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50 Centstrinidad Colorado

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

~Vol. 139, No. 33

MondayFebruary 16, 2015

FEBRUARY 16HOLIDAY CLOSURES:In observance of Presidents’ Day

the following businesses will be closed on Monday:

*The Chronicle-News Office*The City of Trinidad and the

Landfill*The County Offices at the

Courthouse*SCCOG and Affiliates

Aguilar SchoolsMONDAY (4:30 p.m.) Board of Ed-

ucation will hold a workshop followed by the regular session at the school, 420 N. Balsam. Information: Natalie Grubelnik, 719-941-4188.

Town of StarkvilleMONDAY (6 p.m.) Board of Trust-

ees public meeting in the Fisher’s Peak Fire Department boardroom, 8361 County Road 69, Starkville. Informa-tion: Crick Carlisle, 719-680-7199.

Today’s Quote“I hope I shall possess

firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all

titles, the character of an honest man.”

~George Washington

FEBRUARY 17Las Animas CountyTUESDAY (9 a.m.) Board of Coun-

ty Commissioners meeting is in the Las Animas Courthouse, 200 E. First St., Room 201. Information: 719-845-2568.

Beautiful Quilt RaffleTUESDAY (2 p.m.) DON’T MISS

THIS! The Sayre Senior Center at 1222 San Pedro will raffle off the new Senior Quilt Club creation. Tickets can be pur-chased at the center. Info: Anna Risley, 719-846-3336. Proceeds help support the Center’s senior projects.

Writers’ GroupTUESDAY (2 p.m.) The Trinidad

Writers’ Group will meet at 109 E. Fifth St. Info: Dana Miller, 719-422-8352 or [email protected].

Annual Pancake SupperTUESDAY (4-6 p.m.) Holy Trin-

ity Academy’s Maundy Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held at Holy Family Hall (The Soup Kitchen) on Church St. Info: 719-846-4522. Proceeds benefit the school.

Primero SchoolsUESDAY (5 p.m.) District Board of

Education will meet in executive ses-sion with regular session to follow at 6 p.m. in the Primero School Cafeteria, 20200 Highway 12. Information: Tina East, 719-868-2715.

THS SPORTSTUESDAY (6 p.m.) The Spring

Sports Parent/Athlete meeting will be held in the THS Cafeteria. All required pa-perwork will be handed out at this time. Info: [email protected]

Trinidad City Council TUESDAY (6 p.m.) A special ses-

sion followed by the regular session will be held in Council Chambers, City Hall, 135 N. Animas St. Information: Audra Garrett, 719-846-9843.

PUBLIC SERVICEGET ‘EM WHILE THEY LAST!The Chronicle-News 2014 Collec-

tor Mugs with beautiful artwork by Trinidad Artist Paula Little are here and waiting for you to come pick them up, 200 West Church St. Info: 719-846-3311.

Calling all ARTCAR Volunteers!Volunteers are needed for the

Prison Art Car Project for the 2015 ArtoCade Festival. Must be willing to take training class workshop for prison admis-sion. Info: Rodney Wood, 719-334-0087.

COOKIES FOR READERS!WEDNESDAY (4:30-6 p.m.) The

adult community is invited to bring 2-dozen favorite cookies and recipe for a pleasant afternoon Cookie Swap and fun social time at the Carnegie Library, 202 N. Animas St. Info: 719-846-6841.

Republican WomenFEBRUARY 21 (5:30 p.m.) The

community is invited to the Las Animas County Republican Women’s Lincoln Day Dinner “Stand Your Ground” that will be held at the Holiday Inn on Santa Fe Trail Drive. Guest speaker will be

the Fine Print

Weather WatChWASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY: Snow,

mainly after 2 p.m. High near 37. Light and variable wind becoming northeast 5 to 10

mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Night: Snow, mainly before 2am. Low around 13. North northeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north northwest 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precip-itation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.

Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of snow

before 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. West southwest wind around 5 mph be-coming calm in the afternoon. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 17. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 47. West southwest wind around 5 mph Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. West southwest wind around 5 mph.

river CallPurgatoire River Call as of: 02/13/15. Chilili ditch: Prior-ity # 7 --- Appropriation date: 04/30/1862.

Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:Release 0.77 AFInflow 43.16 AF -- 21.76 CFSEvaporation 0.39 AFContent 16,724 AFElevation 6,178.79Precipitation 0

Downstream River Call / John Martin Reservoir: (Conservation Storage) 05/31/1949.

the ChroniCle neWs

Continued on Page 4 ...

PRESIDENT’S DAYPresidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Mon-

day in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of Presi-dent George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birth-day” by the federal government. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to cel-ebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

DISTURBING TREND

Homeless surveyed during National Awareness WeekBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

The first step in helping home-

less people is to find out how many folks don’t have a home to call their own. That was the point of a recent survey of Trinidad’s home-less population, which was being conducted by Advocates Against Domestic Assault (AADA) staff members during the lunch hour

at the Fisher’s Peak Soup Kitchen. The last week in January was

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, and each year there’s a national survey of the homeless that’s conducted by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). AADA’s Director Charlene Tor-torice said that this year’s count was a point-in-time survey of un-sheltered people living in poverty.

AADA has the only shelter operat-ing in Trinidad and on the night of Tuesday, January 27 – 28 it housed 15 homeless people at the shelter plus three other homeless persons, a man and his two children, it had placed in a local motel. The soup kitchen survey was intended to find out how many other people in Trinidad had no shelter Tuesday night. The capacity of the AADA shelter is 20 people.

Besides those 18 sheltered peo-ple, the soup kitchen survey re-vealed that there were 18 unshel-tered homeless adults and three unsheltered homeless children in Trinidad the night before the sur-vey, according to Andrea Galasso, a case manager at AADA. Galasso said the numbers of homeless peo-ple in town had increased greatly

Continued on Page 2 ...

SPECIAL VALENTINE’S MEMORIES

Photos by Eric John Monson / The Chronicle-News

An evening to remember forarea fathers and daughters

The Lord’s Chapel in Segundo hosted a Valentine’s Father, Daughter Dance at the Mt. Carmel Community Center on Friday evening. Girls came with their dads, grandpas, uncles or just a fatherly friend for an evening full of fun, food, games and a Chicken Dance dance-off. The popular Community Center was packed to the rafters with happy Valentine’s Day party-goers while the Center’s staff members made sure there were plenty of treats for everyone to enjoy.

Pictured clockwise from top left are: Douglas Coberly with Sidney (left) and Brooklyn (right), Bill Thurston with his daughters Grace (left) and Faith, and Zoe Revas dances the Chicken Dance with father Robbie.

PRESENTATION & STAR PARTY

NASA Mission program slated at TSJC on WednesdayBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Fascinating information about

a NASA mission to Pluto and a good hard look at the nighttime sky will be the highlights of an in-formational program at Trinidad

State Junior College. “New Hori-zons Mission to Pluto” will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18 at Trinidad State’s Massari The-ater, featuring an address by Fran

Bagenal, University of Colorado-Boulder professor and mission co-investigator.

After Bagenal’s presentation, attendees are invited to a “star par-ty,” an investigation of the night sky with various telescopes led by the CU Science, Technology and Astronomy Recruits (CU-STARS). Tickets cost $4 for adults and $3 for children, and can be purchased at the door on the night of the event or in advance from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Friday at the offices of the Trinidad Commu-nity Foundation, located at 134 W. Main St., Suite 24. Proceeds from the event will go to benefit the col-lege’s Southern Colorado BEST Robotics Competition.

