Western Colorado

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Energy industry layoffs have driven many into long lines for assistance

Receptionist Kathy Gerlock keeps a puzzle on her desk, a circular kiosk at the entrance to the Mesa County Department of Human Services. “That’s for if there is a lot of people waiting,” Gerlock said. The puzzle, a ...

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Keep funds in reserve, state tells schools

What the state giveth, the state may take away from School District 51. Legislators altered the school finance act in the final days of the 2009 session to require every Colorado school district to set aside a portion of its state funding, ...

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Former GJ resident figures in arch measurement

When former Grand Junction resident Craig Shelley set out in 2006 to help measure the Kolob Arch in Utah, nobody paid it much mind. Three years later, the efforts of Shelley and the Natural Arch and Bridge Society, a Glade Park organization, ...

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Council won’t censor invocations

The Grand Junction City Council will let anyone who is interested give invocations at the beginning of meetings but will not instruct people on what they can or can’t say. That’s what council members are telling city staff in ...

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Declining revenue forces county to plan for sharp budget cuts in 2010

Mesa County budget forecasters are predicting gloom, though not doom, for 2010 and beyond. As revenue continues to decline, more budget cuts are being made and planned. “2009 is not the year I am worried about,” County ...

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Boys linked to church damage

Two juveniles were arrested Tuesday in connection with an Orchard Mesa crime spree that involved at least eight car break-ins and a stolen car, along with tens of thousands of dollars in damage to a church and a shed. Caleb Hovland and ...

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Rare tornado touches down in Bookcliffs

National Weather Service employee John Kyle was driving back to Grand Junction from Telluride on Tuesday afternoon when he spotted a rare meteorological event in Mesa County: a tornado. “I looked up and saw a white funnel from the ...

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Water bill too broad for nation, critics say

A proposed revision of the federal Clean Water Act would dramatically expand the hand of the federal government in administering water, prompting skepticism from Colorado water officials and legislators. The bill by Sen. Russ Feingold, ...

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Grand Junction man wins $1 million

Down the street from a billboard on U.S. Highway 50 that puts the Powerball Jackpot at $170 million, a Grand Junction man bought his way into Colorado Lottery history. Darrell Cox won $1 million Saturday after buying a Powerball ticket at ...

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Store keeps liquor license

Debra Studebaker’s liquor store is open for business, much to the chagrin of Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland. Studebaker’s store, Monument Village Liquor, 2148 Broadway, has had three liquor violations in the last four ...

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