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Carbondale’s holiday cup runneth over

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Sun

Volume 7, Number 43 | December 3, 2015

The Carbondale Clay Center holds its annual Cup Auction from 5 to 8 p.m. at 201A Main St. during First Friday festivities on Dec. 4. More than 100 ceramists from Carbondale and beyond have donated cups for the non-profit group’s fund-raiser. Top row, from left to right, is the work of: Katie Kitchen, Jeff Hulme, Sam Kashuk and John Gill; bottom row: Paige Wright, Ursula Hargens, Lisa Orr and Josh DeWeese. For more on First Friday, check out pages 5 and 10. Photos by Lynn Burton

Home-energy upgrades will continue in 2016 CLEER, GCE and others

By Heather McGregor Clean Energy Economy News

C

ari Kaplan says participating in the 2015 Home Energy Program has made a big difference in the comfort of her home, especially as cold winter temperatures set in.

Through the program, the basement of Kaplan’s Morrison Street home in Carbondale got two new thermal windows, foam

insulation on the concrete walls, and an enclosure for the furnace — all helping to make the chilly downstairs living space warm and comfortable.

Kaplan made several improvements to her home after buying it in 2007, when her income was higher. Now her income from her mobile dog-washing business, the Dog Laundry, is limited. As a result, she qualified for the 2015 Home Energy Program.

Kaplan got her first visit from CLEER energy coaches Maisa Metcalf and Matt Shmigelsky in March. They installed CFL and LED light bulbs, pipe wrap, a water heater blanket, faucet aerators and a carbon

monoxide detector. Follow-up projects continued through the summer and fall by two local companies, Rich Backe’s Building Performance Contractors, and Bob and Mary Layman’s Woodpecker Workshop.

Kaplan is one of 15 residents in Carbondale to benefit from the 2015 Home Energy Program. It is a joint project of CLEER, Garfield Clean Energy, town of Carbondale, Energy Outreach Colorado, SourceGas, Xcel Energy and Holy Cross Energy. Most of the participants have received the energy upgrades at no cost; some have shared the cost for projects.

The program served 54 income-qualified

families and seniors throughout Garfield County in 2015, said Metcalf, who also manages the program for CLEER. Extra funding from the town of Carbondale allowed more households in the town to be served, she said.

Kaplan added, “I am so proud of our town to have put money into this. I have been telling everybody about this program.”

Julia Farwell, a CMC student who works three jobs to stay afloat in Carbondale, also qualified for the program. The CLEER energy coaches recommended what’s called a “crawlspace encapsulation” for Farwell’s North 7th Street home, which she purchased in 2001.

CLEER page 8

in the He art of Carbondale’s Cre ative Dis strict trict

Carbondale Commentary

The views and opinions expressed on the Commentary page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sopris Sun. The Sopris Sun invites all members of the community to submit letters to the editor or guest columns. For more information, e-mail editor Lynn Burton at news@soprissun.com, or call 510-3003.

Five cents apps, sandy beaches, sleigh-crashing gnomes For the past decade or so my retirement plan has been to think of like it’s up to us if we want to keep enjoying things like pesticide-free a great new app and then sell it to everyone in the world for five cents food, clean energy, the right to bare arms, legs, breasts, etc. The good news is that we have the technology to replace Congress; apiece. But whenever I ask my friend (who’s way more yep, there’s an app for that. tech savvy than I) if he thinks this is the one — the app “Buycott” is a free app that gives us, the consumers, all that will make it possible for me to go live on an island the necessary information to make informed choices on and count my nickel royalties — he always says the same our purchases. It will not only show us who the parent thing: “Great idea for an app. It was invented about 10 company is, but also which campaigns/issues that particyears ago.” ular company supports or denies. In other words, who We can pull out our phones (which are pretty much we are really giving our money to and what they will do on us all the time), record something we’ve just seen, and with it? (While it makes me a more informed shopper then post it for the rest of the world to see within 10 minand I feel good about my purchases, shopping takes much utes — less if you’re a Millennial. All this recording and longer because I get stuck in each aisle scanning every tracking has its upside and down; without a doubt the frickin’ barcode).

NSA has more useless information than they know what This concept works on many levels, from groceries to to do with, but everyone is, for the first time, in on the government (Countable is a free app that keeps track of global kitten-watching joke. The 1-percenters are no your representatives’ shenanigans.) If we the people have longer the only ones in-the-know, which means we could the facts, as quickly as they’re happening, then we can vote actually experience democracy in our lifetime. for and buy the laws and products that align with our Republicans say they don’t want the government “up ideals, essentially ending the fraudulent feeding frenzy that in their grill” regulating this and taxing that, (unless it peris Corporate America. tains to women’s reproductive health). They say a free Another big step to shutting down oligarchy in Amermarket is the way to go. And democrats claim governica is, of course, that we have to stop buying so much usement is necessary to ensure we have potable water and a less crap. Decorating the house is a time-honored tradition, few trees left for future generations. But we can all agree and who doesn’t love a chaotic scene of Santa’s sleigh hithat all our government has time to do these days is fundjacked and crashed by a deviant elf gnome on the front raising and sign legislation the lobbyists hand to them. So yard. But is spending hundreds of dollars at WalMart trymaybe it’s time to look at other options. We needed elected officials in the past to represent our best interests By Jeannie Perry ing to make the entire house smell like faux fresh pine really enhancing anyone’s party? Because it sure isn’t helping because communication ran at the speed of smell, and because we had to work all day every day. “Back in my day, we had the trees. “Making money out of paper, making paper out of trees. games too. We played Gut the Chicken and Don’t Let the Fire Go Out. We’re making so much money we can hardly breathe.” — Todd Snider I’m as guilty as the next girl when it comes to finding great holiMy favorite was Find Water.” — Anonymous Internet meme But today, our representatives are chosen by corporations and so day bargains, but now I’m making more educated choices with my they can’t represent us because they have to spend all of their time shopping dollars, even saving a few for my sandy beach retirement.

Hallelujah! catering to the fat cats who got them there in the first place. It looks

OPINION

Ps & Qs

Introducing the Garfield County Gives coalition and Colorado Gives Day

By Dana Marlatt and Cristina Gair Garfield County Gives Have you ever heard of Colorado Gives Day? If you spend a lot of time on the Front Range, you probably have. But if you don’t work for a Colorado non-profit or consume media originating in that area of the state, you might not have.

Or maybe you’ve heard of it, but don’t really know what it is or pay it any attention.

Now, a group of Garfield County non-profits are collaborating to change that by expanding awareness in our community about Colorado Gives Day on Dec. 8.

Presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day is an annual statewide movement created in 2007 to celebrate and increase philanthropy through online giving. The event is sponsored by ColoradoGives.org, a year-round, online-giving website. In previous years, local non-profits registered on the Colorado Gives website have each gone it alone, making their own efforts to promote Colorado Gives Day and raise funds for their organizations. This year, however, realizing the strength in numbers, the Garfield County Gives coalition was formed. The local nonprofits participating in Garfield County Gives and Colorado Gives Day include: the Advocate Safehouse Project, Alpine Legal Services, Aspen to Parachute Dental Health Alliance, Catholic Charities, CLEER, Family Visitor programs, the Garfield County

Libraries Foundation, HomeCare & Hospice of the Valley, LIFT-UP, Literacy Outreach, Mountain Family Health Centers, Mountain Valley Developmental Services, Rifle Animal Shelter, River Bridge Regional Center, True Media Foundation, the Valley View Foundation, the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, YouthEntity, and YouthZone.

While you are out and about doing your shopping, dining or everyday activities, you will surely see flyers, banners and other print materials the Garfield County Cares group has distributed to notify our community of the fast-approaching event. During this giving season, we want to remind everyone of the needs facing our local nonprofit organizations and that they have the power to help. Simply search for non-profit profiles on ColoradoGives.org and make your safe and secure donation to as many local organizations as you choose. Each donation made on Dec. 8, which can be prescheduled online at ColoradoGivesDay.org, will receive a boost from a $1.2 million incentive fund.

Please remember that each and every gift of any amount is appreciated, and makes a difference for our community — especially on Dec. 8, when it will go even further.

For more information about Garfield County Gives and the organizations working together in our community to promote Colorado Gives Day, please visit our Facebook

OPINION

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

page at facebook.com/garfieldcountygives.

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Dana Marlatt is administrative director of True Media Foundation. Cristina Gair is executive director of the Aspen to Parachute Dental Health Alliance, which serves children and seniors.

Letters

Submit letters via email to news@soprissun.com. Deadline is noon on Monday.

Please stop the dumping Dear Editor: I want people to know that we are not a dumping place. Do you realize that it costs Near New money to have mattresses hauled off? And also when you leave TV’s on the city property we have to have them hauled off.

When stuff is left late at night, it’s prey for someone to go through.

We would appreciate donations if you would leave it during store hours, which are 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Do not put stuff out in back or by the dumpster. We really appreciate clean things.

Please don’t liter into Friendship Park because we have to clean up the mess, which takes time.

All business is greatly appreciated.

Candy Holgate Near New volunteer

Sincerest thanks to our

Honorary Publishers for their generous, ongoing commitment of support.

Jim Calaway Kay Brunnier Bob Ferguson – Jaywalker Lodge Scott Gilbert Bob Young – Alpine Bank George Stranahan Peter Gilbert James Surls Umbrella Roofing, Inc.

ank you to our SunScribers and community members for your support!

It truly takes a village to keep e Sun shining.

To inform, inspire and build community.

Donations accepted online or by mail. For information call 510-3003 Editor: Lynn Burton • 970-510-3003 news@soprissun.com Advertising: 970-379-0214 AdSales@soprissun.com Reporter: John Colson Photographer: Jane Bachrach Graphic Designer: Terri Ritchie CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS board@soprissun.com Barbara Dills, President Debbie Bruell, Secretary Colin Laird • Cliff Colia • Diana Alcantara The Sopris Sun Board meets regularly on the third Monday evening of each month at the Third Street Center. Check the calendar for details and occasional date changes.

