Hurrah! Break out the champagne. Let's celebrate. Celebrate What? The demise of the roundabout on East Mainstreet. It is the most restricted roundabout in the state, I'm sure. One slight slip of the hand or the foot and the curb shakes hands with the tire. It is very visible that this has happened many times judging by the black smears on much of the curb. I haven't done it yet, but a couple of those icy mornings I was wondering if it would be my black marks next.

The town officials admit it is "a minor safety hazard" and not "friendly to pedestrians." Well, I have never seen pedestrians walking the circle, but maybe it is because it is not friendly. Maybe just plain dangerous would be a better word, especially if a car of large truck was going too fast and hung over where a person might be walking, although there is no sidewalk all the way.

I have to go to Golden on occasion for Colorado Trail business, and the route I choose to get to the Alpine Mountaineering Center has four, now five roundabouts. Four of them are on consecutive blocks with the fifth a few blocks down further. But, these roundabouts are two lanes and not that busy, but they are still a pain. They probably do speed up traffic which is why they were created, but it is difficult to tell at times just what the car in the circle is going to do, so you come to a stop anyway, negating the purpose of keeping the traffic moving.

That all said, I am very happy to put up with three months of reconstruction to have Parker's roundabout gone, departed, absent, disintegrated, no more, not there. You get the point.

Speaking of roads, the people over in Castle Pines Village shops and the residents of their subdivision are duking it out over the possible closing of Happy Canyon Road. What about the people who live in Happy Canyon and need access to their road, which just happens to be Happy Canyon Road. Are they now part of Castle Pines Villages or still Happy Canyon? Which side are they on? The shops are all on the west end of the road and there is easy access from U.S. 85, but not so with the people who actually live off of Happy Canyon Road.

Now, I don't live there, have no intention of moving there, but I can still have a opinion, as I am sure most everyone does who reads about this situation .

I have taken Happy Canyon Road many times in the many years I have lived here. I have also enjoy the short stretch of winding road through the forest, few houses and a short breather before hitting either U.S. 85, or I-25 depending on which way I am headed. I admit, I am not sure even looking at a map, just where the new road and intersection with I-25 will be, but I just don't see why Happy Canyon Road has to be closed. This is desired by the Castle Pines Village residents. There should be some seniority rights here, which came first, Happy Canyon people or Castle Pines Village people? Just because Castle Pines Villages came up with a big bag of money, does that mean they get whatever they want? What about those people that live off Happy Canyon Road, are they the proverbial "chopped liver"?

Money talks, but who are the commissioners going to be listening to, their constituents, or that dirty old money dangled in front of them even if it is around six million dollars? They are supposedly paid to listen to the people.

Carrying a 89-year-old, sick man out of his house in a wheel chair, John Demjanjuk, who supposedly had a part in killing 29,000 people during World War II, so he can be sent back to Germany to stand trial … is this real, or did I hear it wrong? Thank the Judges that want to review this case and halted the deportation. Yes, this man may have done horrible things, 60 years ago, but what possible good does it do to send him back now?

War is a horrible thing that makes people do things they would never think of doing in normal times. I am not trying to deny what went on then, but how does anyone know, except him, how he viewed that situation? Did he gladly take part, or was just doing his duty as he was told? This is what soldiers are supposed to do. Will sending him back to Germany, if he survives the trip, bring back any of those people? Will those surviving relatives feel happy that he will finally "pay the price"? He has been a working American for probably 50 years, what took them so long to find him?

Some crimes have no statute of limitations, but it would seem other conditions would be considered, age, health, how the past decades have been lived, and what the person has to say. To be more practical, why spend the thousands of dollars it is probably costing to 'capture' him and send him back? Looking at the TV image, it doesn't look like he is long for this world anyway.

To me, it just seems like a very wrong thing to do at this stage of the game. Let him die here with his own ghosts.

Pat Nagorka is a 35-year resident of Douglas County and a longtime Democrat.