This article first appeared in CMC student Ali Gingras’ blog See What I See.

The evening of Sarah’s death I had a friend of a friend print out some die-cuts I designed to put on my helmet. Me and my boyfriend had planned on going to Vail all week since he has never been, and I knew the best thing I could do to honor her was to go and enjoy it the way she would have. So the next day we went to Vail, just as we had planned.

It wasn’t supposed to snow much that day… but it did, and it absolutely dumped. It snowed for hours; the biggest flakes I have seen in months, that fell from the sky like the clouds had accumulated the entire sea. It was beautiful. I haven’t felt that much joy and happiness skiing in a long time, and I know it’s because she was there. I couldn’t stop laughing as the snow shot up into my face, turning my black face mask into a bumpy white beard. I even hucked some cliffs I wouldn’t have dreamed of… I guess she left a piece of herself in everyone of us when she left. She probably figured since I had enough goofiness she’d leave me some of her courage.

Dania and Ali G on the chairlift at Vail.

Two days ago one of Sarah’s best friends and teammates, and one of my dear friends, Dania Assaly flew in. She had been home recovering from a knee injury and decided  to fly in early to be with the Canadian team and us girls. We had a day to kill before all the girls got back from Dew Tour in Killington, VT and headed to XGames in Aspen, so we decided to go to Vail yesterday. We enjoyed a foot of fresh powder with more that fell all day, and had so many smiles reminiscing. Sarah started a website a couple months ago called Scarah.com with videos of her scaring her friends. She loved to scare her friends… “Okay, ask them exactly when they’re going to be here!” She’d say, and proceed to stand behind the door giggling like a little kid, for as long as it took to get in a scare.

Sarah was so much more than just a friend, though. She was a daughter, an aunt, a sister, a wife. The love her and her husband shared is something I can only dream of someday having. They absolutely adored each other. She was the pioneer for woman’s freeskiing – The first woman to compete. She is the reason female’s are in X-Games, the Dew Tour, and is one of the main reasons men and women’s freeskiing is in the Olympics. That was her dream after all, to win an Olympic gold, and she never stopped fighting for that chance. She was the backbone, the voice, and the leader of woman’s freeskiing. She believed in the girls when they didn’t believe in themselves… she had a heart of gold. Above all else, Sarah’s talent on skis unarguably succeeded any other woman’s in the world. She pushed us all to better ourselves, for ourselves… Something I know we will continue to do, but something I know will be difficult without her support.

I always believe everything happens for a reason, at least I did until Sarah died. I know it’s all the emotions that come with grieving, but I can’t help but feel a little angry. I feel like someone somewhere really messed up. She shouldn’t have died, not yet. She did so much, and at the same time left so many things unfinished. Sarah was meant to go to the Olympics, and she was meant to win.

Tribute run to Sarah Burke at the Dew Tour in Killington, Vermont.

The girls had to compete at the Dew Tour in Killington the day after she died. They did a tribute to her before the competition by all riding down the pipe together, they called it the “Sarah Train”.  I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to have to drop into the pipe without her being there, but they all did a great job.

We miss you Sarah. We miss you a lot.

Jake Black was born and raised in Summit County, making him that rarest of things:  a true Local.  And true to the culture of his ski town home, his parents had him and his two brothers on skis as soon as they were walking.  It was the start of a love affair with the art of carving snow that has yet to slow.

Black switched to snowboarding at age 7, and began competing several years later.  After high school, he wanted to pursue life on the pro snowboard circuit, but also earn a college degree. After researching his options, Black decided that staying right at home in Breckenridge was the best way to accomplish both goals.

The multi-talented Black- he’s also an emerging writer who just published his first article in Snowboard, Colorado magazine, sees a deep connection between snowboarding’s rebel origins and the world’s need to find a new paradigm of sustainability to live by.  Check out his worldview in his article, and catch his thoughts on CMC’s Sustainability Studies degree in our new vid.  Enjoy the ride!

