Unlawful Use of Force Lawsuit Filed Against Ex-Deputies January 18, 2022 Incident Involved a Runaway Female Juvenile
by George Gramlich, News and Commentary
In a disturbing development, a law firm out of Colorado Springs has filed a civil lawsuit against three ex Custer County Sheriff Office Deputies and one current Detention Deputy. The primary defendant in the case is ex Deputy Michael Kear. The other two ex Deputies are Miles DeYoung and Supervisor Deputy Scott Hinshaw. The final Defendant is Detention Deputy Megan Robbins. The lawsuit was filed January 16, 2024. Continue reading Unlawful Use of Force Lawsuit Filed Against Ex-Deputies from Jan 2022→
You have seen recent problems with EVs not charging in cold weather. Power outages have made this event even more concerning. Here are some thoughts and considerations.
First and foremost, EV batteries does not operate well in cold weather. The stated optimum temperature range for EV batteries is; 53 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. They lose significant power in the cold, (the colder the temperature, the lower the output and shorter the power output span). First, Let’s Look at House Generators:
I have always considered a 3500 watt generator as a suitable output to support an average residential home. Now consider a rural home with a well pump and maybe a septic tank pump. Maybe add an outside light or two and a separate garage with lights and heat. Maybe a 5000 watt generator would be a better choice.
In summary, if you have all of the switches on in the house and you have your generator running, the 3500 watt generator is suitable to power your home. This probably
will not be enough watts if you have an electrically heated home.
Another consideration is that the start up of electric motors require 3x energy to start. Only momentarily. But still a draw.
The basic calculation for average home would be:
1214 watts times 2 to account for startup; equals 2428 watts. If the power was all motor driven devices that calculation now become times 3, (or 3642 watts). But it is not likely that such a requirement is likely in a personal residence.
See “How Many Watts Does it Take to Run a House? | EnergySage”
https://www.energysage.com/electricity/house-watts
Web Feb 16, 2023 · Key takeaways.
On average, it takes about 1,214 watts to power a home in the U.S. The actual amount of electricity it takes to run your home depends on what …Email: support@energysage.com
Given all of the variables in this event, you should hear the audible sound of the engine on the generator open the throttle and run with a higher decibel, (sound measurement) to accommodate the startup electric power requirement.
When you turn the “MAIN” switch on and with everything in the house switched on, you could hear the generator engine speed slow until some of the electric devises have started and the engine power recovers. All good again.
As a side note, consider my 15,000 watt generator connected to a 40HP tractor PTO, (power take off) shaft. This power generation combination was running at the required RPM. When the device switch was switched on, the running generator wanted to power the load, but the “start up” power required was, too large. The 40 HP tractor had plenty of power. In calculated terms, a 20 HP tractor could handle this load, (HP= Horsepower).
In the calculation, Power is electric, and Horsepower would refer to ICE, (Internal Combustion Engine).
Convert units
FORMULA for an approximate result, multiply the power value by 745.699872
We don’t know what device was switched on or what else was already operating.
The result was that the trailer on which the generator was mounted on was lifted off the ground and started to spin in the air. During this movement the trailer frame was bent into a half-moon shape. But, more importantly the PTO shaft connecting the tractor to the generator was twisted off and the end of PTO shaft which was still connected to the tractor was now free and spinning at some 540 RPM, flailing in the air. Dangerous for sure.
Now understand that this is farm use, and some exceptional electric demands were placed on this generator when the switch was turned ON.
However, the same will be noted when an excessive power load is “switched on” your home (3500 watt) generator. This would only be noted in very extreme conditions. The result will be less dangerous. Very simply the engine will stop abruptly. You will not be able to restart the engine until the electric power switch is turned off. Unless of course some internal device in the generator will allow the startup of the engine before the electric load is reapplied.
Many of the “standby generators”, have the onboard electronics in the on-board controls to adjust the start up conditions to reduce the initial load and allow for smooth operation throughout the startup cycle. When correctly installed this “standby” unit will not stall out or stop running.
Just for basic knowledge all systems in the home are set up for 60 cycle operation. Thus, the generator is usually set at 3600 RPM, (60 times 60 equals 3600 RPM). By the way, one-minute equals 60 seconds, ie. 60 cycles. Now, Let’s Look at Charging an EV with a Generator:
This does not take into account an EV charging station.
Now, for the new enthusiasts which may have an EV in the yard or in the garage. A 3500 watt generator will not support the load to recharge your vehicle. As I have witnessed personally at a charge station, 7300 watts were being consumed by a single EV
being charged. It is to be understood that three times the energy to “start” this system is not required. But, do understand that the load required to charge this EV is twice what the (3500 watt) generator can produce. Do not increase the generator speed, this will not charge faster. It will only disturb the 60-cycle operation and requirements of the EV charging system. A “standby generator” may not have enough power to charge an EV. I have not found a smaller portable generator setup specifically to charge an EV. With current portable generator technology, you will probably run out of fuel before the EV is fully charged.
