The Lost Creek Guide April 15, 2020

Volume 13 • Edition 08

April 15, 2020

Serving rural Adams, Morgan, and Weld Counties

“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

Letter to the Community

While in the midst of the current hard times, The Keene Clinic has experienced the tragedy of one of it’s employees. Sharon, the senior Medical Assistant was diagnosed with a bran turmor. She has had brain surgery and is doing well so far.

She will require extensive and expensive treatments. She will require chemotherapy and possibly radiation treatments. Sharon has been a dedicated worker for the Keene clinc. She is a woman of a kind heart and a compassionate soul. She had planned to stay at the clinic and retire from here.

Her live has now forever changed.

We are reaching out to you for donations on her behalf.

If you wish to donate, you may make a check payable on her behalf, Sharon Kavadas-Wilson. The Keene Clinic will make the donations available to Sharon in a timely manner. If you wish to make a cash donation youo may do so in person at the clinic.

We, at the Keene Clinic express our gratitude to you, our community.

Stay safe, practice self-care, social distancing, and support healthy practices and behavior.

We are here with you.

The Keene Clinic Staff 190 South Main, P.O. Box 559 Keenesburg, CO 80643 (303) 732-4268

How to Protect Yourself and Others Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.

Know how it spreads • There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

• The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

• The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. » Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). » Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. » These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. » Some recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 may be spread by people who are not showing symptoms.

Everone should

Englewood, CO (April 13, 2020) – Today, JBS USA announced the temporary closure of the Greeley beef production facility until April 24, 2020, in response to Coronavirus 2019 ( COVID-19). JBS took this step in close coordination with the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“While beef producers are committed to providing safe and abundant beef for families throughout Colorado, the nation, and the world, our first concern is ensuring the health and safety of Coloradans in stopping the spread of COVID-19. We were saddened to hear of the passing of two workers from the plant and our thoughts are with their families,” stated Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President Steve Wooten of Kim, Colorado.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have repeatedly stated that food products are safe. Colorado Beef Council Chair Sallie Miller of Briggsdale, Colorado emphasizes, “The entire beef industry continues to provide consumers with a diversity of products they expect and is dedicated to working together to ensure food safety remains its top priority.”

Consumers can be confident that adequate supplies of beef are available in their grocery store of choice.

“While consumers have recently experienced some products being sold out in stores, this was a result of a peak in consumer demand and supply chain disruptions,” said Mike Veeman, Colorado Livestock Association (CLA) President.

Our organizations are concerned about the business environment surrounding COVID-19, especially that of all beef production sectors from the cow/calf producer to the processing plant. However, we remain resolute in our commitment to do our part to end this pandemic, while providing a safe and nutritious beef eating experience.

Election Results:

Town of Wiggins:

Town of Keenesburg:

Mayor: Jeffrey Palmer -

Mayor: Ken Gfeller

-

125

Bob Grand

-

82

Trustee: Juanda Hesse

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Avoid close contact • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Stay at home as much as possible.

• Put distance between yourself and other people. » Remember that some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus. » Keeping distance from others is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-at-higher-risk.html

cdc.gov/coronavirus

- 147

Robert Zebroski – 140 Bruce Sparrow - 138 Ron Schlagel

Clean your hands often

CS 316291A 04/06/2020

Colorado Beef Industry Responds to Greeley, Colorado’s JBS Beef Packing Plant Temporary Closure Due to COVID-19

-

71

“Mac” Leon

125

-

102

Trustee: David Herbstman – 197 Bryan Flax

- 174

Jerry Schwindt

- 174

Mark Strickland - 153 Pat Musgrave Anna Brooks

- 136 -

83

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE:

Page 2: Way of the World Page 3: Baseline Page 4: Public Health Notice: Immediate Closuer of JBS Page 6: Corona Virus Deaths Shrinking Page 7: FDA Says US “Very Close to Peak” for Pandemic Page 10: State BUdget Cut Guidelines Page 11: What Older Adults Need to Know About COVID-19 Page 12: Oil Producers Agree to Cut Production by Tenth

Page 2

– Way of the World –

Lost Creek Guide

by Bob Grand A big thank you to the folks in our healthcare industry, our first responders, including police, EMT and fire fighters. They do their jobs, even in the face of such adversity. Hopefully you will not need their assistance, but it is comforting to know they are there and are ready and willing to do their job. I would say another group who was underappreciated are our educators. Now that the young people are at home, requiring parents to provide leaning experiences that many of those parents have a far greater appreciation for what a teacher does all day.

One bright spot, so far, in this coronavirus pandemic, is the seemingly unified approach by our government officials in focusing on the addressing issues. There has been a whole lot less us and them, and whole lot more we. How long will that last? Probably not long enough. You just have to wonder if our politicians addressed our many pressing issues with the same intensity of focus, we might see some solutions to what have seemed to be insurmountable problems.

The corona virus may be peaking. Although deaths overall are continuing to rise, the number of hospitalizations required in many of the hot spots are beginning to flatten. I had a chat with my oldest daughter who lives in New York City and has two daughters.

She noted that this was the first really worldwide event she had ever experienced. I reminded her that her grandparents went through the great depression as well as World War II. She also noted that things will be different after this. How true that is. How do we get started back up? How will the economy get cranking again? How do you deal with the impact on such basic industries as oil & gas and tourism, including the airlines, cruise lines, restaurants, sports, etc.? Discussions are saying that the postal service will be staring at a big cash crunch going into the summer. Some say this is generated by the economic slowdown which has resulted in continuing lowered use of the mail service.

One has to ask how many other entities who have survived as the economy had been so strong but that were actually in a decline in their basic business model. There are implications. If people or businesses cannot pay rent than landlords have a hard time paying mortgages, if mortgages do not get paid what happens to lending institutions, and so on. We must have the leadership from our national government to what will become a far bigger problem. Hopefully the approach will be one of unity, similar to what we are seeing currently on the coronavirus battle. It is nice to be on a role but when a hiccup occurs, how are you positioned to weather it. We may have to face some pretty significant changes to how the world works.

Speaking of a hiccup, the Colorado Joint Budget Committee, the JBC, is staring at a budget short fall of what could be as much as $3 billion. Given the business slowdown, coupled with the impact of the reduction in oil and gas, and the increased expenses for unemployment and health care costs, some of which will be offset from the federal government. This could represent almost a 7% reduction over current funding levels. The JBC has asked for state government departments to look at potential savings this fiscal year. Unlike many of its neighbors Colorado has done a good job of spending most of its surplus oil and gas revenue on what the recent governor(s) have considered to be necessary expenditures. That will probably make this next budget cycle a particularly painful one, with little ability to address our road issues. But whose fault is that? Ours, as we do not have stomach to hold our elected officials accountable. This will become painfully obvious over the next few months. Be prepared at the state level to hear howls of pain from most everybody.

The question of starting up the economy will be a tough one. You cannot wait until the coronavirus is done. We will not have a viable economy. The decision is probably best left to the individual states. Washington cannot dictate to the states. Jump starting the economy will force more interface among people. That additional contact will drive additional coronavirus issues. If you are not affected, you probably do not care but what if it is your grandmother who dies? Not a pleasant thought but one which our governors will all have to address. I guess that is the price you pay for wanting and winning the job. I just hope everyone remembers that the greater good is important and occasionally there is a price to pay and it is not always the other person who pays it.

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

lcgnews.com

Our deadline is 7 working days before publication

105 Woodward - PO Box 581 Keenesburg, CO 80643

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.

Delivering on the 1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month and sent to all Postal Boxes.

Our hours are Tuesday, Weds, & Thursday 10am to 3pm.

Call or email us for advertising rates.

April 15, 2020

With $349 Billion in Emergency Small Business Capital Cleared, SBA and Treasury Begin Unprecedented Public-Private Mobilization Effort to Distribute Funds

by SBA Regional Administrator Dan Nordberg Following President Trump’s signing of the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin today announced that the SBA and Treasury Department have initiated a robust mobilization effort of banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need.

The CARES Act establishes a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain their businesses and keep their workers employed. “This unprecedented public-private partnership is going to assist small businesses with accessing capital quickly. Our goal is to position lenders as the single point-of-contact for small businesses – the application, loan processing, and disbursement of funds will all be administered at the community level,” said Administrator Carranza. “Speed is the operative word; applications for the emergency capital can begin as early as this week, with lenders using their own systems and processes to make these loans. We remain committed to supporting our nation’s more than 30 million small businesses and their employees, so that they can continue to be the fuel for our nation’s economic engine.”

“This legislation provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed,” said Secretary Mnuchin.

“Treasury and the Small Business Administration expect to have this program up and running by April 3rd so that businesses can go to a participating SBA 7(a) lender, bank, or credit union, apply for a loan, and be approved on the same day. The loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll and for certain other expenses.” The new loan program will help small businesses with their payroll and other business operating expenses. It will provide critical capital to businesses without collateral requirements, personal guarantees, or SBA fees – all with a 100% guarantee from SBA. All loan payments will be deferred for six months. Most importantly, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.

“The devastating impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) has tested the will of millions of small businesses throughout Colorado and the nation, but help is on the way” said SBA Regional Administrator Dan Nordberg. “ By joining forces, and leveraging the power of private industry, the Paycheck Protection Act will provide businesses with the capital and certainty they need to retain their employees and continue serving our communities. I am deeply proud of SBA’s quick implementation of this critical program and look forward to working with our lending partners to provide the assistance necessary to support small business” The Paycheck Protection Program is specifically designed to help small businesses keep their workforce employed. Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program.

• The new loan program will be available retroactive from Feb. 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020.

Loan Terms & Conditions • Eligible businesses: All businesses, including non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees, or no greater than the number of employees set by the SBA as the size standard for certain industries • Maximum loan amount up to $10 million • Loan forgiveness if proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated business operating expenses in the 8 weeks following the date of loan origination (due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than 25% of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs) • All loans under this program will have the following identical features: • Interest rate of 0.5% • Maturity of 2 years • First payment deferred for six months • 100% guarantee by SBA • No collateral • No personal guarantees • No borrower or lender fees payable to SBA SBA’s announcement comes on the heels of a series of steps taken by the Agency since the President’s Emergency Declaration to expeditiously provide capital to financially distressed businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since March 17, SBA has taken the following steps: • Declared all states and territories eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance • 1-year deferment on Economic Injury Disaster Loans provided due to COVID-19 • Automatic deferment of previous disaster loans for homeowners and businesses through 2020 • Waiver of garnishments through 2020 Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses.

For the lastest information, please remember to follow us @SBArockymtn.

(Dan Nordberg serves as the SBA’s Region VIII Administrator and is based in Denver.

He oversees the agency’s programs and services in Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming)

April 15, 2020

- Baseline -

Lost Creek Guide

By Linda Meyer I think we can all agree the last month has been unusual, to say the least. Covid-19 has gone from “What’s that?” to a big piece of our lives. My church has not met for worship since March 8, although we are recording worship services for Facebook. I have learned a few things about recording videos.

This has been a learning experience for all of us: wearing masks, when to wear a mask, how to make your own masks, what constitutes a necessary reason to leave home, how early in the day you have to be at the store to find toilet paper, and much, much more. I admit over the weekend Husband, Son and I drove to Loveland for cheeseburgers at a favorite fast-food restaurant. We drove to Loveland, went through the drive through, parked in the parking lot to eat, and went home again. The only person we came in contact with was the person at the drive through window.

