Correction: The first snow on Sopris this year was Sept. 13, not 15.
Promoting division
It’s disappointing to see The Sopris Sun continue to give Brian Colley a platform for what increasingly amounts to one-sided political jabs thinly veiled as satire. Colley’s column doesn’t aim to spark dialogue — it ridicules, dismisses and divides. That may pass for commentary in some circles, but it does a disservice to a community paper that claims to represent a diverse readership.
His work reflects a clear “left” leaning bias and frequently alienates those who don’t share his views. This kind of content doesn’t foster critical thinking or civic engagement, it entrenches division and discourages open conversation. Satire can be powerful, but when it’s used to demean rather than challenge, it becomes part of the problem.
If The Sopris Sun is serious about serving the ENTIRE community — not just one side of it — it needs to rethink the kind of voices it elevates. Otherwise, it risks becoming little more than an outlet for partisan messaging masquerading as local journalism.
Anna Green
Carbondale
YES on 7A
The phone rings. An employer wants to hire a mother trying to move to the Valley, but she can’t find childcare for her toddler. I add her to my waitlist, already 200 names long. I expect four openings in September. That’s it. The employer is frustrated, worried they’ll lose a great hire.
The phone rings again. A father, who is expecting a baby girl in January, is trying to get on the waitlist early. I congratulate him, and urge him to get on every list in the Valley.
This is the reality for families from Parachute to Aspen. The demand for childcare is enormous. The supply? Barely a trickle.
Why? I could talk about teacher burnout, restrictive zoning laws or the lack of respect for stay-at-home parents and early childhood educators. (“Aren’t you just a babysitter?” people ask. “No. My work shapes young brains more profoundly than future college professors.”) But, today, let’s talk about money.
In our Valley, most families need both parents working to stay afloat. Meanwhile, most childcare teachers can’t afford to live here. Facilities could raise tuition to pay teachers more, but then parents couldn’t afford care. So we’re stuck with too few facilities, understaffed classrooms and constant teacher turnover.
And that turnover is not just inconvenient. It’s harmful.
Young children are wired to form deep, secure bonds with their caregivers. It’s a developmental need. A child bonds with her teacher. She feels safe, seen, loved. Then the teacher leaves, unable to afford life here. The child grieves. She bonds again with the next teacher. That teacher leaves too. Over time, the child learns not to trust, or not to care. This isn’t just sad — it’s trauma. It affects behavior, learning, relationships and long-term physical and mental health.
We can change this.
Voting YES on 7A means a small sales tax increase that helps families afford care and gives educators the financial support they need to stay. It’s not just a tax. It’s an investment in our Valley’s future.
Even if you don’t have young children, you benefit from working parents. You shop at their stores, eat at their restaurants and rely on their services. Childcare is part of infrastructure. It’s essential to our economy and our quality of life.
What kind of community do we want to be?
Children need stability. And while children can’t vote, you can.
Please consider a YES vote on 7A.
Stephanie Northrup
Carbondale
Childcare benefits all
The childcare crisis that we face is an economic issue that is universal. This is not just an issue that parents face alone, everyone is affected. When parents can’t find and/or afford childcare, the trickle-down effect of that is widespread. Children are our future, so let’s treat them as the valuable asset that they are. Above all, every child deserves the opportunity for a Strong Start, Bright Future. Vote YES on 7A for more affordable, accessible early childhood care and education for our kids from Parachute to Aspen.
Ali Cottle
Carbondale
Fascism
It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultra nationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition and often the belief in a natural hierarchy.
Maybe you want this, maybe you don’t.
If you are a MAGA supporter, rethink your attachment to a movement to which, for various reasons, you became attracted. Its fascist elements, even its fascist core — now more evident — is not something of which you should want to be a part. Leave it.
If you are a MAGA fellow traveler: stop rationalizing, stop justifying, stop enabling.
If you are trying to stay neutral: stop acquiescing, stop ducking, stop evading responsibility.
If you are a MAGA opponent: oppose the movement firmly and resolutely by all peaceful and political means. Defeat it. Speak up before it’s too late.
Robert J Mineo
Crystal Valley
Oust Trump
In 2013, Trump took his Miss Universe Pageant to Moscow, where he was supposed to meet up with Putin. Trump was akin to a hypnotist, as was Putin, who, I’d argue, taught Trump how to hypnotize large groups of people and in the process put Trump under his hypnotic sway. Over the next three years, Trump did an exhausting string of rallies where he basically mesmerized the republican party. Over the years, Trump has held private phone calls and in-person visits with Putin. It’s not unrealistic to discern Putin’s sway in Trump’s destructive actions these past months, as he alienates our allies with tariffs that raise our own prices for materials, fertilizer and food.
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker wrote in the The Contrarian that, “Trump’s attacks on Chicago aren’t really about stopping crime. Instead, Trump is creating chaos and destabilizing the country in order to erode our democratic institutions and cement his power.”
Trump’s war on the leadership in our armed forces, immigrants, Democratic cities and states is a gift of chaos I’m sure that brings a smile to Putin’s face. At some point we need to recognize that Trump’s attack on free speech, along with his destructive policies and hate speech, is in the service of weakening America and reducing our freedoms. Trump’s acts will become increasingly destructive to the U.S. over time. We need to act, and call for Trump’s removal from the highest position in America. Time is of the essence.
John Hoffmann
Carbondale
Letters policy: The Sopris Sun welcomes local letters to the editor. Shorter letters stand a better chance of being printed. Letters exclusive to The Sopris Sun (not appearing in other papers) are particularly welcome. Please, no smearing, cite your facts and include your name and place of residence or association. Letters are due to news@soprissun.com by noon on the Monday before we go to print.