Man loves wheelchair fencing; Dolly Parton stolen; wild chase in LA
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from the West.
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Police in Salt Lake City are searching for a large rabbit named Dolly Parton stolen from a working public farm in Salt Lake County.
Murray Police Sgt. Deven Higgins says that the rabbit was last seen Wednesday morning at Wheeler Farm and workers discovered she was missing about noon.
Higgins says the lock on her cage had been cut, leading investigators to believe she was taken in a pre-mediated theft.
It's not clear how she was removed, but she Higgins says may have been taken away in a backpack. The animal is estimated to be worth at least $100.
The farm is free and open to the public.
KSL-TV reports that Dolly Parton is one of three Flemish giant rabbits who have been at the farm since January.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
LAS VEGAS — A suspect remains on the loose after escaping Las Vegas police custody.
Police say 39-year-old Ivan Mayoral somehow slipped out of his cuffs in an interrogation room Friday evening.
His escape prompted an evacuation and then lockdown of a police substation in the northeastern part of the city.
Police, SWAT officers, K9 units and a helicopter conducted a search four nearly five hours.
Police spokeswoman Laura Meltzer says Mayoral was not on the premises and considered at large.
He is described as Hispanic, 5-foot-9 and weighing 200 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans.
Mayoral had been arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
BETHEL, Alaska — A pizza shop in Bethel has sold the first beer in the city in 40 years, but business was slow.
Fili's Pizza is the only restaurant in town to hold a liquor license. AC Quickstop and Bethel Native Corp.'s Bethel Spirits also hold licenses for package liquor stores, but those outlets have not yet opened.
The Alcohol Beverage Control Board in November approved liquor licenses for the two package stores after a majority of Bethel voters chose to support alcohol sales in an advisory vote.
Fili's received its alcohol license from the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Wednesday and Mefail Slaiu, owner of Fili's, said he placed the restaurant's first beet and wine order that evening. The goods arrived in time for Friday drinks.
Slaiu said Friday the shop had sold less than 10 alcoholic drinks since opening despite being the only place in town to grab a beer.
Slaiu said he is ready for a big crowd, but the people haven't shown up yet.
Slaiu said the restaurant is selling seven types of beers, all bottles.
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former administrative assistant for the agency that runs Utah's 911 program has admitted to spending $1 million with state-issued credit cards.
KUTV of Salt Lake City reported (http://bit.ly/25Roz45) Friday that Patricia Nelson disclosed her actions in court documents.
Nelson is currently embroiled in a civil lawsuit filed by the Utah Communications Authority.
The agency says Nelson had absolute control over official credit cards.
Nelson admitted that she and her daughter, Crystal Evans, used as many as five credit cards since 2005.
Purchases included a Bahamas vacation, alcohol from the State Liquor Store and pet supplies.
The UCA became aware of the fraud in January.
Nelson was fired.
UCA director Steve Proctor resigned in the wake of the embezzlement.
West Valley City police have launched a criminal investigation.
- By ERIN UDELL Coloradoan
- Updated
By ERIN UDELL
Coloradoan
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Head up to the second floor of Miramont Lifestyle Fitness' airy northern location, head straight and you'll likely see him every day starting around 7 a.m.
His mornings begin with a daily brisk, half-mile walk around the gym's indoor track. Then it's onto an exercise ball for his back. Next is sit-ups. And you can't forget the weight machines. If you're an early riser or a gym person — two categories I gratuitously and inexplicably lump myself into from time to time — you may have heard of Byrd Collins Curtis, the Coloradoan reported (http://noconow.co/1S3c2Gy).
"It's so important for the body ... for me," Curtis said, sitting in a conference room off of Miramont's main-floor weight area Wednesday morning.
Clad in a black long-sleeve shirt tucked into matching black track pants, Curtis was on the eve of his 90th birthday.
Asked how he felt about becoming a new nonagenarian, he gave a one-worded answer: "strange."
Because Curtis doesn't seem 90.
When we first met, he was rounding the Miramont indoor track with a friend. With a pep in his step, he led me down the Miramont steps to a quiet place where we could talk, all the while fielding greetings from fellow gym goers — members of the same early-morning crowd who, when they see him, let out yells of "Byyyrd!" that cut through the gym's open air.
