NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
FIRST OF ITS KIND
SPORTS
A FOND FAREWELL
Paonia cohousing development granted conditional approval, B1
FLYING HIGH
Honored couple ‘touched every corner of the community,’ C1
Paonia boys’ basketball team is rapidly moving up in state polls, B6
DELTA COUNTY
JANUARY 20, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 3
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Two sentenced in motorcyclist’s death BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
In the fall of 2013, Trever Rawson had recently earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems and was looking forward to starting a new job in Salt Lake City. Between the upcoming move to Utah and his impending marriage, he was the happiest family members had seen him in a long time. Then tragedy struck. Rawson’s life was taken during a reckless act that Judge Jeff Herron summed up as “one of the most stupid things I have ever seen.” Rawson, 34, was riding his motorcycle on Highway 92, en route to his parents’ house in Hotchkiss, as the sun was setting on Oct. 12, 2013. At the same time, Mark Valdez, Kevin Keener and Valdez’s nephew were attempting to retrieve an elk they’d shot on a hillside adjoining the highway in rural Montrose County. They attached one end of a chain to Valdez’s truck and the other to the elk. Valdez drove his truck across the highway, stringing the rope across both lanes of travel about five and a half feet off the ground. Rawson struck the rope, making contact with his chest and helmet, causing a severed spinal cord and his death. Initially, Valdez and Keen-
Trever Rawson
er left the scene, then claimed Rawson “just crashed,” and that they did not see anything. After an intensive investigation involving the Colorado State Patrol, wildlife officers and the district attorney’s office, a grand jury handed down lengthy indictments against both Valdez and Keener in April 2014. As the judicial process slowly moved forward, numerous counts were dropped and the men were allowed to enter into plea agreements, over strenuous objections from Rawson’s family. Sentencing took place last week in Montrose District Court. Joint sentencing hearings are unusual, Judge Herron noted, but meant Rawson’s family members had to speak just once. His mother, Kathy Diderecksen, said Trever’s death may be the only one on record but there was another — hers. When Trever was overdue, she and her parents went looking for him and came across the accident scene south of Crawford. She recognized the motorcycle; she recognized the helmet. She was told the “deceased” had been taken to Delta. “The word deceased was like fire in my ears,” she said. No, her body did not die, but her mind, spirit and soul were taken that night. “Even saying goodbye was taken from me,” she said. Her son was “left on the side of the road like a piece of garbage.” The two defendants lied from the moment the accident took place, and they did not attempt to render aid. They should not be rewarded [with light sentences] for the misery they’ve inflicted, she told Judge Herron. “Trever was needed here,” she said. “He had a future and loved ones who depended on him ... he was not perfect but the world has truly lost a wonderful and beautiful human being.” Harvey Didericksen referred to the “822 days lived in hell” since Trever was
killed. To let Valdez and Keener plead to lesser charges ... there’s no justice, he said. Trever’s two brothers, Grady and Robert, testified how the defendants’ actions have crippled an entire family, including a relationship with Trever’s young daughter, who now lives in Florida with her mother. During the hearing, district attorney Dan Hotsenpiller exercised his right to present evidence from investigators with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado State Patrol.
Hearing and speechimpaired members of the community, or those in a situation where it is too dangerous to dial 911, have another option to call for help in an emergency — text to 911. “Call if you can – text if you can’t” is the slogan developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the technology becomes available in Colorado. The Delta County Sheriff ’s 911 Dispatch is equipped to receive and respond to text messages sent to 911. All phones or devices must include a text or data plan to send a text to 911. This announcement comes
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................C8 Bruin Tracks ................C3-6 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness .........B4-5 Legals ......................... D2-3 North Fork Times ........B1-3 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A5 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................B6-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-7 TV Listings ................. D5-6
after the nation’s four largest wireless service providers, AT&T Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, in cooperation with the FCC, National Emergency Number Association, and the Association of Public Safety Officials agreed in 2012 to provide Text-to-911 as a nationwide interim solution until the Next Generation of 911 is deployed. Text-to911 technology will provide the public with an additional means of requesting emergency services and will provide additional support to the deaf, hard-of-hearing, and the speech-impaired community.
