Opinion Columns – The Durango Herald

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‘Caught in complex legal limbo while serving plates on Main Avenue’

The U.S. immigration system facilitates the exploitation of the poor, the traumatized and the displaced. I was recently reminded of this fact when a young migrant from South America walked i...

DATE: Jun 11, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

I can fix most popular sport in world

Unlike the World Series, the World Cup is a truly global event. Soccer (football) is the most popular sport in the world by any measure. So why hasn’t soccer caught on in America like it has...

DATE: Jun 9, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Government doesn’t think consumers know how to drive’

I’ve been a car guy for 70 years, going back to the first AMT model car kit I built when I was 12 years old. Over that period of time, I’ve had customs, sports cars, hot rods, RVs, daily dri...

DATE: Jun 7, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

At Harvard, Tom Hanks offered moments of grace

This is a fan letter. Commencement speeches are trampolines, elevating and entertaining with just enough risk to keep things interesting. So many ways to go wrong – faux erudition from civil...

DATE: Jun 4, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Get real about broadband in rural areas

“Electricity is a modern necessity of life, not a luxury. That necessity ought to be found in every village, in every home, and on every farm in every part of the United States.” – Presiden...

DATE: May 28, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Poems anchored me as I lost my son, so I shared them

In the early hours on Tuesday, about 12 hours before our treasured 12-year-old son died from a rare form of brain cancer, I climbed into his bed at Shaare Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem,...

DATE: May 28, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Power of art: Denise, heaven’s receptionist, best thing on TikTok

Do you ever wonder what heaven is like? Well, I know, because I have seen it in a joyful, witty TikTok series featuring Denise, heaven’s receptionist. Denise is a gum-chewing, keyboard-clack...

DATE: May 21, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Give ‘old-timers,’ ‘legends’ their lifetime Purg passes

Another ski season has come and gone, and to the unsuspecting tourist, everything was business as usual. Stellar, in fact. “Record-breaking” on all fronts to anyone who wasn’t around in the ...

DATE: May 21, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Outside consultants ‘detrimental to local democratic process’

There is an unusual erosion of locally based civic life underway in Durango and La Plata County. We are told that American civic life has been in decline since the middle of the last century...

DATE: May 19, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Yin and yang of two separate selves

Yin-Yang is the ancient Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. The yin is represented by the black; the yang by the white. The yin represents the ne...

DATE: May 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘I hate pickleball’

I’m 65 now, which means that, according to federal law, I have to start playing pickleball. But I don’t want to play pickleball. I hate pickleball. I’m fine with AARPers all over America lov...

DATE: May 14, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Thanks, senator. You must be reading the Herald’

Well, I had no idea that The Durango Herald was so powerful. If you caught my March 10 column with the headline, “Betting, transfer rules make CU ‘Compromise University,’ ” you know I was n...

DATE: May 12, 2023 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Skyhawks score 41 points off turnovers Monday at Whalen Gymnasium

Snowstorm moves through the areaThe season’s first big snowstorm causes problems for drivers and makes for a winter wonderland

The season’s first big snowstorm causes problems for drivers and makes for a winter wonderland

Photos: Singing with SantaSanta Claus makes his first appearance in Durango

Santa Claus makes his first appearance in Durango

Snow descends on DurangoForecasters say storm could dump 6 inches in Durango area

A fall storm that moved into Southwest Colorado Friday morning was expected to dump 6 inches of snow in the Durango area – more than weather forecasters had initially predicted.Snow started falling about 9:15 a.m. Friday and intensified shortly before 11:30 a.m., blanketing parks, vehicles and the hilltops overlooking the city. Roads became slick about 2:30 p.m. As of 4 p.m., the Durango Police Department had responded to six crashes, in addition to a few stranded motorists.U.S. Highway 160 at County Road 44 near Mancos Hill was closed from around 4 p.m. to just after 6 p.m. because a vehicle carrying an “oversized load” had spun out and blocked both the eastbound and westbound lanes, according to Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lisa Schwantes.“Right now our officers are able to keep up with the crashes that are coming in,” said Cmdr. Nick Stasi, with the Durango Police Department. “As always with winter weather, we remind drivers to slow down and give extra space for the cars in front.”Snow started accumulating very fast as the day went on, making it “challenging for plow operators to keep up,” according to CDOT.