It made sense to me in that moment why he'd been lovingly nicknamed "The Mayor of Miramont." It felt like at any moment, a woman would run up with a baby and ask him to kiss it.
"(Byrd) knows everybody and talks to everybody," friend and fellow gym goer Bob Fulton said Wednesday afternoon. "They just kind of named him that."
Curtis started going to Miramont North in 2001 after trying a handful of other gyms in the area. He said he likes the open space, and then, of course, there are the people.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, he studied agronomy at Oklahoma State University and earned his Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics. A longtime wheat scientist, his job took him all over, including to Fort Collins in 1963, when he started Colorado State University's wheat breeding program.
From there, he took a job with Cargill Inc., a private international company that provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products. With Cargill, he traveled the world, living in Syria and Mexico and visiting places like Argentina and France.
And even abroad, Curtis said he made a point of staying physically fit. Growing up with parents who worked on farms, he was no stranger to hard work, and his time walking through wheat fields kept him in good shape. But he says he also started working out in gyms in 1974. In different countries, he'd find a way.
As a veteran — he enlisted in the Air Force after high school, was commissioned into the Army after college and retired as a colonel after three years of active duty and 33 in the Army Reserve — he was allowed to workout in gyms on military bases.
And when he couldn't find a gym, "I'd walk to walk," he said, on top of the walking he already did through wheat fields eight to 10 months out of the year, evaluating wheat based on its yield, straw strength, disease resistance and gluten quality.
After retiring in 1991, Curtis and his wife moved back to Fort Collins, where many of his kids still live.
And he threw himself even more into staying fit. Seven days a week, starting at 7 a.m., he's at Miramont. And he'll go on and on about the merits of exercise. Not only does it help keep him agile, but it helps him stay mentally alert and gives him a boost when he needs it.
"I can wake up feeling a little blue, and I'll come here and talk to everyone and I'll leave feeling ..." he trails off, gesturing like his workouts leave him light and make him feel like a weight is lifted.
We talk for a bit longer about a little of everything.
Byrd? Is that a nickname?
"No," he says.
His father gave it to him, "and it's caused me problems:" all his life, he jokes, flapping his arms like wings and saying people would see him and say, "Oh, here he comes!"
What about his family?
The Curtis clan is made up of he and his wife, Eloise — "same woman for 70 years!" he quipped — their six children (four boys and two girls), 15 grandkids and 14 "greats," he says.
We talk about Fort Collins, what it was like in 1963 and how his family lived in the Indian Hills neighborhood, which was, at that time, brand new.
And the whole time, I'm hanging onto a secret. A surprise party to celebrate Curtis' birthday was planned and he had no idea.
His gym friends, like Fulton, knew that 90 was a big milestone and started putting together a bigger birthday party than they usually do for Curtis, which has consisted in recent years of just cake and singing "Happy Birthday."
This time, however, they secretly gathered with plans to make him an orange and black — OSU colors — shirt that said "Byrd," a baseball cap with "1926" on it, marking his birth year and a big decorative key.
So at 8 a.m Friday morning, after his daily workout, Mayor Byrd was presented with a big, gray, "key to the city," decorated with ribbon and marked with the words "Byrd — Mayor of Miramont."
OK, so maybe Miramont isn't a city, but it is a community — one that came together to celebrate a person who makes it great, someone who makes it special.
___
Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com
- By ERIN MCINTYRE The Daily Sentinel
- Updated
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Sometimes, less is more.
That's what Shayla and David Bowler are discovering, as they finish the final details on their tiny house on Glade Park and downsize their possessions, maximizing their time and energy on experiences instead of things, the Daily Sentinel reported (http://bit.ly/25LOdHt).
The Bowlers are participating in a trend sweeping the nation called minimalism, and by building a tiny home they have forced themselves to focus on what really matters to them and what they want to include in their everyday lives.
It hasn't been easy. David used to be a manager at Foot Locker, and had acquired quite the shoe collection. They're still in the process of determining, day by day, what they actually need to live. But they've learned a lot and are finding that a minimalist lifestyle is a good fit.
It all started last year when they saw the documentary, "Tiny: A Story About Living Small," which tells the story of a couple with no building experience who constructed a tiny home in Hartsel, Colorado.
