2010 03 04

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VOLUME 2, NUMBER 3 • MARCH 4, 2010

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ART of the Valley

e Valley Visual Arts Show returns to town on Friday

By Trina Ortega The Sopris Sun

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These are a few of the works that will be featured in the 2010 Valley Visual Arts Show opening tomorrow, March 5, during the First Friday festivities at CCAH. Janet Nelson’s “Flight” (top) and “Sitting Figure” are made from jeweler’s wire and copper wire. Michael McConnell painted “Windgate Reef” and “Within Me Lay an Invisible Summer Painter.” Photo by Jane Bachrach

at Rich is a tortured soul. She’s spent much of her recent years burying the angry feelings surrounding the deaths of her parents and brother in a plane crash. Then she took a “Soul Sessions” creative expression class a couple of years ago with local expressive arts therapist Sheri Gaynor and finally let some of the rage out.

It was expressed in reds and blues, greens, whites and pinks. The emotions were dribbles and droplets, dry brush strokes in circular motions, and fingertips pressed across watercolor paper. Those feelings became mixed-media panels of Rich’s insides, or as she describes it, “emotional vomit.”

It took courage for her to find a way to finally start healing. It took even more to paint her feelings onto paper. And it has taken all she can muster (and a “kick in the ass from my friends,” she says) to frame the work to be displayed alongside some of the valley’s well-known artists in the 30th annual Valley Visual Arts Show opening this Friday.

Sponsored by the Carbondale Council on Arts and Humanities, the Valley Visual is a non-juried show that features a variety of work by experienced and budding artists from the Roaring Fork and Crystal River valleys. The exhibition includes about 100 that are displayed and for sale at both the CCAH Gallery at 645 Main Street and the Gordon Cooper Library at 76 S. Fourth Street.

The opening reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at both locations during Carbondale’s First Friday Festivities on March 5. The show will run through the end of the month.

“What I love about the Valley Visual is that it is a show for everybody,” says Rich, who works to raise funds for CCAH and KDNK. You may also know her by her syrupy smooth voice as she hosts All Things Considered, her own radio show and more on KDNK. Rich said she’s honored and intimidated to be displaying work in a community full of talent, but that’s why she appreciates CCAH. Along EXPRESSION page 8

e cost of creative development

Another look at the Sutey swap

Seniors acting up

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Carbondale Commentary

Guess the number So the census is coming. They are going to count us and find out how many there are.

How many do you think there are here in Carbondale? City hall thinks there are about 5,600. The folks at the sewage plant, based on the amount of stuff we send them, think there may be 6,000. Maybe we should have a contest? Everyone can put a guess in a jar at city hall. Along with your guess of how many people there are, maybe you could put down how many you want?

This census will be handy. The county and the town are working on their comprehensive plans – they’ll have to build more bookshelves for all of them – and it will be a mite easier to figure out how much stuff we’re going to need in 20 years if we know how many people we’ll have to provide that stuff for. That’s why you want to be counted. The census determines how $400 billion is spent by Congress – it’s our chance to step up to the public trough. We get money from the government based on how many of us live here, money for roads and schools and hospitals. You know, that socializm stuff.

All this talk about self-sufficiency – how are you going to be self-sufficient if the self keeps getting bigger?

Some places tried to do social engineering and set a limit on the population. What do you think would limit Carbondale’s population? Water? Town says we have plenty of water. Probably do. When you have a 4-foot-wide city

By Birdbrain ditch that runs continuously through town and spills back into the river, you got a lot of water. Now if it gets warmer and the snow all runs away in the rain and Phoenix has armed guards on our head gates we might have a problem but it doesn’t appear to be a limiting factor.

Energy, you have to have energy for everyone because it gets too cold here to live without it. Ideally it should be produced and consumed locally without sending it from some oil well in the Middle East. The settlers burned wood and then coal. We probably have a big jump on most communities with solar and there is probably some great potential for some micro hydro. If we knew how many people we were going to have in 20 years we would have a good idea of how many electrons we’re going to need.

We’re never going to be able to raise enough food here to feed us all so we need the trucks to show up at Circle Supers where we can purchase our nutrients. The number of people that can live in Carbondale is probably going to be determined by how many can make a living here. Traditionally, folks made a living off the resources, first the grasslands and good soil of the river benches, then the minerals of coal and silver. Then we milked the tourists when they came to ski. Then we milked them when they wanted to stay.

Right now we’ve got several years worth of McMansion inventory and we won’t be building more soon. Maybe we’re as big as we’re going to be. No matter what happens it’s going to be more expensive to live here than lots of other places. We’re going to have to reinvent ourbselves to survive. How are we in Carbondale going to make a living? Carbondale could be a great retirement community. It’s flat. Electric Jazzy scooters and golf carts can get around great. It’s tougher than a bag a bobcats to introduce new technology or innovation, but we know golf carts. They’re electric, they plug into battery chargers, and they would get us around town fine in the summer and part of the winter. Pedestrians are the indicator species of a healthy community. If we used bikes, golf carts and our shoes, think of the energy we could save for bringing in food. So go ahead make a guess at how many we have and how many we want. It’s just a number. Write to: Birdbrain88@comcast.net.

Cantankerous caterwaulings

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.

El Montañés box burnt Dear Editor: On Feb. 11 El Montañés, the Hispanic newspaper in the valley, celebrated its first anniversary.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to celebrate. On Feb. 16 someone lit one of our newspaper boxes on fire. The box was located next to the bus stop on Main Street and Highway 133.

The first question that comes to mind is, why?

It wasn’t easy to start a paper in the middle of a recession. At a time when the big companies were closing some of theirs (La Tribuna and The Valley Journal in this area), we took a risk and believed in the project.

In September we bought 30 boxes and we spent many hours cleaning and fixing them so they would look great.

Correction In our Feb. 25 edition we ran the wrong Web address for Alpine Animal Hospital. The correct address is alpinehospital.com. The Sopris Sun regrets the error.

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

This group has been taking trips to the 10th Mountain Division huts for the past 21 years. In early February they chose the Fowler-Hilliard yurt and brought along some extra sun. From left: Ralph and Pat Wanner, Vance Hutchinson, Judy Dubey, Mark Mace, Joy Blong, Theresa and Ben Wagenman and Greg Wetzel. Josh Cullins not pictured. Courtesy photo This newspaper has the same goal as others: bring news of what’s going on in the area, the state, the country and the world.

We also inform on community events and special programs offered by different entities. All this can help Hispanic families improve their quality of life in the valley and get a better understanding of how things work in the United States.

On Feb. 16, we found the box in Carbondale burnt with our anniversary edition still inside – mostly reduced to ashes. We have filed a report with the Carbondale police and they are aware of what happened.

We don’t know who lit the box on fire, but we’d like to ask the people in the community to call the police if they see somebody doing this. We take a lot of pride in what we do and we do it responsibly.

We hope this won’t happen again.

Veronica Whitney Editor, El Montañés Carbondale

Well-warmed thanks Dear Editor: The Gordon Cooper Library is so proud of our town for supporting the Big Read of “Fahrenheit 451.”

Thanks to the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District, handsomely represented by Will, Paul, Jason, and Chris. We had a record attendance of 120 parents and children for Wednesday morning story time.

The children were all ears as the firemen read stories, and they were all smiles when they got to ride on the fire truck.

The town of Carbondale closed Main Street, brought over the fire pit, bulldozed, back hoed, swept, and scraped the winter street clean to close Fourth Street for the Masri Nar Fire Troupe. The CRFPD returned to monitor the bonfire and help the dancers perform safely to a crowd of 250 folks.

We set the night on fire in the middle of February! Masri Nar, 12 performers strong,

was brilliant as it danced the story of the Phoenix. What a night and what a town!

Thanks to the Friends of the Gordon Cooper Library for sponsoring the dance troupe and the Thunder River Theatre for lending us luminaries from your prop room.

Your librarians love you and we can tell you love your library.

Marilyn, Liz, Stephanie, Veronica, Brenda and Linda

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Can the Village grow green?

Residential

Commercial

Residential

High land values pose a hurdle for creative local development

By Trina Ortega The Sopris Sun The story reads like a fairy tale: A developer out of the Denver area is designing urban farming communities where the farms feed the locals and additionally supply restaurants with crops. All the while, the community is providing jobs and a source of income for the landowner.

This guy “envisions a future where the nation’s 31 million acres of lawn are converted to food production. He sees golf-course greens redefined with herbs; sand traps as ‘kale traps.’ He sees retirement homes engulfed by farms and office buildings where workers escape cubicles on farming breaks.”

Or so reads an article in The Denver Post originally published in October 2009.

The story was about a man named Quint Redmond and a concept called “agriburbia,” and it turned some heads in Carbondale this February right around the time developer Rich Schierburg was introducing to the Carbondale Board of Trustees his plan to develop the 24 acres north of Main Street on the west side of Highway 133.

It was another chapter in the years-old story of Schierburg, who is seeking to rezone his properties into one planned unit development for a mixed-use commercial and residential project called The Village at Crystal River (formerly the Marketplace).

The Denver Post story prompted a vigorous discussion via Town Mother Laurie Loeb’s email distribution list. It inspired reflections on how the town might pour new energy and creativity into agriculture. Some wished that such an

Grocery Store

The Village at Crystal River would contain 125,000 square feet of retail commercial development, including a 58,000square-foot anchor grocery store (at right), and up to 268 residential units. Courtesy image idea would take root on Schierburg’s very site.

Schierburg did not respond to requests for interviews.

“This is the perfect idea for Carbondale! Esp. the Marketplace space. So much better than asphalt and high rises. Others brought it up before. We certainly have the talent here, is it too late?” questioned one.

