5Point on the periphery
The 19th annual 5Point Film Festival was a booming success, inside and out, from group rides up Prince Creek and the ice cream social outside the Carbondale Rec to screenings at the Crystal Theatre and parties throughout downtown. In fact, every film showing was sold out, speaking to Carbondale’s thirst for adventure and film. And the award-winning films this year .... drumroll ...
People’s Choice:
“Best Day Ever,” directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy
Best of Festival:
“Best Day Ever,” directed by Ben Knight and Berne Broudy
Best Cinematography:
“Home,” directed by Raheim Robinson
Best Editing:
“Old Man Lightning,” directed by Dawn Kish
Pure Joy:
“Wild Ice,” directed by Mike Schwartz
Honorable Jury Mention:
“Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage,” directed by Liz McGregor
Honorable Jury Mention:
“The Last First: Winter K2,” directed by Amir Bar-Lev
(From upper right moving clockwise) Challenge Aspen hosted an adaptive group ride up Prince Creek. Kiddos enjoyed some ice cream after topping out on the boulder outside of Carbondale Rec. Caitlin Evans taught line dancing outside Carbondale Rec. Stio mountain athlete Sierra Schlag spoke with filmmaker Sara Robbins about her film, “That One Friend.” Photos by Bob Rugile
‘Touch Not Yon Dandelion!’
Historically, Carbondale was known for its fine and abundant potatoes. What is less known is that the dandelion was responsible for the transition from grain crops to potatoes, according to premier spud grower Eugene Grubb in “Carbondale Pioneers, 1879-1890” by Edna D. Sweet:
We grew alfalfa and our land was worth only $50 per acre, until Dad Weaver so longed for greens that he planted dandelions, which spread so they took our hay fields and compelled us to plow up our hay and to plant potatoes. We discovered that we could grow the finest potatoes in the United States, and our land promptly jumped from $50 per acre to $200.
Dandelions, from the French “dent de leon,” or lion’s tooth, were brought to the American continent from Europe’s home gardens. It was prized as one of the earliest spring crops, having both high nutritional value and documented medicinal properties.
The oldest reference to the plant in the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection (CHNC) is an 1865 ad in The Rocky Mountain News for Drake’s Plantation Bitters, a liver cleansing tonic containing dandelions and other herbs.
But dandelions were primarily used as food, all parts being edible in different applications. The roots make a delicious coffee substitute, the flowers are made into wine and used in salads along with the greens, which are more nutritious than spinach.
Communities began holding “Dandelion Day” digging parties. The Longmont Daily Call advertised that children who dug three pounds of dandelions from city parks would receive a free matinee ticket to the local movie theater.
There was a brief resurgence in the plant’s value during the 1970s’ natural foods movement. A 1978 Rocky Mountain News article described farmers in Vineland, New Jersey, touted as the “Dandelion Capital of the World,” making $40,000 annually on the crop.
OPINION
Ultimately, aesthetics won out, and the commercial chemical industry offered an effective and deadly solution to achieving a perfect weed-free expanse of grass. In addition to homeowners, municipalities used herbicides on parks and school grounds, turning them into toxic playgrounds for kids and dogs.
HISTORIOGRAPHY
By Sue Gray
Dandelions were among the vegetable seeds brought west by the pioneers, quickly spreading from gardens to fields and parks. Within a few decades, the plant had lost its edible following, except among some immigrant populations, as observed in the Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume on March 19, 1926:
On almost any pleasant April or May morning, in the parks or grassy vacant lots … women may be seen gathering dandelion greens in huge bags which they carry on their backs. They are probably Italian or French women who have a dietary tradition about eating dandelion greens in the spring … Apparently, these Europeans are better acquainted than Americans with the value of dandelion greens as food.
The article ends with four recipes, including “wilted dandelion greens with bacon.” Rather than returning to their ancestral “roots,” descendants of Colorado’s pioneers increasingly saw the little yellow flowers as a nuisance and an eyesore. Newspaper articles turned from publishing recipes to articles like one titled “Fighting the Yellow Peril,” featuring photos of three women sitting on the ground digging dandelions, in The Rocky Mountain News on May 12, 1929:
The only effective weapon against the dandelion is the digging fork or knife. The lawn must be healthy, the turf thick, the dandelion seed must be curbed, but the basic strategy against the flower is digging.
LETTERS
Spring challenge
Carbondale’s Bike, Pedestrian & Trails Commission and CLEER invite you to join the Carbondale Cares Spring Challenge. Walk, bike, bus or carpool and earn entries in multiple prize drawings. The challenge runs from May 1 through June 15. It’s good for you and great for Carbondale! Simply download the Two Rivers Connect app and start logging your trips. Register at bit.ly/bikewalkbus
David Clair Carbondale
Love letter to 5Point
I’m a little obsessed with the fact that Carbondale has its own film festival. I moved here in the fall of 2023 and finally experienced my first 5Point this past week, and it exceeded all expectations.
My husband and I attended a screening of “The Last First: Winter K2” on Wednesday evening. It was spectacular: beautiful storytelling, gut-wrenching and deeply real emotion and stunning cinematography. On Thursday, we attended the welcome
In 1998, this was a concern for residents of Carbondale, particularly John “Doc” Philip, who was on the Town Environmental Board at the time, according to Amy Kimberly’s column in the Aspen Daily News on May 15, 2003:
“It came to light that the town had overlooked spraying the town parks for weeds for the last several years,” says [Philip]. “Land is considered organic if left unsprayed for three years, so it seemed like a good opportunity to certify our parks as such, and forgo the spraying forever.” The board took it before the town trustees [who] secured organic status, declaring the dandelion the “official flower” of Carbondale.
The first Carbondale Dandelion Day in 1998 was organized to dig the “weeds” out of Sopris Park. With the creation of a Dandelion Day committee on the Environmental Board, the third Saturday in May became an annual festival celebrating spring and sustainability. It’s since been moved to the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
So when the yellow flowers start popping up, remember their historical value to humans, as well as their importance as the first spring food for bees. Let us heed the words published in The Rocky Mountain News on April 30, 1916:
Touch Not Yon Dandelion, O, Gardener! — We ask you to consider the dandelion… a flower of glory, a benefit, a boon, a blessing to mankind … The voice of the people is heard clamoring for a law prohibiting the destruction of dandelions. It is demanded that he who ruthlessly destroys just one precious little dandelion be punished most severely.
The 28th annual Dandelion Day is May 9 in Sopris Park. Visit the Heritage Garden booth for a free sample of dandelion root “coffee.”
party at Mountain Tide Provisions and were treated to excellent live music and company. On Saturday, we ran the 5Point 5K with our pup and then spent time at the Rec Center’s daytime programming.
The entire experience was thoughtful, energizing, and incredibly well done. I’m so impressed by what this community creates together. A heartfelt thank you to every person, business and organizer who makes this event possible.
Sara Linehan Carbondale
Considering water
Like many in the Roaring Fork Valley, I’ve been paying closer attention to water use as drought conditions continue to affect our region. It’s made me notice a small but very common practice in our local restaurants: automatically serving glasses of water to every guest.
Having spent many years in the restaurant business here in the valley, I know that our greatest strength is how we welcome people — both those who live here and
those just passing through. Hospitality is part of the fabric of this community, and our restaurants are a vital part of what makes this place so special. I have deep respect for the people behind them and the hard work they do every day.
With that in mind, I’d like to gently suggest a small but meaningful shift in how we approach water service. Offering water upon request, rather than automatically, could help conserve a precious resource, without diminishing the guest experience. Anyone who wants water would still receive it, while reducing unnecessary use during busy days, especially in peak season.
Water conservation is something we all share responsibility for, and small adjustments across our community can add up to a meaningful impact.
This is not meant as criticism, but as an invitation to make a thoughtful change — one that reflects both our values and the realities of living in a drought-prone region.
Maria Maniscalchi
Glenwood Springs continued on page 22
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Dandelion anyone?
Dandelion Day is looking for more than 60 volunteers to help at the 28th annual event on May 9. Visit https://tinyurl.com/4kk4fad9 to sign up for a shift.
GarCo emergency exercise
Garfield County agencies will carry out a “multi-jurisdiction exercise to test emergency response capabilities” on May 14 in the Glenwood Springs area, according to an announcement this week by Garfield County news. Unlike a legitimate emergency incident, emergency vehicles will not use their lights or sirens during the event. 7th Street north of the Garfield County Courthouse will be closed during the exercise, but nearby parking lots will remain accessible via 8th Street.
A bright future
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Roaring Fork School District last week announced its scholarship recipients. Glenwood Springs High School (GWHS) Star Hernandez received a full-ride to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a QuestBridge Scholar. Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) Anna Sophia Brown will attend Colorado College as a Boettcher Scholar and RFHS Colton Lang will attend Montana State University as a Daniels Scholar. Basalt High School (BHS) students Dylan Johnston and Javier Hernandez received the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship to attend University of Colorado Boulder. BHS students Sidney Barill and Karson Schneider will attend Auburn University, receiving the Army ROTC and Navy ROTC scholarships, respectively. BHS Towler Scott received the Daniels Fund Scholarship and will put the award toward tuition at Manhattan University.
Basalt wildfire mitigation
Help reduce the risk of wildfire this summer by chipping hazardous fuels of up to 12 inches in diameter on your property through a curbside chipping program in the Basalt area. “This program comes at a critical moment for our valley. We are entering fire season earlier, drier, and with less margin for error than almost any year on record,” said Angie Davlyn, executive director of the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley, which is launching the program in partnership with Eagle County. “Clearing out excess vegetation and slash is one of the most effective ways to change how fire behaves when it reaches our communities.” The curbside program will be offered in various neighborhoods in the Basalt area from 7am to 7pm, Monday through Saturday, June 1–27 and Aug. 31–Sept. 25.
From Carbondale to NYT
Sopris Sun photographer Will Sardinsky saw his work published in the New York Times last week, contributing a series of Aspen Mountain closing day photos to “A Rocky (and Muddy) Ski Season Concludes in Colorado.” Find the article and photos at tinyurl.com/ye274ky8
Tick talk
Tick activity is back and at a higher-thanaverage rate, according to an announcement last week from Garfield County. “We have seen a few years of increased tick activity, likely due to the wet year that we had in 2023,” Colorado Department of Public Health Medical Entomologist Chris Roundy said in a press release. “Since ticks can live for two or more years, we are likely still seeing the population spike from that season.” He added that the mild winter this season likely allowed tick activity to begin earlier than normal. Use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and avoid brushy areas to prevent contact with ticks. Tick-borne diseases in Colorado include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Colorado Tick Fever. Remove ticks from skin using tweezers or fingers.
New APCHA regulations
The Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA) Board approved regulations changing the authority’s tenant selection process, rent and ownership appreciation, ownership lottery system and rules of income requalification. Notable changes include the removal of “longest work history” in the tenant selection process and changing the appreciation rate to a flat 3% for both APCHA rental and ownership units. Visit apcha.org for more information.
Airport closure
The Aspen/Pitkin County Airport has closed for maintenance and improvements. Beginning on April 23, the closure will remain in effect until 7pm, May 21. “The work includes removing existing gates and reinstalling the central entry and exit gate, paving the current entryway, installing additional lighting, and restripping the lot,” a press release states of the maintenance.
Limited pool water
The Basalt Water Conservancy District (BWCD) announced that contract pool water from the Green Mountain Reservoir south of Kremmling will be unavailable due to reduced spring runoff following this winter’s historically low snowpack. “As a result, BWCD is utilizing releases from Ruedi Reservoir to fulfill augmentation requirements on behalf of its contractees.” For more information, contact bwcd.info@gmail.com
They say it’s your birthday!
Folks celebrating another trip around the sun this week include: Thomas Cochran, Alexandra Jerkunica and Gretchen Stock-Bell (April 30); Pixie Byrne, Melanie Gianinetti Cardiff, Devika Gurung, Jeff Leahy, Ginny Parker and James and William Steindler (May 1); Sherry Caloia and Patrick Wilson (May 2); Kathy Goudy, Maura Masters and Mary Matchael (May 3); Matte Curry, Mackie Keller, Zoe Kimberly and Aaron Laemmel (May 4); Stan Bell, Frank Betts, Jeremy Heiman, Claudia Prado Zepeda and Sandy Kaplan (May 5); Joe Burleigh, Susan Caddoo Hannisian, Kat Hardy, Soozie Lindbloom, Stephen Olson and Maggie Suma (May 6).
The 5Point Film Festival team had their work cut out for them last week, screening dozens of unique outdoor films, organizing live community events and concluding the 19th annual Carbondale classic. “We spent all year building last week’s event for you and are blown away by how y’all showed up,” the crew wrote in their closing newsletter. “Thank you.” Photo courtesy of 5Point
Roaring Fork Valley student nabs prestigious scholarship
RAY K. ERKU
Sopris Sun correspondent
Anna Sophia Brown calls it a crazy year. She’s president of multiple student organizations, captain of the speech-and-debate team and, more recently, learned she’s now the recipient of a substantial scholarship. It was announced in early April that the Roaring Fork High School senior nabbed the Boettcher Foundation Scholarship, an award given annually to just 50 Colorado students. Receiving $20,000 per year for four years, Brown intends to use the funds to pursue a double-major in environmental studies and political science at Colorado College.
“This is a weight off my shoulders,” Brown said of receiving the scholarship. “But I think, for my parents, it’s more important. They can give me the best education possible without having to worry about whether or not it’s going to impact them, and that’s what I really care about.”
Amid her academic accolades and various extracurriculars, Brown also spent her final year in high school developing a knack for local journalism. Writing for The Sopris Stars, The Sopris Sun’s youth reporters program, Brown wrote a series of stories that both affected her life as well as the lives of the entire Carbondale community.
“I think the reason that I’m so drawn
C.A.R.E.
to journalism is that it’s a way to be more connected,” she said. “It’s less about reporting the face value of it and trying to actually understand it, and I really love that.”
Capturing it all
Carbondale had become a hot topic around Colorado high country in fall 2023 when about 80 mostly Venezuelan immigrants were reported living in abysmal conditions underneath the Highway 82 bridge. They were a part of a bigger, two-year wave of thousands of Venezuelans who originally migrated to Denver.
These immigrants, fleeing political and economic chaos, were under the thumb of former President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro. So when Maduro was captured by the U.S. in January 2026, Brown decided to write a reaction piece for the readers of Carbondale.
Though just her fourth assignment ever, the auspicious Sopris Stars correspondent successfully used a series of local connections to reach and quote a Venezuelan man living in Caracas.
“The whole time I was trying to hold back tears,” she said. “He was telling me stories of his friends and his family and all the opportunities he would’ve had being born in that time, in that place. That was
really crazy for me to hear, and it’s definitely changed the way I look at international happenings, politics.”