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is scheduled to reach Pluto on July 14, 2015, after decades of plan-ning and a nine-year space journey, and Bagenal will discuss the pioneering mis-sion to investigate Pluto, its moons and beyond. She’s a CU-Boulder professor of as-trophysical and planetary sciences, and team leader of the plasma investigations on NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Juno mission to Jupiter. Her main area of expertise is the study of charged par-ticles trapped in planetary magnetic fields. In her ad-dress, she’ll explain how the

New Horizons mission will pro-vide us with our first close-up view of the Kuiper Belt Object, which is

Photos courtesy of CU-Boulder Outreach (NASA) and New Horizons EncounterThis artist’s rendering shows the New Horizons spacecraft. University of Colo-rado Boulder professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences Fran Bagenal will speak about the New Horizons mission to Pluto at TSJC Wednesday, Feb. 18. Fran Bagenal, left, is professor of astrophysical and planetary sciences at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

By Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

City police are investigating an

incident in which a local man suf-fered severe injuries to his head. County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a residence along State Highway 12 west of Trinidad at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Fri-

day, February 6. Jason Menapace told deputies that he had been “jumped” at the Trinidad West-ern Apartments, located at 411 E. North Ave., and had been either beaten or shot.

Due to the large amount of blood, personnel at the scene

Man claims attack at local Western Apartments

POLICE INVESTIGATION

Continued on Page 2 ... Continued on Page 2 ...

Page 2 Monday, February 16, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

General ManagerAllyson Sheumaker

[email protected]

AdvertisingSales-Adam Sperandio

[email protected]

Classifieds, Memorials, & Circulation- Joey Loewen

[email protected]

Design & Legals- Lauri [email protected]

News RoomEditor: Eric John Monson

[email protected]

Features Editor & Fine Print Catherine Moser

[email protected]

Reporter: Steve [email protected]

Business Hours:Monday - Friday

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

USPS #110-040200 West Church Street

P.O. Box 763, Trinidad, CO 81082(719) 846-3311 • Fax (719) 846-3612

Member: Associated Press, Colorado Press AssociationPeriodicals Postage Paid For At Trinidad, CO.

Published Monday - Fridayw w w.thechronicle-news.com

Subscription RatesEffective Aug. 1, 2013

Home Delivery Trinidad1 Month ................$7.003 Months.............$21.006 Months.............$42.001 Year....................$84.00

Las Animas County Mail1 Month................$12.003 Months..............$36.006 Months..............$72.001 Year...................$144.00

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Tickets:$25.00 per person

Drink tickets:2 for $10.00

For tickets call 845-0300, 845-9544

or purchase fromC&S Outdoors

Given by theLas Animas County Republican Women’s Club

“Stand Your Ground”February 21, 2015

Holiday Inn • Trinidad, CO

Social Hour & Silent Auctionstarts at 5:30 with wine, beer, and appetizers

Dinner at 6:30

Guest Speaker: Peter IdeSenior Field Representative for the NRA

LINCOLN DAY DINNER

62 Memorials

In Loving Memory ofMichael J. Martinez

7-29-1989 – 2-16-2013

I only have a picture now,A frozen piece of time,

To remind me of how it was,When you were here, and

mine.

I see your smiling eyes,Each morning when I wake,

I talk to you,and place a kiss,Upon your lovely face.

How much I missyou being here,

I really cannot say,The ache is deepinside my heart,

And never goes away.

I hear it mentioned often,That time will heal the pain,

But if I'm being honest,I hope it will remain.

I need to feel you constantly,To get me through the day,I loved you so very much,

Why did you go away?

The angels cameand took you,

That really wasn't fair,They took my

one and only Son,My future life. My heir.

If only they had asked me,If I would take your place,

I would havedone so willingly,Leaving you thisworld to grace.

You should have had somany years,

To watch your life unfold,And in the mist of this,

Watch me, yourMom grow old!

I hope you'rewatching from above,At the daily tasks I do,

And let there beno doubt at all,

I really do love you.RIP Son

Sadly missed by,Mom, Michelle, & Jacob

Sepulveda

In MemoriamFloyd A. Chavez

Correctional Officer"8" Year Anniversary

2-16-07

Another year hascome and gone.

