• The Pirate football team finished the regular season as the 14th-ranked team in the state’s 2A division after falling to the Alamosa Mean Moose on Nov. 1 in Alamosa, earning a spot in the state playoffs.
• Rose placed 56th out of 145 runners at the 3A state cross-country championships on Nov. 2 — her highest finish in her three years of qualifying for the season’s final meet.
The senior ran a time of 21 minutes, 21.18 seconds.
• Unofficial results from the Nov. 5 general election showed the majority of Archuleta County voters aligning with Republican candidates in local, state and federal races, and largely in step with voters from around the state on proposed constitutional amendments and propositions.
In the only locally contested county commissioner race, District 1 incumbent Warren Brown, a Republican, defeated challenges by unaffiliated candidates Wayne Hooper and Ken Bowles. John Ranson was elected commissioner for District 2.
Brad Hunt was elected coroner.
• On Nov. 5, the Pagosa Springs Town Council approved the first reading of an ordinance approving a contract to purchase riverfront property located at 1040 E. U.S. 160.
The four-acre parcel is the former location of Bob’s L.P. and is currently being leased by Basin Coop.
The town intends to expand boater access to the San Juan River by purchasing the property, with an Executive Summary Plan stating that the acquisition would “secure public boater access, enhance recreational safety, provide a means for riverwalk trail connectivity to the east, and promote sustainable growth for the recreational economy of Pagosa Springs.”
• The Pagosa Fire Protection District (PFPD) Board of Directors heard the results from an impact fee study performed by BBC Research and Consulting during a regular meeting held on Nov. 5.
• A winter storm rolled through Pagosa Country in early November, bringing multiple inches of snow to lower elevations, with more than a foot falling in the mountains as of Nov. 6.
According to reports from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, snowfall totals from Nov. 4 through the early afternoon of Nov. 6 around the county varied from 5.5 inches in the northern portions of the county to 1.5-2.4 inches reported around the Town of Pagosa Springs and in the Aspen Springs area. Snowfall totals in the Chromo area ranged from 3.8 inches to 5.4 inches.
Wolf Creek Ski Area reported a total of 19 inches from the storm, with 14 inches falling overnight on Nov. 5. That brought the year-to-date snow- fall total at the ski area to 55 inches.
• At a Nov. 7 special meeting, the SJWCD board voted to reject an offer to purchase the Running Iron Ranch
The Nov. 7 vote followed the PAWSD board voting on Oct. 30 to instruct the potential buyer to submit their offer to the SJWCD, with PAWSD board members Glenn Walsh and Bill Hudson commenting on the attractiveness of the offer.
Following an executive session at the SJWCD meeting, SJWCD president Candace Jones explained that the SJWCD received an offer by email for sale of the ranch and noted that PAWSD had not shared the terms of the offer it negotiated with SJWCD despite the districts being co-owners of the ranch.
Jones stated that the SJWCD board members reviewed the offer and discussed it with the district’s legal counsel in the executive session.
• The Lady Pirate volleyball team entered regional action on Nov. 9 as the No. 34 seed after finishing the regular season with a 10-13 record.
The Lady Pirates traveled to Colorado Springs for regionals, where they took on No. 3 Village and No. 22 Banning Lewis.
Village owned a 20-3 record. Banning Lewis, also from Colorado Springs, was 15-8 on the season.
The Lady Pirates fell to Village and beat Banning Lewis, ending their season.
• The Pirate football team also traveled to Colorado Springs on Nov. 9 for playoffs, where they faced The Classical Academy Titans — the No. 3 team.
The Pirates were eliminated from the state playoffs after suffering a 49-7 defeat.
The Pirates finished their season with an overall record of 5-5, including a league mark of 2-2.
• PSMS eighth-graders presented the 23rd annual Veterans Day breakfast on Nov. 11. The breakfast offered an opportunity for students and veterans to visit, a demonstration of a flag-folding ceremony that takes place after a veteran’s death, history of major conflicts, music and more.
