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CO 81433USPS # 496-880

Silverton Standard & the MinerP.O. Box 8Silverton, CO 81433

Volume 130, issue 29, January 14, 2005

“Runlike bastards!!!!”

-Jerry Roberts, Silverton Avalanche Forecaster, as he and hiscompanions stared down the throat of the beast known as the

Battleship Slide. For full story and a sequence of the slide, see pages 6 and 7.

Photo: The Battleship runs, Jan. 9, ‘05. Photo by Jonathan Thompson

SILVERTON STANDARD

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PublisherMountain Journal Publishing,

Inc.Jonathan Thompson, Pres.

EditorJonathan Thompson

AssistantJosh Galloway

All articles are written byJonathan Thompson unlessotherwise noted in a byline.

The Silverton Standard & theMiner is a weekly newspaper

written for people interested inthe issues and news of

Silverton, Colorado and thesurrounding San JuanMountains region. The

Standard voices a strong senseof community for Silverton andthe San Juans as it brings you

the issues, characters, landscapes, and the talent of

the region.Stressing in-depth, balanced,and thoughtful writing, news,

photography, and topical articles on key issues affecting

the region, the Standardkeeps the greater San Juan

community informed, entertained, provoked, andengaged in dialogue aboutthe community and its future.

The Silverton Standard & theMiner (USPS 496-880) is pub-lished weekly by MountainJournal Publishing at 1315

Snowden, Suite #7, Silverton,CO 81433. Periodicals

Postage paid at Silverton, CO81433.

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MinerP.O. Box 8

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e-mail: silvertonstd@frontier.net

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© 2004 Silverton Standard &the Miner

Community~Land~Culture

www.mountainjournal.org

by Courtney WhiteWriters on the Range

Looking back over the past century, the greatest shortcoming ofthe conservation movement in the American West has been itsnear-total failure to devise a strategy for privately owned land in

the region.By any yardstick — watershed acres, animal species, ecological

processes — conservation success on private land has been small.While many environmentalists correctly note that half of the West ispublicly owned and thus held in trust for the public good, they rarelymention the other part of that equation: Half of the West is in privatehands.

This is significant because, as many researchers have written, pri-vate lands contain the most productive soils, are located at lower ele-vations and often include key riparian areas. Wildlife biologist RickKnight, who teaches at Colorado State University, put it this way: “Wewill not be able to sustain native biodiversity in the Mountain Westby relying merely on protected areas. Future conservation efforts toprotect this region’s natural heritage will require closer attentionbeing paid to the role of private lands.”

But how? The tactics of demonization, litigation, regulation andpressure politics may be effective on public lands — though to adiminishing degree these days — but they’re essentially useless on pri-vate land.

They won’t work because they’re tools of coercion. They’re usefulto right a wrong or quick-fix a crisis, but ineffective for chronic afflic-tions, such as the slow decline of biological diversity. Our ecologicalcrisis is really a social crisis, and you don’t change human behaviorwith a hammer.

Until conservationists can conceive of the region as one West —indivisible in the things that matter, such as water, wildlife, soil, com-munity and the common good, and develop strategies that work even-ly and fairly, the ecological trend will continue downward.

A few years ago, I was part of a panel discussion in Silver City,N.M., that focused on livestock and native plants. On the panel withme was a vigorous local environmentalist who drew a sharp line in thesand when it came to cows. I’d cited a statistic that over 100 millionacres of private land in the West are owned by ranchers, and mostneed the grazing provided by public lands to stay profitable.

I turned to the activist and asked: “If you’re successful in bootingranchers off public lands, what happens to all that private land?Who’s going to keep it from being sold to subdividers?”

The environmentalist responded by saying his concern was forpublic land, and he was only interested in creating “refugia” for nativeplants and animals.

His comment upset the Forest Service biologist at the other end ofthe panel. “What good is a refuge if it’s also a biological desert?” heasked, hotly. “Because that’s what’s happening in the GilaWilderness.”

He went on to say that the suppression of fire and other naturalagents of ecological disturbance, including, under the right condi-tions, animal impact, had contributed to ecological stagnation in thewilderness.

Right there, I realized, was the heart of the matter. Do we contin-ue to divide the West into two parts based on philosophical ideals —such as whether we have a public or a private “right” to something onthe land — or do we talk about crossing boundaries and working col-laboratively?

Efforts to sequester land by buying it are laudable, but there isn’tenough money to do the job; not even enough for the purchase ofconservation easements. Prices also keep rising, almost literally by theminute. One response to the dilemma of limited funds has been to tar-get “the last best places.” It’s been a useful strategy. The ConservationFund, for example, has passed the 4-million acre mark nationwide, interms of protected land.

It only took them 19 years.Many land-buying organizations have recently turned to collabo-

rative, community-based projects to widen the conservation impactacross threatened landscapes. At the same time, other conservationorganizations, such as Defenders of Wildlife and EnvironmentalDefense, offer incentive programs and other tools to encourage betterland use among private landowners.

But more than anything, environmentalists need to make peacewith ranchers and other landowners. And everyone needs to begin adialogue about the health of the land and economic opportunity,regardless of where the fences may go.

As John Maynard Keynes said, “The difficulty lies not in newideas, but in escaping from the old ones.”

Courtney White is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of HighCountry News (hcn.org). In Santa Fe, New Mexico, he is executive directorof the Quivira Coalition, whose fourth annual conference, “Half public, halfprivate, one West,” takes place Jan. 13-15 in Albuquerque.

Page 2-Friday, January 14, 2005

One West

From the Standard Mail Car

Dear Editor:I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to the City,

County, and State road crews. I was amazed when I called the roadconditions number this morning and found that the State crew hadactually managed to keep the highway south open all night. It justshows their commitment to our safety and indefatigable dedication totheir jobs. All of these people have worked around the clock, puttingin major overtime hours without days off.

This winter is starting to look serious. Maybe we have been in adrought cycle for so long that we have forgotten what winter is real-ly like in the San Juans. The county has worked very hard keepingCounty Roads 2 and 110 open so that people could ski and get totheir homes outside the city limits. The town crew is working partic-ularly hard these days, even amid complaints from citizens that theircars are plowed in and their parking area is not cleared.

I remember the first time I set foot in Silverton, 30 years ago. Inthose days, the town could not afford much equipment and whatthey had was ancient. The snow was simply plowed to both sides ofthe street, period. No parking areas, no hauling it away. It was eachman for himself. The snow bank just got deeper and higher and carswere literally buried until spring if you didn’t dig them out. By March,the streets were often one lane wide. To get into my aunt’s house thatwinter, we dug a tunnel 15 feet across. Some folks just created stairsteps up and over from the street. I lived on Bluff street and had topark at the school, because the town didn’t own the equipment capa-ble of plowing the narrow alley.

Now the town road crew plows wide parking areas, hauls snowaway as time allows, and scrapes away the slush in the spring. We areall going to be inconvenienced when it snows this much. It is a has-sle to dig out our cars and follow the snow removal rules. It’s just partof living here. Let’s all try to be patient, and how about a thank youand a batch of cookies to the road crews. They are working awfullyhard to make our lives easier. Believe me, it could be a lot worse. Cindy MacDougallSilverton

Thanks, road crews!

Send us your lettersWe welcome letters to the editor and will run them even if you’re rakingus over the coals. They must be signed (including where you live, please),not libelous, and preferably less than 500 words. They will run when we

have the space, and we reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, andto keep us from getting dragged into court.

Send them to:editor@mountainjournal.org; or P.O. Box 8, Silverton,

CO 81433. Or drop it by our office at 1330 Greene St.

Dear Editor,I just wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to the

Town of Silverton for its support of the Kendall Mountain RecreationArea and ski area.

The folks who work over there do an amazing job, and I think thewhole organization is top-notch.

Thanks again for keeping it open and running.Ann Friedman

Kendall Mountain rules!

Praise the EMS!Editor,

I would like to praise our Emergency Medical Service. I’ve been inthe medical profession since 1972, and a Registered Nurse since 1977.I’ve also been a frequent flyer on our ambulance. I’ve been down themountain approximately eight times over a 31-year period of time.Three times in the early seventies, when there were only a handful ofgenerous volunteers: Wiley Carmack, Scotty Jackson, Virgil Mason,Ann Jacobs, and others. Silverton’s population then was much higherthan it is now. We received good care then, just as we do now.

I am fortunate to have had safe professional care and Mike Bertchhas been with me twice, if I’m recalling correctly. I received GOOD,PROFESSIONAL CARE. Mike really cares, and Fred is my favorite driv-er. He’s fast and safe. Kristina and Maxine are good at what they do,knowledgeable, and compassionate.

Seven years ago I thought seriously about moving back toSilverton, in spite of my health problems, which include serious car-diac arythmias and post closed head injury, which has caused muchdeterioration in the last few years. I feel safe with our TEAM. Thankyou for taking such good care of me. Even though I haven’t been ableto pay for your services, I have been treated with the utmost care andprofessionalism. Mike Bertch is a wonderful asset to our community.Thanks to all of you,Phyllis Kennedy, R.N.

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glanceSan Juan County Commissionersthis week gave the go-ahead toDean Cox to build a house andgarage on the New York Lodemining claim in the vicinity ofthe Aspen Mine. The approvalwas fairly straightforward, withsix stipulations attached. Thecounty has approved a handful ofsimilar projects in theLackawanna/Aspen Mine areaeast of Silverton. ###Mike Fisher also receivedapproval of his sketch plan toconstruct a lodge on his ForestQueen #7 mining claim betweenMaggie and Minnie Gulches. Thefive-room, 5,300 square foot lodgewill be attached to Fisher’s resi-dence, which is currently underconstruction.

Wednesday’s county approvalmeans that Fisher can now moveto submit a preliminary plan tothe planning commission.

