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Durango Trails keeps residents rolling for more than 30 years

Volunteer organization creates 300 miles of trails within 30 minutes of downtown

By Nicholas A. Johnson, Herald Staff Writer

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Durango school board candidate gives sermon mentioning ‘separation of church and state,’ or lack thereofRichard ‘Dean’ Hill also says children come with owner’s manual: The Bible

Should specific theologies shape public school policy? Richard “Dean” Hill, a candidate for Durango School District 9-R school board, hasn’t exactly said so, but he has insisted that followers of Jesus Christ need to take their place as leaders among nonbelievers.The school board election, featuring seven candidates across three districts, has been the battle front for several issues of importance to parents of children in the 9-R school district. The lines have been drawn on the grounds of COVID-19 masking and school visitor policies, equity for students and school district transparency. But Hill has caught attention for his views on the so-called separation of church and state.Hill was featured in a 48-second video that had all the signs of a political attack ad. Dramatic music plays in the background as the video cuts from clip to clip of Hill, assistant pastor at Pine Valley Church in Bayfield, talking about how the separation of church and state doesn’t appear anywhere in the U.S. Constitution.The short video was cut together using clips from a Pine Valley Church service that was livestreamed on YouTube on Aug. 22. It begins with a clip of Hill saying that kids don’t come with an operator’s manual, but they do come with an owner’s manual: The Bible.Harrison Wendt, a Durango resident and former City Council candidate, said he began researching the candidates for school board when he came across Hill’s Aug. 22 sermon. He put together clips into a video and shared it on Facebook. Since then, many others have shared it.“There’s people my age, 25 and younger, who would probably never think about voting in a school board election who are actually going to vote for the first time because they see how dangerous his speech is,” Wendt said in an interview Monday.“... That’s what really caught my eye, a man who speaks so highly of maintaining freedom for children and parents and then gives a sermon a month earlier about how there is no separation of church and state and how the owner’s manual to a child is the Bible,” he said.The video is also hosted on the Save 9R Facebook page, which claims to be a bipartisan effort on the part of parents, teachers and local leaders “working to defend common sense, quality leadership for our 9R School Board and to educate and inform voters.”

Subtitles are overlaid on screen as Hill issues his most controversial quote from the video. The video shows Hill lamenting that “we believe the lie that there’s (such a) thing as separation of church and state.”“Really?” asks Hill. “There is no separation clause anywhere.”Another clip features Hill posing two questions: “What is the church going to do? And what is the government going to do?”As the video fades to black, more text appears on screen saying “Dean Hill doesn’t believe in the separation of Church and State” and tells La Plata County voters to vote by Nov. 2.There’s more to Hill’s approximately 50-minute sermon than the separation of church and state, and Hill seems to quickly move on from the subject. But the meaning behind Hill’s words doesn’t appear to change from how they appear in the short video criticizing Hill’s take on the separation of church and state.In the full sermon, Hill leads into his comments about church and state by saying, “We need to rise up. We need to take our place where we belong.”

He added that the only reason that “separation of church and state” was phrased the way it is, is because “they were talking about, ‘We’re getting out of the Church of England and I don’t want the Church of England being our boss.’”In an interview with The Durango Herald, Hill doubled down on the fact that the phrase “separation of church and state” doesn’t appear in the Constitution.“There’s nowhere in the Constitution where that’s said,” Hill said. “In that speech, he (President Andrew Jackson) stated ... ‘What is the church’s responsibility to help people and what is the state’s responsibility?’“... And it (the Constitution) doesn’t say that as somebody who is a member of a church who believes in Jesus Christ shouldn’t be a part of politics.”Hill is correct when he says the Constitution doesn’t prohibit members of any religious institution from participating in politics. He was also correct when he said that the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear verbatim in the Constitution.What the Constitution does say of religion’s relationship with government is found in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...”In a follow-up email asking Hill for his views about the Establishment Clause and how it relates to the separation of church and state, Hill responded by saying the Establishment Clause grants the freedom of religion. Hill said if elected to the school board, he will bring his worldview to the table just as other board members would bring theirs.“Our filters are different, but I also believe this: I’ve always been a consensus builder, I’ve always been a relationship builder,” Hill said. “My hope is that if I get in there, we can get together and come together and find the things that we agree upon rather than focusing on the things that we don’t agree upon.”Hill said the primary focus of school board members is to spend more time on the issues that are directed toward student achievement.“That’s the focus where I plan on moving toward,” Hill said. “How do we supply these skills, the strategies, the education, that these kids need to be a good workforce and a good solid citizen of the United States?”Hill is running against Richard “Rick” Petersen in the Durango 9-R school board District C election.cburney@durangoherald.com

