2009 07 16

Sopris Sun THE

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 23 • JULY 16, 2009

Bull’s-eye -eye

By Kayla Henley Sopris Sun Intern

T

he metal corrals clank loudly as massive bulls at the Carbondale Wild West Rodeo pace frantically in their pens. These bulls are known for maliciously throwing riders from their backs, into the hard, dusty ground and sometimes charging at the fallen mount with lowerd horns while the rider scrambles for safety. They are creatures of aweinspiring beauty and spine-tingling terror, with black eyes rolling wildly from the commotion around them and hooves roughly pawing the earth below, turning sand to dust.

The bulls are led to a chute where humans are placed on their backs and then released into the open arena. Furious at having a gangly creature trying to ride him, a bull will buck and charge, hurling 2,000 pounds of raging flesh into the air, attempting anything to get the rider off his back.

But this story isn’t about the menacing beasts that dazzle us with such ferocious movement. It is about the courageous men who are associated with these bulls.

What is it like to be the person who comes between a bull and fallen rider?

And what is it like to be the rider, gripping such an animal with your knees, one hand clutched fast to the bull and the other flailing wildly as you try to hold on? Your clutch on the rope around the bull slowly slackens, you slip off entirely, every sound muted as you descend to the solid dirt of the arena. When you look up, the bull is towering over you, and you clumsily rush out of the arena to safety.

We see these brave people at the Carbondale rodeo every Thursday, whether coming in between a bull and rider as the bull fighter or competing in the bull riding event.

Bull riders make their sport look easy, as they try to stay on through those incredibly slow eight seconds. It’s hard to imagine what goes through the mind of a bull rider as he spends mere seconds clinging to the animal. Though it varies with each rider, most of them agree there’s no time to think critically when you’re in such a situation.

“If you get to thinkin’ about it, you get in trouble,” stated Johnny Rebel, a cowboy who’s been bull riding for 14 years, five of them in the Carbondale rodeo. Rebel first began bull riding when a friend dared him that he wouldn’t get on a bull. He now trains by riding nine bulls a week.

For 22-year-old Cody Tesch, it’s a little

COWBOYS page 12

A glimpse into the bullriding life

Marcelo Cruz and his “mount” seem to eye each other during the first round of bull riding last Thursday at the Carbondale rodeo.

It looks as if Cruz wants to tell his bull not to buck him off and it looks as if the bull wants to tell Cruz to get off his back.

Photo by Jane Bachrach

Carbondale Commentary Thanks to Trina and Jody If you haven’t noticed there have been some changes at the Sun over the last few weeks.

We’ve added a new editor, Terray Sylvester, and a new ad representative, Kristen Algren.

We hope you will give both a warm hello when you meet them.

Terray and Kristen have stepped in for two of the people who made the Sopris Sun possible in the first place, Trina Ortega and Jody Ensign.

Trina, the founding editor, has indicated she has no intention of actually leaving the paper.

She promises to continue with great feature stories, a bit of government coverage and whatever the future as a reporter brings.

While for many Trina was the face of the Sun early on, she also did a lot of behind the scenes work to help create the paper you see today. She set the template — cover story, page 3 news, calendar and arts coverage — you anticipate every week.

Hopefully the change will allow her to balance family and work a little more in favor of family. (Editor of a weekly paper is a BIG job.) As a community we can only hope that as a writer she will play an equally important, albeit different role in the newspaper’s future.

Jody Ensign was equally important to the Sun’s formation.

Although she never had experience selling ads, Jody hit the pavement back in January and drummed up the ads we needed to launch the Sun and keep it going in those early weeks.

She developed a weekly lineup of ads that made it possible to keep the paper in business.

Without Jody’s hard work, this newspaper would still just be an idea bouncing around the community.

Jody’s no longer working at the Sun. She has moved on to her latest enterprise, Parkside Gallery, on Weant Boulevard across from Sopris Park. We encourage you to stop in and say hello and check out the works she’s featuring.

A number of others continue to play vital roles with the Sun. Barbara New was a founding board member until she recently stepped aside. She continues to help design the handsome ads that run each week. Our community correspondents and interns provide excellent arts and sports coverage — usually for free.

And then there are our advertisers, who have chosen the Sun as a way to reach their customers. Thanks to them, Carbondale has a newspaper to cover the people and events that touch our lives. We hope you’ll look at their ads, and consider patronizing their businesses.

Letters The Sopris Sun welcomes your letters, limited to no more than 400 words. Letters exceeding that length may be edited or returned for revisions. Include your name and residence (for publication) and a contact email and phone number. Submit letters via email to letters@soprissun.com or via snail mail to P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623.

Preserve Thompson House Dear Editor: There has been a lot of discussion about saving the Thompson House, virtually all in favor of keeping it.

I support that idea and recommend the house and its contents be a combination museum and teaching tool for our future generations.

The house is more than 120 years old, the oldest brick home in the Roaring Fork Valley. It is a part of Carbondale’s history and filled with antiques that mirror the life of the families that lived there. The house tells the story of the first white settlers in Carbondale, the changes those families went through and what each generation experienced over time.

Without our knowing our past, we cannot know our future. Each of us has an obligation to contribute to the maintenance and display of that past. Museums abound across our country, as do battlefields, monuments and other components of our history.

All are used to recreate memories – memories that are important to us all.

Our youth live very much in the present. Unless we find ways to make them

aware of the past, that past has neither meaning nor influence on them. The Thompson House is a treasure that shows our history to great advantage. However, once it is lost, it cannot be resurrected or replaced. It is one of a kind and we would do well to both understand that and to protect the house for our future.

Herbert J. Feinzig Carbondale

Where hiking meets activism Dear Editor: Anyone interested in hiking and getting to know some amazing new places to get in touch with nature should check out the Wilderness Workshop’s Hidden Gems hikes that are being offered this summer.

I have gone on two already and am looking forward to more. You can go on a free guided hike into beautiful country and check out the proposed wilderness areas for yourself. Hopefully, you will come to love and respect these areas and help the Wilderness Workshop convince your congressmen to vote for special protection.

Go to the Wilderness Workshop’s site

Correction Last week’s article about the Thompson House incorrectly stated that Frieda Wallison donated the house’s contents to the Mount Sopris Historical Society. The contents were donated to the society by the Thompson family. The Sopris Sun regrets the error.

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009

and find its Hidden Gems link to sign up for a hike, and see more of why Colorado is so incredible.

Mary Harris Carbondale

Studio tour a success Dear Editor: The Carbondale Community School would like to thank all those who participated in the sixth annual Roaring Fork Valley Studio Tour this year. Our Friday night kick-off artist reception at the Carbondale Recreation Center was well attended.

The Funky Munky and the Thunder Luv started the night off for us and the Redtones followed and played well into the evening.

Those who attended the reception were able to mingle with local artists and had an opportunity to purchase art and bid on generously donated silent auction items.

CCS students were serving delicious appetizers that were provided by favorite local restaurants from Glenwood to Basalt. It was a busy weekend but the community pulled together and visited the more than 40 studios that were on the tour. We would like to thank all of our artists for opening up their studios to the community.

We would like to thank all our sponsors, silent auction donors, food and beverage donors and, last but not least, our CCS parent volunteers. We realize that this fundraiser would not be possible without your support!

Thank you for contributing to the success of the sixth annual Roaring Fork Valley Studio Tour. We look forward to partnering with you again next year!

Denise Bruder Carbondale

Time for reparations to the Ute Dear Editor: I commend the Guest Commentary by Bill Kight in the July 9 issue that described how the native Nuche (Ute) Indians were brutally evicted from this area.

Just as properties stolen from Jewish people by the Nazis are gradually and grudgingly being restored to the descendants of their rightful owners, the descendants of American Indians deserve more than own-

ership of the lands that the U.S. government “gave” them. In most cases, these reservation lands have virtually no economic potential other than the economically wasteful one of casino operation.

