The Ute Council Tree - forever in our hearts

Ute Council Tree
Jim Wetzel / Delta County
Historical Society Photo 2017

Why do we care about an old tree in Delta, Colorado? When headlines and social media are log jammed with racial tensions, calls for an end to bigotry, and peace.[1]

The Ute Council Tree in Delta is an important reminder because its once-living timber absorbed the themes of the modern day debates in bygone eras.[2] Arguments by local Natives concerning hunting and horse betting, debates on how to interact with other tribes, dreams of equality and peace among the races, or discussions of diplomacy and war.

The tall and mighty cottonwood tree lost its last living branch on a windless Aug. 1 – Colorado Day.[3] At 9:30 AM on Aug. 25 – the anniversary of Chief Ouray’s death – a public ceremony was held to mark the conclusion of this tree and immediately thereafter it was cut down to protect persons and property.[4]

Within the written history, the Delta County Historical Society has found no causal connection to any Ute councils, treaties, or forums held around this tree.[5] The oral history of the Utes has recognized this tree as symbolizing their heritage and a living connection to their ancestors[6] who wandered these hills and named the Grand Mesa -- Thunder Mountain. Because of this, the Ute Council Tree site will forever be venerated.[7]

Legend has it, that this is the tree Ouray met in council with his fellow leaders, and it was under this tree that Ouray did the unthinkable -- he invited his wife, Chipeta, a woman, and his most trusted confidant and adviser, to join in the council's decision making.[8]

It was beside this tree that the Utes passed as they were removed from their tribal lands in late-August 1881.[9]

And it was past this tree that Chipeta would later return and visit settlers whom had become her friends. She visited the area often, with her final journey occurring in September 1923.[10]

For 215 years[11] this old cottonwood tree has stood firm, a stone’s throw from the confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison Rivers and a testament that a tree, planted by a river, won’t fear drought, because strong roots will allow leaves to provide shade in summer’s heat.

In 1802 America was still young and the Louisiana Territory still belonged to France. As a matter of fact, the seedling wasn’t even growing in French or United States territory – at that time, today’s Western Colorado belonged to Spain. When Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, it inherited the Spanish claims which included modern-day Delta County.[12]

The Ute Council Tree survived destruction when Antoine Robidoux, a fur trader based out of Santa Fé, cut nearby cottonwoods to construct Fort Uncompahgre in 1828 along the Old Spanish Trail. The delta of the Uncompahgre and Tomichi[13] (modern day Gunnison) Rivers was an ancestral wintering encampment for the Utes.[14]

By the end of the 1830s beaver pelt prices had declined precipitously and to make up for lost revenue, Fort Uncompahgre increased its trade in California horses and Indian slaves. Powerful tribes would capture the women and children from weaker tribes and then sell them at the Fort.[15]

The Ute Council Tree stood strong as Eastern industrialization and improved routes of trade resulted in a drop in trading prices. The Indians concluded that the Santa Fé and Taos traders, including Robidoux, had cheated them for years.[16]

During the summer of 1843 two events occurred which would impact the Council Tree. First, the Indians raided Fort Uncompahgre and killed everyone except Mexican trapper Calario Cortez, who narrowly escaped the carnage.[17] Second, a traveling band of Tabeguache Utes came upon a burnt-out Kiowa village and heard a baby girl crying. Everyone else was dead. They rescued the baby and named her Chipeta – meaning White Singing Bird.[18]

As a teenager, Chipeta had taken care of Ouray and his family. Black Mare, Ouray’s first wife, died in 1859.[19] Later that year, Ouray, the tribe’s respected hunter and warrior, married Chipeta.[20] A testament to Ouray’s greatness, he and thirty warriors defeated 300 Arapaho warriors. During the battle, Ouray’s five-year-old son disappeared in the confusion.[21] Ouray and Chipeta would look for years, but never found the son.

With the discovery of gold and silver in the San Juan Mountains, there came a flood of Whites into the Ute lands. Those winter councils around the tree must have raised questions of enormous magnitude regarding the tribes’ future.

During one council meeting, Ouray persuaded the tribe to allow him to negotiate a treaty with the US Government. With the help of Kit Carson, Ouray would travel to Washington, DC and successfully negotiate a series of treaties that would guarantee specific boundaries for the Tabeguache and Mouache Utes; and in exchange for outlying lands, the US government would pay the Ute tribes money, food, and supplies.[22]

Not everyone liked Ouray. In 1872, Ouray and Chipeta had just arrived at the Los Pinos Indian Agency when Sapovanero attempted to assassinate Ouray. Sapovanero nearly missed and Ouray then sought to kill him on the spot. Chipeta threw herself in-between the two warriors and pleaded for life. Sparing Sapovanero’s life avoided a dangerous rift amongst the Ute tribes.[23]

