by Sandy Hackbarth
LA VETA- Join us – the trustees and staff of the La Veta Public Library – as we celebrate you, the people who have made ours one of the top public libraries in the nation. The Library is hosting an open house on Friday, January 27, from 5 to 8 pm at the 1899 Inn in La Veta to say ‘Thanks’ for believing in, supporting, and, most importantly, using the La Veta Library.
by Eric Mullens
WALSENBURG — A routine jail shakedown on Wednesday, Jan. 11 resulted in the discovery of a jailhouse weapon and prompted officials here to transfer Dylan Stanley Dougherty to the Pueblo County Jail.
While a spokesperson for the Pueblo jail said they could not confirm the transfer, a search of the jail’s website showed Dougherty, 26, was in custody there on a courtesy hold. Huerfano County Sheriff Bruce Newman said Tuesday that Dougherty was transferred to the Pueblo detention facility on Thursday, Jan. 12 as a result of the item found.
by Bill Knowles
WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg City Council reviewed a request for water from Tim Williams and Ray Pfaffenhauser of Huerfano Peaks Sand and Gravel. The water requested would allow them to make a competitive bid for the concrete work needed by Black Hills Energy on the proposed Busch Ranch Wind Farm.
by Bill Knowles
WALSENBURG — Lee Grace Dougherty will face trial on all 29 counts she has been charged with despite attempts by her attorney, Public Defender Patrick McCarville, to have the upcoming trial deal only with events that occurred during and after the time she pointed a gun at Walsenburg Police Chief James Chamberlain.
According to McCarville, that event is the only alleged crime that has any evidentiary support. He also introduced motions seeking to have statements and evidence from the alleged crimes in Florida and Georgia blocked from the trial.
by Bill Knowles
LA VETA — The La Veta school board offered a report of the district’s financial performance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 during its first regular meeting for 2012.
The report showed that the district’s assets exceeded its liabilities by about $3.7 million. However the district’s 2010/2011 assets were down about $281,000 from the 2009/2010 fiscal year.
by Bill Knowles
WALSENBURG — The Huerfano County Commission held a public hearing this week on a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), worth about $300,000.
The grant money, if awarded, will aid Chaé Organics to build a new manufacturing facility just west of Knight’s Inn on U.S. Hwy 160. The company plans to invest $1.5 million in the operation, which will cover any matching fund requirements of the grant.
City of Walsenburg’s changing of the guard
by Bill Knowles
WALSENBURG — The first city council meeting of 2012 saw a changing of the guard as Mayor-elect Larry Patrick and Council member-elect James Baca were sworn in by 3rd District Court Judge Claude Appel.
by Eric Mullens
ALAMOSA — Driving what may have been a former police car, a Huerfano County fugitive was arrested following a high speed chase and car crash in the San Luis Valley Dec. 28.
Brandon King, 25, of Alamosa, was wanted on warrants from Huerfano County on charges of larceny and criminal impersonation as well as charges of kidnapping from Rio Grande County, a failure to appear warrant from Alamosa County and a domestic violence charge filed against him the day before his arrest in that same jurisdiction.
The accompanying article, “The Hostile Media Phenomenon,” was originally run in September 2008 in the Huerfano Journal. It talks about “what happens when someone with a partisan viewpoint on some issue - pretty much any partisan viewpoint - is exposed to news coverage on that issue. It turns out that partisans on each side of a conflict perceive media coverage as being excessively critical of their side while giving a free pass to the other.”
