• A vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision on Aug. 1 left one in serious condition, according to a press release from the PSPD.
According to a press release from the PSPD, at approximately 10:53 a.m. on Aug. 1, the Archuleta Combined Dispatch Center received a call of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision in the 200 block of Pagosa Street.
• The 73rd annual Archuleta County Fair, held Aug. 1-4, provided days of fun for all ages, with competition, live music, fun and games, food, rodeos and more.
• At an Aug. 6 meeting, the BoCC selected Harper as the new county manager in a 2-1 vote.
Harper had been serving as the interim county manager since May.
The BoCC heard several public comments urging them to delay the selection of a county manager or seek new applicants due to concerns about the transparency of the hiring process and other issues.
Commissioner Ronnie Maez and Medina voted in support of Harper, while Commissioner Warren Brown voted against the motion.
• Following an executive session, the BoCC voted at its Aug. 6 meeting to table decisions on a letter of intent and a purchase and sale agreement with ArenaLabs LLC for the purchase of property for a county administration building.
The BoCC had previously voted to move forward with drafting a letter of intent to purchase the property, an approximately five-acre portion of a larger planned development adjacent to U.S. 160 and South Pagosa Boulevard, at its June 5 meeting.
• Also at its Aug. 6 meeting, the BoCC voted to select ECOnorthwest as the consultant to perform a housing needs assessment for the county.
• The PFPD Board of Directors voted to implement fees for responses outside the PFPD at its Aug. 6 meeting.
• The Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Pirate golf team teed off for the first time for the 2024 season on Aug. 8 in Cortez, with Pirate junior Johnathon Smith finishing first after logging a 72 on the par-72 course.
It was the first of several first-place finishes for Smith on the season.
• On Aug. 12, Brown, along with other commissioners representing Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI), presented to the state’s Cell Phone Connectivity Interim Study Committee.
The Colorado General Assembly committee was, according to the state, studying “cell phone connectivity in the state with a focus on identifying gaps in cell phone coverage.”
Brown presented alongside Fremont County Commissioner Debbie Bell, La Plata County Commissioner Matt Salka and Routt County Com- missioner Tim Redmond.
The CCI panel was one of several presentations the committee heard on the day.
• A motorcyclist from Durango died following a crash Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18, according to the PSPD.
According to a PSPD press release, at approximately 2:36 p.m. on Aug. 18, a motorcycle driving westbound on U.S. 160 collided with a vehicle that was making a U-turn on U.S. 160 from Talisman Drive.
“Despite the immediate response from emergency medical personnel, the motorcyclist, identified as a 55-year-old male from Durango, Colorado, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” the press release states.
• The SJWCD Board of Directors discussed amendments to its request for proposals or a general project manager for the district’s reservoir project at its Aug. 19 meeting.
The board ultimately tabled the issue to allow it to receive legal advice on potential revisions to the structure and scope of the request for proposals at its September meeting.
• The BoCC unanimously approved the employment agreement with Harper on Aug. 20.
• On Aug. 20, Gov. Jared Polis, CPW and Great Outdoors Colorado announced grant recipients for the Outdoor Regional Partnerships Initiative establishing two new partnerships in southwestern and southeastern Colorado.
With the new partnerships, there are now 20 outdoor regional partnerships covering about 75 percent of the state. First launched in 2021, the initiative funds regional coalitions that bring broad interests together to ensure that Colorado’s lands, waters and wildlife thrive while also providing for equitable and quality outdoor recreation experiences.
Grant recipients included six established coalitions spanning the Western Slope and central mountains, and two emerging coalitions in the southeastern grasslands and Archuleta County.
In Archuleta County, the Pagosa Area Recreation Coalition was granted $125,000.
• The Knights of Columbus hosted the 21st annual Duck Race down- town on Aug. 24, with a picnic preceding the annual race, which saw hundreds of plastic ducks take to the San Juan River. The race was more swift than usual, with the river running at about 260 cubic feet per second at the time.
• The Special Olympics Pagosa Springs softball team brought home the gold medal at the Special Olympics New Mexico Four Corners Invitational softball tournament in Farmington, N.M., on Aug. 24, beating their opponents from Albuquerque and Pecos Valley.
• The PSHS Lady Pirate volleyball went 3-2 in its first week of the season.
• The PSHS Pirate cross-country teams opened the season in Silverton in August.
The meet, coach Rachael Christiansen explained, was “low key,” with the coaches responsible for timing their own athletes and all runners competing at the same time.
• In a pair of votes over the course of a week, the Archuleta School District Board of Education appointed David Iverson to fill the board’s vacancy.
Iverson replaced Dana Guinn, who resigned due to moving, as the director of District 4.
The first of the votes came after the board interviewed the two applicants for the position — Iverson and Angie Ranson — but was done via secret ballot, which is prohibited by state law and district policy.
Then, on Aug. 27, the board held a special meeting to rescind action taken to appoint Iverson on Aug. 20 and to formally make the appointment again.
• The PSHS Pirate golf team finished second at the Pagosa Springs Invitational on Aug. 28, with Smith shooting five under par to win the event.
• The PAWSD board discussed funding mechanisms for the district’s regulatorily required upgrades to the Vista wastewater treatment plant at its Aug. 29 meeting.
Following a discussion, the board directed staff to move forward with seeking funding through a revenue bond publicly issued by the district to finance upgrades to the Vista plant required by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Water Quality Control Com- mission Regulation 85, in addition to other collection system improvements mandated by the CDPHE.
• The PSHS Pirate boys’ soccer team began its season near the end of August with a 1-1 draw in its opener against Central Grand Junction.
• A crash on the afternoon of Aug. 30 involved three vehicles, left four with serious injuries and closed U.S. 160 for several hours.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, the crash took place at about 4:25 p.m. on Aug. 30 on U.S. 160 near the intersection with Trails Boulevard when a Ford F350 truck with a trailer was driving eastbound on U.S. 160 slowed and a Ford F150, also pulling a trailer, collided with the F350’s trailer.
The F150 then went airborne and into the westbound lane, where it collided with a Chevrolet 2500 head-on.
The F150 rotated and came to rest in the middle of the westbound lane, and the Chevrolet went off the right side of the roadway and rolled. The F350 was able to stop on the shoulder.
The crash involved three vehicles and six total occupants. Four people were transported with serious bodily injury — both occupants in the F150 and both occupants in the Chevrolet. The two occupants of the F350 were uninjured.
• The PSHS Pirate football team opened its season on Aug. 30 with a 42-27 win over the Kirtland Central Broncos.