Honorary Board Members Denise Barkhurst • Sue Gray David L. Johnson • Laura McCormick Jeannie Perry • Trina Ortega • Frank Zlogar Founding Board Members Allyn Harvey • Becky Young • Colin Laird Barbara New • Elizabeth Phillips Peggy DeVilbiss • Russ Criswell

The Sopris Sun, Inc. • P.O. Box 399 520 S. Third Street #36 Carbondale, CO 81623

970-510-3003

www.soprissun.com Send us your comments: feedback@soprissun.com The Sopris Sun, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Donations to The Sun are fully tax deductible.

Kroger submits City Market development plan

By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer The Kroger national grocery store chain, owner of the King Soopers and City Market chains in Colorado, has submitted a development plan to build a new grocery store on the central portion of the property known as the Crystal River Market Place (CRMP), located along the west side of Highway 133 and the north side of West Main Street in Carbondale.

The proposal was received at Town Hall last week, and the development application documents are available for public inspection at the front reception desk. Town Hall is located at 511 Colorado Ave. The site of the proposed development currently is owned by Crystal River Marketplace LLC, a development group that tried to develop the CRMP project over the course of about a decade. Those plans were twice shot down by Carbondale voters, once in a 2003 vote about the CRMP, and again in 2012 concerning a second development plan called the Village at Crystal River.

The present City Market proposal, known as the Carbondale Marketplace, has been in the works for about a year and calls for development on three distinct lots, which are to

be purchased by Kroger from CRMP LLC at some undetermined point. The remainder of the 24-acre property, or roughly 14 acres, is labeled as “reserved for future development.�

The largest part of the Carbondale Marketplace development site, labeled Lot 2, encompassing 6.6 acres, would house a relocated, 59,195 City Market store to replace the smaller, decades-old existing store in the Crystal Village Plaza, located at the southwest corner of Highway 133 and Main Street, across Main Street from the new store’s site.

The current owner of Crystal Village Plaza, The Kroenke Group (founded by billionaire Stan Kroenke) has announced no development plans for the plaza, although ofďŹ cials have said in the past that the existing City Market store would be closed down and “repurposedâ€? into another use if the Carbondale Marketplace plan is approved by the town.

The new City Market store would be coupled with a group of retail spaces on what is known as Lot 4, which encompasses nearly an acre and a half to the north of Lot 2, and which is designed to include a liquor store and a restaurant attached to the grocery store at the north end of the project site.

Lot 3, which covers less than half an acre,

is intended to house a gas station accessible either from Highway 133 or an extension of Hendrick Drive, which would enter the development site from Main Street and turn eastward to intersect with Highway 133, avoiding the parcels that now contain a 7Eleven store and a real estate ofďŹ ce.

The development plan calls for four entrances to the marketplace site — two “threequarter access� points off Highway 133 and two driveways off Main Street, one of which would involve extending Hendrick Drive from the Crystal Village subdivision across Main and into the new marketplace parking area.

According to the development plans, the parking area is to be a large lot between the commercial buildings and Highway 133, which is to contain a total of 315 parking spaces, including 8 ADA accessible (under the Americans with Disabilities Act) spaces, 15 for “high occupancy vehiclesâ€? and 15 designated for hybrid or “energy efďŹ cientâ€? vehicles.

“Greenâ€? construction According to documents on ďŹ le at Carbondale Town Hall, the Carbondale Marketplace is to be built using a wide range of “greenâ€? construction methods and operational technology,

Jankovsky declines to release PPH e-mails (Editor’s note: This sidebar to a longer story was scheduled to run on Nov. 19, but got lost in the editing shufe. So, The Sopris Sun is running it this week).

By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer GarďŹ eld County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky has declined to release e-mails that he said were behind his move to yank funding from the Glenwood Springs Planned Parenthood ofďŹ ces earlier this month.

The Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 2 voted unanimously to withhold a grant of $1,500 from Planned Parenthood, after Jankovsky reported receiving “emails that I ďŹ nd to be very partisan, and very politicalâ€? from an organization called Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado (PPVC).

The decision sparked considerable anger among GarďŹ eld County citizens and others, who contributed close to $25,000 to Planned Parenthood and, in letter writing campaigns and comments on the Internet, condemned the commissioners’ action.

The PPVC is a non-proďŹ t, and is the political-action arm of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, which also is a non-proďŹ t.

The PPVC, according its the website, conducts “educational and electoral activity, including legislative advocacy,

voter education and grassroots organizing to promote the Planned Parenthood mission.�

That mission, according to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains website, includes offering a variety of health programs aimed at women, including cancer screenings, pregnancy and childbirth preparation, and abortions.

The organization’s performance of abortions and related services has angered conservative politicians and organizations for years, and has led to calls for such measures as denying federal funding to Planned Parenthood itself, and for Medicaid recipients who use Planned Parenthood’s services.

Jankovsky, in an exchange of e-mails with The Sopris Sun, suggested that a reporter visit the PPVC website rather than seek copies of the offending e-mails from him. “Just go to Planned Parenthood’s PAC: PPVotesColorado,� Jankovsky wrote in reply to a request for copies of the e-mails he had cited at the BOCC meeting.

When a reporter persisted, Jankovsky wrote, “I will not be sending you those e-mails.�

In a later email, after he was asked if he actually received any e-mails from PPVC, Jankovsky responded, “Somehow I was on the e-mail list for PPVotesColorado� and added, “The e-mails did not come through my county e-mail address, however, if you would like to pursue a CORA (Colorado Open Records Act) request you know the drill.�

including solar panels on the roof of the complex, and an energy management and monitoring system to minimize energy usage.

Plans call for the use of used, recycled, recyclable and “bio-based� materials, and the use of “indigenous� building materials manufactured within a 500-mile radius.

Other green proposals include the use of LED (light-emitting diodes) as a further limitation on power consumption, high-efďŹ ciency air conditioning and heating equipment, leak detection and other equipment to limit energy use in the refrigeration units used in the store, and other green technology.

The store’s management also expects to implement a “waste management planâ€? that will list the different types of waste generated by the store and whether it is to be salvaged, recycled or disposed of in a landďŹ ll or incinerator.â€?

The City Market development plans currently are being reviewed by the town’s planning staff and will be forwarded to the planning and zoning commission for the initial public review process starting on Jan. 21, 2016.

Following a P&Z review, which can include at least one public hearing, the proposal will then move on to consideration by the town Board of Trustees.

Lynn Kirchner ducked into Rachel’s Sewing Repair for the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce’s Shop Small selďŹ e contest on Nov. 28 and came away the winner of $150 in local gift certiďŹ cates. The contest was part of the nation-wide Small Business Saturday, which encourages folks to shop locally. SelďŹ e-shooters were invited to snap their pics at any or all of the 10 participating businesses, then post them to Facebook. The chamber numbered each photo, then sent the bunch to random.org to pick the winner. Kirchner came out on top. Photo

by Cell Phee

Best way to warmup after playing in the cold

The Power of Forgiveness and Apology with Reverend Florence Caplow

Historic Underground Vapor Caves

Join us Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015 – 10 a.m.

Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist (TRUU) @ Third Street Center

www.tworiversuu.org Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist

Inspirational, Contemporary Music by Jimmy Byrne Heather Rydell, Youth Program Minister Childcare Provided

Try Our

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THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 3

Town Briefs

Cop Shop

Town compiling special events schedule

From Nov. 19-24, Carbondale officers handled 135 calls for service. During this period, officers investigated the following cases of note:

Sopris Sun Staff Report

FRIDAY, Nov. 20: At 2 a.m. police encountered a vehicle parked in the middle of the 300 block of Merrill Avenue, with a 29 year-old woman at the wheel. After investigating, the officers arrested her on charges of drunk driving, not having a valid driver’s license, parking illegally and resisting arrest, among other charges. She was taken to the Garfield County Jail.

FRIDAY, Nov. 20: At 6:15 p.m. police were called to a store about a case of shoplifting.

The suspect fled the scene before the police got there, and could not be found.

SUNDAY, Nov. 22: At 2:19 p.m. police arrested and jailed a local 39-year-old man in the vicinity of 403 Main St. on a charge of disorderly conduct.

MONDAY, Nov. 23: At 8:40 a.m. police were informed of a burglary at the underconstruction Ross Montessori School, along Highway 133. No further details were available.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25: At 12:14 p.m. police were contacted by a man who reported that during the previous night someone broke into his vehicle on Village Lane and stole some power tools. No suspects were reported, and the case is under investigation.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25: At 9:02 p.m. police were called to a store on Highway 133, about an intoxicated man in the store. The 44-year-old man was arrested and taken to Garfield County Jail.

The town’s recreation department is in the process of gathering dates and locations from special event organizers hoping to use town parks or request Main Street closures in 2016, according to Town Manager Jay Harrington’s weekly report to trustees, town staffers and others. To request having an event listed on the town’s community calendar, or for street-closure information, contact Recreation Director Jeff Jackel at 510-1214. The town’s Special Event and Street Closure Committee, Harrington wrote, will be meeting over the next month or so to discuss and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees about street closures and event locations.

In other news from Harrington’s report: While the temperatures in the mid-valley region have stayed fairly high during the daytimes, well above the freezing point for water, Carbondale town crews were scheduled to erect the fence enclosure for an outdoor ice rink at the town-owned Gus Darien Riding Arena on Catherine Store Road (County Road 100) to the east of town.

The crew also has begun work on preparing an in-town ice rink at a private lot adjacent to the Fourth Street Plaza, at the intersection of 4th and Main streets.

The rinks typically are open for as long as freezing temperatures keep the ice in skateable condition. There are tall light poles around the rodeo lot that allow for nighttime skating, broomball games and other wintertime activities.

Harrington reported that the town is waiting for temperatures to drop consistently into the freezing range before installing the PVC ice-rink liners and flooding the rink areas.

