Drinking Liberally hosts Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross & D-51 School Board candidate Darren Cook


Drinking Liberally is a non-partisan social group that holds get-togethers in town at food and drink establishments while hosting guest speakers. The event focuses on protection of our civil liberties, like freedom from government and corporate overreach (for example denying workers the right to organize, denying women the right to access abortions and preventing transgender people access to medical care). On Tuesday, May 23, the event was held at Edgewater Brewery at 905 Struthers, by the Colorado River.

The packed crowd included notable conservatives like Tom Keenan and Cindy Ficklin, members of the far right wing group, Stand for the Constitution. The event featured two Speakers: newly-elected Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross and Darren Cook, former longtime D-51 teacher who is running for D-51 School Board.

Update for the community from Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross:

Stand for the Constitution member Tom Keenan, who advocates against people attending college,, attends Drinking Liberally at Edgewater Brewery, May 23, 2023

— The Mesa County Department of Motor Vehicles has extended its hours and now has three offices: the downtown office at 200 S. Spruce St., open 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Mon-Fri, the Clifton office at 3225 I-70 Business Loop open Mon-Fri from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and the Fruita office at 325 E.  Aspen, open Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

— The Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) is where people get drivers licenses, and the DOR now has a mobile unit that goes to outlying areas of the county, like Collbran and Gateway, to make it easier for people to renew their drivers licenses.

— The Clerk’s office has gotten a recording grant to pay for digitizing records. They have gotten the first half of the grant and will be applying for the second half, to pay for digitizing historic records.

— As of yesterday, Mesa County has 109,704 active voters: 15,298 registered Democrats, 40,606 registered Republicans, 51,522 Unaffiliated voters and 2,224 other voters.

Central High School won the Eliza Pickrell Routt Award from the Colorado Secretary of State, for having the most seniors in the state registered to vote (95%).

— The Clerk’s Office had an open house recently that went so well that instead of lasting one hour, it lasted 3 hours because of high interest. The next open house is planned for Saturday, August 5 from 10:00 a.m. – 12 noon, and there will be another in October, after new processes are in place for elections.

— Central High School won a prestigious award from the Colorado Secretary of State, the Eliza Pickrell Routt Award, named after Eliza Pickrell Routt, the first woman registered to vote in Colorado after the stated passed women’s suffrage in 1893. Eliza was Colorado’s first First Lady . Her husband was John Routt, who was Colorado’s first governor, elected in 1876. Eliza Routt dedicated herself to equal rights for women and the passage of women’s suffrage, and she helped Colorado become the second state in the union to allow women to vote. In honor of her commitment to making women’s suffrage a reality, Eliza Routt become the first woman registered to vote in Colorado. The Eliza Pickrell Routt Award is given to the high school in the state that has the highest number of seniors registered to vote over 85%. Central won the award for having 95% of seniors registered to vote.

— The Clerk’s office has cameras on ballot drop boxes 24/7 during elections, and the video is viewable online.

— Bobbie said a bill in the legislature, SB23-301, would have required that presidential primary election in Colorado be carried out using ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting is also called “instant runoff voting.” It allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Matt Soper was a prime sponsor of the bill in the Colorado House.  The bill did not pass this year, and Bobbie said she opposed it because it would have started too soon (in 2024), and would have pertained only to ballots of overseas members of the military at first, and she opposes people being treated differently during an election. Bobbie feels strongly all voters should be treated the same. The bill may become a ballot initiative.

You can watch of video of Bobbie Gross’s entire talk here.

Darren Cook

Darren Cook is a product of District 51 schools, having attended schools within the district all the way up through high school. He got a Bachelors degree in accounting, but decided his true calling was teaching, and  changed his career to become a teacher. He was a middle school teacher of social studies in D-51 for over 20 years, and served for 17 years with the Mesa Valley Education Association, so Darren is well-versed all facets of District 51.

Stand for the Constitution figure Cindy Ficklin, who blamed the fact that she got Covid on the federal government,attended Drinking Liberally, May 23, 2023

Darren spoke about civic virtue, or the cultivation of knowledge and habits citizens need to make our society successful. Civic virtue requires putting the needs of the community over one’s personal desires, in order to make society function properly for everyone. Public education, as a common experience that develops common knowledge, is key in cultivating civic virtue.

Horace Mann, the Secretary of the country’s first state board of education, was Darren’s personal hero and worked tirelessly to promote public education in the U.S. that is 1) Free, 2) Universally available, 3) Non-religious, and 4) Administered by teaching professionals.

