January 29, 2005
Commentary on Dubya's Word
January 29, 2005 12:27 PM
archivesCOMMENTARY ON DUBYA'S WORD
COMMENTARY: DUBYA'S WORD
Jesse Boggs of HearingVoices comments on the "crypto-musicology" of President Bush's State of the Union Address from last year.
[LISTEN] []
EXPANDED CONTENT--> You can hear more of Jesse Boggs' work at the HearingVoices website.
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One Hundred Years of the USFS
January 29, 2005 12:23 PM
archivesONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE USFS
USFS ONE-HUNDRED YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Tom Banse, of Northwest Public Radio, presents the first of a two-part series on the history of the U.S. Forest Service, which is turning one-hundred years old this year.
[LISTEN] []
EXPANDED CONTENT--> Special thanks to Phil Shallat, Guy Nelson, and Stephanie Shandera for dramatic readings, to Karl Banse for research assistance, and the Museum of History and Industry for archival tape. Cathy Duchamp edited this series.
On the web:
U.S. Forest Service Centennial
Biographer Char Miller, author of Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism
Evolution of the Conservation Movement (a special presentation of the Library of Congress).
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Capitol Coverage
January 29, 2005 12:19 PM
archivesCAPITOL COVERAGE
CAPITOL COVERAGE
New water legislation, the Democrats' proposal to fix the state budget situation, and the possibility of adding sexual orientation to Colorado's employment non-discrimination law top the legislative news this week. Stephen Raher reports, with additional coverage by David Wilson.
[LISTEN] []
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Cortez Soldier Obituary
January 29, 2005 12:16 PM
archivesCORTEZ SOLDIER OBITUARY
CORTEZ SOLDIER OBITUARY
Victor Locke of KSUT reports from Cortez on the death and remembrance of Army PFC George Greer.
[LISTEN] []
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Newscast
January 29, 2005 12:13 PM
archivesNEWSCAST
NEWSCAST
Eric Whitney reports on new developments with the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse and Stephen Raher reviews recent activities by Colorado's two U.S. Senators. Also, the town of Antonito goes broke and the State Historical Fund awards several grants to Southern Colorado projects.
[LISTEN] []
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January 25, 2005
COMMENTARY- Sagebrush Country by Guy Hand
January 25, 2005 6:23 PM
archivesIdahoan Guy Hand's thoughts on sagebrush. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: Out West, there's no lack of sagebrush. And Guy Hand, a third generation Idahoan, was none too fond of it as a kid. But after two decades of living in New York and L.A., a kind of desert dementia set in, a fascination with sagebrush that eventually drew him back to Idaho.
GUY HAND: To tell you the truth, I hated growing up in sagebrush country. Southern Idaho, through my adolescent eyes, looked all gray-green and hopeless. I saw no future on that sagebrush sea, no way to build a life that didn't include work boots and low wages, hard winter winds and hot summer fires.
My friends agreed. We saw sage land as good for nothing but relieving the frustration of living in it, with guns, dirt bikes, and cheap beer. Or, as a convenient place to dump junk, like old couches, broken stoves, and dead dogs. We saw sage land as wasteland. And we weren't alone.
Those hapless pioneers who first stumbled through the high desert on the Oregon Trail weren't exactly charmed by what they saw. One called it a "hideous world...marked with the graves and the bones of dead men."
By the Twentieth Century, America's attitude toward sagebrush hadn't much improved. We burned it, we bombed it, we buried our nuclear waste in it. And even though we've since learned to love certain kinds of desert--like the photogenic red rock of southern Utah--as a nation we don't exactly ache for a Sagebrush National Park.
But that doesn't mean all this rasping aridity is lost on everyone. My dad, for one, loved it. When I was a kid he'd pull me to the top of some jagged lava outcrop and peer down on dust and sun-drilled sage with a look of pure pride. He'd shield his eyes with a calloused hand, like a salute, and see something I couldn't. Maybe it was the soaring emptiness, the bottomless quiet. Maybe it was the way the sky met the ground so far away it looked like the world was made of nothing but sage. I'm not sure. My dad wasn't much for talking about the things he loved. He thought I'd see it.
Only after I'd escaped sagebrush, only after decades living in places like New York and LA, did I actually began to miss it. I'd be walking along 5th Avenue, feeling utterly urbane, when suddenly I'd catch a whiff of sage and go weak in the knees. I'd be cruising along the 101 Freeway, just north of Hollywood, and find myself tangled in the memory of a childhood thunderstorm, one that bloomed over the Snake River like a huge white rose. I could taste the rain.
As time passed a kind of desert dementia set in. I couldn't shake it. It pulled at me like gravity. It pulled at me until I lost the strength to resist it. Finally, I gave in, deserted my big life, and moved back here to Idaho. To sagebrush.
Maybe you really never can take the country out of the boy. Or maybe this boy, in his rush to be somewhere else, forgot to look closely at where he was. I can't explain it any better than my Dad could. But here I am, surrounded by sage. And happy.
WHITNEY: Guy hand is a writer and radio producer in Boise.
