Comments on: Pinon Canyon: “One Colossal Land Grab”

By: David Schneider

David Schneider — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:23:53 +0000

In 1986 the Army stole my cousin Clesta’s ranch homesteaded by her father Henry schneider after WW1. What made him so prosperous made her so poor dur to our own government! So, was Aaron Russo wrong in his documentary, “America: Freedom to Fascim”?

By: Trey Garrison

Trey Garrison — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:11:59 +0000

Kennie, I’m glad to hear from you. I wish I could have spent a little more time on your own story, because in a way it encapsulates everything ranchers there have faced and are facing. It’s been death by a thousand paper cuts for all of y’all.

I remember standing outside your home, and just being overwhelmed by the overwhelming silence. Living down here in Dallas, it’s easy to forget what quiet is like, and it’s easy to see why–even if you take away the issue of ranching–a man would be so attached to his land in that quiet corner of America.

My best to you and your wife. Thank you again for your hospitality. I hope to see you again next time I’m up in those parts.

By: Eric OKeefe

Eric OKeefe — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:44:22 +0000

Really insightful addition to Trey’s update on Pinon Canyon, Kennie. I know our coverage has focused primarily on the last few years, so to hear your recollections about the 1980s is an entire new chapter for almost all of us.

By: Kennie Gyurman

Kennie Gyurman — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:51:37 +0000

I liked the article “Pinon Canyon: One Colossal Land Grab.” It is informative and covers the subject well. I remember well the drive down the road bordering the PCMS. I would like to clarify some things in the article about my family and myself. My father and uncle owned the Gyurman Ranch with their children.I am third generation and the ranch has been in the family since 1915. In 1982-83 the Army condemned and took possession of 5000 acres of the family ranch.This was about one-third of the ranch. The remaining family members still own every acre today that was not condemned in 1982. My wife and I are very much worried about our land and home which is just four miles west of the current PCMS. Our property is in the Army’s area of interest. The other family members have the remainder of the original ranch in the area of interest.
I am angry at the way my family and other families were treated in 1982-83 when we had our land seized by court order. I am angry that my 85 year old father who trusted his government was treated like dirt, as were all of the other ranchers who were not for sale at any price. I am angry that the Pentagon and the people from Fort Carson that are in charge of this expansion are back again to do the same thing and are using the same tactics. I am angry that people in the Pentagon and other governmental agencies can treat American citizens this way.
I am proud to live in this great country and fully support the men and women in the military. I worked in the defense industry at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant for 31 years and am glad I did. My only anger in this matter is directed at the people involved in trying to grab 418,000 acres of good productive pasture land.
Kennie Gyurman

By: Steven Taillebois

Steven Taillebois — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:44:33 +0000

Well it all makes the armies propaganda that they exist to protect freedom and the American way of life a sham. What they are doing, is at it’s core an attempt to drive people from their homes and trades. And they’ll do it by either direct fiat or by indirectly by destroying the economic viability of the communities in southeastern Colorado.

And when they are all done, and world conditions dictate that another site is needed which duplicates another war zone…what will be left behind is a ruined landscape. Farm trucks and the occasional traveler leave no substantial imprint upon these types of land, but tracks and live fire will irrevocably change them. Plus after its all done lost munitions will remain making the area a risk for the remaining wildlife and people. Even at places like Camp Hale where the Army was a positive force, it’s not unknown for people to come across live munitions and some have been killed by them. And Camp Hale was an era wherein depleted uranium munitions were not in common use. And those will considerably complicate the reconversion of this land to civilian use, if the army ever actually returns any of it.

Perhaps the army needs to realize that their expansion of Pinon Canyon will destroy much more than this proposed expansion will protect. And if their leadership is unable to make this very basic moral realization might I suggest they buy up some old Soviet era Russian uniforms. At least that way the true attitudes would might be made more clear…

By: Randy Cooper

Randy Cooper — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:59:26 +0000

Still believe the best solution to numerous problems in the United States of America is to dig a moat between the U.S. / Mexico border, take the excess dirt to New Orleans and build it up above sea level, then take the displaced alligators and put in the moat to help the U.S. military patrol the border against illegal immigrants.
There you have it, the solution to many of our problems.