december 8, 2011

Sopris Sunthe

Carbondale’s weekly, non-profit newspaper Volume 3, Number 43 | December 8, 2011

LOOK INSIDE:

PAGE 3VCR supporters

emerge

PAGE 6Coloring

book returns

PAGE 14Cool house

on Euclid

Michael Gorman waspart of a flash mobthat struck downtownCarbondale during lastweek’s First Friday.Look closely at his signand you might deter-mine the issue behindthe mob’s presence.For details and morepictures, please turnto page 9. Photo byJane Bachrach

Flashmobstrikes

column was in poor tasteDear Editor:

I may be mistaken but I believe mostnewspapers have a policy on what they willprint. Last week’s featured column was invery poor taste and unacceptable.

For the paper to allow personal attackson a trustee is bad policy and bush league. Idon’t know if the author has ever con-tributed to the Carbondale community butI do know that Trustee Murphy has been re-sponsible for working to obtain grants andphysically helped build a playground for thechildren at the Community School. She hasalso been writing grants and attending meet-ings to obtain monies to build a playgroundand community park at the middle school.

All trustees deserve respect regardless ofwhether you agree with their position on anissue. They spend countless hours not onlyon Tuesday evenings but in work sessions,reviewing the materials they are required todigest to make what they believe are the bestdecisions for the community.They also rep-resent the community at county, regionaland state meetings.

Please revisit the paper’s polices on whatit prints and show some responsibility in thefuture. People can retreat to their Facebooksfor trashy, derogatory exchanges. They alsocan step up and contribute positively to theircommunity before attacking those workingon behalf of the community.

Bill LamontCarbondale

Shop carbondaleDear Editor:

This is becoming something of a tradi-tion, but I wanted to remind my fellow Car-bondale area residents about the bountifulopportunities for holiday shopping righthere in town.

There is affordable, beautiful art — fromceramics to paintings to textiles to jewelry— available at art studios like SAW and gal-leries like the Clay Center. And of coursethe Third Street Center is stuffed full ofartists and their wares.

We have two shops that sell bicycle andNordic skiwear and equipment on High-way 133.

There are great consignments stores scat-tered all over our community, from the cor-ner of Highway 133 and Cowen Drive toMain Street.

Cedar Rose’s excellent green buildingand home improvement amenities shop atMain and Snowmass always has great gifts.And I bet you can find some cool stuff outat Planted Earth on Highway 82.

A bottle of wine or other spirits makes agreat gift, and there are fantastic liquorstores on Main Street, along Highway 133and out at Catherine Store.

We’ve got high-end women’s clothingand really cool leather wear and amenities

with lulubelle and San Juan Leathers, be-tween Fourth and Third on Main. A greatantiques and home amenities store are justdown the way. And don’t forget HarmonyScott down at Second and Main. We’ve gotrunning shoes and two fly fishing shopsalong Highway 133. Labels is new to town.

And what about giving food? Gift cer-tificates from our local eateries are always agreat gift, and what a selection we have —burgers galore from Fatbelly to the PourHouse to the Red Rock Diner (with thePour House and Red Rock offering a lotmore). Phat Thai. Eco-Goddess. Russets.Six89. Mi Casita. Heidi’s. Ghandi’s. DosGringos. El Horizonte. White House pizza.Peppino’s. Uncle Pizza. Konnyaku. And somany more! (And if you’re looking for greatMexican food and other items, there’s al-ways Garcia’s.)

I urge everyone to take a look aroundCarbondale before trekking out of town orlogging on to the Internet for their shopping.Because if you spend a dollar here with a lo-cally owned business, your money is goingto support your neighbors, friends and yourbroader community.

Allyn HarveyCarbondale

The Sopris Sun welcomes your letters, limited to no more than 400 words. Letters ex-ceeding that length may be edited or returned for revisions. Include your name and res-idence (for publication) and a contact email and phone number. Submit letters via emailto [email protected] or via snail mail to P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623.

Letters

Is that TV character Lincoln Vail in the distance? It doesn’t matter because in theforeground is Ian Hause and Jenny White of the Roaring Fork Valley, taking abrief break while recently fly fishing in the Everglades. Courtesy photo

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • DEcEmbER 8, 2011

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Community Development Corporation.

“Mad” is(Editor’s note: This guest opinion was written in response to Jeannie Perry’s columnin last week’s Sopris Sun).

By Juan Grobler

“Mad” is what Jeannie Perry labels Elizabeth Murphy (Carbondale trustee) in acolumn she calls Ps & Qs.

“Mad” is how I felt reading this garbage that has no forethought whatsoever.“Mad”doesn’t even begin to describe how insane or off your rocker you must be to

propose that a multi-million-dollar investment on a commercial piece of property shouldbe turned into a beer garden in the middle of a giant Frisbee golf course, as Perry doesin her article.

What kind of fee do you think you would have to charge people to play Frisbeegolf and how many beers do you think you would have to sell in order to cover youroverhead or investment that the developer has on this land (not to mention lawyer fees,design fees, eight years of taxes, etc.), that he was coaxed into buying this land believ-ing that he could actually build something commercial on land that is zoned commer-cial by the town.

“Mad” is what you would be feeling, Jeannie, had the town never allowed you tobuild a house on the land that you bought, that was zoned residential. So imagine forone second that you spent all this money on designing and re-designing a house for eightyears, and spent a lot of money doing that, and the town turned around and said“sorry”but you can never build any house on that land that is zoned residential.

Then some idiot turned around and said “Hey, you know what you should do withyour lot Jeannie? You should bag the idea of building a house, and open it up to peoplethat can use it to play hopscotch or tiddlywinks on.”

Wouldn’t you be mad and want your money back plus all the money you had putinto buying the lot if that were the case?

Well multiply that scenario by tens of thousands of dollars and maybe you will real-ize what a big problem we have. Because this developer will want his money back andhe will file suit against the town, as he was sold a piece of land that he can never use perthe zoning and the town is preventing him from exercising his very property rights thathe has. Who pays for the suit when that happens? Everyone living in Carbondale does.

“Mad”is putting this developer through the ringer for eight years and sending a mes-sage to anyone interested in Carbondale from a commercial investment standpoint thatyou are wasting your time.

“Mad” is cutting off a huge tax base that this state-of-the-art supermarket and de-velopment will bring Carbondale.

“Mad” is saying no to a project that will promote business and jobs in a recession.“Mad” is that 76 cents of every retail dollar spent by a Carbondalian is spent out-

side of Carbondale.“Mad” is that Carbondale is in financial trouble and people say NO to something

that can generate a big portion of revenue to the town.“Mad”is when you have people that call themselves MOTHERS, sit back and watch

the very thing that their mother bled to death and died for, without doing anything tosustain its life or come up with any solutions to do that.

“Mad” is when you have a trustee stand up and announce to the world that he hassmoked pot for 40 years and he turned out OK, and we are totally accepting that this

GUEST COMMENTARY page 13

Carbondale CommentaryThe views and opinions expressed on the Commentary page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sopris Sun. The Sopris Sun invites all members of the community to submit letters to theeditor or guest columns. For more information, e-mail editor Lynn Burton at [email protected], or call 510-3003.

LETTERS page 13

(Editor’s note: Last week the Sopris Sun printed a pressrelease from the Locals group, which opposes VCR. Thisweek the Sun is printing a press release from supporters).

Submitted Press Release

The Say YES to Carbondale Citizens group has beenformed to support the Village at Crystal River project, ac-cording to a press release submitted by the group.

The Say YES group is co-chaired by John Baker andFrank McSwain, Jr. and is supported by residents and busi-ness owners alike.“This project is the result of years of work-ing with the citizens of Carbondale, the town trustees,Carbondale P&Z as well as the visionaries of the Road Mapcommittee,” said Baker, the architect who crafted the LEEDcertified Carbondale Recreation Center and The Orchard(previously the Church at Carbondale) building and Gather-ing Center on Snowmass Drive.

Jim Calaway, treasurer for Say YES to Carbondale, aphilanthropist and long-time supporter of non-profits andthe community said,“The Village at Crystal River is a greatopportunity to create jobs and get our local economy mov-ing again.”

“The board of trustees said ‘Yes,’ our P&Z commissionsaid ‘Yes,’ the citizens of Carbondale will in turn say ‘Yes’once they understand the tangible benefits of the Village atCrystal River project,” said McSwain, a business owner onMain Street.“That is the focus of our group, Say Yes to Car-bondale, to provide clear and accurate information about thebenefits of the VCR project.”

