Columnists - The Durango Herald

A better deal for students, employers and communities

For too long, we’ve treated “going to college” as if it were the same thing as “getting an education.” But that’s like saying “putting food in your mouth” is the same as “good nutrition.” It...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

America is abandoning its most powerful defense against disease

For more than two centuries, vaccines have been humanity’s most effective shield against viral disease. In 1800, Boston physicians began using Edward Jenner’s smallpox inoculation; by 1809, ...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

‘Always gotta be better than the other fellow!’: Work hard and love thy neighbor

Still a newcomer, I continue to marvel at Durango – the people, the place – and sometimes ask myself why it is so unique. I gained an insight into that question recently. The evening began p...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Musical friendship has fallen out of tune

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend, “Chris,” from our teenage days. We’ve been performing music together for decades. We live in different cities but get together every few years. Over the last 20 y...

DATE: Sep 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

A note on history: How the Roberts Supreme Court is undermining Democracy

Some may dismiss me as Chicken Little, but for two decades the Roberts Court has steadily eroded America’s democratic institutions. The Roberts Court has gutted key protections of the Voting...

DATE: Sep 5, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A summer of loss and letting go ...

It has been a summer of loss for me. Loss of friends I love, loss of strength from an injured shoulder, loss of time at the lake and in my garden, and even perhaps the loss of our democracy....

DATE: Sep 5, 2025 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Elderly couple receive bold request

DEAR ABBY: I am an 80-year-old man who is recently retired and in relatively good health. My wife is about the same. We recently received a request from our son, who is 50, for his share of ...

DATE: Sep 5, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Cover crops aren’t just for farmers

As loathe as I am to start talking about putting the gardens to bed, especially when it’s 80 degrees as I write this column, I am acutely aware that the days are getting shorter, nights are ...

DATE: Sep 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

The Fretliners coming to Animas City Theatre

Winning the band contest at a bluegrass festival is a sure way to gain quick fans and music-biz footing. It comes with immediate recognition, and in many cases, future attention as part of t...

DATE: Sep 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

An improved water lab for La Plata County

Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental need that supports community health. With this need in mind, the La Plata County Public Health Department completed construction on its new wat...

DATE: Sep 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

The push is on to strip big trees from our national forests

It didn’t get much notice, but President Donald Trump has turbocharged logging on public lands in ways that are likely to increase dangerous wildfire. Inside the “Big Beautiful Bill” that be...

DATE: Sep 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Teen punished because of orientation

DEAR ABBY: I am freshman in high school, and I live with my stepmother and father. They are great parents to me and my little brother but very homophobic. I love going to church with them, b...

DATE: Sep 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby