Commissioners’ pipeline support letter ignores concerns of locals

Out of concern over the fate of West Mamm Creek Valley and the 7-plus miles of oil and gas pipeline proposed by TEP that was given a letter of support signed by BOCC, I left comments on the voicemail of Commissioner Mike Samson. I attempted to contact Commissioner Perry Will, wildlife advocate. His voicemail was not set up nor did he respond to the message I left with the admin assistant on Feb. 4.

Today I watched the video of the county commission meeting on Feb. 3 covering the decision of the county commission to sign the letter of support presented to them by Oil and Gas liaison Kirby Wynn. To be clear, they signed this letter intact; they did not write the letter nor research the project.

In my opinion, the oil and gas liaison was dismissive of the possible concerns of the public in the USFS/BLM opportunity for public comment ending Feb. 7. When asked by the county commission about the impacts on wildlife, the liaison indicated that they were negligible although a current Environmental Impact Assessment has yet to be performed. This letter was sent directly to USFS supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams.

Wouldn’t it have better represented “the will of the people” if the county commission had read the USFS/BLM public comments before signing that letter of support? 

Did the county commission publish an opportunity for public comment on this agenda item for the 2/3/25 meeting?

Was the timing of the signing for this letter of support just before the deadline an attempt to influence this opportunity for the public to weigh in?

I feel given the lack of process, perhaps making public comment as private citizens would have been more appropriate.

West Mamm Creek Valley is one of the last remaining scraps of wildlife habitat not degraded by oil and gas development. Hasn’t this area supported enough industry development to warrant the preservation of this Valley and its wildlife for future generations to enjoy?

Michele Brower, Rifle

Aspen straight shot is a commuter’s nightmare

As a downvalley resident who spent years commuting from Carbondale to Aspen, I want to let my fellow travelers know that the straight shot into Aspen will not make our trip any faster. In fact, it will likely make it longer. 

I know this sounds counterintuitive, but please hear me out. I spent years reporting on this issue for The Aspen Times back in the early 2000s, and am very familiar with the details. 

The straight shot is the plan to redirect Colorado Highway 82 across the 75-acre Marolt Open Space at the entrance to Aspen with a four-lane highway and new bridge across Castle Creek. It affects about a half mile of the 30-mile trip from Carbondale to Aspen. 

Here are the reasons this plan won’t make our drive to Aspen any easier:

• It does nothing to address the massive morning backups at the airport where two lanes of traffic merge into one. 
• The straight shot extends the bus-only lane to Main Street. That means one lane for buses and one for cars in both directions.
• There will be a new traffic light at Seventh & Main, near the Hickory House, backing traffic up in both directions. Afternoon rush hour traffic on Main Street could be an even bigger mess.
• The existing highway between Cemetery Lane and the roundabout will be permanently closed, forcing all traffic into town. Morning traffic will be a disaster, as students and commuters from McLain Flats Road trigger the new traffic light and slow our commute. 

The straight shot is designed to save buses about one minute of travel time. For the rest of us, nothing will change. Or it might be worse. Urge your friends in Aspen to vote no on Referendum 2. 

Allyn Harvey, Carbondale

Trump’s immigration and ‘a broken system’

Trump promised the biggest deportation of undocumented criminals ever. “Criminals” sounds like convicted felons, not law-abiding refugees fleeing corrupt dictatorships. “Undocumented” sounds like entering illegally. Yet felon Trump directed ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to look busy, and “criminals” seems to mean brown skinned people.

Almost 20% (8 million) Venezuelans fled Maduro’s brutal dictatorship, mostly to neighboring countries. After months walking across Central America and Mexico, almost a million surrendered to ICE, applied for Temporary Protected Status, and were detained in prison-like conditions sometimes for months. When released, they were told not to work legally, receive government assistance, to register addresses with ICE, and wait (for years) for their court hearing. What a broken system.

Eventually, most received permission to work legally and pay taxes to the US government. Now Trump has decided these people constitute “criminals” who must be purged from the US. He has made a deal with election-stealing Maduro and will end Venezuelans’ Temporary Protected Status and deport them. Most will face prison for fleeing their country. ICE officials, having their addresses, won’t have to look for real criminals, because they can go after easy pickings of people who trusted the US government.

Peter Westcott on behalf of Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee, Carbondale

Readers deserve a higher standard

Regarding the letter to the editor entitled, “Addressing Hate Speech in the Community,” the Post Independent firmly demonstrated irresponsible journalism in allowing this letter to be published.

The first line of the second paragraph states clearly that the basis of the accusations against the (individuals named) is an anonymous story. 

Since when is hearsay justification for printing a letter in which a community member is debased and slandered based on a person’s second hand understanding of a situation. Post Independent, please set a higher standard for which letters you choose to publish. Your readers all deserve better than to be exposed to diatribes based on second hand conversations at a pizza joint.

Jeremy Heiser, New Castle

Election law bill could disenfranchise millions

With all of the chaos of the current president’s first weeks in office, one significant piece of legislation may be flying under the radar: the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. This dangerous bill could silence millions of voters by creating new barriers to voter registration that make it harder for Americans to make their voices heard. It would require voters to provide documentation such as a passport or birth certificate in order to register to vote. More than 21 million Americans lack easy access to these documents. In addition, more than 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s last name do not have a birth certificate that matches their legal name. This will also disenfranchise young and elderly people and people of color, who are least likely to have a passport or copy of their birth certificate. 

The SAVE Act would also mandate that states conduct frequent voter purges, a practice that removes registered voters from the rolls based on faulty data. Voter purges ultimately take away Americans’ freedom to vote. If you are currently registered to vote and you are purged from the voting rolls, you would be required to provide a passport or birth certificate to register again.

We already have strict laws to protect the security of our elections. Despite unfounded claims to the contrary, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The SAVE Act is designed to block eligible people from voting, not to protect elections. The right to vote is a basic American freedom. Please call Sen. Bennet (202-224-5852), Sen. Hickenlooper (202-224-5941), and Rep. Hurd (202-225-4676) and demand they vote NO on the SAVE Act to protect that right for all Americans.

Laurie Lawrence, Rifle