1. 50Cents
Trinidad
Colorado
Proudly Serving Southeastern Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico • www.thechronicle-news.com
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Vol. 138, No. 252
Thursday
December18,2014
AREA SPORTS
TUES: Trinidad @ Raton JV 5:30
p.m. / Varsity 7 p.m. (girls only)
WEDS: Trinidad @ Raton Freshman
4 p.m. / JV 5:30 p.m. / Varsity 7 p.m.
(boys only)
THURS: Miner Wrestlers host La
Junta 6 p.m. / Primero @ Aguilar 4 p.m.
(boys only) / Hoehne hosts Las Animas
6:30 p.m.
FRI: WHITE OUT: Trinidad hosts
Manitou Springs (boys and girls)
freshmen 4 p.m. / JV 5:30 p.m.
/ Varsity 7 p.m. NOTE: Anyone
wearing a white shirt gets into the
game for half price.
SAT: THS Miner Wrestling @ John
Mall (TBA) & Hoehne hosts Rocky Ford
2 p.m.
MON: Are you ready for some
MONDAY NIGHT football? DENVER
BRONCOS @ Cincinnati Bengals 6:30
p.m. (ESPN)
Today’s Quote
“Christmas, children, is
not a date. It is a state
of mind. ”
― Mary Ellen Chase
DECEMBER 18
Dine out for Noah’s Ark
THURSDAY: Dine out all day and
evening at Brix, Nana & Nano’s, Wen-
dy’s, Bob & Earl’s, Quality Inn Restau-
rant and Bella Luna’s to help support
the animal shelter. Info: 719-846-8578.
Las Animas County
THURSDAY (9 a.m.) Board of
County Commissioners meeting will be
at the Las Animas Courthouse, 200 E.
First St., Room 201. Information: 719-
845-2568.
Trinidad City Council
THURSDAY (1:30 p.m.) A special
session for legal advise will be held in
Council Chambers, City Hall, 135 N.
Animas St. Info: 719-846-9843.
Las Posadas
THURSDAY (6 p.m.) The annual
Las Posadas nativity will be held down-
town on Main and Commercial Streets.
Info: Yolanda Romero, 719-846-8234.
Living Nativity
THURSDAY (6 p.m.) Church of
God Kids’ Club will present the living
Christmas Nativity, 214 W. Kansas
Ave. Info: 719-846-3781 or 719-846-
4883.
Trout Unlimited
THURSDAY (6 p.m.) Purgatoire
River Anglers meeting will be in Ristras
Restaurant on Elm Street. Information:
Mark Hanson, 970-366-8148. Meet-
ings are always open to the public.
DECEMBER 19-21
PUBLIC MEETING
FRIDAY (10 a.m.) The Southwest
Chief Commission will hold a public
meeting for railway development and
repair issues at Trinidad City Hall, 135
N. Animas St. Info: 719-846-9843.
Trinidad Schools
FRIDAY (10:30 a.m.) The Board
of Education will hold a special meet-
ing at the District Administration Office,
612 Park St. Information: 719-845-
2048.
Bernie Gonzales Retires
FRIDAY (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) The
community is invited to join in a retire-
ment celebration for County Clerk Ber-
nie Gonzales at the Courthouse, Room
201.
VFW Toy Giveaway
SATURDAY (10 a.m.-7 p.m.) The
annual VFW Toy & Food Giveaway will
be held at the Welcome Center, corner
of Nevada and Animas Streets. Must
RSVP toy requests to: Commander
John Rios, 719-846-6094.
Kid’s Christmas Fun
SATURDAY (9 a.m.-Noon) Zion’s
Lutheran Church is serving Christmas
cheer and pictures with Santa at Ha-
dad’s on Main. Free activities for kids.
The Nutcracker from Vienna
SATURDAY (Noon) A special holi-
day presentation of the Nutcracker
from Vienna will be at the Movie Show-
house, 3600 E. Main. Info: 846-0552.
Christmas Play
SATURDAY (7 p.m.) “Is It True”
free Christmas play at the First Chris-
tian Church, 200 S. Walnut St.
Christmas Concert
SUNDAY (7 p.m.) Walton Brothers
“Back Home for Christmas” Concert at
First Christian Church, 200 S. Walnut
St. Proceeds benefit Grace Christian.
Carols by Candelight
SUNDAY (7 p.m.) Carols by Can-
dlelight at the Church of God, 214 Kan-
sas, 719-422-6777.
PUBLIC SERVICE
TEEN GAME NIGHT
MONDAY (5-7 p.m.) Join the fun
downstairs in the Carnegie Public Li-
brary for board games and more (ages
13-18). Info: 719-846-6841.
TheFinePrint
WeatherWatch
Thursday: A 10 percent chance of rain
after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near
41. West southwest wind around 5 mph
becoming east northeast in the afternoon.
Night: A 20 percent chance of snow.
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Calm
wind becoming west around 5 mph after
midnight.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near
42. West northwest wind around 5 mph
becoming east southeast in the afternoon.
Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around
19. South wind around 5 mph becoming
west in the evening.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high
near 47. West wind around 5 mph be-
coming calm in the morning. Night: Partly
cloudy, with a low around 21. Calm west
wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high
near 47. West wind around 5 mph. Night:
Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. West
wind around 5 mph.
