 |
| Wishing you holiday cheer! |
 |
| Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and staff learn the functions of the clerk to the board position to ensure multiple staff members are well-versed and can backfill and cover for one another. |
 |
| On Monday, Dec. 10, the Board of Mesa County Commissioners approved the 2019 county budget, which prioritizes core government services and construction of capital projects for public safety. Read more at https://bit.ly/2QunfFr. |
 |
| Mesa County Administrator Frank Whidden talks to KREX Reporter Brandon Thompson about the adopted budget for 2019, which is approximately $172 million, a 4.4 percent increase from the 2018 adopted budget. Watch the interview at https://bit.ly/2EiLBLb. |
 |
| Mesa County Treasurer Sheila Reiner bought flower bouquets for her staff on her first day in office. Pictured here (from left to right): Heike Buenning, Jackie Campbell, Sheila Reiner, Michelle Staples, and Amy Bosse. Not pictured here is Chris Horner who was on vacation, so Sheila is holding her flowers for her. |
 |
| Elf on the Shelf continues to make his rounds in Engineering. Looks like he's been naughty and has shot Rudolph. Will Santa still be able to deliver his presents?! |
 |
| Mesa County Assessor's Office staff members gather to celebrate Operations Support Manager George Salazar's retirement. |
 |
| George Salazar has been with the Mesa County Assessor's Office for 27 1/2 years. His official hire date was July 22, 1991. |
 |
| George was initially hired on as an appraiser for about 2 years and then was promoted to his present position as the operations support manager, which he has held for the last 25 1/2 years. Pictured here, Mesa County Assessor Ken Brownlee, right, thanks George, center, for his patience and dedication and shares a few anecdotes of the times he has needed George and how George has always graciously helped. |
 |
| Assessor's Office personnel listen as many of their co-workers bid a farewell to Operations Support Manager George Salazar. |
 |
| Over the lunch hour, Assessor's Office staff members gather to share a meal with George Salazar and wish him a happy retirement. |
 |
| Calm, smiling and patient George will be deeply missed, but nevertheless, his co-workers wish him the very best. During George's tenure, he has worked for many assessors including Jim Farley, Mark Eckert, Ron Teck, Curtis Belcher, Barbara Brewer and currently Ken Brownlee. |
 |
| Elected officials and staff members honor George Salazar at a potluck during the lunch hour Wednesday afternoon. |
 |
| Happy retirement, George! Your calming demeanor and your warm smile will be missed. |
 |
| Here is an overall picture of the Bosley Wash project. Construction is moving along, but the completion date will be delayed until summer 2019. |
 |
| Shawn with DOWL completes a density test on the sand filter toe drain. So what is a toe drain? It's an open-jointed tile or perforated pipe located at the toe of the dam used in conjunction with horizontal drainage blankets to collect seepage from the embankment and foundation and conveys the seepage to a location downstream from the dam. |
 |
| Everyone from DOWL, SEO (Colorado State Engineer's Office), Williams Construction and Mesa County, anxiously await the results from DOWL to make sure density specifications are met. |
 |
| Shawn with DOWL receives nuclear testing results from the sand filter toe drain at Bosely Wash. SEO, Williams Construction and Mesa County await the results. |
 |
| Teresa Nees with Noxious Weed & Pest Management bundled up to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife spray Russian knapweed that grew in abundance after the Skipper's Island fire burned nearly 200 acres of public land between Fruita and Loma in the spring. |
 |
| Noxious Weed & Pest Management attended a planning and information meeting with the Southeast Utah Riparian Partnership in Moab to learn about restoration techniques and results along the river. Members of Southeast Utah Riparian Partnership include members from the BLM, Utah Department of Natural Resources, youth conservation corps, county weed managers and non-profit organizations focused on invasive species removal and environmental restoration. |
 |
| Teresa Nees and Courtney Patch bid farewell to Kaye Simonson on Main Street. Kaye was the Long Range Planner and worked for Mesa County for 9 1/2 years. She is moving on to a job as the Planning Director in Telluride. Thank you for your service to our community, Kaye! |
 |
| On Thursday, the Treasurer's Office received property tax notices 'test decks'. Mesa County Treasurer Sheila Reiner relays that in a way it is equivalent to a test deck of ballots to test to make sure votes read correctly. The Treasure's Office has a test deck of tax notices that they will be running through a process to make sure everything reads correctly. |
 |
| Meet the new Mesa County Sheriff's Office recruit, he comes all the way from the North Pole, and he's ready to join the ranks. |
 |
| The new elf recruit took on the fitness test this week. Twenty-two sit-ups in 1 minute, 18 push-ups in 1 minute, a 300-meter sprint (76 seconds or less), and a 1.5-mile run (18:17 or less). Apparently, a lifetime of eating candy canes in the North Pole made him really fast! The elf broke the fitness record for the 1.5-mile run. He ran it in a blink of an eye! The Sheriff's Office cameras barely caught him. Learn more about what it takes to be a deputy at https://sheriff.mesacounty.us/careers/. |
 |
| Time for fingerprints! As part of the hiring process at the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, all new applicants are fingerprinted. Who knew an elf’s fingerprints were so festive?! If you need to get fingerprints done visit the Mesa County Sheriff's Office website for more information https://sheriff.mesacounty.us/divisions/support-services/records/. |
 |
| Look who passed the integrity interview with flying colors! He did come with a pretty impressive reference – from Santa Claus himself! This elf is a tough nut to crack! No matter how many times he was asked he wouldn’t tell who is on Santa’s naughty list! Do you want to join the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office? Learn more about the hiring process at https://sheriff.mesacounty.us/careers/. |
 |
| Congratulations! The elf is now officially a part of the Mesa County Sheriff's Office. He was sworn in by Sheriff Matt Lewis as Deputy Ralphie! |
 |
| Deputy Ralphie reporting for duty! On Monday the elf started his training with patrol. Normally new recruits go through a 16-week training program, but modifications were made for Deputy Ralphie. After all, he's only here on special assignment from the North Pole until Christmas. Follow the Mesa County Sheriff's Office Facebook page for more of Deputy Ralphie's adventures! |
 |
| Deputy Ralphie got a little tangled up in the crime scene tape. |
 |
| On Thursday, Deputy Ralphie learned about a vital communication tool, the police radio. Turns out Deputy Ralphie is quite the chatterbox! |
 |
| Deputy Ralphie putting the finishing touches on the Mesa County Sheriff's Office Christmas tree in the Record's lobby. It is decorated in blue in honor of those who’ve sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. |
 |
| Mesa County Department of Human Services (MCDHS) held a meeting for the finance, operations, and quality assurance team. |
 |
| Ingir Beman, MCDHS clerical supervisor, gets festive. |
 |
| Kaitie Hutton, child welfare case services aide, is one of Santa's elves. |
 |
| Elf on the Shelf helps Regulatory Programs Manager Carrie Gudorf with her "Mission Impossible" of enforcing stormwater and irrigation policies. The creative visual was constructed with help from Construction Manager Wesley Thomas. |
 |
| And then he busily went to work to help Engineering Director Scott Mai get in the holiday spirit. Office decor was a team effort between Carrie Gudorf and the elf. |
 |
| Many Mesa County offices will be closed Tuesday, Dec. 25 and Tuesday, Jan. 1, in observance of the Christmas and New Year holidays. |