The Lost Creek Guide March 02, 2022

Volume 15 • Edition 5

March 2, 2022

Delivering to over 12,000 homes & businesses in rural Adams, Morgan, and Weld Counties including all of Fort Lupton 80621 zip code city & rural routes

“Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light” George Washington “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed” Thomas Jefferson

Rancher Running for the State House

by Belen Ward, Fort Lupton Press bward@coloradocommunitymedia.com Gabe Evans said he’s taking five oaths in his life, and he’s ready for another, working for the people of Weld and Adams Counties.

“I’ve worked at the Colorado State Capitol as a legislative aide, and I understand the legislative process. I have extensive experiences to continue effectively serving the citizens of Weld and Adams Counties,” said Evans. I live on a small farm between Brighton and Fort Lupton, I’m a small business owner, raise beef cattle, poultry, and grow variety of fruit and berries from an orchard I planted.”

Evans and Terry Degroot are running for the GOP nomination to fill the Colorado House District 48 seat held by Tonya Van Beber, who is seeking the GOP nomination Gabe Evans running for House District 48 for the Colorado State Senate in District 1.

Evans said he took his first oath when joining the Virginia Army National Guard in 2007, serving two years. Then in 2009, he took his second oath and was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and also in 2009 took his third oath joining the Colorado National Guard for ten years. During this time, he earned his wings to fly the UH60 Black Hawk helicopter.

“I was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2012 to 2013 and promoted twice, achieving the rank of captain,” said Evans.

When Evans returned to Colorado he was deployed to the Rocky Mountains to fight wildfires multiple times and also was in charge of coordinating search and rescue operations.

“After serving as the commanding officer of A-2-135th General Support Aviation Battalion based at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, I decided I needed to spend more time with my wife and two boys. I was honorably discharged in 2019,” said Evans.

While serving in Colorado Army National Guard in 2011 Evans took his fourth oath and became a police officer with the Arvada Police Department. As an officer moving up the ranks Evans took on many assignments working as a patrol officer, part-time school resource officer, field training officer, traffic investigator, accident deconstructionist, patrol sergeant, neighborhood services sergeant, firearms instructor, lead emergency vehicle driving instructor, patrol lieutenant, watch commander, honor guard sergeant and lieutenant, and peer, support sergeant, and lieutenant.

He retired from the police force in January to run for the Colorado State House 48.

“Unfortunately, due to the ruling Democratic war on law enforcement, my officers and I were increasingly handicapped in our ability to care for the community,” said Evans. “I got tired of being powerless to actually help victims of crime.”

Evans also has worked closely with county and state emergency operations centers and partnered with planning, building, urban renewal and economic development departments and has managed several budgets of a million dollars or more.

If elected Evan’s first issues is crime. Evans says Colorado leads the nation in motor vehicle thefts and violent crimes are up in the last four years by 25%. Also, the rates of crimes solved are down by 10%.

“I’d work to undo poorly thought out, knee-jerk legislation from the ruling Democrats at the state capitol,” he said. “The Democrats are driving away good police officers by the hundreds, and the ones who remain have been handicapped by their anti-law enforcement, pro-crime policies,” said Evans.

He said citizens are being victimized by illicit drugs on the streets that are killing the youth. Businesses are losing billions of dollars with retail theft and crimes, he said.

“As a police lieutenant, I know how to fix the criminal justice system and stop criminals, while respecting civil liberties and building positive relationships with the community,” said Evans.

Evans thinks is an excellent idea that co-responders help police on calls with people that have a mental illness.

“A properly trained police officer is still the best resource to de-escalate dangerous situations including those involving mental health issues,” said Evans. “Co-responders are invaluable in their ability to work with law enforcement to provide long-term resources to repeat police clients who suffer from mental health issues,” said Evans.

Evan’s said a large percentage of mental health calls to the police are people who have refused treatments or sought help to manage their mental health disorders.

“Unfortunately, this dynamic means co-responders are dealing with some of the hardest cases in existence. Consequently, co-responders often burn out after six to Rancher Running for the State House continued on page 7...

Agricultural Industry Honors Long Time Rancher from Fort Lupton, Bob Warner for his Lifelong Achievements & Commitment to Agriculture and Conservation

Fort Lupton Rancher, Bob Warner received multiple accolades and recognition from the agricultural community, conservation groups and the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Congratulations, again, to Bob Warner of the Warner Ranch for outstanding service to his community. A model example of what commitment to conservation can be and what you can conduct.

At their January 2022 conference the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association presented Bob Warner and the Warner Ranch with their Outstanding Commercial Livestock Producer Award. The next day the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture, Kate Greenburg, presented Bob with the Conservationist of the Year Rancher Award at the National Western Stock Show. Earlier last year at the State Fair Bob and the Warner Ranch were recognized as a Colorado Centennial Ranch. History Colorado, formerly known as the Colorado Historical Society, & the Colorado Department of Agriculture recognize the key role agriculture has played in the state’s history and economic development. To qualify, families must have owned and run their farm or ranch for over one hundred years, still operate it today as a working farm or ranch and be of at least 160 acres in size.

Bob has been honored over the years with multiple state and national recognition for his active participation in local conservation work for over 49 years and a member of CCA for over 40 years. Bob Warner is an outstanding example, of what being a conservationist is all about as not only does he talk the walk but walks the talk.

Congratulations again to Bob Warner and his many accomplishments in supporting conservation in the county, the state and nationally. Well done!

Colorado State Senator Jerry Sonnenberg Presents Centennial Farm & Ranch Awards

Colorado Cattleman’s Association Honors Bob Warner

Women of Weld Host Multiple Republican Candidates Events – Gubernatorial and Senatorial at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center

The Women of Weld hosted two major events for Republican candidates running to challenge Governor polis and another for those wanting to challenge Senator Michael Bennett. Both events were sold out at a capacity of 175 people. The gubernatorial candidate event was moderated by Dick Wadhams and the senatorial event by George Women of Weld Host Multiple Republican Candidates Events – Gubernatorial and Senatorial at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center continued on page 16...

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WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE

Way of the World Social Media Affects Jerry Sonnenberg’s Thoughts on Nebraska Water Plans Peggy Propst Republican Candidate for Colorado Board of Education Page 8: Universal Free Preschool is Coming Page 10: 22 Years of Drought in Colorado, Rest of Southwest Worse Page 13: Aging Research Key to Balancing the Budget

by Newt Gingrich Page 16: Women of Weld Candidate Event Forum Pictures

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Lost Creek Guide

Way of the World

by Bob Grand, Lost Creek Guide Russia has invaded Ukraine. So much for Vladimir Putin policing action in the two separatist areas of the country. The Ukrainians are showing a spirited defense, but the reality does not look good. But what is the reality? The EU and particularly Germany are showing some backbone. The implementation of SWIFT (international banking information and communication system) curtailments is a real economic shot to the Russians as well as Germany providing military equipment to Ukraine, both of which were not seen coming by the Russians. Putin now is facing a much bigger issue than he expected. How does he get out of it without escalating? I agree with President Biden in that U.S., troops on the ground are not a viable solution as it can lead to nothing less than a nuclear confrontation, which I assume no one really wants. Reminder that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. If a NATO member is attacked, we, the United States, are required to respond. Putin thought he could achieve what he wanted by intimidation. So much for his well laid out plan.

Russia is a major international energy supplier, so a total cut off of its supply system is not practical. But is our current anti-fossil fuel energy policy at the Federal and many state levels practical either? The answer is no. I do not believe anybody will argue that to move away from fossil fuels is a good idea. Overtime, innovative approaches and evolving technologies would lead the path. But we have this “it must be now” mentality that is just nonsensical. Unfortunately, many of the supporters of “this now” philosophy do not face the economic realities of life today. Our federal tax laws should be used to bring their thought process into a line with the reality we all face on a daily basis. Not all of us can afford private jet aircraft.

The Marshall Fire victims are starting on their recovery journey, and already it is turning into an unpleasant continuation of their tragedy. Many are finding their houses were very underinsured. The replacement costs are significantly higher than their coverage was. A lesson to have your insurance updated annually to reflect the increased value of your property. Additionally supply chain issues, availability of labor, local regulatory issues are laying out two- to three-year timelines for completing the reconstruction. A bad year is looking to continue being bad for many of them. The final count on property damages is over $500 million with 1,084 homes destroyed and 149 damaged.

Retirement issues to consider. When social security went into effect, way back when, average life expectancy for males was 65 and 67 for females. Today that has become seventy-five for males and seventy-eight for females. With the developments in health care, that will continue to increase. It is irresponsible not to address the care and cost of our aging seniors, of which I am one. Yet we have a spend now mentality to correct all the special interest groups needs and projects under the sun. When does the bill come due? We need to have our politicians, as painful as it will be for all of them, to begin to address and develop solutions. If they do not, we should vote them out of office, and find and elect people who will. That applies to either party as both are guilty. Not a subject either party wants to meaningfully address but it is a root cause we all need to address.

Those who receive social security received a not well publicized $21.60 per month increase in Medicare charges, a 14.5% increase. At least the federal government was not like Keenesburg where they increased the water & sewer charges effective January 1st , 2022 but really made it effective December 1st , 2022. I guess we should be thankful for little things.