Some days, you just need a cheeseburger! We are picking up dinner at least once a week to support restaurants that have had to close their dining rooms. Many restaurants are offering deliver, if you do not want to go out.

And speaking of food, I know there are people in the community who have lost their jobs or are working reduced hours. Loaves and Fishes Food Bank is available to help people who find themselves in need of food assistance. Please call the church at 303732-4319 and leave a message, and we will have someone from Loaves and Fishes contact you. You can also message the church through Facebook, if that is easier for you. Please remember, due to the stay at home order, the church answering machine is only checked once per week. Weld Food Bank is another option, 970-356-2199, https://weldfoodbank.org/ . They can help you find a food bank or pantry close to your home.

As time passes by, I hope we will be able to look back at this and see how we all pulled together for a common cause. At home, we have met several neighbors, from a safe distance, that we did not know. We have been sharing resources, and sharing our stories. I hope that continues. Our country needs a good dose of unity. Perhaps this virus outbreak will help us stop being so divided over so many different things.

As always, mental health resources are listed at the end of this column. Please take care of yourselves and your family.

Stay well!

Linda ____ Linda Meyer is the Pastor of Community United Methodist Church in Keenesburg.

Connect with Linda: Pastorcumc18@gmail.com , Twitter @RevLindaMeyer Mental Health Resources: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 Crisis Text Line: Text CONNECT to 741741 Farm Aid Farmer Hotline: 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243) Colorado Crisis Hotline: 1-844-493-TALK (1-844-493-8255)

Hoyt Home Circle Meets

On March 11, 2020 the Hoyt Home Circle met at 1:00 p.m. at the Hoyt Community Center for a meeting hosted by Dora Lee Shay. President Marilyn Musgrave opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. She led the “Pledge of Allegiance” and Pam Bland led the club creed. Deb Mobley read “Laughter Through the Tears” by Clay Harrison.

Marilyn thanked members who worked on the Hoyt community road signs project this morning. The project will be continued on April 8, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Participants should bring their lunches.

Group 1 birthday luncheon chairman Charlene Shaver gave an update on plans for the luncheon. The luncheon will be held at the Country Steakout restaurant in Fort Morgan at 11:30 a.m. on March 25, 2020. If you have a secret sister with a birthday falling in the Group 1 timeframe please bring their birthday gift to the luncheon.

The spring luncheon will be discussed at a future meeting.

Marilyn announced that the Hoyt Community Center would have a meeting tonight at 6:30 to discuss the 2020 chili supper and encouraged attendance.

The 50/50 drawing was won by Rose Clement and the hostess gift was won by Tracy Bader.

The next meeting will be on March 25, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. at the Country Steakout restaurant. The hostesses will be the Group 2 members. The roll call will be for the Group 1 secret sisters to display their birthday gifts.

Page 3

Meals, Snacks and Homemade Comfort Masks Top Priority as United Way of Weld County Collects Supplies During COVID-19 Pandemic

To help the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, supplies are being accepted at the United Way of Weld County (UWWC) office to be used at the UWWC Housing Navigation Center cold weather shelter, for health care workers and people working with vulnerable populations and for family support through UWWC’s Promises for Children.

Top priorities are meals for the Housing Navigation Center cold weather shelter, lunch, snacks and homemade comfort masks.

Needs at the cold weather shelter include: • meals, healthy snacks, men’s and women’s underwear of all sizes (especially small, medium and large), hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, toilet paper and paper towels.

Items being accepted for health care workers and those working with vulnerable populations.

• personal protective equipment, homemade masks Supplies for family support through UWWC Promises for Children • wipes • diapers (larger sizes 4, 5 and 6) • baby formula Volunteers are also needed to help with shelter logistics. Contact Nicole Quinn at nicole@united-weld.org for opportunities or go to www.unitedway-weld.org/volunteer.

Donations can be dropped off at the UWWC’s office, 814 9th St., downtown Greeley between 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Please call the UWWC front office staff ahead of time at (970) 353-4300 before you drop off items.

Needs for Weld County shelters include: Catholic Charities Serving Weld County Contact Steve McLaughlin at (970) 616-8606 or smclauglin@ccdenver.org or the main line at (970) 353-6433 • Healthy volunteers and volunteers with food service experience • Those who love to cook or whom have worked in some form of food service; those who could prepare, if needed, 80 sack dinners/sandwiches for guests at the cold weather shelter • surgical masks • hand sanitizer • Monetary donations can be made electronically at ccdenver.org (indicate Weld County if desired) or by mailing a check to the Guadalupe Community Center at 1442 North 11th, Greeley, CO 80631 A Woman’s Place Call the information line at (970) 351-0476 Info@awpdv.org • laundry soap • baby wipes • disinfectant spray or wipes • toilet paper • Kleenex Greeley Family House Call the main line at (970) 352-3215 • Septic system toilet paper • HE laundry detergent – powder, fragrance free • 70 percent rubbing alcohol • hand sanitizer Hope at Miracle House Contact Deb DeMille at (720) 676-9697 programdirector0236@gmail.com • toilet paper • wipes • diapers for newborns • Enfamil for babies Agencies working with young children and families: • gloves • cleaning solution • toilet paper • paper towels • Kleenex Donations to Weld Recovers Fund being accepted To donate to the Weld Recovers Fund: COVID-19 Relief to provide financial resources to charitable organizations in the Weld County area that are involved in supporting populations that have been affected by the outbreak go to: www.unitedway-weld.org/covid-19/ or weldcommunityfoundation.org Send a check to: United Way of Weld County Attn: Weld Recovers Fund PO Box 1944 Greeley, Colorado 80632 or Weld Community Foundation Attn: Weld Recovers Fund 2425 35th Avenue, Suite 201 Greeley, Colorado 80634 ### About United Way of Weld County The mission of the United Way of Weld County (UWWC) is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. UWWC assists residents in the areas of Early Childhood Development, Youth Success, Household Stability, Older Adults/Healthy Aging and Access to Services. Through our community’s willingness to give, advocate and volunteer, UWWC is able to have a positive impact on tens of thousands of lives every year. Thanks to the generosity of the 39 UWWC Cornerstone Partners, they donate all or a portion of their corporate donation to help cover 100 percent of administrative and fundraising costs for the resources under UWWC’s management. For more information, visit the United Way of Weld County website at www.unitedway-weld.org.

Page 4

Lost Creek Guide

April 15, 2020

kinnearinsurance@outlook.com

Keene Craft Mercantile Home Made In America Treasures

65 Main Street, Keenesburg, Colorado Open 10 to 5 Tuesday through Saturday

April 15, 2020

Lost Creek Guide

Colorado Growers Face “Risk Like We Have Never Faced Before” as Coronavirus Puts Up Labor Walls

Page 5

Work in the “essential” agriculture industry can go on, but the pandemic’s threat to the market has shaken some Western Slope farmers and orchard men to their roots. Others call the panic overblown.

Nancy Lofholm@nlofholm, Special to The Colorado Sun Like nearly all farmers, David Harold is well used to uncertainty. He grew up in his family’s Olathe-based business, Tuxedo Corn, steeped in the inevitable risks tied to weather, shifting markets and labor problems.

But he is rattled to his roots by the risk posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“The amount of risk we face has exploded this year,” Harold said. “It is risk like we have never faced before. It’s a nuthouse trying to figure out what to do.”

Farming has been deemed an essential industry, so growers like the Harolds can continue their work during the forced shutdown of so many other businesses. But they are beginning the busy spring planting season with a heap of unanswered questions.

Will they be able to bring in enough migrant workers? Will coronavirus-related delays mean those workers won’t be here in time to get the crops in the ground or trees and vines readied? Could the border with Mexico be closed entirely? What if workers get sick with the virus? What can growers do to try to keep workers safe? And will the economy be so devastated and the population still so locked down come harvest time that there won’t be much of a market for fresh produce?

From orchards to vegetable patches to vineyards to acres of field crops, growers say they are feeling similar angst as they wade into a whole new agriculture complexity. They also feel the weight of knowing they are entrusted with providing food for nervous, hunkered down consumers who are suddenly facing empty grocery store shelves.

Workers from Mexico tend to onions on Mike Ahlberg’s farm near Olathe, Colorado, in 2006. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun) Harold was caught in a desperate pinch in the past few weeks because the pandemic has delayed processing of visas for migrant workers. He didn’t know if he would have the 22 H-2A agricultural visa workers from Mexico he needs to build fences and to prepare the fields for planting and irrigating. After long days on phones with various consulates, airlines, bus companies and hotels, he finally learned in early April that 19 workers are headed his way.

To ensure a harvest, the Harolds face more nail-biting times; they need to bring in 35 more workers in May and another 90 in July.

Now that he knows he will have some workers, Harold has had to cobble together a new system to try to keep those workers safe. He has hired a nurse to check their health when they arrive, he has prepared a presentation about guarding their health in the pandemic, and he has set aside some worker housing as possible quarantine quarters if there are sick workers.

Gut clenching in the orchards near Hotchkiss In the nearby Hotchkiss orchard country, an organic farm is trying to look into the future and figure out if there is a market for a crop that consumers usually covet.

“I’m having more of a gut clench this year,” said Steve Ela, who is responsible for the success of a Hotchkiss fruit operation that has been in his family since 1907. Ela Family Farms has produced fruit through the Spanish flu epidemic, the Depression and two world wars.

Like all orchard crops, Ela’s 80 acres of trees are established and can’t be scaled back in anticipation of reduced demand. He will still have loads of peaches, pears, apples, cherries and plums even if farmers markets are shut down this year because of distancing rules.

He said 40% to 50% of the operation’s income comes from farmers markets. “My concern is that we are spending money on a crop every day – we have to take care of the trees – but we don’t know what kind of market we will have.”

A run on dry beans leads to rationing at a farm stand Leta Nieslanik, whose family runs Okagawa Farms in Grand Junction, has been optimistically hanging flowering baskets outside the family’s produce stand even though she has no idea if people will be able to afford them this spring. Customers so far have been buying up bags of dried beans in such large quantities she had to impose limits. But it’s the flower sales that normally bring in some early-season income to subsidize the payroll at the Okagawa market until the fresh vegetables are ready.

“The flowers aren’t a necessity so I don’t know what to expect,” she said.

Nieslanik is also nervous about whether changes in the H-2A agricultural visa system mean she won’t have the 45 experienced migrant workers she will need to harvest chiles, cucumbers, tomatoes and the many other traditional crops at Okagawa. She knows there may be cash-strapped locals looking for work this summer, but from experience she knows they rarely last at the punishing field work.

“We’ve been extremely worried about that part,” Nieslanik said.

Kimberly Noland, who works as an H-2A agent for a number of growers in the Western Slope farm country, said farmers are right to worry when it comes to labor this year.

She said coronavirus-generated delays in interviews for migrant workers in Mexico, along with a change in who is allowed to return to work, may mean that the arrival of workers could be delayed a month – not a change easily accommodated in the farm industry.

“A lot of growers could come up short,” Noland said.

