Posted: Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- An Alamosa teenager who broke into an unoccupied trailer in March -- and then set fire to it -- pleaded guilty last week to second-degree burglary.
Matthew James Aguilar now faces a potential sentence of two to six years in state prison, although probation could also be an option, given his relative lack of a ...more
Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2013
Courier staff writer
DEL NORTE -- Prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that double homicide suspect Daniel Bessey is guilty of the charges against him, but there is sufficient cause to bind him over to district court, a judge ruled on Friday.
Rio Grande County Court Judge Patrick Hayes, Jr., found that attorneys for both sides made strong ...more
Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2013
Courier editor
PUEBLO, For causing the deaths of three Alamosa teens and injuring two others, Gilbert Sanchez, 37, of Pueblo, received a sentence yesterday of 68 years in prison.
District Judge Larry Schwartz sentenced Sanchez to 12 years on each of the three vehicular homicide-DUI charges related to the April 28, 2012 deaths of Alamosa teens Anisa Montoya, 18, Serina ...more
Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2013
Courier staff writer
DEL NORTE -- After six hours of court testimony on Thursday, the preliminary hearing of double homicide suspect Daniel Bessey will resume this morning.
The former Saguache resident is accused of murdering a Monte Vista couple in 2012, and Rio Grande County Court Judge Patrick Hayes, Jr., must determine if there's enough evidence to bind him over ...more
Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- Hearing concerns that a proposed ordinance would be so restrictive it would essentially prohibit panhandling in the city, the Alamosa city council Wednesday night voted unanimously to table it.
The council asked city staff to modify the ordinance to strike a balance between the right to ask for assistance and the safety of area residents.
As ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Prosecutors filed charges on Wednesday against an Alamosa city councilor accused of waving a stun gun at his son during an alleged lawn-watering dispute, according to an Alamosa Police Department (APD) report.
Leland A. Romero, 49, was summoned to appear in Alamosa County Court on June 4 for felony use of a stun gun ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Courier staff writer
VALLEY -- What Valley superintendents heard about changing Colorado graduation requirements earlier this year isn't exactly what is on the table today.
After learning the Colorado State Board of Education (CSBE) is considering bringing various test scores and other detailed factors into the equation, several Valley superintendents spoke out against the proposed high school graduation guidelines on Tuesday ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- A beetle epidemic in the forest will have ramifications for generations to come.
Addressing the Rio Grande Roundtable on Tuesday, Rio Grande National Forest staff including Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas talked about how the current spruce beetle epidemic is affecting the forest presently and how it could potentially affect the landscape and watershed in ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- A beetle epidemic in the forest will have ramifications for generations to come.
Addressing the Rio Grande Roundtable on Tuesday, Rio Grande National Forest staff including Forest Supervisor Dan Dallas talked about how the current spruce beetle epidemic is affecting the forest presently and how it could potentially affect the landscape and watershed in ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- Another application to drill for oil and gas in the Del Norte area is moving forward.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Field Manager Andrew Archuleta told members of the Rio Grande Roundtable yesterday that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) had approved with conditions an application for Dan A. Hughes Company to drill in ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Convicted drug dealer Jennifer Rivera-Lovato pleaded guilty earlier this year to the same offense that sent one of her conspirators to prison for eight years.
But as long as she complies with the terms of her probation, she'll avoid a similar fate.
Twelfth Judicial District Judge Michael Gonzales on Monday sentenced the Manassa woman to ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- This is shaping up to be the fourth lowest water year on record in the San Luis Valley.
That's since 1889.
Colorado Division of Water Resources Division 3 Division Engineer Craig Cotten reported to the Valley-wide water group, the Rio Grande Roundtable, yesterday that predicted annual flows on the Rio Grande and Conejos River systems are ...more
Posted: Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Joseph Ankeney was not alone when he broke into an Alamosa home last July and assaulted the man who lived there.
But of the four people who were charged in connection with the crime, he's the only one to date who has taken responsibility for his actions.
Twelfth Judicial District Judge Michael Gonzales took ...more
Posted: Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Courier staff writer
CENTER -- Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia came in the name of literacy, and took home a story or two for his friends in Denver.
Last Thursday, Garcia visited the Valley as a part of his Colorado Literacy Week statewide tour. After reading the tour's featured children's book, Duck on a Bike, to United Methodist Church Wee Care ...more
Posted: Saturday, May 11th, 2013
ALAMOSA -- Adams State University (ASU) has adjusted its Spring Break schedule to coincide with many San Luis Valley public school calendars, announced University President David Svaldi.
