Craft workshops @ your library
WALSENBURG- Area youth are invited to get together for craft workshops every Thursday in July at Spanish Peaks Library in Walsenburg. Summer is a great time to dive into fun at your Library. Try some of these great workshops.
July 1, Introduction to Songwriting with Andy Hackbarth 3:30 pm.
July 8, Pioneer Crafts with Madison Estabrook 10 am to 2 pm.
July 15-16, Nature Crafts with Celine Bensink 2 pm.
July 22-23, Weaving Workshop with Carol Snow 10 am to 5 pm.
July 29, Cake Decorating Workshop with Barbara Buckwalter 3 pm to 5 pm.
Please sign up for workshops at the main desk in the Library. For more information please call 738-2774 or visit our website at www.spld.org.
CoCoRaHS training
WALSENBURG- Thanks to the support of the Emergency Management Hazard Mitigation grants program, CoCoRaHS will be offering an informational session July 1. We will talk about flood hazards in conjunction with our training and recruitment of CoCoRaHS volunteers to help observe and report precipitation in their backyards.
Interested persons are welcome to join us Thurs. July 1 from 1-2:30 pm at the Huerfano County Community Center, 928 Russell Ave.
Fridays for fun: Tie Dye Class
LA VETA– On Fri. July 2, from 1 to 4 pm at The La Veta School of the Arts, participants can enjoy creating their own wearable art. Students will learn to make swirls, color block and advanced patterns to delight even those who have attended previous workshops. Students may bring a few 100% cotton items from home to dye. Class is available to children 6 – 16.
The cost is $40, and Patti will have t-shirts, banner and flag material available. There are 10 scholarships which will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants should wear old clothes they may get permanent dye on. Younger children should have a parent or other adult to help. We expect this to be one of our biggest classes of the season. This one′s not to be missed.
Scholarship grants for children’s art classes in La Veta
LAVETA- Thanks to generous gifts from local residents and to a new grant from Target, The La Veta School of the Arts can now guarantee 10 scholarships available per children’s class. To take advantage of this opportunity, parents or caregivers should call the art school to reserve a place as the scholarships will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Call 719-742-3421.
Spanish Peaks Library used book sale
WALSENBURG- Friends of the Library in the Spanish Peaks Library District will be having their annual used book sale on Fri. July 2 from 8 am – 3 pm at the Library, 415 Walsen Ave. Any questions, please call Jerry 738-2426 or the Library 738-2774.
Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre calendar events
TRINIDAD- On July 2, 3, 10, 11, 15, 29, and 30 at 7:30 pm and July 18 at 2:30 pm, SCRT presents the hit musical Nunsense at the Massari theater. Tickets at 719-846-4765, www.SCRTheatre.org, or the SCRT Ticket Office at 132 E. Main. St. Trinidad.
On July 9, 16, 17, and 24 at 7:30 pm and July 25 and Aug 1 at 2:30 pm, SCRT presents the delightful musical Baby at the Massari. Tickets at 719-846-4765, www.SCRTheatre.org, or the SCRT Ticket Office at 132 E. Main. St. Trinidad.
On July 22, 23, 31 SCRT presents evening performances of the new comedy Squabbles at the Massari. Tickets from $13 at 719-846-4765, www.SCRTheatre.org, or the SCRT Ticket Office at 132 E. Main. St. Trinidad.
Lathrop Park events“Discover Llamas”
On Fri. July 2 at 6 pm, Sunny Dunbar, who runs Discover Llamas, a kids’ day camp near La Veta, will be bringing 3 Llamas to help us learn all about them.
Sugarplum, Unity and Blizzard will assist Sunny in teaching us llama history, behaviors, interesting facts, current uses of the animals and about llama competitions in the U.S. Sunny will hand out informational pamphlets to attendees and take the first 10 visitors who show up on a short hike! All ages are encouraged to attend as this should be a great family event.
“Ghosts of Huerfano County”
On Sat. July 3 at 8 pm, local author and storyteller Dick Anderson will be telling some chilling tales based on real accounts of ghosts in the Huerfano
County area. Mr. Anderson wrote the book Huerfano Ghosts and Other Haunted Tales. As a historian, Dick has collected many spine-tingling tales over the years and is gracious enough to share a few of those with us. Although we can expect the hair on our necks to stand up straight, this program will be for all ages.
