Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper answered questions about protections for the Dolores River corridor and numerous other issues at a town hall in Cortez Tuesday night. People in the audience of about 150 repeatedly asked about the possibility of President Biden using the Antiquities Act to declare a national monument on the corridor. Hickenlooper said creating a national conservation area through legislative action would be highly preferable. Legislation to create an NCA on 68,000 acres of the river corridor in Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel counties has been introduced in Congress. Mesa and Montrose counties also have released a draft proposal for an NCA in their counties.
The Montezuma-Cortez District Re-1 school board on Wednesday issued a statement saying it is waiting for the result of legal proceedings against the district superintendent before “making any assumptions.” Superintendent Tom Burris is facing a misdemeanor charge of failing to report possible child sexual abuse after he was reportedly told by one student’s mother of an inappropriate relationship between that student and a teacher. In their statement, the school board notes that the mother reportedly said she did not believe the student and teacher had a sexual relationship. The board said it would take the matter up at its special meeting on Sept. 3.
