Colorado Central Articles From — November 2008

Article by Charles F. Price

History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

ON APRIL 29, 1863, the bodies of five of the six men murdered by the Espinosas in South Park were buried in a little cemetery atop a windblown hill behind the town of Fairplay — where they still rest today. A few days later on May 3, a group of vigilantes, under the command of miner John McCannon, gathered there to pay respects to the slain before setting out to avenge them. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Wildlife – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

For decades wildlife researchers have been trying to figure out the roadkill equivalent of a better mousetrap. They’ve tried tall fences to keep deer and elk off highways, and they’ve tried signs to warn motorists to slow down.

So far, nothing short of very expensive wildlife overpasses works very well in keeping apart car hoods and deer hooves. And despite what you may have heard, there’s no scientific studies to back up the claims of those sonic deer-whistles you could buy at Wal-Mart. Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Mountain Life – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

IT WOULD BE FAIRLY EASY at this point to go on a rant about the presidential race, the new welfare for bankers program or the ongoing economic crisis, which only means some people with money now have a glimpse of the same black hole I’ve been staring down my entire adult life.

Frankly, I’d rather write about something that actually matters, like food, friends and this season of change we call fall, but in some way I suppose it all ties together. Read the rest of this article

Mining – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Mining Law of 1872: Past, Politics, and Prospects
by Gordon Morris Bakken
Published in 2008 by University of New Mexico Press
ISBN 978-0-8363-4356-7 Read the rest of this article

Biography – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Wallace Stegner and the American West
by Philip L. Fradkin
Published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 978-1-4000-4391-0 Read the rest of this article

Tourism – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Backroads & Byways of Colorado Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions
by John Daters & Drea Knufken
Published in 2008 by the Countryman Press
ISBN 978-0-88150-787-4 Read the rest of this article

Article by Jennifer Dempsey

Local Artist – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

SALIDA ARTIST Ross Elgin has had a successful pottery business for more than 30 years. But last month when he was called for an interview, he was more focused on the economy than his pottery line, Igneous Earth Works.

“I need to watch this bailout decision,” the 56-year-old said. “Can I call you back in half an hour?” Read the rest of this article

Letter from Carol Hill

Economy – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editor:

Regarding our current financial crisis, I would like to share a couple of excerpts from one of my favorite books: Read the rest of this article

Letter from Steve Hart

Christo – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

To the editor:

That the long article on page 16E of the October 5 Sunday Denver Post on Christo’s “Over the River” project was by a young reporter for the Associated Press and not a Denver Post reporter or columnist was interesting. It was also interesting that the article included discussion of an exhibit to celebrate the project called “Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Over the River, a Work in Progress” to be held at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. It appears that there is more interest outside Colorado in covering six miles of the Arkansas River between Salida and Canon City with fabric than there is in Colorado. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Charles F. Price

History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Books:

Dyer, J.L., The Snow-Shoe Itinerant, Cranston & Stowe, 1890 (Reprint).

Malkoski, Paul A., ed., This Soldier Life: The Diaries of Romine H. Ostrander, 1863 and 1865, Colorado Territory, Colorado Historical Society, 2006 Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Central Staff

History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

CREEDE LINE CHRONOLOGY

1878: Narrow-gauge Denver & Rio Grande reaches Alamosa.

1881: Alamosa to South Fork, narrow-gauge. Read the rest of this article

Column by John Mattingly

History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

In mid-September, the west side of downtown Creede was a jumble of railroad ties sticking up from gravel and dirt like randomly dropped pickup-sticks, the rail irons stacked off to the side.

It was a curious sight. At a time when rail transport offers significant economy for moving both people and cargo, why would anyone be tearing out a spur that led into the heart of downtown Creede? Read the rest of this article

Column by George Sibley

Modern Life – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

OF ALL THE GREAT INDULGENCES of the 20th century, “Books on CDs” is one of my favorites — combined with that greatest of all indulgences, the automobile at its current exalted, and possibly terminal, state of development. The combination makes the Interstate 80 limboid across the Great Plains literarily disappear. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Ed Quillen

Politics – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

BY THE TIME this arrives in your mail, early voting will have already started in Colorado. I’ll likely take advantage of it, given the length of this year’s ballot and thus the likelihood of long lines at the polling place. Read the rest of this article

Article by Allen Best

History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

THREE INDIVIDUALS, each in a different way seminal to the Colorado ski industry, have died this year. “They were a different breed,” some have said, which may be true. But the landscape was also different when D.R.C. Brown, Earl Eaton, and Merrill Hastings came of age after World War II, sowing their seeds and wild ambitions, helping make Colorado the center of North American skiing and the new amenity-based economy that now has such a grip on large portions of the West. Read the rest of this article

Article by John Orr

Water – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Drought management and climate risk

In October Governor Ritter hosted the “Governor’s Conference on Managing Drought and Climate Risk” in Denver. According to the Rocky Mountain News, attendees were treated to information on historical droughts along with predictions about the effects of climate change on future water supplies. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Wildlife – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

For decades wildlife researchers have been trying to figure out the roadkill equivalent of a better mousetrap. They’ve tried tall fences to keep deer and elk off highways, and they’ve tried signs to warn motorists to slow down.