Various concerns have beenraised regarding the structure,including the impact to views andhistoric features—the lodge will sitright next to an historic tramline,and whether the entire structurewill be in compliance with com-mercial building codes. Fishersaid he will hire an architect toensure that his lodge will meetcodes. Other concerns should beaddressed during the considera-tion of the preliminary plan.###What had been a record-break-ing year for sales tax receiptsfor Silverton, took a dive duringthe final month. Sales tax rev-enues collected in December (gen-erated in October) were a whop-ping $10,000, or 25 percent, lessthan they were for the samemonth a year earlier. That pulledtotal tax receipts down below lastyear’s figure and put a dent inprevious projections.

Town Administrator DaveErickson is hoping that strongwinter receipts will offset theshortfall.

The number of visitors stop-ping it at the Silverton VisitorsCenter also dipped in October, butshot back up to stronger thanusual figures for November andDecember.###A skier who had been missingfor two days from Purgatory SkiArea was found Tuesday. He wascold and hungry, but otherwiseunscathed.

An aircraft spotted GavinJames, a 31-year-old skier fromFarmington on Tuesday morning.He had taken shelter at a back-country cabin in the Elbert Creekdrainage about two miles outsideof the resort boundaries. La PlataCounty Search and Rescue Teammembers and Purgatory SkiPatrollers brought James to safe-ty later that day.

According to Butch Knowlton,Director of the La Plata CountyOffice of Emergency Management,the conditions were challengingfor searchers. “We foundextremely poor snow conditionsand observed several natural ava-lanches in the area where GavinJames was found,” explainedKnowlton.###U.S. Rep. John Salazar thisweek met with ColoradoDepartment of TransportationDirector Tom Norton to discuss

(Continued on next page)

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Snow just kept falling andfalling on Silverton this week,with about 50 inches accumulat-ing in a four-day period.Avalanches slid recklessly downthe mountainsides, keeping stateand county road crews busy inwhat was often a losing battle tokeep the roads open.

After snow fell in blusteryconditions all day Jan. 8,Highway 550 out of Silverton wasclosed at 11 p.m. in both direc-tions because of avalanche dan-ger. By Sunday morning, CountyRoad 2 to Eureka was also closedbecause a slide had come downand blocked the road and hazardwas high.

Snowfall totals from this ini-tial burst were not substantial,but a steady wind, punctuated byhigh gusts, was enough to makeconditions dangerous.

Molas and Coal Bank Passeswere opened Sunday afternoonfollowing a control mission thatbrought down some slides whileothers stubbornly refused tobudge. Meanwhile, control mis-sions made progress on RedMountain, but not enough. Itremained closed for the night.

In defiance of forecasts, thesky dropped another 17 inches inSilverton Sunday night, prompt-ing several slides to run naturally.Molas and Coal Bank shut downagain Monday morning and thetown began to resign itself to aworld without passage to thenorth. Meanwhile, CR 2remained closed, with some largeslides down, keeping employeesfrom Liberty Hardware/BetsyFields Design away from workand at least one resident of ahouse near Maggie Gulch strand-ed from her home.

Here in town, the Idaho Slideoff of Kendall Mountain ran, pro-viding a show for local observersand depositing debris on thebanks of the Animas River.

Another control mission wascompleted, and the gates to thesouth were opened once againMonday night. But on Tuesday,more spot closures to controlindividual slides soon became afull gate closure as winds pickedup, snowfall exceeded two inchesper hour, and visibility droppedconsiderably. One CDOT employ-ee found himself in a precariousposition as natural slides narrow-ly missed him as he drove upMolas Pass. And San MiguelPower Association employeeswere prevented from going toBurro Bridge to work on trans-former problems there.

The mail made it into townTuesday—Marvin Voehringerdrove “around the horn” throughDurango to bring letters andparcels to town. However, he wasthen stranded in town by thesubsequent closure of Molas Pass.

Tuesday night brought morehigh winds, more snow, andmore avalanches. Amongst thebig slides brought down as ofWednesday morning was theIrene, up CR 110. County RoadSupervisor Louis Girodo said itpiled 12 to 15 feet of debris onthe roadway.

Power was knocked out intown twice on Tuesday, but wasrestored within half an hour.Things weren’t so good uptowards Gladstone, where severalslides battled with the the powerline serving Silverton MountainSki Area and the Gold King Mine.The slides won. Then, onWednesday, as the storm gaveway to blue skies, cold tempera-tures, and howling winds, phone

communication was knocked outto the outside world—Silvertonians could not commu-nicate with the outside world viaInternet, phone, or even cellphones. Only satellite phonescould reach outside the “walls ofKong” until phone service wasrestored late Wednesday after-noon.

As CDOT crews struggled tobreak through debris-filled slidesand substantial snowdrifts onHighway 550 south Wednesday,it became clear that Silvertonwould remain isolated for at leastanother night. That promptedthe local emergency medical serv-ice to call in a helicopter to trans-port a patient to Mercy MedicalCenter in Durango. Furtherdetails were not available whenwe went to press on Thursday.

Temperatures plummetedThursday night, reaching 16below zero. As of Thursday morn-

ing, Lizard Head, Red Mountain,and Molas/Coal Bank Passesremained closed.

We’ll have more details,including an analysis of how this

storm compared to other big onesthroughout history, in the nextissue.

Page 3-Friday, January 14, 2005

“Pineapple Express” buries Silverton with white

Silverton received about 50 inches of snow during a four day peri-od this week, along with high winds that formed huge drifts andelevated avalanche danger. A natural snow sculpture hung off theback of the Lemon Tree building (top); when skies cleared Wednesday,shifting winds blew snow around (middle); Jon Allen took advantage ofthe fresh powder in his backyard (bottom). Jonathan Thompson photos.

The Pickle BarrelSunday Special

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$2 off any entree on the menu between 4 and 6 p.m.Sundays only.

Please present this coupon to your waitress.

Also, $2 pints every Sunday, all night long.

1304 Greene St. in Silverton ~ 387-5713 ~ thepicklebarrel.com

Slides that RanThe following is a list of just some ofthe slides that ran during the stormfollowed by any information we canprovide, including the depth ofsnow deposited on the centerline ofthe respective road. Believe us, thisis just a partial list—will add morenext week after we receive datafrom the Silverton AvalancheForecast Office.

IN SILVERTON:Idaho Gulch Slide off of KendallMountain: it appears only the bot-tom half of the slide ran. Provided agood show for some lucky locals.Not clear if debris blocked the riveror not.Arcade (a.k.a. Kendall Mountain,Green Ribbon, Green Wave,Rabbit Ears). Seems to have beenclose to a “full-track event.”Gladstone North (Dora Slide,Twin Slide): This one isn’t quite intown, but is visible from town. It isone of the narrow slides that runacross Highway 550 South just out-side of town. The slide ran bigenough to rip out a number of treeswhich were deposited on the high-way. The slidepath is now consider-ably wider than it was. It may nothave run substantially since 1941.

COUNTY ROAD 110 (INFORMA-TION FOR THIS AND CR 2 PRO-

VIDED BY LOUIS GIRODO,COUNTY ROAD SUPERVISOR)

Irene Slide: 12 to 15 feet on road.Minnesota: Six feet deep on roadand 350 feet wide on road. Broughta lot of timber down. Probably has-n’t run since 1983. Billboard: This slide, withinSilverton Mountain Ski Area’sboundaries, ran naturally and pileddebris five feet deep and 300 feetwide on the road. Grassy Gulch: Piled snow five feetby 80 feet on the road.Fairview: Ran big, no details.

COUNTY ROAD 2Valley Forge: Near the MayflowerMill. Didn’t hit the road.Pride of the West (BrendelGulch): Ran twice betweenSaturday and Wednesday.Deposited eight feet of snow for200 feet on roadway.Tailings Pond: 16 feet of debrisnext to road.Porcupine: Ran twice, but onlydusted the road.Columbine Hill: Ran three times,and deposited five feet on the road.Hamlet: Ran “real big” on Tuesday.Girodo had just plowed under it andthen it slid, putting a 350 foot long,12 foot deep, pile of snow where hehad been plowing.

SILVERTON STANDARD

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glance

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the Òpressing transportationand infrastructure needs of thethird Congressional District,Óaccording to a press releasefrom SalazarÕs office. He request-ed the meeting to receive anupdate on state priority projectsand to discuss his own priorities,which include improving majorroadways and making travelbetween rural airports moreaffordable. On his list of prioritiesis Highway 550.

“Over the next month, I planto travel throughout the districtto hear from officials and con-stituents about the transportationneeds in their communities,” saidSalazar. “I look forward to work-ing with my colleagues on thecommittee to improve the I-70corridor, US 50, and US 550, andincrease the overall economicgrowth of the third district.”

No word on whether he’ll beable to get 550 open this week.###The percentage of EarthÕs landarea stricken by serious droughtmore than doubled from the1970s to the early 2000s,according to a new analysis byscientists at the National Centerfor Atmospheric Research( NCAR). Widespread dryingoccurred over much of Europeand Asia, Canada, westernand southern Africa, and easternAustralia. Rising global tempera-tures appear to be a major factor,says NCAR’s Aiguo Dai, leadauthor of the study.

Dai and colleagues found thatthe fraction of global land experi-encing very dry conditions(defined as -3 or less on thePalmer Drought Severity Index)rose from about 10-15% in theearly 1970s to about 30% by2002. Almost half of that changeis due to rising temperaturesrather than decreases in rainfallor snowfall, according to Dai.