Ouray and Chipeta had only recently settled down as farmers near Montrose when news of the 1879 Meeker Massacre reached them. The White River Utes attacked the new Indian agent, Nathan Meeker, after he destroyed their race track and insisted on them using their time for farming, rather than horse racing and betting. Meeker sent for troops and Major T.T. Thornburgh was sent with 178 soldiers. They were attacked en route to the agency and 13 of Thornburgh’s soldiers were killed. Upon hearing that Meeker had called in the army, Chief Douglas and his warriors murdered Meeker and 11 others at the agency. They took the women and children hostage and held them at the tribe’s mountain camp.[24]

At the urging of Chipeta, Ouray called for peace. He wrote the White River Utes and called for an end to hostilities and for the hostages to be sent to his home outside of Montrose immediately. The hostages were released unharmed, but the uprising sealed the fate of the Colorado Utes.[25]

Last branch fell off on 1 Aug 2017
Pat Sunderland/
Delta County Independent Photo

In 1880, Ouray and Chipeta travelled once more to Washington, DC and signed the final treaty between the Ute Nations and the United States of America. President Rutherford Hayes signed on behalf of the federal government and hosted Ouray and Chipeta at the White House. Upon Ouray’s return to the West Slope, he had one mission; to have the remaining tribe – the Southern Utes at Ignacio, sign the treaty. Ouray fell ill near Durango and died of Bright’s disease on August 25, 1880.

The following year, the US government removed the Uncompahgre Utes to a reservation in eastern Utah. A wave of White settlers rushed into the Gunnison River Valley in October 1881. In the shadows of the Ute Council Tree, a town was formed and appropriately called – Uncompahgre.[26]

By 1882, Uncompahgre was renamed Delta when the Post Office Department refused to recognize a name with so many letters.[27] The following year, Delta County was created from a portion of Gunnison County.[28]

From time to time, until her death on August 16, 1924, Chipeta would come through Delta and visit the land she once called home.[29] Each time she came to visit, she would stop by the old Ute Council tree and take a solidary moment. In September 1923, Chipeta made her last trip through this area.  As a young boy my grandfather, Guy Howard, recalled seeing Chipeta and Buckskin Charlie in Delta.  Later he acquired two of Chipeta’s baskets, which are now on permanent display at the Delta County Historical Society Museum located at 251 Meeker St. in Delta.[30]^, [31]

At the public ceremony held to mark the conclusion of the 215 year old Ute Council Tree, many Utes made a pilgrimage to pay homage to a tree which symbolizes their heritage. Many prayers were offered and official letters publically read, then the waiting trucks and saws began cutting the tree.

A complete history of the Ute Council Tree written by Jim Wetzel may be purchased at the Delta History Museum for $10. Wetzel's history is more specific to the tree, whereas the above is a general history of the area that the Council Tree would have borne witness too over the last 215 plus years.[32]

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[1] “History worth preserving.” Editorial. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 18 August 2017) A4.

[2] Deborah Doherty & J. Wise. Delta, Colorado: The First Hundred Years. (Delta, Colo: DCI, 1981); and James Wetzel, A Spirit Returns: Delta County, Colorado: A Pictorial History. (Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning, 2003); See also: Muriel Marshall, Where Rivers Meet: Lore from the Colorado Frontier. (Texas A&M University Press, 1996).

[3] Pat Sunderland, “Historic landmark damaged.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 2 August 2017) A1; Pat Sunderland, “Ute Council Tree to be cut down.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 16 August 2017) A1+; “Old tree to fall on Ouray anniversary.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 17 August 2017) A3.

[4] Pat Sunderland, “Ute Council Tree’s roots run deep.” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 30 August 2017) A1+; Keith Lucy, “Personal Interview.” President of the Delta County Historical Society. 16 August 2017; Kelly Slivka, “This is part of our heritage: Centuries old tree revered by Utes Tribe, dramatically cut back” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 26 August 2017) A1+.

[5] Gary Harmon, “Historic Ute Council tree has rotted, must be cut back.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 12 August 2017) A1+.

[6] James Wetzel, The Ute Council Tree (Delta County, Colo., 25 August 2017) 5.

[7] Colorado Tourism Office 2017, http://www.colorado.com/historic-places-districts/ute-council-tree. Accessed 16 August 2017.

[8] Jeanne Varnell, Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (Johnson Books, 1999) 32-7.

[9] Ute Indians v. US (1910), Cases Decided in the Court of Claims of the United States, Vol. 45. (W.H. & O.H. Morrison, 1911) 440+.

[10]  Matthew Soper, “Chipeta, legendary wife of Ute Chief Ouray” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 26 July 2004) A8.

[11] Professor C.W. Ferguson, University of Arizona at Tucson, dated the Ute Council Tree as being 212 years old in 1985, which would make the tree 244 years old in 2017. Jess Fults, City of Delta Tree Board, dated the tree as being 180 years old in 1985; which is where the generally accepted age of 215 years old came from in 2017 news reporting. It is fair to say that the seedling, which became the Ute Council Tree, began its life between 1773 and 1802.

