, they had to pay up, and the money went to maintain infrastructure and said streets and alleys.

Other equally boggling but nonetheless entertaining ordinances were as follows: • “Any hogs, shoats (*which, we are guessing, is a cross between a sheep and a goat), pigs, jacks, goats or stallions running at large in the city limits were to be impounded and the owners were to be fined.

• Fire wardens were elected by the Trustees. Every person at a fire had to obey the wardens or be fined.

• Any person allowing private drains, pools or privy to become foul or offensive was subject to fine.

• It was a misdemeanor to swim or bathe in the river between the hours of 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. within city limits.

• If any person appeared in public in the nude, lewd dress or in the clothes not belonging to his or her sex, he or she was subject to a fine of not less than $10 or more than $50.

• Any person carrying or firing guns or cannons in the city limits was subject to a fine of $500 or 90 days.

• Anyone riding or driving a horse faster than the ordinary walking gait over the Animas bridge was subject to a fine.

• All persons arrested for carrying or shooting firearms in the city limits were fined $5. 4

As the “fun police” came to town and put the kibosh on the good times, a few other things were about to change in a big way as well. The most important? Our beloved train chugged onto the scene. In late 1880, representatives of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad strode into town with slightly less than a chip on their shoulders and negotiated with residents and officials of Animas City to run the railroad through the town. (Allegedly, the railway was meant to run all the way down to Durango, Mexico, hence Durango, Colo.’s, name). What these big shots from Denver really wanted though, was the land. The railroad wanted to snatch up unoccupied plots and turn around and sell them, which of course they did. Thus, as the train made its home, it also made Durango. Jobs were available through the train, land was available to buy, and people started building houses, businesses and infrastructure. Thus, more and more opportunities for work arose. Soon the area became the bustling micropolis of Durango we know and love today.

Contrary to popular belief, there was little to no bad blood between Animas City and the railroad. Though there were a few disagreements, the train and the city came to mutual understandings and it was even documented that Animas City had a small station so that the train could stop and pick up or drop off residents. The relationship was generally friendly, and the railroad did not build in spite, but rather in hopes of obtaining and selling land for a new community.

Supporters of “underdogs” won’t like what happened next. But just remember how much we all love what is now an all-

encompassing Durango.

For almost 67 years, Animas City and Durango co-existed as two separate entities, but eventually, Durango swarmed in and squished the struggling Animas City. After debt and failing infrastructures, residents of Animas City conceded and threw in the towel. In 1947, both towns overwhelmingly voted to unite the two municipalities.

So, thanks to the train, we do not have to be divided. Those of us who live north of Junction Creek don’t have to call ourselves Animas City-ans. And even though we still need to ride our horses at a reasonable speed and keep our clothes on, we’re lucky to all be a part of Durango’s city limits.

It’s little-known stories like these that Murphy wants to keep alive. That’s why she and a few of her neighbors teamed up with the Animas Museum to organize the Old Animas City Night, which will be a fund-raiser for the museum.

The museum, which was built in 1904 as Animas City’s school house, opened its doors to Durango in 1978 as a museum. The building still has a classroom intact and rotating exhibits telling stories of Durango and its surrounding areas.

“I see the museum as an underutilized cultural asset right in our community that could be a catalyst to connect us to each other through story,” Murphy said. “I think stories deepen our relationship with a place and we can use them to build community.”

The night is meant to bring together community, connecting us to each other and our roots. The event will include free food from Sunnyside Farms, s'mores, wine and beer for purchase, live music, story telling, an old-

Desks sit empty in the old Animas City schoolhouse-turned-museum. A fund-raiser will be held Wednesday to benefit the museum and keep the history of Durango’s older sister town alive./Photo by Stephen Eginoire time photo booth and a walking tour of Old Animas City. And if you’ve never been inside the museum before, it will open its doors for the night for a free tour.

Which means all you downtowners will have to leave your comfort zone, venture into the great unknown and say hello to your neighbors up north. Think of it as an adventure, and maybe, unlike Capt. Baker, you’ll actually strike gold. Or at least strike up a conversation or two.

telegraph

Most of the research for this story was taken from the oldest and jankiest book at the Durango Public Library, The Animas City Story, a Forerunner of Durango, Colorado by Retha Beebe Luzar and published in 1978. The book was so decrepit, in fact, they wouldn’t let me take it outside of the library. So I had to sit in the library on a beautiful Saturday afternoon with all the other clear-skinned book hermits. The rest of the information was gleaned from an enthusiastic Animas Museum volunteer named Carolyn.n

Oct. 4, 2018 n 15

FlashinthePan

Giving a cluck

by Ari LeVaux

M

aryn McKenna is a science writer and investigative journalist. Her award-winning book Big Chicken tells the story of how antibiotics came to be used as growth-enhancing drugs, making animals grow faster. The practice began with chicken and spread to the pork and cattle industries. Big Chicken connects the dots between a thrilling and unexpected discovery by a young livestock scientist in 1948 to the current growing consensus, among consumers and poultry producers that antibiotic use on farms has gotten way out of hand.

These dangers include antibiotic resistance in bacteria, like salmonella, that also infect humans. This fear boiled over into reality in 2013, with the appearance of several gruesome infections that were traced to antibiotic use in livestock. Antibiotics also impact chicken welfare, because in addition to expediting growth they also prevent disease in conditions that otherwise would have killed them. Dialing back antibiotics involves creating healthy living conditions for chickens, which is good for the birds and the people who eat them.

I recently spoke with McKenna about her book, and she was kind enough to offer a chicken recipe as well, because everybody wants to eat chicken. And we are going to eat chicken. And that is why this book is so important.

Q: Why is everyone so into chicken?

A: Chicken is the meat we eat more than any other in America and is becoming the most eaten meat on the planet. Compared to other meat, it’s relatively low-resource to produce. You don’t need the land or forage or water that you do for a cow. So chicken is becoming the dominant meat of the world, in both developing nations and the U.S. Nowadays nearly every fast food chain has a chicken sandwich alongside its hamburgers. That kind of demand pressure which drove the fast expansion of the poultry industry over decades, and in an interesting converse of

that, it’s that same demand pressure that has driven some of the recent changes around antibiotics. Consumers have such power. They want to eat chicken, but an increasing number of consumers and institutional buyers have said to the chicken producers that “we want meat that’s raised without antibiotic use,” and there was such a potential market being expressed there that the companies have changed their practices.

