CORTEZ JOURNAL SATURdAy, JUNE 30, 2012 7A

Journal Staff report

With the smoke and black-ened landscape from the We-ber Fire still evident to resi-dents, and daunting thoughts of possibly more wildfires, a number of public fireworks displays have been cancelled in the region.

The hot weather, dry condi-tions and extreme fire danger has caused fire officials and law enforcement agencies in Dolores and Montezuma County to pull the plug on

fireworks displays in Mancos, Rico and Groundhog.

The last time the popu-lar Rico show was cancelled was in 2002, the year a num-ber of devastating wildfires consumed the state, includ-ing the Hayman Fire and the Missionary Ridge Fire in Du-rango.

“It’s way too dry,” said Todd Jones, Rico Fire Chief. “Even if we get rain, it would still be a no go.”

This year, the conditions mirrored those of 2002 and

the result has been simi-lar with wildfires reported around the state, with many still raging.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s deci-sion on banning fireworks played into the cancellation of Rico’s show.

“When the governor put out his memo banning fire-works, it said, if we sign the waiver and put on a show, he will not give us any money for aid if a fire breaks out,” Jones said.

Currently only two shows

are currently scheduled to go off in the area. Cortez’s dis-play is scheduled for around 9 p.m. July 4 with fireworks set off in Parque de Vida.

The other show that is still tentatively scheduled for July 4 is in Dove Creek.

Dolores County Sheriff Jerry Martin said he has strug-gled with the decision. On Thursday, he decided to not allow the annual Groundhog display, which was scheduled for tonight.

The annual fireworks dis-

play at the Ute Mountain Ca-sino in Towaoc, planned for Sunday night, is reportedly still set to go. Calls to the ca-sino were not returned.

Shows in the mountains towns of Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Telluride have all been cancelled.

“Why take the risk?” Tellu-ride Fire Chief John Bennett said.

Not only is there a risk of a large fire in Telluride, Bennett said the ban was to set an ex-

ample.“We are in a stage 2 (fire) re-

striction, so we need to set the tone and lead by example,” Bennett said. “We don’t need people saying, ‘Well they are setting off their fireworks, so I am going to set off mine.’”

The town of Dolores hasn’t had a fireworks show for sev-eral years and won’t again this year.

Shannon Livick and Dale Shrull reported to the story.

Most public fireworks displays cancelledCortez still a go for July 4

By Joe HanelJournal Denver Bureau

DENVER — Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling on national health care came as a shock to Attorney General John Suthers, who went to court to overturn it.

Suthers, a Republican, sued the federal govern-ment on behalf of Colorado, joining 25 other states. The National Federation of In-dependent Business filed a separate suit. The Supreme Court decided both cases at the same time Thursday.

Suthers was surprised by the ruling, in which Chief Justice John Roberts — ap-pointed by former President George W. Bush — upheld

the mandate that everyone buy insurance. Roberts said the mandate acted like a tax, which is within the power of Congress to enact.

“The court has endorsed Congress’s unprecedented decision to mandate that individual Americans buy a particular product or service or pay an economic sanc-tion,” Suthers said in a writ-ten statement.

Suthers has argued that the law is the same as forc-ing someone to buy a fuel-efficent car.

“Now that the Court has endorsed this unprecedent-ed exercise of federal power, I worry that Congress will pass other laws requiring people to buy one product

or another to further a fed-eral government policy,” he said.

On the other hand, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Demo-crat, greeted the ruling and said it will help the nearly 1 million Coloradans who don’t have health insurance.

He pointed out that the Legislature created a health care exchange two years ago to give people and business-es a way to find affordable coverage. The exchange is scheduled to open in Octo-ber 2013, and Hickenlooper said the state would have kept it even if the Supreme Court overturned the federal law.

“We had contingencies whether it was shot down

or it was upheld. We never slowed down,” Hickenloop-er said.

