Delta County Independent, Oct. 3, 2018

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER

Run/walk raises money for grounds beautification at PES, B3

SPORTS

APPLEFEST 2018

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TEAMS COMBINE FOR 89

Cedaredge celebrates community, the arts and bountiful harvest, Inside

DELTA COUNTY

Gridiron heroics earn Delta a Homecoming win, B7

OCTOBER 3, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 40

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INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

Legislative day features teacher panel BY DON BENJAMIN Staff Writer

A highlight of the Delta County Joint School District #50’s fourth annual legislative day was the participation of a nine-member teacher panel. The teachers, who represented a range of district primary and secondary schools, responded to a series of questions posed by state and local policy makers. This is a summary of the questions directed to teachers and their answers. What are your biggest chal-

lenges? Teachers responded that they are very busy and challenged to find time to run the daily operations of their classrooms. Curriculum options are limited and curriculum is sometimes outdated. Class size sometimes prevents teachers from helping students who are coming to school with emotional life challenges that affect their learning in the classroom. Teachers are seeing a rise in student mental health and basic needs issues such as nutrition and adequate sleep.

They need support to help students and feel it is essential to get families invested in their child’s learning. Are there things the legislature could do to improve your job? Teachers responded that the current school funding formula hurts small schools. Staffing at smaller schools is barebones

and evaluation paperwork takes administrators away from working with teachers and students. Data collection and testing requirements take away time teachers could spend working with students. Legislators should reduce data collection and evaluation mandates and trust teachers’ professionalism. Some evalu-

ation forms are as lengthy as 27 pages. Teachers currently employed have a strong desire to stay but they need a raise and there are not enough salary and benefit incentives to attract new teachers. Teacher benefits including the Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) are not LEGISLATIVE DAY TO A3

Cedaredge hosts municipal quarterly BY ANNETTE BRAND Staff Writer

Representatives from Delta County and municipalities in Delta County met for their fall municipal quarterly meeting Friday, Sept. 21, at Cedaredge’s Grand Mesa Arts and Events Center, joined by representatives from other nonprofit organizations which provide services to the residents of the county and its municipalities. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) representatives presented information on two state ballot questions, Proposition 109 and Proposition 110. On Prop 110 40 percent of the additional tax revenue would be returned to local governments for transportation projects. Details of Prop 109 and Prop 110 are in the Blue Book, which has been mailed to registered voters. Elyse Casselberry, county community and economic development director, reported that the county’s Master Plan has been updated, adopted by the planning commission and ratified by the county commis-

sioners. Two working groups, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) and Oil and Gas Group, will wrap up their recommendations within the next few weeks. School superintendent Caryn Gibson and finance director Jim Ventrello discussed the possibility of a bond issue or mill levy override to address funding for transportation needs. All the school buses, bought in 2004, are paid for; however, Ventrello said all the buses are requiring major repairs at the same time. New buses will cost $90,000 to $100,000 each, with the activity buses costing $110,000 each. A high priority for the school district is school safety, and deferred maintenance on the district’s 25-plus buildings, all built about the same time, will run about $30-to$40 million. Similar budgetary concerns were expressed by representatives of the Delta County Library District. “We are all fighting our MUNICIPAL QUARTERLY TO A3

Photo by Don Benjamin

Teachers from throughout Delta County Joint School District #50 took part last week in the district’s fourth annual legislative day. Responding to questions posed by visiting public policy makers were: (front row, left to right) Dee Holt, Danielle Barnard, Brandy Sparks, Will Forrest, Nick Parsons and Jodi Simpson; (back row) Doug Craig, Gina Tilelli and Eric Hollembeak. The event was held at Paonia Junior/Senior High School. Holt, Sparks and Forrest teach at Paonia High School, Simpson teaches at Paonia Elementary, Barnard at Delta Middle School, Parsons at Cedaredge High School, Craig at Cedaredge Middle School, Tilelli at Garnet Mesa Elementary in Delta and Hollembeak at Hotchkiss High School.

