Author - The Journal

Appreciating our winter wonderland

Southwest Colorado offers many recreational activities in the winter. From ice climbing to skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and snowmobiling, you can do it all in our little corner of the ...

DATE: Dec 20, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Advice to newcomers to Southwest Colorado

Five years ago I moved here from South Carolina leaving my family, garden and yard (where if I stuck a half-dead plant in the ground it always thrived), my job teaching mathematics at Columb...

DATE: Dec 20, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Comet ISON: Coming to a sky near you

From now through mid-December of 2013, all over the world, a brand-new comet will become visible to the naked eye in our morning skies before dawn. This morning comet is named ISON, and this...

DATE: Nov 18, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Washington dysfunction hurts rural Colorado

One sign of the dysfunction in Washington these days is that the conversations there have completely detached from the ones happening in kitchens and living rooms across Colorado and the cou...

DATE: Sep 6, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

They beat me to the punch

I had planned to gently explain to Larry Berger the errors in his diatribe against Sheriff Spruell. However, Bud Garner, Charles Thompson and many others have done the job for me, forcefully...

DATE: Aug 1, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

‘The community needed him to succeed’

As the former sheriff prior to Dennis Spruell, I wanted to correct Pat Requena’s assumptions in her recent letter. It surprised me that a former CPA would publish financial-based business as...

DATE: Aug 1, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Much more than a meal and a bed

Bridge helps meet needs beyond basic shelter and food

DATE: Jul 8, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Faith in parenting: Trust, believe, expect

Parenting one of the biggest faith challenges in the Christian life. And if one is raising a challenging child, well, need more be said? Through the experience of parenting child...

DATE: Jun 20, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Children grow with School to Farm Project

All over this county, from schools to farms, millions of seedlings are springing into action. Some of them earn the gardener's affection while others attract a leery eye. If you haven't alre...

DATE: Jun 10, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Which ‘public’ controls federal lands?

Hey, it’s a beautiful day; let’s go for a ride in the public forest. Great idea; let’s go drive that old logging road that is so pretty this time of year! Hey, why is it blocked and closed? ...

DATE: Jun 3, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

To survive wildfire, get home ready

Most residents who live in high-risk areas are surprised to learn that the flaming front of a fire is not what most commonly burns down homes. The intense heat of a crown fire does not usual...

DATE: Jun 3, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

My life as an intern

WASHINGTON — I can spot U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton from 50 paces, judging solely by the length of his stride. I’m able to pick Sen. Mark Udall’s voice out of a din, and I can quote so...

DATE: May 23, 2013 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns