1. 50CENTS
TRINIDAD
COLORADO
Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com
~
Vol. 139, No. 60
WEDNESDAY
MARCH25,2015
MARCH 25
Tourism Board
WEDNESDAY (9 a.m.) Commit-
tee meets in the City Hall Third Floor
Conference Room, 135 N. Animas St.
Information: City Clerk, Audra Garrett,
719-846-9843.
Housing Authority
WEDNESDAY (6:30 p.m.) Trini-
dad Housing Board of Commission-
ers will meet in regular session at the
Corazon Square Activity Room, 201
Raton St. Info: Rosemarie Shier, 719-
846-7204.
LENTEN SERVICE
WEDNESDAY (6:30 p.m.) Weekly
service will be held at Zion’s Lutheran
Church, 613 Prospect St. Info: 719-
846-7785.
Today’s Quote
“This has been my
life. I have found it
worth living, and
would gladly live it
again if the chance
were offered me.”
~Bertrand Russell
MARCH 26
Trinidad Ambulance District
THURSDAY (4:30 p.m.) Trinidad
Ambulance District Board of Directors
regular meeting at the Trinidad Am-
bulance District Office, 939 Robinson
Ave. Information: 719-846-6886.
Book Signing
THURSDAY (5 p.m.) “The Tunnels
under our Feet — Colorado’s forgot-
ten hollow sidewalks” with author
Tracy Beach will be at the Carnegie
Library, 202 N. Animas St. Info: 719-
846-6841.
Hoehne Schools
THURSDAY (6 p.m.) Hoehne
School Board will meet in regular ses-
sion in the Superintendents Office.
Information: Hannah Baca, 719-846-
4457 ext.109.
PUBLIC SERVICE
SPBC Fire District
FRIDAY (10 a.m.) The Spanish
Peaks/Bon Carbo Fire Protection Dis-
trict Board of Directors will meet in
Century Financial Group Building, 109
W. Main St. Info: Dana Phillips, 719-
846-2080.
SCRT Performance
FRIDAY & SATURDAY (7 p.m.)
& SUNDAY (2 p.m.) Neil Simon’s “I
Ought to be in Pictures,” directed
by Fred Vaugeois runs at the South-
ern Colorado Repertoire Theatre, 131
West Main St. Info: 719-846-4765 or
www.scrtheatre.com.
NEW BOOK ‘REMINDERS’
SATURDAY (10 a.m.) The Prim-
ero Community Center will host a free
presentation “Reminders of a Forgot-
ten Past: Weston, Las Animas County,
Colorado,” by area native Phillip Ar-
nold Vigil at the Center in the Primero
High School. Info: Gloria Duran, 719-
868-2753 or John Torres, 719-680-
9381.
Friendly Farmers Forum
SATURDAY (11 a.m.-5 p.m.)
Third annual Education & Exchange
Forum will be at the Mt. Carmel Com-
munity Center, 911 Robinson Ave. Re-
freshments will be served. Info: Trini-
dad Community Coop, Carter Morris,
719-680-3528.
PUBLIC RECEPTION
SATURDAY (1-4 p.m.) The public
is invited to join the Corazon Gallery as
they host a Patrons’ Appreciation Re-
ception for artist Lora Nave at the Gal-
lery, 149 E. Main St. Info: Trish Keck,
719-859-7702.
SPAGHETTI DINNER
SUNDAY (11-11:30 a.m. for take
home & 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. for dine
in) Annual Palm Sunday celebration
and benefit dinner will be held at the
Sebastiani Gym on Animas St. Info:
John Pearce, 719-846-3369 or john.
pearce@trinidadcatholic.org.
THEFINEPRINT
WEATHERWATCH
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of
showers, mainly after 11 a.m. Partly sunny,
with a high near 54. West wind 5 to 15 mph
becoming north northeast in the afternoon.
New precipitation amounts of less than a
tenth of an inch possible. Night: A 50 percent
chance of rain and snow showers before 11
p.m., then a chance of snow showers. Mostly
cloudy, with a low around 25. North north-
east wind 5 to 15 mph. New snow accumu-
lation of less than a half inch possible.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near
53. West wind around 5 mph. Night: Partly
cloudy, with a low around 29. Calm wind be-
coming west northwest around 5 mph
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
West wind around 5 mph becoming south in
the afternoon. Night: Mostly clear, with a low
around 35. West wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 73.