I reviewed a You Tube presentation with a 7000 watt generator with the result being unacceptable.
Just for fun, my new 15000, watt, (15Kw) generator connected to my tractor will handle the charge requirements very handsomely. The “wired in” and grounded connections are necessary. My 40 HP tractor/ generator will run very comfortably. Even a 20 HP tractor will do the job. You will not have any trouble or worry that the gen set will lift off the ground. Even with two EVs attached at the same time. This is now Level II charging at 240 volts and will still take 10 to 20 hours to charge to FULL.
Worries with big expenses to overcome. Cold Temperatures as we have had recently only make all of these circumstances more difficult. Keep your Diesel or other ICE vehicle
available for these cold temperatures to ensure reasonably normal operations in Colorado cold.
BOCC: A Political Vignette
Who Will Run the Republican Central
Committee? Will the Voters Get
More Manageable Precincts?
ommentary
There is a problem in the Custer County Republican Central Com-mittee (CCRCC): It is the balance between the number of elected officials on the committee and the number of citizens on the committee. Before the last two election cycles, the elected official members and a few of their cronies had the majority. Now, the citizens on the CCRCC, along with some brand new elected officials have a slim majority. But with having only three county precincts, the balance between the Old Guard elected officials and the citizens could switch at any time. There is a movement to permanently fix this problem and have the Republican party members of the county run the CCRCC and the latest episode of this struggle
occurred last week.
The other problem in the county is that the precincts are huge for such a small county and are impossible to manage properly by the political parties. Smaller precincts would allow for a much more engaged citizenry and a more robust and knowledgeable voter base.
So how did we get here?
Six of the ten party members on the Republican Committee are the Precinct Committee Persons (“PCP’s”). Each county precinct has two PCP’s. Custer County
has only three precincts so that is only six on the CCRCC.
In the vast majority of counties in Colorado, the civilians easily control the central committees as they have a multitude of precincts. Precinct sizes can vary, from just two people (in one very weird case in Colorado) to 2,000. Custer County’s precincts are huge, the number of 1,400 per precinct is often
stated. Counties similar to Custer County have MUCH smaller precinct sizes.
Smaller precincts are much easier to manage for the political parties than large ones. The smaller make it easier for the parties to interact and engage with the voters, which in turn encourages voter participation. This is a good thing.
There has been a movement over the last few years by some members of the CCRCC and other concerned citizens to have the county create more precincts to help the voter management and engagement process, but also to ensure that the CCRCC is run BY THE PEOPLE rather than by a clique of elected politicians.
This has been met with heavy resistance from the established elected Republicans on the committee as they don’t want to lose power.(However, two new elected county officials, who believe the citizens should run the committee have been recently elected which has switched the balance ever so slightly to the people.)
The latest effort by the people to have the county create new, more manageable precincts occurred last week at the January 10, 2024 Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting where citizen Jack Canterbury (who is also the CCRCC Chair but he was representing himself on this subject) made a proposal to the BOCC on having the county move from three precincts to nine.
Jack’s presentation quoted multiple Colorado statutes concerning the creation and maintenance of precincts. On the surface, it looks like the BOCC has the authority to create new precincts, however, there are some statements in the statutes that might throw some doubt on the BOCC’s authority, but they are in the minority. (However, see Joy Anderson’s scholarly research into the issue at the end of this article.)
So why does the statutory conflict matter? If the BOCC has the power, it appears that BOCC members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp would favor the expansion while member Kevin Day is against it. (Despite Day’s claim at the meeting that he was “open” to it, his actions state otherwise. On the County Clerk side, Clerk Kelly Camper it is not clear if she is in favor of it but she did say was also open to it.)
At the meeting, after Canterbury’s presentation, Day read from a memo he got from the County Attorney, Dan Slater, (who is a big time state Democrat political big wig) stating that although the statutes are a bit murky, in his opinion, the County Clerk is the boss on this and it is solely up to her to make the call. His main argument was that the wording that says the Clerk is the boss is “specific” and, Slater alleges, that the wording saying the BOCC is in charge is
more “general.” (Based on Canterbury’s statute quotes, it is for sure not certain that the Clerk in charge.
Canterbury’s statute word-
ing is specific, too.) Day had asked for Slater’s opinion before the meeting. Slater was even called into the meeting to defend his conclusion.
Now, precinct structure today is solely a political item. With there being NO actual election voting activity taking place at the precincts (it is all done now via mail and at the courthouse.) There is a little
extra work required by the County Clerk in setting up precincts and syncing with voter records. There is NO argument that extra precincts would result in any substantial work increase for the county (once the precincts are set up).
