The Durango Telegraph, Nov. 11, 2021

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FREE Nov. 11, 2021 Vol. XX, No. 44 durangotelegraph.com

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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

Every drop counts

Left in the dark

Survival skills

With worsening drought, state ramps up water tracking p8

Closed in 2020, what’s next for the Henry Strater Theatre? p9

How restaurants got creative to survive COVID shutdown p11

Get ready to lose yourself.

Issue 18 of The Gulch is coming soon.

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2 n Nov. 11, 2021

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lineup

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4 La Vida Local

Yes, the Telegraph is “Free but not easy.” But not that free.

4 Thumbin’ It

News box bandits

by Missy Votel

5 Word on the Street 6-7 Soapbox

8

8 State News

Eye on water State explores new rules, tracking methods for water use amid drought

9 Top Story

by Michael Elizabeth Sakas/ Colorado Public Radio

11 Let’s Dig In

9

12-13 Stuff to Do

Curtain call Henry Strater Theatre was closed in March 2020. What’s its next act?

13 Ask Rachel

by Jonathan Romeo

14 Free Will Astrology 15 Classifieds

11

15 Haiku Movie Review

Surviving shutdown

On the cover: A desert-dwelling collared lizard soaks in the rays somewhere in the Utah backcountry./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

How Durango’s restaurants got creative to outlast worst of COVID

boilerplate

by Sinjin Eberle

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com

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REAL WORLD ADDRESS: 679 E. 2nd Ave., Ste E2 Durango, CO 81301

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STAFF REPORTER: Jonathan Romeo jonathan@durangotelegraph.com

T

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 LLC and

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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.

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Ear to the ground: “He’s not harmful weird, just Mancos weird.”

– Man commenting on all the vast degrees of weirdness out there. We love you, Mancos.

Durango Nuggets

thepole

RegularOccurrences

Durango’s Police blotter can be a source of endless entertainment.

People yelling at lamp posts, late night marauders stealing asparagus from home gardens, reports of deadly spirits attacking hotel managers, drunken people atop trees yelling at people down below, a gang of raccoons blocking someone from getting into an old folks home, an unauthorized guy in the middle of Camino del Rio directing traffic. It never disappoints.

Oh, and let us not forget the torrent of latenight crime reported at Denny’s – from the man who refused to come out of the bathroom to the two people arrested this September after trying to “destroy” the restaurant. One of the pitfalls of being (the only) all-night diner.

So, we were a bit taken aback the other day by a blotter item that was truly confounding. According to the report, at 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 30, in the 5200 block of Main Ave, a “DRIVER HAD A CHICKEN NUGGET ACCIDENT CAUSING” That’s it. That’s all it said. But… the questions!

What kind of accident could someone have with a chicken nugget? Even more puzzling, what sort of accident could a chicken nugget actually cause??

Now, Durango Police’s blotter data is intentionally terse, meant to give a quick rundown on the nature of the call should any reporters want to follow up on a particular incident.

And follow up we did.

Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop, being a good sport for this story, went to check police records for more information on nugget-gate. But what he found, or didn’t find, was disturbing. “I don’t have much info on it. No citation, no report.” Dunlop then said, if we wanted, he could follow up with the officer who pulled over the vehicle. And of course we said yes, because what’s the point of this publication if we don’t indulge ourselves every now and then?

With the vehicle swerving and weaving all over the road, the officer on duty put on the emergency lights and pulled the car over, only to find “the lady had spilled chicken nuggets in her lap and that was the reason for the driving behavior.” She was then given a warning to, ya know, not do that, and released without a ticket.

So, all’s well that ends well? No! It turns out after an extensive Google search that chicken nuggets are a scourge on this nation.

• A man in Florida (of course) in 2020 filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s after he broke his tooth on a bone while biting into a Chicken McNugget.

• In 2019, a truck in Alabama crashed and spilled chicken nuggets all over the highway.

Doesn’t end there: other drivers then stopped to pick up the nuggets, causing a traffic hazard. The Alabama Sheriff had to warn people eating chicken nuggets off the highway isn’t safe. Oh god.

• And finally, a driver who was dipping a chicken nugget into some sauce while driving hit a parked car, causing his own vehicle to roll. The driver, and chicken nuggets, reportedly all survived.

So here we are, wondering what kind of world we live in, while at the same time, kind of a getting a craving for chicken nuggets.

Nov. 11, 2021 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Stop the steal It’s the time of year when leaves disappear from trees, tourists disappear from sidewalks and every last Telegraph disappears from the streets.

When we first noticed this happening, we were flattered by the annual surge in circulation, blissfully believing folks were gobbling up our hard work as fast as we could get it out there. Sometimes, racks were completely cleared of papers in just a few short hours. But then, the cold harsh truth hit – or rather the cold, harsh winter.

We first clued into reality when a regular writer for the paper called in a panic one day several years ago. He was getting his hair cut and saw a guy pull up to one of our boxes outside and take the entire stack of papers within. He was a little out of breath because he had just tried to chase the thief down. Unfortunately, the nylon apron hindered his would-be vigilantism, and the paper stealer stole away, although we did get a fuzzy photo of his Jeep in hot retreat.

To be honest, we were a bit befuddled by the motive for this blatant daytime attack and chalked it up to randomness. After all, over the years, we had experienced more than a few mysterious “paper capers.” Like the time I hired a brother of a friend to do delivery. A few weeks after he started, I began getting calls that the papers were not showing up in their usual spots. The delivery guy, whose name was “Earth Child” – which should have been my first clue – swore up and down that he was doing his job. My mind suddenly went to dark places like sabotage, unabombers and stakeouts. However, my fears never materialized. The mystery was solved when several months’ worth of undelivered papers were discovered in the trunk of Earth Child’s abandoned sedan.

Then there was the scandalous and hopefully no longer infamous “Martinigate,” in which a cocktail waitress, who posed in a bar ad scantily clad with two strategically placed martini glasses, regretted her decision the next day. To save her, uh, olives from the public glare, she allegedly denuded our Main Avenue racks in an early morning raid, according to eyewitnesses.

But the guy hitting up the box in broad daylight – that seemed more brazen. I racked my brain to think of who we had pissed off, other than the usual suspects.

However, after a few more similar incidents, it dawned on us. It was nothing personal: people just wanted to be warm. They did not have an insatiable appetite for our clever, thought-provoking and entertaining content (or at least the horoscopes) so much as for our easy-access flammability. So every year like clockwork, when the temps drop and locals fire up their wood stoves, our free and plentiful paper becomes a hot commodity. The guy who took the stack that day probably just thought he was being stealthy and resourceful in securing his winter stove stash.

Truth be told, I am much more amenable to this end-use than that of a crazed paper hoarder. If the paper is being recycled and put to good use, I’m all for it. In fact, to help our wood-burning friends, we started stockpiling old issues at various locations. Surprisingly enough, this little experiment in the communal honor system worked, at least for a while. As can be expected anytime the word “free” is attached, some folks took it a little too far.

