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Author: Lindy Browning

On Western Slope, opioid crisis continues and sheriffs say it is leading to mental health, crime
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On Western Slope, opioid crisis continues and sheriffs say it is leading to mental health, crime

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell and Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor have had  a constant battle fighting the opioid crisis in their counties since 2017, when it first started impacting western Colorado. MESA COUNTY When opioids first appeared as fentanyl on the Western Slope in 2017-18, each pill cost $18. Now, because of increases in the supply, they are $2 a pill.  "Fentanyl is a 45-minute high, and we see people taking up to 40 pills a day. It makes zombies out of people in our community,” Rowell said. In Mesa County, according to Rowell, law enforcement and first responders have had to administer Narcan - a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose - 114 times in the last year. “That’s one person every t...
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Grand Junction still seeking answers to homeless issue, following drug arrests at resource center
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Grand Junction still seeking answers to homeless issue, following drug arrests at resource center

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice When the Grand Junction City Council was forming their plan in 2023 to find temporary shelters for the approximately 2,300 homeless people who were living in the streets, members of the community had multiple concerns about the potential problems with the proposed housing. One of those concerns was the illegal use of drugs inherent to many in the homeless population.  On Aug. 22, 2024, the Grand Junction City Council approved changes to city zoning and created a process to establish places for temporary housing shelters in non-residential and mixed-use areas of town. At the time, the Council decided not to approve tents or safe parking places, although those options had been considered in earlier discussions. They were not a...
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[UPDATED] Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters given 9-year sentence by judge
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[UPDATED] Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters given 9-year sentence by judge

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Judge Matthew Barrett has sentenced Tina Peters, once the Mesa County clerk and recorder, to serve eight and a half years in prison with the Department of Corrections, and six months in the Mesa County Jail as a result of being found guilty on various election charges related to her former capacity. In a scathing rebuke of her defiant behavior after a guilty conviction, Barrett listed all the reasons that probation was not a possibility for Peters: “You are no hero… Yes, you are a charlatan… Incarceration is appropriate when a person is a danger to us all, by sword or by pen,” he said from the bench. Peters' attorney, Michael Edministor, asked the judge to consider a probated sentence, considering his client had exhibited a his...
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Adam Frisch, Jeff Hurd meet for likely their final 3rd District debate in Pueblo
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Adam Frisch, Jeff Hurd meet for likely their final 3rd District debate in Pueblo

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice The last meeting between Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District candidates, Democrat Adam Frisch and Republican candidate Jeff Hurd, took place Monday, Sept. 30, at the Hoag Theater in Pueblo. From the beginning of the debate it was clear that moderator Earnest Luning was going to ask the candidates some difficult questions and he wanted specific answers. At some points during the debate, he asked follow up questions to get more specific answers for the public. Luning, representing Colorado Politics, set the tone of the debate by asking both candidates how they were going to work with U.S. Rep. Lauren Bobert, who has represented the 3rd District and is now running in the 4th District in Northern Colorado and on the Eastern Plain...
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Is Prop. 129 the answer to the veterinary shortage in rural Colorado?
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Is Prop. 129 the answer to the veterinary shortage in rural Colorado?

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice It’s a rare occasion indeed when we see Gov. Jared Polis and Heidi Ganahl, former rivals in the 2022 governor’s race, agree on much of anything.  Proposition 129, on your general election ballot, is just the thing that they could speak about in one voice. Prop. 129 asks voters to approve a new mid-level veterinary practitioner, equating the mid-level practitioner to a physician’s assistant for humans. The duties of this newly proposed veterinarian professional associate (VPA) would overlap between those of the veterinarian (DVM) and those of a traditional vet tech. The proposed VPA would be able to diagnose, recommend treatment and perform some surgeries under the supervision of a DVM. If Prop. 129 passes, it would not go into ...
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Browning: Prop. 127 is ballot box biology gone wild and Mesa County wisely stood against it
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Browning: Prop. 127 is ballot box biology gone wild and Mesa County wisely stood against it

By Lindy Browning | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Prop 127, a ballot initiative brought through the efforts of an extreme animal rights activist group, Cats aren’t Trophies (CATs) is a slap in the face to wildlife experts at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). It’s also exploitation through deception for voters who love wildlife. Western Colorado voters know that wildlife management is critical to healthy ecosystems and healthy and diverse wildlife populations. Once again, Western Colorado is leading the way.  On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Mesa County commissioners stood for all 900 species of wildlife in Colorado, stood for livestock growers and took a stand in supporting the experts and biologists at CPW. They passed a resolution opposing the ballot measure. Hitting the nail r...
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In 3rd District, Club 20 debate unveiled sharp contrast between candidates Hurd, Frisch
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In 3rd District, Club 20 debate unveiled sharp contrast between candidates Hurd, Frisch

By Lindy J. Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice While both candidates have successfully identified issues that are top of mind for voters in the U.S. House District 3 race -- primarily the economy, border, health care, public lands, agriculture and water issues -- a Club 20 debate last week on the Western Slope showcased a sharp contrast in both candidates' specific policy solutions and demeanor. In his opening statements, Adam Frisch, the Democratic nominee, told the audience: “I’m here tonight because rural Colorado has been left behind and ignored. Everyone feels forgotten, misunderstood and taken advantage of by Denver and D.C.” “We are tired of the 'Angertainment' that seeps into our lives. It’s destructive to our families and communities. I just don’t have any room ...
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Ballot-box biology is once again before Colorado voters in November with Prop. 127
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Ballot-box biology is once again before Colorado voters in November with Prop. 127

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Although Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) does not take a position on Proposition 127, all it takes is a cursory look at their website to see that Prop. 127 is in direct conflict with science based and biologists’ expertise in mountain lion and bobcat management efforts for a healthy and robust population in Colorado.  Prop. 127 is the result of an animal rights activist group, Cats aren’t Trophies (CATs) , a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, gathering enough signatures to place the issue on the November ballot. This is the same process that led to the reintroduction of wolves in Colorado. Scott Summers, owner of Canyon Rim Outfitters in western Colorado worries about how he is going to make a living for his family if Proposi...
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Denver’s Initiative 309 slaughterhouse ban impacts national lamb supply chain
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Denver’s Initiative 309 slaughterhouse ban impacts national lamb supply chain

  By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice  As J Paul Brown of Ignacio, Colo., gets ready to bring his sheep back to the lowlands for the fall roundup, he contemplates the impact of Denver’s Initiative 309, which singles out the largest lamb processing plant in Colorado for closure.  He worries that, if passed, the state has, yet again, compromised the domestic food chain.  Superior Farms has been singled out by this ballot initiative for closure after an animal rights activist group, Pro-Animal Future, championed the initiative.  Superior Farms has been in business since its founding in 1964 and is a 100 percent employee owned facility that currently employs upwards of 170 direct employees.  “I find it so ironic that the very same people, who support loc...
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