Blog Assessment

      For me I rather enjoyed the blog assignment. This was a lot different than most journalism assignments because we had to do research before and worked on a deadline. It also allowed us to choose a topic that we found to be most interesting and not have to be told what to write on. Throughout the semester I learned a lot and was able to improve on my interview skills as well as gain more confidence in my writing. These are two of the most important things for a journalist to have. If a journalist doesn’t have either then it will show in their writing. For me I wish that we did a little more work on how to prepare for interviews because those are a key part for any journalist. The most difficult thing for me was gaining the confidence for the interviews and making sure that I had the right questions that I needed to ask in order to get the information that I needed. I always felt that I was underprepared for the interviews even if I had 20 questions for the interview. The best advice I can give a student entering JMC 312 is to have confidence in your ability as a journalist. Having confidence is the best thing you can have because it will reflect in your work.

End of the Fiscal Year

                The end of the fiscal year is upon us and it is time to prepare for the next year.  In order for the city of Greeley to prepare they must first approve the budget for the upcoming year. The city council must approve the budget by December 15 of every year.

                The budget was first presented on November 20. The final reading was scheduled for December 4.

                “Budget preparation is a tedious project,” John Gates, Mayor Pro Tem, said.  He was referring to the time that it took for the budget to be first presented to the time it took for the final reading.

                One major change in the budget it is the amount of money that the police and fire department receives. It can be seen that it has gone up quite a bit over the past two years, but when the police department receives 8.3% more than 2011. The fire department receives 6.8% more than 2011 as well.

                “If the police and fire are treading water then other government employees are drowning,” councilmember Donna Sapienza said. She was referring to the increase to the police and fire department and how it is an important part of any community.

                As each fiscal year comes and goes you can expect to see certain departments funding continue to grow because of their importance to the community.

                The budget passed unanimously on Tuesday December 4, 2012.

Election Day 2012

  All around campus you could hear the same question asked all day, “Did you vote yet”. This was a common question that had followed people around all day as a constant reminder to go vote.

                As a sat on the couch at a friend’s house the question was still asked even after the polls closed. The questions were then followed by whom did you vote to see whether or not they would be cheering together. But not matter who the person voted for there was going to be a time when they would all cheer together. This is because everyone had voted yes Amendment 64. This was the one thing that people had in common.

                Before the amendment passed there was cheering every time a state’s winner was announced. Some people would cheer and high five while others would sit there silently. There was one person Kaitlyn, a senior communications major, that would not cheer no matter who one. This wasn’t because she didn’t vote but she wanted to keep her vote private.

                “I feel like it’s my decision and I don’t need to share it if I don’t want too,” Kaitlin said when asked about who she voted for.

                Kaitlyn was not the only one that didn’t say who voted for, there were a few more. They seemed to get more joy out of watching the people argue over who they believe should win and why.

                After it was announced that Obama had won they was a loud cheer from his supporters. It was followed quickly by a few Romney supporters saying how they feel after he lost. This was followed by everyone being united again and a large cheer when they announced that Amendment 64 passed.

                This had taken a group that was separated and united them all in a single moment on something they cared about.

                “It’s about time that it is legalized. It will generate a lot of money for the state,” Alex, a recent University of Northern Colorado graduate said.

                From all the people that had gathered they all thought that this would be a boost to the Colorado economy and allow for money to be spent on more important things.

                “This is a step in the right direction. Hopefully the federal government will realize it and do the same thing,” Nick, a senior business major said. He thought that no matter what the federal government needs to follow Colorado in order to fight the debt.

                It looks like all it takes is one little plant to bring people together.

Modern Day Prohibition

            Legalizing marijuana is always a hot topic but this year Colorado is trying to legalize it. Amendment 64 you allow for people over the age of 21 to legally purchase and posses marijuana. There are many people that oppose this amendment. On October 16, 2012 the Greeley city council passed a resolution opposing amendment 64.

            Amendment 64 not only allows for marijuana to be legal but it would become taxed in ways similar to alcohol.  Some people support this to help our economy but law enforcement is strictly against it.

            “They should legalize it and tax it, it would help the economy like when they ended prohibition,” Eric Stewart, a Greeley resident said.

            This is a view that compares marijuana being illegal just like alcohol was but how it became legal and taxed and it significantly helped the economy.

            Law enforcement on the other hand doesn’t feel the same way that Stewart does.

            “Every law enforcement agency has announced its opposition to the amendment,” Police Chief Jerry Garner said at the city council meeting.

            By everyone opposing it, it will become harder to get passed if no law enforcement agency supports it. They don’t support it for the main reason that they would be in conflict with federal law. If they are in conflict with federal law then they would feel like they would be something between them and federal government agencies. 

Cleaning up the Storm Water

            The Greeley city council passed an ordinance that better defined their storm water programs. This ordinance better defined the code and clarified what kind of waste cannot come out of the water detention ponds.

            The main point of the ordinance is to get the permit holders up to code with the EPA in case they get audited.

            “Over 300 detention ponds in the city of Greeley. This is to help maintain all of them,” John Hemesath, public works director, said.

            The ordinance clearly defines the enforcement actions for a storm water detention pond that is not up to code. It also defines how to go about correcting these problems that are discovered.

            “Soil being washed in the streets or when its dry the dirt blowing in the air,” Hemesath said.  These are the biggest problems with the storm sewers and how they become polluted.

            In order to fix these problems fines will be assessed to the permit holders whose detention ponds do not meet code. A municipal judge will be doing the administrative hearings about all fines that will be assessed.

            The ordinance gives the permit holders until October 15, 2012 to update their ponds in order to comply with the new ordinance. 

Getting Started

My name is Kyle Shelgren. I am a senior at the University of Northern Colorado. My field of study is journalism with a minor in sociology. This blog is about the Greeley, Colo., City Council as well as the 2012 presidential election.  

            I have never blogged before and I am excited to start. Through this assignment I hope to gain more confidence in my writing as well as the knowledge that goes into following a specific topic each day.  I will enjoy this because it allows me to stay up to date on current events as well as give my own opinion on them.

Blogging is a crucial thing for journalists today because it is a new medium. It allows journalists to write stories each day and be able to go back and update older stories based on new information that they receive. Blogging is very different from other assignments because it is a day-to-day assignment where you will need to update your blog every day. Doing this keeps the reader up to date as well as the author.