Stanley J. Cristol 'built' CU's chemistry department

Colleagues remember professor for whom building is named

By Yu Miao, For the Camera
Thursday, January 31, 2008

In the campus building that shares his name, Stanley J. Cristol's colleagues remember the long-time University of Colorado professor as a demanding but personable teacher who shaped the future of chemistry instruction at CU.

"He was a phenomenal colleague," said David Walba, professor and chairman of CU's Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. "He built this department, and brought it to national prominence."

Cristol died Jan. 23 at his home in Durango after suffering a stroke and long-time illness. He was 92.

CU named the department's home the Cristol Chemistry and Biochemistry Building in 1994, eight years after Cristol retired from a 40-year teaching career at the university. During that time, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences; became the department's first Distinguished Professor honored by the university; directed 90 doctoral students; and taught thousands.

Known for his signature attire of a khaki lab coat, black-framed glasses and a bow tie, Cristol often mentioned running into former students who thanked him for a good class, colleagues said.

"He was a serious professor, but I don't think students were frightened by him," said Hilary Oppermann, Cristol's former secretary.

Tad Koch, associate professor and long-time colleague, said Cristol gave straightforward lectures, and was very demanding in his expectations of students.

"Stan had very high standards," Koch said. "He was not a showman."

He said Cristol had a way of talking to graduate students after they gave presentations for a seminar class in the department. Cristol would act confused, saying: "I don't understand this. You need to help me here." At first, students didn't know what to make of his remarks but eventually figured out it was Cristol's way of saying: "You haven't thought about this enough."

Retired professor Charles Depuy said Cristol developed a system of rotating the department chair, so that each professor holds the position for two years. The system not only makes people realize how difficult the job is, but it also changed the traditional autocratic nature of the position and brought different perspectives to the department, colleagues said.

"Stan really is the architect of the current governance of the department," Koch said.

After retiring from teaching, Cristol still came to the department every day, having lunch with his colleagues and attending faculty meetings and seminars, until he moved out of town two years ago.

The department plans to hold a memorial service in Cristol's honor, but a time hasn't yet been set.缅怀

Student spotlight: Ayush Adhikari, eighth-grader at Centennial Middle School in Boulder

Ayush Adhikari, eighth-grader at Centennial Middle School in Boulder

Accomplishment: Ayush and his family moved to Boulder from Nepal four years ago. He entered fourth grade with very little English, yet he has excelled as he progressed through elementary and middle school.

Ayush's favorite place to spend time is in the library, and teachers described him as "extremely hard-working, pleasant and mature."

"I would love to see what he is up to 10 to 15 years from now," said his sixth-grade math teacher, Leslie Tengwall. "He is going to be a great success at whatever he does."

Q: How is being a student in Nepal different from being a student in the United States?

A: The homework would always come in big loads, usually a bag full (in Nepal). There also was a strict uniform policy. For the school I went to I had to wear black shirt and pants from Sunday to Thursday, and white shirt and pants on Friday. But here in the U.S., no one has to wear school uniform.

In Nepal, students have to stay in their class the whole day and the teachers are the ones to move around. Here in the U.S., we go to our different classes.

There are eight classes in Nepal: mathematics, science, social science, Nepali, English, physical education, health and environment.

Q: How did you overcome the language difficulty when you first arrived?

A: When I just came over to the U.S., I only knew small words like "good night," "good morning," "hi," "bye" and "hello."

I overcame the difficulty of learning a language because of all the help I got from my teachers, parents and friends. I also started reading small books, and that really helped build up my vocabulary. Watching TV also helped me, because I could see what was happening and also hear them.

Q: What do you like the most about middle school?

A: The part I like most is that I can get help from any teacher, adult or friend whenever I need help, and I feel really safe at school.

Q: What's your favorite movie?

A: "Rocky," "Jurassic Park: The Lost World" and the "Planet Earth" series.

Q: What was the last book you read?

A: "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers.

Q: What do you do for fun?

A: I read books, watch Nepali and Hindi movies, play sports, draw pictures varying from nature to cartoons, help my parents with whatever I can and also listen to songs.

Q: What's your dream job?

A: To be a doctor, just like my dad's brother's son. I would also like to own my own business.

Ringing in the Year of the Rat

CU event allows students to feel more at home for new year

By Yu Miao, For the Camera
Sunday, January 27, 2008

When the Year of the Rat arrives next month, it will be the first Chinese New Year that Zhu Ke has spent away from her hometown in central China's Henan province.

