No common sense nor leadership
To the editor,
In driving around the county, I am noticing Kellie Hotter signs that tout her as having “common sense leadership.”

Despite what Kellie Hotter’s campaign signs say, it seems apparent that she has demonstrated neither common sense nor leadership. Check her record. Is it common sense to vote for a gravel pit in a neighborhood right next to the Animas River (aka Little Fishes)? Is it leadership to throw away $750,000 and disenfranchise hundreds of people who worked for years developing a La Plata County Comprehensive Plan? Is it leadership to reappoint ideologues to the Planning Commission instead of people with background and non biased experience in planning? Is it leadership to ask for recommendations on climate and energy then vote against all the recommendations when right-wing activists oppose it? Is it leadership to vote against a resolution calling for disclosure of chemicals in fracking fluids? Is it common sense to vote to allow a dog-training operation in the middle of a small subdivision when the project violated four out of six of the county’s standards for compatibility and was unanimously opposed by the neighbors? Is it common sense for us to re-elect her?

The answer to all of the above is NO. And it is time to say NO to the narrow, special interest decisions that lack both common sense and leadership. Join me in supporting Gwen Lachelt, a fearless leader with a proven record of common-sense solutions to difficult problems.

– Ed Lehner, Durango

Romney’s riches in good company
Dear editor,
I am appalled that the Democratic Party is assailing Mitt Romney for having one or more offshore bank accounts, specifically in Switzerland! True world leaders with unassailable credentials have also had Swiss 4 accounts. They do this so their families can be protected financially and have access to reasonable life necessities. I will gladly name a few: Muammar Qaddafi, Hasni Mubarek, Saddam Hussein and Bashar Assad. World leaders of the highest caliber! Don’t be ashamed Mitt, you are and have been in good company!

– Bob Carlson, Durango

‘Thumbs down’ to parking lots
To the editor,
The City of Durango’s decision to buy a parcel of land north of Chapman Hill may or may not be a “thumbs up,” as recently reported in the Telegraph. The parcel’s shape and location (directly in front of existing townhomes) does not lend itself to building a larger facility as was suggested in the article, and that really only leaves one viable use: parking. Parking lots are not the answer. The city just spent millions on improving bicycle access to Chapman Hill, why discourage bicycling by putting in more parking? Every city dweller can bike to Chapman within minutes from anywhere in the city. More parking spaces means more cars and more traffic. Parking lots contribute to localized climate warming and destroy green open space. The city should be encouraging bike commuting, not discouraging it.

I understand that not all users of the Chapman facilities live within biking distance, the existing parking spaces will easily accommodate their vehicles. I also understand that skis and hockey gear are difficult to transport on a bike. To resolve this issue, storage lockers could be installed and gear would be left on site for the season.
 “Thumbs down” to more parking lots.

– Howard White, Durango

'Lasso' cigarette smoke in public
To the editor,
This letter is to urge support for a local ordinance making our parks, trails and outdoor restaurant patios smoke-free. I’m writing as a member of La Plata County’s Lasso Tobacco Coalition.

One of Lasso Tobacco’s key precepts is that we are a community that honors a tobacco free lifestyle. Smoking means toxic smoke in the air of our parks and trails. Smoking means cigarette butts with their associated toxins and unsightly litter alongside the river trail, clearly visible to locals and visitors who prize our beautiful landscape. Smoking means unhealthy role models and noxious smoke in outside patios. And at the moment, smoking means the potential for wildfire danger that we haven’t seen for a decade.

More than 50 years ago, the City of Durango passed an open container ordinance. A stack of beer cans and other litter used to be the Monday morning standard at Fanto and Folsom parks. Looking at our beautiful trails and parks now, I think of the foresight and wisdom of those city councilors who demonstrated that we put the safety and beauty of our community first despite controversy.

I call on this City Council to demonstrate that same foresight and wisdom. Let’s get that sidestream smoke out of our parks and off our trails, let’s get that toxic trash out of the same areas, let’s lower the fire danger presented by smoldering cigarette butts, and let’s get toxic smoke away from the staff and customers at restaurant patios.

Let’s demonstrate that we really are a community of clean air, beautiful scenery and a healthy lifestyle. Let’s show our visitors that we really do care about showcasing the crown jewel of our trail system. I urge everyone to review this YouTube post from the Durango Boys and Girls Club Torch Club: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rORwdr3JBj4

Then contact the Durango City Council and urge them to join Durango’s youth and pass the clean outdoor air ordinance they’ve been studying.

– Jean Walter,Lasso Tobacco Coalition

Hermosa bill a no-brainer
To the editor,
Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall have just given the Four Corners an incredible gift with the introduction of the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2012. Not only is this wonderful area right in Durango’s back yard, but this is the first bill to protect an entire watershed. The bill would designate nearly 38,000 acres inside the watershed protection area as federal wilderness. The rest would be open to historical uses of the landscape, including OHV use and mountain biking and, in some cases, selected timber harvesting, though about 45,000 acres inside the watershed protection area would be withdrawn from future road building and logging. It is also the culmination of more than six years of hard work by a great many diverse interests, from mountain bikers to birdwatchers to miners and the Forest Service. This is a testament to the good things that can happen when folks check their heated rhetoric at the door and sit down to listen and learn from each other. The result can, and usually is, a win-win for everyone, including the land and the critters that depend on it.

The Hermosa bill should be a no-brainer, even in this impossible congress! Please thank Sens. Udall and Bennet, and then give yourself a pat on the back, if you were one of the hundreds of dedicated folks who helped make this dream a reality.

– Sincerely, Veronica Egan, Great Old Broads for Wilderness