Though most of the NorthernHemisphere has shown a dryingin recent decades, the UnitedStates has bucked that trend,becoming wetter overall duringthe last 50 years, says Dai. Themoistening is especially notablebetween the Rocky Mountainsand Mississippi River. Otherparts of the world showing a mois-tening trend include Argentinaand parts of western Australia.These trends are related more toincreased precipitation than totemperature, says Dai.###After more than three years ofdiscussion, scientific analysis,and planning, the ColoradoDivision of Wildlife (DOW) is inthe final stage of bringing mooseto western Colorado’s GrandMesa.

The first moose will be trans-ported more than 200 miles to theGrand Mesa on Jan. 18. DOW biol-ogists hope to release betweenfive and 10 moose that morning,but weather and capture condi-tions can easily affect the plan forthe release.

The moose being released willbe captured a day earlier in theRio Grande National Forest nearCreede.

Colorado is currently home totwo healthy moose populations.The DOW introduced the first sig-nificant breeding population inNorth Park in the late 1970s. Asecond successful introductionnear Creede was conducted in theearly 1990s.###

Page 4-Friday, January 14, 2005

TRIANGLE SERVICE864 Greene Street~Silverton, CO

387-9990

WWWWIIIINNNNTTTTEEEERRRR’’’’SSSS HHHHEEEERRRREEEE !!!!Don’t forget to check your antifreeze.

Winter tires?Shop Hours: Mon-Fri, 8-5

VERY COMPETITIVES.U.V. and all-season tire prices.

Owned and operated by Bill and Geordy MacDougall, ASE Masters.

It’s almost like clockwork:the big snow falls, andSilverton’s political attentionturns to the streets and plowingthem and people parking onthem.

That’s what happened atMonday night’s town boardmeeting, which mostly dealtwith routine business but wasdominated by street talk.

“I just want to be able topark in front of my house,”Aaron Brill pleaded. Like allGreene Street residents, Brill maynot leave his car in his regularon-street parking area between 2and 7 a.m. Brill was recentlyrudely awakened to this factwhen he awoke one morning tofind that his car had been towed,and asked the town boardMonday to reconsider the rule,at least as it applies to the blocksoutside of the central businessdistrict.

In a letter to the board, Brillnoted, “I feel very strongly thatit is unfair to change the rules ofthe game once it has started. Ibought my house being allowedto park in front of it. Now that itis a town street, one would thinkthe town would make it easieron its taxpayers and local resi-dents than the tyrannical CDOTdid when it was a state high-way.”

However, Brill received littlesympathy amongst the board or

the public works depart-ment, who emphasizedthat a car-free road dur-ing the early morning isnecessary for properplowing.

Mayor Jim Huffmansaid he “doesn’t like togive our streets away,”and pointed out that,during the winter, livingin Silverton can alsomean living with incon-veniences.

“I have six vehiclesand it took an hour and ahalf for me to dig one outthis morning so I couldget to work,” he said.“That’s living inSilverton.”

For now, at least, therules will stay the same:during the winter onGreene Street, only paral-lel parking is allowed, andparking is banned from 2to 7 a.m.

Meanwhile, the word fromthe Sheriff’s department is thatthese and other snow-time park-ing rules will be enforced, strict-ly and consistently. In otherwords, cars that block the plowsfor too long on side streets, aswell as those that violate GreeneStreet rules, will be towed.

That’s what Public WorksDirector Gilbert Archuleta want-ed to hear. He noted, “In order to

make this work, we need theSheriff’s office involved. Theyneed to get the towing companyout early in the morning to getcars out of the way.”

For those who aren’t famil-iar with the way the systemworks, it goes like this: the plowsmake a first run through thestreets, plowing around the cars.The car’s owner should then, asquickly as possible, dig out hiscar and move it to an already

plowed area until the rest of thestreet is plowed.

ALSO ON MONDAY

The town board voted six toone in favor of changing thezoning on Lots 17-18 of Block 31from residential to limited busi-ness pedestrian. The change willallow the owners of the newhouse there, on the 1100 blockof Cement Street, to use the

HELP OUR SENIORSDIG OUT!

The Silverton Senior Citizens’ grouphas run out of money to pay for snowshoveling for seniors. That means they

need YOUR HELP.

Please Adopt a Senior to help them dig outtheir walks, clear off their roofs, and extract

their cars from the white stuff.

Call Debbie Foster at 387-5049, or JoeZimmerman at 387-5364

to lend a hand in the effort.

Does your car look like this? Then it just might get towed. Yes, there is acar under all of that white stuff, and that hinders the plows from adequatelyclearing the street. So, once the plows make the first run through, move yourcar so they can finish the job. Jonathan Thompson photo.

Brill asks county to condemn Jackson’s landSilverton Mountain Ski

Area’s Aaron Brill, with thestrong support of a large group oflocal citizens and business own-ers--on Wednesday asked the SanJuan County Board ofCommissioners to consider con-demning land owned by JimJackson in order to end the dis-pute between Jackson and Brill.

Jackson owns several miningclaim within SilvertonMountain’s boundaries, and herecently sued Brill, alleging thatski area clients, along with debrisfrom avalanche control work, aretrespassing on his land. The law-suit continues to delay theBureau of Land Management’sfinal decision to allow SilvertonMountain to operate a commer-cial ski area on public land.

Condemnation, noted Brill,was within the county’s rightsand would allow the ski area tofinally move forward to the nextlevel.

“I believe in property rightsas much as anyone,” noted Brill,who added that such a move wasa last resort. He has attempted tonegotiate with Jackson and topurchase his property, but to noavail.

Although Brill and his attor-ney, Andy Spielman, indicatedthat they felt that Jackson’sclaims are false and frivolous,they worried that the suit coulddrag on for months or evenyears, delaying the issuance of aBLM permit indefinitely. On topof that, there is the chance thatJackson could win the suit.

“What if Jim Jackson wereable to convince a judge that hispoints are feasible?” asked Brill.“No lease. Permit pulled. No skiarea.”

That’s not a pleasantprospect to the 20 citizens onhand Wednesday to supportBrill’s request. They all indicatedthat Jackson’s efforts could

destroy not only the ski area, butthe town’s economic prospectsas well.

“This is our livelihood,”George Foster, owner of theGrand Imperial Hotel, said.“Without the ski area, we can’tsurvive.” His were often echoedsentiments.

“It’s just sad that one man(Jackson) is doing this to ourtown,” noted Jackie Leithauser,who emphasized that the bene-fits of the ski area extend farbeyond the business community.

“It’s time for us to gettogether and get behind Aaron,”Bill Alsup said. “I don’t like con-demnation, but Jackson set aprecedent.” In the 1980s, a prop-erty owner in “Velocity Basin”refused to allow his land to beused for speed skiing. Jackson,one of the organizers of thespeed skiing event, asked thecounty to temporarily condemnthe land to allow the event to go

forward. The county went aheadwith the procedure.

In order to condemn proper-ty, the county will have to provethat there is a public purpose.According to Spielman, the pur-pose served in this case would beavalanche control work andmaintenance for County Road110. Additionally, condemna-tion would provide open spaceand facilitate economic develop-ment.

The county commissionersgenerally supported Brill’srequest, but remained non-com-mittal until they can consultwith their attorney.

“I don’t like the process,”noted Commissioner ErnieKuhlman. “I don’t like to takepeople’s land.” But he also feelsthat Jackson’s claims—especiallyconcerning avalanche debris“trespassing” on his land—areridiculous.

Streets are the topic after snow falls

Yellow lights flashingCannon firingAnother control day

-haiku by Jerry Roberts

Sleep was ripped from me in the semi-darkness ofdawn by the ringing of the phone.

“Hello,” I said, too loud and too chipper, my voicetinged with the dregs of that shot of tequila I downedthe night before.

“Hey. We forecasters wake up early,” exclaimed theslightly manic voice on the other end of the line.“Actually, I’ve been up all night. But who’s counting.” Itwas Jerry Roberts, lead avalanche forecaster for theColorado Avalanche Information Center’s Silvertonoffice. I had called him two days earlier asking if I couldride with him while he was forecasting the road if the bigstorm materialized. It did. I was on.

“We’ll be shooting the big gun around ten,” saidRoberts. “You can watch that, then we’ll go up on Red.It could be pretty boring.”

As I listened to the wind blowing snow against mywindows, and cleared out the fuzzy feeling I had behindmy eyes, I considered possible excuses for not going, andcame up with nothing.

“I’ll be there,” I replied meekly, thereby abandoningmy visions of a quiet, cozy Sunday morning followed bysome skiing. After I hung up and looked out at the threefoot snow drift in our front walkway, I wondered what Ihad just committed myself to—a boring day in anorange CDOT truck?

“Jerry says it might be boring,” I told my wife, Wendy. “But it’s my job. It’lldo me some good to actually do some reporting instead of just sitting in front ofa computer all day.”

Little did I know that eight hours later those same words would play over andover again in my head as I stared down the churning throat of a great, white, pow-dery beast—a 100,000 cubic yard Leviathan racing towards me at a speed of 150miles per hour as it flattened dozens of mature trees and threatened to devour mycompanions and me.

I’d hardly call that boring.

“Cover your ears!” bellowed Paul Wilson, CDOT’s Silverton Patrol Leader, whostood next to a big, dark green military gun, his hands up in the air in a ges-

ture of warning. Seconds later, a ribcage-shaking boom roared through the air, fol-lowed shortly thereafter by the overpowering stench of sulfur. All eyes immedi-ately turned to the hillside above town and the series of avalanche paths that cutthrough the trees—the Jenny Parkers, the Peacock, Harley Short, and Championslides. A puff of black smoke appeared near the upper reaches of one of the slides,then a loud bang. Then, nothing.

“That’s disappointing,” remarked Mark Rikkers, Silverton’s second avalancheforecaster. When the road crew pulls out the big gun, they hope to see results. Butthe snow couched in these particular slide paths stubbornly stayed put. ForRikkers, who’s in his first year as an official forecaster (he paid his dues as anintern for two previous years), it was especially hard to watch the Howitzer’s bul-lets awaken nothing, since he had made the call on the road closure. A big slidewould dramatically confirm his forecast. The weather and snowpack conditionscertainly validated the decision to close the road.