[12] Thomas J. Noel & Carol Zuber-Mallison, Colorado: a historical atlas (University of Oklahoma Press, 2015).

[13] The Spanish name at the time was Rio de San Javier (Xavier), however Catholic Priest Silvestre Vélez de Escalante noted upon seeing the river in 1776 that Juan Maria de Rivera, the first non-native to see the river, called it: “the great Rio del Tizon”. See: Steven G. Baker, Juan Rivera's Colorado, 1765: The First Spaniards Among the Ute and Paiute Indians on the Trails to Teguayo. (Western Reflections Publishing, 2016).

[14] Chris Miller, "Fort Uncompahgre." Colorado Encyclopedia, http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-uncompahgre. Accessed 17 August 2017. See: Ken Reyher, Antoine Robidoux and Fort Uncompahgre: The Story of a Western Fur Trader (Ouray, CO: Western Reflections, 1998). See also: Rufus B. Sage, Rocky Mountain Life, or, Startling Scenes and Perilous Adventures in the Far West during an Expedition of Three Years (1859; repr., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982); C. Gregory Crampton and Steven K. Madsen, In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829–1848 (Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1994); and Joseph J. Hill, “Antoine Robidoux, Kingpin in the Colorado River Fur Trade, 1824–1844,”Colorado Magazine 7 (July 1930).

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Jeanne Varnell, Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (Johnson Books, 1999) 32-7.

[19] For a complete history of Ouray and Chipeta, see: P. David Smith, Ouray: Chief of the Utes. 2d ed. (Wayfinder Press, 1986); Cynthia S. Becker & P. David Smith, Chipeta: Queen of the Utes. (Western Reflections Publishing Co., 2003); and Vickie Leigh Krudwig, Searching for Chipeta: The Story of a Ute and Her People. (Fulcrum Publishing, 2004). For a general history of the Utes, see: Wilson Rockwell, The Utes: A Forgotten People. 2d ed. (Western Reflections Publishing Co., 1998); Jan Pettit, Utes: The Mountain People. Rev. sub. ed. (Johnson Books, 1990); and Virginia McConnell Simmons, The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. (University Press of Colorado, 2001).

[20] Op. Cit. Varnell, Women of Consequence.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] Id.

[26] Ute Indians v. US (1910), Cases Decided in the Court of Claims of the United States, Vol. 45. (W.H. & O.H. Morrison, 1911) 440+.

[27] Olivia Spalding Ferguson, “A sketch of Delta County history” The Colorado Magazine (The State Historical Society of Colorado, Denver, Colo., October 1928) Vol. V, No. 5.

[28] Op. Cit. Wetzel, A Spirit Returns; and Doherty, The first hundred years.

[29] Matthew Soper, “Chipeta, legendary wife of Ute Chief Ouray” Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo., 26 July 2004) A8.

[30] Id.

[31] Aaron Porter, “Austin youth uses history to shape future” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo., 18 March 2001) 2A+.

[32] See: James Wetzel, The Ute Council Tree (Delta County, Colo., 25 August 2017)

Nursing Homes: the business of taking care of our loved ones

My great-aunt Mabel and me. 2017 Author's Photo.

My great aunt has been in the nursing home for nearly a decade. Her retirement yields a little over $5,000 a month (post tax). The nursing home monthly bill is $7,000. We've finally depleted all invests, annuities, and other assets and will be making the move to Medicaid.

I find it amazing that in Delta County, where the cost of living is the lowest in the state and the aides, cooks, and most of the support staff earn minimum wage, and through all this, a monthly bill is over $7,000! All this gets you a twin bed in a shared room where they provide one shelf for personal affects and tell you not to hang family photos, repaint, or other change the sterile institutional white room. My brother's sub had more personal space than these nursing homes.

With an occupancy rate of say 50, this is $350,000 per month or $4.2 million per year, plus an additional million in subsidies for providing ageing care services in the rural areas. The institution is a non-profit, so there aren't really any taxes to worry about, which begs the question of how in the world is so expensive?

What is even more amazing is that the nursing home is subsidised directly by state and federal government and the facilities themselves are at least 25+ years old, so it's not like the price point reflects a modern state of the art facility.

Lesson learnt: Don't worry about saving. Take that expensive trip. Deplete the cash reserves. If you have any inkling you'll end up in a nursing home, you won't need to worry about a will, as the only thing you'll pass on is a burial bill.

Hopefully no one interprets this rant the wrong way. The ability to make your loved ones a little bit comfortable at the end of life is worth everything you have. No one should ever expect, nor be given anything in life. You earn your way, by starting out with nothing, immediately going in debt, climbing out and becoming a successful member of society. That is the American Dream.

