Turning Back the Pages

30 years ago – September 5, 1986

After a month long investigation, the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Department confiscated over $20,000 worth of marijuana on August 29. According to Undersheriff David Martinez, at the end of July he received reports of someone growing a large amount of marijuana. Although a specific location was not given by the information, the Russell Gulch area was named. Martinez said that he and other officers of the sheriff’s department spent a great deal of time walking around the mountains in Russell Gulch to locate the suspected marijuana. Shortly after the reports were received, three separate marijuana gardens were found in one area. It was placed under surveillance, although the sheriff’s department did not have the manpower to watch it over a 24-hour period. Martinez said that during the time of the surveillance someone had been to the area and removed some of the plants because footprints were found at the location. At 12:00 p.m. on Friday, Martinez, as well as Investigator Bruce Hartman, Deputy Jon Bayne, and Reserve Officer Bille Palmer, collected 77 marijuana plants at the site. The tallest plant was over six feet high. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency reports, the marijuana may be worth as much as $50,000. Street value is approximately $1,200 for a mature. Some of the leaves collected as evidence are as large as a person’s hand. Overtime, gas, equipment, etc. for the operation and surveillance is being paid for by the Drug Enforcement Agency, not the county. It is funded through the “marijuana eradication fund,” Martinez said. The fund was set up from money confiscated in previous drug arrests. Martinez said that there was a fear of a “cold snap” and the sheriff’s department did not want to lose the marijuana. Therefore, an arrest had not been made as of Tuesday, although at least one arrest appears to be imminent. If an arrest is not made the marijuana will be destroyed by court order.

The work on Highway 46 started Wednesday with blade patching and culverts, according to Dave Woodring, head of the state’s road crew in Gilpin County. Woodring expects paving to start Monday. The road will always be open, with flagmen assisting traffic through the work area, which extends 3.7 miles down Highway 46 from Highway 119 to the state park. Work will be done Monday through Friday. The contractor has 15 working days to complete the project. In case of foul weather, the contractor could take up to the end of September to finish. Monday, Woodring and his crew will being work on Highway 119 between Black Hawk and the junction of U.S. 6. The highway will be getting a “chip seal,” rather than the squeegee and sand seal originally planned. The state highway department decided the chip seal would last longer and work better, Woodring. To do a chip seal, oil is sprayed on the road first. Then granite chips are spread and rolled into the rod. Wording will use flagmen and a pilot car which will guide the traffic slowly around the fresh oil. The Highway 119 work should take three to four days to complete. Work will be done from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. so it should not be a major concern for commuters.