“This project is designed to bring people to Carbondalewho currently do not have a reason to come here as well asencourage locals and residents to keep their shopping dollarsin Carbondale, thus supporting local business owners andthe community through sales tax revenues,” said Baker.Added McSwain,“the project will bring much needed retailoptions that will complement our vibrant and historic down-town and help prevent retail sales from leaving Carbondalein favor of neighboring communities.”

More retail sales will translate into more sales tax dollarsthat will enable the town of Carbondale to continue to main-tain the integrity and safety of the town’s streets and side-walks while expanding connectivity for biking and walkingthroughout Carbondale, the infrastructure needed to sustainthe health of our community as well as the continued supportof organizations serving our citizens.

The mixed-use project offers a unique blend of retail andresidential, as well as a flex zone area that provides zoningfor other uses such as medical, office space, day care, aschool as well as park and green space that will add to the

culture and character of Carbon-dale. Sustainability and green ini-tiatives have always been a keypart of Carbondale and the Vil-lage will bring the greenest fullservice grocery store in the statethat will follow both LEED andEnergy Star guidelines.

“We realize this has been along process. Our goal is to helpour citizens really learn the factsof the vision of this project as it istoday and the positive impacts itwill bring to Carbondale,” saidMcSwain.

“We all should be behind thisopportunity for Carbondale,”said Calaway.

Questions for aSay Yes organizer(Editor’s note: Before receivingthe Say Yes press release on thispage, the Sopris Sun sent 13 ques-tions to co-chairman Frank Mc-Swain Jr. Out of respect for thetime Mr. McSwain spent to an-swer the 13 questions, the Sun is printing the answers to theones that seem most relevant in light of the press releaseand space limitations.)

QUESTION: Are you working with an ad agency orPR firm?

ANSWER: Our team is working with PromotionalConcepts and Debbie Patrick. Debbie has lived and workedin Carbondale for more than 15 years. She approached thedevelopment team about getting involved after attendingthe November BOT (board of trustees) meeting. Debbie isactively involved with the Carbondale Chamber of Com-merce, local economic development initiatives, and nu-merous community organizations.

Q: Do you have any events scheduled to get out yourword?

A: We have reached out to the folks opposing the projectand requested an informational forum on Wednesday, Jan. 4.

Q: Is there any false info you’d like to set the recordstraight on?

A: PIF (improvements) – The PIF dollars only go toward

the Highway 133 regional highway improvements esti-mated to cost $2.4 million.The development team is spend-ing an additional $5 million on sidewalks, gutters,landscaping and underground utilities that will be deededback to the town. The PIF dollars are only used towardHighway 133 improvements. No PIF dollars will be usedfor improvements/infrastructure within the Village.

Where VCR is located: An aerial photo is critical as itclearly shows The Village at Crystal River is less than 25percent of the open land. Everything green is still owned byCRMS and is zoned “agricultural.” The overview alsoshows scale in relationship to current landmarks.

Q: What kind of campaign will you be running?A: We are running a fact-based, educational campaign.

“Say YES to Carbondale”forms to support VCR

Deb Colley waits on acustomer at Lisa’s ThirdStreet Café in the ThirdStreet Center earlier thisweek. Owner Lisa Hookrecently reopened the caféand all the coziness remainsintact. She’s open 9 a.m. to2 p.m., Monday throughFriday and during PAC3events, offering up break-fast, lunch and appetizers,plus homemade breads,soups and desserts. Notshown in this picture is em-ployee Charles Hook. Therestaurant is available formeetings and parties. Fordetails, call 618-4053.Photo by Lynn Burton

Graphic from SEM Architects

THE SOPRIS SUN • DEcEmbER 8, 2011 • 3

By Lynn BurtonSopris Sun Staff Writer

The Wilderness Workshop’s first request for townfunding brought a low-key debate to Tuesday night’sboard of trustees discussion about the proposed2012 budget.

On one side were Mayor Stacey Bernot andtrustees John Foulkrod and Elizabeth Murphy, whostated or indicated they oppose funding for Wilder-ness Workshop and the Thompson Divide Coalition.On the other side were trustees Frosty Merriot, PamZentmyer, John Hoffmann and Ed Cortez who sup-port funding the non-profit groups on some level.

Both groups are deeply involved in preventing gasdrilling in the Thompson Divide area south of Car-bondale, while the Wilderness Workshop is also work-ing to convince Congress to add thousands of acres ofdesignated wilderness area on the Western Slope.

Bernot told the trustees she has “some trepida-tion” using public funds for Wilderness Workshopand Thompson Divide purposes.

CRMS Barn

Site of VCR

ProposedGrocery Store

TRUSTEES page 8

Trustees debateWilderness Workshopand TDC funding

Fire District closing in on budgetThe Carbondale & Rural Fire Protec-

tion District board expects to pass its 2012budget on Dec. 14, according to boardmembers. Included in the 2012 budget is$7,000 for fireworks. Wages are expectedto climb $100,000, from $1.4 million in2011 to $1.5 million in 2012. The pro-posed budget is available at www.carbon-dalefire.org.

committee considers street closuresCarbondale’s Special Events Committee

met on Dec. 1 to discuss possible street clo-sures for 2012. Parks and Recreation Direc-tor Jeff Jackel said the committee has notfinalized its recommendation to trustees, butpreliminary Main Street closures are in May,June, July,August, September and Decemberfor First Fridays.The committee also supportsa Main Street closure for the downtown cri-

terion bicycle race, if it wants to return.The next Special Events Committee

meeting is on Jan.12 at 5:30 p.m.

State releases school ratingsThe Colorado Department of Education

released its school performance ratings onTuesday and they show Bridges HighSchool and Carbondale Middle School re-ceived the rating of Improvement, whileCrystal River received a rating of PriorityImprovement, according to a press release.

“Our dedicated staff at Crystal Riverand Carbondale Middle School are con-stantly working to address the needs of allstudents including the large number of sec-ond language students who need severalyears to learn English let alone perform onan academic par with their native Englishspeaking peers,” said school district super-intendent Judy Haptonstall. “Both of theseschools are constantly working to shortenthe time for language acquisition and in-crease the levels of students’ proficiency inreading, math, science and writing.”

All but threeof thedistrict’s schools receivedthe state’s highest rating, the press release said.

“These ratings recognize the outstand-ing teaching that takes place every day inevery school throughout our district and area testament to our staff’s commitment toquality instruction,” said Haptonstall.


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There were noheadlights to beseen on a recentday at ElkSprings, butthese two muledeer paused todo some staringanyway lastweek. Photoby Ray Sauvey

The Weekly News Brief The Sopris Sun and the KDNK news departments team up to discuss recent news from the Roaring ForkValley and beyond. Catch the Brief Fridays on KDNK.

News Briefs Cop ShopThe following events are drawn fromincident reports of the CarbondalePolice Department.

Dec. 1 At 5:17 p.m., a downtown barmanager called police to report a tran-sient had stashed his stuff in the cornerand went into the restroom. After 20minutes, the bar owner tried to roustthe transient but got no response.When police arrived, the man toldthem he was experiencing stomachpains. Police called an ambulance andthe man was transported to ValleyView Hospital.

Nov. 30 At 8:34 a.m., police were dis-patched to a two-vehicle collision atCrystal River Elementary School. Po-lice report there was extensive damageto both vehicles.

Nov. 29 At 8:01 p.m., police contactedseveral people pushing a car on Man-cos. The people said the car was dis-abled and they were pushing it fromone house to the other. The police re-port didn’t specifically say it, but thepeople were apparently allowed topush on.

Nov. 29 At 6:50 p.m., police observeda youth enter the back of BridgesHigh School. Police then learned afunction was taking place in theschool and the youth was going in tomeet his parents.

Roaring Fork High School boy’s and girl’s basketball teams got in plenty of action on their home court to kickoff the 2011-12 season during the Brenda Patch tournament last weekend. In the final games, the boys and girlsboth fell to Glenwood Springs 64-46 and 51-32 respectively. The season’s schedule is as follows:

BoysDec. 9-10 – Glenwood Springs TournamentDec. 16 – Eagle Valley (home), 7 p.m.Jan. 5 – Aspen (away), 7 p.m.Jan. 6 – Olathe (home), 7 p.m.Jan. 13 – Basalt (home), 7 p.m.Jan. 14 – Coal Ridge (away), 4 p.m.Jan. 20 – Rifle (home), 7 p.m.Jan. 21 – Cedaredge (home), 4 p.m.Jan. 27 – Grand Valley (away), 7 p.m.Jan. 28 – Gunnison (home), 4 p.m.Jan. 31 – Glenwood (home), 7 p.m.Feb. 3 – Hotchkiss (away), 7:30 p.m.Feb. 10 – Aspen (home), 7 p.m.Feb. 17 – Coal Ridge (home), 7 p.m.Feb. 18 – Rifle (away), 4 p.m.

