Tribune

Rocky Mountain

Because Colorado is more than just a pretty face

December – January 2022 Volume 1

CONTENT
Vail Shenanigans . . . . . . . . . . 6
Welcome to Packy Land
By Randy Wyrick

Health & Wellness . . . . . . . . . 8

Are You Ready for Battle
By Chris Lindley

Business & Finance . . . . . . . 16

Vail Valley Celebrates
Small Business
By Chris Romer

The 3rd Rail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Why I spoke out against
lockdowns
By Dr. Martin Kulldorff

Education & Parenting . . . . 18

Spycraft at Home
By James van Beek

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Building a Dream
By Sarah Schleper

Prioritizing Healthy Kids Photo by Bob Beauprez

By Heather Bergquist

Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Welcome to the Rocky Mountain Tribune
By Jacqueline Cartier, Publisher
Can Blockchain Be Backed
by Hard Assets?
By Corey Goodlander and
Michael Dunahay
T he ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRI-
BUNE is unique in its approach to
news and commentary, and a huge step
towards the civil discourse of controver-
Hispanic Culture . . . . . . . . . . 24 sial topics. It is a monthly regional pub-
The Road to University - lication, serving both the global and local
Spanish / English readership that encompasses Vail Colo-
By Edgar Arroyo rado and its surrounding communities.
We will offer varied writers, colum-
nists, and recognized experts, from
across the spectrum, to deliver outstand-
ing perspectives on current events.
We at the Rocky Mountain Tribune
respect the intellect of each American and
ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE their ability to form an independent, edu-
Jacqueline Cartier, Publisher
cated decision, on our most divisive issues,
202-271-4165
CartierPublishingVail@gmail.com when presented with facts that encompass
111 W. Beaver Creek Blvd. x6027, multiple perspectives. We seek to repair the
Avon CO 81620 vacuum caused by only one opinion being
considered, which is dividing this nation.
One of our nation’s greatest strengths
is its diversity. We have forgotten that it
includes diversity of thought and culture,
with a respect for individual heritage. De-
spite differences, we share the common
values of freedom, on multiple levels, so
amazingly detailed in our Constitution.
We must not let the strife of earlier times,
derail us from the incredible country we
have become, and the wonderful privilege
we collectively share, of calling it home.
We will have familiar sections of interest
like Business, Tech & Science, Health &
Wellness, Education, Fashion & Design,
Cooking & Entertainment, Humor, National
& Foreign Policy, and others. However, our
most impressive will be… The 3rd Rail.
Here we will tackle the most sensitive
and controversial topics, that other me-
dia outlets avoid. Our design will feature
opposing opinions on each side of the
page, for ease of comparison and com-
prehension. Some issues will include
Critical Race Theory (CRT), Vaccines,
Immigration, Identity Politics, Mask and
other Mandates, Criminal Justice Re-
form, and many more, as they develop.
All articles will include an element
of uniqueness. Passion and reaffirm-
ing existing points are welcome but they
must offer a different perspective, or
new reference point, or a focus on how
it impacts individual communities, or an
original piece of research… something
that can be attributed to your name and
will inspire a reader response of, “I hadn’t
thought of that”. We value your input.
Welcome home to the
Rocky Mountain Tribune!
This inaugural issue has been underwritten
by several anonymous contributors.
2 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Sports
Building a Dream
by Sarah Schleper
2 022, welcome to the
future of the Olym-
pics. Digital passes,
digital codes, chips in our
dogs. This is the Win-
ter Olympic Games in
China, while the world
suffers from a virus.
I am Sarah Schleper,
born in 1979, and young
enough to have raced in
the Olympics five times,
having qualified again,
for the sixth time! Yet,
this time around, things
are distinctly different.
The world has changed
and so have the Olym-
pics. They check my
green pass to enter a
train, a restaurant, a bar,
and even on an airplane.
I get PCR tested to ski
race outdoors. I’m asked,
how dare I dream, when
everything else in the
world is so unstable;
they think it’s unfair. It
leaves me wondering,
what the future holds for
athletes and for us all.
Seeking external answers
seems futile, as much of
Photo from GoVail.com.
the information released
is conflicting. I guess,
we must do what has
been done by humankind
forever, trust your heart.
Harmony and balance
come from within. Little
is achieved without it.
Yet, I continue to
dream, for myself, for
those around me, and as
corny as it may sound,
I dream for a peaceful
future for mankind and
the planet we occupy. It
doesn’t seem that hard,
yet we are all struggling.
My ability to dream
began when I was young.
Skiing became a world
where we could push our
limits and attain levels of
achievement that we once
thought were impossible.
I have been fortunate to
have represented my coun-
try in the epitome of ath-
letics, the Olympiad. Now,
it’s time to train others.
My dreams have
expanded. I am deeply
committed to teaching
kids the exhilaration of
skiing fast, very fast, and
the sense of freedom
that comes with it. There
are life lessons that come
from Olympic training.
Pushing oneself past per-
ceived physical barriers;
handling the emotional
disappointments when
things don’t go according
to expectations, regard-
less of training; enduring
extreme temperatures,
just to beat out our
competition, or even
harder, our own timing,
within a fraction of a
second. The difference
between a Gold Med-
al and nothing, is less
than 1-second in time.
I was a Vail Colorado
gal who married and
moved to Mexico. I now
ski race for the Mexico
team. To some, that may
seem odd, but athletes
are athletes, regardless
of which country they
represent. When you are
coming down that moun-
tain, it’s just you and
mother nature, pushing
boundaries. We are all
the same, in competition.
I dream of creating a
competitive Mexican Ski
Team. I want to entice
Mexican kids to challenge
themselves beyond what
they’ve ever experienced.
Life on the snow is com-
pletely different than any-
thing they have known,
yet there is a wholistic
quality about it all. It’s
developing a respect and
honor for our bodies and
movement. It’s learning
how to reach deep inside
to find that something,
that takes you beyond
where you ever thought
you could go, and generat-
ing an energy, which con-
nects you to the universe.
It’s a spiritual awakening
that truly transforms you.
When you reach that
level, you understand
that it’s something
different, yet univer-
sal. We are all born to
reach beyond what we
see and into the world
of connected energy.
It’s a Zen-like approach
to living life, and odd-
ly enough, ski racing
helps you get there.
I dream of taking a
small little ski area that
I’ve located, untouched
by corporate develop-
ment, and making it into
the training area of build-
ing dreams. The dreams
of young people wanting
to experience the thrill
of achievement, where a
sense of adventure takes
over and connections,
build lifelong habits
and a special respect
for our bodies and the
environment. We remain
in awe at how mother
nature lets us play in
the magnificence of the
outdoors, as we breathe
in the universal energy
that connects us all.
Yes, it sounds mystical,
but that’s because it is.
Racing is like taking what
we were born with and
soaring through space as
we make those jumps,
and fly past trees, with
the sun glittering on the
snow, and the breeze
reminding us of how
great it is to be alive.
I dream of making this
training center a place
where kids can play,
learn, stay, sleep, and
build the absolute best of
themselves. It would be
a community of honor
and shared values. It
would not be limited by
economics. Currently,
skiing is thought of as
a rich person’s sport,
leaving out so many
others. This unique
training spot will be
open to all the kids, who
were born to ski, and
may not even know it.
There is an art to
skiing, and I dream of
sharing that art with kids
from Mexico and else-
where. Building dreams
begins here and now.
Sarah Schleper has participated
in 186 World Cup races. She has
achieved 4 podium finishes and one
victory. Sarah is a dual citizen of
the United States and of Mexico,
living in both Vail and Los Cabos.

Home on the Range
Photo by Bob Beauprez
by Bob Beauprez
O h, give me a home,
where the buffalo
roam. The National
Bison Legacy Act was
signed into law in May
2016, making bison
(buffalo) the USA’s
national mammal. Bison
have long represented
our frontier roots and
we are fortunate to have
them in Colorado.
I never anticipated that
I’d have the privilege
of working with these
magnificent animals. My
first encounter happened
about 35-years ago. A
neighboring ranch
raised a rather decent
sized herd, just north
of our dairy farm. I
was fascinated by these
huge beasts and often
wondered what it would
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 3
Oh, Give Me a Home
be like to have them
at our place. We had
those very large black
our livestock). It was as
natural to us as breathing.
Like many family farms
stead of managing cattle,
I managed real estate.
The sale of the land
and white dairy cattle on the Eastern Front enabled our family to
known as Holsteins. Range counties in Colo- diversify our interests.
They were the center of rado, ours was eventually My wife, Claudia, and
our farming life. Still, I the target of growth. In I invested in a local
always dreamed of what 1990 we annexed to La- community bank, which
it would be like, raising fayette and sold the dairy I ran as President/CEO
those amazing buffalo. cows. On behalf of my for 12-years. It enabled
For 40-years, we took parents and siblings, I us to help our neigh-
care of our dairy herd learned the business of bors with their financial
and were quite successful real estate development. needs, as the area was
at it. Prior to that, my Today the family farm changing and diversifi-
father and grandfather is part of a residential cation became part of
had been beef cattle golf course community. their reality, as well. I
ranchers – Herefords, While we miss seeing our later served in the United
to be specific. Cattle animals on the horizon, a States Congress and ran
served our family well, golf course now occu- twice for Governor.
and each generation pies that space, and we But, all along the way,
tried to be even better are quite proud of our Claudia and I never lost
than the one prior… we land being used for such sight of our dream to
loved excelling at “animal a wonderful community, get back to the land. To
husbandry” (the proper where people live and again, own a place with
term for taking care of enjoy themselves. In- lots of elbow room
4 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY

Let buffalo be buffalo,

that means survival of the fittest,
rules the herd

and hopefully answer 2007. Three weeks later parent’s heart to over- enced buffalo ranchers.
that lingering question, we had it under contract. flowing. He has bond- “You won’t be able to
“What would it be The dream was suddenly ed so closely with our build fences to hold ‘em.
like to raise bison?” becoming a reality. We buffalo that he usually They’ll head back home!”
The bank was sold in named it Eagle’s Wing can sort and move them Buffalo need to be
early 2007 and in seek- Ranch, after that famil- by himself. We only “conditioned” to their
ing our next adventure, iar religious hymn, “On half-jokingly call him the new environment we
we set out to satisfy that Eagles Wings”. I like “Buffalo Whisperer.” were also told. That
long-standing dream. to tell people that, “It Jim and Julie married in meant starting with
Thanks to Claudia’s may not be heaven, but 2014, and although she young ones that were
patient persistence, we I can see it from here.” was a city-girl, she slipped not so set in their old
found a very special Fortunately – maybe into the ranch life like a ways and surroundings.
place in Jackson County, it was providence – our hand into a glove. They Begin with them in small,
the sparsely populated second son, Jim, was made a great team! confined spaces with
high mountain ranching instantly as fascinated The first full year, plenty of good feed and
plateau along the Wyo- by our new adventure 2008, on the ranch was water. Let them accli-
ming border, commonly as I was. “What are you consumed with learn- mate for several weeks,
known as North Park. going to do with it?” he ing about the irrigation and then gradually turn
The ranch was original- asked. “Well, I’d like to system and harvesting them onto larger pas-
ly homesteaded in 1882 try to raise some buffa- our initial hay crop, and tures. Once they become
by a Civil War Veteran lo,” I answered. “You’re a plethora of renova- comfortable that this is
from Connecticut. His going to need some tions and construction. “home” and that every-
grandson was still ranch- help then, aren’t you?” Many miles of old fence thing they need is right
ing the place but was now Jim is a natural with were demolished, and there, all will be well.
in his mid-70s and none every species of ani- new sturdy fencing built, Our first calves arrived
of his kids had an inter- mals. Constantly at my which we hoped would as expected in the early
est in keeping the ranch- hip even as a very young be adequate for buffalo. spring of 2009, and that
ing legacy alive. So, he boy on the dairy farm, By that first fall, we whet our appetite for
faced the inevitable and it was obvious he had a were ready. We purchased more. We added three
put the place up for sale. gift with animals, which 16 pregnant two-year-old dozen more pregnant
I fell in love with the is more instinctive than cows and a couple dozen two-year-olds, and also
1300 acre ranch the learned. Jim embraced yearling heifers. “Don’t a large group of heifer
moment Claudia and the new ranch with a start with a bunch of old calves purchased from
I first pulled into the passion and pride of cows!” was the advice two highly regard-
driveway in September ownership that fills a we were given by experi- ed, established bison

Photo by Bob Beauprez
ranchers in the region.
Suddenly it seemed,
we had a real herd.
From there, we grew
the herd from animals
born on the ranch.
Today, we have about
110 “mother cows.”
Each fall we harvest a
group of 30-month old
grass-finished animals
through our website,
www.EaglesWingNatu-
ralBison.com. We have
shipped bison meat from
Hawaii to Connecticut,
and Florida to Alaska.
There is growing
awareness that bison –
particularly grass-finished
- not grain-fed - is THE
healthy red meat, which
has generated tremen-
dous demand. It’s very
lean, low in cholesterol,
high in protein and Ome-
ga-3, and it tastes great!
We are fortunate that
North Park is native hab-
itat for bison. Historical-
ly, some of the 30 million
or so bison that migrated
across the North Amer-
ican Continent for thou-
sands of years, would
trek from the Laramie
Valley, into North Park to
gorge themselves full of
the lush spring and sum-
mer grass. They’d cross
the continental divide
on what today is called
Buffalo Pass Road, and
into the Yampa Valley
that now includes Steam-
boat Springs and Craig.
As the seasons changed,
the migration pattern
would reverse. We still
discover old bison horns
on our ranch, from
those many years ago.
My dad was the first
to educate me on the
value of North Park hay.
It’s absolutely legendary
among cattlemen and
horsemen. And, for the
buffalo, it is the only
ingredient in their diet.
It’s a pretty amazing
piece of the evolutionary
story of North Ameri-
ca’s largest mammal…
that they can not only
survive, but actually
thrive, on just a single
dietary ingredient - grass.
And, since that’s the way
they evolved, that’s the
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 5
way we let them live at as a way to starve the
Eagles Wing Ranch. Native Americans and
Another of the best solve the perceived “In-
bits of advice we re- dian problem.” It is not
ceived from established among the finest chapters
buffalo ranchers, who in American history.
were generous in mento- Thankfully, four
ring us, was “let buffalo cattlemen rounded up
be buffalo.” That means and protected a few of
that “survival of the the bison that survived
fittest” rules the herd. the slaughter. Otherwise,
It’s difficult to see the the species may well
occasional injured, weak, have vanished. Then
or sick one, not make it, conservationists includ-
but that’s nature’s way ing Teddy Roosevelt
of keeping the species and William Hornaday
strong and thriving. built support for public
Rather than all the sanctuaries like Yellow-
medical and management stone, which provided
gyrations that happen in an opportunity for the
other species of live- species to recover. To-
stock, buffalo ranchers day, there is an estimated
understand that, what 500,000 buffalo in North
happens out there, within America, with about
the herd, happens. That’s 30,000 of them living on
why the buffalo did so public lands and the rest
very well for millennia on ranches like ours.
– at least until the early Whether you call
frontiersman came along. them bison (the prop-
Within just a few years er biological name) or
after the Civil War ended, buffalo, it’s the same
nearly ever buffalo on the animal that our family
continent was slaugh- has the privilege to be so
tered; tens of millions up-close-and-personal
of them. Scientists with… a real American
estimate that there may icon. We are honored
have been only 300-400 to be part of a nascent
remaining in all of North group of bison ranchers,
America. And, it was committed to responsi-
all done for two pretty ble ranching, which will
shameful reasons. First, continue to increase in
the massive herds were a numbers, and preserve
nuisance for the building their magnificent legacy.
of the railroad and for
the farmers and ranchers Bob Beauprez is a Colorado
that were “settling the native. He’s been a dairy farmer,
West.” Secondly, politi- developer, banker, and Member
of Congress. Today he operates
cians including President Eagles Wing Ranch in Colora-
Grant, considered the do’s North Park with his wife,
elimination of buffalo son, and daughter-in-law.
6 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY

