Democrats’ eagerness to fulfill agenda led to exhausting session

By Charles Ashby When the Democrats took control of the Colorado Legislature after the 2004 elections, a lot of those then-freshmen lawmakers wanted to waste no time reversing many of the conservative policies put in place after decades of Republican control. Their Democratic leaders, however, told them to hold off. The time will come, they told their members. Just wait for it. Years of pressure from the party’s traditional supporters, primarily unions and the environmental ...

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North Fork Alternative Plan would protect special place from drilling

By Marley Hodgson Spring is a time when the valley along the North Fork of the Gunnison River comes alive, not only in the greening of hayfields and pastures but also with the budding fruit, awakening vines, kids, calves, lambs and chicks. It also comes alive with the activity of business and commerce in our valley that thrives on this renewed activity. The North Fork’s lodging and tourism economy is supported by a loose affiliation of hotels, resorts, B&Bs, restaurants, ...

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Comprehensive solution on debt 
is available if we compromise

By Bill Ritter Here in Colorado, we are ahead of the curve on many public policy issues that other parts of the country call intractable. There’s a pragmatic optimism in Colorado that leads us to find sensible solutions and compromises on tough issues and move forward when others dig in their heels, putting ideology over progress. I served as governor when the national economy crashed in 2008 and early 2009. We had to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget, and we ...

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GJEP supports energy industry, but other economic ‘baskets,’ too

By Kelly Flenniken As anyone who knows me can attest, I speak about economic development and its importance to anyone willing to listen.  The Grand Junction Lions Club recently provided such an opportunity, and I was thrilled to address the group, share the Grand Junction Economic Partnership’s mission and outline the work we are doing to advance the economic ball in our community.  At the meeting, I was asked whether GJEP is putting too much emphasis on the energy ...

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Western Colorado is counting on 
 governor to protect state’s economy

By Diane Schwenke Job One for the state Legislature is to preserve and enhance Colorado’s quality of life, including our economic quality of life in Grand Junction and across the state, by creating a dynamic and robust jobs climate. Yet this legislative session has been marked by bill after bill that will cost jobs, unfairly tax major Western Slope employers and keep businesses from locating or expanding in Colorado. Worse, we are seeing anti-jobs bills that use narrow ideology to ...

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Teachers do far more than 
 just classroom instruction

By Tyra Clinkingbeard A little girl, six years old, quietly walks up to her teacher and hands her a note that says, “Can I come live with you? Crcle (sic) yes or no.” A young soldier serving in Afghanistan sends an email to his math teacher that reads in part, “I never could have become the man I am today without your support ... I never could have learned math without you.” Another young man maintains constant contact with his former high school baseball coach, a ...

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Federal agencies seek multiple routes to control state water

By Rep. Scott Tipton Water is the lifeblood of the West. While Easterners may find it difficult to understand, the people of Colorado need no reminder that state water law and the rights it protects are sacred to Westerners of all political stripes. Our century-old water-law system has sustained the population of our cities and towns and made responsible use of our natural resources possible. Today it is the bedrock of our livelihoods. In the fall of 2011, it came to my attention that ...

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Halting domestic violence requires more than trivial politics

The news of the past several weeks has put a bright spotlight on the critically important topic of domestic violence. This is a serious issue that requires serious conversations, not sarcastic or irrational comments made through letters to the editor or the “You Said It” column. I am always concerned when individuals minimize or rationalize the seriousness of domestic violence. Domestic violence is real and much more common than people recognize and extremely dangerous to ...

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Confusing rules mar flying with small knives, turkey legs and golf clubs

Just when I got ready to put my miniature Swiss Army knife back in my purse, the Transportation Security Administration did what government agencies sometimes do. The agency early last week reversed its recent decision to allow small pocketknives and golf clubs, among other articles, to be carried aboard planes by passengers. I have a miniature Swiss Army knife, a memento from a long-ago men’s golf club tournament, at which I helped with the desk work. There were some extra knives, ...

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‘Disruptive innovation’ can help reshape health care

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply.Willing is not enough; we must do.” — Goethe For decades, Mesa County has benefited from a health system that refused to operate like the rest of the health systems in the United States. As a result, the citizens of Mesa County benefit from a more cohesive and integrated practice of medicine than in most other areas of the country. Nevertheless, despite these successes, and despite large savings to the Medicare and Medicaid ...