The goal, Harrington wrote, is to have both rinks open for public skating by Dec. 18, when local public schools dismiss students for the two-week Christmas holiday break.

In other Gus Darien Riding Arena news, Harrington reported that the project manual and request for proposals for construction of a roof over one of the rodeo grandstands will be released to prospective contractors on Dec. 3. A pre-bid meeting with prospective contractors is scheduled for Jan. 12, and the bid opening is scheduled for Feb. 2. Interested contractors may obtain an electronic version of the RFP and project manual by calling Recreation Director Jeff Jackel at 510-1214.

In other tasks, town crews have been cleaning up trash around town, removed benches on 4th Street for refinishing, and have continued with the chore of servicing “dog pot” trash in the ongoing effort to clean up pet-related waste in public rights-of-way.

David Coon, the town’s arborist, continued stringing holiday tree lights along Main Street, and the streets crew has hung lights on the tall spruce tree adjacent to the U.S. Forest Service facility on Main Street.

Work continues on a new “outdoor classroom shelter” in Bonnie Fischer Park, next to the Community Bread Oven, on property that is part of the south grounds of the Third Street Center. Harrington wrote that the new shelter is expected to be finished by Dec. 18.

Harrington reported that all portable toilets at town parks are to be removed this week, with the exception of the portable toilet at the Carbondale Nature Park, where the town expects heavy use by dog-owners walking their pets over the winter months.

This weekend will mark the 2015 Light Up Carbondale holiday celebration, on Friday, Dec. 4, when the newly installed holiday lights will be turned on at 5:30 p.m. There will be Christmas carolers, visits with Santa Claus, hot chocolate and cookies, horse-drawn wagons and other holiday fun available to residents and visitors alike.

4 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

Scuttlebutt

Send your scuttlebutt to news@SoprisSun.com.

Honor Society sponsors Angel Tree

Baby you can buy his car

The Roaring Fork High School National Honor Society is sponsoring an Angel Tree, this holiday season. “The idea of this Angel Tree is that the tree is decorated with angel ornaments that describe a gift needed for a local family,” said an Honor Society press release. “Community members are invited to take an angel ornament and find a gift for the family in need listed on the ornament.” Then, participants return their gifts to Roaring Fork High School or the Carbondale Branch Library (c/o Joselinne Medrano). The National Honor Society will distribute the gifts to the families. The tree will be set up at the Carbondale Branch Library on Dec. 4 and will be up until Dec.16. “The RFHS National Honor Society appreciates the support of the community to help make this holiday season full of cheer for families in Carbondale!” the press release concluded.

Community radio station KVNF-FM in Paonia is auctioning off the 1995 XJ12 Jaguar owned by the late rock singer Joe Cocker. Cocker was a 20-year resident of nearby Crawford, and at one time owned a café there named the Mad Dog. The auction closes at 7 p.m. on Sunday. The British-racing-green vehicle originally sold for $78,000; the minimum bid is $7,500. For details, go to E-bay or kvnf.org.

Sunlight opens early Sunlight Mountain Resort opens for weekend skiing on Dec. 4, and then opens for the season on Dec. 11, according to a press release.

“More than two fee of natural snow that fell in November has allowed (us) … to open early for (our) 49th season,” said a press release. Almost 300 skiable acres on an 18 inch-base will be serviced by the Tercero and Primo lifts.

“The early snow definitely elevated the stoke factor among our avid skiers and riders,” said Sunlight Marketing and Sales Director Troy Hawks. “Our phones and social media channels have been busy with folks anxious to hit

Happy 10th

A deserving team won an elegant trophy for its table decorations during the Our Town, One Table community potluck on Aug. 22 but that was the last anyone saw of it after “The Capers” allegedly put the grab on it. There were at least two trophy sightings following the heist, and then correspondence between the pranksters and The Sopris Sun prank-desk went dark. Until this week. “Just like the residents of Carbondale, the trophy likes to travel,” said the unencrypted e-mail. “It took a cruise to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving week.” The trophy went largely unnoticed as he sat quietly at an end table. Courtesy photo the slopes so we couldn’t be more excited to deliver an early start.” Hawks said ski area improvements this year include renovation of the Out of Bounds Grill in the Sunlight base lodge, and outdoor service station on the deck. In related Sunlight news, on Jan. 8 the ski area teams with LiveWell Garfield County to attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest beginner and snowboard lesson. For more information, go to sunlightmtn.com.

Congrats to Alexis Crawford Alexis Crawford was awarded her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Utah on Tuesday, according to an e-mail that Kathy Gaudy sent to the Sopris Sun. Dr. Crawford was born in Carbondale and is not only a graduate of Roaring Fork High School and CSU, but is a former Mountain Fair cake judge. Her parents, Alex and Karen Crawford, and elder sister, Kendra Rippe, were present on Tuesday to watch Alexis give her final presentation.

It’s our river.

Let’s make it right.

HEALTHY RIVERS PROJECT - BASALT Pitkin County is currently gathering public comments and ideas for a whitewater wave and streamside improvements on the Roaring Fork River in Basalt, CO.

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE Monday, Dec. 7th, 2015 - 5:30pm Basalt Library (brief presentation at 6pm) Find out more and submit comments at:

pitkincountyrivers.com 6 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

Land+Shelter is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. “The Land+Shelter team would like to thank everyone for years of collaboration and being given the opportunity to work on some amazing projects,” said a spokeswoman. “We look forward to discussing your design and planning needs today, tomorrow and in the future. Thank you!” For more information, go to landandshelter.com or call 963-0201.

They say it’s your birthday Folks celebrating their birthday this week include: John Stroud and Mark Stover (Dec. 5); Amy Kimberly, Cathleen McCourt, Judy Whitmore, Carol Craven and Frank McSwain (Dec. 6); Holly Richardson, David Dabney and Lisa Speaker (Dec. 7); and Sandra McMullen and Jennifer Lamont (Dec. 8). In related birthday news, it was noted here last week that Sadie Dickinson’s birthday is Dec. 1 but this story takes another turn, as in she just “turned” 21. Best of wishes from The Sopris Sun cast and crew.

Bighorns don’t beware: Avalanche Creek closed Sopris Sun Staff Report The Forest Service has implemented its annual winter season closure in the Avalanche Creek area located nine miles south of Carbondale in the Crystal River Valley, according to a press release.

Forest Service Road 310 (the Avalanche Creek Road) is closed to vehicles. The area north of Road 310 is closed to human occupancy and the entire area is closed to dogs.

The closures to human occupancy and dogs are in effect from until May 1. The road remains closed until June 21, under the White River National Forest winter travel restrictions. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing is allowed on the road, but dog walking is prohibited. For bighorn sheep populations, winter is a time of stress and hardship. This annual closure, in cooperation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, is intended to reduce disturbance and stress on bighorn sheep while on their winter range. “Avalanche Creek provides critical winter habitat for bighorn sheep,� said Phil Nyland, a wildlife biologist for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. “The low elevation, light snow-pack, terrain that facilitates quick escape and presence of winter forage are key elements of bighorn sheep winter habitat. The seasonal closure is designed to provide a refuge for bighorn sheep during this critical period.�

The closures minimize disturbance of bighorn sheep while on critical winter range. “Research shows that even what appear to be small reactions by sheep to people, trafďŹ c and dogs cause impacts over a period of months in terms of raised stress levels, increased metabolism and decreased food intake,â€? said Nyland.

Said District Ranger Karen Schroyer, “Although you may not see bighorn sheep at Avalanche Creek, the closure is still in effect and there are ample signs to warn visitors.�

The Penny Hot Spring south of Carbondale is a good place to view bighorns when they happen to browse their way over from Avalanche Creek. Sopris Sun ďŹ le photo The area is jointly patrolled by the Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

People who stay on the Avalanche Creek Road may catch a glimpse of the bighorn sheep. Filoha Meadows

along Highway 133 near Penny Hot Springs, and in Glenwood Canyon, are also places to view bighorn sheep.

For more information, call Nyland at 970-404-3156 or John Groves at 970-2920.

7 ,9ĂŠ

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THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 7

Fire district considers volunteer reduction

By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer

The Carbondale fire district, in its proposed budget for 2016, will be working with nearly $1 million more in revenues for its general fund than it once expected, thanks to a recent tax hike approved by voters and an unexpected bump upward in the district’s property values and property tax revenues.

But, as the board of directors for the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District

CLEER om page 1 The job, done by Dennis Brachfeld and Scott Mills with About Saving Heat, included insulating the crawl space walls, laying an impermeable vapor barrier across the earthen floor and sealing cracks with foam or caulk.

The vapor barrier and sealing counteracts the cooling, evaporative effects of the earth underlying her home.

“My floors are definitely warmer,” Farwell said, noticing an immediate difference in the first month since the work was done. “You could stand on the tile floor in kitchen and feel cold air rushing at your ankles. It’s not like that anymore.” It also takes less time to get hot water from the faucets because the crawl space is not so cold, she said.

In 2016 Building on the success of the 2015 program, Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) re-

(CRFPD) figures out how best to spend that money, it appears its first order of business next year may involve a reduction in the number of the unpaid volunteers who historically have made up the core of the district’s force.

The board met on Nov. 30 to hammer out some of the details in the proposed budget, and is expected to get final approval at a meeting on Dec. 9.

At Monday’s meeting, Fire Chief Ron

Leach presented a budget that projects revenues of $2.92 million. In the expenditures column, the district expects to spend nearly $2.17 million in personnel costs next year, up from $1.9 million spent on personnel matters in 2015. The increase will include hiring three additional fire fighters/paramedics, basically bringing the personnel numbers back up to where they were in 2013. The increased personnel expenses also will cover paychecks for the fire district’s board of directors, to the

tune of $8,000 for the five members of the board — Gene Schilling, Mike Kennedy, Louis Eller, Rob Emerson and Carl Smith.