Vail Shenanigans
Welcome to Packy Land
Packy Walker’s World is a Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Place
by Randy Wyrick, RMT Reporter

W hen we think
of Vail she-
nanigans and their
hanging around Walker’s
condo decided that since
it was sunny and warm,
chief was found hand-
cuffed at the top of
Vail Pass, where he was
culprits, the Chairman they’d play strip poker. directed to go, by the bad
of the Board has got That day’s only on-du- guys pointing shotguns
to be, Packy Walker. ty Vail police officer at him. A couple of
As someone whose happened by and won- other hostages were
reputation precedes dered why everyone was released near Pueblo.
him, we had to ask, laughing and smiling. He In those days, Vail
“What do you think decided he’d join them. had no TV, no radio,
about all that stuff, Legend has it that he and no outside news-
during those years?” was a good cop but a bad papers. Locals had to
“Given enough years to poker player. Before long, entertain themselves.
think about those things, he was out of his gun Another time, 15
you’re bound to stum- belt and everything else. people were going to go
ble across something About the time a couple play war games with their
that works,” he said. of bad guys were burglar- brand-new paint gun
Douglas “Packy” izing Manor Vail Lodge. arsenal. Bart and Yeti’s,
Walker went to work in We know this may be Dan Mulrooney, decided
Packy dressed in a pink slip, and as a pink slip for an
the Vail hotel business difficult for young people he’d play golf instead.
appearance in Vail’s Fourth of July parade the year Vail
in 1966. Like so many to fathom, but there were If Mulrooney wasn’t Resorts laid off lots of people. Photo from Packy.
of us, he was headed no cell phones, pagers, coming to the war, they’d
somewhere else when or other miracles of take the war to Mul-
he landed here. Packy modern communication. rooney. They hid along President Gerald Ford plumbers and I were
left his native upstate Since Officer Moon- the Frontage Road and was a hole or two discussing a hole in the
New York for Haight beam was indisposed, the ambushed him, throwing back and surrounded roof and how to fix it.”
Ashbury, to be part of police chief at the time out two smoke bombs: by Secret Service and And then there was
whatever that was. was called to Manor Vail, one green and one red. local law enforcement, that time when the
“It was a good time “the scene of the crime.” Mulrooney ran and who took a dim view Lifthouse parking lot was
to be here, maybe the The story diverges at started screaming “Don’t of the whole thing. smooth and prepped with
best time,” Walker said. this point, but at least shoot, don’t shoot!” “We were stormed by gravel for paving the next
He retired from the one version claims the At the same time, Secret Service and all day. However, Jim Cun-
Lifthouse Lodge after kinds of cops,” Walker ningham parked his Jeep
the better part of five said. “The thing was, on it and wandered away.
decades. He says his staff they had real guns and When they towed out
made it all possible. looked like they were in the Jeep, it started rolling
“People think I worked a mood to use them.” backward toward the
hard all those years. The Speaking of guns, Treetops condominiums,
reason I was able to think both real and not, once crashing 25 feet down
up all those things, was during hunting season, a doublewide staircase,
because they were doing Packy and Bud Cravner where it lay demolished.
everything,” Walker said. started popping off A true friend, Bud
blanks at a couple of Cravener snuck down
Naked ambition eclipses local plumbers, who then before dawn, to put
blind justice returned fire with live his fingerprints all over
There was a time, ammunition, shooting everything, to maintain
young people, when you holes in windows. Cops Packy’s crystal clear
could not buy alcohol quickly stormed the reputation. Walker hid
on Sunday in Colorado building and were not in an owner’s Lifthouse
liquor stores. One warm amused when they finally unit the next day, ducking
autumn Sunday after- sorted out everything. a livid Cunningham.
noon, a group of people Packy told them, “The His entries in Vail’s

Packy grabbed this toilet seat from the Uptown Grill

because, he says, Princess Diana graced that throne. It
maintains a place of honor in his home. Photo from Packy.

Fourth of July parade
were legendary. One
year he flounced down
Bridge Street in a pink
slip after a round of
Vail Resorts corporate
layoffs. A year or so later
he dressed as a Scot-
tish golfer – positively
resplendent in pink and
lavender plaid - carrying
a sign that read “Save
the Links” at the height
of the Blue Sky Basin
upheaval over the lynx.
No sooner did he leave
the Lifthouse than a Vail
cop told him he couldn’t
be in the parade because
he didn’t have a permit.
Packy insisted, he was
strolling up the street
for a burger. The cop
threatened to put Packy
in jail if he kept walking.
“Imagine, it’s Inde-
pendence Day and I’m
going to get put in jail for
walking up the street to
get a burger,” Packy said.
Hunting season
reminds us of the time
Packy and Dave Garton
rolled a stretch limo into
the hunter checkpoint
at the top of Vail Pass.
Dave, wearing an elk
head, was strapped to the
hood of the limo. Packy,
was at the wheel wearing
an Elmer Fudd outfit.
A nearly nude Packy
graced the Vail Trail cov-
er on April 16, 1982. He
was wearing only a stra-
tegically placed fig leaf
in the spring Great Race
parade. You could follow
the Trail’s delivery prog-
ress through town by the
phone calls to the Trail’s
office from people either
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 7
laughing or scream- Sandstone 70 apartments the world’s most beloved
ing about that cover. and drove their Studebak- beings, was vacationing in
Back in the 1960s, Vail er buggy to Donovan’s Vail, and wandered into
was a rough and tumble in Vail – about a mile. the Uptown grill, wearing
town with dirt streets, When they ran out of a stunning one-piece ski
home to about 200 souls. money for Donovan’s suit. Her Ladyship made
Anyone missing was three-beers-for-a-buck, her way to the water
missed, and Packy had they drove the bug- closet where she stayed
been gone for five days. gy around looking for for several minutes.
He decided to see who tourists, charging $5 for a Packy reasoned that she
truly missed him, so he ride around Vail Village, must have employed a
faked his own funer- such as it was back then. particular toilet seat, so
al. Mark Twain would This one was not he grabbed it, replacing
have been so proud. He Packy’s idea, but he it with a new one from
borrowed a friend’s black decided it was a great the Lifthouse Lodge.
1959 Chevy convert- one and was happy to The seat in question Packy didn’t get too far in
ible and built a coffin. help. Vail police used to now graces Packy’s wall, launched the Vail Pioneer that year’s Vail Fourth of
Weekends. This year’s July parade. He didn’t have a
He covered his face in leave their patrol cars framing a portrait of the
permit and the police wouldn’t
white powder, pulled on on Mill Creek Circle pensive Princess, with event might require a let him walk, even though he
a suit, and climbed into near the New Gnu. the headline, “Prin- $4,000 liquor deposit. insisted he was walking from
the coffin. Everyone They built a concrete cess Diana’s visit, gives “I don’t know if Lionshead to Burger King in
knew he had “died” the block wall around the Vail a royal flush.” people our age can drink Vail Village for a burger.
Photo from Packy
day before the funeral car, where police found Packy loves to tell $4,000 worth of liquor,
and was to meet at the it the next morning. and hear tall tales, so he but it’s worth a shot.”
Crossroads Center for He also hotwired a
the wake. Only the cops bulldozer in Lionshead
weren’t in on it. They and decided to drive it
looked into the coffin to the village. He high
and saw a pale Packy centered it on a rock
with a rubber duck on where he abandoned
his chest and said, “Yup, it. It was still there
he could have died that the next morning. It
way.” So of course, the had run out of fuel.
two police officers fired One of Vail’s first
up their flashing lights attempts at mass transit
and led the procession consisted of a single
through Vail. Mourners bus, with one of Packy’s
fell in behind, singing friends at the wheel.
“We Shall Overcome.” Armed with Scotch and
The service was at the toy guns, Packy and a
Pig ‘n Whistle. It ended compatriot, climbed
when Packy spotted two aboard and announced
enthusiastically thrifty that this was a hijack-
friends trying to take ing. They hijacked it to
advantage of his open Minturn for a couple of
bar. He sat bolt upright drinks, then brought it
like Dracula waking up back. No one missed it.
and tossed them out. “I There are zillions
was paying for the drinks of Packy stories, but
after all”, Packy said. few like the one about
Back in 1967, he and Lady Di’s derriere.
his roommate lived in the Lady Diana, among
Packy’s precariously placed fig leaf was all that separated him from …
something even more interesting. This shot from Vail’s Great Race parade
graced the cover of the Vail Trail.
8 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Health & Wellness
Are You Ready for Battle?
by Chris Lindley
I n 2004, I learned that I
was going to be called
to Army active duty and
would soon be departing
to Iraq for a 12-month
combat deployment. My
wife was pregnant with
our first child at the time,
and knowing that I was
heading into battle, I
took it upon myself to
do everything I could to
prepare. I needed to re-
turn home healthy, both
physically and mentally,
to support my family.
Today, we are all in a
similar situation and our
mission is to survive and
thrive through the new
reality of COVID-19,
which will remain a
threat for our lifetime.
Every one of us is
going to get COVID-19
at some point. I hope
we can all go to battle
with the best weapons
available. Even if you
are not in one of the
high-risk groups, we
have seen 50% of those
who have tested positive
with COVID, even if
not hospitalized, devel-
op long-term mental
and physical impacts
(i.e., “Long COVID”).
We are still uncertain
of all the long-term
impacts of this enemy.
Rather than rolling
the dice and hoping
that you're not going
to have severe illness
complications or think-
ing that you might not
be one of the 50% who
has long-term health
issues post a COVID-19
illness, you best pre-
pare for the worst.
Photo courtesy of Chris Lingley
Vaccinations are our
first body armor. True,
they don’t prevent all
COVID-19 infections,
nor does body armor
provide 100% protection
in battle, but vaccina-
tions limit the likelihood
you will get COVID-19.
Vaccines are extremely
effective at reducing the
severity of the disease
and preventing death.
With the vaccination, you
might become sick but
when you do get sick,
your outcome is going
to be better than if you
were unvaccinated. Un-
vaccinated Americans are
eight times more likely
to be hospitalized than
those who are vaccinated.
Vaccines save lives and
keep patients stay out of
our hospitals. While we
anticipate better body
armor to come along,
this is the best we’ve got
for now, and it is helping.
Since our current body
armor will not stop every
bullet, our underlying
health is going to be
our best weapon. While
you can do everything
right - follow local public
health guidance, wear
your mask when appro-
priate, stay up to date on
your vaccinations - you
are still going to get
COVID-19. It is simply
that contagious. We are
certainly seeing this with
the Omicron variant.
We can’t live inside our
homes forever. While
we have new treatments
available, such as mono-
clonal antibodies and
antivirals, they are not
doctors would like. Is
this how you would
want to go into bat-
tle, out of shape and
weak? In their attempt
to limit COVID-19
transmission, our na-
tional, state, and local
response, runs counter
to keeping us healthy.
Yes, if you never leave
your house, you are less
likely to be exposed to
SARS-CoV-2 (the virus
that causes COVID-19)
but you are then, more
likely to be depressed,
lonely, gain weight, see
your doctor less, ignore
other health symptoms,
and therefore, are more
likely to suffer psycho-
logically and physically,
placing you at greater
risk of dying from this
poor lifestyle, than you
a guaranteed victory would of COVID-19.
by any means. Viruses Locally, we have seen
are tough, they mu- more community mem-
tate and are extremely bers admitted to our
difficult to contain. We emergency department
must make sure that we for alcoholism and
are in the best shape mental health crisis than
to fight this battle. we have for COVID-19.
When you look at Public Health Orders
the past two years, ask have a purpose, and
yourself, am I health- when a variant is surg-
ier now than I was ing in a community and
before COVID-19? threatening to overwhelm
Have I completed my our healthcare system,
annual health screenings then we must do every-
and wellness exams? Are thing we can, to limit
my diet, exercise routine, the spread, via social
and habits, the same now interactions. But these
as before the pandemic? tools should only be used
Am I relying on sub- on a LIMITED basis
stance use? If we are be- and cannot realistically
ing honest, I think many become the new normal.
of us would say “no.” Two years ago, we
Our anxiety, weight, did not know how
and blood pressure are COVID-19 would
higher than we and our impact different popu-

