This Week in Pics

At Club 20's Spring Conference, Phil Vaughan, the Business Affairs Committee Chair, honored Mesa County Commissioner Scott McInnis (left) with the Club 20 Lifetime Emeritus Membership Award. Congratulations, Commissioner McInnis! Club 20 is a coalition of individuals, businesses, tribes and local governments in Colorado's 22 western counties. The group is organized for the purpose of speaking with a single unified voice on issues of mutual concern. Its activities include marketing and advertising, public education, promotion, meetings and events, and political action.

Commissioner Scott McInnis (right) was honored with the Club 20 Lifetime Emeritus Membership Award on Friday, April 12, 2019, by his long-time friend and Club 20's Business Affairs Committee Chair Phil Vaughan (left). Commissioner McInnis accepted the award alongside his wife, Lori McInnis.

County Commissioners from across Colorado gathered in Rifle this week at the Energy & Environment Symposium—Oil and Gas Education for Local Government. Pictured above: Mesa County Commissioner John Justman (center right) stands alongside western Colorado commissioners.

Earlier this week, the Board of Mesa County Commissioners sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) on the proposed revised definition of "Waters of the United States" (WOTUS). Earlier this year, the EPA and the Army Corps released the Trump Administration’s proposed new WOTUS rule defining which bodies of water are subject to federal regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA), which is the second step in the process to review and replace the Obama Administration’s 2015 WOTUS rule. Read more at https://bit.ly/2UKXWB4.

When you respond to the census, you help your community get its fair share of federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works, and other vital programs. Businesses use census data to decide where to build factories, offices, and stores, and this creates jobs. Developers use the census to build new homes and revitalize old neighborhoods. Local governments use the census for public safety and emergency preparedness. Learn more at https://www.census.gov/en.html.

In honor of National Telecommunicators Week, Sheriff Matt Lewis and deputies stopped by the Grand Junction Regional Communication Center Thursday afternoon to say, "Thank You!" The Mesa County Sheriff's Office could not do their jobs without the help of the many dedicated first responders!

Belinda Knisley, the clerk to the board, got to be there when her daughter and soon to be son-in-law got their marriage license from the Recording Division.

Community members from Colorado Baby and RSVP joined Mesa County Hazardous Waste Collection Facility and RiversEdge West to help clean up trash and pull weeds at Clifton Nature Park to promote healthy landscapes for our the health of our community.

Participants learned about invasive plant species as well as other factors that can reduce the health and usefulness of our open spaces like litter and misuse of the parks while they pulled weeds and picked up trash to beautify the area and encourage native plant growth for wildlife habitat.

Young participants help remove weeds at the Clifton Nature Park.

Colorado Baby, RSVP members, and Mesa County monitored the growth of the native plant species they transplanted at Clifton Nature Park last October—many of the flowers and grasses are showing signs of life and growth in their new locations!

Teresa Nees with solid waste management hosted a Clifton Nature Park clean up this week. The event took place Wednesday morning, and it included a descriptive nature walk after picking up trash, pulling weeds and monitoring the growth of the native plants transplanted last fall.

A big thank you to everyone that participated in the Clifton Nature Park clean up.

Mesa County Planning Commission Chairman Chip Page presented Christi Flynn a plaque for her 13 years of volunteer service on the Planning Commission Board. Christi strongly represented the ranching and agricultural interests of Mesa County during her tenure on board.

Kathy Kinsey worked her last Planning Commission hearing Thursday evening. Kathy is retiring next week after 12 years with Mesa County Planning. Planning staff will really miss her and her laugh. Congratulations, Kathy!

Mesa County Development Engineer Dana Brosig completed her last week with Mesa County Planning. Next week she starts full-time with the Mesa County Regional Transportation Planning Office (RTPO). Planning staff wishes her well and know she will exceed in her new position. Congratulations, Dana!

Mesa County Commissioner John Justman presents a letter of recognition to Joseph Claton "Clayte" Nichols' family members Friday morning at the Museum of the West, 462 Ute Ave.

On behalf of the Board of Mesa County Commissioners, Commissioner Justman recognizes Clayte Nichols as a true founding father of Mesa County. Approximately 25 Nichols family members from the Philippines, Australia and from across the United States gathered at the Museum of the West to accept the recognition.

Commissioner Justman honors the pioneering legacy of Clayte Nichols and his contributions as one of our local founding fathers.

The letter of recognition Commissioner Justman presented to the Nichols family states:" J. Clayton Nicols arrived at the confluence of the Gunnison and Grand Rivers in what is now Mesa County in September 1881. Mr. Nichols staked out the area's first ranch and built a cabin on the north bank of the Grand (n/k/a Colorado) River in the location of the Riverside Area of Grand Junction. Mr. Nichols and his companions had the foresight to recognize the potential for agriculture in this dry high desert region through the use of irrigation canals. Among the many examples of Mr. Nichols' contributions to the local community was his service on the Election Commission for the incorporation of the City of Grand Junction. "

Gary Brewer, a local historian, gives Clayte Nichols' descendants copies of the first plat of Grand Junction.

The miniature plats of the Town of Grand Junction include a picture of J. Clayton Nichols.

Plat of the Town of Grand Junction.

Mesa County Commissioner and J. Clayton Nichols' family members gather for a picture.

J. Clayton Nichols's granddaughters were honored to accept a special recognition from the Board of Mesa County Commissioners and a proclamation from the Museums of Western Colorado honoring their grandfather as one of the founders of Mesa County.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Lunch Loop Connector Trail will be Wednesday, May 15 at 3 p.m. Be there!