Mike Smedley
Position: Staff reporter

Protection or rudeness? It straddles a fine line

How do I go about getting a parking permit like this guy has? I assume it conveys other special privileges that us ordinary folks aren’t entitled to? – Mark D’Lanes You’d expect this k...

At least school kids aren’t in the dark about eclipse

I’m a parent of a 9-R student and I keep rolling my eyes about the absurd permission form I had to sign for the solar eclipse. The district required parents to waive all liability if a kid l...

Sign makes perfect sense in a town that doesn’t

My son wants to ride his bike to Animas High School. So he showed me a photo of the sign directing northbound bicycle traffic how to turn west to go on U.S. Highway 160. I don’t get it. Ho...

County would scrap any initiative to limit junk

While driving around La Plata County, I wonder why the county commissions can’t enact laws that force people to clean up their abandon cars, scrap mobile homes and other junk. If you want to...

Time stands still at the La Plata County Courthouse

For years the clock at the La Plata County Courthouse has shown the time and chimed at the top of the hour. However, the past few weeks it has been silent and the hands unmoving. Why? Will i...

Traversing north Main makes pedestrians quite cross

I was waiting to cross at the 19th Street and Main Avenue crosswalk. One driver stopped. I waved him on because there was too much traffic. Instead, he said, “Step out – make those other car...

Neighbors bring drivers up to speed with signs

What’s up with the red yard signs along North College Drive? They say, “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here.” Maybe they could have other signs, such as “Drive Like a Person from Sun City, Arizon...

Grocery stores dogged by unauthorized pets

I love dogs and I have two that go almost everywhere with me. But I just came home from Walmart and City Market and there were three dogs in each grocery store, either carried, riding in the...

When building a fence, it’s best to be on the city’s good side

I was driving around town and saw a newly constructed fence around a home. The two-by-fours supporting the fence were facing the street, with the “good” side of the fence facing the home. It...

Downtown trashes river trail in waste basket count

Why are there so few trash cans along the Animas River Trail, particularly the stretch from 32nd Street down to Rotary Park? It seems to me that downtown has an overabundance of trash cans. ...

CDOT’s highway project is coming to a grinding halt

Regarding CDOT’s “improvement project” on U.S. Highway 550 through town: How does grinding down the road surface “prolong the life” of pavement? Also, the project was supposed to get rid of ...

Time running out on blue boxes

When I’m out walking around the neighborhood, I’ve noticed most homes have a corded semi-transparent blue box attached to a post that’s set in the strip between the sidewalk and the curb. Wh...