Investigation - The Durango Herald

Death of man found off Smelter Mountain ruled accidental

David Mondragon, 31, died of injuries suffered in car crash, report says

DATE: May 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Law enforcement investigates death near Ignacio

Sheriff Sean Smith says it’s too soon to release details; CBI has been called

DATE: May 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Authorities piece together final days of Durango man’s life

La Plata County coroner says autopsy came back inconclusive

DATE: May 1, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Spilled diesel at Conoco in Bayfield raises eyebrows

Authorities say driver apparently spilled fuel and drove off

DATE: Apr 11, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Affidavit provides details in shooting death of Ignacio man

39-year-old suspect says it was mercy killing

DATE: Feb 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Autopsy provides no clues as to woman’s death along Florida Road in Durango

Coroner says toxicology, histology may take weeks

DATE: Jan 18, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Man arrested after body is found in forest outside Dolores

Body found in forest outside Dolores

DATE: Jan 4, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Body found in field south of Denny Lake in Cortez is identified

Death of 26-year-old investigated as homicide

DATE: May 4, 2017 | CATEGORY: Regional News

City of Durango code of conduct changes proposed

The city’s e City Council created the board in 2014. Ethics board members are refining a process to handle complaints. On Wednesday, the board agreed to add mediation to the list...

DATE: Oct 15, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Human remains found in forest east of Pagosa Springs

Skull, clothing discovered east of Pagosa

DATE: Aug 26, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Brigham Young University says feds investigating sex-assault policy

SALT LAKE CITY – Federal education officials have launched an investigation of how Brigham Young University handles reports of sexual assault – the latest fallout from female students and al...

DATE: Aug 9, 2016 | CATEGORY: Regional News

French authorities paint complex picture of attacker

PARIS – Authorities investigating the truck driver who killed 84 people in a Bastille Day attack painted a complex picture Monday of a man who did not seem devout but had recently become int...

DATE: Jul 18, 2016 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

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Photos: Durango High School boys golf competes at stateDemons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Demons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Photos: Cowboy Gathering Social and Parade

Photos: High County Cattle Auction

High Country Cattle Auction brings top-notch stock and country charm to Southwest ColoradoFamily run, generational business dates back to 1940s

BREEN – The family-owned and operated High Country Cattle Auction is “in the bones” of the Cugnini family, said third-generation owner Chris Cugnini. The business was founded by Chris’ grandfather, Pat Cugnini, in the 1940s. Pat then passed the business down to his son, Duane Cugnini, who then turned the business over to daughters, Becky Hawkins and Chris Cugnini, whose daughters plan to take over the family business one day. The auction, which takes place once or twice a month from April to January at 13062 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) near Breen, attracts ranchers, farmers and those in the cattle industry from far and wide.

Former Durango resident Steve Greenburg has been attending the High Country Cattle auction for more than 40 years, and continues to travel to Breen all the way from Arizona, where he now lives. He attended the September auction last week, where around 1,200 animals were up for sale. Greenburg said effective bidding takes concentration and a practiced hand. “You want to make sure you don’t pay too much,” he said. “And if you do, you want to buy the business.” Amber Belvin, employee of 15 years and Chris’ operations “sidekick,” said bidders are most often looking for signs of good health in an animal, like a plump, filled-out body. If bidding on a herd, a look of uniformity among the animals is key to a good purchase, she said.

Despite Greenburg already having a handful of filled out bidding cards marking the cattle he had won within an hour of the Sept. 23 auction, he said the day was young. One sale day last year culminated in Greenburg taking home 22 semi-trucks worth of cattle, he said. Chris said Greenburg is one of the auction’s longest-term and most generous supporters. “(Greenburg) pays top-dollar,” Chris said. “And (that) makes me feel good, because we’re giving back to (the sellers). I know these people around here, and they’re the hardest working people on the planet. If I can get them 10 or 20 cents more per pound, then that makes us happy.”

Cattle auction prices have gone up in recent years, both at High Country and nationally, Chris said. This year, animals are going for $2,500 to $3,000 a head – double and triple the average prices from last year. The increase, Chris said, is in part because of a screw worm making the rounds in cattle in Mexico, which has lowered the number of cattle coming in from the south, along with people subdividing and selling cattle branches, and local cattle herd numbers diminishing, which has increased demand.

Chris called the price increase “good and bad.” “It’s great if you’re a seller, because there’s prices that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “Older men come in, (and they) can’t believe the prices. Some of them do this for a living, and they count on that, so they’re so happy.” Belvin said some smaller farmers opt to buy less cattle during price surges like this, but echoed Chris’ sentiment about sellers being ecstatic about the unprecedented profit.

Local cattle farmer Lawrence Martinez entered 59 steers and 95 heifers in the auction Tuesday. Martinez has been involved in the High Country Cattle Auction “pretty much forever,” but recent years have been especially fruitful for sales, he said. “These last few years, we’ve been coming here to sell, because this is the place to go,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell anywhere else. (The market here has) been so good.”The auction’s community roots and generational touch doesn’t stop at the Cugnini family: Shane Hatch, the auctioneer, took over the job after his father’s death, Belvin said.

The auction serves as an opportunity for community members to get together and bond, Belvin said. “When we do have an auction, it’s a great place where local farmers and ranchers can get together and talk,” she said. “They come to the cafe, and they talk about the hay, and the drought situation, and I think it’s a good connecting point.” Chris and Belvin both expressed feeling glad the auction can supply so much generational value to the local farming and ranching community. “I mean, what other business can you think of around here that’s the same, right?” Belvin said. “We’re fair, and we’re very meticulous at our jobs. We take it very seriously, because this is (some peoples’) livelihood.”

For the Cugninis – and long-term employees like Belvin, who have become an honorary part of the close-knit High Country Cattle Auction family – the heart of the business aligns with the heart of the local farming and ranching community. “We’re just good, hard working people – Americans – that want to make a good living, and live off this great land,” Belvin said. epond@durangoherald.com

Family run, generational business dates back to 1940s