Ear to the ground

 “It was so hot, we had to drive around with bags of ice in our laps.”

– A Durangoan on how her family survived a Midwestern vacation during a heat wave in a car with no air-conditioning

‘Women’s Build’

Snap on your tool belts, ladies. The Women’s Resource Center and Habitat for Humanity of La Plata County are joining forces for a “Women’s Build” construction project this weekend, and they want you. Women and girls ages 16 and up are encouraged to participate in the event.

Habitat is in the process of completing the second and final phase of its “Casitas de Florida” project. This project, located at located at 1470 Florida Road, added four town homes to the affordable housing stock in Durango last year and will add a duplex plus a single family home this year. The Casitas make for a total of seven affordable housing units, all within a challenging area, the city limits of Durango. 

Local women are needed to help put the project over the top this Saturday and lend a little sweat equity to neighbors in need. “It is so exciting to see so many women working together on such a special project that benefits women and families in our community,” said Liz Mora, WRC Program Coordinator.

The work day begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Volunteers are asked to bring water, sunblock, hat, work gloves and practical shoes. Lunch will be provided on both days. 

For more information or to sign up to volunteer for the Women Build projects, contact  382-9735 or register online at www.habitatdurango.org. 

Free love

Durango wins the sweepstakes this week. Local therapists are “lending a hand” to the community, and local residents are invited to indulge in free body work courtesy of “EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week.”

EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week runs from July 15-21, and local massage therapists are donating their time and effort to easing local stress and strain. Free chair massages will be offered from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. all week long at Iris Park, located along the Animas River Trail behind Nature’s Oasis.

EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week also has a community service angle. All donations during the event will benefit the La Plata County Humane Society.