Opinion Columns – The Durango Herald

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‘We need to build more, not tax more’

With bipartisan support for the $750 Taxpayer Bill of Rights refund checks that are hitting mailboxes this month, you would think that liberal special interests would back off their push to ...

DATE: Aug 17, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Don’t believe a cartoon talking bear on wildfires

Smokey Bear lied to us. I know that may sound harsh but it’s true. He told us, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Ha! We know that there can be many causes of wildfires that we have no con...

DATE: Aug 12, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Much to celebrate in passage of climate legislation

Those hoping to preserve a livable world for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren can find much to celebrate in the climate provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act recently passed...

DATE: Aug 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Crime will change with different leaders

In early May, my car was stolen from a parking lot. Two hours after I left it outside of a park, it was gone. Far too many Coloradans are familiar with this experience. When the police arriv...

DATE: Aug 10, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

5 things Frisch must do to beat Boebert

Can Democrat Adam Frisch beat Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert? Up front, I should admit that I am not a Boebert fan. Her rhetoric makes gridlock easy and problem-solving hard. Clearly, I...

DATE: Jul 30, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Single-payer system benefits patients, physicians

U.S. physician organizations are shifting positions toward a single-payer healthcare system to benefit both doctors and patients. The single-payer system is a streamlined financing mechanism...

DATE: Jul 30, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Turn on comfort TV, turn off the strife

Like you, I can watch anything I want to on television right now. Between cable, streaming and YouTube, I can experience any adventure, get involved in any romance or inhabit any world I fee...

DATE: Jul 29, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Keystone Pipeline won’t make gas cheaper

Ever since boycotts started blocking Russian petroleum products, social media has been rife with memes that blame rising gasoline prices on “the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline.” Examp...

DATE: Jul 23, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Fear of wolves rooted in myth

Wolves are coming to Colorado and, so far, I have not witnessed people preparing for their arrival. Letters appear in local papers, suggesting that ranchers will be the victims once wolves r...

DATE: Jul 22, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Independent voters ready to exert influence

I don’t want to be called unaffiliated. That’s what Colorado’s secretary of state calls me. Merriam-Webster says it means I am “not associated with another.” It’s not true. I am an independe...

DATE: Jul 15, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

RETURN bill ‘devastating to incredible outdoor heritage’

A recent bill proposal, called the RETURN Our Constitutional Rights Act of 2022, has been introduced to essentially repeal the Pittman-Robertson Act and the Dingell-Johnson Act. In a nutshel...

DATE: Jul 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Read this before taking up hockey

How exciting it was to watch our Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup. They are a team of such beautiful skaters and stick handlers, and the pace they set is hard to match. I have long adm...

DATE: Jul 8, 2022 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Fort Lewis College football takes on Arizona ChristianFLC drops first game of 2022, 52-12

FLC drops first game of 2022, 52-12

Pride parade and festival

Photos: Family fun at the La Plata County Fair

La Plata County Fair is off and running

La Plata County Fair schedule of eventsThursday8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding swine, market swine. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging open class home economics, horticulture, floriculture, creative arts.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA and open class fleeces.9 a.m.: 4-H poultry judging followed by open class.1 p.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA goat show, all classes followed by open class goat.5 p.m.: Fair Royalty speeches and modeling.7 p.m.: Talent contest, patio.7 p.m.: Livestock verification swine, poultry, goat, general project cards due.

Friday9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA rabbits.10 a.m.: 4-H/FFA breeding beef, beef showmanship.1 p.m.: 4-H/FFA market beef, grand champion and reserve grand champion market beef, champion selection.2 p.m.: Dairy cattle, all classes.3:15 p.m.: Pee wee showmanship.4 p.m.: 4-H/FFA livestock round robin, all-around showmanship.7 p.m.: Asleep at the Wheel concert.7 p.m.: Livestock sale verification rabbit and beef cards due.

Saturday9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public. 9 a.m.: 4-H dog show.9 a.m.: Judging open class beef all classes.10 a.m.: Rooster crowing contest.10 a.m.: FFA showmanship.11 a.m.: Open class dairy cattle, all classes.12 p.m.: Demolition Derby.12-4 p.m.: Community 4-H barbecue cook off (senior center lawn).2 p.m.: Rabbit costume contest.2 p.m.: Poultry costume contest.5 p.m.: Silver steaks, silver loin and silver chop award presentation.5:45 p.m.: Fair Royalty crowning.6 p.m.: Junior livestock sale pavilion.9 p.m.-midnight: Fair family dance.

Sunday8 a.m.: Cowboy church. 8 a.m.: Carcass animals loaded.9 a.m.- 2 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.1:30 p.m.: 4-H/FFA Catch-It contest.2-3 p.m.: Payment of premiums. 2-3 p.m.: Exhibits released in all departments. 2-5 p.m.: Booths taken down.2-5 p.m.: Poultry and rabbit exhibits released.2 p.m.: Animals released.Beer garden is open Thursday through Saturday.

La Plata County Fair schedule of events Thursday 8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding s...

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