Suthers found one “silver lining” in the decision. The federal government cannot take back all its Medicaid payments to states if states don’t cooperate by expand-ing their health care cover-age for low-income people.

Roberts noted that federal Medicaid funds make up 10 percent of some states’ bud-gets, and he said Congress can’t engage in “economic dragooning” by threatening to withhold the funds.

“This means, at least, that there are limits on the fed-eral government’s power to compel states to make poli-cy,” Suthers said.

Health care ruling shocks AG

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13• A deputy followed up on a report that had been brought into the lobby of the Sheriff ’s Department concerning a lost Visa debit card. He spoke with the card owner who stated that 3 days earlier, she had taken her niece and nephew to the Dolores river to let them play in the water, and noticed on her way back to her residence that she had lost the card, probably on Riverside Ave. between 6th and 7th Streets in Dolores. The deputy found that as of one day after she lost the card, it had been used 6 times: at a Rico liquor store in the amount of $74.91; at Walmart in Cortez for $47.18; at Giant Gas Station for $105.00; again at Walmart in Cor-tez for $47.18; and the 5th and 6th transactions were also at Walmart for $166.71 and $48.76. The victim is working with her bank on the matter. Further investigation is pending.THURSDAY, JUNE 14• A deputy responded to a loca-tion in Dolores in reference to a report of a dog bite. He met with a woman who reported that two women she works with had decided to walk to the river, and while walking past a residence, one of the women walked up against the chain link fence with a dog behind it. When she brushed up against the fence, the dog stood up on its back legs and bit her right arm just below the shoulder, causing a bruise, but not breaking the skin. The deputy contacted the dog’s owner who said that he believed that his dog’s vaccinations were current and that he keeps his dog in the fenced yard or in the house at all times. The deputy con-

tacted the Health Department who advised that they would contact the dog owner to initiate standard procedure of quarantining the dog and would remain in contact with the owner to notify him of any findings. No charges were pursued against the dog owner, as his dog did not violate any town or county ordinances.SATURDAY, JUNE 16• A deputy was dispatched to respond to the area of a possible drunk driver who ran his vehicle off a rural road into a ditch and was trying to leave the scene. The vehicle and driver were identified, and the driver was known from prior contacts. The deputy was advised that the vehicle had left the scene and was heading towards Cortez. Believing the driver was trying to make it home to his resi-dence, the deputy headed there, and observed the suspect’s vehicle accelerate down the driveway to the residence, creating heavy dust in the air. The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and the suspect exited the vehicle. The suspect told the deputy that he had been coming from a friend’s house after drinking all night and swerved to miss a deer, and ran off the road into a ditch and wrecked the vehicle. He stated that an unknown male had helped him out of the ditch and then began to follow him. The suspect kept making the state-ment “I (expletive) up, I (expletive) up,” and began to cry. The suspect failed voluntary roadside maneu-vers and was placed into custody and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or both. • A deputy observed a vehicle in

front of him with a white light coming from the area of the rear license plate. He made contact with the female driver, a juvenile pas-senger and a male passenger. The deputy could smell a strong odor of marijuana in the car. The female driver was asked to step to the rear of the car to speak with the deputy, and when questioned, denied that there was any marijuana in the the car. After being told that the deputy could smell it, she stated that there was and walked back to the door of the vehicle and reached behind the front seat and retrieved a plastic baggie that contained ap-proximately 6 grams of marijuana. She stated that she was a legal provider of marijuana for her husband who had a valid medical marijuana card. When asked for her paperwork proving this she stated that it was at her residence. The deputy advised her that based on regulations, medical marijuana and paraphernalia was not to be used or in possession in public, and that when you picked up a supply from a dispensary store, it has to be in a marked container, and is to be taken home. She stated that she didn’t know that, and was advised that it was part of the rules and regulations of having a medi-cal marijuana card. Based on the deputy’s training and experience, the marijuana in the woman’s possession was not purchased at a medical marijuana dispensary. The male passenger also had a marijuana pipe in his pocket. The woman was issued a summons for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, and the man was issued a summons for possession of paraphernalia.

