It appeared Democrats might go unopposed in their bid for the district attorney’s post in the November election; however, the Republicans have mounted a challenge with Russell Wasley’s entry into the race.

Wasley will face Democratic challenger Todd Risberg.

Wasley currently serves in the 6th Judicial District district attorney’s office as the felony prosecutor for Archuleta County and is a relatively recent arrival to the area. Wasley said he came to La Plata County in October 2007 and began working in the district attorney’s office, first handling misdemeanors before being transferred to felonies and Archuleta County.

Wasley said he graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1985, and soon after graduation went to work for the district attorney’s office in Lubbock, Texas, where he served from 1987 to 1991. During his tenure there, Wasley served first as a misdemeanor prosecutor and later became an assistant in the felony division, ultimately managing a docket in the 72nd District Court.

Travis Ware, district attorney in Lubbock County, Texas, described Wasley as a “most tenacious litigator.”

From 1991 to 2004, Wasley handled civil litigation cases for a variety of law firms in Texas and California, but Wasley described the work as “not as rewarding or fulfilling as working in the DA’s office.”

“I returned to prosecution from civil law practice because as a prosecutor, I know that I am on the right side, and I know that every day, I get the opportunity to represent the community and do what is right,” Wasley said.

In 2004, Wasley joined the district attorney’s office in the 9th Judicial District (Glenwood Springs, Meeker) and served as deputy district attorney. Wasley served in the 9th Judicial District until 2007.

Wasley then served a brief stint in the 14th Judicial District before arriving in La Plata County.

In discussing his election bid, Wasley drew a sharp contrast between his approach to prosecution and what he described as Risberg’s “kinder, gentler approach to prosecution.”

“His (Risberg’s) comments created the impression he would bring a weaker and more watered-down approach to prosecution. When I saw he was the only candidate up to that point, I thought that was unacceptable.”

Some have called Risberg’s approach — which calls for viable drug and alcohol courts and juvenile diversion programs and treatment opportunities for first-time offenders— as “progressive prosecution.” Whereas Wasley said he believes in “traditional prosecution” based on deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation.

“The only way to deter bad or dangerous conduct is through aggressive prosecution,” Wasley said. “I believe there is already plenty of plea bargaining going on. The system already gives young, first time offenders a break if they don’t have prior adult felonies. Traditional prosecution already takes into account the age of the offender and priors. It doesn’t make any sense to get any more lenient than that.”

In addition, Wasley said the system already provides many treatment opportunities.

“I don’t believe we should weaken traditional prosecution any further. I believe that the DA is responsible for the safety of the community,” Wasley said.

Wasley said he has prosecuted about 60 criminal trials to verdict, including five homicide trials, and a variety of cases, including those involving sexual assault on adults and children.

“What drives me to seek the office of the district attorney is my belief that behavior that victimizes law abiding citizens must have consequences. Community safety must always be the special concern of the district attorney,” Wasley said.

Photo courtesy Bob Eggleston
Watch out, world — the Pagosa Imaginators 3 took Colorado by storm, and are ready for the rest of the globe. The team displays their award after winning the state DestiNation Imagination competition Saturday. The Imaginators will compete in the global competition later this month. In front, from left, are Dean Hampton, Brandan Thomas, Gabby Pajak, Brooke Hampton, Kitman Gill, Garek Erskine and Isaiah Thompson. In back are parent managers Julia Hampton and Linda Gill.

The Pagosa Imaginators 3, a seventh- and eighth-grade Destination ImagiNation (DI) team from Pagosa Springs Junior High School, beat out teams from across Colorado at the state DI competition April 26 in Littleton to win first place and land a spot in the global competition later this month.

“They are just so, so first place,” said Sally High, DI coordinator. “They rocked that competition.”

The team members are Garek Erskine, Kitman Gill, Brooke Hampton, Dean Hampton, Gabby Pajak, Brandan Thomas, and Isaiah Thompson. Parent managers are Julia Hampton and Linda Gill.

The Pagosa Imaginators 3 have been working together for three years in DI competitions, and this year they built and tested a scale model of the Trojan horse. Not only did they win the title of state champions, they also won a special Renaissance Award for their team project (they also won two Renaissance Awards at the regional competition in Durango March 8). This is the first time a Pagosa team has qualified for the global competition, and they will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., May 21-25 to represent “Team Colorado” in a competition at the University of Tennessee, featuring winning teams from all 50 states and more than 56 other countries.

Destination ImagiNation is an interdisciplinary project in which students practice creative, improvisational and theatre skills; use science, geography, history and communication knowledge; and perfect their critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. Pagosa currently has four DI teams — two at the elementary level and two at the middle school level.

The Pagosa Imaginators 3 began work on their project in November. At the state competition, they won the “Hit or Myth” challenge, which involved researching geography and history, the use of the scientific method and math, creative writing, and a theatrical performance. The students had to choose a myth from history and test its validity using the scientific method. The Imaginators chose to test the myth of the Trojan horse, as described in Virgil’s “Aeneid.” They built a 1:12 scale model of the horse based on Virgil’s descriptions in what High called, “My little, tiny Social Studies classroom.” When tested, the horse held over 600 pounds, and using mathematical calculations, they proved that the Trojan horse would have held 41 Greek warriors in full armor — thus proving this famous myth from history could indeed be true.

