Stellar Days and Nights to feature music, dance

By Danny Bay

Music and dance enthusiasts from all across the nation and Canada will arrive in Buena Vista this weekend for the sixth annual Stellar Days and Nights music and dance festival at Adventure Unlimited in Chaffee County.

The guest list welcomes an eclectic mix of people composed of 20 percent locals, 30 percent from the Front Range, 15 percent from Colorado and New Mexico and 25 percent from out of state and out of country, according to Eleanor Fahrney, lead organizer and president of Arkansas Valley Music and Dance.

Fahrney said that blend is exactly what she wanted and that it was made possible by her and her husband's networking at various other music and dance camps around the nation. She said that through those camps, they decided to create one in their community.

"We saw something magical that happens when you're with some group of people for the weekend," she said. "You're sharing traditions. And so we felt that magic and wanted to share it."

In its first year, Stellar Days and Nights was offered a start-up grant from the Country Dance and Song Society, which was to cover half of the losses if the program were to lose anything, Fahrney said. And since then the organization has remained involved with the program helping with grants and various scholarships.

The weekend schedule includes several types of dance but Fahrney said that most people who come have a real desire to contra dance, which is a form somewhat similar to square dancing that derived from English country dancing and has one person calling each movement.

"It's one of the most accessible forms of dancing. It gets people into it. With everyone moving in the same direction they can guide you. And by dancing in a long line, by the end of the evening, you dance with everybody," she said.

Other types of dances throughout the weekend include waltz, which is the couples dance focus, Gumboot, which is an African rhythmic percussive dance, late-night blues and swing, and traditional English country dancing that is done to the classical tunes of Mozart and the like.

But Fahrney said there's a casual nature to it. "There is no tea or crumpets or proper attire. Some people like to dress up but there's no requirement," she said.

Because live music is such a key part of dancing, Fahrney said that there will also be a number of jam sessions and several intermediate guitar courses. One woman will share her family ballads from North Carolina; another will teach some African folk songs. The grant offered this year is for a sound operator's course.


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)

Canines help Buena Vista offenders escape

By Danny Bay

Through the Colorado vocational Prison-Trained K-9 Companion Program, offenders at the Buena Vista Correctional Complex are helping rescue and train dogs for purposes such as family-pet adoption and government services.

“We’ve had almost 2,000 dogs rescued. And we’ve had 3,000 come in for boarding,” said Debi Stevens, creator and supervisor of the Colorado Correctional Industries K-9 Companion program.

Using a curriculum implemented by Stevens, model offenders at the BV Complex work individually with dogs from humane shelters and poor living conditions. They also work with privately owned dogs in need of obedience training. The dogs remain with their trainers constantly and stay in the offender’s cells to simulate life in a home.

“It’s a bit easier in prison because they live such a regimented life and that is something that dogs like: consistency,” said Stevens, regarding her dog training experiences in and outside of prison facilities.

Though it varies depending on the program, the length of training usually lasts four weeks but can extend while the dog awaits adoption. And during this training, the dog continues to learn a variety of beneficial commands.

But according to Stevens, the program benefits more than the dogs.

“I’ve had inmates come tell me it has taught them new parenting skills and how to be responsible,” Stevens said, “It’s really kind of interesting the things that they learn that aren’t actually involved in the program itself.”

Self-funded and unsupported by tax dollars, the program allows offenders to pursue college credits for canine behavior modification through a series of beginner and masters training certificate courses that total 39 credit hours.

“New guys all get a book written by Ms. Stevens. So we’re all on the same page with commands,” said Mike DelaRosa, K-9 Companion Program Instructor, who teaches courses at the BV Complex and two other facilities.

DelaRosa said that the program has helped many offenders find work at pet stores, Freedom Service Dogs, doggy day cares, and with veterinarians and groomers.

Robert Martin, an offender in the program who is scheduled to be released this month, said that he plans to return to Kansas where he will open his own board-in basic obedience kennel.

“If I hadn’t gotten into the program, I’d be back. But I won’t. It’s given me purpose that I didn’t have before,” Martin said as he kneeled down to pet his current dog in training. “Your tail never stops wagging, does it, Zach,” he said.

For other offenders, the program has proven to be more of a cathartic experience.

“The joy out of it is you see a scared dog come out of their shell. You see them running around and playing. And I feel like I actually helped this dog, not just that I trained him,” said Anthony Carrillo, another offender in the program. “It helps me too. It kind of helps me escape.”