In many ways, inheritance is a corruption on society. It passes on the successes on one generation to another, only the receiving generation was not the creator of success, but merely a beneficiary. By removing the grit and hard work, and the sweat and blood, we create a lazy, privileged, and unmotivated culture.

Yet, the debt that is piled on now days is hard to overcome: rising costs for higher education, unaffordable health insurance with high deductibles, the cost of health care itself is through the roof (don't get ill or injured), being able to save for a down payment on a house is more challenging, as the cost of living pretty much eats up a month's income. Even regulatory barriers make entering many business markets a challenge.

At what point in time are the masses unable to pay their debts and earn their way? Schemes that deplete wealth, especially the middle class, should be very worrisome. Until the cost/income ratio is able to balance a bit, any help families can provide to one another is essential to creating members to society who will be able to pay their own way.

Crime, homelessness, economics, & the politics of cannabis

Local policy makers are touting the economic benefits of commercial cannabis cultivation as a meansNational Public Radio’s Central California affiliate, a one-acre grow operation could bring in $19 million a year![1] While profits vary, jobs in the 420-industry, such as bud trimmer earn $12-13 an hour, according to Forbes. The grow master or cultivator can expect to earn $100,000+ per year.[2] to replenish depleted coffers. Looking at the numbers, it is hard to deny their claims. According to a report by

Colorado’s Amendment 64 was passed by the voters in November 2012; and the commercial sale of marijuana to adults, 21 years of age and over, for recreational use began on January 1, 2014.[3] This date is important, because in the March 15, 2017 issue of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, it was reported that property crimes and all crimes reported saw a major increase from 2014 onwards. While violent crimes declined in the year 2014, thereafter, violent crimes have also seen a significant increase.[4]

One hypothesis is that crime and homeless have increased in Colorado since the legalisation of recreational marijuana.

The Sentinel article quotes Grand Junction Police Chief, John Camper, as saying, “I talk to police chiefs throughout the state and they’re seeing the same thing that we’re seeing – a level of violence that we haven’t seen before,” noting that it’s hard to pinpoint the reason for the rise.[5] Chief Camper is quoted later in the article as saying increases in property crimes are “often an indication of an increase in drug activity.”[6]

From 2014 to 2016, School District 51 students, who are broadly identified as homelessness, soared nearly 55% from 388 to 600, according to a Daily Sentinel article at the time.[7]

The 2016 Housing and Urban Development Report on Homelessness, reports that “Between 2015 and 2016, the number of individuals experiencing homelessness increased in 22 states. The largest absolute increases were in California (4,504 people), Washington (1,374 people), and Colorado (721 people).” [8] Percentwise, this was 13 points up from the previous year and represented a reversal of the trend which showed homelessness slightly declining over the past decade.[9]

In privileged conversations, some Western Colorado policymakers have expressed to this author their belief that the legalisation of recreational cannabis has led to an increase in crime and homelessness.

Looking at the numbers state-wide, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports that all major crime classes have increased 6.20% since the beginning of 2014.[10] Between 2013 and 2014, crime actually decreased by one percent. Looking at the aggregate picture of crime in Colorado for the decade 2005 to 2015, crime generally was decreasing annually until 2012.[11]

Comparing these state-wide numbers with more pronounced local findings, there does suggest a slight correlation between increased crime and legalisation of recreational cannabis. More data and in-depth analysis will be required to know for sure, but certainly those who have expressed concern are not without merits.

The Financial Crisis 2007-08, sparked by the subprime mortgage market and excessive global barrowing and risk taking, had major ramifications at the local level. By 2009, Colorado hit the high-water mark with 46,394 home foreclosure filings.[12] Smaller jurisdictions, such as Delta County saw their worst numbers in 2010, with 264 foreclosure filings.[13]

In 2009, a small group of Delta citizens, from various churches, concerned by seeing homeless people lingering around town, organized to start a homeless shelter. As the Financial Crisis became entrenched and foreclosures mounted, industries such as the local lumber company and saw mill closed, followed by the North Fork coal mines. At the same time, Mesa County saw a major reduction in the Oil and Gas industries. As the layoffs, failures, and foreclosures mounted, so did the homeless situation.

Homelessness had increased enough locally, that in November 2014, the Abraham Connection (Delta County’s Homeless Shelter), made the decision to move out of the Delta Methodist Church’s basement and begin construction of a $750,000 facility,[14] which opened in November 2015.

During the Nov. 2013–May 2014 season, the Abraham Connection provided 840 bed nights. Contrast that number with 2,665 which was the total number of bed nights provided during the Nov. 2016–May 2017 season.[15] In three years’ time, that is a 217% increase in homelessness.