Our governments, at the local, county, state and federal levels have gotten out of control. There is no meaningful accountability to the citizens. A big part of that is that the politicians are more worried about keeping their jobs than getting anything accomplished. Our responsibility as citizens is to vote for people who will get the job done. Not just vote for politicians who focus on calling the other side agents of the devil, and there are those in both parties. Those folks represent a small percentage of the population. Most people want to do the right thing. Yes, there are disagreements on what the right thing is, but that is what makes democracy great. Too many of our current elected officials talk a good line, one that we may even believe we will be comfortable with, but we never ask them to follow up with us to let us know what they have really accomplished. Those who do, just remind us how tough it is to get anything done. Well, that is their job, isn’t it?

We have to become better citizens if we plan to leave our children and grandchildren a better place. Someone the other day said bigger is not necessarily better. Let us try to make life better, and to accomplish that we have to begin to talk and listen to each other. It is ok to disagree. It is not ok to ignore.

As always, your thoughts and comments are always appreciated: publisher@ lostcreekguide.com

The Lost Creek Guide, Llc Bob Grand - Publisher 303-732-4080 publisher@lostcreekguide.com

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Letters to the Editor are encouraged. Letters may be edited for length, libelous, or inappropriate content. All letter submissions should include name, address, & phone number for verification purposes. Letters are published at the editor or publisher’s discretion. Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Lost Creek Guide or staff.

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March 2, 2022

Letter to the Editor: Social Media Affects January 1, 1983 is considered to be the official birthday of the internet. Since then, many platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube are actively used by 4.48 billion people in the world. There are many ways that news gets spread around through social media. Starting around August of 2018, a social media app called TikTok became popular. As of 2021, there are about one billion users. TikTok is known for being a fun and go-lucky app in which you can create short videos of you doing anything. Although the app was once filled with kindness, it has become one of most uncivil and controversial apps yet. Within these short videos, there are many people who choose to speak their mind and release their opinion to the public.

Unfortunately, this has created mass bullying. Along with there being people to speak their mind, there are also those who decide to talk politics, conspiracy theories, and others’ rights. Sometime in December, there was a rumor going around on TikTok that there would be multiple school shootings. A good thing about social media is the way that it has the ability to create awareness about certain topics, but the scary thing is how many people can relate to these topics.

I decided to interview a teacher, Patrick Morales Mendoza, at Weld Central Middle School about this subject and asked the following questions: - As an individual, how does social media impact your life?

- Do any of your thoughts, views, or opinions change based on what you collectively see on social media?

- Does, in any way, social media impact your life as a teacher?

His response was…

“It mostly affects me because of my students, I grew up without it, so it doesn’t have a huge effect on me. Kids do not have realistic expectations about the world, they see a few clips and think that is what the world is like. They start to idealize success, family, friendship, relationships, and struggle. They do not understand that life is different for everyone, and they will have their own sets of challenges. Social media has made this generation very self-conscious; people could see a few clips of greatness and think that that is what they have to be. It is easy for kids to be judged over social media and because of that, it makes them more scared in school. The hardest part about social media is it takes away the human side of things, like communication and creates more comfort around technology.”

Thank you for reading about social media and the way in which it impacts our generation!

– M.J.

Sonnenberg: Governor Ricketts Gets it Wrong on Colorado’s Water

by Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, Senate District 1 Colorado Senate Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is an elected official who I have always thought does a good job – especially for agriculture – and someone that I tend to support.

With that said, he blew it earlier this month when he made some bold and inaccurate statements regarding Colorado’s water.

The fact is, Colorado is in compliance with our South Platte Interstate Compact.

Our compact says that we must deliver 120 cubic feet per second to Nebraska between April 1 and October 15. We do that and we do our best to not send them more than is required because of our needs as a state with both populous urban areas and a vital agriculture industry based in rural Colorado.

The compact also says that Colorado has full and uninterrupted use and benefit of the water in the river the rest of the time…with an exception.

The exception is that 99 years ago there was a potential ditch near Ovid that Nebraska wanted to try to use for additional irrigation but abandoned and they referenced that ditch and future construction in the compact. They can complete that ditch anytime but in order to do so, Nebraska would have to buy land in Colorado, or try to use eminent domain and just take it. Rest assured, that won’t go any better for the Big Red Bureaucrats riding in to Colorado than it would in western Nebraska with any of their own land owners.

Governor Ricketts claims that our plans in Colorado could reduce water flows into his state by as much as 90%. Give me a break. I don’t know where his advisors learned their math, but perhaps their schools teach that your answer is never wrong if you feel good about it.

On average over the last couple of decades, Colorado has allowed around 350,000 acre feet annually to leave our state over and above the requirements of the compact.

Water that could be used in Colorado by Coloradans.

The consequences of this is that after all the court battles and millions spent on attorneys, if – and it is a big if – Nebraska would win, augmentation would be called out of priority. In other words, much of the farm ground along our South Platte River in Logan and Sedgwick counties would dry up. It would also destroy what Colorado accomplishes to meet our requirements for Endangered Species Protections.

So what is the answer?

We finally have an issue in which all of Colorado can unite behind. Governor Polis in his State of the State address this year vowed to fight Nebraska over their claims.

The way we do this is water storage.

The compact says that before Nebraska can take a drop of additional water, all of the water rights have to be satisfied upstream of basically the Prewitt Reservoir which means that if we build a reservoir in Morgan County, we could fill it before downstream uses and then utilize agreements and exchanges to allow our current augmentation to continue.

That same compact also gives Colorado the first 35,000 acre feet of water that passes the gauging station near the Prewitt Reservoir so let’s build a 35,000 acre feet reservoir near the state line.

It is interesting that if Nebraska builds this ditch and diverts water in the winter months, where will they go with it and what will they use it for. They attached a $100 million price tag for the entire project which doesn’t get them much in a consistent source of water.

I have a better idea. We in Colorado will work with Nebraska and partner in the cost of storage along the South Platte so both of us can benefit from a consistent source Sonnenberg: Governor Ricketts Gets it Wrong on Colorado’s Water continued on page 3...

March 2, 2022

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Sonnenberg: Governor Ricketts Gets it Wrong on Colorado’s Water continued from page 2...

of water. The average 350,000 acre feet that we lose to Nebraska each year could be stored in Colorado and we can use a large portion of that to relieve the pressures from our urban cousins to dry up farm ground so they can water their lawns.

No matter what the outcome of their bizarre claim, we would be well advised to unite as Colorado residents and build that water storage with or without Nebraska’s help so that Denver, our wildlife that depends on the river and the farmers and ranchers that feed the world, have access to all the water we are entitled to use.

Jerry Sonnenberg represents Senate District 1 in the Colorado Senate.

Weld County Sheriff’s Office joins Neighbors Public Safety Service

The Weld County Sheriff’s Office has joined Neighbors, the Public Safety Service application developed by the creators of Ring home security devices.

Neighbors provides the sheriff’s office with another means of sharing information with the Weld County community about crime trends, prevention and safety tips, communications about ongoing investigations and updates about other relevant public safety incidents. Neighbors also allows residents to share photos, video and information about recent crimes with the community, including with the sheriff’s office.

“There are more than 20 law enforcement agencies using the Neighbors app in Colorado, all with documented cases where information received through the app helped solve crimes,” said Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams. “This will serve as just another tool in our arsenal to better connect with and serve the people of Weld County.”

The Neighbors app is free to download and is available on both Apple and Android smartphones. Users don’t need a Ring device to join Neighbors as it is also compatible with other Wi-Fi-enabled security systems that can be viewed from your smartphone, such as Google Nest devices.

Neighbors allows users to share photos, videos and information about local crime and public safety incidents. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office will only be able to view information publicly posted to the app by residents living in Weld County unless users decide to share content directly with the agency. The Neighbors app DOES NOT provide the sheriff’s office with direct access to your security devices.

Neighbors, as well as other social media platforms, is not a replacement for 911.

Always call 911 for in-progress crimes and emergencies. For more information about Neighbors, visit ring.com/neighbors.

Local Artist Dave Samples to Appear At Library March 10 presentation will feature works on display, slideshows Local artist Dave Samples will be sharing images and stories of his photographic journeys, adventures and misadventures during a presentation Thursday, March 10, at the Fort Morgan Library and Museum.

Find out a little about what it takes to capture the perfect lighting that takes an image from just another photograph to a beautiful work of art.

Samples was one of the artists featured at the Fort Morgan Museum in 2020.

Unfortunately, COVID limited the number of people who could view his show.

Dave grew up in Brush, went to one of the top photography colleges in the U.S. and has run a successful studio in Brush for over 30 years.

Some of his images will be on display in the Howard Rollin Memorial Community Room during his presentation from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and he will have slideshows of many more images as well.

For more information please contact the Fort Morgan Public Library and Museum.

(970) 542-4000.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! www.facebook.com/cityoffortmorgan

Will the Town of Keenesburg Government Respond? Do not the residents of Keenesburg deserve a response?

The Town of Keenesburg has not responded or explained the early implementation of the Water & Sewer rate increases. Do not the residents of Keenesburg deserve a response? Ignoring it leaves the early implementation of the new rates in place, costing the residents of Keenesburg almost $25,000 in additional fees paid to the town. Is that REALLY FAIR? Don’t we deserve a response? We should not have to consider taking the Town to Court to get answers.

Experience Matters! Peggy Propst is a Proven Fighter that will Stand by Parents.

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We have an experienced conservative leader running for the Colorado State Board of Education from the new 8th Congressional District who will represent us well. Some of you may know her as Peggy Littleton, a former County Commissioner in El Paso County and candidate for the US Senate in 2016. She also served on the State Board of Education for seven years as the elected representative in Congressional District 5. She grew up in Longmont and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins. If you’d like to learn more about her background and experience, google Peggy Littleton to see her wiki page.

