Category Archives: Uncategorized

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Exclusive: At The Center of Tragedy — Asheville, North Carolina

Exclusive: At The Center of Tragedy — Asheville, North Carolina

14 Days at Mission Hospital

by Fred Hernandez
The Sentinel had a source on the ground in Asheville, North Carolina reporting on real time conditions in one of the most devastated areas resulting from the recent hurricane. Based on the follow-up interview of the Florida based team members, this is the Sentinel report:

After receiving an urgent call for help from their central emergency office, the Disaster Response Systems team, (DRS) took a commercial flight to Greenville, North Carolina, from Florida. At the airport they were taken on the next phase of the trek in a four-wheel drive Jeep Wrangler over very rough terrain and roads that had been almost washed out by heavy flooding to a rally point where they hopped on an EC-135, a large helicopter that also serves as aerial ambulances.
On their flight inbound they could see the extent of the destruction and the totally unexpected level of damage wrought on Ashville and the surrounding areas by the monster hurricane, Helene. The EC-135 landed on the rooftop of the Mission Hospital in Asheville. The seven hundred bed facility was surrounded by water and the emergency room on the ground floor was totally inundated.
Once on the ground the devastation was even more glaring. Pine trees bore evidence of how high the water rose from the clothing and other detritus and dregs tangled in the branches twenty or more feet above the ground. In one instance a human body was spotted high up in the trees tangled in the branches. Cars and other vehicles, sunk deeply in thick mud, had tags placed by workers in hazmat suits. The tags strictly instructed passersby and others not to open the doors or try to remove the vehicles. It quickly became clear that these vehicles were the final resting places of some of the unfortunate victims of destruction and death delivered by Helene’s
heavy hand.
After locating some higher ground close as possible to the medical facility that had been spared from flooding, they set up their emergency rooms in tents and immediately began the much
needed aid and care of waiting patients, many of whom had received no medical attention in days.

Mission Hospital in Asheville, part of a chain of medical facilities, the only hospital for thirteen counties in the area, is owned and operated by Hospital Corporation of America, (HCA), one of the largest healthcare companies in the country. Mission is a Level Two Trauma Center. The members of the emergency response team from other states came to Asheville to assist their colleagues in this time of disaster. They were to relieve the hospital workers of their duties in order to give them the time and opportunity to attend to their own family’s needs.
But this was not to be. After leaving the hospital they were the ones who were giving desperately needed aid to other victims in the rural areas. Helping people out of their mud filled and destroyed homes, giving aid to those rendered homeless and ferrying those in need back to the emergency rooms set up in tents outside the flooded medical building. There was no evidence of any teams or helpers from the government. These teams are known in their trade as strike teams. Team members who had previous experiences in these types of national disasters said that usually the government had teams of search and rescue professionals and medical aid personnel. This time there were none of these teams.


There were FEMA personnel on the outskirts of the town proper, but they were simply preventing outsiders from coming into the affected disaster zones. They were also “confiscating” whatever relief goods were being brought in. The real assistance came from surrounding states and mainly from private groups and enterprises. In fact, they were surprised that only fifty miles from Asheville, there is a military installation that had several large helicopters that would have been ideal for rescuing people from their rural homes and ferrying them to safety. It was common knowledge on the ground that while the personnel at the base were eager to help, they were not allowed to do so.

This was a double disaster for some of the communities affected by this natural calamity. The first disaster caused by nature is something that man cannot control. Nature will behave as it is supposed to. After a natural disaster, however, man, which is to say government, should have been able to control the aftermath at least a little bit better than it was in this case.

To have had no funds available to assist its citizens because they had squandered their budgets on illegal aliens entering the country in such a force, much like the hurricane, is inexcusable and unconscionable.
For fourteen days, the team worked sixteen-hour days continuously, before they were told that they could return to their homes. And so as they prepared to leave their posts they sadly took a last look around. Their surroundings seemed as if it had been ravaged by a marauding army. Death and destruction everywhere. Their last memory was the stench permeating the air while above them flocks of buzzards circled lazily over the treetops.

Fred Hernandez comments:
In this reporter’s opinion, nature’s hurricane causing much destruction and death on American communities is akin to the man-made destruction caused by those in office to allow millions of unvetted, illegal aliens to swarm into the country unchecked. Much like an unwelcome hurricane. In some cases the same government officials intentionally flew in illegal aliens from other countries and settled them in small communities disrupting the lives of law-abiding citizens, causing cumbersome difficulties on their modest resources and inflicting pain and in some cases even death. Nature cannot be held accountable for its behavior. However, in the case of men inflicting great damage on his fellowman, they should be taken to task. 

