Surls sculpture om page 3 The idea

More than 200 people packed Carbondale Town Hall on April 16 to tell the BLM one thing: void the natural gas leases in Thompson Divide southwest of town. The meeting also brought out a surprise speaker: Colorado Sen. Mark Udall. Photo by Lynn Burton

BLM extends TD comment period Sopris Sun Staff Report The Bureau of Land Management has extended the public comment period on Thompson Divide oil and natural gas leases until May 16, according to a press release. The comment period is part of a process that calls for a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the leases to be released in early 2015. Comments may be emailed to WRNFleases@blm.gov; faxed to 970-876-9090; or mailed to Bureau of Land Management, Colorado River Valley Field Office, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt, CO 81652. For more information on the process, go to blm.gov/ co/crvfo. The EIS will analyze 65 leases issued since 1993 in the White River National Forest, including the 25 leases in the Thompson Divide area that were recently suspended through April 1, 2016.

Fund-raising-team member Sue Edelstein said the idea for a Surls sculpture was hatched by herself and fellow Carbondale Public Arts Commission (CPAC) member Sherrill Stone about six years ago. At the time, there were no official CDOT plans for a roundabout on Highway 133 but the two women thought if there ever were one, a Surls sculpture should be placed in the center. The arts commission agreed and voted for the sculpture — if and when the roundabout was built. Upon that vote, Edelstein and Stone drove up to Surls’s studio and made their pitch. “He immediately said yes,” Edelstein told The Sopris Sun. “We shook (hands) on it.” Unknown to Edelstein when she and Stone first came up with their plan, Jim Calaway knew the sculptor and was a supporter dating back to their Houston days. Finally, last summer, the Carbondale Board of Trustees held a public meeting to solicit other proposals or ideas for the roundabout. Nobody else proposed anything for the roundabout, let alone donating a sculpture, and the trustees voted 7-0 to allow the Surls piece. The town’s landscaping plan for the roundabout shows ground-hugging flowers with the Surls sculpture atop a fivefoot base, bringing the entire package to about the same height as the existing traffic light standards – which will go away when the roundabout goes in. With Mount Sopris as a backdrop, Edelstein said “Sewing the Future” will first come into view for south-bound motorists at about the Family Dollar store. She said CPAC has plans for four pads on Highway 133 leading up to the roundabout that will support sculptures in the on-going aRT Around Town program.

Fund-raising team members Connie Calaway, Edelstein, Jody Ensign and Jay Walker Lodge Director Mark Kloster spoke enthusiastically about the Surls sculpture placement during a recent meeting in Edelstein’s art-packed home in River Valley Ranch. Calaway and Edelstein are focusing on large donors, while Ensign and Kloster will reach out to other community members. At least one donor is already on board at the $20,000 level. The community will get it first good look at a “Sewing the Future” scale model during the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce’s Highway 133 construction open house at Sopris Shopping Center on May 12. The push will continue during June’s First Friday celebration, at which time a new lineup of aRT Around Town sculptures will be unveiled. Surls himself is scheduled to discuss the sculpture, and his thoughts on public art, during upcoming Rotary club meetings and other gatherings. Beyond bragging rights, and giving town residents, tourists and others an intriguing piece of sculpture to enjoy and contemplate, the fund-raising team said the placement should have a positive economic benefit for Carbondale. “It’s called ‘art tourism’,” Edelstein explained. “People will go out of their way to see art.” For example, she said she knows of a Dallas group that is coming to Colorado and is planning its stops around a Vail museum, the Aspen Art Museum and a private collection. “This will bring people off of Highway 82,” Edelstein concluded, with the implication those people will stick around and eat in Carbondale restaurants and support other businesses. For more information on the Surls sculpture fund-raising project, e-mail surlsroundaboutsculpture@gmail.com.

e Sopris Sun announces summer internship program RFHS, Bridges students eligible Sopris Sun Staff Report In keeping with The Sopris Sun’s commitment to support the journalism program at Roaring Fork High School, The Sun is offering two paid summer internships to qualified 2014-2015 juniors or seniors who attend either of Carbondale’s two public high schools (RFHS and Bridges). Interns will be assigned discrete projects they can complete in the summer with weekly supervision and support from Sopris Sun board and staff members. In the process, they will gain experience in both print and online journalism. Such projects may include writing, photography, working with social media, and other website-focused activities. These internships will provide income to students while also enhancing student resumes and enriching the youth-focused content in The Sun and at www.soprissun.com. Interns will be expected to work a total of 50 hours over the course of the summer (defined for this project as the period between June 9 and August 22); individual schedules can be adjusted to accommodate family vacations and other pre-arranged commitments. Interns will be paid $10/hour for a maximum total stipend of $500 each. Interns will work with an assigned mentor/supervisor identified by The Sopris Sun’s board, with regular, weekly check-ins at mutually agreed upon times. All prospective (2014-2015) juniors and seniors at Roaring Fork High School and Bridges High School are welcome to apply. Application details are available for download at soprissun.com. The application deadline is Monday, May 5. Awards will be announced sometime before May 12. Any questions can be directed to Debbie Bruell, Sopris Sun Board President, 379-0214 or by writing to info@soprissun.com. These internships are made possible by generous funding from The Thrift Shop of Aspen.

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