The team also wrote an eight-minute script set in modern Turkey, near the site of ancient Troy. They built a set for their performance — a treehouse in an olive tree — and used a historically accurate Grecian warrior costume. The Renaissance Award was given to the team for the detailed construction of the horse, and for its use in the performance.

But, don’t expect the Imaginators to just sit back and relax until the global competition. According to High, the team has already begun revising and perfecting its performance, not to mention practicing for the other challenges of the competition. The team will not only showcase its central “Hit or Myth” challenge, but will also participate in “Instant Challenges,” in which the team is given a new task and must meet the challenge, usually in just around five minutes.

These instant challenges require the students to think on their feet and work as a team. The students have no prior knowledge of the challenge — it might be an improvised theatrical performance or a quick construction project.

“You never know what you’re going to get,” said High.

The third- and fourth-grade Destination ImagiNation team, the Pagosa DI Nerds, and the fifth-grade team, the Pagosa Geekinators, also competed at the state competition. High said both teams did “remarkably” and garnered very respectable scores. Imaginator Gabby Pajak also qualified for the state History Day competition for her research paper “Prohibition: the Conflict and Compromise of the 18th Amendment.”

The Pagosa DI teams will hold a car wash, bake sale and lemonade stand soon to help raise funds for the Imaginator’s trip to Knoxville. The Imaginators will also host a performance of their project at the Archuleta County 50 Joint School Board meeting Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m., and all are invited to come to the junior high school library to watch the team before they head to the global competition.

For more information about Destination ImagiNation, contact Sally High at the junior high, 264-2794.

County administrative staff provided a first-quarter financial report Monday, and the analysis indicates a horizon dotted with a handful of seemingly surmountable financial glitches, coupled with a plan to rectify negative fund balance problems that have dogged the ledgers for more than a year.

According to Archuleta County Administrator Greg Schulte, revenues and expenditures are generally in line with projections and the county has the financial wherewithal to deal with the funding issues currently on the radar.

In short, “We’re doing ok,” Schulte writes in the report.

For example, in the 2008 budget, the county projected sales tax revenues would increase by 2 percent from 2007, and so far, Schulte said, collections appear on track.

According to Archuleta County Finance Director Don Warn, $1.7 million was budgeted for sales tax collections in 2008, and thus far the county has collected $403,000 or 24 percent of that amount as of March 31 — the end of the first quarter.

In the report, overall revenues are listed at $15.6 million, and first quarter figures show $5.3 million or 34 percent had been collected as of March 31.

The report indicates building department revenue is down with just 25 building permits issued by March 31, 2008. According to Schulte the five-year, first-quarter average is 65 permits.

With just 25 permits issued, building revenue as of March 31, hovered at $24,000 or just 8 percent of the $300,000 budgeted for building department collections. Schulte said records show first-quarter building department collections typically hover around 12 percent.

Schulte said expenditures are staying under budget and, as of March 31, the county had spent $2.9 million, or just 11 percent of it $25.7 million expenditure budget.

Although Schulte recognized expenditures are on track, he said a number of revenue stream glitches may strain the coffers later in the year. For example, Schulte said if the trend continues with building permits, building department revenues could come in at $150,000 — half the budgeted amount for 2008.

Second, county administrative staff will have to find $110,000 to cover an unbudgeted, 2-percent cost of living allowance promised to county employees in January 2008.

Third, a proposed, but also unbudgeted 2-percent merit pool increase for county departments could cost the General Fund $55,000, and Warn and Schulte will be tasked to find a revenue source to cover the expense.

And, fourth, projecting potential sales tax revenue for the peak summer months, may be an act of crystal ball gazing, at best. Gas prices broaching $4 per gallon, increased food prices, a dramatic drop in national economic indicators, and the word “recession” being bantered around by policy makers and financial officials, could dampen the summer tourist season, thus driving down sales tax collections which would ultimately bode ill for both county and town coffers.

While the sales tax revenue stream remains difficult to project, Schulte said the county has three funding resources with which to tackle the financial challenges in 2008. Schulte said salary savings should address the $110,000 needed to fund the 2-percent cost of living allowance. Second, $200,000 has been placed in contingency to address unforeseen funding challenges. And third, per the Citizens Financial Advisory Task Force’s recommendation, $250,000 was set aside in the 2008 budget for debt service, although the money was originally earmarked to pay for district attorney’s services and to repay county funds showing negative fund balances.

According to county auditors, carrying negative fund balances is a violation of state statute, and staff members of the task force, auditors and elected officials have agreed that solving the negative fund balance problem remains one of the organization’s most pressing, and vexing, financial problems.

In order to comply with statute and eliminate the negative fund balances, Warn and Schulte suggested two solutions that work in conjunction: an interfund transfer to deal with deficits in nutrition and fleet; and an interfund loan that will cure deficits in road and bridge, human services, the airport and capital improvement funds.

