may 24, 2012

Sopris Sunthe

Carbondale’s weekly, non-profit newspaper Volume 4, Number 15 | May 24, 2012

LOOK INSIDE:

PAGE 5Water crisis?

PAGE 7Eclipsing

Sopris

PAGE 11Rodeoupdate

By Debbie BruellSopris Sun Correspondent

lmost anyone who has workedwith Roaring Fork High SchoolPrincipal Dr. Cliff Colia has astory to share about his endless

energy and zany enthusiasm. Stories aboundof him unexpectedly bursting out in song;showing up in a Superman outfit to cheer onthe volleyball team; dressing up as Dorothyfrom the“Wizard of Oz;”or dancing with theeighth grade class at their camping trip whilebalancing a ghetto-blaster on his shoulders,

insisting that everyone stay up dancing lateinto the night.

“He’s the ultimate people person,” saidRFHS teacher Wendy Boland.

Beneath the crazy stories lies a consistenttheme about Colia: his incredible dedication,appreciation, encouragement and love for hisstudents.Colia,who announced his retirementlast month,has had a profound impact on thelives he’s touched as an administrator in theRE-1 Roaring Fork School District the past24 years, with stints that included serving asprincipal at Carbondale Middle School.

Widespread admirationRoaring Fork High School Assistant Prin-

cipal Barbara Mason told the Sun, “Cliff isthe only person I know who truly thinks thebest of everyone.”

Colia focuses most of his people-personenergy on his students. Nicki Zugschwerdt,who worked with Colia for 15 years, noted,“He always remembered all the kids’ namesno matter how long ago they attended themiddle school.” Carbondale Middle Schoolteacher Denise Reynolds told the Sun,“He al-ways found time to talk with kids about their

passions as well as their academic needs.”Finding people to comment about Colia is

probably the easiest duty any journalist couldhope to pull.Here are a few more comments:

Laura Kirk, a parent, recalls the “awe-in-spiring” experience of listening to Colia pro-vide feedback to Carbondale CommunitySchool students as they presented their finalportfolios.She was struck by his ability to con-nect with each child and his insight into eachchild’s unique approach to learning,despite thefact that he had just met these students.

A

Roaring Fork High School industrial arts teacher Larry Black (left) and Principal Cliff Colia (right) check out each other’s framed photographs that were presented to them at aretirement assembly on May 22. Colia, the school’s principal since 2008, is profiled in this week’s Sopris Sun. Next week the Sun profiles Mr. Black. Photo by Jane Bachrach

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SENSE OF TEAM page 3

Cliff Colia: A joy for teaching, learning, doing

Educators take noteBy Denise Moss

Arnie Duncan, take note! And while you’re at it, demand the Colorado Departmentof Education pay close attention to Carbondale’s secret weapon for academic excel-lence since 1994. Leaving no child behind has nothing to do with federal standardizedtests, “closing the gap” rhetoric, scripted lesson plans or stifling micro-management.Leaving no child behind has everything to do with creating an academic environmentfull of positive innovations for students, excellent teachers and involved parents. It’sabout education being integral to a community, learning environments that evolve, andknowing each child in a school. It’s about having Cliff Colia for a principal.

I walked into Carbondale Middle School at 8 a.m. for an obscure task I can nolonger remember, back when one or the other of my kids was a student there. All par-ents can certainly agree that middle school students are representative of the emergenceof pre-pubescent hormones and the resulting moody noise and eye rolling that accom-panies it.

Perhaps I failed to drink enough coffee that morning, but I was shaken into theawareness of what a cheerful place this school was. Students were smiling and excitedto be at school. They were chatty and friendly and carried brightness in their eyes, notthe telltale boredom a pre-teen is so expert at relaying. Yes, many classrooms lackedwindows and the cafeteria ceiling leaked.Yes, the building felt dated and too many kidswere crammed in the office at one time to tell Rita or Nicki some imperative news. Butit also had Cliff on the intercom, yelling “Good Moooooorning, Wolverines!!!!!” witha Southern-tinged giddiness that made me feel like I was in Disneyland. I never forgotthe gratefulness I felt at that moment for our principal. I knew it was his energy thathad created this learning Mecca.

The RE-1 school district made the grave error of trying to silently oust Cliff someyears back. The rally to save his job was unprecedented in our district. An entire townstood up, from local community organizations, to parents, to shopkeepers, to school em-ployees, to the Valley Journal editorial staff.

Hand-painted signs appeared on fences reiterating the editorial’s words, “Studentsare happy. Parents are happy. Teachers are happy. What’s the problem?”

Strangers began to network tirelessly and hundreds of signatures supporting Cliffmade their way to the school board meeting.Two hundred people filled the boardroomthat night, giving Cliff a 15-minute standing ovation while the board members kepttheir eyes on the floor in shame.

We were fueled by the power of heart that had spread from one person who had pro-foundly influenced our children’s lives. One person, who never asked anyone to fightfor him, and who didn’t need to ask, taught us what a school, and a community, shouldlook like, act like, and sound like.

So listen up, you school boards and superintendents and Powers That Be! If youwant to truly understand what makes a public school work, really work, for students,teachers and parents, study the methods of the man who gave Carbondale a principal’sguidance and leadership for 18 years.

Throw out your cloned image of what a principal should be. Or better yet, just cloneCliff Colia. He gave us heart, and for that, a generation of families is eternally grateful.

The Sopris Sun encourages commentaries on local issues from our readers.Remember: Keep your commentary local and keep it to 700 words, then dispatchit to [email protected] or P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623. Don’t forgetto tell us your name, phone number, where you live and any other pertinent infor-mation about yourself.

lasted in good shape up to Potato Day in thefall (please note that these large pots are re-served by our council for planting in by thesevolunteers only). Thank you “Green ThumbLadies”and our own local nurseries for yourwonderful support. Thanks also to TonyCoia and the town for supplying water tothese flowers all summer long.