Q: One of the many surprises in your book was to see an industrial chicken farm, Purdue, being a leader in the industry’s pivot away from antibiotics. Can you summarize that and also fill us in on what has happened since your book came out?

A: The book came out a year ago, but the narrative ended in the fall of 2016, which was the point at which I had to send the book off to the printers. So it’s partly described in the book, but things have moved on since.

As journalists, we are always meant to be suspicious of corporations, and to assume that they are acting in their own best interests at all times, because that’s what makes money and that’s what corporations are for, is to realize profit. I was in an odd position, as I wrote this book, realizing that in the last section Purdue was going to be one of the heroes in this story. Because they really did step out on their own and make this change that influenced the entire industry. I was not expecting a company to do that.

When Purdue started out on this project of going antibiotic free, in order to shore up their birds’ immune systems they started doing things like purifying their diets and giving them more space, and giving them light by paying farmers to cut windows into the walls of their barns, which is an unheard of thing in the American poultry industry.

Because of that, they were led into conversation with animal advocates. And those discussions led them toward wanting to make a further change that they thought would improve meat quality: raising chickens that had been bred to grow more slowly 56-60 instead of 42-47 days.

!"#$%"&' $'($)* ")%+(,,%+)-'.%/0*'1 &'%( ($)(* A*BB##A%!/#537(D,#D3E !"#$%& !"#$%"'#()*$*,#-!/*'0%##! 12"345236788 """9"*0%'":;;))<=!%/ 9?%@

16 n Oct. 4, 2018

telegraph

This means their bodies will be a little less stressed as they grow. Previously the birds’ musculature grew so fast that it was actually a strain on their bones and tendons.

There are studies to suggest that conventional chickens are in pain from being distorted like that as they grow.

(Alas, I have to cut the interview off here to make room for the #RecipePivot. Please email me if you want the full interview, which includes discussion on antibiotics under Trump, recent FDA guidance and lessons for the livestock industry from Hurricane Florence.)

Here is McKenna’s recipe for the slow-grown, antibiotic-free lemon chicken for which Parisians in her old neighborhood would cue up, in a line that circled around the market. It’s a simple recipe; with good chicken that’s all you need.

Poulet Crapaudine Materials: 3-4 lb. antibiotic-free chicken, preferably slow-grown ½ lemon, in wedges 2 tablespoon each thyme and marjoram Fresh-ground pepper Kosher salt Olive oil Kitchen shears that can cut through bone Baking pan Cooking thermometer Potatoes and other roots (optional) Method: Remove chicken from the fridge at least a half hour prior to cooking. Mix the herbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Let that sit while you prep the chicken.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spatchcock the chicken, i.e., split it in half by cutting out the backbone. Using cooking scissors, cut the ribs on both sides of the backbone, from the shoulder blades to the “Pope’s Nose.”

Zest two lemon wedges over both sides of the chicken and then squeeze them over both sides of the prepped bird, using the cut faces to rub in the juice.

Spoon the herbed oil onto the bird. Rub it in with your hands, on both sides, carefully, taking care not to hurt yourself on the cut bones.

Sprinkle each side with a few pinches of salt. Add a few pinches more if you are cooking with roots.

Spread the spatchcocked chicken on a baking pan, atop the gizzards and backbone and surrounded by cut roots if using. Bake until the flesh reaches 165 degrees where the leg bone connects to the body, where it is most likely to be undercooked, about 1-2 inches in. It should take about 4560 minutes to get there. Done properly, the skin “shatters like mica,” McKenna notes. Remove the pan from the oven and rest 5-10 minutes before serving. n

TopShelf

Cowboys, Shillelaghs and pared-down punk

by Chris Aaland

Durango’s home-grown funky newgrass ensemble, fresh off a busy summer of festivals. t’s going to be a multi-cultural week, with everything from dusty The Highway 3 Roadhouse hosts a Mardi Gras fundraiser boots and kilts to Mardi Gras beads and dirndls. The 30th annual for Alternative Horizons from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. The event Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering rides into town includes delicious, home-cooked Southern fare from Norton’s, a tonight (Thurs., Oct. 4) through Sunday. The musical headliner is wine and beer tasting from Put a Cork in It, music from the Dave Stamey, a member of the Western Music Hall of Fame and a Afrobeatniks and an auction of local packages that pair food, recipient of the Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western lodging, relaxation and fun. Cost is $75 per person and can be Artists. He has two shows purchased at Put a Cork in It tonight at the Hank; the 6 or Maria’s Bookshop, as well p.m. concert is already sold as online. out, but tickets remained to The San Juan Symphony the 8 p.m. show as of Tuesday. kicks off its season with Other highlights include “Rhapsodic and Exotic” cowboy theatre at 6 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the tonight at the Durango Arts Community Concert Hall.

Center. “The Cocinero” is The event features bassoon a Western variety show with soloist Denise Turner and a twist, as a cattle drive’s conductor Thomas Heuser, camp cook has a secret conwho has selected Hungarian cerning buried gold. More arabesques, flashy Russian than 20 musicians, poets and dances and the glorious Secactors are part of this show. ond Symphony of Jean There’s a cowboy poet train Sibelius. that pulls out of the depot at Up north, Purgatory Re10 a.m. Friday, with performsort will be hosting Oktoers in every coach and a BBQ berfest on Saturday from 1 lunch at Cascade Canyon; a – 5 p.m. In addition to Gercowboy chuckwagon breakman food and brews from The Stubby Shillelaghs headline the Highland Games & Celtic Festival Durango’s five craft brewfast from 7:30-10:30 a.m. at Riverside Park in Aztec this weekend.

