Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Vaccines now required for all CO health care workers | From the Newsroom

Also, a recap of last night's twilight vigil
Email not displaying correctly? View the web version
Montrose Logo

Image
Good afternoon, Montrose! It's Anna Lynn here. I can't believe it's already the last day of August, which means that there's only a few more weeks of actual summer. I've lived in Florida for the past four years, so this upcoming fall will be my first one in a while. If you have any ideas for fun fall activities to do in and around Montrose, send me an email (annalynnw@montrosepress.com)!

Now, onto today's news.



Vaccines mandated for all healthcare workers in CO: The Colorado Board of Health ruled at an emergency meeting last night that all employees at hospitals and health care facilities will need to get vaccinated by Sept. 30, but final rules and logistics are still to be determined. Individuals will be able to opt out for religious or medical exemptions.

This move comes as cases of the more-contagious delta variant spike around the country. Approximately 30% of Colorado health care workers are still unvaccinated.

Katharhynn Heidelberg has been making calls all day and is coming out with a full-length story about the local reverberations very soon. (She covered on an anti-vaccine protest at the hospital last week, when dozens of people protested during a hospital board meeting. Vaccines were not on the agenda.)



Related: MHS grad Jefferson Peak is a registered nurse working in the Denver area at the University of Colorado hospital. He shared some heartbreaking stories about working in the ICU for the past 18 months with 9News.

"A lot of the people are burnt out as I'm sure most people are aware," Peak said. "We have not had a single break of anything, of any kind. It's been consistent COVID ICU work for us since 18 months ago."



Image

Twilight vigil to pay respects: Last night, dozens gathered at the intersection of Main St. and Townsend Ave. to pay their respects for the 13 American service members killed last week in an explosion at the Kabul airport.

"[I feel] heartbroken that a mom is going through this — that 13 moms are going through this right now," Cheryl Mastens said. "There's no words."

Mastens drove from Grand Junction to come to the event. She's the president of Western Slope Blue Star Mothers, an organization of current and former military moms.




It's football season: multiple people around town have already told me that I'll be able to hear Friday's first home game from my apartment in town. We'll be hosting a live event the night before the game at 7:30 featuring team athletes on NABUR, a Daily Press-powered social media platform, and on montrosepress.com. We'll also post a video to our FB page the next day.

If you have any questions for the players, share them with our sports writer Josue Perez, who will be hosting the event! His email is josuep@montrosepress.com.



QUICK LINKS
 
 
 
NABUR link
Powered by Journalists!
NABUR platform bridges the gap between local news and social media by inserting a previously missing element: Interactive, quality community journalism.
Go to NABUR
 
 
 
 
State health department reports higher infection rates in unvaccinated individuals
Montrose Memorial Hospital was caring for four confirmed COVID-19 patients as of 6 a.m. Monday morning. Two patients were in the ICU and two were in the Medical/Surgical Unit of the hospital, according to MMH Chief Marketing Officer Leann Tobin.
Read More
MCSD slated to offer after-school childcare at most district schools starting Sept. 7
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 7, Montrose County School District will be kicking off the Extended Learning Network for elementary school students, a new after-school program that will offer after-school childcare and educational enrichment.
Read More
Six-year prison term imposed in 'callous' stabbing of wheelchair-using man who was also beaten with golf club and doused in gas
The level of violence William Fritz inflicted on a wheelchair-using amputee was at odds with his lack of history of such crimes — yet, his otherwise prosocial behavior cannot overcome the severity of his crime, District Judge Keri Yoder found.
Read More

Have a story idea? Click here to let us know

Loving this newsletter? Have an idea for something we could do better? Send us feedback by emailing justint@montrosepress.com

Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus pandemic and local events by following us on social media.

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.
Montrose Daily Press PO Box 850, Montrose, CO 81402-0850

Monday, August 30, 2021

One of 13 killed in Kabul had local ties | From the Newsroom

Vigil tonight; also, interview with superintendent; and this day in history
Email not displaying correctly? View the web version
Montrose Logo

Image
Happy Monday, Montrose. It's Justin here, and there was some tragic news over the weekend, as we found out one of the 13 service members killed in the Kabul airport attack over the weekend had ties to Montrose.

Our condolences to the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, who was preparing to welcome his first child into the world. There will be a candlelight vigil at 7:30 p.m. today at Demoret Park, on the corner of Main Street and Townsend Avenue, for those who would like to pay respects to the fallen 13.



Interview with the supe: Carrie Stephenson, the Montrose County School District superintendent, spoke with Anna Lynn Winfrey about how her long-term goal for MCSD is for education to be "joyful." She also reflected on her first 14 months with the district.



On this day in 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first Black U.S. Supreme Court justice. He was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson and is looked at as a justice who was all about civil rights. He once described his legal philosophy like this: "You do what you think is right and let the law catch up."

He was a champion of individual rights, supporting such causes as a woman's right to have an abortion and opposing the death penalty.

In 1987, when most of the country was celebrating America's bicentennial, Marshall gave a controversial speech about the founding of the country, in which he said "... the government they devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war and major social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, we hold as fundamental today."

Read more about this day in history here.



Image

Our favorite rendition of the national anthem: A WWII vet earlier this month was invited to sing the Star Spangled Banner before a ballgame in Michigan. Give it a watch.



QUICK LINKS
 
 
 
NABUR link
Do you have any 9/11 stories you're comfortable sharing?
Please share whatever you remember from that day, whether it affected you directly or indirectly, so we can honor those we lost together.
Go to NABUR
 
 
 
 
Crested Butte's new camping rules are restoring resources and producing few complaints — so far
Crested Butte's new camping rules are restoring resources and producing few complaints — so far
CRESTED BUTTE — On a Saturday morning at the end of July, Aaron Drendel, a recreation staff officer with the U.S. Forest Service's Gunnison Ranger District, walked through Musicians' Camp, a group camping area along the Slate River. Recent rain…
Read More
Guilty plea in school embezzlement case
Montrose County School District's former IT head is to pay back $280,000 under a plea agreement he entered Monday, Aug. 30.
Read More
Community health leaders and CDPHE provides COVID data snapshot for Montrose County
Montrose County is balancing the rise in new delta variant cases with returning to a new normal as students flock back to school.
Read More

Have a story idea? Click here to let us know

Loving this newsletter? Have an idea for something we could do better? Send us feedback by emailing justint@montrosepress.com

Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus pandemic and local events by following us on social media.

Facebook Twitter Instagram
Click here to unsubscribe and manage your email subscriptions.
Montrose Daily Press PO Box 850, Montrose, CO 81402-0850