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Cooperation, not conflict, is key 
to making river system work

By Richard Van Gytenbeek Like many people in western Colorado, I start most mornings looking at the weather forecasts and studying the current snowpack estimates. On most of those mornings, my laptop stares back at me with the same depressing news — another round of anemic snowstorms and basin snowpack levels hovering at 65 percent to 80 percent of normal. While March was a wet month, the lady in charge is once again making Western Slope water users more than a little nervous. ...

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County working with BLM to ensure needed roads stay open

By Steve Acquafresca, John Justman and Rose Pugliese Our Mesa County Board of Commissioners, county staff and many of our community partners are engaging the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan for our part of Colorado. The plan proposal has stirred up our county board and local residents alike. In particular, we are concerned that the plan could result in roads that we need being closed on public lands in our area. We are all actively involved in the Resource ...

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Make Colorado National Monument our 60th national park

Ginny McBride What would John do? Should the Colorado National Monument become America’s 60th national park or remain as it is? Those of us fully versed in John Otto’s story know his dream was to see the canyons west of Grand Junction recognized by Congress as a national park. Instead, in 1911 President Taft created what is now Colorado National Monument. One hundred years later, the Colorado National Monument Association is determined to make Otto’s very real dream ...

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Sin taxes could help boost 
accountability in health care

By Michael Pramenko Accountability: taking or being assigned responsibility for something you have done or something you are supposed to do.  With health reform in full swing, a new emphasis on accountability by our health care providers and health care institutions is taking shape. Comparative pricing, new regulations and payment models that incentivize value over volume will enhance true accountability in the health care industry. Well, it’s about time. However, we must ...

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City’s Avalon funding is an example of fiscal responsibility

By Robin Brown It’s election season again, and the campaign rhetoric is ramping up. Issues that haven’t had any major opposition previously are suddenly mired in controversy as City Council challengers fight to oust incumbents from their seats. It’s similar to the change that took place in the news industry when it went from the hour-long evening news segments to the 24-hour news channels. Suddenly, they were forced to create issues to fill the time, and this campaign is ...

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Colorado’s young farmers ready to join governor in conservation

In this year’s State of the State address, Gov. John Hickenlooper declared, “Every discussion about water should start with conservation.” Following a decision on Jan. 29 made by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, it’s clear that people are listening.  CWCB in near unanimity turned down a request from the Flaming Gorge Task Force to fund further research and discussion into the development of giant new water projects like the proposed Flaming Gorge ...

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Spotlight on government is about the process, not the person

By Mike Wiggins Nine years ago, a 20-year-old Mesa State College student sued the college’s Board of Trustees, alleging the group violated Colorado’s Open Meetings laws in how it chose a single finalist from more than 90 applicants for a new college president. Megan Fromm waged her battle with no financial backing. She received no help from local attorneys — and even some on the Front Range — because they were related to, had conflicts of interest with or were ...

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River recreationists should embrace Brady Trucking

Mike Foster Kayaker access to the best Colorado River sections requires collaboration with the property owners who control their banks. There are numerous stories about landowner confrontations, but one in particular comes to mind. In that story, a fellow kayaker had parked himself and his boat on a coffee-table-size boulder in the middle of a raging rapid on the Bailey Canyon section of the North Fork of the South Platte, which runs in the highly populated foothills of Denver. He was ...

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Confusing, unspecific Measure B 
should be rejected by city voters

By Gary Roahrig The Grand Junction City Council asked the citizens of Grand Junction to approve taking the lid off the cookie jar for the Riverside Parkway (to spend excess sales taxes limited by the TABOR Amendment). The voters said, “Yes.” Now the council wants us to leave the lid off the cookie jar with Measure B. Referred Measure B must be defeated. Elections have consequences, and the upcoming municipal election could have decades of negative financial ...

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Referred Measure B allows city 
to finish needed roadway projects

Jim Doody Late last summer, the city’s finance director informed the Grand Junction City Council there is a possibility we might be able to pay off the bonds for the Riverside Parkway as early as 2015. In anticipation of that possibility, the council decided to create a public process to gauge what the community would like to do with those funds, if anything, once the parkway is paid off. The funds could possibly be put toward a variety of projects, including developing new park ...

