Opinion Columns - The Journal

City Council ignoring constituents on Durango’s Central Business District

As part of a $400,000 effort to “test” the viability of the city’s plan to redo Historic Downtown Durango into an outdoor dining mall, the city has installed fake sidewalks, taking up 15 par...

DATE: Aug 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Polis is wrong to call for another special session on property taxes

Gov. Jared Polis has made a big mistake calling for another special session to further cut property taxes. Yes, property taxes have caused concern for many Coloradans in recent years. But th...

DATE: Aug 20, 2024 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Crosswalk near Mountain Middle School ‘a serious hazard’

I am writing to express my deep concern about a serious hazard in our town of Durango. The pedestrian crosswalk on the 2900 block of north Main Avenue within two blocks of Mountain Middle S...

DATE: Aug 15, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Vivian Smotherman ‘understands and advocates’ for our needs

As a young and concerned voter in this district, I’m writing to express my strong support for Vivian Smotherman running for Senate District 6 in the upcoming election. We deserve to have a r...

DATE: Aug 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Reelect ‘experienced and effective’ LPEA board member Tim Wheeler

While we are all acutely aware of the national election this November, there is also an important and more immediate local election worthy of our attention. I strongly encourage you to reele...

DATE: Aug 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘I support and endorse’ John Purser for LPEA District 4

I support and endorse John Purser for the LPEA Board of Directors’ fourth district in northeast La Plata County. John is an outdoor enthusiast who has lived in and enjoyed the Durango area ...

DATE: Aug 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Can hide behind my whiteness’

When growing up in the East, my family moved to a town where we were the only Jewish family. My mother had us wear the Star of David. When we left the house for school, someone would rip it ...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Proposed change to downtown is madness’

I can only agree that the proposed change to downtown Durango is madness. The whole bump-out concept was a necessary evil, to keep restaurants open through the pandemic. To keep throwing out...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Current weather worse than prior times’

In reponse to a guest column in The Colorado Sun on July 19, Trish Zornio said: “Fifteen years ago not having an AC in this part of Colorado was probably fine. Now it’s not thanks to climate...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Thanks for work to pass child tax credit’

As reported in The Durango Herald, thanks to Sen. Michael Bennet for his continued work to pass the expanded child tax credit that would have lifted 400,000 children out of poverty and helpe...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Reallocate lodgers tax for ‘childcare crisis’

As the childcare project manager at La Plata Food Equity Coalition, I must address the critical childcare crisis impacting our community. The recent Workforce Childcare Survey Report highlig...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Slogan of ‘Save Democracy’ a joke’

It’s understandable that the Democratic Party’s newest presidential nominee will be Kamala Harris, considering she’s the vice president. And although the DNC wasn’t eager to support her in t...

DATE: Aug 11, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Photos: Protests held Saturday in Cortez and Durango

Play ball: Demons in action at homeDurango High School baseball wins over Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday

Durango High School baseball wins over Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday

Photos: Hozhoni Days at Fort Lewis CollegeTribal members come together for two days of celebrating their Indigenous heritage

Tribal members come together for two days of celebrating their Indigenous heritage

Cortez gathers to honor Orly Lucero at celebration of lifeLucero was known for his catchphrase ‘Living the dream’Following his death on March 7, David Orlando (Orly) Lucero, 67, was laid to rest on Friday after a celebration of life at the Cortez Recreation Center. Rather than flowers, his family requested that donations be made in his honor to the American Cancer Society.Lucero served as the mayor of Cortez from 2002 to 2010 and a member of the Cortez City Council from 2014 to 2022. He worked as a staking engineer at Empire Electric Association Inc.

