Elbert County News 0121

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January 21, 2021

ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

ElbertCountyNews.net

VOLUME 125 | ISSUE 51

Singing Hills speller on her way to state Two county Fifth-grader Tiffany Martin resolutions wins bee after challenge over word list reach end of the line

BY TABATHA STEWART SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Students from Elizabeth Middle School, Running Creek Elementary and Singing Hills Elementary faced off in the district spelling bee Jan. 14 at Elizabeth High School.

The top four spellers from each school competed for the chance to advance to the state level, during a socially distanced event, with audience members wearing facial coverings, and competitors only lowering their masks while spelling words at the microphone.

Students have been studying a list of 160 words they were given in December, and spellers held strong through the first 10 rounds of competition. During the 11th round students became more nervous and began making minor mistakes, with two competitors being eliminated for misspelling the words “opposite” and “instrument” incorrectly.

“There is a lot of nervousness tonight for this competition,” said Kristen Crookshanks, a parent volunteer who has organized the spelling bee for several years.

Road policy from 1963, complaint protocol both revoked by commissioners

BY TABATHA STEWART SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Tiffany Martin, a fifth-grader from Singing Hills Elementary, took first place in the district spelling bee after spelling the championship word “album” correctly.

SEE SPELLER, P6

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 11

PHOTO BY TABATHA STEWART

The Dec. 13 Elbert County Board of County Commissioners meeting got off to a contentious start when a citizen stood to protest rules of order during the consent agenda portion of the meeting, which resulted in Commissioner Chris Richardson asking her to sit down several times, as she was not a recognized speaker, before slamming his gavel on the bench and declaring the meeting was in recess just minutes after it had begun.

Resident Candace Head-Dylla was trying to oppose the BOCC’s planned revocation of the county’s SEE COUNTY, P15

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2 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021J

No ‘magical number’ for herd immunity Even with arrival of vaccine, there are many factors to consider

BY JOHN INGOLD THE COLORADO SUN

On Jan. 13, Colorado officially crossed the 209,000 mark for the number of people who have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine — meaning that more than 3% of the state’s population is now on its way to immunity through inoculation.

But how much further do we still have to go?

The launch of the vaccination campaign reignites questions about what it means to reach “herd immunity” in the state — that glorious threshold shrouded in the mind’s eye in a magical fog, for beyond that point lies normalcy.

More technically, once enough people in a community are immune from a virus to reach herd immunity, the virus can’t find enough susceptible people to jump into and the local epidemic begins to die out.

There’s a problem with this clean, perfect image of herd immunity, though. It is, alas, not quite as simple as it seems.

“There is not a magical number,” said Dr. Lisa Miller, an epidemiologist and a professor at the Colo-

rado School of Public Health.

Miller, with more than 20 years working in public health, knows this problem well. She previously worked at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as the head of the Communicable Disease Branch and as the state epidemiologist.

“I think it’s easier to think of it as a range of numbers,” she said.

“This really isn’t an exact number.”

And even that range of numbers is difficult to pin down with a virus as new and evolving as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a bunch of different factors to consider.

The magic formula

Herd immunity is a complicated concept, but it’s also just a pretty simple formula. To calculate the percentage of people who need to be immune from a virus in order to reach herd immunity, all you have to know is the virus’s basic reproduction number — its R0 (pronounced R-naught). The number represents the average number of people that each infected person will pass the virus to.

Once you know that, calculating herd immunity is something any schoolkid could do, using the formula. Here it is: 1 - (1 ÷ R0) Divide 1 by the R0 value, then subtract the result from 1. If your

R0 is a terrifyingly high 18 (which it can be with measles), then the herd immunity threshold is 94%.

If R0 is 2 — something more akin to a slow-spreading common cold — the herd immunity threshold is 50%.

It’s also important to note that R0 is separate from the severity of the virus. Some fearsome viruses, like ebola, have low R0 values.

Number isn’t stable

This is where we run into the first pothole on the way to herd immunity nirvana, though. R0 isn’t a fixed number for any virus.

“There is no one exact number for R0,” Miller said. “That can vary depending on the population, depending on the virus.”

And the R0 for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is especially uncertain. Some estimates come in as low as 2. Some are as high as almost 6.

