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‘Be a dragon:’ Southwest Open School graduates prepare to take on the world

Graduates were honored at a ceremony on Wednesday

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Education

What is Montezuma County Sheriff’s basic stance on immigration status and ICE?

Sheriff Steve Nowlin provided insight into these policies

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Courts and Crime

Eli Tomac and Jett Lawrence battle in Motocross Round 1

Both Tomac and Lawrence are racing again after injuries

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal 'Rust' set shooting

The Western film was released in theaters this month

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: AP New Mexico

WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and ‘non-recoverable.’ Four 4 are coming home

Recovery mission involved elite Navy divers who descended 200 feet

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Editorial cartoon

DATE: May 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Editorial Cartoons

Longtime Montezuma-Cortez choir teacher bids farewell

Students remember her contribution and impact over the years

DATE: May 25, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Editorial cartoon

DATE: May 25, 2025 | CATEGORY: Editorial Cartoons

Property tax increase is a county ploy

We are being victimized by the recent property tax assessment. My home value assessment increased by approximately 70% over the last couple of years. This is a ploy by the county to substan...

DATE: May 25, 2025 | CATEGORY: Letters to the Editor

Durango’s Cobe Freeburn wins second consecutive Iron Horse men’s pro road race

Freeburn battled fellow Durangoan Kai Lokey for win

DATE: May 24, 2025 | CATEGORY: Sports

Colorado senators reintroduce bill for Dolores River National Conservation Area

Legislation aims to preserve ecological conditions while honoring existing water and land rights

DATE: May 24, 2025 | CATEGORY: Local News

Cortez man gets 15 years for sexual exploitation of a child, other charges

Anthony Mizell faces multiple felony counts after discovery of explicit content on seized phone

DATE: May 24, 2025 | CATEGORY: Courts and Crime

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

La Plata County couple maintains optimism while adjusting to Alzheimer’s diagnosisAl Jason is journaling, recording music and planning family time while his mind is sharp

La Plata County resident Al Jason, 78, has spent a lifetime caring for others. After his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis last year, he’s learning how to take care of himself with the support of his son, his wife and the Durango Dementia Coalition.Al said he was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War through the 1960s and early ’70s. He met his wife, Meme, in 1967 and they married two years later. Over the course of their marriage, they fostered 45 children – some for weeks at a time and others for several years.He retired from his 30-year career teaching high school special education in 2002 and traveled the world with Meme. They spent their summers roaming the countryside, parking their trailer beside rivers, lakes and creeks, Meme said. They spent winters traveling abroad, visiting China, Iceland, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and, most frequently, Indonesia.

In 2017, the couple moved to Benson, Arizona, a tiny town of about 5,000 residents outside Tucson.Al’s life changed one evening last year when he forgot how to put on his pajamas.Meme said he kept trying to put his shirt on head-first through the neckline, effectively putting the shirt on upside down, and he couldn’t figure out the proper way to wear it. They were baffled.

Then, Al said, he felt the inclination to play the guitar – a life-long hobby. But when he moved to strum the instrument’s strings, he couldn’t recall how to play any of the 100-some songs he’d learned over his lifetime.Something was wrong, the couple said, but they didn’t know what. They called their doctor, who initially ruled out dementia.

“Dementia doesn’t come on just like, ‘bang.’ This is delirium,” Meme said, recalling her doctor’s early assessment of Al’s health.Their doctor said Al should have an MRI to be sure, Meme said. He had one, and his neurologist determined he did indeed have dementia – Alzheimer’s to be precise.After Al’s diagnosis, the couple decided to move to La Plata County to be closer to their son, Ben, who had been trying to convince them to move for some time, she said.Adjusting to a new way of life

Peering across her living room, which was lit up by Christmas lights and colorful holiday decorations, Meme reminisced about her old home in Benson.“I had this enormous yard and the cutest little gingerbread house that I had covered with Christmas stuff. And now this is my space,” she said.Al said people would drive by their home in Benson and stop to admire their decorations.

Their home wasn’t large or extravagant, but its decorations were the most popular, he said.Lights and ornaments aren’t the only thing decorating the family’s kitchen and living room. Small notes are posted here and there reminding Al to make sure the freezer door is closed, stove burners are off, and how to reboot a laptop when it freezes or stops working.

“If TV won’t go to Hulu programs (says we’re working on it), first try unplugging both cords + turn back on,” one note written in red and yellow marker read. “If that doesn’t work, try putting in password.”A poster near a door lists items to remember when leaving the house: cane, book, phone, wallet, walker, glasses, grocery lists, hearing aid, shopping bags, handicap placard – among others.Meme said she posted the reminders for Al, but she occasionally benefits from them herself.“I’m in the mild stage as far as I know,” Al said of his Alzheimer’s. “To me, what it means is I forget stuff that’s pretty minor, usually, and current. My long-term memory is still sharp as a tack.”

