Protecting Your Online Reputation Is No Easy Task

by Matt Kroschel

Grand Junction- Word of mouth has gone high tech, now anyone can say just about anything about you or your business online.

"It slander and its frustrating when people can just say what they want and there is no way to hold them accountable," Kannah Creek owner Eric Ross told NewsChannel Five.

There are hundreds of websites devoted to giving people a virtual soap box to spew anything they like and don't like online, and once it hits the web it is hard to erase.

Ross spends a lot of time at work surfing the web looking at comments, and does what he can to respond to the negative ones, but that is hard because most people post as anonymous.

"This is a huge problem, people can hide behind their key boards and say anything," Online reputation manager Dan O'Connor said.

O'Connor's Grand Junction based business is booming as they fight back against negative and in many cases fabricated lies on the web that can ruin a business's reputation.

"We have a point by point system to help clean up a person's image online and present a more complete picture, it only takes one or two bad comments or reviews to ruin a business," O'Connor said.

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Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Sued, Legal Battle Brewing

Voter Privacy vs. Public Open Records Request at Center of Heated Issue

by Matt Kroschel

Mesa County - The Mesa County Clerk and Recorder is being sued, and some people believe the outcome could have a huge effect on the 2012 general election.

Aspen resident Marilyn Marks is leading a statewide attack on county elections officials, including her lawsuit against the top Mesa County elections official. Her group claims the way things are set up right now is unconstitutional and could give anyone the chance to know how you voted on county elections.

Marks has requested copies of all of Mesa County's paper ballots, but because of the current system in place, clerk and recorder Sheila Reiner denied that request. Reiner told NewsChannel 5 if she does release the ballots under the open records request, there is a chance someone's personal private vote could be seen.

The issue is going to go before a district judge with a court date set for April. Several Mesa County residents have contacted us with concerns about the voter privacy.

University Students Discover Human Remains, Investigation Underway

EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff Officials Say "Investigation Could Take Months Or Even Years"

By Matt Kroschel



Grand Junction- Students with Colorado Mesa University stumble across the "discovery of a lifetime" while working on a class project, and now investigators are trying to find out how a human skull and other bones ended up on the Uncompahgre Plateau, and who they belong too.

The case is open and Sheriff Spokeswoman Heather Benjamin told NewsChannel Five finding out just what happened to this person may take months or even years.

This whole thing began in early October when a group of environmental fire students from CMU were up along Divide Road. They were working a few hundred yards off the path when they found the skull. They contacted sheriff investigators who began their investigation.

Then a few weeks later, those same students found a jaw in the same exact area. All of the bones have been turned over to sheriff's office. But for the group of students and their professor who made this grizzly discovery this mystery has been something they never could have imagined happening.

We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest in the case.         

Polygraph Business Booming, Grand Valley Company Cashing In

by Matt Kroschel

Grand Junction- Just how important is the truth in your relationship? Would you ever go as far as asking your spouse to take a polygraph test? For a growing number of couples the answer is yes.

Alby Albertson with Foremost Response said his business is seeing a spike in the number of couples coming in to request fidelity tests.

Albertson uses high tech equipment to find out what people are trying to hide.

If you would like more information about the company or the service Click Here

Mill Levy Measure Fails, Supporters React

By Matt Kroschel

Mesa County- Supporters of Measure 3B, the mill levy override in Mesa County School District 51 raised over $50,000 and launched an aggressive campaign trying to drum up more tax dollars to help budget-strapped local schools, but it looks like their efforts were not enough.

Primary numbers show voters saying "no" to the increase in property taxes for schools. As of 10:00 PM Tuesday night, about 38% of voters voted in favor of measure 3B, and 62 voted no on the measure.

In related school district news, unofficial winners for the Mesa County School District 51 elections. For District A Director, it's Arvan Jeffry Leany, with around 60% of the votes. For District B Director, it is Ann Tisue, with just over 45% of the votes.
    

Shakeup at County Human Services Leaves Bad Taste in Employee's Mouth

4 Case Manager Resign In Last Month




By Matt Kroschel
Mesa County - Administrators with the Mesa County Department of Human Services want a brand new philosophy and an entirely new way of doing business, but not everyone agrees with the plan. Administrators with the Human Services Department say they will be more proactive in the way they deal with families in the county, but the changes are not without critics. In the last month, four of ten case managers have resigned.


NewsChannel 5 sat down with one former case manager who said she is leaving her job and feels things are not running the way they should be.


Monday was the last day Kelly Saint clocked in at her county case manager job, but she is not leaving on good terms. Her resignation comes on the heels of what she calls “ethical problems” within the department.


Saint has worked in her position for 15 years, and in that time she said there have been changes, but since April, the new plan has increased her workload to a level that she can’t continue to handle.


She claims, “Workers are being asked to put in 80 hours a week, or have to rush through the cases which could be horrible for the families we serve.”


But Jill Calvert, Mesa County Division Director of Child Services said despite some growing pains, the safety of the people they serve has not been jeopardized.


“We have had case workers training at new tasks. We are changing the way we do things from the inside out to better serve the public,” Calvert said.


“We are changing to be better and get in line with new state standards, and yes our case numbers have gone up and we are monitoring and dealing with that but have not seen any change in service or safety,” Calvert added.


Right now, there are three case manager positions they are trying to fill. It takes about three months of training once a new employee is hired before they can start taking cases.


Administrators said current staff members are helping out where they can but expect things to be back to normal and running smoothly within the year.


It is important to note administrators could not comment on the circumstances surrounding all of the resignations, since it is a personnel matter, so we do not know why all of the employees chose to leave.         

SWAT Standoff Over, Suspect Not Inside Home

By Matt Kroschel

Whitewater - After a five-hour standoff with a suspect whom sheriff's deputies believed was barricaded inside a Whitewater home, SWAT teams entered the home to find no one inside.


Mesa County authorities responded shortly after 4:30 PM on Tuesday afternoon. Officials received a domestic violence call for a home at 120 Whiting. The first deputies on the scene set up a perimeter around the home and the five-hour standoff began.


NewsChannel 5 spoke to family members of the suspect, who tell us his name is Robert Lambert. They say he has a long history of run-ins with the law.


At one point, a telephone was thrown into the home where they believed Lambert was hiding. Neighbors were allowed back into their homes around 9:15 PM. Lambert is on the run facing domestic violence charges.