South southwest wind around 5 mph. Night:
Mostly clear, with a low around 39. South
southwest wind around 5 mph.
RIVERCALL
Purgatoire River Call as of:
03/24/15. Hoehne ditch: Priority
# 20 --- Appropriation date:
10/07/1865.
Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:
Release .61 AF
Inflow 122.44 AF -- 61.73 CFS
Evaporation 9.83 AF
Content 18,987 AF
Elevation 6,182.22
Precipitation 0
Downstream River Call / John
Martin Reservoir: (Conservation
Storage) 05/31/1949.
THECHRONICLENEWSCITY PLANNER
Fineberg resigns position
By Steve Block
The Chronicle-News
Trinidad’s City Planner Louis
Fineberg has resigned from the
position he has held since Janu-
ary 2011, according to City Man-
ager Gabe Engeland, speaking in
a Monday phone conversation.
Unconfirmed reports suggested
that Fineberg had taken a similar
position in Taos, N.M. Victor Guti-
errez will serve as acting city plan-
ner until a permanent planner is
hired.
During his time in Trinidad,
Fineberg was responsible for get-
ting millions of dollars of state and
federal grant funding into the City
for a variety of projects. Among
those projects is the ongoing Old
Sopris Trail Project, an extension
of the City’s trails system, which
will ultimately extend from the
downtown Boulevard Addition
to the entrance to Trinidad Lake
State Park. Under Fineberg’s di-
rection the Planning Department
also secured funding for the City’s
Wayfinding Signage project, the
North Commercial Street Recon-
struction Project, a new pocket
park and other important City im-
provements.
Council member Anthony Mat-
tie said in a Monday phone call
that Fineberg was very good at
what he did and would be sorely
missed, and he said he wished him
well in all of his future endeavors.
“Louis did a fine job while he
was here,” Mattie said. “He was
very accomplished at what he did.
He not only got millions of dol-
lars of grant funding into our city,
but he managed it very well and
brought projects closer to comple-
tion.”
Fineberg was one of six final-
ists for Trinidad’s City Manager
position in October 2012, a job that
eventually went to the since-fired
Tom Acre. City Council member
Carol Bolton said Fineberg had
done an outstanding job as City
Planner.
“Louis was just incredible in
the way he could get grants from
DOLA (the Department of Local
Affairs),” Bolton said. “He helped
ourCreativeDistrictandourMain
Street program. We can only hope
that our next City Planner has the
same qualities that he had.”
Multiple attempts to contact
Fineberg by phone on Monday
were unsuccessful.
ARPA UPDATE
Lamar power
plant declared
Impaired Asset
By Steve Block
The Chronicle-News
There was both good news and
bad news coming from the most
recent Board meeting of the Ar-
kansas River Power Authority
(ARPA), the six-member coopera-
tive that supplies most of Trini-
dad’s electrical supply. Earlier
this year, ARPA was notified by its
auditor that the Lamar Repower-
ing Project (LRP), it’s Lamar-based
coal-fired power plant, met the de-
scription of an “Impaired Asset”
for accounting purposes, because
the plant cannot meet the emission
requirements of its air permit.
The LRP has been unable to op-
erate since 2011 and ARPA is cur-
rently involved in a lawsuit with
its boiler manufacturer, Babcock
and Wilcox, because the boiler can-
not meet its air emissions perfor-
mance guarantee. At its February
Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
Louis Fineberg accomplished a great
many positive things during his tenure
as Trinidad’s City Planner.
Continued on Page 3 ...
By Steve Block
The Chronicle-News
Monday brought sunny skies and warm tempera-
tures to Trinidad, so it was a fine day for Wal-Mart
employees to get outside and clean up the property
around the store. Store Manager Hilary Lamb said
she was impressed that the employees wanted to also
clean up adjacent property as their first task.
The area around the store just off of Exit 11 on In-
terstate 25 is subject to some very strong winds and
trash tends to pile up around fence lines and in an
adjacent drainage ditch, so it helps to do just little bit
more to clean things up. The two-day project involved
dayshift workers picking up all the trash and hauling
it away, and then washing down the sidewalks and
parking lot and repainting the fire lanes.
