Thanks Alicia, Paul and Jason!
Feb. 15 was National School Resource Officer (SRO) Appreciation Day, and the Roaring Fork School District would like to thank our amazing SROs: Alicia Hampton in Glenwood Springs, Paul Lazo in Carbondale and Jason Hegberg in Basalt. Our SROs not only provide critical support services for our schools, but work hard every day to foster authentic relationships with our students.
We are fortunate as a school district to have great partnerships with our local law enforcement agencies and our three SROs are a big reason why. Their many positive contributions include ensuring physical safety and educating the entire school community on safety topics and needs.
If you see an SRO, please help us thank them for their positive impact on our students, schools and communities. From all of us in the Roaring Fork Schools, thank you for all you do to support our schools and help keep them safe.
Jesús Rodríguez, RFSD Superintendent
Jeff Gatlin, RFSD Chief Operating Officer
Eagly County tourism
In response to the passage of Ballot Issue 1A in 2022, Eagle County is establishing a new “Advertising and Marketing Local Tourism Citizen Panel.” Panel members provide their time, knowledge and expertise to support investments in the community through advertising and marketing local tourism. The board of county commissioners will select a panel of five members to administer the tourism dollars. To qualify, applicants must be full-time residents of Eagle County and have experience in the tourism industry. Once selected, the panel members will establish bylaws and will meet at least annually to administer the dollars (expected to be $300,000 in 2023). Applications are due no later than Friday, March 3, and can be submitted by visiting www.eaglecounty.us/countycommissioners/boardsandcommissions For more information or to obtain a hard copy of the application, contact Abby Dallmann at 970-328-8611.
Justin Patrick, Eagle County
Let’s all be extreme
I’m a democratic socialist with a conundrum. I tend to agree with centrists/moderates like President Biden who say we must move away from today’s destructive divisiveness by embracing the middle.
Words like extremist and radical are thrown around by both parties and from different ends of the political spectrum to describe those at the other end. Since I’m a devout independent, I don’t care whether my ideas align with either political party, but it does concern me that some see my positions as radical left.
The Green New Deal, Medicare for All and balancing the budget by increasing taxes on big corporations and wealthy individuals all make perfect sense to me, but I realize these ideas are anathema to the right wing.
Elements of the Green New Deal can be found in the inappropriately named Inflation Reduction Act. That same legislation puts a cap on insulin prices, a step toward Medicare for All, and Biden has made it clear his method of reducing the deficit includes having rich companies and people pay their fair share.
Maybe that’s how it works. Yesterday’s extremism is today’s mainstream. That’s how we make progress and avoid gridlock. Archconservative Barry Goldwater said, “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice (and) moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Fred Malo Jr., Carbondale
Isn’t what it used to be
A recent Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) study showed there were 745 traffic deaths in Colorado last year. For every fatality there are five serious injuries. Working together we can change this course. Thanks for your involvement in making a difference.
Frequently drivers talk about road conditions of the past, bemoaning that “It takes so much longer now to get from here to there”.
And, with good reasons. First, Garfield county’s population has more than doubled from approximately 30,000 in 1990 to over 62,000 in 2021. Second, the majority of housing is a distance from services and places of work, making most everybody car dependent.
What is there to do? There is only one thing we can do: change our minds. The drive we used to know is long gone. (Gabapentin)
1) Allow realistic timing for travel, considering information that is available — population size, work/school rhythms, weather, events, road closures, accidents, etcetera.
2) Try a different mode of transportation such as RFTA, carpooling, biking or walking.
3) Plan trips that incorporate multiple stops and minimize time on the road.
4) Erase the word “hurry” from consciousness the moment we take the wheel. It simply sets us up for frustration and irritation with our driving reality.
How we drive today makes a difference.
Take A Minute, think about it and Slow Down in Towns.
Diane Reynolds
Take a Minute/Slow Down in Town
When the people speak
When the people speak, I listen. And we — you and me, are the people.
As the executive director of the nonprofit Glenwood Springs Historical Society and Frontier Museum, the will of the people is important to me. Everything we do is open for review by the people of our community, a community we serve to the best of our ability.
In 1991, the people of Glenwood Springs voted to preserve and steward the area’s rich heritage through the Acquisitions and Improvements (A&I) tax, a ¾-cent sales tax, 70% of which is paid by visitors to the town. Before the tax sunsetted in 2018, the people voted to extend it for 30 more years and increased the amount of taxation to one cent.
The A&I tax was originally intended to fund history at a minimum of 2% of its total annual collections. For 2021 collections, that figure represents $120,000.
The Glenwood Springs Historical Society has been stuck at $60,000 in annual funding from the city of Glenwood Springs for the past five years. To continue to serve the people and maintain our outreach and museum operations, the organization requires an increase in the annual funding amount to $120,000.
If you support history and its continued stewardship in Glenwood Springs, please write a letter or email of support to City Clerk Ryan Muse at ryan.muse@cogs.us for dissemination to the city council. Or you can make a short one-minute video and send it to Chelsea.self.photography@gmail.com
For helpful background and facts, visit www.glenwoodhistory.com/citycouncilpresentation
Bill Kight, Glenwood Springs Historical Society
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