Music and memoriesAl enjoys reading and word games, playing guitar and thinking about his children who he said he and Meme raised with love. He is forgetful sometimes, but he remembers his kids, recognizes his wife and hasn’t forgotten anything major, he said.In educating themselves about how his Alzheimer’s could progress, Al and Meme read a book written by a man with Alzheimer’s. The book was “very lucid,” Al said, and its author wrote about how he’d sometimes fail to remember who his wife was.He said he’s on medication, and from the research he’s done and the experts he’s spoken with, it could be years before his mind seriously deteriorates.“It could be years, longer – I mean, maybe a decade – before I start really going bonkers,” he said.

He said he hasn’t shied away from telling people about his diagnosis. He’s been met with disbelief, but he insists.“Somebody would say, ‘Oh, you don’t have this.’ And I said, ‘Oh, but I do,’” he said. “I’m the only one in my own head. The process that I’m going through, I share with everybody and let them know, ‘Hey, take my word for it. This happened.’”He said he has begun recording his guitar sessions to preserve his music and to remind himself how to play. Not trusting his memory, he has a notebook full of lyrics and tablatures he reads as he plays. Meme finds the songs online and handwrites them into his notebook.He has recorded about 50 songs out of 100 or more so far, Meme said.“I don’t attempt to remember the lyrics,” Al said.

He said he learned how to play the guitar by ear when he was young, and if he doesn’t like the way a song is going, it’s easy to transpose the melody into a different key. He’ll fiddle with it until he finds something he likes.Some of his favorite songs to play are “Abilene” by George Hamilton IV and “Angel From Montgomery” by John Prine, Meme said.She said she and Al also journal regularly. They enjoy going to the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, and as they’re eating lunch, they will jot down memories of their adventures together.She said if Al does forget something, she hopes reading his own recount of it – or Meme reading it to him – could trigger his memory.“Maybe I’m writing so I have something that verifies that I did all this crap,” Al said, adding he and Meme have journaled all their lives.A well-lived life with no regretsThe couple receives a $1,000 stipend from the Durango Dementia Coalition. They attend a Memory Cafe at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Durango and a support group for people recently diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers.Meme said the coalition is a great place to connect with resources, but transportation has been a consistent hurdle.For now, Al can still drive, although he has set his own boundaries – he won’t drive with kids or grandkids in the car.“Is somebody going to tell me when I can’t do it anymore? I hope so,” he said.On Sept. 22, he signed a statement committing not to drive when Meme and his son decide he is no longer fit to do so.“When Ben and Meme both decide it is no longer safe for me to drive, I agree to give up driving,” the note reads.

Al is optimistic despite his diagnosis. He said he could very well die of some other cause before his Alzheimer’s becomes a serious issue. Picking up a Bible, he said he is a believer.“My faith is firm, and I believe that everybody will get the same chance I did, whether it’s after they die or whatever, to make that commitment,” he said.

Al and Meme looked after Meme’s mother who was diagnosed with dementia in her 90s. They attended support groups back then, and Al said he remembers meeting couples whose family members had much more severe cases than Meme’s mother did.“I was aware this could have been a way lot worse,” Al said.He is planning a summer cruise to Norway with his children – what could be his last big family outing, he said.When Al received his diagnosis last year, he and some of his children spent Christmas at his former home in Benson. He said they talked about how most future family gatherings would require the children to come to him.“We’ve had a fantastic life, so we can’t have any regrets,” Meme said.Offhand, she bemoaned how busy her children’s busy lives have become.“I’d much rather (Al) have Alzheimer’s than lose him,” she said.The Durango Dementia Coalition was founded in 2022 by Pat Demarest. She said the organization started as a grassroots effort to improve care and services for dementia patients in La Plata County.Last year, the coalition merged with the nonprofit Southwest Colorado Respite Resource, whose mission was to provide respite resources, she said.“I lost my husband Oct. 5 to this dreaded disease,” Demarest said.She said she moved away from Durango in 2022 because of losing family support, but the Durango Dementia Coalition has continued and she remains involved from afar thanks to modern technology.There is a wealth of resources out there for people experiencing dementia, she said. The coalition just needs to get the word out.cburney@durangoherald.com

Al Jason is journaling, recording music and planning family time while his mind is sharp

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former U.S. senator and jewelry maker, dies at 92Ignacio resident was a judo Olympian who combined artistic talent with his Native American ancestry

