Crime
Marshal’s office in turmoil after Cox resigns
Mancos Marshal John Cox got in trouble with the law a couple of times in 2015, and will start the new year in court.
Cox, who resigned in November, faces six misdemeanor charges, brought to the Montezuma County district attorney by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The charges stem from Cox alledgedly using department resources to conduct a personal investigation on a romantic rival and an incident in which Cox issued a driver a speeding ticket without using radar equipment.
Cox is accused of committing second-degree perjury, false reporting and second-degree misconduct in relation to two incidents in August and September.
According to the CBI, deputy marshal Yvonne McClellan filed complaints in October alleging that Cox had asked her and deputy marshal Jason Spruell to run the license plates on all dual white pickups in town because he was conducting a personal investigation on a romantic rival. McClellan said she and deputy Spruell didn’t act on this request, but later found evidence on the office fax machine indicating that Cox was running license plates through the Cortez Communications Center.
McClellan also reported that Cox issued a driver a ticket for traveling 45 in a 20 mph school zone without the aid of radar.
Cox also faces a DUI charge after crashing his vehicle into a guardrail on U.S. Highway 160 in La Plata County in November, and it was reported that Cox was hired in Mancos even though he had a 2009 DUI conviction in Indiana.
In the flurry of activity that followed, the Mancos Town Board appointed deputy Jason Spruell as interim marshal, and the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office began providing interim support.
Mancos Administrator Andrea Phillips lamented the lack of a thorough background check and promised the board would do better next time. A Jan. 22 application deadline for the position is approaching. And Cox has a court appearance in the DUI case on Jan. 6.
Town Life
Debate over town animals continues
After a townwide survey and months of deliberation, discussion and research from nine volunteer members and town staffs, the Mancos Town Board continued the emotional debate on whether residents could continue to keep livestock within city limits.
Several residents keep chickens, bees, ducks or a goat, and there is a least one milk cow in town. No regulations prohibit livestock unless they violate public-nuisance laws.
“It’s a free-for all,” town board member Michelle Black said in December.
During town hall meetings and focus groups, some residents have argued that livestock and their odors, flies, manure and noise don’t belong in town. Others say livestock are a sustainable food source and part of the heritage that makes Mancos the town “Where the West Still Lives.”
A survey showed that 79 percent of respondents stopped short of allowing cows.
Board member Will Stone, who owns a cow that he sometimes walks through town, objected to any regulation limiting his ability to raise his animals for food. He then walked out of the meeting.
Proposals include a permit to raise livestock in town, including horses, bovines, goats, alpacas, turkeys, ducks, and other fowl, sheep, mules, llamas and donkeys.
Cooperation is key, board members said. “If you are ... keeping it cleaned up, and controlling odors, it will be OK,” said Matt Baskin.
The livestock permit would be issued by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Animal slaughter is permitted so long as it’s not a large animal and out of public view.
Environment
Western Excelsior dust-up goes to committee
The ongoing dispute between Mancos and wood-products factory Western Excelsior, which has been a subject of town hall meetings, discussions and potential litigation, is going back to the drawing board.
In December, the town agreed to form a community committee to analyze the factory’s emission impacts.
Participants include Town Administrator Andrea Phillips and Mancos board member Matt Baskin, along with Excelsior’s Kyle Hanson and Fred Christianson.The next meeting will be in mid-January.
Western Excelsior is working with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment on a new air emissions permit that will identify point-source pollution at the plant and set threshold standards for emissions.
A key aspect of the proposed permit is for Western Excelsior to install a bag house to capture smaller particulate emissions.
The town worked with the Western Excelsior to mitigate blowing debris from one of its entrances. The company agreed to relocate a gate on the southern entrance that was causing pollutants to blow into nearby properties.
The town then spent $2,000 to build a landscaped berm at the old gate location and plant poplar trees that will work as a buffer against blowing debris.
In July, Mancos trustee James Maestas resigned, citing backlash because of his opposition to Western Excelsior and claiming that Marshal John Cox was targeting him because of that stance. Darrel Ellis filled the vacant board position.
Since then, Marshal John Cox has resigned and now faces charges. Ellis has died.
In passing
Darrel Ellis, a lifelong friend of Mancos, is dead
Darrel Ellis, a lifelong resident and friend of Mancos, a member of the Mancos Town Board of Trustees, Mancos Public Library Board and the Mancos Valley Historical Society, and a valued contributor to The Mancos Times and The Journal, died Nov. 23 at age 81.
The service for Ellis was, Nov. 27 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mancos, and internment was at Weber Cemetery.
Ellis is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rovilla, and four children, Marva, Carl, Lyle and Marie, as well as 15 grandchildren.
He was born July 30, 1934, to Vernon Ellis and Fern Ellis in Mancos. He was the oldest of four children, and grew up in the home his grandfather built. He raised his children in the same home.
