The 2015 Durango Area Parade of Homes will kick off Friday and continue through Sunday, featuring 15 area homes and two “coming attractions.”

Tickets for this year’s event are $20 per person and are available at area banks or online at www.durangopoh.com. Children 12 and younger may attend free.

The Parade of Homes is hosted by the Home Builders Association of Southwest Colorado and showcases the newest homes, commercial developments and remodeling projects in the market.

In addition to the residential and commercial properties that will be displayed, the Homes Under the Stars will be from 5 until 9 p.m. Friday, and will offer a romantic night showcasing several homes’ special lighting features.

University Women to host fall luncheon

The Durango Branch of the American Association of University Women will host its Fall Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 17 at the DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio.

The guest speaker will be Janet Ross, founder and executive director of the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education in Monticello, Utah.

The title of her talk is, “Putting Learning in Its ‘Place,’ A Family Affair.” Special guests will be Fort Lewis College students Nicole Lovato and Dana Mastrangelo, who recently attended the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders at the University of Maryland.

Proceeds of the lunch will benefit scholarships toward attendance of FLC students at next year’s conference, as well as other AAUW scholarships. Tickets are $45, or $20 for students.

For more information, call Judy Spolum at 247-0870, email [email protected] or visit http://durango-co.aauw.net/.

Benefit to raise funds for boating businesses

Backroller Benefit, a benefit for Durango’s boating businesses harmed by the Gold King Mine spill, will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Balcony Bar & Grill – Backstage, 600 Main Ave., Suite 205.

The event will feature live music by Carcosa. The cost is $12 and includes one free beer. Children are welcome. A silent auction and door prizes also will be offered. All proceeds will be distributed evenly to the companies.

For more information, visit Backroller Benefit’s facebook page.

S.W. Canyons Alliance discusses prehistory

Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance will present Steve Lekson at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sunflower Theatre, 8 E. Main St. in Cortez.

Lekson will discuss Chaco, Cahokia and postclassic North America. The prehistory of North America should be understood on a continental scale. This presentation reviews two contemporary centers, Chaco and Cahokia, in their Mesoamerican context.

Lekson is curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and professor at the University of Colorado.

Tickets available for comic monologue

The Durango Dharma Center will present Wes ‘Scoop’ Nisker, who will perform his comic monologue laced with original songs, “How to be an Earthling,” on Sept. 30 at the Strater Hotel Theater, 699 Main Ave.

In this performance, Nisker attempts to answer the questions: Who are we? Why are we here? How did we get into the mess we’re in? And is there any hope for us and our species?

Doors will open at 6:15 p.m., and the show will start at 7 p.m.

Nisker combines his background as a Buddhist meditation teacher, author, radio commentator and comedian in well-reviewed performances.

For tickets, visit [email protected].

For more information, visit durangodharmacenter.org.

EPA taking requests to test private wells

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to test drinking water wells in the Animas River Watershed in Colorado through the EPA’s voluntary drinking water well testing program established for the accidental spill of heavy-metal contaminated wastewater from the Gold King Mine.

The EPA is continuing to accept requests through Sept. 30 to test private water wells under the voluntary testing program. Residents may call (844) 607-9700 to request well testing. Water well samples are collected from the wellhead and the tap (faucet/spigot). Sample results are provided directly to well owners.

The EPA, the state and the county are studying the area to identify wells that may have a hydrologic connection with the Animas River.

Local soil and bedrock conditions can cause drinking water wells to exceed secondary water-quality standards for compounds such as manganese and iron.

The owners of wells where these drinking-water standards have been exceeded are being notified by the EPA and advised of these exceedances. They do not pose a health threat, therefore, additional well sampling is not being conducted at those wells.

Bridge repairs to last through mid-November

The Colorado Department of Transportation is beginning the next phase of a project in Region 5 spanning Archuleta, Dolores and La Plata counties to conduct bridge deck repairs on multiple bridges, install waterproofing membrane, replace expansion devices, and resurface and restripe the roadway on bridges.

Work on Colorado Highway 172 and U.S. Highway 160 is expected to last until mid-November. The work is expected to progress on this schedule:

Work will take place from 8:30 a.m. to dusk Monday to Friday on structure P-05-R on Colorado Highway 172 (at mile post 19.49) over the Florida River north of Ignacio.

Work will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday on structure P-06-D on U.S. Highway 160 over the Los Pinos River, at the west edge of Bayfield (at mile post 102.4).

Motorists can expect single-lane closures, with alternating traffic and lane shifts throughout the course of the project. The speed limit will be reduced during working hours to 35 mph.

To be added to the public outreach list and begin receiving construction updates, email [email protected].

For more information, call (844) 253-3185, option 3.

Trails 2000 to host public trailwork day

Trails 2000 will host a public trailwork day from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday on Big Canyon Trail.

No experience is necessary. Trails 2000 will provide tools, gloves, safety/instructional tool talk, water and snacks. Volunteers should wear long pants, long-sleeved shirt, closed-toe shoes, sun hat, sunscreen and bring a water bottle and rain jacket.

For more information, visit www. Trails2000.org.

Herald Staff