GirlsDec. 9-10 – Glenwood Springs TournamentDec. 16 – Eagle Valley (home), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 5 – Aspen (away), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 6 – Olathe (home), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 13 – Basalt (home), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 14 – Coal Ridge (away), 2:30 p.m.Jan. 20 – Rifle (home), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 21 – Cedaredge (home), 2:30 p.m.Jan. 27 – Grand Valley (away), 5:30 p.m.Jan. 28 – Gunnison (home), 2:30 p.m.Jan. 31 – Glenwood (home), 5:30 p.m.Feb. 3 – Hotchkiss (away), 6 p.m.Feb. 10 – Aspen (home), 5:30 p.m.Feb. 17 – Coal Ridge (home), 5:30 p.m.Feb. 18 – Rifle (away), 2:30 p.m.


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Roaring Fork High School basketball scheduleDec. 2-Feb. 18

Roaring Fork’s Clay Gross puts up a shot against Glen-wood Springs in the 24th annual Brenda Patch tournament

over the weekend. Dakotah Grett led the Rams with 19points in a 64-46 losing effort. Photo by Will Grandbois

Megan Gianinetti (#12) skies over Demon defenders in thefinal game of the Brenda Patch tournament. Photo by SueRollyson

Georgia Ackerman plays tough defenseagainst Glenwood. Photo by Sue Rollyson

coloring book returns“The Roaring Fork Valley Coloring

Book” is available again after 35 years.Artist Stan Badgett designed the book to re-flect his love for the valley. Its pages featurean array of unusual images, such as a jar ofhomemade pickles and the wood-splittingcontest at Mountain Fair. The pages aresuitable for both adults and children. Thenostalgic stocking stuffer is available forsale at Collage Creative Collections next toThe Blend on Highway 133.

Seen and heard around townDoc Philip shoveling Near New steps

early Sunday morning … the peace groupreading the names of fallen soldiers at thetown hall flag pole Monday morning (withthe temperature at about 15 degrees) … thesign out in front of White House pizza thatsays something about making reservationsfor the holidays. Overheard at City Marketas a young couple entered the store: “Let’sget a wreath this year instead of tree,” towhich the wife replied,“I’ve been telling yousince Thanksgiving… .” … at the Red RockDiner on Sunday after a customer asked inadvance for a takeout box for half his eggsBenedict then ended up eating the wholething,“Your slogan should be ‘food so goodyou won’t want to take it home.’ …”

Name that treeWe’re talking about the“big tree in front

of the Forest Service office” that the town

decorates every year. Technically, the tree isa Colorado spruce according to the town’sTony Coia. “Big tree in front of the ForestService office”may be functional, but it doesseem to lack originality.The Sun asked Tonyfor some suggestions and his list included:the Carbondale Spruce, the Weant Spruce,the Big Tree on Main and also said maybesomeone could find out who donated themoney to plant the thing and name it afterhim or her. If you’d like to nominate a namefor the tree, send it to [email protected] in mind it’s a good idea for the name toroll off the tongue, so “Weant Street SpruceTree” might not pass the “say it three timesfast” test.

big newsThe post office’s monthly shipment of

rolls of stamps arrived early this week.Many folks apparently prefer the covetedrolled stamps over sheets and have beenasking about them. No word on whetherthat was an armored car pulling into thepost office loading docks with the goods.On a related note, Pitkin County OpenSpace’s 2012 calendars were also set out forgrabbing early this week.

Yacht clubbers meetThe Aspen Yacht Club (AYC) held its

annual banquet and membership meetingat Aspen Glen on Nov. 19. A total of 80AYC members and friends celebrated theend of the sailing season with cocktails and

a buffet dinner prepared by Aspen Glen Ex-ecutive Chef Sean Bedford, and enjoyed aslide show presentation reviewing the 2011AYC sailing season.

Summer Series racing awards were pre-sented to: Jinx Stone (first place, PHRFFleet); Bruce Upton (second place, PHRFFleet) and Aaron Smith (third place, Fleet).Andrea (Andy) Arms took first place in thePortsmouth Fleet. The Most ImprovedSailor award went to Peter Fornell; theRookie of the Year award was presented toRoland Parker. Sportsman of the Yearaward was presented to Jeff Friday. SpecialCommodore Medals were presented toMelissa Reynolds (for the most sailing daysat 70+) and to Jeff Ashcraft (for first boatin, June 4, and last boat out, Nov. 9).

closedKebler Pass (Gunnison County Road

12) between Highway 133 and CrestedButte is closed for the season.

Yum, yumHere is the week’s lunch menu in RE-1

School District cafeterias:• Thursday, Dec. 8: (Elementary) ham-

burger, homemade butternut squash, crou-tons, banana, milk; (middle school) bakedFrench toast, herb roasted potatoes,sausage, grapefruit wedges, milk; (highschool) herb roasted chicken, fruit and veg-etable bar, milk.

• Friday, Dec. 9: (Elementary and mid-

dle) Dominos pizza, Ceasar salad, grapes,milk; (high School) Dominos pizza, fruitand vegetable bar, milk.

• Monday, Dec. 12: (Elementary andmiddle) spaghetti with meat sauce, wholewheat roll, green beans, fruit, milk; (highschool) hamburger, fruit and vegetablebar, milk.

• Tuesday, Dec. 13: (Elementary andmiddle) chicken fajitas, posole, Spanishbeans/carrots, fruit milk; (high school)turkey and cheese wrap, fruit and vegetablebar, milk.

• Wednesday, Dec. 14: (Elementary)homemade ham and cheese hot pocket,spinach salad, peaches, milk; (middle)meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, roll,Mandarin oranges, milk; (high school) na-chos supreme, fruit and vegetable bar, milk.

• Thursday, Dec. 15: (Elementary)roasted herb chicken, baked sweet potato,applesauce, biscuit with orange honey but-ter, milk; (middle) bean and cheese tostada,Spanish rice, fresh pico de gallo, apple crisp,milk; (high school) Asian BBQ chicken overrice, fruit and vegetable Bar, milk.

They say it’s your birthdayBirthday greetings go out to: Sandra

McMullen (Dec. 8), Kirstie Smith (Dec. 10),Vicki Yarbrough, Bob Johnson and BillLaemmel (Dec. 10), Marc Bruell and LeslieJohnson (Dec.11), Beth Mohsenin (Dec.12), Amy Broadhurst and Jon Araujo (Dec.13) and Steve Keohane (Dec. 14).


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By Debbie BruellSopris Sun Correspondent

At the Nov. 29 school board meeting, retired principalPatrick Henry called the Board’s recently established feed-back process of superintendent Judy Haptonstall “an illu-sion of inclusiveness and investigation.” He told the threenew board members “... all you’re really doing is gettingbullets to justify a decision you already made before youwere elected.”

One component of that feedback process is a confi-dential survey of all district staff. After the survey was re-leased to teachers last week, Megan Talbott, president ofthe local teacher’s association, Roaring Fork CommunityEducation Association (RFCEA), told the Sun about somefeedback she has received regarding the survey. Accordingto Talbott, numerous teachers have expressed their ap-preciation of “the professional nature of the questions, andhow they focus on leadership qualities, rather than per-sonal qualities.”

When asked whether she believes the school board willbe able to differentiate between people who have legitimateconcerns and people who simply have a personal grudgeagainst Haptonstall, Talbott referred to two other confi-dential teacher surveys required by the Colorado Depart-ment of Education – the principal/assistant principalsurveys and the TELL Colorado survey of teaching andlearning conditions. According to Talbott, both surveyshave “inspired positive change in buildings, and eventhough I am sure some take it with a grudge, when enoughpeople respond to questions of a professional nature,trends can easily be distinguished from grudges.”

confidentiality assurredThe Roaring Fork RE-1 School District contracted

Utah-based consulting firm DecisionWise to conduct the

survey. Charles Rogin, director of business development atDecisionWise, told the Sun last week that they typicallyachieve good response rates on surveys because they as-sure confidentiality of the whole process. No one in the dis-trict will have access to individual responses. Instead,results are combined and averaged as a total score withina few categories of respondents. School board vice presi-dent Richard Stettner told the Sun that the aggregate scoresand a compilation of all comments will be reported to theboard within four categories: teachers, non-certified staff,board members and administrators.

DecisionWise reported to the board on Mondaymorning that 42 percent of staff had completed the sur-vey so far.