Miller said most studies are pegging the R0 for the coronavirus between 3 and 5. That means the herd immunity threshold is between 67% and 80%.

(Quick side note: We’re talking about the natural reproduction number here — how the virus would spread in a population with no immunity if we did nothing to stop it. Researchers in Colorado are also trying to estimate the effective reproduction number, which is how the virus is spreading now after taking into consideration everything we’re doing to slow it down, such as mask-wearing and social distancing. The latest estimates place the effective reproduction number in the state at 0.7, meaning the virus is in decline for now.)

Viruses can mutate

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Even if we think we have a good handle on the R0 for SARS-CoV-2, that doesn’t mean it will stay put.

The newly discovered variant of the virus first identified in the U.K. is a good example of this.

Researchers estimate that the variant may be as much as 70% more transmissible. The researchers arrived at these estimates by looking at rates of spread during periods of high levels of social distancing in England, and warned that “extrapolation to other transmission contexts therefore requires caution.”

So it’s not clear what the new variant’s R0 might be or, in turn, how much that would impact the herd immunity threshold. But a more transmissible coronavirus would require a community to have greater levels of immunity before it clears the bar.

All populations are different

The concept of one, simple herd immunity number rests on a bit of a fallacy. It imagines that, in a large state like Colorado, everyone just mixes randomly like pingpong balls in a lotto drawing.

But Miller said that is obviously not the way society works.

“These are really theoretical measures,” she said.

So it is entirely possible that Colorado could reach an 80% overall vaccination rate against the

coronavirus and still have large pockets of the population that are prone to outbreaks. This is the scenario that public health leaders have been warning about for years with diseases like measles.

Different communities within the state will also have different herd immunity thresholds. That is because R0 for the virus will be different depending on how populations interact. Dense communities where people live closer together, giving the virus a better chance of spreading, will have a higher herd immunity thresholds. Less dense communities will have lower ones.

As a piece published in 2019 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases put it: “Because R0 is a function of the effective contact rate, the value of R0 is a function of human social behavior and organization, as well as the innate biological characteristics of particular pathogens.”

How good is the vaccine?

Now let’s talk about what it means to be immune. It’s not the same thing as being vaccinated.

Miller said no vaccine is perfect.

Even the best don’t work for 100% of the people who receive them.

The current coronavirus vaccines, made by Pfizer and Moderna, put up mind-blowingly-good efficacy numbers in clinical trials — both around 95%. When one of the key researchers who helped develop the vaccines heard those results, he reportedly sat down at his desk in his home office and wept.

A really good vaccine makes herd immunity a lot easier. It means that more of those who have been vaccinated are also immune, allowing them to count toward reaching the threshold, something Gov. Jared Polis nodded to in a news conference in December.

“The pandemic aspect of it is over once a sufficient number of people have been vaccinated,” Polis said. “I’ll leave that to the scientists to say whether that is 50% or 70% or 80%, but it’s a lot lower percentage of people before the pandemic is over at 94% efficacy than it would be if the vaccine were only 60 or 70% effective.”

Real world is test

Miller cautioned that efficacy and effectiveness are two different concepts in the public health world. Efficacy is what happens in a study, when everything is done as by-the-book as possible. Effectiveness is what happens in the grime and grind of the real world.

We don’t yet know what the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines is.

Miller said this probably isn’t a huge deal with the current vaccines. As long as they keep their real-world effectiveness near their clinical trial numbers, the population of vaccinated-but-not-immune people won’t be large enough to make much of a difference.

But this analysis changes if vaccines that come out in the future aren’t as successful.

SEE IMMUNITY, P5

Elbert County News 3

1January 21, 2021

DCSD superintendent urges speedier vaccine timeline Vaccines are critical to restoring in-person learning, educators say

BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County School District interim Superintendent Corey Wise is urging a speedier timeline for vaccinating workers in education, but stopped short of saying whether the state’s recent pause on teacher vaccinations was the right or wrong decision.

Wise said he was an adamant advocate for moving teachers and school staff further up in the state’s vaccine distribution plan.

He celebrated when that happened and announced that the district expected to begin vaccinating teachers and staff the week of Jan. 4.

Then state officials Wise told health agencies to pause vaccinating educators until people 70 and older had been inoculated. The news meant teachers may not receive shots until March. Wise hopes that changes.