“One of the things that impressed me the most was
that when the employees all came out here to start
the cleanup, they wanted to clean up not just our area
but the trash that had blown on to other properties as
well,” Lamb said. “It was a really good feeling to know
that the associates care.”
COMMUNITY PRIDE
Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
Wal-Mart Store Assistant Manager Anna Jimenez, rake in hand, joined her co-workers in cleaning
up the store’s grounds, as well as the surrounding property.
Wal-Mart employees
get spring cleaning done
Continued on Page 3 ...
SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO
Drought updateThe National Weather Service
Special to The Chronicle-News
February showed a tale of two
seasons across southeast Colo-
rado. The first half of the month
was very warm with average tem-
peratures running 10 degrees or
more above average through the
first 20 days of the month.
The first half also saw
mainly dry condi-
tions across the
area with two
weather sys-
tems bringing
some snow
to the higher
e l e v a t i o n s
along with
rain and snow
to the lower el-
evations between
February 9 and 16.
A cool and unsettled
weather pattern developed
round February 20 and persisted
throughtheendofthemonth,brin-
ing much needed precipitation to
the state, especially the south and
eastern portions of the area.
Despite above average precipi-
tation across southeastern Colo-
rado over the past several months,
more precipitation will be need to
overcome the deficits experiences
throughout the past several years
of extreme to exceptional drought.
The current US Drought Monitor
shows little change in the condi-
tions across the area with severe
drought (D2) conditions remain-
ing in place across the eastern
two-thirds of Crowley, eastern
Otero, eastern two-thirds of Las
Animas and all of Kiowa,
Bent, Baca and Prow-
ers Counties.
CPS and VIC
Soil Moisture
calculations
indicate near
normal condi-
tions across
most of south-
east Colorado
with some
improvements
noted across por-
tions of the San
Luis Valley and the
far southeast plains over
the past month.
Two weeks of wet weather
through the end of February and
the beginning of March provided
a significant increase in snowpack
statewide which had been reeling
after a very from first half of the
month across the region. Despite
Continued on Page 2 ...
Photo by Mike Salbato / TSJC
Trojan Golf tees off for stretch runJake Ice, hitting his tee shot on No. 18 last fall at the Trinidad Invitational,
and the Trojan Golf team will begin Region IX play this Thursday and Friday at
the Municipal Course in Trinidad. See Page 8.
REGION IX

2. Page 8 Wednesday, March 25, 2015 The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado
SPORTS2-0 RECORD
THS Lady Miner’s —
Soccer starts off hot
By Adam Sperandio
The Chronicle-News
The Trinidad Lady Miners soccer team
kicked off the season with victories over
Rye and Vanguard over the weekend,
bringing their record to 2-0 with a lot of
soccer still left to be played.
Junior forward Jay Lynn Griego re-
corded the first goal of the season early in
the first half and senior midfielder Niccole
Cordova put the Miners up for good just be-
fore halftime in a 2-0 shutout over the Rye
Thunderbolts on what was a rainy Thurs-
day afternoon at Central Park.
Griego blasted the 15-yard shot from
just inside the penalty line and the host
Miners protected the lead for the remain-
der of the game. Cordova provided an in-
surance goal right before halftime. Defen-
sively, junior defenseman Marie Lubitz
led the team with 10 steals and goalkeep-
ers Amber Mitchell and Destiny Montoya
combined for four saves on the afternoon,
with Mitchell getting credit for the win. It
was their first opening day win since the
2011-12 season, when the Miners finished
with a 7-8-1 record.
The Miners’ defense held Rye in check
for most of the game and held the ball on
their side of the pitch attacking the T-Bolt
goalie, Alyssa Clayton at will with Griego
and Cordova combining for 12 shots on
goal. The T-Bolts were able to penetrate
deeper into the Miners’ defense in the sec-
ond half but could only manage one shot
on goal in the game.
It was a much different story Saturday
against Vanguard, as the Coursers jumped
out to an early 2-0 lead in the first half. It
wasn’t until the second half before the
Lady Miners’ legs woke up with junior
Dominique Quintana picking up her first
goal on the season and Niccole Cordova
adding two more, including the game win-
ner.