• Local veterans and citizens also commemorated Veterans Day with a ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. The ceremony included, among other elements, a flyover, blessing and rifle volley.
• In November, La Plata Electric Association Inc. (LPEA) announced it and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. had successfully executed a term sheet as part of the two cooperatives’ contract termination negotiations.
The agreement encompasses critical components including power purchases, transmission commitments and the sale of utility assets from Tri-State to LPEA.
• The LPEA Board of Directors announced that Chris Hansen was selected as the new CEO effective Nov. 12.
• In November, the BoCC heard about the possibility of vacating some bridges around Archuleta County.
Those four bridges included a portion of County Road 337 and Carrico Bridge, a portion of County Road 557 and Carracas Bridge, a portion of Navajo Road and bridge, and Old Gallegos Road and bridge.
The board voted in January 2025 to not vacate the bridges.
• A total of six Pirate soccer players received all-conference recognition in the IML: Alex Pham (first team), Christopher-Young Martinez (first team), Gavin Carter (first team and Player of the Year), Chance Ramirez (first team), Jacob Castaneda (honorable mention) and Hudson Davis (honorable mention).
• At a Nov. 14 work session and special meeting, the PAWSD board expressed its displeasure with the SJWCD’s rejection of an offer to buy Running Iron Ranch.
The board also considered a variety of potential measures to take against SJWCD, including a vote of no confidence in the district’s leadership of the Dry Gulch reservoir project.
• The PSHS Pirate Unified bowling team earned its way to state for the third consecutive year after picking up its second regional title on Nov. 15.
The Pirates had a total pinfall of 501 over five games, besting Bayfield’s 400 and Eagle Valley’s 407.
• On Nov. 18, the multimillion-dollar plan to reconstruct a 1-mile stretch of U.S. 160 in downtown Pagosa Springs gained momentum, with CDOT signaling it was ready to select a contractor and begin preparing for the project’s arrival next in the spring of 2025.
The project is expected to extend from 1st to 8th streets.
• The Colorado Independent Ethics Committee voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to deem complaint 24-16 against Commissioner Veronica Medina as nonfrivolous, allowing it to move forward.
The complaint was originally filed on June 17 by Ashley Springer.
• On Nov. 19, the BoCC unanimously approved and adopted the affordable workforce housing project master deed restriction for phase one of the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation’s workforce housing project.
The first phase features 10 homes being constructed in the Trails and Chris Mountain II neighborhoods.
• A pair of Lady Pirate volleyball players were recognized by the IML for their work on the court during the fall season: Cadence Kerns was named to the all-conference second team and Aspen Pitcher was named to the all-conference first team.
• On Nov. 20, board members at Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS) voted to cap classroom sizes for kindergarten through third grade at 18 students for the current school year, approving a request by School Director Emily Murphy.
Murphy described the cap as a response to parent concerns about classroom sizes and one that could assist the school in its efforts to attract new students.
The cap came a year after the school approved a 21-student limit for the same grade levels.
• After tabling the matter twice, the Archuleta County Planning Commission unanimously approved a motion for recommendation of approval of a board conditional use permit for an outdoor shooting range to be operated on the Keyah Grande property on Nov. 21.
• Pagosa Springs Elementary School third-graders dug into their new dictionaries alongside members of the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs on Nov. 21. In annual tradition, the Rotarians presented each third-grader with the dictionaries before working with them to learn about their new books.
• On Nov. 21, the town council approved the second reading of an ordinance authorizing the purchase of riverfront property located at 1040 E. U.S. 160.
• The Pirate Unified bowling team placed 19th out of 28 teams at the state tournament on Nov. 22. The team logged a total pinfall of 442.
Pirate bowler Juriah Carter took on a second duty while at the tournament — singing the national anthem a cappella in front of the crowded bowling alley.
