United Way in Archuleta County: Helping children and youth succeed

One of the impact areas United Way in Archuleta County is to help programs helping children and youth succeed. They accomplish this through initiatives that support healthy, strong and nurturing families; positive adult-teen relationships and mentoring; opportunities for activities that promote academic, physical and emotional growth and development; child care and early education; prevention of substance abuse, violence and other at-risk behaviors in teens; out-of-school programs for school-aged youth. The following describes some of the programs that United Way in Archuleta County will help fund with money raised during this year’s campaign.

Big Brothers Big Sisters
The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program matches caring, open-minded, responsible and enthusiastic mentors one-to-one or two-to-one with a child in need of a caring and safe role model. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is a simple, yet powerfully effective way to offer Archuleta County’s at-risk youth a safe path to adulthood. A match specialist who lives in Pagosa Springs oversees the matches. Big Brothers/Big Sisters served from 17 to 22 families in Archuleta County during each of the past three years

Approved mentors make a commitment to meet with their “Littles” a few hours each week to see a movie, play sports, or just talk. Often the Little Brother/Sister is simply folded into the mentor’s normal activities, such as washing the car, going for a walk, running errands, or fixing dinner. Eventually, a trusting friendship develops that benefits both the Big Brother/Sister and the Little Brother/Sister.

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program serves youth between 6 and 17 years old who have one or more of the following risk factors present in their lives: the child comes from a single parent family; there is a history of violence in the home or economic deprivation; the child exhibits poor school performance or self esteem; there is alcohol or drug use by parents or other adults in the child’s life; or the child lacks adequate positive role modeling.

Studies show that illicit drug use by adolescents can be traced to several of the above-mentioned risk factors. Studies also show that adolescent drug use and delinquency are inextricably linked. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention writes, “Substance abuse and delinquency often share the common factors of school and family problems, negative peer groups, lack of neighborhood social control, and a history of physical or sexual abuse.”

According to the Colorado Children’s Campaign “2005 Kids Count” report, rates of child poverty, births to single women, and child abuse and neglect are all significantly higher in Archuleta County than in the state overall. The 2003 rate of child poverty in Archuleta County was 17.2%, exceeding the state rate of 11.8%. The rate of Archuleta County births to single women was 29.6%, again higher than the state average of 26.7%. Child abuse and neglect rates in Archuleta (11%) are far above the 9% state average. Many children in Archuleta County continue to live in conditions of rural poverty, abuse and neglect.

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters Core Program is a simple yet powerfully effective way to offer Archuleta County’s at-risk youth a safe path to adulthood. The national Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentoring model was examined for effectiveness in a 1995 national study. The study found that youth mentored in Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs were 46% less likely to initiate drug use than similar non-mentored youth, 27% less likely to initiate alcohol use than similar non-mentored youth, and almost one-third less likely than similar non-mentored youth to hit someone. Mentored youth also earned higher grades, skipped fewer classes and fewer days of school, and felt more competent about doing their schoolwork than did similar non-mentored youth. What’s more, the quality of the Little Brothers’ and Little Sisters’ relationships with their parents or guardians and their peers was better at the end of the study period than it was for non-mentored youth.

The Education Center
The mission of The Education Center is to foster responsible citizenship through education. Few in this community fully grasp the breadth of educational offerings provided through their programs. Following is an attempt to provide and overview.
At the time of incorporating in 1989, the primary program emphasis was adult literacy and basic skills. To meet other needs of the community, program goals quickly expanded to include GED training, adult vocational skills training, and continuing education. Class focus ranges from computer classes to first aid/CPR classes to foreign language classes. ESL classes for new immigrants or guest workers have continually grown over the years. Early on, The Education Center became partners with Pueblo Community College (PCC) to provide the administration and coordination of PCC classes offered locally and began providing Internet access and support for other post-secondary distance learning opportunities.

