Columnists - The Durango Herald

Mom weighs telling her son truth about dad’s ‘time away’

DEAR ABBY: My son, “Jimmy,” is 8. His father and I are divorced, and he is facing jail time. Jimmy sees him every other weekend. I’m planning on telling Jimmy the truth, although I’m sur...

DATE: May 18, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Scholarship winners exemplify 4-H values, commitment

Each year, La Plata County 4-H is pleased to announce four $500 dollar scholarships to enrolled members who are looking to go on to higher educational institutes in the fall. We...

DATE: May 17, 2017 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Kristof: Meet Dr. Willie Parker, a Southern Christian abortion provider

No issue in America is more toxic than abortion, and that’s partly because it is today so closely associated with religion. While many feminists see abortion as a matter of choice, some Chri...

DATE: May 17, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nicholas Kristof

Classic meatloaf is comfort food that warms generations

DEAR ABBY: My stepmother had a recipe for meatloaf that she found in your column years ago. She made it for us often when we visited and we all loved it. However, we have been unable to ...

DATE: May 17, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Horoscope for May 20,2017

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): You will be busy with short trips, increased reading and writing, plus conversations with everyone during the next four weeks. Make a to-do list! TA...

DATE: May 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Columnists

Kennedy: Education should be our state’s highest priority

Twenty years ago, students in Bayfield, Colorado stopped using the old Bayfield High School because it was old, rundown and unfit for students. But for the past 10 years, the school – built ...

DATE: May 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Rankin: The legislative session and the accountability clock

Last week ended the 2017 legislative session. While legislators are looking forward to the end of the session, the board of education is busy with decisions regarding our lowest performing s...

DATE: May 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Joyce Rankin

Krugman: Judas, tax cuts and the great betrayal

The denarius, ancient Rome’s silver coin, was supposedly the daily wage of a manual worker. If so, the tax cuts that the richest 1 percent of Americans will receive if the Affordable Care Ac...

DATE: May 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

When man is ready to talk, his wife can’t stay awake

DEAR ABBY: As the only income earner in our household of five, I work long hours. Sometimes I would enjoy talking about my day with my wife of 18 years. While she has no problem staying ...

DATE: May 16, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Samuelson: Anti-globalization fervor pits politics against economics

WASHINGTON – Globalization has gotten a bad rap. The Trump White House associates it with all manner of economic evil, especially job loss. The administration has made undoing th...

DATE: May 15, 2017 | CATEGORY: Robert Samuelson

Ex-friend cast out of social circle dreams of vengeance

DEAR ABBY: My friend has decided she can no longer tolerate my husband. She feels he doesn’t “respect” her. This is far from the truth, in my mind. We have supported her emot...

DATE: May 15, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

TV viewers can watch goats for free, but not Broncos

Could Action Line motivate the proper organization to get at least one or two Denver channels on free television? Up until 1994, we had Colorado TV on KREZ-Durango and KREX-Grand Junction. W...

DATE: May 14, 2017 | CATEGORY: Action Line

150-200 demonstrators made their way from DHS to Buckley Park

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Mom weighs telling her son truth about dad’s ‘time away’

Scholarship winners exemplify 4-H values, commitment

Kristof: Meet Dr. Willie Parker, a Southern Christian abortion provider

Classic meatloaf is comfort food that warms generations

Horoscope for May 20,2017

Kennedy: Education should be our state’s highest priority

Rankin: The legislative session and the accountability clock

Krugman: Judas, tax cuts and the great betrayal

When man is ready to talk, his wife can’t stay awake

Samuelson: Anti-globalization fervor pits politics against economics

Ex-friend cast out of social circle dreams of vengeance

TV viewers can watch goats for free, but not Broncos

Videos & Photos

Search Directory Plus

Most Popular

Most Recent

Ballantine Communications, Inc.

Contact Us

Find Us