By Shannon Lukens.
Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar is the new sheriff in town, after being elected in November, and sworn in two weeks ago.
“The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Lot of work. We’ve been really busy. It’s been a little overwhelming but it feels really good. I didn’t imagine myself in this position 27 years ago. I feel very honored that the citizens have chosen me to be the sheriff.”
Sheriff Scherar says he’s grateful for an easy transition from Sheriff Garrett Wiggins who is now the Routt County Jail Administrator. Scherar had been undersheriff for the past five years.
“The whole transition has been very smooth. People have been very relaxed and very optimistic and there hasn’t been any tension like there could be in departments that might not have such a smooth transition.”
One thing that has helped is the hiring of Undersheriff Josh Carrell who was raised in Steamboat Springs and was with the police department for 16 years. More recently, he has been with the 7th Judicial District Attorney’s office in Delta.
“It’s a dream opportunity for me to come back to the community I was born and raised in and serve the community that helped me out so much, and bring my family back to be close to Grandpa and Grandma and enjoy this time here and in Steamboat and the beautiful place that it is.”
Carrell started Jan. 10. Last week, by Sheriff Scherar and Undersheriff Carrell were in Loveland for the Winter Conference for County Sheriffs of Colorado.
Be careful on the roads. Wyoming Highway Patrol has sent word that 12 people have died on the highways so far this year, compared to one death last year at this time. The most recent was Sunday, with a Dodge Ram was headed the wrong way on I-80, east of Rawlins. The crash involved commercial trucks, and a Ford F-150, where five people in that truck were killed. The driver of the Dodge truck has been arrested on suspicion of impairment.
Colorado has had 23 fatalities as of Monday, Jan. 23. Colorado lost nearly 750 lives to traffic fatalities in 2022.
Governor Polis has sent a list of new appointments. One name on the list is Stephanie Einfeld of Steamboat Springs who is being reappointed to serve as a representative of primary care health providers who does not represent a carrier. She is on the Health Insurance Affordability Board.
High School seniors in Routt and Moffat counties can now apply for $10,000 in scholarships in the 2023 Crane-Inspired Creative Arts Scholarship Contest. There is an essay contest for written arts. There is a Visual Arts contest for a painting, sketch, photograph, or digital art. It all has to include sandhill cranes. Rules are at ColoradoCranes.org. The deadline is March 25.
The deadline to apply to do a snow sculpture for Winter Carnival has been extended to next Monday, Jan. 30. Only one team has signed up. There are prizes for those who participate. Sign up through SteamboatCreates.org Or email Robin@SteamboatCreates.org
Check out upcoming events in the Yampa Valley on the Community Calendar on our website.
For the KRAI Time, Temp, and Weather Hotline, call 970-824-1918.