September 20, 2024
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Can a leopard change its spots? This is the question. Some may say yes, but nature often tells us otherwise. The truth is we only have past actions to guide us. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.I believe integrity, honesty, and respect are critical. You must embody all three—you can’t only show respect to those who agree with you. Respect must be extended to everyone, without exception. Integrity and honesty are inseparable. Being a person of your word means doing what you say you will do. I’ve always lived by this principle.As a successful business owner for over 40 years, I’ve built fences not just in the literal sense, but I also know where I stand on important issues. I stand behind what I do, and I honor my commitments. If something isn’t right, I make it right. This is the foundation of my success, and I intend to carry this same ethical approach into the role of County Commissioner if elected.I could provide hundreds of character witnesses to vouch for my integrity, if necessary. My reputation speaks for itself. You don’t stay in business for four decades by doing things the wrong way. I do live in the heart of District 1—the business district I would represent—where I am deeply invested in the community I call home.Remember those values: integrity and honesty. I understand that Hinsdale County faces more challenges than just commerce. I am committed to representing both the entire county and my district. From thriving businesses come tax revenues that fund everything the county does, from paying salaries to getting things done. When businesses succeed, we all benefit.With the election approaching, I encourage you to reach out to me. I am located at 311 Silver St., right across from Packers. My phone number is 720-234-1740. Whether you’d like to visit me or schedule a time for me to come to you, I am available to talk. I would also be happy to give you a tour of the place we’ve worked on for so long. Sincerely,Steve Ryals
The first of what we hope will be many Senior luncheons was held this last Friday in the multi-purpose room of the Armory. Coordinated and executed by Senior Connections volunteers and staff, we provided 87 seniors with meals. There were 50 that chose to dine in, 27 for take-out, and 10 that were delivered. The delicious meal was thoughtfully prepared by Anne Marshall who has been recruited to oversee kitchen operations for the Senior Connections Team. The menu consisted of grilled chicken and spinach with pasta, fresh cucumber and tomato salad, and Palisade peach cobbler. While the meal satisfied appetites, it was the fellowship and camaraderie that made the day truly fulfilling. The next luncheon will be on September 27th from 11:45-1:00. We urge all who would like to receive a meal to sign up before the end of the day on Friday the 20th. To sign up for “Dine-In’ or “Grab-N-Go”, or for more information, please contact Public Health at 970-944-0321. Respectfully, The Senior Connections Team
As a former resident yet still current business and property owner in Hinsdale County, I would like to raise my concern over what I perceive as a lack of emphasis of a very specific elected Office in Hinsdale County, which is up for grabs in exactly 50 days as I write this. That is, the Office of the Sheriff. To be very clear, it is NOT a “Sheriff’s Department”, nor is it a small wooden building on Henson St. which has a job opening for a new boss.It was decided by citizens across much of this country to have the people select the best person (and his deputies) to protect their families, livelihoods, and property, along with their Constitutional Rights, against criminals and any/all of those who do not follow the law. The Sheriff does NOT report to the BOCC, the Sheriff reports to the citizens, period.Among many other things, the Sheriff is the chief law enforcement official of his/her county, to include over anyone at the federal level. Colorado Revised Statutes 30-10-501 spells it all out. Despite Hinsdale County still being the most remote county in the lower 48 states with its very small population, its reputation for having wonderful people and even most visitors, we live in an extremely questionable world.As someone who obtained his CO Peace Officer Certification in 2014 and who has been with several CO law enforcement agencies, to include HCSO, I can attest to the fact that any/all things can and WILL happen in Hinsdale County. Just look back to 1994 when Sheriff Coursey was murdered during a traffic stop, and that was “back in the day”.Today, and in my opinion, we are playing with fire if we do not take very seriously who the next Sheriff should be. I just please ask that we educate ourselves and make the best voting decision possible. While CRS 30-10-501 spells it all out, it is also antiquated in several areas. That one area is the elected Sheriff is not required to have prior law enforcement experience.As a cop myself, I cannot reiterate how reckless it would be to vote for anyone who does not have LE experience. Further, please consider the other patriots who currently and selflessly serve the Office of the Sheriff of Hinsdale County: Bobbi McDonald, sworn & CO POST Certified Deputies Mark Zeckser and Sarah Poet, and the list of sworn/non-POST certified Deputies, Rick Hernandez, Lt Col John Bonner, Keith Chambers, and Kelly Elkins who have tirelessly and voluntarily served the county for many years. Please, please