Issued at 9:00 AM MDT, Thursday, September 17, 2020
Issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Affected Area:Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma, Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson, and Cheyenne counties. Locations include, but are not limited to Ft. Morgan, Sterling, Julesburg, Holyoke, Akron, Wray, Kiowa, Limon, Hugo, Burlington, and Cheyenne Wells.
Advisory in Effect:9:00 AM MDT, Thursday, September 17, 2020 to 9:00 AM MDT, Friday, September 18, 2020.
Small nonfarm businesses in the following counties are now eligible to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by drought that occurred in the following primary counties in Colorado, announced Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West. Including; Arapahoe, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties.
Join the East Colorado SBDC and Burl Kelton with the SBA for this informative webinar on the EIDL Drought Loan process.
“SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disasters and businesses directly impacted by the disasters,” Garfield said. Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disasters not occurred. “Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disasters only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate as low as 3 percent for businesses and 2.75 percent for private nonprofit organizations, a maximum term of 30 years, and are available to small businesses and most private nonprofits without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship,” Garfield said. By law, SBA makes economic injury available when the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture designates an agricultural disaster. The Secretary declared the declarations CO 16498 on June 11, 2020, and CO 16503 on June 23, 2020. Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. Agricultural enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency about the U.S. Department of Agriculture assistance made available by the Secretary’s declaration. However, in drought disasters nurseries are eligible for SBA disaster assistance.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Presented By:
Burl Kelton, Public Information Officer
U. S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance
Burl began his career with the U. S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina as a loan officer at the Sacramento, California Field Office Center-West. That office is responsible for responding to declared disasters in Federal Regions VI–X, including 23 states stretching from the Mississippi river west to Guam in the Pacific. Following his tenure as a loan officer, Burl transferred to the FOC-West Public Information Office as a Public Information Officer (PIO). In this role, he provides public
communications, congressional relations and survivor customer service in multiple county areas, at Disaster Recovery Centers, SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Centers and other on-site locations.
For over ten years, Burl has responded to numerous floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses including: Hurricanes Ike, Irene, Sandy and Harvey, wildfires in California, floods and tornadoes in the Midwest. His COVID19 responsibilities include FEMA Region VIII where he is the information single point of contact for the states of Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah for the COVID19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to applicants, media, Congressional members, SBA District Offices and resource partners.
Before joining SBA, Burl spent 22 years with two Bell System telephone companies in Sales and Marketing, Customer Bill Processing, IT Systems Special Projects; and corporate Minority and Women’s Business Procurement for five departments. He was a California public school substitute teacher and has provided management and IT consulting to small businesses and Private non-profit organizations.
The registration form asks pertinent information on your business and will take 2-3 minutes to complete. Since we are a federally funded program and offer this conference at a reduced rate, we ask these business and demographic questions so we can continue to offer you this conference at a subsidized cost. If you have any issues with registering or receiving a confirmation code, please email or call 970-351-4274.
EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT: ARAPAHOE, DOUGLAS, ELBERT and LINCOLN COUNTIES, COLORADO
Arapahoe County Justice Center 7325 South Potomac Street Centennial, Colorado 80112
Arapahoe County Courthouse 1790 West Littleton Boulevard Littleton, Colorado 80120
Douglas County Justice Center 4000 Justice Way #2009
Castle Rock, Colorado 80109
Elbert County Courthouse PO Box 232, 751 Ute Street Kiowa, Colorado 80117
Lincoln County Courthouse PO Box 128, 103 Third Avenue Hugo, Colorado 80821
In light of the public health risk posed by the Novel Coronavirus (“COVID- 19”) and the advisories and orders from the Centers for Disease Control, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and local public health departments recommending active steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 and precautions to reduce the exposure, effective immediately the 18th Judicial District Courts and Probation will be operating with reduced staff and will focus on matters of immediate concern for public health and safety.
Pursuant to the authority granted in Chief Justice Directive 95-01 and the directives found in the Order Regarding COVID-19 and Operation of Colorado State Courts, issued by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats on March 16, 2020, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
(1) Arapahoe County Courthouse in Littleton: Pursuant to Chief Judge Order 20-02, the Arapahoe County Courthouse located at 1790 West Littleton Boulevard, Littleton, Colorado, will be closed to the public effective March 19, 2020 through April 3, 2020. All public safety matters meeting the criteria set forth in section (5) below should be directed to the Arapahoe County Justice Center located at 7325 South Potomac Street, Centennial, Colorado.
