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Friday letters: Good policy, compostable waste, Silt Heyday, R2 development, school board overreach, trash in Rifle, and more development

Good policy

“American Rescue funds couldn’t come at better time for Garfield County.” Thank goodness, feds to the rescue again. 

Thank goodness “smaller government” Republicans are not running the government right now. Thank goodness for a national policy that helps everyone.



Susan Rhea

Carbondale



Divert compostable waste

Last week while at the landfill I observed the new piles of garbage. I was struck by the sea of food being smashed into the ground. Food that could otherwise nourish the planet is being turned into methane, a powerful chemical compound that creates heat, greenhouse gas. 

Glenwood’s landfill is being filled up with food and construction debris because of council’s complacency. We are taking in far above 80 tons a day now with all the new construction going on. I would like to ask council, what is your plan? When will you give the go-ahead to start a community composting production and get restaurants buy in? 

I’m seeing all this frantic energy to get thousands of new people crammed into the valley. What will the city actually be doing to process the massive amount of waste? Where will our new landfill be when one day we figure out what we did was not sustainable? This city will be caught with its pants down by its very shortsighted plan to build massive rental units without the real ability to provide future water, waste and fire protection. Climate change will not ignore us. 

Am I the 100th person to publicly say “no!” to overdevelopment at the West Glenwood field? I am now.

Jennifer Vanian

Glenwood Springs

Silt Heyday thanks

The Silt Heyday Committee would like to thank all the contributors that helped to make the 51st Silt Heyday a success. This includes all those who donated financial support, door prizes, and services.  Because of you, we were able to provide a home town celebration back at Veterans Park in Silt and provide a venue for fundraising for our own Silt Historical Society and Silt Historical Park.    

We want to give special thanks  to our Gold Sponsors, The Town of Silt and Down Valley Septic, our Platinum Sponsors Alpine Bank, Al and Jackie George, Native American Crane Service, Timberline Pool & Spa and Waste Management. 

The other sponsors are too numerous to mention, but we appreciate all that they did this year to make Heyday successful, whether they provided financial support or in kind donations

We wish to thank all the people that donated their time for Silt Heyday, including our parade entrants, our parade judges; our grand marshals, Garfield County Search and Rescue Team; the Garfield County Sheriff Patrol Honor Guard that raised our park flag and led our parade; the Colorado River Fire Rescue and their “Touch a Truck Program,” our booth providers; local support including the Silt Police and the security volunteers, Silt Historical Society friends in the kitchen and in the beer booth, the town of Silt employees, and all of the others that helped as we celebrated “Put On Yer Boots – We’re going back to our Roots”

Thanks to our bands, Joey Ball & Tom Evans, Acoustic Mayhem and The Real Deal Band.

If we forgot anyone it is not intentional, and we thank you, too. It was difficult to keep track of all the work going on.

Without all of this support, we could not have done it. 

Silt Heyday Committee

Justin Brintnall, Levy Burris, Chris Classen, Ramona Jaeger,
Sheila McIntyre, Joan Nestor, Kim Price, Sydney Reynolds,
Hope Stewart and Peggy Swank.   

Deny R2 already

This is my takeaway from the Sept. 7 City Council meeting regarding possible annexation of 480 Donegan Road. 

After remarks from council and the R2 developers, Councilman Willman “moved” to deny the request to annex 480 Donegan due to density. Hershey and Wussow also agreed to the denial. Kaup spoke to approve the annexation. Stepp then also agreed to the denial. All who agreed to the denial gave individual reasons for doing so.

Four (majority) in agreement to the motion to deny the request for annexation.

However, before Godes or Davis could continue responding to the motion to deny, Kaup immediately interrupted and asked to make another motion, stopping any input from Godes or Davis to the original motion made by Willman. 

After explaining to Kaup she could either table or continue with the discussion — but not add another “motion” — she agreed (and Godes seconded) to continue. A “vote” was then taken in regards to the continuation. Stepp and Hershey held their ground and voted no; the others voted yes.

Kaup said many had approached her for a grocery store and movie theater in West Glenwood. Kaup thought approving this development would not only provide that opportunity but provide affordable housing as well. 

To Councilwoman Kaup: that would be a firm “no” to both speculations. 

R2 does not have to produce its plans or consider public needs for the Mall; and as shared in their presentation, most of the units will be “middle income” affordability. 

