Grand Junction Living News

Every year some area gardeners lose the top of their Austrian pine. The top dies down to at least the upper-most whorl of branches. We have yet to find a disease or insect pest causing this die-back. It appears the problem is caused by watering these trees too often during the fall months.Some plants continue to grow late into the fall especially when watered too often. This prevents them from starting the winter acclimation process and makes them very susceptible to winter damage. Peach trees and globe willows are just two of the trees we know respond in this fashion. The Chitalpa also tends...

Imagine watching a family member slowly lose precious memories they once held dear - losing the memory of their wedding day, the birth of their first child, seeing their son graduate.This loss is what the Alzheimer's Association of Colorado and this Saturday's 20th annual Memory Walk is trying to fight.The Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds to help support Alzheimer's care, research and support. Since the Memory Walk was started in 1989, it has raised more than $260 million nationwide. "This year, we are hoping to raise $73,000 total between the walkers and...

In the first three parts of this series, I described the recent legal precedence for current mortgage modifications. I defined the difference between a mortgage modification and a refinance. The practical, real world implications of the difficulties in negotiating a mortgage modification and three no-nonsense implications in getting a modification were spelled out. I justified the fees in getting an attorney-negotiated mortgage modification, and how to justify the choice between paying your next mortgage payment and paying an attorney.FICO credit scores will suffer because of late payments,...

As difficult as it may be to stay cool and collected when debt collectors hound you, knowing what to expect when dealing with these agencies will help you formulate a plan and lessen the chance of being taken advantage of. 1. Realize that credit collection agents are usually working on commissions. This is a JOB to them and the more they get you to pay, the larger their paycheck. They will be persistent, so be prepared. 2. Don't argue with the agent, because you will lose. This is what they do all day, every day and they have heard every excuse in the book. They are prepared with an answer to...

We're still talking biology, not politics, but the free radicals in our body deserve a counter-campaign in the form of anti-oxidants. In this article I'll explain anti-oxidants and why you should get plenty of them.Cellular respiration is the process in which we break down glucose into water and carbon dioxide, releasing energy. This occurs deep in our cells in the mitochondria, the "generator" for cellular energy. Along the way, packets of energy called "electrons" are passed along a complex chain of chemical steps, eventually producing an energy storehouse known at adenosine-triphosphate...

There is a devil and an angel in every man. In fact, much of modern American music owes its existence to the fevered battle between the angel and devil wrestling in the breast of just one man. Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born 110 years ago in Villa Rica, Ga. As a child, he was exposed to influences both sacred and profane. Dorsey's father was a bombastic Baptist preacher, and his family spent much time in church or attending revival meetings headlined by the likes of popular baseball player-turned-evangelist Billy Sunday.But at an early age, Dorsey was also learning about the other side of life...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Summer Art Camp at The Art Center is in full swing, and there are still seven weeks left for children, ages five through twelve, to take part in an opportunity to explore many arts forms, learn new things, and have the opportunity to create their own art. Every summer for more than 30 years, The Art Center has offered young people of Western Colorado the exciting opportunity to spend their summer learning about and creating art in a safe, fun environment.Summer Art Camp consists of 10 individual one-week sessions, each one filled with art. Some of the subjects covered...

The new waterslide at Moyer Pool in Lincoln Park is up and running for the summer.The 37-foot-tall slide twists and turns for 350 feet before depositing swimmers into a splash tank at the bottom.The slide was suppose to be replaced last year. However, delays kept it idle during the 2008 season. While many in the Grand Valley were across the parking lot at Suplizio Field for JUCO on May 28, a dozen young swimmers opted to beat the heat by sliding down the big blue tube over and over again under the watcful eyes of lifeguards Maddie Orr and Stephen Couch.The slide and the pool are open for...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Five-time world champion jump-roper Molly Metz performs and teaches skipping rope all over the world.Metz, 33, became fascinated with jump-roping after viewing a performance at her Boulder school when she was 7. She quickly joined the open-entry team and by the time she was 8 was traveling to Panama. Metz won her last world championship three years ago in Toronto, competing against jumpers from 19 other countries. In the past year she's been to Hungary, South Africa and Canada either performing, teaching or judging. In Littleton, Metz coaches a team of about 100 kids,...

