Editor’s note (2005): The Valley Journal debuts a new columnist this week, adding to our slate of local voices and divergent viewpoints. Roaring Fork Valley native Jeannie Perry’s “Ps & Qs” will appear monthly in the VJ. Jeannie was born in Aspen and grew up in the Valley — part of the Perry ranching family […]
Columns
Posted inColumns
Seeking Haystacks: Home
The town of Aspen is founded on a gentle pitch that leans ever so slightly from north to south, from Little Nell to the Music Tent. As the Earth moves toward the March Equinox, the melting snow moves northward from Aspen Mountain toward the Roaring Fork River. It is imperceptible to most unless you are […]
Posted inColumns
Críticas: A magical newspaper in a magical place
This column originated from Sol del Valle and has been translated for English readers. Sol del Valle turned 4 this week, and I’ll be damned if I don’t take a moment to reflect on what this paper and its people mean to me as a first‑gen kid from the Roaring Fork Valley. I started writing […]
Posted inColumns
Historiography: ‘They came from Missouri’
Anita McCune Witt was born in Kansas to city folk, so when her dad bought her a horse as a child, she had to board it on some vacant land outside of town. Nevertheless, she fully embraced the Western lifestyle. Witt told Walter Gallacher in a 2014 Immigrant Stories interview (www.bit.ly/IS-Anita): “I started dressing like […]
Posted inColumns
Dream Well: Like a mirror of emotion
Natalia Snider is a certified dream practitioner living in Carbondale. She works with people’s dreams and imaginations to facilitate self-healing. Every month, she will analyze someone’s dream in The Sopris Sun. Anyone can submit a dream for personal analysis or inclusion in this column by visiting: www.dreamhealings.com DreamHi, I had a strange dream last night. […]
Posted inColumns
CVEPA Views: Herald Filoha
What cause to rejoice! The long overdue end to the illegal closure of a Pitkin County right of way and road has come to a settlement. The Rock Creek Wagon Road between Redstone and Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve, colloquially known as Dorais Way, will reopen in time for the Preserve’s summer season. This dirt road […]
Posted inOpinion
Together, we write what comes next
For the past 850 weeks, The Sopris Sun has been a guiding light in our valley — more than just a newspaper, it’s become a reflection of our community’s heartbeat and soul. I’ve witnessed firsthand how our stories inspire pride, foster understanding and unite us with shared purpose. Each week, we deliver news and information […]
Posted inOpinion
Common Ground: Dialoguing across the aisle
This month, VOICES Radio Hour launches its Common Ground Conversation series with the promise of getting together in a safe and supportive setting to have conversations about tough topics. It’s our firm belief that one-on-one conversations are the way to start chipping away at the walls that have built up between us as a society. […]
Posted inOpinion
Literate Life: The War on Information
This month I’d like to write about two related issues: government information and threats to children. First is the purging of data on federal websites. Beginning in January of 2025, according to NPR, “several webpages from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with references to LGBTQ+ health were no longer available. A page from the […]
Posted inColumns
Another note from Brazil
Upon arriving in Brazil, I was enraptured by the flora and fauna of the Atlantic Forest. Nova Friburgo, my exchange city, sits in the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range; it’s surrounded by lush hills and is distinctly colder than the rest of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Though I moved from one mountain town […]