 

2024, BOCC, Uncategorized

Oct 30th BOCC: Another Grant Machine, Weed Board Bylaws

BOCC: Another Grant
Machine, Weed Board Bylaws

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
The October 30, 2024 regular meeting of the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was held in their royal annex across from the courthouse. The meeting started around 9 a.m. and all three Commissioners were in attendance: Bill Canda, Lucas Epp and Kevin Day.
In New Business the Commissioners approved the Accounts Payable monthly bill. This was $227, 087.
Next, a lady from the Southern Colorado Economic Development District (SCEDD) gave a pre-sentation on who they were, what they do, and how they can “help” Custer County. (SCEDD is another one of the multitude of parasitic grant entities that live off of fed and state grants. These folks try to find grants for their members and help them get in on the grant money train. Like literally dozens and dozens of similar operations around the state. SCEDD is paid by its member counties, of which Custer is one. I think she said there were 14 member counties.) The lady droned on about how they write grants for us, etc. She mentioned SCEDD has a grant that it is using to do a study in our area about seeing if they can help to bring, get this, the semi-conductor computer chip industry here. (They are spending our tax money on this pipe dream. You can’t make this stuff up.) She also said that they had done a Custer County Economic Development study as requested by our very own Charles Bogle (currently on the SCEDD Board.) (How many “economic” studies have we paid for in the last ten years, folks?
Too many.) The lady of course touched on broadband (SCEDD handled HUGE grant monies for this over last few years) and the need for more workshops. Finally, it was done.
The Commissioners then ok’d some changes to the Weed Board Bylaws. They then approved the Sheriff’s contract with the Town of Silver Cliff. (Same $ as last year.)
In Public Comments, citizen and big-time local democrat James “Dr. Doom” Gilbert then delivered a handwritten speech attacking
Canda and Epp over the dismissal of County Attorney Dan Slater at the last meeting. He went on and on and on in his usual, somewhat, whiny voice saying that Canda and Epp hadn’t given a reason for them to fire Slater. (Folks, they said it last week, and they said it at this meeting: there was a personnel issue with Slater and a County employee, and it was confidential.)
Gilbert seemed to intentionally ignore the reason given and attacked the two without merit.
Here’s a couple of good quotes from the Dr. Doom; “maybe doing this for political reasons”, “Canda has no transparency”, “Sounds like a purge to me”, and “Shame on you, Mr. Epp, for going along with this”. Ahhh, a riff Kamala would be proud of.
And that was it.

Uncategorized

Black Hills Energy Botched Its Rate Increase Notice, PUC Demands Do-Over

From Canon City’s Energy Future

Black Hills Energy Botched Its Rate Increase Notice, PUC Demands Do-Over

Material errors in the original Customer Notice from Black Hills Energy in June of 2024 made it impossible for customers to determine the real impact of BHE’s proposed large rate increase to their utility bills.

The local citizen group, Canon City’s Energy Future (CCEF) (established 2018), questions the confusing information.

“BHE officials presented information to Canon City in mid-May that no increase was coming before 2030, and in fact they showed we could expect a 7%-8% DECREASE by 2030,” said CCEF committee member Steve Andrews, “one month later they proposed as much as an 18% rate increase.”

“The BHE notice sent to all customers in mid-June 2024 was loaded with errors, not mere ‘typos’ as the company, argued,” Andrews said. “BHE’s filing at the Public Utilities Commission in mid-June contained even more contradictory information stating a 20.46% increase to both business and residential customers.”

PUC Trial Staff together with the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate (UCA) confronted BHE with at least some of these issues October 18th in a Joint Motion requiring an immediate corrected Customer Notice be done at BHE expense. The motion also listed other items.

“A do-over five months after it was botched does not inspire confidence, nor can it hide the enormity of the increase BHE wants to inflict onto rural Colorado customers,” stated Andrews.

Between now and the end of the year, this issue is moving quickly through Public Comment and Public Hearing. Here are four important meetings:

Tues. Nov. 12th 5pm-6:30pm – PCC Fremont Campus, 51320 US Hwy 50 Rm 146 Canon City

Thurs. Nov. 14th 6pm at Canon City Hall, 128 Main St – with the Utility Consumer Advocate

Mon. Nov. 18th 5:30pm – Florence City Hall, 600 W 3rd St – Informational meeting on how to provide input to the PUC

Tues. Nov. 19th 5pm-7pm Canon City Hall – Public Comment Hearing with the Public Utilities Commissioners.