"Although our academic calendar was already set through 2015, we believe aligning our break with the school districts' will eliminate a hardship for our students and faculty with school-age children," Svaldi said.
The university's ...more
Posted: Saturday, May 11th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Dr. John Taylor's theatre students literally stomped into the Adams State University Board of Trustees (ASUBT) meeting on Friday morning demanding a halt to increasing tuition rates, and although their pleas were heard, they could not stop the hike from being approved.
The ASUBT unanimously passed the proposed 2013-2014 tuition, fee rates and operating budget that ...more
Posted: Saturday, May 11th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- The man accused of stabbing a 24-year-old woman with a letter opener was behaving erratically in the moments before and after he was arrested last weekend, according to eyewitness accounts of the incident.
When an Alamosa County Sheriff's deputy arrived at the scene on May 4, he noticed that a Colorado State Patrol trooper was ...more
Posted: Friday, May 10th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- After hearing two Polston property visions, the Alamosa Board of Education (ABOE) moved in a special meeting Thursday morning to sell local businessman Dan Russell the parcel to realize his RV resort dream.
The ABOE voted six to one to seal the sales deal with Russell, who will pay $500,000 for the 38-acre property with water ...more
Posted: Friday, May 10th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Clark Potter made his way out of the state prison system and into Alamosa, but after an early release on parole, he's heading right back where he came from.
Twelfth Judicial District Judge Pattie Swift on Tuesday sentenced the 31-year-old felon to 10 years behind bars for the crime of second-degree burglary; she also ordered ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Courier editor
ALAMOSA -- The "Pink Elephant," an Alamosa downtown eyesore, grew a bit closer to extinction yesterday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected the Alamosa County Economic Development Corporation (ACEDC) to receive a $200,000 competitive Brownfields cleanup grant to remove contamination at the former Pink Elephant property at Sixth and State in Alamosa, the EPA announced on Wednesday.
In ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- A stadium is coming, and there will be no mistaking who calls it home.
During a routine Alamosa High School (AHS) athletic complex/vo ag building construction meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the importance of the Mean Moose maroon and white color scheme was discussed in addition to a project progress report and a list of decisions yet ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 9th, 2013
DENVER, Timothy John Vanderwerff, 65, of Monte Vista, was recently sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 108 months (nine years) in federal prison for receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ravenelle announced.
Following his 9-year prison sentence, Vanderwerff was ordered by Judge Kane to ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- A woman who conspired to bail an inmate out of jail with stolen money was ordered on Tuesday to serve three years of supervised probation.
Twelfth Judicial District Judge Pattie Swift also sentenced Loren Gutierrez to 90 days in the county jail, but she gave the defendant the option of completing an in-home detention ...more
Posted: Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Americans who grew up in a less cynical era tend to be more trusting and polite than the population as a whole.
Scammers and con artists know this, and they take advantage of those qualities by bilking older people out of nearly $3 billion every year.
They may pose as authority figures, government officials or ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
ALAMOSA -- A 24-year-old woman is recovering from stab wounds to her neck and chest, while her alleged attacker is in custody, following a report of a stabbing over the weekend.
Ryan Antonio Lopez, 30, was arrested for first-degree assault and criminal impersonation, based on allegations that he stabbed Amber Elizabeth Garcia during a May 4 incident.
The Alamosa ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- A convicted drug trafficker apologized on Tuesday for his actions, but his words could not make up for the fact that he committed an "extraordinary risk" crime.
Jeffrey Allen Mitchell pleaded guilty in March to one count of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance, and on May 7, Twelfth Judicial District Judge Pattie Swift sentenced ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Courier staff writer
VALLEY -- After months of preparing Valley third graders for the second year of Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) reading tests, many teachers and their students now have a reason to celebrate.
Out of the Valley's 16 elementary schools, ten had applicable preliminary 2013 TCAP data, with three meeting or exceeding the state proficient and advanced average ...more
Posted: Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
Courier staff writer
ALAMOSA -- Potential Polston property purchasers will address the Alamosa Board of Education (ABOE) on Thursday in a special meeting after being turned away on Monday night.
Since the sale of the Polston property was not an agenda item, about a dozen citizens were unable to share their thoughts on the parcel's future. After Monday's open meeting and ...more
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