NORTH FORK TIMES
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE North Fork students enjoy a field trip to Lost Lake, Kebler Pass, B1
SPORTS UP TO PAR
HARVEST SOME FUN
Cedaredge, Delta golfers qualify for state competition, C6
Cedaredge hosts annual AppleFest celebration Oct. 3-4, Inside
DELTA COUNTY
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 VOL. 132, NO. 39
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Legislators address school funding BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
At Cedaredge High School last week, superintendent Caryn Gibson had the opportunity to share the needs, challenges and celebrations of Delta County Joint School District with the state legislators who represent Delta County in Denver. At the end of the first-ever legislative school visit, Rep. Millie Hamner, Rep. Yeulin Willett and Senator Kerry Donovan all expressed support for Delta County schools. Also in attendance were Joyce Rankin, the newly appointed member of the Colorado Board of Education, Delta County Commissioner Bruce Hovde and Ed Bowditch, a lobbyist for the school district. School board members, Cedaredge administrators and four members of Cedaredge High School’s student leadership team sat in on a presentation that highlighted the unique needs of Delta County Joint School District. Superintendent Caryn Gibson explained the school district is one of the largest in the state with multiple sites. It covers 1,157 square miles and has 24 instructional sites, ranging from the Backpack Early Learning Academies to Delta-Montrose Technical College. The geographic and demographic challenges of the district result in funding inequities that were a focus of discussion with the legislators. Lobbyist Ed Bowditch zeroed in on the numbers. Using per-pupil funding from the state, he ranked all 178 school districts in Colorado.
Delta County came in at 159 out of 178 school districts, with per-pupil funding of $7,009. At the top is Pawnee School District, which is funded at $16,636 for each of its 79 students. Silverton receives $15,493 per student. Almost all of the schools at the top of the funding list are very small, Bowditch noted. One school district in eastern Colorado actually split into two so it could get more money for each of the two smaller districts, he noted. If Delta County was funded at the state average, the result would be $278 per student, which totals $1.4 million when multiplied by student enrollment. Bowditch observed that Delta County does not benefit from any of the variables that affect state funding. It’s not small enough for the size factor, not in a high cost area and while there may be a high percentage of at-risk students, it doesn’t reach the level of 50 or 60 percent like Aurora or Denver. “There’s no extra money for Delta County from the School Finance Act,” he said. Bowditch also touched on general economic conditions in Delta County. Per capita income of $34,681 places Delta County 50th among the state’s 64 counties. The most recent data is from 2013; when new statistics come out in November, Bowditch says he fears a slide due to the impact of mine layoffs. “This is not a rich county. We can’t depend on the voters to keep coming back and bail-
City, police chief announce retirement BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
After being on paid administrative leave since late August, Robert Thomas, chief of police, and the City of Delta have jointly announced his retirement. “It has been an honor and privilege to have served the City of Delta,” Thomas said in a press release. “I take pride knowing I have influenced positive and productive change within the police organization and community. To our citizens, thank you for your acceptance, kindness and support during my tenure as your police chief. After dedicating 31 years within the law enforcement profession, the time has come for me to retire. Best wishes to the Delta Police Department administrative staff and officers who have sworn to serve and protect you.” Both Thomas and Glen Black, Delta city manager, said the relationship ended “professionally.” Black declined to provide any additional details. When asked about the severance package offered Thomas, Black said
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................B5 Back Page ................. D10 Business .........................B8 Church ........................... D8 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-7 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A5 Service Directory ......... D9 Sports ..........................C6-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ..................C4-5
that is a “personnel” issue. He also issued a press release: “The City of Delta would like to thank Chief Thomas for his positive contributions to the Delta community, City of Delta, and Delta Police Department. We appreciate Chief Thomas’ dedication, organizational accomplishments and commitment to public service.” Black said Charles Kettle will continue to serve as interim police chief until a new city manager has been hired. “We’ll let that person make the selection,” Black said. The word “interim” has been dropped from Black’s title, to comply with a charter regulation that the interim serve no longer than 180 days. The search for a permanent city manager continues, with an application deadline of Oct. 9. While retired from the DPD, Thomas is just 52 years old. He said it’s unlikely he’ll again work in law enforcement, but he does hold three master’s degrees and he hopes to put them to work somewhere on the Front Range.
ing out the school district,” he told the legislators. While per-pupil funding has increased steadily over the past five years, Gibson noted state funding has been offset by declining enrollment and declining valuation. The result is flat funding, while expenses continue to increase. School board president Pete Blair noted one of those expenses is PERA, the state retirement program. Employer (school district) contributions are mandated by the state legislature and now total almost 10 percent of the school district’s total budget. Other challenges as noted by Gibson included an aging transportation fleet, the need for more electives for high school students, and the need for more teachers who are qualified for AP and concurrent enrollment courses. Professional development is a priority for the school district, but often requires travel SCHOOL FUNDING TO A3
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Nellie Freeman and Amber Jenkins, Cedaredge High School student council members, get a civics lesson from Senator Kerry Donovan. During a legislative visit at CHS, she referred to a bill killed in committee, and the students had specific questions about how that process works.
