New National Guard Base Planned
ALAMOSA- A new Colorado Army National Guard readiness center and base is in the works for Alamosa.
The facility will house the new Delta Company, 1st of the 157th Infantry Battalion and will also serve as a temporary armory and recruiting station.
SLV Briefs by Marcia Darnell
Job Hazard
Journalism is not without its risks, even in a small town. Lloyd Engen, sportswriter for the Valley Courier, was seriously injured while covering a football game in Mosca. Three players accidentally hit Engen on the sidelines during a play, leaving him with several broken bones, including a shattered pelvis and three cracked vertebrae.
Enviro News
Would-be developers of the Village at Wolf Creek want to swap wetlands for forest. Red McCombs has proposed a scaled-back development with less visibility, more cooperation with the ski area, and access to the development that wouldn’t impede traffic on U.S. 160. The swap would involve ceding some eco-sensitive wetlands in exchange for Rio Grande National Forest land near Wolf Creek Ski Area. Environmental groups, which have stalled the Village thus far, are reviewing the altered plans.
The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area was dedicated with fanfare, hoopla, and the appearance of both Salazar brothers. The legislative act designates the Valley’s three wildlife refuges, Mount Blanca, and Alamosa, Costilla and Conejos counties as culturally and recreationally significant. Federal funding for heritage projects will now be in the works.
The Independent Log Company, based north of Alamosa, was one of just 17 businesses nationwide to get grant money from the Department of Agriculture. The project hopes to develop uses for woody biomass harvested from hazardous fuel reduction on national forests.
Brief Briefs
• The Great Sand Dunes will be on a quarter. The U.S. Mint plans to issue a series of coins celebrating national sites, and the Dunes, the only site chosen in Colorado, will debut in 2014.
• The defunct Rialto Theater on Alamosa’s Main Street will be reincarnated as an Italian restaurant. Kent and Sandra Holtcamp plan to name their enterprise Bistro Rialto.
• The Early Iron Festival celebrated its 29th year in Alamosa with a record 403 classic cars on display.
• The hulking Monte Villa Inn in Monte Vista closed. Greyhound bus line ended service to the Valley. And the health and dental clinic in San Luis closed, due to the poor state of its building.
• Alamosa finally has a noise ordinance. No car horns except as a danger signal, no revving engines or peeling out, no unreasonable noise. Residents are reportedly grateful – and sleeping better.
• No more gunslinging in the court. That’s the new rule imposed by Chief District judge John Kuenhold. With few exceptions, court officers will be disarmed in court.
• Alamosa’s Blue Peaks Developmental Services was designated a local historic landmark.
• Ground was broken for a new junior-senior high school in Sargent.
• The San Luis Valley Museum has acquired part of the art collection of Lynn Weldon. The late ASC instructor traveled extensively, buying pottery, basketry, carvings and scrimshaw from around the world.
• Alamosa voters will decide the issue of a new pool/aquatic center this November. And popular city councillor April Gonzales announced she will not seek a second term, citing frustration with government operation.
• El Rancho Salazar, the family farm of Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, was named a Colorado Centennial Farm, having been operated by the family for 100 years.
• The price of a planned new elementary school in Alamosa just went up: the district will have to pay for a new stoplight, estimated at $700,000. Also the school district has appealed its loss of the discrimination lawsuit by Candy Wilson.
• The El Pomar Foundation handed out emergency grants, including $60,000 to Valley non-profits.
• A new transmission line has been proposed to run over La Veta Pass into the Valley. Public comment has run the gamut from extremely positive to very negative.
• Adams State College awarded a posthumous diploma to Wilma Davis, who died at 58 just before completing her degree.
