By Gena Akers
Less Water for Irrigation
Farmers have less water to irrigate with this year. While Colorado has a head start on delivering water under the Rio Grande Compact to New Mexico and Texas, the irrigation ditches are low. Both the Rio Grande and Conejos stream-flow forecasts are below average, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.
New Ice Rink Planned in Alamosa
The City of Alamosa has agreed to support plans to build a new ice rink. City council has authorized $100,000 in funding, with an additional $400,000 in financing support. The location has not been determined yet, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.
The proposed ice rink would replace Alamosa’s existing outdoor ice rink. Rather than rely on the erratic nature of winter, the indoor ice rink would be open from November through March.
Illegal Dump Site Still Under Investigation
The Colorado Attorney General’s office is investigating the city of Alamosa, Alamosa County and one other entity regarding a potential illegal dump site, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office has requested information regarding demolition, debris removal and landfill use in Alamosa County from 2012 to 2015.
ASU Welcomes New President
Adams State University welcomes Beverlee McClure, the university’s first woman president in the school’s 94-year history. McClure previously served as the head of the Association of Commerce and Industry in New Mexico and as New Mexico’s first cabinet secretary for higher education. She will take over as president on July 1.
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ASU Hosts Conference, Discussing LGBTQ Inclusion
In early April, Adams State University hosted the ACE (Advocating, Celebrating, Educating) Conference. The theme was “Equity in Sports and Other Arenas,” focusing on topics such as “Safe Zone Training,” “LGBTQ Inclusion in Athletics: Successes and Ongoing Challenges,” and “It’s about Teamwork: Creating LGBTQ Inclusive Climates on Sports Teams.”
Valley Native Receives Teaching Award
Maria Magallanes, Antonito native and graduate of Adams State University, recently received the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award in Alexandria, Virginia where she teaches reading at Cora Kelly School for Science and Technology. Magallanes is one of 17 teachers in her family.
Child Poverty Rates Still High
While overall child poverty rates are down for the first time since 2008, rural rates remain high. Saguache, Alamosa and Costilla Counties, all in the San Luis Valley, are still considered persistently poor, with at least 20 percent of the overall population living in poverty during the last 20 years. Saguache County has the highest rate of child poverty in the state, at 43 percent.
Shorts
• Trinidad State Junior College turned 90 years old.
• Adams State University student athlete Tabor Stevens ran a 4:01.20 mile, breaking the previous Colorado record by three seconds.
• The San Luis Valley Rural Philanthropy Days hosted a Regional Listening Tour. The listening tour created an opportunity for Front Range-based funders to hear the needs of each of the Valley’s six counties in preparation for Rural Philanthropy Days, scheduled for September.
• A fire blazed in La Jara on April 15, displacing nine families from an apartment complex. Ten fire departments came together, using more than one million gallons of water to extinguish the fire.
