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DIVING INTO 2016
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DELTA COUNTY
Delta Panthers win home swim meet, C6
JANUARY 6, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 1
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INDEPENDENT
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DMEA to begin broadband pilot Delta-Montrose Electric Association’s board of directors has voted unanimously to proceed with a fiber-to-thepremise (FTTP) business in order to bring reliable broadband Internet service to the citizens and businesses in Montrose and Delta counties. The DMEA board approved a phased deployment, which will begin with an initial pilot phase. Work on the development of the pilot phase begins immediately. This first phase is an important milestone for the cooperative, and will be used to prove the business model and test assumptions, such as take-rate. “We have an obligation to protect the financial and operational integrity of the cooperative for our members. Using a phased approach will allow us to minimize our risk by only building each phase once we have met specific take-rates,” said DMEA CEO Jasen Bronec. After hearing of requests by local citizens to find a solution
for the poor Internet service in the area, DMEA’s board of directors began researching options. Recognizing that reliable high-speed Internet service is now paramount to advancing economic development and quality of life, just as electricity was in the 1930s, the cooperative has been conducting in-depth research on broadband business models and case studies since late 2014. “Because we were already deploying fiberoptic infrastructure for internal purposes, it made sense for us to explore the opportunity of expanding broadband services to our membership,” said DMEA board president Bill Patterson. “Since my arrival at DMEA, I can’t remember a time when broadband Internet wasn’t on the minds of our members. Our communities are underserved and looking for help. It’s a story not unfamiliar to co-ops. Co-ops were instrumental in lighting up rural America once. Now we’re
doing it again,” said Bronec. “This is a momentous decision for DMEA members, employees and communities. We are only at the beginning and have a lot of planning and work to accomplish before all of our members have access
to our fiber. We ask that our members are patient with the process and support our efforts as we enter this new business,” Patterson concluded. As a follow-up to the press release issued last week,
DMEA staff said, “The board has been investigating this potential for more than a year and has continued to do due diligence. Based on current information, they felt that the time is right to move forward.”
New landfill fees take effect Fees charged at the county landfill went up on the first business day of 2016. A new fee schedule adopted by the Delta County Commissioners doubles the current minimum fee from $5 to $10. Other changes taking effect Jan. 4 include: • General waste: includes household brush and yard clean-up, and also most construction roofing, demolition, and debris including concrete and soil, $28 per ton (currently $25 per ton). • Special waste: 10 tires or fewer without rims, $3 each; 11 or more tires in a load will be charged a bulk rate of $210 per ton. Individual tires
with rims, $28 per ton. Only tires from Delta County will be accepted. • Trailer houses (with prior approval), $28 per ton plus $50 per trailer. • Refrigerators and other freon-containing appliances, $28 per ton plus $5 per appliance. • Records burial, $28 per ton plus $5 surcharge. • Dead animals/slaughter waste (subject to continued state approval and prior approval from landfill operations) including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, dogs, deer, etc., $28 per ton plus $5 surcharge. LANDFILL FEES TO A3
Three seats open on Delta council BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Delta City Council member Ray Penick said this week he will not be seeking another term in office, bringing to three the number of vacant seats to be filled in the upcoming municipal election. The other two seats are held by Mary Cooper and Robert Jurca, both of whom are term limited. Penick represents District A, and Cooper is from District B. Individuals interested in running for those seats must reside within those district boundaries, which can be found on the city website.
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A5 Back Page ................... D6 Business ........................ A6 Church ............................B4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-3 Obituaries ......................B5 School Zone ...................B6 Service Directory ........ D5 Sports .............................C6 Surface Creek News ...C1-2 TV Listings ..................C3-4
The other vacancy is an at-large position which can be filled by a qualified elector residing anywhere within the city. Nomination petitions are currently available at Delta City Hall, 360 Main Street. Signed petitions must be returned to city clerk Jolene Nelson by 5 p.m. Jan. 25. For more information, contact Nelson at 874-7902. The election will be conducted by mail. Voters should expect to see their ballots in the mail the week of March 14. Election day is April 5. To register to vote, stop by the county clerk’s office in the courthouse or go to www. govotecolorado.com.