lations. We had limited
knowledge and ability to
rapidly detect, track, and
treat this new disease.
But things are differ-
ent going into 2022.
We know that
COVID-19 is a deadly
disease, particularly in
vulnerable populations,
and we are all vulnerable
at different levels, how-
ever, it has its biggest im-
pact on the elderly, those
with underlying health
conditions, and those
who are already health
compromised with diabe-
tes, high blood pressure,
obesity, and other factors.
While some conditions
are out of our control…
we can’t change our age,
and sometimes we are
dealt a bad hand and de-
velop chronic conditions,
but there is a lot more
that is in our control than
we acknowledge. We can
all improve our overall
health and that goes a
long way in keeping our
body armor strong.
Six months ago, I
realized I wasn’t ready
for battle. After 18
months of working on
the COVID-19 response,
I was overweight and
ignoring my personal
health. Having been
in public health, and
the exercise and fitness
industry, my entire adult
life, I was embarrassed
that I was not modeling
the behavior I was asking
everyone else to follow.
It’s easy to get too busy
for self-care, particu-
larly during uncertain
times and when others
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 9
Cooking & Entertainment
Brennan’s
Bananas Foster
are depending on you, mation as we normally to train for, or set a goal As the holidays continue, there is always a
yet as they say on the do, thus creating different and ask a friend or loved quest to find special desserts. Here is one
airplane, you must put outcomes. It may be one to join you, and hold that was created by the famous Brennan’s
on your oxygen mask subtle, but it shouldn’t you accountable. The Restaurant of New Orleans, in 1951.
Enjoy!
first, or you may not go unchecked, as it can bottom line is that you
survive long enough become problematic. will go to battle with
to help anyone else. Your mental health is COVID-19, at some
Now that I’m down just as important as your point. Make sure you go
35-pounds, have my lip- physical health, and face arrive battle fit, healthy,
ids and liver enzymes in it, the last two years have and mentally strong.
check, completed all my had a massive impact on • 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)
annual screenings with all of us psychologically. Chris Lindley is Chief Population • 1 cup brown sugar
my primary care pro- Get outside as much as Health Officer for Vail Health and • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
vider, and have routine possible; fresh air, nature,
Executive Director of Eagle Valley • 1/4 cup banana liqueur
Behavioral Health. Lindley is a • 4 bananas, cut lengthwise,
check-ins with my behav- and sunlight are extreme- Bronze Star recipient, has served
then halved
ioral health provider, I’m ly beneficial to both as Eagle County’s Public Health
• 1/4 cup dark rum
feeling more prepared. your physical and mental Director, and has been a health
and wellness entrepreneur for two • 4 scoops vanilla ice cream
I’m ready to enter the health. Exercise 60-min- decades. Lindley holds a Masters
arena, ready for battle. utes a day, preferably of Public Health, a Masters in
What can you outdoors. It doesn’t have Epidemiology, and a Masters Combine butter, sugar, and
do to prepare? to be a marathon, just get of Business Administration. cinnamon in a pan
Stir in banana liqueur
Every one of us is going to get Add bananas and cook until soft
COVID-19 at some point.
Add rum
Then flambe and serve
… underlying health is going
over ice cream
to be our best weapon.
Schedule a primary some physical movement
care appointment and going. You can begin
ask for an annual well- slowly, with a neighbor-
ness exam. If you have hood walk, increasing the
not checked in with a length and pace each day.
behavioral health pro- You can also join a gym,
fessional, now is a great CrossFit, yoga class, or
time to schedule a visit dance studio. Workouts
with a therapist, even if at home have become
you have never felt the easy and economical.
need to talk to someone There are fitness bikes,
before; sometimes we are workout apps, different
so busy being okay, that in-home equipment op-
we are totally unaware tions. And make it fun, it
that we aren’t. We may will keep you motivated.
not be reacting the same As you increase your
way or processing infor- activity, find something
GETTY
10 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
National Affairs
Comedy is Being Murdered… Save the Comedians!
by James Robbins
C an Americans still laugh at
themselves? The ability to
find humor in the challenges of
everyday life and the foibles of
the establishment is a measure
of societal health. But in today’s
hypersensitive environment we
are losing this strong element
of American culture and grit.
The basic problem
is that woke folks can’t
take a joke. Anything
that veers towards their
pet issues is triggering.
And touching that third
rail means cancellation,
figuratively or literally.
Some classic come-
dy of the past doesn’t
translate into the touchy
present. “Blazing
Saddles” touched on
every racial epithet and
trope imaginable, played
for laughs in a way
that would be impos-
James Robbins
sible now. And as Mel
Brooks observed, it was
impossible, even then.
But the point was to make a farce
of bias, and Brooks, working with
boundary-breaking black comic
Richard Pryor, on the original
script, got it done with a smile.
Seventies humor was all about
killing sacred cows. George Carlin
had a famous bit from 1972 about
the seven words you can’t say on
television. Today the vulgarities he
called out, are commonplace, but
they have been replaced by a new
set of unutterable words. A comic
who recreated Carlin’s bit with
the new unmentionables would
not be hailed for edgy honesty,
but driven from the industry by
an incensed mob with Twitter
torches and pitchforks. And, how
could we forget All in the Fam-
ily’s Archie Bunker, so ground-
breaking in its controversy, that
it’s featured in the Smithsonian!
Observational comic Lenny
Bruce was censored back in the
1960s for violating blue laws against
obscenities. By the more permis-
sive 1970s when speech became
freer, he was hailed as a liberal hero.
However, Lenny’s frank takes on
race and gender tend to trigger
the woke generation, who lack the
savvy to understand the points he
was making in the context of his
time. This hit peak irony when
Brandies University, home of the
Bruce papers, canceled a play about
the comedian because irate campus
leftists objected to how the play
portrayed fictional irate campus left-
ists, protesting against Lenny Bruce.
Art imitates life, or vice versa. Poor
Lenny, canceled by both extremes.
Comedy requires an element
of risk, but this necessary tension
is blunted by the self-censorship
imposed by cancel culture. Smug
progressives only allow jokes that
target those they oppose. They are
more than willing to make fun of
those they don’t approve of, often
in the most hurtful, vulgar ways.
Left-wing comedy can only be so-
cial criticism, and only if it advanc-
es their political and social agenda.
This is why you will never see a
list of “great Soviet comedians.”
But progressive humor is nec-
essarily bounded. They are too
serious, too pretentious, and far
too insecure, to permit joking as
a mode of self-mockery. And if
any such joke slipped through, it
would have to be attended by a
20-minute explanation of why it
is funny, and details of the ap-
proved way of appreciating it.
At the same time, the woke are
impossible to satirize because
their excesses are so excessive.
Hence sites like “Not the Bab-
ylon Bee” with real news from
progressive circles that reads
like it must be a gag. It would
be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Some comedians are pushing
back against the woke assault on
comedy. British humorists John
Cleese and Ricky Gervais have
each made pleas for sanity in
assessing what can be allowed to
be funny. African American comic
Dave Chappelle has been fighting
back humorously and unapolo-
getically against incensed critics
of his supposed “transphobic”
content. Even SNL, bereft of
endless cheap-laugh anti-Trump
jokes, has been dipping a toe
in the vast, untapped pool of
material mocking Joe Biden.
The ultimate comedy gatekeep-
ers are not the woke scolds but the
audience that needs a laugh. Alter-
native avenues for comedy content
are growing, and people are notic-
ing. Greg Gutfeld’s irreverent late-
night Fox talk show is burning up
the ratings, challenging establish-
ment stalwarts like Jimmy Kimmel
and Jimmy Fallon. The Daily Wire
has moved into content produc-
tion to provide opportunities for
those who refuse to toe the woke
line. Satirist Adam Carolla, who
recently signed a deal there, said
that conservative networks are the
“only people who will have you on,
if you’re an independent thinker.”
People need to laugh. It helps
them get through hard times.
And they know what is funny,
they don’t need committees and
pressure groups telling them what
they are allowed to chuckle at. The
progressives set themselves up for
ridicule because targeting preten-
tions is the root of comedy, and
pretentions are really all the woke
establishment has. That’s a joke
on America, and not very funny.
James Robbins is an author/writer based in
Washington DC. He is a Political Analyst &
Commentator for USA Today; a Senior Fellow
in National Security Affairs with the Amer-
ican Foreign Policy Council; and an Adjunct
Professor with the Institute of World Politics.

National Interest
We welcome Charles Lewis to RMT. Here is some background
Bringing Corruption to Light: Investigative Journalism
by Andreas Adriano
I nternational Mon-
etary Fund (IMF)
interview with Charles
Lewis, Founder of two
Pulitzer Prize win-
ning organizations.
In 1971, whistle-blower
Daniel Ellsberg discov-
ered the so-called Pen-
tagon Papers and spent
countless nights photo-
copying over 7,000 pages
before delivering them
to the New York Times
and the Washington Post.
Four decades later, when
an anonymous source
gave German journal-
ist Bastian Obermayer
a flash drive with 11
million files taken from a
Panamanian law firm, de-
tailing shady dealings and
tax avoidance schemes
used by the rich and pow-
erful, it was too much for
even his entire newsroom
to process. Obermayer
asked for help from the
International Consortium
of Investigative Journal-
ists (ICIJ), mobilizing 250
reporters in 90 countries.
Published in April
2016, the Panama Papers
revealed a large, complex,
and very well-hidden
corner of the global
economy. The scandal
resulted in the resigna-
tions of prime ministers
and senior officials from
Iceland to Mongolia.
From the Pentagon to
Panama, with other major
discoveries in between,
investigative journalism
has made major con-
tributions in bringing
to light, what some
would rather keep in the
dark. But it has been
a bumpy ride: while
there are more areas
to investigate, there
Integrity. Years later,
he founded the ICIJ.
Lewis helped found
are fewer outlets to a few of the over 200
publish the results. nonprofit news organiza-
The carnage of tions active in the United
the traditional media States. Now a journalism
around the world has professor and executive
been well document- editor of the Investiga-
ed. According to one tive Reporting Workshop
study, 1,800 local at American University in
newspapers have dis- Washington DC, Lewis
appeared, in the United sat down with the Inter-
States alone since 2004. national Monetary Fund,
The internet and other Finance & Develop-
technologies offer new ment’s Andreas Adriano,
platforms, but they have to talk about investigating
muddied the waters issues, the bleak outlook
too. Many discoveries for news organizations,
are now the product of and the ethical implica-
hacking—as opposed tions of hackers as the
to an insider acting new whistle-blowers.
out of conscience— Local newspapers are
which raises ethical all but extinct now. How
and legal questions. does their disappear-
“Two organizations
I founded… have
won Pulitzers”
Charles (Chuck) Lewis ance affect investiga-
has seen the highs and tion at the local level?
lows of investigative I started in the sports
journalism throughout department of the
his career. From Sen- Wilmington News-Jour-
ate intern during the nal newsroom in Del-
Watergate scandal, to a aware in the early
stint with the legendary 1970s. It was one of
Carl Bernstein at the the best of the small
ABC television network, and midsize papers. But
he eventually became everything went to hell.
a senior investigative They went from 187
producer for CBS’s 60 people to around 35 now.
Minutes. He quit the The number of report-
show in 1989 and found- ers today is the same
ed the Center for Public as in 1972, while the
federal budget increased
nearly twentyfold.
Tens of thousands
of journalists lost
their jobs in the Unit-
ed States. Most laws
here are passed at the
state level, but there are
one-third fewer journal-
ists in the state capitals.
In Washington, nobody
is covering members of
Congress for 27 states.
There are also what I call
“news deserts”—vast
areas of the country,
lacking dedicated daily
news coverage, wheth-
er by radio or local or
state newspapers.
Is it possible to
know what is not
being covered?
No. There are over
100 federal agencies in
Washington. The elite
media—Washington
Post, New York Times,
and Wall Street Journal—
don’t cover all of them.
You end up sometimes
with obscure newsletters,
thousands of them, cov-
ering different industries,
and they may just rep-
resent private interests.
How does that af-
fect financial and eco-
nomics reporting?
My worry, to be blunt,
is that the only people
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 11
with access to substan-
tive information are the
highly educated elites.
Does it trouble you
that a lot of investiga-
tive journalism today
They will be subscrib- is based on hacking, a
ing and reading all the crime, compared with
information from the whistle-blowers acting
leading media, and doing out of conscience (like
it partly to make money, Daniel Ellsberg and the
of course, while the rest Pentagon Papers)?
of the public, including First, on the Panama
the educated public, are Papers, nobody really
not reading or consuming knows who the source is.
news to the same extent. It may have been hack-
There is this dichoto- ing, or it may have been
my between the haves an insider—like an embit-
and the have-nots, with tered employee or some-
regard to reading material one who knew an insider.
with actual substance. On the broader point,
Are nonprofit news there’s a grayness to it.
organizations mak- Some time ago, during an
ing up for the loss? investigative journalism
There are now 205 conference in Eu-
nonprofit investigative rope, the organizers
journalism organiza- intentionally sat me and
tions in America, and 27 other famous journal-
internationally. Philan- ists, like Seymour
thropic institutions and Hersh [investigative re-
individuals have stepped
up and donated over a
porter for the New York-
er magazine], together
billion dollars in recent with a group of hackers
years to create cover- for a dinner. It was
age in areas where the fascinating to hear from
local newspapers can no
longer do it. It doesn’t
make up for the carnage
them. Some are hacking
precisely because they
believe there is some-
and loss of jobs, but it thing wrong with society
could have been even or an agency protecting a
worse. I estimate these company, so it’s the same
nonprofits employ up as a government em-
to 3,000 journalists. ployee who starts leaking
Around 2008, when because they are offend-
the Pulitzer Prize start- ed by what they see.
ed losing applicants, This is a global prob-
they allowed nonprofit lem. We need more
organizations to apply. discussion, report-
Two organizations that ing, understanding,
I founded, the ICIJ and and accountability.
the Center for Public
Integrity—have won Andreas Adriano is a senior
communications officer in the IMF’s
Pulitzers, and nonprofits
Communications Department.
like ProPublica have won
about a dozen so far.
12 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Local Pulse
Cornerstone Christian in the County’s COVID Crosshairs
by Randy Wyrick, RMT Reporter
E agle County
commissioners
sue Christian school
for failing to meet
COVID protocols
School counters
that it’s about con-
stitutional rights
BASALT — Corner-
stone’s in the crosshairs.
Cornerstone Christian School and Center are in the Eagle County part of Basalt, in
the Roaring Fork Valley. Photo from Cornerstone Cornerstone Christian School.
The Eagle County
commissioners threat-
ened Cornerstone’s stake-
holders with $5,000 fines
and up to 18 months in
jail if they don’t submit
to the COVID-19 mask
mandate. The Corner-
stone Christian crowd
made it clear, they’re
mad as hell and are not
gonna take it anymore!
In public hearings,
the Cornerstone crowd
told the Eagle County
Commissioners, it’s a
matter of constitution-
ally-guaranteed civil
liberties and religious
freedom, that the paper
and cloth masks most of
Gov Jared Polis said the COVID-19 emergency is over and
the statewide mask mandate expired December 17.
us wear don’t work very
well, that children are
at virtually no risk from
schools work with our
public health department
and consider them part-
building a database
with that information.
That’s a clear violation
Affairs against the ratchet
effect of government
regulations. That means
COVID, and that devel- ners. Unfortunately, Cor- of our right to privacy.” that while regulations
opmentally and emo- nerstone Christian has are easy to add, they’re
tionally, wearing masks chosen a different path.” Contention reigns difficult to delete. A
all day probably does A court hearing is The Commissioners vs. state of emergency such
more harm than good. scheduled for Janu- Cornerstone battle is so as the one surrounding
In fact, Gov. Jared ary. The county’s mask contentious that during COVID-19 rarely ends.
Polis said the COVID-19 mandate may continue a Dec. 13 Eagle County Colorado Gov. Jared
through mid-January. If Commissioners’ meeting, Polis, however, might be
it’s dropped, then stu- an African American the rare exception when
dents can attend school woman and Cornerstone he declared that the
without masks, Treu said. stakeholder did not smile COVID crisis is “over,”
Tarr said that’s a tem- as she said the local adding that everyone
porary solution to the media has portrayed the who wants a COVID
permanent problem of Cornerstone family as vaccination has had
government overreach. being “white suprem- ample opportunity to get
Colorado’s legislative acists.” She paused one. He also said that
branch has given carte briefly letting the irony local governments’ mask
blanche to public health settle over the room, mandates can remain in
departments and other as the crowd laughed. place, if that’s what that
government agencies. “Since the beginning local government wants.
Because the legislature of the school year we “This is not about
gave them the man- have been living under public health, this is
date, they can enforce a threat,” Tarr said. He about control,” one Cor-
their regulations with then asked the com- nerstone parent told the
the force of law, Pastor missioners. “Have you Commissioners, in that
Jim Tarr, director of ever stood up for some- Dec. 13 public hearing.
Cornerstone Christian thing under the threat “It seems that you’re
Center and Cornerstone of 18 months in jail?” using our children as
emergency is over, Christian School said. The fight has cost political pawns. I notice
and the statewide “They can enter your Cornerstone about half none of you are wearing
mask mandate expired building, quarantine its 60-member student masks this morning.”
Friday, Dec. 17. anyone they want, any body, Tarr said. Many A Cornerstone stake-
time they want,” Tarr parents say they cannot holder who called herself
Why the county said. “As much as they afford to pay a $5,000 “secular,” said this has
pulled that trigger say they want to work fine or spend 18 months made her acutely aware
Eagle County Attorney with us, they’ve shown in jail for this bit of civil of how precious and
Bryan Treu says Corner- no willingness to do so.” disobedience, Tarr said. precarious religious
stone Christian violated In the earliest emails freedom can be.
state public health orders Cornerstone received, Regulations can be eternal “When the mandate
when the school did health department of- Pandemics have come to protect devolves
not report its COVID ficials threatened them and gone, Tarr said, but into punishment, that’s
cases. When public health with $5,000 fines and 18 government regulations where the line is crossed.
officials tried to inspect months in jail, Tarr said. can often be as everlast- The mask mandate is
the school, they were “They say they our ing as heaven itself. He scheduled to end Fri-
denied access, Treu said. students and staff must appears to have a valid day. Let it,” she said.
“The only way out get tested twice a week point in that regard. “Stop using my tax
of this pandemic is to by a private company in Government-reform dollars to bully a private
work with the schools. our area. The compa- advocate Philip K. How- school!” another said.
The vast majority of our ny’s website says they’re ard argues in National