Shayla, 30, was immediately hooked on the idea, while "he was like, hell, no," she said, laughing.
But the more David, 36, thought about it, the more he liked the idea of paring down his stuff and deciding how to spend his free time, with no yard to maintain and a much shorter honey-do list.
He didn't want to spend his life cleaning, fixing and maintaining a property. But a tiny house was no small commitment — the Bowlers had acquired a lot of stuff in the nine years since they married.
The Bowlers are an example of an increasing number of people who have figured out materialism can be a nightmare, and David and Shayla decided to pursue a different way of living.
Minimalism is about quality, not quantity. It's about rejecting the views of a gimme society, where bigger is better and you can always have more stuff.
In a society in which people pay for storage units, just to keep stuff, the Bowlers downsized their belongings and maximized their time. According to becomingminimalist.com, 50 percent of self-storage renters are paying to keep what won't fit in their homes, even though the size of the average American house has almost doubled in the previous 50 years, to 2,300 square feet.
This was not the life the Bowlers wanted.
They like to travel, they want to be debt-free, and they love being outdoors and having an active lifestyle. They wouldn't be caught dead laying in front of a TV on a weekend.
So they committed to building a tiny house and purchased a trailer last April. In May, they started building, and they moved into their tiny house in January.
Their home, a 270-square-foot house on a trailer, features 215 square feet of livable space. Their bedroom is a loft with skylights, so they can see the stars at night. They climb a ladder to access that bedroom, which is situated over the bathroom and closet.
On the other end of the house is another loft, which is a TV room/man cave and also functions as a guest loft when they have visitors.
Designing the home required special research and knowledge of what a tiny home entails.
What do you do about the bathroom? Well, there's a composting toilet. Some folks might expect it to smell like a port-a-potty, but it doesn't, and you wouldn't know it was in this house unless you saw it. And yes, there's room for a shower and washer/dryer.
What about a heating system? A tiny wood stove does the job beautifully. It's only the size of a toaster, but it keeps the tiny house cozy. Two solar panels produce enough electricity for the fridge, TV and computer to run at the same time.
One of the more expensive items in this tiny house is the $1,000 propane, tankless hot-water heater, which provides instant hot water.
This tiny house has been a work-in-progress for the Bowlers and, when they are done, every spare inch of space will be utilized. They plan to take advantage of smart tricks such as putting drawers or shelves into the 16-inch-wide stairways, turning the toe-kicks at the bottom of cabinets into drawers and utilizing vertical space.
Much of the house is designed to be multi-functional, with seating that also is storage, and a garden window behind the kitchen sink that also provides storage space.
The Bowlers designed the space with their own sense of style, accented with the character of beetle-kill pine. They estimate the tiny house will cost $20,000 to $22,000 by the time everything is finished.
In the end, the project and decision to live this way is about freeing themselves to enjoy their spare time and paring down chores, David said.
"I don't want to spend my whole life pulling weeds, taking care of (the mulch) you have to replace all the time so it looks good," he said. "I could be hiking or going on a trip to Mexico."
Keeping those goals in mind is something important for David, as he has had a harder time changing his habits than Shayla has. Even before they sold their house and embarked on this adventure, she was OK with not buying much or not having many possessions. David was a shopper.
"I work to spend my money. I can't take it with me when I die," he said. "So I've had to look at that habit."
Some of the hardest things for Shayla to say goodbye to were the antiques and décor she collected, so she gave them to friends. "I still get to see them when I visit those friends," she said.
They donated a lot of things or gave them to friends, but other things were harder to get rid of, such as David's letter jacket from Montrose High School. It still fits, has his name on it and is very personal, so he still has it. But their goal is to only have 25 articles of clothing each, which is still something he's sorting through.
David also had a baseball memorabilia collection he decided to get rid of.
"If you think about it, it just sits there and you look at it, you have to dust it," he said. He took photos of the things he wanted to remember and then let them go.
The Bowlers are still figuring out their rhythm and how they fit in this tiny house with their two dogs, Chuy the chihuahua and Laila the boxer. The place seems smaller now that all the appliances and furniture have been moved in, and sometimes choosing a place to be is a bit like a game of musical chairs.