In 1997 The Education Center targeted positive youth development as a major, new program focus. Through a partnership between The Education Center and Archuleta County School District, a variety of alternative and after-school programs targeting youth issues were developed and have been continually offered for the past ten years. The over-arching goal has been to keep youth in school until they graduate. These programs include extensive after-school tutoring and enrichment programs in all grade levels. They include an alternative high school/dropout recovery program. Teens are hired for after-school job skills training and apprenticeships with local businesses. Thirty-seven different local businesses and professionals mentored teens last year in on-the-job training positions. Junior high and high school students are hired every year to work as after-school tutors in the elementary, middle and junior high schools. Last year this program provided more than 12,000 adult and teen tutoring contact hours. The Education Center’s payroll for each year of the past decade has been nearly 100 or more employees; of these fully sixty percent were teens paid for after-school job-shadowing experiences or after-school tutoring assignments.

United Way in Archuleta County is committed to assist The Education Center meet the financial need of offering extended learning time through cross-age tutoring programs and summer camps. In the elementary school the program recruits, trains and supervised teen tutors for cross-age tutoring. These teens provide after-school reading, tutoring and homework help paired with an elementary school student. In the junior high school the Education Center’s “drop in” homework center provides adult teachers and high school tutors for homework assistance and tutoring.

United Way in Archuleta County hopes to raise $70,000 through donations during its current campaign. Part of this has been pledged to the above programs targeting youth and children. For more information about United Way in Archuleta County, call Stacia Kemp at 759-9676. Donations may be sent to United Way of Southwest Colorado, P.O. Box 4274, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

Water conservancy district board deals with budget

The San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) Board of Directors met in regular session, Tuesday. With the date advanced one week from that originally scheduled, and just six of 10 board members present, three principal items dominated the agenda.

The first was a public hearing regarding the district’s proposed 2008 budget. Though the general public failed to show, district staff presented a balanced rendering, projecting total revenues and expenses at $388,495 each.

In order to balance the revenue side with that of expenses, the budget showed a $117,395 transfer from the Reserve Fund to the General Fund. With another $4,008 set aside for an Emergency Reserve, the total unrestricted Reserve Fund balance stood at a modest $55,909.

Under expenses, the Dry Gulch Reservoir project could set the district back an estimated $268,565 in 2008, while administrative expenses, including the overall cost of a new full-time staff person, may run $70,000. Combined, all other expenses will likely total just under $50,000.

As in 2007, grant funding will doubtless account for most of the district‘s income next year, as mill levy tax revenues should provide the next larger share. In sum, the budget showed grants equaling $137,500, including $100,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the balance coming from the Southwestern Water Conservation District. Mill levy receipts, meanwhile, are expected to reach $92,000.

Of course, preliminary budgets are subject to change, as capital expenditures most often depend on actual revenues. For instance, according to board director Carrie Weiss, if anticipated grant revenues fail to fully fund by whatever amount, or mill levy proceeds fall short of expectations, the district will have to reduce spending by an equal amount. As a result, progress on projects such as Dry Gulch could suffer.

Conversely, if revenues exceed projected totals, the amount transferred from the Reserve Fund to the General Fund will be reduced and spending can move forward as planned.

Following the public budget hearing, district board members recognized representatives of the Lower Blanco Property Owners Association (LBPOA) and their request for continued financial assistance with an ongoing river restoration project.

Association president Rich Fiorucci and vice president Dave McDonough addressed the board in reference to a letter dated Oct. 17, in which the association reminded the district of its July 2006 commitment to provide $20,000 toward the cost of restoring 1.5 miles of the Rio Blanco south of town.

The district money would compliment funds already secured through the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Southwestern Water Conservation District, the LBPOA and Archuleta County, all of which would match a $90,000 grant promised by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (of the U.S. Department of Agriculture).

By 2004, two previous restoration phases had been completed at a total cost of $346,000, with 3.25 miles of streambed and banks restored, dramatically improving water quality and sustaining fish populations. This third phase will cost an estimated $190,000. Once finished, roughly four more miles will see improvements before the entire project is considered complete.

In light of the modest reserve funds reflected in the proposed 2008 SJWCD budget, the LBPOA funding request triggered fervent discussion among district board members. Director Fred Ebeling suggested holding off a couple of years, but directors Mark Garcia and Karen Wessels argued that doing so would prevent the LBPOA from obtaining the NRCS grant, thus effectively derailing the project.

Eventually, attendant board members voted to fund the LBPOA request, paving the way for continued Rio Blanco restoration, once spring runoff has passed.

Of course, the move facilitated an immediate revision of the proposed district budget, thereby increasing the Reserve Fund transfer (to the General Fund) and raising an Expenses line item for “Lower Blanco Restoration” from zero to $20,000. In the process, the Reserve Fund fell to just $35,909.