The gates were closed on Highway 550 in both directions late the nightbefore, following a day and evening of snowfall and high winds. The wind blewwith such ferocity that it was impossible to determine how much snow had actuallyfallen. Here in Silverton, about five inches was stacked up on my back yard “stormboard.” But only two feet away, in the path from our house to shed, I trudged throughat least two feet of new snow. The phenomenon intensified as I approached the south-ern, more exposed side of town to join the road crew. A precariously hanging cornicejutted out from one side of the Depot roof, and the old boxcars were drifted under onone side, totally exposed on the other.

Up high, the wind loading would be significantly more dramatic, filling the start-ing zones of avalanche paths with deadly ammunition to be hurled hundreds of feetdown to the puny-looking highway below. It was a recipe for disaster, and therefore thegates were locked.

Nearly twelve hours after the gates were closed, as the wind continued to howl anda combination of graupel, snow, and rain fell from the sky in unusually warm temper-atures, the men and women in orange set up the “big gun.” The gun, a World War IIera, 105 mm Howitzer, shoots eight pound charges and has a range of up to sevenmiles. It’s a full-blown piece of military artillery (as opposed to the avalauncher, a sortof hi-tec, oversized potato gun that launches two pound shells and has a range of aboutone mile). While the avalauncher is effective on many slides with easy-to-reach load-ing zones, the Howitzer is called upon for longer-range shots.

Prior to the morning’s shooting session, Wilson, who has been working on theSilverton highways for 22 years, bore-sighted the gun (calibrated the aiming device ofthe weapon).

“I never thought I’d keep the same job for 20 years,” said Wilson, an affable manwho frequently exchanges humorous jabs with his fellow workers. He grew up inDurango, so Silverton feels like home. “I like running the equipment and I like thesnow.”

Wilson must really like his job during a winter like this one.

“Iimagine this must be what Chairman Mao did, now we’re doing the same thing40 years later,” Roberts quipped as Wilson set up the Howitzer, this time for

shooting the Battleship. That’s the sort of thing Roberts says. I just looked at him, baf-

SILVERTON STANDARD Page 5-Friday, January 14, 2005

Just another control dayPhotos & Text by Jonathan Thompson

“Science is nice, bombs are better,” reads the back of Silverton Avalanche ForecasterJerry Roberts’ hat (top) as he bore sights the Howitzer for firing at the Jenny Parker andChampion slides. Silverton Patrol Leader Paul Wilson and Avalanche Forecaster MarkRikkers (middle) calibrate the aiming device of the Howitzer. CDOT Highway MaintenanceSupervisor Greg Roth points to the target of the next avalauncher round during control workat the Brooklyns, Red Mountain Pass.

fled. He looked back and smiled.

If I were asked to describe Roberts with just two words, I’d call him a Zen Redneck. I’m notsure I know what that means any more than I know what Chairman Mao and avalanche con-trol have to do with one another, but it sounds pretty good. He’s a soft-spoken guy with a steelyedge; a dirt bag clean freak who advocates extreme measures to keep the “beautiful people”away from Silverton.

“Avalanche forecaster” is often thought to be synonymous with “snow scientist.” WhileRoberts certainly relies on science in his job, it’s difficult to call him a scientist. He hates com-puters (calls them confusers), and is just as likely to describe the snowpack with a haiku as witha technical treatise. Legend has it that Roberts once convinced an attractive female journalistthat he was a “mystical forecaster”, able to analyze the snow pack simply by sticking his fingersin the snow and meditating for a minute or two. It’s an absurd concept, but perhaps containsa grain of truth. For at least 20 years, Roberts has worked on translating the cold, white lan-guage in which the “notoriously unstable” San Juan snowpack is written. Over that time, heseems to have developed an intuitive understanding of the snow that transcends science.

These are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I waited, yet again, for the big gun to beset up and sighted and for the shooting crew to arrive at the South Mineral turnoff firing pad.

Even though the temperature nearly reached 40 degrees, I shivered with cold resultingfrom hours of standing around. The day, as Roberts predicted, was beginning to be bor-ing.

“So,” I said to Roberts, “I guess if we shoot the Battleship from way down here,we won’t get any of those spectacular Tim Lane-like photos, will we?”

“Oh no,” he replied. “We’re the advance observation team. We’ll be standingright under it when they shoot.”

I shivered again, this time with fear.

One of the funny things a person will notice after spending some time in Silverton, isthat folks around here tend to talk about avalanche paths almost as if they are peo-

ple. Each has its own name (the origins of which have mostly faded into oblivion), rep-utation, and personality. The Blue Point slide on the other side of Red Mountain, forexample, has a short fuse, letting loose its cold temper at the slightest provocation, butpacking little punch. West Lime Creek is similarly expressive of its emotions, whileother slides may sit dormant for decades before hurling their baggage in a suddenmoment of rage.

And then there’s theBattleship, a strong, stoicgiant that is often silent, let-ting its frustrations, anger,and rage build up inside.

And then, oneday, somethingsets it off, and itexplodes in awhite cloud offatal fury. It wasa safe bet to saythat theBattleship wasready to snapon Jan. 9. Snowaccumulations inOctober andNovember hadbeen heavier thanaverage in the SanJuans. But in December, sunny days and bitterly cold nights went to work onthe snow, rotting it from the inside. By the end of the year, the snow had theconsistency of sugar. It was rotten, weak, and unstable. Then, in a period of justover a week, two storms pounded the region and piled up over two feet ofsnow on top of the existing, weak layer. As of Jan. 8, when yet another stormbegan dumping its load, the Battleship had not run at all this season.

The Battleship has three loading zones covering 76 acres which are situ-ated at 12,400 feet on a 34-degree angle. Each zone leads into its own trackbefore the three converge into a deep gully that, 2,700 feet below the startingzone, drops into the narrow gorge of Mineral Creek. Highway 550 actually liesanother 300 vertical feet above the creek, on the opposite side of the slide path.But the force of the slide is so immense that it can roar down into the creekbed, shoot up the other side, and deposit up to five feet of snow and debris and

even trees on the highway. Therefore, it’s on the list ofslides that occasionally require mitigation by Howitzer.

Thanks to its unique configuration, the Battleship isone of the few slides around that allows a person tostand in its run out zone when it starts sliding and stillsurvive. A few, lucky photographers have been able totake advantage of this, and have captured spectacularimages of the Battleship as it runs. Tim Lane’s photo ofthe Battleship has probably been used dozens, maybeeven hundreds of times in publications, on posters, web-sites, and on at least one t-shirt.

As Roberts, a small group of Prescott College students,and I head up to observe the slide, I have visions of aphotograph like that of my own. Until Roberts replacesthem with images of doom, that is.

The wind blast that builds up in front of a big slide canreach hurricane forces, Roberts tells us. It can uproottrees and snap pencil-necked journalists in half and cansuck the oxygen right out of a person’s lungs. In Marchof 1948, the wind blast from the Battleship snapped tele-phone lines strung along the highway, and in 1932, ithurled two large trees onto the pavement.

“The air blast can reach speeds of 200 miles per hourand it’s filled with dense snow,” noted Roberts. “It’s kindof like our brains. But not really.” I don’t know what thatmeans, but it scared the hell out of me.

Two runout zones emerge from the Battleship’s bot-toming out point in Mineral Creek. We stood on a

Page 6-Friday, January 14, 2005 SILVERTON STANDARD

I waited for him to say something,for him to utter some transcendent haikuabout the beauty and the power of snow,

about staring death in the face andlaughing, about Pisco, Chilean cantinas,orange welfare rigs, or that final, poignantlook on an angry, disappointed lover’s face asshe walks out the door for the last time.

But the haiku never came. The Zen inJerry Roberts had vanished. All thatremained was the Redneck.

SILVERTON STANDARD Page 7-Friday, January 14, 2005

smaller zone that allowed us an unobstructed view of the entire slide path.

The radio chattered with the “heads up” signal, and a few seconds later we heardthe boom of the gun, and then the eerie sounding whistle of the bullet piercing theair. Then the second report of the charge exploding somewhere up in the cloud-obscured ridge. We chatted nonchalantly—all of us had watched expectantly as roundafter round was lobbed into the paths near town with no result. Surely the first shotwouldn’t do anything here.

And then we saw it: the pristine, white snow all the way across the starting zoneappeared to be cracking like ice. I lifted my camera to my eye and started pushing thebutton over and over again as the huge slabs of snow succumbed to gravity and beganmoving down the mountain, then turning into a great, white cloud, and then into a100-foot high locomotive. It kept gathering speed, kept growing. When it was abouthalfway to the creek, I looked up from the camera’s viewfinder. The Prescott studentswere already in retreat, on the highway and moving tentatively toward the elusivesafe zone. Only Roberts and I were still perched on the snow bank, and he had astrange, elated, frightened look on his face.

I waited for him to say something, for him to utter some transcendent haikuabout the beauty and the power of snow, about staring death in the face and laugh-ing, about Pisco, Chilean cantinas, orange welfare rigs, or that final, poignant look onan angry, disappointed lover’s face as she walks out the door for the last time.

But the haiku never came. The Zen in Jerry Roberts had vanished. All thatremained was the redneck.

“RUN LIKE BASTARDS!” he yelled, then jumped off the snow bank and sprintedup the road. I followed, pausing once at an opening in the trees to capture one finalshot. But by the time I was running again, I realized I would not make it to safety, fora four-story tall, white, billowing cloud rapidly consumed the trees only a few yardsaway, and I was next. Somehow, I kept pushing the button on my cam-era—if I was going to die, at least my last moments would survive in dig-ital form on the little, plastic memory card.

