Thanks for the plow

I just wanted to take a minute to thank the town of Dillon for continuing to plow the rec paths through the winter. For those of us who use the rec paths year round (for me, it’s commuting to work on my bike, but I see plenty of folks who want a convenient place to walk their dogs or just take a nice stroll on a beautiful winter day), it’s a huge benefit to be able to avoid automobile traffic on busy roads whenever possible.

Since my commute takes me through Frisco and Silverthorne as well, I would love to see other towns in Summit follow suit, but I’m sure that comes down to simple budget constraints, so for now, thanks Dillon!

A “thank you” is also due to those drivers that are alert to bikers on the road (sometimes we have no choice) and give us as much space as possible when passing, whatever the season.

Josh Carey

Frisco

The elephant in the room

Thanks to Susan Knopf for the Dec. 7 column on anti-Semitism. Many good points were made, but there’s an elephant in the room and it was not addressed.

Knopf is correct that anti-Semitism can be found on both the political right and left. Both should be condemned. The anti-Semitism in academia is especially bothersome, and the arrogance of those with pretentious letters behind their names serves to diminish their institution in the eyes of ordinary people. As for elephant in the room, it can be found hiding in plain sight on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is the United Nations. Last week, they had the opportunity to condemn Hamas as a terrorist group, and they declined to do so. Hamas remains dedicated to the destruction of Israel, and they are a terrorist organization whether that bloated, corrupt bureaucratic tumor says so or not. Maybe it’s time we stopped feeding that pig?

Thank you Susan Knopf, and Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all!

John Howell

Silverthorne

Energy pipe dreams

RE: Summit applauds Xcel switch (Summit Daily News, Dec. 7)

I see Summit Daily News finally got it right with their two headlines: The headline “Summit applauds Xcel switch” was immediately followed with the headline “PIPE DREAMS.” How appropriate.

But unlike Summit County, Xcel is hedging their bets because their engineers know that 100 percent renewable energy for the county is just that, a pipe dream. Why? Because private companies have to consider something governments never do: cost.

Summit’s workforce has enough of a problem paying for our sky-high housing costs, so now we will be increasing their energy costs, too. The cost, predictably, will fall inordinately on the poorer of our populace. It is no wonder some in similar circumstances call their energy bills “second rent.” Germany almost went broke attempting to go to 100 percent renewable energy because the populace started moving out due to the added cost. They are now back to building coal-fired power plants. We recently saw what happened in Paris. California is experiencing the same problem now, where escalating cost and taxes to supposedly combat a questionable problem is causing an influx of Calimmigtants to flood Colorado. 

Is this what our elected leaders want for Summit County, too? That seems to be the case. As they say, be careful what you wish for.

Terry W. Donze

Wildernest, Summit County