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the U.S. senator from Ignacio who embraced a maverick personality, breaking stereotypes and ruffling a few feathers along the way, died about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at his home on a ranch outside of Ignacio. He was 92.“He was surrounded by my mom – his wife of almost 60 years, Linda; myself; and his grandson, Luke Longfellow,” said his daughter, Shanan Campbell. “Shortly before he passed, the elders of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe came over – Eddie Box Jr. – and sang songs and did blessings for dad, and he passed just moments after that.”Shanan said her father died of “natural causes.” He had undergone a few back surgeries in the past 15 years, which had been debilitating.“He was tired and he was ready to move on,” Campbell said.Ben Nighthorse Campbell was a significant figure in Southwest Colorado and across the country. This article is being made available free of charge to all Herald readers.Campbell’s fascinating and varied career began with a unique backstory. He was an Olympian and a noted jewelry artist. His Northern Cheyenne ancestry made him one of the few Native American legislators to serve in Congress. Bolo ties and a ponytail quickly distinguished the Harley-riding Campbell from colleagues, and his combativeness both won over and rankled those he met. Since 1978 he and his family have lived on a ranch near Ignacio.“I never let the chance go by (to talk) about the importance of running for public office for Indian people,” he said in a 2021 interview.“Benny” Campbell was born April 13, 1933, in Auburn, California. His father was part Northern Cheyenne, and his mother was a native of Portugal. His parents were not always able to care for him, and during his childhood he spent time in an orphanage and foster homes.He left high school in 1951 to join the Air Force and serve in the Korean War, where he received several medals. He continued his education, earning a high school diploma and then a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1957 from San Jose State in physical education and fine arts.Campbell competed in judo at San Jose State under a Japanese coach, and continued in the sport. He studied and trained in judo at a university in Tokyo from 1960-64, winning three U.S. national titles during that time.The judo training, he said in his biography “Ben Nighthorse Campbell: An American Warrior,” was brutal. His nose was broken multiple times, he lost two teeth, and broke or dislocated nearly all of his fingers or toes at one point or another.He competed for and was captain of the 1964 U.S. Olympic judo team, led by his college coach, Yoshihiro Uchida. This was the debut of judo in the Olympics, which were held in Tokyo, the birthplace of the sport. In a match in the U.S. prior to the Olympics, he suffered a devastating knee injury. He managed to compete in the Tokyo Games and win his opening match, but his knee gave way in the second match and he was forced to forfeit. Still, he managed to carry the U.S. flag during closing ceremonies.

Back in California, Campbell became a high school physical education and art teacher, as well as a Sacramento County deputy sheriff and U.S. judo team coach. In his spare time he combined his artistic talent with his Native American ancestry and study of Japanese culture to create multicultural works of art.Campbell married Linda Price in 1966. They raised quarter horses in the Sacramento area, and continued to do so after they purchased a ranch near Ignacio on the Southern Ute reservation in 1978. He managed Sky Ute Downs in Ignacio and was a part-time Fort Lewis College art instructor. In 1980 he was officially given the name “Nighthorse” during a Northern Cheyenne ceremony at Lame Deer, Mont. He later became a member of the tribe’s Council of 44 Chiefs.

He was drawn toward politics, and was elected in 1982 as District 59 representative to the Colorado Legislature. During his 1984 campaign Campbell received political blowback when he held a fundraising raffle with the winner getting to cut off his ponytail.“I can’t believe the government is telling me when and how I can cut my hair,” he said at the time.After two terms as state representative, he won a seat in the U.S. House in 1986. Following three House terms, in 1992 he was elected as a U.S. senator.

He stunned colleagues and constituents by shifting his affiliation from Democrat to Republican in March 1995, during President Bill Clinton’s first term. His reasoning was a lack of support from the state Democratic party, particularly the liberal wing. Attorney friend Sam Maynes, a longtime Durango Democrat, was disappointed with the state party leaders.“The Democratic party has not responded to his leadership,” Maynes said.Said Campbell: “The majority of the people who voted for me voted for me because I am who I am, not because I was a Democrat or a Republican. The biggest constituency in Colorado is the unaffiliated voters.”

Campbell’s legislative votes continued to disregard party lines. He said his votes – which included a pro-abortion stance on one side and support of both a balanced-budget amendment and Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas on the other – would not change. He allowed all his staffers to stay with him despite the party switch.This controversial move, abetted by soon-to-be Republican presidential candidate Sen. Bob Dole, put him in the Senate majority party. His Republican now-allies all donned bolo ties to welcome him to their side, and later in 1995 placed him on the influential Appropriation Committee.

There were rumors that Campbell might make a run at governor, but he chose to try for a second Senate term in 1998. Despite the party switch, he easily won the Republican primary, then defeated Dottie Lamm, wife of outgoing governor Dick Lamm, for the Senate seat in another landslide. Campbell garnered 62% of the vote.While a U.S. representative, Campbell co-sponsored legislation in 1991 to rename Custer Battlefield Monument in Montana as Little Bighorn Battlefield. The same legislation authorized a monument to honor the Native Americans killed during the 1876 battle; when that monument was finally completed in 2003, Campbell spoke at the dedication.

He sponsored bills such as the 2002 Indian Financing Amendments Act and the 1989 National Museum of the American Indian Act, which established the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in 2004. He played a role in creating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, where 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers in 1864 in eastern Colorado. Campbell spoke at the site’s dedication in 2007.His votes often disappointed environmentalists by siding with the mining and logging industries, and voting to open Western lands for development. He was a staunch supporter of the Animas-La Plata Project, which environmentalists fought for decades. Campbell modeled clothing for Banana Republic ads, and when environmentalists threatened to organize a boycott of the company’s clothing in 1996 because of Campbell’s anti-environmental voting record, Banana Republic pulled the ads. He is also a founder of the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, which started in 1993 and has been running ever since – after having gone through several reiterations and changes of ownership. As a senator in 2001, Campbell helped secure $4 million in federal funds to build an air tanker base at the Durango-La Plata County Airport, which has proven instrumental in quashing wildfires across the Four Corners. Campbell served two Senate terms, and, at age 71, chose not to run for a third term in the 2004 election.

