Delta County Independent, April 13, 2016

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Final election results are pending in Paonia and Crawford, B1

MUSIC TO THE EARS

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT

Spring

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CHS musicians meet funding goal for Washington, D.C., trip, C1

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HOME IMPROVEMENT Spring into action around your home and yard, Inside

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DELTA COUNTY

APRIL 13, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 15

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Spring Expo set for this weekend BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Over the years, the spring home show sponsored by the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce has broadened its appeal to vendors beyond the traditional areas of construction, remodeling and landscaping. The show has gained footing with businesses offering everything from financial services to home décor. For that reason, the chamber decided the show should have a new name that reflects a broad range of merchandise and services — a name like “Spring Expo.” The concept remains the same — the event will feature booths, giveaways, food and door prizes. And yes, you’ll still find lots of ideas for your yard and home. Among the giveaways is an 8x10-foot composite deck from Rocky Mountain Rebar, sheet sets from Mattress Brothers and a solar phone charger from Empowered Energy.

“You’ll definitely want to come check out this year’s expo,” said Holly Piatek, the chamber’s executive director. The show will be held at Bill Heddles Recreation Center April 15 and 16. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $2 per person. A map of the 2016 exhibitors — indoors and out — can be found in a special supplement in this week’s edition of the Delta County Independent. Booths were still being allocated at press time, so the chamber advises there may be some changes. Leading up to the Spring Expo is the Small Business Resource Conference and Expo, co-sponsored by the chamber, Region 10 and Bank of Colorado. The event will be held Thursday, April 14, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Delta Performing Arts Center. See the related article on page A3 for more information.

A race against the rain

Photo by Pat Sunderland

Under the shelter of an umbrella, City of Delta employee Gloria Good clocks the finishing times for two runners in the city’s annual Spring into Shape 5k run/walk. Participants were a bit wet when they crossed the finish line, but a few sprinkles didn’t deter 77 men, women, children and a few dogs from participating. Top male runner was Ben Quigley; the top female runner was Sally O’Connor.

Elections roll on with hospital board BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Tuesday, May 3, is Election Day for special districts of all types, but in Delta County only the hospital has more candidates than seats to be filled on its board of directors. Elections for the North Fork Pool, Park and Recreation District, the county’s five fire districts and its two mosquito control districts have been cancelled. Board vacancies were declared filled when the number of vacant seats equaled the number of candidates. In some cases, appointments will be necessary to fill vacancies. For the hospital board election, all active voters in Delta County will receive ballots. There are two open seats and

three candidates — Jean Ceriani, David Lane and Curtis McCrackin. Ballots will be mailed the week of April 11. They must be returned by 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, either by mail or in person at the county courthouse or the North Fork Annex in Hotchkiss. The five-member hospital board is currently comprised of David Lane, board chairman; Bill Hellman, John Breitnauer, Jim Briscoe and Jeffrey Berkosky. Dr. Berkosky recently resigned from the board, citing a conflict of interest since his practice, Internal Medicine Associates, is operated by the hospital. John Breitnauer is term limited and will not be seeking re-election.

Voter turnout falls short of 20% in Delta BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

The city council race in Delta failed to generate much interest among voters. Of the city’s 5,323 registered voters, 1,046 returned ballots — a turnout of 19.65 percent that fell well below other municipalities in Delta County. County election supervisor Rene Loy Maas provided the following voter tallies. The number of returned ballots is followed by the number of registered voters for each municipality, with the resulting percentage for the April 5 election: Hotchkiss, 291/610, 47.70% Crawford, 138/275, 50.18% Cedaredge, 537/1619, 33.17%

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................... D8 Business ........................ A8 Church ............................C4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone ................B7-8 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................C5-6 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ................. D5-6 Volunteer Week ........ B5-7

Orchard City, 772/2247, 34.36% Paonia, 520/1153, 45.10% Delta voters were asked to select three councilmembers. Ron Austin and Gerald Roberts were unopposed, garnering 827 and 820 votes, respectively. For the at-large seat, Wilford “Fay” Mathews picked up 380 votes, compared to 570 for Christopher Ryan. Austin, Roberts and Ryan will be sworn into office at the April 19 council meeting. Results of the municipal elections in Hotchkiss, Crawford and Paonia can be found on page B1. Orchard City and Cedaredge results are on page C1, in the Surface Creek section of this week’s DCI.