Durango school board candidate gives sermon mentioning ‘separation of church and state,’ or lack thereof

Richard ‘Dean’ Hill also says children come with owner’s manual: The Bible

Southwest Colorado expected to receive moisture from ‘atmospheric river’ moving in from PacificWeather Service says rain needed with dryer-than-normal winter expected

A large amount of moisture from the Pacific Ocean, known as an “atmospheric river,” is headed for Southwest Colorado. “It’s basically this strong plume of moisture that comes off of the Pacific,” said Erin Walter, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction. “It’s like this continuous stream, almost like a jet but in the form of moisture.”Over the weekend, the atmospheric river dumped more than 5 inches of rain in the San Francisco area, Walter said. Most of the moisture from the storm system will be dropped in California over the Sierra Nevada’s and the Great Basin, with Southwest Colorado getting the last bit of that precipitation on Tuesday. “We aren’t going to see feet of snow like the Sierra Nevada’s, but we are going to see some precipitation,” Walter said. Southwest Colorado has been experiencing warm conditions, which will be a determining factor in how much precipitation falls in the region, Walter said. “We’re seeing snow amounts higher up Tuesday morning, and then as the system moves through, some colder air will move in behind it,” Walter said.

Towns along U.S. Highway 160 should expect around a quarter of an inch of rain Tuesday, with some areas potentially seeing higher, localized amounts of rainfall around half an inch. “I would expect at least a quarter of an inch for Durango, Cortez and Pagosa Springs,” Walter said. As for snow, Silverton is expected to get about an inch of powder in the city, with around 5 to 8 inches in higher elevations of the San Juan Mountains. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its winter outlook for temperature, precipitation and drought Thursday. NOAA said this will be the second La Niña year in a row. La Niña seasons are caused by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Tropical Pacific.

“The Southwest will certainly remain a region of concern as we anticipate below-normal precipitation where drought conditions continue in most areas,” said Jon Gottschalck, with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.Southwest Colorado is expected to have 40% to 50% higher temperatures than normal, 33% to 40% lower precipitation than normal, and drought conditions expected to worsen. “Any moisture is definitely welcomed,” Walter said. njohnson@durangoherald.com

Southwest Colorado expected to receive moisture from ‘atmospheric river’ moving in from Pacific

Weather Service says rain needed with dryer-than-normal winter expected

Freshman and junior riders compete in the Colorado High School Cycling League’s mountain bike state championships

Fort Lewis College volleyball takes on South Dakota School of MinesSkyhawks win the match in five sets

Fort Lewis College volleyball takes on South Dakota School of Mines

Skyhawks win the match in five sets

Animas High School celebrates construction of new campus

Snow storm moves through the San Juan Mountains on Tuesday

Durango High School takes on Harrison High SchoolDemons win 42-0 to begin league play

Durango High School takes on Harrison High School

Demons win 42-0 to begin league play

Mark Redwine sentenced for the murder of his son

VIDEO: Watch the sentencing hearing for Mark Redwine

Mark Redwine was sentenced Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, to 48 years in prison after being found guilty ...

Colorado father sentenced to prison for killing 13-year-old son, Dylan RedwineMark Redwine, 60, was found guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death

Mark Redwine, the Vallecito father who was found guilty this summer of killing his 13-year-old son, Dylan, was sentenced Friday to 48 years in prison.“I have trouble remembering a convicted criminal defendant that has shown such an utter lack of remorse for his criminal behavior,” said 6th Judicial District Court Judge Jeffery Wilson, in handing down the maximum penalty.Redwine, wearing an orange, jail-issued jumpsuit, declined to speak; his attorneys said he plans to appeal.

But in a pre-sentence investigation, which looks into the legal and social background of convicted criminals and gives them a chance to weigh in, Redwine wrote a few terse words while maintaining his innocence. Judge Wilson read those comments into the record Friday.“Innocent of all charges. Miscarriage of justice. Fake conviction. Sham trial,” Redwine wrote. “... I take this circumstance very seriously and want to make clear that I too have lost a child I love more than life itself. I will fight for true justice, not for myself but for Dylan. I have always shown remorse for the things that I am guilty of. Stand against fake justice.”

Elaine Hall, Dylan’s mother, said she she is pleased with Friday’s outcome. “It’s justice as far as justice can go,“ she said. “... There will never be enough time for taking Dylan’s life, but at least he hopefully won’t get out. Hopefully he’ll die in prison.”Redwine, 60, was facing 16 to 48 years in prison after a 12-person jury found him guilty July 16 of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.Prosecutors asked the court to sentence Redwine to the full 48 years, citing several aggravating circumstances, including that Redwine killed his own son, misled law enforcement and has shown no remorse.“He stands before you refusing to accept responsibility, showing no remorse, reflecting that same cold-hearted murderer’s heart that killed Dylan Redwine,” said District Attorney Christian Champagne. “Your honor, that’s the ultimate aggravating factor that you should consider. And that alone will justify imposition of the maximum sentence in this case – 48 years for both counts.”

