Silt resident John Lepkowski is at it again with a new complaint about books in the Silt Library. The books are a series of graphic novels titled “The Boys” by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the same books that a woman complained about last week. Lepkowski told the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday that he had asked [Garfield County Court] Judge [Jonathan] Pototsky if there was anything he could do about “obscenity in the library.” Apparently, the judge recommended that Lepkowski contact the county attorney.
Lepkowski stated that he wrote a book review a couple of months ago on “The Boys” and received a letter from Garfield County Library District Director Jamie LaRue. “[He stated] that it’s fine and they’ll do nothing about it,” said Lepkowski. He went on to describe the books as “very obscene and raunchy.” But, he noted that the books were in the adult section. “The trouble is that the desk [in the Silt Library] is around the corner. They cannot see who’s in the adult section,” he explained.
Following in the footsteps of last week’s complaint, he said that the library is hiding behind the First Amendment. “It doesn’t say anything in the First Amendment that you’re authorized to put pornography — sorry, obscenity — where children can obtain it in a public place,” he argued. “The library’s a public place.” He hopes that the new library board of trustees can do something about the books.
Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky reminded Lepkowski that the BOCC only has the authority to appoint trustee members. “So your message needs to go to that library board,” he explained.
Delaney Deskin, the new Central Mountain Regional Representative in Senator Michael Bennet’s Grand Junction office, introduced herself, stating that she started the position in August of 2025, replacing Hilary Henry. Jankovsky and Commissioner Mike Samson requested that the Senator support inclusion of the annual funding for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Water Smart program in the FY 2027 federal budget request. They also asked for Bennet’s support of Rio Blanco County’s appeal of the State of Colorado’s Major Disaster Declaration request related to last summer’s Elk and Lee wildfires.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and President Trump in December rejected the State’s $41 million disaster aid request for those wildfires and floods in other parts of Colorado. The BOCC signed a letter Monday to Trump and Governor Polis, urging them to reverse the decision. Polis has already come out against FEMA’s decision.
Samson stated that he thought President Trump made two mistakes. “I support President Trump in many of the things he is doing, but I think he made a terrible mistake — I’ll say it publicly — with the water situation down in southern Colorado,” he said, referring to a presidential veto of Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s bill to provide safe drinking water to the Arkansas River Valley. “And, I don’t think this is a good idea either — not having support for Rio Blanco County’s disaster declaration.”
Moving along, County Assessor Jim Yellico presented the certification of levies and revenue, stating that combined local government revenues throughout the county did not change much last year ($201,335,264) from 2024 ($201,294,909).
County revenues dropped 11.2% due to oil and gas revenue reduction. “The decrease in oil and gas values overtook the increase in residential values,” explained Yellico.
“Thank you, Governor Polis,” said Jankovsky. “You’ve done a good job of hurting the natural gas industry in Garfield County and Rio Blanco [County] with your different rules and regulations. Not a single rig in Garfield County at this time.”
Other items included approval of the consent agenda, approval of a budgeted $7,000 for the Human Services Commission’s Humanitarian Awards dinner in April, intergovernmental health and human services agreements, and a fairgrounds fee waiver for the Colorado River Valley Little League try-outs.
The annual County Fair and Rodeo report showed an increase in revenues over the past five years, from a little over $267,000 in 2021 to more than $345,000 in 2025. Expenditures for 2025 were about $14,000 higher than 2021. Livestock sales from 4-H and the county CSU Extension were the highest they’ve ever been, according to county Extension director Carla Farrand.
The BOCC agreed that, all in all, it was a good fair. ”It’s our biggest party,” said Jankovsky.
The county landfill needs money for a new culvert, which the BOCC approved. You can view all BOCC meetings at the Garfield County website.