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DELTA COUNTY
FALL PREVIEW
Expectations are running high for area athletes, coaches, C1-8 AUGUST 29, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 35
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INDEPENDENT
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Delta woman jailed for shooting brother BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Officers from the Delta Police Department responded to a 911 call from an injured male asking for help in the early morning hours of Aug. 22. Further investigation resulted in the arrest of Aliza Marie Archuleta, 33, of Delta for alleged first degree assault with deliberation, menacing, prohibited use of a weapon, child abuse and reckless endangerment. Archuleta is being held in the Delta County Jail on a $60,000 bond after she allegedly discharged
Aliza Archuleta
a firearm injuring the adult male in the presence of multiple children. Delta County Human Services Child Protection was called in to assist. According to the arrest affidavit, Terry Speicher Jr. said his sister shot him in the forearm during an argument. She says he had choked her, and that’s why she got a gun. She says she was trying to scare him away when she pulled the trigger. According to the Delta Police Department, alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor. While both Archuleta and her brother had been drinking, a witness to the events that unfolded at 668 Hastings Street. According to the arrest affidavit, he told Terry he needed to leave and go somewhere for the night to sober up. He was headed toward the front door when Archuleta allegedly showed up with the gun. He attempted to grab her in a hug but keep her from using the gun, and that’s when the shot was fired. The bullet went through Speicher’s arm and exited through the glass and screen of the front door.
Playground attraction
Photo by Pat Sunderland
Garnet Mesa Elementary students wait their turn to try out the climbing boulder installed by The Nature Connection and Delta County Joint School District #50. Climbing boulders were also installed at Paonia Elementary, Hotchkiss K-8, Crawford Elementary, Cedaredge Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Garnet Elementary, Delta High School and Olathe Elementary as part of a GOCO initiative to get kids outdoors. The durable climbing boulders are comprised of glass fiber reinforced concrete, with handcarved foot and hand holds by ID Sculpture. Shade sails at playgrounds in Paonia and Hotchkiss provide shelter from the hot afternoon sun.
Water park advocates encouraged by support BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
About 40 community members attended an Aug. 23 presentation intended to “pitch the vision” and generate financial support for a water park feasibility study. Proponents Scott Schaible and Ron Austin hosted the Aug. 23 event, which also featured comments from Joe Kingsley, on “Moab and the Great Comeback,” and a video presentation by Dan Martin of Market & Feasibility Advisors of Chicago. Ron Austin made opening comments which mirrored what he had to say during a May 29 presentation on the same topic. That presentation took place during a work session of the Delta City Council. The Aug. 23 meeting targeted business people who Austin said would benefit from increased tourism traffic, and who he hoped would, in turn, help fund a feasibility study. The city would also benefit, through increased revenues. Austin, the mayor of Delta, and Schaible, an area resident, said that’s been the motivating factor all along. Without additional revenue, the city is facing critical budget shortfalls in two to three years. They described the water park as a catalyst that would attract people — and their dollars — to the city. Once here, the water park could be packaged with other activities, from gold medal fishing to golfing to the drive-in, to get people to stay in the area for a few days. The first step is generating $4,000 for phase one of a
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Back Page ................... D8 Business .......................A10 Church ............................B5 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D2-3 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries .................. A7-8 School Zone .................. A6 Service Directory ........ D7 Sports ..........................C1-8 Surface Creek News ...B6-8 TV Listings ................. D5-6
feasibility study, which would be conducted by Martin’s firm. The multi-step process would add up to about $16,000, which Austin and Schaible hope to generate with donations from local businesses and individuals. Martin went through much of the same presentation he gave on May 29, also by video, with one critical difference. Between the two presentations he had an opportunity to visit Delta, where he discovered the city is already part of the tourism flow from I-70 south. “You just need something for people to stop and stay for,” he said. “Delta can become a base camp for the great natural attractions of the region. “And what you do for the tourists will work for the citi-
zens, too.” Joe Kingsley related how Moab virtually folded after the collapse of the uranium industry. He was one of just three members left on the chamber board of directors when they came up with an idea for the “most beautiful dump” in the country contest — an idea that wound up generating millions of dollars worth of publicity for Moab. He said a community has to have a vision, and he talked about the power of a community working together to make that vision a reality. When the floor was opened to questions, most addressed the feasibility study and what Schaible and Austin hope to accomplish. Others wondered how they came to focus on a water park. The two said they
surveyed amenities offered in other tourist destinations and decided a water park would be a good fit, understanding that it would start small and expand as the word spread and its popularity grew. During his presentation, Martin discussed other options, which he described as “magnets” that could include a river park, lodging with a western flavor, or cool places to eat, shop and hang out. Many in the audience expressed a desire to see the feasibility study expand to those options, as well, and not focus solely on a water park. Austin said he still loves the idea of water park, but is open to other ideas that would take advantage of all that Delta has to offer — perhaps with a water component.