“I’m at your rack and there aren’t any old papers. If you don’t call me back right now and tell me where to find some, I’m going to take all the new ones,” a snippy

woman once demanded into our voicemail. I know being cold can force people to do desperate things, but I was slightly aghast at her entitlement, as if we owed her.

(She’s probably the type that steals sugar packets at restaurants, too.)

C’mon, you’re probably saying. It’s just a few papers. And everyone does it (including my own friends, a sore subject.)

But let’s get one thing straight. Even though we are a free paper, the paper is not free. The cost of printing alone comes to around 15 cents a paper – and that’s just paper, ink and press operation. It does not include all our other costs, like writers, photographers, salespeople, designers and delivery people or the less sexy stuff like computers, lights, wi-fi, standup desks, bar tabs and therapy sessions. If we factor all that in, each paper costs upwards of $1. So when you help yourself to an entire stack of the current issue, you are in effect stealing $100 worth of product (and breaking the law, BTW). Week after week, that can add up.

And in case you haven’t noticed, no one’s getting rich at this newspapering thing.

We have one location (which I will refrain from identifying because it is the subject of an ongoing investigation) that has proven particularly vexing.

In fact, we’ve stopped stocking new papers there altogether and only stock it with back issues. Nevertheless, these, too, disappear at an alarming rate, regardless of whether it’s puffy or flip flop season (one in the same for some). There seems to be a pattern here, so as to make us think it’s a solo marauder, who, needless to say, has piqued our interest. I mean, what is he (*I don’t know for sure it’s a “he,” but based on historic precedent, it’s safe to assume) doing with all those papers? We’re talking thousands upon thousands that have walked off into the dead of night. Maybe he’s running the world’s largest puppy mill. Or using them to insulate his cave or fire a very large kiln. Or perhaps there’s something more nefarious at work, like he doesn’t agree with our world-class newspapering. Or use of big words like “nefarious.”

Nevertheless, efforts to catch the perp have fallen woefully short. In fact, for nerdy reporters, our surveillance skills suck. This is probably because most everything we learned about sleuthing came from “Scooby Doo.” Besides, there’s something creepily “Silence of the Lambs” about the idea of a toothless troll who lives in his underground lair surrounded by stacks and stacks of your papers. (Hopefully, he’s not making “suits” out of them.)

But until we catch him – possibly with the help of Thelma and Fred – all we ask is you please limit yourself to one copy of the current issue a week (and promise you’ll read it cover to cover before crumpling it up and tossing it to its fiery death.) And maybe once in a while, if you’re feeling generous, toss a few coins into the bottom of the box, or slip a few bills under our office door or into the delivery boy’s gstring. (Just kidding – don’t’ do that, it could get me sued. I would also like to point out there are other, ahem, newspapery options out there that burn just as well. But that might get me sued, too.)

Because if there’s no Tele to burn, folks will have to resort to burning other stuff like junk mail, lawn furniture, old skis that didn’t sell at the swap, dryer lint, unpaid parking tickets or even toilet paper. And god forbid there’s another toilet paper famine, in which case we’ll all be cold and have that not-so-fresh feeling. Trust me, nobody – not even an evil newspaper troll – wants that.

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It The discovery of an intact, 1,200-year-old dugout canoe made from a hollow tree in a Wisconsin lake. And you want to drop a couple thousand on that new Dagger!

The return of life without Daylight Savings. Why do we do this to ourselves?

(Several attempts in Colorado to stop the clock change have failed over the years)

Efforts to restart the Regional Housing Alliance coming to fruition in an effort to help ease the waking nightmare known as our housing crisis.

The Durango-La Plata County Airport having to close for several days next September, at the exact time when the Telegraph planned to take a company trip to see the Pavement reunion in Portugal.

Las Vegas creating a new rule that prohibits new golf courses from using water out of the already-diminishing Colorado River. As it stands, courses in southern Nevada use about 236 million gallons a year. That’s a lot of whitewater.

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– Missy Votel

A federal judge having to tell Trump that “Presidents are not kings” in response to the former president’s efforts to suppress documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Well at least he knows now, right?

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Helicowpter Bart Jensen made his downfall debut a few years back as the guy who put his dead cat in the freezer for six months, stuffed him and turned him into a drone. Well, this is Jensen’s second downfall because in the years since, he’s made drones out of mice and ostriches, an airplane out of a shark, and now, he’s in the R&D phase of a submarine made out of a badger and a helicopter made out of a cow, which should obviously be named the “Bovine 747.”

WordontheStreet With the calendar hitting 11/11 on Thursday, the Telegraph asked, “What else do you wish went to 11 (a la “Spinal Tap”)?”

Q

Open enrollment is around the corner.

Apply for health insurance starting Nov Nov 1.

1.

970.335.2028

Lainie

“I wish happy hour went to 11.”

Lynch

“Given the seemingly seismic shifts to Durango since the pandemic, MY PATIENCE. I wish my patience went to 11. It doesn’t.”

Liggett

“SEASONS OF THE ‘BEVERLY HILLBILLIES.’ They stopped at season nine.”

Kiki

“My big 10-inch record.”

Douglass

“The new Mastodon album.

Fifteen songs is too many.”

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Nov. 11, 2021 n 5

SoapBox

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

Teach accurate history Critical race theory, a once-obscure academic concept developed more than 40 years ago, has recently emerged as a source of contentious debate nationally and has become a lightning rod topic in school board elections locally.

What is clear about most discussions about CRT, whether at the local or national level, is that the term is generally misused, mischaracterized and profoundly misunderstood. As a result, the rebranding of the term has misled the public, weaponizing the concept against the American people and creating toxicity where none should exist.

CRT is an academic and legal framework used as “a way of looking at law’s role platforming, facilitating, producing and even insulating racial inequality in our country,” as defined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, the law professor who helped coin the term.

It is essentially an intellectual tool used to examine systemic racism. The recent redefining of the term by right-wing conservatives has academics in the field scratching their heads, especially those who originally developed the theory.

At its core, CRT maintains that racial inequality is embedded in the U.S. legal system and culture, negatively affecting people of color in their schools, jobs, doctor’s offices, the criminal justice system and many other aspects of their lives. Essentially, CRT simply calls for the acknowledgment of the realities and horrors of slavery and its lingering impacts on our nation.

Like many other Trump-inspired conservative notions, the outcry over CRT is based on misplaced fear. Co-opted

by Republicans and right-wing media, the term “critical race theory” has been amplified on cable news shows such as Fox with false proclamations that CRT is racist,

anti-white and divisive. The theory is currently being falsely equated with any examination of systemic racism and used as an umbrella term to cover any conversation associated with anti-racism, especially those related to education.

In fact, CRT is not part of K-12 school curriculum or taught in most states with the loudest protests. A survey conducted by the Association of American Educators found that 96% of responding teachers indicated that their schools do not require them to teach critical race »

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theory. CRT is not part of K-12 Colorado Academic Standards and is not used in Durango School District 9-R. However, these facts are inconsequential to those so fiercely claim offense.