A big-ticket item next year would be updated “personal protective equipment” (PPE) for firefighters. Board member Carl Smith brought up the subject, noting that the district has been struggling to keep its equipment up-to-date in recent years because of a lack of money, and that with the revenue increases

cently awarded a $70,000 grant to CLEER to continue the program in 2016 for income-qualified families and seniors in Garfield County.

The funding will pay for home-energy visits by CLEER’s energy consultants with onthe-spot energy upgrades for 30 to 50 families in Garfield County.

After the visits, Metcalf will coordinate with contractors for other needed upgrades, such as insulation, windows, doors, energy efficient water heaters and refrigerators, and tune-ups for furnaces and boilers.

CLEER’s success with the 2015 program in Carbondale and Garfield County also led EOC to expand the concept in northwest Colorado. The Denver-based agency awarded a total of $335,000 to CLEER, CORE and four other community-based organizations to offer energy upgrades for at least 240 households in a seven-county region, according to Luke Ilderton, director of energy efficiency

programs for EOC. “This is the first time that EOC has implemented an energy upgrade program in the

in Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, Lake, Summit, Routt and Moffat counties.

“We are making a difference in people’s lives, while saving energy and helping meet our climate goals,” Metcalf said.

Ilderton said EOC has collaborated for years with the City of Denver on weatherization programs for incomequalified families.

“These programs have kept seniors in their homes, allowed families to better afford their home energy costs, and preserved some of the more affordable rental housing for working families and seniors on fixed incomes,” Ilderton said.

“We hope to accomplish the same goals in the mountains, as many mountain communities are faced with the same challenges.”

To learn more about the Home Energy Program for 2016, visit GarfieldCleanEnergy.org, and look for “Options for income-qualified households” under the “Residential” tab.

P AUL M ANES

Maisa Metcalf CLEER energy coach mountain region. CLEER’s 2015 program was the pilot,” said Metcalf. “Once that success was proven, EOC opened the program to other organizations for 2016.”

CLEER is also working with EOC to provide training for the other community organizations. The regional program will serve income-qualified families and seniors

Non-profit highlight

ROTARY CORNER

PA I N T I N G S

0774HHWY WY133 133 0774 R P R ED OCK LAZA RED ROCK PLAZA BETWEEN AARROCA BETWEENLL OCAAND AND R ISING RISING

“We are making a difference in people’s lives … .”

FIRE DISTRICT page 9

ROTARY CLUB OF CARBONDALE CRANE RANE C

December with Carbondale Rotary

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RI President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran of Sri Lanka Carbondale Rotary Practicing Service Above Self, at home and around the world …

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Look for the Purple Awnings at the corner of Reed & Robinson.

Entertaining over the holidays?

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Open 10-6 Mon-Sat

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8 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

Carbondale Rotary meets at 6:45 a.m. each Wednesday at the Carbondale Firehouse. Visitors are welcome to join us for our weekly program and learn about the wonderful work Rotary does in the community and around the world.

DECEMBER/JANUARY PROGRAMS: Dec. 9 – Robin Hamill, Haiti Children project Dec. 16 – Sara Sims and Randy Lowenthal, Mountain Valley Developmental Services Dec. 23 and 30 Christmas and New Year’s, no club meeting Jan. 6 – Lucy Kessler from CORE and Erica Sparhawk

Carbondale Rotary members Alan Cole and Robin Tolan distribute dictionaries to third-grade students at Crystal River Elementary School. For several years, Rotary has given dictionaries to all third grade students in each of Carbondale’s schools, part of our focus on education, literacy and youth in our community. from CLEER talk about Carbondale’s clean energy efforts Jan. 13 – Pat Thrasher, Glenwood Railroad Museum

For program suggestions, contact Rick Carlson, rccarlson@gmail.com

For membership and other Rotary Club information, visit www.rotarycarbondale.org

Fire district om page 8 for next year the district should buy new PPE and other gear for all the firefighters.

“I’m not sure how we would be able to budget for that, for us to be able to do it,” Schilling responded, noting that buying that much equipment would be a very expensive move and asking Leach whether he thought Smith’s proposal would be practicable.

Leach cited plans to spend $50,000 on PPE and other critical gear for firefighters next year, as proof that he agrees with Smith’s basic ideas. (The cost to outfit a single fire fighter can hit almost $2,700, Leach told The Sopris Sun).

The discussion then turned to the idea of equipping all 18 paid firefighters, and all 65 volunteers, which a couple of officials felt might be unacceptably expensive when some of those volunteers do not show up for every emergency call.

Former CVFPD volunteer Jeff Wadley, referring to Leach’s plan to outfit the volunteers with new PPE and other gear, asked, “Is that for all of them?”

Board member Mike Kennedy, along with Deputy Chief Rob Goodwin, then noted that it has long been a problem that some volunteers do not always show up when a fire call goes out, indicating that those who do not show up perhaps are not as committed to the job as those who do show up.

Leach, who later told The Sopris Sun that the issue of non-participating volunteers had been “going on for years” in all fire departments, not just Carbondale’s, told the board that if this line of thinking were to be followed through, there may not be 65 volunteers working the district’s fires next year.

The ranks of volunteers may need to be thinned, he said, “because we can’t afford to carry them any more.” He specifically mentioned “20 people who never come” when a fire call goes out.

Kennedy concurred, remarking that if only 30 people show up for every call, then the department actually has a volunteer crew of 30, not 65.

If that is the board’s desire, Leach said, “You’ve got to be prepared for that. People are going to scream like a mashed cat,” and will complain that the department is improperly running off good volunteers.

Goodwin, agreeing with Leach and Kennedy, said it makes sense to trim the department’s non-participating volunteers and use the taxpayers’ money to better equip those who do show up.

“This all goes together,” he said at the end of the discussion.

The discussion about volunteers, and other aspects of the budget, will be addressed one last time at the fire board meeting on Dec. 9.

The budget, by state law, must be adopted by Dec. 15.

Carbondale trustees OK cat crack down 4-1

By John Colson Sopris Sun Staff Writer Carbondale’s Board of Trustees overrode objections from the town’s top police official at a meeting on Nov. 24, and by a vote of 4-1 approved a new law providing stricter oversight of domestic cats in town than the previous town code.

But the new law is not as strict as some wanted it to be, in that it does not require that cat owners have their pet cats spayed or neutered, licensed and vaccinated for certain known feline diseases.

Instead, cat owners are “encouraged” under the new law to arrange to have the cats fixed, licensed and vaccinated.

The sole dissenting vote at the trustee meeting came from Trustee Pam Zentmyer, who at one point argued that the fees linked to the new ordinance might result in cats being abandoned if they are picked up by police on some infraction.

Zentmyer was agreeing with sentiments expressed by local real-estate agent Cindy Sadlowski, who has run a volunteer organization known as the Street Cats Coalition for the past 15 years, trapping and treating feral cats in Carbondale and other communities.

Police Chief Gene Schilling recommended against passage of the new law in a memo to the trustees, stating, “I would recommend that the Board of Trustees not adopt a new ordinance and retain the current cat ordinance as

the police department still has concerns about the cost associated and the amount of resources that could be expended by the police department” with passage of a new ordinance.

Under the new ordinance, owners of cats that run afoul of the law and are picked up by police may be liable for a variety of expenses, including fines of $10 for the first offense, $30 for the second offense, $50 for a third and not less than $100 for a fourth offense.

For any subsequent violations, the owner of a cat in custody could wind up in municipal court and face further fines and up to 180 days in jail.

In addition, owners of cats that are deemed a “nuisance” by police and captured, would be required to pay the costs of vaccinations (if unable to provide proof that the cat has been vaccinated), a $30 pound fee and an additional $20 per day that the cat remains in the pound.

“That’s a lot of money,” Zentmyer said during the meeting.

Several trustees, however, maintained that the new law was needed as a way of cutting down on the number of cats roaming free around Carbondale and preying on the area’s bird population.

Other trustee action included amending the town’s home-rule charter, switching the regular meeting days for the Board of Trustees from the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, to the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, effective in January.

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THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 9

Community Calendar THURS.-SUN. Dec. 3-6 THEATRE • Sopris Theatre Company presents “The Real Inspector Hound” at the CMC Spring Valley campus at 7 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday. “The Real Inspector Hound” follows theater critics Moon and Birdboot, who are swept into a comic spoof reminiscent of the whodunits mystery writer Agatha Christie popularized. This play within a play draws on playwright Tom Stoppard’s experiences as a theater critic and is directed by G. Thomas Cochran. Tickets are $18 for adults, and $13 for seniors, students, CMC faculty and staff. Info: coloradomtn.edu.

To list your event, email information to news@soprissun.com. Deadline is noon on Monday. Events take place in Carbondale unless noted. For up-to-the-minute valley-wide event listings, check out the Community Calendar online at soprissun.com. View events online at soprissun.com/calendar.

WHIMSICAL WOMEN • The Whimsical Women of the West’s annual holiday show takes place at the Third Street Center from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Check out the fiber art, holiday décor, jewelry, clothing, vintage collectibles, fine art, photography, folk art, pottery and culinary goodies. A percent of sales benefits CARE.

ROTARY • The Mt. Sopris Rotary meets at Mi Casita at noon every Thursday.

FILM FESTIVAL • The Thompson Divide Coalition hosts the Wild & Scenic film festival at the Crystal Theatre.

The festival will feature conservation and adventure films that illustrate the Earth’s beauty, the challenges facing the planet and the work that communities around the world are doing to protect the areas they cherish.

Tickets are available at salsalabs.com. Last year’s festival quickly sold out so another day has been added this year. Partners in the festival include CLIF Bar, Sierra Nevada, Patagonia and others.

FRI.-SAT. Dec. 4-5

FRIDAY Dec. 4

HOOPS • The Brenda Patch basketball tournament returns to Roaring Fork High School on Friday and Saturday. The RFHS girls play at 6 p.m. on Friday and the boys at 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday, the girls play at 5 p.m. and the boys at 6:30 p.m. The visiting boys teams are: Eagle, Valley, Aspen and Rifle; for the girls it’s Steamboat Springs, Aspen and Rifle.

