CORRECTION: The Sept. 10 column “Stopping the extermination of our wild horses” misstated that photojournalist Scott Wilson’s upcoming CU Museum of Natural History exhibit will be focused on wild horse roundups. The exhibit will be focused more generally on the history of the horse in North America.
Only in Carbondale
Jeannie Perry’s column devoted to the memory of the Pour House reminded me of an experience there worthy of sharing.
What I loved to eat and always ordered was their thick enough pork chop with plain, cold apple sauce, just the way I like it.
On a visit like any other, when my pork chop arrived without the apple sauce, I couldn’t help distressing. I may not have ordered the pork chop had I known there was no apple sauce. The long-time waitress looked me in the eye to gauge my seriousness. She was moved enough to say “wait a minute, honey; let me double check in the kitchen.”
Happily yattering away at the table made the 10 minutes or so pass without notice. What happened next fortified my faith in human kind. Our waitress burst from the kitchen wearing a big grin and bearing a heaping bowl of plain applesauce, which she had jumped into her car and bought just then at the Carbondale City Market. My heart was so touched, my mind so blown. I was only able to sum up with the words, only in Carbondale.
Jon Fitch
Carbondale
‘Oct-tuber-fest’
I understand that since El Jebel is only “technically” part of Carbondale, my opinion doesn’t matter much, but wouldn’t it be funny if they started calling it “Oct-tuber-fest?”
Eric Palmer
Carbondale
Journalism awards
Congratulations to The Sopris Sun and Sol del Valle for the 38 journalism awards from the Colorado Press Association. The Sun is my favorite source for local news. Last week’s Sun had 24 pages full of articles and stories about Carbondale and our neighboring towns. Also, shout out to The Aspen Daily News that won 18 journalism awards.
The key word is “journalism.” Journalists are professionals that I trust will provide me with facts. They investigate and interview, then they and their editors fact check to make sure they’re providing us with the truth.
Influencers are NOT journalists. They have no obligation to report facts or tell the truth. Is that where you’re getting your information? On social media? Think about it.
Udelle Stuckey
Carbondale
Rally the vote
This is our moment! Seize it.
Saturday, Sept. 19, at 11am, Paepcke Park, Aspen: The Good Fight: Rally the Vote. (Plan on one hour of your time.)
We are looking forward to the energy that our Roaring Fork community can bring. Creative signs, impassioned voices, camaraderie.
Speakers will address issues including Freedom of the Press and First Amendment Rights, justice and pending lawsuits against the Trump administration, rally the vote, protection of our public lands, immigration and more.
More important is participation, to see friends and neighbors turn out en masse, demonstrating that we care passionately about our nation.
See you then!
Linda Lafferty
Carbondale
Sanction Russia, Hurd
June 4, 2026, in a 226–195 vote, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2913, the Ukraine Support Act, showing support for sanctioning Russia and standing with Ukraine.
Rep. Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., one of the Republicans who supported the final bill, said the legislation’s “core objectives … were in America’s interests.”
“We need to stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression,” Hurd said. “Putin is a dictator. What they’re doing is wrong.”
On July 16, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., took procedural steps to place on the Senate calendar the House-passed Ukraine Support Act legislation.
However, on Aug. 7, the U.S. Senate, instead of taking up the U.S. House-passed Ukraine Support Act, voted 86–11 to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (H.R. 5334).
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives must pass identical versions of a bill before it goes to the president for a signature or veto.
On Aug. 10, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-M.D., introduced the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 alongside 16 of their colleagues.
This legislation — which honors the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who worked on the bill for more than a year and secured the White House’s support — will hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Hurd voted for the Ukraine Support Act.
Let’s encourage Hurd to support the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.
Contact Hurd at hurd.house.gov/contact
The above quote by Hurd was reported by Politico in the June 4, 2026 article: “Ukraine aid package passes House”
Neonila Martyniuk
Montrose