Cornerstone’s COVID
conundrum
Cornerstone Christian’s
COVID conundrum
started in early Novem-
ber when the Colorado
Department of Public
Health included the
school on its roster of
active COVID outbreaks.
The health department
says it found eight
COVID cases among
the staff, including one
death, and 10 student
cases. Eagle County says
three were hospitalized.
Tarr disputes that data.
He says nine total tested
Pastor Jim Tarr says the commissioners, acting as the Eagle County
board of health, are violating Cornerstone’s constitutional rights, and
vowed to fight. Photo from Cornerstone Cornerstone Christian School.
positive but showed only
mild cold-like symptoms.
Tarr said he was receiving
treatment for his own
COVID infection when
he learned of Eagle
County’s plan for a public
health meeting to discuss
Cornerstone’s outbreak.
Several Cornerstone
stakeholders assembled
for that meeting to
address their grievances
with the Commissioners,
which they point out
is one of their consti-
tutional rights. Media
reports claimed one of
those in attendance,
opened his comment
period in prayer, ask-
ing Jesus to help defeat
COVID protocols.
At that meeting, the
Commissioners retreated
into a private session.
They emerged to vote
unanimously to sue the
school in civil court.
Many in the meeting
large crowd erupt-
ed, shouting at Eagle
County’s three Demo-
crat Commissioners.
“It’s not the end and
we’re not giving up,”
Tarr told the crowd.
“We’re going to take
this all over the Unit-
ed States,” he said as
the crowd broke out in
thunderous applause.
Regulations rarely
get repealed
Before that National
Emergencies Act became
law in 1976, a Senate
report warned that the
president’s extraordi-
nary emergency powers,
ordinarily exercised by
Congress, could “affect
the lives of American
citizens in a host of
all-encompassing man-
ners . . . without refer-
ence to normal Con-
stitutional processes.”
“Americans should not
lose sight of the fact that
if emergency declarations
are not terminated after
COVID-19, all 136 emer-
gency powers will remain,
as well as the possibility
of their abuse,” Zhong
wrote in that Merca-
tus Center report.
Of note: The eight
presidents since Ameri-
ca’s bicentennial in 1976
have declared 64 national
emergencies, all under
the cover of the Na-
tional Emergencies Act.
Of those, 35 national
emergencies remain in
effect today, according to
research by the Mercatus
Center’s Weifeng Zhong,
Christos Makridis and
James Diddams. The old-
est of those 35 is “Block-
ing Iranian Government
Property,” declared in
1979, before most of
Cornerstone Christian
School’s faculty and staff
were born. The point
is, that even outdated
“emergencies” are still
on the books and can be
enforced again at-will.
So, don’t expect COVID
mandates to vanish, and
understand that they
can be easily abused.
Niall Ferguson, a
The Eagle County commissioners sued Cornerstone Christian School for
what they say were violations of the Colorado public health department’s
COVID protocols. Photo from Cornerstone Cornerstone Christian School.
Hoover Institution
historian and author,
wrote in Bloomberg that
since the novel corona-
virus began spreading,
we’ve been subjected to
regular health evaluations
(testing), and encouraged
if not required to take
medication (vaccines).
And then there are the
lockdowns. The National
Bureau of Econom-
ic Research strongly
suggests that lockdowns
did more harm than
good in developing
countries. Their research
argue that for those in
low-income countries, “a
lockdown can potentially
lead to 1.76 children’s
lives lost due to the
economic contraction
per each COVID-19
fatality averted.”
The National Bureau
of Economic Research
paper’s authors argue
that in the developed
world, younger people
suffered significant ed-
ucational and economic
losses stemming from
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 13
restrictions imposed to
protect the more vulner-
able, older age groups.
The hope was, the
Hoover Institution’s
Ferguson wrote, that we
could put COVID in our
rearview mirror by Easter
2021. “However, there
was a worse scenario, in
which we would spend
years playing whack-a-
mole with an endemic
evolving SARS-CoV-2,
with no vaccine that
really worked and no
immunity that really last-
ed. By the standards of
past pandemics, this one
might still be at an early
stage — perhaps not
even at the end of the
first quarter,” Ferguson
wrote. “It turns out that
the vaccines (well, some
of them) work better
than I had dared to hope,
and the world economy
is indeed snapping back.
And yet we may still be
languishing in the second
quarter of this pandem-
ic — or maybe it’s early
in the second half.”
“I have a bad feeling
that even if we succeed
in containing the spread
of SARS-CoV-2 — to
the extent of bringing
mortality rates back
down to normal levels
everywhere — we may be
unable to get rid of many
of the pandemic-induced
constraints that now
restrict our freedoms.
“When both clinical
trials and real-world data
point to high vaccine
efficacy, especially for
the Pfizer and Moder-
na vaccines, and when
governments are keen
to persuade people to
get vaccinated, why on
earth make the social
benefits of being vac-
cinated so negligible?
“The answer is clear.
Such restrictions persist
not because they have
any foundation in scien-
tific research. They are
the products of one of
history’s most powerful
but often underestimated
phenomena: bureaucratic
inertia,” Ferguson wrote.
14 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY

The Third Rail: Where controversy meets consensus.

by Jacqueline Cartier, Publisher

C urrently, there is much dis-
course dividing America. It
is primarily driven by political
parties and has become so emo-
tional that close friends and
families are splitting over dis-
The agreements that should never
3rd cause that degree of turmoil.
but nothing worth achieving was
ever accomplished without ventur-
ing outside those walls of security.
It is in the rough edges, that we
are compelled to seek new ideas.
The 3rd Rail section of the
Rocky Mountain Tribune reach-
es out to opposing sides of
to complex problems. It is similar to
the scientific method, where discov-
eries are willingly submitted to the
professional community for scrutiny,
seeking ways to dispel findings, in
order to fine-tune their research.
Those that survive the process, then
proceed to the implementation phase

Rail In a country where free speech

is valued, it is understandable that
some might get offended by an-
other’s remarks. Yet, it is through
that uncomfortable process, that
we arrive at viable solutions
Consensus, however, cannot
develop in isolation. It requires
diversity of thought and free-
dom of expression. Without
these attributes, we limit cre-
ating sustainable solutions.
With emotionally charged issues,
the natural inclination is to shut
off opposing thought, so as to
remain within our comfort zone…
hot-button topics and presents
them, side-by-side, to allow for
a fair representation of avail-
able options, offered by those
with expertise in their fields.
It’s a process welcomed by
many, yet there is a fear of retri-
bution by those whose opinions
might run counter to popular
beliefs. Innovation of thought
has historically been challenged
by the establishment of the time.
However, when a counterview is
followed by personal and profes-
sional threats, it silences those who
simply want to find viable solutions
for viability, outside the confines of
a lab. This is the base of discovery.
Given the high cost of expression
in these challenging times, we may
be reprinting research and articles
by well-known authorities, to pro-
vide the reader with multiple views
from which to arrive at a conclusion
that makes sense to them, outside
of mere political talking points, and
to protect those who want a view-
point expressed but fear blowback.
With that in mind, I am pleased
to have Dr. Martin Kulldorff, dis-
cuss precisely this issue in the arti-
cle entitled, “Why I Spoke Out”.

Why I spoke out against lockdowns

I
by Martin Kulldorff
Reprinted from Spiked
had no choice but
to speak out against
lockdowns. As a pub-
in China, there was a
dramatic difference in
mortality by age, with
my surprise, I could not
interest any US media
in my thoughts, despite
spring wave, Sweden
kept daycare and schools
open for every one of its
ic. That is like evaluat-
ing a new drug while
ignoring data from the
lic-health scientist with over a thousand-fold my knowledge and 1.8million children aged placebo control group.
decades of experience difference between the experience with infec- between one and 15. And With difficulty pub-
working on infec- young and the old. That tious-disease outbreaks. it did so without sub- lishing, I decided to
tious-disease outbreaks, was a huge relief. I am I had more success in jecting them to testing, use my mostly dormant
I couldn’t stay silent. a single father with a my native Sweden, with masks, physical barriers Twitter account to get
Not when basic prin- teenager and five-year-old op-eds in the major daily or social distancing. This the word out. I searched
ciples of public health twins. Like most parents, newspapers, and, even- policy led to precisely for tweets about schools
are thrown out of the I care more about my tually, a piece in spiked. zero Covid deaths in and replied with a link
window. Not when the children than myself. Other like-minded scien- that age group, while to the Swedish study. A
working class is thrown Unlike the 1918 Spanish tists faced similar hurdles. teachers had a Covid risk few of these replies were
Photo from Brownstone Institute
website.
under the bus. Not when Flu pandemic, children Instead of understand- similar to the average of retweeted, which gave
lockdown opponents had much less to fear ing the pandemic, we other professions. The the Swedish data some
were thrown to the from Covid than from were encouraged to fear Swedish Public Health attention. It also led to an
wolves. There was never annual influenza or traffic it. Instead of life, we got Agency reported these invitation to write for the
a scientific consensus for accidents. They could get lockdowns and death. We facts in mid-June, but Spectator. In August, I
lockdowns. That balloon on with life unharmed got delayed cancer diag- in the US lockdown finally broke into the US
had to be popped. — or so I thought. noses, worse cardiovas- proponents still pushed media with a CNN op-ed
Two key Covid facts For society at large, the cular-disease outcomes, for school closures. against school closures. I
were quickly obvious to conclusion was obvious. deteriorating mental In July, the New En- know Spanish, so I wrote
me. First, with the early We had to protect older, health, and a lot more gland Journal of Medi- a piece for CNN-Es-
outbreaks in Italy and high-risk people while collateral public-health cine published an article pañol. CNN-English
Iran, this was a severe younger low-risk adults damage from lockdown. on ‘reopening primary was not interested.
pandemic that would kept society moving. Children, the elderly, and schools during the pan- Something was clearly
eventually spread to But that didn’t happen. the working class were demic’. Shockingly, it did amiss with the media.
the rest of the world, Instead, schools closed the hardest hit by what not even mention the Among infectious-disease
resulting in many deaths. while nursing homes can only be described as evidence from the only epidemiology colleagues
That made me ner- went unprotected. Why? the biggest public-health major Western country that I know, most favour
vous. Second, based on It made no sense. So, fiasco in history. that kept schools open focused protection of
the data from Wuhan, I picked up a pen. To Throughout the 2020 throughout the pandem- high-risk groups in-