Carrillo said that throughout his year of being in the program he has trained 15 dogs and has come to adjust to the challenges that each dog presents.

Beginning with treat, or ball, motivation and eventually without, he said that he is able to verbally, and non-verbally, teach each dog basic manners like sit, sit-stay, talk, and then move to more advanced tricks like how to pray.

“It’s about repetition. And slowly but surely they’ll get it,” he said.

Carrillo said that he has gotten several thank-you letters from people who have adopted the dogs that he trained and that it’s especially rewarding if the dogs go to the military or become rescue dogs.

“It’s always good to see how excited these guys are when their dog gets adopted. It makes you feel like you’re doing something,” he said.

After observing the interaction between the trainers and their dogs at the minimum security center, R. David McCrary, Correctional Officer at the BV Complex, said he decided to adopt a dog through the program.

“I got to know Raven and I thought that she would fit in with my family and be a part of it quickly,” McCrary said.

According to McCrary, upon adoption, new owners go through a brief orientation class where they are given veterinarian records and a log of remarks and quirks about the dog that was written by its trainer(s). They are also shown how to employ the commands that the dog has learned.

“I use the verbage and vocabulary day to day so she maintains what she’s learned,” McCrary said about Raven, “I say them to her all the time. And she’s strictly business if she knows she’s working. I personally think that those trainers do a hell of a job.”

• The program has grown to be used in 9 Colorado correctional facilities.

• It costs $450 to adopt a dog, which includes training, vet work, vaccines, heart-worm testing and spay or neutering. “On the outside you really could not begin to do what we do for the price of it,” Stevens said.

• 60 percent of the dogs are in boarding-in training, 40 percent are rescued dogs in basic training

• Every dog is 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed and, if needed, will be worked with for the duration of it’s life.

• For more info visit: http://www.cijvp.com/serviceproviders/puppy/index.html?faq


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)

New R-31 school board members take office

By Danny Bay

Buena Vista School District R-31 board of education Nov. 16 swore in newly elected board members and hosted a reception to thank outgoing board members for their service.

"I can't think of anything more challenging than serving our community's children," said district superintendent Robert Crowther about the outgoing board members. "We have three leaving and it's very sorrowful. When you start dealing with people's children it becomes serious, and these three have done an excellent job."

The departing board members include District B, Robert Schumann; at large, Van Cain; and District D, Roxie Green.

Schumann, who filled the interim position of Bob Good, said his departure from the board was full of mixed emotions such as relief, disappointment and gratitude for the learning experience. He said that he hopes to see schools get started on the right track through the implementation of the BVSD Strategic Plan, which faces four big issues: declining enrollment, declining financial support from the government, declining test scores and fracturing of the environment in which children learn, both at home and in schools.

Regarding the new board members, Schumann again noted the Strategic Plan and said, "They know what to do. The concern is can they continue to execute that vision when they're cutting money right now?"

The incoming members who will be a part of the team to face that concern include District B, Beth Volpe; District D, Dale Enck; and at large, Robin Ziperman. In District A, Jan Ommen ran uncontested for another term.

After the swearing-in by Chaffee County Clerk Joyce Reno, the board unanimously appointed Doyle Nyberg as board president, Darrin Blankenbeckler as vice president, Ommen as secretary/treasurer and Tim Strange as Boards of Cooperative Educational Services board of directors representative.

Later, Superintendent Crowther led a discussion about the aforementioned Stategic Plan, a 25-page document that describes seven essential areas "to ensure every student reach the peak of success." Each area contains specific goals that the district hopes to achieve in order to reach that peak.

"These are aggressive goals. We've set them high and it will be a push to get them," Crowther said.

Chaffee County High School principal David Blackburn said that he would like to see the Strategic Plan better known and distributed publicly and that the goals may change a little and the action plans may shift, but that the critical issues will stay the same.

"It's a great communication piece to the public. We're trying to figure out a way that's more marketable and palatable to the Buena Vista community," Blackburn said. "We really do want to be a district of distinction, a district that draws people to this town, the crown jewel of this town."

The obstacles to achievement, however, may be quite trying. Crowther said that K-12 will see a decrease in funding next year of 6.21 percent. "Some school districts in Denver are losing $10 million. But, we're surviving. We'll carry on, and we'll be better," he said.