Lucero was also known for his Christmas light display around the holidays. One of his blowup Santa decorations welcomed community members at the door of the Cortez Rec Center as they arrived to pay their respects.People of all ages crowded inside the rec center gym as a photo slideshow of Lucero began to play while “Vaya Con Dios” by Freddy Fender and “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson played in the background.Pastor Todd Erlandson of Grace Fellowship Church welcomed attendees by reading John 14:1-6 and Psalm 23. Following the reading of the Bible passages, “You Raise Me Up,” by Josh Groban played before Mayor Rachel Medina addressed the family and friends of Lucero.Medina honored the former mayor by speaking of his dedication to public service and his part in multiple projects in Cortez, including the rec center, new high school, the relocation of Walmart and more during his time of public service. He also served on multiple boards, including the Cortez Fire Protection District, Housing Authority, the RE-1 School District, and more.“He lent a helping hand whenever he could,” Medina said.The next speaker was Lucero’s niece, who shared she was still trying to “come to terms” with his death. She spoke fondly of the many stories he would tell.“All I can think of are his stories,” she said. “How many people have that many stories?”She told a humorous story of a time Lucero told her that Mohammed Ali was in the airport while they were traveling, but she didn’t believe him. She ended up missing the opportunity to see Ali in person.She noted that Lucero had impacted countless people in his life by always making them laugh and feel loved, saying she hoped others would always remember Lucero when serving their communities and decorating for the holidays.“You knew exactly who he was, because he always lived fearlessly,” she said.Before Erlandson closed the celebration of life, “Horses in Heaven” by Randy Travis was played.Erlandson spoke of how Lucero’s yard was always decorated for Christmas, and that his proudest moment was when his daughter, Felice, had graduated from pharmacy school.Erlandson also shared a poem called “The Dash” by Linda Ellis, and how it reminded him of the way Lucero had lived his life. The poem focuses on the dash between a person’s birth and date, and how we can forget how vastly important that little dash is.“For it matters not, how much we own/ the cars, the house, the cash/ What matters is how we live and love/ And how we spend our dash,” the poem said.While in chemotherapy, another man in treatment recognized Lucero, and the two struck up a conversation, further emphasizing his impact on others.“Orly lived his dash well,” Erlandson said. “It’s OK to grieve and mourn.”He urged those in attendance to celebrate Lucero’s life, how lived the dream and lived out the words of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.“Love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor,” Erlandson said. “Then you’ll be living the dream.”After a closing prayer and thanking attendees for their part in the celebration of life, pallbearers wearing Dallas Cowboy T-shirts escorted Lucero’s casket to be taken to the Bayfield Cemetery.

Lucero was known for his catchphrase ‘Living the dream’

Durango man charged with officer shooting waives preliminary hearingElias Buck to remain in San Juan County jail through trial

A Durango man accused of shooting a police officer was transferred from federal prison to the San Juan County Detention Center to face charges.“We transferred (Elias Buck) here to face the local charges,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker said. “We brought him here from Otisville, New York.”Buck, 26, is charged with aggravated battery upon a peace officer causing great bodily harm, a third-degree felony in connection to the Jan. 7, 2022, shooting of officer Joseph Barreto of the Farmington Police Department.Buck waived his preliminary hearing in Farmington Magistrate Court, and the case was bound over to the 11th Judicial District Court with an arraignment set at 8 a.m. March 24 in front of District Judge Stephen Wayne.Buck is serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The sentence is running concurrent to a two-year sentence for charges of escape, assault and aggravated vehicle theft in La Plata County, Colorado.The prior felony of attempted possession of methamphetamine for sale in Arizona in 2019 barred him from possessing a firearm.

The La Plata County Jail escape charge is directly tied to the alleged shooting of Barreto.Buck was arrested by the Aztec Police Department on suspicion of motor vehicle theft Nov, 27, 2021, and extradited to Colorado. While at the La Plata County Jail, he climbed a perimeter fence and escaped Dec. 27, 2021.Buck resurfaced in Farmington Jan. 7, 2022, with then-girlfriend Victoria Hernandez Rossi.He allegedly was driving drunk at 10:17 p.m. “in the drive-thru at Starbucks,” located at 2900 E. Main St. Buck reportedly was driving a 2009 black Cadillac passenger car “traveling at a high rate of speed,” according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.Police found the Cadillac unoccupied at 10:32 p.m. in the Carl’s Jr. parking lot, and three minutes later, Barreto located Buck and Hernandez Rossi walking in the area of 10th Street and North Fairview Avenue, the affidavit states.The couple claimed they were “running from a dog,” when Barreto asked them to sit down, the affidavit states.Buck asked if he was being detained and when Barreto said yes, Buck allegedly “reached into his waistband, backed up, asked why he was being detained and shot the officer,” according to the affidavit.

Buck and Hernandez Rossi fled Farmington after the shooting, and were apprehended at a convenience store in Maricopa County, Arizona.The San Juan County Regional Shoot Team investigated Barreto shooting, on Jan. 8, 2022, and reportedly found a 9 mm Beretta handgun, a wig and a hoodie worn by Buck near a dumpster behind a business at 2324 E. Main St., according to an affidavit.Farmington Police took custody of the Cadillac and searched the vehicle, reportedly finding a 30-round Glock magazine, narcotics, wigs, ammunition and multiple cellphones, according to the search warrant inventory sheet.In February 2022, Farmington Police traveled to Maricopa County Jail, where they took into custody gray Nike shoes with white soles and blue boxer shorts, which according to the search warrant matched what Buck was wearing during the shooting.Buck will remain in the San Juan County Detention Center until the police officer shooting case is completed, according to Decker.

