Dear Jamie LaRue,Thank you for very nearly four years of incredibly compassionate leadership of the Garfield County Libraries! We so needed you! Thank you for listening to staff, for letting them take the ball and run with their passions, creativity and innovative ideas. Your dedication inspired so many people! Thank you for expanding the outreach […]
Jamie LaRue
Posted inColumns
Libraries explore mill levy extension
A famous Wyoming bumper sticker reads: “Lord, Please Give Me One More Boom — This Time I Promise Not To P*ss It Away.” Boom and bust defines the West. Some of us get caught on the wrong side of each end of the cycle. The smarter ones learn from it. They hedge their bets. They […]
Posted inLocal Government
GarCo Report: Public to BOCC — No library money for RFTA, rein in sheriff, diversify economy
Public comments at Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting took on some heavy local issues, but had to wait until a presentation by Western States and Tribal Nations (WSTN) finished up. Lobbyist Andrew Browning, WSTN president and founder, gave the BOCC an update on the global energy climate, liquid natural gas export facilities, including Costa […]
Posted inColumns
Literate Life: Why are people so mean?
In my last job I took a required workshop on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. One of the exercises paired me up with a young woman whose parents were born in India, although she’d been born and raised in the States. We were supposed to talk about where we’d grown up. Who did we feel comfortable […]
Posted inLocal Government
Lepkowski returns, Feds urged to pay state disaster relief, county fair revenues up
Silt resident John Lepkowski is at it again with a new complaint about books in the Silt Library. The books are a series of graphic novels titled “The Boys” by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the same books that a woman complained about last week. Lepkowski told the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday that he […]
Posted inOpinion
Literate Life: Library director begins a new chapter
Before I came to Garfield County, I lived in two big cities: Chicago and Denver. I was surprised to learn that I did a lot more walking and biking there than I did in the more rural and suburban settings I’d lived in before. Cars are a hassle in the city. In the country, you […]
Posted inColumns
Literate Life: Deep state or mob rule?The lessons of history
Jamie LaRue is the executive director of the Garfield County Public Library District. When my grandfather died, I inherited his collection of “The Story of Civilization” by Will and Ariel Durant. This 11-volume series, 50 years in the making, stretches from “Our Oriental Heritage” (volume 1) to “The Age of Napoleon.” The prose is magisterial. […]
Posted inOpinion
Literate Life: GCPLD seeks qualified trustees
The Garfield County Public Library District is seeking trustees (our word for library board members) to fill three vacancies. (For more information, visit www.bit.ly/GCPLD-wanted). Applicants do have to live in Rifle, New Castle or Parachute. By the end of the year, the Rifle position will have been vacant for six months, due to delays in […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters – Nov. 12, 2025
Correction: Garfield County Public Library District Director Jamie LaRue received a letter of interest for a vacant trustee position in early August, but did not forward it to County Manager Fred Jarman until Oct. 1. Ring the bell The holiday season is rapidly approaching, but these are difficult times for many of our neighbors. It […]
Posted inLocal Government
Garco report: Library, SNAP and South Bridge
Garfield County commissioners (BOCC) got an earful of fiery public comments at the beginning of Monday’s meeting. Citizens concerned about the appointment process for county library trustees responded to a call to action on Facebook over the weekend, urging the community to speak at the meeting. Sixteen commenters talked about issues ranging from the current […]