San Isabel’s Scholars
WALSENBURG- The 18th annual San Isabel Electric scholarship awards banquet was held on May 8 at John Mall High School to honor valedictorians and salutatorians from high schools in the SIEA service area.
The recipients of this year’s scholarships are as follows. The $l,000 Basin Electric Power Cooperative scholarship was awarded to Kaitlyn Lingus of Branson. Tri- State Generation and Transmission awarded two $500 scholarships to Abby Harder of Rye High School and Aaron Dixon of Trinidad High School. SIEA matched the Tri-State scholarships, increasing the value to $l,000 each.
Additionally, San Isabel Electric’s Board of Directors voted to award $500 scholarships to the other students as follows: Brittany Sciacca and Cheryl Ellison, Aguilar High School; Joshua Bannon, Branson High School; Amanda Paradisa and Megan Hiss, Hoehne High School; Virginia Jimenez and Nicholas Bukovac, Holy Trinity Academy; Zachary Wilson and Courtney Kelley, John Mall High School; Kelsey Chambers and Carlee Koutnik La Veta High School; Asuka Nosaka and Jacob Woods, Primero High School; Matt Bravo and Robin Grasso, Pueblo West High School; Jadi Crawford, Rye High School; and Jonathan Bullock, Trinidad High School. Parents, principals, and counselors were on hand to congratulate the winners.
Bill Wood, General Manager of SIEA, stated, “These scholarships are awarded to outstanding young men and women to support higher education and to offer every available opportunity for these bright young people to gain the knowledge and skills needed to maintain a higher quality of life in rural America.”
The San Isabel Electric, Basin Electric, and Tri-State G&T feel privileged to give back to the communities they serve and wish these students the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Cups is back
LA VETA- If you missed Cups last time around, you have another chance to see this tribute to the curves and contours of women’s lives as told through one woman’s bras. The play, written by acclaimed La Veta author Joni Sheram, will be presented this Friday, May 30 and Saturday the 31st, again starring Betty Brown. Tickets are available for $10 at La Veta True Value and Dr. Phil Warlick’s dentist office on Albert St. in Walsenburg.
Tourism meets
HUERFANO- The Huerfano County Tourism Board will meet with John Galusha at the courthouse 8 a.m., June 5, to review finances. A board meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at the courthouse first floor hall to review invoices and to handle other business that may arise. The regular meeting of the Tourism Board will follow at Lathrop State Park, from 10 am-12 pm.
Protection training
PUEBLO- CSU Extension in Pueblo is offering a Worker Protection Training designed to help agricultural employers, managers and supervisors meet Worker Protection Standards that protect the health and safety of field workers and pesticide handlers. This training is scheduled for Thursday, May 29 from 9-11 am at the CSU Extension office in Pueblo. Cost is $15 and the deadline to register is May 27. More information can be obtained by contacting Colorado State University Extension – Pueblo County at 583-6566.
Red Cross Babysitting
WALSENBURG- The Pikes Peak Chapter of the American Red Cross will hold a one day (8 hour) Babysitting Course for youth ages 11 – 15. The course will be held Sat. June 7 at the Huerfano County Community Center located at 928 Russell Ave. in Walsenburg. The class will begin at 8 am and end by 5 pm. The training will teach students child care, job and safety skills along with first aid including choking and breathing emergencies. This is not a CPR Course. Upon successful completion the students will become Certified Red Cross Babysitters. The course is limited to only 10 committed to attendance participants so register early! Please call Sylvia Schwarz at 738-2354 for additional information and enrollment.
Block printing
LA VETA- The La Veta School of the Arts will hold a class entitled "Block Printing without a Press" on June 14 & 15 at the art school 105 West Ryus in La Veta. Students will use water based inks and "easy carve" styrofoam blocks. This workshop simplifies the elements of block printing and will include learn how to register prints using a simple jig and explore tradiditonal and less traditional methods in reduction printing. The inks provide many of the surprise elements of painting in watercolor. The creative process is user-friendly, affordable and fool-proof! The course costs $150 and the lab fee is $25. Everyone is welcome.
The instructor, Judith Hilmer, has a BFA from Carroll College in Waukesha, WI. She has taught in several other colleges and won awards including a gold, silver and honorable mention at the Riso International Printing Competition in Tokyo, Japan.
For more information, call 719-742-3421 or e-mail LVArtSchool@yahoo.co.
Conservation District Camp Scholarship
WALSENBURG- The Upper Huerfano Conservation District is offering a $200 scholarship to a Huerfano County student between the ages of 14 and 19 who wants to attend Camp Rocky. The camp is an educational outdoors adventure sponsored by the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts, Bureau of Reclamation, State Forest Service, Division of Wildlife and other partners.
Camp Rocky will be held July 6-12 in a mountain setting west of Colorado Springs. It is geared toward youth who enjoy the outdoors and are interested in natural resources.
Camp Rocky staff members are natural resource professionals who help participants learn about their environment while working in teams.
Students can choose from the following resource fields to focus their learning experience:
• Forest Management
• Soil & Water Conservation
• Rangeland Science
• Fish & Wildlife Mgt.
Additional activities include volleyball games, hiking, a campfire, archery and trap shooting, and the Camp Rocky Challenge.
Eligible youth include those who have completed eighth grade by June 2008 through age 19. The full cost of the camp is $250, all inclusive. With the Conservation District scholarship, a student would only need to pay the initial $50 deposit to attend.
For a brochure about Camp Rocky or information on the scholarship, contact the Upper Huerfano Conservation District, phone 738-1171 or e-mail carols.dunn@co.nacdnet.net.
Teen Read
WALSENBURG- The Young Adult/Teen Summer Reading Program "Metamorphosis" will kick-off this Friday, May 30 at 1:00 pm at the Spanish Peaks Library District, 323 Main St., Walsenburg. Any students interested in participating in this years program needs to attend on Friday for the introductory program. Program sessions will be every Friday afternoon, at the library, through August.
NRCS Encourages Landowners to Apply by July 3
LAKEWOOD– The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging Colorado landowners to apply for enrollment into the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) by July 3, 2008. Although applications for enrollment into the EQIP program are accepted at anytime, all applications received by July 3, 2008, will be reviewed and evaluated for fiscal year 2009 EQIP funding, while all applications received after the July cutoff date, may not be reviewed for funding until fiscal year 2010.
“This year, NRCS in Colorado has accelerated the cutoff date for EQIP applications from winter to summer,” says Dollie Gonzales, Resource Conservationist, Lakewood, CO. “This process allows us to more accurately and efficiently help landowners reach their land use and natural resource goals because it not only affords us more time to meet one on one with farmers and ranchers in the field but also provides the opportunity for NRCS representatives to be in the field during the most appropriate time, summer versus winter.
NRCS offers landowners technical support and programs which provide financial assistance that may help them reach their land use objectives. EQIP is a voluntary conservation program for farmers and ranchers that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality and offers financial and technical help to assist participants install or implement structural and management practices.
“The accelerated EQIP sign-up cutoff date also allows NRCS to provide more effective assistance to landowners,” Gonzales goes on to say. “This change in deadline allows conservation planning, NRCS’ priority procedural process for getting sound conservation on the ground, to become more focused and successful.”
For information about applying for NRCS programs, contact your local NRCS field office or your local Conservation District office at the county USDA service center. You may also visit the website at www.co.nrcs.usda.gov/contact/index.html.
