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Norwood gears up for recall; Nucla paves

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The Town of Norwood held its monthly meeting Sept. 11 with a lengthy agenda. Then, two new members of Norwood Water commission were voted in. Now, Finn Kjome, who’s served the board for some time, will continue in that role. And, Jenny Russell, was also instated. Russell is an attorney who is knowledgeable of the local watershed and related legalities.

In other Norwood news, Samantha Jacobs, a former teacher now working in mental health for Axis, told town trustees about the new Narcan kiosk. Narcan is a medication that is administered in the event that a person overdoses on a narcotic like fentanyl, an often deadly drug. 

Many communities in the U.S. are making the antidote available as a harm-reduction practice. The Narcan kiosk has not been installed yet, but town trustees did approve for it to be placed in the Pocket Park, at the corner of Lucerne Street and Grand Avenue. While Norwood’s town trustees expressed some concerns over the Narcarn drug, Jacobs said it’s benign and won’t harm people that are not in an overdose state. She said it’s safe to have available. 

Jacobs told the Forum she doesn’t have an arrival date for the drug yet. She added that Axis is also aiming to place Narcan in Redvale, Naturita and Nucla too. She plans to speak to those town boards. 

Many know that a recall election is happening in Norwood concerning the mayor, Candy Meehan. That election is set for Dec. 10. Norwood’s deputy clerk Becky Hannigan told the Forum that all registered voters in Norwood’s town limits can vote. She added the poll at Norwood Town Hall will be open, and mail-in ballots are an option too. 

Election judges will be present. 

The mayoral recall was contested by Meehan earlier this summer, but a third party, Karen Goldman, of the Colorado Municipal League, audited the petition and opposition. After sorting through the evidence, Goldman said the recall election holds. 

In Nucla, there is currently additional paving of roads happening, on Fourth Avenue specifically. The work started Friday, Sept. 13, with cleaning of the road surface. On Monday, Sept. 16, the paving crew was set to begin work with the west end of W. 4th Avenue. 

The Nucla Town Clerk, Melissa Lampshire, said Asphalt Specialists is the paving contractor handling the job, and the plan was to move east. It was all ideally to be finished the afternoon of Sept. 17, or the morning of Sept. 18. 

Congestion issues were to be expected, and anyone not transporting children to or from the new Nucla school was asked to avoid the area, so the contractor could work. Lampshire, on behalf of the town staff, said she thanked all for their patience.

Nucla Town Trustee Paula Brown confirmed that more water and sewer projects were in the works for the Town of Nucla too. Those details will soon be announced.