School board president Matt Hamilton is quick to pointout that the staff survey is“only one component of a multi-faceted process.” Hamilton told the Sun earlier this week,“This is not a popularity contest. It’s not as if 51 percent ofrespondents will determine if Haptonstall stays or goes.”

When asked whether he thought a broad range of com-munity and staff members would participate in the feed-

back process Hamilton responded,“I hope so.We’ve madeevery effort to create an environment that allows people toprovide feedback in whatever way they’re comfortable.”

Bob Johnson, who has served on the school board for sev-eral years, is also optimistic about the process.As he told theSun this week,“I am hopeful we as a board will get enoughinformation and use it as a tool to further enhance our edu-cational opportunities for kids throughout the district.”

Superintendent Haptonstall told the Sun last week thatshe did not think it was appropriate for her to comment onthe feedback process at this time.

closing commentsPatrick Henry closed his comments at the Nov. 29 meet-

ing by telling the three new board members, “You need tobecome a part of this board, not take it over. … Do someof the hard decision-making before you make decisionsabout whether Judy is the leadership that we need. Any-thing less is not leadership on your part.”

When asked whether she thinks it is appropriate for theboard to be setting up this feedback process, Talbott toldthe Sun, “If [the board members] received feedback thattells them that more information is needed about anything,it is the Board’s responsibility to follow through and makesure they get the information they need.”

Hamilton emphasized that the evaluation of districtleadership is not the only issue the board has been ad-dressing in their first weeks as a new board. He encourageseveryone to review the upcoming agendas for the Dec. 14and Dec. 16 meetings, which will include the district’sMoving On initiative, the new gradebook, the proposedGlenwood charter school, community involvement interms of informing decisions on the expenditure of milllevy override funds, and developing a two-year work planfor the new board.

DecisionWise reports 42 percent response rate on survey


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“This is not a popularity contest.It’s not as if 51 percent of

respondents will determineif Haptonstall stays or goes.”

Matt HamiltonBoard President

Roaring Fork School District

Submitted Press release

At their meeting in Glenwood SpringsMonday, Colorado Mountain College’sboard of trustees elected a new slate of offi-cers: incumbent trustees Glenn Davis aspresident, Anne Freedman as secretary andMary Ellen Denomy as treasurer. Newtrustee Bob Taylor volunteered to be theboard’s representative to Mountain BOCES.

The board also voted to certify the milllevy of 3.997, a rate that has stayed con-stant for some 20 years.Trustees heard thatprojected funding levels from the state con-tinue to be uncertain, and that most countyassessors in the college’s district expect littleif any change to assessed valuations duringthe next round of assessments.

In other action, the board voted to pur-chase from Charles and Mary LynnCarner the Coldwell Bank building at 325Fielder Ave. in Dillon, which is adjacent tothe college’s classroom building there, for

$675,000. The purchase would be contin-gent upon a concurrent transfer of adja-cent land that is currently owned by theTown of Dillon and successful fulfillmentof other contingencies.

Meeting space, classrooms, some em-ployee offices, the Small Business Develop-ment Center and additional services toimprove educational and training supportof area businesses will be relocated there.Once the parking lots are connected, 30 ad-ditional spots will be available, making iteasier for students, visitors and employeesto park on site.

Because revenues received during theyear are higher than the college’s conserva-tive 2011-12 budget, the board also votedto give the college’s full-time employees abonus of $1,000. For the current year, em-ployees have received no raises, and in theprevious year they only received a 1 percentsalary increase.

The board directed staff to bring themmore information about part-time employ-ees, for future consideration of a potentialbonus for them, as well.

The board also authorized the college tocontinue proceeding with a joint projectwith the Garfield County Library, which in-cludes a new library building, parkinggarage and public plaza adjacent to the col-lege’s new central administrative buildingon 8th Street in downtown GlenwoodSprings. Trustees authorized the college tospend up to $4.8 million, to include site im-provements and utilities, parking andshared space above the library.

“This project helps to maximize the mis-sion of all four parties who are involved –the library district, the city, the DowntownDevelopment Authority and ColoradoMountain College,” said Stan Jensen, presi-dent of the college.“None of us would havebeen able to do this without each other.”

CMC board votes in new officers

Sopris Sun Staff Report

Santa will be visiting four of theGarfield County Libraries in the next fewweeks as he gets ready for Christmas. First,he will be in Silt at 10 a.m. on Wednesday,Dec. 14 for “Breakfast with Santa.” Next,he will travel to New Castle for an Orna-ment Workshop at 6 p.m. on Thursday,Dec. 15. He will then appear at the Gor-

don Cooper Branch in Carbondale from11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17,when everyone will listen to holiday storiesand decorate gingerbread man cookies. Fi-nally, Santa will read “Twas the Night Be-fore Christmas”and everyone will decoratea Christmas cookie at the Rifle Branch at 1p.m. on Wednesday, Dec 21.

•••

GoToWorkshops@YourLibrary are com-puter development programs that teachadults basic computer and job seekingskills necessary to acquire employment.Workshops will be held at all GarfieldCounty Libraries for both English andEnglish as a second language learners.They will be running from Decemberthrough July.

Santa visits Garfield County libraries Dec. 14-21


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Murphy agreed, saying “I’m notsure this is what we should be doing.”

With the town facing possible im-pacts from gas drilling, Merriot saidthe issue of “clean water and cleanair” will become bigger and bigger.“If people are educated (about the is-sues) I think they’d be happy to putinto the kitty.”

Bernot replied, “I think they(Wilderness Workshop and ThompsonDivide Coalition) are well funded.”

The Thompson Divide Coalition isasking for $5,000 in 2012 (up fromthis year’s $4,000); Wilderness Work-shop is asking for $5,000.

By a 4-3 straw vote, the trusteesagreed to fund both groups but didnot decide at what level.

The trustees expect to approve the2012 budget on Dec. 13.

The trustees also agreed to fundspecial events at the following levels,as recommended by staff: 5PointFilm Festival ($8,000), CCAH sum-mer of music and theatre ($8,000),Fourth of July fireworks ($4,000),KDNK Blues and BBQ ($1,000),Steve’s Guitars Sopris Music Fest($1,000), Club Rotario’s Festival LasAmericas ($1,000), Chamber ofCommerce June Business After Hours($300), Zeta Epsilon Sorority’s Po-tato Day ($400), town of Carbon-dale’s Music on Main Street ($450),and Farmer’s Market music ($850).

Trustees om page 3

By Lynn BurtonSopris Sun Staff Writer

A flash mob – Carbondale style – grouped up inthe middle of Main Street just a few steps from theCrystal Theatre’s front door during First Friday. Thejovial mob wasn’t as spur-of-the-moment as such ac-tions are apparently meant to be, but it did get acrossits anti-Village at Crystal River message – sort of.

At the end of their skit, a chant that went up thatsounded like “Go, Go, VCR” but upon listeningclosely, the assemblage urged everyone within earshot to “Vote no, VCR … Vote no, VCR.”

Elsewhere downtown at more or less the exactmoment, a spontaneous quartet comprised of HollyRichardson, Kate Friesen, Peter Westcott and GwenGarcelon found themselves at the same time andplace near the kettle bonfire at Fourth Street Plazaand began harmonizing on “First Noel,”“Rudolphthe Red Nose Reindeer,” and Frosty the Snowman.”

“It was really spontaneous,” Garcelon said.“Come to find out the three friends I joined in withhad been singing for a while and had been lookingfor a soprano to complete them … Looks like we’llbe doing some more singing.”

During the caroling, three kids in Santa hats werelaughing their heads off in the back of a bike-pow-ered rickshaw giving full-power rides up and downMain Street. At the east end of Main Street the Car-bondale Clay Center was packed for its annual CupAuction, while up at the Third Street Center hun-dreds streamed through to chat with Santa or checkout CCAH’s new ”Hand to Heart” show. KDNKtook over the Village Smithy for its art auction. Onwest Main Street, Dancing Colours showed off itsnew Artwares Upstairs gallery.

Back at the flash mob, an organizer said they firstplanned to do their thing at Fourth Street Plaza afterSanta’s eagerly awaited appearance. “But we didn’twant to politicize Santa and scare the kiddies. Wefelt it was important to keep the events separate.”

Photos, clockwise from upper left: A couple ofsnugged up toddlers, Fourth Street Plaza lit up andwarmed by a kettle bonfire, flash-mobber Ellie Davis(right) and an unidentified mobber, fire dancer onMain Street, Anne Goldberg, and flash-mobberLaurie Guevera Stone. Photos by Jane Bachrach

Flash mob erupts during First Friday



Community Calendar To list your event, email information to [email protected]. Deadline is 5 p.m. Saturday. Events takeplace in Carbondale unless noted. For up-to-the-minute valley-wide event listings, check out the CommunityCalendar online at soprissun.com. View and submit events online at soprissun.com/calendar.