On a national level, a win-win way of restoring productive land to American Indians would be this: The federal government would purchase vast tracts of land in the northern Great Plains where agriculture is failing (largely due to depletion of groundwater used for irrigation), and place these in the public domain as National Grasslands.

Some of these already exist, including in southeast Colorado where much of the private agricultural land that produced the Dust Bowl was purchased by the federal government and restored to its natural condition as dry-land grasses that hold the soil in place. But the innovative feature would be that American Indians would be given the exclusive rights to manage wildlife on these areas and, in particular, to re-establish the herds of bison that are so much more capable than cattle of surviving in such areas. The “management” would presumably include the harvesting of bison for sale to a market with a growing demand for lean meat, and also the sale of hunting permits to private individuals.

Of course, not all American Indians are descendants of the Plains Indians whose culture was dependent on bison. The Nuche (Utes) who inhabited the upper Colorado basin are in that category. The ideal way of restoring their land to them would be for government to purchase certain desirable tracts of undeveloped land in the local area and deed them to tribal ownership, for use as the tribe would see fit.

At the local level, the least that we can and should do is give Native Americans preference in the award of “affordable housing.”

That policy would have a superior moral underpinning to the current policy of providing artificially cheaper housing to service workers as a substitute for paying them the higher wages that would enable them to purchase suitable housing at market prices.

Carl Ted Stude M.A., Economics Carbondale

Sopris Sun THE

The Sopris Sun is an LLC organized under the 501c3 nonprofit structure of the Roaring Fork Community Development Corporation, P.O. Box 1582, Carbondale, CO 81623.

The mission of the Sopris Sun, LLC is to inform and inspire community members of Carbondale, Colorado.

Editors: Trina Ortega and Terray Sylvester • 618-9112 or news@soprissun.com Advertising: Kristin Algren • 379-0455 • kristin@soprissun.com Anne Goldberg • 379-5050 • anne@soprissun.com Tim Kurnos • tkurnos@gmail.com Reporter: Jeremy Heiman • Jane of All Trades: Jane Bachrach Page Production: Terri Ritchie • Ad Production: Barbara New Paper Boys: Russ Criswell, Mark Burrows Sopris Sun, LLC Managing Board of Directors: Russ Criswell • Peggy DeVilbiss Allyn Harvey • Colin Laird • Barbara New • Elizabeth Phillips • Rebecca Young

Sopris Sun, LLC • P.O. Box 399 • Carbondale, CO 81623 www.soprissun.com

In Carbondale, no new library on the horizon

By Terray Sylvester Though the Garfield County Library District has been working to relocate Carbondale’s library for over a year, construction on a new facility likely won’t start for at least another year.

On July 2, the library district decided to finance $11 million in new facilities and renovations in four other towns. Planning is underway for new libraries in Rifle and Silt, and expansions in Parachute and New Castle. That means that for at least the immediate future, planning and construction won’t take place in Carbondale, even if the town council and library district agree soon on a suitable site.

“One thing we can't do is take on too many projects at once,” said Library trustee Bill Lamont, who represents Carbondale. “We only have so much staff capacity. We only have so many days of the week we can meet on construction projects. We can’t physically take on another project even if it’s ready to go.”

Lamont expects the projects in Rifle and Parachute to break ground by late fall.

Selection of an architect and contractor for the Silt and New Castle facilities will begin around the same time. Not until the latter two libraries are well under way would the district be able to begin the roughly yearlong planning process in Carbondale, he explained.

The district currently has the ability to generate the $4 - $5 million needed to build a new library, but first the district and town must settle on a new location, and agree to terms for vacating the current location.

Marilyn Murphy, branch manager at Carbondale's Gordon Cooper Library says the current 3,800-square foot facility doesn't give the library the space it needs to host events. “Our role in the community is limited by the size of the building,” she said. “We could be offering more services.” Photo by Terray Sylvester Lamont said discussions between the town trustees and the library district haven’t been contentious, and that he doesn’t expect them to be in the future.

“We’re trying to figure out how to work together," he said. “We are both public agencies serving citizens.”

Carbondale hasn’t moved as quickly to improve its library as other communities.

In Rifle, where the first of the district’s new libraries will be built, the town and library district settled on parcel of town land relatively easily. But in Carbondale, property

values have made it difficult to find a location that is both affordable and suitable.

“Every town is a little bit different in terms of what their needs are, what their constraints are and what their resources are,” said Carbondale’s Mayor Michael Hassig. “[The town doesn’t] own a piece of land that would be suitable.”

Rifle’s town council also moved more aggressively for a new library, partly because the town wanted to stimulate new development in its core, said Library District Executive Director Amelia Shelley.

“The town (of Carbondale) has been easy to work with but not with a sense of urgency,” Lamont said. “Whereas Rifle, they grabbed ahold of it early on and it was a relatively clean process.”

The library district and a committee of Carbondale citizens have considered a number of locations. Currently, the district is focusing its attention on a site on Sopris Avenue and 3rd street, near the Bridges High School.

The site has adequate parking and is large enough that the planned 13,000square foot facility could be built with only one story, which would allow a smaller staff than a multi-story building.

“It sounds very much like a site that can get through the (planning) process,” said Lamont. He explained that the RE-1 School District, which owns the property, has voiced its support for the new library and that neighbors in the area have as well.

But the district and town haven’t yet figured out what to do with the current library. The building is owned by the library district but sits on land owned by the town of Carbondale. Under the lease, the building will revert to town ownership if it’s used for something other than a library.

The district is hoping the town will contribute towards the new facility, in recognition of the value of the building that the library would leave behind.

“If we vacate the town gets the building,” said Shelley, the library director. “So it's not necessarily in our interest to vacate before we know the town's position. We have a lot invested, having built and maintained the building.”

Repairs, upgrades move forward at Carbondale turd works

By Jeremy Heiman

Upgrades to the plant will include a new generator to Repairs expected to start in the spring at Carbondale’s provide electric power to the plant in the event of outages, wastewater plant will leave the facility smelling like a rose. and additional pumps to keep the plant in operation if exOr so the plant’s operators hope. isting pumps fail. When a pump failed in December, neighThough the capacity of the wastewater plant has been bors began complaining about foul odors emanating from deemed adequate to accommodate the plant, which sits on the south Carbondale’s projected growth for bank of the Roaring Fork River in the about 15 years, between $1.4 and Satank neighborhood. $1.7 million in repairs and upgrades Insulation and vapor barriers will are needed to keep the facility running be added to halt a problem with consafely, efficiently and with fewer foul crete degradation caused by moisture smells in the near future. freezing and thawing within block “For the most part, what we’re trystructures, and also to add energy efing to do is build in some efficiency ficiency, thereby reducing utility bills. and add some redundancy. So that if Another upgrade, an improved aersomething goes down, we’re not in ation system for the digester, where trouble,” said Mark O’Meara, Carsludge is thickened, is expected to rebondale’s utility director. duce the potential for odor and inOne important structural problem crease the efficiency of the digester. needs attention: Soil settling under the O’Meara said improvements about plant is thought to be causing masonry one and one-half years ago already reto crack at the plant’s digester buildduced odor complaints significantly. ing. Engineers from Schmueser Gor“We’re hoping to keep going down Mark O’Meara that same path and make it even betdon Meyer (SGM), the town’s engineering firm, are studying that Carbondale’s utility director ter,” he said. problem to determine whether the A number of other energy efficiency movement has stabilized. improvements are in the works, too.

Fixing that problem, once the study is completed, will The plant hogs more energy than any other town building or include new concrete walls where necessary and coatings operation, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. Elecapplied to exposed structural steel to prevent corrosion. tric motors run pumps and other equipment 24 hours a day, Steel in other parts of the plant may need work, too. and heating and cooling equipment works overtime as well.

