Delta County Independent, Dec. 20, 2017

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

SALES TAX WINDFALL

Paonia allocates unanticipated increase to bonuses, reserves, B1

SPORTS

A WEEK OF MUSIC

COUNTY COMPETITION

Cedaredge Elementary students share holiday cheer, C1

DELTA COUNTY

Cedaredge girls, Panther boys win First Colorado tournament, B7

DECEMBER 20, 2017 VOL. 134, NO. 51

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Nature Connection awarded $1.7M STAFF REPORT

On Dec. 15, the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) board awarded an Inspire Initiative grant in the amount of $1,729,663.50 to Delta County and a coalition of partners called The Nature Connection (TNC), for the group’s work to get kids outside. Locally, announcement of the award was made at opening night of the 2017 Backcountry Film Festival opened in Paonia. Anita Evans, director of

TNC, excitedly displayed the check from GOCO. “We have worked, along with our partners, for over two years to come up with a very detailed plan to connect kids to the outdoors through The Nature Connection with this grant,” she said. The TNC board, which includes representation from the school district, Delta County, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, town governments, and other local organizations, worked

diligently with community partners and resources to create a competitive grant application submitted in July 2017. The grant will fund extensive place, program, and pathway development in six communities, Delta, Olathe, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Crawford, along with 140 youth internships and seven community jobs over the three-year grant cycle. The program is expected to impact more than 6,000 youth in the

area. Funding for trail and park development, the expansion and installation of gear hubs in Hotchkiss, Delta and Cedaredge, and plans for edu-

cational outdoor programming are all included in the grant award. A portion of the grant supports executive director and NATURE CONNECTION TO A3

Discovery of remains brings closure to Goldman’s niece STAFF REPORT

Last week, the Montrose County Office of Medical Investigations confirmed skeletonized remains found Dec. 1 at 59741 Highway 50 in Olathe are definitely those of Gary Goldman, 77. Goldman was reported missing from Colorow Care Center on July 17, and had been the subject of many hours of searching by the Olathe Police Department, the Montrose County Sheriff ’s Office, the Montrose County Sheriff ’s Posse, the Montrose County Coroner’s Office of Medical Investigations, Service Dogs of Colorado, Delta County Search and Rescue, Olathe Spray Service, Uncompahgre Valley Water Users, Olathe Fire Department, State of Colorado Fire

Control helicopters, Colorow Care Center and multiple other agencies and volunteers with many thousands of dollars of volunteer labor time and equipment utilization. His niece, Marla Bear Bishop of Paonia, is working with Sunset Mesa Directors to plan a memorial service sometime in the spring or summer. She’s also planning to visit the site where his remains were found by a hunter. She understands they were in a small ditch just under a mile from Colorow. “I really want to see the spot,” she said, having accepted her uncle’s final journey “could not have been good.” Most heartbreaking, she said, is the fact that he was missing for hours before a search was launched. “It was so hot, so hot,” she said.

She is certain that her uncle wasn’t trying to “escape” the facility, but was simply headed out for a walk. “My whole life I saw my uncle walking,” she said in an Aug. 16 interview with the DCI. About seven years ago Bishop, who is Goldman’s legal guardian, moved her uncle to Paonia to live at Creek Vista. As his dementia worsened, she moved him to Colorow Care Center in Olathe. He had been there just a couple of months, and was quite happy, when he slipped out the door of the secure memory unit. She said she’s gotten conflicting reports about how that occurred. Goldman’s cause and manner of death have been certified as undetermined, due to a lack of physical evidence.

Photo by Tamie Meck

Anita Evans, director of The Nature Connection, announced the Inspire grant award to a crowded house at the Paradise Theatre on Monday, Dec. 18. The funds will be used to implement a very detailed plan to connect kids to the outdoors through places, programs and pathways.

