More Solar for the Valley
Xcel Energy has signed a power purchase agreement with SunPower Corp, of San Jose, California for the output of a 50-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant the company plans to build in the San Luis Valley.
Permits, financing and interconnection rights are still needed by SunPower in order to begin the project,.They hope to start construction in 2015 and begin producing electricity by 2016.
Xcel estimates that the plant will generate enough electricity to serve approximately 13,500 average homes. SunPower currently has two other solar power plants in the Valley.
According to estimates provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the completed plant will offset the annual production of almost 127,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is the equivalent of removing approximately 483,000 cars from Colorado’s roads over the next 20 years.
64 Votes Out the Window
64 Conejos County residents were denied their vote when their mailed ballots did not make it back to the Conejos County Clerk’s office prior to the primary election.
“We have a system in place, but if it’s not working right, you shouldn’t penalize people their vote,” said frustrated Clerk and Recorder Lawrence Gallegos.
ASU Sees Four Retirees
Four Adams State University professors retired at the end of this spring semester.
Leaving the university are: Margery Herrington, professor of biology; Christine Keitges, professor of music; David Mazel, professor of English; and Teri McCartney, professor of counselor education.
Ex-Deputy Pleads Not Guilty
Former Alamosa County sheriff’s deputy Dale Michael Jordan, 34, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual misconduct with an Alamosa County Detention Center inmate back in May. He entered his plea on June 17. His next court hearing is scheduled for July 22.
Three-County Crime Spree
A 34-year-old man was arrested after a three-county crime spree on June 12. It began when Jerry Sisneros took a woman hostage at an Alamosa drug and alcohol treatment center. After puncturing her neck with a fork, he took her car keys and fled in her vehicle. Colorado State Patrol troopers spotted the car and initiated a pursuit of Sisneros, but after reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph, they broke off the chase in Rio Grande County for reasons of safety.
Using the vehicle’s OnStar system, authorities located him in Saguache County, where he had allegedly broken into a house and stolen property. A second pursuit then began, with law enforcement employing spike strips on Saguache County Road B just west of U.S. 285 to stop the car.
Sisneros was booked into the Alamosa County jail on 12 charges, and his bail was set at $100,000.
Carnival Worker Dies
A carnival employee from Arizona was pronounced dead at the Alamosa Recreation Center fields after being crushed by a carnival trailer.
Sean Rasmussen, 41, worked for the Great Northern Carnival Co., which was setting up carnival rides for an event. Authorities determined the death was an industrial accident and are not pursuing a criminal investigation.
Oldest Community to Sell Pot
The San Luis Town Board has officially allowed retail marijuana sales in Colorado’s oldest incorporated community.
Cola on the Highway
U.S. 285 20 miles south of Saguache was awash in soda pop on June 25 after a semi truck spun and rolled over, spilling its contents.
The driver, Azem Rizvanovic, 51, from Surprise, Arizona, was treated for minor injuries at San Luis Valley Health and cited for careless driving. The highway was closed for about 4.5 hours for cleanup of the fizzy mess.
