The debate about the future of the controversial oil shale industry will make an appearance on Sept. 7 at the meeting of the Garfield County commissioners.
Energy industry liaison Judy Jordan is on tap give the Board of County Commissioners an update on the latest estimates about how much water may be needed to extract the estimated 1.2 trillion barrels of "oil" trapped in subterranean rock strata in the Piceance Basin, which is bisected by the Colorado River as it passes through Garfield County.
The "oil" actually is a substance called kerogen that can be separated from the surrounding rock by applying heat.
Jordan told the Post Independent on Friday that she will be basing most of her comments on a recent study by the Colorado River Water Conservation District in Glenwood Springs.
That report, according to CRWCD Deputy General Manager Dan Birch, estimated that extracting the shale oil might take as much as 120,000 acre-feet of water per year, which he said

Meeta Goel came to the United States in 1984, but her initial immigrant experience was in 1968 when she left India for Canada.

Goel: I left India on a plane by myself when I was 9 years old. My mother and father and my younger brother came to Canada via Sweden in 1967. My dad had done his master's and doctoral work in Sweden and Germany. I had stayed in India with my grandparents. When my parents sent for me, my grandmother tied the key to the suitcase around my neck and told me to "bring the family back." It was pretty safe in those days because the stewardesses looked out for you. But I had only learned three words in English: yes, no and thank you.
I just have fleeting memories of the actual plane ride. I remember feeling alone, and I did resent that they had left me in India and then put me on a plane by myself. My parents are great parents, so, over the years, I have learned to forgive and forget. Indians are totally motivated by schooling so they left me be

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Dr. Mike Berkeley didn't want his epitaph to be "He fixed many knees."
So he changed his life. He went from being a very successful orthopedic surgeon in Aspen for many years to being the owner of the largest sod farm in the area to his current job: running a hospital in the heart of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chihuahua in northern Mexico, where he takes care of thousands of Tarahumara Indians.
"Today, I guess my epitaph would say, 'He fixed many broken Indians,'" said Berkeley, 57, with a smile. "I have healed the richest and the poorest."
That is possible partially thanks to Rivendell, the sod farm he and his wife, Maci, started more than 15 years ago. All proceeds of the farm, located just above the Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley campus, go to fund the Hospital Misin Tarahumara, which the Berkeleys built 10 years ago.

"Many of these Indians would be dead from infections or crippled

Religion has become a major feature in our nation and on the major news networks. The issue of the mosque adjacent to the twin towers' former location has certainly intensified feelings.
The big word of the day is "tolerance," or the flip-side "intolerance." Tolerance has become a verbal sledge hammer.
Groups who accuse their opponents of intolerance are usually great examples of intolerance. Should we tolerate intolerance?
I guess we are all supposed to hold hands and sing.
Religion is all just contrived and based on myths, right?
Therefore it doesn't matter what you believe because you can invent your own truth, and it's just as good as the next guy's.
Tolerance levels the playing field. Or does it?
Years ago, I heard the saying, "You can't legislate morality." I soon came to realize that just the opposite is true. All legislation is the imposition of morality on people.
The difference is in who decided what wa

Obey the rules and you don't have to go
Becky Drop, I strongly disagree with most everything you had to say in your letter about the cat problem in Apple Tree Park. First off, ignorance is very rarely justification for anything. So in this case I have a hard time believing that you have lived here for 22 years and didn't know that your lease agreement was month to month. If you didn't read the contract to live here before you signed it then shame on you.
But that is not the issue here. The issue is that as of Nov. 1, 2010, if you continue to feed feral cats you will be in violation of park rules. ( I know this because I read the revised rules.) And anyone who breaks the rules is subject to the consequences, which in this case is a 30-day right to cure (Again, I read the rules).
Next the Talbotts do want us to live here and have nice things to say, that is why they put this new rule in place. The feral cats that you continue to feed don't make this a nice pla

