Letters To The Editor

Letters to the Editor: July 19, 2012

Thank you for school supply support
Dear Editor:
Dave and Enid Steffen (The Bakery and The Thrift and Gift Shop) would like to thank everyone for all the help with the school supplies over the years. The Methodist Church in Meeker is taking it over and we would like to think they will get the same help as you have given us over the years. They will have a drop off at the church in Richards Hall. There will be signs and it is always open. You can also drop off “Labels for Education” from soup cans and “Box Tops for Education” from other products there.
Thank you again for all your support.
Dave and Enid Steffen
Meeker
Consider the positive
Dear Editor:
After reading Mr. Ridgeway’s editorial this week, I found a copy of the article which was published in the New York Times in June. I had heard the reporter made a personal visit to Meeker to obtain facts for the article entitled “Western Colorado Struggles as Energy Jobs Fade.”
To many, the article is spot-on concerning the energy slump. My disappointment is that it paints a picture of a desolate, drab, unhappy dust town. This perspective was published in a newspaper with huge circulation. The article’s quoted phrase of “we’re sitting here dead” would be far from the ideals of our local tourism boards — who would want to visit or move to Meeker/Rio Blanco County, a place “where rusting tanks line the highways?”
Coal extraction is still a major contributing energy factor in both Meeker and Rangely. Oil and gas companies still have long-term employees here and the oil and gas is flowing from infrastructure put in place at the peak of our recent boom. Agriculture is still a valuable gem for the county and our recreation opportunities are coming on strong again.
Five years ago, energy companies told us they would be here, and then gone. Apparently supporting contractors and businesses did not buy in to the five-year plan.
The article states that “home foreclosures, while falling across Colorado, are rising here.” This is not factual. No one from the New York Times visited the office of Public Trustee to obtain these figures and chart the trend.
In 2009, Rio Blanco opened 51 foreclosure files. In 2010, 41 were opened. And last year, we opened 40 files. The numbers are falling. Comparing June 30 in these three years plus 2012, we are even in three of the four years at 21 files started at mid-year. It took the county five years to recover to “normal” foreclosure levels after the peak of last boom and bust cycle. No guarantees, but it appears we may be in a modest recovery cycle for foreclosure filings.
The spike in the 2009 foreclosures were “here and gone” status. Properties owned by developers who were speculating with home building, or energy personnel, making few or no payments, then walking away from their house in Meeker only to go to the next “hot spot” were a large percentage of the 51 files.
I’m not sure how this article developed. Maybe the author used pick-and-choose on comments that appeared, leaving out all the positive comments he may have heard. I surely hope this was the case. You can’t paint such a dismal picture for a national publication, then expect citizens and businesses from near and far, to beat a path to your door.
Karen Arnold
Rio Blanco County Public Trustee

Rangely recycles
Dear Editor:
We haven’t paid much attention to the discussion of a recycling program for Rangely. We’ve always recycled our newspapers by taking them to the bins near K-Mart in Junction, and we don’t use bottled water. (We think Rangely water tastes just fine.) But recently we’ve needed a good deal of distilled water for medical equipment, and with the gallon milk jugs, it was getting to be a lot, so we checked out Curbside Recycling in Grand Junction. It was a little tricky to find, but once we found it, we think it’s great. They take newspaper and all kinds of cardboard and plastic jugs and bottles, and phone books and magazines and egg cartons and more, and there usually is a very nice person there to help you get things in the right place. We just save it up and take a friend’s collection as well. We all go to Junction and we all could do that.
We heard that the folks at White River Village had been saving up their water bottles for recycling, and then found the plans had fallen through, so we took their bottles down. We’ll take as much as the car can hold, and I hope others will do the same. Maybe someday the town government will decide to be a little kinder to our landfill and the only planet we’ve got, but this works for now.
John and Mickey Allen
Rangely

Correction
Dear Editor:
Thank you for publishing my “Letter to the Editor” last week. Unfortunately, the letter printed was not precisely the one I sent. In the second paragraph I wrote “I am thinking now of Roe v. Wade, a decision that has led to the slaughter of 55,000,000 Americans and brought shame upon our country.” The Herald Times published this as “I am thinking now of Roe v. Wade, a decision that has led to the slaughter of 5.5 million Americans and brought shame upon our country.” There have not been a total 5.5 million people killed by abortion, since Roe v Wade but 55 million, a considerable difference!
Cordially,
Rogers Huck Meredith

Thank you 4-H, dog pound supporters
Dear Editor:
A big thank you to Dr. Stacy Hudleson and Laurel Haney for their efforts at the “Give a Dog a Shot” day on Saturday. Many dogs received vaccinations at a reduced cost and the 4-H dog club was able to donate $35 to the Meeker Dog Pound. Thank you to Bobby Gutierrez, Tai Mataia, Becky Ridings, Kaitlyn Cook, Laurel Haney and Briana Williams for purchasing dog treats and/or biodegradable dog waste bags from the Marvelous Mutts 4-H Club. Also, I would like to recognize Sena Zellers, Matilda Brown, Addie Joy, Rainier Foreback and Sydney Cochran for their efforts to help the pound dogs find new homes. Appreciation also goes to Joy Surveying for donating the flyers and signs to advertise the event. We hope to make this an even bigger success next year!
Sincerely,
Ann Franklin
Meeker

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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.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
  • 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 getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
  • 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
  • Read part three of the story of M.T. Streeter in this week’s edition of History Lessons! Find it in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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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.
13 hours ago
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
14 hours ago
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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!
19 hours ago
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3 days ago
View on Instagram |
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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
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
3 days ago
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Read part three of the story of M.T. Streeter in this week’s edition of History Lessons! Find it in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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4 days ago
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Meeker FFA Chapter members competed at the District Leadership Development Event in Craig, Colorado, this month. Top row from left to right: Eva Scritchfield, Charlie Rogers, Alan Rivera, Trent Sanders, Koy Weber, Orion Musser, Said Rodriguez, Carlos Carrillo, Aidan Tapia, Hayden Garcia, Tristan Rollins, Mathew Willey, Quentin Simpson. Middle row: Sidney Keetch, Aurora Stallings, Sydnie Ross, Ava Nay, Lili Piper, Leah Wood. Bottom Row: Jaicee Simmons, Kailynn Watson, Cody Richardson, Kayla Castillo, Braydin Raley, Autumn Stallings, Aimee Shults, Emily Hamm. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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Choose-your-own-adventure…. Hear from our Editor in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
Choose-your-own-adventure…. Hear from our Editor in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
5 days ago
View on Instagram |
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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