Current Watch: "City of Glenwood Springs awards contract to Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association"

This post is by ‘glenwoodsprings22’, founder of smalltown7.

"Almost 7 years ago, my wife, me and a friend or two, were pretty heavily involved supporting the second group of whistles on Marianne Virgili and the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association.  There’s been a lot of disinformation spread about the outcome of those whistles efforts.

In this blog, we’ve set those straight.  By using public records and a lot of hard work.  Tracking the details of reality on the chamber’s performance since then and watching the choices of individuals here in Glenwood Springs in the now third round of whistles on the accommodations tax.  By tracking the tourism marketing vendor's co-mingling of public and private funds management in the 501C-6 corporation that is our chamber of commerce.

Our group has taken a lot of criticism from a very small minority out there that have a lot to lose.

What’s helped get us personally through that, are the scores more who’ve recognized and considered the source of that small minority, watched the obvious or asked to see the evidence of the obvious and chose to support the way we’ve handled what we were forced into. 

As the next year or two unfold publically, we’re really looking forward to returning to our lives and the way we chose to fend off vengeance from a sick mind directed at a very good friend.

We can do that now. 

All thanks to our city council.

Almost 30 months to the day later, on August 4, 2011 and completely clueless that they finally have actually gone full circle; our city council fulfilled the request of the latest whistle.

That request was for them to take the problem she had of being in the wrong place at the wrong time which brought her face to face with their long-standing problem of all things Virgili.  She clearly asked them to leave her out of their problem and protect her life from having to go through retaliation like others before her had suffered.

The choice our leaders made back then was to instead buy into the manipulation by  Virgili that this was really just some kind of a horse race created by someone out to get her. Less than 4 days later, our whistle's life was turned into a living Hell.  Total disregard to deal with their problem was the rest of their decision.  The little they did, turning to other authority to check it out, was lost with Virgili manipulating everybody.

The folks are familiar with that blind spot in our esteemed leaders.

It’s an old tune on a warped and scratched record.

For over two decades and to the tune of  an estimated 14 to 18 million dollars of public funds, they’ve allowed themselves to be manipulated into that social stupor.  The fox in the hen house leading the willing to be blind.

The latest horse race is now over as of Thursday night. 

Right back at square one is where we all are.  We're really grateful to finally get cut free, this mess of our esteemed leaders left their control a long time ago. It's now back in their laps, the folks are out of the way.

As founder of our group, I would like to be the first of smalltown7 to thank Virgili and our council for laying such a clear path around the horse track for us to finally fulfill the request of the latest whistle.  A request she made over 30 months ago directly to them.

"Own their problem, leave her out of it and shield her from exposure to it."

Their path is not smalltown's path.  Good and decent, clear headed, 20/20 vision people that we are, would never fall for the ring-around-the-rosie our city leaders, our council, our city cops and our DA have fallen for over the past 30 months.  

But it is the path we all ended up on. 

I’ll be the first to admit that there’s been many times since my wife and I exposing what probably lay before a friend 34 months ago; that a few of us have gone toe to toe with each other.  Now that we’re at the end and finally get to dump VirgZilla in the winner’s circle of her own making; I can see where I was wrong. I apologize to a very wise woman who was right.  You can't change what's inside the core of a person.  When that core is bad, it really is the best thing to do in just letting it rot all on its own.   If we had done anything but just let the choices run where they would go; the depth this sewer of a mess is would have swallowed up the innocents.  Those sitting on that dais Thursday night and others now glued with anxiety over thinking how far off course they were led by choosing the wrong horse; every individual is now fully accountable for themselves and what they’ve allowed done.  Our girl finally has the shield of that truth.  She’s free now to stand up and tell the truth of what the problem back then really was.  I'm really sorry that the faith and trust she's shown and given to everybody in this thing is so broken now. I'm personally looking forward to helping my friends and loved ones restore life as we all used to know it.

For all of you out there, NO more smoke screens for the chamber, the accommodations tax and our leaders.  Just snap on those klieg lights.

Tonight, I’ve been asked to wrap this Current Watch up. 

The next time you see posts on this site, they will be the results of that clear path around the horse track being held accountable to law and justice.

Here's a wrap:

“32 months ago, after watching the progress on the Virgili jobsite in Aspen Glen, hammer and I realized the same problems we'd watched years ago on other whistles, were happening right in front of our eyes again.

