VAIL, Colo. — Five years ago Polly Letofsky walked out of Vail and vowed not to return until she had walked around the world.
On July 30, she delivered on her promise, arriving in Vail having walked through 22 countries, worn out 29 pairs of shoes, and covering 14,124 miles.
Letofsky had dreamed of walking around the world since she was 12 years old. The idea of walking into and through different cultures captivated her, she explained. And that’s exactly what she did.
Along the way, she spread culture herself. Armed with an infectious smile and ebullient spirit, she spread the cause of breast cancer awareness, promoting the need for mammograms and lending support to the breast-cancer victims she encountered along the way.
Her favorite country? Turkey, with its blend of East and West, old and new.
But now comes the hard part. What do you do for an encore once you’ve done something no woman has ever done before?
"I’m scared for you," a man told her in Ontario last year. The man had taken a five-month bike trip across America, but found that getting settled afterwards was the toughest time of his life. He plugged himself into his old life, but he was different person. He didn’t belong anymore.
Gunnison mulls whether to let Wal-Mart in door
GUNNISON, Colo. — Wal-Mart wants to get into Gunnison in a bigger way. It is negotiating to buy land on the edge of the town, along the road to Crested Butte, to build what the company calls a supercenter, which includes a large variety of food as well as the company’s more traditional goods.
But Gunnison is hesitant, in part because of the precedent it would set with other big-box retailers, reports the Crested Butte News, and so is talking about a moratorium while a community consensus is achieved. To help expedite that discussion, the city recently held a community meeting that was attended by 200 people.
Those favoring an open door say local residents are shopping at Wal-Mart anyway, but they’re driving an hour east to Salida or an hour west to Montrose. In either case, they’re paying sales tax to other communities. Furthermore, they say that Wal-Mart has shown a willingness, when pushed, to erect better-looking buildings than the bland, faintly depressing rectangles for which the retailer has become notorious.
Two speakers from nearby Delta County said they chose to work with Wal-Mart rather than fight it. " We have to pick our battles," said Deana Sheriff, executive director for Delta Area Development. "We are a poor community, and we knew that Wal-Mart had the dollars to fight us."
But other speakers described Wal-Mart as a ruthless, ultimately destructive addition to local communities. Kenneth Stone, author of The Impact of Wal-Mart Stores on Other Businesses and Strategies for Co-existing, maintained that many of Wal-Mart’s economic benefits are illusory. While jobs and tax collections rise at first, they drop when Wal-Mart gains a monopoly. Then other businesses fail and tax collections and jobs actually decline. Then, Wal-Mart’s prices begin slowly rising.
Gunnison resident Jaclyn Evenson also questioned the savings that Wal-Mart trumpets. "Before you make the assumption that other local retailers charge more, go in and see," she said. "I get knowledgeable salespeople. I get better quality. What I really get is a feeling that I belong to this community," she added.
Part-timers want to get into the Snowmass fray
SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo. — The proposal by the Aspen Skiing Co. and Intrawest to create a new base-area village in Snowmass Village is headed toward a showdown — and some second-home owners want to be in the middle of the fray.
Opponents who believe the proposal calls for buildings that are both too high and too dense may seek a public vote if the town council approves the plan. But in Snowmass Village, as in most resort towns, the non-resident property owners have no vote unless they choose to declare the town as their primary residence, reports the Vail Daily.
"It’s difficult to comprehend that 175 people can make this decision (to force a referendum) when second-home owners own the most expensive real estate in the Village," said Jerry Rich, whose primary home is in Boca Raton, Fla.
Mel Blumenthal, whose primary residence is Los Angeles, said residents should get a vote in the local elections if they own property there. It is, he says, a matter of fairness.
"If it wasn’t for the vast number of second-home owners providing both property tax support, transfer tax support, all of it, we wouldn’t have the kind of infrastracture that’s here. Aspen and Snowmass are too small to be able to afford world-class hospitals, fire departments."