MONDAY, JUNE 18• A deputy responded to assist an-other at the scene of a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle on Hwy. 145. The deputy on scene advised the second responder that he believed the driver of the vehicle, an adult female with a California driver’s license, was possibly under the influence of something. The woman was asked to step outside the vehicle to perform some voluntary tasks to determine whether she was under the influence. Prior to having her begin the tasks, she was asked who the male in the car with her was, and stated he was her boyfriend. When asked what his name was, she stated that she re-ally didn’t want to tell the deputy. When asked why, she stated she didn’t want to tell him. The deputy provided the name of the pas-senger and said that she knew he had a felony parole warrant out of California. The woman said “I don’t want him to know I told you he’s (name),” and was informed that he was going to be arrested. The woman failed tests that indicated she was under the influence of drugs, and she stated that she had chewed on some marijuana leaves the other night and had also shot up some methamphetamine. The deputy observed needle marks on the woman’s arm, and she tested positive for meth and amphet-amines in her system. She was charged with DUI drugs. The vehicle the couple was in had been loaned to them by a male county resident who assisted the male in his effort to escape and avoid arrest on his warrant. Deputies were dispatched to his home to arrest him for being an accessory to crime.

S H E R I F F ’ S B l O T T E R

A STAINLESS STEEL BBG GRILLwith a

GRILL GAZEBO & BAR STOOLSfrom Choice Building Supply or a

$300 GIFT CERTIFICATE from C.A.R.E

Little League All Stars are selling tickets for a drawing to help them get to their ALL STAR GAMES!

You can purchase tickets at Choice Building Supply or call (480) 580-7304

ONLY $5 PER TICKET

July 3-7

Pick’N HoeTogether We Thrive

57th

Annual

FireworksDark-thirty

Music By:

Bluegrass etc.

F U N F O R A L L

A G E S

G R E A T F O O D

FREE

Special Thanks to our Top SponsorsAdobe Milling Co, Frosty’s Liquor, QCS, SOARR, Fraley & Co,

MVCI Energy Services, Budweiser, KRTZ & DJ Simmons

All Night Softball Tournament July 6th - registration starts at 4:00 pm3rd Annual Poker Run, July 7th, 9:30 at Dove Creek Sinclair.

Open Mic Bluegrass Jam, July 7th, 12:00

• Martin Ogas• Kevin Frazier

July 4th • Patriotic hour at 6 pm at the football field.

• Holley Brothers• Ray Young and Friends

• Music Daily • Sock Hop • Pig Catch• Softball & Horseshoe Tournaments

• Volleyball • 3rd Annual Water Fight• Parade • BBQ & Great Food • Kids Games

Dove Creek, COFor complete itinerary checkout

www.picknhoe.com970-739-3562

Relay For Life of Montezuma

CountyJuly 20, 2012

Parque de Vida

Contact Susan Williams atsusan.williams@cancer.org

(970) 247-0278

www.cortezrelay.com�Sign up • Donate • Get involved

Across From Blondies

Items will be marked down anywhere

from 25% to 75% OFF everything in the store!

Hot Hot

SALE!

34 E. Main Street, Cortez 565-9075

Mon-Sat • 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Items will be marked

HH

SALESALE

Hot

“GOD and COUNTRY”SouthweSt Cowboy ChurCh

Monday, July 2nd at Lewis/Arriola Community Center(1 mile west of Hwy 491 on County Road S)

Cowboy Pastor, Mark BakerPrays at the Grand Canyon.

The Local Honor Guard will be there to present the colors.Great Patriotic & Gospel songs by ‘The Line Camp Riders’.Inspiring patriotic message by Pastor BakerFor more information call: 882-1433

6 PM - Potluck ( Bring extra)

7 PM - Cowboy Church