News from the San Luis Valley

Alamosa Agencies Look to Revitalize Historic Building Alamosa agencies are looking to revitalize the old Rio Grande Motorway for regular and special events, such as the Alamosa Farmers Market and Alamosa Live Music Association concerts. Other revitalization ideas include installing a catering kitchen, and banquet facility amenities that could hold up to 800 people. Building …

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Regional News Roundup

Police Close Case on Western Student’s Death An investigation into the death of a Western State Colorado University wrestler, Dammion Heard, whose body was found hanging in a tree east of Gunnison on April 2, has officially been closed. After conducting 45 interviews and receiving 187 pages of investigative reports, Gunnison police have determined that …

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Q & A with Geologist Vince Matthews

Dr. Vince Matthews is principal of Leadville Geology LLC, and recently was interim executive director of the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. He retired as state geologist and director of the Colorado Geological Survey at the beginning of 2013. Vince received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Geology from the University of Georgia and …

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From the Editor– Back to Normal

by Mike Rosso As another election season comes to an end, many Coloradans are likely breathing a sigh of relief. I’m a registered Independent and non-TV watcher, so have been spared the nonstop robocalls and the wall-to-wall commercials that have dominated the airwaves in our “swing state.” As a media entity, we’ve also been mostly …

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About the Cover Artist – Sherrie York

Thirty-something years ago I took a printmaking survey course that allowed students to study two of three techniques: relief, intaglio and silkscreen. I chose to learn intaglio and silkscreen because “Everyone knows how to do relief prints. They’re like rubber stamps, right?” I loved etching, but without access to an intaglio press my printmaking practice …

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A Season Through the Classroom of Time

By Hal Walter

Summer is short at this altitude, and the beautiful autumn is even shorter. Blink and it is gone. The snow on the high peaks is just a reminder that the opportunity to get into the high country is running out at high speed, and winter is slinking down the mountain like a phantom.

This is a tale of two Thursdays.

There was a teacher’s planning day on the calendar, which meant no school. As the parent of a child with autism, these long days can be a source of anxiety and strain. For starters, there goes your workday. A full day of solo caring for someone with autism can also be an exhausting experience of trying to schedule constructive activities and redirect undesirable, repetitive or annoying behaviors.

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The Natural World – WIld Turkeys

By Tina Mitchell

Okay, I’ll show my age. Anyone else remember the 1980s situation comedy WKRP in Cincinnati? One episode highlighted an ill-fated Thanksgiving advertising campaign featuring domesticated turkeys dropped from a helicopter flying over the city – and plummeting straight to the ground. Covering the event on the ground, reporter Les Nessman wailed, “Oh, the humanity!” If only they had known just a bit about domesticated turkeys, especially in contrast to their wild cousins …

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Wendell Forbes Hutchinson, Sept. 25, 1924 – Sept. 20, 2014

By Betty Plotz

Salida area rancher, veterinarian, historian and pioneer Wendell “Doc Hutch” Hutchinson died on Sept. 20, 2014, just five days short of his 90th birthday.

His great-grandfather, Joseph Sykes Hutchinson, came to Colorado in 1866 after being wounded during the Battle of Vicksburg during the Civil War. Joseph began as a prospector near Granite but eventually became involved in the cattle trade. In 1868, he and his new wife, Annabelle, bought a homestead about three miles east of South Arkansas. By the 1870s, the Hutchinson ranching operation had grown to include 5,000 head of cattle that ranged over meadows in the San Luis Valley, Marshall Pass, South Park, Leadville and Westcliffe.

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