A recent study partially backs Blumenthal’s claim. Property taxes alone don’t pay for much of a community’s infrastructure, at least in Colorado, but the economy created by vacation homes has become the strongest economic driver in the Aspen and Vail areas, overshadowing conventional tourism.
Only one municipality, Mountain Village, located adjacent to Telluride, has given non-resident property owners the right to vote.
Steamboat latest to look at smoking ban
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The idea of a ban on smoking in public plans has been taken up in Steamboat Springs, although nobody is in a rush.
There has been some talk of getting a measure on the November ballot, but then even the anti-smoking specialists decided that would be too rushed. As talked about initially, the ban would be limited, requiring only that restaurants provide non-smoking sections.
In contrast, nearly all of Colorado’s Summit County has banned smoking in indoor businesses that cater to the public. Banff allows smoking only in rooms where service is not provided or expected.
In an editorial, The Steamboat Pilot cited the usual arguments against government-mandated restrictions. Would the ban extend to parking lots and rodeo arenas? wondered the paper. And wouldn’t it drive away business? And it would be a nightmare to enforce. And finally, concluded the newspaper, smoking does not seem to be one of the city’s major problems.
Mag chloride in news again in Telluride area
TELLURIDE, Colo. — Magnesium chloride is in the news again in Telluride. Several dozen trees lining one of the rural roads near Telluride have died, provoking signs that ask: "Why Did I Die?"
The culprit, in many minds, is magnesium chloride, which is sprayed on that and other gravel roads to quell dust. It is also used in many jurisdictions during cold-winter months to lower the freezing point of snow on paved roads. In both cases, the major constituent of the chemical is salt, which parches drainage areas of moisture.
Whether magnesium chloride has particular properties that are causing trees to die not only near Telluride, but along I-70 in Colorado and elsewhere isn’t clear. The Colorado Department of Transportation has engaged a study on the issue.
In the Telluride area, officials in San Miguel County have been studying alternatives, but find no easy solutions. Two different alternatives, one using cornstarch and the other using paper byproducts, are used to dilute the magnesium chloride by 20 percent. But both are more expensive, and the dust-quelling properties are marginally better, at best. A 100 percent organic polymer has been judged completely safe, but it is three times the cost of mag chloride and less effective. Other alternatives are being developed, but are likely to also be more expensive.
As for whether the mag chloride is killing trees, the evidence is only circumstantial so far. "When you see something like that (dead trees) only adjacent to a road, it would indicate a road-related ailment," said Tim Garvey of the U.S. Forest Service.
Vacation home project gets yet another name
GRANBY, Colo. — The ski area and real estate development along the periphery of Granby has had more names than Elizabeth Taylor.
It was Val Moritz in the 1960s and 1970s, when it was still just an idea.
It was SilverCreek (one word) in the 1980s when it opened as a ski area and lodge, then later Silver Creek (two words).
The ski area became SolVista, and it is staying that way, but the land-development portion, called the SolVista Golf & Ski Ranch, has been rechristened as Granby Ranch and The Headwaters Golf Course.
Real estate prices rising rapidly in Jackson Hole
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Real estate prices are rising rapidly in Jackson Hole. A report put out by Jackson Hole Real Estate & Appraisal finds that the overall market during the year’s first six months increased 21 percent in sales. The dollar volume was up 51 percent. Listings declined slightly.
It’s no longer a buyers’ market. The median sales prices for condos and townhomes is now $310,000, and for homes the median asking price is $1.37 million, reports the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Telluride gives hybrids and others free parking
TELLURIDE, Colo. — The Telluride’s Town Council is giving some extra benefits to those who use vehicles that use alternative fuels, such as electricity or biodiesel and natural gas. The first 50 owners of such alternative-fuel vehicles, reports The Telluride Watch, will be able to park for free in one of the town’s parking zones.
