Patty Lataille

Salida’s Own Riveting Experience

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By Patty LaTaille Okay, granted, there are many riveting experiences found in the mountain town of Salida. Whitewater rafting, mountain biking, climbing a fourteener, to name a few—mostly outside adventure activities. For those who prefer an indoor enthralling experience, scurry your way to downtown Salida proper and release your inner creative energy at the unique …

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O.L.D. (Online Dating)

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By Patty LaTaille Online dating has been described to me as “challenging, exhausting, entertaining, educational, frustrating and fulfilling.” I’ve heard many stories with a variety of different experiences from those putting themselves out there in the internet dating arena. Yes, I did hear the horror stories from those who have been through the emotional wringer …

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The Salida Arts District

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By Patty LaTaille 

 

Those who have lived in Salida any length of time, say from 2002 onward, may have noticed an artistic renaissance slowly transforming the rural mountain town of 5,300 from its origins as a railroad/mining town. Salida has one of the largest historic districts in Colorado, with beautifully renovated buildings – many dating from the Victorian era. Interspersed in and amongst them are nearly 125 artists in residence – showing their work in the local galleries, and on building exteriors.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Patty LaTaille

Political Upset in Center

The voters of Center recalled the mayor and two town trustees in a special election on March 19, while one trustee retains his position after the recall election over efforts to improve the town water system.

Mayor Susan Banning was recalled by a 253-218 vote, and trustees John Faron and Maurice “Mo” Jones were recalled by 252-206 and 243-209 votes, respectively, as noted by Center Town Clerk and Treasurer Christian R. Samora on Wednesday. Trustee Julio Paez, was retained by 10 votes, 235-225.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Patty LaTaille

Solar Damages?

Is Ron Briggs in a position to claim property damages due to Saguache County’s decision to permit California-based SolarReserve to build a concentrated solar power planet directly across from his property north of Center? Saguache County courts are willing to consider his case against the county, and it could be on its way to trial.

Attorney Jessica Muzzio, representing Saguache County, has filed a motion to dismiss, claiming Briggs is not entitled to the $7,500 in damages he is seeking on the basis of the county’s sovereign immunity and his failure to file a complaint in district court within 28 days of the re-zoning decision. The county authorized the SolarReserve 1041 permit on April 3.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Patty LaTaille

Trinchera Ranch – Soon to be an Amazing Legacy

Trinchera Ranch owner and conservationist Louis Bacon announced his intended donation of the 90,000-acre Blanca Ranch conservation easement located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bacon owns the Blanca and Trinchera Ranches located north and east of Fort Garland. According to the Valley Courier, during his announcement, Bacon said, “This action will protect the Blanca Ranch in perpetuity and create a key connection in the large, diverse system of protected lands here along the Sangre de Cristo range and in the San Luis Valley.” He was applauded by SLV residents, in addition to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.

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SLV News

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By Patty LaTaille

Grief and Loss in the Valley

Alamosa High School senior class president Anisa Montoya, 18, would have graduated this month. Serina Sena,14, was an eighth grader at Sangre de Cristo, and Selena Mascarenas, 14, was an eighth grader at Ortega Middle School. All three would be alive today if Gilbert Onesimo Sanchez hadn’t driven drunk and run a red light resulting in the April 28 fatal crash in Pueblo, where the youths and their families had attended a church service that evening.

The three Alamosa teens were killed after Sanchez’s vehicle crashed into theirs at the corner of Northern Avenue and Pueblo Boulevard in Pueblo. The loss of these young people has devastated the Alamosa community.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

“Cancer Gene” Common in SLV

Cancer rates are abnormally high among young men and women in the SLV, and now an explanation is at hand. With recent breakthroughs in science, historical anecdotes and good timing, there may be an answer to the many deaths due to breast and other cancers each year. According to The Denver Post, “Many of the descendants of the devoutly Catholic families who settled this valley hundreds of years ago carry an inherited genetic mutation that is linked to cancer. That gene mutation is found, primarily, among Jewish families.”