stead of lockdowns,
but the media made it
sound like there was a
scientific consensus for
general lockdowns.
In September, I met
Jeffrey Tucker at the
American Institute for
Economic Research
(AIER), an organisation
I had never heard of
before the pandemic. To
help the media gain a
better understanding of
the pandemic, we decided
to invite journalists to
meet with infectious-dis-
ease epidemiologists in
Great Barrington, New
England, to conduct
more in-depth interviews.
I invited two scientists to
join me, Sunetra Gup-
ta from the University
of Oxford, one of the
world’s pre-eminent in-
fectious-disease epidemi-
ologists, and Jay Bhat-
tacharya from Stanford
University, an expert on
infectious diseases and
vulnerable populations.
To the surprise of AIER,
the three of us also de-
cided to write a declara-
tion arguing for focused
protection instead of
lockdowns. We called
it the Great Barrington
Declaration (GBD).
Opposition to lock-
downs had been deemed
unscientific. When
scientists spoke out
against lockdowns, they
were ignored, consid-
ered a fringe voice, or
accused of not having
proper credentials. We
thought it would be
hard to ignore some-
thing authored by three
senior infectious-disease
epidemiologists from
what were three respect-
able universities. We
were right. All hell broke
loose. That was good.
Some colleagues threw
epithets at us like ‘crazy’,
‘exorcist’, ‘mass murder-
er’ or ‘Trumpian’. Some
accused us of taking a
stand for money, though
nobody paid us a penny.
Why such a vicious re-
sponse? The declaration
was in line with the many
pandemic preparedness
plans produced years
earlier, but that was the
crux. With no good
public-health arguments
against focused protec-
tion, they had to resort
to mischaracterisation
and slander, or else admit
they had made a terrible,
deadly mistake in their
support of lockdowns.
Some lockdown pro-
ponents accused us of
raising a strawman, as
lockdowns had worked
and were no longer
needed. Just a few weeks
later, the same critics
lauded the reimposition
of lockdowns during the
very predictable second
Photo courtesy of Great Barrington Declaration
wave. We were told that
we had not specified
how to protect the old,
even though we had
described ideas in detail
on our website and in
op-eds. We were accused
of advocating a ‘let it
rip’ strategy, even though
focused protection is its
very opposite. Ironically,
lockdowns are a dragged-
out form of a let-it-rip
strategy, in which each
age group is infected
in the same proportion
as a let-it-rip strategy.
When writing the
declaration, we knew we
were exposing ourselves
to attacks. That can be
scary, but as Rosa Parks
said: ‘I have learned over
the years that when one’s
mind is made up, this
diminishes fear; knowing
what must be done does
away with fear.’ Also, I
did not take the journal-
istic and academic attacks
personally, however
vile – and most came
from people I had never
even heard of before.
The attacks were not
primarily addressed at us
anyhow. We had already
spoken out and would
continue to do so. Their
main purpose was to
discourage other scien-
tists from speaking out.
In my twenties, I risked
my life in Guatema-
la working for a hu-
man-rights organisation
called Peace Brigades In-
ternational. We protected
farmers, unionised work-
ers, students, religious
organisations, women’s
groups and human-rights
defenders who were
threatened, murdered,
and disappeared by
military death squads.
While the courageous
Guatemalans I worked
with faced much more
danger, the death squads
did once throw a hand
grenade into our house.
If I could do that work
then, why should I not
now take much smaller
risks for people here
at home? When I was
falsely accused of being a
Koch-funded right-wing-
er, I just shrugged – typi-
cal behaviour by both es-
tablishment servants and
armchair revolutionaries.
After the Great
Barrington Declaration,
there was no longer a lack
of media attention on
focused protection as an
alternative to lockdowns.
On the contrary, requests
came from across the
globe. I noticed an inter-
esting contrast. In the US
and UK, media outlets
were either friendly with
softball questions or hos-
tile with trick questions
and ad hominem attacks.
Journalists in most other
countries asked hard but
relevant and fair ques-
tions, exploring and criti-
cally examining the Great
Barrington Declaration. I
think that is how jour-
nalism should be done.
While most govern-
ments continued with
their failed lockdown
policies, things have
moved in the right di-
rection. More and more
schools have reopened,
and Florida rejected
lockdowns in favour of
focused protection, partly
based on our advice,
without the negative
consequences that the
lockdowners predicted.
With the lockdown
failures increasingly
clear, attacks and cen-
sorship have increased
rather than decreased:
Google-owned YouTube
censored a video from a
roundtable with Florida
governor Ron DeSantis,
where my colleagues and
I stated that children do
not need to wear masks;
Facebook closed the
GBD account when we
posted a pro-vaccine
message arguing that old-
er people should be pri-
oritised for vaccination;
Twitter censored a post
when I said that chil-
dren and those already
infected do not need
to be vaccinated, and
the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) removed
me from a vaccine-safety
working group when I
argued that the Johnson
& Johnson Covid vaccine
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 15
should not be withheld
from older Americans.
Twitter even locked
my account for writing
this: “Naively fooled
to think that masks
would protect them,
some older high-risk
people, did not socially
distance properly, and
some died from Covid
because of it. Tragic.
Public-health officials/
scientists must always be
honest with the public.”
This increased pressure
may seem counterintui-
tive, but it is not. Had we
been wrong, our scien-
tific colleagues might
have taken pity on us and
the media would have
gone back to ignoring
us. Being correct means
that we embarrassed
some immensely pow-
erful people in politics,
journalism, big tech, and
science. They are never
going to forgive us.
That not what matters,
though. The pandemic
has been a great tragedy.
A 79-year-old friend of
mine died from Covid,
and a few months later
his wife died from cancer
that was not detected
in time to initiate treat-
ment. While deaths
are inevitable during
a pandemic, the naive
but mistaken belief
that lockdowns would
protect the old meant
that governments did not
implement many stan-
dard focused-protection
measures. The dragged-
out pandemic made it
harder for older people
to protect themselves.
With a focused-protec-
tion strategy, my friend
and his wife might be
alive today, together with
countless other people
around the world.
Ultimately, lockdowns
protected young low-risk
professionals working
from home – journalists,
lawyers, scientists, and
bankers – on the backs
of children, the working
class and the poor. In
the US, lockdowns are
the biggest assault on
workers since segregation
and the Vietnam War.
Except for war, there
are few government
actions during my life
that have imposed more
suffering and injustice
on such a large scale.
As an infectious-dis-
ease epidemiologist, I
had no choice. I had to
speak up. If not, why be
a scientist? Many others
who bravely spoke could
comfortably have stayed
silent. If they had, more
schools would still be
closed, and the collateral
public-health damage
would have been great-
er. I am aware of many
fantastic people fighting
against these ineffective
and damaging lockdowns,
writing articles, posting
on social media, mak-
ing videos, talking to
friends, speaking up at
school board meetings,
and protesting in the
streets. If you are one of
them, it has truly been an
honor to work with you
on this effort together.
I hope that we will one
day meet in person and
then, let’s dance togeth-
er. Danser encore!
Author: Martin Kulldorff, Senior
Scientific Director of Brownstone
Institute, is an epidemiologist and
biostatistician specializing in infec-
tious disease outbreaks and vaccine
safety. He is the developer of Free
SaTScan, TreeScan, and RSequen-
tial software. Most recently, he was
a Professor at the Harvard Medical
School for ten years. Co-Author of
the Great Barrington Declaration.
kulldorff@brownstone.org
https://GBDeclaration.org
16 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Business & Finance
Vail Valley Celebrates Small Business
by Chris Romer
T he Vail Valley offers a unique
mixture of small-town life, ru-
ral character, mountain living, and
big-city amenities, which creates a
“just right” quality of life balance
that even Goldilocks would appre-
ciate. But, our story is only a fairy
tale if that it includes real commu-
nities that offer genuine opportuni-
ty for hard-working entrepreneurs,
business owners, and employees,
determined to live out their dreams
in the mountains of Colorado.
Why the Vail Valley? Be-
cause our mountain lifestyle
enhances personal wellbeing
and business development.
There’s not much mystery
behind why people flock here,
but there is also a subtle mag-
netism that contributes to the
entire environment. The draw of
mountain life is enough to make
long workday hours seem like an
adventurous climb—especially
when you start your day, riding
to the top of the mountain.
Vail is located in Eagle County,
which is a unique collection of
diverse and dynamic communities.
Its high-alpine ecosystem pro-
vides extraordinary economic and
social benefits, beginning with the
ongoing health and beauty of our
natural environment. Respecting
this heritage, our local govern-
ments and special districts, aim
to strengthen our economy in
distinct, collaborative, and sustain-
able ways, which fit the particular
context of each community.
Eagle County’s business commu-
nity is founded on the guiding prin-
ciple of “Community Sustainabili-
ty”, in the pursuit of our economic
development objectives, and busi-
ness support services. This principle
states that the decisions, policies,
and programs, that we pursue in the
implementation of this plan, should
aim to create outcomes that are
economically viable, environmen-
tally sound, and socially acceptable.
As a community of business
leaders, we support one another
and provide brand alignment to
those who choose to do busi-
ness here. Your brand, after all,
is not only the product or service
you sell but also its perceived
image, which is greatly enhanced
by individualized strategies.
Yet, developing an impressive
brand is really much more than
just features. More than a logo,
success requires an emotional
connection. Every business, or-
ganization, and community, wants
to be a customer's first choice.
How you design and manage your
brand, can play a significant part
in making that happen, both for
businesses and communities.
Here, we help businesses to
engage with customers, employees,
stakeholders, service providers,
and the general public. Values and
reputation are reflected in customer
experiences. Those experienc-
es create strong loyalties, which
motivate employees, increase sales,
and generate fiscal sustainability.
In a competitive global economy,
whether based in an urban area
or nestled in the Rocky Moun-
tains, one’s brand is what creates a
business of pride and endurance…
much like the lifestyle chosen by
living in Vail or in one of its excep-
tional, neighboring communities.
Eagle County continues to grow
as an attractive place to conduct
business. There are strong lines
of communication between local
governments and businesses, and
a network of support resourc-
es, which are easy to navigate.
The Vail Valley is a cohesive natu-
ral trade-area, made up of indepen-
dent communities offering unique
assets. This allows communities
across Eagle County to leverage
the extensive brand awareness of
“Vail” for their own objectives, and
allows Eagle County to appeal to
a broad cross-section of poten-
tial businesses & entrepreneurs,
looking for different community
attributes, aligned with their focus.
Our public-private partnerships
work to support businesses, by
providing exceptional service,
responsiveness, skills-development,
peer-to-peer collaboration, and
corporate guidance, which serve to
attract and retain diverse organiza-
tions, and help to develop a solid
economic base for the entire region.
Numerous resources exist by
which to help expand this envi-
ronment and support new en-
trepreneurs.; These include the
Small Business Development
Center, Northwest Colorado
Council of Governments, Moun-
tainCareers.com, Vail Valley
Young Professionals Association,
and Vail Valley Partnership.
These efforts vary from pro-
gramming to data; events to online
marketing; recurring meetings to
state and federal relationships;
and together, they help create a
community brand, which attracts
interest from across the globe.
We welcome you to celebrate
Vail as more than a place to
visit; we welcome you to cel-
ebrate Vail as a place to live,
work, and raise a family.
Chris Romer is President & CEO of Vail Val-
ley Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce.
Learn more at www.VailValleyPartnership.com
GETTY

Business & Finance
Fulfilling Career Dreams – Entrepreneurship
by Steve Daniels
T he Rocky Mountains
are filled with ordi-
nary people accomplish-
ing extraordinary things.
We see it in sports, with
our many Olympic ath-
letes, but it is also in the
overall spirit of our local
communities. People
come to visit, then stay,
because of our envi-
ronment’s unique ability
to inspire and deliver.
People have brought
with them, their hopes
and dreams. Some, who
never thought it possible,
are becoming entrepre-
neurs. The timing, with
the pandemic and subse-
quent economic influ-
ences, has caused many
to reconsider how they
conduct their business,
and has sparked that
entrepreneurial spirit.
Last week, the Wall
Street Journal dis-
cussed this phenome-
non on a national basis
(“Workers Quit Jobs
in Droves” November
29, 2021). Several data
points from the arti-
cle are noteworthy:
• The number of unin-
corporated self-em-
ployed workers has ris-
en by 500,000 since the
start of the pandemic
• Entrepreneurs applied
for federal tax-iden-
tification numbers
to register 4.54 mil-
lion new businesses
from January through
October this year, up
56% from the same
period of 2019
• Meanwhile, the per-
centage of U.S. work-
ers who are self-em-
ployed has risen to the
highest in 11-years
• In September, U.S.
workers resigned from
a record 4.4 million
jobs, Labor Depart-
ment data show
The appeal of entre-
preneurism is varied, but
increasingly it includes
a search for work-life
balance, the flexibili-
ty to live and work in
desired places, and a
growing weariness of
large organizations.
There are many suc-
cessful stories of small
businesses making a
huge impact within their
industries, sometimes
beginning with very little
capital, but driven by in-
tense passion, innovation,
and careful planning.
The rewards of owning
a business are many,
including financial inde-
pendence, bringing new
creativity to a personal
endeavor, setting your
own schedule, con-
trolling the selection of
clients and colleagues,
and developing the work
environment you desire.
There are also stories
of businesses that didn’t
make it, due to various
causes. Some undesirable
results are avoidable,
such as global economic
factors, supply issues, or
even personal emergen-
cies. Despite preparation,
unexpected events do
occur, which could have
a devastating effect on
your venture and result
in unwanted changes to
your career and lifestyle.
The challenges of
entrepreneurship, also
provides some of the
thrill… successfully tack-
ling the unknown (part
of our mountain lifestyle
DNA). However, the po-
tential for financial ruin is
very real and sometimes
the stress can be over-
whelming. It’s during
those times that the
comfort and security of
working for a larger orga-
nization can be enticing,
where they are the ones
who absorb the daily
challenges of regulations,
taxes, and industry issues.
In preparation for your
new business venture,
remember that costs may
be considerably higher
than anticipated due to
unforeseen events, cir-
cumstances, or fees. Yet,
experience and passion
can get you through
many of the challenges
you will face. Where
there’s a will, there’s a
way. Some of the great-
est successes have come
from those who were
on the verge of failure
but kept on moving
past their hurdles.
As you contemplate
your new venture,
consider several im-
portant questions…
• Do I have the requisite
knowledge and expe-
rience to organize and
run this business?
• What financial resourc-
es are needed? Do I
have access to them?
• Is the market for
this product and
service large enough
for sustainability?
• What will be my
unique niche?
• Can I win market
share from exist-
ing businesses?
The essential ques-
tion becomes, “can this
new business serve a
need at a lower cost, or
provide greater value
to customers, than the
existing competitors”?
There are basics to
starting any new busi-
ness, including legal,
administrative, and
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 17
GETTY
regulatory tasks. • Establishing an online
• Establish a legally presence: website, so-
recognized enterprise cial media, retail part-
with the Colorado ners (eBay, PayPal, etc.)
Secretary of State • Determining your
• Apply for a Federal best marketing ap-
Employer Identi- proach (print, dig-
fication Number ital, direct, etc.)
(“FEIN”) and state • Keep in mind, the
sales tax number unique requirements
• Set up separate bank of your industry,
accounts and business including associa-
loans including cred- tion memberships
it card processing If you discover that
• Research potential you are not comfortable
eligibility for grants to doing these tasks on your
see if structuring your own, you may desire the
venture in a particular services of a business
manner, will quality advisor, accountant, or
• Select, lease or pur- lawyer. And, while these
chase, physical operat- professionals would
ing space or designing certainly make it easier,
a dedicated space they can also be quite
within your home costly, yet, not as costly
• Set-up an account- as making a mistake.
ing system The Rocky Mountains
• Buy business insurance has provided generations
• Obtain appropriate with inspiration to fulfill
licenses or permis- their dreams. It may
sions need (i.e., city, now be time for yours!
county, or regulatory.)
• Purchase essential Stephen Daniels is an adjunct
equipment (i.e., phone, instructor of business and a
copier, internet, cash strategic and financial consultant.
register, vehicles, com- As a professional accountant, his
career has included assignments
puters, and software.) as a chief financial officer, and
• Setting up distri- head of corporate development for
bution channels private and public companies.
18 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Education & Parenting
Prioritizing Healthy Kids
by Heather Bergquist, teacher, mother, and child advocate
P arents want the
very best for their
children. They cart their
children up and down the
Vail Valley for story hour,
ski school, camps, sports,
hiking, and birthday par-
ties. They buckle their ba-
bies in with 5-point har-
nesses, hold their hands
when crossing the street,
teach them not to talk
to strangers, peek over
their shoulders when
they are on social media,
and make sure they are
eating healthy meals.
The heart of a loving
parent is giving their
children everything
conceivable to facilitate
success and protecting
them from anything that
might hinder them in life.
Parents strive to develop
healthy children: physical-
ly, mentally, emotionally,
spiritually, financially, and
relationally. So, when
they received a typical
school email, noting
an upcoming Healthy
Kids Colorado Survey
to be administered to
children in grades 6-12,
they might naturally
assume that it was related
to things like exercise,
diet, sleep patterns,
and study habits.
As expected, the
survey addressed many
of these topics, but
woven throughout were
questions addressing
more intimate and sexual
content. For example,
Questions 4 and 5 asked
children about their
perceived gender and
sexual identity, allowing
an answer of “I don’t
know what this question
is asking”, indicating that
the survey authors under-
stood they were exposing
children to issues that
were not age-appropriate.
A perceptive eye
would observe the lead-
ing language of Ques-
tion 71, which didn’t
ask children if they
have engaged in sexual
behavior, rather, it asked
children as young as
11-years-old, when they
first engaged in sexual
behavior. Question 73
led children again, asking
whether they used a con-
dom the last time they
had sex, and Question
72 asks whether alco-
hol was consumed the
last time they had sex.
Questions 18 and 19
ask a child whether they
have ever been raped, or
whether they have ever
raped another person.
However, sexual
questions are not the
only concern. Question
35 asks, “Have you ever
made a plan about how
you would kill your-
self ?”. For a child who
has never thought about
suicide, they are suddenly
considering a preferred
method to take their own
life. Research and data
abound which discuss the
power of leading lan-
guage and suggestibility,
particularly in children.
Illegal activities that
are addressed in this
survey, such as physical
abuse, rape, drug use, and
inappropriate gun access,
should be reported to
law enforcement. Yet,
because the survey was
anonymous, no recourse
or help could be provided
to a child in harm’s way.
The Colorado Healthy
Kids Survey was ad-
ministered through the
method of passive con-
sent. Sending a typical
school email to parents
that contained the casual
mention of the health
survey, was all that was
required for schools to
assume parental consent
and expose their children
to sensitive, personal,
and even illegal issues.
Using this method, par-
ents were removed from
the critical decision-mak-
ing process because
they were never given
full disclosure of the
contents of the survey.
Most parents wouldn’t
consider opting-out their
child from answering
questions about nvu-
trition and exercise.
Had appropriate active
consent been required,
parents would have had
the opportunity to review
the survey and make
decisions aligned with
their family values. It is
difficult to protect a child
from unknown influenc-
es, particularly when pro-
vided by trusted sources.
Some would say that
the type of data collected
from this survey allows
the state of Colorado
to fund areas of health
concerns for children.
While that may be a
noble cause, this premise
eliminates key players
in this scenario, the
parents. Strong families
and engaged parents
are critical for a child’s
developing health.
teen, and have an in-
creased risk of poverty.
It is no wonder that the
When the true goal, state is concerned about
is healthy children, the the alarming amount
clear emphasis and of mental, physical, and
funding should include psychological concerns
the valuing, resourc- facing our children. No
ing, and strengthening, matter how well-inten-
of the nuclear family, tioned, or well-funded,
GETTY
which has historical- there isn’t a replacement
ly been shown to be a for strong families in
child’s greatest support the ultimate health and
for a successful life. success of children.
According to US Cen- Healthy families are
sus Bureau Data, only not only central to the
18% of US families are growth and development
currently intact, down of healthy children, but
from 40% in the 1970s. they are the building
When families are weak, blocks of a thriving
it negatively impacts society. While schools
children, putting them are integral partners in
at higher risk for many the education of our
unhealthy and harmful youth, a commitment to
behaviors. These children healthy children needs
become more susceptible to affirm the rights and
to abuse and neglect, use responsibilities of each
of drugs and alcohol, parent, and the integral
eating disorders, crim- and critical role families
inal activity, and other play in the health of
heartbreaking actions. the next generation.
They are more likely to
drop out of high school, Heather Bergquist is a teach-
become pregnant as a er in the Vail Valley.

