Photo by Kathy Browning Hotchkiss chefs prepare delicious entrees Hotchkiss K-8 held its fourth-quarter beef cook-off on Friday, May 10. A total of eight teams from two cooking classes competed. Judges for the cook-off were Dixie Luke, Chandra Carr, Shirley Cotten, Shelley Clement, Velma Carr and Kacie Burns. Teresa Burns assisted. The top team for the Monday-Wednesday-Friday cooking class were Men in Black (left) with Devin Curtis, Wade Katzdorn and Cyrus Baxter. Men in Black prepared Mini Beef Wonton Tacos. Winning for the Tuesday-Thursday cooking class, which is made up of band students, was Deep Fried Fricks with Morgan Miller, Kambry Hall, Courtney Matler, Kaylee Carpenter and Roggen Frick. They made Bacon-Wrapped Tacos. Cooking teacher Glenda Young said the Iron Chef Competition will be next Tuesday with the winning teams from each quarter competing.

Photo by Kathy Browning Stahl’s building destroyed The fire in the large cold storage unit at Stahl’s Orchards last week will not stop their fruit and vegetable store from opening this season or hinder work in the adjacent packing shed. The Paonia Fire Department used a trackhoe to tear down a wall to get at the fire, which had lots of fuel from packing boxes, some filled with apple wood, and the unit’s insulation. Four tractors and other equipment were destroyed in the fire. The building and its contents are a total loss.