The Cortez Journal encourages people to submit announcements about upcoming events for the Community Calendar. Send announcements to news@cortezjournal.com. Items submitted at least two weeks in advance will have a better chance of getting published; items submitted several days before the event might not get published. For more information, call the Journal at 565-8527.
Librarys September Storytime theme is I Love to Read!
I Love to Read! is the September theme of Storytime at the Cortez Public Library, located at 202 N. Park Street. Storytime is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. for preschool-aged children and every Saturday at the Farmers Market beginning at 10:30 a.m., weather permitting. The Farmers Market is located on the corner of S. Elm and Main streets. Older children are welcome to join for the craft at 11:15 a.m. Thursdays. The Saturday Storytime will follow the same theme as the preceding Thursday.
Clifford Who? will be the focal point for Thursday, Sept. 8 and Saturday, Sept. 10. Next is Curious Georges Literary Parents on Sept. 15 and Sept. 17. Well explore another author on Sept. 22 and Sept. 24 with Beatrix Potters Animal Friends. Storytime will wrap up the month with I Can Write & Draw at the Same Time!: Jack Ezra Keats on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1.
Storytime offers songs, stories, crafts and silliness and uses the Early Childhood Literacy Initiative program.
For more information, contact the library at 565-8117.
NEPA coordinator for San Juan National Forest will speak
The Mesa Verde Back Country Horsemen will present educational speaker Deborah Kill, National Environmental Policy Act coordinator for the San Juan National Forest, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the Elks Lodge, 2100 North Dolores Road on Colorado Highway 145, Cortez.
Kill will speak about NEPA and its implementation in proposing and evaluating the environmental effects of forest service projects. Virtually any forest service action requires some kind of NEPA analysis. The schedule of proposed actions (located on the San Juan website) is a good place to see all of the kinds of NEPA planning efforts underway on Dolores Public Lands. This event is open to the public.
Come early at 6:15 p.m. for a buy-your-own Taco Tuesday meal before the meeting.
For more information, call Howard Thomas at 533-9135 or visit www.mesaverdehorsemen.com.
Archaeologist will discuss Basketmakers with Hisatsinom
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society will present Shanna Diederichs, supervisory archaeologist for Crow Canyons Basketmaker Communities Project, to discuss the new Indian Camp Ranch excavation in a talk entitled On Solid Ground: Unpacking the Research of the Basketmaker Community Project at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the Cortez Cultural Center, 25 N. Market St.
Diederichs will discuss how, in designing a research plan for the Dillard Basketmaker III site near Cortez, excavation is only one of five very important steps, from research design to curation, which will be executed. The Basketmaker III period is considered to be definitive in the development of Puebloan culture.
Diederichs joined the Crow Canyon staff fairly recently. Previously, she served as project director at several sites including Mesa Verde. Prior to that, she served as field and laboratory supervisor for numerous cultural resource management and mitigation projects in the Four Corners area. She has written for and contributed to numerous resources management planning and reporting publications, including, recently, Crucible of the Pueblos: The Early Pueblo Period in the Northern Southwest.
For more information, call Bob Bernhart at 739-6772.
Cortez Workforce Center invites public to Appreciation Day event
The Southwest Colorado Workforce Center in Cortez is hosting a Customer Appreciation Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 at their office at 2208 E. Main Street.
They will be serving hot dogs and root beer floats.
For more information, call 565-3759.
Family Leadership Training Institute will hold open house
Family Leadership Training Institute will hold a community open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the Cortez Library, 202 N. Park St.
The open house will offer a taste of FLTI, including a sampler session, the opportunity to learn more about the program, and a chance to network with local alumni and the Montelores FLTI leadership team. Applications will be available on site. FLTI is accepting applications, and the third round of this training will start in October.
For more information, contact Trish Peters, FLTI site coordinator at 560-1360 or 564-1669; more information is available on the website at www.coloradofamilyleadership.com.
Cowboy singer will perform at Business After Hours networking social
Montezuma Vet Clinic will host this months Cortez Chambers Business After Hours from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Montezuma Vet Clinic is located northwest of Cortez on Hwy. 491 on the west side of the road, next to IFA Country Store.
Unwind after your work day, enjoy a glass of wine or a beer and connect with the local business community. This month our own local celebrity, cowboy singer and poet Slim McWilliams, will perform while you enjoy pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw, beans and dessert. There will be lots of door prizes and tours of the clinic and a chance to take part in the silent auction to support the Korney Fund. The intent of the Korney Fund is to assist with the partial cost of veterinary services for those who wish to provide their pet with a long, healthy life. One of the auction items is two round trip tickets to Denver from Great Lakes Airlines.