“We talked about this concept seven years during the Marketplace debates. Now it’s an idea whose time has come, and is right up our alley! This is the kind of development [that] reflects the forward-thinking nature of this town! Why settle for less?” wrote another.

Others weighed in as well: “Great article, a much-needed step in the right direction at the right time.”

“Definitely inspiring and could be a form of agricultural (and even climatic) salvation … now it seems the next step is to convince the powers that be to encourage this type of thing in Carbondale, and all the RF Valley!”

But a piece of dirt in the Roaring Fork Valley can easily set you back a couple million dollars. So those of us at The Sopris Sun were curious: Is this concept even viable here?

No parcel of land is too small for the agriburbia concept, according to The TSR Group, the Golden, Colo., planning and design firm profiled in The Denver Post story.

So as an example, The Sopris Sun used the 1.44-acre parcel of land roughly one block north of Main Street on Highway 133. It is currently on the market for $1,727,000.

AGRIBURBIA page 7

Trustees still support Sutey-Two Shoes land swap

By Jeremy Heiman The Sopris Sun After reviewing a new compromise plan from the proponents of the Sutey-Two Shoes land exchange proposal, the Carbondale Board of Trustees Tuesday renewed its support for the swap.

The trustees voted 6-1 to stand behind their year-old decision to submit a letter of support for billionaire Leslie Wexner’s proposal.

The issue came before the trustees a second time at the request of Pitkin County, which continues to oppose the swap. Pitkin County’s Open Space Trails Board and Board of County Commissioners have repeatedly asserted that the deal is unequal, with Wexner, who amassed his fortune through ownership of numerous retail chains, getting public lands of both greater acreage and greater value than the land he would give up.

Wexner would get a 1,268-acre tract of U.S. Bureau of Land Management property that lies between the two parcels that make up his Two-Shoes Ranch, sprawling across the north slopes of Mt. Sopris within sight of Carbondale. In exchange, he would turn over to the BLM the 520-acre Sutey Ranch on Garfield County Road 112, less than three miles north of Carbondale. Wexner purchased the Sutey Ranch for $6.5 million with the intention of trading it for the BLM parcel he wants.

Carbondale was originally asked to submit a letter of support for the trade by Wexner’s representatives, who structured the deal. The swap would place federal land into private hands, and Congress must approve such transac-

tions. Without the recommendation of local governments, the Colorado Congressional delegation is thought to be unlikely to take up the cause. Several nonprofits and local jurisdictions, including Carbondale, endorsed the trade in its original form.

Pitkin County, however, refused to endorse the exchange, and offered a counterproposal in early January.

Among other things, the Pitkin counterproposal suggests creating a 971-acre county open space property out of the corner of Two Shoes Ranch and some BLM land at Potato Bill Creek, above where it flows into the Crystal River. The county proposed taking 536 acres of ranchland off Wexner’s hands, along with 395 acres of BLM land combined with 40 acres of county land. The proposed open space would be open to dispersed recreation and would serve as a Mt. Sopris access point for mountaineers and skiers.

Wexner and his consultants found the Pitkin County counterproposal unsatisfactory in several respects, one being the potential effects of dispersed recreation on wildlife and on the Two Shoes cattle operation. They also objected to Pitkin County staff’s basic assertion that the Wexners would be getting a much better deal than would the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

In the compromise proposal, introduced Feb. 16, Wexner’s team refers to the Pitkin County plan, saying that county staff and open space board members who disapproved of the asymmetrical deal created an “economic fiction … to justify converting 500 acres of ranch lands from private to public ownership.”

In its compromise proposal, Wexner’s team countered Pitkin County’s offer with a proposal to place a conservation easement on approximately 230 acres of the western part of the Two Shoes Ranch, an area known as the Potato Bill Tract. And they stuck to their demand for the full 1,268 acres of BLM land.

The Wexner group’s refusal to consider the Potato Bill open space plan is based in part on a report done at Wexner’s behest by wildlife biology consultant Jonathan Lowsky. In addition to being important habitat for mule deer and elk, the area is part of the home range of a bighorn sheep herd whose population has declined seriously in recent years.

In Tuesday evening’s presentation to the trustees, Pitkin County officials and a packed house of interested citizens, Lowsky pointed out on a series of maps the areas that are home to herds of deer, elk and bighorn sheep on the properties in question. He noted that the bighorn sheep herd that frequents Potato Bill Creek is infected with lungworm and a respiratory bacterium known as pasteurella, and that the animals are very likely to contract pneumonia when subjected to disturbance.

In the Potato Bill Creek area, Lowsky said,“there are no areas where recreation will not have an effect on wildlife.”

Because of the precarious health of the herd, he said, recreation can have a “catastrophic” effect on the bighorn herd, possibly causing a population crash.

Planning consultant Glenn Horn, also representing Wexner, asserted that the compromise plan provides more SWAP page 14 THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 3

News Briefs The Weekly News Brief The Sopris Sun and the KDNK news department team up each week to discuss recent news from the Roaring Fork Valley. Catch the Brief on KDNK at 6:50 a.m. and at 5:35 p.m. on Thursdays, or find it online at KDNK.org.

Another contender for town trustee

Volunteer board openings

Carbondale resident Elizabeth Murphy has begun petitioning to run for a seat on the board of town trustees in the April 6 town elections. Murphy has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for 10 years. Before moving to Carbondale she lived in Glenwood Springs, where, for a total of about two years, she served on the board of adjustment and the parks and recreation commission. Her two children attend school in Carbondale and she is director of the Green Sprouts Foundation, a Carbondale nonprofit that helps schools “go green” in a variety of ways. “[Carbondale] is a great little town and I think there are a lot of great opportunities here that are really untapped,” she said. “I want to be part of that project: making our community stronger and more vibrant than ever before.”

Speaking of untapped potential, Murphy said the town council should offer incentive packages to entice businesses to establish their headquarters in Carbondale, and to encourage innovators to start up new companies here as well. From outdoor apparel manufacturers to ski companies to budding energy-drink entrepreneurs, Murphy argued that a variety of businesses could find Carbondale a suitable home.

Any new business, she said, would help diversify Carbondale’s economy, strengthening it against the economic downturn.

Murphy said she is somewhat familiar with the town’s development approval process because she worked with the team behind the proposed Overlook Neighborhood to help broker a deal with a hotel envisioned for the property.

She emphasized that the town council should work to oversee how a project’s impacts upon the town, but said the council would do well to remember that often it is the developer – not the town – who owns the land in question.

Friday, March 5, is the final day to submit a signed petition to run for town office.

March 8 is the final day to register to vote in the April 6 election. Two trustee’s seats, and the mayor’s seat, are open. Contact town hall for more information.

Seats are available on four of Carbondale’s volunteer boards and commissions.

They include the environmental board, historic preservation commission, public arts commission and board of adjustment.

The environmental board is seeking a volunteer for a two-year term. This board provides analysis and recommendations on local environmental issues to the town trustees and other entities. Environmental board members also co-sponsor the town’s annual Dandelion Day Parade and Festival. Carbondale residents are preferred for the board, but up to three members may reside outside of town.

The board meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of the month.

Two three-year terms are available on Carbondale’s historic preservation commission, which works to protect and preserve the town’s historic and cultural heritage and designate historic landmarks. The commission meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

The public arts commission is seeking one alternate member. Its members work to provide all forms of art for the pleasure of residents and visitors. Terms last for three years and the commission meets at 8 a.m. on the second Friday of every month.

The board of adjustment seeks two alternates for four-year terms. Members meet as needed – generally three to six times per year – to help applicants find creative solutions for projects that do not fit the strict boundaries of the town’s municipal code. Commissioners have a chance to become familiar with the code and gain experience that may be useful for later service on the town planning and zoning commission. Meetings are on the last Wednesday night of the month.

Pick up an application for these boards at town hall or visit carbondalegov.org and click on “community governance.” Applications are due by 5 p.m., March 31. Mail them to Town Hall at 511 Colorado Ave., or e-mail them to community@carbondaleco.net.

E Board achieves goals, sets others At the town trustees’ meeting on Feb. 23, members of Carbondale’s volunteer environmental board recapped a number of the

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town’s environmental accomplishments from the past year.They also identified a handful of goals the board will work toward in 2010.

According to a summary sent out by the environmental board, progress has been made toward some of the objectives outlined under Carbondale’s 2007 Energy Plan.

As called for under the plan, new solar electricity systems have been installed at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Carbondale Recreation and Community Center, town hall and elsewhere with funds drawn from federal renewable energy bonds. The town also has taken steps toward energy efficiency retrofits on public buildings and has implemented an energy efficient – or “green building” – code for new residential construction. The Energy Plan called for a citizen campaign to be launched for energy and climate action and, along those lines, the environmental board co-sponsored The Solar Home Tour and the 350 International Day of Climate Action.

Among other achievements, the town established a very popular cardboard recycling site and the environmental board helped draw up a new solid waste ordinance. The board also worked toward establishing a local air quality monitoring program and controlling noxious weeds.

In 2010 the environmental board aims to, among other goals, install that air quality monitoring station in Carbondale, continue to explore ways to reduce the number of solid waste trucks operating in town and, with the approval of the town, partner with

the parks and recreation commission to earn Carbondale a national “Bicycle Friendly Community” designation.

GarCo considers mail-only election Jean Alberico, the Garfield County Clerk and Recorder, is seeking public comment on a proposal to conduct the 2010 Primary Election by mail ballots.

A press release from the county states that Garfield County voters have been voting by mail in coordinated odd-year elections since 1993. Many municipalities in Garfield County conduct all elections by mail ballot.

Since the 2000 general election the percentage of votes cast by mail in Garfield County has increased steadily from just over 50 percent in 2000 to 79 percent in the 2008 presidential election. In 2007, all voters received the option to permanently vote by mail-in ballot.