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THURSDAY Dec. 8DEAD ALERT • Mickey Hart of theGrateful Dead will perform with his newband at Belly Up in Aspen. Hart is donating100 percent of the fees from tickets sold onMickeyHart.net to music therapy.

ROTARY • The Mt. Sopris Rotary Clubmeets at Mi Casita every Thursday at noon.

FRIDAY Dec. 9mOVIES • The Crystal Theatre presents“Margin Call” (R) at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9-15and “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (R) at5:30 p.m. Dec. 9-15.

LIVE mUSIc • Milemarkers play Carbon-dale Beer Works; Brent Moss makes a guestbartending appearance. (Ask if he can serveup a slo gin and goat’s milk; it tastes like astrawberry shake.)

S.A.W. • S.A.W. holds a holiday show andsale from 6 to 9 p.m. Items include tran-scendent paintings, functional and sculp-tural ceramics, hand-made jewelry, andhand-painted wooden bowls. S.A.W. is lo-cated at 978 Euclid Ave.

THEATRE • Thunder River Theatre Com-pany presents “Always … Patsy Cline” at7:30 p.m. through Dec. 11 and continueson Dec. 15-18. Info: 963-8200.

LIVE mUSIc • Steve’s Guitars in the oldpart of the Dinkel Building presents livemusic every Friday. Info: 963-3304.

THEATRE • CMC Theatre presents “IHate Hamlet”at the Spring Valley Campus(between Glenwood Springs and Carbon-

dale) at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8-10. Tickets are$15 for adults and $10 for students andseniors. Info: 947-8177.

SPAGHETTI DINNER •The Glenwood SpringsHigh School Key Clubholds a spaghetti din-ner at the gym from5 to 8 p.m. Ticketsare $5 for students;$8 for adults. Fam-ilies of four or moreeat for $25. Pro-ceeds benefit thepeople of Vietnam,according to a pressrelease.

SATURDAYDec. 10PAc3 • Elephant Revival returns to Car-bondale after rocking Sopris Park duringMountain Fair last July.The five-piece bandfrom Nederland describes itself as “neo-acoustic folk … with a unique multi–genremusical approach that threads together dy-namic instrumentation and a diverse rhyth-mic sound while exploring the depths of allfive of the groups’ songwriters.” The banddelves into Scottish/Celtic fiddle tunes, orig-inal folk pieces, traditional ballads, psyche-delic country, indie rock, reggae grooves,1940s to 1950s jazz standards and an oc-casional hip-hop beat among other styles.The band consists of Bonnie Paine (vocals,washboard, djembe, musical saw), SageCook (electric banjo/guitar, acoustic guitar,

mandolin, viola, vocals), Dango Rose (dou-ble-bass, mandolin, banjo, vocals),

Daniel Rodriguez (acousticguitar, electric banjo/guitar

vocals) and Bridget Law(fiddle and vocals).

Carbondale’s ownAll the PrettyHorses will be theopening act, start-ing at 8 p.m.Tickets are $20 inadvance/$25 atthe door. Info: 1-888-71-TICKETS

and www.ele-phantrevival.com.

SUNDAYDec. 11

cOmmUNITY mEDITATION •In order to “amplify our individual contri-bution during this time of deep shifting, inour lives and in the world, through focusingon the guidance and wisdom of the heart,”a community meditation takes place at theThird Street Center from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.No experience is necessary. Info: 963-9182or [email protected].

FULL mOON WALK • Rock BottomRanch in El Jebel stages a full moon walkstarting at 4 p.m. You’ll have a chance tospy beavers swimming in the pond, elk graz-ing in the meadows and hearing the hoot ofa great horned owl all under a full moon.Tea and hot chocolate will be served fol-lowing the walk. It’s free. Info: 927-6760.

MONDAY Dec. 12ZUmbA • Zumba “Blasts the PAC3” onMonday nights Dec. 12 and 19 from 6 to 7p.m. Info: 945-8822.

TUESDAY Dec. 13ROcK bOTTOm RANcH • Sven the Elkvisits the Aspen Center for EnvironmentalStudies’ Rock Bottom Ranch in El Jebelfrom 4 to 5:30 p.m. Kids get to help feedthe livestock. Crafts and warm drinks willbe available before Sven’s appearance.

WEDNESDAY Dec. 14ROTARY • Carbondale Rotary meets at thefirehouse Wednesdays at 7 a.m.

cERAmIcS • Colorado Mountain Col-lege/Aspen ceramic students hold a potteryshow and sale from 10 a.m.to 7 p.m.and Dec.9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Some of the studentsselling wares are Lindsay Fortier,Mary Ballou,Georgann Moore, Casey Coffman and Mari-anne Breed, plus faculty members K RhynusCesark, Sam Harder, Katie Van Alstine andAnne Goldberg. CMC is located across fromthe Aspen Airport. Info: 925-7740.

LIVE mUSIc • White House pizza presentsDave Taylor (soft classic rock ‘n roll).

OPEN mIc • Dan Rosenthal hosts open micnights at Rivers restaurant in GlenwoodSprings every Wednesday from 8 to 10 p.m.

FUTSOL TOURNAmENT • The Snow-mass Village Recreation Center hosts a futsoltournament on Dec. 18. The registrationdeadline is Dec. 14.

FURTHER OUT page 11


Further Out

Ongoing

FRIDAY Dec. 16DURRANcE SPEAKS • The GlenwoodSprings Chamber Resort Association hosts apresentation by photographer/motivationalspeaker Dick Durrance from 11:30 a.m. to 1p.m. at the Grand Restaurant (inside the KingMall). The cost is $25 per person and space islimited. Reservations: 945-6589.

SATURDAY Dec. 17FESTIVAL OF LESSONS & cAROLS •St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glenwoodhosts its annual Festival of Lessons & Carolsat 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). There’llbe readings, choir music and carols, accom-panied by musicians from Symphony in theValley. The event is free and families are wel-come. Karen Tafejian is music director.

SUNDAY Dec. 18SOLSTIcE cEREmONY • There’ll be acommunity solstice celebration at the ThirdStreet Center from 5 to 7 p.m. featuring abonfire solstice ceremony, OM Puppet The-atre presentation of “Lin Yi’s Lantern,”music by Jimmy Byrne, sing-alongs, warmdrinks and snacks. Info: 987-3140 orwww.tworiversuu.org.

WEDNESDAY Dec. 21SOcIAL mIXER • KDNK throws a “socialmixer” at PAC3 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Dec.21. It’s free. The idea is to bring together thebusiness community, artists, athletes, stu-dents, seniors, Rotary, teachers, Latinos, An-glos and pretty much everyone else. There’llbe a jazz combo featuring living legend WaltSmith on piano.

cmc ART • Students of Ida Burnaman’s Fig-ure Drawing class at Colorado Mountain Col-lege show their work at the Lappala Centerthrough Dec. 15. Artists include: Phebe De-haan, Sarah Rosenthal, Stan Ruther, ArrickPeck, Angela McChesney and Mary Bereska.Info: 963-2172.

cLAY cENTER • The Carbondale ClayCenter continues its 2011 Holiday Invitationalthrough Dec. 30. Featured ceramists include:H.P. Bloomer, Tony Wise, John Cohorst,Nathan Bray, Lyla Goldstein, Avi Arenfeld,Tyler McGinn, Casey Coffman, CJ Jilek, Eliz-abeth Farson, K Rhynus Cesark, ShawnO’Connor, Lusterbunny, Diane Kenney, SarahMoore, Donie Hubbard, Charlie Childress,Mary Ballou, Sue Tirrell, Katie Kitchen, LisaMaher, Tom Jaszczak, Ronan Peterson, Tam-mie Lane and Gail Burtik. The CarbondaleClay Center is located at the east end of MainStreet. Info: 963-2529.

WINTER FEST • The Glenwood SpringsCenter for the Arts’ Winterfest show featuresJoy Commons, Dan Glidden, Betsy Blackard,Ewa Lachur-Omeljaniuk, Chad Zanca, MaryBlichmann, Dara Barth, Nancy Helser, Phyl-lis Hackett, Anne Ramsay, Tara Vetter, AnneMoll, Sinda Wood, Barbara Jean Swan, SaraWard, Kellie Philburn, Jennifer Miller, Randi

Garcia, Sandy Richards, Jamie Spry, MarciaFuscaro, Jessica Kidd, Terry Muldoon,Noemi Kosmowski, Kristoff Kosmowski andKari Doerr. The show continues through Jan3. The Glenwood Springs Center for the Artsis located east of the Hot Springs Pool. Info:945-2414.

