Columns, Opinion

Editor’s Column: Kudos to first responders

Former Herald Times editor Jeff Burkhead would be horrified to know we’ve been functioning without a functional scanner in the office for… um… a really long time. Our analog scanner was woefully outdated. Most everyone switched to digital years ago.

When we bought the paper the only transmission we were still receiving was the town’s public works department. I knew every time Russell Overton sent the snowplows to a different street all winter.
Thanks to the knowledge and research of former dispatcher and current Herald Times employee Patti Hoke, we bought a digital scanner in January. It sat in the box for months while I tried to find someone to help me program it. I finally sucked it up and paid to have the thing professionally programmed. I can figure out a lot of “tech” stuff, but the scanner threw me (and everyone else) for a loop.
Our freshly programmed scanner arrived last week. Listening to it has been both enlightening and exhausting.
Half of what we hear is “encrypted,” meaning it comes across the scanner sounding just like the unintelligible grown-up jargon in Charlie Brown cartoons. If you don’t know what that means, check YouTube. We interpret a lot of what’s going on based on a one-sided conversation with dispatch.
I’m also learning the law enforcement phonetic alphabet, which differs from the pilot’s phonetic alphabet I learned while growing up. My name in law enforcement is Nora-Ida-King-Ida. In pilot-speak it’s November-India-Kilo-India. (My real name is something entirely different). If I ever decide I need a pseudonym for my fiction I have lots of options now.
It seems like Highway 40 is a hotbed of speeders, suspended licenses and—oddly enough—multiple road rage episodes. And that’s just in the last week. Are all those people headed to Steamboat really grouchy, or what? On that note, our state patrol officers have been given a Herculean task… they’re covering a ridiculous amount of territory.
Third, I want to give kudos to our local first responders. Tuesday afternoon a controlled burn upriver near Westlands “blew up” in the spring wind and sent the fire department, the sheriff’s department and an ambulance crew 20 miles upriver. At the time I’m writing this, with the scanner sitting next to me (I brought it home to get updates about the upriver incident), there are still people on scene at that fire, hours and hours later. Others are now on their way to a house fire on Highway 64. These are many of the same folks who’ve been on scene at the upriver fire for the better part of a full work day. I feel tired just thinking about it.
So, hearty applause to all of our first responders for everything you do. You are appreciated.

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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