And then all went white and absolutely silent. I seemed to be float-ing, and, for a split second, it was a pleasant experience. Then I couldn’tbreathe—oxygen had been replaced by snow crystals. Would I fall overand be buried? Would a tree fall on me and crush me? Would I simply suf-focate? Frantically, I asked these questions until the snow began dissipat-ing and hazy images of my companions materialized, and their voicescould again be heard.

The monster had devoured us and, against all logic, we had emergednot only intact, but more alive than when it had gobbled us up. Welaughed hysterically, our faces, hair, and clothes plastered with a thicklayer of dense snow.

“Didn’t you say this would be boring,” I remarked to Roberts as I triedto clear the snow out of my nostrils.

“What, this? It’s just another control day,” he said, and he walkedback to his orange truck, the yellow light on top flashing a soft, steadyrhythm as snowflakes fell all around.

Photos on this and facing page: the Battleship sequence. The once pristine fieldof snow breaks apart and succumbs to its own weight, beginning the process of araging slide. Top of this page, the dust cloud rips through the tree branches andinundates the highway and those on it. Inside the dust cloud is absolute white andsilence, then it begins to clear, and those inside emerge, laughing and coveredwith snow.

ters of old? While rain happenedoccasionally in past decades, ithas rained twice now in Vail dur-ing January. The warm tempera-tures also made slush of previoussnow, creating the sort of mud-luscious puddles not usuallyfound until the normal late-February thaw.

While the Vail Daily hadgleefully announced more pow-der days were ahead, the powderthat materialized was decidedlyon the droopy, wet side.Champagne powder is turninginto Pepsi Powder in theColorado Rockies.

Snowmobiles figuringinto skier slide deathsSTEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.

– Routt County, which is where

Steamboat is located, had no ava-lanche fatalities for 30 years until2001. Now it has had two, andboth avalanches involved skierswho used snowmobiles to gainbackcountry terrain.

“They are going to more andmore places into the backcountry,slopes we never touched 30 yearsago,” said Jeff Hirschboeck, whois the avalanche team leader atthe Steamboat Ski Area.

In the most recent case, onJan. 3, Michael Gebhart, died ofsuffocation after lying for eightminutes under three feet of snow.The avalanche was relativelysmall, only 30 feet wide and with200 vertical feet, but the morepertinent figure is 38 degrees.That’s the slope on which theavalanche occurred. Anything

over 25 degrees is suspect, and 30decidedly so.

While Gebhart, 26, wasdescribed as both knowledgeableabout avalanches and wellequipped, no press reports haveindicated he or his skiing partnersdug pits into the snowpack tostudy its stability.

“If you don’t do these tests,to say, ‘I think the slope is stable,’it is no different than taking acoin and flipping it,” Hirschboektold The Steamboat Pilot.

Deconstructing the dozerthat rampaged in Granby

GRANBY, Colo. – Even indeath, Marvin Heemeyer contin-ues to afflict Granby. Heemeyerspent months fortifying aKomatsu bulldozer with a fortress

of steel and concrete that he thenused for a 90-minute rampage ofrevenge in Granby last Junebefore killing himself.

Local authorities since thenhave kept the bulldozer underwraps. The question, reports theSky-Hi News, which was amongthe businesses who incurredHeemeyer’s wrath, is how to getrid of it?

It can be taken apart piece bypiece, but that could be an expen-sive proposition. Moreover, thereare fears that Heemeyer impreg-nated the concrete with explo-sives.

Authorities in Grand County,where Granby is located, alsoreject giving away the bulldozerto somebody who would take itapart for the value of the scrapmetal. In the wrong hands, theysay, the pieces could becomeobjects that glorify Heemeyer andhis armed assault. WhileHeemeyer seems to have beendetested by most locals, others –with fans across the nation– haveportrayed him as a martyr whowas oppressed in a zoning disputeby a heavy-handed town govern-ment.

Town officials in Granby also

want no part of the beast.Do you think maybe this is

what landfills were built for?

Who gets the shaft in newmystery novel set in Aspen?

ASPEN, Colo. – Ski towns ofthe West, from Telluride to Vail,have been the setting for severalnovels. Now comes a new mys-tery by part-time Aspen residentPatrick Hasburgh.

Called “Aspen Pulp,” it fea-tures Jack Wheeler, a former TVwriter turned private eye, who ishired to find a local high schoolcheerleader, a bimbette-in-train-ing, who has disappeared. Thesearch uncovers a complex crimering that lies deep within the oldmine shafts of Aspen Mountain.

“There’s enough raunchinessto put off readers who prefer theirmysteries on the mild side, butthrough it all, Jake spouts a cyni-cal line of humor that will havethe rest laughing out loud,” saysreviewer Jane Dickinson, writingin the Rocky Mountain News. Shesays Hasbaugh provides “lots offunny insights on the town andits denizens, from the trustafari-ans to the ski bums.”

Page 8-Friday, January 14, 2005 SILVERTON STANDARD

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Townof Cement Street, to use the house as a weekly rental.

This type of zone change has become common in Silverton dur-ing recent years, as people turn to weekly rentals as a way to help paythe mortgage on second, and sometimes even primary, residences. Asis usually the case, the change was made without much debate. Only Huffman voted against the change, because “I always vote ‘no’on zoning changes unless it needs to be changed.”

When it comes to zoning and uses, the block is already a checker-board of sorts, with some lots designated as economic development,others with horses, and others that are residential.

Ann Friedman, who lives next to the lots in question, wanted todo away with the eclectic zoning and just change the entire block tobusiness-pedestrian for consistency’s sake. Huffman supported theconcept—he thinks limited zone changes defeat the purpose of zon-ing in the first place—but such a change would require a much moreexhaustive procedure.

Avalanche school starts forty-third year of instructionSilverton’s Avalanche School is the

longest continuously running education-al experience of its kind, and one of themost respected in the country. This year,it also proves to be the snowiest.

With several feet of snow on theground in town, and substantially morein the high country, the field is primedfor avalanche students to experience a“true” San Juan Mountain snow pack.Already, several small slides have run nat-urally near town, and the monstrousIdaho slide ran into town during thisweek’s relentless storm.

Next weekend’s Level I session is

already booked up, but spaces remain inthe Jan. 28-30 Level I class and in theLevel II session scheduled for Feb. 4-6.

The school is open to everyone, espe-cially those who travel, work, and play inthe backcountry. Snowboarders, snow-mobilers, backcountry skiers, snow-shoers, and ice climbers are all encour-aged to attend.

Students in the Level I course receivean extensive introduction to snow sci-ence, avalanche theory and practice,along with winter survival and rescueskills. Level II offers a very low student toteacher ratio, and delves more deeply

into the behavior of snowpack and ava-lanches.

More than half of each session isspent in the field, which this year is anactive one.

Silverton’s avalanche school began in1962 as the Avalanche and WinterSurvival Trainee Workshop, whichbrought together workers from federalland agencies and the highway depart-ment to conduct control work and mocksnow slide rescues. Initially aimed towardthe idea that most avalanche accidentsoccur within or near ski area boundaries,towns, or highways, the school evolved

to what is now primarily for backcountryrecreationalists who are more likely toencounter avalanche conditions far fromany search and rescue team.

During its more than four decades ofexistence, the school has taught over4,000 students about the mechanics ofsnow, safe route-finding, and hazard eval-uation. Instructors have, and still do,include the luminaries of the snow sci-ence world.

For more information or to register,call Shawna Bethell at 387-5018, BruceConrad at 387-5184, or go to www.silver-tonavalancheschool.com.

Mountain Town News Continued from back page

Continued from page four

SILVERTON STANDARD

A brief look back in San Juan History via thenewspapers of the time.

SS TT UU FF FF“Only two things come here by helicop-ter,” quipped Ernie Kuhlman atWednesday’s county commissionermeeting, “Santa Claus and attorneys.”

Kuhlman was referring to the unusualform of transport used by SilvertonMountain Ski Area’s attorney AndrewSpielman to get to the meeting. He wasflown in by helicopter.

“It was very, very important for us tovisit here,” said Spielman, who wanted tobe on hand for Aaron Brill’s request thatthe county consider condemning JimJackson’s land within the proposed skiarea boundaries.

With roads closed in both directions,the chopper was really the only way to getinto town. ***The rosy red finches showed up thisweek for the first time all winter.Barbara Hodge, who avidly watches thisparticular variety of birds, noticed earlierin the winter that the finches were absent.

But the snowappears to havebrought them downfrom the high coun-try in flocks.

They’re hungry.So fill your birdfeed-er and maybe they’llstick around.***Silverton will beon television nextmonth, as footagefrom the Red BullDivide and

Conquer adventure race is aired onNBC. The special on the race is scheduledto run on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 5:30 p.m. ***Local school kids are lending a helpinghand for the victims of the catastrophictsunami that wreaked havoc and tookhundreds of thousands of lives in southAsia. The preschoolers have put out adonation jar to collect money, and thekindergartners have sent out letters askinglocals to donate to the cause. They willsend any money collected to UNICEF,which has made an appeal to “supporturgent humanitarian aid for an estimated1.5 million children affected in SouthAsia, many of whom have been orphanedor separated from their families.”

If you’d like to help, put your dona-tion in an envelope (checks should bemade out to UNICEF) and take it to theSilverton School office or mail to:Kindergarten Class, Silverton PublicSchool, P.O. Box 128, Silverton, CO81433. ***Silverton High School students willhold their gallery, where they presentwork done so far this school year to thepublic, on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at 7p.m.. The school’s newly formed color

guard will open the event with a perform-ance in the gym. The public is welcomeand encouraged to attend.***Aside from the UPS and US Mail men,not many folks from the outside werestranded in Silverton by the storm andits resulting road closures. However,quite a few Silvertonians were blockedfrom getting back in. A handful of skiersand snowboarders couldn’t resist thetemptation of fresh powder skiing atPurgatory and headed down on Tuesday.When the storm gathered intensity andthe road to the south closed, many ofthem didn’t make it back in.

