best
TRANSCRIPT
50 CENTSTRINIDADCOLORADO
Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com
~Vol. 139, No. 34
TUESDAYFEBRUARY 17, 2015
FEBRUARY 17Las Animas CountyTUESDAY (9 a.m.) Board of
Commissioners meeting is in the Las Animas Courthouse, 200 E. First St., Room 201. Information: 719-845-2568.
Beautiful Quilt RaffleTUESDAY (2 p.m.) DON’T MISS
THIS! The Sayre Senior Center at 1222 San Pedro will raffle off the new Senior Quilt Club creation. Tickets can be purchased at the center. Info: Anna Risley, 719-846-3336. Proceeds help support the Center’s senior projects. See Page 2 for quilt picture.
Writers’ GroupTUESDAY (2 p.m.) The Trinidad
Writers’ Group will meet at 109 E. Fifth St. Info: Dana Miller, 719-422-8352 or [email protected].
Annual Pancake SupperTUESDAY (4-6 p.m.) Holy Trinity
Academy’s Maundy Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held at Holy Family Hall (The Soup Kitchen) on Church St. Info: 719-846-4522. Proceeds benefit the school.
Primero SchoolsTUESDAY (5 p.m.) District Board
of Education will meet in executive session with regular session to follow at 6 p.m. in the Primero School Caf-eteria, 20200 Highway 12. Information: Tina East, 719-868-2715.
THS SPORTSTUESDAY (6 p.m.) The Spring
Sports Parent/Athlete meeting will be held in the THS Cafeteria. All required pa-perwork will be handed out at this time. Info: [email protected]
Trinidad City Council TUESDAY (6 p.m.) A special ses-
sion followed by the regular session will be held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 135 N. Animas St. Information: Audra Garrett, 719-846-9843.
Today’s Quote “A simple life is good with me. I don’t need a whole lot. For me, a
T-shirt, a pair of shorts, barefoot on a beach
and I’m happy.”~Yanni
FEBRUARY 18Trinidad Community CoopFRIDAY (10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.)
Vegan Cooking Class on Friday morn-ings and Kirtan chanting (Sanskrit chanting call) on Friday evenings at the Coop, Corner of Elm and Maple Streets. Info: [email protected].
E-911 Authority WEDNESDAY (3 p.m.) The Board
will meet in the County Courthouse, 201 E. First Street, in the Commission-ers’ Chambers. Information: Rita Man-telli, 719-846-4441.
COOKIES FOR READERS!WEDNESDAY (4:30-6 p.m.) The
adult community is invited to bring 2-dozen favorite cookies and recipe for a pleasant afternoon Cookie Swap and fun social time at the Carnegie Library, 202 N. Animas St. Info: 719-846-6841.
Purgatoire Watershed WEDNESDAY (5 p.m.) The Part-
nership annual meeting will meet in the NRCS Office, 3590 E. Main. Informa-tion: Karen Wolf, 303-543-8688.
FP Fire DistrictWEDNESDAY (6 p.m.) Fishers
Peak Fire Protection District Board of Directors public meeting will be at the Starkville Fire Station. Information: 719-846-6077.
Hoehne Fire ProtectionWEDNESDAY (6 p.m.) District
Board of Directors meets at the Trini-dad Ambulance District, 939 Robinson Ave. Information: Dana Phillips, 719-846-2080.
NASA & Nighttime SkyWEDNESDAY (7 p.m.) Informa-
tional presentation “New Horizons Mission to Pluto” and Star Party by University of Colorado-Boulder Pro-fessor and Mission Co-Investigator Fran Bagenal will be held at the Mas-sari Theater on the campus of TSJC. Tickets available at the door. Info: Elise Russell, 719-846-5725.
PUBLIC SERVICEGET ‘EM WHILE THEY LAST!The Chronicle-News 2014 Collec-
tor Mugs with beautiful artwork by Trinidad Artist Paula Little are here and waiting for you to come pick them up, 200 West Church St. Info: 719-846-3311.
THE FINE PRINT
WEATHER WATCHTuesday: A 20 percent chance of snow
showers before 11 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. North wind 5 to 10 mph be-
coming light and variable in the afternoon. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 15. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 46. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph be-coming light and variable in the morning. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24. West southwest wind around 10 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 57. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Night:
Mostly clear, with a low around 28. West southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 10 percent chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. South southwest wind around 5 mph. Night: A slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north north-west after midnight. Chance of precipita-tion is 20 percent.
