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Colorado Central Telecom Welcomes a New CEO
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kristi Pollard August 1, 2022 970-270-5594
Buena Vista, CO – On July 18, 2022, the shareholders of Colorado Central Telecom (CCT) approved the sale of the company to Chaffee County business leader, Carlin Walsh. “As the leading, local choice for telecom in South Central Colorado, we were thrilled when a local businessman like Carlin came to us as a prospective buyer,” said Ralph Abrams, Founder and Former CEO. “Someone who understands first-hand the needs of the communities Colorado Central Telecom serves will be invaluable as they grow the network and continue to provide the best support to its customers.”
Walsh, a longtime resident of Chaffee County, and a rural Colorado native, comes to CCT with a strong business background and financial acumen having served as the founder and CEO of Elevation Beer Company in Poncha Springs since 2011. Walsh is also an Executive Board Member of Chaffee County Economic Development, where he has worked on economic resiliency for the South Central Colorado region since 2013. Walsh will retain his ownership of Elevation Beer Company while advocating for the modernization of Colorado liquor laws.
“I am honored to be able to serve as the CEO for Colorado Central Telecom and work to ensure that rural Colorado has the best telecom choices and technologies available to them,” said Walsh. “I understand how critical broadband is to our local businesses and families. I also know that customer service and a live voice on the end of a phone is important. At the end of the day, I have to look my neighbor in the eye at the grocery store and tell them that I’ve provided them with the best product and service that I possibly can. I look forward to doing just that while continuing to invest in our local economy and community partnerships. I would also be remiss if I did not thank my Elevation Beer Company team and customers for their ongoing support.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kristi Pollard August 1, 2022 970-270-5594
Buena Vista, CO – On July 18, 2022, the shareholders of Colorado Central Telecom (CCT) approved the sale of the company to Chaffee County business leader, Carlin Walsh. “As the leading, local choice for telecom in South Central Colorado, we were thrilled when a local businessman like Carlin came to us as a prospective buyer,” said Ralph Abrams, Founder and Former CEO. “Someone who understands first-hand the needs of the communities Colorado Central Telecom serves will be invaluable as they grow the network and continue to provide the best support to its customers.”
Walsh, a longtime resident of Chaffee County, and a rural Colorado native, comes to CCT with a strong business background and financial acumen having served as the founder and CEO of Elevation Beer Company in Poncha Springs since 2011. Walsh is also an Executive Board Member of Chaffee County Economic Development, where he has worked on economic resiliency for the South Central Colorado region since 2013. Walsh will retain his ownership of Elevation Beer Company while advocating for the modernization of Colorado liquor laws.
“I am honored to be able to serve as the CEO for Colorado Central Telecom and work to ensure that rural Colorado has the best telecom choices and technologies available to them,” said Walsh. “I understand how critical broadband is to our local businesses and families. I also know that customer service and a live voice on the end of a phone is important. At the end of the day, I have to look my neighbor in the eye at the grocery store and tell them that I’ve provided them with the best product and service that I possibly can. I look forward to doing just that while continuing to invest in our local economy and community partnerships. I would also be remiss if I did not thank my Elevation Beer Company team and customers for their ongoing support.”
Letter to the Editor-Assemany: Another View on the Water Issue
Dear Editor,
I have lived in Coaldale, Colorado for 32 years. I was the Deputy Water Commissioner for the west end of Fremont County, Water District 12, in 2020.
The most essential thing to anything and everything is water. Before anything can ever happen, there has to be water. The few who have the responsibility of regulating the water for the citizens of the State of Colorado seem to have forgotten this. Colorado is divided into 7 water divisions, each a river basin, or drainage. Bill Tyner is the Division 2 Engineer, which is the Arkansas River Basin and extends from Leadville to the Kansas border. There are thirteen smaller districts in Division 2, which Mr. Tyner is in charge of. Since Jan, 2021, he has been instructing his District Water Commissioners to have pond owners in their Districts either empty or augment their ponds if they have no documentation giving their pond a water right. In Districts 11, 12 and 13, the pond owners are being recommended to augment with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, or UAWCD. Colorado water law is based on the priority system, first in time, first in right. Augmentation allows out of priority diversions, or junior water rights, to operate without injury to senior water rights, by purchasing water to replace the diminished amount of water available. The reason being given for this requirement is evaporation. Aspen Journalism quoted Terry Scanga, manager of the UAWCD, in early February, 2021, saying that he doesn't believe there is enough water to fully augment all the ponds in the already over-appropriated system. That was after the UAWCD had already come out with a price list for augmenting ponds. The cost for the smallest listed, a 1/10 of an acre pond, is about $10,000, with a yearly maintenance fee of over $500. And if you have a pond and have not heard from your District Water Commissioner yet, that doesn't mean you won't in the future. Bill Tyner has said it could take 5 years for his Division to work its way through all the ponds.