keep them in mind as you cast your vote in 50 days. Anyway, in these modern and uncertain times, we need an educated, smart, integrity-driven, and selfless patriot to lead the next Office of the Sheriff. And that person is your current Undersheriff Denim Starnes.He truly has the heart of a servant. Denim is educated with two degrees, 17 years of law enforcement experience, and is a man who you can trust, along with his staff, to keep everything you care about, to include your Constitutional Rights, secure and safe.So, please get out and vote and let us not be careless with who we are voting for. Finally, I want to sincerely thank Sheriff Ron Bruce for, once again, sacrificing what should be HIS time to be the Sheriff until the next competent law enforcement-experienced patriot is elected. Thank you.Jim Hunsicker
What a joy it has been over the past several years to be here with Inklings in the Mountains!I am sad that this week is my last week to be open in Lake City. With much regret, I could not find a building to house my business.I will miss each and every one of you, although Lake City remains my summer home and I will see you out in the park, on the trails, dining at one of the many wonderful restaurants, at the museum, or at a Lake City Arts program. ‘Til then,Linda GardinerInklings in the Mountains
Town of Lake City Board of Trustees decided at the September 4 regular meeting not to alter the town’s Historic Preservation Guidelines to allow four-foot fences with six-foot arbors in front of historic homes. This has been a topic discussed by Town trustees for several weeks, after a request was received from a Lake City homeowner. During the action items segment of the meeting, Trustee Henry Woods made the motion to not approve changes to be made, and Trustee Diane Bruce seconded the motion. Trustee Jesse Kendall, who is also a member of the Hinsdale County Historical Society board, took a pensive moment before speaking, and said the decision was a “difficult one,” ultimately voting against supporting the motion, as did Trustee Landon Whinnery. Mayor Dave Roberts voted in favor, and the motion carried 3-2. Chairperson for the Historic Preservation Commission, Kerry Holt, was in attendance at the September 4 meeting, and she said, “I tend to follow with property owner’s rights, and I did a lot of research to find out what a property owner is allowed to do in other communities. It was the same everywhere I looked – four foot fences are allowed, even with arbors, just not in front of the facade of the house. If you allow a fence more than 4 feet tall in front of the home, it blocks the facade and changes the character of the view of the house. This is according to History Colorado. It’s not allowed anywhere in the nation; it’s not just specific to Colorado. I caution you about a slippery slope. For example, I’d love to build a covered front porch in front of my house, but I can’t.” In Town Manager Lex Mulhall’s report, he said, “I strongly urge the Board to follow the Historic Preservation Commission recommendation to not change the historic guidelines to allow 4 foot fences with 6 foot arbors in the front of historic properties. The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) have received training in historic preservation districts and guidelines. They also spent several hours of unpaid time in making a very well-researched and informed recommendation to the Board. If the Board goes against the recommendation of the HPC and changes the guidelines, then I foresee the following unpleasant possibilities opening up before us: adopting the change will set a precedent that will cause others to come and present their recommended changes to the historic guidelines when they are unable to fulfill their desired plans due to not meeting current historic guidelines. Secondly, If 6 foot arbor fences are widely adopted and built by property owners in the historic district, then that will completely change the historic character of our district. When History Colorado comes back to do an inventory of the historic properties and sees that the historic character of our district has changed and no longer meets the national guideline standards, we may lose our historic district designation altogether. If we lose our historic district and violate our status as a certified local government, then we also lose the ability to locally designate historic properties like Car 211, and property owners, including the town, will lose access to financial and technical services and funding.” Trustee Henry Woods said, “As trustees, we need to protect the historic district. If we were ever to lose that designation, we would lose grants and tax write-offs. Our designation has brought millions of dollars into our town over the years. In 2007, when the country was in a recession, we got all these grants through historic preservation for a variety of historic buildings, including the Hough building – it brought us through the recession. It’s a really important thing. There are towns who have lost their designation and it really hurt them, as it would hurt us. We need to support our Historic Preservation Commission because they’re the ones doing this work for us.” Trustee Diane Bruce said, “I have read all the information, and I have put a lot of consideration into this. I understand where Svetlana (Piltingsrud, homeowner) is coming from, but in the end, I agree with the recommendation of the Historic Preservation Commission and I thank Kerry – I’m appreciative of all her hard work, gathering facts and evidence. But I really think opening ourselves up to this would be a mistake. I speak in favor of not changing the guidelines.” Trustee Landon Whinnery, said the problem he was having with the issue was that there are a lot of modern-technology substitutes to keep deer out of a yard, such as water spraying, motion sensors, lights, “these things are okay, but a nice-looking arbored fence is not?” Trustee Jesse Kendall said, “I understand her side of this. She built a beautiful garden all over her lots. I’m glad I don’t live in the Historic District. I’m really ‘on the fence,’ so to speak.” Mayor Dave Roberts said, “I am a proponent of people’s property rights. It’s not an easy decision. Do we know for certain that an arbored fence really does stop [the deer]? I come back to the fact that it is a designated Historic District and there are guidelines that go with that. When I was a realtor, I made sure every single person I dealt with in selling a home in the historic district – that they were fully aware of what could and could not be done. I had a packet ready with Historic District guidelines, and I made sure they had read it. I feel for her, but in changing the ordinance, I am concerned we would be opening a can of worms. I am not in favor.” In other Town news, Town staff and the Board of Trustees are having a difficult time finding new board members. The resignation letter of Trustee Justin Hill was read and formally accepted by the Town Board at their September 18 regular meeting. At the September 4 meeting, Town Manager Lex Mulhall cited the following: 31-4-303. Trustees to fill vacancy – mayor pro tem – clerk pro tem. (1) The
Structural steel girders were all that remained of the old Hinsdale Road & Bridge Butler building early this week as workmen dismantled the 1955 structure to make way for the new county operations building. This week witnessed the last vestiges of the 69-year-old 2,800-s.f. Butler metal building adjoining Hinsdale County Courthouse which from 1955 until 1994 served as the headquarters for Hinsdale County Road & Bridge Dept. A crackerjack demolition crew comprised of Wally Hays and his assistant, Briggs Jones — grandson of longtime local seasonal residents Elwyn and artist Jane Jones — incrementally dismantled the building, with plans by Hays to re-erect the 80’ by 35’ structure on his property high on a bench he has created on his property overlooking County Road 30 on the upper Lake Fork. Fenced yard, employees’ vehicles, fuel storage tanks and metal shop building are pictured at left in a 1989 aerial view. The metal building was enlarged in the late 1970s with an addition to house fire fighting equipment, pictured immediately adjacent to Hinsdale County Courthouse. Shown at left are a succession of photos showing incremental dismantling of the building over the course of the past summer, including Hays pictured beside the mammoth diesel-burning heating furnace which originally heated not only the county shop building but also the next-door courthouse via underground ducting. Also pictured opposite page is a crane used by Hays to lower the furnace chimney and demolition assistant Jones carrying numbered panels of the exterior metal sheathing prior to early this week when only the cast metal framework of the building remained. Removal of the old county shop building clears the site in advance of next year’s planned spring start of construction on the county’s new 6,409-s.f., $4-million operations building with combined space for Hinsdale County Sheriff, emergency services, and county administration. Pictured bottom left is a c. 1900 overview photo of the southwest corner Henson and 4th Street with courthouse far left and land to the north where the now-demolished Butler building was located and where the new operations building will be built. A notable feature in the 1900 overview photo is the two-story frame Hinsdale County Jail building which was built in 1892 and burned to the ground in 1946. The smaller gabled building adjacent to the jail was Town of Lake City’s first library dating to the 1870s and later offices and laboratory for the Elmendorf & Schaffer Sampler. Also pictured near left on opposite page is yet another massive fire which was the immediate impetus for building the fire-proof metal Butler building to house Hinsdale Road & Bridge in 1955. Prior to the early 1950s, the county’s road equipment was housed in a rambling frame 1-1/2-story building with false front on the northeast corner of Gunnison Avenue and 2nd Street which was originally used by freighters Samuel Watson and Sherman Williams. Later acquired by the county, the building burned to the ground in a spectacular January, 1952, blaze. Also destroyed was $50,000 in uninsured county road maintenance equipment. County Commissioners thereafter looked to build a fire-proof county shop and in May, 1955, contracted with S & M Supply in Grand Junction to erect a 36’ x 80’ Butler metal building. The original building with various additions and alterations remained headquarters for Hinsdale Road & Bridge — much of the time when the late Jack Vickers was road supervisor — until 1994 when it was replaced by the current county road facility north of town. Vacant since 1994, the now demolished county shop building was used for storage both by the county and other local non-profit organizations over the past 30 years.
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