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2024 year in review: January

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• The Archuleta County Public Health Department (ACPHD) opened its doors on Jan. 2, following the dissolution of San Juan Basin Public Health (SJBPH) at the end of 2023.

The Archuleta County Water Quality Department followed, opening its doors on Jan. 5.

• On Jan. 4, the Archuleta County Board of Health held its first formal meeting, which included, among other business, the appointment of officers and the selection of Ashley Wilson as the permanent executive director for the ACPHD.

Wilson served as interim director prior to being unanimously voted to be in the role on a more permanent basis.

• The Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Lady Pirates basketball team started off the new year with two victories to extend its winning streak to six games. The two wins improved the Lady Pirates’ overall record to 7-3.

• The PSHS Pirate boys’ basketball team also started off the new year with two victories to extend its winning streak to eight games and improve its overall record to 9-1.

• The PSHS Pirate wrestling team returned to action after the holiday break by hosting the Rocky Mountain Duals on Jan. 5 and the Rocky Mountain Invitational tournament on Jan. 6.

The Pirates won the dual against Nucla on Jan. 5 and followed with a second-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Invitational the following day.

• Wolf Creek Ski Area picked up 29 inches of fresh powder in early January, bringing the season-to-date snowfall at the ski area up to 113 inches as of Jan. 8.

According to snoflo.org, the Wolf Creek summit, at an elevation of 11,000 feet, had a 48-inch snowpack (84 percent of normal), up from 56 percent of normal on Jan. 3.

• On Jan. 9, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) announced the death of Deputy William “Bill” Lucero.

According to a press release from Sheriff Mike Le Roux, Lucero was found deceased at his residence after a welfare check.

• The Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) heard an update on recent broadband grant awards from Archuleta County Broadband Services Management Office Technical Manager Eric Hittle at its Jan. 9 work session.

Hittle explained that the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) had recently announced awardees for Advance Colorado Broadband Capital Projects Fund (CPF) grants and that two projects in Archuleta County that the BoCC provided letters of support for were awarded funding. 

Hittle explained that Visionary Broadband was awarded funds to bring fiber to homes in the Lake Hatcher area and areas south of it to serve a total of 1,034 addresses. According to the CBO website, the award for the project was $3,913,702, with Visionary providing $1,304,568 in matching funds.

Clearnetworx was also awarded grant funding for a project including Pagosa Meadows units one through four, the Timber Ridge subdivision, the Alpha subdivision and some areas near the margins of these developments. According to the CBO, the project would build fiber to 561 households and involves $6,104,736.70 in CPF grant fund supplemented with $2,034,912.30 in matching funds from Clearnetworx.

Hittle explained that the cost for the project would be approximately $3,000 an address and that the grants — along with a project by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to build fiber to the homes of 400 addresses in Arboles — would continue momentum on the build-out of fiber to area homes.

He highlighted that these projects would serve close to 3,000 homes overall, a third of the 9,000 homes that the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation estimated needed service in the area.

• On Jan. 11, staff from the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) worked through the night in frigid temperatures to address a water leak impacting up to 676 homes in the Loma Linda and Holiday Acres areas.

• The PSHS Lady Pirate swim team swam back into action on Jan. 12 and 13 in Durango, taking part in a pair of meets to open the 2024 portion of their schedule.

According to coach Heather Miller, several Lady Pirate swimmers were tasked with taking on events challenging to them at the meets and stepped up to meet the challenge.

• The PSHS Pirate girls’ wrestling division competed at the Lady Bronco Invitational on Jan. 13 in Kirtland, N.M., with four Lady Pirate wrestlers placing at the event. 

“I really like their development in terms of their skill level,” coach Dan Janowsky said of the first-year team. “They do practice as a girls’ team, but they are in the same practice with the boys and they work really hard, and I think it’s paying off for them. ... They’ve done some really good things. As I tell them often, they’re pioneers blazing the trail for others.”

• Lucero was remembered and honored on Jan. 16 during a final patrol procession. 

The ACSO escorted Lucero and his family through Archuleta County, stopping to honor Lucero’s time in the military and with several regional law enforcement agencies.

• The PSHS SkillsUSA team fared well during regional competition Jan. 19 in Durango, with several earning their way to the state competition in April. 

Halle Munyon took first in Welding Sculpture. Logan Beach, Ethan Chavez-Skok, Tristan Frame and Sofia Talamante took first in Teamworks. Brodie Norton took second in Carpentry.

• The annual WinterFest celebration Jan. 19-21 featured the fun of the season, including sledding to ballooning, a community bonfire, dog parade and more.

• According to Miller, the Lady Pirate swim team did the unexpected when it bested Gunnison on Jan. 26 in Gunnison.

Pagosa scored 566, compared to Gunnison’s 537.

• A Jan. 28 snowmobile accident claimed the life of a 50-year-old man from Texas.

According to a statement from the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, at 3:04 p.m. on Jan. 28, the Alamosa Regional Communication Center notified the office of a snowmobile accident involving a 50-year-old male from Texas.

The accident occurred about 2.5 miles up Quartz Creek.

“While the patient’s friends and family were transporting him from the accident, out of the backcountry, he succumbed to injuries sustained during the accident,” according to the statement.

• A two-vehicle crash the morning of Jan. 29 that involved a school bus left one in critical condition but expected to recover. Several elementary school children from the bus were taken to Pagosa Springs Medical Center (PSMC) for minor injuries, where they were treated and released.

According to a press release from Pagosa Springs Police Chief William Rockensock, “Initial information advised a white sport utility vehicle collided with an Archuleta County School District bus. The school bus was full of children and was off the roadway. The driver of the SUV was injured and entrapped in the vehicle.”

The driver of the SUV, the release states, was a 54-year-old male who had to be extricated from the vehicle by Pagosa Fire Protection District personnel. He was transported to PSMC in critical condition and airlifted to a different hospital.

• A rock slide blocked U.S. 160 on Wolf Creek Pass on Jan. 29. 

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) responded to the blockage, which closed the highway from about 9 a.m. until late in the morning, at which point it was opened to one-lane, alternating traffic. The highway was fully reopened about 4:30 p.m. after CDOT geohazard engineers inspected the cliffs for further signs of rockfall and safety concerns.

• In late January, it was announced that PSHS student Marie Smith took first place in Ceramics and Glass in the Colorado Art Awards. 

According to PSHS art teacher Kelly Lewis, Smith beat out thousands of entries, many from dedicated arts magnet schools.