At first softly, then with growing strength, my mother and I began singing: “you just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine. Just own the night, like the Fourth of July, ’cause baby you’re a firework. Come on show ’em what you’re worth…” By the chorus — “Boom! Boom![Read More…]
Opinion
Guest Column: We are all in this together
What is the fundamental learning from COVID in recent weeks with rising numbers in nearly every state? How are we reacting and how are we managing this world-wide pandemic? How are we applying what we have learned to move forward? It seems to me that we must learn that it[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Pioneers, settlers and museum-keepers: which one are you?
Full disclosure, I stole the title from an old sermon series, but it’s relevant. The basic premise is that there are three types of people: pioneers who are hungry for change and new things, settlers who want to maintain the status quo, and museum-keepers who guard the old ways. All[Read More…]
Letters to the Editor: July 9, 2020
Thank you to vigil attendees Dear Editor: We want to thank the local folks who attended our Rangely vigil for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. While we could list many more victims of systemic and systematic racism, these three served as representatives of a larger problem in our[Read More…]
Guest Column: Stopping the Pandemic
It’s been a steep learning curve. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a monster. It’s not like influenza. It’s not like the other common-cold coronaviruses. Figuring out how it infects and how it kills has been an enormous challenge. We’ve learned a lot, but there’s a long way yet[Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: July 2, 2020
Meeker Mustang Makeover 2020 Dear Editor: From “Wild to Mild,” the Meeker Mustang Makeover has started a new Rio Blanco newsworthy event thanks to a hard-working board of volunteers, the active participation of the BLM, and the support of several community groups. This year, the event has more than doubled[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Out of order
This week there were three public events in 24 hours where face coverings were almost non-existent. When Caitlin told me an elderly lady asked to sit by her because “no one else is being safe” (no masks), I did something I shame other people for doing: I went toxic on[Read More…]
Guest Column: Wildfire is meaner these days
By STEPHEN PYNE | Writers on the Range As I look out my window, the smoke from the Bush fire is belching upward behind the fabled profile of the Superstition Mountains. The fire has closed Highway 87 that joins the Phoenix metro area to Payson, one of its exurbs. Some[Read More…]
Guest Column: “Thank heavens for small mercies”
I am reminded these days of similar troublesome days in our lives when the smallest of gestures, of helpfulness, respect, or friendliness helped us survive. I treasure these gifts of help as “thanks for small mercies.” One day, the battery died on our vehicle on terribly busy and heavily traveled[Read More…]
OPINION: Do unto others…
“The liberty of one citizen ends where the liberty of another citizen begins,” which comprises in two lines the entire law of human society.” ~ Victor Hugo There’s been a lot of talk about our “rights” in the last few months. It’s not new. For 200 years lawyers and politicians[Read More…]
Loose Ends: “How long will you stay?”
“How long will you stay?” was the one question over the years that continued to plague Meeker’s newest residents. It seemed to be an integral part of the welcoming tradition and was included in an impromptu game that most all new residents unwittingly played in the early months of their[Read More…]
My heroes have always been rodeo clowns
By Patty Limerick | Writers on the Range When historians see that their nation is in big trouble, facing the proliferation of protests that raise bedrock questions about American race relations, and locked in disputes over the proper pacing of “re-opening” after the regime of social distancing, it is time[Read More…]
