November 2011 by The Roaring Fork Rampage

6 Rampage November 2011

Opinion

The battle over Thompson Divide matters to you

--Kyle Bruna

Many students in our valley and their families love to participate in outdoor activities in the Thompson Divide area. However, many students do not know the controversy that is brewing in this area. The Thompson Divide area in western Colorado has been used for agricultural and recreational uses for many years. This area is home to hundreds of plant and animal species. This area is also home to a wide range of outdoor sports and activities such as mountain biking, four wheeling and hunting. The lower Roaring Fork Valley relies on Thompson Divide for water that is used for various reasons. SG oil interests, an oil and gas company from Houston Texas, which they want to buy and develop the Thompson Divide area. SG oil wants to put in a number of natural gas drilling rigs in the 221,500 acres of land that makes up the Thompson Divide area that spreads over five counties in western Colorado. According to the 2011 Sonoran Institute Economic Impact study, outdoor recreation supports more than 107,000 jobs across the state of Colorado and brings in over $500 million dollars in sales tax revenues as well as $7.6 billion dollars in sales. This study also shows that more than 43,000 ranchers make their living of the Colorado land that produce more than $16 billion dollars in economic activity. More than 105,000 jobs depend on agriculture business in Colorado. This means that if the Thompson Divide area were to be developed and become private land, Colorado could not only lose thousands of jobs but may also lose millions of dollars in taxes and retail sales every year. The development of Thompson Divide would not only have a strong economic impact on western Colorado, some feel that there would be a great deterioration of the environmental quality. A major fear to local residents is that the water in both the Crystal and the Roaring Fork rivers would become tainted and lose quality because of the oil drilling runoff. “We are exposing ourselves to serious long-term consequences,” says Roaring Fork High School agricultural science teacher Hadley Hentschel, he also states that “we need to prevent this at all costs”. The Thompson Divide provides domestic and agricultural water for the lower Roaring Fork Valley. People, animals and our local foods rely on this Photo by Kyle Bruna clean water running out of the Divide. The Crystal river near the Thompson Divide area. Many fear that the quality of our water in If you would like to take action and help fight the valley will deteriorate if drilling begins in the Divide. for the Thompson Divide, you can do so at www. savethompsondivide.org. On the website you can contact Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet by sending them an email. You can also donate any amount to the cause as well as like their facebook page to receive updates on the issue.

No ICE in schools: let’s have a safe community --Journalism staff The topic of ICE has been a controversial subject in Carbondale and in Roaring Fork High School recently. The groups AJUA (Asociacion de Jovenes Unidos en Accion) and CIRC (Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition) held a public forum meeting on October 20th requesting that the Roaring Fork School District (RE-1) adopt a policy that prohibits School Resource Officers (SRO) from also serving as federal immigration enforcement officers (ICE). AJUA and CIRC make clear their position on school resource officers and district policies in their lay out vision of perspective changes and in in their joint statement issued at the public forum meeting held in Carbondale. The groups express that public schools are meant to be a safe and welcoming environment and the presence of immigration enforcement agents is threatening that safety. AJUA and CIRC’s position is supported by a federal law prohibiting public schools from disallowing education to students based upon their immigration status in the United States. It is believed that student resource officers doubling as immigration enforcement officers is violating this law. “Evidence and testimonies collected by AJUA and CIRC demonstrate that during the past year, Officer Alvaro Agon served in the dual capacity of assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside of the schools while also serving as an SRO in the schools,” states AJUA and CIRC. The groups have also been provided with 28 student testimonies

expressing their feeling of unsafely in Carbondale schools with ICE officers present. AJUA, CIRC, and parents and students in the community have asked the Carbondale Police Department that Officer Agon to be reassigned to other duties that do not involve the schools. After a letter was sent to the RE-1 Superintendent Judy Haponstall the school board members replied that AJUA and CIRC’s proposal was being taken into consideration, and a meeting will be held with Chief of Police and the School Administration. This will allow the school district to gather more information and determine how they should proceed. Overall we think that having ICE in school should not be allowed. The Public Schools should be a place of comfort and safety. Students shouldn’t be walking around with the fear of putting themselves and their families in danger. We want this to be a open safe environment. We hope that our voices will be heard, and that they adopt a policy.

Do you think it is ok for a School Resource Officer to be involved with ICE as well? “No because it’s none of their business.”- Mariah Ahumada, junior “No because students without citizenship should not be afraid of an education.”- Juila Williams, senior

“No because we all have a right for education.”- Georgia Ackerman, junior

Staff Policy The Roaring Fork Rampage is a monthly student publication for the students of Roaring Fork High School. The Rampage is a public forum funded by sponsorships, advertising, and fundraising.

Letters to the Editor As an open forum for students, letters to the editor are welcomed and encouraged by the staff. Letters should be 100300 and must be signed to be considered for publication. Letters may be sent to 2270 Highway 133 c/o Journalism Department or e-mailed to cerisethomaso@gmail. com

Staff Editorials All editorials without a bylilne reflrct a majority opinion of the Rampage staff. These opinions arenot necessarily those of the advisor, administration, or The Sopris Sun

About Us The Rampage is a member of Colorado High School Press Association

Our Staff Editors: Thomas Cerise, Sheija Binshaban, Madison Handy, Kenia Reyna, Tanya Murillo Reporters: Kyle Bruna, Charles Conrad, Cameron Doherty, Kelly Farris, Alexander Fisher, Jane Gross, Taila Howe, Ricardo Juanlucas, Alec Larson, Shaeley Lough, William Masters, Rosa Roybal, Walker Soucie. Mariah Villalobos, Brandon Williams