Las Animas Elementary School Spelling Bee winners include, from left, Serah Dean, first; Tanaya Ethridge, third; and Rylie Ortiz, alternate. Not pictured is Gunner Sharp, second. The next step is to determine a district spelling champion, who will then go on to compete in the State Spelling Bee. (Courtesy photo)
The Las Animas Elementary School third grade class were presented with Scholastic dictionaries from the La Junta Rotary Club. Kris Sarlo-Koehler, Area 7 Assistant Governor in the Rotary Club made the presentation. (Courtesy photo)
Las Animas Elementary School sent the Arkansas Valley swim team off in style last Thursday with an assortment of sign and a lot of friendly cheers. The swimmers competed in the Class 3A State Championships over the weekend. (Courtesy photo)
LAJH HECTOR of the Month Jr High HECTOR – Las Animas Junir High School students selected as HECTOR of the Month recipeints are, from left, Jesus Lopez Beltran, Joey Hernandez Pina, and Serenity Baca. (Courtesy photo)
Haizel Rain Owen-Diaz was born January 26, 2022 to parents, Alex Diaz and Kylee Renee Owen of Lamar, Co. Haizel was born at 9:39 a.m.
SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, Ecuador – “Work it. Work it.” • On a black volcanic rock formation in a remote part of the Galapagos Islands, a pair of resplendent blue-footed boobies need little coaxing from a fellow traveler who wants the marine birds to remain perched while we photograph them. • The boobies are more than happy to oblige. Like runway models, they’re not bashful about posing while our small group clicks away. • With few natural predators, there aren’t many places on Earth where the wildlife is as unafraid – and even welcoming – of human visitors than the Galapagos. The result is an unparalleled chance for nature lovers to see up close everything from 5-foot-long iguanas to pink flamingos to tortoises more than 100 years old. • If Charles Darwin were alive today, he would find this archipelago of tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean – 600 miles west of mainland South America – little changed from his historic journey here nearly 200 years ago. • It was the English naturalist’s exposure to the rich diversity of wildlife in the Galapagos that led to his revolutionary theory of natural selection. Today, visitors can experience the same access to birds, animals and marine life that Darwin documented during his five-week visit in 1835 on the HMS Beagle.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In the past two years, due to day-to-day changes brought on by the pandemic, many adventurers have found more time and freedom to cross off their outdoor bucket list.