Opinion Columns - The Durango Herald

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Making life less affordable, one hidden tax at a time

You know those streaming services that quietly raise their prices every few months, and suddenly you’re paying $49.99 a month to watch one show? That’s what a lot of Coloradans tell me their...

DATE: Dec 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

The Western Slope’s food insecurity crisis isn’t about geography – it’s about policy

As the holiday season settles over the Western Slope, the region’s beauty disguises a growing emergency: Families are struggling to put food on the table. High living costs, seasonal employm...

DATE: Dec 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Southwest Colorado’s journey to 2026: How our stories and landscapes continue to shape who we are

In 2021, the American Association for State and Local History asked communities across the country to start thinking about 2026 – the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Th...

DATE: Dec 7, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Christian nationalism: History shows the danger of faiths governing

My parents’ guidance: Never talk politics or religion. They must be shaking their heads. Of all the issues of concern with the Trump administration’s intentions and actions, there is none mo...

DATE: Dec 5, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Southwest rivers at a crossroads: Lessons from the Gila

There are few places left in the Southwest where a river still runs free. The Gila River, winding through deep canyons, cottonwood forests and the heart of the first designated wilderness in...

DATE: Dec 3, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Epstein files are indicative of a bigger problem for President Trump

On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump indicated he would release Jeffrey Epstein’s “client list,” a promise to pull back the curtain on what many Americans perceive to be a shadowy c...

DATE: Nov 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Community stepped up as government shut down, demonstrating care for one another

Thanksgiving’s warm glow of time spent with family and friends is just now fading, and we have officially entered the holiday season – a time that can be joyful, reflective, as well as isola...

DATE: Nov 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Divide and conquer: Don’t let them turn us against each other

“Pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer! We must not let that happen here.” – Eleanor Roosevelt By now, everyone is aware of the fa...

DATE: Nov 30, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

The hidden cost of doing good in Southwest Colorado

As we enter the season of giving, it’s worth remembering what makes Southwest Colorado such a special place. Our strength has always come from how we care for one another. We donate, volunte...

DATE: Nov 28, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

How Lincoln’s 1863 Christmas reprieve sparked today’s presidential turkey pardons

Each year just before Thanksgiving, the president ceremoniously pardons a turkey, a lighthearted moment in his otherwise grueling schedule. The tradition is traced to Abraham Lincoln, who wr...

DATE: Nov 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Local energy choices keep more benefits and savings here at home

This past year, I’ve met with members in coffee shops and hardware stores, at kitchen tables and construction sites, walking trails and grocery store aisles, in small businesses, barns, libr...

DATE: Nov 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Democracy starts early and starts local

If you’ve walked through City Hall recently, you may have noticed a colorful poster taped up just outside Council Chambers. It’s not a new art installation. It’s the handiwork of some bright...

DATE: Nov 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Photos: Demons track and field hosts Durango Dust Off meet to begin season

Photos: FLC men’s basketball wins RMAC playoff game against Adams State

Body camera footage released in fatal officer-involved shooting north of DurangoNew Mexico man holding bat and ax handle ran at deputy, video shows