A worker cultivates the soil in a Herman Produce peach orchard near Palisade on Nov. 18, 2019. (Ed Kosmicki, Special to The Colorado Sun) A slew of changes on both sides of the border are contributing to the worker problem. U.S. consulates in Mexico have suspended routine immigrant visa services because of the threat of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The U.S. State Department is currently offering visa processing only to returning workers who don’t need in-person interviews. That could reduce the estimated number of available H-2A workers by 60,000 nationally. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security have issued new rules that are ostensibly supposed to help fill agriculture worker jobs during the pandemic, but those changes haven’t yet resulted in re-

ducing the backlog for visas.

Changes in requirements have also made it impossible for some of the more long-term H-2A workers to get approved. Those workers who have been coming to the United States for years are no longer being granted visas if they have what are termed “red flags” on their records. Noland said a “red flag” could mean a worker crossed the border to work without approval 25 years ago. The red flags are cutting out some of the most experienced workers who often have been coming back to the same farm operations for decades.

“Things are changing on all this almost daily,” Noland said.

When it comes to the safety of migrant workers, no government rules have been issued.

The Economic Policy Institute has released a white paper suggesting how to keep workers safe through the same sorts of social distancing and hygiene measures now in place for the general population.

But the institute paper points out that many migrant workers already labor under what can be unhealthy conditions – conditions now compounded by the coronavirus. They usually live in communal housing and eat communal meals. They are often transported to fields and orchards in vans or other shared vehicles. Some of their work, such as packing shed jobs, take place in close contact to others.

If even one worker gets sick, it could easily be passed on and could result in quarantining of an entire crew.

“To start with, I worry about exposing my guys to the virus by busing them up here,” Harold said.

Some growers are ahead in the visa game Bruce Talbott at Talbott Farms in Palisade is not as worried as some. He said he has the early H-2A workers he needs – about 50 in the fields and 20 who work in the sheds at the state’s largest fruit operation.

“We are ahead of the game on that,” he said.

Talbott said he believes the coronavirus fears are inflated. In conservative rural farm country, he is not alone in that belief. He said his coronavirus attitude is bolstered by one of his brothers who is an emergency department physician and views the pandemic panic as overblown.

Crews from Talbott Farms, the largest grape producer in Colorado, rush to harvest before a hard freeze near Palisade, on Oct. 10, 2019. (Barton Glasser, Special to The Colorado Sun) Talbott said he doesn’t worry much about the health of the workers because they already live a life of social distancing: They mostly work outside where they can spread out. They aren’t exposed to many people from off the farms because they live together and tend to stay close to their lodging. The only time they are around other people, Talbott said, is on Sundays, when they make shopping trips to Walmart. He said good hygiene has been stressed at Talbott Farms prior to the pandemic.

“So, it is not much change for many of them,” Talbott said.

Bob Byer at the Producers Co-op in Olathe, also sees some “hysteria” in the coronavirus response.

“As a business our challenge is trying to get through this hysteria,” said Byers, who has been selling dry beans, wood pellets, garden seeds and animal feed “like crazy” to farmcountry customers worried about the coronavirus and its effect on supplies.

“It’s been a feeding frenzy for dry edible beans of all types,” Byers said.

That doesn’t mean that bean farmers can celebrate while other growers worry. The run on beans hasn’t raised the profits going to farmers. The only bright spot for bean farmers is that their crops are mechanized so they don’t have the labor worries bedeviling other segments of the agriculture industry.

Some are already seeing light at the other side of the pandemic Growers across the Colorado crop spectrum say they see reason for some optimism on the far side of the pandemic. They say they believe empty store shelves will make consumers more aware, and more appreciative, of those who grow their food — particularly those who grow it locally. They hope the worker scramble in the pandemic will bring increased pressure to fix a guest agricultural worker program that is too onerous and risky even in the best of times. They hold out hope that workers in the future might be approved for three-year visas rather than a single year.

Harold said he saw the optimism of perennially gambling farmers recently when Tuxedo Corn held a meeting of corn growers to lay out the risks of starting a crop during a pandemic and to ask the growers if any of them wanted to back out before planting time. No one did.

At Ela Farms, Ela said his 95-year-old mother recently gave him some long-view perspective on the pandemic when she came into his office and proclaimed that she has never seen anything like this. But she added that she doesn’t live in fear – for the farm, or for herself. “She is taking it all in stride,” Ela said. “That tells me something.”

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

Please come join us for some fun and socializing!

Page 6

Lost Creek Guide

Good News: Coronavirus Death Estimates Keep Shrinking

From March 26 to April 8, the number of projected deaths from coronavirus dropped from 81,000 to 60,000. What should we do with such information?

NICK GILLESPIE (SIPA/Newscom) One of the most striking developments over the past two weeks is how quickly the estimates of death and hospitalizations from COVID-19 are being reduced.

The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is the most influential modeler of the novel coronavirus in the United States, with White House officials and other public health professionals using the group’s numbers to plan strategy and policy.

On March 26, IHME predicted that if current social-distancing policies stayed in place, there would likely be 81,000 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by June 1. In its most recent projection, from April 8, it concluded that there would 60,145 deaths, a figure, as Fareed Zakaria writes in The Washington Post, “on par with the number of people estimated to have died of the flu in the 2019-2020 season.”

National Review’s Andrew McCarthy notes that IHME has been revising its estimates for hospital beds (including ones in intensive care units [ICU]) and ventilators as well: On April 8, IHME reduced the total number of hospital beds it had predicted would be needed nationally by a remarkable 166,890—down to 95,202 from the 262,092 it had predicted less than a week earlier (i.e., it was nearly two-thirds off). The ICU projection over that same week was cut in half: to 19,816 on April 8, down from 39,727 on April 2.

The projected need for ventilators also fell by nearly half, to 16,845 from 31,782.

McCarthy persuasively argues that «the model on which the government is relying is simply unreliable.» The IHME is not simply changing its predictions about the future (which one would assume it would do as people›s behavior changes and as new data become available). It›s failing to describe present reality. From Zakaria: On March 30, University of Washington researchers projected that California would need 4,800 beds on April 3. In fact, the state needed 2,200. The same model projected that Louisiana would need 6,400; in fact, it used only 1,700. Even New York, the most stressed system in the country, used only 15,000 beds against a projection of 58,000.

Governments at all levels have pointed to dire forecasts (remember the CDC›s worstcase scenario of 1.7 million deaths?) to lock down the economy, which has shrunk by 30 percent over the past month, and to help pass historically high spending bills. Residents in Kentucky and other states who are diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 are being tracked using ankle bracelets and other invasive technologies. Faulty projections of the need for hospital resources “has meant that patients with other pressing illnesses might have been denied care—or not sought care—for no good reason,” writes Zakaria.

In short, we have completely upended American society on the basis on projections and descriptions that are unstable and inaccurate. There›s no question that the estimated fatality rate and need for hospital beds are coming down partly because of social distancing and other changes in behavior. But some portion of the slippage in the IHME numbers is surely because the models, which presume social-distancing rules stay in place, are flawed. It›s understandable why federal, state, and local governments have acted in such extreme fashion, especially in the wake of the CDC›s disastrous early failure to implement accurate testing and the explosion of cases in New York, a state that was slow to action.

To date, public health concerns, especially the predicted number of dead people, have pushed all other considerations, including the effect on economic activity and the massive new amounts of government debt, to the side. But as the death projections come down and the actual hospitalizations come in lower than expected, we need to start factoring in other concerns that will allow us to return to something approaching normalcy.

April 15, 2020

Union Demands Better Conditions at Greeley Beef Plant as Coronavirus Outbreak Worsens, Draws White House’s Attention

Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence mentioned the outbreak on Friday during their daily briefing on coronavirus with the media.

Jesse Paul@jesseapaul, The Colorado Sun The union representing 3,000 workers at a Greeley meatpacking plant is demanding better conditions at the facility after an outbreak of the new coronavirus that has sickened dozens and killed at least two.

The union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, asked Gov. Jared Polis to shutter the plant for at least seven days so that a deep cleaning can be completed. Polis says that will happen, along with testing of every worker to ensure they aren’t infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

“We have coordinated very closely with Weld County health,” Polis told reporters on Friday. A spokeswoman for the governor said the facility would be closed for cleaning until Tuesday or Wednesday.

The situation at the facility, owned and operated by Brazilian-based beef company JBS, has become so dire that it’s drawn the attention of the White House. Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence mentioned the outbreak on Friday during their daily briefing on coronavirus with the media.

The union says at least 42 workers have tested positive for the virus, including five who are hospitalized. JBS says 36 have the disease.

The union identified the two workers who died as Saul Sanchez, who was 78 but otherwise in good health, and 60-year-old Eduardo Conchas de la Cruz.

Pence said he has spoken with Polis and Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner about the situation.

“At this time, our team is working with the governor and working with the senator to ensure that we flow testing resources,” he said, adding that the Trump administration is “flowing testing resources” toward the plant’s workers.

Trump acknowledged the need for screening at the plant. “That would be a case where you’d do some very big testing,” he said.

Polis said the situation at the plant is a matter of national food security and could have impacts on the state’s farmers and ranchers.

“We have consistently asked JBS to take appropriate measures consistent with the Centers for Disease Control guidelines over the past several weeks, to little or no avail until very recently,” Kim Cordova, the union’s president, wrote in her letter to Polis.

Cordova demanded that workers be given personal protective equipment and sought assurances about safe physical distancing before they return to the job. Additionally, she wants hazard pay for employees and wages paid for any worker who must miss shifts before of self isolation.

“We fully understand the seriousness of a plant closure and its economic impact,” she wrote. “However, safety must take precedence over profits. As you are no doubt aware, a number of plants throughout the United States have now been closed because of the spread of COVID-19.

“Talk is cheap,” she wrote. “Workers’ lives are not.”

JBS says it is taking the situation seriously and responding with cleaning and tests.

“While the measures we have taken within our facility to improve safety have made a positive impact, COVID-19 remains a threat across the United States and in Weld County, which is why we are investing more than $1 million in COVID-19 testing kits for our team members,” Andre Nogueira, JBS USA CEO, said in a written statement. “Greeley is our home and more than 6,000 JBS team members and their families live in Weld County. …

No matter what measures we take in our facilities, we must all work together to prevent the continued spread of coronavirus in our communities.”

The company said it is optimistic that increased screening and testing, in addition to employee temperature checks, will provide confidence to its workforce and the community “that this critical infrastructure facility will continue to operate and provide food for local families and the country during these challenging times.”

JBS said so far it has increased sanitation, promoted physical distancing, purchased more personal protective equipment for workers, removed vulnerable workers from its facilities while still paying them and required sick workers to stay home.

Oil-Producing Nations Agree to Cut Production Sharply

Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil-producing nations completed an agreement on Sunday to slash oil worldwide oil production by nearly 10 million barrels a day.

Before the coronavirus pandemic caused major economies to seize up, 100 million barrels of oil fueled global commerce each day. But demand is now 35 percent lower than that daily pace, a plunge that has crushed oil prices. While significant, the cuts agreed to on Sunday are still far short of what would be needed to bring oil production in line with demand.

A tentative agreement was reached Thursday, but Mexico stood firm on its position to cut 100,000 barrels a day and not the 400,000 barrels that Saudi Arabia had pushed for.

The final agreement, with Mexico’s smaller reduction, will cut 9.7 million barrels a day, instead of the full 10 million sought in the tentative pact. The United States, Brazil and Canada agreed to alter their production to cut the other 300,000 barrels a day.

