The surrounding San Juans and Sangre de Cristo ranges took in a couple feet of snow from the recent snowstorm, leaving the San Luis Valley looking like a snow globe heading into the holiday season. Daily temps will reach into the mid-40s this week, with lots of high-altitude sunshine in the forecast. Three weeks until Tom Turkey pops out of the oven. Here’s more:
1. Alamosa schools next moves
Alamosa School District officials are left pondering their next moves after narrowly losing the proposed school bond vote and finding itself still at the negotiating table with the city of Alamosa over its plans to shift school district headquarters and its alternative and online high schools to downtown. The city council approved a zoning change last week to allow the school district to operate its educational programs in the former Friday Health Building at Main Street and San Juan Avenue, and there seems to be a majority of votes on the city council to grant the school district’s request to allow at least 100 alternative high school students in the downtown space. The school district is holding off on its closing of the property, which it plans to purchase for $2.3 million, until it knows for sure that it can operate how it wants downtown. Without ASD purchasing the former Friday Health property, it’s a building that likely sits empty on Main Street for a long time.
2. School facility bonds
Voters in the Nov. 5 election rejected Alamosa School District’s $28 million bond proposal by a mere 324 votes, leaving school district board members and Superintendent Diana Jones hopeful that down the road voters may get on board with funding the school district’s facilities master plan. The Yes for Healthy and Safe Alamosa Schools committee will meet this week to analyze the vote and determine its next steps. School board member Alan Colvin said feedback he got was the $51 million payback on the bond issuance was hard for voters to swallow. Tough to get around interest payments on a bond issuance. Going into bond indebtedness, as the school district is wanting to do, always comes with the added cost of interest paid to the bond buyers.
3. Veterans Day 2024
You can count on the Dickey-Springer American Legion Post 113 in Alamosa for a Veterans Day Parade each year. It begins at 10 a.m. on Monday. These days you can also count on the Alamosa Veterans Memorial Park Project to stage an annual veterans weekend run to raise money for the memorial park off Highway 285 and Airport Road. The 3rd annual Alamosa Veterans Memorial Park Project community run and walk had some 60 participants on a snow-melting Saturday, Nov. 9. The festivities were complete with a rendition of the national anthem, and a $20,000 investment from Alamosa County taxpayers to the project. Here are some photos from the Saturday event. San Luis sculptor Huberto Maestas has designed the bronze artwork that will complete the new veterans memorial display.
4. The Valley Pod with Huberto Maestas
Huberto Maestas sat with us on The Valley Pod and reflected on his amazing career and talked about his latest work in progress related to the San Luis Valley’s agricultural roots. You should listen in. He always has stories to tell.
5. This week around the SLV
The San Luis Valley Career Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Adams State’s Plachy Hall. The Fort Garland Museum & Cultural Center is hosting a Vecinos Community Coffee at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14. The Rio Reels Festival is Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Ski Hi Stampede Events Center in Monte Vista. The Valley Calendar always has more.
6. Back to the top
Romain Legendre has been talking about the importance of returning Adams State men’s cross country to the top of the national scene given the dry streak of national titles for the men these past few seasons. The French-born runner has been determined this racing season to change the outcomes, and on Saturday he lived up to his word again by winning the NCAA DII South Central Region 10K Cross Country title. The victory gives him the RMAC crown and the south central region title in back-to-back championship races. Next up is the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Sacramento on Nov. 29. If Legendre makes it a 2024 three-peat and carries back to Adams State the NCAA DII men’s national crown, he will add his name to the long list of outstanding cross country runners who have called Alamosa home.
7. … still at the top
It’s the Adams State women’s cross country program that is deep and dominant. A veteran Grizzlies team, led by overall winner Tristian Spence of Grand Junction, captured the NCAA DII South Central Region Cross Country title on Saturday. Adams State had five runners finish in the top 13 to easily win the team title, with RMAC winner Ava O’Connor finishing fourth overall and second behind teammate Spence to give a sense of the depth of the 2024 Grizzly team. Adams State women will head into the national championships in Sacramento as a team favorite. It’s a leading position the Adams State women’s running team knows well.
8. Sports Page Extra
Last week’s snow pushed three local high school football playoff games to Monday, Veterans Day. Sierra Grande, Sanford and Centauri all host their respective opening-round games in the Colorado State High School football playoffs. Sierra Grande plays Eads in Fort Garland, Sanford entertains Springfield, and Centauri hosts Holyoke in La Jara. Kickoff is 1 p.m. for all three games. Monte Vista ended its football season with a 44-34 loss to Meeker on Saturday, while Alamosa fell to Lamar, 14-7, on Sunday.