TELLURIDE – “The key to living a meaningful and happy life is to live in alignment with our own inner values,” says John Bruna, formerly a Buddhist monk, known as Chophel. “The path to first defining our own inner values, then finding the courage and resolve to realize them becomes visible through mindfulness.”

Bruna, who teaches a workshop, Meaningful Mindfulness, Friday, Oct. 12-Sunday, Oct. 14, at the community room in the Telluride Marshal’s Offices, 231 East Pacific Ave., has completed a five-week mindfulness training in Thailand, with master Alan Wallace.

Bruna first came to Telluride in 2009, with a group of traveling monks from the Tibetan Buddhist Gaden-Shartse monastery. Today, Bruna has traded in his red monk’s robes for blue jeans, but he is still disseminating and explaining the teachings of the Buddha taught, always in a light-hearted way, ready for a joke or an anecdote.

Short meditation sessions and time for question-and-answer sessions are part of the program. The workshop starts with Cultivating Genuine Happiness, an introductory talk, on Friday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. A Meaningful Mindfulness workshop takes place Saturday, Oct. 13, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 14, 3-6 p.m.; cost is by donation.

For more information, call Elisabeth at 970/708-7750 or visit Bruna’s website, .



Telluride Medical Center Annual Health Fair Saturday, Oct. 13

TELLURIDE – The Telluride Medical Center's Annual Health Fair takes place Saturday, Oct. 13, 8 a.m.-11 p.m., at the Ah Haa School

Attendees can do the following: Get blood drawn; receive discounted comprehensive chemistry panels and free HIV testing courtesy of the Telluride AIDS Benefit; get free electrocardiograms, from Telluride Emergency Services; receive eye-pressure checks, skin exams, physical therapy evaluations, hearing tests, children’s helmets giveaways; get dental health checks, diabetes screenings for at-risk persons; get flu shots and consultations for participants who have had their blood drawn, prior to the Health Fair.

Mountain Village Police Department Hosts Domestic Violence Awareness Outreach Oct. 17



Tri-County Resources Welcomes October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

WESTERN SLOPE – Tri-County Resources, Hilltop’s domestic violence advocacy program serving Montrose, Ouray, and Delta Counties, welcomes October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime, and, on average, three women are killed every day at the hands of a current or former intimate partner.

Between Jan.1-June 31 of this year, Tri-County Resources housed 78 women and children in emergency safe houses and served 128 clients through support services in the three-county area.  Services include crisis case management, legal advocacy, support groups, referral services, and education.  In addition, the program runs a 24-hour crisis hotline, whose staff responded to 911 crisis calls during the six-month period.  All services are free.

For more information or to make a donation to Tri-County Resources, please call (970) 252-7445.  If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence please contact Tri-County Resources at any of their crisis lines: Montrose (970)249-2486, Delta (970) 874-4941, Ouray (970) 626-3777.  



Health Officials Urge Residents to Get Vaccinated for Flu Season

MONTROSE – Health officials are urging Montrose County residents to get vaccinated, and emphasize that vaccination is the best single measure for protection against the flu.

This year's flu vaccination protects against three strains of influenza: two new strains, H3N2 and a B virus and the same strain of H1N1 that was in last year's vaccine. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone six months of age and older to get the seasonal flu vaccination.

"We cannot become complacent this year," said Diana Williams, deputy director of Health and Human Services. "Last year's record for the lowest and shortest peak of influenza-like illness is no indication of what kind of flu season we'll have this year. Every flu season is different and unpredictable", she added.

Montrose County Health & Human Services is offering the injectable vaccine for $25, flu mist for $30 and a high dose vaccine for $35 (payment at time of service). Residents must present insurance cards at the time of service or plan to pay cash, check or debit.

A Community Flu Clinic for those 3 years and older is scheduled for Friday, October 19, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Health & Human Services building, 1845 S. Townsend Ave.

Adolescents and adults attending the October flu clinic will have the opportunity to receive a FREE pertussis vaccine (Tdap), also called whooping cough. Colorado has seen an epidemic number of whooping cough cases reported, 849 since January and community clinics provide a convenient opportunity to get immunized.

For more information call 252-5000 or visit at 1845 S. Townsend Ave.