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<br />charges.'
<br />'}according to USFS
<br />n,Matt Glasgow, the
<br />rti began an adrrtinis-
<br />ivo£TetlurideGravel,
<br />~oarpany a cease and
<br />rafter.the property's
<br />Alexander, reported
<br />art The administrative review will
<br />rte the cost of restoring the
<br />d gad public land to its previ-
<br />'.ous cohHidon..~ s .
<br />.a':. Glasgow said the violations do
<br />rtot warrant a criminal investiga-
<br />tion, :'because Alexander admit-
<br />•~ted to~beingin eaor." Glasgow
<br />. wanton to explain the[ "a missing
<br />survey. marker at the comer of
<br />Z overlapping mine claims" may
<br />'ihave.caused the problem.
<br />,~-c kIlium•Plant.Genetal Manager
<br />~, Gary Hennettdefended theplant's
<br />~~operations, •saying they were
<br />within the boundazies of a survey
<br />completed by the Bureau of Land
<br />IGfariagcment in'the wily :70s. `
<br />The history of the mine bound-
<br />aries helps explains why it is un-
<br />cleaz who's at fault. "For many
<br />years we worked off.a complex
<br />set of surveys of overlapping min-
<br />ing claims,".explains Bennett.
<br />"The BLM engineers did an ad-
<br />justment in the eazly '70s and set
<br />up permanent monuments to mazk
<br />boundaries. Basically, we're wait-
<br />ing to heazfromthe Forest Service
<br />so we can work this thing out:'
<br />Bennett fears Telluride Gravel
<br />may be caught in a morass of
<br />miscommunicating regulatory
<br />agencies. "We have more and
<br />more agencies azound;' he says.
<br />"We try to operate our business in
<br />an environmentally sound man-
<br />ner. We were one of the very first
<br />mines to comply with the State
<br />Mine Reclamations Act in 1976,
<br />the fast yeaz they started review-
<br />ing:'
<br />But Sherman contends the mine
<br />-Remembering
<br />~[rtued,jrom prardous page
<br />machines and knowledgeable
<br />about critters.
<br />How many times did I stop
<br />by for a minute to chat and f anti
<br />myself in a long, delicious
<br />conversation, as timely as it was
<br />far-ranging. Orhow often I
<br />would catch Peter on the street
<br />on his -unch break Crom the
<br />nssessor's office, where he'd
<br />built an admirable reputation as
<br />a fair and honest county oft icial,
<br />unafraid of the hard job. h was
<br />difficult to just say hello and not
<br />turn P er ideas with Peter andµ
<br />rafter on current events and
<br />. ~ r. rr,t r.r ,t4.„t
<br />an inspiration I will always
<br />carry with me. How often he
<br />made accommodations in what
<br />he wanted to do to make things
<br />work for his wife and his
<br />children. Nobody need to point
<br />that out to you. You could see it
<br />just being around him.
<br />This last Christmas I remem-
<br />bercoming by Peter and
<br />Franny's house on impulse,
<br />bringing a little dessert gift just
<br />to let them know I was thinking
<br />of them at the holidays, and how
<br />they roped me into dinner,
<br />pulling up a chair for me at their
<br />feast, welcoming the uninvited
<br />guest with hearts as big as the
<br />turkeyPetercarved. ., ,,.ya
<br />•' ~ 'Peter Thurston was a very
<br />cnrninl min - n .,nnrl forl,rr
<br />is removing gravel faster than it
<br />can be replaced, blaming a pro-
<br />cess called."head sucking" that
<br />lowers the water level in the South
<br />Fork, forlravingcottonwoodtrees
<br />and riparian habitat high and dry.
<br />Head sucking occurs when the
<br />river channel widens and deepens
<br />uphill of the excavation site.
<br />Cameron confirms Sherman's
<br />observations. "The South Fork is
<br />down-cuttingbecause of the gravel
<br />being removed," he said. "It's im-
<br />pacting riparian vegetation. The
<br />habitat above the plant is starting
<br />to become pretty stressed."
<br />Bennett disputes their obser-
<br />vations, saying, "the water level
<br />hasn't dropped that much:' He
<br />attributes the decline of the cot-
<br />tonwoods to a natural forest suc-
<br />cession from cottonwood to fir
<br />and spruce trees.
<br />Telluride Gravel's Ilium plant
<br />supplies the Telluride azea with
<br />approximately 50,000 cubicyazds
<br />of gravel each yeaz. Bennett notes
<br />without the Ilium plant, "prices
<br />would ri se quiet a bit. And import-
<br />ing gravel will put a lot more
<br />trucks on the road."
<br />TELLURIDE
<br />ru iu~ ly, l893 .,>. -
<br />~~ .
<br />Tenants,=;'dumped' •~`,
<br />by Ellen Sammon ~
<br />Imagine living in a house with
<br />no heat or light, in a place so cold
<br />that the Palmolive dish'soap is
<br />frozen in the morning. There were
<br />four Telluride residents living in
<br />such conditions in a nearly can-
<br />to ry-old Telluride house Ihat, due
<br />to age and err electrical melt-down,
<br />was stamped "unsuitable'to live
<br />in," by Town Building Inspector
<br />Paul Clrristcnsen last week.
<br />"Many houses in Telluride are
<br />substandard structures," said
<br />Christensen. "Unfortunately, not
<br />many people report these houses,
<br />I condcnm about three or four
<br />Irouscs a year."
<br />Of the latest condemnation,
<br />Christensen said, "I really fell
<br />sorry for the tenants, Because of
<br />f"gully wiring,. they lost all their
<br />electricity. They used candles for
<br />light and a woodbuming stove Cor
<br />heat and they did not have hot
<br />water. This went on for two weeks,
<br />Under these condmoas, the house
<br />is noC. only :afire hazard, but
<br />unsanitary too.
<br />"There was one smoke deter=~. .
<br />for„but I'm not sure if. it was
<br />functional," he continued. "It was
<br />dangling from a bunch of wires.
<br />,Whether this was the landlordns
<br />or the tenants' fault is hard. to
<br />x; q
<br />say." . -
<br />This episode raises questions.
<br />Are Telluride landlords required r.
<br />to meet certain safety standards
<br />and do tenants have rights? ' `
<br />"Contracts aze important doct%
<br />menu to have;' Christensen oz-
<br />plained. "They help prove if land-
<br />lord or tenants are in breach of
<br />agreement."
<br />According to Christensen; the
<br />landlord of "the Dump," as'ten- .
<br />ants nicknamed the recently con-
<br />demned home,was agreenble. "He
<br />elected to vacate the house until
<br />summer when he will remodel,"
<br />said Christensen. "The state elec-
<br />trical inspector said the facility
<br />continued on page?8
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