50 Centstrinidad Colorado

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

~Vol. 139, No. 66

thursdayapril 2, 2015

APRIL 2Continuum of CareTHURSDAY (8 a.m.) Group will

meet at Fisher’s Peak Soup Kitchen, 308 Church St. Info: Charlene Tor-torice, 719-846-9159.

Network CouncilTHURSDAY (8 a.m.) Regular

meeting will be held in the Bell Block Building’s Trinidad Community Foun-dation room. Info: Margaret Apodaca, 719-846-3943.

SPPRCD MeetingTHURSDAY (7 p.m.) Spanish

Peaks Purgatoire River Conservation District meets at the District Office. In-formation: 719-846-3681 Ext. 117.

PRCWD Water DistrictTHURSDAY (7:30 p.m.) The Pur-

gatoire River Conservancy meets in City Hall Council Chambers, 135 N. Animas. Information: Thelma Lujan, 719-846-7285.

Today’s Quote“Joy is what

happens to us when we allow

ourselves to recognize how

good things really are.”

~Marianne Williamson

APRIL 3-5AREA HOLIDAY CLOSURESn The Chronicle-News offices

will be closed Friday for the Easter Holiday. The paper will be delivered as usual without interruption.

n SCCOG and affiliates will be closed Friday for the holiday.

SPECIAL EASTER SERVICESn Zion’s Lutheran Easter Ser-

vices will be held as follows at 613 Prospect St. Info: 719-846-7785.

•THURSDAY: Maundy Thursday potluck (6 p.m.) and Worship Service (7 p.m.) with communion.

•FRIDAY: Good Friday Service (7 p.m.)

•SUNDAY: Sunrise Service (7 a.m.) followed by brunch and Easter Wor-ship (10 a.m.)

n EASTER PAGENTFRIDAY (7 p.m.) “They Took

Him,” a dramatic play by Mary Sue Mangino that portrays the Last Supper, betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ will be presented at the First Christian Church, 200 S. Walnut. No admission – all are welcome. Info: 719-846-3843.

n EASTER CONCERTSUNDAY (11 a.m.) & APRIL 10 (7

p.m.) “A Celebration of the Resur-rection” musical presentation by the Choir and TUMC Gospel Combo will be held at the Methodist Church, 216 Broom St.

OTHER WEEKEND ACTIONLIGHT IT UP BLUE!FRIDAY (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) A fundraiser

luncheon and seminar for Autism Aware-ness Day will be held at the Mt. Carmel Community Center, 911 Robinson Ave. Info: Linda Thompson 719-680-2638.

RIBBON CUTTINGFRIDAY (Noon) Tee’s Me Treat

Me official opening ceremony with the Chamber of Commerce, 105 W. Main St. next to Fabilis Wings.

TEEN OTAKU CLUBFRIDAY (4:30-6:30 p.m.) Teens

age 13-18 are invited to join the fun at the Carnegie Public Library, 202 N. Main St. Info: Felicity Boepple, 719-846-6841.

American LegionFRIDAY (6 p.m.) PLEASE NOTE:

THERE WILL BE NO American Le-gion meeting this month at the Sayre Senior Center, 1222 San Pedro. Info: John Garduño, 719-680-1277.

SPRING CRAFT FAIRSATURDAY (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) The

community is invited to the annual event at Eckhart Elementary to be held in the school gym, 1021 Pierce St. The fun will include a jumpy house, games and great food. Info: Principal Olivia Bachicha, 719-846-6995.

Easter Egg HuntSATURDAY (10 a.m.) Annual Agu-

ilar American Legion Post 42 Bake Sale and Egg Hunt (Noon) fundraiser with free lunch for kids at the Town Park and Community Center. Info: 719-941-4678.

the Fine print

Weather WatChThursday: A 10 percent chance of show-

ers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. Breezy, with gusts

as high as 30 mph. Night: A 30 percent chance of rain or light snow. Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. Breezy with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Friday: A 30 percent chance of snow be-fore 7 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. East wind 5 to 15 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. South southwest wind around 15 mph.

Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 70. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 40. West southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 37.

river CallPurgatoire River Call as of: 04/01/15. Hoehne ditch: Priority # 20 --- Appropriation date: 10/07/1865.

Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:Release .56 AFInflow 131.75 AF -- 66.42 CFSEvaporation 9.19 AFContent 19,846 AFElevation 6,183.43Precipitation 0

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

the ChroniCle neWs

Steve Block / The Chronicle-News

TRINIDAD STATERobotics Team ready for Challenge Mary Carpenter of the Trinidad State Robotics Team with the circuit board she learned how to design on a computer and later soldered its components into place on the board. The Robotics Team will be among 32 teams vying for first prize in the state competition at the Great Sand Dunes National Park on Saturday. This year’s robot is called the Beacon Electronic Kinect-Explorer, or BEK-E for short. See the whole story on Page 3.

CITY GOVERNMENT

Marijuana license limits is topic for council discussionBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Six marijuana-related business-

es are fully licensed to do business in Trinidad, with three of them already open for business and the others expected to open in the near future. The issue of whether or not to declare a moratorium on grant-ing licenses to even more marijua-na businesses in the City was dis-cussed at some length at Tuesday’s City Council work session.

The general consensus of Coun-cil was not to have a moratorium on new licenses, but instead to let the marketplace determine which marijuana businesses would suc-ceed and which ones would fail. Council member Joe Bonato said putting a limit on the number of marijuana businesses that could operate in Trinidad was an issue

that should be decided on by voters in an upcoming election.

Council member Michelle Miles said she was concerned about the growing number of homeless peo-ple she’d seen in the city recently, and asked whether that increase was related to legalized marijuana. Miles said Colorado Springs had also an increase in the numbers of younger homeless people, and it had put a strain on that city’s social service agencies. She ex-pressed concern that unrestricted marijuana licensing could damage Trinidad’s Victorian charm.

Mayor Joe Reorda said Trini-dad had always had some home-less people, saying he thought the City should put any talk of a moratorium “on the back burner.” Reorda urged those citizens who

Continued on Page 2 ...

COMMISSIONERS’ MEETING

Las Animas County Medicaid caseloads continue to growBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Medicaid caseloads in Las Animas

County continued to grow during the first two months of 2015. That information was shared by Arlene Lopez, executive director of the County’s Department of Human Ser-vices (DHS) at a Tuesday meeting of the DHS Board of Directors, which also serves as the County Board of Commissioners.

Lopez said there were 2,869 Medicaid cases by the end of February, many of them from people the DHS caseworkers had never encountered before.

“It just seems steady,” Lopez said. “The number of applications coming in, I mean, one day we had 20 new applications come in, and that’s on top of all the other correspon-dence that comes through the department. These are from people we’ve never heard of before.”

Most of the new clients are renters, she said, but some have purchased homes here and are applying for additional benefits.

“One young man, in particular, came here with a good job and apparently he got

here and within a couple of months his em-ployer had to downsize and they began trim-ming their workforce and he got laid off. He had just bought a house, and had to come in to apply for benefits to get through,” she said. “He did get a severance package from his employer, but once his resources ran out he became eligible for benefits.”

Lopez said there’s an ebb and flow in the numbers of people applying for benefits, with some folks moving away from the area, some getting jobs so they no longer qualify for benefits and some just failing to reapply for benefits even though they’re eligible.

Leeann Fabec, county administrator, noted that January and February were an enrollment period for people applying for health insurance through the federal Afford-able Care Act (ACA), and the recent increase in Medicaid applicants might partially be because of recent ACA applicants who found they could qualify for Medicaid benefits in-stead.

“You can see that there were 70 new Med-icaid cases in January and 48 new cases in

Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsArlene Lopez, executive director of the Department of Hu-man Services (DHS), reported a big increase in the num-ber of people seeking Medicaid benefits so far this year.Continued on Page 4 ...

AREA POT

Walsenburg approves marijuana retail salesStaff ReportThe Chronicle-News

Last week the Walsenburg City Council voted 6-1 to approve re-tail/recreational marijuana sales within the City of Walsenburg.