TEEN PHOTO SHOW • The GordonCooper Library presents a photo show fromlocal teens based on their favorite book titles.

mAYOR’S cOFFEE HOUR • Chat withCarbondale Mayor Stacey Bernot on Tuesdaysfrom 7 to 8 a.m. at the Village Smithy, locatedat 26 S. Third St.

PHOTOS SHOWN • Allison Austin showsher photography at the Blend on Highway 133.

GORDON cOOPER • The Gordon CooperLibrary presents activities for kids from kinder-garten through fifth grade from 4 to 5 p.m. onTuesdays, and toddler and infant story time onThursdays at 10:30 a.m. Info: 963-2889.

bOOK cLUb • The Senior Matters BookClub meets the third Tuesday of the month atthe Third Street Center from 11 a.m. to 1:30p.m. Info: 945-7094.

bLOOD DRIVE • Valley View Hospital inGlenwood Springs holds its monthly blood

drives from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the third Tuesdayof the month. Info: 384-6657.

cONVERSATION cIRcLES • LiteracyOutreach holds conversation circles for non-English speakers to practice their English at theGordon Cooper Library Mondays from 2 to3:30 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.Volunteers are needed. Info: 945-5282.

LINX NETWORKING • The Linx net-working group meets each Tuesday morningat 7:15 a.m. at the Chaffin and Light Real Es-tate office in downtown Basalt. Linx is a busi-

ness networking organization whose memberswork together to grow and promote theirbusinesses. All dues not used for administra-tion are given to local charities each Decem-ber. Info: Keith at (970) 390-8401.

cANcER SUPPORT GROUP • Pathfind-ers holds its support group at the Third StreetCenter the fourth Tuesday of every month.Info: Elizabeth Miller at 925-7792.

AL-ANON mEETS • Al-Anon for friendsand families of alcoholics meets at the OrchardTuesdays. Info: 963-8773.

Hold the PressescHAmbER OFFERING OFFIcIAL mERcHANDISE • The Carbondale Chamber and theTourism Council of Carbondale are offering Official Merchandise. The merchandise includesCarbondale T-shirts, hats and dog bones, and is 100 percent organic. The merch is available tobusinesses at a discounted rate, which they can then sell at full-market retail price (suggested re-tail price is $20-$25 for T-shirts; $18-$20 for hats; and $10-$12 for dog bone).“Place your orderby Dec. 9 to ensure that it is delivered and displayed just in time for holiday shopping,” saidtourism director Andrea Stewart. For details, call Stewart at 963-1890.

S.A.W. PRESENTS HOLIDAY SHOW • S.A.W., at 978 Euclid, presents a holiday show from 6to 10 p.m. on Dec. 9. For details, call 963-0201.

AHS EVENT • The Aspen Historical Society holds a holiday cookie exchange and book sign-ing at the Wheeler/Stallard House (620 Bleeker St.) on Dec. 13. More than 25 local authors willoffer signed books for unique holiday gifts. For details, call 925-3721.

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Community Briefs


cOREmmuter winners announcedOne of the best local Carbondale sports league names of all time was penned in 1990

for a volleyball team that called itself “The Netin’ Yahoos.” Some of the teams in the re-cent COREmmutter challenge gave the ‘Yahoos a run for their money, however, withsuch names as Headless Chickens and I’d Rather be a Lizard. It took more than a greatname to win the COREmmutter Challenge, however. Contestants racked up miles eitherwalking, biking, rollerblading or skateboarding to and from work or around town inmodes of travel other than the automobile during the two-month competition. The finalmonth’s winners were: Collette Newell, Mary Bright, Jen Kaufman, Mike Mines andRachel Korber for the team with the most human-powered commute miles.Aaron Taylor,Nic Degrosse, Darren Broome, Dan Giese and Kazzy won the category for the most Car-Free Days. In all, the 12 teams biked and walked 14,037 miles and logged a total of 1,550days without getting in a car. This allowed them to collectively avert the CO2 emissionsof 14 barrels of oil or 657 gallons of gasoline, according to a press release from theCommunity Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE). That’s the same amount of CO2 as150 tree seedlings would sequester in their first 10 years of growth.

Library workshops begin soonGoToWorkshops@YourLibrary are computer development programs that teach adults

basic computer and job seeking skills necessary to acquire and maintain steady, well-paidemployment.Workshops will be held at all Garfield County Libraries for both English andEnglish as a Second Language learners. Workshops run from December through July (ex-cept in New Castle which will start holding workshops after the new library building isopen). Computers for Beginners and Job Searching workshops will be held in December,with additional topics in the coming months. For a complete calendar, visitwww.gcpld.org.

Neil memorial service slatedA memorial service for Emmy Neil will be held at Mountain View Church (next to Buf-

falo Valley in Glenwood Springs) at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 10. Neil passed away on Nov. 27.She was 88.

Neil was known as a teacher, 4-H leader and active community member throughoutGarfield County for more than 50 years. She taught tailoring, quilting, crocheting andknitting at Colorado Mountain College, and was also in the school’s first graduating classin 1968. She was recognized as Colorado Citizen of the Year in 1963 and GlenwoodSprings Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 1991. She made 10 trips to Glen-wood’s sister city, Teotecacinte, Nicaragua, where she established a sewing cooperative.

Born in Denver in 1923, she moved with her family to Burns (east of GlenwoodSprings) in the late 1940s.

berkman tribute scheduledA tribute concert for Howard Berkman is scheduled for the Blue Sage Center for the

Arts at 228 Grand Ave. in Paonia at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21. The musical lineup includes Mojo(plus Devon Meyers), Mike Gwinn and the Northfork Flyers, Gus Brett, the StrollingScones, Paul Frazier, Big Bottom with Johnny O. and friends, and Midnight Mesa. Do-nations will be requested for a scholarship for young musicians.

Berkman, a well-known bluesman who lived in Carbondale for many years beforemoving to Paonia, died in November. For more information on the concert, e-mail [email protected].

Scrooge goes to trialA workshop presentation of “Ebenezer Scrooge on Trial” takes place at the Third

Street Center at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. The premise is: one year after Scrooge gets anew life, he realizes he has been duped and decides to prosecute Jacob Marley and allthe ghosts of Christmas past, present and future for kidnapping and extortion. Ofcourse it all ends happily and is definitely for all the family. Tickets are $10 for adults,$5 for students.

ObituaryKurt Thomas Jakob1949-2011

Kurt Thomas Jakob, 62, passed away of natural causes on Nov. 25 at his home in ElJebel. He was born Oct. 13, 1949, in Connecticut.

Kurt was a long time Roaring Fork Valley resident. He was a good friend with a goodheart, dry sense of humor and a cantankerous spirit. He had a love of motorcycles andantique cars. Growing up in a military family, Kurt had spent time in Canada, Germany,Japan and Alaska. He will be missed by all.

He was a member of the Sons of the American Legion and had worked at Napa Autoin El Jebel for many years. He is survived by his brothers Bob of Tampa Bay, Florida, andMike of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and their families.

Kurt’s friends will remember him at El Jebowl at 3 p.m. on Dec. 11. Please join in forfood and drinks.

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Letters continued om page 2

A thank you to carbondaleDear Editor:

On the recent anniversary of the Vail inci-dent that took my husband’s life, I received amost touching acknowledgement from thecitizens of the town whose thoughtfulness I’dlike to recognize.

Accompanied by Sunny Kay Harrison’sstory came a beautiful card adorned byMount Sopris and signed by some truly won-derful folks.

Lori of the Floral Boutique has been a sup-port to my family from Day 1 and I thank herand Rich for their caring and love.

Encouragement from Sandy and prayersfrom Tracy, both of the Pour House, werevery welcome as the legal phase of this uglyordeal is about to begin.

Carol, Pepe and Jessica represented inwords the kind hearts of the good people ofCarbondale by expressing genuine concernfor the welfare of one of their own. Mostawesome of all was their gift of a stunningpainting of Mount Sopris in memory of thejoy it brought to Gary and me during the timewe had here together.

Over the past two years,Marty at the postoffice,Kate of IlluminatingWellness, the Car-bondale Police Department, and the local col-leagues and community volunteers I workwith have shared their tremendous kindness.

It’s hard to put into words the feeling ofcomfort and belonging you’ve each imparted,which makes your message of“the town hasyour back” ring true. My heartfelt gratitudeto everyone.