Fifty-four percent of active registered voters in Garfield County have asked to be placed on the permanent mail-in voter list.

The press release argues that if the primary election on Aug. 10 is conducted by mail-in ballot more people will vote because they will find the process cheaper and more convenient.

Email written comments to jalberico@ garfield-county.com. Mail them to Garfield County Clerk and Recorder, 109 Eighth Street, Suite 200, Glenwood Springs, 81601.

Or fax them to 947-1078. The deadline is March 12.A public hearing with the Garfield Board of County Commissioners is set for 10:15 a.m., March 15. For more information, call 945-2377, extension 1820.

Cop Shop

The following events are drawn from the incident reports of the Carbondale Police Department over the preceding few weeks.

SATURDAY, Feb. 6 At 2:40 p.m. an officer attempted to apprehend two bull dogs allegedly running loose on Weant Boulevard Someone else later picked up the dogs, named Lola and Ding Dong, and turned them over to the police. Lola and Ding Dong’s owners were out of town, so police turned the dogs over to one of their friends.

The owners were to be cited when they returned to town.

FRIDAY, Feb. 12 At 8:43 a.m. a resident of Latigo Loop reported that kids were stuffing snow into his mailbox, ruining his correspondence. An officer gave the alleged perpetrators a talking to.

SATURDAY, Feb. 13 At 8:43 a.m. a woman called to report a bovine making “very odd” moaning noises near the Carbondale nature park. It had crossed a ditch and was separate from the rest of the herd.

FRIDAY, Feb. 26 At 5:56 p.m. an officer was dispatched to an alleged theft from a house on Highway 133.The resident reported that someone had entered his home and relocated his bedroom furniture to his laundry room. His computer was also missing.

SUNDAY, Feb. 28 At about 9 p.m. a wallet containing $454, credit cards and other items was allegedly taken from a car parked on Main Street.

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Towns and county meet to coordinate comp plan effort

By Terray Sylvester The Sopris Sun About 50 elected and appointed officials from Garfield County and towns within it gathered at the Glenwood Springs Community Center on Monday to hash out how the county’s various governments might work together to shape new development over the next two decades.

The March 1 meeting was part of the county’s ongoing effort to update its comprehensive plan, and it attracted county commissioners, town trustees, and planning and zoning commissioners and staff from the county and every town other than Parachute.

Fred Jarman, Garfield County’s director of building and planning, said that in his eight years on the county payroll he’d never seen such a meeting, and several participants commented that they were encouraged by the engagement the large turnout demonstrated.

But with Garfield County’s population expected to double – to about 120,000 – over the next 20 years and residents calling for that growth to be directed toward existing municipalities, the county and the towns will need to coordinate as best they can.

County staff expects that growth to bring roughly 19,000 new residential units along

with it. County staff predict that about 3,000 of the estimated 19,000 new residential units bound for Garfield County will end up distributed in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale and along the Highway 82 corridor in between.

At public meetings held in fall and winter, residents overwhelmingly indicated that they would like those units to be built in towns or within the unincorporated “urban growth areas” that lie roughly three miles from town borders.

Towns are required by the state to develop plans for growth within those areas. That planning helps towns grow coherently, but the county ultimately decides what sort of development occurs in unincorporated areas.

And as Garfield County senior planner Tamra Allen explained, the two entities haven’t necessarily coordinated their efforts well in the past.

“Most jurisdictions here actually have fairly detailed growth plans for those areas within that three-mile boundary,” Allen said in an interview with The Sopris Sun. She explained that municipalities will typically plan for the type of land use – industrial, residential, commercial – they would like to see within their urban growth areas, as well as

densities and quality of life characteristics such as trails and open space. Planning in urban growth areas also allows municipalities to more efficiently provide infrastructure and services, from sewer and water to police.

“The tone in the room was that in the past there hasn’t been sufficient communication and dialogue as to how growth occurs, especially in the urban growth areas in the county adjacent to municipalities,” Allen said.

As in previous meetings on the comp plan, participants were asked to answer a series of questions via an instant electronic voting system.

One question asked participants to choose between three potential options on how towns and the county should coordinate their efforts for development within urban growth boundaries.

Currently, when the county receives a development application within a town’s urban growth boundary it sends it to the town for comments. But a town’s comments don’t necessarily determine whether a project is approved or what it looks like.

Twelve percent of those at the meeting preferred this course of action.

About half of those at the meeting preferred an alternative that would require a de-

veloper of a project within a town’s urban growth boundary to obtain an endorsement from the municipality before submitting an application to the county.

Carbondale Trustee Stacey Patch Bernot said she preferred this alternative, in part because through it, municipalities would learn about proposals near their borders earlier in the planning process.

But others worried that towns could withhold such endorsements, in effect using them to veto projects in unincorporated areas and in the process usurp a measure of the county’s authority.

A third of those at the meeting preferred an option that would require projects within urban growth boundaries to be reviewed by a joint city and county planning commission.

County Commisioner Tresi Houpt was among this group. She said that a joint commission sounded “intriguing” and mused that it might open up valuable dialogue between municipalities and the county, dialogue that she thinks is currently lacking.

Houpt pointed out that unless a broader solution could be found, true coordination between towns and counties might require the county to painstakingly COMP PLAN page 14

RFTA’s new creature coming to Carbondale

By Trina Ortega The Sopris Sun Stephanie Janiga of Carbondale said she is “still a brat” when it comes to driving. She uses her car instead of hopping on a bus to get around. However, after she learned more about the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority’s new bus rapid transit service, or BRT, that aims to be quicker, sleeker and more convenient than the existing bus system, she said she could give up her car for public transportation.

“I grew up in Brooklyn and New York City. I rode the bus my whole life when I was growing up. I didn’t learn to drive until I was 24,” Janiga said.“ What they’re doing looks good.”

Janiga was one of about 60 residents who attended RFTA’s workshop Feb. 22 at the Carbondale Recreation and Community Center, where RFTA continued its public workshop series to unveil its new service and gather feedback. It was the last in the series of meetings that also included events in Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Basalt.

“It’s going to be a big step from what we have now,” said Michael Hermes, project manager for the BRT and RFTA’s director of facilities. “It’s the next level of bus service … an intermediate step between a bus system and a train system.”

Buses would come every 10 minutes and the ride from Glenwood Springs to Aspen would take one hour, Hermes said. The upgraded service will include new stations with ticket purchasing machines and real-time signs announcing the arrival of the next bus.

The BRT is being billed as a “whole new animal coming to a bus stop near you,” and RFTA is calling its new service the VelociRFTA, “a distant relative of the Velociraptor of the late Cretaceous Period” that has now evolved into a swift roamer of the Roaring Fork Valley.The mascot — a silhouette of a lime green two-footed ancient raptor — has

even made its way onto poster boards, fliers, tiny gum boxes, plastic travel mugs and more.

Hermes said the BRT is a new program that would complement existing RFTA service. As a result, RFTA would add BRTbranded, clean diesel buses to its fleet of more than 100 vehicles.

Other capital improvements include the construction of 14 VelociRFTA stations in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, El Jebel, Willits, Basalt, Woody Creek/Snowmass Village and Aspen; added parking; and road and traffic signal upgrades to Highway 82.

In Carbondale, the VelociRFTA would access the existing park-n-ride at Highway 133 and Village Road but not come into town.

According to RFTA CEO Dan Blankenship, RFTA originally looked at a rail/train system for the valley, but it would have come with an incredibly high price tag of about $300 million. The rapid transit service is estimated to cost about $50 million, he said.

A combination of local and federal funding is helping pay for the service. Regional voters approved transit funding through a sales and use tax increase in 2008 and also approved $44.5 million in bonding capacity that same year.As a result, RFTA has roughly $25 million for the project “in the bank,” so to speak. RFTA has received an $810,000 congressional earmark last year, and President Obama’s 2011 budget includes $24 million

for the project.

“This all looks so wonderful. Can you build it any faster?” one resident commented.

RFTA public relations folks said it’s a comment they’ve heard throughout the public workshops.

If environmental assessments, financial planning, and other business reports are completed and approved, construction could begin in 2011, according to Blankenship.

However, service would not be available until September 2013.

Next step:

RFTA continues to seek feedback on the BRT service. Log on to rftabrt.com to learn more.

The sax line of the first division high school honor jazz band waits for the closing note on Feb. 20. Roaring Fork High School hosted the annual District Eight Honor Jazz Band last weekend. Photo by Terray Sylvester THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 5

Scuttlebutt

Send your scuttlebutt to Scuttlebutt@SoprisSun.com.

The tsunami When the evacuation siren sounds … eat chocolate. At least that’s what Tom Passavant and Karen Glenn did last Saturday morning. The Carbondale couple returned home Monday after spending three months in Waikiki, but they were still there on Saturday when the tsunami warning was sounded in the wake of the quake that rattled Chile the same day. According to Passavant, they were staying in a 30-story building and didn’t “see the need to drive away.” They did however, move the rental car to the top of the garage, went out and bought more food and water and “plenty of chocolate,” Passavant said. Welcome home, Tom and Karen.

The earthquake RFHS student Raleigh Burleigh was in Chile when the recent 8.8 shaker struck. He is studying abroad for a year in La Ligua, about an hour and a half north of Santiago.

The Sopris Sun received this missive from him on Wednesday: “I was with a friend when it all happened. We were outside, on a balcony, at a house on the beach. I was convinced that it was nothing more than a tremor until the lights cut out in the entire city. In the morning we listened to the radio as the death toll climbed higher and higher and they advised people to stay away from the receding ocean. Everyone was in a sort of disbelief. It was visible on all of their faces,

like we were all walking through an exhausting dream ...”

