What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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In recent years, the Colorado state legislature has amended several sections of Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38 Article 12 that pertains to landlords and tenants. A new requirement from the passage of Senate Bill 2024-094 requires new habitability-related language to be included in residential rental agreements on and after Jan. 1, 2025. Part 5 of Article 12, which addresses the obligation to maintain residential premises, prescribes in subpart 505 that “every rental agreement between a landlord and tenant must include a statement in at leas...
The Colorado Secretary of State's office was not able to declare the Nov. 5 general election to be official until Friday, Dec. 6. The extraordinary length of the ballot and due diligence given the vote counts by county clerk's offices took more time than usual. And, numerous recounts of close elections required more time to complete some of the counties' certification process. For statewide ballot choices, Phillips County reported a total of 3,123 registered voters, with 2,384 ballots cast....
Phillips County electors cast 2,351 ballots in the general election on Nov. 5. That is an 82 percent voter turnout if gauging it from the 2,871 active registered voters. If using the 3,123 total registered voters, it is 75 percent. Results will not be considered official by the Secretary of State's office until the County canvasing board has completed its process and the County Clerk's Office files its final report with the State. Electors had an exceptionally lengthy ballot because of...
"Rural communities need a revival. They've been left behind for too long." Those sentiments are among the reasons why Trisha Calvarese is motivated to seek a congressional seat. She is the Democratic candidate for District 4 who is challenging Republican Congresswoman, Lauren Boebert, in the November general election. Calvarese, who held a "meet and greet" dinner meeting at Happy Jacks BBQ restaurant the evening of Friday, August 23, emphasized that she "is here for people first" and also her...
Phillips County electors cast 1,443 ballots in Colorado’s Primary Election on June 25. With 2,772 active registered voters, that’s a 52.04 percent voter turnout. Challengers to Republican incumbents running for re-election gave voters a choice in the races for the District 2 Commissioner and the Sheriff. Although the incumbents had the most votes and will therefore move on to the General Election, the challengers each received a respectable number of votes. The sheriff’s race was won by only 36 votes of the 1,166 total. Sheriff Michael Beard...
With all 64 Colorado counties reporting, the State had only a 25.72 percent voter turnout for the 2024 Primary Election held June 25. Statewide, 977,525 ballots were cast from a total of 3,801,029 registered active voters. By contrast, Phillips County had a 52.04 percent voter turnout with 1,443 ballots cast of 2,773 registered active voters. In addition to voting for the next two-year term for the United States House District 4 seat, electors within District 4 also voted in a special election...
Presidential election years can inspire a higher participation in the electoral process as the voting public weighs public policy considerations and determines if they favor or oppose party platforms and candidates. On Jan. 1 of this year, there were 2,777 active voters registered in Phillips County. Among them, unaffiliated voters exceeded one thousand for the first time at 1,008. In examining trends since the 2016 presidential election year, that's up 64 percent. An unaffiliated voter is somet...
Colorado’s primary election is Tuesday, June 25. It includes local, state and federal offices. Ballots were mailed June 3 to county active registered voters. To be accepted, voted ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks will not be considered to meet this deadline. The last day a registered elector can apply for a ballot to be mailed to them is Monday, June 17. Otherwise they can pick up their ballot at the County Clerk’s office from now through June 24 during the operating hours of Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and...
During the Phillips County Board of County Commissioner’s meeting on March 29, Commissioner Terry Hofmeister and County Administrator, Andrew Nygaard, shared information from a March 25 meeting held to discuss dispatching procedures by the Phillips County Communications Center. Also attending the meeting were Communications Center Director Sara Kumm, Sheriff Michael Beard, Emergency Manager Broc Pelle, and from the Holyoke Volunteer Fire Department, Chief Stacy Rueter. The meeting’s discussion centered on natural disasters, lightning str...
Phillips County clerk and recorder, Beth Zilla, has filed the county’s official, final March 3 presidential primary election vote counts with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Following required audits by the county, vote counts for the top three highest vote recipients have not changed from what was previously reported in The Haxtun-Fleming Herald. An additional 13 Democrat and 17 Republican votes for “down ballot” candidates are herein being reported. The 161 Democrat Party ballot votes went to the following candidates or category in...
In recent weeks, local governments in northeast Colorado have considered their capacity, or lack thereof, to manage an influx of migrants into their communities, including but not limited to, when droves of arrivals in the Denver-metro area are sent to destinations other than on the Front Range. The Phillips County Board of County Commissioners, at its March 18 meeting, adopted Resolution No. 2024-03-18-01 to oppose the entry, transportation, employment and settlement of, specifically, illegal immigrants in the county. The supporting rationale...
The Phillips County Board of County Commissioners, at its March 8 meeting, moved to acquire more storage and staging capability for the Road and Bridge department in the southeast part of the County. It approved a contract to purchase, for $35,000, 3.4 acres of which the location is in the northwest 1/4 of section 2, township 6 north, range 43 west. The property includes a 1,050 square foot building, a well and a septic tank. In other business, the board met with an individual for a progress report on cleaning up his property to comply with...
When Colorado Congressman Ken Buck announced on Nov. 1, 2023 that he would not seek another term for office, there was no shortage of interested individuals coming forward to vie for his 4th Congressional District seat. To help Phillips County constituents become acquainted with the eleven Republican candidates, the Phillips County Republican Party initiated a CD4 Republican candidate forum. They expanded it to a regional event by working collaboratively with the Republican party leadership in S...
