CPA contest -Public Service- CPD entry

Volume 116, Number 49

Shorts Free spay/neuter clinic set in Center

CENTER— There will be a free spay/neuter clinic at the Center Fire Station on Dec. 8 and 9; it will be first come, first served. Check in is from 7:30 – 8 a.m., and pick up of pets will be at 5:30 p.m. Age appropriate shots will be given. Bring cats, kittens, dogs and puppies. Due to no-shows at previous clinics, this clinic will be on a first come, first served basis. If you show up on the Friday by 8 a.m. and the clinic is full, you will be given a rain check for the following day, but you must be there by 8 a.m. the next morning.

Craft fair, JDRF fundraiser set MOSCA—There will be a local craft fair and JDRF fundraiser, Saturday, Dec. 9. at the Sangre de Cristo School cafeteria. This event will feature local crafters and homebased business owners and is the perfect chance to finish holiday shopping! Throughout the day, items from the vendors will be raffled off and proceeds will go to JDRF to support their search for the cure of Type 1 Diabetes- an autoimmune disease that affects the everyday lives of children and adults around the globe. Vendors are still wanted; call or text 580-618-4076 for more info.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Gonzales case headed for jury

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — By Thursday the fate of Charles M. Gonzales, accused of murdering mountain bike enthusiast Michael Rust will be in the hands of the jury following a trial that lasted nearly two weeks. Rust was missing and presumed dead for nearly seven years before relatives were alerted to Gonzales’ possible role in the murder.

Michael Rust, 55, disappeared from his Saguache County home on March 31, 2009, after arriving at his residence following a grocery shopping trip to discover what he believed was a break-in. He called a friend and told her he was going to follow tracks outside his home to see

where they led. Later Rust’s bloody fleece vest was discovered near his home and the motorcycle he was riding was found in a ravine.

Gonzales’ name as a possible suspect was voiced around even in the early days of the investigation, but solid proofs linking him to Rust’s disappearance were lacking. Later Gonzales confessed to relatives that he killed Rust in self-defense while in prison on unrelated charges.

Coroner Robert Brux Testimony began Nov. 29, with the prosecution calling those involved in the early days of the investigation to the stand, including former Saguache County sheriff Mike Norris. Superior

Court Judge Jane A. Tidball from the Denver area is presiding at the trial.

On Thursday, Nov. 30, El Paso County Coroner Robert C. Brux, M.D. testified that when the skeleton of Michael Rust was discovered on the property of Charles Gonzales’s father, Guadalupe, it was mainly intact with only the right tibia, fibula, coccyx, and windpipe membranes and a few finger bones missing.

The mandible of the skeleton was still intact and Rust was identified through dental records.

Brux said he found internal beveling from a gunshot wound to the back of the skull, but no knife marks on the bone. He concluded by Please see JURY on Page 7A

Christmas spirit shines at bazaar

Veteran Coalition meetings move to new location ALAMOSA — The Veterans Coalition of the SLV is pleased to facilitate the monthly meeting with the VA ECHCS (Eastern Colorado Health Care System) at a new and larger venue.

Meetings will now be held at the SLV Health Education and Conference Center (formerly Grizzly Inn Restaurant), 1921 Main St. in Alamosa. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 20 from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

All veterans are welcome. Veterans can bring any healthcare questions, concerns or issues to the meeting. VA representatives who understand their needs in the Valley will be there to assist them. The CHOICE program, appointments, travel, medication and any other health issues are acceptable topics.

For more information, call 719-9924108 or email sahndra.vcslv@gojade.org

Charles M. Gonzales

Ruggles wins AllAmerican

BY TERESA L. BENNS

McADENVILLE N.C.— Center High School senior Camille Ruggles has captured the Amateur Athletic Unions’s (AAU) All-American award during cross country competition held last week in McAdenville “Christmas Town” North Carolina. Ruggles placed eighth in the 17-18 women’s age group.

This is the second time Ruggles’ has earned an All-American award in her career. She also won the award in the regionals as a sophomore.

Ruggles said she began her track career in middle school, running cross-country with Monte Vista until the school lost its team. She then ran for a week with the Sargent team before transferring to Center, where she has run ever since.

“I had to choose between volleyball and track, but I chose track because I am better at it and like it more,” Ruggles explained. “Once I was in high school I trained hard and it got better and better.”

Ruggles placed seventh in regionals as a freshman, then fifth in regionals Please see RUGGLES on Page 8A

Saguache County closures

SAGUACHE— Saguache County Courthouse will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 14 from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Normal business will resume at that time.

All Saguache County offices also will close on Friday, Dec. 15, 12 p.m. so employees may attend the county Christmas luncheon.

50¢

Photos by Teresa L. Benns

Above: Valley to Va l l e y S e n i o r s director Eve Braden greets visitors at the annual Saguache Christmas Bazaar Saturday.

Right: This wood scrollwork booth was one of several booths new to the 2017 Faith and Ethan Coleman visit with Saguache Christmas Santa at the Saguache Christmas Bazaar. Bazaar.

Commissioners hear marijuana licensing concerns

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — At the regular Saguache County Commissioner’s meeting Tuesday, Saguache County resident Bill Case presented commissioners with a mass of documentation outlining the county’s acceptance of marijuana applications that may not have been filed according to state law.

Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) license application irregularities were identified by Case for two different Saguache County retail marijuana cultivation facilities — G5 LLC and IKAR LLC — in addition to a word of caution

regarding Stryker LLC. In the case of G5 LLC, Case noted that under Ownership Structure as defined on page three of the MED application: • Only one key person is documented in this section of the application • There are other persons with an ownership interest clearly documented in G5 Acquisitions LLC documentation supplied to the county during the first quarter of 2017 that proves otherwise. There are multiple non-residents who should also have been documented on the MED Application along with a resident who was designated as an owner on

a water sales agreement.

IKAR LLC was cited by Case for irregularities that are specific to: • Signature notarization — The two persons who have an ownership interest listed in the Ownership Structure on the MED application did not have their signatures notarized as required. The only signatures that were notarized were their spouses.

Yet this application was approved by the MED. • Residency claims — a concern that warrants further review. The spouses’ signatures were notarized in Illinois. The two persons who have an ownership interest documented

on the application that their location was in Denver when completing the application and both have Resident Associated Key licenses issued by the MED. The primary concern is related to the actual residency of one or both of the Associated Keys, considering the fact that their spouses are still in Illinois. State law requires them to reside in Colorado.

Case also warned residents about the plans of Stryker LLC (a marijuana cultivation facility on 400 acres in Saguache County). This LLC has a long-term plan to build Please see CONCERNS on Page 7A

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 7A

YOUR NIGHT SKY

BY D ARLENE D ANKO Coming up next week is one of the best meteor showers of the year, and I believe the best for this year since the Perseids were hidden with the bright moon. The Gemenids run from Dec. 4-16, and peak the night of Dec. 13. They are the most prolific and so fabulous that you’ll have a few great nights before and after then to watch them. So you don’t have to worry if Dec. 13 is going to be a bad night for viewing.

Since the new moon is on Dec. 18, the waning crescent moon won’t appear until after 3 a.m. on Dec. 14. Even then it will only be a thin

crescent, so it won’t interfere with your meteor watching.

You can start looking for these meteors at nightfall, but obviously they will be more productive after midnight when the constellation Gemini is high in the sky. This is the only major meteor shower that provides good early evening v iewing.

Gemini rises in the east, so that’s where to start looking for them in the evening. At this time they will produce a large number of Earth grazers. As you know, these are brilliant streaks of light that move slowly along the horizon.

JURY

Continued from Page 1A restating that the cause of death was a gunshot wound and manner of death was determined to be a homicide.

Brux also testified the Maglite flashlight found with the body fit an indentation on the back of Rust’s head, but he could not be sure what instrument caused that injury.

Gonzales’s girlfriend, Lewis, and Michael Gonzales Susan Lewis, Gonzales’s former live-in girlfriend, took the stand next.

Lewis told Newmyer-Olsen she had been living with Gonzales’s “on and off” for 15 years. Lewis detailed to the prosecution how through phone conversations and letters, also a visit to see Gonzales in prison Dec. 27, 2015, she had learned of his involvement in the Rust case.

Lewis explained that when she visited Gonzales in prison, his father, Guadalupe, was also present. The elder Gonzales told his son the police were going to search his ranch for Rust’s remains. According to Lewis, Gonzales said: “They are going to find him.” Charles Gonzales then went on to say to Lewis Rust had confronted him in the mountains and followed him to the ranch. He then hit Rust with something on the back of his head and he fell in the hole.

Lewis was overcome with emotion during her testimony regarding Rust’s demise, but quickly recovered and continued to answer the prosecution’s questions.

Michael Gonzales, who followed Lewis as a witness, testified he knew about the murder and spoke to Deputy Wayne Clark about Rust’s whereabouts in October 2015. Rust’s body was found shortly thereafter, when a site on the ranch of Guadalupe Gonzales, Charles Gonzales father, was excavated.

Guadalupe Gonzales Guadalupe “Lupe” Gonzales testified Friday, Dec. 1 concerning his son’s activities before and after Rust’s disappearance. G. Gonzales owns a ranch in Moffat where he raised livestock and his children and grandchildren played off and on for years.

Sometime before January 2015, G. Gonzales said, then sheriff Mike Norris asked him if he could come out to his property and dig into some of the holes there. Gonzales replied sure, as long as he could be there when they came. At the time, however, Gonzales’s wife was ill and he had

to postpone the dig, he explained.

Later she passed away and Gonzales said Norris “gave me time” before he asked again.

In the meantime, G. Gonzales said, he spoke to his son Charles in late 2015 (December) and told him the sheriff wanted to dig up the holes. That is when Charles told his father they couldn’t dig “because they will find him,” as his girlfriend Susan Lewis testified Thursday. Lewis was with Gonzales during the visit. Gonzales’ voice rose and he became agitated on the stand as he recounted the visit.

“Charles said he [Rust] was shooting and following him, came onto the land and he told me ‘he was going to kill me.’ He said he whacked him with a board and he fell down.

According to G. Gonzales, Charles also told him, “It was either him or me.” G. Gonzales asked Charles why he did not call the cops “then and there, those were my exact words. Between that and my wife, I was gone.”

12 th Judicial District Attorney Crista Newmyer-Olsen asked G. Gonzales if his son asked him to move the body. “Yes,” Gonzales replied, indicating he refused to do it. The next thing he did, Gonzales said, was to call police.

Inmate testifies On Monday Dec. 4, a former inmate who served with Charles Gonzales testified that Gonzales Philip Romero, the last witness for the day Monday, said Gonzales asked him for an opinion concerning a case he was about to present to his lawyers.

According to Romero: “He told me he passed the property and he was having problems at one time coming down [from the mountains]. He got into a staring contest with this guy, said he got out of the truck and shot him.”

Gonzales also told Romero he “broke into his house, stole a gun and shot him with his own gun. He also said something about some marijuana. Said he had a hard time putting his body into the back of the truck and he took and buried him.”

Romero said Gonzales told him he turned the story around in talking to his lawyers, telling them the other person had the gun and he only shot him in self-defense, in the chest or stomach area. Romero said he later had Gonzales’ story investigated and reported to Saguache County officials.

On Tuesday, the defense was set to call its witnesses.

CONCERNS

Continued from Page 1A the “world’s largest cultivation facilities” in Saguache County, which is documented in a recent online “Cannabis Entrepreneur” interview with a Stryker co-owner.

(See http://www.cannapreneurmag. com/2017/07/17/cannapreneurberlin-obutler/).

“This is a very disturbing interview that everyone should read,” Case

advised. He reported that following his presentation, County Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez copied supporting documentation related to the above concerns for perusal by the county attorney.

Editor’s Note: Bill Case supplied the outline and documentation for this article.

Even though they’re named for Gemini the Twins where they seem to originate, they streak across all parts of the sky. Earth crosses the orbital path of 3200 Paethon, which is either an asteroid or burnt out comet orbiting our Sun. Its debris burns up as it enters our atmosphere to give us this meteor shower.

These particular meteors travel at slow speed because they hit our atmosphere at a low angle. So they’re referred to as the slow pokes of the meteor world. But when they do this, they produce fireballs which are huge bright meteors.

You should be able to see at least

50 per hour during the peak since they can produce up to 120 per hour.

You need to remember that meteors come in spurts. So you can see 10 in five minutes or none in 10 minutes. A wise man once said that meteor watching is a lot like fishing. “You can go outside, enjoy nature all around you, and hope you can catch some.” So you can look out a window or door, or bundle up and go outside to recline in a chair.

Then enjoy the sky while meteors randomly appear. You should give yourself an hour to observe.

Even though Winter solstice

arrives on Dec. 21 when winter begins, our Sun sets earlier in the month. Around here the earliest sunset is close to Dec. 7. That just gives better meteor watching.

I hope to see you at the South Fork Winterfest this Friday and Saturday.

Volume 116, Number 50

Shorts

Center schools close for virus cleanup

CENTER — A number of students were sent home Monday from Center Schools, Superintendent Chris Vance reported Monday, following an outbreak of a highly contagious viral stomach infection. Many other students are absent from school with the virus.

After consulting with the regional epidemiologist and the Saguache County Public Health Nurse the school was declared closed Tuesday. The closure allowed the entire school to be disinfected with a high concentrate of bleach, which is the only thing that will kill the virus.

Students exhibiting symptoms of the virus (upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, fever) MUST stay home for 48 hours after the last episode of any of these symptoms. Classes resumed on Wednesday.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Marijuana application issues still in question

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE COUNTY— An independent researcher believes s/ he has verified serious problems with at least eight different marijuana applications filed with the state and in Saguache County and has identified several irregularities in associated key licenses and other filings.

Bill Case, who has access to the research, took the applications matter up with Saguache County

Commissioners at their Dec. 5 meeting. He is on the agenda again for Dec. 19 and Jan. 9 to reveal more findings to commissioners.

Primary licensees for marijuana operations must reside in Colorado, but associated key license holders may live out of state. The regulations published by the state regarding associated key licenses is listed below.

R 204.5 – Disclosure, Approval and Review of Business Interests (page 33):

Control Any other Person who exercises controlorispositionedsoastoenablethe exercise of control over the Retail Marijuana Establishment must hold an Associated Key License.Anaturalpersonwhoexercises controlorispositionedsoastoenablethe exercise of control over a Retail Marijuana Establishment shall include but shall not be limited to a natural person who:

Saguache Dems Central Committee meeting set

SAGUACHE—The Saguache County Democratic Party Central Committee will meet on Monday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Saguache Road & Bridge Meeting Room, 305 3rd St., to hear reports from the state executive and central committee meetings and other state party news, plan the 2018 County Assembly and discuss 2018 candidates. With questions about the meeting or to become more involved with the party, please contact at Kevin Noland 970351-6747 or nolandkk@gmail.com.

Central Committee members who are authorized to vote on any matters coming before the meeting are officers, precinct committee persons and elected officials of the County party.

The meeting is open to the public.

All are welcome; please join.

Saguache Veterans Service can help

SAGUACHE—The Saguache County Veterans Service Office has limited funds to assist with rent, utilities, food and gas. Contact Jim Sheeran at 719-655-2680 or at jsheeran@saguachecounty-co. gov for more information.

a. Bears the risk of loss and opportunity for profit; b. Has final decision-making authority overanymaterialaspectoftheoperationof the Retail Marijuana Establishment; c. Manages the overall operations of a Retail Marijuana Establishment or its Licensed Premises, or who manages a material portion of the Retail Marijuana Establishment or its Licensed Premises;

Please see ISSUES on Page 2A

Saguache board discusses water issues

BY TERESA L. BENNS

Active duty troops’ names needed SAN LUIS VALLEY— Valley Publishing will be running a special holiday salute in the papers on Dec. 20 to honor and thank local active duty military personnel. Please send names of any Valley residents currently serving our country by Monday, Dec. 18, noon. Names can be emailed to: MonteVistaNews@gmail.com or faxed to 852-3387. Please include their hometowns, along with their military branches.

50¢

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

The Teddy Garcia family meets with Center Middle School teacher Luis Murillo at the Garcia home in Center.

Home visits help families, schools connect B Y T ERESA L. BENNS CENTER— Center School’s Parent Engagement program, part of the school’s Parents Involved with Center Students group, is helping bring parents, students and administrators together to teach the whole child, and better understand how to motivate students to succeed.

The program uses home visits by teachers to help bring the

family unit and the school closer together to create awareness about student needs.

In a video created about the program, made available by Middle School Principal Luis Murillo, parents explain how they have benefited from the program and why it is helping them help their children do better in school.

“It is important to get parents involved in things [like

understanding bullying],” one mom said in the video. “You have to make the time to learn about what they are learning. It opened my eyes and brought my daughter and I closer.”

A teacher who conducted a home visit said in the video he thought he was making the visit to impact parents but found himself Please see VISITS on Page 6A

SAGUACHE—The Saguache Town Board met Monday to review its proposed budget and discuss a water quality improvement grant, also to address water table problems plaguing town residents.

Town Clerk Iris Garcia gave a rundown of the meeting Tuesday, reporting that trustees passed a resolution approving the water quality grant and the approved the proposed budget following the required budget hearing. The town’s mill levy also was certified with the county.

Trustees approved applications for credit cards for town employees and also approved their holiday schedule.

Several town residents have reported issues with rising water levels beneath their homes recently, Garcia said. This can be attributed to either a high water table or irrigation issues. The town will address the problem by consulting with the STM engineer on board for the town’s water system overhaul.

STM, from their Gunnison office, will likely consult with a hydrologist to determine the cause of the problem and address it. The town also with

Please see WATER on Page 6A

Judge sentences Gonzales to life without parole

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — After deliberating for several hours, a jury empaneled to decide the fate of Charles M. Gonzales in the death of Michael D. Rust in 2009 returned a verdict at 1:20 p.m.

Thursday afternoon of guilty on all counts.

Once the guilty verdict was delivered, Judge Jane Tidball sentenced Gonzales to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, to run concurrently (both at the same time), on first-degree murder without deliberation and first-degree felony murder.

She also sentenced Gonzales to 12 years for burglary, 18 months for tampering with evidence and 12 months for both theft and abuse of a corpse, to run concurrently in

county jail.

The jury was polled at the request of public defender Amanda Hopkins and all affirmed without hesitation they voted to convict Gonzales of murder and the other crimes he was charged with.

Twelvth Judicial District Attorney Crista Newmyer-Olsen commented following the verdict: “I am very glad the Rust family finally found justice and closure.”

Public defender Hopkins said Gonzales is a person too and he has “family, children, grandchildren who love him” and his family, like the Rusts, has also been “haunted by this for the last eight years. Hopefully they can heal too.” Hopkins confirmed later that Gonzales will be appealing his conviction.

Michael Rust’s sister, Mary Anne Crandall, told Judge Tidball: “The time for regret is long past. Charles Gonzales is a gang member wannabe, an evil murderer who has never taken responsibility. My parents both died without knowing what happened to their son. Two brothers died before Mike; we are no strangers to sorrow.”

Crandall said Gonzales’ only place is in prison for life.

Charles Gonzales apologized to the Rust family saying, “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I am sorry for what happened to his body — that was a horrible thing to do. I will pray for the Rust family.” He indicated, however, that he did not feel the verdict was a fair one.

Please see RUST on Page 6A

Michael D. Rust

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

NIGHT SKY

MOUNTAIN VALLEY SUPERINTENDENT'S CORNER

BY DARLENE DANKO If you missed the peak of the Gemenid meteors, you have until Dec. 17 to view them. Another meteor shower is coming up next week that doesn’t have a history of great viewing. The theory is that because the sky is usually cloudy and snowing this time of year, people don’t watch for them. But obviously that hasn’t been happening here this year.

These are the Urseid meteors which peak on the morning of Dec. 22.

Since the new moon is on Dec. 18, it won’t interfere with their viewing.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of history about the Urseids since they haven’t been heavily viewed.

They originate from comet 8P/ Tuttle, and appear in the north sky in the Little Dipper which is in the constellation Ursa Minor. The Big Dipper is very low in the sky this time of year with the Little Dipper slightly above it to the left. Ursa Minor doesn’t get very high in the sky this time of year, so when they peak in the morning, they won’t be overhead.

The Urseids have been known to produce up to 100 meteors per hour, but usually only produce about 10 per hour. So if you’re interested, look in the north in the evening of Dec. 21 or before dawn on Dec. 22. You never know if they will give us 100 to see!

The longest lunar month of the 21st Century is coming up between the new moons of Dec. 18 and Jan. 17, 2018. A lunar month is the period of time between successive new moons.

This is generally 29.53 days, but this time it will be 29 days, 19 hours and 47 minutes. That’s about seven hours longer than usual.

There are several reasons why this happening. One is that these two new

BY SUPERINTENDENT TRAVIS GAROUTTE moons coincide with the lunar apogee, which is the moon’s most distant point in its monthly orbit around Earth. This December apogee is the most distant for this year. The January apogee is the most distant for 2018. So they just happen to be back to back. Also, Earth will reach perihelion, its closest point to the Sun in its yearly orbit, on Jan. 3, 2018.

The moon travels slower in orbit when it’s farther from Earth, and faster when it’s closer. The moon is near perigee, closest to Earth, during three consecutive full moons right now, which is why we had a super moon this month, and two are coming up next month.

The super moon on Jan. 1 will be the largest for 2018. This is due to the fact that it will be most closely aligned with the lunar perigee for the year. This full moon will occur only 4.5 hours after it reaches lunar perigee.

On Jan. 2 Earth will reach its closest position to the Sun for 2018. This always happens in January. Earth’s tilt prevents the northern hemisphere from getting hot when this happens.

Perigee comes from the Greek words peri which means near, and helios which means Sun. If you’ve looked out an east window around 6 AM you’ll see bright Jupiter.

To its upper right are two dimmer objects close to each other. The brighter one on the right is the star Spica, and to its left the dimmer one is Mars. That will change next summer when Mars brightens up considerable.

Shorts continued

Submission deadline extended SAN LUIS VALLEY—The submission deadline for The Circle Book: A Conejos County Anthology 2018 has been extended to Jan. 5, 2018. The Conejos Writers are excited about the seventh volume of writing and artwork from people who live in and care about the San Luis Valley. For more information, please download a submission form at www.conejoswritiers. org, or call 719-580-4114.

Time running out for 2017 firewood permits

MONTE VISTA— Due to the low snowpack, there continues to be a high demand for Rio Grande National Forest firewood permits.

As a reminder, those permits will expire on Dec. 31, 2017.

The forest will send out an announcement when the 2018 permits are available, which are not expected until later in the winter.

For the most current information on the availability of 2018 firewood permits, contact the supervisor’s office at 719-852-5941.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

The design process for the new PreK-12 school at Mountain Valley is underway! We have assembled a fantastic team and are quickly making progress towards realizing the hopes and dreams for the future of our school and community.

After a transparent and competitive interview and bidding process, Mountain Valley School District has hired NV5 as owner’s representatives, TreanorHL as the architectural and engineering firm, and FCI Constructors. This team is a great fit for our school and community, and I am excited to be working closely with them during the design and construction of our new school.

Additionally, over 15 community members have volunteered to serve on the Design Advisory

Group (DAG). The DAG met on Dec. 6 for around three hours and discussed hopes, dreams, goals, visions, opportunities, and challenges around the new school design. It was a great first meeting full of enthusiasm and optimism as possible school placement and designs were discussed and modeled.

One of the responsibilities of DAG members is to solicit feedback from various stakeholders in the community and relay that information to the design team.

If you would like to share your thoughts and ideas before our next community meeting, please contact one of the following DAG members: Amber Johnson, Aubrey Hill, Julia Hammel, Kathy Hill, Lacy Reed, Lisa Jaminet, Bobbie Baughman, Marilyn Fenton, Mark Hammel, Mona Lovato, Paula

Lujan, Peggy Williams, Yvonne Morfitt, Eric Frey, May Engquist, Chuck Tidd, or Travis Garoutte.

It is important that the new school design includes input from all stakeholders. In the end, we want a school that meets the needs of our students and community.

These are exciting times for our students, staff, and community. I encourage everyone to visit with DAG members, attend community meetings, and take an active role as we design and build a new school at Mountain Valley.

Have a great week!

ISSUES

Continued from Page 1A d. Guarantees the Retail Marijuana Establishment’s debts or production levels; e. Is a beneficiary of the Retail Marijuana Establishment’s insurance policies; f. Receives the majority of the Retail Marijuana Establishment’s profits as compared to other recipients of the Retail Marijuana Establishment’s profits; or g.Acknowledges liability for the Retail Marijuana Establishment’s federal, state or local taxes.

The following rule shows where 50 percent of the money collected from each application is supposed to go.

Associated Key licenses, especially for an out-of-state person, can be very expensive to obtain.

R 1401 – Instructions for Local Jurisdictions and Law Enforcement

Officers (page 209) A. Division Protocol for Retail Marijuana Establishments 2. The Division shall forward half of the total application fee with the copy of the Retail Marijuana Establishment application to the relevant local jurisdiction.

It is not clear if Saguache County collects this 50 percent cut from the state or not. The paper trail for recording payments received by Land Use for marijuana revenues has not been produced for the public to view.

Reportedly, cash payments from marijuana producers paying excise tax are taken to Land Use then turned over to the treasurer’s office. It is not clear how other marijuana related revenues are reported or documented

by Saguache County administration.

Treasurer Connie Trujillo was not available for comment on Tuesday.

During the county’s audit in September, Wall, Smith and Bateman (WSB) did list several findings and commented that a lack of internal controls over financial reporting “is a repeat over several years.� Some date this back as long ago as 2009.

This is cited in the audit findings as a non-compliance material to financial statements and a financial material weakness. She listed these as not reconciling various financial accounts.

Accounts are not reconciled to what the county clerk has, which has the potential to become a material misstatement, A WSB representative told commissioners and administration.

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Volume 116, Number 51

Shorts

Christmas Eve services in Center announced

CENTER—Christmas Eve, Sunday, Dec. 24 church services in Center will be as follows: at the First Baptist Church in Center, at 10 a.m. will be fellowship and refreshments and at 10:30 a.m. worship and a celebration of Jesus’s birth. Then at 7 p.m. at the Center United Methodist Church there will be a worship and candlelight service.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Citizens rally to support sheriff, deputies

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— After learning last week Saguache County could lose its sheriff and several deputies if basic sheriff ’s office needs are not met by commissioners, Saguache citizens crowded into the commissioners meeting room and overflowed into the courthouse lobby to express their concerns Tuesday.

During the commissioner meeting citizen comment period, numerous citizens took commissioners to task for not sufficiently funding the sheriff’s office, especially in light of the growing marijuana industry (both

legal and illegal) and the county’s chosen path to allow development of unlimited grows.

Mandatory services counties must provide by law include “the provision of jails, weed control, and establishment of a county or district public health agency to provide, at minimum, health and human services mandated by the state” (Colorado Local Government Handbook).

Currently the jail maintained by the county is understaffed, is in violation of health standards and is inadequate to serve the increase in crime the county has seen since

the passage of Amendment 64, legalizing marijuana. This was made public prior to the sale tax initiative to build a new justice complex that failed in 2016.

While commissioners have argued that the maintenance of the jail does not mean mandatory funding of the sheriff’s office, prisoners cannot be taken off the streets and safely detained unless deputies are paid well enough to conduct the investigations and make the arrests, as several citizens have pointed out.

And unless prisoners are granted their civil rights, the county is open

MONTE VISTA—The free Monte Vista ice rink is scheduled to open this Friday, Dec. 22 (weather permitting) just in time for Christmas break. There are still some skates to use but check with the local stores or online just in case. Open every day until 7 p.m. Check online at www.

SkateMonteVista.com or call 8526168 for more information.

to lawsuits over wrongful injury and death and jail personnel and deputies are at risk of being attacked or murdered in their own complex.

The possibility that deputies and jail personnel could make serious mistakes is compounded by the fact they are overworked and not sufficiently staffed, increasing the possibility of error.

Citizens’ comments Beginning with the statement “Principles before personalities,”

Please see RALLY on Page 10A

Students participate in Sharing Christmas

Dear Santa...

Ski Hi Ice Rink to open Friday

CENTER — People with a Cause (sponsor Adele Alfson) and Key Club (sponsor Kindra Rounds) participated once again this year in the Saguache County Sharing Christmas toy and food drive.

There was $900 in donations for toys and food. Del Norte Bank contributed $250 and another anonymous food donor $250, for a total of $500 in food donations.

People with A Cause and Key Club students volunteered to go shopping on Thursday at K & J Thriftway to buy over 400 items. The staff of Center Schools also donated over 300 food items.

Come jam Dec. 23 at WWS DELNORTE—Wildwood Sounds presents “We Be Jammin’” open mic & jam session Saturday, Dec. 23.

Doors open at 2 p.m. A Mexican dish for a potluck or donation are your ticket in. Perform three songs, join a jam session or just come to listen.

Bring your own equipment. For more information call 657-4757. Wildwood Sounds is located in Del Norte at 850 Grande Ave. on Highway 160.

Please see SHARING on Page 3A

Help provide firewood for La Puente

SAN LUIS VALLEY— As the temperature drops below zero, it takes more wood to heat the homes of people who use wood as their sole source of heating. La Puente is in need of volunteers to get the wood split and ready to bring relief to local families.

Volunteers with chainsaw skills are most needed, but anyone of all skill levels is invited to help split.

To volunteer, call Shanae at 719587-3499 or email volunteers@ lapuente.net

50¢

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

These youngsters met up with Santa at Center’s Casa Blanca Park Saturday to deliver their wish lists and receive a bag of candy. See more photos on Page 8A.

Pharmaceutical company exposed as SLV opioid supplier

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAN LUIS VALLEY — A 60 Minutes episode that aired on CBS Sunday fingered the country’s largest drug distributor, headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. as literally getting away with murder in saturating the San Luis Valley with opioids.

McKesson Corporation raked in billions distributing addictive opioids over the years, the segment’s producers noted. But the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was

unable to prosecute the company despite the growing opioid epidemic because with the Department of Justice and Congress cut a backdoor deal with McKesson in 2014.

Rather than fine the company a billion dollars, revoke their license to distribute products and jail their chief executive, which DEA agents had hoped to do, agents were forced to settle the case with a $150 million fine, for a company that reportedly makes $100 million a week. One New

Hampshire senator who criticized Congress for the settlement told CBS the pharmaceutical companies are doing all they can to keep the epidemic going.

According to the report: “DEA investigators discovered McKesson was shipping the same quantities Courtesy photo of opioid pills to small-town pharmacies in Colorado’s San Luis A student volunteer wraps presents Valley as it would typically ship for children who might not get anything else for Christmas this Please see OPIOIDS on Page 11A year.

Page 10A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, December 21, 2017

RALLY

Continued from Page 1A Bonanza resident Bill Case opened citizen comments Tuesday telling commissioners he has contacted his state senator, the Attorney Generals’ office in Denver and no one can help. “It is now up to commissioners,” he said. “You cannot evade responsibility by shifting power to another.”

He cited a Colorado revised statute governing commissioners which states: “[Commissioners] are vested with reasonable discretion to be used to serve the interests of the citizens of Colorado [of whom] commissioners are simply the representatives.” Case closed by saying the commissioners’ number one responsibility was providing for the safety and security of the county.

The next citizen to speak advised that while commissioners are fond of saying Saguache County residents voted for the legalization of marijuana, “the citizens of Colorado did not vote for illegal marijuana grows or to underpay the sheriff’s office. These officers are here to protect us and they put their lives on the line. You must put a moratorium on marijuana, raise the salaries of these officers and the county assessor. They need help, so fund them. Put aside your egos.”

Another citizen said the sheriff’s office must be funded and told commissioners she intends to read the budget and discover why this is not already the case.

Crestone resident Lisa Cyriacks reminded commissioners she has looked at the budget and even if the figures are already factored in “a few things in the budget can be amended.” She noted there has been a decline in morale, not just at the sheriff’s office but among county employees in general. “We need a real evaluation of the budget,” Cyriacks said. “The general fund is $657,000 more than in 2017 and you also received $80,000 more in PILT finds than you expected. It’s time to have a discussion about how these monies are spent.”

Another citizen demanded commissioners become “proactive and innovative,” and “support law enforcement in every possible way.

Everyone is talking about this — it’s not going away.”

Dan Gray stressed the need for a substation in Crestone, noting “The government there is out of control, there are rapes, meth heads, acid heads, cocaine and assault [issues].

Work from the heart— come clean and do your jobs.”

Another citizen accused commissioners of “not coming together for the good of the people,” and claimed the quality of life in Saguache County has declined significantly. Bob Tafoya of Moffat noted that other government agencies refuse to address the corruption in Moffat and the need for additional law enforcement protection there.

“I’m here to support the sheriff’s office,” he said.

Other citizens described how they must now police their own rural properties themselves because of increased traffic and potential threats from illegal grows, noting there are not enough personnel at the sheriff’s office to be everyplace at once. Luana Lovato told commissioners the jail facility is “completely inadequate and it is a shame the county will not move forward to fix it.”

Sky Wright, a victim’s advocate affiliated with the sheriff’s office, spoke of deputies buying their own equipment and said deputies are spread too thin throughout the county, urging the board to do something. Another called Saguache County “a laughing

joke in the Valley” and urged commissioners to create a new marijuana code system and declare a moratorium, also support the sheriff and appraiser’s office.

A dispatcher with the Saguache County Jail said the jail is “not safe” and prisoners cannot be exercised without the possibility they will encounter their victims.

He urged commissioners to appoint another marijuana code enforcement officer, because these duties are so demanding “it is too much to put on one person.”

Mike Wheeler said that while legal marijuana grows are a boon to the county, the sheriff’s office must be beefed up to deal with illegal grows or the criminal element will take over.

He also pointed out that if salaries are not adjusted all the county can get in the way of deputies is “the bottom of the barrel.”

Nicky Parker offered to help the sheriff’s office look for grants to fund a new jail and told commissioners they should audit the budget to find additional funds to supplement the sheriff office’s salaries.

papers addressing the marijuana and sheriff’s office issues. They pointed out the sheriff’s office budget has increased over the past two years while other departments have not seen an increase. Commissioner Jason Anderson said other communities in southern Colorado are facing the same problems and have issues as well.

The board defended its budgeting for the sheriff’s office and said that the sheriff only asked for the budget he received and could have asked for more. Following the meeting, others commented that commissioners told Sheriff Warwick earlier this year it would not do him any good to ask for more money because he would not receive it.

Sandia Belgrade, a reporter with the Crestone Eagle offered this final comment to commissioners: “People do not feel you are being proactive enough. The whole county is asking for help.”

In the afternoon portion of the meeting, commissioners met with elected officials and did approve a 20 percent raise effective in 2019, although state guidelines would have Commissioners respond permitted a 30 percent raise. This will Commissioners said they intend amount to a 1.67 cost of living raise to issue a letter to the editor to local and applies to the sheriff as well.

New grows approved

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — Last Thursday, Dec. 14 the Saguache Planning Commission met and approved four new marijuana applications during its monthly meeting, despite objections by some that they would like to see a moratorium on the grows.

Commissioners will now have to review the applications.

One planning commission member explained that the way the regulations are written the commission has no choice but to approve the applications. “To comply with the current regulations, we had to pass them,” s/he commented. S/he feels the permitting and application process should be revised and said work sessions are planned for this after the first of the year.

But the commission member said s/he anticipates a cap will be set on grows in the county rather than an actual moratorium declared.

Those attending reported there was a lot of input at the meeting and the road and bridge building was full of citizens.

About half were for the approval of the grows and half against.

Several illegal grows on County Road T were reported at the meeting

but Land Use/Co-Administrator Wendi Maez said she visited the grows this summer and saw nothing.

Now there will be nothing to see or inspect, because by October the growing season has ended.

Pitkin Avenue Baptist Pastor Mark Sweeney told the commission the sheriff needs more funding to help fight illegal grows. The commission member said the problem with the illegal grows is that the county instructed their code enforcement officer Deputy Wayne Clark that those in violation should only be given a warning and only if they do not come into compliance should they be pursued and fined.

The sheriff’s office said after a warning there would be no more leniency and the second violation would be a citable offense. Some feel this policy is not strict enough and sends the message that growers can get away with anything in Saguache County, encouraging more illegal grows.

Eventually, the commission member said, the county will be forced to initiate zoning to deal with the grows if a cap or moratorium cannot be agreed upon.

Happy Holidays!

“Thank You for your Support”

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Page 4A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, January 4, 2018

OPINION The real issue behind SO funding and the marijuana moratorium

The Saguache County Commissioners’ editorial in this week’s issue needs to be addressed here because of the “false� statements charge claimed against articles which ran in the Center Post-Dispatch over the past three months.

This is not the first time commissioners have made this claim. And while some points do need clarification (not a “retraction�), the letter itself spreads even more misinformation that must be addressed in order to prevent exactly what commissioners are objecting to in their letter (see article, on page 4A). But here we intend to focus on the present crisis precipitated by the county’s approval of some 24 marijuana operations, with four additional approvals pending.

When laying out terms in any valid argument, those making their points are required to stay on topic and to avoid comparisons and analogies that are not truly representative of the point they are trying to prove.

Any deviation from this standard is referred to as evading the (real) issue or arguing beside the point.

Funding the jail, and indirectly law enforcement officials responsible for arrests and inmate supervision, is mandatory per state statute, and this is an important observation. But it is only part of the equation and cannot be treated separately from the real issue.

The real issue is this: Saguache County is the second largest rural county in Colorado currently allowing unlimited marijuana grows, following Pueblo County. Residents here have already experienced the undesirable changes in the county that have resulted from this influx of largely outof-state growers and the workers they employ. The Marijuana Enforcement Division can address violations of state law by legal growers, but this still leaves local deputies to contend with the medical growers and illegal grows.

And the “come one, come all� attitude of the county has only encouraged illegal operators to either relocate and begin their grows or remain in business without registering with county and state. These illegal grows are so numerous that one Drug Enforcement Agency official says it would be impossible to unearth all of them and shut them down.

In addition, the county’s expansion of its regulations to allow medical growers to cultivate up to 96 plants at one time, now forbidden by new state regulations, has only made it more difficult for code enforcement to keep track of who is growing what, for whom and to then determine if these plants have been removed in compliance with the new laws.

It seems ironic that, as many residents have objected, those coming in from outside of Colorado now have more rights per the county’s current

MY TWO CENTS

By TERESA BENNS marijuana regulations than lifetime residents of the county. And this is more ironic still when one considers the prevailing suspicion and distrust of “outsiders� previous commissioners and others in Saguache County government have demonstrated for years in their hiring and appointment practices.

But then the almighty buck can erase a lot of things.

In their grand scheme to enrich the county by cultivating cannabis, commissioners neglected to conduct cost projections and county impact projections to gauge just how much it would cost infrastructure-wise to support the cultivation venture and its unintended consequences.

Already they were aware, however, that the present jail was in desperate need of replacement. And while they claim to have increased the sheriff’s department funding by $90,000 since 2015, it seems to escape them that the need for this funding came following the legalization of marijuana.

Actually, however, the county was only playing catch-up where sheriff department salaries and other funding was concerned. For years, during every budget cycle, former sheriff Mike Norris pleaded with commissioners for additional funding to no avail. While certain commissioners blame Sheriff Dan Warwick for failing to keep deputies on staff, Norris suffered similar difficulties, and for many of the same reasons. As Warwick has observed, no one can blame law enforcement officers for leaving the county when the pay here is not competitive.

Why is the pay not competitive?

Saguache County is a Class V county, a rating ranking it at the second to last category for pay regarding elected officials (and deputies).

Chris Johnson, executive director for Colorado County Sheriffs, says this category could be raised by an appeal from county commissioners if property values increased, building starts were up and economic activity blossomed.

GUEST COLUMN Commissioners weigh in on sheriff's funding On Dec. 19, 2017, a group of concerned citizens stated their concerns during the [Saguache] Board of Commissioners’ regular meeting. Their main concern was the underfunding of the sheriff’s department and public safety. We, as your representatives as county commissioners, feel that the public needs to know both sides of the issue.

A budget process was incorporated by the county commissioners during the 2015 budget year and has been in place since. Department heads and elected officials have the opportunity to state their requests and justify their needs through worksheets for their department or departments during the process.

When the preliminary budget was presented to the commissioners, the sheriff’s departments had requested $644,548 for the sheriff’s portion and $470,183 for the jail portion of the budget. On the sheriff’s budget this is $25,593 over 2017 and $19,399 on the jail portion for the same year. These two amounts add

up to over 31 percent of the Saguache County General Fund budget.

Since 2015, the sheriff’s budget (the two departments) has increased over $90,000. For the budget year 2018, the sheriff’s budget request was fully funded. Yes, no cuts were made!

A recent article in the Center Post Dispatch stated that the deputies in Saguache County were paid 30 percent less than Conejos County.

This is false! • Saguache County: population 6,258 - Deputies starting at $14.86 to $22.70 per hour. • Conejos County: population 8,050 – Deputies starting at $14.42; the high is unreported. • Crowley County: population 5,539 – Deputies starting at $14.37 to $22.50 per hour. • Alamosa County: population 16,008 – Deputies starting at $17.24 to $27.18.

Citizens also questioned how funds that are being collected from the 5 percent excise tax on recreational grow operations

in Saguache County are being spent. Year to date (Nov. 1, 2017), Saguache County has collected approximately $73,000. That money is earmarked for a code enforcement officer, youth, the landfill, and the general fund. Note: this is the first year that this tax has been collected.

We, as commissioners, feel that all of our staff is underpaid, and we have been addressing the issue. In 2017, they received a 3 percent cost of living increase and will receive another 3 percent increase for 2018.

We have, and will maintain, a balanced budget and will be fiscally responsible which we owe to the citizens of Saguache County.

Please feel free to contact any of the commissioners if you have questions.

The Saguache County commissioners can be reached at the following numbers: Tim Lovato, 719-580-2563; Jason Anderson, 719-285-5878 and Ken Anderson, 719-588-4203.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Marijuana grow capital nothing to be proud of

Dear Editor, “There is something rotten in Denmark� (Saguache County), with apologies to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; Act 1, Scene 4.

The Saguache County Commissioners have stated they are going to allow unlimited marijuana grows because they are a “boon� to Saguache County. They are moving forward with their agenda regardless of legitimate concerns from clear thinking, productive, tax paying citizens.

How are unlimited marijuana grows a “boon�? Where is the “boon� (read money) going? We are to be taxed severely to build a new school for anticipated student growth. Who believes that? Who wants to move their young families into Saguache County to be surrounded by marijuana grows? Our son and his family and our daughter and her family expressed a desire to move closer to help on the ranch, and we told them, “DON’T COME!� We do not want our grandchildren anywhere near here on a long-term basis.

The county has been threatened with losing law enforcement. The law enforcement of Saguache County is severely overworked and under paid.

Why not some of the elusive “boon� for law enforcement? The crime rate has risen exponentially with the coming of the marijuana “boon�

Please see REAL on Page 5A and if we lose our law enforcement

THE CENTER POST-DISPATCH (USPS 775-900) Published weekly (every Thursday) by ValOH\ 3XEOLVKLQJ DW )LUVW $YH 0RQWH 9LVWD &RORUDGR 2IÂżFLDO QHZVSDSHU RI WKH 7RZQ RI &HQWHU DQG D OHJDO QHZVSDSHU LQ 6DJXDFKH &RXQW\ Box 607, Monte Vista, Colo. 81144 0DLQ RIÂżFH :DQW DGV DQG 6XEVFULSWLRQV

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this area will descend into anarchy.

There is a very thin line holding back complete chaos already. Perhaps the county commissioners have not (yet) experienced break-ins to their homes and/or businesses, as many have, but it is not a matter of if but when if law enforcement continues to be hamstrung by lack of funding.

They were grudgingly given a token from the Commissioners at the last

Jennifer Alonzo ....................... Publisher Teresa Benns .............. Center Reporter Anthony Guerrero ...................................

Del Norte/Monte Vista Reporter Lyndsie Ferrell ........................................

South Fork/Creede Reporter Sylvia Lobato .........................................

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meeting. A very large percentage of the ambulance runs by our overworked EMS people are related to drug activity.

Becoming the marijuana grow capital is nothing for which the Saguache County Commissioners should be proud.

Sincerely, Verna Schmittel David Schmittel, Saguache

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www.centerpostdispatch.com

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

OPINION GUEST COLUMN

The promise is the lie

BY LISA CYRIAKS With the legalization of recreational cannabis many came to Colorado looking for the “easy money� to be made off cannabis.

By overreaching limits set in state regulations in writing regulations unique to Saguache County, Saguache County Commissioners have created more problems than they have solved. County residents are questioning the wisdom of a headlong pursuit of marijuana businesses.

At the heart of the debate is how the county is spending revenue from excise tax and licensure fees for marijuana growers.

Citizens, jail staff, and law enforcement all agree that more oversight of marijuana regulations is needed so that people can be safe and legal businesses can flourish.