In other business:

• Buena Vista Community Education Assistance Fund delivered certificates for eight grants for a total of $10,681;

• The board approved a volunteer coaching contract ; and

• The board approved 7-0 "Safe Routes to School," which will install two guard lights across Highway 24 and reinstate a crossing guard on Main Street in an effort to ensure pedestrian control and to encourage more students to walk or bike to school rather than be driven.


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)

Iditarod team attends dry-land mushing event

By Danny Bay

Veteran mushers of Iditarod, the 11,000-mile race across Alaska will attend Buena Vista’s annual dry-land mushing race on Nov. 14 and 15.

The event will welcome spectators, first-time racers, seasoned mushers and pros like Linda and Lachlan Clarke, who, in March, will again race from Anchorage to Nome with their team of dogs. It will be their sixth Iditarod.

“It’s kind of unique for Buena Vista to have an Iditarod team,” said Linda Clarke, enrollment coordinator of Adventures Unlimited. “More people have climbed Mount Everest than have done Iditarod.”

The Clarkes are currently training 36 dogs for this year’s Iditarod. Linda Clarke said they will take about 28 dogs to Montana later in the season for additional training and of those, 16 will make the team.

“We are blessed with a lot of dogs who love to lead,” Clarke said. “But we will find out if they want to lead under pressure.”

According to Clarke, their dogs are currently under a training schedule that involves pulling ATVs up to 20 miles a day, three to four times a week. By the end of the month they’ll be doing 30 miles by ATVs. But the 80-mile runs will likely separate the dogs that are still pulling strong from those who have lost interest.

“We put about 2,000 miles of training in before Iditarod and after about 1,500 miles some dogs aren’t interested,” Clarke said. “As long as they’re happy, pulling and eating, we will continue to train them. But we never want to make a dog do anything it doesn’t want to do.”

The retired dogs that don’t make the team are often given away or sold to people with an active lifestyle, which suits the dogs well, Clarke said.

Due to the training that the dogs are currently undergoing, Clarke said that they won’t compete in the dry-land race because they think their dogs deserve their days off, which fall on Saturday and Sunday, the days of the dry-land races.

“Just like any athlete, we want to keep them enthusiastic and happy,” Clarke said.
But both Linda and Lachlan Clarke will be at the dry-land race, which Linda said is a great place to learn about feeding, training and mushing in general.

“I think you’ll see a lot of sprint dogs. It’s very competitive. But there will also be a lot of people with new dogs. So you’ll see a bit of everything and that’s what is great about this event. It’s competitive and fun and open to anyone.”

Sponsored by the Colorado Mountain Mushers, the dry-land competition will have a variety of races, such as the 1.2-mile canicross, which involves harnessing one or two dogs and running behind them. Other options include a 2.7-mile scooter, bikejor or canicross course with variable trail conditions for more competitive people, and a small team cart race, which is limited to four dogs.

“Dry-land is sort of a celebration that goes on prior to the real races and the training before hand,” said Colorado Mountain Mushers member Judy Wait. “And it’s a very fun way to do some exercise with your pet.”

Wait, who does not own a dog, said she just enjoys seeing how happy the dogs are to race with their owners. “My personal belief is that all dogs love a job, whether it’s going to get the paper or mushing, and these ones just love to run. The teamwork and the happiness, that’s what I like,” she said.

To this, Linda Clarke agrees and said there is a special relationship with her and her teammates. “I don’t know any kind of animal that can run 11,000 miles and love every second of it without having a strong relationship. These dogs are phenomenal athletes. They’re travelers. Every turn, every mountain. They just love to see what’s next. They’re very personable and it comes from their heart.”

DRY-LAND INFO:

On the days of the dry-land races there will be a mushers meeting at 8:30 a.m. and the competitions begin shortly after that.

The Clarkes will give a special presentation at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 at the Valerie Lodge at Adventures Unlimited. This will include slides, movies and more from the race across Alaska. “It’s a great chance to visit with some of our dogs,” Linda Clarke said.

IDITAROD FUN FACTS:

• The Clarke’s Iditarod budget: $32,000
• They send out about 2,000 lbs of supplies to 22 checkpoints around the trail
• An average day consists of 100-125 miles
• The dogs run their best between 10 degrees and 10 below
• The dogs eat between 12,000-15,000 calories a day during the race, which is more than what Lance Armstrong eats a day during the Tour de France.
• More info at www.teamclarkeusa.com


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)

Snowdrifters begin their season

By Danny Bay

Of the many paths paved by mountain hikers and explorers, the Buena Vista Snowdrifters leave such an unnoticeable trace that it appears as if they hadn’t traveled at all. In fact, their trail vanishes. But they just might have the broadest, most extensive routes throughout the entire collegiate peaks area.

