Caring for Our First Responder Deputies

from The Lost Creek Guide September 16, 2020

Baseline

September 16, 2020 Lost Creek Guide Page 7

Jacqueline Kahlich-Romero Joins Premier Weld Clerk and Recorder Look to the Future by Adding Farm Credit in Fort Morgan a Kiosk for South Weld County Motor Vehicle Services

September 3, 2020, Fort Morgan, Colorado – The Fort Morgan branch of Premier WELD COUNTY, CO – Weld County residents in the southern area of the county Farm Credit is excited to announce the addition of Jacqueline Kahlich-Romero as a now can renew their vehicle registration at a self-service kiosk, thanks to a new kiosk Loan Officer on their team. installed at the King Soopers located at 6110 Firestone Blvd Longmont.

“I’m excited to have Jacqueline on board,” Chris Dollerschell, Vice President of The touch-screen terminal allows a citizen to walk up, scan the barcode on their Lending at Premier Farm Credit, said. “She vehicle renewal notice, pay fees by cash, check, credit, or debit card, and receive their has experience in both credit and agriculprinted registration and license plate tabs on the spot, without waiting at a county ture, and will be an asset to our team and office. Premier Farm Credit.” “This is another way that we can continue to better serve the people of Weld Kahlich-Romero comes to Fort Morgan County, I am very pleased and excited to keep pushing for new ways to improve with over 6 years of Farm Credit experigovernment services. It’s time to recognize the potential of kiosk technology and the ence, the most recent with Farm Credit West advancements we can continue to make in government services. I for one love the in California. She grew up on a cotton farm ability to continue to add technology,” said Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly near Lubbock, Texas, and she and her husKoppes. “We were successful in the pilot of this program for the state and we are band have two children. happy this is now a guaranteed service we can provide for everyone in Weld County, “I’m delighted to join the Fort Morgan adding a kiosk for the southern part of the county has been one of my long term goals branch,” Kahlich-Romero said. “I look forand I am pleased to be able to do so.” ward to getting to know our customers and Weld County’s Motor Vehicle Division is one of the busiest in Colorado, ranking being able to assist their families’ opera6th out of 64. Only Arapahoe, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, and Adams Counties protions.” cess more transactions than Weld County. The Fort Morgan branch of Premier Farm In an effort to reduce wait times, the Clerk and Recorder’s Office encourages citiCredit is open from 8-5, Monday through zens to “skip the trip” and renew their license plates by mail, online at www.colorado. Friday. Customers are welcome to stop by, gov/renewplates, or a drop-box at any County branch office. These alternatives save call or email anytime. As a part of the Farm you time and fuel and help to conserve taxpayer resources. Credit System, Premier Farm Credit offers reliable and consistent credit to agriculFor more information about Weld County Motor Vehicle services, please call 970- ture and rural communities, today and tomorrow. Premier Farm Credit is wholly 304-6520 or visit www.weldmotorvehicle.com owned by its borrowers and has aggregate loan volume of over $750 million. You can find them on the web at premieraca.com, or on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.

Caring for Our First Responder Agencies Keene Craft Mercantile By Shaley Dehner, Weld County Communications Specialist We’ve all been there – at the big-box membership warehouse looking to stock up on a few supplies. But do you really need 100 AA batteries? I mean, sure, you might eventually A B Spe ring cial The Pl ir ace Where Home-ma Ta de le C nted rafts Pe to ople Sell go through all those batteries…someday, but for the initial cost and the storage needs, does it make sense both practically and financially? Booths are $25 and Tables are $20 That’s the same conundrum Weld County’s first responder and medical agencies have run into during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only for them, it’s not batteries they need, it’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We are open from Monday thro 10 am until ug 5 h p Sa m turday “Our smaller medical and first responder agencies in Weld County haven’t been able to obtain needed PPE because certain national suppliers have set a quantity limit for or65MainStreet,Keenesburg,Colorado303-910-0640 ders,” said Roy Rudisill, Weld County Office of Emergency Management Director. “Nitrile gloves and masks are needing to be ordered in bulk — sometimes 1 million items at a time — which costs more. These agencies can’t afford that expense.”

So, while 11 cents per nitrile glove doesn’t sound bad, if you have to purchase a minimum of 1 million for a total of $110,000, it’s easy to see how this can become a big issue for small agencies.

The Board of County Commissioners, through the Weld County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), is helping solve this problem by purchasing the needed PPE in bulk with county dollars then providing it to the local agencies in the quantities they need. Now, funding has become available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which makes it easier for the county to continue to assist smaller agencies with their PPE needs.

“We’re providing vital personal protective equipment to these agencies at no cost to them,” said Denise Bradshaw, EOC Logistics Section Chief. “This further ensures these agencies have not only the security of PPE supplies but also peace of mind in knowing they have interim avenues to get what they need to safely do their jobs.”

Keeping track and storing of large quantities of PPE is challenging though. Early on, PPE supplies were recorded one by one and logged in an Excel spreadsheet. With more than 260 resource requests for PPE coming in from March–May, updating the spreadsheet became cumbersome. A streamlined and automated solution was needed, according to Bradshaw.

The logistics team – responsible for receiving order requests and filling them – implemented Salamander, an inventory software used by many agencies to track supplies. The result? An efficient system that better meets the needs of our first responder agencies in the county. “Salamander allows us to track current inventory in real time, set alerts when certain inventory becomes low (much like a retail store) and process reports specific to type of equipment or agency,” explained Bradshaw. “The application assigns each agency an identifier number and a QR code on the PPE item is scanned via a mobile app. Product is LAND LOANS then distributed on-site to each agency. Salamander also automatically adjusts inventory levels after receival and distribution of items.”

