Community - Colorado Community College System

The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado
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Community
Thursday, March 6, 2014 Page 3
TSJC’s new shooting team aims to do well
By Scott Mastro
Correspondent
The Chronicle-News
The tradition of competitive shooting
as part of the Gunsmithing Department
at Trinidad State Junior College has returned. Shooting-team member Wilhelm
Orten said, “My uncle was part of the team
in the 1980s. I got the idea to get a team going again.”
The team’s coach and gunsmith faculty
member Ryan Freeport said, “The college
has given us a lot of support, from the president
on down. Alumni have
been generous, and we
received a $10,000 start-up
grant from the National
Shooting Sports Foundation.”
Tryout sessions were
held on February 7 and
14, and eight gunsmithing
students were selected for
the new Trinidad State
Clay Shooting Team: trap
team members Kullin Alldredge, Luke Tibbits, Barry Russel, Wilhelm Orten
and Kevin Wedgworth;
and skeet team members James Norin, CJ
Lee and Patrick Murray.
Charles E. Davies, a 1920s Andover, Massachusetts businessman and avid grouse
hunter, invented clay-target skeet shooting
so he and his hunter friends could practice
wing shooting, a form of simulated gamebird target practice. Rivalries soon sprang
up among sporting clubs, and a uniform series of shots was developed. Modern skeet
shooting has become an international sport
practiced by hunters and non-hunters alike.
The word “skeet” is derived from the
Scandinavian word for “shoot.” Gertrude
Hurlbutt, a Dayton, Montana housewife,
won a 1926 contest for naming the sport,
with two other losing entries being “Bang”
and “Bye Bye Blackbird.”
Trapshooting comes from late 18th century England. Targets were live pigeons
released from cages, or “traps.” The sport
came to the United States in the early 19th
century and was popular by midcentury,
first in Cincinnati, Ohio
and the New York City
area.
The substitute targets first tried were glass
balls filled with feathers
and solid iron pigeons
mounted on long metal
rods. Platter-shaped clay
pigeons were developed
in the 1870s. The introduction of standard-sized
traps facilitated nationwide competition. The
first U.S. national championship match took
place in New Orleans,
Louisiana, in 1885.
Team manager Aaron Morten said, “The
basic difference between skeet shooting and
trapshooting is that in skeet, most of the targets are crossing targets and in trapshooting, all of the targets are outgoing targets,
away from the shooter.”
While practicing at Prator Gun Range
on Gray Creek Road, or County Road 24.8,
Ryan said, “This is our first week. We’re going down to Whittington Gun Range near
Photos by Bruce Leonard / The Chronicle-News
Holloway Memorial Art Show
Recently deceased local artist James Holloway has left a rich legacy of wonderful artwork that will
be for sale this Sunday, March 9, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Golden Eagle Gallery, located at 147
E. Main Street. All proceeds will benefit Noah’s Ark Animal Welfare Association.
NOTICE TO SHULER TICKET HOLDERS:
Due to bad weather, “TAP-The Show” at the Shuler Theater in
Raton, N.M. has been rescheduled and will be performed on
Saturday, March 8, at 7:00 p.m.
Photos by Scott Mastro / The Chronicle-News
The Trinidad State shooting team members, above, are, back row, from left to right, Kevin Wedgworth, CJ Lee and Coach Ryan Newport; kneeling, from left to right, manager Aaron Morten, Wilhelm Orten and Patrick Murray. Below left, gunsmith student and shooting team member Wilhelm
Orten practices skeet shooting in preparation for two competitions in March.
Cimarron, N.M. on March 21, 22 and 23 for
the National Warm-Ups, hosted by Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Many
of the 50-some college teams from across the
country will be there. The following week
we’ll be in San Antonio, Texas for the 2014
Association of College Unions International Collegiate Clay Target Championships.
Our practice regimen calls for firing 250
shells per week in preparation for the two
coming events.”