Music: The String Cheese Incident, Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)

It is odd how a place can turn into a home so quickly. I lived more or less in the same house for eighteen years, and it only took a couple of months for Steamboat to become my home. It took exactly one day for me to be comfortable in this town and with the other kids in the dorms.

But the meaning of home runs deeper than comfort. This is the place my heart aches to be. This is where I plan on returning when I am old and tired to lay my head down for good. The air in this valley meets my lips sweeter than anywhere else. The sky is a better shade of blue here. I couldn’t live in a more perfect place even if I thought one up in my imagination and it sprang into being.

Roughly ten days into my winter vacation my heart began to itch for this valley. Seeing my family was wonderful and I was grateful for the time with them, however ten days was too long to be away from my home. My heart longed for the wide open skies and sweeping winds, and for the trees completely encased in snow so that they looked like a most delicious white chocolate treat.

Upon my much awaited return I spent two days where everyone was excited. Smiles and hugs were exchanged all around, people greeted friends whom they hadn’t seen in a month, although it felt like years. Everything it seemed, was perfect.

And then,

As this new semester began we all flexed our mental muscles, stiff from a month-long vacation and found it to be uncomfortable. Simple habits had to be re-learned, like going to class and keeping a somewhat normal schedule. The first week was a struggle for everyone, I could see it in their faces and their longing glances out of windows during class. I could see it in the way they walk. I as well found it hard to readjust.  We drank more coffee, and tried to fix our schedules to be somewhat bearable.

We embraced our home, even if it meant a full-time schedule yet again.

And now, a week later everyone has relaxed again into the busy season of mountain life. For it is indeed necessary to relax into it. It wont due to be stressed in the winter time; this is after all the reason we live here.

Local fire officials and representatives of Colorado Mountain College stand on the fire truck given to the college by the Eagle River Fire Protection District at the school's Edwards campus Wednesday. From left are ERFPD Battalion Chief Mike Kerst; Vail Fire Chief Mark Miller; ERFPD Chief Karl Bauer; Peggy Curry, vice president of CMC's Edwards campus; and Kurt Keiser, fire science program coordinator at CMC. Dominique Taylor | dtaylor@vaildaily.com

EDWARDS, Colorado — Old fire trucks rarely retire — usually, they’re passed down from bigger, more affluent departments to smaller ones, eventually ending up as parts for other trucks. But an Eagle River Fire Protection District pumper truck has earned the mechanical equivalent of a long retirement in tall, sweet grass.

The truck, nicknamed “Mother” many years ago, has been donated to the fire science department at Colorado Mountain College in Edwards. There, the truck will live out its days as a trainer, helping students get familiar with the basics of a fire truck. It’s still-strong water pump will also help students — and firefighters from around the region — in “live fire” training at a college facility in Dotsero.

While the truck’s still functional, Eagle River Fire Protection District Chief Karl Bauer said the vehicle’s age was starting to require enough maintenance that it simply wasn’t cost-effective as a front-line truck any more. It was also built in the days when fire trucks had open passenger compartments, which are more dangerous in an accident.

But while the truck isn’t safe or reliable enough to answer when 911 calls, Kurt Keiser, who runs the college’s fire science program, said it still has great value as a trainer.

“On Dec. 17 we did a valley-wide training, and that rig pumped all day,” Keiser said. “My students need to see water running, and this rig will do it.”

At the moment, the college’s firefighter training school has about 20 students every term. Classwork can take anywhere from a single semester for a simple firefighting certificate — usually obtained by volunteers — to two years or so to become a full-fledged firefighter. Many of those students end up at either the Vail or Eagle River fire departments, where they’ll serve apprenticeships of two to three years.

Those “resident” firefighters receive a small wage and a place to live in exchange for education and experience.

Vail Fire Chief Mark Miller said having the truck available for training will help his resident corps, calling the donation a “win win for everybody.”

