Delta County Independent, Jan. 2, 2013

Page 1

NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

SPORTS

STILL GOING STRONG

BE PREPARED

ON THE COURT

Paonia Rotary Club celebrates its 90th birthday, B5

Local snowmobile clubs offer avalanche training, C1

Delta boys, girls claim county tournament titles, C5

DELTA COUNTY

JANUARY 2, 2013 VOL. 130, NO. 1

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

The top 5 news stories of 2012 The Bureau of Land Management’s announcement of an August 2012 mineral lease sale, which would have opened the door to oil and gas exploration in the North Fork Valley, sparked outcry from area residents and ongoing coverage throughout the year. A group called Citizens for a Healthy Community was formed, and with the NFRIAWSERC Conservation Center, hosted community meetings about the proposed development of 22 parcels on 30,000 acres of land surrounding Paonia, Hotchkiss, Crawford and the Paonia Reservoir. In response to thousands of letters, BLM first extended the comment period and then announced it was deferring the sale. “This is a tremendous victory for the people of the North Fork Valley and it’s proof that we can have an impact,” Daniel Feldman, chairman of the board of directors of CHC, said following the May 2 announcement. BLM stated it would conduct additional analysis of the proposed lease parcels based on public input. In December, 20 of the 22 parcels were again put up for lease. BLM removed about 9,000 acres from the proposed sale, which will take place in February 2013. “This was a bad idea last December and it’s still a bad idea today,” said CHC director Jim Ramey. Community members vowed to again pull

together to oppose the leasing of the lands. The Bear Ranch Land Exchange was a hot topic in 2012, and without a resolution in sight it will continue to be closely followed by DCI readers and reporters alike. At a forum held in early January, representatives from Bear Ranch and Western Land Group explained the proposed land exchange, which would allow Bear Ranch to acquire over 1,846 acres of public land currently managed by BLM. Congressional approval will ultimately be needed to allow the federal land exchange. Opponents decried the “outside money and power” exercised by ranch owner William Koch. One opponent said it’s clear the wealth and power of one person is capable of acting in a way that threatens the access of the 99 percent. Still, the plan has its supporters. The third top story of 2012 is actually a cumulation of several stories detailing changes in leadership at the school district, hospital, U.S. Forest Service, Delta County and City of Delta. Shortly after the first of the year, school superintendent Mike McMillan resigned and an interim superintendent stepped in while a nationwide search for a permanent replacement was conducted. In the end, longtime district employee Caryn Gibson was given the job. She appointed two former high school prin-

cipals as her assistant superintendents, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in 11 new administrators in Delta County schools for the 201213 school year. At Delta County Memorial Hospital, administrator John Mitchell was terminated and replaced first temporarily, then permanently, by chief clinical officer Jason Cleckler. Justin Clifton was named Delta city manager after Joe Kerby left for a managerial position in La Plata County. Longtime county administrator Susan Hansen retired in September and Robbie Vaird

DCMH promotes Jody Roeber Jody Roeber recently accepted a promotion to chief clinical officer (CCO) at Delta County Memorial Hospital (DCMH), Jason Cleckler, hospital administrator, announced. Roeber has worked for DCMH full time as director of cost and quality Jody improvement since June 2011. During the past year she led a team in gaining a successful audit from Joint Commission, a hospital accrediting agency, CMS – Medicare certification, and Colorado Health Department (CDPHE) hospital licensure inspection. “Jody has joined our administrative team with 31 years of nursing experience in many different clinical areas, education and management roles. She is involved with our community, dedicated to our hospital and the patients we serve. Jody has demonstrated strong interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills,” Cleckler said. Roeber was born in Albany,

N.Y., and lived in South America and Europe prior to moving to Crawford at a young age. She graduated from Paonia High School and earned a bachelor ’s degree in nursing from Loretto Heights College. She later earned Roeber a master’s degree in nursing and postgraduate credits as a family nurse practitioner from the University of Colorado. From 1987-2005, Roeber was the health services coordinator for Delta County Joint School District. She was responsible for health services for all 15 schools and approximately 4,000 students. She created standardized care plans for students with chronic conditions which became a model for other Colorado schools. During this period of time she continued to work as an on-call nurse for DCMH in medical surgical and obstetric units. In July 2005 Roeber became ROEBER TO A3