AZTLAN Native American Dancers Enjoy Independence day activities
Persons who want a great spot to watch the Walsenburg Fireworks Display, but won’t enjoy having nothing to do until sundown, should join Lathrop State Park in celebrating Independence Day. A $6 parks pass offers the opportunity to park directly across the street from the fireworks display, hike along our paved lakeside trail, enjoy great fishing spots and enjoy a Native American Dance show just before the fireworks!
On Sun. July 4 at 8:00 pm,The Aztlan Song and Dance group will perform. They are descendents of the Mimbreno Apache Tribe and have joined together since 1989 to carry on the traditions and values of their ancestors. This dance theatre group tells their story though song and dance dressed in traditional attire and performs a variety of ceremonial dances from their culture’s past.
Junk to Treasures
WALSENBURG- The Huerfano Cat Coalition is holding its first Junk to Treasures “yard sale” on Sat. July 3. For persons who are cleaning out the basement or garage, this is a chance to make a donation. The coalition is accepting any small item (s). Clothing and large items like appliances and furniture cannot be accepted. Donations should be dropped off at the sale site after 8 the morning of the sale, July 3. The sale will be located at 6th and Main (Cowboy Connections corner) from 9 to 3. All proceeds will go towards spaying and neutering feral cats in Huerfano County. For more information, call 738-3167.
Fun Run times two in cool Cuchara
CUCHARA- The 19th annual Cuchara Valley Recreation Program’s fun run is combining with the inaugural Cuchara Dog Trot this Sat. July 3 at 8 am, for twice the run and twice the fun. Proceeds from both races will benefit summer programs of the Cuchara Recreation Program. See related article page 1.
35th annual Art in the Park
LA VETA- On Sat. July 3 from 10 am to 5 pm and Sun. July 4 from 10am to 4pm, Art in the Park will offer over 100 Artist Booths with handmade original artwork. The event is free with a full lineup of music both days, rain or shine. Admission is free.
La Veta Rotary will offer a BBQ Sat. July 3 for $7,
and food vendors will be offering a variety of items both days. See www.spanishpeaksarts.org for more information.
Brown Bag Books meets
LA VETA- Brown Bag Books will meet Tues. July 6, at 12 noon at the La Veta Public Library to just sit around and talk about books. The group sometimes solves world problems too. Anyone who is interested should come and bring a lunch. It’s OK to just sit and listen.
Old fashioned barbecue
WALSENBURG- State Representative Wes McKinley (D-Dist. 64) and the Huerfano County Democratic Party invite all interested citizens to come to an Old Fashioned Political Barbecue on Thurs. July 8 from 4 pm to 6 pm at Heritage Park in Walsenburg.
Heritage Park is the beautiful, shady park across the street from the courthouse on Main Street. Wes and his crew will be “flippin’ burgers” on the barbecue and will also be entertaining us with some real “Cowboy Country” music. Come out and support the strongest defenders of Pinon Canyon and our Colorado way of life. Join your friends and neighbors and meet your Representative, Wes McKinley, and your local Democratic candidates. There will be good food, great fun and old fashioned political good times. Call David Gnaizda at 719-746-2425 for more information.
Experimental Drawing & Painting weekend class
LA VETA- Peggy Zehring’s exciting, abstract experimental drawing and painting weekend class will be happening July 9, 10 & 11 at La Veta School of the Arts. Draw with charcoal Friday evening 6-9 and then use the images you created unconsciously to unfold abstract paintings on Saturday and Sunday. You’ll learn color mixing, recognizing and capitalizing on your own marks, compositional excellence and much more. Cost is $185.00. For more information or to register call 719-742-3421 or
e-mail LVArtSchool@yahoo.com or register online at www.theLVSA.org
Arts and Music Festival
GREENHORN VALLEY- Visitors will enjoy free admission to the Festival 20 miles north of Walsenburg on Sat. July10, 10-9 and Sun. July 11,10-5. There will be a full-spectrum music line up, from classical to jazz and blues to bluegrass and rock as well as art exhibits, kid′s crafts, food and drink. For more infor
Traditional Watercolor class
LA VETA- Traditional Watercolor on July 16, 17, and 18 will offer the student an opportunity to "learn to loosen up while preserving your love of detail." Instructor Kathy Hill, who specializes in paintings of the Spanish Peaks and surrounding area, welcomes students of all levels of experience. She will address basic techniques, composition, values and color temperatures.