Now, this is a call for help from new vol-unteers to help plant the town’s own pur-chased flowers in these long dormant andblah, barren flower bulb-outs at the en-trance to downtown. Hooray progress.

Maybe towards the end of May or earlyJune, weather conditions depending, theseareas will be resurfaced, new sprinkler headsattached, those winter evergreens pulled outof the pots and transplanted elsewhere, allthese expenses for upgrades and purchase ofnew plants are made possible by you whoshop locally and are supporting your town’ssmall businesses and have given our townan increase in sales tax revenues recentlythat allows our council to then supportbudgeting for this kind of community beau-tification project. Thank you Carbondaleand please continue this wonderful support.

The plan here is for volunteers to meeton Main Street when the conditions andtiming are right, to take these town pur-chased flowers and to put them into theground where these bulb-outs are locatedalong Main Street from the Subway (sand-wich) to around the corner just east ofWhite House pizza.You volunteers are thenasked to follow up with minimal weeding(say every three to four weeks throughoutthe summer). Remember that small signswill identify individual volunteers.

No volunteers will need to do any wa-tering all summer long – such a deal!

So, would you like to be a part of this funand rewarding summer outdoor project?

Adopt a spot on our Main Street andhelp beautify your downtown main en-trance this summer.

Call now. Operators are waiting for yourcall at 379-9096.

Chris ChacosCarbondale

Vote Gardner, Palmer, BertugliaDear Editor:

This week you have a rare chance to dosomething high leverage on climate changeand your energy future by voting in theHoly Cross elections. This election is im-portant because it marks the departure ofthe board’s most experienced member, TomTurnbull.

Tom cares deeply about Holy Cross anddeserves huge thanks for his leadership overmore than 30 years. For the sake of conti-nuity and stability, he also deserves to be re-placed with someone who has similarexperience. Happily, that person is running,and his name is Bob Gardner.

Bob worked for Holy Cross for 30 yearsand was a seminal part of developing theirenergy efficiency and clean-energy program.I’ve known Bob for many years and haveenormous respect for him as a person, forhis knowledge of utility operations and forhis support for clean energy solutions. I’m

also going to vote for Adam Palmer, athoughtful and engaged incumbent with astrong background in applied energy effi-ciency as the green code official in EagleCounty; and for Kristen Bertuglia, a newface in these elections but one with a broadexperience in business and energy, and aninterest in helping to prepare Holy Cross fora new future where carbon emissions costmoney and efficiency plays a key supplyrole. Please vote for Bob,Adam and Kristento help Holy Cross continue its outstandingwork as one of the country’s most reliable,cost effective, and environmentally respon-sible rural Co-ops.You need to mail in yourballot by June 4.

Auden SchendlerBasalt

Thanks to TomDear Editor:

On behalf of the Crawford family, I wantto thank Tom Turnbull for his longtimeservice to the Holy Cross Energy board ofdirectors.Throughout his time on the board,Tom maintained a logical and commonsense approach to providing local electricservice. He always put the Holy Cross co-operative, its employees and all of us, themembers, first.

Tom, you’re irreplaceable to this board;your level-headed contributions to HolyCross will be missed by many of us in thevalley. My grandfather, Floyd Crawford, al-ways spoke highly of you.

Robert HubbellEl Jebel

Town needs your helpDear Editor:

The town of Carbondale needs somehelp from you. This appeal is for an earlysummer flower-planting project at the en-trance to our downtown; just a few goodflower lovers are needed.

Three years ago the town did not haveenough reserves to afford purchasing flow-

ers to plant in about 20 large pots aroundMain Street and along Colorado Avenue.

The Downtown PreservationAssociation,now the Carbondale Business Coalition,asked for citizens help to adopt one of thesepots and to purchase their own plants as agift to their community and for the pleasureof our summer visitors. These flowers have

The Sopris Sun welcomes your letters, limited to no more than 400 words. Lettersexceeding that length may be edited or returned for revisions. Include your name andresidence (for publication) and a contact email and phone number. Submit letters viaemail to [email protected] or via snail mail to P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO81623. The deadline to submit letters to the editor is 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Letters

Carbondale CommentaryThe views and opinions expressed on the Commentary page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sopris Sun. The Sopris Sun invites all members of the community to submit letters to theeditor or guest columns. For more information, e-mail editor Lynn Burton at [email protected], or call 510-3003.

2 • THE SOPRIS SUN • MAY 24, 2012

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Carbondale Middle School teacherMichael Logan noted Colia’s constant pres-ence in the school:“He was always where hewas needed most.”Colia would also show upat sports events all over the state to cheer onhis students, and in moments of victory hewas usually found at the very bottom of thepile of celebrating players.”

Colia’s ability to connect with and supportothers extends to his staff as well. “Cliff hasbelieved in me as a teacher even more than Ibelieved in myself,” said RFHS teacher Lind-say Hentschel. “When I was hesitant or un-certain he gave me the courage to step outand try new ideas.”

Reynolds agreed, “If a teacher thoughtthey had an idea for a worthwhile field trip,he not only stood by us and encouraged us toget kids out of the building, he offered todrive the bus.”

Many teachers noted their appreciation ofhow much time Colia spent in classrooms,ob-serving them applying their craft and provid-ing specific feedback to help them continuouslyimprove.“He never once came into my class-room without leaving me feeling more inspiredand capable afterwards,”said Hentschel.

Keeping upAs demographics at CMS changed, Colia

spent years learning Spanish to ensure that hecould build strong connections with Latinoparents. His focus on relationships has im-pacted the entire climate of his schools.

“The culture of RFHS is a beautiful thingto witness: nurturing, motivating, safe, com-munity-driven with a real sense of family.

That culture is a direct reflection of Cliff’sleadership style and value system,”said Kirk.

As Logan told the Sun, “Cliff somehowmanaged to be the catalyst for people likingeach other and trusting each other amongevery segment of the community: students,teachers, parents.These relationships createda sense of team that was bigger than the sumof its parts.”

