NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
GETTING KIDS OUTSIDE
SPORTS
GOOD TIMES
Nature Connection is removing barriers to outdoor recreation, B1
FALL SPORTS KICKOFF
Orchard City residents enjoy annual community gathering, C2
High school athletes are ready to tackle the competition, C6
DELTA COUNTY
AUGUST 24, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 34
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Tax losses are less than feared BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer
A fear held recently by county government officials, that the Bowie Mine shutdown and other factors would take over $500,000 from property tax revenues next year, has proven to be a fear largely unfounded. During a county department head budget meeting on Monday, assessor Debbie Griffith reported that the hit to county revenues from the Bowie closure and other economic setbacks will be “less than $100,000,” far less than originally thought. Bowie was the county’s biggest payer of property taxes until its closure. Pressed further, Griffith said the hit would be approximately $60,000, just as she reported to the county commissioners on Aug. 15 and as reported in the DCI last week. Griffith further fine tuned her estimate stating it would be a $62,000 decline. She explained to the other department heads at the session that large increases in state-assessed property values and increases in the assessed valuation of railroad property have softened the blow to the county. The final assessed valuation figures for the county are
certified in December. There was also discussion at Monday’s session of another big and unpredictable source of income to the county. Administrator Robbie LeValley reported that overall funding from the federal and state governments in four separate categories will probably be about equal to, or slightly less, than in 2015. The money comes to county government from state severance tax payments on minerals ($493,108 in 2015), from federal minerals leasing dollars ($367,820 in 2015), from a forest service program ($202,440 in 2015) and payment in lieu of taxes (PILT, $201,783 in 2015). Commissioner Doug Atchley noted, “We know that severance tax payments will go down this year and next.” Although severance tax and minerals leasing are expected to decline this year, those declines are expected to be offset by increases in the PILT payments, LeValley explained. The amounts of the payments are announced in late August. Monday’s discussion of those two issues was a headsup indicator of the county’s overall financial outlook for department heads as they prepare to submit their 2017 departmental budgets by mid-
September. Other budget issues discussed at Monday’s meeting
included: • The county commissioners intend to cover an 8 per-
Capturing the memories
cent increase in insurance premiums for county employees. COMMISSIONERS TO A3
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Sarah Esser snaps a photo of her two sons, Titus and Levi, before their first day of school at Lincoln Elementary School on Monday. Titus is in the second grade and Levi is in the fifth.
School board revises distribution policy BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The Delta County School Board has revised the policy that opened the door for religious materials to be distributed in the schools. The revised policy maintains the school district’s nondiscriminatory stance, instead targeting the amount of noncurricular material that will be permitted. Materials that are advertising an event or activity to which students are invited must be confined to an 8.5 x 11-inch flyer. All other materials which are acceptable under the policy may be viewed electronically on the school district’s website, but may not exceed three pages in length. That will put an end to the distribution of Gideon Bibles, which occurred districtwide last winter, as well as the atheist/freethinking brochures that were then allowed under the non-discriminatory policy. All dissemination will be restricted to the three-page limit. The details of electronic access are being handled by the school district’s administrative team. The system that’s already in place in Montrose and Mesa county school districts will serve as a starting point. The policy revisions have been under discussion for the past six months. At the August school board meeting,
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................B6 Back Page ................... D6 Business ........................ A8 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ............................ D3 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A5 Service Directory ........ D5 Sports .............................C6 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4
the revised policy was adopted by a 3-2 vote. Pete Blair and Ron Germann voted against the changes; Jill Jurca, Jan Tuin and Tammy Smith were in favor. “I support the board’s decision,” Blair said following the meeting. “I just think it’s going to be harder to get information out to our parents and students.” The turmoil over the distribution of religious materials in schools certainly detracted from the district’s primary focus, but Blair said he believes the new policy amounts to “overkill.” “The old policy should have been tweaked a bit,” he agreed, but he believes it’s impossible for any public school district to avoid controversy. “Now we’re overregulating.” At a work session held prior to the vote, school board members spent a great deal of time discussing how the policy will be implemented. “I had no problem with the old policy,” Tammy Smith, school board president, said this week. “I’m a firm believer that everybody has a right to their opinion and their beliefs, but in this day and age this [electronic] is a better way to go. I didn’t vote to change the policy because of anything that happened.” As before, all material must be approved by the school superintendent or building principal. Material that is obscene, vulgar, or
