INTERNET.BIZ
February 21, 2006
Two Denver-based Web sites are battling for the carpool-service market to take skiers to mountain resorts. For those interested only in Colorado areas, try www.carpool.com, or for a more nationwide focus, try www.snowrides.com.
Alpine Fax

Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Glenwood really delivered for Olympic skier

Dennis Webb
Post Independent Staff
February 20, 2006

Glenwood Springs residents cheering on their fellow Americans in the Winter Olympics can take it a step further by rooting for a native daughter.

Skier Sarah Schleper was born in Glenwood, although few people in town may know it.

That’s because the three-time Olympian’s connection with Glenwood is about as thick as an umbilical cord. She grew up in Vail, but was delivered at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood, on Feb. 19, 1979.

Her brother, Johnny, explained that Sarah’s mother, Meredith May, had to go to Glenwood to give birth to her.

“There was no hospital in Vail at the time,” he said.

He said his dad, Buzz, probably took it pretty fast through Glenwood Canyon, which at that time had a two-lane road rather than Interstate 70 running through it.

Johnny said he was born closer to home, in 1982. He was one of the first 50 babies delivered at Vail Valley Medical Center.

Although it all started in Glenwood for Sarah, it would be misleading to make too much of the city’s influence on her life. Johnny Schleper said he thinks she spent about a day here before going back home after her birth.

In an e-mail interview from Torino, Sarah said she doesn’t know many details about her birth, such as what doctor delivered her, how much she weighed, or whether she yet had any of her signature, wavy blond hair.

“I have to ask my mom these questions,” Sarah said.

As they were growing up, about the only time Sarah spent in Glenwood was when she and Johnny went to the Hot Springs Pool, he said.

“That’s about the extent of it,” he said.

But Sarah said she used to enter competitions at Sunlight Mountain Resort. “They put on a great race,” she said.

Her Glenwood connection somehow went unnoticed during her participation in the 1988 and 2002 Olympics. But the U.S. Olympic Team Web site for this year’s Games lists her hometown as Glenwood Springs.

That may come as news to many in town.

“I didn’t know. Wow!” said Valley View spokesperson Alice Sundeen, when told that the hospital had delivered an Olympian into the world.

Jim Setterberg, a Glenwood Springs dentist, has known the Schleper family for years but hadn’t heard of Sarah’s local tie. Setterberg’s daughter, Whitney, races for the Ski and Snowboard Club of Vail. Setterberg said Sarah’s younger brother, Hunter, also went to Italy to ski this month in Topolino, in a premier event for 14- and 15-year-olds. His sister earned a silver medal in Topolino in 1994.

Setterberg said he would hope that as a Vail-area resident, never mind a Glenwood native, Sarah would serve as an inspiration to young ski racers in the area.

Setterberg and Sarah’s father both used to ski in Minnesota. Buzz Schleper moved to Vail as a self-proclaimed ski bum, went to work at a local ski shop and now owns Buzz’s Ski & Snowboard Shop in Vail.

His daughter was skiing by age 2, and would fall asleep beneath his ski-tuning benches.

Sarah didn’t begin ski racing until age 11, but Setterberg said she had a rapid rise to success.

Johnny said he used to ski race as well. “I play guitar now,” he said.

He also manages his dad’s shop. He got to accompany his sister to the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 but is running things at the store now while his dad is in Torino to see Sarah race. She is scheduled to compete in slalom on Wednesday and giant slalom on Friday.

She won a World Cup event during the last ski season, and has had several World Cup podium finishes. She also is a multiple national champion. Her brother thinks she will finish in the top 15 in both of her Olympic races, and maybe break into the top five. “She’s skiing well,” he said.

Chris Freud, sports editor at the Vail Daily, said Sarah has been battling back problems and he thinks her chances of medaling aren’t good. Then again, he noted that underdog skiers have been surprise winners in some of the men’s events in Torino.

One surprise was victory by American Ted Ligety, whom Sarah called “probably one of the greatest guys on our team.”

Sarah also will be skiing in a venue where she has had some past success, Freud said. She has recorded two second-place finishes in Sestriere, where the ski races are being held in the mountains outside Torino.

