Craig Daily Press / Opinion

Over A Cup: ‘Ham Chowder’ a decent replacement for clam chowder

Clam chowder has been on my mind lately, and I don’t really have a great clam chowder recipe, so that’s what I recently requested from readers. In the meantime, I recently fixed a ham. I searched my files for a recipe to use up the leftover ham pieces. That’s when I found a ham chowder recipe. The recipe calls for several ingredients, including vegetables, cubed ham and bacon. (I even thought about adding clams.) Anyway, I made the recipe, which makes a lot of servings, and it was quite tasty. I was wondering if the chowder might even have a more delicious taste if left in the refrigerator overnight. However, as it turns out, there were no leftovers, not because my husband and I ate the entire pot of chowder, but because after putting the chowder in a big bowl, I accidentally hit it with my arm. Chowder ran down the cabinet doors, drenched my socks, and covered the floor in one gooey mess. Pieces of potatoes and ham skipped across the floor to the other side of the kitchen. I hadn’t cleaned up such a mess in a long time.

Prather: The story behind a heifer named Polly

The 2012 National Western Stock Show has come and gone, and this year’s event was memorable for 15-year-old Maybell resident Mackenzie Camblin because she has a new heifer as result of an event. Polly is the name Mackenzie has given the registered Hereford heifer she picked from a herd of registered Hereford cattle at the Largents Ranch in Kaycee, Wyo. The yearling heifer will be bred this summer, probably with an A.I. sire. It’s the beginning of a registered Hereford herd for Mackenzie. “That’s my plan, “ she said. Polly “came about” after Mackenzie caught a calf during the FFA Beef Heifer Wrangle, held during one of the night rodeos during the National Western.

Editorial: Respectful request

The Craig Chamber of Commerce did a masterful job last year of landing Gov. John Hickenlooper as keynote speaker at its annual State of the County event. The governor lived up to billing by providing an insightful and at times humorous speech before an audience at the Holiday Inn of Craig. Booking noteworthy speakers appears to be a budding tradition for the Chamber: the keynote speaker at this year’s event, scheduled for Feb. 24 also at the Holiday Inn, is State Sen. Jean White, R-Hayden, who represents the Eighth Senate District. State of the County, which also includes speakers from a variety of local organizations and offices, is an engagement often overlooked in our community.

‘Haywire’ heroine has neither sugar nor spice

When you’re making a movie, getting all the individual details right is something that can take years to master. Yet, even when you’ve got all the elements in place, things can still go “Haywire.” As a special contractor for the American government’s cloak and dagger operations, Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) is used to dealing with people trying to kill her. After a stressful mission to Spain that nearly costs her life, she’s hardly enthusiastic about jumping back into action. But, her boss (Ewan McGregor), who also happens to be her ex, is insistent that she’s the only one who can handle the latest job brought to him by his contacts (Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas). Meeting with a British agent (Michael Fassbender) in Ireland and going undercover as his wife is an easy enough task. Perhaps too easy.

Janet Sheridan: No surprises, please

When I hear about surprise parties, I experience vague feelings of dread, shortness of breath, and hives. It’s the surprise that alarms me, not the party. I like celebrating important events with friends and family members. But what’s to enjoy about normally dignified people yelling “surprise!” and leaping from drapes and houseplants, while I stand agape, wishing I’d brushed my teeth? When surprised, I’d like to respond with a ladylike exclamation of astonishment and glee before trilling, “Thank you. Oh, thank you so much!” I’d like to work my way around the room, hugging and cooing, with appreciative tears making my eyes glisten fetchingly. But I can’t.

Commentary on Moffat County Commission’s EMS decision

I’ve been made aware of the decision of the Moffat County Commissioners to refuse a request by county emergency management director Tom Soos and George Rohrich, chief executive officer of The Memorial Hospital in Craig, for a study of Moffat County’s EMS. This came to me via the Colorado Hospital Association’s weekly newsletter. I was then astonished when I read some comments that referred to the rationale that underpinned my decision in the early 1990s to accept the local EMS as a department, and I felt I needed to clarify things. I believe it’s very important the reason for the change in management authority of the EMS operation that took place circa 1990 be clarified.

Lance Scranton: Students are community’s primary resource

Moffat County is a land with incredible natural resource potential and companies have been around the area the past couple of years trying to realize that potential. The resource potential our school system is attempting to realize is one measured by success in two areas: academic and athletic. This resource is children 5 to 18 years old and their success sometimes hinges on laborious mandates from local, state and federal agencies. If you were to talk to teachers in our various buildings about how we can be more successful academically and athletically, you would get some very different answers.

