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Janet Day: Winter Park Resort takes step toward solving Valley’s recycling problem

Janet Day
Talk of the Valley

One small step for Grand County; one giant step for the environment. Solving our local recycling problems is going to be a long, slow process, but the first step has been taken with Winter Park Resort’s new employee recycling program. Applause all around for Hal Newberry, the force behind getting the program launched. And a salute to the resort for taking the lead in a problem that every entity ” county government, the towns, businesses and residents ” should be trying to resolve. For $20 a year, resort employees can now make use of the on-site Connexion recycling program for their paper, glass and plastic waste from home. It’s only for employees ” and will be closely monitored to keep it manageable in that way ” but it’s a good start toward again offering convenient recycling in the area and keeping tons of trash out of the landfill.

International Affairs. The incredibly weak dollar has brought a variety of accents to our valley (beyond those flat-vowel Southern voices that appear every year). These days, making a chairlift ride, bus ride or eating dinner out is a great way to learn more about the world. Brits, Germans, Japanese, French, Italian and Dutch tourists have all crossed my path in the past couple weeks. We are an incredible deal for Europeans.

On Saturday, I rode the Eskimo lift and took a run down Cranmer with three guys from Wales who bragged in lovely lilting accents that a full week’s vacation in Winter Park, including air fare, lodging, and lift tickets cost them 800 UK Pounds. A Pound these days has twice the value against the dollar that it had a few years ago, which means, the Welsh men happily said, that they were able to buy a full week’s U.S. vacation for what two years ago would only have paid for the air fare. It was a lot cheaper for them to fly all the way here than go to the French Alps where higher prices come with inferior snow, they said. I tried to price a similar trip, going from Denver to Wales. The cheapest I could find, including lodging and roundtrip airfare from DIA to Cardiff, the Welsh capitol, was $1,700.



Much Ado about Mary Jane. I admit I was wrong. It happens. I had been fairly vocal in my thought that celebrating Mary Jane’s birthday every year was a silly idea. The 30th birthday bash two years ago was enough, I thought at the time. But each year since then, the event has become more fun. And it’s turned into a great mid-winter outlet for all of our pent-up creative energy. The floats this year were fantastic; the snow sculptures inspired and the decorated Mary Jane cutouts were awesome. All entries reflected the time and thought and energy put into them. My favorite Mary Jane was the Winter Park Organic Market’s version with its creative use of produce and produce containers. She was surely the healthiest Mary Jane and, in my mind, the one with the most flair.

Many of the painted ladies remain on display at the Winter Park-Fraser Chamber of Commerce office, so there’s still time to check them out. My entry ” decorated with vintage Winter Park Resort brochures, area postcards and travel posters ” still has people looking closely for friends or co-workers from times gone by. So far, viewers have identified old images of Jill Campbell, Jerry Harvey and Barb Roylands. Let me know if you recognize anyone else behind those big 1970s aviator shades, bushy mustaches and DayGlo, one-piece ski suits.



Drink Up. Congratulations to Michelle McKearney who won the Signature Drink Contest in the first Bartender Olympics at the resort. Her creativity and humor bring us the Yellow Snow Martini. Ignore the old adage about not eating yellow snow and give it a try. Mix 2 ounces of Tuaca, one ounce of Butterscotch Schnapps and a splash of sour mix. It’s too sweet for my taste, but has been a big enough hit with others that it’s being served at all of the resort’s bars.

A Friend in Need. I was saddened to learn about Stephanie Sadler’s renewed battle against cancer. While I haven’t seen her in a while, we worked on a project together a couple years ago and I liked the funny, gracious, energetic woman from the start. A fundraiser to help with her medical expenses will be held Feb. 28 at Devil’s Thumb Ranch and an account has been set up in Stephanie’s name at Grand Mountain Bank, so please make a donation in one form or another.

The Big Day Approaches. Valentine’s Day, which unnerves men and women alike, is just about a week away. Find the perfect unique gift for your special someone at the Cupid’s Corner gift boutique this Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Fraser Historic Church. In addition to hand-crafted artwork, you’ll find decadent candies, luxurious skin care products, photography, jewelry and more.

Sun and Sand. It was a brutally cold, windy January here at 9,000 feet and February’s starting off just about the same. If it’s really getting to you, keep looking toward the future and the possibility of winning a trip to a Mexican beach/golf resort.

The Heart of the Mountains Hospice golf tournament will again be offering a grand prize vacation package at its 6th annual Grand Swing to be held May 19 at Grand Elk. Last year’s winner, Beth Tisdell, just flew with a friend to Estrella del Mar near Mazatlan for four days of warm temps and two rounds of golf at Kim Anders’ course.

Looking out my window at the plow pushing even more snow up against my truck, I sure wish I was there.

Keep in Touch: What’s got your attention around the area? Let me know. I’ll try to find the answer or spread the news. Send it all to JDayQuilts@msn.com.


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