Features

Locals feel impact as government shutdown drags on

By NIKI TURNER [email protected] RBC I Despite Rio Blanco County’s distance from Washington, D.C., the partial government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—affects local residents on many levels. Federal employees in various departments will miss their second paycheck this week as the longest government shutdown in history stretches into its second[Read More…]

January 24, 2019 by Niki Turner 1 comment

Scripps National Spelling Bee coming back to Meeker in 2019

MEEKER | Every year, students from all walks of life and from all over the country participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, one of the nation’s oldest and most iconic competitions, a tradition 90 years in the making. The 2018 Spelling Bee was the first that the Meeker School District[Read More…]

January 22, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times Comments are Disabled

More snow needed to make up last year’s deficits

RBC | After a below normal December, Colorado’s snowpack is approaching a pivotal point during the winter. Snowpack in the Yampa, White and North Platte basins is above normal at 104 percent of the median.Precipitation for December was 64 percent of average and water year-to-date precipitation is 101 percent of average.[Read More…]

January 20, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times Comments are Disabled

County Beat: Jan. 17, 2019

RBC | Local Access Internet (LAI), one of the former service providers for county broadband, was the first topic of discussion at the workshops prior to the Jan. 14 commissioners’ meeting. Communications Director Cody Crooks asked the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) if they wanted to pursue the findings from the[Read More…]

January 19, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Open meetings demand open discourse

Are the commissioners, returning and new, abiding by Colorado’s Open Meetings Act, aka the “Sunshine Laws”? Based on video and audio recordings, and comments from all three commissioners after Monday’s meeting, it would appear that two of our county commissioners made a decision about the future of the county attorney[Read More…]

January 17, 2019 by editor 2 comments

Sunshine Laws: A Guide to Colorado’s Open Meetings & Open Records Laws

Note: A newer version of this document is available in print format only. We have a few copies available at the HT office, 304 4th Street, Meeker, or you can order directly from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition at https://coloradofoic.org/how-to-get-a-copy-of-cfoics-new-guide-to-colorado-sunshine-laws/

January 17, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times Comments are Disabled

Borchard loses county attorney appointment

RBC | What started as a typical county commissioners’ meeting with newly elected Commissioner Gary Moyer, returning Commissioner Si Woodruff and newly appointed Board Chair Jeff Rector at the helm, turned into something of an event as the meeting progressed, leaving many in attendance scratching their heads about what they[Read More…]

January 17, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times 1 comment

TAG meeting postponed due to gov. shutdown

RBC | The White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts office announced last Friday that the County USGS Algae Study Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting they had scheduled for Jan. 8 had been postponed due to the federal government shutdown and multiple TAG members not being able to attend the[Read More…]

January 15, 2019 by Reed Kelley Comments are Disabled

Volunteer for a local board or commission

RBC | This is the second in a three article series reviewing the purpose of 10 panels to which the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will be making appointments at its regular Jan. 28 meeting. Each of these 10 boards have vacancies. We also intend to provide some information as[Read More…]

January 14, 2019 by Reed Kelley Comments are Disabled

Cook likely choice for town manager

MEEKER | The Meeker Town Board of Trustees met for the first time this year on Jan. 2. After routine business, the board addressed the request for reimbursement from Beverly and Dick Prosence for the loss of six mature cottonwoods on their Water Street properties associated with the Findlay Trailer[Read More…]

January 12, 2019 by Reed Kelley Comments are Disabled

Rankin to fill Baumgardner’s seat

RBC | Ten members of Colorado’s Republican party, representing the counties included in Senate District 8, met last week in Craig to determine a replacement for Sen. Randy Baumgardner, who is retiring Jan. 21 amid allegations of sexual harassment and an expulsion hearing in 2018. Baumgardner still has two years[Read More…]

January 11, 2019 by Special to the Herald Times Comments are Disabled

Backcountry avalanche conditions ‘moderate’

RBC | Last weekend’s storms brought significant snowfall to the Flat Tops and Steamboat areas, prompting the Colorado Avalanche Information Center to declare the chance for backcountry avalanche conditions above, near and below treeline as moderate (as of Wednesday, Jan. 9). According to the Center’s website, “Large amounts of snow[Read More…]

January 11, 2019 by Niki Turner Comments are Disabled