Elias Buck to remain in San Juan County jail through trial

DENVER – Thieves nabbed a pair of high-priced bulldogs from a Colorado pet store after a man alleged...

Photos: Winter storm leaves over a foot of snow

‘Clown Sex Ed’ comes to Sunflower Theater in Cortez‘It’s an exploration of the very broken sex education system in America,’ actor saysSix years ago, two friends were reflecting on sex education and realized something: Their teachings – and teachers – were incredibly inadequate. From there, conversation compounded. They spoke of sex, relationships, pleasure, intimacy. The kinds of things “I wish I could have told my early 20s self or teenage self” to not feel shame around, specifically in regards to “sexual expression and pleasure,” said Tara Demmy, a co-writer and actor in the show. Demmy and Zachary Chiero, who acts and co-wrote the show with Demmy, were in Philadelphia at the time, in theater together, and brainstorming a new show idea. It was there that “Clown Sex Ed” was born. “It’s an exploration of the very broken sex education system in America and all the hilarious and cringey moments that is provided through the lens of these very naive clowns,” Chiero said. The clowns are not only naive, they’re innocent. Purposefully innocent. “I was studying the red-nose theatrical clown. and it’s ... very deeply connected to childhood,” Demmy said. “So wouldn’t it be great to have these clowns, these really innocent forms, interacting with four sets of teachers during the show.” Plus, the clowns resonate. “Tara and I are both clowns,” Chiero said. “Half the show is kind of a clown show, with these two clowns kind of exploring their sexuality. The other half of the show is sketches where we play different sex educators.” The pair plays parents, gym teachers, a couple of nine and even nuns.

Chiero remembered how, in a past show, they were performing as nuns while a thunderstorm roared outside. “The nuns are speaking about sex and then suddenly thunder comes in,” Chiero said. “It was the kind of thing you couldn’t plan, and it stopped the show for two minutes because people were laughing.” Over time, the show has changed and progressed. There’s updated ideas from “sexperts” and live music by Conor Sheehan, said Dallas Padoven, the rehearsal director and producer. Recently, “Clown Sex Ed” was in Durango, where all the actors now live. The show is coming to Cortez’s Sunflower Theater on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. It’s 75 minutes long, and tickets are $20. You can purchase tickets here. The recommended audience is 18 years and older, but it’s “probably OK” for a high school student to go with a parent. “This is sex ed meets circus meets sketch comedy meets live concert,” Demmy said. “It has a bunch of different elements.” “I’m not going to spoil anything,” Chiero said. “But there are moments in the show that are actually really going to touch you, and it’s going to make you a bit more introspective.”After the show, the audience can talk with the “sexperts” and/or submit anonymous questions about sex, intimacy and the like.

‘It’s an exploration of the very broken sex education system in America,’ actor says

Cortez sends off Panthers to state wrestling tournamentCoaches and wrestlers reflect on their journey to stateDespite the freezing temperatures that reddened noses and ears, faculty, students, and community members gathered at the front entrance of Montezuma-Cortez High School on Wednesday to send their best wishes to the seven wrestlers in a warm send-off.The team was escorted out by the Cortez Fire Protection District and the Cortez Police Department, which led an exciting chorus of sirens to give the Panthers a memorable trip to Denver for Colorado High School Wrestling Tournament at Ball Arena Thursday through Saturday.At the start of the season, M-CHS boys head wrestling coach Ryan Daves expressed his goal of guiding several athletes to the state tournament and boosting overall confidence. With the addition of the girls team, seven wrestlers have stepped up for the journey to Denver.

“The biggest thing we really tried to focus on this year is believing in yourself,” Daves said Wednesday morning at the send-off. “There’s a lot of tough kids all over the state, but we’re tough too. We put in the time, effort and hard work to get where we’re at now.”Ashton Orr, Bodie Stiegelmeyer, Rusty Snyder, Keaton Curleyhair, Paislee Mestas, CeJae Snyder, and Aubrey Rutherford earned a spot at the state competition after qualifying in regional tournaments last weekend. They will compete at the Ball Arena in Denver starting Thursday. This will be almost everyone’s first visit to the Arena, except for Stiegelmeyer, who qualified last year.The boys team said they were most excited about the competition and that it was all their goals to qualify for state.“It’s quite an accomplishment for me,” said Curleyhair, who is a sophomore, “The competition I’ll be seeing at state will help me propel forward to match that level of competition for the next seasons as well.”

