50 Centstrinidad Colorado

Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com

~Vol. 139, No. 26

thursdayFebruary 5, 2015

FEBRUARY 5Continuum of CareTHURSDAY (8 a.m.) Group will meet

at Fisher’s Peak Soup Kitchen, 308 Church St. Info: Charlene Tortorice, 719-846-9159.

Network CouncilTHURSDAY (8 a.m.) Regular meeting

will be held in the Bell Block Building’s Trin-idad Community Foundation room. Infor-mation: Margaret Apodaca, 719-846-3943.

SPPRCD MeetingTHURSDAY (1 p.m.) Spanish Peaks

Purgatoire River Conservation District meets at the District Office. Information: 719-846-3681 Ext. 117.

Carnegie Library Teen ActionTHURSDAY (4-6 p.m.) Teen Anime

and Manga (Japanese animation) Club meets at the library, 202, N. Animas St. Info: Felicity Boepple, 719-846-6841 or felicity.boepple@trinidad.co.gov.

GOAL Information NightTHURSDAY (5:30 p.m.) Seniors and

interested community members are invit-ed to the GOAL Academy event for Feder-al Financial Aid information at 155 E. First St. Info: Linda Pfalmer, 719-369-7145.

PRCWD Water DistrictTHURSDAY (7 p.m.) Purgatoire River

Conservancy meeting will be at City Hall Council Chambers, 135 N. Animas. Infor-mation: Thelma Lujan, 719-846-7285.

Today’s Quote“Wisdom is more

precious than jewels, and all your desires

cannot equal it.”~King Solomon (Proverbs 3:15)

FEBRUARY 6-8Attention Republican WomenFRIDAY (11:30 a.m.) The Las Ani-

mas County Republican Women’s Club will meet at the Primero Café at Mt. Car-mel, 911 Robinson. Info: Paula Marshall, 719-845-9544.

Carnegie Library EventFRIDAY (3:45-5 p.m.) The Library

will host a Jane Austen Tea Party for all Austen lovers (teens and adults). Info: Fe-licity Boepple, 719-846-6841 or felicity.boepple@trinidad.co.gov.

American LegionFRIDAY (6 p.m.) The Trinidad Ameri-

can Legion meets at the Sayre Senior Center, 1222 San Pedro. Info: Adjutant John Garduno, 719-680-1277.

ABSTRACT WORKSHOPSATURDAY & SUNDAY (10 a.m.-3

p.m.) TSJC’s Professor of Art Vilas Tonape will offer the second part of a 2-weekend abstract painting workshop at the College Art Department. Registration and info: Jo-sephine Chacon, 719-846-5474.

PUBLIC SERVICEASK A LAWYERFEBRUARY 10 (3-6:30 p.m.)

Walk-in for a free 20-minute consulta-tion (anything other than criminal cases) with an experienced attorney at the Las Animas County Courthouse, 200 E. First St. Childcare will be provided. Info: 719-680-7333.

VALENTINE CANDY GRAMSTHRU FEB 9: Place your order for a

fun Candy Gram to be delivered to your beloved on Feb 13. by a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Info: 719-846-9285. Proceeds benefit Projects Fund.

Abstraction & RefractionFEBRUARY 11 & FEBRUARY 13

(6-8 p.m./Opening Public Reception) A fine abstract art and jewelry show hosted by the Trinidad Area Arts Council opens at Gallery Main, 130 E. Main and runs thru Feb. 26. Info: Chloe Butler, 719-846-1441. Proceeds benefit Youth Art Program.

Senior Driving ClassFEBRUARY 12 (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) The

AARP Driving Class will be held at the Sayre Senior Center, 1222 San Pedro St. Registration and information: Carl Moz-engo, 719-868-2288.

VALENTINES BAKE SALEFEBRUARY 13 (7:30 a.m.-Noon)

Treat your Valentine to a special treat from the Chamber of Commerce Bake Sale that will be held at the Las Animas County Court-house, 200 E. First St. Info: 719-846-9285. Proceeds benefit the Projects Fund.

The Art of MarriageFEBRUARY 13 (6 p.m.) & FEBRU-

ARY 14 (8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.) Couples who want to refresh their lives will not want to miss this inspiring seminar at the Fisher’s Peak Community Church, 10377 Santa Fe Trail. Info/Registration: 719-846-6018.

FREE Father/Daughter DanceFEBRUARY 13 (7-9 p.m.) Grab your

dad, grandpa, uncle or fatherly friend for some fun, food, games and more at the Val-entine’s Day Father/Daughter Dance hosted by The Lord’s Chapel of Segundo at Mt. Car-mel, 911 Robinson Ave. Info: 719-845-4880.

SCRT PerformanceFEBRUARY 13-22: The Dixie Swim

Club runs at the Southern Colorado Rep-ertoire Theatre, 131 West Main St. Info: 719-846-4765 or www.scrtheatre.com.

