Keeping tabs on Red’s next move
To the editor,
Let me tell you a story about a man named Red. It was back in the ’80s he purchased some private land within the Saguache Ranger District of the Rio Grande National Forest. It was nice land; land the Forest Service had been eyeing for some time, and Red had a plan.

With those chips in hand, Red saddled up to the public lands real estate table, proposing to trade his coveted Saguache District chips for an incredible parcel smack in the middle of the high country. In 1986 after due process, Red’s proposal was rejected by RGNF officials.

RGNF sent the official rejection papers to the Reagan-era U.S. Department of Agriculture, where the trade was miraculously marked “land trade accepted,” and Mr. Red McCombs received title. Amazingly, RGNF officials are unable to produce a record of how that reversal actually occurred. Unfortunately, since it’s past the statute of limitations, no one seems interested in learning. Well I am, so March 15, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the paper trail of what transpired between the RGNF’s rejection and McCombs’ receiving title. I’ll keep folks informed as my journey of discovery progresses at - http://No-VillageAtWolfCreek.blogspot.com
In those early days, McCombs spoke of a low key development: 200 housing units in harmony with the unique nearby Wolf Creek Ski Area.

 

That changed when Bob Honts, Red’s partner, unveiled plans for a luxury vacation village of 10,000 people.

The problem was (actually, only one of many), the parcel is landlocked with one seasonal dirt road as access, and it crosses national forest land. McCombs spent a decade trying to gain access; but caught in shady backroom dealings, losing a significant court battle, then settling out of court on another, he found himself back at first base.

Ever resourceful, McCombs wants a new hand: 204 acres with highway frontage for 178 acres of his next-to-impossible-to-develop land. First he tried to enlist our local Congressman to bypass U.S. Forest Service “red tape” – that plan sputtered for a while then died.

Now Red has settled for traditional RGNF channels, which require an environmental impact study. Begun in the spring of 2011, officials hoped the preliminary draft would be released by late December or January. Now, we’re nearly to April, and the Forest Service continues to be vague on a release date.

What’s going on here? Has McCombs and his team realized that their village is a lost cause? Are they scrambling? Perhaps considering an exit strategy? Acquire highway frontage, genuine real-estate gold, sell to the highest bidder, then git outta Dodge?

Good poker move, and even Forest Service officials acknowledge McCombs would be fully within his rights to pursue such a strategy.
But, what about Alberta Park or that Rio Grande watershed? What about the wildlife that’s being corned into smaller and smaller patches of land? What about the coming drying of the Southwest? Isn’t Alberta Park a productive valuable biological resource as it is?

What about the public’s interests? Is all of this nothing more than a real estate poker game for a politician-owning billionaire? Who knows? The cynic would say damned straight it is. The optimist would say the Forest Service listens to our concerns and has the public interest at heart. We will see.

Now, here’s the important part, we are arriving at a critical crossroad. When the RGNF releases its preliminary draft EIS, there will be a short comment period. We the People will be legal participants in advising the Rio Grande National Forest decision makers. After years of being confined to spectator status, we get to speak up, and the powers-that-be must listen to rational presentations of the dangers and arguments for why McCombs’ landswap needs to be refused outright.

Alberta Park is a piece of biosphere; it can’t defend itself. It needs concerned citizens who, depending upon their own expertise, can do a little research. Become informed, then send some rational, polite letters to the Rio Grande National Forest explaining why McCombs’ trade proposal should be rejected outright and why Alberta Park should be reverted back to a protected resource for the needs of future generations.

– Peter Miesler, via e-mail

Seeing short-sighted government
To the editor,
La Plata County residents should be aware that there is no reason to believe that County Commissioner Kellie Hotter has your best interest in mind if you are not a member of the Tea Party. Hundreds of citizens spent hundreds of hours for more than two years attending meetings to develop the County Comprehensive Plan. This democratic, inclusive process cost upwards of $750,000 of taxpayer money.

 

But Kellie Hotter, along with Commissioner Lieb, threw it all away. That is what the Tea Party wanted her to do. Same thing with the Climate and Energy Action Plan; thrown away. That is what the Tea Party wanted Kellie to do.

At the Planning Commission meeting on Dec 8, 2011, Wendy Cox, spokeswoman for La Plata County’s Tea Party group, turned to face the crowded room and said “democracy sucks.” This statement, shocking in its sentiment and the crudeness of its delivery, reveals to the rest of us what the Tea Party mindset is all about. Do you think it appropriate that Commissioner Kellie Hotter sides again and again with a political affiliation that thinks democracy sucks?