Freud said skiing isn’t Sarah’s only claim to athletic fame. She used to hold the records in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs at Battle Mountain High School.

While in Torino, she isn’t only enjoying her Olympics experience. She also celebrated her birthday – the 27th anniversary of her entrance into the world at Valley View – Sunday. She said beforehand that she had no big plans for the day – maybe just watching an Olympic event in Torino.

She called the games’ opening ceremonies “a blast,” and said she also got to meet President Bush’s daughter, Barbara, while at the Olympics.

Even though Sarah wasn’t raised in Glenwood, she said she’d be thrilled to be cheered on by her native city this week. “Of course. I love Glenwood. The town is great; the hot springs are healing,” she said.

It’s too bad she can’t take a soothing dip in the pool as she nurses her back prior to racing.

“I had a surgery Nov. 13 so I am lucky to be competing in the Olympics at all,” she said.

She said that although she’s not a medal contender, she has a valid chance of ending up on the podium.

“Anything is possible. I have been training a long time and I have the skill to be at the top. I am just going to go out there, ski my best and see what happens.”

Contact Dennis Webb: 945-8515, ext. 516 dwebb@postindependent.com

RLJ BUYS 14 DENVER HOTELS
RLJ Development LLC, the hotel investment controlled by Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson, announced Monday it is buying 100 hotels from White Lodging Service Corp. for $1.7 billion. The deal includes 14 properties in the Denver metro area.
-Denver Post, 02.14.06

HIGH TECH IS BACK
A recent survey by Robert Half Technology ranks the Mountain states as the hottest tech job market in the nation. The survey includes 200 respondents in Denver which indicated 15% plan to add staff in the first quarter, 2006.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.14.06

SKIP THE PEANUTS, GO TUNA
United Airlines now charges $5 for snacks on selected flights, but United’s newest snack is not the usual fare of pretzels, peanuts, chips or doughnuts, instead lemon-pepper tuna, organic crackers, baked pita chips and hummus dip.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.14.06

S’BOAT TENNIS CENTER OPENS
The new tennis center on Pine Grove Road opened Monday, the $3 million facility that replaces the tennis bubble that was adjacent to Ski Town Park. The new center, which still needs construction of two courts to be complete, will have 16 courts, with two more indoor courts than were available at the former center.
-Steamboat Pilot, 02.14.06

GET YOUR PETITIONS IN
Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco and Breckenridge each have three town council seats open in April elections, and Silverthorne and Dillon will elect a mayor as well. The last day for candidates to get petitions in is March 3 for Dillon and Frisco and March 10 for Silverthorne.
-Summit Daily, 02.13.06

INTERNET.BIZ
Nearly 60% of the 192 million cards sent on Valentine’s Day are purchased within 6 days of the holiday. This and other Valentine’s information is available at www.historychannel.com/exhibits/valentine.

INTERNET.BIZ
If you tire of the watching the Olympics on tape-delay, try the official Web site of the games, www.torino2006.org.

EASING MOUNTAIN FLYING
Colorado Division of Aeronautics director Travis Vallin is in Washington this week to finalize plans with the Federal Aviation Administration for a $30 million wide-area multilateration system that will improve landing at mountain airports in Hayden, Craig, Steamboat Springs, Rifle, Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride, Cortez, Durango and Alamosa.
-Denver Post, 02.14.06

SNOW = STRONG JANUARY
January snowfall in Beaver Creek was 70% above average and the snowfall produced more guests in area hotels. The Park Hyatt at Beaver Creek was up 32% in bookings over January a year ago; the Antlers in Lionshead had its first ever million-dollar month in January. The Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau had its most-ever visits to its Web site, vailonsale.com.
-Vail Daily, 02.13.06

TIGHTER RULES COMING?
Rep. Gary Lindstrom, D-Breckenridge, has proposed a bill to increase the fine to $1,000 for skiers, snowboarders and others who ignore trail and boundary closures or use chair lifts and ski runs while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. House Bill 1250 goes before the House Local Government Committee today.
-Summit Daily, 02.13.06

