Noticias

• Law Enforcement Responds to School Threat
• Conversations Contentious Around Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
• County Urges Hurd to Preserve Medicaid

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Law Enforcement Respond to School Threat

Local law enforcement and the Telluride School District responded to a threat on Tuesday morning.

“We were made a concerning statement that was made by a student,” said Telluride School District Superintendent John Pandolfo.

“The student made a vague statement, but it was a concerning enough statement that it needed to be dealt with,” he added.

He said students reported the statement to trusted adults, and the school brought in the Telluride Marshal’s Department.

“Given what the threat was and the severity of it, the school and our SRO, Brunner Hill, jumped into action and addressed the threat as quickly as they could,” said Telluride Chief Marshal Josh Comte.

“At no time was any student’s immediate safety threatened,” Comte noted. “It was someone had overheard another statement that we needed to investigate further at that point.”

Comte said the threat was for a future event, rather than an immediate danger.

“Had we received that information — where there was a potential threat or an attack imminent — then we absolutely would have taken additional steps, potentially a lockdown, a shut-in, other more drastic measures,” he said. “The first thing whenever we get some sort of information like this is to investigate that. Contact the students, contact those that were involved, those that heard the statement, those that may have been told the statement, and flush out the validity and how serious this threat could have been and start working the case from that point.”

Pandolfo said after bringing the student to the office, school was able to continue without disruption.

“We did not feel, as soon as we had the situation under control, that there was any concern about safety for anyone being on campus,” he said. “We actually had our awards ceremony in the afternoon and wanted to reassure any parents that were coming that we were maintaining a secure learning environment and everything was fine from there.”

Comte reiterated that he’s confident in safety at the school.

“The incident yesterday was a threat, so I feel very confident no one’s safety at that point was threatened, no one’s safety now or in the future is threatened, and it should [be] a safe rest of the school year,” he said.

The Telluride School District will break for the summer holidays next week, with graduation set for Thursday, May 29.

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Conversations Contentious Around Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant

Local governments are working through the process of developing a regional wastewater treatment plant — but not without some growing pains.

“We are in support of this project. It is a really terrific solution to a regional infrastructure issue. Our only outstanding question of significance is not about the wastewater treatment plant itself, but about the structure of the new sewer authority,” said San Miguel County Commissioner Anne Brown, speaking at a recent Board of County Commissioners meeting with representatives from the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village.

Last year, the Town of Mountain Village entered into an agreement to purchase a 5-acre plot of land along Highway 145 for the purpose of developing a new wastewater treatment plant.

The current plant sits near the Society Turn roundabout. It is primarily owned and operated by the Town of Telluride, with financial contribution from Mountain Village.

If the new plant moves forward, the funding and operating agreement would shift. The towns are planning to create a sewer authority to help manage it.

Brown, speaking for the BOCC, said they’re concerned the county is not being included in the creation of that authority.

She noted four main concerns:

One, septage should always be accepted at a fair and reasonable rate. She noted the towns have already agreed to this.

Boundaries of the authority should expand to include Bridal Veil, Ski Ranches/Ilium Valley and Deep Creek.

“We feel that people in the region should all rightly be served by the sewer authority, so let’s just make that clear from the beginning,” Brown said.

The county would also like one seat on the sewer authority board.

“In exchange for this seat, the county offered to contribute financially 5% of our current general fund to the sewer authority — which is about $1.3 million,” said Brown. “The towns have made it clear that $1.3 million is not nearly enough of a financial contribution to warrant a full seat, as each town expects to contribute as much as $30 million to the capital in plant construction from their existing reserves — which they believe gives them the right to control the sewer authority. The county may be offered one advisory seat, but would not have a full voting member.”

Finally, the BOCC asked that users in the unincorporated areas of the county be charged a similar rate to those in the towns.

“It has been suggested that out-of-town rates should be high enough to balance out the two towns’ $30 million capital contributions, which the county is unable to match. That sounds like a really big upcharge for users in the unincorporated county,” added Brown.

According to Mike Bordogna, San Miguel County manager, by his calculations, rates could go up several hundred dollars per month for county residents.

All these things combined, Brown said the process makes her feel like the regional wastewater treatment plant is not actually a regional project.

“Instead, it feels like Town of Telluride/Mountain Village wastewater treatment plant that unincorporated county residents may be allowed to use at the discretion of the sewer authority board, with rates set by that board, which will be totally controlled by the two towns,” she said.

In response, Mountain Village Assistant Town Manager Michelle Haynes noted the towns weren’t trying to leave the county out. Rather, they were working under the same framework as the current wastewater treatment plant.

“It never occurred to me that the county expected anything more than a tap fee and extra-territorial rates,” Haynes said. “I thought we were doing the region a favor by saying ‘I think we can expand the boundary beyond our current regional boundary,’ which is not just the two towns — it includes Aldasoro, it includes Lawson Hill. I kind of thought ‘well, it’s just going to be the same.’ Maybe foolishly, but I thought it was going to be the same.”

Town officials added they’re not even at the spot to start making decisions about rates and boundaries. They’re still working through due diligence to get the land.

