NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
BREAKING NEWS
Delta County Memorial Hospital breaks ground in Hotchkiss, B1
SPORTS
SALUTE TO VETERANS School, community events commemorate Veterans Day, C1
DELTA COUNTY
COMPETITION HEATS UP Volleyball teams head to state, 3 schools host football playoffs, C6-8
NOVEMBER 9, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 45
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INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Police chase ends in Delta County BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Alexander Fedak, 29, of Clifton is under arrest and his pregnant girlfriend is dead after a shooting incident in Clifton Sunday. Fedak was arrested southeast of Delta after leading Colorado State Patrol troopers on a chase through the city. His girlfriend, Shandie Case, 25, was located inside the vehicle, the victim of an apparent gunshot wound to her head. While the Mesa County Sheriff ’s Office is handling the investigation into the shooting, the Colorado State Patrol has provided information about the pursuit in an arrest affidavit filed in Mesa County Court. According to the arrest affidavit, Fedak’s vehicle was aired as a BOLO, or “be on the lookout,” due to its possible involvement in a shooting. Master Trooper Garrett Reich and Trooper Scott Gardner were wrapping up a traffic stop on the shoulder of Highway 50 near milepost 59 when they observed Fedak’s truck approaching at a high rate of
speed. The vehicle was clocked at 93 mph as it passed the trooper’s car. Corporal Chris Sandoval was also in the area, and both CSP vehicles proceeded to attempt to stop the truck. Instead of pulling over, Fedak increased his speed. As the pursuit neared city limits, officers from the Delta Police Department attempted to use stop sticks at two different locations. According to the arrest affidavit, Fedak was able to avoid the stop sticks by driving into oncoming lanes of traffic or onto the shoulder. As Fedak sped through Delta, he ran multiple red lights. At the same time, he was on the phone with Mesa County 911. According to the arrest affidavit, he said there was a female passenger in the vehicle but “she was beyond help.” The pursuit continued through Delta and westbound on Highway 50 toward Olathe. Fedak bypassed stop sticks near milepost 75 by traveling through a paved center median and into oncoming traffic. POLICE CHASE TO A3
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Election Day
Teresa James studies her ballot before voting in a mock election at Delta High School. The election was conducted by Tonya MacKendrick’s AP government class. Early Tuesday, Trump held a strong lead over Hillary Clinton. A student who voted for Hillary said the country can’t move forward with someone like Trump, who thinks 50 years in the past, referring to his comments on women and minorities. Another student agreed that Trump has said some rude things, but felt Trump is slightly more trustworthy than Clinton. As a successful businessman, Trump also has proven he can back up his claims. All students expressed interest in local, state and national issues on the ballot, and six said they are registered voters.
BoCC picks master plan rewrite consultant BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer
The Board of County Commissioners Monday selected planning consultant RPI of Durango to lead the upcoming county master plan rewrite process. The rewrite will possibly include changes to the “county land use code,” a term applied collectively to county regulations for subdivisions, specific developments and septic systems, according to county staff. Responding to questions from commissioners, county administrator Robbie LeValley explained that the master plan is a document for which the county planning commission has responsibility. Delta County’s master plan is considered by officials to be an advisory document. On the other hand, the county’s suite of land use codes consists of official regulations and ordinances that the county commissioners have full discretion over. They have final say about any changes proposed to them. Commissioners had three proposals from three planning consulting firms to choose from — the RPI group as well as bids from Alpine/SE Group of Ridgway and CTA, a consultancy that is located on the Front Range. The bid from RPI of Durango that commissioners chose was the highest of the three: $98,500. The Alpine/SE bid was $74,980, and the CTA bid $78,530 for the project. LeValley said the three proposals were evaluated by her-
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Agriculture .....................C5 Back Page ................... D8 Business .......................A10 Church ............................C4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A8 School Zone ............ B5, B8 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................C6-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ................. D5-6
self, by county planner Kelly Yeager, county attorney Jin Ho Pack and Elyse Ackerman, regional manager for DOLA. To aid in making their decision, the commisssioners were given an evaluation of the three proposals from an AckermanCasselberry memo emailed to LeValley last month. About RPI she noted the following advantages: “They have familiarity with Delta County and are realistic about the challenges that will be encountered with this update ... They have done several county plans including counties with very diverse communities within them ... I think [their proposal] falls short on how to reach out to those that are not going to come to formal or informal meetings ... I would suggest questioning them and asking them to brainstorm strategies for getting input/buy-in from all segments of the community ... My major concern about [their proposal] is the budget. It’s a little higher than we estimated.” LeValley said DOLA will pay up to $50,000 of the consultant’s cost. Ackerman’s evaluation also included a comment about the “land use code” element of the rewrite. She states, “The land use code road map [RPI proposes] is an excellent addition and will really help lay a foundation for updating codes and confirming a final direction for the code update.” LeValley said AckermanCassleberry has considerable experience working with the RPI group.