patently offensive is prohibited. The flyers can not be used to advertise a product or a service, nor can they be “inconsistent with or unrelated to the district’s mission and educational values.” By confining the flyer to a simple announcement of upcoming activities, from a church’s after-school program to peewee wrestling, the pol-
icy also removes school staff from the registration process. “The school doesn’t need to handle the paperwork,” Smith said. Superintendent Caryn Gibson said the district’s technology department is creating a “community” tab on the school district website, www.delta schools.com, where approved non-curricular material will
be available. “If it fits within our policy, an organization will be able to send us information that can be uploaded onto the school district website. Parents and students will have the option of opening that link,” she said. The policy, KHC and its administrative directive, KHC-R, can be viewed on the school district website under
Delta man held at gunpoint, knifepoint in ‘bad drug deal’ BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
A Delta man who was ordered, at gunpoint, to give a ride to his two attackers instead sped away in search of help shortly before midnight Aug. 8. The 58-year-old North Delta resident was spotted speeding south on Main Street and was pulled over by DPD Officer Everett Neil after he blew through a red light at the intersection of Highway 50 and 92. The victim told Officer Neil that two men who were known to him entered his home at 755 1600 Road without permission. He identified the two males as Matthew Luckey and Cody Charron. Words were exchanged, and when the argument escalated Luckey allegedly grabbed a shot-
gun belonging to the victim. Because he knew the shotgun was loaded, the victim stated he feared for his life. According to an arrest affidavit filed Aug. 9, Charron then held him at knifepoint while Luckey ransacked the house. When Luckey was finished, the arrest affidavit states, he held the victim at gunpoint, walked him out of the house, and instructed him to get into Luckey’s vehicle. The victim was told to drive Luckey and Charron to an undisclosed location. But as soon as the victim was behind the wheel of the vehicle, he locked the doors and drove away as fast as he could. During the altercation, the victim was struck in the mouth. After initial contact with the DPD, he drove himself to the hospital for treatment.
In the meantime, other DPD officers went in search of Luckey and Charron. Using information provided by the victim, DPD officers located both men at a trailer home at 1624 I Road. Officers also located the shotgun, glass pipes and plastic bags containing what appeared to be methampetamine. According to the arrest affidavit, Luckey told officers the victim was his drug dealer and the incident was the result of a “bad drug deal.” Luckey, 36, of Delta is charged with first degree burglary, third degree assault, menacing, false imprisonment and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. Charron, 39, of Montrose has been charged with first degree burglary, menacing and false imprisonment.
Sale correction
Text 2 register 2 vote
County office to be filled
The purchaser of the Reserve Champion Bred & Fed Market Swine was incorrectly identified in the Aug. 17 summary of the Junior Market Livestock Sale. The swine was purchased by the Windsors Apartments and J&K Handyman Services for $2,100. The winning exhibitor was Tawny Roberts, a member of the Mt. Lamborn 4-H Club.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office is offering yet another innovative method to access voter registration: texting. Eligible Coloradans can simply text the word “Colorado” or “CO” to “2Vote” (28683) on their smartphones, and then open the link to the SOS’ online voter registration and election information site. Coloradans can text to register, update their address, change their party affiliation, view their sample ballot 45 days before an election or check the status of their voted ballot. They can also get important dates and deadlines pertaining to Nov. 8 general election or future elections.
The Board of Delta County Commissioners is soliciting letters of interest for the position of county coroner. Kevin Lucy is resigning effective Sept. 2 and by state statute, the county commissioners are to appoint his replacement. The new county coroner would serve the remainder of the term until January 2019, and may run for election in the 2018 election cycle. Letters of interest should include qualifications, experience, education and commitment. Letters should be addressed to the Board of County Commissioners, 501 Palmer, Suite 227, Delta, CO 81416. Deadline for submitting letters is 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6.