Looking at Delta County as a case study, with over 1,000 coal mining jobs gone, a couple hundred timber related jobs chopped, and countless ‘mom and pop’ stores shut for good, a rising homeless population and a school district and hospital struggling under declining revenues due to ratcheted-down property valuations, many policy makers have turned to marijuana as the saviour.

Delta County Commissioner, Mark Roeber, told the Denver Post that he receives calls “almost daily, saying marijuana is going to save us.”[16] While Delta County, and the municipalities within the county, have sustained a prohibition on commercial retail and cultivation since 2013, some towns have explored the retail pot question.

In 2014 Paonia voters rejected a retail pot question, as was the case in Hotchkiss in 2016. By 2017, Orchard City considered repealing their prohibition on commercial marijuana, as did the Paonia town council.[17]

Aside from the cultivation operation owner, the grow master or cultivator is the only employee who would earn what a displaced coal miner had earned annually.[18] Other jobs in the 420-industry would pay comparable to entry level west slope salaries.[19]

While the Green Rush has more likely than not increased crime and homelessness, the costs of these increases to local societies should be calculated when setting budgets for social serves, programs, and law enforcement. Communities should factor in all costs when considering the economics of boosting a city or county’s coffers.

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[1] Romero, Ezra David. "California Farmers Consider Cashing In On A New Crop . . . Marijuana." Valley Public Radio. NPR, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

[2] Borchardt, Debra. "The Five Best Marijuana Jobs." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 27 May 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

[3] Healy, Jack. "Up Early and in Line for a Marijuana Milestone in Colorado." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

[4] McIntyre, Erin. "All Categories 
of Crime in GJ 
rising Sharply." GJSentinel.com. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 15 Mar. 2017

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Langford, Katie. “Homelessness on rise for kids in District 51: Increase due to better identification, economic and family reasons.” The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 18 April 2016. A1+

[8] “The 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.” US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Office of Community Planning And Development, Nov. 2016. Web. 1 May 2017. Pg.14.

[9] Ibid.

[10] “Crime in Colorado Annual Reports 2005-2015.” Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Department of Public Safety, 2016. Web. 8 May 2017.

[11] Ibid.

[12] “Foreclosure Reports and Statistics 2002-2015.” Division of Housing. Colorado Department of Local Affairs, 2017. Web. 8 May 2017.

[13] Delta County Treasurer’s Office Report 2006-2016.

[14] Press Release Nov 2014. Abraham Connection / Delta County Homeless Shelter.

[15] Facebook announcement 1 May 2017. Abraham Connection / Delta County Homeless Shelter. Web. Accessed 8 May 2017.

[16] Finley, Bruce. “Collapse of Colorado coal industry leaves mining towns unsure what’s next.” The Denver Post, 14 May 2016. Web. Accessed 8 May 2017.

[17] Soper, Matt. “Timeline details Marijuana votes and regulations (Delta County, Colorado).” Delta County Independent, 1 March 2017.

[18] Op. Cit. see Finley article and Borchardt article.

[19] Ibid. 

How to be a County Court Judge in Colorado

We’ve all heard the stories: “You don’t need to go to law school to be an attorney.” “If you fail a section of the bar exam, then you can re-sit that section.” “You don’t need to be a lawyer in order to become a judge.”

As a general rule, all three of the statements are false. There are exceptions, such as Vermont, Washington, California, Virginia and Wyoming that allow for an apprentice readership scheme for being admitted to practice law. When most people think of “the bar exam”, they are referring to the July and February multiday exam, in which you must pass all sections for that sitting in order to pass the entire exam. There is no a la carte exam.

In New York for example, to become licenced, you would need to pass the Uniform Bar Exam
(UBE), the NY Law Exam (NYLE), and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). The latter two are offered several times a year and are considered requirements of licensure, but not the bar.

Qualifications to be a judge in Colorado generally go contrary to the one liner above. District Court judges are required to have five years of legal experience practicing before being able to become a judge. Many county courts require that a candidate be at least licenced in Colorado. However, there is an exception where the county is a small population county.

State statute divides counties into four classes. Class C and D counties may have a county court judge that is merely a high school diploma holder. An exception to this exception is when the workload hits 80% of full time. In this case, the judge would need to meet the requirements of a Class B county and be licenced to practice law in Colorado.

CRS 13-6-201 lays out the classes of counties:

Class A shall consist of the city and county of Denver.

Class B shall consist of the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, La Plata, Larimer, Mesa, Montrose, Pueblo, Summit, Weld, and the city and county of Broomfield.

Class C shall consist of the counties of Alamosa, Delta, Garfield, Las Animas, Logan, Montezuma, Morgan, Otero, Prowers, and Rio Grande.

Class D shall consist of the counties of Archuleta, Baca, Bent, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Clear Creek, Conejos, Costilla, Crowley, Custer, Dolores, Elbert, Gilpin, Grand, Gunnison, Jackson, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Moffat, Ouray, Park, Phillips, Pitkin, Saguache, San Juan, San Miguel, Sedgwick, Rio Blanco, Routt, Teller, Washington, and Yuma.