“Our budgets are diminishing — we have to figure out how to work smarter,” Miller said.

Bauer said the decision to donate the truck was to help strengthen the ties between the departments and the college. The truck will be used for joint training between the departments’ resident firefighters. It will also be used when veteran firefighters from other departments come to train at the college’s live fire training facility in Dotsero. With a truck already on hand, departments just lose a bit of manpower, instead of both people and equipment.

Battalion Chief Mikel Kerst has seen plenty of equipment come and go during about 24 years with Eagle River Fire. Kerst came to Avon about six months after the truck arrived, and he drove to his first emergency in it.

That first time was the most memorable.

Responding to a bus accident on Interstate 70 on a snowy winter night, Kerst was driving “Mother” to a spot roughly where the Post Boulevard exit is now. What he didn’t know was that on an icy road, the truck’s engine brake would lock up the rear wheels if he let off the gas pedal. Given the conditions, that put the truck immediately into a pretty hairy slide and spin.

That left his partner in the passenger seat to tell the Vail dispatch center, “We’re at the scene … we’re on the scene … we’re past the scene…” as the truck slid by.

Fortunately, the truck and its crew were unharmed and able to turn around and get safely back to the accident.

Since then, Kerst and other firefighters have spent a lot of time in that truck, so seeing the truck leave front-line service is a little bittersweet, although there’s more sweet than bitter in his emotions.

While local firefighters are happy to have a new training tool available, Keiser put the donation in a slightly different perspective.

“It’s going to continue to serve the people who paid for it — the taxpayers,” he said.

Who bought it? The Eagle River Fire Protection District.
Model year: 1988
Manufacturer: Franklin.
What it does: It’s a pumper truck.
Pumping rate: 1,250 gallons per minute.
Educational use: Familiarization with fire trucks and basic equipment, use in “live fire” exercises.
Where it’s parked: Edwards or Dotsero
Business Editor Scott N. Miller can be reached at 970-748-2930 or smiller@vaildaily

In this 1959 photo is civil rights activist Daisy Bates with (at left) Lt. George W. Lee, a prominent Memphis civic leader and author. “Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock,” will be screened for free at CMC in Rifle Jan. 27. Photograph © The Commercial Appeal

Colorado Mountain College in Rifle and Chevron kick off the second year of free PBS Community Cinema screenings on Friday, Jan. 27, with “Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock,” the story of a seven-year journey by filmmaker Sharon La Cruise to discover the life of a forgotten civil rights activist named Daisy Bates.

Unconventional and egotistical, Bates became a household name in 1957 when she fought for the right of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark.

Bates’s role in history was also included in the college’s Common Reader book from last fall, “A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School,” written by one of the Little Rock Nine students, Carlotta Walls Lanier. Bates was an advisor to the nine students.

Rocky Mountain PBS presents Community Cinema screenings in 12 locations across Colorado, featuring powerful documentaries from the Emmy Award-winning PBS series “Independent Lens,” followed by panel discussions.

The free Rifle screening begins at 7 p.m. in the campus’s Clough Auditorium, 3695 Airport Road. A complimentary reception follows the screening. Also, Jane Szucs, an instructional chair at the college, will lead a post-screening discussion. Szucs chairs the Common Reader committee.

Thumbs up for a powder day in Vail. Photo by Ali Gingras.

This past weekend was Ullr Fest in Breckenridge, which is the wackiest festival here all year.

Ullr is “the God of snow”, so of course we have to throw him a festival to please him. Usually I’m not stoked on Ullr Fest because of all the crazy people dressed as Vikings running around. This year I wanted to go down and watch the opening Ullr parade because we need all the support for snow we can get, but of course my car battery decided to die…. Anyway, the festival is filled with bonfires, crazy floats, “Ullympians” flinging frying pans for prizes and much more.