“This is at least a temporary relief for the energy industry and the world economy,” said Per Magnus Nysveen, head of analysis of Rystad Energy, a Norwegian consultancy.

April 15, 2020

Page 7

Lost Creek Guide

FDA Commissioner Says US is ‘Very Close to the Peak’ of Coronavirus Pandemic

By Andrew O’Reilly | Fox News Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn said Sunday that he believes that the United States is “very close to the peak” of the coronavirus pandemic, but cautioned that given the fast-moving nature of the contagion “we really have to take this day by day.”

Hahn said that the models showing the apex of the country’s death rate on Sunday looked accurate, but managing the outbreak needs a “datadriven approach” and that officials need to deal with the crisis “day by day as the data come in.”

“The models do show that we are very close to the peak. So I think that information is accurate,” Hahn said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “This has been a really fast-moving outbreak, so we really have to take this day by day.”

While Hahn also echoed President Trump’s assertion that the U.S. can “see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he did not go so far as to give a date when the country could reopen and social distancing guidelines could be relaxed. Trump has recently mentioned May 1 as a possible date for at least parts of the country to reopen, even as governors in many states have said the crisis will go on much longer.

“It is a target and obviously we’re hopeful about that target, but I think it’s just too early to be able to tell that,” Hahn said.

Video The federal government and many states rely on a University of Washington model that’s the closest thing to a benchmark, but it is so imprecise that the latest projection for the death toll had a range of more than 100,000. In Washington, D.C., health officials took the unusual step of publicly announcing that they didn’t trust the University of Washington’s updated model and embraced far more pessimistic predictions from a model created by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

Some states, including Alaska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Louisiana, are incorporating the work of local researchers and other experts to fine-tune their models.

In terms of getting life relatively back to normal in the U.S., Trump said he would be announcing the launch of what he dubbed the “Opening our Country” task force next Tuesday to work toward that goal.

“I want to get it open as soon as possible,” he said at a Good Friday briefing, while adding: “The facts are going to determine what I do.”

With the economy reeling and job losses soaring, Trump has been itching to reopen the country, drawing alarm from health experts who warn that doing so too quickly could spark a deadly resurgence that could undermine current distancing efforts.

But Trump, who had once set Easter Sunday as the date he hoped people in certain parts of the country might begin to return to work and pack church pews, said he would continue to listen to health experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx as he considers what he described as the “biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.”

Video While “there are both sides to every argument,” he said, “we’re not doing anything until we know that this country is going to be healthy. We don’t want to go back and start doing it over again.”

Trump’s comments came at the end of a week officials had warned would be a devastating one for the country. Hours earlier, Johns Hopkins University announced that the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus had hit a bleak milestone: 100,000 people.

That includes about 18,000 in the U.S., where about 500,000 people have been confirmed infected.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Your symptoms can include the following:

Fever

If you have COVID-19, you may have mild (or no symptoms) to severe illness.

Symptoms can appear 2-14 days after you are exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.

Seek medical attention immediately if you or someone you love has emergency warning signs, including:

Cough

• Trouble breathing • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

Shortness*Symptoms may of breath appear 2-14 days

• New confusion or not able to be woken • Bluish lips or face

after exposure.

This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

cdc.gov/coronavirus CS 316475-A

April 13, 2020 6:49 PM

Call or Text: 970-467-1512 Email: carissa@arrowheadtrash.com Or visit our website at www.arrowheadtrash.com

Page 8

Shale Giant Files For Bankruptcy As Oil Price War Rages On

Lost Creek Guide

April 15, 2020

WELDON VALLEY NEWS

By GLAD Club

By Tsvetana Paraskova, Oilprice.comin Our Community U.S. shale producer Whiting Petroleum Corporation, once one of the top producers in the Bakken, said on Wednesday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the first major victim of the oil price war and the coronavirus pandemic that sent oil prices to $20.

Whiting Petroleum Corporation, whose largest projects are in the Bakken and Three Forks plays in North Dakota and the Niobrara play in northeast Colorado, said in a statement that it had started voluntary Chapter 11 cases under the United States Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

“Given the severe downturn in oil and gas prices driven by uncertainty around the duration of the Saudi / Russia oil price war and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’s Board of Directors came to the conclusion that the principal terms of the financial restructuring negotiated with our creditors provides the best path forward for the Company,” said Bradley J. Holly, the company’s chairman, president and CEO. Whiting Petroleum has reached an agreement with certain noteholders to pursue financial restructuring to debt by more than US$2.2 billion via the exchange of all of the notes for 97 percent of the new equity of the reorganized company.

Whiting Petroleum will continue to operate without material disruption to vendors or employees, and at this point, it expects to have enough liquidity to meet its financial obligations during the restructuring without resorting to additional financing, it said.

Whiting Petroleum became the first sizable U.S. shale producer to seek bankruptcy protection and restructuring after the oil price collapse forced many U.S. drillers, including the supermajors Exxon and Chevron, to announce significant reductions in projected spending and drilling operations, as no one in the U.S. shale patch can profitably drill a new well at $20 WTI Crude.

Since the oil price crash last month, 22 U.S. independents have cut expenditure for 2020 by a total of US$20 billion, an average of 35 percent, and three have slashed capex by 50 percent or more, Simon Flowers, Chairman and Chief Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said on Tuesday.

“The size of cuts is close to those of 2015 and have come through faster. Yet companies today are far leaner than back then; and what we’ve seen so far may just be a taste of what’s to come. Diamondback and Occidental have already cut twice in two weeks, suggesting further, deeper cuts are coming for many US Independents,” Flowers noted.

April Through emerald leaves The violet peeps, Her shy head bending low, While daffodils In yellow hats Are nodding to and fro.

The butter cups, And tulips, too, Are whispering In the breeze At tiny furry catkins On pussy willow trees.

It’s spring! It’s spring!

The bluebirds’ song Begins at break of dawn, And sunbeams dance From drops of dew That sparkle on the lawn.

The dogwood on the hillside, The redbud blossoms gay, And lilacs by the doorside Proclaim this April day Rita Farnham

We had our April snow storm, now we can enjoy the spring. We can put in place all the spring our plans for planting, gardening and enjoying the great outdoors.

Smile a little: Customer in restaurant: “I’ll have some raw oysters, not too small, not too salty, not too fat. They must be cold and I want them quickly!” Waiter: “Yes, Sir. With or without pearls?”

Community news: It was a different Easter celebration this year. Families were not able to gather together to celebration the day. There were a few small gathering. There were many place to hear the Easter message as local churches were able to get the message out by phones and online. There were many service on both radio and television. We can all rejoice for this special day.

The secret Easter bunny delivered some baskets filled with goodies to many resident around the Valley. It was a pleasant surprise. Thanks from all!

Most everyone is “staying home, to save lives” as Governor Polis directed the message to be safe and stay home during this Covid-19 pandemic.

We need to thanks those who must go out to do the work to keep us safe and get food to the markets. Be safe and respect your neighbors.

Mask are still being made for use when it is necessary to be out in the public.

Church Chat: The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will celebrate Mass on Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. Pastor Reverend Erik Vigil Reyes and Parochial Vicar Reverend Francis Saleth, HGN will share the services. Confession will be celebrated before mass.

There will no Mass at the church until further notice.

Weldon Valley Presbyterian Church in Goodrich has Christian education and worship at 10 a.m. NO service until further notice.

Contact information for Pastor Shannon is 720-271-6733 or pastordeniseshannon@ gmail.com.

School Scoop: Students are keeping up with their classes on their computers, a new experience. They are missing their contact with their class mates.

4-H News: Members are starting their projects for this 4-H year. Best wishes to all.

What’s Cookin’: Rice Krispies Bars-1/4 cup butter, 4 cups mini marshmallows. 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal ½ teaspoons vanilla. Melt butter and marshmallow in saucepan until thick and syrupy, (also do this int the microwave) add vanilla. Pour over cereal; mix well, press into a greased pan cut in squares to serve. You may press cut with a cookies cutter for more fun. A cookie for kids to make and fun.

First facts: 1962- Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks. And NBA record. (Philadelphia 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. won 169-147).

Weldon Valley History: Orchard Churchin 1943, a baptism ceremony was held at the church under the large tree in front.

Previously the baptisms were at the river.

The pastors holding this solemn ceremony were Reverend A. W. Hlllors and Reverend S.K. Markley.

Calendar of Events: Weldon Valley school on line. No public activities scheduled.

Be safe, wear mask, stay home except to $1.25 per gallon necessary events. will call or route Thought for the Day: “Sun is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating. There is not such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” John Ruskin

$15.00

$3,535.00 $2,183.00

April 15, 2020

Lost Creek Guide

A New Great Depression for Higher Education?

By RICHARD K. VEDDER, Originally published in Forbes

Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch have proclaimed that the financial outlook for American higher education looks bad. Moody’s has given the sector negative ratings for most recent years, predicting low albeit positive tuition revenue growth. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is the undoing of colleges, as it reeks havoc on many other businesses, families, and institutions as well.

I am not an expert on university cash reserve positions, but I know that for many schools it is very modest. Unanticipated sharp declines in revenue will force many universities into substantial deficit spending this year, in some cases completely wiping out cash balances.

For universities with an already mediocre revenue trajectory (e.g, enrollment declines over the past decade), this could perhaps force them into bankruptcy or possibly a merger with somewhat stronger neighboring institutions. COVID-19 will accelerate much needed creative destruction of some American universities, reducing collegiate over-investment.

Why? Here are six reasons. First, enrollments have fallen for almost a decade already, and no one was predicting a month ago that they would rise next fall. Will they fall moderately or drastically? Huge numbers of students were sent home suddenly from college recently. Will they all come back? Unlikely.

Second, university cash reserves are plummeting rapidly, as many schools face refunding students at least some room and board charges as they are denied access to their dorm rooms and college cafeterias.

Third, state governments are rapidly moving from running budget surpluses and carrying large cash reserves to serious deficit spending, not permissible in the long run because of balanced budget constitutional restraints. State tax revenues will fall anywhere from moderately to disastrously, depending on the severity of the downturn induced by COVID-19 health containment measures. State government bailouts of the colleges will rank far lower on priority lists of politicians than, say, providing income to those suddenly unemployed. Maybe the Feds will give the colleges the $50 billion bailout they are asking for, but don’t count on it.

Fourth, even wealthy private universities are being clobbered by huge declines in their endowment assets. I would be shocked if Harvard, for example, has not already suffered paper losses of minimally $5 billion since the stock market downturn began, and who knows what has happened to the worth of trendy but risky “alternative investments” that rich schools love so much. Even at Harvard, $5 billion is real money (about $250,000 per student). Moreover, private donations and bequests are likely to shrink significantly for a while simply because of the reduced financial condition of alumni, friends, foundations, etc.

Fifth, in past crises institutions of higher education could count on tremendous support from the general public, people paying taxes which subsidize universities and making private donations and paying tuition charges. Colleges are going to pay a heavy price for the contempt they have shown in recent years towards American values—the First Amendment, a strict adherence to the rule of law, etc. Riots and rude treatment of visitors at places as geographically, economically and culturally diverse as Yale University, the University of Missouri and Evergreen State College have contributed to a sharp decline in positive public opinion towards higher education. Soaring tuition fees and examples of scandals, waste and corruption in athletics and elsewhere at schools like Penn State, Michigan State, and University of North Carolina, reduce prospects for a taxpayer bailout.