The annual salary of Denver is affixed by the ordinances of Denver.

The annual salary of Class B county judges is $63,500. CRS 13-30-103(j). This is section is read in tandum with CRS 13-30-104, which states that “for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1999, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the increase over and above the provisions set forth in this section and section 13-30-103, if any, in compensation of justices and judges shall be determined by the general assembly as set forth in the annual general appropriations bill. Any increase in judicial compensation set forth in an annual general appropriations bill shall be an increase only for the fiscal year of the annual general appropriations bill in which the amount is specified and shall not constitute an increase for any other fiscal year. It is the intent of the general assembly that an increase in judicial compensation specified in an annual general appropriations bill shall be added to the compensation set forth in this section and section 13-30-103 and shall not represent a statutory change.”

The annual salary of judges of the county court in each Class C or Class D counties is determined annually by the chief justice and certified to the general assembly and the controller pursuant to procedures approved by the Supreme Court. In determining the salaries to take effect on July 1 of each year, the chief justice shall use the average number of cases filed annually in each county court during the three-year period ending on the previous December 31. CRS 13-30-103(l).

For a current table of judge’s salaries in Colorado, click here.

Senate Bill 15-288, which was signed into law by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, on June 3, 2015, ties lawmakers’ and other elected officials’ pay to a percent of judges’ salaries. The law takes effect in January 2019 and means that any increases for judges, will also increase executive and legislative branch pay simultaneously.

When the workload for a part-time county judge reaches eighty percent of a full-time workload, the chief justice may assign the part-time county judge to serve on a full-time basis, so long as the part-time county judge meets the qualifications established for county judges in Class A and Class B counties, as specified in section 13-6-203.

As to the qualifications:

(1) The county judge shall be a qualified elector of the county for which he is elected or appointed and shall reside there so long as he serves as county judge.

(2) In counties of Class A and B, no person shall be eligible for election or appointment to the office of county judge unless he has been admitted to the practice of law in Colorado.

(3) In counties of Class C and Class D, a person is not eligible for appointment to the office of county judge unless he or she has graduated from high school. CSR 13-6-203.

The jurisdiction of county courts includes the handling of such things as civil cases under $15,000, misdemeanours, traffic infractions, small claims, and protection orders.

In 2011, The Denver Post reported that seven counties had non-attorney judges.

The Carmichael branch of Delta County, Colorado's Howard family

Myrtle Irene Howard , born September 3, 1877 in Castle Creek, Broome County, New York to Ira Howard Sr. and his wife Anna. In the autumn of 1887, the Howard family took the “shanty train” West, settling in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. It is not known when the Howard family became Seventh-Day Adventists, but from the early years of living in Colorado they were active in the Adventist church in Monte Vista and Delta. The Howard family has always been a close-knit, loving farm family.

Jackson (“Jack”) Ellsworth Carmichael  was born on October 11, 1864 in Jefferson, Noble County, Ohio. Prior to 1894 Jack and his parents, David and Sarah Carmichael, moved to Colorado and located in Rio Grande County.

Jack’s father, David L. Carmichael, was born in Virginia , circa 1824. His mother, Sarah Miller, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania on May 6, 1827 . In 1844, the Miller family moved to Ohio, and two years later, in 1846 , she married David Carmichael. Together they had seven children. In 1895, Sarah was baptised as a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and remained a faithful and devoted member until her death. David died in Monte Vista between 1900  and 1910. Sarah moved with her son Jack and daughter-in-law Myrtle to the Read / Austin / Cory vicinity of Delta County in the spring of 1911. Sarah passed away on March 4, 1913, at the age of 86 in Delta County,  Colorado. Sarah was survived by her four sons: Jacob, Joseph , Jasper , and Jackson. Collectively the siblings were known as the “4Js”.

Joseph was a mining engineer had convinced Jack to become a partner in a gold mine, the “Lone Pine”, near Prescott, Arizona. There were several occasions when Jack would go down to Arizona and help work on the mine. Glen Edward Carmichael, Jack’s grandson, even got in on this small scale mining operation in the 1980s. The mine is no longer in the Carmichael family, as the other partners wanted to sell out. Today, the area where the “Lone Pine” once operated, there is now paved roads, powerlines, and multimillion dollar homes. Joseph Carmichael had been mining in South America and returned to Dade County, Florida, where he resided at the time. He had written his brother Jack to tell him about his investments and assets, but the next letter the family received was from the local sheriff, saying his body had been found at the railyard and he was penniless.

Jack Carmichael was a stone mason and in 1907 he advertised for Echoes from the Field: “Wanted, two brick moulders and several other men to work in a brick yard, beginning May 5; wages, from $2.50 to S4.50 per day. Address J. E. Carmichael, Monte Vista, Colo. – J.E. Carmichael.”  In 1911, Jack built the Howard family home at Read.

