Movie night tonight reminder
LA VETA- The La Veta Public Library’s movie night series begins with part one of A Year in Provence tonight Thurs. Jan 13 at 7 pm. Refreshments provided.
Spring Rehearsals for the Community Youth Chorus
WALSENBURG– Singing! Fun! Joy! Friends! These things can belong to a young person from the ages of 7 to 14 if they become a part of the Community Youth Chorus! Rehearsals are every Friday beginning on January 14, from 1-2 PM at the United Church of Walsenburg, 108 Kansas Avenue (side door), downstairs in Hatfield Hall.  We begin with exercises to get us ready to sing, some warm-up exercises for our voices and then we will learn music that we are preparing for our Spring Youth+ Concert which is at 3PM on Sunday, May 1 at the church. Please come and join in the fun! Questions? Call Carol – 989-0826.
CSU Extension Office announces new hours
WALSENBURG- The Huerfano County Office of Colorado State University Extension has new office hours for 2011. The Extension Office at 928 Russell Ave will be open from 8-12 am & 1-4 pm Mon. through Wed. The office will also be open from 9-12 am & 1–4 pm Thursday.
Extension Agent Dean Oatman will be in the office Tues. and Thurs. Dean can be contacted by phone: 719/738-2170 or 719/846-6797 or by email: Dean.Oatman@colostate.edu. Information about CSU Extension can also be found at: www.ext.colostate.edu/index.html
Upcoming Events at Spanish Peaks Library
WALSENBURG-
Children’s Story Hour
Fri. Jan. 14 at 10:30 am, Let’s Go Opposite!
Fri. Jan. 21 at 10:30 am, Mittens and Symmetry with Jennifer Sample
Fri. Jan. 24 at 10:30 am, Let’s Make Soup!
Monday Board Games
4:30-6 pm – Bring your family and friends and play your favorite board games at the Library! Chess tutoring is available.
Tuesday Computer Lab
Tues. Jan.11 at 4:30 pm – Students use typing tutors of choice, online in the Meeting Room.
Youth Art Journal Activity
Fri. Jan. 14 at 1 pm – Begin an Art Journal with a fun one page creation. Continue through the year with little projects you have been wanting to try. Bring your own mixed media and paper or use ours.
Young Adult Book discussion group
Fri. Jan. 28 at 1 pm – Get together at your library to talk about a book you have read or read the same book with a friend and come to talk about it.
Computer Question and Answer
Tuesdays from 5-6 pm with John Thomas. Please sign up at the main desk.
For more information please call 738-2774 or visit our website www.spld.org.
Winter art workshops
WESTCLIFFE- Sangres Art Guild will hold a series of winter workshops at 3rd St. Gallery, 59000 N. Hwy 69 in Westcliffe. A number of area artists will share their talents and knowledge through the season.
Mona Hodge will host “Artists Trading Cards” on Fri. Jan. 14 from 10 am to 3 pm. Join this fun activity. Cost is $25 with 50% discount for students. For more information, call 371-0171 or email mlshodge@yahoo.com.
Beginning Tues. Jan. 18 from 9 am until noon, weekly life drawing and painting sessions with live models will continue for six weeks. Cost is $10 per session. For more information, contact Curt Gillespie 783-0886 or 719-431-1728 or Curt@GreenstoneArt.com.
Experience “Icy Light & Sizzling Shadows” with Jan Fead. Learn to manipulate color and temperature with oils and pastels, Sat. Jan. 29 from 10 am to 2 pm. Cost is $35. Call Fead at 719/429-2373 or jfeadartist@mac.com.
Join Lynette Williamson for “Portraits” Fri., Sat. and Sun., Feb. 4, 5 and 6, 9 am to 3 pm. Cost is $250. Call 784-2375 or lynettew49@yahoo.com.
Frank Kolbusz will teach “Wood Sculpture” Fri. Feb. 11, 10 am to 3 pm. Cost is $5. Call 783-2962 or tallmanfjk@centurytel.net.
Learn “Intro to Digital Photography and Photoshop” with Paul “Sparrow Hawk” Biron, Sat. and Sun. Feb. 12 and 13, 9 am to 4 pm. Cost is $175. Call 719/746-3029 or photo@sparrow-hawk.org.
“Doodle Your Way Into Art” with Mona Hodge, Fri. and Sat. Feb. 18 and 19 from 10 am to 3 pm. Cost is $50 with 50% discount for students.
Hodge will teach “Art Journaling for the 21st Century” Fri., Sat. and Sun., March 11,12 and 13, 10 am to 3 pm. Cost is $75 with 50% student discount. Call 371-0171 or mlshodge@yahoo.com.
Claire Walker will give an “Introduction to Spinning” Sat. March 26 from 9 am to noon and 1 to 4 pm. Cost is $85 which includes materials. Call 371-7377 or claire@wetmountainvalley.us.
For more information, visit www.SangresArtGuild.org/news/events.htm.
