Today: Partly cloudy with isolatedshowers. Highs around 48°F. West wind 5

to 16 MPH, gusting to 22 MPH. Chanceof precipitation near 20%.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with light wintrymix likely. Lows around 21°F. Wind chillaround 7°F. North wind to 19 MPH, gust-ing to 33 MPH. Chance of precipitationnear 70%. Precipitation amounts between

one quarter and one half of an inch possi-ble.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with scat-tered snow showers. Highs around 30°F.Wind chill around 19°F. North wind 10 to18 MPH, gusting to 32 MPH. Chance ofprecipitation near 70%.

THE CHRONICLE NEWS 50 CENTSTRINIDADCOLORADO

Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com

~

Vol. 137, No. 77

WEDNESDAYAPRIL 17, 2013

APRIL 17■ Pal Play GroupWEDNESDAY (9:30-11 a.m.) No-

cost playgroup meets for children (0-2years) at Alta Vista Alternatives, 415 S.Indiana. Information: 719-846-4400.

■ E-911 Authority Board WEDNESDAY (3 p.m.) E-911

Authority Board meets at the GarciaJustice Center in the Las AnimasCounty Sheriff’s Office, 2309 E. MainSt. Information: Rita Mantelli, 719-846-4441.

■ Veteran’s CouncilWEDNESDAY (5 p.m.) Meets at the

Welcome Center, corner of Animas andNevada Streets. Information: JohnGarduno, 719-680-1277.

■ FP Fire DistrictWEDNESDAY (6 p.m.) Fishers Peak

Fire Protection District Board ofDirectors public meeting at theStarkville Fire Station. Information:719-846-6077.

■ Youth Art ShowWEDNESDAY (6-7:30 p.m.)

Southern Colorado Youth Academy‘Strengthening Families’ art show fea-turing students from Trinidad HighSchool, Middle School and COGChildren’s Center at the SCRTBuilding, 132 E. Main St. Information:719-846-9792.

■ Trinidad SchoolsWEDNESDAY (6 p.m.) Board of

Education regular session at theAdministration Building, 215 S. MapleSt. Information: 719-846-3324.

APRIL 18■ Trout Unlimited THURSDAY (6 p.m.) Purgatoire

River Anglers meeting is in thePurgatoire on Elm Restaurant, behindthe Post Office. Information: JoanieMuzzulin, 719-846-7307. Meetings arealways open to the public.

■ CU in the CommunityTHURSDAY (7 p.m.) Join University

of Colorado Professor Tom Zeiler whowill discuss baseball as a historicalreflection of society and the AmericanDream in the Massari Theater, cornerof Broom and State Streets. Proceedsbenefit the Mitchell Museum.

PUBLIC SERVICE■ Spring Clean-UpSATURDAY (7 a.m.-4 p.m.) City of

Trinidad free ‘Landfill Disposal Day,’2401 N. State St., is open to all resi-dents to help with spring cleaning proj-ects. No fees charged to dispose ofresidential refuse. Information: 719-846-2538.

■ 2013 9Health FairSATURDAY (7:30 a.m.-Noon) Mt.

San Rafael Hospital annual 9HealthFair in the hospital lobby. Registeronline at 9healthfair.org or in the lobby.Information: Lynda Pachelli, 719-846-8051.

■ 2013 Child Health FairSATURDAY (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) The

Huerfano-Las Animas Early ChildhoodAdvisory Council Child Health Fair willbe in Cimino Park across fromSafeway. Information: JenniferSanchez-McDonald at 719-845-0463or jsmcdonald@la-h-health.org.

■ Museum Benefit EventSATURDAY (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) &

SUNDAY (Noon-4 p.m.) Annual springbenefit with overstock art sale will be atthe Mitchell Museum on Main Street.Information: 719-846-4224.

■ Head Start ProgramCurrently enrolling for the 2013-14

school year. Information and appoint-ments: Loretta Madrid, 719-846-4391.

