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Volume 11, Issue 45
In This Issue:
November 11, 2020
* Page 2 * Page 4
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New Directional Sign on I-76 City of Ft. Lupton Field of Honor Ceremony
Colorado Limits Gatherings to 10 People From No More than Two Households as Coronavirus Spike Continues Previously, Coloradans were allowed to gather in groups of up to 25 people with no limit on how many households those people could be from.
Colorado health officials on Friday issued an order limiting gatherings in the state to no more than 10 people from two separate households in an effort to slow rising coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. The order goes into effect immediately and lasts for at least 30 days. Previously, Coloradans were allowed to gather in groups of up to 25 people with no limit on how many households those people could be from. “We are asking all Coloradans to act with an abundance of caution to reverse these worrying trends,” Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in a written statement. “Right now, the virus is spreading when people from multiple households attend gatherings. We need to keep gatherings smaller and with people from fewer households — we are asking everyone to ‘shrink their bubble’ to reduce the spread.” Ryan asked Coloradans to “take every effort to reduce contact with members of other households.” “If you can work remotely, please do so to reduce contact with other individuals,” she said. “Taking action now can prevent your loved ones from getting sick, and help us save lives and avoid stricter public health orders in the future.” There is no limit on gatherings of members of the same household. But people can forget about gathering in parks, backyards or indoors with a few other couples to socialize — at least for the time being. Same thing goes for multiple families that want to get together, even though there are more than 10 people gathering. Colorado’s daily case numbers are higher than they’ve ever been and the state’s seven-day test positivity rate, at 5.8%, is at its highest level since June. Hospitalizations, meanwhile, are at their highest level since May 21. Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Colorado’s top epidemiologist, has warned that if the trend is not reversed, the state’s intensive-care hospital bed capacity could be surpassed in the coming months. Denver, as well as Adams and Arapahoe counties, last week enacted new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. The three counties have experienced among the highest spike in the disease.
Denver now requires mask-wearing outdoors, while Adams County ordered alcohol sales at restaurants and bars to end at 10 p.m. and Arapahoe County ordered restaurants and bars to stop selling alcohol at 11 p.m. The new statewide order on gatherings didn’t provide specifics on what penalties violators could face, only that there could be sanctions. “This order will be enforced by all appropriate legal means,” the order said. “Local authorities are encouraged to determine the best course of action to encourage maximum compliance. Failure to comply with this order could result in penalties, including jail time, and fines, and may also be subject to discipline on a professional license based upon the applicable practice act.” Counties that are in Gov. Jared Polis’ “protect our neighbors” status are automatically exempt. Those include Gunnison, Gipin, Rio Blanco and Moffat counties. (Mesa County’s “protect-our-neighbors” status was downgraded this week because of its rising caseload.) Colorado’s 60 other counties are in the “safer-at-home” phase and their residents must abide by the gathering limitations. There are a host of exemptions for athletics, restaurants, retail, manufacturing, health care settings, offices, critical businesses and government entities, schools, universities and places of worship. The new gatherings order essentially only applies to social gatherings outside of a business or office setting. The order was issued days after Polis sidestepped questions about statewide action he may take to limit spread of COVID-19, instead calling for targeted restrictions. “It’s acting to contain the virus where it is at a moment in time,” he said Tuesday in endorsing local approaches to stopping the disease’s spread. “… There’s different measures at different times in different places depending on the conditions.” The new order from CDPHE was unveiled in a news release. Polis’ regular Friday coronavirus briefing was moved because of wildfires impacting the state.
Thank You for Voting
It looks like it is going to be a record turnout this year for voting. That means a lot of people will be happy and a lot will not. Let us all try to remember to put the election behind us and work together to make our country come to gather. We have a lot to do. Let us try and work together to address the opportunities for improvement in so many areas. Whining and complaining about the election results is not how to do it, ask yourself, what can I do to make life better for me, my family, my neighbors, and those less fortunate. What can I do to help my elected officials be better at their job? What can I do to encourage people, government and businesses be better citizens? Sadly, I believe this has to come from us, the citizens. The track record for our elected officials, government bureaucracy, and corporate entities has not been spectacular. Let us work together, a grass roots effort to start to hold people responsible and accountable, to us, the people!