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Southern Ute Tribal Radio Streaming by Joan Zwisler
January 25, 2005 5:48 PM
archivesJoan Zwisler reports from KSUT, Four Corners Public Radio, about new Internet streaming of the Southern Ute's tribal radio station. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: Colorado is home to two Indian reservations, although they're pretty easy to miss. Both comprise a narrow strip of land along the New Mexico border in the very southwest corner of the state. A new service is bringing the Southern Ute Reservation out of the shadows, however. The tribe's radio station recently started making its broadcast signal available on the Internet. From KSUT, Four Corners Public Radio, Joan Zwisler reports.
JOAN ZWISLER: The page has information about powwows across the nation, recordings of Ute words, and archives a thirty minute radio magazine called the Tribal Beat.
KSUT's Board President and volunteer Eddie Box, Jr. has been involved with the station in Ignacio for more than twenty-five years, and he's seen a lot of changes since KSUT first broadcast from a small room at the Sun Ute Casino. Now, Box says that while anyone with Internet access can hear the tribal station with live streaming, it will have special meaning for those Southern Ute Tribal members living off the reservation. One of them is his son, who lives in Las Vegas.
EDDIE BOX: He's listening. He's listening now. And he says, "Wow this is great I can hear Native American music from back home. The news from back home, too is available to me." It makes our tribal members that are living far away from here that have access to computer to be able to listen to home.
ZWISLER: Southern Ute Tribal Radio started streaming in December of 2004, just before the year ended. It was a dream come true for Eddie Box, Junior, who said he always wanted to be heard on the air off the tip of South America.
BOX: My next dream is for the people here to produce a show. Instead of us down-linking shows, we uplink shows and start building shows here.
ZWISLER: The tribal radio station carries national, Native American and some local programming. Box says the new streaming is a sign of growth.
BOX: We, as a station, are moving ahead. We are doing great big things that we would have never thought we could have done five years ago. This is something that is exciting for each and every one of us that are here.
ZWISLER: Live streaming is available on the web at
www.ksut.org. Click on the link to the Southern Ute Radio Page.
I'm Joan Zwisler.
--
ERIC WHITNEY: That's our show for this week, thanks for tuning in to Western Skies. We produce the show at KRCC's studios in downtown Colorado Springs. Stephen Raher is our associate producer, Delaney Utterback runs the webpage, where you can find audio and transcripts of this and past editions of Western Skies, that's at krcc.org. I'm Eric Whitney.
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HISTORICAL PROSTITUTION
January 25, 2005 5:47 PM
archivesHISTORICAL PROSTITUTION
Eric Whitney talks to Jan MacKell, author of Brothels, Bordellos and Bad Girls: Prostitution in Colorado 1860 through 1930 about prostitution on Colorado Springs' west side. [LISTEN] []
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CAPITOL COVERAGE
January 25, 2005 5:47 PM
archivesCAPITOL COVERAGE
An update from the state legislature. This week's report from David Wilson and Stephen Raher addresses the budget situation, restoring Medicaid for legal immigrants, regulating cash gifts to elected officials, and making the Internet safe for children. [LISTEN] []
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NEWSCAST
January 25, 2005 5:46 PM
archivesNEWSCAST
Plans to clean up mustard gas at the Pueblo Chemical Weapons Depot may have hit a snag. Eight protesters were acquitted this week for disrupting Denver's Columbus Day parade. And Eric Whitney reviews Colorado skier deaths so far this year. [LISTEN] []
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Yolanda King Interview by Carol Boss
January 25, 2005 5:44 PM
archivesCarol Boss of Good Radio Shows interviews Yolanda King about her father, the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [LISTEN]
WHITNEY: Yolanda King was just twelve years old, when her father, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Today, she's an actress and motivational speaker who keeps her father's dream alive through her own work. Carol Boss interviewed Ms. King and asked her to recall her childhood memories of being at home with her legendary father.
YOLANDA KING: My father was a buddy-daddy. He really spent most of his time with us playing, having fun, doing things that children love to do, which is, of course, play. He didn't believe in spanking kids. Of course, my mother said if he had spent more time with us, he probably would have changed his mind [laughs]. But when he was with us, he really just loved us. Loved on us.
And the time was short, but it was quality time. And my dad was really quite a funny man. He was a bit of a cut-up. He was a jokester. He loved to tease, he loved to laugh. He probably could have been quite an athlete as well. He taught me to swim when I was four and taught me how to ride a tricycle and then into a bicycle, and we played basketball and baseball and went to the local amusement park. He and I, the two of us, would ride the dangerous shake-you-up rides, he called them "faith machines." We'd get on them and just have a ball, he was a big kid.
CAROL BOSS: How old were you when you felt you really understood the impact of your father's work? Was there a year when you knew it had clearly influenced the personal direction you would take in life?
KING: I was probably in my twenties. I struggled with a lot of the legacy for a long time, probably actually into my thirties, before I really made peace with it. Because needless to say, when you come from such a tremendous legacy, there are awesome responsibilities. And expectations, even more importantly. And so, being able to find a place where I can enter it and be fully myself and at the same time, I think, make a real contribution to carrying on the ideals, the values, the principles, that my father and my mother have lived for.
BOSS: Do you consider the work that you do an evolution from his work?
