Changes A-Comin'
In what's usually a dead time of year, changes are brewing for Valley residents and visitors. The Colorado Dept. of Transportation unveiled its plans for unclogging Alamosa's Main Street. CDOT is buying property, acquiring rights-of-way and negotiating with the railroad and city to create two one-way streets. Main will become one-way going west, and Sixth Street will become one-way going east, with improved access to Sixth angling southeast from Richardson Avenue. Parts of the railroad tracks will be re-routed, and Sixth has already become CDOT property.
CDOT also plans to improve the uneven-jog-in-the-road-with-no-signals mess at First and Victoria, and thus improve flow to west Alamosa. The CDOT people say construction will begin in about a year, with completion and one-way designations slated for early '07.
Antonito Untended
The town of Antonito is cop-less. The town board laid off the four-person force for a year to prevent a budget deficit. Law enforcement is now provided by the State Patrol and the Conejos County Sheriff's Department (a six-person department). The cost of cops makes up over $143,000 of the town's budget of $211,000.
Tempers are high over this maneuver. The county is ticked because it wasn't consulted before the layoff, and says the sheriff's staff can't do it all. Talks are ongoing among town, county and law-enforcement officials.
The town has applied for a grant from the Department of Local Affairs to pay a town marshal for one year. By then the board expects the financial crunch to be over, and the cops rehired. The town has already received a DOLA grant of $40,000 for a town manager.
'Shroom Strike
Pickers staged a work stoppage at Rakhra Mushroom Farm until given a chance to air grievances. Concerns include early-morning (i.e., 2 a.m.) calls into work and stagnant pay levels. Lynn Mortensen, general manager of the farm, met with the workers and promised to try to improve the personnel matters.
Mary (and Isaac) in Chains
Former Conejos County Sheriff Isaac Gallegos and his wife, Mary, a former jail administrator and victims' advocate coordinator, were indicted by a grand jury. The pair is accused of embezzlement, criminal extortion and intimidation of a witness. Among the allegations are charges that the pair forced inmates to build an addition to their house and that they used county funds for personal use.
School Showdown
Angry parents asked three members of the Centennial school board in San Luis to resign, citing low test scores and lower teacher morale. One seat of the board's five is vacant and the school is on accreditation watch by the state.
The three refused, and said they wouldn't ask the superintendent or principal to resign. They blame the woes on state standards and asked the parents to get more involved in their children's education.
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