So why would anybody object to having much smaller, normal sized precincts that would allow the political parties to
work more efficiently? The extra work is AT THE
PARTY LEVEL and NOT at the county level.
The ONLY reason why some of our elected officials want to have only three precincts is that it is the ONLY way that they have a chance at controlling the CCRCC and prevent The People from running our local political party. Small precincts are STRONGER precincts. Why would an elected Republican official not want a stronger party? Folks, as usual, it is all
about power and control. The Old Republican Guard
here in Custer (and the state) is scared of the new, MAGA style, power of the people, voters that are demanding that the PEOPLE run our local political party and not career political operatives. (Note, Fremont County, has TWENTY precincts. Canterbury did a big review of other counties similar or a larger than Custer and they all had many more precincts than us.)
The process to add new precincts takes many months. Mrs. Camper noted in the meeting that we are having four elections in 2024 in Happy Valley and it would be a big problem for her to do the work this year to have new precincts. Fair enough.
The meeting ended with the understanding that Canterbury would form a “bipartisan” committee to study this further and make another presentation at a later date. This committee idea originated with Day. It is a joke and possibly an attempt to side-track the whole deal as the local dems will be totally be against it. (Why make our adversaries stronger?) And the unaffiliated shouldn’t even be involved in it.
Perhaps the best course forward is for Canterbury to have the CCRCC officially endorse the nine precinct concept and then present it to the BOCC and the County Clerk. At that presentation, ask them to vote yes or no on it. (The three BOCC members and the County Clerk.) No need to actually create the precincts this year, but get the commitment to do it next year. We need to know where they stand. Are they for the citizens or are they for themselves?
Bottom line: It doesn’t matter who is in charge of adding precincts, it is the RIGHT THING to do
for the voters of Custer County. The more the
citizens are involved in the political process, the better off the county is. BOCC and County Clerk: Do what is right, fix our precincts and help our voters. For once put the county ahead of petty politics.
(Local Citizen, Joy Anderson, has written a memo on who has the power in Colorado to control the creation of new precincts. The memo looks rock solid: it is the BOCC. See page 22 to read it. Download the pdf here: https://sangredecristosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/011924-pg-22.pdf )
Alleged Triple Murder Accomplice,
Medina-Kochis Extradited to Colorado,
Bail Set at $100k Cash Only
by George Gramlich On Tuesday, January 16, 2024 the Custer County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release that the alleged accomplice to last year’s triple murder off Oak Creek Grade was finally extradited back to Colorado and was currently residing in the El Paso County Jail. She is charged with five Level 5 felony counts, each of which carries a possible penalty of one to three years in state prison:
Nancy Rae Medina Kochis Extradited to Colorado
Nancy Rae Medina-Kochis
Photo: Custer County Sheriff’s Office
—Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Lloyd “Rich” Smith, Sheriff, Custer County Sheriff’s Office
Custer County, Westcliffe, CO
On Monday, January 15, 2024, an extradition team returned Nancy Rae Medina-Kochis from the Bernalillo County Jail in Albuquerque, NM, to the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Medina-Kochis based on her alleged involvement in the November 20, 2023, triple homicide of Rob Geers, Beth Geers, and James Daulton and the shooting of Patty Daulton at a rural location in Custer County, Colorado.
Nancy Medina-Kochis and Hanme Clark both unsuccessfully fought extradition back to Colorado to stand trial.
The Custer County Sheriff’s
Office, the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and surviving family members requested a no-bond hold on Nancy Rae Medina-
Kochis pending a trial. The bond will be set by the District Court Judge on January 17, 2024.
Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith expressed his thanks to the
US Marshall of Colorado Kirk Taylor, the Bernalillo County Sheriff, the New Mexico State Police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for their assistance
in capturing the two fleeing suspects just 25 hours after the homicides.
Sheriff Smith said, “It is my hope that this extradition brings some sense of closure to the victims, their families, friends, and the entire Custer County community as we prepare for the upcoming trials”.
###
The bail hearing for the defendant occurred on Wednesday, January 17. At 12:30 p.m. District Judge Amanda Hunter presided. Defense counsel stated that the defendant did “not have a lengthy criminal history” and had “ties to the community.” He also noted that Medina-Kochis as an epileptic and required medication. He asked for Judge Hunter to follow the 11th Judicial District’s Bond Schedule in pronouncing bond. The 11th Judicial District’s Assistant District Attorney ADA) countered saying that the under-lying crime was the “most horrific event in Custer County in the last 100 years.” He added that the defendant aided the alleged murderer in “absconding from Colorado” and that she was “a flight risk.” The ADA added that the defendant was caught in New Mexico and had fought extradition back to Colorado. He then requested various bond conditions like staying away from the scene of the crime. The ADA requested $50k cash only bail. After the two presentations, Judge Hunter noted that the defendant was a “flight risk” and was also a “community risk”. Also, she was captured in New Mexico fleeing our jurisdiction. Judge Hunter set the bail at $100k cash only. The Judge set the defendants next court appearance for a pre-trial conference on February 6, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. It would be an in-person appearance.