Funding for the Saguache County sheriff’s office has not changed significantly in over a decade, yet the nature and scope of emergencies has increased. A greater volume of calls is an obvious outcome of more people living and working in the

county. A drive up Highway 17 to the north end of the Valley shows where most of these people have shown up in search of cheap land and lax regulations.

Current lists provided by the county land use office show 33 permits for marijuana-tied businesses, doubled from the 17 reported March 20, 2017.

The most recent financials provided by county administration show that over $170,000 has been collected from marijuana-tied business licenses and excise taxes.

The hiring of a part-time marijuana code enforcement officer, a muchneeded position, does not even begin to account for the revenue being collected even with the current problems in the collection process.

The commissioners, who control the county budget, including that of the sheriff’s office, would rather take refuge in arguments about process and comparisons to the lowest of standards of similar counties than address citizens’ valid concerns about public health and safety — and

how these services will be provided and paid for.

In a functional government revenues from development (properly taxed improvements, increases in fees and special assessments) adequately fund increased demands for necessary services.

The 2018 budget shows an ending general fund balance for 2017 that has increased $657,436 over the ending general fund balance for 2015. Pipedreams of airports and solar farms need to be set aside in order to adequately fund essential services and infrastructure needs.

It is time for Saguache County Commissioners to take care of the business of the county – collection of property taxes, funding essential services and plan for the future demands that are inevitable as marijuana businesses continue to grow and proliferate.

Lisa Cyriacks is a fair government advocate and freelance writer living in Crestone.

REAL

Continued from Page 4A Saguache residents have indicated they do not want all the economic activity to center around cannabis and even feel the emphasis on cannabis will stifle any other kind of meaningful development.

The property tax issue continues to be a problem and with cannabis growers as neighbors, it is difficult to see how property values could increase. Over the years a succession of commissioners has refused to consider meaningful economic development in the county and have ignored problems with the assessor’s office. Those chickens have now come home to roost.

So it doesn’t really matter whose pay is compared to whose in these circumstances; the only option now for this longstanding problem is to relieve law enforcement of at least

some of its burdens by placing a moratorium on marijuana cultivation.

A specific strategy for addressing illegal grows needs to be developed and marijuana regulations need to be examined and revised. A sales tax to fund law enforcement backed by commissioners this year would show they are serious about the many safety concerns voiced by citizens.

We leave it to commissioners to explain to Saguache County residents how their $674,000 increased fund balance over the past two years does not justify help for law enforcement or, for that matter, the county assessor’s office. But then those citizens asking about budget totals are often told that the figures are not reliable or could change.

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For years it has been suggested by various individuals with solid financial backgrounds that the county conduct a forensic audit to remedy this persistent problem. Perhaps now is the time to push forward with this plan.

Page 5A

State releases marijuana sales report SAN LUIS VALLEY— This month the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) began releasing statewide historical marijuana sales data from January 2014 to the present and will release monthly reports going forward on the seventh business day of every month. “We know this information is highly desired by the general public, media and researchers,� said Mike Hartman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. “To that end, in our efforts to be as transparent as possible, we will now provide aggregate sales data.

That, coupled with state tax revenue data already provided, will give an accurate picture of the financial footprint of this burgeoning industry.�

CDOR’s Office of Research and Analysis (ORA) will produce monthly marijuana sales reports showing the total sales (gross sales minus wholesale sales) for retail marijuana stores and medical marijuana stores by county.

Additionally, ORA will keep a running total of the actual sales figures from the year-to-date, the total sales per year since 2014, and the total sales since January 2014.

The monthly marijuana sales reports are posted on the same day as the marijuana tax data reports.

Although sales of medical marijuana began prior to 2014, CDOR could not systematically track sales until January 2014.

In 2014 the total marijuana sales

in Colorado were $683,523,739; in 2015, $995,591,255, in 2016, $1,307,203,473; and through October of 2017, $1,259,861,988.

It is the department’s practice to release aggregated data only when there are at least three taxpayers in a given category and none of them represents more than 80 percent of the total. Sales values are gross sales minus wholesale.

Given that guideline, sales reports were only applicable for Costilla and Conejos counties and only r e c e n t l y for Saguache County in the San Luis Valley. These are the reports by month for 2017: January —Costilla C o u n t y, $214,330 and Conejos County, $294,331 February —Costilla County, $214,658 and Conejos County, $331,768 March — Costilla County, $295,783 and Conejos County, $401,292 April — Costilla County, $256,910 and Conejos County, $404,901 May — Costilla County, $332,894 and Conejos County, $444,090 June — Costilla County $403,056 and Conejos County, $510,132 July — Costilla County $453,934 and Conejos County, $586,118 August — Costilla County $400,679 and Conejos County, $571,105 September — Costilla County $424,241, Conejos County, $555,120, Saguache $151,900 October — Costilla County $356,750, Conejos County, $469,150, Saguache $117,885 For more information, visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/ revenue/colorado-marijuana-salesreports

Volume 117, Number 2

Shorts

Sales tax grants now available

SAGAUCHE— The Saguache County Board of Commissioners will be taking grant applications for Saguache County Sales Tax Grants until 3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9.

To be eligible grant applications must be for either: emergency services/public health and safety; youth and senior programs, projects or organizations or renewable energy projects/business opportunities and job creation.

Grant applications are available online at saguachecounty.net or contact the Saguache County Administration office at 719-6552231 to request a copy of the grant application.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

BoCC turns deaf ear to moratorium

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — It was standing room only again in the commissioners’ room at the courthouse Tuesday as over 70 people, spilling out into the courthouse lobby, came to register complaints regarding underfunding and understaffing of the Saguache Sheriff’s Office and illegal pot grows.

Citizens persevered despite the uncomfortably warm commissioners’ room, where many were forced to sit on the fl oor or stand shoulder to shoulder.

Overhead fans remained idle and windows remained closed, even

though it was an unseasonably warm day. Those in the lobby could not hear the proceedings and were not able to comment.

A few local pot growers operating legally and marijuana proponents Please see BOCC on Page 2A Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick chats with Saguache Public Health Director David Daboll following a commissioners meeting Tuesday that addressed sheriff’s office underfunding and marijuana grows.

Photos by Teresa L. Benns

Center moves forward with veterans’ wall

Radio show to address county’s marijuana issues

SAGUACHE COUNTY— Saguache County resident Richard Giordano will appear on the Rush to Reason Show, KLZ 560 AM, at 3 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 11, to discuss what he describes as “the failure of Saguache County Commissioners to heed the will of the people and to enact a [marijuana] moratorium.”

Following discussions with other county residents and Sheriff Dan Warwick, Giordano says he feels he is prepared to let others know just how serious the situation is regarding marijuana-related activities, both in the county and in the country.

The show is live from 3 to 6 p.m.

Thursday, and then the first hour of the show, the one featuring Giordano, re-runs from 6 to 7 p.m. Those interested may listen live by merely going to Rush to Reason, KLZ 560.

Then click on the “listen live” link at the top of the page.

VA/Veterans forum monthly meeting Jan. 17 ALAMOSA—The Veterans Coalition of the SLV is pleased to facilitate the monthly meeting with the VA ECHCS (Eastern Colorado Health Care System) on Wednesday, Jan. 17 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at the SLV Health Education & Conference Center (formerly Grizzly Inn Restaurant), 1921 Main St, Alamosa.

All veterans are welcome. Bring healthcare questions, concerns or issues to the meeting. VA representatives will be there to assist and understand the needs in the SLV. For more information, call 719-992-4108 or email sahndra. vcslv@gojade.org

75¢

BY TERESA L. BENNS

Courtesy Photo

Center Wrestling Club fifth grader Xaria Traversie-Rodriguez won first place at the “Who’s Bad” Rocky Mountain Nationals last weekend.

Fifth grader wins first place at 'Who's Bad' Nationals

BY TERESA L. BENNS CENTER— Haskin Elementary fifth grader Xaria Traversie-Rodriguez won first place at the “Who’s Bad” Rocky Mountain Nationals last weekend, participating with the Center Wrestling Club in Denver.

Twelve wrestlers ranging from ages six to 14 Center participated in the event, but Traversie-Rodriguez

was the only one who placed. She won a first-place wrestling belt to add to her prize collection.

The fifth grader has been wrestling now for two years and placed fourth last year at the nationals, her mother Nicole Traversie-Rodriguez said.

The wrestling club is supported by fundraisers throughout the year statewide, and Traversie-Rodriguez

also has traveled to Texas and New Mexico to compete in events.

Some 1,200 participants under the age of 18 competed in the event this year. Traversie-Rodriguez also was named an outstanding underage wrestler in the women’s division.

“She loves wrestling and wants to be in basketball and wrestling in the future,” her mother Nicole commented.

C E N T E R — C e n t e r To w n Administrator Brian Lujan reported to trustees Tuesday that he has spoken with John Glass at Valley Monument in Monte Vista about plans to provide new facing for the Casa Blanca Park veterans’wall, still under construction.

Originally the town planned to sell bricks with veterans’ names on them to line the wall but this plan became impractical. At a previous meeting late last year, Lujan told the board he had spoken with the individual who designed the veterans’ wall for the park and discovered that the bricks for the wall would actually stick out after being placed.

This would have resulted in an unattractive monument, Lujan says, one he is not pleased with and will not pursue. The town also had trouble selling bricks to veterans’ family members.

“We need to cut our losses on this,” he advised the board. “If it looks like trash it will be treated like trash. Our veterans deserve better.” The current wall also needs to be repaired after suffering water damage.

Valley Monument will engrave names into granite slabs placed on the front and back of the wall and will replace the cement ornaments now on Please see WALL on Page 12A

Saguache asks Center for police coverage

BY TERESA L. BENNS CENTER — At the Center Town Board meeting Tuesday, Saguache Town Clerk Iris Garcia and trustee Timothy Chittum appeared before the board to request an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the town to provide Saguache with a patrol officer.

Increased break-ins and other crimes in the town make a police presence in Saguache a necessity, and currently the town has no police coverage. Previously the town contracted with the Saguache Sheriff’s Office for a deputy to cover

the town but that contract has expired, Garcia said, and the sheriff’s office is currently shorthanded.

The Town of Saguache voted in a one percent sales tax to help find an officer, and the town could afford to pay $40,000 a year towards coverage, Garcia told the board. “Dan [Sheriff Warwick] doesn’t have the manpower, so could we create a partnership to provide law enforcement coverage with an IGA to renew every year?”

Garcia queried.

Town Administrator Brian Lujan said the town is willing to open a dialogue to explore the possibility,

and said he has spoken to Chief Jim Gowin about the request. He said he is not sure how much $40,000 would give the town in coverage, which would depend on the amount of services the town is requiring.

Gowin told Garcia $40,000 might buy one officer, but the town needs to decide if they wish to pay as they go or would like an officer to work 40 hours a week, every day. He advised that the officer would not really be handling any major incidents which are handled by the sheriff’s office any way and other agencies, should the Saguache sheriff need back-up.

Gowin suggested the town pursue seat belt grant money and grants for DUI enforcement to help supplement officer pay. He said any tickets written could then go back in revenue to the town of Saguache.

Garcia said there is some office space for an officer in town hall and possibly a patrol car bought when the sheriff’s office was providing coverage could be used for any Center officer policing the town. Gowin said Center is willing to help, but is not willing to take any of Center citizens’

Please see IGA on Page 3A

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, January 11, 2018

BOCC

Continued from Page 1A not at previous meetings were sprinkled throughout the crowd.

Commissioner Jason Anderson suggested that those who had not spoken at previous meetings be allowed to speak versus others who had registered comments before.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, several requests were made to relocate the meeting to larger quarters, one to Commissioner Tim Lovato, one to all the commissioners and another to county administration, all requests were ignored.

County Co-Administrator Wendi Maez said she had checked marijuana grow applications Bonanza resident Bill Case previously brought to her attention that were not correctly filed. She said there were errors on the application that had been corrected. Some speculated later the errors existed when filed and were corrected only after the fact.

Case then took his allotted time to address commissioners, noting first that while Commissioner J. Anderson has stated that marijuana legalization and the approval of Amendment 64 expressed the will of the people, 66 percent of Colorado counties have banned medical and recreational marijuana sales and production. He then added that in Saguache County, where both legal and illegal grows have proliferated, the attitude has been “to see how this experiment works out, and there have been numerous unwanted consequences.” “ M r. [ C o m m i s s i o n e r K e n ] Anderson said, ‘this is a moral issue and it is a moral issue — there are children involved,” Case pointed out. He recounted a discussion with Mountain Valley School Superintendent Travis Garoutte, telling commissioners how children from Lazy KV Estates come to school reeking of marijuana and must take showers before beginning the school day. Many of them need breakfast at the school because they have not eaten and some wash their clothes in bathroom sinks.

Saguache County Public Health Director David Daboll added later that half of these students are “stoned out of their minds” from working for their parents or other growers. While handling illegal grow plants the plant oils penetrate the skin and result in intoxication.

“People need to pay attention,” Daboll concluded.

Case then detailed the previous locations of those who have opened legal operations here, remarking that nearly all of them came from out of state and several had ties to foreign countries. He also mentioned that water supplies in the Valley are being adversely affected and property values in grow areas are declining.

James Falsetta spoke next, reading a letter on behalf of himself and other county residents. He said many residents are concerned because marijuana growers in the area are

employing people of questionable character who have no respect for the land. Some of these workers are living in storage containers and have no access to running water or bathroom facilities. He said those in the area would be grateful for the work but are not employed.

He expressed concern that illegal growers, mainly, are obtaining water illegally from local creeks and lakes, endangering wildlife and using toxic fertilizing agents. He asked the county to more carefully monitor their movements and eradicate illegal grows.

Falsetta also cited the impact of the grows on those property owners living adjacent to them, observing the wear and tear on roads now as traveled as streets in the city.

Children living nearby can no longer ride their bikes on County Road T; he said and there are four grows within a two-mile radius on County Road T. He told commissioners that the county is not communicating well about how they are handling the problem and demanded an accounting from commissioners.

Following the afternoon session of the meeting where additional grows were approved, despite objections by the public, Moffat resident Bob Tafoya, who attended the morning session, came to the following conclusion: Commissioners will not listen to county residents and have no intention of limiting grows. They are in it for the money, he said, and many are questioning where, exactly, all that money goes and why it is not itemized in the county’s budget.

Public comment on legal and illegal grows Numerous citizens then offered comments, some complaining about the lights, fumes and proximity of legal and illegal grows. Growers defended their operations, accusing ag producers of creating more road wear than growers and potato farmers of using more toxic chemicals than marijuana growers use.

Other growers said that to limit marijuana production in any way is unconstitutional and “prohibition” of pot will not happen. Those advocating for a moratorium on marijuana, however, ask only that such a pause in accepting applications be used to tighten the regulations and application process.

Planning commission member Bill McClure says the county planning commission intends to revise their review process and tighten the regulations, but added he cannot control what commissioners approve or don’t approve.

Another citizen accused the planning commission of not dotting their “i’s and crossing their ‘t’s” in approving applications, telling the planning commission that their laxity in allowing applications through is where the problems begin.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Commissioners listen to comments by James Falsetta at the Saguache County Commissioners meeting Tuesday.

Many growers receive their planning commission approval and start building before even going through the application process and this is never addressed as it should be, he observed. He urged the county to throw illegal growers in jail.

Generally those commenting supported legal grows but urged the county to eliminate illegal grows and address issues with the application process Sheriff’s office funding Marsha Husted commended Sheriff Dan Warwick for submitting a new budget to commissioners last week, requesting an additional $67,000 in funding for the sheriff’s office. She presented budget data that indicates the county can well afford the increase. She ended her comments by asking commissioners when they would approve the new budget.

Another citizen described a recent video she viewed on the Internet that shows a rural California county that has declared a state of emergency regarding its illegal marijuana problem and is working to eradicate cannabis within its county. Like Saguache, health and safety issues are cited as well as increased crime

and a large number of illegal grows.

The video can be viewed at http:// www.bbc.com/news/av/world-uscanada-42548116/recreationalmarijuana-on-sale-in-california Commissioners told those attending the meeting that Sheriff Warwick did not complete his preliminary budget paperwork on time according to the county’s new budget process. County CoAdministrator Lyn Zimmer-Lambert said she offered to help Warwick with his budget and received no response. She also commented that certain procedures would need to be followed in order to consider whether Warwick’s budget request would be honored. Commissioners would not say whether they favored granting the increase or not.

J. Anderson said he and other commissioners helped get legislation passed to provide a refund program for law enforcement agencies busting illegal grows but Warwick has not applied for any of the grants that refund the money, putting the county in a bad light.

Case told commissioners that it was unfair for them to accuse Wa r w i c k o f n o t c o m p l e t i n g paperwork when he is on patrol duty and does not even have time

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to complete sheriff office reports on crimes. A Saguache downtown business owner told commissioners it appears to him that there is a lot of tension between the BoCC and the sheriff’s office, suggesting that Warwick and commissioners hold a special meeting open to the public where they can air their differences.

In a later interview, Warwick said he did not need help with his budget and prefers to submit it himself per the guidelines the department has always followed. Because the county wished to balance the budget, he said, he believed that he needed to stay within certain budgetary parameters to maintain that balance, which is why he did not ask for additional funds.

As for writing the grant to recover money for illegal grows, Warwick said no one in his department is qualified to do this. The county had a line item in the budget for a grant writer last year, he noted, but not this year.

Volume 117, Number 3

Shorts

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Idaho Pacific expansion means new jobs

Tri-County Snow Center Sanitation District also benefits Ball Friday

MONTE VISTA— Tri-County Senior Citizens will host a Snow Ball Dance on Jan. 19 from 6-9 p.m. at the senior center, 311 Washington St., Monte Vista. Music will be by Bernal Maestas and Alex Lopez. Cost of the dance is $7 per person, and finger foods will be available. For more information, contact Roxlyn Aragon at 719-852-5778.

Coloring contest winners named

M O N T E V I S TA — Va l l e y Publishing has named the 2017 Holiday Coloring Contest winners.

Six-year-old Andrew Harmon from Antonito and 10-year-old Lovina Miller of Antonito were chosen as winners in their respective age categories. Both children will receive gift certificates. Parents of the winners, please contact Chelsea or Jennifer at Valley Publishing, 852-3531.

CENTER – A new and recently completed expansion of the Idaho Pacific Colorado (IPC) potato dehydration operation in Center, underway for several months, has nearly doubled the plant’s production of potato flakes and flour and added 35 new full-time jobs to the local workforce.

IPC announced the completion of the project in a news release last Friday.

The company now has 133 full-time employees.

“We are very excited about the expansion, and the positive economic impact our business will have on the local economy,” said Todd Sutton, the company’s Vice President of Operations.

In the addition to the company’s

existing business, the expansion positively affects the area economy through the purchase of supplies, materials and services from local businesses, and the purchase of nearly 200 million pounds of raw potatoes from area farms.

IPC invested approximately $6 million in the project, which includes state-of-the-art technology in dehydrated potato flakes and flour manufacturing, and water treatment.

“The new technology will keep our business competitive with our global competition, and will allow our products to continue to be marketed world-wide,” said Tim Ruggles, manager of the plant. “The San Luis Courtesy Photo Valley is a perfect location for our business due to the quantity and quality Tim Ruggles, left, plant manager for Idaho Pacific Colorado Corp. at the of potatoes grown by the local farming company’s potato dehydration plant in Center, and Todd Sutton, right, operations. We are proud to be a part vice president of operations at IPCC, provide a tour of the company’s expanded plant to Lee Swenson, center, senior advisor on Colorado Please see IPC on Page 11A Rural Policy to U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

School planning underway Perez sentenced to 44 years Judge holds Center citizens accountable

MVC offering scholarships

BY TERESA L. BENNS

MONTE VISTA—The Monte Vista Coop is once again offering two scholarships, the Dennis Kay memorial $6,000 4-year Agriculture Scholarship and the Mike Kelley Memorial $1,000 Scholarship.

Applications are available at all of the Valley schools, the main office of the Monte Vista Coop and online at www.mvcoop.com. The deadline is Jan. 31, 2018. With questions, please call Brenda Cooper at 719-852-5181.

Free workers comp seminar Jan. 25

MONTE VISTA— SLV Health is sponsoring a free Workers Compensation Educational Seminar on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 a.m. at the Monte Vista Chamber, 947 First Avenue in Monte Vista. This training will assist employers and supervisors with filing more accurate and timely claims. For more information, please call 589-8100.

Saguache County sales tax grants available

SAGAUCHE— The Saguache County Board of Commissioners will be taking grant applications for Saguache County Sales Tax Grants until 3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9.

To be eligible grant applications must be for either: emergency services/public health and safety; youth and senior programs, projects or organizations or renewable energy projects/business opportunities and job creation.

Grant applications are available online at saguachecounty.net or contact the Saguache County Administration office at 719-655-2231 to request a copy of the grant application.

50¢

Courtesy Photo

Design Advisory Group member Bobbie Baughman shares her thoughts on school site use and placement at Mountain Valley School’s citizens’ advisory meeting last month. The school is completing design plans in preparation for construction. (See more in next week’s issue.)

Commissioners re-examine moratorium, discuss task force

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— During a work session Tuesday, Saguache County Commissioners further discussed the possibility of declaring a marijuana applications moratorium and a task force to recommend changes to the current application and enforcement process.

Commissioners Chair Jason Anderson began by instructing those attending the meeting that it was a work session and public comment would be limited at best.

The first item discussed was HB 17-1220, a state legislature measure that went into effect Jan. 1. The new regulation limits the number of residential plants residents can cultivate to 12 plants and if they have a medical license, a doctor’s prescription and have registered with

the county, up to 24 plants. Penalties are set by the law for those growing more plants than allowed.

“The law is not addressing people, its addressing property,” Anderson observed.

Anderson made it clear the county could allow the 99-plant count even though state regulations have rescinded it, but would not allow a grow that large in a residential area. There is a broad interpretation of what is residential, he noted and currently only the Baca Grande subdivision in the county is strictly zoned residential. Residential, however, would pertain to land designated for single family use, Anderson added.

How the county will apply this law is something commissioners will need to decide, he said.

Please see BOCC on Page 11A

SAGUACHE — Jose Perez, 27, was a good-natured, hardworking boy who graduated from Center High School, finished automotive school and had a promising future, his relatives, teachers and friends testified in a lengthy video played in court during his sentencing hearing Monday.

But that was before his addiction to heroin and methamphetamines changed his life forever, finally leading to the murder of a Center man in a drug deal gone wrong.

Police arrested Perez on Feb. 25, 2016 during a traffic stop, nearly two months after the New Year’s Day homicide of Ivan Antonio Alfaro Sanchez, 26, in an apartment complex near 27 Highway 112 in Center. Perez and an accomplice, Juan Vega, 29, entered the apartment where the two shut Sanchez’s girlfriend and children in a bathroom. Perez then shot Sanchez, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Perez was initially charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, second-degree kidnapping and other charges. He later entered a plea agreement of guilty on seconddegree murder charges and seconddegree kidnapping.

Deputy District Attorney Brandon Willms reminded the court that to escape the crime scene, Sanchez’s girlfriend had to step over the body of her boyfriend, and the children had to see the dead body of their father.

He indicated that was reason enough in itself to hand down the maximum sentence for Perez.

The families in the video painted a bleak picture of the town, explaining how it has been ravaged by heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine abuse. But despite their pleas for leniency, Judge Martin Gonzales told

Jose Perez

those gathered in the courtroom he had no choice according to current sentencing guidelines but to hand down the maximum sentence of 44 years — 12 years on the kidnapping charge and 32 years for second-degree murder, to be served consecutively.

Perez could be up for a parole hearing in 26 years, but there are no guarantees he would be paroled then or even at a later date, Willms said.

Judge Gonzales addresses Center residents “I come from a small community,” Gonzales began. “I know what’s going on. This epidemic of drugs is ripping families and communities apart. I don’t know if there is an end to it. One of the things that struck me [in the video], I heard a lot of ‘he was.’ It was all past tense — no future tense.

Those who said they couldn’t believe it, had better believe it…

“Is he a bad person? I couldn’t say either way. [They said in the video] ‘It was the drugs, it wasn’t him,’ but I beg to differ. It was him who pulled the trigger and [nothing] will change that — he did it. If it was the drugs then someone should have grabbed him by

Please see PEREZ on Page 5A

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 11A

BOCC

Continued from Page 1A

Moratorium, task force Commissioners agreed that a moratorium may be possible but would only be temporary. Commissioner Ken Anderson indicated it may not be needed because many marijuana cultivators will not survive in the Valley.Anderson said if commissioners approve a moratorium there would need to also be a task force appointed to make recommendations regarding what changes should be made and how.

Ken Anderson later agreed a task force to go over the rules and regulations couldn’t be created without a moratorium. Jason Anderson said it would need to be preceded by public comment. Bill Case, who was attending the meeting, said the commissioners had all the comments they needed to proceed.

Another citizen commented that people are primarily concerned with county’s ability (or lack of it) to follow their own regulations, that it is not a robust process accompanied by follow through. Jason Anderson pointed out that the fact the county has a code enforcement officer proves they are serious about regulation, but are still in the first season and the “adaptive phase” of working those out. Others have commented that all the details should have been worked out long before applications were even taken for the grows.

Jason Anderson said the idea of having more public comment was to get as many ideas and views as possible before proceeding. A public meeting was set for Monday, Jan. 29 at the Road and Bridge Building from 2-5 p.m.

Jason Anderson said he has concerns about the moratorium both ways and recommended putting together a citizens’ task force first.

Some of the recommendations for who should serve on the task force, made by Anderson, included two marijuana proponents, two marijuana

opponents, two neutral parties, a representative from the planning commission, a member of law enforcement, the Saguache Public Health director and others.

He also recommended a work session be held strictly to decide how to allocate marijuana excise tax funds collected by the county. Other items to be addressed in the future, he said, include: • Role of the code enforcement officer • Creating a county finance department • Hiring a county administrator • Cytometry (GIS?), to be used for assessing county property Jason Anderson said further that by 2019 the county will be facing “a dire financial dilemma,” partly due to declining tax revenues because of the structuring of the Gallagher amendment. The state legislature is scheduled to address the amendment this session, but there is no guarantee they can or will “fix” it, he agreed.

Sheriff’s office Sheriff Dan Warwick appeared before commissioners to answer questions about the revised sheriff’s office budget he submitted last week.

Commissioners took up the thread that they gave Warwick all he asked for in his budget so he is fully funded, that he did not submit preliminary budget forms and that Warwick had not justified his budget increases.

They basically told the sheriff he should have asked for the increase the first time around.

“I’ve been told by you guys not to ask for more funding,” Warwick said.

“The airport — how much money is going into that and to what purpose?

Why not more on safety? We can’t check illegal grows [with limited staff] because by the time we get there they are packed up and have moved on.”

IPC

Continued from Page 1A of the local potato industry.

Included in the project was funding from San Luis Valley Development Resources Group to expand the water treatment facility. “We appreciate the support of the San Luis Valley Resources Development group, which helped make the expansion possible,” noted Sutton.

The potato dehydration process includes sorting, steam peeling, slicing, cooking, and mashing raw potatoes that are than applied to large drum rollers that dry the cooked potatoes to a moisture content of six to nine percent. The dried potatoes come off the drum rollers in a thin sheet that looks like paper. The product is then ground to specific granulations, screened and packaged in sizes ranging from a 22-pound bag up to a 2,000-pound supersack.

IPC has owned and operated the potato dehydration plant in Center since 2001. The business manufactures dehydrated potato flakes and potato flour that are used as ingredients in snack foods, bakery items, soups and stews, retail products for instant mashed potatoes, and in restaurants and cafeterias for mashed potatoes and potato side dishes.

ensure the sanitation district can serve their needs in hopes their expansion provides additional employment opportunities for the residents in and around Center,” Center Sanitation Board President George Welsh commented in an email Monday.

Jones said he is pleased that the loan will clean up the ditch water that runs through the town, removing any objectionable odor and making water available from the ditch “drinking water quality.” Sanitation District engineer Tim Marcotte was the overseer for the project.

Jones continued to explain that altogether the waste treatment facility for IPC is about $5 million with all of the included equipment they will have installed. The loan is provided to the Sanitation District by the San Luis Valley Development Resources Group but is guaranteed by Idaho Pacific, who will make payments on the loan.

“The reason for the loan is that the sanitation district is the landlord and they (IPC) are the tenant and guarantee payment of this loan,” Jones said. The money helped Center transition from a lagoon system to a closed system, and much of the potato waste currently processed by the sanitation district is being dumped on local fields. The rest is treated and released to the ditch.

Center Mayor Herman Sisneros signed the loan documents. The loan is personally guaranteed by the chief executive officer of Idaho Pacific, Jones said and will run for 12 years, with a balloon payment due at the end of the loan.

Center Sanitation District role The Center Sanitation District leases space and facility to Idaho Pacific Corp. for the treatment of agriculture waste. The treatment facility needed to be updated to facilitate better discharge water standards. The new construction will meet the increased demand due to expansion and will make the facility cleaner for the discharge of water to the environment, Center Sanitation Te re s a B e n n s c o n t r i b u t e d Board member Moe Jones explained. information on the Center Sanitation “We have worked hard with them to District.

Commissioner Ken Anderson said changes to the budget process were made three years ago and the sheriff’s office needs to comply with that.

Warwick said he likes it better the way it was before, when all department heads met with commissioners and communicated their needs in person.

Anderson agreed they could help Warwick out with a grant writer for some of the sheriff’s office needs and help increase revenue. But for a longterm solution, Jason Anderson said, another sales tax initiative will need

to go to the voters. He told Warwick “Commissioners are more than willing to work with you,” adding that the county might be able to increase his budget, but commissioners need to figure that out.

“These grows put more strain on every service in the county,” Warwick told commissioners. “There is nothing but headaches. We have got to get it under control. We have let marijuana overrun us. I’m talking about both legal and illegal grows. Growers bring in this less than desirable element with

them and a lot of these workers are from out of state.”

Warwick concluded with the comment, “We can’t get through another grow season manned the way we are. The grow we raided last summer in Bonanza may be coming back.”

Regarding the jail situation, Warwick added there has been some talk about building a combined jail for all six counties and commissioners said they are encouraged by this news. They indicated the discussion on the sheriff’s office funding matter will continue.

Volume 117, Number 4

Shorts Center pancake breakfast Saturday CENTER—The Center Kiwanis and the Center High School Wrestling team will again host a pancake breakfast on Saturday, Jan. 27 from 7 to 10 a.m. It will be all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, fruit, orange juice or coffee; the price is $6 for adults and $4 for children. The special price for wrestlers and coaches will be $4 each.

Saguache Dems Caucus Training, meeting Feb. 13

SAGUACHE— The Saguache County Democratic Party Central Committee will host a caucus training to be ready for the March 6 caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. at the Saguache Road & Bridge Meeting Room, 305 3rd St. The Saguache County Central Committee also will meet to determine the number of delegates to the County Assembly. For questions or to become more involved with the party, please contact Kevin Noland 970-3516747 or nolandkk@gmail.com.

Central Committee members who are authorized to vote on any matters coming before the meeting are officers, precinct committee persons and elected officials of the county party.

Caucus training and the meeting are open to the public. All are welcome!

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Center invites DOLA to help with finances

BY TERESA L. BENNS

C E N T E R — C e n t e r To w n Administrator Brian Lujan welcomed Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Representative Christi Culp to the town board meeting Tuesday after inviting her to help the town better organize its finances.

Culp told the board Lujan asked her to offer “some budget guidance to make sure Center is operating according to state statutes.” She recommended the town initiate strategic planning to help with this process. She also told the board DOLA does research for local governments and offers free financial assistance.

Towns must ask for the assistance

and DOLA can then help them organize their finances for up to a year, but there is no contract, she said.

The process is completely voluntary, Culp noted, and helps establish best practices for communities.

The town said it would consider the matter and let Culp know.

Please see DOLA on Page 12A Christi Culp with the Department of Local Affairs chats with Office of Emergency Management representative David Osborne at Tuesday’s Center Town Board meeting.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

T-Heart Ranch honored at CCA awards

Clarification

Thursday Sunny, with a high near 46.

Light and variable wind becoming south southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday night Mostly clear, with a low around 10.

South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon.

Friday night Mostly clear, with a low around 0. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday Sunny, with a high near 36. South southwest wind around 5 mph.

Saturday night Mostly clear, with a low around 5.

West wind around 5 mph.

Communities that Care needs volunteers

BY TERESA L. BENNS

The murder of Ivan Alfaro Sanchez in Center in 2016 was the result of a burglary and may not have been directly involving drugs.

HOW'S THE WEATHER?

75¢

Courtesy Photo

The T-Heart Ranch, owned and operated by Shane and Beth Temple of Center were named the 2017 Outstanding Seedstock Producer of the Year at the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association Mid-Winter Conference held Jan. 15-17 in Denver. See related story on Page 5A.

BoCC sets task force idea aside

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— Saguache County Commissioners unexpectedly turned a thumbs down on the idea of a task force to help review and revise the marijuana application process Tuesday, deciding instead to turn the process over to the Saguache County Planning Commission.

Commissioner Jason Anderson said if the marijuana moratorium is enacted, the county would not really need a task force. The planning commission could just draft modifications to the application process and regulations.

“The planning commission has good thoughts and ideas,” County Co-Administrator Wendi Maez told commissioners. “The public will talk to them.”

The planning commission meets Thursday at road and bridge building beginning at 5 p.m. to review marijuana applications and conditional use permits. Maez and the commissioners agreed that if “anything falls through the cracks” it has to go through the planning commission anyway.

Even if there is a moratorium, Maez noted, that will have to go through the planning commission too and there will need to be a public hearing.

County Attorney Ben Gibbons commented that should the planning commission need more time to finish up revising the regulations and application process, the moratorium could always be extended.

CENTER— Educators, health workers, law enforcement, social service representatives and other community members met at Center Schools Tuesday to help form a special Center coalition to implement The Communities That Care® (CTC), a program to help prevent drug and alcohol abuse and other harmful behaviors among youth.

Using bonding as a key tool to reduce problem behaviors in atrisk youth, CTC hopes to pull in community volunteers to implement what sponsors say is proven strategy to address youth problems. Saguache County Public Health is operating the program on a grant, which expires in 2019. CTC is funded with state revenues from marijuana sales.

Ani Rinchung is the CTC coordinator for Saguache County.

Rinchung said she believes Center needs its own particular coalition to suit is unique community status in the county. Saguache County Public Health Director David Daboll told those attending the meeting that Rinchung has a plan for Center that will help cut through much of the red

One citizen in the audience said Please see CTC on Page 7A he has served on a task force and told commissioners it is “nearly impossible to create a team that represents everything. No one is really neutral,” but winds up being either for or against. Commissioners had proposed including two neutral members on the task force at their work session last week.

Commissioner J. Anderson pointed out that planning commission representatives need to be at the public meeting, set for Monday, Jan. 29 from Photo by Teresa L. Benns 2-5 p.m. Depending on public input, commissioners will decide Communities That Care Coorfollowing the public meeting dinator Ani Rinchung explains how the program she directs helps Please see BOCC on Page 2A prevent harmful behaviors in youth.

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

OBITUARIES JAMES DOMENIC NARANJO, 67

Candidate forums coming in February

S A N L U I S VA L L E Y — DENVER—God gently whispered Congressional candidates Diane to James Domenic Naranjo, born Sept.

Mitsch Bush and Karl Hanlon, 5, 1950, to return home on Thursday, in Crestone and Saguache special Nov. 23, 2017. James died peacefully guests State Sen. Larry Crowder and and painlessly while at St. Anthony’s State House District 62 Rep. Donald Hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Valdez will appear for a candidates’ He was born, raised and stayed a forum in Crestone Feb. 11 and other longtime resident of Monte Vista. The locations in the Valley. last four years of his life he lived at the Forget about boring speeches and Lakewood Villa Retirement Center, awkward meet and greets. Let’s get Lakewood, Colo. face time and real answers! Candidate He honorably served his fellow men events will allow small groups to sit and country in the U.S. Army Force. around the table with each candidate/ He sought a career in culinary arts guest for about 15 minutes at a time, gifted in the baking industry. rotating between candidates and He is survived by his daughter, special guests and to learn about Yolanda Lucrecia Gonzalez (Reyes), Denver and son James Domenic McGirt, Fayetteville, N.C., five grand-children and one great grand-child.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. Louis Jake Naranjo and Mrs. Lucrethia Maria Ruybal Naranjo and three brothers (Lawrence, Louie and Sydney).

He is survived by five siblings, Gabriel (Andrietta), Modesto, Delicia, Dianna and Delilah, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Graveside/burial service will be officiated by Pastor Bill Wilstrom and is scheduled at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018 at Workers Union Cemetery.

Directly following, the family will receive, greet and fellowship with family and friends at the Grace Community Baptist Church, reception hall, 403 Lincoln Ave, Monte Vista.

On behalf of the Naranjo family, we would like to “thank” those of you BY TERESA L BENNS SAGUACHE— While Saguache who have kindly and lovingly opened your life to our dearly departed, Commissioners consider a marijuana grandson, son, dad, brother, nephew, uncle and cousin.

“Mr. James Domenic Naranjo may you rest in Our Holy Heavenly Fathers moratorium and discuss appointing a task force to further study marijuana everlasting peace.” regulations, those who purchased land prior to the grow properties that continue to surround them are caught in the middle, forced to put their The following records were Julian Miller, 19, Saguache, dreams on hold until further notice. provided by the Saguache Sheriff’s speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone Property owners Mischa ViningOffice for the week of Jan. 15-22 Robert Wilson, 26, Boulder, Doyle and Shiloh Jackman say speeding 44 in a 35 MPH zone they moved to Saguache County Arrests Billy Tyler, 47, Moffat, defective and purchased 35 acres of raw land J e r e m i a h M a r t i n e z , 3 3 , vehicle, drove without a valid driver’s July 10, 2017 on what is now 26644 Center, second-degree assault, license Hammond Avenue. Recently they second-degree criminal trespass, Sean White, 43, Monument, learned that a marijuana grow would harassment, criminal mischief, speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone be located within 1,500 feet of their resisting arrest, violation of a Eric Highfield, 39, Denver, property. Their letter, addressed to restraining order speeding 95 in a 65 MPH zone Saguache County Land Use, tells the Keegan Galbraith, 31, Boulder, story of many property owners in the Citations speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone area who have expressed concerns at Brandon Stewart, 18, Saguache, Randall Merchant, 53, Salida, meetings and in writing, but whose speeding 95 in a 65 MPH zone speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone objections have not been addressed.

Kevin Thompson, 23, Boerne, Keith Frank, 54, Pagosa Springs, Vining-Doyle and Jackman wrote: Texas, speeding 89 in a 65 MPH zone speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone “We came to this area seeking Elias Heredia,43, Alamosa, Amy Walsh, 47, Lyons, speeding comfort, quiet, beautiful mountain speeding 74 in a 65 MPH zone 74 in a 65 MPH zone views, fresh clean air and affordable land to build a small sustainable home and hobby farm. We are planning our family carefully and envision raising Continued from Page 1A our children in a safe and healthy whether or not they will declare a she said no. “They are smooshed environment. When we purchased six-month marijuana moratorium. into the sheriff ’s office and land the lot at 26644 Hammond Ave, we use,” Zimmer-Lambert explained. imagined our kids riding their bicycles Excise tax and budget items “The excise tax has its own line in a safe, low traffic residential/ Commissioner Tim Lovato item and will remain in its own agricultural area. asked County Co-Administrator category.”

“We have already invested a Lyn Zimmer-Lambert if she had He also asked Zimmer-Lambert great deal of finances and effort in itemized marijuana related revenues if the county has the final numbers developing our land to accommodate in the 2018 budget. “Anything to do yet for the 2017 excise tax totals. our future home to be built on our little with marijuana is set up in project Maez answered him saying that the slice of peace and solitude. Purchasing codes [inside] the general fund,” December excise taxes were not due this property is the manifestation of Zimmer-Lambert replied. “Revenues until January 20 and the board will years of careful planning and deciding and expenditures are in their ownc have the totals at its first February a precise location to settle to achieve section.” meeting. Zimmer-Lambert said in our goals, and actualize our dream.

J. Anderson asked Zimmer- 2018 the county can put the marijuana Our progress thus far consists of a Lambert if the 2017 numbers were code items in and the numbers physical address, driveway, a new itemized in the same way and automatically will come up. water well and we have had a soil

SHERIFF’S REPORT

BOCC

Thursday, January 25, 2018

upcoming caucuses and primaries, Saguache Road & Bridge meeting local issues, voter registration, room, 305 3rd Street.

Congressman Scott Tipton was and ways all can encourage their invited to participate in these neighbors to get involved. events, but declined due to prior commitments.

Meeting times For more information, contact • Saturday, Feb. 10, 1-3 p.m. in Alamosa at St. Ive’s Pub & Eatery, Barb Tidd with Indivisible Crestone/ Baca slvbarb498@gmail.com 719719 Main Street.

• Saturday, Feb. 10, 4-6 p.m. 221-8434.

These events are sponsored by at Monte Vista Information Ctr./ Chamber of Commerce, 947 1st Indivisible, Crestone/Baca; the Avenue.

Alamosa event is co-sponsored • Sunday, Feb. 11 12N-2 p.m. at by SLV Women Act and Alamosa Crestone Charter School, 330 E. County Democrats and the Monte Lime Ave. Vista event is co-sponsored by Rio • Sunday, Feb. 11 3-5 p.m. at Grande County Democrats.

How marijuana permitting is impacting one family

Part one of two-part series

engineer evaluate our building site and design a septic treatment system.

“This letter is an attempt to implore Saguache County Land Use Department to DENY the Conditional Use of premises permit for a retail marijuana cultivation facility located at 26758 Hammond Avenue, on the grounds that the proposed facility directly violates the Saguache County Marijuana Regulations, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Information about the owner’s intent is based on a copy of the conditional use permit application submitted by the owner of 26758 Hammond Avenue, (GII LLC, Michael E. Barkl, THC Inc.) obtained from the Saguache County Land Use Department. The Saguache County Marijuana Regulations state: “No person may engage in marijuana production in a manner that adversely affects the health and safety of the nearby property owner(s) including, but not limited to: A. Having visibility of plants from the exterior of the structure(s) or any other common visual observation, including any form of signage.

B. Emitting light pollution, glare or brightness in a residential area that disturbs the repose of another.

C. Causing unreasonable noise or vibration.

D. Cause undue vehicular or foot traffic, including excess parking.” “(This is an excerpt from page four, under “Marijuana production in Unincorporated Saguache County” from the scanned PDF document available at www.saguachecounty. net) “The permit application states the land owner’s intent of outdoor and security lighting that will emit light pollution, glare and brightness in a residential area that will disturb the repose of many others. The application states: “Outdoor and security lighting will have motion censored lights on the outside of the structure and lights on top of fencing.” This is a direct violation

of the Saguache County Marijuana Regulations. (B.) “The permit application states the land owners’ intent of powering approximately 100,000 watts of lighting and indoor garden equipment using diesel generators. This is a clear violation of marijuana regulations, as diesel generators exude a large amount of noise and vibration that will directly affect residents and property owners nearby 26758 Hammond. (C.) The exhaust from the diesel generators would also pose a threat to the health and safety of nearby property owners. Continuous exposure to diesel exhaust fumes can cause long term, or chronic respiratory illnesses and increased risk of lung cancer.

“The permit application states the landowners’ intent of creating traffic for business reasons and/or the owner’s family and friends. The application also states the intent of a parking area for parked vehicles. This violates marijuana regulations in that it will cause undue vehicular traffic (D.) A Retail Marijuana Cultivation Facility of this size and nature requires a significant number of employees and

Please see POT on Page 10A

Volume 117, Number 5

Shorts

Please see both stories

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Residents vent at pot moratorium meeting

BY T ERESA L. B ENNS

Tri-County hosting breakfast Saturday

MONTE VISTA—Tri-County Seniors will host their monthly breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 8-10 a.m. They will be serving sausage, eggs, pancakes and a beverage for $6.

For more information, please call 719-852-5778.

Barbecue Feb. 9

DELNORTE— The Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, in Del Norte, will host a brisket dinner, open to the public, on Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 595 Pine St., Del Norte. Suggested donation is $5 per person. There will be a dessert auction following dinner.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns For questions or advance tickets, Attendees lined the walls to weigh in at the public hearing in Saguache Monday regarding the declaration please call Greg Porter, at 657-2150. of a marijuana moratorium.

Head Start now enrolling CENTER— Center Head Start is now enrolling children ages 3-5.

The Head Start provides free services in a caring, nurturing and great learning environment with qualified staff. Meals are provided. For more information call 719-754-3191.

Center hosts Valley Classic

Two injured in Jan. 25 accident near Center

CENTER— Lester Huseby, 63, was flown out with serious injuries on Thursday, Jan. 25 after the 2006 GMC Envoy he was driving went off the side of Colorado 285 near Center, collided with a delineator post, came back on the roadway and ran into a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Richard Chapman, 36.

Chapman was also injured in the crash and transported to Rio Grande Hospital.