Saturday across from the eries, the afternoon will intrain depot and a cowboy paclude music from Devin rade at 10 a.m. on Main; plus art exhibits, cowboy humor, poScott, State 38 and the Alpiners. There will also be non-tubed etry readings and more. Durangocowboypoetrygathering.org is meat options from Mountain Taco, Bounty for the Belly and othyour source for a complete schedule and tickets. ers, plus vendors and an old-time photo booth. For those not The Aztec Highland Games & Celtic Festival rolls into wanting to risk driving the gauntlet back to Durango, Purg is also Riverside Park in Aztec this Saturday and Sunday. For the initioffering lodging specials. ated, it’s a bit daunting to wrap your brain around. So let’s break My how time flies. It’s already the first of the month, meaning it down, starting with the Highland Games, also known as CaleSteamworks will tap another firkin, this time Molé Stout, which donian games. In Aztec, athletes will compete in eight Celtic evokes the essence of chocolate that’s traditional in Mexican molé heavy athletic events, including the sheaf toss, weight for height, sauces. “We’re revisiting the Molé Stout brew as it’s very timely in Braemar stone, light and heavy Scottish hammer throw, light and the season of chiles,” Ken Martin, Steamworks’ director of brewheavy eight for distance, and caber toss. It’s the Four Corners Reing operations, said. “We were also very excited to incorporate gional Championship, for both lads and lasses. local chiles grown by Steamworks’ culinary team member Chris Meanwhile, there’s music on the Connie Gotsch Memorial Bissonette.” The base is Steamworks’ Backside Stout, a moderately Stage, including the headliners, The Stubby Shillelaghs. If you hopped dark beer with complex malt and oat flavors, yet sweet must know, a shillelagh (pronounced shi-lay-lay) is defined as a with chocolate and roast overtones. Four different chiles were thick stick of blackthorn or oak used in Ireland, typically as a blended into a sauce, with pure cocoa powder, cinnamon and a weapon. The Stubbies, as they’re called up on the Front Range, bit of Mexican oregano. “It should work in harmony with the have been around since 2010 and have an aptly-titled CD called chocolate, caramel and toasty flavors of Backside Stout, perfect for “Folk Your Face.” Other performers include the Kitchen Jam Band, the cool days of autumn,” Martin added.

Gypsyfire, Devil’s Dram, Top O’ the Mornin’, Mad Haggis, the KDUR presents a free concert by minimalist punk band SiDesert Highlanders and $6 Sliders. hasin at 7 p.m. Monday in the College Union Ballroom as part of There’s also a Highland Dance Competition, workshops, kids’ the college’s Real History of the Americas event. Sihasin blends activities, food, beer and a whole bunch of beer-bellied men runpunk, rock and traditional Native American music. Their two ning around in kilts. I’ve been twice and loved every minute of it. records were recorded, mixed and mastered by the famed Ed StaTo answer the two obvious questions you probably have. Yes, sium, known for his work with the Ramones and Living Colour, there’s haggis … and it’s delicious. And yes, it’s proper to free-ball among others. it underneath your kilt.

Bluesman AJ Fullerton performs at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Newgrass returns to the Animas City Theatre with Kyle Sunflower Theatre in Cortez. Schooled in folk, rock, bluegrass, Hollingsworth and Liver Down the River at 9 p.m. Sunday. blues and roots, Fullerton blends fingerpicking and slide guitar Hollingsworth, of course, is the keyboard player for String Cheese with uptempo blues and rock grooves. A native of the Western Incident. His fourth solo record, “50,” was released on his 50th Slope, he won an unprecedented eight honors at the 2017 Colbirthday this past March 2. The celebratory record took a year and orado Blues Society awards, including Best Guitarist, Best Male a half to write and record, utilizing his band plus a host of musiVocalist, Best Band and Best Solo/Duo. Kirk James opens. cians, including Andy Hall (dobro player for The Infamous StringI don’t know where you’ve been, but I see you won first prize? Email dusters), the Motet Horns, DJ Logic and others. Liver, of course, is me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net. n

I

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 17

onthetown

Thursday04 30th Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Oct. 4-7, poetry readings, performances, parade, concerts and more. www.durangocowboygathering.org.

Manhattan Shorts Film Festival, Oct. 4, Bayfield Performing Arts Center; Oct. 4-5, Animas City Theatre; Oct. 6, Sunflower Theatre in Cortez. manhattanshort.com.

Annual Four Corners Veterans Stand Down, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds. 382-6150 Beginner Tai Chi, 9:15-10:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Local First Member Meet-up, presentation on “Banking Locally & Investing in Community Capital,” noon-1:15 p.m., First Southwest Bank, 600 E. 2nd Ave. Drop-in Tennis, all ages welcome, 4 p.m., Fort Lewis College courts. www.durangotennis.com.

Kidz Klub, 4 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

“Doc Swords,” PTSD Social Club for Veterans, 4-6 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave.

Submit “On the Town” items by Monday at noon to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Farmers Market, 4-8 p.m., Three Springs Plaza.

Happy Hour Community Fruit Glean, bring bags and boxes to take home extra fruit, 4:30 p.m., meet in front of the Smiley Building Café, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. rachel@goodfoodcollective.org.

Ragtime Piano with Adam Swanson, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave. Let’s Talk Transportation Town Hall Meeting, hosted by Colorado Department of Transportation, 5:306:30 p.m., Durango Public Library. www.cdot.gov.

Snowdown Kick-off Poster Unveiling and Volunteer Signup Party, 5:30-7 p.m., El Moro Tavern, 945 Main Ave. www.snowdown.org.

“Reversing Inequality: What is the Path Forward?” with author & activist Chuck Collins, presented by Thrive! Living Wage Coalition, part of the Life Long Learning Lecture Series, 6 p.m., Student Union Ballroom at Fort Lewis College. www.fortlewis.edu/professionalassociates.

The Animas Jazz Trio performs, 6-9 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant, 601 Main Ave. Jose Villareal performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main.

AJ Fullerton performs, Kirk James opens, 7 p.m., Sunflower Theatre in Cortez. www.sunflowertheatre.org.

18 n Oct. 4, 2018

Friday05

Cowboy Poetry Train, Oct. 5, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. www.durangotrain.com.

Free education on prediabetes, 9-11 a.m., Mercy Medical Center’s Medical Office, Suite 140. 764-3415.

Groove and Grow, for young children and their caregivers, 10 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Lactation Support Fridays, 10 a.m.-noon, Prenatal Yoga, noon-1 p.m., Durango Café au Play, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., Room 201. 749-9607 or durangocafeauplay.org.

Caregiver Café, open playtime, 10:30 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Preschool Storytime, 10:30-11 a.m., Durango Library.

Intermediate Tai Chi, 10-11 a.m., every Friday, Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Saturday06 Oktoberfest, Purgatory Resort. purgatoryresort.com.

Peanuts Great Pumpkin Patch Express, Oct. 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. www.durangotrain.com.

4th annual Four Corners Permaculture Convergence, Oct. 6-7, County Road 105 in Mancos. www.ManyHorses.org.

