Santa Fe Trail Day returns to ‘normal’ in 2022
The long tradition of Santa Fe Trail Day will once again look like the celebration Bent County residents have come to expect, as the COVID-19 pandemic had limited the numcer of events in recent years.
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Read MoreSanta Fe Trail Day returns to ‘normal’ in 2022
Celebration at Las Animas schools
Las Animas Elementary School first and third grade students enjoyed a pizza party to celebrate earning the most PRIDE points during the month of March. (Photo by Susan Waaring) Las Animas Junior / Senior High School students learned the benefits of healthy eating and learned how to make a bacth od SUsan Waring’s salsa recipe.
An in depth look at the Ark. Valley conduit
Thousands of people in the Lower Arkansas Valley who’ve struggled to deal with contaminated water for more than 20 years will have access to clean water by 2024 under a new agreement signed by the federal government and two Colorado water agencies last week.
Otero celebrates National Agriculture Day
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the Nation celebrated the agriculture industry with National Ag Day. The Otero Agriculture Department and Ag Club postponed the celebration due to the weather conditions. The celebration has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
‘Best concert of the season’ held Sunday at Otero
Who would have thought a concert featuring local artists playing mostly classical music would have been the most entertaining concert of the season so far? Probably the musicians who put the show together were hoping so: James Lind, who heads up the Otero College music department; Dean Rees, who conducts the Otero College Student-Citizen Choir; Sally Kappel, accompanist to that choir and countless other musical events; Mary Belew, veteran of 40 years of teaching and public school programs, and Mark Hensley, part-time professional pianist and full-time epidemiologist who lives in Seattle, Washington but grew up in La Junta. Sally Kappel and Dean Rees are also veterans of many years of teaching music in the public schools of La Junta and Rocky Ford.
La Junta cancels school due to shooting threat
East Otero School District R-1 canceled school district-wide on Monday, March 28, due to a possible shooting threat. Superintendent Rick Lovato made a statement on social media and affirmed that the school worked with the police to “investigate the situation.” After the situation was resolved, Lovato said, “We are safe to go back to school…To resume a normal day.”
Russian-Ukrainian conflict hits close to home
Grain, feed and fuel prices are soaring, live cattle prices are under pressure, and cost inflation is being felt by all Americans following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “I am convinced it is going to be the biggest supply shock to global grain markets in my lifetime,” said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois.
Colorado introduces burros as solution to wolf attacks
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is turning to a new ally in its efforts to help a Jackson County rancher protect his livestock from wolf depredation — wild burros. Recently, CPW wildlife officers delivered six wild burros (two gelded jacks and four jennies) to rancher Don Gittleson in Walden in an attempt to decrease wolf depredations on his property.
Environmental advances touted during Ag Week
Remote controlled cows, variable rate fertilizer and weather alerts to reduce nitrogen deposits in Rocky Mountain National Park were some of the environmental advances highlighted by members of the Colorado Ag Council as the large and diverse group spent three days at the state capital promoting Ag Week.
Arts Festival on display at Otero College
Students all over the Arkansas Valley and beyond picked their best artistic creations to enter in the 66th Annual Otero Arts Festival at the Mc- Divitt Gym on the Otero College Campus March 29 through March 3l. They brought their art to the display on Friday afternoon, March 25. The literary works have been judged separately and will be on dislplay.