Not only is she an advocate for school choice and education freedom, but she has extensive experience in each of the choice options. She homeschooled her three children for over seven years, was a founding parent and a teacher at Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy, and taught at Colorado Springs Christian School. She also served as both Chair and Vice-Chair of The Imagine Classical Academy Charter School. But her experience doesn’t end there. Peggy was a rep and literacy trainer for Sopris West Educational Services, and she served as the Director of the Federal GEAR UP grant for the state of Colorado. As you can tell, most of her last forty years have been spent in the field of education.

The only good thing about the pandemic school closures was that parents personally witnessed what their children are being taught and were horrified to see political agendas being pushed through the indoctrination of Critical Race Theory, and the introduction of complex topics to young children in the name of comprehensive sex education. Parents want a solid classical education where reading, writing and arithmetic are the focus rather than a political ideology. Students should be taught how to think critically and not what to think. They are livid when school leadership will not acknowledge that parents do have a say in their children’s education.

Peggy shares these concerns and is running because she is fully aware of the difference a seasoned leader can make. There won’t be any learning curve for her and she can hit the ground running! Her race is about the ABC’s.

Accountability - Hold districts, schools and higher ed accountable for their performance. It is simply not okay that 60% of our 3rd graders can’t read at grade level and are being dumbed down.

Best Practices – Return to Colorado model content standards instead of the national Common Core. Ensure that civics/history course content reflects the true American story and aligns with facts and not fiction. Require science-based literacy programs that help students unlock our language and put them on a trajectory for success.

Choice – Allow parents educational freedom of choice as an alternative to government-run schools that have a monopoly and are highly unionized.

Peggy already has the endorsements and backing of all three Republican State Board of Education members: Steve Durham, Dr. Debora Scheffel and Joyce Rankin.

It’s important to secure this seat with a conservative from the inception, and with your support and her experience we can win it!

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Lost Creek Guide

Polis, Democratic Lawmakers and Local Governments are all Squaring off over Public Bargaining Rights

March 2, 2022

organizations that represent cities, counties and rural schools. Most significantly, Gov. Jared Polis is a critic, saying the proposal must be dramatically narrowed.

By Andrew Kenney, CPR/News

Andrew Kenney/CPR News Sara Jungels, a certified nursing assistant for Denver Health, poses for a portrait at Arapahoe Community College, where she’ll soon finish a nursing degree. She hopes that a new job will ease the intense financial pressure on her family.

Andrew Kenney/CPR News Union supporters rallied for public-sector bargaining rights at the Colorado State Capitol on Feb. 10, 2022.

Sara Jungels, 35, left her home state of Indiana seven years ago in search of higher pay and better work in Colorado. At first, things looked promising: She’d be earning $13 an hour as a certified nursing assistant at Denver Health.

“So, I thought it was good — until I saw the rent prices,” Jungels said. Even after a raise to $17, she’s currently spending more than half her income on the rent for the Denver apartment where she lives with her husband, who’s been out of work recently due to illness.

To ease that crushing burden, Jungels has made two big decisions.

The first was to go back to school. She’s almost done with a nursing degree from Arapahoe Community College. She’s worked throughout the program but has had to pawn possessions and visit the school’s food bank to make ends meet.

“Anything that I can put in my pantry to have there in case we end up being under for that week is great,” Jungels said as she looked over shelves stocked with ramen and canned vegetables.

She hopes that graduating and getting a promotion will improve her finances. But that’s not the only thing she’s counting on — which is where her second decision comes in. Since 2020, she’s helped with a unionization effort that aims to organize workers at Denver Health, UC Health, the University of Colorado and Denver Public Library with Communication Workers of America Local 7799.

It’s something she couldn’t have imagined back home in conservative Indiana.

“I’ve never really been a part of any of this stuff, but I’m glad to help in whatever way I can — trying to make it better for everybody,” she said. She was motivated in part by seeing hospital executives take bonuses at the same time they asked employees to give up their vacation days, she said.

American labor organizers hope the nation may be at a turning point after decades of declines in union participation. In recent months, private-sector unions have made the news in Colorado for a strike at King Soopers stores and organizing drives at businesses like Spruce Confections in Boulder and at Starbucks stores.

However, workers like Jungels may not be able to fully participate in the movement; that’s because they work for Colorado’s local public employers, like cities, counties, public schools, universities and public hospitals like Denver Health. They can form unions, but unlike many private businesses, their employers are not required to engage in “collective bargaining” with them.

This year, some top Democratic lawmakers have a sweeping plan to change that — and it’s already become one of the most controversial topics at the statehouse.

The fight is not just pitting Democrats against Republicans. A bill has not yet been formally introduced, but the idea has already drawn howls of opposition from the

‘We can’t retain people’ In Colorado, collective bargaining for cities and other local public employers only happens with the approval of voters or local political leaders.

That permission can be hard to get. In 2019, Colorado Springs firefighters asked voters to approve collective bargaining —only to lose by a huge margin. It was a deflating defeat for union supporters.

“The amount of effort that was put in by the firefighters has me in disbelief,” said one supporter in an interview with The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. “I mean, we knocked (on) over 50,000 doors, so to see this sort of result is not even close to what I would have predicted.”

Today, only 15 of Colorado’s 272 municipalities have collectively bargained agreements with any part of their workforce, and almost all of those contracts are with police and firefighters. Just about a quarter of school districts have collective bargaining, too.

Even liberal cities like Denver offer bargaining to only a limited set of workers — and some of their employees want to see that change.

“We’re down 20 percent of our staff right now from pre-COVID. We can’t retain people,” said Nate Stone, a technology education administrator for Denver Public Library who is also involved in the organizing effort.

A union would not just fight for higher pay, but also could create a better relationship between workers and management, he argued, adding: “We would love any route that would take us to collective bargaining.”

In recent years, Democratic lawmakers have pushed to expand bargaining powers to more public workers in a variety of ways. A 2013 law was meant to make it easier for firefighters to bargain, though it’s ultimately made little difference, observers said.

In 2020, a new law allowed about 28,000 state employees to collectively bargain, but it doesn’t apply to the state’s roughly quarter-million local government employees.

Today, Colorado is one of 23 states that either ban or limit collective bargaining for local employees, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The other 27 states require that local governments bargain with unions where they exist.

“There’s a long history of public sector workers having been left out by our federal law,” said Jennifer Sherer, a senior state policy coordinator with EPI. That has contributed to lower pay for important public jobs, Sherer said. In states with limited collective bargaining, like Colorado, local government jobs pay 16 percent less than equivalent private sector jobs, the EPI report found. In states where collective bargaining is more universal, it’s only a 9 percent deficit.

The pressure to expand public-sector labor rights has built during the pandemic, Sherer said, especially in the Mountain West.

In Colorado, top statehouse Democrats unveiled a draft of their proposal late last year. It would give a broad set of local public workers the guaranteed right to negotiate contracts for wages, benefits and more, if they form unions.

“Collective bargaining is a fundamental right that should be available to all Coloradans regardless of where they work,” said House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar in a December interview.

Esgar’s bill is to be co-sponsored by Sen. Steve Fenberg, who is soon to be the Senate president. However, more than a month into the session, it has yet to be introduced, as the sponsors work to build support — and tamp down opposition — behind the scenes.

The state vs. the local The fight over collective bargaining is pitting state lawmakers against local leaders.

Some representatives of cities, school districts, and other public employers argue that the state proposal would take away their power to manage their workforces efficiently.

“I’ve never been so concerned about a piece of legislation and its impact as I am now,” said Michelle Murphy, executive director of the Colorado Rural Schools Alliance.

CRSA signed onto a recent letter from a coalition of opposed groups that criticized the proposal as a “top-down” approach that “would impose a significant unfunded mandate.”

They said they don’t oppose collective bargaining itself, but argued that dealing with unions — and potentially paying higher wages— could lead to unwanted new costs for taxpayers and take money from other areas, so the decision should be made locally.

“Where’s the money to do that? The money never really comes,” said Scott James, a commissioner in Weld County.

Voters in that conservative county would “definitely not” approve collective bargaining on their own, James said. And forcing negotiations with a union would Polis, Democratic Lawmakers and Local Governments are all Squaring off over Public Bargaining Rights continued on page 5...

March 2, 2022

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Polis, Democratic Lawmakers and Local Governments are all Squaring off over Public Bargaining Rights continued from page 4...

take away the budgeting authority of local leaders. Instead, he argued, the county is already motivated to provide good pay and benefits in order to retain its employees.

“Get with your fellow employees, get with your supervisors and come and talk to (the board of commissioners)” he suggested. “You don’t need that collective bargaining. “ Kevin Bommer, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, said that the current approach works. That’s demonstrated, he said, by the fact that relatively few local workforces have tried to win bargaining rights through the current method.

“If there was a problem out there, then you would see a lot more initiated questions (to create collective bargaining). You would see a lot more city councils, special districts and counties doing what they can already do,” he said. “It’s just trying to address a problem that doesn’t exist.”

But advocates for change say the current system discourages workers from organizing, especially in conservative areas where public opinion doesn’t support organized labor.

“It shouldn’t matter where they live, where they work, as far as being able to have their rights,” said Andy Kerr, a commissioner for Jefferson County and former Democratic state lawmaker, who emphasized that he was speaking only for himself.

