By Shannon Lukens.
Governor Polis has announced the appointment of a Craig resident to the State Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Council. Dr. John Raftopoulos (pictured in the center, with his sons) is a longtime Moffat County rancher and veterinarian. He has been appointed to represent the interests of the Colorado Livestock Industries. The council was created to help veterinarians with education loan repayments in exchange for providing veterinary services in rural areas of Colorado. Dr. Raftopoulos says it is especially important for large animal veterinarians.
“If you look across the country, large animal veterinarians are all getting older. It’s a tougher business and not quite as lucrative as small animals so you’ve got to have some kind of incentive to keep people in the rural areas and do large animal medicine.”
Dr. Raftopoulos is on the committee that selects those veterinary students who qualify for the loan.
In rodeo news, Keenan Hayes from Hayden, Colorado and Rocky Mountain Rodeo took first place in bareback riding at the RAM Mountain States Circuit Finals on the PRCA Circuit in Loveland. The 19-year-old won it last year, too, so he defended his title.
Then there’s Jace Logan from Yampa in South Routt. He won the steer wrestling at the same PRCA Circuit rodeo in Loveland.
Plus, Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series won Small Rodeo of the Year in the Mountain States Circuit.
The Stanley Cup is coming to Steamboat Springs! Curtis McElhinney was the goalie for the Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in 2020 and 2021. It’s his turn to have the Stanley Cup so he is bringing it to Steamboat. It will visit some of the local schools, and then it is headed to Howelsen Ice Arena. You can take a picture with the Stanley Cup from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27, at Howelsen Ice Arena. It’s open to the public.
Ski Magazine has done their annual Readers’ Choice Resort Survey. Steamboat Ski Resort has ranked #10 in the west. The local ski area also ranked in the Top Ten for guest service, dining, lodging, apres ski, nightlife, and local flavor. And Steamboat Resort was ranked in the top three for family. Opening day is set for Wednesday, Nov. 23.
Dental hygiene students from Colorado Northwestern Community College visited New Horizons residents in Craig. The five second-year students trained the staff on how to help the residents better take care of their oral health. The CNCC dental hygienist students hope to visit Horizons in Steamboat Springs in the spring.
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