Education funding ballot measure discussed
Voters will have the chance to weigh the pros and cons of increasing funding for Colorado public schools at a forum at 5:45 p.m. Wed., Sept. 25, in the Pullman Room at the Strater Hotel. Sponsored by the Durango Foundation for Educational Excellence, the forum will focus on Amendment 66, the so-called “Colorado Commits to Kids Measure,” which will go before voters this November.
In May, the Colorado Legislature passed the Future School Finance Act (SB13-213), a law conditioned upon passage of a statewide ballot measure to increase taxes to help cover a $1 billion shortfall in the state’s education budget in recent years. This measure, Amendment 66, would increase funding for kindergarten and preschool, provide significantly more money for districts with the highest concentrations of at-risk students and English language learners, devote more money to special education and make extra payments to districts for the cost of implementing reform mandates.
The bill won’t go into effect if voters don’t approve higher taxes.
The Amendment 66 Forum will feature a panel of speakers including Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger; a representative from the 9-R school board; Rep. Michael McLachlan, D-Durango; Durango Education Association President Gretchen Wilson; and others. The forum will be moderated by DFEE Board President Robert Dawes.
Daytrip turns into 2-day ordeal
K-9 units aided La Plata County Search and Rescue in tracking down a Montrose man lost in the woods along Junction Creek over the weekend.
The man, 55, whose name was not released, was reported missing near midnight on Fri., Sept. 13, after he and a partner failed to return from a daylong trek surveying mining claims near the headwaters of Junction Creek.
Search and Rescue began looking for the two men at daybreak Saturday along Junction Creek Road. Shortly after the search began, one of the subjects made his way back to the vehicle, where he was met by rescuers. The man told them he and his partner had become lost in the densely wooded mountains and eventually hunkered down. They were able to start a campfire but spent the night in the rain. The two parted ways early the following morning but using the first man’s GPS, searchers were able to locate the camp where the two spent the night, 14 miles up Junction Creek Road in the Elk Creek area.
However, heavy rain, hail, fog and impassable terrain hampered efforts by the 18 searchers. Fortunately, a nearby property owner, Harold Luzar, of the Neglected Mine, allowed teams full access to his cabin so they had shelter and heat throughout the storm.
A Flight for Life helicopter was brought in from Mercy Medical Center to help search the rugged terrain during a few breaks in the weather, but failed to turn up clues ---by nightfall Saturday.
“The first day of searching was very discouraging due to the severe weather and intense terrain,” Butch Knowlton, Director of the La Plata County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, said. “Knowing the lost man had minimal gear and no ability to start a fire, several volunteers stayed overnight in case the subject found his way out.”
Early Sunday morning, searchers set out again into Elk Creek, this time with two La Plata County K-9 units. One of the units picked up a scent at the men’s campsite and quickly followed it to the bottom of Elk Creek. A few minutes after noon, searchers made voice contact with the missing man and eventually reached him 2¼ miles down the canyon from his starting point, unharmed but obviously cold, tired and hungry.
“The success of this mission was only possible due to the dedication and countless hours of training put in by the volunteers of search and rescue,” said Knowlton. “The specialized training and constant work put in by our K-9 team, both dogs and handlers, was the key to saving this man’s life.”
The lost man had a fishing license which pays into the Colorado Search and Rescue Fund and allows the Sheriff and volunteers to recoup costs related to the search, such as rental of the helicopter.
Knowlton reminds people to be prepared before heading into the backcountry, even on short and local adventures, and to bring tools to survive and let someone know of your plans. If lost, make yourself visible and use anything reflective; even the face of your cell phone can signal searching aircraft.
4CORE announces ‘Healthy Homes’
The Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency (4CORE) is helping local residents clear the air, not outside their homes but in.
“We spend an average of 80-90 percent of our time indoors and this air can be two- to five-times more polluted than air outdoors,” Gregg Dubit, Executive Director of 4CORE, said. “We are excited to be able to provide this information to our region’s low-income populations, especially children and elderly people who are particularly at risk.”
With a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the local nonprofit has launched its “Healthy Homes Project,” a series of presentations at increasing awareness of health issues related to residential indoor air pollution. The goal is to share low- or no-cost methods for reducing indoor air hazards, everything from radon to carbon monoxide, particularly for vulnerable populations. A long-term goal of the project is to improve residents’ health through improved indoor air quality.
Throughout the next year, 4CORE will host 18 presentations throughout the county on topics including asthma, radon, carbon monoxide poisoning, second-hand smoke and Sick Home Syndrome. Participants will receive free radon test kits, carbon monoxide alarms and information on low- or no-cost methods for the reduction of home-based health hazards.
Partners include San Juan Basin Health Department, Housing Solutions for the Southwest and the Regional Housing Alliance. For more information, visit www.fourcore.org.
– Missy Votel