Questioning hospital board’s decision
Dear Editor:
Thank you for printing Paul “Buckshot” Sheridan’s letter to the editor “Taxpayers urged to consider value of seven-person board for hospital district,” in the June 26, 2025 issue of the Rio Blanco Herald Times and thank you for being a platform the past 140 years, for our community’s history to be published and documented.
Buckshot was one of seven original board members when voters of eastern Rio Blanco County voted to tax themselves and create the Eastern Rio Blanco County Health Services District (ERBCHSD) in 2006 and he asked the question: “Why was the decision made to reduce the number of volunteer community board members from seven to five?
I agree with Buckshot when he writes: “Because we are stakeholders, we should all be concerned about good and effective management of the hospital and we should be able to ask questions.”
I was blessed to work for my hometown newspaper for more than 20 years and my favorite part, next to taking photos of community events, was the ability to ask questions, especially of elected officials, and not be villified for it. Looking back in the archives today in our public library, it was my byline on the front page article of the June 29, 2006, issue with the headline, “Voters approve new hospital district.”
Although I’m no longer on staff with our local newspaper, I still like to take pictures and I still like to ask questions, which I did more than three years ago of Christina Harney, an attorney for Pioneers Medical Center, and I would like to share the information to help answer Buckshot’s question and also question the legal advice (truthfulness) our hospital board is currently receiving from attorneys at Bechtel & Santo.
In early 2022, I submitted a self-nomination form, along with six other candidates to become a board member of the ERBCHSD in the May 2022 election and began asking questions of then-compliance officer, why it was an election for a five-member board instead of seven, he answered a couple of my questions and referred a couple to Harney, who was misleading and not truthful with her answers.
In an email dated March 2, 2022, answering my questions about when the board size was changed, Harney wrote, “The reason that this change was approved was that there had been a lack of interest in the board positions for quite some time.”
I argued they did not try hard enough to fill the positions and told her the paragraph in the un-dated resolution adopting changes to the bylaws was not truthful either, which read in part;
“Whereas, interest in the two vacant Board of Directors positions has been minimal and there is an honest belief that the ERBCHSD Board of Directors will be unable to fill the two vacant positions either by appointment or election.”
I disagreed with her statement and reminded her we had an election in May, with lots of interest, seven candidates running for three positions.
Harney went on to write, “After two board members resigned in April (2021) and there was little interest from the public to fill the vacancies, the board discussed the lack of interest in the May meeting and again in June. The vote to change the board was held in July.”
This is also an untrue statement, according to the May 2021 minutes posted at www.pioneershospital.org, which reads under, “Election of Officers: After some discussion, Mark Schryver made a motion to change the PMC Board of Members number from seven to five. Motion was seconded by Regas (Halandras). Motion carried.
So basically, the will of hundreds of eastern Rio Blanco County voters was changed by five people and a not-so-truthful legal team.
On April 19, 2022, Harney appeared in front of the Honorable Anne Norrdin, of the Ninth Judicial District, who denied Harney’s motion to reduce the number of board members, yet according to the May 2022 board minutes the PMC bylaws were amended April 26, 2022, to move to down to five board members.
Schryver seemed surprised in the May board meeting when newly elected board member Sherri Halandras announced Judge Norrdin’s denial, then after being sworn in, Halandras made a motion to move back to a seven member board and it was seconded by Gianinetti but before the board voted on the motion, attorney Michael Santo said he needed to counsel them in executive session and Halandras was made to withdraw her motion.
It was back on the agenda for the June meeting only to have Santo move it into executive session and when they came out, they voted to move back to a seven member board over the next two election cycles, which to me is unacceptable, so are the excessive number (every meeting) of illegal executive sessions they hold!
We deserve better and like Buckshot, I urge you to contact the current board members and even our county commissioners: Doug Overton, Jennifer O’Hearon and/or Callie Scritchfield about this matter. We the people of eastern Rio Blanco County deserve better.
The next board meeting is July 22, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Sincerely,
Bobby Gutierrez
Meeker
Thank you from the Community Food Bank and new ways to help
Dear Editor:
The staff and volunteers of the Community Food Bank of Meeker would like to express their extreme gratitude for the continuing support of friends, near and far, and businesses to keep local food assistance going strong in our community. In particular we tremendously thank Clark’s Market for their weekly donations of food and sundries and Elk Creek Ranch for their recent large donation of frozen meats and other food stuff. Without the support of these businesses, and others like them, our food pantry would not be able to supplement the grocery needs of many Meeker residents.
We are grateful to the Fairfield Trust Committee for a grant of $4,000 to assist in the purchase of a commercial refrigerator. We all know the cost of groceries hits our checkbooks hard and the number of clients the food bank serves has been growing slowly but steadily in the last few years. We hope the addition of a refrigerator will allow us to expand our service and food offerings to these folks and we are working hard to implement this new phase soon.
Finally, thank you to Mountain Valley Bank and the local 4-H club members for their food drive efforts in the last couple of months. It is donations like these that help keep our shelves stocked!
Beginning on Thursday, July 10, the food bank will be allowed to place a donation box at Clark’s Market, in the entryway. It is our hope that small, steady donations of groceries will help us keep up with the growing food supplement needs of our community and we thank our friends and neighbors, in advance, for considering food donation when shopping at Clark’s.
All monetary donations are tax-deductible and also welcome as these monies help us purchase fresh, perishable foods and other supplies. Donations can be mailed to PO Box 26 in Meeker. Checks made out to WRMC with Food Bank in the memo line. Online donations can be made at: wrmethodist.com/give or text “give” to 9708408682.
For online or text giving, please specify “Food Bank” in any memo or notation space. All donations are tax deductible and are overseen by the White River Methodist Church.
Thank you, Meeker Community, for allowing us to serve and help our friends and neighbors who need a little extra food assistance at this time. It is our privilege and our pleasure.
Lisa Moffitt, Director
Community Food Bank of Meeker
Thank you from the White River Museum
Dear Editor:
Moving past the 4th of July, I just wanted to tell everyone how very grateful and proud I am of the pioneer women with whom I have the honor of working at White River Museum.
We worked harder than you can imagine to get the museum and garrison in shape for the holiday. These amazing ladies were absolutely unstoppable in helping with the carpet replacement project, and you should see it! Each of them brought their vision to the project and the combined outcome is incredible. In addition to that, their continuous quest for knowledge creates an environment that is more like a treasure hunt or adventure through history, than actual work. If not for their willingness and dedication, the museum would not be what it is today. Nor would we be able to serve our visitors the way we do.
April gave the presentation for the Milk Creek Battlefield tour this year. The entire staff worked with her to compile what I believe will be the best tour presentation that has ever been delivered.
This year is the 140th anniversary of the founding of our town. Our town was founded with the same level of determination that you can find in the staff at the museum today. As we move into the AM250/CO150 in 2026 and the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit next summer, I am sure that we can do all that we need to do to make it a successful event and celebration because I have an incredible team. l am honored to work beside these really amazing ladies. Kay Bivens, April Ruiz and Judy Kurth, thank you so very much.
Teresia Ruckman Reed
Meeker