As board discussion turned to recent Dry Gulch developments, president Fred Schmidt briefly mentioned a recent Colorado Supreme Court finding reversing a lower court decision which earlier granted conditional water rights to the district and Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District for the construction and filling of the proposed reservoir. Schmidt described the judgement as “a minor setback” and expressed confidence that Dry Gulch would ultimately become reality.

Meanwhile, director Weiss explained that the district had recently closed an $8.6 million “bridge loan” with Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, LLC. That money, and a lagging $1 million grant still expected from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, will pay for the purchase of 666 acres needed to accommodate the reservoir.

In September, the district completed an Intergovernmental Agreement with PAWSD, allowing PAWSD to seek another loan from the CWCB in the amount of $22,372,000. That money would be used to pay off the bridge loan, purchase all private lands necessary to build the reservoir, and attain a land swap with the U.S. Forest Service for additional Dry Gulch property.

But at Tuesday’s meeting, Weiss explained that the loan amount had recently been reduced to $12,339,500 (with a 10 percent match), which will now be used to pay off the bridge loan and purchase other private properties without regard to Forest Service lands.

With that, the district board voted to adjourn in anticipation of a Nov. 26 joint meeting with PAWSD.

Community seeks to hold date-rape drug criminals accountable

The Violence Prevention Coalition of Southwest Colorado (VPC), in partnership with local law enforcement, is actively searching out perpetrators of sexual abuse using “date rape drugs.”

The coalition has agreed that they will continue this campaign until the perpetrators are found and held accountable for their crimes.

In the past six to eight weeks the counties of Archuleta and La Plata have experienced an increased rate of reports of sexual assault involving the use “date rape drugs.” Some common drugs used to facilitate sexual assault include alcohol, Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine (Special K or K), Rohypnol (Roofies). Often these drugs are slipped into victims’ drinks without their knowledge in order to incapacitate and sexually assault them when they are unable to give their consent.

“Since the beginning of September, we’ve had at least five cases reported to us that have the characteristics of date rape drug — unexplained memory loss, distorted perceptions, the loss of coordination. In a community of this size, that’s enough of a pattern to say that something is going on,” said Dawn Haney, executive director for Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) of Durango.

The Archuleta County Victim Assistance Program (ACVAP) has received at least one report of drug-facilitated sexual assault in that same time period, according to executive director Carmen Hubbs.

“We’ve had enough reports that we believe that someone, or several persons are in our community administering these drugs,” said Sergeant Rita Warfield who oversees the Investigations Bureau for the Durango Police Department.

Stacy Kellogg, Crisis Services and Development Director for Alternative Horizons in Durango told of a date rape drug awareness campaign she remembers from when she was attending college at CU Boulder. “The CU Rape and Gender Education Program volunteers were handing out these coasters with a printed message to potential victims to ‘watch their drinks.’”

For Kellogg, this message was missing the point — or more specifically, missing the perpetrators. “We should be focusing on those that are perpetrating rape, not at the victims or survivors. We should be telling the rapists that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. Focusing on victims perpetuates victim-blaming and it takes responsibility off of the perpetrators that are causing the violence.” Kellogg said.

So, to anyone who imagines that administering date rape drugs, including alcohol alone, is anything like a good idea, the VPC warned: our communities are aware that you are out there, and we are making it our goal to find you and hold you accountable.

“The sheriff’s department is actively investigating these reports. We have investigators in the bars trying to identify suspects. And in fact, we already have a sketch and information about one suspect,” Warfield said.

Prison time for drug-facilitated sexual assault can be very lengthy. “As investigators we’ll rack up every single charge we can get from sexual assault, to possession of illegal substances, to kidnapping charges. We investigate prior cases that they might not have been charged with yet. We take it very seriously,” Warfield said.

Perpetrators and the community alike should understand the following:

• Giving drugs to someone without their knowledge and consent is a crime
• Having sex with a person who is unable to give their consent for any reason — including the fact that they are inebriated from alcohol — is a crime.
• Drug-facilitated sexual assault is punishable under at least several separate felony statutes. These include, but are not limited to: inducing consumption of controlled substances by fraudulent means; unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, sale or possession of a controlled substance; second degree kidnapping. Sexual assault in which alcohol has impaired a victim’s ability to make free and clear choices is also punishable under a number of charges.

