NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
AMERICAN IDOL HOPEFUL
Crawford couple are a big part of Jeneve Mitchell’s support system, B1
SPORTS
CROCKPOTS FOR CRITTERS
43 AREA QUALIFIERS
Fundraiser moves animal shelter a step closer to reality, C1
DELTA COUNTY
State wrestling tournament begins Thursday in Denver, C6-8 FEBRUARY 17, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 7
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Precinct caucuses take place March 1 BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Precinct caucuses will be held Tuesday, March 1, at 7 p.m. Locations for both the Republican and Democratic parties can be found below. A map of precinct boundaries is located at www.deltacounty. com. According to the League of Women Voters, you can vote at your caucus when you: • Have been a resident of the precinct in which you live for 30 days, • Have registered to vote no later than 29 days before the caucus, and • Have been affiliated with the party holding the caucus at least two months before the caucus. At the caucuses, delegates will be nominated for the
Republican county assembly March 19 at the Delta Performing Arts Center and for the Democratic county assembly March 12 at Hotchkiss High School. If you are elected as a delegate at your caucus, you are expected to attend the assembly. If you are elected as an alternate, you are asked to attend in case delegates don’t show. At the assembly, you will vote on various issues, including candidates for county office. Each of the four Republican candidates for county commissioner, Districts 2 and 3, must receive 30 percent of the votes to move forward to the Republican primary. The other option is to petition on. Delegates will also be selected for the state conventions.
Delta County Caucus Locations March 1 • 7 p.m. DEMOCRATIC LOCATIONS Precincts 1-10 Delta-Montrose Technical College Precincts 11-14 Cedaredge Elementary School Precincts 15-16 Hotchkiss K-8 School Precinct 17 Crawford Elementary School Precincts 18-20 Paonia Campus Tech College Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Precinct 3 Precinct 4 Precinct 5 Precinct 6 Precinct 7 Precinct 8 Precinct 9 Precinct 10 Precinct 11 Precinct 12 Precinct 13 Precinct 14 Precinct 15 Precinct 16 Precinct 17 Precinct 18 Precinct 19 Precinct 20
REPUBLICAN LOCATIONS Delta First Assembly of God Bill Heddles Recreation Center Bill Heddles Recreation Center Garnet Mesa Elementary School Garnet Mesa Elementary School Garnet Mesa Elementary School Garnet Mesa Elementary School Orchard City Town Hall Eckert Presbyterian Church Eckert Presbyterian Church Cedaredge Middle School Cedaredge Middle School Cedaredge Middle School Cedaredge Middle School Rogers Mesa Community Center Hotchkiss Memorial Hall - Main Ballroom Crawford Town Hall Paonia Middle School Paonia Middle School Paonia Middle School
Visit deltacounty.com for caucus addresses and precinct boundaries.
Delta chamber seeks award nominations BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The Delta Area Chamber of Commerce will host its annual banquet Saturday, March 12, at Bill Heddles Recreation Center. In addition to dinner and business meeting, awards will be presented to Business of the Year, Non-Profit of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Nomination forms can be found on the chamber’s website, www.deltacolorado. org, under the events tab. The Business of the Year award will recognize longstanding contributions to the community and significant community efforts. The winning business must be in good standing with the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce and
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Agriculture .....................C3 Back Page ................... D8 Business .......................A10 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness .........B6-8 Legals ......................... D2-3 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A8 School Zone .................. A5 Sports ..........................C6-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ................. D5-6
contribute to the economic growth, stability and improvement of the Delta area. The Non-Profit of the Year must also be in good standing with the chamber, as well as loyal and dedicated to the community at large. The Volunteer of the Year award will recognize an individual who unselfishly volunteers his or her time outside the work place. Nomination forms must be returned to the chamber prior to Friday, Feb. 26. Nominations will be reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce. Finalists will be contacted to assure they’re able to attend the event.
Photo by Pat Sunderland
A touch of spring
With three feet of snow on the ground at her home in Crawford, Meredith Mazutis brought her menagerie to the dog park at Confluence Park for training. Several other owners had the same idea — a quick count showed 12 dogs within the fenced dog park, with more walking the trails as their owners enjoyed the warm late-winter weather. Temperatures in the valleys are expected to remain in the low to mid-50s throughout the week.