Friday, May 154-8pmMike Store, Artisan & Food 5-5:30pmCity of Fruita 125th Birthday Celebration with CAKE, 325 E. Aspen, front lawn5:30-7pmEntertainment - Ofay Soul7-7:30pmHustle Dance Lessons (free, all ages, in front of the stage)7:30-9pmEntertainment - Disco Mountain Saturday, May 167-10amLion's Club Pancake breakfast at the IOOF Hall on the Circle (pancakes, ham, eggs, juice, coffee, diabetic syrup $4)7-3:30pmMike's May Madness Car Show - KOOL 107.97:30-8:30amMike 5k Run - Race day Registration9-10:30amMike 5k Run/Walk 9-8pm Artisan & Food Vendors open to public10am-noonLawn Mower Races -...

In the hidden corners of our society, there are those people who silently reach out to help others. Helping others is the task of a group of ladies at Monument Baptist Church in Grand Junction, who use their extra hours sewing blankets and giving "onesies" shirts to newborns at St. Mary's Hospital.Here's how it works. Some donate the money to buy the fabric. Others sit at their sewing machines and whip out the blankets. Marinelle Green takes the blankets to a St. Mary's representative and everyone receives a burst of joy for their efforts. Since the initial undertaking of this project, there...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - It's autumn, which means it's contra dance season.Dancers from around the Western Slope will congregate Saturday at the Palisade Community Center to dance to Celtic and old-time music performed by the local group Fifth Reel. Ron Young will "call" the dances, guiding people through the steps.The old-time country dancing was brought to America by English colonists 200 years ago. Scottish and Irish immigrants added their own twists to the dance. At a contra dance two parallel lines are formed with dancers facing each other. Each dance consists of a sequence of smooth...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Up With People brings an "all-star alumni cast" (plus 10 members of the current cast of Up With People) to the Mesa County Fair for a performance Sunday afternoon. Up With People was founded in 1965 as a positive voice for young people. Young people ages 17 to 29, from all over the world come together to perform music for the purpose of delivering messages of "hope and goodwill." Community service work is also part of the group's mission.Sunday's performance will feature newly released music including "Power With," a song about empowerment; "Arm Yourself," lyrics...

The Rev. Hollis Wright, the new minister at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, used to be the vice-president of consumer products at the Bank of Hawaii before she was called to the ministry 16 years ago.At the time, Wright's daughter Erin was attending private school where there was chapel every week. "She wanted to know more about God so we decided to go to church," Wright said. "We went to the Episcopal church which was near our house. It changed our lives - that's the truth - it made us a stronger family."A couple of years later Wright began the lengthy process of becoming an ordained...

The annual Shriners Circus Parade hits Downtown Grand Junction Main Street this Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m.Come see the craziest, colorful clowns you've ever seen cruising down Main on some of the strangest vehicles. The parade begins on Eighth Street and ends at Third.The parade precedes the 64th annual Shriners Circus May 22-23 at Mesa County Fairgrounds. Shows are at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.Tickets are $10/adults in advance and $12 at the gate. For children, tickets are $5 in advance for children ages 4-12, or $6 at the gate. Children under 3 are free. Get your tickets to the popular event at...

GQ magazine, arbiter of all things hip, has spoken with its list of "50 Beers to Try Before You Die." What? Only 50?Many of the 50 will be familiar to fans of craft brews, but it's a good list for newbies to take on. In fact, even serious devotees may find a few they haven't tried.The ever-expanding Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont has not one but two beers on GQ's list - Dale's Pale Ale, a hoppy, classic American style, and Old Chub, a malty, Scottish-style ale.The list made a splash on national TV when GQ's Adam Rapoport and "Early Show" host Harry Smith went through a few on-air. "We saw it...

Recently, I have been somewhat obsessed with something - something that either people have no clue about or look at me like I am a little off my culinary rocker.While I had heard of these before, it took a couple episodes of "Man v. Food" on the Travel Channel to get me thinking, and that is always dangerous. In these episodes, Adam Richman took on some challenges to eat some creations, including coquettes and chicken wings with these, and when I saw the tears running down this face, I said to myself: "Self... oh we gotta play with these."Friends, let me introduce you to... The Ghost...

Now it could be said I am playing favorites, writing about French tarragon, since I am a native of France, but it really isn't so.It is such a delightful herb, that if you get acquainted with it, you can't help but love its wonderful fragrance and affinity to chicken and all things aquatic (well, almost.... I wouldn't pair it with sea cucumber, but then again, there aren't too many things that pair well with that strange Asian delicacy.)French tarragon has a subtle, warm, anise taste, much more flavorful than its Russian counterpart, which is why we make the distinction. The plant is...