The volunteer members of Canon City’s Energy Future group encourage you to come learn why the Utility Consumer Advocate recommends NO RATE INCREASE for BHE.  Then testify at a full hearing with the Colorado PUC on Nov 19 to push back on the proposed 18% rate increase to your electric bill.

2024, Uncategorized

Trump Wins! There Is Hope Epp, Vogelsong Cruise to Commish Wins

Trump Wins! There Is Hope
Epp, Vogelsong Cruise to Commish Wins
Mt. Lion Hunting Ban Shot Down

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary

(Unofficial ballot numbers from 11/6/24))

Some real good news statewide with the Ranked Voting and Mt. Lion Hunting Ban ballot measures being defeated. Locally, the two big races were for the two County Commissioner slots with Lucas Epp and Paul Vogelsong easily defeating their opponents Epp beat his opponent with 2,465 votes to 1,235. Vogelsong vanquished incumbent Commissioner Kevin Day by 2,053 to 1,205. (Some thought that the write in candidate, Attebury, would pull enough votes away from Vogelsong to let Day slide in, but that didn’t happen. Attebury only got 378 votes.)
Jeff Lindsey ran uncontested for our 11th Judicial District District Attorney. He got 2,788 votes in Custer County.
Of note, all the judges up for retention were voted down in Custer County except one, Court of Appeals Judge Gilbert Roman, who barely won a “Yes” by just nine votes (locally.)
Stephanie Luck, won her District 60 State Representative position against Dem Kathryn Green, In Custer County, Luck got 2,596 votes to Green’s 1,102.

At the Federal level, our hero, Donald Trump, won the monumental President of the United States battle against Kamala Harris. In a landslide predicted by only a very few. He won in the electoral college vote and the national popular vote. In Custer County, The Donald received 2,560 votes to Harris’s 1,171. For the entire state of Colorado, Harris got 1,345,023 votes to Trump’s 1,052,320.

In the U.S. Congress District 7 House race, Democrat Brittany Pettersen won, but in Custer County her opponent, Sergei Matveyuk, whooped her bad getting 2,435 votes to Pettersen’s 1,168.

The Colorado ballot measures results were generally good:
Amendment G: Expand Veteran Property Tax Exemption won easily (72.4% to 27.6%).
Amendment H: Create an Independent Judicial Board passed (72.7% to 27.3%).
Amendment I: No Bail for First Degree Murder passed (69.4 % to 30.5%).
Amendment J: Remove the Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriages passed (63.8% to 36.2%).
Amendment K: Earlier Election Filing Deadlines lost
(55.3% to 44.7%).
Amendment 79: Constitutional Right to Abortion passed
(61.5% to 38.5%).
Amendment 80: School Choice K-12 failed
(52.2% to 47.9%).
Proposition JJ: Keep Sporting Betting Tax Revenue was ok’d
(75.9% to 24.3%).
Proposition KK: Tax on Firearms and Ammunition passed
(54.2% to 45.8%).
Proposition 127: Prohibit Big Cat Hunting was defeated
(55.5% to 44.5%).
Proposition 128 Change Parole for Violent Crimes passed
(62.4% to 37.6%).
Proposition 129: Create New Veterinary Positions passed
(52.4% to 47.8%).
Proposition 130: The Law Enforcement Support Fund passed
(53.1% to 46.9%).
Proposition 131: Ranked Choice Voting was defeated
(55.2% to 44.8%).

2024, Uncategorized

Joseph A. Fawcett Service Sunday November 10 POSTPONED

 

Joseph A. Fawcett

UPDATE:  Service POSTPONED until Spring.

Joseph A. Fawcett died at 7:41 p.m. on October 5, 2024, at the University of Colorado Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado with friends at his bedside.  He received last rites from a Catholic Priest.  His death was preceded by his parents,, Peter and Rita Fawcett of Racine, Wisconsin, and brothers, Paul and Anthony Fawcett.  He is survived by siblings, John, James, Teresita, and Catherine Fawcett.   He had been life-flighted from his home in Westcliffe, Colorado to the hospital for a blockage in his digestive system and underwent a successful surgery, but only hours later a complication in the form of a blood clot in his leg ultimately caused his demise.

