MEEKER | “You don’t understand. My grandfather lost his life over who owns the water from the river.” Listening to a friend’s story about her grandfather’s struggles to get enough water to his crops and cattle to survive struck a chord with me. While we no longer hear of someone[Read More…]
Author: Dolly Viscardi
Loose Ends: Safety and security
MEEKER | While living in Meeker away from the crowds appeals to most long- term residents for a wide variety of reasons, one of the most frequently cited is safety. The events of this past year have threatened that sense of security. While on the surface, the rancorous disagreements between[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Thankful for sunshine
MEEKER | There ought to be a law. Ever hear someone mutter that phrase when they are frustrated or angry? Lately it might have been used in regards to recent decisions and actions taken by the County Commissioners. There are a couple of legislative mandates addressing the lack of openness[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Resolutions
MEEKER | Are you tired of making resolutions year after year, only to watch them fade away shortly after making them? According to a study done by social scientists, most of us are not tired of this tradition. The majority of us continue to try to make a new start[Read More…]
Loose Ends: “It is what it is”
MEEKER | “It is what it is” is the latest phrase to crop up in our daily conversations. It is an earworm without music. Most of us pride ourselves on “telling it like it is” and a few regions of our country are better at it than others. Westerners are[Read More…]
Cuppa joe
MEEKER | Blame it on the first “cuppa joe” I was handed by an old cowboy so many years ago. It was nothing like the kind you are handed these days. No fancy flavorings, no frothy, creamy swirls topping the inky liquid. It was a simple mug of the steaming,[Read More…]
Loose Ends: It’s still about family
MEEKER | The real story of Thanksgiving is rooted in family. No matter what actually transpired between the Native American and the Europeans, who arrived on the shores of this New World, recognition of the importance of family and friends traditionally gathering is clear. No matter one’s material wealth, getting[Read More…]
I STILL get to … (fill in the blank)
MEEKER | Ever since a hometown boy posted a photo of both covers of my picture books on his Facebook page with the words “Look what I get to read tonight,” for his toddler son’s nightly read aloud bedtime story, I think of all things I get to do. I[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Oct. 22, 2020
Noise MEEKER | Business as usual is a phrase that comes to mind when talking about the health of the local economy. I was surprised when Mesa County’s executive director Robin Brown was quoted in an article in mid-September in the Grand Junction Sentinel saying that “We are so used[Read More…]
Loose Ends: A place at the table
MEEKER | Years ago as a reporter, I first became aware of the need for local government to send representatives over to Denver to make sure decisions about our area were not being made without us. The Piceance Basin was booming and plans were being made to handle the influx[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Number Jumble
By DOLLY VISCARDI | Special to the Herald Times MEEKER | They say it is all in the numbers. Any change in government policy and reasoned decision-making should be reflected in the digits in the data. Local governments often turn to paid consultants to look at the numbers and interpret[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Far and away
RBC I Living in the northwest corner of Colorado for only part of a lifetime gives one a different perspective about distance. Those old sayings people use to describe the proximity of a place often didn’t work. There seemed to be few places that could be described to be just up the[Read More…]