“The exposed steel has been a concern,” O’Meara said. O’Meara explained that efficient motors and modern temThe extreme humidity within the walls accelerates corrosion. perature control systems would slash energy costs and pay

“For the most part, what we’re trying to do is build in some efficiency and add some redundancy.

So that if something goes down, we’re not in trouble.”

for themselves.

“We’ve got a good investment opportunity here, because of the energy savings they provide,” O’Meara said.

The preliminary cost estimate from SGM is $1.7 million for these and a few other projects at the plant. Bids from contractors will determine the final cost.

Carbondale has secured a $500,000 grant from the state of Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and has set aside an additional $900,000 for the project, leaving a total of $1.4 million on hand for the project and a slight shortfall for completing the whole wish list.

“From the $1.7, we can scale back to match the $1.4 and still accomplish the high-priority items,” O’Meara said Louis Meyer, of SGM, told the Carbondale Board of Trustees on June 30 that after engineering work is done, the town could get bids from contractors by late this year and construction could start in early spring. O’Meara is more optimistic, anticipating a slightly earlier call for bids.

Looking farther out, O’Meara said Carbondale will need to expand its wastewater plant in 14-16 years to accommodate residential units approved, but not yet built in places such as River Valley Ranch, and to accommodate dwellings proposed in plans now seeking approval, including The Overlook, Thompson Park and the Village at Crystal River.

The expansion could take place at the present location, O’Meara said.

The current plant’s capacity is estimated at roughly one million gallons of effluent per day. Meyer said the industry generally assumes a single-family home generates between 240 and 280 gallons of sewage in the same time period. An expanded plant would probably be designed to handle 1.5 million gallons per day. The cost?

“We have not put a pencil to that yet,” O’Meara said.

THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009 • 3

Carbondale thrift stores unfazed by the tough economy

By Terray Sylvester Sales tax revenues in Carbondale have been declining for the last few months, so this may not seem like the best time to start a new business. But that didn't stop Monk Burkmier and Mary Kuen from opening their store, Back Door Bargains, in early June. As Monk puts it, “I’m not afraid.�

Back Door Bargains is just the newest addition to Carbondale’s selection of secondhand stores, all of which appear to be weathering the current economic slump without springing so much as a leak. “There are only three things that work in a recession: liquor, gambling and thrift stores,� Burkmier declares with a grin.

Which means he and Kuen are primed for success: Kuen used to manage Mr. C’s liquors on Highway 133 before it was renamed Sopris Liquors. Burkmier has dealt cards in Reno and elsewhere occasionally over the last four decades and, in the early 1990s, owned another consignment store just up Highway 82 named Basalt’s Better Bargains.

When the opportunity to open Back Door Bargains came knocking, both were looking for a way into the secondhand business. For two years, Burkmier and Kuen had been searching for a location for a new consignment store. When they heard that the sustainable furniture shop, Via Viva, would be moving out of its space in the back of the Churchill building on Fourth Street, they signed the lease with hardly a second thought.

Hard times be darned: Marie Kuen and Monk Burkmier opened their consignment store, Back Door Bargains, in June. "We sell everything from fine china to flip flops," says Kuen.

Photo by Terray Sylvester According to Burkmier, the space was empty at 8:30 a.m. on opening day, June 1.

But that changed in a hurry. In a matter of weeks the store had filled with assorted appliances, clothing, furniture, a model ship and other odds and ends. “That proves there was demand,� says Burkmier, proudly surveying the jewelry, musical instruments, lawn furniture, artwork and Oriental rugs that now festoon the 2,000-square foot space.

The Aspen AfďŹ liate of Susan G. Komen for the CureÂŽ invites all

Breast Cancer Survivors and their Families to its three summer events:

Tough Enough to Wear Pink Rodeo Thursday, July 16, 6:30pm Gus Darien Riding Arena, Carbondale Complimentary dinner for survivors RSVP by July 9th: 920-0250 or info@komenaspen.org Sponsored by:

Komen Aspen Race for the CureŽ Saturday, July 18, 7:30am Rio Grande Park, Aspen $30 Registration: komenaspen.org ’ 5K Run/Walk ’ ;WZS 4O[WZg 4c\ EOZY ’ ;WZS >/EA 4]` bVS 1c`S— 2]U EOZY

Aspen Cancer Conference Monday, July 20, 3-6pm Sponsored by:

Breast Cancer: Prevention, Diagnosis and Therapy Paepcke Auditorium, Aspen 4@33 and open to the public

www.komenaspen.org 4 • THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009

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970.920.0250

Burkmier thinks the business would actually be doing slightly better without the economic downturn, but says their finances are in good shape and calls the store “recession proof.�

Between January and May, Carbondale took in roughly 14 percent less revenue from sales taxes than during the same fivemonth span in 2008. “People are probably doing sort of the same thing you’re doing and I’m doing: try-

ing to save more,� said Nancy Barnett, finance director for the town of Carbondale. “That seems to be the prudent thing to do.�

And shopping secondhand also seems to have become the prudent thing to do. The ladies of Rebekah’s Lodge, who manage Near New on Main Street, say they’ve been doing well and have been busy lately.

Across the street at Miser’s Mercantile, the story is similar. Sam Hunter, the store’s owner, says she has never seen consignments pour in as abundantly as they have this summer. “We just can’t keep up with the pricing,�

Hunter said. “People are bringing it in nonstop.�

Hunter says she had expected to lay off employees at the end of the ski season, but instead hired on several new people to keep up with the rush. “What people are saying when they bring stuff in is, they’re ‘just wanting to scale down,’ said Hunter.

If the recession has driven some Carbondalians to adopt a thriftier mindset, Dona Mae, owner of Alexa’s Closet on Main Street, sees little problem with that. “I think [the recession] is a good thing, I really do, because it teaches people to be more respectful of the value of the things they own,� Mae said. “It brings forward the idea that what you have can be recycled for others.�

Like Carbondale’s other thrift stores, Mae’s business hasn’t felt a pinch. “There’s no recession in a thrift store,� she said.

News Briefs Go bag or go home When you’re checking out at City Market, don’t forget to ask the cashier to count your cloth bags toward the Colorado Association of Ski Towns’ reusable bag challenge. With a little over two months of the challenge remaining, the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Preservation Association are reminding Carbondalians to keep using reusable bags when they shop.

“I’d love to see Carbondale win this,” said Chris Chacos of the Downtown Preservation Association. “We’re a community that like to do things like this. It’s a hefty prize we could capture.”

The challenge kicked off back in March and will conclude on September 1. Residents of Carbondale. Aspen, Snowmass, Basalt, Vail, Eagle, Crested Butte, and Jackson Hole, Wyo, have all entered a friendly competition to see who can most significantly reduce their consumption of single-use bags.

Alpine Bank will award the winning town $5,000 towards a solar panel installation.

Excuses, Excuses… Just slow down!

If you happen to be a policeperson, handing out speeding tickets might be an interesting job -- you’d get to listen

to all the speeders try to talk themselves out of a fine.

On July 8 and 9, Officer Chris Wurtsmith of the Carbondale Police Department probably had a few laughs.

With his Stalker-model radar activated, he caught at least three speeders traveling east on Main Street not far from the 7-11. He asked all of them the usual, dreaded question: “Do you know why I stopped you?

Outlaw #1: 13 mph over the limit The driver said he didn’t know why he had been stopped. When Wurtsmith told him why, he said he didn’t believe he had been driving that fast. But an inspection of his record revealed two relatively recent speeding tickets.

Outlaw #2: 14 mph over the limit When asked the usual question she replied, “probably speeding,” and indicated that she was late for a hair appointment.