FREE Felting WorkshopFEBRUARY 15 (2-5 p.m.) Felting

with Cat Fur, a super fun workshop to make items for the upcoming “There Is No Such Thing As an Ordinary Cat” Art Show at Gallery Vivant, 218 E. Main St. Materials will be provided. Info: Susan Palmer, 805-603-6181.

the Fine Print

Weather WatChThursday: Mostly sunny, with a high

near 66. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north 5 to 10 mph in the

afternoon. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 70. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. West wind around 5 mph. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35. West

wind around 5 mph.Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 64.

West wind around 5 mph. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming west south-west after midnight.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 60. South wind around 5 mph. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

river CallPurgatoire River Call as of: 02/04/15. Chilili ditch: Prior-ity # 7 --- Appropriation date: 04/30/1862.

Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:Release 0.06 AFInflow 43.06 AF -- 21.71 CFSEvaporation 0 AFContent 16,354 AFElevation 6,178.18Precipitation 0

Downstream River Call / John Martin Reservoir: (Conservation Storage) 05/31/1949.

the ChroniCle neWsCITY COUNCIL

CannaCo gets marijuana licenses approved for facilities at Toupal DriveBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

After months of wrangling and bitter political infighting, the owner of CannaCo was awarded licenses for a retail marijuana store and a marijuana cultivation facility at 3019 Toupal Drive. The site near Exit 11 off of Interstate 25 was formerly the home of the Phil Long Toyota dealership, which has since moved to a new location on State Highway 350 just east of Trinidad.

City Council members voted six to one in favor of approving CannaCo’s applications, with only Council member Joe Bonato vot-ing in opposition. Council acted on the recommendation of City Attorney Les Downs, who said he felt the business had met all the City and State criteria applying to marijuana businesses.

CannaCo is entirely owned by Cynthia Genova, and will be man-aged by Josh Bleen who said he’d met all the state requirements to manage a marijuana business.

Bleen noted that the wastewater produced by the hydroponic grow-ing operation would be hauled by truck to the City’s wastewater treatment facility, and not put into a septic or sewer system. Bleen will get a salary plus bonuses based on the level of marijuana sales that are produced by the business. He cannot own any part

of the business because he hasn’t been a Colorado resident for two years, as is required for owners of marijuana-related businesses.

Bill Phillips, owner of Trini-dad’s Big O Tire location near the proposed marijuana facility, pro-tested that CannaCo’s ownership and management had not met all of the relevant criteria for open-ing a marijuana-related business. Phillips said CannaCo’s owners should submit new license ap-plications to both the City and the State, because he believed the current license applications to be flawed and should not be approved by Council.

Chris Furia, a property owner in the area where CannaCo intends to operate, cited eight reasons for denying the licenses, including financial disclosure, sewage and septic issues and Health Depart-ment approval of the way the busi-ness was going to operate. Furia said Council was the voice of the people and should listen to what the protestors had been saying about the proposed business for several months.

In response, Bleen said he was frustrated by the protestors’ re-peated attempts to stop CannaCo from getting its licenses, saying they repeatedly brought up new is-sues for denying the licenses with few facts to back them up. He in-

Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsJosh Bleen, above, spoke to City Council members on behalf of CannaCo, which has received approval for its marijuana licenses at its 3019 Toupal Drive location. Bleen will be the general manager of CannaCo. Bill Phillips, below, owner of Trinidad’s Big O Tire business, urged Council members to deny Can-naCo its marijuana licenses at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Continued on Page 2 ...

SOFTBALL

Lady Trojans ready to begin 2015 season By Mike SalbatoCorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

Following a strong fall season Trinidad State Junior College soft-ball coach Steve Swazo is very op-timistic about his 2015 squad.

“I thought the girls had a great fall and competed well with the four-year schools we played,” said Coach Swazo, who is entering his ninth season as head coach of the Trojan Softball program. “Any-time you get the chance to play against a four-year school, and stay with them, it gives you excite-ment that you will have the mak-ings of a strong team come spring. Now we will actually see if what I saw in the fall will carry over.”

The Lady Trojans will suit up 23 players this year with eight of them being sophomores, includ-

ing returning Region IX first team all-conference selections Macie Christian and Brook Stevens. Oth-er sophomores that saw plenty of action last year are Teaja Rivera,

Vicky Gonzales, Torri Atencio, Morgan Ginger, Shelby Cornett and Sami Miele.

“I’m expecting all of my sopho-mores to play a key role in our

success this year. They’ve been through the grind of the traveling and school work. They know what

Photo courtesy of Mike Salbato / TSJCBack row (L-R) - Katelynn Findley, Kiera Jackson, Demi Madalena, Ally Grywusiewicz, Jessica Salbato, Izzy DeLos-Santos, Courtney Vigil and Corey Aragon. Middle row (L-R) - Victoria Gonzales, Morgan Ginger, Sami Miele, Shelby Cornett, Brooke Stevens, Macie Christian, Teaja Rivera and Torri Atencio. Front row (L-R) - Ally McAdoo, Liz Aguilar, Lauren Bending, Taylor Casiquito, Adrianna DeVille, Kelsey Hernandez and Samantha Glover

Continued on Page 2 ...