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Homicide statistics don’t support push to limit rifles

Editor’s note: This is an edited version of a letter that Jeff Rezak sent to members of the state Senate. We believe it offers a different perspective on the gun debate. To view the unedited version, go to the opinion page at GJSentinel.com and click on “Columns,” then “Guest Columnists.” By Jeff Rezak Recently, I was sent an email that contained a paper from the White House titled, “Now is the Time: the President’s plan to protect our children ...

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Don’t re-industrialize the riverfront

By Harry Griff For the past 35 years, Grand Junction, Mesa County and the state of Colorado have spent millions of dollars and countless volunteer hours to reclaim lands along the Colorado River. As a result, the Grand Valley is about to be transformed. Within the next five years, the county hopes to complete the riverfront trail system, connecting Palisade to Fruita. Simultaneously, the city is moving forward with development of Las Colonias Park on approximately 120 acres on the river ...

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Property rights are the main issue

By Chuck Johnson On April 2, the citizens of Grand Junction will be asked to cast their vote on several issues. Among those will be Referred Measure A, which poses the question of zoning on the Brady Trucking property along the Colorado River. This vote should finally bring some resolution to an issue which has been discussed, argued and litigated for the last six years. The issue is whether or not Brady Trucking should be allowed to retain its I-1 (light industrial) zoning, as approved, ...

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Appearances can be deceiving 
without all of the facts in hand

By Steve Schultz In its editorial on Feb. 27, The Daily Sentinel expressed frustration regarding School District 51’s response following a fight that broke out last week in the cafeteria of the Fruita 8-9 School. Based on a 30-second video clip from an undisclosed source and claims made by the mother of two of the children involved, the editorial concluded that “it appears” school officials failed to protect a student against bullying, first by ignoring reports of ...

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Interior nominee Sally Jewell faces adventure of a lifetime

By Ben Long President Barack Obama’s nominee for heading the Department of Interior, Sally Jewell, is historic — not for who she is, but for who she is not. She is a mountaineer, an ultra-marathon runner, CEO of the outdoor gear giant REI, a former bank executive and an oil company engineer. She appears to be some kind of archetypical über-woman of the Pacific Northwest, jogging up Mount Rainier on coffee breaks. Jewell’s resumé is as richly complicated as ...

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Colorado did well on election report, 
but county clerks want to do better

By Pam Anderson and Hillary Hall Colorado does a good job running its elections, says a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The non-partisan think tank recently released the Elections Performance Index, which uses nationwide data examining how the 2008 and 2010 elections were run by all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. While our residents should take pride in what we’ve done so far, more work remains. The index lets states measure themselves against the rest of the ...

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Conservation is reducing the need 
for massive new water projects

By Sharlene Leurig Across maps of the arid West, expensive water pipelines are being plotted to meet the region’s profound need for water. Among those under serious consideration are a 263-mile pipeline to bring eastern Nevada water to Las Vegas, southwestern Utah’s 139-mile Lake Powell pipeline and the 500-mile Flaming Gorge pipeline from Wyoming to Colorado. Each would cost billions of dollars. But what if there’s not enough demand for water to pay for these ...

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Patients have a duty to help reduce health care costs

By Dr. Michale J. Pramenko “I do not believe in a fate that will befall us no matter what we do; I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.” — President Ronald Reagan Twenty-five years have passed since President Reagan signed a law that required emergency rooms to treat anyone that entered (the 1986 law is known by its acronym, EMTALA). Fast forward several decades and witness President Barack Obama signing Obamacare into law — partially in an ...

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Front Range wants more conservation, not more diversions

By Tom Kleinschnitz A recent poll commissioned by the business coalition Protect the Flows, of which I am a member, shed a bright light on how Coloradans want to deal with our state’s water needs. It seems that across political and geographic lines, a large majority of us believe that water conservation programs are necessary to address shortages. Remarkably, 76 percent of Coloradans, including 79 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans, believe that we can “solve ...

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Mental illness, easy gun access can be a toxic combination

By Charlie Quimby I still remember that windy, solitary run west of town early one April morning in 1984. Folded newspapers waited to be collected from driveways. Depending on how they landed, my father’s face looked back at me, mile after mile. It’s with me still. As the local economy sank and businesses failed, 1984 was hard for everyone, but an especially lousy time to be a banker like my father, who had risen from poor circumstances to prominence. Unlike those of a Wall ...