Both drivers were wearing their seatbelts, according to the Colorado State Patrol report. Alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor, according to state patrol.

SAGUACHE — Saguache County Commissioner Jason Anderson greeted those attending the Jan. 29 discussion of a marijuana moratorium with the following: “Welcome to the world of legalized marijuana,” reminding attendees that Colorado residents have a constitutional right to grow, possess and use the drug.

Upwards of 100 people attended the meeting, lining the walls of the Saguache Road and Bridge meeting room. Several growers and those favoring the grows were in attendance. But the majority attending were residents who believe the marijuana application approvals cranked out by the Saguache County Planning

Please see MEETING on Page 11A

Planning commission okays grows

BY TERESA L. BENNS

Chapter DP P.E.O. offering scholarships

SAN LUIS VALLEY— Chapter DP P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization dedicated to the advancement and education of women, is offering $500 scholarships to qualifying women who are graduating from a San Luis Valley high school this spring 2018.

To be eligible for the scholarship, candidates must complete a scholarship application, have at least a 3.5 grade point average, submit two letters of recommendation, and be attending an institution of higher learning beginning in the fall of 2018. Also, applicants must submit a 500-1000-word essay discussing their educational and career goals for the next five years. Deadline for applications is March 1.

For more information and an application contact your high school counselor, or Ann Stanford at stanford9@msn.com.

75¢

Photo by Stephen Jiron

Isiah Wellman steers Colton Sims to the mat during the third place match at 126 pounds. Wellman took fourth place to lead Mountain Valley to a 19th place finish in the annual Valley Classic Wrestling Tournament held Saturday in Center.

Mental health issues another law enforcement concern

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE COUNTY— When citizens insist Saguache County Commissioners better fund the sheriff’s office and provide a new jail facility, it isn’t just to police marijuana grows or beef up ticketing and patrol operations, but to address many other problems as well.

A much-overlooked aspect of law enforcement duties is the care of the mentally ill, who often are incarcerated in local jails simply because they have nowhere else to go. According to a Dec. 17 article in The Denver Post, rural sheriff’s deputies can place those

experiencing a psychotic episode on a 24-hour mental health hold and take them to jail until they can be transported to a mental health facility.

But a new law which goes into effect May 1 requires rural sheriffs to shorten up the time frame and transport those on mental health holds more quickly.

Those who are both mentally ill and are facing criminal charges must still be held at the jail, however.

The new law makes $7 million available to the Department of Human Services to help deal with the problem.

Some of that money will be used to construct a new crisis center on the

Western Slope, and the remaining funds will help train first responders on conducting mental health holds, help fund mental health programs to assist law enforcement and provide funds for transportation costs, in-house counselors and screenings, The Denver Post article reported.

In Saguache County, Sheriff Dan Warwick says mental health cases are not put in cells at the jail. Deputies must transport mental cases to Pueblo, if there is room, or to Denver or Colorado Springs for evaluation, occasionally Please see MENTAL on Page 9A

SAGUACHE — At their Jan. 25 Planning Commission (PC) meeting, planning commission members reviewed four marijuana grow applications, declining to review one the commission had already approved and approving the other three applications. This brings the total number of approved grows in the county to 29.

Commissioners were asked to review the first application regarding Michael Barkl but since Barkl was not there and the application had already received previous approval, they referred the final action to commissioners instead. They rejected a plea made by Mischa Vining-Doyle and Shiloh Jackman to reconsider the approval. The couple told the PC no one had informed them in a timely manner that the grow would be erected on the border of their property.

The second application involved the possibility that the applicant would need two separate licenses, one medical and one retail, since he told them he planned to grow retail but sell the product for medical research purposes. The PC was not certain how to proceed as there was confusion about the licensure.

Bill McClure said he was “mad as hell” because the confusion and uncertainty about following the regulations is why they are getting “chewed out.” Alternative PC member Steve Carlson also told the commission there was no proof the proposed grow had access to a water source. Chairperson Rebie Hazard noted the application they had was not correct.

Richard Drake proposed the motion be postponed until incorrect dates on the application could be corrected. But the application was approved 5-2 pending

Please see GROWS on Page 6A

Page 6A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, February 1, 2018

SERVE

Continued from Page 5A more likely to stay in the profession.”

He said there is a movement across Colorado to provide additional pay to teachers with the credential.

The partnership with UNC also offers teachers $6,000 scholarships to become qualified to teach college courses in high school. That requires a master’s degree

File Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Ken Frye with the Old Spanish Trail Association will share the history of the OST at the upcoming Saguache Chamber program on Feb. 6.

Chamber talk to feature OST SAGUACHE — On Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m., U.S. Forest Service (USFS), retired and Chapter President for the Old Spanish Trail (OST) Association Ken Frye will be the featured speaker for the Saguache Chamber speaker program.

The event will take place at the County Road and Bridge building located at 305 3rd Street in Saguache.

Born and raised in the San Luis Valley, Frye was an archaeologist and charter member of the OST Association when first formed in 1994. Ken spent many years as an SLV archaeologist with the USFS and has spent much of his life exploring ruins and trails no longer used by ancient peoples — Native Americans, Spanish explorers, fur trappers, Hispano settlers and post-civil war American pioneers.

Saguache is a crossroad for one of the most important aspects of the Old Spanish Trail; the “West Branch

of the North Fork” (located at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 285 and Colorado State Highway 114) where men and women have turned west for centuries to cross the Continental Divide at Cochetopa Pass. Frye will share the history of the OST and his understanding of the “West Branch” and the significance of the locating of the town of Saguache in relation to this.

County residents are invited to come and hear Frye speak about his life in the Valley, his current role with the OST Association, and the importance of the Old Spanish Trail to Saguache yesterday, today, and in the future.

Chamber of commerce monthly meetings (as always) are open to the public. Please contact the chamber at info@saguachechamber.org or call Barry at 719-322-7298 with any questions about this meeting or to be part of the chamber’s speaker program in the future.

GROWS

Continued from Page 1A

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Planning commission members Richard Drake, Chairperson Rebie Hazard, Bill McClure and Benita Curry hear Ruth Horn speak during a marijuana application review. Other planning commission members include Lynne Thompson, Ellen Cox, Jeff Shook, Judy Messoline and alternates, Steve Carlson, Daniel Davis and Mark Swinney. satisfaction of certain conditions.

Homeowners said the third applicant was blocking their views and driving down property values.

They also said he had water, chemical and fertilizer issues. The applicant said he is using all organic pesticides and has provided a total of 15 full and part-time jobs. Other citizens objected that the caliber of those coming into the Valley to work for the grows are part of the problem.

After further discussion, the third applicant also was approved to grow pending satisfaction of stated conditions.

The fourth applicant flew in from North Carolina, a fact questioned by Bonanza resident Bill Case based on residency requirements in state and local regulations. The applicant protested that he paid $5,000 for his outof-state license, but it still was not clear if all the regulations for a grow operation

in the county had been satisfied.

Neighbors said they are downwind of the grow and the spring winds will carry any odors associated with the grow right into their property. They also said the roads in the area would suffer from increased traffic.

Because some building already had begun on the site prior to approval and neighbors were not notified, McClure set the review of the conditional use permit by commissioners back 30 days, but the application was approved.

During a discussion that followed the application approvals, McClure said he is not in favor of a marijuana moratorium. But if there has to be a moratorium, he suggested it be set for 90 days. Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez agreed it could be done within that time period.

After further discussion, the PC voted to recommend a 120-day moratorium to commissioners.

that includes 18 credits in a content area.

“ASU has done concurrent qualification for years, but until now, it hasn’t had the state support this project provides.”

Garcia said another goal of Project SERVE is to send two students per community to a national conference each semester. Project SERVE will be

seeking community support for that effort in the form of sponsorships as the project develops.

For more information about Project SERVE, contact Curtis Garcia at 719587-8202. Students interested in the program should connect with their school counselor or principal.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 11A

MEETING

Continued from Page 1A Commission (PC) and approved by commissioners have reached their limit and need to be dialed back.

Residents also protested the approval of the applications at a planning commission meeting held Jan. 25. To date, J. Anderson announced, 29 grows have been approved. It was later determined that not one application has been denied, by either the PC or commissioners.

Growers’ objections nearly all followed the same path — they have invested thousands of dollars into their grows, they have a constitutional right to grow, they have followed all the rules, their applications have been approved, they have families to support and employees to pay and a moratorium would either slow down or destroy their businesses.

They maintain they are responsible or will be responsible growers and do/will consider their neighbors’ rights and objections, they are employing county residents, they are contributing to the community and to the county budget, they are preserving the environment, they use less water than those growing agricultural crops and their traffic requirements are no greater than those of other farming enterprises.

Several growers and marijuana proponents voiced the opinion that the real reason residents are protesting is that they are opposed to marijuana from a moral standpoint. Others touted the medicinal benefits of the drug and the rights of patients, some of them children, to access their products.

Saguache Town Trustee Terry Gillette summed up the pros and cons of allowing the grows to be approved indiscriminately during his speaking time. He listed the pros as money, medical use and recreational use. The cons he listed as: increased crime (thefts, violence, illegal grows); in children and teens, hazardous exposure to second-hand smoke, edibles and in-home grows, resulting in harm to child growth and development; fire hazard (heat lamps, residential electrical overloads that could result in fire, overloading the town’s electrical system); water usage, (unregulated draws from irrigation ditches, commercial and other wells); ground water contamination, (from fuels and oils, fertilizers, even natural agents and chemicals); large increase in

energy use (diesel, gas generators) and negative impact on local roads and property values, (roads not intended for commercial trucks, property values dropping, grows next to residential areas).

Citizen comment highlights Mark Swinney: “There is a lack of zoning, a lack of concern for the community and [a lack of concern for] the county’s children and values… [In the working world] if I had ever passed as many grows as I’ve seen passed here in the last six weeks, I would have been fired. If you don’t enforce a code, why bother with a code?”

Jay Le Blanc: “We still don’t know what the whole picture looks like. The county doesn’t have a handle on what’s going on. What kind of vetting process is taking place here?”

Jim Jaminet: “We are randomly permitting too many additional grows. There is a legal right by the constitution to allow these grows but they are infringing on neighbors’, landowners’ rights. A six-month moratorium is too short, there are a lot of negative impacts and the moratorium needs to be retroactive.”

Ruth Horn: “In the big picture of things, I have to look at water.

Commissioners need to listen to what landowners are saying and support a moratorium.”

Ken Skoglund, Moffat town trustee: “I bought a water truck and the last three years have been the best years of my business. I work for illegal and legal grows.”

PUBLIC NOTICES

Dottie Ecklund: “Support a moratorium and abide by the law; the laws in Saguache County are not being enforced.

Commissioners need to make sure applications are reviewed properly.”

Travis Garoutte, Mountain Valley School Superintendent: “There is a lot of pain in the community, anxiety and fear. My biggest worry is that students are becoming desensitized [to marijuana] — everywhere you go, it’s out there. Usage is up, according to school resource officers. At Mountain Valley, we’re taking steps to battle easy access, desensitization. We can’t control what kids do in their own time.

Put the brakes on a minute, think play areas for their children and the dream of owning a country home about what’s going on.” free of the city hustle and bustle.

Nearly all residents (but not Lisa Rosen: “We should never have adopted growers) favored the moratorium. the idea that the only way to While commissioners made it clear do economic development is at their last regular commissioners meeting that they favored turning marijuana.” the regulation revision over to the Several citizens complained of planning commission rather than grows surrounding their homes creating a task force to oversee and ruining their views and peace the revisions, they denied they and quiet. Many objected they had made any such decision at the had never received notices before public meeting.

When the public meeting the grows went in. Both at the Planning Commission meeting and c o n c l u d e d , c o m m i s s i o n e r s the public meeting, parents and indicated there would be other grandparents voiced their complete public hearings before the issue disillusionment with the permitting is decided and no decision on a process that has cost them the loss moratorium would be made until of their views, their privacy, quiet then.

Volume 117, Number 6

Shorts

Saguache Dems caucus training, meeting Feb. 13

SAGUACHE— The Saguache County Democratic Party Central Committee will host a caucus training to be ready for the March 6 caucuses on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. at the Saguache Road & Bridge Meeting Room, 305 3rd St. The Saguache County Central Committee also will meet to determine the number of delegates to the County Assembly. For questions or to become more involved with the party, please contact Kevin Noland 970-3516747 or nolandkk@gmail.com.

Central Committee members who are authorized to vote on any matters coming before the meeting are officers, precinct committee persons and elected officials of the county party.

Caucus training and the meeting are open to the public. All are welcome!

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Commissioners approve pot moratorium

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— After months of discussion, Saguache County Commissioners approved a 120-day moratorium on the approval of new marijuana applications until the current regulations governing how the applications are processed can be reviewed.

Prior to approving the moratorium, commissioners also approved a measure that allows an additional 11 grow operations to continue their application process, which eventually will bring the total number of grows in the county to 40.

Citizen comment was not allowed at the meeting.

The grow application for Mammoth Farms came before the board prior to the moratorium discussion but was postponed, until the owner “gets his paperwork right.” The application will be reviewed at the Feb. 20 meeting.

Commissioner Jason Anderson said he heard two themes at the public meeting — things were moving too fast with land use so pausing would be a good thing and no one wants to punish the people who are doing it right. “How do we find the balance in between?” he asked.

Commissioner Ken Anderson said something definitely needs to be done with law enforcement and

the illegal grows. J. Anderson said those growing legally are suffering from guilt by association because of the illegal grows.

K. Anderson suggested that a bond needs to be issued for cultivation clean-up by growers to cover costs in the event the grow goes out of business. J. Anderson asked that the start date for the moratorium be extended from the meeting date to Feb. 15.

“We need to give folks who’ve invested a little more room,” he suggested. “We have tied our process to the state and [if we] abandon the state process now, that’s not equitable.”

Send a card to a veteran

commissioner’s candidate Ellen Cox is 719-221-6902. Please do not call the 655- number.

Kenneth Skoglund denies he said that he delivers water to both illegal and legal growers at the public meeting on the Saguache County marijuana moratorium Jan. 29. However, several of those attending the meeting, including individuals close to law enforcement, believe they heard Skoglund make this statement.

Please see APPROVE on Page 3A

BY TERESA L. BENNS

DEL NORTE—The Rio Grande County Museum’s “Antique Show, Tell and Learn” that was scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 10 has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. The staff hopes to reschedule the event later in the year.

Clarifi cations The phone number for Saguache

“We have good regulations; we just need to tighten them up,” Land Use Administrator/County CoAdministrator Wendi Maez replied.

“We’re not stopping them from applying.” County Attorney Ben Gibbons corrected Maez, noting that a moratorium means the county “is not accepting [marijuana-related] applications during that time, period.”

Commissioner Tim Lovato recommended the moratorium be in place 120 days, allowing those who have already applied to continue the process. Attorney Ben Gibbons reminded commissioners

Report illegal grows

Snow at last

RGCM program cancelled

HOMELAKE—The Colorado Veterans Community Living Center at Homelake would like to share that this Valentine’s day marks the 29 th anniversary of the “Valentines for Vets” Program. The staff and administration of the Colorado Ve t e r a n s C o m m u n i t y L i v i n g Center at Homelake would like to encourage you to send or drop by a letter, poster or card to our residents. If you are a teacher, this may lend itself to a class project.

Handmade cards or personalized notes would be most welcomed and treasured.

If you have questions, please contact Pam or Melanie at 8525118.

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Photo by Teresa L. Benns

The San Juans finally saw a little snow Tuesday morning as a fast-moving low-pressure system tracked across the state.

SAGUACHE COUNTY — While Gov. John Hickenlooper and Sen. Cory Gardner (R) seem to be under the impression that all is well in Colorado when it comes to the existence of illegal grows in the state, Saguache County residents could tell them a thing or two.

Residents who spoke at the recent public meeting held to consider a marijuana moratorium were not shy in describing their experiences with illegal grows and the hardships they impose on neighbors and the community. Sheriff Dan Warwick estimates there are as many as 100 illegal grows in Crestone alone, and other officials say there are close to 500 in the county.

The sheriff’s office has explained they have limited manpower to investigate the grows and in some cases they lack the authority from the county to cite first-time violators. But citizens are not limited to reporting the

Please see GROWS on Page 11A

County withholds merit raises for deputies

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— Claiming merit raises for county deputies was not specifically approved by the Saguache Board of County Commissioners, a single commissioner authorized payroll officials to withhold merit raises authorized by the sheriff, claiming he must specifically request the raises from the board.

Sheriff Dan Warwick said when one employee enquired why his pay raise was missing, he was told that everything over $500 must be approved. “That is only true of cities, not counties,” Warwick commented.

“If you had to do that you would never get anything done.”

Warwick says commissioners gave

him a budget and told him to stay within it, and he did not overspend in granting the raises.

By using the three percent pay increase everyone received this year for those also working off grant funds, commissioners gave money to persons whose salaries are not a usual part of the payroll, Warwick said. This took money from his budget that was intended to pay the merit increases so that now they cannot be used for that purpose.

“How do I get people’s wages up to where they need to be now without messing up my budget?” Warwick queried. Commissioners criticized him for not using all the money in his budget, Warwick complained, but

then refused to authorize the merit raises. He also noted the county has not updated the starting salaries for many employees to match the new minimum wage increase that went into effect this year.

Cyriacks CORA request Lisa Cyriacks contacted County CoAdministrator Lyn Zimmer-Lambert last month by email and requested a copy of anything commissioners were using to justify rejecting the pay raise. Lambert first sent her a condensed version of two statutes that applied to the situation, one stating that “the board shall approve the compensation for the undersheriff and deputy sheriffs appointed by the

sheriff.”

Zimmer told Cyriacks the two statutes came from the county’s policy manual.

Cyriacks pointed out that more specifically, CRS 30-2-106 reads: “In all counties the salaries of the undersheriff and deputy sheriff SHALL be fixed by the sheriff, with the approval of the board of county commissioners.” The emphasis is quite different, she wrote Zimmer.

As a follow-up to her initial CORA request, Cyriacks requested additional information, including a copy of the 2016 Saguache County Policies and Procedures with any amendments

Please see RAISES on Page 11A

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Annual ag conference kicks off STAFF REPORT MONTE VISTA — A year after predicting how the new Trump Administration might affect agriculture, National Potato Council Executive Vice President John Keeling was back to give an update on politics and agriculture during the first day of the 2018 Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference and Trade Fair on Tuesday in Monte Vista.

Keeling said he had anticipated that President Donald Trump might act differently once he was in office, but he said on Tuesday, “I haven’t seen anything different. He is who he is.�

The president is still tweeting, and Keeling said future presidents will probably use that form of social communication as well. “He has changed the presidency in that fashion, and it will not go back to the way it was.�

Keeling pointed out some positive developments and continuing challenges in the political world, with the most frustrating to him being congress’ lack of “ability to get things done.�

He said, “the level of partisanship is zero and the level of acrimony between the parties is the highest that I have ever seen before. That’s OK in some ways, but it doesn’t lend to getting things done very readily.�

For example, he said although congress passed the tax bill, it did so in too much of a hurry and did not think

it through thoroughly or give it the attention to detail it required, which resulted in some problems that will have to be remedied.

At last year ’s conference Keeling anticipated that the Trump Administration would enact regulatory reform, as that was one of Trump’s goals. “The Trump Administration has brought a new attitude towards regulation,� Keeling said.

He said changes in policy and executive orders regarding regulations and agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency are already making a difference, and he viewed these as “very positive for this administration.�

Photo by Anthony Guerrero The subject of trade, on the The 2018 Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Fair kicked off other hand, is “very confusing and on Tuesday morning. uncertain,� Keeling said. Talks are ongoing to renegotiate NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), Keeling said, but the atmosphere around the renegotiations is “difficult or confusing at best� because other countries are not sure whether the U.S. will pull out of the agreement if the U.S. doesn’t get everything it wants, especially in light of the U.S. withdrawing from the TPP (TransPacific Partnership.) “That’s 10-11 other countries we would have had negotiations/ agreements with. Probably those 11 countries are continuing to negotiate Please see AG on Page 12A

APPROVE

Continued from Page 1A the moratorium could always be extended.

While no discussion took place Tuesday regarding what body would decide how the regulations will be adapted to current circumstances, commissioners had indicated earlier

that the possibility of a task force was not off the table. However, a work session for the county planning commission to handle review of the regulations is scheduled for Thursday Feb. 8 at the road and bridge building in Saguache.

JACKSON

Continued from Page 2A Hagedorn, as well as six step great grandchildren and her canine companion Punkin.

She was preceded in death by her husband B.F. Jackson, Jr., her mother and father Pearl and Oma Mae Gunnels, her mother and fatherin-law Frank and Essie Jackson, her grandson Greg Hagedorn and brothers Acie and Ellis Gunnels.

A memorial service to honor her life will be held Thursday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. at the First Christian Church,

in Monte Vista. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice del Valle through Rogers Family Mortuary. The family would like to express their eternal gratitude to Hospice del Valle, especially to Amy, Tess and Kelly.

Rogers Family Mortuary of Monte Vista is in care of the arrangements. Online condolences, tributes and remarks for Doris’ family may be made by visiting www.

RogersFunerals.com.

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Page 3A

Center armed robbery investigation continues

BY TERESA L. BENNS CENTER— Center Police continue to investigate an armed robbery that occurred last month at the Tortilla Factory, a small grocery and tortilla distribution outlet on Worth Street in Center owned and operated by Martin Palma.

Center Police Chief Jim Gowin said not much can be released on the details of the crime because it is still an active Please see ROBBERY on Page 5A

Volume 117, Number 7

Shorts

Annual pancake supper Feb. 19

CENTER— Kiwanis Club of Center is hosting the 62nd Annual President’s Day Pancake Supper on Monday, Feb. 19 from 4:30-7 p.m. at the Center School cafeteria. Price is $7 for adults, $4 for children and under age six is free. Package sausage will be available for $4/lb.

Have a cup of joe with Joe Salazar CRESTONE—StopbytheElephant Cloud on Saturday, Feb. 17, 6:30-8 p.m. to meet State Representative Joe Salazar, the most progressive candidate for Colorado Attorney General and endorsed by “Our Revolution.” This is an opportunity to learn his platform, ask him questions, and discuss important state and community issues affecting Coloradans. The Elephant Cloud is located at 200 Cottonwood St. in Crestone.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Saguache County violating its own master plan Landowners’ rights forgotten

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE COUNTY — Although the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) and the Saguache Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) claim they have no obligation to block the approval of marijuana grows if adjacent property owners complain, county documents indicate otherwise.

In June 2010, following a contentious debate process conducted by the SCPC, the BoCC approved the state-required master plan which the SCPC had developed and submitted to the board. At that time there were objections to the county’s failure to include a comprehensive plan protecting individual property rights.

The SCPC countered these objections by including references in the plan to the future creation of a “Landowner’s Bill of Rights.” But in the past nearly eight years, no such bill of rights has

ever been formulated.

It will be useful here to quote from the master plan and refresh the memories of Saguache County residents regarding its contents.

Pertinent passages will be italicized and a summary will follow.

Introduction “The Saguache County Master Plan guides the conservation and development of the unincorporated portions of Saguache County.

Its purpose is to guide Planning Commission decisions, the adoption

Vikings are state-bound

VA/Veterans forum monthly meeting Feb. 21

ALAMOSA—The Veterans Coalition of the SLV is pleased to facilitate the monthly meeting with the VA ECHCS (Eastern Colorado Health Care System) on Wednesday, Feb. 21 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. at the SLV Health Education & Conference Center (formerly Grizzly Inn Restaurant), 1921 Main St, Alamosa. All veterans are welcome. Bring healthcare questions, concerns or issues to the meeting.

VA representatives will be there to assist and understand the needs in the SLV. For more information, call 719-992-4108 or email sahndra. vcslv@gojade.org

of land use regulations, and aid community development in ways that reflect and perpetuate its citizens’ core values.

“The plan update (from 1974) has been underway for several years.

Residents from all walks of life and many different parts of the county have contributed to its formation.

There have been numerous rounds of community inputs including a survey, facilitated forums in all areas

Please see PLAN on Page 11A

Center Schools dedicates Little Free Library

BY T ERESA L. B ENNS

CENTER— Last Wednesday Center Schools became one of over 60,000 free little libraries in the world, establishing a separate “little library” outside the entrance to Fyock Library at the school. Two more little libraries will be set up in the Center area in the coming months.

According to its website, “Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds.”

The Center Branch of the Literacy Committee, set up last September, has been working on the project for the last few months. Students from kindergarten through grade

Annual tourism conference Feb. 21

ALAMOSA— The San Luis Valley Tourism Association will host the annual SLV Tourism Conference on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at Adams State University’s Student Union Building.

Registration will begin at 12 p.m., and the conference will run from 12:30 to 7 p.m. The conference will feature updates from Kevin Wilkins with the SLV Development Resources Group; Jeff Owsley with the Small Business Development Center; representatives from all six Valley counties; a rep from the Valley Initiative Partners; the Great Sand Dunes; the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area; SLV Great Outdoors and inspirational speaker Mayor, Ty Coleman. The conference also includes dinner and a live auction.

Registration for the conference is $40; annual membership in the association is $35, or you can do both for $65. Registration for persons from the same business are only $30. See www.sanluisvalley.org to register.

75¢

Please see LIBRARY on Page 6A Courtesy Photo

State wrestling qualifiers Juanito Garcia, Cosme Cordova and Mario Chavez will represent Center High School at State this weekend. See the State Wrestling Preview as a special insert in this week’s paper.

Citizens object to final school design

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — At the Saguache Town Board meeting Monday, former mayor Greg Terrell addressed the mayor and trustees, reading from a letter that cited the failure of Mountain Valley School officials to work more closely with the town in constructing the new school.

Terrell lists several areas of concern in his letter, the first being road damage.

He points out that according to Federal Highway Administration studies, the heavily loaded trucks that must bring fill and other materials in for the new school will cause wear and tear on the town’s roads, reducing their lifespan from 20 years to seven. The 55 construction workers who will participate in the school construction “won’t even be locals,” he said.

Fill materials must be added to the site to shore it up for building and divert surface water away from the school.

“Where will this water go?” Terrell asked. Typically, the water will run off onto the road and into other properties, he said, yet the school did not consult the town regarding storm drains, ditches or the cost of road repairs. Drains or ditches may need to be incorporated and this is within the domain of the town.

Building height is another concern; the new school will abut a town right-of way and trees are planned for planting within the right-of-way.

Originally, many thought, the school was considering a one-story design. But the DesignAdvisory Group, comprised of school district members, approved a two-story (7.2 meters high) design. A solar study by school architects shows

this will leave “Pitkin Avenue from between Third and Fourth Street in the shade all day most of the winter.

Second street from Pitkin south a half block will ensure ice on these streets for prolonged periods.”

The result would mean more pavement damage and higher heating bills for residents, many of them seniors.

And in the summer the building design will cause glare onto the street. Terrell suggested the town and school consult about possible setbacks for the property.

School architects have admitted they did not consider traffic safety when designing the main entrance for Photo by Teresa L. Benns the school at the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and Second Street, Terrell A Haskin Elementary student notes. This may involve the addition places a book selection in the Little Free Library dedicated last week Please see MVS on Page 8A at Center Schools.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 11A

PLAN

FOREST

Continued from Page 1A of the county, write-in comments and a public hearing.

“Therefore, land use policies and regulations should be developed only to the extent necessary to prevent harm or interference with the rights and freedoms of residents of Saguache County. Individual liberty and private property rights shall be of great concern when considering land use regulations.

“Residents and stakeholders in Saguache County…value their high quality of life filled with peace, quiet, and solitude; clear, dark, starry night skies; the spectacular views created by wide open spaces surrounded by beautiful mountains; and the high quality of the natural resources and unpolluted environment of the region.

[They]want to maintain the fresh air, clean water, and abundance of wildlife present today into the future… Priority is placed on protecting the mountains, foothills, environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands and riparian areas, wildlife habitats and corridors, and agricultural lands, especially those irrigated with water rights.

Relevant points in the plan “Planning and land use regulation is a democratic process. Therefore, land use decisions and policy making should be carried out in a transparent manner and with great integrity.

Citizen input should be actively sought in reviewing or adopting plans, policies, and regulations.

Saguache County landowners have expressed interest in a “Landowners Bill of Rights,” which would be very proactive and should be explored.

Recognition, acknowledgement and protection of private property at the county level will go a long way in the citizens accepting regulations that protect other cherished core values.

Economic growth was the concern Saguache County residents expressed the most during the master plan process. They voiced a clear need for the county to encourage activities that can ensure economic stability for residents while remaining consistent with core community values. Some goals and ideas include: • Provide for individualism and fairness for property owners and businesses, while protecting public

health, safety, and welfare.

• G1-3: Consider offering incentives to businesses looking to locate in Saguache County that are consistent with the County’s economic development.

• G1-5: Pursue the creation of a “Landowners Bill of Rights.”

• G2-5: Accommodate compatible growth while preserving agricultural and rangeland, open space and wildlife habitat and personal property rights.

• G2-9: Encourage commercial development in identified areas in order to increase revenue.

“This plan has been created with the general purpose of “guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted, and harmonious development of the county which, in accordance with present and future needs and resources, will best promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the county, as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development, including such distribution of population and of the uses of land for urbanization, trade, industry, habitation, recreation, agriculture, forestry and other purposes as will tend to create conditions favorable to the county and its inhabitants” (CRS 20-28-107).”

(End of master plan quotes) Summary From the beginning, the master plan was presented as a legitimate representation of the views of the entire county. The plan repeatedly stresses the importance of citizen input in the SCPC’s formation of plans, policies and regulations.

The importance of property rights and their protection is stressed throughout the document, and a bill of landowner’s rights is proposed as a future project to be explored by the commission.

The core beliefs, found under the subhead “Introduction” above, also are referred to repeatedly as a major consideration in this document. The protection of public health, safety and welfare are described as part of the plan’s purpose and the county states this is in agreement with the state statute cited above. However,

both the SCPC and the BoCC and administrators have deviated from this document in dealing with marijuana cultivation and sales applications, as previous reports show. Especially at SCPC meetings but also at BoCC regular meetings and work sessions, they have forbidden or limited public comment and input and have routinely dismissed the importance of property rights.

The SCPC also has forgotten the “core values and beliefs” of citizens which was surely more representative of the entire county per that topic than the 2012 vote on Amendment 64 held only two years later. The BoCC has minimized the importance of public health and safety by refusing to consider the necessity of an adequately funded and staffed sheriff’s office equipped to deal with the issues surrounding both legal and illegal grows. Furthermore, the pledge in the Master Plan to “preserve agricultural and rangeland” and only allow development in “identified areas in order to increase revenue,” violates their own stated principles in the Land Use Code.

“Agricultural users of the land are not expected to change their longestablished agricultural practices to accommodate the intrusion of urban users into a rural area. Well-run agricultural activities will generate off-site impacts, including noise from tractors and equipment; dust from animal pens; field work; harvest and gravel roads; odor from animal confinement, silage and manure; smoke from ditch burning, flies and mosquitoes; the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the fields, including the use of aerial spraying” (“Right to Farm and Ranch,” Article XIX of the current Saguache County Land Use Code).

The county is proceeding on the assumption that marijuana is an agricultural crop and that adjacent land owners must more or less “put up and shut up.” But this is not what the Colorado State Legislature has

decided, although Saguache officials say state law does not bind them.

“Under the Colorado Farm Products Act (act), dealers of farm products are required to be licensed with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (department). Farm products are defined as unprocessed products of the soil, such as vegetables and fruit, livestock, milk, honey, and hay. The act requires that businesses purchasing and storing agricultural products be licensed and bonded by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. House Bill 171197 excludes marijuana from the definition of farm products in the act, thereby exempting marijuana businesses from these licensing and bonding requirements. The production and distribution of marijuana is regulated by other state laws” (Colorado Legislative Council Staff, 2017 summary of legislation, http://leg.colorado.gov/ sites/default/files/agriculture.pdf).

So while farmers and ranchers are protected from having to answer to urban dwellers new to the county regarding their practices, marijuana producers do not fall into this same category. If those currently objecting to the practices of the SCPC and BoCC wish to resolve their property rights and other issues, based on all the above already proposed by the county, it would seem that the following steps are in order: • Determine whether the BoCC and SCPC are required by law to follow state regulations in approving marijuana cultivation and sales or whether, as they claim, they may act outside these laws; • Demand that the SCPC honors the master plan and land use code; and • Insist that before the SCPC even begins to tackle the revision of the marijuana regulations, they first attend to their prior commitment of formulating a Landowners Bill of Rights, with full participation of Saguache County landowners.

Continued from Page 9A and industry professionals to pursue effective methods of harvesting and marketing standing dead timber, and advocating for forest policy changes focused on real-world solutions. However, due to the scope of forest health challenges, there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Other highlights from this year’s report include: • Spruce beetle was Colorado’s most widespread and damaging forest insect pest for the sixth consecutive year. A total of 206,000 acres with active infestations were observed in high-elevation Engelmann spruce forests.

• Mature Douglas-fir trees continued to be attacked and killed by Douglas-fir beetle, impacting a total of 14,000 acres in the central and southern portions of the state.

• Several programs and methods currently are being employed to deal with these bark beetles in the hard-hit Gunnison Basin, including t h e We s t e r n B a r k B e e t l e Program, the use of pheromone treatments to repel beetle attacks, and use of the Good Neighbor Authority to allow state contracting procedures for management efforts on federal lands.

• A 21-member Forest Health Advisory Council, created through legislation passed in 2016, convened in 2017 and is working across organizational boundaries to identify barriers to, and opportunities for, improving Colorado’s forest health.

Copies of the 2017 report are available at all CSFS field offices and at csfs.colostate. edu.

Volume 117, Number 8

Shorts

Body found Monday identified

SAGUACHE COUNTY — A female body discovered in Saguache County Feb. 18 has been identified as Brandy Bishop. 37, of Saguache.

According to a press release late Monday afternoon, a hiker in the area of County Road 42 and County Road Z discovered the body just after 10 a.m. and alerted authorities on Sunday morning. The investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding Bishop’s death.

Updates will be provided as they become available. Anyone with information is asked to call the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office at 719-655-2544.

Initially some speculated whether the body found was that of Kristal Reisinger, a missing person case handled out of Saguache. Reisinger disappeared from Crestone July 13, 2016, but has never been found. She has not contacted her family since her disappearance.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

BoCC approves four additional grows

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — Despite a detailed description of irregularities and possible illegalities with two marijuana cultivation applications, handed to Saguache County Commissioners during the morning session of their Tuesday meeting, the BoCC approved all four applications presented to them with little discussion during their afternoon session.

The approval also came despite Commissioner Jason Anderson’s conversation with a Drug Enforcement Agency representative during a meeting break, who said he had

received many complaints and told Anderson, “I hear you have a mess down here.” Anderson replied, “We don’t have a mess here.”

A property owner also spoke during the public comment period to describe her impression of life surrounded by marijuana grows. “The county was wrong by not discussing the monumental changes with pot before opening the county up to marijuana,” she told commissioners.

“I would like more transparency. A 120-day moratorium is very short.

Commissioners are asking for leniency and say they are trying to do

better, but that’s not good enough. I did not come to this county to die.”

Also during the comment period, a citizen attending the meeting read excerpts from a prepared statement accompanying the list of irregularities delivered to commissioners, reportedly compiled by a local resident. The citizen chided the county for approving applications without any consideration of citizen complaints regarding plant visibility, light pollution, noise from generators, exhaust fans and other sources, excessive vehicular or foot traffic and odors. His concluding remarks

Leading by example

VFA meets Feb. 24

Thursday Partly sunny, with a high near 38.

Breezy, with a southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind chill values between zero and 10. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday A 10 percent chance of rain after 5pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 38. Breezy, with a southwest wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 Please see WEATHER on Page 3A

Please see GROWS on Page 8A

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAN LUIS VALLEY— Please see the State Wrestling Recap and Basketball Playoff preview as a special insert in this week’s paper.

HOW'S THE WEATHER?

are included below.

“It appears that the BoCC and SCPC may be unaware of the requirements in the county marijuana regulations.

If this is not the case, then it certainly appears that both the BoCC and SCPC are not at all interested in enforcing the county marijuana regulations and are certainly not interested in upholding the rights of the residents who live near these marijuana establishments.

It has been stated before at BoCC meetings that marijuana is not a moral issue, but it’s rather about rules and

Sheriff confronts BoCC over missing raises

Check out the sports special

MONTE VISTA — The Valley Fiber Arts group will meet Saturday, Feb. 24 starting at 1 p.m. at Wanda Couzen-Smith’s home, 757 County Road 29. Bring a project, bring a friend, bring questions and answers and come and enjoy. Ruthanna will be providing the lesson. Those needing directions can call or text Wanda at 719-852-5000 or 719-580-4976.

75¢

Courtesy Photo

Center 17-year-old Kristine Hoffner organized a Youth Fest 4-H Camp in Larkspur, Colo. recently. Over 200 youth attended the event, which included a blanket-making community service project. Pictured: Kristine and other state officers lead reflection time at the end of their workshop. See related story on Page 5A.

SAGUACHE— Two weeks ago, a lone county commissioner reportedly authorized payroll officials to withhold merit raises authorized

by Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick, claiming the sheriff must specifically request the raises from the board.

Warwick said when one employee enquired why his pay raise was missing, he was told that everything over $500 must be approved.

Wa r w i c k f a c e d o f f w i t h commissioners Tuesday, Feb. 20 over the missing raises, contesting the idea that the commissioners get final say in how he spends the budget they already approved for him. Some disagreement surfaced in who had axed the raises — the lone commissioner, as initially reported, or county administration.

Commissioners told Warwick county administration was responsible but previously courthouse sources said one commissioner made a special trip to the courthouse to stop the raises Please see PAY on Page 6A

County falling short of Strategic Plan goals

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — At the time Saguache County’s Strategic Plan was approved on June 23, 2015, commissioner Tim Lovato asked fellow commissioner Jason Anderson if the Strategic Plan could be integrated with the Master Plan.

Jason Anderson told Lovato he felt the two documents “work together” and could be used to adopt a final plan.

Lovato observed the plan was not a “county” plan but a “commissioner’s plan.” Anderson answered that it is only a tool the board is working with that can be changed.

Wyoma Hansen also reminded commissioners that the plan started out as a hush-hush project and county residents were not asked for input. Even elected officials at the

courthouse were unaware strategic planning meetings were being held.

In the fall of 2014, several county residents expressed concerns over the secrecy elements of the meetings, held during work sessions, not regular sessions. This is still a common practice with commissioners. The first discussion of the marijuana moratorium was conducted during a work session, and public comment was forbidden.

Jason Anderson has specifically referenced the Strategic Plan in regards to economic development and the marijuana industry recently, indicating that the development of marijuana as Saguache County’s primary industry is in perfect keeping with the plan. This may be truer than Saguache residents realize.

The day the plan was approved, Commissioner Ken Anderson said there are “opportunities coming up in the Valley,” and the plan will come in handy to address them. He said the county has land to develop, letters sent out and businesses looking to set up.

One of the plan’s initial goals was to “Develop growth strategies, policies for manufacturing, agriculturerelated manufacturing/processing.”

So were some of the businesses “looking to set up” marijuana growers? If so this was not made clear to county residents attending Photo by Teresa L. Benns strategic planning meetings. The county’s marijuana regulations would Saguache County Sheriff Dan not go into effect until 2016. And Warwick listens to commissioners numerous citizens have expressed explain why his deputies have not received the pay raises he gave them Please see PLAN on Page 10A two weeks ago.

Page 8A

Center Post-Dispatch

GROWS Alamosa students Continued from Page 1A However, it is becoming harvest seed potato crop regulations. apparent that rules and regulations are

being considered in a similar fashion to moral issues, ignored!

“One point that I want to make is that Saguache County is not a country unto itself (I want to stress that I did not say county; I said country.) It is also part of the state of Colorado, but, more importantly, Saguache County is part of the United States of America, which is supposed to be a country based on the rule of law and due process for all of its citizens, which includes all of the residents of Saguache County.

“In closing, if the county cannot address at least these two examples that I just discussed in a timely manner, it should seriously consider

Courtesy Photos

Alamosa High School Greenhouse Management class recently harvested its annual certified seed potato crop. AHS Ag Ed department is the only high school in the country to plant and harvest a “certified seed” potato crop. Local farmers Matt Seger and Brendon Rockey supply the original seeds which are grown in the greenhouse during the winter months and provide guidance and education to Leeann Hitsman’s greenhouse management class. Seger and Rockey then buy the seed potatoes back from the AHS Ag Department to be planted in their fields.

4-H

Continued from Page 5A Besides the blanket workshop, they also learned to dance, participated in team building games, and listened to a guest speaker that talked about overcoming insecurities.

“Making the blankets and cards was my favorite part of the camp,” said first time camper Emily Clark, 9, of San Luis. “I think the people who get them will feel special and happy.”

Youth Fest is just one of many camps offered by Colorado 4-H throughout the year. All 4-H camps and conferences have youth involved in the planning process, and aim to teach kids valuable life skills.

For more information on the 4-H youth development program and 4-H camp opportunities visit the San Luis Valley website at http://sanluisvalley. colostate.edu or call 719-8527381. 4-H is a cooperative effort between Colorado State University Extension and Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties. Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

revising the marijuana moratorium’s timeline; specifically, the county should not review any more applicants for CLU permits until it does in fact have adequate code enforcement to protect the safety, health, and property rights of its residents. Following the County’s current path would be considered reckless in most civilized societies.”

Grows approved In considering the applications, commissioners noted that in all cases, objections on several heads had been made by adjacent property owners.

Some were addressed as conditions in the conditional use permit grant, others were not. The following grows were approved:

• Delta 2017, Inc. – Retail Marijuana Cultivation – 61401 Co. Rd. B – SE1/4SW1/4 28-41-10 • Knarik Markosyan, landowner/ Trust Group, LLC, applicant – Retail Marijuana Cultivation – 6754 Highway 17 – NE1/4NW1/4 3341-10 • Knarik Markosyan, landowner/ Trust Group, LLC, applicant – Retail Marijuana Cultivation - 6748 Highway 17 – SE1/4NW1/4 33-42-10 Another application for Mammoth Farms, added to the agenda at the last minute, also was approved.

The application for Michael Barkel, landowner/GII, LLC, applicant – Retail Marijuana Cultivation (26758 Hammond Ave. Moffat, Lot 83 Ewing Ranch), was postponed yet again until March 29.

Volume 117, Number 9

Shorts

‘Cook with your neighbor’ today

CENTER—Center United Methodist Church offers a “Cooking with your neighbor.” Each month on the first Thursday of the month starting around 5 p.m. Anyone can join in; there’s no charge. March 1 will be a cabbage dish and green things in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Preparation will begin around 5 p.m. with serving around 6 pm. Join in and bring friends and family. If you have a dish to share and wish to bring it, please do. Most of all, come and share fellowship.

Monthly breakfast Saturday at Tri-County

Please see both stories

Thursday March 1, 2018

Election cancelled; four appointed

BY TERESA L. BENNS

CENTER— A not infrequent occurrence from Center’s past, tucked away in an election ordinance, has cancelled Center’s election this April and allowed the automatic appointment of four familiar faces to trustee positions.

Four positions on the board were open, replacing seats held by Mary McClure, Adeline Sanchez, Pedro Segura and Geraldine Martinez. The town announced the four openings in its Dec. 2 newsletter and in the legal section of the Valley Courier, but announced no date in the December or January newsletter when acceptance of candidate filings would end.

Four other potential candidates

went to town hall to submit their affidavits in early February but were told the deadline for receiving applications already had expired.

Mary McClure and Sanchez submitted affidavits of intent to run for re-election and two seats were left to fill. Former municipal judge James Sanchez submitted his affidavit for one and former town clerk Bill McClure submitted his for the other.

Sanchez will serve for two years and the others for four each.

All four will be seated April 10. The full board will then consist of Mayor Herman Sisneros, Adeline Sanchez, Mary McClure, Archie Gallegos, Bill McClure, James Sanchez and Jaime Hurtado. Sanchez recently lost his

bid for school board director with Center Schools.

Since 2008, elections in Center have been contentious and not lacking in candidates. The recall election process in 2012-2013 and the resultant lawsuits and heated meetings soured many on the process, however, and interest seems to have once again waned.

With the exception of Gallegos and Hurtado, all those now serving on the board have served before over the years. Many in the town feel that the failure to properly advertise the positions can account for the cancelled election, but feel it is useless to “fight town hall.” Efforts to push for change in the past have not been

Friends of SLV NWR to meet March 7

HOW'S THE WEATHER?

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 48. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 15. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light west southwest in the evening.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 54. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 19. South southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 55.

South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Please see WEATHER on Page 11A

successful, they say.

The appointment of the four candidates by default springs from a municipal elections statute that reads as follows: 31-10-507. Election may be cancelled - when.

