LISTEN TO LOCAL NEWS
WIND STORM CAUSES SEVERAL SMALL POWER OUTAGES ACROSS THE YAMPA VALLEY
Yesterday morning’s wind storm wreaked havoc for Yampa Valley Electric workers. Crews were out all morning and much of the afternoon fixing small outages all over the valley. Y.V.E.A. says the calls started coming in at about 2 in the morning, and there were upwards of 10 outages, some of which lasted until nearly 3 in the afternoon. Most of the problems were fixed within a couple of hours of being reported, but some, like the one near Clark, were in remote areas and took crews a little longer to find. Y.V.E.A. spokesman Bill Caynor says all of the outages were due to high winds.
STATE OF THE COUNTY EVENT TO BE HELD AT HOLIDAY INN IN CRAIG TONIGHT
The Craig Chamber’s annual State of the County event takes place tonight. Senator Jean White will be the keynote speaker. Those attending will also hear updates and future plans from the City of Craig, Moffat County, and the Craig Chamber. Awards will also be handed out for small and large business of the year. The night includes dinner and drinks. Tickets are $40 for chamber members and $50 for non-members. It starts at 6 tonight at the Holiday Inn of Craig.
B.L.M. HOLDS PUBLIC MEETINGS ON OIL-SHALE AND TAR-SANDS MANAGEMENT
The Bureau of Land Management will hold a series of meetings in three states to answer questions and solicit comments on its oil shale and tar sands Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. B.L.M. officials will be on hand at each meeting to take the comments. The Statement will be used to assess a range of management alternatives for future oil-shale and tar-sands activities on public land. The comment period ends May 4th. The meetings will be held in Silt March 12th, in Vernal March 13th, in Salt Lake City March 14th and then in Rock Springs March 15th. If you need more details, call your local B.L.M. Field Office.
JEAN WHITE SPEAKS AT RALLY FOR ONLINE SCHOOLS
Senator Jean White was among the lawmakers who participated in a rally at the state capitol yesterday in support of on-line schools. Over 1,000 people braved the heavy snowfall in Denver for Cyberschools Day. White was one of the speakers. The event was sponsored by the Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families and the Colorado Cyberschools Association. While the crowd rallied outside, a live demonstration of virtual learning was set up inside the capitol. According to recent statistics, there are more that 15,000 K-12 students enrolled in online learning programs in the state.
CRAIG WORKFORCE CENTER SEEKS STUDENTS FOR “YOUTH READINESS PROGRAM”
The Craig Workforce Center is offering an opportunity for low income youth in Moffat County to prepare for entering the workforce, and make a little money at the same time, through their Youth Readiness Program. Those wishing to participate must be between the ages of 16 and 21, meet low income guidelines, and must be in the U-S legally. Participants will attend 8 Work Readiness Workshops, working toward “A Game” and “Career Ready” certification, and eventually a paid internship. The goal of the program is to provide youth with state of the art work readiness skills, build positive work ethics, provide valuable work experience, and help launch a successful career. If you’d like to participate, call the Workforce Center at 824-3246.
C.N.C.C. CRAIG HOLDS “CHILI CHALLENGE” TOMORROW
Colorado Northwestern Community College will host their second annual Chili Challenge tomorrow. The event was organized by the school’s student council. The event is still open to entries and has three categories: red, green and white chili. There’ll be prizes for the winners and entries are only $4. To show up and enjoy the chili, the cost is $6 per person, $10 per couple, or $15 per family. The Chili Challenge takes place at C.N.C.C. Craig from 4:30 to 6:30 tomorrow.
GOVERNOR HOLDS AG FORUM AT STATE CAPITOL
The governor’s annual forum on Colorado agriculture featured discussions on food safety and how to reduce outbreaks. Yesterday’s conference comes after a listeria outbreak was traced to cantaloupes grown at Jensen Farms in Colorado. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak has killed 32 people around the country. The CDC calls it the worst foodborne illness since the 1920s. Governor John Hickenlooper spoke to attendees in the morning about the importance of the agriculture industry in leading the state out of the recession. Exports from the state rose by 20 percent last year. Other topics on the agenda included the listeria outbreak and dealing with third-party farm audits.
WESTERN TIGER SALAMANDER CLOSER TO BECOMING STATE AMPHIBIAN
The western tiger salamander is closer to being named Colorado’s official state amphibian. The Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 7-0 in favor of the designation yesterday. A Denver primary school class suggested the designation, which has already been approved by the House. The western tiger salamander is found in every Colorado county.
In high school sports:
Yesterday:
In basketball:
The Little Snake Valley boys and girls both beat Saint Stephens in the Regional tournament.
Today:
In basketball:
The Little Snake River Valley boys play Ten Sleep at 4:10 in the district tournament at Lander High School. The girls play Farson Eden at 7:30.
In the 2-A district tournament:
The Meeker boys host Paonia at 7. The girls host Rangely at 3.
The Hayden boys host West Grand at 4:30. The girls travel to Paonia at 6.
In the 4-A state playoffs the Moffat County girls play Thompson Valley at Centaurus High School. You can catch all the action live on KRAI with the pregame at 4:45 and the tip off at 5. You can also listen online at krai.com.
In hockey:
Steamboat takes on Machebeuf in the first round of the playoffs at 3:45 at the South Suburban Ice Arena in Denver.