Body camera footage from a November officer-involved shooting on U.S. Highway 550 north of Durango has been released by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.The footage shows Ernest Marlin Pino III, 31, of New Mexico, running toward La Plata County Sheriff’s Deputy Dillon Irwin while holding two wooden objects seconds before the deputy fired five shots at Pino. The objects Pino was holding were a baseball bat and an ax handle, according to reports from law enforcement and a decision letter from District Attorney Sean Murray.Pino suffered injuries to his heart, left lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, right iliopsoas, ribs and vertebrae, according to an autopsy report from the La Plata County Coroner’s Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.After reviewing the evidence – including body camera footage, witness statements and law enforcement reports – District Attorney Sean Murray determined the deputy would not face criminal charges.“Having reviewed the facts and evidence in this case, my office concludes that a reasonable person, confronted with the same facts and circumstances, would believe that it was necessary to use deadly physical force to defend himself or the other persons present from Mr. Pino,” Murray wrote in the decision letter.The shooting occurred at about 2:50 p.m. Nov. 4 in the 28000 block of U.S. Highway 550, about 2 miles north of city limits. Officers were responding to a domestic violence call, according to scanner traffic and statements from law enforcement.Pino was reportedly driving a car “erratically” while hitting his fiancee before the shooting. She was calling for help out the window, according to the decision letter. In the video, Irwin, with his gun drawn, repeatedly orders Pino to drop the weapons while yelling at Pino’s fiancee to come to his side.“I ain’t droppin (expletive),” Pino repeats several times.As Pino’s fiancee starts moving toward the officer with her hands up, Pino begins running toward Irwin and his fiancee with the two wooden objects in his hands. Pino takes five running steps toward the officer and his fiancee while holding the weapons before Irwin shouts, “Get down, get down.” Pino continues running, taking four more steps before Irwin fires his gun, immediately sending Pino to the ground. About 17 seconds elapse between the moment Irwin exits his patrol vehicle and the moment he fires his gun. Durango Police Department officer Kaden Taulli simultaneously fired his Taser at Pino, according to the DA decision letter. A Durango Police Department spokesperson told The Durango Herald that Taulli deployed three probes from his Taser at Pino, which delivered one shock.The moment Taulli deployed his Taser is not visible in the footage recorded by Irwin’s body camera.A resident at the scene reported seeing a person in a white shirt who she believed was Pino waving his arms with nothing in his hands before shots were fired.Pino’s fiancee is wearing a light-colored shirt in the video while running toward Irwin with her hands up – which were empty – just before Pino was shot, which may have contributed to witness confusion and differing accounts of what occurred.The video was partially redacted by the Sheriff’s Office, with Pino’s body blurred after shots are fired. The moments leading up to the shooting, and the moment Irwin fired his gun five times at Pino, were released unredacted. The Herald removed an intermediary section of the video that depicts sensitive footage of Pino’s fiancee.Irwin and several other law enforcement officers attempted to treat Pino’s bullet wounds about two minutes after he was shot and began administering CPR about six minutes after shots were fired.

“Chest seals are utilized to maintain pressure inside the chest cavity, helping with proper circulation during chest compressions,” said Chris Burke, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, to the Herald in an email. “Deputies are taught to render first-aid once the scene is safe to do so,” he said. Irwin was initially put in handcuffs before officers began patching his wounds, but the cuffs were removed just before CPR began.An ambulance arrived about nine and a half minutes after Pino was shot.

Coughing and wheezing could be heard several times as officers worked on Pino, but the blurred redaction made it difficult to determine whether the sounds were coming from Pino or an officer.An automated external defibrillator was applied to Pino shortly after CPR began, but an electronic voice from the device could be heard saying, “Evaluating heart rhythm … No shock advised.”Based on the footage, CPR was performed for nearly four minutes before the ambulance arrived and for at least five minutes after it arrived.According to an autopsy report from the La Plata County Coroner’s Office, Pino had a blood-alcohol level of 0.229 at the time of his death – nearly three times the legal driving limit – and tested “presumptively positive” on blood and urine cannabis tests, according to the report.According to a police interview with Pino’s fiancee, he was on probation for an assault case in New Mexico at the time of the shooting and had previously been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and manic depression. He did not take medication for his conditions, she said, and instead “self-medicated” with alcohol.“In the previous months our community witnessed three separate domestic violence incidents resulting in death, this case is one of them,” Burke wrote in his email to the Herald. “If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence please report it to local law enforcement. Domestic Violence is not an isolated incident, the abuse can occur for months or even years. The earlier the violence is reported, the sooner we can help victims and families with the resources and the work to help keep them safe.” epond@durangoherald.com

New Mexico man holding bat and ax handle ran at deputy, video shows

Photos/video: Silverton Skijoring

Photos: Durango High School home boys and girls basketball games Both Demons squads lost to Fruita Monument on Friday

Both Demons squads lost to Fruita Monument on Friday

KOB 4 interviews mogul skier, his father and first coach

Photos: Snowdown Light Parade 2026

Snowdown Light Parade offers a journey back in timeDinosaurs, prospectors and chain saws, oh my!