Prator Gun Range is operated by Trinidad State and named for
Bill Prator. Director of
gun range operations Dan
Croghan, said, “Bill Prator was a student and gunsmith.”
When asked about their
chances in the upcoming
March competitions, all of
the team members were
confident. “I think we’ll do
good,” Wilhelm said, then
added, “I’ll be going back to
Kansas when I graduate.”
Aaron said, “I’ll be returning to New England and
looking for work there.”
CJ Lee said, “I’ll be going
back to Helena, Montana
and eventually taking over
a gun shop.” Patrick Murray said, “I’ll be
working in my parents’ gun shop in Tucson, Arizona,” and Kevin Wedgworth said,
“I’ll be staying here in Trinidad.”
With the tradition of competitive skeet
and trap shooting now back at Trinidad
State, more shooters will likely try out for
the team, and, as more and more targets
fall, the team is sure to improve.
Coach and gunsmith faculty member
Ryan Newport can be reached at ryan.newport@trinidadstate.edu or 719-846-5525.
Page 6 Thursday, March 6, 2014
EDUCATION
TSJC ENGINEERING
The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado
Robotics Team member attends
conference in Washington D.C.
By Greg Boyce
Special to The Chronicle-News
One member of the Trinidad State Robotics Team was in Washington D.C. recently
at a conference, during which he hoped to
map out the rest of his college career.
Andrez Leyva is a sophomore in preengineering from New Mexico who plans
to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He’s also a member of the
Trojan Men’s Soccer Team. “So I’m trying
to get the best of both. I want to play soccer
and get into mechanical engineering,” said
Leyva.
While in the District of Columbia, Leyva
had a chance to see the sights, to network
with other students and to meet with representatives from other colleges at the Nation-
al Council of Space Grant Director’s Spring
Meeting in Arlington, Va. And he met with
representatives of Congress in support of
funding for NASA’s Space Grant program.
Before he left on the trip, Leyva said that
he expected to find many robot lovers at
this conference. “A lot of the people there
are going to be affiliated with robotics programs.” He’s interested in schools in New
Mexico, as well as in Colorado, Texas and
California.
He is the lead mechanical student on
the Trinidad State Robotics Team. The robot will perform at Great Sand Dunes National Park at NASA’s Robot Challenge on
April 5. The robot will have to navigate, by
itself, through a course made up of rocks,
holes and other obstacles on the super-fine
sand that is found at the park. The course
is designed to resemble what a robot might
encounter on Mars. The idea is to push the
robots to the limit. Last year there were six
increasingly difficult challenges, and the
Trinidad State entry conquered the first
five before failing on number six.
This year’s entry is already functional,
though currently it operates only under
the command of a student using a wired remote. In the next few weeks, the guidance
system will be installed and tested in the
“Bot Pit” behind the Davis Building on the
Trinidad State campus.
Photos courtesy of Greg Boyce
Trinidad State Student Andrez Leyva, above left, cleans sand from the wheels of a robot destined
for NASA’s Robot Challenge at Great Sand Dunes National Park in April, as Eric Perry looks on.
The Trinidad State Robotics Team, lower right, discusses a problem while testing its robot in the
“Bot Pit” behind the Davis Building on the Trinidad State campus. Leyva, upper right, poses in
front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.
Annual student art competition announced
Special to The Chronicle-News
Washington, D.C. – Rep. Cory Gardner (CO-04) announced that his office will
again be holding the Congressional District
Art Competition. Students in grades nine
through 12 who are interested in submitting their artwork are encouraged to read
the information and instructions below.
In addition to receiving two round-trip
tickets to Washington, D.C. in June, the
first place winner will also have his or her
artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol building for one year. Cash prizes of $300, $200
and $100 are awarded to the first-, secondand third-place winners, respectively.
The Rocky Mountain College of Art &
Design will separately judge submitted artwork and provide the chosen winner with a
scholarship.