In any ordinance adopted by the governing body of the municipality requiring an affidavit of intent for write-in candidates as provided in section 31-10-306, the governing body may also provide that, if the only matter before the voters is the election of persons to office and if, at the close of business on the sixtyfourth day before the election, there

Please see ELECTION on Page

Planning commission turns down Road T pot grow

MONTE VISTA— Tri-County Seniors will be hosting their monthly breakfast on Saturday, March 3 from 8-10 a.m. at the senior center, 311 Washington St. in Monte Vista. The menu includes biscuits and gravy, hash browns, scrambled eggs and a beverage (juice, coffee or tea). Cost is $6 per person. Everyone is welcome.

MONTE VISTA—The Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges will hold their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room at the Carnegie Public Library in Monte Vista. All members and the public are invited to attend.

For more information, please contact Tim Armstrong at 852-2452.

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BY TERESA L. BENNS

Courtesy photo

This is a familiar site today in Lazy KV Estates, suggestive of possible grow activity, another property which could come before Land Use requesting a conditional use permit.

Marijuana regulations out of sync with county land use code

By Teresa L. Benns SAGUACHE — Both the Master Plan developed by the county as well as the Strategic Plan clearly show that while Saguache County officials have proposed laws favoring landowners for consideration, such consideration has never materialized.

In addition, the often-expressed desire of many county residents that commissioners become more transparent in conducting county business is not reflected by recent events. And as pointed out to commissioners by the strategic planners they hired in 2014-2015, the county’s managerial staff is not prepared to implement the strategic plan as proposed, (far less administer the complicated process of evaluating, approving and policing marijuana grows).

That seems unlikely to change anytime soon, since the county’s

efforts to find an administrator could take “months,” according to one unconfirmed report. And in the meantime, administration has not yet announced who will be running the county now that Lyn Zimmer-Lambert has retired — the remaining Co-Administrator/Land Use Director Wendi Maez or an interim administrator.

The recent 120-day marijuana moratorium approved by commissioners to focus on adjusting the marijuana regulations may not be long enough to do the work it will take to address the real issues. As stated last week, first a Landowner’s Bill of Rights should be considered before even touching the regulations, since this would automatically resolve many existing issues.

But secondly, it appears the county has some fundamental discrepancies and inconsistencies

to address which exist between the Land Use Code regarding Conditional Use Permits (CUPS) and marijuana regulations. These are rooted in the manner in which the county has written the marijuana regulations, but also exposes some seemingly contradictory issues within the Land Use Code itself.

The following points can be made after reading the Land Use Code and applicable legal materials: • In adding the marijuana regulations to the Land Use Code, it is not clear if the regulations supersede the CUP regulations or whether the already existing regulations on CUPS prevail. It would seem that since nearly all marijuana cultivations have been issued a CUP, the CUP regulations would take precedence, but this is not stated in the Land Use Code.

Please see CODE on Page 7A

SAGUACHE — The Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) met last Thursday to consider a marijuana grow off County Road T, a country road where many marijuana cultivation businesses, approved by county commissioners, have set up shop in the past year.

For the first time, the SCPC denied the grow after hearing from several surrounding property owners regarding the hardships this would cause them should it be granted a conditional use permit (CUP). All the other CUP applications which have come before the commission for review have been approved pending final approval by commissioners.

Commissioners appear to have approved all of them with the exception of one, which is pending.

The proposed cultivation site, named “A Growing Concern” is owned by Andreas Pleschutnig.

Those attending the meeting agreed that several factors contributed to the SCPC denial, but the main issue seemed to be that the grow is within 200 feet of a bus stop. While property

Please see GROW on Page 2A

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

SHERIFF'S REPORT The following records were Citations provided by the Saguache Sheriff’s Carl Oester, 26, Albuquerque, Office for the week of Feb. 19-26.

N.M., speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone Tim Kalb, 27, Colorado Springs, Arrests speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone Joshua Pierce, 26, Crestone, Dillon Haraden, 22, Denver, violation of a restraining order speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone Nathan Maxwell, 36, Crestone, two John Schalekamp, 37, Grapevine, counts of failure to appear Texas, speeding 89 in a 65 MPH Shawn Beyal, 34, Monte Vista, zone failure to appear Alyssa Malouff, 30, theft

Suspects arrested in local mail thefts

ALAMOSA—The Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office has arrested suspects in connection with recent mail thefts.

On Wednesday, Feb. 14 the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office received photographic evidence of an alleged suspect vehicle committing a theft from a mailbox in Alamosa County. With this photograph, deputies were able to determine the make and model of the vehicle and partial identification of some of the passengers inside it, the sheriff’s office stated on Tuesday.

On Friday, Feb. 16 Deputy Paul Gilleland and Deputy Nick Smith located the vehicle at Wagon Wheel Trailer Park located at 8719 US. 285 Space A-15, Alamosa. While contacting the occupants, deputies observed several items of mail belonging to residences near the reported thefts in the back of the car.

When deputies entered the residence, they were in contact with Ann Morgan and Sarah Jimenez.

Inside the residence were items of mail, credit cards, blank checks, drivers’ licenses, IRS Tax Return

information, checks made out to multiple individuals with a totaled value of approximately $5,000 and a Cabela’s credit valued near $20,000 that had been used to place multiple orders.

While speaking to the suspects, both suspects placed themselves in the vehicle at the time of the photographed thefts with a third party identified as Felicia Quintana.

All evidence was collected and initial inventory of that evidence shows approximately 43 separate victims of mail theft, identity theft, check fraud, check forgery, and several other felony level crimes spanning victims from four different counties including Alamosa, Rio Grande, Conejos, and Saguache County.

Ann Morgan and Sarah Jimenez are being held at the Alamosa County Detention Center with a total bond of $100,000. Quintana has not been located at this time. A warrant has been requested for her arrest.

If anyone believes themselves to be victims of mail theft, please contact the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office.

GROW

Continued from Page 1A owners felt this was unacceptable, others commented that the law does not forbid the grows to be a certain number of feet away from bus stops, only retail shops, which must be 1,000 feet away.

Other factors included a fence that did not enclose the grow area and water that had not been disconnected from a mobile home. The current grower, who is only leasing the property from Pleschutnig, who lives in Aurora, was initially going to put a hoop greenhouse up and enclose the grow. He has since changed his mind and now wants to grow plants out in the open.

The property is only a five-acre tract and those in the area objected that if the grower later received permission to increase the grow the plants would be too close to their properties. This also raised a potential odor issue. The current owner also has a medical marijuana license and there was discussion over how the two businesses would work together.

Neighbors also were upset about the grower’s large, aggressive dogs, who they claim have chased neighbors and their animals.

According to attendees, eight or nine neighbors from the area appeared at the meeting to object to the grow and four or five protest letters were submitted to the SCPC. The property owners were allowed to speak on their own behalf, although attempts were made by the SCPC chair to curb discussions that escalated out of control.

At first it appeared the SCPC would pass the CUP with conditions, but then they denied the grow permission to operate. One attendee commented s/ he believed the commissioners would still approve the grow eventually after attaching several of the conditions considered by the SCPC. Another attendee related an incident with a different grow that could have ended in disaster. One of the growers ran an electrical cable the size of a man’s arm from his site to a pole on the road and did not inform residents

Thursday, March 1, 2018

CLIPS FROM THE CLERK be a candidate the precinct where registered for the office during the twenty-nine days of precinct prior to any caucus shall be committeepermitted to participate and

BY SAGUACHE COUNTY CLERK/ vote at the caucus in the person if he or she has been a resident RECORDER TRISH GILBERT precinct of the elector’s of the precinct for Precinct Caucuses former residence but shall thirty days and has 1-3-101. Party affiliation not be eligible for election been affiliated with required – residence as a delegate or for nomination as (1) In order to vote at any precinct a precinct committee-person in the t h e political party holding the precinct caucus for a period of caucus, assembly, or convention of former precinct. at least two months preceding the a political party, the elector must date of the precinct caucus.

• be a resident of the precinct for 1-3-102. Precinct Caucuses The persons elected as committeethirty days, (1)(a)(I) Precinct committee • must be registered to vote no persons and delegates to county person at the caucus shall assume later than twenty-nine days before assemblies shall be elected at the office immediately following the caucus, assembly or convention, precinct caucuses that shall be the caucus.

This year Precinct Caucus • and must be affiliated with in a public place or in a private the political party holding the home that is open to the public Day will be Tuesday, March caucus, assembly, or convention during the caucus in or proximate 6. For more information please for at least two months as shown to each precinct at a time and contact the County Chairperson in the statewide voter registration place to be fixed by the county for your political party: Republican system; except that any registered central committee or executive County Chair – Richard Drake elector who has attained the age of committee of each political party. at radrake81143@yahoo.com eighteen years or who has become The precinct caucuses shall be held or phone # 719-580-4433 or a naturalized citizen during the two on the first Tuesday in March, in Democratic County Chair – Kevin months immediately preceding the each even-numbered year, which Noland at nolandkk@gmail.com or meeting may vote at any caucus, day shall be known as “precinct phone # 970-351-6747.

Jane, Desiree, Ben and I are here assembly, or convention even caucus day”. though the elector has been affiliated The participants at the precinct to assist you in any way we can. with the political party for less than caucus shall also elect two precinct Call us at 719-655-2512 or stop by two months. committee-persons. Any person the Clerk & Recorder’s Office any (2) An elector who moves from eighteen years of age or older may time between 8 a.m.–4 p.m.

Elections 101 continued . . .

Explore cooking with Cloverbuds on March 3 MONTE VISTA– Valley youth ages 5 to 7 are invited to participate in Cloverbuds, a fun activity-focused youth development program, run by San Luis Valley 4-H. The March meeting will take place on Saturday, March 3 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the San Luis Valley Area Extension office in Monte Vista and will feature cooking-related projects.

Participants will learn about proper hand washing, and measuring through hands-on activities. Then they’ll make

some delicious creations, including ice cream in a bag, trail mix, overnight oats, and orange drink.

Kids do not need to be 4-H members to attend this event. The cost is $10 per child, and includes snacks to be eaten at the event, and a few to take home. Youth must RSVP to the Extension office by Wednesday, February 28 if they’d like to participate, as space and materials are limited. Call 719-852-7381 or e-mail slv4H@colostate.edu to register. Please that teaches kids life skills through partnerships with caring adults. The program is a cooperative effort between in the area. One resident called Colorado State University Extension and SLVREC and reported the cable.

SLVREC said it was run illegally and disconnected it. The technicians told the resident who called it in they were lucky the cable didn’t catch fire and hurt someone.

When notified of the exposed electric cable, the attendee continued, county land use said there wasn’t a problem.

Attendees generally agreed the growers have been given “carte blanche” in the county and people should have done something a long time ago. Some say they plan to leave the area if something is not done soon.

“A lot of people are just afraid,” one woman confided. “There is a fear factor involved in speaking out.”

Others agreed there is a very real fear that there could be retribution from grow owners for frustrating their plans.

County commissioners are scheduled to reconsider the Barkl grow, in Ewing Estates, March 29.

inform us of any food allergies when registering so we can adjust accordingly.

The Cloverbuds club will continue to meet monthly with different themes at each meeting. Upcoming themes include wildlife and rocketry.

For more information on the 4-H program visit http://sanluisvalley. colostate.edu, contact the San Luis Valley Extension office at 719-8527381 or slv4H@colostate.edu. 4-H is a national youth development program Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties.

Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 7A

CODE

PICS parents hear from Murillo

Continued from Page 1A

• If the CUPS do take precedence, as it seems they should, then why has Art. IV 8.3.2 to notify landowners within 1,500 feet of a proposed CUP by certified mail notification 45 days prior to a Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) meeting — so they may submit “written or oral statements” — been ignored? Nearly all those who have complained of marijuana cultivations in their immediate vicinity have noted this omission. So either the grows they are complaining about are illegal or the CUP notice was not given as required. The SCPC, when dealing with this issue, has only cited the state marijuana laws governing signage, not existing Land Use Code regulations. States, however, do not deal with CUPS; this is left to the individual counties.

The comments made at hearings conducted by the BoCC before approval of CUPS or at the time of the SCPC review, if such hearings are formal, should be limited to applicants and those landowners adjacent to the cultivations, not opened to others attending these meetings who do not have a specific interest in the CUP. This is according to standard practices.

• Notice of proposed marijuana cultivations also must be sent to all those living in municipalities according to this same regulation.

There have been complaints for some time now that those near grows within the city limits of Moffat were never notified of any cultivation.

• Art. IV 8.3.4 states the BoCC may hold a public hearing on any CUP after referral by the SCPC. Notice of the hearing is to be published in a newspaper 30 days prior to the hearing. A record of the hearing shall be maintained. IF no adverse or negative comments are received, a public hearing may not need to be held. But it is left entirely up to BoCC whether a hearing needs to be held or not.

Other counties in Colorado regularly schedule public hearings for most CUPS. It appears that even despite the fact adverse comments are received by adjacent landowners, Saguache commissioners choose not to schedule such hearings. Perhaps this is why 29 CUPS have been approved within a short period of time. Hearings take time and can lengthen the process, but allow everyone with an interest the right to have a say.

• In several CUP considerations, after review by the SCPC but prior to BoCC approval, it has been brought to the attention of commissioners that errors have been made in either filing the applications or investigating them for accuracy and legality.

According to Art. IV 8.3.1 the Land Use director will review the application to see if it is “complete and eligible” for recommendation to the SCPC. In Art. IV 8.4.1, there is to be no CUP approval unless ALL requirements are fulfilled, but this has not been the case.

• Art. IV 8.4.4 — Reasonable suggestions and objections from persons in the neighborhood are a measure of compatibility (with use) and will be considered. This places the county as judge and jury on what is reasonable and unreasonable. Reasonable and/or unreasonable should be defined within the regulation itself for the benefit of those objecting.

• Art. IV 8.4.7 — It will be policy to accommodate reasonable conditional uses applied for; conditions and modifications may be offered as a means of mitigating adverse effects of the use… Once again, this allows

the county to be the interpreter of “reasonable.” This explains why, as stated by one SCPC member, CUPS must be approved if they appear “complete and eligible” — to satisfy county policy. This could be interpreted as a built-in bias against fair consideration of complaints by adjacent landowners, especially considering what has already been listed above.

• In the marijuana regulations, there are no provisions for public hearings regarding CUPS. State Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) regulations provide: “12-43.4-302. Public hearing notice - posting and publication (1) If a local jurisdiction issues local licenses for a retail marijuana establishment, a local jurisdiction may schedule a public hearing on the application. If the local jurisdiction schedules a hearing, it shall post and publish public notice thereof not less than ten days prior to the hearing. The local jurisdiction shall give public notice by posting a sign in a conspicuous place on the license applicant’s premises for which a local license application has been made and by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the applicant’s premises are located.”

C.R.S. 12-43.4-309 “(1) Local jurisdictions are authorized to adopt and enforce regulations for retail marijuana establishments that are at least as restrictive as the provisions of this article and any rule promulgated pursuant to this article.”

• Art. 1-1.7.1 — The Saguache County Land Use Code only sets out “minimum requirements” — when inconsistencies arise “more stringent standards shall control… by agreement of law.” This is very similar to the above state statute.

More stringent standards would require a public hearing for CUPS and adjacent landowner notification.

• Also it is clear from statements made by the Land Use Director and commissioners themselves that they feel the state MED regulations give them permission to exceed state law in granting variances from their own regulations. But according to a Colorado Supreme Court decision in 1988, local governments can regulate, but state law preempts any conflicting local rule. Saguache County’s claim to autonomy from the state could be litigated, but this state Supreme Court Decision seems to be a pretty good indicator of what the outcome would be.

Summary Planning commission meeting agendas are listed on the county’s website, but few even realize they have the right to protest CUP approvals at these meetings, nor to the best of this writer’s knowledge has any process for such protests ever been outlined for them by the BoCC or SCPC. These property owners deserve official notice by the county of upcoming CUPS with a description of what those protesting may or may not present as “reasonable.”

Included in this letter should be the reminder per Art. 1-1.5.5 that any citizen opposing the decision may appeal “as provided by law,” and the “law,” with any applicable time limits, should be specified. All citizens deserve the right to due process and equal consideration under the law. In limiting citizen comments at various meetings and refusing to consider valid objections to applications, these basic rights have been denied Saguache County property owners.

Skoglund Middle School Principal Luis Murillo addresses PICS parents working to help their children face challenges as they progress though school.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

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Page 4A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, March 8, 2018

OPINION Citizens’ right to speak out on revising marijuana regs While county residents and especially those living adjacent to existing marijuana grows in the county may not be able to weigh in officially at the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) work sessions scheduled for amending the marijuana regulations, citizens have the right to make their voices heard by both planning commission members and commissioners.

The Saguache County Land Development Code provides for a public hearing prior to the BoCC approval of the amendments to the regulations. Such hearings are to be held in order to satisfy a rule of law known as the appearance of fairness doctrine. Public hearings must be procedurally fair and conducted by those who at least appear to be impartial in rendering decisions.

As explained in the related article on page one, a public hearing is not a public meeting. A public hearing is to be conducted like a court hearing, with evidence and testimony provided to support the arguments made. Interested parties are to receive notice and notice is to be published in the paper of record (the Saguache Crescent, but seldom the Center Post-Dispatch) a month prior to the date on which it is held.

The amendments to the marijuana regulations, included in the Land Development Code (Art. IX 2; 2.12) are to be made “in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado.� The SCPC is to study the situation before recommending any changes. The page one article mentions the Pueblo County marijuana regulations, and it is here suggested as a model to be closely followed by Saguache County in revising their current regulations.

The SCPC may hold a public hearing itself on the proposed amendments under Article IX 3.2.

A notice is to be published in the manner described above and written notices sent to interested property owners (Articles IX 3.2.1 and 3.2.2). Given the fact that no prior public hearings seem to have been held on the properties approved for marijuana applications, allowing those adjacent to those properties to have a documented voice in the granting of the applications, it seems only right and proper to allow public input in amending this faulty process.

Especially since Saguache residents were told by Commissioner Jason Anderson that a committee would be formed to help revise the regulations, the SCPC public hearing seems to be the only way citizens, especially those affected most by these grows, will be able to have any say in how they are to be handled in the future. These

MY TWO CENTS

By TERESA BENNS residents best know the full impact of these grows and how such negative impacts can be avoided.

Regardless of whether or not the SCPC holds a public hearing, commissioners will need to hold an additional public hearing on the amendments to the marijuana regulations before they can be approved. It seems logical to hold hearings on both ends, since SCPC hearings should limit the number of objections to the final product. This also will guarantee the final public hearing proceeds more smoothly and ties up any loose ends.

In revising the marijuana regulations, readers should refer to existing Saguache Land Development Code articles regarding conditional use permits (CUPs) and the applicability of these articles to the same CUPs issued for marijuana growers and sellers. Following rules provided for challenging code articles in Chapter IX of the code (IX.3), it appears from articles IV.8.3.2, IV. 8.3.4, IV.8.4.3, IV.8.4.7 citizens can protest the wording in these articles and articles in any other relevant chapters. “Mays� must turn to “shalls� where public hearings are concerned if due process is to be accorded Saguache County citizens.

The SCPC has demonstrated its inability to fairly examine the CUPs for marijuana grow applications and render an impartial decision.

Of the applications presented so far, 29 out of 30 have been approved despite protests by citizens, who sometimes were not allowed to speak on their own behalf. This is hardly even the appearance of fairness.

It is time to demand these applications be thoroughly vetted and investigated by land use officials before forwarding them to the SCPC for review. And Saguache property owners must demand an outside hearing examiner be employed who can review these cases impartially and finally afford them due process.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Recycling issues in Saguache County Dear Editor, If you have been to the landfill lately you may have noticed that the area that had previously been designated for recycling has now become a storehouse of recyclable waste product laid out flat across the terrain covering multiple acres.

Cardboard boxes that have been uncovered all winter lie open to the wind. The building that was meant to separate plastic from aluminum from glass is now filled to capacity and unreachable due to the accumulation of what may one day become just trash. (According to a source close to the operation).

Conscientious citizens of Saguache County have been paying to have their recyclables recycled. They

may not know that these items they sorted and kept separate from the trash and then paid to have recycled are just getting dumped in a huge pile at the landfill. The county has no comprehensive plan to deal with this issue. I have pointed out the problem to commissioners on more than one occasion.

Road and Bridge, who is in charge of the landfill, will not purchase compactors to process the waste into a form that can be handled by recycling companies. They will not pay the cost to haul the recyclables to the nearest facility. A contractor has been charged with duties of collection and disposal but as far as I have been able to tell over the past year and a half the pile of unrecycled trash has just grown

and grown. Unfortunately, the cost of recycling exceeds the revenue from the end product.

If in fact a contract exists with the operator of the recycling project at the landfill that actually requires the contractor to recycle the items collected, then that contract needs to be enforced. The contractor has been collecting fees for picking up and receiving recyclables at the landfill, but most of these have not been recycled.

Judging by the size of the pile, Saguache County residents wish their trash to be recycled. The landfill budget should reflect these wishes. It is the right thing to do.

Thomas D McCracken, Crestone

Safeguard the future; elect Gillette Dear Editor, As most of you know it’s been a pretty rocky year for the Town of Saguache. With the resignation of the mayor, four trustees, the town administrator and the loss of a number of other key staff it seemed hopeless to ever get things back on track, but we have. In the midst of a number of large projects, like the towns sewer, I am more than proud to be involved in getting it moving again. It has been a fast and furious few months but we have a competent staff back in place.

We are working to find the best fit for a

couple other key positions that are now open. Town infrastructure projects that were stalled are now moving forward again. We are fortunate to have a team in place that brings a lot of past experience to the table and I am excited to be part of the team. Last fall most of the current board was appointed and as such, will need to be elected in order to stay on the board in the April election. We have a lot more to do.

Elected, I will work hard to safeguard the town’s future.

To clarify, I had looked at a candidacy for county commissioner,

the town trustee is the only active campaign I am pursuing at this time.

The Colorado State statutes do not allow for an individual to operate more than one campaign at a time.

However, you can hold both of these positions at the same time. The County has many of its own issues and a number of people have encouraged me to seek that position as well. This is a conversation for another time‌‌ It’s important, get out and vote!

Sincerely, Terry Gillette, Saguache

LETTERS Continued on Page 5A

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www.centerpostdispatch.com

Volume 117, Number 13

Shorts Health fair Saturday in Del Norte

DEL NORTE—Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics and Rio Grande County Public Health will be holding the annual Rio Grande County Health Fair from 7-10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 31 in the Del Norte Elementary mini-gymnasium at 10th and Spruce streets.

VFA meets Saturday

MONTE VISTA — The regular VFA meeting will be held this Saturday, March 31 at the home of Wanda Couzens-Smith starting at 1 p.m. Bring your projects and come and enjoy. Ann Burkhart will be sharing something new. There were 33 baby hats created in all (some were donated by others and brought to the group).

These were finished by last Saturday at 4 p.m. Call or email Wanda for directions, questions, etc. at 719-8525000; cell, 719-580-4976 or email wcouzenssmith@gmail.com.

Thursday March 29, 2018

Churches team up to help needy

BY TERESA L. BENNS CENTER— The national news outlets and local news stations never covered it, but after four feet of snow in some spots and brutal weather conditions overall in Browning, Mont., pleas came from United Methodist Church members there to help those isolated on the Blackfeet Nation reservation and outlying areas.

Requests were made for food and firewood and more specifically in the food category, potatoes. “Saguache County is not wealthy,” Center United Methodist interim pastor Vickie Kintzel wrote in a news release last week. “There is significant local need and a high poverty rate. But there are potatoes – lots of them. And there are kind-hearted people – lots of them.”

She said some questioned the

stewardship of shipping potatoes such a long distance. But when it was learned that no other potatoes had been sent from any other area, “the Holy Spirit got to work in and around Center.”

Thanks to a partnership developed between Center United Methodist Church, Saguache United Methodist Church, local potato growers and UMCOR, a plan to answer the plea from Montana came together. The Saguache and Center congregations (averaging worship under 40 between them), on the same Sunday pledged and raised $1,500 each to fund the outreach.

The truck loaded up at Rockey Farms Friday with Brendan Rockey

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Brandon Rockey heads off with a 2,000 pound bag of potatoes to load Please see HELP on Page 5A into a semi-trailer headed for Browning, Mont. on Friday.

Apache Nation visits Center

Volunteers needed for work day SAN LUISVALLEY—Volunteers wanted for Penitente Canyon Care Day Saturday, April 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Work alongside climbers from around the West and residents of the San Luis Valley on projects in the main climbing canyon area.

Help clear brush from tails and belay stations, improve conditions around climbing areas and more; all tools and gloves will be provided.

Preregistration is required; email Sally at sally@voc.org by March 31 to sign up.

Correction

The number for the amount Saguache County Commissioners require for funds approval, mentioned in the March 15, 2018 story “Sheriff’s staff pay raises approved” should have been $2,500, not $25,000. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Mountain Valley still hashing out plans

BY TERESA L. BENNS

Send senior photos for graduation edition

MONTE VISTA—On Wednesday, April 25, the 2018 SLV Graduation edition will be distributed in the SLV Lifestyles, Monte Vista Journal, Del Norte Prospector, Center Post Dispatch, South Fork Tines, Mineral County Miner and Conejos County Citizen. It will include the graduation ceremony information for each school, as well as the graduates’ photos.

Please submit your senior photo to your senior class sponsor ASAP or send directly to Valley Publishing: MonteVistaNews@gmail.com or P.O. Box 607, Monte Vista, CO 81144.

Please include your name and school with your photo. All photos must be into Valley Publishing by Friday, April 13. Call 719-852-3531 with questions.

75¢

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Members of the Apache Nation from Crestone entertained Center elementary students in the gym on Thursday before Spring Break, performing dances and ceremonies from their Native American tradition.

SAGUACHE — Mountain Valley Superintendent Travis Garoutte attended a series of meetings Tuesday to address lingering problems with the school’s architectural plan so the district can move forward to begin construction this spring.

Several of those living near the school are still objecting to the current plans and asking for modifications to the existing design. One group has even suggested a lawsuit may be in the works, claiming the public voted on the school bond initiative believing the initial design was one story, not two.

Garoutte first met with Bobbi and Lou Baughman who own property near the school. Former mayor Greg Terrell said the Baughmans have been one of the school’s biggest supporters over the past 60 years. Lou Baughman is a retired Colorado State trooper.

The Baughmans spent an hour with

Please see PLANS on Page 3A

Marijuana regulation recommendations submitted

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE — The Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) last Thursday began the revision of the county’s marijuana regulations, but those attending the meeting did not feel any significant progress was made in addressing those matters raised repeatedly in previous meetings by residents who live near the grows.

Bill McClure headed the review of the regulations and at the beginning of the meeting advised those trying to ask questions that questions and comments were not allowed. A similar approach was used during

the SCPC’s Master Plan revisions years ago, also supervised by McClure.

The suggested revisions, which will be discussed further at the regular SCPC meeting Thursday, were recommended as follows: • SCPC alternate Mark Swinney suggested that a cap be placed on the number of grows allowed into the county.

• All waste products should be disposed of properly.

• Buildings on site must be painted in earth tones.

• There shall be no construction or disturbance of property until county

(and state?) approval is given.

• RVs cannot park on property for longer than 60 consecutive days.

• A primary residence must be built before outbuildings are constructed, cultivation begun.

• After approval of an application, six months should be allowed to begin construction. An application must be reissued if construction is not begun within one year.

• Six months should be allowed to install a septic system with a timetable to show progress.

• Ownership and business change applications must be filed and fees paid before the application approval

is final.

• Landscaping shall be done.

• Six-foot chain link fences must be placed around the grows (already required by state), • Landowners do not have to ask commissioners permission to subdivide if the parcel is more than 35 acres.

• A 300-foot buffer zone should surround grows in platted subdivisions.

• Landowners must be Colorado residents for a minimum of three years; they can only lease out land for three years at a time.

Please see SCPC on Page 6A

Page 6A

Center Post-Dispatch

SCPC

Registration open for CCA annual convention

Continued from Page 1A • Landowners (?) lessees must be bonded.

• Potential growers must identify where bus stops are, have something in writing from school.

• Variances can be granted for both recreational and medical grows, but medical grows with more than 25 plants must locate somewhere else.

Citizens who have been regularly protesting commissioners’ and the SCPC’s handling of the grows objected later that the following pressing issues were never or were not sufficiently addressed in amending the regulations.

• extraction explosions (lack of fire resources to control and extinguish) • State defers to county and county defers to state, causing confusion • impacts on water resources especially domestic and artesian sources • incomplete applications • children too close to grows and extraction process, grow within 300 feet of one property line • possible illegal meetings • decisions without minutes, public input, or opportunity for the public to gather facts for their benefit • county address points in comments or letters, just letting the public vent and then not responding • impacts on property values, density • cap on total number of grows in county at one time • monitoring of air quality, noise levels, water impacts, dust particles Problems with Jason Trouard’s Mammoth Farms, said to be the largest grow in the country, was also discussed.

At last week’s commissioners meeting during the afternoon session, the application for A Growing Concern marijuana grow operation was denied. According to Moffat resident Marty Lange, the reasons for the denial were:

Thursday, March 29, 2018

1). The fencing they were using was not adequate. People are not supposed to be able to see through the fence and recognize any plants.

However, the grower was told that as long as he has a fence that somewhat disguised the plants, even though people could look through, as long someone could not distinguish that the plants were marijuana the mesh fence would be legal and permissible. The growers were told they should not be able to “see through” the mesh at all (it was noted by the commissioners however, that the infrastructure does not have to be in place before a permit is approved).

2). The original application was for the construction of a greenhouse.

But now the owners have decided to have an outdoor grow instead (Land Use director Wendi Maez said that she was unaware of this).

3). There is a designated bus stop for children at the crossroad of 52 and T Rd. this has been an established bus stop and has been picking up/dropping off children since 2013. The grower was under the impression, and was told, that there was no official school bus stop at this location. However, Maez said she checked with both the superintendent and the bus monitor (at both schools) and was told there was indeed, a designated pick up/drop off point at Road 52 and Road T. Commissioner Tim Lovato moved to deny the permit. The other two commissioners agreed and seconded the motion. The owners were angry and said they would consult with their attorney.

Monday county administration pulled the pending approval of the Barkl grow in Ewing Estates. The reason given was that Barkl never submitted a lease agreement between himself and the property owner, so his current application is incomplete. He was pulled from the March 29 agenda and will be required to resubmit his application.

LOVELAND — Registration is now open for Colorado Cattlemen’s Association’s (CCA) 2018 Annual Convention, which will be held on June 18-20 at the Embassy Suites in Loveland. Last year was monumental for CCA as we celebrated our 150th anniversary, and the year 2018 is all about looking toward the future — look out, Loveland! The “Aggies are Coming to Town!”

On Monday, members will engage in CCA committee meetings where their voices can be heard and policies that shape the future are formed. Be

sure to submit any resolutions for the committees, and nominations for the open board seats, to the CCA office as soon as possible. The Colorado CattleWomen will hold their general membership meeting, followed by the now infamous High Tea! Lunch on Monday will include the Leopold Conservation Award presentation. In the evening, we will greet our trade show exhibitors with a Welcome Reception.

Tuesday morning will begin with a “Grab and Stay” networking breakfast in the trade show, where you can

Support Your Local Merchants “Serving Colorado Since 1909”

Gifts Cabin Decor Statement Pieces and More!

Open 10-5 • Monday-Saturday

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Next to the Malt Shop in South Fork

Courtesy Photo

Please see CCA on Page 9A

South Fork

SOUTH FORK LUMBER

This sign was erected recently in a Moffat rural residential area, notifying residents that yet another grow will be constructed in an area already inundated with cannabis grows.

mingle with vendors and learn about the latest and greatest agricultural services and products. After the breakfast, attendees will engage in the first annual Ranching Legacy Symposium entitled “Survive to Thrive: Managing Risk in Ranching”, which will go through the afternoon.

The Ranching Legacy Symposium, and the unveiling of the new and improved Ranching Legacy Program in collaboration with Colorado State University, will also be a highlight

29160 West Hwy 160 South Fork CO 81154 (719)873-5481

Thurdsay April 5, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 3A

DWR engineer speaks Gardner speaks on marijuana, veterans to county on pot grows

BY TERESA L. BENNS

Second Mammoth Farms grow OK’d

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — Prior to the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) meeting last Thursday, Division of Water Resources (DWR) engineer Kevin Boyle spoke to planning commission members to update them on current state practices regarding marijuana grows.

Boyle told the board that no one is sure how much water marijuana growers really use per plant. “One grow used 357,000 gallons a year, but I don’t know how many plants they grew,” Boyle reported. “I’ve been told by growers that 91 gallons a plant is absurdly high and absurdly low.”

He agreed that it is “cleaner” for growers to use commercial permits if they are growing on 35 acres or more, adding that exempt commercial well permits can be applied for if growing on 35 acres or less. “We re-permit wells all the time,” he said, adding

that going to court and trying to get a permit for a year-round commercial well is no different for pot than alfalfa.

When asked by SCPC board member Steve Carlson if it was okay to dry up agricultural wells since marijuana is not an agricultural product, Boyle said, “There’s nothing illegal about changing water rights, although the timing is an interesting subject.” When going to court to change water rights, he advised having the judge specifically spell out the rules and consult with the subdistricts. Those changing from irrigation to commercial may have to contract in, he observed.

SCPC board member Lynne Thompson said the SCPC can’t tell growers not to convert their wells, but can say they will have to go to court. Carlson commented that the county should require them to buy water, but Boyle told the board it is “not my place to tell [you] how it’s legal to use water.”

Boyle commented that when it Please see GROWS on Page 7A

SAGUACHE — Last Wednesday Sen. Cory Gardner (R) visited for about an hour with Saguache residents during a work session held at the Road and Bridge building, answering questions concerning his stand on marijuana, veterans’ issues and rural development.

Gardner has been outspoken in defending Colorado’s right to legalize marijuana and profit from retail and cultivation sales in the state. He energetically opposed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent decision to rescind the Cole Memo, which stated the federal government would not interfere with marijuana legalization as long as states prohibited interstate trafficking of the drug.

Acting Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, an Obama-era appointee, indicated last month that nothing would change in Colorado regarding the prosecution of pot cases.

Those active in opposing the proliferation of grows in Saguache County were quick to inform Gardner that contrary to what Gov. John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and other state officials

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Sen. Cory Gardner (R) explains the problems still existing with veterans healthcare programs at a meeting in Saguache last Wednesday.

believe, this isn’t the Front Range, Gardner listened to residents and there is a serious problem with express their concerns and took notes. marijuana cultivation in Saguache County.

Please see GARDNER on Page 5A

OPEN

Continued from Page 1A

March 20 the county was under no obligation to record meetings involving personnel matters and had made no recording of an executive session held during a BoCC work session Feb. 14. The notice for the meeting on the county’s website stated: “Saguache County Commissioners, (2-14) 9:30 a.m. work session — Executive Session for personnel (CRS – SEC24-402(4)(f)(I); Land Use and Code Enforcement.” The executive session was the only item on the agenda.

When commissioners arrived for the meeting Feb. 14 at about 9:40 a.m., no official statement convening the meeting as either a work session or a special meeting was made. A unanimous vote was cast to go into executive session to discuss “the code enforcement job description.” No further information concerning the purpose of the meeting was offered to the public. No citation of the applicable statue was given prior to the session.

Sheriff Dan Warwick and Code Enforcement Officer Deputy Wayne Clark then met with commissioners for about two hours behind closed doors. When commissioners reconvened, no action items were mentioned from the meeting and the notice asking participants if anyone objected to anything discussed during the meeting was not recited.

A bystander in the courthouse lobby learned the meeting did not close properly and told Commissioner Jason Anderson that the executive session could be questioned as illegal.

Anderson asked County Attorney Ben Gibbons about the matter but Gibbons assured him this was not the case. Anderson announced after the executive session that the county would issue a statement about the outcome of the meeting, which it did at the March 20 meeting.

The statement revealed that decisions were made during the executive session, which is not allowed under state statutes regarding open meetings. The March 20 statement reads: “As a result of this [the marijuana situation on the county] the county will pursue the following actions: The hiring of a full-time code enforcement officer, operating under the Sheriff’s department in partnership with both the Commissioners and

Land Use office. In conjunction, we will pursue the position of a code enforcement administrator…”

Warwick said Tuesday that during the executive session Feb. 14, commissioners rehashed what had been said on previous occasions regarding the code enforcement problem, how to procure the right staffing, whether this would be something the sheriff’s office could handle, etc. “I didn’t see why we were in an executive session,” Warwick said. “This was all public information — I don’t care if people know what I want or am expecting, I want the public to know.”

Deputy Wayne Clark, as reported to the Center Post-Dispatch by another credible party, said he also did not understand why what was discussed in the executive session could not be discussed publicly.

Past COML communications In a letter written by then Colorado Press Association attorney Steven Zansberg in October of 2014 regarding previous open meeting violations, Zansberg told Gibbons that according to reports received, “Saguache County has, for quite some time now, been conducting meetings, including executive sessions, in violation of Colorado’s Open Meetings Law, (COML);” § 24-6-402, C.R.S. He further described the violations of the COML as “rather straightforward and uncontestable.”

The letter laid out the parameters of what are considered open meetings and stated that it is believed the county has not been recording executive sessions as required by law. Gibbons denied this, commenting, “I don’t think that is correct. The only ones not recorded are those for legal consultation.”

Zansberg said: “Numerous related violations of the COML have been committed.” He also advised commissioners that they must take minutes of their work sessions if executive sessions are held, according to Colorado statue. Currently the county keeps no record of what is discussed in work sessions.

“Based upon the board’s minutes that are posted on the county commissioners’ web page, it appears that no minutes of any kind have been prepared and maintained for any of the ‘work sessions’ that the

commissioners routinely convene…

No minutes… of the ‘work sessions’ are available for the public to know what topic or statutory basis was announced to convene the executive session, nor a tally of the votes of those present in favor or opposed to meeting in executive session.

“By failing to take and maintain minutes of those work session meetings, the board has repeatedly violated the provision of the COML that mandates, unequivocally, that “[t]he minutes of [any] meeting during which an executive session under subsection (4) of this section is held shall reflect the topic of the

discussion at the executive session.” § 24-6- 402(2)(d)(II), C.R.S. In the letter, Zansberg reminds commissioners that the Center PostDispatch won an open meetings lawsuit with the county in 2011. He asks them to record their meetings, both their executive sessions and regular sessions, to avoid another lawsuit.

“We hereby respectfully request that the Board of County Commissioners for Saguache County, Colorado formally commit, at its next regularly scheduled public meeting, to fully comply with the COML, as described above,” the letter reads.

In his response to Zansberg’s letter dated Oct. 14, Gibbons wrote: “There may have been an occasion where an executive session was done during a work session, on an emergency basis. The BOCC has agreed that if an executive session is required between regular Board meetings, a special meeting will be scheduled, posted and any executive session properly announced and recorded.”

A special meeting before executive sessions held during work sessions has been called only once or twice since the 2014 letter was written and was not announced prior to the executive session held on Feb. 14.

Thurdsay April 5, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

GROWS

Continued from Page 3A comes to complaints about licensed marijuana grows, personal and other grows, there is no way to check and see if they are in compliance with water well usage, although it is simple to respond to complaints about in-house wells. Metering rules do not apply to exempt wells and DWR is not sure it can enforce the use of cistern meters because there is no real way to make sure the metering is done accurately.

“The biggest problem is, how do you know who is what?” Boyle summarized.

Mammoth Farms approval Mammoth Farms owner Justin Trouard appeared before the board to ask for approval of a second medical grow in addition to his existing recreational grow on his 640-acre property outside Moffat. The SCPC was careful to avoid discussion of a letter Trouard sent to two neighbors recently that many at the meeting complained was insulting.

Either ignorant of the facts or disregarding them, Trouard wrote to his “concerned” citizen neighbors: “We believe that those that have chosen an area that has been farmed for well over 100 years as a retirement community are the actual problem…

Not only do the nonconventional residents consume land that has been historically used for agriculture, they seek to limit others and their RIGHT to farm.

“Some of those in opposition to farming only vacation in the Valley one weekend per month and feel the entire county should be robbed of the jobs and tax revenue generated by this highly taxed form of agriculture because it might, subjectively, inhibit the two days per month that they spend in the Valley. The San Luis Valley would not exist without agriculture…

“The Valley has leveraged its abundance of water and land for over a century to provide families with a sustainable living. The atmosphere that allowed so many to survive has faded as farmland and farmers are being replaced with retirees that offer no contribution to the community short of an abundance of selfish complaints. Commercial Cannabis Cultivation is Saguache’s best and only chance of providing a future for generations to come.

“It seems that the Cowboy Church Caucus [SCPC alternate Mark Swinney is a cowboy preacher and Moffat landowner] has taken a sudden interest in research. What I find odd is that the research group can find a discharged debt that was included in a bankruptcy but can’t measure the distance from the bus stop to the property line of my land.”

During the meeting, SCPC member Bill McClure invoked Trouard’s “right to farm” twice (see editorial on the legal definition of “farm” in this issue). Trouard repeatedly referred to his marijuana cultivation as “farming.” Joyce Swinney pointed out that the bus stop she is referring to is a second bus stop off Trouard’s property near her Hollenbeck neighbors, not the bus stop he refers to in his letter.

SCPC member Carlson formally objected to the letter. “I’m a retiree,” he pointed out. “Did I deserve that?”

His comments were interrupted by an announcement that the letter would not be openly discussed. Trouard complained he wrote it because he has not been treated well by his neighbors.

Towards the end of the SCPC review of Mammoth Farms, Crestone resident Lisa Cyriacks questioned the SCPC regarding the current marijuana regulations in the Land Development Code as approved Jan 1, 2017, under Article IV-A.2. This article states: “No marijuana cultivations shall be approved on vacant land.” Cyriacks

Page 7A

Photographers invited to enter show asked what measures the SCPC had taken to resolve this discrepancy, if any. This was after Trouard stated he did not intend to reside on the property as there was no residence.

McClure challenged her statement and Land Use director Wendi Maez was searching for words to explain the discrepancy. Once it was resolved that this is indeed what the regulations state, Cyriacks indicated she would judge by their stunned and shocked faces that they had not taken any steps.

McClure and Maez then hastily pointed out that they had not held any cultivation applicants to that standard and therefore would not discriminate against Trouard. They laughed nervously and proceeded to approve the application without even discussing the bus stop at Hollenbeck’s which is similar to the previous application.

This contradicts what citizens have been told at multiple meetings by the county attorney, commissioners and Maez — that they have no choice but to approve these applications because they have to abide by the county and state regulations.

The Mammoth Farms medical marijuana application goes before commissioners for final approval April 17.

CREEDE—The Creede Arts Council is calling all area photographers to submit work for exhibit in this year’s Mountain Shoot Out regional juried photography show. The deadline for submissions is June 5.

The show will run from June 19 through Sept. 17 at the Creede

Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center.

Photographs will be selected for exhibition and award. A Peoples’ Choice Award for favorite landscape photograph will be awarded at the end of the show.

The Peoples’ Choice award may be purchased and permanently

displayed in the Creede Visitors’ Center.

The deadline for submissions is June 5. Please contact the Creede Arts Council at creedearts@outlook. com or visit our website www. creedeartscouncil.com for more information and to download the entry form.

2017 Peoples’ Choice Winner, Frozen Ranch by Amber Lynn Newhouse

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Thursday, April 12, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 3A

Marijuana code revisions continue Fire ban issued for east

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE— Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) continued its ongoing revision of marijuana regulations last month, following the regular session of commission March 29.

According to an observer, the meeting opened with alternate Mark Swinney upbraiding chairwoman Rebie Hazard for not allowing him to finish questioning Justin Trouard on the second variance for Mammoth Farms/Holdings. Hazard indicated the SCPC had heard all of the discussion and arguments before. Swinney maintained neither the SCPC or the BOCC validated the complaints, questions or issues brought up by the public and limited the time allowed for comments.

Swinney then observed that the BoCC and planning commission told the public to send in letters but then did not give any indication that the letters had ever been read, far less any concerns citizens brought up in the letters addressed or resolved. Commissioner Ken Anderson had indicated at one public meeting that the crowd had had the opportunity to vent and so they should be happy.

Commissioner Jason Anderson privately asked other individuals how they liked the “show” put on at the Jan. 29 public meeting. Swinney contested

the omission of the comments, noting other processes require they are included for the record. He warned the SCPC citizens are becoming angry with the BoCC and SCPC because their concerns are being ignored.

Generally there was much discussion but few changes to the code, the observer reported. The first sentence/paragraph of Article IV-A was then mentioned, which states, “The purpose of this regulation is to provide for growth in a manner than protects the characteristics of the community that its citizens value.” The previous comments of the planning commission and BOCC regarding this issue have indicated that these cannot be referred to because they are moral issues.

However best practice models for planning commissions and state law say otherwise. “Your job is to make decisions and recommendations that are consistent with your state’s planning and zoning related laws, the standards for decisions enumerated in your by-laws, and your community’s comprehensive, master, or land use plan…

“Leave the politics to the professionals. Your chief elected official, government manager or planning staff should provide these documents to you at the beginning of your term as a planning commissioner, and you should have them for

every meeting you attend.” http:// plannersweb.com/2013/05/top-10mistakes-meetings/ “A zoning regulation should conform to the applicable municipal or county master plan” CRS § 31-23303(1, Colorado Land Planning and Development Law, Ninth Edition, Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Assoc.).