Kerr pushed back against the idea that unions will lead to out-of-control salary costs, noting the Jefferson County teachers’ union agreed to a pay decrease in the wake of the Great Recession to help the school district’s budget.

Successful negotiations have happened “literally thousands of times, all over the state of Colorado, with teachers, with firefighters, with police,” said Kerr, a former teacher.

Democratic statehouse leaders address a crowd of union supporters at a rally for public-sector bargaining rights on Feb. 10, 2022.

The big question Republicans are pushing back on the collective bargaining proposal, too, including through a bill of their own that would have banned public workers from striking.

There’s something for you at Aims.

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5

Democrats killed that measure this month, but conservative organizer Michael Fields said that liberal lawmakers are overstepping with their proposal.

“The fact that local governments are opposed to this, that cities are opposed, that counties, that school districts are — I think that proves that it’s an overreach for Democrats right now,” he said.

Fields’ group, the Advance Colorado Institute, could go after the proposal on several fronts, if it passes. He said they would consider going to court to argue that it illegally overrides local powers. They could also potentially run a ballot initiative to require the state to pay for “incremental costs” caused by unionization, among other options.

Ultimately, though, much of this debate will come down to one person: Gov. Jared Polis. Spokesman Conor Cahill made clear in January that Polis would “not support the bill in its current form.”

Cahill pointed out that Polis signed the 2020 law that granted similar bargaining rights to state employees — but he emphasized that law had struck a balance “between collective bargaining and elected representation.”

At the time, the governor’s office called on Democrats to work more closely with local governments, and said Polis would consider “much narrower legislation.”

That’s led to weeks of negotiations behind closed doors. The conversation has included Democratic leaders in both chambers of the statehouse, the governor’s office and others. (The Municipal League, which is broadly opposed to any incursions on local power, has not been closely involved, Bommer said.)

No one working on the bill has said much publicly about how it might change, but other states offer examples. In some, bargaining laws exclude certain types of public workplaces. Or lawmakers might set limits on the ability of public workers to go on strike, as they did for state workers in Colorado.

In response to questions this week about the negotiations, the governor’s office stated only: “Conversations remain ongoing with the sponsors and that is all we will continue to say at this time.”

Democrats in the statehouse insist a bill is still coming. “It’s something that I knew was going to be a long road. We’re still making changes within the bill,” Esgar said this week.

Meanwhile, back at Arapahoe Community College, Sara Jungels is looking ahead to graduation this spring. The change from assistant to nurse — taking on those new responsibilities even as COVID-19 continues to cause chaos — makes her nervous.

“It’s been a little more anxiety provoking because of getting started in the middle of a pandemic, but I still wanna do it. I still wanna help people,” she said.

Her salary may nearly double with the change, to about $28 an hour, but she plans to keep pushing for unionization — both for herself and for the colleagues she’s seen working so hard during the pandemic.

“I really just hope that it gives us a seat at the table, that we feel like our concerns are being addressed, making sure that we are being taken care of,” she said, and ensuring “that we feel like we’re respected, and not just treated like warm bodies.”

6

Lost Creek Guide

Colorado’s Graduation Rates Fell Last Year.

The Drop was Worse among Students of Color.

White students saw their graduation rates climb, while rates fell among Black, Hispanic, Native, migrant and homeless students

by David Gilbert, The Colorado Sun Colorado’s high school graduation rate fell for the first time in more than a decade in 2021, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

A total of 81.7% of the class of 2021 graduated last spring, down from 81.9% of the class of 2020.

The data shows wide graduation rate discrepancies between races and economic statuses.

The decline came as the pandemic shuttered schools across the state and sent students home to learn, leading to widening gaps between students of color and their white peers.

The graduation rate for white students climbed by 0.6 percentage points last year to 86.6%, while graduation rates for students of color fell by 1 percentage point to 76.1%.

American Indian students saw the sharpest decline, with a graduation rate of 64.5% in 2021, down from 66.7% in 2020. Black students saw their graduation rate fall by 0.6 percentage points to 76%, while Hispanic students fell by 1.2 percentage points to 74.2%.

Graduation rates also fell for students with limited English proficiency, economic disadvantages, those experiencing homelessness and those from migrant families.

The graduation rate for migrant students fell by 4.7 percentage points in 2021 to 67%.

The graduation rate for students with disabilities climbed by 4.6 percentage points to 66.4%.

The state’s completion rate, which measures how many students either graduate high school, obtain a certificate or GED also fell to 83.2% in 2021 from 83.4% the year before.

The state’s dropout rate remained at 1.8% in 2021, the same as the year before, and the lowest mark in a decade. About a quarter of districts reported their dropout rates were lower than in 2020.

Many districts are utilizing the state’s new graduation guidelines, which take effect for the class of 2022, to provide students with “multiple pathways” toward degree completion, including work-based learning, apprenticeships and concurrent enrollment, according to a news release from the Colorado Department of Education.

“We know how tough it was for everyone last school year due to the challenges brought on by the pandemic with schools going to remote learning and others offering hybrid models,” said Katy Anthes, Colorado’s education commissioner in a statement. “It is a relief that the graduation rate is nearly the same as it was the previous year. With the state’s dropout rate also nearly unchanged, it is a concrete display of the dedication and determination of Colorado’s students, parents and teachers, especially during these tough times.”

March 2, 2022

Magic Spurs 4-H Club Elect New Club Officers

Article by Rylan and Madison Richmann The Magic Spurs 4-H Club met for their first club meeting for 2022 on Monday the 17th of January. The Magic Spurs 2021 president Katie Kipp started the meeting, and the first item of business was to elect new officers for the 2022 year. The job titles were explained before beginning. Nominations were taken for the place of president, and then the voting started. All 6 officer positions were filled for the new year.

The new 2022 Magic Spurs Officer’s are as follows:

President Madison Richmann I am a 16 year old junior. I have been an officer for Magic Spurs for 4 years now. I show market lambs.

Vice President Hannah Culp Hannah is a 17 year old junior. This is her first year as an officer in 4-H. Hannah shows market pigs.

Secretary Cydni Dudley Cydni is a 14 year old 8th grader. She has been secretary for several years for the Magic Spurs. Cydni shows pigs, and does shooting sports.

Treasurer Averie Park Averie is a 16 year old junior. She has never been an officer for Magic Spurs, but has served as an officer for other clubs.

Averie shows market goats.

Reporter Rylan Richmann Rylan is a 12 year old 6th grader. This is his first year as an officer. Rylan shows market lambs.

Historian Mesa Arnold Mesa is a 9 year old 4th grader. This is her first year as an officer. Mesa shows breeding heifers and market goats.

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported news organization that covers Colorado people, places and issues. To sign up for free newsletters, subscribe or learn more, visit ColoradoSun.com

OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE

Magic Spurs 4-H club is looking forward to a great 2022 year.

March 2, 2022

7

Lost Creek Guide

Rancher Running for the State House continued from page 1...

twelve months,” said Evans. “Having worked extensively with co-responders, I know challenges to overcome in order to create and implement programs that deliver safe and efficient mental health resources to our communities.”

Evans agrees that all police should wear body cameras if used properly, to protect police officers from liability and build community trust.

“I personally loved my camera. When questions arose, it provided solid evidence I did my job legally, morally, and ethically. As always, the challenge comes in effectively implementing such a program,” said Evans.

Evans said it’s important to understand the capabilities and limitations of body cameras. Also, develop legal standards that can enhance the effectiveness of the body camera program or remove them.

“Unfortunately, radical leftist state legislation detracts from the effectiveness of body camera programs and greatly hinders the competent deployment of these tools,” Evans said.

“I would work to ensure reasonable legal standards regarding the use of body cameras are implemented so police and citizens alike can be assured of safe, transparent, and effective police operations.”

Evans, says rural Americans have a hard time retaining police officers due to lack of training, lower pay, and less of a high call volume. It’s also a better situation for a seasoned officer to transfer to a busier department from a rural agency.

“I would work to increase funding for rural agencies so they compensate officers better, and able to attract experienced officers who have reached a point in their career where they still want to serve, but want less “excitement” and stress,” Evans said. “Additionally, I would work to increase the availability of training for line, supervisory, and command level officers.”

Evan’s said Colorado’s economy is behind, especially in Weld and Adams Counties which is the leader in the production of energy and agricultural products.

“Unfortunately, the energy and agricultural sectors of the economy have been handicapped by the ruling of the ‘left’ at the state capitol and their attacks on oil and gas, farmers, ranchers, and rural Colorado. As a result, productivity in the region has declined, over 50% in some cases. This is a tragedy,” said Evans.

Evans has the answer is producing environmentally conscious energy and agricultural products. That lowers fuel costs and in turn, lowers the cost to produce and transport food as well as other goods. This results in more products available on the shelves, and a lower cost to the consumer.

“Just the other day, I saw a sign in a Brighton King Soopers advertising locally grown produce from La Salle. Empowering this type of local economy is why I’m running.

I will fight to make the State take the stranglehold off the energy and agricultural sectors of Colorado’s economy,” said Evans.

Evans says the extraction of oil and gas technology is the cleanest and the most efficient on the planet in the United States and if we are not producing on our soil, then we buy it from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, and Russia.

“I traveled to countries that don’t have clean or efficient methods in place. The money they receive often ends up in hands of unfriendly to American interests,” said Evans.

Education Evans understands that some teachers are afraid to come back to teach. They don’t feel safe.