“When the snow melts the trails are gone. I can’t find them in the summer,” said Ted Neis, president of the Snowdrifters snowmobile club. “It doesn’t affect the trees or anything. It’s really environmentally friendly and they’ve improved snowmobiles so much that they really don’t have the emission problems anymore that they used to.”

More than 30 years old, the club has expanded its local roots to now be a part of Colorado Snowmobile Association. Those who join the CSA for $35 per year can also become part of the Snowdrifters.

The annual dues paid go toward grooming trails that extend over 100 miles. A group of club volunteers use two Snow Cats to clear a 14-foot-wide path through parts of Cottonwood Pass, Taylor Park, Tin Cup, Tin Cup Pass and St. Elmo.

“The trails are plenty wide and it’s a good thing that everybody gets to use them,” Neis said, mentioning that snowshoers and cross-country skiers frequently follow the Snowdrifters’ paths. “We invite them all,” he said.

The club also administers avalanche awareness classes throughout the season. But according to Neis it is completely safe as long as snowmobiles remain on the trails.

“It’s as simple as driving on a golf course. And it’s a lot easier to fall off a snowmobile and get up and back on it than it is to fall off an ATV and get up and back on it,” Neis said.

However it can become dangerous when venturing off of the trails. So Neis suggested always riding with others.

“It can get pretty eerie out there. But there are a lot of people that go up. And that’s the nice thing about our area. People will come and help,” he said.

With about 80 members, the club holds a once-a-month trail ride to various locations and, according to Neis, it’s much more addictive than just a monthly excursion.

“I go once a week or more at least. It depends on the snow and the conditions.”

On those trips, Neis said that he has seen elk, deer, a lynx and Ptarmigan birds so close to him that he nearly mistook them for patches of snow because of their pure white, winter feathers.

“It’s such a kick to get out there and sit on top of a mountain that 99.9 percent of the people will never get to see. And if you see it just once, you’ll never forget it,” Neis said, suggesting that Buena Vista has one of the best trail systems in the state. “It’s just gorgeous. That’s the only problem. You get hooked and you end up spending a lot of money buying an expensive snowmobile.”

But for the picture-book scenery and open terrain he said it’s money well spent.

• The official grooming season begins November 15.
• Club trail rides will be posted thereafter.
• For information contact Ted Neis at 719-395-9251 or visit http://www.snowmobilecolo.com/
• For those new to snowmobiling, Neis suggests making reservations with a rental outfit that provides a guided tour.
• Cottonwood Country Snowmobile Tours offers half-day, full-day and over-night cabin trips.
• Visit http://www.colorado-snowmobile-tours.com/ for more information.


(Originally published in the Buena Vista Winter Adventure Guide)

Geothermal energy: BLM to hold lease sale Nov. 12

By Danny Bay

The Bureau of Land Management will hold a competitive lease sale on Thursday, Nov. 12 for a parcel of land consisting of 799.2 acres near the Mount Princeton hot springs area that is identified to hold an underground reservoir capable of producing geothermal energy.

The acreage up for auction exists under home and land owners who my be directly affected by potential developers.

"Under federal law they (the potential developers) have the right to develop the sub-surface heat underneath the property," Fred Henderson, chief scientist for prospective bidder, Mount Princeton Geothermal LLC said.

Steve Glover, Buena Vista resident and former owner and operator of oil and gas leases in Kansas, said, "This lease represents land where the BLM owns 100 percent of minerals underground. So if they own the minerals, they have the right to sell it. Whoever owns the surface ground is irrelevant."

Unlike many who are hopeful about this being the first site for geothermal energy in the state, Glover voiced concerns about irrevocable damages and disadvantages to land owners who may not understand what is happening.

Under the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916, a split ownership estate was established that allocated surface land rights to homesteaders but granted sub-surface rights to the federal government for mineral usage.

According to the SRHA, anyone has the right to enter these federally owned sub-surface lands, prospect, and file a mining claim and plan of operation. Since the geothermal resource sits underground, it is sub-surface land. This is the basis for the sale on Nov. 12, the first geothermal lease to be auctioned by the BLM in the state of Colorado. It is open to anyone who chooses to register.

Henderson said that the new owner of the lease will only have up to one year to create what will lead to the development of the resource.

"They can't sit on it indefinitely," Henderson said.

