Letters to the Editor – The Durango Herald

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No photos of Bennet, Hickenlooper

So another photo of Lauren Boebert appeared in the Saturday story with the headline “9 Boebert priorities pass in package she rejected” in The Durango Herald, giving her even more of the pub...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Welcome to the grit’

She left crying. Tears of dreadful worry and modest thanks for nothing more than validation. I wouldn't roll the dice on it happening in the first place, but this young woman's first few ste...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Conservative report: No election fraud

Eight prominent "political conservatives who have spent most of [their] adult lives working to support the Constitution," co-authored the recently released report entitled "Lost Not Stolen."...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Money in should equal money out’

My financial education boiled down to one thing growing up: Don't spend more than what you make. Money in should equal money out. I mistakenly thought that our government would know the same...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Listen to whistle for ‘train speak’

Train whistles are legal warning sounds given when they cross streets to alert drivers and pedestrians. When I lived in Durango on Third Avenue, I loved to listen to them coming back in the ...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Lindell remark ‘badge of honor’

Wow, that was quite the article on Aug. 1 on Mike Lindell, whipping up more lies about elections. He is one of those that acts as if you tell a big enough lie, loud enough and repeat it ofte...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

3-D ‘well-represented by Boebert’

The guest column by Steve Mandell on July 31 in The Durango Herald begs for a response. First, it was completely unnecessary to admit that Mandell is biased. It is painfully obvious just by ...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Headlines show ‘our priorities’

The juxtaposition of the headlines in The Durango Herald on July 29, reporting $12M spent for a wildlife overpass and 400 unhoused county residents illustrates our priorities. Would they hav...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

New projects have ‘continued expenses’

Your editorial on “Spend excess revenue on new purposes” on Saturday leads me to believe that Bernie Sanders is in town. You are suggesting that we take windfall revenue and invest it in ong...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Durango here because of train’

Durango is here because of the train. I’ve lived here more than 50 years and am proud to live with this beautiful, historic and world-famous train. For a few years, I lived right above the t...

DATE: Aug 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Don’t listen to ‘retro-dinosaurs’

Stay firm, City Council! Don’t listen to the off-Main business owners who see sour grapes in improvements to Main Avenue or to the retro-dinosaurs who feel that everything should remain as ...

DATE: Aug 5, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘People want whistles toned down’

I must disagree with a recent letter about loud train whistles. Most folks I know “are negatively affected” by the loud train whistles that come by at least six times a day. Not to mention t...

DATE: Aug 5, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Patriotic drone show unfolds above Durango’s night skyAbout 1,200 people watched production from city Transit Center

One hundred forty drones took to the skies above Greenmount Cemetery at 10 p.m. sharp Saturday in a glowing and patriotic spectacle featuring vibrant images colored red, white and blue against the black backdrop of night.About 1,200 people gathered Saturday at the Durango Transit Center to watch the city’s premiere drone show produced by Verge Aero after a street dance and band performance by McCurry Trio and Desert Child for Independence Day celebrations.Spectators were treated to drone depictions of the American flag, star patterns, a soaring bald eagle and a homage to the city with drones flying in formation to spell out “Durango” to close out the street dance that started at 6 p.m. Across the valley from Greenmount Cemetery, the headlights of cars shined from Rim Drive near Fort Lewis College where more spectators watched.

Ellen Babers, Durango community events administrator, said the show went well. She heard “Ooh’s” and “ah’s” from the crowd when the drones transitioned from one image to another.She said a segment that consisted of stars rotating at various intervals, shrinking into smaller stars before expanding into the shape of a larger star, appeared to be a crowd favorite.“People really liked the Durango part,” she said. “When it spelled out Durango, people seemed surprised. Like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just a generic show, this is about us.’”Other images included an outline of the continental United States, the letters “USA,” and a spinning globe shape that gave the drone show a 3D feel.

The drones were laid out earlier in the evening in a square grid, with each drone placed 4 feet apart. Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer of the drone show, worked with a crew of about six people, including volunteers. Saturday evening at Greenmount Cemetery where the drones launched and landed, Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer with Verge Aero, and his crew of about six people, including volunteers, had laid all the drones out on the grass in a square grid. Each drone was placed four feet apart. Smiatek synced the drones to a GPS and radio tower in preparation for the evening’s show. Six minutes before takeoff, a deer wandered straight past the drone grid, narrowly avoiding stepping on them.“That could have been a disaster,” Smiatek said as his crew scanned the nearby area with flashlights. No other deer were visible.Two minutes before takeoff, the crew’s portable generator shut off – out of gas.

“We have double secure power,” he said. “The generator fell off two minutes before the show started. It’s like Murphy’s law, anything that could happen will happen. So it’s best to be prepared.”During prep, the crew ran several tests with the drones. The drones shot up 3 to 4 meters, hovered for about one second and then dropped back to their designated grid space on the grass.

Smiatek worked from a makeshift command station where his laptop and transmission tower were perched.“The base station is the heart of the show,” he said. “It’s a computer and it’s a distribution system connected to radios and an antenna. And that’s it, basically. Very flexible and a good system.”Chris Lutts, vice president of sales at Verge Aero, said he thinks Durangoans enjoyed the performance. From Greenmount Cemetery, he could hear the cheers and whistles of the audience at the Durango Transit Center.“The people we’ve been working with have been great,” he said. “Clearly, the city enjoyed it, so that’s awesome. That’s why we do this. It’s no different than any other entertainment, man. You love that feedback. It’s validation that what you’re doing is something that people really like.”cburney@durangoherald.com