Ellis graduated from Brigham Young University with a political science degree. He served with the Air Force for 17 years and attained the rank of captain as an information officer. He left the Air Force in 1969, and returned to Mancos.
He served as trustee and president of the Mancos Public Library Board since 2012 and as town trustee this summer.
“Words cannot express how very saddened we are by this news, and we will miss him very much,” Mayor Rachel Simbeck said.
Infrastructure
Mancos gets a bigger, better water tank
Contractors began constructing the new Mancos water tank in the spring, with work ending late July. The project included new water pumps and water valves.
The town gained access to 730,000 gallons of water storage capacity compared with the 300,000-gallon capacity it had before the new tank.
The upgrade aims to keep Mancos from a repeat of February 2014, when residents and businesses had no drinking water for roughly five days after a pump and its backup failed.
“I’m up to almost 800,000 gallons of storage now with the old tank, so if something happens up here, instead of having to hurry up and fix it, I’ve got two days of storage,” said Mancos Public Works Director Robin Schmittel.
The $1.1 million project includes a new 430,000-gallon storage tank, improvements to the water treatment plant and pump house, replacement of main valves, and new distribution lines to feed other areas of town.
The project was funded through a combination of loans, grants and town funds.
Science
LaChappelle packs up shop for Durango
The past two years were a whirlwind for 19-year-old Easton LaChappelle, of Mancos.
He gave a TED talk, landed a job with NASA, met President Barack Obama, and founded a robotics company, Unlimited Tomorrow with the backing of motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
At the start of 2015, LaChappelle and his two-person team at Unlimited Tomorrow packed up and moved to a bigger space in Durango.
Dedicated to using 3-D printing and robotics to make more efficient and lower cost prosthetics, Unlimited Tomorrow’s new space gives business more room for its 10 3-D printers and CNC machine, LaChappelle says. The new space also better positions it near Fort Lewis College – where LaChappelle recruited his two employees – and other possible industry partners in Durango.
A big project was the patent process for the company’s ambitious exoskeleton project. LaChappelle’s design slims down the bulk, improves battery-life and lowers the price of existing technologies.
The exoskeleton needs Food and Drug Administration approval, and LaChappelle said that he wants to keep the trials in the Four Corners region.
Business
Navarro family sets up clothing shop
A Mancos family set up shop in Mancos with the clothing store, Hand to Hand Boutique, at 515 Grand Ave.
The boutique features new and previously owned clothing, shoes, and accessories for men, women and children.
Jonathan and his wife, Francisca, said that they saw a need for an affordable local clothing store after the Mancos Thrift Shop closed last year, to make way for Family Dollar.
Mancos Brewing Co. celebrates first year
The Mancos Brewing Co. celebrated its first year of operation with beer releases, discounted prices and live music in October.
MBC served the first legally brewed, licensed and taxed pint of craft beer in the Mancos Valley in September 2014. In its first year of operation, MBC has brewed more than 35 craft recipes and released five beers for local distribution.
MBC also contributed to benefits in the Mancos Valley, and hosted the first Mancos Valley Brew Fest, raising $10,000 for local nonprofits.
Mancos Valley Bank branches are merged
The two Mancos Valley Bank branches were officially converted to Dolores State Bank ownership in August.
Dolores State Bank president Ed Merritt said the change wouldn’t have much of an effect on customers because account numbers, loan terms, debit cards and bank staff would stay the same.
Dolores State Bank’s agreement with Mancos Valley Bank closed July 31.
In the end, Merritt said, the area will have a stronger local bank with additional convenience for account holders, who could use services at all four branch locations in Montezuma County.
Mancos Times becomes part of The Journal
Ballantine Communications Inc. consolidated The Cortez Journal, Dolores Star and Mancos Times into The Journal.
The newspaper, website and social media sites were refreshed at the end of summer with a new look and increased functionality and published twice a week.
The new Journal extends the reach of buyers and sellers, connecting them to a larger, marketplace.
Plans to upgrade McElmo Flume go ahead
Two local contractors submitted the low bids to do the work on the historic McElmo Flume project on U.S. 160 next to the fairgrounds.
The roadside attraction will have an entrance and egress road, parking lot, sidewalks, information kiosk and a handicap-accessible trail to an overlook of the flume, built in 1890.
Sports
Cross-country team shines in class, afield
After a repeat trip to the state meet, Mancos cross-country runners raked up postseason awards.
Ro Paschal and Simon Kearns were named to the San Juan Basin League’s all-conference team, and Nic Archuleta and Emma Most received honorable mentions.
Paschal was also named to CHSAAnow.com’s Class 2A all-state first team and ColoradoTrackXC’s 2A boys all-state first team.
Both Mancos squads received the Les Schwab Tire Centers Academic Team Championship Award.
The boys team had 3.66 cumulative GPA and the girls boasted the highest cumulative GPA in the state for Class 2A, at 3.93.
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