Could it be that the real fear is around teaching history truthfully, acknowledging America’s checkered past?

It almost seems the goal of CRT critics is to prevent discussion about racism in our country’s history, which may paint the U.S. as anything less than perfect.

Some of the claims made by critics of CRT is that it is anti-white, racist, divisive, Marxist and fundamentally at odds with the Christian faith. These critics allege that CRT teaches white people that they’re racist just for being white and that white people should admit their individual guilt for historical wrongs. In truth, the theory is about institutions, not individuals. CRT does not attribute racism to white people as individuals but to systems that maintain embedded racism.

It seems clear that any discussions of racial injustice are a personal affront to many of those who are raging against CRT. These are typically those whose race is the one maintaining power in most of our country’s institutions. Their priority is likely to preserve the mythology of America as a country of equal opportunity and unlimited freedom for all. Taking a critical view of our country’s racial history threatens this mythology and the power structures perpetuating racial injustices. The uninformed objections to CRT are not intellectual or thoughtful – they are emotional, based on a fear of disruption of the

status quo.

It is one thing to mischaracterize CRT; however, it is exceedingly dangerous to propose and pass legislation based on utterly false notions. Twenty-two states have proposed legislation to limit the teaching of concepts of racial equity and white privilege under the umbrella of CRT. Most legal scholars say that these bills impinge on the right to free speech and will likely be dismissed in court. Let’s hope they are right.

To those who may claim that I am antiAmerican, as James Baldwin once said, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

– Claire Ninde, Durango

My body, my rules Bravo to Daniel Wilson’s letter “Plants over vaccines” in the Telegraph on Oct. 28.

Your assessment of the insanity currently running rampant in our society was spoton. Thank you for speaking out.

My husband and I also enjoy choices when it comes to our health care. As someone said recently, “If the vaccine is so great, why do they have to push it?” You presented your position clearly, without contributing to the already-divisive condition of society.

It is so heartening to know others feel as we do. Excellent, thoughtful letter, Mr. Wilson.

– Heidi F. Nichols, Durango

Protections for life It’s time for Medicare open enrollment.

For those new to Medicare, if you can afford it, you’ll want to find a separate supplemental insurance policy (i.e. Medigap) to complement Medicare. These policies are offered by private insurance companies in alignment with state regulations and federal laws. Supplements cover Medicare’s significant deductibles and copayments and fill in coverage gaps.

When seniors first enroll in Medicare they can purchase any supplemental Medigap policy regardless of their health history. This occurs only during your initial (one-time only), six-month open enrollment period.

Unlike the protections in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which don’t allow insurers to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, Medigap supplemental policies may do just that after the initial sixmonth enrollment period. After the enrollment period expires, if you choose to change policies due to an increase in premiums, deductibles or an unforeseen limitation, a pre-existing medical condition may make you unable to purchase a Medigap policy or change your supplemental coverage. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or a disease you can be denied a Medigap policy.

States do have the flexibility to institute consumer protections for Medigap policies that go beyond the minimum federal standards. For example, 28 states require Medigap insurers to issue policies to eligible Medicare beneficiaries whose em-

ployer has changed their retiree health coverage benefits.

Only four states, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New York, require either continuous or annual guaranteed protections for Medigap policies for all beneficiaries on traditional Medicare, regardless of medical history. Guaranteed protections prohibit insurers from denying a Medigap policy to eligible applicants in these four states. This includes people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

As a result of these issues, when you transition to Medicare, you’ll want to consider which type of plan would be the best choice for you over your lifetime, not just at the time when you transition to Medicare.

The normal business model for health care uses “underwriting” (risk analysis), which undermines the whole purpose of health insurance. Health insurers don’t necessarily make more money when they have more customers. They make more money when they have more customers whose health care they don’t have to pay for. Making a profit is antithetical to good health care.

I’m calling on all seniors to push your state legislators to join ME, CT, MA and NY and provide seniors with stronger and continuous guaranteed protections “annually” regardless of medical history. We’ve earned and paid for Medicare through a lifetime of work and deserve continuous guaranteed protections for life.

– Jan Phillips, Durango

Don’t be the last one to know!

The Telegraph has early deadlines for its Thanksgiving issue, which comes out Wed., Nov. 24 • Display ad reservation deadline is noon, Fri., Nov. 19 • Classified ad deadline is noon, Mon., Nov. 22

telegraph

Nov. 11, 2021 n 7

StateNews

Todd Hagenbuch stands above his recently installed measuring box in his irrigation ditch outside Steamboat Springs./ Photo by Michael Elizabeth Sakas/CPR News

Every drop counts State looks to new rules, tracking devices to measure water use

by Michael Elizabeth Sakas Colorado Public Radio

C

olorado water managers are making more people track and report how much water they’re using, as decades of drought have diminished supplies on the Western

Slope.

For the first time, the state is also pushing for new rules that spell out how some rights-holders should measure their water use as each drop of Colorado River water becomes more valuable.

Kevin Rein, director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources, presented the rules to a full house at Jackson County’s event center in Walden. The center, usually used for rodeos and 4-H agricultural clubs, was filled with farmers and ranchers concerned about their water.

The state’s proposed rule would dictate how the farmers and ranchers in northwest Colorado would need to measure the amount of water they use. That includes types of measurement devices, how they’re installed and verified and how users would record and report their usage to the state.

Colorado has a state statute that gives water managers the authority to require water measurement if there’s a need, but the law is vague and doesn’t specify how that should be done.

The new rules could change that for users in water Division 6, which includes the Yampa, White and North Platte river basins.

The audience started to ask questions: Why is this happening now? And why are these rules needed here? One rancher wanted to know why the rules don’t apply to the whole state.

Rein explained that historically, there’s been plenty of water in northwestern Colorado, so there was never a need to make people measure their water use.

Now, with a warmer climate, those sources are becoming

8 n Nov. 11, 2021

less reliable. The Yampa River and the White River both produce less water than they did 20 years ago, and both of these rivers feed into the Colorado River.

As the state makes water users in northwestern Colorado measure their usage, officials are also introducing new regulations on how those measurements should be made.

The rules haven’t been finalized, but state water planners hope to develop standards that generate more consistent and reliable measures to get a more accurate picture of how water is being used. And the plan eventually is to have similar rules across the Western Slope.

“There’s a lot of value in measuring the water use on the West Slope,” Rein said. “It demonstrates to the most accurate degree how we use water in Colorado.”

Much of the water on the Western Slope feeds the Colorado River, on which more than 40 million people rely. Colorado is part of a 100-year-old agreement, called the Colorado River Compact, to share this water with six other states and Mexico.

If it ever comes to a point where Colorado can’t send enough water downstream to meet those obligations, state officials need to know where all that water is going.

“The urgency for these rules is good, accurate water administration to the benefit of Colorado water users,” Rein said. “And good, accurate data if there is a compact compliance obligation in the future.”