Commissioner Lance Waring said he hears that, but he wants to ensure the county still gets a voice.

“Where we feel confident that, no matter who’s at the table at the sewer authority down the road, that all rate payers will be treated fairly and equitably — whatever that means, and we don’t know yet. And the county will not end up being pushed aside because we don’t have a seat or a voice at the sewer authority table,” Waring said.

Assistant County Manager Jarrod Biggs said it’s about coming to a common philosophy.

“What I’m hoping we can start to angle on is, can we get to a philosophy to get some assurance to the county that we can move ahead and we are being heard, but also give the towns the comfort that they can do the business they need,” he said.

The exact philosophy isn’t set in stone yet, but all the jurisdictions say they remain committed to working together toward a regional wastewater treatment plant.

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County Urges Hurd to Preserve Medicaid

Rep. Hurd is feeling the pressure amidst pushes from Congressional Republicans to cut Medicaid spending.

In mid-April, Hurd joined 14 other House Republicans in a letter taking a stance against reducing Medicaid funding to vulnerable populations. For San Miguel County, the issue hits close to home.

“I am on the board of UMC, so I will speak from that seat that approximately 20% of the clientele—the patients that are served by UMC—are on Medicaid, and so it is a real concern to our local federally qualified healthcare clinic,” San Miguel County Commissioner Galena Gleason said during a May 14 meeting.

UMC is the Uncompahgre Medical Center, a rural clinic in Norwood that depends heavily on Medicaid funding.

On May 21, county commissioners approved a letter to Hurd underscoring the importance of maintaining Medicaid as it stands. While Hurd has said he hopes Medicaid remains a “long-lasting program for years to come,” he does support reforms that would impose work requirements and new paperwork and verification policies.

During a commissioners meeting on Feb. 26, Hurd elaborated on his stance regarding Medicaid in Colorado.

“I understand the importance of rural healthcare and delivering those rural healthcare services,” Hurd said. “My father actually used to be the head of the Meralac Clinic in Grand Junction, which is a federally qualified health center. A number of my visits around the district have been to critical access hospitals and federally qualified health centers—and also some of our larger hospitals as well.

“In making sure that we are, yes, being efficient, but that we are cognizant of the important role that Medicaid [plays in] delivering these vital services to rural Colorado. You’re absolutely right—30% of individuals in our district rely on Medicaid, and know that that’s something I take very seriously in making sure that we are responsible for rural healthcare and the delivery of rural healthcare to our citizens who are most in need.”

The county’s letter urged Hurd to reconsider proposed reforms, stating they would “create a larger administrative burden for state and local governments, strip coverage from eligible Coloradans, and destabilize health care providers and local economies across our state, most notably in the rural portions of Colorado.”

“We are definitely speaking to the need for sustained Medicare in San Miguel County, as well as for all of CD3 and all of Colorado—and frankly, the nation,” Commissioner Anne Brown said.

House Republicans are currently advancing a tax and spending bill that would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicaid funding.

“There’s a lot of effort happening here at the county to hold our representatives in Washington accountable,” Brown added.

This is the latest in a series of letters San Miguel County commissioners have sent to Hurd on topics including public lands and proposed cuts to federal funding.

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‘Thirty Below’ Author to Speak at Town Read Event

MountainFilm and the Wilkinson Public Library are hosting the annual Town Read. This year, Cassidy Randall will discuss her book Thirty Below, a true story of the first all-women’s ascent of Denali in 1970, marking the first all-female summit of any of the world’s highest peaks.

“This was a momentous climb not just for mountaineering, but for women’s history,” Randall said.

Randall will also be signing books, and Between the Covers Bookstore will be in attendance selling copies.

The event is free and open to the public on Thursday, May 22, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Wilkinson Public Library.

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Idarado Legacy Trail to Close for Maintenance

The Idarado Legacy Trail on the east end of Telluride will be temporarily closed Thursday and Friday this week.

San Miguel County Parks and Open Space is working with a contractor to finish remediation of the trail in preparation for the summer season.

“We’re aiming to reopen the trail by Memorial Day weekend,” officials said in a statement. “Please avoid the area due to heavy machinery work.”

The adjacent road remains open.

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Climate Conversation Returns to Library

Coffee and Climate Conversations continues at the Wilkinson Public Library. Local nonprofits EcoAction Partners and Sheep Mountain Alliance invite community members to explore the question: How do the stories we share spark empathy, drive community engagement, and shift perspective on environmental issues?

“Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools for environmental change,” said a representative from Sheep Mountain Alliance.

Free coffee and pastries will be provided. The event takes place Thursday, May 22, starting at 8:30 a.m.

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Polis Signs Food Truck Mobility Bill

Food trucks will soon be able to move more easily between Colorado cities. That’s after Gov. Jared Polis signed a new law Tuesday. CPR’s Megan Verlee has more.

Story begins at 12:40

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Listen Up—Bird Migration Peaks in the Rockies

Millions of birds are flying through the Rocky Mountain region this month as they migrate north for the summer. For Rocky Mountain Community Radio, KGNU’s Shelley Schlender reports on what to look for—or rather, what to listen for—during this peak migration period.

Story begins at 13:22

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