Following is the board’s agenda:

Call to order.
Minutes:
• April 1, 2008 — regular board meeting.
• April 18, 2008 — emergency board meeting.
• April 24, 2008 — special board meeting.
• May 1, 2008 — special board meeting.

Chief of staff report:
• Information — Dr. Bricca.
Financial…
• Treasurer to present March 2008 Financial report — Action, Bob Goodman.
• CFO’s report — Action, Ken Johansen.
Administrative:
• Acting CEO report — Information, Linda Mozer.
1. Board to make a policy for the charges that was billed prior to contracts.
2. Patient statistics.
3. Cafeteria.
• EMS report — Information, Dave Bronson.
Standing committees:
• EMS Committee — Information, Kitzel Farrah.
• Fund-raising Committee — Information, Michelle Vizel.
• Grant Committee — Information, Bob Goodman.
• Professional Affairs Committee — Information, James Knoll.
• Strategic Planning Committee — Information, J.R. Ford.
New business:
• Catholic Church request for easement.
• Oath of office — Jim Pruitt, James Knoll, Malcolm Rodger.
Public comments.
Executive Session 24-6-402(4)C.R.S. (6).
Adjourn.

The commission will consider the following agenda:
Call to order.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Moment of silence.
Recess the regular BoCC meeting and call to order the Liquor Board hearing.
A. Approval of a new application for a Hotel and Restaurant License for Chimney Rock Restaurant & Tavern, Inc. dba Chimney Rock Restaurant & Tavern, Louise W. Jagger, owner, located at 18710 U.S. 160 West — Claudia Smith.
Close Liquor Board hearing and open the Board of Adjustments hearing.
A. Requests the Board to review and consider a variance for the set back requirements for Lakeview Storage owner Dennis Cavanaugh located at 400 County Road 982, Lot 8X, Block 1, Piedra Park Subdivision 1 — Cindy Schultz.
Close the Board of Adjustments and open the Board of Equalization hearing
A. Approval of Petition for Abatement for 2007 Taxes for Parcel Number 589528400053 owned by Theodore Wozny — Keren Prior.
Close the Board of Equalization and call to order a public hearing on CDBG funds for Regional Business Loan.
A. Requests the Board to hold this Public Hearing for public comments regarding the application for CDBG funds for the Regional Business Loan for Region 9 Economic Development District OF Southwest Colorado — Ed Morlan.
B. Approval of the application for CDBG funds for the Regional Business Loan for Region 9 Economic Development District OF Southwest Colorado and to sign the relevant documents, Intergovernmental Agreement and the contract — Ed Morlan.
Close public hearing and reconvene regular BoCC meeting.
Consent agenda:
A. Approval of a Renewal of a Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License for Three Rivers LLC dba Boss Hogg’s Restaurant & Saloon, Mandy M. Kuhlman member, located at 157 Navajo Trail Drive.
B. Approval of the contract with Aviation Systems Maintenance, Inc. for the maintenance of the Automated Weather Observation Systems for the year of 2008 in the amount of $4,980 for the year to be paid quarterly — Greg Schulte.
Payroll and payable warrants:
C. April 14, 2008-April 18, 2008 (payroll only).
D. April 21, 2008-April 25, 2008
E. April 28, 2008-May 2, 2008
Regular meeting minutes:
F. April 1, 2008
G. April 15, 2008
Special meeting minutes:
H. April 29, 2008.
Reports:
A. March expenditures report from the Finance Department — Don Warn.
B. Year-end statistical report from the Clerk and Recorders Department — June Madrid.
C. Report on the Archuleta County Planning Commission work sessions — Ron Chacey.
D. Report from the Financial Taskforce.
New Business:
A. Requests the Board to review and consider approving the payment to Wall, Smith, Bateman and Associates for the 2006 Audit — Don Warn.
B. Requests the Board to review and consider approving the contract with Staples to provide office supplies to the County for 2008 — Don Warn.
C Requests the Board to review and consider approving Resolution 2008___ adopting the revised 2008 County Fee Schedule with amendments to fees for Development Services — Don Warn/Cindy Schultz.
D. Requests the Board to review and consider approving the final plat for the Hermosa Vista Minor Subdivision for Township 35N, Range 1W, Section 32 U.S. 84 — Cindy Schultz.
E. Requests the Board to review and consider approving Resolution 2008___ setting up Vote Centers for the November Election — June Madrid.
F. Requests the Board to review and consider ratifying the Planning Commission’s Resolution 2008___adopting the Regional Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Master Plan — Karin Kohake.
G. Requests the Board to review and consider making an exception to the Personnel Policy Manual with the hiring of the Accounting Clerk II position for the Finance Dept. regarding “the employment of relatives” — Mitzi Bowman.
H. Requests the Board to make a motion withdrawing the appointment of Al Bledsoe to the Airport Advisory Commission due to the residency requirement — Greg Schulte.
I. Requests the Board to review and consider approving Resolution 2008___ removing the residency requirement, as stated in Resolution 2006-08 and Resolution 2005-10, amending the membership and qualifications for the Archuleta County Airport Advisory Commission.
J. Requests the Board to review and consider making a new appointment to the Archuleta County Airport Advisory Commission — Greg Schulte.
Old business.
Media questions.