KING: I do. I do. One of the programs that I'm most proud of, that is relatively recent launching through my company Higher Ground Productions, is the Inner Peace Circles, where we work with people on a monthly basis, we offer a tele-class and actually share with people the principles that I feel are really invaluable if one is going to attain a place of inner peace. Because my father was trying to take us as a nation, as a planet, this place of peace, this place of brotherhood and sisterhood, this world house he was trying to create where people could live together in peace and justice and with the kind of respect and appreciation for each other. I think we're not going to ever get there if more and more of us - until more and more of us really understand how important and what our responsibility is to find our own place of inner peace and to deepen that peace. Because I truly believe that it reverberates, where if you are able to carry that place and embody that place of peace, then it obviously contributes to wherever you find yourself - in your home, in your workplace, in your community, in every aspect of your life. And if more and more of us our really committed to doing that, I think it could make a real difference on the planet.
RECORDING OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR: All my friends, if there is any one thing that I would like for you to remember this evening, it is the fact that somebody must have some sense in this world. Somebody must have sense enough to meet hate with love. Somebody must have sense enough to meet physical force with soul force. If we will but try this way, we will be able to change these conditions, and yet at the same time, win the hearts and souls of those who have kept these conditions alive.
WHITNEY: Our interview with Yolanda King was produced by Good Radio Shows, based in Albuquerque.
Thanks for tuning in to Western Skies, produced at the KRCC studios in Colorado Springs. I'm Eric Whitney.
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THIRD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
January 25, 2005 5:44 PM
archivesTHIRD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Eric Whitney reports from a training exercise at Fort Carson for the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). Members of the Third ACR talk about returning to Iraq in the coming weeks and how they will address the Iraqi insurgency. [LISTEN] []
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CAPITOL COVERAGE
January 25, 2005 5:42 PM
archivesCAPITOL COVERAGE
Stephen Raher reports on the opening of the Sixty-Fifth General Assembly and Governor Bill Owens' State of the State Address. As expected, it appears that the focus of this years' legislative session will be on the state budget. [LISTEN] []
EXPANDED CONTENT--> You can find out more by visiting the State of the State Address.
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New Forest Rules
January 25, 2005 5:40 PM
archivesNEW FOREST RULES
Eric Whitney reports on the Bush administration's newly announced rules for how the U.S. Forest Service develops management plans for the nation's forests. [LISTEN] []
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NEWSCAST
January 25, 2005 5:38 PM
archivesNEWSCAST
A new plan for the long-closed section of Gold Camp Road, a new management plan for the Great Sand Dunes National Park, a property tax change for Colorado's only large-scale wind farm, and a controversy over sports bras in Cortez. [LISTEN] []
EXPANDED CONTENT--> To find out more about the Gold Camp Road plan, including the schedule of public comment meetings, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/pp.
To find out more about the Great Sand Dunes National Park planning process, including the schedule of public comment meetings, visit the Park Service's planning page and select "Great Sand Dunes" from the menu of current plans.
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Federal Budget and the West
January 25, 2005 5:35 PM
archivesFEDERAL BUDGET AND THE WEST
Greg Hanscom of High Country News, tells listeners about some components of the recently-passed federal appropriations bill that impact the West. [LISTEN] []
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Legislative Session Preview
January 25, 2005 5:23 PM
archivesLEGISLATIVE SESSION PREVIEW
Sam Fuqua and David Wilson talk to Western Skies about what to expect from this year's session of the Colorado General Assembly. [LISTEN] []
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IED SURVIVOR
January 25, 2005 5:22 PM
archivesIED SURVIVOR
Eric Whitney brings us a story on Fort Carson soldier Greg Mitchell who survived an explosion in Iraq. The ambush was done through use of an improvised explosive device - a term that is becoming more common in news reports from the war. [LISTEN] []
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NEWSCAST
January 25, 2005 5:22 PM
archivesNEWSCAST
Stephen Raher reports on the ouster of Representative Joel Hefley from the House ethics committee. Joan Zwisler from KSUT has a story on the improving state of schools in New Mexico. And a story on two healthcare organizations that have scaled back services for communities in Southern Colorado. [LISTEN] []
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Commentary - Islam and Unitarianism by Ian Shoales
January 25, 2005 2:24 PM
archivesIan Shoales explores argues that fundamentalist Islam could benefit from a little Unitarian influence. [LISTEN]
WHITNEY: And now it's time for a personal commentary. Commentaries are going to be a regular feature of Western Skies, and we're looking for people who have something to say. If you'd like to comment on our show, stay tuned for details on how you can get your opinion on the air.
This week, San Francisco-based commentator Ian Shoales argues that fundamentalist Islam could benefit from a little Unitarianism.
IAN SHOALES: I couldn't tell you the difference between a Sunni and a Shi-ite, frankly, any more than I could tell you the difference between a Southern Baptist and a Pentacostal. I don't doubt that members of any of these groups could spend hours outlining their beliefs for me, in the hope of winning me over. Fat chance.
However, I did spend a recent Friday night at a lefty social event at a Unitarian Church. Now, I have spent many hours in Unitarian Churches over the years. Because Unitarianism is more than a religion, it's a locus, at which musicians and performance artists can gather and do their thing, without fear of being accused of blasphemy, or even simple bad taste.