Southwest Colorado’s five major mountain passes were icy and snowpacked Friday afternoon. But all five remained open as of 4:15 p.m.The Pacific storm favored the southern and central Colorado mountains, said Dave Byers, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.“Durango looks like a 70% chance of getting 6 inches or more of snow by the end of tonight (Friday),” Byers said.He expected a half inch to three-quarters of an inch of moisture from the storm, which is up from the one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch that was predicted earlier this week. Meanwhile, the mountains could receive 1 to 2 feet of snow from the storm, he said.“In the last few days, it has really picked up,” Byers said. “The southern mountains are catching the brunt of it.”The snowy weather didn’t stop Liz Ferrill and her family from stopping by Cream Bean Berry for a Unicorn Sundae. “We thought it might be a festive way to celebrate,” said Ferrill, who was visiting from Snowmass, where the first snow occurred in September.For others, the snow provided the impetus they needed to swap out tires or purchase new snow tires. Andre Payne, a sales person at J/P Tire in Durango, said the phone began ringing shortly after 9 a.m. with people wanting to switch to snow tires.“We’ve been pretty busy,” he said.

It is not unusual for drivers to wait until they see the first snow and then want to swap out tires. The tire shop began advising customers to switch to snow tires about three weeks ago. Some people take the advice, other choose to wait.“We can always tell people what to do, but if you're not ready for it then you have to suffer the consequences of waiting two hours or maybe getting in an accident,” Payne said.Byers said Friday’s storm was the result of a southwest flow pulling moisture from Southern California, Arizona and the Gulf of California.As the moisture-laden atmosphere hits the San Juan Mountains, it wrings out the moisture, he said.Temperatures are expected to cool off as the storm makes its way out of the region this weekend. The highs this weekend will be in the upper 30s, and the lows could dip into the single digits, he said.“There’s still a northerly flow that is pulling cold air down out of Canada,” he said.Byers characterized Friday’s storm as a “shoulder storm” between summer and winter, but he said it is a sure sign that a regular track is settling in for Southwest Colorado.“We’re expecting regular storms … from now on, more into that winter pattern,” Byers said.Residents can expect mostly clear conditions through Wednesday, with clouds moving in the following day ahead of another storm that looks “very similar” to Friday’s storm, Byers said.shane@durangoherald.com; mhollinshead@durangoherald.com

Forecasters say storm could dump 6 inches in Durango area

PHOTOS: Turkey Trot returns to DurangoNearly 600 competitors ran before they gobbled down their Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday

Nearly 600 competitors ran before they gobbled down their Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday

PHOTOS: Durango faces Lutheran in 3A state football quarterfinalsDemons fall to Lions, 39-30, on Saturday

Demons fall to Lions, 39-30, on Saturday

PHOTOS: Fort Lewis basketball teams host doubleheaderThe men’s team beat Western New Mexico 87-68, while the women’s team fell in the final minutes to Northern New Mexico, 67-62

The men’s team beat Western New Mexico 87-68, while the women’s team fell in the final minutes to Northern New Mexico, 67-62

Photos: Durango High School football faces Mead in 3A state playoffsThe Demons won Saturday’s playoff game, 31-27

The Demons won Saturday’s playoff game, 31-27

Photos: Veterans Day Parade

Honoring Veterans on Veterans Day

Photo gallery: Fort Lewis men’s soccerFort Lewis Men’s Soccer falls to Colorado State University Pueblo

Fort Lewis Men’s Soccer falls to Colorado State University Pueblo

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‘Caught in complex legal limbo while serving plates on Main Avenue’

I can fix most popular sport in world

‘Government doesn’t think consumers know how to drive’

At Harvard, Tom Hanks offered moments of grace

Get real about broadband in rural areas

Poems anchored me as I lost my son, so I shared them

Power of art: Denise, heaven’s receptionist, best thing on TikTok

Give ‘old-timers,’ ‘legends’ their lifetime Purg passes

Outside consultants ‘detrimental to local democratic process’

Yin and yang of two separate selves

‘I hate pickleball’

‘Thanks, senator. You must be reading the Herald’

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