That brisk February morning,the Lord called you home.

Our memories of good timeshold us strong.

Time is a clock that onlyGod can control.

Our thoughts tell us thatlosing you was wrong.

We know that God's love willbring us together some day.You're in our hearts forever,

we will never forget youFloyd, our son.

Love,Mom, Dad, & Family

62 Memorials

63 Card of Thanks

The family of Betty Daltonwould like to acknowledgewith deep appreciation, thelove and support shown tous during our recent loss. Toall who sent cards, madecal ls, sent f lowers, andtraveled to be with us tocelebrate Betty's life, a deepheartfelt thank you! A specialthanks to JoElla Valdez forall she did to pull togetherthe hal l , the food, andnecessary items at the lastminute. Thanks to BrotherHarry for making the servicespecial wi th such shortnot ice. Thanks to TomMurphy for his assistancewith all the arrangements.Also , thank you to Dr.Valerie Borsa, and MarcoTer i , fo r the i r de l ica tehandling of Betty, when itwas most needed. And toDonna and Nicole Mestas fordoing all they did to helpmake Betty comfortable inher final days. We can go onand on, mentioning all thefolks that helped Betty inmany ways, please let it beknown, that her fami lyappreciates the continuings u p p o r t y o u a l l h a v eprovided over the years. Godbless you all.

The Dalton family

Homeless surveyed during National Awareness Week... Continued from Page 1

over the 2014 survey figures. “I don’t know exactly, but I do know the numbers have

more than doubled over last year’s survey,” Galasso said. “It’s a very disturbing trend and I was kind of shocked.”

Galasso was asked if she felt the legalization of mari-juana here was a contributing factor in the big increase in the numbers of homeless people here, and she said she thought it was probably a factor.

“I think that could be one of the reasons for the in-crease,” she said. “Some people come here because of le-galized marijuana, but then they find that they can’t find any jobs and they get into a difficult situation.”

The survey protects the identity of the homeless by only asking them to fill out the first three letters of both their first and last names on the survey form.

“One of the reasons the survey is being done at this time is that January is one of the coldest months,” Tor-torice said. “It’s also towards the end of the month be-cause, even if you do have some financial resources, it gets pretty slim by the end of the month. If you stayed somewhere that isn’t considered habitable, then we’re asking you to fill out the survey form.”

The survey asks individuals and families whether they have been in shelters and / or on the streets continu-ously for a year or more. It asks respondents if they’ve had to stay in a shelter or on the streets four or more times in the past three years. It asks for a household de-scription of whether there are both adults and children in the household, just adults or just children.

Respondents are also asked their gender, age group, whether they’re Hispanic or Latino, their race and whether they’re a military service veteran struggling with a disabling condition, and what that condition might be.

From 2012 to 2013, a period of continued slow recov-ery from the Great Recession, overall homelessness de-creased by 3.7 percent and homelessness among every major subpopulation, in families falling by 7 percent, and in the chronically homeless and veterans dropping by 7.3 percent. But nationwide trends don’t tell the whole story. There were 31 states that saw a decrease in homelessness,

while 20 states saw increases in overall homelessness. The national rate of homelessness fell to 19 homeless per-sons per 10,000 people in the general population, but the rate in individual states ranged from 106 in Washington, D.C. to 8 in Mississippi. The rate of veteran homelessness fell to 27 homeless veterans per 10,000 people in the gen-eral population, but the rate in individual states ranged from 28 in Wyoming to 156 in Washington, D.C.

In a report issued on Oct. 7, 2014, HUD reported that there were a total of 578,424 homeless people in the United States. That total included all states, territories, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The report is available on the website: www.hudexchange.info/reports/.

The report says that there were a total of 10,028 home-less persons in Colorado on that date.

Man claims attack at local Western Apartments... Continued from Page 1

NASA Mission program slated at TSJC on Wednesday... Continued from Page 1

the disc-shaped region of icy objects be-yond the orbit of Neptune.