RIVER CALLPurgatoire River Call as of: 02/13/15. Chilili ditch: Prior-ity # 7 --- Appropriation date: 04/30/1862.
Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:Release 0.77 AFInflow 43.16 AF -- 21.76 CFSEvaporation 0.39 AFContent 16,724 AFElevation 6,178.79Precipitation 0
Downstream River Call / John Martin Reservoir: (Conservation Storage) 05/31/1949.
THE CHRONICLE NEWS
Continued on Page 4 ...
TSJC IMPROVING EDUCATION
BEST Program works to teach marketable skillsBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News
Students need to graduate from
high school with as many market-able skills as possible, to prepare them as they enter the workforce or pursue a higher education. The Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) program teaches middle school and high school students how to build ro-bots and how to analyze and solve problems, and Trinidad State Ju-nior College is one of three BEST hubs in Colorado.
Trinidad State’s Debbie Uli-barri and Jenn Swanson are the co-hub directors for the BEST robotics program, with a third co-hub director working out of
Trinidad State’s Alamosa campus. The hub directors will be contact-ing schools across the region to inform them about the BEST pro-gram and invite them to develop their own robotics teams and pre-pare them for a robotics competi-tion. The program is free for both the students and the schools. All the supplies needed for students to build their robots are supplied through the BEST program. A website, [email protected], is currently under development and will have plenty of information about the BEST ro-botics program.
The timeframe for the BEST program begins in September with the start of the next school year, when a kickoff meeting for the
program will be held. Five weeks after the kickoff day will come a practice day with the robotics competition held one week later at Trinidad State’s Scott Gym.
The BEST program is designed to help students learn the skills that industry needs in its future workforce, and what communities
need in their future leaders. The program supplies plywood, PVC pipe of various sizes, threaded rod, boxes of screws, washers and nuts, plenty of other hardware, Velcro, piano wire, aluminum rods, a bi-cycle inner tube, various odds and
Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsJenn Swanson is a co-hub director for Trinidad State’s BEST program. See Page 6 advertisement that Jenn is holding for the “New Horizons Mis-sion to Pluto” program slated at the Massari on Wednesday.
Continued on Page 2 ...
Photos by Tim Keller / The Chronicle-NewsAlan and Dorothy Best married in Tucumcari as teenage sweethearts 43 years ago. They took over management of Raton’s Radio Shack store in 1979; two years later they bought what is today one of downtown Raton’s most iconic businesses. With three full-time employees, the store will continue relatively unaffected by the problems of the national Radio Shack corporation.
RATON’S RADIO SHACK
By Tim KellerCorrespondent The Chronicle-News
RATON – When Radio Shack this month announced bankruptcy proceedings that will close many stores, the phone at Raton’s down-town Radio Shack store started ringing; it hasn’t stopped. “We’ve had hundreds of inquiries,” says Alan Best. “Mostly it’s been our own customers worried that they might lose us.”
The customers can relax. Alan and Dorothy Best purchased the Raton electronics store in 1981 after managing it for two years as youngsters still in their 20s.
Relax: We’re not going anywhere
Continued on Page 3 ...
COUNTY SEES LITTLE CHANGE
The National Weather ServiceSpecial to The Chronicle-News
Last December was another month of temperature extremes across southeast Colorado with the first 25 days indicating tem-peratures well above the seasonal mean. A strong arctic air mass in-vaded eastern Colorado bringing well below seasonal temperatures for the rest of the month. Near to slightly below normal precipita-tions readings were experienced across most of south central and southeast Colorado, save for areas along the Continental Divide and portions of the southeast Plains, which saw above normal precipi-tation for the month as a whole.
The current drought monitor shows little change in current con-ditions with severe drought (D2) conditions remaining in place across the eastern two-thirds of Crowley County, Eastern Otero, the eastern two-thirds of Las Ani-mas and all of Kiowa, Bent, Prow-ers and Baca Counties.
CPS and VIC Soil Moisture calculations continue to indicate near normal conditions across most of southeast Colorado, with slightly drier conditions being in-dicated across portions of the San Luis Valley and the far southeast Plains.