For more from Raleigh, visit his blog at raleighinchile.wordpress.com.

next door to Peppino’s. Samuelson will celebrate her 25th year in business by throwing a party during the First Friday Festivities on Friday, March 5.

Carbondale’s gold medalist

Ka Pow!

Yep! It’s true. Congratulations to Carbondale’s own David “Bode Miller” Hayes who took home the gold in the giant slalom at the Special Olympics Regional Ski Competition at Ski Cooper, where over more than Special Olympics athletes from all around the Western Slope competed on Feb. 19. David also finished in fourth place in the slalom. The Special Olympics Regional Basketball Competition will be held in March so keep your eyes on Scuttlebutt for an update re David “Carmelo” Hayes’ performance on the court.

In an action-packed-in-like-sardines KDNK Women’s Arm Rasslin’ competition on Saturday night at Phat Thai, the defending champ, K-Pow, did it again.

Draped in her signature red cape she bested a field of 32 rasslers, showing contestants and spectators that she still has what it takes to be the champion. Congrats to KPow. (See page 16.)

Rad’s dad

The Birkie In the same week that the U.S. team won Olympic gold for the first time ever in Nordic skiing, at least eight folks from the Roaring Fork Valley were competing in the American Birkebeiner, the largest and most prestigious cross country ski marathon in North America. The “Birkie” spans more than 50 kilometers from Cable to Hayward, Wis., and draws skiers from all over the world, including Shannon Meyer and Chuck and Meredith Ogilby from Carbondale, who participated along with some Nordic skiers from Aspen and Basalt, reported our source.

Nancy Barbour and Adam Thompson recently announced their engagement. A longtime Carbondalian, Nancy Barbour arrived in town to be an artist in residence at the Carbondale Clay Center. Adam moved here about a year and a half ago, to be with Nancy, of course! Photo by Jane Bachrach

So, sew!

Sew on and sew forth. So get on with it already! Happy Anniversary to Ann Samuelson’s sewing and alterations shop, Le’Clarann’s Sew Shop, which is located

Speaking of women’s arm wrastlin’, KDNK News Director Conrad (Rad) Wilson announced the event for the first time, and our Sopris Sun snoops reported that he did a pretty fine job. Rad’s dad was in town visiting from Minneapolis and was there in the audience to witness his son announcing an event he never, in his wildest dreams, thought he would see.

Fish people Pisces people celebrating birthdays this week are Heather Smith, Tim Bauer, Gwen Garcelon, Julie Koblin and Ann Harris. ~ By Jane Bachrach. If you see her out and about, send your butt scuttling her way.

Supporting our communities for over 36 years.

Member FDIC 6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

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Agriburbia continued om page 3 That drew a gasp from Paul Newton, a senior project manager with The TSR Group, who agreed to play our game and speculate on whether the idea would work in Carbondale.

“You’ve got a steep hill to climb,” Newton said. “That’s tough to recover.”

Newton originally thought Carbondale’s climate would be conducive to growing a niche crop like quinoa. But in the face of such land values he upgraded the product; maybe exotic mushrooms would be more suitable, heirloom tomatoes, medicinal herbs.

While there certainly may be an increasing demand for pot, would growing cannabis pay off the investment? Based on models used by The TSR Group, even with a crop that yields $1.50 per square foot, Newton estimated it would take more than 17 years to pay off. You’d be joining Old Mother Hubbard at that rate.

Compared to a place like Miliken — the 944-home site featured in The Denver Post story where 600 acres cost $6 million — agriburbia in the Roaring Fork might be a tougher sell.

But Newton’s a believer and just as fast as he could plug the millions into his magic beanstalk formula, he started brainstorming other ways to make expensive properties work: give the property owners massive tax breaks and have the county take over the privately held land; grow even taller and denser.

“There are several ingredients that are pretty critical. One is that you use very little water and you are intensely farming the land,” Newton said. Spin farming, minimally mechanized, perhaps using animals, is a start. Drip irrigation is necessary. “But the first trick is the density, you have to plant it dense. The second trick is establishing a retail line to be able to liquidate and sell the produce that you grow.”

At least one Carbondale leader was skeptical of what he described as “turning farmland into suburbia.”

“Those types of stories are productive for the questions, not necessarily for the answers,” Mayor Michael Hassig said. He asked, if an existing piece of land is arable, why not simply use it for farming rather than build houses on it?

He supported his point further by noting that Garfield County residents are expressing a greater desire to concentrate growth in existing municipalities and let the agricultural land around the towns remain undeveloped.

“On one hand, I think that it’s a terrific idea. I don’t really know how revolutionary it is,” he said, pointing out that people have historically often lived near their gardens.

Hassig declined to comment on what he thinks would make sense at the Village at Crystal River site. “I don’t envy those guys,” he said. “The future is so unclear.”

But he reminded residents that it also is already zoned as commercial. “If we were to understand what the present zoning allows, we would universally hate the outcome,” Hassigsaid, explaining that it could be a done deal with more strip malls like La Fontana.

The Village at Crystal River development proposal from the northeast. Highway 133, modified with potential roundabouts, runs through the foreground. The large building to the right is the proposed new grocery store. Courtesy image

Next steps:

The public hearing on the Village at Crystal River continues at the March 23 Board of Trustees meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. View the developer’s proposal electronically at carbondalegov.org. Click on “New Development Proposals” in the “Popular Pages” column on the right. To read The Denver Post article on agriburbia, visit denverpost.com/ci_13631048.

Nonprofit highlight The People of the Carbondale Community United Methodist Church Invite you to

Anticipate the Joy and Excitement of Easter Easter Sunday is April 4 Spring is coming!

Get ready for something new!

RETHINK CHURCH What if church is a verb?

Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

385 South 2nd Street in Carbondale 379-5686 Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors It’s what we do.

ROTARY CORNER Carbondale Rotarians are traveling the world As a worldwide organization with over 1.3 million members in 157 countries, there are many opportunities for international adventures through Rotary.

Each year, more than 8,000 young people around the world have the opportunity of a lifetime – a chance to live in another country and see the world from a new perspective through the Rotary Youth Exchange.An exchange student will spend a year living with host families, attending school, and learning a new way of living.

This year the Carbondale Rotary Club sponsored two students, Elizabeth Robinson, daughter of Tom and Pamela Robinson of Marble, who is living in India, and Raleigh Burleigh, son of Joe and Debra Burleigh of Carbondale, spending his year in Chile.

Raleigh recently wrote to the Club, “Words can’t describe how happy I am to be here in Chile meeting all the people and experiencing the things that I’m experiencing.”

Everyone can follow their adventures by visiting their blogs: Elizabeth at theveggiepirate.wordpress.com and Raleigh at raleighinchile.wordpress.com.

And while Elizabeth and Raleigh are traveling elsewhere, we in Carbondale are enjoying having Violette Hardy from Paris, France, living in town with families and attending Roaring Fork High School. Currently, Violette is living with hosts John and Tami Stroud. “Hosting an exchange student is something Tami and I have always wanted to do,” John Stroud said. “We have a 10-year-old son and thought it would be fun for him to have an older ‘sibling’ around. This has been a great way to introduce him to a new culture and learn a little something new ourselves … It is so interesting to see our lives and town through a visitor’s eyes.”

Violette adds, “I sincerely love living in Carbondale. It’s definitely bringing me a lot to be here, to improve my English and Spanish and meet all these wonderful people.”

Traveling opportunities aren’t just for students. This past Fall, Carbondale Rotarian, Jeff Wadley participated in the Rotary International Group Study Exchange, a unique six-week cultural and vocational program for professionals worldwide. Jeff led a group of four young professional women to Australia. The team experienced Australian culture and institutions and observed how their vocations are practiced. Personal and professional relationships developed along with a positive exchange of ideas.

For more information on how you can participate in any of these programs visit rotary.org or email Robin Tolan at robint@sopris.net.

Carbondale Rotary Club meets each Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. at the Fire District Training Center on Highway 133.

Sponsored by Jack and Marsha Brendlinger

THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 7

A chance to express oneself continued om page 1 with the monthly exhibitions that highlight the work of just one or two select artists, CCAH also hosts an educators’ show and a children’s show to showcase the art of people who do not normally exhibit.

That’s where Rich fits in.“I never thought in a million years that I would be showing my art,”she said.“I was the kid who almost didn’t graduate high school because I failed art class.”

She’s always had an eye for art and her parents were collectors, but producing art herself? Well, that was another story. It wasn’t until close friends urged her to find help to deal with her emotions that she reached out to Gaynor and discovered a passion for creating. Not only did she lose her family on a fateful day eight years ago this month, she also had to grapple with the fact that she’d lost years of her own life to handling the estate. Her layers of acrylic, crayon, and gel and the clippings of ghostlike figures have also made it onto countless pages of journals, where Rich is free to “doc-

More March First Friday happenings

Although she’s building an art studio, her kitchen currently serves the purpose. Carbondale resident Kat Rich started painting relatively recently and has entered two pieces in CCAH’s Valley Visual Art Show, which opens March 5.

Photo by Jane Bachrach

Next steps

For more information about the Valley Visual, call 963-1680, or stop by CCAH at 645 Main Street and the Gordon Cooper Library during Carbondale’s First Friday festivities during the evening of March 5.

The Carbondale Clay Center at 135 Main Street presents the Invitational Pairings Show from 6 to 10 p.m.: drinking vessels by local artists paired with wines, beers, liquors and mead. For more information, call 963-2529.

Le’Clarann’s Sew Shop at 502 Main Street hosts a 25th anniversary celebration from about 6 to 8 p.m. with door prizes, refreshments and live music by a special guest.

Majid Kahhak will paint live from 6 to 8 p.m. at Kahhak Fine Arts & School, 411 Main Street, to celebrate an early spring.

Beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served. For more information, call 704-0622.

Rainy Day Designs at 16 N. Fourth Street will host an art benefit for Roaring Fork High School from 5 to 8 p.m.

Student art work will be available through a silent auction.

Robin Alexandra presents the Art of the Divine Feminine from 6 to 9 p.m. at the silo house at 229 S. Fourth Street.

Alexandra’s vibrant color, ancient forms, and imagery are designed to bring forth divine energy, balance feminine energy and generate a resurgence of interest in the goddess. Refreshments will be served. Look for the lights.

Studio for Art + Works (SAW) at 978 Euclid Ave. presents “Paper, Paintings and Pots,” a show featuring works by Stanley Bell and Steven Colby starting at 6 p.m. For more information, visit sawcarbondale.wordpress.com or stevencolbywordpress.com.

GARFIELD COUNTY CITIZENS DROP OFF YOUR ELECTRONIC WASTE AT THE FOLLOWING FACILITIES: 1. THE ROAD & BRIDGE CATTLE CREEK FACILITY - Glenwood Springs ON THE 2ND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH FROM 1:00 - 3:00 ONLY! (Use CR 114, the CMC turnoff, and turn right, go to end of frontage road to facility)

2. AT THE WEST GARFIELD COUNTY LANDFILL - Between Rifle & Rulison DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS (0075 CR 246, I-70 to the West Rifle Exit, go west on frontage road, follow signs)

Please call for information and/or directions

970.625.2516

Examples of Acceptable E-Waste Televisions, Computer Monitors (screens), CPU’s (towers), Keyboards, mouse, speakers, printers, and scanners, etc, Game Boys, PlayStations, I-Pods, etc, Fax machines, phones, cell phones, etc Anything over three monitors and three CPU’s, or one TV will be charged $10.00 each.

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ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED ARE: LARGE OFFICE COPIERS, APPLIANCES, TRASH, SOFTWARE, OR MANUALS PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL HAULER FOR DISPOSAL OPTIONS. This advertisement is subject to change without notice.

8 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

ument” her feelings.

“Art was my way to work through things that had happened to me. I needed a healthy outlet. It’s a healing process for me. I don’t consider myself an artist.”

Others in the Valley Visual will be showing for the first time, as well. There is David Durrance displaying geometrics in acrylic and Noemi Kosmowski’s large realistic still life oils. Familiar names — such as Brad Reed Nelson displaying furniture, Susan Obermyer Strauss’ colorful mixedmedia, and Sherrill Stone’s “Proud Bird” sculpture — are in the mix, as well.

eater workshop offers seniors a chance to act up Special to The Sopris Sun Since late summer 2009 the local nonprofit, Senior Matters, has been offering free theater workshops for seniors through a program called Acting Up. Participants have met once each week, often in groups of no more than 10 for about an hour at a time, and as Diane Johnson, who sits on Senior Matters’ board of directors, puts it, they’ve come away with an added measure of self-confidence, new social skills and creativity.

“The classes last year were getting us familiar with how to create a character, how to convey an imaginary situation, how to change our persona and bring it forth,” Johnson said.

Another round of workshops recently started under the continuing direction of Richard Lyon, a local actor. Johnson sat down with Lyon to ask him a few questions for The Sopris Sun. ~Terray Sylvester Local thespian Richard Lyon is leading a series of theater classes for Senior Matters.

Courtesy photo

Act up:

Richard Lyon’s Acting Up classes are offered from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Wednesdays through April 14 at the Carbondale Senior Center in the Third Street Center.

For more information, call Senior Matters at 963-2536.

Johnson: You are conducting theater workshops for seniors. How are these workshops different from other theater workshops you have conducted?

Lyon: I’ve done workshops with elementary students and university students. The exercises, exploration and games that I am bringing to the workshop are pretty much the same as I would bring to college students.

There are some core experiences that one shares and uses as learning tools to understand the art of acting. These are used to har-

Valley View Hospital Tobacco Cessation Classes Personalized plan using the Quit Smart Program from Duke University. Small group classes taught by Sandy Hyra, RN. Participants must attend all three sessions.

Individual classes available upon request.

Fee $35.

ness imagination and physical expression. In acting the instrument one is playing is oneself: the body, the mind, the emotions and the spirit. The art of acting is also the art of selfexploration. Finding out how to identify imagination and other intentions, and how these can be discovered and expressed in movement, voice and expression.

Johnson: Your students in this case are not children or college students and have a different perspective on life, how do you see this theater workshop benefiting them?

Lyon: With regards to seniors it is true they have more life experience and memories, and all that is a wonderful resource for people learning the art of acting. We can draw on memories and historical experiences to enrich what we are doing. Not only does it enrich the artistic expression, but it allows the person with that experience to enter into it again and to make it a part of their living vocabulary, a way to bring their history to life. The resources for a mature adult are drawing on experience and analogies and are one of the ways of discovering authenticity in a particular role.

Johnson: Do you think the seniors you work with will learn anything beyond what is actually happening in the class?

Lyon: Well, I think it awakens, sharpens and expands observations and sensitivities.

You start noticing things you might not have noticed before. You start making con-

nections and associations between different kinds of people and expressions.

A homework assignment we had in conservatory training was people watching. For one week I had to ride a bus and find a person who had a striking way of walking, body posture or facial attitudes. Things like that made us more aware of physical characteristics so we could bring them to our own interpretation of a character.

Johnson: It sounds like theater exercise can help you become more aware of your surroundings, connect with others and connect with yourself.

Lyon: In a sense it has the possibility of stimulating all the senses of perception. It helps to keep active and celebrate imagination. It also invites humor and play and stimulates the imagination and creative reach.

There are many ways of expanding all of those connections.Theater also has a big benefit of psychological, emotional and cognitive alertness and vitality and just enjoyment.

Johnson: Where will this go next?

Lyon: Ultimately, I can see [the class] moving in the direction of some kind of theater troupe. I don’t know what that looks like, what kind of material interest or shape it will take, but I’m not concerned with not knowing that right now. If we grow organically with the group this will be a journey that we will be taking together and all of us will have input as to where it goes.

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5:30-7:30 pm • March 10 Third floor conference room at Valley View Hospital

Want to quit your tobacco habit?

There will be two additional sessions, to be scheduled by consensus of participants For an questions, contact Martin Gaither at 970-384-7702 or email: mgaither@vvh.org

VALLEY VIEW HOSPITAL

1906 Blake Ave., Glenwood Springs, CO

With two convenient locations: 199 Main St Carbondale, CO 970-963-7190

411 E Hyman Ave Aspen, CO 970-920-2582

www.harmonyscott.com

info@harmonyscott.com THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 9

Community Calendar WALDORF TOUR • From 8:25 to 9:55 a.m. The Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork at 16543 Highway 82, on the frontage from Catherine Store, hosts a Q&A and an opportunity to observe classes in session.

More info: 963-1960, waldorfcarbondale.org.

LIBRARY BOARD MEETS • The Garfield County Libraries Board of Trustees meets at 6 p.m. at the Library Administration Offices, 796 Megan Avenue, Suite 100, Rifle.

For ADA needs, call 625-4270 prior to the meeting.

C-TOWN • KDNK presents C-Town, a variety show with skits, comedy, music, and more, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Steve’s Guitars at 19 N. Fourth Street. More info: 963-0139.

FRI. – SAT. March 5–6 ‘GLASS MENAGERIE’ • The Thunder River Theatre Company presents Tennessee Williams’“The Glass Menagerie”at 7:30 p.m.

(Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.) More info and tickets: thunderrivertheatre.com, 963-8200.

FRIDAY March 5 SPELLEBRATION • Teams of three adults compete for bragging rights in a spelling bee at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. Silent auction at 5 p.m. Proceeds benefit Literacy Outreach. More info: 945-5282.

FIRST FRIDAY • The First Friday art walk will take place from about 5-9 p.m. Galleries

OK ! th O 10 B W ch NO Mar

and local businesses host artist receptions and offer extended hours.

RFHS ART BENEFIT • Rainy Day Designs at 16 N. Fourth Street hosts an exhibition and silent auction of work by Roaring Fork High School students from 5 to 8 p.m. More info: 963-9748.

THE RAVEN’S GIFT • The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies at 100 Puppy Smith Street in Aspen hosts a slideshow and presentation by Jon Turk, author of the “Raven’s Gift,” a tale of five expeditions to northeast Siberia and a friendship with a 100-year old healer and shaman. 5:30 p.m. Free, please bring an appetizer. More info: 927-5756.

presents its annual benefit race, the Chris Bove Memorial Uphill Challenge, at 7:30 a.m. at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen. $40 on race day. Registration and more info: challengeaspen.org.

KIDS ART DAY • The Glenwood Springs Art Center hosts the free Valley Kids Art Day from 1 to 3 p.m. at 601 E. Sixth Street in Glenwood Springs. Painting, collage making, beading, creative design and more. More info: 945-2414, glenwoodarts.org/events.

LIVE MUSIC • Rivers Restaurant at 2525 S. Grand Ave. in Glenwood Springs presents Altitude Control playing blusion, the fusion of jazz, rock and blues at 8:30 p.m. No cover.

More info: (970) 928-8813.

CONTRA DANCE • The Glenwood Springs Elementary School at 915 School Street in Glenwood Springs hosts a community contra dance from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Live music. Fun, non-alcoholic, aerobic. Beginners lesson at 7:30 p.m. More info: 945-0350, lastminutestringband.com.

HIDDEN GEMS EVENING • A presentation by Wilderness Workshop Director Sloan Shoemaker, an update on the Hidden Gems wilderness campaign, live music and letter writing to support the campaign take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Wheeler Stallard Museum at 620 W. Bleeker Street in Aspen.

More info: (970) 318-0076.