Lani KitchingCarbondale

What a career DayDear Editor:

Roaring Fork High School’s Career Daywas a resounding success!!! Below is a sam-pling of written student comments:

“CareerDaywasagreatopportunity formebecause if I hadn’t seen so many jobs, I wouldhave stuck to the ones I already knew about.”

“Career Fair helped me decide which ca-reers were right for me.”

“Career Day was beneficial and exciting.”“IfoundoutaboutjobsIdidn’tknowexisted.”“I loved it.”“... it was a great opportunity to learn

about many jobs out there.”“I think Career Fair was awesome.”“Career Day was cool because I got to

choose what interested me and get informa-tion about the jobs.”

“I found a lot of interesting jobs.”“Career Day was a lot of fun.”“Career Day to me seemed very interesting

and helpful.”“I found a career that really excited me.”“It was really fun and I enjoyed and

learned a lot of new things.”“The Career Day as a whole was amazing.

I got to touch and try things.”“It was great.”“Today I found two career possibilities

that I am excited about.”“Career Day was filled with great oppor-

tunities.”“I learnedmanythingsaboutdifferent jobs.”“I really think I learned a lot.”“ ... Career Day is a good experience that

definitely helped me decide what career(path) I might follow.”

“... many different options for everyoneto explore.”

“Career Day, as a whole was an awaken-ing experience.”

“I got a good idea of what I want to dofor my career.”

“I learned a lot about careers I didn’tthink I would like and realized there aremore careers out there than I ever knew.”

“It pleased me to see so many people ded-icated (to) and proud of their own jobs.”

“I liked that I could go through the wholevalley in one spot.”

“... it was a good chance to learn whatpeople really do at work.”

“... it gave me a new perspective on cer-tain careers that I’ve never really thought I’dbe interested in.”

“.... a good idea.You learn a lot by goingaround and talking to different places.”

“... very informative.”“... inspiring.”In reading the above it is obvious that you

reached and connected with many students.Bravo! What a morning we had.

To all of the incredible presenters whotook time from their work day to inspire andto peak our kids’ curiosities, an enormousTHANKYOU!!!You are incredible and car-ing people.You make our valley a great placein which to live, raise a family and work.Ourgratitude and best wishes.

Les KeeryCathleen McCourtJenny TempestLarry BlackJill KnausAnd the Roaring Fork HighSchool staff


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person makes important decisions on behalf of the town.“Mad” is what I feel, Jeannie, when I listen to people who have no economic back-

ground or that are not invested in Carbondale make comments that have no reason orforesight other than what serves their own personal interest, affected by what is goingon in their immediate surroundings, and give no thought to any kind of long-term eco-nomic or business sustainability.

“Mad,” Jeanie, is a large portion of prominent business owners who have investedin Carbondale and are concerned that if you say no to this project then you deem allcommercial land worthless as no one in their right mind would ever want to come intoCarbondale to invest and go through what Rich Schierburg has gone through, only towaste his money and time and be told “no” at the end no matter what he proposes todo with this land.

Send a messageCarbondale needs to send a very clear message that we are open for business and we

need people that can be visionaries and think long-term about how we actually sustainour town that we all care very much about. My family spends $4 in gas driving to CityMarket in El Jebel to shop at a nicer store.This is the equivalent of paying 1 percent ona grocery bill with the proposed tax on the new project that will be used to improveHighway 133. If we had a store that would compete with the far superior store in ElJebel then we would shop in Carbondale and Carbondale would receive our tax money,because 90 percent of all revenue generated by Carbondale comes from sales tax.

I would be more than happy to pay 1 percent to help improve Highway 133 as it re-ally needs work, and trade shopping in El Jebel if we had a decent store and we wouldbe improving Carbondale by doing that.

With Whole Foods coming to El Jebel, how is Carbondale supposed to keep peopleand our tax money in Carbondale with such an inferior store to shop at? The problemis we have a group of narrow-minded people in Carbondale that are anti-growth of anysort, anti-business development and anti-economic expansion and prosperity.They wantCarbondale to be sustainable, yet they don’t have any economically viable solutionsother than to say NO to anything that is proposed.

The new proposed store in Carbondale is one of the greenest state-of-the-art storesin the history of Colorado that is slated to be built. Furthermore, I can assure you thatLiz Murphy is very well educated and is also married to one of our leading surgeons inthe country, she is very far cry from being MAD or as you portray her, nor is she thisdreadful image that you imagine would appear in your article. She, like many of us,don’t want to be sitting around 10 years from now watching the cracks grow wider inthe roads with all the funds in the town gone and nobody wanting to invest in Car-bondale, while the people left behind just sit around and smoke pot.

So next time you take a crack at VCR, which we all need if that is not already evi-dent, come up with a solid plan and don’t just suggest you turn it into a Frisbee golfcourse because you sound like you have lost your marbles, and you must in fact beMAD to even suggest that.

You can be assured that there is a group formed to fight for this project as it is agood one and will improve our town and boost our revenue for future generations andcreate a solid tax base. Business breeds business Jeannie, and you would be MAD to ig-nore that in our current economic climate.

The Sopris Sun encourages commentaries on local issues from our readers.Remember: Keep your commentary local and keep it to 700 words, then dispatch itto [email protected] or P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623. Don’t forget totell us your name, phone number, where you live and any other pertinent informa-tion about yourself.

Guest commentary continued om page 2

There’s a distinctive house on Euclid sodarling we make detours to see what it’sbeen up to. It’s more than just the garden.It’s the entirety of it, from the lush bermsthat embrace it; to the richly coloredstonework of the lower story; to the hand-crafted wooden door with the rustedmetal details and gnarled branch handle.What draws me here, over and over?

I finally just introduced myself andasked if I could come explore. MartiBauer, the owner, welcomed me with a“Yes.” I was thrilled. As she showed mearound, I was struck by two things: Styleand History, merged. Marti has a back-ground in interior design. Her husbandChuck is was custom homebuilder inAspen now focusing on smaller projectsdown valley.

After 34 cozy years of family life in theadjacent Victorian, Marti and Chucktraded up, fomenting ideas with architectGavin Brooke of Land + Shelter, to startfresh. In the location of their former gar-den, they now live in a truly specialhome. Despite being small (as theywished), ceilings soar and natural lightflourishes. Gavin has designed a sculpture— not to look at, but within which to be.Walls aren’t dividers, they’re planes of

light and shadow, blank canvases forMarti to play with.

A large painting in warm reds fills thevertical stretch above the fireplace. “I al-ways wanted an AndyTaylor,” Marti said ofher favorite Carbondaleartist, so they designedthe heart of their homearound it. Atop the op-posite wall, tumblingdown to the kitchen, is aspecimen night bloom-ing cereus, grown fromcuttings she comparedto sour dough starter:“There are others intown too, all from thesame plant…It has themost sensuous bloom.So fragrant.” LikeMarti’s words, every de-tail, each finish, makes a statement. Noclutter...Sigh.

I can’t describe the interiors in standardterms like “the living room” or “the din-ing room.”They exist, but not as separatespaces. It’s designed as a whole, with thekitchen less a kitchen, more a stage. Nomatter where, you feel as though you’re in

the heart of the home and the focus isgathering. Gathering in a setting so calmlygorgeous, it feels like a cross between aboutique hotel and a private club; no pre-

tensions…Sigh.A composition of

windows to the southopens the entirety of theirhome to the new garden.It’s as well conceived asthe interiors, but in uttercontrast. Where every-thing inside is disciplinedand open, outside, Martiwanted enclosure. Iwalked out back and juststood there, absorbingthree decades of life, allof it artfully, organicallyarranged.

Ennis Fender (think“old timer”) had a shed

for decades. It’s now Marti’s fence, per-fectly matching their old chicken coop thatnow serves as an outdoor cooking areacum tool shed. The 8-12" wide planks, sil-vered and shaggy, are draped in relics fromtheir Williams Ranch days. Expansivestone terraces spill down to the house.Drystack walls hold back perennials and

spent vegetables.Wrought iron and wickersit stacked for the winter. I picture thecushions hibernating in the chicken coop.Planters are in various stages of undress.Antique signs and sculptures admit to ageand tastes. This yard could’ve been herefor decades.

I have been drawn to this property fora few years now. Rather than stand out asa paean to evolving tastes, Marti andChuck wanted their new home to be“Car-bondale,” to still belong to this neighbor-hood. Living only two houses away, Gavinunderstood the neighborhood spirit. In thegrounds, Marti carried on the legacy ofher old home and the gardens of herneighbors. Anne Chapman’s SweetWoodruff tiptoes through the fence rightinto Marti’s garden.

I can’t wait for spring. Now that I’vemet Marti, I won’t have to be so shy aboutpeering at the columbine or photograph-ing the changing seasons against herstonework. And it’ll be extra special,knowing their story.