Mitchell recorded six saves and the
Miners overwhelmed the Courser’s goal-
tenders to the tune of 12 shots on goal for
the second straight contest.
The undefeated Miners will take the
pitch again on March 31 when they will
host Pueblo Central at Central Park before
heading on a two-game road trip that will
take them to Colorado Springs for a match-
up against James Irwin on April 2, and
Lamar on April 4. Kickoff against Pueblo
Central is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Adam Sperandio/The Chronicle-News
Trinidad Lady Miner Jillian Duran battles a Rye Thunderbolt defender for the ball in Thursday’s
season opener at Central Park. The Miners defeated the T-Bolts 2-0.
Lady Trojans move
into first with
sweep of McCook
By Mike Salbato
Correspondent
The Chronicle-News
Trinidad State Junior College coach Steve
Swazo knew his team had their hands full
facing Region IX leading McCook Commu-
nity College this past weekend at Southside
Park. The Indians were riding an 18-game
win streak, but in the end the Lady Trojans
played solid softball for four games and came
away with a series sweep. TSJC won by the
scores of 5-3, 9-5, 8-7—and a thriller in eight
innings—a 5-3 walk-off win.
Samantha Glover had the hot bat for the
Trojans, going 6-for-15 at the plate in the four
games with ten RBIs and two home runs. It
was Glover’s two-run home run in the bot-
tom of the eighth inning that sealed the 5-3
win in the fourth game of the series.
OnSaturdayingameone,DemiMadalena
pitched a complete game for the 5-3 win with
tenstrikeouts. Gloverhadathree-rundouble
while Macie Christian and Vicky Gonzales
also had RBIs. In game two, Jessica Salbato
kept McCook at bay for the 9-5 win. Courtney
Vigil and Sami Miele had the hot bats going
3-for-4, each with a home run. Teaja Rivera
also had a home run in the game.
Sunday was another battle as Madalena
(7-3) picked up the win in the circle with
Salbato getting the save in the 8-7 victory.
Glover had three RBIs and Allyson Grywus-
iewicz came up with a clutch, pinch-hit, two-
RBI single in the sixth inning to lead the Tro-
jan attack. Game two of the afternoon was a
dandy as TSJC had a 2-0 lead until the sixth
inning when McCook took a 3-2 lead. Trini-
dad tied the game in the bottom of the sev-
enth inning off a single from Morgan Ginger
to force the game into extra innings. Glover
then provided the heroics, hitting a two-run
home run over the right field fence to win
it for the Lady Trojans in the bottom of the
eighth. Salbato (7-3) pitched all eight innings
for the win.
Trinidad State is now 17-8 overall and 12-2
in Region IX play. They are currently in first
place in the Region IX standings, one game
up on Western Nebraska. The Trojans will
host Lamar for a doubleheader on Wednes-
day, March 25, and then travel to Nebraska
this weekend for a six game road swing fac-
ing North Platte on Friday, McCook on Sat-
urday and Western Nebraska on Sunday.
TRINIDAD STATE SOFTBALL
Photo courtesy of Trinidad State
Samantha Glover, a freshman from Highland, California, is hitting .385 on the season. She leads
the Trojans with five home runs and 21 RBIs.
By Mike Salbato
Trinidad State Junior College
The spring portion of the golf season
is just getting started and the Trojans are
primed to make a run at a return trip to the
National Tournament in May. They are
currently fourteen points ahead of Eastern
Wyominginthestandingswithfourtourna-
ments played this past fall and five remain-
ing on the schedule. To prepare for the up-
coming regional tournaments the Trojans
wenttoatune-upeventthispastweekendin
Midland, Texas. The event, featuring some
of the best teams in the country, is a taste
of what they will experience at the national
tournament if they stay ahead in the stand-
ings through the second half of the season.
The Trojans finished fifth overall in Mid-
land with three of the teams ahead of them
being nationally ranked. Trinidad shot
their lowest scoring total ever in Midland
finishing with a total of 609 in three rounds.
They shot a 299 on day one, a 297 on day two
before a downpour soaked the Trojan golf-
ers and their scores rose to 310 for the final
round.