That data could be crucial if downstream states make a legal complaint that Colorado and other upstream states have broken the agreement and aren’t keeping enough water in the Colorado River, which is drying up from climate change, drought and overuse.

Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two largest reservoirs in the U.S., hit their lowest levels on record this summer. Each one is filled with Colorado River water.

At his family’s ranch outside of Steamboat Springs, Todd

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Hagenbuch stands next to a creek where he recently installed equipment to measure his water use.

Hagenbuch, a Colorado State University Extension agent in Routt County, said he’s glad he now has a way to prove that he’s putting his water to use, which is required to hold on to water rights. Hagenbuch said it’s important to have such records before there’s any legal dispute over Colorado River water.

The new headgate in Hagenbuch’s creek opens to let water into the pasture’s irrigation ditch. A metal box measures how much water is making its way onto his land. Right now, opening that gate does nothing.

“My measuring box has been dry for quite a while, because Morrison Creek has dropped to the point that even with my new headgate I can’t get water,” Hagenbuch said.

Southwestern Colorado is hurting from decades of drought and Routt County is currently experiencing extreme drought conditions as well.

In 2018, the state had to cut off some water users on the Yampa River for the first time, which triggered the orders requiring water measurements for all users in Division 6. Accurate water measurements are needed to help settle local water disputes.

Hagenbuch wasn’t surprised.

“Things do seem to be getting warmer and drier. And that being the case, there’s just more pressure on the limited water we do have,” Hagenbuch said. “And anytime you have scarcity, you tend to have more rules.”

Hagenbuch understands if some farmers and ranchers feel like the proposed measurement rules are heavy-handed since the state statute was enough until now.

But, he says some clarity could be helpful, as long as the rules strike a good balance between what the state needs and what works for water users.

For more from Colorado Public radio, go to www.cpr.org

TopStory

The Henry Strater Theatre awning over Main Avenue this week. The theater, which is actually in a different building from the Strater Hotel, was leased and managed by the hotel for decades. In March 2020, then-Strater Hotel owner Rod Barker terminated the lease because of financial concerns. The theater has been dark since./ Photo by Jonathan Romeo

Left in the dark Future of now-shuttered Henry Strater Theatre remains in limbo

by Jonathan Romeo

T

ucked away in the heart of downtown Durango is a beloved, historic theater that had its lights turned off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as the world slowly reopens, it’s uncertain whether those lights will be turned back on.

“I hope the theater comes back,” said Nick Anesi, a local lawyer who serves as the representative for a group of mostly longtime Durango families – known as Main Avenue Properties LLC – that own the property. “But I don’t know that it will.”

The Henry Strater Theatre, known more affectionately as “The Hank,” had become one of Durango’s most prized event spaces, providing endless entertainment in its storied 60-year history.

Located adjacent to (and technically connected with) the Strater Hotel in the 600 block of Main Avenue, the theater itself is not a part of the hotel property – a common misconception. Instead, all those 58 years hosting concerts and festivals for the community, Main Avenue Properties was leasing the theater to the Strater Hotel, which managed the event space.

In March 2020, with COVID-19 causing shutdowns across the country, the situation for the Henry Strater Theatre started to unravel. For some time, Rod Barker, thenpresident and CEO of the Strater Hotel, had grappled with keeping the theater running, with each year becoming harder to remain profitable and meet its high rent: about $100,000 a year all told with utilities and maintenance.

Barker, in an interview with The Durango Telegraph, said

over the years he had offered to purchase the property, which would have allowed him to make necessary building improvements. But the two sides couldn’t agree on a selling price. And with each year, the terms of the lease would increase, despite pleas for the rent to go down. So, even before the onset of the pandemic, Barker had made the decision to close the theatre. “(The pandemic) just solidified the idea it was time for us to stop leading the charge in the theater,” Barker said.

“It was a difficult decision.”

Main Avenue Properties, for its part, says it was caught off guard by Barker’s decision to abruptly close the theater.

A rent abatement was requested for March 2020, which was granted, but then, shortly after, Barker removed all the equipment and seating from the event space, and closed the two points of access from the hotel to the theater with cinder blocks and mortar – all without notifying Main Avenue Properties.

“After that, communications ceased,” Anesi said. “It was a strange series of events. But then that was the end of it.”

Barker admits communications were difficult during that time. But he said years of failing to agree on a purchase price, coupled with rising rents and the uncertainty of the pandemic, drove home the reality there was no future in the Strater running the theater.

“I guess I didn’t make my position clear enough that the rent had to go down in order for us to stay there,” he said.

“But I saw what was coming down the pike.”

In the months since, the Henry Strater Theatre has remained dark, with little movement on its future. Anesi said there’s constant interest in renting the Henry Strater The-

telegraph

atre from nonprofits or other organizations for one-time events. But, unfortunately, even though it had been listed with a broker, no one has expressed a desire to take on the task of managing the venue on a long-term basis (Anesi said the listed lease price is actually lower than the assessed value. He did not provide that number by press time).

“We’re kind of in a state of limbo until someone wants to lease it,” he said.

At the same time, the entire theater property – a 20,000 sq. ft. lot, which includes additional space above the theater and to the south – was listed around $3.5 million.

While the property did draw interest, most checked out after seeing what it would cost to either convert the space for another use or knock it down and rebuild something like a mixed-use development.

“The task of redeveloping that property is a very big one,” Anesi said.

As it stands, the property has been taken off the market.

And important to note, Main Avenue Properties would prefer the property continue on as the Henry Strater Theatre.

“They’d like to see the theater revitalized,” Anesi said. “But I don’t know how viable theaters are right now. Maybe it’s not currently as promising a business endeavor in today’s world.”

Indeed, life hasn’t been easy on theaters lately.

The Animas City Theatre, Durango’s go-to concert spot, was closed for 15 months during the pandemic, said coowner Michele Redding. One of the main reasons the venue stayed afloat, she said, was because the landlord didn’t charge rent all those months.

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t have survived,” she said.

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Nov. 11, 2021 n

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StraterTheatre from p.9 And although COVID capacity restrictions have largely lifted, its still been difficult to return to somewhat normal. For one, shows have been canceled due to bands coming down with COVID. While crowds are coming back, it hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, Redding said, signaling people may still have some hesitancy to be packed in an indoor space.

And, like every other business these days, staffing is a major challenge. In sum, hosting live music is filled with constant uncertainty and turbulence week to week.

But Redding remains optimistic. “It’s coming back slowly,” she said, adding the ACT had its first sold-out show last week.

“We’re just doing the best we can.”

All these issues likely make the prospect of running yet another venue full time at the Henry Strater Theatre a daunting one, Anesi said. That’s why it made sense all these years for the Strater Hotel to run it with its staff on an as-needed basis. Part of the lease even included additional hotel rooms that were part of the theater property that the hotel was allowed to use.