The girls wrestling team made history simply by participating in its inaugural season. Now, CeJae Snyder, Mestas and Rutherford are making their mark as part of the first-time qualifiers.M-CHS girls head wrestling coach James Snyder said it had been an exciting season guiding the girls team and being part of that journey.“It’s been unbelievable fun this year. It has been way better than we ever expected,” said Coach Snyder on Wednesday morning. “We told them they made it to the big show, now we met that goal, and now our next goal is to win the next matches at state.”Mestas is also representing Mancos. As one of the most experienced wrestlers on the girls team, she stepped onto the mats at Montezuma-Cortez alongside CeJae Snyder, and both qualified for state as freshmen.Senior Aubrey Rutherford also helped lead the team and expressed her optimism for the upcoming competition.“I’m hoping we all do good this weekend,” Rutherford said. “We’re all good wrestlers, we fought for this moment right here, and hopefully a lot of us do good this weekend and fight hard for it.”Each team will begin state competition on Thursday and throughout the rest of the weekend in Denver.

Coaches and wrestlers reflect on their journey to state

FKT: Fort Lewis College students create documentary on fastest Durango Death RideIsaac Allred rode fastest known time in October

Not only did Fort Lewis College sophomore Isaac Allred complete the infamous 224-mile Durango Death Ride loop. He crushed the FKT (fastest known time) with the help of his friends and now his feat has been seen by thousands on YouTube thanks to his friend Donovan Riley’s documentary.Allred initially wasn’t worried about the FKT when he woke up before the sun rose on Oct. 5 intending to complete the Durango Death Ride. He knew his old Skyhawks cycling teammate Kellen Caldwell had done the ride and it destroyed him. Allred wanted to do the ride and provide Riley the opportunity to do a long-form documentary.After climbing 15,433 feet of elevation gain on a beautiful fall day, Allred crossed the finish line in Durango in 10 hours 24 minutes and 40 seconds. His friends and support team were there to celebrate and Riley’s camera was there to capture the end of an epic day; Allred crushed the FKT by over 40 minutes.“At the time I knew I could do a pretty good effort like that,” Allred said. “But now, after a pretty good off-season from the bike, I’m kind of shocked I actually made that happen. It's been a lot of time to reflect and I'm still pretty proud of myself for being able to pull that off.”The history of the Durango Death Ride goes back to 1979 when Bob Gregorio, working with Fort Lewis College at the time, organized the ride just for fun and was planned as a two-day ride. The next year, the riders returned and wanted more of a challenge. So they did it in one day and the ride became more and more legendary as the years passed.Beginning in North Durango, the route goes north through the Million Dollar Highway and up to Ridgway. After that, riders head south to Telluride and climb Lizard Head Pass. Then riders will rip through a 60-mile canyon into Dolores. Finally, riders head east through Mancos and back into Durango.FLC cycling coach Chad Cheeney said Allred’s accomplishment is impressive considering how young Allred is and how new Allred is to the area. Cheeney said the training knowledge, the history of the Durango Death Ride and the advances in equipment have helped young riders like Allred continue to go faster on the route.Allred is from Winona, Minnesota, and got into mountain biking in high school. He fell in love with the sport and during his sophomore year, he did a 100-mile ride and knew he wanted to get more into endurance riding. Then COVID-19 hit and Allred had some more time on his hands. He got a 20-year-old Trek road from his uncle and started going on more long road rides. Allred started enjoying the process and the training more. He realized he wanted to pursue cycling in college and found FLC. He first heard about the Durango Death Ride last year as a freshman and since then, it was always in the back of his mind.The perfect opportunity to do it presented itself in late August. Allred was out on a ride and Riley texted him asking him to shoot something.Riley, from Littleton, Colorado, began doing photography in middle school and got into mountain biking in high school. He started making edits and fell in love with those. After he came to FLC for the cycling team, Riley continued to make edits and worked with the college’s marketing department to put stuff out on social media.Allred and Riley met up and Riley made an Instagram reel of Allred riding his bike. Allred’s clothing sponsor, Champion System, saw the reel and loved it. They said they wanted more videos and asked about any ideas the guys had. Riley mentioned that he wanted to do a longer-form video instead of a reel. Allred was thinking about doing the Light Rim route in Moab, Utah, but Riley suggested the Durango Death Ride because there’d already been so many documentaries on the Light Rim.“I was looking for just a bigger project to work on,” Riley said. “I had done a lot of stuff having to do with cycling. I wanted to encapsulate something that was close to the community here because there are so many amazing cyclists that come out of this place … He (Allred) mentioned he wanted to try to do this ride. At first, he wasn't even looking into doing the FKT. I was trying to encapsulate how it was originally going to be mostly about the ride and how big of a deal it was, with it being this giant ride.”About a month before, the boys agreed to start preparing for the ride and got their friends Kip Sevenoff, Evan Dudley and Caruso Shanafelt to help. Sevenoff and Shanafelt were responsible for giving Allred nutrition during the ride and taking some photos and shots for the documentary. Dudley was driving the truck while Riley was in the back of the truck picking up rolling shots of Allred. Champion System also stepped in and contributed some funds to help the ride.The guys planned out what spots on the loop they wanted shots at using Google Earth. Riley and Dudley only did rolling shots where there was passing lanes to ensure safety and marked those areas down ahead of time using Google Earth.Allred was ready to go. He didn’t need any special training and the guys’ time frame for the ride fit in perfectly with his end-of-the-year race schedule. Allred spent a ton of hours on the bike in the previous winter and he stayed in Durango during the summer to continue training. The only thing Allred did was ride up Red Mountain Pass about two weeks before to do a little recon and test out his legs on one of the harder parts of the route.The night before the ride was scheduled, Allred was working at Tom’s Deli, ate a bunch of bread between washing dishes and went home. He didn’t have much trouble falling to sleep. The nerves hit him when he got up before the 6 a.m. start time. It was a cold fall morning and he couldn’t tell if he was shaking from the nerves or the cold.Allred started the Durango Death Ride but had some early trouble with his seat post and had to stop to adjust it around Coal Bank and Molas Pass. But his boys quickly realized that he was looking good early on.“With my fitness at the time, it felt like I had no real high end power, but I could motor for an entire day,” Allred said. “I was definitely staring at my Garmin quite a bit, because I had a live segment up so I could see exactly how close I was to the previous FKT. So I was staring at that, and at my power meter, making sure I wasn't going too hard, but also trying to keep the pace high enough to get a good time.”