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

An Update to the Saguache Solar Saga

SolarReserve, an international alternative energy company, applied for a permit to set up a 200-megawatt solar power-generating facility – consisting of two 100-megawatt, 656-foot tall solar thermal power generating units based on concentrating solar-thermal power technology that uses molten salt. Approximately 4,000 acres of a larger 6,200-acre area of privately owned county land, located north of Center between Saguache County Roads D and G and 53 and 57, are being considered for the location for the facility.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Patty LaTaille

Journalist Allegedly Attacked

A temporary protective order alleging physical and possible sexual assault was filed on a former Saguache County Commissioner and current Center school board candidate after an incident Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the Saguache County Courthouse.

County Planning Commission Chairman and Center School Board candidate Bill McClure allegedly attacked Center Post-Dispatch reporter Teresa Benns in the Land Use Office.

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Restorative Justice

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Supporting Victims of Crime and Lowering Offender Recidivism

By Patty LaTaille

August 10, 2011 was an historic day for Restorative Justice in the state of Colorado. Restorative Justice House Bill 11-1032 went into effect, having been signed by Governor Hickenlooper earlier in July. This law requires that victims of crimes be informed of their right to use restorative processes, allowing for victim-initiated restorative justice only. Restorative Justice involves a fostering of dialogue betwfaction, true accountability by the oeen the offender and the victim, and has shown the highest rates of victim satisffender, and reduced recidivism.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Murderers Nabbed In Alamosa

On May 6, 2011, Jerry Roberts of Arlington County, Texas, was reported missing.

According to The Valley Courier, “Investigators found a bloody chair at Roberts’ home, and his refrigerator and truck were missing.”

On July 4, “a man and his son were out in a rural part of Ellis County, Texas, with metal detectors when they came across a taped up refrigerator. They removed the tape, opened the door and found a body, which has now been identified as Jerry Roberts.”

On June 7, a man driving the missing Roberts’ truck flagged down an Alamosa patrolman and asked for the location of the local parole office.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Census Shows Significant Migration

According to The Denver Post; “Walsenburg and other small traditionally Latino towns in southern Colorado are losing their historic cultural identity. As the older generation dies off and the younger generation moves to cities or resort towns where the jobs are, separations are tearing at close-knit Latino families that can trace their lineage back to Spanish conquistadors.”

Walsenburg has begun to attract retirees drawn by the small-town environment, slow pace, the desert climate and houses that sell for as little as $30,000.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

When No Solar is a Good Thing

Tessera Solar withdrew its bid to construct a 1,525-acre industrial solar power plant in Saguache County. For two years, residents and ranchers have fought the massive installation of 8,000 forty-foot hydrogen-fueled dish Stirling SunCatchers.

According to the Pueblo Chieftain, “Tessera’s original proposal failed to meet state limits for noise and drew sharp criticism from county residents for its effects on neighboring property, wildlife and the environment.”

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Half a Million Grant for Improving Saguache

The Town of Saguache received a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to fund 4th Street renovation and improvements as outlined in the Saguache Downtown Revitalization Project. This work will begin this summer in time for Saguache to host the San Luis Valley Rural Philanthropy Days event on Sept. 14 – 16.

 

Toddler Trauma

Sheila Martinez is recovering from surgery to remove a swallowed screwdriver at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in Alamosa. The little girl, who is nearly two years old, underwent surgery to remove a three and a half inch eyeglass screwdriver. The operation lasted about an hour.

According to The Denver Post, her family says she is doing well but they have no idea how she got her hands on the screwdriver.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Hot and Dry – Beware – It’s Fire Season

Due to the lack of snow on the peaks and no precipitation this winter, the SLV is scary dry. The “Green Fire” north of Alamosa in mid-April was one of the San Luis Valley’s biggest brush fires this season. 50-60 firefighters were at the scene.

In addition to the Alamosa Volunteer Fire Department, firefighters were called in from the Mosca-Hooper, Monte Vista and Costilla County departments. Crews from the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service also assisted with firefighting efforts, and a team from Woodland Park arrived to help fight the fire.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Update on the La Veta Pass Transmission Power Struggle

In the latest round of opposition to the utility companies promoting a new transmission line proposal, an employee of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Engineer and renewable energy expert Richard Mignogna recently testified regarding the Public Service Company’s application to amend its 2007 Colorado Resource Plan to modify/delay solar resource acquisition.