Designed into their home is Aria’s Loft, awonderfully appointed rental apartmentperfect for your holiday guests. Ari-asloft.com for more information.

GettingGroundedBy Geneviève Joëlle

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To claim that the ancient Mayan culture of Mexico andCentral America developed a nuanced conception of timeis like saying the modern stock market is a complicatedfinancial instrument.

The Mayan calendars cover a multi-faceted collectionof linear and cyclical measurements that go back almost3,000 years as well as forward in time — however far youcare to extend them. Mayan astronomer-priests reckonedlunar, solar, planetary cycles and events,forecast eclipses, dealt with the plantingof crops as well as auguries, deities, andminor and major events of life in a cal-ibrated set of calendars and almanacsof remarkable accuracy.

There are Mayan calendars for hu-mans, for the gods, for crops, for ani-mals, even for insects. Amazing stuff,when you get into it.And it makes our namby-pamby, 12-month creation look like kindergarten art compared toMichelangelo.

That doesn’t mean the Mayans predicted that theworld would come to an abrupt halt in 2012, which issomething some people passionately believe. That notionis based on a misunderstanding of the Mayan Long Countcalendar, which simply concludes one era and begins an-other, the next b’ak’tun, in December of 2012. That’s it.Actually, according to Mayan tradition, the fact that we’vemade it through a cycle of the Long Count is cause forgreat celebration — the ultimate New Year’s bash. But justlike the Y2K silliness, the notion of a Mayan apocalypsefeeds on the American propensity to grab hold of any ra-tionale to believe the worst and dive into survival mode.

Wacky as the 2012 phobia is, the tendency to fall preyto this repeated world-ending cycle reveals somethingabout our understanding of how wrong we’ve gone. Inthat regard, the Mayans are onto something. Perhaps theend of this Long Count era is as good an excuse as anyto take stock and start the new cycle on a more reason-able footing.

Most of us realize that radical change is coming, if notunder way. The global economic structure seems at thebrink of collapse. Entire countries and massive corpora-tions hang on by dint of humongous bailouts. Our lifestyleis supported by an unsustainable juggernaut of cheap en-ergy, subsidized food and the flawed paradigm of limit-less growth. We’re ripping up tar sand deposits in Albertaat an ungodly cost to the environment and calling it our

energy strategy, and fracking shale layers far undergroundwith a stew of high-pressure water and chemicals and call-ing it our salvation. A simmering nuclear power disastercontinues in Japan. Millions of people can’t find work.

Then there’s the planet we live on, delivering weekly,not-so-subtle hints of payback. Maybe there is an apoca-lypse around that corner. It sure feels like it if you’re inthe path of a swarm of tornadoes in Alabama, or a roar-

ing fire in Arizona, or the flooding in theMississippi watershed. Never mind un-precedented volcanic unrest, earth-quakes, tsunamis, melting ice caps.

Our business-as-usual, don’t-worry-we’ll-figure-something-out strategy hasbeen to stay one step ahead of the con-sequences by building levees and dams,engineering super vegetables, fabricating

fuels, broadcasting pesticides, coming up with the latestvaccine and throwing technology willy-nilly at problems— all “solutions” that lead to unintended consequencesof their own. And the whole spaceship of humanity isstrained to bursting by the sheer weight of a populationthat requires the resources of roughly 1.5 planet Earthsjust to tread water.

So maybe the Mayan calendar and its 2012 cusp ofchange prediction is our chance to pay attention. At therisk of sounding oh-so-New-Age, maybe it’s high time fora new paradigm. Maybe, instead of calculating success bythe accumulation of toys and staving off catastrophe withthe latest techweenie band-aid, we might strive for alter-nate goals — things like taking time off, reading morebooks, playing catch with the kids, counting time aswealth, doing some gardening, enjoying friends, sittingquietly in the woods, paddling canoes, riding bikes.

Living smaller, and happier. Maybe respect could be-come a fundamental value — respect for each other, forthe rest of our biological neighborhood, for MotherEarth. Imagine. And remember what they say: At death’sdoor hardly anyone bemoans not spending more time attheir desk. What they bemoan is how little else they hadtime for. 2012 is right around the corner. What if it’s notThe End at all? What if it’s The Beginning? What will yoube doing?

Alan Kesselheim is a contributor to Writers on theRange, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He isa writer in Bozeman, Montana.

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Information may be obtained from, and Petitions orRemonstranceʼs may be filed with the Town ClerkCarbondale Town Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Car-bondale, CO 81623.

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WritersRange

By Alan KesselheimHigh Country News

onthe

“Wear a condom now, save the spotted owl,” reads one of the labels on a condomdistributed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the feisty and litigious conservationnon-profit that has offices throughout the West.

While other environmental groups dodge the sticky issue of over-population, thecenter — run by Kierán Suckling — says it is deter-mined to spur discussion about how many people areenough, because too many humans inevitably squeezeout wildlife, while our increasing numbers also con-tribute to global climate change. The center has beenvisiting college campuses to pass out its free condoms— “Wrap with care, save the polar bear,” says anotherlabel — and has also begun lobbying Congress and pay-ing for video ads at New York's Times Square, reportsThe New York Times.

Reducing unwanted pregnancies could have a hugeimpact on population, says John Bongaarts, a demog-rapher with the Population Council in New York, whoadds that it’s disappointing to see the “global warmingcommunity”back away from anything to do with pop-ulation control.

UtahAfter people in the town of Moab got to talking

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But before you rush to denounce Jones as a bigot, consider the fact that he’s beenhomeless himself for 26 years, spending every winter outdoors in the deserts or canyonsof southern Utah.

Jones said that he knew of only four people in Moab who were truly homeless, andthat they all received continuing help from churches or public assistance. He concludedthat he’d rather be poor and homeless in Moab than rich anywhere else, and in any case,he didn’t “need anybody’s roof or anybody’s pity.”

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season16 • THE SOPRIS SUN • DEcEmbER 8, 2011

Heardaroundthe westBy Betsy MarstonHigh Country News

By Andrew CohenSpecial to the Sopris Sun

After a morning tearing up our fingersclimbing Thompson Creek’s ice cold crag,we hike down to where the trail forks. Youcan follow the creek further north or youcan head back south to the trailhead.

“I guess this is where we part ways,”I say.“If you don’t see me by tomorrow night I’malong Thompson somewhere and youshould probably come looking. Might notbe back ‘till later in the day though, since Ihave to hitch a ride back to Carbondale.”

When I let my friends know I’m goingcamping by myself at Thompson Creek theytell me you always have to make us worry,its going to be cold, you ought to bring atent, a map, more food. I tell them it’ll befine. I like the attention anyway. It’s makingup for lost time growing up in the Connecti-cut suburbs, training for a looming“Into theWild” adventure except with less Jack Lon-don and less dying. It’s a break from people,computers, buildings and beds. However, Iwill bring my iPod.

I catch up to teenagers hiking on thenorthbound trail.“Stupid trails”I think, tak-ing the adventure out of everything. It petersout soon, and I continue along the creek intothe steep canyon. The rock bordering thewater becomes steeper and covered in ice soI have to go up the loose gravel slope. Mypack makes things difficult, getting caughton trees and in between rocks, causing meto teeter in fear and curse my hubris.

I stop on a ridgeline with barely enoughroom to lay down a tarp. This is where I’msleeping I guess. I bring my food up the pre-cipitous ridge about 30 yards to convincemyself I won’t get eaten by whatever moun-tain creatures live up here. Bears? Mountainlions? Elk? Moose?

I start a fire, cook my food, and stare atthe fins jutting out of the hillside to mynorthwest.The low angle sun brings out thecontours in the rock. I put my sweatshirtaround my legs for warmth. My seat bordersa slope down which a fall would almost cer-tainly mean death and I am not quite sure Ihave attained the tranquility I am seeking.

I make it until 7 p.m. before I retire to mysleeping bag.A shooting star darts across thesky. I tell myself I don’t believe in wishes soI wish for another one.

I look up at the Milky Way and the starsand try to think thoughts worthy of theirscrutiny, try to force myself into their grandimagination. I put on my headphones andwatch blinking planes inch across the sky. Ilisten to someone else wrest profound com-binations of words and sounds from ourshared feelings on the cosmos, the chaos in-side and the meticulous structure above. Imistake the rhythm of my own pulse forfootsteps of a ferocious beast creeping up be-hind me.

It wouldn’t be a bad way to go out, raptin musical bliss. Though if I do get eaten,please at least let it be during a good part ofthe song.

A night at ompson Creek

december 8, 2011

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