That's cold, but not cold enough to cure the pine-beetle problem, which is hitting the Twin Lakes area. The victim trees are easy to spot -- they're sickly and red, rather than "evergreen," and there's an epidemic around Twin Lakes, according to Jim Zornes of the U.S. Forest Service in Leadville.

Weather is a factor because a sustained cold period will kill the beetles. Bark insulates the beetles, who live and eat inside the tree. Some studies show that -25° lows will do the job, according to Bob Cain, a Forest Service etymologist.

So there is a blessing hidden in those bitter nights -- our forests will be healthier.

And how about that wind?

To remark on the wind in South Park is like observing that winter nights are chilly in Gunnison. There's a suspicion that South Park gets only a foot of snow every year, but it stays in suspension all winter.

However, the gusts of Nov. 28 were noteworthy, for they caused two accidents near Como. An empty United Parcel Service tractor-trailer was blown onto its side at 4:45 a.m., and at mid-day, a semi trailer was blown onto its side, although the tractor remained upright. Gary Rhoads of the Colorado State Patrol said these gusts were "one of the worst wind storms we've had in the last few years."

The Fairplay Flume of Dec. 2 used this headline: "Wind reeks havoc." If the wind had indeed been reeking, it would have smelled bad. The wind wreaked havoc along U.S. 285.

Recount changes Salida City Council

A state-ordered recount after the Nov. 1 election changed one seat on the Salida City Council. Incumbent Ron Stowell was originally declared the winner, 363-360, over Hugh Young. After the second hand recount, Young was declared the winner 367-364. The first hand recount had them tied 375-375.

So far as we can tell, that was the only outcome changed by the recount, which was ordered by Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis after a post-election audit found some discrepancies in ten counties that use the Optech III-P Eagle equipment.

Several of those counties -- Custer, Park, Fremont, and Chaffee -- are in Central Colorado. The others were Bent, Clear Creek, Elbert, Huerfano, Pueblo, and Sedgwick.

With the Optech system, voters mark a paper ballot, and the machine counts and tabulates the ballots. Some theorized that the problems arose because the machines were designed to be used at polling places, where everybody uses the right pens and the ballots are not folded, as opposed to mail ballots, where voters might use whatever pen or pencil is handy for marking, and the ballots are folded for postal delivery.

At any rate, some counties are looking into new equipment. But we hope they continue to use some form of paper ballot -- so that there can be hand recounts when necessary. While computers have their uses, paper is a much more trustworthy medium.

Courtroom for a Day

The Old Courthouse in Fairplay was built in 1874, and its courtroom on the third floor was in regular use until 1985, when a new county building was erected. The Old Courthouse remains in use for the county library, as well as several offices.

And there was a trial of sorts in the old courtroom recently. High-school English students took parts from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and staged a mock civil trial before County Judge Stan Mayhew. Among the legal issues were negligence, malpractice, wrongful death, and emotional distress.

If you were hoping that this trial would resolve some of the issues raised by the book, you'll be disappointed. After hearing testimony, Mayhew said the claims and counterclaims canceled each other out. "You deserve each other," he told the two sides.

Guard Dog?

Keith Baker of Buena Vista parked his pickup at the Salida McDonald's on the evening of Dec. 7, and left his weimaraner dog in the cab as he went inside. When he came out, the pickup was gone, along with the dog, on a bitterly cold night.

But there's a happy ending. The pickup and the dog were found later that evening at a Loaf 'N Jug in Alamosa. Police have identified a suspect, and an arrest is expected soon if it hasn't happened already.

The pickup was not damaged, although a cell phone was missing.

We had assumed that our vehicle and its contents would be safe (except for seat belts that get chewed) if we left our "canine security system" inside, but now we have to wonder.

Medical Marijuana

Colorado's five-year-old medical marijuana law had its first courtroom test in Gunnison County, and the defendant, 30-year-old Ryan Margenau was acquitted.

Under Colorado law, people can grow, possess, and use small amounts of marijuana to treat chronic pain or other maladies, if they have a doctor's consent. (Federal law is different, but Margenau was charged under state law.)

Margenau suffered back injuries in a 2003 auto accident. He had his physician's consent to use marijuana, but it wasn't in writing. Nor had he signed up for the state's medical marijuana registry.

Then his condo caught fire while he was out of town, and the sheriff's office found four marijuana plants. When Margenau returned to town the next day, there was a warrant for his arrest.

Prosecutors said they would have dropped the charges if Margenau had a written statement from his physician and had been on the registry.

In acquitting Margenau, the jury found that he did have a debilitating medical condition, he did have a doctor's recommendation, and he was not cultivating more marijuana than needed for personal use.

Fleeing students

Increasing numbers of students in Lake County are attending school somewhere else. Last year, 82 students were going to class outside the district, and this year, it's up to 95. Plus there are nine students being home-schooled, and four attending a private kindergarten.

