Correction: Regarding last week’s “Swords to plowshares, turning weapons into tools” article, Western Slope Mennonite Fellowship hosted the event, and the Sandy Hook tragedy occurred in 2012. Also, Roaring Fork High School junior Chase Fenton was mistakenly referred to by his older brother’s name.
Re: The Smithy
It was no longer a blacksmith shop the first time I stepped inside the Village Smithy building. In 1973 there was sawdust, there was an array of wood working machines and there were several stunning hardwood looms. Yes, maple floor looms and the smaller table looms on display and for sale. The weavers tool, the looms were a work of art in themselves. My girlfriend was a weaver and we were there to buy her new table loom which raised her craft to another level.
I knew that the beloved Finn, Paul Lappala, owned the building. Paul rented the Smithy to loom maker Chris Landry. Do their names sound familiar? The two friends later collaborated to establish our community gem Spring Gulch Cross Country Ski Area. And, oh yeah, Chris became known as the father of extreme skiing. He skied the first descent of the north face of Pyramid Peak (and much more) and defined the sport in a nutshell — “If you fall, you die!” Meticulous in all his endeavours, Chris made beautiful looms.
Chris moved on to become avalanche forecaster at the Yule Quarry, Red Mountain Pass, then Silverton. A short-lived fish and aquarium store occupied that space. Then, in 1975, Chris Chacos came from Aspen’s Crystal Palace and started a little breakfast place in that old blacksmith/loom shop.
For over 50 years if you came to the Smithy you were home. You were in Chris and wife Terry’s home and you were part of family greater than a business or a building. It was warm, it was welcoming, it was the iconic, one-and-only Village Smithy, and it was Carbondale. For years Charlie and Jared kept the torch burning. We are all the fortunate ones to be woven into a fabric so rich and inclusive.
John Armstrong
Satank
Physical therapy
The Roaring Fork Valley is fortunate to have exceptional, world-renowned surgeons and medical care. We are deeply grateful for the skill and dedication of our local healthcare providers. This letter addresses an important step in recovery after surgery.
Many patients are unaware that they have the legal right to choose where they receive outpatient physical therapy. Unfortunately, after patients have medical procedures at Valley View Hospital, Aspen Valley Hospital, and surgical centers such as the Steadman Clinic/Howard Head, postoperative therapy is often scheduled before discharge. While this may be done for convenience and continuity of care, patients may not realize that independent options are also available.
Patients are not required to attend hospital- or corporate-owned physical therapy. Federal law protects a patient’s freedom to choose outpatient rehabilitation providers. Once discharged from surgery, the decision about where to receive therapy belongs to the patient.
Our valley is fortunate to have many highly-qualified, independently-owned physical therapy practices alongside hospital-based programs. Independent clinics often offer personalized care, continuity with the same therapist, flexible scheduling, and a strong focus on helping patients return to work, recreation, and active living.
Hospitals play a critical role in surgery and acute care, and their rehabilitation departments provide valuable services to our community. Independent clinics are not a replacement for hospital care, but a complement to it — offering additional options to meet diverse patient needs.
Patients can advocate for themselves by asking a simple question after surgery: “What are my physical therapy options?”
A collaborative healthcare system works best when patients are informed and empowered to choose the setting that feels right for them. Recovery is personal, and the decision about where to receive physical therapy should reflect each individual’s goals and preferences.
Belinda Brownell
Brownell Physical Therapy
Voices we refuse to hear
Hind Rajab called for help. The medics attempting to reach her were granted permission to rescue her by Israel.
All wound up dead.
This was not an unavoidable tragedy. It was a conscious decision made by someone who controlled Hind’s fate in their hands. In Gaza, first responders wearing Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) vests have been systematically targeted while trying to save the wounded. Children have been shot in tents, in apartments, in cars. And since the current “ceasefire” began in October, more than 600 Palestinians have still been killed by Israeli forces.
Six hundred people killed during a ceasefire. At least 200 of them are children, just like Hind.
