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Jock and Ann-Marie Fleming CrossFit— John and Kelly Brown The Stambaughs in South America themonitormagazine.com Summer 2012 Celebrating Community Montrose · Telluride · Placerville · Ouray Ridgway · Olathe · Delta · Delta County

Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

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Celebrating community on Colorado's Western Slope. We are about locals. Online at www.themonitormagazine.com or pick up a free copy at locations throughout Montrose, Delta, Ouray and E. San Miguel counties

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Page 1: Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

Jock andAnn-Marie

Fleming

CrossFit—John and

Kelly Brown

The Stambaughs in South America

themonitormagazine.com Summer 2012

Celebrating CommunityMontrose · Telluride · Placerville · OurayRidgway · Olathe · Delta · Delta County

Page 2: Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

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Publisher’s Notes by Mavis bennett THETHETHE

M A G A Z I N E The MonitorCelebrating Community since 2003

Advertising Sales · 970-417-0909

Publisher and Managing Editor · Mavis Bennett970-417-0909 · [email protected]

Graphic Design · John F. Trainor Scott’s Printing & Design Solutions

Green Pages Editor/Writer · David Segal970-424-1011 · [email protected]

Cover · by Mavis Bennett

Contributors · Peggy Carey, Sarah Gilman, Betsy Marston, Paul Paladino, Ellen Roberts, David Segal, Jamie and Bo Stambaugh, Lu Anne Tyrrell, Lael Van Riper, Lynn Vogel

The Monitor Magazine is printed on recycled paper.

I’ve always enjoyed birds from a distance. But indoors, I revert to the woman in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” It doesn’t help that when I was a kid my sister let her bird out

of the cage, just to torment me, I’m afraid.In April, I found a nest with two eggs in the gardening junk

shelf on our porch. I’d never seen a nest that close and bird-mom was nowhere to be seen. But soon she was sitting on the eggs noon and night. We researched and found she was a mourning dove and that both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs. They mate for life and may have up to three families a year.

It was fun to go out and check on her (or him). I could get within four feet without either of us getting scared. Once I saw both of them on the nest. And then they weren’t there, replaced by a couple of fuzz ball babies. Within two weeks the babies were almost full grown. They were moving around the nest and I wondered when and how they learned to fly.

I found out last week when I stepped within three feet of the nest and they flew at me with thundering baby wings. I covered my head and ran screaming into the house. All Dave could do was laugh.

We haven’t see them since.

**************

Our summer issue features long-time residents Jock and Ann-Marie Fleming, as well as John and Kelly Brown who have brought the workout culture of CrossFit to Montrose.

In our 2011 Summer Issue we interviewed my friend Sharon Shuteran. Sadly she passed away unexpectedly this spring and I was glad to be able to share that interview again. There are many in the area who liked and admired her and she will be missed.

Table of Contents

Jock and Ann-Marie Fleming ...........................................4

Lael Van Riper ................................................................6

Sen. Ellen Roberts ...........................................................8

Real Estate Stats .............................................................9

CrossFit ........................................................................10

Paul Paladino ................................................................12

Womens Business Alliance ............................................13

PACE ............................................................................14

Main in Motion Calendar................................................16

Peggy Carey .................................................................18

Sharon Shuteran ...........................................................20

USA Pro Cycling Race ...................................................22

South American Adventure.............................................24

Writers on the Range ....................................................26

Green Pages .................................................................27

Summer Event Calendar ................................................30

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Summer 2012 · 3

Super Moon by Lu Anne TyrrellFor a selection of Colorado prints designed by Lu Anne Tyrrell please go to: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/Lu+Anne+Tyrrell/all Or call, 970-249-1190 for more information on prints.

Read us online at: themonitormagazine.com

On Saturday, May 12, downtown Montrose had a afternoon celebration honoring

Mother’s Day and History Day. Cathy Hartt’s family has a long history in

Montrose and on that Saturday, Cathy wore a dress specially made to look like the one worn by Cathy’s Aunt Dotty generations

ago. Dotty’s husband was Homer B. Okey. His father’s construction company, White and Okey, built many historic Montrose buildings, including the

Court House, City Hall, the Moose building and the Elks. There is a bench

on Main Street in his honor.

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A life in the West By Mavis Bennett

How do people end up in Montrose? For Jock and Ann-Marie Fleming, in 1985, it began with an empty office. They had three young children

and Jock had just finished law school. “We were looking for the big adventure,” said Ann-Marie.

She was born in Lindsay, California, where her father worked for the Army Corps of Engineers. Another move brought the family to New Mexico for six years. “I’ve always had a good feeling about the West,” she said.

John Mitchel, Ann Marie’s brother, is a Montrose lawyer and at the time, had empty office space. Jock says he felt comfortable in Montrose. His first impression was that it could have been a small town in the northeast.

In 1985, they relocated from the Washington, D.C. area to Montrose. A year later, they bought a three-story house built in 1904. “I remember sitting on the front porch,” said Jock, “watching our kids play in the gutter after a rain storm and commenting to Ann-Marie that when we lived back East, we wouldn’t let our kids cross the sidewalk because cars might cut across that bit of lawn. And there we were, watching our children sitting in the street!”

Ann-Marie’s sister visited their first year in Montrose and her comment was: “How can you live here? There’s no place to shop.” Her sister no longer makes those comments about Montrose, where shopping opportunities have flourished since the early ‘80s.

“I was the one who really wanted to come,” said Ann-Marie. “I wanted to go back West because I had all these really great memories of living in Albuquerque. I wanted a horse, but instead I got a house.”

The house was a wreck, she said. “There’s not a year

that has gone by that we haven’t done something to it.” They worked on it a room a year. There’s not a surface that hasn’t been changed, removed, rebuilt, stripped, pulled-up or repainted.

They renovated the carriage house into a two-story getaway for their children. It had a dirt floor and a half-burned

hay loft on the second floor. “When the kids were in high school,” Jock explained, “we decided that they needed a place to get away from us and now that they’re gone, we’ve turned it into a guest house.”

A backyard shed has become Ann-Marie’s print shop. She does raised letterpress printing and is working toward making small, printed and illustrated books.

Since 2001, Ann-Marie has been one of two art teachers at Montrose High School, where she teaches drawing, painting, calligraphy and printmaking. In her student days, she earned a degree in fine arts at George Washington

University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree in art education at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.

Jock was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and from junior high was raised in Alexandria,Va. He graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In Montrose, he is a general practice lawyer. He represents the local department of health and human services, which involves child support collection, dependency and neglect and adult protection cases. He also does work for the local housing authority. “I like to do public service work and I also really enjoy working with small business owners, people who are working hard to make it. It’s all part of being a family practice lawyer.” His firm now has another lawyer, Dan Lipsitz, who specializes in criminal law.

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Summer 2012 · 5

Jock has been active in the community on the city planning commission for three years and served on the school board for 12. He was recently appointed by the governor to the Colorado Utility Consumers Board.

Yet what brings a big smile to his face is coaching freshman and sophomore girls’ basketball. He’s played basketball since he was a kid. “It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “He’s really able to transform their skills from when they start,” Ann-Marie added.

“We have three great kids,” said Ann Marie. Mellie, 33, is a corporate executive

at Cricket; John, 29, is in Austin, pursuing a music career, and Anna, 26, is raising funds for non-profits in Denver. All three graduated from Montrose High School and completed their college degrees—Mellie at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., John at University of Denver, and Anna at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.

The Flemings like traveling, but they still enjoy coming home to Montrose. Jock says he feels like a Montrose Chamber of Commerce booster while traveling. “The first thing that people ask about is the weather and I tell them

we have the best weather in the world. I’ve lived up and down the East coast and I know people who’ve lived in the Northwest. We have wonderful weather. I think it’s a great place to raise kids because it’s safe. It’s a small town and you know people. We still live in the neighborhood where our kids grew up, where the neighbors watched over our kids and we watched over theirs. As children, we didn’t have that experience back east.”

They came out West 27 years ago looking for an adventure and in Montrose, Colorado, found a life.

C o M M u N i t Y

Grand Junction artist Lee Baxter’s “Trash Fish” becomes the center of attention for Pomona Elementary students during the third annual Public Art eXperience PAX school field trip. This year more then 60 Pomona Elementary students toured the public art in downtown Montrose.

Photo by Lu Anne Tyrrell

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f r o M t h e N o r t h f o r t Y

Heritage By Lael Van Riper

“My grandmother’s Swedish teakettle” was what it was always called. Now I keep that title for the kettle, forgetting that it is my great-

grandmother’s Swedish teakettle. It is ornamental now, no longer used to serve up hot cups of tea. With a soft copper gleam it sits on a decorative shelf. For me it serves the same purpose as it did for my mother—linkage to the past. At a time when connection seems very important, the kettle is a symbol of the women in my past and the families they shepherded.

I remember my mother crying over the kettle after she had taken it to be refurbished. Instead of just taking the dents out and polishing it, the company had shellacked it. It looked new. Its history was erased. No longer could fingers tarnish nor add patina to the kettle. But it has traveled many miles and suffered many fingers since then. The shellac is wearing thin, and fingers can now leave their marks, a new history.

My great-grandmother’s teakettle was brought to the New World when my grandfather immigrated to America. He changed his name from Anderson to Linne to acknowledge the man he had apprenticed with. Grandpa became a baker in Minnesota. As I, like so many others, ponder contemporary families, I wonder what sort of family my great-grandmother had. Records say she had seven or eight children, four who immigrated to America and became Linnes, three or four who stayed behind and kept the name Anderson. Most were bakers by trade.