Cowboy Gathering Chuckwagon Breakfast, 7:3010:30 a.m., corner of 5th Street and Main. 749-2995.

Original Bayfield Market, 8:30 a.m.-noon, Roadside Park in Bayfield.

Durango Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, featuring live music, TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St. www.durangofarmersmarket.com.

Firkin Fridays, featuring “Mole Stout” on tap, 3 p.m., Steamworks Brewing Co., 801 E. 2nd Ave. 259-9200.

Journey of Hope 5K Run/Walk, fundraiser for breast cancer prevention and treatment, 9 a.m., Mercy Medical Center. www.threesprings durango.com/events.

Monarch Beautification Project, 3-5 p.m., meet at Hermosa Train Yard. www.trails2000.org.

Drop-in Tennis, all ages, 9 a.m., Durango High School courts. www.durangotennis.com.

Twin Buttes Farm Stand, 3-6:30 p.m., Twin Buttes Farm, Highway 160.

Animas River Clean-up, bring gloves, water and sunscreen. Bags provided, 9 a.m.-noon, Santa Rita Park.

“Destination Durango Paint-Out,” presented by Plein Air Artists of Colorado, opening reception and exhibit 5-7 p.m., show runs thru October, Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave. 247-3555.

Community Apple Harvest, part of Apple Days Festival, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1-4:30 p.m., meet at Buckley Park. www.goodfoodcollective.org.

“Identity,” DAC’s annual members show, opening reception, 5-7 p.m., Barbara Conrad Gallery, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. www.durangoarts.org.

Western Art Gallery Exhibits, featuring saddle makers Lisa and Loren Skyhorse, bronze sculptor Kevin McCarthy and historic photos by Fred Clark, 5-7 p.m., Toh-Atin Gallery, 145 W. 9th St. toh-atin.com.

ELHI Fall Harvest Festival, food, crafts, face painting, silent auction, carriage rides, live music and more, 5:30-8 p.m., Education Literacy Health & Inspiration Community Center. 563-4100 or elhicenter@gmail.com.

Family First Friday: Pajama Storytime, 6 p.m., Forest Lakes Community Recreation Center in Bayfield.

Friday Night Funk Jam with Bootyconda, 6-9 p.m., Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave. Bob Maccarni performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

telegraph

Cowboy Parade, 10 a.m., downtown along Main Avenue. 512-517-5619.

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Café, 601 Main Ave. 570-650-5982.

VFW Indoor Flea Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1550 Main Ave. 247-0384.

2018 Solar Home Tour, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., around Durango. 259-1916 or fourcore.org/solar-home-tour.

“Born on Third Base: Engaging Wealth & Power to Reverse Inequality,” 1-2 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield; “Reversing Inequality: What is the Path Forward?” co-sponsored by Thrive! Living Wage Coalition, 4-6 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 419 San Juan Drive.

Mardi Gras at the Roadhouse, benefit for Alternative Horizons and featuring live music from the Afrobeatniks, 1-5 p.m., 955 HWY 3. www.alternativehorizons.org or 247-4374.

“Sunshine Equine” by Poteet Victory, performance, 4:40-5:30 p.m., artist reception, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Toh-Atin Gallery, 145 W. 9th St. toh-atin.com.

Lacey Black performs, 6-9 p.m., Pagosa Brewing & Grill in Pagosa Springs.

Leah Orlikowski performs, 7 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. The REC Trio featuring Ryan McCurry, Evan Suiter and Clay Lowder performs, 7:30 p.m., Katzyns Studios at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave. Star Party at Mesa Verde, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Morefield Campground Amphitheater. www.facebook.com/mesaver denps/.

Sunday07 The Animas Mug Run, trail-run benefit for Lisa Parker’s Puppies, 9 a.m., at the base of Animas Mountain in Durango. www.lisaparkerspuppies.com.

Veterans Breakfast, 9-11 a.m., Elks Club, 901 E. 2nd Ave. 946-4831.

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Café, 601 Main Ave. 570-650-5982.

Apple Days Festival, featuring apple press, live music, kids’ activities and more, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Buckley Park. www.goodfoodcollective.org.

Free books, hosted by Durango Book Rescue, noon-5 p.m., 923 Narrow Gauge Ave. “Julie,” screened by National Theatre Live Productions, 1 p.m., event also shows 11 a.m., Nov. 3, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Pete Giuliani performs, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Swing Restaurant at Dalton Ranch.

Blue Moon Ramblers, 7 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Kyle Hollingsworth performs, Live Down the River opens, 9 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Monday08

Giddy up to annual Cowboy Gathering What: 30th annual Cowboy Gathering When: Thurs. – Sun., Oct. 4 – 7 Where: Strater Hotel & other locales It’s once again time to saddle up the steed – whether twowheeled or two-legged – and mosey on down to the Strater Hotel for Durango’s annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Celebrating its 30th year, the gathering takes place Oct. 4-7 and features cowboy poetry, music and comedy, a chuckwagon breakfast, trail ride, train ride, and the ever popular Cowboy Parade, the largest motorless parade in the Wild West (or at least Colorado.) There will also be special displays of Western art in local galleries as well as a “poster session” at Toh Atin Gallery on Saturday evening complete with impromptu cowboy poetry.

Cowboy lore holds that the uniquely Western poetry artform was born on the long and lonely trail drives north from Texas after the Civil War. Cowhands would peel labels off cans and scribble words and rhymes about things that happened to them during the day. Then, around the campfire, they would recite what they had written – stories, songs and poems – and an artistic oral culture began.

Handed down from generation to generation, cowboy poetry got its modern start in 1985 at the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nev. Many of the old cowhands who were asked to recite their poetry in front of the audience were terrified, then amazed when they discovered that all their friends had also been writing about good horses, bad wrecks and the beauty of working cattle on the open range.

The Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering started in 1989 after Durango hat maker Kevin O’Farrell returned from the Elko Gathering and said “We can do that here.” Turns out he was right – and 30 years on, he still is.

Highlights of this year’s Gathering include: • Dave Stamey, Thurs., Oct. 4, 6 & 8 p.m. – Cowboy singer Stamey is a multiple recipient of the Western Music Association’s Cowboy Entertainer of the Year, Male Performer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, and winner of the Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western Artists. In addition to one of the best moustaches around, Stamey has worked as a cowboy, mule packer and dude rancher, living the life he sings about. The newest member of the Western Music Hall of Fame, Western Horseman magazine called his “Vaquero Song” one of the greatest Western songs of all time.