Information made available from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, as of March 15, indicates a Phillips County voter turnout of 52.92 percent of active voters for the March 5 presidential primary election. This exceeds the statewide voter turnout of 38.67 percent. An “active voter” is defined as a registered voter who has a record of voting in the past three years per the county clerk’s rolls. County-level election-related statistics are considered “unofficial” until the process is closed out by a county canvas board. Phillips Co...
Renewable energy, migrants and dispatchers were on the Phillips County Board of Commissioners’ radar at the last two of its three February meetings. Board chairman Terry Hofmeister, who serves on the Colorado Counties, Inc. legislative committee, reported at the Feb. 16 meeting that it appears the State wants to control more matters having to do with renewable energy. He gave an example that would implicate local land use codes, such as prescribing set-backs on installations. A related bill has not yet been introduced but he’ll watch for act...
The retiring Mike Salyards will spend his last day on the job as the Phillips County Road and Bridge Department Manager on Thursday, Feb. 29. He has been employed with the County since 1985. At the Feb. 9 Phillips County Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board approved Salyards’ request to move assistant manager, Kevin Scott, to fill the Road and Bridge Manager’s position, effective March 1. Scott works in the Road and Bridge District 2 office in Holyoke. The board also approved Salyards’ requests to move Dave Salyards to Road and B...
During the Jan. 31 meeting of the Phillips County Board of County Commissioners, the board held a public hearing to consider the subdivision exemption request from Timothy and Arlene Carper to divide a 12.8-acre parcel of land from a 160-acre parcel. Arlene Carper explained that the request is so that the parcel of land, which is all non-farmable ground, could be sold to another family member. This sale would represent the next, or fifth generation, to maintain ownership of their farm that has a Centennial Farm designation. No one else was...
At its Jan. 19 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners met with Mattie Haney, representing the Northeastern Junior College Foundation. She spoke about the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative and requested a letter of support from the board. She explained that Northeastern Junior College can apply for state-funded Matching Student Scholarship grants that help off-set costs of student attendance such as tuition and fees, books, room and board, etc. The NJC Foundation raises funds to provide the match funding. It applies to serve as...
Following the regular Jan. 9 Board of County Commissioners meeting, the board convened its usual reorganization meeting that occurs at the start of each new year. As its first item of business, the board appointed Terry Hofmeister to serve as chairman for 2024. His term follows Garold Roberts who served as chair in 2023. Roberts followed Tom Timm who held the seat in 2022. The board then adopted nine resolutions having to do with county administrative matters for 2024. Resolutions established county operations, official holidays for the year...
Hired in the Phillips County treasurer's office in 2001, Sheila Gift ended up serving the public alongside three different elected county treasurers that spanned 21 years. County treasurers Linda Statz, Sharon Michaels and the current Steve Young have all been aided by her vast knowledge and experience, reliability and attention to detail. Prior to retiring in December of 2023, Gift had already started training the next deputy treasurer, Crystal Oakley, who joined the office on Dec. 1. If not...
At the Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 Board of County Commissioners meetings, the Board considered requests from county staff; attended to contracts, personnel-related decisions and matters pertaining to the landfill; and addressed other miscellaneous items as listed below. They also approved Board meeting dates for 2024. The most significant decision made on Dec. 15 was to adopt the 2024 budget. Resolution No. 2023-12-15-02 appropriated $8,757,781 to the General Fund and eight others such as the Road and Bridge Fund and Human Services Fund. Resolution...
At the Nov. 30 meeting of the Phillips County Board of County Commissioners, several individuals met with the board to request action or provide updates. Discussion continued regarding the Fair Manager position. Other miscellaneous matters were addressed as identified below. The board met with Phillips County Economic Development Director Mikey Brown. She explained the Community Business Preservation Program grant funding being offered by the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade. So far, Brown had identified interested...
Local native, Brooklyn Plumb, has been awarded the highest degree achievable in the national Future Farmers of America organization, the American FFA Degree. Less than half of one percent of all FFA members attain it. She was recognized with the degree at the 96th National FFA Convention and Expo, with 70,000 members and guests in attendance, held Nov. 1-4 in Indianapolis, Ind. "Receiving the degree was a full circle moment because it represents the closing out of my FFA career. It was very...
The Nov. 8 and Nov. 17 Phillips County Board of County Commissioners meetings included opportunities to hear from individuals who navigate the fluctuating policy and political climates in the normal course of business. At the Nov. 8 meeting, Darlene Carpio, the regional director from Congressman Ken Buck’s Colorado office, discussed Representative Buck’s recent announcement that he would not seek another term. She emphasized that Buck would still take care of business as usual in 2024, adding that House Speaker Mike Johnson has prioritized the...
The Oct. 31 meeting of the Phillips County Board of County Commissioners included the establishing of a new contracted position, adopting a resolution, conducting a public hearing, receiving information and updates, hiring part-time election officials and other miscellaneous actions needing board approval. The board passed a motion to create a contracted position in 2024 for a Phillips County Fair Manager from the hire date through Aug. 31, 2024. For the past few months the board has been contemplating a paid county Fair Manager position due...