The single-most common drug involved in sexual assault is alcohol.

“Women are also being sexually assaulted when they are intoxicated from alcohol or other drugs that they have voluntarily consumed. This occurs when the offender knowingly engages in sexual acts with a person (almost always a woman) who is so affected by alcohol and other drugs that she is incapable of freely agreeing to sexual activity,” wrote Alexandra Neame in the 2003 report “Beyond Drink Spiking: Drug and Alcohol Facilitated Sexual Assault.”

This is no less true in southwest Colorado. “The number-one date rape drug here is alcohol,” said Haney. “We have absolutely convicted rapists who have used alcohol as their date rape drug. Absolutely.”

Sadly, sexual assault, especially drug-facilitated rape, is a very underreported crime. In the United States, “nearly 3 million women have been victims of drug-facilitated rape in their lifetime. During the past one year alone, 200,000 women have experienced drug-facilitated rape, and about 300,000 have experienced incapacitated rape,” according to a report entitled “Drug-facilitated, Incapacitated, and Forcible Rape: A National Study, February 1, 2007,” prepared by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

“One of the more striking findings of this study was that only 16% of all rapes were reported to law enforcement. Notably, victims of drug-facilitated or incapacitated rape were somewhat less likely to report to the authorities than victims of forcible rape,” the MUSC report stated.

Although service organizations in our counties have received a certain number of calls regarding sexual abuse, the reality is that the numbers are probably much higher than anyone knows.

The VPC and local law enforcement agencies encourage victims of drug-facilitated sexual abuse to report these crimes either to the police or to a confidential advocacy organization like Sexual Assault Services Organization in Durango 247-5400 or the Archuleta County Victim Assistance Program in Pagosa Springs 264-9075.

They ask all members of the community to be aware that sexual assault, and drug-facilitated sexual assault is happening in this community, and to be involved in ending these crimes.

Perpetrators, the VPC wants you to know that they will not rest until your sort of crime is eradicated from this community and until you have been served justice for what you have done.

• The United States has the world’s highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics — four times higher than Germany, 13 times higher than England, and 20 times higher than Japan. (NWS, “Rape in America: A Report to the Nation,” 1992)

Anna Lauer is the education coordinator for the Archuleta County Victim Assistance Program and the Violence Prevention Coalition of Southwest Colorado.

LEAP offers home heating assistance

As they prepare to face another cold winter, help is available for Archuleta County residents struggling to pay their heating bills via the Colorado Department of Human Services Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP).

LEAP provides cash assistance to help families and individuals pay winter home heating costs. The program pays the highest benefits to those with the highest heating bills and lowest incomes, by family size. Applicant income cannot exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty index, which equals a maximum gross monthly income of $3,184 for a household of four people. The anticipated average LEAP benefit for 2007-2008 is approximately $316 per household.

According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, in 2006-2007 approximately 93,000 Colorado households receive LEAP payment assistance giving them much-needed warmth. In Archuleta County, approximately 300 people received assistance last year.

To qualify for LEAP, applicants must be responsible for paying heating costs either to a utility company or to a landlord as part of rent. Applicants must also be permanent legal residents of the United States and Colorado or have household members that are U.S. citizens.

Recent Colorado legislation now requires LEAP applicants to provide a copy of valid identification and a completed affidavit indicating that they are lawfully present in the United States with their program applications. Currently, the following valid forms of identification are accepted.

• A Colorado Driver’s License or Colorado Identification card; or,
• a United States military card or military dependent’s card; or,
• a United States Merchant Mariner card; or,
• a Native American Tribal document; or,
• an appropriate INS documentation.

As defined by the Colorado Department of Revenue, other forms of identification may be required as well. For more information of lawful presence requirements, contact the DOR of visit the Web site located at www.revenue.state.co.us/main/home.asp.

LEAP applications are accepted from Nov. 1 to April 30 each year. Potential program applications can apply several ways:

• Call 1-866-432-8435 to have an application mailed to your home.
• LEAP applications are available at 551 Hot Springs Blvd.
• LEAP applications can also be downloaded from the program’s Web site at www.cdhs.state.co.us/leap/apply.htm. Applicants may then fax, mail or deliver a completed application to 551 Hot Springs Blvd.

