2025 was an interesting year in Pagosa Country. There was no want for good news, bad news, controversial issues, and no lack of interesting news to keep SUN readers focused on local events, situations and personalities.
The SUN is taking a look back at some of those events, selected by SUN staff writers. This week, we look back at January, February and March.
January
• In early January, it was reported that the median value of owner-occupied housing units in Archuleta County had increased from $359,700 in 2014-2018 to $451,400 in 2019-2023, according to American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The suspect in the 2021 death of Michael Kroll, formerly of Archuleta County, entered a guilty plea on Jan. 3, with the plea agreement then being approved by 6th Judicial District Chief Judge Jeffrey Wilson on Jan. 6.
Under the agreement, Glenn Canyon Lee Hunt, 62, entered a plea of guilty to murder in the second degree.
• On Jan. 7, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its contractor, to complete phase two of the county’s Risk Mapping Assessment and Planning project.
The phase included a remapping of the area’s floodplain and would keep the county in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.
• The Pagosa Springs Town Council awarded a Life Saving Award to two Pagosa Springs police officers, Brandon Bishop and Colton Calavan, on Jan. 7. The awards recognized the lifesaving efforts of the two officers, who responded to a medical emergency call on Dec. 26, 2024.
• During an update on the Pagosa Springs Sanitation General Improvement District’s (PSSGID’s) efforts to rehabilitate the town’s struggling wastewater system on Jan. 7, the PSSGID board was presented with the likelihood that it would need to ask the voters to raise the town’s sales tax in order to pay for necessary expensive repairs coming down the pike and the PSSGID’s portion of the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District’s (PAWSD’s) Vista wastewater treatment plant upgrades.
• As of Jan. 8, the statewide snowpack stood at 95 percent of the 30-year median, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service — an improvement from weeks earlier when those levels were near historic lows.
• On Jan. 8, the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA) volleyed questions from its membership for nearly three hours during an informational meeting about a proposed gymnasium project set to go before a vote of the association’s property owners later that month.
The $2.1 million project, if passed, would have levied a onetime $255 special assessment fee across the association’s more than 6,400 members.
• Several elected officials took their oaths of office during an inauguration ceremony on Jan. 13, including county commissioners Warren Brown and John Ranson, and Coroner Brad Hunt. Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray was sworn in by Judge Jeffrey Wilson in Durango on Jan. 14.
• In mid-January, Archuleta School District (ASD) joined other districts from around the state and nation in preparing for new federal immigration policies.
Addressing board members on Jan. 14, ASD Superintendent Rick Holt cited requests from community members and staff that the school district prepare for the “unlikely event that there are deportations of undocumented students and families.”
• At the same meeting, the ASD board indicated it would further consider a district-wide cellphone policy after hearing reports from teachers and students about personal phone use during class time being distracting, unsafe and damaging to relationships.
At the top of their meeting on Jan. 14, board members listened as educators shared experiences and perspectives from around the district, where policies concerning cellphone use differ from school to school and, sometimes, classroom to classroom.
• Data released by the Colorado Department of Education on Jan. 15 showed slight declines in the state’s student enrollment count as of October 2024, as well as within ASD.
The October 2024 count, which the state uses to determine how much money each school district receives, showed 881,065 students enrolled in Colorado schools,with a 0.1 percent decrease reflected in prekindergarten through high school grades since 2023.
Pagosa Springs Elementary School had 511 students enrolled as of October 2024, or three students less than the year prior. Pagosa Springs Middle School counted 484 students, down from 489, and Pagosa Springs High School had 435 — 15 less than it did in the last count.
San Juan Mountain School saw enrollment increase by two students to 47. Pagosa Peak Open School counted 111 students — an increase of five from the year before.
• Despite Mother Nature’s lack of cooperation, most of January’s WinterFest festivities took place, including hot air balloon mass ascensions, the Penguin Plunge, skijoring, the Barkus Parade, bonfire and more.
• Hunt was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Jan. 21 for the 2021 death of Michael Kroll.
• Multiple grass fires and a residential fire took place in January, leading Roy Vega, then the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Operations deputy director, to explain that, while conversations were happening in preparation for “upcoming fire season, ... we’re in the fire season right now.”
Sheriff Mike Le Roux explained that there had been two wildland fires in Archuleta County so far on the month, with one occurring on Jan. 11 and one on Jan. 16, each burning approximately two to four acres.
• The Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Lady Pirate wrestling team earned second place in the Queens of the Mountain tournament held in Edwards at Battle Mountain High School on Jan. 18.
The Lady Pirates had three first-place finishers: Bella Jackson in the 100-pound weight class, Kylie Matyniak in the 130-pound weight class and Laykyn Baxstrom in the 235-pound weight class.