Growing up in a German community, in northeast Iowa, everyone had a vegetable garden. Green sweet peppers were grown by my family and were used for stuffed peppers and pepper relish, and in the 1970s a few chopped peppers were sparingly added to homemade pizzas.
After college, I made trips to northern New Mexico, in the fall, with my mom. In 1978 I moved to Denver. I still remember the first time I saw the ristras of red peppers hung to dry and smelled green chili peppers being roasted. Before moving to Colorado, I started planting every kind of hot chili pepper that I could find. It was a challenge to see how hot I could make my pepper relish.
Each year when Vince McCann, of Borden Farms, brings his chili roaster to the market, the smell of roasting, medium hot, Anaheim chilies reminds me of my early memories of New Mexico and Colorado. Borden's roasted chilies are large and thick-walled. After roasting, Vince packages them in a bag while still warm, making the skin very eas

Digital Camera Club
Local photographers will continue the journey through the wonderful world of digital photography with the Digital Camera Club. Join in the discussions on lighting, focus, color, angles, lenses, software, and all aspects of turning a photo into art. The club will meet at the New Castle Branch Library on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. Please remember your camera and recent photos (either printed or stored). If you have questions contact the library at 984-2346.

Libraries closed for Labor Day
The Garfield County libraries will be closed Monday, Sept. 6, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. You can still browse and request books, movies, and more on our website, www.gcpld.org, during the closure. Most branch libraries will resume normal hours Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m.
The Parachute Branch Library will remain closed until their Grand Opening Celebration the following Saturday, the 11th of September, at 10 a.m.
Thank you for your continued support.

Ge

Kimberly Appelson's body remains missing nearly two months after the 23-year-old Breckenridge woman fell off a raft into the Arkansas River. Her death and disappearance have brought into question a particularly hazardous feature of the Arkansas and how much should be done to alter a natural feature to make boating the area safer.
The notorious underwater feature at Frog Rock rapid, about 2 miles north of Buena Vista, claimed another life despite efforts to make people more aware of the danger.
Appelson, an off-duty first-year rafting guide living in Breckenridge, fell in after the boat hit a rock the afternoon of July 11. At least six deaths have occurred at the area since 1990.
A married couple, Jennifer Down-Knorr, 36, and Bernd Knorr, 39, died in the hazard together in August 2001, according to a Colorado State Parks incident report.
Luca Angelescu, a 12-year-old boy. died there in July 2000. Items such as his lifejacket, his long-sleeve spraytop and his cotton T-shirt surfac

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Members of the U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association on Joint Base Balad, Iraq, joined with Soldiers and Airmen and volunteered to beautify the United Service Organization's building with a fresh coat of paint on Aug. 17.
"We are always looking for opportunities to volunteer our time and efforts toward worthy causes like this one, making it a better environment for soldiers, airmen and sailors that come and utilize the facility," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Peter Salvatore, a senior instructor pilot with Company F, 52nd Aviation, 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, a U.S. Army Warrant Officers Association chapter president, and a Glenwood Springs, Colo., native.
As Soldiers and Airmen tackled the halls inside, the chief warrant officers painted the t-walls in the USO's outdoor area a light blue to resemble water.
Volunteering within the community is one of the association's many objectiv

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Having already won three matches and six of six games going into Saturday's Demon Invitational volleyball tournament title match, Glenwood Springs hadn't really been tested.
That all changed as the Demons took the court against Class 5A Grand Junction.
Despite falling behind 1-0, the feisty Tigers dealt the 4A Demons their first true test of 2010. Somehow, Glenwood survived the test, winning the three-game final by counts of 25-19, 22-25 and 15-11.
"It was fun to see the girls work to win a game," first-year Demons coach Sarah Ryan said. "That was the toughest [match] we played all weekend."
The championship match win puncuated a 4-0 weekend for Glenwood, which took down West Grand, Meeker and Nucla in two games apiece. It also delivered the Demons their second straight home tourney title.
"It's really awesome to come back and win it for the school and our community," said junior Lexie Warkentin, whose five ki