After retirement, he worked as a policy adviser and created a lobbying firm. He continued to design jewelry, and sold many pieces at Sorrel Sky Gallery, which his daughter, Shanan, opened in 2002.His life and achievements continue to be remembered. In 2021, he was among eight inducted into the National Native American Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.“For an awful long time, if you read any book about Indians or saw any movie, they were always cast in a negative stereotype. And I think that our children are raised with that attitude,” Campbell told The Durango Herald after the Hall of Fame announcement. “It’s tough to break out of there, but a lot of us have in sports or in science or in (the) military.“I think it’s incumbent on us to set examples for Indian kids that they can do it, they can make it, they can forge ahead,” he said. “And I think that’s one of the best things about inducting people into (the National Native American Hall of Fame).”

Shanan said despite his public life, her father was pretty introverted.“He was such a public figure and surrounded by so many people, but he was happiest and most at peace when he’s just with us (his family),” she said.Campbell spent a lifetime bucking trends, unafraid of the reaction, and ready to take on all opponents. As a politician he kept his independence, something not easy three decades ago and virtually impossible these days.He is survived by Linda Campbell, daughter Shanan, and son Colin. <<< Double check. The family planed a private service and burial Sunday at The Nighthorse Ranch. A public celebration of life will be held April 13 on what would have been his 93rd birthday. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered flags be lowered to half staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of his service.“From being an Olympic athlete, to jewelry designer, horse trainer and then public servant at the state and federal level, he lived many different lives in his own unique way and always found a way to give back and serve,” Polis said in a statement. “He was the only Native American in the United States Senate when he served, and also served the United States with distinction in the US Air Force.”Herald Managing Editor Shane Benjamin contributed to this report.

Ignacio resident was a judo Olympian who combined artistic talent with his Native American ancestry

FPD cracks down on street racers with grapplerTrials set for racers involved in Smith’s crash

An Aztec man allegedly involved in a Sept. 26 street racing incident that caused a car to explode on 20th Street was arraigned Dec. 18 before 11th Judicial District Judge Stephen Wayne.Reese Berthold, 27, pleaded not guilty to charges including aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer causing injury, a third-degree felony; racing on highways, a petty misdemeanor; and driving without headlights, a petty misdemeanor.Farmington police continue cracking down on racing. The department recently installed two grapplers on K-9 trucks.Police Chief Steve Hebbe said the grapplers were used four times as of Oct. 31.Two uses occurred during operations with the Region 2 Narcotics Task Force, “when we knew we were going to make a takedown,” Hebbe said. “We’ve deployed it early, when it’s likely someone is going to run, to prevent a pursuit.”

The grappler can also stop street racers.“When we can deploy it, it’s a good tool to keep the public safe,” Hebbe said. “Pursuits in the city are dangerous.”Farmington police officers Miles Mead and Justin Ahlgrim gave an Oct. 31 demonstration of the grappler at Safety City for the Tri-City Record.During the demonstration, Mead shot the device at a vehicle driven by Ahlgrim. It wrapped around the tires and stopped the speeding car.Ahlgrim later described the feeling as “very subtle,” making one “wonder what’s wrong with your car, because all of a sudden you’re stopping.”During the demonstration, Hebbe confirmed that the woman allegedly involved in the same racing incident as Berthold had been caught racing a second time in less than a month.

Kalynn Kenworthy, 22, of Farmington, “got another citation, and she was going pretty high over the speed limit,” Hebbe said.Kenworthy and Berthold allegedly were racing at 11:40 p.m. Sept. 26 on East 20th Street when the car Berthold was in crashed and burst into flames in the Smith’s Grocery Store parking lot.Berthold reportedly left the car and his passenger, Cole Medina, inside, according to the affidavit supporting his arrest warrant.Farmington police officer Miles Mead pulled Medina from the burning car, saving his life. Medina suffered a fractured skull and burns to his arms and hands, the affidavit states.Berthold was found later in the Smith’s parking lot with burns to his arms, according to the affidavit.

Kenworthy initially denied involvement in the incident but was arrested after video footage was reviewed.City Attorney Jennifer Breakell is prosecuting both cases.Kenworthy’s trials are set for Jan. 27 and Feb. 24 in Farmington Municipal Court for her two racing citations, Breakell said.“We do have other individuals charged with racing,” Breakell said, adding there are at least four others she knows of “facing racing charges.”Berthold’s jury trial is set for 8 a.m. April 14 in Wayne’s courtroom in Aztec.

Trials set for racers involved in Smith’s crash

Photos: Children decorate Cortez Police Department community treeChildren from Children’s Kiva Montessori School hung handmade ornamentsStudent in fourth, fifth and sixth grades gathered outside the Cortez Police Department Tuesday to decorate its community Christmas tree, adding personal touches to the large blue-lighted tree.Katie Uran’s class placed ornaments on the lower branches. When one student announced, “I’m going to go climb the tree,” adults reminded them to secure decorations but avoid climbing.

