The westbound “San Juan Express #216” passenger train outbound from Antonito struck an Antonito track “tie crew” motor car occupied by two Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad employees shortly after noon Tuesday.

It wasn't all that long ago when the Antonito football team was considered everybody's punching bag, but now Antonito's football team rides rocket to respectability.

Discrimination wasn't the primary topic of conversation at Friday's workshop about livestock industry competition, but several Hispanic farmers from Colorado said they attended the event at CSU to raise their voices about being disenfranchised by the federal government. Gomez worked for the Farmers Home Administra-tion and the USDA's Rural Development Administration in Alamosa for 30 years, serving for a time as the agency's district director. He said he witnessed within the agency routine and systematic discrimination against Hispanic farmers. Gomez said in a court document:

I observed that Hispanic farmers were not being given loans because they allegedly didn't have sufficient experience or because they had other nonfarming jobs.

The case, known as GUADALUPE L. GARCIA JR. v. TOM VILSACK, is a class action lawsuit which seeks to remedy years of massive and admitted discrimination against Hispanic farmers and ranchers who were denied access to United States Department of Agriculture ("USDA") loan programs in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1691, et seq. The lawsuit also seeks to remedy discrimination against Hispanic farmers and ranchers in the administration of USDA farm benefit programs.

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., found no answers Thursday to a waste-shipping dispute that's riled his neighbors but he got commitments from all parties to keep talking. "We know there's not going to be any solutions arrived at today," said Salazar, who ranches downstream from a proposed transfer station and hosted a community forum at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Hall,so, Conejos County is going to take on the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will not ban shipments of low-level waste from coming through Conejos County, despite a request from U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.

Proprietor Clifford Aragon stand in front of the newly renovated 1911 Hotel and Shops in downtown Antonito. The building, which was Antonito's first bank, then post office, then jewelry factory and then abandoned for several years, was renovated by Aragon into a cozy hotel with a historic feel but filled with modern amenities. Large comfy beds accompany flat screen televisions, wi-fi, satellite television and jacuzzi hot tubs in the rooms. The thick brick walls of the historic building that was constructed in 1911, hence the name, tall ceilings and large windows give the hotel a special feel.



Laundry facilities are available for guests as well as suites with kitchens. The hotel is within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants, bars, a water park, a clinic, the post office and an art gallery. Antonito is also home to the historic Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and within a short drive from National Forest and Wilderness areas. Rooms range from $85 — $110 and the 1911 Hotel is located on Main Street in Antonito. Reservations can be made by visiting the hotel website or by calling 1-866-563-1222 or the office at 719-376-5300

A pair of San Luis Valley counties may let their residents decide whether to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Both Alamosa and Conejos counties will discuss sending the issue to a vote, their respective county administrators said Monday at an all-valley commissioners' meeting.

Now in their 40th year, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, co-owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico has begun a new season with plenty of passengers enjoying the trips between Antonito and Chama, located in northern New Mexico, 64 miles away by rail.

To hear Ruben Archuleta tell it, all his life’s adventures — a stint as a sailor during the Vietnam War, nearly 30 years as a Pueblo policeman and a blossoming career as a self-taught woodcarver, historian and author — are a simple result of chance. He is described as “old stock from the San Luis Valley, around Antonito and Mogote. He loves his history and he loves his biographies.” Archuleta has written four books: “I Came From El Valle,” “Land of the Penitentes Land of Traditions,” “Eppie Archuleta and The Tale of Juan de La Burra” and“Penitente Renaissance, Manifesting Hope.”

U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., waded deeper Wednesday into a backyard dispute over a rail transfer station that would handle shipments of contaminated soil from New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The San Luis Valley is dotted with small towns and villages, many with their own parrish churches. As we drove, I spotted a steeple with a cross, so we pulled off the highway onto a side road so I could take a look. A small Catholic church had been built here, and clustered around it were a few houses.

Read more...

Nearly universal local opposition to the resumption of shipment of radioactive waste from Los Alamos plus howling winds from the southwest put a stop on transloading operations Monday morning.

Antonito Mayor Michael Trujillo fears the clean waters of the San Antonio river could be at serious risk. A protest is planned for today at the loading facility where low-level radioactive waste from Los Alamos National Labs will be brought in and loaded onto trains right next to the river. Watch video here from KOAT TV 7.

The battle over whether Conejos County can regulate a transfer station just south of Antonito where contaminated soil would be loaded from truck to train is headed to court. County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to reject a settlement proposal from the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad and Energy Solutions, a Utah-based waste disposal company.

A local railroad and a Utah waste disposal company hope to resume the shipping of contaminated soil through town, but both remain at odds with Conejos County. County officials maintain they have the authority to regulate a proposed transfer station south of town where the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad would load the contaminated soil from truck to its rail cars for delivery to EnergySolutions' repository in Clive, Utah.

At 95, Lita Flores, a native of Antonito, is one of St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center's best-loved volunteers. Of course, the fact that she's been working for free for 25 years has a bit to do with her status there, too.

Former State Rep. Rafael Gallegos, the noble son of Antonito, has a severe case of cancer. He was in St. Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo last week. He had three blood transfusions because he was bleeding internally. Gallegos is going public with his illness, choosing to break the story in The Villager.

Formal charges against Joseph S. Pacheco, 35, Antonito were on Judge Mary Elizabeth Garcia's desk before a 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday afternoon, charging him with first degree assault,second degree murder and two charges of mandatory sentences for violent crime causing death or serious injury.

The Antonito Trojans boys basketball team placed third in the Southern Peaks League District 2A 2010 tournament. By defeating Del Norte 61-49 Tues. Feb. 23 in Antonito, the battle started with a 49-40 loss to Sanford Friday at the Alamosa High School gym.