OURAY COUNTY BRIEFS

OURAY – Former Montrose County Sheriff Warren Waterman and former Montrose County Undersheriff Dick Deines are now working for the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office.

Deines has been hired to fill the vacant road deputy position while Waterman has been hired to take charge of courthouse security – a position that is funded by a one year grant through Ouray County.

“We have reunited the team of Waterman and Deines,” Sheriff Dominic “Junior” Mattivi told the Ouray Board of County Commissioners on Monday. “They both have years of experience not only with the public but also with administration.”

Waterman brings 39 years of law enforcement experience and Deines boasts 34 years of experience.

Foreclosures Continue to Rise



According to Ouray County Treasurer Jeannine Casolari, foreclosures in Ouray County continue to climb.

Four properties were foreclosed on in February, bringing the total to 13 foreclosures since Jan. 1. In comparison, there were a total of 10 foreclosures in all of 2008.

“As far as foreclosures go, there were four in February and one on the way,” Casolari told the Ouray Board of County Commissioners on Monday. “Things have not slowed up in that department.”

Casolari added that all of the properties that have been foreclosed on this year have not been sold at public auction but have gone back to the bank.

In her report to the commissioners, Casolari also said that the first round of taxes were due on Feb. 20 and what has been collected so far is “just about equal to what we collected last year.

“We are right on target as far as collections go,” she said.

Staehle Named Emergency Manager of the Year

It was a meeting of celebration on Monday for the Ouray Board of County Commissioners when Chief Paramedic Norm Rooker announced that Emergency Planning Coordinator Alan Staehle has been named Colorado’s Emergency Manager of the Year by the Emergency Manager’s Association.

The commissioners celebrated Staehle’s accomplishment with a toast of sparkling cider and chocolate cake. Commissioner Keith Meinert congratulated Staehle on his award and noted that Ouray County staffers in general have made impacts across the state.

“I think it should be on the record that the folks on Ouray County staff are exerting influence in areas much larger than the size of our county,” Meinert decreed. “I think they should all be congratulated by this. It amazes me the extra effort that everybody is putting into these activities. It gets Ouray County’s name out there and I think our influence is much bigger. Thank you all.”

Commissioners Support Friends of the Wright Opera House

The Ouray Board of County Commissioners on Monday approved a letter from board chair Heidi Albritton to the Colorado Historical Society in support of the Friends of the Wright Opera House organization, which is trying to acquire the Wright Opera House in Ouray.

If the group is able to raise enough funds to acquire the opera house, it would become a center for county arts.