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Mike Smedley
Position: Staff reporter

Deck the halls with pumpkins, boughs of holly

I know you’ve answered this question before, but it’s worth asking again. Last week, Home Depot put up a small forest of artificial Christmas trees and decorations across from the barbecue g...

Action Line: Highway ‘pot garden’ plan get nipped at the bud

Now that the Arc of History is gone, how about replacing it with a marijuana garden? Grow lights could be installed to help brighten the dark U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection. National medi...

Call for quieter trains is barking up wrong tree

First, everyone demanded the train emit less smoke. And now, there's a request for less noise. C'mon folks. It's a railroad. Since 1880 (more than a century before ...

Some in Durango are fans of unusual currency

A few days back I decided to read The Durango Herald the old-fashioned way – a paper copy. I went to a newsstand and on there was a message on the box: “Use Any Coins Except Pennies.” So, I ...

On U.S. Highway 550: Blinking light offers coded safety message

Is CDOT once again using us as a testing ground for traffic-control experiments? The question stems from the warning signals at U.S. Highway 550 and Trimble Lane, where there’s the only stop...

Truck/light pole situation takes a turn for the worse

Another week, another semi takes out a traffic light or light pole. Is it me or is this happening more frequently? Last week, traffic backed up while CDOT repaired a truck-damaged pole on Ca...

Is ice food?

We were having a barbecue, so I went to the store and got some ice for the cooler. As I poured out the cubes, I noticed this label on the bag saying “Ice Is Food” and another label listing t...

Action Line: Going multi-modal creates some singular problems

I invite you and Mrs. Action Line to take a nice walk along the Animas River Train from 32nd Street to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I was walking there recently, and from out of nowhere, wh...

Library garden odor speaks volumes about infrastructure

As a volunteer at the Durango Public Library demonstration garden and docent for the Durango Botanical Society, I’m frequently at the gardens along the Animas River Trail. We do maintenance ...

‘Thistles’ on Chapman Hill cause quite the buzz

I thought Canadian thistle was considered noxious. The county thinks it is, but the city must not. Take a look at the purple haze on Chapman Hill. What’s the deal? – Kevin Karle I...

Multi modal plan could put bikes, elk on equal footing

Traveling up County Road 211 toward Lake Nighthorse, I’m always amused at this “Share the Road” sign. If I come upon one of these wapiti, must I allow the same 3-foot buffer afforded to cycl...

‘Dr. Seuss’ vine trumps trail’s trees and bushes

There appears to be an invasive vine engulfing entire trees and shrubbery on parts of the Animas River Trail. It bloomed with pretty white flowers, but now it has seed heads that look like ...