It’s Monday, April 18, the day following the Easter candy. Here are five items to get the week started:
1 Examination time for Adams State is coming up, and we’re not talking about student final exams.
The higher education accrediting body for the university is scheduled to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the school beginning April 25 as part of Adams State’s reaffirmation for accreditation. The process includes a visit to the campus by the Higher Learning Commission peer reviewers to ensure Adams State is “meeting the Criteria for Accreditation and pursuing institutional advancement.”
Adams State is currently fully accredited, following a brief period of probation that was lifted in June 2018. It was first accredited by the Higher Learning Commission in January 1950.
2. Alamosa City Council will take up proposed zoning changes that affect 455 properties within the city limits, as well as minor changes to city codes that regulate short-term rentals. The full agenda to Wednesday’s meeting is here.
Listen to The Valley Pod episode with City Manager Heather Brooks and Development Services Director Rachel Baird during which they discuss the proposed zoning changes.
3. The Maestas Case, a 1912-13 school desegregation case involving Hispanic children from Alamosa who were forced to attend the “Mexican School” on the southside of town, was recognized last week in two presentations – one at Adams State and one at the Colorado State Capitol.
Martin Gonzales, who is a member of the Maestas Case Commemoration Committee and retired state district court judge, gave a presentation at Adams State on the historical background of the case as part of an unveiling of the bronze relief “Cruzando Los Traques” by artist Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera of New Mexico.
At the state capitol last Thursday, Colorado Senators Cleave Simpson and Robert Rodriguez and Colorado Representatives Donald Valdez and Alex Valdez delivered a joint tribute in the legislative chambers. A traveling art history exhibit, which includes a statue and digital video display honoring the historic desegregation decision, will remain at the Capitol for the remainder of the legislative session before traveling to other Colorado and New Mexico locations. The exhibit tour culminates with a celebratory event honoring the Maestas Case in Alamosa on October 8th, 2022.
“The Maestas Case Committee is forging awareness of this important time and experience in American history, tied deeply to the regionalism of southern Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area,” committee members said in a statement. More about the case is here.
4. Sally Lopez, whose husband, Dennis, passed away in February, sent along this memory of the late Boogie Romero. “He and Dorothy were my three sons’ babysitters,” she wrote. “To my kids they were known as Papa Boogie and grandma Dorothy. To this day they still referred to them as such. They kept a picture of my three boys above the bed. I never took it down. He will be greatly missed.”
A vigil service and recitation of the rosary will be held for Boogie Romero on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church, with the funeral mass to follow at 1 p.m. Read more tributes to the man we all called “Boogie” here.
5. Road construction ahead. CDOT work crews will begin construction this week to upgrade curb ramps and sidewalks at various locations along US 160 in Monte Vista. A 12-foot width restriction is in place for oversize loads from Monday thru Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Speed reductions down to 25 mph can be expected as motorists come into Monte Vista. Flagging Personnel will be onsite due to alternating single lane closures. Expect up to 10 minute traffic delays. These closures and delays of US 160 will be in effect between April, 2022 and July 2022.
Have a great week!