Joe was a 1978 graduate of Saint Charles Preparatory High School in Columbus, Ohio.  Having retired from the Floral Industry and his work as a designer and talented artist, Joe resided in Westcliffe, Colorado, situated between the Wet Mountains to the East and the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range to the west.  He spent most days sitting in his wheelchair smoking his pipe with his dog, Dusty, by his side and overlooking the small lake at Bluff & Summit Park near his home.  Joe had become an amputee as a result of damage caused through radiation treatment for cancer in the mid-2000’s.

Per his wishes, his body was cremated and his family will spread his ashes in a private ceremony in the future.

There is a Memorial Service scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at the Smokey Jack Observatory at the Bluff and Summit Park in Westcliffe, Colorado with a reception at the Vista Celesta Apartments common room (109 South Adams Blvd.), where friends and family will visit and some of Joe’s Artwork will be available for viewing.  The reception location will also act as the Memorial Gathering location in case of inclement weather.

As Joe in his final years practiced the faith of Messianic Judaism and was strongly supported, in lieu of flowers, any acknowledgment of Joe’s passing can be made through donations to:
“Shammash Ariel Synagogue” and delivered to 2612 South Prairie Avenue, Pueblo, Colorado 81005.  Please note:   “In Memory of Joseph Fawcett”.

2024, BOCC, Uncategorized

October 24 BOCC- Budget Woes, OEM Empire Building, County Attorney Fired

BOCC: 2025 Budget Woes,
More OEM Empire Building,
County Attorney Gets Fired

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
The October 24, 2024 regular meeting of the Custer County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) started at around 9:20 a.m. due to some computer issues. It was held in their royal annex across from the courthouse. All three Commissioners were present: Bill Canda, Lucas Epp and Kevin Day.
In Commissioner Items Canda said the two TV stations are broadcasting fine. Epp said that he had contacted a construction consulting company to look at all the issues of the courthouse and give the Commissioners a report on it. He also stated that the 2023 audit and the 2025 budget are both “posted”. Epp reported that the proposed 2025 budget expense is $923,000 over expected revenue and that the county would have to get money from the Cash Reserves account to cover some of that. Epp added that they are going over the budget cutting where they can.
In Department Reports, Finance was first. The County’s finance consultant Lisa Hemann, from Redland’s Accounting, reviewed the various items she worked on last month including the county’s lack of policies and procedures for the various departments. After her presentation, Canda stated that, “We need to talk about changing
the auditor. We’ve had him for a long time. We need to look at others and get prices.” Hemann agreed. Epp added that he has asked Finance to “research audit options including a forensic audit”. He said we need an “audit policy” and suggested we should change auditors every five years. (Folks, auditors should be changed every three to five years. You need to audit the auditors. We have had
this one for 15 years or so. Totally unacceptable.)
The Human Resources report was written. The Commissioners read it silently and didn’t discuss anything substantial to the public. (No transparency here, folks. Post it on the website, Commissioners, so the peasants can see where their money is spent. It ain’t that hard.)