LIGHT UP CARBONDALE • CCAH and others join forces for Light Up Carbondale.

Santa will visit the Launchpad from 3 to 7 p.m., and also help light the trees on Main Street at 5:15 p.m. Hot chocolate will be served at the Fourth Street Plaza starting at 5 p.m. SoL Theatre’s Muppets will be on hand to sing; CCAH’s Deck the Walls show

THURSDAY Dec. 3

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CO-HOUSING • Carbondale Co-Housing holds Thursday night potluck discussions and planning sessions from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Third Street Center. Upcoming potlucks are Dec. 17 and Jan. 17. “This is multi-generational living at its best,” said a Carbondale Co-Housing spokesman. Info: Philip Hone Williams at uiux@yahoo.com or 610-513-9885.

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10 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

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will be open for shopping until 8 p.m. Info: carbondalearts.com, 963-1680 or page 5 in this week’s Sun. MOVIES • The Crystal Theatre presents “Brooklyn” (PG-13) at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 410 except Dec. 4 showtime is 5 p.m.

Also showing “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” sponsored by the Thompson Divide Coalition on Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 5 at 4:30 p.m.

CCC • The Carbondale Clay Center holds its annual Cup Auction from 5 to 8 p.m. at 201A Main St. Cup-buying opportunities continue in the clay center gallery and ArtStream trailer on Saturday.

ART OPENING • Gallery 774 in Red Rock Plaza 0774 Highway 133) opens a show featuring photographer Yancy Clete Christopher, and painter Paul Manes, from 6 to 8 p.m.

ART OPENING • The Wyly Annex in Basalt opens Kris Cox’s show “Botanicus Mysterious” from 5 to 7 p.m.

ART MART • The Wyly Art Center opens its Holiday Art Mart from 4 to 7 p.m. The sale continues from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The mart includes an array of handmade goods from local artists and articans.

LIVE MUSIC • Steve’s Guitars in the old part of the Dinkel Building presents live music every Friday night. Info: 963-3340.

SATURDAY Dec. 5 CELEBRATION OF LIFE • A celebration of life will be held for Ro Mead from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Carbondale Recreation Center.

The community event will commemorate the extraordinary life and exceptional contribution Mead made in her beloved Carbondale for the past 40 years. Monetary contributions may be made to CCAH for a Ro Mead student scholarship and/or the traveling art classroom bus named “Rosie Belle.” Info: 963-1680.

SANTA ARRIVES • Santa Claus pulls up a chair from 10 a.m. to noon at the Eagle County Building in El Jebel. Admission is free. Info: 963-6030 or crownmtn.org.

BARN DANCE • The monthly contra barn dance takes place at Carbondale Community School (1505 Satank Rd.) from 7 to 10 p.m.

All dances taught, and no partner is needed.

The Wooden Nickel String Band provides the music. Admission is $8. “Come for the music, stay for the dance,” say the organizers.

COMMUNITY MEAL • Faith Lutheran Church (1340 Highway 133) hosts a free community meal for the public from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There’ll also be some music and fun.

Info: 510-5046 or faithcarbondale.com.

PROFOUND JOURNALING • Claire O’Leary offers a profound journaling workshop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Third Street Center. Info: 303-525-6893.

SUNDAY Dec. 6 FILM • The Roaring Fork Food Alliance CALENDAR page 11

Community Calendar presents the documentary film “Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root” at 3 p.m. at the Third Street Center. A community forum on local food initiatives will follow the screening. Admission is by donation.

WEDNESDAY Dec. 9 CODING • The Carbondale Branch Library offers the Hour of Code at 2 p.m. It’s free. The class is part of a global initiative to promote computer science and teach 21st century skills. Bring your own laptop/device or borrow one of the library’s (quantities are limited). Info: 963-2889 or gcpld.org.

DRIVING • RSVP and Colorado Mountain College offers a four-hour drivers safety class

Further Out

from page 10

from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the El Jebel Community Center. RSVP at 384-8747.

ROTARY • The Rotary Club of Carbondale meets at the Carbondale fire station on Meadowood Drive at 6:45 a.m. Info: rotarycarbondale.org.

LIVE MUSIC • Dan Rosenthal hosts an open mic night at Rivers restaurant in Glenwood Springs from 8 to 10 p.m. every Wednesday.

POTTERY SALE • The Ceramics Club of Aspen opens its annual holiday sale with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. at Colorado Mountain College. The sale continues through Dec. 11.

THURSDAY Dec. 10

SATURDAY Dec. 12

WRENCHING • Wilderness Workshop presents “Wrenched” with conservationist Dave Foreman at Paepcke Auditorium at 5 p.m. A Q&A with Foreman follows. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Info: wildernessworkshop.org.

WAY OF COMPASSION • Buddhist scholar Tenzin Priyadarshi leads a retreat on the “Eight Versus of Thought Transformation” at Carbondale Community School. Priyadarshi will be hosted by the Way of Compassion dharma center, a Buddhist center based at the Third Street Center. “We have been working to make this happen for two years, and are thrilled to see this come to fruition,” said Way of Compassion director John Bruna. Info: 510-0583 or wocdharmacenter.org.

FRIDAY Dec. 11 VVAS • The deadline to enter the 36th annual Valley Visual Art Show has been extended to 5 p.m. today. Info: 963-1680 or carbondalearts.com.

Save the Date THURSDAY Dec. 10 THEATRE • Thunder River Theatre Company is deep in rehearsals, preparing to present the comedy-drama “Bakersfield Mist” by newcomer Stephen Sachs (the winner of the 2012 Elliot Norton award for Best New Play). The play was inspired by true events and asks vital questions about what makes art and people truly authentic, according to a press release. Vanity Fair wrote, “Not to be missed,” while the Los Angeles Times said, “ … it’s exhilarating in the extreme when a play strikes it rich on every conceivable level.” The play is directed

by Corey Simpson and features Trary Maddelone and Mike Monroney. Lon Winston designed the sets, with Loren Wilder the lighting designer. Cindy Hines is stage manager. The play runs Dec. 10-13, and Dec. 17-20. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m., except for 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays. Tickets are $25 for adults, $17 for 20-30 somethings and $14 for full-time students, and are available at 963-8200 or thunderrivertheatre.com.

The theatre is located in downtown Carbondale on the red brick walkway, just west of the Dinkel Building. On opening night there’ll be a catered champagne reception.

Ongoing DECK THE WALLS • CCAH’s Deck the Walls holiday show at the Launchpad continues through Dec. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, Thursdays until 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show features gift items from local artists and artisans, including candles, wool hats and gloves, silk scarves, blown glass, ceramic kitchen wares, one-of-a-kind holiday ornaments, cards and more. Info: carbondalearts.com or 963-1680.

CLAY CENTER • The Carbondale Clay Center’s annual Holiday Invitational Exhibition and Sale takes places through Dec. 18. Participating artists include: Alleghany Meadows, Angus Graham, Anne Goldberg, Brandon Whitacre, Bryan Hopkins, Chandra DeBuse, Collette Spears, Donie Hubbard, Doug Casebeer, Elina Jurado, Frank McGuirk, Ginny Beesley, HP Bloomer, John Cohorst, K Rhynus Cesark, Lisa Ellena, Liz Heller, Lori Dresner, Matthew Eames, Mike Stumbras, Molly Berger, Peg Malloy, Rain Harris, Sandie Gardner, Staci DeBolt, Steven Colby, Susie Pentelow, Tyler Bopp and others. Items for sale include handmade cups, bowls, plates, vases, pitchers, cream and sugar sets, ceramic jewelry, small sculptures and more. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. with holiday weekend hours in December. The Holiday Invitational is sponsored by Prism

Work Spaces (prismworkspaces.com). Info: 963-2529 or director@carbondaleclay.com.

MAYOR’S COFFEE HOUR • Chat with Carbondale Mayor Stacey Bernot on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Village Smithy.

PATHFINDERS • The grief and loss support group Pathfinders meets at Core Healing Arts 1101 Village Road, Suite 2D) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Monday of the month. Pathfinders is a non-profit, psychosocial support program for people dealing with chronic illness, disability, bereavement. Info: pathfindersforcancer.org or 319-6854 or 925-1226.

FREE MEDICAL ADVICE • Greg Feinsinger, M.D. offers free, one-hour consultations about prevention and treatment of disease through nutrition and other medical issues. Info: 379-5718.

CARBONDALE LIBRARY • The Carbondale Branch Library offers elementary-schoolaged kids a different program each week starting at 4 p.m. The first Tuesday of the month is Story Art with the Aspen Art Museum; second Tuesday is Book Buddies; third Tuesday is Legos at the Library; fourth Tuesday is The Good, the Bad, and the Gross; and the fifth Tuesday is Librarian’s Choice. Info: 963-2889 or gcpld.org.

THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 11

Community Briefs

Please submit your community briefs to news@soprissun.com by noon on Monday.

Carbondale 2020 representatives will share information on the progress the town has made toward carbon emissions reduction goals, and seek input on a proposed carbon fee, proposed amounts and uses for the fee. The proposed carbon fee would be included on electric and natural gas utility bills for buildings within the town of Carbondale, generating revenue over a five-year period to accelerate and incentivize clean energy. The meeting will start with an open house, with presentations and discussion starting at 5:30 p.m.

Marcel Kahhak will show his work and demonstrate how he does it at his gallery/ school in the Dinkel Building during First Friday on Dec. 4.

There’ll also be beverages and hors d’oeuvres from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

C’dale considers carbon fee

Carbondale 2020 (a coalition of the Carbondale Board of Trustees, Carbondale Environmental Board, a citizen technical and financial advisory committee, CLEER and CORE) is hosting a community meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Third Street Center. Refreshments will be served.