The issue of including a church (Majestic Mountains Cowboy Fellowship pastored by SCPC alternate Mark Swinney) was brought up again, and it was pointed out that the BOCC and SCPC had initially required a variance from the Swinneys for $1,000 to set up the church. So the argument that a church should not be included failed since the variance allowed for it.

Previously, SCPC member Bill McClure argued the church would not be taken into consideration because it violated the separation of church and state doctrine. However, the SCPC and BoCC have granted conditional use permits to numerous spiritual centers across the county over the years and the BoCC has included local churches in their sales tax grants as grantees.

McClure insisted that it was time to be done with the regulations revision in order to approve it for

stray animals could be identified and notified when their pets are taken by the town or transported to a shelter.

Currently stray dogs are held temporarily outside of Center until shelter personnel can transport them.

Lujan said the dogs are hard for town employees to catch and often disappear between the time a problem is reported and the employee arrives on scene.

McClure objected to impounding animals without notifying the owner but Lujan reminded him the town

often does not know who the owners of the animals are. The town requires the dogs to be tagged, but many ignore the requirement. Lujan suggested pet owners be given a courtesy warning when animals are picked up and the second time a $75 fine be imposed.

The problem will be addressed further during the town’s ongoing codification process. Juhre says she has saved all her veterinary bills and will appear in county court on the attack May 30.

Please see SCPC on Page 7A

DOG

Continued from Page 1A James Sanchez and Bill McClure weighed in on the attack report, with Sanchez recounting how a relative had been mauled by a pack of dogs in town.

When Lujan said the dog had been impounded in a kennel at its owner’s house for 10 days, McClure questioned why it was not impounded at a local animal shelter for that time period and the owner made to pay boarding fees. Lujan and McClure then discussed how the owners of

side of Saguache County SAGUACHE— Due to the high fire danger in Saguache County, Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick has issued restrictions effective immediately for the east side of Saguache County.

This includes east of Colorado Highway 17, from Highway 112 to Highway 285, and east of Highway 285 from the Highway 17 and Highway 285 Junction, north to the summit of Poncha Pass.

T h e following activities are deemed to be “open fires” for the purposes of this ordinance and͒are subject to ban: • Building, maintaining, attending or using an open fire to burn trash, debris, fence rows, or vegetation, any campfire (including in Forest Service Campgrounds), warming fire, or charcoal grill. (Propane grill

fires are allowed).

• Lighting of fireworks of any kind, explosives, blasting caps, or any incendiary which may result in the ignition of flammable material.

• Smoking except in an enclosed vehicle or building.

• Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame.

• Disposing of any burning material or material hot enough to cause the ignition of weeds or͒grass such as cigarette or cigar butts or hot coals, except in a fireproof receptacle designed͒for such disposal.

• The use of chainsaws and other internal combustion engines unless equipped with a spark͒arrestor, and accompanied onsite by a chemical Please see FIRE on Page 7A

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 7A

SPORTS Vikings defeated by Farmers in league double-header

BY STEPHEN JIRON MONTE VISTA — Friday the Center Vikings (3-8-0) took a little ride down Broadway Street to visit Sargent (11-2-0) for a double-header with league implications. The Farmers topped Center in both contests, the first by a score of 12-4 and the second by a 10-1 margin.

Before their meeting with Sargent, Center just recently turned around a fi ve game skid. The Vikings took two from South Park to close March on a high note totaling 3 wins on the season.

Sargent has been riding high since dropping their second of the season to Pagosa Springs on Mar. 17. Since then the Farmers have put together a 5 game win streak, the last two coming at the expense of Cripple Creek-Victor via forfeit.

Friday morning the Vikings struck fi rst when Patrick Mortensen got home to give Center a 1-0 lead.

Sargent would answer right back in the bottom of the fi rst. Getting on base after being hit by the pitch, Ryan Davis stole his way around the diamond before taking home plate by storm to make it a tied ballgame. Davis’ four runs on the day would tie for the team lead in runs with Jacob Deacon.

The bottom of the second was where the Farmers separated themselves.

Runs from Davis, HunterYounkerman, and Peyton Brown gave Sargent a 4-1 advantage. Center did what they could to close the gap at the top of the fourth

inning. A bunt from Tejay Kemery got Marco Hernandez home and Ismael Palacios batted Marcus Smith in with a single making it 4-3.

However two innings later with a 6-4 lead Sargent broke the game wide open with six runs. Eddie Gonzalez singled to start the action. Jacob Deacon then tripled to get Gonzalez in.

Christian Schaller and Frankie Torrez each took one for the team to load the bases. A single from Chase Mortensen got Deacon in and a double from Younkerman scored Schaller and Torrez. Davis closed the six run rally with a single to bring Mortensen home.

A scoreless seventh would close the game at 12-4 in Sargent’s favor.

Unfortunately for Center the second game was all Sargent.

Leading 3-0 in the fifth inning Sargent’s Davis picked up a triple to start the order before being scored by a single from Younkerman. With one runner on base Deacon sent a high floater over the left field fence for his second homerun of the season.

Deacon’s Friday total of 4 RBI would lead the Farmers for the day. Torrez and Mortensen added runs to cap a 5 run inning making for an 8-0 ballgame.

Center would avoid a shut out in the sixth inning when Marcus Smith batted Mortensen in for the Viking’s first run of the game. Mortensen led the Vikings in runs with three while

SCPC

Photo by Stephen Jiron

Center’s Patrick Mortensen (16) turns to look for the ball as Ryan Davis slides for Sargent’s first score of the day. Davis would get home four times to tie for the team lead in runs with four.

FILM

Continued from Page 1A booth and screen will be retained and renovated. The old Frontier sign is currently being restored in Denver and will return with a bit of its weathered patina, complete with a few bullet holes, Falcone joked. The attractive floor plan of the restored projector room/snack station will be in keeping with a 1950s style drive-in snack bar but the design will also reflect the country location of the Frontier.

The project will include an RV park with 10-12 hook-ups, four cabins, 30-40 yurts with shared bathrooms and tent camping sites. An area for small scale agricultural production

in cooperation with CSU Extension will seek out internships, Anderson said. The developers anticipate that various artists will choose to take up residence at the site where they can experience the rural lifestyle and landscapes firsthand.

Workshops featuring crafts native to the area will be held such as leather working, jewelry making, pottery casting, sculpting and other indigenous arts. Cooking events also will be featured at the center.

Native materials will be used to build the steel shed type buildings which will be finished on the inside with wood

and stone. Continuum project manager Randy Bearrientez said he is looking for workers with general skills to help construct the buildings. Potato rock will be used for walkways and other local elements are incorporated into the overall design.

The project will break ground later this month and building will begin in earnest in May, Bearrientez said. The developers will partner with SLVREC and other local businesses to get the project off the ground, the developers said. The project, to be constructed in phases, is slated for completion sometime next year.

exempt from the provisions of this ordinance: • Persons with a valid permit or authorization from the Saguache County Sheriff specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited

act. i.e. Outdoor Cremations, agricultural needs.

• Any federal, state or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.

FIRE

Continued from Page 3A the BOCC. Swinney indicated the SCPC had not covered items of concern in the marijuana code and the commission was not ready to proceed. Another lengthy discussion followed. It was pointed out that the commission should have gone section by section, page by page and word by word through the code to carefully consider every regulation.

Swinney told the commission 120 days was not enough time to do the job correctly. He informed fellow members he has over 70 NEPA documents to help to a sufficient job.

Another long discussion ensued. He also cited two major issues raised at the previous meeting commission members had not addressed.

Land Use Director Wendi Maez

four of his teammates tied with one RBI a piece.

Sargent and Center are both done for the week. Sargent will be out of action until April 14 when they head west for a league meeting at Del Norte scheduled to start at 11 a.m.

Center will stay home the same day when Sanford comes to town for a double-header scheduled for 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

said she thought she had put a rewrite of the reclamation sections for non-cropland in, but it was not there. Decision on this section was postponed until the next meeting to await a written copy for inclusion in the document. There also was a determination that the wording on buffer distance was incorrect and that the buffer distance was from the parcel boundary to the interior and was to be 300 feet.

Recreational vehicles “may only be occupied for 60 days consecutively” and the word “reclamation” was added to the bonding section of the regulations.

Other items were discussed but not resolved. Overall, the SCPC agreed there were yet many items to go over and set their next meeting for April 12.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Continued from Page 3A pressurized fire extinguisher of not less͒than 8 ounces weight capacity, and a size 0 or larger round pointed shovel with an overall͒length of at least 36 inches.

The following person(s) shall be

Volume 117, Number 16

Shorts

9 Health Fair Saturday at MVS SAGUACHE— The 9 Health Fair will be held again this year at Mountain Valley School in Saguache on April 21 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Fasting for tests offered at the fair is not required. The fair will feature new booths for health assessment.

For more information, contact Ron Gilbertson at 719-221-9574.

Duo Lorraine & Amy to perform

D E L N O RT E — N e w L i f e Fellowship presents local singing and songwriting duo Lorraine and Amy “Sharing Jesus Through Song.”

Please join for a special evening of praise and worship Sunday, April 22 at 6 p.m. Admission is free; a love offering will be taken. New Life Fellowship is located at 520 7th Street, Del Norte.

Kinder and pre-K registration April 24

Please see both stories

Thursday April 19, 2018

Moffat holds public hearing on annexation

BY TERESA L. BENNS MOFFAT— A hearing held to gather testimony regarding the proposed Moffat annexation Monday was attended by several local opponents to the plan as well as growers favoring the annexation, which would incorporate land into the city limits intended for marijuana cultivation.

Potch LLC is one of the cultivations that would be incorporated into the Moffat city limits. Potch LLC spokesperson Whitney Parsons Justice was present at the meeting.

The town has not released documents showing the exact location of the annexation or a list of all the parties owning the land north of the town intended for annexation.

The town announced the annexation last month in a notice which read: “The owners of 100 percent of

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Moffat Mayor Patricia Riegel (far right) complains about news coverage during the Moffat annexation hearing Monday. the real property included in an area proposed to be annexed in Saguache County, Colo., excluding public streets and all alleys and any land

owned by the town of Moffat, have the town to commence proceedings filed a petition for annexation of for the annexation of said area…” said area with the town clerk of the Please see MOFFAT on Page 2A town of Moffat, Colo., requesting

Cleaning up Center

Lakish, Chavez in court

CENTER — Haskin Elementary will be holding their annual pre-k and kindergarten registration for the 2018-2019 school year on Tuesday, April 24 from 5-7 p.m. in the evening.

Pre-K children must be three years old before June 1, 2018 to attend pre-k and five years old before June 1, 2018 to attend kindergarten.

Please bring an original birth certificate, immunization records and court documents (if applicable) i.e. custody, shared parenting. Children enrolled for kindergarten at this time will not be required to attend CHAMP in August.

For more information, please phone the elementary office at 754-3982.

BY TERESA L. BENNS

session with the Division of Water Resources representative (Kevin Boyle), SCPC members stated at both meetings that they thought that they were lied to, especially in regards to residency. They also stated they didn’t know what to do.

Clearly, the Land Development Code states what should have been done, and it wasn’t. These statements put into question several of the Conditional Use Permits that have been approved by the SCPC. Any comments?

“• Property not located within a fire protection or ambulance district must provide a written agreement to show coverage for any needed

SAGUACHE — Judge Patrick Hayes presided over hearings for William Alder Lakish, Crestone, and Ruben Chavez, Center, Tuesday in Saguache District Court. Lakish’s case was bound over to district court from county court and Chavez continues to process through the court system following a felony charge filed against him last year.

Lakish appeared first and as he has in past hearings, continued to represent himself. Judge Hayes read the following charges against him: Forgery, a class five felony, punishable by three years in prison, a $100,000 fine or both with six years for aggravating circumstances and criminal impersonation, a felony six charge, punishable by 18 months in prison and a $100,000 fine or both with three years for aggravating circumstances.

The problems for Lakish began when he filed as a “registered agent” for the White Eagle LLC (lodge) May 11, 2017 without permission of the owners. He has lived in the condemned building ever since despite notice to vacate the premises, but recently left on his own accord, owners Brian Kramer and Julie O’Halloran said.

Lakish told the judge he was assured in county court that if he left the White Eagle and appeared in district court the charges would be dropped. Hayes told Lakish he had no right to have his case heard in county court with felony charges and to forget about county court.

At one point Hayes warned Lakish, who kept insisting he should have the

Please see BOCC on Page 10A

Please see COURT on Page 10A

Dems fundraising dinner May 5

CRESTONE— Come one, come all. The Saguache County DEMs will host a fundraising dinner Saturday, May 5 at 6 p.m. Join in for Cinco de Mayo at the Desert Sage Restaurant, 242 Baca Grant Way, Crestone. Keynote speaker will be Morgan Carroll, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party and past president of the Colorado State Senate. Cost is $30 per person, $50 sponsor. Reservations are required by Monday, April 23; RSVP online at SaguacheCountyDems.org.

There will be a taco bar, fajitas and a cash bar. With questions, contact Dawn at 720-350-6905 or dawn.sandberg@ gmail.com Come celebrate and support the local Democratic Party!

(Some partial dinner discounts are offered, please inquire with Dawn.)

75¢

Courtesy Photo

High school senior Camille Ruggles organized a small trash pick-up at Center’s Community Park to demonstrate to Center Boys and Girls Club members that even small actions like cleaning the park can have an impact. The project was a community service learning activity for club members to help youth become active members in their community and empathetic and caring citizens.

Commissioners approve medical grow

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— Despite protests by county residents, Saguache commissioners continued their approval of marijuana grows and approved the impact report for the Town of Moffat annexation of acreage intended for yet another marijuana cultivation operation.

The meeting opened with public comments, but commissioners limited the comment period to 15 minutes owing to time constraints. Bonanza property owner Jay LeBlanc read a list of his concerns regarding the county’s failure to follow its own land use regulations, asking the following questions:

“• Is the current Land Development Code being used as the criteria for determining whether or not a Conditional Use permit application is acceptable and can be approved?

If not, what other codes or regulations are being used as the criteria?

“• Why aren’t these sections of the Land Development (and Marijuana) Code being followed: (criminal penalties, suspensions, fines and license revocation for committing any act or omission contrary to the code; also allowing marijuana cultivation on vacant parcels).

“• NOTE: At the March 22 Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) meeting and the March 29 SCPC work

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

SAGUACHE SHERIFF'S REPORT The following records were Dominic Garcia, 39, Center, thirdprovided by the Saguache Sheriff’s degree assault Office for the week of April 9-16.

Nathan Maxwell, 36, Crestone, two counts of failure to appear, fugitive Arrests of justice J a s o n Va l l i , 4 3 , M o f f a t , Joshua Wooten, 32, Selma, N.C., harassment, criminal mischief, probation violation warrant domestic violence Lori Chavez, 44, Saguache,

violation of a restraining order Citations John Sladek, 65, Saguache, violation of a protection order Braxton Sweney, 22, Akron, speeding 80 in a 65 MPH zone

Multiple arrests made over weekend

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE COUNTY — Over the past weekend, the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office made multiple arrests on in-state and out-of-state warrants executed for individuals residing in the county.

A search warrant was executed for the Crestone home of Nathan Maxwell, 36, based on information from Chaffee County

that Maxwell was harboring an underage juvenile female. The female was not at Maxwell’s home when the warrant was executed but Maxwell was at the residence, where he was arrested on failure to appear counts and as a fugitive of justice.

The juvenile was later located at a residence in Lazy KV Estates.

Also arrested was Isaiah Garcia of Crestone, who had outstanding

warrants in both Saguache and Rio Grande County. Garcia was remanded to Rio Grande County Jail.

Joshua Wooten, 32, of Selma, N.C., was arrested for a parole violation and had illegal drugs in his possession. He also attempted to run from police, Sheriff Dan Warwick said. Owing to overcrowding at Saguache County Jail, Wooten is being housed in another county.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

CLIPS FROM THE CLERK U Choose Campaign

BY SAGUACHE COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER TRISH GILBERT The U Choose campaign is based on the idea that Unaffiliated Voters now have a chance to make their voice heard early in the election process by voting for candidates that represent their values.

As ofApril 12, 2018, the active and inactive voter counts for Saguache County were: Republicans — 936; Democrats — 1821; Unaffiliated — 1483 The campaign features words that represent issues unaffiliated voters care about like education, the environment, healthcare and

jobs/the economy.

Unaffiliated voters can now have their say in the upcoming Colorado primaries. Choose candidates you believe share and represent your values.

Unaffiliated Voters: Choice happens with U. Find out how you can select and receive your ballot.

For more information go to the website: UChoose.co.gov.

You can also stop by our office or give us a call. Jane, Desiree, Ben, Dominique and I are here to help.

MOFFAT

Continued from Page 1A

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Whitney Justice, spokesperson for Potch LLC

Adjacent landowner Virgil Tafoya, who says his repeated requests documents regarding the annexation and other meetings and decisions related to marijuana cultivation in the town have been denied, told hearing examiner Peggy Godfrey: “Who will pay the taxes? My kids don’t want to pay that tax. An impact plan should be released to the county.

Can Moffat handle the progress?

People will be paying taxes but will we get the services we need?

The town needs to make sure all questions are answered. If we allow it we should allow it for everybody but makes sure the rules are fair.

We can’t get involved because we can’t get any information. This new council should be working to makes sure everything is above board and transparent.”

A citizen who says she also owns land adjacent to the annexation said her land is surrounded by grows on three sides. The woman claims she was informed about the annexation three days before she needed to respond to a message left on her phone. “I don’t feel I know enough [to make a decision],” she said. “There are lots of questions and nothing is clarified. Things are cloudy, not transparent.”

Another interested landowner asked the board why the last two trustees sworn in April 3 (according to the agenda for that meeting) were not present. He was told by Godfrey his question was not relevant, but an angry Patricia Riegel announced the Millers were not sworn in and have not responded to her requests for an explanation for not showing up at the April 3 meeting.

Interested party Bob Tafoya said he has been “after the board to get a police department,” since Saguache

County has limited services. “This community is in dire need of a police department,” he insisted. We also need a code enforcement officer, and this is part of the impact statement.”

Godfrey also discounted Tafoya’s observations as not directly related to the annexation.

Former trustee Ken Skoglund told Tafoya a police force takes money and growers will bring money in.

Tafoya documents request Virgil Tafoya once again stated that Moffat has to have a complete report with details for commissioners to study. Godfrey told Tafoya the hearing was only about public support and opposition to the annexation plan. Tafoya replied that the town would still need to present the required impact report. Riegel announced later she would have the impact report ready for examination by commissioners Tuesday, April 17.

Last month Tafoya sent in an official Colorado opens records request regarding the current annexation process, asking for copies of: “…all ordinances or resolutions that initiated the action, copies of all pertinent requests from the interested citizens, coordination with all county, state, and federal agencies, copies of the Town of Moffat Master Planning Land Use Board, including copies of the meeting minutes, also the board members in attendance, town trustees involved at the meetings, copies of the revised city map to include the legal surveys, copies of the coordination with the appropriate subdistricts (utilities, water, state electrical, sewer, and telecommunications and copies of meetings with the Saguache County Land Use Office and County Commissioners.”

He reported the copies were never

received. By law the town must deliver the records within three working days or provide a plausible reason for the delay.

Another individual accompanying Justice told Tafoya that Town Attorney Eric Schwiesow would not allow the town to proceed unless its paperwork was in order, noting Schwiesow “is very concerned all the processes are followed” and has been reviewing the documents.

Schwiesow was not present for the hearing.

After a brief speech by Justice, Riegel delivered a tirade against the Center Post-Dispatch and “lying” reports that made her and the town look bad. She was reminded that there had been no legal recourse regarding her claims. Riegel said she has done her due diligence and has the support of the town. She was loudly applauded by the marijuana growers attending the hearing.

On his way out of the meeting with his elderly parents, Skoglund waved the middle finger at the reporter as he left the room.

Page 10A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, April 19, 2018

BOCC

Continued from Page 1A emergency services (county marijuana regulations). Mammoth Farms does not have such an agreement and will be using butane to conduct extractions on the property. â€œâ€˘ HB 17-1220, which became effective Jan. 1, 2018 (3.5 months ago), is meant to limit the number of plants that can be grown for recreational and by a medical patient or caregiver. HB17-1220 is written in plain language in the associated Final Fiscal Notes: Recreation and Medical Limited to 12 plants If allowed by the local jurisdiction, no more than 24 plants are allowed. Commissioners are considering a “possible adoptionâ€? of this limit but under the current Land Use code, growers can apply for a variance to grow additional plants.

Commissioners would not answer LeBlanc’s questions.

Dottie Eichhorn of Bonanza asked why commissioners were even discussing approval of a medical grow for Mammoth Farms, when the county had declared a moratorium.

She expressed concerns about water usage after DWR’s Kevin Boyle said there is really no way to make sure the water is being used appropriately.

She also notified commissioners that a $1.5 million home in Bonanza is currently taxed at $122 and asked why the county has not brought pressure to bear on the assessor to correct this, noting the county would have money if they simply charged and collected their property taxes as they should.

MartyLangeagreedwithEichhornon the moratorium, telling commissioners it was wrong to allow a three-week extension for growers waiting to file before the moratorium took effect. “Something is terribly wrong with this system,� Lange concluded.

Moffat resident Joyce Swinney, who had requested time on the agenda, asked commissioners to repeal their initial approval of Mammoth Farms, a Moffat marijuana cultivation, but county attorney Ben Gibbons said she must make any such appeal in district court. Swinney asked to continue presenting her complaints and was allowed to continue.

She then read a three-page list of concerns, including references to an illegal secret meeting held with Mammoth Farms owner Jason Trouard, questions regarding whether

Trouard actually completed the application he filed in his name or in the name of another individual, also noting other inconsistencies in the application that should have delayed or prevented its approval, including the location of Trouard’s grow on vacant land.

She asked for commissioners to consider density issue and instituting zoning regulations. Swinney told he BoCC the Land Use Code guarantees her safety but she is not safe with an extraction operation located on Trouard’s property. She also objected to the use of diesel generators.

Finally Swinney demanded commissioners place a cease and desist on several cultivation properties owned by Trouard and Susan Pae, allegedly living in Texas, until the illegal meeting is addressed and corrections made to eliminate these meetings. She demanded an initiative be placed on the ballot in November to ask residents if they really wish to continue to allow marijuana grows in the county.

Commissioners told Swinney they would answer her questions at the May 22 meeting. In the afternoon session of Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners approved the Mammoth Farms medical grow 2-1.

Moffat annexation According to comments submitted

by Moffat resident Virgil Tafoya, Mayor Patricia Riegel closed the Town of Moffat “Petition for Annexation Public Hearing� Monday with a recorded “no decision� about what to do next in the process. The hearing ended with a “no vote� from three attending trustees who currently make up the board. “Tuesday, Riegel came before county commissioners and presented, unilaterally,thePotchLLC‘Annexation Report,’ created by Whitney Parsons Justice (the annexation petitioner).

She asserted Justice’s “report� was the Town of Moffat’s “Impact Report� required under Colorado Revised Statute Title 31 – Annexation, (3112-108.5) and the other defined legal accountable requirements to be completed or addressed before committing to petition for annexation (including but not limited to under C.R.S. 31-12-103, 31-12-104, 3112-105, 31-12-107, 31-12-108, 31-

COURT

Continued from Page 1A charges dropped, not to interrupt him when he was speaking. Lakish also began accusing people involved in the case of various actions. “I am not going to allow you to accuse people in my court room,� Hayes commanded Lakish. “I understand you are upset but you are not going to use this as a public forum.� “My understanding of forgery is that I would have to sign someone else’s name, not mine,� Lakish said, protesting he did not understand the charges against him and how he could be guilty of forgery. Hayes explained that Lakish’s understanding of the legal definition of forgery was not necessarily true but declined to discuss the facts in the case.

Hayes told Lakish he had the right to remain silent, to enter a plea and the right to a jury trial, also the right to be represented by counsel. Lakish told the judge he does not qualify for a public defender and would be representing himself. Hayes replied that it is not a good idea for Lakish to proceed without representation and pointed him to the clerk of the court to help obtain documentation for his case.

Lakish kept arguing but Hayes simply told him he would give him extra time to find an attorney and gather his documentation. “These

charges are serious and I urge you to obtain counsel,� Hayes concluded. He set Lakish’s next hearing for May 22.

Ruben Chavez Chavez and his wife Audrey were served with a summons and complaint by the Saguache Sheriff’s Office Sept.

23, 2017. The incident in question happened Aug. 14 and 15, 2017 on the couple’s private rental property, a mobile home at 162 West First St., no. 3, in Center. The charges involve an allegedly illegal eviction witnessed

by Center Police.

Chavez is being represented by attorney Raymond Miller and was assisted by an interpreter. Hayes told Chavez that he is charged with second-degree burglary, a class three felony, punishable by 16 years in prison and a $750,000 fine or both.

Aggravated charges could mean Chavez would serve up to 32 years in prison. A second charge, criminal mischief, a class one misdemeanor, carries a sentence of 18 months in the county jail, a $5,000 fine or both.

Miller told Hayes the district attorney had offered to defer the misdemeanor charge. Chavez entered a pela of not guilty and Miller requested a jury trial for his client. The next court date for Chavez is Sept. 12.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Moffat resident Joyce Swinney reads a document to Saguache County commissioners Tuesday, voicing her concern about the BoCC’s continued approval of marijuana grows in the Moffat area.

12-108.5, 31-12—109, 31-12-110, 31-12—112 and 31-12-113). “County commissioners have a responsibility to ensure all steps have been competed, in accordance with the law and not giving up citizen money or rights. “The county attorney opined that the commissioners refer their oversight back to Moffat, since they are a statutory town and are allowed to make any decisions, regardless of the county’s responsibility. He also implied that “marijuana� was approved by the State’s voters and the annexation would happen, anyway. “While Potch LLC is a marijuana business, the annexation process affects [an entire] community and all aspects of any impact should be reviewed, the issues discussed and resolved and problems worked out. A lot of people [will] be affected when bills are due and the cost of business is paid by the taxpayers.�

Tafoya said he intends to take up the annexation problem with the state attorney general and other government officials.

PUBLIC NOTICES

The First Step to an Exciting Life It’s so amazing to me that God wants to be involved in every area of our lives. I remember when I got this revelation, and it changed my life.

At that time, I was part of a bowling league and we played once a week.

I remember one night when I wasn’t bowling very well and I heard this prompting in my heart that said, “Ask Me to help you.� Immediately I thought, “I can’t ask God to help me bowl!�

But the truth is He wants to help us with everything we do. And when I started letting Him be involved in every area of my life – following the leading of the Holy Spirit – that’s when life got really exciting!

What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit? Some may refer to it as being ÀOOHG ZLWK ² RU VHQVLWLYH WR RU DQRLQWHG E\ – the Spirit. It sounds really spiritual, yet being led by the Spirit is actually a very practical part of living the Christian life.

Simply put, to be led by the Holy Spirit just means to be obedient to Him. The Holy Spirit does such awesome, yet practical work in the lives of God’s children. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby. He teaches us and guides us into truth‌and He even brings the things we learn back to our remembrance as we need it.

And the best part of it all is that He lives in each of us. Ephesians 3:16 (AMPC) tells us that He enables us to be â€œâ€Śstrengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].â€?

He comes to live in our hearts when we’re born again, and then He teaches and guides us according to God’s plan and purpose for us. One of the ways He does this is by convicting us of the sins in our life, and we learn what’s right and wrong as we grow in our faith. We may get by with things that are not right for a

while, but the time comes when we need to grow up.

I remember when I would go to church every Sunday and then gossip about the pastor or whatever I didn’t like about the service. Of course, I was not a very happy Christian during that time. And I couldn’t have been a very good example of one to others either. Critical and judgmental attitudes like that, or murmuring, being unthankful, and complaining hinder our relationship with God and our representation of what a Christian is.

But eventually, I began to get this nagging, uneasy feeling every time I would say something negative about the pastor‌or anyone else for that matter.

I could feel that what I was saying was wrong, and I knew in my heart it was the Holy Spirit telling me it was time to grow up and mature spiritually.

I’ve come to the point in my relationship with God where it doesn’t take long for me to be aware when I say or do something that is not pleasing to God. And this is what He wants for all His children: to develop sensitivity and obedience to His voice as He leads each of our lives. Romans 8:14 (AMPC) declares that “all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.â€? This term “sonsâ€? indicates a level of maturity and intimacy in our relationship with Him. God is not looking for spiritual robots; He doesn’t want us all just following a bunch of rules for the sake of obedience. Jesus made D ZD\ WKURXJK +LV SHUIHFW VDFULĂ€FH IRU RXU sins to be completely washed away and removed from us so we can have a personal relationship with God. We are free to obey Him simply because we love Him, and we know that everything He tells us to do, or not do, is for our good. We just need to learn to follow His lead.

It’s actually exciting to follow the Holy Spirit, and He wants to lead us all according to the plans God has for each of our lives. I’m not saying it will

always be easy. King David was called a man after God’s heart, but we know it wasn’t because he did everything right. However, David had cultivated a passionate heart for God’s will. He learned how to recover from his failures and move on in God, and because of that ´*RG WHVWLÀHG FRQFHUQLQJ KLP œ, KDYH found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’� (Acts 13:22 NIV).

In our relationship with God, our part is to pray, study His Word, and learn to develop our own sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s lead. His promise to us is, “I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] KHDUW RXW RI WKHLU Ă HVK DQG ZLOO JLYH WKHP D KHDUW RI Ă HVK >VHQVLWLYH DQG UHVSRQVLYH to the touch of their God]â€? (Ezekiel 11:19 AMPC).

Trust the Holy Spirit and follow His lead. You’ll discover His way is the best, PRVW H[FLWLQJ MRXUQH\ \RX FDQ ÀQG For more on this topic, order Joyce’s three-teaching CD series Keys to Loving Your Journey. You can also contact us to receive our free magazine, Enjoying Everyday Life, by calling (800) 727-9673 or visiting www.joycemeyer.org.

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored more than 100 books, including BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND and LIVING A LIFE YOU LOVE (Hachette).

She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer. org.

Please note: The views and opinions expressed throughout this publication and/or website are those of the respective DXWKRUV DQG GR QRW QHFHVVDULO\ UHĂ HFW those of Joyce Meyer Ministries.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 3A

Planning commission approves four new grows Some citizens unable to comment

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — Despite the county’s marijuana moratorium, the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) continues to approve marijuana grows, after commissioners decided when the moratorium was announced that those who had already paid their application fees would be exempted from the moratorium.

Early in the day the commission juggled the agenda, sinking some reviews to the bottom and pushing up other reviews to the top. This resulted in several individuals appearing to object or comment on the proposed grows long after they had been heard.

One of the citizens commented: “This is Saguache County — what do you expect.” Several complained they had not received proper notices for the meeting.

The board later passed a resolution not to change the agenda once a time for hearing applicants is set.

Grows approved by the commission included Cannamount, adjacent to John Werner’s property. Werner, active in water issues for decades, objected that the grow will adversely affect his application for a conservation easement for his property and will drive down the water table in the area.

Galen Myers told the SCPC marijuana is a plague in the community, and they need to stop approving conditional use permits until all questions are answered and they can get a hold on the situation.

Vacant land and agricultural land issues were brought up again, and Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez said the county has to go by what category the assessor has assigned to the land.

Next on the list was Southwest Solutions, off County Road T, which was judged to have everything in order. Purple Mountain Farms, also

off County Road T, was approved pending the erection of a permanent residence on the property.

Corpore Sano, on County Road 59, brought the largest volume of comments, with nearby resident Lisa Rosen advising applicant Gregory Gershengorin he is surrounded on all sides by illegal grows. Gershengorin revealed he will be extracting oils on site, and Rosen warned that if anything happens the entire area “will go up like a tinderbox in this drought.”

Volunteer fire departments in the area will not be able to do anything, she noted.

Gershengorin replied that he has no control over such activity but that his presence could eventually drive illegal grows out of the area. Code enforcement officer Wayne Clark told the commission that he has contacted Denver and is waiting for the go ahead to pursue illegal grows sometime this summer. Sheriff Dan Warwick is all for cracking down on the grows, Clark said, but has

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

This is one of several of what are believed to be illegal grows along County Road 59 in Moffat.

fewer deputies now than when he said he felt it was his duty to notify the first started.

A citizen from the Villa Grove area Please see GROWS on Page 11A

Valley educators honored at annual banquet

STAFF REPORT

ALAMOSA—Teaching is often a thankless job, however 14 educators from around the San Luis Valley were recognized for their hard work and dedication last Wednesday night, April 25. During the 33rd Annual San Luis Valley Outstanding Education Recognition Banquet, the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) gave Monte Vista School District’s Tracy Simon the top honors of being the Outstanding Educator of the Year.

At the start of the awards ceremony Cheri Jones, last year’s winner, spoke about having passion to the crowd gathered at the Rodeway Inn. Inspired

by Josh Drean’s “Find your because” speech given to Ortega Middle School students in January, Jones said that teachers have to find and fuel their “because” to stay motivated.

She said that there are three things teachers could do to be more effective in the classroom. The first was that teachers have to have enthusiasm for what they do.

“If we don’t find something exciting, how will they find it exciting?” asked Jones.

The second point was for teachers to interact with students when they’re learning, rather than simply stand at a chalkboard. She told the audience to “get off your butts, get off your phones,” and treat other kids like they’d want their children to be treated.

Finally, she instructed teachers to build relationships in their classroom by finding out about their students’ hobbies, such as social media and video games. “Let them know you have a genuine interest in them,” Jones said.

She then had teachers stand up in the banquet hall each time they’ve seen hungry kids save their breakfast for food at home, seen them come to class without bathing or changing clothes, had to console students worried about deportation or comfort students about other topics. Many teachers stood up multiple times.

“I challenge every one of you here to reach out to these students and build relationships,” said Jones. “They need us now more than ever...Some things in education you can’t control, but you can control this.”

Jones ended her speech with a toast to the other educators. “Teaching is our ‘because.’”

Before handing out the awards, BOCES Board President Tina Freel said, “Educators are born, not made.”

recognized: Monte Vista School District, Tracy Simon (Educator of the Year) Tracy Simon, pictured above, has been with the Monte Vista School District for 12 years where she teaches special education at the Byron Syring Delta Center and Monte Vista Online Academy. Simon received a BS degree from University of Tennessee along with a teacher licensure in elementary education and a MA degree in special education from ASU. Simon has a dual role in her current special education position with the Delta Center alternative education program and Monte Vista Online Academy program. She handles that dual role extremely well by ensuring that learning is focused and clear enough that both students and teachers know what is going on so learning can be objectively measured.

“It is truly a calling,” said Simon.

“I’m truly honored.”

Alamosa School District, Maxine Baker Maxine Baker has been with the Alamosa School District for 20 years where she teaches high school English.

Maxine received a MA and BA degree in the arts.

She believes in mentoring her students and helping them along their path to becoming thoughtful, engaged, self-aware citizens who are able to make choices that reflect their most cherished values and dreams.

Centennial School District, Nikkole Zincone Nikkole Zoncone has been with the Centennial School District for five years where she teaches Kindergarten.

Zoncone received a BA degree in elementary education from Adams State University.

Zincone instructs students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations. She feels that as an educator it is her responsibility to grow the “whole child,” so that success can happen in the classroom.

Center School District, Kevin Hagan Kevin Hagan has been with the Center School District for five years where he teaches seventh and eighth grade ELA. Kevin received an AA degree from Colorado Mountain College, a BA degree and a MA degree from Adams State University.

It is evident that in his lesson plans The following teachers were

and lesson delivery Hagan’s core belief is that all kids can achieve regardless of their language, background and socioeconomic status. His belief is that every student can think and deserves to be challenged in a way that will prepare them for life after high school.

Del Norte School District, Jill Martinez Jill Martinez has been with the Del Norte for 21 years where she teaches seventh and eighth grade social studies.

Martinez received a MA degree in American history, a MA in curriculum and assessment, and a BA in secondary teacher education.

Martinez communicates with students and parents consistently and she spends many evenings after school working with individual

students. She ensures that she methods. Smith has taken numerous provides students with a variety of groups of students on excursions learning opportunities to cater to exploring the state of Colorado. all learning styles. Martinez guides students to make connections within Mountain Valley School District, history and makes each topic relevant Andrew Virdin to the students.

Andrew Virdin has been with the Mountain Valley School district for six years. Virdin teaches high school Moffat School District, English. He received a MA degree Lyndal Smith Lyndal Smith has been with the in education from University of Moffat School District for 19 years Tennessee and a BA degree in English where she teaches high school social from Furman University.

Virdin believes that educators shape studies. Smith received a Bachelor of Science in human development and the future of our world by preparing family studies from Colorado State the youth of today. They facilitate growth, understanding, and pride. His University.

A special focus in her classroom is to students are encouraged to express create in depth, hands-on learning units opinions and ideas in a respectful and that allow students to highlight their skills through a variety of mediums and Please see TEACH on Page 6A

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

ANNEX

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in downtown Alamosa

Continued from Page 1A one Potch LLC acreage as 160 acres.

Another view of a parcel owned by Potch LLC on the parcel viewer shows 66 acres. None of the coordinates in the parcel viewers correspond with the property description given in the impact statement.

The annexation — was it legal?

Board members Michael Raymond Miller and Sandra Fox were sworn in as town trustees prior to the annexation vote.

Mayor Patricia Reigel and other board members believe the town can offer growers the acreage free and clear of the excise tax paid by other retail grows in the county by annexing unincorporated acreage into the town.

This, however, appears to contradict the ballot language for the excise tax, passed in 2016: “Shall Saguache County increase taxes by $350,000 annually in the first full fiscal year and by such amounts as are raised thereafter as authorized by Colorado Revised Statutes 29-2-114 through the imposition of an excise tax of five percent of the average market rate, as determined by the Colorado Department of Revenue, on the first sale or transfer of unprocessed retail marijuana by a retail marijuana cultivation facility located within Saguache County.”

Some question the legality of the annexation for several reasons, one being that it will create an unfair exemption for some, forbidden by federal law, while others will be required to pay the tax. Amendment 14 to the U.S. Constitution requires equal treatment under the law.

Other reasons that cloud the legality of the annexations is the constitution of the town board at the early stages of its approval, the fact that trustees did not approve the impact statement before it was presented to commissioners and ex parte communications with growers prior to the public hearing.

Saguache County commissioners approved the annexation at their April 17 meeting, with County Attorney Ben Gibbons commenting they should approve it because Moffat would go ahead with the annexation anyway.

Brothers Robert and Virgil Tafoya, property owners in the area, objected to the passage of the annexation, explaining to the board that the impact statement was not properly prepared, annexation law was not followed and Moffat residents were not made fully aware of the consequences of the

annexation. Some fear Moffat will now become a mecca for pot growers flooding to the area.

Mayor Reigel defended the impact statement, announcing she had written it herself. The copy of the statement received from the county clearly shows it was authored by Potch LLC landowner Whitney Justice.

Reigel said the annexation process had been followed according to law, with advertisements in public places such as the post office and publication of the public hearing and intent to annex in local papers (Saguache Crescent and Valley Courier).

Reigel also cited the many economic benefits the annexation would bring to the town of Moffat.

Prior to the annexation vote, Reigel granted a request for a street vacation and easement grant to Virgil and Sue Tafoya and said the town of Moffat would maintain the easement. She also mentioned that Robert and Virgil Tafoya had received CORA documents from the town they have been requesting for several months.

The board refused, however, to read a letter from a relative of the Tafoya family who attended the April 3 Moffat town board meeting and expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the town conducted business.

Page 11A

ALAMOSA—Celebrate Cinco de Mayo (Saturday, May 5) with the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area and San Luis Valley Brewing Co. outside on Main Street and San Juan in Alamosa.

Enjoy traditional dancers (Las Semillas de la Tierra and Los Vecinos Bailadores), Spanish rock (Indian Nickel), a beer, margarita and sangria garden, and fajitas from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Free to the public.

GROWS

Continued from Page 3A

Photos by Teresa L. Benns

Above: Moffat Mayor Patricia Reigel swears in Michael Raymond Miller May 1 as town trustee, Right: Samantha Fox was sworn in by Mayor Patricia Reigel as a Moffat town trustee May 1.

Trustee Brian Morgan told Robert Tafoya the letter was addressed to the board and could not be released to the public.

commission that Gershengorin had ties to South America and the owner of the company, although listed as a Miami, Fla., resident, was originally from Venezuela. He said he felt these ties should be investigated further before approving the grow.

PC member Bill McClure chastised the Villa Grove man, telling him that what he had just said had no bearing on the grow approval and should not have been brought up. The Villa Grove resident told McClure he would do well to look into it.

The PC approved the grow.

Volume 117, Number 21

Shorts Narrow Gauge fundraiser tonight ALAMOSA—Last Chance to Save the Narrow Gauge Bookstore!

The group need to raise $10,000 in the next two weeks in order to commit to opening. Come to the open house on Thursday, May 24 (State & Main in Alamosa), 5:15-7 p.m. for great food, a great cause, and great music! Alternatively, visit www.narrowgaugebooks.com to donate!

Glen Martinez 5K, golf tourney Saturday MONTE VISTA — The 5K Run/ Walk and Veterans Golf Tournament will be held at the Monte Vista Golf Course on Saturday, May 26 to benefit the Sgt. Glen Martinez Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards a $1,000 scholarship to a senior boy and girl of Monte Vista to further higher education.

Deadline for registration is May 23.

For more information or to register, call Ron or Carol at 719- 850-3758 or 719-849-1830 or visit www. glenmartinezmemorialscholarship. org.

Please see third story on Page 3A.

Thursday May 24, 2018

County pot dilemma featured on Denver 7

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE COUNTY— The same property owners who have made the local news over the past several months were featured on a special segment of Channel 7 news in Denver Tuesday night, which portrayed the county as an easy target for pot growers out to make a buck.

Reporter Jace Larson explained how growers are attracted to the lower land prices so have been moving in alongside local landowners who feel they have little say about commercial grows popping up all around them.

Shiloh Jackman and Mischa ViningDoyle, who own land in northern Saguache County, were featured on the special explaining how they feel cheated out of money they spent on a well and their dreams for the future home they hoped to place on their

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Channel 7 Denver investigative reporter Jace Larson interviews Sheriff Dan Warwick while investigating Please see 7NEWS on Page 12A marijuana issues in Saguache County last month.

Nine receive diplomas from Mountain Valley

VFA meets Saturday

MONTE VISTA— The regular VFA meeting will be held this Saturday, May 26 at the home of Wanda Couzens-Smith starting at 1 p.m. Bring your projects and come and enjoy.

Call or email Wanda for directions, questions, etc. at 852-5000; cell, 580-4976 or email wcouzenssmith@ gmail.com.

Memorial Day observance set HOMELAKE— The Veterans Community Living Center at Homelake will host a Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 28 at 10 a.m. at the Homelake Cemetery.

The memorial service will include Honor and Color Guards, USS General Patrick Bell Tolling, wreath presentations and the Ft. Garland Memorial Regiment. Keynote speaker will be Patricia Robertson.

Cinnamon rolls will be served following the observance in the Old Dining Room.

The Homelake History Center and Museum will be open following the service until 12:30 p.m.

75¢

Courtesy Photo

Mountain Valley graduating seniors Susan Edwards, Steven Favela, Ripper Fitz, Rodamond Gabriel, Marian Glenn, Selena Hart, Rafael Mancha, DJ Mullen and Erica Ortega received their diplomas last Saturday.

SAGUACHE — Mountain Valley Schools graduated nine seniors last Saturday during a ceremony held at the school campus.

It will be the last class that will graduate from the old Mountain Valley School. On Wednesday the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant official, architects and planners broke ground to begin construction on the new school.

M o u n t a i n Va l l e y S c h o o l Superintendent gave the following address to seniors before they took the stage to claim their long-awaited diplomas.

“Good morning everyone. I would like to extend a warm welcome to parents, families and friends of the graduates, the honor class of 1968, the board of education, administration, teachers and staff of Mountain Valley School, and finally to the graduates themselves.

“Congratulations! How time flies! Can you believe it was only 13 short years ago that you walked Please see GRADS on Page 2A

Commissioners causing division, insurer says

BY TERESA L. BENNS

SAGUACHE — Dennis Hunt, with County Technical Services Inc. (CTSI), Saguache County’s insurer, reported the results of interviews held with county employees, department heads and elected officials to the BoCC Tuesday and delivered some stern warnings to commissioners.

“Policies and procedures are adopted but not followed,” Hunt announced. “You have a perfect storm brewing here…You have actually split this county apart as far as operations go.” Hunt said his interviews with 12 employees and officials revealed that nearly all of them feel there is a serious lack of communication among commissioners, elected officials and their employees.

For example, complaints were made that one person put the budget together without consulting the others.