The teakettle is now in America but one of my great aunts in Sweden was locked in her bedroom each day when she became a nuisance to her grown daughter. She was too old; longevity is a Linne heritage. Yet her nephew, my grandfather, was active into his 80s. He used to hug me and sing me Swedish songs. He was tenderly cared for and included in all family activities until he died at 91.

The teakettle is on the stove in Grandma Linne’s house. She bore seven children because she had no choice, watched three die before they became adults and worked long hours in the family bakery. The older children became the guardians of the little ones. She struggled with an alcoholic husband, work, and raising children. She lived through a lot of pain and joy with children and grandchildren, never any prosperity,

but with a devotion and persistence that lasted for years. When Grandpa died she didn’t take a new lease on life. She gradually let loose her hold on life, perhaps struggle had been necessary to give her life meaning.

My mother, carefully placing the teakettle next to the fireplace, had three children, all unexpected, none carefully planned. Perhaps she too would have had seven, but divorce

halted rampant reproduction. So following in her mother’s footsteps, my mother became a working mother long before it became fashionable, and the oldest child looked after the littler ones. The teakettle reminded Mom that it could be done. Home fires can be tended in many ways. Even then families weren’t necessarily made up of father, non-working mother, 1.8 children, a dog, and a cat.

The teakettle reminds me of the families coming in many sizes, shapes, and

configurations and still working. Strong women and strong men can work out new patterns for living that build on the past but move into the future. Someday I will pass the teakettle on to my daughter with the reminder that “grandma’s Swedish teakettle is actually her great, great grandmother’s Swedish teakettle, linking her with her female relatives, women who tended hearths, raised children, worked in and out of the house, endured hardships and heartaches, worshiped, loved, and made new history out of the old.

Lael Van Riper recommends that you find that object that links you to the past and think about people and lessons it symbolizes for your life.

So following in her mother’s footsteps, my mother became a working mother

long before it became fashionable

Public SPeaking inStructionPrivate lessons available

FinD Your Voice

Dave Segal970-424-1011970-442-1042

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Summer 2012 · 7

Gayle Frazzetta MD 224 South Nevada Montrose

(970) 252-9644Gayle Frazzetta MD224 South NevadaMontrose, Colorado(970) 252-9644

Did you just break a bone? Or did you break a bone due to osteoporosis?

There is a difference.

Osteoporosis is a progressive disease that makes bones thinner and more fragile.

· Bone Density testing available· Full Consultations and Management available

The FIRST SUNDAY of the month, starting May 6th, we’re teaming up with Laff Inn Comedy Club

to bring a comedy show to Montrose.

Live Music Thursday Nights

Arrive as Strangers ... Leave as Friends

Situated in historic downtown and conveniently located near unique shops, and great restaurants. Services include a full

breakfast, wine in the evening, wireless internet, and a certified massage therapist on–site.

Our three guests rooms each feature a private bathroom, queen–sized bed, flat screen television, and air conditioning.

820 Main St. 970-249-2886 or 877-262-8202www.canyoncreekbedandbreakfast.com

Metalworker Caleb Kullman set up shop on Main Street, Montrose,

for History Day. Kullman is building two iron

bike racks to be placed downtown. The Montrose

Area Bicycle Alliance received a grant from the

Montrose Community Foundation for the

commission.

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Life in the Legislature by Senator Ellen Roberts

Senator for Colorado State Senate District 6

1000 N. Townsend • Montrose 249-2461N o A p p o i N t m e N t N e c e s s A r y

Hours - 7:30-5:30 Monday-Friday • 7:30-1:00 Saturday

STANDARD TIRE &

SERVICE CENTERS

MORE THAN JUST A TIRE STORE

M O R E T H A N J U S T A T I R E S T O R E®

CERTIFIED

OIL & FILTER CHANGE WITH CHASSIS LUBEINCLUDES UP TO 5 QTS. KENDALL 10W30 SYNTHETIC

BLEND WITH TITANIUM MOTOR OIL .

$21.95PLUS SALES TAX , HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL & SHOP SUPPLIES

SERVICE INCLUDES• FREE TIRE ROTATION• FREE SAFETY INSPECTION• FREE FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT CHECK .

Additional Parts & Labor Extra | Reset of Alignment Extra | Additional Oil Extra Diesel Engine And Full Synthetic Oil Not Included.

Special Oil Filter Applications Not Included | No Further Discounts Apply .

It’s a challenging assignment to sum up the past week’s events, or non-events, as the case may be. I’d anticipated being finished midweek and headed home for the interim,

but instead the legislature’s been summoned back by the governor to a special session.

The special session is to consider seven topics related to a number of bills that died on the House calendar as the clock ran out on our constitutional requirement that a session last no more than 120 days.

I was concerned earlier about the backlog of bills to be heard before the end of the session and I suggested in an earlier column that we work late into the nights, if need be. We did work late some nights, but obviously, not enough.

Returning to the topic of the regular session, though, I had guessed that politics would rule the day. That happened, yet we also did a lot of good work. The budget bill and the school finance bill, the only two state constitutional “must do’s” each

session, were passed with broad bipartisan support. Because of a mildly improved economy, cautious optimism in the budget process and the politically divided legislature, we were prudent in crafting the next budget.

I’m very pleased with the session in terms of what I’d set out to work on this year. My persistent harping in committee, on the Senate floor and through introduced and debated resolutions that we develop the necessary fiscal discipline to stop backfilling the budget by taking severance tax funds from local governments and water projects was mostly heeded this year.

It helped to be able to describe to legislators from areas unfamiliar with energy and water development just what happens on the ground in a district like mine when those monies are transferred away from their intended purpose.

Another goal I had was to work on reducing the costs of healthcare in Colorado and several bills I carried, aimed at doing that, were passed. One addresses getting a better handle on Medicaid fraud in our system, another expands the use of assisted living facilities over nursing homes when appropriate, and the third encourages innovation in new payment methods that reward health value over volume.

All of these new healthcare efforts will need monitoring and follow up, but we’ve got a chance to bend the notorious cost curve in healthcare spending with healthier patients. I aim to continue seriously pursuing these goals.

Last, but not least, is the passage of the bill eliminating the towing operator bond and improving the existing regulatory process in that industry. If you’ve been following that saga, it’s proof that constituent contact does indeed make a difference and I’ve got some great people in my district to prove that.

We went through our share of trials and tribulations to get to this point, but with dedicated efforts from tow operators, certain fellow legislators and the governor’s administration, we ended up with a much better situation than what was in place at the end of last session.

I’ve enjoyed working with my Republican caucus; we exchange ideas, learn from each other and find that we share more common ground than not. Getting to know my Democratic colleagues in the Senate better was another positive.

Now, on to the special session and home! .

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BELOW IS A SAMPLING OF RECENT REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS IN MONTROSE, DELTA AND OURAY COUNTIES . FOR A COMPLETE SALES ACTIVITY LIST, CONTACT LYNN . SHE CAN ALSO PROVIDE YOU WITH A TIMELY COMPARABLE SALES REPORT FOR YOUR INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY. AN

INDEPTH MARKET ANALYSIS REPORT IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON EACH INDIVIDUAL COUNTY . LYNN CAN BE REACHED AT 970-249-2425.

THESE REPORTS DO NOT INCLUDE ANY FORECLOSURE SALES

TOTAL SALES NUMBERS FOR 1-1-2012 thru 3-31-2012

MONTROSE COUNTY– January — March, 2012Date of Sale Sale Price Property Address Type of Property Legal Description 1/4/2012 352,500 67231 OGDEN RD 1 STORY L14 CACTUS CREEK SUB 1 2-48-9 1/9/2012 170,000 1401 S MESA 1 STORY L29 B7 ENGLISH GARDENS ADDN 34-49-9 2/2/2012 40,000 480 E 5TH AVE MH TR IN NE4SE4 5-46-15 2/15/2012 155,000 2615 CIRQUE WAY 1 STORY L158 WINDSOR VILL 12 AMENDED PLAT L158-162 35-49-9 2/16/2012 530,000 15227 6260 RD 1 STORY L11 ENGLISH REPLAT 31-49-9 2/16/2012 47,500 CONGRESS ST VACANT LV-6 AMERICAN VILLAGE 3-3 36-49-9 2/21/2012 12,000 VACANT L5-8 B1 GRIPE SUB 30-46-15 3/9/2012 75,000 5725 RD VACANT L2 HUTTO MINOR SUB 29-51-10 3/12/2012 300,000 1 STORY TR SE4SW4 S19; TR E2NW4 S30 50-10 3/13/2012 204,900 559 OPAL DR 1 STORY L3 RIVER STONE SUB 1 5-48-9 3/14/2012 100,000 2130 HARTFORD WAY #B TOWNHOUSE #B BLDG 1 MONARCH GARDENS LOT SPLIT 2 BLK 2 35-49-9 3/15/2012 40,000 3008 IVY DR VACANT L50 COLUMBINE POINTE SUB 3-1 25-49-9 3/15/2012 211,000 3217 SILVER FOX DR 2 STORY L1-S FOX PARK SUB SOUTH 3 36-49-9 3/15/2012 250,000 2500 STONE BRIDGE DR 1 STORY L413 B400 EAGLE LANDING PD 1 35-49-9 3/21/2012 235,000 63749 SPRING CREEK RD 1 STORY PT E2SW4SE4 29-49-9 3/23/2012 215,000 16880 RIVERVIEW CT 1.5 STORY L1 RIVERVIEW SUB 4-48-9 3/26/2012 189,500 52948 ORANGE RD BI LEVEL L5 MESA CREST EST 1-48-10 3/30/2012 145,900 1548 BRANDING IRON DR 1 STORY L26 HOMESTEAD EST SUB 2 22-49-9Single Family Sales - 125; Vacant Ld/Acreage Sales - 33; Commercial Sales - 14; Other - 12; Total # Sales for Period - 184

