Dear Editor,

I am a Colorado Native, my great-great grandfather and his family were one of the first settlers in Colorado. I have lived in Kremmling for the last 40 years. I went to school here, left for college and then came back got married and started my family.

So I do have a very deep pride for my home and what I am about to write may make some angry, it may offend some and some may ignore it but I feel it must be said.

Living my entire life here I have seen awesome things. Townspeople pulling together to help those in need, filling the high school to the point of standing-room-only for funeral services, countless fundraisers for those who lost a loved one, for those who had cancer and needed financial help and those who were in an accident.

But somewhere in the last few years our town and the way it used to be has died. It is no longer a close-knit community. The town has developed more cliques. People no longer seem to want to help each other; they seem to not care about the kids in the town; they cannot seem to stop spreading vicious and hurtful rumors about everyone.

The majority of our kids in school are not learning what they need to stay on par with other schools in the state. So I ask, when did we as an entire community stop caring?

And as a small community with not a lot to offer our young kids, all they have to fall back on is sports, video games or drugs and alcohol. It’s Kremmling, where you may get 20-30 kids from 1st grade to 5th grade who want to play sports, yet some are being turned away. Turn your back on a kid now, and he or she loses passion and desire.

You hear jokes and insults about Kremmling and not just locally. I see jokes about “Kremtucky” on hunting forums, snowmobiling forums, off-road forums and Facebook. I hear the jokes in other towns about our town, and the irony is that these towns are smaller than Kremmling.

So what can we do as a community to bond and stand tall again?

Kremmling has a great heritage. We are here because people wanted to be here — to trade, socialize and celebrate at the convergence of three rivers. Where else can we jump on our ATVs or dirtbikes and leave from out garage to go enjoy the outdoors? Where else is it a 10-15 minute drive to some of the most breathtaking views, great hunting, epic snowmobiling?

We are lucky to live in such an area. Lets take those things that no other towns have and grow from it.

Ralph Graves

Kremmling