By Kristin Otts, special to Mountain Valley News

Mom didn’t exactly invite my boyfriend to my graduation party. She used something I like to call “forced hospitality.”

“So, we’re having a barbeque at our house tonight,” I told The Boyfriend. “And I don’t know if you had any plans tonight, but if you want to come…”

My mother interrupted, “You have to come.”

“No,” I said. “You don’t…”

“Yes, you do,” she insisted. “We’re going to eat, and take naps, and play a lively round of dominoes. It’s going to be fabulous. You have to come.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, but The Boyfriend just laughed. “In that case, I will definitely be there.”

He kept his promise. He came to the house, played games and ate barbequed shrimp. And, my mother kept her promise as well – she assured me that she wouldn’t be embarrassing.

It felt like high school all over again. The Parents insisted on meeting The Boyfriend; The Boyfriend acted accordingly; he smiled and spoke softly and wore a polo shirt instead of his Guitar Hero tee. I groaned and moaned about the embarrassment of it all…but in reality, it was all for show. Because I have never been ashamed of my mother.

Even as young children – throwing tantrums and sneaking cookies from the kitchen – we feel the impact of a mother’s love. Even as teenagers – angry at a ten o’clock curfew – we crave our mother’s attention and affection. And as we get older, as we become “adults” who can talk to our parents as fellow adults, nothing really changes. We laugh at the things they say. We roll our eyes. We bury our face in our hands, “embarrassed” at their actions. But mothers live at the very center of world. They are caregivers, then authority figures, and finally friends. And we are incomplete without them.

Today, I want to thank the mothers of the world. I want to thank them for their time, for their sacrifice, for their energy, and for those “embarrassing” moments that always make us laugh later.

Mostly, I want to thank my mother.

Thank you, Mommy. I love you.

Happy Mother’s Day.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation. He designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The proclamation also provided that the week in which May 15 fell became Police Week.

Yesterday, many thousands of people came together to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty as law enforcement officers around the country. A goodly number of those who attend events like the memorial service in Senate Park in Washington, D.C. are law enforcement officers. They are there to support their comrades even in death.

We have no authority, and we do not presume to have any, but we hereby declare today Thank a Cop Day.

Do us a favor and take a minute today to thank your local law enforcement officers for what they do. Even if you disagree with some of what they do, take a minute to realize that they are there for you, should you need them.

It is our humble opinion that the communities in which this paper is read the most have the security of knowing that they have some very dedicated law enforcement officers. Many of those officers are young. Many of them are here just to gain experience and then to move on to places where they can make more money. Many of them are still in the learning mode. The best of them will keep learning until the last day of their career.

There are also a sizeable number of those who wear badges in our small communities that are here because this is where they want to be. There are chiefs that came here to get away from the turmoil of big cities, but still realize that one phone or radio call may instantly put them into a life-threatening situation. They may spend most of their days writing traffic citations and telling people to keep their dogs quiet, but that one call you make asking for their assistance may well be the one that saves your life.

The National law Enforcement Officers Memorial, dedicated in 1991, is a monument dedicated to those officers who have died in the line of duty. More than 19,000 names are engraved on the 304 foot-long wall. The names go back to the first known officer killed in the line of duty in 1791, and names are added every year during National Police Week.

Honor after death is a wonderful thing, but it does more for those still living than it does for the one that is gone. Let’s do something now – today. Instead of making jokes about the coffee and donuts, maybe you could just pay for them and walk out. Instead of trying to hide your cell phone or put on your seat belt because there is a marked car behind you, maybe just pull up beside Sgt. Smith and say, thank you.

As for us, here at MVN, we thank all of you. We know we sometimes get on your nerves. We know we sometimes have to remind you of the Freedom of Information Act. We know that sometimes we seem a little pushy. We also know that your protection and service to our communities is very important and lends to the life we have here. Thank you.

By Bob Cox, Mountain Valley News staff

It doesn’t take long talking with Gary Broughton before his background in marketing and customer service begins to show through.

A few years ago Broughton had some health problems. He had to quit what he was doing at the time. He and his wife, Tammy began discussing some sort of business in which they could remain in the Crawford area and make a living.

“Tammy said we ought to get a tanning bed,” Broughton recalls. “At first I didn’t like that idea at all.” Then he and Tammy decided that, just maybe, a tanning bed business would not be a bad idea, but they were sure it would not be enough to make a living. In what Broughton describes as somewhat of an out-of-the blue idea, he decided to try a truly diversified business.

The town of Crawford is called home by less than 400 people, many of whom are either too young to drive, or for some reason or another they don’t drive. Certainly, those 400 people were not going to provide enough base to make most businesses profitable. What Broughton came up with was a little unorthodox, but he says it is working.

“I’m also a big fisherman and an outdoorsman. I just thought, well it would be a good thing to have a little bait and tackle and a little grocery and a tanning bed and a gift area, and I have four different things turning dollars,” he said.

The result is that he built a small building and started Bait Box-n-More. And there is much more within the walls of the little building, located a block off the highway. In addition to the obvious fishing tackle, one can purchase basic food items from ice cream to cereal and coffee to nuts. Need a quick gift for that special occasion? Broughton says to come see him. He has a selection of unique items. As for the tanning bed, he says it has become very popular. “It is busy all the time,” he says.

