Letters to the Editor

Campfires are never permitted in the city
Letters to the Editor

Campfires are never permitted in the city

June 21, 2014

We live by the Overend Mountain Park and, recently, two open camp fires were discovered by park users. One was quite large and unattended. This situation is completely unacceptable, and…

County has two adult-education programs
Letters to the Editor

County has two adult-education programs

June 21, 2014

I do, however, have a few corrections to make that were stated incorrectly in your story. There are currently two adult education programs in La Plata County: the Durango Education…

Don’t muckrake; support Cyprus instead
Letters to the Editor

Don’t muckrake; support Cyprus instead

June 21, 2014

Why wouldn’t we rally behind Alison, instead of muckraking? Cyprus was one of the first to use homegrown and local foods and continues to lead the way in that regard.…

Cyprus story fueled stressful situation
Letters to the Editor

Cyprus story fueled stressful situation

June 21, 2014

This story is fuel to an already stressful situation. Shame on you! I know Alison Dance to be a person with integrity who will correct what needs to be corrected…

Putting ‘watchable wildlife’ ahead of food
Letters to the Editor

Putting ‘watchable wildlife’ ahead of food

June 19, 2014

The United States Forest Service allowed a meager 30-day public comment period for the 279-page Draft Environmental Assessment and Bighorn Risk Assessment for the Weminuche Landscape Grazing Analysis that ended…

Bob Beauprez has what it takes to lead state
Letters to the Editor

Bob Beauprez has what it takes to lead state

June 19, 2014

Besides having a long and successful political career, including a background in the financial business world, and in ranching and farming, he gained considerable knowledge as to what it takes…

‘Woman in the red shirt’ glad for survivor
Letters to the Editor

‘Woman in the red shirt’ glad for survivor

June 19, 2014

My partner, Robert Reed, is a welding instructor at Southwest Colorado Community College in Cortez. He has a little apartment that he stays at during the week when he is…

Constitutional event Saturday in Bayfield
Letters to the Editor

Constitutional event Saturday in Bayfield

June 19, 2014

George Washington warned us of political parties in his farewell address because the Founding Fathers knew it would be the destruction of the nation. Today, there really is only one…

Schirard’s experience surpasses Smith’s
Letters to the Editor

Schirard’s experience surpasses Smith’s

June 19, 2014

Now let’s look at Sheriff Duke Schirard’s record: The sheriff started his law enforcement career in La Plata County some 37 years ago. In addition to serving the Town of…

Story highlighted language shortcomings
Letters to the Editor

Story highlighted language shortcomings

June 19, 2014

What a shame that we in Durango cannot even begin to compare ourselves to these young polyglots. It has been seven years since I retired from the Modern Languages Department…

Farmers Market a boon for fresh, local food
Letters to the Editor

Farmers Market a boon for fresh, local food

June 19, 2014

With the Farmers Market, I can get the next best thing to my own produce. With the Farmers Market, I can say at many a meal, “Except for the butter…

Being armed is no guarantee of safety
Letters to the Editor

Being armed is no guarantee of safety

June 18, 2014

When I point this condition out to concealed-carry advocates, the typical response is huff and puff: “I know I could do it if I had to. I grew up with…

Instead of ‘sewer insurance,’ get a lawyer
Letters to the Editor

Instead of ‘sewer insurance,’ get a lawyer

June 18, 2014

A lot of otherwise serviceable clay or cast-iron service lines simply can’t handle this astounding level of pressure. A sewer is supposed to flow by gravity, and sewer pipes were…

Treat trash responsibly during bear season
Letters to the Editor

Treat trash responsibly during bear season

June 18, 2014

If your trash contained Hills Prescription ID dog-food cans, Wholly Guacamole packages, two old dog toys, dog hair, dryer sheets, a piece of an old brown blanket, etc., we sure…

Conservative voices deserve same respect
Letters to the Editor

Conservative voices deserve same respect

June 17, 2014

I was led to believe progressives were tolerant of different viewpoints. That said, perhaps Harrigan can explain why people who are critical of the president’s incompetent handling of even the…

Women are not just vessels, they have rights
Letters to the Editor

Women are not just vessels, they have rights

June 17, 2014

What stood out for me in the letter is that she makes no mention of the woman’s rights. Apparently, once pregnant, women are merely the vessel, an incubator, a slave…

Veterans’ group needs to be doing better
Letters to the Editor

Veterans’ group needs to be doing better

June 17, 2014

We were not a cliché; we were serving our country. We were then instructed to pray. All veterans were assumed Christian that night. Fortunately, a retired general and both our…

Colorado needs to replace its U.S. senators
Letters to the Editor

Colorado needs to replace its U.S. senators

June 15, 2014

Democrats (Colorado Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet are co-sponsors) have never really been worried about corporations’ political contributions except for one reason: The Democrats receive unmatched amounts of contributions…

Social Security run no better than the VA
Letters to the Editor

Social Security run no better than the VA

June 15, 2014

They absolutely do not care about your health or well-being as they have to confer for months with other physicians in another part of the state even to begin to…

Obama handed Taliban greatest victory
Letters to the Editor

Obama handed Taliban greatest victory

June 15, 2014

Obama has single-handedly lost two wars that America had already won (Iraq and Afghanistan), continues to ignore immigration law by allowing thousands of unskilled illegal immigrants into our country (“undocumented…

Story missed another Fulbright scholar
Letters to the Editor

Story missed another Fulbright scholar

June 14, 2014

Sam graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in international relations. As an East Asia specialist, Sam will be spending her Fulbright year as…

Cuts, high demand stretch VA
Letters to the Editor

Cuts, high demand stretch VA

June 14, 2014

I suspect the current, highly publicized problems are a result of deep funding cuts, coupled with a great increase in demand. You can stretch an organization until it snaps. John…

County spent road money wisely on 250
Letters to the Editor

County spent road money wisely on 250

June 14, 2014

It was an excellent use of the La Plata County road funds. Thanks to the board of county commissioners for spending this money to make that stretch of road smoother…

The Medal of Honor is awarded, not won
Letters to the Editor

The Medal of Honor is awarded, not won

June 14, 2014

This medal is awarded to those exceptional individuals who have inspired and helped those of us who served. It is not a medal for coming in first in some competition.…

Worry about veggies more than eating beef
Letters to the Editor

Worry about veggies more than eating beef

June 14, 2014

It’s a free country, and we have an abundance of great food compared to other countries around the world. Why did Horvath single out burgers? He sounds like a man…

League updates agriculture policy position
Letters to the Editor

League updates agriculture policy position

June 14, 2014

In general, the League believes government should provide financial support for agriculture that includes disaster assistance, crop insurance (with limits on premium subsidies to larger farms), need-based loans and incentives…

AHS graduation provided education, too
Letters to the Editor

AHS graduation provided education, too

June 14, 2014

This was the most unusual and impactful graduation I have ever attended. I did not expect to be educated by attending this ceremony, but educated I was. Some of the…

DFM action could be discriminatory
Letters to the Editor

DFM action could be discriminatory

June 14, 2014

Perhaps James should also tone down the possibly inflammatory rhetoric using such a term as “castigating,” when I did not get such a tone from Cramer’s letter. Is there some…

Dam is strangling a river rich in beauty
Letters to the Editor

Dam is strangling a river rich in beauty

June 14, 2014

It is ironic that he seems to miss the larger context in which the McPhee Dam exists: being in the arid American West, where farming with reckless irrigation projects is…