No bounce houses at Range Call
Dear Editor,
My name is Dave Gordon and I have had the unique opportunity of bringing a bouncy house carnival to your Range Call event for most of the past decade.
The powers that be have decided that the asphalt we were told to set up on last year was too harsh on the kiddos and they don’t want us on the county lawn unless we move the inflates daily. The only other option was to move the carnival to a different spot that is away from the activities at the county property.
Unfortunately, both of the options presented to us are not within our ability to accept. The years have brutally taught us that whenever we are not with the event activities, we struggle to generate the income to justify our attendance. Because of our dedication to safety, it takes five hours to place, stake and fence the inflates plus three hours to tear it down. In order to adhere to the county’s demands, we would have to do an additional eight hours of backbreaking work each day we open. These requests are too much and we will not be attending your wonderful event this year.
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the unmatched support you have offered us through the years. We have been able to watch your children grow up and have felt like Meeker was our home through the kindness and hospitality you have shown. I have been lucky enough to do this amazing business for over 30 years and have visited hundreds of towns in the process. I can unequivocally say that Meeker is a one-of-a-kind gem of a town and will always hold a bit of our hearts.
Thanks again for the memories,
Dave Gordon and company
The Adventure Zone
Candidate for CD3
Dear Editor,
The smokey haze from wildfires in Canada that has been lingering over Western Slope skies for the past two weeks, is a reminder that our own beetle-kill fueled fire season is upon us. Beetle-kill lumber needs to be controlled by offering incentives to harvest the dead timber.
The Colorado State Forest Service releases an annual report entitled Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests. The most recent survey, published in 2020, presented the following statistics:
Over 22% of standing trees in Colorado forests are dead.
Since the mid-1990s, the Mountain Pine Beetle has affected roughly 80%, or about 3.4 million acres of ponderosa-lodgepole pine in the state, while the Spruce Beetle has caused tree mortality in approximately 40% of Colorado’s high-elevation Engelmann Spruce forests. In total, beetle-kill has ravaged some 5.1 million acres of forest in Colorado.
The number of gray-brown standing-dead trees has increased 30 percent since 2010.
Wood products created by logging store carbon.
While beetle kill has obviously resulted in a significant amount of dead trees, there are some options for use of the trees after they are killed. Beetle-kill harvesters and woodworkers are using beetle-kill lumber for siding, furniture, framing lumber, cabinetry, paneling, finish molding and firewood.
States currently charge people who harvest beetle-kill lumber. Alaska charges $10 per cord of wood with a 10-cord limit. The Forest Service charges beetle-kill harvesters $20 to remove two cords of wood here in Colorado. Rotting trees increase greenhouse gasses in forest ecosystems by 25% according to a 2021 NC State study.
With more than 834 million dead trees moldering away in our Colorado forests, we need to compensate people to harvest that decaying fuel, and we need to incentivize producers to sell beetle-kill products exempt from federal taxation.
The next congressman from our Congressional District #3 needs to work through the Agriculture Committee to introduce legislation to pay people modest amounts to harvest beetle-kill lumber from our forests. The legislation also needs to eliminate federal income taxes on wood products sold that are made with at least 51% beetle-kill wood. Language that expedites Interior Department approvals of logging roads to allow for harvesting of beetle-kill lumber needs to be included. I believe that offering carrots will lead to cleaner forests within months.
Russ Andrews,
Carbondale, Colorado
Mr. Andrews is running against Lauren Boebert for the CO GOP nomination in Congressional District #3
Waiting for the (lawn) mower man
Dear Editor,
I pulled into Meeker mid-May after eight months away, turned left at the Shell station and headed up the hill to find a beautiful meadow where the lawn used to be. Butterflies, daffodils, er, dandelions, frothy stalks of what appeared to be baby’s breath, reclining deer, wandering cats and a lost chicken all co-existed peacefully in the jungle. The vegetation was so high that it nearly hid me entirely when I sat on a lawn chair up near the house. The neighbors waved cheerfully, no doubt delighted that at last someone would tend to the mess. That was my intention, but it took more effort than I realized.