DELTA COUNTY– January — March, 2012 1/4/2012 245,000 1080 SE 3RD ST 1 STORY L12 AMENDED PLAT L11-12 COTTONWOOD SUB 29-13-94 1/5/2012 213,570 37280 GRANDVIEW MESA RD 1.5 STORY L1 JENSEN MINOR SUB 1 34-15-92 1/9/2012 136,000 335 ONARGA AVE 1 STORY L23 B12 WA CLARKS ADDN 6-14-91 1/25/2012 125,000 760 NW BIRCH AVE 1 STORY L12 B1 ROCKWOOD SUB 20-13-94 1/30/2012 95,000 1280 PINION ST 1 STORY L33 GARY GRESHAM SUB 19-15-95 2/3/2012 70,000 737 1325 RD MH L3 N DELTA MINOR SUB 10-15-96 2/21/2012 70,000 VACANT #18 HIGH PARK ROAD ASSOC 34-12-95 2/29/2012 60,000 VACANT PT SE4SE4 11-15-96 3/1/2012 160,000 BLACK CANYON RD VACANT L3 MARTINGALE RANCH MINOR SUB 23-51-7 3/2/2012 155,000 646 APRICOT LN 1 STORY L49 ORCHARD ESTATES 20-15-95 3/19/2012 208,000 1960 GALA ST 1 STORY L72 CUNNINGHAM ORCHARD EST 1 30-15-95 3/20/2012 150,000 211 POPLAR WAY 1 STORY L89 WILLOW HEIGHTS 6 30-14-92 3/27/2012 287,500 13050 MYRNA LN 1 STORY L7 RESUB L2A & 2B RESUB L2 MOAD HORN SUB 12-14-953/30/2012 95,000 670 CARPENTER ST 1 STORY L32 YOUNG EST 20-15-95Single Family Sales -93; Vacant Ld/Acreage Sales - 22; Commercial Sales - 10; Other - 10; Total # Sales for Period - 135

OURAY COUNTY– January — March, 2012 1/6/2012 230,000 4734 PLEASANT POINT DR VACANT L13 PLEASANT POINT 1 11-45-9 1/17/2012 310,000 214 HARMONY WAY 1 STORY STRAWBALE NE4NW4 33-47-9 1/30/2012 155,000 PINE DR VACANT L20 LOGHILL VILLAGE 4 5-45-8 1/30/2012 226,300 CR 1A VACANT TR SE4NE4, NE4SE4 12-46-9 2/3/2012 705,000 2010 CR 24 2 STORY TR N2NW4 8-45-8 2/17/2012 385,000 207 8TH AVE 2 STORY L10 CAYON FALLS SUB 31-44-7 3/13/2012 1,050,000 219 GOLD DUST LN 1 STORY CUSTOM HOMESTEAD #6 BLK 22-B CORNERSTONE 1 22-46-10 3/19/2012 308,000 202 PLEASANT DR 1 STORY EARTH L5 PLEASANT VIEW EAST PUD 15-45-9 3/27/2012 185,000 330 SNOWY PEAKS DR 1 STORY MH L9 SNOWY PEAKS EST 2 26-47-9Single Family Sales -18; Vacant Ld/Acreage Sales - 11; Commercial Sales - 0; Other - 17; Total # Sales for Period - 46

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Strength training for what we do in the real world By Mavis Bennett

Kelly & John Brown

There are approximately 3,400 CrossFit facilities worldwide, including one in Montrose, yet many people have never heard the name or have misunderstood what

it is.Established ten years ago by a man named Greg Glassman,

it is a strength and conditioning workout. John and Kelly Brown started their Montrose gym, CrossFit Agoge, in 2007. The word agoge comes from the ancient Spartan form of education and training.

“The CrossFit prescription,” Kelly explained, “is constantly varied, functional movement performed at high intensity.” From the CrossFit website:

Constantly Varied: Routine is the enemy and neglects key development areas. Wonder why you spend hours in a traditional gym with no results? Your body gets really good at doing one routine at the expense of becoming a well-rounded athlete.

Functional Movements: We mix together functional full-body exercises that mimic you lifting things off the ground, sitting and standing, pulling and pushing in the real world. In the gym, this means movements like cleans, jerks, snatches, squats, pull-ups, deadlifts, muscle ups, rowing and running, because your body is made for them.

Done at High Intensity: Our workouts rarely last longer than 20 minutes because, based on firm scientific research, high intensity training burns more fat and develops strength and conditioning better than traditional training programs.

Kelly and John Brown came to Montrose 2007 and originally set up a gym for themselves in their garage. They had been going to a CrossFit gym in San Diego and were addicted to it. “When we moved out here, we brought a barbell, a medicine ball and a kettle bell for each of us and we made a jump box as soon as we got here,” said Kelly. “Very minimal, because CrossFit is minimal.”

They didn’t start the business right away; they just set up the garage for their own workouts. But they talked about it at their jobs and soon co-workers asked if they could come work out with them. They would show up at their garage at 6 a.m. five days a week. Then a couple of police officers who had been trying to do it on their own in their garages called and asked if they could come. So they started a 6 p.m. class. Three months later they had 20 clients and they have grown out of three spaces since then.

Kelly and John met in Virginia in 2001. While stationed in San Diego for the Navy, John discovered the Montrose/

Ridgway area while spending time at the Elk Mountain Resort. Over a number of years he worked as a firearms instructor there.

John began with CrossFit when Kelly was pregnant with their first child, Quinn. He had been injured while in the military and had been in pain for years. This was the first form of exercise that helped him out of his pain.

“Both of us went into CrossFit with extreme reservations,” she said. “He had a lot of cynicism about it being just another fitness craze. I started two months after having a baby and feeling that it was way too intense for me.”

But they were hooked immediately. “For me,” said John, “it just obliterated my ego. The first workout took 15 minutes and knocked me on my butt. It really got my attention.”

“The thing that I love the most about CrossFit is the empowerment it gives people,” said Kelly. “For some people it happens right away, the first day. But for other people it might take a month or maybe a year. It is quite an accomplishment and a thrill the first time a person does pull-ups without any kind of modification or the first time a woman in her thirties or forties has climbed a rope and they get to the top.”

“The most important aspect of CrossFit,” John explained, “is that it meets everyone where they’re at. If your goal is to push away the nursing home for as long as you can, we can help you do that. If your goal is to become an elite level athlete and try out for an Olympic or professional sport, we can help you do that.” CrossFit can help a mom chase her kids around the house or do yard work without feeling incapacitated for three days afterward.

The exercise program has you practice movement in a way that directly feeds into what you’re doing the rest of the

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Box Jumps

h e A l t h & W e l l N e s s

time. For those who are doing relatively sedentary jobs, it replaces their lack of movement. When the human species was new on this planet, they had to move all the time to survive: something was going to eat you, you had to find something to eat, you had to build a place to live to shelter you from the elements. Genetically speaking, humans are still programmed to move, always. And they don’t. CrossFit reinstitutes functional movement that we used to do as a species all the time and don’t, because our culture doesn’t demand it.

Attending the gym about three times a week would bring a baseline of fitness. It’s a blend of weight lifting, gymnastic/calisthenic movements and your typical cardio (run/bike/row/jump rope).

Tena Nichols began going to CrossFit after watching her young girls at the gym. Now she and her husband, as well as her in-laws go. A family from 5 to 58 years old, they all are getting stronger. Tena goes five times a week and likes it because it’s different every day.

Kelli Lowenberg and her husband started in the fall of 2007. They and the Browns were neighbors and they had the gym in their garage at the time. “I’ve never thought of myself as an athlete; my background is ballet dancing,” she said. “This was different than anything I had ever done. The movements were challenging. I liked doing something with my husband, and I liked John and Kelly.”

Carolyn Carter, in her ‘70s, is one of the oldest of the gym clients.

She’s been attending about three years. “I’m building muscle and confidence and toning up my whole body,” she said. “I’m building extremely strong bones and I love it.”

I began attending the gym in the

spring and was amazed at the things I could do. The trainers were careful to give me just a little more than I thought I was able to handle without overwhelming me.

The Browns are currently traveling instructors for the CrossFit Kids program. They travel around the country, and sometimes internationally, to teach a course to other CrossFit Trainers. It’s based on the same elements of CrossFit, but it takes children’s developmental considerations and psychological and emotional maturity into account.

The program was created seven years ago by Jeff and Mikki Martin of Ramona, Calif. to target young athletes who need strength and conditioning. “If you go to a Little League game or a Rec soccer game,” Kelly observed, “the kids run around and there’s a ball involved, but there’s not a ton of athleticism happening, especially with the younger kids. It’s not their fault, they just don’t

know what to do with their bodies yet. CrossFit Kids is geared towards helping them understand how to move and control their bodies through space so when they get in the game they can be much more effective.”

They take the same movements that adults do and put them in a format that’s play-based for the younger kids. It’s fun for them. As they get into their teen years, it transitions into a more adult-like scenario.