Press Release
Nicole Koch
Wet Mountain Valley Saddle Club
Wet Mountain Valley Stampede
(L to R) Princess – Sarah McPherson, Miss Stampede – Donna Fern, Queen’s Attendant – Trinity Bowen, Queen – Paige Lorenzen Courtesy Photo: Sagebrush Souls Photography
Rodeo Royalty is a wonderful opportunity for young girls to gain experience and grow in many aspects of life, including public speaking and appearance, organizing events, fundraising, serving our community, representing an organization, making connections with others, and so many more valuable tools they can use in their lives.
Congratulations to the 2024 Royalty! (L to R) Princess – Sarah McPherson, Miss Stampede – Donna Fern, Queen’s Attendant – Trinity Bowen, Queen – Paige Lorenzen Courtesy Photo: Sagebrush Souls Photography
Our vision for this program is to provide opportunities that prepare these young ladies for life with wise guidance, to truly become involved in and serve our community, and to encourage as many young women as possible to help preserve the sport of rodeo through clinics, events and scholarships.
Thank you for your support in this program and if you would like to become involved, please contact Nicole Koch at 719-371-8897.
BOCC: A Small Property Tax Mill Levy
Reduction, Bank Shuts Down the County’s Credit Cards, Day Continues as Chair
by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
The January 10, 2024 Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting started at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Office. All three Commissioners were present: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp.
In Unfinished Business, Epp gave the status on hiring a consultant to help with the 2022 audit issues and keep the Finance Department running until the BOCC hires a new Finance Director. Epp said the consultants he contacted were in the $200k range (yearly salary) and that was too much. He is continuing to look. Canda mentioned that local, Len Arrigo, a CPA was available.
In a disturbing development, Epp said that Kirkpatrick Bank “has shut down” the county’s credit cards due to late payments. Epp said that the county has been paying late payment and interest fees every month for 2023. (Later on, Epp mentioned that those penalties cost the county around $6,000 last year!) Epp said,
“It was our fault” as the county was not paying the bill on time as the county’s departments were not paying their portion of the bill or paying it late. Plus, the Accounts Payable cycle happens at the end of the month and that was causing delays. (It looks like the Finance Department, under ex Finance Director Braden Wilson,
completely dropped the ball on this. Your local bank freezing the county’s credit cards is like, really bad. Total Clown Show.) Epp said he is going to fix this.
First item in New Business was Adopting the 2024 County Budget. Vernon Roth, the county’s IT Director, had taken over the task of assembling the budget since we have no Finance Director. (Vernon has done an outstanding job on this. He has worked day and night, six or seven days a week to get this done. And it ain’t his job. Thanks, Vernon.)
The big gorilla in the room was what are the Commissioners going to do to the General Fund mill levy rate to reduce the big property tax increases. With the huge 2023 statewide property evaluations sky high, land owners are facing huge property tax increases across the state. The two biggest taxing districts in the county are the school and the county. (The school had already lowered their mill rate to save us money.) The big question is will the BOCC lower the General Fund mill levy?
It appears that during the recent BOCC Budget Workshops, the Commissioners had proposed lowering the rate from 10.425 mills to 9.75 mills. Vernon stated that this caused a bit of discussion from the Commissioners because it seemed to not be a lot. Canda stated that there were various county departments that could not be touched (like Road & Bridge and Human Resources) so the only arena where the Commissioners could really reduce anything was the General Fund. Canda said the mill reduction would only reduce the tax for each parcel in the county by $8 (Eight Dollars). He said there are about 9,000 parcels in the county and most of them were taxable. The discussion went on for a while with Day stating that he wasn’t sure this small reduction was worth the hassle, but he was not opposed to it. (the reduction is temporary, for one year.) All three Commissioners voted to approve the budget.
There was an issue with the timing of deciding the county’s budget before the BOCC actually voted on the Resolution for Setting the County Mill Levies as that Agenda Item was AFTER the Budget Agenda Item. Somehow, the Board thought that doing mill levy change after the Budget was okay.
Finally the Resolution to Set the County Mill Levies came up. The Commissioners basically repeated a lot of what they had previously said during the Budget discussion. The General Fund one-year General Fund rate reduction to 9.75 mills (from 10.425) was approved unanimously.
Later, the County Government Appointments Item came up. The only item of interest was who was going to be the BOCC Chair for 2024. Newcomer Epp made a surprise move saying to Day that if Day didn’t want to do it, he would like to be Chair. This got Day dancing around with Epp with Day stating he would like to continue as Chair but if Epp really wanted it, Day would step aside. Then Epp said if Day really wanted it, he would back off. Day then noted that Epp was real busy with the Finance Department meltdown and being Chair is a fair amount of work.
