Fort Morgan Phases Out Economic Development/Marketing Department

Fort Morgan has done away with its Marketing and Economic Development Department.

City Clerk and Public Information Officer John Brennen said it was a mutual agreement that led Kevin Wilkins, the city's Marketing and Economic Development Director eliminate the department.

Brennen said, "He had discussions with the senior city staff that the timing and the situation was making his already difficult job nearly impossible and it would be best to decommission the department."

City council agreed by a five to one vote to phase out the department over the next 30 days. Brennen said the Morgan County Economic Development Department will continue to market Fort Morgan to potential businesses.

RE-1 Schools Have Less To Spend

RE-1 Schools Superintendent Betty Summers called prospects are grim that the district will have extra money to spend. At Board of Education meeting last week, Summers said the district is looking at possibly more than one million dollar reduction in funding for the next school year. She did say that the information comes at the start of the discussion of next year's budget.
She added that the school district also has less spending money this year because of a declining enrollment. The board said it won't hold meetings to garner public input on how to fix the holes in the budget, but wants Summers to follow up with last year's suggestions.

Summer Seasonal Jobs Open in Fort Morgan

Summer 2011 will soon be here and Fort Morgan has started posting some of the summer seasonal job vacancies.
NEW IN 2011! All pool employees must attend one of the three Orientation Sessions scheduled in late March. Please review all requirements in the specific job postings for details. Please follow the Employment text link (home page/left side) to view the summer seasonal jobs posted.

Clean Up Week Later This Month

As part of Fort Morgan's Beautification Campaign, March 25 through April 3, 2011 is Clean Up Week. The City of Fort Morgan Streets and Sanitation Departments will issue FREE pickup of items that of which you want to dispose.

Some of the things you cannot have picked up are computers, copiers, tires, paint, motor oil, railroad ties, refrigerators, freezers or air conditioners.

• Items must be placed in alley and clearly marked.
• Areas without alley access place items by curb.
• Place tree branches in a separate pile.
• Place metal items in a separate pile.
• Batteries can be disposed of by taking them to either Central Auto Parts or The Auto Zone.
• Used oil disposal can be taken to either Central Auto Parts or The Auto Zone.
• Crews will NOT go on private property.
• No charge to Fort Morgan residents in the City Limits.
• This service ends April 3. Nothing is to be placed in the alleys after April 3, 2011. After April 3, customers will be charged for service.
If you have any questions, please contact the Sanitation Department at 970-542-3985.

Rep. Gardner announces bill to tackle duplicative programs and govt. waste

WASHINGTON D.C. – Government redundancies cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year, and a new report from the Government Accountability Office details just how bad the waste has become. In response, Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) plans to introduce a bill within the week that will force congressional committees to hold hearings on duplicative programs that fall under their jurisdiction.

“The amount of waste perpetrated by the federal government is mind boggling and has gone largely unchecked for far too long – enough is enough – we need to dig into why there are so many different programs doing the same thing and whether or not they need to be eliminated or combined,” Rep. Gardner said.

Congress requires the GAO to provide an annual report detailing duplicative and wasteful programs across the federal government. Rep. Gardner’s plan is to likewise require hearings on these programs within 90 days of the publication of each new report.

According to the most recent report, the U.S. government has more than 100 programs dealing with surface transportation issues with the overlap costing $58 billion annually. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are 82 programs monitoring teacher quality, 80 for economic development, 47 for job training, 20 devoted to homelessness and 17 different grant programs for disaster preparedness. The list goes on and on.

Rep. Gardner emphasized that while hearings are a good first step, he ultimately hopes they will lead to legislation making government functions more streamlined.

Job Fair March 17

Hopefully you'll have the luck of the Irish since there's a job fair coming up on March 17 -- that's St Patrick's Day -- its from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Bank of Colorado Event Center on the NJC campus. Everybody's welcome and employers can register their businesses at troth@cwfc.net. The job fair is presented by the Sterling Workforce.

Vestas sues ex-financial official at Colorado plant

Vestas Blades America is suing the former director of finance and information technology at its plant in Windsor on accusations that she and her husband stole $1 million from the company over the past three years.

In a lawsuit filed in Weld District Court, Vestas alleges Denna Randall and her husband, Joshua Martinez of Eaton, diverted company funds for private use and bought personal goods with a company credit card.

The couple did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday.

Kevin Cory, director of people and culture for the Windsor plant, would not comment on the lawsuit but told the Greeley Tribune that the company forwarded its information to the district attorney's office for an investigation.

No criminal charges have yet been filed.

Logan County rancher convicted of animal cruelty

A Logan County rancher whose property had 79 cattle carcasses on it has been convicted of 14 counts of animal cruelty.

Jurors convicted 57-year-old Gilbert Dean Schuman of Schuman Cattle LLC on Friday.

He's scheduled to be sentenced March 30.

Sheriff's officials arrested him last year after finding the carcasses on his land north of Sterling. Authorities also seized 14 cows and two calves that they described as emaciated or in poor condition.

The Sterling Journal-Advocate reports that defense attorney Daniel Murphy had argued that prosecutors failed to prove Schuman knowingly harmed the animals.

He said Schuman had bought some of his cattle in less than prime condition and that the winter of 2009-2010 caught many ranchers by surprise.

Two CU Students Rescued From Flatiron

Authorities helped rescue two female University of Colorado students after they got lost hiking on Flatiron. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office said the 19-year-olds were reported stranded yesterday around 6 p.m. between the first and second Flatiron. An hour later, they were rescued and unharmed.

Missing Four-Year-Old Girl Recovered After Mom Contacts Authorities

Larimer County authorities say they've safely recovered a four-year-old girl who disappeared almost two weeks ago in Loveland. The "Denver Post" reports 23-year-old Aubrey Holland contacted authorities yesterday to say she had her daughter, Shariden Holland, upon reading reports the girl was sought. Holland doesn't actually have legal custody of her daughter, who was immediately taken into protective custody yesterday. Sheriff's officials arraigned a meeting where Hollland turned her daughter over to authorities. No charges are expected.

Four Double Murder Suspests Worked Together

The four men suspected of carrying out last week's brutal double-murders in Douglas County were at one time all employees of a Colorado Springs used car dealership. KMGH-TV reports Christopher Wells, Matt Plake, Josiah Sher and Micah Woody all worked at Rocky Mountain Auto Brokers. They have been charged on suspicion of murdering 39-year-old Amara Wells and her 49-year-old brother in-law Robert Rafferty last Wednesday inside a home in the exclusive Keene Ranch subdivision. Christopher Wells is the estranged husband of Amara Wells, and reports indicate they were going through a bitter