NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
SEEKING A NEW PURPOSE
SPORTS
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Coalition invites ideas for Rogers Mesa agricultural site, B1
MOVING UP IN THE POLLS
Community professionals share their experiences at CMS, C1
Paonia boys’ basketball team undefeated in league, B7
DELTA COUNTY
FEBRUARY 3, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 5
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
USFS expands headquarters search BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer
The U.S. Forest Service is expanding its search in Delta for a new headquarters. Scott Armentrout, GMUG forest supervisor, in a report to the county commissioners on Monday, said the agency’s search area for a new home now extends north from the Delta-Montrose Technical College to the Gunnison River. East and west boundaries are approximately one block on either side of Main Street. The previous search area had been focused in the Highway 50 corridor south of 1600 Road. The agency wants to remain within the highway corridor to provide convenient public access, Armentrout said. A map of the expanded area can be viewed at www.fs.usda. gov/gmug. Announcement of the expanded search area has already generated interest, Armentrout reported. No final decision on location has been made. The agency is considering lease of existing property or possibly a “build-to-suit” deal. A 15-year lease agreement is currently proposed. According to a press release issued last week, “The agency would like to remain located in the Delta area to provide continued customer service to its stakeholders and economic support to the community.” Armentrout and Levi Broyles, Paonia district ranger, also reported: • The long-awaited environmental impact statement
on the GMUG’s spruce beetle program is expected for release soon — perhaps this week. It will recommend 60,000 acres of commercial timber harvest and sale along with another 60,000 acres of various restoration treatment. Following release of the EIS there will be a 45-day objection period. Armentrout said, “We expect to reach a 25-year high in timber production.” The spruce beetle is still most heavily concentrated south of Delta County where 100 percentkill stands of spruce can be found. The spruce beetle continues migrating north into the local GMUG. • There were many comments on the recently completed Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the North Fork Area Coal exemption and the Colorado Roadless Rule (DCI, Jan. 27.) Depending on how comments are counted, up to 300,000 comments were received. But those high numbers mask duplicate comments, form letters and petition signatures. Broyles said there were actually about 100,000 comments considered “unique,” and only 6,000 to 7,000 considered “distinct and non-replicated.” The agency hopes to be able to issue a lease modification decision on the West Elk’s application by June. • Visitor use is “very high” across the forest in all seasons of the year, Armentrout stated. • Petrox and SG Interests are among the companies producing activity in miner-
als exploration and development on the GMUG. Activity is mostly in the extreme
On Jan. 28, the Delta County Sheriff ’s Office, with the assistance of Delta Police, Cedaredge Police and the 7th Judicial Drug Task Force, executed a search warrant on two homes located at 821 Grand Avenue and 821 1/2 Grand Avenue in the city of Delta. Two individuals, Albert Romero, 26, and Alejandra Moews, 26, were arrested on arrest warrants related to the search. Other arrests are pending. The arrests were the result of a Delta County investigation into a home invasion that took place in Cedaredge. Romero and Meows were charged with first degree burglary, a class 3 felony; aggravated robbery, a class 3 felony; menacing, a class 5 felony; and violation of bail bond conditions, a class 6 felony. It’s alleged that Romero, Meows and two other individuals entered a home in Cedaredge on Jan. 21. They confronted the homeowner, and after physically assaulting him stole several items from his home. The homeowner was treated at Delta
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Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................C6 Back Page ................... D6 Business ........................ A8 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ............................ D3 North Fork Times ........B1-5 Obituaries .................. A5-6 School Zone ...................B6 Service Directory ........ D5 Sports ..........................B7-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4
County Memorial Hospital the following day for injuries he suffered. Also on Jan. 21, these individuals allegedly stopped at a residence in Eckert where they stole a mini bike from the homeowner’s yard. On Jan. 23, Moews was arrested in Durango for possession of methamphetamine as well as introduction of contraband into the La Plata County Jail. Alejandra bonded out of La Plata County jail and returned to Delta just hours before she was arrested again for the above mentioned crimes. Romero was out on bond for numerous crimes allegedly committed in Delta, Montrose and Summit counties. This case is still under investigation; more arrests are pending.
Moews
Romero
Divide” area. “There is activity, for sure,” Armentrout said.