For all ages, CrossFit is infinitely scalable. You can adjust the difficulty to wherever someone is when they walk in the door. “I will not ask you to do something that’s unsafe,” said Kelly. “But I will ask you to do something

that’s uncomfortable, because otherwise why are you here? If you want to keep being the same level of everything that you are now, then I can’t do anything for you. You’re here to grow physically and to challenge yourself. We can set that level of challenge to wherever your abilities are on that day.”

The new client has four one-on-one training sessions in order to get used to the movements and exercises without the other class members present. The trainer gets to learn the person’s physical and psychological limitations and to check if there are any injuries to be concerned about.

There is a community aspect in the gym, says John. “There’s a network of people, once you walk in the door, who care about you. Those working out are willing to help if you don’t understand something. It’s a friendly, welcoming environment.”

For more information, call John at 209-4222 or email [email protected]

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Destroyers and Creators By Paul Paladino, Director, Montrose Regional Library

l i b r A r Y

People are a study in contrasts. Their differences are what makes life interesting and at times, frustrating. Most of the time I think of human traits as a contin-

uum, with people trending toward one side or the oth-er, but most tending toward the middle. But in the case of creators and destroyers I don't see much of a middle.

If you pay close attention, you can see the difference between the two in many simple interactions. The reaction by a destroyer is to diminish, to take down. A creator wants to make new, to raise up. Both are human nature.

Reading a big city newspaper online the other day, I was struck by a comment about a pay raise given to some government workers. The commenter said everyone knows government workers make more money, have “over the moon” benefits and work less than other workers. Therefore, they shouldn't get any raise in salary.

This comment was made despite the fact the article detailed the shortcomings of the salary and benefit structure of this group of workers compared to many other public and private employees in the region. Why, if they can't have something, is there this immediate reaction that others can't have it either? Can't they be happy for others? For their good fortune? How has the others good fortune diminished them?

Of course, the report was prepared by a consultant and thus was dismissed by the letter writer as inaccurate or otherwise flawed. It seems easy today to dismiss out of hand that with which we disagree. It is easier than having to find facts to refute facts.

Why would the consultant make things up? Looking at this case as a manager, it seems a much easier deal if the report had come out that the employees were at the same level as everyone else. Think about it. If everyone is at the same level, the manager (and instigator of the report) doesn't have to do anything. The manager doesn't have to look for or try to find more resources with which to compensate these people. The manager hasn't given them justification for feeling undervalued and will have in fact a strengthened position. The manager can go to his superiors and say, look, I've nailed it. I'm doing it exactly right.

A creator might respond to a situation where somebody gets something they don't have by wondering how to raise

more people to that level. What will it take to make things better for more people, trusting this effort to eventually benefit them as well. A creator looks at doing things in a different way knowing that continuing to do the same old thing gets you the same old result.

History is full of destroyers and creators. Personally. I think you have to be a destroyer on a large scale to get any attention from history as most of it focuses on the creators. If you need any inspiration the good people at the public library can point you to any number of stories.

Now some reading this will be put in mind of the age old question of the glass being half full or half empty. I say the question misses the point – the glass has enough room left to add something to make the drink even better.

There are always copies of The Monitor available in the magazine section of the library.

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Summer 2012 · 13

DMEA’s AnnuAl MEEtingJune 14th, 2012

(Flag Day)

Registration and Voting: 8 amBusiness Meeting: 9 am

• Meet President Taft

• Free Flags

• Local Power Projects

• Energy-saving Products

• Prototype vehicles

Women’s professional groups in Montrose, focused on networking, have come and gone over the years.

Terri Leben and Sue Hansen had a different vision for a new organization, the Womens Business Alliance of Colorado (WBA.) Leben’s background was in executive management and Hansen in motivational speaking and corporate training. They talked about a new group for more than a year. “We wanted to do something that was more substantive than your normal meet and greet;” said Hansen, “for members to have access to us for coaching and business advice and to be able to join in a Mastermind group. We talk to our members about business growth, management, hiring and interviewing—everything a business owner or manager would be concerned with.”

In the WBA, a Mastermind group is made up of four or five members who meet on a regular basis and help each other stay on their business track, furthering their goals. Mastermind groups have proven successful as a way of holding people accountable.

Leben and Hansen also serve as business coaches. WBA membership includes two half-hour sessions with them each year. “Business coaches are invaluable,” said Leben, “even if they aren’t experts in the specific field. They can give advice from an outside perspective.”

In February 2011 they put the word out. Throughout the year they offered speakers on branding and advertising, customer service, leadership, managing resources and social networking. The membership has increased to 68.

The educational events have been held at the Bridges this year and are open to non-members as well for an additional fee. They try to keep the topics relevant to those who are independent in business as well as those working for someone else. “We will always try to stay relevant, timely and current on the topics that we need to bring to the membership,” said Hansen.

The Womens Business Alliance thrives By Mavis Bennett

Although most of the meetings are educational, two “Intentional“ networking events, as well an overnight leadership retreat are planned each year.

This year some of the events will be held at a sponsor’s location. On June 20, Flower Subaru will host “Get Your Sales On,” at their dealership.

“Overall, if these businesses succeed, we all succeed and everybody benefits,” said Leben.

For more information, call Terri at 901-6761.

Terri Leben and Sue Hansen

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Senior CommUnity Care, PACE Program Participants

If you are new to Montrose…orYou’ve been here a while…

and You want to be involved…Email me! [email protected]

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For Gary Weymeyer of Montrose, the Senior CommUnity Care PACE program has been a wonderful option for his 95-year-old step-father, Bob Gross. PACE delivers all

Bob’s care, while maintaining his independence at home as long as possible.

Gary explained how the program works for his step-father:“With Bob, they come over in the morning, and give him

something to eat. He lives across from the center. They walk him over to the center every day. He stays until about four and they will walk him back and get him settled in at home.”

PACE is a program for people over age 55, who are living with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. This program provides community-based care and services to people who would meet a nursing home level of care.

There are two centers in the area, one in Montrose, one in Eckert and a satellite site in Paonia.

You can join PACE if you meet the following conditions: You are 55 years old or older and live in the service area

s e N i o r s

PACE Program keeps seniors in the community

of a PACE organization. You are certified

by the state in which you live as needing the nursing home level of care.

You are able to live safely in the community when you join, with the help of PACE services.

The VOA- sponsored program allows seniors to live independently. The PACE program offers a wealth of help.

Transportation to and from the Adult Day Care Center is available each day and the Center offers activities including crafts, singing, movies, and some exercise.

The adult day care center in Montrose is located at 2377 Robins Way, near the Pavilion Senior Center. For more information, call 252-0522.

PACE services include but are not limited to: · Adult Day Care · Recreational therapy · Meals · Dentistry · Nutritional Counseling · Social Services · Laboratory / X-ray Services· Social Work Counseling · Primary Care(including doctor and nursing services) · Hospital Care · Medical Specialty Services · Prescription Drugs · Nursing Home Care · Emergency Services · Home Care · Physical therapy · Occupational therapy · Scheduling of medical appointments and transportation to the appointments · Home health and personal care services· Supervision of prescription medications and rehabilitation therapy. · Nurse on-call 24 hours a day

Page 15: Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

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Page 16: Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

Closing additional blocks of Main Street to vehicle traffic, 2011 saw record breaking crowds, street performers that dazzled the onlookers,

lots of music and a whole lot of motion. Photos by John F. Trainor

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Summer 2012 · 1716 · Summer 2012 THETHETHE

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Page 18: Monitor Magazine - Summer 2012

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The Road Home By Peggy Carey

C e D A r s a n d h e M l o C K

The journey started, as journeys often do, with a dis-agreement about how to pack the car. I’d done the trip many times and had a very specific idea of how it should

be done; but like most very specific ideas it took no account of another person. Fitting two people, two dogs, a cat, their lug-gage, and all those things too precious to ship into a Honda CRV was a test of our talent and persistence but my sister and I finally got it done. The crows in my yard witnessed it all.

Over my 18 months in Seattle I had earned the enmity of my neighbors by feeding crows, which are seen as pests. I found them particularly amusing and interesting, so leftovers got thrown out for them. One female in particular would fly down from the giant Western Cedar to the telephone wire each time I came out of the house, cocking her head to get an especially clear view of me. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the giant crow poo on the side of my car the morning I was leaving; I was sure they knew I was going and weren’t happy about it. And neither was I.

The drive south was beautiful, the Space Needle claiming its fame without embarrassment, and the Starbucks siren peeping up over corporate headquarters and calling me back with a soft song and a softer breeze under a rare blue sky. I realized that I had never driven south past SeaTac and

somehow that made leaving Seattle even sadder. How does 18 months pass so quickly?

The bridge from Vancouver, Washington to Portland, Oregon is an amazing span but it delivered me into Portland rush hour. Seattle is known as the city of “no, you go; no, you go; no, you go” an attitude that keeps people stuck at four way stop signs as each tries to out polite the other. Portland? Not so much.

Somewhere along the way we pass miles of abandoned railroad cars, the sort used for transporting tractor trailers. I keep expecting to pass the last one but they go on forever. Finally, we turn off to Newport, Oregon, traveling through a forest of Spanish Moss draped trees, arriving at yet another sister’s home on the beach.