"I go to get my coffee and she decides to get her coffee and so now I can't move," David explained. "Sometimes I just want to scream because I'm not used to it."
At first, it was like fancy camping. Now, they live there and have to make it work. They've spent a fair amount of time organizing, re-organizing and tripping on things, figuring out what works and what doesn't.
They're finding they actually do want a Crock-Pot, though they got rid of the one they had.
"It's making us say, what do we need, really?" Shayla said. "It makes you think, where do I have a place for that and will I use it?"
Their shopping habits have changed drastically, particularly because they prepare most meals at home and enjoy a healthful diet. Because the kitchen is so small, they can't really stock up, so they buy groceries about five times a week.
But overall, the Bowlers say creating a life in a tiny house has been worth all the changes. When they lay in bed, gazing up at the stars through the roof of the loft, it's worth it.
When they wake up on a weekend morning and ask, "What do you want to do today?" instead of mowing the lawn or spreading mulch, it's worth it.
When they go on a hike instead of sitting in the house, it's worth it.
"You're giving yourself your life back," David said. "It's worth it."
___
Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com
- The Associated Press
CHANDLER — Chandler police say a good Samaritan suffered life-threatening injuries trying to stop a man from assaulting a woman.
Det. Seth Tyler says the incident happening Thursday evening outside a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant.
According to witnesses, a man assaulted a woman inside the restaurant.
He then followed her outside and allegedly dragged her by her hair.
They both got into an SUV.
Tyler says two men in another vehicle saw the assault and tried to intervene.
The driver tried to block the suspect's car while the passenger got out and made contact with the couple.
That's when the suspect allegedly hit the man with his SUV and then fled.
The victim is currently hospitalized.
Tyler says police are searching for more witnesses.
The suspect and the woman are described as being Indian.
- The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — A University of New Mexico football player who died in a car crash will get a posthumous degree.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque reports that the UNM Board of Regents approved the honor Friday for Markel Byrd.
The 20-year-old sophomore was driving home to San Diego for the holidays last December when his car sustained a blowout on Interstate 40.
Both Markel and his girlfriend, Alexus Ortiz, were ejected from the vehicle.
Markel died at the scene.
Ortiz was injured but survived.
Byrd played safety for the New Mexico Lobos and had tied for the team lead in interceptions last year.
- The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The driver who led authorities on a wild chase through Los Angeles that included making "doughnuts" on Hollywood Boulevard had Marine tactical driver training.
The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1MkZeJw) says Herschel Reynolds served as a motor vehicle operator at Camp Pendleton before his January discharge.
The Times also says Reynolds had a record of speeding tickets and license suspensions.
Authorities began chasing the rented Mustang convertible on Thursday after a home burglary in Cerritos.
Over about 90 minutes, the car sped along rain-slick roads and freeways, sometimes the wrong way. In Hollywood, the driver cranked the car into sharp circles.
The car finally stopped in South Los Angeles, where neighbors exchanged hugs and high-fived the driver and passenger as they waited for arrest.
Reynolds and Isaiah Young remained jailed Saturday.
- The Associated Press
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The U.S. Air Force is being criticized for a proposal to relocate military air tanker equipment used to fight wildfires to Nevada instead of Montana after officials from Montana said the planes and the support teams in Montana would be closer to bigger fires in several Western states.
Montana Sen. Sen. Steve Daines sent a letter to the Air Force asking why Nevada was chosen for the Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, which includes equipment that can be installed in C-130 cargo plans to drop retardant on wildfires.
The system can be used by governors where the Air National Guard flight crews operate it, including Wyoming. Colorado uses an Air Force Reserve Command unit. The Department of Defense provides the aircraft.
The units can also be activated by the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, for wildfires anywhere in the country.
Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones said the military determines which planes are available to support wildfire deployment.
Montana lawmakers said basing the firefighting systems out of Montana would provide quicker access to most Western states. They said time is critical when it comes to saving lives and battling wildfires, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
"I am incredibly disappointed with this decision as it denies a vital wildland suppression mission to the state of Montana, where almost three times as many wildfires occurred last year compared to Nevada," Daines wrote.