This was in spite of the fact that, as Hunt reminded commissioners, the county had a budget workshop five years ago that worked pretty well for awhile and then seemed to fall apart.

He did commend commissioners for hiring a second financial person to handle the books.

He scolded commissioners for an outdated and unreliable personnel manual that badly needs to be updated to provide accurate job descriptions and expectations. Currently elected officials and employees “do whatever they have to do to keep things going and make it work. Some people are taking on things they shouldn’t

have to; the administrative staff is overloaded.”

Employees are not happy with their new health plan and were not consulted when it was changed, Hunt advised commissioners. He also pointed out that CTSI was not contacted when the plan was changed nor asked for assistance.

Hunt further noted the county’s adopted wage plan is not being followed and “that comes from you three gentleman,” he remarked. “If you adopt a policy, follow it.” He criticized the budget concessions granted to the sheriff’s office, telling commissioners the sheriff is now running the county.

Commissioner Jason Anderson took exception to his remarks and told Hunt he had a snapshot of the situation but

not the bigger picture.

J. Anderson defended Warwick by pointing out he is working within his budget and explained that Warwick came to them with an itemized list of what he needed to change his budget.

Hunt responded that Commissioners need to change their compensation plan and increase starting pay for new hires. If the sheriff’s office doesn’t the board can, Commissioner Ken Anderson said. J. Anderson assured Hunt, however, that Warwick was not dropping the ball on this.

“The county clerk and recorder or her deputy are not taking minutes of the meetings because you were told by the attorney this was not necessary,” Hunt Please see BOCC on Page 2A

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

OBITUARIES

CLIPS FROM THE CLERK

FAY A. (BURD) MCBRIDE, 103 MONTE VISTA— Longtime Monte Vista resident Fay A. (Burd) McBride, 103, passed away on May 20, 2018. Arrangements are pending and will be announced through Rogers Family Mortuary in Monte Vista. To express condolences, please visit www.rogersfunerals.com

SHERIFF’S REPORT The following records were Skye Oferle, 39, Golden, provided by the Saguache Sheriff’s speeding 89 in a 65 MPH zone Office for the week of May 14-21 Jonatan Garcia-Burlinga, 30, Littleton, speeding 89 in a 65 Arrests MPH zone Brian Amelung, 32, Center, Randall Tuclar, 54, Saguache, violation of a restraining order, speeding 89 in a 65 MPH zone harassment, domestic violence Jon Schulte, 51, Pagosa Springs, Jonathan Terry, 27, North Bend, speeding 80 in a 65 MPH zone failure to appear Katherine Zorensky, 43, Hesperus, speeding 88 in a 65 MPH zone Citations John Retrum, 27, Golden, DUR, Nancy Resnick, 68, Farmington expired number plates Hills, Mich., speeding 79 in a 65 Niki Lofton, 35, Centennial, MPH zone speeding 70 in a 50 MPH zone

Theft and assault suspect apprehended VILLA GROVE — According to a report by Undersheriff Jim McCloskey with the Saguache Sheriffs Office, on May 17 at about 5:30 a.m.

McCloskey responded to the High Valley Equipment and Auction in Villa Grove for an assault and theft call.

On arrival Matricia Mullir, 47, reported she awoke to someone starting one of the business’large loaders. Mullir went outside and confronted a male party later identified as Scot Wesley Swafford, 51, of Romeo.

Mullir reported Swafford had loaded a 50-foot Sea Container onto a semitruck and trailer.

During the contact, Mullir reported she was punched in the chest and knocked down. Mullir also reported that while she was on the ground, Swafford kicked her several times and then threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

Swafford removed the Sea

Container and left it. Mullir was then able to take a photograph of the truck as it was leaving. Through investigation of the crime scene, McCloskey developed a suspect, and following interviews with citizens in the area, McCloskey was able to connect Scot Swafford as being in the area during the specified time.

With the assistance of Conejos Sheriff’s Sergeant Nick Summers, McCloskey learned Swafford was not home and the semi-truck in question was not in Romeo. Swafford was also identified by the victim from a photograph.

An arrest warrant was issued for Swafford, charging him with felony intimidation of a victim/witness, robbery, theft and assault. Sgt. Summers located Swafford on May 20 and after a short chase, Swafford was arrested on a $100,000 bond from another county.

BOCC

Continued from Page 1A complained. “It definitely is necessary because the law says the clerk and recorder is to take them. It is their statutory responsibility to do that.”

Department heads and employees feel like everyone is just going off on their own and the county would benefit from an administrator/manager. “You need a manager — someone to run the ranch,” Hunt told the commission. I’m here to help, but it is so important that you act as a board. You are put in here by electors and they trust you to run the county as a business.”

The board needs someone who can bring everyone together, and when a decision is made makes sure it is followed, Hunt recommended. But commissioners first need to agree on

Thursday, May 24, 2018

what they want to be changed, what they don’t like and what problems to address first. They need to be the boss of the manager not let the manager boss them, but they also need to let him/her do their job.

Commissioner Tim Lovato told Hunt he does not feel county business is a bad as Hunt paints it, although there are some problems and issues.

Christy Doon with the Department of Local Affairs says grants are available to hire an administrator/manager but the grant cycle will take them to the end of December. In the meantime, she said she will see if it is possible to find an interim manager, although Hunt said these do not always work out well.

Doon said she would be in touch.

Voter Registration Drive (a.k.a. VRD)

BY SAGUACHE COUNTY CLERK AND RECORDER TRISH GILBERT A VRD is defined as a group of two or more persons who distribute and collect voter registration applications in Colorado for delivery to a county clerk and recorder.

Any group of two or more persons distributing and collecting voter registration applications in the state of Colorado must register with the Secretary of State (SOS).

A group is only required to register as a VRD if it is both distributing and collecting applications.

Colorado law requires that VRDs register with the SOS and complete a training course on applicable laws before beginning voter registration activities.

The VRD organizer must complete online training and a test. Once the organizer scores 100 percent on the test, the organizer will complete the Statement of Intent and Training Acknowledgment forms and submit them to the Elections Division.

The training, test, and forms are available on the Voter Registration Drive pages on the SOS website.

The VRD organizer must complete the following tasks: Complete and submit “Training Acknowledgment” and “Statement of Intent” to the SOS Train all VRD circulators each year Ensure all VRD activities are conducted using proper methods Ensure the proper delivery of VRD voter registration forms to the voter’s county of residence The VRD training is available online. There is no cost to receive training. The training will ensure that you understand how the VRD process works, how circulators may and may not be paid for their work and will confirm that you are aware of all the penalties that may result from VRD violations. You will not receive any VRD applications nor will you be assigned a VRD number until you complete this training.

A unique number will be assigned to each VRD upon verification that the organization meets all the requirements to conduct a VRD. Your organization is not authorized to commence Voter Registration Drive activities prior the

receiving a VRD number. Once the number is issued, the name of your organization and your organization’s contact person will be posted on the SOS online list of approved VRDs. A VRD number is valid until Dec. 31of the calendar year in which it was approved. VRDs must complete training each year in order to be issued a new number.

VRDs are addressed in both Statute and Rule.

By conducting a VRD, you are taking part in the democratic process.

The decision to conduct a voter registration drive is an important one and should be taken very seriously.

Voter registration is fundamental to the election process.

Jane, Desiree, Ben, Dominique and I are here to help with any questions.

Republican Spring Fling set for June 9 MOFFAT— The 2018 Annual Republican Spring Fling Fund Raiser will take place on Saturday, June 9 at Moffat School, opening at 12 p.m. with a silent auction. Lunch will be served at 12:15 p.m.

Those attending can enjoy a meal of beef brisket, barbecue pork or baked chicken with all the great fixins’!

Keynote speaker for this year’s event is Colorado State Senate President Kevin Grantham Also speaking at the event will be Sheriff Dan Warwick, County Clerk Trish Gilbert, County Treasurer Connie Trujillo and candidate for County Commissioner Ellen Cox. The cost for adults is $25 and for kids

12 and under, $10. To RSVP contact Richard Drake at 719-256-4215 or e-mail to: info@saguachegop.com no later than June 1 with choice of beef Please make checks payable (no later than June 1) to: Saguache County Republican Party, Ed Nielsen, P.O. Box 55 Saguache, CO 81149 www.

SaguacheGOP.com

purpose of life is a life full of purpose.

You can and will make a difference in this world.

“As a former elementary teacher, I’m going to leave you with a quote from one of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss. “You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

“Congratulations Class of 2018, and good luck on your new journey!

Presentation of graduating seniors “Over the past several years, it has truly been a pleasure watching these students spread their wings and grow into the young men and women that they are today. Every one of these seniors has a story to tell. A story worth hearing. I encourage you to take some time and listen. They have, in their own individual ways, faced adversity, overcome obstacles and shown resiliency to make it to this point in their lives, High School Graduation. Today is a huge milestone for these students. I am proud and I am honored to present the Mountain Valley graduates of the class of 2018.

“Susan Edwards, Steven Favela, Ripper Fitz, Rodamond Gabriel, Marian Glenn, Selena Hart, Rafael Mancha, DJ Mullen and Erica Ortega.

“Class of 2018, as a symbol of your transition from students to graduates, please move your tassels from the right to the left.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present to you, the latest alumni of Mountain Valley School, the Graduated Class of 2018!”

GRADS

Continued from Page 1A into that kindergarten classroom? And now, here you are today, young men and women ready to depart on the adventure of a lifetime.

“Your class motto is a quote by Mark Twain, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” You don’t have many choices in life as a newborn, but as graduates, the future is yours, to shape, to mold, and to find your why. Simon Sinek, author of the book “Start With Why,” gives us this advice, “Working hard for something you don’t care about is called stress: Working hard for something you love is called passion.” They both involve hard work. Stress or Passion. The choice is yours.

“H. Jackson Brown once wrote: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. Think about that.

“You will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did.

“I encourage each and every one of you to walk out of these doors today and find your why, discover your passions, take risks, and remember, the

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

BoCC responds to citizen’s marijuana concerns

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— After waiting for several weeks for commissioners to respond to a letter presented to them over two months ago, Moffat-area resident Joyce Swinney received a detailed response last week with attachments that answered some of her questions. Other questions, however, seem to have been redirected or bypassed entirely.

Excerpts from the letter are presented below with explanatory comments.

Commissioners open the letter with a reminder that cannabis growers have a constitutional right to grow and sell marijuana and voters have determined this. As residents have repeatedly reminded commissioners, all land use owners in the county have constitutional rights.

Because Swinney has requested a repeal or revision of current marijuana growing regulations, in light of objections by numerous citizens to the many legal and illegal grows in the county, commissioners wrote the following: “If you would like to place this issue back on the ballot for the 2018 General Election you will need to present the exact ballot language to the commissioners for them to review and approve and decide if this request shall be placed on the 2018 election ballot. You will also need to present pros and cons along with the language you are requesting be placed on the ballot. Tabor notice enclosed.”

Municipal initiatives, sheriff’s office funding mil levies and school bonds may be placed on the ballot without commissioner approval by law. All other initiatives can be placed on the ballot only with commissioner approval.

“We have also attached the 2017 and 2018 budget for Marijuana - Project Code #139 to show the revenue and expenditures. In 2017 the only money spent from the excise tax was to pay the code enforcement officer. In 2018 we are now paying a full-time code enforcement officer; a part time code enforcement officer and we have also hired a code enforcement clerk. The clerk will be in charge of receiving phone calls, letters etc. of complaints, log all complaints, schedule the enforcement officer site inspections, log reports from the CE officer to be presented to the Land Use Administrator for presentation to the Board of Commissioners.”

The fees received for the excise tax were not listed in the county budget for many months, and several county residents brought this to the commissioners’ attention. Line items were then created for the revenues generated by the tax. Also collected are fees of over $2,000 for each license issued by the county, plus fees received from the state for each license issued. It is not known what the county has used these fees for.

“Six site visits of approved CUPs have been conducted for the first quarter of 2018, all found to be in compliance with approved conditions. We have a total of 27 approved marijuana areas, with an approximate acreage amount of 250 acres used. Other expenses will be considered in the future but at this time these are the expenses to date…

We do not have a final ‘master plan’ for Mammoth Farms’ 637 acres.

The only plans we have are for the applications that have been approved and requested at this time.

“A site inspection of each approved grow is done each quarter, the first quarter of the approved grows was done by land use staff and code enforcement in March and all were found to be incompliance with the County approval. The second quarter inspections will be done in May 2018 and each quarter thereafter.”

This ignores the objection of many citizens that the growers were not properly vetted to begin with, and their applications were riddled with inaccuracies and outright errors.

“As explained by County Attorney [Ben] Gibbons concerning the appeal of the Trouard/Mammoth Farms approval you will need to file in district court by filing a Rule 106 appeal with the court system.”

According to the county’s own land use code (Article VII.2.4, 2.8.1 and 2.8.2), citizens have a right to appeal any decision made by commissioners to the county adjustment board before proceeding to court. There is just one problem with this — the current county adjustment board consists of all three commissioners. In most counties, a separate and impartial adjustment board exists to which such appeals may be made. In Saguache County, the commissioners act as the adjustment board “until such time as the [BoCC] deems it appropriate to appoint members…” (VII.I).

Please see LETTER on Page 6A

RE-ELECT Karla Shriver Rio Grande County Commissioner I would appreciate your vote on June 26th (do not forget to vote early when you receive your mail ballot) Action Oriented Approachable Business Minded Coalition Builder Community Minded Ethical – Fair - Honest Good Listener Problem Solver Sincere Successful Vision Oriented Work Oriented

Karla Shriver for Rio Grande County Commissioner Working Pro-Actively for Rio Grande County Paid for by Citizens to Elect Karla Shriver, Robert Smith, Treasurer.

Page 3A

Western State bound

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Center High School Principal Kevin Jones congratulates Isaiah Archuleta and Andres Almeida at the Center Academic Awards last week. Both received full-ride scholarships to Western State.

Center students place in SLVMEA contest CENTER— This year’s annual SLVMEA Solo/Ensemble contest was held last month at Adams State University. Twenty-three Center students from grades 6 -12 participated in the event.

Students have worked hard since the beginning of January to prepare a solo or a duet that would be played in front of a judge. The judge will then give the students a rating based on how they performed. The ratings are as follows, I-superior, II-excellent, III-good, IV-fair and V-needs work.

Students did a tremendous job in preparing for this event and the results prove how hard they worked. It isn’t

easy to stand in front of a judge and play a piece of music. Here are the final results for the contest.

The following students solos received a I rating at the event: seniors Camille Ruggles and Alexis Sanchez, freshman Javier Leon, seventh graders Molly Chavez and Keith Meritt and sixth graders Alanna Garcia and Willa Seesz-Sanchez The following students solos received a II rating at the event: freshman Mackayla Arellano, seventh graders Mark Maldonado, Cruz Reyes and Cael Ruggles The following students duets received a II rating at the event: Camille Ruggles and Mackayla

Arellano-Flute/Oboe duet and seventh graders Giselle Molina and Dayrin Alvarez-Clarinet duet.

The following students solos received a III rating at the event: freshman Edward Aragon and Christopher Aragon, seventh graders Alexis Villagomez, Joel Gonzalez, and Harley Juhre and sixth grader Arazeliz Garcia.

The following students duet received a III rating at the event: seventh graders Alicia Pedro-Lopez and Evelyn Martinez.

The following students duet received a IV rating at the event: seventh graders Kelly Gardea and Samantha Arellano.

Page 6A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, May 24, 2018

May is Mental Health Month: mental health in SLV schools SAN LUIS VALLEY— Childhood is a confusing and a challenging time.

When you add in life stressors from family, mental illness, or school related pressures, there are many reasons that students may need someone to talk to.

San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group (SLVBHG) has the resources

to work with children of all ages.

The School Based Behavioral Health Specialists visit 27 schools within the San Luis Valley on a weekly basis.

Through this program, they have served more than 1,200 students in the Valley.

A wide variety of services are offered to kids of all ages, including

brief interventions, skills building, prevention, crisis services, group work and individual counseling sessions. The goal of the School Based Specialist Program is to provide highquality behavioral health outreach, linkage, consultation, treatment, and collaboration between San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group and school districts. The school-based specialist can also provide school districts and individual schools with education, referrals, consultations, planning, information and other

needed behavioral health services, which are tailored to each district.

Working with individual schools provides them with the tools to recognize and respond to potential mental health concerns, threats or emergencies.

S LV B H G ’s S c h o o l B a s e d Specialists have provided trainings in multiple schools to teachers and students on a wide variety of topics including stress and time management, suicide and self-harm, mental illness, youth mental health

first aid, substance abuse, autism, trauma informed care, and other prevention topics. The hope of this team is to help normalize mental illness and childhood challenges by offering solutions, counseling options, and caring to those students in need.

Referrals can be made by school counselors, parents, or other concerned adults.

For more information, please contact SLVBHG at 719-589-3671 or talk to your student’s school.

South Fork Courtesy Photo

From left are School Based Behavioral Health Specialists Gail GarciaKuhns, Bonnie Ortega and Diamond Mobbley. Not pictured is Dallas Cooley.

TICKET

Continued from Page 5A included on event tickets for partnering high schools throughout the school year.

View the campaign ads here .

“Every time you enter a vehicle you make a choice whether or not to buckle up,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the CSP. “We’re imploring Coloradans to think about what that choice really means to them and if it’s worth risking your life over. Seat belts do save lives and I’ve seen it over and over again in this job.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that approximately 60 lives could be saved every year in Colorado if everyone buckled up.

Fines for not wearing a seat belt start at $65, and parents and caregivers found with an improperly restrained or unrestrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.

Last year, 5,950 tickets were issued to drivers or passengers for not wearing their seat belt during the same CIOT enforcement period, including 226 citations for unrestrained or improperly restrained children under the age of 15.

Since Click It or Ticket was introduced in Colorado in 2002, seat

belt use in Colorado has increased from 72 percent and peaked at 85.2 percent in 2015.

Colorado’s seat belt laws •Adults — Colorado has a secondary enforcement law for adult drivers and front-seat passengers. Drivers can be ticketed for violating the seat belt law if they are stopped for another traffic violation.

• Teens — Colorado’s Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) Law requires all drivers under 18 and their passengers, regardless of their age, to wear seat belts.

This is a primary enforcement, meaning teens can be pulled over simply for not wearing a seat belt or having passengers without seat belts.

• Children — Colorado’s Child Passenger Safety Law is a primary enforcement, meaning the driver can be stopped and ticketed if an officer sees an unrestrained or improperly restrained child under age 16 in the vehicle.

SOUTH FORK LUMBER

“Serving Colorado Since 1909”

Learn more about Click It or Ticket enforcement and Colorado’s seat belt laws at codot.gov/safety/seatbeltscarseats.

Gifts Cabin Decor Statement Pieces and More!

Open 10-5 • Monday-Saturday

LETTER

719.873.1639

Next to the Malt Shop in South Fork

Continued from Page 3A In her March 12 letter, Swinney objected to a secret meeting held by commissioners with Mammoth Farms owner Justin Trouard. In their letter commissioners justify the meeting, claiming their refusal to allow Swinney’s husband Mark, a planning commission alternate, to attend the meeting with Trouard, was forbidden as ex-parte contact.

Ex-parte contact is defined as written or verbal communication initiated outside of a regularly noticed public hearing — which either commissioners or the planning commission are required to hold when conditional use permits are contested — concerning a particular subject matter which is under or is about to become under consideration by the officials meeting.

Since commissioners give final approval to CUPS, it applies as much to them as it does to any planning commission member.

Only commissioners “may” hold public hearings on land use issues if “adverse negative comments are received (Art. IV.8.3.4). County regulations suggest the planning commission acts only in an advisory capacity. Swinney also objected to meetings before commissioner meetings by two or more of the county

Support Your Local Merchants

commissioners.

Commissioners told Swinney in their response to her letter that they eat at local, open to public, restaurants for lunch and anyone that would like to join them or sit by them is more than welcome. This, however, does not address the fact that commissioners are prohibited by law from meeting as a body, even online in emails, unless the meeting is publicly noticed. In order to avoid conflicts of interest, however, commissioners are bound by law to avoid even the appearance of such a conflict.

The county attached the regulations governing the extraction process to be used by Trouard to their letter for Swinney’s convenience.

They also noted Trouard’s plan was “approved by the board of commissioners and has been followed as per site plan approved. His plan has however changed with the new medical request he has made on the 5-acreage tract.”

A construction permit is required for any structure that is constructed on any parcel of land in Saguache County and construction permits have been issued for the structures Trouard has built, the letter says. Permits can be reviewed at the land use office.

29160 West Hwy 160 South Fork CO 81154 (719)873-5481

Page 12A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, May 24, 2018

7NEWS

Graduation Day! Growing up has just begun...

Continued from Page 1A property. Jackman says he does not want to look out his window and see the 10,000 square foot retail grow planned to go in next to him, a facility that will be surrounded by barbed wire fence and powered by diesel generators.

The couple was not notified by the county that the grow was in the planning stages and was not allowed to speak at any length at planning commission meetings to oppose the grow’s approval. Several irregularities were found in the application presented

by Michael Barkl, the grower next to Jackman and Vining-Doyle, and commissioners were notified of the discrepancies.

Mark and Joyce Swinney of Moffat also were featured on the news segment explaining they are surrounded by five different grows where their property is located. Mark Swinney is a Saguache Planning Commission alternate who has tried to raise objections to the grows. Cameras panned around the Swinney’s property to take in the various grow operations.

Joyce Swinney mentioned how one of her neighbors had his property assessed at $44,000 lower than before the grows moved in, so those surrounded by pot cultivations will not be leaving any time soon, she told Larson.

In a recent letter addressed to Joyce Swinney, in answer to a letter she wrote commissioners in March, Saguache Commissioners reported they have 27 approved marijuana areas. Larson reports there are 30 areas and the excise tax returns since 2017 amount to $101,526, on only five grows.

The special also featured Sheriff Dan Warwick, who told Larson the county knows of at least 200 illegal grows. Sheriff Warwick showed Larson some of the rubble left by illegal growers who often move in, grow and harvest, then leave the mess behind for neighbors to view.

Larson interviewed Commissioner Jason Anderson, who commented that if applications to grow are paid for and approved by the Planning Commission, commissioners have to approve them. The same statement was made in commissioners’recent letter to Joyce Swinney and previously during commissioner meetings.

Commissioners approved additional applications Tuesday for Cannamount Farms, LLC/applicant, Dale and Andrea Gerstberger/landowner– Conditional Use request – Medical Marijuana Infused Products – Lab and Optional Premise Cultivation – 54001 Co. Rd. X; Lawrence Baer – Conditional Use request – Recreational Marijuana Production facility - Tract 4 8-43-9 – 54094 Co. Rd. T: Gregoriy Gershengorin, applicant – VLG Capital, LLC, landowner – Marijuana Cultivation and Grow facility – N1/2NE1/4 25-449 – 19751 Co. Rd. 59; Purple Mountain Farm, LLC, applicant – Earth Positive Enterprises, LLC, landowner – Marijuana Cultivation area – Tract 13 7-43-10 – 59630 Co. Rd. T and a second grow for medical marijuana at Mammoth Farms in Moffat.

Haskin Elementary graduating kindergarteners sing a song with Mr. Swanson before receiving their diplomas Monday night.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

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Volume 117, Number 23

Shorts

Report illegal grows SAGUACHE— The Saguache County Land Use department has announced that the code enforcement violation complaint line is now active. Those wishing to report any suspicious activity related to code violations, including illegal marijuana grows, can now call 719221-0547 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and report the violation.

Residents are asked, if possible, to please include an address, a legal description or the exact location of the violation in their report.

Tri-County hosting hamburger fry, dance MONTE VISTA— Tri-County Seniors is hosting a hamburger fry and dance on June 9. Dinner will be served from 5–6:30 p.m.; menu includes hamburger, hot dogs, potato salad, baked beans, beverage and dessert (banana splits) for $10. The dance runs from 6:30-9 p.m. and features live music by Alex Lopez and Bernal Meastas.

There will be a raffle during the dance; tickets are on sale: three tickets for $5 or one ticket for $2. The first drawing will include a Berkley fishing pole with tackle box and assorted gear; BBQ items including a $25 gift certificate to Valley Meat. The second drawing: Road Master Mountain Bike, and the third drawing is for four gift certificates to Monte Vista Golf Club, $25 gift certificate to Quincy’s.

For any further information, please call 719-852-5778 or come by 311 Washington Street, Monte Vista.

Please see second story on page 2A.

Thursday June 7, 2018

SCPC tables Barkl grow, two others B Y T ERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE— A young couple hoping to build a home in northern Saguache County appeared again before the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) last week to protest the marijuana cultivation application before the commission on the property adjacent to theirs.

Shiloh Jackman and Mischa Vining-Doyle were featured three weeks ago on a Denver Channel 7 news special by reporter Jace Larson. Larson wrote an update on the news channel’s website to reflect the planning commission review.

The couple has repeatedly stated they were not properly notified

the grow would be erected next to their property. They told Larson last month that months before the grow was approved, they spent a great deal of money on drilling a well and building a road to what Please see BARKL on Page 11A Shiloh Jackman and Mischa Vining-Doyle protest the approval of a conditional use permit at the Saguahce County Planning Commission meeting last Thursday which would allow a marijuana cultivation to set up business next to their property. Lisa Cyriacks is pictured in the background.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Bus service begins in Center

Veterans Coalition annual meeting set ALAMOSA—The Veterans Coalition of the San Luis Valley will hold the annual VA Town Hall meeting, Friday, June 15, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the National Guard Armory, 1877 Old Sanford Rd, Alamosa. Ms. Sallie Houser-Hanfolder, director of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS), will be the keynote speaker. In addition, there will be presentations on the Veterans’ Choice Card Program, information and networking tables and an opportunity to meet with locals to discuss the Veteran Fields Program. For more information call 719-992-4108 or vclsv.info.

Obey the fire restrictions in place

75¢

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

The new Eagle Shuttle Line bus opened its route to Center Wednesday with a grand opening welcome from Center Mayor Herman Sisneros, Michael Briley of Saguache, Center Town Administrator Brian Lujan, Center Mayor Pro Tem Mary McClure and bus driver Tim Chittum. The bus stops across from Alta convenience store at DJ’s Restaurant to pick up passengers to go to Salida Tuesday at 8:49. The bus also stops Wednesday at the same location at 9:03 to take Center passengers to Alamosa. Bus fare is $1.

Four graduate from Center ARC/Virtual Academy

BY TERESA L. BENNS

CENTER — Four students received high school diplomas Saturday from Center’s Academic Recovery Center (ARC) and Virtual Academy, which allows students to graduate at their own pace from either an individualized instruction program or by pursuing online studies.

Adamaris Aguilar, Logan Nye and Miriah Villagomez accepted diplomas from the Center Board of Education. Graduate Josh Kelly left Center early to begin a two-year mission with his church in Indonesia

and could not attend the ceremony.

The class motto was “Whatever you are, be a good one.” — Abraham Lincoln. Class colors were blue and white and the class flower was a bluetipped white rose.

ARC instructor Joy Werner gave the keynote address. Werner began with a quote from Emminem: “Truth is, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride and nothing is guaranteed.”

Werner then told students her experience with the class this year has been just that — a crazy ride — and

Weatherford loses fight with cancer SAN LUIS VALLEY— Adams State University student and Center graduate George “Will” Weatherford, diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in 2016, died at home the morning of May 31, his mother Julie Wightman Weatherford reported in the last update to a “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way” GoFundMe site on Friday.

“He is no longer suffering,” she stated. “Thank you all for your support and love. Keep us in your prayers as we soldier through this time.”

Weatherford was a state wrestler at Center High School all four years and valedictorian of his high school class in 2015. He was a student at Adams State University when he became ill in 2016.

Suffering from Bell’s Palsy-like symptoms, the honor student and athlete had fallen ill shortly before a family vacation to Japan the summer of 2016. He went to a doctor and received medicine he expected would soon make him better, so he decided to leave with his family to Japan, since the trip had been scheduled for some time.

Please see WILL on Page 7A

she congratulated them on arriving at graduation all in one piece.

“This has been a crazy ride this class has sent me on,” she confirmed. “Two girls wanted to graduate this year, so we had to adopt plan a, b, c and d.

There were a few detours along the way, there were a lot of late nights and texting but they figured out a way — who needed help — and got it done.”

Werner congratulated Nye for the amount of growth she has seen in him over the past year and commended Please see ARC on Page 6A

George “Will” Weatherford

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 3A

Planning commission approves revised pot regulations

BY TERESA L. BENNS SAGUACHE—During the Saguache County Planning Commission held last Thursday, commission members voted to approve their revision of current marijuana regulations and submit them to commissioners for approval.

Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez said Tuesday that once the revised regulations are published there will be a 30-day citizens comment period followed by a public hearing on the regulations.

A good number of property owners have expressed dissatisfaction with the regulations because they feel they fail to fairly consider the rights of county landowners. Both the Master Plan developed by the county as well as the Strategic Plan clearly show that while Saguache County officials have proposed laws favoring landowners for consideration, such consideration has never materialized.

Counties are advised by governmental oversight organizations to conform to a general standard to the applicable municipal or county master plan (sometimes called advisory documents). Even if a master plan is considered only an advisory document, zoning that does not conform with the plan can be subject to attack.

Even the recent extension until mid-August of the 120-day marijuana moratorium approved

by commissioners to specifically address the marijuana regulations may not be long enough to do the work it will take to address the real issues, far less consider landowner rights.

It appears there are some fundamental discrepancies and inconsistencies to address which exist between the Land Use Code regarding Conditional Use Permits (CUPS) and marijuana regulations.

These are rooted in the manner in which the county has written the marijuana regulations, but also exposes some seemingly contradictory issues within the Land Use Code itself. These have not been addressed so far in the revision of the marijuana code.

The following points can be made after reading the Land Use Code and applicable legal materials: • In adding the marijuana regulations to the Land Use Code, it is not clear if the regulations supersede the CUP regulations or whether the already existing regulations on CUPS prevail. It would seem that since nearly all marijuana cultivations have been issued a CUP, the CUP regulations would take precedence, but this is not stated in the Land Use Code.

• If the CUPS do take precedence, as it seems they should, then why has Art. IV 8.3.2 to notify landowners within 1,500 feet of a proposed CUP by certified mail notification 45 days

Center man arrested for barricade incident

BY TERESA L. BENNS CENTER — A Center man who barricaded himself on the porch of his father’s home last week with a knife brought other law enforcement agencies in to assist Center Police and alarmed town residents who did not know why the streets in the neighborhood were blocked off.

Nicholas Ramirez, 37, was out on bond following charges involving two felonies — attempt to influence a public servant and third-degree assault. According to a probable cause warrant obtained by Center Police and signed by Judge Pattie Swift, officer Eidy Guaderama was dispatched to the Ramirez residence Please see ARREST on Page 5A

Nicholas Ramirez

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Karla Shriver for Rio Grande County Commissioner Working Pro-Actively for Rio Grande County Paid for by Citizens to Elect Karla Shriver, Robert Smith, Treasurer.

prior to a Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) meeting — so they may submit “written or oral statements” — been ignored? Nearly all those who have complained of marijuana cultivations in their immediate vicinity have noted this omission.

So either the grows they are complaining about are illegal or the CUP notice was not given as required. The SCPC, when dealing with this issue, has only cited the state marijuana laws governing signage, not existing Land Use Code regulations. States, however, do not deal with CUPS; this is left to the individual counties.

The comments made at hearings conducted by the BoCC before approval of CUPS or at the time of the SCPC review, if such hearings are formal, should be limited to applicants and those landowners adjacent to the cultivations, not opened to others attending these meetings who do not have a specific interest in the CUP. This is according to standard practices.

• Notice of proposed marijuana cultivations also must be sent to all those living in municipalities according to this same regulation.

There have been complaints for some time now that those near grows within the city limits of Moffat were never notified of any cultivation.

• Art. IV 8.3.4 states the BoCC may

hold a public hearing on any CUP after referral by the SCPC. Notice of the hearing is to be published in a newspaper 30 days prior to the hearing. A record of the hearing shall be maintained. IF no adverse or negative comments are received, a public hearing may not need to be held. But it is left entirely up to BoCC whether a hearing needs to be held or not. And other than court proceedings, as recommended

by County Attorney Ben Gibbons recently, there is no appeal from CUP approvals by commissioners.

Other counties in Colorado regularly schedule public hearings for most CUPS. It appears that even despite the fact adverse comments are received by adjacent landowners, Saguache commissioners choose not to schedule such formal hearings.

Oil and gas regulations Formal public hearings are required, however, in the county’s land use code for those seeking conditional use requirements for oil and gas development. It could be said that the current opposition to marijuana grows in the county is at least as well-founded and wellsupported as any opposition to oil and gas operations.

The rigorous county land use requirements for these operations far exceed any regulations enacted for marijuana operations. They include but are not limited to:

• Established need for the operation to satisfy demand for oil or gas supply; • Suitability requirements, some of which are considered to some extent in current marijuana regulations; • A comprehensive evaluation of the adequacy of existing roads; • All aspects of site characteristics, which are not currently considered in the regulations; • Compatibility with existing uses, which includes a long list of qualifications based on current subdivision and land use approvals, competent evidence already on record, a projected appraisal of how the applicant plans to “mitigate the impacts it generates,” and protect the public health, safety, welfare and property values, also agricultural interests.

• Immediately following the public hearing held on any application, commissioners are to announce a provisional verbal decision, followed in 15 days (or a time specified by commissioners) by a written resolution.

• The written resolution shall set forth findings based on the competent evidence presented at the hearing and gathered by the county and any decision is final.

This is followed by a long list of performance standards for oil and gas developers, including two pages plus on the impact to the water supply.

no seat belt in use Venkata Avanigadda, 32, Aurora, speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone Charles Garrison, 23, Eagle, speeding 82 in a 65 MPH zone Francisco Castro, 27, Grand Junction, speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone Andrew Burlingame, 34, Snowmass, speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone

Nicole Medina, 45, Lakewood, speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone McDonough-Fske, Cerleth, 20, Lakewood, no seat belt in use Michael Maner, 58, Santa Ana, Calif., no seat belt in use Katherine Connell, 70, Steamboat Springs, no seat belt in use Warren Martin, 49, Boulder, no seat belt in use

SHERIFF

Continued from Page 2A Dominiqueca Riley, 27, Colorado Springs, speeding 85 in a 65 MPH zone Marie Silva, 75, Lakewood, speeding 84 in a 65 MPH zone George Groom, 46, Moffat, failed to dim lights when approaching another vehicle Teresa Daniels, 60, Denver, no seat belt in use Jess Adams, 20, Highlands Ranch,

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

FSA county committee BARKL Continued from Page 1A hoped would be their new nominations launch June 15 they home site. Jackman told Larson

WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages America’s farmers and ranchers to nominate candidates to lead, serve and represent their community on their local county committee. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept nominations for county committee members beginning Friday, June 15.

Producers across the country are already serving on committees where they play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of FSA, making important decisions on programs dealing with disaster and conservation, emergencies, commodity price loan support, county office employment and other agricultural issues.

“Our county committees make decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally to best serve the needs of agriculture in their community,” said Acting FSA Administrator Steve Peterson.

“We strongly encourage all eligible producers to visit their local FSA office today to find out how to get involved in their county’s election.

There’s an increasing need for representation from underserved producers, which includes beginning, women and other minority farmers

and ranchers.”

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated farmers and ranchers serve on FSA county committees, which consist of three to 11 members and meet once a month, or as needed.

Members serve three-year terms.

Producers can nominate themselves or others. Check your local USDA service center to see if your local administrative area is up for election this year. Organizations, including those representing beginning, women and minority producers, may also nominate candidates to better serve their communities. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, producers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program and reside in the area where the election is being held.

To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA-669A nomination form.

The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/ elections. All nomination forms for the 2018 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2018. Visit farmers.gov for more information.

Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 5.

Read more to learn about important election dates.

he would never have purchased the 35-acre parcel if he had known a grow would be allowed on the adjoining property.

Marijuana cultivation applicant Michael Barkl owns the property next to Jackman and Vining-Doyle on Lot 83 Ewing Ranch – 26758 Hammond Avenue. He is the only MED licensee associated with his company, THC Inc. During the meeting Thursday, Jackman raised questions regarding the size of Barkl’s operation as presented on diagrams of the grow.

He also commented there was no septic plan submitted for the 2,000 square foot pre-fab home Barkl plans to build on the site. ViningDoyle noted that Barkl has not filed a business operation plan as required. Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez told Vining-Doyle she would have to request a copy of the business plan from the state.

Jackman’s main complaint was the fact he and Vining-Doyle had planned to establish a daycare center on their property, but childcare facilities must be more than 1,000 feet from any marijuana retail store/grow. “The county is stripping us of our right to do this,” if they approve the grow, Jackman objected.

Barkl did tell the SCPC he has now properly posted notice for the grow on each property corner and Maez confirmed he has updated his SAN LUIS VALLEY— The U.S. and other programs. Additional water contract. Barkl says he will Department of Agriculture (USDA) information is also available online not install electric lines but will has designated seven counties at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov. use diesel generators, enclosed in Colorado as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought.

Agricultural producers in designated counties are eligible for emergency loans and other disaster assistance from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Those counties are: Alamosa, Conejos, Hinsdale, Rio Grande, Archuleta, Gunnison and Mineral Farmers and ranchers in the following contiguous counties in Colorado also qualify for natural disaster assistance. Those counties are: Chaffee, Huerfano, Montrose, Saguache, Costilla, La Plata, Ouray, San Juan, Delta, Mesa and Pitkin Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous counties of Rio Arriba, San Juan and Taos in New Mexico also qualify for natural disaster assistance.

Qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met.

Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration of May 25 to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include: Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and FarmRaised Fish Program; and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these

Counties designated as primary natural disaster areas

PUBLIC NOTICES

Page 11A

to muffle noise, to power the operation. A 20-foot high, 45,000 square foot greenhouse will be erected which will house about 1,800 marijuana plants.

The grow will be surrounded by a chain link fence and GPS surveillance, powered by solar, will be installed. Filters on the greenhouse will prevent any smell escaping to adjoining areas, he said.

After listening to Barkl, Jackman and Vining-Doyle, also after hearing citizen comments, SCPC member Bill McClure motioned to table the decision until an onsite visit could be made and the motion carried.

Barkl irregularities Barkl’s THC Inc. is registered as a non-profit. Under the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Act, control of the nonprofit corporation is under a board of directors. None of these directors were listed on Barkl’s business registration.

A Facebook page appearing to be Barkl’s initially showed he was residing in Hong Kong, but now lists his place of residence as Colorado. Colorado Secretary of State rules require both the authority to transact business in Colorado and a usual place of business in Colorado in order to be appointed as a registered agent.

At present Barkl is using a travelling UPS mailbox on his conditional use application and previously was flying in and out of

Saguache for planning commission meetings.

In his initial correspondence with Mischa and Shiloh to address their concerns about the proposed grow, Barkl included a signature using his South Dakota fireworks company and an South Dakota area code. Tiger Tooth Fireworks LLC is not registered to do business in Colorado. His Facebook page documents his plans for this business in 2018 in S.D. Other grow application decisions • The conditional use permit modification sought by GHG LLC, owned by Diane Dunlap was granted and will be reviewed by commissioners June 19. Four additional temporary hoop houses will be constructed on the site if approved.

• A conditional use permit for Summitt Resources, LLC, owned

by Whitney Justice and operated by the applicant, Otocanna, LLC, was approved and referred to commissioners for final approval June 19.

• Conditional use requests for landowner and applicant Jinfeng Liang, JFD, LLC; also Zhuoyu Ling, landowner/Golden Leaf MIP, LLC, for marijuana cultivation areas on 61997 and 61995 Co. Rd. G (respectively) were tabled until property boundaries can be reassessed.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Volume 117, Number 27

Shorts

Conservation district accepting funding requests

CENTER— Center Conservation District received a grant from USFS for funding a cost-share program for Saguache County residents.

Funding requests will be accepted until Sept. 14. These funds are being offered to local landowners to be used for noxious weed control projects. The amount of funding will depend on the number of requests received.

Funding assistance is available for agriculture property and nonagriculture property within the Center Conservation District boundaries.

Anyone interested in applying for Cost-Share Funding should call Brenda Anderson, district manager, 754-3400 x104.

Saguache County Sales tax grants now available

Please see second story on Page 4A.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

MED investigating grow applicant

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE— The Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) approved three more marijuana grows last Thursday but the review of the Barkl cultivation in Ewing Estates, tabled at their last meeting until the county could inspect the property, was absent from the list.

County acting administrator and Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez confirmed Thursday that Michael Barkl’s application was removed because he is under investigation by the Marijuana Enforcement Division in Denver.

Several irregularities in Barkl’s

application were brought to the attention of county commissioners by adjacent landowners Shiloh Jackman and Mischa Vining-Doyle.

The couple’s story was broadcast on Channel 7 News in Denver this May.

Barkl irregularities Barkl’s THC Inc. is registered as a non-profit. Under the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Act, one bookkeeper reports, control of the nonprofit corporation is under a board of directors. None of these directors were listed on Barkl’s business registration.

A Facebook page appearing to

be Barkl’s initially showed he was residing in Hong Kong, but now lists his place of residence as Colorado.

Colorado Secretary of State rules require both the authority to transact business in Colorado and a usual place of business in Colorado in order to be appointed as a registered agent.

At present Barkl is using a travelling UPS mailbox on his conditional use application and previously was flying in and out of Saguache (possibly from out of state) for planning commission meetings.

In his initial correspondence with Vining-Doyle and Jackman to address their concerns about the

SAGUACHE— The Saguache Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing at the Saguache County Road and Bridge meeting room located at 305 – 3rd Street, Saguache, Thursday, July 19 at 6 p.m. to consider proposed changes to the Saguache County Land Development Code.

The proposed changes may be viewed after July 2 by contacting the Saguache County Land Use Department – P.O. Box 326, Saguache, CO 81149 or wmaez@ saguachecounty-co.gov, or by calling 719-655-2321. Changes also can be viewed on the county website at www. saguachecounty.net.

Written comments will be accepted until Tuesday, July 17 at 3 p.m. and may be sent to Saguache County Land Use Department at P.O. Box 326, Saguache, CO 81149.

Or email comments to wmaez@ saguachecounty-co.gov.

proposed grow, Barkl included a signature using his South Dakota fireworks company and an South Dakota area code. Tiger Tooth Fireworks LLC is not registered to do business in Colorado. His Facebook page documents his plans for this business in 2018 in South Dakota.

Other grows approved After clearing up some issues with proper recording of documents, conditional use applications were approved for two cultivations — one for Jinfeng Liang, landowner, JFD,

Please see MED on Page 2A

Spring Fire continues to grow, La Garita man hospitalized suspect arrested after shooting

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE—The Saguache County Board of Commissioners will be taking grant applications for Saguache County sales tax grants until 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 10.

To be eligible grant applications must be for either: Emergency Services/Public Health and Safety; Youth and Senior programs, projects, or organizations; or Renewable Energy projects/Business Opportunities and Job Creation.

Grant applications are available online at saguachecounty.net/ administration – see “sales tax grant applicationform5” or contact the Saguache County Administration office at 719-655-2231 to request a copy of the grant application.

Marijuana regulations public hearing July 19

75¢

Courtesy Photo

The Spring Fire continues to devour forest and foliage as it spreads and grows. By Tuesday morning, it had consumed nearly 79,000 acres. See related story on Page 5A.

LA GARITA— An allegedly accidental shooting June 24 sent a La Garita man to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver with a shoulder wound after a friend shot him while the two men were hunting prairie dogs along County Road 41G in La Garita.

According to a report from Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick, Todd Rohr of La Garita was first admitted to Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte and was later airflighted by Eagle Air to St. Anthony’s. Warwick said that when he interviewed Rohr in Del Norte, the man was “certain” the shooting was an accident and did not wish the shooter to be charged requesting he receive education instead. Warwick said Rohr did not appear to be angry about the incident.

Rohr told Sheriff Warwick he was using binoculars to spot prairie dogs in one part of a field and a friend, Gabe Martinez, was hunting prairie dogs in another part of the field when he was shot. According to Martinez’s estimates, Martinez was approximately 70 yards from the prairie dog mound and Rohr was about 140 yards from the mound. Warwick

Please see SHOOTING on Page 2A

Old Cow Town welcomes new owner Limited events planned for public

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE— Last Thursday the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPA) reviewed a conditional use permit (CUP) modification request for the new owner of Old Cow Town, Diane Dunlap, who is planning a series of summer concerts at the resort.

Dunlap and resort manager Pam Fye presented the CUP modification to the SCPC and received approval contingent upon setting up a security plan and presenting documentation

of the resort’s water usage with the Division of Water Resources.

Dunlap said these contingencies will be complete when the CUP modification goes to commissioners July 17.

The businesswoman says she is now in the process of acquiring the property. Dunlap will be the fourth owner of the recreated old western town over the past eight years, but unlike previous owners, says she does not intend to run the resort as a forprofit operation. Instead, she hopes to preserve the quiet country life at the town and allow those wishing to

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

New Old Cow Town owner Diane Dunlap is planning a series of concerts Please see TOWN on Page 3A at the resort.

