Correction: On the cover of last week’s paper, Sofia Webster and Matty O’Conner were mistakenly referred to as sisters, and Sofia’s last name was given to Matty.
Re: GarCo Report
This is Kristi Gill, born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley. I worked at VVH and GRHD for 40 years.
I would like to clarify something that was reported by The Sopris Sun at the Garfield County Commissioners meeting Jan. 12, 2026.
Our Constitution of the United States of America must never be compromised, nor the Amendments! I am NOT against the right of people to keep and bear arms OR freedom of speech, free exercise of religion. I am NOT for rewriting the 1st or the 2nd Amendments.
In my presentation to the Commissioners I was not, (Sopris Sun quote) “referring to the Musket Second Amendment movement that claims the original Second Amendment only protects ownership of muzzle-loading, flintlock muskets.” These are Amy Marsh’s words.
I did use the words “update” and “musket.” My intention was only to compare the 18th century to the 21st century. During the 18th century our country was a Christian and moral society and to “keep and bear arms” referred to muskets.
In the 21st century, we have computers, AI, robots, digital communication and tools that can create 3D art out of computer images. Our right to “keep and bear arms” now might refer to lasers, EMP, drones, nuclear weapons.
In 1798 John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.” I guess instead of “updating” the Amendments what we need to “update” is our immoral society. Morality can be defined as: “The principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.”
The graphic novels (a novel in comic strip format) “The Boys” written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Darick Robertson may be violating the laws of the State of Colorado and Garfield County PUBLIC Library which are visited by children.
My “VAGUE” presentation included a list of 12 Colorado State bills/laws which I gave a copy of to the Commissioners. (I also gave the list to the GCPLD trustees on Jan. 8.)
The list included CRS 18-7-502. I quoted this bill to the commissioners at our meeting. It is a Colorado crime to provide sexually explicit MATERIAL that is “harmful” to anyone under the age of 18 in a commercial/public establishment frequented by children. This MATERIAL can be a representation of a person or portions of the human body that depicts: nudity, conduct, abuse. MATERIAL can be in the form of pictures, photos, DRAWING, CARTOONS, NOVELS, ART, printed material such as books.
PLEASE visit our public libraries and look at these novels. They have several from the series. Please look at #1 and #3. There is a Dewey Decimal classification system of “GRAPHIC SEX.”
Quotes from Billy Graham: “Christ can indeed cope with the social and political problems of the world … When people reject Christ’s rightful place as Lord in any nation, tyranny takes over.”
Revelation 22 ( last chapter): “The SPIRIT and the bride say, COME.”
Kristi Gill
New Castle
Fear
The coin of the realm is fear. You can taste it.
Fear of deportation, fear of family separation, fear of El Salvadoran gangs, fear of masked ICE thugs, fear of a gun in your face, a sharp report; a nagging suspicion that troops are in the street for good (so get used to it!), fear that the mid-terms might just get canceled (there could be a NATIONAL EMERGENCY!), fear that after 250 years, American democracy has run its course. Do you wake up in the wee hours?
Denied the Nobel Peace Prize by an ungrateful bunch of Norwegians, the President of the United States rages into the night on Truth Social. He’ll make them pay. He’ll make us all pay.
Truth Social — what an odd name! Take the truth and lay it down next to a lie. Can you tell the difference? Does it matter?
The President flips off a reporter. He throws a few f-bombs. So what?
Countries get invaded, drug lords jailed — or pardoned, tariffs imposed, removed, then put right back on again; political enemies investigated; hotel maids deported. Legal protections be damned! The President makes the rules. He has his own higher morality. He told us so. He golfs by day and rages into the night.
It’s enough to make you forget all about the Epstein files.
Ed Colby
New Castle
Real impacts
Aspen is one of the wealthiest and most influential communities in the country, located within one of the richest counties in the United States. With that privilege comes a responsibility to speak up and act when the state we depend on is being directly harmed. Community does not stop at county lines, and neither should our sense of responsibility.
Recent actions by the Trump administration have had real and measurable impacts on Colorado. One hundred nine million dollars in transportation funding was canceled. Disaster declaration requests were denied after devastating wildfires and severe flooding. Federal leaders announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, a cornerstone of climate and weather science. Infrastructure legislation meant to deliver clean drinking water to tens of thousands of Coloradans was blocked.
These are not abstract political arguments. They are decisions that affect roads, water systems, emergency response, scientific research and public safety statewide. While Aspen may feel insulated, we are not separate from Colorado. Our workforce, environment, water supply, transportation systems and economy are deeply connected to communities far beyond Pitkin County.
Pitkin County is not lacking resources. Local property taxes exceed $219,000,000 annually. Combined local sales taxes exceed ten percent. The county also holds more than $167,000,000 in reserves, including funds set aside for stabilization and emergencies. These figures show capacity. We are positioned to lead when others cannot.
