NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES Paonia hosts three days of merry making, B1
SPORTS
CEDAREDGE CHRISTMAS Day full of activities culminates with Parade of Lights Saturday, C1
DELTA COUNTY
A PASSION FOR HOCKEY Colorado Avalanche recognize Delta girl for her commitment, B8
NOVEMBER 30, 2016 VOL. 133, NO. 48
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Mural, historic building seriously damaged BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
It’s business as usual at Davis Clothing, thanks to a legion of friends who stepped in to help dust and vacuum the interior of the store after a Grand Junction woman rammed her RV through the side of the building. Owner Brad Davis was just sitting down to his Thanksgiving meal when his phone rang shortly after 2:30 p.m. When he heard his store had been struck by a vehicle, he assumed a car had veered off Main Street and into his plate glass windows. Instead, Amy Baudien, 44, of Grand Junction allegedly struck the north side of the historic building at the corner of 4th and Main. Witnesses reportedly saw Baudien ram through the wall, back up and then apparently hit it again before fleeing the scene. Davis believes the second impact was not a malicious act, but occurred because Baudein was trying to leave the scene in a hurry. Officers from the Delta Police Department contacted Baudien a few blocks from the scene at 6th and Silver. Her 1986 Cruiser motor home had a cracked windshield and extensive front end damage. Bricks dislodged from the wall of Davis Clothing were caught in the vehicle’s grill and resting on the dash of the motor home. Officers immediately suspected Baudien of driving while intoxicated and according to the accident report, found a small number of liquor bottles strewn on the roadway. Dispatch noti-
fied officers Baudien had a revoked driver’s license and six active restraints. She was the only occupant of the vehicle. When asked by officers, she admitted she’d been drinking since about 8:30 that morning. An accident report filed Nov. 24 indicates she failed to complete roadside maneuvers. She declined to be transported to the hospital by ambulance, but because she had been in an accident, officers took her to the hospital for medical clearance. She was then taken to Delta County Jail, where she was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, DUI and driving while license revoked. Davis boarded up the opening in the wall, picked up the largest pieces of mortar and brick, and went back home to finish his Thanksgiving meal. “It looked like a bomb had gone off,” Davis said. On Friday morning, about 30 friends showed up to pick up the remaining bricks and mortar. Despite dusting and vacuuming numerous times, there’s still a fine powder on store fixtures. The opening in the wall roughly follows the lines of an old archway that was used to bring horses in and out of the livery stable that originally occupied the building. Built in 1884, the building was home to Shields Livery until 1907. That was the year Emory Brothers, a clothing store in Paonia, expanded to Delta’s Main Street. John W. Davis, Brad’s grandfather, joined the staff of Emory Brothers in 1910 and two years later,
bought into the business. The business was handed down to John’s son, Melbert, and then to Brad. Davis Clothing has been in the family for a total of 104 years. When the store in Paonia closed, many of the fixtures were moved to Delta. The accident narrowly missed a towering wall of those shelves. Ron Murphy, an experienced construction project engineer, is donating his expertise to
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Benefit programs appear to be leveling off in county Staff Writer
Cookies for Santa
Oliver Hagendorf, 4, offers to share his cookie with Santa after the Parade of Lights Saturday night. Wells Fargo opened its main lobby to Santa and his young admirers. Santa will return to Delta Saturday, Dec. 10, for the breakfast sponsored annually by the Kiwanis Club of Delta. Enjoy Breakfast with Santa from 8 to 10 a.m. at Bill Heddles Recreation Center.
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Agriculture .....................C6 Back Page ................... D6 Business ........................ A8 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D2-3 North Fork Times ........B1-5 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone ...................B6 Service Directory ........ D5 Sports .............................B8 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4
not insured and it’s not likely Baudien is, either. Davis said he has not been able to obtain building insurance because of antiquated electrical wiring. He plans to look at updating that system at the same time as repairs are taking place. Information about fundraisers can be obtained from Brad Davis at 874-4370. The accident also wiped out a portion of one of Delta’s DAVIS CLOTHING TO A3
The northwestern corner of the Davis Clothing building is boarded over and the sidewalk has been closed to pedestrian traffic until repairs can be made. Connie Williams, the artist who painted the mural on the side of the building, said repairs should not be difficult, although they’ll have to wait until the weather warms up.