But what Glover said horrifies him is that if a developer does begin commercial production of electricity, the lease becomes open permanently. "They can ramp it up from a small project and no one could do a blessed thing about it," he said, adding that it has the potential to expand vastly and turn one of the most aesthetically beautiful parts of Colorado into a semi-permanent industrial area.

With Colorado receiving $338 million in Recovery Act Funding for the exploration and development of new geothermal fields, it is very likely that vast expansion is in mind.

Both Henderson and Glover said that there is little that the surface owners can do after a developer chooses a location for a plant and wells.

"These guys are going to want to put a factory somewhere," Glover said. He said that the land in the area would suffer in value. "That damage in value cannot be compensated," he said.

Bill Bennett, energy use advisor for Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, said he thinks a plant could be hidden very well by building it inside, like something similar to a greenhouse or by putting bunkers around it to shield the noise.

"Geothermal can run 24 hours with no down capacity. A 10 -megawatt plant could supply 84 percent of all the electricity we supply all year. There are people who understand that it has no consumption, no combustion and no pollution, but they just don't want to look at it," Bennett said.

In response to this, Glover referenced a Salt Lake Tribune article about a 10-megawatt geothermal plant in Utah that, after six months of generating power, produces only one megawatt of net energy and buys almost as much electricity to keep the plant running as the plant produces.

"There seems to be a real rush to do this. There's a lot of ego involved in being the first to do it and I understand this. But it could come at a great cost and it should be carefully considered," Glover said. "It would be a shame to so easily allow this to go forward."


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)

Trace Bundy returns to hometown for concert

By Danny Bay

His music career began at Bongo Billy’s where as a kid he and his friends would play cover songs and invite others to come and listen. Now his music has stretched across continents and his unique sound continues to draw fans from the ends of the earth.

“I’d like to hit all seven continents. That would be cool. Antarctica would of course be the harder one,” Bundy said regarding his touring ambitions.

But through his YouTube solo guitar performances which have reached over five million views, he has already gained a fan base on the coldest continent on earth.

“There’s a scientist at the Palmer Science Station who is a fan of mine,” Bundy said, “She emailed me. She told me that everybody down there likes my music.”

Though his tour dates don’t yet post any shows in Antarctica, Bundy said that he will add another continent in March, when he travels down under.

“Any time I travel internationally and play it has been a memorable experience. I played a show in Zimbabwe and right when I played a percussive song they got up dancing. I was surprised how much they got into the music,” Bundy said.

His cover of “Canon” is one of his most well-known songs. A performance of the song has reached over one million views on YouTube and the clip brought him to South Korea to play a concert in Seoul with a young admirer.

Bundy said that child prodigy, Sungha June, found his clip online and, at the age of nine, learned how to play it.

“He picked it up just by watching me play,” Bundy said, “It’s a pretty tricky song. It was amazing.” The two guitarists played a sold-out show in South Korea and both performed “Canon” together.

But it’s closer to home where Bundy might be breaking records. At a performance at Red Rocks, which drew a crowd of around 7,000, Bundy said that with the help of a few others, he tried to break the Guinness record for the largest group lesson.

According to Bundy, there were about 1,000 people who brought instruments such as ukuleles, sitars and guitars. Bundy said that he organized the group play with the song “Sweet Home Alabama,” and put a chord chart up on the stage behind him.

“I saw someone in the stands with a full sized harp. I could hear the whole crowd singing. It was a memorable experience just to stand on that stage,” he said. The results of the submission to set a new group lesson record have yet to be announced.

With a style of playing the acoustic guitar in which he uses both hands on the fret board and multiple capos, Bundy was honored by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as the “2008 Most Promising New Talent of the Year.”

“I was just thrilled that I was really admired,” Bundy said about the magazine’s reader’s choice awards. After the poll from all of the readers, Bundy was also awarded third place as “2008 Finger Style Guitarist of the Year.”

“Who knows why they voted for me,” Bundy said, “I think a lot of people enjoy my concerts. I do a lot of funny songs. I’m always trying to think outside of the box. Since I don’t sing, I need to do things that people haven’t seen before or it won’t go anywhere.”

Upon his return to where it all began in Buena Vista, with three self-produced albums that have sold over 30,000 copies and several successful international tours, Bundy looks to be far outside of the box as his music appears to be going everywhere.

Trace Bundy will perform in Buena Vista this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre with special guest Jesse Willis.


(Originally published in The Chaffee County Times)