Complicating matters, Barker (whose family had owned the hotel for 95 years) sold the Strater this spring to Texas businessman Ross Garrett. Speaking to the Telegraph, Garrett said he would have a definite interest in purchasing the property and continuing on with the theater, at the right price. With all the remodels and upgrades

10 n Nov. 11, 2021

A scene from the Henry Strater Melodrama, which was the theater’s summer mainstay for decades./ Courtesy photo to the that would be required, the asking price of $3.5 million is far too high, he said.

“That’s over the top,” Garrett said. “But I would be interested if the price was right.”

And historic it is.

Around the 1950s, the space was an old automobile workshop. Some Durangoans, however, had the idea that the town needed an event space, opening what was called the “Diamond Circle Theatre” in 1962. An old mining town, this was considered the Durango’s first foray into family entertainment.

The Diamond Circle Theatre built a reputation on its melodramas. But as Durango

grew as a tourist town, so did the theater. In 2008, the space officially became the Henry Strater Theatre, hosting acts like Judy Collins, as well as countless festivals like the Bluegrass Meltdown and Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

One of its largest events – the infamous Snowdown Follies –relied on the theater since the winter celebration started in 1987.

Ever since the Hank closed in March 2020, Snowdown organizers have been preparing for the inevitable (there was no Snowdown in 2021 because of the pandemic).

“We’re struggling and we’re really missing it,” Peg Ochsenreiter, who serves on the

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Snowdown Board of Directors, said.

To adapt, the Follies will be held at the smaller Durango Arts Center, with more shows booked, even the weekend before Snowdown, because of the event’s financial significance, accounting for two-thirds of Snowdown’s budget. (The Animas City Theatre doesn’t have a backroom to accommodate the Follies cast, but for years, has hosted a simulcast). “We’re just trying to get in as many shows as we can,” Ochsenreiter said.

For now, it seems we will have to sit and wait to see the ultimate fate of the beloved Henry Strater Theatre, which for the time being is just another empty space. It needs equipment, sure, but more than anything, it needs someone to take the historic theater into its next chapter. “(Main Avenue Properties) can’t lease something no one wants to rent,” Anesi said.

“And if there’s no one that wants to lease or buy it, there’s nothing we can do but wait.”

Barker, too, believes there is a way for the Hank to live on. For years, he tried to get a group of nonprofits that use the theater, as well as the City of Durango, to go in on a joint partnership to keep the theater running. Those efforts ultimately fizzled out, he said, but some sort of similar structure could work, if the community wants it to.

And it sounds like they do.

“A lot of people didn’t realize how much that theater meant to downtown,” Barker said. “Now that it’s gone, every day I hear from someone how they miss it. Maybe sitting there empty highlights the reality of the situation, and maybe something will happen.” ■

LetsDigIn

Tumbleweeds to take-out How Durango’s restaurants got creative to survive the COVID-19 shutdowns

by Sinjin Eberle

R

eflect back to March 4, 2020, for a second. While that date may not seem remarkable to you, it is for me. My girlfriend and I were flying home from Oaxaca, Mexico, where we had been vacationing, which means touring mezcal micro-distilleries, eating and drinking at fabulous restaurants, and wandering sandy beaches for two glorious weeks. We flew through Mexico City the day before, noticing more travelers than normal wearing masks, but didn’t think much of it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as we traversed the Dallas International Terminal and through a completely vacant customs area.

Little did we know that two weeks later, when COVID shutdowns began, international terminals would be flooded with people rushing back to a world very different from the one they left.

For the restaurant industry, the pandemic has been especially brutal, hammered in the early months as public health and government officials grappled with the situation. Shutdowns were abrupt, to say the least, and just as we were gearing up for Durango’s spring tourist season, doors were locked, staff were furloughed and uncertainty about how long this would last consumed our community.

April and May turned Durango into a ghost town as everyone scrambled to guess what would come next and how long people would have to wait to welcome customers and their dollars back into our town.

Weeks became months, and while regulations to protect both the public and staff became clearer, many restaurants were forced to get creative to trickle any revenue back onto the books. For some, take-out became a logical first choice, but because most restaurants weren’t really set up for takeout, the process and what they could realistically offer with a skeleton staff and limited supplies, was limited at best.

Imagine a common mid-scale or fine dining experience – when enjoying a sit-down meal, you get a hot, fresh plate right as it comes out of the kitchen. Then at the end of your meal, you accept that if you get a doggie bag to go, it will be a bit different when you get home.

But when take-out becomes the only method of service, it is an entirely different process for restaurants that don’t traditionally focus on that model to keep quality and freshness high – much of it depending on how far away you live. Or what if you use a service like Uber Eats or Door Dash? Are they as committed to freshness or simply focused on speed of delivery? As consumers we are used to pizza and fast-casual for take-out, but not fine dining. These restaurants had to quickly adapt to a new style while keeping customers happy and willing to spend money as their normal business model was literally off the table.

I spoke with Dave Woodruff, President of the Colorado Restaurant Association Durango Chapter and General Manager of El Moro, about ways area restaurants adjusted to the massive amount of uncertainty caused by the virus. Around Durango, the most visible adaptation we saw, especially along Main Avenue, were added bump outs. These were a boon for many businesses, restaurants especially, since they could generate significant revenue outside while public health restrictions reduced capacity inside – sometimes up to 50% less, if at all, most of last year. As the weather got cold, these patio spaces had to be removed, but when they returned last spring, it showed a resilience and responsiveness the industry and city made the norm.

There are many examples of what restaurants and taverns tried in the scramble to stay afloat in the early days of the shutdowns. El Moro and Sunnyside Market both floated “provisions kits,” where they would assemble a

Local bars and restaurants were forced to pivot during the early days of the pandemic shutdown. Some – such as The Bookcase & Barber – ventured into uncharted waters by offering to-go items, everything from cocktails to steaks, to stay afloat. /Courtesy photo shopping bag with products from their menu to take home – some fully cooked and ready to eat, others with detailed instructions about how to prepare. PRIMI Pasta & Wine Bar made its handmade pasta and sauces to go by the pound. Ore House developed Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes, with a fully assembled, complete family meal, which may be offered again this season. The Ore House also ran a highly successful series of fixed-price outdoor garden dinners at The Rochester Hotel, with a completely unique, creative menu every week over the course of three months.

Maybe the biggest shift in offerings was on the boozy side. With the shutdown abruptly curtailing bar revenues, the ability to offer pre-made cocktails, beer and wine, and even bottles of spirits to-go, became an unexpected and previously unavailable income stream. The Bookcase & Barber, El Moro and others were all able to execute on this. While the legislation that authorized this change expires in 2025, it’s hard to imagine it being revoked entirely, as the industry and consumers have grown to enjoy the convenience and income stream it created.

With all these examples of how the industry shifted to stay alive, it would be a mistake to assume they did it in a vacuum. Scott Shine, Durango’s Assistant Director of Community Development, told me how the City leaned in to help businesses respond to the dramatic change in conditions. By expediting building permits to allow bump-outs and outdoor areas in required parking spaces, coordinating local and federal grant and loan programs with the La Plata Economic Recovery Task Force, and temporary deferring sales tax and utility payments, the

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city provided additional, flexible pathways for businesses to adapt.