Job in jeopardyIn the spring of 2003, during Colia’s 10th

year as principal of Carbondale MiddleSchool, the school district superintendent an-nounced he was considering the possibility ofre-assigning Colia to another school, to eithera teaching position or another administrativeposition.Because it was personnel issue, statestatue prevented the superintendent from re-vealing the reasons for Colia’s possible re-moval as CMS principal.

Not surprisingly, the community rose upin Colia’s defense. Signs hand-painted on bedsheets were hung up around the middleschool parking lot proclaiming the commu-nity’s support for Colia,opposing his possiblere-assignment and questioning district lead-ership as a whole.

A letter to the editor signed by the entireCMS staff voiced their support for Colia,not-

ing that a recent anonymous survey foundthat 100 percent of the school’s teachers in-dicated strong support for Colia.

After a great deal of networking, petition-signing and letters to the editor, about 200people gathered at a public meeting to rally inColia’s defense, giving him a standing ovationwhile he humbly sat by.

In the end, the superintendent recom-mended to the school board that Colia con-tinue as Carbondale Middle School principal.

Louisiana to ColoradoColia was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.

As part of an Air Force family he movedaround a great deal, but considers Louisianato be his original home.

Colia received his bachelor’s degree in ed-ucation/social science from Louisiana TechUniversity in 1975. Over the next nine yearshe earned master’s degrees in education,busi-ness management and social work.

During these years he also worked as ateacher and director of educational programsin a halfway house and a juvenile correctionsinstitution in Louisiana.

In 1986 Colia moved to Colorado to workas special education director and teacher atMountain BOCES (Board of Cooperative Ed-ucational Services) in Glenwood Springs.

Colia began his career in the Roaring ForkSchool District in 1988 as assistant principalat Glenwood Springs High School. In 1993he transferred to Carbondale Middle Schoolwhere he served as principal for 15 years.Since 2008 Colia has served as principal ofRoaring Fork High School.

During his years as an RFSD administra-tor Colia has continued to work as a teacheras well. He has taught Spanish, science andreading at CMS; reading and business atRFHS; ELL, business, reading and sociologyat Colorado Mountain College; and gradu-ate-level courses in education and EnglishLanguage Learner (ELL) and reading/writingat the University of Colorado and the Uni-versity of Northern Colorado.

In addition to teaching countless readingcourses,Colia has made reading a major focusof his work as an administrator, developingstrong independent reading programs at bothCMS and RFHS. Colia is an avid reader him-self and has shared that passion with both stu-dents and staff, helping to get them hookedon reading as a key to lifelong learning.

In 2001 Colia earned a PhD in educa-tional leadership and innovation, writing adissertation titled “Organizational Cultureand Effectiveness.”

“Sense of team” abounds at RFHS continued om page 1

THE SOPRIS SUN • MAY 24, 2012 • 3

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COLIA RETIRES page 12

Cliff Colia jokes with Roaring Fork High School senior Kenia Pinela during a recent program in the school’s auditoria. Teachers andstudents say that Colia isn’t the kind of principal who spends the whole day in his office. Photo by Jane Bachrach

Colia entered the RFHS auditoria on Tues-day expecting a safe driving assembly butsoon learned he was one of the guests ofhonor. Photo by Jane Bachrach


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MONDAY May 14 • The number ofverbal warnings given to bicyclists at theNorth Face skateboard park for notwearing a helmet: 1.

MONDAY May 14 • The number ofverbal warnings issued for traffic viola-tions between 9:54 and 10:29 p.m.: 3.

MONDAY May 14 • The number ofevergreen trees officers found in the mid-dle of the road at Fourth and Main onMonday night: 1.

MONDAYMay14•Thenumberof ever-green trees officers returned to a nearbyplanter afterofficers found it atFourthandMain Street on Friday night: 1.

TUESDAYMay 15 • The number of ve-hicles, motor homes or boats/trailers redtagged for being stored or abandoned onpublic property: 4.

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Roaring Fork High School presented nine students with Distinguished Scholar awards at ceremonies on May 21. To earn the award,students must have taken a foreign language through level three or higher and fulfilled at least two of the following achievements: aminimum 3.75 grade point average, a 24 or above on the ACT and/or successfully completing two or more college level courses. Fromleft to right are Andrea Caruso (counselor), Sam Carpenter,Thomas Cerise, Paola Santiago, Julia Williams, Hailey Reynolds,Teddy Benge,Nilsine Peterson and Elizabeth Ritchie (not shown is Will Tempest). Photo by Lynn Burton


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If you are a member of Holy Cross Energy, you should have receiveda packet in the mail recently that looks like the sample envelope below:

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By Lynn BurtonSopris Sun Staff Writer

Carbondale trustees and administratorsanticipate the driest summer since thedrought year of 2002 but don’t worry. Car-bondale owns rights to 250-acre-feet ofwater at Ruedi Reservoir east of Basalt.

Carbondale could experience “back-to-back-to-back droughts”and the town would“still be OK,” thanks to that Ruedi water,town attorney Mark Hamilton said at Tues-day night’s board of trustees meeting.

Water was a main topic at the meeting asutilities director Mark O’Meara briefed thetrustees on possible actions town managerJay Harrington might authorize this summer.

The town code calls for three stages to en-courage conservation: through outside irri-gation practices, declaring a water shortageand then a water crisis. At a crisis level, thetown can prohibit the use of the municipaldomestic water system for lawn, garden andlandscape watering; restaurants can be re-quired to serve patrons with disposableplates, glasses and utensils.

Carbondale’s three main water sourcesare from Nettle Creek at the base of MountSopris, and the Roaring Fork and Crystalwell fields.

O’Meara said the Carbondale Environ-mental Board discussed water conservationideas this week.