Reminiscent of Santa Cruz, California in the sixties and seventies, Newport houses the only bookstore I’ve ever seen in the bottom

story of a home. My sister warns me that the woman inside will guess my sign, wrongly, and that the subsequent conversation is not to be missed. As we walk in, the woman calls out in greeting, then inquires, “What year were you born?” When I answer she shouts out, “Oh, you’re a dragon, the most highly evolved sign!” Without missing a beat my sister yells, “Don’t tell her that!” Once again, I’m reminded that only family will

Nye Beach

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Summer 2012 · 19

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tell the truth to your face, without fear of the embarrassment or discomfort they may cause you.

The next day, trying to recount the story to a quintessential tough old waitress named Vera, my sister gets through the part about me being highly evolved. Earnestly, Vera turns to me and asks, “Involved in what?”

Secretly, I am pleased to be told that I am the most highly evolved sign. Which just goes to prove that I’m not.

The rain wakes me up drumming on the skylight above the little settee where I am sleeping. This is my comfort sound now, I came to love the Seattle rain. The couch is like a double recliner, and my dogs are sleeping on the raised foot rests. They look at me expectantly. I glance at the clock; it’s two a.m. Time for a little more rest before we hit the road.

We pack the car in the rain, and skip the walk to the beach we’d planned the night before. I tell my sister not to worry, the rain will stop once we’re over the coast range. But it doesn’t. I tell her once we’re over the Cascades we’ll leave the rain behind. But we don’t. It rains relentlessly all the way to Boise, Idaho, a distance of 588 miles. Not once am I able to even turn the windshield wipers to intermittent.

My sister is incredulous when I say the rain is a reflection of my mood. She points out that I loved Montrose and called it home for thirty years. I use a very convoluted analogy to try to make my point. Since it’s so obscure, I’d thought I’d try it on you! Years ago, I was telling my father of my admiration for the Mormon Church. I told him about their commitment to family, their strong work ethic, the wonderful social services the church provided to their members in need. My father, a very devout Catholic, said in a stern voice, “Your church has all that.”

Here’s the point; I can admire the LDS church and the

Catholic church. I can love Montrose and call it home, and I can love Seattle and call it home. Life is big; it requires a big heart. It requires inclusion, not exclusion; embracing, not rejecting; eyes wide open, not squinted shut. Because there are no do-overs. This is it, your chance to have the life you want. But you can’t wait for permission. The only permission is given by your best self. Are there costs? Sure. Are they greater than the cost of falling into a comforting quilted life? Not in my opinion.

We survive my attempt at philosophy, and pack the car one last time for the leg from Boise to Montrose. As the elevation rises so does our thirst. As we drink more we have to stop more. I feel like I’m caught in that conundrum where you walk half the distance across a room, then half that distance, then half the remaining distance, and, theoretically, never reach the other side.

But we do reach Montrose, rolling in about midnight. I see the stars. They are so close I can almost feel their light, like sunlight on my skin. And I remember.

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Sharon Shuteran has learned to use the gifts she was born with to create what she calls, “a fabulous life.” In her 32 years in Telluride, she has been a restaurateur,

a prosecutor, a judge, and a mediator. Since 2007, she has traveled each year to Southeast Asia to help coordinate charitable surgeries and work with other community projects.

As the San Miguel County judge for the past 27 years, she has seen many changes in the county. Since she started in 1984, crime has increased, but so have the resources available to victims, especially in the area of domestic violence. “The level of competence has increased, among both lawyers and law enforcement, as the county has grown. Everything is on a more sophisticated level than it was back in 1984. It was a very small town back then.

“I like to try to humanize the system for people,” she added. “They are often terrified, believing the system doesn’t work and that it’s stacked against them. I see my role as putting a face on it and showing them that they will be treated fairly, which includes consequences for actions.”

Shuteran also works as a mediator, her true passion. “A mediator’s job is not to tell anyone what to do” she explains. “I often define it as a translator or interpreter. It’s to get people to hear each other and to actually try to come to some kind of consensus where, hopefully, people’s real needs can get met.”

She grew up in Denver, went to Reed College in Oregon, and received her B.A. and law degree from the Univ. of Denver. “I got involved in politics in the early ‘70s, in the McGovern campaign,” she said. “After long talks with Pat Schroeder, the former Congresswoman from Denver, (and several other women), I realized that, at that point in history, without a graduate degree, nobody took you very seriously as a woman.”

After law school, she became a VISTA volunteer, (the domestic Peace Corps, Volunteers in Service to America) working with a prison law project at the Denver County Jail

and the Federal Corrections Institute. But by 25, Shuteran was at loose ends about what to

do next. She wasn’t interested in corporate law or divorces. She contemplated moving to San Francisco and working in a friend’s bookstore, while studying for the California bar. That idea was waylaid when a friend sparked her interest in “a little cafe for sale in Telluride.”

Shuteran, who had never waited on a table in her life, decided to check it out. Like so many others before her, she fell in love with Telluride. She ended up making the investment in the Excelsior Cafe and it became a popular favorite for decades.

The Café was located in a renovated brick building sitting on one of the two busiest corners of Main Street. In those early years, the Excelsior had only about six or seven tables.

They served breakfast, lunch and dinner–at least when a suitable dinner chef could be found.

One of the Excelsior’s claims to fame was that it had the first espresso machine in town. Shuteran made “good homemade soups” and pastries. Her sister, Stephie, came to town and, seeing an unfilled niche, taught her how to make pies, which the Café became known for.

Shuteran owned the café for total of 14 years. After the first two years, she was offered a part-time job in the Deputy District Attorney’s office. Fortunately, she had just met Peter Muckerman, a former hospital administrator who could not only cook, but also needed a job. He became the general manager, while Shuteran trained the staff, kept the books and baked. Later, under his direction, they expanded the cafe into a full service restaurant. The two were married in 1985 and their son, Eliot, recently graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass.

In 2004, she was one of five adults who accompanied the Telluride Academy students on the first homestay in Bhutan. Nestled in the Himalayas, it is bordered on the north by the

Sharon Shuteran—living her best life By Mavis Bennett

It was almost exactly one year ago that I sat in the library’s garden interviewing Sharon Shuteran for our summer issue. I knew she was busy because when Telluride people come to Montrose their lists are long. But I had known this remarkable person for decades and wanted to share her in The Monitor. It was with profound shock and sadness when I heard in early May that she had died suddenly while on vacation in Mexico. I’m grateful to have had this time with her.

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Summer 2012 · 21

PaintYOUR Wagon

PaintYOUR Wagon

Book and Lyrics by Alan J. Lerner & Music by Frederick LoeweBook and Lyrics by Alan J. Lerner & Music by Frederick Loewe

Sorry! Wrong

Chimney!BY JACK SHARKEY & LEO W. SEARS

BY FREDERICK KNOTTDirected By John Snyder

Magic Circle Players

Community TheatreInvites you to join us

for an exciting 53rd season

Here’s our line upPaint Your Wagon

A Musical~September 2012

Sorry! Wrong Chimney!A Comedy~November 2012

Wait Until DarkA Mystery~ January 2013

Bus StopA Drama~March 2013

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mountains, on the south by India. “I loved the place,” she exclaimed. “It had an immediate attraction.” She wanted to come back, but as a volunteer, not as a tourist.

Through a mutual friend she met Dr. Jeff Marsh, a plastic surgeon and the medical director of the Bhutan Cleft Care Project, and offered to help. The project provides cleft lip and palate surgeries in Bhutan, in addition to training local staff. At the time, the team had only one non-medical person and the spot was filled. She persisted, and when that person moved on, she was offered the position as Non-Medical Coordinator in 2007.

She now travels to Bhutan for two weeks every fall. Part of her job is to interview every patient (usually about 65 interviews), if they’re old enough, or their family, about the effects the cleft has had in their life, as well as to help with the overall coordination.

“I keep the trains running on time,” she said. “I do the non-medical things so the doctors can do what they do best. They do surgeries and they teach the Bhutanese doctors and nurses. It’s the ‘teach a man to fish’ principle.”

She spends a part of each fall in Southeast Asia working on different projects. “It’s off-season in Telluride,” she said. “Most of the lawyers and litigants are gone, so things are very quiet and I have another judge who’s willing to cover for me. While I love it, it’s definitely a ‘working vacation’.”

This past fall she worked on the Thai-Burmese border on another health project. staying with a local Mon family. She slept on a four-inch thick mattress and the bathroom, with only a squat toilet and a tank of water for bathing, would be called very basic, at best. “But I wouldn’t have stayed anywhere else,” she said. “The bond that I formed with this family was just amazing.”

Shuteran looks younger than her 57 years. The things she does feed her soul. She meditates when she can. She loves to ski, snowshoe, hike and travel, as well as volunteering for most of the Telluride festivals.

“I love what I do,” she says. “Life is a buffet table. I don’t understand anyone who says that they’re bored. It just means you haven’t figured out what you want to do.”

Her nature is to be going constantly and sometimes her schedule and undertakings can become intense. “There’s so much on the table and there’s a part of me that wants some of everything. But, she reflects, “I’m beginning to realize, as I get older, that I don’t have to sample everything. I can pick and choose a little.”

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Montrose hosts Stage Two of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge

From a marketing and tourism point of view, the Pro Cycling Challenge on Aug. 21 is a bonanza for the

Montrose area. “This is the biggest event that has ever happened to Montrose,” exclaimed Jenni Sopsic, executive director of the Montrose Association of Commerce & Tourism.

The race is the highest caliber internationally (comparable to the Tour de France) and this is the second year it’s been run in Colorado.

