1. 50Cents
Trinidad
Colorado
Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com
~
Vol. 139, No. 37
AREA SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL
WED: Primero hosts Kim 5:30 p.m.
FRI: Primero hosts Cotopaxi 5 p.m.
Aguilar @ Moffat 1 p.m.
SAT: Primero @ South Baca 2 p.m.
Trinidad Miners Pigtail games 6
p.m. 2 James Irwin School in Colorado
Springs
Hoehne District Tourney TBD
TRINIDAD STATE
FRI: Baseball @ Luna CC Las Ve-
gas, NM12 p.m. DH
Softball hosts Garden City @ Central
Park 1 p.m. DH
SAT: Mens Basketball hosts Otero
JC (RIVALRY GAME) 7 p.m.
Womens Basketball hosts Otero JC
(RIVALRY GAME) 5 p.m.
Softball hosts McCook 12 p.m. DH
SUN:BaseballhostsLuna12p.m.DH
Softball hosts McCook 11 a.m. DH
Today’s Quote
“Being happy never
goes out of style.”
~Lilly Pulitzer
FEBRUARY 20-22
SCRT Performance
FRIDAY & SATURDAY (7 p.m.)
& SUNDAY (2 p.m.) DON’T MISS
THIS SMASH HIT! The Dixie Swim
Club runs at the Southern Colorado
Repertoire Theatre, 131 West Main St.
Info: 719-846-4765 or www.scrtheatre.
com.
Trinidad Community Coop
FRIDAY (10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.)
Vegan Cooking Class on Friday morn-
ings and Kirtan chanting (Sanskrit
chanting call) on Friday evenings at
the Coop, Corner of Elm and Maple
Streets. Info: communitycooptrini-
dad@gmail.com.
Republican Women
SATURDAY (5:30 p.m.) The com-
munity 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
NRA Senior Field Rep Peter Ide. Info:
Shelly King, 19-845-0300. Proceeds
benefit the LACRW.
FEBRUARY 23
Holy Trinity Academy
MONDAY (5:30 p.m.) School
board meeting at the school, 613 Pros-
pect St. Information: Andrea Jimenez,
719-846-4522.
PUBLIC SERVICE
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
admission. Info: Rodney Wood, 719-
334-0087.
THS KEY CLUB
THRU FEBRUARY 24: Members
are joining in a food drive in partner-
ship with Pueblo Central High School
to feed homeless teens in the Pueblo
area. Please bring donations of non-
perishable food items or gently used
clothing items to 207 E. Main St. THS
students can bring items directly to the
school. Info: charray.reilly@trinidad.
k12.co.us.
DEALING: GRIEF & LOSS
FEBRUARY 25 (5:30 p.m.) The
HOPE Pregnancy Center is offering a
special workshop for anyone interest-
ed in dealing with loss. Confidentiality
is a priority. Info: JoAnn, 719-846-4889
or joann@hpct.comcastbiz.net.
OPERA TRINIDAD
FEBRUARY 28 (Noon) AIDA by
Giuseppe Verdi — the composer’s
grandest opera about the forbidden
love of an Egyptian general and an
Ethiopian slave, and the jealousy of the
daughter of the King of Egypt.
FUN & FUNDRAISER DINNER
FEBRUARY 28 (6 p.m.) The Trini-
dad State Educational Foundation will
host their annual fundraiser dinner
and silent auction “Aim for the Fence”
with featured guest speaker Colorado
Rockies great Todd Helton at the THS
Donnelly Gym. Info: Linda Perry (719-
846-5649) or Toni DeAngelis (719-846-
5520).
FP Horse Association
MARCH 7 (10 a.m.) The 2015
Season kicks off with OPEN RIDE (10
a.m.), EXHIBITIONS (11 a.m.), OPEN
4-D BARREL RACE (Noon) followed
by YOUTH BARREL RACE and POLE
TheFinePrint
WeatherWatchFriday: Mostly sunny, with a high near
61. Light south southwest wind becoming
west southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Night: A chance of rain and snow before.
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. West
wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation
is 30 percent with less than a tenth of an inch
possible.
Saturday: An 80 percent chance of snow,
accumulation of 1-3 inches. The snow could
be heavy at times. High near 31. North wind
around 10 mph New snow Night: An 90
percent chance of snow, with accumulation
of 4-8 inches possible. Low around 17. East
wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: An 80 percent chance of snow.
Highnear26.Eastwindaround5mph.Night:
A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a
low around 8. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of snow.
Partly sunny, with a high near 31. East
northeast wind around 5 mph. Night: Partly
cloudy, with a low around 15.
RiverCall
TheChronicleNews
WeekendEdition
Friday,Saturday&
Sunday
February20-22,2015
Continued on Page 5 ...
