Brief by Central Staff

Real Estate – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Old property descriptions aren’t always accurate, as one Rob Brownlee discovered.

He bought some land that was supposed to be next to the Como Cemetery in South Park. A survey revealed that he’d actually bought into 5.5 acres of the 112-year-old cemetery, including occupied graves. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

The millennium should arrive in Salida with a bang — the Heart of the Rockies Chamber of Commerce has arranged for $5,000 worth of fireworks to be detonated on Tenderfoot Hill as 1999 draws to a close.

But even with the arrival of a new millennium (or century, or decade, or year), some familiar difficulties remain: time and money.

The money part is that “we need contributions to help defray the cost of the fireworks,” according to Anita Northwood, executive director at the chamber. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Weather – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

On account of the warm, dry weather, Smokey Bear hasn’t gone into hibernation yet.

Instead, fire restrictions were imposed Nov. 12 on eight Colorado counties by state and federal land managers, along with local sheriffs. In essence, all outdoor fires were banned, except those in developed campsites. Outdoor smoking was restricted to “an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material.” Read the rest of this article

Comic Strip by Clint Driscoll and Laura Ravenwood

Mountain Life – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine Read the rest of this article

Essay by Dana C. Jennings

School violence – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

I AM AS DISTURBED as the next person about the deadly mixture of guns and schools that has spilled across America in recent years. But I also know firsthand the violent feelings children can get when they are bullied and pushed around. I remember well the day in 1938 when I took a gun to school in the rural town of Cassoday, Kansas. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Rural Life – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHEN IT COMES TO FENCING, there are two standing jokes in the West.

One is about a greenhorn who can’t figure out who “Bob Wahrr” is. The other is about the urban refugee who calls a rancher to complain about the cows grazing his unfenced property.

Recently my friend Patrick was dealt the punchline on both. His property had become overrun with cows of unknown ownership due to a section of downed fence that had been obliterated by a flashflood during the previous summer. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Catherine Lutz

Snowslides – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Mining lore by its very nature must have some element of exaggeration, embellishment, or outright lying. Which of the following stories are completely true? Nobody really knows.

When an avalanche hit the Magna Charta Tunnel in 1884, two men were working in the blacksmith shop. Legend has it that one of the men was shot out of the shop like a cannonball, hurtling through a partition and landing fifty feet down the mountainside in a snow bank, unhurt. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Catherine Lutz

Mountain Lore – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Two prospectors came to Tomichi Valley long before there was any settlement, in the early 1860s. Legend has it that they found up to a pound of gold per man per day. But they were greedy, and stayed in the valley too long that season. Trying to return home as winter set in, they disappeared. Read the rest of this article

Article by Catherine Lutz

Mountain life – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

FRANK CULBERTSON hauls the last armful of wood from his backyard to the old stable that he uses as a woodshed. After making sure the twelve cords stored so far are neatly arranged, he takes off his work gloves and wipes his sweaty brow. On his way out of the stable, Frank checks on the inverter — the brain of his homemade hydroelectric system — to make sure it’s properly producing usable power for his home. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Local book – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Fairplay poet Laurie Wagner Buyer was in deepest Montana 25 years ago, spending her first Christmas away from her family. She had no money for gifts, and sent them a story: Little Dancing Fawn.

In 1997, her father lay dying at the Prospect Home Care and Hospice in Woodland Park. She asked if there was anything he wanted her to do. “Publish Little Dancing Fawn,” he said. Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0967286808[/amazon-product]Dog Training – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dogs Deserve Dialogue – Rover should hang on your words, not your leash
by Judy Moore
Published in 1999 by Tyke Publishing
ISBN 0967286808 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0963202804[/amazon-product]Review by Ed Quillen

Avalanches – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Living (and dying) in Avalanche Country
by John Marshall and Jerry Roberts
Published in 1993 by Simpler Way Book Co.
ISBN 0963202804 Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Local artists – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT’S PRODUCTION DAY at Crestone Candles, which today is housed in the kitchen of Susannah Ortego’s home in Moffat. Water is bubbling, wax is melting, candles are cooling, and the proprietor is wielding a propane torch. It’s cottage industry at its San Luis Valley best.