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T H E T R I B U TA R Y
New Directional Sign for Connecting to I-76 on County Road 49
Last ten days or so there was a new sign put up on the west side of County Road 49 as you approach I-76 providing directional information. It came down after a few days and was replaced by a bigger, more conventional sign. The Lost Creek Guide is attempting to determine who put it up, CDOT, Weld County or the Town of Hudson. As of yet we have not been able to determine. Will keep you advised.
November 11, 2020
TRIVIA What western U.S. state is Edwards Air Force Base found in? CALIFORNIA What’s a symphony orchestra’s most common hand-plucked instrument? THE HARP What does the “J” in Michael J. Fox’s name stand for - James, John, or nothing? NOTHING What kinid of birds are Ziggy and Flaps, in Disney’s The Jungle Book? VULTURES What does 1985 Australian Monopoly champ Greg Jacobs sell - cars, games or real estate? REAL ESTATE What Asian country boasts the National People’s Theater? CHINA
United Power to Move Forward with Lawsuit Against Power Supplier Colorado Public Utilities Commission Declines to Rule on Corporate Law Issue
Brighton, CO - Yesterday the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CoPUC) dismissed without prejudice United Power and La Plata Electric’s complaint against Tri-State. The Commission acknowledged that the decision on whether Tri-State lawfully admitted the three non-utility partners, an action that allowed them to claim that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had exclusive jurisdiction over their rates, was a corporate law matter and should be decided by the courts. In May United Power filed a case against Tri-State in Adams County courts asserting that Tri-State fraudulently induced United Power to champion a 2019 Bylaw amendment to permit partial requirement membership. The admission of three non-utility members allowed Tri-State to apply for oversight with FERC, effectively setting aside the months of work by the CoPUC and suspending the administrative law judge’s ruling that favored a buyout methodology developed by United Power. “We know the PUC was put in an awkward position of having to rule on a corporate law decision,” stated interim CEO, Bryant Robbins. “We greatly appreciate the hard work of both the Commission and their staff. The need of having the District Court hear the case was not unexpected. We will continue to move forward in our efforts to lower the rates of the 97,000 meters that we serve.” In November of 2019, United Power filed a complaint with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking a fair buyout charge. This summer, United Power received a favorable ruling from the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) assigned by the PUC to hear the case. Then on August 28th, FERC reversed an earlier decision and determined they have sole jurisdiction over the exit fee matter, even while acknowledging that they have not determined that Tri-State’s proposed methodology represented a “just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory exit charge”. “While we are disappointed that the commission is unable to rule on this issue, we believe our case in Adams County will show that the non-utility members were unlawfully added according to both State Statutes and their own bylaws,” stated Robbins. United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative delivering electricity to nearly 97,000 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.