Outlaw #3: 30 mph over the limit When asked the question, the driver said that he knew he was speeding and asked Officer Wurtsmith to “forgive him.”

Obituary LaVerna “Tootie” Bates

1936-2009

LaVerna “Tootsie” Bates, 73, of El Jebel passed away at home on July 4, 2009. LaVerna was born on February 17, 1936 in Norfolk, Neb., to John Henry and Nellie F. Osterloh. She married James Harold Bates in Lincoln, Neb., on August 20, 1962. She was an employee of the Silver Tree Hotel in Snowmass Village for 30 years before retiring. She loved flowers, her grandchildren, butterflies and taking care of her yard. LaVerna is survived by her

sons Joe Bates, John “Tammy” Bates, Lee “Cindy” Bates, James “Tracy” Bates, and Ed “Charlie” Osterloh; brothers Jim Osterloh, Lee Roy “Vicky” Osterloh, and Henry John Osterloh; sister Larine Wayland and grandchildren Lacy, Seria, Mikayla, J.J, Bates and Chyann. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. A small service was held on July 10 at the Farnum Holt Funeral Home Chapel.

Davis Farrar (left), President of the Red Hill Council, discusses the proposed Sutey Ranch / Two Shoes land exchange at a barbecue on July 12. The event was hosted by Western Land Group, Inc., the consulting firm orchestrating the swap, and was well attended by the conservation community, recreationists who use the nearby Red Hill trail system and interested neighbors of the Sutey parcel.

Photo Terray Sylvester

THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009 • 5

Scuttlebutt Rotary Demotes Charlotte Vanderhurst With great honors and celebration the Carbondale Rotary Club held its annual Demotion Picnic to roast outgoing President Charlotte Vanderhurst and welcome incoming President Herschel Ross.

In recognition of Charlotte’s goal to include all 85 members in every aspect of Rotary throughout the past year, every Rotarian lined up with the Club’s usual frivolity and irreverence to roast, toast, thank and have fun honoring Charlotte’s jest for fun, love of life and universal caring for all. As Charlotte is an avid Harley rider – complete with leathers and flames – the club will miss her monthly “Road Wisdom,” flaming personality (and attire) and particularly her weekly “Hot Flashes.”

But international sailor Herschel Ross has already set his theme for the year by “Charting the course”, setting his “Sails” for fun and his weekly goal of “Fair Winds and Calm Seas.” Carbondale Rotary Club meets every Wednesday morning, 7:00 am at the Carbondale District Training Facility on Hwy 133.

Organic produce provides a lift Members of the Carbondale Community Food Co-op have been donating fresh local organic fruit and vegetables to Lift-Up. The produce, which members purchase just above cost in the co-op's special buying program for charity, is the only fresh food provided to Lift-Up recipients. Kudos to co-op members for generously helping people in need to eat healthy food!

A step towards healing and wholeness We were sad to learn that Diane Kenny has breast cancer and want to let her know we’re thinking about her and wish her a quick recovery. We learned about her illness from a letter sent to the Sopris Sun by Jeanne Perry. Here is a copy of

6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009

four adults sit down in the chair with their hair, only to stand up a few minutes later without it, three-year-old Fisher Jacober decided to take a turn.

Diane said: “I really didn’t expect anybody else to shave their head. I am very touched by their show of support. What a strong, loving community we have. I feel overwhelmed and humbled by the many, many kind things people are doing to help me through this process.”

It’s a DoG’s life

Pictured left to right are: John Isaacs - Buddhist Sage & professional Mason, Fisher Jacober - Ninja/pre-schooler, Steven Colby - Artist/Potter, Tianna White - Artist/Stylist, Diane Kenney - Artist/Potter/Teacher, Jeannie Perry Political Adventure Writer & Bald Woman about Town. that letter, unedited: “A couple of weeks ago, in a loving show of solidarity, four friends shaved their heads with Diane Kenney at Salon Sublime, in Carbondale. Diane has breast cancer and she began chemotherapy treatment on June 16th. After a champagne toast, courtesy of Meredith Ogilby, Diane went first.

Tianna White handled the clippers with a gunslinger’s confidence and tufts of hair fell to the ground unnoticed as the chatter and laughter grew. Sitting out on the patio surrounded by friends and family, Diane’s strength and beauty were as evident as her investment in the community. One by one her friends took turns shaving their locks, with Jeannie Perry’s donation going to a Pantene Beautiful Lengths. After watching

Anne Goldberg, local potter at SAW and Sopris Sun ad rep, used a novel set of talents during the National Ultimate Frisbee Grand Master (40 years old and up) championships down in Denver last weekend. Anne traveled to Denver to watch her brother Bennett play for a Boston-area team called “DoG.” Bennett, a late addition to the roster, was thrilled to join the team and have a chance at the thrill of victory. Unfortunately, Bennett pulled his glutious maximus in the first game on the first day. Fortunately, Anne was there to provide a rubdown and massage, loosening her brother up enough to make him a viable player.

As the tourney moved into its second day DoG was undefeated and just kept on winning, and Anne applied her magic fingers to a few more of the players who tightened up or went lame. DoG made it into the finals against Denver’s own Yomo Fog Oho. While Bennett didn't get a chance to play in that final (and very exciting) game, his good friend and fellow late roster addition, Vin, did play. In fact, Vin threw the go-ahead point to put DoG up 13-12 with just a few minutes to go.

When all was said and done, DoG had beaten out the hometown favorite 14-13. As the trophies were being passed out and toasts made Anne, the unsung heroine of the DoG squad, remained unsung. But Scuttlebutt recognizes her vital role in the championship, and points out that it’s a DoG’s life.

Mural project will bring out the color in Carbondale kids

By Trina Ortega Denver artist Tony Ortega was creating blankets of color long before he launched into working on murals.

In fact, his artistic endeavors began when he was a boy in Pecos, New Mexico, where his grandmother, a quiltmaker, raised him and taught him how to sew.

“So that’s where my artistic interest began,” stated Ortega, who returns to Carbondale Saturday and Sunday to work with local youth on a collaborative mural project.

Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities are teaming up to offer the community mural project on July 18-19 in Sopris Park. Youth ages 8 and older are invited to participate in the project that will be facilitated by Ortega, a nationally and internationally exhibiting artist. After the mural is painted, it will be installed at the Carbondale Recreation and Community Center.

Ortega said he uses the community mural process to show people of all ages and abilities that they, too, can create art and enjoy making art.

“I hope to share that art doesn’t have to just be in galleries or museums or for wealthy people,” Ortega told the Sopris Sun. Working with youth on murals, he said, evolved from his teaching and from projects he had orchestrated for youth organizations in the Denver area.

Ortega, who continues to teach formally in the Visual Art Department at Regis University, believes that murals reflect the needs, hopes and dreams of the community.

He further explains on his Web site: “The mural process encourages participants of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds to collaborate, develop friendships, and learn from each other while developing their art skills.”

After graduating with a master of fine arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he did not plan to work with kids on mural projects. Instead, he focused on his easel painting.

Over the years, his work has ranged in medium, including acrylic, pastel, pencil, hand-colored etching, monotype/ silkscreen and acrylic collage.

Ortega is the recipient of numerous awards, such as the 1999 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and has exhibited throughout Colorado, the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Westword writer Michael Roberts listed Ortega among the “wildly creative” artists in the Denver Chicano arts community — a “treasure” in the underpinnings of Denver.

A small group sitting under a tree eating tacos, migrants picking berries in a field, a paletero selling ice cream: Ortega’s vibrant scenes of everyday life in Latino America are small parts that make up the bigger picture. The Latino experience is not isolated, but is an “active, integral part of American

society,” he says.

The primary focus of his work is what he calls the “collective.” Ortega explains that his paintings seldom depict the individual as the main subject. Rather, the individual is an integral part of the larger society, a patchwork of community life.