OP/ED

Abstract Art Workshop at TSJCPlenty of culture to spare in TrinidadBy Cynthia Berresse PloskiArt CorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

I have heard it said that there is no culture in Trinidad. These nay-sayers must be wearing their Big City blinders that block the sight of our scores of art galleries, architectural gems and brick streets that link us to the history of the West.

They must also mask our year-round live theatre, local and regional art shows, Community Chorale (the only town of this size in Colorado to have one) our children’s theatre arts and choir programs and the newly launched famous big-screen filmed operas leading to next season’s si-mulcasts with the Metropolitan Opera of New York.

Those big city blinders must also conceal our annual ArtCar weekend that draws car artists from all over the southwest to parade and play in Cynthia Berresse Ploski / The Chronicle-News

Class Professor Vilas Tonape introduces Sanjana, who observed the Abstract Art Workshop Class at TSJC by Skype from India.Continued on Page 6 ...

Page 2 Thursday, February 5, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

65 Comi Funeral Home

Eric ColeEric R. Cole, age 48 of

Trinidad Colorado passedaway Sunday, January 25,2015.

A Celebra t ion of L i feService will be held Friday,February 6, 2015 at 11 a.m.at the Comi Chapel.

Arrangements made underthe direction of the ComiFuneral Home.

Minnie SebbenMinnie Sebben, age 93,

passed away in Abilene,Texas. on January 31, 2015.

Funera l Mass wi l l beFebruary 12, 2015 at 10 a.m.at Holy Trinity Church.

Inurnment at a later date.Comp le te ob i tua ry to

fo l l ow .Arrangements made under

the direction of the ComiFuneral Home.

Henry Chavez

Henry Joseph Chavez Sr.,a g e 7 0 , p a s s e d a w a ySunday, February 1, 2015 atParkview Medical Centerafter a short il lness.

He was born in San JuanPlaza on November 29, 1944to Rose (Casias) and MarcialChavez.

Hen ry a t t ended a reaschools graduating fromHoehne High School in1964.

On November 27, 1965, hewas united in marriage toGlor ia Cordova at HolyTrinity Church in Trinidad,Colo.

He was a coal miner,having worked at area minesincluding the Allen and NewElk mine until his retirement.

He was a member ofUMWA Local 9856.

He loved the outdoors andliked to hunt, fish, gardeningand caring for his yard.

He enjoyed music andwatching all sports includinga l l C o l o r a d o t e a m s ,espec ia l l y t he Denve rB roncos .

He was an avid WWEWrest l ing fan.

Henry always had a smileand great sense of humor.

The greatest loves of hisl i f e w e r e h i s f a m i l y ,grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

Preceding him in death areparents, Rose and MarcialChavez, mother and father inlaw, Susie and ManuelCordova, brother NormanChavez, sister Lena (Jim)Duran, sister in law RoseChavez, brothers in law, NickTafoya, Art Montoya andJohn Lopez.

Survivors are wife Gloria ofhome address, chi ldren,Henry (Joyce) Chavez Jr.,Trinidad, Colo., Clint (Kim)Chavez, Trinidad, JennaC h a v e z ( J e f f P i t u s ) ,Colorado Springs, Colo.,g r a n d c h i l d r e n , C r y s t a l( E r n i e ) V i l l a , A u d r e y(Marcus) Martinez, XavierChavez, Mark (Mel) Claflin,Br iana Claf l in ( ShawnLopez), Kaylee Chavez,great grandchildren, Alayna,Diego, Alyssa, Alillyanna,Alexis, Aimee and Audrey,brothers and sisters in law,V i r g i n i a L o p e z , O n e yChavez, Ben (Margaret)Chavez, Lilly Tafoya, SadieMontoya, Josephine (Joe)Gu t ie r rez , Rose Mar ieChavez , Max ine (Bob)Mosher, Tom (Margaret)Cordova , Luc i l l e (Leo)Truj i l lo, Barbara (Jerry)Grosso, numerous nieces,nephews including specialniece and nephew Brendaand Pat Powell, and manyfriends including specialfriend Mark Lopatofsky .

Visitation will be Sundayfrom 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. at theComi Chapel.

Rosary wi l l be reci tedSunday, February 8, 2014 at7 p .m. a t Ho ly Tr in i t yChurch , .

Funera l Mass wi l l beMonday, February 9, 2015 ,at 10 a.m. at Holy TrinityChurch.

Interment will follow at theTrinidad Catholic Cemetery.

Honorary pallbearers areKyle Mullen, Eddie Shannon,Dan Renner , Joe Saiz ,S a l v i e V e l a r d e , P e t eMartinez, Everly Silva andhis many UMWA brothers.

Active pallbearers are ErnieVi l la , Marcus Mart inez,Xavier Chavez,, Mark Claflin,Shawn Lopez and MarkLopatofsky.

T h e f a m i l y m a y b econtacted at the homeaddress.

