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Bishop in court; Nucla schedules recall election

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Dan Bishop appeared last week, Jan. 8, for a preliminary hearing to determine if there might be enough evidence to support his murder charges for a trial. Bishop has been in custody since October, when he was arrested by a group of agencies, including CBI and Montrose County, for the murder of Dale Williams, who’s been missing since 1999.

During the Jan. 8 hearing, the judge did take the video off livestream, so anyone who wanted to witness the preliminary hearing had to log in to the virtual courtroom and identify themselves. 

That preliminary hearing continued into Jan. 9, where it was finally decided that there was enough material for the case to advance to district court and then be heard by Judge Keri Yoder in Division 3 of the 7th Judicial District Court in Colorado .

A bond hearing also took place, but Bishop’s bond remained the same, set at $500,000 cash.

The late William’s daughter Tonee Lawrence told the Forum last Friday she was relieved the case had moved forward and that her family does want to see justice served. 

“Nothing my dad could’ve done justifies murder,” she said. 

This week, on Jan. 13, the arraignment took place for Bishop in Division 3 of the 7th Judicial District Court, and then, some wondered if a type of plea might be reached. The arraignment happened quickly, and it appears Bishop continues to plead “not guilty.” The defense has requested a trial, which is set for July. A pre-trial is set for May 30, and a conference is scheduled for Feb. 10.

At Nucla Town Hall 

Nucla Town Clerk Melissa Lampshire told the Forum that the recall election is set for April 1, a Tuesday. The election follows a series of contentious town meetings and various complaints from citizens who’ve questioned Nucla Mayor Kirk Yerke’s ability to lead professionally or have adequate attendance.

The recall petition circulated in December and garnered more than the required number of signatures to hold the election. Trustees established the April 1 date during their Jan. 8 regular town meeting. 

Additionally, the Forum asked Lampshire about Zoom capability for town meetings, which happen twice each month, in the future. Lampshire did say it was possible for an agenda item to be added at an upcoming meeting to seek trustee approval in the form of a vote. The Zoom capability would mean that anyone could attend the town meetings remotely through the internet. 

Local leaders to travel 

A group of local leaders are set to travel to Washington, D.C next month. Nucla Town Clerk Melissa Lampshire will go with Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen, WEEDC’s Executive Director Makayla Gordon and Norwood Town Clerk Amanda Pierce. 

The group is going to present the importance of legislation supporting rural communities impacted by the coal shut-down and how that’s affected the tax-base, in Norwood, Naturita and Nucla. The four community leaders plan to showcase community projects and more. Funding opportunities by grant makers will abound there, and the travel experience is completely paid for. 

The West End is group is the only one of its kind traveling from Colorado.