RiverCallPurgatoire River Call as of:
12/17/14. Johns Flood ditch: Pri-
ority # 5 --- Appropriation date:
03/20/1862.
Trinidad Reservoir Accounting:
Release .02 AF
Inflow 30.24 AF -- 15.25 CFS
Evaporation 2.22 AF
Content 14,330 AF
Elevation 6,174.64
Precipitation 0
Downstream River Call / John
Martin Reservoir: 12/31/1948.
TheChronicleNewsCLINE MINING
Owner of
New Elk
coal mine
files for
bankruptcy
By Steve Raabe
The Denver Post
Ed. Note: This story written by
Steve Raabe was published by The
Denver Post Tuesday. When asked
about the story’s origin Raabe
said, “It was my eagle-eyed busi-
ness editor Dana Coffield who saw
a fine-print legal notice about the
bankruptcy filing, published in The
Denver Post on Monday.”
The owner of the New Elk coal
mine near Trinidad has filed for
bankruptcy protection after the
bottom fell out of its coal export
market.
Toronto-based Cline Mining
Corp. is seeking court approval
to reduce $55 million in debt by
turning ownership of the company
over to its secured lenders.
Cline’s primary asset is the
6,118-acre New Elk mine at
Weston, 25 miles west of Trinidad.
The mine produces metallurgical
coal used in steel fabrication.
Hopes were high in Las Animas
County when Cline opened the
mothballed mine in 2010 and said
it would hire as many as 450 work-
ers.
New Elk’s workforce peaked
briefly at 343 in 2011, then fell to
only a handful of employees when
production stopped in 2012, accord-
ing to records from the U.S. Mine
Safety and Health Administration.
Prices for metallurgical coal,
also known as coking coal, reached
$330 per metric ton in 2011. But
amid a supply glut and declining
world demand for steel, the price
recently has hovered around $115.
“Prices certainly have weak-
ened considerably compared
to where they were,” said Jim
Thompson, director of North
American coal markets for IHS.
“Producers may have misread the
tea leaves.”
Economic weakness in China,
the world’s largest steel consum-
er, has thrown the market out of
whack, said Ian Lange, an econom-
ics professor at Colorado School of
Mines.
“All of that is taking a toll on the
price of steel, which in turn is tak-
ing a toll on metallurgical coal,” he
said.
Cline Mining officials could not
be reached for comment Monday.
In a statement issued earlier
this month, acting CEO Matt Gold-
farb said the debt restructuring
“will allow us to stabilize our fi-
nancial situation while continu-
ing to pursue opportunities to
optimize the company and work
toward resuming full-scale opera-
tions at our New Elk coal mine
pending improvements in the sea-
borne coking coal market.”
On Dec. 3, Cline filed a petition
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Colo-
rado for Chapter 15 protection — a
process used by foreign companies
with assets in the United States.
Weak demand for coal — both
metallurgical and thermal used
for electric power generation — re-
sulted in Colorado hitting a 20-year
low in coal production in 2013.
The New Elk Mine first opened
in 1951 to provide coal for the CF&I
steel plant in Pueblo. The mine
closed in 1981 when CF&I switched
to electric arc furnaces. Cline
bought the inactive mine in 2008
for $16.3 million.
­—
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948,
sraabe@denverpost.com or twitter.
com/steveraabedp
Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
The Southwest Chief stops twice daily for passengers to unload or board at Trinidad’s Amtrak station, which is beside
the I-25 off-ramp on North Commercial Street.
Staff report
Friday,December19,theSouth-
west Chief Rail Line Economic
Development, Rural Tourism and
Infrastructure Repair and Main-
tenance Commission will hold its
fourth Commission meeting in
Trinidad, beginning at 10 a.m.
The public is welcomed and en-
couraged to attend.
For more information please
contact: Laura Heberly, Board of
County Commissioners Admin-
istrator, 215 W. 10th St., Rm. 133,
Pueblo, CO 81003. Office: (719) 583-
4906 or Fax: (719) 583-4908 or email:
heberlyl@co.pueblo.co.us
Southwest Chief Commission to hold
public meeting in Trinidad on Friday
TRANSPORTATION
TRINIDAD STATE SPORTS
TSJC’s Rivero named All-American in soccer
By Mike Salbato
Correspondent
The Chronicle-News
(TRINIDAD, COLORADO) The
National Junior College Athletic
Association has named Trojan
midfielder Oscar Rivero to the
2014 All-American Soccer Team.
Rivero, a first team selection, led
Trinidad State to a 20-3-2 record,
a Region IX title and a trip to the
National semifinals.
The Trojan captain came to
TSJC from Acapulco, Mexico. He
had ten goals and three assists this
season. He was also named the
Region IX Player of the Year and
was a member of the 2014 Nation-
al Tournament All-Tournament
Team. Last year he was awarded
first team All-Region IX and was
given the Superior Academic
Award from the NJCAA for his
3.84 overall GPA.
“Oscar was the glue that held
us together,” commented Trinidad
State Head Soccer Coach Aaron
Miller. “He is a great leader, that
helped carry this team through a
lot.”
Oscar will be leaving Trinidad
State for the University of Illinois
at Chicago. The Flames are an
NCAA Division I school in the Ho-
rizon League. They were 7-8-2 this
past season.
Photos by Mike Salbato / TSJC
Oscar Rivero has been named an NJ-
CAA All American.