Commercial air tankers are usually the first to be called in because the U.S. Forest Service pays for them, whether they're flying or not.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Police in Salt Lake City are searching for a large rabbit named Dolly Parton stolen from a working public farm in Salt Lake County.
Murray Police Sgt. Deven Higgins says that the rabbit was last seen Wednesday morning at Wheeler Farm and workers discovered she was missing about noon.
Higgins says the lock on her cage had been cut, leading investigators to believe she was taken in a pre-mediated theft.
It's not clear how she was removed, but she Higgins says may have been taken away in a backpack. The animal is estimated to be worth at least $100.
The farm is free and open to the public.
KSL-TV reports that Dolly Parton is one of three Flemish giant rabbits who have been at the farm since January.
- The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — A suspect remains on the loose after escaping Las Vegas police custody.
Police say 39-year-old Ivan Mayoral somehow slipped out of his cuffs in an interrogation room Friday evening.
His escape prompted an evacuation and then lockdown of a police substation in the northeastern part of the city.
Police, SWAT officers, K9 units and a helicopter conducted a search four nearly five hours.
Police spokeswoman Laura Meltzer says Mayoral was not on the premises and considered at large.
He is described as Hispanic, 5-foot-9 and weighing 200 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a red plaid shirt and blue jeans.
Mayoral had been arrested for allegedly stealing a vehicle.
- The Associated Press
BETHEL, Alaska — A pizza shop in Bethel has sold the first beer in the city in 40 years, but business was slow.
Fili's Pizza is the only restaurant in town to hold a liquor license. AC Quickstop and Bethel Native Corp.'s Bethel Spirits also hold licenses for package liquor stores, but those outlets have not yet opened.
The Alcohol Beverage Control Board in November approved liquor licenses for the two package stores after a majority of Bethel voters chose to support alcohol sales in an advisory vote.
Fili's received its alcohol license from the Alaska Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Wednesday and Mefail Slaiu, owner of Fili's, said he placed the restaurant's first beet and wine order that evening. The goods arrived in time for Friday drinks.
Slaiu said Friday the shop had sold less than 10 alcoholic drinks since opening despite being the only place in town to grab a beer.
Slaiu said he is ready for a big crowd, but the people haven't shown up yet.
Slaiu said the restaurant is selling seven types of beers, all bottles.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former administrative assistant for the agency that runs Utah's 911 program has admitted to spending $1 million with state-issued credit cards.
KUTV of Salt Lake City reported (http://bit.ly/25Roz45) Friday that Patricia Nelson disclosed her actions in court documents.
Nelson is currently embroiled in a civil lawsuit filed by the Utah Communications Authority.
The agency says Nelson had absolute control over official credit cards.
Nelson admitted that she and her daughter, Crystal Evans, used as many as five credit cards since 2005.
Purchases included a Bahamas vacation, alcohol from the State Liquor Store and pet supplies.
The UCA became aware of the fraud in January.
Nelson was fired.
UCA director Steve Proctor resigned in the wake of the embezzlement.
West Valley City police have launched a criminal investigation.
- By ERIN UDELL Coloradoan
By ERIN UDELL
Coloradoan
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Head up to the second floor of Miramont Lifestyle Fitness' airy northern location, head straight and you'll likely see him every day starting around 7 a.m.
His mornings begin with a daily brisk, half-mile walk around the gym's indoor track. Then it's onto an exercise ball for his back. Next is sit-ups. And you can't forget the weight machines. If you're an early riser or a gym person — two categories I gratuitously and inexplicably lump myself into from time to time — you may have heard of Byrd Collins Curtis, the Coloradoan reported (http://noconow.co/1S3c2Gy).
"It's so important for the body ... for me," Curtis said, sitting in a conference room off of Miramont's main-floor weight area Wednesday morning.
Clad in a black long-sleeve shirt tucked into matching black track pants, Curtis was on the eve of his 90th birthday.
Asked how he felt about becoming a new nonagenarian, he gave a one-worded answer: "strange."
Because Curtis doesn't seem 90.
When we first met, he was rounding the Miramont indoor track with a friend. With a pep in his step, he led me down the Miramont steps to a quiet place where we could talk, all the while fielding greetings from fellow gym goers — members of the same early-morning crowd who, when they see him, let out yells of "Byyyrd!" that cut through the gym's open air.