The first water supply out-look report of the year indicated that January 1 statewide snow pack was at 99 percent of average overall. Snow pack distribution, however, was not uniform across the state with southern basins in-dicating lower than average snow pack on January 1 where as the northern basins snowpack was at or above normal. Snowpack in the Arkansas Basin was one of the highest in the state, running at 114 percent of average overall, compared to 100 percent of normal snowpack at this same time last year. Snow pack in the upper por-tions of the basin was at 146 per-cent of normal on January 1, with
Update — Drought continues to hold steady in S.E. Colorado area
Continued on Page 2 ...
ANOTHER SCRT SMASH HIT!Dixie Swim girls delight audience
Cynthia Berresse Ploski / The Chronicle-NewsDixie Swim Club members, (L-R) Sheree (Judy Lee,) Dinah (Leeann Fabec), Jeri Neal (Naomi Segers), Lexie (Cora Warrick) and Vernadette (Pamela Nel-son) appear happy that Jeri Neal is pregnant and no longer a nun.
By Cynthia Berresse PloskiArt CorrespondentThe Chronicle-News
If you were a fan of the Golden Girls in times gone by, you will probably love The Dixie Swim Club, which opened at SCRT on
Friday evening. If you haven’t seen it yet, take heart—it will run for one more weekend at the Famous Performing Arts Center at 131 West Main Street in Trini-dad. Don’t miss it. It’s one terrific
Continued on Page 3 ...
Page 2 Tuesday, February 17, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado
General ManagerAllyson Sheumaker
AdvertisingSales-Adam Sperandio
Classifieds, Memorials, & Circulation- Joey Loewen
Design & Legals- Lauri [email protected]
News RoomEditor: Eric John Monson
Features Editor & Fine Print Catherine Moser
Reporter: Steve [email protected]
Business Hours:Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
USPS #110-040200 West Church Street
P.O. Box 763, Trinidad, CO 81082(719) 846-3311 • Fax (719) 846-3612
Member: Associated Press, Colorado Press AssociationPeriodicals Postage Paid For At Trinidad, CO.
Published Monday - Fridayw w w.thechronicle-news.com
Subscription RatesEffective Aug. 1, 2013
Home Delivery Trinidad1 Month ................$7.003 Months.............$21.006 Months.............$42.001 Year....................$84.00
Las Animas County Mail1 Month................$12.003 Months..............$36.006 Months..............$72.001 Year...................$144.00
Outside County Mail1 Month................$18.003 Months..............$54.006 Months............$108.001 Year...................$216.00
SPANISH PEAKS INNTavern Grill & R.V. Park � Gulnare, Co.
Celebrate! Mardi GrasTuesday, February 17th
Serving Gumbo & Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits Drink Specials all day long!
BEST Program works to teach marketable skills... Continued from Page 1
All this stuff is given to a team of students with the challenge of design-ing and building a working competi-tive robot in just six weeks.
“We’re hoping to get at least eight schools involved,” Ulibarri said. “We are starting to get some materials together so we can start recruiting. We’re also going to be recruiting in the Alamosa area, because of our campus there. We’re going to be recruiting in the Trinidad area, the La Junta area and possibly Raton, if we can work across state lines. In New Mexico, the closest one is in Las Cruces, and we’re just 20 minutes from Raton. I think it’s a great program and our tagline is:
‘Build a robot in six weeks, and inspire a student for a lifetime’.”
In order to fully engage students, the BEST program is designed to keep things interesting. It offers the excite-ment of a basketball game, the strategy of a chess match, the intellectual chal-lenge of a science fair, and the pressure of a competitive sporting event, plus big crowds, music and dancing.
The mission of the program is to engage, excite and inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math through partici-pation in a sports-like science and en-gineering-based robotics competition.
Swanson said Trinidad Middle
School had a robotics team that com-peted at a state competition last year.
“There are a couple of aspects of this program, and we’re working to put it all together,” Swanson said. “Teams may have the possibility of doing oral presentations, and they will also do an engineering notebook and then some marketing skills that they can show. It’s not just the robotics aspect. It’s also tying in the big picture of the engineer-ing, science and technology that’s be-hind it. I attended the state competition in Denver this year and it was huge. There were 32 teams, and tons and tons of kids. I think it hits a population of students that nothing else really does.”