GARFIELD COUNTY, Colorado - Gas industry critic Tara Meixsell recently returned from more than two weeks in Australia, where she observed how the Aussies are contending with their own battle with the gas and oil industry.
Meixsell, author of the recently self-published book, "Collateral Damage" and activist in numerous ways in Garfield County, was invited Down Under to help the locals in the State of Queensland come to grips with the issues involved and speak about the same issues as they affect the U.S.
Her costs were paid for her, a deal arranged by noted Australian environmental activist Drew Hutton, she said.
She took part in an Aug. 4 rally at the Parliament building in Brisbane, the state capital, and worked with the television news magazine, "60 Minutes Australia," which has aired segments about the burgeoning coal-seam-gas industry in the state.
She also participated in the blockade of what she said was "$10 million worth of equipment

Mansfield silver at Delta
Andrew Mansfield led Glenwood Springs with a second-place individual finish at Friday's Delta Invitational cross country meet. Mansfield was narrowly edged out by Basalt's Conner Roper.
As a team, the Glenwood boys made a sixth-place showing.
Glenwood's girls finished up in third place and were led by freshman Jenna Brown. Close behind her were Demons McKenzie Hill and Lily Thorsen.

Cardinals take down Bears
Led by Jessica Bell's eight kills, Grand Valley dispatched of visiting Rifle in three games on Friday.
The Cardinals, who also got seven kills from Jazmin McFarland and six from Karsyn Valencia, won by game counts of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-14.

Rams sweep past Hotchkiss
Roaring Fork made quick work of visiting Hotchkiss on Friday, taking the Bulldogs down in three games.
The Rams improved to 2-0.

Skiers slip past Demons
Kellin Casey scored Glenwood Springs' lone goal in a 2-1 boys soccer loss at Aspen on Saturday.
Mike McGraw assisted Cas

Political pandering for the Latino vote
Tens of millions, tens of millions of U.S. citizens of all colors, unemployed.
Tens of millions of illegal aliens stealing U.S. jobs. Tens of billions of U.S. dollars shipped out of our economy every year.
Obama says we have to deal with the workers "humanely". Is he referring to the 30-plus million unemployed U.S. citizens? No.
Barack is worried about legalizing 15 to 20 million, job-stealing foreign nationals; he calls it "comprehensive immigration reform".
I call it blanket amnesty without securing our borders in a blatant display of political pandering for the Latino vote.
Bruno Kirchenwitz
Silt

Our students need your support
School has once again begun and our students need your support. Student athletes of all ages are working hard to perfect the skills needed to be successful in their chosen sport. We, as a community, need to make the effort to attend their games and show them we appreciate all the hard

BRECKENRIDGE, Colorado - Rocketing down Ski Hill Road in a 100 percent battery-powered, non-gear-shifting, $147,000 sports car is a fine way to kick-start a Saturday.
Every time there was an opening, I stomped the pedal on the shiny new Tesla Roadster Sport. I could feel my brain stuck firmly against the headrest. My smile stretched back - just about ear-to-ear.
"People say it never gets old," Tesla sales advisor Ben Kanner said of the little car's incredible acceleration.
All the reservations for test drives at the Grand Lodge on Peak 7 were filled Saturday.
Capable of 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, the glacier-blue colored Tesla hugs the road like it's "on rails," he said.
And when it wasn't blasting through the winding roads in and around Breckenridge, a release of the accelerator actually caused the battery to recharge through "regenerative braking." The RPM needle went negative and you could feel a pull as it de

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - City Council on Thursday appointed a new nine-member city Tourism Promotion Board to oversee marketing efforts directed at bringing more visitors to Glenwood Springs.
The new city board was established in July to replace the former tourism board that operated under the auspices of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association (GSCRA).
Because the chamber holds the contract to carry out marketing efforts using the city's 2.5 percent accommodations tax funds, City Council wanted to create an autonomous board with more representation from citizens not tied to tourism businesses.
The city received 19 official applications for the nine board seats prior to the Thursday Council meeting. City Clerk Robin Unsworth said she was still fielding phone calls from interested persons on Friday, after the appointments were made.
Among the new appointees are three members of the former chamber tourism board, which was seen by City Council members as a way