Sixth, a major modern day source of revenue for many universities has been international students, and some colleges have made a profit from study abroad programs (having kids pay tuition locally but getting educated at a lower cost overseas). That has taken at least a short run hit.

Americans are amazingly adaptable and good at facing and conquering crises. I hope this is no exception. We took huge sudden hits to college enrollments during World War II and colleges and the nation survived and even shortly thereafter flourished. While our past history can be informative and even comforting, its future replication is far from assured.

We may even gain from experiences learned from COVID-19—the underrated utility of online instruction may be recognized, for example. Another: cash-desperate colleges may sell dorms and cafeterias, getting out of businesses irrelevant to Job One: creating and disseminating knowledge, wisdom and beauty.

RICHARD K. VEDDER is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Economics at Ohio University, and author of Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America.

Page 9

Weld & Larimer Counties Partner to Test Health Care Workers, First Responders for COVID-19

Weld County – On Tuesday, March 31, and Friday, April 3, staff from Weld County’s and Larimer County’s Departments of Public Health and Environment conducted their first COVID-19 testing drive-through at the Ranch in Loveland. The drive-through testing was only open to health care workers and first responders in those counties. The test kits were provided by the Federal Health and Human Services Department (HHS).

“Health care workers and first responders have been working tirelessly to treat people who’ve been infected by this virus,” said Dr. Mark Wallace, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. “Making the first supply of test kits in northern Colorado available to them was a critical step in keeping them healthy and protecting against the spread of COVID-19.”

Larimer County was selected by the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services (CDPHE) to conduct the drive-through testing event for health care workers and first responders who are symptomatic and responded to a survey sent to health care providers, long-term care facilities, ambulatory providers and law enforcement throughout both counties.

To make the event as successful as possible and achieve the maximum benefit of the tests available, Weld County and Larimer County worked together. Larimer County Public Health secured The Ranch as a testing site, the Larimer County Sheriff’s provided traffic control, and the Weld County Health Department provided 25 clinical support staff who conducted the actual testing. Each test took approximately 10 minutes to complete and were gathered by CDPHE and taken to a lab for analysis. Positive results will be shared with the individuals as well as their respective home county in the next several days.

HHS supplied the test kits for the event and a total of 189 people were tested. The remaining kits will be split among each county and will be used to test priority populations within both Weld and Larimer.

Page 10

Lost Creek Guide

Aims Community College to Host 2020 Virtual Commencement

GREELEY, CO – April 10, 2020 – Aims Community College will host a virtual commencement ceremony for this year’s graduates in response to health and safety issues surrounding COVID-19. The virtual ceremony will live stream on Friday, May 8, 2020 at 5 p.m. Updates, including streaming details, will be added to the Aims Community College Commencement webpage in the coming weeks.

Aims’ virtual commencement ceremony will feature formal remarks from Dr. Leah Bornstein, CEO/President of Aims Community College, Mr. Ned Chapin, President of Aims Community College Foundation, Mr. Chris Warren, President of Aims Community College Student Government, and Ms. Phoenix Ventura, student keynote speaker, who is earning her Associate of Science and transferring to the Colorado School of Mines in Fall 2020. Mr. Lyle Achzinger, Chairman of the Aims Community College Board of Trustees, will confer degrees and certificates and Aims student, Holly Stough, will sing the national anthem. Participating graduates will have their names read aloud and will have an opportunity to upload a photo and personal note to accompany their personalized digital slide.

All participating graduates will also receive a graduation package from the College, including a graduation cap and gown, diploma cover, commemorative program, and a special alumni gift.

The decision to move to a virtual commencement ceremony was a difficult one for Aims Community College Leadership. President Bornstein said, “We recognize the huge impact walking across the stage has for students and their families. For many, this is one of the most important moments in their lives to date. We are committed to moving forward and celebrating our students’ achievements in real time, especially when so many other critical parts of their lives have been postponed to an unknown future date.”

The Aims community is supportive of a virtual commencement ceremony rather than postponing or canceling the event. Nelson Rodriguez, Executive Director of Student Activities, Inclusion, and Leadership and coordinator of commencement at Aims, said, “As we navigate these unprecedented times, it is critical we remain committed to recognizing and honoring the success of our graduates. We are so proud of our students for all they have accomplished and we are excited to celebrate this special moment as a community.”

Aims Community College students and community members are encouraged to view the live stream and celebrate the success of our students’ achievements.

For more information about commencement, contact Nelson Rodriguez at nelson.rodriguez@aims.edu.

For media inquiries, contact Julia Smith at julia.smith@aims.edu.

About Aims Community College Aims Community College is one of the most progressive two-year colleges in Colorado.

Founded more than 50 years ago in Greeley, Aims has since established locations in Fort Lupton, Loveland and Windsor. Curriculum now includes 4,000 day, evening, weekend and online courses annually in more than 200 degree and certificate programs. Aims Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Aims Community College is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution. www.aims.edu

April 15, 2020

State Budget Cut Guidelines

Purpose: To provide guidance to Departments and Agencies regarding fiscal conservation to reduce the use of state resources for non-emergency purposes. Given the economic uncertainty and forecasted revenue decline, the State must prepare for a possible prolonged period of economic disruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic circumstances. NOTE: THIS GUIDANCE DOES NOT APPLY TO FUNDS BEING SPENT ON THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO COVID-19.

Departments and agencies should use available statutory and administrative flexibility to prioritize existing resources to COVID-19 response and, when allowed by law, to avoid obligating state resources to purposes for which there is not an immediate need. Based on the revenue shortfall experienced during previous economic disruptions, the State needs to prioritize funding that supports the immediate public health response, essential economic supports, and core government services. This may mean delaying, deferring, or canceling other obligations.

Guidance: OSPB is requiring that all Departments and agencies meet or exceed the attached General Fund reversion targets (in $) for the current fiscal year. Delaying, deferring, or canceling non-essential obligations will enable the State to increase reversions and repurpose these funds in the next fiscal year. ● See attached for reversion targets for each Department. The targets are set based on prior years’ reversion history plus 5%. ● Notify your OSPB analyst by April 15 if your Department will not be able to meet or exceed the reversion target. ● Reductions must not : -impact emergency spending - limit ability to meet your WIGs - reduce customer service for public-facing technology and processes OSPB is setting a dollar reversion target in lieu of other fiscal constraints in order to give your Department maximum flexibility in how to conserve resources, and allow you to prioritize spending for emergency response, your WIGs and customer-facing services. The following tools will help to meet or exceed your Department’s reversion target: 1. Executive Director review of all key spending decisions . The guidance below requires active engagement from Executive Directors to ensure fiscal conservation, particularly as agency spending typically ramps up toward the end of the fiscal year. Depending on how your Department is structured, this guidance may require new processes for clearance of hiring, procurement, program implementation, and grant-making.

2. Not filling new or vacant positions. Agencies are strongly encouraged to avoid filling new or vacant positions. Executive Directors may make exceptions to this guidance for positions critical to public health and safety or economic recovery. At this time, OSPB is not considering a furlough or hard hiring freeze, but that may need to change depending on revenues.

3. Delaying contracts. Agencies should delay entering into new contracts or exercising options unless they support critical, necessary work or failure to keep a contract active will foreclose access to a needed procurement. Further, agencies should consider terminating or reducing contracts that are no longer essential. OSPB recognizes that some contracts will need to remain in force, while others can be reduced or postponed. Each agency, working with your OAG legal representative, should make these decisions based on impact analysis, the costs of modifying or terminating the contracts, and operational considerations.

4. Delaying program implementation . Agencies should review the status of implementing 2018 or 2019 legislation or other new initiatives. Consider delaying or cancelling those that are non essential, and assess whether such suspension can be done through the Department’s authority or if an Executive Order may be required.

5. Delaying existing program grants that have not yet been awarded or disbursed . Agencies should review existing programs to identify grants or other program disbursements that can be delayed or cancelled. Agencies should minimize rollforward requests to the Controller.

6. Delaying capital or IT projects . Agencies should review planned capital or IT capital projects to identify those that can be delayed or cancelled. This may include delaying new project phases. Agencies should also reconsider discretionary spending associated with office improvements and other investments that can be deferred.

Note, however, that reductions must not reduce customer service for public-facing technology or services. Seek approval from the Operations team and OSPB if the estimated impacts of a reduction in this area are unclear.

7. Reviewing both General and Cash Funds . Although OSPB has only set targets for General Fund reversions, the above guidance applies to General and Cash Fun resources. As per long-standing guidelines, Departments should continue to notify the State Treasurer in advance of major cash disbursements. Please reach out to your Agency or Department Controller’s if you have further questions.

Please do not delay, as once non-essential funds and commitments go out the door, resources are hard to reclaim. Departments need to act now to ensure the State is prepared to manage what may be a minimum of 3-years of revenue reductions, based on the experience of prior economic downturns. OSPB is here to assist you in this effort. Please contact your OSPB representative for support.

If you have any questions specific to this guidance, please reach out to Ashley Clark, Deputy Director, OSPB, at 303-866-2263 or ashley.clark@state.co.us .

April 15, 2020

Lost Creek Guide

What Older Adults and Families Need to Know about COVID-19

COVID-19 is the name of a new respiratory illness spreading from person to person in many countries and states, including Colorado. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Not all coronaviruses are COVID-19.

You can find more general information about COVID-19 and other frequently asked questions by following this link: COVID-19 CDPHE FAQ Protecting people at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 Community transmission is increasing across the state. We fully expect and are actively planning for widespread community transmission in the weeks ahead. Our priority is keeping the people of our state safe. We are urging all Coloradans to exercise personal responsibility to protect public health. Everyone’s daily preventive actions are important in reducing spread to those who are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19, including: • Older people (over age 60), especially those over 80 years.

• People who have chronic medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease, or diabetes.

• Older people with chronic medical conditions are at greatest risk.

Since COVID-19 is a new disease and there is more to learn about the virus, the current understanding about how it spreads is largely based on what is known about similar respiratory illnesses.

According to early data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an interview with AARP (Coronavirus and Older Adults: Your Questions Answered), older adults are twice as likely to have serious COVID-19 illness because as people age, their immune systems change, making it harder for their body to fight off diseases and infection.

Many older adults are also more likely to have underlying health conditions that make it harder to cope with and recover from illness.

Reducing exposure to pathways by which the disease is spreading is especially important for people at higher risk for serious illness. People at higher risk should stay at home as much as possible while there is an outbreak in their community and pay extra attention to preventive measures like staying away from sick people, washing hands frequently, and avoiding crowds. Reach out to others if you need something.

Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones From COVID-19...through everyday actions • Frequently and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash, or use your inner elbow or sleeve.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands • Clean surfaces in your home, and personal items such as cell phones, using regular household products. ...through social distancing • Stay home if you’re sick. Ask family, friends, and service providers not to visit while they are sick.

• Don’t shake hands. Instead, greet people by bumping elbows, waving, or just saying “hi.”

• When possible, increase distance between people to six feet to help reduce spread.

• Postpone unnecessary travel. - Follow CDC guidelines on travel.

• Stay home and avoid crowds while there is an outbreak in your community.

Avoid putting yourself in a situation—whatever that might be—that might increase the risk given your situation.