Arrangements made underthe direction of the ComiFuneral Home.

65 Comi Funeral Home

Henry Chavez

Henry Joseph Chavez Sr.,a g e 7 0 , p a s s e d a w a ySunday, February 1, 2015 atParkview Medical Centerafter a short il lness.

He was born in San JuanPlaza on November 29, 1944to Rose (Casias) and MarcialChavez.

Hen ry a t t ended a reaschools graduating fromHoehne High School in1964.

On November 27, 1965, hewas united in marriage toGlor ia Cordova at HolyTrinity Church in Trinidad,Colo.

He was a coal miner ,having worked at area minesincluding the Allen and NewElk mine until his retirement.

He was a member ofUMWA Local 9856.

He loved the outdoors andliked to hunt, fish, gardeningand caring for his yard.

He enjoyed music andwatching all sports includinga l l C o l o r a d o t e a m s ,espec ia l l y t he Denve rB roncos .

He was an avid WWEWrest l ing fan.

Henry always had a smileand great sense of humor.

The greatest loves of hisl i f e w e r e h i s f a m i l y ,grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.

Preceding him in death areparents, Rose and MarcialChavez, mother and father inlaw, Susie and ManuelCordova, brother NormanChavez, sister Lena (Jim)Duran, sister in law RoseChavez, brothers in law, NickTafoya, Art Montoya andJohn Lopez.

Survivors are wife Gloria ofhome address, chi ldren,Henry (Joyce) Chavez Jr.,Trinidad, Colo., Clint (Kim)Chavez, Trinidad, JennaC h a v e z ( J e f f P i t u s ) ,Colorado Springs, Colo.,g r a n d c h i l d r e n , C r y s t a l( E r n i e ) V i l l a , A u d r e y(Marcus) Martinez, XavierChavez, Mark (Mel) Claflin,Br iana Claf l in ( ShawnLopez), Kaylee Chavez,great grandchildren, Alayna,Diego, Alyssa, Alillyanna,Alexis, Aimee and Audrey,brothers and sisters in law,V i r g i n i a L o p e z , O n e yChavez, Ben (Margaret)Chavez, Lilly Tafoya, SadieMontoya, Josephine (Joe)Gu t ie r rez , Rose Mar i eChavez , Max ine (Bob)Mosher, Tom (Margaret)Cordova , Luc i l l e (Leo)Truj i l lo, Barbara (Jerry)Grosso, numerous nieces,nephews including specialniece and nephew Brendaand Pat Powell, and manyfriends including specialfriend Mark Lopatofsky .

Visitation will be Sundayfrom 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. at theComi Chapel.

Rosary wi l l be reci tedSunday, February 8, 2014 at7 p .m. a t Ho ly Tr in i t yChurch , .

Funera l Mass wi l l beMonday, February 9, 2015 ,at 10 a.m. at Holy TrinityChurch.

Interment will follow at theTrinidad Catholic Cemetery.

Honorary pallbearers areKyle Mullen, Eddie Shannon,Dan Renner , Joe Saiz ,S a l v i e V e l a r d e , P e t eMartinez, Everly Silva andhis many UMWA brothers.

Active pallbearers are ErnieVi l la , Marcus Mart inez ,Xavier Chavez,, Mark Claflin,Shawn Lopez and MarkLopatofsky.

T h e f a m i l y m a y b econtacted at the homeaddress.

Arrangements made underthe direction of the ComiFuneral Home.62 Memorials

In Memory ofMary Teresa Vukich

March 20, 1923 -February 5, 2011

This day is remembered andquietly kept, no words are

needed, we shall neverforget. For those we lovedon't go away, they walk

beside us every day,unseen, unheard, but alwaysnear, still loved, still missed

and so very dear.We love and miss you so

much!Emil, Rosemary,Judy and Family

Lady Trojans ready to begin 2015 season ... Continued from Page 1

CannaCo gets marijuana licenses approved ... Continued from Page 1

sisted that CannaCo’s leadership had not been at all deceptive in its dealings with the City or the state in regard to its license application.

A lawsuit is pending in Third Dis-trict Court seeking to prevent Can-naCo from moving forward with its business plans.

In other action at the meeting

Council: ■ Approved after a public hear-

ing the second reading a change in the City’s definition of a school, to in-clude childcare facilities. This means that no new marijuana facilities can be located within 1,000 feet of a child-care center. The rule does not apply to existing marijuana facilities, or those who had started the application pro-

cess before the rule was changed.■ Approve the membership of the

City’s newly reconstituted Urban Re-newal Authority Board, which will include Ed Griego as chairperson, Da-vid Barack, Cherie Kollander, Nancy Lackey, Lucille Mattie, Phil Rico and John Tarabino, with Bill Barnes as an alternate. Board terms are staggered to maintain continuity on the Board.

it takes to be a college softball player and I’m expecting them to be good leaders for our freshmen.”

Fifteen freshmen are on the spring roster and all of them are working hard for playing time.