In November 2025, Brown further exhibited journalistic courage by documenting Roaring Fork students’ thoughts and reactions to an increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) around the country. Titled “Balancing Fear with the American Dream,” Brown combined data gathered from the Department of Education with live quotes to capture what it’s like growing up Latino in the Roaring Fork Valley.
It’s stories like these that not only shaped the way Brown views the power of journalism but life in general.
“Yes, our valley is a bubble,” she said. “But our world isn’t.”
A river of opportunity
It was the most life-changing experience Brown ever had.
In her junior year, she embarked on a journey as a Rotary Youth Exchange Ambassador to Brazil, her home base being a town called Nova Friburgo. In the process, she found herself waking up one early morning on a boat with a friend, on the Amazon River.
“We were watching pink dolphins jump out of the water, like right by our boat,” she said. “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. It was such a beautiful moment — just the birds, just the sunrise.”
“It just reminded me of just how much beauty there is in the world,” she added. This experience also fostered Brown’s
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Roaring Fork High School senior Anna Sophia Brown next to Rosybelle, Carbondale Art’s mobile maker space, on Sunday, April 19. Photo by Ray K. Erku
No Script, No Exit: ‘The Long Conversation’ comes to Carbondale
BETSY WELCH
Sopris Sun Correspondent
On Sunday, May 3, two people will walk onto the stage at the Crystal Theatre with no moderator, no set topic, and only one instruction: pick up where the last conversation left off. Then they’ll talk for 30 minutes, step off, and hand it to the next pair. Over 12 hours, that relay will repeat 24 times.
The program is called “The Long Conversation,” and it’s a daylong experiment in community dialogue organized by Western Mosaic Fund in partnership with Carbondale Arts. The event will run from 8am to 8pm and is free and open to the public, with audience members invited to drop in and out as the conversation evolves.
For Western Mosaic Fund Founder Kade Gianinetti, the event is meant to serve as a physical example of how people engage and listen when they are sitting in front of one another — and how that can shape a community as a whole.
“I think really good, strong communities have conversations where people don’t walk away from the table,” Gianinetti told the Sopris Sun. “When we’re actually in conversation with someone and there are challenging big issues we don’t agree on, we’re less quick to pull away or put someone into a box.”
Gianinetti borrowed the concept from a 24-hour conversation hosted by the Long Now Foundation in 2013, an event rooted in long-term thinking and systems-level perspective. The Carbondale version is scaled down — 12 hours instead of 24 — but keeps the core idea intact: a continuous,
unscripted thread shaped in real time by the people participating.
The inspiration also comes from closer to home. Gianinetti credits A.O. Forbes, whose “Tomorrow’s Voices” civics course at Colorado Rocky Mountain School challenged students to think about engagement, citizenship and what it means to be in community.
“This idea has been bubbling for a year and a half, maybe two years,” Gianinetti said. “At some point you realize it’s never going to be the perfect time — so let’s just do it.”
And who are the people stepping into the conversation? Gianinetti describes them as a “snapshot” of Carbondale and the Roaring Fork Valley: educators and childcare workers, ranchers and environmental advocates, business owners, elected officials and younger residents stepping into leadership.
Rather than carefully curating a roster, he built the lineup through conversations around town — people he ran into, names that kept surfacing, whoever was available on a Sunday in early May.
“It’s not a deep dive or data analysis into who are the voices we need to hear,” he said. “It’s a snapshot of the people in our community who are available on this day and who touch different sectors.”
While participants will each bring their own experience and expertise, Gianinetti hopes the topics will emerge organically. They’ll receive some pre-reading and light prompting ahead of time, but once they’re on stage, the conversation is their own.
“It’s a really cool arc of a conversation
that touches on topics we’re all talking about around the dinner table and out with friends,” he said.
If the structure sounds open-ended, that’s intentional. Gianinetti describes the event as an experiment — something that could be repeated every three years, refined over time or adjusted based on what works and what doesn’t.
The conversations will be recorded, not just for archival purposes but as the starting point for a longer creative process. Over the next year, Carbondale Arts plans to work with local artists to translate the dialogue into a multimedia zine — essays, visual art and other interpretations — culminating in a public release in early 2027.
In a political and cultural moment where disagreement often ends conversations, “The Long Conversation” is built around the opposite premise: that people can stay at the table, even when they don’t agree.
“We don’t have to see eye to eye on everything,” Gianinetti said. “But we’re not walking away from this table. We’re going to work together to make it better.”
Whether that holds for 12 straight hours remains to be seen.
“Do you think it will work?” Kade asked near the end of the interview.
In Carbondale, he believes it just might.
“We live in a place where people care about this community,” he said. “The question is whether we can show up for each other in that way.”
The event is free and open to the public; attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the day.
“THE LONG CONVERSATION”
Features
8-8:30am AO Forbes
8-9am Becky Oliver
8:30-9:30am Sarah Schlicter
9-10am Mayor Erica Sparhawk
9:30-10:30 Angie Davlyn
10-11am Drew Sorenson
10:30-11:30am Rita Marsh
11am-12pm Emmet Garcelon
11:30am-12:30pm Mugsy Fay
12-1pm Shawn Crampton
12:30-1:30pm Jared Minori 1-2pm Alyssa Barsanti
representing
1:30-2:30pm
2:30-3:30pm
3:30-4:30pm Ryan Hyland
4:30-5:30pm Maria Judith Alvarez 5-6pm Samantha Freese
5:30-6:30pm MinTze Wu
6-7pm Jamie Abbott
6:30-7:30pm Kate Schwerin
7-8pm Aisha Weinhold
7:30-8pm Johnny Klein
Colorado River District: 2026 the warmest winter on record
ANNALISE GRUETER
Sopris Sun Correspondent
Low streamflow and invasive species present threats to watershed
On Thursday, April 23, some 150 community members gathered at the Pitkin County Library for the Colorado River District (CRD)’s State of the Roaring Fork River. The event is one in a series that the Glenwood Springs-based water agency has been presenting around the state. CRD chief of strategy Amy Moyer and communications director Matt Aboussie were joined by representatives from several local nonprofits.
Rebecca Briesmoore, a CRD water resources engineer and project manager, provided an overview of the state of the Roaring Fork. She shared graphics demonstrating that 2025-26 was the warmest winter in 130 years of recorded October-March temperature data, an outlier of 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit statewide. While the season was not the driest recorded, high temperatures resulted in the lowest recorded snow water equivalent (SWE).
Briesmoore explained that barring significant May precipitation, the 2026 peak runoff was four weeks early, with a peak SWE of around half of average. The median peak snowpack in the Roaring Fork watershed falls on April 7 and 17.1 inches of SWE, while this year’s peak snowpack was measured March 10, with 9.3 inches SWE. Based on measurements over the last month, the upper Frying Pan and upper Roaring Fork basins have lost over 50% since then.
CRD data collection shows historical peak flow in the Roaring Fork River and tributaries between early June and early July, topping out between 250 and 375 cubic feet per second (cfs) depending on the year. CRD measurements combined with current long-term weather forecasts indicate that 2026 peak flow likely occurred
on March 27 at a rate of 79 cfs.
Ruedi Reservoir is around two-thirds full as of late April, with 67.3 thousand acre-feet out of a 102.4 thousand acre-feet capacity. CRD scientists do not expect the reservoir to surpass current levels. Long-term weather forecasts for May, sourced from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, indicate below-average precipitation unlikely to shift snowpack or watershed levels. However, those forecast models indicate a possibility of above-average monsoon precipitation from July through September. Briesmoore noted that longerterm forecasts are subject to change.
The weather patterns recorded thus far are evidence, Briesmoore said, that “this year is unprecedented.” Data from 1895 to 2025 shows that the average annual air temperature has risen 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. CRD’s data indicates that for every 1 degree Fahrenheit increase in air temperatures, streamflow decreases between 4 and 7%.
Briesmoore then introduced CRD chief of strategy Amy Moyer, who shared data on the broader Colorado River Basin, which includes Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California and the Republic of Mexico. The dry and record-breaking warm winter has exacerbated low water levels and over-allocation of stored water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead. CRD and other Western water stakeholders are exploring options for renegotiation of the Colorado River Compact. The agreement, established in 1922, allocated 17.5 million acre-feet of water among member states, tributaries and Mexico. Average flow for the larger river in higher-precipitation years ranges between 14 and 15 million acre-feet.
Recent drought years have produced only 11 million acre-feet.
Moyer also shared details on CRD’s non-partisan Shoshone Water Rights campaign. The Shoshone Power Plant in Glenwood Canyon has been operational since 1909 and has “large and very senior non-consumptive water rights on the Colorado River,” used for low-impact hydro-powered electricity for the City of Glenwood Springs, Moyer said. She stated that Shoshone Water Rights “help keep Western Slope water on the Western Slope.” After representatives from Pitkin County Healthy Rivers shared videos on Lincoln Creek and Grizzly Reservoir, Christina Medved of Roaring Fork Conservancy (RFC) provided an informational update on aquatic nuisance species encroaching on the Roaring Fork River. While zebra mussels have not yet been observed in the Roaring Fork, their presence has been confirmed in Glenwood Canyon. Given the species’ rapid reproduction (an adult mussel can produce 1 million offspring per year) and affinity to clog infrastructure, advocacy groups are emphasizing the need for all water-based recreationalists to use water-free cleaning stations to prevent further zebra mussel spread.
RFC is also monitoring the New Zealand mudsnail. The snails are very small, pinhead-sized as adults, and resilient. Mudsnails have been in the Colorado and Eagle Rivers for years. They were identified in the lower Roaring Fork in October 2025. The river from Carbondale to Glenwood Springs is now considered infested. New Zealand mudsnails are
continued on page 22
The Roaring Fork River’s peak runoff for 2026 was measured on March 27, over a month early, at 79 cubic feet per second, approximately a quarter of average peak runoff flow. Photo by Annalise Grueter
Duty patrol
Local running store steps up to handle dog poo disposal along popular Red Hill trails
JOHN STROUD Sopris Sun Correspondent
A rather angry social media exchange between Red Hill Recreation Area users a couple of years ago about dog poop, of all things, prompted a call to action by a local business owner that has calmed the angst.
“People were just going back and forth about all the bags of dog poop strewn along the trails that weren’t being picked up and thrown away,” recalled Brion After, who owns Independence Run & Hike in Carbondale.
The solution was fairly simple — provide more disposal stations along the lower sections of trail and people would be more likely to dispose of the bags.
A dog owner and avid trail user himself, After pointed out that most dogs tend to do their business within the first 10-15 minutes of a hike, so the stations needed to be strategically placed and increased in number.
The Red Hill Council, which oversees the area, including the popular Mushroom Rock Trail, in conjunction with the Town of Carbondale and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, had also documented through its dog poop flagging awareness campaign that the lower trail sections were definitely the most impacted.
Not only were people leaving bags of poop along the trail, unbagged poop was creating a nasty situation and affecting the natural environment, Red Hill Council President Chris Brandt noted.
“At one point, it seemed a little absurd how much time and effort we were devoting to managing dog poop, having to seek out grant money each year, and distracting from other more important trail maintenance priorities,” Brandt said of the earlier days before the newer trail head and parking lot were constructed in 2020.
Since then, an additional disposal station was installed near the Three Poles section, but that still wasn’t enough.
Brandt said it was cost prohibitive and too labor intensive to install even more disposal stations when the flagging campaign called attention to the ongoing problem.
That’s when After and his crew at Independence Run & Hike stepped in to fund two more disposal stations and serve as the official poop patrol, changing out the bags and regularly emptying the full bags.
“I said, you know, I’ll pay for the whole thing, and we’ll manage it,” After said. “I don’t think they’ve ever overflowed in the year and a half that we’ve done it. It’s something I’m pretty proud of, that we can help out the community in that way.”
At first, he said he was paying for it out of pocket, but now he’s using the small amount of money the store receives for its used shoe donation project to fund the poop patrol.
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“So, whenever people donate their old running shoes in the bins out in front of our store, that goes toward the cost of managing this,” After said. “It’s kind of a cool circle.”
Store employee Will Fisher said he’s happy to be part of the solution, but added it’s still up to trail users to be personally responsible. Included in that is not using the disposal stations that are meant for dog poop for regular trash and cans that can be recycled. That should still be packed out and disposed of properly, he said.
“Otherwise, we have to fish it out, and that gets kind of gross,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t take a lot of effort on the part of people to just hold onto it a little bit longer and put it in the recycle bin at the trailhead.”
If any members of the public, especially dog owners who use the trails regularly, want to help out and take a poop patrol shift, After said he’d welcome that.
“We have a backpack and all the replacement materials that you’d need,” he said.
Brandt said he appreciates the support from the business community to help maintain the Red Hill area.
“It’s a lot of work to regularly carry out heavy bags of poop, and it can be roughly 50 pounds, once or twice per week, for each bin,” he said. “They are not doing this for attention, they are doing it because it’s the right thing to do, and something that makes a real impact, setting a good example.”
In addition, Brandt noted that the initial trails leading away from the trailhead are being managed with the assistance of local adopt-a-trail supporters, including Osmia and White Horse Yoga, Brandt noted.
As seasonal use of the Red Hill trails increases, Brandt also issued a reminder of the leash and “under control” rules for dogs. The lower trails (Ruthies Run, Lower Three Gulch, B-Line, and C-Line) are on Town property and fall under Carbondale’s leash law, requiring a 6-foot maximum leash to be used. Once on BLM land, leashes are still strongly encouraged, as dogs must not be allowed to stray off of the established trail, he emphasized.
“Using a leash helps to prevent the cumulative impacts to the natural environment along the edge of the trail,” Brandt said. “We’ve lost significant quantities of vegetation and sensitive cryptobiotic soil patches, also known as biocrust, resulting from hundreds of dogs wandering all over the place off leash.”
Brion After, owner of Independence Run & Hike, takes a selfie at one of the dog poop disposal stations that his store funded to install along the popular Red Hill trails outside of Carbondale. Photo courtesy Brion After
Mishe Skenderova, LAc.
Permit revoked for Glenwood immigration detention center
RAY K. ERKU Sopris Sun Correspondent
Cheers rang throughout Glenwood Springs City Hall on Tuesday evening after city officials overwhelmingly decided it’s time for a local immigration detention facility to account for accusations of violating detainee hold times and additional building permit requirements.
Before a packed house of handheld signs saying things like “melt ICE” and “revoke,” the Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), which hasn’t held a revocation hearing in over 10 years, voted 5-1 to remove a special use permit for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s temporary holding facility and office at the Midland Business Center.