It made sense to me in that moment why he'd been lovingly nicknamed "The Mayor of Miramont." It felt like at any moment, a woman would run up with a baby and ask him to kiss it.
"(Byrd) knows everybody and talks to everybody," friend and fellow gym goer Bob Fulton said Wednesday afternoon. "They just kind of named him that."
Curtis started going to Miramont North in 2001 after trying a handful of other gyms in the area. He said he likes the open space, and then, of course, there are the people.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, he studied agronomy at Oklahoma State University and earned his Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics. A longtime wheat scientist, his job took him all over, including to Fort Collins in 1963, when he started Colorado State University's wheat breeding program.
From there, he took a job with Cargill Inc., a private international company that provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products. With Cargill, he traveled the world, living in Syria and Mexico and visiting places like Argentina and France.
And even abroad, Curtis said he made a point of staying physically fit. Growing up with parents who worked on farms, he was no stranger to hard work, and his time walking through wheat fields kept him in good shape. But he says he also started working out in gyms in 1974. In different countries, he'd find a way.
As a veteran — he enlisted in the Air Force after high school, was commissioned into the Army after college and retired as a colonel after three years of active duty and 33 in the Army Reserve — he was allowed to workout in gyms on military bases.
And when he couldn't find a gym, "I'd walk to walk," he said, on top of the walking he already did through wheat fields eight to 10 months out of the year, evaluating wheat based on its yield, straw strength, disease resistance and gluten quality.
After retiring in 1991, Curtis and his wife moved back to Fort Collins, where many of his kids still live.
And he threw himself even more into staying fit. Seven days a week, starting at 7 a.m., he's at Miramont. And he'll go on and on about the merits of exercise. Not only does it help keep him agile, but it helps him stay mentally alert and gives him a boost when he needs it.
"I can wake up feeling a little blue, and I'll come here and talk to everyone and I'll leave feeling ..." he trails off, gesturing like his workouts leave him light and make him feel like a weight is lifted.
We talk for a bit longer about a little of everything.
Byrd? Is that a nickname?
"No," he says.
His father gave it to him, "and it's caused me problems:" all his life, he jokes, flapping his arms like wings and saying people would see him and say, "Oh, here he comes!"
What about his family?
The Curtis clan is made up of he and his wife, Eloise — "same woman for 70 years!" he quipped — their six children (four boys and two girls), 15 grandkids and 14 "greats," he says.
We talk about Fort Collins, what it was like in 1963 and how his family lived in the Indian Hills neighborhood, which was, at that time, brand new.
And the whole time, I'm hanging onto a secret. A surprise party to celebrate Curtis' birthday was planned and he had no idea.
His gym friends, like Fulton, knew that 90 was a big milestone and started putting together a bigger birthday party than they usually do for Curtis, which has consisted in recent years of just cake and singing "Happy Birthday."
This time, however, they secretly gathered with plans to make him an orange and black — OSU colors — shirt that said "Byrd," a baseball cap with "1926" on it, marking his birth year and a big decorative key.
So at 8 a.m Friday morning, after his daily workout, Mayor Byrd was presented with a big, gray, "key to the city," decorated with ribbon and marked with the words "Byrd — Mayor of Miramont."
OK, so maybe Miramont isn't a city, but it is a community — one that came together to celebrate a person who makes it great, someone who makes it special.
___
Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan, http://www.coloradoan.com
- By ERIN MCINTYRE The Daily Sentinel
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Sometimes, less is more.
That's what Shayla and David Bowler are discovering, as they finish the final details on their tiny house on Glade Park and downsize their possessions, maximizing their time and energy on experiences instead of things, the Daily Sentinel reported (http://bit.ly/25LOdHt).
The Bowlers are participating in a trend sweeping the nation called minimalism, and by building a tiny home they have forced themselves to focus on what really matters to them and what they want to include in their everyday lives.
It hasn't been easy. David used to be a manager at Foot Locker, and had acquired quite the shoe collection. They're still in the process of determining, day by day, what they actually need to live. But they've learned a lot and are finding that a minimalist lifestyle is a good fit.
It all started last year when they saw the documentary, "Tiny: A Story About Living Small," which tells the story of a couple with no building experience who constructed a tiny home in Hartsel, Colorado.