After the event, a guy came up to me, and said, "You know what the world needs? A Muslim version of Unitarianism."
I went home and thought about it, and realized the guy was right. Unitarian Universalism, after all, believes that personal experience is the final authority in any religious belief. It has no creed, but instead draws on any old question anybody has, to create a liberal community, in which God is not an angry god, but more of a vague chum. A vague chum who likes study groups and bad poetry. In Unitarianism, spirituality trumps belief.
I hope no Muslim extremist comes after me for this, but it seems to me that just as Unitarianism is a useful offset to the rather rigid evangelical mindset, some equivalent could prove useful in Islam.
Think of it. Instead of minarets and mosques - multi-purpose rooms lit by fluorescent lights. Oh, you can still pray to Mecca five times a day, but it's your personal choice. Ditto with fasting and jihads. Ululate or not, it's up to you.
And eventually, perhaps, these two strands of this ecumenical impulse could meet. And the new left, under its umbrella, would go door to door in pairs, like Mormons, only instead of bearing Bibles or Books of Mormon, they would offer Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky.
I can't wait. Sure, Unitarianism can be boring, and are probably more responsible than any other social entity for the fact that bland folk music is still being performed. But Unitarians don't blow anybody up. Between being blown up, and having to listen to bland folk music, well, it's a toss-up, sure, but for me bland folk music wins. I gotta go.
WHITNEY: You can hear more stuff like this at www.ianshoales.com.
If you've got an opinion you'd like to share on our airwaves, request a copy of our commentary guidelines. They're available on our website, at KRCC.org. Or give us a call and we'll send you a copy. You can reach us at 473-4801 in the Springs, and toll free at 800-748-2727 everywhere else.
That's our program for this week. Thanks for tuning in to Western Skies. We'll be back next week at the same time with another half hour of news and commentary from around the region. I'm Eric Whitney.
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Legislative Preview
January 25, 2005 2:23 PM
archivesLEGISLATIVE PREVIEW
Colorado State University professor John Straayer talks with Eric Whitney about what to expect from the upcoming session of the Colorado General Assembly. [LISTEN] []
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Doug Bascom Remembered
January 25, 2005 2:22 PM
archivesFriends and family members talk about the loss of Marine Corps Sergeant Douglas Bascom, who was killed in combat in Iraq. Eric Whitney reports. [LISTEN]
[Sound from farewell ceremony for 571st Medical Battalion, Ft. Carson, Dec. 9, 2004]
ERIC WHITNEY: About 200 people gathered in a hangar at Butts air field on Fort Carson last month to bid farewell to another contingent of soldiers headed off to Iraq. In this case, it was the 571 Air Ambulance Battalion, heading back for their second tour of duty. Last Tuesday, another 180 Ft. Carson soldiers also headed out. For the families of these soldiers, the war in Iraq isn't just something they see on the news, it's personal, and there are thousands of people in Southern Colorado in the same boat. In November, one Colorado Springs family who lost their son in Iraq shared their story with us.
[Sound from Doug Bascom's memorial video]
WHITNEY: Not long after Marine Corps Sergeant Douglas Bascom was killed in combat in Iraq, one of his buddies made a memorial video and sent it to his parents here in Colorado Springs. Larry and Debbie Bascom cry when they watch it, but show it to me because they want me to know what a fine young man their son was, and to tell everyone else.
DEBBIE BASCOM: When he walked into the room it was like all the molecules in the air just started sparking. He was just busy, and he just loved doing things, and he did, everything was fun to him.
WHITNEY: Doug grew up in a military family. His father, Larry, has been a master sergeant in the Air Force for 25 years, he works at Peterson Field. He says his son never really showed an interest in joining the armed forces. So it was a bit surprising when rambunctious, free spirited Doug came home one day four years ago, announcing he'd joined the Marines. Larry, who's served in conflict zones all over the world, admits he had mixed feelings at first.
LARRY BASCOM: Of course. But I was very happy he joined the Marines. I really thought highly of him for doing that, because that meant that he wanted to serve his country, and that's something that I've always felt was very important, and he felt that was important, too, and I admired him for that. Of course, as every parent, when your child joins a military branch, of course you're a little nervous and worried, because military deals with war.
WHITNEY: In his initial four years in the Marines, Doug never saw combat, though it wasn't for lack of desire. He really wanted to be side by side with his buddies, fighting for America. And when it came time to reenlist, his parents say that he was torn.
DEBBIE BASCOM: We talked him out of the Marines, he had an opportunity to re-up, and we said, "Honey, you need to get out." And he did, because we said "You've done your four years, and you need to get out. We're at war and you could get hurt." He had a wife and he wanted his marriage to work.
WHITNEY: Doug left the marines and took a job in a bank. But he remained in the Individual Ready Reserves, and when last May, the Marines called and said they needed him, he was eager to go. His father, Larry Bascom, says his son really wanted to help win the war on terror.
LARRY BASCOM: And he wanted everybody in the world to have that same freedom we have.
