Mesa County’s Department of Public Health executive director is stepping down once he reaches a settlement agreement. This settlement will end Jeff Kuhr’s 12-year stint in Mesa County following allegations that he misused department funds and awarded contracts without following county procurement procedures.
Details of Kuhr’s settlement are not yet known, but it is expected to cost taxpayers thousands of dollars to terminate his contract, or possibly more depending on the terms of that agreement. Kuhr’s employment contract includes a $190,000-a-year salary and a special provision that awards him an additional $47,500 for “his long and distinguished service.”
That’s three months of extra pay.
That bonus does not include any potential buyout to end Kuhr’s employment before his contract expires next year. Kuhr has fought these allegations over the past several months citing that “innocent mistakes” had been made on his part. The debacle prompted four out of five public health board members to resign in protest.
They refused to fire Kuhr at the commissioners’ request, arguing that his alleged “transgressions” didn’t deserve termination. As of last week, all empty seats have been filled for the Mesa County Board of Public Health. They met for the first time together last week, per the department’s Facebook page.
The Hotchkiss Fire Department is reminding community members that our region is a highly flammable area. This latest announcement came Saturday while a fire team managed a planer fire in the North Fork area. Local high fire danger is being driven by weather that is very hot, very dry and breezy-to-windy.
This specific fire on Saturday went from a hot power tool to out-of-control in seconds, the fire department noted. Residents are asked to consider putting off tasks that may cause fires until less extreme conditions come around. They’re also reminded to keep a hose handy. Fires can start easily from all causes and may spread faster than suppression resources can travel.
A lack of fire restrictions does not mean it is safe to burn.
The wait is over for patrons of the Delta Library. KVNF’s Lisa Young took a tour last week ahead of the library’s reopening at its new location in downtown Delta. The reopening is slated for Wednesday July 19.
On Friday, we turned to KGNU'S Shannon Young for a deeper look into Colorado’s new state tax credit aimed to incentivize the transition to electric vehicles. Today, Young wraps her conversation with Carrie Atiyeh about how electric vehicles compare to gas-powered vehicles. Atiyeh is the associate director of Transportation Fuels and Technology at the Colorado Energy Office.
