Briefs from the San Luis Valley

Brief by Marcia Darnell

San Luis Valley - July 2004 - Colorado Central Magazine - No. 125 - Page 5

Copyright © 2004 by Marcia Darnell and Central Colorado Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

Snow Suit

The owners of Wolf Creek Ski Area have filed suit in federal court against the Village at Wolf Creek, which has plans to develop the area. The ski area owners accuse the developers of trying to destroy the area with a 2,000-unit village; the developers accuse the ski area of violating a 1999 agreement regarding plans for the village.

History Making

A group of Valley residents is seeking designation for the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. The proposed area includes Alamosa, Conejos and Costilla counties. A national heritage area (like the Cache la Poudre River Corridor) is funded by Congress and could mean more tourists and dollars for the Valley.

Dump Dumping

Illegal trash dumpers are the latest target of Riverkeepers, an environmentalist group in Conejos County. The group is enlisting locals to stop illegal dumping; to clean up their properties; and to help clean makeshift landfills in the county. In addition to action and education, Riverkeepers is lobbying the land use office to institute a fine for illegal dumping. Maybe a $1,000 bill for hurling trash just anywhere will make it stop.

Hooper Heroes

The town of Hooper dedicated a memorial to three of its former mayors, in the town park they helped establish. Lloyd Proberts, Charlene Brown and Lois Walker are remembered in a stone memorial in the park.

$$ Rx

San Luis Valley Medical Clinics (known locally as "the PC") will join the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center ("the hospital"). Reasons for the merger include short finances and the PC's difficulty in luring doctors to the area for the pay offered. Some jobs will be lost in the merger.

Growing Money

The U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture awarded the San Luis Valley $140,000 to boost the economy. The two grants were made to the SLV Development Resources Group and SLV Resource Conservation and Development. The money will help farmers expand their markets, develop biomass energy, thin forests, and other ag-related projects.

Fire Fall

The Rialto Theater in Alamosa, heavily damaged in a fire last winter, may have to be destroyed due to asbestos in the building. The Alamosa Uptown and River Association is trying to save the facade, an important piece of the city's history.

Brief Briefs

• Students from Sierra Grande Elementary School joined the Costilla Conservation District to plant trees to form a living snow fence on La Veta Pass. More of the fences are planned for the future.
• Shelly Swayne of Walden is the new principal of Alamosa High School.
• The city of Alamosa now estimates the cleanup of arsenic in the city's water supply to be $16.5 million, and is asking for government help in paying the tab.
• The Alamosa Police Department is now accredited with the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. Only 31 law enforcement agencies in the state have achieved this designation.
• Controlled burns were performed in the Rio Grande National Forest near Saguache. The Forest Service and BLM are trying to prevent a major forest fire this year. The BLM is also seeking public input regarding trail and road use on its land in the Valley.
• Friends Wilma Flores, 63, and Gwen Walker, 66, earned GEDs this spring from Trinidad State Junior College. Both plan to continue their educations. Meanwhile Alamosa High grad Curtis Garcia is on his way to Yale.
• Plans are under way to restore the historic 1881 church between Monte Vista and Del Norte.
• A district judge has ruled in favor of Monte Vista in its dispute with Ski-Hi Stampede.
• The state wildlife commission decided against a crane hunt in Colorado.