“Every girl wants to play and that’s a plus,” Swazo commented. “It’s great that we have good numbers where each player will be pushed and chal-lenged all year. They have all worked hard in the weight room and hitting cages during the off-season and are anxious to get on the field to play a real game. Our only downside since we’ve been back from break has been the weather as we have not had a full practice outside.”

One area that will be key for the Trojans will be pitching as they have six girls that will be called to the circle throughout the 60-game schedule.

“It’s always nice when you have more than one pitcher, especially at this level,” Swazo said. “Having two all-state pitchers in Demi Madalena from Bernalillo High School and Jes-sica Salbato from Wheatridge High School certainly doesn’t hurt. Also be-ing called on to pitch this season will be Allyson Grywusiewicz, Corey Ara-gon, Isabella DeLosSantos and Torri Atencio.”

The Lady Trojans open the 2015 campaign Saturday, February 7 with a doubleheader against Frank Phillips

College beginning at 1 p.m. at South-side Park. On Sunday, February 8, they will host Luna College at 11 a.m. and Colby Community College at 3 p.m.

Something new this year for the Lady Trojans is their conference schedule has been expanded to 30 games, meaning they will play each team in the conference a total of six times. The region tournament will be held at Northeastern Junior College in early May and whoever wins the Region IX title will get the opportunity to host the district championships. The winner of the district will move on to the National Tournament in St. George, Utah in the middle of May.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORTrinidad’s mayor adds a different perspective to the ongoing PCMS issueDear Editor:

After reading Mr. Holdread’s let-ter to the editor (Jan. 15 edition), I felt compelled to add a different perspec-tive.

Mr. Holdread stated that in 1983, the Army said they needed a maneuver site to prepare for tank warfare with the Russians. The Cold War ended and tanks became obsolete.

In response I would say we, as a na-tion, are so quick to forget that it was our superior military technology (the M1 Abrams tank and B1 Bomber) and the high state of skill and readiness of our military that had a large impact on ending the cold war. And wasn’t it those same “obsolete tanks” that liber-ated Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm?

The M1 Abrams tank is certainly not obsolete and is still in service to-day. It remains the number one de-terrent to force-on-force tank battles in our world. To me, it appears that the Army was correct in 1983 — our highly trained and ready military did help end the Cold War. Our Soldiers still need the function of the maneuver site to help prepare to meet future ad-versaries.

I would go on to dispute the thought that tourism would have been allowed on private property. The land was not considered a tourism asset before the maneuver site and it may not have been ever considered (if the maneuver site didn’t exist).

Many times the leadership at Fort Carson has offered to take me on a pub-lic tour of the site, but as yet, I have not taken advantage of those offers.

The Army originally had 244,000 acres but transferred the Picketwire Canyon Lands to another federal agen-cy, so the public could have access for recreation. The Army allows hunting on the maneuver site as well.

As for airspace, the Army isn’t op-posed to wind generators, only the placement of wind generators where they would pose a danger to military aircraft. If you want to place a wind generator near the maneuver site, work with the great professionals there and they will help determine the best site for you and for them.

The Army does have an economic impact on the region. There are 27 em-

ployees who live in our region, shop and dine in our towns. A training ex-ercise normally brings approximately $100,000 to the region and the Army continues to try to help our small busi-ness and companies obtain Army con-tacts.

The Army continues to work with tribal leadership and the State His-toric Preservation Office to ensure the numerous cultural and historic resources are protected for future gen-erations.

The Army is also working toward completing an Environmental Impact Statement to inform the public of fu-ture training and sustainable manage-ment practices on the maneuver site. The Army has hosted a public meeting and had a 45-day public comment pe-riod to allow everyone to voice his or her opinion. The public will have an-other opportunity to review the EIS in March.

PCMS also brings our commu-nity more capability with their fire and emergency services mutual aid agreements. Fort Carson has assisted Hoehne Fire Department with several structure fires. They have also fought wildland fires in both Las Animas and Otero Counties.

So, Mr. Holdread, your information is not completely accurate. You were accurate in one area though. The peo-ple of Trinidad and Southeastern Colo-rado are great Americans. We have hundreds of veterans living among us who put our country and freedom ahead of their own lives to protect us.

Mayor Joe ReordaTrinidad

Reader asks TSJC to think twice before abandoning successful golf programDear Editor:

This letter is in regards to the TSJC reorganization and restructure in which she [Dr. Carmen Simone] ad-vises that she is cutting the Golf pro-gram saying this move will take the programs to even greater levels in the future. How can you make this state-ment while cutting your best-known program, which is golf?

We attract the best golfers in the state and it is widely known in our league that TSJC is one of the best

and has been for years. I have noth-ing against the Women’s Basketball program, but from your statement it appears the focus will be more atten-tion on this program, an unknown program, to replace a very good golf program, which is proven.

Apparently our President has not watched our boys playing when they hold a tournament here. I have never seen her there. We see large crowds there, buses from Nebraska and Wyo-ming and a large following from these colleges and only see Coach Holden from the college.