SATURDAY March 6

SUNDAY March 7

UPHILL CHALLENGE • Challenge Aspen

INTUITIVE PAINTING • Sheri Gaynor of-

MOVIES • The Crystal Theatre presents “Crazy Heart” (R) at 7:30 p.m. Mar. 5-11.

STEVE’S GUITARS • Steve’s Guitars at 19 N. Fourth Street presents Grayson Capps.

More info: 963-3304, stevesguitars.net.

ADVERTISE IN THE PROGRAM FOR

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MONOTHON • Anderson Ranch Arts Center hosts the third annual Monothon exhibition, dinner and live auction 5 to 9 p.m., featuring monotypes from Roaring Fork valley artists.

Auction starts at 7 p.m. Tickets and more info: tshepard@andersonranch.org, 923-3181.

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Thunder River Theatre Company

67 Promenade,on the Red Brick Walkway, Downtown Carbondale CONVENIENT Four miles from

Aspen and ten miles from Snowmass Village.

COMPETITIVE Served by Delta,

Frontier and United Airlines.

ASPEN/PITKIN COUNTY AIRPORT

ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE

Thanks for flying local!

Year-round noise monitoring, wind power purchase and recycling deicing fluids.

10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

MOVING INTO HEALTH • Lymphedema therapist Phyllis Zilm and yoga teacher Diane Agnello offer Moving into Health, a course for cancer patients and survivors from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs. Free. More info and registration: 384-7575.

Directed and Designed by Lon Winston Featuring: John Goss and Valerie Haugen With: Charlie DeFord and Kelly Ish

NON - STOP FLIGHTS Denver Atlanta Chicago Los Angeles Salt Lake City San Francisco

visit us at aspenairport.com

TUESDAY March 9

Lon Winston, Executive Artistic Director

Reserve your ad now by contacting Anne at 970-379-5050 or anne@soprissun.com.

For ticket info, contact CCAH at 963-1680

BIRTH WORKSHOP • Sheri Gaynor and Tanya Black offer “Transformative Birth Through Creative Wisdom,” a workshop to help women tap innate creative wisdom for birthing. Pain coping techniques, birth plan guidance, body wisdom and more. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays, March 8 through 29.

More info: 618-0561.

“Professional Theatre at its Finest”

More than 4,400 copies will be distributed. Ad sizes available include 1/2 page, 1/4 page and 1/8 page.

THE

MIND/BODY CLASS • The Carbondale Senior Center hosts a class on building a strong foundation and structure for coordination balance and flexibility through movement and music from 10 to 11:30 a.m., Mondays, March 1 through April 26. $36 for eight weeks. First two classes free. More info: (970) 260-2337.

Thunder River Theatre Company

The program will be printed as the center four-page section of the March 18th issue of The Sopris Sun, as well as given to all event attendees on March 20th.

Sopris Sun

MONDAY March 8

NOT JUST A PLACE – BUT WHERE IT TAKES YOU

Green is the New Black Fashion Extravaganza

a De

fers a workshop on intuitive painting, journaling and movement from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $30, lunch not included. Pre-registration required: 927-0323.

March 5-7, 11-13, 18-20

7:30 pm curtain, except Sunday matinee, 2 pm

Tickets and Information www.thunderrivertheatre.com or 970-963-8200 Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

NO M WO AR P CH EN 5 TH ING !

THURSDAY March 4

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

Events take place in Carbondale unless noted.

Community Calendar TRUSTEES MEET â&#x20AC;˘ The Carbondale Board of Trustees meets at 6:30 p.m. at town hall. On the agenda: CES Teacher affordable housing.

WEDNESDAY March 10 ROTARY PRESENTATION â&#x20AC;˘ The Carbondale Rotary Club hosts Jill and Gary Knaus speaking about the Guatemala Hos-

continued î&#x2C6;&#x2021;om page 10

pital Project at the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekly meeting, 7 a.m. at 300 Meadowood Drive. More info: (970) 379-1436.

BLOOD DRIVE â&#x20AC;˘ Roaring Fork High School hosts a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sixteen- and 17-year olds can donate with parental consent and valid ID. Those 18 and older need only ID. Open to the public. More info: 384-5757.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;GLASS MENAGERIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;˘ The Thunder River Theatre Company presents Tennessee Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Glass Menagerieâ&#x20AC;? at 7:30 p.m. More info and tickets: thunderrivertheatre.com, 963-8200.

March 12 WELLNESS EATING â&#x20AC;˘ Dietitian Lynn Mulvihill offers a session on deciphering food labels at 10:30 a.m. at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs. $7, free to Cardiac Wellness members.

RAISE THE ROOF â&#x20AC;˘ Ross Mentessori presents Raise the Roof with Ross with live music by Funky Monkey and the Thunder Luv, dinner, drinks and an auction, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Church of Carbondale.

Proceeds beneďŹ t Ross Montessori School.

More info and tickets: 963-7199.

March 13 FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS â&#x20AC;˘ Moun-

maintenance from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, March 10 to April 14. $20 per session or $80 for the series if you register by March 5. More info: (970) 319-0538.

PIZZA TUNES â&#x20AC;˘ Dave Notor plays bluegrass from 7 to 10 p.m. at White House Pizza at 801 Main Court. No Cover. More info: whitehousepizza.com or 704-9400.

Ongoing

Further Out

March 11â&#x20AC;&#x201C;13

SCOOTER DAY â&#x20AC;˘ The Carbondale Recreation Department hosts Scooter Fun Day for children 3 to 5 years old.

Scooter train rides, scooter hockey, scooter obstacle courses, and more. Preregistration suggested. $10 per child.

More info: 704-4190.

BIKE MAINTENANCE â&#x20AC;˘ Aloha Mountain Cycler hosts a series of classes in bike

tain Family Health Centers conducts free, public health screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, heart disease risk and more from 12:30 to 6 p.m. at Glenwood Springs Mall in Glenwood Springs. More info: (970) 618-3159, or sharla@mountainfamily.org.

March 15 PRESCHOOL PIX â&#x20AC;˘ Aspen Film presents the best in childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books on video for kids three to six years old beginning at 10:15 a.m. at the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rocky Mountain School, 1493 106 Road, Bar Fork A. Spanish-language program at 10:45 a.m. More info: 963-2524.

ATHLETIC HEALTH â&#x20AC;˘ To celebrate National Athletic Training Month, Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, hosts two workshops from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. One focuses on the tools athletic trainers use to protect athletesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; health. The other offers info on sports nutrition and supplements. More info: 945-6535.

CLAY CLASSES â&#x20AC;˘ The Carbondale Clay Center at 135 Main Street is now registering for its next eight-week class session for potters of all levels, adults and children. More info: 963-2529, carbondaleclay.org.

CALL FOR DESIGNERS â&#x20AC;˘ The Second Annual Green is the New Black Fashion Extravaganza seeks designs for the March 20 event. Submission deadline: March 5. More info: 963-1680, carbondalearts.com.

STORIES FROM THE HEART â&#x20AC;˘ Senior Matters offers Stories from the Heart workshops from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays through June, at the Third Street Center. More info: randyvan@comcast.net.

HAITI FUNDRAISER â&#x20AC;˘ To support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti music students of Lisa Dancing-Light are participating in a Practice-a-thon that beneďŹ ts The Red Cross or International Medical Corp. More info and to sponsor a student: 963-3330.

CHOIR PRACTICE â&#x20AC;˘ The Aspen/Glenwood Community Chorus practices at the United Methodist Church from 6 to 8 p.m., Mondays, at 824 Cooper Ave. in Glenwood Springs, and from 5 to 7 p.m., Sundays, at the Aspen Community Church at 200 E. Bleeker Street in Aspen. No audition required. More info: 925-3685.

PLEDGE DRIVE â&#x20AC;˘ KDNKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spring membership drive is ongoing through March 5.

KDNK also seeks phone volunteers to take pledges. More info and to volunteer: 9630139, cindy@kdnk.org.

ARTISTS SOUGHT â&#x20AC;˘ The Carbondale Community School invited artists with studios from Glenwood Springs to Aspen to apply to the Roaring Fork Valley Studio Tour set for June 5-6. More info: roaringforkvalleystudiotour.org, rfvstudiotour@gmail.com.

FILM ENTRIES DUE â&#x20AC;˘ The student-run Rocky Mountain Student Filmfest is accepting entries to its 11th annual event. Submissions due by April 6. Entry forms and more info: studentďŹ lmfest.org, 384-5963.

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THE SOPRIS SUN â&#x20AC;˘ MARCH 4, 2010 â&#x20AC;˘ 11

Community Briefs VVH offers early blood draws

Night at 7 p.m. March 10 at Dos Gringos. The night will feature a special ensemble of three films celebrating the beautiful and sometimes gripping nature of daily life in the mountains. The film series is free and open to the public and offers the Roaring Fork Valley community a sampling of award-winning adventure films, special guests and programs like those shown at 5Point’s four-day festival in spring.

5Point will present a sneak peak of this year’s festival at 7 p.m.April 14.All 2010 festival tickets will be available for purchase at the preview. The festival will be held from April 29 to May 2, 2010. For more information about the 5Point Film Series visit 5pointfilm.org. The complete program for 5Point’s third annual festival will be announced this month.

Valley View Hospital will hold three community health fairs this spring, bringing blood tests, medical screening and education to various locations. Early blood draws will help participants avoid lines and get results back before the health fair.

Pre-draws (for blood test only) will be March 6 at Roaring Fork High School; for seniors (50+) on March 10 at the Glenwood Springs Community Center; and on March 20 at Glenwood Medical Associates in Glenwood Springs.All draws will occur from 7 to 10 a.m.