Please know the majority in attendance, either physical or through Zoom, letters written to council members or the Post’s editor, in addition to the 1,700 who signed the petition to deny this annexation; these people are not “protesters.” We are actually “protectors” of homes, affordable housing, character, values and above all, safety.

Again, I ask the council to listen to your constituents and hearts, and vote as if you and your families call Western Hills your home as well 

Jamie Darien

Glenwood Springs

Responding to McWhorter

Mr. McWhorter’s letter about school board overreach demands a response.

His talking points appear to be coming straight from right-wing media in their attempt to create conflict and division among us. Fox News mentioned critical race theory 1,300 times in a recent four-month period. 

Mask mandates and vaccination campaigns are being portrayed as attacks on individual freedom and something to rebel against. And the rebellion is all too real. Over Labor Day weekend in Gilpin County, mobile vaccine sites had to be shut down because people were shouting obscenities and throwing garbage at the workers. One person even drove over their signs announcing the event.

Mr. McWhorter, in his letter, calls the use of face masks in schools “muzzling our children” and feels that parent anger is going to get worse. After the shameful outbursts we’ve already seen at school board meetings, increased intolerance would seem unfathomable. But, a Denver Christian School just hired a team of lawyers to devise a plan to continue disobeying public health orders.

Educating our children begins at home and parental behavior strongly impacts what a child becomes. It’s essential that they learn that individual sacrifice is often necessary for the good of us all. When small sacrifices like wearing a mask or getting vaccinated to prevent a dangerous disease are being presented as an unacceptable limitations on my personal freedom, the behavior being modeled by parents is selfishness and nothing more.

Jerry Krebs

Glenwood Springs​​

Quit trashing it up

I live in Rifle Colorado, and I walk for enjoyment, exercise, and fresh air just to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

I have noticed lately we are getting a lot more trash in our fair streets, highways and interstates.

I know this is a large problem, but you all! We are not a Third World country, and it is starting to look like one!

As I am out walking, I take a trash bag and pick up litter on my walk, return a shopping cart, etc.

Trying to be a good citizen for our country now if everyone would at least try to do something to put our country back together it would be a beautiful place again.

Stop trashing our country.

Second, start being courteous and kind. Treat people how you want to be treated. 

Third, showing respect to our planet and countrymen you were not born with everything it was either earned or given to you it is not your right.

Fourth, there is no color difference in the world; you were taught it, not born that way!

Fifth, what happened in the past cannot be changed and stop thinking you are owed for something most people had no control over and most of it was so far ago it doesn’t pertain today and should be dropped.

If we would all follow these small guidelines the planet and people would be so much happier.

Bobi Jo Hall

Rifle

Not a good solution

Who is the real Councilwoman Shelley Kaup? The one who, as a candidate, assured the community she would be “evaluating impacts of traffic, emergency evacuation, infrastructure available, services needed and many other factors,” insisting “I’m not a pro-growth for growth’s sake councilor, but am looking to maintain our safety and quality of life.” 

Or, the councilwoman who, at the Sept. 7 meeting declared herself fully in favor of the 480 Donegan project, opposed by the community for threatening all those values? Then she went on to emphasize the amount of work and resources R2 has “already” invested, as though that obligates the city somehow. Those risks are quite properly borne by those who stand to profit handsomely – the more so, the less they have to consider the priorities of those who will be most impacted.

Paula Stepp called on council to address these concerns in their proper order. It can’t be remotely responsible to approve a dense development of 600 to 1,000 additional residents before the acknowledged deficiencies which endanger the current population are remedied.

R2 has indeed made concessions – but only after their cavalier attitude toward the people and land was exposed by the neighbors’ critiques. Grudgingly, as afterthoughts, they reduced the number of units, scrapped the water-wasting landscaping, offered money toward a safety study, ceded some land for a fire station. But as Stepp stressed, the obvious question is, what has to happen first? Planning, acceptance, securing the funding, building the components won’t happen overnight, if at all. Certainly not before the development, if approved, would be a reality.

We do need housing. But this style of development is neither the only, nor the best, response. Upgrading the Mall to include housing in a second story, affordable to its own workforce, wouldn’t add to the existing footprint. Changing outdated zoning and building ordinances could result in more and diverse housing opportunities, allowing single-family home owners to add ADUs as appropriate, without the density and uniformity of the proposed PUD.

Council must deny this proposal. R2 will then have the six months required before re-submitting to consider the needs of the community.

Laurie Raymond

Glenwood Springs


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