Organizers encouraged children to choose their own spots, calling it a “community tree” where ornaments could be placed freely.“I want it like right there,” one child said while securing an ornament, while another asked, “Ms. Katie, can I put on my ornament?”Other children pointed out where theirs landed. “My wreath is right there,” one said. Another added, “I got to hang this for one of my classmates.”Some asked for help reaching higher branches. “I need your help, I’m the smallest in the class,” one said, prompting an adult to assist.Children showed off ornaments and described designs they created, including wreaths, angels and stars.The department invites families to hang weather-safe ornaments on the tree outside the station’s south lawn, continuing the tradition for a second year.Lead 911 dispatcher Valerie Rendon suggested the idea. Empire Electric helped hang the blue lights, using a bucket lift to reach the treetop. Rendon watched from a window as children hung ornaments.

Children from Children’s Kiva Montessori School hung handmade ornaments

Fire and ice: Mitigation and burn piles help fortify against wildfiresThe urban-wildland interface is changing – so is the approach to wildfire preparedness

Sometimes the job of a fire department is to start a blaze rather than put one out. Counterintuitive? Not according to Durango Fire Protection District Wildfire Battalion Chief Scott Nielsen.On Friday, Nielsen and six DFPD firefighters gathered in a snowy, forested glade next to the Durango West I subdivision to set several hundred slash piles and downed timber on fire. They sparked up their drip torches – metal cans with a nozzle in one end containing a mixture of gasoline and diesel – then went to work, igniting one pile after another, each one gradually springing into a 10-foot-high bonfire. The mood was relaxed – casual, daresay – because the situation was well under control.

The winter’s first low-elevation snowstorm a few days before meant the piles could be burned safely without fear of a forest fire breaking out, which was good because the nearest house was just a stone’s throw from the first pile. During the morning safety meeting, one of the main concerns was smoke inhalation, which firefighters could remedy by simply moving to a smokeless area for a while.Nielsen and his fellow firefighters walked among the burning piles, emerging and disappearing from thick columns as smoke. Each new fire was a beacon, signaling forest mitigation work that would make the community a little safer.

Burn piles go up in smokeIn effect, prescribed burns are meant to thin forests and clear flammable material from the forest floor while fire danger is low. Nielsen said there are two main methods: pile burns and broadcast burns. Pile burns are constituted by forestry workers or firefighters heaping logs, slash and twigs into a large pile that they later light. Broadcast burns are when wildland firefighters or other officials light a fire that they allow to spread over the forest floor and manage from growing too large. Often, the two go hand in hand.

“Pile burns are very controllable,” he said. “What really works well in a place like this is to burn the piles now and then. In a couple years, you could broadcast burn because you reduce so much brush and ladder fuels.”Prescribed burns are becoming a common tool in wildfire mitigation, especially in the urban-wildland interface, where houses butt up against and into forestland. Friday’s burn was one of several mitigation projects within DFPD’s district, with more being completed on federal land across Southwest Colorado. Lorena Williams, a National Forest Service spokesperson, said the federal agency has burns planned for ranger districts across the San Juan National Forest. In the Columbine Ranger District specifically, hundreds of piles spread over nearly 120 acres will be burned throughout the winter. The burns were supposed to begin in November but were delayed when the federal government shut down. But, with federal employees back at work, the burns are proceeding as planned.“Columbine fire and fuels crews are expecting to implement pile burns as weather allows, but the goal will be to be (completed) by the end of this winter,” she said. Williams said prescribed burns are meticulously planned to ensure there is no impact to human health and are done without risking a larger forest fire. “Favorable weather conditions must exist including, but not limited to, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, smoke dispersal, as well as fuel moisture,” she said. “All elements must be within an acceptable range of prescription parameters described within a written burn plan.”

Both DFPD and the Forest Service must adhere to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s air quality standards. Burns are also typically done only after a measurable amount of snowfall and when weather conditions will allow smoke to blow away instead of settling over a residential area. In the business of saving money (with fire mitigation)Terry Hunt, who owns Wildfire Defense LLC, a Durango-based fire mitigation service, has been busy for the past two years. The low-snow winter of 2024-25 meant his four-person crew could work clearing brush away from homes and retrofitting houses with fire-resistant materials all winter, compared to most years when snow prevented them from doing so.

“We’re busy this season,” Hunt said. “It folded into last season, since last winter was basically more like a cold summer.”Hunt is a certified wildfire mitigation specialist by both the National Fire Protection Association and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. He and his crew work alongside homeowners who want to defend their houses from wildfires and providers who insure those houses.

With wildfires becoming more of a threat to communities across the West – the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles in January being a key example – insurance rates have risen. A study from Colorado State University found rates increased by 58% in Colorado between 2018 and 2023 with fire being a main driver. Hunt himself lives in Forest Lakes north of Bayfield, ground zero for the Blue Ridge Fire in August, and has dealt with insurance providers unwilling to take on the risk of insuring his house. But the mitigation work he has done on his own property convinced a provider to insure him.