For more information about LEAP, call 1-866-432-8435) or visit www.cdhs.state.co.us/leap/index.htm to view the most current program application requirements.

Last week to drop off winter coats

The Pagosa Springs Rotary Club is getting ready for its annual Operation Winter Coat collection and distribution drive.  

Now is the perfect time for you to help. As you go through your closets preparing yourself for the upcoming winter, put aside all those winter items (coats, gloves, scarves and boots, etc.) you no longer need and bring them to one of our convenient drop-off locations: Pagosa Springs Community Center, Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, Sears, Jem Jewelers, Seeds of Learning, Head Start, Our Savior Lutheran, Movie Gallery, Pagosa Lakes Recreation Center, Buck Stops Here, or the elementary, intermediate, junior high and high schools.

 Pagosa Springs Rotary Club would like to extend an invitation for everyone to participate in this worthwhile community share project. Your contribution will help share the warmth with local Pagosa families.

The distribution will be held at the Extension Building at the fairgrounds on Friday, Nov. 16, from 3 to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Karen Gray, 946-0033, or Carol Reill, 903-7612.

Bucks for Bikes — help make dreams come true

Remember your very first bike?

You can probably still recall what color it was, the brand, when and where you got it, and taking those first wobbly rides.

For some children in Archuleta County, having a new bike is nothing more than a distant dream. Now, you can help their dreams come true.

Each year, the Pagosa Springs Area Association of REALTORS® teams up with Operation Helping Hand and the Pagosa Springs SUN to sponsor “Bucks for Bikes.” This program donates money and facilitates activities aimed at purchasing new bikes for less fortunate members of our community. Last year, the community contributed enough money to purchase 43 new bikes for children between the ages of 5 and 16.

Fulfilling children’s dreams takes a high degree of strong volunteer work, coming from numerous directions. Once money is raised, names of children must be collected, bikes must be purchased and assembled, and the bikes must be delivered or stored to be picked up by the kids. All three groups mentioned above fulfill portions of these special needs. Bikes are purchased locally. This year, ALCO has graciously offered to supply the bikes at a discount. However, more than anything else, “Bucks for Bikes” needs donations to help these dreams come true in Archuleta County.

The “Bucks for Bikes” goal this year is to raise at least $3,000. If each person gave a minimum donation of just $10, this goal could easily be reached. Then, “Bucks for Bikes” could provide the bikes and trikes to those eager-eyed kids whose families would not be able to afford them otherwise.

Businesses and individuals alike are invited to contribute. Donations can be mailed to the attention of Juli Morelock, “Bucks for Bikes,” C/O Galles Properties, P.O. Box 4867, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147, or to Barb Walton, “Bucks for Bikes,” C/O Jim Smith Realty, P.O. Box 1680, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

Donations can also be dropped off at the Galles Properties office downtown next to the Liberty Theatre, at the Midtown Jim Smith Realty office located next to Ponderosa Do It Best Hardware on Eagle Drive, or to the Pagosa Springs Area Association of REALTORS® office located at 190 Talisman Drive. Checks should be made payable to “Bucks for Bikes,” and please remember that your entire donation is tax deductible. All donations need to go to “Bucks for Bikes” no later than Nov. 16, 2007.

For more information, call Barb Walton at (970) 903-9546 or Julie Morelock at (970) 946-2137.

Donations needed for Operation Helping Hand holiday food baskets

As you make plans to gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, don’t forget those in our community who may be less fortunate than you are. Assisting a family with a Thanksgiving meal is simple and rewarding.

Since 1989, Operation Helping Hand has made helping people at the holidays a priority. We turn our attention to those in the community who are in need of basics such as food and clothing.

For Thanksgiving, Operation Helping Hand works to provide a food basket that includes all of the ingredients for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

You can help by donating food to our program. Food buckets are at both Pagosa Springs City Market locations. Just drop off nonperishable food items you would like to donate. Suggested food items are those that your own family might eat at a traditional Thanksgiving meal: dressing, canned vegetables, cake mixes, frosting, stuffing or canned fruit.

Items for Thanksgiving food box distribution should be donated by Monday, Nov. 12. Food received after that date will be held for Christmas food boxes.