“Again, stress is cumulative. Teachers face many challenges in the classroom, from behavior issues to large class sizes to bureaucratic demands that take them away from teaching,” said Evans said.

He would work on reducing stressors, increasing educational options for teachers and parents to work together on an idea such as pandemic pods. He’d also increase funding for school supplies so a teacher should not have to buy supplies.

“This would allow teachers who are still concerned about large gatherings to remain in the education industry, and it would add an additional option as parents to choose what education best fits their kids,” Evans said. “Across Colorado, only 58% of funds allocated to education actually make it to the classroom. I would like to see at least 65% of education funds make it to the classroom.”

“My motivations for serving in the Army, as a police officer, and running for House District 48 are to uphold and defend the Constitution, and to protect all citizens’ rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

This story is from the Fort Lupton Press, a publication of Colorado Community Media. CCM is a network of newspapers and websites covering Metro Denver. For more stories like this, please visit us ftluptonpress. com and at coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Wiggins Telephone Association, dba Blue Lightning Statement of Nondiscrimination

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by the USDA (not all baes apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency of USDA’s TARGET Center at 202720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complain Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda. gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call 1-866-632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA within 180 days by: 1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Ave, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; 2) Fax: 202-690-7442; or 3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Wiggin Telephone Association

LIFELINE SERVICE AND UNIVERSAL SERVICES

Colorado Lifeline Service is a federally funding program designed to make basic telephone service available at reduced rates to eligible residential customers. Customer’s eligibility to receive the discount must be renewed periodically. The program is limited to one benefit per household, consisting of either wireline or wireless service.

Who Qualifies? You are eligible for Lifeline Service if your annual household income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, or in your household resides a person who receives or has a child who receives benefits from at least one of the following programs: Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) National School Lunch Program (only applicant or customer who satisfy the income standard of the program for free meals) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Health benefits coverage under the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) An eligible customer residing in tribal lands Bureau of Indian Affairs general assistance Tribally administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Head Start (only those households meeting its income qualifying standard) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Children under 17 years of age with no health insurance Other eligible programs may apply Information about customers who qualify for Lifeline Service may be shared between state agencies and Wiggins Telephone Association. Lifeline customers can also subscribe to optional services at the same rate offered to other customers.

What Universal Services are available to all customers? Universal services are offered to all customers of Wiggins Telephone Association. . Universal Services available include the following services: Voice grade access to the public switched network or its functional equivalent Minutes of use for Local service Access to emergency services to the extent the local government has implemented 911 or enhanced 911 systems Toll limitation for qualifying low-income consumers Local Calling for Residential Service is $10.55 - $16.00 and Business Service is $15.90 - $23.30 Ability to report service problems seven days a week How do Telephone Customers and Applicants for Telephone Service Apply for Lifeline Program?

Applicants can come into our office and pick up a certification form or call 970-483-7343 and request that one be mailed to you.

8

Lost Creek Guide

Universal free preschool is coming. How will Colorado ensure quality?

March 2, 2022

and communicating with parents in their primary language — even if it’s not English or Spanish.

Amn, who is originally from Afghanistan, saw a moment of cultural

By Ann Schimke, Chalkbeat recognition resonate with her own preschooler when his teacher asked him about the Muslim holiday Eid that his family celebrates.

“That was a very tiny conversation related to the culture, but that really had a huge impact on my son,” she said. “He was extremely happy.”

Vision vs. reality Colorado’s current state-funded preschool program serves about a quarter of the state’s 4-year-olds and a smaller number of 3-year-olds. It has an annual budget of around $128 million and gives most kids 10 hours a week of tuitionfree preschool, though some get more.

Colorado’s nicotine tax will bring in a burst of new preschool money — about $165 million in the program’s first year and somewhat more in subsequent years — allowing the state to offer tuition-free preschool to all 4-year-olds.

Like the current version, the universal program will provide 10 hours of class time a week, though children with the highest needs could get additional hours and services. Funding for the current targeted preschool program will be folded into the new program.

Universal preschool will be voluntary for families, but it’s likely many will be interested even if it’s only a half day. Depending on how many families opt in, state-funded preschool enrollment could triple.

State leaders planning the universal preschool rollout have vigorously embraced the vision for across-the-board quality, stipulating that every provider will have to meet certain standards to participate. But the reality is A staff member at Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center in Fort Collins works with two preschool that even Colorado’s current preschool program — a much smaller version of students. Courtesy of Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center This story is part of a group of stories called Universal Preschool what’s planned — isn’t an exemplar of quality.

Quality yardsticks Inside Colorado’s free preschool initiative These three sets of quality criteria are among those that Colorado will Should preschool classes be capped at 16 children? Should teachers have consider in deciding standards for universal preschool. bachelor’s degrees? Should classrooms be subject to annual in-person visits Colorado Shines rating system from expert evaluators?

This is the main system for measuring the quality of Colorado’s 3,700 stateThese are a few of the questions Colorado leaders will grapple with as they take on the big, messy task of defining what high-quality preschool looks like licensed providers of preschool and child care for kids under 6. The lowest — and deciding how it should be measured — when the state launches free rating is Level 1 and is automatically awarded when providers get licensed, indicating they meet basic health and safety standards. Level 3, 4 and 5, which preschool for 4-year-olds in 2023.

The new universal program, which will be funded with a voter-approved require in-person classroom evaluations every three years, are all considered nicotine tax, has been one of Gov. Jared Polis’ signature priorities since he high quality. The system looks at a wide range of factors from teacher took office in 2018. It represents a major expansion of Colorado’s current qualifications to child health promotion and family engagement. Child care state-funded preschool program, which serves about 23,000 children from and preschool providers are not required to climb higher than Level 1, though low-income households, or who have poor social skills, language delays, or the state provides some financial incentives to do so.

Colorado Preschool Program rules other risk factors.

Providers who participate in the state’s current preschool program for Experts say preschool can produce short- and long-term benefits for kids, but only if it’s high quality. That’s the reason to hit on a winning formula children with certain risk factors must be licensed by the state plus meet a from the start, but with lots of yardsticks to choose from, an already strained separate set of requirements. For example, classes are capped at 16 children early childhood workforce, and limited money for quality-boosting efforts, it’s instead of the 24 allowed in other preschool classrooms. The program also builds in staff planning time, routine child assessments, and 15 hours of easier said than done.

“There’s so much discourse around rating quality. … It’s very complicated,” annual training for teachers.

National Institute for Early Education Research benchmarks said Sherri Valdez, executive director of the Early Childhood Council of San The institute at Rutgers University publishes an annual report that grades Luis Valley in southern Colorado. “My hope is that social and emotional state-funded preschool programs partly based on how many of the group’s 10 development will be prioritized no matter what direction we go.” quality benchmarks they meet. Benchmarks reflect state policies the group Melissa Mares, senior policy analyst for early childhood at the Colorado says should be in place to set “the groundwork for high-quality experiences Children’s Campaign, wants the state’s approach to take a holistic view of for children.” They cover minimum teacher qualifications, staff training, class young children, give families a say, and better align various metrics.

“Our current measures provide a really good foundation but this is an size, curriculum support, and classroom evaluations.

More than 40% of providers in the program have one of the lowest two opportunity to reimagine it,” she said.

Khatira Amn, an early childhood education policy advocate at the Denver- ratings in the state’s five-level quality measurement system, Colorado Shines. based Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning, said she wants the universal In addition, program requirements, which limit class sizes to 16, call for preschool program to be culturally and linguistically responsive by pushing to weekly teacher planning time, and mandate regular child assessments, meet attract bilingual teachers, training teachers to work with diverse populations, only 4 of 10 quality benchmarks recommended by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

Stop by our Keenesburg branch at 165 North Market Street W. Steven Barnett, senior codirector of the institute, said and find out how we make a DIFFERENCE in our COMMUNITY. states that meet all 10 benchmarks don’t automatically have highHERE when you need us quality preschool, but will have • Talk to who you want. Our employees answer our phones. key ingredients in the mix, most • Chat with an ACTUAL bank employee on our HPBGO app during business hours. importantly processes that help • Visit our branches in person from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday – Friday. preschool providers continuously • ¡Se habla Español! improve.

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Barnett said quality standards • Surcharge-free, national ATM network. must match the goals of public preschool programs. Many states, KEEP it Local including Colorado, have the goal• Community-driven decisions support setting part of the equation down, local small businesses and nonprofits. but fall short on matching them to quality measures, he said.

Teachers make the difference Experts say strong, well-supported teachers are critical to high-quality preschool, and that bachelor’s degree requirements are one way to get there. The degrees aren’t required in Open an account Colorado, in part because, as in many 165 North Market Street, Unit B, Keenesburg, CO 80643 Universal free preschool is coming.

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March 2, 2022

9

Lost Creek Guide

Universal free preschool is coming. How will Colorado ensure quality? continued from page 8...

states, preschool teachers often make less than fast food workers — a median hourly wage of $15 — and many don’t have the time or money to further their education.

To complicate matters, labor shortages recently prompted state officials to lower the qualifications for child care and preschool teachers, opening the way for people with even less education and experience to join the workforce.

“We have a tendency to find a warm body and pay them peanuts,” said Valdez, of the San Luis Valley early childhood council. “We have a lot of work to do and It comes down to money.”

While Colorado has a number of initiatives underway to give early childhood providers training and support — plus the promise of nicotine tax proceeds — it’s unclear how far the money will go.

“Will they try to stretch the available funding too thin?” Barnett said. “You can kind of see the 10 hours as a symptom of that.”