In other action from Tuesday night’smeeting:

In a unanimous vote, the trustees ap-

proved a special use permit that allows asubstance abuse group home for women at246 Garfield. Several neighbors spokeagainst the application with concerns rang-ing from a possible parking shortage to cig-arette smoke wafting from the property.Early in the discussion, Hamilton said thatstate and federal law mandates that munic-ipalities make “reasonable accommoda-tions” for such homes. The home will haveseven beds for women 18 and older, said ap-plicant Kathleen Haley of the non-profitgroup Aspire Recovery for Women.

The trustees voted 6-1 to amend thebuilding code to allow new homes morethan 5,000 square feet to participate in anapproved off-site solar energy program(such as the Clean Energy Collective) ratherthan install an on-site solar electric system.The amendment’s original wording calledfor homeowners who buy off-site solar en-ergy to purchase 25 percent more kw’s thanrequired for an on-site system. Trusteeschanged the requirement to a 1:1 ratio.Trustee Pam Zentmyer voted against theamendment.

Carbondale Economic DevelopmentGroup representatives Lani Kitching andChris Chacos briefed the trustees on thegroup’s current status and future plans.The trustees didn’t give ECD specific di-rection and both sides indicated a worksession on the town’s future involvementshould be scheduled.

The Garfield County Library District up-

dated the trustees on its plans to build a newlibrary at the intersection of Third Street andSopris Avenue. The main issue is how tomake the 13,000-square-foot building as en-ergy efficient as is economically possible.Building team member Dan Richardson saidthat an evaporative cooling system is “backon the table” after the team originally indi-cated the district would use a more conven-tional air conditioning system. When asked

by trusteeAllyn Harvey why the library needsair conditioning (which the existing GordonCooper does not have), county library direc-tor Amelia Shelley pointed out the buildingwill contain numerous computers that pro-duce heat, and that employees do a fairamount of moving around shelving booksand such.

Trustees granted special event liquor licensesto KDNK and the chamber of commerce.

Scenes such as this could take a hiatus this summer if Carbondale declares a water crisis.The environmental board is expected to make formal recommendations on conservingwater later this summer. Photo by Lynn Burton

Town anticipates dry summer; don’t panic

Big day approachesJust a reminder to parents, family and everyone else – grad-

uation festivities are slated for Roaring Fork and Basalt highschools at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. respectively on June 2. BridgesHigh School graduation ceremonies are slated for June 1.

And while we’re at it, the last day of school for non-grad-uating non-seniors is June 7 (it’s a half day).

Highway 133 updateSomeone calledThe Sopris Sun last week,wanting to know

if there were going to be additional left-turn signals on the traf-fic light on Highway 133 near the RFTA park-and-ride lot.Here’s the answer that CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanksgave:“RFTA installed one new signal pole at the intersection ofSH 133 and Village Road in order to improve the turning ra-dius for the right turn movements.The plans do not show anychanges to the signal heads or phasing for left turns at this in-tersection, so the existing left-turn movements and signals fromSH 133 to Village Road will be the same as they were before.”

There you go.

RE-1 grabs ex-CRMS teacherThe RE-1 School District last week hired former Colorado

Rocky Mountain School teacher Dr. Robert Stein as its newsuperintendent, according to a press release.

Stein, 52, taught at Colorado Rocky Mountain School inthe late 1980s. He graduated from Denver’s Manual HighSchool in 1978 and holds a doctorate from Harvard,a master’sdegree from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree from MiddleburyCollege. Oh, yea. He’s also fluent in Spanish. The job pays$155,000 per, plus an allowance for a car, up to $300 amonth for gas and $100 cell phone allowance.

On a related notes, the RE-1 school district hired DavidSchmid as the next principal at Basalt High School. Schmidhas been interim principal at Aspen High School since Janu-ary and was Colorado High School Principal of the Year atSteamboat Springs. RE-1 Assistant Superintendent Brad Ray

announced last week he is stepping down to accept the posi-tion of assistant superintendent in the RE-2 school district,which includes New Castle, Silt and Rifle.

Crazy bikesThe Sopris Sun isn’t exactly sure about the ins and outs of

the Bonedale Bike Week bike cargo design competition, buthere are the winners as provided by the folks at Land+Shel-

ter, which sponsored the event (name of team, company/or-ganization, type of rack):• First place – Innovation,GreenlineArchitects,ski as structure;• Second place – Simplicity,Aloha Mountain Cyclery,

modified delta rack;• Third place – Poetry, CRMS, cart bike;• Fourth place – DIY,Kevin Passmore,reused frames and such;• Fifth place – Spirit, Gear Exchange, couch bike.

Congrats to DaisieCongratulations to Crystal River Elementary School’s

Daisie Fogelson for snagging a $4,527 grant from CenturyLink.The grant will be used for increasing access to technol-ogy for student learning, according to a press release.

Way to go,TailaRoaring Fork High School sophomore Taila Howe qual-

ifed in long-jump for the state 3A track meet last week inLakewood. Her best jump was 15-5 1/2 feet, good for 14thplace. See you next year, Taila.

Thanks to the windCarbondale tree observers say last Friday night’s high winds

blew off most of the remaining elm tree seeds, clearing the wayfor property owners to get out their brooms and clear the way.

First Friday pollEarlier in the month, The Sopris Sun asked readers

whether Main Street should be closed for First Friday eachmonth during the summer. The results are: 67 percent said“yes,” 23 percent “no,” 7 percent “other,” 3 percent “unde-cided.”

They say it’s your birthdayBirthday greetings go out to: Patti Hall and Tom Mercer

(May 24), Charlie Cooke (May 25), Sue Hopper (May 26),Richard Glassier (May 27), and Louis Meyer, Dorie Hunt,Alex Salvidrez and Joan Lamont (May 28).


of Carbondalewww.carbondaleace.com (970) 963-6663

available at:

Let the kids help with the yard and garden this summer with Melissa & Doug rakes, trowels and toy mowers!

Scuttlebutt Send your scuttlebutt to [email protected].