“I love making candles,” says Ortego. “It came to me, truly as a gift, out of the blue fifteen years ago. I had no prior knowledge or expertise or interest, for that matter, in candles.” Read the rest of this article

Letter from Monika Griesenbeck

Salida politics – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed and Martha,

Your thoughts on Salida’s government in your last issue were pretty much on the mark with one exception — OK, a few exceptions. The first one being that not all members of the city council folded all of the time. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Colorado Central – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

I’ve been meaning to thank Ed for those good guffaws I got when reading his description of the New West. Crestone is my favorite area for observing the courtship and nesting of Noveaurichicus occidentalis. They complain about gawkers, but you can placate them by tossing out a few mantras and asking (humbly) for directions to the Temple. Back East where I was raised, these critters nested in penthouses (later condos) and it wasn’t so easy to learn their habits; so it’s been a revelation. As I recall, those Eastern birds had more brains, but East and West alike are notable for their ability to thrive on a diet of flattery, preening, deceit and child-support. Western males like to coerce younger males into stacking strawbales, using mind-altering substances as bribes, but on the whole the short-haired redneck (Ranchicus occidentalis) seems to demonstrate more overall ability and cunning. Note their different tactic for straw. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Dar Sharp

Mobile homes – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Hello Quillens:

The Dewey Linze article [p. 2, October 1999] struck a chord. I am a closet trailer court dweller. I grew up in trailer houses because Dad was working on most of the dams along the Columbia River. Like gypsies we would travel from job to job, often keeping the same neighbors from Trailer Park to Trailer Park. We always owned our home. Wasn’t much but it was ours. When I left home the first thing I did was buy a small trailer and park it next to the college I was attending. I have never rented and I’m proud of that. When you rent you are just paying someone else’s mortgage. Read the rest of this article

Article by George Sibley

Gunnison Water – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

An Embarrassment of Riches

WHEN THE DISTRICT JUDGE decreed for the second time in 1998 that there was not enough water in the Upper Gunnison valley for the Union Park reservoir and diversion to the Front Range, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District Board was relieved. But they had no time to relax, because staring them in the face was a diligence hearing on the long-dormant Upper Gunnison Project. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Central Staff

Gunnison water – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

For those who don’t remember the tale, Gordias was a Phrygian king who secured a wagon to a pole with such an intricate knot that it seemed no one could untie it — until Zeus declared that whoever unraveled the Gordian knot would one day reign over a vast empire. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Central Staff

Gunnison Water – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Last month, we began the saga of water development in the Upper Gunnison River valley — from the main stem of the Gunnison River down through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (which became a National Park in late October). This story of water details a history of ever-mounting complexity — as thread upon thread of legal, political and economic maneuvers have been woven into an ever more unwieldy knot. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Western Life – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE CODE OF THE WEST is one of those phrases that has popped up frequently in recent years. In early November, it was the theme of the annual Headwaters Conference at Western State College in Gunnison. A couple of years ago, several Colorado counties adopted a statement of policy about rural life that they called “The Code of the West,” and we even published one that Montrose County didn’t adopt. At the moment, the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado in Boulder is collecting information for a handbook that might explain “The Code of the West” to new arrivals when it is published next year. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Cartography – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Don’t believe everything you find to read in a motel room.

We’re not talking about those Gideon Bibles, but about a slick full-color 64-page tourist guide called Western Colorado: The Spirit of Adventure, which we found in a Gunnison motel room last summer.

Since it’s for “Western Colorado,” we can understand why the map might omit the names of Central Colorado spots on the eastern slope like Leadville, Salida, an Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Wildlife – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine -

The major threat to wildlife habitat in Colorado is the ATV — the All Terrain Vehicle. That’s what Bob Caskey, regional wildlife manager, told the Park County Commissioners on Nov. 4.

It isn’t the ruts they leave, so much as “They’re carrying weed seeds up … creating a lot of resource and environmental damage.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Salida got on another list, one that presented 24 of “The West’s Best Cities” in the November edition of Sunset Magazine.