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Extending wind-power credit unnecessary as oil, gas flourish

By Greg Walcher When Congress passed its bill to temporarily avert the fiscal cliff, the legislation contained several unrelated measures that only congressmen could love. Only in Washington are such crises seen as opportunities to spread gifts among friends. One example was an extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit, a subsidy that helps a handful of businesses at the expense of our grandchildren. “Although this deal is not perfect,” said Colorado Sen. Mark ...

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Advice and dissent are needed on Obama’s key three appointees

By Sean Paige Ken Salazar’s pending exit at the Department of Interior now leaves open three key cabinet positions — Interior, Energy and EPA — with potentially enormous power to influence the economy, regulatory climate and quality of life in Colorado. President Barack Obama’s choices to fill those vacancies are worth closely watching for at least two reasons. The first, most obvious reason is that we don’t want people appointed to those positions who bring ...

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Denver and West Slope share oil-shale water concerns

By Deborah ‘Debbie’ Ortega and Allyn Harvey It is not often that we find common ground across the Rockies on issues that affect our friends and neighbors. We sometimes think of issues as “ours” or “theirs,” though many issues transcend the mountains. Communities and local businesses across our state depend on clean, abundant water from the Colorado River Basin. There is no greater reminder of that fact than the current drought and the resulting economic ...

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Wildfire prevention is representative’s
 top priority in new congressional term

By Rep. Scott Tipton As we begin the 113th Congress, I’m incredibly honored to have earned the trust of the people of the 3rd Congressional District and to serve as their representative for a second term. During my first term, I focused on advancing the issues that most directly impact Coloradans. Many of the most pressing items we worked on involved our state’s extensive open spaces and natural resources, including improving the conditions of our forests to prevent ...

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Denver resolution understandably offensive to West Slope

By Charlie Brown Editor’s note: The following piece was written for The Daily Sentinel by Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown. It is based on comments he delivered during a Dec. 17 council discussion concerning a proclamation focused on fears that future oil shale development on the Western Slope could use up Denver’s water supply. Eight years ago, this council was engaged in a heated debate concerning the continuation of our city’s policy to ban pit bulls in ...

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It’s time for a new environmentalism 
that’s willing to accept energy industry

By David Ludlam Dr. Peter Kareiva, of the Nature Conservancy, often notes that by its own measures the conservation movement is failing, and in order to survive, it has to work with development, not stop it. Kareiva’s formula for reforming environmentalism is an opportunity for Western Colorado’s natural gas industry to expand. Henry David Thoreau, a founder of modern environmentalism, must be unsettled in his grave to hear Kareiva-like reformers speak. After all, ...

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Denver City Council was out of bounds 
with resolution on oil shale production

By Steve King Like many Western Slope residents, I was disappointed at the decision by Denver City Council to weigh in on a Western Slope economic development issue in the manner it did.  The council’s resolution centered on fears of the “possibility that future oil-shale development could use up Denver’s water supply.” The unfortunate wording of the resolution seemed to imply an entitlement on the part of the city of Denver to the water resources of the ...

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Time to change course on how we use the Colorado River

By Dan Grossman For the first time in our history, the mighty Colorado River, its flows diminished by climate change and persistent drought, is no longer able to meet the human demands placed upon it. And under current trends and management practices, this situation will only get worse. Much worse. This is the conclusion of the Colorado River Basin Study released by the United States Bureau of Reclamation this month.  The study, which was jointly funded by the Bureau and the seven ...

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Medicaid provider fee could be 
headed over the ‘fiscal cliff’

By Mark Francis, Mike McBride and Chris Thomas In Mesa County, 23 percent of parents who are eligible for Medicaid are not yet enrolled, according to the Colorado Health Institute’s most recent figures. Among children eligible for Medicaid or Child Health Plan Plus, known as CHP+, 24 percent are not enrolled. Unfortunately, these 4,500 relatives, friends and neighbors of ours may never be able to gain this health coverage if some policy makers in Washington get their way in the ...

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If at first you don’t secede ... 
West Slope has seen the idea before

By Mary Louise Giblin Henderson Conservative Republicans in Colorado and elsewhere proposing, in the wake of the November election, to secede from the United States may think their idea is an original one. But it isn’t. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a Mesa County Democrat floated the same idea — not once but twice. State Rep. T. John Baer, a Loma farmer and ardent Democrat, was just an average legislator, but he was popular enough in his district, the western half of ...

