A troubling trend in Garfield County
Dear Editor:
I have read, with increasing alarm, news of recent decisions by the Garfield County commissioners.
First, they held a secret, out-of-state meeting with oil-and-gas interests, which resulted in a lawsuit and settlement (“Garfield commissioners settle lawsuit over disputed oil shale meeting,” Dec. 16, The Denver Post).
Second, they recently voted to approve a new waste-transfer facility in Carbondale (“Garfield County OKs Carbondale waste-transfer site,” Dec. 12, The Aspen Times).
The first decision shows a blatant disregard for public transparency. The second decision shows a disregard for the wishes of their electorate, which voiced substantial opposition to the facility. Both decisions show a disappointing disregard for our local environment.
The most recent decision to catch my eye is their vote to defund the local Planned Parenthood (The Aspen Times, Dec. 18, “Garfield County nixes Planned Parenthood funding”). This vote demonstrates that they value political posturing over basic health care for women and families in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Unfortunately, while I regularly pay sales tax in Garfield County, I live in Basalt and cannot vote against these commissioners, should they chose to run in the next election cycle. I instead encourage my friends and fellow citizens who care about public transparency, the local environment, and women’s issues, to take note of the actions of these Garfield County commissioners.
Betsy Herzog
Basalt
Police took tremendous care to be thorough in investigation versus priest who eventually was cleared
Aspen Police this week released a redacted report detailing the 500 hours of investigation, including interviews of 86 witness and assistance from the FBI, of an ex-altar boy’s accusations from prison in 2021 of sexual abuse by a priest who had served at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the mid-2000s.
