NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
BOUNTIFUL HARVEST
SPORTS
EVERY PENNY COUNTS
Mountain Harvest Festival celebrates all things local, B1-8
SMALL TEAM, BIG HEART
Cedaredge thrift stores give the community a lift, C2
DELTA COUNTY
Paonia tennis program draws players from Hotchkiss, B10
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 VOL. 132, NO. 38
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Appeal made for homeless shelter BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
As construction of the homeless shelter moves toward completion, The Abraham Connection finds its building fund depleted. Board members have approached the city for help in ensuring the facility can open as anticipated on Nov. 1. The Abraham Connection is also applying for grants, conducting fundraisers and appealing to community members to cover the shortfall, board president Cheryl Oeltjenbruns said at the Sept. 15 city council meeting. The new 4,800-square-foot shelter is located at the corner of 5th and Silver, on land purchased from the city for half its appraised value of $40,000. In addition to that $20,000 donation, the city paid over $18,000 to have a sewer line moved. Soon after excavation began, the construction crew encountered the remnants of an old feed mill and coal loadout station. Instead of an estimated five days, excavation took 22 working days. The cost escalated from $8,477 to $21,762 to excavate, remove and dispose of the coal residue
and 150 to 200 cubic yards of concrete. A sewer grease trap and pipeline also took more money and time than anticipated. In addition, the city required the installation of a six-inch potable water line ($7,709), a tap fee of $5,800 and site drainage work ($6,879). None of the costs were anticipated. These unexpected expenses total $34,903. Several board members attended the city council meeting, including Oeltjenbruns and general contractor Dick Kirkpatrick. They had no specific requests, but were looking for anything the City of Delta could offer to help the homeless shelter open on schedule. Abraham Connection is asking the county for help with the gravel parking lot. Council members were sympathetic, but reluctant to refund any fees for fear of generating a long line of similar requests. Instead, they directed city staff to work with The Abraham Connection to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy that would allow specified items — unrelated to HOMELESS SHELTER TO A3
Road work is winding down
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Colorado Department of Transportation crews pause to let a Union Pacific train pass through the crossing at Highway 50 in Delta. The railroad crossing was closed for several days while UP and CDOT crews worked around the clock to make much-needed improvements to the crossing. When this photo was taken Tuesday morning, crews were repaving the highway on both sides of the railroad crossing, with the expectation the highway would be reopened by the end of the day. Steve Glammeyer, City of Delta public works director, said 5th Street will reopen soon, as well. Wells Farming & Excavating is in the final stages of the stormwater project funded by a $1 million DOLA grant, with a $500,000 city match. On F Road, paving was scheduled to begin Wednesday following extensive replacement of culverts.
Chamber is rethinking Downtown DeltaFest BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
With the completion of the truck route, the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed the unique opportunity to close down a portion of Main Street for special events such as parades and street fairs. The intent — to draw area residents downtown to enjoy music, food and vendors, and to see what Main Street merchants had to offer. Similar events have been confined to side streets in the past; this year the chamber obtained a permit to close Main for three Downtown DeltaFests, the last on Sept. 10. Those three events were
enough to convince many downtown merchants that shutting down Main Street is a bad idea. To allow vendors time to set up, city crews have blocked off the street as early as 3 p.m. for an event that started at 5 p.m. Traffic was redirected from Highway 92 to 6th, although the event itself was confined to the 300-500 blocks, depending on the number of vendors, which varied. Scott Thomassen, co-owner of Classic Computers said the closure cut off access to his business, which is located at 238 Main Street. Customers who didn’t realize they could access parking via the alley had to park some distance
away — not the ideal scenario for those carrying a computer in need of repair. “I understand the intent is to bring people downtown, but closing the whole street is not the answer,” Thomassen said. “I would like to see the street remain open in front of my business if they’re not going to put any vendors there.” Another business owner in the 200 block threatened legal
BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The City of Delta has been asked to increase its membership status and commit an additional $3,000 for special events. The request was made by executive director Leslie Workman during a city council work session. She began by thanking the city for its support. Without assistance from city hall, parks, recreation center staff, public works and the police department, none
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................. D10 Bruin Tracks ................C3-8 Church ........................... D8 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-7 Mtn. Harvest Fest .... B5-8 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A5 Service Directory ........ D9 Sports ........................B9-12 Surface Creek News . C1-9 TV Listings ..................C4-5
of the events sponsored by the chamber would be possible. Workman said she would like that partnership to move to the next level — the President’s Circle, the highest tier on the chamber’s membership structure. After discussing the benefits of the President’s Circle, she presented the request for $3,000. Most chamber events, she said, are funded by sponsorships. The $3,000 could go to a particular event, at council’s discretion, or would be used 2015 HIGHLIGHTS TO A3
said at a city council work session last week, “but I don’t know what the street fairs will look like in 2016.” Workman has invited every person who signed the petition to air their concerns at a meeting Sept. 22. She also hopes to hear some possible solutions. “We just want to do something positive for the community,” she said.