DEBBIE BASCOM: He loved this country to the point where he was willing to give his life so everyone else could have their freedom.
WHITNEY: The Bascoms have four other children, all younger than Doug. They say none of them seem inclined to join the military.
LARRY BASCOM: Not at this time. We've all talked about it, and at there's no indication they want to join the military at this time because there's other things they want to do. And that's fine, if they do want to join, I'll support 'em in that decision, but at this point in time they have not given any desire to join.
DEBBIE BASCOM: I'd have them think twice. Yeah.
WHITNEY: Mom might try to talk them out of it?
DEBBIE BASCOM: I would, I would, only because one child gone is enough.
WHITNEY: It's not just Doug's family who will tell you that their son was something special. Before he went to Iraq, Doug was living in an apartment complex in Oceanside, California. Isabel Segura met him the day her family was moving in. She says the big Marine came to their door and asked if he could help.
ISABEL SEGURA: We were just really amazed because we didn't really get to know our other neighbors for months later, and him we got to know before the first time we even slept in our apartment.
WHITNEY: Seguara and her husband Ralph Shoup, have three young sons, who quickly became friends with Doug. He played games with the boys, listened to their stories and problems and, best of all, according to 13-year-old Nicholas Shoup, let them play with his golden retriever, Jade.
RALPH SHOUP: So before he went away to Iraq, Doug gave us his dog Jade, and she reminds us of him every day, because she's just like him, very outgoing. And after we heard of his death, we renamed her JD, and the D stands for Doug.
WHITNEY: Six weeks after shipping out for Iraq, Sergeant Doug Bascom was awarded a purple heart for a battlefield injury. A few days after that he was killed by an improvised explosive in Al Anbar province west of Baghdad. He was 25 years old.
[Music: "Smoke," by Medeski, Martin and Wood]
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Wolf Creek Resort Proposal by Victor Locke
January 25, 2005 2:22 PM
archivesVictor Locke, from Ignacio, talks to Mark Garcia, the Town Manager of Pagosa Springs, about a proposed resort development next to the Wolf Creek ski area. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: A proposed resort development known as the Village at Wolf Creek, adjacent to the Wolf Creek ski area in southwestern Colorado is facing increasing opposition. Victor Locke is a reporter for KSUT radio in Ignacio, Colorado. He reports that efforts between the two sides to hear each other out have come to an end.
VICTOR LOCKE: The Pagosa Springs Town Board unanimously approved a resolution urging the Mineral County Commissioners to reconsider their approval of the Village at Wolf Creek. Texas billionaire developer Red McCombs wants to put a small city, with 22 hundred living units and 220-thousand square feet of retail space in a meadow near Wolf Creek's Alberta lift. Several lawsuits have been filed to stop what would be Colorado's highest altitude community. Pagosa Springs Town Manager Mark Garcia says the resolution expresses concern about the impact the development will have on Pagosa Springs, on the cost of living, the cost of providing services, schools, and other issues.
MARK GARCIA: We recognize we don't have any jurisdiction over it but we feel we stand to be the bearer of a lot of impacts based on the proposal.
LOCKE: Pagosa Springs officials are also urging the Forest Service to deny McCombs an access road to the site. Public comments on the environmental impact statement for the road end January fifth. Garcia says he also doubts there will be any future meetings with McCombs or his representative Bob Honts about the project. Honts has refused to meet publicly, and Garcia says some private meetings he's had, including one attended by a couple town council members, may have backfired.
GARCIA: It was not a very beneficial meeting, it was more of a projection of how great the project is, and very little in terms of answering our questions.
LOCKE: Garcia says community sentiment is mostly against the Village at Wolf Creek, an appraisal buttressed somewhat by a non scientific survey the town conducted online.
GARCIA: And I think it was essentially 90-percent against, maybe 89-percent against, 11-percent for. So I don't know if that's representative of the community but I have heard some in favor, mostly against.
VICTOR: Again, public comment on the Village at Wolf Creek environmental impact statement ends January fifth. I'm Victor Locke.
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January 24, 2005
Cow Power by Brian Larson
January 24, 2005 1:45 PM
archivesA story from the Northeastern Plains of Colorado on how cowpies can, and will, provide electricity to rural communities. Brian Larson reports. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: Alternative energy got a lot of press in Colorado last year, and voters embraced the concept by passing Amendment 37, which requires large utilities to buy a certain amount of power from renewable sources. Most of that power will come from large scale wind turbines, but Colorado is rich in another potential source of energy: cow manure.
Brian Larson, a reporter for KUNC in Greeley, sent us this story about a feedlot operator who’s using animal waste to power his farm.
BRIAN LARSON: The rolling grass lands of northeastern Colorado are perfectly suited for the region’s main livelihood: agriculture and the raising of livestock.
In many cases, the number of cattle on private and commercial ranch land easily outnumbers human populations in nearby towns.
GARY TEAGUE (ph): At any given time, we’ll have somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five thousand head of cattle on feed. Today we’re somewhere around nineteen, twenty thousand head of cattle.
LARSON: Gary and Laura Teague (ph) own a commercial cattle-feeding business on four thousand acres, just south of Fort Morgan. They feed their stock a mixture of corn, hay, and brewers’ grain three times a day, with each consuming an average of forty-two pounds. With that much going in, you know something has to come out.