Canda finally said he was fine with Day continuing as Chair. All three finally voted for Day to continue as Chair.
by George Gramlich, News
The Custer County Board of County Commissioners held a Special Meeting, January 8, 2024 to select the new Human Resources (HR) Director. All three Commissioners were present: Chair Kevin Day and members Bill Canda and Lucas Epp.
Day opened with the statement that they had selected three finalists for the position.
Epp then took the stage. He said the new HR Department has to be built “from the ground up.” There are kinds of issues to be addressed such as procedures, reporting, etc., “so the new guy has a big task load.” Epp then stated, “the applications we have received don’t represent what I think is needed to build a new department from the ground up.” Epp continued, “We need to caste our net further” noting that maybe we should have a salary range rather than a fixed advertised salary.
Canda disagreed. He said, “I think we have a candidate that does meet the criteria,” but noted he would not be against doing some more advertising.
Then it was Day’s turn, “There is one of the three that I can support, but, they would need additional help to succeed.” Day said he “shared your concerns, it is a big load. I would support putting it out for bid…. I don’t want to set somebody up for failure.”
This discussion went on for a bit. Finally, the Commissioners decided to put the job out for bid for an additional two weeks and try to find more outlets to advertise it.
The next and last Agenda Item was where to put the HR office. After a lot of talk, it was decided to put the office in the BOCC’s building. Some renovations would be necessary.
For more information on open county positions see https://www.custercounty-co.gov/employment
Job Description Summary
The Director of Finance and Accounting for Custer County
The Director of Finance and Accounting for Custer County, Colorado, is responsible for overseeing the county’s financial systems and operations, including managing accounting records, preparing financial reports, and ensuring compliance with auditing and accounting standards. This role involves supervising the finance department, monitoring departmental budgets, and acting as a financial advisor to the County Commissioners and other officials. The director also plays a key role in developing and administering the county’s budget and capital improvement plans, while ensuring efficient financial internal controls and compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. For the full description click here.
Hedberg Attacks Another
Custer County Citizen Files Spurious Criminal Complaint Against Commissioner Canda
by George Gramlich, News and Commentary
updated January 5, 2023 (See links to more documents at the end of the article.)
In a scene that regrettably seems to happen over and over again, the Editor of The Wet Mountain Tribune, Jordan “Red Bug” Hedberg, has again viciously and without merit, attacked another Custer County conservative citizen. This time it was Custer County Commissioner Bill Canda.
In September, Hedberg filed a Criminal Complaint against Canada alleging Criminal Forgery and Abuse of Office. Wow! To get to the bottom of this, we contacted Commissioner Canda to get the facts, and as you will see, reality collides with Hedberg’s false allegations. Again.
As a preface to our findings, below is background on the scandal and Canda’s comments on what went down.
Where did this start, you may ask? It is about the Braden Wilson/County Manager fiasco that Commissioners Kevin Day and Tom Flower manufactured, which in the end, predictably, caused the County great harm and money. The one guy who tried to stop the County Manager (CM) inside job was Commissioner Bill Canda. And for his completely legal and courageous move to attempt to block the blood money severance paycheck to Wilson because he believed the CM Contract was invalid, Hedberg then, out of pure malice and vengeance, filed a criminal complaint in September with the Custer County Sheriff and the 11th Judicial District Attorney alleging that Canda committed criminal Forgery and Abuse of Public Office when he went to the local bank which has the county’s accounts, and filled out a Stop Payment Form on a $54k check written to Wilson after he was fired. The $54k check was composed of regular salary and benefits from Wilson’s last days as Finance Director and a $45k “severance” payment (which was included in Wilson’s CM contract upon the insistence of Day and was in effect the moment Wilson was hired. Day inserted the poison pill penalty in an attempt to restrict any future BOCC from firing Wilson. It was completely unethical.)
As we will see, as Canda pointed out in our interview, Hedberg’s complaint was completely devoid of merit, filled with erroneous facts and allegations, and motivated solely by Hedberg’s long time push to discredit Canda due to a variety of past issues: Canda led the way to “open up” Custer County during the Covid debacle which Hedberg histrionically resisted in his newspaper; Canda also defended our Public Health Director against Hedberg’s unrelenting and unproven accusations against the Director; and Canda’s voting to give the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel the County’s Legal Notices contract instead of to the Tribune (which hurt poor Jordy’s feelings.) (Hedberg’s irrational hatred for Canda recently manifested itself again, with Hedberg, a very recent “registered Republican”, endorsed a very left-wing unaffiliated candidate running against life long Republican Canda in the recent election cycle by displaying her campaign posters in the Trib’s window. Note no other candidates’ campaign signs were visible. That sign posting, folks, is all you need to know about Hedberg’s RINO leanings and his hatred of Canda.)