School superintendent’s contract extended 4 years BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Chamber shares 2015 highlights
action. A petition was circulated saying Main Street should be closed only for maintenance, emergencies, parades and Halloween. The petition was signed by 33 individuals, some from the same business. Because of the negative feedback, the chamber is rethinking the street fairs. “The need is still there,” chamber director Leslie Workman
After a favorable performance evaluation, the Delta County Board of Education approved a contract extension for district superintendent Caryn Gibson. Gibson is a 26-year employee of Delta County Joint School District and has served as superintendent for four years. The school board conducted a formal evaluation centering on the superintendent’s goals to increase achievement and growth for all students; build staff capacity to perform at a high level; provide prudent stewardship of district resources to best support student success; and to engage the communities, staff, families, students and other stakeholders in support-
Valdez pleads guilty Mark Valdez, one of two defendants charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Trevor Rawson, has pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and transfer or alteration of a hunting/fishing license. The plea was entered Sept. 18 before Judge Jeff Herron in Montrose County. The accident occurred just south of the county line near Crawford, as Rawson was riding his motorcycle on Highway 92 in October 2013. Both Valdez and co-defendant Kevin Keener were scheduled for a trial beginning in early October. Keener’s trial is still on the docket.
ing the schools and improving educational outcomes for all Delta County students. School board president Pete Blair said Gibson’s contract was set to expire at the end of the 2015-16 school year. The contract was extended four more years, to the end of the 2019-20 school year. Blair said there will be a school board election in 2019, so the new board will have an opportunity to evaluate Gibson for at least six months. “That way we’re not committing future boards,” Blair said. He added that school board members awarded Gibson high marks on all her goals. “Over the past three years, since I’ve been on the school board, we’ve lost over 250 students, yet we still seem to make the finances work. In fact, we increased our fund
balance with less revenue. “We also thought she’s doing a good job with community engagement, and academically students are doing well.” Plus, North Fork Montessori at Crawford and North Fork School for Integrated Studies offer choices for families. Gibson’s salary is $125,000 a year, and by contract will be increased each year commensurate with certified staff salaries. If there are no funds for staff salary increases, Gibson’s salary will not be increased either, Blair said. Gibson said she’s looking forward to continued support of students and staff. “We’ve been working in a very positive direction, and we want to continue the good things we’re doing for students and staff,” she said.
Bear not involved in hunter’s injuries Wildlife officers from the Grand Junction area have completed their investigation of the reported bear attack and mauling on the Grand Mesa Saturday evening, concluding that the injuries to the individual were not caused by a bear. The man, a hunter in his late 60s, was parked on his ATV on Forest Service Road 105, above Powderhorn Ski Resort, when he says a bear approached and attacked, causing him to drive over a small cliff into large rocks below. The crash resulted in extensive but non-life threatening injuries. “We investigated this incident thor-
oughly over the last three days and we found conclusive evidence that a bear did not attack this individual,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife area wildlife manager JT Romatzke. “This individual is certain that he saw a bear. We are not discounting that he saw something that caused him to react.” Romatzke adds that some of the initial media reports that a bear had attacked and mauled the individual, based on law enforcement scanner traffic, proved to be premature. The hunter’s name is not being released.