“I’m a homeowner and I can understand what a nightmare it would be if you lost your affordable homeowners insurance,” Hunt said. “So yeah, so it’s kind of a priority for me. I mean, I’ll even move projects up in the schedule if it’s an insurance issue.” Hunt focuses on making sure homeowners can keep their insurance rates affordable by removing wildfire risk from their properties, sometimes with insurance referrals and sometimes just at the request of a homeowner.

“This last season, we were just slammed, and it wasn't just with insurance referrals,” Hunt said. “They've heard about us and what we do, and there were a lot of homeowners were just really, really concerned this season, and for good reason.”Hunt and his approach mitigation by cutting down trees and using a machine called a forest masticator to turn brush into mulch. The nearer they get to a house, the thinner they clear so that there is no flammable material around it while still preserving the forest’s natural beauty. They also replace flammable materials on a house with fire-resistant alternatives, he said.Nielsen said fire departments rely heavily on contractors like Hunt for mitigation work. They try not to compete with professionals who make a living doing mitigation, he said, because fire departments are tax-funded. In that ethos, DFPD’s prescribed burns and mitigation work is done in the most economic way possible, he said.“This is the most cost-effective way to get rid of brushing a lot of places,” Nielsen said. “We could chip it or we could haul it out. But what will burn in a few minutes would take an hour to chip.”Nielsen said DFPD does not like competing with contractors, because they are part of the community and their tax dollars fund the department. Additionally, the more mitigation work done theoretically correlates to less time fighting wildfires – another way to save taxpayers money and put cash in community members’ pockets. “When we’re out here, we can build against our payroll,” Nielsen said.Balancing ecosystems by bringing fire back

Wildfires in the past century have become larger, more destructive and harder to control. The reason is twofold: dryer, hotter summers caused by climate change, and a century of hard-line fire suppression management strategy that allowed fuels to build up to unnatural levels, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the National Forest Foundation, respectively. “The forests in Southwest Colorado are part of a fire-adapted ecosystem, which historically experienced frequent, low-intensity fires on a large scale,” Williams said. “Prescribed fire replicates that natural fire regime and increases the area on our landscape that has been burned at low and moderate conditions.” The benefits of these low-intensity prescribed burns do more than reduce wildfire risk by clearing out flammable fuels. The National Forest Foundation found that “low to moderate-intensity fires can play a key role in keeping those same ecosystems healthy by reducing understory density and returning nutrients to the soil.”Nielsen said that with less plant life, there is less competition for nutrients and sunlight, meaning more trees can grow to be healthy. That in turn allows them to grow to be healthier and more resilient to disease and insect infestation. Additionally, wildlife have more room to forage and can more easily see predators in open forests.“We want a diversity of native species in here,” he said. “We cut a mix of tree age and size and class, so even if a drought comes or bug infestation comes, this place should survive with good seed stock and good genetics.”This method of forest management, Nielsen said, can make a forest a renewable resource. On Friday’s burn, a pile of large logs were stacked alongside an access road. It would be a waste to burn them, which is why DFPD donates them as firewood to nonprofits that distribute it through the community. Hunt’s crew also turns whatever trees it cuts down into firewood, which is given to either the property owner or left on the side of the road for someone else to take. But instead of burning slash, the crew donates it to Table to Farm to be composted, he said.“We’re not burning down the forest, we’re not clear cutting,” Nielsen said. “You can still see all the squirrels and deer and critters out here. Good mitigation should look good.”

sedmondson@durangoherald.com

The urban-wildland interface is changing – so is the approach to wildfire preparedness

Photos: The Four Corners Board of Realtors Parade of LightsThe Parade of Lights began it’s dazzling march down Cortez’s Main Street Saturday night, featuring the theme “Blessings of a Community” in honor of this year’s host, the Elks Lodge.Despite the cold, spectators were ready for the lights to warm their hearts. The community showed up in a dense crowd of observers along Cortez’s main thoroughfare as a caravan of floats brimming with holiday delight inched along.

The Parade of Lights began it’s dazzling march down Cortez’s Main Street Saturday night, featuring t...

Hissing gas well near Hesperus finally gets Colorado’s attentionDepartment of Natural Resources expected to visit site this month

BREEN – After several months of trying to get the state of Colorado’s attention about a leaking natural gas well on his property near Hesperus, landowner Randy Kennedy has finally succeeded.The well – an old, plugged gas well that has been venting methane into the air and soil – is scheduled to be re-plugged early this month. Getting to this point was anything but easy, Kennedy said.When he purchased the 80-acre parcel that had been in his family for generations, he planned to revive the farm his father and grandfather once worked. But he noticed a patch of ground where nothing would grow. Aerial imagery from Google Maps and the La Plata County GIS system shows a circular barren spot on the property.At the center of that circle sits a gas well originally plugged in 1969. The well’s last state inspection was in the 1980s, according to state records. Earlier this year, Kennedy visited the site and noticed something was off.“I went down there one day and I noticed that I could hear something,” he said. “It had just had some moisture, and I thought I could see something bubbling. I thought, ‘That doesn’t look right.’”Kennedy first contacted the state in February 2025, without success. Months passed before anyone acknowledged his messages, he said.

