In collaboration with Chris Rourke of The Gunnison Country Times While lines on a map often don’t reflect real social or geographic boundaries, even the smallest administrative divisions can create real impacts on the people within them. Case in point, the town of Marble and its surroundings, which lie a three-hour drive from the county […]
April 2020
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Animal shelters empty while folks at home adopt
My life during the stay-at-home order took a sudden turn when I adopted a 6-month-old puppy last week. What better way to fill unexpected downtime? In fact, I’m writing this article between bursts of puppy energy, lots of pets, and periodic exchanges of things that shouldn’t be chewed for things that should. I’m not the […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Vegetable gardening 101
It’s easy right? Just buy some seeds, plant, water, watch them grow, then harvest your bounty. Not so fast. If you want a successful first garden experience, there are three basic things every beginning gardener needs to know: what to plant, when to plant and how to plant. The secret is in the seeds — […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Just Mutt: Remembering Frank Prescott
He took his own life in the year 2000. I knew him for 40 years. We were climbing buddies and best friends in the ‘60s, but our bond of respect extended over a lifetime. He wasn’t that easy to know: contrarian by nature, and belligerent. He bucked the tide for the sheer pleasure of it. Sometimes he angered […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Branching Out: A Sit Spot or Two
Barefoot, I step quietly through waves and drifts of green. I can hear heavy birds scratching in the underbrush. With one wary eye at a time, they peer about, swiping their beaks back and forth through the decomposing duff. Concealed within a filagree of aspen leaves, I finally spot them. Angry chatters fill the air […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
District ranks first in English Language Development
Roaring Fork School District’s English Language Development program is ranked number one among the 55 districts in the state with similar percentages of students who are in the process of learning English. Carbondale Middle School teachers Grace De La Sala and Mary Hernandez spoke with The Sopris Sun about what has made their program so […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Wilson selected as finalist for Police Chief
Rifle Police Sgt. Kirk Wilson is Town Manager Jay Harrington’s pick to lead the Carbondale Police Department into the future. The final decision as to whether he’s a suitable successor to longtime Chief Gene Schilling will come before the board of trustees on April 28. While he isn’t going to celebrate until then, Wilson seemed […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Feeling the loss of Pete and El Baker
She was an impeccable homemaker; he was a retired police captain. Together, Eleanor “El” and Peter Baker of Lake Ariel, PA raised 5 children, doted upon 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, and navigated 62 years of marriage; and on April 2 they shared their last moments of life together, as they both passed away due […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Seeking Higher Ground: Thoughts about ‘food insecurity’
Despite a childhood marred by divorce, frequent moves and a parent’s attempted suicide, I have never gone hungry. And until Mary Kenyon mentioned it in a March meeting, I had never heard the term “food insecurity”. According to the Colorado Health Institute, half a million Coloradoans experience “food insecurity.” That means that they “lack consistent […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Grocery shopping in the time of COVID-19
My wife and I are both “senior citizens,” and while that status does have its perks — free rides on RFTA, discounted Skico season passes — it also has apparently become a liability in this age of the coronavirus pandemic. We are in one of the at-risk categories. While self-isolation and following social distancing have […]