But, when talking to Broughton, it is also apparent that he loves fishing and everything that goes along with it. He says he has fished most of the waters of Colorado, been a fishing guide and fished in many other states and countries. He knows what the fish at nearby Crawford Reservoir are biting on best because he goes there on an almost daily basis. Tammy watches the store while Gary goes fishing. At least, she watches the store unless her sideline volunteer firefighter duties call her away.

Broughton says he may even have to expand the business. “It just keeps getting busier and busier,’ he says. He says he would also like to start a youth group that is dedicated to the wise use of the outdoors and to fishing. He anticipates doing some sort of youth clinic, whereby young people will learn to handle fishing tackle, tie flies and an various other activities. He says that he always welcomes the youngsters and encourages people to bring them in. “Let the Bait Box-n-More help you make a memory of a lifetime,” Broughton says.

He will not steer you wrong. If the fish are biting, he will tell you what they are biting on. If they are not biting, he says to go fishing anyway and come back to the store and tell him how you’ve done. The prices are competitive and the conversation is exciting. There truly is an emphasis on “more.”

By Bob Cox, Mountain Valley News staff

I do not actually remember the first deer I ever shot. Frankly, I did not have many unsuccessful seasons, and I certainly have taken my share I suppose.

I enjoy deer hunting. I have my favorite places and, like I say, I have been very successful, but I am a little worried about the future of the mule deer hunting in Colorado.

I just received some interesting information from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Because I failed to draw tag last year and have been looking forward to drawing one this year, I was particularly interested in some of the numbers the CPW released.

This next season, Colorado will issue more than 240,000 licenses for elk, deer and pronghorn. Less than 80,000 of those will be for deer. That number bothers me. My concern is not the number of licenses so much as the reason for the number of licenses, which is almost six percent less than it was last year.

There is a lot of anecdotal information floating around about the deer populations. One person sees 50 does in a hay field and proclaims the population is robust and healthy and another person drives from Montrose to Gunnison without seeing even one deer. His perception is that the entire population has been disintegrated, and many times that person blames the wildlife management practices.

All of us who have been active hunters over the past decades know that wildlife managers have certainly made some mistakes, but modern technology and practices are, in my opinion much better now. All of us also have our own ideas as to why the deer population has dwindled, but blaming just one or two things is likely the wrong thing to do.

The mule deer population in the West actually peaked in the 1940s, a time remembered by many of our fathers and grandfathers. So much has happened since then that putting a finger on a cause is impossible. Nearly every year someone comes out with some sort of study listing the reasons. Almost every study states the obvious things like increased building, grazing pressures and migration pattern interruptions. They often dance around those politically charged topics like over aggressive suppression of wildfires, exotic plant invasions and the dramatic increase in elk populations brought on largely through management efforts that focus on that huge $430 million economic impact figure that promoters of our state like to use when talking about hunting.

The fact is that all the studies, all the facts and all the impressive news releases give little light to what has actually taken place. In short, the causes remain mostly speculative.

One thing I am sure of, mostly because I have spent a lot of time looking at the evidence, is that hunting has had little or nothing to do with the decline of the deer population. If over-harvesting was actually a factor, that would reduce the numbers of deer in any given habitat arrangement, thereby increasing the birth rate and reducing the newborn mortality until that habitat was once again peaked. Just the opposite is happening, according to most of the studies I looked at. Oh, and us hunters are the ones paying for most of these studies.

Anyway, I remained concerned and sit waiting impatiently for word on my deer license application. I suppose I will be satisfied with one license every couple of years. I will just have to reduce the number of venison steak and egg breakfasts I have in a given year.

By Kami Collins, Mountain Valley News staff

Later this month, about 134 students in Delta County will graduate not only with high school diplomas, but also with more 1,043 combined college credit hours to their names. Delta High School did not provide the number of credit hours that its 63 students will graduate with, so factoring in those students this number is actually quite a bit higher. When all those kids head to college this fall, they will begin their education ahead of the pack, saving themselves time and money.

High school teachers who have master’s degrees in their fields of study (or the equivalent number of teaching hours to earn a master’s) teach a variety college-level classes to students who are looking to push themselves a bit and get a head start on college at the same time. In order to teach the classes, staff members have to have not only the master’s degree but also have to be accredited to teach at either Colorado Mesa University or Colorado Northwestern Community College, the two colleges which Delta County School District works with to offer this program. The school district has about 23 teachers who are certified and teach these courses. They are not paid extra to teach these courses.

It is not an easy program to participate in. Students have to have a 3.0 cumulative GPA, earn Bs or better in previous courses and earn a 19 or higher composite ACT score as well as a 19 or better in each subject area of the ACT, said Shauna Magtutu, the counselor at Delta High School.

Additionally, the courses are not simply college classes taught at a high school level. They are actual freshman-level college classes, taught out of the same textbooks that freshmen on the campus of Colorado Mesa University learn from, and tested at the same rigorous college level. “The classes we are teaching here are just as good as at CMU or CNCC. We are accredited through the community college network,” said Glen Suppes, dean of students at Hotchkiss High School. “We have to meet the same standards. We are truly a community college. I guarantee we are providing the rigor these kids need to have to be successful.”