“Since Clyde Tombaugh discov-ered Pluto in 1930 there have been rare breakthroughs in our knowledge of this small icy object on the edge of the solar system: detection of a large moon Charon in 1975, detection of an atmo-sphere in 1988 and measurements of a few atmospheric constituents using the largest telescopes on Earth,” Bagenal said.

“Hubble Space Telescope pictures show just a fuzzy blob. New Horizons will start obtaining better pictures than

Hubble in spring 2015. It will fly through Pluto’s escaping atmosphere, measure its comet-like interaction with the solar wind and take detailed pictures of the surface of Pluto and its moons.”

The program is part of “CU in the Community,” a series of events led by CU-Boulder faculty. Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad Community Foundation, Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce and the CU-Boulder Office jointly sponsor the program for Outreach and Engage-ment. 2014-15 marks the seventh year of the Trinidad collaboration with CU-

Boulder. CU in the Community is an educa-

tional community partnership that features a variety of public programs including the latest in faculty research, arts and humanities, and science from CU-Boulder through public lectures, in-teractive special events, and classroom presentations. By collaborating with a local community, CU-Boulder faculty, staff, and students provide communi-ties with academic and cultural re-sources while gaining valuable oppor-tunities to engage with and learn from Colorado citizens.

couldn’t determine the exact cause of injury. Menapace was transported by ambulance to the Emergency Room at Mt. San Rafael Hospital, treated for the injuries to his head, and then trans-ported to Parkview Hospital in Pueblo.

Interviews with eyewitnesses and medical information from Parkview Hospital indicated that the injuries are more consistent with blunt force trauma, rather than a gunshot wound, as was originally believed, according

to police. The case is still being investigated

by the Trinidad Police Department. Anyone with information about the case can call the department at: 719-846-4441, or the TIPS line at: 719-845-8477.

Fireworks —mischief cause for confusion By Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Fireworks being set off were mis-taken for an explosion and fire at

approximately 7:15 p.m. on Wednes-day, February 11. Police, fire and emergency crews were called to a building at 512 State St, after receiv-ing a dispatch call of an explosion and fire at that location. Police cut off part of State Street and residents were evacuated from the building.

The responding police officer did smell smoke, possibly of a chemical origin, but a thorough search of all three levels of the building revealed no smoke or fire. Several residents of the building said they’d heard an explosion on the building’s third

floor, but the police were unable to corroborate those statements.

Several residents in the area of the Prospect Plaza Apartments said they’d heard an explosion and seen a large plum of smoke in the area. Police then heard a report of kids in big diesel trucks parked under the Nevada Avenue I-25 overpass who were setting off fireworks. Police checked that area but found no one parked there.

False or mistaken reports of dan-gerous incidents are a serious waste of emergency resources.

Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsAdvocates Against Domestic Assault (AADA) conducted a survey of homeless people from the Fisher’s Peak Soup kitchen recent-ly. Left to right are Andrea Galasso, Stephanie Van Matre and Director Charlene Tortorice.

POLICE CALL

Page 6 Monday, February 16, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

COLORADO LEAP PROGRAM

NOVEMBER 3,2014 – APRIL 30, 2015 CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES 204 SOUTH CHESTNUT TRINIDAD, COLORADO 81082 (719) 846-2276 EXT 7145 APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AND PROCESSED BY LAS ANIMAS COUNTY DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. BENEFITS ARE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF WHEN YOU APPLY DURING THE PROGRAM. LEAP IS DESIGINED TO HELP WITH YOUR WINTER HEATING COSTS. LEAP IS NOT INTENDED TO PAY THE ENTIRE COST OF HOME HEATING.

CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM THE CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM (CIP) PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR LEAP ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS WITH FURNACE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT. Call HEAT HELP @ 1-855-469-4328

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME (FOR 2014-2015)

1

$1,459

2

$1,967

3

$2,474

4

$2,982

5

$3,489

6

$3,997

___________7____________ 8

_______ __$4,504 _______ $5,012

EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON

$508

COLORADO LEAP PROGRAM

NOVEMBER 3,2014 – APRIL 30, 2015 CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES 204 SOUTH CHESTNUT TRINIDAD, COLORADO 81082 (719) 846-2276 EXT 7145 APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AND PROCESSED BY LAS ANIMAS COUNTY DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. BENEFITS ARE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF WHEN YOU APPLY DURING THE PROGRAM. LEAP IS DESIGINED TO HELP WITH YOUR WINTER HEATING COSTS. LEAP IS NOT INTENDED TO PAY THE ENTIRE COST OF HOME HEATING.

CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM THE CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM (CIP) PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR LEAP ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS WITH FURNACE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT. Call HEAT HELP @ 1-855-469-4328

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME (FOR 2014-2015)

1

$1,459

2

$1,967

3

$2,474

4

$2,982

5

$3,489

6

$3,997

___________7____________ 8

_______ __$4,504 _______ $5,012

EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON

$508

COLORADO LEAP PROGRAM

NOVEMBER 3,2014 – APRIL 30, 2015 CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES 204 SOUTH CHESTNUT TRINIDAD, COLORADO 81082 (719) 846-2276 EXT 7145 APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AND PROCESSED BY LAS ANIMAS COUNTY DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. BENEFITS ARE THE SAME REGARDLESS OF WHEN YOU APPLY DURING THE PROGRAM. LEAP IS DESIGINED TO HELP WITH YOUR WINTER HEATING COSTS. LEAP IS NOT INTENDED TO PAY THE ENTIRE COST OF HOME HEATING.

CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM THE CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAM (CIP) PROVIDES ASSISTANCE FOR LEAP ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS WITH FURNACE REPAIR/REPLACEMENT. Call HEAT HELP @ 1-855-469-4328

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME (FOR 2014-2015)

1

$1,459

2

$1,967

3

$2,474

4

$2,982

5

$3,489

6

$3,997

___________7____________ 8

_______ __$4,504 _______ $5,012

EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON

$508

MAXIMUM MONTHLY INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE (FOR 2014-2015)

1 $1,459 2 $1,967 3 $2,474 4 $2,982 5 $3,489 6 $3,997 7 $4,504 8 $5,012

EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON $508

SPANISH PEAKS INNTavern Grill & R.V. Park � Gulnare, Co.

Celebrate! Mardi GrasTuesday, February 17th

Serving Gumbo & Jalapeno Cheddar Biscuits Drink Specials all day long!

SPORTSTourney champs rake in awardsReported by Kellie Armijo

Dylan Armijo, pictured with wrestling coach Rich Lopez, competed in the PPWL Southern Regional Tourney and placed first in the 15-under, 123-pound bracket. He then com-peted for a Championship belt on Jan. 30 in a Regional North vs. South Dual Tournament.

He represented Trinidad on the South side of the dual and won by pin in the second period to receive the Championship Belt.

Also in youth wrestling news, on Jan. 31, Jesus Diaz, Dylan Armijo and Jacob Armijo completed the Dan Gable Challenge. Each wrestler earned 30 points or more in the ad-vanced bracket tourney. Jesus Diaz was 1-of-6 to have completed the challenge with 33 points. All three wrestlers earned a Dan Gable Singlet and trophy for their accomplishments.

The next youth tournament will be the Pikes Peak Wrestling State Tournament on February 28.

TRINIDAD STATE BASKETBALLTrojan men hitting stride down the home stretch By Mike SalbatoCorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

With just two games remaining on the 2014-2015 regular season schedule the Trini-dad State men’s basketball team seems to be firing on all cylinders. They are getting hot just in time to make a run in the Region IX standings and into the region tournament. Following a tough home loss to Western Ne-braska the Trojans picked up back-to-back conference wins over Eastern Wyoming and Laramie County moving their record back up to 12-14 (6-8) and jumping them to fifth in the standings.