Public comments from the podium.
• Please wait until you are recognized by the chair.
• Step up top the microphone, state your name and address for the record.
• Keep comment to three minutes.
This is an opportunity during the session for the public to address the Commissioners on a subject not covered during public comment on an agenda item (the Board is not required to discuss your comment or make a decision regarding your comment, under this section).
Adjournment.
Next regular BoCC meeting will be at 1:30 p.m., May 20.

The burn unit is 2,200 acres in size and is located between Davis Creek on the east, First Fork and Piedra River to the south, and Coldwater Creek on the west. Snows upslope in wetter forest types will border the burn area to the north. The location is roughly 18 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs. Observers will probably not notice what could be considerable smoke until the burn is well underway, due to the remote location of the activity.

The commission will consider the following agenda:

Call to order.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Moment of silence.

Recess the regular BoCC meeting and call to order the Liquor Board hearing.

A. Approval of a new application for a Hotel and Restaurant License for Chimney Rock Restaurant & Tavern, Inc. dba Chimney Rock Restaurant & Tavern, Louise W. Jagger, owner, located at 18710 U.S. 160 West — Claudia Smith.

Close Liquor Board hearing and open the Board of Adjustments hearing.

The agenda is as follows:

Call to order.

Approval of meeting minutes — April 1, 17 and 21.

Liquor licenses:

1. Liquor license renewal — La Tazza Espresso Bar and Café.

Photo courtesy Bob Eggleston
Watch out, world — the Pagosa Imaginators 3 took Colorado by storm, and are ready for the rest of the globe. The team displays their award after winning the state DestiNation Imagination competition Saturday. The Imaginators will compete in the global competition later this month. In front, from left, are Dean Hampton, Brandan Thomas, Gabby Pajak, Brooke Hampton, Kitman Gill, Garek Erskine and Isaiah Thompson. In back are parent managers Julia Hampton and Linda Gill.

The Pagosa Imaginators 3, a seventh- and eighth-grade Destination ImagiNation (DI) team from Pagosa Springs Junior High School, beat out teams from across Colorado at the state DI competition April 26 in Littleton to win first place and land a spot in the global competition later this month.

“They are just so, so first place,” said Sally High, DI coordinator. “They rocked that competition.”

County administrative staff provided a first-quarter financial report Monday, and the analysis indicates a horizon dotted with a handful of seemingly surmountable financial glitches, coupled with a plan to rectify negative fund balance problems that have dogged the ledgers for more than a year.

According to Archuleta County Administrator Greg Schulte, revenues and expenditures are generally in line with projections and the county has the financial wherewithal to deal with the funding issues currently on the radar.

Though just shy of four months in business, Pagosa Mountain Hospital is again without a chief executive officer.

Tuesday morning, Upper San Juan Health Service District (USJHSD) board chair Neal Townsend informed The SUN that hospital CEO Daniel Boatman resigned his post Monday, amid what Boatman himself has described as difficult personal problems.

SUN photo/Sarah O. Smith
Trustees of the Charles J. Hughes Foundation present Superintendent Mark DeVoti with a very large check in the very large amount of $250,000. The grant from the local foundation will be used towards the new Pirate Achievement Center, a program at the high school that will focus on serving the needs of struggling students. The program will open in August. From left are foundation trustee Terry Alley, foundation president Diana Talbot, DeVoti and trustee Ralph Hamilton.

The Charles J. Hughes foundation recently awarded its largest grant to date — $250,000 to the Pagosa Springs High School, to aid in the construction of the new Pirate Achievement Center (PAC).

According to material provided by school counselor Mark Thompson, the PAC is a new program designed to help local students who “are having marginal or no success in the traditional high school setting.” The PAC will use non-traditional teaching methods such as job shadowing and social-emotional training, and include a more flexible curriculum. The program will also place a strong emphasis on outdoor education.

The agenda is as follows:

Call to order.

Delegations:

• Chamber of Commerce, downtown aesthetics and farmer’s market — Mary Jo Coulehan.

New business:

• Discussion regarding an interim town manager position.

• Discussion regarding filling town manager position.

Adjournment.

The burn unit is 2,200 acres in size and is located between Davis Creek on the east, First Fork and Piedra River to the south, and Coldwater Creek on the west. Snows up slope in wetter forest types will border the burn area to the north. The location is roughly 18 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs.