Carbondale Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year nominations for 2015 are being accepted until noon on Dec. 15.

The chamber will honor a for-profit business member and a non-profit business member the criteria are: businesses that have a history of outstanding business practices in the Carbondale community. This award is to honor its entrepreneurship, sustainability, productivity and effort. The business must be a Carbondale Chamber member in good standing. To nominate a business, e-mail adrea@carbondale.com. Include your name and business, the name of the for-profit and non-profit business being nominated, and brief comments on why you are nominating them. Carbondale Chamber members will vote for the winners. For more information, call 963-1890.

Volunteers collected more than 500 coats from Aspen to Carbondale in recent weeks and will distribute them for free at the Third Street Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 5-6, according to a press release. Collections were made at City Markets in Carbondale and El Jebel, Colorado Rocky Mountain School. Bristlecone Sports, the Aspen Chapel, Aspen Country Day, and High/Middle/Elementary schools, and all three Habitat Re-Stores. “We thank all of our partners that helped us by allowing collection boxes in their locations,” said a coat drive spokeswoman.

New VVAS deadline The deadline to enter CCAH’s 36th annual Valley Visual Art Show was Dec. 4, but now it’s Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. The show is open to CCAH members who reside in the 816 Zip code. There are a few other rules so for details, go to carbondalearts.com.

The show opens Jan. 15 at the Launchpad’s R2 Gallery.

Fire district calls Here are the Carbondale Fire District’s 911 calls for Nov. 22-28: • Medical emergencies (5); • Citizen assist (2); • Smoke alarm (2); • Odor check (2); • Search assist w/Carbondale PD/ person found (1).

Photo by Lynn Burton

While history-making climate negotiations are underway in Paris, Carbondale residents are being asked to shape the town’s next steps on climate protection, including a proposed carbon fee for the April 2016 ballot, according to a press release.

Biz of Year nominations due

Free coats at the TSC

Illène Pevec

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www.soprissun.com or P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623

12 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

Weeds, allies and the future of food So I’m on this thing called a “weed task force,” and it’s not what you might think. It exists to make sure there is a way to manage and maintain the land in Carbondale for its greatest health in relation to weed issues, and to make toxic treatments unnecessary.

Why would anyone care about this? I was just reading a June 2015 report out of the Global Sustainability Institute that describes the increasing vulnerability of the global food system and collapse of society due to catastrophic food shortages.

What to do in the face of such dire information?

Look for more creative ways and places to grow healthy, local food, for which the first order of business is to make sure that our

By Gwen Garcelon soils are alive and toxin-free.

Lo and behold, this is not rocket science; the protocols exist. There seems to be widespread agreement that the protocols are the healthiest way to manage the land, and plant life, and they aren’t particularly difficult to implement. They simply have not been inserted into the manuals and processes where they can guide actions for the most successful outcomes for the land.

So that’s what we on the Carbondale Weed Task Force are doing — and maybe it’s just me, but it’s fun.

It’s fun to get together with a group of people (some I knew well and some I didn’t) and figure out how to make things work for the greatest benefit of all. I realize that I love these people for showing up and stepping into a place of uncertainty and complexity, and figuring out what it will

Lon Winston, Executive Artistic Director

THUNDER RIVER THEATRE COMPANY

Slow is the new fast

take to get us something we want — healthy, resilient, productive lands.

I realize that this is a good description of the role of the Roaring Fork Food Alliance (the new name for the former Roaring Fork Food Policy Council). The alliance is about creating allies in the quest to build a local food system that will be capable of meeting the needs of an increasingly complex and uncertain future.

Building a productive local food-shed includes a dizzying array of moving parts — water, weeds, soil, energy usage, economics, distribution, equitable access to food, how to makes farmers’ lives work — to name just a few.

And there is no prescription or strategic plan that works for one food-shed that will necessarily work for another.

At some point we need to get as many individuals, interests and knowledge bases together at the table and to do the work of learning together, given our unique set of regional resources and challenges. This takes ongoing outreach and relationship building. And it’s an evolutionary process, because it is based on a future that calls forth the best in us, and the best of our hopes and dreams.

This is what the Roaring Fork Food Alliance is doing.

You can learn more about the effort on Dec. 6 when we screen a documentary called “Ingredients” at the Third Street Center. It gives a thoughtful and inspiring context for the local food movement. After the film we will open it up to a community dialogue about the status of our own local food movement (including a Local Food Convergence in January). It’ll be a great chance to do some more learning, celebrating and evolving together.

Gwen Garcelon is director of the Roaring Fork Food Alliance, and writes about her unabashed passion for a thriving planet and the adventure challenge of recreating the local food system (and other inspiring stuff of relevance).

A Desert sighting; did you see it, too?

My friend J.J. and I decided to go camping one more time before winter sits in hard and cold, so we headed for the San Rafael Desert of southeastern Utah.

My Desert trips are shared with only a handful of friends. No tenderfoot or unseasoned camper need apply.

Being born and reared within the Llano Estacado in southeastern New Mexico, as a kid I played in the arid mesquite “desert” with a small “d”.

For six years as an archaeologist stationed in Socorro, New Mexico, my work took me into the upper Chihuahuan Desert where summer temperatures hovered between 108 and 112 degrees.

By Bill Kight Let’s cut to the chase and say it simply. I love the Desert. It’s the one true place I feel at home.

Home or not, it takes a bit of insanity to truly experience the Desert for what She offers … expects … gives.

Sometimes a nourishing mom and sometimes a deadly monster, the San Rafael Desert is no place for the fainthearted.

Last time I ventured down the 800-foot drop into the depths of Horseshoe Canyon, the National Park Service Ranger, my friend J.J., and I were hiking with told of the couple who missed the trail on their way out.

Five miles later and not quite to the junction of Horseshoe and the Green River, they ran out of water and perished.

This trip, J.J. and I camp at my favorite campsite perched on the rim of a canyon. Open to the sights and sounds around us we have a 360-degree view of the Bookcliffs to the north, DESERT page 19

Common Ground

I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls!

December 10-13 & 17-20, 2015 7:30 p.m. | Sundays 2 p.m.

“Not to be missed!” - Vanity Fair

Celebration of life

Corey Simpson, Director Featuring: Trary Maddalone Mike Monroney

for

TICKETS www.thunderrivertheatre.com 970.963.8200 $25 - Adult $17 - 20/30-Something $14 - Full-Time Student

Thunder River Theatre 67 Promenade Downtown Carbondale On the red brick promenade

12/15/2015 Holiday Open House 5:30-8:30pm Cocktail Reception Bombshell Salon of Carbondale 981 Cowen Dr Suite A R.S.V.P. Only 970-510-5271

Ro Mead at the Carbondale Recreation Center from 3 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 5.

It is a community event commemorating Ro’s extraordinary life and the exceptional contribution she made over the past 40 years to her beloved Carbondale community.

Potluck items of finger food appetizers and desserts are welcome.

Monetary contributions may be made to CCAH for a Ro Mead student scholarship and/or the traveling art bus named Rosie Belle.

For more information, call 963-1680.

THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 13

“Memoirs of a River” looks back on newspapering (Editor’s note: The Sopris Sun runs excerpts of Charlotte Graham’s book “Memoirs of a River … Up the Crystal, Vol. 2” every month).

By Charlotte Graham Sopris Sun Contributor With winter holidays upon us comes a reminder of that for which we are truly grateful.

Reading this history column, you might agree that hometown newspapers are valuable and valued “voices” to any local community. And, when you get ‘em for FREE, well, what’s the down side? Sure, there’s always someone or something to complain about journalistic endeavors: not enough jokes, not enough serious stuff, i.e. in both cases mostly meaning politics, not enough sales coupons, or … whatever! In the overall, though, stop and think about it.

What if you woke up next Thursday and there just was no more Carbondale newspaper? Are some of you getting a sense of déjà vu? Celebrating Thanksgiving got me to thinkin’ about being appreciative for what we’ve already got.

And how can we be grateful if we don’t know or yet appreciate our town’s newspaper history? I submit this excerpt from Chapter Six of “Memoirs, Volume Tow” titled “Read All About It - Carbondale’s Newspapers.”

Ever since Indians scratched deep (!!) messages on patina-covered rock walls all over the West, there has obviously been a committed human need to "get the news out." There's even a couple of huge boulders in Utah and Arizona that are both called Newspaper Rock.

Some might even call it an itch that can't quite be reached because no matter how diffi-

cult the efforts, especially in our pre-tech world, independent newspapers seem to attract people who have one thing in common.

They just never give up scratching out that urge to pass on information with little, if any, measureable remunerative return on their time investment. Rare breed indeed! Well, until you come to Carbondale. Here, there’s a slew!

Newspapers have been born then died in Carbondale through the years, but the longest survivors are The Valley Journal (RIP) and The Sopris Sun.

An Empire’s Paper At our beloved Mt. Sopris Historical Museum treasure-trove, one can still read (just barely) Carbondale's finest journalistic endeavors in Volume One of the Crystal River Empire newspaper circa 1924.

Isn't it nice to still be able to connect the dots, if you will, that 90-some years ago a ladies study group was "delightfully entertained" at the lovely home of Hattie Thompson? Thankfully, as outlined in Memoirs, Chapter 2, we can and will see similar snippets about “entertaining in Hattie’s home” in today’s newspaper, The Sopris Sun. While Aspen and Glenwood Springs have had newspapers that have birthed and lived beyond an old person's lifetime in this valley, there was a big hole in the news-reporting business from the late 1920s to early 1970s in Carbondale.

The basic reason was that during those desperate Depression-era years, most Carbondale-area folks were hard put and scrambling just for some paying kind of work.

Probably no one cared whether this or that society story got told, let alone figuring out how to pay for printing.

“Good morning, Carbondale” By the mid-1970s, a ski-based economy ramping up in Aspen started unwelcome changes for earlier town residents. As it became more of a snazzy celebrity town, many just plain ol’ Aspen folks started moving down the Roaring Fork Valley to Basalt and Carbondale. This downhill population flow of ski bums and hippies mixing with cowboys and miners certainly had its impact.