I made a decision to not let that happen. I didn’t do enough the time before when some really good women were really attacked for whistling on Virgili and the way things ran at the chamber and the handling of the accommodations tax. That was back in the 2003 to 2006 era of whistles.  Went home, told my wife what I felt we needed to do this time and she supported that decision.  smalltown7 was born.

We spent the next six months supporting our whistle.  That story’s pretty widely known now, especially for everyone who’s followed safeplace when we launched it Summer ’09.

I’m reminding you followers of the one goal we’ve had in Current Watch.

That goal is to protect, as much as we can, the innocents in harm’s way when a pretty good bet was the chamber and our leaders would be horns waggled into letting the fox in the hen house lead the blind chickens again.

smalltown7 and the net of our #8 have been accused of a lot of things over the past 30 months.  All part of that  propaganda smoke screen.

Here’s reality:

We’ve done the best we can while onlybeing  able to move by the seat of our pants because we’re following other's choices instead of leading.  Following mostly in the dark through the sewer tunnels and rats nests this all is. 

Along the way, you grew to respect us and look to us for leadership.  I admit for all of us that was a bit of a surprise.  At one point, we were followed globally by over 500 hits per day on safeplace.  Back when you were all writing in that evidence that finally won you your Ordinance #12, Series of 2010.

When you started looking to us to lead through the rats and the winding tunnels, all we did was cut trail and hold some flashlights up for you.

The end result is that after 20 years, public funds are protected and permanent klieg lights are in place.  You did that.  All we did was cut trail.

This has never been about building a watch-dog.  We were forced by failed duty to become watch-dogs. 

The very worst in the weaknesses of human nature have done things and caused effects that have hurt people, torn apart a community and in some cases destroyed lives. As of Thursday, you can now put the effects of all that squarely in our Mayor's lap. 

Soon to be publically known, upcoming destruction of careers and political aspirations now has to reveal too.  There are a few out there in the private sector who have a lot to lose, and as long as our authorities stick in that crack with them, unfortunately, failed duty doesn’t get the luxury of retro-fitting a comfy fit getting their tail out of a crack. 

Nobody wins in what this has done to our heroes in sworn duty authority.  Of all the things we’ve watched happen at other’s hands, that one is second in line to hurting our hearts the most.  What are good people somewhere inside themselves sank into human weakness, all because of following a very wrong path and a sick mind.  There are a lot of victims in this mess and the obstruction of justice holds up for all of us. 

After the next year or two, Glenwood Springs will never be the same again.

Our choice in the beginning was to just help someone we care about walk away.

The turning point that locked this all down into nowhere to go but resolution and justice, happened about 12 months ago now.

Our city council locked all in this community into the path of no return with Ordinance #12 Series of 2010. 

For our group, we really suffered the night that passed.  FCE said it really well.  That resolution passed  and all of us couldn’t feel happiness about that.  Instead, we all looked into the eyes of someone we love, who was trying very hard not to cry.  We all knew right then that what had already been really horrible acts of vengeance towards her and her life were probably going to get a lot worse.  As the next year or two reveals the truths, I’m saying it now that I’ve watched grown men vomit when they see the evidence we’ve helped compile.  The cruelty and retaliation against the final whistle stops you cold. 

It’s shocking to have watched our community find it impossible to believe those kind of depths exist around here.

The reason this is a major victory for our whistle is that by giving GSCRA the contract, after dragging all of 81601 through their sewer; the city, the chamber and Virgili are right back where they started from 30 months ago. 

Responsible for their own problem and what they face is the end result of all their own choices and actions over the past 41 months. 

Cutting your trail and holding flashlights for you, was just a bonus perk for us.  A source we didn’t expect, of pride that our group now has, that we cut trail for you and held your flashlights.  We want you to know it feels like a perk.  Our #8 joins us in that, she wants you to know that. 

No doubt, smalltown’s and all of our mailboxes we’ve used for this are going to still get flooded with your comments and thoughts.  Probably, since this new contract award was doomed before it ever got voted in; your disgust and frustrations too.

For the first time, I’m asking, on behalf of all of us, that you hold back from that. 

We’ll be over on Sandbox and the other hubs and forums you know where to find. 