“The people in my artwork don’t have individual features; they are faceless, yet each one is important in defining the group, the community interacting and participating in its many rituals, social settings and group functions.”

Participation in the weekend’s mural project is open and free for all Carbondale youth. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in Sopris Park. Kids will work on the mural in a one- or two-hour block of time and may sign up for more than one block.

To register/reserve a spot, call CCAH at 963-1680.

CCAH Summer of Music 7 p.m. Sunday, July 19 at Sopris Park Those who like Gram Parsons, The Band, The Dead, Eric Clapton, The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Ronnie Lane, The Stones, New Riders or any rock ’n’ roll with a foot in country will love Bill Powers and The Silvertone Devils. This five-piece roots-rock/Americana band from Paonia revolves around the talents of husband and wife team Bill Powers and Shelley Gray (Sweet Sunny South, Honey Don’t) and features some great area musicians including Mark Anderson and Greg Cooperman. Bill and Shelley (pictured above) played a set at this year’s Lobster Fest. For more about their music, visit www.myspace.com/Billpowerssongs. Photo courtesy Steve Standiford

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THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009 • 7

Let the fair begin On July 24, the last Friday of the month, following the blessing in Sopris Park, the Mountain Fair drum circle will create the beat. It will build from the park into the surrounding neighborhoods, a slow, purposeful rhythm that will reverberate throughout the town of Carbondale. As the beat goes on, the tempo will accelerate, becoming louder and louder until it reaches a crescendo that turns into a drumming frenzy.

Suddenly, it will stop.

But it will have accomplished its purpose, just as it has for the last 38 years: The beat of the 38th annual Mountain Fair, 2009 will carry us through Mountain Fair weekend.

By Jane Bachrach On Tuesday, July 21, several Carbondale employees will be spiffing up Sopris Park.

They will trim plants, mow the grass and prune trees. The low hum from lawn mowers will pierce the otherwise tranquil scene.

A truck will roll up close to the stage as Mark Taylor and Amy Kimberly await its arrival. The driver, Scott Minor, will open the large door on the back, exposing the contents: a potpourri of masks, statues, Persian rugs, signs, tents, decorations and other fair paraphernalia. Kimberly and Taylor will probably look at each other and sigh with relief.

Although this year’s Mountain Fair will have not yet begun, most of their work will have already been completed.

After a year of preparing for the 38th annual Mountain Fair, Director Amy Kimberly and Production Manager Mark Taylor will unload the truck. For Kimberly, certain objects will trigger a memory from a past Mountain Fair and she’ll giggle or grin, as her mind travels back through time. All the hard work they’ve put in during the year has led up to this moment. And although the pressure will be on them through Sunday, it’ll be a welcome pressure because they too will get to dance along with the 15,000-person crowd.

In and around Carbondale, fairgoers and contestants are gearing up for one of their favorite weekends of the year. Some folks might be practicing their fly-casting techniques.

Others might be honing their wood splitting skills or perfecting the icing on the cake they plan to enter in the cake baking competition on Sunday. They’re finding ways to clear their schedules for Friday through Sunday, and looking forward to fair food and mojitos, and dancing to some awesome music. Mountain Fair is amazing. It’s free, and allows revelers to let their hair down and take in all that the fair has to offer.

But wait a minute. How does Mountain Fair suddenly appear in Sopris Park, year after year? Who designs the stage? Who puts up the booths and decides where the pie and cake tents will be placed?

Is it possible that super aliens from an-

Sarah Villafranco and Julie Oldham appear quite animated as they sing along with the Redtones and Band of Heathens (not seen) at last year's Mountain Fair. Jeff and Priscilla Dickinson sit behind them looking quite amused. Photo by Jane Bachrach other planet drop Mountain Fair from their spaceship late Thursday night with a plop, right on target into Sopris Park?

The truth is slightly less far fetched: Mountain Fair is created by different aliens: “Bonedalians.”

“I will begin working on next year’s Mountain Fair pretty much as soon as this year’s fair is over,” said fair director Amy Kimberly. “I have a whole team I work with known as the Mountain Fair Committee, and start soliciting for next year’s committee members in November.”

Kimberely’s assistant is Kat Rich, whom Kimberly thinks is the cat’s meow.

Although Kimberly solicits volunteers almost exclusively from Bonedale, once in a blue moon she’ll search outside our solar system. This year for example, she beamed in a backstage designer who resides on planet I-can-tel-u-ryde.

Mark Taylor has worked in various capacities for Mountain Fair since 1993 or 1994 and, like Kimberly, starts working on next year’s event as soon as this year’s fair ends. “My job is to organize the set up of the park. I coordinate everything from getting radios, to getting the perimeter fencing established, getting the tents set up, setting up the Continued on next page

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Oasis, coordinating traffic, working with vendors and making sure that the trailer is brought in on the Tuesday before fair so we can start setting things up on Wednesday,” Taylor said.

Taylor is working with Marty Treadway on the backstage tent this year. In previous years, an outside vendor always brought in the tent and decorated it.

Halcyon Productions will be doing the sound work for Mountain Fair.

Jeff Britt is the stage manager. He coordinates each act’s arrival, unloading, set up, tear down and re-loading. He is also responsible for the timing of all the acts on stage. “My crew also does fill in,” Britt said. “If we’re short traffic control, or trash or whatever, we have a bunch of guys standing around back stage to fill in immediately. They’re always on standby.”

“We use them as bubble gum to patch holes. They’re the bubble gum crew,” Taylor quipped.

“A handful of us pull this thing off. It’s pretty amazing to know you’ve brought a little bit of joy to all these people. It’s a beautiful thing,” Britt said.

Mountain Fair Committees The theme this year is Local Motion and that’s exactly what it takes to put together a fair of this magnitude: a lot of local motion, mostly in the form of volunteers. “We are so lucky and blessed that we have the people we do working on this fair; people go so beyond what they need to,” Kimberly said, adding that they need about 250 volunteers.

“It starts with the Mountain Fair committee members, some who have been on the committee for eons and others come and go.

It’s an incredible rotating organism with one ing Mountain Fair a success. Megan Larsen, heartbeat,” Kimberly said. The Mountain Lauren Martindale and Laura Vogeland head Fair committees include: Peace Patrol, up the Volunteers Committee. “Last year was The Green Team, Cantina, Oasis, Volunteer their first year and they did an amazing job,” Coordinators, Outer Kimberly said. Jess Downing coordinates Limits (park perimeter) and Information the volunteers for CCAH. Booth. The raffle, Hans Lindbloom T-shirts and silent handles the Cantina. auction are handled Until he handed it over by the Carbondale Council on Arts and to Lindbloom, Bob Humanities (CCAH) Schultz was the head board. honcho at the Cantina and he continues to Kimberly said that help facilitate. the Green Team is a Jammin’ Jim and “huge reason people Drea Marsh head up want to be involved in Mountain Fair.” the Oasis. According This year, Jason to Kimberly, they have White has taken over some great young talent this year that they the Green Team from want to promote so Mark Weinhold, who they have added a used to run it. Acnew show called cording to White, he has a whole “slew” of “Catch A Rising Star.”

In addition to volunteers working making sure that for him. everything is proceedWhite said the Mark Taylor ing as planned at Green Team, over the five years of its exisMountain Fair production manager Mountain Fair, Kimberly oversees the tence, has boosted recycling and composting to the point that only stage design and backstage design. She has a 15 percent of Mountain Fair’s waste ends up different stage designer every year, and this in the landfill. The figure used to be closer to year she’s chosen Amber Sparkles. “The vi85 percent. sion of the stage is up to the artist,” Kimberly “What the Green Team has accom- said. Cody Lyon, a former Bonedalian who plished … has just been phenomenal” Kim- now lives in Telluride, is doing the backstage design this year, she added. berly added.

