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SATURDAYOctober 10

2009

VOL 102, NO. 15350 cents

MONTROSE, CO81401

MONTROSE

INSIDE TODAYLOCAL . . . . . . . . . . .A2-3STATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3NATION . . . . . . . . . . .A2-3CHURCH . . . . . . . . . .A6-7SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . .A8CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . .9-11COMICS . . . . . . . . . . .A12OBITUARIES . . . . . . .A13COMMUNITY . . . . . . .A14

Published for theUncompahgre Valleyand Debbie Knightof Montrose Mostly sunny / High 65, Low 35

See details, Page A13

Religion:Evangelicals call forimmigration reform

Page A7

10th Anniversary CelebrationOctober 16 • 6 pm at the PavilionHors d’oeuvres - Live entertainment - Silent Auction$50/person • For tickets, call the Black Canyon

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BY KATHARHYNN HEIDELBERGDAILY PRESS SENIOR WRITER

MONTROSE — For murder victimSteven Kublin's family, sadness out-weighed anger Friday, when his killerwas sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Kublin, 50, died Nov. 9, 2006, at thehands of Jeremy Hodges, then 25.Hodges stabbed Kublin as the older manslept, then cut his throat and laterburned his body near the MontroseCounty Landfill.

A man came forward in 2008 with in-formation that implicated Hodges. In-vestigators traveled out of state to inter-view him and were able to link Hodgesto the crime through DNA evidence,Sheriff Rick Dunlap said.

Hodges was arrested and chargedwith first-degree murder. He pleadedguilty in September to second-degreemurder; the case was resolved throughcriminal mediation.

"It is fitting that today is 35 months to

the day that Steve's body was found andwe are here at this time to sentence theperson responsible for this hideouscrime," Kublin's mother, Estelle, saidFriday.

"Steve's brutal murder has weighedvery heavily on our hearts," she said."The heartache is with us every day ofour lives. Steve's appearance andlifestyle may have been unconvention-al, but his heart was not."

Estelle later told the Daily Press shewas OK with the sentence. "I don't be-lieve in an eye for an eye. I never want-ed a death sentence."

Kublin was a loving and generousman who lived life on his own terms,his family said. That his life was so bru-tally taken puzzled prosecutors, thepublic defender and Hodges himself,who said he had no explanation, and lit-tle memory, of the night Kublin died.

BY KATI O'HAREDAILY PRESS WRITER

MONTROSE — With more than50 percent of its population on freeand reduced lunch, Montrose Coun-ty School District has been asking,"How many of these families don'thave family doctors or health insur-ance?" Now, a recent federal grantwill help them find out, enablingthem to keep their students healthywhile reducing emergency healthcare costs.

A health care barrier was identi-fied in the Montrose County com-munity when the Colorado HealthFoundation visited last Spring andconducted three days of interviewswith area parents and officials. Thefoundation looked at the communi-ty's resources, and lack there of, dis-trict spokesperson Linda Gann said.

However, the district's been awareof the gap. After opening the North-side Child Health Center, outreachcoordinator Patty Edstrom washired to educate parents on Medic-aid and Children Health Plan Plus(CHP+) eligibility. Now, a $25,000stipend per year for two years fromthe Colorado Association of SchoolBased Health Clinics will assist hermission.

"The stipend will send our staff toPueblo to learn about how theymatch those (free and reducedlunch with those without health in-surance and providers) data bases,"Gann said. It will also help the dis-trict with computers necessary forthe work and hire a part-time per-son to assist Edstrom in identifyingand contacting those who may be el-igible for insurance programs.

The district is to replicate thePueblo StepUp program that has asuccessful model to enroll and re-tain children in Medicaid andCHP+ through school-based clinics.

"This is another example of howour school district collaborates withother agencies to leverage re-sources to bring support to our stu-dents and their families," Gannsaid. "In the current economic cli-mate, and even when the economyis strong again, we think it is veryimportant to look to the communityand to other youth-centered organi-zation to solve some problems inpublic school. Without a question,an issue that has been identified isthat families do not have a familydoctor."

The Northside center bills forMedicaid and CHP+. Others that donot qualify are charged on a sliding-fee scale. The center prefers to referfamilies to family physician, howev-er, understanding that some use thecenter as a medical home. It's thecase that many private practices arefull or can't accept any clients onsuch insurance program, Gannsaid.

The funding should arrive to thedistrict by mid-November. Afterfamilies are identified, which theymust sign a form to release their in-formation, they will began dis-cussing with qualified familiestheir options and help them navi-gate through the whole process ofapplying.

To comment on this story, visit our Web site atwww.montrosepress.com.

' I forgive you. I hope you forgive yourself.'Ron Kublin, murder victim's brother, to the killer

40 years for man whokilled, burned Kublin

District toreach out tononinsured

www.montrosepress.com

Steven KublinSEE KUBLIN, PAGE A2

Prosecutors disclose brutal end to free-spirit's life

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A special Focus sectionpresenting the best fall colorphotographs submitted byDaily Press readers Focus

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