Brief by Jane Carpenter

Media – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

Six years ago, the dreams of a hundred hard-working people came to fruition when KHEN-LP went on the air at 106.9 fm in Salida with 19 new local disc jockeys and some syndicated programs from around the country. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – March 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Colorado Central turns 14 with this edition; the first edition was dated March, 1994. That one, like all the others, was printed at the Arkansas Valley Publishing (the corporate entity that publishes the Mountain Mail) in Salida, and things have certainly changed there. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Deric Pamp

Media – April 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

CHAFFEE COUNTY was, in the not-so-distant past, a Republican stronghold, but today, all three county commissioners and most other elected officials are Democrats. I think an official’s party affiliation is his or her least important attribute, but the partisan nature of national and state politics resonates here: to many voters, a candidate’s party registration is of great importance. One of the Democratic county commissioners recently admitted to illegal acts in his leisure time, and I expect that local Republicans may do more than simply complain. How partisan the voters of Chaffee County are, or have become, may be tested. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – December 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

It used to be something of a tradition in Salida, back when Bill Murphy owned the radio station, to listen to the election-night coverage on KVRH.

That was back when it was the only station in town. Now with more stations, there ought to be more coverage, right? Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

If you hear some Boston accents in and around Salida this summer, that might be a result of a piece that ran on June 28 in the Boston Globe’s travel section. Written by correspondent Diane Daniel, it was headlined “An unspoiled slice of Colorado,” and begins with a quote from a colleague: “I’m asking you not to write about Salida.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – October 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

The movie Silver City, which was partly filmed in and around Leadville last fall, should be coming soon to a theater near us; it was scheduled for release on Sept. 17 after premieres the preceding week in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Santa Fé.

Directed by John Sayles, the film features Daryl Hannah, Kris Kristofferson, Michael Murphy, and Chris Cooper – and you may see someone you know among the extras, who were recruited in Leadville and Denver. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Slim Wolfe

Media – September 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

The August edition Slimbo Award, Return of the Colorado Blowfish, goes to the correspondent who wrote in to cross sabers with Martha’s editorial. The universe is an immensely baffling place, and we blowfish feel less threatened if we can puff ourselves up. But pride in self looks unseemly and Texan-like, so we resort to deflected pride. We praise our school, our church, our team, our nation, when what we really mean to say is I’m the Greatest. We keep ourselves in denial that our nation consists of about 300 million lumps of protoplasm with about three hundred million opinions of what America is, and is never lacking in scoundrels. We bask in trickle-down pride just like puffed up Frenchmen or Egyptians or anyone else. My dog don’t stink. Read the rest of this article

Review by Marcia Darnell

Media – May 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE UNIQUE TOWN of Creede has a mere 377 year-round residents, but its rich mixture of colorful history, creative arts, and beautiful scenery makes it vital enough to inspire a new periodical. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

New Mexico Magazine has a regular feature called “One of our 50 is missing,” and has anecdotes about how many Americans forget that New Mexico is in the United States.

Indeed, we had a friend who, while staying in Boston, wanted to mail a package to a friend in Albuquerque — and the postal clerk wanted her to fill out a customs form. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

In the publishing world of the Interior West, the Northern Lights no longer shine, but a Camas may take root in the same locale.

The story starts about 20 years ago in Lander, Wyo., where the staff of High Country News was burned out and eager to get someone else to take over the operation. Read the rest of this article

Sidebar by Rayna Bailey

Media – April 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

As long-time Wet Mountain Valley cattle rancher Bet Kettle tells it, 30 years ago about the only radio programming locals picked up in the Westcliffe area was emergency relays, some weather warnings and limited news using short wave radios.

If you wanted to hear music your choices were to turn on the record player or sing to yourself. Unless, Kettle said, you were in the right spot and the weather cooperated then “we used to get a honky tonk western station out of Cañon City.” Read the rest of this article

Article by Rayna Bailey

Media – April 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

THEIR GOALS may not be as lofty as the behemoth AM radio station to the north, Denver’s “50,000-watt voice of the Rocky Mountain West,” but developers of the 100-watt radio station KWMV 95.9 FM hope to eventually be the voice of the Wet Mountain Valley. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – January 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

Pilgrimage magazine has moved to Central Colorado; last summer it migrated from North Carolina to Crestone, where Peter Anderson will be the editor and publisher.

It’s published twice a year, and the quick description would be “literary journal,” although its focus is more on “personal, reflective writing.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – January 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

We understand that town names like Saguache and Cotopaxi can be easy to misspell. But Hartsel?

This was in a collection of “Unique Holiday Traditions around the State” in the November/December edition of EnCompass, the magazine for members of Rocky Mountain Motorists, also known as AAA Colorado. (AAA used to stand for American Automobile Association, but now its formal name is just the initials.) Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – December 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

If you feel charitable, send a Colorado map to the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. They could use one.

