Delta County Independent, May 9, 2018

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

WORKING DOGS WORK Hotchkiss hosts 15th annual Sheep Camp Stock Dog Trials, B1

SPORTS

KINDNESS OVERWHELMS Cedaredge Bruins are winners on and off the baseball field, B5

DELTA COUNTY

STATE QUALIFIERS

Vigil, Siettman will represent DHS at state tennis tournament, B5 MAY 9, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 19

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Wetzel becomes part of museum’s history BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

Twenty years ago in May, Jim Wetzel was named curator and director of the Delta Museum. Because of unscheduled emergency surgery, he arrived on the job in a wheelchair and with just one day to learn everything he needed to know to take over. “At the time, I did not really know what the position involved, but I was willing to find out,” he said in his final newsletter as museum director. Although Wetzel is retiring as museum director, he was one of three individuals elected to the board of trustees of the Delta County Historical Society at its annual meeting May 5. Wetzel also plans to serve as a museum volunteer, so he can finish up a couple of projects, but he also intends to travel, spend more time in the garden and write a couple

more books. He is the author of four books, three of which he said were written to correct events that he felt were poorly documented by earlier writers. Although not a “local,” Wetzel said the history of this area captured his interest from the get-go. In his final newsletter as museum director, he wrote, “It wasn’t only the events or buildings that captured my interest, but the people that made it the community we enjoy today.” “The Delta County Historical Society had its beginning in 1964,” Wetzel wrote in the newsletter, “and with this beginning, collections of historic value were documented and exhibited, or stored for the future education of citizens of all ages. It is probably the most important part of museum work. Preservation of our history is important, WETZEL TO A3

Photo by Pat Sunderland

At the annual meeting of the Delta County Historical Society, trustees recognized museum director/curator Jim Wetzel (holding plaque) for his leadership. “Jim has provided valuable help in archiving, researching and assisting requests for information over the years. He has also provided guidance to the board of trustees,” said board president Keith Lucy.

Economic concerns shared with senator’s staff BY ANNETTE BRAND Staff Writer

Senator Cory Gardner’s legislative assistant and counsel, Brian Wannamaker, came to Delta May 1 to discuss rural economic development matters with local stakeholders. Housing was the first subject raised. Tom Heurkamp, a business owner and vice president of the Delta County Economic Development board, said there is a severe shortage of affordable worker housing, and repairs are needed to the affordable housing that is available. Many people are living in hotels, he said. Realtor Bert Sibley explained, “It’s the market.”

He said since October 2016 housing has been a seller’s market; houses are sold within hours of being listed. People are living in fifth wheels for months because there are no houses to buy. “There is a lack of inventory from Durango to Grand Junction,” Sibley said. Elyse Casselberry, community and economic development director for Delta County, added, “Housing is a challenge. There are no housing starts, no building permits. Development is just not coming to Delta County.” County Commissioner Don Suppes said there is no funding available to attract developers to build housing. Wannamaker said a bank-

ing deregulation bill passed the Senate (and is now in the House) which provides an Opportunity Zone for a number of census tracts which meet economic criteria. The bill’s intent is to create a fund to be used as an incentive to invest in an Opportunity Zone and enable a business to move in or a developer to build housing. If the land appreciates in value, the business or developer can sell the property within five years without paying capital gains tax. Casselberry noted that in Delta County the banks are locally owned and do not have access to capital assistance.

Suppes added that local banks have access to some capital assistance, but not enough. Wannamaker said the bill parallels some of those circumstances. “It will take a little time for that to unwind,” he said. There are several farmers in the area who want to cultivate hemp. Betsy Bair, Senator Gardner’s regional director, said both Senator Gardner and Senator Michael Bennet have signed on to legislation to end the restrictions on growing hemp. She said letters of support from the local community to the senator would be helpful.