YouthEntity program participants Libby Claassen (3rdgrade, Sopris Elementary School), Brooke Knutson (5thgrade, Sopris Elementary School) and Lily Meadowsand Katie Birzon (7th grade, Waldorf School on theRoaring Fork) developed a new fragrance and a limitededition candle for YouthEntity, manufactured by RosyRings of Denver. The team will sell their limited editioncandle to raise money for YouthEntity to support otherreal-world experiences for local youth like this one. Toschedule a sales presentation to your community group,contact Kirsten at [email protected]. Photo byLara Claassen


Get the Facts About the Airport Master Plan

Pitkin County and

Airport Director Jim ElwoodInvite You To Take a

“Behind the Scenes” Airport TourCall 429-2852 to make arrangements

Aspen/Pitkin County AirportIt’s your Airport.

Be a part of the plan.

Some Facts to Consider about AirportParking and Transportation

There are approximately 950 parking spaces at the airport.

The current recommendation is to increase total capacityby 350 parking spaces to meet projected demand by 2017.

We need to provide enough parking spaces to avoid anoverflow into the Airport Business Center and North 40neighborhoods.

Parking development would be phased in to coincide withdemand and will incorporate both a reduced parkinggarage and surface parking.

Airport users originate all the way from Rifle to Aspen.

The airport is working to strike an acceptable balance between serving our community values of limiting automobileusage and meeting the needs of airport users.

To learn more about the Airport Master Plango to www.aspenairportplanning.com.

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Photos by Jon Robson

If Carbondale is the center of the universe then Sopris Park was the center-of-all-centers last Sunday evening (May 20) when folks gathered to share food, strum guitarsand take part in a meditation circle to celebrate the annular solar eclipse. “It was awe-some,” said Jon Robson, who pointed his camera west to shoot these photos. Viewerswho chanced it with dark glasses said the multi-colored “ring of fire” was the coolestthing they’d ever seen. Others commented on warped shadows the eclipse created.


THURSDAYMay 24TRIVIA NIGHT • Carbondale BeerWorks’ Trivia Night benefits Wind Walkersequine therapy services. The thinking andshouting start at 7:30 p.m. CarbondaleBeer Works is located at 647 Main St. Info:704-1216.

LADIES NIGHT • IndependenceRun & Hike hosts its third an-nual Ladies Night featuringfashions and a talk byChristy Mahon from5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It’sfree and the first 50ladies receive a goodybag. IndependenceRun & Hike is locatedin La Fontana Plazaon Highway 133.

DAVI NIKENT FILM• Davi Nikent pres-ents the documentary film “I Am” at theThird Street Center at 7 p.m. A $10 dona-tion is requested. Info: 618-5879.

ROTARY • Roaring Fork Rotary meets atMi Casita every Thursday at noon.

FRIDAY May 25MOVIES • The Crystal Theatre presents“Hunger Games” (PG-13) at 7:30 p.m. onMay 25-31 and “Salmon Fishing in theYemen”(PG-13) at 5:15 p.m. on May 26-28.“Hunger Games” is set in the future and re-volves around a televised competition ofteenagers battling to the death.“Salmon Fish-

ing in the Yemen” is a story of a British fish-eries expert who is enlisted to help realize asheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fish-ing to the desert.”

LIVEMUSIC • Carbondale Beer Works onMain Street presents Hell Roaring StringBand at 8 p.m. There’s no cover.

MOTET RETURNS • The Motet returnsto Carbondale help PAC3 celebrate its firstbirthday. Doors open at 7 p.m. and theshow starts at 8 p.m. Info: pac3.com.

LIVE MUSIC • Steve’s Guitars in theDinkel Building presents music every Fri-day night.

LIVE MUSIC • Carbondale’s very ownfive-member Starletts kick of the 2012Music on the Mountain at Glenwood Cav-erns and Adventure Park from 6 to 10p.m. Bring at least one can of food andyou get a free tram ride to the park. Info:945-4228.

LIVE MUSIC • Rivers restaurant inGlenwood Springs presents AcousticMayhem from 9 p.m. to midnight.There’s no cover.

SATURDAYMay 26LIVEMUSIC • White House pizzapresents Ananda Bank (local talentwith blues, rock and folk influ-ences). Info: 704-9400.

SUNDAYMay 27JAN GARRETT APPEARS • ASpiritual Center presents Jan Gar-

rett at 10 a.m. A Spiritual Center is locatedat the Third Street Center. In June EstaryiaVenus gives a workshop.

MONDAYMay 28MEMORIAL DAY • American LegionPost 100 holds Memorial Day ceremoniesat the Highway 133 bridge and at WhiteHill Cemetery. Info: 963-2381.

WEDNESDAYMay 30SALOMON TOUR • Independence Run& Hike in La Fontana Plaza hosts the Sa-lomon Trail Tour from 1 to 6 p.m. Salomon

representatives will arrive in a 28-foot mo-bile show room and more than 200 demotrail shoes will be available for trying out.At 5:30 p.m. there will be a talk by localrunning legend Zeke Tiernan.

ROTARY • The Rotary Club of Carbon-dale meets at the Carbondale Firehouse onHighway 133 Wednesdays at 7 a.m. Info:927-0641.

Community Calendar To list your event, email information to [email protected]. Deadline is 5 p.m. Saturday. Events takeplace in Carbondale unless noted. For up-to-the-minute valley-wide event listings, check out the CommunityCalendar online at soprissun.com. View and submit events online at soprissun.com/calendar.

Further OutTHURSDAYMay 31WETLANDS BIRDING • Roaring ForkConservancy and Roaring Fork Audubon gobirding at the Maroon Creek WetlandsOpen Space in Aspen from 7 to 8:30 a.m.Info: 927-1289.

FRIDAY June 1NEW ART • The Carbondale Public ArtsCommission unveils its 2012 Art aRoundTown exhibit with a walking tour featuringthe 12 participating sculptors. The tourstarts on Main Street at 5:30 p.m.