COUNTY MAKES AUTO DEAL
Mesa County commissioners Monday agreed to spend $292,033 for 15 vehicles to replace trucks, vans and sport-utility vehicles for the county. The commissioners elected to spend a little more money and use local dealers, with 10 vehicles purchased from Western Slope Auto, one from Glenwood Springs Ford and four from Lakewood Ford.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.14.06

BLOOD & MARROW DRIVE
A blood and marrow drive will be held in Steamboat Springs at the Yampa Valley Medical Center from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16. Appointments are requested, but walk-ins will be accepted as space permits. Call Barbara Hughes at 970-870-6267.

A VISIT WITH FDR
The Frontier Historical Society and the Friends of the Glenwood Springs Library present “A Visit with Franklin Delano Roosevelt” on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Library basement meeting room. For more information call 970-945-4448 or 970-945-5958.

BOWL FOR KIDS’ SAKE
The Big Brothers Big Sisters’ annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake takes place March 3- 4 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Don’t miss this opportunity to help the children of southwest Colorado and have a ton of fun at the same time. Call Big Brothers Big Sisters at 970-247-3720 and reserve a lane for your team.

YES, THERE IS SPAM
There were an estimated 17,000 computer viruses or variants discovered in 2005. MX Logic, which operates content management services for 6,900 clients, found:
-14 million spam messages of 21 million messages in a 24-hour period;
-In 2005, one in 38 e-mails was infected with a virus or worm;
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.13.06

HEARTFELT SPENDING
The average consumer will spend $100.89 on Valentine’s Day:
Males will spend $135.67
Women $68.64
-USA Today, 02.13.06

24 HOURS OF RECORDS
One hundred people participated in the first 24 Hours of Sunlight and two world records were set, skiing 50,100 vertical feet, the most vertical feet skied by a human in 24 hours. The race raised $15,000 for the Heuga Center for multiple sclerosis in Avon, and race producers Granny Gear and RealTime, with race inventor Mike Marolt and Sunlight Mountain Resort agreed to do the event again next year.
-GS Post-Independent, 02.13.06

TED AT 2
Low-cost United Airlines carrier Ted turns two years old this week. Ted now has 257 daily flights, including 43 out of Denver, and carries about 27,000 customers daily. Ted’s average load factor is more than 83% since its launch in 2004.

-Denver Post, 02.13.06

DENVER GOES FOR CONVENTION
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has sent a letter to the Democratic National Committee, officially becoming a bidder to hold the 2008 convention. Denver has not hosted a Democratic National Convention since 1908.

-Denver Post, 02.12.06

THE BIG, WHITE APPLE
The storm that buried the Northeast yesterday dumped 26.9 inches of snow in Central Park in New York, the most since record-keeping began in 1869. The storm disrupted power to more than 220,000 homes, most of them in the Washington-Baltimore area.

-NY Times, 02.13.06

VW TO CUT 20,000 JOBS
Volkswagen announced a restructuring that could cut up to 20,000 jobs in the next three years. VW, which employs more than 340,000 jobs worldwide, will also adjust factory capacity at its production plants.

-USA Today, 02.13.06

BLUE SKY ANNEXATION
The Montrose Planning Commission approved the proposed zoning last week for the Blue Sky addition and the annexation proposal will go before the Montrose City Council March 2. The project would be the largest annexation ever to the city, a 545-acre addition, including a 93-acre commercial zone and a residential area that would add an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people.

-Montrose Daily Press, 02.10.06

TELLURIDE HOUSING LOTTERY
Applications for a housing lottery for thirteen units at the new Mendota project are due March 3, with the random drawing to be held March 8. There are two studios, one one-bedroom, eight two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units, priced from $129,000 to $303,000. Applications are available online at www.smrha.org.

-Telluride Daily Planet, 02.13.06

HOME EXPO COMING
The 12th annual Home Improvement and Building Exposition sponsored by the San Juan County Home Builders Association will be March 3 and 4 at the McGee Park Convention Center in Farmington. More than 200 vendors will be on hand and will include a “Taste of Home,” featuring samples from area restaurants and caterers.

