Delta County Independent, Oct. 19, 2016

Page 1

NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

ENHANCING AG

NEW SHELTER EYED

Paonia food co-op, commercial kitchen fill a growing need, B3

SPORTS ON TO STATE

Funding animal control is a community effort, C1

DELTA COUNTY

Delta, Cedaredge softball teams triumph in regional play, B9 OCTOBER 19, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 42

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Commissioner candidates outline their positions the League of Women Voters and the Delta County Republican Women last week. The one-hour forum began with opening comments from each candidate. Don Suppes, a lifelong resident and local business owner, described himself as a fiscal conservative who gained valuable experience as mayor of Orchard City. “I always looked out for the best interest of the citizens and I plan to do that as a county commissioner,” he said. Travis Mills cited his “concrete, real working experience” in a bipartisan role with federal, state, county and city entities to revitalize economies. He said his vision is to create incentives to attract businesses, protect our water rights, boost ag tourism, pro-

BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Three candidates are hoping to bring an end to the Republican-dominated Delta County Board of County Commissioners. Two are Democrats who call themselves men of ideas; the third is an independent candidate who says he’s frustrated by the “status quo.” Democrat Jere Lowe is facing Republican incumbent Mark Roeber in the District 3 race. In District 2, incumbent Bruce Hovde is term limited. That leaves the race open to Democrat Travis Mills, Republican Don Suppes and Mark Eckhart, the independent candidate. All five shared the stage at a candidate forum hosted by

SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

2016 Achieve Blended Academy 7 Backpack Learning Academy 227

2015 Difference 7 201 -26

Cedaredge Elementary Cedaredge Middle Cedaredge High

371 200 267

355 202 267

16 -2 0

Garnet Mesa Elementary Lincoln Elementary Delta Academy/Applied Lrng Delta Middle Delta High Delta Opportunity

561 537 19 492 615 98

558 504 26 502 617 95

3 33 -7 -10 -2 3

Hotchkiss K-8 Hotchkiss High

380 190

399 205

-19 -15

Paonia Elementary Paonia Junior/Senior North Fork Montessori NF School Int. Studies Vision Charter Academy

198 228 148 37 449

205 227 150 25 446

-7 1 -2 12 3

TOTAL

5,024

DELTA SCHOOLS . . . . CEDAREDGE SCHOOLS HOTCHKISS SCHOOLS . PAONIA SCHOOLS . . . CRAWFORD SCHOOL. .

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3,005 . 838 . 570 . 463 . 148

School enrollment tops 5,000 students BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

School district enrollment topped 5,000 this year, an unexpected occurrence given the economic uncertainty in Delta County. In preparing the fiscal year budget, school district administrators anticipated a drop in enrollment of 100. Instead, the unofficial results for the October result indicate an increase of 32 — as measured in full-time equivalency, not number of

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ......................A11 Agriculture .....................B8 Back Page ................... D6 Business .......................A12 Church ............................B5 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness .....C10-12 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ................ A9-10 School Zone .................. A6 Sports ........................B9-12 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ..................B6-7

students. District leadership cautions the numbers will not be finalized until the first week of November. According to data presented at a recent legislative visit, enrollment in Delta County has not hit the 5,000 mark since 2012-13, when enrollment was pegged at 5,034. The “official” student count is the basis for state funding of $7,187 for each full-time student.

mote our unique agricultural exports to the Eastern Slope, support river development and promote the space to create initiative, all in a fiscally responsible manner. Jere Lowe operates an organic farm and an agriculture supply store. “When we first bought our property 10 1/2 years ago, I had no idea Delta County was one of the poorest counties in Colorado. How could it be? There’s simply no logical reason why Delta County shouldn’t be one of the most prosperous counties in Colorado due to its resources, our hardworking people and our can-do attitude.” Mark Eckhart is a former professional fireman who now owns and operates Long Haul Products, which manufactures folding sea kayaks and canoes to civilian and military users around the world. He is in his sixth year on the DMEA board of directors, which he says has given him experience in dealing with political issues. Mark Roeber is running for re-election. “As we transition to a new normal, I feel it will take a steady hand, conservative fiscal practices CANDIDATES TO A8

Pumpkin pickin’

Photo by Pat Sunderland

Hayden and Carson Rupp of Cedaredge pick out a couple of pumpkins after navigating the corn maze at Red Shed Produce on 1800 Road east of Delta.