It’s final: No fluoride put in Telluride water
TELLURIDE, Colo. — After going back and forth on the subject several times, the Telluride Town Council has decided to discontinue injecting fluoride into the town water supply because of the possible harm to adults. However, when administered to children, fluoride is still believed to help reduce dental decay. As such, the town’s residents will be advised as much, and vouchers will be provided for those unable to afford the purchase of fluoride themselves. The cost is about $1 per month.
Aspen taking on the global warming issue
ASPEN, Colo. — The Aspen Skiing Co. has very clearly identified global warming as the top environmental challenge, not only for the planet but for the ski company itself. To that end, the company is trying to reduce or at least minimize the increases in the emissions of greenhouse gases caused by its own actions.
To that end, the company in July began tapping a source of renewable energy in its own backyard, the streams that cascade down the mountain slopes, as had been tapped by the miners who founded the town.
At nearby Snowmass, the company has created the first of what the company says will be several microhydro plants. Unlike large dams, they take some of the water out of a creek but don’t block the flow. "Such systems can generate electricity from relatively small water flows, even seasonal streams. You don’t need to build the Hoover Dam," says Auden Schendler, the company’s environmental affairs director.
The microhydro plant uses the resort’s existing snowmaking infrastructure. Water from a snowmaking storage pond higher up the mountain is drained during spring and summer to a 115-kilowatt turbine. The plant is projected to make 250,000 kwh annually, or enough to power 40 homes while preventing the emission of 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually. Schendler estimates the ski company will be able to recoup its investment in seven years.
No good can come of coyotes at home
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Surviving on cat food here, and a sandwich there, two coyotes have made themselves at home in Sun Valley — too much at home for the comfort of some residents.
One family reported that their dog, an Australian shepherd-border collie mix, was running with the coyotes, much to their concern.
The broader concern is that some people are baiting the coyotes, in order to watch them. But the Idaho Mountain Express reports that the local police chief finds that no good can come of the coyotes losing their fear of humans.
Sun Valley/Ketchum want airport close in
KETCHUM, Idaho — Sun Valley and Ketchum and their suburbs are looking into getting a new airport at a cost of upwards of $100 million.
The existing airport, although down-valley from the center of the resort activity, is getting steadily more busy, and the town where it is located, Hailey, is also growing. As well, the airport is hemmed in by mountains. This means the existing airport does not comply with the changing demands of larger airlines.
The question is how far should the new airport be located? Most sites being examined would be 20 to 25 miles farther from the existing resort center, but one site being considered would be a 75-minute drive by car. And that, says Wally Huffman, the general manger of the Sun Valley Resort Co., is too far.
Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant warned that businesses might relocate if the airport becomes too distant. She warned that an airport too far away may cause some passengers to instead fly out of Boise.
Passenger rail unlikely into the B.C. interior
REVELSTOKE, B.C. — Unless the Canadian government posts the money, passenger rail traffic through the interior of British Columbia is unlikely to return any time soon, says Rick Poznikoff, community relations manager for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Poznikoff said CP Rail is close to reaching full capacity with freight trains on its existing rail lines and is trying to determine how to increase that capacity through use of longer trains, double-tracking between Salmon Arm and Canoe, and a locomotive set-off system in Pritchard, Alta.
Passenger rail service is widely supported by municipalities, including Revelstoke, which has been actively lobbying for it, notes the Revelstoke Times Review.
Pitco requires steel bear-proof trash bins
ASPEN, Colo. — Pitkin County authorities have ordered that the 90-gallon plastic garbage containers be replaced by steel, bear-proof containers or bear-proof enclosures. The edict was issued in the wake of yet more human-bear encounters in what wildlife officials say is an unprecedented season of such interactions.
Localized freezes in June that apparently wiped out much of the berry and acorn crops, which are the mainstays of the diets for black bears, are cited in explaining why so many bears are trying to get food from people in both Summit County and in the Aspen-Snowmass area. Particularly of concern is the absence of fear exhibited by the bears, who have been showing up in the light of day in heavily frequented areas near Aspen.
The county commissioners three years ago ordered bear-resistant plastic carts as a minimum, but did not require the locking, steel containers. At that time, the steel containers cost twice as much, $600, than the plastic varieties.