In addressing Redwine, Wilson said the evidence against him is “overwhelming.” “First of all, you killed your son, a 13-year-old boy. At 13, he’s still a little boy,” Wilson said. “As the father, it’s your obligation to protect your son, keep him from harm. Instead of that, you inflicted enough injury on him to kill him in your living room.“After the passion of whatever caused you to act the way you did subsided, you didn’t think about Dylan. You thought about yourself, you sanitized the crime scene, you hid Dylan’s body and you went so far as to remove his head from the rest of his body.”Wilson said Redwine’s efforts to conceal Dylan’s body and lie about what happened caused suffering for Dylan’s family and the entire community. His actions deprived Dylan the opportunity to grow up, fall in love, get married and have children, the judge said.In handing down the maximum penalty, Wilson said Redwine takes “absolutely no responsibly” for what he did to Dylan and needs to be removed from society for “a long period of time.”

Public defense lawyer John Moran made several legal arguments, some that will likely show up in a future appeal. He also asked that certain statements and findings be stricken from the pre-sentence investigation. “Mr. Redwine loved Dylan with all his heart,” Moran said. “The depth of grief Dylan’s loved ones have experienced may never leave a high-water mark. ... Mr. Redwine is eager for fair and impartial review by a higher court. He is appealing and wishes to make no further record here.”The sentencing hearing caps a nearly nine-year homicide investigation that began in November 2012, when Dylan disappeared while on a court-ordered visit to see his father.Prosecutors surmised that Redwine flew into a fit of rage and murdered his son after the boy confronted him about compromising photos. Defense lawyers said Dylan was alive the morning of Nov. 19, 2012 – the day he went missing. His father ran errands in town, and when he returned he found the boy missing – a bowl of cereal on the table and the television turned to Nickelodeon.They suggested a stranger may have harmed Dylan, or that wildlife attacked him while he was out walking.Text messages sent by Dylan to friends and family indicate the boy didn’t want to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his father. Their relationship had soured in recent months, especially after Dylan found photos of his father wearing women’s lingerie while eating what appeared to be feces from a diaper, according to testimony presented during the five-week trial.

Dylan’s disappearance set off a massive search in the rugged mountains north of Redwine’s home in Southwest Colorado. In the months that followed, community members and law enforcement organized multiple searches, combing the woods for clues.Law enforcement executed several search warrants on Redwine’s home. Forensic testing found traces of Dylan’s blood in his father’s living room, and a cadaver dog detected the recent presence of a corpse in the living room and in the bed of Redwine’s pickup truck.It wasn’t until June 2013 when the first partial remains of Dylan’s body were found about 8 miles up Middle Mountain Road, only a few miles northeast of Redwine’s home, as the crow flies.In November 2015, a pair of hikers found Dylan’s skull about 1½ miles farther up the road. Forensic experts testified the skull had what appeared to be knife markings, and wildlife experts said no animal inhabiting this area would have transported a skull that far from the other remains.

As the case wore on, it gained national and international attention, including segments on “Nancy Grace,” and “Investigation Discovery.” Elaine, Cory and Mark appeared on a two-part episode of the “Dr. Phil” show, which ended with Redwine refusing to take a lie detector test. (At least five television news channels were in town for Friday’s sentencing hearing.)Law enforcement received numerous “tips” from psychics who claimed to know where Dylan’s remains could be found, and as a matter of due diligence, law enforcement had to follow up on many of them.The case was largely based on circumstantial evidence. As such, prosecutors decided to convene a grand jury to decide whether there was enough evidence to issue an indictment.The La Plata County grand jury issued its indictment in July 2017, and Redwine, a truck driver, was arrested two days later in Bellingham, Washington.

The judicial process was fraught with delays, especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused at least three significant delays. Prior to that, one of Redwine’s attorney’s faced his own legal challenges and was taken off the case, which caused delays. No charges were ever filed against the attorney, and he rejoined the case But after a five-week trial, which included dozens of witnesses, hundreds of pieces of evidence and volumes of discovery, jurors found Redwine guilty on both counts outlined in the indictment.shane@durangoherald.com

Colorado father sentenced to prison for killing 13-year-old son, Dylan Redwine

Mark Redwine, 60, was found guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death

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