Hometown Heroes shipping out
WALSENBURG- Join Huerfano Hometown Heroes this Sat. Jan 15 when we will be sending off boxes to our deployed heroes. We′ll start at 1 pm at Adventure Trails/Journey Home, 1018 West 7th Street. HHH′s mission is to recognize and support our Active Duty, Reserves and Guard members. Got hero? Your hero is our hero! www.HuerfanoHometownHeroes.org
Spanish Peaks Bee Club
WALSENBURG- Spanish Peaks Bee Club will meet on Jan. 15 at 1 pm at the Spanish Peaks Library. John and Janet will share information from the National Federation of Bee Keepers meeting they attended. Please bring anything you have made from bee products (food, lotions, etc). Hope you can "bee" there.
Workshop for Writers offered at TSJC
TRINIDAD-Trinidad State Junior College, in collaboration with the Trinidad Area Arts Council, starts off 2011 offering exciting writing workshops. A monthly series of writing workshops is beginning Jan. 15 from 10 am to noon at Trinidad State Junior College, 600 Prospect, in the Berg Building, Room 309.
Author Katie Kingston will kick off this series presenting the nuts and bolts of memoir writing. This workshop is designed for participants interested in writing a memoir. Discussions include the writing process: how to get started, how to revise, and how to publish. The instructor will lead the participants through several writing exercises designed to tap our creativity, to bring our past experiences to the forefront in interesting and engaging ways. Beginners and advanced writers are welcome. Poets and prose writers are welcome. Bring paper and pencil or laptop.
Katie Kingston is the author of three chapbooks: Unwritten Letters, El Rio de las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, and In My Dreams Neruda. She is the recipient of the 2010 W.D Snodgrass Award for Poetic Endeavor and Excellence, the Hunger Mountain Ruth Stone Prize, the Atlanta Review International Publication Prize, and a Colorado Council on the Arts Literary Fellowship. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her memoirs placed as a finalist in Glimmer Train “Family Matters” writing contest.
The workshop fee is $20 at the door. Thirty percent of proceeds go to Trinidad Area Arts Council’s Children’s Art Programs, a non-profit organization, committed to furthering education for children. For additional information please contact chelo.ludden@trinidadstate.edu or call 719-846-5491.
Bent’s Old Fort, and all National Parks Free this weekend
BENT’S FORT- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the National Park Service will waive admission fees on 17 selected dates through 2011 and encouraged all Americans to make a New Year’s resolution to visit a national park this year.
The first fee-free days are centered on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday coming up this weekend. Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site will join all national parks across the country in waiving fees on January 15, 16 and 17.
“Many people have made resolutions to spend more quality time with loved ones and to get outdoors and unplug in 2011,” said Secretary Salazar. “There’s no better place than a national park to help keep those resolutions. Parks offer superb recreational opportunities, making them
perfect places to enjoy our beautiful land, history and culture, and nurture a healthy lifestyle.”
Locally, Superintendent Alexa Roberts points out, “Besides offering an enjoyable and educational look at our country’s history, Bent’s Old Fort offers a chance to get out and enjoy the Arkansas Valley environment along our 1 ½ mile hiking trail – perfect for some fresh air on one of our warm winter days.”
Western National Parks Association, which operates the bookstore and trade room at the fort, will join in by offering a 15% discount on all items purchased in the store this weekend.
Other 2011 fee free dates will be National Park Week (April 16-24); the first day of summer (June 21); National Public Lands Day (September 24); and the weekend of Veteran’s Day (November 11-13).
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, located on Colorado Highway 194, 8 miles east of La Junta or 15 miles west of Las Animas, is open through the winter every day from 9 am to 4 pm. For more information on feefree days in the parks visit www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm. For more information on visiting Bent’s Old Fort NHS go to www.nps.gov/beol/index.htm.
Sunday movies @ your Library
WALSENBURG-The movie Under the Tuscan Sun will be presented on Sunday, January 16 at the Spanish Peaks Library starting at 2 pm. The film stars Diane Lane and a broken down ancient Villa in Italy. The cast of characters also includes various workmen in the process of doing the remodeling and repair work. Also (of course) there must be a love interest. All in all, it is a sunny movie to make a winter season a bit shorter. The film is rated PG 13 and was released in 2003. (The male author of this press release does not consider this film to be a chick flick, so men, it’s OK to show up!)
The movie is the first of a series sponsored by the Friends of the Spanish Peaks Library taking place January through March. The main idea is to show great films which are seldom seen anywhere else and are of a lighter, more humorous nature. The film will be shown in the community room of the library which has a large screen and excellent sound system (we won’t blast you out with high volume levels!)
Light refreshments will be available and please be aware that there will be no library services available and the book stacks will be closed. We are asking for a suggested donation of $2 to offset costs. For additional information, please call John at 738-1315 or the library at 738-2774.