“Vaccinating teachers and school staff, I’m still going to continue to advocate for, and it’s not to jump over groups, but it’s being included with those groups,” Wise said to Colorado Community Media on Jan. 11.

Ensuring teachers and district staff have access to vaccinations is critical to returning students to in-person learning, providing relief to working parents and stabilizing the local economy, he said.

The district had given its healthcare providers Excel sheets denoting employees who would qualify under Phase 1 of the state’s plan, Wise said.

“We were doing our best to send out invitations to everyone,” he said.

Wise said changes in messaging about distribution plans added “complication in an already complicated environment.” More than 40 school nurse consultants, who qualify under Phase 1A of the state distribution plan, received doses

on Jan. 6, but the district had to halt plans to bring teachers and other school staff into the mix.

Meanwhile, educators were being vaccinated at charter school STEM School Highlands Ranch.

A spokeswoman said staff at the school arranged appointments with Littleton Adventist Hospital before the state issued guidance about prioritizing people 70 and older.

The hospital first contacted the school on Dec. 31 for lists of staff members and began contacting STEM employees individually on Jan. 4. When the hospital did not cancel appointments, school staff arrived as scheduled and received their shots.

SEE DCSD, P7

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4 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021J

‘Just a regular guy’ Mike Waid reflects on his tenure as mayor of Parker

BY NICK PUCKETT NPUCKETT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

S

itting at a picnic bench in O’Brien Park in downtown Parker, Mike Waid, then with less than one month remaining as mayor, recited his favorite line to the question of what he plans to do next.

“I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” Waid said Nov. 19.

Waid, 47, chose not to seek reelection in 2020 despite being eligible to serve another four years at the dais, citing his belief against career politicians. He said his goodbyes as mayor of Parker on Dec. 14.

Waid served eight years as mayor, preceded by four years as a councilmember and, before that, five years on the special licensing authority, three as its chair.

Waid led the town through substantial growth, often being forced to play peacemaker during public debates. A popular Parker entrepreneur prior to running for office, Waid stood out in his own right as a different kind of conservative maverick — one who wears flannel, has a long beard, ear piercings and tattoos, and disdains typical politicians.

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Mike Waid, who finished his tenure as mayor of Parker in December, said “I have no regrets in my life” and said his journey has been PHOTO BY NICK PUCKETT “a beautiful experience.”

little difference between the mayor people saw on-stage at the annual tree-lighting ceremony and the man they see driving around town in his black Jeep. Waid wore many hats, costumes and haircuts to fulfill the role as the people’s mayor of Parker — “just a regular guy,” he says.

Waid is famous for ad-libbing most of the speeches he gave as mayor. He is prone to slip into a long anecdote to explain a point or get a laugh whenever he is behind a microphone. Storytelling is how he communicates with the world.

The chilling wind and disappearing sun at O’Brien Park on Nov. 19 did not slow down Waid’s litany of stories as he reflected on the lessons he learned serving Parker.

“You know me, I love telling stories,” Waid said, “so just tell me when to shut up.”

‘When do I start?’

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Today, Waid works as an IT director for Champion Bank, a job he started in August.

Waid began his working career as an entrepreneur with a photography business he started at age 14.

He and his wife, Pam, met while attending El Dorado High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He pursued a degree in political science and a minor in economics — “because that was the easiest way out of college,” he said. He recalled a guidance counselor who recommended the major after reviewing the hodgepodge list of credits on his transcript.

“She could’ve said accounting, underwater basket-weaving — whatever, and I would’ve done it,” Waid said. “It wasn’t necessarily a passion per se, but it coincided with how I enjoyed entrepreneurship and my experience in it.”

Waid came to Colorado in 1997, pursuing his wife’s dream to be a veterinarian. The couple had both finished with undergraduate degrees from the University of New Mexico and made a life in Fort Collins. Pam waited to be accepted into Colorado State University’s vet

Mike Waid smiles as stylist Yadi Ordonez trims his newly-dyed hair in March 2016 at HairColorXperts in Parker. Waid dyed his hair to help raise awareness for a St. Baldrick’s Foundation childhood cancer research fundraiser.

FILE PHOTO

program. Mike, meanwhile, looked for a job wherever he could find one.