The most labor-intensive part of Mountain Finding volunteers is a huge part of mak-

“Right after the fair we have some decompression time, then, the next day, Mountain Fair Director Amy Kimberly and I will get together with Jeff Britt and compare notes on what we feel can stand improvement, what went wrong, and ideas we have for improving the fair for next year. Then we’ll look at the budget…” ~

what’s cooking?

Fair is organizing the vendors. Kimberly and CCAH Director Ro Mead handle the vendors themselves. “It’s an overwhelming job. We’ve been lucky to keep them feeling good, which is an art unto itself,” Kimberly said.

This year there will be 164 vendors and Kimberly started booking them in November.

She said that the vendors really pay for the fun part of Mountain Fair.

Benefit to the town Mountain Fair is free to the public, and, according to Taylor, “the economic gain to the town and CCAH is pretty amazing. There are certain things that people allow themselves during economic dysfunction and if it’s a free venue, people are going to come and spend money.”

“This little fair generates an amazing economic stimulus for the town,” he said, pointing out that between 15,000 and 20,000 people show up throughout the weekend and pour money into accommodations, restaurants, and bars – not to mention the sales tax coffers.

“Over $17,000 in sales tax goes directly to the town of Carbondale, and another $23,000 goes to the state,” Kimberly added.

Since Mountain Fair is good for Carbondale’s economy, it also brings the community together.

“I think the participation of the whole community, from the restaurants who donate stuff, to our police and the parks guys, they are all the heroes of Mountain Fair,” Kimberly said. She added, “Those people that show up to help clean the park on Monday morning … well … they’re all the angels of Mountain Fair.”

Let the 38th annual Mountain Fair begin!

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www.kitchencollage.com THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009 • 9

Community Calendar THURSDAY, July 16 PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT • Photographer Mariah Shipp is exhibiting works at the Village Smithy through July. Shipp enjoys shooting landscapes and wildlife and is curently working on abstracts (one photo overlaid over another).

For more about the show, email mariahshipp@gmail.com or call 963-6830.

MT. SOPRIS RUNOFF • Pre-registration forms are available for the Mt. Sopris Runoff on July 25. The 16.5-mile course begins at the 711 in Basalt and ends at Sopris Park. Pre-registration forms available at Ute Mountaineer, Basalt Bike and Ski, Independence Run and Hike, and Summit Canyon. The entry fee is $24 prior to the race and $25 on race day. For more information call Bruce Gabow at 927- 4135.

DIVORCE CLASS • Alpine Legal Services presents the Do It Yourself Divorce Class at 1 p.m.

July 16 at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs. A small donation is requested. For further information, call 945-8858.

GREEN DRINKS • SCoR, the Sustainability Center of the Rockies, has revived Green Drinks from 5-7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month throughout the year. The July gathering is co-hosted by Eco Goddess Restaurant at 335 Main St. LEGAL ADVICE • Do you have legal questions on civil issues, divorce, custody, tenant rights, powers of attorney? Alpine Legal Services presents Thursday Night Bar beginning at 5 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs. For more information, call 945-8858. Alpine Legal also offers open intake in Glenwood Springs and Aspen to eligible clients. For details, call 945-8858 or 920-2828.

P&Z MEETS • Carbondale Planning & Zoning Commission meets at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.

RODEO • The Carbondale Wild West Rodeo is ongoing through Aug. 20. For more about the rodeo, visit www.carbondalerodeo.com. The “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” rodeo takes place tonight.

COMEDY AT STEVE’S • Rough Sketch, an evening of sketch comedy with Steve Skinner and Ellie Davis will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at Steve’s Guitars. The duo has created one-act plays, theater sketches and some original songs for this night of “comedic works in progress.”

SNOWMASS MUSIC • The Snowmass Summer of Free Music runs Thursdays on Fanny Hill. The Iguanas perform July 16. For more information go to www.snowmassvillage.com or call (800) SNOWMASS.

FRIDAY, July 17 CLAY CAMPS • Register by July 17 for the “Painting, Stamping, Petrogylphs & More!” and “Garden Sculptures” clay camps, both for ages 8-10, at the Carbondale Clay Center.

Camps meet Monday through Friday at the CCC Studios, 135 Main St. Call 963-CLAY to register, or visit www.carbondaleclay.org for more information.

BOOK SIGNING • Carbondale-based author, artist and life coach Sheri Gaynor will host a book signing and demonstration of her book, Creative Awakenings, from 5-7 p.m. July 17 at the Book Train in Glenwood Springs. Refreshments will be served.

MOVIES • Showing at 8 p.m. July 17-23 at the Crystal Theatre, “Away We Go” (R).

ART OPENING • Wyly Community Arts Center will host an exhibition featuring paintings by Dan Namingha, sculpture by Arlo Namingha, native robes by Janet Nelson and ceramics by Michael Wisner. Nelson will provide an artist’s lecture at 5:30 p.m. July 17, followed by a re-

10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009

To list your event, email information to news@soprissun.com. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.

Events take place in Carbondale unless noted.

ception at Wyly’s New Gallery at 211 Midland Ave. in Basalt.

REDSTONE MUSIC • Slide guitar champion and singer/songwriter Kraig Kenning will appear at 6:30 p.m. July 17 at the Crystal Club Cafe in Redstone. No cover. Call 963-9515 for more information.

LIVE MUSIC • Steve’s Guitars presents singer/songwriter Shannon McNally at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 17. Visit www.stevesguitars.net for more info.

SATURDAY, July 18 RIO GRANDE PARTY • Celebrate the anniversary of the completion of the Rio Grande Trail from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 18. Join RFTA for food, music, and a bouncy house for the kids. Mayor Bruce from Glenwood and Mayor Mick from Aspen will be leading “races” from either end of the valley to meet at the Carbondale Park & Ride for our celebration.

STAR GAZING • The Gordon Cooper Library is hosting a Star Gazing Party with The Three Rivers Astronomy Club from 8:30-11 p.m. in Sopris Park. At 8:30 p.m. there will be a solar system discussion about the planets. Call the library at 963-2889 for more information.

FILOHA MEADOWS WALK • The Roaring Fork Conservancy presents a walk through Filoha Meadows from 9-11:30 a.m. July 18.

Registration required. For more information and to register, log on to www.roaringfork.org/events or call 927-1290.

FAMILY FUN DAYS • Free kids activities for all ages and interests take place every Saturday at the Snowmass Village mall and base village.

For more information go to www.snowmassvillage.com.

RACE FOR CURE • The 19th annual Komen Aspen Race for the Cure will be Saturday, July 18 in Aspen. For more information, call the Race Hotline at 920-0250 or visit: www.komenaspen.org.

LIVE MUSIC • Steve’s Guitars presents Truckstop Honeymoon — “A barn-storming punkrock take on vaudeville banjo and bluegrass music” — at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18. Visit www.stevesguitars.net for more info.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, July 18-19 MURAL PROJECT • Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities will host a mural project with nationally known artist Tony Ortega from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 18-19 at Sopris Park. Open and free for all Carbondale children, ages 8 and up.

Call CCAH at 963-1680 to register.

KISS & SQUEAL • As part of its Kiss & Squeal annual fundraiser, YouthZone presents The Cougar Party from 10 p.m. to close on July 18 at Phat Thai. The evening includes a singles auction, drink specials and prizes. There is a $10 donation. On July 19 Konnyaku is hosting a Texas Hold ’Em Tournament from noon to 4:30 p.m.

There is a $125 suggested donation to play, with cash prizes for the top five. For more about the benefit, call YouthZone at 945-9300.

SUMMERFILMS • Aspen Film and the Aspen Music Festival and School present the 11th annual SummerFILMS series through Aug. 16 at Paepcke Auditorium.

