The United States marked a sad milestone this week: 500,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19. You can argue about the numbers. You can insist that the doctors who are treating those patients are fudging the numbers for nefarious reasons. You can say most of those people would have died anyway because[Read More…]
Author: Niki Turner
Rough-drafting history is slow going
Local newspapers are often referred to as the “rough draft of history.” This last year has been an interesting one to scribble about. In the decades to come, as science and reason and history come together and find agreement with legitimate data that emerges, it will be interesting to see[Read More…]
COUNTY BEAT: February 18, 2021
A note on last week’s meeting: The HT has submitted Colorado Open Records Act requests for documents pertaining to “hospital administrators expressing grave concern” about the public health department, as stated by County Attorney Todd Starr last week. We also submitted requests for county records regarding COVID outbreaks at both[Read More…]
Meeker board continues discussion on large livestock
MEEKER | The Meeker Board of Trustees continued a discussion about the status of large livestock within town limits Tuesday. A previous discussion sparked complaints on social media. According to Meeker Animal Control Officer Laurel Haney, changes to the code involving livestock would impact “nine to 10” households. “We get[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Those Sunshine Laws again
My kitchen is always open to friends. ~ Dr. Hannibal Lecter If you missed it, which many likely did, there was a “special meeting” of the Board of Commissioners Tuesday. It was an executive session of the board called for the purpose of conferencing “with the Rio Blanco County Attorney,[Read More…]
County Beat: Board Addresses “Friction”
RBC | Rio Blanco County commissioners started work sessions early Tuesday to accommodate a busy schedule. ERBM Maintenance Manager Rodney Gerloff requested assistance inventorying trees in Meeker’s parks. Gerloff said ERBM could benefit from County Planner Leif Joy’s GIS and drone expertise to map trees in an effective way. With[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: The Best Laid Schemes
Those of Scottish heritage may know that last Monday, Jan. 25, was Burns Night, the celebration of 18th century Scottish poet and bard Robert Burns, whose most well-known ode is “Auld Lang Syne.” Burns also wrote a poem in 1785 titled “To a Mouse” after he accidently upended a field[Read More…]
Split vote ends fall grazing, keeps spring calving in Ute Park
MEEKER | In a split vote that had to be decided by Mayor Kent Borchard, Meeker’s Board of Trustees approved a lease for the use of Ute Park for cattle grazing only during the spring calving season. In past years — since the Town purchased the property — there has[Read More…]
Community spread boosts case counts
RBC | With new case counts remaining high, Rio Blanco County recorded its 401st positive COVID-19 case on Monday, Jan. 25, with some of the highest active case counts since the spike in November. As of Monday, there were 42 active cases in Meeker and 34 in Rangely. Six residents[Read More…]
Buffalo Horn decision issued
RBC | It’s been a lengthy process, but the Bureau of Land Management, White River Field Office, has issued a decision to approve a land exchange with Buffalo Horn Properties, LLC. The parcels are in the Strawberry Creek and Smith Gulch areas in Rio Blanco and Moffat counties. In 2011,[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Changing our minds
The man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, and breeds reptiles of the mind. ~ William blake Change is hard, and perhaps no kind of change is more difficult than that of changing our own minds. Our opinions are rooted in what we believe, and we are[Read More…]
Trustees divided on Ute Park use
MEEKER | In the decade-plus since the Town of Meeker purchased the property just west of town now known as Ute Park, defining the property’s use — park or pasture — has been an annual debate. “We have this discussion every year about how the livestock and the people can[Read More…]