Montrose was chosen as one of 12 host cities. Beginning in Durango, the race will finish in Denver on Aug. 26.

Stage One of the week-long race starts in Durango and ends in Telluride on Monday, Aug. 20. The 134 racers and their entourage, which includes approximately 1,000 crew, race staff and media will be transported to Montrose the morning of Aug. 21 where Stage Two will take off from the Montrose Pavilion.

A festival is planned on the grass of the Pavilion with food and merchandise vendors and live music. “It’s going to be a great time,” Sopsic said.

The event will be televised worldwide, live on video. The race organizers say that more than one million spectators are expected to line the route to see if Levi Leipheimer will defend his title as winner of the 2011 event.

One of the shortest stages of the week, a mix of old and new awaits the racers on this second stage of 99 miles. The first 65 miles has a bit of a sting with the short but challenging climbs over Cerro Summit and Blue Mesa Summit making for early launch pads for the breakaway specialists. Then the cyclists visit familiar territory with a Sprint Line in

Gunnison, a second Sprint Line in Crested Butte, and a nasty 2 mile climb to the dramatic finish on Mt. Crested Butte, which proved an exciting moment in 2011. After heading gradually uphill most of the day, cyclists and their fans will witness all the excitement of a huge alpine climb packed into four minutes, with the promising roar of the Crested Butte crowd at the finish.

D E L T A

M O N T R O S E

G U N N I S O N

Blue Mesa

Reservoir

Ohio Pass10,033

Kebler Pass9,980

WEST ELK MTS

BLACK CANYONOF THE GUNNISONNAT'L MONUMENT

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WEST ELKWILDERNESS

Almont

Austin

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Coburn

Cory

Crawford

Fairview

Floresta

Hierro

HotchkissLazear

IolaLujane

Maher

Oak Grove

Parlin

Payne

Roe

Ruby

Sapinero

SaundersSaxton

Sillsville

Somerset

Uncompahgre

Cedaredge

Crested Butte

Olathe

Orchard City

Paonia

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Mount Crested Butte

Montrose

550

50

50

50

92

92

90

135

149

133

347

Stage 2Montrose to Mt. Crested ButteTuesday, August 2199.2 miles/159.6 km© UPC Revised 3/7/12

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Summer 2012 · 23

ARIZONAPerhaps it was the “intense public scrutiny,” as Jeff Ruch,

head of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, put it, or it may have been a sudden attack of common sense, but the director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis, recently reversed himself and announced that Grand Canyon National Park can soon ban disposable water bottles less than one gallon in size. Coca-Cola, which sells bottled water, had complained about the proposed ban and delayed its execution for a year.

THE DAKOTASAre you looking to get away from it all? If so, says writer Pete

Carrels, consider South Dakota: It’s just the place for people who prefer few neighbors and minimal regulation. A recent report from the South Dakota’s Department of Transportation found that of the state’s 66 counties, 36 can boast that they lack a single traffic light. But don’t even think of bicycling in northwest North Dakota this summer, reports the Associated Press. The oil boom there has filled roads “with mile after mile of big heavy trucks that make cyclists feel very unsafe,” says Jennifer Milyko, cartographer with the Missoula, Mont.-based Adventure Cycling Association. “They’re scared out of their wits.” As of this May, bicyclists who want to retrace the Lewis and Clark expedition will be steered 100 miles south of the association’s Northern Tier Route, the biggest change in the nonprofit’s 39-year history.

ALASKA AND THE WESTGrizzly bears never cease to amaze. The latest news about

the powerful bruins comes from The Economist, which reports that a British biologist observed a grizzly in the shallows of Glacier Bay National Park doing something unique. The animal would pick up rocks and then discard them until it seemed to find just the right specimen, perfectly encrusted with barnacles, whereupon the grizzly “rubbed away at its muzzle and face for roughly a minute before dropping the stone back into the water.” Voila! The grizzly is “the only species other than humans to have invented the comb,” declared Volke Deecke, a biologist at the University of St. Andrews. Other mammals

have developed tools, including sea otters that smash clams open with rocks; dolphins, which wrap sponges around their noses to protect themselves while foraging on the seabed; elephants, which use their trunks to break off branches and swat insects; and humpback whales that gather in a circle and then confuse trapped schools of fish by blowing bubbles. But as far as we know, only bears have made technological breakthroughs in personal grooming.

In other bear news, a Brigham Young University study of wildlife encounters found that firing a gun at a bear “was no more effective in keeping people from injury or death during a bear encounter than not using a firearm.” Biologist Tom Smith analyzed nearly 270 conflicts involving bears and people. A shooter might be able to kill an aggressive bear, he concluded, but there’s always a risk of injury to the shooter or others, reports the Billings Gazette. As for what backcountry hikers and hunters should do if threatened by a bear, Smith echoed what conservation groups and the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency have been saying for years: “Carry pepper spray when in grizzly bear country and know how to use it.”

MONTANAWho do you call for help when it’s the sheriff himself who

tossed you through a bar window? That was Robert Savanda’s problem last summer after he and the sheriff, Freedom Crawford, got into a fight at the Montana Tavern in Lewiston, Mont. Sheriff Crawford, who’d come to town to provide security during a murder trial, first pleaded not guilty and insisted that Savanda, 48, of Pennsylvania, “accidentally fell through the window.” The Associated Press says that Crawford later changed his plea to guilty, admitting that he was undergoing treatment for alcoholism. “I learned a lot about the issues of why I was drinking so much (and) of what I wasn’t doing to reach my full potential,” Crawford said. A Montana judge sentenced the sheriff to a 6-month suspended jail term, fined him $1,350 and also ordered him to pay more than $2,600 in restitution.

Betsy Marston is the editor of Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). Tips of Western oddities are appreciated and often shared in the column, [email protected].

h u M o r

Heard Around the West By Betsy Marston/High Country News

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Jamie: I’ve been doing some research lately on the local culture and their language, Quechua, and came across this website with a goldmine of poems and phrases

common to that tongue. Apparently people speaking Quechua can have all different kinds of siki (rear ends) as there is a something siki to describe just about every type of person. Iskay Siki literally means “two rear ends”, ‘but it is used to refer to a “person who wants to sit down in two homes”, For example, a husband spends as much time at his parents’ home as with his wife, so he is undecided about which home he should be in.’– (http://www.andes.org/phrases.html)

I think it’s possible that I am an Iskay Siki.(Oh how the fingers twitch with all the self-deprecating jokes

possible right now.)I think it is possible that I am an

Iskay Siki because our first 2 weeks or so of settling in have been… remarkably unsettling. Largely because while I want my butt here, I also want my butt in its cozy spot back home with friends I can communicate with and food I don’t worry about getting sick from, and quiet. Oh, how I miss Quiet.

I’m not trying to worry anyone, I really believe that these are growing pains of what will be a beautifully fruitful experience. But as many times as I’ve started, and deleted, and re-started this post, I’m still finding it a staggering challenge to sum up just why it has been so much more difficult than imagined.

Do I share the heart-hurting bits like Luke clinging so hard to my neck that it took two teachers pulling his legs to get his tear-streaked-mama-screaming self into his new classroom. As a school bonus, there was also this conversation with Vaughn:

Me: “Hey babe! How was school today?!”Vaughn: “Um. fine.”Me: “Can you tell me about it?”Vaughn: “A boy grabbed me and started pulling my hair

and hitting me. I kept saying No! No! No! ’cause I don’t speak Spanish and he would just hit and hit, saying “Si!” My teacher stopped him and he got in big trouble.”

NEXT DAYVaughn: “I was pushed and kicked again today mom.”Me: “Did Katie help you again?”Vaughn: “She didn’t see it this time.”

Makes me think that selling all our belongings, moving our family away from the people who love us for the purpose of exposing our children to the beauty and richness of other cultures in the world is going swimmingly, no?

I could also share just the oddnesses (c’mon, it’s totally a word), the annoyances, the differences that still weigh in at Uncomfortable on the scale, as opposed to New and Exciting.

Things like the car alarms that never stop going off. The fact that while I’d resigned myself to no wine here, I was expecting good coffee, (I mean they grow some of the best not an hour away!) But for some reason everyone drinks powdered instant coffee and all our attempts to use some of the actual beans from nearby have resulted in a liquid tar substance

that I fear really is putting hair on my chest. The spider and mosquito bites we were waking up with because of all the quaint “indoor/outdoor” space we liked so much at first glance. The fact that our apartment being the first one renovated in this former hostel means that the whole rest of the building will be under major construction while we’re here. The packs of stray dogs defecating on the sidewalks. The automobiles of all shapes and sizes that

attach a giant speaker to their roof and drive around blaring public service announcements at decibels that make our roof rattle. The fact that it gets cold here and almost every home (including ours) has a fireplace, and we can see smoke coming out of them, and yet every attempt we’ve made for weeks to buy actual firewood has resulted in the blankest of stares and the shaking of heads at such a query.

So, it makes a bit of sense that part of me is ready to be sitting somewhere more comfortable and familiar. Somewhere that is not here.

And yet.I had a dream last night that Bo and I were visiting back

home and when we were supposed to load up to come back here he said we weren’t going to. We were never coming back. And I cried. And I begged. And I used every argument in the book as to why we needed to get back to the life we were living in Ecuador. We were so close to… something. Something worth pushing towards and being close to. I woke up before knowing if we stayed or went, but carried with me

The Growing Pains of Finding Foreign By Jamie and Bo Stambaugh

The Monitor is following the Stambaugh family, Jamie, Bo, Vaughn, 6, and Luke, 4, as they travel through the peaks and valleys of South America on their family sabbatical. Part Two in the Series.