But the plastic carts amount to "little picnic boxes" for bears, in the words of Jonathan Lowsky, the county’s wildlife biologist. "A big bear sits on it and it caves in enough that he can pull out the trash," Lowsky explained.
Because of such strong demand for the steel containers, the price has dropped to $300, or same as for the plastic. Lowsky said the county won’t expect immediate compliance everywhere, but good-faith efforts.
Paintballers using idle tennis courts
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — Tennis was to the ‘70s what golf was to the ‘90s. But now, tennis courts are going unused or, in the case of Copper Mountain, converted into mini-battlegrounds.
The new sport being embraced by a younger generation is called paintball, in which teams of players engage in a game similar to tag but use guns called "markers." The markers shoot balls of vegetable-based paint.
After a new store catering to participants opened in Frisco earlier this year, U.S. Forest Service officials were distressed to discover that paintball gamers had been shooting it up in the local forests. The paint, said foresters, isn’t all that instantly biodegradable. Pushed to find a legitimate place for paintball battles, the merchant approached Intrawest officials at Copper Mountain.
"We’re entrepreneurs, and we’re told right out not to be afraid to try new things," Robert Stenhammer, who manages lodging at Copper, told the Summit Daily News. Two tennis courts were covered with 300 tons of sand and outfitted with a 17-foot-high fence with special netting.
Traveling arts festivals a gain or pain to locals?
ASPEN, Colo. — A traveling arts festival came through Aspen in late July, setting up shop in a local park, with 225 booths offering pottery paintings, prints, and so on. A boon or bane to the town?
The Aspen Times heard arguments both ways. Some gallery owners appear perturbed, believing the festival cannibalizes their business during one of the summer’s busiest weekends. But others counter that the person who buys an 8- by 10-inch watercolor reproduction doesn’t really compete with Aspen galleries that sell $10,000 Peter Max paintings.
Local galleries have been invited to participate in the outdoor show, but very few are interested. And galleries rejected a gallery walk in conjunction with the show, because they believe that people on such walks never buy anything.
But the buyers at the art show will be paying sales tax, which is often not the case with purchasers of the expensive goods. When they have items shipped, the patrons avoid the local sales tax.
Documentary examines Banff service workers
BANFF, Alberta — Community leaders in Banff appear a bit nervous about an upcoming Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary about service workers in Banff and other resort towns.
Despite some trepidation, community representatives have availed themselves in the hopes the piece will provide an accurate and positive look at Banff’s approach to young workers, reports the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
The network’s interest was piqued by a sensational article in the Lethbridge Herald about the sexual habits and drug use of young people in Banff. The article itself was based on the findings of a study, actually conducted in Jasper, which was prepared by two anthropologists from the University of Lethbridge.
Banff was described as the "STD capital of Canada" in a Rolling Stone magazine story, which locals apparently thought was a bit off the deep end. As such, they have been concerned how CBC will depict the situation. One individual knowledgeable about dealing with national media advised potential interviewees that "it’s very important to think about what you’re going to say and to stick with that."
Among the scenes filmed by the crew were a "Bar Blitz" by AIDS Bow Valley, in which volunteers hand out prophylactics. Local representatives said they hope that Banff will be shown to be progressive, in acknowledging and then trying to do something abut whatever problems it has.
"Last Supper"ordered out of seniors center
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A copy of Leonardo Da Vinci’s "The Last Supper" has been ordered removed from the Senior Center on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.
The building is owned by the city, and hence the city attorney said the painting, which depicts a scene from the Christian story, violates the First Amendment of the U. S Constitution. That amendment requires separation of church and state.
City Attorney Catherine DiCamillo said the criterion is clear: anything that can be perceived as a government endorsement of religion and is easily identifiable. If the artwork is displayed during a private function, it would be allowed.
The Tahoe Daily Tribune reports that the order angered many seniors, who wondered who reported the painting. "No one knows who the snitch is," said one of the seniors.