A spokesman for the governor said the state’s new early childhood department, set to launch in July, will convene a group this summer to review various sets of quality standards and create a set for universal preschool that layer on top of minimum licensing requirements.

Although there are 18 months until the universal preschool program officially launches, it will be a “super-duper tight” timeline for establishing and communicating the requirements to preschool providers who want to participate, said Debi Mathias, director of the ECE Quality Improvement Systems Network at the BUILD Initiative, a national organization that helps states develop early childhood systems.

One possible solution to both the time and money crunch, she said, is to set high standards but give providers a window of time — say, two to five years — to meet them. The state’s preschool recommendations, finalized in January, give a nod to that kind of phased approach.

“You can hold out a vision of where you want to be and come up with strategies and implementation plans that give people time to get there,” Mathias said.

Colorado Shines

when the evaluator visits means that single snapshot can last a long time.

To complicate matters further, Colorado’s universal preschool program will be offered in schools, community sites, and in homes licensed by the state. It’s a mix of choices advocates applaud, but it can be tricky to apply a consistent set of quality standards to such a wide range of settings.

A 2019 study published by the U.S. Department of Education looking at nine states’ quality rating systems — though not Colorado Shines — found the systems captured differences in program quality but that those differences didn’t translate to differences in child outcomes. In other words, children in higher-rated programs didn’t consistently perform better than those in lower-rated programs.

The authors cite various reasons for this, including that rating criteria don’t correspond specifically enough to factors that influence child outcomes. For example, many quality rating systems, including Colorado’s, evaluate the providers’ business practices, which don’t have a lot to do with what children learn.

Mathias said the results speak to the widespread underfunding of quality rating systems, which are meant both to rate early childhood quality and provide money and resources to help providers improve.

“We did not give providers enough money and we did not give the system enough money,” she said.

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NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WIGGINS TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION, DBA BLUE LIGHTNING, is hereby given.

The meeting will be a Virtual Telephone Town Hall Meeting, and will be held at

9 a.m. on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

The Annual Meeting will include the election of THREE Directors & other business as may properly come before the meeting.

A preschooler at the Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center in Fort Collins. Courtesy of Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Center

Both Teaching Tree Early Childhood Learning Centers that Anne Lance leads in northern Colorado are highly rated — Level 4s — under the Colorado Shines system.

But it takes her staff many hours and lots of paperwork to prepare for the evaluations.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s all about reinventing the wheel,” she said. “Definitely simplifying it would help.”

Another issue, she said, is the cycle of evaluations every three years. A bad day

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10

Lost Creek Guide

22 Years of Drought in Colorado, Rest of the Southwest is Worst Stretch in 1,200 Years, Study Shows

Climate change made the current megadrought worse, study of tree ring data says.

CSU researcher who reviewed the work says the conditions aren’t likely to improve

by Chris Outcalt, The Colorado Sun

March 2, 2022

and resulted in lower flows on the Colorado River — as well as other rivers and streams — which provides drinking water to more than 36 million people.

“What’s super intriguing is the headline finding that this is the driest 22-year period since at least 800,” Brad Udall, a senior water and climate research scientist at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Institute, said. “That’s stunning.”

Udall was part of the peer-review team for the current study, which used a bank of tree ring data to reconstruct soil moisture conditions for June, July, and August during the past 1,200 years. The database, maintained by NOAA, contains information about both dead and live trees. There’s a good correlation, Udall said, between tree ring widths and soil moisture; wider rings indicate years that received more precipitation.

“This is one of the first papers that ties soil moisture to the impacts of this drought,” Udall said.

Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County shows the effect of a water draw down on October 29, 2021. The reservoir has lowered because water is being released downstream to increase the volume of water available to downstream users that rely on the Colorado River. Blue Mesa is fed by the Gunnison River, one of the Colorado River’s largest tributaries. (Dean Krakel, Special to The Colorado Sun)

The hot and dry conditions that have gripped the southwestern United States since 2000 account for the driest 22-year period on record stretching back 1,200 years, according to a study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

What’s more, this new research finds that although there would have been a drought anyway, climate change made it considerably worse.

Previous research indicated the current drought was the driest stretch since the 1500s. The new study, however, incorporated data from 2021, a particularly dry year, which led the current 22-year period to exceed the intense drought in the 1500s, researchers who studied tree ring data found.

The hotter and drier climate noted by researchers has fueled wildfires, caused problems for farmers and ranchers whose livelihood depends on water for irrigation,

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Tree ring specimens, collected from avalanche debris above Silverton on June 2, 2019, are stacked before being taken for analysis by dendrochronologists trying to plot the relationship between climate and avalanche cycles in Colorado. The work is intended to inform planning for such things as building codes and zoning in Colorado’s high country as the climate changes. (Nina Riggio, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Although snowpack on April 1 was either at or slightly below 100 percent of average in each of the past two years, Udall said, the spring runoff was significantly lower than expected. “Increasingly, these really warm June, July, August periods have been draining soil moisture,” Udall said. “This explains how serious the current conditions are and why we’ve been getting such terrible runoff out of reasonably good snowpack.”

Spring runoff is critical to irrigated agriculture, domestic water supplies, and the recreation industry in Colorado and across the West. Flows in the Colorado River basin, an area that includes the Colorado River and all the rivers and streams that feed into it, have been hard hit. In 2000, the reservoir system in the basin was 95% full; as of fall 2021, the reservoirs were at 39% capacity, the lowest levels on record, according to the Department of Interior.

“It makes it a little easier to believe that we’ve got a real problem with soil moisture here,” Udall said. “And it’s likely we’re going to continue to see these crummy years of runoff even if we have OK snowpack.”

“The dramatic trend of hotter and drier conditions across the southwest means we have to work harder and faster on solutions that meet the moment,” said Bart Miller, healthy rivers program director at the nonprofit Western Resource Advocates. “It’s urgent that we ramp up conservation and more flexible water management to protect our rivers and our communities.”

The new study estimated that climate change driven by human causes increased the severity of the drought conditions from 2000 to 2021 by 42%. In fact, without the impacts of climate change, according to the study, “2000-2021 would not even be classified as a single extended drought event.” The drought is also likely to continue, according to the study. When factoring in climate change, the current drought lasted through a 30th year in 75% of the soil moisture simulations the researchers conducted.

Udall said drought might not be the right term anymore.

“We’ve been calling it a drought,” he said, “but a number of scientists have been saying this is something else.” Udall has pitched aridification as a new way to categorize the hot and dry conditions impacting the Colorado River basin and rest of the southwest.

“What it really means is the long-term warming and drying of the American West.

Not every year is warmer and drier but the overall trend is in that direction,” Udall said. “My sense is that this drought is here to stay; it seems very clear to me we’re on that path.”

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported news organization that covers Colorado people, places and issues. To sign up for free newsletters, subscribe or learn more, visit ColoradoSun.com

March 2, 2022

11

Lost Creek Guide

6 Herbs You Can Grow Year-Round in Your Home Herb Garden

by Lisa Meyers McClintick, www.Burpee.com

holes and a saucer to catch excess water. Choose plastic or glazed pottery pots versus terracotta clay, which can dry out more quickly, and transplant herbs into larger pots as needed.

Keep Plants Trimmed To help herbs fill out into a rounder plant with thicker growth, pinch stems as the plant grows taller. This encourages the herb to branch out rather than getting stalky.

As the plants mature, be sure to pinch off any flower buds as well.

Ready to start your home herb garden? Check out all the herbs Burpee offers.

Northern Colorado Communications, LLC

Statement of Nondiscrimination

With a home herb garden, you’re always stocked whenever you crave the zip of fresh chives on roasted vegetables, the heady fragrance of mint in a sweet mojito or the herbaceous zing of oregano sprinkled across a pizza. Here are six favorite herbs every kitchen should have and how you can grow them year-round.

‘Sweet’ Basil ‘Sweet’ basil, a fragrant staple of Italian cooking, emerges from seed in seven to 10 days and can get up to a foot tall. Because it’s a tender annual, keep its leaves away from chilled windowpanes and cold drafts. This plant benefits greatly from pinching off new leaves. It encourages the herb to branch out for a bushier appearance, sprouting even more leaves that you can use in pesto, pasta, pizzas, soups and even tossed with fresh fruit or blended into smoothies.

Oregano Oregano seeds barely need to be covered by soil, germinating in 10 to 21 days. Use minced leaves to flavor Italian and Greek roasts, salads and pasta. This perennial also spreads nicely as a groundcover in your outdoor landscaping.

Chives When you crave a zippy addition to just about any food but don’t want to cut into a large onion, grab a pair of scissors and snip some fresh chives into soups, salads and sauces. This easy herb should be planted about one-quarter inch deep. Look for its grass-like leaves to emerge in seven to 10 days.

Dill A key ingredient for pickles and salad dressings, dill can also be used for bread, salmon and other fish. Plant seeds about one-quarter inch deep. It can take 10 to 21 days to germinate and grow into the iconic feathery leafed plant.

Thyme To grow this versatile herb choice, plant thyme seeds about one-quarter inch deep.

They should germinate in 14 to 28 days. The plant grows 6 to 12 inches high with petite leaves that can be stripped off the stems with a fingernail. You can then add them to savory soups, roasts, fish, chicken, side dishes, stuffings, dressings and more.

You can plant ‘Common’ thyme with ‘Lemon’ thyme and ‘Orangelo’ thyme for citrusy notes in your cooking. The perennial plants also provide fragrant edging for outdoor gardens.