• Chuckwagon breakfast and Cowboy Parade,

Tuesday09 Yoga for All, 9 a.m., at the Pine River Library.

Play days, 10 a.m., also Wed., Pine River Library.

Watch Your Step class, 10:15-11:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Mystery Book Club, featuring Deceptive Clarity by Aaron Elkins, 11:30 a.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Legos & Wii, 2 p.m., Ignacio Library. 563-9287.

Art & Conversation with Peter Precourt, 2-3 p.m.; art show opening reception for “Peter Precourt: The Katrina Chronicles,” 4:30-6 p.m., FLC Art & Design Gallery.

247-7167.

Ragtime Piano, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main.

Beginner Tai Chi, 9:15-10:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Zumba Gold, 9:30-10:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Storytime, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Mancos Public Library.

Tuesday Crafternoons, 1 p.m., Pine River Library.

ICL Knitters, 1-3 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Baby Storytime, 2-2:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

Smiley Farmers Market, 3-6 p.m., Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Stamey 7:30- 11 a.m., Oct. 6 – The flagship events of the weekend take place Saturday morning, with an authentic breakfast of eggs, biscuits & gravy, and black coffee served out of an original 1880s chuckwagon at the corner of 5th St. and Main Ave. Then, once everyone’s had a chance to digest their vittles, the annual Cowboy Parade will hit the trail along Main, starting at 10 a.m.

• Cowboy Comedy Revue 10:45 a.m., Sat., Oct. 6, Strater Theater – A full hour of funny stories, poems and music about ranch life.

• “Rising Western Stars Youth Show,” Sat., 1:30 p.m. – Hosted by acclaimed Wester singer Kristyn Harris, the show features little cowpolks performing their own special versions of cowboy poetry and music. No stranger to the Western stage at a young age, Harris was 23 when she became the youngest person ever to win the Western Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year.

In addition to all this, there will be cowboy musical performances both Friday and Saturday nights featuring a variety of musicians. And for those whose saddlebags are running on empty, there will be free sessions throughout the day Saturday at the Strater and other downtown locales. The Gathering rides off into the sunset Sunday night with a Victorian Cowboy hoedown.

For a complete schedule or to find about tickets, go to www.durangocowboypoetrygathering.org or call 970749-2995.

Twin Buttes Farm Stand, 3-6:30 p.m., Twin Buttes Farm, Highway 160.

Teen Time! 3:30 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Inklings, a book club for young readers in grades 3-5, 4 p.m., Ignacio Community Library. 563-9287.

Drop-in Tennis, all ages, 4 p.m., Fort Lewis College courts. www.durangotennis.com.

Bear Smart Presentation: What everyone from kids to adults need to know, 4 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Ragtime Piano with Adam Swanson, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

More “On the Town” p. 204

!"#$%&&'%( (%$$)*+,%**"-#. /"$"0'%$$1/%$$+,12# 3/'421#%/ /'4%0 0+*15 !"#$%&!$&'(( & %*+,&-./0-(*#1&&#

(-2345-67- 9-:#!=>? -@=44-&-$$$BC35"%2=!F5"BG 2

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 19

AskRachel Interesting fact: Sitting on an exercise ball sure can activate your abs, but studies show that you are actually too lazy to keep your abs activated.

Dear Rachel, I feel as if everything of mine is dying. Two of my computers within a week of each other (work and home), my car, my bike, my houseplants, my dog. Now, I arrive at work Monday morning to find my beloved big ball that I use as a chair totally deflated. Please, tell me how to reverse this horrible juju or wretched curse I have somehow unwittingly brought upon myself. And quickly before I lose something else.

– Deflated Dear Tom Brady, You had me all primed for some humorous responses to your problem, until you got to your dog dying. That seems like the real manifestation of whatever energy you’re processing. Everything else is just metaphorical correlatives to the true shift happening in your life. I have no idea what that is, but I have a feeling you should move toward life. Get your hands in the dirt. Kiss a baby. Just don’t move toward the light. Any light. Just to be safe.

– Go with peace, Rachel Dear Rachel, Clutter is taking over my existence. I’m constantly filling boxes and taking them to the Humane Society Thrift Store, and yet, my home space isn’t becoming any more spacious. I’m

OntheTown from p. 19 Candidate Forum, featuring candidates for state House and Senate, presented by League of Women Voters, 5:30-7 p.m., Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College.

Rotary Club of Durango, presentation by Trails 2000 Executive Director Mary Monroe-Brown, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel. 385-7899.

Community Uke Jam, 6 p.m., Pine River Library.

Knit or Crochet with Kathy Graf, 6-7 p.m., Mancos Public Library. 533-7600.

Adult Board Game Night, 6-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library. 375-3380.

Wednesday10 Morning Meditation, 8 a.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield. 884-2222.

Fired Up Stories with local firefighters and EMTs, 10:3011:30 a.m., Durango Public Library.

Free Trauma Conscious Yoga for Veterans and Families, noon-1 p.m., Elks Lodge, 901 E. 2nd Ave. Green Business Roundtable: “The Challenges of Change: Retrofitting 2,500 Durango Street Lights,” noon-1 p.m., Henry Strater Theater, 699 Main Ave. BookMarks Book Discussion featuring The Chalk Man

by C.J. Tudor, 2 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Page Turners, book club for 4th-6th graders, 3:30 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

20 n Oct. 4, 2018

starting to wonder if I have a gravitational pull for stuff. Or else there’s some Mary Poppins-style expansion of crap going on in here. How can I get ahead of the mess?

– Pack Rat Dear Hoard-house, The problem may be that you have emotional attachments to some of your belongings. You think you’re getting rid of stuff, but really, you’re clinging to the possessions that are truly blocking your path to spaciousness and freedom. At least, that’s my problem. I’d recommend that you get a friend to go through your things and throw out the nonessentials for you … but I’m not ready to take that step, so why should you be?

– Burn it all down, Rachel Dear Rachel, I feel like the “wisdom of my elders” says that I should be able to talk to my romantic partner about everything I’m feeling about the relationship. In fact, they’d say I should talk to her, because that gets everything into the light before it can fester. But honestly, I’d rather stuff those things down. It’s easier for me to suck it up and deal with it than it is to risk all the emotions that come from expressing my feelings. Besides, it gives me an air of mystery, so really I’m just helping the relationship thrive, right?

