Good news!
We are deeply grateful to the Aspen Thrift Shop for their generous donation in support of The Sopris Sun’s Youth Journalism Program. We believe good journalism is crucial to a functioning democracy, a healthy community and a shared social understanding.
Now in its third year, The Sopris Sun’s Youth Journalism curriculum teaches practical skills and ethical principles, empowering local high school students to become responsible journalists. One program graduate came back as a teaching assistant and is now a writer/illustrator on our adult freelance team. Another is studying journalism in college and a third youth contributor won a Colorado Press Association award this year. We are extremely proud of our students. Every day they give us reason for a hopeful future. You can enjoy their work on the pages of The Sopris Sun and el Sol del Valle.
The Aspen Thrift Shop is a shining star for supporting nonprofits and school programs. As a nonprofit entity, we are so fortunate for their dedication and generosity.
Sopris Sun Board & Staff
Library props
On Sept. 7, the Garfield County Public Library District held its monthly board meeting in Carbondale. Articles in the Post Independent, Aspen Daily News and The Sopris Sun described what occurred at the meeting. The aggressive and confronting behavior of a group of folks who had not read the books but were incensed with the graphics, demanded that the board and the executive director place adult books in a guarded area of the library or lock them away — rather than being shelved in the adult section. The group’s bullying tactics left no room for comment by those who had read the books and are perfectly capable of being the moral compass for themselves and their children, and felt that it was not a librarian’s job to be a childcare supervisor.
I was five when my father took me to a small public library. It was a weekly venture followed by ice cream. I remember the smell of the wooden shelves. I remember learning the Dewey Decimal System and using a card catalog. Mostly, I remember cherishing the freedom of reading anything. My parents gave me a thirst for knowledge. By the time I was 12, I was allowed to take the subway to the New York City Public Library, and spend the day browsing and reading.
I am writing to support our library staff, its board of trustees, and Executive Director Jamie La Rue. I am grateful that they follow a code of ethics, committing to upholding the principles of intellectual freedom and resisting all efforts to censor library resources.
Niki Delson
Carbondale
Library dissent
I appreciate that, unlike most others I talked with, Sue Zislis actually took the time to read a couple of the “explicit content” manga books at the Silt library. She called them “rather risqué,“ but the women I showed them to didn’t want to look at them at all after they saw the first few images. One image shows a school girl handcuffed to a wall with her school uniform revealing her private parts. That’s just one of many. The head librarian says these books are “meant to be funny.”
A safe haven for books like that? Zislis asks if any public library or governing body should have the authority to restrict who has access to which reading materials. Truth is, they already do. Libraries pick the books they provide and determine where they will display those books. And, the First Amendment to the Constitution does not protect child pornography or obscenity.
I still want to know who requested those books, who bought them, and who approved them in the first place. They are definitely not funny.
The petition about these books requested segregating the books so that children under 18 could not check them out without parental permission — rather than putting them on the lowest shelves providing easy access to children. That is NOT BANNING the books. Correct me if I’m wrong, but our libraries have self-check-out computers. One need not even talk to a librarian.
I will say this: any parent who lets their children read these books would not be one I would let have access to any child in my family. But, how does one know unless their children start acting like the role models in these books? What are my children’s rights? I must admit, I’m really sick and tired of abuse of children and women, and people thinking it’s their right and that it’s funny.
Roxanne Bank
Carbondale
Climate conscience
Carbondale’s City Market has about eight parking spaces near the entrance that are reserved for “hybrid” vehicles. Every time I park my EV there, I see cars that are not hybrid or full EV. I asked the manager about it. He said, they can’t really do anything. Today, there was a little old lady that was putting her groceries in her gas burning car. I didn’t say anything.
But, here’s the larger point. When I checked the online news today, I saw major problems all over the planet that are directly connected to climate change. Hundreds of fires, incredible floods from massive rain, drought that is killing crops, and heat that is killing people outright. There are stories about young people in the U.S. experiencing great anxiety about the change. Young people are suing state and national governments to force them to become active in fighting climate change.
What needs to happen is well known. We have to stop burning fossil fuels. It’s that simple. Right away. So, what about Carbondale? What can we do? What can we do that really makes a difference? How about we stop putting up houses and buildings that will be burning natural gas? Every new building or project that is burning fossil gas will be adding to our problem as long as it stands. I think that’s a crime.
A crime against the next generations.
I wonder if the lady in the wrong parking place even understands what we’re facing. Or maybe, she just thinks it is not her problem; saving a few steps to the store is more important. For a decade now I have been trying to encourage action to stop climate change. Any ideas on how to make that happen?
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale
Boebert lies
She lied about her background and education.
She lied that she was a successful businesswoman (according to her congressional disclosure forms, her restaurant lost $143,000 in 2019 and $226,000 in 2020).
She’s suspected to have lied about the amount she spent on campaign travels in 2020, using donor money to pay off tax liens on her restaurant.
She lied to her constituents that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.” There is, and never was, any evidence to support this falsehood.
She lied about her support of the attack on our nation’s capital.
She even lies about her behavior. How dumb do you have to be to get thrown out of a show and then lie about it? She thinks she is above the rules of common decency and the rule of law.
We, you and I, are paying Boebert $174,000 a year. That’s $476 a day, every day of the year. She has no clue how to work with other legislators to get laws passed that will benefit our country. She habitually lies, is a public embarrassment and, with all of the dire challenges facing our world, is nothing but a vindictive obstructionist in our congress.
Annette Roberts-Gray
Carbondale
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