For public safety, closures to trails, river boating and areas will occur during and after the burn period. Notice of when the actual burn will take place could be very short.

The Piedra River Trail (No. 596) and the area it accesses will be closed to entry between the trailhead at First Fork and the junction with the Sand Creek Trail. (See map). The temporary closure will begin on the day of the burn and may continue for two weeks or more.

The Piedra River will be closed to any boating during the actual burning operations which will last two to five days. Signs will be posted at the Upper Piedra Trailhead and boat put-in.

The First Fork Road (No. 622) is currently closed due to the condition of the road. If the road opens before the closure period, boaters may launch at the end of First Fork Road to run the lower section of the Piedra River, even while the burn is being conducted.

Call the Pagosa Public Lands office of the San Juan Public Lands at 264-2268 to receive updates on the status of the Piedra burn and entry closures. A recording regarding the status of the burn and associated closures will be available at that number after hours and on weekends.

Photo courtesy Dale Morris
Pagosa Springs High School presents its 2008 spring musical, “The Wiz,” adapted from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” by L. Frank Baum, 7 p.m. tonight in the high school auditorium. There will also be 7 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday.

The meeting will take place in the commissioners’ meeting room in the county courthouse. The agenda is as follows:

Call to order.

Recess the regular meeting and call to order the Liquor Board hearing.

A. Approval of a transfer of a Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License for Chavolo’s Bar & Grille to be located at 120 County Rd. 600 (formerly P.J.’s Saloon), owner Edgar Salvador Ortiz — Claudia Smith.

B. Approval of a temporary permit for Chavolo’s Bar & Grille to be located at 120 County Rd. 600, owner Edgar Salvador Ortiz — Claudia Smith.

Close the Liquor Board hearing and reconvene the regular meeting of the BoCC.

• New business:

A. Requests the board to review and consider accepting the Court Security Grant from the Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office in the amount of $46,525 for the purpose of funding one full-time officer to perform court security related duties through Dec. 31, 2008 — Karin Kohake.

B. Requests the board to review and consider adding one Full Time Equivalent position through Dec. 31, 2008, to the Sheriff’s Department budget for 2008 in the amount of $46,525, for a Court Security Officer to be funded by the Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office Grant — Mitzi Bowman/Karin Kohake.

C. Requests the board to review and consider removing the residency requirement, as stated in Resolution 2006-08, amending the membership and qualifications for the Archuleta County Airport Advisory Commission — Greg Schulte.

Adjournment.

The next regular meeting of the BoCC will be at 1:30 p.m., May 6.

Ten students from Pagosa Springs will be among this year’s graduating class: Travis Laverty, geology; Wendy Anderson, accounting; Jeremy Buikema, business administration; Tiffany DeBoer, student constructed major-international studies; Brandie Herrera, art; Hannah Lloyd, business administration-international business; William Moomaw, psychology; Tyson Peterson, business administration-engineering management; Danya Peterzen, business administration; and Randi Pierce, English- communications.

SUN photo/Terri House
Three newly-elected members of the Pagosa Springs Town Council take their oaths of office prior to a council meeting Thursday, April 17. From left are Jerry Jackson, Shari Pierce and Stan Holt. Each was elected as an at-large member of the council and each will serve a four-year term.

After 13 years with the Town of Pagosa Springs, Town Manager Mark Garcia resigned following an executive session of the town council April 21.

Area law enforcement agencies joined forces April 17 to apprehend a suspect authorities say may be linked to five vehicle thefts, including three stolen from the La Plata Electric Association offices in Pagosa Springs.

The effort to recall Archuleta County Sheriff Pete Gonzalez has entered week two; however, details that might substantiate the recall committee’s allegations of sheriff’s department misconduct and civil rights violations remain elusive, at best.

SUN photo/Terri House
The Week of the Young Child ended Saturday at the annual Kids Fair at the Pagosa Springs Elementary School. Besides the fair, the week that began April 14 included a variety of events to celebrate the youngest members of the community and to honor the families, teachers and others who help children make the most of the opportunities during their early years.

The town will credit $25 toward the annually-renewed license required of all businesses operating within town limits, if an application is received by April 30. If a business is located in town or an individual or organization is doing business within town boundaries, the annual license must be obtained.

Applications may be picked up at Town Hall or downloaded from the town Web site www.townofpagosasprings.com

Contact town officials with any questions at 264-4151, Ext. 225.

The executive session was held with the announced topic of a manager’s evaluation by the council — a personnel matter which Colorado law allows to be considered in the closed-session format.

Pagosa Springs Mayor Ross Aragon said his only comment on the matter at this point is that “Mark’s resignation was accepted by the town council and it was unanimous.”

Garcia had been in the town employ for 13 1/2 years. He was appointed as town manager in April 2003.