The smell of orchards burning brush along the canals, the first buds breaking out of their winter entrapments, yeah, we finally may be breaking out of this past winter's grasp.As the weather continues to improve, I find myself yearning for the open road, almost like a little gremlin is sitting on my shoulder egging me on to pull out some maps and start planning a road trip! Though we live in one of the great regions in the country, there is something about hitting the road, some great driving CDs in the truck, (I prefer long, live jams for my country roadies, Allman Brothers Live at The...

Does it seem to you like every time you read a paper or food magazine lately the title contains the words locavore, local, sustainable, or slow food?It takes me awhile to get my head around the new "buzzwords," and I often find them to be just a new take on an old idea. But we must all decide for ourselves whether a "new" concept is right for us or not, and I know that if a subject doesn't interest me I quickly move on.For those of you who are still on the fence over these new feel-good/taste-good lifestyles, I wanted to share an experience I had with an early "food movement" that proved to...

With an acre and a half of land and access to irrigation water, Koinonia Church, 730 25 Road, has an ideal site for a community garden.Pastor Mike Burr's vision is to build a peace garden, and a vegetable garden, raising enough food eventually to give to community food banks and the homeless shelter.The ground has been tilled. And parishioners are willing to do the work."The dream has been there for awhile," Burr said. "What's always stood in our way is not having a pump."Koinonia is presenting "A Taste of Western Colorado" April 17 to raise money toward buying that pump.The evening will...

As homeowners and renters open their utility bills from winter, undoubtedly many will gasp and immediately exclaim, "We've got to do something about this!"Today is too late to do something about past bills but, an excellent time to prepare for the future. There are many ways to make energy efficient improvements that usually start with a home audit and consultation on cost-effective improvements and return-on-investment calculations.Through this process some homeowners or renters especially may realize that the best option for them is to find or build a home that offers the energy efficient...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Four out of the nine traditional homes featured in this weekend's Parade of Homes are highly energy efficient.Developer-builder John Moir, and owner of Sunshine Development Company in Fruita, said he has always been concerned about energy efficiency and aims to build homes 40 percent more efficient than national standards call for. His Parade home is an energy efficient townhome in Fruita's Village of Country Creek - a subdivision for residents 55 and older.One of the home's important energy-saving features is its ground source heat pump. In the summer hot outdoor air...

The first ever Colorado Green Expo comes to Two Rivers Convention Center Saturday, Aug. 22.The Colorado Green Expo will explore energy efficiency, money savings, and all the ways it helps the environment. The expo will also feature information on rebates and tax credits plus the latest green trends. Along with an exhibitor hall and forums, there will also be an outdoor farmers' market and evening entertainment.The event is being put on by Energywise Companies and Cumulus BroadcastingFor more information, call Lance Manganello at 683-5664.

Several times a week I turn south onto 30 RD from F 1/2, and pass by a front yard that has three white pots of coleus sitting on fenceposts. I've written about my own coleus fixation, but my coleus have been windowsill plants-I've rarely grown them outside. Not that I wouldn't-I just haven't gotten around to using them outside, because I'm so busy planting everything else!Coleus has come a very long way since the '70s, when we all grew coleus in pots hung in macrame holders. I'd deny the macrame, except that there's photographic evidence. The '70s coleus was simply too tender to grow outside...

"I didn't think I had it." With eyes filled with tears, these words came tumbling out in a low shaky voice from Jim, a big man of 41, as he sat clutching his mother's hand. There was a moment of stunned silence with tears welling up as the group in the room adjusted to this heartbreaking news. It was Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 in the parlor of the United Methodist Church at Fifth and White in Grand Junction where the Huntington's Disease support group was gathered for its monthly meeting. Jim had been positively diagnosed with HD by a blood test.For Jim, and others who have grown up with HD, he...

Depression can be experienced in many different and diverse ways. It can manifest as disappointment, loss, stress or frustration. However, when someone experiences a clinical depression with at least two weeks of sadness, decreased appetite, sleep disturbance, loss of interest in sex, fatigue, low self-esteem, excessive guilt, decreased ability to concentrate, indecision and thoughts of death it is time to seek professional help.This type of depression affects approximately 10% of the population, with no proven relation to socioeconomic factors or genetic predisposition. Depression in young...

"How do these geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? How do we know when to go? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown."- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D.Trusting yourself is a major sign of surrendering to the flow of life and aligning yourself with Source Energy. Trusting yourself can be difficult because as children, most of us were taught to listen to the adults in our lives. Our own intuition was...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - When Valerie Stow first told people she was planning a home birth with a midwife, she was often asked, "Is that even legal?""People don't know it's even an option," said Stow, who's baby is due in June.Only about 1 percent of women in the United States choose to give birth at home. For most healthy women, giving birth at home with a trained midwife is as safe or safer than a hospital birth, say many childbirth professionals.Birth at home is also less expensive than hospital births, although not all insurance companies cover home births. It's not the cost, however, that...