“When I first called, they told me the records showed it had been plugged, so their hands were tied,” Kennedy said. “I’ve called the state starting in February probably over half a dozen times. They never pick up. So I’ve left messages. They will not call me back. I don’t know what the deal is. I even called the federal site that has to do with hazards and hazardous material and pipelines.”He eventually took matters into his own hands and dug into the well, which had been covered by dirt. Kennedy found a large leak, as the well made an obvious hissing sound indicating gas exiting into the atmosphere. The soil surrounding the well was black. The Durango Herald reached out to the state with questions on Oct. 21, a day before La Plata County Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick also contacted state officials. On Oct. 22, someone from the state finally called Kennedy back. Since then, he said, progress has moved quickly.

“That was not an acceptable experience for him, and we should have done better in responding to his concerns. Hard stop,” said Kristin Kemp, spokeswoman for the Energy and Carbon Management Commission.Kemp said the agency looked into why Kennedy’s messages went unanswered. The lapse appeared to stem from two factors, she said: front office protocols for returning calls were not consistently followed, and the voicemail system may have malfunctioned intermittently.She said that once ECMC staff became aware of Kennedy’s attempts to report the leak, they responded promptly based on the severity of the issue.Kennedy agreed the state’s recent actions have been appropriate.“I’m happy with the response I’ve been seeing so far,” he said. “If a rig actually shows up here the first week of December, then I’ll know what they’re saying is actually what they’re going to do. I understand it takes time. You can’t just up and do stuff right away. But my biggest frustration is that no one would return a phone call.”

To ensure a faster response, Kemp recommended that residents use the complaint tool on the agency’s website if they need to request a site investigation. The complaint line is typically answered within 48 hours, she said.“A release from a plugged well is exceedingly uncommon,” she said.Colorado has more than 54,000 plugged wells, and only five have failed in the past five years. The cause of the failure on Kennedy’s property remains under investigation.

“We are first focused on getting it plugged, and then secondarily we’ll investigate why it happened,” Kemp said. “But the more pressing matter is getting it plugged, regardless of the why.”Because the well was previously plugged, it does not qualify as an orphan well under state rules. Whether the state will also conduct soil remediation – which it typically performs during orphan-well projects – remains undecided, Kemp said.jbowman@durangoherald.com

Department of Natural Resources expected to visit site this month

Ouray’s Dexter the Stand Up Dog tells his storyCanine who walks on hind legs stars in new children’s bookDexter, the dog from Ouray who walks on his hind legs, can now add starring in a children’s book to his resume.The 10-year-old Brittany spaniel’s life is the subject of “Dexter: The Stand Up Dog,” which was released Sept. 16. The book, written by Dexter’s mom, Kentee Pasek and Bonnie Kelso (who also illustrated it), is available in both English and Spanish.But, Pasek said, instead of being able to enjoy the book’s release, Dexter has had a fairly difficult autumn.

If you missed him at this year’s Durango Cowboy Gathering, it was because he was in Italy having surgery on the elbow of his remaining front leg, she said.“Dexter ruined the two adult pins that were fusing that elbow together in the front, and we had to instantly take care of that,” she said. “The vet here tried to get a lot of the different orthopedic surgeons in the U.S. to take him, and nobody would, because it’s so complicated.”Fortunately, a surgeon in Milan was able to take him, and they were there for almost two weeks.“He’s doing really well. He still has the cone of shame on,” she said. “He’s walking around still learning how that new elbow works. He’s not so sure yet. He’s a trooper.”

Dexter began walking upright after an accident when he was just turning a year old. He escaped from his yard while sniffing a deer trail scent and his front legs were run over by a car. Pasek and her husband brought him to a vet in Montrose where, while everything was fine with him internally, his legs were in pretty rough shape. One was amputated, and the other was a little trickier, ultimately having pins put into the elbow. The Paseks had a custom wheelchair made for him, but he wasn’t having it, and so he began walking upright. And to watch him get around is pretty amazing: He walks for a bit upright and then goes back down on his two (and a half) legs for a rest and then pops back up.The world came to know about him when a woman traveling through Ouray happened to catch Pasek’s mother walking Dexter in his way. She posted a video of the two to her TikTok account and it blew up. Pasek ended up making an account of her own for Dexter to tell his story, and the rest is history – he’s been in dog food commercials, on talk shows and now in his book.Dexter's story resonates with people because not only is it fascinating to watch him walk, there’s a deeper message to be taken away from him, Pasek said.“It’s relatable because you’re like, ‘Oh, he is resilient. He is persevering, he keeps going,’” she said. “No matter what, Dexter has that little positive walk and is happy to be there in life. And I think sometimes, because as an animal, he just bounced back so fast and so hard, it resonates for us to be like, ‘I maybe shouldn’t have a bad attitude about this. Or maybe this isn’t as bad. Or if Dexter can do it, I can too.’”At one point, Pasek said, a retired Navy officer knocked on their door in Ouray. He told them he had had hip surgery but wasn’t doing his physical therapy – until he saw Dexter.