The Veteran Services Office report was next. Dominic Edginton gave another excellent report on his work.
Coroner Brad Baltzly gave a brief report. He noted that the county’s suicide rate is double from what it was last year.
Road & Bridge filed a written report. The Commissioners read it in silence. At the end, Epp said they had to cut $100k from the R&B’s budget for 2025. (Another report denied to the public. No transparency.)
Planning & Zoning also filed a written report. The Commissioners read it in silence, so we don’t know what is going on. At the end of the silent reading, Epp said that P&Z’s receipts are down $241k from last year and that building and septic permits are also down a lot. He also said “compliance issues continue to grow.”
Landfill, Recycling and Human Services all submitted written reports that were read in silence by the Commissioners. The citizens don’t know what is in them.
The Office of Emergency Management Director, Robyn Knappe, was there in person to support her written report. Epp asked her about Knappe’s project to organize and program all the county’s radios. After some jiving, the bottom line was Knappe wasn’t even close to getting that done. (This is a big priority. Why this isn’t being done right now is not good. Let’s put aside the grant addiction and get some real, important work done.)
Knappe was up again in New Business re another grant. This time for a “mitigation concept” effort for a fed grant called AIM to support mitigation efforts. Knappe tells the Commissioners all about the county’s fire dangers and the need to reduce the “fuel load”. She now wants a full time “mitigation specialist” for us to pay for. (Folks, if you look at the size of Custer County, and the extremely small citizen cadre wishing to do mitigation, the results of all this spending –$100k for a chipper, a full-time employee costing $60 to $70k a year, plus all the other expenses– the result would be TRIVIAL and non-consequential. Total waste of money.)
Canda is not happy about this. He said, “We are not in the business of competing with contractors who do this for a living”. Epp is also a little skeptical about this with the added drain on HR and Finance. The Commissioners pass the motion to have a concept paper prepared for the AIM grant. (Suggestion from a Taxpayer: Having a year-round mitigation employee is a total waste of money. So is the $100k for a chipper that can eat a truck. Take this grant money, get some bids from local mitigation companies, select the best one, and PAY OUR LOCAL WORKERS to do the job. Pay them by the hour to chip the slash. That way you can see the demand from the public, and if it is huge, then you might be able to make a case for a full-time employee and a big capital expenditure. Instead of HURTING our local working citizens, you would be helping them. We have hard times coming Commissioners, we need a lean, efficient government. Not a bloated one.)
The big magilla was next: Canda’s Agenda Item on firing the current County Attorney Dan Slater. (Background: As you will see below, there is a personnel issue with Slater and the county. Because it is a personnel issue, it cannot be revealed, so the Commissioners dance around the subject in the discussion.) Canda moves to change the County Attorney. Epp says you can’t do that until you have a replacement. Canda said he had an “interim candidate in mind”. Epp seconds the motion.
Day immediately signals he wants to keep Slater: “We have a situation that has arisen. I am of the opinion that it can be resolved. I move we retain Dan’s services and move forward to get another attorney to service DHS (our Department of Human Services). (Background: Apparently, we have three contracts with Slater, all hourly. This is due to the regulatory situation re DHS and HR. There is one contract with the county/BOCC in general, one with DHS and one with Human Resources. This is the normal setup due to regulatory and statutory law. Day’s comment suggests the personnel issue is with Slater and DHS and that if they get another attorney just to cover that legal contract, everything will be ok and Slater could retain the county and HR contracts. The question is, does that DHS issue poison Slater to the point where we don’t want him around anymore?)
The Commissioners dance for a while. Slater then gets his say: “the issue we are not discussing does not mean improper conduct by me. At least as I view it. Whatever issues exist can easily be fixed by splitting up the departments. It will be difficult to find somebody with the experience that I have with all three contracts.” He went on for a bit more.
After Slater’s plea was done, Canda said, “We do have concerns. Stuff we can’t get into publicly right now.” Day then said, “I won’t support it.” Day then asks for the debate to end and vote on it. Canda and Epp vote to change the County Attorney. Day voted to keep him. Slater is bye bye.
Another day in Happy Valley….

2024, Uncategorized

SDCEA Welcomes New Fremont County Director

Rob Canterbury

Sangre de Cristo Electric Association (SDCEA) is pleased to announce the selection of Rob Canterbury as the new director representing Fremont County on the SDCEA board.
A rancher from a multi-generational family in the area, and a lifetime resident of Fremont County, Canterbury brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the community. Canterbury steps into this role following the resignation of former director Nick Hellbusch in July and will serve the remainder of Hellbusch’s term, which concludes in June. Canterbury will be eligible to run for the seat at that time for a full three-year term.
“We are excited to welcome Rob to the board,” said Sandra Attebery, Chair of SDCEA. “His dedication to Fremont County and his background will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our services and meet the needs of our members.”
Canterbury was selected by the board after interviews of three Fremont County residents who applied for the position.
While board members are elected to represent members from geographical areas of the cooperative, they are elected to serve all members. Two board seats are designated as at-large.
Current board officers include:
• Sandra Attebery, representing  Custer County, Chair
• Charles Abel, rural Chaffee/Lake County, Vice-Chair
• Blake Bennetts, town of Buena Vista, Secretary
• Jeff Fiedler, At Large, Treasurer
The board also comprises directors Mark Boyle, Rural Chaffee/ Lake County; Sandy Long, At Large, and now, Rob Canterbury, Fremont County.
Contact Information
SDCEA directors can be contacted via email through myelectric.coop/boardinfo/board-of-director-contacts.