• Following an executive session on Jan. 21, the BoCC directed staff to meet with representatives of Pagosa Partners I Inc. to further discuss the details of purchasing a property located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive for the purpose of building a new county administration building.
• The BoCC approved its 2025-2028 strategic plan during its Jan. 21 regular meeting.
The BoCC unanimously approved Resolution 2025-13, which adopts “the model and framework by which the county shall operate and adhere to in its service to the taxpayers and residents of Archuleta County,” according to the agenda.
• On Jan. 21, the town council decided to table consideration of whether or not to allow metropolitan districts to form within town limits.
At the meeting, council member Leonard Martinez suggested that he thought the town should not even be considering the issue of allowing metro districts until it develops a strategic plan around the issue of growth and development.
Metro districts are usually formed to fund specific infrastructure needs within a district’s boundaries, such as road maintenance, wastewater services, or maintaining parks and recreation facilities, and are usually funded through property taxes from the owners within that district.
• More than two dozen parents, educators and community leaders gathered Jan. 27 to begin mapping a vision for the future of ASD’s educational spaces.
The group, the Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC), would ultimately be tasked with making a formal recommendation to the ASD board about what to do with several of the district’s aging buildings and facilities.
The committee began by hearing reports and examining survey data describing the condition of the district’s schools, which were evaluated and scored by a Colorado Springs-based firm hired to help facilitate ASD’s master planning process.
ASD Superintendent Rick Holt, summarized some of the questions facing the group: should the school district continue to maintain its existing properties and, if so, which ones, and at what price?
“Should we take a right and continue the way we have, or should we take a left and invest in schools?” Holt asked.
• The Lady Pirate wrestling team hosted a home dual for first time in program history on Jan. 28. The historic moment in local wrestling history was made better by the Lady Pirates’ 33-18 win.
February
• The Lady Pirate wrestling team won its first tournament of the season on Feb. 1 in Del Norte at the Rio Grande Women’s Showdown.
The Lady Pirates took first out of seven teams.
• Pagosa Country’s unusually dry winter continued into February, with little to no snow on the ground in most parts around town.
As of the beginning of February, Wolf Creek Ski Area had recorded 119 inches of snow so far on the season, with the majority of that falling before the new year.
Along with the lack of snowfall, Pagosa Country experienced record high temperatures on Feb. 2, 3 and 4.
The high on Feb. 2 was recorded at 55 degrees, breaking the previous record of 53 degrees set in 1935. On Feb. 3, the high was recorded at 57 degrees, breaking the previous record of 54 degrees set in 1991. The high temperature on Feb. 4 was recorded at 55 degrees, breaking the previous record of 54 degrees set in 1941.
• On Feb. 4, the BoCC unanimously approved a letter of intent with Pagosa Partners I Inc. for the purchase of a property located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive for the purpose of constructing a new county administration building.
• Citing a rapidly expanding community with increased demand for emergency response services, the Pagosa Fire Protection District (PFPD) Board of Directors voted 2-1 on Feb. 4 to impose new impact fees on a broad range of future construction projects located within the district’s jurisdiction.
The move authorizes the PFPD to assess fees upon an array of construction projects within its jurisdiction, including “new buildings, structures, facilities, or improvements, including oil or gas wells and related equipment, on previously improved or on unimproved real property.”
The new fees took effect Feb. 5
• In early February, Four Corners Safari Club International (SCI) announced that local member Lea Lindsay has been named the recipient of the prestigious SCI 2025 Young Hunter of the Year Award.
Lindsay received this honor during the SCI Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn.
• The Town of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County remain the most expensive places to live for a family of four in southwest Colorado, according to a study released Feb. 6 by the Region 9 Economic Development District. Montezuma County was determined to be the least expensive in the region.
• Pagosa Springs Middle School (PSMS) announced in February that Lillian Jones became the second student in Pagosa Springs history to receive this honor of making the Colorado Middle All State Choir, which she attended Feb. 6 and 7.
• Residents and businesses of Pagosa Springs were honored at the annual Chamber Gala and Community Awards celebration on Feb. 7: the Rotary Club of Pagosa Springs was named the Non-Profit of the Year, Echo IT Consulting was named the Small Business of the Year, the Volunteers of the year for were Bill and Nancy Crouse, and Larry Ash was named Citizen of the Year.
• Seven members of the PSHS Lady Pirate swim team represented the school at the 2025 Girls Swim and Dive State Championship Feb. 10 and 11 in Thornton: Aubrey Gerdel, Grace Cram, Chloe Gantt, Leah Blackman, Marlowe Hedgecock, Asia Gorman and Gianna Shaeffer.