But one negative aspect that cannot be overlooked (and will be explored more deeply in a future column) is the permanent carnage wrought to the industry and its people. Restaurant workers were especially devastated, with many being forced to shift careers entirely to stay afloat. The impacts still are being felt across every establishment and patron in town. Some businesses closed down for good down entirely, like the Irish Embassy and Palace Restaurant. Others, like Cantera, changed their concept, reopening as Taco Libre. And restaurants like PRIMI, Eolus and Chimayo shifted hours or days open due to staffing. Every restaurant is still experiencing a severe shortage of labor – a pain that lingers, and will linger, far into the future.

While these changes all happened on the business side, consumers, too, have adapted to this new era of dining out. When you consider all the benefits that bars and restaurants provide the community, it’s no surprise that diners chose to adjust rather than abandon ship. As Woodruff told me, “Restaurants provide places to mourn, places to celebrate, places to relax and enjoy, and places to do business.” I commonly use bars and restaurants for business meetings, and during the shutdown, that loss of connection was difficult to deal with. It’s worth remembering those times, and thinking about – with staffing shortages and increased prices for products – how bars and restaurants, and the City, are doing their best to keep us all gathering, dining and enjoying the diverse culinary scene this community has to offer. ■ Nov. 11, 2021 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday11

International Internet Film Festival, 3 p.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Toll the Bell, students of Mountain Middle School will ring Animas Museum bell in honor of WWI vets, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.

ShadowTrapp & The Craggs play, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

Live music, 5:30 p.m.., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Fireside Chat with Outdoorsy Entrepreneurs, talk to local entrepreneurs in the outdoor industry, 5:30- 7 p.m., 934 Main Ave. goscape.org

Ben Gibson Duo plays, 6-9 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Jack Ellis plays, 6-9 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Freeskiing films “Novia” and Faction’s “Roots,” 6-8 p.m., Zia North Taqueria. 2977 Main Ave. Free but donations will be taken for Four Corners Freeride Club.

Sean Farley & Haro in the Dark play, 6 p.m., The iNDIGO Room inside iAM MUISC Institute, 1315 Main Ave. #207.

Sean Farley plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider in Mancos.

“All Together Now,” cabaret show, 7 p.m., Merely Players Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Trivia night 6:30-8:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino Del Rio.

Vintage Brew plays, 7 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon. To submit an item, email: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

“Addams Family: The Musical,” 7 p.m., presented by Durango High School Troupe 1096. Tickets at: troupe1096.weebly.com.

Sunday14 Open Mic, 1 p.m., Mancos Brewery.

“All Together Now,” cabaret show, 2 p.m., Merely Players Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Comedy Open Mic, 7 p.m., Olde Tymers Café, 1000 Main Ave. Beam Me Up Starlight Trivia, weekly 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave. Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 8-10 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr.

Friday12 Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., to sign up call Ignacio Library at 970-563-9287.

Ignacio Friday Night Market, 5 p.m., 115 Ute St. “Built by Gas,” the latest exhibit at the Farmington Museum, opening reception 5 p.m. farmingtonmuseum.org “Addams Family: The Musical,” 7 p.m., presented

by Durango High School Troupe 1096. Tickets at: troupe1096.weebly.com.

Larry Carver& Jack Ellis play, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Winter Artists Market, 2-7 p.m. Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Event takes place weekends + Black Friday in November and December.

“Somebody’s Daughter” showing, movie about missing and murdered Indigenous women, 6:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. “All Together Now,” cabaret show, 7 p.m., Merely Players Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Open Mic night, 4 p.m. every Sunday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Ben Gibson Band plays, 8-11 p.m., Olde Tymers Café, 1000 Main Ave.

Monday15

Saturday13 Animas Museum’s Second Saturday Seminar Series, featuring lecture about Swedish scientist Gustaf Nordenskiöld, who published “The Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde in 1893.” Register for online event at animasmuseum.org/events.html.

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30-6:15 p.m.

Online at: www.durangodharmacenter.org Classic Movie Monday: “The Italian Job,” 6-8:30 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center Dr.

“Addams Family: The Musical,” 12 noon and 7 p.m., presented by Durango High School Troupe 1096.

Tickets at: troupe1096.weebly.com.

Tuesday16

Winter Artists Market, 2-7 p.m. Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Event takes place weekends + Black Friday in November and December.

7 Rivers Farmers Market, 12 noon, La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

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Story Time with author Nicole Magistro, 9 a.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1295 Camino del Rio.

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AskRachel

Supply chain scapegoat, hot tub horrors & Santa unchained Interesting fact: You should drain and clean your hot tub every four months. A good rule of thumb is to order cleaning supplies on Day One, and they ought to arrive around that four-month mark.

Dear Rachel, I am starting to feel like businesses are using “supply-chain shortages” as an excuse for everything. Jacking up prices? Supply chain. Unwilling to pay workers what they’re worth? Supply chain. Wafts of sewage on the ground floor?

Supply chain. This really gets my goat because we have the same supply chain that worked just fine for the first year of a global pandemic.

Don’t tell me we’re supposed to buy this is all still rippling from that one stuck ship?

– Ain’t Buyin’ It Dear Stiffed, What jilted you personally? Was it the entire capitalist economic system that, in the end, doesn’t care at all for you, the consumer, once you stop feeding the machine with dolla dolla billz? Or was it that your Prime shipping went from two days to “approximately next Wednesday” like mine did? I’m telling you, it’s about time we riot like the French. But you can’t order a Molotov cocktail in time for Christmas these days.

– Power to the people, Rachel Dear Rachel, Other people think hot tubs are the greatest accoutrement to a well-lived life. But I just

can’t. I mean, I take one bath in a regular bathtub, and by the time I get out, I feel like that water is disgusting slop. Sure, a hot tub has chlorine to kill the germs. But all the dead skin is still there! All the sweat, all the hairs, and yet the hot tub practically never gets drained. Gak! Am I wrong in my assessment? What am I missing?

– Stewing Dear Hot Tub Whine Machine, You’re missing one big factor in your assessment: Bubbles. Those jets are the real joy of a hot tub. That, and not having to wait for the water to heat up and the tub to fill every single time. Oh, the bubble jets don’t get rid of any of that crud. But they sure make me forget about all the unpleasantness floating in there.

– Chill out, Rachel RACHAEL HI -HO Its off to work we go. With Christmas coming where did all the mail BOXES GO? Durango is lacking in MAIL BOXES. HOW MANY RACHAEL? Thanks to the GRINCH of NO JOY,, MR DE-JOY HEAD OF USPS. Under the TRUMPSTER he made it harder to vote by mail but attacked my JOB. I want kids to send requests to me to stimulate DURANGO business but they cant find a mail box. Rachel i need your help.and find the locations and numbers of mail boxes in Durango for my kids? KIDS send your request SANTA LOVES YOU ALL. – Santa Claus

Electric Vehicle show & tell, 1-2 p.m., Fort Lewis College’s charging stations at the south rim lot.