-Farmington Daily Times, 02.13.06
IMPACT OF PILT CUTS
Last week, President Bush proposed a 16% reduction, totaling $34.5 million, for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, which pays money to counties that contain federal land to cover the loss in property-taxes. The proposed cut would reduce PILT payments to La Plata County by $90,000 and a total of $2 million in the state.

-Durango Herald, 02.13.06

VAIL: RECORD SALES TAX
The Town of Vail is projecting it will take in $16.5 million in sales tax collections in 2005, up from $15.5 million a year earlier, and the highest sales tax collection ever. The town also recorded more in construction value, $245 million, in 2005, and estimates it received $6.2 million last year from the real estate transfer tax.

-Vail Daily, 02.12.06

93 YEARS OF WINTER CARNIVAL
Hundreds of spectators crowded on Lincoln Avenue in downtown Steamboat Springs over the weekend for skijoring and other events as part of the 93rd annual Winter Carnival. Pulled by horses, skiers and snowboarders competed, with the donkey jump featuring a jump in the middle of the street, and riding a shovel, also pulled by horse. The Winter Carnival began in 1914, bringing miners and ranchers to participate in winter games.

-Steamboat Pilot, 02.12/13.06

VR TAKES OVER RETAIL
Vail Resorts will take over the commercial space at the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center at the end of the winter season. For Vail Resorts and Canadian-based Beaver Run Development, the move is a strategic one, designed to provide consistent and seamless service to their guests.

-Summit Daily, 02.12.06

TELLURIDE VOTE TUESDAY
The town of Telluride will hold a special election Tuesday asking voters to provide direction for the Town Council as to whether to proceed with negotiations with major landowner San Miguel Valley Corp. on the valley floor or whether to go to condemnation of the property. The ballot question has 12 subparagraphs, is 17 inches long, but culminates in a “yes” or “no” response.

-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.13.06

GRAZING FEES GOING DOWN
Ranchers who graze livestock on federal lands will pay less this summer, as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have reduced the fee for an animal unit month from $1.79 to $1.56, beginning in March. The calculation of an AUM fee is based on a formula that is derived from the costs of raising livestock and the overall strength of the livestock market. Even with the relatively strong livestock market in the U.S., the cost of fuel and other costs have risen as well. The $1.56 AUM fee applies to federal grazing in all states from the Midwest to the West Coast.

-Montrose Daily Press, 02.11.06

RODEO HQ LEAVING C. SPRINGS
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, which have been in Colorado Springs since 1979 are moving to Albuquerque, N.M. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said the move will bring 85 full-time jobs and 50,000 Hall of Fame visitors annually to New Mexico. The PRCA owns land in northwest Colorado Springs valued at $1.5 million and the Pro Rodeo Hall of Champions owns a parcel with the same address valued at $5 million.

-Colorado Springs Gazette, 02.12.06

MORE SKIING, MORE SKIERS
-Skiable acres in Colorado, 1994-1995 season: 26,539
-Skiable acres in Colorado, 2004-2005 season: 37,791
-Skier visits in Colorado, 1994-1995: 11,105,106
-Skier visits in Colorado, 2004-2005: 11,815,572

-Rocky Mountain News, 02.11.06

GS: HISTORIC DESIGNATION
Glenwood Springs has received a Preserve America designation, one of 10 Colorado communities recognized so far with the distinction. The designation makes the city eligible to apply for special Preserve America grants. Other Colorado communities to have received the designation: Greeley, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Silverton, Steamboat Springs, Cripple Creek, Georgetown, Lake City and Park County.
-GS Post-Independent, 02.10.06

24 HOURS OF SUNLIGHT
Full moon, how about walking or skinning up 1,555 feet on the mountainside and skiing or snowboarding down…again, and again, and again. Saturday is the first 24 Hours of Sunlight, a fund raising event for the Heuga Center. More than 100 participants are expected, late registration is still available. Check out www.24hoursofsunlight.com
-Aspen Daily News, 02.10.06