BY HANK LOHMEYER
Photo by Pat Sunderland
direct repairs. During a meeting with Karl Schwinn, KS Construction, and Dan Reardon, city building inspector, on Monday he outlined the steps to be taken over the next few days. A structural engineer will be contacted, the damaged wall will be shored up, and he will work with the city to ensure safe passage for pedestrians on West 4th Street. Murphy is also spearheading fundraising efforts, since Davis is
Reports from the Delta County Health and Human Services Department indicate program case loads are leveling off. In recent years, there have been noticeably large increases in the number of food stamp and Medicaid cases in Delta County. Both the programs are funded 100 percent by the federal government, though the county pays costs of administering them locally. The county’s food stamp case load stood at 1,957 in October, down slightly from 1,994 the previous month, but the number is still up from 1,838 cases a year ago. The county’s medical assistance case load that includes Medicaid enrollments stood at 5,472 in October compared with 5,448 the previous month. The number was 5,053 a year earlier. Payments under the federal Medicaid program are made directly to medical providers in the county. That includes doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other providers. Due to a provision in Obamacare, Medicaid enrollments have
increased sharply in the last few years. Currently, Medicaid payments are believed by county HHS managers to be running at an all-time high between $2 million and $2.2 million per month. The figure does not include any payments to medical providers outside of the county who see Delta County residents as patients. The Delta County Commissioners have received reports on other programs administered in the HHS department: • The Colorado works program showed a case load of 94 in October compared with 103 the previous month and 109 a year earlier. The Options for Long-Term Care (OLTC) program cited 363 active cases in October compared with 359 the previous month and 327 a year earlier. • Food stamp benefits provided to Delta County residents have been running consistently in the $500,000 per month range for some time. The high of $520,937 occurred in February this year. • The HHS department collected $162,805 in money that was owed for child sup-
port locally in October. Wage withholding accounted for the largest amounts collected at $101,953. The HHS department has 11 different sources for collecting the child support that is owed including IRS tax intercepts, workers compensation attachments, and money owed by residents of other states. • The Low Income Energy Assistance Program is another one that is 100 percent funded with federal dollars. According to a recent report provided to the commissioners there was $411,977 in LEAP program benefits issued January through June this year. The figure for the same period last year was $596,469. In a separate matter, commissioners were told of a glitch in the state’s call-in line for Medicaid and other information. The 1-800 number which serves four local counties including Delta was causing long hold times for callers when advisors were available to answer calls. The problem will be addressed and a new 1-800 number will be set up commissioners were told.
Pearl Harbor memorial
USFS lease
Meet chief applicants
Members of Lee Marts Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary invite all interested members of the community, and especially World War II veterans, to attend a memorial ceremony to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bombing attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into World War II. The ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the boat dock on the bank of the Gunnison River in Confluence Park. VFW and Auxiliary members will remember the 75th anniversary of “the day that will live in infamy” with words and actions.
The Forest Service has awarded a new lease for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests headquarters office in Delta. The awardee is the current owner of the Forest Service office located at 2250 Highway 50 in Delta. A total of three offers were negotiated through the “best and final” process, with Evergreen W.S. Properties LLC being awarded the lease. The lease term is for 15 years.
The City of Delta invites members of the community to meet candidates for chief of police at a reception Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Bill Heddles Recreation Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The candidates will make brief presentations about their backgrounds and qualifications, and will interact with community members. The seven candidates, in alphabetical order, are Jesse Cox, Tony Erickson, Lucas Fedler, Jim Greyson, Tim Jantz, Charles Kettle and Greg Tuliszewski.