2024, Uncategorized

Chris Nordyke Service and Obituary

Chris Wayne Nordyke was born in Cañon City on February 12, 1961, to Barbara Maxine Babb-Nordyke and Arthur Lee Nordyke. Chris spent the early years of his life in Cañon City with his parents and brothers, Kurt and Kyle. At the age of 6, Chris made the decision to devote his life to follow Jesus and make Him the Lord and Savior of his life. The Nordyke family moved to Westcliffe while Chris was in high school where he graduated in 1979.
Following high school, Chris attended Ortero Community College in La Junta, Colorado, where he studied welding for a year. He then returned to Westcliffe and spent many years working for his parents at Nordyke Construction.
On July 14, 1990, he married the love of his life, Shelly Nordyke. Chris was a devoted and kind husband to Shelly for 34 years. Together, Chris and Shelly had four sons: Christopher James (CJ), Cole Lee, Corey Wade and Casey Taylor. It gave him great pride and joy to watch them grow, play football, and teach them his trade.
He actively attended and served at First Baptist Church of Westcliffe as a deacon and youth leader. Chris also volunteered as an assistant football coach where he followed his passion of mentoring young men and setting an example of Godly manhood. He had many other passions like fly fishing, reloading, bird hunting and guns….lot of guns. In 2015-2016 Chris went on two separate mission trips to Mexico where he built a church for some of his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
He formed Construction Solutions of Colorado in 2011 and worked tirelessly as general contractor. During that time, he built a great love for building custom homes, meeting and working with clients, many of whom became his dear friends.
He is preceded in death by his mother Barbara and eldest son CJ. Chris is survived by his father Arthur, brothers, Kurt (Emme), Kyle (Leslie) as well as many nephews and one niece, his wife, Shelly and sons: Cole (Tori), Casey (Shelby), Corey (Emily) Nordyke. Chris was loved well by all his grandchildren: Bentley, Eliana, Cooper, Brayden, Aliyah Joy, Adde Mae, Brooklyn, Elowyn, Evelyn and Harper Jane Nordyke. Chris was 63 years old when the Lord called him home unexpectedly on October 25, 2024. In his final years he and Shelly lived out one of their lifelong dreams in their house on an acreage in Cañon City where they raised chickens, a garden, and spent many hours shooting with dear friends from Connect Church in Cañon City, Colorado.

A Celebration of Life for Chris Nordyke will be held at the First Baptist Church in Westcliffe, CO, at 10 a.m. on Friday the 1st of November.

2024, Uncategorized

Jeff Lindsey runs for 11th District DA

by George Gramlich

9/13/2024
We are blessed to have an extremely qualified career prosecutor running for the office of District Attorney in Colorado’s 11th Judicial District this November, Jeff Lindsey. Not only has Jeff had extensive prosecutorial experience in various venues, he is a local, having graduated from Florence High School and currently residing in Cañon City.
Jeff has had experience as a prosecutor in every county in the 11th Judicial District (Fremont, Custer, Chaffee and Park).
The best description of Jeff Lindsey’s experience comes from this resume:
“His journey as a career prosecutor began by working in Chaffee and Park District Attorney’s Offices from 1997-2000, while living in Salida and commuting to Fairplay weekly. He next worked in the Pueblo County District Attorney’s Office from 2000-2004. From 2004-2021, Lindsey was a prosecutor for the Fourth Judicial District in El Paso and Teller Counties. During his time in the Fourth, Lindsey worked as a Special Victim’s Unit prosecutor, Senior Deputy District Attorney, and Chief Trial Deputy District Attorney. During his time as Chief Trial Deputy, he was responsible for the homicide prosecution team from 2011-2017 and County Court from 2017-2021. During his time as County Court Chief, he was able to recruit and mentor new attorneys. In 2017, Lindsey was recognized as the statewide Faculty of the Year for the Colorado District Attorney’s Council. In 2021, Jeff worked at the District Attorney’s Office in the 11th Judicial District, and then accept-ed a new opportunity to work in the 10th Judicial District in Pueblo where he presently serves as Chief Trial Deputy and third in command for DA Jeff Chostner’s office.
Lindsey has prosecuted every type of crime, supervised scores of attorneys, and provided justice to hundreds of victims. During his career, Lindsey has obtained over a half dozen life sentences on homicide cases and has been on numerous critical incident crime scenes. He currently maintains an active caseload and is responsible for several ongoing first-degree murder prosecutions.”
Jeff is married with three grown children and attends St. Benedict Parish Church in Florence. Jeff is more than happy to talk to the citizens in the 11th Judicial District: call or text at 719-271-0146 or email him at ElectLindsey  DA11th@gmail.com.