Aspen often presents itself as a leader in climate action and civic engagement. That leadership should extend beyond our borders. Major institutions that benefit enormously from this community, including Aspen Skiing Company, have the ability to do meaningful good. Using their resources to support communities across Colorado would strengthen the state and build trust with workers, visitors, and residents who are facing growing economic uncertainty.
As one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, Pitkin County has a responsibility to reach outward. That means advocating at the state and federal level, supporting other counties, defending scientific research, and helping ensure all Coloradans have access to safe infrastructure and clean water.
Speaking up on behalf of Colorado is not partisan. It is civic. Doing nothing may be easy, but leadership requires more.
Perrin Williams
Snowmass Village
We must brace ourselves
At least two American citizens — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — have now been murdered in broad daylight in Minneapolis by poorly trained ICE agents.
Or, if you prefer to take the Trump administration’s word for it, those people were dangerous domestic terrorists who deserved what they got.
How is it that Trump supporters unequivocally accept his word even when his wistful narrative of events goes against what countless people witnessed in plain sight and caught on video? Before there’s even a facade of due process? How is it that every shred of evidence that goes against Trump is dismissed as a lie, part of a broad conspiracy, but his word remains above question, even as his actions belie duplicity?
Trump rules by a double standard. He champions “small government” while ordering the National Guard into states that voted against him in the election.
Reason is dead. And it is likely that more innocent people soon will be too.
ICE operations have been active in Eagle County and no doubt they will be making their way into Garfield County soon enough.
On Jan. 4, the shooting range west of New Castle was popping all day long with semi-automatic gunfire. Giant Trump flags still fly high thereabouts, and our own Garfield County Sheriff and County Commissioners have expressed their support for Trump over the years, even recently at the Jan. 20 commissioner meeting, according to a report in the Jan. 22 Sopris Sun, which quoted Commissioner Mike Samson saying, “I support President Trump in many of the things he is doing….”
I doubt our local leaders and law enforcement will be inclined to invest much effort to protect peaceful protestors, and many of our fellow residents may be all too happy for the opportunity to bash some “liberals” in the face. But if we wish to stop this theft of our country, we must brace ourselves for the reality that is about to hit very hard, as we stand together peacefully against unleashed violence.
Eventually there will be too many nonviolent “terrorists” for anyone to deny who is really committing the atrocities.
Derek Franz
Carbondale
Re: ‘Something in the air’
I arrived in the Valley when the airplanes still had propellers, including most of the private planes. Air quality was not a problem. It is now. A few years back, I was standing with a ski client near the bottom of Homestead Road in Buttermilk. A jet took off and in a minute or so we were engulfed in exhaust fumes. We looked at each other, astonished.
On Jan. 18, Aspen Daily News ran an article, “There’s something in the air,” on the plans to check the air quality and greenhouse gas emissions at the local airport. The article had a link to a Guardian story on a French study that found high levels of pollution at Charles de Gaulle. I remember reading a study from Spain that compared children in schools close to major roads to those farther away. They found that school children close to the traffic had worse grades, worse memory and worse behavior. There are also recent studies that show high levels of fine particulate from auto exhaust, brake linings and tires.
The City and County have set goals for air quality and health. Unfortunately, fuel sales and air traffic are increasing. As is traffic on Highway 82. I just took a look at the Aspen website to see where these things are considered. The department is called “Community Development.” Then I looked at the proposed “Lumberyard” housing development. It is located right on 82 with the runway a few hundred feet beyond. So the hundreds of residents will be “simmered” in pollution from the planes and the traffic. Making things worse, the prevailing wind comes from downvalley.
I’m reminded of the old story of the frog in the pot of water on the stove. That applies to a lot of things.
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale
Home Care & Hospice thanks
I would like to thank Peter Schoomaker, administrator of Homecare & Hospice of the Valley, and Melinda Egging, CEO of Sangre de Cristo Community Care, for their creativity and insight in working together to create an affiliation that will strengthen the patient care for hospice patients in the Roaring Fork, Aspen and Vail valleys!
As the only nonprofit hospice organization in this area, this affiliation will allow us to be focused on providing the best possible care for our patients and their families throughout our large rural service area, while spending less time and effort on the administrative tasks involved in running the organization.
I have been involved with Homecare & Hospice of the Valley for over 10 years as a volunteer and now as a board member, and I am fully aware of the wonderful services provided to our patients and families by local physicians, nurses, caregivers and volunteers who live and work in our communities. I am also aware of the difficulties of covering such a large service area.
This affiliation allows us to benefit from the knowledge and shared resources of an organization that is as fully committed to rural nonprofit healthcare as Homecare & Hospice of the Valley, while also providing the administrative staff and expertise needed to complement our work. Yet we will remain autonomous by keeping our own board of directors. Funds raised through donations and fundraising efforts such as the Trek for Hospice, remain in our local community.
I truly believe that this is a win-win situation for both organizations and most of all for keeping the focus on our shared mission, which is providing peace, care and support for our patients and families during their final days.
Jeanne Sheriff
Glenwood Springs
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.