According to the Valley Courier, Mignogna recommended the PUC approve the request to defer acquisition of 250 megawatts concentrating solar power until the 2011 Electric Resource Plan process. He claimed “the San Luis Valley to Calumet to Comanche transmission line will affect solar resource development in the Valley, the solar market has changed, and it might be beneficial to a pursue smaller project, such as 50 megawatts.”

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Show Us the $

Formal notice has been sent to Tessera that its solar project application is suspended until the terms of the escrow agreement with Saguache County are met. The agreement with Tessera includes maintaining a $15,000 escrow account to cover expenses incurred by the county to process the application. To move its application forward, Tessera is required to pay for those expenses and keep a positive balance in the escrow account. The company needs to add to the account, as there are several expenses outstanding.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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By Patty LaTaille

Waste Not …

Lawsuits have been filed against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in regards to the transfer of nuclear waste in onto railroad cars in Antonito, within 100 yards from a tributary to the Rio Grande River.

The Conejos County Clean Water, Inc., and San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, along with Santa Fe-based Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety are requesting a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study.

“A Dream Come True” Airport Expansion

The new runway at the Astronaut Kent Rominger Airport in Del Norte is being celebrated as a lifesaver for patients at the Rio Grande Hospital. The access to airlift and emergency care is a great asset to the Del Norte community.

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News from the San Luis Valley

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by Patty LaTaille

Potential Tragedy Not Quite Averted

The “San Juan Express #216” passenger train westbound from Antonito collided with an Antonito track “tie crew” motor car, injuring two Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad on Aug. 31. The crash occurred at mile post 311. Both men are expected to fully recover. The railroad is continuing to deal with the change to operating out of Chama due to the fire that damaged the Lobato Trestle, a few miles from the depot in late June. Chama passengers are currently being transported by motor coach to Cumbres Station, at the high point of the 64-mile line, for the rest of the trip to Osier or Antonito, both in Colorado.

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Restaraunt Review

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by Patty LaTaille

Grimo’s
6380 U.S. Hwy 285
Poncha Springs, CO (719) 539-2903

Grimo’s restaurant has been a mainstay in Poncha Springs since 1985 – continuing to be family-owned and now operated by Frank Grimo. It’s a delightfully stereotypical “Italiano” sort of place; complete with a red, white and green striped outside awning, red linen tablecloths and napkins, bottles of wicker-wrapped Chianti bottles and sparkling colored Christmas lights. (Think of visiting your Italian grandmother’s house in years past, but without the plastic covers on the furniture.) Good smells, good food – and Italian operas or Frank Sinatra crooning in the background.

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Hasta La Vista, Suckers

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by Patty LaTaille

Time Share Beware.

Okay – so not a timeshare exactly – a “Club Membership” to be precise.

Young, in love, blissful honeymooners, unaware and feeling the buzz from celebratory champagne.

Fresh meat for the El Presidente Intercontinental Club representative sharks.

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Peace of Art Café

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Regional restaurant review by Patty LaTaille

Organic Peddler
14475 W. Hwy. 160
Del Norte, CO 81132
(719) 65-Peace

Healthy eaters and vegetarian travelers can now travel through the San Luis Valley with peace of mind and a culinary destination ahead. There exists an oasis of organic food and drinks in the meat and fried potatoes and road trip fare in an unlikely spot – Del Norte. Look for the mustard yellow building and sign for the Organic Peddler and Peace of Art Café right on Highway 160.

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Seeds of Change – Transition Towns by Patty LaTaille

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Is the Greater Arkansas Valley ready to join forces with a multitude of towns, cities, and counties who have signed on to become leaders in the growing global task force to address peak oil, climate change and economic stability?

Considering the number of concerned citizens who are connecting in Salida, Buena Vista and surrounding areas to adopt the “Transition Model” (www.transitiontowns.org) – all with the intention of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to kick off a “Transition Initiative” – it appears that the local community is ready to commit to change.