Let us get back to our lives now because we have need of scraping up one that’s been shattered.  I run with my big sis, ‘battlementmom’ on that.  It doesn’t look like the infection in this town is going to cure any time soon, we’ve all missed that chance thanks to the fine and upstanding leadership of our elected and hired officials and authorities. 

We also want to thank the citizen’s seats on the new tourism board, especially Hooner. 

Was pretty revealing watching that scoring system unfold the other night, you people out there have got the kliegs snapped on and there are a few minor issues still needing to be dealt with.  Count on it that we’ll be on the political stump until every one of the tourism and business seats are filled with no conflicts of interest vested in the tourism contract. 

For the rest of it, remember that Hooner's been pushing to be involved in bigger ways for a lot of years and he’s doing a great job leading.  While you all wait for seats to come open, push them hard to make everything about the tourism board open to the public, including all meetings.  There’s still all contract details, who handles the money, accountability, cost ratios to value earned and performance.  Then there’s that other small thing about a 65% + deficit to climb out of the hole on before we can ever say we’re on the mend.  Then there's all that other stuff too. 

smalltown7 goes dark.

Current Watch: City of Glenwood Springs oversight of tourism promotion within 81601"

This post is brought to you as a group compilation from 'smalltown7' and posted by 'gws44'.

As a group we make the public statement that we had hoped the passing of a little time would see the end of the few remaining issues surrounding current and past use of public funds by GSCRA.

Not only does that seem to not be happening, public awareness now holds serious concerns over conflicts of interest that effect fair process in the tourism RFP, still no control over the funds surrounding Strawberry Days and no answers to the citizens on the legal concerns surrounding public monies.

The highly effective medium of this blog seems to be the answer once again in getting voices heard.  Now that confirmation holds the innocent in this scandal are safely tucked aside, we can return to the cause we began in 2003.

Which is the full securing of past, present and future aaccommodations tax revenues within 81601.

This post is a summary of where we are in that battle:


"The standard response from elected officials and city administration anytime the subject of any question raised about the current and past handling of public funds or public events by the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Assoc. is that they believe the chamber does an excellent job and has their full support.

To say that answer is an evasion of the question(s) is unnecessary.

Anyone can see that it is not only an evasion, it's a deliberate spread of disinformation by omission.

Anytime a question of concern by taxpaying citizens is not only avoided but deliberately steered in another direction, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that something is being kept hidden.

If the problems and concerns were fresh, new and few then maybe some understanding of officials possibly wanting to not tarnish their city could be found.

But in the case of 81601 the diversion and aversion has run rampant and unchecked for literally decades.

Where exactly do the citizens of Glenwood Springs stand now?

Let's take a look:

• A quick review of this blog shows that not without a great deal of passive aggressive manipulation by the Chamber and its Board of Directors, 81601 now has a strong Tourism Board in place that is under the control of the city.  Also in place is a first ever competitive bid process for the tourism promotion contract, starting with the 2012 award.  What is very important to note are the subtle manipulations in the background and throughout 81601 to try to undermine this good work.  The people see it, they know it, but yet the behavior remains tolerated by our sitting officials.  There is some hope that our new council members will finally get their legs under them and begin to objectively look at what is ultimately best for 81601 when it comes to tourism, events and city functions that draw revenue into our community and meld all factions into a working unit rather than under the umbrella of a unilateral determination of direction.

Let's take a look at the loose ends surrounding those two big changes.  All of which are not minor, but rather are major thorns in progressive movement for 81601:

*  The allowing of a bidding vendor, in the Chamber Resort Assoc. to hold a monopoly of seats on the new Tourism Board.  The people still state that this is not a popularity contest nor is the rationale that just about everyone on the Tourism Board is a chamber member.  This conflict is directed at any sitting Tourism Board member that is also a sitting director on the chamber board.  There are at least three in Peter Tijm, Ken Murphy and Carl Moak.  The solution is simple.  All should have abstained from any input whatsoever on the RFP, any input whatsoever on selecting who can and cannot bid and certainly abstain from any voting.  We can see in our own city council that even the slightest hint of conflict of interest and councilmen abstain.  Actually leaving the chambers during discussion. 

*  While on the topic of conflicts and special privilege granted to certain members, the question of whether or not Ken Murphy's application to re-up his seat was done in a legitimate manner or should Jon Zalinski actually be sitting that seat needs to be answered by council.