Page 2A

Center Post-Dispatch

Obituaries

Oma Jean Haynie, 88

SOUTH FORK—Having lived a life overflowing with love, family, work, travel, friends and memories, Oma Jean Haynie passed away peacefully on June 10, 2018.

Born into humble circumstance on April 13, 1930 to James Hardy & Ina Moody Oliver in Monte Vista. She was the youngest of four children.

She married Jerry Haynie on Jan. 21, 1950 in Alamosa.

She accompanied Jerry to Baltimore, MD while he served in the army and then relocated to Bountiful, Utah after his discharge.

She worked at Salt Lake Hardware until they started their family.

Oma and Jerry moved back to Alamosa in 1963 to own and operate Haynie’s Inc (NAPA). OJ had an ingrained sense of hard work and fortitude.

For more than 40 years she worked beside Jerry at their Napa store. Her business acumen was unparalleled. She had a brilliant mind and accomplished more in a day than was humanly possible. Her fingers were ablaze on the typewriter and 10-key. She was not shy to share her opinion and you always knew where you stood with her.

In 1995, she and Jerry moved to South Fork. She loved her flower gardens in the summer and skiing at Wolf Creek in the winter. She was the first to purchase season passes so she could proudly wear the pass numbered 1.

Oma could cook for a small army. Breads, cinnamon rolls, pies and gravy by the gallon were some of her specialties. She traveled the world, but was always anxious to return home to blue skies, clean air, less traffic and her home.

Oma Jean’s home was always immaculate. Beds were made before breakfast; clothes were tirelessly ironed, and the white tornado would always empty the dishwasher before going to bed. She loved her family and supported them tirelessly. She was thrilled to be a grandmother but still taught them that life was happiest when they behaved. She did not like onions, rodents or the song Amazing Grace.

She enjoyed her associations in many civic groups including Order of the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, Rainbow Girls, PEO and Native Daughters. She was an active member of the Methodist Church in Alamosa.

She was a class act in every sense. Oma was always the best dressed in the crowd. Her sense of style was classic. She clicked when she walked in her heels. She got her hair “bent” every week. Remember her the next time you see red lipstick.

Oma is survived by husband, Jerry (South Fork), children Terry and Sharon Haynie (Del Norte); Tammy and Gary Cooper (Roseville, Calif.) and Sam and Blair Haynie (Alamosa); grandchildren Ryan (Tammy) Haynie; Tiffany (Austin) Neilson; Devin (Angela) Haynie; Blake (Erin) Haynie; Ashley (Kevin) Sorensen; Tyler Haynie, as well as 11 great grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life was held Saturday, June 30 at the Rogers Family Mortuary in Alamosa. To leave online condolences for Oma Jean’s family, please visit www.RogersFunerals.com

MED

Continued from Page 1A LLC, in La Garita and the other for Zhuoyu Ling, landowner/Golden Leaf MIP, LLC, also in La Garita.

Michael Biggio represented Liang and Ling for both applications.

Biggio explained to the commission that he “is trying to work with people who want to do this [own/operate marijuana cultivations] to steer them in the right direction and walk them through all the compliances.”

Biggio is a former Moffat trustee and facilitator of the questionable Moffat annexation.

Jay LeBlanc of Bonanza asked Biggio if the Chinese couple he is representing are U.S. citizens.

Biggio told LeBlanc they have been fully vetted by the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) and LeBlanc replied, “That doesn’t mean

anything.”

“It should,” Biggio shot back.

“Well it doesn’t,” LeBlanc answered him.

Questions have been raised regarding MED’s oversight of applicants, verification of character and full background vetting.

Both Washington and California are experiencing problems with government agencies and interactions with marijuana applicants.

The third conditional use permit for marijuana cultivation approved was Cole’s Colorado Cannabis, owned by Phillip Tiu of California.

The grow is part of a trout farm operation that hopes to use fish waste as a fertilizer and has plans to create organic compost for marijuana grows.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Windstorm closes courthouse

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE —Afreak windstorm Friday scattered branches across the Saguache County Courthouse lawn and when a tree trimmer came to assess the situation, he detected a tree on the courthouse’s north side about to topple.

The trimmer said he could hear the tree cracking and could not predict when it might fall.

County officials closed the courthouse at 3 p.m. Friday until the tree trimming company could address the problem. Trimmers came Saturday to slice off the top of the tree.

The courthouse reopened Monday and trimmers came to finish the job, denuding the tree of its branches and then removing it.

Trimmers reported the tree was about 125 feet high and had two tops, making it more dangerous.

“I will miss that tree because we used to watch the squirrels play in it,” County Treasurer Connie Trujillo said Monday. Trujillo’s office is just opposite of where the tree once stood.

A similar storm in Center two weeks ago brought down trees there as well, Trujillo reported.

Tree trimmers finish removing branches from a tree outside the Saguache Courthouse that was damaged Friday in a freakish windstorm.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Sheriff’s Report

The following records were Arrests of a restraining order, domestic provided by the Saguache Diante Method, 32, Moffat, violence, harassment Sheriff’s Office for the week of failure to appear Leon Bernal, 46, Center, failure June 25-July 2 Omar Prieto, 18, Center, violation to appear

SHOOTING Continued from Page 1A

calculated the two men were about 250-300 yards apart.

While at Rio Grande Hospital, Warwick said, he also spoke to a Tracy Victor Martinez (Vic), father of Gabe Martinez. Martinez provided a rough map of the area showing Rohr was about 300 yards from his home and Martinez was about 200 yards from his home when the shooting occurred.

Gabe Martinez told Warwick he and Rohr were shooting at the same prairie dog mound when he heard a shot. He thinks he shot twice with his 223 AR 15 style Sig Sauer before he heard Rohr yell and realized he and Rohr were shooting “crossways towards one another.” Rohr told Warwick he believes he heard three rounds shot off, with the third round hitting him in the shoulder. He thought he saw Martinez coming to him from a different filed.

On reaching Rohr, Martinez said he found him prone behind a hill, bleeding from his right shoulder.

Rohr said he had to calm Martinez,

instructing him to take off his shirt and apply it to the wound as a compression bandage. Martinez then took him to the hospital in his truck.

Warwick later contacted Rohr’s girlfriend, Kimberly Specht, who said Rohr was scheduled to be released from the hospital June 26. Doctors told him the shoulder is in bad shape and bullet fragments could not be removed surgically because they were too small, she said. Doctors also told Rohr, however, the shoulder would heal given time.

Warwick also received a call from the previous owner of Rohr’s property, Zack Seal, who told the sheriff he had issues with the Martinez’s shooting practices, had approached them about it, and they would not cooperate. Because of the potential dangers, he sold his home.

Specht told Warwick she had heard this was not the first time Gabe had issues with firearms and she did not feel education versus charges was a wise choice. She and Rohr planned

to discuss the matter further when he returned home, she added.

Warwick said he is waiting for records from Rio Grande Hospital and St. Anthony’s Hospital to finalize his report. Charges in the case have not been ruled out.

719-628-2015 139 Adams • Monte Vista www.vali3theater.org

July 6-8

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Fri. & Sat. 7 p.m.

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Opinion

Page 4A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Spring fire arsonist part of new counterculture As fires rage on all sides of the San Luis Valley, the recent Spring Fire may just be a mirror image of what ails Saguache County and other counties directly or indirectly promoting the migration of illegals and other less than desirable characters to relocate to the Valley.

Suspected arsonist Jesper Joergenson, 52, accused of starting the Spring Fire, is a perfect example of the cancer that silently hides deep in the guts of America. A citizen of Denmark, Joergenson may have been here legally in the beginning but is now classified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “a deportable alien.”

The Costilla County Sheriff’s Office, aided by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, State arson investigators, Colorado State Patrol and ICE agents arrested Joergenson last week. In a recent news release, law enforcement authorities explain they cannot elaborate on Joergenson’s information and background because they are engaged in an active investigation.

A visit to his Facebook page provides an instant understanding of what might have prompted this man to destroy one of the most scenic areas in southern Colorado.

Joergenson is a self-proclaimed anarchist/revolutionary. He lists his residence as Fort Garland and describes himself as an underground miner and part-time musician. He appears to have been in this country since 1997 but his VISA has expired, KDVR in Denver reported Monday.

Joergenson also is a marijuana proponent, an anti-Semite and a gun enthusiast. One of the posters on his Facebook page reads: “If you don’t like cannabis I don’t like you.”

His sentiment is more common to cannabis users than most care to admit.

Some of the photos on his Facebook page show Joergenson smoking what appears to be a marijuana cigarette and tin cans on a string he describes as gun targets, but also designates as possible candidates for tripwires.

Since Joergenson is here illegally, he should not have been able to pass a background check for any weapons he might possess. At least not recently, anyway.

My Two Cents

By TERESA BENNS

Like many other illegal aliens, Joergenson expresses a hatred for capitalism and really for any kind of government whatsoever. He dares others to adopt his own views. He uses America to shelter from what he reports was mistreatment in his own country but appears to hate America as much as his native Denmark.

How many more Joergensons are out there on their own little mission of malicious mischief and mayhem?

Americans would probably shudder if they knew the exact number. And each day our borders remain undefended, the risk of admitting dangerous operatives into this country increases.

Not even appreciated is the fact that many who come to grow marijuana here have been identified as citizens of other nations, or operating their businesses as a foreign interest.

Although reportedly a former rifleman in his country’s national guard and a gun owner, Joergenson’s weapon of choice was not a firearm.

And although his alleged arson has not (yet) cost lives, he is guilty all the same of emotional and financial terrorism.

While he claims to have started the fire accidentally and burned himself in the process of trying to put it out, he also admits to making hash oil. Was he high when he tried to extinguish the fire? We may never know.

But the constitutional rights of the people whose homes burned surely outweigh Joergenson’s “right” to alter his state of consciousness, or violate the law by failing to comply with citizenship requirements.

Letters Policy

Letters are welcome and encouraged. They should be fewer than 300 words, and they are subject to editing for length and clarity. All letters must be signed by the author and include a phone number and address where the author can be reached (these are not for publication). We will accept one letter per person, per subject, per four issues. We reserve the right to reject letters for reasons we believe are appropriate. Please send letters to Letter to the Editor c/o Valley Publishing, PO Box 607, Monte Vista, CO 81144 or e-mail to: MonteVistaNews@gmail.com (Attention: Letter to the Editor). Deadline for letters is 5 p.m. Friday.

Letters to the Editor Thank you for vote of confidence Dear Editor, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank each and every person who took time out

of their day to vote in the Primary Your vote of confidence does not Election last week. I feel very go unnoticed and is very much humbled and blessed to be serving appreciated. you as Saguache County treasurer.

Connie Trujillo, Center

The title of this column is an old saying about bribing folks to do your bidding. Or, what we call today, “lobbying.”

It seems long gone are the days of President Harry Truman when he said, “An honest public servant can’t become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service.”

It’s a sad state of affairs that too many nationally elected officials use their elected position to line their own coffers at our expense and something needs to be done about it. But unless someone comes up with a plan I fear it will just go on forever.

Having lived in CLOSE proximity to Miss Trixie now for some five long years, I have had the opportunity to bump into her about 43,000 times a day. Even passing in the hall in our RV lifestyle requires finesse and every activity is seen by both parties, both good and bad.

Watching television, reading, playing the guitar and taking a shower is a group event, almost. So if you are of the shy nature it’s best to remain in your house where you are safe from public scrutiny and not launch yourself into the mobile lifestyle.

Some have referred it to living in a sardine can but those are actually bigger and would be a welcome respite from these actual living conditions. When it became clear that Ol’ Dutch and Miss Trixie would be cohabbing, he did the smart thing and purchased about the

biggest RV on the market at the time.

So off I went and came home with the current 37 foot model. It’s nice no doubt and a person can get by but you best pick someone as loving and easygoing as Ol’Dutch if you are going to survive the experience.

But, back to our trials and tribulations.

Lately Miss Trixie has embarked on a mission to use this super purple degreaser on everything from dishes to appliances to food, I think. She found this along her travels and swears by it.

All I know is that even Cooper runs when she gets the bottle out fearing a treatment of the colorful solution.

Mostly it gets used after Miss Trixie cooks and Ol’ Dutch is eating his food in the recliner. About three bites into the meal and a biting odor comes wafting across the room and settles on the food he is eating.

Now I don’t generally mind a good dose of Clorox as it tends to keep a body naturally clean but this stuff is like acid to the soul. A purple haze of hazardous wastes settles across my deer steak and gets ingested with the food.

Ever since I was exposed to anhydrous ammonia at work Ol’ Dutch has been a tad touchy about chemical smells but has tried to be loving and not say anything to Miss Trixie since she does fix my food without complaint. And everyone knows you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

But of late I have noticed that I cannot

Grease my palms

THE CENTER POST-DISPATCH (USPS 775-900) Published weekly (every Thursday) by Valley Publishing. (719) 852-3531 at 835 First Ave., Monte Vista, Colorado 81144-1423. Official newspaper of the Town of Center, and a legal newspaper in Saguache County.

Box 607, Monte Vista, Colo. 81144 Main office, Want ads and Subscriptions: (719) 852-3531 Periodical postage paid at Monte Vista, Colo., 81144 POSTMASTER: Send change of address to P.O. Box 607, Monte Vista, Colo. 81144 Subscriptions: $34.75 one year in San Luis Valley; $46.75 elsewhere. Out of Valley First Class Mailing $115.00 one year. Seniors receive 10 percent discount on in county subscriptions only. (719) 852-3531

News Media Corporation website: http://www.newsmediacorporation.com

Jennifer Alonzo ....................... Publisher Ruthann Johnson .Monte Vista Reporter Teresa Benns .............. Center Reporter Lyndsie Ferrell ........................................

South Fork/Creede Reporter Sylvia Lobato .........................................

Conejos County Reporter Cheslea McNerney-Martinez ..................

Advertising Sales Associate

Trout Republic

by Kevin Kirkpatrick

get too far from the camper after eating as the degreaser is doing a number on my gut and cleans me out like Bob from Roto Rooter down the street. It’s not all bad as people these days seem to be fixated on their inner workings more and more but being unable to leave the facilities is cutting into my fishing time and that cannot happen.

Miss Trixie has refrained ever since from spraying at least during dinner but Ol’ Dutch got to thinking that maybe I will send her to Washington and let her degrease those palms up there and save us all a lot of trouble.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily.

His email is Kevin@TroutRepublic. com. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.

Shasta Quintana .................. Circulation Ellie Bone ..........................Composition April Welch ........................... Classified Vernon Trujillo ...... Production Foreman

www.centerpostdispatch.com

Page 4A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Opinion

The neglected template for marijuana regulations It is amazing what a stiff set of regulations can do to keep out unwanted development and how loosely written regulations can invite in all manner of exceptions and excesses.

The case in point here is the vast difference in Saguache County’s handling of oil and gas development and its creation and modification of marijuana regulations.

When Saguache County officials set out over a decade ago to regulate oil and gas development in the county, plenty of people were up in arms about the damage such proposed development could cause to the aquifer, surface water, wildlife habitat, wetlands, the environment in general, air quality, properties bordering the developments, and reclamation of land following the end of drilling.

There is an entire section on visual impacts, with detailed instructions on how drilling operations must not impede property owners’ views.

There are separate sections on water and air quality, wildlife habitat, negative impacts to existing resources (recreational, historic and cultural, economic and agricultural) and a long section on public health, safety and welfare.

There is another long section on performance bonds and emergency response bonds, also liability insurance. Neither emergency response bonds or liability insurance is mentioned in the marijuana regulations or in the proposed revisions to those regulations, Fortunately the Oil and Gas Commission had laid the groundwork for much of this oversight, over many years, but there is no similar organization with decades of experience and research under its belt to regulate marijuana.

It is in these regulations that we find mention of public hearings and how they are to be conducted. And low and behold, attached to the oil and gas regulations is a separate sevenpage document entitled the Surface Owner Bill of Rights, summarizing the rights of owners as laid out in the regulations.

It is true that oil and gas development poses a much greater threat to health and safety, given the volatile nature of gases as the products and by-products of such development. And of course fracking, especially, can pollute water sources. But at least these dangers are known and acknowledged. Not

My Two Cents

By TERESA BENNS

so with marijuana and its impact on water and soil.

B e c a u s e t h e c o u n t y ’s o i l and gas regulations are tightly structured, there have been few if any applicants to set up shop in the county. The perception of officials was that such development was unwelcome by residents and they acted accordingly. So what happened with marijuana?

Well money, for one thing, and a general perception of cannabis acceptance by all those who were not rural residential property owners impacted by a grow. But as a number of citizens have tried to explain to commissioners, many of those Saguache County residents voting for the “constitutional right” to grow marijuana had no idea what they were really voting for. Certainly it was not the unrestricted right to plop a grow down in everyone’s backyard, or introduce criminal elements into the community.

Saguache County oil and gas regulations run to 45 pages; there are only nine pages of marijuana regulations. Even though the county’s master plan, which it is obliged to follow, suggests the creation of a landowner’s bill of rights, such a bill has never been written. And certainly there is no landowners bill of rights attached to the marijuana code or proposed revisions to the code.

Had the county handled marijuana sales and cultivation as it did the oil and gas regulations, county residents would have been spared the infringement on their property rights.

In the end, if such a bill of rights is not attached to the marijuana regulations, all the other suggested revisions are just so many bread sops cast to the restless crowds.

Letters Policy

Letters are welcome and encouraged. They should be fewer than 300 words, and they are subject to editing for length and clarity. All letters must be signed by the author and include a phone number and address where the author can be reached (these are not for publication). We will accept one letter per person, per subject, per four issues. We reserve the right to reject letters for reasons we believe are appropriate. Please send letters to Letter to the Editor c/o Valley Publishing, PO Box 607, Monte Vista, CO 81144 or e-mail to: MonteVistaNews@gmail.com (Attention: Letter to the Editor). Deadline for letters is 5 p.m. Friday.

Letters to the Editor

Chamber thanks Taste of the Valley sponsors Dear Editor, The First Annual Taste of the San Luis Valley was a superb success.

Food, music, brews, ice cream, pastries, shopping, and sunshine. The sunshine we will credit to a higher power.

For all the rest, it could not have been accomplished without great sponsors and great help from many individuals who stepped up to help. Our sponsors include: Rio Grande Tourism Board, Brown’s Septic Service, Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, Absolute Shine Auto Body & Paint, First Southwest Bank, Rio Grande Savings

and Loan, SLV Federal Bank, WilburEllis Co., Brian Roberts Dentistry, Hampton Inn, SLV REC – Ciello, B & C Electric, Inc, Colorado Army National Guard, Master Print & Web Design, MDS Waste & Recycling, Mountain View Restaurant, San Luis Valley Antique Iron Club, Sandhill Inn & Suites and Waste Management We especially want to acknowledge the City of Monte Vista for providing staff, equipment, and preparation for this event: Rob, John, Lowell, Vic; thanks for your extra effort! It didn’t go un-noticed.

Thanks also to the Monte Vista

Kiwanis who just showed up and started helping with ticket sales. Rio Grande Youth Prevention Council kids: Lesli, Alycia, Lydia and Mayah – thank you for helping set up the event.

Finally a special thanks to two fine young ladies— Dakota and Lauren for setting things up, selling tickets and taking things down and for helping Dad get home when his back would not!

The Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce is proud of all of you and grateful for your amazing support!

Linda Burnett, Monte Vista Chamber President

Patients should come with instructions

A recent study conducted by the healthcare industry shows an alarming trend in America’s operating rooms. According to the study, reports of “wrong-site surgery” are on the rise.

To clarify, “wrong-site surgery” occurs when a doctor operates on, say...

Your brain.

When he was supposed to operate on, say...

Your big toe.

Or someone else.

Or even someone else’s big toe.

That’s right; in a few cases, doctors have even operated on the wrong patient. However, the report strongly emphasizes that this is very rare and only occurred when doctors didn’t have the right patient to begin with: “Let’s see, according to this chart,

THE MINERAL COUNTY MINER (USPS 105-170) Published weekly (every Thursday) by Valley Publishing. (719) 852-3531 at 835 First Ave., Monte Vista, Colorado 81144-1423.

Founded Aug. 21, 1975, by Beverly and Steve O’Rourke incorporating the Creede Candle Box 607, Monte Vista, Colo. 81144 Main office, Want ads and Subscriptions: (719) 852-3531 Periodical postage paid at Monte Vista, Colo., 81144 POSTMASTER: Send change of address to P.O. Box 607, Monte Vista, Colo. 81144 Subscriptions: $34.75 one year in San Luis Valley; $46.75 elsewhere. Out of Valley First Class Mailing $115.00 one year. Seniors receive 10 percent discount on in county subscriptions only. (719) 852-3531 News Media Corporation website: http://www.newsmediacorporation.com

Mrs. Freemont is 68-years-old and is here for a triple by-pass. Nurse, please shave away that thick hair on her chest, right below her Hell’s Angels tattoo.”

“Doctor, are you sure this is the right patient?”

“Absolutely, it says so right here on her chart.”

“But this patient looks like a man.”

“To the untrained eye, perhaps.

But if you’ll lift up her hospital gown you’ll see ... HOLY COW!” “What is it, doctor?!”

“This is going to be more complicated than I thought...”

By Ned Hickson The organization that conducted the study, which was headed up by Dr. Dennis O’Leary, says there are are busy, and people are being put to a number of reasons “wrong-site sleep before there is an opportunity to surgery” has increased in recent years.

According to Dr. O’Leary, “Doctors Please see SURGERY on Page 10A

Jennifer Alonzo ....................... Publisher Ruthann Johnson .Monte Vista Reporter Teresa Benns .............. Center Reporter Lyndsie Ferrell ........................................

South Fork/Creede Reporter Sylvia Lobato .........................................

Conejos County Reporter Cheslea McNerney-Martinez ..................

Advertising Sales Associate

Shasta Quintana .................. Circulation Ellie Bone ..........................Composition April Welch ........................... Classified Vernon Trujillo ...... Production Foreman

www.mineralcountyminer.com

Volume 117, Number 30

Shorts VFA meets Saturday, July 28

MONTE VISTA — The regular VFA meeting will be held this Saturday at the home of Wanda Couzens-Smith starting at 1 p.m. Bring your projects and come and enjoy. Bring a project, ideas, questions and a friend. Do remember that Monte Vista will be busy that afternoon with a lot of traffic, etc. due to Stampede activities. Call or email Wanda for directions, questions, etc. at 719-852-5000; cell, 719-5804976 or wcouzenssmith@gmail.com.

Moffat School registration July 30-Aug. 9

MOFFAT — Parents are invited to come to Moffat School anytime between July 30-Aug. 9, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., to register their children for school.

Registration forms can be completed online at https://www.moffatschools. org/Page/357 Email completed forms to mzeck@moffatschools.org Moffat Schools offers an industrial arts program, full-day kindergarten, full-day preschool, free, nutritious breakfasts and lunches for students, art, music and physical education for all students.

Stampede Parade traffic reminder

MONTEVISTA—Reminder: there is no parking along the parade route on Friday and Saturday mornings in Monte Vista. Highway 160 will be closed down to through traffic beginning at 9 a.m. and will not open until after the parade has ended around 11:30 a.m. Expect traffic congestion and delays. There will also be congestion on the detour along Prospect Avenue by the Monte Vista High School. Please do not park along any roadways affected by the parade.

Plan to park farther away and walk.

SCP presents 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland'

SAGUACHE— On one day only, Saturday, Aug. 4 at 4 p.m., the Saguache Community Players will perform “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” at Mountain Valley School. The original version was written by Louis Carroll in the 1880s and has been adopted for the stage by Tim Kelly of Pioneer Drama services.

With a cast of 28 characters, 25 actors from ages six to 76 will portray a wide variety of nonsensical beasts and figures meeting Alice as she makes her way along the paths of Wonderland.

Playing Alice in her first starring role is Haylee Freel, along with Norah Vollertsen as the White Rabbit, Mackenzie Hammel as the Queen of Hearts, Alexis Vollertsen as the Mad Hatter and Ethan Vollertsen as the

Please see ALICE on Page 8A

Thursday July 26, 2018

75¢

Van Zalinge named new Center police chief

By Teresa L. Benns

CENTER — At the Center Town Board meeting July 17, town trustees announced they have completed the selection process for their new police chief, voting to appoint Tristan Van Zalinge to the position. Sgt. Tim Arellano served as interim police chief until the new chief was hired.

Van Zalinge served most recently as a Monte Vista Police Department corporal. He has eight years of experience, working as a police officer in Center, a sheriff’s deputy and later undersheriff in Saguache County, also a sheriff’s deputy in Rio Grande County.

Town Administrator Brian Lujan welcomed Van Zalinge to the town

and said he is looking forward to with a new utility provider, Lujan working with him. reported, choosing Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN), a Water warning not-for-profit wholesale electricity Lujan said Monday that trustees supply organization of NMPP discussed the current water situation Energy. Created in 1981, MEAN at the last meeting, agreeing the provides cost-based power supply, town is under a “water warning.” transmission and related services to This means watering ordinances 69 participating communities in four are not being followed by town states: Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and residents. He estimated residents Wyoming according to the company’s are using approximately 1.2 million website. gallons of water a day. Despite The board voted to sign on with recent rains, the drought continues, MEAN after previously considering weather experts caution, and water Guzman Energy out of Denver. Prior saving measures should continue to the vote, the town received its as well. supplemental electric from Xcel. The switch is expected to save the town New utility provider The town has agreed to sign on Please see CENTER on Page 3A

Tristan Van Zalinge

Jones Oil, Sinclair celebrate 50 years

By Teresa L. Benns

CENTER — Moe and Cindy Jones and staff at Jones Oil celebrated 50 years in the oil and gas business last Thursday and were visited

by Sinclair Oil’s communications division from Denver, to videotape the event.

“We are recognizing Moe and Cindy Jones, owners of Jones Oil Company for their years of service with Sinclair, as they have hit a milestone with 50 years of service with Sinclair Oil Corporation,” Advertising, Communications and Marketing Manager Stephanie Coleman said last Thursday. “Moe and Cindy will receive a 50-year service award recognizing them for the service and dedication to the Sinclair Brand.”

The videotape will be played to peers and wholesale distributors at an awards ceremony later this year. The Jones’ have been invited to Sun Valley Resort as guests of Sinclair for four days of world class entertainment, great speakers and fun-filled activities during their stay at the resort, Coleman said.

Photos by Josiah Benns “Moe and Cindy join a group Moe and Cindy Jones celebrate 50 years in the oil and gas business. of very select list of customers

and Sinclair acknowledges them during this conference held every other year in Sun Valley,” Coleman commented.

The videotape will chronicle the history of the business, related by Moe Jones Tuesday.

Jones parents founded the business in 1968 when Moe was a freshman in college and employed one hired man. Previously his father was a distributor for Rainbow bread and worked for Oriental Oil. Later Moe’s brother joined the business in 1970 after his father was injured in a work-related accident.

When their mother died, his brother ran the business. Moe worked at Safeway and divided time between that job and the business while his former wife kept the books.

In 1992 Moe left Safeway to help run the business full-time.

In 1996 Moe bought out his brother’s share of the business and became the sole owner, “and here we are 50 years later,” Moe said.

About Sinclair Oil Corporation Sinclair is a privately-held Please see JONES on Page 5A

Public hearing held on marijuana regulation changes

By T eresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE — Saguache County Commissioners and a handful of Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) members held a public hearing on proposed marijuana regulation changes Thursday, July 19, with a small crowd attending the hearing.

Participants had a total of three minutes to speak, but each one attending was allowed to speak twice.

According to the ground rules laid down at the beginning of the meeting, only the regulations could be discussed; businesses and individuals could not be discussed.

Courtesy Photo

Bonanza resident Bill Case addresses commissioners during the public hearing held on the proposed changes Please see REGS on Page 11A to the Saguache County marijuana regulations July 19.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

REGS

Continued from Page 1A

Most of the objections brought to the hearing included deviations from existing laws and the granting of variances. Those attending also stressed the importance of extending the current moratorium until adequate enforcement is in place and the variance question is answered by the state. As attendees pointed out, basically, without enforcement, the laws are useless.

A discussion also was held on the performance bond requirement.

Baca Grande property owner Lisa Cyriacks opened with the observation that the proposed regulation changes had not been sent to the Crestone/Baca Planning Commission for review as has been the practice in the past. She asked commissioners and SCPC members to explain why this occurred.

Cyriacks further protested there are numerous conditional use permit (CUP) inconsistencies not addressed by the regulation changes. She also requested that a process be constructed for dealing with violations.

Moffat property owner In an email sent prior to the hearing, Marty Lange of Moffat told Land Use Director Wendi Maez there are still items that have not been addressed in the proposed regulation changes.

“As with the regulations in the past, if new revised regulations (and even the old regulations) are not enforced, they will be useless,” Lange wrote. “If these regulations do not apply to the entire Saguache County, they’re also useless.

How can we have countywide regulations when individual towns can make up their own rules and laws?

Cyriacks also emphasized the need to enforce existing state and county laws already on the books.

Bill Case and one other person said that enforcement started with the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) and the BoCC. In her email to Maez, Lange also noted: “The density issue…was not addressed. There is a new proposed regulation that marijuana grows have to be 2500 feet from each other. That’s still two grows within a mile, so there could be five marijuana operations within a 10mile stretch of road. I believe that’s still too congested. If this remains unchanged, we will still have too many grows in any particular area. I am not opposed to alcohol, but I certainly wouldn’t want five distilleries within 10 miles of my home. The same applies to marijuana grows.

“Placing a cap on the amount of grows in Saguache County, which was not addressed. If we do not place a cap on the amount of grows in Saguache County, we will — once again — experience a huge influx of people coming into our county who care very little about the environment, or for the residents. I am an avid hike and I am disgusted with the amount of trash on the hiking trails that I use.

This was not the case two years ago.

“Marijuana companies should, at the very least, carry liability insurance, which was not addressed.

(I operated two businesses in my lifetime. In both cases, not only did I have to be bonded, I had to carry liability insurance before for my license was issued. With the disastrous Spring Creek fire, which was started by a heavy pot smoker and which is still not fully contained, you would think

that liability insurance would be absolutely mandatory.

“Perhaps marijuana grows cannot get liability insurance because it is not federally legal?

One would think that obtaining liability insurance would be a prerequisite for any company operating in Saguache County.

If another fire disaster is started, we, as residents, have a right to be protected from any damage or loss to our properties.”

Villa Grove property owner Villa Grove property owner Jesse LeBlanc presented the following portions of his longer statement to the county for consideration at the hearing.

“The marijuana regulations (existing and proposed) are useless unless the County ensures that they are fully enforced.

Further, if the County cannot guarantee enforcement, the current moratorium should remain in effect until there is adequate enforcement in place. Lastly, the County needs to enhance the vetting process that it uses for CUP applicants because it cannot depend solely on the State’s vetting process.

“Examples: Two hundred plus illegal cultivations are reportedly in existence in Saguache County.

There has been only one major drug bust in 2017 and one thus far in 2018. At this rate, it will take at least 200 years to clear the ounty of this criminal activity. If the County cannot adequately police illegal (black market) marijuana operations, then how can it be expected to adequately police legal marijuana operations?

“Regarding Article IV-A – Activities of Local Interest (marijuana regulations), the purpose of this regulation is to provide for growth in a manner that protects the characteristics of the community that its citizens’ value. Comment: The County is not following this section of the regulations because it ignores its citizens’ values. The complaints voiced in county meetings include noise, odors, crime, lights, traffic, decreased property values, etc., some of which are clearly against the existing laws.

“Article VIII – Approval Procedure Article VIII (4.2) states: “The Land Use Administrator

will schedule the application for the appropriate Board of Commissioners meeting agenda, and, if necessary, notify adjoining property owners and interested parties by certified return receipt mail.” Comments: Have these requirements ever been done before by the Land Use Administrator? If not, why?

“VIII.4.3 (Existing) - The board of commissioners will consider the application in a regular meeting.

The Board will approve, approve with modifications, or deny the application in a timely manner.

Comment: Why hasn’t this existing requirement been followed by the BoCC? Currently, only the Land Use Administrator has been approving (marijuana plant count) variances.

“Annual CUP Renewals: Will annual CUP renewals be required and if so, will any new regulations apply? This topic was discussed by the SCPC. Most were under the impression that an annual CUP renewal was going to be included in the new regulations. Also, requiring a performance bond for existing cultivations as part of the annual renewal should be required.”

Grower comments Only a few growers chose to speak at the meeting. Those attending reported grower Diane Dunlap had some good points regarding variances.

Cancer survivor Brady Oman spoke about how well the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) inspected his operation. Some attendees found this statement problematic, since no MED license can be found for Oman. Owners require an Associated Key license, managers require a key license, and support staff require a Support license. Ground rules prevented any questioning of Oman on the matter.

Moffat Mayor Patricia Riegel, an unabashed proponent of retail marijuana for her community, also spoke out. Those in attendance found her statement difficult to understand and Commission Chair Jason Anderson had to reframe her comments.

Commissioners will discuss the comments at their July 31 meeting and consider the proposed regulations in August.

Page 11A

Clips from the Clerk Reminder to plan ahead

By Saguache County Clerk and Recorder Trish Gilbert

Vehicle Services Transactions Unavailable Aug. 1–5 The State of Colorado is replacing the Colorado State Titling and Registration System (CSTARS), originally installed between 1983 and 1986, with a new system, Colorado DRIVES, which will allow for faster transaction processing, additional online services and better countyto-county integration. The DRIVES system was successfully implemented for driver services on Feb. 21, 2017.

This is a 35-year leap in technology!

After an 18-month project, on Aug. 6, all Colorado title and registration services will be available via the new DRIVES system. In advance of the deployment, services including motor vehicle registration renewal, vehicle titling, International Registration Plan (IRP) and ownership transfers will not be available Aug. 1-5, due to the conversion from the old to the new system.

Colorado driver license services, both in-office and online, will be unavailable Aug. 2-5. State driver license offices will be closed.

Extended wait times in some county motor vehicle offices may occur this summer as employees prepare for and adjust to the new system. The Colorado Division of Motor requests

your patience during this implementation process. As always, we encourage the use of online services, allowing Colorado residents to skip the trip to the DMV entirely.

New services with DRIVES will include the following increased online features: • Improved online vehicle registration renewal • Out of state emissions extension • Emissions waiver application • Generate prior receipts • Duplicate registration receipt request • Two percent rental upload spreadsheet fee estimator • Document uploading • Personalized plate request • Change of address • New registration • Instant emissions uploads from AirCare Colorado • Better county-to-county integration • Faster transaction processing “We apologize for the inconvenience this closure may cause and look forward to providing the state and county employees with a modern, user-friendly system for driver and vehicle services which will allow them to provide Coloradoans with great customer service.”

The DRIVES Team

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Volume 117, Number 31

Shorts

Val Alto Pancake Breakfast Aug. 4

DEL NORTE—Val Alto Study Club of Del Norte invites all to the 41st year of the annual pancake breakfast on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 7 to 9 a.m. at the High Valley Community Center on Columbia Street. Pancakes, sausage and drinks are provided for $6 for adults and $3 for kids. All proceeds are donated back into the community.

This is in conjunction with the many other events for the Covered Wagon Days Festival. For information, call Suzie 719-657-2350.

Free backpacks at Center Schools

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Center superintendent resigns

By Teresa L. Benns

Chris Vance

CENTER — After weeks of rumors, Center Consolidated Schools confirmed Monday that Chris Vance, superintendent of Center Schools for the past two years, has resigned. Vance was placed on paid administrative leave July 6 pending the investigation of “allegations of misconduct” involving a personnel matter.

The letter announcing his administrative leave, signed by school board director Lyn Bogle, advised Vance that while on leave he was not to be on school grounds or attend school-sponsored events without the school board’s permission. Vance also was forbidden to access his district accounts or be in contact with district students, parents or employees.

On Tuesday, Interim Superintendent Lori Cooper released the information regarding Vance’s leave

and resignation in response to a Colorado Open Records Act request. Cooper, who retired in May, was still working part-time for the school when she agreed to act as interim superintendent.

According to various reports from school staff and officials, the matter involving Vance was brought to the attention of the school board in late June by a staff member. This led to a series of executive sessions held on July 5, 10, 17 and 30.

All four executive sessions were announced using the same state statute, with the following language used in the three special meeting notices: “The Board of Education of the Center Consolidated School District 26JT, hereby calls a special meeting …in the middle/high school

Hollyhocks highlight Saguache festival

CENTER— Thanks to a donation from La Puente, Center Schools will be handing out free backpacks Aug. 10 in the Center Schools community room from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. First come, first served.

For those who still need backpacks before school begins, another giveaway will be held Aug. 17.

Preschool open enrollment Aug. 16

SAGUACHE— Mountain Valley RE·1 Preschool Program— a Colorado Shines Level 4 Quality Rated Program— will be holding open enrollment at Mountain Valley School on Aug. 16 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for children ages three to five; children must be three years old on or before Oct. 1, 2018. For more information on enrollment, please contact: Preschool Director, CPP/CCCAP Coordinator Lacy Reed at reedl@valley.k12.co.us or preschool teacher Peggy Williams at williamsp@valley.k12.co.us.

Please see VANCE on Page 11A

Moffat trustee involved in altercation

By Teresa L. Benns

MOFFAT — According to a report from the Saguache Sheriff’s Office, Moffat trustee Tyler Berger was involved in an altercation last week with another man over Berger’s right to ride his four-wheeler on a certain stretch of property.

Undersheriff Jim McCloskey stated in his narrative that he met with Berger at his residence to discuss the incident, which Berger says began when a neighbor came over and asked Berger to stay off her mother’s property. The exchange between the neighbor and Berger became heated, and Tracy Freel, who was camping on adjoining property, came over to see if the woman confronting Berger needed help.

Berger said Freel then challenged him to a fight, so Berger jumped the fence and the two exchanged blows.

Berger claims he had permission to be on the property and the landowner’s daughter said he was trespassing.

McCloskey checked out plat maps and maps provided by the property owner and determined that

Keeping the Dream Alive set for Aug. 11

DEL NORTE— Rio Grande Hospital would like to invite everyone to its 12th Annual “Keeping the Dream Alive – New Beginnings” dinner on Saturday, Aug. 11, benefitting the purchase of equipment for the hospital’s newly constructed additions and renovations. Come enjoy the food, a visual presentation of the new hospital facilities and a lively auction, celebrating the hospital’s incredible upgrades.

Fajita dinner – donated by Ron and Glenda Martinez, Mountain View Restaurant— is served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. followed by a short program and the live auction. The event is held at the Del Norte High School Bus Garage, 1055 French Street in Del Norte. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the door or visit www. riograndehospital.net for additional ticket locations. Contact Rachele Areano at 719-657-4140.

75¢

Photos by Teresa L. Benns

Above: Glorious pink hollyhocks bloom in a yard across from the Saguache Sheriff’s Office in Saguache.

At right: this lovely hollyhock quilt won first place during the hollyhock festival and will be featured on postcards this year.

See more photos on Pages 5A and 7A.

Please see BERGER on Page 2A

Illegal grow numbers down, sheriff says

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHGE— Sheriff Dan Warwick said Monday that illegal grows in Saguache County have actually declined and he says it is possible the public outcry from Saguache County residents against marijuana may have played a role in the reduction.

Warwick denied reports by citizens that raids have been going on across the county for the last two weeks, explaining that citizens may be seeing deputies performing other duties, but not engaging in raids.

“We don’t have as many large, illegal grows as we had last year,” Warwick said. “A lot of them have picked up and left.” In Lazy KV Estates, Warwick pointed out, “There are no longer three and four grows on every block like there was last year.”

After the raid on a grow in the Baca Grande earlier this year, Warwick said the sheriff’s office was ready to go after two other illegal grows but the growers packed up and left in the early morning hours while they were securing a warrant.

“The state and the county are still

in the process of getting the laws to the point where they work better for everybody,” Warwick commented.

“This state has been the guinea pig — we’re setting the precedent for other states, but we’re still reworking it. It’s a learning curve, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

When asked about variances granted by the county for additional medical grow plants above the number allowed by the state, Warwick said he thinks the county is granting variances so caregivers and those receiving care cannot claim they

are not getting enough “medicine” to relieve their pain or that county officials are taking away medicine so are discriminating against them.

The comment period on the proposed marijuana regulations ends Aug. 3. On Thursday, Aug. 9, 9:30 a.m. commissioners will hold a work session to discuss land development code changes with the Saguache County Planning Commission Commissioners will hold a special meeting Monday, Aug.13, at 3 p.m. to adopt new land development code regulations.

Volume 117, Number 33

Shorts BOCC seeks tourism council members

SAGUACHE COUNTY— The Saguache County Board of Commissioners invites interested citizens to apply for an appointment to the Saguache County Tourism Council.

The term is for four years. To express interest – please send a letter describing your interest in the position and any experience or knowledge that specially qualifies you for this appointment.

The letter needs to be addressed to: Saguache County Board of Commissioners, Attn: Tourism Council Appointment - PO Box 100, Saguache, CO 81149 or fax to 719-655-2635 or email to wmaez@ aguachecounty.co-gov.

Letters of interest must be received

by Sept. 28 at p.m.

Please see second story on Page 3A.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

School asks town to partner in CDOT grant

By Teresa L. Benns

CENTER—Center Schools counselor and grant writer Katrina Ruggles asked the Center Town Board Tuesday to partner with Center Schools in applying for a $500,000 Safe Route to School grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

The grant would be used primarily to build sidewalks, crosswalks and install a traffic light on Highway 112.

The town would need to contribute $100,000 in matching funds to the project but this could come in way of in-kind contributions such as

work done by town maintenance/ utility crews and other activities, Ruggles said.

The purpose of the grant is to create safer walking and biking conditions for Center school children and encourage them to walk or bike to school for exercise purposes.

Children in Center are above the national average for the percentage of obese children in the school, Ruggles noted.

The safety improvements are needed according to a survey where 46 percent of parents cited speed and traffic congestion in Center as

a concern.

Ruggles told the board she has been trying to address whole-child health in her work with the school for many years and this is only part of her ongoing efforts. She advised the board there are other grants available to help with obtaining the CDOT grant and offered to help apply for them.

Ruggles told the board she needs a commitment from the town by Oct. 31 Trustee Bill McClure asked what funds the school would be contributing to the project and Ruggles said she thought they would be building one set of sidewalks, but

said she also would speak to Interim Superintendent Lori Cooper to see what else might be done.

McClure motioned to table the matter until it can be determined what the school will contribute. Trustee James Sanchez followed his lead, commenting he couldn’t support it until he knows more. Center Town Administrator Brian Lujan told the board the information they needed to make an informed decision would be collected from the school before the next meeting.

Please see CDOT on Page 12A

Moratorium extended until Aug. 21

By Teresa L. Benns

Saguache County Planning Commission members sought

SAGUACHE COUNTY— The Saguache County Board of Commissioners are seeking a member and alternates from: • Town of Saguache surrounding area alternate • La Garita/Center surrounding area alternate • Town of Center surrounding area alternate • Cotchepta/Sargents surrounding area alternate • Moffat and surrounding area alternate • Hooper and surrounding area alternate Alternates at Large for All of Saguache County The representative must be a property owner or property manager and reside in the area they are interested in representing. Regular member terms are for three years and the alternate terms are for a one year term.

Saguache County Planning Commission meets on the last Thursday of each month in the Road and Bridge meeting room. The planning commission may also have work sessions through out each month to work on the Saguache County Master Plan and different items.

Those interested should send a brief letter of interest stating qualifications and interest to: Saguache County Land Use, P.O. Box 326, Saguache, CO 81149 prior to Friday, Aug. 31.

Anyone with questions should call Wendi Maez at 719-655-2321.

75¢

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

This earlier shot of Russell Lakes shows the water supply at the site prior to the drought. The lakes are still full, but adjacent marshlands are dry this year and the well at the site has been fenced off, owing to water thefts.

Drought, theft affecting Russell Lakes

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE COUNTY— A county resident out walking her dogs discovered last month that one of the Valley’s true natural treasures, Russell Lakes, has been adversely impacted by not only the drought,

but reports of water thefts.

The woman said last year the area was teeming with shallow ponds and random rivulets coursing through the marsh’s thick grasses, but the marsh now seems to be all but dried up, with only the two main lakes remaining.

And the wonderful natural spring water, still running but protected by a wire cage, can no longer be accessed by travelers just wanting a bottle or two to enjoy. A source close to law Please see LAKE on Page 12A

SAGUACHE–At a special meeting Monday, Saguache County Commissioners announced they need more time to fine tune the marijuana regulations before releasing them to the public and extended the marijuana moratorium until Aug. 21, when the final copy of the regulations will be officially released.

Commissioners also said they wished to further review actual changes to the code.