TEAGUE: We’ll generate about twenty semi-loads of manure every day. Big, full, twenty-five ton loads.
LARSON: They’ve been turning that waste into compost for the past decade, selling upwards of two hundred thousand cubic yards annually, mainly to area farmers and wholesale landscapers in Denver.
TEAGUE: So this would be the product we actually deliver to them. You can smell that wholesome, earthy smell in there. You can see the wood residuals and feel the dampness. It’s an ideal produce as a soil amendment.
LARSON: Gary Teague views himself a cattle feeder, and not an environmentalist. But he’s about to embark on a three million dollar project turning his composting operation into a regional facility for producing organic electricity. Ed Lewis is the Senior Deputy Director of the Colorado Office of Energy Management and Conservation.
ED LEWIS: We’ve been looking for places that would be interested in doing anaerobic digestion.
LARSON: An anaerobic digester uses naturally-occurring bacteria to break down, or eat, organic waste in an oxygen-free, or anaerobic, environment. The digestion process creates methane gas, which is then collected and used to run electrical generators.
LEWIS: For every ten thousand head of feedlot cattle, you can produce about a meg of power. A meg of power will power about a thousand homes. But if you multiply this across all the country, you could produce several gigawatts of power.
LARSON: Digesters are widely used in Europe, but they’ve been slow to catch on in America. There are about forty in operation, including one in Colorado, on a hog farm near Lamar. Most use large covered pits to collect the methane and break down the waste. Teague will use a series of one hundred thousand gallon stainless steel tanks. The newer design is expected to produce better quality methane and do it in much less time.
TEAGUE: It will take about five days to turn that into power and to split that into two components. And then the liquid will be land-applied within a matter of hours and the solid portion will then go into compost and four weeks later it will be composted and put on a truck and headed back to Denver or headed out to a farmers’ field.
LARSON: The Office of Energy Management and Conservation is helping offset the four to five hundred thousand dollar cost of building the first digester in January. Because of the learning curve, the unit will initially handle the electrical needs of just the feedyard. Gary Teague hopes to use cashflow from future electrical sales to add another eight to ten digesters over the next five years. The goal is to provide electricity to ten thousand homes.
TEAGUE: We can take things that were basically going to waste or going into landfills and turn them into a renewable source of power, and in the end wind up with a product that is beneficial not only to the homeowner who is using it, but also to the farmer who needs a fertilizer source.
LARSON: Cow power will never replace traditional energy sources such as coal and natural gas. But it could play a more significant role following the passage of Amendment 37, which requires the states’ larger utilities to produce more of their power from renewable sources.
Posted by Eric Whitney at 1:45 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Posted to Agriculture/Ranching , Environment
Wyoming Prison Siting by Stephen Raher
January 24, 2005 1:42 PM
archivesStephen Raher reports from Riverton, Wyoming, where the city's plans to recruit a new state prison have sparked a debate on whether prisons are good for rural economies. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: For the past few years, several hundred prisoners from Wyoming have been routinely housed in privately operated prisons on Colorado's eastern plains. The state of Wyoming wants to bring those inmates back, and that means building a new prison. As Western Skies' Stephen Raher reports, the question of where the new prison goes is sparking a debate on whether they're a benefit to rural economies.
STEPHEN RAHER: The City of Riverton, in central Wyoming, is surrounded by fields covered in a blanket of January snow. The landscape is incredibly quiet until you reach Main Street.
[traffic sounds]
RAHER: At nine thousand residents, Riverton is a hub for the county of thirty-five thousand people. It's also home to Wyoming's minimum-security prison farm, which houses 176 inmates. City leaders figure it's a good location for Wyoming's new medium-security prison. But, some local residents, such as Craig Blumenshine, are skeptical.
CRAIG BLUMENSHINE: I asked my son, initially, what he thought about it. He was a fifth grader at the time. And his response was, "well I don't want to be a prison town," essentially, and I think that was many of our responses as well.
RAHER: In 2004, Riverton asked the Department of Corrections to consider building a new prison here. Since then, relations between citizens and city government have been strained.
[sound of basketballs and children in gym]
RAHER: Janis Bradley is a PE teacher at the local elementary school. She was originally invited to be on a city committee that was considering the prison, but she says the group didn't want to talk about the potential negative impacts. She says things got off on the wrong foot when city officials came to a planning meeting that a group of citizens held at the local library.
JANIS BRADLEY: Just to see what we could do and what was coming out. And at that meeting, an ex-mayor came to the meeting. And I said, "excuse me, but this meeting is not for the people who are for the prison." And he shoved me and said "I'm coming in." When he shoved me, Kristy, my daughter, said "Leave my mom alone." And he shoved her.
RAHER: Personality conflicts aside, local business leaders say they're looking out for the best interests of the community. The current minimum security prison employs a little over thirty people, and the new prison could bring several hundred additional jobs.
[background talking and sound of an adding machine]
RAHER: Allen Moore is an accountant and business development leader in Riverton.