Mint If comfort is a steaming cup of tea or an iced mojito, look for dozens of fun and flavorful twists on mint that you can grow at home — like ‘Pineapple’ mint, ‘Peppermint Chocolate’ mint and ‘Orange’ mint. A bonus: You don’t have to worry about this perennial overrunning your herb bed if you keep it in a pot. Sow seeds about onequarter inch deep and watch for seedlings in seven to 14 days. In addition to flavoring drinks, mint also pairs well with salads, dressings and Middle Eastern dishes.

Tips for Your Home Herb Garden Pick Ready-to-Go Kits If you’re looking for help on how to grow herbs indoors year-round and want recommendations for herb collections, you can find prepackaged herb-growing kits that include soil, seeds, starter pots and instructions. Consider a culinary herb kit with dill, basil, parsley, chives and cilantro, or an Italian herb garden that blends thyme, basil, parsley and oregano.

Keep Seeds Moist When you’re planting home herb garden seeds, use potting soil and gently water until the soil is damp but not soggy. You can lightly cover the pot with a clear plastic cover or wrap to help retain moisture and warmth. Remove the cover once seeds germinate. Make sure the soil doesn’t dry out, especially when seedlings are just emerging.

Provide Enough Light The biggest requirement for how to grow indoor herbs year-round is providing enough natural light — usually about six hours a day. Place your herbs near a southern window (or east- or west-facing as a second choice) for maximum exposure to light or near a corner of windows. Since seedlings bend toward the light, rotating pots can help herbs grow straighter.

If you don’t have enough natural sunlight or want to supplement it, a tabletop grow light can help herbs (and any other plants) thrive. Leave plant lights on for 16 hours and off for 8 hours.

Monitor Moisture Most herbs need an indoor temperature between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which also fits what most households set for their winter thermostats. Home heating systems can dry out plants quickly on the coldest winter days when they’re running frequently. Check soil more often during these stretches, watering about an inch below the surface when the soil feels dry.

Most herbs will need a pot at least 6 to 8 inches in circumference with good drainage

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by the USDA (not all baes apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency of USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-7202600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complain Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda. gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call 1-866-632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA within 180 days by: 1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Ave, SW Washington, D.C. 2025-09410; 2) Fax: 202-690-7442; or 3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Northern Colorado Communications, LLC

LIFELINE SERVICE AND UNIVERSAL SERVICES

Colorado Lifeline Service is a federally funding program designed to make basic telephone service available at reduced rates to eligible residential customers. Customer’s eligibility to receive the discount must be renewed periodically. The program is limited to one benefit per household, consisting of either wireline or wireless service.

Who Qualifies? You are eligible for Lifeline Service if your annual household income is at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines, or in your household resides a person who receives or has a child who receives benefits from at least one of the following programs: Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Federal Public Housing Assistance (FPHA) National School Lunch Program (only applicant or customer who satisfy the income standard of the program for free meals) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Health benefits coverage under the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) An eligible customer residing in tribal lands Bureau of Indian Affairs general assistance Tribally administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Head Start (only those households meeting its income qualifying standard) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Children under 17 years of age with no health insurance Other eligible programs may apply Information about customers who qualify for Lifeline Service may be shared between state agencies and Northern Colorado Communications, LLC. Lifeline customers can also subscribe to optional services at the same rate offered to other customers.

What Universal Services are available to all customers? Universal services are offered to all customers of Northern Colorado Communications, LLC. Universal Services available include the following services: Voice grade access to the public switched network or its functional equivalent Minutes of use for Local service Access to emergency services to the extent the local government has implemented 911 or enhanced 911 systems Toll limitation for qualifying low-income consumers Local Calling for Residential Service is $10.55 - $16.00 and Business Service is $15.90 - $23.30 Ability to report service problems seven days a week How do Telephone Customers and Applicants for Telephone Service Apply for Lifeline Program?

Applicants can come into our office and pick up a certification form or call 970-483-7300 and request that one be mailed to you.

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Lost Creek Guide

Judge Ends Broncos Ownership Dispute, Franchise is up for Sale

By Alejandro A. Alonso Galva, Colorado Public Radio

Estimates say the Broncos will demand $4 Billion on the market The Broncos are going up for sale.

A judge in Denver’s second district court has terminated a right of first refusal agreement between the estates of two former owners: Edgar Kaiser who owned the team from 1981 to 1984, and Pat Bowlen who owned the team since.

This was the court dispute: When Bowlen bought the team from Kaiser in 1984, he gave Kaiser the right of first refusal (granting him the ability to match any offer) if Bowlen ever chose to sell the team. Kaiser passed away in 2012. And Bowlen later passed away in 2019, putting the ownership of the Broncos into uncertain territory.

When The Pat Bowlen Trust indicated it would sell the team, the Kaiser estate claimed they still possessed the right to first refusal.

That claim ended Tuesday when a judge ruled the right of first refusal agreement could not be transferred after Kaiser’s death.

With the disagreement settled, now a sale can move forward for one of the most popular franchises in the NFL. In August, Forbes valued the Broncos at 3.75 billion dollars.

March 2, 2022

Wagoneers 4 H Club Meeting Minutes

by Stacie Powers Club Reporter Date: 2/21/2022 Time: 6:30 Location: SE Weld County Fairgrounds New/Exciting Announcements: • The YellowStone basket has been put together.

• Fairboard appreciation dinner will be on March first with a raffle auctioning off a rifle.

• New Parent and Volunteer welcome night is going to be February 24th 6:00 pm.

• Travis Bydelac is pig project leader, Garret Hall poultry leader, Stacie Powers cake decoration leader, Troy Chambers shooting sports, Jack Owens wood working, Marge Patton breeding leader.

Demonstrations: 1. Blane Bydalek: What was the Panzer v111/Manus 2. Sydney Vaughn: The wonderful world of public speaking 3. Peyton Arnold: Tape Demonstration 4. CloverBud Happenings: The cloverbuds had DIY projects of a clover and String of Birds and Insects.

Next Meeting: Date Monday March 14 Time 6:30 Location SE Weld County Fair

There is also “pickle/pull tabs” available everyday!

Please come join us for some fun and socializing!

REFERRAL REWARDS JUST GOT Celebrate your Blue Lightning experience with everyone!

HYBRID ANNUAL MEETING

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2022 4:30 P.M. REGISTRATION | 6:30 P.M. MEETING BEGINS The 2022 Annual Meeting will be held as a hybrid event that members may attend either online or in person. All members are invited to attend and engage with cooperative leadership and connect with fellow members.

The in-person meeting will be held at the Riverdale Regional Park & Fairgrounds on April 13 and livestreamed on United Power’s website. Registration opens at 4:30 p.m. and the official business meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. The virtual stream will begin at the start of the business meeting at www.unitedpower.com/annual-meeting.

VOTING YOUR BALLOT IN THE 2022 DIRECTOR ELECTION Three positions on United Power’s eleven-member board are up for election, one seat in the East, South and West Districts. This year, members may vote in the director election electronically through their online account or return it by mail. Voting online is a fast and secure way to submit your ballots and avoid delays in mail handling.

Ballots must arrive at the P.O. Box by noon on April 12, 2022.

United Power is monitoring COVID-19 restrictions. In the event conditions do not permit an in-person event, the virtual format will still be available. Visit www.unitedpower.com for updates and current health department requirements.

Refer your family, neighbors, & friends, & you BOTH GET $75 IN REWARDS! Now through April 30, 2022, you can TRIPLE your rewards when you refer a new customer to Blue Lightning!

Grab your TRIPLE rewards, today!!

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970-483-7343

March 2, 2022

13

Lost Creek Guide

Aging Research Is Key to Balancing the Budget

by Newt Gingrich

Therapies targeting cellular aging to help Americans age healthier would unlock a “longevity dividend” – the result of lower health care spending on disease and higher economic productivity.

Last week, I wrote that the path back to a balanced budget could not be simple stinginess, but smart reforms that produce long term returns of higher GDP and lower government spending.

For instance, in the 1990s, I helped author four straight balanced budgets, during which we doubled the budget of the National Institutes for Health because we understood that biomedical innovation saves lives and money and grows the economy.

Getting back to a balanced budget today will require a similar approach.

Looking at budget projections, chronic illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease are the leading drivers of increased government spending.

This spending impact from chronic disease is easiest to see in Medicare and Medicaid, but it also negatively impacts economic growth by removing those afflicted and their caregivers from the workforce. This lowers tax revenue, exacerbating the problem.

Clearly, any solution to balance the budget must make smart reforms to tackle this challenge.

It is important to understand that these constellations of illnesses have a common denominator: aging. Smoking increases your risk of getting cancer by a factor of 15.

Aging, meanwhile, increases it by a factor of around 100.

We are not used to talking about aging as a risk factor for disease because we do not think of aging as preventable. However, new research suggests this is not exactly true.

Recent breakthroughs in science’s understanding of the aging process have shown that with the right treatments, we have the potential to mitigate the loss of resiliency and susceptibility to disease that occurs as we age.

Living a healthy lifestyle is an important part of the equation. But there is also the potential to develop therapies that would allow us to age much healthier. This new class of medicines targeting “cellular aging” would help prevent diseases such as cancer, dementia, and heart disease instead of treating them after they manifest. For the first time, we would have clinically validated medicine that didn’t just add years to our life, but life to our years.

