How to feel better these days

These days, many of us may feel overwhelmed by news about politics, divisions, wild stock market swings, and economic worries. Here’s a suggestion to make you feel better: contact Meals on Wheels at Grand River at 970-625-6215 (or Valley Meals and More at 970-404-1193 if you live up valley) and become a volunteer driver. I guarantee that 95% of the recipients (or more) will thank you every time you deliver, and you’ll realize that they need those meals and could not be more appreciative.

Besides those thank-yous, you’ll receive a voucher for a free lunch after you finish your route, reimbursement for mileage if you drive your own car on the route (or you can sign up to drive one of the 4 Meals on Wheels cars), and you’ll be invited to the annual celebration of Grand River’s volunteers. You can drive once a week, every other week, or once a month, share your route with a friend (drive together or split the route every other week), or whatever works best for your schedule.

We also provide Birthday Bags (which may be the only acknowledgment of someone’s special day) as well as Blizzard Bags each winter with shelf-stable food in case drivers can’t reach clients during a storm.

Right now, over 30 people are on waiting lists for our routes. If you’re like me, you may have seen information about Meals on Wheels in the past and thought, “I could do that,” but then the moment passed, and you hadn’t followed through. This is a great time for following through. I’ve done many volunteer activities over time, and there’s no question that this one is the best, because I know how much difference it makes.

Sharon McLin, New Castle

Will we be able to stop it before it’s too late?

Trump is using the power of the government to threaten his opposition – ordering “his” DOJ to prosecute members of his previous administration who had the guts to tell the truth, to silence the free press by suing them, to withdraw funds from public and academic institutions, extorting them and law firms in order to control them, their messaging and their actions. He’s fired personnel at all levels who served as critical checks and balances in the government, watchdogs, non-partisan civil servants whose job was to keep an eye on ethics, corruption and illegal actions. He’s dismantling the three separate and equal branches of government. He’s shut down agencies to prepare for their services to be privatized for profit. This is all part of the authoritarian playbook to a T. And now he is deporting potentially innocent people to foreign countries, put into notoriously torturous jails without due process; this should be chilling to all Americans. 

How do we wake people up to see this atrocity happening faster than we can blink? Where is the outrage? Will we be able to stop it before it’s too late? In my opinion, only if we the people rise up fast enough, and include enough people to put enough pressure on the Republicans in Congress who have the power to stop the madness. When they realize they should be more afraid of their constituents than a primary funded by Elon or targeted by Trump, they may find their spines. As political pundit Dan Pfeiffer said recently, we seem to be moving towards “…A government of, by, and for the Billionaires” vs. of, by and for the People. Visit MountainActionIndivisible.org if you want to join a movement working for change and to help save our nation.

Lori Brandon, Carbondale

Art show through Sunday, then international jazz

Hello Glenwood Springs community and beyond, I wanted to let you know about a fantastic new show at the GSAC Gallery located at 216 6th St. we have a new show up featuring natural textiles in art. All of the fabrics used in this new show up on the wall walls are made from sustainable fabrics, such as hemp silk wool and cotton. We have three artists, Jill Scher, Terry Lee and Enviro Textiles.

Next week is Earth Day, however we plan on celebrating it throughout the week at the gallery with extended hours, Tuesday, and Thursday through Sunday. 2 to 6 PM in addition Enviro Textiles will be open to the public that week so you can discover for yourself the importance of hemp, cocoa fiber and other materials. Both Barbara and Summer will be able to show you around and explain the processes involved.

A week from this Thursday the 24th we have International Jazz Day at The Vaudeville. This year we have Chris Bank and Josefina Mendez with Smooth Players. Joining them will be Dave Poulsen and Element Jazz .There will be plenty of dancing and good times for all, and in addition you can purchase from an all new menu food at the Vaudeville. We will be paying homage to Mark Johnson. Mark mentored many young musicians in the valley as well as playing at various venues, sharing his wonderful talent throughout the area.

These are both fundraisers for us and we give a lot back to the community through events, such as Culinary Arts Fest, the warming hut, the craft sale and show and this event. As one way of giving back to the community. we also welcome Valley Bluegrass Jam. They play under our big white tent, which will be going up next week, every Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. This is a family-friendly fun time. This is their third year under the tent.

Our tent is available to anyone to use for their artistic adventures. Just talk to us. We are also adding a piano this year so the community can hit a few notes on their way by. We also have a book library that’s been extremely popular! 

Thank you for your support,

Laurie Chase, Glenwood Springs Arts Council president; Glenwood Springs

Thanks to those who helped with Highway 82 cleanup

Dear Friends of 82,

My sincere thanks to those of you who volunteered to clean our part of Colorado Highway 82 this past Sunday. Multiple bags of trash were collected. Your hard work paid off and it’s because of you, Linda Consuegra and friend, Lynne Haynes, Ann Stephenson, Mary Fox and Bill and Sue Mason that our portion of Highway 82 looks so pristine! 

With appreciation and a big bow to you all!

Steph Brown, Glenwood Springs