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Letters to the editor

Roger C. Brown

Apparently the Turnipseeds did not read my articles very carefully or they would realize that I built an active/passive solar energy house in the Gypsum Creek Valley in 1978. The only fossil fuel power used in relation to heating was electricity to run various pumps. Since then I have kept up on various developments in the solar energy field, but I have not relied on just my own research. Much of the information in my book comes from Randy Udall, energy expert from CORE (Community Office for Resource Efficiency ). Giant trophy homes, used a few weeks a year with heated driveways, etc., are incredibly wasteful, rapidly using up a seriously limited finite supply of natural gas. For all the planning and zoning meetings the Turnipseeds attend, their “enlightened knowledge” doesn’t seem to show up very favorably in the massive overdevelopment of the upper Eagle River Valley. It’s a mess. What they call my “bitterness” is nothing more than a critical observation, and a lot of people seem to agree with me. Without criticism the embarrassing “ostentatious displays of conspicuous expenditures” evidenced in these ego monument homes will continue unchecked (it probably will anyway, regardless of my remarks). A more careful reading of “Requiem for the West” might also indicate that I am not among “the less fortunate,” although I do get upset about the abuses of the less fortunate. I have a long record of community service.In fact, Vail would have a whole less water if I hadn’t taken on the Denver Water Board years ago. If the Turnipseeds research their building options as carelessly as they attacked my positions, I would worry about their buildings coming down around the ears of the owners. Roger C. BrownGypsum Can’t say thatI read with shock and dismay (certainly not “awe”) the article by Veronica Whitney on “What are we committing to this year?” appearing in the Jan. 2 issue of the Vail Daily. What is even more remarkable is that this article was printed coincidentally in the same Issue reporting the tragic details of the tsunami devastation in the Far East, and given more prominence! I am appalled that Ms. Whitney and the editors of the Vail Daily even saw fit to print such shallow New Year’s resolutions in the context of such enormous pain and suffering. Whatever happened to responsible journalism? Or has it simply degenerated to entertainment and sensationalism?If the “commitments for the New Year” which Ms. Whitney and the contributors (and the editors) deemed important to share are indicative of the hopes and aspirations of the valley, it is truly a sad, sad state of affairs. I was particularly outraged that the sex life and aspirations of a 21-year-old student from the University of Alabama seemed to captivate Ms. Whitney’s interest. Rather than condemn the student’s warped sense of values, sick moral outlook and obvious contempt for women, she condoned it and emblazoned it on Page A3 of the Vail Daily as an acceptable and apparently laudable ambition and standard of conduct for all of our young people to emulate. I doubt that the University of Alabama would consider the sexual exploits and ambitions of Mr. Jimmy Mills a credit to the University. I doubt that the Vail and Beaver Creek communities do either or find them to be important and admirable “commitments for the New Year.” It is simply amazing that Ms. Whitney would find it amusing to denigrate the social morays of both the Valley and the University of Alabama in a single article, and that the editors considered and approved it as “newsworthy.”Ed JensenSecond-rate tippersI have lived and worked in the Vail Valley for over seven years. In those years I have worked as a concierge and have enjoyed it very much. I have noticed in the recent years tipping has gone astray. The “world class” destination does not bring “world class” guests. They drain your brain, are not very polite, you do your very best to make their stay a memorable one and then get stiffed as they wave goodbye. It used to be a given that travelers just knew you tip the concierge if you ask their assistance. Not any more. These people are just plain cheap and being a concierge anymore is not “the” job in the valley to have. Dealing with rude, ungrateful people can make one very disenchanted with the human race. I don’t know if it happens in other places, but wish those people would vacation elsewhere and bring back some nice tourists again to our valley.Jenny ClaytonVailVail, Colorado


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