“The facility at 100 Midland Avenue is a jail. It’s in a commercial plaza and it’s holding people there against their will,” Glenwood Springs resident Hannah Saggau said during public comment. She added, “It’s an inhospitable room, it’s cold, it has concrete benches, it doesn’t have beds, people aren’t meant to stay there long.”
In 2003, P&Z originally granted a special use permit to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), acting on behalf of ICE, to operate a shortterm holding facility and office in the Midland Business Center. The special use permit was required since the detention facility was originally established in a General Commercial District, city documents show. The building itself, owned by a Florida-based company called JG Housing Solutions LLC, leases the space to ICE.
Many Roaring Fork Valley and Western Slope residents argue that the detention center should not be in a commercial zone.
“Holding people in cuffs is not the same as selling kayaks and cannabis,” said public commenter Jacob Richards, who was born in Glenwood Springs but now lives in Grand Junction.
Meanwhile, a recent spate of local complaints and public records requests made in response to a federal crackdown on immigration revealed that the ICE facility possibly violated permit terms by meeting or exceeding the 12-hour hold limitation for detainees on 11 separate occasions. Meanwhile, public records requests also prompted the City to determine that the property never received a full certificate of occupancy because “it was likely an oversight,” city documents state.
In February, a City inspection of the detention facility identified various building inadequacies. Among those noted, fire sprinkler heads were outdated, emergency evacuation procedures had yet to be provided or were unavailable at the time, and non-functioning exit and emergency lighting
had to be updated and replaced. By March, the city issued a notice of violation to the GSA, including DHS and ICE.
Despite the numerous violations, City staff last week recommended that P&Z uphold the special use permit for the Glenwood ICE detention facility in the hopes that “the applicant take[s] corrective measures to address the violation,” city documents state.
City Attorney Karl Hanlon also emphasized on Tuesday various ways the federal government might not comply with the permit revocation. One, he said that DHS issued a new memo saying it’s now acceptable to hold detainees for 72 hours as opposed to 12. Two, the federal government can deploy what’s called the “Supremacy Clause,” which essentially allows them to supersede local laws.
“Essentially meaning that they can ignore us,” Hanlon said of the federal government. “I don’t want anybody’s expectations to be that this facility will cease to operate tomorrow depending on what you do tonight, or that we have a judicial remedy to force that to occur.
Hanlon also said he would more than likely be “bounced out of federal court relatively quickly” if he tried enforcing this effort “based on the case laws that exist today.”
“You have more than enough evidence to revoke,” he told the commission. “But what I do not want is for anybody to be confused about the outcome of you taking that action. It’s incredibly important for us as a community to make that statement.”
Commissioners spent hours on Tuesday evening hearing several public comments opposing the Glenwood Springs ICE facility, as well as attempting to ascertain every physical detail they could about the building itself. They asked Economic and Community Development Director Trent Hyatt, who’s personally toured the holding facility, about whether the building has adequate escape routes and fire sprinkler systems, if detainees have adequate seating, the size of the holding cells, if ICE agents have been keeping detainee meal logs and more.
According to Hyatt, ICE has still yet to respond to the City’s notice of violation. Meanwhile, no ICE representatives or property owners attended Tuesday’s meeting to answer commissioner questions.
Before voting in favor of the permit revocation, P&Z chair Peter Waller commented on the DHS memo that extends 12-hour stays to 72 for immigration detainees.
“Holy moly, you throw 72 hours and not having a bed or all these other type[s] of amenities? It’s very, very difficult for me,” he said. “And not being able to talk to the applicant to hear their comments on that? that’s something I struggle with.”
Anti-wolf reintroduction film features Garfield County officials
AMY HADDEN MARSH
Sopris Sun Correspondent
Garfield County Commissioners Tom Jankovsky and Perry Will along with County Manager Fred Jarman have taken a stand against wolf reintroduction in a 33-minute film titled “Thrown to the Wolves,” released in 2026.
The film, produced by the American Stewards of Liberty (ASL), presents wolves as villains, capable of ruining livelihoods and rural economies and sending ranchers and landowners to the bread line. It is split into two parts — the commentary on wolf reintroduction in Colorado and why the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a failure. Interviews for the wolf part feature Lauren Dobson, of anti-wolf group United Wolf Coalition, Republican Congresswoman Harriet Hageman from Wyoming, Margaret Byfield, ASL executive director, and the Garfield County contingent.
ASL, headquartered in Texas, is a Bible-based, conservative property rights group with which Garfield County has been associated with for over a decade. The group promotes creation stewardship, warning against “creation idolatry.” They are skeptical of climate change. They also oppose the ESA, the America the Beautiful (30X30) initiative and conservation easements on private land, advocating for opening up federal lands to mining, energy development, grazing and timber sales.
According to Renelle Lott, Garfield County chief communications officer, the county is not a member of ASL and does not pay dues. But in 2015, High Country News reported that between 2012 and 2015 Garfield County paid more than $26,000 in taxpayer funds to ASL. Garfield County records show that in August 2023, the county awarded a $30,000 sole source contract as part of the Multi-Use Alliance, formed by ASL to challenge the 30X30 Rule. The contract states that ASL gets 10% for a management fee. The scope of services states that Garfield County is “one of the members of the Alliance”. “Thrown to the Wolves” is not overtly religious; filmmaker David Medina leaves that out. But, the Colorado wolf reintroduction program is portrayed as a non-starter — that relocating wolves from out-of-state has cost too much, livestock producers are holding the dirty end of the stick and CPW misled the public about where wolves would be released.
You couldn’t have driven a bigger wedge in the urban-rural divide than wolves.
- Commissioner Perry Will, “Thrown to the Wolves”
“A little more than a third of the entire state of Colorado was what the voters looked at in terms of a release zone, when in reality it was 2% of the state,” said Jarman in the film. “None of that analysis had been done, or at least presented to the voters, to say, ‘Hey, just so you understand, the entire state gets to vote on this issue. And by the way, we’re going to put this entire impact on the backs of one county.’”
Will echoes sentiments in the film about so-called “ballot box biology,” a buzzphrase that means wildlife decisions are better left to agency scientists than voters. “Letting the voters decide on wildlife issues in this state is the worst thing that you can do,” said Will, adding that because most of the “yes” votes came from the Front Range, “Prop 114” widened the state’s ideological divide. “East Slope directed; West Slope affected,” he said. “You couldn’t have driven a bigger wedge in the urban-rural divide than wolves.”
Will also says that Governor Jared Polis rushed the release of collared wolves into the state. But Eric Maruyama, spokesperson for the Governor’s office, said that’s not true.
“It is completely false with zero basis in fact that Governor Polis ‘rushed’ or even had the legal ability to modify any dates related to the reintroduction of wolves,” wrote Maruyama in a statement to The Sopris Sun. “The ballot measure language passed by voters specifically required that reintroduction begins no later than December 2023.”
Maruyama added that the governor did not support Proposition 114. “The reintroduction of Gray wolves was voted on by Coloradans, and despite not supporting the ballot initiative, Governor Polis is committed to implementing the will of the voters,” he wrote.
Polis is featured in photos and clips from newscasts. Other short clips sprinkled throughout the first part of the film feature wolf advocates and came from a documentary by the Endangered Species Coalition (ESC), praising wolf reintroduction, titled “Welcome Home.” The ESC told The Sopris Sun that the clips were used in
continued on page 15
City Attorney Karl Hanlon speaks during a Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on Tuesday, April 28. Photo by Ray K. Erku
Trustees support water conservation plan
Staff presented plan amid predicted historic low runoff
SKYLER STARK-RAGSDALE Managing Editor
The Carbondale Board of Town Trustees on Tuesday, April 28, supported an “escalating ladder” of water conservation measures to plan for a potentially historic low runoff season.
The measures come as the runoff is predicted to be at 50% of the 2018 runoff season, which was a historically low year, Scott Wenning, Carbondale Utilities Division’s assistant public works director, told trustees.
“Most likely, this is the worst drought that anybody alive in this valley has ever seen,” Wenning said.
As such, Wenning outlined the escalating ladder of water conservation measures he and staff proposed the Town take. The first step, beginning in early May, would advise water users to assess their water needs and encourage them to practice conservation they may have to implement later in the season.
As drought conditions worsen, the Town will enact “voluntary
BASALT REPORT
restrictions,” then “mandatory restrictions,” “water shortage measures” and “water crisis measures” as needed. These restrictions will be triggered when water usage hits a certain percentage of the total water the Town, which does not have a reservoir and relies on real-time water availability, can produce.
The more severe restrictions, such as “water shortage” will begin when Carbondale is using 90% of the water it can produce. These restrictions would prohibit washing of sidewalks, driveways or other paved areas, draining or refilling pools and tubs, washing privately owned vehicles (except when using a bucket), could restrict lawn watering and irrigation, require restaurants to serve water only upon request and more, according to code.
The Town would begin “water crisis” measures when Carbondale is using 95% or more of the water it can produce. These restrictions prohibit watering lawns, gardens and other plants, except
with a handheld container, during certain periods, require restaurants to operate using disposable plates, glasses and utensils, prohibit replenishing swimming pools and only permits fire hydrant water use for firefighting.
Wenning said the escalating ladder of water usage restrictions could “move quickly when it moves,” and would likely be triggered by a power outage, as some
of the Town’s treatment plants cannot operate at full capacity without supplied electricity. He told The Sopris Sun on Wednesday that Xcel Energy and Holy Cross Energy could conduct planned outages this summer to reduce wildfire risk during periods of high fire danger. Water problems would start if the Town loses power for a full day, Wenning told trustees.
A water rights call, where an area with more senior water rights pulls water from a local source elsewhere, could also trigger usage restrictions, according to Wenning.
Town staff did note that because Carbondale does not have a reservoir, immediate water conservation measures will not save water for later in the year.
“Conservation helps manage peak demand, but it does not bolster supply later in the season,” a document from town staff states.
The Town can store 2 million gallons of potable water in a tank on White Hill and 700,000 gallons in a tank in River Valley Ranch. That storage amounts to about a single day of storage, accounting for the Town’s water usage and water needed for firefighting purposes, Wenning said.
For the time being, keeping green space green could be valuable.
Town staff advised trustees to be mindful of the area’s fuel moisture content, or the amount of water contained in fuels available to a fire. High fuel moisture makes fuels more resistant to fire, according to the Northwest Fire Science Consortium.
“These two issues — water supply and wildfire — should
continued on page 15
Potential development leads to traffic discussion
WILL BUZZERD
Sopris Sun Correspondent
During this week’s regular meeting, Basalt Town Council held a second public hearing for a potential residential and storage unit development in Southside, and, once again, found it lacking community benefit.
“This is a departure — completely — from what the Master Plan envisions for this parcel,” said Mayor David Knight. However, discussions around the development also centered around potential road improvements to account for increasing traffic density in an area already burdened by high school commuters.
At the March 24 meeting, when this development was previously discussed, the council generally agreed that the development wasn’t quite meeting the community’s needs, especially in the form of affordable housing. At the time, 11 of the 47 proposed units were slated to be pricecapped and deed-restricted, representing 23% of the total units and just above the 20% minimum required by the Town. In response to that concern, the applicant has doubled the number of deed-restricted units to 22, so that nearly half of the residential portion of the development would become affordable housing. In comparison, the recently approved
developments at Basalt Center Circle and Jadwin are 60% and 50% affordable housing, respectively.
The councilors were skeptical about whether the storage units would be used exclusively for storage and were concerned about potential traffic generation if the units might be used for alternate purposes, such as hosting small businesses. Since then, the project’s traffic study was updated to reflect a possible increase, and the applicant has proposed restricting 30 of the 54 units as storage use only.
Much of the discussion around the development was devoted to consideratiown of improvements to the intersection of Fiou Lane and Basalt Avenue. Fiou Lane narrows considerably going east from the intersection, and would need to be improved in the event of the development’s construction, for safety reasons alone. This area is already the site of heavy traffic buildup, especially for commuters to and from Basalt High School, and councilors were concerned at the previous meeting that increased urban density in the area would add to the problem.
Town staff contracted transportation specialist Jim Charlier to determine possible improvements to Fiou lane. Charlier, who came out of retirement to aid the Town, proposed six alternatives
and ultimately recommended rebuilding the intersection, extending Summerset Lane into a new access road and adding new bike/walking lanes.
Mayor Knight pointed out that any of these improvements were ultimately contingent on whether or not the property would be developed. Councilor Rick Stevens noted that Charlier’s recommendations did provide a potential blueprint for how the area could be improved in the event of any increased density, apart from the development in question.
Councilor Angela Anderson asked Assistant Planning Director James Lindt if the Town had any plans to improve Fiou Lane separately from the development. Lindt said that the Town had neither plans nor funds in place to do so. Lindt also said that roughly
30 residential units were expected to “come online” at Stott’s Mill in the near future, which will increase traffic.
Ultimately, the council ended on a similar note compared to the previous public hearing, and expressed that, even with the present changes, the development still was not sufficient to meet community needs. An additional public hearing is planned to be held on May 12.
In other news
The Town of Basalt has signed a contract with Wold Architects and Engineers for design and entitlement services for a new Public Works and Police Department building.
The new building, which will host both departments, will be constructed on two adjacent
Town-owned parcels southwest of the Original Road and Highway 82 intersection. While the western parcel is currently in use by Public Works, the eastern parcel is vacant and was previously used by Umbrella Roofing.
In 2025, the Town commissioned Wold to complete a needs assessment for both the Police and Public Works facilities, which determined that both departments were in need of an upgrade. While the Town received 10 different proposals from architecture firms after advertising a request for proposals, the selection committee ultimately recommended Wold to tackle the project.
The council unanimously approved a contract with Wold to proceed with designs for a safe, efficient and modern building.
A 3D rendering of the part-residential, part-storage-unit development being considered near the Basalt Avenue and Highway 82 intersection. Courtesy image
New Carbondale Trustee Kade Gianinetti (right) takes the oath of office, delivered by Carbondale Town Clerk Patrick Thibault, on Tuesday, April 28. Photo by Skyler Stark-Ragsdale
10AM - PARADE OF SPECIES
10:45 - BONEDALE BALLET 11:00 - SOPRIS SOARERS
12:30 - NATAANII MEANS
1:15 - YOUTH POETRY 2:45 - YOUTH JAM SESSION
1:45 - PANEL DISCUSSION 3:30 - THE ROSIE JOES KDNK BEER GARDEN 12-5
ART BY HEATHER QUINN
Spring sports in home stretch with playoff spots to be decided
JOHN STROUD
Sopris Sun Correspondent
Spring sports for Colorado high schools are winding down over the next few weeks, as Roaring Fork High School’s girls lacrosse, girls soccer, and baseball teams aim to secure spots in the postseason playoffs.