A 2-year-old died earlier this week after Israel refused to allow him to leave Gaza for needed liver treatment. Now his month-old sister awaits the same fate. AP reports that last week’s victims included an 11-year-old girl who wanted to be a doctor and at least three other children who have been living in tents for years.
Hind Rajab was 6 years old. She sat trapped in her family’s car, surrounded by the bodies of her relatives, and waited for help for hours. She described the tank nearby. She was so small, so certain that if someone just knew where she was, they would come. PRCS medics did come. They were granted permission. They too were killed.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” is an Oscar-nominated reconstruction of those final hours through the lens of the actual emergency calls. The film ensures her story — and theirs — cannot be so easily buried.
Sponsored by Ceasefire Now RFV, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” will screen on Thursday, March 5, at 7pm at the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale. Admission is $15 at the door. All proceeds go to PRCS — the same organization whose medics are still being killed while trying to save lives, whose ambulances are targeted, whose staff bury their friends and family and keep working.
More than 600 Palestinians have died during this “ceasefire.” Children are still dying before they have a chance to know a world without bombs. Medics are still being targeted. And the world still hides behind euphemisms… to avoid admitting we are enabling a genocide.
We couldn’t save Hind. But we can refuse to look away, refuse the bliss of ignorance, and work to build a better world for ALL of the world’s children.
Robyn McBurney
Redstone
Congressman Hurd, what a shame
If only our Congressman Jeff Hurd had known that President Trump was going to denounce him. He could have voted to protect the people of Colorado instead of toeing the Republican Party line dictated by Trump.
Maybe Hurd wouldn’t have voted to throw all those people off of Medicaid. And off of Food Stamps. Or not have given trillions in tax breaks to the wealthy. Or not have cut all that funding for alternative energy. Or not have funded a runaway gestapo. Maybe he’d have kept his campaign promises.
We’ll never know. It’s possible that Hurd believes that too many Coloradans have health care coverage and that more people ought to worry about how to pay for groceries. Maybe he believes that the rich already pay too much in taxes. Maybe he’s fine with unidentified masked federal officers spreading fear among ordinary citizens, and worse.
I remember the picture that Congressman Hurd posted months ago as he stood next to a clearly unengaged and disinterested Trump in the Oval Office and Hurd praised all that the president was doing to bring down prices for the people of Colorado. What an embarrassment.
Our Congressman could have avoided all his shameless sucking up and just done his job representing us.
That is a shame.
Patrick Morrissy
Carbondale
USA first
The slew of recent anti-ICE/Trump letters got me wondering what inspires such vehement hatred in woke folks. Is it because he’s not politically correct or doesn’t sound presidential? PC does not equate with honesty, and our political southpaws and mainstream media offer proof positive.
Trump may talk roughly and sometimes go on endlessly in long-winded speeches, but he doesn’t need a poll to tell you how he feels.
Dems say illegal entry is only a civil crime. What is civil about slashing pay scales and stealing jobs from citizens? What is civil about 20 million illegals getting billions of U.S. tax dollars meant for our neediest citizens.
Dems complain about housing affordability after allowing 20 million foreigners to compete for affordable housing with citizens. Dems were stone cold silent while cackling Kamala, the border tsar, ushered in tens of thousands of military-aged Chinese and Russian men. Sept. 11 only needed a few dozen terrorist martyrs. I pray our past sovereignty negligence does not result in great future harm.
Two deadly sins were the cause of Biden’s border blunder: greed and lust. Greedy business is addicted to cheap labor. Dem’s lust for power envisioned a future voting block of grateful illegals. Alas, for Dems, this will never be allowed.
The next phase of Trump’s deportation will be virtually ICE-free. Congress passing a couple of laws will have them all self deporting.
First, make using any fake social security number a felony with a mandatory five-year sentence. Second, make E-Verify a federal law for all employers. Third, fine employers $500 per illegal employee per week employed. And finally, split all fines imposed with whistleblowers.
We get to pick and choose who we allow to enter our country. The USA can no longer be the world’s woeful, wasteful, welfare welcome wagon.
I stand with Trump and put American citizens first.
Bruno Kirchenwitz
Rifle
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