*  The  tourism board, because it is a public funds accountable board, should have minutes and taped meetings available for public view instead of kept under lock and key with the city clerk.  

The point to these questions is that our board needs to be held to legitimate standards, not selective and preferred by some standards.

What is our call on these points? 

Publicly announce what has been done to date on the issue of conflicts and if the answer is nothing, then GSCRA should disqualify.  

If the answer is only abstain from voting, then the public should be informed of all the reasons why the Tourism Board is being granted any special privileges above any other city board and requirements of charter and law.

This board is the only board that handles public funds and they should be held to the highest of standards as they are in a position of trust.  Be accountable and transparent in public ways.

Moving forward with the remaining issues we see:

• The current tourism marketing contract for 2011 was given blindly to the chamber in early 2010.  No one really has a problem with that, it's best we have someone familiar to keep things going while transitions are being made.  Where the problem lies is still in the stone wall to show transparency to the money. Since the time of giving them 2011, publicly recorded minutes and videos of meetings show the see-saw effect of the chamber's attempt to push council and the citizens back to 'the way things used to be'.  These public records then show a grudging acceptance. 

The three issues still unanswered, but still on public record as questions and concerns are: 

a)  Where is the accounting for at least the 2010 bailout of the grant fund? Why haven't the detailed records of exactly where the 2010 20% to the chamber went been seen by the public?

b) Why  hasn't the accounting for the tourism contract cushion, spoken of by Lindsay Lewis as being sat on by the chamber and the obvious accounting for the salary of Kate Collins that was not spent after she quit yet was funded by the contract; been accounted for publicly?  The chamber is boasting of sitting on a positive bottom line at the end of 2010 fiscal year.  How much of that is public money?

c)  Mayor Christensen showed a rare moment of both anger and disdain when confronting Virgili over the signing of the 2011 contract.  On public record, the city returned to the contract the more rigid requirements and accounting mandates for the 2011 contract that had previously been imposed, then removed to soothe ruffled feelings by the tourism board.  Those accounting mandates held to a placing of the bookkeeping into the hands of private and tourism board/city controlled hands as of April 1, 2011.  Where is that accounting?  Does it finally include forensic accounting of past year's records?

What is our call on these issues?

a and b) Forensic accounting of legal strength and standards needs to be done on all public funds passed through GSCRA to date.  If the dogma defense that it is more important to maintain the popularity contest stature of our council and chamber still prevails, then fall back on city charter and law that mandates good stewardship, not guessing games, of public funds.

If any type of forensic look of any type of legal strength and standard is being done already, then control the press release that divulges that information and let the people know.  The people of 81601 are struggling mightily and working hard to prosper, they need to know exactly where the money is, where it has been spent and how it has been accounted for.

c)  The public focus on Virgili has been proven, time after time, to have nothing to do with one individual.  Yet, our esteemed council, our city administration and our law enforcement have now put many levels of 81601 in legal jeopardy from failure of their duty.

The citizens who ultimately have to pay for that loss and not just in monetary ways, deserve to have their minds put at ease that the time of blindly stumbling about making governing judgments from the foundation of gossip are over.  To alter a legal contract, given by us as a people in good faith and then attempt to shove that contract into signature was an outrageous showing of contempt for our community.  As shown in our last municipal election, the people no longer tolerate the abuse of power from anyone, including our elected officials.

Our call?  Announce publicly that the city has proven smalltown7 wrong on every point.  If that cannot be done, then begin the painful process of telling the full truth publicly.

• Strawberry Days.  81601 needs every dime of tourism related revenue we can get.  Before our esteemed council even tries to run a new attractions tax by us, they need to get control over all the loose ends in tourist related revenue we have.  Our biggest event of the year is Strawberry Days.  And it used to be a fund-raising civic event.  We just blew another $9,000 in bailout money for fireworks, on top of the tens of thousands we bailed out the grant fund in 2010 when the chamber ran that dry.  Strawberry Days should not be a Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Assoc. fund-raising event, it should be returned to the City of Glenwood Springs control.

Our call on this one?

The city either needs to show the public, through council, the contract for the turning over of Strawberry Days to private controls or take it to the people on whether or not the event should be returned to city controls.  Including the money generated, which would be a great source to fund our discretionary grant spending.  If it should turn out that the event and all monies it has generated over the years is just another one of those 'whoops' of being asleep at the wheel by our elected officials, then the chamber needs to provide an accounting.

