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And the honorable mentions of 2008 ...
  
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Chief’s death hits home for Palmer Lake police
The Palmer Lake Police Department transitioned from the leadership of chief Dan Gilliana to chief Gene Ferrin in 2008.
The transition was not an easy one after chief Gilliana died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in January 2008. The El Paso County Coroner determined Gillana’s death was a suicide.
Many members of the Palmer Lake and Monument police departments as well as town staff attended a service at New Life Church.
“His appreciation of the small community environment made him known to nearly all the residents," said former mayor Max Parker.
After Gilliana’s death, Sgt. Nikki Tezak took over as interim police chief while the town decided, with Monument’s police department, it was not in the their best interest to combine some operations. Gene Ferrin was hired during the search for a new chief. Ferrin been working as investigator with the Fourth Judicial District.
Since he took his position as chief in May 2008, Ferrin has been updating the department’s record-keeping system and getting the officers connected to the county’s dispatch database.
Tri-Lakes welcomes ... Da Bears
School District 38 opened Palmer Ridge High School in August after years of trying to find a suitable solution to overcrowding at Lewis-Palmer High School.
The school, located off Monument Hill Road, took about two years to complete from the time the property was acquired to the grand opening of the school.
It includes a geothermal well field that heats and cools the school as well as a distance learning lab. In October, the district received a $190,000 check from Mountain View Electric Association Inc. and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. for installing the energy-saving geothermal system.
The school building was designed to move with its surrounding landscape and from its many west-facing windows are beautiful views of Mount Herman and features an academic building and a separate art, athletics and cafeteria building attached by an enclosed hallway.
Palmer Ridge’s name was selected from recommendations made by the community and the mascot and colors, navy and gold, were also community-based.
Students registered for classes in February. Since the 585 or so students began classes at the school Aug. 14, they have partaken in a “better than homecoming” celebration and the student’s first final examinations at the school.
Heavy on the mill levies
Mill levy overrides took the main stage for school districts on this November’s ballot. Academy School District 20 passed a mill levy override that moved funds intended for early bond payoff into operation. The new revenue will be used to increase teacher pay, bolster budgets for student achievement in technology and fund the new school security plan. The override will not affect tax rates of D-20 residents but will add an incremental revenue stream to D-20 schools.
“We feel very fortunate the way our community stepped up for the district,” said D-20 Superintendent Mark Hatchell about the passing of the override. “This will benefit the students at Academy for a long time.”
Lewis-Palmer School District had less success in passing a mill levy override on their ballot. School District 38’s mill levy override would have increased property taxes by up to $2.7 million in the district. Now D-38 is working on trimming its budget in response to the denied override.
“The first thing we have to do is cut a total of $1.2 million for next year’s budget,” said board of education vice president John Mann. The board would have had to cut at least $300,000 from the budget with or without the passage of the override.
Baptist Road progress
The two cranes in the median of Interstate 25 mean that the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority has begun its improvement to the interchange. It also means that the widening of Baptist Road has been completed. The cones and construction equipment that has been a staple of the road over much of 2008 will be no longer. Crews wrapped up the widening project this summer with the fund created by El Paso County to improve the heavily traveled road. Expansion of the interchange began in September and is expected to take about 18 months to complete.
Vote here
A historical and seemingly endless presidential campaign combined with dire economic straits led to an exciting ballot season this year. With all the hype, El Paso County expected a busy day at the polls, and they pulled it all off with few hiccups. In northern El Paso County voters did not experience the six-hour waits that were occurring in some parts of the country and many took advantage of mail-in ballots.
Both Monument and Palmer Lake had healthy lines of voters around 8 a.m., which poured out the door. In the Palmer Lake Town Hall, upwards of 60 people in precincts 76 and 336 had come in to vote by 8:30 a.m.
“I think there are more people this year than previously,” said Ann E. Hall, who said she was first an election judge four years ago.
Chuck Maher said he went right through the line in five minutes.
“I think the hype of massive turnouts is not in there,” he said of the polling place.
The one quirk in the county was felt mostly by the media as the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink denied reporter access into voting sites — a lawful yet uncommon decision.
WIA turns over new leaves
The Woodmoor Improvement Association saw many changes on its board this past year.
After electing Anne Stevens-Goutanis, Kevin Weese and George McFadden to the board, the association saw Jake Shirk, Steve Malfatti, Terry Holmes and Weese resign their positions for personal reasons. Malfatti was the only one of the board members who cited the difference in agendas between himself and others on the board as his reason for leaving.