■ Free Kid’s Art Classes‘Kid’s Art Project’ classes are avail-

able at no charge at the MitchellMuseum, 150 E. First St. Informationand reservations: 719-846-4224.

■ Calling all VolunteersAPRIL 23 (11 a.m.) The Mitchell

Museum is hosting its annual“Volunteer Tea” for anyone who wantsto volunteer or explore opportunities asa volunteer at the museum.Information: Elaine Trujillo, 719-846-4224.

■ Earth Day CelebrationAPRIL 27 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) Join the

Trinidad Community Coop’s “ElmStreet Party” festivities for Earth Day,which includes a city bike ride, arti-sans, crafts, live music, food and funfor the whole family. Information: 719-846-7869.

■ Call for ArtistsMAY 13-14 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) Taking

entries for the ‘Anything Goes Art &Craft Show’ at the Mitchell, 150 E. FirstSt. Information: Sharone Galbraith,719-846-8564.

■ Trinidad Water FestivalMAY 16: Looking for volunteers and

clean, empty gallon-size milk andwater jugs for this event. Information:Kimber Bergano, 719-846-9792.

■ Help Save the Veteran’s PostAll interested parties who would like

to help the veterans save Trinidad’slocal VFW Post 984 from closing,please contact Commander John Riosat 719-846-6094. The Post is in des-perate need of caring individuals tochampion this organization that pro-vides so many honorable benefits tothe community.

■ April Showers of BooksMONTH of APRIL (M-Sat. Noon-4

p.m.) To commemorate NationalPoetry Month and Earth Day it’s ‘buyone get one free’ on all Poetry andGardening books at Novel DestinationsBookstore, 132 N. Commercial St.Information: 719-846-8522. As always,proceeds benefit the Carnegie Library.

THE FINE PRINT

WEATHER WATCH

RIVER CALLPurgatoire River Call as of

04/16/2013, Baca Ditch priority # 3.Appropriation date: 11/30/1861

■ Trinidad Reservoir AccountingRelease 44.97 AFInflow 27.51 AF - 13.87 CFSEvaporation 11.54 AFContent 12,720 AFElevation 6,171.54Precipitation 0

■ Downstream River Call Burns & Duncan ditch 01/01/1866

YYOOUURR BBEESSTT NNEEWWSS AANNDD AADDVVEERRTTIISSIINNGG SSOOUURRCCEE

By Michael HiesigerThe Chronicle-News

Trinidad State Junior Collegegunsmithing program facultymember Dave Nolan was let goTuesday, several weeks afterallegedly assaulting one of his stu-dents during a machine shopclass.

A gunsmithing program stu-dent Tuesday told The Chronicle-

News thati n t e r i mP r e s i d e n tC h a r l e sBohlen cameto the gun-s m i t h i n gs c h o o lTuesday after-noon toinform stu-dents thatNolan was nolonger on thejunior col-

lege’s staff.Trinidad State public affairs

spokesman Greg Boyce confirmedthat Nolan was no longer associat-ed with the gunsmith program.

He referred all other questionsabout Nolan and the allegedassault to Colorado CommunityCollege System director of mediaand government relations RhondaBentz.

Bentz also confirmed thatNolan was gone, saying Nolan “isno longer with Trinidad State. Ican say no more.”

According to several students,Nolan got into an argument withone of his students during amachine shop class before theEaster break.

Nolan reportedly yelled at thestudent and then stiff-armed himagainst the wall.

After other students convincedthe student to file a report withthe junior college, Nolan wasplaced on administrative leave lastweek, the student said.

The student said after hearingthat the student’s report on theincident had been sent to juniorcollege Vice President PaulaDavis, they went to Bohlen’s officeto find out what action was beingtaken against Nolan.

“Apparently they were keepingthe president out of the loop,” thestudent said.