Amongst those caught in the outsideworld was the Standard’s employee JoshGalloway—he got trapped in Telluride bythe Lizard Head closure after trying todrive around from Ridgway. He’s our copy-editor, so you’ll have to excuse any extratypos in this issue.

Page 9-Friday, January 14, 2005

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A candid look at life above 9,000feet.

COLORADO GOLDGold and Silver Bullion Coins and Bars.

No Numismatics 1-888-786-8822. Buy-Sell.

Website --coloradogold.comSince 1977. Clients in all states.

Don Stott, Prop.

January 13, 1906The Silverton Standard

PROGRESS AT THE SUNNYSIDEThe new zinc separator at the

Sunnyside mine has just been completedand is now in full operation. The mill isfully equipped with the latest Blake mag-netic separators, which are working per-fectly and producing a very high grade ofzinc concentrates.

This is practically the introduction of anew enterprise in the Silverton district, andwill add materially to its production ofwealth for 1906. The Leadville district, nowthe leading zinc producer, must look outfor its laurels, or the Silverton belt, with itsvast, undeveloped store of zinc, will soonlead in this important branch of the min-ing industry.

Town and CountyThe residence of Mrs. Charles E. Jones,

situated on the corner of Eleventh andReese streets, including the furniture, hasbeen sold by August Fast to LouisQuanstrom, superintendent of the SilverLake Mill.

I can now offer a 5-room house, onsewer, with water and light, for $700. Twoblocks from post office, on SnowdenAvenue. $300 cash, and balance at $15 permonth. ~R.H. Cooper

Police CourtFlorence Baker and Katherine Speath

were both fined $5 and costs, a total of $14,at Saturday’s session for indulging in amutual disfiguration scance at one of thedance halls.

John Dalla was fined $10 and $16 costfor creating a rough house at the“Welcome.”

It cost Valentine Celente $42.70 andcosts for indulging too freely in the use ofhis maulers. Failing to pay, he was commit-ted to jail.

For using unparliamentary languageon the street cars, John Valden was fined$10 and costs, which he paid.

Bloody Affray at DurangoDurango was the scene at fifteen min-

utes before noon last Tuesday of a fatal duelbetween Sheriff Thompson and CityMarshal Stansel, the men emptying theirsix-shooters on the main street in the heartof the business center.

The altercation grew out of the contro-versy over the closing of gambling and reg-ulation of saloons that has been going onfor several months.

The affair started Monday night whenSheriff Thompson raided the El Morosaloon and confiscated the roulette wheelthat had not been used for months. He alsoaccused parties sitting about a table of play-ing poker. This was denied.

Sheriff Thompson was a heavy drinker,and had been partially intoxicated forsome time. Tuesday morning he andStansel met and became engaged in a quar-rel, the sheriff accusing the marshal ofstanding in with the gamblers. Stansel toldhim that he did not have to take ordersfrom him, that his instructions came fromthe marshal and city authorities.

Thompson suddenly said, “G—-d——you. I’ll fix you.” Stansel stepped back, say-ing he did not allow any man to d——him. Thompson pulled his gun and beganshooting. Stansel was a little slow in get-ting his gun out. Both men emptied theirsix-shooters and then Stansel gaveThompson a severe beating with his gun.As he let go Thompson said, “My God, he’skilled me,” and fell to the walk.

Silverton LiquorsHours:

11a.m. to 9 p.m.

BRUCE HARING, M.A., L.P.C.Counseling Services

Individuals/Couples/Families(970)387-0149

Miners UnionHospital OfficeHours: Vary

1315 Snowden St.Silverton, CO 81433

Dgo. ph: (970)259-6698

The San Juan County NursingService Cordially invites you

for a Pinning Ceremony to cel-ebrate the Graduation of

Maxine R. HortonMesa State College

Bachelors of Science NursingProgram

Sat., Jan. 15, 20056 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Kendall Mountain RecreationCenter

Potluck DinnerMusic & Dance with Too

Little O2

For info., contact387-5251 or 903-0353

Fill your birdfeeder.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!TO THE STATE, COUNTY, AND TOWN

ROAD CREWS FOR WORKING SOHARD DURING AND AFTER THE

STORM.

WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT YOU?

387-5774Winter Hours: M-Sat 10-4

zesupply@ekiva.net

“It’s Easy with ZE”

Silverton’s color guard practices for theirdebut performance.

SILVERTON STANDARD

MM ii ss cc ee ll ll aa nn yy

Dec Hi Lo 8 a.m. pcp sno7 22 -14 -14 0 08 30 -15 29 .21 39 30 29 30 .44 5.510 35 29 31 1.53 1711 36 28 31 .56 712 32 13 13 1.12 14

The above readings give the highand low temps. precipitation andsnow during the 24 hours preceding8 a.m. of the indicated day.Snowfall, Oct. 1 to Jan. 12: 112.8Avg. ttl. annual snowfall: 155”Snowfall, Dec. 2004: 13.6”Avg. snowfall, past Dec.: 24.1”Record hi snow, past Dec.: 91”-1983Precipitation Dec. 2004: 1.45”Avg. pcp, past Dec.: 1.73”Record precip. past Dec.: 6.4”-1981Highest temp, Dec 2004: 51Record hi temp, Dec: 65-1931Lowest temp Dec 2004: -15Record lo temp., Dec: -35-1990

Page 10-Friday, January 14, 2005

COP SHOPThe happenings of yourlocal law enforcement.Provided by the San Juan

County Sheriff’s Department

1/3 - Received a complaint of a dog atlarge; the dog was gone when theOfficer arrived.Issued three verbal warnings forimproper parking. 1/4 – Red-tagged a vehicle in the wayof snow removal. 1/5 – Assisted a citizen. Assisted a motorist. A found key was turned in. Red-tagged 3 vehicles in the way ofsnow removal. 1/6 - Responded to a disturbance,both subjects were warned. A red-tagged vehicle was towed forbeing in the way of snow removal. Assisted the Town with moving anoth-er vehicle for snow removal. 1/7- Issued a warning for no head-lights. Issued a warning for a defective tail-light. A person requested that we check onthe welfare of another person. Assisted the Town with moving morevehicles in the way of snow removal. 1/8 - Assisted two motorists. Checked on the welfare of a hitchhik-er. 1/9 – Checked on the welfare of anintoxicated subject. Issued a summons to Nathan E.Morse, of Silverton, CO for Failed toPresent Proof of Insurance. Issued a warning for speeding. Issued three parking warnings. Responded to a disturbance. Checked on a complaint of an ATVplowing snow.

Drivers please give our RoadDepartments a break during the winterseason and be very conscious of yourparking habits. Also, please be awareof children playing in the snow as youdrive.

SSSSiiii llllvvvveeeerrrrttttoooonnnnWWWWeeeeaaaatttthhhheeeerrrr

MOUNTAIN HAPPENINGS

Silverton/San JuanCounty

Jan. 18 Silverton Film Society pres-ents Garden State. 7 p.m. At theAvon Hotel. Free. To learn moreabout this movie, visit www.rotten-tomatoes.com.

Jan. 21-23 Silverton AvalancheSchool Level I. Ideal for thoseseeking a thorough introduction tothe world of snow science, ava-lanche theory and practice, andwinter survival and rescue. Formore information, www.silverton-avalancheschool.com or call970.387.5018.

Jan 28-30 Silverton AvalancheSchool Level I.

Feb. 4-6 Silverton AvalancheSchool Level II. The level II is athree-day workshop for those whohave completed a 2-3 day Level IAvalanche course and want to gainmore knowledge about mountainsnowpack and avalanches.

Two Saturdays each month Dr.Brokering holds office hours atthe Silverton Clinic. 9 a.m. to 1p.m. January dates: 8th and 22nd.Call 387-5354 for an appt.

First Sunday of every month KSJCD.J. Training at the KSJC studiosin the Visitors Center. 5 p.m. Call387-KSJC to make a reservation.

Mondays and WednesdaysAerobics. School Gym. 6 to 7 p.m.387-5522.

First Tuesday of the Month Hand n

Hand, Silverton’s women cancersupport group. 1445 Snowden St.at 7 p.m. Together we will conquer!Call Cindy @ 387-5502 or 387-5359.

Tuesdays Silverton Threadsmeets from 7-9 p.m. at the KendallMtn. Comm. Center. Quilting,needlework, sewing, mending, cro-cheting, etc. All welcome.

Tuesdays & Saturdays AdultVolleyball 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Ages 16and up. School Gym. 387-5522.

Tuesdays Kids Go Wild. 3:30.School Gym. $2 per family perclass.

Thursdays Jan. 6-Feb. 10 Yoga.Mixed level asana class taught byAmy Grogan. 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.$6/class or $30/session. Call 387-0243.

Thursdays Indoor Soccer, 5:30 to7:30 p.m. School Gym. Ages 16and up. 387-5522.

Wednesdays Indoor WallClimbing. 7-8:30 p.m. SchoolGym. Ages 16 and up. 387-5522.

Tuesdays Food Bank open from 1p.m. to 3 p.m.. Miners UnionHospital.

Tues & Thurs GED and ESL class-es. 5 p.m. in the school basement.

First Thurs of the month SchoolAccountability Committee meets@ school library. 6 p.m.

Third Thursday of the monthAnimas River Stakeholders meet@ Miners Union Hospital, 6:30 p.m.

2nd & 4th Mon of month Town Boardmeets in Town Hall @ 7:30 p.m.

