Monday, November 30, 2009

First Turns

I made my first turns of the season yesterday, on Aspen Mountain. My legs were reminded of the sport as I led them slowly (at first) down runs like Copper, North American and finally Spar Gulch. I heard the sounds of the World Cup as I finished the day at the bottom. It felt good to ski and there was a surprising amount of people on the mountain, which should make the Aspen Skiing Company feel good too.

The Ski-Co is gearing up for a season that it hopes will match last winter, when it comes to ticket sales and general business. The Company logged 1.36 million skier visits last season, which was down more than 7 % from the 2007/2008 season. The Ski-Co is using more marketing dollars this year and aggressively promoting deals. Ski-Co Senior Vice President David Perry told the Aspen Times recently "We're still battling economic headwinds."

Despite the challenges, everything seemed in its place yesterday with a packed Ajax Tavern and lift lines at the Silver Queen Gondola. Let's hope the early-season visual signs are representative of what's to come throughout the rest of this 2009/2010 ski season.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Veterans Day in Aspen

U.S. Representative John Salazar spoke at a Veterans Day event in Aspen yesterday. He talked about legislation he's working on to help veterans get medical care when they return from serving overseas. He also mentioned how a new National cemetery in southern Colorado gained approval from the House last week. After discussing "business," Salazar told a story obviously close to his heart, about his father who was a veteran himself. Holding back tears, the congressman told how his father mentioned family and being buried in his uniform right before he died.

The most moving part of the ceremony though, was not Salazar's talk. Instead it was a short comment made by an unidentified soldier who had served in Vietnam. He said he had never felt welcome upon his return home until 37 years later when he came to Aspen. He said the Fourth of July parade where veterans walk through a cheering crowd, was the first time he had felt "welcomed home."

Another veteran I interviewed said nowadays, "greeters" are standing by and called to duty when a veteran returns to the United States. He said no longer do veterans need to feel "unwelcome" when they return home.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Mental Health Behind Bars

Nationally 16% of inmates in jails suffer from mental illness. At the Pitkin County Jail, Administrator Don Bird estimates that number is even greater. He believes between 20 and 25% of inmates deal with issues such as psychotic episodes that are often the reasons inmates end up in jail.

In order to better protect the community and serve the Jail's population, a more aggressive approach is being taken at the Jail. Jail officials will work with health providers to identify, diagnose and treat mental illnesses among inmates. The inmates will also be referred to local health providers after they are released from jail.

Bird says the new approach sprung from a greater awareness of mental health issues in the Valley. He says organizations such as Colorado West are bringing mental illness to the spotlight and making it not such a taboo subject.

So far one inmate has successfully gone through Pitkin County's program, from identifying the illness to seeking treatment with a health provider after release. Bird estimates more inmates will go through the program as they fine-tune it. It's currently being funded with County dollars allocated to medical expenses in the Jail's budget.