NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION Hotchkiss voters will be asked to weigh in on marijuana, B1
MONEY MATTERS
COMMUNITY ASSET
EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS
Cedaredge Rod & Gun Club is still growing after 75 years, C3
Find out how to get the most bang for your buck, C6-8
DELTA COUNTY
JANUARY 27, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 4
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Cedaredge man held on pot charges in Nebraska BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The Lancaster County Sheriff ’s Office reports the arrest of a Cedaredge man, 68-year-old Steven McElmury, for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. McElmury was arrested Thursday, Jan. 21, after a sheriff ’s K-9 indicated the odor of narcotics coming from McElmury’s 2014 Dodge Ram pickup, which was found unoccupied in a business parking lot in Lincoln, Neb. The pickup had been observed driving eastbound on Interstate 80 a few minutes earlier. McElmury was contacted inside the business and the pickup was searched. Four UHaul moving boxes, four large
Steven McElmury
duffel bags and a large blue tote in the bed of the pickup were found to contain individually heat-sealed pound bags of high grade marijuana. According to a press release issued by the Lancaster County sheriff, the total weight of the marijuana was 515 pounds, with an estimated retail value of over $2.5 million. User quantities of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and $4,441 were found inside the cab of the vehicle. McElmury is being held at the county’s adult detention facility. He was also cited for possession of money in violation of state statutes and possession of drug paraphernalia. The press release states the investigation into the source of the marijuana and the intended destination for distribution is ongoing. According to Delta County records, McElmury purchased property on Brimstone Road north of Cedaredge in May 2015. Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee said a marijuana grow operation at that address was suspected but never confirmed. Deputies visited the property in August 2015, but were unable to contact McElmury. They did contact a construction worker, but he said he
Grant sought for DMS construction BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
An architect is putting the finishing touches on a design for a Delta Middle School project that will enhance student safety and address the aging infrastructure of the sixth grade wing. School board members reviewed preliminary designs with 50J maintenance supervisor John McHugh at a Jan. 15 work session. The intent is to submit an application for a BEST (Building Excellent Schools Today) grant by the Feb. 26 deadline. Established in 2008, BEST provides funds, through a competitive grant process, for the construction of new schools as well as general construction and renovation of existing school facility systems and structures. BEST grants were used for construction at Garnet Mesa and Cedaredge elementary schools. McHugh estimated the cost of construction at $13 to $14 million, plus a CDEmandated contingency fund. The Colorado Department of Education typically expects a match of 55 percent, or about $7 million, but the school district plans to suggest a match of approximately 23 percent, or $3.29 million. That level
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................... D8 Business ........................ A8 Church ........................... D6 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-5 Money Matters ........ C6-8 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A5 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................B5-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ..................C4-5
of match proved sufficient for both the Garnet Mesa and Cedaredge elementary grant applications. Preliminary plans call for a smaller version of the existing Delta Middle School, with room for a cafeteria, band/ choral room, special education classrooms, ADA restrooms and a classroom wing. Currently, students cross the campus throughout the day, traveling from the band room to the cafeteria to the main building. That movement, combined with multiple building entrances, raises concerns about student safety. The sixth grade wing has multiple structural issues, including a flat roof that doesn’t accommodate mechanical or technological improvements, a lack of ventilation, and aging water/sewer pipes in the concrete slab. McHugh discussed numerous deficiencies in the cafeteria as well. He said CDE representatives who visited the site agreed it’s not feasible to renovate either the sixth grade wing or the cafeteria. Ideally, the project will include a new bus lane that will be separate from the parent dropoff area. Not in the budget are parking lot DMS CONSTRUCTION TO A3
Delta has one race Four candidates have stepped forward to declare interest in serving on the Delta County Council. Ron Austin and Gerald Roberts will be unopposed in Districts A and B, respectively. For the at-large seat, petitions have been certified for Fay Mathews and Christopher Ryan. City clerk Jolene Nelson said a third petition has been received but can not be certified. That candidate has until Friday to cure his petition. The election will be conducted by mail; voters throughout the county can expect to receive their ballots the week of March 14.
didn’t have authority to grant access to the property. “At that time, we were unable to determine if the grow operation was in compliance or not, so no criminal investigation was conducted,” Sheriff McKee said. “It’s hard to say whether the [seized] marijuana was grown locally or was being transported for someone else,” he added. According to McKee, McElmury moved to the area from Cheyenne, Wyo. Nebraska is one of several neighboring states that has filed a lawsuit claiming harm from the significant amount of Colorado-sourced marijuana being transported across state lines. Those states say Colorado’s Amendment 64 is forcing them to dedicate time and resources to deal with a spike in felony cases. The lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s legal marijuana law is supported by six sheriffs in Colorado, including McKee. The lawsuit is working its way through the U.S. District Court.