The year started out with a somewhat heated annual meeting in January, at which a newly modified voting procedure was used after a resident questioned the board’s previous one. Also at the meeting, a resident who felt he was unfairly taken out of the race for directorship spoke about why he believed he should have been permitted to run.
In the summer, Jake Shirk, director of public safety, stepped down from the board.
“It was with deep regret I had to leave due to family medical issues that came up,” Shirk said at the time.
Steve Steffey was appointed to fill the directorship.
The board became divided on several issues, and soon after the board voted 5-4 in favor of disallowing the association’s attorney Leonard Rioth to get any new business from them, board president Malfatti stepped down.
“I have devoted time and effort to what I think is the correct path for Woodmoor, but I have now concluded that these actions seem to be contrary to the wishes of the majority of the board,” the his resignation letter read. “At this point, I believe I can be more effective as a general member of the association rather than as a member of the board.”
Soon after Malfatti left, Holmes stepped down from his position as vice president and Weese later resigned his position as board secretary.
In October, Jim Wilson, Mari Rollins and Bill Brendemuhl were appointed to fill the three vacant positions. Wilson was named secretary, Rollins became the director of covenants, Brendemuhl the vice president and McFadden was selected to be the board president.
No new taxes
For years, El Paso County has been dealing with a shrinking budget and has been cutting services and jobs from almost every county department. A concerned citizen group saw the consequences of these ongoing cuts as unacceptable and proposed a 1-cent sales tax increase in the county to bolster public safety and the voters answered the ballot question with a resounding “no.” In the past, the sheriff’s office and other safety-related departments have avoided scathing cuts, but this year they are taking on a significant part of the burden. Layoffs have already begun in various county departments and the county commissioners just passed the 2009 budget in the face of even lower sales tax revenues than predicted with plans to revisit it early in the year. The new budget had to borrow money from road and bridge funds to make up a liquidity problem in the general fund which could be problematic later in the year.
“If we get into a situation where we don’t have money to maintain a balanced budget, that puts us in a very dangerous situation,” said District 1 Commissioner Wayne Williams. “By taking away that money now we make it very difficult to adjust if something happens during the year if the economy continues to worsen, because now there is no money to move over mid year.”
It’s always funto open a YMCA
Its unfinished shell was visible while driving down Interstate 25 and after a long time coming, the Monument YMCA finally opened its doors in 2008 and gave the local community an economical way to stay in shape and get together.
It is a "community center where people can come together," said Wendy Brez, director of marketing and communications for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region. "The architects have designed areas for people to congregate."
The facility boasts a workout area, community meeting areas and a variety of classes for members. Locals can join a sports league, learn yoga and amp up their social life through the YMCA. It even has special programs for seniors.
"When people are retired, they don't have as many opportunities to make new friends and these programs help them do that," Brez said.
Gas price blues
For a bit last year there was a new trend in cars. Monster SUVs were out, the Hummer seemed a bit excessive and the distance from A to B became a bit pricier. Some saw an opportunity to green-up the auto industry and sales of small cars rose.
The gas price surge that brought prices to $4 a gallon had people rethinking how they drove. The gas spike hit everyone in one form or another as food prices increased along with transportation costs. People threw around words like “staycation” and airline companies found ways to nickel and dime customers to make up the difference. As the economy continues its downward spiral and consumers hold back on consuming, gas prices have now dropped to under $2 — a small break in a turbulent economy.
Drilling Mount Herman
To drill or not to drill for gas on Mount Herman has been an ongoing and contentious issue in 2008. Dyad Petroleum Co., a company out of Midland, Texas, leased the mineral rights under 21,000 acres of national forest land. Voices of opposition sprung up from the local community primarily concerned about potential adverse effects of drilling on the environment and the health of area residents with respect to the possibility of water and air contamination.
"We would like for the forest service not to recommend drilling to the [bureau]," said Fred Lanyon, environmental assessment leader for an opposition coalition. The possibility of drilling on the mountain even prompted an anti-drilling concert.
New drilling laws being proposed by the state also led to some questions about drilling.
“The U.S. Forest Service and [Bureau of Land Management] are working with the State of Colorado to clarify how the proposed state oil and gas rules may or may not apply to operations on federal lands,” said Barbara Timock, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson. There has not been an official decision from the Forest Service on the Mount Herman drilling.