Following the meeting, Schaible said he was encouraged by the discussion that took place Thursday night. “It indicates to me that people have been hungry for a change that has taken too long in coming,” he said. “I saw people who weren’t just saying they love their community, they were taking action.” The ultimate goal is to complete the feasibility study, then find a private developer to get the project — whatever it might be — off the ground. “For a developer to buy in, they need to see strong community support,” Schaible said. “This group got why that’s so important.” “It is exciting to think of a project of this scale that doesn’t rely on our taxpayers footing the bill,” Austin said.
City of Delta adds ballot questions BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
Delta City Council has approved two ballot questions for the November election but will likely be adding more before the cutoff date in early September. At their Aug. 21 meeting, council members approved the wording for two questions concerning the sale of city property. The first concerns the city’s municipal light and power plant at 1133 S. Main Street. The plant once generated all the electric power the city needed. Eventually, the city had to purchase power
from outside sources to meet increasing demand. According to a newsletter article written by Jim Wetzel, former director of the Delta Museum, for the past several decades ML&P has operated only as a backup, fulfilling its mission for the last time on July 27, 2010 when the main transformer in the Garnet Mesa substation failed, causing a massive outage. The city sets the minimum sale price at $620,000 if closing takes place prior to Dec. 31, 2019. After that date, the minimum price increases by 5 percent annually. The second ballot question
concerns the sale, transfer or conveyance of 115 acres comprising Cottonwood Park and Riverbend Park. The city is considering a land swap with Bill St. James for acreage south of the river with better visibility and accessibility. The minimum sale price is $4,575 per acre. City manager David Torgler said the city arrived at that price by dividing the purchase price of Riverbend Park by the number of acres, then applying that figure to both parcels. Again, the minimum sale price will increase annually if closing does not take place prior to Dec. 31, 2019.
Also under consideration are questions concerning a sales and use tax increase, the sale of marijuana and deBrucing of fines and fees. A sales tax increase of 1 percent, from 3 to 4 percent, would generate an estimated $2 million. The increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2019, and would sunset after 10 years. In that time, Torgler said the state will have figured out how to tax internet sales, which would likely generate revenue for the city and county as well. A June 2018 Supreme Court ruling is seen as a billion-dollar boon, DELTA BALLOT TO A3
DeltaFest
Bull Draw Fire road closures reduced
Several blocks of Main Street will be closed this Thursday for the Downtown DeltaFest sponsored by the Delta Area Chamber of Commerce. The streets will be lined with vendors, food, live music and kids’ activities from 5:30 p.m. until dusk Thursday, Aug. 30. North Fork Country will provide the music. For more information, call 874-8616.
The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests has reduced the closure area around the Bull Draw Fire. The remote blaze, burning 12 miles northwest of Nucla, has reached approximately 30,280 acres and is burning on both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service lands. Public access to the following area of the Uncompahgre National Forest’s Plateau Division will be limited: The area bordered on the north by national forest system Road (NFSR) 407, on the west and southwest by national forest boundary, on the south and southeast by NFSR 600 (Windy Point Junction) and on east by NFSR 402 (Divide Road). The public is asked to adhere to these closures and pay close attention to all road signage. For questions concerning these emergency closures please contact the Grand Valley Ranger District at 970-242-8211. All emergency closures on Uncompahgre BLM lands related to the Bull Draw Fire have been lifted. Early season hunters in Unit 61 who may be impacted by the Bull Draw Fire closures are asked to direct their questions to the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Montrose Office at 970-252-6000.