Prior to moving, Waid found a list of the top 100 employers in Fort Collins at the library. He started calling each company, starting from the top of the list. The first five did not pick up. His sixth call was to the Coloradoan, the local newspaper. He spoke to a woman named Jean in human resources and made a promise to be the best employee they had ever had. The woman told him they were not hiring.

“I hear what you’re saying, Jean,” Waid recalled his 23-year-old-self telling the woman over the phone.

“But, trust me, you’re not going to want to miss me.’”

Waid followed up on his promise when he and his wife visited Fort Collins a week later. He went to the office and shook Jean’s hand. Jean told Waid to wait as she walked the entire facility, department by department, looking for an opening.

She finally found one. Waid took the job before she could get the words out of her mouth. “‘It doesn’t matter,’” he said to her. “I will do it better than anyone you’ve ever hired. So, when do I start?”

‘This is home’

Waid worked as an ad salesman for the Coloradoan. He left two years later to start his own ad agency, Image Design Group, specializing in small business marketing and

advertising. He taught himself web and graphic design in the early days of the internet. He partnered with the Denver Dumb Friends League and built an online database for adoption pets, allowing potential adopters to view photos of available pets online.

After about a year, Waid left his company, which had by then been acquired by a company called Project Works. He started a new job in Denver working for a telecommunication software company and began commuting daily from Fort Collins.

The couple dreamed of buying a house in the Parker/Highlands Ranch area but, in 2000, could not afford to live there. In a last-minute effort to avoid becoming homeless, after a deal on a house in Aurora fell through, the Waids found a fixerupper in the Cottonwood neighborhood of Parker in their price range.

At the time, they had one son, Christopher. Their second son, Matthew, was born shortly after they moved to Parker.

Waid’s first and fondest memory of Parker is one that thousands have likely heard before in his State of the Town speeches or casual, off-thecuff addresses. He ventured downtown with his family in the first week of June, during Parker Days.

Waid remembers when O’Brien Park was an empty lot, home to a Quonset hut that was the Parker SEE WAID, P9

Elbert County News 5

1January 21, 2021

IMMUNITY FROM PAGE 2

Preliminary data for the vaccine made by AstraZeneca — one of the next up in the pipeline — showed it to have 70% efficacy, on average.

That’s low enough that it could impact herd immunity calculations.

“In that case,” Miller said, “it might be useful to understand if it changes this range we’re talking about.”

Infection immunity unclear

There’s another way people could potentially be added to a herd immunity calculation, and it’s a crude one: by gaining immunity the oldfashioned way through infection.

In the race between virus and vaccine in Colorado right now, the virus is way out in front. The latest modeling estimates project that more than 1.3 million Coloradans have been infected with the coronavirus. That’s nearly a quarter of the state.

But there’s no consensus on whether those people should count when thinking about the state’s herd immunity threshold. Many people who have been infected develop at least short-term immunity — and maybe longer-term, as well.

Dr. Eric France, CDPHE’s chief medical officer, said in an interview last month that so-called natural immunity gained through infection will be “an important contribution” to reaching herd immunity in Colorado.

“Add to that the 70% to 90% of

people who will say they want to be vaccinated and we’ll be fine with regards to herd immunity,” France said.

Do kids count?

Colorado’s vaccination campaign currently envisions inoculating only people 18 and older. That may change if clinical trials show the vaccines are also safe and effective No firm promise for kids. But, right now, kids are off But some medical experts note the table. that natural immunity appears to So does that mean they count vary from person to person. And against the herd immunity calculasome people have reported two tion? separate coronavirus infections If they do, it would be incredibly over the course of the pandemic. difficult for Colorado to reach herd At a news conference last month, immunity statethe current wide. There are state epidemiolnearly 1.3 milogist, Dr. Rachel lion kids ages Herlihy, said 17 and younger there had been in Colorado, acabout 300 people cording to State in Colorado who Demography Ofhad tested posifice estimates. tive once and They make up then, some time nearly 22% of later, tested the state’s popupositive again. lation.

It is unclear, If none of though, how Dr. Rachel Herlihy, them are vaccimany of those are true reinfecstate epidemiologist nated and natural immunity tions. is not counted, “I think it means Colothere’s, unforturado would have to vaccinate over nately, lots of things we still don’t 85% of the adult population just to know about reinfection with this reach the lowest level in the estivirus,” Herlihy said then. mated herd immunity range.