On July 9, 1895, Myrtle Howard married Jack Carmichael in Monte Vista, Colorado. It was not long before the newly formed union began to bear fruit.

On March 19, 1896, Carl Clemet Carmichael was born in Monte Vista.  Carl married Gladys Adonna Johnston in Cory, Colorado on March 12, 1922.  Gladys was born on January 28, 1900 in Madison, Nebraska, and died on May 6, 1983 in Yuba City, Sutter County, California. Carl passed away on April 19, 1986 in Marysville, Yuba County, California.  They had a daughter, Gladys “Euline” Carmichael Epperson, who was born on January 18, 1923 in Cory, Colorado; she died on June 4, 1987 in Yuba City, California.

Ray Luther Carmichael  was born next. It should be noted that Ray’s 1918 WWI Draft registration card lists his date of birth as March 3, 1898 and his age as 20, however his tombstone in the Delta Cemetery has his date of birth as March 3, 1900. This is corroborated by his obituary, which listed the birth year as 1900.  The mystery is further complicated by the fact that Ray is listed as having turned 2 years old at his last birthday on the US Census of 1900, which would place his year of birth in 1898.  On September 4, 1926, Ray married Odell Elone Henson  in Grand Junction;  the licence indicates Ray was 26 at the time and Odell was 18 years old. Odell was born on November 15, 1908 and passed away on September 11, 1997  in Delta.  Ray passed away on January 23, 1986  in Delta.  Odell had been long time member of the Delta Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In later life, Odell’s daughter, Sylvia Griffith, and son-in-law, Jim Griffith  also came.

The third son was Fred Jackson Carmichael, born on May 1, 1905 in Monte Vista. He passed away on June 11, 1982  in Montrose, Colorado. Fred married Elva (or Elma) Fay Wear on March 23, 1934 in Moab, Utah. Elva was born on March 23, 1913 in Delta County, Colorado. She passed away on May 25, 1977  in Montrose County. Fred and Elva are interred at the Grand View Cemetery in Montrose.

The youngest son was Glen Howard Carmichael, who was born on September 11, 1910 in Monte Vista, Rio Grande County, Colorado. Glen passed away on June 26, 1994 in Delta, Colorado.  On October 15, 1931, Glen married Dottis Estelle Wear in Delta. The Wear family moved to Delta County between 1907 and 1910 from Texas.  Dottis was born in Delta on April 18, 1911 and passed away on April 25, 2006.  Glen and Dottis were long time members of the Delta Seventh-Day Adventist Church. They had one son, Glen Edward Carmichael, who retired as the production manager of Hi-Quality produce packing in Delta.

Even though the Jack Carmichael family began in the San Luis Valley in 1895, sometime between the autumns of 1898 and 1899, the Carmichaels embarked beyond the Continental Divide, settling in the lower Gunnison Valley in Delta County. During the 1900 Census, the Carmichaels were renting a farm and house in Eckert, an unincorporated village in the Surface Creek Valley, comprised of a post office, several stores, and numerous fruit orchards. By at least 1906, the Carmichaels were back in the San Louis Valley. During the 1910 Census, the Carmichaels are back in Monte Vista, Colorado.

The Carmichaels must have advocated quite persuasively that Delta County was the place to be, as by the spring of 1911 the Howards had purchased a farm in Read, Colorado from Harry Trail. The contract for the real estate was signed on May 13, 1911 and recorded on June 19, 1911. The owners listed on the Read farm warranty deed were Anna Howard and Amelia Hayes. Immediately after the closing, Ira Sr. and his son, Ira Jr. (Myrtle’s brother), along with Jack Carmichael (who was a stone mason), built the stone house at Read, which was home to the Howards from 1911-1962, when they moved to 10 Hartig Drive in Delta. Echoes from the Field reported on October 4, 1911, “Brother and Sister Carmichael and Sister Wade of Monte Vista have recently moved to Delta. Brother Oosterhous and wife plan to move there soon. This leaves the Company at Monte Vista rather small now, but we believe that others may be found at that place who will take their stand for the truth.”

The Jack Carmichael family rented the home and farm located adjacent  to where Roy and Marjorie (Howard) Long lived on the hill above the Gunnison River.  The modern day address of the place the Carmichaels rented is 8383 Marshalls Road, Austin, Colorado. The 1920 and 1930 Census indicates they were renting here, though it is not exactly known when the letting began or concluded. As of 2017, the home they rented is still there and owned by the Randall Shepard family.  The house was built in 1904.