Leading the way with a good shot at a state title run is the combined Roaring Fork-BasaltGlenwood-CRMS girls lacrosse team, which remained ranked No. 3 among Class 4A teams coming into the week.
The Rams stood at 11-2 overall and 7-2 in the 4A Mountain East League, behind only Battle Mountain, which retains the top ranking in the state at 13-0.
On senior night in front of the home fans on Thursday, April 23, Roaring Fork won a crucial 12-8 decision over league foe Aspen. Senior Jordyn Miller collected five points (three goals and two assists), while three points each came from senior Julianna Pittz (three goals) and sophomores Eva Feinsinger (two goals, one assist) and Kayla Steele (one goal, two assists).
The team was at Summit Wednesday night (game result not available for this report). They were to play at Denver North on Friday, ahead of the 4A playoff seedings and pairings to be announced on Sunday, May 3.
Baseball
The Roaring Fork baseball team was clinging to the 32nd and final playoff position coming into the week, before dropping a double header on Tuesday to defending 3A Western Slope League (WSL) and 3A State Champion Coal Ridge. Scores were 6-3 and 14-9 in favor of the Titans for the twin bill.
The Rams now stand at 6-11 overall and 3-5 in the 3A WSL. In action last week, the Rams won 12-1 at Cedaredge on April 25 then split a double-header at Gunnison on April 25, falling 7-6 in the first game and winning 11-9 in the second.
Roaring Fork hosted Rifle on Wednesday, and seniors are to be honored during the Rams home double header this Friday, May 1 against Moffat County. Game
times are 3pm and 5pm. After that, it’s North Fork at home on Tuesday, May 5 (4pm); on the road at Aspen Wednesday, May 6; and back at home versus Aspen on Saturday, May 9 (12pm).
Girls soccer
Senior night for the Rams booters on Tuesday resulted in a 2-0 loss to Vail Mountain, dropping the team’s win-loss-tie record to 3-7-3 overall and 2-3-2 in the 3A WSL. Roaring Fork played the Rangers scoreless through the first half, before giving up two goals in the second half.
Next: At home versus Mullen on Thursday (6pm), then on the road at Rifle on Saturday.
Track & Field
Roaring Fork’s track athletes were at the Olathe Invitational on April 23 for a tune-up meet ahead of the 3A League Championships, to be held at Coal Ridge High School on Thursday and Friday this week. At Olathe, several Rams athletes finished in the top eight of their respective events for team points, including:
Girls — junior Miley Stuart, fifth 1600-meter run (5 minutes, 59.67 seconds); junior Sadie Silcox, seventh 1600 (6:05.94); the girls 4x100 relay team of Silcox, juniors Karysa Close and Kenna Bure and sophomore Edythe Lozner, eighth (55.74).
Boys — sophomore Levi Friday, third 1600 (4:45.9), and seventh 800 meters (2:11.95); junior Quentin Galbraith, fifth 400-meter dash (54.24); junior Davey Noyola, sixth 300-meter hurdles (45.67).
Rams lacrosse seniors (left to right) Jordyn Miller, April Thomas, Ava Montemayor, Juliana Pittz, Lexi Bier Moebius, Hazel Barkerand Alivya Malcolm. Photo by Jana Miller
CALENDAR
THURSDAY, APRIL 30
TACT OPENING
To close out Autism Awareness Month, Ascendigo and Teaching the Autism Community Trades (TACT) celebrate the opening of the TACT headquarters in Carbondale (695 Buggy Circle) from 11am to 1pm. Details at tinyurl.com/ TACTCarbondale
DEMENTIA BEHAVIOR
Join the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program and KDNK for a summer of fun radio workshops Learn radio skills through hands-on activities and time on air
Par tial scholarships available For more information contact adele@azyep.org or visit azyep.org
COMMUNITY CLASSES
Spiritual Practices w/Bo Persiko
Explore the major traditions with readings and conversations.
Tuesdays, 6-7:30pm, 5/19-7/7
Intro to Pilates Reformer
A foundation class to build confidence and skill.
Tuesdays, 12-12:50pm, 5/19-7/14
Mat Pilates
Classic Pilates to strengthen and lengthen the entire body.
Tue/Thur, 11-11:50am, 5/26-8/13
Barre Pilates
High energy and low impact to sculpt your entire body.
Tue/Thur, 12-12:50pm, 5/26-8/13
IntercambioLanguage & Culture
All levels welcome in this fun, interactive Spanish/English class. Thursdays, 6-8pm, 5/28-7/2
Yogalates
Lengthen and strengthen, while improving posture, balance, stability, and mobility
Fridays, 9-10am, 5/29-8/14
Create Your Personal Sanctuary Space
Using art, music, nature and movement for well-being, resilience, and creative renewal.
Wednesdays, 9am-12pm, 6/3-7/1
Carbondale
FREE TALKS
Ute Culture Conversation with Skyler Lomahaftewa
Tuesday, 6-7:30pm, 5/19
Ute Exhibit on campus 5/15-5/29
US Constitution - Of, For, and By the People with Eric Heil
Wednesday, 6-8:30pm, 5/20
America 250 Exhibit 6/19-7/7
CREDIT ART CLASSES
Drawing Essentials* Mon-Thurs, 5/18-5/21, Aspen
Contemporary Critique* Thurs, 6-8:20pm, 5/21-7/9, Aspen Graphics for Apparel* Thurs, 5-7:20pm, 5/21-7/9, Aspen
Classical to Abstract Drawing* Mon-Thurs, 6/1-6/4, Aspen
*Call for info and registration. Open to community members. Senior discount applies.
Sopris Lodge hosts an interactive demonstration and talk exploring dementia behaviors and how caregivers can respond from 3:30 to 5pm. To register, call 970-678-0057.
FIRE & WATER
The Middle Colorado Watershed Council hosts the final event in its 2026 Fire & Water Speaker Series, “Firewise Futures: Readiness & Resilience in the West,” from 5:30 to 8pm at the Ute Theatre in Rifle. RSVP at midcowatershed.org/events
SOCIAL MEDIA SHOWDOWN
Learn the basics behind Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X at the Basalt Library from 5:30 to 6:30pm.
CIVICS BEE
Youthentity and the Carbondale Chamber host the first-ever Greater Roaring Fork Regional Civics Bee, where local middle schoolers will put their knowledge of government processes to the test, at the Carbondale Middle School from 6 to 8:30pm. RSVP at tinyurl.com/ RFVCivicsBee
‘THE SHEPHERD AND THE BEAR’
The Crystal Theatre screens “The Shepherd and the Bear” — “set high in the majestic French Pyrenees [the film] explores a conflict provoked by the reintroduction of brown bears in the midst of a traditional shepherding community” — at 6pm. Tickets at tinyurl.com/ ShepherdsandBears
FRIDAY, MAY 1
ADVENTURE PARK
The Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park reopens all of its rides for the summer season. Details at glenwoodcaverns.com
FAMILY BLOCK PARTY
May’s First Friday is for the whole family! The 16th annual Family Block Party kicks off at 4th and Main Street in Carbondale, featuring youth musical acts, family activities, a spirits and beer garden and more, from 4 to 8pm. Details at carbondalefamilyblockparty.com
BONEDALE FLEA
The Bonedale Flea outdoor market, comprised of local makers and vendors, coincides with the Family Block Party and will be set up on Main Street, between 2nd and 3rd, from 4:30 to 8:30pm. Details at carbondalearts.com/ upcoming-events
FIREBALL DROP
The Rotary Club of Carbondale hosts its annual Fireball Drop at 589 Main Street at 5pm. To enter for the chance to win the $5,000 grand prize, visit rotarycarbondale. org Proceeds benefit the Rotary Club and its nonprofit partners, Raising a Reader and Ascendigo Autism Services.
MARBLE WILDFIRE MEETING
Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District and the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley host a wildfire preparedness meeting at the Marble Fire Station at 6pm.
YOUTHZONE GALA
YouthZone hosts its 50th Anniversary Spring Gala, including music by The Confluents, a live auction and more, from 6 to 9pm at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. Tickets at youthzone.com/gala
HIGH COUNTRY SINFONIA
High Country Sinfonia performs chamber music at the Basalt Library tonight at 6:30pm, and Sunday, May 3, at the Aspen Chapel at 4pm. Natalie Spears will join in to play a few selections from her album, “Hymn of Wild Things.”
THUNDER RIVER THEATRE
Thunder River Theatre presents “For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday,” opening tonight and running Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm through May 17. Tickets at thunderrivertheatre.com
JONATHA BROOK
Singer-songwriter Jonatha Brook performs at TACAW at 8pm. Tickets at tacaw.org
SATURDAY, MAY 2
BONEDALE CLEANUP
The Town of Carbondale hosts its annual spring cleanup and recycling event from 8am to 2pm. General household purgings (think furniture and mattresses) go to the lot across 4th Street from Town Hall; electronic waste goes to the parking lot behind Town Hall; and tires can be taken to the dirt lot next to Thunder River Theatre. Fees apply, and vary depending on residency, proof of will be required for discounts. For details, visit tinyurl.com/ BonedaleCleanup Yard waste will not be accepted during this event.
GLENWOOD FIRE
The City of Glenwood Springs Fire Department (806 Cooper Ave) hosts an open house from 9am to 1:30pm.
MAYFAIRE
The Waldorf School hosts its annual Mayfaire celebration from 10am to 2pm. For a schedule, visit waldorfschoolrf. com/calendar
COMICS FESTIVAL
The Glenwood Springs Library hosts its fifth annual Comics Festival in celebration of Free Comic Book Day from noon to 4pm. Details at gcpld.org/ comics-festival
‘HAROLD & MAUDE’
Age-Friendly Carbondale, with support from AARP, presents a screening of “Harold and Maude” at the Crystal Theatre at 3pm. Senior and children’ tickets are discounted. Show up early (2:30pm) for swag and conversation. Tickets at zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/ harold-and-maude
SHAMANIC VISIONING
People seeking reconnection, steadiness and embodied presence are invited to “What Could Be: Shamanic Visioning for Clarity, Alignment & Next Chapter” guided by modern shaman and spiritual mentor Meghan Gilroy at True Nature from 4 to 6pm. Register at tinyurl.com/ShamanicVisioning
SUNDAY, MAY 3
POWERS ART CENTER CLOSURE
The Powers Art Center will be closed today through June 1 to prepare for its next exhibit, “Roy Lichtenstein: Beyond Reality,” opening June 2.
‘THE LONG CONVERSATION’
The Western Mosaic Fund and Carbondale Arts present “The Long Conversation” — “a 12-hour relay of community dialogue” — at the Crystal Theatre from 8am to 8pm.
A SPIRITUAL CENTER
A Spiritual Center, room 31 of the Third Street Center, hosts an open discussion guided by Golden Sha from 10 to 11am.
theSopris Stars
A youth newspaper powered by The Sopris Sun
1, Number 7 | April 30 - May 27, 2026
Step back to the ‘8�s with local garage bands
REVIEW BY PENELOPE
MATHIS
Sopris Stars Correspondent
Rock bands are popping up all over the valley again, bringing back the classic mix of skate, rock and rebellious culture. Garage bands capture the spirit of youth — making music with friends and filling neighborhoods with the raw energy only live rock can deliver. These humble beginnings often spark lifelong passions and even music careers.
The Sopris Stars recently interviewed the bands [SALT], Neurotica and Mid Sentence Silence (MSS), each of which brings its own unique sound to the local music scene.
[SALT] didn't start as a band, They started as kids at the local Rock and Roll Academy and simply refused to stop jamming. Eventually, their riffs, half-done songs and ideas sparked a dream that needed a name and a stage.
“We had jammed so much and written so many songs that we were itching to do something more, so we became [SALT],” the band said.
[SALT], I would say, is the easiest to get into, even if you don't listen to rock. Their songs lean into punk energy and are fast-paced and catchy. If moshing is your thing, then they have a show on May 18 in Colorado Springs and May 22 at Deathslope Festival in Grand Junction. And if you aren't willing to commute anywhere, you can support them by tuning in to Spotify or YouTube to hear their new release, “7 Deep,” or visiting their website, salttheband.com
If [SALT] is the gateway drug, Neurotica is the full plunge into clas-
sic metal — no soft edges, just riffs, drums and pure energy. Their history is classic garage band nostalgia.
“Noah, the guitarist, and Danniel, the drummer, friends since elementary school, decided to put their guitar interest to use in 2020,” a spokesperson for the band said.
It started as friends messing around with instruments, brothers joining in and then the lineup shifting (a lot), but the band finally landed where it is now. This includes the new addition of a singer: Cami.
Neurotica is heavy, technical and unapologetically loud. To find them, you can look on Instagram at @neurotica.official.band But if you want to get the full experience, they are playing on May 2 at the MayFest Battle of the Bands in Parachute, and on May 21 at Deathslope.
Where Neurotica leans into classic metal’s instrumental ferocity, MSS brings a grungier, deeper vocal style that sets them apart. They are also classic metal, with heavy songs and long riffs, but have softer, mellower songs, like “Kiss Me Goodnight.”
Their creative process is almost chaotic by design. It’s improvisational and messy; the kind of songwriting that feels like it’s pulled straight from the floor of a garage covered in cables and half- empty energy drinks.
“Matt will usually just start playing random notes, and everyone just follows along,” a band member said.
MSS is also gearing up for the MayFest on May 2, and a DIY anniversary show in Rifle on June 6. Plus, they’re working on a new single and a debut EP they hope to release by
IN THIS ISSUE
PROM: The history behind a night to remember
PAGE 2
Model UN delegates discuss big-world problems
PAGE 3
The Anglophone Crisis: A war swept under the rug of international attention
PAGE 4
the end of the year. Their first single, “Kiss Me Goodnight,” is already available everywhere. You can keep up with MSS by following their Instagram, @midsentencesilence
What makes these three bands special? It’s the way they represent different corners of the same musical world. [SALT] brings the fun. MSS brings the grit. Neurotica
brings the fire. Together, they form a snapshot of a valley where musicians are building something real, one show, one riff and one garage at a time.
If you want to hear the future of local rock, you don’t need to look far. It’s already here — loud, sweaty, and ready to blow the doors off their next venue.
Art by Penelope Mathis
Digging holes while singing
Our lives have no foreshadowing. We exist in a parable composed in messy handwriting and screenshots.
We have no editor.
No backspace.
We cannot do or be anything we please, and instead wander in the vague direction of our childhood aspirations.
Every parable has a moral — a lesson deemed worthy of our attention.
But what about stories with no foreseeable end? What about our stories — the ones we are literally in right now? What's the moral of the story we tell ourselves about who we want to be?