Come join us for our free monthly Business After Hours networking social the second Thursday of every month. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and share with others; guests are always encouraged.
For more information, call Dena at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce at 565-3414.
LiveWell Montezuma will offer introductory session for Cooking Matters
LiveWell Montezuma invites anyone participating in the WIC or Food Stamp programs to an upcoming opportunity to learn about Cooking Matters, at an introductory session that will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Senior Center Annex, 107 N. Chestnut, Cortez.
Cooking Matters is a class structured around learning cooking skills and the benefits of being able to prepare your own fresh, tasty and nutritious meals. Snacks and beverages will be provided.
Call Kelly at 509-0816, for more information.
Public can meet Aspen Guard Stations artists-in-residence
The public is invited to attend the artists reception for the annual Aspen Guard Station Art Show from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the Cortez Cultural Center, 25 N. Market St.
Participants will be able to meet the artists from last years artist-in-residence program and view the artwork inspired by their stays at the historic Aspen Guard Station. Refreshments will be served. The show will be on display through September.
For more information, contact Ann Bond, San Juan Public Lands Center, at 385-1219; or Shawn Collins, Cortez Cultural Center, at 565-1151.
Crow Canyon staff will present American Indians and Archaeologists
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Director of American Indian Initiatives Marjorie Connolly and Vice President of Programs Dr. Shirley Powell will present American Indians and Archaeologists: Multiple Perspectives on the Past at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9. This presentation is part of the Four Corners Lecture Series, and is free and open to the public. The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center is located at 23390 Road K, Cortez.
In the past, the relationship between some archaeologists and American Indians was challenging, and until recently it was characterized by a lack of effective communication. Today, however, the dialogue is mutual, and many tribes have archaeology and preservation offices of their own. At the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, staff seeks the input of American Indian advisors in the design and implementation of its archaeological research projects and educational programming.
In their presentation, Connolly and Powell will discuss Crow Canyons ongoing collaborations with American Indians, showing how the Center is using oral histories and archaeological data to recreate a more inclusive past for everyonein both temporal span and the people whose stories are being told.
For more information, call 565-8975 or 800-422-8975.
Montelores Catholic Community will hold rummage/yard sale
The Montelores Catholic Community will hold a Rummage/Yard Sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 9 and 10, at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, on the corner of Montezuma and Market Streets, in Cortez.
A large array of items will be offered. Donations of items to sell will be accepted at the church hall from Monday, Aug. 29, until noon Thursday, Sept. 8; no large appliances, please.
For more information, contact Paula at 565-4743, Barbara at 565-0776 or Rosa at 565-7308.
Local members of MCHS Class
of 1948 will hold reunion
Local members of the Class of 1948 will host their 63rd reunion beginning Friday, Sept. 16, with registration and an open house for friends from noon to 5 p.m. at the Calvin Denton Room, Empire Electric Association, 801 N. Broadway, Cortez.
Saturday, Sept. 17, activities will offer various local attractions for groups or individuals; on Saturday evening, there will be a dinner at the Cortez Elks Lodge for class members, and on Sunday morning, Sept. 18, a casual breakfast/brunch will be held at a local restaurant.
As of this date, approximately 24 of the surviving 32 class members are registered to attend the reunion.
Spring Creek Basin mustangs will be available for adoption
The National Mustang Association will sponsor trainer Ems Rapp to demonstrate her wild horse taming and training techniques from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds, 30100 U.S. Highway 160 east of Cortez. Rapp will ride her Spring Creek Basin mustang, Rock-On, adopted after the 2007 roundup. Rock-On will serve as a Spring Creek Basin mustang ambassador for everyone to meet.
Roughly 25 wild horses from the Spring Creek Basin herd in Disappointment Valley will be available for adoption at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the fairgrounds. The adoption will follow a planned gather by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management around Sept. 15.
Expect to see blacks, grays, colorful pintos and duns. The horses will be 4 years old and younger. Over the years, many Spring Creek Basin horses have been adopted, tamed, trained and become treasured riding horses.
Individuals interested in adopting a horse must meet corral and shelter requirements. The standards are available at http://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/requirements.php. Horses not adopted will be placed in long-term pastures.
For more information regarding the clinic on Friday, Sept. 23, contact NMA/CO at 564-8400. For more information on the gather and adoption, contact the Dolores Public Lands Office at 882-7296.