Delta County Independent, Nov. 4, 2018

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NORTH FORK TIMES

SURFACE CREEK NEWS

PROSPERITY PLAN

Hotchkiss merchants lay the groundwork for growth, B1

SPORTS

UNITED IN RESPECT

Cedaredge community honors veterans Friday and Saturday, C1

DELTA COUNTY

SEASONS CHANGE

Fall sports season comes to a close for local high schools, B6-7 NOVEMBER 7, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 45

75¢

INDEPENDENT

www.deltacountyindependent.com

BLM defers sale of North Fork parcels STAFF REPORT

The Bureau of Land Management announced last week the deferral of 58 parcels, including 74,516 acres in the North Fork, from the Dec. 13 oil and gas sale. A statement issued by BLM Colorado Nov. 2 explains, “BLM Colorado is deferring parcels that contain big game habitat in cooperation with a request from the State of Colorado to delay leasing to allow consideration of further habitat protections. The State of Colorado had also requested leasing in the North Fork Valley be delayed until the Uncompahgre Resource Management Plan is completed.” “While the deferral of these leases is a great short-term result, we are in need of permanent protections for the lands and resources of the North Fork Valley,” said Patrick Cooling, interim director, Western Slope Conservation Center. “We continue to advocate for the inclusion of the North Fork Alternative Plan in the BLM Uncompahgre Field Office’s Resource Management Plan, as we believe it will provide the necessary measures to adequately protect the incredible natural resources of our public lands.” Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet sent letters to the Colorado Bureau of Land Management

requesting these deferrals, amplifying appeals from the state of Colorado, the Town of Paonia, Gunnison County, and conservation groups. “We appreciate the BLM’s thoughtful decision to listen to the concerns of Coloradans,” Bennet said. “The governor and I worked in lockstep to ensure the input of communities, sportsmen, and conservationists was at the center of this process. We will continue working with the BLM to balance responsible energy development with other natural resource priorities in Colorado.” The Western Environmental Law Center provided technical comments opposing these leases and later filed formal protests requesting their deferral. “We’re grateful to Senator Bennet and Governor Hickenlooper for taking action on behalf of the many Coloradans who voiced concerns about oil and gas leasing on these public lands,” said Laura King with the Western Environmental Law Center. “The Bureau of Land Management did the right thing here by acting to better balance public land use in a state with such strong conservation values.” Earlier in October, BLM removed 142 parcels containing greater sage grouse habitat totaling approximately

141,478 acres from the December sale. The December lease sale, which originally included approximately 225,000 acres,

Staff Writer

Jeffrey Wright will be leaving his post as head of the Delta County Office of Emergency Management, effective Dec. 1. Wright moved to Delta County with his wife and their four children in 2013. “We came here for the water,” he said. “That’s what I like most about western Colorado.” The family of six will soon grow to 10 with the pending adoption of four sibling children. The family plans to spend the next 12-18 months touring the country, visiting national parks, museums and historical sites and exposing the children to new and different experiences. “We plan to make it as educational of an experience as possible,” said Wright. Wright has been with the OEM just shy of four years and spent three and a half years with Delta County Dispatch beginning in 2013. He is also a POST-certified sheriff ’s deputy and a graduate of the Delta-Montrose Technical College (now Technical College of the Rockies) Law Enforcement Academy, and has worked as a firefighter and an EMT. Prior to moving to Delta County he headed the Department of Emergen-

INDEX

Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Agriculture ................... B5 Back Page ................... D6 Business .......................A10 Church ............................C6 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A6 School Zone ............... A7-8 Sports ..........................B6-7 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4

cy Management for Kiowa County in southeastern Colorado until budget cuts did away with the position. The best part of his job, he said, has been working with all of the groups, municipalities and districts as the umbrella agency over the past two years as the county updated its 2008 Emergency Management Plan. His decision to leave comes at the end of the process. The final draft was released Oct. 26 and public comments are being accepted through Nov. 14. Kris Stewart will take over for Wright and oversee the final phase of the plan. He will hold the dual title of head of OEM and evidence property room manager. Delta County Undersheriff Mark Taylor called Stewart “a good choice,” in part, because he holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and leadership studies from Johnson & Wales University in Denver and has worked with Wright in the emergency operations center. Stewart also applied for the position in 2013 and decided to re-apply, said Taylor. Wright will spend his final days on the job helping Stewart adjust to his new duties. “I’m just kind of getting my feet under me,” said Stewart.

on proposed oil and gas exploration on private lands and in the Gunnison National Forest north of Paonia.

Photo by Pat Sunderland

When the housing market bottomed out in 2008, Lynn Tallent began building custom homes like this new residence in The Meadows. Now he and other builders are venturing back into spec homes.

