Escalante Students Off to Washington, D.C.

Five students from Escalante qualified for the National History Day contest with three projects celebrating new frontiers in history. City counselors will offer office hours to encourage more community engagement. And public comment sessions for possible workforce housing development at the intersection of Florida Road and County Road 250 have begun. You’re watching the Local News Roundup, brought to you by Sky Ute Casino and Kroegers Ace Hardware. I’m Wendy Graham Settle. Five students from Escalante Middle School have qualified to compete at the National Competition for National History Day this summer. National History Day is an education nonprofit that encourages the teaching and learning of history through a variety of mediums, including an annual competition that encourages research, critical thinking, and new presentation mediums. This year’s theme is Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas, inviting students to consider historical frontiers in time, place, impact, significance, and more and produce a project for local and regional competitions. Seven students from Escalante qualified for the final round at the State Competition, and five students and their projects qualified for the National Competition. Jasmine DeBoer, Maizy Hill, and Charlotte Townes came in second for group performance with their project “Ann Sullivan and Hellen Keller: The Lives That Opened Doors.” Coulee Fox came in second for historical papers with his project titled “The Frontier of Indian Law Reform: How Cobell v. Salazar Opened the Door to US Government Accountability.” And Sophia Valdez is the Colorado State Champion with her individual performance on “Conference of Firsts: The Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.” The national competition offers a week-long experience for educators, students, and their families in Washington D.C. at the University of Maryland, June 11th through 15th, open to qualifying students from all 50 states. Durango City counselors are offering office hours twice a month beginning May 16th. Hours in the location will vary depending on individual counselors’ availability, but the goal is to increase outreach and community connection with the City Council. Find the schedule and updates online and learn more about other ways to make your voice heard on the Engage Durango webpage. The first of three public hearing events for proposed workforce housing on approximately eight acres south of the Florida Road and County Road 250 intersection was May 16th. The hearings are meant to provide the public with the opportunity to comment on changes to the city’s comprehensive plan to develop city-owned land for residential use, such as deed-restricted workforce housing. Any amendments to the plan would modify land use designations for this city-owned property along Florida Road and County Road 250 from medium-density to high-density, mixed use, or conservation open space. There are two more meetings open for public comment, one on May 22nd for the Planning Commission Hearing and one on June 20th for the City Council. Find more information on this development and others on the city’s Current Projects webpage. Learn more about these and other stories online at durangolocal.news. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Roundup. I’m Wendy Graham Settle.