The Oct. 25 edition had an article about off-beat attractions in Colorado. Among them was the Alligator Farm on Colo. 17 in the San Luis Valley. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – December 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

Low-power community radio arrived in Salida earlier this year with KHEN, and by next spring, Westcliffe and the Wet Mountain Valley should have their own station: KWMV at 95.9 mHz. Read the rest of this article

Letter from Dan Bishop

Media – July 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Do you know who Major Charmaine Means is? Every American should recognize her name and know what she did. Yet only the Wall Street Journal dared tell her story. As far as I know, FoxNews didn’t. MSNBC didn’t. ABC and CBS didn’t. Yet Major Charmaine Means is a true American hero, a Patriot First Class. I read about her courageous action on www.commondreams.org. She deserves a medal. I’ll explain why shortly. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – June 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

Sending money to the right places

With a name like “Colorado Public Radio,” you’d think it was an outfit which serves the whole state. But it’s not — it’s essentially a station based in Denver with repeaters in various parts of the state. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – June 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

Mining the Nostalgia Vein

The motto of Paydirt Magazine is “A voice for mining since 1938,” but they might want to change it to “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Read the rest of this article

Letter from Larae W. Essman

Media – April 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

Martha,

A little slow getting to the January, 2003 Read the rest of this article

Column by Hal Walter

Media – March 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

I GET MOST of my unbiased news these days from a regional weekly newspaper called Thrifty Nickel. From this decidedly alternative newspaper, which is emblazed with the motto “Want Ads That Do What You Want Them To Do,” the analytical and creative mind can learn much more about the state of the immediate world than it can from the mainstream press. (Trust me. I have a bachelor of science degree from the state’s finest journalism school, the University of Colorado, hanging right here on my wall. And this, technically, makes me a scientist.) Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Media – March 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

ON FEBRUARY 2, The Denver Post led its “Perspective” section with an article about two insolvent Colorado school districts. “Broke schools, busted system” the feature declared, and it continued: “There is nothing unique about the ineptitude demonstrated by those two district boards and their leadership.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – February 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

By the time this magazine arrives, Salida’s new community radio station, KHEN, will likely be on the air, although the schedule will be somewhat sporadic at first.

KHEN is an FM station broadcasting at 106.9 mHz and 100 watts, a signal that should reach Poncha Springs and Buena Vista. Read the rest of this article

Essay by Martha Quillen

Media – January 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine

BOB EWEGEN, deputy editorial page editor and columnist for The Denver Post, says “Journalism is the art of relentless oversimplification,” and Ed often quotes him on that.

But if they’re talking about journalism today, their assessment may be too optimistic. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

Salida’s proposed community radio station moved closer to getting on the air after a successful fund-raiser on July 5, when seven local bands donated their talents to “Smelterstock.”

As the name indicates, it was supposed to be held in Smeltertown. But the venue was outdoors, and with the extreme danger of wildfires, they moved it to the Steam Plant in downtown Salida, and raised $2,800. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – June 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

If all goes well, Salidans should have another radio station in January — KHEN-LP at 106.9 FM.

It’s a low-power community radio station. The Federal Communications Commission in Washington granted a construction permit on Jan. 11, and the organizers must build a studio and install a transmitter before getting a license. The goal is to get on the air early in 2003. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

Marie Coombs, who spent most of her long life at the Saguache Crescent, died March 25 in Salida.

She was 87, and started at the newspaper when she was a teenager after her family bought the business. When her father died in 1935, she became its editor and worked at the paper until a few years ago. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – March 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

It appears that Salida will be getting a low-power community FM radio station. Local organizers received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission dated Jan. 11, and they have 18 months from then to get their station built and on the air.

Nationally, only 500 licenses were issued and there were thousands of applicants, according to Eric Sampson, who serves on the board of Tenderfoot Transmitting, the non-profit group who will hold the license. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – November 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Except when the ground blizzards are howling, a drive in South Park is scenic. But it has also been a silent place if you want to listen to FM radio while you’re on the road.

Now that’s changed. KRCC, the public-radio station at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, installed a new translator on Oct. 4 to serve South Park.

It’s at 91.3 mHz on Badger Mountain near Wilkerson Pass, and station manager Mario Valdes said his signal should reach Fairplay, Alma, Hartsel, Lake George, and Florrisant — and perhaps even Cripple Creek and Victor. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – October 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

The review of the novel Fool’s Gold in our September edition observed that the novelist, Rob Schultheis, was a columnist for Inside/Outside Southwest magazine in Durango.

And it went on to say “the last time I saw the magazine before its demise …” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

We’ve all read about dogs that can sniff out drugs. But in an article about teenagers using uncontrollable substances at Platte Canyon High School, the Park County Republican quoted Undersheriff Don Lamb: “We’ve run drug-smuggling dogs through the school.”