Therapies targeting cellular aging to help Americans age healthier would unlock a “longevity dividend” – the result of lower health care spending on disease and higher economic productivity. Economist Dana Goldman estimates that every 2.2 years of healthy life added to the average American would generate $7.1 trillion in economic returns. This is a conservative estimate. Others such as Andrew Scott suggest the return could be as high as $38 trillion for just one added year.

Investing in aging research to develop therapies to increase healthy longevity is also popular. A recent poll by the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives showed that strong majorities of Americans in both parties support research into treating the cellular aging process as a way to prevent chronic disease. Fifty percent go so far as to say it should be a priority for the U.S. government.

This support would likely be much higher if the budget implications of treating aging were fully explained. The poll showed that conservatives ranked reducing our national debt as the second highest priority for our government. Strengthening our national security was No. 1.

Aging research would benefit both. We can reduce our debt by lowering future Medicare and Medicaid spending by preventing age-related chronic disease. This would also free up resources to ensure we maintain technological superiority over our geopolitical rivals such as China (who has its own robust initiative to research cellular aging).

Congress and the White House can do three things to support biomedical research and the development of therapies to target cellular aging.

First, the Division of Aging Biology within the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health should get a substantial budget increase. If cellular aging is at the root of multiple chronic diseases, it makes no sense that the division assigned to researching it receives less than 1 percent of NIH funding. This is a misallocation of funds representative of the broader problem in medicine of waiting to treat disease after it occurs rather than preventing it in the first place.

Second, the proposed ARPA-H (which would function like the defense focused DARPA, except on health) should make geroscience (the science of medically treating cellular aging) one of its major focuses. In addition to more resources, a geroscience focus in ARPA-H could allow for more creativity and innovation than the formalized NIH grant process.

Third, Congress should work with the Food and Drug Administration and geroscience researchers to develop a specialized approval pathway for drugs and therapies that target cellular aging. The entire FDA model is based around treating disease. There is not much precedent around how to design an approval process for preventative treatments given the long time horizon of many chronic illnesses. FDA and scientists in the field will need to come to an agreement on surrogate endpoints for cellular aging that serve as a proxy for risk of disease development. This process will take time and more

research. It should begin now.

These three steps should be part of any strategic attempt to return to balanced budgets, in addition to being key for America maintaining its competitive geopolitical edge over our adversaries. It is also a potential bipartisan slam dunk that could pass Congress if members understood it better. You can help by writing your Congressman today and letting them know you want them to support aging research.

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14

Lost Creek Guide

- Obituary -

Adam Thomas Hendrickson Adam Thomas Hendrickson, 41, of Eaton Colorado, went to be with his Lord and Savior on January 23, 2022. Adam was born February 3, 1980, in Fort Collins, Colorado to Betty (Roberts) and Terry Hendrickson.

Adam graduated from Pawnee High School and attended UNC. He was married to Ashley Hart on May 4, 2002. Although their marital union ended in 2007, the couple was blessed with 3 sons. Adam was employed by Varra Companies. In his spare time, Adam enjoyed time with his sons, riding his Harley and visiting with family and his many friends.

Adam was a good man, a good father, a good son to his parents and brother to his siblings. He didn’t know a stranger and went out of his way to help those in need.

Adam is survived by parents Terry and Kathy Hendrickson of Greeley and Betty and Gary Dever of Grover; sons Ryan, Jaydin and Nickolis; brothers Garrett of Owasso, OK, Seth of Ft. Collins, Taylor (Stephanie) of Platteville, and Jude of Greeley; sister Hope of Greeley; and cousin Amanda Ng’ojoy, who grew up with him like a sister. He is also survived by his special friend Stephanee Trujillo of Milliken and numerous cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Adam was predeceased by grandparents Lynn and Joyce Hendrickson, Leon and Margaret Roberts, Henrietta Rockenbach, and Ralph and Myrnie Campono Derouchie; and baby sister Faith.

A Celebration of Adam’s life was held at Adventure Church, 4100 W. 20th St., Greeley on February 12, 2022.

March 2, 2022

Will Officials Defend Colorado’s Control Over Water?

By Greg Walcher, Complete Colorado Sometimes as part of a dire prediction, someone will say, “I hope I’m wrong, but…”

When I heard about a new petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear another appeal on the extent of federal jurisdiction over water – the perennial “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) issue, I did not think the nation’s highest court would agree to hear the case. That’s partly because the justices agree to hear less than one percent of the cases brought to them, and also because EPA argued that the case is not “ripe,” because the agency will soon finalize another new WOTUS rule. That argument is usually persuasive to a court that is habitually reluctant to rule on anything it doesn’t yet have to. But to almost everyone’s surprise, last week the Court granted the petition, agreeing to hear the case – Sackett v. EPA – and reconsider the issue.

The court denied 129 petitions, and granted only four, including this one. That raises the possibility that the question could finally be settled.

The confusion and inconsistency resulting from two opposite federal court rulings on WOTUS is among the greatest threats to Colorado water during my lifetime. The dispute represents a grave danger to the historic doctrine – reinforced many times over the past century – that water belongs to, and is controlled by, the states. The exception to that fundamental principle is the Clean Water Act, which created federal authority to regulate “navigable waters of the U.S.,” meaning major rivers, bays, intercoastal waterways, and oceans, which involve interstate commerce. The law remained clear that inland waters belong to the states, and Congress has never attempted to change that. But presidents and regulators have tried to do so, leading to the court case that began this roller-coaster of confusion and contradiction.

That now-famous 2006 case, Rapanos v. United States, produced two competing definitions of “waters of the U.S.” in a strangely muddled 4-1-4 decision – two different views of where federal jurisdiction begins and ends. Four Justices shared the plurality opinion, written by Antonin Scalia, that the law covers wetlands only if they have a continuous surface connection to a river, lake or other major waterway. A fifth, Anthony Kennedy, agreed with the ruling, but with different reasoning, and wrote his own opinion – joined by no other Justice – saying the Clean Water Act covers all wetlands with a “significant nexus” to the larger bodies of water. What is “significant nexus?” Who knows – there is no such term in the Clean Water Act. Nevertheless, the Obama EPA relied on the lone opinion of Justice Kennedy, in creating one of the most egregious power grabs in environmental history, asserting federal jurisdiction over every stream, rill, brook, creek, rivulet, backwater, stock pond, and parking lot drain in the country. It started a legal war with many states, though none had more to lose than Colorado, in terms of water.

Colorado helped lead the legal challenge, joined by half the other states, with full support of the Democratic legislature and then-Governor Hickenlooper. A federal Court of Appeals agreed, ruling that EPA had exceeded its statutory authority and blocking it in all 26 states. A different federal court disagreed, so the rule was blocked in 26 states and implemented in 24. Then the Trump Administration repealed the rule, issuing a new one based on the original plurality Supreme Court opinion, as Colorado had demanded. It was a hard-fought and enormously important victory for the State. But then, something unheard-of in the West happened.

Confounding generations of Colorado leaders, who always viewed protecting Colorado’s water as a non-partisan duty, newly-elected State Attorney General Phil Weiser filed an exactly-opposite suit seeking reinstatement of the Obama-era interpretation – federal control over Colorado water (he lost in court). That bizarre action defied the 2016 “Colorado Water Rights Protection Act,” passed unanimously by the Democratic legislature and signed by Hickenlooper, strongly opposing federal control. The Act re-asserted the constitutional principle that waters of Colorado belong to the people of Colorado, and are administered under state law.

There are no navigable waters in Colorado involving interstate commerce. EPA’s claim of jurisdiction, despite that obvious fact, may not be new (landowners have dealt with it off-and-on for decades), but it is nevertheless contrary to law. The Supreme Court finally has a chance to make that clear.

Predictably, many organizations will file briefs and opinions in this case, including states. Which side will Colorado be on this time? Will its officials defend its water, or knuckle under to federal control?

Greg Walcher is former director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and a Western Slope resident.

March 2, 2022

15

Lost Creek Guide

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Fort Lupton, Colorado

16

Lost Creek Guide

Women of Weld Host Multiple Republican Candidates Events – Gubernatorial and Senatorial at the Fort Lupton Recreation Center continued from page 1...

Candidates for Republican Governor Nomination

Candidates for Republican Senator Nomination

Brachler. Both events were on time as Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams was the timekeeper.

At the gubernatorial event attendees were Jeff Fry, Jon Gray-Ginsberg, Greg Lopez, Jason Lopez, Danielle Neuschwanger. University of Colorado regent Heidi Ganahl was a last-minute cancelation because of a positive COVID 19 test. At the Senatorial candidate event attendees were Eli Bremer, Gino Campena, Deborah Flora, Ron Hanks, Danielle Hendricks, Greg Moore, Joe O’Dea, and Peter Yu. The discussion was lively as moderator George Brauchler asks some tough questions, as you would expect from him. The center of discussions at both events focused on how the Democratic administration under Joe Biden’s leadership and the following of Jared Polis and other Colorado democratic politicians has hurt the people of Colorado and that needed to be changed.

The Women of Weld, led by Gillian Smith, President, Tammy Klein, Vice President, Marge Klein, Treasurer and Heather Edmiston, Secretary the rest of the group deserve a lot of credit for bringing these events off. It is important to be informed who the players are and what they stand for so that a knowledgeable decision can be reached.

It is a shame that as good as these events are they only reach a fraction of the voters.

Hats off to the ladies for a job that well done.

March 2, 2022

Hudson, fiber is coming.