Lawsuit cites lack of transparency STAFF REPORT

Taking a stand

Photo by Pat Sunderland

On Friday, Dec. 15, demonstrators expressed their disapproval of a recent BLM decision approving the Bull Mountain Master Development Plan in the North Fork Valley watershed. Area residents, including members of the Valley Organic Growers Association, Citizens for a Healthy Community and students from the Paonia Experiential Leadership Academy, gathered outside the BLM offices in Montrose, holding signs up high and eliciting support from passing motorists. Lisa Neirmann, a Paonia-area farmer, issued a call for action. She said BLM, the county commissioners and elected officials, including Governor John Hickenlooper, have failed to represent the citizens of the North Fork. “It’s up to us to stand up for ourselves and the environment,” she said.

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Back Page ................... D8 Business .......................A10 Church ............................C4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness .........B6-8 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries .................. A7-8 School Zone ............... A5-6 Sports ..........................B5-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ................. D5-6

Community Christmas dinners

The communities of Cedaredge and Hotchkiss will host free Christmas dinners on Monday, Dec. 25. In Cedaredge, the Cedaredge Rotary Club and Les and Dorothy Mergelman are teaming up to serve a free meal from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Stolte Shed in Pioneer Town, 388 S. Grand Mesa Drive. Everyone is welcome. Enjoy a meal of turkey, ham and all the trimmings. People are invited to bring their favorite dessert to share. Donations are welcome to offset the cost of the meal. The annual Hotchkiss community Christmas dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hotchkiss Senior Center, 276 W. Main Street. A traditional meal of smoked turkey and ham from Zack’s BBQ and all the fixings will be served. Diners are asked to bring a side dish, salad or dessert to share if possible.

Delta County Citizen Report (DCCR), which describes itself as “an apolitical, nonprofit media organization reporting on Delta County government activities,” filed suit last week against the Delta County Board of County Commissioners alleging violations of state statutes designed to promote transparency in government. News of the lawsuit prompted county attorney John Baier to reiterate the county’s stance that its budget and open meetings processes are in compliance with state statutes. “We remain dedicated to transparency and to service to our citizens,” he said in a written response. “Delta County has consistently been committed to effective, thorough and appropriate communication. As always, we continue to welcome meaningful discussions about how we can better communicate with the public.” Attorney Michael King with Gunnison Law and Mediation filed the complaint and motion for permanent injunction on behalf of DCCR. The suit alleges that routine practices of the Board of County Commissioners violate Sunshine Law and the Local Government Budget Law of Colorado. A press release issued by DCCR last week outlines spe-

cific areas of concern, some of which have been addressed in letters to the editor from JoAnn Kalenak, administrator of DCCR’s Facebook page. She also has a blog where she comments on county commissioner meetings, county projects, county development plans, county policies, and county budget and finance. She cites the BoCC’s procedure of posting agendas without complete access to the public for a full 24 hours; the board’s failure to adopt a policy requiring public notice of meetings and final agendas on the county website; the regular procedure of changing the agendas less than 24 hours from the meetings, with the regular practice of doing it at the actual meeting; the use of a “Commissioner’s Calendar of Events” as appropriate public meeting notice; refusal to acknowledge business meetings involving a quorum of county commissioners as public meetings; and lack of adequate detail in the posted agendas. “Significant policymaking occurs during the Delta County board’s unnoticed or improperly noticed meetings,” the suit alleges. “The board has entered into agreements, developed policy and mandated letters of support for various LAWSUIT TO A3

Fire destroys shed, motorcycles A fire at 14238 Deer Run Road, Delta, destroyed a shed containing four Harley-Davidson motorcycles, motorcycle accessories and a drying rack for firewood on Dec. 12. The property is owned by Glen and Joyce Conger. Glen Conger says his son was working on a metal project outside the shed that morning. He had put his tools away and left the property when the fire broke out. Conger was at work downtown when he got a call about the fire. He said by the time he got home, the shed had burned to the ground. Vinyl siding on the main residence, located about 50 feet from the shed, was curled and two windows were broken. Three of the four motorcycles stored in the shed were fully insured; the oldest, a 2008, had liability insurance only. The Congers are planning to attend a motorcycle rally in California in June, so they’re hoping to begin replacing the motorcycles as soon as they hear from their insurance provider.


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