"The family gathering will be less cheerful for my parents this year," said Zhu, 31, a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado.

The Chinese New Year arrives Feb. 7, and CU will ring in the holiday with a party on Feb. 3.

Also known as the Spring Festival, the new year is the most-celebrated holiday in China. Like Christmas here, it's a time for people living away from home to visittheir families. But since the holiday almost always arrives during the school semester, most Chinese students at CU can't do that.

That's part of the reason behind the Chinese Students and Scholars Association's decision to host CU's Spring Festival Celebration.

"We want to provide a feeling of home, a sense of belonging to our students, to make them less lonely in a foreign country," said Li Qiuping, president of the association and a Ph.D. student in the business school.

There were 328 students and scholars from mainland China and Taiwan attending the CU campus last semester, according to the university.

But everyone is welcome at the celebration, Li said.

"We want to expose the Chinese culture to more people, to make them understand us better," she said.

The celebration will feature programs such as the lion dance, Chinese kung fu, Beijing Opera and traditional music instrument performances. And, of course, food -- an indispensable component of any Spring Festival celebration.

Roxane Ruggles, who handles events planning for the University Memorial Center, said recipes for the annual event have been acquired from Chinese students and the UMC will also buy traditional Spring Festival dumplings from a vendor in Denver.

Beijing residents Zhao Yumin, 65 and his wife, Li Bing, 57, are in the United States for the first time to visit their daughter Zhao Hua, a CU faculty member in the department of East Asian language and civilizations.

"My daughter came to the U.S. in 2001, and we haven't spent the Spring Festival with her since," said Li. "We want to have a nice family reunion, and be her company during the festival."

Zhao said he's excited to meet "laoxiang," or "fellow-town people" in a foreign land.

"It's great to go meet the Chinese in town," he said, "I feel like they are all my 'laoxiang.' I will have hundreds of family members to spend this Spring Festival with."

Touched by Martin Luther King Jr.

Boulder BBQ man attended 1963 speech, cut MLK's hair

By Brittany Anas and Yu Miao, Camera Staff Writer
Monday, January 21, 2008

The man in Bruce Randolph Jr.'s barber chair bobbed his head about with unfettered energy as he talked about a "movement."

It was the height of the civil rights era, and Martin Luther King Jr. and other top black civil-rights leaders had stopped by Randolph's Denver barber and beauty shop. Randolph remembers he was nervous as he tried to give an even cut to King.

"I owned a barber shop and I was one of the associate ministers at New Hope (Baptist Church)," Randolph said. "My pastor called me and said, 'Bruce, I'm going to bring Dr. King down to your barber shop. He needs a hair cut.' I said, 'Bring him on down.'"

King was the center of the civil-rights movement. He was the man, Randolph remembers thinking. And he wouldn't keep his head still for long.

"He always had an entourage with him," Randolph said. "They were discussing the movement. I wasn't concentrating on the conversation, but mainly on getting his hair cut."

Randolph -- an 80-year-old minister at Second Baptist Church in Boulder who runs Daddy Bruce's Bar-B-Que on Arapahoe -- recalls how that movement and the monumental "I Have a Dream" speech would be a pivotal chapter in his life.

Today is the national holiday in honor of the famed civil rights leader, who was assassinated 40 years ago April 4.

King's message of equality is a powerful one that resounds in Boulder, and the city will celebrate him at several events today, said Ray Stewart, chairman of the city's Human Relations Commission. City programs and organizations have missions parallel to King's message.

"He is a hero in Boulder and globally," Stewart said. "His message was that your liberties are my liberties. Your freedoms are my freedoms, no matter your racial or ethnic background. We are inseparable."

That message especially hit home for Randolph when he heard King's now-famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.

Randolph had grown up in Arkansas, where life was separated into black and white.

Bathrooms. Schools. Buses. Restaurants.

"Society was segregated," he said. "This was the law. I still have flashbacks every time I drink out of water fountains."

On a recent afternoon, Randolph sat in his barbecue shack in his signature apron underneath a posterboard that reads: "Jesus Christ is my Lord." The small restaurant smells like tangy barbecue, and there are stacks of wood outside that he uses to smoke the brisket, ribs and chicken he sells.