Crestone resident Lisa Cyriacks argued the copy of the current revised regulations, which Commissioner Chair Jason Anderson said has mainly typographical errors commissioners would like to correct, should be released as is to the public. After arguing back and forth with Cyriacks and consulting County Attorney Ben Gibbons, commissioners agreed to post the regulations to the county website sometime before the Aug. 21 meeting.

Posting of minutes for commissioner meetings typically has lagged for as long as two months.

The last posting of minutes currently is for July 3.

Cyriacks went on to express her Please see POT on Page 3A

Alleged kidnapper now in Saguache County Jail

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE – Crestone resident David Freeman, 60, was extradited from Utah Monday and booked into the Saguache County Jail on charges of second-degree kidnapping and enticement of a child. Freeman left the state with a 12-year-old male juvenile June 23, prompting an AMBER alert and nationwide search for the boy.

Freeman is scheduled to appear in Saguache County District Court Aug. 15 for an advisement hearing.

The male juvenile was located with Freeman at a reservoir near

the town of Panguitch, Utah on June 25. According to a Channel 31 KDVR/Denver report, a campground manager near the reservoir, Tom Adams, called law enforcement after a stranger showed up at his office in a pick-up.

The man said he had encountered both Freeman and the juvenile crouched in the dirt and dressed in nothing but sneakers up a nearby dirt road. Adams called the sheriff’s office and Garfield County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Freeman without incident, CBI reported. He was charged with first-degree felony

kidnapping and lewdness.

According to Facebook posts, the boy did odd jobs for Freeman and the boy’s father had requested that Freeman not have contact with his son prior to the alleged abduction.

The boy was later released into his father’s custody.

According to a report from the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office, the boy’s father, James Roe later admitted to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent, interviewing him after his son’s disappearance,

Please see JAIL on Page 2A

David Freeman

Thursday, August 16, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 3A

Medical marijuana grow irregularities questioned

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE COUNTY– Many local residents worried about the negative impact of both legal and illegal marijuana grows on the county’s tourism industry have complained to county officials about lax enforcement of marijuana laws but their concerns seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

As visitors approach Saguache near mile marker 98, they are greeted by what appears to be marijuana grow in full view, tall plants swaying in the breeze. This in addition to marijuanarelated eyesores previously featured in this publication, ranged along Highway 17 and in other locations.

Mention of the grow was made following a commissioners meeting Monday. A drive past the site revealed a suspect site with a greenhouse full of tall plants on the southeast side of U.S. 285, heading east-bound. The site appears to be located along Ewing Road near Keller Road in Moffat.

This grow site can be seen to consist of an RV, small section of fence, a shipping container, a black plastic storage tank (water?) and the greenhouse. The Marijuana Enforcement Division database does not list this location. The state’s hemp database has no listing for the grow

either.

When contacted by a concerned citizen regarding the grow, County Administrator/Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez wrote Tuesday: “The location… is an approved medical marijuana variance location for a plant count of 75 plants.

“Tags have been delivered by the code enforcement officer. I will direct James Knight or Wayne Clark to go by and inspect the location again.

“Saguache County chose not to go with HB 17-1220, 12/24 plant count as was our choice, therefore Saguache County does allow, at this time, for a variance for more than 24 medical plants to be allowed on a parcel.”

Citizen comments returned to Maez regarding the grow included the following observations: Article IV – Activities of Local Interest – Marijuana Regulations IV-A.4 – Medical Marijuana IV-A.4.4 – The growing, cultivation and processing of medical marijuana shall not be perceptible from the exterior of the primary residence or structure, including but not limited to: Common visual observation Comment: The greenhouse and the plants inside can be easily seen from US-285.

IV-A.4.4 – Enclosed Locked Structure allows for a structure that: • Does not allow for the visibility of the interior from the outside • Is secured for safety • Is completely surrounded on all sides by a wall or fence Comments: Again, the greenhouse interior can be easily seen from U.S. 285. The greenhouse is not surrounded by a wall or fence.

IV-A.4.5 – No person may engage in Marijuana production in a manner that adversely affects the health or safety of the nearby property owner including, but not limited to: • Having visibility of plants from the exterior of the structure(s) or any other common visual observation, including any form of signage Comments: Again, the greenhouse interior can be easily seem from US-285

Courtesy Photo

A drive past the site revealed a suspect site with a greenhouse full of tall plants on the southeast side of U.S. 285, heading east-bound.

VIII.4 – Approval Procedure VIII.4.2 – The Land Use Administrator will schedule the application for the appropriate Board of Commissioners meeting agenda, and, if necessary, notify adjoining

property owners and interested parties meeting nor have any been approves, approved with modification or denied by certified return receipt mail. by the BoCC. This can be easily V I I I . 4 . 3 - T h e B o a r d o f verified by a review of the 2016, 2017 Commissioners will consider the and 2018 BoCC meeting minutes that application in a regular meeting. The are available online.

Board will approve, approve with Article XIV – Construction modifications, or deny the application Permit in a timely manner.

XIV.8.6.2 – Any Recreational Comment: Historically, only the land use administrator has been Vehicle or Vehicle to be used as a approving extended marijuana permanent residence shall follow all plant count variances. There has mobile home regulations.

Comment: Does the RV used not been any recent variances (for an extended plant count) in which as the residence on this property the adjoining property owners were meet the county’s permitting notified. Further, no recent plant count requirements (sewerage, water, variances were reviewed in a regular etc.)? Is the adjacent shipping Board of Commissioner’s (BoCC) container permitted?

SCPC member Bill McClure dismissed those protesting pot cultivation and sales as “teabaggers,” maintaining they are not people “who have been here a long time.

They are the same ones [spreading] the same misinformation.”

“Just because they don’t come to meetings doesn’t mean they are not opposed,” SCPC alternate Daniel Davis told McClure.

SCPC members Lyn Thompson and Jeff Shook complained that the conditional land use permit

regulations are “different” for marijuana cultivators because it requires growers build a residence on the property in order to grow.

Those attending seemed to favor modification of the residence rule, perhaps replacing it with a requirement that an office be built.

Variances were urged for those with PTSD who are extracting marijuana juice and need a higher plant count to treat their condition.

Boundaries between neighboring

Article VIII – Variances from Regulations

POT

Continued from Page 1A displeasure that the county has not been transparent in its dealings with county residents regarding the changes to the marijuana regulations. She further reminded commissioners the regulations affect everyone in the county.

Commissioners did tell J. LeBlanc that they addressed the variances in the regulations, limiting the recreational plant count to 12 and the plant count for medical card holders to 24 as required by state law. Commissioner J. Anderson did add, however, that cardholders could obtain a variance from the county for the 24 plant limit if they presented it to commissioners during a public meeting.

Regulations revisions work session During a work session to discuss the final revisions to the marijuana/ land use code regulations last T h u r s d a y, S a g u a c h e C o u n t y Commissioners and Saguache

County Planning Commission (SCPC) members met to hash out details of the changes going into the code. Highlights of the meeting are included below.

SCPC member Ellen Cox commented that she feels the public is becoming more educated regarding marijuana sales and cultivation. Where people were adamant in the beginning, she said, they now realize the county is doing the best that it can and is not there to make life miserable for them. Basically she declared progress has been made in the general attitude toward multiple grows in the county.

Mark Swinney, an SCPC alternate, said he was “shocked” at how different the atmosphere was at the public hearing compared to what it had been earlier this year, when large crowds packed the commissioners room and the Road and Bridge building to protest grows in their neighborhoods.

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properties and setback distances were discussed and could possibly be adjusted. School bus stop issues also were reviewed. The general atmosphere in the meeting was that the opposition to marijuana cultivation has died down and the growth rate of applications will naturally slow now that California and other states have legalized pot.

A cap on marijuana applications was suggested by Commissioner Tim Lovato but was not well received.

Page 12A

Center Post-Dispatch

Thursday, August 16, 2018

CDOT

Welcome back

Continued from Page 1A Utility rates In his manager’s report, Lujan told the town they would be holding workshops on rate settings and intergovernmental agreements. He advised the board they would need to decide if the town should take the plunge and decide water and electric rates should go higher or gradually raise rates over a period of time. He reminded the board the current utility rates are much lower than other towns.

McClure took exception to Lujan’s comments, objecting that his words would be published in the newspaper to unnecessarily alarm citizens that they would soon be paying more for utilities, when this has not yet been decided. Trustee Adeline Sanchez said no one believes what they read in

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Center Schools counselor Katrina Ruggles addresses Center Town Board Tuesday.

LAKE

Continued from Page 1A enforcement confirmed last week the spring water most likely is being diverted to marijuana grows.

Both The Denver Post and The Pueblo Chieftain have reported water theft concerns in the Valley regarding marijuana grows since 2015. But local officials seem at a loss to know how to address the thefts, which often cannot be proven because they happen at remote locations or after nightfall.

Division of Water Resources Engineer Craig Cotten spoke to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and also addressed the state legislature about the problem in 2015.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife public information officer for the southwest region, Joe Lewandowski, said Monday the lack of usual water pooling in the area can be attributed to the drought this year. One state official said this year’s drought is worse than the previous drought because there was even less snowfall in the mountains last year and into the spring than previously.

Lewandowski confirmed the water thefts were happening, but said no one has ever been caught, and he doesn’t know who is responsible for stealing the water. He blamed the drought primarily for the aridity at the site, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Russell Lakes background The most extensive bulrush marsh in Colorado, Russell Lakes represents one of the few remaining large, high-altitude, alkaline marshes in the southern Rocky Mountains. This site is an outstanding resting and breeding place for waterfowl.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife and other online reports, the 5,433-acre property is one of the few remaining large, high-altitude, alkaline marshes in the southern Rocky Mountains. The marsh, consisting in a vast maze of springfed shallow lakes, wetlands, dikes and canals supports large numbers of flora and fauna. Created in 1992 by the Colorado Division of Wildlife with the goal of restoring habitat for nesting waterfowl, it is believed to be the most extensive bulrush marsh in Colorado.

The lakes are located just off Hwy 285 about halfway to Saguache from Monte Vista and are bordered by a large grove of cottonwood trees.

The area is a popular birdwatching destination and duck-hunting location.

the paper anyway. McClure also told Lujan that Center has always prided itself on low utility rates, reminding him that there are no executives in the town receiving $100,000/year salaries.

Miscellaneous business •The town is preparing to select new outdoor Christmas decorations • The ditch smell is being studied by the Sanitation District, Idaho Pacific, Canon Potato and the irrigation district. They are hoping to drain the current ditch and run another ditch behind Idaho Pacific once the new addition to the company is completed in November.

• The new veteran’s memorial work is currently being done in Monte Vista.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns

Assistant Principal Andrew Hawkins welcomed students back to Haskin Elementary for the new school year this week.

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Volume 117, Number 34

Shorts

Cancer patients needed for local research

SAN LUIS VALLEY— San Luis Valley Health and Adams State University are seeking cancer patients (survivors and currently diagnosed) to participate in the study of impact of exercise. Please attend an informative session on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the SLVH Education and Conference Center at 1921 Main Street, Alamosa. Call Danielle Smith at 719-480-1355 to RSVP.

Meet the sheriff

CRESTONE— Local residents are invited to a barbecue and meet and greet for Saguache County Sheriff Dan Warwick at the Baca Grande Golf Course from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday,Aug. 25. Sheriff Warwick will be available to answer any questions or addressing any concerns residents may have.

Thursday August 23, 2018

Center police chief wants to engage community

By Teresa L. Benns

CENTER— Newly appointed Center Police Chief Tristan Van Zalinge hopes to bring the community together to help police with tips on crime investigations and form a citizens’ group to provide input from the community.

Van Zalinge plans to conduct field interviews to move drug and burglary investigations forward and create a Citizens’ Advisory Board to better guide and inform law enforcement in Center.

“We want to attract a variety of people [for the board] with different ideas, so we know what is going on,” Van Zalinge said. He also hopes to recruit Center residents to attend Crimestoppers meetings in Monte Vista and encourages all Valley

MONTE VISTA— The Valley Fiber Arts group will meet Saturday, Aug. 25 starting at 1 p.m. at Wanda Couzen-Smith’s home, 757 County Road 29. Bring a project, bring a friend, bring questions and answers and come and enjoy. Joy is bringing the information of new knowledge this month. Those needing directions can call or text Wanda at 719-8525000 or 719-580-4976

Blood drive Saturday in S.F.

Spud Run/Wllk headed to Monte

MONTE VISTA— The Spud Run/ Walk in Monte Vista on Sept. 8, as part of the annual potato festival, is raising funds for a great cause. All of the proceeds will directly benefit juvenile diabetic patients in the San Luis Valley who have the need to travel outside of the Valley for support. To register, please go to www.coloradopotato.org/ potatofestival. The run/walk will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the first 80 participants will receive a free t-shirt. The cost is $20 per person or $25 on the day of the event. For more information, contact Jessica at 852-3322.

residents to become involved in the meetings.

“We need to create a partnership with everyone in the community to help address crime, especially violent crime,” Van Zalinge emphasized. “If you see something, say something.”

He wants the community to know he intends to serve in a fair, impartial, consistent and transparent way. “We have a diverse community to look out for and I will strive to serve with honesty and integrity,” he promised.

Van Zalinge said that since he has become chief, there are still some

Please see CHIEF on Page 2A Center Police Chief Tristan Van Zalinge

Talent displayed at Saguache Art Festival

Valley Fiber Arts meets Aug. 25

SOUTH FORK— Save the date for the Valley-wide blood drive taking place in South Fork, Saturday, Aug. 25 from 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the South Fork Community Building. The drive is open to everyone in the surrounding area from Alamosa to Creede. Please take a few minutes out of your busy Saturday schedule to come and donate. So many lives depend on it! Sign up now at www.bloodhero. com, sponsor code: southfork or contact Karen Miller at 719-873-5466 or mkmillermink@aol.com.

75¢

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE­­— In a two-toone vote Tuesday, Saguache County commissioners approved amendments to the county’s Land Use Code/marijuana regulations but the exact changes to the code were not discussed, highlighted or summarized for consideration.

Commissioner Tim Lovato voted against approving the amended code, telling his fellow commissioners that 90 percent of his constituents were not satisfied with the amendments.

Part one of two

By Teresa L. Benns

CENTER—After counseling Center students for years, school counselor Katrina Ruggles saw a desperate need for more counselors, better programs and greater attention to mental, physical and emotional health for all those attending Center Schools.

Her master’s degree in counseling was not enough to help students successfully overcome all the obstacles they were dealing with – they needed additional tools. So Ruggles set out to find a way to procure funding to afford programs for teen pregnancy prevention, sexual violence in relationships, drug abuse, family violence, academic success, life Photos by Teresa L. Benns skills, career preparation, emotional and Above: Cloisonne art featured at Retro physical health and many other pressing Rugs issues that were keeping Center students from realizing their full potential.

At left: An artist demonstrates lights The first grant she applied for didn’t in a bottle materialize, but she kept applying.

Eventually the money started coming See more photos on Page 7A. in — first a trickle and later in a steady surge. From 2010 the money piled up, until eventually Ruggles was acknowledged for bringing in an amazing $3.5 million dollars in grant funds to the school, over $1 million in He also repeated a request for a cap plant count limits of 12 per residence grants just in the past year. on marijuana grows. for personal medical and caregiver Please see GRANTS on Page 5A Copies of the draft regulations grows and 24 with a variance from posted last week to the county website the county. To grow additional plants, were not annotated to indicate where county commissioners must review changes were inserted. The Land reasons for the need to exceed that Use Code runs to 47 pages with 15 amount and can grant the variance. pages of definitions and the changed While the requirement to bring version of the code would need to a variance before commissioners be compared line by line with the for approval before exceeding previous version to determine what the 24-limit was enforced in the changes were made. Even those amendments, commissioners have involved in the amendment process always been required by the code to were not sure what changes were review variances and approve them approved by commissioners. in a pubic venue.

Most agree the primary changes Commissioner Jason Anderson include the requirement of a $100,000 announced he has spoken to Sheriff closure bond to rehabilitate property Katrina Ruggles once a cultivation business is closed; Please see BOCC on Page 11A

Amended Land Use Code approved Marijuana moratorium lifted

Ruggles racking up grant funds

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 11A

REPORT

Continued from Page 9A from 23.4 points to almost 29 percentage points in students who met or exceeded standards in CMAS math and English language arts tests.

Those gaps have remained relatively unchanged since 2015.

Special Education: Gaps across the elementary and middle school CMAS assessments between students with and without disabilities ranged from about 28 points to 43.8 percentage points.

Poverty: For students who qualify for free and reduced lunch benefits – an indication of poverty – two-digit gaps persisted compared with students who don’t receive the benefits. The most pronounced difference is a 33.6 point gap on the fifth-grade science test.

Gender: Consistent with previous years, females continued to outperform males in English language arts tests with the gap increasing from third grade to eighth grade. An 8-point difference existed between boys and girls on the third grade English language arts test with 44.4 percent of girls meeting or exceeding expectations compared to 36.5 percent of boys. By the eighth grade that difference climbed to a 20-point gap with 54.2 percent of girls meeting or exceeding expectations compared to 34 percent of boys. Conversely, in

the math test, males outperformed females in grades three through seven with gaps ranging from 0.6 percentage points (seventh grade) to 4 percentage points (fourth grade).

However, females outperformed males on the eighth grade math test (3.4 percentage points) as well as on Algebra I (0.2 percentage points) and Geometry (6.8 percentage points).

Participation improves: Participation in the 2018 assessments improved for grades three through 10. The biggest improvement in the CMAS tests was in eighth-grade English language arts, where participation improved by 3.5 percentage points to 88.7 percent participation. Eighth grade math participation also improved by 3.3 points to 89 percent. While participation on the 11th-grade CMAS science test was slightly higher than in 2017, the test had the lowest participation rate with only 61.4 students participating.

In 2018, ninth-graders took the PSAT for the first time with 93.8 percent participation. This is compared to the 76 percent of ninthgraders who took the CMAS ELA test in 2017. A total of 92.7 percent of 10th-graders took the PSAT, compared to 91.9 percent in 2017.

More than 90 percent of 11th-graders

took the SAT in 2018.

Nevertheless, parents and community members should continue to consider participation rates at schools and districts when reviewing test scores. In general, participation rates on CMAS tests tend to be higher in the lower grades. But there can be significant differences across schools and communities.

More continuity in PSAT and SAT, test resources Colorado high school students taking assessments this year had more continuity between the high school exams, with ninth- and 10thgraders taking the PSAT and 11thgraders taking the SAT. Students also had access to free resources through the Khan Academy, including a personalized SAT study plan, interactive questions, guided essay practice, a mobile app for daily practice and the ability to scan and score practice tests. All of these are optional resources that students can voluntarily choose to access.

In addition, students who took the SAT had the opportunity to participate in College Board’s free Student Search Service, which provides students with access to more than 1,700 colleges and universities and

Continued from Page 1A

County administrator The finalists for county administrator have been narrowed down to two candidates, Glen Simpson and David Bitler, who were interviewed for the position during an executive session held at a special meeting Wednesday.

The county is using the following criteria to determine the role a county administrator will play.

An employee in this position is appointed and supervised by the three-member board of county commissioners. The administrator supervises the day-to-day operations of the county government. The administrator is responsible for financial records to include transfers and supplemental appropriations required to maintain the county fiscal compliance with any State and federal laws, planning, developing, and recommending policies and programs for consideration by the county commissioners, as well as implementing, monitoring, and evaluating all county policies,

the median (or score in the middle) student growth percentile. As a point of reference, the state median growth percentile for any grade overall is about 50.

Summary growth results for schools and districts, including the growth of disaggregated groups of students, can be found on The Colorado Growth Model in SchoolView.

Data files with results for all districts and schools in the state are available on the Growth Model Summary Data webpage.

What’s next?

Preliminary performance frameworks for schools and districts are expected to be released within the next few weeks.

Parent resources CDE has created several resources to help parents understand their students’scores and also has translated some of the material into Spanish.

Resources include: Understanding score reports for CMAS tests CMAS sample score reports (also available in Spanish) Frequently asked questions To access the materials for parents and families, visit CDE’s Resources for Parents webpage.

TOP

BOCC

Dan Warwick, and Warwick says he cannot find any illegal grows in the county. Others have complained that the tip line set up to report illegal growing activity goes to a cell phone which is then routed through dispatch at the sheriff’s office. Some citizens maintain the complaints left with dispatch are not relayed to the sheriff to investigate.

Some residents have voiced the belief that illegal growers are tipped off and pack up before law enforcement can even begin an investigation.

Commissioners point to a downturn in marijuana prices when lifting the moratorium Tuesday and did not believe they would be flooded with applications.

But others believe applicants are standing in line.

County Attorney Ben Gibbons, Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez and commissioners discussed a fee structure for criminal violations (misdemeanors) for those cited for exceeding the plant count. The fines for the various violations will be set over the next few weeks. At the judge’s discretion, depending on how many plants are being grown illegally, offenders could spend 90 days in jail.

$180 million every year in scholarship funds. Students also have the option at the time of testing to send their scores to up to four colleges or universities for free.

Growth results Thursday’s release also includes academic growth summary data from the 2018 CMAS assessments in English language arts and math, which provides information on student progress from year-to-year. Looking at growth results in conjunction with the achievement results provides an expanded understanding of a school or district’s performance. The Colorado Department of Education is pleased to be able to release the CMAS growth results at the same time as the achievement results so this broader understanding of performance is available.

A student’s growth percentile (ranging from 1 to 99) indicates how that student’s performance changed over time relative to students with similar score histories on state assessments. For example, a student in the 75 percentile means he or she grew as well or better than 75 percent of his or her peers.

School and district growth rates are determined by the growth percentiles from individual students, specifically

programs and operations once in place. The administrator works closely with elected county officials, representatives of other local governments, state and federal representatives, the media and the public. Because significant involvement in the operation of county departments. The administrator also functions as the county weed coordinator, the county economic development manager, and the county risk manager.

Essential duties and responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• This position is responsible for the general administration of the following county departments: finance, human resources, building & grounds maintenance and housing.

• Oversees the office of county commissioners • Timely preparation of agendas, adequate follow-up on agenda action taken and collecting department reports prior to commissioner’s meetings • Attends to routine details • Provides a status report to commissioners at board of county commissioner meetings.

• Notifies commissioners of critical issues or problems and keeps commissioners current on their status • Investigates and responds to any complaints of discrimination or sexual harassment; handles grievances according to the personnel policy.

• Establishes and/or maintains effective working relationships with departments not under the a d m i n i s t r a t o r ’s i m m e d i a t e supervision. The following are some of these departments: county attorney, county assessor, county treasurer, director of social services, director of nursing services, land use, landfill, library, road and bridge department and sheriff’s department.

• Areas of expertise in which the board expects the county administrator to focus on are as follows: budget, financial controls and reporting, economic trend analysis and capital needs planning, progressive and effective personnel system, public relations program and grant needs, benefits

and policy recommendations.

Supervisory responsibilities • Supervises the personnel in administration, maintenance, housing, and personnel. Supervises, including any departments on an interim basis if so directed by the board of county commissioners • Acts as a resource for department heads and elected officials in their supervising of personnel per state statutes and county policies.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Fiscally responsible • Articulate - effective in written and verbal presentations.

• Strong leadership, having the ability to generate enthusiasm.

• Presence of mind under all situations.

• Tact - ability to mediate.

• Flexible - ability to respond to changing situations.

• Knowledge of public administration, especially the areas of budgeting, personnel, purchasing procedures, office management, and data processing.

• Principles of Colorado law as applicable to Colorado Counties.

• Proven performance in management skills, finance and budget, • Build and maintain public relations including public hearings.

• Experience in data processing is highly desirable.

Education and/or experience Requires three years of increasingly responsible management experience in the public or private sector, preferably at the administrator or assistant administrator level. Equivalent experience will be considered.

Knowledge of governmental accounting and financial reporting is desirable.

Continued from Page 10A against league rival Alamosa on Aug. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

The Thunderbirds also took part in a regional tri last year collecting two wins to advance to the state triangulars. It was at La Veta’s State Tri where the T-Birds ran out of juice.

Sangre de Cristo should see the return of all of last year’s starters and will look to pick up right where they left off. Expect to see the T-Birds climb the rankings before the season is through. In her junior year Jessica Slane was a force for the T-birds in ’17

leading the team in kills and blocks.

Former freshman Avery Palmgren proved invaluable her first year leading the team in total blocks and finishing second on the team in kills.

Also entering their sophomore year Jordyn Cantu and Renae Sinclair led the team in digs and assists respectively.With so much talented youth Sangre de Cristo’s production seems to be cemented for the years to come.

Sangre will open things up on the volleyball court on the road against the Sargent Farmers on Aug. 24 at 5 p.m.

Public Notices

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Summary of Saguache Land Use code changes issued

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE COUNTY— The following summary of Land Use Code changes which resulted in the lifting of the marijuana moratorium last month was submitted by a source close to the Saguache County Planning Commission last week.

The public was allowed to attend the work session where changes to the code were discussed but could not comment on the changes. Changes were made following the work session but were not available to the public for comment prior to submission to commissioners for approval. Public comment was allowed to continue into August following the public hearing July 19.

Copies of the draft regulations posted to the county website were not annotated to indicate where changes were inserted. The Land Use Code runs to 47 pages with 15 pages of definitions and the changed version of the code would need to be compared line by line with the previous version to determine what changes were made. Even those involved in the amendment process were not sure what changes were approved by commissioners until now.

The following changes were made to the code: • The SCPC did not adopt residence requirements for those setting up marijuana cultivations on rural acreage. Some members had

suggested that requiring a residence on site would make the owners more likely to become part of the community.

• Grows need only be 1,000 feet from school bus stops, churches and cemeteries. A distance of 2,500 feet was suggested by some SCPC members.

• As reported earlier, variances for medical plant counts over 24 will be granted. The requirement to bring a variance before commissioners for approval before exceeding the 24-plant limit was already enforced in the amendments and commissioners have always been required by the code Please see LAND on Page 5A

Page 3A

Measure to fully fund Saguache law enforcement on ballot

SAGUACHE — At their regular meeting Sept. 4, Saguache County Commissioners voted to amend a resolution, No. 2018-5 enacted June 18, for the proposal to create a one and one-half percent (1.5 percent) county-wide sales tax increase.

According to the wording of the resolution, the tax would be used for the direct funding of urgent public safety needs regarding Saguache County’s statutory obligations to provide adequate law enforcement operations for the county of Saguache.

Commissioner Ken Anderson motioned to make the amendment and Commissioner Tim Lovato

seconded the motion.

The BoCC then referred the amendment to the ballot measure — designed to change only the ballot title, and not the content of the ballot measure itself, to the clerk and recorder for presentation at the Nov. 6, 2018 election. The change in the title reads: creation of a specific one and one-half percent (1.5 percent) countywide sales tax increase.

Except as specifically amended, the remaining provisions of Resolution No: 2018-5, as recorded on June 20, 2018 and re-recorded on Aug. 8, 2018, remain in full force and effect.

VALLEY

Continued from Page 1A

Valley to Valley’s proposed design for its new center outside Saguache Valley to Valley also serves Nathrop.

Seniors receive personal attention at the center and can enjoy socialization, fun activities, two meals a day, outings and all necessary nursing supervision throughout the day.

The planned respite and day care center in northern Saguache County will offer greater ease of transportation and improved service to seniors and their families, Braden said.

At the Art Walk in Saguache last month, Braden announced that over $800,000 has been raised for the center. She invites county residents to visit her booth at the Fall Festival Saturday, see the floor plan and sign up for assisted living and/or respite care.

“There is work being done on ‘Go Fund Me’ and we also have a letter of excellence from the Better Business Bureau,” Braden said. “I see the hand of God moving in sooooo many directions it is thrilling. Stay tuned for more updates.”

Braden and her fellow colleague Debbie recently renewed their certifications with the state as dementia specialists. All personnel at the new center will have direct training in Alzheimer’s and dementia, teamwork and other necessary training.

Site development According to content posted on the Valley to Valley website, the 10-acre parcel of land donated to ‹V2V› on Highway 285 is located on flat ground with direct highway access.

The community has expressed an urgent need for the facility resulting in a willingness to encourage the project in every practical way at their disposal; including proposed waiver of development fees, accelerated entitlement and permitting, teaming on utilities acquisition and extensions, etc.

It is believed that from an entitlement and permitting standpoint construction at the site could proceed within a very few months. The property will need to be served by a “commercialexempt” water well, an individual

on-site sewage disposal system sized for the contemplated facility or an extension of town’s wastewater system out to the site, electrical power, telecommunications and natural gas utilities, all constructed in accordance with applicable specifications and regulations.

On-site improvements will include grading of the site, extension of utilities to the building itself, excavation for building construction, decorative fencing as desired, seeding and landscaping (only if adequate water resources can be obtained) driveway and parking surfacing as needed and signage.

The basic needs for this 4,000 square-foot respite and assisted living facility will include space to accommodate the following:​ • Entry vestibule (weather seal) • Customer lobby/waiting room • Handicapped accessible toilet & bath facilities • Four assisted living (AL) rooms w/twin bed • Three two-person respite bedrooms w/2 twin bed each • Two patient toilet/bath rooms • Food storage area • Mechanical and storage for maintenance, grounds keeping and gardening tools, supplies, etc.

• Laundry • Staff break and rest space • Library to accommodate both selection and reading activity • Dining room: to comfortably accommodate up to 12 diners, plus serve staff break needs and random access to beverages and snacks.

• Commercial kitchen: Food preparation and serving facilities to suit dining and serving capabilities • Lounge area: will need to accommodate leisure activity such as reading, tv watching, conversation, games activity all with access to outdoor patios. Needs easy access to handicapped accessible toilet facilities • Crafts and exercise room w/ outdoor access • Administrative office All facilities will be ultra-

Courtesy Photo

accessible and user-friendly to all varieties of handicaps throughout, keeping in mind that either customers or caregiver employees may be handicapped in any number of different ways.

Ceilings in lounge area and general-purpose areas will be high to keep the feeling open and airy and to encourage peace of mind, quiet enjoyment and ease of observation

Photo by Teresa Benns

Eve Braden proudly shows the level of funds reached to build the new Valley to Valley Senior Center in Saguache. by caregiver personnel. Lighting will The best way to donate to the be variable to stimulate any variety facility is by mail, Braden said. of circumstances for lounging and Donations can be sent to Valley to relaxation purposes.

Valley, P.O. Box 769, Salida CO 8120.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Center Post-Dispatch

Page 5A

MURDER

Continued from Page 1A

Photo by Teresa Benns

A Colorado Bureau of Investigation crime scene truck was on location Friday at the Lumber Mart in Saguache following a fatal shooting at the business early Friday morning. more round at him. federal task force from Safe Streets. escaped from anywhere but the west Heimberg also said he climbed According to Heimberg’s account, side of the roof, where Heimberg on a trailer to position himself and the shots were fired while Wharton said he was positioned. Two bullet get a better view of the individual. was facing Heimberg. Pre-autopsy casings were found at the scene.

McCloskey said Heimberg did not reports show Wharton was wounded CBI said Heimberg had a clear and move away from Wharton. Once twice, once in the wrist and a second unobstructed view of Wharton from Wharton came over the pitch of the time by another round which entered the trailer where he had positioned roof, Heimberg said he fired at him through the victim’s back. CBI himself to shoot. and saw the victim fall. He then reported that a large quantity of McCloskey said because it was called the Saguache Sheriff’s Office blood drops and smear marks were apparent from the investigation that to request an ambulance be sent to located on the east side of the roof, the Heimberg “continually advanced opposite side from where Heimberg toward the male party,” this provided Photo by Ruthanne Johnson the business.

Wharton was pronounced dead said he was firing. probable cause for the arrest.

Chef Christopher Moore and his son David loved getting their hands at the scene, positioned about three According to the warrantless report Heimberg was charged with seconddirty as they dug up fresh potatoes from CSU’s research farm. to five feet away from the edge detailing CBI’s findings, the east degree murder and posted a $250,000 of the roof. Colorado Bureau of side of the roof is surrounded by a surety bond.

Investigation (CBI) was called in to barbed wire fence, making it difficult His first court appearance in investigate, along with a multi-agency or impossible for Wharton to have Saguache is Sept. 12 at 2 p.m.

Potatoes, extreme sports entertain festival-goers

By Ruthanne Johnson

MONTE VISTA—This year’s Annual San Luis Valley Potato Festival likely broke all attendance records, easily reaching around 1,000 festivalgoers. And from the festivities at Chapman Park to the potato harvest tours and extreme motorsports event, everyone had a blast.

Saturday’s tater fest offered an early morning spud run and lots of goodies to buy from local arts and craft vendors, such as crocheted hats and scarves for the upcoming winter season handcrafted by Del Norte artist Judy Waller. There were foods such as baked potatoes served up by the Monte Vista High School basketball team and perogies fried up by Chef Carrie Baird of “Top Chef” fame as part of a scheduled cooking demonstration under the big tent. And there were entertaining things like human hamster balls and bungee trampolines for the kiddos as well as games like the cornhole toss for adults.

The Colorado PotatoAdministrative Committee (CPAC) organized and hosted the festival.

Later in the evening, elite athletes

from the extreme motorsports company Octane Addictions performed a mixed bag of flips, jumps and other motorcycle tricks for the community at Ski Hi Complex. “The performance lasted about 1-1/2 hours, and we were extremely happy with the attendance,” said CPAC assistant director Linda Weyers.

While vendors and other festival participants were finessing the last setup details for the day, a merry band of potato enthusiasts was whisked away by bus for a harvest tour that first took them to the Colorado State University SLV Research Center just up the road in Center. Tourists on the tour bus hailed from Oregon, Texas, Kansas, Washington, Illinois and even as far as Canada.

A group of about 10 talented chefs from the Colorado Chapter of the American Culinary Federation also attended the tour. Chef Christopher Moore, who whips up fabulous creations for the Colorado Museum of Nature and Science, drove all the way from Denver with his wife and son, David, as did Chef Scott Smith, Please see POTATO on Page 6A

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

LAND

Continued from Page 3A to review variances and approve them in a public venue. Commissioner Tim Lovato was opposed to allowing any variances.

• Growers will have to post a $100,000 closure bond to cover the costs of rehabilitating their property when/if a cultivation business is closed.

• Any businesses, not just marijuana operations, must be bonded before applying to the county for a conditional use permit.

Land Use administrator Wendi Maez said she does not expect any more applications to be submitted to the county for approval until December. According to Maez, only

six of some 30 or more cultivations approved by the county are actually producing and paying excise taxes.

Permits for grows which have not begun construction within one year automatically expire.

Marijuana prices have dropped considerably, and taxes collected have also declined, Maez and others noted.

Volume 117, Number 42

Shorts

Land use office relocating

SAGUACHE— The Saguache County Land Use office will be closed on Thursday, Oct. 18 and Friday, Oct. 19, due to relocating the office. Normal hours will resume on Monday, Oct. 22. The new location for the land use office will be at 505 3rd street, Saguache, starting Monday, Oct. 22.

Peace Education Program set in DN

DEL NORTE— This free PEP program will be presented at Wildwood Sounds, 850 Grande Avenue in Del Norte. It is a mediabased 10 workshop series based on excerpts from Prem Rawat’s international talks. This is a themebased program which is non-religious and non-sectarian. The themes for each workshop are peace, appreciation, inner strength, self-awareness, clarity, understanding, dignity, choice, hope and contentment. Prem Rawat’s message has reached approximately five percent of the world’s population introducing people to the resources within themselves, one person at a time. This will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 23 from 7-8:30 p.m. All are welcome.

Thursday October 18, 2018

Marijuana applicant facing felony charges

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE COUNTY— A marijuana cultivation applicant initially approved by Saguache County officials to grow retail marijuana is facing several felony charges in Jefferson County filed last month by the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED).

Michael Edwin Barkl, 36, who purchased property adjacent to land owned by Shiloh Jackman and Mischa Vining-Doyle in northern Saguache County, already had begun constructing his grow operation without prior approval of the county.

A hold was placed on the cultivation by the Saguache County Planning Commission (SCPC) in May after irregularities were brought to the attention of the SCPC. According to Jefferson County Court records, Barkl’s charges, committed in 2017, initially included attempt to influence a public servant, Felony 4; two charges of forgery of

a public record to a public official, Felony 5; two charges of offering a false instrument for recording, Felony 5, and two misdemeanor one charges for perjury two.

Following an advisement hearing last week, a disposition hearing was set for Nov. 15, 9 a.m. on Felony 4, Felony 5 and Felony 6 charges.

Records of the proceedings did not indicate whether any charges were reduced and did not list the misdemeanor charges or the subject matter of the F6 charges.

Citizens warned the county Jackman and Vining-Doyle believe the decision on Barkl’s application had been tabled by county commissioners in December 2017.

Photo by Teresa L. Benns Minutes from the December meeting show the decision was “postponed.” Mischa Vining-Doyle and Shiloh Jackman address the Saguache County When Vining-Doyle and Jackman Planning Commission about problems with a grow application approved brought the problem to the planning for Michael Barkl earlier this year. Barkl has been charged with several felonies related to their complaints. Lisa Cyriacks is pictured in the Please see CHARGES on Page 10A foreground.

Ute Theatre rising from the ashes...

CREEDE— Appearing for the second time, Hypnotic Comic “Rusty Z” will be at the Creede Community Center on Oct. 27. If you missed him the first time, you don’t want to miss it again. Come one, come all for an evening of fun and laughter!

Tickets are $15 per person. Call 719658-0811 for reservations or email: creedeminingmuseun@hotmail.com.

Cash bar will open at 6:30 p.m., and show starts at 7 p.m.

How's the Weather?

Thursday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. South southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 59.

Calm wind becoming north northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming west northwest after midnight.

Please see WEATHER on Page 12A

Sex offender sentenced to 10 years

By Teresa L. Benns

‘Rusty Z’ headed back to Creede

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57. Calm wind becoming south southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

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File Photo

The Ute Theatre, not open on a regular basis for more than two years, was recently purchased by Crestone resident Heidi Wong who hopes to have the theatre operational again by May of next year.

Saguache theatre to reopen next year

By Teresa L. Benns

SAGUACHE — The historic Ute Theatre in Saguache, once slated for demolition, has been purchased by a Crestone resident who hopes to bring back theatrical performances to the theatre and make it a true working part of the

community once again.

Heidi Wong purchased the theatre earlier this year from former owner Christine Gydeson, who had operated it off and on since May of 2009. Wong says she has been visiting Saguache for a decade and is very fond of the town and appreciates its historical significance.

Saguache Treasurer Mary Morfitt invited Wong to attend the museum’s grand opening on

Memorial Day. Wong accepted her invitation and while walking down 4th Street decided to peek into the theatre.

Gydeson and Virginia Drake, founder of the San Luis Valley Theatre Company, just happened to be inside. They offered her a “flashlight tour” and the possibility of the project “just seized me,” Wong said. She secured a loan and Please see UTE on Page 9A

SAGUACHE— According to a press release from the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office, District Court Judge Barbara Zollars sentenced Daniel Campbell, 47, to 10 years in the department of corrections for a child sexual assault he was arrested for in August 2017.

Campbell pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon causing injury, a Felony 4 offense and reckless/ knowing child abuse with injury, a Misdemeanor 1 offense. He will be required to register as a sex offender as a condition of a plea agreement made with the court.

The crime occurred in Lazy KV Estates. At the time of his arrest, Campbell was charged with menacing, domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault on a child.

Undersheriff James McCloskey was assigned as the investigator for the case. His bail was set at $50,000.

Campbell posted bond for his offense Aug. 7, 2017. While out on bond he was arrested for a DUI in Alamosa in January of 2018. At that time his bond was forfeited by the person who posted it.

Campbell remained in custody until Aug. 19 of this year when he posted bond again. He was set for sentencing in August of this year but did not complete his presentencing requirements. The hearing was reset for Oct. 5.

On the day of sentencing, the juvenile victim was present with her family, who had come from out of state to read the victim impact statement to the court in the presence of the defendant.

Campbell was given credit for

Please see SENTENCE on Page 9A

Page 10A

Center Post-Dispatch

CHARGES

Continued from Page 1A commission (PC) in January, they were told by PC members that although the commission approved the application, they could still appeal to commissioners.

Public comment was limited by commission members at the meeting.

Even though Vining-Doyle objected that there were many irregularities in Barkl’s application and asked that the PC decision be reopened, PC member Bill McClure told her it would be contrary to parliamentary procedure and the case was closed. “How could this application take place when [the growers] were so negligent?”

Vining–Doyle asked the commission.

She was simply told again to take it up with commissioners at the Feb. 20 meeting.

The planning commission explained that when grow applications are brought to them they have no choice but to approve them if they seem in line with county regulations.

McClure said the commission was simply “following the rules.” All the applications are forwarded to the commissioners for review anyway, Lynne Thompson said.

Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez explained that objections made by citizens are used only to modify the plans presented in applications to accommodate neighbors. There is no real way an adjoining property owner can stop a grow if it is presented to the commission in accordance with county (and state) regulations.

When Vining-Doyle and Jackman attended the public meeting held to consider a possible marijuana moratorium in January, they told commissioners they were not allowed to comment at any length at the planning commission hearing Jan. 25, noting, “We were not notified [the marijuana grow would

be going in across from their property] in a timely fashion at all.

The planning commission denied us our right to speak. Land use, the county commissioners and the planning commission are not properly researching these grows.”

Others at the meeting pointed out the many irregularities in many applications, including the fact that Barkl even described his operation as a non-profit.

In late May, the planning commission voted to table the grow until an onsite visit to Barkl’s proposed facility could be conducted.

In July, Acting County Administrator and Land Use Administrator Wendi Maez confirmed that Barkl’s application was removed because he was under investigation by MED. MED notified In a letter sent to the county in January, Jackman/Vining-Doyle provided a detailed list of the very violations Barkl was charged with in September. County residents attending commissioner and planning commission meetings expressed the same concerns. The couple explained their plight as follows: “We came to this area seeking comfort, quiet, beautiful mountain views, fresh clean air and affordable land to build a small sustainable home and hobby farm. We are planning our family carefully and envision raising our children in a safe and healthy environment. When we purchased the lot at 26644 Hammond Ave., we imagined our kids riding their bicycles in a safe, low traffic residential/agricultural area.

“We have already invested a great deal of finances and effort in developing our land to accommodate our future home to be built on our little slice of peace and solitude.

Purchasing this property is the manifestation of years of careful planning and deciding a precise location to settle to achieve our goals and actualize our dream.

Our progress thus far consists of a physical address, driveway, a new water well and we have had a soil engineer evaluate our building site and design a septic treatment system.”

After writing the letter in January, they sent an official complaint to the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) detailing the irregularities in Barkl’s application based on documentation obtained by a private party. Those irregularities included: • Barkl’s THC Inc. is registered as a non-profit. Under the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Act, control of the nonprofit corporation is under a board of directors. None of these directors were listed on Barkl’s business registration.

• A Facebook page appearing to be Barkl’s initially showed he was residing in Hong Kong, but now lists his place of residence as Colorado.

Colorado Secretary of State rules require both the authority to transact business in Colorado and a usual place of business in Colorado in order to be appointed as a registered agent.

• Barkl was using a travelling UPS mailbox on his conditional use application and previously was flying in and out of Saguache for planning commission meetings.

• In his initial correspondence with Mischa and Shiloh to address their concerns about the proposed grow, Barkl included a signature using his South Dakota fireworks company and an South Dakota area code.

Tiger Tooth Fireworks LLC is not registered to do business in Colorado.

His Facebook page documents his plans for this business in 2018 in S.D.

Exercise your right to vote!

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Nominate a special nurse

S A N L U I S VA L L E Y — Nominate a special nurse for the 2019 SLV Nightingale Award.

Think about a nurse who has touched you or your family in a compassionate, caring way. Nurses make an incredible difference in people’s lives every day.

The Colorado Nurses’ Association, District 6, is soliciting nominations for the annual SLV Nightingale Award.

The event will be held at Adams State University on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. Nominations are encouraged by community members and other health care professionals. This event will recognize exceptional nurses

who are working or retired from nursing and who have contributed to the San Luis Valley through leadership, education, clinical care of patients or through community involvement. Registered Nurses may also be eligible for the state wide Nightingale nomination process, sponsored by the Colorado Nurses Foundation on May 10, 2019 in Denver.

Nomination is completed online at https://nightingaleluminary. awardsplatform.com For more information, call Charlotte Ledonne, SLV AHEC, (719) 589-4977. Nominations must be entered online by Friday, Dec. 21.

Saluting Women in Business

National Business Women’s Week

October 22-26, 2018

In honor of National Business Women’s Week, we proudly celebrate the achievements of working women. Throughout history and today, female professionals have contributed greatly to our country’s economic, civic and cultural development. Today, women number 66 million in our nation’s workforce and women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all U.S. businesses. These women are leading CEOs, presidents, vice presidents, accountants and managers in many of our nation’s leading corporations. Join us as we congratulate these business women for all their efforts and continue to promote equality for women in the workplace.

650 Grand Ave., Del Norte • 657-3513 Dr. Angela Campbell, Owner/Pharmacist Lauren Treadwell, Front End Manager/ Purchasing Agent