Shayla, 30, was immediately hooked on the idea, while "he was like, hell, no," she said, laughing.
But the more David, 36, thought about it, the more he liked the idea of paring down his stuff and deciding how to spend his free time, with no yard to maintain and a much shorter honey-do list.
He didn't want to spend his life cleaning, fixing and maintaining a property. But a tiny house was no small commitment — the Bowlers had acquired a lot of stuff in the nine years since they married.
The Bowlers are an example of an increasing number of people who have figured out materialism can be a nightmare, and David and Shayla decided to pursue a different way of living.
Minimalism is about quality, not quantity. It's about rejecting the views of a gimme society, where bigger is better and you can always have more stuff.
In a society in which people pay for storage units, just to keep stuff, the Bowlers downsized their belongings and maximized their time. According to becomingminimalist.com, 50 percent of self-storage renters are paying to keep what won't fit in their homes, even though the size of the average American house has almost doubled in the previous 50 years, to 2,300 square feet.
This was not the life the Bowlers wanted.
They like to travel, they want to be debt-free, and they love being outdoors and having an active lifestyle. They wouldn't be caught dead laying in front of a TV on a weekend.
So they committed to building a tiny house and purchased a trailer last April. In May, they started building, and they moved into their tiny house in January.
Their home, a 270-square-foot house on a trailer, features 215 square feet of livable space. Their bedroom is a loft with skylights, so they can see the stars at night. They climb a ladder to access that bedroom, which is situated over the bathroom and closet.
On the other end of the house is another loft, which is a TV room/man cave and also functions as a guest loft when they have visitors.
Designing the home required special research and knowledge of what a tiny home entails.
What do you do about the bathroom? Well, there's a composting toilet. Some folks might expect it to smell like a port-a-potty, but it doesn't, and you wouldn't know it was in this house unless you saw it. And yes, there's room for a shower and washer/dryer.
What about a heating system? A tiny wood stove does the job beautifully. It's only the size of a toaster, but it keeps the tiny house cozy. Two solar panels produce enough electricity for the fridge, TV and computer to run at the same time.
One of the more expensive items in this tiny house is the $1,000 propane, tankless hot-water heater, which provides instant hot water.
This tiny house has been a work-in-progress for the Bowlers and, when they are done, every spare inch of space will be utilized. They plan to take advantage of smart tricks such as putting drawers or shelves into the 16-inch-wide stairways, turning the toe-kicks at the bottom of cabinets into drawers and utilizing vertical space.
Much of the house is designed to be multi-functional, with seating that also is storage, and a garden window behind the kitchen sink that also provides storage space.
The Bowlers designed the space with their own sense of style, accented with the character of beetle-kill pine. They estimate the tiny house will cost $20,000 to $22,000 by the time everything is finished.
In the end, the project and decision to live this way is about freeing themselves to enjoy their spare time and paring down chores, David said.
"I don't want to spend my whole life pulling weeds, taking care of (the mulch) you have to replace all the time so it looks good," he said. "I could be hiking or going on a trip to Mexico."
Keeping those goals in mind is something important for David, as he has had a harder time changing his habits than Shayla has. Even before they sold their house and embarked on this adventure, she was OK with not buying much or not having many possessions. David was a shopper.
"I work to spend my money. I can't take it with me when I die," he said. "So I've had to look at that habit."
Some of the hardest things for Shayla to say goodbye to were the antiques and décor she collected, so she gave them to friends. "I still get to see them when I visit those friends," she said.
They donated a lot of things or gave them to friends, but other things were harder to get rid of, such as David's letter jacket from Montrose High School. It still fits, has his name on it and is very personal, so he still has it. But their goal is to only have 25 articles of clothing each, which is still something he's sorting through.
David also had a baseball memorabilia collection he decided to get rid of.
"If you think about it, it just sits there and you look at it, you have to dust it," he said. He took photos of the things he wanted to remember and then let them go.
The Bowlers are still figuring out their rhythm and how they fit in this tiny house with their two dogs, Chuy the chihuahua and Laila the boxer. The place seems smaller now that all the appliances and furniture have been moved in, and sometimes choosing a place to be is a bit like a game of musical chairs.