The DWR, Department of Water Resources, has equations for evaporation off ponds, depending on the altitude. In Districts 11, 12 and 13, where most of the headwaters for the Arkansas River are, if pond owners don't augment Mr. Tyner wants to fill in their ponds. The water originates in these districts. The ponds there are fed by cold water springs, usually more than one. Mr. Tyner wants to move the water faster downstream where it will be kept at a warmer location. That location naturally has a higher rate of evaporation just because it's warmer! If evaporation is the real reason for this pond crackdown, wouldn't it make more sense to keep the water in the mountains where it originates and is naturally cooler, for as long as possible? Most ponds in Districts 11, 12 and 13 are not diverting from a creek or ditch, they are formed from springs. Water bubbling out of the ground on someone's property. It just makes sense to leave the water there for as long as possible.
Something that the DWR seems to have forgotten about evaporation is that it causes precipitation. And here in the mountains precipitation exceeds evaporation. Not so on the Front Range! Evaporation is much greater than precipitation on the Front Range, and is one of just a few places in the US with a water deficit. Another reason to leave the water in the mountains for as long as possible.
One more reason to leave these ponds alone was stated by the Colorado Supreme Court. It ruled that Colorado water law does not require squeezing out every drop of water available. The law favors optimum use which entails "proper regard for all significant factors, including that environmental and economic concerns be taken into account." This would include the ponds of Districts 11, 12 and 13, because most have been inventoried as wetlands on the Colorado Natural Heritage Wetlands site. Keeping areas the way they are, makes it less likely there will be a forest fire in them, and also helps control erosion. Healthier soil means healthier root systems for all plants, which keeps the soil and everything else from eroding away during the more severe downpours we have been seeing recently.
What is most wrong with what is happening in Division 2 is the fact that the Division Engineer, Bill Tyner, who is behind this crackdown on ponds, has a pond of his own! On the DWR website, Mr. Tyner's pond is as illegal as the ponds he is targeting in his crackdown. The DWR has not kept good records through the years, and even though some of the ponds targeted are legal, there is no documentation. Mr. Tyner's pond has no documentation on the website either! Given the lack of historical documentation at the DWR, maybe Mr. Tyner shouldn't be putting the burden of proof on pond owners. Or maybe he should reconsider his pond policy, and allow ponds that source from the property through springs. And does Terry Scanga and the UAWCD know about Bill Tyner's pond? What is Mr. Tyner thinking as he passes his pond every day, on the way to his job at the DWR.
If you think there is anything wrong with this, or anything to do with how Division 2 and the State of Colorado handle its citizens water, please call or email:
Division 2 Engineer
Bill.Tyner@state.co.us
(719) 542-3368 ext 2110
State Engineer and Director
Kevin.Rein@state.co.us
(303) 358-3022
- Submitted by:
Laurie Assemany
I have lived in Coaldale, Colorado for 32 years. I was the Deputy Water Commissioner for the west end of Fremont County, Water District 12, in 2020.
The most essential thing to anything and everything is water. Before anything can ever happen, there has to be water. The few who have the responsibility of regulating the water for the citizens of the State of Colorado seem to have forgotten this. Colorado is divided into 7 water divisions, each a river basin, or drainage. Bill Tyner is the Division 2 Engineer, which is the Arkansas River Basin and extends from Leadville to the Kansas border. There are thirteen smaller districts in Division 2, which Mr. Tyner is in charge of. Since Jan, 2021, he has been instructing his District Water Commissioners to have pond owners in their Districts either empty or augment their ponds if they have no documentation giving their pond a water right. In Districts 11, 12 and 13, the pond owners are being recommended to augment with the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District, or UAWCD. Colorado water law is based on the priority system, first in time, first in right. Augmentation allows out of priority diversions, or junior water rights, to operate without injury to senior water rights, by purchasing water to replace the diminished amount of water available. The reason being given for this requirement is evaporation. Aspen Journalism quoted Terry Scanga, manager of the UAWCD, in early February, 2021, saying that he doesn't believe there is enough water to fully augment all the ponds in the already over-appropriated system. That was after the UAWCD had already come out with a price list for augmenting ponds. The cost for the smallest listed, a 1/10 of an acre pond, is about $10,000, with a yearly maintenance fee of over $500. And if you have a pond and have not heard from your District Water Commissioner yet, that doesn't mean you won't in the future. Bill Tyner has said it could take 5 years for his Division to work its way through all the ponds.