What character is described in song: “Willy, nilly, silly ole bear”? WINNIE-THE-POOH What London landmark was named for Benjamin Hall? BIG BEN What, above all, must you never do to a Mogwai after midnight? FEED HIM What’s North America’s most popular dried fruit? THE RAISIN What wild Disney ride takes guests along the road to Nowhere in Particular? MR. TOAD’S WILD RIDE Are there volcanoes in Antarctica? YES What section of the newspaper did Ronald Reagan ask for after his July 1985 surgery? THE COMICS SECTION What Disney movie heroine sews coats and hats for mice? CINDERELLA What’s the vampire bat’s only food? BLOOD What’s the most common term for a rodeo performer’s lariat? LASSO
November 11, 2020
Also on This Day
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1778 Poor leadership leads to Cherry Valley Massacre. Patriot Colonel Ichabod Alden refuses to believe intelligence about an approaching hostile force. As a result, a combined force of Loyalists and Native Americans, attacking in the snow, killed more than 40 Patriots, including Alden. U.S. PRESIDENTS 1921 Exactly three years after the end of World War I, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia during an Armistice Day ceremony presided over by President Warren G. Harding. SLAVERY 1831 Nat Turner, the leader of a bloody revolt of enslaved people in Southampton County, Virginia, is hanged in Jerusalem, the county seat. Turner, an enslaved man and educated minister, believed that he was chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY 1852 The Saturday Evening Gazette publishes “The Rival Painters: A Story of Rome,” by Louisa May Alcott, who will later write the beloved children’s book Little Women (1868). CRIME 1988 Authorities unearth a corpse buried in the lawn of 59-year-old Dorothea Puente’s home in Sacramento, California. Puente operated a residential home for elderly people, and an investigation led to the discovery of six more bodies buried on her property. SPORTS 1973 The Soviet Union announces that, because of its opposition to the recent overthrow of the government of Chilean President Salvador Allende, it would not play a World Cup Soccer match against the Chilean team on November 21, if the match were held in Santiago. INVENTIONS & SCIENCE 1978 A stuntman on the Georgia set of “The Dukes of Hazzard” launches the show’s iconic automobile, a 1969 Dodge Charger named the General Lee, off a makeshift dirt ramp and over a police car.
T H E T R I B U TA R Y
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This Day in History - November 11, 1918 Armistice Day: World War I Ends
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure. On June 28, 1914, in an event that is widely regarded as sparking the outbreak of World War I, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was shot to death with his wife by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ferdinand had been inspecting his uncle’s imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the threat of Serbian nationalists who wanted these Austro-Hungarian possessions to join newly independent Serbia. Austria-Hungary blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the problem of Slavic nationalism once and for all. However, as Russia supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurances from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed. On July 29, Austro-Hungarian forces began to shell the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and Russia, Serbia’s ally, ordered a troop mobilization against Austria-Hungary. France, allied with Russia, began to mobilize on August 1. France and Germany declared war against each other on August 3. After crossing through neutral Luxembourg, the German army invaded Belgium on the night of August 3-4, prompting Great Britain, Belgium’s ally, to declare war against Germany. For the most part, the people of Europe greeted the outbreak of war with jubilation. Most patriotically assumed that their country would be victorious within months. Of the initial belligerents, Germany was most prepared for the outbreak of hostilities, and its military leaders had formatted a sophisticated military strategy known as the “Schlieffen Plan,” which envisioned the conquest of France through a great arcing offensive through Belgium and into northern France. Russia, slow to mobilize, was to be kept occupied by Austro-Hungarian forces while Germany attacked France. The Schlieffen Plan was nearly successful, but in early September the French rallied and halted the German advance at the bloody Battle of the Marne near Paris. By the end of 1914, well over a million soldiers of various nationalities had been killed on the battlefields of Europe, and neither for the Allies nor the Central Powers was a final victory in sight. On the western front—the battle line that stretched across northern France and Belgium— the combatants settled down in the trenches for a terrible war of attrition.
SUDOKU
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T H E T R I B U TA R Y
November 11, 2020
City of Fort Lupton Field of Honor Opening Ceremony
Introductions: Zo Stieber, Mayor City of Fort Lupton, Colorado Invocation: Fr. Grzegorz Wojcik, St. Williams Church, Fort Luton, Colorado, Color Guard: Buffalo Soldiers, American West Colorado Emerald Society Pipes & Drums The 13 Folds of the American Flag: American Legion Post 111, Louisville, Colorado The National Anthem: Ms. Amber Ramirez Community Appreciation: Chief Phil Tiffany, Fort Lupton Fire Department Honored Guest: Col (retired) Kenneth Chavez, Colorado Army National Guard 21 Gun Volley: American Legion Post 111, Louisville, Colorado