• Stay connected with loved ones by phone and online. Reach out to people if you need something. Consider if there are ways to attend meetings by phone or online. ...by being prepared • Make sure you have access to several weeks of medications, food, and supplies in case you need to stay home for prolonged periods of time.

• Make a plan with your network about o how to check in with each other. o how others can deliver supplies so you can avoid crowds. o how others can assist you with medical equipment or other needs in an emergency. ..by staying informed • Know where you can get information about community spread and public health actions in your area. Share accurate information with neighbors, friends and co-workers, especially people who may have difficulty receiving or understanding the information.

• COHELP is the public health information line for frequently asked questions about COVID-19. o Call 1-877-462-2911 for answers in many languages including English, Spanish (Español), Mandarin, and more o Email COHELP@RMPDC.org (answers in English only).

• Colorado’s webpage for COVID-19: covid19.colorado.gov • Facebook (facebook.com/CDPHE) and Twitter (@CDPHE) • CDC web page cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov A note about scams and price gouging • Cyber attackers and others try to take advantage of events that draw a lot of media, like the COVID-19 outbreak. They aim to prey on our fears. Beware messages that do any of the following • Messages that communicate a tremendous sense of urgency. The bad guys are trying to rush you into making a mistake.

• Messages that pressure you into bypassing or ignoring our security policies and procedures.

• Messages that promote miracle cures, such as vaccines or medicine that will protect you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

• Messages asking for personal information from people or addresses that you don’t recognize, even if they pretend to be an healthcare official or government organization.

• HERE’S HOW SENIORS CAN AVOID COVID-19 SCAM • Coronavirus Scams: What the FTC is doing Community Resources and Guidance It is normal to be scared, sad, or angry when there is a new infectious disease outbreak in our communities. Fear is a natural response to the unknown, and we are still figuring out how COVID-19 will affect our families and our communities. Colorado Crisis Services is available 24/7/365 if you need to talk. Call 1-844-493-8255.

The Colorado Department of Human Services has shared resources to help support people of Colorado on their webpage: Colorado Department of Human Services

Page 11

On this webpage, links are provided to help people • Find services for older adults • Apply for cash assistance (TANF) • Apply for child care assistance • Apply for employment assistance • Apply for energy assistance (LEAP) • Apply for food assistance (SNAP) • Apply for disability assistance (DDS) If you are looking for other services such as caregiver support, nutrition services, transportation, in-home services, care coordination and outreach, contact your local Area Agency on Aging 2-1-1 is a confidential and multilingual service connecting people to vital resources across the state. No matter where you live in Colorado, you can find information about resources in your local community. Dial 2-1-1 or (866) 760-6489 toll free Families of loved ones with dementia can find 24/7 support from the Alzheimer’s Association helpline at 800-272-3900.

How others can support older Coloradans Practicing social distancing isn’t necessarily about protecting yourself, it’s about protecting people who are at the highest risk to get very sick from COVID-19. If you don’t get sick, you can’t pass it on to others who may experience more severe illness, including your parents or grandparents. We all need to champion social distancing and other healthy behaviors where we live, work, and play.

Make plans to support one another • how you will check in with each other.

• what supplies people need and how they can be delivered so those at higher risk of serious illness can avoid crowds.

• how to assist others with medical equipment or other needs in an emergency • consider alternatives should services such as respite, adult day care be modified for COVID-19 The Alzheimer’s Association has created a webpage for dementia caregiving during COVID-19 with more ideas for caregiving in assisted living and at home, as well as staying healthy.

Many caregivers in Colorado are family members. Caring for yourself is a priority so you can continue to support your loved ones.

Routine and Connection is Important Maintaining connections and routine is important to our well-being and sense of control during emergencies. It is also very important that if you are at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19 that you take extra measures to put distance between yourself and other people to further reduce your risk of being exposed to this new virus.

Both routine and connection can be maintained even when we are social distancing.

It may look and feel different than what we do normally, but hopefully we can find practices that support our needs and protect everyone from the disease. Distancing our bodies doesn’t mean we have to totally cut off contact with other people. Keep 6 feet apart. Use technology to connect with others.

If going out has been part of older adults’ routines, especially for staying connected, it is important to ask how to still be successful in staying connected, while staying away from crowds and maintaining social distancing.

• Check store schedules. Many offer special social distancing shopping hours for older adults.

• Maintain good routines for sleep, healthy eating, and exercise.

• Check-in with your friends and family by phone each day.

• Make a plan with your neighborhood or faith group, by which people can signal they need support.

• Schedule a time for everyone to watch the same movie or TV show at their own homes. Discuss it by phone the next day.

• Set times when you go for a walk, read a book, or learn something new.

We want social distancing, not social isolation.

Page 12

Oil Producers Agree to Cut Production by a Tenth

Lost Creek Guide

Opec producers and allies have agreed to cut output by around 10% to counter the slump in demand caused by coronavirus lockdowns.

The group said it would cut output in May and June by 10 million barrels to help prop up prices.

The cuts will then be eased gradually until April 2022.

Opec+, made up of Opec producers and allies including Russia, held talks on Thursday via video conference.

Talks were complicated by disagreements between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The group and its allies agreed to cut 10 million barrels a day or 10% of global supplies from their pre-crisis levels. Another 5 million barrels is expected to be cut by other nations.

It said the cuts would be eased to eight million barrels a day between July and December. Then they would be eased again to six million barrels between January 2021 and April 2022.

Oil prices slumped in March after Opec+ failed to agree cuts.

In the wake of the March meeting, Saudi Arabia and Russia moved to boost production in order to retain market share amid falling global demand.

That, together with the collapse in demand for oil amid the coronavirus pandemic, help to push oil prices to 18-year lows by the end of March.

Prices have recovered some ground since then. Last week, prices jumped 20% after US President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to end their feud.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Thursday’s talks will be followed by a conference call on Friday between energy ministers from the G20 countries. It will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s wealth fund and one of Moscow’s top oil negotiators told Reuters: “We are expecting other producers outside the Opec+ club to join the measures, which might happen tomorrow during G20.”

The US has not committed itself to any cuts although it did say that its oil output was gradually reducing anyway due to plunging oil prices.

President Donald Trump had warned Saudi Arabia that the US would impose sanctions if it did not cut oil production.

April 15, 2020

Righty Tighty, Never Loosey!

by Roger Bianco The Ratchet Effect is a concept applied to the growth in government intrusion. Prior to a crisis, government grows at its usual pace then accelerates during the crisis. After the problems abate some governmental powers are relinquished, but not all. Post-crisis, government continues to function at its higher level and grows from there. What sort of government encroachment can we expect after The Pandemic passes?

Imagine a wide-eyed young boy, brown hair, cowlicks in the front and back, hanging out with his Grandfather. They are out on the side porch of Grandpa’s house fixing stairs.

Grandpa grabs a ratchet.

“Do you know how to use this?” He asks the eager-to-please young boy.

“No.” The stark reply.

“Doesn’t your Dad teach you anything?” He says. “He’s what you do. Clasp it on the bolt and remember ‘righty tighty, lefty-“.

“Stop right there, Grandpa!” says the national government of the United States. “We never loosen!”

A ratchet goes only one way unless the user intercedes and switches the mechanism to enable it to turn the bolt the opposite direction and loosen the grip.

“Loosen the grip”. Three words it seems the national government doesn’t know can have lasting meaning. In times of crisis the government grip tightens strongly, then loosens. Loosens but not quite to how loose it was before the crisis.

This “Ratchet Effect” is a concept applied to the growth in government intrusion by Robert Higgs in his 1987 book “Crisis and Leviathan,” Higgs says, prior to a crisis, government grows at its usual pace then accelerates during the crisis. After the problems abate some governmental powers are relinquished, but not all. Post-crisis, government continues to function at its higher level and grows from there.

Imagine stairs which never go flat and never go down. Now you have the idea of how government has grown in America beginning in the 20th Century and continuing into the 21st. Both during and immediately after these crisis times, government permanently expanded: • HUD, DOT and the Energy Departments we’re kicked into gear during and immediately after LBJ’s Great Society.

• The Department of Homeland Security and the NSA, with all of its surveillance programs, were established after the terror attacks of 9/11/01.

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in the wake of the 20072009 financial crisis.

Regardless of how you feel about the rightness of these bureaucracies this clearly gives credence to Higgs’ analysis.

What is never the case is that government becomes smaller than its pre-crisis levels.

The new crisis is used as justification for greater government regulation and intrusion as politicians often speak of “never letting this happen again”.

Typical studies on the size and scope of government focus on spending, number of regulations and the level of taxation; all just measures. Higgs, however, got more granular.

His study and subsequent updates examine other metrics. He asks: How many private decisions were made without government-mandated considerations both before and after a crisis? How many resources in the private sector are drawn away from creative development and reallocated to compliance? His more complete thinking results in a deeper consideration of how government grows more influential in and after crises, making the private sector less dynamic.

Lest you think this is just a government phenomenon, certain private sector actors have an incentive to participate as well, according to Higgs. As government grows so to does the existence of the government contractor who becomes more and more reliant on taxpayer funded projects. Proposed cuts in spending, therefore, become a detriment to the health and well-being of the private sector, not just to government.

Where are we now? “Our government spends 1 of every 3 dollars that passes through the U.S. economy,” reports economist Stephen Moore. The ratchet, always tightening and never loosening, has created significant dependence on government across sectors and socioeconomic levels. Government has become big, influential and significant indeed.

So, with this virus-driven crisis there are a lot of unknowns and speculation. Will 10,000 die? 100,000? 1,000,000? 1,000,000,000? We are told we need masks, ventilators, scrubs, bail outs and issuance of more and more debt. Perhaps we do. We don’t really know.

One thing we do know is that if the Trump Administration relinquishes all the emergency powers it has claimed and made use of to date, it will be the exception to the rule.

Perhaps we should appeal to the freedom-loving side of our President: Dear President Trump: You have been the exception to many of the inside-the-beltway rules of politics. How about you keep that going? Give back all these powers when you’re done with them.

A better idea: let’s be more free after this! Leave the government smaller than it was when we began working our way through this crisis.

Roger Bianco is a 20 year resident of Colorado, husband and father of three, and 2014 graduate of the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Currently, he serves as founder and co-chair of the LPR Mentor Group Program and as a member of the LPR Advisory Council.

April 15, 2020

Lost Creek Guide

Joint Budget Committee Announces Plan to Develop State Budget

Marianne Goodland, Colorado Politics The Colorado legislature’s budget writers, the six members of the Joint Budget Committee, announced a plan of action on Thursday that will help move them forward on dealing with the state budget, both for the remainder of 2019-20 and for the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year.

A letter sent to the General Assembly Thursday said the JBC was mostly finished with writing the 2020-21 budget when the General Assembly adjourned on March 14.

However, a March 17 revenue forecast that showed state revenues down some $800 million threw the plans out the window. Since then, legislative leaders have estimated that the state will have to pare $2 billion to $3 billion from the 2020-21 budget.

The JBC letter lays out a timeline for April and May budget action: Federal aid from the CARES Act to Colorado is expected around April 24. While the letter doesn’t say how much, an April 3 memo from JBC estimates that at around $2.24 billion.

Revised figuresetting documents — which dictate how much each agency will receive — will be released on April 27.

The JBC will begin meeting on Monday May 4, to determine budget-balancing options as well as statutory changes.