This uncertainty causes Miller But what if kids don’t spread to urge caution. Stick with what the virus as easily as adults? you’re sure of, she said.

Some studies have suggested that “What we’re really focused on younger kids are less likely to be and what we can control is that virus-spreaders. Others have found vaccine herd immunity,” she said. evidence of the opposite.

“The goal and what public health Miller said the unknowns are reais focused on is looking at the person to continue testing the vaccines centage of the population that is in order to one day make them vaccinated.”

‘I think there’s, unfortunately, lots of things we still don’t know about reinfection with this virus.’

available to children.

“They are part of the population, so I think that’s an important issue,” she said.

Disease likely here to stay

The good news about COVID-19 is that, as vaccines go into arms, herd immunity can now be reached without accepting the massive death toll that would go along with trying to achieve it through infection.

The bad news about COVID-19 is that it is likely here to stay, even after we reach herd immunity. And it is uncertain how often we’re going to need to keep getting vaccinated in the future in order to stave it off.

“There’s still lots we still have to learn about how to maintain immunity with the vaccine,” Miller said. ”This is all assuming vaccine protection is maintained, so we have to figure out how to do that.”

To public health professionals like Miller, this means the message on herd immunity has to be one about endurance and vigilance.

Thus, Miller thinks the focus on a single, magical number for herd immunity is counterproductive.

It’s not a finish line we can cross and then immediately declare victory. This is a race we’re just going to have to keep running for a while.

“The debates about the number,” she said, “are missing the point.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. Used by permission. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com.

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6 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021J

SPELLER FROM PAGE 1

“These kids study so hard, and it’s a little scary to get up on stage and compete. But they all do a really good job.”

In the 20th round, Tiffany Martin, a fifth-grader, was eliminated for spelling the word “corporate” incorrectly, leaving only two spellers standing. Emma Weis, a seventhgrader at Elizabeth Middle School, misspelled “dissuade,” and was eliminated. Landon Tobler, a fifthgrader at Singing Hills Elementary spelled his championship word “divulge” correctly, and was declared the winner.

However, Martin approached the judges and told them her word was not actually on the practice list.

She was given the word “corporate” but the word listed on the practice sheet was actually “cooperate,” which she had spelled correctly.

Judges reviewed the rules and determined that Martin was correct, and called the last three spellers back to the stage to compete again for a winner.

Weiss was eliminated in the 22nd round, and Martin and Tobler competed for another 12 rounds, spelling every word on the practice list they were given correctly, forcing the pronouncer to begin using words from an advanced list, none of which any of the spellers had seen prior to the competition.

In the 34th round, Tobler misspelled the word “fawn,” and Martin spelled the championship word

Students from Elizabeth School District competed for the chance to advance to the state spelling competition.

“album” correctly, earning her the first-place spot for the spelling bee, and advancing her to the state competition.

“As long as you put your heart and mind to it you can do anything you set your mind to,” said Martin, after her win. “After I got out we started

checking the word list, and when I knew my word wasn’t on the list I had to say something. I was nervous, but excited, because I knew one of us, either me or Landon, would get to go to state.”

Cmdr. Melvin Berghahn, with the Elizabeth Police Department,

PHOTO BY TABATHA STEWART

Shellie Scobee, with the Elizabeth School District, and Dave Tallent, a retired teacher from Elizabeth School District, served as judges for the competition. Martin will compete in the Denver Post Colorado State Spelling Bee at the University of Denver in March.

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Elbert County News 7

1January 21, 2021

DCSD

“our friends and neighbors who are dying from this.”

But teachers want to get back in classrooms and seem eager to FROM PAGE 3 be vaccinated, she said. Vaccines should not be required among The spokeswoman did not know district employees, but their who or how many staff received importance “can’t be overstated,” doses because they coordinated Leyba said. directly with the hospital.

“It was certainly disappointing A Centura Health spokesman to get our hopes up and then hear said the provider is working with a couple weeks later that it wasn’t a number of school districts including DCSD. Right now, Centura actually going to happen in January,” she said. “The communicais working to vaccinate school tion confusion was the biggest district health-care workers.

“We scheduled a limited number disappointment.”

