Put your dogs on a leash

We walk our dog every day on a leash. Do you really want to pay for my dog’s and your dog’s vet bills? I know you think you’re special when walking on the mountain trails and don’t think leashing your dogs is necessary, but it is a $100 fine. Or did you forget?

It is happening more often every day.Be considerate to the other dog walkers who do not know how our or your dog will interact. When I ask you to put your dog or dogs on a leash you ignore me. I cannot ask the town officers to help. They do not have the resources to keep up with you people, and you know it.

Frustrated dog walker.

Robin Taylor, New Castle

Rifle gas prices don’t add up

The price of regular gas in Rifle for a gallon of regular gas was $3.49 as of Aug. 17.

Except for the independently owned station on Fifth and Railroad. Their price was $2.89.

Are all the other gas stations just 20% greedier or are they colluding to dupe the public into financing their price gouging?

And wow, head upvalley to Bonedale, and the same gas is $3.84. Keep heading upvalley to Aspen and we find Californicated costs.

So, is it corporate greed or is the station on Fifth in Rifle giving away gas for economic empathy?

Bruno Kirchenwitz, Rifle

Hershey: I won’t be intimidated

The best day of the week is Friday. Not because the weekend approaches, but because the city of Glenwood Springs is closed every Friday — nothing bad happens. The city appears very angry at me for filing election complaints. And Mr. Mark Kirch and Mayor Pro Tem Zalinsky attacked me personally in this paper (Post Independent, Aug. 11, 2025). The title of the city’s press release was “Hershey complaint dismissed,” personalizing it even further.

As a former city councilperson, I am certainly not intimidated by critics who attack me personally, particularly people who work for the city or earn their largesse doing business with the city. Nothing will stop me from continuing to keep our government honest and ensure they comply with the law. What does concern me is that these ad hominem attacks are designed to frighten other citizens from filing similar complaints. The people’s right to hold our government accountable is fundamental, and every citizen has a right — an obligation — to make sure we have a fair, open, and accountable government.

As for the complaints themselves, there were only three. Two election complaints were dismissed. In one, city employees were advocating in this newspaper for passage of a street tax. In the second, a councilperson stated that the city needed the chamber to pass the street tax, so they had to give them a million dollars. Were those violations of the election laws? The state said no. Are they issues that people have a right to be concerned about? Yes. My third complaint was that the city violated the Open Meetings Law. A judge said they did. Was that wrong too, Madam Mayor Pro Tem? She was present as the City Council violated state law.

I will continue to be a critic. The city has wasted too much of our money and continued its secret insider network where contractors and the chamber profit while we suffer. I will never stop; I hope others have the courage to do the same.

Tony Hershey, Glenwood Springs

Understanding pathocracy

I just learned about this term today. I believe this perfectly describes the current situation we find ourselves in.

“Pathocracy, or how psychopathy takes over a society
March 15, 2022, 11:04 a.m. Subscribe
Pathocracy, identified by the Polish psychologist Andrzej Lobaczewski, is the condition where government of a society is dominated by those with psychopathological disorders. It begins when one such disordered individual emerges as a leader figure; soon, their personality amplifies it, filtering out those appalled by their brutality and irresponsibility but attracting others who see it as charisma and decisiveness. Soon, others with psychopathic traits attach themselves to the power hierarchy, while responsible and moral people leave or are ejected, and before long, the entire government is filled with people with a pathological lack of empathy and conscience. This psychopathy soon spreads beyond the government, through the population, through propaganda and polarizing ideology.”

More here: https://www.metafilter.com/194698/Pathocracy-or-how-psychopathy-takes-over-a-society
And here: https://www.juancole.com/2025/08/psychopathocracy-3-0.html

Patrick Hunter, Carbondale

Best foot forward

A big thanks to our city for hiring the devoted crews keeping our community clean and flowering beautifully. With new easy-to-use trash cans on our horizon, it could encourage everyone to pitch in. A simple contribution that can leave a great first (and long-term) impression. Community pride: catch it, and pitch in (the can).

Diane Reynolds, Glenwood Springs

Western Slope voters ignoring climate reality

I was born and raised on the Western Slope and at the age of 15 was a Goldwater Republican. I know well the conservative roots in what was then deemed “God’s Country.” That is all water under the bridge now, but I continue hanging onto the fringes as a Bernie Sanders supporter. He has maintained for decades that American government favored the rich and powerful and underserved those less entitled.

What confuses me today about Western Slope voters, so obviously on the front lines of wildfires stoked by global warming, is that they cling to the Republican denial that climate change is an issue deserving attention. What does it take to open one’s eyes?

Bob Porath, Boulder

We all deserve better from City Market

As a resident of this beautiful, thriving community for over 40 years, I have to wonder how our local City Market became what it is today. As shoppers we are unaware “why” the shelves are regularly empty, “why” the deli or butcher areas at times close during normal working hours, “why” half of the self-check lanes are closed, often with limited or no full-serve alternative. These all cause us to either head to another store to fill in the voids, or go back another day “hoping” to find what we need.

This isn’t a reflection of the many hardworking employees we have all come to know and depend on as they continue to show up and do their job, but for how long? Many have already retired or moved on. Are we a community of individuals that no longer have an interest in working? Are they not paid enough to live in this valley? Is it a corporate or management issue?

All I know is that we have added and continue to add hundreds of living units, resulting in thousands of people, and have only this one full-size grocer to depend on. As I travel to other areas I notice those Kroger facilities don’t seem to be affected to this degree, but of course they usually have competitors.

Jackie Neuman, Glenwood Springs