Other listed cities ranged from famous spots like Missoula, Boulder, and Portland to another old railroad town, Evanston, Wyo.

The Salida article was written by John Villani, who’s written about Salida before in The 100 Best Art Towns in America. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Local politics – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Chaffee County’s property owners are fairly diligent about paying their property taxes. We know that because the annual list of delinquent property taxes, which the law requires to be published in a local newspaper, was only one page long.

Around Central Colorado, Park County had the longest list — just over 15 tabloid newspaper pages of owner names, property descriptions, and taxes owed. Next was Saguache County, with 11+ pages. Lake County had nearly 6 pages, and Custer County had 2. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

from Capitol Hill Blue (a Republican newsletter in Washington) Oct. 16, 1999:

“Throughout the corridor of Western states bordering the Rocky Mountains and stretching from Canada to Mexico, there is a feeling of standing on high ground. … Gradually over the past decade, this region, once known for its politics of peace and environmentalism and sprinkled with independent though left-leaning leaders, has become America’s new conservative heartland. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Prisons – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Prison walls do not keep inmates from practicing their faith — the Colorado Department of Corrections identifies 53 different religions inside state facilities, and attempts to accommodate them as best it can while maintaining order and security.

The 1,289 inmates at the Buena Vista Correction Facility fall into six groups. Most are Protestant, followed by Roman Catholic and Islam. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Tourism – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Independence Pass, which connects Leadville to Aspen via Balltown and Twin Lakes, is the highest paved crossing of the Continental Divide in the United States at 12,095 feet.

The road, also known as Colo. 82, is a popular tourist route that puts people and money into the town of Twin Lakes when it’s open — generally from Memorial Day to the first part of October. It hasn’t been kept open in the winter since 1886, because the railroad reached Aspen the next year. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

If there was any consistent theme to this year’s election hereabouts, it was “don’t raise our taxes.”

Custer County voters turned down a $6.9 million school bond in this year’s election by a 60-40 margin. A tax increase for the library failed by a narrower margin, losing by just 34 votes.

In Saguache, a proposal to raise the town’s sales tax by one cent on the dollar was defeated 98-88. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – December 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Political Protest or Personal Grudge?

Someone stole a pickup belonging to a Rio Grande County Sheriff’s deputy and pushed it off a 250-foot cliff into Burro Creek. Deputy Glen Loveland’s ’97 truck was totaled. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Local Taxes – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN a bit perplexed by the notion of a property tax to pay for schools.

I drive a motor vehicle, and I’m taxed for the use of the road by way of licensing and registration. If I go to the landfill, I’m charged a fee. That seems fair.

But this school thing is different. I have no children, but as a property owner I must pay taxes for schools. In fact more than half of the property taxes I pay go to schools. It makes better sense to me that we should tax parents in order to pay for schools. Charge them a flat fee per head. Read the rest of this article

Article by Ed Quillen

Transportation – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

A FEW YEARS AGO, a billboard just east of Salida told westbound motorists on U.S. 50 that they were only 130 miles from “Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park” near Montrose, with the implication that Montrose was a great place to get a room, buy a meal, and otherwise participate in the tourist economy.

Whoever put up that billboard was jumping the gun — Black Canyon of the Gunnison was then a “National Monument,” rather than a “National Park.” Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]B0024947CC[/amazon-product]Review by Martha Quillen

Local authors – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Valley Voices: Passages – An Anthology of Central Colorado Writers
Copyright 1999
by Chaffee County Council on the Arts
ISBN B0024947CC Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]0965715906[/amazon-product]Review by Lynda La Rocca

Poetry – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Elephant’s Chiropractor
by David J. Rothman
Published in 1998 by Conundrum Press
Crested Butte, Colorado
ISBN 0965715906 Read the rest of this article

[amazon-product]1555661025[/amazon-product]Review by Jeanne Englert

Colorado lore – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado Place Names
by William Bright
Published by Johnson Books:
ISBN 1-55566-102-5 Read the rest of this article

Brief by Martha Quillen

Humor – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Here are some things to be thankful for this November 25th that you might not have thought of.