Be Local Coupon Book release party, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing Co., 225 Girard St.

Author Stephen Graham Jones reading & book signing, 4:30 p.m., Noble 130 at Fort Lewis College.

Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Bingo night, 5 p.m. every Tuesday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Trivia night, 6 p.m., every Wednesday, Mancos Brewery.

Acoustic Music Jam, 5-7 p.m., all instruments and styles welcome, 11th St. Station.

Ongoing

Conversation with artist & illustrator Janine Gibbons, 7 p.m., Durango High School.

After School Programs, thru Dec. 16 and starting again in 2022, Sunnyside & Ft. Lewis Mesa libraries. Info at: 375-3816.

Rotary Club of Durango, featuring Durango Area Tourism director Rachel Brown, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel, 699 Main Ave.

Community Coat & Wool Sock Drive, thru Dec. 7, drop off at Outdoorsy, 934 Main Ave. All donations must be in good condition and clean.

Wednesday17

Upcoming

Building Equity in Southwest Colorado: Regional Voices Panel, 10-11:30 a.m., via Zoom. Register at https://bit.ly/3wrJJss.

“Looking Up” opening reception, Nov. 18, 4:30-6 p.m., Center for Innovation at Fort Lewis College. Exhibit runs Nov. 18-March 15.

Native American Heritage Month celebration, 4-5 p.m., featuring dancers and singers, Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

San Juan Citizens Alliance November scoop, featuring speaker Jimbo Buickerood, Nov. 18, 5-6 p.m.

Register at https://bit.ly/302SsFB.

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Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear SAANTA CLAAUS, Huh. I’m experiencing cognitive dissonance. Going purely off your communication style (which, if you can imagine, has been edited for clarity) sure had me believing you were a TRUMPSTER, which meant I didn’t believe in you any more at all. But you sure seem at least pro-mail? Never judge a BOOMER by his ALL-CAPS, I suppose. But I don’t see how you can stimulate DURANGO business when all your goods are sweat-shopped up north and probably stuck by now in a shipping container somewhere.

– The GRINCHSTER, Rachel

Durango Arts Center presents 24-Hour Theater, Nov. 19, events throughout the weekend. More info. at durangoarts.org.

Holiday Bazaar, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Riverhouse Children’s Center, 742 Florida Rd. Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil, Nov. 20, 5 p.m., Buckley Park.

Magic Beans with Profetic Calaveras play, 8 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. Kid’s Winter Gear Consignment Sale, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Riverhouse Children’s Center, 742 Florida Rd.

Deadline to submit for “Stuff to Do” is Monday at noon.

Email your stuff to: calendar@durango telegraph.com

Nov. 11, 2021 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): For much of her life, Aries poet Mary Ruefle enjoyed imagining that polar bears and penguins “grew up together playing side by side on the ice, sharing the same vista, bits of blubber and innocent lore.” But one day, her illusions were shattered. In a science journal, she discovered that there are no penguins in the far north and no bears in the far south. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because the coming weeks will be a good time to correct misimpressions you’ve held for a while – even as far back as childhood. Joyfully modernize your understanding of how the world works.

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GEMINI (May 21-June 20): There are many different kinds of smiles. Four hundred muscles are involved in making a wide variety of expressions. Researchers have identified a specific type, dubbed the “affiliation smile,” as having the power to restore trust between two people. It’s soothing, respectful and compassionate. I recommend you use it abundantly in the near future – along with other conciliatory behavior. You’re in a favorable phase to repair relationships that have been damaged by distrust or weakened by any other factor.

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Actor Elizabeth Taylor described her odd rhythm with actor James Dean. Occasionally, they’d stay awake till 3 a.m. as he regaled her with poignant details about his life. But the next day, Dean would act like he and Taylor were strangers – as if, in Taylor’s words, “he’d given away or revealed too much of himself.” It would take a few days before he’d be friendly again. To those of us who study the nature of intimacy, this is a classic phenomenon. For many people, taking a risk to get closer can be scary. Keep this in mind during the coming weeks, Taurus.

There’ll be great potential to deepen your connection with dear allies, but you may have to deal with both your and their skittishness about it.

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CANCER (June 21-July 22): According to feminist cosmologists Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor, “Night, to ancient people, was not an ‘absence of light’ or a negative darkness, but a powerful source of energy and inspiration. At night the cosmos reveals herself in her vastness, the earth opens to moisture and germination under moonlight, and the magnetic serpentine current stirs itself in the underground waters.” I bring these thoughts to your attention, fellow Cancerian, because we’re in the season when we are likely to be extra creative: as days grow shorter and nights longer. We Crabs thrive in the darkness. We regenerate ourselves and are visited by fresh insights about what Sjöö and Mor call “the great cosmic

dance in which everything participates: the movement of the celestial bodies, the pulse of tides, the circulation of blood and sap in animals and plants.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Your heart has its own brain: a “heart brain.” It’s composed of neurons similar to the neurons in your head’s brain.

Your heart brain communicates via your vagus nerve with your hypothalamus, thalamus, medulla, amygdala and cerebral cortex. In this way, it gives your body helpful instructions. I suspect it will be extra strong in the coming weeks. That’s why I suggest you call on your heart brain to perform a lot of the magic it specializes in: enhancing emotional intelligence, cultivating empathy, invoking deep feelings and transforming pain.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): How did naturalist Charles Darwin become a skillful thinker who changed the world with his theory of evolution? An important factor, according to businessperson Charlie Munger: “He always gave priority attention to evidence tending to disconfirm whatever cherished and hard-won theory he already had.” He loved to be proved wrong! It helped him refine his ideas so they more closely corresponded to the truth about reality. I invite you to enjoy using this method in the coming weeks, Virgo.

You could become even smarter than you already are as you wield Darwin’s rigorous approach to learning.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): You could soon reach a new level of mastery in an aptitude described by author Banana Yoshimoto. She wrote, “Once you’ve recognized your own limits, you’ve raised yourself to a higher level of being, since you’re closer to the real you.” I hope her words inspire you, Libra. Your assignment is to seek a liberating breakthrough by identifying who you will never be and what you will never do. If you do it right – with an eager, open mind – it will be fun and interesting and empowering.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio theologian Eugene Peterson cleared up a mystery about the nature of mystery. He wrote, “Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend.” Yes! At least sometimes, mystery can be a cause for celebration, a delightful opening into a beautiful unknown. It may bring abundance, not frustration. It may be an inspiring riddle, not a debilitating doubt.

Everything I just said is important for you to keep in mind right now.

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): In 2017, Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize for Economics. His specialty: researching how unreasonable

behavior affects the financial world. When he discovered that this great honor had been bestowed on him, he joked that he planned to spend the award money “as irrationally as possible.” I propose we make him your role model for the near future, Sagittarius. Your irrational, nonrational and trans-rational intuitions can fix distortions caused by the overly analytical and hyper-logical approaches of you and your allies.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Neurotic” and “neurosis” are old-fashioned words.