Recent Ward II appointee, John Salazar II, a Walsenburg Police Sergeant, was the lone dissenting vote. Two councilmembers failed to appear at the meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Craig Lessar and coun-cil member Silvana Lind, both consistent ‘no’ votes against recre-ational marijuana sales, according to the Huerfano World Journal, missed the council meeting. Rick Jennings, Charles Montoya, Nick Vigil, Troy Reeves, Clint Boehler, and Mayor James Eccher, voted in favor of the ordinance.

Ordinance 1057, the ordinance approved last week, allows retail

Steve Block / The Chronicle-News

Sayre Senior Center celebrates Easter It was a packed house and a fine time for the Sayre Senior Center’s members to meet, greet and have a great meal for Easter at noontime on Thursday. In the foreground, clockwise from bottom are Lee Mehsling and Sterling Zufelt, on the left, and Mary Woodie and Michele Mehsling on the right. Any senior who wants to join in the fun at the Center is encouraged to call Mrs Anna Risley at 719-846-3336 or email annarisley@gmail.com for more information on all activi-ties available at the facility, which is located at 1222 San Pedro Street in Trinidad. See more on page 6Continued on Page 4 ...

Sports Bar & Grill

Now Serving LunchFriday - Saturday - Sunday at 11 a.m.231 E. Main St.

Trinidad, Co

Thursday, April 2, 2015 Page 3The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado

EducationTRINIDAD STATE TECHIES

College Robotics Team prepares for ChallengeBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

Getting through sand dunes is one thing

but getting over and around sharp rocks is quite another. That’s what the Trinidad State Junior Col-lege Robotics Team found out at last year’s statewide ro-botics challenge at Great Sand Dunes National Park, and they’ve been plan-ning how to cope with their rocky problem leading up to this year’s chal-lenge at the Park on Saturday, April 4.

The Trinidad State team fin-ished first among 19 competitors at last year’s chal-lenge, and this year will be among 32 teams vying for the first place prize. This year’s robot is called the Beacon Elec-tronic Kinect-Explorer, or BEK-E, and uses more advanced technology than last year’s version. The team members include lead programmer Hayden Alworth, electron-ics magician Mary Carpenter, the team’s co-captains, solid works designer Alfonzo Barandiaran and lead builder Marissa Es-quibel. Faculty Robotics Advisor Cindy Cle-

ments is also a Trinidad State mathematics professor, while electrical advisor Earl Nes-bitt and building advisor Karen Howl are the other key leaders for the Robotics Team.

“They’re very well suited to one anoth-er,” Clements said of the team members.

“Mary Carpenter wrote the project paper, and it took Hayden Alworth a lot of work to get the Ki-nect controller system to work effectively in the field.”

The students have added eight more sen-sors that are more com-plicated than last year’s and they’ve taken off the bump sensors. They’re now using ul-trasonic sensors, which have to be protected from blowing sand. Infrared sensors help BEK-E detect depres-sions in the ground and avoid them, along with a compass and beacon for guidance. There’s

no remote control, as the students turn BEK-E on and let it find it’s way past obstacles on the test course. The robot consists of four wheels, a ping sensor, a flexiforce bump sensor, a Kinect sensor and Sharp infrared sensors, along with a tilt sensor, all work-ing in unison using a highly sophisticated computer language installed on a computer chip designed by Parallax, Inc., the Rocklin,

Calif. technology company that’s working with the Trinidad State robotics program. BEK-E’s designed to be able to solve its own problems in the field, basing its decisions on its computer programming. Its sole circuit board is more stable this year because all of its components were designed and soldered into place by team co-captain Carpenter, rather than being hot-glued as they were last year.

“I started learning how to design the circuit board last year and worked on it all through Christmas break,” Carpenter said. “I finally got it put together in late January. There were a lot of little fixes that had to be done, so I had to be pretty creative. It weighs less and it’s a lot smaller than last year’s board, which has a lot of advantages.”

The Kinect sensor took Alworth several months to adapt from an Xbox and apply to the robot’s controller system, so he could communicate with the robot through a com-puter. The students designed the robot on computers and printed everything except the sidewalls on a three-di-mensional printer that the college acquired last year.