For the interfund transfer, Warn has calculated on a three -year average the amount of fleet and nutrition debt attributable to various county funds, and if approved by the BoCC, dollars from those funds will be transferred out and into fleet and nutrition so that fleet and nutrition can achieve zero fund balances.

The interfund loan plan calls for borrowing $3.03 million from the Road Capital Improvement Fund to make road and bridge, human services, airport and capital improvement funds whole again.

According to the plan, the $3.03 million borrowed from Road Capital Improvement would be repaid over 20 years, with 3-percent interest, and an annual payment of $197,956. According to the plan, payments would begin in June 2009.

Although Schulte said the county has the legal authority to borrow from the Road Capital Improvement Fund, some concerned citizens say otherwise.

According to county resolution 2001-102, “Monies credited to the Fund shall not be available to be pledged or expended by interfund transfer or otherwise for any general purpose of the County.”

The Road Capital Improvement Fund was created by the voters, first in 1994 and then reapproved in 2001. Under the agreement, 1 percent of the 2-percent sales tax collected in Archuleta County goes into the fund with the express purpose of funding road capital improvement projects, including maintaining and acquiring equipment for the maintenance and construction of county roads, or to pay debt service on bonds or other obligations of the county issued to provide capital improvements. The other 1 percent goes to the Town of Pagosa Springs.

Schulte said borrowing from the Road Capital Improvement Fund will have, “no affect on this year’s scheduled projects. It may affect bigger, long-term projects, but there will be no affect this year.”

The interfund transfer and the interfund loan will require resolutions from the Board of County Commissioners and Warn said annual audits would ensure the county complies with its repayment obligations.

The matters will go before the board May 6, at 1:30 p.m.

Though just shy of four months in business, Pagosa Mountain Hospital is again without a chief executive officer.

Tuesday morning, Upper San Juan Health Service District (USJHSD) board chair Neal Townsend informed The SUN that hospital CEO Daniel Boatman resigned his post Monday, amid what Boatman himself has described as difficult personal problems.

According to Townsend, Boatman gave notice — effective immediately — and will soon return to Minnesota to address private family matters. Boatman and his wife, Grace, moved to Pagosa Springs in August 2007, when he assumed duties as hospital CEO five months prior to the facility’s formal opening.

Boatman’s departure leaves Pagosa Mountain Hospital without an official administrator of day-to-day operations. As a result, the health district board of directors will immediately search for an interim CEO to fill in, until another lengthy advertising and interview campaign ultimately yields a full-time hire.

Between January and July 2007, three separate CEO searches eventually culminated in the district’s offer of employment and Boatman’s subsequent acceptance as the hospital’s initial CEO. The first two campaigns resulted in offers of employment as well, but each time the preferred candidate suddenly declined acceptance in the final hour.

While a nationwide quest for an interim CEO continues, the hospital’s director of nursing, Linda Mozer, has temporarily assumed CEO responsibilities. Ken Johansen of Kenneth E. Johansen, P.C., provides the health district with regular contract accounting services, and will assist Mozer in addressing the hospital’s ongoing financial affairs.

Meanwhile, the USJHSD board will meet in executive session tonight to discuss Boatman’s severance package and the district’s obligations therein. Townsend said likely discussion will also include necessary steps in finding an interim CEO, before launching a more in-depth search for a full-time executive. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Pagosa Room at the Pagosa Mountain Hospital.

When asked how long it might take the district to find an interim CEO, Townsend declined to speculate, though he did acknowledge the search could last a few months.

“I hope it doesn’t take that long,” Townsend said, “but we’ll just have to see. I’m already notifying some of our contacts around the country.”

While an interim CEO will only serve until a permanent one is found, Townsend said there are people out there who do that sort of thing.

“Many like to move around and are not interested in a long-term commitment,” he said, “but they have what it takes to do the job. It’s even possible that the interim CEO could wind up being hired permanently.”

For now, though, the quest for a hospital CEO resumes again, this time in Daniel Boatman’s absence.

And, as Townsend put it, “Dan has a big heart. He was a real asset to the district and the community, and we’ll miss him.”

SUN photo/Sarah O. Smith
Trustees of the Charles J. Hughes Foundation present Superintendent Mark DeVoti with a very large check in the very large amount of $250,000. The grant from the local foundation will be used towards the new Pirate Achievement Center, a program at the high school that will focus on serving the needs of struggling students. The program will open in August. From left are foundation trustee Terry Alley, foundation president Diana Talbot, DeVoti and trustee Ralph Hamilton.

The Charles J. Hughes foundation recently awarded its largest grant to date — $250,000 to the Pagosa Springs High School, to aid in the construction of the new Pirate Achievement Center (PAC).

According to material provided by school counselor Mark Thompson, the PAC is a new program designed to help local students who “are having marginal or no success in the traditional high school setting.” The PAC will use non-traditional teaching methods such as job shadowing and social-emotional training, and include a more flexible curriculum. The program will also place a strong emphasis on outdoor education.

