February 1, 2019 suwarog’omasuwiini (9) Odd Culture 3 • Health 4-5 • Education 6-7 • Sports 12 CU supports Richard’s Subscription or advertising PRSRT STD information, 970-563-0118 tuition bill trophy elk U.S. POSTAGE PAID Ignacio, CO 81137 $29 one year subsciption Permit No. 1 $49 two year subscription PAGE 6 PAGE 13 February 26, 2021 Vol. LIII, No. 4 BOBCATS WRESTLING EDUCATION Wrestlers work through Ignacio School District ‘expanded’ Rumble welcomes one of their own IHS 0-2 in tourney’s duals, 0-3 for night deKay selected as next superintendent By Joel Priest By McKayla Lee SPECIAL TO THE DRUM THE SOUTHERN UTE DRUM Pandemics can apparent- The Ignacio School Dis- ly make for some strange trict will welcome Chris mat-fellows. deKay as the new superin- And at the rotating La Pla- tendent in July. Current su- ta County bragging-rights perintendent Rocco Fus- triangular known as the chetto is set to retire at the 2021 Riverside Rumble, end of the 2020-2021 school Ignacio High’s wrestlers year. “I’m very confident found themselves hosting that Chris will do a great not only 4A Durango and job, he has my support and 3A Bayfield as automat- Joel Priest/Special to the Drum anything he needs help with ic opponents, but also 3A Ignacio’s Kyle Rima refuses to relinquish the leg of Durango’s he knows how to reach me,” Montezuma-Cortez (co- Miguel Stubbs during the 2021 Riverside Rumble – hosted Fuschetto expressed. op’ing this winter with 2A this season by IHS – on Thursday, Feb. 18. Rima would deKay was born and San Juan Basin Leaguers push the 220-pound action into a second period, but raised in the Ignacio com- Stubbs would work for a pin 35 ticks in. Dolores) inside IHS’ auxil- munity, he is the youngest iary gymnasium Thursday, voring them, the Bob- er, showed the ’Cats falling born of 11 children and has Feb. 18. cats still managed to log a 66-6 to Durango – the spec- always had strong ties to the With both numbers and handful of individual vic- tribal community. His fa- experience not exactly fa- tories; team scores, howev- Wrestlers page 12 ther was the Bureau of In- dian Affairs (BIA) Super- intendent for 18 years. “I STRATEGIC PLANNING grew up in the school sys- tem here, I attended the Tribal member small business Head Start, participated in the local rec programs and spotlight: Grant Foster grew up in the lower agen- cy where the current BIA Jeremy Wade Shockley/SU Drum Rising Sun Crab Traps: Ocean Springs, Miss. building is,” deKay shared. The Ignacio School District selected Chris deKay as He graduated from Ignacio the new superintendent, he will assume the role in July, replacing Rocco Fuschetto, who retires at the end of the By Trae Seibel Ignacio School page 7 2020-2021 academic school year. SMALL BUSINESS SPECIALIST What is your small business: name, services, industry? Rising Sun Crab Traps, LLC. We cater to Recre- ational and Commercial Crabbers, Charter Captains and Shrimpers. We manu- facture Crab Traps in three sizes, Live Crab Holding Pens, Live Fish Bait Hold- ing Pens, Crawfish/Shrimp Traps, Eel Traps, and Pin Fish Traps in many sizes and shapes, etc. What inspired you to start your own small busi- ness? The crab traps I pur- chased in the local stores Jeremy Wade Shockley/SU Drum were flimsy and cheap- Ignacio Community Library Service Desk Manager, Ron Schermacher had the honor ly made. My mom and of cutting the ribbon on the new EV charging station in the heart of Ignacio’s Creative dad used to own a rabbit- District, Friday, Feb. 12. ry and had a contract with Pel Freeze in which they ELECTRIC VEHICLES had 400 working does. My courtesy Grant Foster Grant Foster, owner of Rising Sun Traps, LLC holds a Small business page 8 couple of Chesapeake blue crab. Ignacio acquires first electric vehicle charge station Curbing illegal turns ICL cuts ribbon on Level 2 dual port EV charger By Jeremy Wade Shockley restaurants and local mer- THE SOUTHERN UTE DRUM chants. Given its name, the EV charger can charge The town of Ignacio be- two vehicles simultaneous- came part of Colorado’s ly, at no cost to the driver – growing electric vehicle at least for the time being. charging network last week, Charging fees will be im- with the announcement of plemented later this year, the town’s first Electric Ve- according to ICL Director, hicle (EV) charge station. Marcia Vining. Ignacio Community Li- “By 2030, 20 percent of brary Service Desk Manag- the projected [automobile] er, Ron Schermacher was market will be electric,” the driving force behind the said Schermacher. project, and had the honor of “Additionally, the EV Signage for the new Level 2 cutting the ribbon on the new Dual Port EV Charge Station charge station will draw vis- EV station in the heart of