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Category Archives: 2003
Gay couples shouldn’t have to just ‘shack up’
My oldest sister Shirley, who was like a second mother to me, had a loving, committed relationship with another woman from the time they were high-school classmates until breast cancer killed her way too soon. From the time I can … Continue reading
Published in David Long, December 2003
Ute council rejects Knight-Frank’s bid to regain helm
Judy Knight-Frank, the embattled leader of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe who has been on administrative leave pending allegations of fiscal wrongdoing, attempted to regain her chairman’s seat at a raucous tribal council meeting in November. But following hours of … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
Procedures violated in Oct. 10 tribal election, official says
Three candidates for the Ute Mountain tribal council election were put on the Oct. 10 ballot despite failing to obtain enough signatures to do so, reports the tribe’s top election official. One of those candidates, incumbent Ernest House, was re-elected. … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
Mancos down to one marshal after upheaval
Mancos is seeking two new law-enforcement officers following weeks of turmoil that began with allegations of brutality and harassment against a deputy marshal and culminated in his dismissal as well as the resignation of Marshal David Palacios. Meanwhile, a charge … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
Jersey gal making sweet music in Mancos
Two hours with local jazz singer Joyce Simpson is enough time to make anyone fall in love with her. She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she’s warm, and her voice makes you hope she’ll burst into song right there in the P&D … Continue reading
Published in Arts & Entertainment, December 2003
Female county commissioners scarce as hen’s teeth
Since 1889, when it was split off from La Plata County, Montezuma County has been governed by 63 commissioners, many of them serving two or three terms. But only one of the 63 was a woman. Helen McClellan served one … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
Buyout proposal intensifies grazing debate
Hooved locusts, author Edward Abbey called them, and many environmentalists agree. Cattle on public lands, they say, are voracious pests that denude landscapes, destroy riparian areas, and crowd out wildlife. Those arguments are nothing new. The debate about public-lands grazing … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
Jersey girl making sweet music in Mancos
Two hours with local jazz singer Joyce Simpson is enough time to make anyone fall in love with her. She’s beautiful, she’s funny, she’s warm, and her voice makes you hope she’ll burst into song right there in the P&D … Continue reading
Published in December 2003
The Money Pit, or the Year of the Landlord
This is dedicated to anyone paying rent to a cheap crazy person who likes to call him or herself your landlord, but whom you call an unmentionable name. For innumerable years, my husband and I have rented our living spaces … Continue reading
Published in December 2003, janelle holden
Rush to judgment
“It is my heartfelt belief that, no matter what your status in life, you can learn what’s possible for you in this country by studying me. And if you attain even a fraction of my level of excellence, you will … Continue reading
Published in David Long, November 2003
Mean streets: Crossing Cortez’s byways proves to be no walk in the park
Cortez City Councilman Jim Herrick was driving through Cortez around 3:30 on the afternoon of Oct. 1 when he spotted something strange. “I was stopped at a stoplight and I caught sight of this object flying through the air and … Continue reading
Published in November 2003
Dodging bullets: Cyclists seek lease on state lands
Mountain-biking or trail-running a few hundred yards from a firing range can be unnerving at first. But enthusiasts hitting the trails at “Phil’s World,” a winding network of smooth single-track east of Cortez, have gotten used to rapid gunfire nearby. … Continue reading
Published in November 2003
Deer in the headlights: Hunting, mating seasons combine to make November the worst month for animal accidents
It was like something right out of the movies. I was driving to work late at night on Highway 160 near Hesperus when my car’s headlights, which had been lowered for an oncoming semi, suddenly illuminated a gigantic bull elk … Continue reading
Published in November 2003
Charges of harassment fly in Mancos
What first appeared to be a series of “hate crimes” in Mancos has proven to be a horse of quite a different color. It began with racist and anti-gay graffiti on the River Walk benches and allegations of verbal harassment … Continue reading
Published in November 2003
The hunt for cheap meat
For my money, there’s no denying that we Americans are as bloodthirsty a lot as you’ll find anywhere else on the globe, with the possible exceptions of Rwanda and Cambodia. We’ve got a murder rate that far outshines any other … Continue reading
Published in David Long, October 2003
Time to “rock on” at your local public library
Pam Smith wanted to title her new October art exhibit at the Cortez Public Library just plain “Rockers,” but she worried about attracting too many people who simply wanted to sit down. Then she considered “Soft Rock” because the medium … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
News from Towaoc: A roundup
Council election On Oct. 10, members of the Ute Mountain tribe will go to the polls in Towaoc and vote for candidates for two tribal council seats. Councilmen Ernest House and Rudy Hammond’s terms are up. Both incumbents will seek … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
Home-schooling a concern as Mancos enrollment falls
A generation ago, nearly everyone went to the local school without it being a “choice.” Nowadays, parents give it much more thought, and many are deciding to home-school their children. Since state funding for education is directly tied to enrollment … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
Dolores school district seeks OK for $3.5 million bond
With an average increase of 30 students each year since 1993, the Dolores School District Re-4A has proposed a bond issue for the November ballot in hopes of raising the funds to expand the facilities at the Central Avenue campus. … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
Detox never sleeps: A look at the world of the Durango Detox
Editor’s note: The incidents described in this story are true, but identifying features have been changed to protect clients’ privacy. Although its heavy wooden door is always locked, the Durango detox never closes. Any time, any day, including Sundays and … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
Archaeologists unearthing treasures at A-LP site
Nearly everything involving Animas-La Plata is controversial. Even though the now-$500 million project to construct an off-stream reservoir for water siphoned from the Animas River is under construction after decades of debate, its supporters and foes still argue its merits … Continue reading
Published in October 2003
Paranoia: Into your life it will creep
Yesterday morning, my upstairs neighbor confessed that he’d stolen a magazine out of our public library. “I don’t like to read it in the lobby,” he said, “so I just take it out on Saturday evening and return it Monday … Continue reading
Published in janelle holden, October 2003
Pledging ‘something’ to the flag
“I pledge something to the flag of the United States of America, and to the something for which it stands,” is how I remember reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in the one-room schoolhouse I attended many years ago. “One nation, … Continue reading
Published in David Long, September 2003
Monumental fund-raising push pays off
Two imaginary lines form a cross in the hilly, scrubby desert of the Southwest. The land is covered with sagebrush, cacti and tumbleweed, and populated mainly by lizards, rattlesnakes, coyotes and scorpions, yet tourists by the hundreds of thousands flock … Continue reading
Published in September 2003
High home prices, low wages collide in Mancos
Thinking of settling down in Mancos and buying your first home? Good luck. It’s not easy and it’s not cheap. Ask a realtor, town employee or resident about “affordable housing” in Mancos and the response is a chuckle. Those two … Continue reading
Published in September 2003
Gravel-pit foes win big battle
Citing procedural errors and a lack of due process, a Colorado court has ruled that public hearings that led to the approval of a controversial gravel mine in the Dolores River Valley were invalid. Denver District Judge William D. Robbins … Continue reading
Published in September 2003
Canyons of the Ancients: The future of a fragile land
Once upon a time, the arid public land in western Montezuma County was largely the province of cattle, collared lizards, and carbon-dioxide producers. Archaeologists, some long-time residents and a few pot-hunters knew of the area’s many Ancestral Puebloan ruins, but … Continue reading
Published in September 2003
The carnival rolls into California
When I worked in Washington, D.C., staffers called Capitol Hill “Hollywood for ugly people.” With C-Span, CNN, and all the Sunday talk shows trained on them, politicians certainly have the opportunity to attain celebrity status, especially if there is anything … Continue reading
Published in janelle holden, September 2003