RBC | Property tax notices for 2025 taxes, payable in 2026, were mailed last week, and many property owners are seeing higher bills. The increase is tied to two main changes: the end of a temporary tax break and new rules for how school funding is collected. In 2022, lawmakers[Read More…]
Author: Niki Turner
Town board tables code updates, approves donations, discusses water rights and land-use changes
MEEKER | The Meeker Town Board of Trustees approved one ordinance, tabled another for transparency concerns, and considered a wide range of policy and operational issues during its regular meeting. Board members approved zoning and subdivision regulation updates but voted to table final approval of broader municipal code updates. The[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – Pinocchio Syndrome
“Prove yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy.” ~ The Blue Fairy I’ve been thinking about Pinocchio a lot lately. Not just the lie detecting growing nose part of the story, although I can’t help thinking how handy it would be if the deceitful[Read More…]
Library board approves cost-of-living increase, doubles donation to Meeker Int’l Ecology Program
MEEKER | After canceling its January work session, the Meeker Regional Library District Board met Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., where Board President John Moffitt raised concerns about the agenda length and proposed a 7 p.m. hard stop. “Eighteen items under new business is excessive,” Moffitt said, suggesting remaining items be[Read More…]
County Commissioners adopt strategic plan, discuss budget successes
RBC | The Board of County Commissioners met Tuesday, Jan. 27, adopting the County Strategic Plan for 2026–2028, approving board appointments, and reviewing financial updates and policy changes. Commissioners adopted the strategic plan presented by Janet Rowland, which outlines future priorities and includes updated mission and vision statements. The plan[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – Sunshine Law compliance builds public trust, and violations tarnish it
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who watches the watchers?)” ~ Juvenal, Satire VI It must be that time of year again. Sunshine Week — the annual reminder of why open government matters — isn’t officially on the calendar until March, but sometimes the reminder needs to be made a wee bit[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – The justifications we make
“Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal..” ~ Robert A. Heinlein The human being is capable of justifying the commission of tremendous evil and wrongdoing if provided sufficient time and mental gymnastics. Unlike animals, the human has been burdened with this annoying thing we call a[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – It’s an inside job
“How people treat other people is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves.” ~ Paulo Coelho Have you ever been in a public place and watched someone mistreat a clerk, a server, or a complete stranger? The instinctive reaction is often the same: protect the person being targeted[Read More…]
Margie Joy set to take town administrator position in March
MEEKER | A familiar local face will replace Town Administrator Mandi Etheridge this spring. Margie Joy, former administrator at Pioneers Medical Center and currently the community relationship manager for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, has been approved by the board of trustees to assume the duties of the town[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – Dealing with disappointment
“There’s always failure. And there’s always disappointment. And there’s always loss. But the secret is learning from the loss, and realizing that none of those holes are vacuums.” ~ Michael J. Fox No one warns you that adulting will be filled with that same sense of sadness you have as a[Read More…]
RBC Historical Society’s Newsletter
Click the link below to read the latest newsletter from the Rio Blanco County Historical Society, and don’t forget to mark your calendar for the annual meeting on Jan. 18, 2026, at 1 p.m. Local author Ron Hilkey will be available to talk about his book, “Two Gone Guys,” and[Read More…]
EDITOR’S COLUMN – The gift of crisis
“You have been offered ‘the gift of crisis’. As Kathleen Norris reminds us, the Greek root of the word crisis is ‘to sift’, as in, to shake out the excesses and leave only what’s important. That’s what crises do. They shake things up until we are forced to hold on[Read More…]
