From paradise to Paonia

Here in HCN’s tiny hometown, Paonia, Colorado, we remain amazed by — and grateful for — all the folks who drop by just to say hello, since Paonia is on the way to pretty much nowhere else.

Ulli Lange, 80, and family and friends, visited right before July Fourth and Paonia’s Cherry Days celebration. Ulli, a German émigré, came to the area about a decade ago to work in the mining industry; he and his family were celebrating the 50th anniversary of his arrival in America. Ulli, an active community member, is a faithful HCN subscriber, as are three other family members — including one in Germany.

Abel Tapia, a Democrat from Pueblo, Colorado, is running for representative for the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Accompanied by staffers Jimmy Roybal and Keith Carpenter, he stopped by in early August. Abel has served in both the state House and Senate, and became the director of the Colorado Lottery in 2010. (He’s since retired.) Good luck, Abel! 

From Allenspark, Colorado, came longtime subscribers Mary and Phil Stern, on a visit to nearby Ouray. “We had to get away from paradise for a while,” said Phil, referring to the scenic mountain town where they’ve lived for decades and are active in local land-use issues. Phil was a city councilman in Boulder, and Mary, a writer, edited the Allenspark Wind for five years.

Lance Holter and Mona Marler were wandering around western Colorado and Utah when they stopped by. Mona lives in Park City, Utah, and helps coordinate the Reimagine Western Landscapes Symposium, where “the humanities meet conservation,” which is being held in Lakeview, Montana, this Aug. 21-24. Lance, originally from Wyoming, is now a real estate broker in Maui. They drew us a map to some nearby hidden hot springs, which they’d been enjoying. Sorry, though; it’s top-secret!

Correction, clarification
In our July 21 issue, the Cholla Power Plant and Coronado Generating Station in Arizona were mistakenly left off a map, and the Springerville Generating Station was placed a little too far south.

Due to editing errors in our August 4 story “A new climate for wolverine protection,” Vanderbilt University professor J.B. Ruhl, who specializes in endangered species law, was misidentified as a “climate science director.” Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director, was identified simply as its “climate director.” HCN regrets the errors.

Our August 4 story “Idaho’s Sewer System” needs a few corrections due to the editing process. The dams in the Hells Canyon of the Snake River are not easier on salmon than downriver dams; in fact, they allow no fish passage. The Chobani yogurt factory in Twin Falls is roughly 1 million square feet, not 100 million square feet (a mistake by the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, which we repeated). And there’s an argument over whether Chobani’s yogurt is natural: The thickener, colors and flavors are derived from plants, and while healthy-food advocates think those additives are artificial, Chobani says they’re natural.

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