Epic snowfall
Photo by Julie Mulford
Grand Mesa Lodge is reporting a total of 260 inches of snow for the season — which nearly buries this sign on Highway 65 near the Grand Mesa Visitor’s Center. More photos can be found on the lodge’s Facebook page.
BoCC states position on NF coal exemption BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer
On Jan. 18, the Delta County Commissioners ratified the county’s position on reinstating the North Fork Coal Mining Area Exemption to the Colorado Roadless Rule. The county had commented during the scoping period for the Forest Service’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS). The county “now strongly supports the proposed action (Alternative B) in the SDEIS to reinstate and North Fork Coal Mining Area Exception to the Colorado Roadless rule.” The commissioners’ comments were addressed to regional forester Daniel J. Jiron. District 3 Commissioner Mark Roeber said, “It is especially important for the commissioners to comment for the future of coal mining in this area.” The North Fork Coal Mining Exemption to the Colorado Roadless Rule had been vacated by a federal judge in Denver. That court ruled almost a year and a half ago that Forest Service approvals for expansion of Arch Coal’s lease at the West Elk Mine had not met requirements of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). So, in September of 2014, the federal district judge in Denver vacated (i.e. nullified) the North Fork Exemption which was essential for West
Elk’s planned expansion.The judge determined that the effects of “global warming,” said to be caused by the production and use of coal fuel, had not been adequately considered. The judge found that the North Fork Area Exemption, arrived at by a decade-long, multi-party, state and local negotiating process, contained specific deficiencies in the NEPA public process. Those deficiencies as stated by the Forest Service were: 1) failure to disclose greenhouse gas emissions from production; 2) failure to disclose greenhouse gas emissions from combustion; and 3) failure to address the “Powers” report (an attachment to a public comment letter) critical of assumptions about coal substitution. As a result, the Forest Service undertook to repair the defects discovered by the judge in the original NEPA process and wrote the SDEIS that the commissioners have now commented on. The commissioners’ expressed their satisfaction that the Forest Service SDEIS takes into consideration the economic importance of coal mining to the local economy. The BoCC stated, “Delta County clearly understands the situation the court mandate put the U.S. Forest Service in and commends the
Forest Service for including an analysis of the socio-economic impacts of coal mining in our county. “In addition, Delta County appreciates the FS clearly characterizing the anticipated economic benefits of the North Fork Coal Mining Area Exemption.” In a document attached to the SDEIS, the Forest Service stated, “Continued opportunities for coal leasing in the North Fork Coal Mining Area under Alternative’s B and C could result in a stable workforce for an additional 15 to 30 years, depending on production.” The BoCC noted, “We urge the Forest Service to ensure that the economic benefits are qualified so that they are discussed on an equal footing with the potential impacts.” The commissioners also added a note of caution on the Denver court ruling and its appeal to the Federal Social Cost of Carbon (FSCC) standards. The BoCC stated, in its comments, “The SDEIS was a very poor environment to employ the FSCC. It has been stated numerous times in several state and federal documents that the FSCC was not designed for use in NEPA documents or for state-level planning.” Commissioners went on to note that the North Fork Coal Mining Exemption Area “is NF EXEMPTION TO A3
Center for Mental Health plans to expand The Center for Mental Health is seeking a grant to renovate an unused portion of its existing building at 107 W. 11th Street in Delta. The City of Delta will act as the pass-through agency for the Community Development Block Grant. The Center for Mental Health has occupied half the building since its purchase in June 2007. The other half was leased to Mine Safety Health Administration, and has been vacant since MSHA moved out in 2012. To meet increased demand for behavioral health services, which has increased
37 percent in the last three years, the Center for Mental Health plans to renovate that half of the building. The project would add 6,176 square feet of usable space to include therapy offices, group rooms, an expanded peer program, and pre-wiring and preplumbing for potential future integrated care. The Delta clinic serves low to moderate income individuals residing within Delta and Delta County. During the last fiscal year, the clinic served 1,405 unduplicated clients — 53 percent from Delta and 47 percent from the county.