Randolph -- the son of Denver's legendary Bruce Randolph, a barbecue operator celebrated for feeding the homeless -- opened the restaurant in 1980, a few years after he stopped cutting hair. He chose Boulder because his father already had a hold on the barbecue market in Denver.

Randolph moved back and forth to the kitchen, where he cuts up brisket sandwiches. His story jumps from the jobs he's had -- working in packing plants, playing saxophone in a rock-and-roll band, serving as an Army medic, a gig as a shoe shiner -- and the places he's been.

In August 1963, Randolph was on one of the three buses that left Denver for the March on Washington. The bus made two overnight stops, he remembers. One in Missouri. The other in Virginia.

Once it arrived at the Washington Monument, Randolph remembers, there were buses coming from every direction.

Randolph points across the two-lane Arapahoe Road. That's how close he was to King during the now-famous speech.

"When he gave that speech 'I have a dream,' I was right there," he said. "When I came away, I was totally free. I had no inhibition about being black, colored or whatever you wanted to call me. That was my emancipation from the segregation I grew up with."

Student spotlight: Nate Quesada-Scott, eighth-grader at Casey Middle School

Nate Quesada-Scott , eighth-grader at Casey Middle School

Accomplishment: Nate likes to create art. One of his creations, "Self Portrait in Pastels," recently was selected to be displayed in the board room of Boulder Valley School District. The school district professionally mats and frames the art and will display it for the entire school year.

"Even though this assignment wasn't about purely realistic portraiture, Nate' s slightly goofy contour line reflects a lot about him," said art teacher Molly Hoverstock.

Nate also is taking a guitar class at Casey.

Q: What do you like the most about middle school?

A: Middle school has its ups and downs, but I think the best thing about it is being with your friends.

Q: If you could change anything about middle school, what would it be?

A: To have the opportunity to learn more than one language.

Q: What's your favorite movie?

A: "Independence Day."

Q: What was the last song you downloaded to your iPod?

A: "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin.

Q: What's your favorite book?

A: "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry.

Q: What do you like to do for fun?

A: Skateboard.

Q: What's your dream job?

A: Become an artist.

Longtime CU film prof Aronson retires to work on his own movies

By Miao Yu For the Camera
Friday, January 18, 2008

On the first day of the spring semester, film instructor Roger Carter stepped into the classroom at the University of Colorado. There were 12 students sitting in a half circle awaiting the first lecture of FILM 4500 -- advanced documentary production.

"I'm not Jerry," the instructor said.

"What?" One of the students acted surprised.

The rest showed knowing smiles.

For 12 years, this class -- designed for CU's film students to finish their graduate projects -- was taught by senior instructor Jerry Aronson.

In December, at the graduation screening night, Aronson announced he would retire after the fall semester. "The decision came suddenly," Aronson said. He was thinking about retiring for a while and went to the dean during the last week of the fall semester. "I said I want to make movies. I'm getting old. I'll be 63 in April."

Aronson said the dean replied, "Well, you should go make movies then. You taught here 34 years; you set up the program; you did a good job. Thank you."

Aronson taught at CU for more than 34 years. He co-founded the production department within film studies with Virgil Grillo in 1973, established an internship program in 1979, and played an important role in starting the film major in 1989. His film "The Divided Trail" earned an Academy Award nomination.

One of his best-known films, "The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg," released last year on DVD, is an 85-minute feature that includes black-and white footage of the famed beat poet, and interviews with the likes of William Burroughs, Abbie Hoffman, Ken Kesey and Timothy Leary. The film won the International Documentary Association Award in 1993, as well as more than 250 national and international awards.

Aronson had a reputation for being a tough teacher. One running joke among his students is that he liked to call them at peculiar hours.

Matt Schultz took intermediate filmmaking with Aronson last semester.

"First day of the class, we exchanged phone numbers," Schultz said. Students listed the best times they could be called.

"And if you said 'anytime,' it was anytime."

Gradually students became accustomed to receiving calls from Aronson at 12:30 a.m. on a Friday night, checking to see if their work was on the right track.

"You can't just get away with doing a minimum effort (in his classes)," said Mark Crawford, Shultz's roommate who took the same class. "It's brutal; it's hard; it pushes you, but you definitely become a lot better filmmakers."

Crawford later added, "As for those phone calls, it just proves how much he invested in each student. He wants to see them succeed."

In spring 2006, Aronson was awarded CU's prestigious Boulder Faculty Assembly Excellence in Teaching Award.