City urged to modify zoning on Silver Street BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
A vacant building at 701 Silver Street in Delta is being eyed for a chicken processing facility, to the dismay of neighbors living across the street. Barry Vollmert and his wife JoAnn circulated a petition urging Delta City Council to repeal the portion of the zoning regulations that allows agricultural products processing — including chickens — as a use by right in the industrial zone. Most of the west side of Silver Street is zoned industrial, which allows a wide range of uses. The Vollmerts would also like sawmills/planing facilities and sexually oriented businesses to be prohibited, as well. They are also uses by right. Since the proposed use is permissible under the zoning regulations, city manager Glen Black says the prospective owner is not required to obtain planning commission or council approval. The building is owned by Producers Co-op and was most recently used as a transportation center by Meadow Gold. It is just off the alternate truck route. The Vollmerts say they’ve been good neighbors with industrial businesses in the area for 35 years, though they say they’ve occasionally had reason to complain. “But now that all the tenants are gone from this block of land, it is an ideal time to repeal some of the allowed uses in this I-1 zoned district,” Vollmert said in a written statement to Delta City Council. “When this land was
Access plan open house The City of Delta, Delta County and the Colorado Department of Transportation will hold a public open house for the Delta U.S. 50 and SH 92 Access Plan. The access plan is a long-range plan for future access to U.S. 50 between Starr Nelson Road and SH 92 and to SH 92 between U.S. 50 and 2200 Road/Austin Road as growth in the community occurs. The open house will be held Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Bill Heddles Recreation Center. For more information, contact the consultant project manager, Michelle Hansen, Stolfus & Associates, Inc. at 303-221-2330.
zoned to its current uses, it was a different time and Delta was a desperate town.” Delta County Economic Development director Trish Thibodo confirms DCED has been working with an out-ofarea individual who is interested in establishing a chicken/turkey processing facility in the county. In a presentation to Delta City Council, Thibodo said at full production, the facility would process 9,000 birds per day and employ 30. (A previous DCI report erroneously stated the facility would process 1.3 million birds per week, which Thibodo mentioned only as a scale of reference for a large industrial operation.) The Vollmerts are concerned about adverse effects including smells, noise from caged birds, unsightly blowing of feathers around town, health risks to employees and nearby residents, and prop-
erty values. “We are not anti-jobs or anti-business folks,” Vollmert told the council. “We would support a facility such as this if it were located outside of town and preferably downwind from city limits. “The whole idea of having DCED try to bring businesses to Delta is fine. But they need to get businesses to come to our downtown area that are compatible, sustainable and that help to further Delta as a modern, clean town that would make people want to live here, build a business in, raise a family in, or simply enjoy their stay here and not make them step on the gas and go on down the road to GJ or Montrose!” Vollmert left council with the petition signed by residents of 30 addresses. “Nothing is concrete,” said Thibodo. “They’re just looking at this area.”
Jeremias Quintero sentencing postponed BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
A sentencing hearing for Jeremias Quintero was postponed after Judge Steven Schultz was handed a packet of sealed letters that he said he needed to first share with the district attorney’s office and Quintero’s attorney, Vincent Felleter. In July, Quintero entered a plea of guilty to a felony charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, with an underlying sexual factual basis. Sentencing was set for
Sept. 28. The courtroom held the victim’s mother and about a dozen friends and family members; Quintero arrived with another 12 to 14 supporters. Although sentencing was set for 11 a.m., Judge Schultz was still working through the 10 a.m. docket. He interrupted those proceedings to consult with Felleter and deputy district attorney Seth Ryan before announcing Quintero’s sentencing would be postponed. QUINTERO TO A3
Keener enters guilty plea Like his co-defendant, Kevin Keener entered a plea of guilty in the death of Trever Rawson, a motorcyclist from Hotchkiss. Keener pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide, a class 5 felony, and willful destruction of big game wildlife, a class 5 felony. Valdez pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and transfer/ alteration of a hunting/fishing license. Both Keener and co-defendant Mark Valdez will be sentenced Jan. 13. According to the plea bargain, the judge will determine whether or not there exists extraordinary aggravating circumstances, and whether such circumstances jus-
tify a sentence in the aggravated range. The sentence is open, to be determined by the judge. The victim’s family objected to the plea agreement, but the plea was accepted by the judge. Restitution will be awarded, jointly and severally with Mark Valdez, in the amount of $3,135. Rawson was killed in October 2013, as he was riding westbound on Highway 92 south of Crawford. He ran into a rope Keener and Valdez had stretched across the highway to retrieve a downed elk. Both defendants left the scene before any first responders arrived.