Our golf group enjoys watching these boys tee off about 2 p.m. every day during the season. We see these boys drive the green on No. 8 and No. 9 past the 100-yard marker on No. 3. — and all are very good golfers and very polite young people.

This program is probably the least expensive of all the sports programs as it only has eight to ten golfers, and their coach, and probably only re-quires a large van or small bus for transportation.

How can you say you are cutting a good program to strengthen the other programs when this is already a strong one and the others at present are very weak? And you know this program will be much more expensive due to the number involved.

If you are cutting this program for financial reasons, how can you then add a position as Athletic Director, when this means one less program to direct?

Offer to increase our present Ath-letic Director’s wages and see if he will accept and not add a new position.

Think twice before you make this serious decision, it would be very hard to reinstate this program. I know most contributors to Trinidad State Booster Club would gladly increase their dona-tions to help keep this program.

Carlos ChaconTrinidad

Letters to the Editor are pub-lished as we receive them, in un-edited form, except for redactions. The Chronicle-News neither en-dorses nor opposes the opinions ex-pressed in these letters. All submis-sions must be fewer than 400 words and be submitted in digital form (emailed) to editor@trinidadchron-iclenews.com. Submission does not guarantee publication.

CONTAGEOUS DISEASEDisneyland measles outbreak isn’t largest in recent memory By ALICIA CHANGAP Science Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The largest U.S. measles out-break in recent history isn’t the one that started in Decem-ber at Disneyland. It happened months earlier in Ohio’s Amish country, where 383 people fell ill after unvacci-nated Amish missionaries traveled to the Philippines and returned with the virus.

The Ohio episode drew far less attention, even though the number of cases was almost four times that of the Southern California outbreak, because it seemed to pose little threat outside close-knit religious communities.

The Disneyland outbreak has already spread well be-yond the theme parks that attract tens of thousands of visi-tors from around the globe, who could then return home with the virus. Disease investigators for weeks raced to identify measles-stricken patients, track down potential contacts and quarantine them if necessary.

Public health experts say success at containing the

outbreak will largely depend on how many unvaccinated people get the measles shot.

“This was a wake-up call,” said Dr. James Cherry, a pe-diatric infectious disease expert at the University of Cali-fornia, Los Angeles. “It could continue to smolder” if not enough people get vaccinated.

The California outbreak probably began when an in-fected person spread the illness to a handful of mostly un-vaccinated people, who then exposed many others.

In contrast, the Ohio outbreak “stayed contained with-in those communities, and outside people said, ‘Well, it doesn’t really affect me.’ What’s different with this one is more people can relate to Disneyland,” said Dr. Gregory Wallace of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion.

The CDC estimates 105 measles cases — the vast major-ity from California — have been linked to visits to Disney-land in December or exposure to infected people who went there. The agency said it’s too early to predict whether this will be a particularly severe year compared with 2014, which saw more measles cases than any year since 1994.

The Ohio outbreak accounted for more than half of the 644 measles cases reported last year.

Homegrown measles has not occurred in the United States since 2000 due to an aggressive vaccination cam-paign. But outbreaks have hit in recent years with nearly all cases linked to travelers who caught the virus overseas where measles still rages and spread it in this country among pockets of unvaccinated people.

Thursday, February 5, 2015 Page 3The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

School NewS

By Ruth StodghillPrimero CorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

On January 20, Primero’s elementary and middle school students competed in classroom and schoolwide spelling bees. The top four winners from the school will be compet-ing against other local school districts in the countywide spelling bee on February 10. The top finishers from the county bee will advance to state-level competition.

Photos by Ruth Stodgel / The Chronicle-News Pictured above are the winners of the class competitions, who advanced to compete in the Prim-ero schoolwide Spelling Bee. Back Row (L-R) Lincon Woodruff, Josh Pizano, Makenzy Fernandez, Hailey Harris and Louis Ossola. Front Row (L-R): Michael Duran, Isabella Flores, JoHannah McKin-ley, Kaylee Armijo, Connor Lutz, Matias Samora, Wyatt Gardner, JP Fernandez, Logan Granger and Mikailah Feinman.

Pictured above are the winners of the Primeo School Spelling Bee. These four students will be ad-vancing to the county spelling bee. (L-R) Matias Samora, Connor Lutz, First Place Winner Isabella Flores and Michael Duran.

Annual School BeeWinner’s spelldown

PRIMERO

VFW gives awards to Holy Trinity Academy, other studentsBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Working to build a greater sense of patrio-

tism in the area’s youth, the local VFW Post gave Voice of Democracy Awards and Patriot Pens on Thursday to several students at Holy Trinity Academy. High school students received small cash awards from the Post along with their

Voice of Democracy certificates, while younger received the colorful Patriot Pens and small cash awards from the Post.