Guidelines for the 2014 artwork:
-Artwork must be two-dimensional
-Each piece can be no larger than 28” x 28”
x 4”, including the frame
-Artwork cannot weigh more than 15 lbs.
-Work entered must be original concept
-All artwork submitted must be framed or
have reinforcement backing and be ready to
hang on the exhibition wall
Acceptable media for submissions:
-Paintings, oil, acrylics, watercolors, etc.
-Drawings, pastels, colored pencil, pencil,
charcoal, ink, markers
-Collage
-Prints, lithographs, silkscreen, block prints
-Mixed media, use of more than two media
such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
-Computer generated art
-Photography
The artwork must be submitted to one of
Congressman Gardner’s district offices no
later than March 28, 2014.
Artwork must adhere to the policy of
the House Office Building Commission. In
accordance with this policy, exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political
controversy or of a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed.
For more information, students can visit: http://gardner.house.gov/serving-you/
art-competition.
Any questions may be directed to: Maria
Secrest, Fourth Congressional District Art
Competition Liaison. Telephone 970-3516007; email: Maria.Secrest@mail.house.
gov.
Congressman Gardner is a member in
the U.S. House of Representatives serving Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District. He sits on the Energy and Commerce
Committee and is a member of the following Subcommittees: Communications and
Technology, Energy and Power, and Oversight and Investigations.
Photo courtesy of Otero Junior College
The 58th Annual Otero Arts Festival will feature area senior students exhibiting their best pieces
of art in the senior portfolio competition. Pictured are students assembling their senior portfolio
exhibits at the 2013 Otero Arts Festival.
Otero Arts Festival letters of intent due March 7
Special to The Chronicle-News
Steve Block / The Chronicle-News
Chowing down at Holy Family Hall
Six year-old Summer Ward, left, gets her pancakes and sausage served by Sofia Sinda, 8, at a
pancake supper held Tuesday to benefit Holy Trinity Academy, where both girls attend school.
Sofia’s mom, Maria Sinda, was the take-charge lady working in the kitchen.
LA JUNTA – The Otero Arts Festival,
now in its 58th year, is the longest-running
event for public-school student artists and
writers in southeastern Colorado. The
Otero Arts Festival will again feature senior students from the area exhibiting
collections of their best pieces of art in the
Senior Portfolio competition. The deadline for submission of letters of intent for
the Senior Portfolio competition is Friday,
March 7 at 5 p.m.
Sponsored by Otero Junior College, the
Annual Otero Arts Festival is committed
to advancing educational opportunities
for students in southeastern Colorado.
Two senior portfolios will be selected to
receive scholarships to Otero Junior College again this year. Recipients will earn
an OJC scholarship for full tuition for up
to 12 credits of on-campus courses for the
2014-2015 academic year.
In addition to the OJC scholarships,
there will be two $1,500 Art Scholarships
awarded this year by Colorado State University-Pueblo to seniors competing with
portfolios at the Otero Arts Festival. A rep-
resentative from CSU-Pueblo will make
the selections during the judging on Saturday, March 29.
Up to 34 seniors compete in the Visual
Art Senior Portfolio contest annually. Senior Portfolios feature works of art that
are collections of the entrants’ best pieces
they have created during their lives. Senior exhibits must include at least three
different media and contain a maximum of
12 works of art. Seniors entering a portfolio to compete for scholarships and awards
must design and arrange their own exhibit
space without assistance.
Work submitted is judged on originality, creativity, diversity of media and technical craft. Aesthetic excellence is also
taken into consideration. In addition to the
scholarship opportunities, senior portfolios compete for first, second, third, fourth
and Honorable Mention placing, based on
the portfolios’ overall quality of work and
display.
Senior Portfolio letters of intent to exhibit are now being accepted either via email
to Debbie.Phillips@ojc.edu or as hardcopy
letters in the Humanities Center, room 119.
The deadline is Friday, March 7, 2014 at
5 p.m.