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of themonth (variable) CountyCommissioners meet inCourthouse @ 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

2nd Tuesday of the month SchoolBoard meets at school library @ 6p.m.

4th Tuesday of the month PlanningCommission meets at Courthouse@ 7:30 p.m.

Third Thursday of the monthLibrary Board meets at Library. 7p.m.

Around the Region

Jan. 17 Four Corners ParkinsonSupport Group meets at TrinityLutheran Church Fellowship Hall,208 N. Dolores Rd. in Cortez. 10:30a.m. Call 970.564.9125 for info.

Jan. 29 Durango Langlauf Skatecross-country ski race. DurangoMountain Nordic Center. 10 a.m.385-2114.

In the More DistantFuture

Feb. 10 Our Town (the 1940 film)plays at the Miner’s Union Theatre7pm

Feb. 17-20 Snowscape WinterCarnival. In and around Silverton.Tiki Torch Parade & Bonfire,School/Community Games/ Hi-Altitude Snowshoe Race,

Yukigassen Snowball Battle,Fireworks, Luau Boogie, X-C SkiRace, Cardboard Derby,Snowboard Competition, and SnowShovel Races. Call 387-5654.

To include your event in theStandard calendar, call 387-5779or email happenings@mountainjournal.org

This week’s HAPPENINGS have been proudly sponsored as a publicservice courtesy of D&SNGRR

Phone (970) 247-2733 for information or reservations or write to 479 Main Ave., Durango, Colo. 81301 - Silverton Depot: (970) 387-5416

ACROSS1 One of the daugh-

ters of Laban, andJacob’s wife

5 Egg-shaped9 Showing unusual

talent13 Cook17 Root of the taro18 He went from

Chattanooga to Chile,now he’s back inSilverton. 19 Skein of thread20 Recline in a relaxed

manner21 Vice president

22 Not discoverable25 Animate27 Curve28 Got up29 Enemy30 Goatskin bag for

holding wine32 Stupefy34 River in Zambia37 Remain38 Turn into a robot42 Small mountain43 Clotted blood44 Enemy aviator45 Debutante46 Fuss47 Jar

48 The tower built bythe descendants ofNoah49 Inhabitant of Serbia50 State in SE Australia53 Legendary ruler of

Crete54 Authentic55 More wan56 Football kick57 Which city was the

home of Abram59 One who studies the

climate63 Sour64 Sauce65 The first home of

Adam and Eve66 Automobile67 Tavern68 Clamp69 Bloodsucking insect70 Island in central

Hawaii71 Legal jargon73 Stratum74 Second largest vio-

lin75 Information76 Movable barrier77 Step in ballet78 Monetary unit of

India81 Entirely

82 Negative electrode86 Inadequate91 Old92 Young male horse93 Solicitude94 Musical instrument95 Steep, rugged rock96 Leg joint97 Payment for travel98 Hollow cylinder99 In this place

DOWN1 The third son of

Jacob and Leah2 Paradise3 Capital of Yemen4 Full of hope5 What type of twig

did the dove return toNoah in the Ark

6 Turbine blade7 Besides8 Wreath of flowers9 Capital of Ghana

10 Cartel11 Monetary unit of

Bulgaria12 Female sheep13 Dry red table wine14 Tramp15 Old cloth measures16 Run away23 Surfeit24 Sharp-edged instru-

ment26 Fish eggs30 Place of origin31 Lyric poem32 Cupolas33 Who was murdered

by his brother Cain34 Asian prince35 Helper36 Blooming37 Artificial anchor

placed in a hole drilledin the rock.38 Who was the com-

mander of the Army ofNorthern Virginia dur-ing the American CivilWar (6,1,3)39 Alike in every way40 Nothing41 Recedes43 Spurt44 Hood-shaped

anatomical part47 The fourth gospel of

the New Testament48 Soothing49 Vocalize melodically51 Great quantity52 Forgo53 Unstable lepton56 Entreaty57 Precipitation in

form of balls of ice.58 Skin eruption59 Gross60 River in central

Europe61 The first King of

ancient Israel62 Group of three per-

sons64 Increased in size68 Sheep cry69 Appropriate70 One of the young

men cast into the fur-nace at the order ofNebuchadnezzar72 Having a handle73 Baby powder74 Small domesticated

carnivore76 Stare angrily77 One who is paid78 Playful sprite79 Soon80 Small island81 From a distance82 Harvest83 Barbarous person84 Expensive85 Verge87 If and only if88 Ocean89 Summit90 Japanese sash

Last issue’s solution

Standard Crossword © Silverton Standard

Important PhoneNumbersEMERGENCY

911San Juan County Sheriff

387-5531Road Conditions(877)315-7623

orwww.cotrip.orgSilverton Town Hall

387-5522Silverton Standard

387-5477Avalanche Hotline

247-8187Silverton Chamber of

Commerce 387-5654

Snow StatsData provided by

SNOTEL sites

Total Snow Water Equivalentas % of avg., Oct. 1-Jan. 12

Lizard Head Pass 160%Columbus Basin 231%Molas n/a%Red Mountain Pass159%Upper San Juan 138%Vallecito 196%Wolf Creek 187%Basin Wide 177%

CCLLAASSSSIIFFIIEEDDSS//RReeaall EEssttaatteeSILVERTON STANDARD

Restaurant business and/or propertyfor sale on Blair St. 387-5017. btfn.

REAL ESTATEFOR SALE

10 ACRES w/ superior mountainviews & solitude. Ponderosa Pines,

Aspen.Hastings Mesa Estates. $160,000

20 ACRES MOL Fee Simple MiningClaims. Partly Wilderness. AboveTimberline. Good for cabin site or

trade to Forest Service/BLM.Silverton, CO. $60,000.

THE HARRY A. LOWE AGENCY,INC.

Ouray, COCall Dennis Reece @ (970)325-4478

OR 325-4066

Two bdrm. duplex, gas heat. $500/mo.387-5883. btfn.

Rooms to rent in Silverton’s newestcustom home. Sunny, warm, greatviews. Avail. 2/1. No smokers. 387-5391. btfn.

ROOM AVAILABLE. NS female soughtto share sunny house with woman anddog. $350/month, util. incl. CallMelissa, 387-5246. btfn

1999 F-350 V-10 Crew Cab 4x4. LongBed. 63k miles. $15,000 o.b.o. 387-5768 or 769-2399. ptfn.

GTI propane stove/fireplace. 30,000btu (20,000 derated). Nice stove toheat small space. $500 o.b.o. Inquireat the Silverton Standard. 387-5477,1330 Greene.

Brown Waterford Pellet Stove with flue.Like New. Can be seen by appoint-ment. Call 387-5263. $850 OBO. ptfn.

2001 DODGE RAM 1500 Quad Cab(NADA trade-in $14,700) Retail$17,500. $14,000 OBO. 769-2399.ptfn.

Stews, Hearty Soups, Gumboes, andChilis. Homemade bread, too. Now atthe Alma House. For info. call 387-5336. b15x1.

The OURAY CINEMA showsMotorcycle Diaries (PG) Playing Jan.8-10 Sat @ 7:30 p.m. Sun @ 6:30 &Mon. @ 7 p.m. For updates call 325-0101

Mountain Studies Institute is looking toacquire file cabinets, a slide projector,a printer, and an overhead projector,Call 387-5161.

CHATTANOOGA CAFE NOW OPEN.Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sun. 7 a.m.to 11 a.m. Same menu. Same prices.Next to CSB ATM. Come see us. Larryand Linda, 387-5892. b29x2.

CONAF Report (CommunityNatatorium* Fund) Week of 14 to 20Jan. NO ONe has made a $50 contri-bution to our tax deductible savingsaccount 100255572 at Citizen’s StateBank, Box 6, Silverton, CO 81433.Sorry folks. Please call 1-800-582-7992 or e-mail our new addressCONAFSWIMS@yahoo.com if youwould like to make a contribution. * Indoor heated swimming pool.

ALTERNATIVE HORIZONS 24-hourdomestic violence hotline. Confidentialhelp available. 970-247-9619 btfn.

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATESLocally handmade gourmet choco-late shells and truffles available.Boxed and gift-wrapped. Shipped any-where. Silvertonchocolates.com.(970)799-4481.

JOURNEY THROUGH TIME Volume Iwas a critical success, enjoyed by allthose who have an interest in SanJuan culture and history. JOURNEY,TWO, promises to be even better, withall new essays, improved design, andinteractive features to keep readersengaged. For advertising rates call387-5477 or e-mail editor@mountain-journal.org.

Page 11-Friday, January 14, 2005

REAL ESTATE

NOTICES

FOR SALE

FINE DINING

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATES

FOR RENT

MOVIES

STANDARDCLASSIFIEDS

It could be the best advertising deal in the

universeSell stuff, rent apart-

ments, peddle realestate, alert the public

to sales or events.25 cents/word, $5 min.

Put a box around it for anextra $5.

Or ask about our $20 untilit sells (restrictions apply).

Add dinglebobs like these:aabbddffhhiijjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttvvwwxx

yy,,]]abcde-

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FfFor an additional $1 each.

If it’s free. It’s free.

Payment due upon submittal.Deadline is Tuesday at noon.

Drop your ad off at ouroffice at

1330 Greene St., -or-

send us an e-mail, give usa call, or get it to us

through the U.S. Mail.387-5477 - P.O. Box 8

silvertonstd@frontier.net

Jim LindamanBroker Associate387-5883

PPPPrrrr iiii cccceeee RRRREEEEDDDDUUUUCCCCEEEEDDDD!!!!