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Don’t blame ‘tools’ for killings 
caused by deranged individuals

By Matt Soper Take your pick: knifings in China, bombings in Syria, shootings in the United States: Who’d have thought an elementary education is about survival? This past week saw 20 students murdered in Connecticut, 22 students stabbed in central China and 29 students killed by a mortar in Damascus. Opponents of guns have quickly taken to the bully pulpit to point out the Second Amendment’s barrier to domestic security. What if guns are illegal or it’s illegal to run a ...

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There’s no need to rush leasing 
of federal commercial oil shale plots

By Mike King The state of Colorado is blessed with resource riches and is doing its part to help the country meet its energy needs while holding those producing our energy resources to the highest environmental and community standards. We have championed a diverse energy portfolio focusing on sustainable energy resources that have brought thousands of new jobs to Colorado and are producing 2,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. We are producing valuable oil and natural gas resources ...

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Industry wants steady development, 
but others seek a ‘no-go’ approach

By Brad McCloud Is the Bureau of Land Management’s new proposal a “go slow” or a “no go” approach? Many would argue that it is the latter. Recently, the BLM published a proposed plan the agency claims is designed to “promote research, demonstration and development (RD&D) of oil shale and tar sand resources on BLM-administered land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.” Environmental groups have responded both by supporting the proposal and being ...

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Heroes don’t have to wear capes 
or possess super powers

By Timothy King “What is a hero without love for mankind?” Doris Lessing The Grand Junction Lions Club honored Carma Brown recently as this year’s Hometown Hero. Mrs. Brown started Grand Junction’s Challenger Baseball program a decade ago, dedicated to bringing the game into the lives of children with mental or physical disabilities. Well done, Carma! Are there any other heroes out there? How about Melanie Kline, founder of Welcome Home Montrose, a program ...

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Eliminating municipal bond deduction 
could push local entities over cliff

By Bruce Caughey and four others There is little time left before the nation hits the so-called “fiscal cliff.” President Barack Obama and the lame-duck Congress have an unprecedented number of issues to address, including some which directly affect every city, town, special district, county and school district in Colorado and every Colorado taxpayer. When they met right after the election, Obama and bipartisan Congressional leaders agreed to a framework for deficit reduction ...

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Apolitical Avalon project follows Operation Foresight path

By Robin Brown Based on his Nov. 21 column in The Daily Sentinel, Rick Wagner sure is mad. He’s mad at the results of the national election. He’s mad at progressives. He’s mad at conservatives. He’s just mad. And he’s not the only one. This is a conservative community worried about the future of our nation at a time when we feel we have so little influence. So, I completely agree with him that we should turn our focus inward to our own community and get ...

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Young and poor will be hurt 
most by Obama’s economy

By David Kearsley What we learned when Barack Obama first ran for president is that he knows how to run an election campaign. We shouldn’t have been surprised that he could do it again. He successfully blamed President George W. Bush for the economy — which was the worst for any sitting president who was re-elected. He recycled the old idea that Republicans are waging a war on women and he got some traction for this claim, thanks to the nasty Republican primary. Then, just ...

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Education funding, energy development go hand in hand

By Marcia Neal There are numerous financial discussions going on at the state level this year,  primarily dwelling on school finance, or the lack thereof, and methods that might be used to deal with this problem. Calls for more, new and different sources of funding abound. With the settlement of the Lobato lawsuit over school finance pending, and the various legislative plans for increased funding, we will almost certainly see legislation calling for changing and increasing ...

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Traditional American values continue 
to lose ground through our politics

By Alan Metcalfe For good or evil, the recent general election suggests that liberalism in our country has triumphed.  Congratulations to those of that political persuasion for an unambiguous electoral success. This liberal victory will be further manifest in a model of powerful and growing centralized bureaucracy, secularism, multiculturalism, open borders with mass immigration, sexual revolution and de-industrialization. If we can accurately extrapolate from behaviors ...

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PERA is fiscally sound and a key economic contributor

By Carole Wright The Oct. 7 opinion piece in The Daily Sentinel by State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, “Schools, students face fiscal pain from pension crisis,” contained factual errors that require correction and claims that warrant response. First and foremost is the need to address the treasurer’s failure to recognize the contribution of educators and all school personnel who serve the children of this community. Attracting and retaining quality employees is essential ...

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