– Silence Is Golden Dear Silent Bob, Oh sure. We love airs of mystery. For about a week.

Then we just want to know what the heck you’re think-

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com ing and feeling. Air out that laundry, dude(tte). Embrace the muck. Get down with your emotional self. And if your partner can’t handle it, then you’re better off taking your emotions and going home. If you repress that stuff long enough, it probably leads to your big ball chair deflating and your houseplants dying. So if nothing else, speak up for the dog’s sake.

– Thanks for the talking-to, Rachel

Aztec Farmers Market, 4:30-7 p.m., Westside Plaza parking lot in Aztec.

Free one-on-one technology tutoring, Durango Public Library. Register at durangopubliclibrary.org.

Old Animas City Night, Animas City Farmer’s Market & Night Bazaar, 5-7 p.m., 2977 Main Ave.

Tuesday Tech Time, appointments throughout the day, Pine River Library in Bayfield. Register at 884-2222.

Thank the Veterans potluck, Peter Neds and Glenn Keefe perform, 5:30-8:30 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main. 828-7777.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., Thur-Sun, 8th Ave. Tavern, 509 E 8th.

Durango Diaries: Anne Hillerman, 6 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. Heartbeat Durango, support group for individuals affected by suicide, 6-8 p.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, look for the Heartbeat sign. 749-1673.

Pub Quiz, 6:30 p.m., Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave. Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 6:30 p.m., BREW Pub & Kitchen, 117 W. College Dr. 259-5959.

San Juan Basin Archaeological Society meets, presentation on “The Ancient Sites of Ellora: A Microcosm of South Asia’s Archaeological Past,” 7 p.m., Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. sjbas.org.

Solar Barn Raising Informational Meeting, 7-9 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield. 884-2222.

Ongoing “The Silver Thread,” thru Oct. 27, Friends of the Arts Gallery at Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. www.duran goarts.org.

“Living with Wolves” photographic exhibit, “Lummi Nation Bear Totem Pole” and “Riders of the West,” exhibits, thru Nov. 30, Southern Ute Museum, 503 Ouray Drive. www.southernutemuseum.org.

telegraph

Upcoming Creative Districts Follow Up Meeting, 5-7 p.m., Oct. 11, Durango Rec Center. www.local-first.org.

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” presented by National Theatre Live Productions, 11 a.m., Oct. 13, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. www.animascitytheatre.com.

SunSquabi performs, guest appearance from Late Night Radio, 9 p.m., Oct. 13, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Mandy Harvey performs, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 16, Community Concert Hall, Fort Lewis College. durangoconcerts.com.

CONNECT featuring Posh Josh & Friends perform, 9 p.m., Oct. 20 and Dec. 14, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Deadline for “On the Town” submissions is Monday at noon.

To submit an item email: calendar@durango telegraph.com

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Electra is an action-packed story written by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. It features epic characters taking drastic action in response to extreme events. In contrast to that text is Marcel Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time, which draws from the sensitive author’s experiences growing up, coming of age and falling in love, all the while in quest for meaning and beauty. Author Virginia Woolfe compared the two works, writing, “In six pages of Proust we can find more complicated and varied emotions than in the whole of the Electra.” In accordance with astrological omens, I recommend that you specialize in the Proustian mode rather than the Sophoclean. Your feelings in the next five weeks could be as rich and interesting and educational as they have been in a long time. Honor them!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Researchers in Maryland have created a new building material with a strength-to-weight ratio that’s eight times better than steel. It’s an effective insulator and in some forms can be bent and folded. Best of all, it’s biodegradable and cost-effective. The stuff is called nanowood and is derived from lightweight, fast-growing trees like balsa. I propose that we make it your main metaphor for the foreseeable future. Why? Because I think you’re primed to locate or create your own version of a flexible, durable, robust building block.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The U.S. Secretary of Defense paid an official visit to Indonesia early this year. The government arranged for him to observe soldiers as they demonstrated how tough and well-trained they were. Some of the troops shimmied through broken glass, demolished bricks with their heads, walked through fire and bit heads off snakes. I hope you won’t try stunts like that in the coming weeks, Gemini. It will be a favorable time for you show off your skills and make strong impressions. You’ll be wise to impress important people with how creative and resourceful you are. But there’s no need to try too hard or resort to exaggeration.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): i confess that i have a fuzzy self-image. With odd regularity, i don’t seem to know exactly what or who i am. For example, i sometimes think i’m so nice and polite that i need to toughen up. But on other occasions i feel my views are so outrageous and controversial that i should tone myself down. Which is true? Often, i even neglect to capitalize the word “i.”

You have probably experienced some of this fuzziness, my fellow Cancerian. But you’re now in a favorable phase to cultivate a more definitive self-image. Here’s a helpful tip: We Cancerians have a natural talent for inspiring people to love us. This

ability will come in especially handy as we work on making an enduring upgrade from i to I. Our allies’ support and feedback will fuel our inner efforts to clarify our identity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “I am a little afraid of love, it makes me rather stupid.” So said author Simone de Beauvoir in a letter she wrote to her lover, Nelson Algren. I’m happy to let you know, Leo, that during the next 12 months, love is likely to have the opposite effect on you. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, it will tend to make you smarter and more perceptive. To the degree that you expand your capacity for love, you will become more resilient and a better decisionmaker. As you get the chance to express love with utmost skill and artistry, you will awaken dormant potentials and boost your personal power.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your theme in the coming weeks is the art of attending to details. But wait! I said “the art.” That means attending to details with panache, not with overly meticulous fussing. For inspiration, meditate on St. Francis Xavier’s advice, “Be great in little things.” And let’s take his thought a step further with a quote from author Richard Shivers: “Be great in little things, and you will be given opportunity to do big things.” Novelist Tom Robbins provides us with one more nuance: “When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson offers this observation: “When you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. (But) the most successful people in life recognize that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.” I think Tyson’s simple wisdom is exactly what you need to hear right now, Libra.