Two lots zoned multi-family on MineralSt. Sewer tap believed to be in. Awesomeviews of Kendall Mtn. Currently onlyresidential lots listed and ready to buildon. $150,000 $125,000

CChhuurrcchh CCaalleennddaarr

St. Patricks Catholic Church10th & Reese

Father Nat FoshageMass at 5 p.m. on Sat. and Wed.

325-4373

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

President Duane Eggett727 Greene

Sunday Services: 8 a.m. Priesthood; 9 a.m.

Sacrament; 10 a.m. Sunday School.

387-5338

1st Cong. Church of SilvertonMinister Scott Bobo

(meets at Catholic Church)Sun. Services: 9 a.m.

387-5521

Silverton Baptist Church1105 Snowden

Pastor Mark LawsonYouth Service 9 a.m.; Regular

Service 10 a.m.; Wed. Night Prayerand Fellowship 6:30 p.m.; 387-5215.

Word of Life FellowshipPastor Jim Greenfield

1706 EmpireSunday 10 a.m.

387-5893

WANTED

Journey Through Time, TWO

SAN JUAN MOUNTAIN REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALSspecializing in quality mountain living!

STEVE LEISLE &ANNE-BRITT OSTLUND

Broker Associates970.387.5100//800.914.3088

info@silvertonrealestate.net//www.SilvertonRealEstate.net1038 EMPIRE ST. SILVERTON, CO 81433

Think you should only list property in theSummer . . .? Think Again!

Selling season is a year-round affair thesedays and we've got more customers than ever

looking for homes, land, and businesses.

As a team living living and working inSilverton we take great pride in offering ourclients nothing less than the best! Give us a

call now to list your property.

Kimberly WernerBroker/Owner1340 Greene St.970.387.0111

silvertonproperties.com

SILVERTONREALTY

10 building sites availablefrom $69,500

Great views! Beautiful property!

Don’t be left out in the cold.

SUBSCRIBEto the Silverton Standard

Get 52 issues of Silverton and San Juan County’s officialnewspaper. Read all of the news of the area as well as fea-tures about the history, the characters, and the landscapeof the San Juan Mountains. All for just one low price.

send check or money order, along with this ad, to:

p.o. box 8, silverton, co 81433or pay with credit card at: www.mountainjournal.org

(click on ÒsubscribeÓ)or call: (970)387-5477

Name_________________________________

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Zip____________

$16 for Digital Delivery

$25for San Juan, LaPlata and Ouray

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else in theU.S.

$45 Foreign

This spaceFOR RENT

Wanna sell some land, an old mining claim, or that house?

Advertise it here. A great value.Call the Standard

387-5477 ~ 1330 Greene St.

Freedom. Protect it.

Your neighbors are too loud, but you say nothing.

You didn’t sign that petition.

Your street needs a stop sign, but you say nothing.

You don’t make time for community watch.

You only open the door for trick-or-treaters.

Someone keeps parking in your spot, but you say nothing.

WHEN YOU DON’T USE YOUR RIGHTS, YOU FORFEIT THEM.

Keep freedom strong. Exercise it. Learn how at explorefreedomUSA.org.

95510391_13x10.5Forfeit6 BW 6/30/04 12:27 PM Page 1

BBAACCKK PPAAGGEESILVERTON STANDARD

Ski valleys of Westrespond to tsunami

SUN VALLEY, Idaho – Resort communitiesacross the West responded to the IndianOcean tsunami in a variety of ways, withsome shelling out money privately, othercommunities digging into city and countycoffers, while Whistler and adjacent com-munities explored “adopting” a ThirdWorld community just as many ski townsalready have embraced other, more afflu-ent ski towns in developed countries.

In Sun Valley, city leaders donated$10,000 altogether to four different relieforganizations, although understandingthat some of the money could go to reliefin the war-torn and famine-plaguedAfrican nation of Sudan. Blaine County,where Sun Valley and Ketchum are locat-ed, also pledged $10,000.

In Crested Butte, the town councilrejected a municipal donation, concludingthat donations should be private. “As terri-ble as it is, I don’t think it’s our role to givelocal funds for international issues likethis,” said Councilman Bill Coburn inarguing against the proposal by Mayor JimSchmidt.

In well-heeled Jackson Hole, there wasno report of governmental aid to tsunamivictims, but one anonymous donor gave$100,000 to the local CommunityFoundation, while local Rotarians chippedin $2,000, in addition to sundry otherdonations.

Canadian newspapers reported broad

tsunami relief efforts. In Lake Louise, skitechnicians donated their tips, while acommunity lunch in Canmore that lastyear raised $5,000 for children inAfghanistan this year is being gearedtoward South Asian.

As well, a Canmore store owner isseeking to raise $336,000 Cdn. ($274,000US) for restoration of boats in Railay,Thailand. “There’s no point in setting alow goal,” explained Cameron Baty, ownerof a local store. “There’s a lot of rich peoplein this town.” He told the Rocky MountainOutlook that he was skeptical of largerrelief organizations, because of the amountof money that goes to administration.

Whistler and adjacent communitieshad an even greater array of fund-raisingefforts underway. There was a bottle drivein Pemberton, while a Whistler restaurantowner pledged $1,000 and his staff com-mitted their tips from one day to tsunamirelief. As well, as large fundraiser at thelocal conference center was planned.

Whistler was re-examining an earlierproposal to “adopt” an Indonesian islandcalled Nias that is 40 kilomters from theearthquake’s epicenter. The businessmanwho had proposed the adoption, JayWahono, has family members inIndonesia. The island has one of the bestsurfing beaches in the world, a well asscuba diving and deep-sea fishing. It hasnot been developed with hotels, but thethatched beach homes were swept away.

“Council had already given considera-

tion that if we do another sister-city rela-tionship that we should do one with aThird World country,” Whistler MayorHugh O’Reilley told Pique. He envisionsnot a financial contribution, but rather asharing of expertise.

Something similar is being pushed bya municipal councilor in Whistler’s down-valley neighbor of Squamish.

In Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley, theUte Mountaineer donated water purifica-tion kits while Aspen Valley Hospital gavesterile gloves and other medical supplies.Down-valley from Aspen, children in theBasalt United Methodist Church wereassembled to stuff hygienic items into plas-tic bags to be shipped to refugee camps.The cost of the items wasn’t much, $250,but the message is much bigger, said theRev. Marie Gasau.

“Every faith teaches concern and com-passion, so there’s our opportunity toexpress (those feelings) as Christians, obvi-ously, but also as just members of thehuman race,” she told The Aspen Times.“It’s more than just responding to the dis-aster: I think that we’re doing is creatingbridge between people no matter what ourculture or religion is.”

Mid-winter champagneor some Pepsi powder?

ASPEN, Colo. – Snowfall during Decemberwas stingy in large parts of the West. InAvon, a the foot of Beaver Creek, devotedweather watcher Frank Doll reported the

month was as dry as any since 1976, anotorious drought winter.

But the new year began extravagantly.In Aspen, the first big snowfall was suffi-ciently heavy that classes at public schoolswere called off, something that happensabout once a year. “Our buses can handlemost anything,” said Fred Brooks, theschool district’s transportation director.“This was a rare exception.”

The Aspen Times reported that bymidmorning all four Aspen Skiing Co.mountains were littered with snow-sillychildren, eager to cram in some unexpect-ed fun.

In The Sun Valley-Ketchum area, theairport crew worked round-the-clock forfive days to keep the airport runwaycleared. “It was nip and tuck at times,”reported the Idaho Mountain Express. Thework was so incessant that it provoked acomplaint form a neighbor of the airport,who wondered whether the big airportplow needed to beep-beep-beep throughthe night as they backed up.

In Silverton, the Standard observedthat winter was beginning to be just likethe winters of old. Roofs were saggingunder the weight of 16 inches of heavy,wet snow, the newspaper reported, even asthe highway north to Ouray was closedbecause of avalanche danger. It is not,reported the newspaper “expected to openanytime soon.”

But is this really a winter like the win-

Page 12-Friday, January 14, 2005

Mountain Town News Compiled by Allen Best

eller

Construction

~New Construction~Remodels~Additions

Local references available.

Jim Weller970.387.5334

From frame to finish

Complete graphicdesign services1330 Greene St.

beckoningdesign.com387.5330

SSilvilverer ton Ston Standartandard business dird business directorectoryy

Catering to yourindividual needs.

Avail. Mon-Fri

Massage &Spa

Treatments

387-5334

SilvertonElectric

Terry PrestonMaster Electrician

CO. Lic.# 5299

Year-round

Service work andnew construction.

(970)799-1982SilvertonElectric@yahoo.com

1340 Greene Streettel 970.387.0111

silvertonproperties.com

Backcountry tours.

4 p.m. to 11 p.m.Blair St., Silverton

387-5006

Grill & Guides

Your source of newsfor the high San Juans

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DR. BROKERINGFamily Practice

at theSilverton Clinic

The Doctor is in Silverton2x/month on Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

•Minor surgery (mole removal, vasec-tomy, laceration repair),

•Complete physicals including lab stud-ies, DOT, preemployment, and school

physicals•Comprehensive adult and child care

Next clinic dates: Jan. 8 & 22. 387-5354 for appt.

*Intimate Rooms*Full Breakfast*Private Baths

*TV & Telephone*Non-smoking

1257 Blair St., Silverton, CO(970)387-5555

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SSaann JJuuaannPlumbing & HeatingResidential & Commercial

(970) 387-5243(970) 387-5028

Silverton, ColoradoLicense # 179899

Old JacksonvilleIndustries,

Inc.zinc and aluminum castings

P.O. Box 21541625 N. Bolton

Jacksonville, TX 75766

(903) 586-0637(903) 586-4283 FAX

E-Mail: oldjville@tyler.netHTTP://www.oldjacksonville.com

John Daughtrey

STANDARDilverton

business directorytwice a month$25 per month

call us: 387-5477

(Contined on page eight)