New SPACe opening
LA VETA- The Spanish Peaks Arts Council (SPACe) in La Veta announces the opening reception for the 2011 SPACe Members’ Show "This Is Our SPACe" Sun. Jan. 16, 4–6 pm. Refreshments are provided and there is no admission fee. The show is on display until Feb. 19. Sixteen SPACe members are showing a wonderful collection of original art. Come and see the new addition.
The SPACe Gallery is located in the La Veta Town Park at 132 W. Ryus. For additional information visit www.spanishpeaksarts.org or call 719 742-3074. Gallery hours are Tues. & Thurs. 11-2, and Sat., 10 am – 3 pm. weather permitting. The Spanish Peaks Arts Council is a nonprofit organization, supporting the arts and art education in the Spanish Peaks region of Southern Colorado.
Medieval re-enactment society meeting
WALSENBURG- A meeting of the local group of the Society for Creative Anachronism
will be held at 6 pm on Thurs. Jan. 20 at Spanish Peaks Library.
The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe. Members of the SCA study and take part in a variety of activities, including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy,
fiber arts, and much more.
This meeting is free and open to the public. Please visit www.sca.org for more information about the society, or call 719-334-6937 for
information about this meeting.
Tea Party with Mark Hillman
PUEBLO- There will be Southern Colorado Tea Party Meeting on Thurs. Jan. 20 at 6 pm at the Pueblo County Conference Center, 1001 N. Santa Fe.
The guest speaker will be Mark Hillman, former Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate. His organization, Coloradoans for Common Sense, is represented by bumper stickers that say "More Freedom Less Government."
What is Transition Town?
LA VETA- Come and listen to a presentation & discussion of how the impacts of climate change, fossil fuel energy and economic instabilities can serve as catalysts for change… change for the better!  The Transistion Handbook provides additional information. Find out more Thursday Jan 20, at 7 pm at the La Veta Public Library. Contact Heloise Lynn, hlynnearth1@gmail.com.
LVSA receives 2 grants for their Fridays For Fun program
LA VETA- The La Veta School of the Arts has received two grants for their 2011 Fridays For Fun children’s scholarship program. One grant is from the El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs and the other is from The Trinchera and Tercio Foundation. Both grants along with the continuing generous gifts from local citizens will enable the art school to bestow 25-30 scholarships again this summer. Huerfano County has many talented children in need of scholarship help and thanks to grants like these along with generous gifts from local citizens, the art school will be able to continue giving help to those children most in need.
Public Health confirms Flu in Trinidad
TRINIDAD- Public Health Officials in Trinidad announced the first confirmed hospitalized case of influenza in our area. This serves as a reminder that it is flu season and influenza outbreaks peak between the months of Dec. and March.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone over six months of age receive a flu shot, especially people who are at high risk of developing flu-related complications or who live with or care for people at high risk. Vaccination against flu helps protect yourself and the most vulnerable people in the community (such as newborns and those going through chemotherapy). Some children younger than nine years of age will need two doses, so check with your provider
Symptoms of the flu start suddenly and may include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, body aches, chills and fatigue. When you experience symptoms of the flu stay home until 24 hours after your fever is gone, without the help of fever reducing medicines. This limits the spread of the virus.
It is important to get an annual flu shot to protect yourself from the influenza virus, and it is not too late. Vaccine is available at the Las Animas and Huerfano County Health Departments. Call for more information 719-846-2213 in Trinidad or 719-738-2650 in Walsenburg
Take three steps to prevent the flu:
1) Get your flu shot. Visit your local Health Department to get the latest flu vaccine.
2) Take everyday actions to stop the spread of germs. Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
3) Know flu symptoms. Flu-like symptoms may include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache and fatigue.
Order seedling trees now
HUERFANO- “There are two great times to plant trees. One was twenty years ago and the other is now, “ stated District Forester C.K. Morey. Over 45 species of trees and shrubs are offered at cost for windbreak, shelterbelts, erosion control, reforestation and Living Snow Fence by the Colorado State Forest Service. Morey is urging landowners to order seedling trees now for spring planting when trees are delivered in April. Aspen is sold out but we may have another source for interested landowners
Landowners with two or more acres are eligible for the program. Contact C. K. Morey if there are questions about planting needs. The La Veta District Office will stock a full line of seedling survival supplies such as slow release fertilizer tablets, rabbit guards, sun shades, weed barrier, drip irrigation and polymer.
In addition, booklets on planting and descriptions of seedlings, are available from NRCS, Extension, and CSFS Offices. The publications provide information on windbreak planning, planting and care. “Properly designed tree planting can play a major role in land management”, Morey stated. Same information is available at the CSFS website csfs.colostate.edu/pages/conservation.html.
Order blanks can be picked up in Walsenburg at the Extension Office at the Community Center or Natural Resource Conservation Service Office at 711 Walsen Ave. Or an application can be emailed to you. For more information call 719-742-3588 or write to the Colorado State Forest Service Office, P. O. Box 81, La Veta, Colorado 81055. Email is ckmorey@lamar.colostate.edu