The school district gets money from the state based on attendance, so this means the district is losing about $600,000 a year in potential state aid, according to school board member Christopher Barnes.

Some are attending the Darren Patterson Christian Academy in Buena Vista, but most -- 60 this year as compared to 44 last year -- are enrolled in Buena Vista's public schools, with McGinnis Middle School being the most popular.

Summit County schools have increased their Lake County enrollment from 17 to 23. The number attending Eagle County schools has dropped from 21 to 12, and homeschoolers have declined from 13 to nine.

Troubled Department

On Nov. 16, Lt. Edward Rasch was charged with official misconduct and harassment. He had been in charge of animal control for the department. The charges were based on five incidents with a female animal-control officer, who said he had grabbed the top of her head while they were in the squad room or his office, pushed her face down toward his crotch, and then made lewd statements about oral sex.

Two days later, Sheriff Fred Wegener fired his undersheriff, Don Anthony. Wegener gave no details as to his reason for the termination, except that "Recent developments forced me to take this action immediately." Anthony had been on administrative leave since Oct. 14, when the internal investigation began.

On Nov. 28, a former Park County jailer, Donald Woodward, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing. He faced 19 counts related to sexual assault, all related to alleged sexual acts with his stepdaughter, who was 12 years old in 1992 when the prosecution says the acts began.

National champs

The two four-year state colleges in our territory came out first and second nationally in the NCAA-II cross-country championship meet in November in Chino, Calif.

Western State College of Gunnison took first place for its second consecutive national title and its sixth team championship in seven years. Adams State College of Alamosa came in second, although it had defeated Western in all four head-to-head meets earlier in the season.

We also note that if you want a "higher education," Western is the place to go. According to the book Alma Mater, a compendium of college lore, at 7,734 feet above sea level, WSC is the highest four-year school in the country. At 7,544 feet in Alamosa, ASC must be real close to second-highest, if it doesn't hold that honor.

Alma Mater also notes that the Colorado Mountain College Timberline Campus in Leadville is the highest two-year campus in the United States. As for the lowest four-year schools, they were much in the news a few months ago: Tulane and Loyala, both four feet below sea level in New Orleans.

Staying warm

It's easy to complain about the feds, but they perform some good deeds, too. In November, volunteers from the Saguache Forest Service and BLM offices collected 11 cords of firewood for local residents.

The county Department of Social Services will identify those who need some help getting through the winter, and then arrange for delivery.

"It couldn't have come at a better time," said one of the donors, Dario Archuleta of the BLM, "with winter approaching and the rising costs of energy, it's going to be a tough winter for a lot of people here."

Volunteers

Nationally, the number of volunteer firefighters has fallen more than 10% in the past 20 years, but Gunnison is bucking that trend. Its volunteer fire department has nearly 40 members, as well as a waiting list. They give the community a lot of credit -- there's funding, of course, but there are also many employers who are willing to allow their employees to drop everything and take off to fight a fire.

But that's not the case all over Central Colorado. The Hartsel Volunteer Fire Department has 25 members, and Chief Jay Hutcheson said "My current numbers are down," on account of retirement and attrition. He hopes to have about 35 volunteers by the end of 2006. A new station at Nine Mile Heights should be completed by June, and the department plans another new station, along Badger Creek, in 2007.

Observations

"You can't expect the county's going to come for every flake that falls."

Park County Commissioner Leni Walker, explaining the road-plowing policy, Fairplay Flume, Dec. 9.

"He sometimes turns around and, because he has no peripheral vision on that side, just runs over whoever might be standing there. So, better he run over me than someone else."

Marlene Shahan, explaining why she walks at her husband Roger's right side in the grocery store and elsewhere, Gunnison Country Times, Nov. 24.

"Take modern medicine, for example: Eat eggs, don't eat eggs; eggs are cholesterol bombs, eggs are loaded with lutein (good for the eyeballs). So, which is it? Take your best shot and have fun until Oprah figures it out."

Ned Mudd in the Canyon Country Zephyr, December-January.

If you think your place is crowded, at the library in Gunnison, "for every new book purchased, an old one has to be removed for lack of shelf space."

Chris Dickey in the Gunnison Country Times, Dec. 1.

"Were I a hard-hitting urban reporter rather than a laconic backwoods hermit, I'd get to the bottom of a muddled incident involving a county truck and a commercial vehicle dicing it up somewhere between Saguache and the Doylesville road. The activity involved tailgating, attempted passing on a hill, and alleged speeds of 80 mph reported by a third party thwarted in an attempt to pass beyond the fracas. Curses, charges, countercharges, and conflicting reports ensued. It was determined that no one knows the truth and never will."

Doug Larsen in the Crestone Eagle, December 2005

Deer mate in early winter, and thus aren't paying a lot of attention to traffic. "They are especially single-minded this time of year, so don't expect any rational behavior."

Joe Lewandowski of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Gunnison Country Times, Dec. 1