Darren gave an expert lecture on the societal benefits of public education: how public schools assist in character development, and developing a love of learning for learning’s sake. He discussed how federal laws like “No Child Left Behind” (2002 – which brought in high-stakes testing and punishment for teachers whose classes got low test scores), “Race to the Top” (2009 – which ushered in the Common Core curriculum, grants to charter schools, pay-for-performance and emphasis on teaching reading and math at the expense of science and social studies) took the joy out of education for teachers and students. High stakes testing also did not promote civic virtue, which Darren sees as a problem for society.

Darren spoke about current threats he sees to public education:

  • To get onto a school board, you only need to be a citizen — there are no other qualifications required, despite the importance of the position. No job in the country would hire anyone like this. People need to understand that people on these boards need to have education and experience to understand the ramifications of their decisions.
  • School funding is currently unequal and unfair. Poor areas have poorer schools and rich areas have richer schools because schools are funded by property taxes.
  • We now have lots of non-professional teachers teaching because of teacher shortages.
  • Professional teachers are being vilified;
  • Charter schools work by adverse selection, a system in which certain parties who are better off and have more resources can maximize their outcomes at the expense of all the other people in the system. Charter schools take the kids who display fewer behavioral problems and learning impediments, and use taxpayer funds to accommodate them, while public schools are mandated to serve these children. Charter schools have contributed to the end of mixing common groups and having a common educational experience. People are learning different curriculums and different versions of history. He pointed to the ongoing tragedy of how the new charter school, the Ascent Classical Academy, is a thinly-veiled religious charter school, is opening up as the School Board closes excellent public schools with great track records, like East Middle School.

Overall, Darren lamented that the creativity, fun and joy that drew him into teaching years ago has gone out of the job.

It was a packed crowd at Drinking Liberally, May 23, 2023, at Edgewater Brewery

 

 

Mesa County Commissioners working to seize control of Mesa County Board of Public Health

MCPHD Director Jeff Kuhr, Ph.D. won plaudits for helping Mesa County get through the Covid-19 pandemic

Mesa County Public Health Department (MCPHD) Director Dr. Jeff Kuhr has been under attack by the Mesa County Commissioners, who for some reason have been working for months to generate credible reasons to fire him. Commissioner Janet Rowland in particular has targeted Kuhr, accusing him of financial impropriety and grievous errors in MCPHD’s procurement processes. The Commissioners have ordered the Mesa County Board of Public Health to fire Kuhr, but they refused, saying there is no actual evidence that he’s intentionally done anything wrong. Not only that, but the State of Colorado rates MCPHD as having the lowest possible financial risk (pdf) in its compliance with federal and state contracts, making it clear that the state trusts MCPHD, but our right wing commissioners don’t. (This financial risk rating is done every three years, but the state skipped it during the pandemic. The MCPHD is currently undergoing this analysis again.)

Red Rock Kia charging customers more for paying cash

You used to get a better deal if you could pay cash. At Red Rock dealerships, it’s now the opposite.

Red Rock Kia is advertising a 2018 Nissan Murano on Facebook Marketplace with two different prices: one if a customer finances the car, and another almost $900 higher for customers who  pay cash.

The ad points to the financed price, and crows “Saves money!”

Come on, Red Rock. We’re not idiots.

Any form of financing will cost a buyer far more than they can ever save on this deal.

Even under the bestcircumstances, for example a customer who finances $27,000, has an excellent credit score and a 48 month loan at a 5% interest rate, after adding taxes and fees to the deal, the interest on that loan will cost at least $3,350.

Small potatoes compared to the what Red Rock wants to charge people who pay cash.

It’s legal for them to do this. After all, they’re telling you about it right up front, as they should

But that also gives people the ability to vote with their feet by patronizing businesses that don’t discriminate against customers based on form of payment.

Ascent Classical Academy auctioning off fixtures from Rocky Mountain Gun Club

Ascent Classical Academy’s auction. There is no notification that these items were taken out of a lead-contaminated building

A classified ad in today’s Daily Sentinel gives notice that an auction is being held online to benefit the new Ascent Classical Academy charter school. All of the fixtures that were in the old Rocky Mountain Gun Club building, the building to be used to house the school, are being auctioned off to raise money for the school.

Since lead contamination is a well-known hazard at former shooting ranges due to the very fine lead dust thrown off by bullets when they are fired, the building is undergoing remediation for lead. All of the fixtures previously inside the building, including the HVAC system, cabinets, furniture, artwork, lumber and other items were also contaminated with lead.

Lead poisoning caused by exposure to lead can cause serious health problems, especially in young children.

Unaffiliated Black Nigerian immigrant elected Mayor of Colorado Springs, defeating Republican Wayne Williams

Yemi Mobolade, the new mayor of Colorado Springs, defeated long time Republican political figure Wayne Williams.