When I asked Commissioner Hotter in January this year if she still believes in following the County Compass, which is a long-range strategic plan that ties spending to priorities, she responded “The Compass was a product created internally to represent the intended direction of the then-elected BOCC. As with all guiding documents, they need to remain fluid and be updated with changes in leadership. It is a much different day today than when that document was created.”

So even though Hotter was instrumental in the creation of the County Compass and bragged about her role in its development during her campaign in ’08 she seems now to have changed her mind. Her thinking precludes any ability or desire to stick to stated principles and any strategic or comprehensive thinking. Instead, we get short-sighted government by the vocal minority. This is what the Tea Party wanted. It seems clear who Commissioner Kellie Hotter now serves: the self-centered vocal minority and not the overall community she was elected to serve.

– Rebecca Koeppen, Ignacio

Please think of the MMJ patients
To the editor,
Medical marijuana is a big plus for this town as far as money, jobs and helping out all walks of life. MMJ is also a big asset for patients. Especially those who are in need of medicine for everyday life as well as for pain. We want and need to have locally grown products so we can have a safe, environmental product. This way we don’t have to rely on the drug cartel and can keep money in our town.

Our county commissioners need to take a hard look and not to be a three ring circus at all issues at hand. We all need to follow the law and policies. Don’t condemn the ones who are doing the right thing; condemn the ones who are doing wrong. I’ve seen this town grow and change in the 20 years I have been here, and my health has changed also. I have a tumor, and MMJ has helped me out a lot. I’d rather do this than see a doctor and make them richer and me poorer.

Not only does MMJ calm me down, it also helps my family members out as well. I ask all commissioners to please weigh out all options. Consider MMJ patients and their health as well. We all have a choice, don’t take our medicine away from us. We need this to cope with life.

– Denise Jacobs, Durango

I’m lovin’ it!
To the editor,
I consider myself to be an intelligent liberal.

After completing an epic, arduous, winter solo journey, pedaling more than 2,500 miles across the USA, I am also, of course, self actualized.

I now realize that my parental units brainwashed me into believing that fast food is not good for you. Well, now I know better.

On my bicycle tour I averaged 80 miles of riding per day. I was constantly in need of nourishment, hydration and supplemental electrolytes.

One day I had an epiphany. I learned that every 10 miles across the United States, these needs could be accommodated by patronizing the all-American restaurant: McDonalds. That’s right. McD’s.

Prior to my bicycle ride, I had not patronized a McDonald’s in more than 25 years.

On my ride, I ate there daily. I started the bicycle tour thinking that I would only eat raw foods – fruits and nuts. Little did I realize that this would not provide the fuel I needed for my journey.
I discovered McDonalds.

I began to look forward to pedaling into a town, my eyes hungrily searching for the golden arches. My body quivered at the thought of the fast food soon to be coming its way.

The food is excellent for a bicyclist. I get a large dose of electrolytes (French fry salt), quick carbohydrates ( white buns and coca-colas), protein (burger), and calcium (Shamrock shakes).

I am done with my bicycle ride across the USA. I made it thanks to McDonalds.

Please visit my blog at BucketListBikeTours.com.

– Betsy Richards, Durango

Yes another suggestion for aspirin
To the editor,
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that one in four women are attacked by an intimate partner. It also stated that more than half of women reporting rape or attempted rape were under the age of 17 at the time. This is the population that has been denied access to Plan B. This is the demographic that needs it the most. Consider that the Internet has hundreds of thousands of hits on coat hanger technology. Is this the future for our young daughters?

In my community, I personally know of three instances of sexual predation, father upon daughter. Two men came from the same fundamentalist church. One of the three men went to jail. The two men from the fundamentalist church still travel the streets of our communities freely, while their former wives and daughters pay the prices for them. Where is equal justice?

The Republican agenda denies women reproductive health care in order to breed malnourished children to provide their corporate lobbyists their future tractable cheap labor force. If malnourished people are not tractable, they go to prison, where they become the cheapest of all labor forces. They have lost most of their rights and have no unions. This is capitalism in its worst perversion.

We do not ban blood transfusions or training medical personnel because some religions ban transfusions. Under our Constitution, the Republicans have no authority to force their religion upon women, and they have no power to push their agenda upon women’s reproductive health care. Please send your patriarchal politicians a bottle of aspirin, and instruct them that the next time they feel compelled to pontificate on women’s health care, to hold one aspirin firmly between their lips.

 

– Ann T. Johnson, Durango