[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 140 (Monday, October 28, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING JOHN MICHAEL ROSE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 28, 2002

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a true friend of 
Colorado's Arkansas Valley. John Rose is a good neighbor, and he 
typifies the Western values I hold dear.
  John Michael Rose and his wife, Jolly, moved to the Lower Arkansas 
Valley in February of 1995. They settled near the town of Fowler, 
Colorado. John said, ``We came down here to escape the metropolitan 
lifestyle, and to enjoy the peace and quiet associated with living a 
rural lifestyle.'' The Rose's have raised corn and alfalfa on their 
eighty-acre farm for two years. John switched the operation from 
farming to ranching in 1997 and went into a cow-calf operation. They 
enjoyed living on the land and learning about farming and ranching.
  In October of 1998 John received a call from the local Soil 
Conservation District with an offer to fill a vacant chair on the Board 
of Directors. John said, ``That was just the beginning of my reentry 
into public service.'' In December of 1999 the City of Aurora announced 
its intentions to purchase the remaining shares of the Rocky Ford 
Ditch. John encouraged the Soil Conservation Board to become proactive 
and get involved with the process of objecting to the sale and 
monitoring what would happen to the land when Aurora took the water and 
dried up the land. The board held a water forum and John served as the 
moderator. John says this thrust him into the spotlight and thus began 
his involvement in water issues in the Lower Arkansas Valley. The Otero 
County Commissioners created the Water Works Committee and asked John 
to be the coordinator. This led to the creation of the Arkansas Valley 
Preservation Land Trust; the revival of Arkansas Valley Conduit 
project, and the Arkansas Valley Water Preservation Group. John is a 
frequent speaker throughout the valley to community groups, service 
clubs, and to other governmental agencies.
  John serves on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers-Big Sisters. He 
is active in the Masonic Lodge and continues to serve on West Otero 
Timpas Conservation District. He is a valuable member of his community, 
and I am proud to have represented such a vigorous conservator in the 
Congress. John is a man of integrity who does the right thing even when 
it isn't the easiest thing to do.

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