MONDAY ❖ NOVEMBER 21, 2016
MOFFAT COUNTY WINTER SPORTS TEAMS READY FOR ACTION, SEE PAGE 9
craig daily press S E RV I N G C R A I G A N D M O F FAT C O U N T Y
VOL. 117, NO. 92
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Craig prepares for Unit 1 closure Transition manager meets with city officials By NOELLE LEAVITT RILEY DAILY PRESS EDITOR
CRAIG — Meet Rick Thomson, the man who will help Craig prepare for Unit 1’s closure in the next nine years. Thomson and other energy officials were in town Thursday to meet with Moffat County residents to vet concerns about the recent announcement that Craig Station’s Unit 1 will close in 2025. “We’re touching base with a lot of the movers and shakers in town to put some perspective on some of the concerns,” said Tri State Generation & Transmission Senior External Affairs Advisor Drew Kramer. In September, Tri State announced it would close Unit 1 in Craig, along with Tri-State’s coal-fired power plant, Nucla Station, and
eliminate coal production at the New Horizon Mine in Nucla by 2022. The closures are due to the Colorado Visibility and Regional Haze State Implementation Plan. Thomson has worked for Tri-State for five years, and his new title is transition team manager for decommissioning Unit 1 and the coal mine and power plant in Nucla. A few Craig City Council members met with Thompson on Thursday to receive a briefing about what’s next for the city and Unit 1. Thompson said Craig and Moffat County are ahead of the economic diversity game, having created numerous plans to diversify, where Nucla has no diversifications plan in place. “I think one of the things we’ve talked about that is
really important is when you look at what’s going on, timing wise, we’re looking at 2025 for you guys, but we’re looking at 2022 for Nucla and New Horizon, and we’re looking at total closures there, so the impact there is significant,” Thomson said. Tri-State’s plan is to have three transition teams in place — employee, community and decommissioning — with Thomas the team manager. “My job is to make sure the right hand and the left hand know what’s going on,” he said. “We’re going to try to assemble transition teams, hopefully by the end of this year, and then move forward from there.” The transition will help assist plant and coal mine workers as the closure of See CLOSURE on page 2
noelle leavitt riley/daily press
TRI-STATE GENERATION & Transmission’s new transition team manager, Rick Thompson, meets with community leaders Thursday, including members of the Craig City Council.
Craig Middle School boosts food bank By SASHA NELSON DAILY PRESS WRITER
CRAIG — More than 2,220 pounds of food and $3,584 donated by students at Craig Middle School will help the Interfaith Food Bank feed families that might have gone hungry during the holidays. “Kids brought in food to help those who can’t buy food,” said sixth-grader Samantha Willems, who is in Kadi Wright’s focus class. “It’s nice to help peosasha nelson/daily press MORE THAN 2,200 POUNDS of food and $3,500 were donated Thursday by students of Craig Middle School to the ple who can’t have a nice dinner without help.” Interfaith Food Bank to feed people in need in Moffat County during the holidays.
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Annie’s Mailbox . . . . . . . 14 Business Buzz . . . . . . . . . 3 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
This year’s drive started Oct. 14 and was two weeks shorter than in the past, said sixth-grade English teacher Vicki Blomquist. At first Blomquist, the food drive committee chair for the middle school, was worried that the loss of two weeks would mean that students would miss their goals. Students stepped-up and thought outside of the box, Blomquist said. They raised money in creative ways such as at bake sales, at a carSee DRIVE on page 2 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . 15 Entertainment . . . . . . . . 14 Lottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . 14