Highlights from the July 22, 2021 print edition of the Rio Blanco Herald times.
The beautiful music track in this piece was offered graciously in the public domain by Gertraut Hecher. Find more of their work at https://freesound.org/people/gertraut_hecher/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY05B2fWF0fQGmQ75i_o3VA
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A crisp morning start turned into a beautiful, bright day on Saturday, July 17, perfect for the Seaplane Splash-in at the Kenney Reservoir, hosted by the Colorado Seaplane Initiative.
Activities included the creation of a floating bingo card by aviators and education for spectators, who learned among other facts that the Taylor Draw Dam, created in 1983, was entirely funded by Rio Blanco taxpayers to protect residents against flooding.
In pandemic news, well, the pandemic isn't over. there were 15 new cases of COVID-19 and one new hospital admission reported between July 12-19, bringing the total reported cases in the county to 700. According to the Rio Blanco County Public Health Department, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading, primarily among the unvaccinated. More on this story including information about vaccinations and testing is on the front page.
For county news, check out page 2, which has info on the latest board of commissioner meeting. Among other items, the IT department is working on securing grants to expand broadband access to residents who were not reached in the first build out. Commissioners also heard concerns about the integrity of dominion voting machines in the 2020 presidential election.
The board also rescinded RBC resolutions 2020-18 and 2020-19, reinstating a previous county policy regarding hiring of staff by elected officials and department heads. County Attorney Don Steerman said the resolutions created issues with “timeliness” of hiring people. As per county policy, new positions or increases to the budget caused by hiring would still require approval by the board..
Page 3 has news notes, announcing the WREA member dinner as part of this Friday’s Meekerpalooza festivities, a tour of the newly restored the Coal Creek School on July 25th, a Colorado parks and Wildlife open house on the 26th, and Frisell and Morrison live at the TANK in Rangely next month. Also on page 3, a photo of the new Mural at Meeker town park.
This week Rangely town trustees considered a resolution that would require the mayor and trustees to be present at 80% of all regular and special meetings. The board is set to vote on the resolution next week. And over in Meeker, the town is encouraging residents to conserve water, as Public works superintendent Russell Overton reported the June water usage was more than 3 million gallons.
And back on the subject of water, page 11 also has an explanation of of the white river integrated water initiative, defined as “a community driven effort to utilize local resources to promote a healthy river for the benefit of agriculture, the environment, and the local customs and culture along the White River and its tributaries…”
125 years ago the Meeker Herald published “Judging by the number of carriages and buggies being sold in this vicinity lately, the valley is becoming quite aristocratic. It is also a sign of prosperity. 100 years ago it published “A large delegation of people from New Orleans were registered at the Meeker Hotel, Monday. They were seeking the cool breezes of the White River.”
One more quick factoid before we wrap up, the reporter’s shield law gives journalists (that's us) the right to protect the identity of any source who would like to remain anonymous. That might be you, or someone you know. If so, you can reach out to us at any time by emailing editor@ht188.com, calling us at 970 878 4017, sending us a message on facebook or instagram, or visiting us at 304 4th street in Meeker Colorado. You can also leave documents in our dropbox at the same location….if you want….hypothetically….in a video game?!?! Or the real world, your choice.