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<br />14 PAGES TODAY
<br />VOL. 69-NO. 120
<br />
<br />Service Center for Montrose,
<br />Ouray and San Miguel Counties
<br />
<br />
<br />MONTROSE, COWRADO 81401
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<br />"Best Little Daily in the U.S.A."
<br />WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22,1976
<br />
<br />Officials praise vote on Dallas
<br />
<br />By GUY KELLY
<br />Daily Press Stafl Writer
<br />After more -than 20 years of
<br />planning, hoping and dreaming
<br />the voters in the Tri-County
<br />Water Conservancy District
<br />yesterday assured tl)e future of
<br />the Uncompal1gre Valley by
<br />voting overwhelmingly in favor
<br />of the Dallas Creek Project.
<br />By a 9-1 margin,.S,I97 to 613,
<br />qualified Tri-County electors ap-
<br />proved a contract with the
<br />federal government calling for
<br />the repayment of $28 million of
<br />the $54 million total cost of the
<br />Ridgway Dam and Reservoir. .
<br />"It doesn't seem possible that
<br />we've finally realized the
<br />dream," City of Montrose
<br />Mayor Robert Strong said this
<br />morning. "1 think it was a clear-
<br />cut mandate that the people of
<br />the Uncompahgre Valley want
<br />the Dallas Project."
<br />Harold Westesen, president of
<br />the Tri-County Water Conser-
<br />vancy District, was very pleased
<br />with the turnout of voters and the
<br />result of the election.
<br />"To us ,. he said "this means
<br />that the People of the valley are
<br />in full support of the Dallas Pro-.
<br />ject and the Ridgway Reser-
<br />voir,"
<br />"We feel that it was due large-
<br />ly to the efforts of Bob Schmitt
<br />(who handled tbe publicity for
<br />the pro;ect) and many, many
<br />concerned people who gave their
<br />time and effort so generously to
<br />distribute the information. 1
<br />thank everyone for their sup-
<br />port.
<br />"Now that the election is over,'
<br />we have our work cut out for us.
<br />Frank Carlson (Bureau 01
<br />Reclamation engineer) will be
<br />the project engineer. Work will
<br />begin in 1977 On relocating U.S.
<br />Highway 550 around the reser-
<br />voir.
<br />"A field station will be built
<br />below the reservoir site and the
<br />Bureau of Reclamation will
<br />proceed with their work in ob-
<br />taining specifications for the
<br />d;1m and rights-ol-way for the
<br />dam and reservoir." he said.
<br />Tbe dam will be located
<br />between Ridgway and Colona on
<br />the Uncompahgre River and will
<br />create a reservoir with 1,000 sur-
<br />lace acres and about 80,000 acre
<br />
<br />feet when full. Construction of
<br />the dam will begin next
<br />September, according to the
<br />Bureau of Reclamation.
<br />"It's good to know that we're
<br />going to keep our water right
<br />here," Strong said. "It can only
<br />help u.s in the future."
<br />Robert Lewis, Colona, who
<br />served as president of Tri-
<br />County from its inception in 1957
<br />to 1971, expressed gratification
<br />at the vote.
<br />"I've said all along Ithoughtit
<br />would pass strongly," he said.
<br />"I didn't anticipate that much,
<br />but these are good folks, and
<br />they've got their feet on the
<br />ground, and 1 believe they know
<br />what's best for the valley.
<br />"I'm delighted to hear it. 1
<br />really am."
<br />James Mowbray, City of Delta
<br />mayor, said he was highly in
<br />favor of the project and was glad
<br />it had passed. "It will mean ad-
<br />ditional storage and will give us
<br />more domestic water," he said.
<br />"Delta is growing and the pro-
<br />ject will satisfy the demand for
<br />more and more water," accor-
<br />ding to Mowbray.
<br />"Economically," Ed Nelson,
<br />manager of Montrose County of
<br />Chamber said, "it's the best
<br />thing to ever hit this community.
<br />If you don't think so, talk to the
<br />people in Delta and Olathe.
<br />Even here, we'd be hurting for
<br />water in four or five years. I
<br />think it's terrific."
<br />Jan Fincham, the president-
<br />elect of the Montrose County
<br />Chamber of Commerce, echoed
<br />Nelson's sentiments. "It will be
<br />a great asset to the community.
<br />The vote was an indication of
<br />strength and confidenoe in the
<br />Dallas Project. The support was
<br />overwhelming.
<br />"Anytime you have construc-
<br />tion it will bring in employes and
<br />it will turn over in the form of
<br />retail sales," Fincham said.
<br />Harold Anderson, manager of
<br />the Uncompahgre Valley Water
<br />Users Assn., was also pleased
<br />with the results of yesterday's
<br />special election. "I'm happy
<br />that the election went that way,"
<br />he said.
<br />"We're in the project to con-
<br />tract for over 10,000 acre feet of
<br />supplemental irrigation water.
<br />
<br />It will be a big help to the
<br />farmers in the valley during the
<br />summer when we're usually
<br />short of water."
<br />Two Ouray County spokesmen
<br />who opposed the Dallas Cre'ek
<br />Project said they were not sur-
<br />prised with the result of the elec-
<br />tion.
<br />"I rather expected the
<br />favorable vote," Ouray County
<br />Commissioner Warren Comerer
<br />said.
<br />"I was sure of the outcome,
<br />but the Ouray County Com-
<br />missioners felt the hardships on
<br />Ridgway from the project need-
<br />ed to be aired. We'll continue to
<br />try and sol ve the problems
<br />there. "
<br />
<br />Kent Nelson, an attorney and
<br />freelance writer living in
<br />Ridgway said the large tUrnout
<br />in favor 'of the project was
<br />reminscent of the election of
<br />Richard Nixon in 1972. "The ma-
<br />jority has been wrong before,"
<br />he said.
<br />"It's about what 1 expected
<br />with the massive publicity
<br />program the Tn-County putout.
<br />It's too bad the opposition didn't
<br />have the same resources'.
<br />"There was a good economic
<br />argument to be made.against the
<br />.project and the people in Mon-
<br />trose and Delta will prObably
<br />suffer in the future. Maybe I'll
<br />be proven wrong," Nelson said,
<br />"but 1 doubt it."
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