The economists from the Legislative Council and the governor’s office of State Planning and Budgeting will present an updated revenue forecast on Tuesday, May 12.

The Long Appropriations Bill will be introduced in he House the week of May 18 -- the General Assembly is expected to return on that Monday -- and in the Senate the following week.

The JBC letter said they intend to have the long bill, the School Finance Act and other budget bills completed by the end of May to allow state agencies, local governments and school districts time to finalize their own next year’s budgets by June 30.

An April 3 memo outlines some of the federal aid coming to Colorado through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law on March 27.

States are slated to receive $150 billion, the JBC memo says, but that money cannot be used to address revenue losses; it can only be used to pay for “unanticipated expenses due to COVID-19.”

State shares of the CARES Act are based on population, with a minimum of $1.25 billion. Each state’s share also allows for up to 45% to go to local governments with populations that exceed 500,000. That includes the counties of Adams, Arapahoe,, Denver, El Paso and Jefferson.

Based on the $2.24 billion estimate, $1.68 billion would go the state and the rest to the five largest counties.

CARES Act funding to state and local governments. Estimate provided by Joint Budget Committee.

Additional dollars from the CARES Act could go to agencies directly affected by COVID-19. That includes the departments of education, higher ed, human services, local affairs, the state department and the emergency education relief fund in the governor’s office. The state is likely to get $487.6 million, but the April 3 memo says that those dollars are not subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. And according to the federal government, those dollars should supplement, not replace, current state funding for the affected programs.

CARES Act funding headed to state agencies Additional funding is available to agriculture products impacted by COVID-19, including specialty crop producers, producers who support local farmers markets, schools and restaurants, and livestock and dairy producers. Dairy producers have been especially hard hit by school and restaurant closures.

Monies in the CARES Act for education can be used to deal with long-term school closures, purchasing technology to support online learning, and for supplies to clean and sanitize school buildings.

The funds for the governor›s office, which the memo said will not be subject to General Assembly appropriations, is intended to be doled out as grants for both K-12 and higher education institutions affected by COVID-19.

Missing from the above list: Health Care Policy and Financing, which operates the state›s Medicaid program. The amount available nationwide is $100.6 billion, but Colorado›s share is unknown, the memo states.

The dollars headed for higher education carries a caveat that 50% must be spent on direct grants to students.

Money headed to Human Services will support emergency food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutritional Aid Program, aka food stamps. A «substantial portion» of the $41.4 million in this part of the federal aid must go to low-income working families, the April 3 memo says. Another $11 million will go to senior nutrition, home and community based support services, family caregivers and independent living. Another

Page 13

$10.8 million will go to the Low-income Energy Assistance Program. Other dollars will be available for family violence and domestic violence prevention programs, but that amount is unknown.

The funding for the Department of Local Affairs includes $24.8 million for eviction prevention, among other purposes.

The Department of Public Health and Environment, while not mentioned on the list, has been the lead agency on COVID-19, and there›s $4.3 billion in federal funding available to support state and local public health agencies during the pandemic. Colorado›s share of that is still unknown, the memo states.

The Secretary of State›s office is in line for about $6.7 million for election security grants.

State Rep. Daneya Esgar, a Pueblo Democrat, chairs the Joint Budget Committee, which she said hasn›t met to look at the federal dollars or some of the other pending budget issues arising from COVID-19.

That said, the committee will be gathering information during most of April, including work being done by the JBC staff, who are talking to every department. Esgar said the 2020-21 budget was 98% complete when the March revenue forecast came out and the outbreak forced the closure of the General Assembly. «We›ll have to revisit all of that as well as the new landscape we›re walking into.»

Esgar said they›re trying to get as much done in the front end of May, «so that when the May 12 forecast comes out, we›ll have a better sense of where we›re going.» In effect, they›re likely to treat the May 12 forecast for the next write-up of the budget the same way March›s numbers usually are used, as a way to fine-tune the final decisions.

Whether that also means another round of supplementals or other budget decisions tied to the 2019-20 budget is still a big unknown. Gov. Jared Polis ordered state agencies on March 30 to find more than $43 million in general and cash funds that could be cut from 2019-20 budgets. That also included a directive that agencies also should hold off on implementing programs that came out of legislation in the 2018 and 2019 sessions. If an executive order is needed to accomplish that, ask for it, a March 30 memo suggested.

Esgar says they›re working out details on the programs that could be put on ice, and whether that would take legislation to do so. «We haven›t been able to meet» as a committee to discuss this, she said. «We have to decide together what the best path forward is on a lot of this.»

As to the federal dollars, and the limitations on how they can be spent, Esgar said they›re seeking guidance from the U.S. Treasury, as well as looking at how much the state has had to increase spending tied to the COVID-19 outbreak. «When we come back, we need to see what world we›re walking into and what funds are necessary to appropriate,» she said.

Gov. Polis & Ag. Commissioner Greenberg Request CARES Act Funds for Colorado from USDA

Broomfield, Colo. - Gov. Jared Polis and Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on April 9, 2020 requesting he consider the vital contributions and current needs of Colorado agriculture in the distribution of funds available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act is the federal stimulus Congress recently approved.

“In Colorado, we have come together in bipartisan leadership to show our shared commitment to all who grow and raise food, steward land and water, and keep our rural economies strong. This includes the farmers, ranchers, farmworkers, truck drivers, distributors, processors, retailers, and everyone in between who works to provide American consumers with the highest quality food, fuel, and fiber products in the world. We stand united in our vision of and commitment to a prosperous future for all who work in the Colorado food and agriculture industry,” Governor Polis and Commissioner Greenberg wrote.

The letter highlighted the importance of leveraging economic relief and support in Colorado for: • Livestock producers • Marketing programs for specialty crops and local food systems • Conservation programs • Industrial hemp and biofuel producers • Farmworkers, family farms, small businesses and independent operators • Rural healthcare and mental health programs • Farm Service Agency loans, rural broadband and food access The letter also requested that funding be made available through block grants provided directly to states, territories, and tribes. In addition to providing immediate relief to independent local producers, grant funds would also be invested in agricultural market opportunities and local food systems across the food and agriculture supply chain.

“We are grateful for your ongoing partnership and look forward to strengthening that in the weeks and months ahead. In particular, our Colorado Department of Agriculture is ready and able to partner with you in our joint effort of serving all of Colorado agriculture, our rural communities, and ultimately all who eat,” the letter concludes.

USDA is finalizing its approach to disbursing $15 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) relief funds and $9.5 billion in relief funds authorized by Congress as part of the CARES Act.

iof o r . o)

Page 14

Lost Creek Guide

Cool It Fix It

WE'LL HELP YOU

Ride It Dry It Sail It

Drive It

Warm It Fly It

Wash It Pull It

Cook It

Can It

Find It Grow It or

CLASSIFIEDS DO THE JOB

303-732-4080

United Power Board of Directors Allocates $250,000 to Co-op Cares Fund to Support Members Economically Affected by the COVID 19 Pandemic

Brighton, CO – United Power’s Board of Directors approved a special allocation of $250,000 in unclaimed capital credits to be used to help offset electric bills for members impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. The Co-op Cares Fund is designed to assist members who have been directly impacted by COVID 19 – particularly those who have been affected by illness and job losses.

United Power knows that many families have been impacted by this ongoing situation and we are working hard to support the membership. United Power, like many other utilities in Colorado, has temporarily suspended disconnects and late fees on all residential and small commercial accounts during this health emergency.

“The Co-op Cares Fund complements the many other ways United Power is helping our members weather this situation,” stated Bryant Robbins, CEO. “As a memberowned cooperative, we are always looking for ways to support our members during tough times, and this situation has impacted our members in so many diverse ways.”

While no residential or small-commercial utility services will be disconnected at the present time, United Power members are still expected to pay their bill when they are able. In addition to the Co-op Cares Fund, United Power has various programs to help members keep their accounts current including extended payment arrangements, budget billing and other assistance programs. The current temporary suspension of disconnects merely postpones an eventual utility shut off once the suspension is lifted. United Power encourages members to contact us before that happens so we can connect you with the best programs for your needs.

“United Power has several ways to help with members when they are having difficulty paying their electric bills,” stated Robbins. “All we are asking our members to do is pick up the phone and call us if you are having difficulty paying your bill. We can’t help you if we don’t know you are struggling.”

The Co-op Cares Fund will be available for assistance through the end of 2020, or when the fund is depleted. United Power members who are impacted by the current health emergency or any other situation can reach our Member Services department at 303-637-1300.

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative delivering electricity to nearly 95,000 meters at homes, business, and farms in Colorado’s north central front range. For more information about the cooperative, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow them on social media at facebook.com/unitedpower or twitter. com/unitedpowercoop.

Matt M., Journeyman Lineman

www.unitedpower.com 303-637-1300

YourSource_LostCreek_4.625x6.875.indd 1

April 15, 2020

1/8/2019 9:34:18 AM

April 15, 2020

Page 15

Lost Creek Guide

SERVICE DIRECTORY Computer Support Repair, Service & Sales Reliable, Local, Professional

Roggen Telephone Company

303-849-5260

Open Mon. - Fri. 8am - 5pm Family Medical Care for All Ages

Keene Clinic

190 So. Main St., Keenesburg

303-732-4268

Loya’s Cleaning Maria Loya

English: Butch 970-590-8063 Spanish: Maria 303-350-6365 butcherger@hotmail.com

DOHERTY’S PLUMBING AND DRAIN

Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry Assistance for Roggen, Keenesburg, Prospect Valley, & Hudson

Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Water Heater Replacement Video sewer inspection Sewer & drain locating

Call to Request Assistance

303-732-4319

Self Storage

1401 County Road 153 Strasburg, CO 80136

Phone: (303) 622-4142

COMPLETE HVAC SERVICES NOW AVAILABLE

Managers: Garold & Geraldine Middlemist

303-859-9126

HELP WANTED

First Baptist Church, Keenesburg, Food Pantry

Open every third Saturday 9 am to 12 pm 100 North Market Street, Keenesburg For emergency needs, please contact 720-480-6428 or email us at: http:// www.fbca.church

Donations are welcome to help us defeat hunger in our community

HELP WANTED Help Wanted Concrete Foreman & Finishers Will Train No Experience Needed 720-580-2130

NOTICES NOTICE NOTICE OF MAIL BALLOT ELECTION FOR WIGGINS RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN and particularly to the electors of the Wiggins Rural Fire Protection District of Morgan and Weld Counties, Colorado.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a regular election of the District shall be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, during the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The election is being conducted as a mail ballot election. The ballots will be mailed to the eligible electors of the District no earlier than 22 days prior to the election (April 13, 2020) and no later than 15 days prior to the election (April 20, 2020). The drop off location or the delivery of mail ballots and receipt of replacement ballots shall be located at 701 Central Avenue, Wiggins, Colorado, and shall be open Monday through Friday 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning at least 22 days prior to the election day and from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on election day. You may also call the Designated Election Official, Val Loose, at 970.768.1044.

