Meeker, Stories

Judging team wins stock show

Maclaine Shults (bottom left), Stacey Fitzgibbons (bottom right), coach Clint Shults (top left) and Clay Carlson (top right) of New Raymer won a national title in livestock judging at the National Western Stock Show held last week in Denver. The team beat 12 other teams from across the country to qualify for the Highland National Contest in Scotland this coming June. The team won four divisions, placed second in another and earned a fifth place finish in another.
MEEKER I The Colorado FFA Reserve Champion Livestock Judging team of Maclaine Shults, Stacey Fitzgibbons and Clay Carlson (New Raymer FFA) beat 12 other FFA teams from all over the country last Saturday and brought home the FFA chapter’s first national contest championship. It was fun to beat teams from the likes of Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma and of course Wyoming, the traditional FFA powerhouse states which set the bar across the nation.
The Colorado team earned the spot to compete at this national contest (which has been hosted by the NWSS for the last 91 years) last May when they finished second at the Colorado FFA Career Development Events Contest held at Colorado State University.
Up until a week prior to the contest it wasn’t looking too good for the Meeker FFA team as personal conflicts left two open spots on the team. Maclaine and Stacey would be allowed to compete as individuals but they would not have enough hands to compete for any of the team awards.
However, after careful inspection of the contest rules and state FFA regulations, Maclaine and Stacey were granted permission by state FFA advisor Kenton Ocshner to recruit an FFA member from Colorado to fill at least the third opening. They called Clay Carlson, he talked it over with his folks and advisor, signed on and Colorado was loaded for bear. And they bagged him in fine fashion (out in the open, not in his den).
They won sheep, swine, reasons and placings and were second as a team in beef. But the whole trip was predicated on their fifth place team finish in the goat division. That ribbon hung on the rearview mirror all the way home for the skier traffic to admire.
Vicky Hamilton has already been commissioned to weave angora vests and long underwear for the team to wear in dreary old Scotland when they compete at the Highland National Contest in June.
Individually, Maclaine was the high individual overall, Clay was second and Stacey placed ninth. Clay won reasons, Maclaine was third and Stacey was fourth. Maclaine won placings and Clay was third. Maclaine was second in beef. Clay won sheep, Maclaine was second. Stacey was second in swine and Maclaine was fourth. But, once again the goat division was the icing on the cake, Stacey was 13th, Clay was 20th and Maclaine 21st out of 52 individuals.
Now, the kids have to raise a little money to row over to Scotland. A consequence of winning this contest, which no one was aware of beforehand, was an invitation to compete at the Highland National Livestock Exposition held in Scotland this June. So, if you see the team washing cars, fixing fence, raffling hogs and beef and their coaches pole dancing downtown for tips you’ll know why.

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
  • It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
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Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
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  • It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
  • Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line.  The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale.
Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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