As always we can be thankful that we live in the Colorado Rockies, in a beautiful state, in a democratic nation. But this year we can be even more grateful that we don’t live in New York State where the choice seems to be narrowing down to Hillary Clinton versus Rudolph Giuliani. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Holidays – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, there’s something very odd about Thanksgiving. Even though Americans celebrate several holidays brought over from Europe, like Christmas and New Years, Thanksgiving is the oldest public holiday declared in the United States. Yet Thanksgiving has changed very little over the years. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Local Gossip – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors,

Summer reports of a bear incident at Valley View Hot Springs were about four miles misplaced. Informed sources hinted that the human contestant was a known bow hunter and speculated that he might have been goading the critter to stand on its hind legs and reveal some tender belly. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Paul Birholz

Colorado Central – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed and Martha,

I was forced to sit down this beautiful Sunday afternoon and clean up the place a little. During this process I did what every good procrastinator does and read every piece of mail and magazine I picked up from various piles. The best pile I found was the stack of Colorado Central issues that I hadn’t read yet — about 3 or 4! Read the rest of this article

Letter from Roger A.c. Williams

Law enforcement – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

I wish to complain about an annoying incident involving the Colorado Department of Corrections in Cañon City.

Having enjoyed a ride on the new Royal Gorge train on Sept. 24, followed by lunch in the depot, I walked up to the nearby state penitentiary to stretch my legs before the ordeal of the drive through Colorado Springs and Douglas County on I-25 and C-470 back to Boulder, and for a look at the place. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Gail Holbrook

Rural Life – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

To those who stole the Bonanza sign:

It’s a shame the Bonanza sign with its coyote and raven has been cut down and stolen. It is a hand-made bit of artwork that was given not just to the town but to everyone who enjoyed seeing it when they drove up this way. Stupid to take what already belonged to you and to all of us. Read the rest of this article

Article by George Sibley

Water – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

FOR THOSE WHO DREAM OF EMPIRE, there is the story of the Gordian knot. Gordias was a peasant in Phrygia, one of those little Asia Minor kingdoms back about Minus-Y1K. His people chose him to be king. His only notable feat was to dedicate his wagon to Zeus, which wagon he tied to a pole with an intricate knot — a knot so intricate that someone (Zeus, I hope) said that whoever was able to unravel the knot would go on to reign over an Asian empire. Alexander of Macedonia — on his way to becoming Alexander the Great — came along and undid the knot with a stroke of his sword. Alexander went on to create an empire that stretched all the way from Greece to somewhere around India, where he died of alcoholism. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Martha & Ed Quillen

Salida Politics – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

JUDGING BY OUR INFORMAL yard-sign survey, Dick Heitman leads the other two candidates for mayor of Salida to replace Ralph Taylor, who’s stepping down after only one term.

The major issue appears to be a performance audit of the police department, which the city council approved on a 4-2 vote.

Heitman opposed it, which got him an endorsement from Mike Sanchez, assistant police chief, who wrote a letter to Salida’s Mountain Mail newspaper: Read the rest of this article

Brief by Robert Birney

Humor – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

You know you live in Colorado when…

You carry your $3,000 mountain bike on top of your $500 car. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Tourism – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

On account of its altitude and climate, Leadville celebrates St. Patrick’s Day about six months earlier (or later) than the rest of the world does.

That is, the Irish are honored on March 17 everywhere else, but Leadville holds St. Patrick’s Practice Day on the weekend closest to Sept. 17 — six months away, and generally a better day for a parade in the Cloud City than March 17 (although Leadville also celebrates the original holiday). Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Prohibition – November 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

Within living memory, Big Brother might have picked up a six-pack for Little Brother if Little Brother wasn’t of age. Now Big Brother is watching in Leadville.

It’s called “Operation Stop.”

Thirteen shops that sell take-out alcohol were able to install or upgrade their surveillance cameras, thanks to a grant from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. Read the rest of this article