Guest Columns

You see it every day. Exposed rebar underneath a concrete bridge. Alligator cracking in the street ahead. The water or sewer line break underneath the road that is blocked forcing a detour on your drive home. These are all visible evidence that Colorado cities and towns are struggling to find the dollars needed to maintain the infrastructure that keeps our society functioning.

Editor’s Note: Former state Senate President Fred Anderson of Loveland died of a heart attack on Dec. 23 at the age of 83. He was elected to the state senate in 1966 and served until 1982 when he retired. He was president of the senate for eight years. Anderson was also very active in water issues in the state. He is survived by his wife, a brother, three sons, one daughter, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held in the Denver area later this month.

When Gov. John Hickenlooper announced that the state will appeal a Denver court’s ruling that the state inadequately funds education, he acknowledged what Judge Sheila Rappaport — and previously the Colorado Supreme Court — would not: money is a finite resource, even when it’s spent on worthy causes and when it’s spent by government.

December is the traditional time for overall “year in review” wrap up stories. So here’s an attempt to summarize the years of the Civil War. The following is admittedly far too superficial for any historian or amateur student of that period, but will hopefully give more general readers a glimpse of the painful annual retrospectives families were somberly reflecting upon during the holiday seasons of 1860-1865.