The Carmichaels raised their family in the newly formed town of Orchard City.  Eventually the family moved to California Mesa and then Delta. Myrtle Howard Carmichael passed away on October 24, 1940 at the age of 63.  A fortnight later, on November 7, 1940, Jack and Myrtle’s niece, Orpha Mae (Howard) Miley passed away. This must have been a tough time for the Howard family.
On February 14, 1952, the patriarch of the family, Jack Carmichael, passed away.  He was 88 years old.  When Jack passed away, his obituary, published in the Central Union Reaper recognised him as one of the early members of the Colorado Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

A question which has persisted is when did the Howards become Seventh-Day Adventists? In a personal interview with Mabel Howard, niece of J.E. and Myrtle Carmichael, she recalled her “Uncle Jack and Aunt Myrt were devote Adventists, along with mama and grandpa [and others in the family].”  In 1898, it was reported in the Review and Herald that Elder Carmichael helped with an evangelistic series over in Cripple Creek.  In Echoes from the Field, dated September 12, 1906, “Brother J. E. Carmichael writes that their church school has started out nicely at Monte Vista. Miss Bayliss of College View is their teacher.”  In 1908, Jack Carmichael was a delegate to the General Conference and Central Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist.  At the Conference, Jack Carmichael was granted a ministerial license to be employed with church work in the field.  It appears Jack preached and was part of a spiritual weekend at the La Veta SDA Church in 1909.  La Veta is a statutory town in Huerfano County, Colorado and has had a post office by the same name since 1876. As of this writing, La Veta had roughly 700 inhabitants, roughly the same as when J.E. Carmichael and family would have visited in 1909. In 1913, J.E Carmichael was again granted a ministerial licence, this time for the Western Colorado Conference.

In reviewing the family archieves, it is amazing how many post cards they sent each other, especially when Jack and Myrtle were attending Seventh-Day Adeventist Confrences. One post card was from Iva Mae Oosterhous to Myrtie Carmichael telling them they had arrived safely in Montrose and were looking forward to seeing [President] Taft.

The August 3, 1922 issue of the Review and Herald featured a poem written by Jack Carmichael.  (see insert on previous page). In the early 1940s, Jack became blind. After prior to 1940, Jack and Myrtle, who lived at 215 Howard Street, Delta at the time, moved down the street to live with their son and daughter-in-law, Glen and Dottis Carmichael. A rope was tied from the back door of the house to the carriage house and corral in the back yard, where a milk cow was kept. Every morning, Jack would follow the rope and milk the cow. Jack enjoyed holding and spending time with his grandson, Glen Edward Carmichael, who was born in 1940, the same year Myrtle passed away. Jack passed away in 1952.

Glen Carmichael worked as a sugar beet foreman for many years and then went to work for the union. He eventually became a labour negotiator, travelling around the nation helping negotiate collective bargaining agreements and contracts. The Carmichaels moved to 224 Park Street on Garnet Mesa Hill, next to Dottis’ parents’ home in 1950. Dottis’ dad, Mr. Wear, ran a blacksmith shop behind the house until it burnt down one night. Glen Edward recalls the time he and the neighbour kids built and underground fort and covered it with sticks and branches. “Later that night grandpa came home from his Oddfellows meeting and crashed into the fort. We never heard the end of it.”

In Delta, Colorado: the first 100 years, by Deborah Doherty, Glen Carmichael was interviewed about the Holly Sugar Factory and World War II. “The sugar factory was considered a priority commodity and the workers at the Holly Sugar plant in Delta were deferred when their names came up for the draft. Since its operation was seasonal, however, many of the temporary employees were drafted by the government to work during their off months at a military base in Utah.”

Glen Carmichael leased and managed the old airport from Starr Nelson’s heirs after World War II. He ran Veteran’s Training Programs which were funded by the federal government, as well as private aviation classes. These activities continued when Carmichael moved the operations to Blake Field in the late 1960s. Glen leased a hanger and continued the flight school. In 1968, responsibility of the airport finally became the sole concern of the county government. Carmichael served as airport manager for about eight years. He later partnered with businessman Tim Arnett and opened the Delta Discount Center in 1976.

Carmichael was the founder of Delta’s Civil Air Patrol and formed a search and rescue team, with Glen as the commanding officer. The old Armoury Building, erecting shortly after WWI, served as the Air Patrol’s headquarters and saw many well-disciplined youngsters learn technical aspects of flying, shooting, how to spot dangerous situations, archery, and the use of Geiger counters, and other technical instruments. The Civil Air Patrol was very active during the Cold War.

Glen and Dottis raised two bob cats. They also had a big Siamese cat that rode with them everywhere they went, even to church! Its name was Pauline and could stand with its back legs on the floor and place her front paws on Dottis’ shoulders. Even though Dottis was only about five feet tall, a cat who could do that was still a pretty big cat.

Glen Edward and Dori managed fruit ranches from 1964-70, then managed the airport. Glen later was the production manager at Hi-Quality, one of the last fruit packing sheds in Delta County.