Photo by Pat Sunderland
New Year’s baby
Keegan Scott Gallob arrived at 1:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day, the first baby to be born at Delta County Memorial Hospital in 2016. Parents Leah and Brandon Gallob of Crawford were ready to take Keegan home the following day so he could meet his older brother Brayden, age 1 1/2. Keegan weighed 7 pounds, 10.4 ounces and was 19.5 inches in length. He was delivered by Dr. Stephen Hickner. The hospital provided a basket full of goodies for the new arrival.
Women narrowly escape carbon monoxide poisoning BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The smoke filling the Anderson residence on King Street was plain to see; the carbon monoxide it carried was not. Joyce Anderson, her sister Debra and their 89-year-old mother Ruth were watching “Downton Abbey” the night of Sunday, Dec. 27, when Debra suddenly had trouble breathing and seemed incoherent. She’d previously complained of a bad headache, as had Joyce and Ruth. Debra’s unusual behavior spurred Joyce into action and she called 911, describing her sister’s symptoms to the dispatcher. That information alerted EMTs, who entered the house with carbon monoxide detectors in hand. They immediately ordered everyone out of the house. Debra was loaded into the
Teen has Idol hopes American Idol will begin its 15th — and farewell — season with a special twonight, four-hour premiere event Wednesday, Jan. 6, and Thursday, Jan. 7 on FOX. Crawford teen Jeneve Mitchell earned a place among the top 24 finalists (according to American Idol) and an appearance on tonight’s season opener. See the complete story on page B1. Jeneve Rose is forbidden to talk about how the audition went with celebrity judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick, Jr., until after tonight’s show. “You’ll just have to watch,” she said.
ambulance; Joyce and Ruth grabbed their two dogs and headed to the car. The EMTs quickly informed them they’d be riding in the ambulance as well. Leaving the two dogs behind in the car, the three women were put on oxygen and transported to the emergency room at Delta County Memorial Hospital. All three were found to have carbon monoxide levels well above normal; Debra’s were particularly high. Additionally, blood tests revealed an enzyme causing stress on Ruth’s heart. By 3 a.m., Debra and Joyce were cleared to go home but Ruth was admitted to the hospital for additional monitoring. Later, they learned a cap on the chimney was blocked. Instead of smoke flowing up and out, it was forced back into the house. It was a problem they’d been dealing with
off and on ever since they started the furnace in the fall. They’d had the chimney and furnace cleaned beforehand, so thought the smoke was simply the result of the coal they were burning. They also discovered a damper that needed to be opened. “We thought that would solve our problem, but we still had smoke and couldn’t figure out where it came from,” Joyce said. During the day Sunday they ran a fan and opened the door to clear the house of smoke, but it was too cold to keep the door open for long. After struggling with a smoky house off and on all day, the smoke finally seemed to dissipate. It’s just a stroke of luck that they didn’t go to bed, but instead stayed up late to watch television. “It was a close call,” Joyce CARBON MONOXIDE TO A3
Missing Golden woman located
A 32-year-old Golden woman who went missing while on a ski trip to the Western Slope was located in Delta Jan. 1. The Delta Police Department, in conjunction with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, began searching for the woman after she failed to return home as expected. She was last seen in Delta Dec. 28, and family members were concerned she might be experiencing a medical issue. Her car was located by the side of the road in Delta, where it had apparently been parked for several days. DPD officers learned she had checked into a local motel, but found no additional clues to her whereabouts. Family members
launched a “Find Lacey Oar” Facebook page, which was shared widely throughout the community. In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, Lacey was taken to the emergency room at Delta County Memorial Hospital by an unidentified male. She was not physically injured. DPD officers were able to confirm her identity, but she declined to offer any additional information to the officers. On Friday night, her family issued a thank you through the Facebook page, saying Lacey was shaken up over the events of the last few days and asking she be allowed to recover in privacy.