We’re trying to imagine such K-9s — perhaps a St. Bernard with something other than brandy in the little keg under its chin? Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – June 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

When big storms hit, people often turn to the radio for the latest information. But the radio stations can also be victims of the storm.

Salida’s Big Spring Dump of ’01 knocked two stations off the air: KSBV and KRCC, both with antennas on Methodist Mountain.

KSBV, a commercial station based in Salida, was back on the air by Monday, May 7, as soon as electric power had been restored to the antenna site. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – April 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Chaffee County came close to losing its signal from KUNC-FM, a public radio station at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley that comes in at 89.9 mhz.

The problem wasn’t a technical issue with the repeater on Mt. Princeton. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – March 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

Keeping the press in line is a tough job, even for U.S. presidents, but that doesn’t keep people from trying.

For as long as we can remember, Salida’s daily Mountain Mail had a deal with the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, so that patients could receive the paper every day. But recently, the papers were terminated. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – June 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine

The century-long newspaper war between the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News came to an end on May 11, with the Rocky throwing in the towel and asking for a “Joint Operating Agreement.”

The JOA means the papers can combine production and marketing functions, while maintaining separate news and editorial operations. Under the plan, both would continue to publish on weekday mornings, while there would be a Saturday Rocky and a Sunday Post. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – July 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

4 Corners Region Gets a Magazine

Durango’s got a new magazine — Inside/Outside Southwest — which started last year as a bi-monthly, but will be coming out every month starting this July.

Ken Wright, a frequent contributor to Colorado Central and a principal in the departed San Juan Almanac of Durango, is its managing editor. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Ed Quillen

Media – April 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine

The `Central Mountains’ Are Right Where They Should Be

If you watch the nightly news on Denver TV stations, you’ll see the weather forecast, where we’ve been wanting them to predict events like “snow in the central and southern mountains.”

But which mountains do they mean? Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – September 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Buena Vista: The New Aspen?

“Salida isn’t totally undiscovered,” according to the September edition of Men’s Journal, although it “feels like a frontier” in comparison to its “tourist-trap neighbors such as Buena Vista and Aspen” which are “attracting all the attention.”

That’s the first time we’ve seen Buena Vista and Aspen lumped together in any category, but the rest of the short piece seems reasonably accurate, with Salida’s “attitude” defined as “neo-hippie meets adrenaline junkie.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – September 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Another magazine for the geographically challenged

Newsweek devoted the cover and several pages of its July 27 edition to the worldwide spread of American tourism and the difficulty in finding a place that doesn’t yet boast a Hard Rock Café.

But the feature did mention seven places that weren’t all that crowded or connected, among them the Nada Monastery near Crestone where “there isn’t a ski lift for a hundred miles, and the nearest espresso is 50 miles off.” Read the rest of this article

Article by Wendy Rector Herrin

Media – June 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

STRANGE THINGS are happening in a small mountain town of Colorado, and the national media are starting to swarm. Local residents are being interviewed, students are being questioned about the death of a young child, rural high school students are becoming celebrities, and the Central Colorado town of Fairplay and its citizenry are losing all credibility. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Up in the Air

Salida’s FM dial has gained another signal: Free Range Radio at 101.1 megahertz. It’s a local volunteer effort, and when we checked, it was on the air from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.

Our informant advised us that the signal was fairly clear throughout town, except near the high school, and our own tests bear this out. We heard a variety of music, ranging from bluegrass to sixties classics. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – January 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

After years of decline, rural towns are growing again, and the national media are starting to take notice. The issue was featured in the Dec. 8 edition of the Washington Post National Weekly Edition, and on the cover of the Dec. 8 Time. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – October 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

From time to time, we hear people talk of starting new radio stations hereabouts. Several years ago, it was in Leadville, and more recently, Salida.

And then we hear that the money needs are great and the licensing process is lengthy and difficult.

But that may not be the only route to radio. The Valley Chronicle in Paonia recently reported on a different approach taken by Angel Babudro, a North Fork resident. Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – August 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

The Almanac comes back

The San Juan Almanac–”Your Cattleguard on the Information Superhighway” — is back in business after a year or so of hibernation, with the goal of “establishing a sense of place in the Western San Juan Mountains by affirming the value of public lands and supporting sustainable communities.” Read the rest of this article

Brief by Central Staff

Media – May 1997 – Colorado Central Magazine

Growth in Greater Guffey

Since we are concerned with Central Colorado, we dare not neglect developments in Guffey, which is about as close to the center of our state as any place that has electricity and a post office.

Guffey, which sits in Park County about 30 miles southeast of Hartsel along Highway 9, has grown so much that its got its own newspaper now, the Greater Guffey Community News. Read the rest of this article