While Leyba would like to see of teachers in our state to receive teachers vaccinated by spring the vaccine (the week of Jan. 4) break, she’s bracing members for in order to fill our vaccination a longer timeline, in which they clinics. This helped us maintain receive first doses in late March efficiency, as our goal is to ensure and second doses in April, “and every dose of vaccine is utilized,” then we only have one month left spokesman Kevin Massey said in of school.” an emailed statement.

“I think we should keep our exCentura also honored appointpectations tempered,” she said. ments scheduled before the state Leyba informally surveyed some health department’s new guidmembers who generally felt comance, he said. fortable returnMoving foring to hybrid ward, Centura learning, she will focus on said, but they inoculating are skeptical people 70 and that full inolder and is person learnopening more ing would last sites to reach if the district them, Massey goes that route said. this semester.

On Jan. 8, “As much as the district they want it, announced it they realize plans to prithat when we oritize staff pack that many 70 and older, older kids, those providing who transmit health-related this disease services and like adults, in those working a classroom, closely with the biggest special needs concern is that students to vacit won’t be cinate through sustainable,” February.

Leyba said.

Teachers, Wise stressed school-based Kallie Leyba, during recent staff and other employees with Douglas County Federation school board meetings that close contact president on teacher vaccinations he does not with students believe schools would follow, are a signifilikely beginning in March. District employees cant source of COVID-19’s spread — that most exposures among stuare not required to get the vacdents and staff came from outside cine. school buildings.

The district is tentatively planThe district is entering “a new ning to bring middle and high environment,” though, and will school students back to hybrid closely monitor spread of the new learning by Jan. 25.

COVID mutation now circulatThe district might resume hying in the state, Wise said. He’s brid or in-person learning before not sure what that might mean widespread vaccination of its for containing the virus within staff, but vaccinating employees district buildings. would further protect those plans, Leyba said she too will keep a Wise said. close eye on the new mutation’s “Vaccines of our staff opens spread, and whether that means that door wide. It makes it susmore potential for spread within tainable and attainable,” he said. schools.

District staff are also planThe district has not been rouning for a full return to in-person learning at some point this semes- tinely testing students, an age group that’s often asymptomatic, ter, although Wise said he could she said, signaling to her there’s not predict when that might be.

Elementary school students began little evidence proving or disprovthe semester on Jan. 5 with full in- ing whether most exposures came from outside buildings. person learning. Middle and high She’s optimistic about data from schools are learning remotely. at-home tests for students promDouglas County Federation ised by the state, but in light of President Kallie Leyba said memthe vaccine pause, will believe bers of the local teachers union that when she sees it, Leyba said. understand the need to prioritize “I guess I feel burned,” she said. high-risk community members,

‘It was certainly disappointing to get our hopes up and then hear a couple weeks later that it wasn’t actually going to happen in January.

The communication confusion was the biggest disappointment.’

Because of you we’re open!

COVID safety measures help us stay that way.

To view a list of Certified COVID Best Practices Businesses visit douglas.co.us/certify-my-business

Are you a Douglas County property owner?

Visit douglascotax.com to view parcel details, prior year payment history, pay taxes and more. Still have questions? Visit douglas.co.us/treasurer for additional information.

Small Business Relief Grants available Restaurants, bars and other drinking establishments, caterers, movie theatres, and gyms and recreation centers with revenue loss due to COVID-19 impacts may be eligible. Applications will be accepted through 5 p.m., Jan. 29, 2021. To review eligibility details and apply visit douglas.co.us/small-business-grantprogram

Volunteer to preserve our local history Do you have a a background in history or archeology and want to serve your community? If so, apply for openings (Districts I and II) on the Historic Preservation Board. For more information and to complete an application visit douglas.co.us and search for Historic Preservation Board. Applications are due by Jan. 31, 2021.

Let’s Talk...

We’re all going through a difficult time, but we’re doing it together. Resolve to stay connected, stay active, be kind to yourself. Check in regularly with friends and family especially if you know someone going through significant changes. Visit the COVID-19 page at letstalkco.org or hablemosco.org to learn more.

What’s happening with your County government?

Our commitment to open and transparent government includes online posting of information about public meetings at which the business of government is conducted.

To view various public meeting agendas and to participate in-person or remotely visit douglas.co.us and search for Meetings and Agendas.

