Delta County Commissioners

Headlines:

• Colorado’s Health Exchange is generating complaints, too.
• Front Range Floods Lead to Water and Irrigation Systems Damage
• Amendment 66 Opponents Say Funds Would be used for Pensions
• Delta County Hires Denver-Based Attorney for Ongoing Hen House Case
• Ridgway Could Soon See Improved High-Speed Internet
  

The Powell Mesa Hen House dispute has renewed questions about zoning and the "right to farm" in Delta County. Adopted in 1996 by the state of Colorado and the county, the "Right to Farm and Ranch" policy lays out some parts of rural life that residents are expected to accept, including noise from tractors, manure, odor from animal confinement and the use of pesticides.

For some historical context on the policy, KVNF’s Marty Durlin spoke with former Delta County Commissioner Jim Ventrillo about the early days of the right-to-farm policy.  

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on Saturday reported that the Delta County Farm Bureau will host a fundraiser for the Hostetler family, owners of a Hotchkiss hen house at the center of a years-long legal dispute over whether the facility is compatible with the surrounding Powell Mesa neighborhood.

Headlines:

• Fundraiser for Chicken Farmers’ Legal Defense Renews Questions of Bias
• Right-to-Farm Policy dates to a More Rural Delta County
• State Audit Criticizes Lottery
• Front Range Flooding Leads to Thousands of Students Classified as Homeless
• US Forest Service Entomologist Says Ouray Beetle Infestation is Impossible to Stop
  

After a closed-door session with county attorney Christine Knight, Delta County Commissioners on Monday announced they would appeal the decision by District Court Judge J. Steven Patrick that forced them to issue a cease and desist order to the Hostetler hen laying operation on Powell Mesa earlier this month. 

Attorneys for Delta County and the operators of a Powell Mesa Hen House say the two-year-long battle over the facility’s fate isn’t over yet. That's despite a ruling that Western Slope Layers would have to cease and desist operations immediately, handed down by Judge J. Steven Patrick last week.

Headlines

• Governor John Hickenlooper "Disappointed" in Recall Outcomes
• Recalls Could Change Dynamics at State Legislature
• State Republicans Set Their Sights on Governor's Office
• Tax Proposed in San Miguel County to deal with Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Delta County Commissioners Call New Wildlife Rules "Unnecessary"
• Water Losses in Cedaredge Could Lead to New Fees
• Two Dead after Massive Flooding along Front Range
  

Judge J. Stevens Patrick ruled yesterday that operators of a Powell Mesa Hen House in Delta County must cease and desist operations immediately, bringing to an end (for now) a long and contentious lawsuit brought against the facility's operators and the Board of County Commissioners by a group of concerned residents.

On Tuesday at a regular meeting, Delta County Commissioners commented on a pending wildlife ruling by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that would affect the imperiled Gunnison sage-grouse, asking that the commission use current habitat maps to define setbacks and not require a blanket four-mile distance. KVNF's Marty Durlin has more on the threats to the iconic bird.