OPINION
If a little girl decides that when she is grown she would like to fly through outer space, does her aspiration orbit around determination or is it that she is drawn to scale and weightlessness? Maybe the weight of the world is already crushing her a little, and she sees a way out. She dreams of an adulthood where she can witness infinity and float within it without being compressed. Maybe she will find it in astrophysics. Or maybe in art or music or architecture.
By Vivienne Shapiro
That child who wore tiaras and decorated her room with DIY canopies? It wasn't about the dress, nor even the extravagance or privilege. Perhaps she simply wished to be chosen. Perhaps she longed for the certainty that someday the world would look at her and really see her “for the first time in forever” — shoutout, Elsa.
I am captured by the particularity of what young kids want to be when they grow up. It's a specificity many of us wish we had now, sitting down to plan the rest of our lives all in the span of third period. Not “something creative,” or “something that pays well,” but a firefighter, a veterinarian, Taylor Swift.
Why is it that we are so specific when we are so young — our eyes clear enough to be a metaphor — yet so vague by the ninth grade? How is it that at the age of 6, I was so sure I would be a dirt princess when I grew up, yet, now, I’m not even sure which classes to sign up for next semester?
Fashion Alert
At 6, “impossible” has yet to dawn on you. Everything you desire is formed from things you’ve seen. For me, I took two things I loved and mashed them into my own invention. Dirt cakes and Elsa’s castle seemed so contrary, it scared me. So I mashed them together into a dirt castle in which I ruled.
My dream was pure because it existed long before the noise. The all encapsulating murmur of the outside world. Guidance counselors, teachers, parents … they can take that clarity from you. It’s not intentional, of course. They’re not trying to talk you out of it, but rather teaching you to think critically until it gets to a point when you talk yourself out of what previously felt true. I became adept at questioning everything in a world often void of answers, living a thousand lives and thinking a thousand things all at once.
Was I flawed when I was so sure? Or am I flawed now? Is the mistake in the questions or in the lack of answers?
But the kids who didn’t become what they said they would most certainly didn’t lose their way or fall short. And the ideas they had to start with were never imperfect. They simply became mistranslated. Tangled in the webs of reality and “growing up.”
It’s the difference between determinedly digging holes to find your proverbial “song,” versus singing while you do it. Instead of locking in on an objective and molding yourself toward it, experiment along the way, mess around and see what else reveals itself. Translating the dreams at age 6 into our goals now takes time, and it most certainly takes longer than third period.
Perchance that girl who yearned for weightlessness is sitting in the dark writing this column. Finding weightlessness in words. A craft as raw as her being, but so much more malleable. A place in which all her words are her own but the ability to rephrase is promised. Perhaps her goal was never to reach the stars, but to dig for them in the ground and mold them to her liking.
Our dreams shape shift, but our hunger is perpetual.
Breaking the bank to slay at prom
The history behind a night to remember
GISELLE "GIGI" RASCON
Sopris Stars Columnist
“… Today’s proms are big business: According to a 2015 Visa survey, the average cost of prom was $919 per person, which includes everything from attire and flowers to dinner, tickets, limo services, photography and after parties, as well as the phenomenon of ‘promposals.’ The survey found that American households spent an average of $324 alone on this practice of making elaborate, over-the-top invitations to the dance,” reads a statement from history.com on the evolution of proms, their origin and overall history. What does that look like now — hardly a decade later? With inflation and prom continuing to be a carefully curated event for upperclassmen in high school, those numbers have likely increased. And with fashion evolving rapidly, how has that aspect of prom flourished?
Like many lavish happenings, prom has always been
a reflection of the style at a given time. The ‘80s embraced puffy princess sleeves and layers of colorful tulle cut to hit either right at the knee caps or just above the ankles. The 2000’s offered extraordinarily bright colors with a hint — or a splash — of animal print (most likely zebra) and a hefty amount of sequins. Today, prom dresses have a more Hollywood-inspired touch, featuring corseted v-tops and sleek satin fabrics. Rather than dresses being cut short like past trends, the modern gowns we girls are now attracted to lean towards “must have” elements, like a more tailored silhouette that accentuates the body for a contoured look, with a high slit on one leg. Meanwhile, the boys’ biggest challenge tends to be far simpler: coordinating a tie to match the color of their date’s dress, and constructing an extravagant invitation that makes you say “yes” without having to think about it.
We've moved on from playful Barbie-doll-like colored dresses to gowns that feel more refined and mature. It's as if we’ve begun to slowly let go of the idea of enjoying our youth in the simplest, most playful ways, which once characterized our lives in some manner. But maybe that's also a factor that makes prom what it is, marking the closing chapter of adolescence and serving as a rite of passage towards adulthood and independence as we disperse into college or directly into an occupation.
In the long run, the evolution of prom fashion mirrors the expansion of prom itself and its reasoning behind it. As the event has grown more elaborate and expensive, it has also become a highlighting event for personal style in some ways and cultural influence in others.
Regardless of whether it was the playful, over-thetop details of the ‘80s, the bold factors of the 2000s or today’s sleek Hollywood glamour, each generation has
the Sopris Stars
Youth Editor Lou Gall lou@soprissun.com
Anna Sophia Brown anna@soprissun.com
Arthur Cherith arthur@soprissun.com
Hana Creyts hana@soprissun.com
Aurora Egan aurora@soprissun.com
Kate Ott katelynn@soprissun.com
Giselle “Gigi” Rascon giselle@soprissun.com
Vivienne Shapiro vivienne@soprissun.com
Youth Journalism Director
James Steindler james@soprissun.com
Youth Journalism Instructor
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale
Graphic Designer
Terri Ritchie
The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with a mission to inform, inspire and build community by fostering diverse and independent journalism. Donations are fully tax deductible. The Sopris Stars is made possible thanks to The Sopris Sun.
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left its distin guished mark on this antic ipated night in terms of fashion.
prom isn't just about the dresses of the decade or the trends that make it what it is. While in many ways prom has shifted in regards to uniforms, its memory-making purpose remains. This year, I hope you reminded yourself of what
awaits you as we finish this hell (or heaven, if you were lucky enough) of a journey, and of the promises that await us as we transition into this new chapter.
Art by Giselle "Gigi" Rascon
The 3Rs: An ongoing community discussion on sex education in schools
ANNA SOPHIA BROWN Sopris Stars Correspondant
Roaring Fork School District’s (RFSD) implemented sex education curriculum has recently sparked controversy.
For the past three months, tensions have continued to heighten among parents and community members as they attend school board meetings, write public comments and engage online, offering support or disdain for the K-12 sexual education program adopted three years ago. Community members in Feb. 25, March 18 and April 15 school board meetings claimed the 3Rs curriculum — Rights, Respect, Responsibility — was developmentally inappropriate and politically charged.
“Unfortunately, the ways in which this board, this superintendent and the senior leadership team has handled the valid and heartfelt concerns regarding content in the sex education curriculum — the lack of transparency with its introduction and the opt-out process and the dismissive and patronizing manner that you have treated those with concerns — has eroded all public trust in the RFSD,” Jamie Goscha, a parent with two children previously in district schools, said in March.
After several meetings with dissenters, the board has not announced whether they will be maintaining or discarding the curriculum. They did, however, make the curriculum more accessible on their website.
The 3Rs curriculum includes lessons for elementary grades that prioritize healthy relationships and boundaries, “good touch” and “bad touch,” reproductive anatomy and consent; then, in later grades, safe sexual protection methods, STD and STI prevention, birth control, reproduction, sexual assault and abuse information, sexual orientation and
ly abused or assaulted. The committee studied Colorado’s Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education requirements.
The mission of Colorado's Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education is to provide instruction based on scientific evidence that is appropriate to the age and developmental level of young people. This curriculum includes “anatomy,
school,” Cole said. “So that is why we ultimately landed on this set of lessons to recommend and require. I would say that at the same time, we recognized this is controversial, and a lot of families are not okay with us teaching their kids this, and so we wanted to make sure that we had an opt-out process that felt clear and transparent.”
“SEX EDUCATION, AND WHETHER IT BELONGS IN SCHOOLS, CAN BE A VERY CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC ... I THINK IT REALLY COMES UP AGAINST FAMILIES' VALUES, RELIGIOUS VALUES AND WHAT WE THINK THE PURPOSE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IS."
responsible technology usage.
The approved, required and suggested lessons are available on the RFSD website.
“Sex education, and whether it belongs in schools, can be a very controversial topic,”
Dr. Anna Cole, the district’s superintendent, said. “I think it really comes up against families' values, religious values and what we think the purpose of public education is.”
Cole explained that she was a key actor in the adoption of the 3Rs curriculum. The school board assembled a committee of current health educators, school nurses, nurses and pediatric specialists from Mountain Valley Health Center, as well as a representative from Riverbridge Regional Center — a nonprofit that supports children who have been sexual-
- Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole
puberty and adolescent development, healthy relationships and consent, sexual orientation and gender identity, reproduction and sexually transmitted infections [and] safety.”
Cole explained that not all districts are required to teach sexual education, but if they do, they must incorporate these aspects.
Cole said the goals of the committee were children’s safety, finding a curriculum that was available in English and Spanish and adhering to research on best practices preventing child sexual abuse and Colorado’s guidelines.
“The leading ‘why’ is that research tells us that kids who understand their own bodies and what is safe and unsafe are going to be better protected and better able to thrive in
Several parents, including some who are a part of a parents’ rights activist group, claim there is not enough transparency and that the curriculum is inappropriate for the younger age group. After he found information about the health curriculum in his kindergarten son's take-home folder, Tanner Gianinetti, a local parent and fourth-generation Carbondale rancher, had serious concerns about sex education in RFSD, which he outlined in a YouTube video posted by Elevation Lifestyle Network titled “Removing Broader Gender Theory Radicalized Health Curriculum at Roaring Fork School District RE-1.” He said the anatomical terminology was really “that of a high school biological textbook.”
In Gianinetti social media posts and public comments, he and other community members have voiced their concerns that the curriculum is developmentally inappropriate. Gianinetti, Amelia Eshelman and others cited a second-grade lesson titled “Understanding our Bodies.”
“The vagina has great elasticity, and can adjust to the size of a penis or allow a fully developed fetus to pass from the uterus out of the body,” Eshelmen quoted from the lesson. “It’s sickening.” She also emphasized her Christian faith and how deeply she cares about protecting children from corruption.
Cole, however, maintains that the proper information is being introduced at the right time.
“National and state statistics show that young children can often demonstrate inappropriate sexualized behavior as young as preschool and kindergarten,” she said. “With smartphones, children are accessing pornography at very young ages. And we also know that sexual assault is real. Teen relationships often deal with sexual violence and sexual assault … Those are national trends, and we are absolutely not immune to those things here in the Valley.”
Hattie Johnson submitted an online public comment, stating, “When I first read through the lesson plans shared by the school, I was
continued on page 4
Model UN delegates discuss big-world problems
Sopris Stars Correspondent
In April, Model United Nations was hosted at Roaring Fork High School, with students from neighboring Colorado Rocky Mountain School also participating. In this session, students — or delegates, rather — debated as part of the simulated Disarmament and International Security Council. Each delegate represented a different country around the world.
The topic of debate was “Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI),” which is particularly relevant in the world today. The delegates placed emphasis on the role of AI and its possible impacts on warfare, military intelligence and international relations.
The spread of misinformation, and the fact that AI can be used for the wrong reasons, was discussed among the representatives. The most common argument, however, was the possible impact of AI in warfare, mil-
itary intelligence and the creation of weapons — such as missiles. Another component of this conversation was that only some countries have access to such advanced military technology.
The theme of accountability and AI showed up multiple times during the debate. If the algorithm makes a mistake, who is held responsible for its actions?
“If no one is accountable, no one is safe,” a student representing Iran stated. At the end of the session, solutions to this problem included: ensuring human input in deciding how AI should be used by each delegate (as proposed by the Canadian delegate); that every country deserves the right to access this technology that should only be used for defensive purposes; and regulating AI as a weapon (as proposed the delegate for Iran).
A common theme was that AI can intensify international warfare and make mistakes, for which no one may
take responsibility, leading to possibly increased violence.
“Humans must remain the final
said.
HANA CREYTS
decision makers in the use of AI in warfare,” the student representing Canada
Students convene for a Model UN debate at Roaring Fork High School. Photo by Hana Creyts
The Anglophone Crisis:
A war swept under the rug of international attention
AURORA EGAN
Sopris Stars Correspondent
The Anglophone Crisis, a war in Cameroon that has been escalating for the past 10 years, has gone vastly under-reported, earning little attention from international media.
What started as protests against the Cameroonian government has quickly developed into an official conflict.
Yinyu Divine Mburi, a citizen and lawyer of Cameroon and a past resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, shared his and others' personal experiences and grievances with the Anglophone Crisis.
Beginning in October 2016, Anglophone (the English-speaking minority of Cameroon) students, teachers and lawyers began protests against the Francophone (French-speaking) government, with Mburi taking part in the first day of protests.
Anglophone citizens believed the government was marginalizing them by forcing the French language in schools and civil law in Anglophone courts, in addition to the absence of proper care across English-speaking areas in Cameroon.
“Another glaring impact of marginalization is the lack of quality basic social amenities in the English part of the country,” Mburi said, “The regime had almost abandoned Anglophones to themselves.”
As an Anglophone Cameroonian, Mburi and others have also been forced to take University subjects in full French, even though they had been brought up speaking English. Often, Mburi has been refused service at public offices because of the language difference, being told to “go and speak your dialect in your place or village.”
Mburi also stated that the government has attempted to assimilate the French language into English-speaking schools and courts. In these classrooms, Anglophone students have received half-baked and incorrect information, Mburi said.
Mburi continued, saying that the protesters desired to solve this dilemma peacefully, and in response, the government began severe repression and crackdowns, such as sending troops and soldiers into towns.
During these crackdowns on civilian populations, Mburi saw violent acts on civilians, such as wanton killings, burning of villages and looting.
The government continued to employ excessive force by mass-arresting protesters, classifying them as terrorist groups and shutting off the internet to stop the spread of information. A blackout in 2017 in an Anglophone region, for example, lasted for months.
The crisis quickly continued to escalate. Because of the government crackdowns, many Anglophones have resorted to violence, forming separatist groups such as the Ambazonia Defense Forces, which came out of the Ambazonia Governing Council.
Anglophone protesters asserted their desire for independence from the French-dominated regime as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. Citizens began strikes and boycotts, continued to protest and armed separatist groups began to fight for independence. In 2017, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia was self-declared.
In December 2017, the Cameroon government officially declared war on the separatists.
Since the crisis began, Mburi has
Letters to the Editor
CORRECTION: The Sopris Stars apologize for the missing boxes in last month's crossword puzzle. Yes, Cleopatra, the "Baddie from Egypt," is a nine-letter word.