ALLEN MOORE: We know that there are a lot of people who could use jobs. We know that there are a lot of people who wouldn't chose to work for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, in any capacity. What we think is that people deserve to have an opportunity. And they deserve to have an opportunity to make a choice.
RAHER: But activists say a prison raises a lot of questions. Craig Blumenshine says some locals debated how much Sterling, Colorado benefited from their twenty-five hundred bed state prison.
BLUMENSHINE: Their school enrollments really haven't risen, in fact they've dropped. They've had a dramatic increase in rates of kids who qualify for the Federal free and reduced lunch program. So, you have to ask yourself some questions on these things that can be quantified. Has it been in the best interests of Sterling? And perhaps it has been, I'm not saying that it hasn't been, but it leads to questions.
RAHER: To answer those questions, Blumenshine looked for studies on whether prisons help rural economies. One, called "The Development of Last Resort," is about to be published in the Journal of the Community Development Society. The author, Terry Besser of Iowa State University, looked at economic indicators for small towns which received new state prisons during the 1990s and compared the data to same-sized towns nationwide that did not.
TERRY BESSER: They don't realize a net gain in employment or in reduction of poverty. Housing values don't go up as much as other towns. This is a pretty dismal outlook, for what at least happened in the '90s. The towns that had new state prisons seem to be in a worse situation than other comparable towns that didn't have new state prisons.
RAHER: But accountant Allen Moore says Riverton has yet to recover from the recession of the 1980s, when several large mines closed.
MOORE: We've spent a lot of time trying to attract out-of-state business to our area, and that is not a prospect that is easily accomplished. It takes an awful lot of time, it takes an awful lot of energy, and it takes an awful lot of money. And we have limited time, energy, and money.
RAHER: Riverton spent their time and energy, and some money, lobbying the Department of Corrections to pick their town. But the department ultimately recommended that the new prison be built in Torrington, on the Eastern edge of the state.
Riverton, however, is not giving up without a fight. The city government teamed up with the Town of Rawlins to ask the state legislature to set aside the Department's recommendation and build two smaller prisons one in Riverton and another in Rawlins.
Corrections Director Robert Lampert says that Torrington was the best choice.
ROBERT LAMPERT: The only thing I can say is that Riverton didn't score the highest. We looked at a hundred thirty-three areas of assessment and out of those hundred and thirty-three areas, Torrington is the one that scored the highest.
RAHER: So far, the legislature is siding with Lampert. On January 19, the Senate Judicial Committee voted to locate the new prison in Torrington. A final decision on where Wyoming's new prison will be built is expected by the end of the legislative session on March 3.
For Western Skies, I'm Stephen Raher, in Riverton, Wyoming.
Posted by Eric Whitney at 1:42 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Posted to Politics , Prisons
Electoral College by Stephen Raher
January 24, 2005 1:40 PM
archives
Western Skies' Stephen Raher reports on the inner workings of the Colorado delegation to the electoral college. [LISTEN]
EXPANDED CONTENT--> To find out more about the workings of the electoral college, visit the Office of the Federal Register's electoral college page. You might also want to check out the book After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College.
ERIC WHITNEY: This past Thursday was the Constitutionally-designated day for Congress to count the votes of the electoral college. This year's ceremony was more than a mere formality, thanks to a challenge mounted against Ohio's electoral votes. Unlike the high-profile Ohio story, Colorado's nine electoral votes were cast without much fanfare, as Western Skies' Stephen Raher reports.
STEPHEN RAHER: On December 13, Governor Bill Owens welcomed a handful of people to his office in the state capitol.
BILL OWENS: Ladies and gentleman, welcome to election day 2004.
RAHER: This is forty-one days after two million regular Colorado voters went to the polls. Today's election is for the nine-member Colorado delegation to the electoral college.
OWENS: You know, some might think we actually elected the president on November second of 2004, but today is in fact election day. In fifty state capitals across this country.
RAHER: And the District of Columbia.
The electors meet in each individual state in order to prevent any intrigue or vote trading which could occur if they met together in one location. That was the intent of the framers of the Constitution, according to some historians.
But there's no suspense in Governor Owens' office today. The votes of these nine electors are a foregone conclusion.
OWENS: And as chairman of the Colorado Bush-Cheney campaign I'm very pleased to report, I believe, that all nine electors are going to vote for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
RAHER: Colorado is one of twenty-seven states which requires its presidential electors to vote for the candidate for whom they were pledged.
But whether such a requirement is actually constitutional has never been tested, according to attorney Michael White, who coordinates the activities of the electoral college.
MICHAEL WHITE: The Supreme Court has never specifically ruled on the issue of whether an elector can be forced to vote for the candidate to whom they are pledged.
RAHER: Faithless votes aren't likely to be an issue in today's ceremony These electors, like Englewood philanthropist Diane Gallagher, were chosen for their party loyalty.
DIANE GALLAGHER: I am delighted to be here, very delighted to be here. I thought it essential that we elect George Bush.
RAHER: Gallagher and the other eight electors are sworn in by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey.