Jamie & Bo on the way to Cotacachie

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Summer 2012 · 25

t r A V e l

into the morning that ache in my chest of sadness at the thought that we had left all of this. It’s that ache that is finally helping me write this post.

As any Iskay Siki will tell you, you cannot stand forever and you cannot sit in two places at once. You have to choose.

And so I did.I’d say we all did.I made an appointment

with the principal at Vaughn’s school, who speaks English, to talk to Vaughn’s teacher with me. I told her how I used to teach students who didn’t speak English and I know what a challenge another language in the classroom can be and how much I appreciate her taking Vaughn in this late in the school year. It meant a lot to her and now she and I are much more of a team in both the lessons she’s working on in class and the time he spends out on the playground.

Bo has talked and loved Luke right on through his school anxieties. Two days in a row now and not a tear shed. Luke even flashed Bo a thumb’s up this morning when it was time to go to class.

Bo: The truth is the things of normal daily existence seem to take up a lot of our time. Just cooking, cleaning up, getting the boys to and from school, doing extra school lessons with the boys, grocery shopping, running errands, finding ways for the boys to burn energy and relaxing a bit can take up whole days. Some of these daily to-dos are made more challenging simply because they are done in a foreign

language and culture. For example, the idea of one-stop-shopping is so far-fetched as to be laughable. Just today I tried to buy superglue to repair one of Luke’s toys. The quest for one simple item involved numerous half understood conversations, visiting four different stores and walking two or three miles all

around town. When I reached the much discussed store, it was closed for some unknown reason.

Entertaining and educating the boys, it seems to me, also takes more time than it did back home (I say it “seems to me” because I might just be realizing now how much work it took Jamie the past six years!). There is the extra time for the English and math lessons which we anticipated, but man, do I miss sending them to the family room to play with their numerous toys or to the yard to run in the grass and dig in the dirt. Here in our apartment the “family room” and “back yard” are the same thing, which is the space right next to our desk. It’s where I hooked up my Rip 60 exercise

equipment so I could get…well, ripped!. Although I have only used it maybe four times in nearly two months, the boys spin and swing on it for hours on end. Thank God for Rip 60.

Even with these new challenges we do have more free time than we used to. A lot more. I’m not working and

that frees up countless hours. The boys are in school five mornings a week. Also, we have a wonderful lady named Elena who comes to help around the house three mornings a week. We pay her twice the going rate, but I’m still amazed at how much we get for so little. This extra time allows Jamie and me to split the family responsibilities and chores pretty equally. We have settled into a nice routine where we have a date on Tuesday mornings, family adventures

on Saturdays and where we take turns with the boys in the afternoon, allowing focused attention on them from each parent and large chunks of open time for the other person.

With the extra time I am doing more yoga and trying to learn to meditate, but not trying too hard or that defeats the purpose…I think. I’ve taken up running, which is much less fun and more painful than biking. I read more than I used to and watch less TV. The extent of our TV comes from the pirated $1 DVDs of recent American movies and TV shows sold out of ubiquitous little stores. We go for long meandering walks through the countryside and these walks may be my favorite thing about where we live.

Cotacachie countryside

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W r i t e r s o N t h e r A N g e

These two women are part of a wave of young people determined to

remake our food system

A tale of two beginning farmers By Sarah Gilman

Not long ago, a college classmate of mine named Sarahlee Lawrence was splitting her time be-tween guiding river trips and river conserva-

tion work, traveling as far as Ethiopia and Chile. But the world’s water problems felt huge, she says. “I was strug-gling to feel like I was actually making a difference.”

Then she discovered a startling statistic: Food travels an average of 1,500 miles from source to plate, racking up a sizeable carbon footprint. “That was my turning point,” the young conservationist recalls, talking from her Rainshadow Organics farm, near Terrebonne in central Oregon’s high desert. She grew up there, helping farm hay and wheat. Returning home, she saw her chance to make immediate and tangible change.

Her folks already had some equipment and they offered her land. For a couple of years, while she was wrapping up other things, she would go home and plant cover crops and enrich the dry ground with compost. She found grants to help her build a drip irrigation system, put together an online network for local growers and do research. Much of her experience involved trial and error. “Have I really learned how to farm from the backs of seed packets?” she laughs. “Kind of, yeah.”

Now closing her second growing season, Lawrence keeps pigs and chickens. She grows 47 varieties of vegetables on eight acres and field crops like wheat on another 20. She’s partnered with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service to convert 50 acres into native pollinator habitat. She sells vegetables to 70 families through a subscription service, as well as to eight restaurants, two grocery stores, two farmers markets and a hospital.

She’s not rolling in dough, but “I have money in my bank account,” she says, and since she doesn’t have any debt thanks to her circumstances “all that money will go right back into the farm.”

It’s the kind of auspicious start that many aspiring farmers dream of. It’s also rare, according to Amy Ridout, another classmate who found her calling in dirt, growing things and helping others pick up the skills to do the same. Like Lawrence, Ridout was drawn to farming for environmental reasons. She was working for a watershed group in Washington, pushing landowners to make improvements to benefit salmon habitat.

“I had a moment when I realized I had no authority to talk to people who’d been on their land for multiple generations,” she explains. “I really wanted to know what it meant to be a good steward so that I would have something to share.”

The impulse carried her to an apprenticeship with the renowned Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Then she started a farm for a nonprofit called Petaluma Bounty, working towards making healthy food available to everyone. She even attempted her own organic farm – looking to take over 12 acres near Petaluma – but her partners pulled out at the last

minute and it was too much to take on alone. Now, she works at an educational outfit called the Pie Ranch near Pescadero, where she manages crops and animals and teaches apprentices.

These two women are part of a wave of young people determined to remake our food system. Small-scale farming is tough no matter what, and as land prices rise,

fewer beginners do as well as Lawrence. Many seek help from people like Ridout.

But even with the right skills, finding the necessary acres and capital can be daunting. That’s where a relatively new model of farm education can make the difference. Farm incubators like the startup Viva Farms in Washington’s Skagit Valley give newbies with some experience access to affordable land and shared infrastructure like tractors and a greenhouses.

It works like this: Folks begin by making it through a sustainable farming and ranching class and an agricultural entrepreneurship class offered by Washington State University. Then they have the chance to rent a farm-ready plot and irrigation water at below-market rates on Viva’s 33 acres. They can sell their produce through Viva’s subscription service as well as its farm stand. With the right combination of luck and hard work, Viva Farms hopes they’ll be independent within seven years.

It’s a good mix of safety net and solo work, one that may offer struggling foodie idealists the last crucial link to finally connect inspiration to operation …and perhaps ultimately to your family’s table.

Sarah Gilman is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org), where she is the associate editor.

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The Green Pages

Thorium: clean, green, and only slightly radioactive

All Green Page articles compiled and edited by David Segal

Someday, thorium may play a major role in your life, providing you with energy that is clean, safe, and relatively cheap.

Unless you’re a physicist, a chemist, or an alternative energy expert, you’ve probably never heard of thorium. But, there’s a good chance that you’ll hear a lot about it in the not-too-distant future. Various scientists and governments are betting that the shiny silver-white metal can provide us with nuclear energy without the risks of uranium power plants.

Thorium is only slightly radioactive. Experts say that you could carry the stuff around with no shielding, and no danger to yourself.

In 1955, physicist Alvin Weinberg realized the potential value of creating a thorium reactor. Weinberg, who was the head of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, determined that thorium could be used to fuel a reactor that would have absolutely no chance of melting down. This new type of reactor was based on the discovery that thorium dissolves in hot liquid fluoride salts. The fluid is then poured into tubes in the reactor core where a chain reaction produces power. But, unlike a uranium reactor, a Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) regulates itself; when the fluid gets too hot it expands, flows out of the tubes, slows the fission reaction, and zeroes out the chance of a meltdown.

There were other things that Weinberg liked about thorium. It’s common worldwide, and the U.S. has plenty of it. It doesn’t require an expensive processing procedure, as uranium does. It’s also fuel- efficient, generating more energy while consuming less total fuel than uranium. And, it doesn’t create huge piles of highly radioactive waste or plutonium. The waste it does create is reportedly miniscule, and only needs to be stored for a few hundred years—not hundreds of thousands, like other types of nuclear junk.

Weinberg created a working thorium reactor in 1965. He spent years trying to convince the federal government of the wisdom of concentrating on thorium, instead of

uranium, reactors. He failed, largely due to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union; uranium reactors create plutonium as a by-product, and plutonium is perfect for use in nuclear weapons.

In 1973, Weinberg was fired by the Nixon Administration. In 2000, NASA aerospace engineer Kirk Sorenson

stumbled upon Weinberg’s 978 page account of his research entitled “Fluid Fuel Reactors”. The book inspired Sorenson to do research that convinced him of thorium’s usefulness and safety.

Sorenson founded a popular blog, called Energy from Thorium, an intellectual magnet for engineers, scientists, and amateur nuclear power enthusiasts.

When Sorenson and his colleagues dove into Weinberg’s archives, they discovered his design for the MSR. Using that as a template, Energy from Thorium helped design a new liquid fluoride thorium reactor, called LFTR (pronounced “lifter”). Sorenson calculated that the LFTR would be about 50 percent more efficient

than the light-water uranium reactors that dominate the nuclear power industry today.

