WEEK OF JUNE 6, 2024
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GOP hopefuls jockey for position
Longtime Kiowa postmaster retires from job
VOLUME 129 | ISSUE 14
Primary season is here and 4th District candidates make their cases
Joan Mallon spent 31 years at hub of small town life BY COURTNEY BAKOS SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
trict on the Western Slope. Also vying for the job
Joan Mallon, the dedicated postmaster of the Kiowa Post Office for 31 years, retired on May 31. Her career with the U.S. Postal Service spanned an impressive 42 years, beginning as a part-time clerk and working her way up to postmaster. “I was hired as a part-time flexible clerk in Otis, Colorado May 1, 1982. In 1990 I was promoted to postmaster of Otis and in 1993 I was promoted to postmaster of Kiowa, Colorado,” Joan said. Joan, who was the longest-serving postmaster in the Colorado/Wyoming District, said she witnessed and adapted to significant technological changes throughout her tenure. When she began her postal career in 1982, none of the offices had computers. Joan recalls mastering financial tasks using handwritten spreadsheets. This is a skill that proved invaluable over the years. “Learning to balance the books by
SEE CD4, P4
SEE POSTMASTER, P10
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With little ideologically separating the large group of Republicans who want to fill the seat in Congress recently vacated by Ken Buck, the candidates have spent months on the campaign trail touting their resumes and, sometimes, their personalities in hopes of wooing voters. But there are some differences. For instance, every one of the GOP hopefuls for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District said they will vote for Donald Trump for president in November. Yet not all of them believe the 2020 election was stolen. It’s one of the few deviations between the six can-
The six Republican candidates running for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District are, from top left, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, Deborah Flora, state Rep. Richard Holtorf, state Rep. Mike Lynch, former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and Peter Yu. COURTESY PHOTO
didates who largely agree on everything from immigration to the economy. The most recognizable
VOICES: 14 | CALENDAR: 19 | SPORTS: 32
name on the ballot is U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who currently represents the 3rd Congressional Dis-
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SAYING GOODBYE
Pet lovers consider options for end-oflife care P16