After reporting the incident toBohlen a few days ago, the studentsaid the interim president came tothe gunsmithing school Tuesdayafternoon to tell the staff and stu-dents that Nolan was no longerwith the school.

Another student, JarrodRathorn, reported on TheChronicle-News’ Facebook pagelast week that six people were inthe classroom and witnessed theattack.

A call to Nolan’s home also wasnot returned by press timeTuesday.

Nolan was with Trinidad Statefor 18 years,Bentz said.

By Pankaj KhadkaThe Chronicle-News

The city of Trinidad received anew grant it will use to develop anopen space and trail plan for theregion.

The $45,000 grant was awardedby the Division of Parks andWildlife State Trails Program andwill be used to complete a mastertrail and greenway plan for thecity, said City Planner LouisFineberg.

The city will match the grantwith $13,500, increasing the totalfor the project to $58,500.

Fineberg said the new plan willdiffer from the city’s current trailplan, which focuses just on tryingto develop a trail system withinthe city limits.

The new plan will focus onopen spaces surroundingTrinidad, such as the Mesas onthe west, Fisher’s Peak on oneside and the river corridor thatgoes up to Trinidad Lake.

“We have a lot of opportunityto build a really nice trail systemaround Trinidad. I think we couldhave something here similar towhat Boulder has — the flat ironsystem,” Fineberg said.

In addition to the grant fundsto develop a plan, the city will useavailable funds to acquire openspaces and build the trails.

The plan will research the land

around the city to determine own-ership and find land that is avail-able for purchase, he said.

“So it will be the master planthat guides the effort to create thisinterconnected trail system,” he

said.The city has identified several

areas like the Mesas, which ispretty much open contiguousspace, for future trails.

By Michael HiesigerThe Chronicle-News

Las Animas County commis-sioners Tuesday tabled considera-tion of a letter supporting envi-ronmentalists’ opposition to natu-ral gas companies’ plans to seek arelaxation of water quality stan-dards for boron that is releasedinto the Purgatoire RiverWatershed.

The Southern ColoradoEnvironmental Council appearedbefore the Las Animas CountyCommission last month seekingcommissioners’ support for thegroup’s efforts to keep the current

0.75 milligram per liter standard.XTO Inc. and Pioneer Natural

Resources are asking theColorado State WaterCommission to ease the standardto increase boron levels to 5 mgper liter in water that is releasedinto the watershed from the com-panies’ hydraulic fracturingprocess.

Paula Ozzello, chairwoman ofthe environmental group, toldcommissioners the new standardwould threaten agriculture in LasAnimas County because it wouldincrease sodium levels in the soiland water.

XTO public and governmentaffairs manager Bill Holbrook,however, said the current stan-dard is too high for this areawhere the major crops are hayand alfalfa. He said the 0.75 mgper liter level is more suited forareas where citrus is grown.

That argument was backed byKaren Salapich, chairwoman ofthe Las Animas CountyLandowners Inc., a non-profitgroup of landowners who holdmore than 50,000 acres of land inthe county.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Salapichnoted that the natural gas compa-

nies’ fracking operations producewater for agriculture and wildlifepurposes.

And with the area’s droughtconditions continuing for morethan a decade already, she said“every drop of water is essential.”

“We’re trying to survive inthis last 10 to 12 years. It’s been anightmare,” she said.

She also noted that the waterthat is produced by the coal-bedmethane operators is alreadybeing used for irrigation in thecounty, “without any ill effects.”

NOLAN

County delays decision on boron standard

Gunsmithingteacher gonefrom TSJCFaculty memberallegedly attackedstudent in class

Continued on page 2

Courtesy Louis Fineberg

The Purgatoire River corridor along the Sopris Trail is one of the areas the city wants to use new grant funds to improve.

Courtesy Louis Fineberg

The undeveloped Mesa Trail is one of the trails the the city wants to develop.

City wants to use new grant fundsto develop regional trail system

Continued on page 2