The Palmer Lake Police Department transitioned from the leadership of chief Dan Gilliana to chief Gene Ferrin in 2008.
The transition was not an easy one after chief Gilliana died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in January 2008. The El Paso County Coroner determined Gillana’s death was a suicide.
Many members of the Palmer Lake and Monument police departments as well as town staff attended a service at New Life Church.
“His appreciation of the small community environment made him known to nearly all the residents," said former mayor Max Parker.
After Gilliana’s death, Sgt. Nikki Tezak took over as interim police chief while the town decided, with Monument’s police department, it was not in the their best interest to combine some operations. Gene Ferrin was hired during the search for a new chief. Ferrin been working as investigator with the Fourth Judicial District.
Since he took his position as chief in May 2008, Ferrin has been updating the department’s record-keeping system and getting the officers connected to the county’s dispatch database.
Tri-Lakes welcomes ... Da Bears
School District 38 opened Palmer Ridge High School in August after years of trying to find a suitable solution to overcrowding at Lewis-Palmer High School.
The school, located off Monument Hill Road, took about two years to complete from the time the property was acquired to the grand opening of the school.
It includes a geothermal well field that heats and cools the school as well as a distance learning lab. In October, the district received a $190,000 check from Mountain View Electric Association Inc. and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. for installing the energy-saving geothermal system.
The school building was designed to move with its surrounding landscape and from its many west-facing windows are beautiful views of Mount Herman and features an academic building and a separate art, athletics and cafeteria building attached by an enclosed hallway.
Palmer Ridge’s name was selected from recommendations made by the community and the mascot and colors, navy and gold, were also community-based.
Students registered for classes in February. Since the 585 or so students began classes at the school Aug. 14, they have partaken in a “better than homecoming” celebration and the student’s first final examinations at the school.
Heavy on the mill levies
Mill levy overrides took the main stage for school districts on this November’s ballot. Academy School District 20 passed a mill levy override that moved funds intended for early bond payoff into operation. The new revenue will be used to increase teacher pay, bolster budgets for student achievement in technology and fund the new school security plan. The override will not affect tax rates of D-20 residents but will add an incremental revenue stream to D-20 schools.
“We feel very fortunate the way our community stepped up for the district,” said D-20 Superintendent Mark Hatchell about the passing of the override. “This will benefit the students at Academy for a long time.”
Lewis-Palmer School District had less success in passing a mill levy override on their ballot. School District 38’s mill levy override would have increased property taxes by up to $2.7 million in the district. Now D-38 is working on trimming its budget in response to the denied override.
“The first thing we have to do is cut a total of $1.2 million for next year’s budget,” said board of education vice president John Mann. The board would have had to cut at least $300,000 from the budget with or without the passage of the override.
Baptist Road progress
The two cranes in the median of Interstate 25 mean that the Baptist Road Rural Transportation Authority has begun its improvement to the interchange. It also means that the widening of Baptist Road has been completed. The cones and construction equipment that has been a staple of the road over much of 2008 will be no longer. Crews wrapped up the widening project this summer with the fund created by El Paso County to improve the heavily traveled road. Expansion of the interchange began in September and is expected to take about 18 months to complete.
Vote here
A historical and seemingly endless presidential campaign combined with dire economic straits led to an exciting ballot season this year. With all the hype, El Paso County expected a busy day at the polls, and they pulled it all off with few hiccups. In northern El Paso County voters did not experience the six-hour waits that were occurring in some parts of the country and many took advantage of mail-in ballots.
Both Monument and Palmer Lake had healthy lines of voters around 8 a.m., which poured out the door. In the Palmer Lake Town Hall, upwards of 60 people in precincts 76 and 336 had come in to vote by 8:30 a.m.
“I think there are more people this year than previously,” said Ann E. Hall, who said she was first an election judge four years ago.
Chuck Maher said he went right through the line in five minutes.
“I think the hype of massive turnouts is not in there,” he said of the polling place.
The one quirk in the county was felt mostly by the media as the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink denied reporter access into voting sites — a lawful yet uncommon decision.
WIA turns over new leaves
The Woodmoor Improvement Association saw many changes on its board this past year.
After electing Anne Stevens-Goutanis, Kevin Weese and George McFadden to the board, the association saw Jake Shirk, Steve Malfatti, Terry Holmes and Weese resign their positions for personal reasons. Malfatti was the only one of the board members who cited the difference in agendas between himself and others on the board as his reason for leaving.
