The Crane Project

Press Room

06/07/05  'The Crane Project' Gets a Kick-Off   Grass roots organizers in Grand Junction plan an informational potluck dinner this Saturday, June 11th, to kick off a series of western slope events which will lead up to a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 2005.   The dinner is being held from 6-9pm at Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, 9th Street & North Avenue, Grand Junction.  It is free and open to the public – participants are invited to bring a dish and a friend, and learn more about the event, dubbed “The Crane Project.”  Beverages will be available for purchase at Higher Grounds.  Members of the media are invited to attend.   The Crane Project is the result of a coalition of community organizers concerned with the environmental, social and health consequences of nuclear activities in western Colorado as well as elsewhere throughout the world.  Various activities planned include the making of origami peace cranes in communities across the region, as well as a “Uranium Peace Trail Caravan” that will snake its way from Rulison, Rifle and Grand Junction to Uravan, Gunnison and Canon City on Friday and Saturday, August 5th and 6th.   The Crane Project is sponsored by A Voice Of Reason and Grand Valley Peace & Justice.

06/14/05  The Crane Project Hosts 'Crane Fold-A-Thon' Fundraiser   Join The Crane Project's Fold-A-Thon fundraising event in Saturday, June 18 from 2:00pm-6:00pm at the First United Methodist Church, 522 White Avenue in Grand Junction.  Participants will fold paper cranes for peace.  Funds raised will be used to ship all of the paper cranes to the Hiroshima Memorial in Japan in support of The Crane Project's 'Uranium Trail Peace Caravan' on August 5-6, 2005.

06/16/05  'A Voice of Reason' Protests Uranium Expo 2005   GRAND JUNCTION SAYS NO TO THE THIRD URANIUM BOOM Citizens Take to the Streets to Resist Re-Opening of Region’s Uranium Mines   Attendees of the 2005 Uranium Expo this weekend will be greeted by an ‘un-welcoming committee’ on Saturday, June 18 from 11:00am-2:00pm at Two Rivers Convention Center.  Citizens and members of A Voice of Reason (AVOR) will express their discontent with the re-opening of Western Colorado’s uranium mines and the exploitation of our health, our economies, and our natural resources.   In protest of what has already been dubbed the ‘third uranium boom,’ demonstrators will don hazardous materials suits and glowing yellow paint to call attention to the overwhelmingly negative consequences of uranium mining and processing, and the inextricable link to nuclear warfare.    “Thanks to the first and second uranium booms, Western Colorado is now home to more than twenty radioactive hot spots,” stated Jacob Richards, a long-time AVOR member.  “We can’t handle a third uranium boom.”  For details on Western Colorado’s radioactive hot spots, visit http://www.thecraneproject.org/hotspots.html.   The Uranium Expo will draw together companies collectively worth over 200 million pounds of uranium resources, and the citizens of Grand Junction intend to send the message that these companies will no longer be able to exploit our natural resources, damage our health, and deplete our economies with temporary jobs.   “Uranium mining in itself is a destructive process, and it enables further devastation through its uses for nuclear energy and nuclear warfare.  It is time to abandon the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, and thus also the mining and processing of uranium,” stated Connie Murillo, a member of the Mesa State College chapter of AVOR.   A Voice of Reason is a progressive, grassroots organization dedicated to peace, social justice, and speaking out against war.     For more information call 245-3720 or visit https://toppeli.tripod.com/avor.

06/28/05  The Crane Project Seeks Community Involvement                                   To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, a coalition of western slope community organizations, churches and citizens seeks help in making paper peace cranes.  The cranes will travel in a caravan that will wind its way across the region on August 5th & 6th.   Several nuclear “hot spots,” will be acknowledged along the trail.    To learn how to make peace cranes and for more information, call (970) 210-7156 in Grand Junction or visit www.thecraneproject.org.

06/30/05  The Crane Project to Raise Nuclear Awareness   A western slope coalition of community organizations, churches and citizens is gearing up for a regional demonstration on August 5th & 6th to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.    The event will include a caravan which will wind its way on Friday, August 5th from the starting point in Rulison, where an atomic bomb was detonated underground in 1969, through Grand Junction, Uravan, Ridgeway and Montrose, Colorado.  On August 6th, the caravan will continue through Gunnison and Salida, ending in Canon City, home of the controversial Cotter Corp Uranium Mill, which has been sited for multiple offenses against pollution guidelines.    There are several other “uranium hot spots” along the route.  Ceremonies are planned at each stop along the way, where Japanese origami peace cranes will be collected from neighboring communities.  The cranes will be dedicated in a final ceremony in Canon City, then shipped to the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park in Japan, where millions of other cranes rest at the site of a statue in honor of Sadako, a now famous eleven year old girl who died of Leukemia, otherwise known as “the atom bomb disease” in Japan.   The Crane Project is planned in solidarity with actions throughout the world, among which will occur at the Nevada Test Site and the Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab in New Mexico.   Preceding the caravan, a week of action is planned, including a “teach-in” at Mesa State College and a benefit art show, “Radioactive Junction,” at Planet Earth and the Four Directions Gallery in Grand Junction. Church organizations, clubs, groups, families and summer schools are being asked to make peace cranes.  In addition, funds are needed to supply food, water and other needs to caravan participants.   Organizers are happy to accommodate media interviews.  More information on The Crane Project can be found at www.thecraneproject.org or call 970-210-7156.  The Crane Project is sponsored by A Voice Of Reason and Grand Valley Peace & Justice.