The Las Animas High School 2022-23 FFA Officer Team was installed at their end of year banquet on Thursday. Pictired from left to right are, President Nikki Smith, Vice President Luis Carrillo, Secretary Grace Gardner, Treasure Logan England, Reporter Cora Frausto, and Sentinal Brander Nichols. SUSAN WARING
Andy Flemer will become Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center (AVRMC) Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2022, as Lynn Crowell retires on June 30, 2022, after serving as CEO of the hospital for 24 years.
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. That’s the motto for Otero College’s Student and Community Choir as they prepare an upcoming concert entitled “Broadway Lights: Songs 2000-present.” A previous incarnation of the choir was preparing some of the same music when rehearsals stopped midway through the semester in March of 2020. Covid-19 affected so many things, including arts organizations across the country and world.
There are about to be 84 “flowers” blooming in the six county region known as the southeastern plains. These “flowers” are housing units—17 single-family units and 34 duplexes--designed and built by High Prairie Homes. A southeast plains housing committee selected them in a competitive process to make a dent in the workforce housing crisis in the six-county region that includes Bent, Kiowa, Crowley, Otero, Prowers, and Baca.
The Otero College Nursing Program is proud to announce the graduation of 37 nursing students from the Traditional Program. The last two years have been full of ups and downs, but the students and faculty have persevered, preparing students who are reliable and ready for the workforce.
Dayton Morlan was was named the 2022-23 Mr. Trojan at the Las Animas High School Athletic Awards Banquet last week. The award is selected by Las Animas High School head coaches who nominate an upcoming senior athlete with leadership qualities that have met the following criteria; participation in at least three sports over the last two years and maintains a 3.0 GPA. SUSAN WARING
La Nina springs tend to be windier then normal across the High Plains, but the current La Nina spring is extreme even by those standards, with dust storms, highway closures and frequent wildfires all attesting to how destructive this year’s wind has been.
During Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on Saturday, May 7, many communities across Colorado took steps to reduce their risk of fire. Colorado is home to 186 official “Firewise USA” sites, places where neighbors are working together to reduce their risk of wildfires.
Arkansas Valley Hospice Inc. is a vitally important organization for the community. Although it is difficult to envision a loved one needing end-of-life care, it’s important not to wait to discuss when services may be required. AVH says, “We believe that the best time to learn about hospice is before someone is in a medical crisis.” People may envision hospice as just one thing, but they provide much more to family members of a terminally ill loved one. They said, “Arkansas Valley Hospice is so much more than death… It is about providing dignity, compassion, and kindness to each person.” AVH provides individual and group support to the Arkansas Valley communities, Palliative care services that work closely with your primary physician, companion care, and more.
The world is watching and wondering about this year’s wheat harvest — both in Colorado and abroad. The combination of expanding drought conditions and steep input prices in the United States and the continued impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has the markets — and farmers on both sides of the world — on edge. A collection of resources from policy-makers and analysts offers insights into the economic impacts of current geopolitics.