Power is critical to the robot’s effective-ness, and as the team adds more sensors, the power tends to drain from its battery, reduc-ing its effectiveness. The team was working to overcome that and other problems during Friday’s testing run at the sand pit and rock field just outside of the Davis Building on

campus.Clements said it’s difficult to find stu-

dents who are so highly motivated that they’ll put in countless hours outside the classroom working to develop the highly so-phisticated robots.

Several of the former students in the Trinidad State robotics program have moved on to internships at high technology robotics programs at four-year schools, Cle-ments said.

Clements said she’d been very pleased by the robotics team’s continued progress year-to-year.

“Last year we won first place and they gave us a little trophy,” Clements said. “We were the best robot over 1.5 kilograms, and

we were the first and only college to complete all six ob-stacle courses. So there’s a lot more stress on this team because they have a lot to live up to. Last year, their pa-per won first place and they won Peo-ple’s Choice Award again at Boulder. So there’s another set of stress, but they love it. I think they’ll do well again, but there are

more things that can go wrong because it’s a much more sophisticated robot we’re using this year.”

Facing difficult technical challenges and overcoming the obstacles along the way are the hallmarks of Trinidad State’s robotics program.

Steve Block / The Chronicle-NewsHayden Alworth, above, of the Trinidad State Robotics Team monitors the progress of BEK-E, the computer-controlled robot that was maneuvering around the obstacle course in a sandpit built for testing purposes. The Trinidad State Robotics Team, below, consists of (L-R) Hayden Alworth, Mary Carpenter, Marissa Esquibel and Alfonzo Barandarian.

The team works to prepare their robot, BEK-E, for the statewide robotics challenge on Saturday at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Clockwise from left are Hayden Alworth, Mary Carpenter, Marissa Esquibel and Alfonzo Barandarian.

Photo courtesy of Greg Boyce / Trinidad State

A study in fine oil painting Art Professor Vilas Tonape sits patiently demonstrating his skills in the oil painting arts to an interested audience on Wednesday morning in the Berg Building art studio on the Trinidad State Junior College campus. Two students from India also took the oppor-tunity to join the session via Skype. The morning’s volunteer model was city employee Lee Hadaway. Anyone interested in taking art classes at the college are encouraged to follow their intuition and contact Greg Boyce at 719-846-5530 or email greg.boyce@trinidadstate.edu for more information.

Sheriff’s scholarship available to County studentsBy Steve BlockThe Chronicle-News

A $500 scholarship is now available for a deserving Las Animas County student, as County Sheriff James Casias has announced that the County Sheriffs of Colo-rado, Inc. (CSOC), would award a scholarship to a County student next spring. CSOC established the schol-arship program in 1978, and has continued it in the years since then as a meaningful expression of the Sheriffs’ confidence in and respect for education and training.

Sheriff Casias said that scholarships have been made available in more than 30 Colorado coun-ties in this 36th year of the CSOC scholarship program, with scholarship announce-ments having been mailed to all high school offices in the eligible counties and all higher education institu-tions in the state. Applica-tions are available at the website: www.csoc.org, or at the County Sheriff’s Of-fice, which is located at 2309 E. Main St., in Trinidad.

The members of a local citizens committee, whose

members will be appoint-ed by Sheriff Casias, will review the applications. CSOC establishes the crite-ria for the scholarships, and they include leadership, character, merit, communi-ty involvement and career purpose.

Eligible applicants in-clude any permanent resi-dents of Las Animas County who are enrolled in, or ap-plying to, any vocational training program or insti-tution of higher learning in Colorado as full-time or part-time students. No re-strictions apply as to the course of study or training the student will pursue, and no restrictions are placed upon applications due to race, creed, age, sex or na-tional origin. For more information, contact any county high school, the County Sheriff’s Office at 719-846-2211 or CSOC.

“This is a great pro-gram that has helped a lot of Colorado students over the years,” Casias said Thurs-day. “We had to stop the scholarship program for a few ears, because we didn’t have enough money. Now that we’re solvent again, we’re very proud to be able to offer the scholarships again. Half of the counties in the state are funded each year, and this happens to be our year. It’s a great way to help our students further their education, because we know that well-educated students will be of great ben-efit, both to their own com-munities and to the country as a whole.”