Drought continues to hold steady for S.E. Colorado... Continued from Page 1
southern portions of the basin indicating snow pack between 50 and 80 percent of normal.
Statewide reservoir stor-age remained in good shape at the end of December with storage totals running at 103 percent on average overall. Storage levels in the Arkan-sas Basin were at 79 percent of average overall, com-pared to 59 percent at this same time last year.
Current and late spring and early summer stream flow runoff forecasts across the Arkansas Basin range from 119 percent of average for Chalk Creek near Nath-rop, to 82 percent of average for the Cucharas River near La Veta. The current stream flow runoff forecasts for the Rio Grande Basin ranges from 109 percent of average for Saguache Creek near Sa-guache, to 56 percent for the San Antonio River at Ortiz.
COMMUNITY
PLEASE NOTE There were no obituaries or memoriums submitted
for today’s edition.
Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsSayre Senior Center volunteer Jan DiPaolo stands beside this beautiful quilt, block detail in inset at left, made by the Quilting Club at the Center. The quilt will be raffled off today and the proceeds used to buy more quilting materials.
DROUTH AREAS IN SE COLORADO
Colorado State Forest ServiceSpecial to The Chronicle-News
BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Late winter, from mid-February until early March, is the best time to prune most trees. Trees are still dormant at this time of year and, unlike in early winter, wound closure will be rapid if pruning occurs just prior to the time new growth emerges.
“By being proactive and pruning now, homeowners can help maintain the long-term health, appearance and safety of their trees,” said Keith Wood, community forest-ry program manager for the Colorado State Forest Service.
Wood says that although some elms, ma-ples, birch and walnut trees may visibly ex-ude sap if pruned in the late winter or early spring, this should not harm the tree.
The CSFS offers the following tree prun-ing tips:
■ Know what you want to accomplish before you saw. Don’t remove any branches without a reason.
■ Remove any torn, dead or broken branches.
■ Try to develop or maintain one domi-nant vertical top stem, or leader, and don’t cut off the tops of trees.
■ Space the main branches along the trunk, and prevent branches below the per-
manent canopy from growing upright or too large.
■ Always prune just outside the branch col-lar – the point where one branch leaves a larger one (or the trunk), often discerned by raised or wrinkled bark.
■ Limit pruning of newly planted trees to the removal of dead, damaged or crossing limbs, or those interfer-ing with the main stem.
■ Avoid removing more than 25 percent of
a tree’s branches in any one year.
If a job requires running a chainsaw overhead or removing large branches or entire trees, Wood says it is best to contact an insured, certified arborist. A list of these professionals can be found at http://www.isa-arbor.com.
—For more information about urban tree
care, go to http://csfs.colostate.edu/.
Seasonal landscape careLate winter best time to prune trees
GARDENING
INCLUDES LAS ANIMAS
USDA designates 9 counties in Colorado as primary natural disaster areasU.S. Department of AgricultureSpecial to The Chronicle-News
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2015 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 9 counties in Colorado as primary natural disaster areas due to damages and loss-es caused by a recent drought. Those counties are: Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Las Animas, Lincoln, Otero and Prowers.
“Our hearts go out to those Colorado farmers and ranch-ers affected by recent natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “President Obama and I are com-mitted to ensuring that agriculture remains a bright spot in our nation’s economy by sustaining the successes of Amer-ica’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities through
these difficult times. We’re also telling Colorado producers that USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood.”
Farmers and ranchers in Arapahoe, Costilla, Elbert, El Paso, Huerfano, Kit Carson, Pueblo and Washington coun-ties in Colorado also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous.
Farmers and ranchers in the following counties in Kan-sas, New Mexico and Oklahoma also qualify for natural disaster assistance because their counties are contiguous. Those counties are:
■ Kansas — Greeley, Hamilton, Morton, Stanton and Wallace
■ New Mexico — Colfax and Union■ Oklahoma — CimarronAll counties listed above were designated natural disas-
ter areas on Feb. 4, 2015, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), pro-
vided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
Additional programs available to assist farmers and ranchers include the Emergency Conservation Program, The Livestock Forage Disaster Program, the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Live-stock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
FSA news releases are available on FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov via the “Newsroom” link.
SAYRE SENIOR CENTER QUILT RAFFLE TODAY
Photo courtesy Colorado State Forest Service