Wannamaker said the discussion of ending NAFTA is scary to Senator Gardner. Ending NAFTA would be a serious blow to our economy. Strengthening trade with Mexico and Canada is very valuable to our country. Casselberry brought up the subject of overlap when a product or program must be reviewed and signed off by many federal agencies for different parts of that product or program. One attendee said there was an astounding number of permits required, 20 to 30, from the federal and the state SENATOR TO A3

Mike Mason declares Unaffiliated voters candidacy for HD 61 asked to choose BY PAT SUNDERLAND

Colorado voters approved Proposition 108 in 2016, which allows unaffiliated voters (sometimes referred to as “independent” voters) to now participate in Colorado primary elections. This year, all active unaffiliated voters will receive the primary election ballots for both the Democratic and Republican parties in the mail. The voter may vote and return only one of the ballots. If a voter marks and returns more than one party’s ballot, none of their votes will be counted. As an alternative, unaffiliated voters may update their voter registration and declare a ballot preference in advance of the primary election at www.UChoose. CO.gov. Declaring a ballot preference does not change your unaffiliated voter registration, this option simply means you will receive

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................... D8 Bruin Tracks ............. C3-6 Business ........................ A5 Church ............................C8 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone .................. A8 Sports ..........................B5-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-7 TV Listings ................. D5-6

just one of the major party’s ballots in the mail for this election. This option helps conserve taxpayer resources, because your county will only need to print and mail one ballot, instead of two. The Delta County Elections Division asks that if voters already know which party’s primary they want to participate in, to update their voter registration by May 29. Ballots will be mailed the first week of June. For those registered with a political party, there are no changes to the primary election process. The voter will get a ballot in the mail for their political party, if their party is holding a primary election. For more voter and election information, visit www. deltacounty.com or call the clerk and recorder’s office at 970-874-2150.

Managing Editor

Mike Mason, candidate for House District 61, is touting limited government, competition in education, lower taxes and fewer regulations in his quest for office. Mason is one of three Delta County Republicans running for election in November. Matt Soper is a candidate for House District 54, and Olen Lund is bidding for the state Senate District 5 seat currently held by Democrat Kerry Donovan. Mason and his wife Judy live on a 300-acre farm near Cedaredge where they raise alfalfa, grass hay, wine grapes, horses, chickens, raspberries and blackberries. This year, they became licensed hemp producers. “If elected, I will support Don Coram’s efforts to reduce expensive and unnecessary regulatory compliance so more farmers can participate in the burgeoning demand for hemp,” he said. Mason was born in Long

Stamp Out Hunger Saturday, May 12, is the 26th anniversary National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) annual nationwide food drive. The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the country’s largest single-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need. Customers simply leave their donation of nonperishable food next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 12. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes and distribute them to the Delta Food Pantry. Pick up your mail from your P.O. Box? No problem - the Delta post office will have a food collection box inside where you may also donate food items. While all donations of nonperishable food items are welcome, the Delta Food Pantry is in need especially of cereal, boxed macaroni and cheese, canned fruit, canned soups, peanut butter and tuna.

Beach, Calif., to parents he describes as refugees from the Great Depression. He joined the U.S. Navy and later earned a degree in physics from the University of Illinois. He worked in the aerospace and computer industries. He and Judy were married in 1992, and in 1997 they followed their heart’s desire and moved to the Western Slope. Mason has run for local office three times, twice as county commissioner and once for the school board. He elaborated on his political stance: “I support energy independence and diversification, both renewable and fossil, at competitive rates. I want to protect state water rights from federal encroachment. I oppose public funding of Planned Parenthood and abortions. I believe everyone has an unalienable right to defend themselves, their loved ones and their property. I also think teachers and school

staff who have had military or police training and that volunteer should be allowed to conceal carry and that the state should certify and pay for annual recertification and training for school staff who volunteer for this task. “We had a terrible example of the failure of the present right to farm law here in Delta County,” he continued. “A farmer was forced to spend $750,000 to successfully defend his right to farm winning every case up to and through the Colorado Supreme court. I want to fix the state right to farm law so that it is effective and shields farmers from predatory lawsuits as happened here.” Mason is the only Republican in the House District 61 race, so his first, and only, test will be the November election. He is working on setting up a finance committee, identifying a campaign manager, and establishing a website.

Graduation dates listed

The end of the 2017-18 school year is rapidly approaching. The last day of school is Friday, May 25, and is an early release day. Graduating seniors have just a handful of days left as they look forward to graduating ceremonies. To avoid conflicts with state track and field (May 17-19) and state baseball (May 25-26), schools have adopted the following schedule for graduation: Paonia High School - Monday, May 21, at 7 p.m.; Hotchkiss High School - Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m.; Vision Charter Academy - Wednesday, May 23, at 5 p.m.; Delta High School Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m.; and Cedaredge High School - Thursday, May 24, at 7 p.m. Olathe High School graduation takes place at Wilson Field at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20. The DCI’s graduation supplement will be included in next week’s edition.


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