Radioactive waste hits highways

Trucks carrying hot radioactive waste are currently passing through the Four Corners area and into New Mexico. Although the Department of Energy will not reveal routes or timelines because of security concerns, trucks could be carrying waste from Idaho to New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as early as this week, and the most direct and lowest elevation route sends the trucks through Moab, Monticello and Cortez before connecting with I-40 near Gallup.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is a 2,150-foot mine in southern New Mexico where nuclear-weapons waste has been stockpiled since 1999. To this point, only relatively mild nuclear waste has been transported to WIPP. The current shipments, which are coming from the Idaho National Laboratory, reverse that trend. The material is so radioactive that it can only be handled with remote-control tools while inside shielded containers.

Curiously, this same transport was halted late last November by the New Mexico Environment Department, according to a report by the Associated Press. Idaho National Laboratory was ordered to suspend transport on Nov. 26 after a waste drum was found to contain excess radioactive liquid. At the urging of the NMED, the Department of Energy undertook an investigation but found no other irregularities. As a result, the department and NMED authorized Idaho National Laboratory to restart shipments earlier this month.

James Bearzi, NMED’s chief of the Hazardous and Radioactive Materials Bureau, told the AP that the state had sent a letter giving the laboratory the go-ahead.

“The letter is basically saying that the waste that is in place has been adequately characterized, you’ve given us all the information, and you are good to go,” he said.

A total of 23,000 drums of unspecified size will be shipped from the laboratory to WIPP during the haul. Citing safety concerns associated with the Sept. 11 attacks, the Department of Energy refuses to disclose the timing or the location of the shipments.

Nordic ski clubs thank Wolf Creek

Nordic ski clubs from throughout the region gathered last week to give thanks to the Wolf Creek Ski Area. The groups expressed their appreciation to the area for voluntarily grooming the Wolf Creek Nordic ski trail over the past 30 years.  

Skinny skiing became the latest casualty of plans to develop the Village at Wolf Creek in late November. At that time, developers ordered the Wolf Creek Ski Area to cease and desist grooming 10 kilometers of cross country trails below the Waterfall Area, a service the area has voluntarily performed since the late 1970s. The majority of the trails also cross lands now owned by Texas developer Red McCombs, courtesy of a 1989 land exchange, land that is slated for the Village at Wolf Creek.

McCombs and his business partner, Bob Honts, have proposed a large-scale development for the meadow near the base of the Alberta Lift. The team wants to build 2,172 new units and more than 220,000 square feet of commercial space, including 12 new restaurants and several hotels.

In spite of this turn of events, the Jan. 15 ceremony was overwhelmingly positive. Members from the Durango Nordic Club, Pine Valley Nordic Club, Pagosa’s San Juan Outdoor Club, Pagosa’s Gray Wolves, Creede’s Upper Rio Grande Nordic Club, and the San Juan Nordic Club all gathered. They presented Wolf Creek’s Davey and Todd Pitcher with a plaque and thanked the ski area owners for their generous contributions to the Nordic ski community over several decades.  

John Gilbert, of Durango, who uses the Wolf Creek trails to train for winter biathlons commented, “Nordic skiers from Flagstaff, to Albuquerque to Denver have benefited from Wolf Creek’s generosity, and we all just wanted to say ‘thanks.’”  

Representatives from the ski clubs declined to comment on McCombs’ cease-and-desist order, expressing their desire to keep the day positive and focused on the good things the Wolf Creek Ski Area has done for Nordic skiing.  

Durango Chamber taps new director

The Durango Chamber of Commerce and La Plata Economic Development Action Partnership (LEAD) have new leadership. Jack Llewellyn has been hired as the new director of the sister organizations, replacing Bobby Lieb who announced his resignation late last year and is now project manager for the new airport business park. Llewellyn will assume his new position on Feb. 5.

“I’m looking forward to representing Durango, the community as a whole and everything that they offer,” he said. “I’m excited for the new challenges and the opportunity to serve in a leadership capacity.”

Llewellyn is widely known for his work as director of athletic development for Fort Lewis College, a position he has held for nearly seven years. However, business relations have also been a primary focus of Llewellyn’s professional career, which encompasses 20 years of marketing, sales and management experience in Durango and the Four Corners.

“Jack’s biggest asset is his connection to the community,” said Jim Wotkyns, president of the Chamber board of Directors. “He has an uncanny ability to bring players to the table and an almost endless network to get things done. He is driven by success. We are very blessed and pleased to have him on board.”

Llewellyn is a 1986 graduate of Fort Lewis College and has been actively involved with the Civitan Club, Durango/La Plata County Crimestoppers and Kiwanis over the past 25 years. He is also a founder of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Durango.

Snowdown open space artist named

With the La Plata Open Space Conservancy’s 13th annual Snowdown Wine Tasting and Fine Art Exhibition just around the corner, the group has announced its Snowdown Artist for Open Space

Gayle Lewis’ pastel “Radiant Sky” was chosen from nearly 40 entries to be the 2007 Snowdown Painting. Lewis is a Farmington resident who has shown her work in numerous galleries and shows around the Four Corners. She recently won the Jurors’ Choice Award at the Mesa Verde Exhibition in conjunction with Mesa Verde’s 100-year celebration. Lewis is also an art instructor at San Juan College in Farmington and will sign a limited edition of prints of “Radiant Sky” for guests at the wine tasting.

A total of 12 original paintings will be auctioned off during the Feb. 1 event at the Bank of Colorado. The event is La Plata Open Space Conservancy’s annual fund-raiser and proceeds will help the group protect critical open space in the area. To date, the Conservancy has worked with landowners to permanently protect nearly 19,000 acres of our working landscape, through 146 conservation easements and 10 fee title acquisitions. Protected lands include working farms and ranches, wildlife habitats and migration areas, unique plant habitats, scenic open space that can be enjoyed by the public, public recreation areas, and archaeological sites.

For more information on the fund-raiser, call 259-3415.

– compiled by Will Sands