Another benefit of the system - it allows each agency to track how much PPE it has used and what those items would have cost for use in their future budget planning.

“Utilizing the Salamander system allows the county to continue providing PPE effiPremier Farm Credit customizes land financing for each customer ciently and securely to agencies who need it most,” said Bradshaw. It also allows the logistics team to move back into their day-to-day normal operations as the hands-on process is now less labor intensive and resource requests from outside with variable help and prod fi u xe ce d r rs ates and up to 3 rural co 0 m year mun s. iti I e t' s s s just ucc one eed. way we agencies are dropping. In fact, resource requests from April to August are down approximately 72 percent. Sterling...........970-522-2330 “Now that we have good supplies of PPE on hand, are in the position to purchase more Fort Morgan....970-867-4966 for our first responder agencies with CARES Act funds, and we have an efficient way to manage our inventory, we no longer need to dedicate the time we once had to for this Yuma..............970-848-5839 task,” said Rudisill. Holyoke..........970-854-3585

Page 8 Lost Creek Guide September 16, 2020

Rural Resilience Course Strengthens Gardner Welcomes $20.8 Million in

Farmers’ Community Safety Net Opioid and Methamphetamine

September 10, 2020, Sterling, Colorado – Farmers and ranchers are no strangers to hard times. Producers regularlyexperience fluctuating commodity prices, trade disrupResponse Grants for Colorado tions and extreme weather events that make their already challenging jobs even harder. Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) welcomed the announceThe COVID-19 pandemic and its economic disruptions have only compounded the situament that the state of Colorado will receive $20,842,772 in State Opioid Response (SOR) tion, increasing farmers’ stress. But misconceptions about “toughness,” perceived stigma grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Substance Abuse around seeking help, isolation and lack of mental health services in rural communities and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support prevention, treatment, mean rural residents are often reluctant to discuss the hardships they face and may not and recovery services for opioid use disorders and to address the rising threat of psychoknow where they can turn for help. Farmers need resources to help them manage their stimulants, like methamphetamine. own stress and support other members of their community. “Reports show that Colorado had a record number of overdose deaths in 2019. As our

That’s why Farm Credit, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National nation continues to grapple with the threat from COVID-19, prevention, treatment, and Farmers Union (NFU) have joined together with Michigan State University Extension recovery services to prevent these tragic outcomes are more important than ever,” said (MSU Extension) and University of Illinois Extension (Illinois Extension) to create Rural Senator Gardner. “As I travel across Colorado, I hear frequently about the devastation Resilience, a free, public, online training course to help farmers, as well as their families that opioids and meth cause in our communities, and I will continue fighting for robust, and neighbors, cope with this mounting stress. The course is free and accessible to the flexible funding to ensure that those communities are able to intervene effectively.” public at farmcredit.com/ruralresilience. States receive a funding allocation from the SOR every year, and prior to 2020 this

“The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the challenges ag producers are facing,” Migrant funding was restricted to opioid response activities, which was a barrier for local chael Grauberger, President and CEO of Premier Farm Credit said. “We hope that farmers, governments that requested flexible funding responsive to the situation on the ground. To ranchers and their families and friends who are feeling stressed will take this free training address the rising threat from psychostimulants, Congress took bipartisan action to elimiand use the tools provided to seek support as they navigate these unprecedented times, as nate those restrictions with Senator Gardner’s support in the fiscal year 2020 government well as recognize that asking for help is a sign of strength.” funding bill.

Taking this partnership a step further, all customer-facing Premier Farm Credit employSenator Gardner has made it a priority to fight the rise of substance abuse ees will soon have gone through a version of this training tailored to the specific needs of in Colorado: Farm Credit loan officers and other front-line staff. As a result of this training, employees In July 2020, Gardner and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Crisis Care will be better equipped to support customers facing challenging situations, as well as noImprovement and Suicide Prevention Act to improve state resources for crisis care protice and manage signs of stress in themselves. grams and strategies.

“We are grateful to be able to offer the Rural Resilience training to all our employees, so In February 2020, Gardner applauded HHS’s work to expand flexibility within opioid they may learn strategies to better communicate with our customers experiencing finangrant funding in order to provide resources for states and communities to address the riscial stress, as well as ways to better manage their own stress. ing threat of methamphetamine and other psychostimulants like cocaine.

The curriculum teaches all participants to understand the sources of stress, manage In October 2018, the U.S. Senate passed Gardner’s amendment to increase funding for their own stress, learn the warning signs of stress and suicide, identify effective commuthe COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP) to $13 million. nication strategies and help connect farmers and ranchers with appropriate mental health In October 2018, Gardner introduced the Suspicious Order Identification Act, bipartiand other resources,” said Grauberger. As a part of the Farm Credit System, Premier Farm san legislation to leverage order data to prevent drug diversion in real time. Credit offers reliable and consistent credit to agriculture and rural communities, today During his annual Colorado Farm Tour, Senator Gardner met with officials in rural arand tomorrow. Premier Farm Credit is wholly owned by its borrowers and has aggreeas who expressed their concerns over the rise of meth use in Colorado. Senator Gardner gate loan volume of over $750 million. You can find them on the web at premieraca. highlighted this on the floor of the U.S. Senate in October 2018. com, or on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. Cory Gardner is a member of the U.S. Senate serving Colorado. He sits on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee, and is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.