Some of these “down streaming” folks were

artists and musicians — mostly from back east. Chicago comes up often. Many were environmentally-sensitive and activist types and supporters thereof.

Even though Carbondale would get a blurb here and there in the early news stalwarts, the Aspen Times and Glenwood Post, there became a desire, if not need, for Carbondale’s own; one that would focus specifically on Carbondale's issues, its governance, and its diversity of people, business, and event needs.

MEMOIRS page 18

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right here; and you help your neighbor because most of Carbondale’s store and businesses are locally owned.

14 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

CARBON FEE FOR CARBONDALE CARBONDALE JOIN US TO DISCUSS A CARBON Free refreshments!

Thursday, December 10th Thursday, December Third Center: Calaway Calaway Room Third St. St. Center: Room 5 – 7pm

Break out the paints, sharpen your pencils, it’s time for the

D E SI G N THE HOLIDAY COVER

“Spruce Up The Sun” ANNUAL HOLIDAY COVER DESIGN CONTEST This year’s theme is “MAGICAL MOMENTS.” The contest is open to grades pre-K through high school.

Artwork must be on 8 ½” x 11” paper, vertical orientation.

• You may use a variety of media, such as watercolor, pen and ink, crayon, chalk, markers, etc.

• Brighter colors are encouraged.

• No glitter please.

• Please keep designs 2-dimensional in order for us to scan the artwork for publication.

Let your imagination run wild and get those creative juices flowing.

Spruce Up the Sun contest winners receive the honor of having their artwork in the Dec. 17 issue which is distributed throughout the Roaring Fork Valley as well as being posted on the Sun’s website.

The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11.

Drop them off at The Sopris Sun office in the Third Street Center (520 S. Third St., #36 – at the end of the “long hall”) or send them to P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623, postmarked by Dec. 7.

Please include your name, grade, age, and phone number ON THE BACK of your entry.

For more information, call The Sopris Sun at 510-3003.

EAT. SHOP. PLAY. CONFLUENCE OF RIVERS, RECREATION & CULTURE

Wyly opens Kris Cox show at the Annex Sopris Sun Staff Report The Wyly Art Center hosts an opening night reception for Kris Cox and his show “Botanicus Mysteria” at the Wyly Annex from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 4.

“Botanicus Mysteria” is a new body of work featuring various sized archival photographic prints on rag paper mounted on MDF panel, according to a press release. Beeswax is applied to each piece and combined with other collage elements-fabric, paper or pigmented wood putty. A burnished asphalt emulsion wash is the final application to the beeswax surface.

“The works in my new series are comprised of plants found in the Roaring Fork Valley that are most commonly considered invasive, noxious and nuisances,” Cox said. “I find them to be exotic, sensual and transformative. My focus is on the mysteries of the images of the plants manifested in the works … the ‘objectness’ of each piece and their physical/sensual surfaces.”

Cox received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He was an assistant professor of art at San Diego State University until he resigned in 1982 to pursue his own art full time. He has had numerous solo exhibi-

tions across the country, and reviews of his work have appeared in ARTnews, Omnivore and other publications.

His work is included in collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Art in Santa Fe, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, IBM and Sears Corporation in Chicago. He currently lives and works in his studio/residence that he built in Basalt.

Cox will discuss his artistic progression over the past several years and how it relates to his current artistic pursuits at the annex at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 10. His show runs through Jan. 2.

The Wyly Annex gallery is located in downtown Basalt; the hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m.

Running concurrently at The Wyly Art Center in downtown Basalt is the show “Art Within,” featuring the work of staff members Holly Gressett, Dana Higbie, Elaine Hill, Genna Moe and Jocelyn Murray. “Art Within” runs through Dec. 23. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both shows are free and open to the public.

For more information and full schedule of events visit wylyarts.org or call 927-4123.

In his show “Botanicus Mysteria,” photographer Kris Cox explores local plants that are commonly considered invasive, noxious and nuisances. Courtesy photo

Join us for Tree Lightings: Friday, December 4 Lions Park in Downtown Basalt 4 -6 PM Friday, December 11 Triangle Park at Willits Town Center 4-6 PM

Coffee with the

Mayor

On Wednesday mornings, after a Tuesday night Council meeting, visit in an informal setting with Basalt Mayor Jacque Whitsitt for coffee and a chat at Saxy’s Coffee Shop, 104 Midland Avenue.

This is a great opportunity to share your thoughts, make comments and catch up on what’s happening in Basalt.

All issues and topics welcome.

The next Coffee with the Mayor is:

Wednesday, %FDFNCFS at 8 a.m.

16 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

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Adults get hip to social media; goose still loose Sopris Sun Staff Report The Basalt Regional Library introduces adults to social media basics this month, while Mother Goose continues her long run of entertaining kids. Of particular note is the Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra’s Christmas Concert from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 8. Here is the entire schedule.

Basalt Regional Library events

Thursday, Dec. 3 10:30-11 a.m. – Story Art with the Aspen Art Museum Friday, Dec. 4 10:30-11 a.m. – Baby Storytime 1-2:15 p.m. – Technology Class: Digital Downloads - eBooks, Magazines Saturday, Dec. 5 10:30 a.m.-Noon – Drop-In Crafts

Monday, Dec. 7 10:30-11 a.m. – Mother Goose on the Loose

Tuesday, Dec. 8 10:30-11 a.m. – Tree House Tales for Toddlers 1-2:15 p.m. – Technology Class: iPhone Basics 3:30-4:30 p.m. – Lego Builders 5:30-7 p.m. – Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra Christmas Concert

Wednesday, Dec. 9 10:30-11 a.m. – Tree House Tales for Preschoolers Noon-1:15 p.m. – Adult PC Class: Powerpoint 2010 2-3:30 p.m. – Early-Release Wednesday Chess Club 5:30-6:30 p.m. – La Tercera Edad: Manualidad

Thursday, Dec. 10 10:30-11 a.m. – Music & Movement with Barry Chapman 10:30-11 a.m. – Baby Signing Time: Christmas Signs 1-2:15 p.m. – Resume Writing & Job Hunting Tips 4-5:30 p.m. – Teen Trivia: Grades 5+ 5:15-7 p.m. – Library Board Finance Committee Meeting Friday, Dec. 11 10:30-11 a.m. – Baby Storytime

Saturday, Dec. 12 10:30 a.m.-Noon – Drop-In Crafts 1-2:15 p.m. – Technology Class: Social Media - Common Apps

Monday, Dec. 14 10:30-11 a.m. – Mother Goose on the Loose 2-5 p.m. – Free Legal Clinic by computer link

Tuesday, Dec. 15 10:30-11 a.m. – Tree House Tales for Toddlers 1-2:15 p.m. – Technology Class: Cloud Storage & Password Safes

Over 20 Years Locally Owned!

y a -D ide e On rew !! o e St Sal

Tuesday, Dec. 15 (continued) 5:30-6:30 p.m. – Chixs with Stixs

Wednesday, Dec. 16 10:30-11 a.m. – Tree House Tales for Preschoolers Noon-1:15 p.m. – Adult PC Class: Social Media Basics 2-3:30 p.m. – Early-Release Wednesday Chess Club 3:30-5 p.m. – Decorate a Gingerbread House or Gingerbread House Challenge 5:15-7 p.m. – Movie Night: Title TBA Thursday, Dec. 17 10:30-11 a.m. – Storytelling with Merrilee Hindman Friday, Dec. 18 10:30-11 a.m. – Baby Storytime 1-3 p.m. – CONTINGENT: Genealogy Help Session (Registration required) Saturday, Dec. 19 10:30 a.m.-Noon – Drop-In Crafts Monday, Dec. 21 5:15-7 p.m. – Board of Trustees Meeting

For more information, or to confirm times, please visit basaltlibrary.org.

970-963-1700 www.paddywackspet.com

One Stop Shopping For Pet & Large Animal Needs!

Saturday December 5th 9am – 5pm Come Join Us For Our Pre-Inventory Sale!!

Purr-Furred Discounts Cards Do Not Apply

15 - 30% Storewide Buy It Before We Have To Count It! RJP Will be closed Sunday Dec 6th & Monday Dec 7th for Inventory

RJ Paddywacks Pet Outfitter 400 E. Valley Road # I/J • Carbondale, CO 81623 • Next to City Market – El Jebel THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 17

Memoirs om page 14 “Good Morning, Carbondale” was the front page headline of Volume 1 Number 1 of the Roaring Fork Review in April of 1974 produced by newly-hired editor, Patrick Noel, and photographer Rebecca Young Tucker, both recent grads of Colorado State University where they had worked together on their college newspaper, the Rocky Mountain Collegian.

Turns out Becky — now Young again, and Pat, still Noel — cut their journalistic wisdom teeth with this big break from Denver newspaper man Bob Sweeney to provide Carbondale some hometown news.

With a year or so of the Review under their belts when it sold, they went on to begin Carbondale's longest-running newspaper; first, as the Roaring Fork Valley Journal in 1975 that later became the Valley Journal until, as varied stories go, it ran red ink for too long and finally flat-lined.

I got to visit a bit with Becky, whose first words after introductions were, “I cant adequately tell you enough how much work it was to publish [the paper].”

We laughed long at similarly shared flashbacks of publishing life back-in-the-day.

Becky confirmed my Itchy Theory, “We couldn’t help ourselves.

A pattern?

Becky went on to tell about 60 to 70-hour weeks to produce what became a consistent 36-page weekly. This in a world of Underwood typewriters. Page layouts by hand. “It had to be done by young people,” Becky said.

“For five years, I never, ever slept on a Wednesday night.”

Lynn Burton, our Sopris Sun editor understands those early days of the VJ. “Before long, the Valley Journal became known for its outstanding photography, sometimes quirky coverage of Carbondale and its denizens, and independent attitude,” Lynn said.