So while there are actually three vacancies on the board, Dr. Berkosky’s seat will be filled by appointment. Electors will select the other two board members. There are no representative districts; board members serve at large. David Lane previously served two terms on the hospital board. Hospital bylaws require that term-limited board members sit out for two years before again seeking election to the board. Lane allowed that time to pass, and in 2012 was again seated on the board. As he completes his fouryear term, he says his financial background, his previous experience and his desire to continue doing the right thing for the hospital make him a qualified candidate for the board. Lane is a certified public acountant but has been interested in medicine since he served in the military medical corps 44 years ago. “The medical field is an interest of mine, and one I don’t get to otherwise pursue as an accountant.” Of primary importance is ensuring the hospital grows along with the community. That may mean expansion of the facility itself, as

Jean Ceriani

well as adding services and physicians. “As the population ages, we have to change our thought process,” he said. “We need to look at the needs of the community and try to address those needs, much as we did with the addition of an oncologist several years ago. “Additionally,” he said, “the Affordable Care Act has placed many demands on the medical profession, including billing procedures, health wellness incentives, medical records recording procedures, and the list goes on.” Curtis McCrackin has owned and operated small businesses for over 25 years, and has helped his wife with her small surgery practice for nearly 20 years. That experience, plus attendance at hospital board meetings for twoplus years, has provided him with a working knowledge of the business of medicine. When asked about the biggest challenge facing rural hospitals, he responded: “Without a doubt the biggest challenge facing any hospital is that Medicare in 2018 will change the payment method for physicians and hospitals. We will move from a (FFS) fee for service model to a (VBS) value-based system. This is part of the Afford-

David Lane

Curtis McCrackin

able Care Act and is designed to capture billions of dollars in savings from health care. “One should ask themselves where will the money come from? Hospitals and physicians will be forced to provide care based on Medicare’s desire to pay for care. As always, the private payers will follow Medicare’s lead to cut their costs to provide care. This could have a significant impact on the hospital’s bottom line. “I think DCMH is going to need to focus on its own business model. What services can we provide to the community? What options are available in working inside the new payment model? What should we not be doing? The next few years will be difficult for anyone who provides care in medicine.” Jean Ceriani has been involved in the delivery of health care for more than 35 years. She explains, “My entry into medicine was in 1977, when I attended the LPN program at the Delta-Montrose Vocational College, with my first nursing job at the ‘new’ DCMH (now the oncology and classroom center). This gave me a way to work, continue my education and be a single mother. After leaving Delta County, I worked in hospitals, clinics, operating rooms and finally in 1990 graduated from the University of Utah`s physician assistant program. She and her husband, a retired orthopedic surgeon, decided to work with the underserved population in Gallup, N.M. After nine years, they happily returned to Delta County and HOSPITAL BOARD TO A3

Morning Buzz

Drug Take Back set for April 30

The Delta Area Chamber of Commerce hosts “Morning Buzz” once a quarter. For the second quarter, guests will be David Torgler, Delta city manager, and Trish Thibodo with Delta County Economic Development, to discuss what’s new with the City of Delta’s economic development effort. Their conversation will focus on leveraging our local assets, building on our county’s natural strengths and encouraging future prosperity. Morning Buzz is held in the Fellowship Hall of Delta United Methodist Church, 477 Meeker Street, and begins at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 19. The event is free and open to all. More information is available from the chamber at 874-8616.

The Delta Police Department, the Delta County Sheriff’s Office and the Hotchkiss Marshal’s Office will be participating in the DEA National Drug Take Back Event XI scheduled Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Delta PD will have a dropoff location at the police department at 215 W. 5th Street in Delta and the sheriff’s and marshal’s offices will be doing a joint event at the Hotchkiss Town Hall at 276 W. Main Street in Hotchkiss. There are specific items that will not be accepted, such as needles and sharps, mercury (thermometers), oxygen containers, chemotherapy/radioactive substances, pressurized canisters, aerosols and illicit drugs. The program is designed for anonymity and the DEA asks that all personal information be removed or no longer readable on all containers. For further information or to locate other dropoff sites visit www.dea. gov.


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