Brief by Martha Quillen
Regional News – August 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Lightning Strikes…
Once: In mid June, Kevin Maddaford, a recent CU graduate, was struck by lightning on his way up Mt. Lincoln, near Alma. His clothes were torn; his left eardrum was ruptured; the soles of his boots were blown off; his hair and eyebrows were singed; his pants and socks were melted; and he suffered second degree burns on his chest and third-degree burns on his feet.
But Maddaford was lucky. Although he was temporarily deaf and disabled by the lightning, he encountered Dimitri and Chris Sheets of Pennsylvania on his way down the mountain. The couple helped Maddaford descend, then drove him into town, where they called 911. Maddaford was then transported to St. Anthony’s in Denver, where it was determined that he suffered only minor injuries.
Twice: Lightning storms on July 3rd and 4th started wildfires near Cedaredge and Montrose, which shrouded both Gunnison and Salida in hazy smoke for a day or so.
The McGruder fire near Cedaredge burned about 3,000 acres; while the fire south of Montrose consumed a mere 83 acres. No injuries were reported in either blaze, and no homes were lost.
And on the Fourth But there was a fire closer to home on Independence Day. After sparks set off a container of fireworks at the annual Lake DeWeese holiday pyrotechnics display near Westcliffe, the container exploded and set fire to nearby grass. But the 20 firefighters on the scene extinguished the blaze quickly.
Due to their protective gear and experience, none of the firemen were injured, the show continued, and few spectators even noticed the mishap.
Bare Facts on Bear
Boating Events Accompanied by Bruin
FIBArk was well-attended this year, but one visitor worried authorities. On June 19, a bear was treed by inquisitive cattle near Holman Avenue. Then the cattle lost interest, and the bear ambled up to Poncha Boulevard and climbed another tree.
Wildlife workers and police monitored the visitor and worried — because the bear was fairly close to the route for 5K and 10K FIBArk races. But there were no close encounters, and that evening the bear left the tree and made his way out of town on his own.
A Very Close Encounter
In late May, a Poncha Springs resident was not quite as lucky as the FIBArk racers. Sommie, an eight-month-old tiger-striped cat who lives in the deAnza Subdivision next to town, slipped away from her home unnoticed — until she was heard screaming at about 2 a.m.
Then, according to the Mountain Mail, Sommie’s owner raced to the door, turned on her patio light, and saw a black bear club leave the scene. The cat was soaked with saliva, and had puncture wounds in a rear leg, but was doing well after being treated by a veterinarian.
Sommie’s owner, Suzanne Winters, felt that things may not have turned out so well, however, if she hadn’t fallen asleep on the couch that evening, and thus been within earshot.
As always, avoiding bears is recommended.
After recent incidents, DOW personnel once again reminded homeowners that they should try their best not to attract bears, which are readily enticed by trash cans, hummingbird feeders, bird seed, food-scented barbecue grills, and pet food. Furthermore, recent incidents showed that people who live in town should also take precautions.
Rails to Nowhere
On June 30, Chaffee County rail enthusiasts went to Boulder to get rails and ties for the historic Denver, South Park & Pacific depot in Buena Vista.
[DSP&P depot in Buena Vista]
And on July 10, a 100-year-old Denver and Rio Grande Western narrow guage boxcar, donated to the Buena Vista Heritage Museum by Mark Gillespie, was moved to Johnson Village for temporary storage. The boxcar had spent its last twenty or thirty years in a Howard pasture, but is now slated for restoration.
Last year, the historic DSP&P depot was moved to McPhelemy Park in Buena Vista, and it is currently being renovated. Plans for the finished depot display include the box car, rails, and an exterior overhaul.
One project scheduled for mid-July included pulling hundreds of nails from the building. The nails were used to hold chicken wire, which held stucco. Soon, history buffs promise, the already handsome old station will be even more alluring.
Thirty Years of Schooling and They Put You on Another Shift
Margo Perschbacher, former proof-reader, cartoonist, and all-around founding helper of Colorado Central, retired from teaching school this summer, after thirty years in the business. She started teaching in Boston, then moved to Salida, where she taught third through sixth grade at Longfellow Elementary over the years, and also conducted the art program in Salida’s elementary and middle schools.
Perschbacher is also an artist, who specializes in watercolor and pottery. She often assists at OAK Construction, her family’s business. And when we last talked to her, she already had lots of work to do in her newly established retirement.