"Pretty sure I'm floating."
I had that very day edited an article that began with those words, spoken by my writer friend Whitney just as her car lifted up in the streets of Chattanooga, engine cutting out as floodwater poured in around her feet. She had then drifted away down the street.
The cloudburst here hit as I drove home, rain hammering so hard my wipers couldn't clear the windshield, the wind madly whipping trees on 8th Street, leafy branches down in wet clumps. Then hail pounded so loudly I thought my car was dented, and lightning danced in tall, dazzling forks all over the sky.
Both of my sons were at football practice; I told myself that their coaches surely cleared the field instantly.
I crept across the intersection of highways 133-82, and started up Red Hill. Water poured down the dirt road in sheets and overflowed from split-wide ditches; brown waterspouts shot out from the banks. A fat brown river, lumpy with rocks and logs, coursed acros

"Animals have a spiritual purpose. To help them is an opportunity for a lost and selfish human heart to be redeemed. It is how we treat the humblest among us that surely determines the fate of our souls."

- Dean Koontz

"So, what's new with you?" a friend inquired recently as he stared at the television, gobbling up the usual bleak news of the day on CNN or FOX, or one of those annoying stations.
Sensing that he could care less about what was new with me, I decided to have some fun.
"Well, there's a new addition to my family," I said.
"That's nice," came the unimpressed reply, his eyes still locked on the telly.
"Yep, she's 3 years old, is missing a leg, her name is Charlotte and she's black!"
I dropped the big bombshell.
This got his attention, if only for a moment, as I saw the interest quickly dissolve from his eyes when I told him that Charlotte was from the Rifle Animal

EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado - Fish are creatures of the water.
But once a year, they go airborne.
In the early morning hours this week, trout rained from the sky, dropping into alpine lakes in the Vail backcountry.
This is the strange journey of the fish you catch in the Holy Cross Wilderness and the Flat Tops.

'Like riding a rapid'
Most pilots avoid flying into dead-end canyons.
"That's stuff I taught people for years to stay the heck out of," pilot Steve Waters said.
Sitting in the plush lobby of the Vail Valley Jet Center in Gypsum, Fellow pilot Al Keith agreed.
"And we do it for a living," he said. "But it's fun, to a degree."
With many of the lakes in the Colorado backcountry impossible to reach by car and tough to access on foot, the Colorado Division of Wildlife enlists its pilots to stock them. This past week, four pilots stocked about 200 lakes within a 70-mile radius of the Gypsum airport. In total, the p

CARBONDALE, Colorado - The ancient "Pink Bridge" in Satank, just west of here, appears at long last to be getting a needed facelift.
"It's in the budget," said county manager Ed Green, referring to the county's share of the roughly $800,000 it will cost to fix the historic bridge spanning the Roaring Fork River.
The Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 7 will be asked to approve a contract, worth up to $539,520, with Gould Construction. The contract is "for the rehabilitation and preservation of the Satank Bridge," as stated in a memo to the BOCC.
The county last year agreed to accept a grant from the state of up to $297,500 to pay for half of the renovation of the structure.
Any costs not covered by the grant are being absorbed by the county, Green said.
Popularly known as the old "Pink Bridge," the structure stretches across the Roaring Fork River from the Satank neighborhood on the southern bank, to a frontage

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado - Drew Halsch gave football a try his freshman year and didn't stick with it. His return to the gridiron as a senior couldn't have gone any better.
Rushing for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, Halsch helped Glenwood Springs to a 35-7 win over visiting Basalt in Friday's football season opener.
The senior running back isn't quite sure why he gave up football in the first place.
"My sophomore and junior year, I don't really know, exactly, the reason why. I just didn't play," he said. "I don't know. It just wasn't for me, I guess."
What prompted his return?
"Wow. I don't know," he said. "I was planning to come out my junior year. It just never happened. I never fully committed. Then, over the winter, I started lifting and hitting the gym a lot, and then all spring and all summer. Then I just committed to coach. I told coach I'd be there eve