Columnists - The Durango Herald

Writers on the Range: We can act now to fight wildfires

For the 2021 fire season, the writing is on the wall. The West, despite a few days of intense winter, is far drier than it was leading up to last year’s record-breaking fires. ...

DATE: Mar 25, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Time for whole-body spring cleaning

We’re starting to get our first tastes of spring, and it is such a balm for body, mind and soul. It can also bring allergies, irritability (spring fever) and a desire to deep cle...

DATE: Mar 24, 2021 | CATEGORY: Nourishing Morsels

Teen swears stepmom to secrecy

Dear Abby: My 17-year-old stepdaughter, “Amelia,” recently became sexually active. She’s in a “serious” relationship with the boy she had sex with. They have been together for six months...

DATE: Mar 23, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Tori Ossola: Don’t take out COVID-19 anger on hospitality workers

Please don’t take out your COVID-19 anger on the very person who’s trying to make your evening or your vacation a great experience. On my job as general manager of a downtown Dur...

DATE: Mar 23, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Howdy, Pardner! Now get that couch off your lawn

Dear Action Line: The other day I received a “ticket” from the city for having a couch with a “free” sign on the lawn. I was tickled by the bold letters at the bottom: “COURTESY NOTICE O...

DATE: Mar 22, 2021 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Gold King legacy leads to stronger water protections

Colorado is currently considering ways to strengthen rules for protecting water from future hardrock mining operations. It’s a direct link back to the Gold King Mine spill in 2015, though on...

DATE: Mar 20, 2021 | CATEGORY: Thinking Green

Jan and Greg Phillips: How to evaluate health-care reform proposals

Regardless of political leaning, most Americans can agree that the U.S. health care system is problematic. Per capita health care spending is nearly twice as high as that of other wealthy na...

DATE: Mar 20, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Unapologetic advocacy for local self-reliance

What does it take to make positive change in the world? How can an individual make an impact on a system that is so much larger than herself? It certainly seems daunting, but one ...

DATE: Mar 20, 2021 | CATEGORY: Local First

Rep. Barbara McLachlan: Media literacy is essential to an educated populace

The term “media literacy” is not well known, yet it rankled legislators in the statehouse last week, leading to a filibuster, several amendments and a very long conversation concerning teach...

DATE: Mar 19, 2021 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Past cruelties linger in relationship

Dear Abby: For more than four decades, my stepmother, “Vera,” and I never got along. We tolerated each other for the sake of my father, who has now passed away. I’m a 60-year-old male re...

DATE: Mar 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Sunny Gable’s new album out Saturday

The songwriting muse can hit at any time. Perhaps it hits when you’re staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m. as you worry about how you’re going to pay for your kid’s college tuition. ...

DATE: Mar 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Livestock weigh-in sets course toward La Plata County Fair

Last weekend, we had our Market Beef Weigh-in at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, where 31 4-H and FFA members brought their animals to get tagged, tattooed and weighed. In total...

DATE: Mar 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office