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Getting “Home” was the Problem

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by Patty La Taille

Home is a relative term, especially when you marry into the military. My first year of marriage was a rocky one – a spontaneous European elopement as the shadow of Desert Storm – the first war in Iraq – descended on his battalion based in Nuremberg, Germany. Jim and I were married in Vejle, Denmark, on Pearl Harbor Day in 1990, together as man (First Lieutenant) and wife for two weeks, and then he was shipped off to engage the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Persian Gulf. I left Europe to wait out the war back in the States and he fortunately returned six months later. I was 17 pounds lighter and dealing with my own version of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a new (and unfortunately “feeling abandoned”) military wife. We celebrated a quick wedding fiesta in the States with family and friends and off we went to Fort Leonard Wood (FLW), in the backwoods of Missouri.

As a recent college graduate with a degree in Sociology, fresh from a semester abroad and life and travel overseas, I was completely unprepared for the drudgery of life on a military base in “Misery.” Born and raised on Long Island, close to New York City, it was a shock to be cautioned not to take my New York style of dress and attitude – and our new silver Mazda Miata convertible – outside the base. I was warned it was “Deliverance Country” out there. Better to play it safe and stay in our tract home with the AC on, watching Oprah and learning how to be a good homemaker and officer’s wife.

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The East West Grill

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Regional restaurant review by Patty LaTaille

East West Grill
408 4th St.
Alamosa, CO 81101
(719) 589-4600

If you’re the type of person who requires a plethora of menu choices and all types of cuisine – the East West Grill is the place for you. This is a picky person’s paradise, especially if you’re looking for reasonably priced ethnic fare, which is available as fresh salads, wraps, pastas, all-American hamburgers or rice bowls with brown or white rice and Japanese bento boxes.

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Sweet Sadie — the predator

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Article by Patty Lataille

Lifestock – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine

WHEN MY STEPDAUGHTER comes to visit, she brings along her “designer dog” Sadie, a Japanese Chin. This 8-pound black and white yapping excuse for a real dog appears to be scared of her own shadow, never mind the other dogs and the cat as well.

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Barnyard attachments

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Article by Patty Lataille

Agriculture – January 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

CARING FOR FARM ANIMALS in today’s ultra high tech and modernized age can be a refreshingly innocent and unpretentious pastime. Raising baby goats can actually help reduce your profound cynicism of the world’s current state of affairs down to manageable levels.

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It’s time to set aside some space for quiet

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Essay by Patty Lataille

Recreation – July 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

I’M A LITTLE TIRED of being quiet — particularly in regard to my need for silence and tranquility when I’m in the woods. I go to the forest and hike in the mountains when I’m seeking the silence and solace of nature. It calms me. Soothes my jangled nerves. Keeps me sane. It’s why I came to live in Colorado in the first place. New York City/Long Island was just a little too busy. It was too crowded with people and full of non-stop noise. I head for the hills when I need to get away — even from the rural life here in the San Luis Valley. Face it, I didn’t move to a town of 80 people to become a socialite.

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A Colorado doll collection

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Sidebar by Patty Lataille

Fashion – February 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors’ note: The real BarbieTM was introduced by Mattel in 1959. For more than four decades now she’s been loved, cherished, criticized, politicized and analyzed. Over the years, Barbie has become the most iconic fashion figure in America — more familiar than Britney Spears and more timeless than Liz Taylor. The following so-called Barbies, on the other hand, are total counterfeits and rank amateurs and we predict that not a single one of them will still be around in a mere two decades.

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Mountain Barbies

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Essay by Patty Lataille

Fashion – February 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN are back in Wal- Mart. They reappear every year at holiday time and Spring Break here in our small Central Colorado town of Salida. It’s an annual migration of the large SUV and flashy jewelry sort, accompanied by increased traffic and revenue (cha- ching!) in our tourism- based, somewhat economically depressed community.

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Can we talk about wells, or not?

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Article by Patty Lataille

Water – October 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

AT THE AUGUST MEETING of the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District (UAWCD), the towns of Buena Vista, Poncha Springs, Salida and Westcliffe, addressed the Upper Ark board with a plea to open a dialogue regarding future growth area boundaries and water provision.

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The drive-by roostering

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Essay by Patty Lataille

Small-town life – August 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine

MARAUDING ROOSTERS at large. Laying hens. Cock fights at 5 a.m. Chicken sex. Uniformed police officers ready to whack my roosters. I never dreamed that the intricate details of chickenhood would be the source of such controversy in my lifetime.

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