Throughout the years, he taught different film classes, including Super 8, 16mm and narrative filmmaking, but his true passion lay in documentaries. In 1995, Aronson designed a documentary production class and took a unique approach to it. Students were required to make personal documentaries to explore things and people that were intimate to them -- grandparents, a family divorce, death of a close friend. The rationale behind this, Aronson said, is that at this tender age undergraduate students are more likely to make wonderful documentaries on topics they feel truly passionate about.

Through these films, Aronson said, students raised the question "Who am I?" They became closer to their families and friends; they sought the meaning of love and to be loved; they learned life lessons that went beyond filmmaking.

"That's why I love this class," Aronson said. "People delve into their deeper selves and find out who they are as people."

Teaching has long been a big part of Aronson's life. He said, "it is a tremendous gift to be able to share and even teach your passion to others." The best thing about teaching for him is "when students began to discover their talents and encounter a creative epiphany."

Yet he recognized that 34 years of teaching also took a lot of creative energy away from his own film work. Now retired from teaching, Aronson is planning to make more films. "I am waiting for my personal epiphany," he said, "I hope that soon my inner 'Jerry' will guide me there."

Ski grooming offered at more parks

Input sought on club's offer to groom three spots

By Yu Miao, Camera Staff Writer
Friday, January 18, 2008

The Boulder Nordic Club is willing to do a one-time grooming at Tantra and East Boulder Community parks, and provide the service at Foothills Community Park whenever snowfalls total at least 4 inches. But Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department wants residents' input before making a decision on the club's proposal.

"Whenever an organized event or activities like this take place in the parks, we want to go to the local residents and ask for their opinions," department spokesman Paul Bousquet said. "The community owns the parks."

Matt Muir, vice president of the Nordic Club, said the program has been very successful at North Boulder Park, drawing "a constant stream of skiers" to the park off Ninth Street and Balsam Avenue.

Groomers use a four-cycle engine snowmobile that is much quieter than most models and has lower emissions, according to a city news release. They operate between 7a.m. and 10 p.m., and don't interfere with normal snow-removal services on existing park paths and sidewalks.

Grooming of Nordic ski trails in any city of Boulder park is solely intended to add winter recreation options, without reducing or restricting access for other uses," the release said. "Each route has been developed with consideration for overall impact and sensitivity to existing park uses, wildlife and resource protection."

Comments will be accepted through Jan. 24.

For more information, or to submit a comment, visit www.boulderparks-rec.org and click on "Nordic Ski Grooming Proposal Input." Comments may also be mailed to: Boulder Parks and Recreation Department, 3198 Broadway Ave., Boulder, CO 80304 (attn: BNC proposal).

文章的照片是我照的。 呵呵。第一个photo byline!

5 questions for John Carnes, retired CU professor

Yu Miao, For the Camera
Monday, January 14, 2008

For many students, today -- the opening of the spring semester at the University of Colorado -- begins a new cycle that's fresh and exciting.

Yet for John Carnes and his buddies in a CU philosophy discussion group, this is one of the scores of new semesters since most of them began their teaching careers in the 1950s and early '60s.

The discussion group was founded around 1985 by a group of CU philosophy professors. Some of the old members have passed away; others, all retired, still meet every other week to discuss philosophy, or, in their own words, "to search for wisdom and peace." The average age of the group members is 79.

Today marks the 104th beginning-of-a-semester since Carnes started teaching philosophy at CU in 1956.

Carnes reflects on the meaning of a new semester to him, then and now.

1. Being a teacher is like being a farmer; your life follows certain cycles. How did you feel whenever a new semester came around?

Sheer terror! Every class constitutes a performance -- a 16-week performance -- and you have stage fright. I was never sure if I had chosen a text that wouldn't work, that I'd make a fool of myself in front of the class.

2. Now that you are retired, how do you feel about the beginning of a semester?

Liberated. Everybody else has to go to school; I don't have to go to school. I love it.

3. Do you sometimes feel nostalgia for a new semester of teaching, though?

Sure, I have nostalgia. I miss the excitement.

4. Could you share a memorable moment during your teaching career at CU?

In the late '60s, early '70s, during the Vietnam War -- those are memorable moments. To be frank, you just don't want to remember. The kids didn't want to here. They were here because they didn't want to be drafted. There was a horrible pressure on grades, because if they didn't get good grades, they got thrown out, got drafted. That was a hard time.

