Madison Hildebrand - Photojournalism

An AMR ambulance carrying a patient leaves the scene of an emergency, en route to Parkview Medical Center. It's the situations that scare us most--injury, fire, and death--that paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) flock to. They ignore their basic human instincts to avoid danger and instead, they challenge it. In Pueblo, emergency services are carried out by the Pueblo Fire Department and AMR, a contracted ambulance company, over a jurisdiction of 46.79 square miles. There are currently 134 registered EMTs in Pueblo, and 21 of them are also certified paramedics. They answer around 15,000 calls a year, with the majority consisting of medical emergency summons.  One such medical emergency occurred on Friday, July 14 at approximately 11:45 a.m. An unidentified elderly woman lost consciousness at Intellitec College and was treated onsite by a team of three paramedics and two EMTs before being rushed to Parkview Medical Center for treatment. The response ...

On a sunny, 90° Independence Day, what does a town of 30,000 do to stay cool? The answer: they throw a giant water party. The Pueblo West Water Parade occurs annually on the 4th of July and is arguably the proudest tradition that the small metropolitan district offers. Attendees prepare by filling any receptacle they have with gallons of water, including storage containers, truck beds, and trash cans. Squirt guns are rounded up, and vehicles are parked days in advance along the roughly 2-mile section of Joe Martinez Boulevard that acts as the parade route. On Independence Day, chaos ensues as parade-goers spray anything that moves with endless streams of water. Rather than sporting traditional floats, the participants of the parade construct elaborate blinds to hide behind and pedestals from which to snipe those in the crowd. Firefighters use the hoses on their trucks to spray droves of giggling attendants.  The parade itself owes its inception to firefighters. The tradition ...

John Wilbar flunked out of art school and dropped out of architecture school at CU Boulder just shy of graduating. It doesn't make sense that he's a nationally-renowned artist that sells sculptural coffee tables for nearly $2,500 a piece, but he is, and he does. Born in Florence but initially drawn to Pueblo due to the low costs and sunny weather, Wilbar's studio is located in Mesa Junction, the heart of Pueblo and extremely close to the city's downtown art district. John himself is partially responsible for Pueblo's vibrant art scene. As one of the founders of First Friday Art Walk, a gallery exhibition that takes place on the initial Friday of every month, he is also the "John" in John Deaux art gallery, along with his partner, fellow artist Radeaux. However, most of Wilbar's work is too large-scale to be displayed in a gallery setting; instead, his sculptures can be viewed outside of his home studio and in front of several of his patrons...

Alison Gervais lives in a quaint apartment on Pueblo's southside with her cat and says "Hello" to several neighbors that are either rainbow-haired or four-legged daily. Her apartment, which is fittingly chock full of books and writing materials, suits her well. "It's old and classy and just awesome to live in!" she exclaimed. I've known Alison since our freshman year of high school, and have always admired her quirky personality and dazzling smile. Today, she is especially excited because the very first copy of her first published book arrived in the mail, fresh off the press.  For a piece of writing that she had no intentions to do anything with, Alison's breakout novel In 27 Days has certainly been an unexpected success. Alison began writing the book on a flight home from Indianapolis while enrolled as a junior at Pueblo West High School. She shared her work on Wattpad, a popular online literary community, and readers immediately resonated wi...