For full details, visit www.aspenfilm.org.

STORY ART • Pitkin County Library presents Story Art for 4to 6-year olds on Tuesdays through Aug. 4 at the Pitkin County Library.

Free and open to the public.

For more information, call the library at 4291900 or visit www.pitcolib.org.

COMIC PERFORMS • Funny guy Barry Smith will be performing his awardwinning one-man shows Jesus in Montana: Adventures in a Doomsday Cult and Barry Smith’s Baby Book: Me, My Stuff and I at Theatre Aspen’s Sunday Series. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. July 19 and Aug. 2 at the Alex Kaufman Theatre in Rio Grande Park.

Tickets at 920-5770 or www.aspenshowtickets.com.

TRUSTEES MEETING • The Carbondale Board of Trustees meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

MONDAY, July 20 CANCER LECTURE • The Aspen Cancer Conference and the Aspen Affiliate of Susan G. Komen present a free public lecture on breast cancer prevention, diagnosis and therapy from 3-6 p.m. July 20 at Paepcke Auditorium in Aspen.

LIVE MUSIC • Steve’s Guitars presents Kasier Cartel at 8:30 p.m. July 20. Visit www.stevesguitars.net for more info.

DANCE CLASSES • Learn African and Caribbean dances with live drummers and fun rhythms. All ages and abilities welcome. $10. Mondays from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Community School, 1505 Satank Road. Call Steve at 379-8422 with questions.

OPEN STUDIO • The Third Street Artists host an open studio (all media) from 4-7 p.m. Mondays at Carbondale’s new Third Street Center.

Walk-in fee is $10; four consecutive sessions is $20. Bring all materials. Casual critique during the last half hour. Call 963-2122 or 963-8275 for more info.

TUESDAY, July 21 LIBRARY PROGRAMS • Gordon Cooper Library hosts programs and workshops as part of its Summer of Reading series.

ROOT BEER FLOATS • Near New/Rebekah Lodge is hosting a root beer float and bake sale from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 21 in front of the store at 302 Main St. All proceeds benefit Relay for Life. For more information, call 963-0340.

DRAMA CAMP • Thunder River Theatre Company holds its 2009 Summer Drama Camp with sessions for ages 6-8, 9-11 and 12-14 on July 21-23; and July 28-30. Download a Summer Drama Camp brochure at www.thunderrivertheatre.com and click on “Professional

LIVE JAZZ • The Tuesday night Live Jazz Series takes place from 7-9 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays at Steve’s Guitars.

ADVENTURE SPEAKER SERIES • Ute Mountaineer presents “Uncertainty on Ama Dablam’s Southwest Ridge” by Ted Mahon at 7 p.m. July 21. Free. Upstairs at Ute Mountaineer, 308 S. Mill St. in Aspen.

WEDNESDAY, July 22 READ ALOUDS • Gordon Cooper Branch Library hosts Summer Read Alouds with teachers from Crystal River Elementary School at 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Aug. 5. Bring a bag lunch. For more information, call 963-2889.

FARMER’S MARKET • The Carbondale Farmer’s Market is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Wednesday through Sept. 30 at the corner of Fourth and Main streets. Fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese, bread, coffee, wine, flowers, prepared foods, crafts and more. Free entertainment.

HEALTHY EATING • Ricki Lee McKenna, aka Mchealthy, a certified nutritionist and “foodie,” will present the workshop “Eating Your Way to Better Health” from 7-8:30 p.m.

July 22 at 258 Basalt Ave. Contact: Ricki McKenna at 927-4577 or Merinya Hucks at 404-2692 to participate.

ASPEN HYDROPOWER TOUR • Join the Roaring Fork Conservancy and the Aspen Water Department for a tour of Aspen’s hydropower facilities from 5-7:30 p.m. July 22.

Free and open to the public. Registration required. Call 927-1290 for more information.

Register online at www.roaringfork.org/events.

LIVE MUSIC • Jerry Alcorta will be playing classic acoustic rock ’n’ roll from 7-10 p.m. July 22 at White House Pizza.

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SUNDAY, July 19 HIKE SERIES • The Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign hike series continues July 19 at Huntsman Ridge. All hikes are free; advance registration required at www.whiteriverwild.org.

PARK CONCERT • The Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities presents Bill Powers and The Silvertone Devils, a five-piece rootsrock/Americana band from Paonia. Concert begins at 7 p.m. July 19 at Sopris Park. For more about the musicians, visit www.myspace.com/Billpowerssongs.

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Community Briefs Basalt nonprofit thrift store adds ‘book depot’

LIFT-UP receives City Market Cares donation

A Basalt-based nonprofit business that is helping Carbondale schools green up with their own gardens is promoting another earth-friendly project.

Roaring Fork High School is already benefitting from the success of the Basalt Thrift Store, which celebrated its one-year anniversary on July 12. The store’s proceeds are earmarked for agricultural learning centers, including the construction of a greenhouse at Roaring Fork High School.

The greenhouse is part of a collaborative community project with Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute and is expected to be installed this summer.

Now the Basalt Thrift Store is also home to a “Book Recycle” depot. The store accepts all used and unwanted books of any type.

“We’ve realized that there really isn’t a convenient valley location to drop your unwanted books,” says Jullia Pratt, BTS executive director. “Our entire philosophy is based on our motto, “Reclaim, Restore, Resell,” and so we’ve decided to provide a resource and an alternative to merely throwing away unwanted literature.”

Pratt said the store is aligned with a 100-year-old recycle establishment on the East Coast that takes all the books the store can send. From there, they export to third-world countries and/or ultimately recycle the paper.

“This is the smartest and best way to part with your books,” Pratt said.

And if you have too many books to carry, Pratt said not to worry. “We have trucks, we have volunteers, we will happily come to you and pick them up, just give us a call.”

The Basalt Thrift Store is located at 180 South Side Drive just down the block from Big O Tires off of Highway 82.

For more information, call 927-6488 or go to www.basaltthrift.com.

City Market presented LIFT-UP with a check for $7,500 last week as part of its City Market Cares program. Each quarter, City Market donates $100,000 to qualifying charitable organizations. To participate, customers may call the toll-free number on the back of their value card to designate the organization they wish to support. The organization then receives points from registered customers’ purchases, which determines how the funds are distributed each quarter.

Requests to LIFT-UP for food have increased dramatically at all six LIFT-UP food pantries since the downturn in the economy. LIFT-UP managers say the donation will greatly assist the organization’s efforts to serve local neighbors in need.

Drum circle volunteers, drummers needed The Mother of All Drum Circles will open the 38th annual Carbondale Mountain Fair at 4 p.m. July 24 in Sopris Park.

This gathering of more than 200 people is the perfect kick-off and sets the tone for the weekend of unity within diversity. It brings together a range of community members in “one harmonious synchronized and embellished pulse, the rhythm of the One,” said drum circle facilitator Laurie Loeb.

Participants should bring their own hand drum and/or small percussion; instruments will be provided for those who don’t have their own.

Volunteers also are needed before and after to help pack/unpack, load/unload, transport, set up/break down drums and equipment and during the drum circle to distribute instruments as people arrive and gather instruments at the end. Those who work all facets of the whole gig, from

2:15-6:15 p.m., will receive a complimentary Friend of the Fair T-shirt and a chance at the cruiser bike donated by Ajax.

For more info, call Laurie Loeb, 970-963-2798.

Mt. Sopris Runoff set for July 25 For 31 consecutive years, runners have reveled in the beauty and challenge of completing one of the most scenic races in the valley. The Mt. Sopris Runoff will make a return appearance on Saturday, July 25.

The 16.5-mile course begins at the 7-11 in Basalt and ends at Sopris Park where the Carbondale Mountain Fair will be in full swing.