You can also help by purchasing a City Market gift certificate and bringing it to The Pagosa Springs SUN, or mailing it to Operation Helping Hand, P.O. Box 1083, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. These certificates will be used to purchase turkeys and other perishable items to complete the food boxes.

Monetary donations can be made to Operation Helping Hand and deposited to account no. 6240417424 at Wells Fargo Bank or account No. 20014379 at Bank of the San Juans. Donations may also be mailed to Operation Helping Hand, P.O. Box 1083, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

Questions about Operation Helping Hand may be directed to the message line, 731-3735. A volunteer will return your call.

Operation Helping Hand works to unite civic organizations, church groups and individuals to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure as many holiday season needs and wishes as possible can be accommodated.

Requesting assistance

Archuleta County residents who need assistance with Thanksgiving or Christmas meals may sign up for the program by picking up an application at the receptionist’s desk at the Department of Human Services in Town Hall. Forms should be completed and returned to the same place.

The deadline for requesting ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal is today, Nov. 8.
To request assistance for Christmas, forms must be returned by Dec. 6.

The program primarily assists families with children, and senior citizens.

CSP reminds motorist to ‘Move Over’

We have all seen an officer on a routine traffic stop.

It might be a state trooper, a sheriff’s deputy, or city police officer. Sometimes, it is on a busy Interstate; sometimes it’s a quiet country road.

The important thing to remember is to give that officer plenty of room to do their job safely.

There is a law in Colorado called the “Move Over Law,” which states: “When a driver on a roadway with two or more lanes in the same direction is approaching an area where an emergency vehicle, operating its emergency lighting is stationary on the side of the roadway, the driver must safely move to the left lane. If traffic, road, or weather conditions do not allow a driver to move over to the left lane, the driver must slow to a safe speed while moving through the area.”

The emergency vehicle can be driven by a law enforcement officer; it can be an ambulance or fire truck that has its lights operating.

Thirty-two states have “Move Over Laws.” So far in 2007, five law enforcement officers in the United States have died as a result of being struck by a vehicle.

Please also remember our friends who work on highway construction projects. Slow down for them, too, and make it a safer place for everyone on our roadways.

Don’t forget to report aggressive drivers by dialing *CSP (*277) from your cell phone.

County planning commission will meet Wednesday, Nov. 14

The Archuleta County Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Board of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, in the Archuleta County Courthouse. Public comment is welcome and encouraged.

The agenda includes:
• Call to order/roll call.
• New Business

Gladfelter Plat Amendment

Subject: Presentation for review and approval of a plat amendment in a portion of Piedra Park Subdivision.

Summary: The applicants propose a lot line adjustment of 4 existing lots thereby consolidating 2 lots into 1 and creating a new boundary line between the resulting 2 lots.

Location: The project is located at 271 Easy Drive, Arboles, Colorado; also known as Lots 1, 10 and 11, Block 2, Piedra Park Subdivision 10A and Lot 7, Block 3 Piedra Park Subdivision 10.

Owners: M. Lee and Sandy Gladfelter.

Staff Planner: Cindy Schultz.

• Review and approval of minutes for Oct. 10, 2007.
• Old business.
• Letter to BoCC, discussion.
• Other business that may come before the planning commission.
• Tools for Public Benefit, discussion.
• Nuisance ordinance, discussion.
• Adjournment.

A vision of history: the Harman Museum Park project

History is revived! A late 1800s town may soon come to life in Pagosa Springs at the Harman Museum Park

With the art museum, a performing arts complex and an Old West Village including a variety of period buildings, the proposed park will aid in preserving America’s Western ranching heritage and the history of Archuleta County.

The site is located on Harman Park Drive, just south of the intersection with U.S. 160 at Piedra Road.

The project comes in response to requests from community members and others for Fred Harman III to recreate Pagosa Springs’ older days.

“You step off the curb and step back into time 100 years,” said Bruce Andersen, Old West Village Historic Museum project manager. “The concept is a work in progress. It seems like a natural fit.”

The concept involves cultural diversity education. The proposed expansion will highlight tribal cultures such as those of the Southern Ute, Jicarilla Apache, and Mountain Ute tribes, which have long histories in Pagosa Country.

“Three cultures came together during those days — Spanish, American Indian and Anglo,” said Andersen. “All three cultures had to learn how to get along and Pagosa evolved as a multi-cultural community.