• Sunshine.  Since when does our community sit back and allow a few in positions of power make the kind of governing decision that the public should be kept in the dark?  Obviously, since our own council members have remained oblivious to what the common man on the street has known for months; we have a very real concern that our leaders are possibly deliberately keeping themselves blinded.

Our call?

Get it all out in the open and make certain there is no twist or spin on the content.  Otherwise, the citizens of 81601 are not going to trust where they are being led.

smalltown7 keeps talking.

Current Watch: "Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Assoc. citizen's investigation summarizes 2010's 'Watch'"

A year ago, 'smalltown 7' summarized the first year of the 'Current Watch: Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association' with a post from the two founding members of their group. 

 'glenwoodsprings22' and his wife 'gws44'. That post and the resulting comments from the community is now hard copy archived for evidentiary purposes in the future.

'22' spoke from his heart as he told the story of what prompted them to step forward. 

There were many points brought to light in that post. 

The resultant comments and emails that locals and others sent in were overwhelming. 

And, as rightful things always do, contained the last remaining pieces of the puzzle to enable this group to accomplish what they have this year.  After watching us for months, your trust that you really did have a SafePlace, paid off in the end.

That was also the post that brought SafePlaceBlogs to national non-profit watch-dog attention and our statistics soared along with our rankings getting to the top of internet searches. 

With your insights and facts as fuel, that rise to visibility turned the tide for the citizens of 81601 and eventually for all whistleblowers on GSCRA.

As 'smalltown7' met today to discuss strategy for the upcoming year on this 'Current Watch', all agreed that the strongest point made in last year's summary remains the strongest point to summarize how very far they have come. 

That point is one that these very good people saw and instantly knew they could not turn their backs again.  Knew that their standing up  to finish what a community actually began well over fifteen years earlier, was imperative in it's need and unyielding in it's demand.

That point, was the watching of a crew of hispanic masons, who had not been paid in months.  Who were forced to work hungry and frozen in exterior sub-zero temperatures for days.  For the sole purpose of attempting to satisfy an obvious insatiable greed from the project's owner.  With hungry children at home and on through Christmas Day of 2008, those men worked at what would end up being an effort in vain as that project rolled over the course of the upcoming months. 

As 'glenwoodsprings22' sat idling in his warm truck, watching these men he had known for years help each other move their frozen limbs as they lifted stone after heavy stone, an unyielding resolve ignited into a flame that would alter his life forever.  That flame was the realization that there comes a time in everyone's life where they must act for the sake of others.

That project's owner was Marianne Virgili, President, CEO and Executive Director of the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association.

From that now epochal moment, this group of seven tackled a problem within Glenwood Springs so entrenched in multi-faceted issues, the web spun around it daunted everyone who had tried before them until they simply gave up.

First taking the steps to attempt discreet handling for the sake of a community with need for no further scandal on those issues. 

At that failure, empowering others to step forward and share what they knew with them. 

With the next step being the need to move out into the open, they attempted local media.  That media that would later go on to reveal as being one of the greatest contributing factors in cover-up on these issues.  Due to their asleep at the wheel apathy and loss of journalistic integrity, they failed their community and this group.

Sitting on top of a Jobox on a construction site, four members + one sketched out a three-sided strategy.  With the need for only that one point of '22's' to be accomplished, that strategy basically amounted to a '3-sided pen'.  One strong enough to first corral and then hold the elements needed to finally accomplish getting the problems they faced under control until authorities would act.

That 'pen' has it's base side as the unyielding truth.  A very basic strategy that sooner or later and despite human nature that holds free will to make wrong choices, the truth of the accommodations tax issues and what five women whistles and their lives had endured, would prevail.

By that time, law had been broken by those wanting SafePlace and it's harbor suppressed.  Lives were being harmed by others in obvious ways and at an obvious hand.  Through the anonymity of safety within SafePlace to Whistle blow, a community strengthened and created this blog and their commenting in as the second side to the 'pen'. 

The next step that led to the third and final 'side' of this now unbreakable corral was given by human nature. 

Human nature that when facing the beast inside a bully, puts it's head down and gives up.  With the result then being a back turned and a blind eye  overpowering the awareness of right from wrong.

