Delta County Independent, Nov. 15, 2017

Page 1

NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

TIGHT BUDGET

SPORTS

SNEAK PEEK

Crawford trims expenses after voters reject tax increase, B1

TOUGH LOSS

Cedaredge’s Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center unveils plans, C1

DELTA COUNTY

Coach praises efforts of Paonia players in quarterfinal game, B6 NOVEMBER 15, 2017 VOL. 134, NO. 46

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Ambulance district breathes a sigh of relief BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

A year ago, electors narrowly rejected a mill levy increase for Delta County Ambulance District (DCAD). The 2016 general election, which included a long slate of candidates for local, state and national offices, drew nearly 12,000 voters. Faced with the prospect of a reduction in services, DCAD’s board of directors decided to take the question back to the voters. This time, the DCAD request was the only question on the ballot, and just 6,236 were votes were cast. But efforts to educate those voters paid off — just over 65 percent said yes to the 3.250mill levy increase, which will give the ambulance district an additional $585,000 to work with in 2018. DCAD manager Kirby Clock reacted with a sigh of relief. “Obviously we’re thrilled and relieved. It’s a whole lot nicer to work on a budget where we’ll be able to do some good things, rather than figuring where to cut.” Clock said the board’s

budget committee would be meeting this week to begin prioritizing spending of the additional funds. The 2018 budget must be finalized by mid-December. Clock said one of the biggest priorities will be catching up with the hospital, which provides billing services for the ambulance district. He would like to get back on track with periodic ambulance replacements; the most recent purchase was four years ago. He also wants to begin rebuilding reserves, which have been drained over the past several years. The ambulance district also terminated service contracts on its heart monitors. “Those are the kinds of hard decisions you make when you’re trying to balance the budget,” Clock said. Most important of all, however, is giving staff members their first pay increases in four years. “We’ve been really worried about losing some of our quality people, which is going to happen if you’re just treading water. They’ll start looking elsewhere and you AMBULANCE TO A3

Photo by Pat Sunderland

Historic highlight

The Delta Library is one of 18 Carnegie libraries still operating in Colorado. In recognition of the library’s historic significance, and in celebration of a recent $35,000 grant from the Colorado State Historical Fund, the library hosted Patron Appreciation and Carnegie Day on Monday, Nov. 13. Library staff members (from left) Bonnie Bishop, Mary Saunders, Shayna Peters and Hannah Easter presented a skit about Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist who supported libraries across the U.S.

Community soup kitchen envisioned BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Randy and Cynthia Hays are on a mission — a mission to reach into the community to meet the needs of those who are impoverished, homeless or struggling with food insecurity. The two, with daughter Summer Lomax, are moving forward with plans to open a soup kitchen — not to compete with the senior meal program or the Abraham Connection homeless shelter, but to complement what both organizations are doing to meet the community’s basic needs. They’ve given the name “King’s Table” to their effort. “We’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long

time,” the couple said. They recently relocated to Delta from Grand Junction, where they volunteered with Catholic Outreach for about a year to learn the ins and outs of providing wholesome, nutritions, hot meals to those who are hungry. They’ve been stockpiling kitchen supplies, pots and pans, tables and chairs. As a result of the remodeling project at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, they’ve been provided with all the commercial kitchen equipment they’ll need. Recent donations of a huge deep fryer and commercial hot/cold serving tables reinforce the belief that God has equipped them to serve the community. They

Law enforcement agencies recognized BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Earlier this fall, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Uniform Crime Reporting program announced that seven Colorado law enforcement agencies across the entire state had no reporting errors for the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Three of those agencies are in Delta County — Delta Police Department, Delta County Sheriff ’s Office and Hotchkiss Marshal’s Office. NIBRS is a reporting system used by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. for col-

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................... D6 Business .......................A10 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness ..... C6-8 Legals ......................... D2-3 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries .................. A5-6 School Zone ................B7-8 Sports .............................B6 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ..................C4-5

lecting and reporting data on crimes. DPD Chief Luke Fedler credited Sindy Bruton, records administrator, with checking, approving and reporting crime data for the Delta Police Department. He presented a plaque to Bruton, a 12-year veteran of the police department, at the Nov. 7 meeting of the Delta City Council. A similar presentation was made in Hotchkiss on Nov. 9, with Mayor Wendell Koontz presenting Marshal Dan Miller with a plaque for error-free reporting from July 2016 through July 2017.

