Montrose has a new Mayor. City Councilor Barbara Bynum was once again promoted from mayor pro tem during the council's regular meeting Tuesday. With no other nominations, Bynum was chosen by fellow city councilors to succeed Dave Frank for the 2023-2024 mayoral term. Councilor David Reed was selected by the council to become the new mayor pro tem. The City Council appoints a mayor and mayor pro tem each April. The term of the mayor is 12 months. Dave Frank's final act as Montrose mayor Tuesday was to nominate Bynum as his successor.
For approximately an hour and half last Tuesday, the Delta City Council shared personal opinions and different philosophies on the idea of retail marijuana in the City of Delta, but the conversation resulted in no clear path forward. This comes from the Delta County Independent. City Manager Elyse Ackerman-Casselberry recapped that the results of former ballot questions regarding retail marijuana in Delta are not legally binding. Instead, the option to place the question on the ballot is one of two options provided by the State of Colorado. The other option is for council to executively allow it through an ordinance. Some board members discussed how bringing the plant to Delta could serve the city’s mental health needs.
A cold front this week looks so far like it’s causing only limited damage to local fruit growers, reports the Daily Sentinel. Fruit growers have been running wind machines and employing other measures to fend off the impacts of freezing overnight temperatures. The National Weather Service at the Grand Junction Regional Airport early Thursday morning recorded a low temperature of 26 degrees, which compares to a record low of 23 on the same date in 2021, but is well below the normal low for the date of 39. The low overnight temperatures are thanks to a cold front that moved through the area Wednesday morning, with snowfall right behind it
This month, the Telluride Rotary Club transferred $4,000 in donations to a daycare in Slovakia, reports the Telluride Daily Planet. The donation helps refugee mothers and their children who are displaced after fleeing from the war in Ukraine. Dr. Nancy Kerr, chair of the Telluride Rotary Club’s international committee, spent months with club members researching relief resources for refugees and understanding what efforts are underway in Europe. Then, she got to work on providing for needs not being met. Kerr learned about the Radost Center for Mothers and Children in Slovakia, a day care project that had not yet received any Rotary Club funding and is dependent on private donations to help refugees from Ukraine. Slovakia has granted protection to about 100,000 refugees, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency on March 30. The agency allows refugees to seek social services without going through a long process for asylum.
In the near future all visitors to the Delta County Detention Center will have to pass through an X-ray style full body scanner for security purposes. KVNF’s Lisa Young has the details.
Just last November, the U.S. Department of Education announced an initiative supported by the Departments of Commerce and Labor to increase and expand access to high-quality training programs to help young American students pursue jobs in today’s in-demand fields, and be prepared for careers of the future. For Montrose County School District, expanding its career pathway program has become one of its top priorities for both its students and community. The expanded program includes six different pathways: Business, Marketing and Public Administration; Health Science, Criminal Justice and Safety; Arts, Media and Information Technology; Education and Human Services; Outdoor Industry, Agriculture and Tourism; and finally, Skilled Trades and Engineering. Cassie Knust sat down recently with Matt Jenkins, spokesperson for MCSD, to learn more about this program.