Sophomore Jake Ice finished ninth
overall and won a trophy for top 10 out of
33 players. He finished +6 with rounds of
72, 74 and 73. “All things considered, I felt
like we grinded very hard and posted de-
cent scores even though we did not play all
that well,” commented Coach Rich Holden.
“Jake was the only player that looked fairly
close to his best game. He really struck the
ball well, but did struggle around the greens
a little. I believe our scores will give us a
ton of optimism heading into Region IX play
this week.”
The Trojans will return to their home
course this Thursday and Friday to open
the Region IX spring season. TSJC always
plays strong at home, but Ice is especially
good in Trinidad. He tied the course record
this past fall shooting an amazing 62 at the
Municipal Course. This ties Aaron Veltri
(2003) and Tom Schultz (2010) in the record
books. Ice is joined by Justin Carlock, who
won three of the four regional tournaments
held in the fall and had a double-eagle in
tournament play last year. They are joined
by local standout Carlos Sisneros, who fin-
ished second at the Trinidad meet last se-
mester, Justin Fredericks, currently sitting
in fifth place in the regional standings and
Frazer Pomfret, who won the McCook invi-
tational this past fall.
This talented group has a few more goals
to meet this spring, which include qualify-
ing and placing at the National Tourna-
ment. Their run begins this Thursday at 1
p.m. at the Trinidad Municipal Course.
DEARABBY
By Abigail Van Buren
DEAR ABBY: My fiance, “Jerry,” has a
daughter-in-law who flashes both of us inti-
mate parts of her body. At a recent gather-
ing, she went down to the floor 2 feet away
from where Jerry was sitting and gave us
both a full view up her dress. Abby, she did
it deliberately!
I thought the time one of her breasts
popped out of her
blouse was a “ward-
robe malfunction.”
I no longer feel that
way.
Jerry is a push-
over. He doesn’t say
anything; he just
runs away from it.
I’m afraid things will
only get worse. She
must be trying to run
me off. I can’t think
of any other reason
for her behavior.
We have decided
to not go on vacation
with them this year
because of this. Jer-
ry is doing what he
can for us to avoid being around her, but he
has his 1-year-old granddaughter he adores
to consider. What do you think is going on?
-- COVERING MY EYES IN TEXAS
DEAR COVERING: I think the daughter-
in-law either has no sense of modesty or
she’s an exhibitionist who enjoys shocking
people. Because it bothers you and embar-
rasses your fiance, he should tell his son
and explain how it makes the both of you
feel. If the son delivers the message to his
wife, it shouldn’t cause a family rift.
DEAR ABBY: A few years ago, I broke up
with a guy who was emotionally and sexu-
ally abusive. We had been seeing each other
for eight months. We weren’t living togeth-
er, but I still was scared to break up with
him because of what he might do to me. He
would often call me bad names if I disagreed
with what he wanted to do, and have angry
outbursts during which he would throw
things.
I have looked up how to safely exit an
abusive relationship, but everything I find
deals with what to do if you are living with
the abuser. They don’t teach us in high
school how to safely drop an abuser; they
just tell us to drop him. How do you safely
break up with an abuser when mov-
ing to the other side of the country
is impractical? -- RECOVERING IN
THE USA
DEAR RECOVERING: Here is
what I recommend: If you have
mutual friends, tell them why you
ended the relationship with him. In
addition, stop going places where
you know he hangs out.
If he continues to call you, tell
him to stop and hang up. Then
screen your calls. If he emails, de-
lete his messages without looking at
them. However, if he follows or con-
tinues to pursue you, make a police
report.
DEAR ABBY: Last year my un-
married 30ish niece became a mother. Nev-
er once at family gatherings has there been
any mention of a father.
I am more than a little bit curious. A one-
night stand? A fertility clinic? A do-it-your-
self turkey-baster job? Would I be wrong to
bring up the subject? -- CURIOUS UNCLE
IN OREGON
DEAR UNCLE: Yes, you would. I can 100
percent guarantee that a male was involved
at some point in the conception of that
child. And if the father’s identity was any of
your business, you would already know the
answer to that question.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Bu-
ren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was
founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.
Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com
or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW WHO FLASHES
NEEDS MESSAGE TO COVER UP
Trojan’s golf
in Midland
TEEING OFF