Meeker

Mayor pro tem leaves gap in Meeker town board

MEEKER — He’s served on the Meeker Board of Trustees for almost five years and held the office of mayor pro tem for close to a year, but Chris Ham has never faced a public election.
As an interested citizen, he was appointed to fill an empty trustee seat. When that position came up for election, there was no one to run against him, so he kept the position.
“This isn’t the way the democratic system is supposed to work,” Ham said during a farewell statement at his last official town meeting Oct. 8. Ham is moving to Grand Junction, where his wife, Heidi, former Meeker Recreation District director, took a job in May.
“In my time here I have not been voted on by the public once. That’s disappointing to me. It’s not how I expected to end up mayor pro tem of the town.”
Ham has enjoyed working with the other trustees and town staff, getting out and talking to people in town about the issues. He hopes his departure will spur others to get involved in local government.
“It would be great if people would participate, at least by voting, if not by getting involved in town council,” he said.
The town will appoint a replacement trustee to fill the remainder of Ham’s term. Interested citizens should contact the town for further information. If no one is appointed within 60 days, the seat will go into election process.
Town Manager Sharon Day updated the board on a recent meeting town staff had with Colorado Department of Transportation officials regarding the installation of a stoplight along Market Street.
“We know we have a traffic problem,” Day said.
Proving that to CDOT may be another matter. The department requires a week-long, 12-hour-per-day traffic study that will cost the town between $5,000-10,000. According to CDOT officials, they only have enough funding to install one traffic light per year in the state. If the traffic study proved Meeker has a need for a stoplight, there would be 35-40 requests ahead of the town. Day recommended going ahead with the study this year and budgeting for the stoplight in next year’s budget.
“It’s just a matter of time before we have a serious accident,” Day said of the current traffic conditions along Market Street.
“Nobody can cross that street safely, nobody,” added Trustee Chuck Mills, who lives on Water Street.
In other business, town staff unveiled the proposed annual budget for 2009. Copies of the budget are available for public perusal. The public hearing for the budget’s approval will be held Nov. 18.

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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