Stroup also attended the autopsy performed by Dr. Michael Benziger, and relayed his findings along with Dr. Benziger’s observation that Rawson’s death would have been instantaneous. The cause of death: multiple traumatic injuries. Valdez pleaded guilty to manslaughter (reckless) and transfer or alteration of a hunting/fishing license. Keener pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and willful destruction of big game wildlife. PRISON SENTENCES TO A6
Photo by Rick Spalenka
Backyard visitors
Domestic cows pass through the Spalenka property northwest of Cedaredge frequently, but never have a cow elk and calves been seen. Some even laid down for a rest. “In the 20 years living here we have never seen elk so close to the house,” he said.
Businessman takes steps to boost economy BY HANK LOHMEYER
Dispatch equipped to receive 911 texts
Tammy Stroup, the chief investigator in the district attorney’s office, reviewed portions of the grand jury transcript which included testimony from Valdez’s nephew. Although he was only 16 years old at the time, Fidel Olivas recognized the plan to retrieve the elk was “preposterous” and defied common sense. He also told the grand jury that the night before the hunt both men had consumed beer and hard alcohol, and had been smoking marijuana, all of which they also provided to him.
Staff Writer
A Delta County businessman with strong feelings about the future of the local economy is taking steps to try and improve it. Mark Eckhart is the owner of Long Haul Folding Kayaks. As a businessman, he sees that a turnaround in the county’s economic fortunes is going to require money. He believes he knows where some of that money can come from and has launched a petition campaign to get public support for the idea. Eckhart supports the funding proposal that is the critical centerpiece of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) plan for county economic diversity. He agrees with the EDA study that CDOT should take over ownership of the City of Delta’s recently completed alternate truck route.
Child abuse hotline The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) on Jan. 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of 1-844-CO-4KIDS, a statewide hotline to report suspected child abuse and neglect. The hotline directly links callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to the appropriate call-taker among the state’s 65 counties. Counties have historically received and handled reports of child abuse and neglect. That has not changed. Counties remain on the frontlines when it comes to this critical role. The hotline was built to streamline the process. All reports of suspected child abuse and neglect remain confidential.
By doing that and paying off the some $22 million in bonds city taxpayers currently owe on the project, the $1.4 million annual payment on those bonds would become available to help fund economic diversity projects in the county. The money could be used as matching grant funds and “seed” money. The EDA study has recommended that money be used to develop an organic produce industry here. Other recommendations presented during an unveiling last month would include building a large hotel and conference center. Another idea is to develop lifestyle amenities, concepts compared with Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, that would include housing and commercial developments and that would attract the “missing demographic” to the county. That missing demographic, also referred to as “the cre-
ative class” is defined broadly as young, educated, workingage people who would help create new economic enterprises. Eckhart has the same reasons as many others for wanting to see the county’s economy grow. “My house is here. My family is here. My business is here, too,” Eckhart said. His efforts also spring from a sense of frustration about how things are going with the national and local economies. “You look at the jobs that have been lost — the sawmill, Meadow Gold, and the mines. There are vacancies on Main Street. We need a plan in Delta County or things are going to continue to get worse. The issues that need to be dealt with, they are huge issues.” Eckhart says he sees no sense in CDOT owning a PETITION DRIVE TO A3
Tipton blasts coal moratorium
Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) is calling the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) moratorium on federal coal leasing an “irresponsible, politically motivated decision that jeopardizes America’s energy future.” On Friday, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced a comprehensive review that will take “a careful look at issues such as how, when and where to lease; how to account for the environmental and public health impacts of federal coal production; and how to ensure American taxpayers are earning a fair return for the use of their public resources.” While the
review is taking place, the Interior Department will institute “a pause” on new coal leases. Existing coal production activities will not be affected. “Once more the president is picking winners and losers, choosing his ideology over the working class communities and hardworking Americans that make an affordable and reliable energy supply for the nation possible,” Tipton said. “We need to look no further than communities in Colorado, like Craig and Delta, that have seen firsthand the devastating toll the president’s misguided energy policies have had on the economy.”