The year started out with a somewhat heated annual meeting in January, at which a newly modified voting procedure was used after a resident questioned the board’s previous one. Also at the meeting, a resident who felt he was unfairly taken out of the race for directorship spoke about why he believed he should have been permitted to run.
In the summer, Jake Shirk, director of public safety, stepped down from the board.
“It was with deep regret I had to leave due to family medical issues that came up,” Shirk said at the time.
Steve Steffey was appointed to fill the directorship.
The board became divided on several issues, and soon after the board voted 5-4 in favor of disallowing the association’s attorney Leonard Rioth to get any new business from them, board president Malfatti stepped down.
“I have devoted time and effort to what I think is the correct path for Woodmoor, but I have now concluded that these actions seem to be contrary to the wishes of the majority of the board,” the his resignation letter read. “At this point, I believe I can be more effective as a general member of the association rather than as a member of the board.”
Soon after Malfatti left, Holmes stepped down from his position as vice president and Weese later resigned his position as board secretary.
In October, Jim Wilson, Mari Rollins and Bill Brendemuhl were appointed to fill the three vacant positions. Wilson was named secretary, Rollins became the director of covenants, Brendemuhl the vice president and McFadden was selected to be the board president.
No new taxes
For years, El Paso County has been dealing with a shrinking budget and has been cutting services and jobs from almost every county department. A concerned citizen group saw the consequences of these ongoing cuts as unacceptable and proposed a 1-cent sales tax increase in the county to bolster public safety and the voters answered the ballot question with a resounding “no.” In the past, the sheriff’s office and other safety-related departments have avoided scathing cuts, but this year they are taking on a significant part of the burden. Layoffs have already begun in various county departments and the county commissioners just passed the 2009 budget in the face of even lower sales tax revenues than predicted with plans to revisit it early in the year. The new budget had to borrow money from road and bridge funds to make up a liquidity problem in the general fund which could be problematic later in the year.
“If we get into a situation where we don’t have money to maintain a balanced budget, that puts us in a very dangerous situation,” said District 1 Commissioner Wayne Williams. “By taking away that money now we make it very difficult to adjust if something happens during the year if the economy continues to worsen, because now there is no money to move over mid year.”
It’s always funto open a YMCA
Its unfinished shell was visible while driving down Interstate 25 and after a long time coming, the Monument YMCA finally opened its doors in 2008 and gave the local community an economical way to stay in shape and get together.
It is a "community center where people can come together," said Wendy Brez, director of marketing and communications for the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region. "The architects have designed areas for people to congregate."
The facility boasts a workout area, community meeting areas and a variety of classes for members. Locals can join a sports league, learn yoga and amp up their social life through the YMCA. It even has special programs for seniors.
"When people are retired, they don't have as many opportunities to make new friends and these programs help them do that," Brez said.
Gas price blues
For a bit last year there was a new trend in cars. Monster SUVs were out, the Hummer seemed a bit excessive and the distance from A to B became a bit pricier. Some saw an opportunity to green-up the auto industry and sales of small cars rose.
The gas price surge that brought prices to $4 a gallon had people rethinking how they drove. The gas spike hit everyone in one form or another as food prices increased along with transportation costs. People threw around words like “staycation” and airline companies found ways to nickel and dime customers to make up the difference. As the economy continues its downward spiral and consumers hold back on consuming, gas prices have now dropped to under $2 — a small break in a turbulent economy.
Drilling Mount Herman
To drill or not to drill for gas on Mount Herman has been an ongoing and contentious issue in 2008. Dyad Petroleum Co., a company out of Midland, Texas, leased the mineral rights under 21,000 acres of national forest land. Voices of opposition sprung up from the local community primarily concerned about potential adverse effects of drilling on the environment and the health of area residents with respect to the possibility of water and air contamination.
"We would like for the forest service not to recommend drilling to the [bureau]," said Fred Lanyon, environmental assessment leader for an opposition coalition. The possibility of drilling on the mountain even prompted an anti-drilling concert.
New drilling laws being proposed by the state also led to some questions about drilling.
“The U.S. Forest Service and [Bureau of Land Management] are working with the State of Colorado to clarify how the proposed state oil and gas rules may or may not apply to operations on federal lands,” said Barbara Timock, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson. There has not been an official decision from the Forest Service on the Mount Herman drilling.
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