"I go to get my coffee and she decides to get her coffee and so now I can't move," David explained. "Sometimes I just want to scream because I'm not used to it."
At first, it was like fancy camping. Now, they live there and have to make it work. They've spent a fair amount of time organizing, re-organizing and tripping on things, figuring out what works and what doesn't.
They're finding they actually do want a Crock-Pot, though they got rid of the one they had.
"It's making us say, what do we need, really?" Shayla said. "It makes you think, where do I have a place for that and will I use it?"
Their shopping habits have changed drastically, particularly because they prepare most meals at home and enjoy a healthful diet. Because the kitchen is so small, they can't really stock up, so they buy groceries about five times a week.
But overall, the Bowlers say creating a life in a tiny house has been worth all the changes. When they lay in bed, gazing up at the stars through the roof of the loft, it's worth it.
When they wake up on a weekend morning and ask, "What do you want to do today?" instead of mowing the lawn or spreading mulch, it's worth it.
When they go on a hike instead of sitting in the house, it's worth it.
"You're giving yourself your life back," David said. "It's worth it."
___
Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com
- The Associated Press
CHANDLER — Chandler police say a good Samaritan suffered life-threatening injuries trying to stop a man from assaulting a woman.
Det. Seth Tyler says the incident happening Thursday evening outside a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant.
According to witnesses, a man assaulted a woman inside the restaurant.
He then followed her outside and allegedly dragged her by her hair.
They both got into an SUV.
Tyler says two men in another vehicle saw the assault and tried to intervene.
The driver tried to block the suspect's car while the passenger got out and made contact with the couple.
That's when the suspect allegedly hit the man with his SUV and then fled.
The victim is currently hospitalized.
Tyler says police are searching for more witnesses.
The suspect and the woman are described as being Indian.
- The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — A University of New Mexico football player who died in a car crash will get a posthumous degree.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque reports that the UNM Board of Regents approved the honor Friday for Markel Byrd.
The 20-year-old sophomore was driving home to San Diego for the holidays last December when his car sustained a blowout on Interstate 40.
Both Markel and his girlfriend, Alexus Ortiz, were ejected from the vehicle.
Markel died at the scene.
Ortiz was injured but survived.
Byrd played safety for the New Mexico Lobos and had tied for the team lead in interceptions last year.
- The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — The driver who led authorities on a wild chase through Los Angeles that included making "doughnuts" on Hollywood Boulevard had Marine tactical driver training.
The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1MkZeJw) says Herschel Reynolds served as a motor vehicle operator at Camp Pendleton before his January discharge.
The Times also says Reynolds had a record of speeding tickets and license suspensions.
Authorities began chasing the rented Mustang convertible on Thursday after a home burglary in Cerritos.
Over about 90 minutes, the car sped along rain-slick roads and freeways, sometimes the wrong way. In Hollywood, the driver cranked the car into sharp circles.
The car finally stopped in South Los Angeles, where neighbors exchanged hugs and high-fived the driver and passenger as they waited for arrest.
Reynolds and Isaiah Young remained jailed Saturday.
- The Associated Press
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The U.S. Air Force is being criticized for a proposal to relocate military air tanker equipment used to fight wildfires to Nevada instead of Montana after officials from Montana said the planes and the support teams in Montana would be closer to bigger fires in several Western states.
Montana Sen. Sen. Steve Daines sent a letter to the Air Force asking why Nevada was chosen for the Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, which includes equipment that can be installed in C-130 cargo plans to drop retardant on wildfires.
The system can be used by governors where the Air National Guard flight crews operate it, including Wyoming. Colorado uses an Air Force Reserve Command unit. The Department of Defense provides the aircraft.
The units can also be activated by the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, for wildfires anywhere in the country.
Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones said the military determines which planes are available to support wildfire deployment.
Montana lawmakers said basing the firefighting systems out of Montana would provide quicker access to most Western states. They said time is critical when it comes to saving lives and battling wildfires, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
"I am incredibly disappointed with this decision as it denies a vital wildland suppression mission to the state of Montana, where almost three times as many wildfires occurred last year compared to Nevada," Daines wrote.
Commercial air tankers are usually the first to be called in because the U.S. Forest Service pays for them, whether they're flying or not.
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