Harman seeks to recreate this history, and his family has been a part of that history for a very long time.

Fred Harman Sr. had a homestead in the area in the 1890s. Fred Harman Jr. began his cartoon career in 1934 with the creation of Bronco Peeler and became a nationally syndicated cartoonist in 1938 with the creation of Red Ryder.

Fred Harman III formed the Fred Harman Art Museum Corporation in 1979 and opened the current museum in 1983.

The expanded park concept includes: five buildings now on site, including the store and Harman cabin; several other buildings to be relocated to the site ; a living town with a school, store, blacksmith shop, church, saloon, livestock facilities and a town square; emphasis on the relationships of the Spanish, American Indian and Anglo cultures in the late 19th century; and creation of a Native American ceremonial display and heritage education center. Several new buildings have been secured through pledges for use on the property, such as the original Fort Lewis Officers’ Quarters and the Bayles School.

The center will include a kiva used for religious ceremonies and other purposes, and a dance plaza.

Harman built a small stage at the site in the 1980s, where performances and outside dinners have taken place over the years. “We had a songwriter. It was all local talent at that time,” he said. If the park becomes a reality, a new, small and intimate dinner theatre facility with 80 to 130 seats might have a retractable roof to deal with varying weather conditions .

Harman plans to continue the Western legacy in a relationship with the Town of Pagosa Springs (the site is within town boundaries) and through the use of grant funds.

Tourism-related capital improvement funds to help with the project’s drainage construction are available, said Pagosa Springs town manager Mark Garcia. Project proponents will need to go before the town Tourism Committee to obtain funding.

Project officials are working with a grant organization that matches foundation donors with funding needs. Once a grant is obtained, the tentative site plan can move forward.

“The total is somewhere around ten to twelve million dollars,” said Andersen.

The initial effort requires a $5 million budget and does not include the dinner theater or dance plaza.

The initial project has a three-year phased plan:

Year 1 — Complete conceptual design and sketch plan, initiate site work, design development, preliminary and final town approvals, complete site and educational exhibit work and advertising.

Year 2 — Construction documents; bidding and negotiating contracts; construction involving the kiva and service buildings, restoration of eight historic buildings, drive/parking/curb/gutter construction; and educational exhibit work and advertising.

Year 3 — Construction complete by end of the year including: entrance/souvenir shop/ offices along with restoration of remaining five historic buildings, landscaping, and educational displays.

Although only a vision at this time, the ability to relive Pagosa Country history may soon be a reality at a new Harman Museum Park.

Aztec Ruins to honor nation’s veterans

Aztec Ruins National Monument, and all National Park Service sites across the country, will offer free visitor admission Sunday, Nov. 11, honoring all U.S. military veterans, current members of the U.S. armed forces, and their families.

The National Park Service offers and protects the great cultural and natural heritage of the country for this and future generations. Come and contemplate the history and mystery of this ancient place, along an 800-yard, self-guided trail. Rangers and dedicated volunteers will answer your questions.

A book outlet operated by Western National Park Association in the visitor center offers books, posters, postcards, videos, CDs and other items for sale. All profits are returned to the National Park Service to help support educational programs and research.

Monument hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through the holidays. The site will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1.

For information, phone (505) 334-6174, Ext 30. TDD users can phone the same number, and allow ample time for a response.

Workshop to address ag and mining injury and illness issues

Agriculture and mining are consistently the two most dangerous occupations in the United States over the past 25 years.

In Colorado, six out of 100 farmers and ranchers are likely to have work-related injuries this year. Historically in Colorado, the leading external causes of death have been suicide, animal incidents and tractor rollovers.

A variety of factors put Colorado’s farmers and ranchers at high risk of injury. Livestock are a major cause of injuries on farms and ranches. Injuries that result from animals tend to be more serious than other farm accidents. Also, exposure to pesticides and the associated depression, anxiety and inability to concentrate are postulated to be related to increased risk of agriculture-related injury.

A workshop dealing with these issues will be held at noon Nov. 13 at Mercy Regional Medical Center, 1010 Three Springs Blvd, Room A-B, with Wendy Rice, (970) 247-4355.

Contact the Archuleta County Extension Office at 264-5931 for information or a brochure with registration information.