Outside of the U.S., the LFTR concept is catching on. Models based on Weinberg’s basic MSR design are being constructed in France. India and China are also planning thorium reactors.

Back in the U.S.A., the LFTR idea is slowly developing political and scientific traction. Congress is considering a trio of bills concerning thorium. One of them, the Thorium Energy Independence and Security Act, would provide $250 million to the Department of Energy for thorium research.

But that quarter of a billion bucks wouldn’t be nearly enough to solve the problem; even just a single Molten Salt Reactor would cost a lot more than that, according to experts. It will likely take many billions in start-up capital to persuade nuclear power barons to switch from uranium to thorium.

In 1955 it was determined that thorium could be used to fuel a reactor that would have absolutely no chance of

melting down

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The Green Pages

Snowpack disappears quickly

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If it seems to you that the mountain snowpack has melted earlier than usual this spring, you’re right. The snowmelt began “early and fast,” according to the

federal government’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In Colorado, “Statewide snowpack looks to have peaked around March 12, a month ahead of the average peak date, and began melting in late March, at rates typically not observed until May,” reported NRCS State Conservationist Phyllis Ann Phillips.

The agency’s most recent surveys found that there was little to no snow at most of their low to mid elevation measuring sites. Stations at higher elevations had significantly less snow than average as of May 1—and the little there was, was melting rapidly. All of this was reflected in the May 1 statewide snowpack report, with the measurements coming in at just 19 percent of average. For the second consecutive month, snowpack levels matched those recorded in 2002, a year of record-setting drought in Colorado.

No part of the state has lost more snowpack this spring than the Gunnison River basin, where levels fell 38 percent between April 1 and May 1. However, the Upper Rio Grande basin lost just as much, and now has the lowest snowpack percentage in Colorado; it measured a mere 15 percent of average on May 1. The combined Yampa and White

basins aren’t doing much better, at 17 percent of average. The North Platte basin has the highest level of snowpack in the state, but it’s just a “dismal 27 percent of average,” according to the NRCS. The other major basins in Colorado had readings ranging from 18 to 25 percent of average.

In a typical year, Colorado’s snowpack builds up in the first half of April, and then slowly starts to melt in the second two weeks of the month. This year, though, melting season was already well underway by April 1, and continued to accelerate throughout the month; by the end of April, the snowmelt was four to six weeks ahead of schedule around the state. By May 1, 55 percent of our snow survey locations had no snow.

As you can imagine, this has had quite an impact on streamflows. Forecasts for Colorado’s waterways are well on the low side; in fact, the NRCS predicts that most streamflow volumes will be less than 50 percent of average between May and July.

Fortunately, there is some good news to report about our reservoir storage levels. The storage volumes across the state are above average; this should alleviate conditions early in the summer, but the NRCS is warning water users that late season shortages are definitely possible.

The table below reflects our snowpack and reservoir conditions as of May 1, 2012.

For additional information about Colorado’s water supply conditions, please visit:http://www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/snow

Gunnison 18 13 124 112 Colorado 21 14 127 119 South Platte 25 16 102 103 North Platte 27 16 — — Yampa/White 17 11 115 113 Arkansas 25 22 95 100 Rio Grande 15 20 70 89 San Miguel, Delores Animas & San Juan 22 24 119 110 Statewide 19 14 112 109

Basin Snowpack % of

Average

Snowpack % of

Last Year

Reservoir Storage

% of Average

Reservoir Storage

% of Last Year

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Summer 2012 · 29

The Green Pages

Plastic trash changing living conditions in Pacific Ocean

Imagine what your neighborhood would be like if the amount of plastic trash were to increase 100 times over in forty years—and nobody cleaned it up. That is the

situation being faced by marine life in the North Pacific

Subtropical Gyre, colloquially known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”.

The amount of small plastic garbage in that part of the ocean has increased that much in that amount of time, and it’s changing marine habitats. That’s the conclusion reached by a new study recently completed by researchers from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, in San Diego.

The study began in 2009, when an ambitious group of young scientists took the research ship New Horizon to the heart of the Garbage Patch, about a thousand miles west of the California coast. They documented an astonishing amount of human-generated trash across thousands of miles of open ocean (the exact size of the Garbage Patch is a matter of debate, with estimates ranging from “twice the size of Hawaii” to “the size of Texas”).

Most of the trash is composed of fingernail-size bits of plastic, according to the researchers. Initially, they had no idea of how the stuff was impacting marine life; now, they do. According to a study published in the journal Biology Letters, the debris in the Patch has increased one hundred fold over the last four decades. All that plastic has changed the habitats of several marine animals, including an insect called “the sea skater” (a relative of the pond water skater).

The sea skaters are a good example because they lay their eggs on floating objects; in nature, that includes seashells and bird feathers, among other things. Now, the sea skaters are depositing

their eggs on bits of plastic. That means the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is loaded with sea skater eggs. And that means there are going to be one heck of a lot of the insects in the Garbage Patch.

This is the first time that such an increase has been documented in a marine invertebrate (animal with no backbone) in the ocean. It could have consequences that reverberate up and down the marine food chain, especially on crabs, which eat sea skaters and their eggs.

“This paper shows a dramatic increase in plastic over a relatively short time period, and the effect it’s having on a common North Pacific Gyre invertebrate”, said scientist Miriam Goldstein, the study’s lead author and chief scientist. “We’re seeing changes in this marine insect that can be directly attributed to the plastic.”

Last year, Scripps researchers published a report revealing that nine percent of the fish collected during the voyage had plastic waste in their stomachs. That study estimated that fish in the Garbage Patch ingest about 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic a year.

The dangers of indoor air pollution

There’s good reason that people go outside to get a breath of fresh air. Indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, ac-

cording to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA also estimates that most people spend 90

percent of their time indoors, making this a potentially serious health issue.

The good news is that there is a lot you can do to keep the air in your home clean. Obviously, the first step is to keep pollutants out, including tobacco smoke, various chemicals, and even excess moisture.

The second most important thing to do, according to the American Lung Association (ALA), is to make sure your home is well ventilated. Open your windows. Run your kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans. Have an effective exhaust system for stoves and appliances.

Keep in mind that some indoor pollutants can be deadly. According to the ALA, the three most dangerous are: Carbon monoxide, second-hand smoke, and radon gas.

Every home should have carbon monoxide detectors, inexpensive little gadgets set up in your bedrooms. They will set off an alarm if the amount of the toxic, odorless gas reaches a certain level. You can also keep your home free of the stuff by having all of your fuel-burning appliances inspected by a qualified technician annually. And don’t forget to shut off all fuel-burning machines that you store in your garage; don’t let your car or lawnmower idle in there. Burning gasoline or other fuels indoors can create dangerous levels of carbon monoxide pretty quickly. Cigarette smoke is also a source of carbon monoxide.

As for second-hand smoke, all you need is the right attitude. Make your home a no-smoking zone, with no exceptions. Period.

Radon is a bit trickier to deal with than the other two killers. Aside from being odorless and invisible, it occurs naturally in rocks and soil, and is very common in Colorado. The radioactive gas can only be detected through special testing. Fortunately, the test is easy and inexpensive. Getting rid of radon could make the difference between life and death.

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A snapshot of Summer EventsJune 1 ........................First Friday Stroll, Downtown Montrose Ute Indian Museum: “Woven in Spirit: a Navajo Rug Show and Sale”June 1-3 ....................29th Annual Telluride Balloon FestivalJune 7- Aug. 23 ......Every Thursday evening 6-8:30. Main in Motion, downtown MontroseJune 17 ......................12:00-4:30 Black Canyon Horse Races. Montrose County FairgroundsJune 21-24 ...............39th Annual Telluride Bluegrass FestivalJune 30......................Ridgway Water Festival 11 a.m.- 6 p.m., Rollans Park

July 1 ..........................First Friday Stroll, Downtown MontroseJuly 4 ..........................9 p.m. or so. Fireworks Baldridge ParkJuly 5-26 ..................Ridgway Free Summer Concert Series, 6-9 p.m. Thursday nights, Town ParkJuly 6-8 .....................Cherry Days, PaoniaJuly 8 ..........................KOTO presents Ziggy Marley and Beats AntiqueJuly 13-14 .................Night Vision, Olathe Community Park, 626-3140July 19-21 ................Deltarado Days, DeltaJuly 20-22 ................Telluride Rotary 4 x 4July 21 .......................Black Canyon Butt Kicker Grin and Barrett Charity Ride, starts & ends at Best Western Red Arrow, 1702 E. Main St.July 22-28 ................Montrose County Fair & Rodeo

Aug. 1 ........................First Friday Stroll, Downtown MontroseAug. 3-4 ...................“Olathe Sweet” Sweet Corn FestivalAug. 3-5 ...................Telluride Jazz CelebrationAug. 3-11 .................52nd Artists Alpine Holiday, Ouray Community CenterAug. 9-19 .................Telluride Chamber Music FestivalAug. 11-12 ...............Ridgway Arts & Crafts RendezvousAug. 20 .....................USA Pro Challenge Bicycle Race, Stage 1Aug. 21 .....................USA Pro Challenge Bicycle Race, Stage 2Aug. 25-26 ..............Rock and Roll Festival, Telluride

For further information on these events, click on: visit montrose.com or call 249-5000; visittelluride.com or call 888-605-2578; [email protected] or call 800-220-4959; ouraycolorado.com or call 325-4746. [email protected] or call 527-3886; deltacolorado.org or call 874-8616.

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