Community has a say at 50J listening sessions BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The community meetings hosted by Delta County Joint School District #50 provided a “snapshot” of the district’s strengths and challenges, but facilitator Randy Black cautioned the school board against identifying outcomes without broader input. Black, the director of member relations for the Colorado Association of School Boards, facilitated community meetings in Delta, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss and Paonia, worked with a representative group of high school students, and met with the school board late last week to wrap up the listening sessions. “Everyone had a voice,” superintendent Caryn Gibson told the board members. There is still an opportunity to weigh in, by completing the survey on the school district website, www.deltaschools. com. “People connected,” Black said. “That’s the wealth of what you did.” But it’s important for the board to continue listening, Black said, observing staff made up about 75 percent of the participants overall — although many of them are also parents. How do you reach those who are “disconnected,” who probably don’t have children in school? That’s the challenge — to find where people are gathering and connect to them, Black said. At each listening session, participants were asked to identify the school district’s strengths, challenges, fiscal priorities and communication
Late starts approved In the wake of the Feb. 1 snowstorm, Delta County Joint School District #50 has adopted a late start policy for the future. The school district has fielded numerous questions about why school was not cancelled that day, particularly in the hardhit areas of Crawford and Paonia. Superintendent Caryn Gibson explains that very early the morning of Feb. 1, bus garage managers, bus drivers, and district administrators were driving the roads to assess conditions. No serious concerns were reported at that time, but the snow continued to pile up. To ensure the safety of young drivers in the future, a two-hour late start may be implemented. Gibson added that no student who missed school or was late on Feb. 1 was penalized.
issues. In groups of three or four, the participants then pulled the “main thing” from the four key topics. The “main thing” at nearly every meeting was people. Delta County has a very “connected culture,” Black said, with dedicated employees, supportive families and caring communities. There’s a massive root system here that affirms the school district’s mission statement — “Caring, challenging, learning — every student, every day!” Adult participants voiced a strong desire to support the staff with competitive salaries, resources and opportunities for professional development. Teacher turnover/retention is another concern. At Paonia, a “brain drain” has
been observed, where teachers transfer to the district’s larger schools where they can teach — and prepare — for several sections of the same class, as opposed to seven preps for seven class periods. The economy was another hot topic. Per-pupil funding is the district’s largest source of revenue, so when enrollment drops, the budget gets tighter. Participants realize it’s difficult to increase staff salaries when student enrollment is declining, but also recognize salaries are not competitive with neighboring school districts. The need to provide options for a diverse student population was voiced frequently, particularly at the student LISTENING SESSIONS TO A3
Man fined for drifting pesticides BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Delta District Court has imposed a $7,500 fine and two days in jail on a Hotchkiss man accused of fogging mosquitoes within 150 feet of neighboring property. “We have been fighting to protect our health from renegade pesticide spraying for over two years,” said Rosemary Bilchak, one of two codefendants in the case. She established an organic farm with Gordon MacAlpine, who has a rare form of leukemia, after evidence from his oncologist suggested that pes-
ticide exposures are immunosuppressive. They obtained a permanent injunction against James Hopper in 2012, which they say Hopper violated. Randall Weiner, an environmental lawyer from Boulder, prosecuted the contempt violation on behalf of the Bilchak family. He noted this may be the first time a jail sentence has been imposed for violation of pesticide spray rules. Hopper was represented by attorney Matthew Weeber. Two additional findings of punitive contempt for spraying pesticides in August 2012 were set aside.
Dems plan annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner
The Delta County Democratic Party announces the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, to be held Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Fireside Inn, 820 Highway 92, Delta. State Representative Crisanta Duran, House Majority Leader, will be the keynote speaker. The dinner is the largest social event and fundraiser of the year, and kicks off a full agenda of events for 2016. Representative Duran is the first Latina House Majority Leader, and the 2016 Colorado Democratic Party “Rising Star” award honoree. She is a sixth-generation Coloradan, serving
her third term in the House of Representatives from District 5 in Central Denver. The Delta High School Young Democrats are sponsoring a silent auction, with proceeds to be applied to their upcoming legislative trip to Denver. Representative Millie Hamner, District 61, and State Senator Kerry Donovan, District 5, will be attending the event. For reservations, or for more information, contact Anne Every, 970-5274159 or eaevery@gmail.com before Feb. 22.