By DOLLY VISCARDI | Special to the Herald Times MEEKER | “What are you going to do with it?” A gruff, accusatory voice broke into my peaceful morning walk. I looked over to see who was concerned about the cluster of bright yellow Aspen leaves in my hand. I had[Read More…]
Opinion
Guest Column: Budget Cuts
By KAYE SULLIVAN | Special to the Herald Times RBC | I think most of us citizens understand the difficult budget cutting decisions facing Rio Blanco County Commissioners because we face similar struggles in our own family households. The answers are often painful, enduring, and revealing of our true character.[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Cutting off the nose to spite the face
By now you’ve likely heard about the drama this week at the county regarding budget cuts and restructuring county departments and how no one wants to lose our local dispatch center. It’s true that the commissioners have some difficult decisions to make, and anyone who has ever tried to balance[Read More…]
GUEST COLUMN: Meeker School District
COVID-19 protocols at MSD MEEKER I The Meeker School District is thrilled to have students back in our buildings. I am deeply grateful for how well our students, staff, and community have adapted to our new protocols. Despite the changes for the 2020-2021 school year, and the minor challenges of[Read More…]
OPINION: Keep a close eye on county budget
MEEKER I Even if you are apolitical like me, now is the time to pay close attention to decisions being made by Rio Blanco County Commissioners regarding upcoming budget cuts for our county. These are likely to be significant cuts of personnel or services or both and will likely have[Read More…]
Letters to the Editor: Sept. 3, 2020
Appalled Dear Editor: I am appalled that the county commissioners would even consider changing the vital service of our dispatchers in Meeker. Seconds count when someone is in a life threatening situation. I well remember the role the quick response of the dispatcher played when my husband’s heart stopped beating[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: 1 in 4
Last week we learned that we have received another national press award for our coverage of the Daniel Pierce shooting in Rangely last year. We are the recipients of the first-place award for investigative journalism in the National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. I’ve been humbled and honored by the[Read More…]
Loose Ends: Rascals in. Rascals out.
MEEKER | Rascals in. Rascals out. More than 125 years ago, those two phrases were this paper’s editor’s words of choice to describe the political machinations that move below most of our country’s surface. That continues to happen today. Everyone’s perspective differs depending on their own agendas and allegiances. The[Read More…]
Opinion: A Paycheck Protection Program ‘surprise’? Let’s hope not.
RBC | Did you get a PPP loan for your business? The Treasury Dept. has a plan to get some of that money back, and it will cost businesses. As if things weren’t hard enough for Colorado’s small businesses, news comes that the Trump administration plans to claw back a[Read More…]
Sounds of Meeker: Daily Sounds
MEEKER | Summer time means I am outside every day working in the yard where I hear the sounds of Meeker — the carillon, the fire department siren, air traffic, and lots of vehicles speeding up our dead end street, just to turn around like they couldn’t read the sign[Read More…]
Guest Column: Fire! Evacuate!
MEEKER | This is an unexpected “smells of Meeker” story addition to the “Sounds of Meeker” series. On Friday afternoon, I started smelling “campfire” smoke, meaning, smoke nearby, not the less intense odors from the ongoing western Colorado wildfires. It seemed like it was coming from just outside our door,[Read More…]
Guest Column: Aug. 20, 2020
A community with no local newspaper? That’s bad news. By DEAN RIDINGS | CEO, America’s Newspaper RBC | What would my town be without a newspaper? If you haven’t asked yourself that question, perhaps it is time to consider just what the newspaper means to this community. Because the doleful[Read More…]