Main Avenue was transformed Friday into a menagerie of whimsy during this year’s Snowdown Light Parade.Dinosaurs, prospectors, yards of flannel, covered wagons, a yeti, humanoid trees, a healthy dose of Victorian garb, Jazzercise cowboys, chain saws, bubbles, bears, horses, rams, chickens and motorcycles all helped paradegoers get into a party mood and go back in time for this year’s Snowdown theme: Uniquely Colorado – Then and Wow!The parade, hosted once again by Purgatory Resort, gave participants the opportunity to time travel to celebrate Colorado’s 150th anniversary and all that makes the state special.Some floats leaned heavily into the theme of celebrating Colorado’s history and quirks – one with an intricately decorated Victorian room, another featuring a mega-sized miner working a steaming rock pile, and one sporting the infamous Denver International Airport mustang, Blucifer, among others.

Others – like a mobile boxing ring and pickleball court, a drivable airport luggage cart filled with suitcases and a vintage Barbie car – gained attention through their eye-catching presentations and quirky energy.Though many themed floats leaned into 19th and 20th century Durango and Colorado history, some – including the La Plata Electric Association float – brought paradegoers back millions of years to the age of the dinosaurs.Purgatory has hosted the light parade for more than eight years, said company spokesperson James Graven.Purgatory Marketing Director Matt Ericksen told The Durango Herald that hosting Snowdown is a way for the company to show its support for the festival and the community.“Hosting the Snowdown parade is a way for us to support a long-standing Durango tradition and the community that has supported Purgatory for so many years,” Ericksen said. “Especially as we mark our 60th season, it feels important to stay connected to the events that make this place special.”

Durango resident Emma Tomlinson has attended the parade for more than 30 years. Her 4-year-old son, Axel, has been coming to the parade since he was born.“People just love it – it’s a tradition,” Tomlinson said. “I think during the winter, we’re all at our low, you know? It’s a great pick-me-up. You get out and you see your friends and you invite your family, and people are just happy. It’s a great time to just celebrate and be with each other.”

Axel said his favorite part of the parade was the fire-breathing propane tanks released from hot air balloon baskets ferried on trucks.The parade concluded with a drone show depicting images from Colorado’s history – a new addition this year – and an impromptu appearance from anti-ICE protesters.

The protesters, a smaller cohort than one that filled Main Avenue only hours earlier, filed into the parade route just as the procession was coming to a close with homemade signs in tow, chanting, “stop deportation.” epond@durangoherald.com

Dinosaurs, prospectors and chain saws, oh my!

Durango High School students trade class for anti-ICE protest‘Skipping our lessons to teach you one,’ read one sign

About 200 Durango High School students and a smattering of supportive community members marched down Main Avenue on Friday during school hours to protest recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity. Students intentionally missed two class periods to join the crowd, which made its way through DHS property, south to downtown Durango and back again. A handful of class absences can lead to disciplinary action – but many of the students marching on Main said they were more than willing to take an attendance strike to be at the protest.

“It’s our friends out there (being taken),” 11th grader Lila Scherer-Sickler said as she marched alongside her classmates. “It’s people we know in Durango, and we just felt like, as kids, we don’t often get an opportunity to have our voice out there, and we just took the chance. A bunch of us are missing AP classes right now, (but) I think that the opportunity to get your voice out there is more important.”

The crowd of high schoolers touted handmade signs and called out chants like, “We want justice, we want peace, we want ICE up off our streets.” Many passing cars and passersby honked, smiled and waved at the crowd. Some put up their middle fingers or shook their heads. One student said a classmate intentionally blew exhaust at protesters from his car as the crowd was leaving the school. Durango School District spokeswoman Karla Sluis told The Durango Herald in a written statement that the school was aware of the protest and “coordinated communication with local law enforcement and nearby facilities” before the march.