Paradise? Or Nether Regions?
Custer County Gives Some the Chills
In June, Larry Charrier, the columnist for the Wet Mountain Tribune wrote about people who moved to Custer County expecting heaven, but then left all too soon — after realizing that Custer County was a cold, snowy, windy place, which offered few good jobs, or financial opportunities, or theaters, clubs and other sources of entertainment.
Charrier made two conclusions: First, it was odd that people didn’t notice the high elevation and inclement weather before they built new homes. And second, “people who think they’ve discovered paradise are bound to be disappointed sooner or later.”
“Personally, I think this is a pretty nice place to live,” Charrier finished. “But then I wasn’t expecting to find heaven on earth.”
And that brings us to Salida.
In Salida Accolades Inspire Thrills and Chills
As related elsewhere in this section, the August Outside Magazine listed Salida, Colorado as one of the top twenty places to live and play in the United States.
Whereupon the Mountain Mail ran an article about local response, and reported:
The local chamber director thought that Salida definitely deserved such accolades.
And Mayor Danny Knight agreed wholeheartedly, saying that the story “will open the eyes of the people who come by here … it will encourage them to buy a piece of property or participate in our activities.”
And the Chaffee County Visitors’ Bureau chairman, Don Jackson, said “This is a terrific accolade to receive from such a well-respected magazine.”
Yet almost everyone Colorado Central talked to was disturbed or angered by the Outside article. They all figured that such praise would just bring more people here to compete for non-existent jobs, and drive already extravagant prices up, and cause traffic jams.
Which just goes to show that one man’s gold is another’s dross. Or maybe it demonstrates that beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder. Or perhaps what it really proves is that people’s idea of paradise depends on who’s paying.
Off-the-Road Rage
A Buena Vista man was cited with criminal mischief after an incident in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Salida. A Leadville woman reported that she hadn’t noticed when one of her children bumped a gentleman’s van when opening a car door, but then the man got angry and started repeatedly hitting the fender of her vehicle with his driver’s side door. The man was issued a summons.
A Happy Trails Ending
A group of hikers, which included eight 11-year-olds and two adults from the Colorado Christian Home in Denver, were on their way to Native Lake west of Leadville on June 28. But the group split in two and headed in separate directions atop a ridge, and half of them never arrived at the lake.
Four children and one adult were reported missing in the Mount Massive Wilderness on the afternoon of June 29, and they weren’t found until the evening of June 30 — more than forty hours after they were last seen.
The weather was miserably wet and rainy for two days, but since everyone had planned to camp at the lake, the kids had gear and were in reasonably good shape when Lake County Search and Rescue volunteers managed to track them down.
The children were, however, cold, wet, and hungry, and two were treated for hypothermia at St. Vincent Hospital, but were released the same day.
Everything You Hoped You Wouldn’t Need to Know
In July, the Department of Wildlife issued a press release entitled: “What Outdoor enthusiasts need to know about snakes this summer.” Some highlights were:
Colorado has 26 snake species, including two that are venomous — the western and massasauga rattlesnakes. The massasauga is smaller, averaging 15 inches when fully grown, and it inhabits dry grasslands and sandhills below 5,500 feet. Western rattlesnakes are found statewide. They grow to 27 inches, and have been encountered at altitudes as high as 9,500 feet.
Bull snakes sometimes look like rattlers when they take a defensive posture, but DOW reptile specialist Tina Jungwirth says, “We do not have venomous bull snakes or rattleless rattlers.” Furthermore, the two species cannot interbreed — despite rumors.
Whatever type of snake you come across, though, it is best to never move, handle, or harass them. Instead, you should move away and give them room to escape.
To avoid incidents, hikers should stay in pairs or groups, on established trails, and watch for snakes when stepping over logs, rocks and other obstacles, where reptiles often rest to beat the heat. During the day, snakes move back and forth between shady and sunny spots to regulate their body temperatures. And at night they often migrate to roads to warm up, because the blacktop retains heat.
In the rare event of a bite, experts advise that victims seek immediate medical attention, because even puncture wounds by non-venomous snakes can become infected and cause swelling, bruising and pain when they’re not properly treated. And dead rattlesnakes can be dangerous, too, because their fangs can still transmit venom.