So far, nothing short of very expensive wildlife overpasses works very well in keeping apart car hoods and deer hooves. And despite what you may have heard, there’s no scientific studies to back up the claims of those sonic deer-whistles you could buy at Wal-Mart. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Mining – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Another mining company has stepped up to the plate, this time paying at least $500,000 to take a swing at that gigantic molybdenum deposit within the bowels of Mt. Emmons, the mountain literally in Crested Butte’s backyard. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Energy – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Micro Hydro in the river

Water officials in Gunnison County are looking into the possibility of small hydroelectric projects, also called microhydro. Unlike the big dams that block streams, the microhydro technology allows the power of moving water to be harnessed to produce electricity, but often with no evidence of the turbine within the stream or creek. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Martha Quillen

Local News – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Busy Beetles

The Leadville Herald Democrat recently reported that a forest-health workshop in Washington DC cited pine beetles as presenting a potentially serious national crisis. National worries were about deadfall and major fires destroying power lines and thereby causing major power outages across the western United States. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

VIP Visit

Alamosa is officially on the map. The political map. International diplomat Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, made an appearance at the Alamosa Farmers Market.

The Guv was there to campaign for Barack Obama and encourage voter registration. He reviewed Obama’s plans for improving the economy and human rights, and noted McCain’s position to renegotiate water compacts in the West. He stated that New Mexicans have coined a new term for electing the senator from Illinois: Obamanos! Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Sports – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

A delegation of 165 people from Colorado — including Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper — visited Vancouver, B.C., recently to talk about renewable energy and other topics, but especially the Olympics.

Vancouver and Whistler are hosting the 2010 Olympics, and it will be at Sochi, Russia, in 2014. Some in Denver, however, have been talking about a bid for 2018. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Recreation – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Instead of wielding sticks, the U.S. Forest Service is offering carrots to motorized users who use the San Juan National Forest. The proof of this carrot pudding will be whether motorized users self-police themselves. If not, says the Durango Telegraph, the federal agency may get out the stick. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Economy – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

The state of the real estate market in Jackson Hole has been in dispute in recent weeks. A study by a California-based firm found that the median home price in Teton County had dropped 9 percent in the last year. But David Viehman, a local appraiser and real estate agent who has studied the market for a number of years, says the Californians crunched the numbers in ways that don’t necessarily make sense. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Allen Best

Economy – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Population growth and development are at the top of issues in the county commissioner races in Eagle County. The county is bisected by I-70 from Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon, but also includes a portion of Aspen’s mid-valley commutershed. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado is under a lot of scrutiny in this presidential election year, since it’s deemed a vital swing state that could go for McCain or Obama.

That’s a novelty, since the Centennial State is reliably Republican. Only three times in the past 60 years has a Democrat carried Colorado: Harry Truman in 1948, Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and Bill Clinton in 1992. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Utes – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

It has taken a while, more than 130 years, but the Utes have regained some hunting rights they were promised in an 1874 treaty, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife has reached an agreement with the tribe about wildlife management and enforcement in the treaty area. Read the rest of this article

Comic Strip written and drawn by Monika Griesenbeck

Mountain Life – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Mining – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Climax Molybdenum Mine north of Leadville is still on schedule to resume production in 2010 as the $500 million renovation continues.

At least, that was the situation when we went to press. Climax is a subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold, and on Oct. 14, the parent company’s CEO told Bloomsberg News Service that the company might defer some projects to conserve cash while metal prices dropped, which had people wondering whether Climax was one of those projects. But on Oct. 15, a company spokesman said the Climax project will proceed on schedule, and “in terms of our near-term plans, we are fully proceeding with Climax.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Politics – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Public meetings in Central Colorado can get rather lively, but we haven’t heard of anything recently that would match a town meeting in Eads, which sits out on the plains east of Pueblo. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Jim Stiles

Modern Life – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Jimmy Carter once opened an address to the nation with these words: “Tonight, I have some unpleasant news for you.” His chances of re-election vanished soon after. And so, I dedicate my acceptance speech as your new president to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and the last honest politician: Read the rest of this article