I think we may have please him because on Monday we got hit with a pretty good unexpected snowstorm. Breck and Keystone only faired with 5″ because of the wind, but Vail got up to 10″ in spots. I decided to ditch everyone (as the saying goes, ‘There’s no friend’s on a powder day!‘) and made the drive to Vail yesterday… so glad I did!!! Apparently it was as windy as a hurricane in Breck all day, but it was a sunny, beautiful, calm day over in Vail with hardly any lift lines! I’m really learning the mountain well now… It’s by far my favorite mountain period. Here are some pictures from my day.

I dedicate my shred day to you Sarah!!! (For more photos of Ali’s powder day in Vail and Ullr Fest wackiness, click here)

CMC President Stan Jensen surprises collegewide full-time faculty of the year Kimberly Harding. Photo Beth Zukowski

Kimberly Harding and her students came to Microbiology class today, only to be surprised by an unscheduled guest: President Stan Jensen informed Kim that she has been named the collegewide full-time faculty of the year.

As Terry Miller, campus dean of academic affairs, wrote in an email to the Roaring Fork Campus in announcing her campus honor: “This comes as no surprise to anyone who knows her. Kim embodies the combination of expertise, professionalism, dedication, and caring that distinguishes truly outstanding faculty.”

Every year, each of Colorado Mountain College’s seven campuses, as well as the college’s department of online learning, can nominate an adjunct (part-time) and a full-time instructor for the faculty of the year award. From those honorees, senior administrators then select a collegewide award recipient in each of the two categories. The full-time collegewide recipient is also invited to a state luncheon, along with their peers from all of Colorado’s community colleges.

Keep watching eNews for the announcement of this year’s collegewide adjunct faculty of the year, and for feature stories about and photos of all of our campus honorees. Congratulations to all award recipients for exemplifying our college at its best!

This article first appeared in the Vail Daily.  By Cassie Pence.

ENLARGE Diane Hatz, a TEDster and nationally recognized sustainable food advocate, organized TEDx Manhattan's “Changing the Way We Eat.” Special to the Daily.

Everyone has to eat, so it’s no wonder why food is the one sustainability issue that grabs the attention of the general public. And whether your issue is school lunches, animal welfare, genetically modified crops or simply that you love to cook with farm-fresh produce, TEDx Manhattan’s “Changing the Way We Eat” has you covered.

On Saturday, January 21st,  Colorado Mountain College will live-stream “Changing the Way We Eat” via a webcast in its Edwards auditorium from 10:30 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. with breaks and discussion in between. The webcast is free.

You’ve probably heard the cool kids talk about TED, but for those who have yet to experience it, TED is a nonprofit devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” TED believes passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world, according to its website. Two annual TED conferences bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers who are then challenged to give the “talk of their lives” in 18 minutes or less in front of a live audience. And the best talks of these conferences are available for free online.

The TEDx programs are similar to its biannual conferences, but are organized independently and designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. (TED conference tickets run from $4,000-$7,000 each.)

At TEDx events, video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussions usually on a particular topic, in Saturday’s case, food. Small groups around the country watch the main event (this time in Manhattan) live and break to have individual conversations about what they just heard, sometimes Tweeting about it to join the global discussion.

Issue, impact and innovation

Diane Hatz, a TEDster and nationally recognized sustainable food advocate, organized TEDx Manhattan’s “Changing the Way We Eat.” She hopes that viewers will come away with a better appreciation of the complexity of the food system at Saturday’s event, and with a better understanding of how many people are working on different facets of food.

“I hope that people will feel inspired by all the great work that is being done around the country and will be motivated to change the way they eat in their local community by something as simple as changing some of their food choices or as involved as joining a local sustainable food group,” Hatz said.

“Changing the Way We Eat” is organized by three categories — issue, impact and innovation — making it easy for viewers to pop in during the all-day webcast and catch talks that really interest them. Speakers will cover the general issues surrounding a sustainable food system, such as factory farming, antibiotic resistance, labeling and the local food market. They’ll cover the various impacts of certain issues, both good and bad, including the impacts of immigrant farming and the impacts of teaching kids to grow their own food in schools, and viewers will get to meet the people leading innovation in our food system.