So, what happened? During Commissioners Day and Flower’s battle to force the county to create the County Manager position last year, and bully their candidate, Wilson, into the position, Commissioner Canda fought tooth and nail to stop it. Day and Flower cut corners, refused to post the job for a reasonable length of time and violated multiple provisions of the Colorado Open Record Act, Section 3.5 which states the procedure that must be followed to create an executive position in a county. The two commissioners ignored the statutory provisions and voted to create the position, write a CM employment contract with an unethical poison pill severance clause and then hire their pre-chosen candidate, Wilson, for it.
This was flat out dirty, dirty, inside politics. Like stuff you see in Denver. No place for that here.
Commissioners Day, Epp, and Canda
Just after they hired Wilson, recall candidate winner, Lucas Epp replaced Flower as County Commissioner. In one of the very first meetings after Epp was sworn in, Canda and Epp voted to eliminate the CM position and Wilson. That happened near the end of the meeting. Right after that, hearing that Wilson no longer had the job, the new Finance Director, without being authorized by the BOCC, cut a $54k severance/salary/benefits check for Wilson and stamped Day’s name on the check as signor. She then immediately gave the check to the fired Wilson. Wilson had only “worked” as CM for five days. (So he got $45k of our tax money for nothing. Thanks, Day.) The Commissioners knew nothing about this outrageous act. (Internal controls? Nonexistent in the Custer County Finance Department.)
When Canda found out about it, he immediately went to United Business Bank and asked to fill out a Stop Payment Form to stop the check. According to Canda, his basis for doing this was his belief that the CM contract was invalid and void as the BOCC did NOT follow the state law on creating the CM position and the hiring process was bogus.
Canda said that he believed the CM contract was invalid and void, and thus the severance payout was invalid. At the bank, Canda requested a Stop Payment Order. When the bank clerk produced the computer-generated form. The form had the County’s Treasurer, Virginia Trujillo name preprinted on the form in the signor area, under the signature box. See below:
Canda, as a VALID ACCOUNT SIGNOR, and as a County Commissioner, lined out the Treasurer’s printed name and title, and signed his name and printed his title, “Vice Chair”. Perfectly legal. Zero forgery.
Not much later, after Day called Trujillo and told her what happened, Trujillo called the bank and said Canda did not have the authority to do that and to cancel the Stop Payment Order. As we will see, Trujillo did NOT have the authority to do that. Only the County Commissioners, all three of them, have the SOLE authority to distribute county funds (with some minor and narrow exceptions for the County Clerk and Treasurer to execute their duties in those offices.) The Treasurer has NO authority to control BOCC disbursements. Note that CRS 30-10-707, “Treasurer to Receive and Pay Moneys”, explicitly states that the BOCC is totally in charge of disbursements, “It is the duty of the County Treasurer to receive all moneys belonging to the county, from whatever source they may be derived, and all other moneys which are by law directed to be paid to him. All moneys received by him for use of the county shall be paid out by him only on the orders of the board of county commissioners, according to law, except where special provision for the payment thereof is otherwise made by law.” (Emphasis GG.)
The Commissioners decide who gets paid. Not the Treasurer.
At the next BOCC meeting Day made a big deal about Canda not having the authority to do what he did and what he did was bad, but, as it turns out, Day was again dead wrong.
Canda said that CRS 30-11-107, “Powers of the Board”, clearly states that only the BOCC can disburse county funds. (Plus, Canda was a registered, valid, signor on the account.) Thus, based on the shaky legal standing of the CM contract, and the fact THAT NO COUNTY COMMISSIONER SIGNED THE CHECK (the Finance Director, without any BOCC authorization, stamped Day’s signature on the check), Canda PROPERLY signed the Stop Payment Order. Trujillo, who does not have authority over disbursements, then later called the bank and cancelled the Stop Payment Order. So, Wilson got his $45k severance pay for a few days’ work and the county took a beating.
According to Canda, Trujillo did not have the authority to overrule a County Commissioner regarding the County’s bank account (e.g., the County’s bank account disbursements). The Commissioners have total control over disbursements according to Colorado law. In fact, the Treasurer’s name should not have been on the Stop Payment form. (It was there as a “place holder”. The form should have been blank as any Commissioner signor can sign a Stop Payment Order for disbursements.) Thus, Canda, with full legal authority, properly signed his name and title on the form.
