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care In
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SIS
County Commissioners Will Meet To Address The Issue of Childcare
Linda Bircher just
arrived to fill the vacant
English teacher position at
Naturita Middle School.
Bircher comes to the
=area from Sheridan;
Wyoming-: She is originally
Greeley ...... : :i
Bircher has taught for
29 1/2 year, Bircher said one
of her fav0rites classes she
taught in the pas wag pho
tography. Doyou mean I
get paid for this,'she asked;
pho:
tography, Bircher also has a
Weather
Wee Care Day Care is the only licensed day care open in the Nucla.Naturita area after the clo-
sure of the Kids Keepers Day Care last week. The children are enjoying a frozen snack while
chilling out under a tree.
Dale Williams: An Unsolved Mystery
Unsolved Mysteries will
be airing the case of Dale
Williams on the Lifetime
Channel, September 17,2002 at
6 pm.
Dale was last seen May
27, 1999, wearing a dark blue
T-shirt and blue jeans. He was
driving a white 1994 Ford F-
250 long bed pickup.
Williams was performing
work related to his body shop in
the West End area around the
time he disappeared. When his
family began to look for him, it
was discovered that his shop
was unsecured and his tools
were left out. The door of a car
that he had been working on
was left open. By all appear-
ances, when Williams left on
Thursday, May 27, 1999, he
was planning to be gone only a
short period of time.
The Nuela Marshall at
the time, Matt Gudermu'th,
began investigating the case on
Friday, May 28, 1999. As news
of Williams disappearance
spread throughout the commu-
nity, his many friends offered
their assistance with the search.
Dick Williams said many
in the community helped in
indescribable ways and he real-
ly appreciates those in the com-
munity that have a sincere con-
cern in the case.
"There are some that have
been helping for over three
years now faithfully," he said.
Tami Lowrance spear-
headed the local search which
was then based out of Showtime
Videos and dubbed The Dale
Williams Rescue Center. Local
volunteers spent endless hours
combing the roads for any sign
of Williams. His brother, Dick,
searched the area by air hoping
to find any clue£
On the following Monday
afternoon, May 31, 1999, mem-
bers of the Montrose County
Sheriff's Department joined the
search, and offered help with the
investigation. The Nucla
Marshall's Office also requested
help from the Colorado Bureau
of Investigation.
More than a month after
his disappearance, the truck of
Williams was discovered in the
river below Uravan. Montrose
County Lt. Shawn Cline report-
ed that a local family was fish-
ing in the river on Sunday
Afternoon when, upon swim-
ming to retrieve a tangled line,
the pickup was discovered.
There was no trace of Williams
or a metal tool box that had
been bolted onto the back of
Cont. on Pg. 7
Dale Williams was last seen
on Thursday, May 27,1999
(Grand Junctio Nat'l WeMMff Serve.e)
Wednesday. Mostly cloudy. A
chance of thunderstorms and rain
showers. Highs in the mid 70s.
Wednesday night. Mostly cloudy.
A chance of thunderstorms and
rain showers. Lowsjn the lower to
mid 40s.
Thursday. Mostly cloudy. A chance
of thunderstorms and rain showers.
"J':'riday. A chance of thunderstorms
'and rain showers. Mostly cloudy.
Lows in the mid 40s to lower 50s.
Highs in the tower 70s.
Saturday. A slight chance of thun-
derstorms and rain showers.
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower
to mid 40s. Highs in the lower 60s
to lower 70s.
Sunday. Partly cloudy. Lows in the
mid 40s. Highs in the lower 70s.
The Kids Keepers Day
Care closed last week due to
financial problems according to
the owner. Tile owner, Carrie
Zunich, said that three-quarters
of the 15 children at the center
were subsidized, and Montrose
County cut the subsidy and
lowered tile qualifying income
for parents. With the cut in sub-
sidles Zunich said she would
need at least three more children
It) keep the center open.
Zunich said the county cut
the $25 they were receiving per
child to $18 a day. Before shut-
ting down Zunich was applying
for non-profit status in hopes of
acquiring more funding options.
Zunich had to lay off 2 of
the 5 enlployees bclbre finally
closing the doors. The Montrosc
Board of County Commission-
ers will meet on Wednesday,
September 11, 2002, in Nucla.
Zunich is on the agenda at the
meeting concerning her child-
care center.
Pat Mewes, director of
Health and Human Services tbr
Montrose County said she had
offered to raise the funds to $20
per child to be equitable with
.'mother area child care center.
She said she never heard back
from Zunich.
Wee Care Day Care is the
only center in the Nucla-
Naturita area licensed for chil-
dren from multiple families and
still operating. The Wee Care
Day Care has no subsidies and
is not affected by the cut backs
set by the county.
The largest day care cen-
ter in Montrose County is Child
Quest in Olathe. The director
Lucy Miller said the center has
felt the effects of the cutbacks.
She said in 2000 the county cut
all 60 slots the center was
receiving for subsidies. Instead
of receiving money for the allo-
cated slots, the center was
placed on a pay actual program.
The center currently receives
$18 per child.
The center experienced a
slight drop in attendance and
made the center find money in
other ways. Tim Heavers,
Executive Director of the
Montrose County Housing
Authority, overseas the opera-
tions of Child Quest. Heavers
said the problem they are expe-
riencing is the increased waiting
list for funding from issuing
only so many vouchers.
"We had to start a waiting
list because of only so much
money available," Mewes said
concerning the waiting list. "We
never had a waiting list betore
that I'm aware of."
Cont. on Pg. I I