THE weekend weather had a little bit of everything, just like your Thanksgiving plate. Snow, sunshine, cold, warmth.The forecast ahead calls for more of the same, so stay flexible. As long as the winds stay down, it’s all good for Cooper the Weather Dog.
Now here are some news nuggets to get you headed into December:
1. San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad sale hearing
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William McNamara will conduct a sale hearing Monday in what should be the final steps to bringing the historic San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KCVN LLC and its Colorado Pacific Railroad submitted a bid of $10.7 million for the 150-mile shortline railroad at a Nov. 17 auction. OmniTrax has a backup bid of $10.5 million should KCVN and its parent company, Soloviev Group, not be able to close on the sale. The wild card in the sale hearing will be Big Shoulders Capital, the largest secured creditor in the proceeding. All three players, along with Trustee William Brandt, will be involved in the sale hearing.
The high bids brought more than was expected for the SLRG as it works to find a path forward as a profitable shortline railroad. “There’s enough there for responsible people to find a way to make a deal,” Brandt told Alamosa Citizen. He was appointed trustee in the case on Dec. 30, 2019. Nearly three years later, the railroad looks set to come out of bankruptcy and into new ownership, just in time for the new year. Once the federal bankruptcy court signs off on the sale, an expedited request for approval will be filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board for its review and sign off on the new owner.
2. The Alamosa to Antonito transmission line project
Xcel Energy is moving forward with replacing its current 39-mile, 69-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line that stretches from Alamosa to Antonito. The company said it’s planning to file for permit applications with Alamosa and Conejos counties this month now that it has a proposed new corridor separate from the existing transmission line. Read more about the project and see the proposed new route in this report.
3. Renewable power generation in the Valley
Speaking of transmission, we sat down with State Sen. Cleave Simpson just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and recorded this episode of The Valley Pod. On the podcast he talks about the opportunity the San Luis Valley has before it to be a player in the state’s effort to build more renewable energy generation, and specifically for the San Luis Valley, solar power generation.
The door for developing solar power generation and increasing transmission capacity was opened by a Public Utilities Commission this summer as it works to approve new transmission projects as part of Colorado’s renewable energy goals. The Valley, with some of the “best sun resources in the world,” has always had the potential to be a generator of solar power that can be used locally as well across the state. Allan Best, who authors the Big Pivot blog, does the best job of monitoring the PUC and its efforts to create more renewable energy in Colorado. He explains more here on why the time is right for the San Luis Valley to get into the renewable energy business.
4. Douglas County and the Valley’s
“Anti-Private-Property” activists
Douglas County resident Sean Tonner, who along with Bill Owens is behind Renewable Water Resources and its scheme to export water from the San Luis Valley to the Denver suburb, continues to try to sell the idea to his fellow Douglas County residents. Tonner sends email blasts through his Douglas County Future Fund to spread misinformation on the conditions of the San Luis Valley’s two depleted aquifers and the state of the Upper Rio Grande Basin. In his latest missive sent Nov. 22, Tonner writes that his RWR project, “requires political fortitude from county leaders as it has been challenged by a small but very vocal group of anti-private-property activists in the San Luis Valley.”
By “anti-private-property activists” we’re assuming he means essentially the entire six-county San Luis Valley population of roughly 45,000 souls which last we checked was solidly opposed to Tonner and Owens’ efforts to take the Valley’s most precious natural resource.
The Douglas County Future Fund in its latest email passes along this big lie when it states that RWR “has presented the most fiscally conservative option for taxpayers and can be completed within 10 years. Scientific and environmental studies have shown that the project offers high-quality renewable water while not negatively impacting stream flows or the environment.”
The Valley’s “anti-private-property” activists know better.
5. Affordable housing and Century Mobile Home Park
“With the overwhelming support of the residents, board members, staff, lenders, elected officials, and our community, SLV Housing Coalition (SLVHC) is excited to announce that we are officially under contract to purchase the Century Mobile Home Park in Alamosa,” read the email from Dawn Melgares, executive director of the San Luis Valley Housing Coalition. Melgares has been working overtime to get a deal done that allows the non-profit housing organization to assume ownership of the mobile home park and keep the units in the “affordable housing” mix for the residents. Melgares said upcoming meetings with the Century Mobile residents will be scheduled once the sale is complete.
6. End of the long green line?
Adams State began its men’s cross country program in 1965 under Joe I. Vigil, and then in 1971 won its first national cross country title when it won the NAIA championship. It won more NAIA Men’s National Cross Country titles in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. In the early 1990s, Adams State moved to NCAA Division II competitions and won NCAA men’s cross country team titles in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
All of this to say the Adams State men’s cross country team failed for the first time since anyone can remember to qualify for the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships to be held Friday, Dec. 2. in Seattle, Wash. List of 2022 qualifying teams.
The Adams State women’s team will be there and will be favored to win the team title as it did in 2019 and 2021 (NCAA canceled the 2020 championships). But to not see the men’s team on the starting line is like waking up and not seeing Mount Blanca in the back yard. How can this be? We’re sure Adams State Coach Damon Martin, a legend in the cross country world, is working to figure it all out. In the meantime, the Adams State women’s team will carry on the proud tradition of national cross country championships when they toe the starting line this Friday.
7. This season, shop local
There’s so much to enjoy and choose from. Plus, your dollars are more powerful when they stay in our community.
