2012 Year in Review – Part 3

• Neil Joy listened while his best friend’s mother, father, sister-in-law and district attorney spoke. Then he heard his counselor, a friend, his brother, his wife and his attorney speak on his behalf. Finally, Joy spoke for himself before Judge Denise Lynch sentenced him to three years of confinement in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the Aug. 5, 2011 shooting death of James Eben “Jeb” Berthelson, Joy’s best friend.
• High winds brought down several trees around Meeker, including one that fell across the south lane of Fourth and Market streets. Another fell on one of the buildings at White River Inn and two of the biggest trees to fall were in the same block with one crossing Eighth Street, another across part of the roof at Brooks Realty.
• The Meeker Cowboys were within three points of making their third trip in six years to the big dance in Pueblo this weekend, but the Lutheran Lions had other ideas.In the regional championship game to determine who would represent the District Five, Lutheran held on in the final seconds to defeat the Meeker Cowboys 35-33. With the loss, Meeker ends its season with a very respectable 21-2 overall record.
• The lady Panthers girls’ basketball team traveled to Denver last week and played the Lutheran Lions in the first round of the Region 4 tournament, held at Metro State College. The Lions beat Rangely 57-31 and advanced to the “Elite Eight” in Pueblo with a 52-45 win over Burlington in the championship game.
• Jon Hill and Jeff Eskelson received the most delegates’ votes in the two races for Rio Blanco County commissioner at the 2012 RBC Republican General Assembly.
• Joe LeBlanc placed all four seasons at the NCAA Division I Championships, finishing fifth (2009), fourth (2010), sixth (2011) and seventh this season and is the only University of Wyoming wrestler to be a four-time All-American. LeBlanc was a four-time finalist and three-time WWC champion and he is the winningest wrestler — with 147 wins — in the university’s history.
• At a regularly scheduled Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District Board meeting on Feb. 2, 2012, Trina Zagar-Brown of Cooley Zagar-Brown, PC, resigned as secretary counsel to the Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy board of directors. Zagar-Brown resigned pending appointment of interim counsel.
• The cross at the site of the community Easter Sunrise Service on Dragon Road was totally destroyed this past winter. When discovered, the wheels were in motion immediately to replace it with a sturdier design. The sunrise service has been at this site since 1950 and the cross has been the target of vandals many, many times.
• After earning All-American honors three times on the Western State College Mountaineer track and field team, Rangely graduate Jason Brenton took three years off from competing in track but returned in 2012 to win a NCAA Division II national title in the triple jump.
• A new mayor for the town of Rangely was seated at the council meeting April 10, along with two new town trustees, following the municipal election.
• “Things are looking up for the Barone Middle School wrestling program with more kids out for the team this year than in the past, which helped produce a successful season. The season concluded with 11 wrestlers competing in the Middle School State tournament held last weekend in Denver and bringing home a third place team trophy. T.J. Shelton won a state title, Devon Pontine finished second, Dillon Frantz was a consolation champion and Sheridan Harvey placed fifth. Wrestling on the young Cowboys team this season were (Front row) Josh Cochran, Brett McGruder, Tell Blanke, Conner Pfister, Jake Nielsen, Cole Purcell, Tyler Ilgen, Nick Burri, Sheridan Harvey, Casey Turner, Sam Nieslanik and Sam Lange. Back row; Caleb Bradford, Hunter Garcia, Dillon Frantz, Devon Pontine, Cody Purcell, Cody Nielsen, Ty Dunham, Jake Smith, T.J. Shelton, Robby Jensen, Noah Overton, Tommy Chitwood, Jacob Henderson and Tyler Pollock. Not pictured; Garrett Frantz, Jacob Pelloni, Chase Rule and coaches Lee Overton and J.C. Watt.