NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
SPORTS
ROAD SHOW
TAXPAYERS SHORTED
RECORD-SETTING RUN
Touring motorists leave generous contribution for host town, B2
Orchard City residents pay for services they haven’t received, C1
Hotchkiss’ Natalie Anderson sets course record at Eagle Valley, C8
DELTA COUNTY
SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 VOL. 129, NO. 38
75¢
INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Hansen retires as county administrator BY ANNETTE BRAND Staff Writer
Susan Hansen has worked for Delta County for 23 years, 20 of those years as county administrator. She will leave that post Friday, Sept. 28. The Board of County Commissioners plans to have her work on occasional special projects in the future. Jan McCracken, currently office manager for Internal Medicine at Delta County Memorial Hospital, served with Hansen for eight years as county clerk and recorder and eight years as county commissioner. “Susan started out in planning and was so pleasant, so positive and so full of energy. When she became county administrator, the employees were glad to have her in that position. We saw her as being a good representative for all of us,” McCracken said. “Susan was a wonderful resource to me. She helped me understand the county clerk’s budget, how it worked, how I could make it more efficient. She functioned as a mentor to me and I respected her and her opinion.” From her broader view as a commissioner, McCracken said, “Susan really cares about the county and its people, its welfare, and she steered the county in a very conservative fiscal way. She kept the reserves going and watched the dollars. Whenever there was a need, Susan showed the commissioners how to pay for that need.”
Current commissioner Doug Atchley also acknowledges Hansen’s fiscal care of county resources. “Susan’s leadership, her conservative style of management, has really paid dividends during these economic times,” he said. “The county has no debt. How many other counties can say that? It is a great fiscal benefit not having to pay interest on debt. It was Susan’s conservative guidance before the 2007 recession came to the forefront that keeps our cost of doing business less now. We continue to provide services to the people of Delta County. There have been cuts, but they have been equitable and fair and have provided value to the taxpayer.” McCracken says Susan never stops thinking, is always searching for ways to make things better, whether it’s the budget, city planning, land development or good elections. She wants to be certain whatever is put forth is the very best it can be. “Susan consults good sources. She is always well prepared, giving written information to the county commissioners and clerk and recorder (who records commissioner meetings). She has been our source for history on issues. She knows where to find details,” McCracken said. “I have often wondered, ‘How does she remember all this?’ Her memory is incredible. There will be a huge vacuum without her memory.” Before his retirement as
Impact fee will go to the voters BY HANK LOHMEYER Staff Writer
In addition to their term limits ballot question, the county commissioners have placed a second question on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. The commissioners want to find out how voters think about using money from impact fees on new development to help pay for county roads, public safety and public health and human services. “We want to let the voters decide,” said Commissioner Doug Atchley. The county government already has legislative authority to impose impact fees, explained Susan Hansen, county administrator. But the complicating twist to this ballot question is that the county needs voter permission to keep and spend any money it might collect from impact fees. The question essentially seeks to “De-bruce” revenue from any and all impact fees the county may in future decide to impose. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Amendment to the state Constitution (TABOR) requires the voters’ approval. Other-
wise, any new government revenue raised from impact fees could not be kept and spent by the government, and it would have to be given back to the voters. Three years ago the county completed a study of growth impacts on county facilities. The study was needed so that the county could demonstrate there is an actual need for impact fee money. The county has not adopted impact fees and is not collecting money from them now. If voters approve the Nov. 6 measure and allow government to keep and spend impact fees, the commissioners will likely adopt fees soon thereafter. From 2005 through 2010 voters “De-bruced” (i.e., allowed the county to keep and spend) certain property tax revenue for use only in road building. It was revenue that otherwise would have been returned to voters through a lower mill levy. That program, which the commissioners decided not to ask voters to renew, has expired. It collected up to $2 million per year for county road improvement work. An impact fee for roads would be IMPACT FEE TO A3
president of Wells Fargo Bank and before being elected as a commissioner, Doug Atchley worked with and observed Susan from the bank’s perspective. He attended numerous Board of County Commissioners meetings. He admired how she conducted herself with the many different commissioners and a wide range of the community. “She has a great ability to work with all types of people. “She is a great listener, always has a thoughtful suggestion, a unique ability to involve the thought process of people and the ability to calm