Photo by Tamie Meck
American Idol hopeful
American Idol contestant Jeneve Rose Mitchell poses with parents Jenny and Tim Mitchell at her Jan. 24 hometown sendoff party at the Old Mad Dog Cafe in Crawford. Mitchell, 15, cleared Rounds 1 and 2 of the Hollywood auditions last week. She will enter Round 3 of the farewell season this Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m., on Fox. Round 4 auditions are scheduled for Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Early release days dropped from 2016-17 school calendar BY PAT SUNDERLAND
Cedaredge homeowner assaulted; two arrested
east part of Delta County, into Gunnison County, and also in the disputed “Thompson
Managing Editor
A new school calendar for 2016-17 eliminates early release days and adds two professional development/ work days for teachers. The calendar formally adopted by the Delta County Board of Education in January is the result of a collaborative effort spearheaded by Marty Rover, a Delta High School teacher who is pursuing an advanced degree and chose the calendar as the focus of a research project for a leadership course. The project started with eight options, which were narrowed to four by a districtwide calendar committee. The four options were presented in a survey to staff members, students and parents. In a presentation to the Delta County School Board, Rover explained how he started at the end of the school year, which then determined when school should start. This year, there’s an entire week between the last day of school on May 20 and Memorial Day on May 30. Extending the school year to the Friday preceding Memorial Day would move the start of school later in August. That puts the first day of school on Aug. 22, and the last on May 26, 2017. It’s rec-
ommended that Friday, May 26, be a half day for students, to give teachers the afternoon to finalize grades and check out, erasing the need for them to return to school the day after the holiday. The calendar will include the typical weeklong October, February and April breaks, although the February and April breaks will be shifted a week — the February break to coincide with Presidents’ Day (Feb. 20) and the April break to maintain the six-week spacing. Those breaks are considered one of the school district’s biggest recruiting tools for new teachers. There’s a three-day break at Thanksgiving, and two full weeks for Christmas and New Year’s. Students will have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off on Jan. 16, which will be a professional development day for staff. The additional professional development days are contingent on the 2016-17 budget being able to support the added expense. Superintendent Caryn Gibson said teachers’ salaries are divided by the number of days they work to determine the bump in salary each will receive for the additional days of work.The increase will make teacher salaries more competitive with neighboring districts, a priority for both
school administrators and board members. Rover said teachers just want reassurance the pay for additional work days won’t replace step increases. “Ideally, teachers would get both,” Rover said. The early release days were eliminated because by the time teachers travel to a central location for professional development, there’s not a lot of time left in the afternoon. Plus, the five early release days have been problematic for working parents and student athletes. There’s one day in the fall when elementary students will be off, but middle and high school students will attend school as usual. That day is intended to give the elementary teachers extra time to prepare and hold parent-teacher conferences. The calendar also includes one flex day, which building principals can use at their discretion. Instructional days total 167 for elementary students and 168 for middle/high school students, which Gibson said meets Colorado Department of Education requirements. As proposed, teachers will work 177 days. The same model was adopted for 2017-18 and 2018-19. All three calendars can be viewed and downloaded on the school district’s webite.
Roeber to run
Input welcomed
Airport improvements
District 3 County Commissioner Mark Roeber has told the DCI he is filing the required paperwork and announcing his intention to run for a second term as county commissioner. Roeber said he planned to make the official announcement at the Tuesday, Feb. 2, meeting of the Delta County Republican Central Committee. That official announcement date was too late for coverage in this week’s DCI.
Delta County Joint School District #50 invites input from students, parents, taxpayers and staff members during a series of community meetings to be conducted next week. The meetings will be facilitated by Randy Black, director of member relations for the Colorado Association of School Boards. All meetings begin at 6 p.m. and are scheduled at the Delta Center for the Performing Arts Monday, Feb. 8, at Paonia High School on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Cedaredge High School on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and at Hotchkiss High School on Thursday, Feb. 11. There will also be a session specifically seeking student input.
A GPS (instrument approach) landing system recently went into operation at Blake. The high-tech navigation gear is a major upgrade for operations and is the result of five years of planning, acquisition and installation, according to Blake Field managers Mark and Cheryl Husmann. During a recent report to the county commissioners, the Husmanns said there’s a list of about 20 people who want to rent or lease hangar space which is currently unavailable at Blake. On another note, the price of aviation fuel is $4.45 per gallon and has come down slightly, but not as much as automotive fuel.