The Charles J. Hughes foundation has been providing grants and scholarships to local students and teachers for 17 years. The local foundation was formed by the late Donna (Dusty) Hughes. Hughes’ husband, Charlie, was dyslexic, and after he died, Dusty created the foundation in his name to improve academic opportunities for local students.

“It’s about helping kids that are different,” said Pagosa Springs High School Principal David Hamilton. “The Hughes foundation has always looked at those kids.”

Thompson said the district has been offering Social Responsibility Training (SRT) classes for the past three years, and will incorporate these classes into the PAC.

“We’re really just expanding on things that are working,” said Superintendent Mark DeVoti.

The district has seen successes with SRT; however, administrators believed more needed to be done.

“It felt kind of like a Band-Aid,” said Sean O’Donnell, high school vice-principal.

The PAC will do more to address the needs of those students who are struggling academically, emotionally or socially, and increase support for these students. The PAC will incorporate technology with which students can take classes from professors at Fort Lewis College — or anywhere in the world — via the television. Night programs will also be available for students who cannot attend school during the day.

“It will provide services for students that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Hamilton.

The PAC will occupy a currently unused area in the vocational building on the high school campus. The 2,700 square-foot area will include classrooms, an office, and 30 computer stations, as well as a professional kitchen space for use in culinary classes and a student-led lunch program.

The PAC will also feature guest speakers and teachers from within the community to address social and academic needs.

“It will be a community-wide effort, bringing it in,” said Thompson.

Current freshmen and sophomores at the Archuleta County High School will attend classes at the PAC in the fall.

“We’re making it community-wide, reaching out and beyond the school. They say it takes a village to raise a child,” said DeVoti, “and we’ve got this huge village coming together.”

The PAC doors will open in August in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

SUN photo/Terri House
Three newly-elected members of the Pagosa Springs Town Council take their oaths of office prior to a council meeting Thursday, April 17. From left are Jerry Jackson, Shari Pierce and Stan Holt. Each was elected as an at-large member of the council and each will serve a four-year term.

After 13 years with the Town of Pagosa Springs, Town Manager Mark Garcia resigned following an executive session of the town council April 21.

Almost no details of the executive session have been released publicly — Colorado Revised Statute 24-6-401 allows local governments to hold closed meetings regarding personnel matters — although it is known that an executive session was scheduled April 21 to review and evaluate Garcia’s performance as town manager. The only other detail of the executive session made public was that, following the performance review, Garcia immediately tendered his resignation to council.

Garcia began his tenure as town manager five years ago after his predecessor, Jay Harrington, resigned to take the town administrator position in Telluride. With a background as administrator for the town building department and engineer for the town’s geothermal facility, Garcia was known for his interest and knowledge in the technical details of the various capital improvement projects that passed through his office.

During his term as town manager, Garcia presided over several capital improvement projects in Pagosa Springs during a period of unprecedented growth for the area.

As of press time, Garcia could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Ross Aragon, when asked to comment on the resignation, said only, “Mark’s resignation was accepted by the town council and it was unanimous.”

When asked about Garcia’s resignation, Council member Mark Weiler said Garcia had, “put the needs of his family ahead of the needs of the town. It’s a stressful job and I admire Mark for his courage. He did the right thing.” Weiler added that Garcia had been “extremely capable doing his job, he served the town very well.”

According to Mayor Aragon, the town will advertise the manager position with the Colorado Municipal League and may utilize an executive search firm to fill the position.

Immediately after Garcia tendered his resignation, the council asked Assistant Town Manager and Planning Director Tamra Allen if she would serve as manager in the interim. Allen said she was interested, pending further discussion with council.

Aragon met with Allen Tuesday, however, he said the details of a tenure as interim manager would be hammered out during a special meeting of the council May 1.

Area law enforcement agencies joined forces April 17 to apprehend a suspect authorities say may be linked to five vehicle thefts, including three stolen from the La Plata Electric Association offices in Pagosa Springs.

According to Pagosa Springs Police Department Det. Scott Maxwell, 19-year-old Travis Farmer of Pagosa Springs is being held on a parole warrant. However, Maxwell said Farmer could soon face charges of five counts of automobile theft, felon in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and vehicle alluding.

Maxwell said the charges stem from an incident that began about 8 a.m. April 17, when Officer Tony Kopp of the Pagosa Springs Police Department received a report of three vehicles stolen from the La Plata Electric Association property on South 8th Street — a 2008 Ford Escape and a 1998 Ford pickup, both owned by La Plata Electric, and a privately owned 1978 Ford pickup.

According to Maxwell, Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Ben Steuver spotted the Ford pickup on U.S. 160, near Aspen Springs about 8:40 a.m. the same day. Steuver pursued the truck to the end of Badger Road, where the driver then took the truck off road, making it impossible for Steuver to follow in his two-wheel drive patrol vehicle.

Law enforcement officers later located the vehicle on Turkey Springs Road near the Shale Ridge area, although the driver had fled on foot. Maxwell said he, Sheriff’s Deputy Alvin Schaff, Steuver, two Division of Wildlife officers and a bloodhound joined an unsuccessful search for the driver. After about two hours the search was called off.