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Buy 1 Mani Or Pedi & Get 1 Free
Buy A 1/2 Hour Refloxology & Get A Paraffin Treatment Free
*All Free Services Must Be Completed On The Same Day As Purchased Service *Specials End February 28th
209 E. Main St.
Trinidad, CO
719-422-8372
Awaken Salon & Spa
LOOKING FORWARD TO WARM WEATHER?
Photo courtesy of Patrick Arguello, Trinidad, Colorado
Don’t let the first signs of Spring fool you . . .
As pretty as these pansies are popping out in a local garden, don’t let them trick you into thinking that Winter is over here in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the
Colorado Rocky Mountains. The weather report for this weekend has plenty of snow in store for all residents along the Front Range, including Trinidad. With as
much as a 90 percent call for the white stuff by Sunday evening and temperatures for the weekend lingering in the freezing zone, a good bit of snow is sure to
fall and residents will be shoveling walkways and sidewalks by Monday morning.
AREA RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
By Steve Block
The Chronicle-News
When City Planner Louis Fine-
berg applies for state or federal
grant funding, he needs specific
project plans to back up the City’s
grant application. That’s why he
was excited to announce the City’s
2015 Parks and Recreation Master
Plan, which he described in some
detail in a Tuesday interview.
The reconstituted City Parks
and Recreation Advisory Board,
chaired by Glen Davis, aided the
process of developing the new
plan. Public input was sought dur-
ing the plan’s development pro-
cess. The plan was approved by
City Council at a recent meeting.
“The plan brought us up to
date with a lot of the projects that
the City is wanting and needing,”
Fineberg said. “A lot of the recre-
ational needs are determined by
formula. DOLA (the state Depart-
ment of Local Affairs) puts out a
chart per one thousand residents.
If you have 10,000 people you
should have so many soccer fields,
and so many tennis courts, or so
many baseball fields or miles of
walking trail you should have. A
lot of it is stock, like that. But there
are many things that are unique
to Trinidad. There was kind of a
push for tennis courts, because we
don’t have any playable courts. A
dog park seemed to be something
a lot of people wanted, and we are
going to have one.”
The City’s proposed dog park
will be located on city property
just east of the junction of East
Elm Street and North Linden Av-
enue, near one of the access paths
leading to the Riverwalk Trail.
The problem is that there are a lot
of goatheads in that area, whose
thorns can cause dogs plenty of
pain if they step on them. To com-
pletely landscape and replant the
grass in the park might cost more
than the $30,000 the City has bud-
geted for the park. The local Elks
Club has donated fencing around
the park. Fineberg said he’d like
to leverage the money the City
has devoted to the project and get
enough grant funding to have a
truly outstanding dog park for lo-
cal pooches.
“It wasn’t a big issue in the
past, but now people really seem to
want a dog park,” Fineberg said.
“If we can leverage that $30,000 up
to $150,000, we can have a really
nice dog park.”
The City could tap into a near-
by water line to bring water into Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
City Planner Louis Fineberg discussed the City’s new Parks and Recreation
Master Plan in a Tuesday interview with The Chronicle-News.
City’s Master Parks, Recreation Plan good to go
Continued on Page 3 ...
TAX HELP COLORADO
State Rep.
Timothy Dore
to visit TSJC
on Saturday
By Greg Boyce
Trinidad State
Colorado State Representa-
tive Timothy Dore will visit Tax
Help Colorado’s free tax prepa-
ration site on the Trinidad State
Junior College campus to help
raise awareness about free filing
options available to low- to mod-
erate-income taxpayers. Trinidad
students will be preparing taxes
for individuals with incomes un-
der $52,000.
Rep. Dore will greet the hard-
working families who are filing
taxes and thank the students who
are serving as the site’s tax prepar-
ers.
As part of the Tax Help Colo-
rado program, Trinidad State Ju-
nior College partners with The
Piton Foundation and the Colora-
do Community College System to
provide free tax preparation assis-
tance to low-income families. Last
year alone, the free tax site helped
more than 200 Trinidad residents
claim more than $300,000 in re-
funds. Continuing its success, the
IRS-certified students and volun-
teers at Trinidad State Junior Col-
lege are preparing and e-filing tax
returns free of charge for individu-
als with household incomes of less
than $52,000 in 2014.
Tax Help Colorado has a pres-
ence on 18 college campuses and
operates 26 free tax sites statewide.
More than 30% of Colorado fami-
lies are eligible to participate in
the program, which was created to
help alleviate the financial burden
of commercial
tax prepara-
tion costs on
lower-income
households.
Many of
these fami-
lies are also
eligible for tax
benefits such
as the Earned
Income Tax
Credit and
Child Tax
Credit, and
Tax Help Colorado preparers spe-
cialize in ensuring that taxpayers
receive the refunds they deserve.
The free tax site at Trinidad
Purgatoire River Call as of:
02/19/15. Chilili ditch: Prior-
ity # 7 --- Appropriation date:
04/30/1862.
Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:
Release 0.77 AF
Inflow 48.73 AF -- 24.57 CFS
Evaporation 3.96 AF
Content 16,989 AF
Elevation 6,179.22
Precipitation 0
Downstream River Call: John
Martin Reservoir: (Conservation
Storage) 05/31/1949.
Photo courtesy of Tim Dore
State Rep. Timothy Dore
Continued on Page 3 ...

2. The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado “Weekend Edition” Friday, Saturday & Sunday, February 20-22, 2015 Page 3
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Friday Nights 5:30-7:30pm
DUI Therapy Class
Thursday Nights 5:30-7:30pm
Weekly Substance Abuse Classes
Tuesday Nights 5:30-7:30pm
Call Julie Mattorano at 719-422-8130
for an appointment.
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Spanish Peaks Outreach Clinic
129 Kansas Ave.
Walsenburg, CO
719-738-5200 • 719-557-1357
State Rep. Timothy Dore to
visit TSJC on Saturday
... Continued from Page 1
City’s Master Parks, Recreation Plan good to go ... Continued from Page 1
the park for watering the grass and for a watering station
for the dogs, he said.
“If we were able to get grants to bring it up to $150,000,
then we could bring water into the park, reseed it and put
in an agility course for the dogs, and I’m tending to believe
we should do that and have a really great dog park. Or we
could use the $30,000 we now have and have a mediocre dog
park. Those are the choices we have.”
The city could use some new or resurfaced tennis courts,
he said, and one more soccer field along with some basket-
ball courts. Repairs to the gazebo at Kit Carson Park will
happen this year. The two tennis courts at the Trinidad
Municipal Golf Course need to be repaired. New and safer
playground equipment at the city’s parks might be needed
in coming years, when funding is available.
“The only thing I hear a clamor about is a dog park,
and we’re working on that. We should have tennis courts.
We’ve been discussing improvements to the baseball facil-
ity at Central Park with the college and the high school. The
question with that is where the funding would come from.
We’ve also had discussions about another soccer field.
Those are the projects that seem to be active. The ones that
people are actively pursuing. We have some space issues
and issues concerning where the football team practices.
Other than those, we’re working pretty hard on our trails
system and getting that where it needs to be.”
Fineberg said the City Parks and Boulevards Depart-
ment workers, led by Dave Esquibel, were taxed to the limit
in maintaining the City’s current recreation facilities, and
didn’t have the time necessary to maintain any new parks.
That’s one of the reasons he’s such a strong of proponent
of trails, because they tend to need very little maintenance
once they’re completed. A great trails system has also been
shown to be a spur to economic development for many cit-
ies across the country. The City’s updated master plan for
trails will be released in the near future.
“Statistics will show that the best bang for your buck is
with a trails system,” he said.
State Junior College is open on Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. and
Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. through March 5.
■ Who: Rep. Timothy Dore
■ When: Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 1 p.m.
■ Where: Trinidad State Junior College Campus
■ Address: 600 Prospect Street in the Main Floor Freud-
enthal Library, Trinidad, Colorado
As the number of working poor in Colorado continues to
grow, an estimated 400,000 struggling families are eligible
for valuable federal tax benefits like the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit. This tax season, the
EITC will put an expected $700 million back into the pock-
ets of hard-working families with children that earned less
than about $52,000 in 2014. One of the nation’s most success-
ful anti-poverty tools, the EITC promotes employment while
providing valuable refunds to lower-wage earners who are
striving to achieve financial security. Last year, the 345,000
Colorado tax payers who claimed the EITC received an av-
erage of $2,000 per household, totaling $737 million.
Information on EITC eligibility and a full list of free in-
come tax assistance sites in Colorado can be found by dial-
ing 2-1-1 (it’s a free call), visiting www.piton.org/eitc, or find-
ing Tax Help Colorado on Facebook at www.facebook.com/
taxhelpcolorado or Twitter @TaxHelpCO.
—
About The Piton Foundation
The Piton Foundation, which is part of Gary Community
Investments, is a private, operating foundation established
in 1976 by Denver oilman Sam Gary. It is committed to im-
proving the lives of Colorado’s low-income children and their
families by increasing access to quality early childhood and
youth development opportunities and fostering healthy fam-
ily and community environments.
COMMUNITY
Aerial photo courtesy of City Planner’s office / Corner of N. Linden and E. Elm Streets photo, Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
The above aerial photo shows the plan for the new City Dog Park. The facility will be located across Linden Street near the corner of
where North Linden and East Elm Streets intersect.
Photo courtesy of the Aguilar School District
Aguilar Elementary School hosted a Parent Night on the evening of February 10, 2015. The newly formed choir, under the direction
of Mr. Bryan Porter, began the evening. After Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance awards were given, the parents and guests were
able to visit the elementary school classrooms to see some of the childrens’ work and projects. Back row (L-R) Reina Fountain and
Grace Miceka. Middle row (L-R) Marissa Duran, Savanna Castellano, Nicholle Broach and DeNajah Garcia. Front row (L-R) Alexus
Booth and Denali Douglas.