“I think Dexter touches on the very human side of us to the point that we’re like, maybe it’s just so deep ... you don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives. You don’t know emotionally, physically what they’re going through,” she said. “And Dexter’s like, ‘OK, yes, acknowledge that you’re going through this, but keep going.’”And that’s what she hopes people take away from the book.“I think that’s Dexter’s message, period. So the book itself tells about his story, about being injured and then going through all this but still shining, still pushing through it,” Pasek said. “Keep going one step at a time. Don’t take life so complicated, take it one step at a time. That’s really his theme, and it’s been his theme all the way through.”katie@durangoherald.com

Canine who walks on hind legs stars in new children’s book

Former Fort Lewis College professor confronts Turning Point USA supporters after chapter voteRetired employee uses profanity, gestures in video after board decision

A retired Fort Lewis College professor was caught on camera using strong language – and the middle finger – around students and community members after the student government approved a Turning Point USA chapter on campus.David Kozak, who formerly taught in the anthropology department, appears to call chapter supporters “fascists” and “Nazis” in a video circulating on social media.Discourse has abounded in the Fort Lewis College community after former professor David Kozak seemingly called FLC Turning Point USA supporters “fascists” and “Nazis” in a video circulating on social media. Kozak retired in 2022 and retains the honorary professor emeritus status at the college. The video was recorded immediately after a Nov. 7 student government meeting that reversed its earlier denial of the Turning Point chapter. Turning Point USA is a nonprofit that promotes conservative politics on high school and college campuses. It was founded in 2012 by political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed Sept. 10 on the Utah Valley University campus.

The minute-long video begins with Kozak saying, “You’re (expletive) Nazis. Come on, Nazis. Come on, Nazis,” while apparently addressing a group of Turning Point USA supporters in the Student Union lobby. Someone off screen begins to object, and a woman onscreen interjects, “No, kindness – kill ’em with kindness. Don’t take his bait.” Several people, including some off camera, urge Kozak to “be calm.” “I’m totally calm. I’m totally calm,” he responds. He then puts his middle finger in front of a camera and repeats, “(Expletive) the Nazis. (Expletive) the Nazis.”Someone off screen can be heard saying, “Jesus loves you,” to which Kozak responds, “Oh he does, huh? He loves Nazis, too.”A woman onscreen responds, “Jesus loves everybody,” to which Kozak says, “He loves fascists, he loves Nazis, he loves haters.”“You have a very blessed day, sir,” the woman says. The video ends with Kozak responding, “I’m glad you fascist lovers – Nazi lovers – are having (unintelligible). Have a great night.”Kozak did not respond to a request for comment.

FLC spokesperson Nardy Bickel declined to comment on the former professor’s behavior. She noted that Kozak has not been employed by the college since his retirement in 2022. Bickel said the broader TPUSA discourse on campus has prompted thoughtful dialogue among students about civil discourse, free speech and free expression.“College is a place for learning, and these discussions – while sometimes challenging – are part of that educational experience,” Bickel told The Durango Herald. “Fort Lewis College remains committed to fostering an environment where complex issues can be explored with respect, curiosity and care.”Lively debate has sprung up across campus in response to Turning Point’s presence on campus.Strong discourse has arisen overall in response to the group’s presence on campus.

More than 30 students spoke against granting club status to Turning Point at an Oct. 29 student government meeting, where the board voted 5 to 2 to deny the application. Amid backlash, an emergency meeting was held Nov. 7, and the decision was reversed. where the chapter was initially denied official student status in a 5 to 2 vote. Fifteen additional students who hoped to speak against the chapter being instated at the Oct. 29 meeting were unable to due to time constraints. Four people spoke in support at the original meeting – TPUSA Fort Lewis College chapter President Jonah Flynn, Co-Vice President Zen Moreno, and two community members. Following pushback from hopeful TPUSA Fort Lewis College chapter members and some conservative community members, the emergency Nov. 7 student government meeting – where Kovak’s strong reaction was recorded – was held. At the emergency meeting, board senators voted unanimously to reverse the original decision. Due to time and room capacity constraints, only a handful of individuals were able to speak. Two FLC students spoke in opposition to Turning Point USA becoming a registered student organization.Four people, excluding Flynn, spoke in support – two students and two community members.One student offered a more neutral perspective, alluding to disagreements with the group, but welcoming them to campus as an official group. The student board did not explain its change of heart at the Nov. 7 meeting. Kozak’s confrontation with students and community members occurred just outside that meeting.Some board members received threats and harassment after a video showing their nameplates was posted on social media by a supporter of the Turning Point chapter after the Oct. 29 meeting. Flynn offered an apology to the board at the Nov. 7 meeting for members “catching heat” in the wake of the decision. Much of the arguments against the chapter being instated at the school have revolved around safety concerns for students in marginalized communities. Flynn told the room at the Nov. 7 meeting that those concerned about their safety in relation to Turning Point programming are “talking about some kind of fictional mental safety, or something like that.” Bickel reiterated that the conversation surrounding Turning Point’s status has offered valuable lessons for students in freedom of speech, civil discourse and free expression.“The fact that students are very engaged in that conversation is a good thing,” she said. epond@durangoherald.com

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