“I’ve got this, no problem, I know a lawn mowing man,” I cheerfully texted to the folks back home and began scrolling through my phone contacts. My first exchange with a true professional gave me cautious optimism, but as the rain came and the lawn continued growing without a mower in sight I realized I needed to widen my search. At Watt’s I scanned the bulletin board after my grocery run, apparently muttering loudly “who mows lawns?” Gwen, a helpful teen hauling bags of ice to the freezer, said she knew a couple of graduating high school seniors who mowed and gave me their numbers.
Back at the ranch, I made the call only to find out her friends were swamped. They recommended the same person I’d initially called, but I already knew she was up to her elbows in grass clippings. Meanwhile, my support group on the Front Range had all kinds of semi-helpful suggestions. “I’m an excellent mower,” said one friend who demurred when I strongly suggested he drive right over to help out. “How come you’re waiting for the lawn to be mowed?” asked a second friend, which seemed to imply I was sitting on the couch eating chocolates.
Sunday at church, I sidled up to near strangers and hissed, “Who mows your lawn?” Guess what? They all used the same person I’d originally called but reassured me she did excellent work. I was getting desperate and seriously began contemplating using my industrial strength garden loppers like a machete to cut a swathe through the grass on the parking.
Fortunately, the cavalry arrived mid-week in the form of my brother. He started in on his own list of contacts. “You’ll hide it under the lilac bush near your driveway at Fifth near the old hospital?” I heard him whisper. “Oh, we’ll buy the gas, no problem, just let us have the lawn mower for an hour or so.” We hastily loaded it up and dashed off to mow feverishly. We started with the areas most visible from the street and got a lot accomplished before the mower died, dribbling gasoline all over the ground. Since we’d exhausted the good will of the kind lender, we turned to our next source: the relatives in Craig.
We borrowed the cousins’ extra mower on Saturday and one of us (not me) tackled the lawn again on Sunday. Meanwhile, I’d reached out to friends who had a mower plus a ready source of labor — teenagers! By Monday the wild lawn was down to one scraggly patch in the back, so we supervised a sweet 13-year-old as she navigated a cranky mower for the very first time. It took a village, but at last all three lots were mowed, the neighbors rejoiced and we averted a nuisance ticket from the Town.
Many, many thanks to all who helped: suppliers Mandy, Beth, Audrey, Debbie and Foster; tolerant neighbors Leif, Margie, Jamie and CL; and our future mower who will deserve all our praise, Eli.
Sincerely,
Jenny L. Herring
Meeker
Thank you from Spurvey family
Dear Editor,
I would like at this time to say thank you to all the wonderful people that helped me with caring for my husband, William Spurvey.
The staff at Pioneers Medical Center showed him much love and kindness in the three hospital stays and the numerous clinical visits. They were so good to him and for that I am grateful.
HopeWest and Home Health were supportive of his needs to be cared for and comfortable at home.
The Meeker Streaker for the many visits to Pioneers Health Center, being available with wheelchair access.
For the fine people at the VFW for the medical equipment that was much needed to keep him at home.
And to all our wonderful and loving friends and family here in Meeker. The support has been outstanding! I am sure that I could not have gotten through these hard times without your love and kindness. William is thanking you too.
With Love!
Sincerely,
Linda (Max) Spurvey
RBC, thank you
Dear Editor,
The Rio Blanco County Pioneers Dinner/Dance would like to thank the following who helped with this year’s event. The Rio Blanco County Commissioners, Meeker Cafe, David Main and the Mainline Band, Meeker Youth archery Club-S3DA & 4-H, Craft Shack Creations, Meeker General Mercantile, Home.Made, Meeker Sweet Shop, Prescriptions Salon, Shawna Eubanks, Pioneers Medical Center, Niki Turner and the Herald Times staff. And a special thank you to everyone that attended. If you had a good time bring your familyw and friends to the event in 2024.
Jan Zuber
Rio Blanco County Pioneers
Association
Thoughts expressed on opinion pages are exclusively those of the writer and do not reflect those of the Herald Times. letters to the editor are printed in alphabetical order by last name. Submit signed letters on matters of local interest to [email protected], mail to PO Box 720, Meeker, CO 81641 or drop off at 304 4th St., Meeker. Due to space constraints, we request submissions of 500 words or less. We do not accept letters that are duplicated, reprinted, copied, or otherwise reproduced. We reserve the right to reject submissions for any reason.
