LISTEN TO LOCAL NEWS

MOFFAT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TAKE ISSUE WITH DENVER POST ARTICLE

The Moffat County Commissioners are upset by a Denver Post article reporting on the BLM’s Record of Decision for the Little Snake Field Office released earlier this week. Audrey Danner said she took issue with the Denver Post referring to the Vermillion Basin decision as a “good compromise”. She said there was no compromise. She says the local group that worked on it for nearly a decade came up with a compromise of only drilling for oil and gas on 1% of the basin at any given time, but when the plan reached Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the compromise was thrown out the window. Instead, Salazar deemed that none of the basin would be open for drilling. Danner says she’s not sure how you can call an “all or nothing” situation a compromise. Danner plans to write her opinions to the Denver Post.

 

COUNTY/CITY OFFICIALS DISPUTE NEWSPAPER CLAIM OF INABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER

Officials from Moffat County and the City of Craig are baffled at an editorial that ran Saturday in the Craig Daily Press. The piece bashed both entities again for not being able to work together. Commissioner Tom Mathers was visibly upset with the piece, questioning where the opinion came from. He noted about half a dozen projects the city and county are working on together, without any issues. The editorial specifically pointed out the “butting of heads” during the negotiations regarding rent at the public safety center, and the commissioners agreed that was a tough period. But Mathers says to continue to claim the two entities are at odds is simply ridiculous. City Councilman Ray Beck, who was at yesterday’s Commissioners meeting when the subject was brought up, seemed equally stumped as to why the claim was made.

 

BROWNS PARK ALUMNI LOOKS TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AT SCHOOL

The Browns Park Alumni Association asked the Moffat County Commissioners yesterday for a little financial help for improvements at the Browns Park Schoolhouse. The group would like to redo the steps leading up to the front of the schoolhouse for safety and aesthetic reasons. The schoolhouse is a unique situation in which the building is owned by the county, while the land underneath is owned by the BLM. While the BLM would like to deed the land to the county, which in most cases is a simple process, that’s not the case here. Years ago, when there were plans for a dam in Echo Park, the land was withdrawn from deeding consideration. The BLM is now looking into how they can remove that hurdle. The county has money set aside for the improvements, and authorized up to $1,450 to be used for the steps.

 

SENATE PASSES BILL TO INCREASE SUMMER TOURISM AT SKI RESORTS

A proposal that would allow ski areas to potentially expand activities to biking, zip lines and rope courses – legislation that would undoubtedly bring jobs to Colorado’s mountain towns – passed the U.S. Senate late Tuesday. Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, who has been agitating to get the legislation passed for three years, has spent this month knocking on doors all over Capitol Hill and threatening to call individuals to the Senate floor if they held the non-controversial bill any longer. The Obama administration backs the bill, so it will likely be signed into law “as soon as possible,” according to Udall’s office. The measure passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives

 

SECRETARY OF STATE TO DRAFT RULES FOR PUBLIC BALLOT INSPECTIONS

The Colorado Secretary of State’s office is drafting rules for public inspection of voted ballots, even as the issue is appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court and the state clerks association lobbies lawmakers to keep ballots secret. Last month, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that electronic images of voted ballots from the 2009Aspenmayoral election should be public documents, provided that a voter’s identity cannot be discerned from the ballot. Secretary of State Scott Gessler applauded the ruling, and spokesman Andrew Cole said Tuesday the office expects to post a notice of rule-making after the Nov. 1 election that will outline procedures for public inspection of ballots. Final rules could be published before the end of the year. Earlier this month, Aspen officials said they would appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

 

BUST OF STEAMBOAT TO BE HELD TOMORROW

The Yampa Valley Breast Cancer Awareness Project holds their 10th annual Bust of Steamboat tomorrow. The event raises funds to fight the disease. Decorated bras and other pieces will be auctioned off. The money is used to help local cancer patients. Tomorrow night’s event will be at the Three Peaks Grill in Steamboat from 5 to 8. Tickets are $30.

 

STATE PANEL DISCUSSING CHANGES TO SCHOOL DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES

A Colorado panel is discussing changes to post-Columbine school disciplinary policies to give education officials more discretion over expulsions and police referrals. The panel of legislators, law enforcement and community leaders are discussing potential legislation Tuesday to be introduced when the Legislature meets in the spring. Panelists say students are being needlessly criminalized because of zero-tolerance policies enacted after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings and other high-profile cases of youth violence. The proposed legislation would make expulsions mandatory only in cases of students bringing a firearm to school. The panel has heard of instances where students have been referred to police for bringing a wooden replica of a rifle to school or unintentionally hitting a teacher with a bean bag chair. The Legislature created the panel this year.

 

LEGISLATION IN THE WORKS TO REQUIRE LOW-FLOW TOILETS

Colorado lawmakers on the Water Conservation Review Committee are questioning whether the government has a place in citizens’ bathrooms. Legislation that was discussed Monday would apply to toilets that are being installed with new construction or replaced during remodeling. According to reports, wastewater groups, toilet makers, plumbing and water conservation advocates all expressed support for a law that would require low-flow toilets statewide. Sen. Ellen Roberts, a Republican from Durango, says consumers already are choosing low-flow toilets and she has reservations about government restrictions.

 

PACE CARS TO GUIDE I-70 TRAFFIC THIS WINTER

Colorado transportation officials say they plan to go ahead with a program using pace cars to reduce congestion on Interstate 70 in the mountains this winter. Transportation officials say when traffic slows down, vehicles are able to pass through the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels without creating gridlock. During two tests this year, Silverthorne police and Colorado State Patrol vehicles served as pace cars, driving 45 to 55 mph in the center or left lane with their emergency lights. Regional transportation director Tony DeVito says vehicle speeds dropped even after the tests were completed.

 

TODAY:

IN CROSS COUNTRY:

MOFFAT COUNTY, RANGELY, MEEKER AND STEAMBOAT RUN AT REGIONALS IN DELTA.

 

TOMORROW:

IN VOLLEYBALL:

MOFFAT COUNTY IS HOME AGAINST STEAMBOAT AT 6:30.

 

IN BOYS SOCCER:

STEAMBOAT HOSTS MOFFAT COUNTY AT 4.