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Sunday, november 8, 2009
Volume 123, Number 17 • Steamboat Springs, Colorado • www.steamboatpilot.com
Free lunches on the rise Steamboat Springs School District sees increase of nearly 36 percent Jack Weinstein
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
More K-12 students are getting free lunches this school year in Steamboat Springs. The number of Steamboat Springs School District students signed up to receive free lunches as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program increased near-
Death policy could change County agencies may discuss autopsies Zach Fridell
Pilot & Today staff
Steamboat Springs
Under a mandate from the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, any time a person dies alone, the Routt County coroner must perform an autopsy. Although autopsies are required by state law any time the cause of death is unknown, Coroner Rob Ryg said using a “common sense” approach would Ryg save the county about $10,000 per year. During a Nov. 2 meeting with District Attorney Elizabeth Oldham and the Routt County Board of Commissioners, Ryg said that in many cases of an unattended death, an autopsy is not necessary. When a person dies, the coroner uses evidence from the scene, reports from people in the area and information from the deceased’s doctor to figure out why and how the person died. Under direction from a former district attorney, all unattended deaths, even those with clear causes, were required to have an autopsy. Oldham said her office does not require autopsies on all unattended deaths in Moffat and Grand counties, which also are within the judicial district. She said she was unsure why the policy was created but that she is willing to discuss the policy with Ryg and law enforcement representatives. In the case of older people who are not in hospice care, the person’s doctor usually knows what medical conditions likely caused the person to die, Ryg said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time they’ll say, ‘Yeah, we’ll sign See Autopsy, page 7A Page designed by nicole miller
ly 36 percent this school year compared with 2008-09. That followed a nearly 24 percent increase from 2007-08 to 200809. Numbers have decreased slightly in Hayden and South Routt. The program allows students whose families meet income thresholds to get lunches for free or at a reduced cost. School
districts are reimbursed monthly for each lunch they provide at no cost or a discount. As of the Oct. 1 student count, which determines the amount of per-pupil funding the district receives from the state, 156 Steamboat students were enrolled to receive free lunches. That’s just more than 7 percent of the district’s 2,172 students — a number that includes North Routt
Community Charter School. Last school year, 115 students were signed up to receive free lunches. The year before that, 93 students were enrolled. Superintendent Shalee Cun ningham said she suspected the increase was a result of the down economy. “I think a lot of people had jobs a couple years ago or last See Lunch, page 8A
matt stensland/staff
Soda Creek Elementary School cafeteria worker Loraine Boyle serves pizza during lunch Friday.
Changing the guard Antonucci, Ivancie reflect on years of City Council service
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fter a certain number of years, the debates, disagreements, failures and achievements all seem to blend together. At least that’s the way it seems to be for Steve Ivancie and Loui Antonucci, who will take a combined 20 years of Steamboat Springs City Council expeStory by rience away from Mike Lawrence Centennial Hall when they step down Tuesday night. The two were often on different sides of council issues — affordable housing, the pace and scope of growth and the ban on smoking in public places, for example — but as they sat with city staff in Centennial Hall on Thursday, the talk quickly turned to fond reminiscing, rather than bitter rehashing, of old times and old battles that already seemed like water under the bridge. City staff and administrators were quick to praise the dedication of Ivancie and Antonucci, who have served on City Council since 2001. Antonucci also served from 1989 to 1993. “They stayed true to their platform discussions,” said Chris Wilson, director of the city’s Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department, citing the pair’s long-term commitment to fostering local recreation. “They really stepped up their game from the start. We’re really going to miss these two guys.”
sunday focus
john f. russell/staff
Longtime City Council members Steve Ivancie, left, and Loui Antonucci will step down from the job Tuesday. The two have served a combined 20 years on council.
Deputy City Manager Wendy DuBord has served as interim city manager twice in the past eight years, during Antonucci’s and Ivancie’s council service. She cited Ivancie’s effort to secure energy impact grants for the city, traveling to meetings across Northwest Colorado and beyond
to get state funding for the city’s Public Works Department, the new Steamboat Springs Community Center and more. “Steve was always great at pitching the case,” DuBord said. She praised Antonucci’s ability to run an efficient, organized meeting as
council president and said most residents don’t realize how much preparation occurs outside Centennial Hall. “They have no idea how many hours you guys spend in meetings that aren’t part of City Council,” DuBord said. See Council, page 7A
Unemployed more vulnerable Americans have more debt, less savings as jobless rate rises Jeannine Aversa
the associated press
WASHINGTON
It hurts more to be unemployed now than the last time the jobless rate hit 10 percent. Americans have more than triple the debt they had in 1982, and less than half the savings. They spend 10 weeks longer off Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press President Barack Obama makes a statement about the release of the latest the job. And a bigger share of unemployment number at a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House them have no health insurance, leaving them one medical emeron Friday in Washington, D.C.
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— including one testing pinball machines — to make ends meet until he landed full-time work nearly two years later. But now Schenk, 55, of the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill., has been seeking work for a year and a half after losing his information technology job. Potential employers aren’t interested “if you are not a perfect fit,” he says.
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LAST WEEK: Should Routt County continue to use the mail-only voting format in future elections? Results/5A
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gency away from financial ruin. For these reasons, the unemployed are more vulnerable today to foreclosure and bankruptcy than they were a generation ago. Donald Schenk knows. He’s been without work both times. It’s worse now, he says. Back in the early 1980s, when Schenk lost his job at a phone company, he was able to find several temporary jobs
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