Ig- in Ignacio, Colo. itors to Ignacio ... and fills nacio’s Creative District. a spot in the charging des- Fabian Martinez/SU Drum A socially distanced, out- Ute Reservation. ert,” Schermacher explained. There has been an influx of illegal and dangerous left-turns in the Cedar Point Housing door ribbon cutting event The new dual port charger Stating that Ignacio will now Complex on the intersection of Shadow Spirit Street onto Colorado Highway 172. took place on Friday, Feb. 12 offers a full charge in about be listed on the statewide da- The illegal turn is in direct violation of multiple sections of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Traffic Code; which includes, Unlawfully Turning (14-12-101) and Failure to at the Ignacio Community 4 to 6 hours, but for those tabase and map, listing them Obey One-Way Traffic Restrictions (14-13-105). Library. The event was also looking to simply top off, among other EV charge sta- The Southern Ute Police Department has started patrolling the area more frequently broadcast online via Zoom, significantly less time is re- tions in La Plata County and to help prevent anyone unlawfully turning left at the intersection to ensure the safety to give those at home a quired. The location is cen- the Four Corners region. of motorists, while also maintaining the proper flow of traffic. chance to witness this histor- tral to downtown, and a mo- ical moment on the Southern ment’s walk from schools, Ignacio page 2 EvenUpdate wawHchuwiiniwaini (2) (8) FebruaryFebruary 26, 2021 1, 2019 ELECTRIC VEHICLES Durango 9-R wins competitive grant Many Moons Ago for district’s first electric school bus Staff report ational by the fall of 2021. tory. Also known as bi-direc- LA PLATA ELECTRIC “This new eBus will be tional charging, this will al- ASSOCIATION a great addition to our fleet low the bus to pull electric- for getting around in town,” ity from the grid to charge Durango School District said Durango School Dis- during inexpensive off- 9-R has been awarded up to trict 9-R Transportation Co- peak hours. It will also al- $328,803 to purchase and in- ordinator Daniel Blythe. low LPEA to pull electrici- stall a fully electric school “We were excited to work ty from the vehicle onto the bus and related charging in- on this proposal with LPEA grid during critical times. frastructure, thanks to a joint and to ultimately win the “This is a really cut- grant application by the RAQC grant for the bus as ting-edge project, not just for school district and La Plata it is a great opportunity for this area but for the whole Electric Association (LPEA). the district to integrate elec- state,” said LPEA CEO Jessi- The grant, funded through tric vehicles into the system ca Matlock. “Vehicle-to-grid the Regional Air Quality and to continue to explore installations are the future Council’s (RAQC) ALT Fu- ways to reduce our carbon because they enable our grid els Colorado program, aims footprint.” to operate with a higher de- to improve Colorado’s air Beyond environmental gree of flexibility. This will quality by incentivizing the benefits, the electric bus will equate to big cost savings by replacement of pre-2009 bring tangible health benefits allowing LPEA to avoid the vehicles with fully electric to students who ride the bus. purchase of expensive on- and Renewable Natural Gas Roughly 95 percent of Amer- peak power, while aligning (RNG) fleet vehicles. LPEA ica’s school buses run on die- the charging of the bus with will contribute an addition- sel and emit tailpipe pollution times of less expensive re- Jeremy Wade Shockley/SU Drum archive al $120,000 to cover elec- linked to asthma attacks, re- newable generation. tric charging infrastructure spiratory illness, and cancer. This project delivers fi- 10 years ago and bus costs. Electric buses do not emit nancial, social, and environ- Durango School District any exhaust, thereby elimi- mental benefits to our com- The Southern Ute Police Department volunteered some of its staff to help with the 9-R was one of only eight nating this health concern. munity, and we’re grateful Reading Wednesdays afternoon activity at Ignacio Elementary School on Feb. 16, 2011. Reading Wednesdays is part of the Families in School program coordinated grant awardees out of 38 to- The bus will also be the to Durango School District by the Pine River Community Learning Center for parents and family members. tal applicants. The 81-seat first vehicle-to-grid installa- 9-R for their interest and Officer John Schnelting reads aloud to a group of students while others in the bus is expected to be oper- tion in LPEA’s service terri- collaboration.” school library listened to books read by participating parents like Agatha Bison.