• Sales tax collections in December 2024 increased by 10.64 percent compared to figures from one year prior, according to reports released Feb. 11 by Archuleta County.
• Four Lady Pirates and five Pirate wrestlers qualified for the state tournament held in Denver Feb. 13-15: Jackson, Matyniak, Baxstrom, Madisen Stretton, Colton Lucero, Taylor Hancey, Anthony Manzanares and Antonio Quezada. Samuel Kelly represented the Pirates in the Unified division at the tournament.
Kelly won his first-place match in the Unified division by pinning his opponent in two minutes and 31 seconds.
Lucero became the 38th Pirate in the school’s history to reach a state final first-place match, taking second. Lucero finished the season with an overall record of 32-7.
Manzanares earned sixth place in a division coach Dan Janowsky described as having some of the best wrestlers in the state.
Baxstrom became the first Lady Pirate to earn a state finalist medal in the program’s history, placing fourth in the 190-pound weight class.
• Pagosa Country received some long-awaited snowfall in mid-February as a winter storm moved through the area in the early hours of Feb. 14 and into Feb. 15, leaving behind both snow accumulation and power outages due to the wet, heavy snow.
According to reports from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow, snow totals in Archuleta County ranged from 5.9 inches to 11.9 inches.
Wolf Creek Ski Area reported 17 inches of snow over those two days, and, as of Feb. 19, reported a total of 140 inches of snow received on the season.
Power outages affected 96.1 percent of meters, or 11,229 members of La Plata Electric Association (LPEA).
• Two were killed in a crash outside of Pagosa Springs on Feb. 15.
According to a press release from the Colorado State Patrol (CSP), troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash with four total occupants on U.S. 84, near milepost 18 (near Pagosa Springs) at 5:29 p.m. on Feb. 15.
The driver of one of the vehicles, Aaron Tenorio, 24, and a child, 7-year-old Dante, were killed. The CSP reported the front-seat passenger of the vehicle was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries.
The driver of the other vehicle was transported to a medical facility with moderate injuries, the press release adds.
A later update by the CSP states, Justin McCelvey, a 37-year-old out of Texas, was arrested and charged.
The case is ongoing.
• A two-vehicle crash at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 18 on U.S. 160 near milepost 164.7 left five injured, according to the CSP, with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
• On Feb. 18 at approximately 11:19 p.m., the Archuleta Combined Dispatch Center received a report of a pedestrian possibly struck by a motor vehicle on U.S. 160 near the intersection with Great West Avenue, according to a press release from the Pagosa Springs Police Department (PSPD).
Despite attempts to revive the pedestrian, he was pronounced deceased at the scene. The pedestrian was identified as 46-year-old Phillip Montoya, of Pagosa Springs.
The vehicle involved in the incident “fled the scene,” the release states adding that, through a “detailed investigation, officers identified the type of vehicle involved.”
Subsequently, it notes, officers located the vehicle and identified the driver as 42-year-old Merenda Romine, of Pagosa Springs.
Romine was taken into custody and charged.
• On Feb. 18, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) instructed staff to commence investigation into the complaint against Archuleta County Commissioner Veronica Medina.
The case was filed in June 2024 by Ashley Springer in her capacity as a private citizen (Springer also worked for Archuleta County at the time), with the IEC deeming the complaint nonfrivolous in November 2024.
The complaint alleges, among other things, conflict of interest in Medina not recusing herself during county property purchase and land use regulation votes, as well as alleging Medina pushed commissioners to make a “swift” decision regarding purchase of a property presented by Exit Realty Broker Shelley Low, with Medina not disclosing to the state potential conflict of interest and failure to recuse when voting on property selection for the county’s administration building property listed under Exit Realty’s Low, “where Medina’s license hangs.” Medina is a licensed real estate agent.
The case is ongoing.
• Local alpine ski racer Isabelle Ratcliff represented Pagosa Springs via Durango High School at the state alpine skiing championships on Feb. 20 and 21 in Aspen.
Additionally, Ratcliff raced for the Durango Winter Sports Club and had been competing in the Southern Series circuit. She “skied” away with first- and second-place medals in slalom at the Arizona Snowbowl.
• The school district’s MPAC discussed the pros and cons of a major renovation versus constructing a new building for the district’s master facilities plan at a Feb. 24 committee meeting.
• In late February, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced the U.S. 160 reconstruction project was set to officially begin on March 17.
Then, after a public update was held on Feb. 27, that start date was moved to March 24.
At the update meeting, business owners pleaded with CDOT to delay the project by one week, with one saying it would be “crushing” for downtown businesses if the project starts the week of March 17 due to spring break crowds.