Senior Spotlight for Feb. 6, 2012

Reruns seem to be what I end up watching on TV. “Golden Girls” has been my pick lately. I’ve listened more than watched. The storyline was about having someone when you need support emotionally, about having a condition or a mind-boggling problem that makes you wonder about how you’re going to live through a certain thing. My thoughts went way back — how many times did I have a situation that I considered so bad? Too many that I don’t want to think about.

Patrick Germond: Law contrary to Christian doctrine

An upsetting and disconcerting situation has arisen in our country. Many people, including myself, believe our government has adopted a number of anti-Christian policies that purposely undermine religious liberties and freedom. The latest example is the federal government, through ObamaCare, forcing Christian entities to provide insurance coverage for contraception and chemical abortion (plan B) for employees.

Editorial: Refine rather than rebuild

It can hardly be argued The Memorial Hospital in Craig has vastly improved as a health care provider since it moved to a new facility west of town two-and-a-half years ago. Hospital officials deserve credit for this, but plenty of kudos should also go to the public for funding $42.6 million for the new hospital. One trip to TMH is all it takes to understand just how far the hospital has come from the old days of the Russell Street location. However, as improved as TMH has become, the editorial board believes the hospital should show more consideration to private practice health care providers. The hospital, which receives public money, has advantages other local providers don’t when it comes to the bottom line.

Baxter Black: Feedlot consultants — A tribute

When I started practicing feedlot medicine in the late 1960s, it was a fairly new specialty. Feedlots, as we picture them now in the Midwest and southwest, were not as common. But by this time I hired on with the Diamond A out of Roswell, N.M., and 20,000 head yards were spreading across the country. They prospered in the more arid southwest because mud is the biggest enemy of feedlot grain. The Imperial Valley of California, the desert country of Arizona and the Texas panhandle became popular places to feed cattle.

Janet Sheridan: Cutting A Rug

I first wondered if my family had a dancing disability when I watched my oldest brother, Lawrence, dance at his wedding with an agonized expression and mincing, straight-ahead steps, like a reluctant dog tugged by a leash. Then Bob bounced by, looking like he was jumping hurdles. But, what the heck, I’d never be a Ginger Rogers if I didn’t give it a try, so I signed up for a parks and recreation summer session: Introduction to Dance. I remember peering at my stubborn feet during ballet class, trying to force them into first position with the backs of my heels touching and my sizeable feet turned out, forming a straight line.

‘Contraband’ snatches story from others of its kind

You can find a lot of things in cargo containers that probably weren’t supposed to leave their country of origin. Speaking of which, if you open those big metal doors, the light of day might reveal the pilfered plotlines of the crime drama “Contraband.” In a previous life, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) was the best smuggler in the business, able to find a way to bring anything and everything into the port of New Orleans. Those days are behind him now, as he tries to go down the straight and narrow path, providing for his family, lest he end up like his incarcerated father (William Lucking). When his wife’s (Kate Beckinsale) younger brother (Caleb Landry Jones) is brutalized following a failed attempt to bring cocaine into the country, Chris isn’t too happy about having to clean up his mess. That means getting back in touch with scumbags he never wanted to see again — in this case, bottom-dweller Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), who demands thousands of dollars as repayment for the botched drug deal.

Livin' It Up: Big-ticket weekend

With Super Bowl Sunday looming, fans of Eli Manning and Tom Brady alike are waiting for the biggest game of the year. With the eyes of the nation on the action happening in Indianapolis more than 1,200 miles away, it’s easy to forget the assortment of things happening on the home front the next several days.

Editorial: Bang for the buck?

There were some surprising figures released in Monday’s Craig Daily Press story outlining last year’s activity by the All Crimes Enforcement Team, a task force that operates in Moffat and Routt counties. According to the report, the task force conducted 29 investigations last year, resulting in four convictions and the seizure of drugs with an estimated total street value of $42,807.68. The breakdown on seizures: 372.12 grams of cocaine, 2.8 grams of methamphetamine, and 3 grams of marijuana. Perhaps there are aspects of the task force’s activity that aren’t as tangible as the conviction and seizure numbers, and if that’s the case, forgive the editorial board’s opinion today.