Now, let’s take a look at Hedberg’s Criminal Complaint against Canda alleging criminal Forgery and Abuse of Office. In the Complaint, Hedberg alleges, “He committed these crimes when he went to United Business Bank in Westcliffe to attempt to place a Stop Payment Order on a check that was written by Custer County Treasurer Virginia Trujillo to former Custer County Manager Braden Wilson. William Canda knew that he was not the account holder, and he also knew that he had no authority to access the account or place a Stop Payment Order. Regardless, he falsely convinced the Bank Teller …”
This statement is at the very beginning of the Complaint. It is so wrong, it is laughable. Apparently, Hedberg, “Mr. Journalist”, failed to do any research or due diligence before filing this error filled and bogus Complaint. Note that the check was NOT “written by Custer County Treasurer Virginia Trujillo”. The signor was Kevin Day, as improperly stamped by the Finance Director. (Hedberg can’t even get right who signed the check! Good grief! This is the level of accuracy throughout the whole complaint. Totally incompetent.) And, “William Canda knew that he was not the account holder” is flat out wrong. He was indeed an account signor. In fact, he was one of the three people (the three Commissioners) who are actually in charge of disbursement for the account.
Hedberg alleges that Canda in signing his own name and title, as a valid signor on the account, and acting as a County Commissioner (who have sole control over disbursements in the account) somehow committed criminal FORGERY is a malicious attempt to harm an
innocent man.
Hedberg then states in the Complaint, “the document makes it clear that the only listed person on the account with authority is Virginia Trujillo and her office of the Custer County Treasurer.”
Just because a computer preprints the Treasurer’s name on the form DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE TREASURER IS THE ONLY PERSON ON THE ACCOUNT! Good grief, Hedberg knows the checks coming out of the County’s A/P system have Kevin Day’s signature on it. Maybe that is a clue that there might be more than the Treasurer on the account, Hedberg? In fact, if you had simply asked the bank or a Commissioner, they might have told who were the signors on the account and that Canda was one of them. The Treasurer has NO authority to control BOCC disbursements. (As noted above in CRS 30-10-707.)
Hedberg’s second criminal allegation, that Canda Abused his Public Office was stated like this: “In addition, when William Canda fraudulently altered the document and signed the document with his officially elected position as Vice Chairman of the Board of Custer County Commissioners in an attempt to maliciously cause financial harm to Braden Wilson, he Abused his Public Office under Colorado law § 18-8-404 which states: (1) A public servant commits first degree official misconduct if, with intent to obtain a benefit for the public servant or another or maliciously to cause harm to another, he or she knowingly: Commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official function; “
This claim is absolutely fraudulent. Like real fraudulent. Canda had literally ZERO malice here. As explained above, he had every right to try to protect the County based on the violations of the CORA provisions that occurred during the CM debacle which put the actual CM contract in dispute regarding its validity and the fact that no Commissioner authorized or signed the huge check. In fact, Canda was under a DUTY to protect the county and he did the right thing in signing the Stop Payment Order. (Remember, delaying the payment was not denying the payment. Canda wanted to determine if the CM contract was valid or not before paying Wilson. It was more than a fair reason to do it. It was a LOT of money.)
Section (1) (a) also was not violated. He was totally authorized as a County Commissioner and as a a Signor on the account to sign the Stop Payment Order. So that was another bogus allegation.
Let’s look at one more Hedberg false allegation, near the end of Complaint lament, “William Canda has already claimed in a public meeting on August 31, 2023, that he had the authority to place a stop-order payment to Braden Wilson and denied wrongdoing. But in my conversations with Virginia Trujillo and looking at Custer County laws, it is clear that William Canda has never had authority on the Treasurer’s bank account, and his actions of altering bank documents prove that he knew he had no authority whatsoever.”
Hedberg’s statement, “it is clear that William Canda has never had authority on the Treasurer’s bank account” is delusional. It is the County Commissioner’s bank account with regards to distributions according the Colorado law. Not the Treasurer’s. And, Canda WAS a signor on the account. Also, Colorado state law determines what the Commissioners’ authority is not “Custer County laws”. (Hedberg is so far off here it is unbelievable, and it looks like he is just making things up.)
Hedberg doesn’t stop there in his attempt to shame Canda; he called his homies at KRDO and told them about this and they start drooling like dogs over road kill as it is a Christian, Republican, career ex-military, Custer County Commissioner who is being accused of Forgery and Abuse of Office. For KRDO this couldn’t be any better. Canda says KRDO called him up but he wouldn’t talk to them as it was an ongoing criminal investigation. So without ANY verification of Hedberg’s (false) claims, they ran the story big time on their TV station and website. ( NOTE THIS LINK takes you outside the SDC Sentinel Website)
Thus, Canda was shamed publicly by Hedberg and KRDO FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING with the proper authority. Situation normal for libs.
And again, much government time and money is wasted on a false Hedberg allegation. (The DA had to process this bogus complaint, assign an Investigator to it and waste time writing up the report. At the same time, the DA has got a Custer County triple homicide case investigation case going on. Nice.)
(This story will be forwarded to the reporter who wrote the story at KRDO. And the GM. We’ll see if they issue a retraction or a follow up noting that Canda was falsely charged. We also will see if Hedberg issues a retraction. I doubt it.)
