Up and down el Rio Blanco: Happy new year

Here’s hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas and sending best wishes for the new year!
I want to apologize to the Coulter family for an incorrect headline on the front page of last week’s Herald Times.
A local reader informed me Thursday last, “Your paper doesn’t match up,” then told me the mistake. The headline read “FFA honors Coulter’s service,” when it should have read FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) honors Coulter’s service, not FFA (Future Farmers of America). It was correct in the story but the headline did not “match up.”
Our goal is to publish a perfect paper and although I accept we have not accomplished our goal, it’s disappointing when a mistake like this gets past us.
I’m sorry, Gary and Relda, I hope it doesn’t take away from your 50 years of aviation service to our community. We republished the photo on the front page this week with the correct headline and cutline, and with my apologies.
The great thing about life is it goes on with new years bringing new days, new weeks and new months for us to keep trying to get better.
I’m looking forward to 2012 and all the challenges and opportunities it will bring. I’m already excited about some of the things happening in our beautiful county.
Range Call celebrates its 127th consecutive year of honoring our country’s Independence Day and the Range Call committee is getting more progressive in its preparations, starting with a community dance featuring a live band on New Year’s Eve in the new Rio Blanco County 4-H building.
I’m excited about the Range Call committee’s plans to move the concert to Ute Park this year. What a great idea and use of the natural amphitheater at Ute Park. Hopefully we’ll come up with more public activities and uses for the town park this year.
Rangely will have a new state of the art hospital built in 2012 and hopefully the new elementary school in Meeker will get repaired and open again to our students this year.
There are plans for our county to be the first in the state to offer and market OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) trails using county roads. It will be a great opportunity to attract visitors from around the region, state and country.
Rio Blanco County will get national press coverage this year for providing the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree and I look forward to “Celebrating the Great Outdoors” and promoting all our county has to offer.
Happy New Year!