NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
TOP O’ THE ROCKIES 30th annual BMW rally draws 585 riders to Paonia, B1
DELTARADO DAYS
DEER COUNT DROPS
Surveys document movement of deer in and out of Cedaredge, B7
DELTA COUNTY
HATS OFF TO AG
Parade, music, car shows, BBQs highlight annual celebration, C1-8 JULY 25, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 30
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Drugs tied to nudity, criminal mischief BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
An incident in Hotchkiss described as a “rampage” is eerily similar to an arrest made two days earlier by the Delta County Sheriff ’s Office in Eckert. At about midnight on Thursday, July 19, deputies observed a female pedestrian on Highway 65 near Ersley Road in Eckert. She was exposing herself and appeared to be quite intoxicated or high on some type of substance. Shirley Rimpley, 52, of Kansas City, Kan., was arrested and jailed on charges of intoxicated pedestrian on highway, public indecency and resisting arrest. The “rampage” in Hotchkiss took place Friday, July 20, and involved juveniles that were allegedly under the influence of some type of drug, possibly acid. Hotchkiss Marshal Dan Miller said the incident started about 11:30 p.m., with reports of the males running around town in their underwear — or naked — and causing damage to some vehicles. Alexander Mehder posted a photo on Facebook showing
the damage to the windshield of his car parked at 2nd and Orchard. The marshal said all five juvenile males, ages 15 to 18, have been identified. Multiple ambulances were summoned to transport the boys to the hospital, where they were checked and then released to their parents or guardians. Miller said he is working with the Paonia Police Department to identify another juvenile and an adult male who were also believed to be involved in Friday night’s criminal activity. He is also very interested in tracking the source of the illegal substance consumed by the teens. No one is in custody at this time, Miller said, as officers continue to gather evidence. Charges could include consumption of a Schedule I substance, criminal mischief, trespassing and indecent exposure. Mehder said in his Facebook post that one young man out of the group had come forward to apologize and to promise full restitution for the damages to his car.
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Coming down
The sixth grade wing at Delta Middle School was leveled Monday to make way for an addition to the school that will include classrooms for the sixth graders, as well as a new cafeteria and band room. “We are all excited about the addition of a new facility for our students at Delta Middle School,” said superintendent Caryn Gibson. “It will allow for new and exciting opportunities for students and staff.” For the 2018-19 school year, the sixth graders will be temporarily housed in the second level of the Delta Family Center (the old middle/high school).
DURA expands search for hotel site BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
The Delta Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) is optimistic an upper midscale hotel is still in Delta’s future — it just won’t be built in the first two sites proposed for development. At DURA’s most recent meeting on July
19, City of Delta staff was directed to begin searching for other properties that would be appropriate for the project, particularly sites already owned by the city. The move comes after DURA struck out twice, first with the TK Mining property and then with a much larger
Grand Mesa from the air
parcel of adjoining privatelyowned land, both on the east side of Highway 50. MARS Hospitality expressed interest in the TK Mining property before it was pulled off the market. When that occurred, the DURA board issued a new RFP for the St. James property. The second
Photo by Pat Sunderland
A scenic flight with Rocky Mountain Air Tours provided this overview of the lakes on Grand Mesa (including Island Lake on the right). Rocky Mountain Air Tours is based at Blake Field. Owner Ben Lowe also offers tandem sky dives and will soon expand his business to include guided ATV trips to Grand Mesa from the municipal airport in North Delta.
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A7 Back Page ................... D8 Business ........................ A8 Church ........................... D6 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Deltarado Days ........ C1-8 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-5 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ...........................B10 Surface Creek News ...B7-9 TV Listings ..................B5-6
deadline of July 2 passed with zero interest from developers. David Torgler, DURA’s executive director, shared his understanding that MARS was hesitant to pursue the larger parcel due to the lack of a vision of how the property would be developed. Although Torgler said MARS recognizes the market opportunity in Delta, there were simply too many unknowns with the St. James parcel. Plus, voter approval would have been required for the land swap that would have put the property in the city’s hands. “And wouldn’t you have to have a deal structured before you went to the voters, so they’d know the reason for approving the land swap?” asked DURA commissioner Tom Huerkamp. “Are we totally way out in front of this thing?” “That’s been a concern I’ve had since the whole thing was moved from TK,” said DURA chairman Ron Austin. “The whole thing is contingent on some kind of deal being put together through a swap, plus some money. It’s no wonder to me that we didn’t get any RFPs back. There’s way too many questions as to even acquiring the property and their ability to move forward with it.” Adam Hughes of Better Cities, who participated in the meeting by phone, said MARS representatives indicated they would consider alternative sites that do not require such a broad development vision,
particularly if the site was located in close proximity to the Highway 92 corridor. “Part of the problem with this whole process is that the land is not secured,” said DURA commissioner Don Suppes. “Had the land been secured first, we wouldn’t be having these issues. Maybe we need to step back and think how to restart this process with land that would not be so hard to acquire.” He directed the commisioners’ attention to city-owned property on the opposite side of Highway 50 and close to desired amenities including river access, Confluence Lake, trails and the recreation center. Any sale of city-owned property, even to DURA, would require a vote of the people, but without the expense of property acquisition, the project becomes more feasible. With the aid of an aerial map of the area, DURA commissioners discussed possible locations that would offer the four acres required for a hotel and parking, and that would also be within DURA project boundaries. City staff was asked to continue evaluating possible sites, and to provide the commissioners with a list of possibilities and their pros and cons at a future DURA meeting. While the commissioners would like to keep the process moving forward, they recognized it would be difficult to identify one parcel in time to HOTEL SITE TO A3
Crawford boat ramp closed
DMV system upgrade
Due to low water levels, the boat ramp at Crawford Reservoir is closed. Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports the reservoir is down 46 feet from full capacity. People can still put in hand-launched craft such as canoes, paddleboards and kayaks. However, boats with motors are no longer allowed this season. Even with low water, fishing at Crawford State Park has been surprisingly good, according to park staff. Anglers are landing good catches of trout, catfish and largemouth bass. Anglers are reminded that they can keep only one large-mouth bass that is 18 inches or longer. All other services and facilities at the campground are open. The park has 66 campsites. For those with motorboats, the reservoir at Sweitzer Lake State Park just south of the town of Delta, is full and open for boating and water skiing. Sweitzer is a day-use park, so there is no camping. Entry to the parks is $7 per vehicle, or $70 for an annual pass good for all state parks. For more information about Colorado’s 41 state parks, go to: http://cpw.state.co.us.
All Colorado title and registration services, including motor vehicle registration renewal, vehicle titling, and ownership transfers will be unavailable Aug. 1-5 to allow for technical upgrades. Individuals needing to renew eligible vehicles are encouraged to use online services at mydmv.colorado. gov. Colorado driver license services, both in office and online, will be unavailable Aug. 23. State driver license offices will be closed. This closure will allow the state to replace a computer system that was originally installed between 1983 and 1986.