Happy belated
Happy belated birthday to Mabel Shapiro (April 5).
Vivienne Shapiro
Carbondale
Keep going!
Great job on your recent publication. My brother, William, and I read it while we were on the road. We also had a ton of fun doing the “Ides of March” crossword! Great theme! Great clues! I must admit that we did some googling when the answers we thought we knew didn’t fit in the boxes. This was truly a hilarious experience! Thank you! But a note… our dad always recommended reading our writing before submitting it. I think the same idea can be applied to puzzles. Play before sharing! Or were y’all just messing with us?! Seriously, keep going! We love it!
Alice Steindler Crystal Valley
observed millions of internally and externally displaced Cameroonians. Mburi and his family have been internally displaced, being forced to leave their home and move to another town. With this displacement, Mburi said that his family had to adapt to a whole new lifestyle. Notably, they struggled financially to find a place to rent and find food, as Mburi said that everything in Cameroon is growing more expensive. They also struggled with switching school lessons from English to French in this new town.
Mburi described how many parts of Anglophone Cameroon, including his own village, became cut off due to armed separatist fighters and military checkpoints. Because of which, Mburi struggled to transport his mother back to his village for burial, after she passed away in a medical facility. He still faces difficulty just to return to place flowers at her grave.
Mburi added that the culture in Cameroon has been affected by the crisis, with people having to leave home also having to abandon cultural traditions.
When asked why he believes the Anglophone Crisis has been so under-reported, Mburi expressed his frustration and shock at the lack of me-
GENDER
from page 3
surprised to see this was subject matter appropriate for kindergarten. I began searching for more information on the age appropriateness of anatomical lessons and found sources such as the American Association of Pediatricians and the National Children’s Hospital citing the benefits of understanding anatomically correct language for genitalia as a protection against sexual abuse. Knowledge of correct terms portrays a level of education to abusers, and can help in abuse reporting by allowing children to be clear in what happened to them.”
Gender theory
Some believe that if the school board is trying to teach scientific anatomy and sex, it should be binary based.
“It was an extremely deceptive curriculum that actually introduced into this broader gender theory [and] drove home non-binary for kindergarten-aged kids,” Gianinetti said in the YouTube video.
Ashley Stahl, a mother of an RFSD student and the executive director of PFLAG Roaring Fork Valley, supported the 3Rs curriculum when it was first considered and regularly visits Gender & Sexuality Alliance school clubs throughout the Valley. She said that several young queer people have told her that this is the first time a sex-ed curriculum has acknowledged them.
dia coverage, along with concerns that the government might be lobbying the international media to keep it quiet.
Mburi also said that he believes that the international community has little concern for Cameroon as a whole.
“It would appear some international bodies and sponsors and lobby groups, and even governments, do not have a direct interest in Cameroon and in the English-speaking [Cameroonians],” Mburi said.
As a former resident of the Roaring Fork Valley, Mburi believes that although the cultures of the two places are drastically different, the people are the same, with good hearts and intentions. The real problem in both areas is the government, Mbrui said.
Mburi encouraged residents in the Roaring Fork Valley to create awareness and urge members of Congress to use their influence for aid. Being a lawyer, Mburi said that financial support cannot be ignored for many who cannot afford legal fees, as he attends court to help vulnerable detainees, some of whom were arrested at street protests.
“We have to make it known,” he said. “But I pray that we don’t have to die in millions before the world knows. I don’t want people to die just for that purpose.”
“Not celebrated them, not centered them, just acknowledged that they are real,” she said during the March 18 school board meeting. “That’s how low the bar was before 2023.”
Academic standing
At the same meeting, Susan Tribble, another community member, addressed the board and stated that faulty leadership and the adoption of this curriculum is to blame for low test scores and decreasing enrollment.
“The truth is, you are no longer focused on creating a well-educated society,” Tribble said. “Your curriculum choices appear more about dumbing down our children and sexually stimulating them at the earliest age possible than it is about educating them on the fundamentals.”
However, according to the Keystone Policy Center, RFSD proficiency rates in literacy and math match, or are higher than, Colorado’s public school averages. National proficiency averages plummeted after the pandemic, and across Colorado the gap between English learners and first-language speakers persists.
“We need to improve overall student academic achievements, but student outcomes really has nothing to do with the 3Rs.” Cole said “It’s a pretty small part of a student’s life and our academic program.”
Yinyu Mburi, holding the banner on the right, takes part in a 2016 protest in Cameroon. Courtesy photo
The No-Swipe Social is back, this time at Carbondale Beer Works on May 2 at 7:30pm, with the theme “I have nowhere to wear this.” So pull that bold piece of attire out of the closet that’s never seen the light of day, stretch those social muscles and join in on some fun, zeropressure games designed to get people off the apps and meeting in person. The last event sold out, so get your ticket in advance at tinyurl.com/no-swipe-social Photo of the inaugural No-Swipe Social at the Crystal Theatre by Mark Burrows
MAT HAYS ART OPENING
As part of its TRTC Spotlight Series, Thunder River Theatre hosts an opening reception for an exhibit by local artist Matt Hays from 11:30am to 1:30pm. The event is free and open to all. The exhibit will be on display through May 17.
SPRING MARKET
Stop by the Spring Market, consisting of 35 local vendors and wellness practitioners, on the patio of TACAW today from noon to 5pm.
‘BELIEVING IN BEAUTY’
Mateo Sandate and the Heartstrings celebrate their new album, “Believing in Beauty,” with a concert at the Carbondale Library at 2pm.
SONGKEEPERS
The SongKeepers — caretakers of ancient melodies and living prayers — invite folks for an immersive experience through music at the Third Street Center from 3 to 5pm. For details and tickets visit tinyurl.com/SongkeepersCarbondale All ages and voices are welcome.
MONDAY, MAY 4
PREP FOR THE PARADE
Head on over to the Carbondale Library at 3:30pm to make a costume for the upcoming Parade of Species on Dandelion Day (May 9). All ages are welcome, but anyone under 8 should be accompanied by an adult.
STAR WAR IV
The Crystal Theatre screens “Star Wars IV: A New Hope” at 7pm. May the Fourth be with you.
TUESDAY, MAY 5
DRAWING CLUB
The Roaring Fork Drawing Club gets steamy at the Vapor Caves in Glenwood Springs at 6:30pm.
AL-ANON
An-Alanon Family Group meets upstairs of the Orchard Church in Carbondale every Tuesday at 7pm. For details, call 970-319-3555.
‘THE POLLINATORS’
The Carbondale Library screens “The Pollinators,” a documentary about migratory beekeepers and the flaws of the agricultural system, at the Crystal Theatre at 7pm. The show is free.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
BEE FRIENDLY
Bee Friendly Carbondale offers tips for creating a native plant garden to support local pollinators at the Carbondale Library at 5:30pm.
‘PROACTIVE & PREPARED’
The Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork and Aspen Public Radio host “Proactive & Prepared: Wildfire in the Roaring Fork Valley” tonight at 5pm at TACAW. This event is sold out.
THURSDAY, MAY 7
ENTRE DOS MUNDOS
Kids, 10-13, are invited to the Carbondale Library to explore new stories and adventures in Spanish every first Thursday of the month at 3:30pm. To sign up, stop by or call the library at 970-963-2889.
CLAY CENTER MIXER
The Carbondale Clay Center hosts a community mixer, bringing people together while filling them in about its capital campaign, at Sprazzo from 5:30 to 7:30pm.
MOUNTAIN BIKE FILMS
The Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association brings the Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour to the Third Street Center from 6 to 9pm. Tickets at tinyurl.com/ RitualRFMBA
‘COMMON WATERS’
American Whitewater and the Roaring Fork Kayaking Club present “Common Waters,” a film about stream access, at 7pm at the Crystal Theatre, followed by a panel discussion regarding legislation in Colorado that would ensure lawful river passage. Tickets at tinyurl.com/ commonwaters-crystal
FRIDAY, MAY 8
CRYSTAL THEATRE
The Crystal Theatre screens “The Drama” at 7pm tonight, tomorrow and Monday. Catch a captioned showing at 5pm on Sunday.
FLY FISHING FILM
The Fly Fishing Film Tour — “the original, largest, and most celebrated fly fishing film event of its kind” — comes to TACAW, preceded with a pop up art show by Cassidy Wiley and followed by a post-show panel discussion on river health, at 7:30pm. Tickets at tacaw.org
SATURDAY, MAY 9
DANDELION DAY
The 28th annual Dandelion Day kicks off in Carbondale with the Parade of Species down Main Street at 10am, followed by a day in Sopris Park. Lakota hiphop artist Nataani Means, the son of Russell Means, will offer an opening prayer and later perform at 12:30pm. KDNK’s beer garden will be open from noon to 5pm. For a detailed list of dandy happenings, visit carbondale. com/events
SongKeepers reimagines the healing powers of sound in Carbondale
MYKI JONES
Arts Correspondent
On Sunday, May 3, at the Third Street Center from 3 to 5pm, three Roaring Fork local women from different communal backgrounds and varying degrees of involvement in music will join together, with an open invitation to the greater community, for an intentional time of immersive song, movement, and connection with a new SongKeepers Circle.
The event will be led by music educator, musical artist, and author Lisa Dancing-Light who began hosting these gatherings last year after taking suggestions from a student who expressed a desire to bring people together and empower their voices.
“This type of gathering allows us to connect on a more intimate spiritual level to regulate and recalibrate our nervous systems and entrain with each other,” Dancing-Light said. “It is a very ancient cultural and tribal practice. The main purpose of ancient music through history was to create community by bringing people together and for healing.”
Dancing-Light’s career as a musician has spanned over four decades. Throughout this journey, which she said began at the age of three, she has performed with the Aspen Choral Society, been involved in many band projects and offered music lessons to people of all ages and demographics, primarily in piano and vocal training. Through these events, she incorporates traditional sounds rooted in Kitran mantras, Sanskrit, Native American-inspired songs and even modern science — to foster a healing environment.
“My entire life has been dedicated to music; sharing and studying as a student, researcher, educator, healer, composer, and performer,” Dancing-Light said. “Singing in groups in ancient times was intended to heal and bring people together. By listening to each other and blending
our voices, we create a Morphogenetic Field that connects us and fosters deep resonance.”
She added: “This resonance then [creates] a shift in the environment and hopefully humanity. This is sciencebased through Albert Einstein’s term of “Spooky Action” at a distance, also known as Quantum Entanglement.”
Her collaborators, Mindy Arbuckle and Pam Rosenthal, aka Bonte Lane, began attending Dancing-Light’s SongKeeper Circles, where she said the three of them developed a deep connection with one another.
Rosenthal, a musician with a long-standing and iconic presence in the Roaring Fork Valley, felt drawn to this since it aligned with her past of hosting communal music circles. She expressed excitement in working with both Arbuckle and Dancing-Light in a familiar format, which she hopes to foster for those in attendance.
“I hope to attract people who do not see themselves as singers and to create a safe and inviting container for them to explore their voice and feel the healing power of music,” Rosenthal said. “Community is so important and something we have lost in modern times. Connection through community music making brings people together regardless of their backgrounds, offering a space to create relationships that might not otherwise come to be.”
Arbuckle, who is known in the community for her work in spiritual mentorship, looks forward to helping attendees connect with themselves by getting in touch with elements of nature through invoking the parts of that which are alive within all of us.
“The elements, earth, air, water, fire, and ether make up everything, and when we invoke the elements through song, then we are invoking this elemental, universal power within each of us,” Arbuckle said. “We’re not only joining our voices, but we’re doing so in intentional ways where we’re bringing in nature.”
Those in attendance can anticipate gently arriving
into themselves and their community members through grounding exercises such as guided breathing and meditation led by crystal sound bowls, before moving into guided group singing. They are encouraged to come as they are.
For more information, or to contribute to future events, visit bontelane.com, lisadancinglight.com or mindyarbuckle.com
Lisa Dancing-Light (left), Mindy Arbuckle (center) and Pam Rosenthal (right) look forward to collaborating on the upcoming SongKeepers event at The Third Street Center on May 3, where they will facilitate communal connection and healing through guided songs, meditation and other activities.
first published work. Encouraged by The Sopris Sun, she wrote about her trip to Brazil via a column titled “Notes From Brazil.”
Illene Pevec, a local author and former Sopris Sun correspondent, is Brown’s grandmother. Pevec said Brown has successfully used her experiences in high school to develop a strong writing capacity and that “she is very impressed with everything” that Brown writes.
Pevec also praised her granddaughter for receiving the fullride scholarship.
“I’m a very proud grandmother,” she said. “She really deserves it because she’s worked so hard.”
With Roaring Fork High School graduation slated for late May, just this past week Brown told The Sopris Sun that she’s busy planning her graduation party, playing senior assassin, baking, doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and climbing the Narrows near Carbondale with her parents. Meanwhile, she closes out her senior year as president of the environmental club and Rotary Exchange students; captain of speech and debate, as well as Model United Nations. Brown was student council class president for two years before becoming its PR manager, and she participates in Youth in Nature through Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers.
Brown still writes for The Sopris Sun.
“I think I want to do too many things,” she joked.
PAST WINNERS
Recent Boettcher Scholarship winners from high schools in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Basalt include:
2025: Amanda Madden, Glenwood Springs High School
2024: Eli Cohen and Ricardo Zavala, Roaring Fork High School
Sarah Blazier, Basalt High School
2022: Willa Schendler, Colorado Rocky Mountain School
2019: Solana Teitler, Roaring Fork High School
Medina’s film without permission. Medina was unable to provide comment for this story.
The film suggests that Polis released wolves on private and state lands to avoid an environmental review required for federal lands projects by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). “Something of this nature, to me, deserves and demands that kind of environmental review, which is what NEPA is all about,” said Jarman. “[Polis] wanted to push it much more aggressively, and sort of NEPA be damned and here we are.”
CPW spokesperson Luke Perkins told The Sopris Sun in an email that CPW worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on a 10(j) rule, which changed the status of the collared wolves to allow management flexibility. The rule went into effect before the wolves were released.
“As the establishment/implementation of the 10j rule was a federal rule-making action led by the USFWS, it required an environmental impact statement (EIS). This EIS was prepared in accordance with NEPA,” he wrote. Perkins said the agency was not approached to participate in the film.
Mike Cerveny and Brad Day, who lease cattle from the Lost Marbles Ranch in Pitkin County and oversee haying operations there, spoke for the ranching
CARBONDALE
from page 9
be considered together,” the document from Town staff states, adding “At this time, maintaining defensible green space and maintaining high fuel moisture content in living vegetation is the appropriate course of action while water is available.”
