Elbert County
News
November 1, 2012
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourelbertcountynews.com
Elbert County, Colorado • Volume 117, Issue 40
Elbert drivers facing obstacles Troubles in the county’s motor-vehicles division could slow tag renewals By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Danielle Bernal, 7, of Kiowa shows Main Street how she rolls. Her pumpkin decorating entry was too heavy for the youngster to carry, so she rolled the monstrous creation along the street to the car. Photos by Deborah Grigsby
Fall festival no trick, just treat Elizabeth chamber event fills Main Street By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com If you’ve ever wanted to walk with witches, mingle with monsters and then score a good deal on local merchandise, then Elizabeth’s recent Harvest Festival and Trick or Treat Street event would have filled not only your wish, but your Halloween candy bag as well. More than 60 local vendors and artists lined Main Street on Oct. 27 for an old-fashioned harvest festival and candy grab. Sponsored by the Elizabeth Area Chamber of Commerce, the annual event brings the community together with local merchants keeping downtown bright and vibrant. “It’s really been an exciting year for us,” said Beverly Durant, chamber executive director. “I think we’ve had close to 1,000 kids from all over the area come through here today, as well as their parents, and it’s really great to see everyone in costume.” Face painters, local celebrities, alpacas, hay rides and a pumpkin decorating
Elizabeth Police Chief Michael Phibbs, left, is joined by Fire Chief T.J. Steck, center, and Public Works director Michael Gibbs masquerading as three blind mice at the Elizabeth Harvest Festival and Trick-or-Treat Street on Oct. 27.
Elbert County commissioners denied a request to replace a motor-vehicles division employee who transferred to another agency, and Clerk and Recorder Diana Hartsough says the move will cost the county money and may put drivers at risk of being ticketed by law enforcement. Hartsough, who appeared before the commissioners on Oct. 24, said that without replacing the vacated position, her office can’t accommodate a growing workload, and may even need to reduce its walk-in service by one to two days per week. With only two full-time employees, and the county’s current reduced work week, Hartsburg said the division spends most of its time dedicated to walk-in customers rather than boxes of requests accumulating in the vault. “At our current staffing, we simply can’t process all the mail-in registrations and renewals in a timely fashion, so people may not get their tags back on time,” she said. And, according to Hartsough, that not only slows the flow of much-needed county revenue, it also potentially puts drivers in the position of operating a vehicle with expired tags. District 2 Commissioner Kurt Schlegel said the board’s decision was based on the fact that the county hasn’t finalized its 2013 budget and expects even more cuts to come before it does. In the wake of growing county debt, he said it’s not practical hire someone now, only to potentially terminate them at the beginning of the year. “We asked each department head to come back with 5 percent cuts across the board, but DMV actually came back with an increase,” said Schlegel. “Revenue in the county has seen an 8 percent drop, Budget continues on Page 5
contest were among the many free activities for those who came to the three-hour afternoon event. The warm weather and sunny skies seemed to help, too. “It was such a good turnout today, said Brent Fosnight, a photographer from Elbert who, along with Constance Richardson, shared a face paint-
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ing booth at the festival. “I think we went through 10 big bags of candy in about two hours.” “I think I’ve painted 35 faces today,” said Richardson.” The kids have been so nice and polite and all them said `thank you.’” Durnat said the event is just one of many the chamber organizes as a way to showcase local merchants and their services and merchandise, as well as give back to the community. In December, Main Street will again come alive with the chamber’s next event, the Olde Country Christmas celebration, complete with holiday treats, a community tree lighting and a visit from Santa Claus and eight real reindeer. For more information on upcoming chamber events, call 303-646-4287.
Find election results online Due to our press deadline, we will be unable to bring you results of the Nov. 6 election in the Nov. 8 print edition of the Elbert County News. However, you can find results of the county commissioner, district attorney, 4th Congressional District and other races online. Just go to ourelbertcountynews.com. Then, you can find more coverage in the Nov. 15 edition of the newspaper.