Opinion & Letters to the Editor

Why should we have to pay to vote?
Letters to the Editor

Why should we have to pay to vote?

June 18, 2016

Right now, if we don’t want to use a stamp we can always drive into town and drop the return ballot off at a designated spot, but either way of…

Ready response to opioid abuse needed
Letters to the Editor

Ready response to opioid abuse needed

June 18, 2016

Today there is Naloxone, also known as Narcan, a medicine that is carried by an ever increasing number of police officers all over the country. This medicine will save lives…

Elect Lammons to support the sheriff
Letters to the Editor

Elect Lammons to support the sheriff

June 18, 2016

I lived in the county for years and was incessantly stalked and harassed by a neighbor. We had law enforcement out there on many occasions. I won a protection order…

Lammons will give office new direction
Letters to the Editor

Lammons will give office new direction

June 18, 2016

He has a calm, sure and trustworthy demeanor. He wants to stop locking up cases concerning low level drug abuse, to get proper help for those people and to use…

Tell the LPEA board to say no to waiver
Letters to the Editor

Tell the LPEA board to say no to waiver

June 18, 2016

Tri-State Generation and Transmission, the corporate power producer from which our co-op buys electricity, is pushing the LPEA board to adopt a waiver that would give Tri-State all decision-making authority…

Champagne will honor community as DA
Letters to the Editor

Champagne will honor community as DA

June 18, 2016

I met Mr. Champagne when I became the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurse coordinator for the 6th Judicial District. Through our meetings with the Sexual Assault Response Team, I…

Champagne an excellent DA candidate
Letters to the Editor

Champagne an excellent DA candidate

June 15, 2016

Champagne has an extraordinary sense of how to deal with offenders and criminals. I use the two different terms because I do not believe all offenders are criminals. Champagne knows…

Camp Hale designation deserves support
Letters to the Editor

Camp Hale designation deserves support

June 14, 2016

Tucked in a high mountain valley south of Minturn in Eagle County, Camp Hale was the home base for that famed unit. Thousands of troops of the 10th Mountain Division…

Can bigoted president make U.S. great?
Letters to the Editor

Can bigoted president make U.S. great?

June 14, 2016

Specifically, Trump has claimed that Gonzalo Curiel, the U.S. District Court judge overseeing the litigation against Trump University, is entangled in a conflict of interest because of his Mexican ethnic…

Ignore false conflict, elect Champagne
Letters to the Editor

Ignore false conflict, elect Champagne

June 14, 2016

I have great respect for the Southern Ute Tribe and the Tribal Court. I have served as the Southern Ute tribal prosecutor. I know firsthand that the Tribal Court is…

Champagne: Right temperament to be DA
Letters to the Editor

Champagne: Right temperament to be DA

June 14, 2016

Christian Champagne answered each question with thoughtful, direct answers, describing his vision of the DA’s office as “servant leadership,” while Ben Lammons chose to attack the experience of all the…

Champagne invaluable to victim, family
Letters to the Editor

Champagne invaluable to victim, family

June 14, 2016

One of our children was assaulted. The perpetrator admitted to it, but a shoddy investigation weakened the case so much that DA Todd Risberg considered dropping it. Champagne sat with…

Fossil thinking at odds with 21st century
Letters to the Editor

Fossil thinking at odds with 21st century

June 12, 2016

LPEA’s board is meeting on June 15 to consider a 40-year blanket waiver to give Tri State Generation and Transmission, our power provider, the right to be the primary negotiator…

Tell LPEA board to nix Tri-State deal
Letters to the Editor

Tell LPEA board to nix Tri-State deal

June 12, 2016

The latest example of this lack of transparency is coming up for a vote at the June 15 board meeting: Your co-op is seriously considering letting Tri-State, the power provider…

Qualifications do matter, vote Lammons
Letters to the Editor

Qualifications do matter, vote Lammons

June 11, 2016

One might surmise, as Schmidt implies, that Ben Lammons has moved from job to job and this somehow makes him less qualified to be our district attorney, or one can…

Second half of property tax due June 15
Letters to the Editor

Second half of property tax due June 15

June 11, 2016

This is done, or rather, not done, in order to save taxpayer dollars. However, if the Treasurer’s Office has not received your payment by a few days after June 15,…

The clear choice for DA is Champagne
Letters to the Editor

The clear choice for DA is Champagne

June 11, 2016

As a strong believer in restorative justice practices to cut down on recidivism rates among non-violent offenders, Christian has the right ideas about the district attorney’s role in the criminal…

Champagne deserves chance to be DA
Letters to the Editor

Champagne deserves chance to be DA

June 11, 2016

There are myriad issues in defending and prosecuting crimes, and justice demands appropriate punishment for a criminal defendant. When the criminal is truthful about his or her crime, then the…

All our taxes helped build Nighthorse
Letters to the Editor

All our taxes helped build Nighthorse

June 11, 2016

I am a big brother with Big Brothers and Sisters. I have a little brother who loves fishing. I have a 20-horsepower, four-stroke, 16-foot boat for fishing. I would love…

Diversity of experience favors Lammons
Letters to the Editor

Diversity of experience favors Lammons

June 11, 2016

Both candidates are committed to public service and have experience as prosecutors, however, the breadth and diversity of Ben Lammons’ experience makes him better suited for the position. For more…

Hermosa is not a Superfund candidate
Letters to the Editor

Hermosa is not a Superfund candidate

June 11, 2016

In 2006, Hermosa Creek was awarded an “Outstanding Waters” designation from the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission for its pure natural water quality. At that time, Hermosa was the only…

A solution for poor intersection lighting
Letters to the Editor

A solution for poor intersection lighting

June 8, 2016

City Council would do well to provide reflective vests for pedestrians’ use after dark. The vests could be modeled on “free bike” programs found in other forward-looking communities and shared…

Attacks more reason to back Lammons
Letters to the Editor

Attacks more reason to back Lammons

June 8, 2016

First, experience: Ben has the most extensive experience and qualifications for the job, having been a prosecutor for 25 years in multiple jurisdictions, both state and federal, in Colorado, New…