Letters to the Editor

Tests are often rife with errors
Letters to the Editor

Tests are often rife with errors

January 31, 2015

This confused the students and made me cringe in frustration for our kids. How can the district ask the students to test when, often, the tests have errors themselves? I…

ADU fees are extortion for homeowners
Letters to the Editor

ADU fees are extortion for homeowners

January 29, 2015

Over the years, in the absence of city policy, it’s been homeowners that have taken on this challenge by creating small apartments in their houses or investment properties to accommodate…

Support schools’ efforts to improve
Letters to the Editor

Support schools’ efforts to improve

January 29, 2015

These issues are not unique to Durango. They affect every single school district in every single town in every single state. Our community, instead of partnering with the school and…

Race, privilege conversations needed
Letters to the Editor

Race, privilege conversations needed

January 26, 2015

Most people want to believe that the success they’ve achieved is due only to their own capabilities and hard work. Which isn’t to say that hard work and talent do…

Durango Chamber of Commerce rocks
Letters to the Editor

Durango Chamber of Commerce rocks

January 26, 2015

We live in such an amazing community and I can’t really imagine narrowing nominees down to three finalists, much less choosing a winner in each category. I admit that I…

Meet Jan. 27 to try to save Hay Gulch
Letters to the Editor

Meet Jan. 27 to try to save Hay Gulch

January 25, 2015

A few years ago, I used to ride my bike through a peaceful, beautiful Hay Gulch. The road was fine, hard-packed and solid under my tires, and the sun at…

Dance has paid dearly for her mistakes
Letters to the Editor

Dance has paid dearly for her mistakes

January 25, 2015

I know Alison Dance made some mistakes. I also know she has apologized to every employee, paid her fines, reimbursed the front of the house and moved on – or…

Everyone, not just kids, is being tested
Letters to the Editor

Everyone, not just kids, is being tested

January 25, 2015

Building capacity never is. People, not just kids, are being tested at a rate unprecedented in history. They are being tested on learning a new skill set sometimes every five…

Expect 2014 county property-tax bills
Letters to the Editor

Expect 2014 county property-tax bills

January 25, 2015

You have the option of paying your property taxes in two payments or in one payment. If you choose to pay in two payments, 50 percent is due by Feb.…

‘Labor-law violation’ exceptionally petty
Letters to the Editor

‘Labor-law violation’ exceptionally petty

January 25, 2015

The final audit found that our daughter and one other young woman worked 20 minutes past 7 p.m. one night during the Memorial Day weekend in 2012. Evidently, they were…

A look at the tax base going into 2015
Letters to the Editor

A look at the tax base going into 2015

January 24, 2015

This “intervening year” law, with no voter approved mill levy changes for 2015, will make most property taxes very close to what they were last year. Some taxing areas actually…

Counter ‘radical Islam’ with total war
Letters to the Editor

Counter ‘radical Islam’ with total war

January 24, 2015

In a way, it’s understandable why the Obama administration wants to avoid the term “radical Islam.” The rationale is the same for my own avoidance of the term “radical Christianity.”…

Dance does not deserve sensationalism
Letters to the Editor

Dance does not deserve sensationalism

January 24, 2015

Last summer, a labor audit of a local business brought a sensational headline about the investigation. Despite “no comments” from the authorities involved, the Herald published it because Alison Dance…

9-R values testing over teacher morale
Letters to the Editor

9-R values testing over teacher morale

January 24, 2015

Yet District 9-R’s current emphasis on academic assessment and reassessment leaves little time for anything else and, therefore, remains paramount in the classroom. How does this emphasis affect classroom culture…

Top-heavy administration harming SJBHD
Letters to the Editor

Top-heavy administration harming SJBHD

January 24, 2015

This has significant implications for our community. When employees feel they are not valued, trusted or respected, morale plummets and staff turnover skyrockets. Of approximately 190 staff employed by the…

Dance’s violations were honest mistakes
Letters to the Editor

Dance’s violations were honest mistakes

January 22, 2015

Alison Dance has been my employer at Eno/Cyprus Cafe for a little over 2 years. I am still employed by her, and was employed by her during the time period…

Cyprus coverage feels like witch hunt
Letters to the Editor

Cyprus coverage feels like witch hunt

January 22, 2015

Yes, I get that she made some mistakes, but I believe she admitted to such negligence. To my knowledge, she has paid the financial penalties and has further renovated Cyprus…

Time to recognize race has no meaning
Letters to the Editor

Time to recognize race has no meaning

January 21, 2015

Her sermon title, “The Continuous Struggle,” came from King who said, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.” The title sums up…

Veterans thank Herald, especially Odette
Letters to the Editor

Veterans thank Herald, especially Odette

January 19, 2015

Invariably, Odette Zenizo at the want-ads desk is happy to help and runs our ad for a couple of weeks. We usually end up with 20 calls and three or…

San Juan cat relocation holds larger story
Letters to the Editor

San Juan cat relocation holds larger story

January 19, 2015

An exterminator set baited traps, and the cats were terrified and went into hiding. We were told we could not water or feed the cats after the exterminator was called.…

Graphic to the editor
Letters to the Editor

Graphic to the editor

January 17, 2015

Durango Editor’s note: Susan Moss is a professor in Fort Lewis College’s Department of Art and Design.

City should let the ½-cent tax sunset
Letters to the Editor

City should let the ½-cent tax sunset

January 17, 2015

To the best of my knowledge, the proponents and the city of Durango got what they wanted. Now, the city government wants to extend this unfair tax for no specific…

GOP threatening privacy, freedom
Letters to the Editor

GOP threatening privacy, freedom

January 17, 2015

Republicans are proposing even more outrageous anti-choice laws. Another bill allows emergency room personnel to refuse service even if a woman requires an abortion because her life is immediately threatened…

Help support Art Olson memorial fund
Letters to the Editor

Help support Art Olson memorial fund

January 17, 2015

He quietly gave of himself and his time so that people, particularly youth, could participate in outdoor adventures and learning experiences. In memory of Art, a fund is being set…

Health Department cats were relocated
Letters to the Editor

Health Department cats were relocated

January 17, 2015

The cats that formally resided in our parking lot and at the staff entrance of SJBHD were taken to new homes in September of 2014. Before September 2014, unattended cat…

Border is the only issue with Keystone XL
Letters to the Editor

Border is the only issue with Keystone XL

January 17, 2015

She addresses a number of issues, one of which is the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline and her comments are at least disingenuous. Many in Congress want to approve…

Big brothers also gain from mentoring
Letters to the Editor

Big brothers also gain from mentoring

January 14, 2015

In turn, he has shown me the not-so-serious side of life and that it’s acceptable to “not always be such an adult”. I have seen the benefits and changes in…

Meet Jan. 26 to learn smart meter risks
Letters to the Editor

Meet Jan. 26 to learn smart meter risks

January 14, 2015

You may not be aware that “smart” meters have caused hundreds of home fires worldwide. Lloyd’s of London which underwrites most homeowner’s insurance policies will not cover damage caused by…

Killing cats reveals larger moral issue
Letters to the Editor

Killing cats reveals larger moral issue

January 13, 2015

This tragic action betrays a larger moral issue of the heartless fracturing of bonds between humans and animals that too easily transfers to human relationships. In a TruthDig.com article “All…