(2) Operations: The Arapahoe County and Douglas County clerk’s offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Elbert County and Lincoln County clerk’s offices will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The clerk’s offices will be open Monday through Friday, with the exception of legal holidays. Staff will be reduced as coordinated by the Court Executive and the Clerks of Court, with the approval of the Chief Judge. During operating hours, the clerk’s offices will only accept paper filings related to public safety matters listed in Section 5 below. All other paper filings may be either emailed to or mailed directly to the applicable courthouse. Electronic filings through CCE may continue; however, filings not related to public safety matters may not be processed until after April 6, 2020, due to the reduction in staffing levels.
(3) Jury Calls: All jury calls with a return date between March 18, 2020, and April 3, 2020, have been cancelled. No jurors should appear at the courthouses during those dates. If your appearance is rescheduled, you will receive a new jury summons in the mail. For those jurors who have a jury summons for a date to appear commencing on or after April 6, 2020, please continue to monitor the Court’s website for updates.
(4) Mandatory Continuance: Except for all public safety matters listed in section (5) below, ALL other appearances and/or hearings set from 8:00 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 2020, through 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 3, 2020, are hereby VACATED and CONTINUED. Please do not appear at the courthouse. On Thursday, March 19, 2020, and Friday, March 20, 2020, judicial officers and staff will be working to reschedule all these cases, including the matters set on the days the courthouses were closed, March 17, 2020 and March 18, 2020. If you are represented by counsel, please contact your counsel to obtain your new date. If you are not represented by counsel, please first check the Court’s website at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Dockets.cfm?District_I D=18 to see if your new date is posted there. Otherwise, parties and attorneys may also contact the appropriate division, if the case is assigned to a division, or the respective clerk’s offices if you are uncertain of the division assignment, to reschedule. Any person who does appear at a courthouse for a hearing or appearance that is not a public safety matter shall be provided a paper by a member of the court security team and/or court staff containing instructions on how to contact the court.
(5) Public Safety Matters: The courthouses, except for the Arapahoe County Courthouse in Littleton, will continue to conduct hearings on public safety matters. Public safety matters are limited to the following:
Petitions for temporary civil protection orders and permanent protection order hearings;
Petitions for temporary emergency risk protection orders and hearings on emergency risk protection orders;
Crim. P. Rule 5 advisements for incarcerated persons and initial settings of bail;
Revocation hearings on complaints to revoke probation involving an incarcerated defendant;
Proceedings necessary to protect the constitutional rights of criminal defendants including bond-related matters and plea agreements for incarcerated individuals;
Detention hearings for juvenile delinquency cases;
Shelter hearings independency and neglect cases or other juvenile proceedings;
Petitions for appointment of an emergency guardian and/or special conservator;
Hearings on motions to restrict parenting time and parental abduction prevention;
Emergency mental health proceedings; and
Other proceedings deemed necessary by the Chief Judge to prevent a substantial risk of imminent financial hardship, or imminent risk to the health, safety or welfare of any individual or members of the community.
(6)Social Distancing: When hearings are conducted for public safety matters, judicial officers and court staff shall seek to limit in person participation and encourage and accommodate telephone and/or video appearance for all participants.
(7) Self-Help Centers: All self-help centers in the 18th Judicial District are closed until April 6, 2020. All court forms and instructions can be found at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Self_Help/Index.cfm
(8) Bond Return Dates: Bond return dates, including bond returns that are determined by the Sheriffs regarding other jurisdictions in Colorado, shall be scheduled for no sooner than the week of May 25, 2020.
(9)Extrajudicial Activities: The use of any of the courthouses for extrajudicial activities (e.g., the solemnization of marriages) is prohibited until further notice.
The Chief Judge will continue to monitor available information and recommendations from health organizations, and this CJO 20-03 may be revised or extended as deemed necessary.
BY THE COURT:
Michelle A. Amico
Chief Judge
Eighteenth Judicial District