You’re primed for a breakthrough in your ability to create your own fate.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Japanese entrepreneur Hiroki Terai has created a business that offers crying therapy. His clients watch short videos specially formulated to make them weep. A professional helper is on hand to gently wipe their tears away and provide comforting words. “Tears have relaxing and healing effects,” an Okinawan musician who works as one of the helpers says. Hiroki Terai adds, “It has been said that one drop of tear has the effect of relieving stress for a week.” I wish there were a service like this near where you live, Scorpio. The next two weeks will be a perfect time to relieve pent-up worry and sad-

ness and anxiety through cathartic rituals like crying. What other strategies might work for you?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): Fling out friendly feelers! Sling out interesting invitations! Figure out how to get noticed for all the right reasons! Make yourself so interesting that no one can resist your proposals!

Use your spunky riddle-solving powers to help ease your tribe’s anxieties. Risk looking odd if that will make you smarter!

Plunk yourself down in pivotal places where vitality is welling up! Send out telepathic beams that say, “I’m ready for sweet adventure. I’m ready for invigorating transformation!”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Someone spoke to me last night, told me the truth,” writes poet Doeianne Laux. “I knew I should make myself get up, write it down, but it was late, and I was exhausted from working.

Now I remember only the flavor.” I offer these thoughts, Capricorn, in the hope that they’ll help you avoid Laux’s mistake. I’m quite sure that crucial insights and revelations will be coming your way, and I want you to do whatever’s necessary to completely capture them so you can study and meditate on them at length.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): As a young man, Aquarian poet Louis Dudek struck up a correspondence with renowned poet Ezra Pound, who was 32 years older. Dudek “admired him immensely” and “loved him for the joy and the luminosity” of his poetry, but also resented him “for being so magnificent.” With a mix of mischief and adulation, Dudek wrote a poem to his hero. It included these lines: “For Christ’s sake, you didn’t invent sunlight. There was sun dazzle before you. But you talk as if you made light or discovered it.” I hope his frisky tone might inspire you to try something similar with your own idols. It would be healthy to be more playful and lighthearted about anything or anyone you take too seriously or give enormous power to.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In his book Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis writes, “Holy places are dark places. It is life and strength, not knowledge and words, that we get in them. Holy wisdom is not clear and thin like water, but thick and dark like blood.” In that spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I suggest you seek out dark holy places that evoke wonder and reverence, even awe. Hopefully, you will be inspired thereby to bring new beauty into your life.

You’ll be purged of trivial concerns and become receptive to a fresh promise from your future life.

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 21

classifieds

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon.

Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted via: n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 777 Main Ave., #214 Approximate office hours: Mon., 9ish - 5ish Tues., 9ish - 5ish Wed., 9ish - 3ish Thurs., On delivery Fri., 10:30ish - 2ish please call ahead: 259-0133.

Announcements Facelifts Available Immediately!

Highly skilled decorators beautify your environment instantly. 5 intense manpower hours. $297 special. Amazing transformation! LoveGuru@SpiesGirls.com Save the Date Fused glass sale, greatly reduced prices.

Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 41 Lewis Mountain Lane.

The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Climbing Zine, The Great American Dirtbags, American Climber, Climbing Out of Bed and Graduating From College Me are available at: Maria’s Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

Pets Two Black Lab Puppies Brother and sister. Very cute. 4 months old. Potty trained with a doggie door.

Good pups. Looking for a good home. $250 ea. 970-903-9865.

Love Your Dog! At the Durango Dog Wash behind Liquor World in the Albertson’s parking lot. Open every day!

Wanted Turn Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. Into Cash! at RJ Metal Recycle, also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

22 n Oct. 4, 2018

HelpWanted

MyahMindfulness@gmail.com or 970-9465379.

6th Street Liquors Hiring 6th Street Liquors is hiring. Part time evening shifts avail. Come in for an interview between 9:30am-12:00pm Mon-Fri with resume or drop off resume. Please, no calls

Mommy and Me Dance Class Come join the fun! Now registering for classes. Call 970-749-6456. mom myandmedance.com.

Phlebotomy Certification (Blood Drawing) $350, Farmington, Oct. 27 and 28. sw phlebotomy.net, 505-410-7889.

KDUR Radio is Looking for Someone to fill the community member position on our Community Advisory Board.

This person should live in La Plata County and be a regular listener to KDUR Radio. Monthly meetings/assistance at fund-raisers and miscellaneous duties are the commitment. Interested parties email Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu Experienced Line/Prep Cook wanted at BREW Pub & Kitchen. Must be reliable with a strong work ethic and excellent knife skills. Bring resume to 117 West College Drive and fill out an application between 2pm and 4pm.

Classes/Workshops Natural Childbirth Classes Mondays 6-8pm Oct 22- Nov 19.

Taught by midwives. Fun, informative class for those wanting a natural birth at home or hospital. $350 sliding scale available.

Please visit newflowermidwifery.com for more info or call Annie 769-0134 to register!

Nia Classes Nia with Ashley Hill, certified Black Belt Instructor. Ongoing, Thursdays, 1:302:30pm, Smiley Building, Rm 15. Tuesdays, noon-1pm, Smiley Building, Room 24. (The Dance Center 2nd floor) 970759-0234 or visit niadurango.com Every Body welcome!

8 Week Mindful Self-Compassion 8 Thursdays starting Oct. 11 (10/11 12/6 - no class on 11/22) 5:30 - 8pm Smiley Building, #205 sliding scale fee: $200-350 payment plan available. Contact Myoung Lee, Certified Mindfulness & MSC Teacher:

telegraph

ForSale

Services Fall Spray Tans!

Organic & Beautiful!

Meg Bush, LMT 970-759-0199.

Low Price on Storage!

Inside/outside near Durango, RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

Harmony Organizing and Cleaning Services Home and office 970-403-6192.

Advanced Duct Cleaning Air duct cleaning specializing in dryer vents. Improves indoor air quality; reduces dust and allergens, energy bills and fire risk. 970-247-2462 www.advanced ductcleaninginc.com

BodyWork massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 2018.

Couples, sauna, outdoor shower, cupping.

Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984.

Insight Cranial Sacral Therapy Quiet, relaxing, deep. Don 970-7698389.

Fall in love with Massage!

Meg Bush, LMT 970-759-0199.

Massage with Kathryn 20+ years experience offering a fusion of esalen style, deep tissue massage with therapeutic stretching & Acutonics. New clients receive $5 off first session. To schedule appt. call 970-201-3373.

RealEstate Radon Services Free radon testing and consultation.

Call Colorado Radon Abatement and Detection for details. 970- 946-1618.