The DWR, Department of Water Resources, has equations for evaporation off ponds, depending on the altitude. In Districts 11, 12 and 13, where most of the headwaters for the Arkansas River are, if pond owners don't augment Mr. Tyner wants to fill in their ponds. The water originates in these districts. The ponds there are fed by cold water springs, usually more than one. Mr. Tyner wants to move the water faster downstream where it will be kept at a warmer location. That location naturally has a higher rate of evaporation just because it's warmer! If evaporation is the real reason for this pond crackdown, wouldn't it make more sense to keep the water in the mountains where it originates and is naturally cooler, for as long as possible? Most ponds in Districts 11, 12 and 13 are not diverting from a creek or ditch, they are formed from springs. Water bubbling out of the ground on someone's property. It just makes sense to leave the water there for as long as possible.
Something that the DWR seems to have forgotten about evaporation is that it causes precipitation. And here in the mountains precipitation exceeds evaporation. Not so on the Front Range! Evaporation is much greater than precipitation on the Front Range, and is one of just a few places in the US with a water deficit. Another reason to leave the water in the mountains for as long as possible.
One more reason to leave these ponds alone was stated by the Colorado Supreme Court. It ruled that Colorado water law does not require squeezing out every drop of water available. The law favors optimum use which entails "proper regard for all significant factors, including that environmental and economic concerns be taken into account." This would include the ponds of Districts 11, 12 and 13, because most have been inventoried as wetlands on the Colorado Natural Heritage Wetlands site. Keeping areas the way they are, makes it less likely there will be a forest fire in them, and also helps control erosion. Healthier soil means healthier root systems for all plants, which keeps the soil and everything else from eroding away during the more severe downpours we have been seeing recently.
What is most wrong with what is happening in Division 2 is the fact that the Division Engineer, Bill Tyner, who is behind this crackdown on ponds, has a pond of his own! On the DWR website, Mr. Tyner's pond is as illegal as the ponds he is targeting in his crackdown. The DWR has not kept good records through the years, and even though some of the ponds targeted are legal, there is no documentation. Mr. Tyner's pond has no documentation on the website either! Given the lack of historical documentation at the DWR, maybe Mr. Tyner shouldn't be putting the burden of proof on pond owners. Or maybe he should reconsider his pond policy, and allow ponds that source from the property through springs. And does Terry Scanga and the UAWCD know about Bill Tyner's pond? What is Mr. Tyner thinking as he passes his pond every day, on the way to his job at the DWR.
If you think there is anything wrong with this, or anything to do with how Division 2 and the State of Colorado handle its citizens water, please call or email:
Division 2 Engineer
Bill.Tyner@state.co.us
(719) 542-3368 ext 2110
State Engineer and Director
Kevin.Rein@state.co.us
(303) 358-3022
- Submitted by:
Laurie Assemany
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Today I was asked, “why would I want to lift weights?” I can just do cardio to lose weight.
Well, first off, you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. Cardio alone will not do it if you are still not eating in a calories deficit. Is cardio good for you? Yes, it has its benefits. There are some types of cardio that may not be ideal. For example, if you have bad knees you probably don’t want to take up jogging. Some of the benefits of cardio include: -Strengthens your heart -Improves lung capacity -Better sleep -Helps the immune system -It does help to burn calories to create a calorie deficit. Daily cardio exercise is recommended and it can be something as simple as walking. It doesn’t have to be a step aerobics or spin class. Adjust the workout to fit your current fitness level. The best workout is the one you actually do!! Now to answer the question, “why would I want to lift weights?” We could start with the obvious...a more toned body with less jiggle right? The truth is, that is really just a side effect of lifting...it is not WHY you should be lifting. As we age, we lose muscle mass at a steady rate. Lifting weights will enable you to live independently and complete the necessary daily tasks as you reach your senior years. Muscle weighs more than fat. Over time you may not see the scale moving because you are gaining muscle while losing fat. Your clothes will feel better and you will feel more comfortable in your body without all of the extra “jiggle”. |
The more muscle you have the more calories you burn at a resting rate. Basically you will have a more efficient metabolism. Your body will burn more calories just sitting on the couch if you have more muscle on your body than fat. Also, Muscle helps to support your bones...once again, back to osteoporosis and brittle bones as we age. Lifting weights does help with weight loss also. Weight lifting can also protect your joints from injury. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls.
What else can weight lifting do? It can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, such as arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression. and diabetes. Some research suggests that regular strength training and aerobic exercise may help improve thinking and learning skills for older adults. Ladies, I know lifting may be something that you are not comfortable with or you may be worried about getting bulky. The truth is, the chances of that happening are very slim. The strict diet and heavy lifting that is required to get bulky is something that many will never achieve. There are great how-to videos on the internet to get you started or we even have some great personal trainers at the local gyms that can help you get started with your journey and don’t worry, it is never too late and you are never too old, so what are you waiting for? I know this is a topic we have discussed before, but the truth of it is, it is still a question I hear from people and I still meet so many people that are afraid of picking up a set of weights or think they are only for those big bulky guys going to the gym. It is worth repeating myself if I can help just one person improve their quality of life and have a healthier future in front of them. |
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