Colorado Central Articles From — March 1998

Column by Hal Walter

Wildlife – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

I HAD SHOT PLENTY OF MICE in the house before. But this one was different.

From my office I heard the snap of the trap in the utility room, and then some struggling. You never want to go look immediately. Even when the bar strikes the mouse right behind the neck, sometimes it takes a little while for it to die. But this time the scuffling in the utility room didn’t stop. I knew the mouse trap had not sprung cleanly. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Jim Ludwig

Mining Memories – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT WAS A TYPICAL Wisconsin damp spring day in 1950 when John and I arrived at my folks home in Stetsonville. We were on our way to pick up Pa and take him with us to Mercer for some spring walleye fishing. As usual, Ma had food on the table when we arrived, and the Leinenkugel beer in the garage was cool and refreshing. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Small-town life – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

AT A MEETING in Denver nearly four years ago, I joked that development hereabouts was turning us into the easternmost gated suburb of Los Angeles — a protected enclave for people of means who prefer to live only among people like themselves.

But that isn’t entirely a joke, and it isn’t just happening to us. It’s a national phenomenon, as explained by a recent article in The Washington Post: Racial segregation is diminishing in America, but income segregation is rising. Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1882308212[/amazon-product]Review by Ken Wright

Skiing – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Deep Powder Snow – 40 Years of Ecstatic Skiing, Avalanches, and Earth Wisdom
by Dolores LaChapelle
Published in 1993 by Kivaki Press
ISBN 1-882308-21-2 Read the rest of this article

Review by Ed Quillen

Survival – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Preparing for Catastrophe on a Budget
by Bruce LaRue
Published in 1998
by Blue Forest Books, PO Box 177, Salida

No ISBN Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0813332923[/amazon-product]Review by Riff Fenton

Rural Culture – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazin

Harvest of Rage – Why Oklahoma City is Only the Beginning
by Joel Dyer
published in 1997 by Harper Collins / Westview Press
ISBN 0-8133-3292-3 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0684846179[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Western History – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Big Trouble – A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America
by J. Anthony Lukas
Published in 1997 by Simon & Schuster
ISBN 0684846179 Read the rest of this article

Essay by Mark Matthews

The Art Scene – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

BEFORE I BECAME A JOURNALIST, I was a sculptor. While living in Maine, my work dominated the floor space of many galleries from Kennebunkport to Portland to Blue Hill. After moving to Montana, I had shows scattered across the West, in Seattle and Spokane, Wash., Santa Fé and Truches, N.M., Palm Desert, Calif., and Big Fork and Kalispell, Mont. Read the rest of this article

Article by Rayna Bailey

Local Artists – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

INSPIRED BY IMAGES taken from nature, and working with silver, animal fetishes, natural stones, imported glass beads, and satin cording, Beckie Kagan designs jewelry that she calls wearable art.

“I grew up in the country,” says Kagan, a Leadville native. Read the rest of this article

Article by Allen Best

Journalism – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

LEADVILLE, once a parent to Summit County in the news business, has become its child. The Summit Daily News is issuing a Leadville edition on Fridays, turning the tables from 30 years ago.

The flip-flop illustrates the gravitational shift of money and influence in the region. Interstate 70 has supplanted the Denver & Rio Grande as the defining transportation corridor. Payrolls now come from recreation instead of mining. Ski slopes instead of mining stopes define this new world. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Livestock – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

CATTLEMEN ARE SUPPOSED to be brave enough to go grizzly hunting with a willow switch, mean enough to tackle a buzz saw bare-handed, and tougher than boot leather. And that goes double if they’re from Texas. But it turns out that Lone Star cowboys are a bunch of wimps who can be reduced to quivering terror by an afternoon television talk show. Read the rest of this article

Essay by George Sibley

Western Culture – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Think of two world views coming together with completely different views of the universe, and of nature. A lot of times when we speak of the meaning of cultures, we forget that beyond the initial clash emerges a new view of the world….

– Rudolfo Anaya Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Local Life – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

At one point last summer, we were speculating that the Salida city government would find a way to charge residents for each breath of air.

Then we saw a story in the Crested Butte Chronicle & Pilot about a new tavern in that resort: an oxygen bar. O2 Bar patrons could settle into an easy chair and order up, not alcohol or caffeine, but a mask connected to a tank providing straight oxygen, which presumably reduces some of the hypoxic ailments caused by the thin air at high elevations. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Growth – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Is the state government secretly working to end this boom?

The most important reasons for businesses to locate in Colorado are quality of life and quality of workforce. That’s the conclusion of a poll conducted recently by the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.

Ranking right behindwere the state’s tax structure, surface transportation system, and K-12 education system. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Feds may take another look at rail merger

As we went to press, it appeared that the federal Surface Transportation Board will take another look at the merger between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads which it approved in 1996.

The merger meant the abandonment of the old Denver & Rio Grande main line across Tennessee Pass in Central Colorado. No through trains have run since August, although there’s sporadic service to haul concentrates from the Asarco Black Cloud Mine near Leadville. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Outdoors – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

If you don’t want to strain local treasuries in the event that you venture outdoors and require search or rescue, the state has a deal for you.

It’s the “Colorado Hiking Certificate,” and it costs only $1 at Division of Wildlife offices and most license outlets. Of that dollar, 75¢ goes to the Non-Game and Endangered Wildlife Fund, and 25¢ to a search-and-rescue fund used to reimburse rural sheriff’s departments for those expenses. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Good-bye, Sun

The Sunshine Festival, arguably the San Luis Valley’s biggest event, is leaving Alamosa. The festival’s committee has been at loggerheads with the city council over vendor fees, park rental fees and electrical fees. Organizers and vendors say the fees are too high, while the city says the costs of police protection and sanitation aren’t completely covered by those fees. Vendors at similar events in Grand Junction, Fort Collins and Denver are not charged fees. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

History – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Historic Designation Study Starts on Old Spanish Trail

The National Park Service has started a study to determine whether the Old Spanish Trail should be designated a National Historic Trail.

The Old Spanish Trail dates to the early 19th century, and took several routes, including some through the San Luis Valley, to get from Santa Fé to Los Angeles. Other national historic trails include the Oregon, Pony Express, Mormon Pioneer, and Santa Fé trails. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida politics – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

City loses appeal, so loitering remains legal in Salida

Salida’s controversial loitering law, enacted last summer, may be consigned to the dustbin of history. Two local judges have found it unconstitutional, and the city council — five of its six members took office in January — has started a repeal process. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Don Olsen

Rural Life – March 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

OUR COUNTY in rural western Colorado is considering the establishment of building-code regulations. In more urbanized areas of the West (i.e. Aspen, Jackson Hole, Ketchum, Flagstaff) this probably isn’t such a big deal. But in Delta County, where an old trailer set on cinder blocks is considered Martha-Stewart-Style living, building codes are about as welcome as a United Nations contingent searching for new world heritage sites. Read the rest of this article