Maxwell said evidence recovered from inside the pickup pointed to Farmer, and Archuleta County Sheriff’s Department Det. Carl Smith mounted an investigation that included discovery of Farmer’s parole violation.

About 10 p.m. a La Plata Electric Association employee located the Ford Escape on County Road 500 a few miles past the Archuleta County landfill.

Maxwell said the 1978 Ford pickup was found in the Pagosa Springs High School parking lot about 11 p.m.

On April 18, about 5:15 p.m, Officer Floyd Capistrant of the Pagosa Springs Police Department responded to a report of a stolen 1997 Toyota Avalon.

About 6:30 p.m. April 18, Cpl. Tim Walter of the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Department located Farmer walking on Pike Drive.

According to reports, Farmer fled from Walter on foot, however Walter chased and apprehended Farmer. The scuffle between Farmer and Walter may lead to the charge of resisting arrest.

According to Maxwell, following Farmer’s arrest, an investigation revealed that Farmer may have hidden a loaded firearm in the Pagosa Hills neighborhood. Officer Gilbert Perales of the Pagosa Springs Police Department later located the firearm.

Maxwell said the Toyota Avalon was recovered about 10 p.m. April 18, although a Polaris Trail Boss missing since April 16 from the Turkey Springs area remains unaccounted for.

Maxwell said the four-wheeler may have been stashed and used by Farmer as an escape vehicle during the pursuit on April 17.

Farmer is being held on the warrant, and Maxwell anticipated charges would be filed this week.

The effort to recall Archuleta County Sheriff Pete Gonzalez has entered week two; however, details that might substantiate the recall committee’s allegations of sheriff’s department misconduct and civil rights violations remain elusive, at best.

Although recall committee members Galen Erin, Michael Thomas and Homer (Mack) Trout issued a press release Monday concerning their recall effort, the document omits, despite SUN requests, key details necessary to substantiate the committee’s claims.

For example, and according to the press release, “Dozens of Archuleta County citizens and community members, including business owners, business patrons, employees, performers, tourists and local residents, have more than adequately verified that the current Sheriff, Peter L. Gonzalez, does not reside in Archuleta County, has mismanaged his office and deputies, has engaged in intimidation and harassment of law-abiding citizens, has failed to prosecute individuals known to be committing crimes, has destroyed evidence provided by crime victims, has trumped up reasons to pull citizens over for traffic stops, has terrorized them during illegal traffic stops, has taken without cause the personal property of individuals during traffic stops, and has essentially created a climate of fear and terror in our community.”

The press release also alleges the sheriff’s department has committed “numerous and egregious violations of civil rights.”

Unfortunately, the document does not identify the “dozens,” of individuals referenced, nor does it include specifics, including dates and details, on when or how the alleged abuses and violations occurred.

To date, SUN staff have only been notified of one specific complaint regarding the sheriff’s department. An unnamed complaintant asserted he has taken his claims to the attorney general, Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and governor, although an interview with staff at the attorney general’s office indicated otherwise.

According to a variety of sources in local, state and federal law enforcement, legal counsel, a local victim’s advocacy group and the state attorney general’s office, individuals with complaints against the sheriff’s department, particularly in regard to acts of abuse or civil rights violations, have numerous avenues — aside from recall — to seek redress.

For example, an individual could take a claim to the sheriff and the department’s advisory board for review. If the individual is not satisfied with the advisory board outcome or process, and depending on the nature of the case, they could then file a civil suit, while criminal matters — according to Nate Strauch, Communications Director for the State of Colorado Attorney General’s Office — would go to the district attorney.

According to Strauch, the attorney general’s office typically handles only issues involving Gonzalez’s peace officer certification, or certification revocation. Strauch explained that the attorney general’s office would only revoke a sheriff’s license upon a criminal conviction, and Strauch added that the attorney general’s office would only become involved in criminal cases against the sheriff if the district attorney or governor requested such involvement.

When asked about the claims that a complaint had been filed by an Archuleta County resident, Strauch said his office was unaware of any such complaint.

“The attorney general’s office is not conducting any criminal investigation,” Strauch said. Strauch said he confirmed the information with John Kammerzell, the director of the office’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, and the criminal division.

In the event of a district attorney’s investigation, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) provides support, said Lance Clem, public information officer for the agency.

“When we get involved in an investigation, it is because the state attorney general or governor have requested it,” Clem said.

Other local media sources have asserted that agencies such as the CBI and FBI would not divulge the existence of an investigation if one in fact did exist.

Although John Wallace of the FBI’s Durango office would not comment on whether his agency is investigating Gonzalez or the sheriff’s department, Clem said, “If they are suggesting CBI is conducting an investigation, I suggest they name their sources. It is our policy to acknowledge an investigation, and in this case there aren’t any.”

Archuleta County Attorney Teresa Williams said, “Most of these things come as federal lawsuits for violations of civil rights. That’s the way most of these surface, and we just don’t have any.”