Uncategorized

Hedberg Skewered in Court Case

Hedberg Skewered in Court Case
Injunction Demand Thrown Out
More County Money Wasted

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
It was pretty big drama in Happy Valley at the County Courthouse Tuesday, October 22, with Jordan “Red Bug” Hedberg’s Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) Injunction case against the Custer County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and Sheriff Rich Smith, finally being held in the 11th Judicial District Court. The case was heard before our newly appointed  Custer County 11th Judicial District Judge, Dayna Vise. (Judge Vise did a good job. She looked very comfortable and ran the trial like a seasoned pro.)
As you recall, Hedberg, the owner/editor of the local Wet Mountain Tribune newspaper obtained a TRO against the CCSO/Smith preventing them from seizing any of the Trib’s computers or electronic devices. Hedberg got the TRO after a friend/acquain-tance of his, who was a Custer County employee, had his county computer and personal computers and electronic devices seized by the CCSO in an alleged cyber hacking of Custer County computers, including several in the Sheriff’s Office. (No charges or arrests have been made to date.)
After the seizure, Hedberg, based on a simple email inquiry by Sheriff Smith about whether this county employee was politically associated with Hedberg, got his lawyer to request a TRO from our prior District Judge preventing Smith from seizing the Trib’s computers and cell phones. (Looking at the TRO filing, it is obvious, for multiple reasons, that the prior Judge should not have granted it, but she did.)
In order to defend the case, due to some potential issues with our County Attorney, Smith was forced to hire an outside attorney experienced in this arena. This cost the county $5,000. (Which was a good deal considering the experience of this attorney.) Smith filed a motion to dismiss the TRO and a hearing was set up to try the case. And that was Tuesday.
The case was held in our good old, paid for, court room starting at 2 p.m. I sauntered over about 1:50 p.m., somehow got past security, and entered the sacred chambers. There are two tables before the judge’s throne, Smith was sitting at the one nearest the door with his attorney.
The spectator seating is behind the two tables with a corridor running down the middle. So each table has its own “bleacher” section behind it. The protocol for seating, at least in Happy Valley, is that you sit behind the party you are supporting. Well, when I walked in the whole section behind Smith was already full and there was NOT ONE person in Hedberg’s section. Just Hedberg, Mr. Lonely, sitting at his table, looking straight ahead and ignoring everybody.
Two nice ladies made room for me in Smith’s section and people kept pouring in and jamming into Smith’s bleachers. It got to a point where you could not fit another human being into that section so late comers, regrettably, starting sitting in the back of Red Bug’s section. When the hearing started, there were about 60 or so people there rooting for Sheriff Smith and MAYBE ONE person, sitting behind Hedberg, who might have been a supporter.
Hedberg was alone at his table. Apparently his lawyer, a guy named Ernst, (that’s the same guy that Hedberg used to sue me), could not make it in person so, after some difficulties, came through remotely but with audio only.
So the trial was about Hedberg wanting the TRO turned into a preliminary injunction and Smith wanting the whole thing thrown out.
Right out of the gate, Ernst, asked the Judge for a delay as the case was “complex” and he hadn’t enough time to do his research. The Judge said no. And she did not appear to be too happy about
the request.

Ernst then outlined Hedberg’s case: After the innocuous statement in an email from Smith about Hedberg’s relationship to the alleged hacker, Hedberg, in his mind, Ernst alleges, had a reasonable fear that Smith was going to seize the Trib’s computers as Hedberg was associated with the alleged hacker and Hedberg thought, that Smith thought, that Hedberg had stolen data on the Trib’s machines.
Ernst then went on and on about the federal and state laws protecting the media and journalists from divulging their “confidential sources” and that any seizure of Hedberg’s stuff would violate those laws. Ernst then talked about how using a subpoena would be better than a search warrant as it would let Hedberg protect his sources better.

Not too far into Ernst’s spiel, Judge Vise interrupted and stated she was “perplexed” about this case as there was really “no issue before the court” and that Hedberg’s request was an “anticipatory action”. She noted if the injunction was granted it would prohibit the court from issuing a valid search warrant. Ernst blah blahed some more trying to defend his position and then it was the turn for Smith’s attorney, Mr. Tameler, from Pueblo.