Since 1947, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has sponsored the Voice of Democracy scholarship program. More than 50,000 high school students compete each year for more than $2.3 million in scholarships and incen-tives. Students compete by writing and record-ing a broadcast script on an annual patriotic

theme. This year’s theme was, “Is Our Consti-tution Still Relevant?” Students compete on the local, district, state and national levels. One of the Trinidad students, Angelina Donnelly-Montoya, advanced to the higher levels, where scholarship funding is available.

Three Holy Trinity students won Patriot Pen Awards, including Chessie Adams win-

ning First Place, Liza Ortiz winning Second Place and Julianne Worley winning Third Place. Two high school students won Voice of Democ-racy Awards, with Angelina Donnelly-Montoya winning First Place and Cheyenne Fiorino winning Second Place. Donnelly also won the VFW District competition and advanced to the State level. Jackson Hillhouse also participated in the contest.

Branson Schools had three Patriot’s Pen Award winners, with Ingrid Hofmeister win-ning First Place, Cesar Hural-de-Gonzales winning Second Place and Zion C. R. Mason winning Third Place. Bran-son’s Voice of Democracy Award winners included Jen-nifer M. Collins winning First Place, Zariah Mason winning Second Place and Noah Marti-nez winning Third Place. Kai-

tlyn Bryant, Juan Juarez Castro, Delaree Tay-lor Comstock, Travis Hamilton, Zephyh Mason, Elijah Martinez, Grace Deandrea Provost and Alyssa Winford, all of whom got certificates thanking them for participating in the contests, made non-placing entries.

Primero School had two students, Analyse Kendall and Shania Martinez, who got cer-tificates thanking them for participating in the contest.

ACHIEVEMENT

By Margaret SandersonSpecial to The Chronicle-News

Do you know anyone who has graduated

with a college degreebefore graduating with a high school degree? Two brothers who moved with their family to Antonito in July will ac-complish that feat on May 8 when both of them will walk at the Trinidad State graduation in Alamosa after earning Associate of Arts de-grees. Taylor Bollinger will then graduate high school 14 days later. His brother, Jonah, is currently a junior in high school and will continue col-lege classes next year as he works toward his bachelor’s degree.

Both young men began taking college classes at Trini-dad State in Trinidad while at-tending Primero High School. Their father, who was the Principal/Superintendent of Primero at that time, had en-couraged, not only his sons, but other students as well, to begin college while still in high school. Because Colora-do school districts contribute to the tuition costs for these college classes, it can repre-sent a considerable savings.

“Our dad has always sup-ported us in our educational endeavors,” said Jonah Bol-linger. “He’s always pushed us to excel. The concurrent courses they have now are a great opportunity.” Concurrent courses are college classes taken while in high school. Dual credits are earned for both high school and college. Jonah took 18 college credit hours his sophomore year, along with some high school courses and participated in four dif-ferent sports that year. “We’re very competi-tive,” said Jonah. “We play all the sports we can. We want to win in everything. We want the best in everything we do – in sports, in school and in life.”

“They are very hard working young men,” their mom Tammy, said. “Their dad and I are very proud of them. They have brought themselves to this point. All we ask is that they do their best.” With eight children ages five through 19 with Taylor being the oldest, Tammy explained, “It has been a family team effort. Taylor and Jonah are setting a great ex-ample for their younger siblings.”

“We’ve got the drive because we know how important education is, how much it can ex-cel us in our lives,” said Jonah. “Being able to get that education in early is a big plus for us.” The brothers will be taking both chem-istry and biology together when those classes begin in February. In addition to these two courses, Taylor is taking sociology and Com-puter Information Systems. ”I want to become a math and science teacher,” said Taylor, “and move on to administration after that. It seems like a really good job to work with kids and get time off to spend with your family. It seems like a pretty solid job.” To help prepare him-self for this role Taylor took college algebra

and trigonometry his sophomore year in high school and then calculus his junior year. He is waiting for a reply to his application to at-tend college at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho.

Jonah said, “First, I want to graduate col-lege and then finish my high school career. I want to major in business and get my bach-elor’s and then my master’s, but I’m not too sure what I want to do with that yet.”

Both brothers took speech from Trinidad State Instructor Dale Barron who said, “They

both gave great speeches with some interest-ing perspectives. They supported logically what their positions were. I enjoyed having them in class.”

“Jonah is an exceptional young man and student. To be so young in getting his associ-ates degree is fantastic,” said Instructor Lisa Pridemore-Cox. “His quality of work is as good, or better, than any college student that I’ve had.”

Bonnie Ortega, Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Trinidad State, said, “Taylor and Jonah are inspiring examples of what stu-dents can accomplish if they put their minds to it and are willing to work.”

“The reason our sons are having so much success is that they are self-driven,” said Jeff Bollinger who is the new Superintendent at Antonito High school. “This year more An-tonito students are taking college courses than ever before. TSJC is an incredible partner. They are easy to work with. They create a fi-nancial environment that allows local school districts to implement these (concurrent) programs. If you can get high school kids in-volved in college classes, they’re more likely to go to college.” This semester the Trinidad State Valley Campus has about 325 high school students taking concurrent courses. Tradi-tionally juniors and seniors in high school can take concurrent courses, but some school dis-tricts allow sophomores to take them.