Williams said she has received correspondence from former Archuleta County Sheriff’s Department employees Wayne Alexander and Eugene Reilly regarding claims of wrongful termination, however, Williams said the pair have yet to file suit.

Williams confirmed she had received additional correspondence from Reilly and Alexander Monday stating they would pursue legal action if the county does not respond within seven days to their claims. Williams said she has forwarded the letter to the county’s insurance company whose legal team will handle the suit should one arise.

According to a Pagosa Free Press story, District Attorney Craig Westberg said SUN staff misquoted his statement on investigations into Gonzalez’s office.

In a Tuesday interview, Westberg denied making those statements to Free Press staff.

”I don’t remember saying that,” Westberg said. “I said ‘no’ (regarding investigations into Gonzalez’s department) and I stand on that. I later found out there was a complaint (filed by an Archuleta County resident), but I was not aware the person had called George Daniels.”

Regarding that complaint, Archuleta County Undersheriff John Weiss said, “... (the unnamed person) has had numerous issues with the sheriff’s office that can’t be resolved to his satisfaction.”

Recall committee member Erin also has issues with the sheriff’s department related to her involvements in an ongoing neighborhood dispute, and Erin alleges Gonzalez’s department has mishandled the case.

Erin declined to comment on the record regarding the allegations against the department or her involvement in the dispute.

Gonzalez said after his department investigated Erin’s claims, he turned the information over to Westberg for possible prosecution. Westberg said he has not yet made a determination on Erin’s claims.

When asked again Monday for details on the incidents alluded to in the press release, Erin, the recall committee’s media contact, declined to comment and suggested The SUN conduct its own investigation, beginning with a review of names listed on the recall petition.

According to Archuleta County Clerk June Madrid, the recall petition was filed and approved by her office April 9.

Madrid said the petition requires 903 signatures from registered Archuleta County electors. Signatures, Madrid said, are subject to verification. In addition, the recall committee has 60 days, from the April 9 filing date, to complete the task.

Madrid said if the petition effort is successful but goes the full 60-days, it could force the recall question to a special election. A special election could cost taxpayers as much as $40,000.

According to the press release, “Whether or not a special election will occur depends on a number of factors and we assert that the life, liberty and financial well-being of each and every citizen and business in Archuleta County is infinitely more valuable than the alleged cost of the recall of Peter L. Gonzalez.”

SUN photo/Terri House
The Week of the Young Child ended Saturday at the annual Kids Fair at the Pagosa Springs Elementary School. Besides the fair, the week that began April 14 included a variety of events to celebrate the youngest members of the community and to honor the families, teachers and others who help children make the most of the opportunities during their early years.

Photo courtesy David Cammack
A group of rafters took on the box canyons of the Piedra River recently, in an effort to be the first to make the trip this season. The 22 miles required five portages around downed timber. The group also portaged the broken bridge described in The SUN recently. The raft was drug over rocks until they reached the tributary of the Sand Creek three miles down stream. The rafters were cold, but successfully reached U.S. 160 in nine hours.

Nearly one year ago, a dark financial juggernaut bore down and did its nasty work on Archuleta County. By summer, 38 employees had lost jobs, $1.7 million in road projects had been postponed and county administration made deep cuts to a variety of departments, programs and services.

In explaining the cause of the crisis, Archuleta County Commissioner Bob Moomaw said during Tuesday’s board meeting, “In hindsight, there was an equal problem between the finance and treasurer’s offices.”

Now, in April 2008, and based on statements Tuesday from Archuleta County Commissioner Ronnie Zaday and Citizens Financial Advisory Task Force member John Ranson, it remains unclear if the problem has been equally solved.

Following a regular briefing from the task force, Zaday expressed frustration with Treasurer Lois Baker’s reports and said she had difficulty making sense of Baker’s numbers.”

“There’s not enough detail and explanation and negative fund balances continue to grow. We’re supposed to be doing everything right, but the negative fund balances keep growing,” Zaday said.

Ranson said the task force also had difficulty with the treasurer’s numbers, but in a telephone interview Wednesday, said the issues deal largely with how the treasurer’s data is formatted — not that the numbers are necessarily erroneous.

Ranson said since the task force’s creation in June 2007, its members have worked diligently to understand the treasurer’s reports and now, after months dealing almost daily with the data, they have become more comfortable with the information. Nevertheless, and as a safeguard, the task force has created its own system to track the county’s cash flow.

Ranson and Archuleta County Finance Director Don Warn said two factors will contribute greatly to the treasurer’s ability to provide accurate, up-to-date, easily comprehensible reports — a new integrated software system that will link the treasurer’s, finance and assessor’s offices and adjusting journal entries that will deal with the negative fund balances.

In the meantime, Warn said he is confident in the numbers provided by the treasurer’s office, and the budget will remain balanced in 2008.

Warn acknowledged that reporting between his department and the treasurer’s office isn’t always ideal, but said the county is solvent and he has a handle on money coming and going.

“The system is not perfect, but we’re balancing. It’s largely a matter of technology,” Warn said.

