Colorado Central Articles From — June 2007

Column by Hal Walter

Nature – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

MRS. HAVEY GAVE THE WORD and the children poured out of the classroom onto the playground and charged toward Spike. I feared the worst, as Spike has not been known for his predictability, despite winning four World Championship Pack-Burro Races. Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Roadside Attraction – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

CALLING THE COLONEL PFEIFFER grave site a roadside attraction is a bit inaccurate. Although the signs guiding visitors to the site begin on U.S. 160, the trek is a little more challenging than just pulling off the highway. But that’s only fitting for a man whose life was filled with challenges. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Agriculture – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors,

John Mattingly’s continuing series on small farm economics has been most welcome and given us much food for thought. Several subsidies and benefits he describes might seem like a good thing — and yet they are probably small potatoes indeed compared to the benefits our system doles out to the big players in our economy, including oil, agribiz, and defense industries. Small farmers, for example, are hardly the only ones to benefit from state-funded education, price supports, or other programs put forward by well-funded lobbies. Read the rest of this article

Letter from John Sturtz

Colorado Central – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ed and Martha,

An excellent Letter from the Editors in your May 2007 edition.

Salida retains its small town simplicity because it is still somewhat isolated from the cities of Colorado Springs and Denver. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Neil Reich

Transportation – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Enjoyed your article in the May issue on the return of steam operations on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad. This should help build ridership on what is already a beautiful railroad experience. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Hal Walter

Colorado Central – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Quillen,

This is to inform you that I have consulted my team of legal experts regarding potentially libelous statements published in the “Correspondence” section ofColorado Central Magazine in the May 2007 issue. Dennis Sprecher of Centennial “Ranch” made defamatory and false accusations and assertions in his letter that we simply cannot let slide. Read the rest of this article

Education – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Ravenhill
by Timothy Hillmer
Published in 2007 by University of New Mexico Press
ISBN 0826339859 Read the rest of this article

Environment – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Lead Astray: Inside An EPA Superfund Disaster
by Peter Samuel
Published in 2002 by Pacific Research Institute
ISBN 0-936488-86-7 Read the rest of this article

Local Life – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

That Crazy Lady Down the Road
by Judy Messoline
published by Earth Star Publications, 2005
ISBN 0-944851-14-2 Read the rest of this article

Column by John Mattingly

Agriculture – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

AFTER HE GRADUATED from college, I offered to give my son a circle in the San Luis Valley. Farmers in the Valley refer more to how many circles they’re farming than how many acres. A circle is a 120-140 acres irrigated by a center pivot system, usually in the middle of a quarter section (160 acres). I’d owned and farmed 11 circles, but had started a gradual road to retirement by selling seven of the circles over the previous three years. The circle I offered my son was one of the four remaining circles I intended to sell in the coming two years. The gift circle was about 130 acres under a late model Zimmatic pivot. Read the rest of this article

Essay by George Sibley

Education – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

I’M FINISHING UP a couple of decades in higher education this year. Yes, after 19 years at Western State College in Gunnison, I’m finally graduating. For the most part, this has been an excellent experience. Teaching has been interesting and usually enjoyable; the faculty have been good to work with; and the college gave me a lot of encouragement and freedom in developing programs to build better connections with the larger “headwaters” region. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Mountain Life – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, someone tells me I should take up “blogging.” The term comes from “web log,” wherein somebody posts relatively brief observations and invites comments. Readers add their comments, then there are comments on comments, etc. Some blogs are pretty interesting, while others are tedious or worse, and many degenerate into ranting and name-calling. But the “blog” concept has its charms — since there are so many topics which seem to deserve some commentary but hardly seem worthy of a long essay. Read the rest of this article

Article by Marcia Darnell

Theatre – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

CREEDE REPERTORY THEATRE is celebrating its 42nd season in regal — and matrimonial — style. CRT longtime regular Diana Dresser will marry on the stage May 26. CRT Creative Director Maurice LaMee says the company and the town of Creede are agog over the nuptials. Read the rest of this article

Cartoon by Jack Chivvis

Modern Life – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine Read the rest of this article

Brief by John Orr

Water – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Aurora water storage and exchange contract not popular with everyone

The city of Aurora owns extensive water rights on the Arkansas River and often uses exchanges to manage its water assets. But Aurora is on South Platte drainage, so sometimes the city’s plans conflict with the desire of water officials on the Arkansas River who are working to keep water from being moved out-of-basin. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Home Sweet Home Under Construction

On May 5, Sergeant Christopher Fesmire and his wife, Willow, attended a ceremony at the site of their new home, which is currently under construction southwest of Hartsel. Their home is being built by Homes For Our Troops, a program that provides housing for disabled veterans. The homes are designed with wheelchairs in mind and equipped with modern devices to make life easier. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Wilderness – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

A filmmaker has been refused permission to make movies of Chris Davenport skiing down 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado.

Ben Galland had sought a permit to film Davenport skiing on the peaks. Filming had already occurred on Castle Peak and possibly others in the Elk Range. All are located within federally designated wilderness areas. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Geography – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Want to get away from it all? If remoteness is defined by the absence of roads, then Hinsdale County, located in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, is the most remote place in the lower 48 states. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Mountain Life – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council has prohibited either a U.S. flag or, for that matter, a tribal flag, on top of construction cranes on the reservation, located in the Four Corners area. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Public Health – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

This isn’t a good year to have rodents around. Squirrels in Denver have been killed by the plague, and an Alamosa woman was killed by hantavirus. Both diseases are spread by rodents.

On May 7, the Alamosa County Nursing Service announced the 28-year-old woman’s death, but did not provide many details, such as her name, the date of her death, or how she became infected. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Valley Visitors

Intrepid travelers Jose Madeira and Bernardo Maia came to Alamosa from East Timor to learn about fish farming. The pair toured aquaculture centers in the area. The 5-year-old nation has been ravaged by war and has an unemployment rate of nearly 50 percent. Madeira and Maia hope aquaculture can provide jobs, food, and stability for their country. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Top-of-the-Rockies Scenic Byway will be about 40 miles longer, thanks to a recent decision by the Colorado Department of Transportation. The designation will now extend from Twin Lakes over 12,095-foot Independence Pass through Aspen to the Maroon Creek bridge west of town. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Transportation – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Next month marks a 40th anniversary. On July 27, 1967, the last regularly scheduled passenger train ran between Salida and Denver on the Denver & Rio Grande Western. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Sharon O’toole

Environment – June 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

IMAGINE A PROPOSAL to scatter millions of pounds of poisoned meat around the United States, close to human populations. Much of it would be accessible to scavengers including eagles, hawks, coyotes, foxes and badgers, as well as to dogs and cats. An animal feeding on the poisoned meat would probably die. Read the rest of this article