Demand for new homes is growing across the county BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor

The City of Delta has issued 16 building permits for new

Kris Stewart to replace Jeff Wright as emergency manager BY TAMIE MECK

will now include 23 parcels totaling 8,347 acres. Delta County continues to work with Gunnison Energy

Stewart has seven and a half years of service with the DCSO, beginning in August 2011, as a patrol deputy. He has been the county investigator for the past three and a half years, during which he undertook the duty of designing the Delta County Sheriff ’s Office’s new evidence room. Since he designed the room and has developed accountability protocol, Taylor said he felt it was important Stewart remain with the evidence department. Stewart credits a paid internship with the Department of Homeland Security for launching his career in law enforcement. He is also an EMT with 10 years of service to the North Fork Ambulance Association. Beginning in 2009 he has coordinated the multi-agency mock crash events for Paonia and Hotchkiss high school students. He is also the graphic designer for the North Fork Ambulance Association and designed its new logo when the association underwent rebranding efforts about two years ago. Stewart also plans to continue as the CPR and first aid instructor for NFAA and will be updating the Delta County Emergency Management Facebook page for the public.

single family homes this year, outpacing the combined total of permits issued in 2017 (six) and 2016 (seven). Delta County is seeing a similar increase, although new homes in unincorporated Delta County are measured not by building permits, but by septic permits. Ken Nordstrom, environmental health director for the Delta County Health Department, reports a total of 109 permits in 2018, including 87 for new construction — the most since 2008. With 58 (30 new) permits in 2012, that year was the lowest since the permit process was instituted in 1972. The numbers have steadily been climbing since then — 72 total in 2015, including 48 new; and 76 in 2016, including 51 new. “Things are looking up!” Nordstrom said. In Delta, Steve Gerow of SWG Enterprises decided to test the market with two new spec houses in Stone Mountain Village. “I had no idea what the market would be like, but we got quite a few lookers and contracts on them right away. That tells me there’s demand for new housing so I’m going to build a few more.” He also builds houses in Grand Junction, which he says has a pretty active market. He’s not sure what’s driving the demand for new housing, but speculates Delta might be drawing the overflow from Montrose and Grand Junction. The two houses in Delta sold for about $250,000, which is comparable to prices in Grand Junction but a bit more affordable than Montrose.

Lynn Tallent started building homes in 2000 but moved away from spec homes when the recession hit in 2008 and the market was flooded with foreclosures. “We evolved into custom homes and that’s what kept us going all these years,” Tallent said. “I think in 2008, we dropped from 30 to 40 homes a year to just three, but those three kept us going.” Now Tallent is venturing back into the spec home business with two houses going up in the Fox Hollow Subdivision. “We’re starting to get back into spec homes because there’s a lack of new home stock in town,” Tallent said. “It’s almost non existent.” Between projects in Delta and Montrose, he said he’s doing about 70 percent custom houses and 30 percent spec houses. Nearly all his custom clients are retirees who are coming from the Front Range and finding they can move into a new custom-built home that’s a great value compared to what they sold in Denver. His biggest challenge now is finding skilled workers. Due to a lack of qualified labor, the national average for a home build is now 8 to 10 months. Tallent said he’s fortunate to have a good crew that’s been with him for years, but he recognizes that as the average worker approaches retirement age, the construction industry is facing a huge shortage. That’s creating a competitive environment that’s driving up prices for subcontractors — and for the finished product.

StoryWalk installed at Sweitzer Lake

Weigh in on hazard risks

Delta County Libraries, The Nature Connection (TNC), and Colorado Parks and Wildlife proudly present the StoryWalk® at Sweitzer Lake State Park in Delta. The installation of the StoryWalk® was made possible by funding provided by a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Inspire Initiative grant, awarded to TNC in December 2017. The first StoryWalk® at Sweitzer Lake State Park is “The Pirate Cruncher” by Johnny Duddle, on display through December. A mysterious old pirate tells a tavern of salty seadogs about an island bursting with hidden treasure. But once they set sail, he also mentions that it is guarded by the terrible Pirate Cruncher. When the pirates’ greed gets the better of their fear, there’s a big surprise in store! Find out how the story goes on the Sweitzer Lake State Park StoryWalk® in November and December. Then, visit Delta Library to listen to the book on CD and create a pirate map! Contact Delta Library at 970-874-9630 for more information and stay tuned for more StoryWalk® news in the coming months.

As part of a communitywide natural hazard risk reduction effort, Delta County, the school district, each fire protection district and the communities of Cedaredge, Delta, Hotchkiss, Paonia and Crawford are seeking input on the draft Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Residents are invited to review and provide feedback on information regarding natural hazards in the community and the mitigation strategies developed through this collaborative effort. View the plan at delta.mitigatehazards.com and see a complete article on page A6.


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