Tameler took issue with the subpoena point that Ernst had brought up as it was not in the original pleading. He also said that there was not “imminent threat of search and seizure” He went on to say in Custer County, the Sheriff must get the ok from the District Attorney AND the District Judge before a search warrant can be issued. So there are two solid layers of protection for citizens. Tameler also noted that Hedberg didn’t post a bond when getting the TRO which is a requirement and that there were “no grounds” to get a TRO and it was a “spurious action”. Based on that alone, Tameler argued, the Judge should throw the case out.

The Judge then talked a bit about these issues and Ernst again whined that he hadn’t had enough time to properly research the case. The Judge then admonished Ernst saying he had plenty of time.

Hedberg then took the stand to testify. He said he had sent Smith an email about an “investigation” he was doing on the CCSO regarding some people they were using in the cyber hacking case and that in a return email from Smith about that, he was surprised that Smith had asked him about his relationship with the county employee whose computers were seized. Hedberg said he had a “lot of sources that need to be protected…”.

When asked when he had heard about the alleged cyber hacking and who it was, Hedberg revealed that he had “read it in the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel”. (That appears to be untrue. In the Sentinel’s original article on it, we did NOT name the alleged perpetrator. We only said it was a county employee. The first PUBLIC disclosure of the name was in Hedberg’s TRO filing to the court (which is a public document). Based on the filing, the Sentinel named the alleged perp the week following. So Hedberg did NOT learn the name from the Sentinel. So his statement in court was apparently false.)

Trying to justify the shaky request to the court for a TRO against the CCSO, Hedberg alluded to an incident that happened in Ohio last year (or the year before). Some small county in Ohio had a rogue sheriff and he had it in for the local, old, two bit newspaper. He invented some bogus reason and got a search warrant and seized the newspaper’s computers, cell phones, etc. The old guy who ran the paper (he was real old) got stressed out and had a heart attack and died the next day. Hedberg tried to use this one in a million episode to justify his rather dubious request for a TRO. (It was pathetic. In today’s world, if law enforcement is going to grab a newspaper’s computers, they better have an absolute solid case.) In the end, the Ohio sheriff was fired and arrested.

Again, reflecting on Hedberg’s mindset in getting the TRO, Smith’s submitted response to the court filed on October 11, 2024 destroyed Hedberg’s arguments on multiple fronts. Most telling perhaps was Section 14 of Smith’s response, “The factual predicate set forth in the petition is entirely speculative, bordering on paranoid.”
Smith’s lawyer, Tameler, then asked Hedberg some interesting questions including: Did Sheriff Smith ever say he was going to search your newspaper? No. Did Sheriff Smith ask you any questions about your newspaper? No. Also, “Did the Sheriff make any threat against your newspaper in the email?” Hedberg answered, “It was implied.” Tameler then talked about Hedberg being a political person in the county re Hedberg currently running for a Custer County Commissioner slot.

Ernst then asked Hedberg if he would cooperate with the Sheriff
in an investigation “so you wouldn’t compromise your sources?” Hedberg, of course, answered yes. (What a responsible journalist would have done if he suspected that his newspaper would be involved in an investigation would be to immediately go to the Sheriff and offer to help in any way except for source disclosure. This Hedberg did NOT do. Instead, he prematurely threw up a roadblock for the Sheriff. With the TRO.)

Sheriff Smith then testified. He reviewed the multi-step process for getting a search warrant. Ernst then stated that there are federal and state protections for newspapers re sources. (Smith’s attorney later pointed out that there are criminal activity exceptions in those statutes.)
In Closing Arguments, Tameler reviewed all the defects in Hedberg’s original TRO filing pretty much saying that the whole thing was bogus based on the facts of the case and the law. Ernst gave a pretty poor Closing Argument.

Judge Vise then gave her decision. She said since there was no “underlying complaint” filed for this TRO, and that is a requisite to get one (a TRO), thus, the court has “no jurisdiction” over the matter and the case will be dismissed. She said TRO’s should be issued “with caution” and must show “immediate and irreparable damage” which this did not do. (She was being diplomatic here. It was a bogus TRO requested by a guy who panicked over an innocuous statement by the Sheriff. The TRO should never have been issued.)

Smith’s lawyer asked the Judge to have Hedberg pay for the County’s legal expenses but she declined. (They rarely do this but you gotta try). So Hedberg again cost the county a bunch of money ($5,000 plus all the time of the players) via what appears to be a bogus legal attack. Not to mention all the cost and grief he has caused other county employees, elected officials, and citizens over the last few years with his law fare antics and various media aggressions . When is it going to end, folks?