Special Sections - Portrait

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Chuck York: ‘Captain Condom’ has left his signature across the world

Chuck York has left his mark on bathroom walls around the world. Right there between the haphazardly placed microbrew sticker and the phone number of a sure thing hangs a metal condom dispenser — and chances are pretty good that York ...

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Lena Elliott: Serving up aces

There is no such thing as halfway effort with Lena Elliott. There isn’t a powerful ear she won’t bend, an event she won’t coordinate or a decision she won’t chime in on if she’s passionate about something. And ...

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Dale Leonhart: A permanent fixture when it comes to coaching swimming

Dale Leonhart has coached swimming for 51 years. “He has almost a folklore aura about him,” said 18-year-old swimmer Cyrus Pearo. “The man has so much experience that there is no question he knows what he’s ...

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Bill Chenoweth: A lifelong geologist, he’s spent his career making miners safe

The men who haunted the ruddy canyons of the Southwest in search of uranium probably were more likely to depend on their Geiger counters more than they did Bill Chenoweth, but only by a little bit. Now, half a century or more later, ...

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Eric Kuhn: Former sub officer navigates turbulence of water politics

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Seek to sum up the personality of Eric Kuhn and the nautical phrase “steady as she goes” comes to mind. Or maybe “even keel.” Either seems appropriate for someone who was in fact a Naval ...

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Bennett Price: Colorado’s wine industry was planted in 1974

In 1974 Richard Nixon was about to become the first U.S. president to resign, gasoline cost 42 cents a gallon and Gloria Gaynor topped the disco charts with her hit “I Will Survive.” That summer, too, Bennett Price, along with his ...

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George and Kathy Glasier: Welcome to the Silver Hawk Ranch

George and Kathy Glasier call their spread in western Montrose County the Silver Hawk Ranch for the way the sun reflected off the feathers of the raptors as they passed over the pasture one bright, clear, high-country day. It was two decades ...

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Paolo Bacigalupi has made a name for himself as a science-fiction writer

The tight-knit community of Paonia is home to a science fiction writer whose work recently caught the eye of a Time magazine reviewer. “The Windup Girl” by Paolo Bacigalupi was named one of the Ten Best Novels of 2009 by Time, and ...

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Doug Lichty is known as the Duke of Main Street

Everywhere Doug Lichty goes downtown, he’s treated like royalty. It’s fitting, considering he has a T-shirt proclaiming him “The Duke of Main Street.” Since retiring to Ratekin Tower, Lichty has made the shops and ...

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With four kids and two jobs, Tanette Mucino still finds a way to be artistic, journalistic

Tanette Mucino can pour you a pretty good cocktail. And she can sell you a house. The longtime Grand Valley resident has made her mark on many facets of the local community, but what’s most impressive is the way she spreads her ...

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Suzanne Cucchetti has used German to build a career spanning two continents

For Suzanne Cucchetti, teaching German wasn’t a decision. It was a calling. While in school, Cucchetti was thumbing through a book of possible college majors, trying to figure out what to do with her life.  She finally asked God ...

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Possibilities seem endless for teen Axel Urie

It was in the hour before dawn, as the snow piled up and the wind howled and the icicles formed at the end of his gloved fingertips, that Axel Urie felt the most hopeless. A family snowmobile outing on Grand Mesa had gone awry, and Urie, then ...

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Award-winning collage artist Gayle Gerson expresses herself through mixed media

Grand Junction artist Gayle Gerson would never “cut off my ear” like the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, but she does share some of his personality traits. She has studied all the old masters and finds she has the most in common ...

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Brigitte Sundermann works hard and dreams big

Dreams are an important part of Brigitte Sundermann’s life — dreams and hard work. In January, Sundermann became vice president of community college affairs at Western Colorado Community College, a branch of Mesa State College. ...

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Head of Mesa State music program Calvin Hofer loves to combine his passions

On June 19, Calvin Hofer, head of Mesa State College’s music department, will hop on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and ride south to Albuquerque, N.M., where he will referee a soccer tournament. The trip will combine three of ...

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