Steamboat Pilot & Today

Locals can be rude, snobbish

I want to express my gratitude to Steamboat Springs City Council members for their ability to think for themselves. They seem to have pressure from the past City Council members who apparently think they are still our representatives, the county Planning Commission who seem to think the city is also its jurisdiction, and the rude community members who treated the Triple Crown families as if they had the plague. It always amazes us there are those who want to keep all the amenities that we now have in this valley strictly for their local pleasure, while in fact the tourists are the ones that paid for these items. The families that come to our town for the Western hospitality should not be treated in the manner which some of our locals dished out to them while in our town for their children's games. It doesn't take long before the word spreads that we are rude and snobbish. Is that the reputation that we want the guests to go home with? I often wonder who is the problem in this valley. Perhaps it is not the tourist or the second-home owner, but the locals who are rapidly becoming selfish and self centered. We want open space to be ours even if it is owned by someone else, we want to tell others how to live, act and think for our own personal and individual pleasure.

Sheriff has it all wrong

John Warner is a joke. After reading the newspaper, he's now going to do for free what he has been charging the town of Oak Creek $50 an hour for. What's wrong with that picture?

Oak Creek pays taxes too

I think John Warner must have forgotten that the people of Oak Creek pay taxes too. And I think when you combine a sheriff with an attitude with a town board with personal agendas, you are leaving Oak Creek to the wolves. And that's sad.

School board needs input

Thank you Pat Gleason and other school board members who agree with him for your support of a survey that addresses both district administration ratings and perceptions of the school district. Please include all parents, teachers, administrators and taxpayers. This type of broad-based input will be a refreshing change in direction from the maze of committees and channels known as policy governance through which we now must filter input.

Scores show Dr. D needs to stay

Dr. D has the only school in Northwest Colorado with an excellent rating. It is apparent based on his evaluation that the superintendent would like to get rid of him. But isn't it obvious where the real problem is in this school district?

Congratulations Strawberry Park

Congratulations Strawberry Park Elementary School for being named a School of Excellence once again. Dr. D, you and the teachers and staff at SPE are the best. I hope the school board recognizes that part of the reason Strawberry Park gets the results that it does is because of its principal's willingness to stick his neck out by putting students, teachers, and parents first, and by not blindly following ridiculous board policies. Since Dr. D is the only administrator to have not received pay for performance last year because he did not follow policies, and Strawberry Park is the only school in Northwest Colorado to be named a school of excellence, isn't it time that the board reconsider its policies and the employment of the superintendent who administers these policies. Isn't it also time that the board ask why the other principals are blindly following these policies at the expense of results.

Newspaper, board circle wagons

It's apparent to me that the Steamboat Springs School District has circled the wagons around Cyndy Simms as superintendent. I don't understand why she can't just do a survey and end this whole thing. Now it seems like the school board has even rallied the Pilot & Today behind her, saying that comments about the superintendent aren't good for the school district to know. I think everybody needs to know. Why is Dr. Simms so afraid to have people reply and tell how they feel about her and the school district?

Go away GRAMNET

Dear GRAMNET officers please leave Routt County. End the insane drug war of which there are no winners. Stop the cruel psychological warfare experiment you are waging against the innocent American public. Your Big Brother intimidation is not wanted. Thank you Oak Creek for standing up and representing the citizens.

Support transfer tax

In the Dec.4 Denver Post was an article that talked about the Colorado Counties Inc. support of a real estate transfer tax in a discussion with Gov. Bill Owens. Steamboat Springs is one of only a couple ski resorts that do not have this valuable revenue source. CCI supports this. So does the Colorado Municipal League. Please join me in calling your county commissioners, Rep. Al White and Sen. Jack Taylor and urge support for legislation that would allow communities like Steamboat Springs to vote on this important funding source that has a very logical nexus for capital infrastructure.

Glad to see sheriff go

Let me get this straight. Little John Warner doesn't like the way the big bad mayor of Oak Creek and the rest of the Town Board plays, so he's going to take his deputies and go on home. Well good riddance and please take GRAMNET with you.

Way to go Oak Creek

Cheers to Oak Creek for being boldly honest and truly representing the public. GRAMNET needs to be dissolved for the good of humanity. The drug war is not working. More importantly, it is wrong. Throughout history man has tried to alter his consciousness. It is a natural urge to do so. And if you are not hurting anyone, what's the harm?

Warner should be ashamed

I think Sheriff John Warner should be ashamed of himself for what he has done to Oak Creek. Since when was Oak Creek de-annexed from Routt County? Wasn't he elected as the county sheriff for Routt County, not Steamboat's sheriff?