Todd Rymer, director of culinary education at Colorado Mountain College, helped organized the local viewing. Rymer said he’s most excited to hear chef Arthur Potts Dawson talk about his vision for sustainable restaurants (he’s already leading the pack with his eco-friendly London restaurants) and to hear Cara Rosaen talk about her online system, Real Time Farms, for restaurant-goers to find out where their food came from.

“As the dynamic concept of sustainable restaurants has evolved from seasonal to local to hyper-local and socially enlightened, it will be interesting to hear Dawson’s vision for sustainable restaurants,” Rymer said. “Likewise, rapidly evolving apps that allow consumers in restaurants and grocery stores to evaluate the sustainability of the food potentially will have a huge impact on consumer education and behavior.”

Hatz said everyone on the program has something interesting to say, but she’s especially excited to hear South Bronx teacher and administrator Stephen Ritz talk about his edible food walls and how he’s not just feeding his students, but he’s providing them with living wages and has increased attendance dramatically in his school.

“The talks are important to the day, but equally as important is what happens during the break,” Hatz said. “People make connections and meet others that they wouldn’t normally meet. Some interesting projects have come out of connections that were made at events.”

Freelance writer Cassie Pence owns Organic Housekeepers, a green cleaning company, and is actively involved in the EagleVail Community Garden, the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability and Slow Food Vail Valley. Contact her at cassie@organichousekeepers.com.

By Maureen Stepp

Maureen Stepp, Instructional Chair at CMC in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale.

As I begin to prepare for a new year and new semester, I am pondering some valuable leadership lessons learned through my 5-year-old kindergartner. These lessons relate in many ways to the college freshman course I taught and to my own leadership role as an instructional chair.

In order to make it through kindergarten, it helps if you and your child are organized. By having a clean area in which to work and the right tools (crayons, glue) on hand, it helps get your child ready to learn.

For college freshmen, I help them to get organized: keeping all handouts and quizzes, getting a notebook, and keeping them all together in a neat, orderly fashion. This will facilitate studying for tests and research for projects.

As an instructional chair, I have to find answers – answers to student questions, faculty questions and budget questions. If I’m organized, I can better serve those in need. It helps me to spend at least a half hour every morning putting things in their place before ever turning on my computer and diving into e-mails.

Time management is another important principle for all ages. If my son is going to get his homework done on time, we have to work on it every day. It took two mornings of rushing through last-minute assignments to realize that instead we needed a daily approach.

College freshmen have the same problem, on a bigger scale. I suggest they get a day-planner and enter dates for assignments and exams. I help them take small steps, i.e., when they’re faced with a deadline for a term paper, they will need to establish due dates for having research done, an outline completed and a rough draft ready. That way, they avoid pulling an all-nighter.

As a manager, I need to block out time in my schedule to work on short-, medium- and long-term goals, because if not, the daily “to-do” tasks will take over and I won’t be able to make progress towards any goal.

Priorities are also essential. To a 5-year-old, this is easy. If it’s fun, it’s a priority; if not, it doesn’t exist. So we are already struggling with the homework vs. fun question.

Luckily it is easy to make kindergarten homework fun. For 18-year-old freshmen, it’s not as black and white. They are still weighing heavily on the fun factor, but I work with them continuously on keeping their eyes on their goals.

In my job, I always ask myself if the task I am working on is leading towards a goal or not. If it is not, then I have to re-prioritize and work on those tasks that are going to help me reach my goals.

So, whether we knew it or not, we were all learning these valuable leadership lessons in kindergarten, but it took many years of working and teaching to realize it.

Maureen Stepp is an instructional chair at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Spring Valley. She recently  prepared for the start of the semester Jan. 16.