BLM: RECORD FOR LEASES
The Bureau of Land Management auctioned 134,582 acres in leases for oil and gas development, and collected a record $11.8 million. About half the leases were in the Piceance Basin.
-Denver Post, 02.10.06

MORE UNSOLD HOMES IN DENVER
There were 24,387 previously owned homes on the Denver-area market last month, a 16.6% increase over January 2005, but still below the record 28,043 homes on the market in June 2004.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.10.06

BLM TAKES ON WEEDS
The Bureau of Land Management wants to treat nearly 932,000 acres in the West to eliminate noxious weeds and other invasive plants, which are now the dominant vegetation on an estimated 35 million acres of the bureau’s terrain.
-USA Today, 02.10.06

LET THE GAMES BEGIN
The 20th Winter Olympic Games begin their 16-day run tonight with opening ceremonies. The U.S. team of 122 men and 89 women will compete in the games that are expected to be viewed by 3.2 billion people in 200 nations, and will be broadcast live to sub-Saharan Africa for the first time.
-Boulder Daily Camera, 02.10.06

COUNTY BUILDING PERMITS UP
There were 78 permits for new construction issued in Mesa County outside of Grand Junction in January, including Fruita, Palisade, De Beque, Collbran and unincorporated areas of the county, an 81% increase over January 2005. In Grand Junction, 43 new-construction permits were issued, same as January 2005.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.10.06

GJ OUTBID ON BLM PARCELS
The three parcels that the city of Grand Junction was seeking to be withdrawn from the Bureau of Land Management auction were included in the auction Thursday and went for $358,000, $282,000 and $256,000, respectively. The city did bid on the parcels, but was outbid by an independent “land man” from Denver.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.10.06

“MOST ENDANGERED” LIST
Colorado’s “most endangered” list was released Thursday at Colorado Preservation’s Inc.’s annual historic preservation conference. Included in this year’s list was Ouray County’s Colona School and Grange. The building was constructed in 1915 along Highway 550 in northern Ouray County and purchased by the grange in 1963.
-GJ Daily Sentinel, 02.10.06

WATER BILL: OUT OF COMMITTEE
A bill to reduce the role of the Colorado Water Conservation Board in ruling on recreational water issues passed out of the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. Representatives of Avon, Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs and other towns opposed parts of the bill that limit water rights to kayak parks, excluding tubing, canoeing and other sports.
-Durango Herald, 02.10.06

BIOMASS – PUBLIC INPUT
The Summit County commissioners are proceeding with a biofuels facility that would burn wood waste and slash from local forests to generate heat for most of the County Commons buildings, the new Medical Office building and new hospital. Commissioners have set a public meeting Feb. 15 to gather public input on the project that is scheduled to be in operation for the 2007-08 winter, pending all approvals and permits.
-Summit Daily, 02.09.06

FINDING EMPLOYEES
Which methods human resources executives feel are best for finding best candidates:
Referrals 58%
Internet/job boards 34%
Classified advertising 33%
Internal recruiters 29%
Professional associations 14%
Staffing/recruiting agency 14%
Temp-to-hire engagement 9%
-USA Today, 02.09.06

GET ON THE BOAT
States with the biggest recreational boat registration:
Florida 946,072
Michigan 944,800
California 894,884
Minnesota 853,448
Texas 616,779
-USA Today, 02.06.06

THE UNINSURED
States with the highest percentage of population medically uninsured:
Texas 25%
New Mexico 22%
Oklahoma 20%
Montana 19%
Florida 19%
-USA Today, 02.09.06

DUPREY HONORED
Marti Duprey was honored as the Garfield County Humanitarian of the Year Monday night at the 17th annual Garfield County Humanitarian Service Awards at the Hotel Colorado. Awards were also given to youth volunteers, senior volunteers, Above and Beyond and Passion for the Mission.
-GS Post-Independent, 02.07.06

JACKING UP THE CROCS IPO
Niwot-based Crocs, seeing Wall Street demand for their stock, added more than one million shares to their Wednesday initial public offering and increased the price from $13 – $15 a share to $19 – $20. Crocs will make its final pricing decision tonight.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.07.06