“We acknowledge students’ First Amendment right to express their views,” she wrote. “At the same time, we are responsible for students’ safety and education. Usual attendance policies apply, and we encourage respectful dialogue through planned, supervised events.” The protest comes after several months of rising tensions between ICE and U.S. citizens, in Durango and nationwide. A father and his two children were detained by ICE in October in Durango, despite having an open asylum case, and a man who had lived in Durango for 22 years was arrested in the city on New Year’s Eve. According to reporting by The Guardian, at least eight people have died in dealings with ICE less than a month into the new year – including Minneapolis residents Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot and killed by ICE agents weeks apart.

Other people killed in interactions with ICE this year include Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, Keith Porter Jr, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Víctor Manuel Díaz, Parady La and Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, according to The Guardian. Eleventh grader Finn Hughes said he participated in the walkout because using his privilege as a white U.S. citizen is important. “These are abhorrent kidnappings, and they’re happening not just in Durango, but around the nation,” he said.

Durango resident Barb Day was one of the community members who joined the protest in support of the students. She brought along a repurposed sign she used in 1968 to protest against the Vietnam War. “We have this brutal masked secret police that are just breaking all of our constitutional rights, and people are dying,” she said. “My parents were in World War II – my dad was in the Navy, and my mom was a combat nurse – and I know what my parents fought for. And this is just so wrong. We’re losing decency.” Liza Tregillus of the Apoyo Immigrant Partner Team also joined the protest in support of the students who marched. “I’m very proud of them, and I think (they’re out here) because they’re losing their own friends, and their own friends are terrified,” she said. “I feel we’ve lost our democracy after 250 years, (and) we need young voters.”

Tregillus has worked closely with many immigrants in her line of work, including the father and two children – Fernando Jaramillo-Solano and his 12-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son – who were detained by ICE in Durango late last year. The family opted to self-deport back to Colombia after a month in the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, but told the Herald in January through Tregillus that they feared for their safety back in Colombia. One student, ninth grader Owen Holland, said he had a connection to the Jaramillo-Solano family. “I have a friend who lived here, from Mexico, and he was friends with them,” he said. “And it was like, really bad for my friend. It was really bad. It’s so much different than people make it seem.”

Tregillus said the tone of a protest is important, and that leading with curiosity and solution-based efforts – rather than confrontation – can make a difference. She said chants and signs that put the focus on immigrants being neighbors and friends, versus those that are meant to demean ICE or its agents, is one way she feels protesters can use their voices with intention. Many of the immigrants she works with are fearful that protests with tones that attack ICE agents may make conditions worse for them, she said. “From the immigrants, they would appreciate that our protests not be negative,” she said. “Many of them come from cultures of respect toward authority, and they’re frightened. ... They would rather we stick to a different tone. I talked to an immigrant (who had been detained by ICE), and he said every time there were protests outside when they were in lockdown, they were punished.” ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Students returned to their classes after the protest, and the demonstration remained peaceful, with no pepper spray or rubber bullets deployed, nor any heavy police or ICE presence in sight – unlike some other recent protests in Durango. epond@durangoherald.com

‘Skipping our lessons to teach you one,’ read one sign

150-200 demonstrators made their way from DHS to Buckley Park

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Making life less affordable, one hidden tax at a time

The Western Slope’s food insecurity crisis isn’t about geography – it’s about policy

Southwest Colorado’s journey to 2026: How our stories and landscapes continue to shape who we are

Christian nationalism: History shows the danger of faiths governing

Southwest rivers at a crossroads: Lessons from the Gila

Epstein files are indicative of a bigger problem for President Trump

Community stepped up as government shut down, demonstrating care for one another

Divide and conquer: Don’t let them turn us against each other

The hidden cost of doing good in Southwest Colorado

How Lincoln’s 1863 Christmas reprieve sparked today’s presidential turkey pardons

Local energy choices keep more benefits and savings here at home

Democracy starts early and starts local

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