Getting people off the road
The Carbondale Trustees on Tuesday, April 28, supported initiatives proposed by the Bike, Pedestrian, and Trails Commission to update the Town’s
industry. It is not apparent exactly where Cerveny and Day were filmed but the owners of Lost Marbles Ranch told The Sopris Sun that they were not aware of the film.
Cerveny and Day say that livestock producers are not reimbursed enough for animals killed by wolves. CPW’s Wolf Restoration and Recovery Plan offers fair market value up to $15,000 per animal and compensates ranchers for veterinary expenses related to wolf predation. Grand County ranchers who received over $400,000 in livestock predation reimbursements in 2024 and 2025, including indirect losses, did not appear in the film.
A bigger question that has not yet found an answer is why were Jankovsky, Will and Jarman chosen to be the only county officials in the film? The county is presented as a sort of epicenter of wolf problems because it was within the 2024 targeted release area. But even though wolves have traveled through, they have never been released directly into the county nor do CPW reports show confirmed wolf kills in the county.
The Sopris Sun reached out to county officials but did not get a response to that question. Will said that ASL approached the county and they were not paid to be in the film.
priority “multi-modal corridors” — prioritizing multi-modal transport like biking and walking — to include River Valley Ranch Road to Crystal Bridge Drive. They also supported adding 7th Street between Main Street and Sopris Avenue, eliminating 3rd Street and adding the promenade connecting the Rio Grande Trail with Main Street.
Trustees, too, agreed to provide $4,000 to the commission’s Public Relations campaigns to market non-vehicle forms of transit and supported the commission’s initiative to add signage around town
continued on page 23
The toll of not dreaming OPINION
Natalia Snider is a certified dream practitioner living in Carbondale. She works with people’s dreams and imaginations to facilitate self-healing. Every month, she will analyze someone’s dream in The Sopris Sun. Anyone can submit a dream for personal analysis or inclusion in this column by visiting www.dreamhealings.com
Dream
I haven’t had any dreams in a while, because I’ve been using THC as a sleep aid a lot lately. Finally I had a dream one night, when I didn’t partake before bed, and it was horrifying. I dreamt that my whole family and I were at a resort and I got swept away in this huge tidal wave flood. I felt super anxious and fearful trying to save myself and everyone else from the water. And the most terrifying part was the water, because I don’t know how to swim. I was sure I would die but I woke up before that happened. Since then, all I’m having is nightmares when I do have dreams and I’m wondering why.
Interpretation
DREAM WELL
By Natalia Snider
Cannabis is such an interesting sleep aid because the sleeper will catch up on deep sleep yet simultaneously deprive themselves of another kind of sleep that is just as necessary. Rapid eye movement, or REM, is the stage of sleep that happens right after deep sleep in a normal sleep cycle and is the stage of sleep where we have the majority of our dreams. The use of cannabis before bed will push the sleeper too quickly past REM, cycling them back into deep sleep for longer periods of time. This will leave the sleeper feeling rested, but with a haunting forgetfulness of their dream realm. Although we don’t have scientific answers as to why we need to dream, we see the repercussions,
proving its necessity, when dream flood happens. Dream flood is a high impact of dreams compressed into the small REM stage in an effort to catch up on lost dream time. A dream flood is what you are experiencing here, but let me dive into the specifics of your dream to better explain. Your dream, and subsequent nightmares, indicate that when you weren’t dreaming you were suppressing and compounding the necessary release of unconscious stored emotions. This is evident from the water in your dream representing the emotional body. Your tidal wave is metaphorically a dream flood happening of these stored emotions. The significance of your family is primarily that the interactions with these people, singularly or as a whole, are where these unconscious emotions are stemming from. Let me pause here and define what I mean by unconscious emotions: emotions that are exchanged or felt on a subtle level, usually attached to body language cues and therefore just as subliminal. We often are not aware we have picked up these emotional energies from someone or something and store them unconsciously as our own. These then get released in our dreams, as we are not conscious enough of them to release them when we are awake. So what I am saying is that you have picked up and stored a lot of emotions unconsciously from
continued on page 19
April’s hustle
April has been a hustle — a reflection of Mars’ entry in Aries on April 9. Mars in Aries is invigorating, go-getting, and spontaneous without consequence. Meeting two outer planets on April 12 and 19, Mars has overcome Neptune’s diffusing tendencies and the decelerating ways of Saturn. In the process, something new has been born. The Aries’ New Moon on April 17 can give you a good clue as to what shifted if it’s not already obvious.
Mars remains in the sign of the Ram until May 17, but with the Sun’s movement into Taurus on April 20, grounded earth energy is once again revived. With Venus rulership, Taurus is the loveliness of spring bloom, returning us to the simple, savory parts of life. Balance between the energies of Aries & Taurus, the frenetic and steadfast, is an access point for us to engage now with the cosmos.
OPINION
COSMIC CHATTER
By Susanna Kitchen
On April 25, Venus ushered Uranus out of Taurus for the final time into the sign of Gemini. Uranus had been in Taurus since 2018, both innovating and disrupting the necessities of life. We’ve experienced a number of shifts since then — the rise of digital currency, popularized lab grown and hydroponic foods, supply chain disruptions and gene editing technologies to name a few. What was “normal” in 2018 is far from it these days. I, for one, am ecstatic to have a little bit less unpredictability in the local, environmental parts of my life, but I’d be naive to imply Uranus in Gemini will be less powerful in the change it affects.
From now through 2033, Uranus’ movement through Gemini will revolutionize communication, learning, transportation and community. I cannot fail to mention that each Uranus in Gemini also correlates to wartime for the United States. Mainstream historians have noticed this pattern too, repeating every 84 years. There is an argument that the U.S. has been at war in some capacity almost constantly throughout the 20th century. This is not incorrect. How we can differentiate Uranus’ time in Gemini is by the pattern of large-scale warfare that redefines American national identity and the U.S.’ function on the global stage. From present time backwards, the pattern is seen with the U.S.’ entry into WWII, the Civil War and the Revolutionary War. What affects the nation also affects its working class, as we can see currently in rising fuel prices and poor public opinion.
The Aries’ New Moon on April 17 can give you a good clue as to what shifted if it’s not already obvious!
Uranus’ best expressions are epiphany and breakthrough. Leaning into these positive expressions, I believe, can help us shape the outcomes of conflict. Using Gemini qualities to guide us, through radical community building and increasing understanding of others’ perspectives we can manifest a more balanced, equitable future. Personally, I will die on this hill.
Uranus remains in Gemini until 2033, so we have a long time to bring new ideas, ways of relating and innovations into the Gemini part of our lives. A few questions to ponder — How can you be more curious in community? How can you reacquaint with and use the imagination you had as a child? Lastly, what do you think of pollinator insects, and how is your life related to these beings? Gemini gets a bad reputation for being flighty, shallow, or two-faced, but the truth behind these judgments is of openness and naive curiosity towards unique perspectives. Look to the Sagittarius Full Moon on May 31 and the New Moon in Gemini on June 14 for an opportunity to engage with this new energy.
Among so much activity, there is a lovely quality of time from May 18 to June 12 when Venus and Jupiter pair up in Cancer. Cancer is the womb, the divine feminine. Here the benefics are deeply concerned with love and care and connection. Find time to Mother yourself. There will be plenty of wounds to lick and a vast internal world to attend to. Sink into good care practices during this time. Venus and Jupiter meet each other at 25° Cancer on June 9, the sweetest of all days this year. Plan a picnic, a bath, or anything that reconnects you with your body and the body of Nature. The Moon will be in Aries, so something solo could be a potent ritual. Time for a vacation, dedicated rest and connection with loving family and friends will carry you through the rest of the year.
When Jupiter enters Leo on June 29, we leave the rich nurturing of Cancer for bombastic kingly behavior that reignites the assertive, the outer planets’ future building. Jupiter opposes Pluto, a powerful tension between the individual and the collective, but Uranus and Neptune are vested in counseling them through their differences. With so much fire and air energy in the sky, you may feel strung out energetically. Expect it and run on the sweetness of June.
The end of July ushers in our second eclipse season of the year, highlighting the axes of Leo — Aquarius, the cost and the responsibility, and Pisces — Virgo, inner and outer healing. Hold these polarities with the weight they demand and reconciliation can be found. Ignore it and you’ll be burned by complicity.
As always, this astrological outlook is meant for insight, not fear. For more, follow Crystal City Astrology on substack or book a personalized astrology reading at crystalcityastrology.com
Spring Health Fair
We are delighted to offer you, our community, the opportunity to take advantage of low-cost blood tests.
9 am–4 pm
June 5 and 6
ASPEN
Aspen Ambulance Building
Aspen Valley Health Medical Center 0403 Castle Creek Road
June 7
EL JEBEL
Eagle County Community Center 20 Eagle County Drive
Lab Tests Offered
• HealthScreen w/CBC – $79 Includes CBC, CMP, Ferritin, Iron Panel, Lipid Panel, TSH and Uric Acid (Fasting Required)
• hsCardio CRP – $42
• CBC (Complete Blood Count) –$32 By appointment only 8-11:30 am
• Hemoglobin A1C & EAG –$44
• PSA, Total – $47
• Vitamin D – $54
• T3, Free – $32
• T4, Free – $32
Obtaining grants for your organization OPINION
Most nonprofits are already familiar with the grant-funder world, even if they have not yet themselves dipped deeply into it. Perhaps they are not sure how to begin, or if it is worth their limited time to do so. In addition, beyond nonprofits, certain for-profit companies may also qualify for grants.
Many organizations wonder if they might be able to obtain a grant, and where to start looking. Internet searches are a great place to begin your grant search, and to get a sense of the funding landscape for your organization. Simply enter “grants for [your industry]” and see what comes up. Other resources include promotional materials from the funding agencies, trade organizations, internet funder search portals and — here’s one of my secrets — seeking out press releases and annual reports from funders and grant recipients.
Grants tend to be focused, meaning the funder will give grants to organizations doing work in the specific area of impact that the funder is interested in. A quick review of the funding criteria can help you decide if you are a good fit. Once you’ve identified potential funders, the next step is understanding what they look for.
Grant makers are usually clear up front about what they are interested in, who will qualify and what criteria they use to decide. It doesn’t
take a lot of effort to get acclimated to opportunities that might be worth pursuing. Generally speaking, funders want to support organizations and projects that move the needle in measurable ways on impacting people and communities, developing new approaches or disseminating information.
In addition to nonprofit opportunities, certain for-profit companies that are doing specific kinds of work in the funder’s emphasis areas may also qualify for grants. The sponsor of these grants is often the state or federal government. Targeted topics might include: innovating technologies; implementing energy and efficiency projects; certain agriculture business practices; creating jobs or job training; benefitting the underserved; and community development projects. A good place for for-profit companies to learn more about grants is the Small Business Administration and their state departments of economic development.
The bulk of grants go to nonprofit organizations, and there are a variety of resources to help connect them with the funders. One of those organizations is the Community Resource Center/Anschutz Family Foundation’s Rural Philanthropy Days. Potential grant makers include: federal, state and local governments; community
foundations and donor-advised funds; and private foundations, both regional and nationwide.
Even with these opportunities, the current funding environment presents challenges. The grant environment is not great for many organizations at the present time. The current Presidential administration has significantly rolled back grants and pivoted away from many funding areas. But there are still federal grants out there and state and foundation funders also continue to offer programs.
In regions like ours, where philanthropic individuals and family foundations are active, the “Holy Grail” is finding a champion who believes in your mission and around whom you can build a sustainable funding model. Still, many organizations will need to grind it out the hard way, and pursuing grants can help bridge the gap.
An organization that plans to seek large or multiple grants might want to hire experts to help them prepare their applications. I’ve never understood why it’s called “grant writing,” when it really should be called “grant application writing.” Complex grant applications can be time-consuming projects and require extensive supporting schedules, tight integration and alignment with the award criteria, with little tolerance for omissions. Foundation grant
applications often benefit from well-written compelling narratives and relationship-building with the foundation’s program directors.
A grant writing expert can help an organization prepare a set of documents they can re-use to apply for multiple grants, including: narrative content; project budgets and financial exhibits; and impact measures. Impact measures — objective, quantitative descriptions of how an organization is successfully implementing its mission — are essential to explaining how your organization benefits its target audience in concrete, measurable ways. For example, this might include the number of clients served or quantifiable improvements in your mission area. Funders will often require that. There is an art to capturing intangible and qualitative benefits in concrete quantitative language.
Finally, a word about AI. Artificial Intelligence is radically reshaping the grant-writing world. The ability for anyone to access existing content and receive editorial feedback at their own computer is changing grant applications in ways that the industry is just beginning to react to. Funders, like the education system, have not yet reached an equilibrium with the capabilities of the new technology. Nevertheless, there is still a
By Malcolm McMichael
need for personalized content and a human voice to represent your organization’s pitch, so be sure not to over-rely on those tools.
If you find yourself wondering if there’s a grant out there waiting to support your organization, or if it is time to elevate your fundraising to the next level, I encourage you to spend a bit of your time investigating the possibilities. There’s money out there, but you have to apply. Grants are accessible, but they require strategy and effort to obtain.
Malcolm McMichael lives in Carbondale and helps local small businesses and nonprofits with accounting management, CFO, strategic advisory and fundraising advisory services. Details about McMichael Management Services can be found at www.malcolmmcmichael.com
Red Hill Council invites community to connect at Dandelion Day and through RFOV trail work efforts in May
RED HILL COUNCIL
Public Service Announcement
The Red Hill Council invites community members to connect, learn and get involved this May through a series of outreach and volunteer opportunities focused on caring for the Red Hill trail system.
Residents and visitors are encouraged to stop by the Red Hill Council booth at Dandelion Day, Saturday, May 9, from 10am to 5pm. Council members will be available throughout the day to answer any questions, share information about past and upcoming trail work and maintenance efforts, as well as future plans for the Red Hill area. Visit our booth for trail maps and cool Red Hill merch and to review informational materials about the trails and surrounding area.
Those interested in volunteering for our trail work days must register in advance through RFOV at rfov.org/ calendar.
The Red Hill Council is also partnering with Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) to host a series of volunteer community trail maintenance days to take place on three Tuesdays in May: May 5, May 12 and May 19, from 4 to 8pm each day. During these workdays, volunteers will continue with Phase 2 of the in-progress drainage improvements project in the sage meadows area. The trail work will require moderate to strenuous labor (we promise it’s rewarding and enjoyable too!).