Save the dateSATURDAY June 2BROMBERG PLAYS • As part of its Breadand Brew festival June 1-2, PAC3 in the ThirdStreet Center presents guitar icon DavidBromberg. Singer Jerry Jeff Walker once saidBromberg “... is the reason man createdstringed instruments.” Info: pac3.com.

TECHNICIANS& INSTALLERS

CALENDAR page 9


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OngoingCCAH SHOW • The Carbondale Council onArts and Humanities presents photographs cre-ated by young artists 8-19 yeas old.The show’stitle is“Good, Bad and Beautiful”and is part ofthe Child’s Eye curriculum created by GeorgeStranahan, Sheri Gaynor, Sue Drinker andKaren Lanier. CCAH’s R2 Gallery is located inthe Third Street Center. Info: 963-1680.

GROUP RUN • Independence Run & Hikestages an all-abilities run Saturdays at 8 a.m.Info: 704-0909.

REDSTONE CASTLE • The Redstone Castleis now open for summer tours. Daily tours areat 1:30 p.m. and tickets are available at theCrystal Club, Redstone General Store andTiffany of Redstone. For details, call 963-9656

or go to redstonecastle.us.

AAM • The Aspen Art Museum presents“TheResidue of Memory” and “Full Participation”by Berlin-based artist Simon Denny throughJuly 15. Admission is free.

ZUMBA • Paola Valenti gives Zumba Blastclasses at 1014 GrandAve. in Glenwood SpringsTuesdays and Thursdays. Info: 945-8822.

MAYOR’S COFFEEHOUR • Chat with Car-bondale Mayor Stacey Bernot on Tuesdaysfrom 7 to 8 a.m. at the Village Smithy, locatedat 26 S. Third St.

CCC • The Carbondale Clay Center at the eastend of Main Street presents its kid’s showthrough June 1.

Hold the pressesSoccer club stages exhibition gameThe Carbondale Soccer Club stages a co-ed exhibition game between coaches and U18 play-ers at Carbondale Middle School on May 25. The game starts at 6:30 p.m.“There are boundto be fireworks as the masters will not want to lose to our young apprentices,” said one coach.Tickets at the gate are $5 for 18 and under, $10 for adults, $25 for families. Kids under threeare free.The concession stand will be open, BBQ will be available and there will be a raffle andhalf-time entertainment.

Choosing a collegeCarolyn Williams of Colorado Educational Consulting presents “Creating a Great CollegeList” in the Third Street Center Board Room from 7 to 8 p.m. on May 30. For details, call 970-274-6298.

Libraries closedGarfield County libraries will be closed on Memorial Day (May 28).

One of the tasks in last week’s Bonedale Bike Week scavenger hunt was to take apicture of Sopris the Mountain. This photo also includes Sopris the Hat, which wasproduced in limited quantities by Jim Field a few years ago and is ably worn by BobSchultz. Judges gave the Best Photo prize to this one. Photo by Patrick Johnson

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Gates open: 6 p.m.Kick Off starts: 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: $5 U18’s / $7 Adult / $20 FamilyFamily Ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children)

At the gate: $5 U18’s / $10 Adult$25 Family Ticket

*3 years and younger go free!

**Each ticket includes free raffle ticket

***Tickets available from Team Managers and contacts below!

For more info contact:

Sam Pearson: [email protected]

Sara Maas: [email protected]

Crista Barlow: [email protected]

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The event will include something for everyone:

• BBQ• Concession Stand• Merchandise Stand• Half Time Entertainment

• Raffle

• 1st Prize - One free place on a Challenger SportsSoccer Camp!

Like us on FACEBOOKCarbondale Soccer Club

A Co-ed team ofcoaches will takeon a Co-ed U18team, and thereare bound to befireworks as themasters will notwant to lose totheir young ap-

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Community BriefsRodeo sponsorships available

A limited number of sponsorships are available for Car-bondale Wild West Rodeo. Sponsors receive a banner atthe weekly rodeo that will be seen by thousands. For de-tails, call Dave Wiemer at 618-6824 or Mike Kennedy at379-3907

American Legion rounds up yard sale itemsAmerican Legion Post 100 is taking items for its yard sale,

slated for June 9. Proceeds benefit Roaring Fork Valley vet-erans. Donations will be accepted until 5 p.m. on June 8. Justtake them to the American Legion on Colorado Boulevard.

Individual tables are also available for $20.For details, call Molly Swanton at 963-3161.

Swimming pool opensThe John Fleet memorial swimming pool opens for the

season with an expanded schedule on May 26. For details,call 963-4092.

Marble Hub opens for seasonThe Marble Hub opens for the season on May 25. The

Hub, located in the old Marble City State Bank building at105 W. Main St., will be open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. sevendays a week.

The Hub serves as a community gathering place and vis-itor information center with WiFi, indoor telephone and AEDmachine. “Thanks you Ron Leach and Pitkin County,” saidHub director Charlotte Graham. “The Hub is THE place togo to find out what is happening in Marble.”

Graham said the Hub has been redesigned downstairs tofeature local authors, artisans, crafters and “creators of.”

“The Attic, our consignment shop upstairs,” has all newinventory, too,” Graham continued.

On the food front, the Marble Hub offers a “breakfast-to-

go” menu and includes homemade tortilla breakfast burritosfrom the Marble Charter School kitchen, hot/cold cereal cups,organic yogurt and fresh fruit, baked goodies from the Red-

stone General Store and other refreshments. Also new: the Hubfeatures ice cream novelties and of course its “famous” pour-over service of locally-roasted Defiant Bean coffee.

Students from Ross Montessori charter school (shown here) and the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork recently helpedclean up between the Rio Grande Trail and County Road 100 from Snowmass Drive to Catherine Bridge as part ofRFTA’s Adopt-a-Trail program. Other groups helping with the clean up this spring were: Girl Scouts of GlenwoodSprings, Colorado Mountain Express, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, the Recyclers and Carbondale CommunitySchool. Courtesy photo

Sopris Sun Staff Report

The Carbondale Wild West rodeo re-turns for its 10th season Thursdays fromJune 7 through Aug. 23, according to apress release.