Health information and testing is available to anyone 18 years of age or older. Optional blood chemistry analysis, including tests for cholesterol, cardiac risk, blood sugar, kidney and liver function are provided for a fee. Blood chemistry testing requires fasting 12 hours before screening; however, diabetics should not fast.

The Carbondale Health Fair will be held from 7 to 11 a.m.

April 10 at the high school. The Rotary Club of Carbondale will have its annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser at the school during this time. For more information about the fairs and screening costs, visit vvh.org or call 384-6653.

Precinct caucuses set for March 16 The Eagle County Democrats would like to remind all citizens of the upcoming caucuses on March 16. You must be a registered Democrat for 60 days prior to the precinct caucuses. To learn more about the goals and efforts of local Democrats, check out the Eagle County Platform at http://bit.ly/eagle08 and the Colorado State Platform at http://bit.ly/platform08. To volunteer for a Roaring Fork Valley Eagle County Democrat Caucus, contact Doug Tucker at 963-3128.

Young musicians host Haiti fundraiser To support relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake, voice and piano students of Lisa Dancing-Light are participating in a Practic-a-thon. Students are looking for sponsors to match their practice minutes by donating money.

Proceeds will go to the Red Cross or International Medical Corp. In a humanitarian effort to help in some small way, her students feel they can help people in Haiti by sending their good intentions through their music rehearsals to those who don’t have the luxury of music in their lives right now. For more information about the Practic-a-thon or to sponsor a student, go to lisadancinglight.com or call 963-3330.

Love and Logic classes The Roaring Fork Family Resource Centers is offering one more series of Love and Logic parenting classes. The series is six classes and will be held at Basalt Elementary School.

Classes run from 6 to 8 p.m., March 17 through April 28.

The fee for Roaring Fork School District families is $30 per individual and $50 per couple. Childcare is available at $5 per child per night. Sessions are available in English or Spanish. Parents should plan on attending all six classes. Out-ofdistrict rates are available. Call 384-5689 for more information or to register.

5Point presents Mountain Culture Night The 5Point Film Series will present a Mountain Culture

Learn what’s in the works

Briefings for Contractors

Tell us what works for you

Building Trades in the Clean Energy Economy = Hosted by Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative Carbondale Thursday, March 11 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Dos Gringos Burritos 588 Highway 133

Glenwood Springs Thursday, March 18 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub 402 7th St.

An M2M Builder BrouHaHa

FREE food & beverages RSVP (970) 704-9200 events@CleanEnergy Economy.net

Learn about & offer your feedback on: A clean energy finance district in the works for Garfield County State & utility rebate offers Development of a local audit and retrofit program

12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

Grant supports childhood literacy The Early Learning Fund and its Raising A Reader early literacy program have been awarded a $12,000 grant from the Aspen Community Foundation, Early Learning Fund Executive Director Rick Blauvelt announced last month.

“The grant will provide the opportunity for local families with preschool-age children to build early literacy behaviors critical for their children’s kindergarten readiness, school achievement and life success,” Blauvelt said.

Roaring Fork Valley Early Learning Fund works with local teachers, parents, preschools and libraries to promote early childhood literacy intervention during a child’s first five years of life.The organization’s Raising A Reader program provides a rotating library of more than 6,000 books for the families of 1,500 local preschool children from Parachute to Aspen.

Teachers in 91 preschool classrooms rotate four books per child each week for the entire school year.

The Aspen Community Foundation grant will put extra effort into helping the Early Learning Fund boost its outreach to isolated, high-risk children not enrolled in formal preschools or childcare programs.

Art Briefs

Senior Matters offers singing class Senior Matters is launching a singing chorus led by Betsy Schenck.The group will be based on Young@Heart, a Bostonbased singing group that performs upbeat rock ’n’ roll with seniors. The class is free and will run for 10 weeks.

“Our goal is to be able to creatively learn and perform for seniors and other audiences in such places as the Senior Housing Center, Heritage Park Care Center” and more, states a Senior Matters press release.

The first introductory sing-fest will be offered from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 4, at the Senior Center, 520 S. Third Street.

Honoring the tales of Carbondale – and those who told them Memoirs of a River…

Up the Crystal

by Charlotte Graham Sponsored by the Mt. Sopris Historical Society It’s that ol’ honor and respect thing.

Two words that, in my opinion, need more exercise, because when you do, next thing you know you fall in love, and as with any lover, the more we know what it is we love about this valley, the more we honor, respect and – hopefully – protect.

It took me three years to write my book and I’ve only scratched the surface of local lore. So this month, I wanted to satisfy my curiosity about others who so love local history that they’ve spent a good part of their lives sharing it.

Historical record keeping in Carbondale fell in a hole between the late 1920s and early 1970s. Turns out it might have had something to do with the fact that there was no Carbondale newspaper through those many decades. (Ahem!)

Some dedicated scribes would write a Carbondale history piece in Aspen or Glenwood papers now and again: Jim Files, Jack Arbaney, Valley Journal pub-

lisher Patrick Noel.

Others, like locals Anita Witt and Meredith Ogilby, published books. My research turned up a few other historians too. It is nice to get to honor some of those unsung heroes.

Sooo Sweet!

One such heroine to history and genealogy buffs was Edna Sweet. She and her husband, Frank Sweet, were already an integral part of the valley by the 1910 census. She wrote bits and pieces about local families during Carbondale’s infancy and called it “Carbondale Pioneers 18791890.” Her life’s work was compiled by the Carbondale Study Club in 1947. It was annotated, indexed, and bound in 1997 by Mt. Sopris Historical Society members and housed in the society’s museum.

In the early 1960s, Len Shoemaker wrote “Roaring Fork Valley, an Illustrated Chronicle,” and in 1965, “Pioneers of the Roaring Fork.” Shoemaker was a U.S. Forest Service employee and had his footprints all over these valleys. Literally. A ridge was named after him over by Maroon Bells.

“Pioneers of the Roaring Fork” gave a good account of the east end of the valley floor with vignettes of the towns up and down the Roaring Fork and Frying Pan rivers between 1879 and 1905.

Compared to Aspen and Glenwood,

Mount Sopris Historical Society

Any excuse for a party!

Carbondale Study Club, 1955

Please come to ours on March 10th.

Annual Meeting - Everyone Welcome Wednesday, March 10 • 6-9pm River Valley Ranch Barn - Refreshments Talk, join, share ideas, ask questions, eat & drink & be merry

Where history comes alive. mtsoprishistoricalsociety.org 963-7041

And the winner is …

When I sat down to pen my February column, I realized I just so happened to have a notable photograph: five generations of my maternal family sitting on a sofa in 1952. So my 1910 census story last month ended with a contest: Who could send me a photo of the most generations gathered together?

And the winner is: matriarch Mildred Baumli and her family. Her daughter, Jane Spaulding, sent in a photo of their five generations gathered on the family sofa this past Thanksgiving.

Two-year-old Kenzie Jane Reed sits on the lap of mother Katie Hyrup-Reed, daughter of Kris Hyrup (on the right.) From left, Jane is great-grandmother to Kenzie, and 92-year-old Mildred is the child’s great-great- (she sure is great!) grandmother. Three of the five live in Carbondale, with granddaughters just down the highway in Austin, Colo. Courtesy photo there isn’t much accounting of the life and times of Carbondalians besides Edna Sweet’s work.

Then along came a Rosemae Rosemae Wells Campbell was one of those butterfly spirits known to spend some happy time here, returning to the nectar of this valley year after year. I wonder if she passed through here as she left this earth last April, two weeks shy of her 100th birthday.

“Crystal River Valley – Jewel or Jinx?” was one of seven published books Campbell wrote from her Colorado Springs home. It was described as a pamphlet back in 1966, 80 pages of pictures and local family narratives. Today, her book is next to impossible to find. I’m still looking.

Come to find out, Campbell was a librarian most her life at the Colorado Springs School for Girls. Besides her love of writing, she was “an amazing watercolor artist,” according to sorta-daughter-in-law, Peggy Campbell of Parker, Colo. (That genealogy is too long a story for here!)

“Rosemae kept journals all her life, tons of them that we’ve donated to the Colorado Springs Historical Museum,” said Peggy Campbell.

Childless and traveling the globe extensively with her husband, Todd Campbell, Rosemae lived a “very refined life,” said Peggy Campbell. “It was china, crystal and sterling every day.”

We will never know why, with the world at her fingertips, Rosemae Wells Campbell chose to research and pen the

Crystal Valley booklet. She offers only a brief explanation in her introduction.

“Simply to satisfy my own curiosity,” she states. “Little had been written and I decided to remedy that while there were still living sources.”

Between the 1980s and 1990s, Mary Ferguson became a Carbondale historian of record. She was also a longtime member of the Mt. Sopris Historical Society and had a radio program with Gerry Johnston on KDNK on a regular basis. Like the others mentioned here, Ferguson provided a wealth of oral history of the valley.

Local writer Tony Vagneur was a recent guest at our Museum Tea Dates (see below). Vagneur’s “Saddle Sore” column has been featured in the Saturday Aspen Times since 2005. For five generations, the Vagneur family’s stomping grounds have been located around Woody Creek and Aspen. Tony Vagneur’s stories bear the flavor of his roots in the valley. Even a tenderfoot can get a taste of the dust and aches and pains of a day in the life when he shares one rancher tale or another of bygone days.

“It’s important to preserve history here,” Vagneur said. “Everyone has a story to tell. I like those old stories best. They are key to the continuity of history.”

For some, it is our mission – not to mention passion – to bring history to life with the stories of those who have loved this land before us. Some names are better known than others but all are honored, respected and loved for their contributions to the history of Carbondale and the surrounding valleys.

Visit Charlotte Graham during her tea dates from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesdays, at the Mt. Sopris Historical Society Museum at Weant Boulevard and Highway 133. Or contact her via marbledweller.com.

THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 13

Swap draws support continued om page 3 value for locals than a simple acre-for-acre trade would.

“Are people of the Roaring Fork Valley better off as a result of the land exchange?” he asked.

In a quickly drafted response to the compromise proposal, Dale Will, the director of Pitkin County’s open space program, had complained that Western Land Group has failed to provide any appraisal of the land. Horn answered Will’s complaint by saying Carbondale appraiser Bill Gray, who was present in the room, had assured the Wexner group that the elements of the compromise proposal are balanced in value.

Will took the floor and showed photographs of the lands in the exchange proposal. He paused at a slide of the summit of Sopris, taken from a trail across the north side of the mountain, just above the Two Shoes Ranch.

“I have to tell you that that walk across the north flank of Mt. Sopris will rival what you’ll see in any national park in the country,” he said. Pitkin County has an obligation to preserve such views, he asserted.

In a written response to the compromise proposal, Will asserts that Wexner’s compromise proposal would close wildlife-rich lands on Mt. Sopris to public recreation but leave them open to private recreation and unregulated agricultural use.

“Again, it is difficult for us to understand any biological basis for this public

recreation/private recreation distinction,” Will wrote.

The Wexner proposal also offers to eliminate 10 approved residential development rights on two existing tracts of the Two Shoes Ranch, to place a conservation easement on 400 acres of the east parcel of the ranch, and make other concessions regarding development potential on the property.

Also in the compromise plan, Wexner offers to ensure that a wildlife management plan for the Sutey Ranch is incorporated into federal legislation authorizing the land swap. Wexner offers a $1 million endowment for the Sutey Ranch to ensure it will be managed for wildlife and recreation, and $100,000 for a management plan. He offered to send Two Shoes Ranch employees to irrigate the Sutey hay meadows and maintain the irrigation ditches.

More than one person voiced the sentiment Tuesday that Pitkin County’s studied approach and counterproposal had served to make the swap a better deal for the public.

“I do believe we need to take a closer look any time anyone wants to dispose of public lands,” said Trustee Ed Cortez.

Concluding statements by some Pitkin County officials took on a conciliatory tone.

“I hope we can work with the Wexners and make this happen, for everyone here, and for the elk, who can’t vote,” said Pitkin County Commissioner Jack Hatfield.

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For more information, contact Anne Goldberg, Advertising Representative, at anne@soprissun.com or 379-5050.

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14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010

GarCo comp plan continued om page 5 adapt to the desires of towns.

“We would have to coordinate with each municipality on what they want to see so we don’t have [the unincorporated county’s default density] in place in the urban growth boundary,” she said. “So we have whatever is consistent with their plan.”

Next steps:

For more information about Garfield County’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan revision and to offer comments, visit garfieldcomprehensiveplan2030.com, or call the county building and planning department at 945-8212.

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A view of the terrain around the Potato Bill Creek drainage, including acreage proposed for various conservation measures by both Pitkin Open Space and Trails and Leslie Wexner’s representatives. Courtesy photo

PUBLIC NOTICE

From the Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Election Division

In accordance with C.R.S. 1-7.5-105(1.5) (b) and Secretary of State Rule 12.3.4, the Garfield County Clerk & Recorder Election Division, invites the public to comment on the proposal of conducting the 2010 Primary Election by mail ballot.

Garfield County voters have been voting by mail in Coordinated Odd Year elections since 1993. Many municipalities in Garfield County conduct all elections by mail ballot. Since the 2000 General Election the percentage of Garfield County voters requesting mail ballots has increased steadily from just over 50% in 2000 to 79% of the voters who cast ballots in the 2008 Presidential Election. Legislation enacted in 2007, gives all voters the opportunity to opt into permanent mail-in voter status. Thus far, 54% of the active registered voters in Garfield County have requested placement on the permanent mail-in voter list.

The factors considered beneficial to the voters of Garfield County, if the 2010 Primary Election scheduled for August 10, 2010 is conducted by mail, include convenience, popularity, turnout, and cost effectiveness.

Written comments will be received via mail, fax, or e-mail until Friday March 12, 2010. The public hearing with the Board of County Commissioners is set for Monday March 15, 2010 at 10:15 a.m.

E-mail address: Mailing Address: Fax Number:

jalberico@garfield-county.com Garfield County Clerk & Recorder 109 8th St, Suite 200 Glenwood Springs, Co 81601 970-947-1078

For more information call: 970-945-2377 ext 1820

Sports Briefs CRMS skier bound for junior olympics Colorado Rocky Mountain School junior Gus Griffin has qualified for the 2010 Junior Olympics. Griffin earned his place on the Nordic team by consistently placing at the top in a series of eight races held throughout the winter from Park City, Utah, to Durango to Steamboat Springs. He was selected to fill one of the 25 quota places for 14- to 19-yearold boys. The Junior Olympics take place in Presque Isle, Maine, March 5 to 14. Gus will be competing as part of the Rocky Mountain Division team.

Buttermilk hosts adaptive world cup finals The U.S. Adaptive Ski Team and 13 other national adaptive ski teams are racing at Buttermilk Mountain as part of the International Paralympic Committee’s 2010 Alpine World Cup finals. Some 130 athletes and 50 coaches were expected to attend.

Many of the athletes are out and about around Carbondale because they are staying in hotels in Carbondale and will be eating some of their meals in town as well.

The races are taking place March 2 through 5. The super combined race will be held March 4, and the super G will take place March 5. Athletes compete in two downhills, one super combined and one super G, all of which are World Cup events sanctioned by the USSA, FIS and International Paralympic Committee.

“We’re very excited to bring the adaptive World Cup back to the Roaring Fork Valley and to host the world’s best athletes with disabilities,” said Kevin Jardine, director of competition for Challenge Aspen, which is helping to host the event.

“The Aspen community is fortunate to be able to see these athletes in the final races before they compete in the Paralympic Winter Games.”

Following the Aspen races, the World Cup racers will move on to Whistler, British Columbia, for the Paralympic Winter Games, March 13 through 21.

Ram sports update Varsity boys’ basketball The Roaring Fork Ram varsity boys basketball team finished off its season Feb. 25 with a 56-49 loss against Coal Ridge in their second game in the 3A Western Slope League district tournament. The defeat came at the tail end of tough string of games that left the Rams with a 7-14 overall record and a 7-9 record in league play.

They tied with Basalt for fifth place in the league, but head coach Larry Williams noted that the Rams have the tiebreaker on the Longhorns, having beaten them both times the two squads went head to head during league play.

The Rams played their last two league games on Feb. 19 and 20 against Grand Valley and then Gunnison. Grand Valley defeated the Rams 66-57, but the Gunnison matchup was closer. The Rams lost 43-42 after a turnover in the last 5 seconds.

The Rams later took on Coal Ridge and lost, despite having defeated the Titans twice in league play.

Williams said his boys faltered during the second half. But he noted that Coal Ridge had a few tricks up its sleeve.

The team had finished last in the league, but had succeeded in giving the top-ranked Aspen skiers a run for their

money during a previous game. The Titans later went on to qualify for the regional tournament, he said.

The Rams took fourth in the district tournament, and Williams said that he and the other coaches, and the parents, were proud of the players.

“I feel good about the kids’ effort all year,”he said, noting that the boys were very“coachable”and that they worked hard and worked well together.

Seniors Jake Hawkins, Ben Rodriguez and Arick Zeigel will be departing from the team, but Williams said he was optimistic about the crew that will replace them.

Gutierrez, Adrianna Romero, and Alli Zeigel,but with no juniors on the roster all of its remaining players have the chance to spend an uncommon amount of time playing varsity basketball.

“They’re all very young, so next year will probably be rough as well, but they’re gaining experience,”Zeigel said. “I keep telling them that by the time they’re varsity players they will have more experience than any girl out there.”

Varsity girls’ basketball The Lady Rams finished their season in ninth place in the league after a 46-33 loss against Gunnison on Feb. 20. The girls didn’t manage to win a game during the season, but coach Nancy Zeigel gave all of the players kudos for spirit.

“I was just proud of them,” she said. “Even though they didn’t win a game, every game they came out and played with passion and played until the end of the game. That’s what’s going to make them better – they do have that drive.”

And Zeigel said the Lady Rams have a great chance to improve in the future.

The team will be losing seniors Mireya

Megan Gianinetti puts one in the hoop. Photo by Jim Ryan

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THE SOPRIS SUN • MARCH 4, 2010 • 15

Contestants Prom Queen and K-Pow (right) press palms at the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arm Rasslinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tournament at Phat Thai on Feb. 27.

K-Pow conquered Prom Queen and everyone else she faced. The event was a fundraiser for KDNK. Photo by Terray Sylvester

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The applicant is Christie Jensen; the owners are Jack and Fran Mikaloff. The property is located at 722 Perry Ridge. The legal description is Lot 9, Block FF, River Valley Ranch Phase 8, Town of Carbondale, County of Garfield, State of Colorado.

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(970) 366-2030

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ACTION AUTO COLLISION A Better Body Shop

810B Highway 133

1978 Harding Road, Paonia, CO

Bed & Breakfast Inn

25% off room rates through March Farm to Table Friday Dinners 6:00pm Seating, $15 Entrees

970.527.4374 â&#x20AC;˘ www.freshandwyldinn.com

16 â&#x20AC;˘ THE SOPRIS SUN â&#x20AC;˘ MARCH 4, 2010

Specializ ing in solar ho t water and radiant heat Patrick Johnson 970-618-1768 p 970-963-4867 f

687 Colorado Ave. Carbondale, CO 81623 solarflair@sopris.net

Carbondale

(970) 963-5635

aacollision@gmail.com

www.action-auto-collision