And don’t forget the Valley Journal’s famous Mother’s Day issues that started in 1984 and continue in The Sun. “I remember because my first son was born and we were one of the ones on the cover,” said Becky.

“Brenda Buchanan came up with that idea and Patti Barry Levy was the photographer.”

While their pay was peanuts, their acknowledgement riches were evident. “The walls of the VJ office were covered in Colorado Press Awards,” Becky said.

One editor’s name shows up on a pretty consistent thread as I leaf through random VJ copies at the MSHS museum. Again, that is Pat Noel. As his long-time co-editor, Becky described him thus, “Pat had an amazing way of dealing with people ... Gandhi-like.”

I caught up by phone with Pat to talk about his recollections. “I was editor off and on for about 15 years,” he started out. “The big stories of those days were the Marble Ski Area, the West Divide-Placita Dam and Mid-Continent Mine.”

“Old-timers like Mary Ferguson welcomed the new blood,” Pat said. “I enjoyed listening to and sharing their oral histories.”

Becky echoed the same, “It was our great good fortune to meet all the old-timers.”

After a number of owners’ names changed on the masthead, both private and corporate, the VJ was shut down in 2008. The last owner sitting in the proverbial chair when the music stopped was Swift Communications, a Reno,

Nevada media corporation that appears to own nearly every other small town newspaper in Western Colorado.

Not surprisingly, the VJ’s demise raised a hue and cry from this community. A new generation of young along with old(er) independent journalists stepped forth, hence, the dawn of The Sopris Sun. Another scratch-that-itch-a’holic is John Colson, who has seen local newspaper history evolve some 40 years in the valley from his “journalistic home.” John has worked for a number of valley papers over the years, including a turn wearing the editor’s hat at the VJ a couple times, from ’81-’85 and then again from 2001-2005. John also has a weekly column in the Aspen Times Weekly and is a parttime reporter for the Sopris Sun. “There was the Roaring Fork Sunday for a while,” John said, “headquartered in Basalt. It was basically a government watchdog. It never made money. It got bought out by Morris Communication and they killed it.”

The beat goes on The 2015 update to the local newspaper business is … drumroll, please: with its debut in 2009, The Sopris Sun is still shining bright in 2015.

Staff photographer Jane Bacharach lives with a camera or two attached to her body pretty much all the time. It’s the only explanation as to how she manages to catch the unusual striking glimpses of ’Bondale lifestyles each week, be it human or nature’s finest. Keep an eye out for her children’s book coming out after the beginning of the new year.

Every good team needs calm and coherence or “glue” that holds everything together.

Around here, that comes in the package known as Graphic Designer Extraordinaire.

Terri Ritchie, another VJ vet who has been with The Sun since it’s beginning, takes news, letters, photos and ads and manifests her own visual artistry in each weekly issue. “we are a well-oiled machine now,” Terri said as she laughed at my incredulity of the pressure of 52 weekly deadlines every year.

News IS art So, folks, just for fun, make a point of taking a thoughtful look at each of the Sun’s weekly editions. This is more easily done nowadays on the Sun’s website soprissun.com.

Given that all daily newspapers in the valley are free, when not under a corporate, or at least big $$ umbrella, publishing a quality newspaper every week still takes greenbacks to survive … and grow! That’s where readers, sponsors and advertisers come in. Please consider a donation or an ad for your business to this worthy not-for-profit news source. Even if just for future historians’ and genealogists’ consideration!

In an age of 24/7 electronic news at your fingertips, this hometown newspaper is NOT just something to wrap your freshly caught trout in or used as puppy pads. Each and every issue of The Sopris Sun is a special personally wrapped gift by this team presented weekly to this community. When you look at it that way, well, we can all be truly grateful for their efforts.

For more information on Charlotte Graham and her books “Memoirs of a River … up the Crystal” Vol. 1&2, visit charlotte-graham.com or visit her Facebook page under “author.”

ADVERTISEMENT NOTICE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OF

DESIGN-BUILD BIDS RODEO GRANDSTAND ROOF STRUCTURE PROJECT

Town of Carbondale, Colorado is seeking a contractor to provide professional Design-Build Services to provide a new roof structure over a grandstand at the Gus Darien Riding Arena. An electronic bid package including project manual and drawings will be provided for free from SGM. This information will be available after December 3, 2015 from SGM, 118 West 6th Street, Suite 200, Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Electronic documents may be obtained by contacting Joan Preisner at (970) 945-1004 (OR) email her at: joanp@sgm-inc.com. The email subject line shall read: Request for Electronic Bid Documents-Town of Carbondale Rodeo Grounds Roof Structure Project. The email shall contain the following information: Name, Company, and Phone Number.

Sealed PROPOSAL BIDS will be received by the Recreation Director, Jeff Jackel, at the Carbondale Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, CO 81623 until 1:00 PM, Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at which time they will be publicly opened and read aloud.

A pre-bid meeting will be held at 1:00 PM, Tuesday, January 12. 2016, at the Carbondale Town Hall, with an optional site visit to follow at the Gus Darien Arena. All questions pertaining to this project should be directed to Jeff Jackel, Recreation Director, via email at: jjackel@carbondaleco.net.

18 • THE SOPRIS SUN • www.SoprisSun.com • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015

Desert om page 13

 LaSals  to the east, Abajos to the southeast, Henrys to the southwest, and the ancient San Rafael Reef to the northwest.

In the late afternoon, J.J. and I set up our camp and with the help of a few adult beverages, cook dinner then relax in our camp chairs.

Our sleeping quarters are simple — a ground cloth, pads and sleeping bags. Nothing between the big sky and us but the cold, we lie on our backs looking up into the cosmos.

For two nights we were treated to one surprise after another.

Legal Notice

The ďŹ rst night the International Space Station zoomed overhead 249 miles above us at some 17,000 miles-per-hour and brighter than a satellite.

Unable to sleep, like kids waiting for Santa Claus, we witnessed a meteorite shower’s streaks of light.

Then as most of heaven’s light faded, the moon hung directly above the soon- to-dawn sun. In a perfect line above the moon are ďŹ rst Venus then Jupiter and higher up and faint, Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. But the greatest surprise of all came our last night in the Desert.

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE, COLORADO, AMENDING THE DAY AND TIME FOR REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE, COLORADO, AMENDING CHAPTER 7 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE TO FURTHER REGULATE THE KEEPING OF CATS

NOTICE: This Ordinance was introduced, read, and adopted at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Carbondale, Colorado, on November 24, 2015.

NOTICE: This Ordinance was introduced, read, and adopted at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of Carbondale, Colorado, on November 24, 2015.

This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication of this notice. The full text of said Ordinance is available to the public at www.carbondalegov.org or at the office of the Town Clerk, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, Colorado, during normal business hours.

This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication of this notice. The full text of said Ordinance is available to the public at www.carbondalegov.org or at the office of the Town Clerk, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, Colorado, during normal business hours.

THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE _________________________ By: s/s Stacey Bernot, Mayor

THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE _________________________ By: s/s Stacey Bernot, Mayor

ATTEST: __________________________ s/s Cathy Derby, Town Clerk

ATTEST: __________________________ s/s Cathy Derby, Town Clerk

Published in The Sopris Sun on December 3, 2015.

Published in The Sopris Sun on December 3, 2015.

Service Directory

Bill Kight often writes about the outdoors in his monthly column in the Sopris Sun. This time he’s asking readers to write him at bkight1122@yahoo.com if you know what it was they saw on Nov. 7.  Â

Submit to unclassifieds@soprissun.com by Friday 12 p.m. Rates: $15 for 30 words, $20 for up to 50 words. Payment due before publication.* GIFT TRIP down memory lane. “Memoirs of a River ‌ Up the Crystalâ€? by Charlotte Graham. Volume one is about the upper Crystal River Valley, from the BRB to Redstone and Marble. Volume two is ALL about Carbondale! It’s available at CCAH in the Launchpad, Roaring Fork Valley Co-op, the Forest Service’s Carbondale ranger station, and Davi Nikent at the Third Street Center.

scription can be found at KDNK.org. Please send resume to steve@kdnk.org. KDNK does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, height, weight, or marital status in employment or the provision of services and is an equal access/equal opportunity/afďŹ rmative action employer.

HANDMADE GIFTS. Aunt Pansy, sewing room kitty at Martin Vacuums (0534 Hwy. 133) says: “There’s a stack of catnip mats she’s grudgingly willing to part with. Note from owner: Also three sizes of dog bandanas.

GET THE WORD OUT IN UNCLASSIFIEDS! Rates start at $15. Email unclassiďŹ eds@soprissun.com.

KDNK IS HIRING. KDNK is looking for a Membership Director and Volunteer Coordinator. Attention to detail and a love of people and community radio is a must. A job de-

*Credit card payment information should be emailed to unclassifieds@soprissun.com or call 948-6563. Checks may be dropped off at our office at the Third Street Center or mailed to P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623. Call 510-3003 for more info.

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me as we both walk toward each other with the same question on our minds. “Did you see that thing last night?� he asked. “J.J. and I were wondering if you had seen it too,� I replied.

We exchanged names, talked awhile then headed home unable to explain another Desert mystery.

Unclassifieds

ORDINANCE NO. 16 Series 2015

ORDINANCE NO. 15 Series 2015

While cleaning things up after dinner, the western sky suddenly exploded with light. A half dome of bright light on the horizon continues to burn bright, bright enough to cause alarm.

Are we being invaded by secret military maneuvers conducted under the cloak of night?

Have aliens landed and their spacecraft is slowly headed over the sand dunes into camp to capture us and take us with them?

Perhaps the Desert is upset with humankind and She has belched up a monster of light to devour us.

In the morning as we pack up to head home, a camper down the slope from us met

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THE SOPRIS SUN, Carbondale’s weekly community connector • DECEMBER 3-9, 2015 • 19

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