In addition, Warn said he has worked closely with Baker to draft a cash handling policy, which Warn said is a critical and absolutely integral component of the county’s system of internal financial controls. Warn said he is also reconciling revenues as they enter the treasurer’s ledger.

Monthly reports, a number of policies in the draft stages and procurement of the integrated software package, Warn said, will help keep the county on track.

“We’re monitoring everything. We’re receiving everything on a monthly basis and we’re watching,” Warn said.

In the meantime, Moomaw said Tuesday, the district attorney’s office has audit reports necessary to investigate possible criminal activity as it relates to the development of the financial crisis.

“We do know state statute has been violated,” said Moomaw. “The documentation is with the DA’s office. That is the legal process and it needs to be given a chance to work.”

Though an attempt to recall Archuleta County Sheriff Pete Gonzalez is underway, the effort appears heavy on accusations but lean on specifics.

Recall committee members Galen Erin, Mike Thomas and Homer (Mack) Trout have all declined to provide detailed comments to SUN staff — including documentation to support their claims — and have opted instead to issue a press release after The SUN’s press deadline Wednesday.

Specifically, SUN staff sought answers to the following questions (which were provided to Erin, the recall committee’s media contact in an e-mail and voice mail):

• How, in light of the county’s tenuous financial position, do you justify taking the taxpayer into a $30,000 to $40,000 recall election?

• There are a number of channels one might use to pursue a complaint(s) against the sheriff’s department. What channels have you used — aside from the recall route — to have your concerns addressed?

• Please provide specific examples and supporting evidence to substantiate the allegations made against the sheriff as cited on the recall petition.

According to Archuleta County Clerk June Madrid, the recall petition was filed and approved by her office April 9, and the document includes a lengthy tally of transgressions allegedly perpetrated by Gonzalez and his deputies.

According to petition sponsors Erin, Thomas and Trout, Gonzalez should be recalled because:

• he has mismanaged his office and failed to carry out the responsibilities and duties of Archuleta County sheriff;

• is not a resident of Archuleta County, a violation of Colorado Revised Statute 30-10-501.5;

• has repeatedly and egregiously abdicated his duty to protect and serve all the people of Archuleta County and failed to enforce the laws of the state of Colorado;

• has engaged in discriminatory and selective harassment and intimidation of innocent law-abiding citizens while simultaneously engaging in selective non-prosecution of individuals known to be committing crimes;

• through his deputies, has engaged in harassment and intimidation of citizens and tourists, targeting specific individuals, business owners, employees and patrons;

• through his deputies, has unlawfully taken the personal property of citizens during traffic stops and never returned the citizens’ property;

• through his deputies, has failed to write reports, investigate and assign case numbers to citizens’ reports of bona fide crimes, including violent crimes, and has destroyed evidence and personal property belonging to crime victims.

Although Erin said she had individuals willing to sign affidavits to support the petition’s claims, that documentation was not provided to SUN staff by Wednesday’s press deadline.

According to a variety of sources, from law enforcement to legal counsel, individuals with claims against the sheriff’s department have a number of avenues to seek redress — filing a civil suit, filing a complaint with the department itself or taking the claim to the district attorney.

According to Archuleta County Attorney Teresa Williams, there are currently no civil suits against the sheriff’s department linked to incidents that occurred under Gonzalez’s tenure. Former sheriff’s department employees Eugene Reilly and Wayne Alexander have threatened suit for wrongful termination, however, Williams said no suit has been filed.

District Attorney Craig Westberg said his office had not received any complaints against Gonzalez’s office.

“I have received no complaints. I am not aware of any illegal, untoward or inappropriate action on the part of any people in Sheriff Gonzalez’s department,” Westberg said.

In the event of a district attorney’s investigation into the sheriff’s department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokesperson Lance Clem said the CBI would assist.

According to CBI Director Bob Cantwell and Division Director of Investigations Steve Johnson, they are unaware of any investigations into the Gonzalez administration.

Lance Clem, public information officer for the CBI said, “There are no ongoing formal investigations of Sheriff Pete Gonzalez.”

At the local level, Carmen Hubbs, executive director of the Archuleta County Victims Assistance Program, said, “Are we trying to mediate with the sheriff’s department (on behalf of a client)? No. None of our clients currently have requested these kinds of services.”

Despite the moniker, Hubbs said the victims assistance program is separate from Archuleta County government, and operates as a non-profit agency that advocates for victims rights in cases of violent crime, domestic violence and sexual assault.

John Wallace of the FBI’s Durango office declined to comment on whether his agency was involved in investigations in Gonzalez’s department.

The question of whether Gonzalez is a bona fide resident of Archuleta County is part of the recall push, and it is a question that has dogged Gonzalez throughout the 2006 election, and apparently persists today.

According to county assessor’s data, Gonzalez purchased his home in Pagosa Springs on Nov. 30, 2006, from John Weiss, the current Archuleta County Undersheriff.

Gonzalez’s neighbors testify that the sheriff maintains a presence at the home, and comes and goes according to his daily work schedule like any other neighbor.