New to the all-volunteer CarbondaleWild West rodeo board of directors is TomHarrington. “It is a pleasure to join theboard and my goal as a board member isto first help with our fund-raising and op-erations. I joined the board because thisrodeo provides the perfect mix of enter-tainment and competition – it is a uniqueevent in the valley.”

“Tom has strong ties to Carbondale andto our western heritage as a full-time ranchmanager and rodeo consultant,” said rodeo

board spokeswoman Kathy Small.Board vice-president Dave Weimer said

that sponsorships play a big part in theoverall success of the rodeo. “Even thoughwe are volunteers, there are expenses asso-ciated with the rodeo. We hire professionallivestock contractors, judges and timers.Our sponsorships cover us when we haverainouts with zero gate receipts and 100percent of the expenses. In addition, thesponsorships have helped us contribute tothe upkeep of the rodeo grounds for all toenjoy, including events such as gymkhana.”

For details on sponsorships, call 618-6824 or 379-3907.

The Rodeo Royalty will once again befeatured in the Grand Entry at each per-

formance. The 2012 royalty is comprisedof Emily Clinco, Mackenzie Small, MaxineHarris and Tori Davis.

For the sixth year in a row, a celebrationfor breast cancer survivors, titled “ToughEnough to Wear Pink,” will be held in con-junction with the Valley View HospitalFoundation on July 19.

To help kick off the season, the rodeoteams with the Carbondale Chamber ofCommerce for First Friday on June 1.Among the attractions: a mechanical bullfor folks to hop on. The rodeo is bringingin Doc Holiday and Kid Curry imperson-ators to perform a western gunfight onMain Street. Free roping lessons will alsobe offered.

Other special events include HawaiianNight on Aug. 16. The ever-popularcowhide races and rescue races will alter-nate throughout the season beginning withcowhide races on June 7.

Discount admission tickets are avail-able for sale at the Roaring Fork ValleyCo-op on Highway 133. Each advancepurchase ticket is also a coupon for a 20percent discount on tack, boots and ap-parel at the Co-op.

Volunteers make the rodeo happen andthere are still some slots available. For de-tails call 379-0809.

The Carbondale Wild West rodeo takesplace at the Gus Darien roping arena onCounty Road 100 east of Carbondale.

Wild West rodeo returns for 10th season on June 7

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THURSDAY MAY 24 RIVERSIDE GRILL, BASALT • SALSA NIGHThas returned, every Thursday Night from 8:30 to11:30 pm. Be here early for free casual instructionby Tere and Ricardo Hernandez. (formerly Jimmy’sSalsa DJ’s and local Salsa Dance instructors.) Theywill begin every Salsa Night with free instructionfrom 8:30 to 9:00. All are welcome.

SUNDAY MAY 27 FOR THOSE WHO SERVE: LOCALLY, NA-TIONALLY, GLOBALLY • A special 9:30 a.m.service. Basalt Community United MethodistChurch, 0167 Holland Hills Road, in compassionateBasalt. “For Those Who Serve — Locally, Globally,Nationally” will include recognition of selfless serv-

ice and a community potluck brunch following wor-ship. Everyone — and especially those who have of-fered themselves in this type of lifework — is invited.

SUNDAY MAY 27 PIG ROAST AT THE MID-VALLEY TAVERN •Join us for a lively PIG-FEST with delicious food,local musicians slight of hand, beer, fun kids’ stuffand more. For more info and menu go to -http://downvalleytavern.com/pigroast.php

MONDAY MAY 28 WYLIE COMMUNITY ART CENTER, SUM-MER ART CAMP SIGN-UP KIDS, BASALT •Registration in progress for Sculpture and Photog-raphy Art Camp with Lois Devine and Catherine

Adams beginning June 11-14 for ages 7-11 (6 yearolds with special approval). Registration is required.Figurative sculpture class of dragons and fairies withDevine in the mornings and photographing Basaltwith Adams in the afternoons. Cost is $185 plus $25for art supplies. Members receive 10 percent off. Goto wylyarts.org to register. 99 Midland Ave. Basalt.

TUESDAY MAY 29 6 WEEKS TO A HEALTHIER YOU, BASALT •Tuesday nights, 5:30 PM - 06:30 PM, with Dieti-tian/Nutritionist Susan Drake. Includes 6 Nutritionand Behavior Modification Classes, individualizedplans and goal setting, 1 personal training session,3 months food logging/behavior modification web-site access, biometric testing and much more! Call

970-510-5121 to reserve your spot. 1460 E. ValleyRoad Basalt. www.pfcolorado.com

FRYING PAN ANGLERS: FLY TYING CLASS,BASALT • Fly Tying Class offered by Frying PanAnglers. Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cost: $10.Sign up at Frying Pan Anglers in downtown Basaltor call 927-3441.

WEDNESDAY MAY 30 BASALT REGIONAL LIBRARY STORYTIME • You are invited to bring the little ones forstory time at the Basalt Library in Downtown Basalt.0-5 year olds! Please arrive on time.

Your Ad HereTo find out more contact:

Bob Albright970-927-2175

or [email protected]

Shopping | Dining | Culture | Recreation

VISIT BASALT & EL JEBEL At the confluence of Frying Pan and Roaring Fork Rivers

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!Pool Opens:

Saturday, May 26, full time June 2

Spur Lane Paving: Tuesday, May 29

East Valley Rd: Traffic calming begins May 22

Pitkin County Paving Emma Road

Photo by Lynn Burton


To list your Basalt/El Jebel event, email [email protected] by Friday.

Building organizationsThroughout his years of earning various

degrees, Colia spent a total of 12 years re-searching effective organizations. He contin-ues to believe in his core finding – that the keyto effective organizations lies in carefully lis-tening and being responsive to the customers.