Education & Parenting
Spycraft at Home
by James van Beek, Eagle County Sheriff
H ow are your spycraft
skills? Can you deci-
pher the following code?
*** Teen cryptology: DQ-
MOT, @TEOTD, AH with my
BFFLNMW, we begin BF2 and
expecting others to CLAB, and
hoping they CRAFT, while CMAP
(wife), who’ll think, WTM while
she ROTFL, and reminds me that
BF2 is a WOMBAT (interpreta-
tion below). We’ve entered a world
of all things shaken, not stirred,
where tuxedos and sequined attire
are worn daily, and your hangouts
are glamorous casinos and cryp-
tic castles, and preferred mode
of transport is a speed boat, or
a military tank disguised as an
Italian sports car, and exploding
sticks of gum that can take down
a building. Where sinister guys
possess equipment envied by the
NSA and are members of interna-
tional cartels with names designed
to make superheroes jealous. Or
perhaps you’ve simply entered
TEXT MESSAGE the world of your average teen.
ABBREVIATIONS Any typical household includes
elements of spycraft, utilized by
residing members, but instead of
world domination, it is to orga-
nize meetings, allow shortcuts
to detailed conversations, plan
surprises both good and not so
much, or simply to have a degree
of privacy in close living quarters.
P911 or CD9:
Code 9 Parent Alert
LGH: Let’s Get High
CTN: Can’t talk Now
D46: Down for Sex
E: Ecstasy.
As parents must balance respect
of privacy, with the responsibili-
ty of keeping children safe in an
increasingly global environment.
The world of today’s youth
includes many people they may
never have met. Social media has
expanded horizons in good ways,
but it’s also added elements of
danger, previously unimagined.
Strangers enter your child’s bed-
room and accompany them to
school, their friend’s homes, in the
car, as they eat breakfast… basi-
cally everywhere their phone goes,
and parents have little knowledge
or control over the intent of these
nameless entities. Most are harm-
less, but all have an influence, and ii
only takes one nefarious contact to
cause a potentially tragic situation.
As any good spy would say
(before they killed you), you
must develop stealth methods of
communication. Parents know the
exciting appeal of strangers, and
how it frequently supersedes the
boring interests of family. When
you are young and impressionable,
that “appeal” may not have your
child’s best interest at heart.
Parents must become fluent
in the stealth language of tex-
ting, drugs, and online commu-
nications. There are websites to
introduce the elderly (anyone
over 30) to the world of digital
*** Deciphered Text (from opening paragraph): Don’t quote me on
this, at the end of the day, at home, we begin Battlefield 4 expecting
others to cry like a baby, and hoping they can't remember a *frickin*
thing, while I cover my “A” partner, hoping she’ll think “who’s the man”,
while she rolls on the floor laughing, and reminds me that Battlefield 4 is
a waste of money, brains, and time.
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 19
shortcuts, and methods of de-
livery that will send your IBM
Selectric into panic. https://
www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/
textmessageabbreviations.asp
For street names of commonly
used drugs, a decoder can be found
on the NIH website: https://
www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/
commonly-abused-drugs-charts
Some frequently used texting
codes include P911 or CD9: Code
9 Parent Alert / LGH: Let’s Get
High / CTN: Can’t talk Now /
D46: Down for Sex / E: Ecstasy.
With an opioid crisis spread-
ing across the country, we
must also be aware of some
street names for drugs.
This is only a partial listing,
as an intro into a world that
may improve your digital con-
versations but also remove
the cloud of secrecy that may
endanger those you love.
Learning digital shortcuts opens
levels of communication that will
expand your world, while also
enabling you to become more
acutely aware of the daily stress
in your child’s life. How you
choose to use this information is
a matter of parental decision.
Learn a new language, teen
cryptology! By increasing
your spycraft skills, you in-
crease your family’s safety.
DRUG
STREET
NAMES
Opioids: Codeine - Captain
Cody, Cody, Lean, Schoolboy,
Sizzurp, Purple Drank.
Fentanyl (Actiq®,
Duragesic®, Sublimaze®)
Apache, China Girl, China
White, Dance Fever, Friend,
Goodfella, Jackpot, Murder
8, Tango and Cash, TNT.
Morphine (Duramorph®,
MS Contin®) M, Miss Emma,
Monkey, White Stuff
Oxycodone (OxyContin®,
Percodan®, Percocet®,
and others) O.C.,
Oxycet, Oxycotton, Oxy,
Hillbilly Heroin, Percs
Oxymorphone (Opana®)
Biscuits, Blue Heaven,
Blues, Mrs. O, O Bomb,
Octagons, Stop Signs
LSD: Acid, Blotter, Blue
Heaven, Cubes, Microdot,
Yellow Sunshine
Barbiturates: pentobarbital
(Nembutal®) Barbs,
Phennies, Red Birds,
Reds, Tooies, Yellow
Jackets, Yellows
Benzodiazepines: alprazolam
(Xanax®), chlorodiazepoxide
(Librium®), diazepam
(Valium®), lorazepam
(Ativan®), triazolam
(Halicon®) Candy, Downers,
Sleeping Pills, Tranks
Marijuana: pot, weed, reefer,
dope, ganja, grass, herb,
bud, green, trees, skunk,
smoke and sinsemilla
Cocaine: candy, snow,
rock, flake, blow, toot, C,
coke, bump, and Charlie
Methamphetamines: meth,
ice, crank, speed, jibb,
tina, glass, fire, chalk and
crystal or crystal meth
Heroin: brown sugar, smack,
horse, dope, H or Big H,
junk, skag, skunk, white
horse, or China white
20 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Mountains of Inspiration
Because everyone needs a little happy in their lives.
The Magic of Belief and Unstoppable Pursuit
I t’s that time of year
again, like a politician
bribing for your vote, we
bargain with the future
by promising a ton of
things that rarely make it
past January. It’s called
the New Year’s Resolu-
tion.
How do we make this
year different? Taking
a dream (thoughts) and
making it into an achiev-
able goal (action). What
are the steps? How do
we begin? What makes
this different than other
resolutions of the past?
First, we must begin
with vision. Without
vision, you have no
direction; it’s your GPS
to the future. Vision
is more than what you
see; it’s often something
not yet materialized, but
that you, personally, can
experience in great detail.
Next, you must have
undoubting belief. Belief,
that despite others’ lack
of vision, and perhaps
that it’s never been done
before, that you absolute-
ly know, you can make
it happen. That doesn’t
mean that you are blind
to the challenges, but
you can see the path
beyond it and you’re
up for the adventure.
Then, there is the un-
stoppable pursuit. This
is the tough one because
there is no time limit,
nor any boundary to the
intensity of what’s ahead.
by Jacqueline Cartier, RMT Publisher
Yet, while in pursuit,
you must anticipate that
you will get knocked
down, and no matter
what happens, or how
All things splendid
have been achieved by
those who dared believe
that something inside
them was superior
to circumstance.
- Bruce Barton.
often it all falls apart, you
must get up, dust off,
adjust your compass, and
keep on going… never,
ever, giving up. Keep in
mind, that if it were easy,
then everyone would
have accomplished it.
Don’t let others’ low
expectations deter you
from your success and
remember, past cir-
cumstance does not
determine future poten-
tial. You can do this!
Who else has faced
similar challenges? Well,
we can start with a huge
failure, now called Post-it
Notes. Proof that just
because you had an un-
anticipated result, doesn’t
mean the outcome is a
failure. Originally testing
for a new glue, it became
apparent that this sub-
stance, only slightly tacky,
would not hold anything.
Rather than focusing on
what went wrong, they
began asking themselves,
what else could we do
with this? By reframing
the question, it changed
the outcome. This
“failure” became one
of the company’s most
successful products.
THOMAS EDISON’S
teachers told him that he
was too stupid to learn
anything yet, he went on
to hold more than 1,000
patents and invented
some world-changing
devices, like the pho-
nograph and the movie
camera. When asked
about his failures in creat-
ing the light bulb, he said,
“Why would I feel like a
failure…? I now know
definitively, over 9,000
ways that an electric light
bulb will not work. I am
not discouraged, because
every wrong attempt
discarded, is another step
forward. Success is al-
most in my grasp.” Soon,
after over 10,000 tries,
Edison created the incan-

descent bulb. How many
of us would have given
up at perhaps the 100th
or even 10th attempt?
What Edison exhibited
was belief… in his talent,
his vision, and his ability
to affect the future.
Belief is powerful;
it accompanies expec-
tation. Unlike hope,
which is passive, when in
the mindset of “expec-
tation”, we focus on
achievement. We see
possibilities, we might
otherwise miss, if fixated
on past “failures”. How
many rejections would
you consider acceptable,
before giving up? Suc-
cess is a process, not
an endgame. It pushes
us beyond possibility
and into the realm of
incredible! It’s what
we commonly refer
to as the journey.
At 65, KFC’s COL.
SANDERS, was in financial
ruins, living alone, broke,
on a monthly social secu-
rity check of only $106.
The only thing he owned
was a popular chicken
recipe. Rather than sell
the recipe, which would
give him a nominal one-
time payout, he decided
to provide it free of
2022 is a new year...
begin a new adventure!
GETTY
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 21
charge, in exchange for world was introduced four-minute mile was im-
a payment of a few pen- to Rocky Balboa. possible, that one would
nies per piece of chicken DR. SEUSS’ first chil- die in the attempt. Thus,
sold, which would give dren’s, book was rejected when I got up from the
him a regular income, by 27 publishers. The track after collapsing at
and allow the restaurants 28th publisher sold the finish line, I figured
to pay him from prof- 6 million copies! I was dead”. Bannister
its earned; how could WALT DISNEY was fired broke the barrier of
they lose? Yet, he spent by a newspaper editor self-imposed limitation,
2-years living in his car, because he “lacked imag- and hundreds subse-
with his only meals being ination”. He was turned quently followed in his
samples of chicken he down 302 times before steps. How did that
made for restaurateurs. someone financed his happen? Subsequent
His family and friends idea of “The Happiest runners removed that
considered him to be a Place on Earth”. What if psychological barrier of
homeless, crazy old man. he gave up at 300 or 50? defeat, allowing the body
After 1009 rejections, When MICHAEL JOR- and brain to figure out a
someone finally said, DAN was asked how he way to make it happen.
yes, and 10-years later, succeeded so well on the What these people had
he became a millionaire. court, he said, “I have in common, was that they
The difference between missed more than 9000 kept on going, against all
1009 and 1010 presenta- shots in my career. I odds! Don’t let others’
tions, was the difference have lost almost 300 limitations become your
between poverty and games. On 26 occasions, own. Break the barriers
becoming an interna- I have been entrusted to of your current environ-
tional fast-food icon. take the game’s win- ment and step into a new
Belief, commitment, ning shot and missed. world of possibilities.
adaptation to changing I have failed over and This new journey may
results, and hard work, over again in my life … be scary but remember
all came together! that is why I succeed”. that courage is not the
SYLVESTER STALLONE’S ROGER BANNISTER absence of fear, but the
script was rejected over broke the 4-minute mile. mastery of it. Churchill
1500 times. The week People had tried for cen- said, “Fear is a reaction;
before it sold, he was turies, but determined, courage is a decision”.
so desperate for food it was humanly impos- When doubt creeps in,
that a tearful Stallone sible. Against all logic, change your focus and
sold his beloved dog for Bannister kept trying. At ask yourself, “But if
$50. The next week, the finish, Bannister said, it were possible, what
he bought his dog “Doctors and scientists would I do next?”
back for $3000 and the said that breaking the
22 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Fashion & Design
Happily Ever After Often Begins with the Perfect Ring
by Jenny Hetei
“I love you” can be
expressed in many
ways. When you find
that special someone,
you want to present
them with something
as special as they are.
Navigating that land-
scape can be confusing
and even intimidating.
It doesn’t have to be.
The first thing to real-
ize is that when shopping
for something special, it
doesn’t have to be eco-
nomically stressful; there
are many options avail-
able at all price points.
When selecting a ring,
you have great flexibili-
ty. To put it simply, you
have variations with both
the metal and the stone.
Also, in selecting these
options, understand that
you can always change
a stone or ring setting,
so if you want some-
thing that’s currently
out of your budget,
don’t feel pressured into
overspending. A good
jeweler will collaborate
with you, to create a
piece that is precisely
what you want… you
don’t have to settle or
add extra pressure on
yourself financially.
Regarding the stone.
While a diamond is tra-
ditional, there are many
colored stones that are
magnificent. You are
not limited to one. A fa-
mous example was Lady
Diana’s sapphire engage-
ment ring; it was dupli-
cated all over the world.
Having your favorite
stone is more important
than something that you
PHOTOS BY GETTY
think you are supposed
to want. There are many
to choose from and
just as with diamonds,
there are quality grades,
which can give you
even greater flexibility.
However, if your heart
is set on a diamond, there
are some things you will
want to consider. Select
the shape that you like
and that looks best on
your finger, not simply
the latest fad. Just as
in clothing, the hottest
style may not be one that
you prefer, and you are
looking for something
that will look beautiful on
you specifically, for years
to come. You will want
to evaluate cut and color.
The most popular
stone setting is a solitaire,
but there are also halo
and cluster rings, con-
sisting of several small-
er-sized stones designed
together. It’s really your
preference. Both are
beautiful, and sometimes
a cluster ring will be even
more brilliant, and often,
more cost-efficient.
There are also lab-
grown diamonds. The
only difference between
a natural and lab-grown
diamond is where they
originate… natural
diamonds are grown in
the ground; a lab dia-
mond simulates those
conditions in a lab. It is
difficult for even a jewel-
er to tell the difference,
but the price difference
is substantial. If you are
concerned about “blood
diamonds” then a lab one
is your perfect choice.
Another excellent
option is a Moissanite.
They are a lab-grown
stone from a crystal
found in nature. It was
discovered in 1892 by
Henry Moissan and he
received a Nobel Prize
in chemistry for his
discovery. Moissanite
has a hardness close to a
diamond (9.25), with in-
credible brilliance, similar
to a diamond, at 1/10
the price. When using
a diamond tester, Mois-
sanite tests “diamond”.
The other part of the
ring is the metal. With
this, you also have many
choices. A less expensive
precious metal is silver.
When a silver ring is rho-
dium plated, it can have
the look of white gold
but is much more fragile.
On the other end of
the spectrum is platinum.
It is a pricy option be-
cause it is a dense metal
and therefore costs about
3-times the price of gold.
It is also a fairly soft met-
al, making it a riskier op-
tion for a ring. It is also
more delicate, scratching
easily and becoming
dull rather quickly.
Gold is the standard
choice for engagement
and wedding rings. Most
rings are 10, 14, or 18
karats. The lower the
number, the more alloyed
metals it contains, which
also makes it stronger.
Gold also retains its shine
better than platinum.
Yellow gold is in its
natural state, so its beauty
stands on its own. White
gold naturally has a slight
yellow tint to it, so it is
generally rhodium plated
to increase its white-
ness. You will notice the
yellow tint return as the
plating wears off, but it
can easily be re-plated.
Rose gold is beauti-
ful and is alloyed with
copper to give it that
beautiful pink color.
However, copper is a
soft metal, which you
may want to consider
when purchasing.
Regardless of which-
ever stone and metal you
choose, the way to keep
it looking beautiful, like
everything else, is by tak-
ing care of it. No type
of jewelry that has stones
set in it, is invincible. It is
wise to take rings off be-
fore gardening or engag-
ing in active sports like
mountain biking. Be sure
to get your ring cleaned
and prongs examined,
at least once a year for
natural wear and tear. Just
like a car, your jewelry
needs maintenance.
Find a jeweler that will
show you all of your
options and not just the
priciest, because there
are beautiful options
available at every price
point. You want this
match to be as good as
the person you plan on
spending the rest of your
life with. Enjoy the ex-
citement of selecting the
perfect reflection of your
love for one another.
Jenny Hetei, Owner of Porto-
fino Jewelry in Avon CO