Those interested in volunteering for our trail work days must register in advance through RFOV at rfov.org/calendar
The Red Hill Council hopes that community members who enjoy the Red Hill trails will take advantage of these opportunities to connect, learn and contribute to the ongoing care of our valued local resource.
multiple interactions with your family that are now flooding you in this dream. Now, the subsequent nightmares you are experiencing are more of the same. Your subconscious is using the most of its time in REM to clean out all of the stored emotions that it doesn’t want you to be keeping in your body. Because these emotions you are ridding yourself of are often negative, they manifest themselves visually as nightmares in various forms. As well, the overwhelm of so many dreams at once can itself cause a chaotic feeling that then turns into a nightmare of its own.
Yet, the moral of this story is not that you will drown in your emotions like the dream may indicate. Keep faith that these will subside when your REM is caught up and your sleep cycles balance out with natural sleep. It’s like the snow that melts in spring, rising the rivers only momentarily.
Additionally, you can help move things along with practices like breath work, body shaking, or somatic body work. These practices can get what’s stuck out, keeping your subconscious hygiene up so that you can experience a happy dream flood — because those can be incredible.
Until then, it helps to understand that your nightmares are just you cleaning house and that all you must do is simply release them. Don’t hold on to them when you wake. Don’t beat yourself up for them or give them any weight. Kiss them goodbye as you surf their waves. Your subconscious is trying hard to help you reset and balance. Trust it to do its job.
A chopper installs mesh netting east of Red Hill on Wednesday, April 29. CDOT has been conducting rock scaling operations in the area. Photo by Alison Osius
Full
and at businesses from Rifle to Aspen
‘Pain can also transform into strength’
BIANCA GODINA A Ray of el Sol
Sonia Caraveo, author of “El amor mas fuerte que la ausencia” (Love is Stronger than Absence), shares how the loss of her son led her to write a book and support others through their grieving process.
Where did the idea to write this book come from?
After the loss of my son, a year and 11 months ago. During my grieving process, I began writing him notes, like a kind of journal. Over time, people close to me encouraged me to turn it into a book.
What is the book about?
The book shares part of my son’s story, my journey through grief and the healing process I’ve experienced through my training as a grief support coach. It’s not directly based on the journal, but it is rooted in what that process taught me.
What is grief support coaching?
It is about accompanying people who need support or companionship. If someone is dealing with more complex situations, they are referred to professionals.
When I began to understand that everything was part of the grieving process, it sparked a deep curiosity to keep learning. I was drawn to the idea of being able to inform and support others who, like me, may be feeling this way and may not have someone to talk to. As I started to understand all of this, I began to heal and learn how to carry my grief.
The hummingbird on the cover seems symbolic. What does it represent to you?
The day after my son passed away, I was at home, in shock, asking myself many questions. I remember asking for a sign. I just wanted to know he was okay. At that moment, a hummingbird
appeared at my window. There were no flowers, but it stayed there for quite a while, fluttering. It became my instrument of peace.
Tell us about your son.
My son was a blessing. He loved helping others and was very friendly. He was known for his smile. You could feel his
presence; he had an unmistakable spark. He was like a warm hug, a heartfelt greeting. He loved being close to me. He was very sweet. He was always attentive to what we needed. We always took care of each other. He loved fishing, and he passed away while doing something he loved.
What has your grieving process been like?
Today, I see it as a learning process. Although his passing has been deeply painful, I feel that he continues to teach me, even from where he is. Pain has also been a teacher. It has shown me a strength I didn’t know I had.
What would you say to someone who is grieving?
Don’t stay in that pain. It’s important to listen to yourself, to allow yourself to feel all emotions and not suppress them. Even when it doesn’t make sense, everything is part of the process. Over time, pain can also transform into strength and resilience.
“El amor más fuerte que la ausencia” is available in Spanish only and can be purchased at coachsoniacaraveo.com For more information, contact Sonia at coachsoniarubio@ gmail.com Additionally, “Un abrazo para el alma” (A Hug for the Soul), a grief support group in Spanish, takes place every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at the New Castle Library at 6pm.
Follow Leonardo Occhipinti’s “Nuevo Mundo” in Sol del Valle every week in Spanish.
Sonia Caraveo, author of “El amor mas fuerte que la ausencia,” at her book launch party at CC’s Cafe on Sunday, April 26. Courtesy photo
Share your works in progress with readers by emailing illustrations, creative writings and poetry to fiction@soprissun.com
Excerpt #4
By Golda Wolfe
All rights reserved by the author.
The simplest explanation for why Baron von Lingenhoven felt tired every morning was that he did not sleep well. His ex-partner Buzz White was so enthralled by Vail’s skiing that he had forgotten to mention the traffic grinding day and night along the interstate that cut the resort in two. European friends who had visited Vail in summer as well as winter had warned Von Lingenhoven about this. In St. Moritz he
Comparte tus proyectos creativos aún en proceso con nuestros lectores. Puedes enviarnos un correo electrónico con tus ilustraciones, creaciones literarias y poesía a fiction@soprissun.com
could sleep with his windows open to allow the cold breezes to caress his face, while the goose down comforter kept his body warm. The windows in his Vail hotel room didn’t open more than four inches, which he assumed was so that guests plagued by insomnia weren’t driven to throw themselves out of them. The grating of enchained 18-wheelers on the snow-packed six lanes of concrete highway that ran beside the five-star hotel still seeped in through the windows’ sliver of an opening, making deep sleep impossible at $1,200 a night.
The sympathetic concierge offered a water feature for white noise at an extra $100. Rather than add another layer of superficiality, Von Lingenhoven shut his windows completely. On the last day, Bob and Linda Chase invited him back to their house for cocktails and appetizers. Another couple, introduced to Erik at the bar as the Fullers, were invited to join them. As the Chases drove from the parking lot in the village to their house, Linda reminded Von Lingenhoven that this was one of their three homes.
“Oh right, you mentioned that you are from Dallas and live there too,” he said. “Where is your third house?”
“We wanted a place on the ocean, so we have a big condo in Newport Beach,” said Linda. Their social calendar was so full in Texas and California that they could only spend six weeks a year at their Vail house. They came for two weeks in winter and four weeks in summer.
The Chases’ Vail home was one of those towering piles built in the locally fashionable Tuscan-Colorado mine shaft style that eluded Von Lingenhoven’s architectural knowledge. Six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom suite, sprouted from the structure’s five levels. The house could comfortably accommodate 15 overnight guests. Linda whispered to him that she preferred leaving the extra bedrooms unoccupied.
“When we filled them up with kids and friends I felt like we were running a hotel,” she said. “I like it better when our little hotel has vacancies. I mean, you know we never felt like we were on vacation when we had people staying with us for their vacation . . .
“Ok, everybody come outside and see the sunset.” Linda handed each guest a crystal tulip of Prosecco as she directed them to the highest deck leading off the kitchen.
“We feel blessed to have an ocean view at our California house and this mountain one,” said Bob, surveying his domain from the deck.
The rush hour clamor floated up from far below, although neither the vehicles nor the time, as far as Von Lingenhoven could tell, was moving quickly. It made him wonder whether the occupants of the matching mansions clinging to both sides of the highway were deaf to the stereophonic blight of the valley’s geology. No Vail home price seemed high enough to buy quiet, or anything more pristine than an eagleeye view of Interstate 70. To the west the vermilion lip line of the sun was sinking below a ridge deformed by more hulking residences. Christmas cheer paved aspen and pine trees in lambent red, white and green lights.
After a few minutes the guests were too cold to stay out. Linda shepherded them into the living room and corralled them in the semicircular sofa that could seat ten. Once within its spacious confines conversation resumed.
“So, Bob told me you are a museum director in Vienna,” said Ken Fuller. They could finally converse in a normal tone of voice.
“That’s correct.”
“What sort of museum is this?”
“I am embarking on the establishment of a new museum dedicated to pre-war Austrian Jewish craftmakers,” said von Lingenhoven. “It’s called Museum Osterreichischer Judischer Macher. Again, he translated the museum’s name. “Or we say just call it MOJM.”
“Do you mean it will have the great art that Nazis stole from their Jewish owners?” Ken asked. Legal battles over Austria’s repatriation of art to Jewish descendants of murdered families were much in the news.
“No,” said the Baron, gearing up to give his usual explanation. “Our museum will show something quite different.”
Re: Teachable Moments
A huge shout out to the Teachable Moments Childcare kids (and staff) for their spectacular efforts in picking up trash along the Rio Grande Trail! We all see areas of unsightly trash — County Road 100 bothers me but alas this week most of it was cleaned up! Amen! Who deserves the credit? The Rodeo Association getting ready for their season? Did they offer free rodeo tickets for the job? The Aspen Valley Land Trust that manages the Coffman Ranch? Maybe the Colorado Extreme Hockey that has poured a great deal of money and time into creating a sweet spot for our youth hockey? Maybe Roaring Fork Transportation Authority utilized their (our) millions on a cleanup? Or maybe the owners/tenants of the commercial property rallied to clean it up? Quite possibly the hundreds that appreciate and utilize the
If it wasn’t any of these, why not? Every day is Earth Day! Bend over Carbondale and pick it up! Set an example when you take your peeps to the park or go on a walk. Pick up the trash! YOU can make it happen! Bend over! Thanks to the downtown businesses that put forth the effort to beautify Main Street and beyond! And to the few owners that do not — I’ll go elsewhere, thank you. Let’s hope our new mayor and Board of Trustees, along with the volunteer groups, put forth innovative measures to make Carbondale a lovelier town! Have you checked out Basalt lately? Gorgeous!
Ramona Griffith Carbondale
“My Future, My Voice” was the title of the event here in Basalt, Colorado. I was wondering who thought of this theme name. To me it is a great mystery as it applies to what it is like to understand why this life is a gift from the creator of the universe.
When I and those who find it a commitment to become responsible human beings for the land, water, air, plants, animals and soil give away part of our existence it opens us up to receiving the blessings that fellow planetary citizens also experience.
My future is your future as well. What is more important than me is you. In the moments that we briefly experience time on the planet we cannot avoid breathing; well we can avoid breathing but I wouldn’t advise it for too long.
Should we close our eyes to the situations that are in our world? If we choose to go on that path, why are we surprised when we find ourselves in a place where the choices that are made have nothing to do with what we would desire to see?
If we don’t speak up when we see actions happening in the world that obviously
RIVERS from page 6
often transferred via boots, waders and dog paws, and can live up to 50 days outside of water. Their presence in rivers reduces mayfly and caddisfly populations, nitrogen balances and fish body weights since the snails are largely indigestible.
Medved said that water recreation users need to clean all equipment at the utilized body of water after every use, including draining, wiping and drying all boats. She explained that for small equipment like fishing rods and boots, users can choose to
harm one of our life processes it leaves environmental groups and environmentalists (aka tree huggers) wondering why so many people with voices that depend upon protecting the planetary systems don’t think this is a responsibility.
The future is a possibility that we can have an effect on. If we just continue to coast, the difference between being responsible and reckless could sum up to more than $220 trillion dollars by 2070, according to a Deloitte projection. That depends on getting it right or the failure to get it right.
So my future depends on my voice, your voice, the congregations, the singers, the poets, the artists, the politicians, the entrepreneurs, the town council and the children. Teach your children well, Mercy Mercy me, It’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong, This Land is Your Land.
Steven Kuschner
Glenwood Springs
Natural eradication
On a recent drive, it was great to see this welcome saign of spring: the G.O.A.T.S. (the “Grazers Of All Time Squadron”) of Goat Green LLC, operated by Lani Malmberg and Donny Benz, which were on the job over the weekend munching noxious weeds and other undesirable growth in the territory near the Crystal River Fish Hatchery and the adjoining neighborhood yards along Highway 133 south of Carbondale. Good to see a process of natural eradication in action.
Bernie Pearce Ouray and Aspen
What will be left?
What will be left in two and a half years?
Learning today that all 24 members of the National Science Board have been fired (presumably to be replaced by climate deniers, vaccine skeptics and other quacks) it’s clear we’re now a s**thole country. It seems we will be celebrating the demise of our once great country on its 250th anniversary in a few months. Unfortunately we are affecting much of the rest of the world as we crumble. Let’s hope a phoenix can rise from the ashes.
Peter Westcott Carbondale
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freeze gear overnight, but that otherwise, thorough drying or chemical treatments as provided at riverside and lakeside stations are most effective.
RFC anticipates high river temperatures this summer. Medved said RFC asks that anglers carry thermometers and check water temperatures before starting to fish, and to adjust location or fishing times as necessary to minimize stress to the fish. Water temperatures above 68 degrees stress fish and can magnify ecosystem damage before fishing impacts.
Larry Day continues his plein air adventures, capturing the view from Dry Park Road on Monday, April 27, with this watercolor.
LEGAL NOTICE
TOWN OF CARBONDALE
TOWN OF CARBONDALE
ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT A REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION HELD IN CARBONDALE, COLORADO APRIL 7, 2026
ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST AT A REGULAR MUNICIPAL ELECTION HELD IN CARBONDALE, COLORADO APRIL 7, 2026
At an Election held at Precinct 1, Town of Carbondale, in the County of Garfield in the State of Colorado on the 7th of April, in the year 2026, the following named person received the number of votes annexed to their respective names of the following described offices, to wit:
At an Election held at Precinct 1, Town of Carbondale, in the County of Garfield in the State of Colorado on the 7th of April, in the year 2026, the following named person received the number of votes annexed to their respective names of the following described offices, to wit:
TOTAL VOTES CAST
TOTAL VOTES CAST
VOTES CAST IN PRECINCT 1
VOTES CAST IN PRECINCT 1
NAME OF CANDIDATE PRECINCT #1 Number of Votes in Words
ERICA SPARHAWK 1397
PATRICIA SAVOY
TRUSTEES
JO ANNE TEEPLE
KADE GIANINETTI
Thousand Three Hundred and NinetySeven 1397
Hundred and Seventy-Four
CARBONDALE
from page 15
directing individuals to parks, We-Cycle transit, public areas and more.
“I feel like I get my ear to the ground and I hear people say, ‘You know, we’re losing the battle of traffic versus town culture,’” said Rick Blauvelt, vice chair of the Bikes, Pedestrian & Trails Commission on the importance of getting people off the road through these initiatives. “And that is just so disheartening.”
SPEAR
Carbondale Police Chief Kirk Wilson made clear to the trustees that he is striving to get the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to clarify that the Special Problems Enforcement and Response Team (SPEAR), to which the Carbondale Police Department is involved, will not enforce
immigration law. He first told trustees that Colorado law already makes clear that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, not a local one, and that it is crucial that the community feels comfortable contacting local law enforcement for them to adequately do their jobs.
“I’ve asked that the MOU is very specific to Colorado law — that we will not enforce immigration law. Period,” Wilson said. “That needs to be clearly stated … not only for our community, not only for the entire county, but also for the task force officers (in) future and in current.”
Arbor Day
The trustees approved Saturday, May 2, 2026 as Carbondale Arbor Day.