Pre-registration forms are available at Ute Mountaineer in Aspen, Basalt Bike and Ski, Independence Run and Hike in Carbondale, and Summit Canyon in Glenwood. The entry fee is $24 prior to the race and $25 on race day. The fee includes a special Mountain Fair/Sopris Runoff T-shirt and refreshments at the finish line.

The race begins at 8 a.m. and registration on the morning of the race begins at 7:15 a.m. at the Basalt 7-11.

For more information call Bruce Gabow at 927- 4135.

Kids’ triathlon takes place Saturday The Carbondale Recreation Department is holding a child/youth mini-triathlon for children ages 3-15 at 10 a.m.

Saturday, July 18, at the Carbondale Pool and Sopris Park.

Children will be divided into age groups and swim an adjusted distance (also dependent on their skill level). After the swim, the children will move over to Sopris Park for the biking and running portions of the event.

Participants must provide their own bicycles or tricycles.

All participants are winners and will receive an award after completing the event.

Registration deadline is Friday, July 17. For more information, call Justin Perdue, aquatics manager, at 963-2065.

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The Passion Test — clarity and clues to your life’s purpose and health Everyone was born with unique talents and gifts to discover, develop and share with the world. The problem is, many people complete their lives never realizing what those are. While searching for my purpose and place in the world, I asked myself these questions: Why am I here? What am I supposed to be doing? How can I be of service in the world?

What is my purpose?

William Barclay, a Scottish theologian and author, once said, “There are two great days in a person’s life — the day we are born and the day we discover why.”

Getting clear about what into excites you, what you’re good at, and what you love are all clues to your life’s

by Nan Cutler purpose. For me, discovering the answers to those questions came through a process featured in The Passion Test, a book co-authored by Janet

Journeys Health

and Chris Attwood.

Many of us go through our lives working in a career or different jobs we thought would be rewarding and profitable but proved otherwise. We are often forced in a certain direction by our parents and peers or by financial obligations. We may become unhappy because we chose to stay in those situations, believing that we don’t have other choices or we don’t know what else to do. A recent poll by Harris Interactive Study revealed that 80 percent of Americans are unhappy, unsatisfied and unfulfilled in their current jobs. That means only 20 percent of working Americans are passionate about what they do and that they’re contributing to the greater good. Are you or do you know one of those who fall into the 80 percent?

In this time of economic wobble, we are being given a chance to re-evaluate our careers and how we are living our lives. Many people are being invited to make changes that they, until now, wouldn’t choose in and of themselves.

What I know to be true, is that when you align your life and vocation with what you have passion for and the things you love the most, you will experience a sense of joy, purpose and fulfillment.

The Passion Test provides the simplest way for you to figure out what matters most. Enjoying a sense of purpose and meaning elicits a higher emotional state of happiness

and better overall physical health. Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman, neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Spirituality and the Mind, say: “The more you focus on what you truly love, the healthier you are likely to be, and the more you will feel the positive effects of those stress-reducing neurochemicals in your body and mind.” Living your passions, therefore, appears to be an integral part of your overall health and well-being.

Life is a journey, so make it a good one. Now is the time to start living the purposeful life you were meant to live. By taking The Passion Test, you will identify your top five passions and learn how to bring them fully present into all areas of your life, including your vocation. As Janet Attwood says, “When you are clear about what you want, it will show up in your life, and only to the extent that you are clear.”

Ask yourself this question: When do you want to start living a passion-filled life? If your answer is “now,” enroll in the Colorado Mountain College course called “Discover Your Passions” starting next month. Or, if you’d like to take the assessment sooner, contact me for The Passion Test book.

Nan Cutler, certified Passion Test facilitator, lives and works in Carbondale and can be reached at (970) 2157660 or besthealth3@yahoo.com.

Ride ’em, cowboy continued from page 1 more technical. Tesch grew up with the cowboy lifestyle — his father was a bronco rider — and began bull riding 12 years ago at age 8. Tesch says the only things running through his mind are to ride, try, and don’t quit; to react to the bull bucking.

“You kinda get used to it; it’s like riding a bicycle,” he said.

While doing such a daring sport, Rebel stated that his favorite part is the adrenaline rush and the feeling of “conquering the beast.”

Marcelo Cruz, a 35-year-old bull rider, jokingly describes himself as a “veteran of the sport.” He agrees that nothing goes through his head while riding a bull, other than to hang on. Like Tesch, Cruz grew up with this lifestyle. While living on a ranch, he always fancied trying to tame the wild. Bull riding has proven to be a good match for his daring personality. Though Cruz has been a bull rider for 15 years, he said it still requires being in very good shape.

“If you haven’t practiced, it shows,” he stated.

All riders get thrown; the result of not practicing is getting bucked to the ground in a shorter amount of time.

The rules of bull riding state that a rider must try to stay on for at least eight seconds. Also, a rider can only seize the rope on the bull with one hand; the other is not allowed to touch any part of the bull. If that hand touches the bull, it results in disqualification. Under such conditions, falling off is inevitable.

Bull riding is one of many weekly events that take place at Carbondale’s rodeo. Another event closely related to bull riding is steer riding. In fact, it’s bull riding in miniature. Steer riding is an event for kids and teens (ages 12-16) who try to ride a steer, and instead of the grueling eight-secondminimum rule, the time in steer riding is reduced to six seconds. Shay Gianinetti, a 12-year-old competitor who has been steer riding for about a month, said that what runs through his mind is “just to focus, to stay on and don’t get hurt.” Gianinetti is grateful for his brother, Tanner, who taught him how to steer ride and helps him practice.

“My brother uses a barrel and rocks it back and forth so I practice the motion of steer riding,” Gianinetti said.

For some, there’s nothing much to falling and for others — depending on the circumstances — it’s a lot more painful.

Gianinetti is one of those who can be pushed into the dirt and will bounce back up.

“It hurts, but I get up and I have a really fun time, so I do it again,” he quipped.

Cruz explained that sometimes when you fall off you don’t feel any pain and the adrenaline causes him to race out of the arena. When safe, he may suddenly notice the throbbing pain from an injury. He said maybe the crowd thinks you’re faking it because they just saw you run out of the arena perfectly fine and now you’re unable to move because of the agony.

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12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • JULY 16, 2009

on the sidewalk at Near New / Rebakah Lodge 302 Main St., Carbondale 963-0340 All Proceeds Benefit Relay for Life

Bullfighter Clint Hopkins, puts on his “game face” as he gets ready to go to work, a job much more dangerous than most.

Photo by Jane Bachrach “When you hit the ground, the adrenaline makes you take off runnin,’” Cruz explained.

Cruz’s friend, a fellow bull rider, described getting thrown from a bull one night. He suffered a broken pelvis and sprinted out of the arena and, just as Cruz described, he then collapsed from the injury.

Another man who gets in the same predicaments as the riders is the Carbondale rodeo’s bull fighter, Clint Hopkins.

The bull fighter’s job is to ensure that a bull — after throwing his mount to the ground — doesn’t charge and/or trample him. Twenty-eight-year-old Hopkins is from Ellicot, Colo., a small town just outside of Colorado Springs. He has been a bull fighter for 13 years. He has also worked with the Colorado Pro Rodeo Association for five years and has had his share of tramples and injuries.

“There’s a lot of bumps and bruises,” he explained. “And broken bones come with it.”

Despite the injuries, Hopkins still finds his bull fighter job exciting. “It’s something I grew up with; I’ve always been a ‘rodeo guy.’”

His message to Carbondale is to “come out here and join us,” but overall to have fun.

Ask some of these cowboys if bull riding is as dangerous as it seems, and they’ll say that it’s just as hazardous as the crazy stunts people do out of airplanes. And Tesch added: “It’s just as dangerous as getting in your car.”