This Week in Pics

It was Career Day at Clifton Elementary School last Friday, and Mesa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputies found a student who is ready to join the team!

MCSO deputies had a blast talking to Clifton Elementry School students about what it takes to be a deputy. Deputies also got to learn about what students want to be when they grow up.

Mesa County Hazardous Waste, Traffic, and Road and Bridge presented various safety topics to students at the Plateau Valley School Safety Fair.

Mesa County Traffic Technicians Tina Dugger (left) and Nichole Frazier (right) promote traffic safety awareness to Plateau Valley School students.

Plateau Valley School students had the opportunity to visit different safety stations to get helpful tips from a variety of Mesa County agencies during the safety fair.

Noxious Weed and Pest Management Coordinator Montana Cohn worked on a project last Friday with the Bureau of Reclamation to help them remove Houndstongue seed banks.

Department of Human Services, Economic Assistance Division staff, Jodi McKenna (left), Denise Kampf (center), and Danae Derryberry (right) participated in a Community Resource Fair hosted by the Parole Department. The Parole Department shared, "This event resulted in great collaboration among each other, and connected our offender population with resources to better their chances of success. After reviewing the numbers, we put roughly 91 Parolees through this event and about 60 of their family members!"

Workforce Center staff participated in the Parole Department resource fair on April 23, 2019. From left to right: Rhonda Johnson, Kent Kroese, Bethany Hall, Kirstin Maska.

Criminal Justice Services Department personnel participated in a training Tuesday morning.

5-2-1 Drainage Authority members discuss updating their feasibility plan.

After 12 years with Mesa County Planning, Kathy Kinsey says goodbye. A farewell celebration was hosted in her honor. Congratulations and happy retirement, Kathy!

Kathy Kinsey's retirement party was well attended.

Regional Transportation Planning Office (RTPO), Grand Valley Transit (GVT), and Public Health staff were part of an ADA Eligibility Training. As part of the training, staff members participated in a mock physical assessment evaluation scored by Public Health and the course instructor.

After staff members completed the ADA Eligibility Training, they made a pit stop at Graff Dairy. Pictured above from left to right: RTPO Transit Coordinator Andy Gingerich, Transit Coordinator Dina Jones, GVT Dispatcher Cheryl Gibboney, and RTPO Mobility Manager Sarah Brooks.

A portion of G Road is closed for culvert replacement. Read more at https://bit.ly/2vhBEb9.

For the safety of the construction crew, motorists should remain alert, reduce their speed and watch for stopped traffic while passing through the work zone.

Mesa County Road and Bridge Department expect G Road, between 34 and 35 roads, to remain closed while crews work to replace a 66-inch corrugated metal pipe culvert that failed near 3466 G Road in the Palisade area.

For safety reasons, the irrigation water to the culvert has been shut off. While repairs are underway, this may cause some residents to have low water pressure or possibly be without irrigation water. The damaged culvert is part of the Price Ditch — the main conveyance vessel for the Palisade Irrigation District.

The culvert replacement project consists of an open-cut excavation approximately 8-feet deep across G Road and 34 Road where the existing deteriorated 66-inch culvert will be removed and replaced with a 72-inch reinforced concrete pipe.

Damage to the culvert was a result of a vehicle accidentally driving over and crushing the aging corrugated metal culvert.

A deteriorated 66-inch corrugated metal pipe culvert that failed near 3466 G Road last week affected about 8,000 customers, according to the Palisade Irrigation District.

Mesa County Public Works Director Pete Baier (right), and Equipment Operator Travis Cole (left) respond to the incident on G Road.

A detour is in place rerouting traffic from G Road to F ¾ Road between 34 and 35 roads until the culvert replacement is complete. The road is expected to reopen the first week in May.

Progress continues on the culvert replacement in the area of 3466 G Road near Palisade. The road closure on G Road between 34 and 35 roads will be in effect until the project is completed.

Installation of the new 72-inch reinforced concrete pipe got underway Thursday afternoon.

The culvert replacement project on G Road is expected to be completed by early next week. Irrigation water will be turned back on Tuesday, April 30.

On Saturday, Mesa County staff members from Animal Services, Criminal Justice Services Department (CJSD) and the Treasurer's Office participated in Active Shooter Training. Linn Armstrong, the class instructor, demonstrates what you could do if you get a bad guy on the ground. Jackie Campbell is the bad guy, and Karen Reiher is not enjoying seeing her tied up at all.

Amy Bosse and Christine Horner from the Mesa County Treasurer's Office enjoy practicing tying up a bad guy on their boss— Treasurer Sheila Reiner—as Lisa Armour and Kevin Bozarth from Animal Services observe and contemplate.

Linn Armstrong explains what you could do if you find yourself on the ground to Jackie Campbell from the Treasurer's office.

Leah Hankins from the Treasurer's Office gets ready to kick the tar out of attacker (co-worker) Bobbie Gross during practice on what you can do to move around and use what you have to fight back with when you find yourself on your back. In the background Michael Perry and Nick Brutosky with CJSD prepare to do the same.

Christine Horner from the Treasurer's office prepares to whop CJSD's Eli Stemrich (playing the part of an approaching gunman).

Nick Brutosky and James Bruner, with CJSD, have fun morphing Nick into Red Man for hands-on exercises Saturday.

Nick Brutosky has morphed into Red Man for a hands-on, active shooter demonstration.

Class participants learned about slowing down an intruder while finding a safe exit. Participants used all resources available.

Here is what Mesa County Treasurer Sheila Reiner said about the training, "In this class, it looks like it's about fighting or coming into contact with an aggressor, but it's not—that is the last resort. Run, Hide, Fight still applies but one thing we learned is that you can buy yourself time by interrupting a person's orient, observe, decide and act loop. If you can distract them, they have to reorient. One way to distract them would be by throwing objects at the aggressor. We practiced that multiple times during the day and this is what that looks like! Think about what you have on your desk that could be thrown."