Psychotherapists no longer use them in analyzing their patients. The terms are still useful, though, in my opinion. Most of us are at least partly neurotic – that is to say, we don’t always adapt as well as we could to life’s constantly changing circumstances.

We find it challenging to outgrow our habitual patterns, and we fall short of fulfilling the magnificent destines we’re capable of. Author Kenneth Tynan had this insight: “A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.” I bring this to your attention, Capricorn, because you now have extra power to adapt to changing circumstances, outgrow habitual patterns and uncover unknown secrets – thereby diminishing your neuroses.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Author Darin Stevenson wrote the following poetic declaration: “‘No one can give you the lightning-medicine,’ say the people who cannot give the lightning medicine.” How do you interpret his statement? Here’s what I think.

“Lightning medicine” may be a metaphorical reference to a special talent that some people have for healing or inspiring or awakening their fellow humans. It could mean an ingenious quality in a person that enables them to reveal surprising truths or alternative perspectives. I am bringing this up, Aquarius, because I suspect you now have an enhanced capacity to obtain lightning medicine in the coming weeks.

I hope you will corral it and use it even if you are told there is no such thing as lightning medicine. (PS: “Lightning medicine” will fuel your ability to accomplish difficult feats.)

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The superb fairywren gives its chicks lessons on how to sing when they are still inside their eggs. This is a useful metaphor for you in the coming months. Although you have not yet been entirely “born” into the next big plot twist of your hero’s journey, you are already learning what you’ll need to know once you do arrive in your new story. It will be helpful to become conscious of these clues and cues from the future.

Tune in to them at the edges of your awareness.

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 www.durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2 Approximate office hours: Mon: 9ish - 5ish Tues: 9ish - 5ish Wed: 9ish - 3ish Thurs: On delivery Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Announcements Retirement Party Please join us to celebrate Gary and Donna Broad in retirement and congratulate Greg Mauger in his purchase of The Durango Diner. Celebration from 1pm5pm November 27th at The VFW in Durango.

Tenant Rights Clinic Free Tenant Rights Clinic Presented by Colorado Legal Services Tuesday, November 16th, 5:30 pm – 7 pm via Zoom. Topics recent changes to housing laws and evictions. Please call 385-7378 ext 251 for details on how to attend or visit www.durangovap.org/events The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Desert, 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.

HelpWanted Request for Proposals/Request for Qualifications for Attorney Services The Town of Silverton, Colorado, is seeking the services of a municipal attorney(s) to fulfill the duties and responsibilities described in this Request for Proposals (RFP) Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Town Attorney position. The Town is inviting individual attorneys, or firms, to respond to this RFP/RFQ with Statements of Qualifications for the purpose of providing the Town with the needed legal services listed in the request. Proposals will be received until 5 p.m., Thursday, December 2, 2021, at Silverton Town Hall, P.O. Box 250 (1360 Greene Street), Silverton, CO 81433 or by email to the following recipi-

ents: sfuhrman@silverton.co.us, gkaaschbuerger@silverton.co.us or mmarks@silverton.co.us The RFP/RFQ can be downloaded at: https://bit.ly/3GuHDwA

and vintage patio furniture … Come in today! 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

‘Creep’ The only truly scary thing about this dull, snooze-fest is Craigslist – Lainie Maxson

Evening Childcare for Ed Center Education Center seeks PM childcare at Dgo and Cortez sites. T W Th 5-8pm $15/hr. Some day hours possible. Call Susan 970-385-4354 for details, to apply.

AmeriCorps Role - Cooking Matters We are seeking to hire an AmeriCorps Program Coordinator to work with our team in Durango. The Cooking Matters AmeriCorps member will work with staff across Colorado to implement and support programs that teach parents and caregivers of children age 0-5 with limited food budgets to shop for and cook healthy meals. Submit your resume and cover letter to Laura Cornwell at lcornwell@strength.org or apply directly: https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/vie wListing.do?fromSearch=true&id=67112 Ex. Assistant / Desktop Support Seccuro Group, offering complete managed IT services throughout the United States. Supporting the client’s IT department or working with their existing staff to provide network, security, and Help Desk support, including hardware/software, and application support. Seeking an individual for in-office executive assistant and/or Tier 1 & 2 desktop support. Send resume to jobs@seccuro group.com Work and Live near Pagosa Springs Tara Mandala Buddhist Retreat Center in Pagosa Springs, CO has 2 jobs open: Maintenance Staff and Resident Cook.

Apply online.

No phone calls. https://www.taramandala.org/connect/e mployment-opportunities/

Classes/Workshops Spanish Classes Now accepting students for in-person beginner thru advanced Spanish. Call 970-309-5966 or visit www.espanolahora.net

ForSale Reruns Home Furnishings New inventory including gorgeous Crate and Barrel cabinet, good selection of nightstands and side tables, bookcases,

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HaikuMovieReview

RSE Handyman Service Home repair yard work odd jobs 970903-0449.

2001 Roadtrek 200 Versatile camper van. 186k on it with a new engine put in at 182k. Newer tires, new battery, new toilet. Has stovetop, bathroom, indoor/outdoor shower, and futon bed. $25,200 OBO. Text or call Laura @ 970-759-1828.

Harmony Cleaning and Organizing Residential, offices, commercial and vacation rentals, 970-403-6192.

Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

ForRent

BodyWork

Healing Office Space Beautiful room in 4 office complex with three healing practitioners. Perfect for therapists, bodyworks or other healing modalities. Lovingly maintained by owners on-site. $600/month wellwithindurango @gmail.com

Lotus Path Healing Arts Offering a unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics, 24 years of experience. To schedule call Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

Lost/Found: Found: Bike or Motorcycle Helmet GoPro-like Camera Mount found on Junction Creek Road Nov. 3.

I didn’t find the camera, if there was one attached, but I can identify the location where the holder was found. If this is your mount, text or call 970-903-5317.

Wanted Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

Services Marketing Small and Local Businesses Media, website building and content editing, copywriting and editing, newsletters, blogs, etc. for small, local, independent or startup businesses. www.forward pedal.com or email jnderge@gmail.com

Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199. massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 18/19/20. Couples, cupping, local CBD. Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984

CommunityService Youth Music Ambassador Scholarship New Music in the Mountains Youth Ambassador Scholarship sponsored by Bank of Colorado is an opportunity for junior and senior high school students with the desire to expand and enhance their musical knowledge and talent to win a scholarship worth an estimated $3,000/student. Applications are available at www.MusicintheMountains.com and due no later than Dec. 10, 2021. Awards will be announced January 2022.

SJBPH Vaccine Clinics Free vaccine clinic provided by San Juan Basin Public Health. Walk-ins welcome. Contact 970-247-5702 or visit sjbpublichealth.org/covid-19-vaccine/ for more information.

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Work Where You Play FT & PT Positions Available

Receive a FREE season pass, buddy tickets, access to real deal, on-mountain discounts & more! ‹‹ Scan to view open positions.

16 n Nov. 11, 2021

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