“Wow!” exclaimed Tom Jankovsky, Garfield County Commission (BOCC) chair pro-tem, after five hours of interviews for three public library district trustee positions. “Look at the people we have here in Garfield County and the talent and the knowledge. It just was amazing!” Indeed, it seemed like some of the best and brightest of New Castle, […]
GCPLD
Posted inNews
GarCo Report: Library board in the crosshairs, ECMC, nonprofit funding, budget
The Garfield County Public Library District board of trustees has really gotten stuck in the craw of Trish O’Grady, Rifle resident and vocal library critic. She opened this week’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting Tuesday with complaints about how the library board reappointed two incumbent trustees without BOCC approval at the regular monthly meeting on […]
Posted inLocal Government
Fletchall: ‘We can agree to disagree’
With the onset of library trustee appointments being vetted through the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) rather than the Garfield County Public Library District board of trustees — as has been customary prior to this year — things are shaking up on the panel.The libraries, as of late, have been scrutinized by members of the […]
Posted inLocal Government
Grant requests, dueling library petitions, Xcel gets laydown yard permit south of Silt
A different kind of library request opened Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting. Ellen Dole of the local group Protect Our GarCo Libraries approached the board with a polite letter and petition — with a stated 1,400 signatures — asking the BOCC to rescind a resolution about appointing Garfield County Public Library District trustees. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Who you gonna trust?
There are more public library buildings in Garfield County (and in the nation) than there are McDonald’s, Starbucks or City Markets.We hold our own with traffic, too. There are the young ones who come to storytimes, the moms who bring them, the local businessmen and women working from laptops and library wifi, the seniors showing […]
Posted inNews
Scuttlebutt & Calendar
Primary projectionsJeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, has come out on top in the Republican primary to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. Hurd will face Democrat Adam Frisch in the November general election. Frisch congratulated Hurd in a press release, saying, “My hat always goes off to anyone who is willing to stand up to […]
Posted inLocal Government
New library trustee announcement prompts backlash against the process
It wasn’t the “who” of the Garfield County library board appointment, it was the “how” that prompted several people to air their grievances against the Garfield County Commissioners (BOCC) on Monday, May 6. Library board president Adrian Rippy-Sheehy spoke up after the BOCC announced Myrna Fletchall as the new library trustee. Rippy-Sheehy said her remarks […]
Posted inLocal Government
Garfield County postpones meeting with library board, trustee candidates
A much-anticipated public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 2 with the Garfield Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) and the Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) has been postponed. BOCC Chair John Martin told The Sopris Sun on Monday, March 25 that he wants to have the full BOCC in attendance. He said that Commissioner Tom […]
Posted inLocal Government
Libraries head into 2024 down a board member
Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) will go into 2024 short a board member. That was the decision of the trustees at their monthly meeting in New Castle on Dec. 7. The board took the recommendation of GCPLD executive director Jamie LaRue to wait until next year to nominate another trustee after he, board president […]
Posted inOpinion
Library controversy: A youth’s perspective
On Thursday, Sept. 10, I had the opportunity to attend a local library board meeting. I was very excited to do so for three key reasons: 1) I got out of math class, 2) I’d never been to a library board meeting before and 3) the topic being discussed directly pertained to me. They were […]