Technology
Can Blockchain Be Backed by Hard Assets?
by Corey Goodlander, CEO ChainRaise, Corey@ChainRaise.io
Michael Dunahay, Director of Development ChainRaise, Michael@ChainRaise.io
I nvestopedia describes
Blockchain as follows:
“A blockchain is a dis-
tributed database that is
shared among the nodes
of a computer network.
As a database, a block-
chain stores information
electronically in digital
format. Blockchains are
best known for their
crucial role in cryptocur-
rency systems, such as
Bitcoin, for maintaining
a secure and decentral-
ized record of transac-
tions. The innovation
with a blockchain is that
it guarantees the fidelity
and security of a record
of data and generates
trust without the need
for a trusted third party.”
Everybody knows that
person who made a ton
of money investing in
Bitcoin. They told you
about it years ago, and
to your amazement, the
price has skyrocketed.
What felt like a cra-
zy idea, is now being
adopted and bought
into, by traditional
institutions. What felt
like something backed
by nothing, is currently
sitting near a market cap
of $1 trillion USD! The
question worth asking, is
how did people have the
conviction to invest in
Bitcoin, in the early days?
And what comes next?
The first answer lies
in the underlying tech-
nology. The blockchain.
The blockchain is so
powerful of an innova-
tion, that it has gotten
the eye of many central
banks around the world,
now exploring releasing
digital dollars on the
blockchain. If a central
bank likes the technology,
there must be some-
thing solid behind it.
The second answer,
is Security Tokens, also
known as Asset-Backed
Crypto. For a lot of us, it
was difficult to put seri-
ous money into cryptos
without having some-
thing behind it. That
is no longer the case.
ChainRaise, is taking
the power of the block-
chain and combining it
with real-world assets, in
a process called Toke-
nization. This allows
the equity holders in
private assets, such as
real estate or private
businesses, to receive
their investments in the
form of tradable tokens.
This is much differ-
ent than common stock
shares traded on a stock
exchange, like the NYSE.
And much different than
NFTs (Non-Fungible
Tokens), which have
also become a craze in
the blockchain world.
By tokenizing the asset,
we are harnessing the
power of blockchain to
bring privately held assets
to liquidity Markets.
The blockchain offers
many benefits, but at the
top of the list, is bringing
liquidity to previously il-
liquid assets. You see, the
tokenized investments
can be listed on an ATS
(Alternative Trading Sys-
tem), giving them an ex-
change to trade on. Here
is a real-world example.
A real estate develop-
er goes out and raises
capital from friends and
family for an exciting
new project that will
bring much-needed hous-
ing to the Vail Valley!
The capital needed is
$10M to secure the land
and debt from the bank,
to begin the project.
Joe, a friend of the
developer, likes the
project and wants to
invest $500k. He re-
ceives his tokens in a
digital wallet, has a login
and interface, where he
can track the project
and receive updates.
Upon completion of
the project, Joe wants to
sell some of his tokens to
recoup his initial invest-
ment. Well because Joe
invested in a tokenized
real estate development,
he can bring his tokens
to an ATS and access
liquidity there! The inno-
vation doesn’t stop there!
Tokenization is comput-
ing code. Blockchain is
also code. The world
of digital exchange is
all based on code.
The developer can
offer incentives to those
that invest! For exam-
ple, the St. Regis in
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 23
Aspen has tokenized a
percentage of owner-
ship of the hotel and
offers token holders
additional benefits such
as discounts on accom-
modations. Think about
how fun that can get
when it’s a restaurant or
winery being tokenized!
“What will the regula-
tors think about this?”
That’s a question
asked a million
times over
and for
good rea-
son. The
simple
answer is,
they rec-
ognize and
appreciate
the compliance
that gets automat-
GETTY
ically programmed into
the Security Tokens.
Everything from KYC
(know your customer),
to AML (anti-money
laundering) processes
are built into the tokens.
For those of you
that can remember the
beginning of the internet,
in the ‘90s, and thought
“what is this all about?”.
Blockchain and toke-
nization are on a faster
growth trajectory, in terms
of adoption rates, and
it is poised for explosive
growth in the near future.
By Corey Goodlander,
CEO ChainRaise
and Michael Dunahay, Director
of Development ChainRaise
24 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Hispanic Culture
El camino a la Universidad... no es tan difícil como parece
by Edgar Arroyo
M uchas veces nos
preguntamos
¿podrán estudiar nuestros
hijos e hijas una carrera
universitaria?, el sueño
se ve tan difícil, el precio
de la universidad es
carísimo y muchos otros
obstáculos que hacen el
camino más difícil. Estos
paradigmas también
afectan los sueños de
miles de estudiantes que
desean un mejor futuro.
¿Cuándo comien-
za el camino a la
universidad?
Aunque parezca in-
creíble podría decir que
comienza desde el útero.
Desde que el bebé
comienza la gestación
podemos comenzar un
modesto ahorro ban-
cario que a la postre de
18 años dejará muchos
dividendos. Se estima
que el costo promedio
de una carrera de 4 años
oscila entre 40,000 y
50,000 dependiendo
de la universidad, y
esto no incluye gastos
personales, únicamente
colegiaturas, dormitorio
y gastos de la escuela,
todavía falta considerar
comidas, ropa, libros
y útiles escolares.
No podemos confiar
en que nuestros hijos
e hijas obtendrán una
“beca completa” ya que
son muy competitivas,
es mejor llevar un Plan
B o hasta C en cues-
tiones de educación.
TheCollegeInves-
tor.com sugiere la
siguiente tabla para
invertir a futuro:
Edad Cantidad a
invertir por año para
alcanzar $1,000,000
18 $2,100 o $175 por mes
19 $2,292 o $191 por mes
20 $2,250 o $210 por mes
21 $2,772 o $231 por mes
Obviamente dependi-
endo de nuestras posibili-
dades económicas y nues-
tra libertad financiera,
pero seamos sinceros,
con una cantidad así de
generosas se abren mu-
chas posibilidades para
cualquier universidad y
bolsillo. Siendo la falta de
recursos una de las prin-
cipales causas por la que
estudiantes de preparato-
ria abandonan sus sueños
de seguir estudiando, po-
demos ver que con una
pequeña pero oportuna
inversión podemos lograr
que cumplan esos sueños.
¿Cómo lograr esa beca?
(Full ride vs No ride)
Suponiendo que nuestra
economía no nos per-
mita retirar 175 dólares
por mes por 18 años,
existen otras vías para
lograr el camino a la
universidad y que son
relativamente fáciles
y sencillas de lograr,
pero requieren nuestro
absoluto compromiso.
Reuniones de pa-
dres de familia
Desde preescolar hasta
el último año de prepara-
toria se debe mostrar ese
compromiso. A muy tem-
prana edad nuestros hijos
comienzan ir a la escuela
y nuestro ejemplo los
motiva (o desalienta) para
seguir estudiando. Los
maestros y maestras están
en constante búsqueda
del compromiso de los
padres de familia y solo
unos pocos acuden al
llamado. La única manera
de participar en la carrera
educativa de nuestros
hijos es estar presentes
sabiendo lo que están
estudiando, ¿cuál es el
correo electrónico de su
maestra?, ¿qué día se en-
tregan las tareas?, ¿cuán-
do son las conferencias
de padres y maestros? y la
información más impor-
tante de todas: ¿Cuándo
es el ‘ice cream social’?
Por lo menos serían
10 días por ciclo es-
colar los que tenemos
que estar presentes en
la escuela de nuestros
hijos, no es grande el
compromiso ¿o sí?
Sí, ya existe una
aplicación para eso
(School Apps)
Quizá nuestras labores
cotidianas nos impiden
estar en cada evento
escolar que se presenta.
Los avances de la tec-
nología han hecho que la
clase legue hasta nosotros
en forma de aplicaciones
en nuestros teléfonos
móviles. Ya en su gran
mayoría maestros y mae-
stras de todos los niveles
educativos comparten de
manera creativa lo que
ocurre en la clase por
medio de blogs, bole-
tines, mensajes de textos
a la clase y obviamente,
las boletas de califica-
ciones. Aplicaciones
como Schoology, Class
Dojo o Powerschool nos
ayudan a mantenernos
alertas e informados
de cuáles asignaturas o
proyectos están faltando
y por qué tiene una F mi
muchos comienzan a
decepcionarse. Las hor-
monas y la adolescencia
hijo o hija en ¿educación no hacen las cosas sencil-
física? Todo al alcance las tampoco, pero afor-
de nuestros dedos, es tunadamente podemos
cuestión de preguntar- acudir a diferentes recur-
le a la maestra cómo sos que pueden solventar
‘conectarse’ a la clase. todos estos obstáculos.
Borrón y cuenta nueva Programa AVID,
(Erase the Slate) mejor que una beca
Si bien los 5 años de Como sus siglas nos
primaria son un ensayo dicen, es un programa
tanto para familias como para avanzar por la vía de
para los mismos estudi- la determinación, nada
antes, no se puede tomar más, nada menos, lo que
esa etapa a la ligera ya se siembra se cosecha.
que muestra las bases Las horas que se le
sólidas de la lectura y inviertan a este programa
noción matemática que son horas de vuelo para
serán de extrema im- un piloto que busca su
Las tareas se hacen
mas dificiles, ya not
hay mas Dr Seuss
portancia para la sigui- licencia comercial, para
ente etapa educativa: La el atleta que busca llegar
educación secundaria. a las grandes ligas o para
Las tareas se hacen más el músico que desea
difíciles, ya no hay más algún día llegar a sosten-
Dr. Seuss, ahora estamos er ese Grammy y dar su
aprendiendo de la Guerra discurso de aceptación.
Civil, el discurso del Dr. La determinación es lo
Martin Luther King Jr. que hace la diferencia.
y las repercusiones del AVID es un programa
capitalismo en el mundo gratuito que busca
occidental, capitales de cambiar la manera en
los países y no hablemos que estudiamos, nos
del examen sorpresa ayuda a lograr obtener las
del viernes en álgebra. mejoras notas de la clase,
Aquí en esta etapa es nos organiza en tareas y
donde debemos agudizar en tiempo, habilidades
nuestros sentidos porque que no son innatas en el
el camino se hace más estudiante de secundaria.
estrecho y es donde El programa es gratuito,