people down. She is competent and has the ability to get things done,” said Atchley. “The work Susan did in coordinating and mediating with the North Fork Coal Working Group is a noteworthy accomplishment,” he said. “The situation was so divisive, so contentious.” Both McCracken, who was a commissioner in 2006, and Atchley, who remembers the occasion well, think one of Delta County’s finest occasions was the recognition of Susan Hansen as County Administrator of the Year by Colorado Counties, Inc. The recognition
was from her peers, many of whom had sought her advice on their problems in their counties. McCracken said in giving her the award, Susan’s Delta County officials and other county officials throughout the state were acknowledging the work Susan had done with counties, her wealth of wisdom, her logical mind, how she dissects “where we are and where we want to go” and her humble attitude of “I just did what I was supposed to do.” Jim Crook, recently retired Mayor of Crawford, was HANSEN TO A3
Delta County Enrollment CES CHS CMS Crawford Delta Virtual Academy DHS DMS DOS GMES HHS HK-8 LES PES PHS Total
Current 387 249 209 79 15 627 509 98 571 224 348 552 211 234 4313
Last Year 383 259 221 72 15 646 445 91 51 239 356 532 218 258 4286
Diff. 4 -10 -12 7 0 -19 64 7 20 -15 -8 20 -7 -24 27
Vision Surface Creek Vision Delta Vision North Fork Hotchkiss Montessori Delta Academy Total
223 319 118 63 26 749
232 305 96 63 26 722
-9 14 22 0 0 27
5062
5008
54
Overall Total
Enrollment drops in all communities but Delta BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
An influx of about 70 Karen and Karenni students of all ages has pushed enrollment in Delta County Joint School District #50 onto the plus side for 2012-13. Without those students, who recently relocated to Delta with their refugee families, enrollment would be down across the district. As it is, assistant superintendent Kurt Clay noted, numbers dropped in every community but Delta. Garnet Mesa and Lincoln elementary schools not only have more students, they have also seen an increase in the number of students who do not speak English as their first language. Clay said the school district has identified a total of 249 elementary students who
do not speak English at all or have limited English language skills. For that reason, two additional ELL (English Language Learners) teachers have been hired, one to supplement existing staff at each school. Enrollment in Cedaredge, Paonia and Hotchkiss is down overall. At first glance, it would appear that many students in Paonia and Hotchkiss transitioned to the North Fork Vision program, but that’s not the case, Clay said. Vision’s increase of 22 is due in large part to students from neighboring school districts, most of whom were previously homeschooled. Some Paonia High School students are taking advantage of a new alternative education program which operates under the umbrella of Delta
Opportunity School. Clay said the DOS student count of 98 includes about 18 North Fork students who are attending the North Fork Alternative School located on the Paonia campus of Delta-Montrose Technical College. The enrollment figures are considered unofficial until the statewide student count in early October. Those enrollment numbers are the basis for the state funding which provides nearly 60 percent of the school district’s operating revenue. The district budget was developed using the same enrollment numbers as last year, so if the increase continues to hover around 50 or so students, the school district will receive additional revenue of about $325,000.
INDEX
Delta man dies in rainy crash
Huffington seriously injured in accident
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ......................A11 Agriculture .....................B7 Back Page ................. D10 Business .........................B9 Church ............................B8 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Health & Fitness .....B10-12 Legals ......................... D3-8 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ....................A10 School Zone .................. A7 Sports ........................C7-10 Surface Creek News ...C1-3 TV Listings ..................C5-6
Anthony Abachiche, 25, of Delta was killed in an auto accident Tuesday, Sept. 11, at about 2:30 p.m. The Colorado State Petrol reports that Abachiche was traveling eastbound on Highway 50 at mile marker 54 near the Delta-Mesa county line. The weather was rainy and windy at the time. Abachiche lost control of his Volkswagen Passat on the wet roadway and went into the depressed median. He re-entered the highway in the westbound lanes and as his car was skidding broadside, the driver’s side was hit by a westbound Dodge pickup driven by Mitchel Dietrich, 25, of Grand Junction. Abachiche died at the scene. Dietrich received minor injuries. He was not transported to a hospital.
Bonsall Huffington, 80, of Delta was seriously injured in an automobile crash that occurred the afternoon of Sept. 13 just north of Montrose. According to the Colorado State Patrol, Verla Huffington, 79, was eastbound on Highway 50 in a 1994 Pontiac Bonneville shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday. A 2004 Audi A4 driven by Myles Roop of Hotchkiss was also eastbound. For an unknown reason, Roop allegedly struck the right rear section of the Huffingtons’ Bonneville, causing the
vehicle to rotate, leave the left side of the roadway and enter the median. Verla Huffington was treated for minor injuries at Montrose Memorial Hospital. Bonsall Huffington was taken to Montrose Memorial Hospital and then transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, where he was reported to be in fair condition Tuesday. She was wearing a seat belt, he was not. Roop was uninjured. Alcohol, drugs and excessive speed have been ruled out as factors in the accident.