At such election, the electors of the District shall vote for Directors to serve three year terms on the Board of Directors for the District: Garrett Strobel Lynnette Jo Rogers Thomas Anthony Jude

The Keenesburg Housing Authority is looking for two Keenesburg residents to volunteer to sit on the Board of Commissioners starting May 2020. The volunteer position only requires approximately an hour a month for meetings. For further information on the position please stop by the office located at 250 E. Woodward Ave., Keenesburg or call 303-732-4221 during business hours,, Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

SENIOR HOUSING H.U.D. Apartments Prairie View Apartments 1151 Main Street Hudson, CO 80642 SENIOR/DISABLED (Age 62 or older/Age 18 or older) Subsidized H.U.D. Apartments Equal Housing Opportunity - Section 8 Please call us for an application.

303-536-4501

Thomas J Croghan DDS Family Dental Practice

Appointments: 303-377-8662 Appointments Available in Keenesburg and Denver

New Patients Welcome

SERVICES McCarthy Trucking Recycled asphalt, concrete Great for driveways & parking areas. Also sand & gravel.

Reasonable Prices Call Kevin for free quote 303-901-5034 Dave Haney Painting & Dry Wall Interior - Exterior Cabinets, Fence Staining Located in Platteville 720-217-2089 Longarm Quilter Edge to Edge Computer Automated Quilting Online Store aquiltersfriend.com Cheri Dobratz 303-532-9035

WANTED ATTENTION: Looking for land to buy dryland preferred 100 to 1000 acres.

Possible lease back.

Fast closing 303-919-1810

Joshua Allen Palko Landre Walker WIGGINS RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT By: Val Loose Designated Election Official Published in: Lost Creek Guide Published on: April 15, 2020 Posted in the office of the Designated Election Official Emailed to the County Clerk and Recorders (00734236.DOC/)

WE'LL HELP YOU Cool It Ride It Dry It Sail It Wash It Pull It Can It Fix It Drive It Warm It Fly It Cook It Find It Grow It

CLASSIFIEDS DO THE JOB 303-732-4080

Page 16

Lost Creek Guide

April 15, 2020

Colorado Is Creating Guidelines To Help Make Excruciating Coronavirus Care Decisions

By John Daley, CPR News What if four patients in respiratory distress need a ventilator to keep them alive, but a hospital has just one available? Who makes that call? And how?

Public health and community leaders are contemplating excruciating dilemmas just like that before demand for medical help in the coronavirus crisis peaks in coming weeks.

They’re updating protocols, called “crisis standards of care,” for the most urgent medical decision-making possible, guidelines to determine, as resources get scarce, who gets care and at what level and who does not.

“You have to have thought this through in advance. You can’t just make that decision at the last second on an ad hoc basis,” said Dr. Matthew Wynia, the Director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado. “So that’s what we’re planning for right now, hoping we don’t ever need to use it.

But that’s why we’re planning.”

Wynia likened these shattering ethical choices, brought on by a tsunami of cases swamping the hospital system, to the kinds of scenes most have only witnessed in movies.

“Crisis standards of care is not a decision point. It is thrust upon you. You have to make decisions. These are forced choice,” he said. “This is like Sophie’s Choice kind of decisions where you’ve got two, three, four people, all of whom are likely to die without a ventilator. And you’ve only got one ventilator left in your hospital.”

Triage in crisis is well known to first responders. In mass casualty situations, like the Aurora theater shooting, the first people on scene with medical training are forced to quickly prioritize the wounded by assessing who is most likely to be saved through rapid intervention. Others, who are less seriously injured, have to wait, and some may not be treated at all because they are judged too far gone to be saved.

But hospital settings are different. There, the coronavirus is like a slower-moving mass casualty incident, forcing physicians to confront fundamental changes to the way care is delivered with dwindling resources.

The crisis standards are defined as a “substantial change in usual healthcare operations and the level of care it is possible to deliver.” They’re prompted by catastrophes like pandemics, earthquakes and hurricanes or a blizzard or train derailment. Business as usual, where medical professionals strive to provide the highest level of care possible, gives way to something more like those battlefield, triage conditions.

Decision-making becomes “how to do as best we can with what we›ve got,” Wynia said. Under that scenario, some patients “will not be able to get even very basic life saving treatments.”

In Italy, the pandemic forced doctors to essentially decide which lives to save first; they prioritized young and otherwise healthy over older patients deemed less likely to recover. In New York, physicians are preparing for similar pressures. That state has 10,000 ventilators, life-saving machines that help sick patients breath, but it may need three times that many or more.

Colorado has had crisis standards in place for years, most recently adopted in May 2018 under John Hickenlooper. But those guidelines are now being tailored to the current crisis. A statewide work group set up by the health department will make recommendations to another group that advises the governor during a public health threat, called the Governor’s Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee.

The GEEERC, as it’s called, could revise and would likely adopt the plan, potentially as soon as next week, and send it on to Gov. Jared Polis. Under his current emergency powers, he could enact the crisis standards as soon as the health system appeared to be on the verge of getting overwhelmed by COVID cases.

The committee is racing the clock as academic models predict peak hospitalizations, and competition for resources, reaching Colorado on April 17.

“We›re all running pretty fast here” due to the urgency of the crisis, said Dr. Eric France, the state’s chief medical officer. “We know there›s a strong demand from our hospitals to get these standards of care out, so that they can be using our recommendations in the work that they›re doing to those standards for their institutions.”

France said Colorado has never taken this step.

“It would be unprecedented.”

Wynia said Washington state, the first U.S. COVID epicenter, is preparing a similar crisis plan, but hasn’t instituted it yet. And he said during Hurricane Sandy, a New York hospital swamped by the storm almost, but narrowly, averted moving, to crisis protocols.

In that case, fearing electricity would go out, hospital workers lugged gasoline up multiple flights of stairs to power a generator for multiple patients on ventilators.

“One of the real advantages of planning for crisis standards of care is that it causes you to become creative,” Wynia said. “It causes you to start saying, ‘really if we had to do that, would we find some other solution?’”

New York state recently okayed technology allowing two patients to share one ventilator, in an effort to address the urgent need as the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients shot up.

Under a draft proposal still in the works, France described a four- tiered scoring system that would assign patients points to help predict which had the best chance for survival. It would consider things like how serious a patient›s illness is and if they have comorbidities, other additional health conditions that might make them less likely to survive, or to return to decent health.

The point system envisions considering factors like whether a patient is a child or pregnant or a first-responder like a firefighter or a nurse.

“It›s extremely important we try to make these decisions in as blind a process as possible,” France said. “So we›re only looking at the factors that are predictive of outcome and we don›t know anything that is irrelevant to those questions.”

In the current draft, level four, France said, is a lottery, something like a coin toss or a drawing of straws.

“We would find ourselves just using a lottery to decide which of these persons is the right one to receive the scarce resources,» he said.

France stressed that so far these are preliminary recommendations and any final decisions would be made by the GEEERC, and ultimately the governor.

He said the plan would call for individual hospitals to establish their own independent decision-making triage teams on site. They should include an ethicist, a physician that understands intensive care, a nurse and hospital director or leader. These brutal, life-ordeath decisions would be out of the hands of frontline providers.

“We don›t think that the frontline physicians and caregivers should be making these decisions,” he said. The team would not know about characteristics he described as “irrelevant” to someone’s potential health outcome. Age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other characteristics would not be part of the decision process.

“It is very important to have clear guidelines that all hospitals can follow that are nondiscriminatory and to start having these difficult community conversations,” said Julie Reiskin, executive director with Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, which advocates for disability rights.

Reiskin is consulting the committee and serves on a second group that will be engaging the community to educate about the new standards, if they were implemented.

If these crisis care “rationing” guidelines have to be implemented they must be done “without bias about disability that is not relevant to the real and immediate ability to survive,” she said via email. Conditions like “cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, blind, Deaf, wheelchair user, schizophrenia, brain injury, etc. should not be taken into consideration when determining access to critical care.”

Reiskin said if the disability has a direct bearing on ability to survive COVID-19 (for instance if someone has severe COPD and over 70) or someone who is actually terminally ill (like stage 4 cancer and eligible for hospice care) that is different.

“We do not want to go ahead of others but do not want to be left behind,” she said.

As physicians are forced into macabre discussions in the face of the pandemic, families should be having them too, said Sara Froelich, Executive Director of the Chronic Care Collaborative.

“Our main message to all Coloradans is now is the time to have important conversations with your family and your care team about your health and your medical wishes. All people should have a current advance directive and medical durable power of attorney,” Froelich said. “If you have a medical issue that requires hospitalization during this time, your care team may not be able to be with you due to restricted visitation policies. People who get COVID-19 can experience rapid declines in their health, regardless of age or preexisting condition and we hope all are prepared.”

France said the plan was to have the state issue different standards on different topics, should the crisis require it.

“So one might be access to ventilators, one might be personal protective equipment, another might be around palliative care,” France said.

Part of the reason for discussing the potential protocols is to alert the community to the seriousness of the crisis, in hopes mitigation measures like social distancing take hold and they would never need to be enacted.

“When we talk about flattening the curve, the entire reason for that is to keep the volume from overwhelming the Colorado health care system and the hospitals,” said Julie Lonborg, spokeswoman for the Colorado Hospital Association.

She said the standards could be necessary to make “unthinkable decisions.”

Konnie Martin, the CEO of San Luis Valley Health, said her team has been preparing for a surge of patients for weeks and hoping these most urgent measures wouldn’t be needed. “If the time came that we had to make those decisions, we would at least have some background information and understand how other communities or organizations made those decisions for themselves. But we’re not there yet,” she said.

Another key element of adopting crisis standards of care is to protect providers and institutions forced by circumstances into extraordinary decisions they’d never make under normal conditions. Crisis standards of care provide some level of legal protection and coverage, “so that you feel empowered to really do your best and not to feel like, even if it’s a worse outcome, at least I won’t get sued if I do X instead of Y,” Wynia said.

“You want people in those circumstances to make the very best decision they can. You don’t want them making decisions based on fear of a lawsuit,” she said.

Emergency department physicians said they welcomed the guidance if the situation does indeed progress to the point where the protocols are needed.

“It’s not something I ever thought I might have to face,” said Dr. Emmy Betz, an emergency room physician at University of Colorado School of Medicine.

She said as a front-line provider, guidelines or policies “or even someone else making the decision” would be helpful.

“We’re trained to do whatever we can for a patient, as medically appropriate and in line with what that patient wants. So even the thought of having to decide which patient gets a resource — of having to ‘triage’ resources — is terrifying,” Betz said.

The crisis standards would help in these “unprecedented times” to make sure medical decisions are as ethical and fair as possible, and ease the already intense pressure on physicians, said Dr. Katie Sprinkel, the associate medical director in the emergency department of The Medical Center of Aurora.

She said emergency providers are used to dealing with death and making complex decisions in the heat of the moment. But, she said, the crisis frameworks developed by a group, not in the heat of the moment, “are not only the best thing for patients, but would go a long way to mitigate the emotional trauma of physicians that have to carry them out.”

Ultimately, crisis standards of care, if enacted, come down to something resembling a utilitarian calculation, seeking decisions that get the most benefit to the most people, while others simply can’t get the life-saving help they normally would expect.

But Wynia said decision-makers won’t escape unscathed.

“There is no good way to make these kinds of decisions. Every decision you make is going to be incredibly painful and the people who make these decisions live with those for the rest of their lives,” he said. “If you talk to people who had to do military triage, they’re scarred by deaths and I expect we may see a generation of physicians who had to make these decisions and carry that burden with them for the rest of their lives.”