5. What was the best part about teaching?

You like the contact with your colleagues, with the students. It gives the opportunity to explore things you otherwise wouldn't touch. And it sharpens your own perceptions. Particularly after you teach for a long period of time, as typical perspectives of your students change, you constantly encounter new kinds of challenges to ideas you have taught before.

这Giant moths at CU's ATLAS Center

By Yu Miao, For the Camera
Monday, January 14, 2008

Three giant moths will move into the University of Colorado's ATLAS Center on Tuesday.

The silk-and-metal robotic moths with 6- to 8-foot wingspans will be hung from the ceiling in the lobby of the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society Center for a month. They are obedient -- only flipping their wings when visitors tell them to do so.

Viewers can interact with the moths by putting their hands on three orb devices on the floor. The moths will move according to the tempo of the touch, and the longer a visitor remains in contact with the orbs, the longer and more powerful the insects' movements become.

The exhibition is part of a series of ATLAS Institute programs organized by the Center for Arts, Media and Performance.

Rebekah West, director of the center, said the moths are "simple, beautiful and interactive."

"They evoke gentleness and human connection through technology," West said. "Technology has the capacity to bring us together, and this installation demonstrates this."Boulder-based artist Jen Lewin, 33, is the creator of the moths. Her work has been shown throughout the country and South Korea.

"Through my work, I play with the relationship between the physical and the digital, the virtual and the real," Lewin writes on her Web site, www.blueink.com. "In this interplay, the user and the piece participate in a unique 'moment' that is often unpredictable and spontaneous."

In 2005, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art featured an interactive light curtain created by Lewin.

If you go

拉菲亚特市一年一度的麦片粥节。

Lafayette Oatmeal Festival dishes up the fun

Toppings, 5K run a draw for many

By Yu Miao, For the Camera
Sunday, January 13, 2008

LAFAYETTE -- Oatmeal may top the grocery lists of people pledging to eat healthier foods in the new year, and it's certainly the star attraction at Lafayette's Oatmeal Festival.

Yet many of the little ones who showed up at Saturday's 12th annual event skipped over fresh fruits, soy milk and nuts to fix their eyes on sour worms, gummy bears and jelly beans.

More than 2,000 people attended the festival's oatmeal breakfast with the "world's largest number of toppings" -- more than 140.

With a few more years under his belt -- and having freshly finished the festival's 5K run -- Bruce Kirschner, 54, of Louisville, scooped up some healthier options, topping his bowl with berries, banana chips and nuts.

"It was great," Kirschner said of the 5K race. "It's a clear day without much wind."

More than 1,300 people participated in the walk/run, which started at 9:30 a.m. They joined other festival at-tendees in gobbling down 200-some gallons of oatmeal, 4,600 oatmeal pancakes and 1,400 oatmeal muffins.

A crew from Boulder's Sage and Savory Catering arrived at the Pioneer Elementary School gymnasium -- where the breakfast took place -- at 5:30 a.m. to prepare coffee and toppings.

Despite having to rush around refilling bowls, dumping coffee and carrying heavy containers of hot water, Sue Dubach, the chef and owner of the catering service, said she was having a good time.

"It's a very interesting festival," she said. "You meet so many people."

Jean Birkel, 65, of Superior, sat down for a hearty oatmeal breakfast after working all morning at the registration desk for the race. She said she has volunteered five or six times at the festival, but never ate the oatmeal breakfast before.

"They gave me a breakfast card every year, but I never used them. I just worked and went home," Birkel said while unwrapping an oatmeal muffin. "It's my mistake, because they're actually really good."

Lafayette residents Beth and Curt Magnuson took advantage of free blood pressure tests at the festival's health fair before heading to breakfast. They also took part in the race.

"I finished in 41 minutes," Beth Magnuson said before adding with a smile: "Pushing two strollers."

Event coordinator Jo Judd said the festival provides extensive screenings and other health-related services as part of its goal to promote healthy lifestyles.

Watching people come and go around her, Judd said, "It feels really good to me right now. It's a fun event."

写了这个小问答，不过报纸没有署名

Student spotlight: Rachel Baum 16, a senior at Boulder High School

Accomplishment: Rachel has worked with students from organizations including the Emergency Family Assistance Association and the AVID program at Casey Middle School. She is a tutor at Manhattan Middle School and Boulder High School.

Rachel said she likes to work with students because she enjoys learning and helping others learn.

"I am able to tutor in both English and in Spanish," she said.