LeValley, a 23-year employee of CSU Tri-River Area Extension, was named new county administrator. Scott Armentrout arrived on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests on Sept. 10, coming from the Sierra National Forest where he was the forest supervisor for the past two years. The City of Delta was again in the news, as slow, but steady progress was made on getting the city’s proposed alternate truck route off the drawing board. Right-of-way acquisitions were finally completed, a new contractor was

selected, and a groundbreaking ceremony took place for Dec. 7. Hamon Contractors expects construction to begin in earnest after the first of the year and to continue for about 15 months. Updates can be found online at confluencedrive.com. Elections were plentiful in 2012, beginning with municipalities and special districts, and finally culminating with the November general election. At the county level, a new county commissioner will take office in January, another was re-elected, and term TOP 5 TO A5

Photo by Pat Sunderland

Winter arrives The first day of winter arrived Dec. 21, and right on time came snow, ice and cold temperatures. Confluence Lake is ringed with ice, forcing the geese, cormorants and other waterfowl to a smaller and smaller opening in the water. As the old saying goes, “When the days begin to lengthen, the cold starts to strengthen.”

BLM decision will allow West Elk Coal to expand On Thursday, Dec. 27, the Bureau of Land Management’s Uncompahgre Field Office posted a Record of Decision to expand federally-owned coal leases by 1,721 acres underlying national Forest Service lands about seven miles southeast of Somerset. The Federal Register Notice for the Decision Record was published Friday, Dec. 28. The coal leases are adjacent to existing federal coal leases operated by the West Elk Mine on U.S. Forest Service and private lands. The expansion allows the recovery of up to 19 million tons of coal and extending mining operations up to three years. Environmental analysis is required by the National Environmental Policy Act when a coal leasing action

is proposed. The U.S. Forest Service completed the environmental analysis as the manager of the surface. Then the BLM formally adopted the U.S. Forest Service’s Final Environmental Impact Statement for Federal Coal Lease Modifications COC-1362 and COC-67232 by signing this Record of Decision. When the surface land is managed by another agency, the BLM must obtain consent from that agency before leasing can occur. On Aug. 2, the acting forest supervisor consented to the BLM modifying coal leases underlying the national Forest Service lands. The West Elk Mine has been in operation since 1982 and produced about six million tons of coal in 2011. Currently, the mine employs 378

people, and the majority of these employees, as well as their families, live in communities in Delta County. Total direct economic benefits associated with the coal mines within the North Fork Valley exceed $60 million annually. Gunnison County receives approximately $2 million annually in tax revenues as the result of the coal mining operations at the West Elk Mine. Delta County receives the indirect financial benefit and tax revenue from the indirect businesses that support the mine, and the tax base from the workers and their families who reside in the county. To review the Record of Decision, go to www.blm.gov/co/st/ en/BLM_Information/nepa/ufo. html.

INDEX

New year, new hours

Schools recognized

Drivers face icy roads

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................C4 Back Page ................... D8 Business .........................B6 Church ........................... D6 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-5 North Fork Times ........1-6B Obituaries ..................... A8 School Zone .................. A6 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................C5-6 Surface Creek News ...C1-2 TV Listings ..................B3-4

All three libraries in the North Fork Valley will have new hours effective Jan. 2. Crawford Library will be open Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m. The Hotchkiss Library is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Paonia’s new hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (please note correction from last week’s issue). For more information, visit www.delta libraries.org.

North Fork Montessori School and Paonia Elementary School have been given the Colorado Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award. The Governor’s Distinguished Improvement awards are given to schools that demonstrate exceptional student growth. On the school performance framework that is used by the state to evaluate schools, these schools “exceed” expectations on the indicator related to longitudinal academic growth and “meet or exceed” expectations on the indicator related to academic growth gaps.

Delta experienced a rare white Christmas. While the falling snow was welcome, icy roads caused several accidents Dec. 25. None resulted in serious injuries. Erica Tuck, 21, slid off Adobe Acres Road Christmas morning causing minor damage to her vehicle. Shortly before 10 a.m., Heath Miller, 19, lost control of his vehicle on 1800 Road near the rodeo grounds. It came to a stop on its side in an adjoining field. Then at 6:15 p.m., Jesse Brown, 21, lost control of her vehicle in the 1900 block of F Road and hit a fence. Sheriff’s deputies responded to all three accidents.


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