MARY MULLARKEY: And now if you would all please raise your right hands and repeat after me. I, please state your name. Do solemnly swear by the ever living God. That I will support the Constitution [fade under]
RAHER: After taking the oath of office, the electors mark their two ballots--one for President and one for Vice-President--and submit them to Director of Elections, Bill Compton. The electors actually sign six separate copies of the paperwork, sets of which are kept by various officials in case votes are lost or tampered with. This year, those extra copies were actually called on in two states where votes were thought to be lost in the mail.
Before Colorado's votes are put in the mail, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson examines the ballots and announces the results.
DONETTA DAVIDSON: The votes for President and Vice President have been tallied. And there is nine votes for George W. Bush for President and nine votes for Dick Cheney for Vice President.
[applause - fades under]
[sound of safe opening]
RAHER: Ten days later, Colorado's electoral ballots are opened at the Office of the Federal Register, a few blocks north of the U.S. Capitol.
The ballots still arrive in the U.S. Mail, as they have for hundreds of years. Michael White is the person who actually receives and counts the electoral votes from each delegation. Some of the challenges he faces are surprisingly mundane.
WHITE: We are sort of the ones who go out and badger them to find out where those votes are. Did they get it in the mail? How are they sent? What address exactly?
RAHER: This year, three states' ballots were received several days after the December 20 deadline. In spite of the close call, all the votes are received in time for the official tally, which is conducted in a joint session of Congress on January 6.
But the real excitement of this years' session came in the form of a challenge--unexpected, and only the third in the history of the country. The objection forced the House and Senate to adjourn and debate for several hours. But in the end, both chambers voted to accept Ohio's electoral votes, and George Bush was officially elected president. He will be inaugurated January 20.
For Western Skies, I'm Stephen Raher.
Posted by Eric Whitney at 1:40 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Posted to Colorado , Politics
Pueblo West Wal-Mart by Anita Miller
January 24, 2005 1:38 PM
archivesWestern Skies' Anita Miller reports on the controversy surrounding a Wal-Mart distribution center that might be built in Pueblo West. Local citizens have sued the Pueblo West Metro District for violating the Colorado Open Meetings Law. [LISTEN]
ERIC WHITNEY: It's a familiar story across the country: Wal Mart wants to build, and a lawsuit follows. This time the location is Pueblo West. Western Skies Contributor Anita Miller reports.
[traffic sounds]
ANITA MILLER: This prairie just north of Highway 50 is where Wal Mart wants to build an 880,000 square foot distribution center. The center will substantially increase the already heavy traffic on Highway 50, the primary entrance to Pueblo West, and change the character of the area. But it's not hard to find people in Pueblo West who like the idea of the distribution center building here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's great. Pueblo needs the jobs--there's a lot of people out of work.
MILLER: How do you think it will affect the look of Pueblo West and the traffic, are you concerned about that at all?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not concerned about the looks because it's in the industrial side of the highway and that's what it's there for is the industry. As far as the traffic, I am concerned about the roads, keeping up with the roads, and not being messed up from the big trucks, the Wal Mart trucks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm kind of favor of it being here. I'm not so certain of the certain location they've picked, but they're still up in the air on that. I think anything we can do to help the economy and improve the work load out here gives Pueblo West a better tax base and that's what we're looking for going after these kinds of businesses.
MILLER: On the other side is a group called Pueblo West Citizens for Open Government. A month ago the group filed a lawsuit against Wal Mart, the Pueblo West Metro District, and the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation. They're also trying to recall all five members of the Pueblo West Metro District Board.
They contend that the board's negotiations with Wal Mart were conducted in secret, in violation of Colorado's sunshine law.
Jeff Sloan is a member of Pueblo West Citizens for Open Government.
JEFF SLOAN: I think a lot of proponents of the distribution center feel that anybody who's against this doesn't want Pueblo West to grow or is against economic development or is anti-business. And that is certainly not the case. Our concerns all along have been environmental, aesthetics, traffic and location. If we can find a location that makes sense and doesn't encroach on an already worsening traffic situation and establishes some real benefits for the community, we're all for it.
MILLER: The benefits are real to Margaret Eichman, chairperson of the Pueblo West Metro District board. She and the board voted to give Wal Mart 135 acres to build the distribution center, plus free water and sewer taps. Eichman says it was a tough decision, but believes that the 700 jobs and tax revenue Wal Mart is promising is a fair trade.
MARGARET EICHMAN: If we want to move forward and continue to grow and to be able to fund the things that we need to fund in this community, the roads, the parks, the rec, the fire department, those kinds of things, then this is just not something we can say no to.
MILLER: The situation is currently in the lap of the Pueblo County Commissioners, who also must sign off on the project before Wal Mart can build. Pueblo County is committing two million dollars toward improving roads that will service the proposed center. But county commissioners won't sign anything until a traffic impact study is complete and approved by its public works director.
For Western Skies, I'm Anita Miller in Pueblo West.
Posted by Eric Whitney at 1:38 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Posted to Politics , Pueblo , Western Skies
Bible Vox Pop by Anita Miller
January 24, 2005 1:32 PM
archivesContributor Anita Miller talks to Springs residents about the recent distribution of the New Testament with the Colorado Springs Gazette. [LISTEN]
Posted by Eric Whitney at 1:32 PM| Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Posted to Colorado Springs , Media , Religion , Western Skies