To learn more, talk with a high school counselor or call Trinidad State at 1-800-621-TSJC.

For these high school students, college degrees will come first

Photo by Margaret Sanderson / Primero School DistrictTaylor and Jonah Bollinger

Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsThe VFW Post gave awards to students at Holy Trinity Academy Thursday for placing in the Voice of Democracy and Patriots Pen contests. Left to right are, teacher Mrs. Phyllis Massarotti, Jack-son Hillhouse, Liza Ortiz, Cheyenne Fiorino, Chessie Adams, An-gelina Donnelly-Montoya and VFW Post Commander John Rios.

AGUILAR

Students of the Week for Jan. 19-22By Mileene SanchezSpecial to The Chronicle-News

Each week at Aguilar Elementary School, teachers choose a student who ex-hibits the characteristics of the school’s Positive Behavior Incentive Support (PBIS) matrix.

The characteristics are: Respect, Or-der, Attitude, Responsibility and Safety

(ROARS). Students who are chosen may invite

two guests from home to have lunch with them on Thursday and are treated to an ice cream dessert after lunch.

Students are chosen by who has earned the most “High Five Tickets” or “Wildcat Cards” for demonstrating excel-lent behavior.

Congratulations to the Students of the Week!

Photo courtesy of Mileene Sanchez / Aguilar School DistrictTop Row (L-R) Fifth Grade: DeNajah Garcia and Third Grade: Reyna Castellano. Middle Row (L-R) First Grade: Kohlton Ramsey and Second Grade: Aria Broach. Front Row (L-R) Kindergarten: River Ferguson and Preschool: Jalie Bowie.

Page 6 Thursday, February 5, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

Abstract Art Workshop at TSJCOne of Trinidad’s many cultural assets

... Continued from Page 1

Trinidad; our annual Rodeo, professional league baseball games, and our half dozen art and history museums.

They must also block out our junior col-lege that contributes to culture in Trinidad by opening its student doors to community members, inter-weaving traditional aca-demic courses with special programs for community enrichment.

All of this is culture; we have plenty of it, and more to spare.

In this little town known to some as “the best kept secret of Colorado,” culture didn’t just appear on the scene. It germinated and grew through the efforts of special individu-als who, gifted with passion and hard work, created art and theatre and music and all the abundant culture of our town through love of Trinidad and the desire to contribute their talents to its enrichment.

One of these people is Professor Vilas Tonape, whose career as an artist and teacher brought him by a circuitous route from his native India through higher edu-cation in Texas and college level teaching in Idaho, to head up the art department at TSJC in Trinidad. Blessed with seemingly boundless energy, and a wealth of top Inter-national level talent, Vilas has become one of TSJC’s most visible links to the Trinidad arts community.

Recently, Professor Tonape was asked to contribute to culture in Trinidad by creat-ing a special 2-weekend workshop on Ab-stract Art for community members who wanted to learn about it, but could not de-vote the time to a full semester of instruc-

tion. I am one of those who signed up.After last weekend, the first of the two

bracketing this week, I now know the the-ory and development of abstract art. I have seen images of the work of famous abstract painters. I have learned about shapes and their arrangement according to mathemati-cal/spiritual principles and I have made sketches of shapes on scratch paper and arranged them in acrylic paint on panels of mat board. I have been sent home with the homework assignment of creating a “mas-terpiece” in one color on another piece of mat board.

The other six workshop participants and I will take our sketches to new levels of color and complexity on mat board and canvas next weekend, leading to an exhibi-tion of our framed work later this spring at the Corazon Gallery on Main Street in Trinidad. Abstraction will become a word more often used in Trinidad’s cultural vo-cabulary.

We are all looking forward to the next weekend session. The college administra-tion has been very cooperative and encour-aging. Perhaps there will be other 2-week-end workshops in the future to serve the needs of the community.

Trinidad is not the best-kept secret in Colorado. There’s no secret about it. Our not-so-secret asset is the people who have contributed their ideas and energy to make good things happen here.

There’s plenty culture living and grow-ing in Trinidad. Enjoy it and support it. The water from that well is sweet indeed.

COMMUNITY

Looking at worlds of color in completely different ways . . . Clockwise from above, Lora Nava: “I just want to shake up my brain!”

Trish Keck: “I’ve already learned more this morn-ing than I did in four years of college.”

Louise Clapp: “I want to learn more about Abstract Art and how to create it.”

Group photo: Abstract workshop participants (L-R) Lora Nava, Trish Keck, Cheryl Leef, Martha Fitzgerald and Louise Clapp with teacher Vilas Tonape. Not shown: Cynthia Berresse Ploski.

Lunchtime offers opportunity for discussion and social interaction. Vilas Tonape, Martha Fitzgerald and Lora Nava.

Photos by Cynthia Berresse Ploski / The Chronicle-News

Cheryl Leef: “I wanted to learn more about abstract art and art in general.”