Gonzalez said he also keeps a home in Durango because his wife, a nurse, splits her time between Mercy Medical Center in Durango and Pagosa Mountain Hospital.

In 2006, the courts ruled that Gonzalez met the statutory residency requirements after Steve Wadley, one of Gonzalez’s challengers in the 2006 sheriff’s race, filed suit, challenging Gonzalez’s residency status.

Madrid said the petition requires 903 signatures from registered Archuleta County electors. Signatures, Madrid said, are subject to verification. In addition, the recall committee has 60 days, from the April 9 filing date, to complete the task.

Madrid said if the petition effort is successful but goes the full 60-days, it could force the recall question to a special election. A special election could cost taxpayers as much as $40,000.

According to the 2008 county budget, Archuleta County is operating with a $36,000 surplus.

A recall election, coupled with a number of mid-year budget adjustments such as 2 percent cost of living raises for employees and the possible hiring of an appraiser in the assessor’s office could easily vaporize that figure.

The Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) Board of Directors met in regular session Tuesday, as a capacity crowd gathered to ask questions about the proposed Dry Gulch Reservoir and related impact fees.

By meeting’s end, few members of the public seemed satisfied with the answers they’d received.

Public discussion first ensued, as the board turned to evaluating a resolution that would allow the district to borrow $11,217,060 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, at 3.5 percent interest over 30 years. The money would pay off an $8.6 million “bridge loan” previously obtained from Wells Fargo Brokerage Services, LLC, plus the anticipated costs of acquiring additional private land deemed necessary to complete the reservoir project.

The bridge loan and most of a million dollar grant extended to the San Juan Water Conservancy District (SJWCD) late last year was used to purchase 666.25 acres of property from Running Iron Ranch, LLC, Kathryn and Donald Weber and several relatives at a price of approximately $9.53 million. PAWSD and the SJWCD are partners in the project, and the purchased land comprises most of the area needed to develop Dry Gulch.

At first, audience members questioned the need and overall size of the project, with attention focused almost entirely on an impoundment that would encompass 35,000 acre-feet at full build-out. District officials have repeatedly reported, however, that a reservoir that size will not likely be necessary until the late 2000s, if ever.

According to recent engineering studies, the size of the actual facility will depend on growth projections and the district’s financial status by the middle 2010s, when planners finally determine legitimate district needs. At Tuesday’s meeting, district board member Bob Huff suggested the first phase of the reservoir would most likely be in the neighborhood of 12,500 acre-feet, with additional phases added much later, as required.

Two audience members asked the district board why it needed more land than already acquired, and how much more would be necessary for project completion. PAWSD Assistant Manager Gene Tautges referred to a large topographic map on the wall, pointed out the proposed dam site, then explained how land contours fail to fit lines of ownership. He then pointed to desired private parcels, as well as U.S Forest lands necessary to accommodate even a minimum-sized reservoir.

As talk of physical requirements waned, attention turned to financial needs, and it soon became apparent that relative impact fees were the primary concerns among audience members. Most, of course, questioned the Water Resources component of the PAWSD Capital Investment Fee, which now stands at approximately $7,000 per equivalent unit (or 1.5 customers).

As PAWSD board members described it, the Water Resource Fee is imposed on any new construction within the district, to help offset the costs associated with developing new raw water resources to meet future water demands.

Such resources include storage, diversion facilities, pumping and pipeline equipment, while some of the costs include land acquisition, feasibility and environmental studies, and a variety of state and federal permits. For years, the board has adhered to the philosophy that “growth should pay its own way.”

Most of those complaining about the Water Resource Fee Tuesday night expressed dismay over its size. Many, in fact, claimed impact fees as a whole were responsible for the dramatic slowdown in area construction and the loss of related jobs. A common consensus suggested that some people have chosen to build elsewhere, rather than pay high local impact fees that can equal $15,000 for the construction of a single-family residence.

Few meeting attendees seemed willing to attribute at least partial blame for local economic woes to the nation’s economic downturn, higher food and energy prices, or a local real estate market that currently includes more than 600 listings of single-family homes. No one confessed the production of housing inventory might have outpaced demand the last couple of years, or that similar communities across the state also impose significant impact fees.

No one mentioned sharp increases in the cost of building materials and labor in recent years, and all failed to consider out-of-town investors purchasing hundreds of vacant residential lots, only to quadruple list prices without appraisal, thereby artificially inflating real estate values.

And, in respect to PAWSD’s rising monthly service fees, few seemed interested in the district’s own 50-percent increase in operating costs from 2005 to 2008.

While many doggedly spoke their minds, then left the room before board members could adequately address their concerns, most expressed dissatisfaction with board responses.

SUN photo/Terri House
With warmer temperatures, the color is returning to Pagosa Country. Snow is rapidly disappearing at lower elevations, rivers are running fast, wildflowers are blooming, grass is beginning to grow and some trees are beginning to bud. It seems spring is here.

SUN photo/Mike Pierce
Front-end crushed, this pickup rests on the side of the road Tuesday following a one-car collision on U.S. 160 near Navajo Trail Drive. The accident splintered an electric pole and left areas west of town without power.