The “customers” for Colia are the stu-dents, parents and teachers in his schools.“Parents know a lot about their kids and weneed to listen. Kids know a lot about them-selves and we needto listen. We need tospend more timefinding out whatturns them onrather than ram-ming a nationalnorm down theirthroats,” he said.

Colia also em-phasizes the need tolisten to and trust inteachers’ profes-sional judgmentand expertise. Heexplains that carefullistening and re-sponsiveness willlead to “customer satisfaction.”

“Kids are satisfied if they get a relevanteducation – if we tap into their passionsand teach things that matter to them. Par-ents are satisfied if they feel that their kidsare prepared for life after school. Teachersare satisfied if they can focus on the kidsand teach things that teachers know are rel-evant and important.”

“Of course,” Colia admits, “sometimesthere are unreasonable customer expecta-tions, and you have to work with those. Butwe all want the same thing for kids – a chal-lenging, relevant education that prepares kidsfor life after high school.”

Colia talks proudly of the challenging andengaging programs at RFHS, such as mathclasses that build loafing sheds for horses,business classes that sell ice cream, a green-

house/agricultural program and a Shake-speare festival.

“If you focus on kids first, and really listento and trust in kids, parents and teachers, thenscores will follow.” To prove his point henotes that RFHS had the highest Read-ing/Writing growth scores in the district forninth and 10th grades in last year’s CSAP.

Colia has three main goals for the gradu-ates of RFHS: “First, that they appreciate thepower of a good education. Second, that they

understand that ahigh school diplomais just the beginning.It qualifies them togo on and do whatthey should do tomake this a betterworld. Third, thatthey have the funda-mental skills to dothat – not just inmath and reading,but in human inter-action, in thinking,in an understandingthat they need to tryto make the world abetter place.”

Staying energizedColia told the Sun that what has inspired

him all these years are the students and theteachers: “Every single kid in our schools hassomething unique and exciting about themthat you can’t help but get sucked into... . Ilook at a student and say, ‘OK, where couldthis kid be in 10 years and what am I going todo to help him get there?’”

Colia also notes, “It’s exciting to come toa school where the teachers really are tunedinto kids and dig the kids... . It’s also fun tothink, ‘Here’s a teacher with all these greatskills, how can I help that teacher really makethe most of those skills?’”

According to Colia, the biggest chal-lenges of his years as principal have beenthe “reports, meetings, deadlines that sap

your strength.” “Fortunately,” Colia remarks, “I have an

innate problem with deadlines and meetings.It’s a nice functional match between mystrengths and weaknesses and my priorities.”

Colia clearly loves his job: “Working everyday with these incredible students, teachers,parents… it’s like this incredibly tasty gumbo.They all bring their different flavors and theymix together… so tasty that I can’t get enoughof it. My main worry about retiring is whatam I going to do without all this great stuff?”

So why is Colia retiring? He says he is“not burnt out in the least.” He plans to re-main very involved in RFHS and to continueteaching some college-level courses. However,Colia explains that as principal he hasn’t beenable to focus as much time and energy on hisfamily as he would like to do.

“I drive a dirt road to get home every day.The inside of my windshield gets incrediblydirty and dusty, but I haven’t had time toclean it in three years. I’m going to take careof my family and clean my windshield.”

Hentschel sums up why Colia will be

missed by so many: “Dr. Cliff Colia knowsquite a lot about education and literacy andleadership, but what he lives and breathes isthe basic tenet of teaching: Students don’tcare how much you know until they knowhow much you care.”


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Dr. Benjamin MackinMon., Tues., Thurs., Friday

8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.Wednesday 10:30 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.

Service Directory Unclassifieds Submit Unclassifieds to [email protected] by 12p.m. on Monday. $15 for up to 30 words, $20 for 31-50 words.

CRYSTAL CLUB in Redstone now hiring for summerseason. Hiring line cook, kitchen help and waitstaff. Call970-963-9515 and ask for Billy.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR for Carbondale nonprofit,part time. Be part of our exciting museums, programs,tourism and events. Are you enthusiastic? Creative?Apply at mtsoprishistoricalsociety.org.

PIANO & GUITAR LESSONS with Jimmy Byrne. Adultor Child. Fun. Individualized. Now starting summerstudents at studio or your home. Decade of references [email protected]. Scholarships Available!(970) 274-3666.

THE TOWN OF CARBONDALE is taking applicationsfor the position of Administrative Technician in theBuilding and Planning Department. To apply and for jobspecifics, please visit the town Web site at www.carbon-dalegov.org and click on the “Employment” tab.

*Credit card payment information should be emailed to [email protected] or call 948-6563. Checks may bedropped off at our office at the Third Street Center or mailedto P.O. Box 399, Carbondale, CO 81623. Call 618-9112 formore info.

Legal NoticesPUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Public Hearingwill be held before the Carbondale Planning andZoning Commission for the purpose of amendingChapter 19 of the Carbondale Municipal Code. Thepurpose of the amendments is to reference the Townof Carbondale Historic Preservation Design Guide-lines.

Said Public Hearing will be held at the CarbondaleTown Hall, 511 Colorado Avenue, Carbondale, COat 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 14, 2012.

Copies of the proposed application are on file in thePlanning Department office, Town Hall, 511 ColoradoAvenue, Carbondale, CO and may be examined byinterested persons during regular working hours,Monday through Friday.

Janet BuckTown Planner

Published in The Sopris Sun on May 24, 2012.

Several years ago when he was Carbondale Middle School principal, Colia went the Su-perman-route to cheer on the volleyball team. Courtesy photo

“Every single kid in ourschools has something

unique and exciting aboutthem that you can’t help but

get sucked into.....I look at astudent and say, ‘OK, wherecould this kid be in 10 years

and what am I going to do tohelp him get there?’”

Colia retires continued om page 3

may 24, 2012

Documents

colia pro

principal cliff colia

roaring fork school

themiddle school

cliff isthe

sense of team page

ultimate people person

academic needs