Aragon said the town will advertise the manager position with the Colorado Municipal League. He indicated that the town will handle the interim period either in-house or with a so-called “range rider” — a seasoned government manager who works to provide government entities with stability and continuity while a search and hiring process takes place.

The board will immediately enter into executive session for the purposes of discussion of personnel matters and matters subject to negotiation and acquisition of property pursuant to Sections 24-6-402(4)(f), 24-6-402(4)(a), and 24-6-402(4)(e), C.R.S.

The proposed agenda is:

1. Call to order.

2. Executive session (pursuant to C.R.S. Sections as described.

3. Any other business brought before the board will be duly considered.

4. Adjourn to work session.

• Discussion of technical, managerial, and financial assistance report.

• Discussion of capital projects.

• Discussion of fees.

Following is the agenda:

Call to order

New business:

• Whittington Memorandum discussion (possible executive session).

• Education Center discussion.

• Economic Development Intern.

• Manager’s evaluation.

Adjournment.

The board’s agenda is:

Call to order.

Certificate of alteration review.

A. 424 Pagosa St. — awning replacement.

Project Review — poster contest review.

Discussion items.

A. Historic Preservation Week Walking Tour.

Reports and comments.

A. Historic Preservation board and/or staff.

Adjournment.

Because the district is only funded for half-day kindergarten by the state, one full-day session will be funded on a tuition basis. There are 30 slots available due to funding received from a Colorado Preschool/Kindergarten Program (CPKP) grant.

Photo courtesy David Cammack
A group of rafters took on the box canyons of the Piedra River recently, in an effort to be the first to make the trip this season. The 22 miles required five portages around downed timber. The group also portaged the broken bridge described in The SUN recently. The raft was drug over rocks until they reached the tributary of the Sand Creek three miles down stream. The rafters were cold, but successfully reached U.S. 160 in nine hours.

Nearly one year ago, a dark financial juggernaut bore down and did its nasty work on Archuleta County. By summer, 38 employees had lost jobs, $1.7 million in road projects had been postponed and county administration made deep cuts to a variety of departments, programs and services.

In explaining the cause of the crisis, Archuleta County Commissioner Bob Moomaw said during Tuesday’s board meeting, “In hindsight, there was an equal problem between the finance and treasurer’s offices.”

Though an attempt to recall Archuleta County Sheriff Pete Gonzalez is underway, the effort appears heavy on accusations but lean on specifics.

Recall committee members Galen Erin, Mike Thomas and Homer (Mack) Trout have all declined to provide detailed comments to SUN staff — including documentation to support their claims — and have opted instead to issue a press release after The SUN’s press deadline Wednesday.

The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors met in regular session Tuesday, as a capacity crowd gathered to ask questions about the proposed Dry Gulch Reservoir and related impact fees.

By meeting’s end, few members of the public seemed satisfied with the answers they’d received.

SUN photo/Terri House
With warmer temperatures, the color is returning to Pagosa Country. Snow is rapidly disappearing at lower elevations, rivers are running fast, wildflowers are blooming, grass is beginning to grow and some trees are beginning to bud. It seems spring is here.

Up to four interns will be selected from Archuleta and La Plata counties, and each will receive an hourly wage.

“We’ve found that students in our area don’t realize the full range of career opportunities that are available at an electric cooperative,” said Linda Looman, the LPEA human resources director who is overseeing the program. “Over the course of the summer, we plan to introduce our interns to possible future career opportunities.”

The LPEA internship program will run from June 9 through Aug. 1, incorporating a four-day work week for the students. During their internship, students will rotate through the various LPEA departments, work with LPEA mentors and be provided with hands-on learning opportunities.

“They won’t be sitting in a corner,” assured Looman. “The program will be flexible, and as the program progresses and we determine their skills and interests, we will nurture those in the students, perhaps focusing in specific areas as appropriate.”

The LPEA program will also be tailored to a student’s summer schedule — for example, a planned family vacation or athletic training. The intent is, according to Looman, to make it a win-win for students and the cooperative.

Applications are available on the LPEA Web site, www.lpea.coop, and questions can be directed to Looman at 382-3572. Deadline for application is May 1.

The next HCP Pediatric Neurology Clinic with Dr. Tom Reiley will take place in Pagosa Springs today, and in Durango on Friday. For information, call 247-5702, Ext. 1529.

There will be a HCP Rehab Clinic with Dr. Dennis Matthews of Children’s Hospital for children who need rehabilitative services on Friday, April 25, in Durango. HCP is the Healthcare Program for Children with Special Needs. Call Eileen for more details at 247-5702, Ext. 208.

The college is located at 33057 U.S. 160, between Mancos and Cortez

College representatives from Pueblo Community College and Fort Lewis College will also be on hand to provide information on educational pathways that lead to employment opportunities.

For more information, contact SJBTC at (970) 565-8457.