Visiting policy makers hear 50J celebrations, challenges BY DON BENJAMIN Staff Writer

State lawmakers and legislative candidates, county commissioners and candidates, and several other state and local public policy makers assembled last week at Paonia Junior/Senior High School to hear an update of

Rain, at last

Photo by Pat Sunderland

A pickup’s headlights reflect off the wet surface of Main Street in Delta, as light rain fell through much of the day Tuesday. The long-overdue rainfall will stick around through much of the week, thanks to Tropical Storm Rosa.

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Back Page ................... D8 Bruin Tracks ............. C3-6 Business .......................A10 Church ........................... D4 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ............................ D3 North Fork Times ........B1-6 Obituaries .................. A7-8 School Zone ............ A6, C8 Sports ........................B7-10 Surface Creek News ...C1-7 TV Listings ................. D5-6

accomplishments being celebrated by Delta County Joint School District #50. They also heard about challenges the district is facing. The occasion was the district’s fourth annual legislative day, a morning devoted to school issues during which administrators provided updates and teachers responded to audience questions. The meeting was chaired by district superintendent Caryn Gibson, who — along with other administrators — pointed to the consistent work of dedicated teachers as the primary strength of Delta County schools. The district operates 30 instructional sites including the Technical College of the Rockies. The sites include large and small schools all of which are sources of community pride. In particular, Paonia Elementary School was recently awarded the Colorado Succeeds Prize for Transformational Impact. The award is considered one of the highest honors for the state’s public schools and educators. (See story in the Sept. 26, 2018). Gibson emphasized other accomplishments. Delta County is continuing to focus on school safety and the District will be seeking a share of state funds to expand safety efforts. Over 70 percent of the district’s budget is spent on salaries and benefits and

instructional staff received a greater increase than administrators for 2018-19. Curriculum enhancements are ongoing including one-toone Chromebooks learning activities for grades 6-12 and increased emphases on the whole child and on science curriculum. Michael Klouser, director of the Technical College of the Rockies (TCR), reminded the audience that the Delta-based institution is one of only three technical colleges operating in Colorado. Like its sister colleges, TCR is part of the local school district. TCR has a 96 percent student retention rate and a 99 percent graduation rate plus college graduates are placed in the workforce at a rate of 94 percent. The college’s main challenge is finding qualified teachers since many potential technical instructors are already employed in the workplace at higher wages. Paonia Junior/Senior High School principal Randal Palmer told the assembled guests that “for Delta County it’s all about teachers” who care about students and take on extra workloads to help their pupils succeed academically. The challenge is to acquire enough resources to support teacher efforts. Paonia Elementary School (PES) principal Sam Cox told 50J CELEBRATIONS TO A3

Human foot recovered

Support for DMEA

Fair board

Construction at a residence on Cedar Avenue in Crawford unearthed a gruesome discovery — a human foot wrapped in plastic. Sheriff’s deputies and the county coroner responded to the home on Sept. 29. The deputy coroner recalled visiting that home about two years ago, to pick up a male who had died there. The man had a prosthetic leg but had retained his amputated limb. After his death, according to Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee, his widow buried the leg on the property and there it remained until it was dug up last week. “Fortunately, the deputy coroner remembered all the background,” McKee said.

The commissioners have sent a letter announcing their official support for DMEA’s request for grant funding from the Colorado High Cost Fund in its effort to build DMEA’s high-speed, fiber network throughout Delta County. The county has worked to improve economic prospects in its communities, and robust internet and broadband services are a crucial part of that economic plan. DMEA has started to build its fiber to the home project in many of the county’s communities and the commissioners see a positive impact of DMEA’s efforts in the form of new employment opportunities, more efficient government services and higher real estate values.

County commissioners Doug Atchley, Mark Roeber and Don Suppes appointed six members to the Delta County Fair Board at their Oct. 1 meeting. The tenure of the six members will run through September 2021. Heidi Simpson and Kirby Clock will serve at-large, Jarod Keller will represent District 1, and Kelly Korth, Chad Mitchell and Amy Miller will represent District 3.


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