just need a building, ideally one with about 10,000 square feet that will accommodate the soup kitchen as well as a year-round clothing/needs bank where everything is free, and a thrift shop where items can be sold to help buy food for the soup kitchen. There will be no charge for meals. The Hays plan to generate funds through the thrift shop, as well as monthly pledges from individuals, churches and businesses. Many times, grocery stores, restaurants and other food establishments will donate perishables that need to be used in the next day or two. “We believe that no one should ever have to go hungry,” they said, pulling out statistics related to food insecurity in Delta County. While many people associate a soup kitchen with the homeless,

the Hays point out that hunger impacts children, minorities, seniors and families. They hope to provide a filling meal at noon five days a week as well as the camaraderie that develops in a warm, welcoming environment. The first step is finding a building, but once that goal is met, they plan to add services such as free haircuts, coordinate a Christmas toy drive and begin providing transportation to the soup kitchen from the smaller communities in Delta County. Since Montrose and Grand Junction already have soup kitchens, they don’t anticipate drawing anyone from those areas. The Hays see the soup kitchen as having a positive impact on the entire community. Volunteers will gain fulfillment by serving others wherever and however they

can. All will have an opportunity to develop new friendships. “It will be a group effort,” said Cynthia Hays. Both she and Randy are getting out and about, developing relationships with churches and nonprofit organizations to learn how they can best fulfill their mission. For more information on their vision to feed the hungry in Delta County, contact the Hays at 250-6637. Taxdeductible donations can be mailed to the King’s Table, PO Box 84, Delta, CO 81416. A receipt will be mailed for tax purposes. On another note, the Hays say a previous request for containers prompted a generous response. Containers are no longer needed, but financial donations are always welcome.

Cost of services outpaces sales tax growth in Delta BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

The City of Delta is finalizing a budget for 2018 that maintains current services without any rate increases for water, trash, sewer or electrical service. But to keep the budget balanced, the city will have to dip into reserves. That scenario will likely carry on past 2018, meaning future councils will be facing some tough decisions. The crux of the problem: although there is a modest increase in sales tax collec-

Final chance for input The City of Delta will present the preliminary draft of the parks, recreation, open space and trails master plan that’s been in the works since the summer. Input from public meetings, a citizen advisory group, a public survey, council and staff has been folded into the draft that will be presented at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Bill Heddles Recreation Center. The following day, a work session is planned for input from Delta City Council. For more information, call Wilma Erven, director of parks and recreation for the City of Delta at 874-0923.

tions, revenues aren’t keeping pace with the growing cost of providing services. “Sales tax growth is consistently and significantly less than the growth in the cost of providing public services,” city manager David Torgler said during a budget work session. The city’s 3 percent sales tax is split equally among the general fund; citywide capital improvement fund; and the parks, recreation and golf fund. Each percent of sales tax generates nearly $1.8 mil-

lion. Sales tax is currently trending about 2.6 percent above 2016 revenues. Severance tax and federal mineral lease fees are running 78 percent and 87 percent less, respectively, less than the 10-year median. Both reflect the closure of coal mines. As a result, the city will have to tap into enterprise fund revenue to maintain existing city services. Transfers from municipal, light and power, sewer, water and trash CITY BUDGET TO A3

Delta’s ‘Kickoff to Christmas’ is Nov. 25 Delta’s second annual “Kickoff to Christmas” takes place Saturday, Nov. 25. This event is sponsored by the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce and First Colorado National Bank. During the day, community members are encouraged to shop local for Small Business Saturday. From 1 to 4 p.m., Habitat for Humanity of Delta County invites families to gather for a friendly afternoon of building gingerbread houses at Delta Middle School. The cost is $30 and includes all supplies. At 3:30 p.m., Main Street will be closed

to allow nonprofit vendors and musicians to set up. A tree lighting ceremony will take place at 5 p.m.; the Parade of Lights starts at 6 p.m. All parade entries are free thanks to the sponsorship of Volunteers of America. Also planned are a macaroni and cheese cookoff to benefit Abraham Connection, Christmas at the Fort (see story on page A7) and horsedrawn carriage rides by Y Bar Hitch. For parade entry forms or more information, contact the chamber at 8748616.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.