Art Encounters Call for Entries Are you a sculptor? Have you considered submitting your artwork to the Douglas County Art Encounters public art program? Submit your entry at douglascountyartencounters2021-2022.artcall.org through Feb. 19. Visit artencounters.douglas.co.us for more information.

Visit douglas.co.us

8 Elbert County News

B

LOCAL

January 21, 2021J

VOICES

Animal adoption agencies seeing a doggone frenzy

ecause of the pandemic, which of the following is way up nationwide?

Average per-person daily intake of calories from sugar?

QUIET Trips to the liquor DESPERATION store?

Pet adoption?

I don’t have the facts in front of me about calories and alcohol, just the assumption that both are true.

There are facts, however, that show Craig Marshall pet adoption in the Smith past year was not only way up but highly competitive.

Adoption agencies all over the country are experiencing something unique: They’re running out of pets; some have seen double the requests for dogs since the pandemic came along.

This is good news, but it comes with some bad news and an advisory (from me).

According to the Better Busi-

ness Bureau, “The number of complaints about fraudulent and nonexistent breeders has never been higher.”

At times, humans are an industriously evil lot.

If there’s a market value in deception, mankind will find it.

Dogs, cats, birds, fish, and even ferrets are “going like hotcakes,” said one operator of an animal shelter in Maryland.

Why? I don’t have room to go through all of the reasons why Harry enhances my life and makes it worth waking up every morning and chewing (as Emo Phillips said) through the leather straps.

Today, 35.7 million Americans live alone. When quarantined, that’s a lot of solitary souls trying to make the best of it — psychologically.

I can’t think of anything better than spending the day with Harry.

I’d take him over Audrey Hepburn.

And that would have been true before “social distancing.”

On January 6, like everyone else, I watched the horrific events unfold in Washington, D.C., glued to the

screen and mesmerized, revolted, saddened and disgusted.

Harry?

Harry came to me with a leash in his mouth.

Three of my friends adopted cats last year and they weren’t random acts: Each had owned cats in the past.

The advisory I mentioned is just this: Pets, especially dogs, require time, money, and commitment — and respect.

Harry’s annual Wellness Exam is coming up. He’s on a prescription diet. His teeth have to be cleaned.

Dog ownership isn’t what it once was.

The American Pet Products Association estimated we spent $99 billion on pet industry expenditures in 2020.

Some of that might include stupid hats and costumes, but the majority went to food, training, and medical care.

Although Hexe, my boyhood dachshund, was loved, she was treated very differently than I treat Harry. Dogs were, well, dogs back then. Now they are important mem-

bers of the family.

In the absence of a family, Harry is my son. His well-being is my well-being.

Experts warn that “adoptions should not be spontaneous,” but there probably were a few of those.

Research beforehand helps. There are sites (adoptapet.com, for example) that will help you determine which (breed) dog is best for you.

As great as dachshunds are, they’re not for everyone. Some of you may remember Smitty. He was adopted, at the age of 5, from the great, no-kill MaxFund Shelter in Denver.

I was his third owner. It’s my understanding he may have nipped a child who was playing too aggressively with Smitty when he was a puppy.

Please: Do your homework.

Mark Twain said, “The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.”

Craig Marshall Smith is an artist, educator and Highlands Ranch resident. He can be reached at craigmarshallsmith@comcast.net.

The grand illusion in the land of confusion

M

usic just seems to have a way of connecting us with feelings of inspiration, motivation, adventure, romance, sorrow, and love. We can re- WINNING member where we WORDS were the first time we heard those songs, and the people or person that we were with, and how we experienced the music.

Dating myself here as I share that I am a little stuck Michael Norton in the ‘70s and early ‘80s when it comes to my preferred genre of music. My playlists for working out, walking, or skiing are a collection of my favorite songs from that era. This week, as I was listening to one of my playlists, I found the irony and prophetic wisdom in a couple of the songs that made it into my mix. The first was Styx, “The Grand Illusion,” and the song that followed was Genesis, “Land of Confusion.” I asked myself: “Irony or prophecy?”

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Styx’s “The Grand Illusion” lyrics caught my attention: “Welcome to the grand illusion, come on in and see what’s happening, pay the price, get your ticket for the show.”

