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Following a week that included republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis’ admission that he provided a “faulty product”, namely unoriginal water articles, to the Hasan Family Foundation, McInnis says that there are still issues confronting the state and he wants to talk about them. McInnis said paramount among the issues is reducing taxes and creating jobs in the private sector to revitalize the state’s floundering economy. He says that southern Colorado would “enjoy most-favored status” if he became governor, saying that he recognizes the issues confronting rural voters and has the experience to make a difference. McInnis says he supports the rights of willing sellers in the Pinon Canyon area to sell their property to the army for expansion of its maneuver site there. He says that expansion is important, but southern Colorado must reap the economic benefits for it if it happens. McInnis denied speculation that he would leave the race amid the controversy with the Hasan Family Foundation last week. He faces Evergreen businessman Dan Maes in the republican primary.

Colorado State Senator Abel Tapia was named the new director of the Colorado Lottery on Friday. Tapia just completed his final session in the legislature due to term limits and will begin his new job on August 1st, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Jack Boehm, Tapia’s predecessor, stepped down as lottery director in January. Boehm was paid $11,000 a month. Tapia’s monthly salary could range between $6,662 and $12,073 a month. Tapia says he intends to spend time with lottery employees and board members between now and when he assumes the office in two weeks. The vacancy in Colorado State Senate District 3 created by Tapia’s appointment could afford democrats the opportunity to appoint his replacement until the end of his term at the end of the current year. That replacement is expected to be Angela Giron, the democrat who is seeking to succeed him.

Area residents can expect to receive their ballots for this year’s primary election in the mail in the next week or two. Some counties are mailing ballots out as soon as today, the first day that they can legally be sent out, while other counties will send ballots out later in the week. This year’s primary election is a mail-out election, so voters may mark and return their ballots to their respective county clerk’s office by Election Day, which is Tuesday, August 10th. On the statewide front, the primary election pits republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes against Scott McInnis and Libertarian Party candidate Dan Sallis against James Brown. The winners of those races will face John Hickenlooper in November. For U.S. Senate, democratic incumbent Michael Bennet faces Andrew Romanoff in the primary, and Ken Buck and Jane Norton are both on the republican primary ballot. And, in the U.S. Representative District 3 race, incumbent John Salazar, a democrat, is unopposed in the primary. The republican primary features Scott Tipton and Bob McConnell. The winner of that race will face Salazar in November.

The 5th Annual Colorado Independent Cattle Growers Association Convention will be held this coming weekend, July 23rd through the 25th. A Pinon Canyon Driving Tour will take place on Friday beginning at 9am. The full-day convention will take place on Saturday at the Geral and Jamie Smith Ranch in Trinchera. Registration begins at 8:30am. An evening banquet and concert will take place at the Branson School Gym beginning at 5:30pm. Then, there will be a cowboy church service on Sunday at the Las Animas County Fairgrounds. To pre-register, call Mindy at 719-740-0409.

The East Pinos Creek Road will be closed to all motorized traffic today to replace a large culvert. The road will be closed about 9 miles east of the “chicken foot” and is expected to reopen tomorrow. The East Pinos Creek Road is located on the Rio Grande National Forest, southeast of Del Norte. Bennett Peak may still be accessed by 4x4 via Forest System Road 280 from the Jasper area.