pero (siempre hay un
pero) no es un programa
para todos, los maestros
identifican a esos can-
didatos que tienen el
potencial de seguir más
allá de la preparatoria, el
programa es demandante
por lo tal, exige un perfil
muy definido. Muchos
logran entrar, pero no
todos terminan con lo
que empezaron. Activo
en 7,000 escuelas en toda
la nación y actualmente
ayudando a 2 millones de
estudiantes a que logren
entrar a la universidad.
AVID no es una beca,
pero como si lo fuera, el
estudiante AVID tiene
más herramientas y mejor
ética profesional que un
estudiante promedio.
Se gradúa con mejores
promedios y va me-
jor preparado para no
abandonar sus estudios
post-secundarios.
Advanced Placement/
Dual Enrollment
Muchos padres de familia
navegan en los últimos
años en la preparatoria
sin saber que existen
clases que ayudan a sus
hijos a avanzar con los
requisitos de créditos
universitarios. Las clases
de Ubicación Avanza-
da (AP) y las clases de
Inscripción Dual (DE)
son de contenido y
exigencias universitarias
desde la comodidad de
su preparatoria local, les
otorgan créditos tanto
para graduarse de pre-
paratoria como crédito
universitario, esto quiere
decir que al graduarse de
DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 25
la preparatoria el estudi- filtros y terminar con una
ante ya lleva créditos de entrevista de salida donde
ventaja en comparación el candidato tiene que
de sus compañeros. Es demostrar sus habilidades
importante revisar con en ambos idiomas.
el departamento de
consejería si los créditos La opción a la vuelta
cursados son aceptados de la esquina (Com-
en la universidad a la munity Colleges)
que se desea ingresar. Si las opciones de asistir a
una universidad de cuatro
Career X/Career Wise años parecen remotas y
No todo es estudiar y se está llegando la hora
salir con calificaciones de graduación, siempre
excelentes de la pre- existe la opción de la
paratoria si no se lleva carrera corta o Asso-
GETTY
esa experiencia laboral ciate’s Degree. Estas presupuesto mensual o turno antes de graduarse
de la mano o lo que carreras cortas se pueden simplemente el extrañar genera independencia y
se piensa estudiar. Los cursas en los Colegios la rica comida hogareña cierta habilidad para las
programas de Career X y comunitarios ya sea de de mamá. Es por eso que finanzas, sobre todo si se
Career Wise ofrecen a los manera local o en la zona desisten sus estudios y abre una cuenta bancar-
estudiantes la oportuni- metropolitana. La ventaja optan por regresar a casa ia donde el estudiante
dad de explorar carreras, de cursar en estas insti- en el primer o segundo aprenda a girar cheques,
conocer el campo que tuciones es que el costo semestre, sin importar controlar sus gastos y
se desea estudiar o ser de la colegiatura es suma- que tenían beca o los vigilar su presupuesto
un aprendiz para tener mente reducido en com- recursos para pagar no mensual con la super-
la certeza que esa es la paración de las grandes solo uno si no los 4 años visión de los padres.
carrera u oficio que se universidades. Otra de universidad. ¿Cómo
piensa estudiar por cua- ventaja es que si el estudi- se puede combatir esto? El as bajo la manga (If
tro largos años. Existen ante decide quedarse en Estudiar un año de inter- everything else fails)
aprendices que inclusive el valle se ahorra con- cambio sería lo ideal, en USATODAY en un artí-
obtienen remuneración siderablemente el costo un ambiente controlado culo publicado en línea
por su tiempo invertido de vivienda, otro de los y en un país lejano, pero reportó que, en 2018, los
y obviamente un crédito obstáculos que desanima lamentablemente sola- ingresos promedio de tra-
a favor de su diploma. a la familia o al estudiante mente una minoría acude bajadores que solo tenían
a seguir estudiando. a esta opción. Si tener a diploma de preparatoria
El valor de ser bilingüe los hijos a 100 millas de fueron de $ 730 por
(Seal of Biliteracy) Factor de ansiedad aquí les resulta difícil aún semana, según la Oficina
Un profesionista bilingüe (Parents and students) más sería mandarlos al de Estadísticas Laborales
tiene muchas más opor- Si por fin pudimos otro lado del Atlántico. de EE. UU. Para aquellos
tunidades profesionales esquivar cada uno de los La preparación psi- con una licenciatura, era
que los que no lo son. El obstáculos durante los cológica empieza desde de $ 1,200, mientras que
sello bilingüe va impre- 12 años educativos del temprana edad, desde aquellos con una maestría
so en los diplomas de estudiante, aún que- que el niño tiene uso de generalmente ganaban
aquellos graduados que da solventar el último razón y no importando $ 1,400 por semana.
pasaron por un programa obstáculo que no tiene que los padres hayan ido Los números no
de requisitos que los nada que ver con el o no a la universidad. La mienten, y siempre será
avala como estudiantes dinero o la capacidad idea se debe exponer, lo el mejor argumento para
competentes en dos idio- académica: la nostalgia. más pronto mejor, una buscar y caminar por
mas. El proceso comien- Muchos estudiantes vista al campus aligera esa ruta que algunos
za desde quinto grado no logran superar el la ansiedad, el conseguir toman y muy pocos
hasta llegar por todos los vivir solos, el manejar un un empleo de medio terminan: la universidad.
26 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Hispanic Culture
The Road to University
by Edgar Arroyo
W e often wonder,
can our children
attend a university? The
traditional college dream
may look too difficult
to attain; the price is
very expensive, and
other obstacles make the
road more challenging.
These paradigms affect
the dreams of thou-
sands of students who
want a better future.
When does the road
to college begin?
Although it may seem
incredible, planning for
college starts from the
moment you know you
are having a baby. A
Volunteering is essential.
modest savings account
can result in substantial
dividends after 18 years.
It is estimated that the
average cost of a 4-year
college is over $50,000
for tuition, plus dorm,
meals, and miscellaneous
school expenses. There
are also books, school
supplies, travel, clothing,
and other expenses.
Full scholarships
are available, but very
competitive, and while
your child should try to
earn what financial aid
they can, you must have
a Plan B or even C, when
it comes to paying for
a college education.
One of the main rea-
sons high schoolers aban-
don their dreams of con-
tinuing their education, is
the lack of resources. A
small, but timely invest-
ment can help them
fulfill their dreams.
www.TheCollegeIn-
vestor.com suggests
the following table to
invest in the future:
How to get that
scholarship? (Full-
ride vs No-ride)
Assuming that your
income does not allow
you to save $175 per
month for 18-years, there
are other ways to achieve
a path to university that is
relatively easy and simple
to achieve but requires an
absolute commitment.
Parent Involvement
From preschool to the
last year of high school,
we as parents must show
a commitment. At a very
young age, our children
start school, and our
example motivates (or
discourages) them to
continue their studies.
Teachers are constantly
seeking the commitment
of parents, and only a
few answer the call. The
only way to participate
in the academic career
of our children, is to be
present, knowing what
they are studying and
helping where we can.
We should know, the
teacher’s email, when
homework is due, dates
for parent-teacher con-
ferences, and attending
all classroom/school-re-
lated events, beginning
with the opening day
“ice cream social”.
Volunteering is es-
sential. There’s a simple
application to complete.
A target amount of
time would be 10-
days a year, which can
easily be accomplished
by most families.
Perhaps your daily
work prevents you from
being at every school
event. Advances in tech-
nology have made partic-
ipation accessible via cell
phone apps and Zoom.
A vast majority of
teachers share classroom
experiences through
blogs, newsletters, text
messages, and through
traditional forms like
report cards. Applica-
tions like Class Dojo or
PowerSchool help us
stay alert and informed
of what subjects or
projects are missing
and what an “F” actu-
ally means, and how to
correct it. Just ask the
teacher for the best way
to connect to the class.
Erase the slate
Although the first five
years (six, including
preschool) are a fun and
exciting time for parents
and students, it’s also
an extremely import-
ant time. These are the
years to a build solid
foundations of language,
reading, and mathemat-
ics, which are critical for
the next stages of their
education: middle-school
and high-school.
As they progress, the
tasks become more chal-
lenging. We go from Dr.
Seuss to topics like the
Civil War, and prominent
speeches like those of
Dr. Martin Luther King.
We study world cultures,
comparing differences
and similarities, and be-
gin understanding things
like capitalism in the
Western World. We ex-
perience the distinctions
between social studies
and the sciences. Those
pop quizzes in Algebra,
teach much more than
numbers. Hormones
and adolescence do not
make things any easier.
However, we have
many resources to help
students and fami-
lies achieve success.
The AVID Program
(Advancement via Indi-
vidual Determination) is
better than a Scholarship.
As the name suggests,
it is a program to move
forward through individ-
ual determination, what
is sown, is harvested.
The hours spent in this
program are like flight
hours for a pilot seeking
his commercial license,
or practice hours for
the athlete who seeks
to reach the big leagues,
or for the musician who
wishes to one day, get to
hold that Grammy and
give their acceptance
speech. Determination
carries you through the
tough times and makes
all the difference in the
world. It’s one of life’s
most important lessons.
AVID is a free pro-
gram that seeks to
change the way students
study. It helps them
achieve the best grades
in class and instills orga-
nizational practices for
homework; skills that are
not innate in the average
student. The program is
free, but (there is always
a but) it is not a program
for everyone. Teachers
identify candidates who
have the potential to
continue beyond high
school, and the program
is demanding. Many
manage to enter, but not
everyone graduates from
the program. AVID is
active in 7,000 schools
across the nation and
currently helps 2 mil-
lion students, get into
college. AVID is not a
scholarship but equips
students with tools and
professional work ethics.
They graduate with high-
er grade point averages
and are better pre-
pared to complete their
post-secondary studies.
Advanced Placement
/ Dual Enrollment
Many parents have nav-
igated high school in re-
cent years without know-
ing that there are classes
available, which meet
college credit require-
ments. Attaining these
 DECEMBER – JANUARY • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • 27

credits in high school In the rapidly globalizing is always the option of ey or academic ability, it’s that may include at-
means that you won’t workforce, a bilingual an Associate Degree. the nostalgia for home. tending college sporting
have to pay to take them professional has many Associate Degrees can Many students fail to events, or other activities
in college. Advanced more career opportu- be earned in community overcome the fear of open to the community.
Placement (AP) and nities than their mono- colleges either locally living alone, managing a It then becomes a wel-
Dual Enrollment (DE) lingual counterparts. or in the metropolitan monthly budget or they coming and fun place to
classes are college-level The bilingual stamp is area. The advantage of simply miss their moth- be. Getting a part-time
courses, which allow printed on the diplomas studying in these institu- er's rich home cooking. job before graduating,
students to complete of those graduates who tions is that the cost of That is why they give up generates indepen-
college requirements went through a pro- tuition is greatly reduced, their studies and choose dence, plus additional
from the comfort of gram of requirements compared to large to return home in the financial resources. If a
their local high school. that endorses them universities. Another first or second semester, bank account is opened
Those who pass the AP as competent in two advantage is that if the regardless of whether while the student is in
exam or DE course, languages. The process student decides to stay they had a scholarship high school, parents
graduate with joint starts in fifth grade and in the valley, they can or the resources to pay can monitor and teach
high school and college finishes with an exit generally eliminate the for any length of their the basics of balancing
credits. This gives them interview in high school, cost of housing, which college. This tempta- a budget and meeting
a distinct advantage where the candidate can provide a substantial tion can be overcome. obligations, while still
over their classmates for must demonstrate their saving, making the ideal Psychological prepa- allowing for fun.
admission and scholar- skills in both languages. of a college education a ration begins at an early A college degree
ships. It’s important to more attainable reality. age. The idea of college is attainable and can
check with the school The Option around Most universities provide should be introduced place your child on
counselor to verify the Corner (Com- transfer options, upon to students early on, the path of success.
that the credits will be munity Colleges) successful completion of whether their parents
accepted at your pre- If the opportunity of at- their Associate Degree. have gone to college or Edgar Arroyo, District Trans-
ferred college/university. tending a four-year uni- Anxiety Factor (Par- not. Scheduling a visit to lator/Interpreter at Berry
versity degree, seems un- ents and Students) view a college campus Creek Middle School. Contact:
Work 970-328-3956,
Career-X / CareerWise realistic and graduation The last obstacle has relieves anxiety about Cell 970-376-8140
It’s not just about good is approaching, there nothing to do with mon- the new environment;
grades. Students should
also begin exploring
what they want to do
with their futures. The
Career X and Career-
Wise programs offer
students the opportu-
nity to explore various
opportunities, learn
about the field they want
to pursue, or to enter an
apprentice program or
internship to earn trade
certifications. Some
of these things can
start while still in high
school. Upon comple-
tion, they receive credit
towards their diploma.

The Value of be-

ing Bilingual (Seal
of Biliteracy)

GETTY
28 • ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRIBUNE • DECEMBER – JANUARY
Holiday Dreams
Is Santa real?
by Jacqueline Cartier, RMT Publisher
W ho is Santa? Some
would say he is
a cheerful person who
visits once a year and
doesn’t overstay his
welcome. He leaves his
pets outside, and always
arrives with presents. In
short, the perfect guest!
A version of Santa has
survived the test of time
GETTY
in nearly every culture
across the globe. In the
United Kingdom, there’s
Father Christmas. In It-
aly, there’s Babbo Natale.
In France, there’s Pere
Noel. In Russia, there’s
Ded Moroz. In Chile,
there’s Viejo Pascuero.
The names are different,
but the spirit is the same.
For many, the tradi-
tions of Christmas are
religious, for others it is
cultural. Regardless of
one’s personal beliefs
about the holiday, nearly
everyone welcomes the
mid-winter break. It is
a time filled with parties,
great food, fun songs,
and sentimental mem-
ories. While different
religions celebrate this
time of year in their
own unique way, oth-
ers consider it simply
a day to relax and
recover from a month-
long shopping spree.
Symbolic of the holi-
day spirit is that cheerful
old soul named, Santa.
Every year, parents are
faced with the challenge
of trying to explain the
existence of Santa. Is
he real? It is never an
easy task. Why? What
does the idea of no Santa
mean to children? Why
is it such a sad conversa-
tion? The presents would
still come. The tree and
lights would remain.
The happy songs would
continue. Why then, is
it so upsetting? And is it
true? No Santa, really?
Who is Santa? Why
is the story so relatively
consistent around the
world? What is the
common thread? Why
does the spirit and image
of Santa continue from
generation to generation?
Thoughts of hope,
compassion, generosi-
ty, happiness, tradition,
recognition of good
deeds, the inspiration for
the future … Santa sees
it all. And doesn’t it feel
wonderful, to be recog-
nized for the good we
do throughout the year?
Isn’t it nice to think that
those acts of kindness
won’t go unnoticed?
That family and friends
are spending their days
thinking of something
special to do, just for us?
Christmas provides the
perfect moment to share
your love with those
who make the rest of
the year so significant.
The knowledge that
even during the darkest
time of year, there is a
bright spot, a sense of
security that everything
will be OK … that
someone notices your
sacrifices and rewards
you for them… that all
the family squabbles are
temporarily set aside,
replaced by love, appre-
ciation, and generosity.
Of course, family and
friends love you all year,
and receiving presents
is always fun, but how
often do we intend to do
something meaningful
for someone, and time
just slips away, and it nev-
er gets done? That spe-
cial visit that you’ve been
too busy to arrange, or
the little something that
you know someone has
always wanted and you
are finally able to give it
to them but keep forget-
ting. What about that
charity, which inspires
such passion in you, yet
it slips your mind to do
something? December
becomes your reminder.
Christmas is the ulti-
mate deadline for all the
nice things we’ve meant
to do. It allows us a very
specific time, for show-
ing our appreciation for
everything we have, both
physically and spiritually.
It’s also an opportunity
to share that happiness
with those we love, and
others who we deeply
care about. Our atten-
tion is also brought to
the plight of so many,
within our community,
who struggle everyday
with very little. While
we can’t do everything
for everyone, we can
certainly do something
for some, and Christmas
provides that inspiration.
Yes, Christmastime
provides the space to
stop and notice… a time
for gratitude and recog-
nition of our blessings,
and the power we have,
to bring happiness to
others; it’s known as the
magic of Christmas.
Why does Santa live
on? Because hope lives
on. If we tell a child
there is no Santa, for
many, it’s like saying
there is no hope, no
miracles, no dreams-
come-true. Why does
a child of age 10, who
clearly knows that a fat
man in a red suit doesn’t
really come down the
chimney every year, still
look so brokenhearted
at the thought that Santa
might not be real?
Maybe it’s because, in
every child’s heart, they
know that the spirit of
Santa lives eternally. It’s
not about the bearded
man in a red suit, or fly-
ing deer, or elves making
toys … what Christmas
represents, whether
religious or secular, is
love shared with fam-
ily, friends, and those
in need; and faith that
wishes really can come
true. It is a reset button
on what we’ve come
to expect of ourselves
and others. It’s a global
celebration of goodness.
A reminder of times
past, with the excitement
of what’s yet to come.
Santa is a hero to mil-
lions of people because
he represents the good
we strive for; the desire
to bring joy to other’s
lives; the opportunity
to show our apprecia-
tion to those we love.
Santa exists to remind
us of our better selves.
Santa lives in each and
every one of us. And
the next time you hear
someone say that there
is no Santa, just smile,
and remember that they
simply haven’t recog-
nized the magic within
themselves, the Santa
that lives in us all.