If you are age 50 or older and have had a heart attack, you might be eligible to take part in a government study testing the effectiveness and safety of chelation therapy, an investigational treatment for people with heart disease.The study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, is the largest of its kind. Almost 2,000 people at more than 100 medical institutions across the country will take part in the study. Currently, 13 million Americans have heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and in Colorado, it claims the lives of about 7,500 people every...

This is an example of the weekly Dial-a-Garden message, which is recorded each week at CSU Extension and may be accessed by calling 244-1706, by visiting our website at www.westernslopegardening.org or by e-mail if you prefer. This message was recorded on Tuesday, April 27.The evapotranspiration rate for the week is a little more than one inch for cool season lawns in the Grand Valley. Higher elevations may need less. It is always a good idea to check your soil with a probe or trowel to determine the moisture needs.Colorado State University Extension along with the Mesa County Library has...

Q: I have a dry basement. But recently, after heavy rains, I noticed that in two corners of the basement the paint was bubbling up a bit and, when I pressed one of the bubbles, the paint split and water trickled out. I haven't experienced dampness issues before. What's the problem? - Gary in Waltham, Mass. A: Considering all the pump hoses I saw trailing from basements around my neighborhood following recent heavy rains in the Northeast, a little dampness doesn't seem like much. But you're paying attention to the problem right away, when it's relatively small and new - and that's actually...

Would you like to learn more about vegetable gardening? Do you have vegetable gardening questions you need answered? Do you know what should be planted now and the best way to maximize the production of your vegetable garden?Why not join me at the Grand Junction Community Garden at the Library Saturday, April 24, between 9 and noon. The Garden is located at the corner of Fifth and Chipeta in Grand Junction. Parking is available on Chipeta Avenue and at the library.The cost for attending the session, unless you have reserved a plot at the garden, is $5 per person payable at the garden. I'll...

The large apricot in my neighborhood is in full bloom. So is the forsythia. This mean the time is ripe for pre-emergent herbicides, those products that prevent the germination of foxtails, crabgrass and many other weedy grasses that invade our gardens and lawns.These products will not control cheatgrass (downy brome), flixweed or red stem filaree as these are already in vigorous growth as they germinated last fall. These products also may not control prostrate spurge as it won't germinate until some products are no longer effective.When applying a pre-emergent herbicide, use one that is...

Q: I want to install a wood floor in my home, but like everyone else, my budget is tight. What presents a better value - hardwood floors or that imitation flooring that looks like hardwood? - Jesse L., Columbia, Md. A: "Imitation" flooring that looks like hardwood is commonly called laminate flooring. Made up of paper layers pressed between a clear film and a high-density backing board, laminate is a durable alternative to traditional hardwood and can be significantly cheaper.Laminate has a lot of up-front plusses that make it worth considering. It can cost as little as $2 a square foot, and...

VERNAL, Utah (AP) - Local legend has it that cowboys, sheep herders and trappers long knew about the huge fossilized bones that regularly surfaced from the ancient rock underlying Utah's dinosaur country.But not until steel magnate Andrew Carnegie learned of the bones did Vernal and the surrounding Ashley Valley get the nation's attention 100 years ago. Now Vernal, a Western outpost whose wide streets are lined with energy, mining and agricultural businesses, makes a business of its bones. It's home to a large dinosaur museum and is the base for a National Park Service site at a bone quarry...

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Kent Tompkins spent more than a decade living on the Navajo Reservation where he first went as a consultant, teaching teachers how to use art with gifted and talented children.In the process he found a home. Tompkins lived on Navajo land from 1978 through 1990.After the first few years of living there, Tompkins was trusted by spiritual elders to photograph and document sacred Indian sites and ceremonies.The work was funded in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts."It was a natural evolution to team up with my Navajo friends to do projects documenting sacred areas.

Here's a look at three scenic drives that will be open for motorized traffic in time for the Memorial Day weekend:Independence PassASPEN - Independence Pass, Aspen's popular gateway to Leadville, Vail and other mountain towns, opens at 2 p.m. Thursday, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.The opening of the eastern stretch of Highway 82 comes right before Memorial Day weekend. Last year the Pass did not open until June, while crews worked to clear snow.Highway 82 over the 12,095-foot pass, east of Aspen, is closed during the winter because of weather conditions and...