After he got through the Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain Pass, Allred’s fitness allowed him to feel better as the hours went by. It also helped that he felt a tail wind for most of the ride. But there was one big problem: Neither Allred or his friends could confirm whether he was up or down on the FKT. Allred gave his friends a spreadsheet of all the times he wanted to be at the certain feed stations to see if he was either ahead or behind the FKT. The problem was he didn’t calculate for 18 minutes early in the ride. Therefore, about halfway through the ride, Allred and his buddies didn’t know if he was 19 minutes up on the FKT or down on it.“It was really not until Placerville going up Lizard Head that I was pretty confident that I was ahead,” Allred said. “But I tried to not focus on it too much and just push to my limit.”Allred pushed and pushed with his friends giving him nutrition and cheering him on. He had no solid food on the ride. He pushed through with sugar water in his bottle, which was ambitious because he had an upset stomach at the end of the ride.Once Allred got to Dolores, he really started to feel all he had put his body through. He didn’t know the rolling hills heading into Hesperus too well but he pushed until the final descent into Durango to finish the ride. His friends and support team were there for hugs as he realized what he had accomplished.Allred and the support crew were exhausted from the 10-hour day. They stood around at the finish for a little bit before they all went home to sleep. The last thing Allred remembered from that day was chugging chocolate milk as his friends drove away from his house. He estimates he burned between 9,000-10,000 calories.“It was so much fun having them there to support it,” Allred said about his friends. “Because I have never really had a ride like this, where I've had a ton of support like that … As the day wore on, I was pretty cooked by the end. Their enthusiasm really picked me up quite a bit. I was just so down in the dumps at a couple points. I'd ride past them and they'd all be screaming and I could not help but smile.”While Allred’s work was done, Riley’s work was just beginning. With a background in reels, Riley is very detail-oriented and was working at a snail’s pace on the beginning of the documentary. He realized he needed help and he got it from his boss at FLC, Shan Wells. Riley was worried about the flow of the plot points of the documentary; he didn’t want one point to be too long or another one to be too short. He knew he wanted it to be between 10-20 minutes long. During winter break, Riley found his editing groove. He edited three hours a day as he crafted the story with beautiful drone shots of the fall scenery, smooth action shots of Allred crushing the FKT and blending in interviews with the guys. After feedback from Wells and his buddies, Riley published the documentary to his YouTube page on Jan. 18. “I knew what he could do with the camera and how good he can make things look,” Allred said about Riley. “I had no expectations. I didn't know what to expect with how he was going to edit it but I was so happy with it when he showed me.”

bkelly@durangoherald.com

Isaac Allred rode fastest known time in October