Tuesday, July 23, 2013 Page 5The Chronicle-News Trinidad, Colorado AREA NEWSRaton High School musical has a ‘Clue’ indeedBy Tim KellerSpecial to The Chronicle-News

RATON – The Shuler Theater’sKaleidoscope Players are revving up theirhigh school summer musical for three per-formances during the coming week. “Cluethe Musical” is based on the popular boardgame and the 1985 movie. Written in 1993,the musical ran Off-Broadway in 1997 andcontinues to be popular with communitytheater groups throughout the U.S.

It’s hard to imagine a more unconven-tional play. There are six rooms, sixweapons, six suspects, a detective and ahost. Three volunteer audience membersare brought on stage to select three cardsfrom a stack of 216 cards. Unexamined bythe selectors, the audience or the cast, thecards are placed in an envelope marked“Confidential.” There are 216 possible end-ings, and no one knows how it’s going toturn out until, well, the end.

Audience members receive Clue gamecards as they enter the theater and areencouraged to play along. That’s optional,but it adds to the fun. Bringing a pen orpencil is a good idea.

Directed by Gail Dixon-Willden, withmusical direction by Rebecca Clark, thecast is made up of Raton High School stu-dents, augmented by a couple studentsfrom Raton Middle School. Many of theyoung actors are already veterans of theShuler stage.

Nathan Coleman plays host Mr. Boddy.Ashya Gertler is the detective. JohnnyGentry is Colonel Mustard, Josh Alcorn isMr. Green and Spenser Willden is ProfessorPlum. Kate Little plays Mrs. Peacock, IlaMedina plays Miss Scarlet and ClairWillden plays Mrs. White.

Stage manager Tess Ginley says theactors have been working hard on theirsinging parts, accompanied by pianist

Carol Simmons. “There are six-part har-monies in places,” Ginley says. “It’s been atough show for them, but they’re gettingit.”

Shows will be presented at 7:30 p.m. thisThursday and Friday, then again Thursday,August 1. General-admission tickets are $15for adults, $13 for seniors and $5 for chil-

dren. Special books of 10 tickets are avail-able for $100. Tickets and information areavailable at the Shuler Theater, (575) 445-4746.

Tim Keller / Special to The Chronicle-News

Cast and crew are mixing work and pleasure in preparation for the Shuler Theater’s 2013 High School Summer Musical, “Clue the Musical,” to bepresented Thursday, Friday and August 1. From left are stage manager Tess Ginley, music director Rebecca Clark, Ashya Gertler, pianist CarolSimmons, Kate Little, Ila Medina, Clair Willden, Collette Village Center, Spenser Willden, Josh Alcorn and Johnny Gentry.

Photo courtesy of Mark Hanson

North Lake Clean upThe Purgatoire River Anglers, Trout Unlimited Chapter 100, met Saturday at North Lake, west of Trinidad, for their monthly meet-ing, along with a clean-up session and cookout. Some of the members present were (from left to right) Ben Ward, vice-presidentof the group Mark Hanson, Tressa Kinnison, Aiden Stephen, Joanie and Jim Muzzulin and Ena Sroat. District Wildlife Officer forthe Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department Bob Holder was also on hand to help with the event. The next meeting will beAugust 15 and will include a presentation from Jon Kleis on “Fly Fishing for Carp.” The public is always welcome to attend any ofthe meetings or activities.

State Point Colorado

Whether you’re camp-ing, tailgating or barbecu-ing, this season the party isoutside. And with outdoorfun comes different chal-lenges.

With a few twists on out-door classic fun, you canmake this season the bestone yet.

Here are four things toconsider while planningyour camping weekend ortailgating party.

■ Go GourmetIn addition to your standard fare

of burgers and hot dogs, impressyour friends with some gourmetchoices. Think shish kabob, grilledfruits and teriyaki chicken wings.For drinks, think outside the beercan and bring your blender. Lookfor drink recipes that highlight yourteam’s colors.

If you’re camping, gussy upyour roasted marshmallows with

Nutella or peanut butter. Bakehomemade cookies to bring alongand use them as your baseinstead of graham crackers.

■ Stay SafeHave your fun, but be sure to

designate a driver, tasked withgetting everyone home safely atthe end of the day. When emo-tions are high during game time,things can get rowdy. So don’tforget to be respectful of fellowtailgaters around you, so noissues arise.

Out in the woods, be sure tostore food away safely at the endof the night to avoid any encoun-ters with hungry wildlife. Andremember to never go campingwithout a first-aid kit.

■ Power UpWhen it comes to power, the

generator you choose is impor-tant. Look for an inverter genera-tor to keep your cell phones andportable electronics charged andyour food cooking. You won’twant the power to cut out beforehalftime or before the weekend is

through.Look for an inverter generator

that features computer-controlledtechnology, so it continuouslyadjusts engine speed to save fueland run longer. For example, theBriggs & Stratton InverterGenerator, a 2000-watt generator,is designed for efficiency and reli-ability, and is highly portable, asit’s 45 percent lighter than tradi-tional camping generators. And ifyou’re going camping, whileyou’re outside under the stars thelast thing you want to hear is therumble of an engine, making thisquiet inverter generator a goodchoice.

More information on generatorscan be found at www.briggsand-stratton.com.

■ Make a ListNothing spoils a good time like

forgetting something important.From batteries to buns, you’ll wantto make sure you have everythingyou need for a good time. Somake a list and check it twicebefore you leave home.

Tips to make camping and tailgating season successful

OutdoorColorado offersopportunities formany familyadventures.“Whether you’recamping,tailgating orbarbecuing thisseason, the partyis outside. Andwith outdoor funcomes differentchallenges.” State Point Colorado

Dear Citizens of Trinidad and Las Animas County,

We are fortunate that the recent fires on Fisher’s Peak did notcause damage to homes or result in loss of life, as tragicallyoccurred with fires in other parts of our state.

As we move forward from this experience, however, let’s notforget the need to work on wildfire/brushfire mitigation policies.The city and county should provide ongoing education andinformation to local citizens about how they can protect theirhomes against wildfires/brushfires and how to prepare forevacuations, should they become necessary.

Officials of the city, county and our school districts should stepup efforts to educate citizens about how to stop preventablewildfires/brushfires from occurring.

In our individual ways, we have all expressed thanks, supportand gratitude to the firefighters, volunteers and members of lawenforcement for the long, hard hours of work they devoted to helpextinguish the fires. Thanks to all of you.

It was particularly encouraging to see the level of productivecooperation exhibited by the county and the city. Let’s continuethat collaboration.

Sincerely,

BBeerrnnaaddeettttee BBaaccaa GGoonnzzaalleezz

From the Mayor’s Desk...