In the case of this 'Current Watch,' the dual factor of that problem was our local print media being one of the sectors falling prey to it.  Obstruction of voices began to occur.   'smalltown7' encouraged and helped create blog media that allowed for the tracking of daily regional news and allowed free speech in commentary.

With their own media and the 'pen' tracking the problem within the Chamber, freedom was able to come to the voice of the common man and the sub-community of 81601.  Who then went on to see the following accomplished in 2010 on this 'Current Watch on the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association': 

• From 1/1/10 through to early September, a historic new board, with unprecedented power and representation of the citizens of the community was seated.  Marking an end to upwards of an estimated 14 million dollars in public revenues, over the span of 23 years, never undergoing a forensic audit and being continually left with little to often no oversight in the hands of a private non-profit and that board of hand-picked directors.
• Within a little over 60 days that board revised the control over spending of those funds by the still held marketing vendor of the Chamber.
• Within a little less than 90 days that board sent the very strong and powerful message that allowing public funds to remain with no forensic and outside oversight would no longer be tolerated.  They sent down the mandate to City Council that the accounting and handling of marketing funds from the acccommodations tax would be under the control of the board and an outside accounting firm of their choice.

As the year now rolls over, GSCRA has been awarded one last year of the tourism marketing contract.  All future years will see, for the first time ever, an RFP issued on this contract.  The board to remain in charge.

'smalltown7' sees the following needs for SafePlace remaining as they wind down 2010:

1.   The accommodations tax revenues and the tourism marketing of 81601 is in excellent hands now.  Under a City Council oversight that has much needed elections coming up in April of 2011, politics can never play as influential of a role as they have in past years.  The citizens, under Ordinance #12, series of 2010, are now in charge.

2.  Come April 1, 2011 the bookkeeping and accounting from the Chamber will be removed from the Chamber Board's hands and placed into third-party control.  By relying once again on 'side #1' of their pen, 'smalltown7' believes truth will prevail with the eventual validation of all whistles.  In the event there is a continued lack of  authority's doing their jobs, and stepping in with the strength of prosecutorial powers to investigate; the remaining two 'sides' of small's 'pen',  will be keeping an eye on progress as the conversion is made.

3.   The board has now placed themselves in the micro-management position of oversight on how the 2011 marketing funds are spent.  Spending and the use of credit is one of the major whistle complaints over the years. Rightfully so as those whistles are the ones suffering the wrath of the Chamber in retaliation for speaking up.  As the next few City Council meetings unfold alongside other related due processes,  there is still the issue of the supposedly civic event of  Strawberry Days to be reined in.  There is also the still remaining issue of repayment for the bail-out given to the funds when the Chamber ran the grant funds dry in Spring 2010.

From a long, long list of your concerns brought forward to SafePlace and 'smalltown7' over two years ago, we are now down to those two remaining issues being the only true issues surrounding public funds.

The third and also the few remaining concerns over GSCRA, Virgili and the accumulated past we feel will likely run a natural death course (or) end up in the hands of our community's new Tourism Promotion Board.  After this last stand by the board, we are highly confident they recognize all the issues and the dynamic of what they face in 2011.

As for the crew of hispanic masons so symbolic to an entire community, their plight and the plight of the five women whistles spanning over 12 years draws to a positive close for them and their families. 

You have noticed the decrease in posts on SafePlace over these months.  We have been slowly rounding to full circle and returning to what 'smalltown7' had forcibly taken out of their hands in 2009 and 2010 by Virgili and the Chamber.

What was taken out of their hands was their choice for discretion and quiet handling of the clean-up of a core so ugly it tainted a town. 

That was the original desire of these people who love their community deeply. 

The feeling of 'smalltown7' is that they now claim a belated victory in that effort as well. 

The wailing and crying of a chamber board, former tourism board and former council members that do not care to bring the darkness of years into the public light, is back full circle in those same folks hands that are doing the wailing. 

A community has held them accountable and exposed core concerns.

All of the people, including whistles and small have simply stood back and let the base of the pen run it's natural course. 

'smalltown7'  and 81601 would have by far preferred discretion of their problems over two years ago.


'smalltown7' takes the win.

Only the reporting of progress as we head down the home stretch will now be reported on this 'Current Watch:  Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association'. 

smalltown7 keeps talking.