So Hedberg filed a bogus, malicious Criminal Complaint against the Christian, conservative, Republican, had his lib media homies, KRDO, play it up big time, and tried to destroy a good man’s reputation. SOP for Hedberg. The Complaint will be dismissed by the DA. But Hedberg doesn’t care. He’ll just look for the next victim.
Bill Canda did the right thing and he can walk tall. A shame allegation won’t ruin a good man’s reputation. The “man” that made the allegation is the shamed one. And everyone now knows where the shame, deceit, and dishonor lies. And it ain’t Canda.
Also see the 11th District’s statement concerning investigation which the Sentinel obtained after going to press HERE which shows that Commissioner Canda is indeed a signor on the County’s bank account.
The Sentinel received an LTE rebuttal letter sent to KRDO from Bill Canda and a Statement from Commissioner Bill Canda. Both are below
Letter to the Editor
—December 26, 2023
RE: Article by KRDO Channel 13 printed on December 13, 2023
On December 19, 2023, KRDO Channel 13 ran a story prompted by a spurious criminal complaint filed by the Editor of the Wet Mountain Tribune accusing me of forgery. This article is not true and publication by KRDO is irresponsible.
On August 23, 2023, the Custer County Finance Director issued Braden Wilson a check for $30,451.18. The gross amount of the check net of taxes was approximately $55,000. Wilson was on the job for less than a week when his position was eliminated by the newly seated Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). On August 25, 2023, I tried to stop payment of the check to give the BOCC time to resolve the improprieties surrounding its issuance.
It is important to note that by law, only the BOCC has the fiduciary responsibility to spend the citizens (taxpayers) money. They must personally verify every check issued for all expenditures. Also, it is important to note the two issues with the Wilson payment: 1) unresolved problems concerning the legitimacy of his employment contract, and 2) the legitimacy of the issuance of the check itself.
It was critical that the newly seated BOCC determine whether the check was a legitimate expense, and as importantly if valid, the expense was reviewed and approved by the BOCC as required by Colorado Law. There are several reasons why this check should not have been issued:
1. The pay calculation was never verified or checked by a person other than the person who calculated and issued the check. There were errors.
2. The check was issued by the Director of Finance without approval by the BOCC. The check contains a pre-printed signature of the County Clerk attesting that the Commissioner’s signature on the check is valid. It was stamped in error with the Chairman’s signature and directly issued without the knowledge of either the Clerk, the Commissioner or the BOCC.
3. I tried to stop payment on the check when I discovered it had been released without Board approval. My intent was to ensure that the payment was valid, and the calculations were correct. Additionally, standard practice would be to issue two different checks; one for time worked and one for severance pay.
Commissioners have signature authority for all county checks. The BOCC never approved the Wilson check. Therefore, I have authority to stop the payment of the check. The County Treasurer overrode my stop payment order and directed the bank to pay the check anyway. The law does not permit this. The Treasurer’s action precluded the County Commission from being able to perform its fiduciary duty to the county.
I believe the criminal complaint Hedberg filed is completely unlawful and frivolous because the reason I tried to stop payment of the Wilson check was to ensure the matter could be resolved according to law. Hedberg’s actions were irresponsible, and his complaint is unfounded.
William R. (Bill) Canda Custer County Commissioner
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A Statement from Commissioner Canda Regarding the Criminal Compliant Filed by Hedberg Against Canda:
1. I believe it is completely unlawful and a frivolous, expensive and misguided misuse of our justice system that a criminal complaint be filed for the legitimate actions taken by me while exercising my responsibility as a county commissioner to fiducially protect our county. What Jordan Hedberg did, by inserting himself into the story by filing the complaint, then involving KRDO Channel 13 to spread his errant opinions, was irresponsible and probably criminal. Allegations this serious warranted a thorough, unbiased investigation.
2. Jordan Hedberg has inserted himself into a story he created to damage my reputation and to cost our government time and money for no other reason than his own irrational hatred. By filing this complaint against my actions, which were not only lawful, but necessary, he has been irresponsible and expensive at best, probably criminal. By involving KRDO to spread false information, his misdeeds have been multiplied and unlawful.
3. It is an affront to the profession of journalism to leap to conclusions just because, at first glance, the reporter’s biases are confirmed. This shoddy practice is why thinking people no longer trust the media, and why confusion and division reign. Jordan Hedberg and KRDO should know better.
Note: Regarding the Validity of the Wilson Contract:
It is not for me nor the BOCC to determine the validity of the Wilson Contract. It is a question that only a court of law, a judge, can determine. If the payment of the check had been stopped, Braden Wilson would have had to prove it was a legal contract. Trujillo shifted the burden to the county to prove it wasn’t—at significant cost to the citizens of the county.
