Colorado Central Articles From — December 2001

Column by Hal Walter

Rural Life – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHEN I OWNED A 100-year-old farmhouse in booming downtown Wetmore several years ago, one of the biggest problems I had was people speeding past my house.

The house itself sat right on the chipsealed county road and one of the front rooms, a porch which had been glassed in, served as my office. The main street in Wetmore parallels Highway 96, and many people take this back road to the post office or general store. While I was working in my office I would watch while many of these drivers zipped through the clearly marked 15 mph “Children Playing” zone. Read the rest of this article

Juan Bautista de Anza – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Anza’s 1779 Comanche Campaign
by Ron Kessler
Second Edition
Published in 2001 by Adobe Village Press
ISBN 0-9644056-3-6 Read the rest of this article

Wildlife – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Cutthroat and Campfire Tales – The Fly-Fishing Heritage of the West
by John H. Monnett
Published in 2001 by University Press of Colorado
ISBN 0-87081-569-5 Read the rest of this article

Colorado – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Colorado Almanac – Facts About Colorado
by Thomas J. Noel
Published in 2001 by West Winds Press
ISBN 1558685987 Read the rest of this article

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Sept. 11 events – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado Central,

A whole gaggle of writers, myself included, have been scratching around in the dirt of recent events in search of the kernel of truth, and Columbine Quillen may have got the best one (your November issue) as she gives the mountain-girl’s perspective on New York as a cocoon of 24-hour-convenience. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Greg Veatch

Sept. 11 – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Editor:

Summer seemed to have flown by in the wink of an eye. A beautiful fall was upon us and time was moving forward. Then our day was interrupted by the evils of 9-11. In hopes of putting that frightening day behind us, or to at least provide some temporary delay in the impending changes that our country and our individual lives faced, we decided it would be best to spend a day in the high country, rod, reel and dogs in tow. Read the rest of this article

Letter from John Cassella

Sept. 11 – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editor:

Several times this nation has asked its young citizens to sacrifice their lives. If the WAR ON TERRORISM is the crisis we are told it is, why not ask the richest 2 percent of Americans to sacrifice some of their wealth? Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Colorado Central – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Neil Seitz, point taken: the averages should have been calculated by using the number of teachers, not schools. But I blame this entirely on Edward. Personally, I avoid averaging anything in a story with so many numbers — figuring that there’s already room for ample errors without me adding my calculations — but Ed loves numbers. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Neil Seitz

School election article – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors,

First the good news. I have thoroughly read and enjoyed your magazine for many years. I find myself very much connected with your articles from my background of planning commission, hot springs, schools and land trust in Saguache County. Someday I hope to see an article about the aspect of growth that concerns just the sheer number of people without regard to wealth, houses etc. You might say a Planned Parenthood approach. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Dick Conway

Dictionary – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Colorado Central,

Well, Columbine may be a young squirt, but it seems that the cosmopolitan editors would know that “wallah” is really spelled “voila.”

I’m one of your distant readers, having retired to Port Townsend, Washington, from Lamar. Phil Doe sent me a gift sub and he keeps renewing it. If he ever stops, I’ll send my own money. I miss Colorado and I love reading about Salida and things we don’t have here, such as snowstorms. Your description of last spring’s blizzard brought it all to life. Read the rest of this article

Article by Mary Woods

Local Arts – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHERE IN THE WORLD could a neophyte violinist and wannabee-Texas-fiddler be welcomed into the ranks of a serious classical orchestra? The same place where teachers, miners, nurses, librarians, veterinarians, attorneys, students, retired military, media professionals, and oh yes, professional musicians, also devote their time and creative skills to producing orchestral music.

In the Upper Arkansas Valley. In the Alpine Orchestra. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Changing times – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

SOME WRITER whose name I forget but whose talent I envy remarked that September 11 is like “the elephant in the room.” There may be other things in the room that you really should pay attention to — perhaps you should be cleaning the room or tending to the pile of unanswered letters and unpaid bills on the table — but instead you keep glancing at the elephant. Everything else seems unimportant or irrelevant, even if it isn’t. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

The first, the 1832 Tierra Amarilla grant, was mostly in what is now New Mexico, but a small portion protruded into what would later become Archuleta and Conejos counties in Colorado. It went to Manuel Martinez and his sons and associates.

The Conejos grant followed in 1833 and included much of the western half of the San Luis Valley, including Conejos and Rio Grande counties. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

SAN LUIS (formerly known as Culebra and San Luis de Culebra) is generally recognized as Colorado’s oldest town because it was founded — sort of — in 1851. But its history goes back even further than that.

After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, officials started worrying about the northernmost reaches of their territory, which at that time stretched past the mighty peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the distant banks of the Arkansas River. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Kenneth Jessen

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

References

Bauer, William H. et al. Colorado Post Offices, Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, Colorado, 1990, pp. 38, 48, 59, 98.

Campbell, Rosemae Wells. From Trappers to Tourists: Fremont County 1830-1950, Century One Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1972, pp. 7-8, 10, 14-19, 25, 65. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Martha Quillen

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

It’s impossible to say how many settlements there were before San Luis was founded. Some communities were abandoned almost as soon as they were founded, and many were known by several names. Communities also sported similar names, like Culebra — with “San Francisco” and “San Antonio” being particular favorites. Read the rest of this article

Article by Kenneth Jesson

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

FOR MANY YEARS, San Luis has been heralded as Colorado’s oldest town, but there were towns in what would one day become Colorado 700 years before San Luis was founded in 1851. Located in Montezuma County, just north of the New Mexico border, there are a large number of abandoned settlements that could be regarded as Colorado’s oldest towns. The most spectacular of them are located in Mesa Verde National Park. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Pack-burro racing – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Pack-burro racers celebrated the end of the 2001 season on Oct. 20 with a six-mile run around Turquoise Lake, followed by the annual awards banquet, held this year at the Boom Town Brew Pub in nearby Leadville.