In a seismic political shift for Colorado Springs, Yemi Mobolade, a Nigerian immigrant with no political experience, defeated Republican Wayne Williams in the city’s mayoral race.

Mobolade describes himself as a “progressive political newcomer,” according to Axios,

Mobolade won by a wide margin.

The unofficial results reported as of 9:40 p.m. last night show Mobolade ahead with 57.47% of the vote to Wayne Williams’ 42.53%. Wayne Williams has conceded the race to Mobolade.

Wayne Williams was a veteran Republican political figure on the front range and state wide.

Lauren Boebert files for divorce

Lauren Boebert, embarrassing Mesa County by shouting rudely at President Biden during the State of the Union address, while Biden was discussing his deceased son, who contracted brain cancer after being exposed to toxic burn pits in the military

Updated 5/17/23 to add affidavit of process server.

Colorado House Rep Lauren Boebert filed to divorce her husband of almost two decades, Jayson, on May 11, 2023.

Boebert had long championed conservative family values and claims to be a Christian. She has claimed we are living in the “end times” and hinted that Jesus could have prevented his crucifixion if only he had owned an AR-15 rifle.

While citing no specific cause beyond irreconcilable differences, in a statement emailed to the Denver Gazette, Beobert said “I’ve always been faithful in my marriage.”

The Daily Beast describes Jayson as being “furious” upon getting served with the divorce papers. According to The Daily Beast, which obtained the affidavit of service of the papers, Jayson was cleaning a gun and drinking a beer at the time he was served, and was caught off guard by the development. According to the Daily Beast, the affidavit of service says, “He chased away a process server with an expletive-laden tirade and let his dogs loose when he was served with the divorce papers.”

The Colorado Sun reports that Boebert’s divorce petition is 46 pages long and was filed in Mesa County Court on May 11. The Court filing says the couple’s separation started on April 25, 2023.

Affidavit of service of divorce papers against Jayson, by the process server.

 

Text of the Petition to Recall District 51 School Board President Andrea Haitz

Andrea Haitz, District 51 School Board President

Some people have asked where they can read the text of the petition to recall District 51 School Board President Andrea Haitz.

You can read the entire petition here. 

The petition is available for signing every day from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon at Lincoln Park. The table with circulators and petitions will either be at 12th and Teller by the Barn, or at 12th and Gunnison. 

Peer 180 Community Recovery Support offers free addiction recovery & support services downtown for individuals and families

Building at 201 South Ave. next to Union Station that houses Peer 180 All Recovery Community Center

Just south of the old Grand Junction Union Station Train Depot at 119 Pitkin Ave. (that is soon to be be refurbished) is another, smaller building at 201 South Ave., that also says “Union Station” at the top and is also kind of historic in its own right.

This building is now the location of Peer 180 Community Recovery Support, a new, grant-funded non-profit organization that helps people recover from addiction by providing services, support, education, advocacy, activities, and non-religious recovery programs. What sets Peer 180 apart is that it welcomes not just individuals, but entire families and even their friends, is free to everyone and is not religious-based. They even have a play room for children so parents can easily attend recovery events and activities. The building is located downtown, just a 4 minute walk from the downtown Van’s Car Wash.

Vehicle Buyers Beware: Many former Red Rock employees have moved over to Grand Valley Auto, and are plying their trade there

AnneLandmanBlog has received credible information that a large number of former Red Rock employees have moved over to Grand Valley Auto, where they are continuing to use the same tricks they learned at Red Rock.

How to implement Colorado’s Red Flag law in Mesa County

Are you aware of someone who owns firearms and is presenting a danger to themselves or others?

Colorado’s new Red Flag law was passed in 2019 and went into effect in January of 2020.

A Red Flag law is an “if-you-see-something-say-something” law put in place by the Colorado Legislature to give Coloradans a way to alert law enforcement to people who have guns and are posing a threat to themselves or others.

Red Flag laws, also called Extreme Risk Protection Orders or ERPOs, give judges the ability to seize the firearms of people who are posing a danger to themselves or others, to protect public safety.

The law was created to give people a way to try to head off incidents of lethal domestic violence, suicides and mass shootings like those currently proliferating across the U.S. in schools, shopping malls, theaters, grocery stores, universities, in parking lots, at parades, in offices and other places Americans go in the course of their everyday lives. As of May 8, 2023, there have been more mass shootings than there have been days in America, so the threat of mass killings being committed by people who own or possess firearms is very real and happening more frequently now than ever before in our history.

The law was used 73 times in the first 7 months after it was enacted and as of the end of 2022, it has been used more than 350 times.