Kathy believes that watercolor′s natural spontaneity can free you to enjoy the serendipitous while manipulating the medium to your own purposes. Her work has won many awards and is in both private and corporate collections. Kathy received her degree in Art Education from American University in Washington, DC. Class will be held at The La Veta School of the Arts–across from the town park in La Veta. For more information call 719-989-0339, e-mail LaVetaArtSchool@yahoo.com or check our website www.theLVSA.org. Cost is $185. An optional $15 materials fee must be paid (to instructor) two weeks in advance.
Gardner briefs
GARDNER- The Gardner Methodist Church will be holding services on the first Sunday of each month at 9 am.
The Gardner Chuckwagon will be held August 7.
Gardner School Registration will be Wed. Aug. 18; school starts Mon. Aug. 23.
Local Governments will Receive $358 Million Payments to counties by June 29
WASHINGTON, DC– Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that more than 1,850 local governments around the nation will receive payments totaling $358.1 million under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program this year to compensate them for non-taxable federal land in their jurisdictions.
“Although there was a slight delay in payments this year, local governments will receive their funds by June 29,” Secretary Salazar said. “We deeply appreciate the support these communities provide federal lands and disbursing this money before the counties’ fiscal year begins helps them budget for essential services, such as firefighting and emergency response, and allows for additional improvements to school, road and water systems.”
The 2010 payment amounts were delayed because of late reporting by some entities and the complexity of evaluating prior year payment amounts authorized by the Mineral Leasing Act and the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. Each of these statutes and the PILT statute include requirements that impact the development of county payment amounts under a multi-factor formula.
This year’s PILT program is funded at full entitlement levels under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which enacted a five-year
authorization for full funding of the PILT program. The Interior Department collects about $4 billion in revenue annually from commercial activities on federal lands, such as oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing and timber harvesting.
A portion of these revenues are shared with states and counties in the form of revenue-sharing payments. The balance is deposited in the U.S.
Treasury, which in turn pays for a broad array of federal activities, including PILT funding to counties. Payment eligibility is reserved for local governments (usually counties) that contain nontaxable federal lands and provide government services related to public safety, housing, social services, transportation and the environment.
Using a formula provided in statute, the annual PILT payments to local governments are computed based on the number of acres of federal entitlement land within each county or jurisdiction and the population within that county or jurisdiction. The lands include the National Forest and National Park Systems, those managed by the Bureau of Land Management, those affected by Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation water resource development projects, and others.
Individual county payments may vary from the prior year as a result of changes in acreage data, which is updated yearly by the federal agency administering the land, and population data, which is updated using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For purposes of calculating the 2010 payment, the per acre amounts are adjusted for inflation from the 2009 payment of $2.37 per acre and thirty-three cents per acre to $2.40 and thirty-three cents per acre, and the population variables are adjusted from $63.68 – $159.18 to $64.56 – $161.38 per capita. The 2010 payment will fund the authorized level of $358.4 million. This includes $400,000 for program administration.
The computation also adjusts the payment for the level of prior-year revenue payments and the amount that a county receives under Sections 6904
and 6905 of the PILT Act. Revenue payments are federal payments made to local governments under programs other than PILT during the previous year.
These include those made under the Refuge Revenue Sharing Fund, the National Forest Fund, the Taylor Grazing Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, the
Federal Power Act, and the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Sections 6904 and 6905 provide additional payments for additions to the National Park System and National Forest Wilderness areas.
As a result of increases in Forest Service timber and Mineral Leasing Act payments, reductions in PILT entitlement land, expiration of section 6904/5
payments and payments falling below the $100 threshold, the total 2010 PILT payments to the following twenty-eight states will be lower than their 2009 payment: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
A complete list of funding by state is online at http://www.doi.gov/pilt. The county by county breakdown is online at
http://www.nbc.gov/pilt/pilt/search.cfm
