1-Color
January 16, 2014 Elbert County, Colorado | Volume 118, Issue 51 A publication of
elbertcountynews.net
Judge rules against county in complaint Rowland fined $1,000 for violation of Fair Campaign Practices Act By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com An administrative judge has ruled the Board of County Commissioners violated the Fair Campaign Practices Act in the runup to the most recent election. Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer issued his ruling Dec. 24 but the decision had to be reviewed by a separate state
agency and was not made public until Jan. 7. Elbert County resident Jill Duvall, who opposed Commissioner Robert Rowland in the 2012 election for District 1 county commissioner, filed the complaint with the Secretary of State’s office in early December. Duvall alleged the BOCC and Rowland violated the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act by spending county funds to hire consultant Tim Buchanan, who Duvall claimed had urged voters at four preelection public meetings to support Ballot Issue 1C, which sought to raise property taxes in the county. That ballot issue was defeated by an 8-1
margin by county voters this past November. In his ruling, the judge stated: “At no time during the town hall meetings did the consultant or Commissioner Rowland specifically ask voters to vote for Ballot Rowland Issue 1C. Nevertheless … because the meetings occurred shortly before the election and the consultant’s presentation was obviously designed to underscore the county’s need for increased revenue, the meetings could not be reasonably interpreted as anything but a plea for passage of Ballot Issue 1C.”
Judge Spencer concluded that Rowland and the BOCC “no doubt intended to comply with the FCPA and to act in the best interests of their county, but they nonetheless violated the FCPA by spending public money to urge voters to support a pending ballot issue.” After hearing the judge’s decision, Duvall wrote in an email: “The citizens won! Power to the people!!” In his ruling, Judge Spencer ordered BOCC Chairman Rowland “as an individual responsible for the improper expenditure to reimburse the county general fund the amount of $1,000 within 30 days.” Campaign continues on Page 8
Board looks at new post New position would function as county’s day-to-day manager By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com
The Younger family, left to right, Mady, Holly and Matthew, check out one of the entries in the Jan. 9 wool show at the National Western Stock Show. The Elbert County family didn’t have an entry in the show but, since they are now raising sheep, they came to learn as much as they could about wool. Photo by Tom Munds
GETTING A FEEL FOR WOOL
Younger family attends National Western to learn about shearing By Tom Munds
tmunds@coloradocommunitymedia.com While most Jan. 9 activities at the National Western Stock Show focused on setting up for coming events, the Younger family came from Elbert County to the arena to observe the wool judging. The family started with four lambs and now their herd has grown to 13 animals. The sheep grow rapidly and usually by the time they are a year old, they are old
enough to be sheared. Mady, 12, said the family began raising sheep at her request. “We have horses and dogs so I thought sheep would be fun as pets,” the girl said. “I like our sheep and soon, I am going into 4H where I can learn more about raising the sheep.” Mady’s older brother Matthew said last year, they hired a man to shear their sheep. “The wool from our sheep is nice and I am using it as I am learning to hand spin the wool into yarn,” Holly Younger said. “We came today to watch the judging and to learn all we can about what it takes to raise sheep that provide prize-winning wool. … We are raising some registered sheep, we want to win some wool prizes and maybe we can have them sheared and
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sell the wool to hand spinners.” The wool judging is among a handful of events that got started before the National Western Stock Show officially began Jan. 11. In another part of the National Western complex, owners were moving cattle into the stalls and preparing them to be shown. The hum of clippers and the whine of hairdryers blends in with the mooing of the cattle in the stalls. The cattle judging is done by breeds. On Jan. 9, many owners had Angus cattle in the stalls. When the shows are over for one breed, those cattle are moved out and cattle of another breed take their place. Sean Witherspoon from Delta led one Angus cow to the wash area identified as the “Bovine Beauty Shop.” “We will scrub this cow down then move back to the stall and blow-dry it,” he said. “Then, we will begin to clip and trim it to get ready for the show ring.” The National Western is known as the Super Bowl of Livestock Shows. More than 15,000 animals will pass through the show between Jan. 11 and 26. In addition to the livestock shows and sales, there are special events such as rodeos and horse shows. For more information and a schedule of events, go to www.nationalwestern.com.
Elbert County commissioners confirmed last week that they are actively considering hiring a county administrator. “We’re like a three-legged stool sometimes,” said BOCC Chairman Robert Rowland. “I think this is a critical need of the county right now.” A county administrator in most cases functions as the day-to-day manager of the county’s staff and reports directly to the Board of County Commissioners. Rowland said that he has “volunteered” to write a job description for the position because he has a background in human resources. Creating the new position would carry a high price tag for the financially challenged county: according to published salary information, county administrators or county managers at comparably sized counties across the country earn between $100,000 and $175,000 a year. In Mesa County on the Western Slope, the annual salary range for the county administrator is $104,000 to $145,000. When Rowland was first elected a year ago, he said he went to a three-day “commissioners’ camp” where he met other county leaders from around the state. “Several times,” he said, “other commissioners asked who our county administrator was.” When Rowland said Elbert didn’t have a county administrator, he said, “the other commissioners would get this look on their face and wish me luck.” Hiring a county administrator would be “quantum step forward” for Elbert County, Rowland said. Echoing those thoughts, Commissioner Kurt Schlegel added, “Creating this position makes a lot of sense.” The subject has come up several times at recent BOCC study sessions and Rowland said a decision on moving forward could come soon. The potential new position was scheduled to be discussed in detail at a Jan. 14 BOCC study session. Along with finding a new finance director to replace Stan Wilmer, who was fired by the BOCC last year, “looking harder at hiring a county administrator is one of our top priorities right now,” Rowland said.