CAÑON CITY: CONVEYOR CAPITAL
Portec Flomaster, in Cañon City, makes conveyors, and has been making conveyors since the gold mining days in Cripple Creek. Now, as one of the two major manufacturers of conveyors in the world, Portec will make custom conveyors for the Beijing International Airport, has installations in other airports, UPS, FedEx and has sales of $20 million annually.
-Rocky Mountain News, 02.07.06

MORE TO STAY AT THE INN
A report issued Monday projects the biggest yearly dollar increase in average daily U.S. hotel rates in 2006, to $95.95, up from $90.84 in 2005.
-USA Today, 02.07.06

RIDING AROUND THE WORLD
Matthew Cull, a native of Australia, has spent 22 years riding his bicycle around the world, and Cull will be in Vail Thursday to speak at the 2006 Unlimited Adventure Series. Cull has traveled over 43,000 miles through 47 countries. Cull is a former columnist for the Vail Daily and made his home in Vail nine years ago.
-Vail Daily, 02.06.06

DOWNTOWN RETAIL PROPOSED
The Steamboat Partnership LLP has filed an application for a development permit with the city of Steamboat Springs to add a 1,526-square-foot addition to their Fifth Street Marketplace. The plans retain a portion of the courtyard on the property, but eliminates the retail kiosk on the property.
-Steamboat Pilot, 02.07.06

INTERNET.BIZ
For rock hounds, spelunkers, mining buffs, climbers, check out the map pages available from the Statewide Maps section of the Web site of the Colorado Geological Survey, www.geosurvey.state.co.us.

HOUSES COST MORE IN DURANGO
The median price of a home in Durango in 2005 was $357,000, up 19% from the median price of $300,000 in 2004. The median price of a home in La Plata County rose to $305,867, up 14% from 2004’s $268,000, led by homes in Bayfield, which increased 44%, from $167,000 to $268,650. The most expensive home sold in the county in 2005? $6.5 million.
-Durango Herald, 02.07.06

WATER AND LAND
Under Colorado law, water is permanently tied to land, so a sale of water requires the sale of land. Under bills now in the state House and state Senate, a farmer or group of farmers may permanently rotate areas of land out of production and sell the water saved to municipalities and domestic water companies. Many agricultural groups in the state are opposed to permanently losing farm land.
-Montrose Daily Press, 02.06.06

BULL SALE RETURNS
The annual Northwestern Colorado Bull Sale is scheduled for April 8 at the Routt County Fairgrounds in Hayden, an opportunity for ranchers to buy bulls and heifers locally. All available pens are filled for the sale, with 62 bulls and 5 pens of 5 heifers each for the sale.
-Craig Daily Press, 02.07.06

JAZZ IN CARBONDALE
Jazz Aspen Snowmass will bring eighty teenage jazz musicians to Carbondale this March for the 3rd Annual District Eight Honor Jazz Band. High school and middle school students from nine schools in west central Colorado will be treated to two days of intensive jazz training from four well respected staff members from the University of Colorado. The following FREE public performances will be taking place as part of the event: March 3 at 7:30 p.m., the District 8 Honor Jazz Faculty Performance takes place at Thunder River Theatre. March 4, at 7:30 p.m. the District 8 Honor Jazz Student Band Performances takes place at the Carbondale High School. Alpine Bank Aspen and Snowmass have partnered with JAS In-Schools to support these events. For more information call the JAS Office at 970-920-4996.

VVH HEALTH FAIR
The Valley View Hospital Health Fair will be held at Riverside Middle School in New Castle on Saturday, April 22 from 7 to 11 a.m. and at Glenwood Medical Associates on Saturday, April 29 from 7 to 11 a.m. For more information call 970-384-6651.

THE END OF THE TELEGRAM
Western Union sent its last telegram on Friday, Jan. 27:
-Starting in 1851, Western Union transmitted messages by Morse code, then hand-delivered via courier;
-By 1861, the company had a transcontinental telegraph line;
-In 1921, the company sent more than 200 million telegrams;
-Last year, just under 21,000 were sent

-New York Times, 02.06.06