DMEA proposes 2017 rate increase DMEA PRESS RELEASE

In January 2017, DeltaMontrose Electric Association (DMEA) is set to receive a 4.3 percent increase in wholesale power costs from Tri-State Generation and Transmission. This increase, coupled with the need to accurately recover the cooperative’s fixed costs, has resulted in the need to increase electric rates in the new year. “We cannot ignore the jump in wholesale power costs. Some years, we are able to absorb these increases, but if we hold rates steady for too long, we would be forced to introduce a large increase down the road. This would be a huge burden on our membership,” said DMEA CEO Jasen Bronec. As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, DMEA’s rates are designed to recover the cost of doing business. The energy charge — the rate per kilowatt hour — covers the costs of purchasing wholesale energy from Tri-State and the generation of local energy. The access fee, also known as the base charge, covers the cost of operating the cooperative and delivering power. These are considered fixed costs or costs that DMEA would experience regardless of the number of kilowatt hours used by members each month. Fixed costs include items such as system maintenance, bill process-

ing, equipment and employee wages. “The proposed increases reflect our need to pass on Tri-State’s increase and more accurately collect the amount of revenue needed from each rate class. As a cooperative, it is important that we collect the correct amount of revenue from each rate class in order

to cover the fixed costs associated with serving each rate class,” said Bronec. Overall, the changes amount to an approximate 3.61 percent increase. DMEA’s board of directors will take comment on the proposed rates at its regularly scheduled November board meeting RATE INCREASE TO A3

Counters tally truck route traffic BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Traffic counters on Confluence Drive — the city’s alternate truck route — have been tallying how many vehicles are using that route. At a recent city council meeting, utilities/public works director Steve Glammeyer said the traffic counters are spaced in a way that also indicates the type of vehicles on the roadway. The data is needed to petition for designation of Confluence Drive as the hazardous materials route, Glammeyer explained. The information will be reviewed by the Colorado Department of Transportation, then passed to the Colorado State Patrol for permitting. The truck route is already

approved for oversize transport, Glammeyer said. “While you may see oversize trucks on Main Street, those vehicles should be using the truck route,” he explained. “We continue to upgrade our efforts to get the trucks off Main Street,” he added. He briefly discussed signage and efforts to upgrade GPS navigation systems used by motorists. “Is this a concrete step toward a jurisdictional swap?” asked one council member, referring to a possible swap of Confluence Drive with Highway 50 through downtown Delta. Although the truck route has been built to CDOT standards, Glammeyer said, a swap is not being pursued at this time.

Ballots are in the mail

DPD to take unwanted meds

Ballots for the November election were mailed Monday, the Delta County clerk and recorder’s office reports. Ballots can be returned by mail or placed in the 24-hour drop box at the North Fork Annex in Hotchkiss or in front of the Delta County Courthouse in Delta. Beginning Oct. 31, a new 24-hour drop box will be available at the Cedaredge Library. “We would encourage voters to mail in or drop off their mail ballots to avoid long lines on Election Day as we only have three voter service and polling centers in Delta County,” said Rene Loy Maas, chief deputy clerk. A 47-cent stamp is required for mailed ballots. If you have not received your ballot by Oct. 26, contact the elections office at 874-2153 or 874-5903. For those who prefer to vote in person, the courthouse polling center opens Oct. 24. Additional information can be found in the “Notice of General Mail Ballot Election” on page A10 of this issue.

The Delta Police Department will be participating in the DEA National Drug Take Back Event XII scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The dropoff location is 215 W. 5th Street, Delta. Due to storage space DPD will not be accepting any medication dropoffs prior to the event. Specific items that can not be accepted include 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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