On Friday, Feb. 6, the Trojans battled hard but fell to the visiting Cougars 101-88. Elijah Valdez had a huge game for the Tro-jans hitting ten 3-points and finishing the game with 44 points. Joe Smith, who had a 45-point performance a few weeks ago, added 21. Preston Bungei pulled down 15 boards and guards Elijah Kess and Chris Williams had five assists apiece to go with seven and nine points respectively.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, the Trojans jumped up to a huge twenty point lead over the Lancers of Eastern Wyoming only to see it disappear late. A three-point play by Bungei tied the score at 94-94 in the closing seconds. The Trojans came up with a steal, which led to a Lancer technical foul. Four points later the Trojans escaped with the 98-94 win. Five Trojans hit double-figures in the game led by Smith (21), Bungei (20), Valdez (19), Treyvon Andres (18) and Na-than McAnally (13). Andres and Bungei each pulled in ten rebounds and McAnally had seven assists.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Trojans got a huge win over Laramie County. The Eagles took an early lead but Trinidad re-sponded to take a 45-32 halftime lead. A late barrage on dunks by Bungei, Andres and Smith, and a pair of threes from Valdez sent Trinidad to a 102-70 win. Valdez led all scorers with 32, Smith had 16, Antonio Parker had 12 and Bungei had his second straight double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

The Trojans traveled to to Goodland, Kansas for a non-region game against Northwest Kansas Tech this past Saturday before finishing up the regular season with games at home against Otero on Saturday, February 21 and Lamar on Tuesday, Febru-ary 24. The final game against Lamar will be booster club appreciation night as well as Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night at Scott Gym.

Photo courtesy of Emmy Gazaway / TSJCHot shooting Elijah Valdez has been torching the baskets from behind the line the past few weeks. He is averaging over 16 points a game and has 85 3-pointers on the year.

LETTERS OF INTENT

Rodarte signs with Trinidad StateBy Mike SalbatoCorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

Trinidad State Junior College Softball Coach Steve Swazo is proud to announce the signing of Vanessa Rodarte, a player

from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California.

“Vanessa is a player myself and my as-sistant coach had the pleasure of watching play in Denver this past summer, and then she came out for a visit in the fall,” Swazo said. “What was most impressive about her is her willingness to work hard and battle for a spot. She is also a good student in the classroom.”

Rodarte hit .455 this past summer with 15 hits, 10 RBIs and two homeruns. She is the daughter of Debbie and David Kramer.

Photo courtesy of TSJC Vanessa Rodarte, left center, signs her letter to play softball for Trinidad State.

Power Hitter —coming to TSJCBy Mike SalbatoCorrespondentThe Chronicle-News

Trinidad State Junior College Softball Coach Steve Swazo is proud to announce the signing of Chelsey Runyon from Bloom-field High School in Bloomfield, New Mex-ico to his 2015-16 recruiting class. Runyon will contend for a spot at both corners of the infield and in the outfield.

“What impressed me about Chelsey when she came down for a campus visit is that she had some long ball power,” Swazo said. “She is a tall player that can move very well for her size and once we shorten her long swing, we believe she will hit the ball even further than what she can now. She is coached by former TSJC softball player Cassie Davis who is now an assistant coach at Bloomfield High School.”

Runyon was one of New Mexico’s lead-ers in homeruns last year hitting 14 bombs as a junior. She had 48 RBIs and a fantastic .459 batting average. Following her stellar junior season she was named First-Team All-State, along with being All-District her previous three seasons. She is the daughter of Allen Runyon and Rebecca Runyon.

Photo courtesy of TSJCChelsey Runyon, above, signs her letter of intent to play softball for TSJC this fall.

Photos courtesy Kellie ArmijoDan Gable winners (far left L-R) are Dylan Armijo, Jesus Diaz and Jacob Armijo. Southern Colorado Dual Champion Dylan Armijo and coach Rich Lopez.

YOUTH WRESTLING