Commissioner Doug Atchley noted that the RPI bid “seems like a lot of money. Does the board have input on the final [version of] the master plan?” LeValley replied, “The master plan is a product of the planning commission.” She added, “The BoCC has significant input on the land use code.” Commissioner Mark Roe-
ber moved to award the work to RPI saying, “We want it to be done right. We have $50,000 from DOLA to cover costs.” Atchley seconded the motion while noting that the county can always decide to stay with its current master plan which was adopted in 1996. “Let’s see what kind of a [master plan] product we get.
That will be a lot of ‘see’ for $100,000,” Atchley remarked. The board approved Roeber’s motion to accept the RPI bid on a 3-0 vote LeValley said the rewrite process could last through most of 2017. She said a schedule of public meetings in the re-write process will be developed and released when completed.
School district launches third series of listening sessions BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The first of four community forums was hosted by Delta County Joint School District Monday in Delta. On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the school district will hear from the Paonia community with a session that starts at 6 p.m. at Paonia Junior-Senior High School. Next is a gathering in the gym at Cedaredge Elementary School Tuesday, Nov. 15, again at 6 p.m. The series wraps up Wednesday, Nov. 16, with a 6 p.m. meeting at Hotchkiss High School. Superintendent Caryn Gibson opened the listening session with information about the school district. She shared the common threads that have run through past conversations with community members. Delta County communities take a great deal of pride in their schools, she said. They appreciate school district staff and believe they
should be compensated appropriately. As a result of that support, Gibson said the district’s licensed professionals received a salary increase of roughly 4 percent and two additional days of paid professional development. Over the past three years of listening, the school district has heard that community members want the schools to provide a quality environment and opportunities that meet students’ needs. They also want their rural schools to offer the same options as more urban schools they may have moved from. A short video, “Success in the New Economy,” which explores the “misalignment between education and our workforce” was shown. The video presents data showing that the new economy is as much about acquiring the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for in-demand occupations as it is to be well
educated. The question, then, is how to prepare Delta County students with the technical training and skills they need to be successful in whatever career they choose. After the video, participants broke into five groups for a “thought exchange” with five questions driving the discussion: • What is the greatest opportunity that Delta County School District and its schools/communities have in moving forward in the coming one to three years? How do you think DCSD should approach this opportunity? • What classes/experiences should our schools be offering, particularly at the high school level, in your opinion. This can include classes currently being offered or those not available. • In trying to bring additional families and businesses into Delta County, what are LISTENING SESSIONS TO A3
Elks, DMS honor veterans
Parade applications are available
Delta Elks will host a free luncheon for all military veterans and spouses and those currently serving our country. Please come and enjoy a great meal and be honored for your service to our country. Lunch will be served in the dining room of the Delta Elks Lodge from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Prior to lunch, at 10:30 a.m., Garnet Mesa third graders will perform songs of America upstairs in the lodge room. The Del-Rose Chorus will perform at about 11:30 a.m. At 2 p.m., Delta Middle School invites all former and current servicemen and women and their families to attend a Veterans Day assembly at the Delta Center for Performing Arts, 822 Grand Avenue. A brief reception will follow.
Applications for the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Parade of Lights are available at the chamber office, 3rd and Main, or online at www.deltacolorado.org. The registration deadline is Nov. 22. Volunteers of America is sponsoring the event, so there is no charge for entries. The year’s parade, “A Kick-off to Christmas,” is Saturday, Nov. 26, beginning at 6 p.m. The parade will run from 9th to 2nd on Main Street. Throughout the day, Delta merchants will be offering sales, door prizes and more in celebration of Small Business Saturday. Abraham Connection is hosting a macaroni and cheese cookoff to benefit the homeless shelter. Music, carolers, pictures with Santa, kids’ scavenger hunt, kids’ crafts and a tree-lighting ceremony are also being planned. For more information, contact the chamber at 874-8616.