The month of February doesn’t just bring out the groundhog to predict when winter will end; it also brings out feelings of love.
There are plenty of things we love that have crossed our paths and desks at the newspaper office this week.
We love how Pagosa Springs High School’s swim team members have qualified for state. These young women have worked hard for this opportunity to represent our community at the next level of competition.
We love that coach Wes Lewis has netted 300 wins in his coaching career with Archuleta School District. There are numerous athletes that have benefitted from Lewis’ skill and expertise.
We love attending our local basketball games and encourage you to join us and enjoy the games on Saturday. The girls play at 4 p.m. and the boys play at 5:30 against Montezuma-Cortez.
We love seeing the support given to Build Pagosa from our local public entities. This group has big goals and its commitment to our local youth is commendable.
We love seeing the county acknowledge the road and bridge crew at this week’s meeting. Seeing them receive recognition for keeping our roads open during winter storms and throughout the year was perfect. Too often, we do not see the faces of those who do the thankless work in our community.
We love having another book sale coming up at the Ruby Sisson Memorial Library on Saturday. The Friends of the Library will host a Cabin Fever Book Sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which gives you enough time to make the sale before you head out to the basketball game, which will be held just down the street.
We love that the students participating in Our Savior Lutheran School’s Drama Club will be presenting an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” in the school’s gymnasium on Friday, Feb. 10, at 6:30 p.m. The performance is free to the public, with donations to support the program welcome.
We love that Rise Above Violence is focusing on uplifting healthy relationships during February’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
We love our local Stargazers for focusing on our skies and hosting sky viewing opportunities for all of us.
We love the Senior Center providing meals and activities for our locals, including a new group that will be holding a series of “senior conversations” beginning this month. Bill Salmansohn will lead a mindfulness exercise and discussion of various topics pertaining to aging in Archuleta County.
We love Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies keeping us apprised of all things bird-related, including the popular Bird of the Week in the newspaper.
We love the community award winners featured on the front page of this week’s paper. There are so many citizens deserving of recognition for their giving and unselfish ways.
We love it when community members get involved. Our friends and neighbors are what makes this town operate. Our boards and councils commit countless unpaid hours toward the betterment and success of the town and county.
We also love hearing town council members discussing conflict of interest and how to make sure there is not a real or perceived conflict at meetings. We applaud those who disclosed involvement in organizations and those who recused themselves when they felt it was the appropriate thing to do. This council does it right by actually leaving the meeting when they recuse themselves from an issue.
We also appreciate the county commissioners voicing the need to be more transparent and discuss matters in public. This goes a long way toward building trust with constituents.
We love that the girl at the pet store offered to carry out a huge bag of dog food when we were not feeling the greatest and put it in the car while adoring Huckleberry the hound dog and offering him a treat.
We love that the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs called to check on Huckleberry over the weekend.
We love that we are still in many ways a small town.
We love seeing the quality of individuals who have stepped forward to serve with standing up a health department for Archuleta County. Seeing this process moving forward with dependable, capable and dedicated community volunteers makes us breathe a sigh of relief after months of uncertainty. We also love that the interviewing process developed by the county is open and transparent.
These are just a few of the things we love about living here. What do you love?
Terri Lynn Oldham House