They honored two winners of the Triple Crown. The prize goes to a runner who finishes first with the same burro in the Fairplay, Leadville, and Buena Vista races. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Avalanches – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

We would generally find it easier to believe that there were UFOs in Saguache County than that there was a stoplight. But we saw the stoplights with our own eyes on Nov. 11 in bustling Villa Grove. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Writing – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

If you’re a woman in the West and you’ve got a true story about the role of women and community, then there are three editors who’d like to hear from you.

The editors are Linda M. Hasselstrom, Gaydell Collier, and Nancy Curtis, who have produced two similar anthologies: Woven on the Wind and Leaning into the Wind. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Rural Health – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Marlboro Man is still too active in Central Colorado, according to the state health department, which issued the results of a two-year study on Nov. 5.

The department’s definition of Central Colorado differs from ours — it covers Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Teller counties in addition to our Chaffee, Custer, Frémont, and Park, and it omits Saguache and Gunnison. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Avalanches – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Since Central Colorado is cow country, anthrax isn’t exactly a novelty. But the deadly white powder in the mountains doesn’t usually come in envelopes.

Instead, it falls from the sky as snow — that can accumulate and then slide in a suffocating avalanche. “Homeland security” here takes the form of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which is in its 19th year of public education and forecasting. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Law enforcement – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

District Attorney Ed Rodgers may face a recall election in the 11th Judicial District, which comprises Chaffee, Custer, Frémont, and Park counties.

Rodgers made a decision that didn’t sit well in some quarters: he accepted a plea-bargain in a murder case instead of seeking the death penalty. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Public Land – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

We often hear various rural county commissioners complain about the federal government, but we haven’t heard of any county government that doesn’t cash the federal PILT checks.

PILT is an acronym for Payment In Lieu of Taxes. Governments can’t tax other governments, and so federal land is exempt from local property taxes. But county governments still incur costs when they serve public lands with law enforcement, search and rescue, and the like. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Salida chamber – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

While our general outlook may not resemble that of a chamber of commerce, we work with many chambers, and since we’re in Salida, that’s the one we work with the most.

And we’ll miss working with Anita Northwood, executive director of the Heart of the Rockies Chamber of Commerce for the past seven years.

As of Nov. 30, she’s leaving for Idaho to be the executive director of the botanic gardens in Ketchum, which is just across the road from Sun Valley. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Cow Country – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

“And then there’s anthrax. The media feel under attack, especially television. After all, we’re a primary target — not accidentally, I’m sure. To use the old line, news is something that happens to an editor — a major reason for the anthrax obsession. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Outdoor recreation – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Small ski areas come and go, almost like mining camps. That analogy certainly holds for Conquistador near Westcliffe, whose site is now undergoing reclamation, just like an old mine.

But sometimes there are revivals, like the one proposed for Cuchara Mountain Resort on the west side of the Spanish Peaks south of La Veta. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Wildlife – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

We shouldn’t have to worry about bears until about April, according to local wildlife officer Ron Dobson.

He said the last foraging bruins — in town, anyway — were reported during the last week of October.

By November, “they’ve put on all the weight they’re going to put on, and they’re heading for their dens.” They may not hole up right away, though. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

No Lightin’ Up

Alamosa voters passed a referendum banning smoking in restaurants and other public places. The measure had been voted down by the city council before being put on the ballot. Good news, Ed — puffin’ is still allowed in bars! Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Local politics – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

If there was a pattern in this year’s “off-year” election, it escaped us. Some tax increases passed, others failed. Some incumbents were tossed out, others were retained by substantial margins. So if you’re looking for one of those analytical “mood of the electorate” articles, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

In and around Salida, the big issue was the mill-levy override for School District R-32-J, to increase pay all across the board. It passed, but by only 20 votes: 1,769 to 1,469. Read the rest of this article

Comic Strip written by Clint Driscoll and illustrated by Judie Moorhead

Mountain Life – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine Read the rest of this article

Column by George Sibley

Rural economics – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

CARGO CULTS. At yet another early morning Economic Development Board emergency airline meeting, that’s what I found myself thinking about.

During World War II, the great American war machine dropped out of the sky onto some Pacific islands that were inhabited only by some remnant Stone Age peoples. We went in with bulldozers and carved runways out of the jungle, flying big cargo planes in and out to support the island-hopping war against Japan. Then, a few months later, as the war moved on, the runways were abandoned. Read the rest of this article

WATER AND GROWTH IN COLORADO

This new report is based on approximately 70 interviews with a “who’s who” of Colorado water leaders as well as a review of recent water studies in the state. The 191-page study focuses primarily on legal and policy issues associated with Colorado water management, and includes chapters on trans-basin diversions, environmental protection, water quality management, and interstate obligations. Solution strategies explored in detail include new development, water reallocation, and conservation and efficiency strategies. These subjects are discussed in the context of rapid population growth–a phenomenon facing most of the arid and semi-arid western states. Read the rest of this article