1981 Honda Cub Motorscooter Sweet vintage ride, fully refurbished by local mechanic. Only about 6,000 miles, 70 cc, manual, new tires and battery. It runs – just not currently. Needs small-engine jedi to get her up and on the road again. $1,300 OBO. 970-749-2595.

Hot Tub – New 6HP pump, 50 jets. Cost $8,000. Sell $3,650. 505-270-3104.

Reruns Home Furnishings Back-to-school – nice variety of furniture, lamps and rugs. Kitchen island, dishes, bedding, tapestries. Vintage porch chairs. Unique treasures arriving daily.

572 E. 6th Ave. 385-7336.

ForRent 3 BR, 1 BA 1 Car Garage. $1500 Bottom of duplex with garage close to town and college, Richard Dr. Fresh paint!

Avail now, flexible lease options. 1st, last plus deposit of $1000. New flooring, new fridge and microwave. Electric $100-130 per month. Pets, students ok. 4 tenants max 970-749-5828.

HaikuMovieReview ‘Jane Fonda in Five Acts’ This lady has had an interesting life and a lot of husbands – Lainie Maxson

MurderInk

California dreamin’

‘November Road’ weaves history, mobsters and road-tripping into full-throttle thriller

by Jeffrey Mannix

E

very once in a while, I get a hold of something that’s beyond compare, something so nearly perfect that the French in their fastidiousness for language have a word for it: nonpareil. There is such a book being released by William Morrow on Oct. 9. And as we’re nearing the end of the year, I have to say that November Road, by Lou Berney, will be among the few “Murder Ink” books vying for my “Book of the Year” pick. (Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke comes right to mind, as does IQ by Joe Ide).

Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone was heralded as the best crime novel of 2015, with the Edgar, Macavity, Anthony and Barry awards. November Road will match those accolades, no doubt, and quite possibly be the crowning performance transcending the crime fiction genre into mainstream literary fiction and prove once and for all that mysteries cannot just be relegated blithely to the unwashed.

The “November” in November Road is the November of 1963, the 22nd day of a month that put Dallas on the map. It also fixed in the minds of a dumbstruck country conspiracy theories that all made far more sense than ordinary Lee Harvey Oswald firing three perfect shots into John F. Kennedy from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository with a $30 rifle. Berney’s construction of the backstory to the Kennedy assassination is so convincing that the plot never addresses the assassination itself.

During Oswald’s 1950s childhood, he lived in New Orleans, returning again for five months in 1962 before tak-

ing up residence in Dallas. Berney so very cleverly thinks of this faint New Orleans connection of Oswald’s, easily envisioning an organized crime underworld for the Big Easy. Then, with an unnoticed sleight of hand, he tells the story of Frank Guidry, the fixer for big crime boss Carlos Marcello.

Carlos orders and Frank obediently parks a freshly stolen Cadillac Eldorado on an upper floor of a parking structure, two blocks down from Dealey Plaza, the day before JFK was so impeccably shot. If Frank doesn’t get told why, Frank doesn’t ask why. He’s a right-hand man, a go-to soldier who wears bespoke suits, alligator shoes and lives large. He knows his strengths, his talent for making friends, staying razor sharp and being the cock of the walk.

It seems, though, that Frank saw too much in Dallas. Someone drove off in the sky-blue ’59 Cadillac on that day of such confusion, after a shot a warehouseman could have never made in a hundred years. And Frank heard too much when Carlos ordered him to pick up the Eldo at the Dallas airport and drive it to Houston and make it disappear. And this is where November Road begins the extraordinary story of Frank knowing he knows too much, knowing there’s nowhere to hide, and how he

Get in the game.

lives one day more.

California is where you go in 1963 to get lost. People are pouring in for the good life; nobody knows anybody; no crime families are established for Carlos to ask a favor of. Frank drives a burner car west and on the way spots an attractive damsel in distress, Charlotte, on the side of the highway with her two 10-something year-old daughters. He stops to learn that they’re escaping their dull, foredoomed life in Oklahoma, leaving drunk husband and father, escaping to the Golden State and a life of purpose. Frank does the math, helps this needy young family, and it doesn’t hurt at all that he shall now be traveling as a family, less noticeable and maybe thinking of living in fragments of weeks instead of days. He pays the mechanic to declare Charlotte’s car irreparable, and after a couple of days on the road, he’s charmed himself into a family headed west for the sunshine, white beaches and opportunity.

Both these flawed and very real people are running away from a death of some kind, and we’re just on page 47. This is a hardback book.

It’s worth the money. And with the 15 percent discount for “Murder Ink” books at Maria’s Bookshop, be at their door early next Tuesday and skip lunch to pay for a story you’ll want to put on a shelf with books you’ll never part with. n

Drinking&DiningGuide Himalayan Kitchen 992 Main Ave., 970-259-0956 www.himkitchen.com Bringing you a taste of Nepal, Tibet & India. Try our all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. The dinner menu offers a variety of tempting choices, including yak, lamb, chicken, beef & seafood; extensive veggies; freshly baked bread. Full bar. Get your lunch punch card – 10th lunch free.

Hours: Lunch, 11am-2:30 pm & dinner, Sun. - Thurs., 5-9:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. ‘til 10 p.m. Closed 2:30 to 5 daily $$ Crossroads Coffee 1099 Main Ave., 970-903-9051 Crossroads coffee proudly serves locally roasted Fahrenheit coffee and delicious baked goods. Menu includes gluten-free items along with bullet-proof coffee, or bullet-proof chai! Come in for friendly service and the perfect buzz!

Hours: Mon.- Fri., 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. $

Issue 5 is out next week!

Wherever you find the Telegraph or at www.gulchmag.com.

To find out about advertising opportunities, email steve@gulchmag.com

BREW Pub & Kitchen 117 W. College Drive, 970-259-5959 www.brewpubkitchen.com Experience Durango’s award-winning brewery & restaurant featuring unique, hand-crafted beers, delicious food - made from scratch, and wonderful wines & cocktails. Happy Hour, Mon.- Fri. 3-6 pm & all day Sunday with $2 off beer, $1 off wines & wells & 25% off appetizers. Watch the sunset behind Smelter Mountain.

Hours: Sun.-Thurs., Noon - 9p.m., & Fri. & Sat. Noon to 10 p.m. $$

telegraph

Oct. 4, 2018 n 23

24 n Oct. 4, 2018

telegraph