“This is the best thing we have going for us right now,” he said.

“The program allows us, within the high school program, to provide more challenging programs for students,” said John Jones, who oversees the program for the school district. “It allows more options for students in small high schools. It’s a nice way for the students to have different curriculums and course work that they may or may not get in small school. It opens up a whole new educational experience, and that’s a really nice advantage for our students.”

Madelyn Byers, a senior at Delta High School, agrees. She has taken nearly every college class DHS offers, and will graduate with almost 23 college credits under her belt. “They’ve been really helpful in preparing me for college. They helped me get started on my freshman year,” she said. She will attend CSU in Fort Collins this fall and plans to study either history or psychology.

Most of the classes offered locally are freshman level general education courses, which allows students to begin taking classes in their major earlier than a typical college freshman, Jones said. Students are eligible to take the classes as early as their freshman year. Many students do not begin the classes until their junior or senior year, however, due to the difficulty of the classes and their class load. “We have seen a few cases where sometimes it can be a little intimidating for some of the younger students,” Jones said. “But it works both ways. One advantage is that especially for bright students and for those who can handle the rigor of it, it’s a good thing. It’s very challenging. For a student to get 60 credit hours as well as to complete their high school stuff — regular classes, sports, prom — that’s a pretty special student.”

“Most of my classes were pretty hard,” Byers said.

Suppes said more than giving students a better start to college, these courses offer the college experience at home. “It gives them rigor in their course load and content and a little more awareness about what a college class is like, within a safe environment,” he said. “We give them a safety net. We meet with the kids five days a week for 55 minutes, and each one of our staff members has to wear two hats. On one hand they are the college prof that amps things up. On the other hand, they are the high school teacher that a student is comfortable with and can fall back on.” Teachers can offer that extra knowledge that a college professor often doesn’t: how to be successful in the college setting, for example, or some of their own college experiences.

“We have to read on your own and do our own class work, but the teachers help us more, I think, than maybe a college professor would,” Byers said. “They’ve been really helpful in preparing us for college.”

Suppes said many students who have graduated from HHS and who took the college classes come back and thank Hotchkiss teachers for preparing them for college. “I have yet to have one student walk up to me and not say the program was valuable,” he said. His staff still gets e-mails from former students currently in college asking for advice or guidance.

The credits students earn transfer to accredited Colorado colleges and universities, and many other institutions around the country. One Hotchkiss student, Ben Smith, knows that first hand: he’ll graduate in May with enough credits to start as a college junior. Every credit he has earned will transfer to his school in Iowa.

The biggie for parents is that their children can take advantage of these courses and save a boatload of cash. The district policy is to pay for two classes per semester per student. If a student wants to take more than two classes, they cost only $60 per credit hour. Comparably, one credit hour at CMU costs about $300.

“It’s possible that a student could get a $25,000 education for $3,000,” Jones said. “That’s quite a value.”

“That’s pretty stinking cheap,” Suppes said. “Especially if you factor in costs like housing and a meal plan. It’s a savings to parents and kids don’t have to take out student loans. It’s definitely a win-win.”

The school district has offered some type of higher education program to high school students for a number of years, said Jones. College classes have been offered in some form for about 15 years. For several years, the district worked with Mesa State College and CNCC where students could earn an associate’s degree if they completed 60 credit hours. That was pretty challenging for students, he said.

Jones said Hotchkiss High School staff is responsible for bringing the level of participation and popularity up. “Hotchkiss was the school that got really deep into the associates degrees first,” he said. “They took full advantage of it, when we started offering it, to the full degree. They pushed it and brought it to what it is now.”

In addition to this avenue of taking college classes, the district offers several ways for Delta County students to get a higher education, Jones added. Students are able to take Advanced Placement courses, which are collegiate level courses that are taken for high school credit; the Ascent program, which allows students to take a fifth year of high school and earn additional credits; and the Delta Montrose Technical College, which high school students can attend during their upperclassman years. “We have a lot of valuable programs that give students lots of options,” he said.

Bottom line, from a student who knows: “I would recommend taking college classes in high school. They help out a lot,” Byers said.

“This is a good opportunity for our kids,” Suppes said. “We’re meeting the needs of Colorado kids. If this truly wasn’t something that benefited us, we wouldn’t do it.”

The Delta Police Dept. dealt with 31 law incidents during the period between May 4 and May 10. Officers issued seven traffic citations and made seven arrests. The following is a summary of incidents taken from the most recently available significant activity reports and may not include certain incidents that are currently under investigation and for which details are not available: ]]> webmaster@mountainvalleynews.net (Marie Patchen) Police Blotters Wed, 16 May 2012 06:39:41 +0000 http://www.mountainvalleynews.net/home/13-food-people/3017-peggys-potpourri-a-collection-of-recipes-hints-and-thoughts-51612.html http://www.mountainvalleynews.net/home/13-food-people/3017-peggys-potpourri-a-collection-of-recipes-hints-and-thoughts-51612.html