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Aspen Times’ Roses and Thorns: Man up, dad; and, oh, this ain’t the big city

• Thorns to Craig Miller for not stepping up to take his share of responsibility for the Lake Christine Fire. Craig Miller is the father of Richard Miller, who was convicted of a crime related to the starting of the fire.

Richard Miller and his girlfriend Allison Marcus borrowed a rifle and ammunition from Richard Miller, then went to the Basalt shooting range July 3, 2018. They accidentally started the fire while Marcus shot incendiary tracer rounds.

Marcus testified she didn’t know the available ammo was tracers. Richard Miller said he didn’t know either.



Craig Miller took opportunities in court hearings to say his son and Marcus were being unfairly blamed for the fire. What he needed to do is man up and acknowledge the stupidity of making tracers available when conditions were tinderbox dry.

• Roses to the board of directors and staff at The Arts Campus at Willits for adapting their plan and making a midvalley arts center a distinct possibility in the near future. They are pursuing the facility in phases and aiming for a realistically sized goal for phase one. They hope that construction can start this fall and The Contemporary is operational next year.




• A thorn goes up the you-know-what of any pothead who is using the great outdoors as a toilet, leaving their THC-laced poop near trails and in campgrounds for dogs to get a hold of and then get poisoned by the drug that’s been passed through. The valley’s emergency vet told the Times that more dogs are coming in sick as a result of eating human feces that has THC in it. Disgusting. We can’t believe we have to say this but here is it is: Pick up after yourself and your dog.

• Roses to the repairs on Highway 82 going over the Roaring Fork River in Basalt. We first brought up the teeth-rattling, back-jarring expansion joint issues a few months ago, and now that downvalley jolt has been alleviated going over the Roaring Fork just before the lower intersection at Two Rivers Road. It ain’t perfect, but you don’t have to white knuckle on the approach in fear of your vehicle getting bounced.

Now, which potholes should we go after next?

• Sounds of the big city have reached A-town, with big-city mentalities driving their big cars with loud horns. Honk around here and you deserve a thorn. Remember, this is Aspen, so relax and lay off the horn.

Have a rose or a thorn? Send them to letters@aspentimes.com.