She likes skiing, snowboarding, running, hiking, and playing the piano and guitar. She is a teen board member for Blue Planet Run, an international organization focused on providing clean drinking water for 1.2 billion people.

Q: Why did you decide to be a tutor?

A: I value the idea of learning, and not just doing the work for a grade. I know lots of kids who can get by in a class, but they never truly understand the material. I think it is important to really know what you are learning on a deeper level so it sticks with you.

Q: What do you like best about being a tutor?

A: Seeing when students grasp a concept and are able to solve problems by applying their skills and not by just plugging in numbers, having no idea what they're doing.

Q: What's the difficult part?

A: Finding ways to effectively explain the material to students since everybody has a different learning style that works just for them.

Q: What's the best part of being a teenager?

A: Being able to experience many different activities and getting to know hundreds of amazing people who help to guide us through our lives.

Q: What's the worst part?

A: Making so many mistakes while trying to find your identity in the world. But ultimately all these mistakes shape you for the better as you become wiser.

Q: If you could change anything about high school, what would it be?

A: I would lessen the competition. Kids get too caught up with getting an A and will do anything -- cheating -- to get that grade. It saddens me to know that some of my peers are willing to compromise their integrity and knowledge simply to receive a better grade.

Q: What was the last book you read?

A: "The White Man's Burden."

Q: What do you want to do after high school?

A: I hope to continue through college. After college, I hope to spend time traveling and/or working around the world. Traveling is one of my favorite things to do, as I find other cultures fascinating.

Pothole reports not flooding in

Local cities say they are being more proactive

By Yu Miao, For the Camera
Thursday, January 3, 2008

While the remnants of the two snowstorms that hit Boulder County remain scattered across some city streets, transportation officials say they're not being flooded with complaints about the types of potholes usually left behind on once-icy roadways.

Felix Gallo, Boulder's transportation and utilities maintenance coordinator, said the city spent an estimated $500,000 on road maintenance following last year's unusually bad pothole season. This winter, calls about potholes have been much tamer.

Still, he said, the city's pothole trucks are out on assignment every day. And the city has a 24-hour hot line for potholes and other obstructions.

"It's still too early to say," said Gallo, adding that the coldest months haven't yet arrived, and a wet spring also can be hard on city roads.

Gallo said he felt the work his department did over the summer really paid off: "Hopefully, we'll have a normal winter, unlike last year."

Potholes are known as one of the most common road hazards in winter and are formed by water, weather and traffic. Asphalt roads crack under severe weather and the constant stresses of traffic. The cracks allow snow and rainfall to seep in, and when temperature drops at night, the water freezes and expands, pushing out the underlying dirt and gravel -- eventually leaving holes in the road.

"There were a couple of potholes on westbound Arapahoe past Folsom that I kept hitting at night," said Ian Kelly, a software developer in Boulder.

In Louisville, it cost the city $25,000 to $50,000 to repair potholes last year. Like Boulder, Louisville also spent big bucks on road maintenance last summer.

Public Works Director Tom Phare said the city spent$750,000 to repave streets. So far this winter, Louisville hasn't received any pothole complaints. The city plans to invest another $1 million to repair roads this summer.

In Lafayette, the city hasn't received any phone calls from residents reporting potholes this winter, but city officials said they expect more phone calls to come when the weather gets warmer.

Doug Short, director of Lafayette Public Works, said that, in past years, the city sent crews out to do quick repairs in winter -- but that's not the best time of year to deal with potholes.

"City guys go out, mark them down and pour 'cold patches' in it," Short said. "But it's a temporary fix."

In winter months, officials said, crews can only apply temporary "cold patches," a formulation of soft asphalt, on the holes. Potholes are filled up -- but not permanently fixed -- this way. A more desirable and long-lasting way is to use "hot patches."

But that can't be done until asphalt plants reopen in April or May, city officials said.

Reporting potholes

Boulder -- Visit www.ci.boulder.co.us to fill out a public works report form, or call 303-413-7177.

Erie -- Call the town's public works department at 303-926-2870.

Lafayette -- Visit www.cityoflafayette.com, under public works, to report a problem, or call 303-665-5506, ext. 3328.

Louisville -- Call the street division at 303-335-4750.

Longmont -- Fill out at online form at www.ci.longmont.co.us/... or call 303-651-8416. Broomfield -- Call the city's pothole hot line at 303-469-3301, ext. 6604