• Three Lady Pirates earned all-conference wrestling awards for the Intermountain League: Stretton, Matyniak and Baxstrom. Baxstrom also received an all-state honorable mention after placing fourth.
On the boys’ side, Lucero was named to the all-state second team after placing second at state, while also receiving Intermountain League all-conference recognition. Manzanares also garnered Intermountain League all-conference honors.
• Lady Pirate swim coach Heather Miller was named the Western Slope Conference’s Coach of the Year for the winter season.
• Local health officials continued to see elevated levels of seasonal illnesses in late February, and were preparing for cases of measles that could present in the community as spring break crowds arrive.
Pagosa Springs Medical Center CEO Dr. Rhonda Webb reported the facility had seen more RSV so far than in the last seven years, and was seeing a lot of flu cases.
March
• On March 1, the PLPOA announced that the vote for the proposed gymnasium project did not pass.
• The PSHS Lady Pirate basketball team secured the No. 7 playoff spot with a March 1 win over the Bayfield Wolverines, meaning the team would host first-round playoff action.
• After closing out the regular season with an overtime loss to the Bayfield Wolverines on March 1, the Pirate boys’ basketball earned the No. 30 spot in the playoffs, sending them to Aspen to take on the No. 3 Aspen Skiers in the first round of the 4A state playoffs.
• On March 4, the town council decided that it would forgo a traditional motorized Fourth of July parade for the year’s celebrations, mainly due to the U.S. 160 reconstruction project.
Instead of a parade, the council opted to have a celebration at Yamaguchi Park that would lead into the annual fireworks display.
• Also on March 4, the town council approved the first reading of an ordinance dedicating an easement on town-owned property to LPEA, allowing LPEA to use five acres on the property for a new electrical substation.
The town-owned property is located at 2140 County Road 500 (Trujillo Road) and contains the former landfill and current Archuleta County recycle and transfer station.
The agreement will have LPEA pay the town $135,000 for the easement and 5 percent annual interest, paid in annual payments of $8,700 for a term of 30 years.
• On March 7, the PSMS wrestling team celebrated winning the San Juan Basin League Championship in Bayfield. The Pirates competed against Bayfield, Cortez, Ignacio, Miller and Escalante, winning by 76 points with a score of 369.5.
• The Pirate basketball team drew its season to a close in the first round of the state playoffs on March 7 with a loss to the No. 3 Skiers in Aspen.
• The PSHS Pirate baseball team opened the season with a bang, outscoring the Dolores Bears 41-10 during a doubleheader on March 8.
• The Lady Pirate basketball team fell to the No. 2 Timnath Cubs in the Great 8 round of the 4A girls’ basketball playoffs on March 12.
The girls advanced to the action at the Denver Coliseum after defeating No. 26 Fort Morgan on March 7 and No. 10 Lamar on March 8 at PSHS.
• During its regular meeting on March 18, the BoCC unanimously approved a purchase and sale agreement for the property located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive for the purpose of constructing a new county administration building.
According to the agreement, the county would pay a total of $2,525,480 for approximately 5.5 acres of land.
• Archuleta County Attorney Todd Weaver submitted a formal resignation letter addressed to all county elected officials and county department heads on March 20, with the resignation effective April 9.
The county posted the job opening the same day.
Weaver explained in an interview that he is returning to private practice and “joining a law firm in the Front Range as a partner.”
• On March 25, the Pagosa Springs Planning Commission decided to delay a final decision on a sketch major subdivision application for a development being called Pagosa West, voting to continue the matter for future consideration.
The decision came in the wake of a packed-house audience that mostly voiced its concerns and opposition to the development.
An agenda document on the matter describes Pagosa West as “a residential and mixed-use commercial development located in Pagosa Springs, situated on a +/- 100-acre site along the south frontage of US Highway 160, between South Pagosa Blvd and Pinon Causeway.”
The applicant proposes “a multi-phased subdivision development with full build-out occurring over the next 10 plus years,” according to agenda documentation.
• On March 26, LPEA board members unanimously approved an agreement with Mercuria Energy America LLC — an independent energy and commodity group — securing electricity for LPEA through the 2026-2028 bridge period.
It marked the third power supply agreement LPEA had signed since the cooperative announced its departure from its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Inc. on April 1, 2026.
• Four Lady Pirate and two Pirate basketball players were recognized by the Intermountain League for their work on the court during the winter season: Kylie Ketchum was named to the all-conference team, Karsyn Shahan was named to the all-conference team and was the league’s player of the year, Elizabeth Currier was named to the all-conference team, Amber Snarr earned an honorable mention, Seth Zeigler earned an honorable mention, and Colt Lewis was named to the all-conference team.
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