It made me think of everything that has been going on in our country. The points of view, posts, political speeches, censorship and what the news covers and does not cover. And just how serious of a situation we are in no matter what side we fall out on. And in the situations that we are finding ourselves in could well be described as the grand illusion that appears in our news and social media each day. Are we believing in the magic of the spin doctors on all sides and at every level, so much so, that we cannot determine what is real?

Genesis’ “The Land of Confusion.” This was a unique political song for Genesis. It refers to the thinking of world leaders at the time, specifically the United States and Russia. And on the heels of the Styx song mentioned above, “The Land of Confusion” filled my ears and my heart with the recog-

nizable beat and lyrics. And as the song played, as loud as I could get it to play, I found myself anticipating and waiting for a particular part of the song, “There’s too many men, too many people, making too many problems, and not much love to go-’round, can’t you see this is the land of confusion.”

Could it be any more spot-on today, especially considering that it was released in 1986? We need more love to go-’round.

As we all come to the same conclusion that it is an illusion and it is confusion, we will find ourselves thinking, “Now what?” For those of us not caught up in the mania that is taking place, we wonder how we should respond, what can we do, how do we live, work, and play amidst the illusion and confusion? Here is the answer, just as we have seen magic shows and magicians live or on television, and then we get to see the hacks from behind the scenes, we are entertained for sure, but we accept it at face value. It is magic. So, when we think of the grand illusion let’s look for the hack and the reality.

Not trusting those who are trying

JERRY HEALEY President

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant

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to convince us through emotion but looking through the illusion and confusion by using our good judgment and common sense to draw our own conclusions.

One last song lyric from a tune by the Moody Blues, “Late Lament.” Consistent with using good judgment and common sense, we remember the lyric in this Moody Blues’ classic, “But we decide which is right, and which is an illusion.”

How about you? Are there songs that remind you of certain times in your life? Do those songs resonate with you today based on the world we are living in? There are so many great classics from yesteryear that are just so relevant today and I would love to hear your favorites at mnorton@tramazing. com. And when we can work our way through the grand illusion and the land of confusion, it really will be a better than good year.

Michael Norton is the grateful CEO of Tramazing.com, a personal and professional coach, and a consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator to businesses of all sizes.

Columnists & Guest Commentaries Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Elbert County News.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com Deadline Wed. for the following week’s paper.

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Elbert County News 9

1January 21, 2021

WAID FROM PAGE 4

Police Department’s headquarters until 2010.

“O’Brien Park used to be a dump,” Waid said, reflecting on the origins of the iconic gazebo, a Rotary club effort, and the revitalization of Parker’s downtown. “Mainstreet was like a two-lane highway. Nobody stopped at the businesses … and the Quonset hut was like a death trap.”

Regardless, Waid felt an immediate sense of home at Parker Days, watching Christopher at the petting zoo, and staying for lunch at the Warhorse Inn, a now-closed restaurant in downtown Parker. This was nothing like the tough, crime-ridden Albuquerque neighborhood he grew up in, or a bustling college town.

“This quaint, small, hometown feel,” Waid recalled from that day at Parker Days. “This is amazing. This is home.”

Creating a buzz

Anyone who stopped in Suite No. 18 at Parker Station in downtown Parker in the heyday of Waid Publishing would likely have no trouble reaching the owner at virtually any time of day.

“You were never going to just pop into the office,” said Tiffany Grizzle, a former employee and longtime friend of Waid’s. “If you were going to talk to Mike, you were going to be there for a while, and it’s going to be time well-spent.”

From an office on Mainstreet for most of the 2000s and 2010s, Waid ran a line of local business and entertainment magazines from Aurora to Castle Rock, each titled “Search.”

Grizzle wrote freelance articles and sold ads for several of the magazines. She described working under Waid as a one-of-a-kind experience.

“Still to this day … it’s almost there’s like a buzzing-ness around him,” Grizzle said.

His office usually a chaotic mess, Waid was at his best under pressure, Grizzle recalled.

“He almost has childlike-wonder goggles on,” Grizzle said. “He looks at everything with a sense of positivity and wonder that’s amazing.”

The mayor

Alicia Pope knew it would be hard to see her friend subjected to public scrutiny when he decided to run for mayor in 2012. But she could not think of anyone better suited for it.

Waid was nearing the end of his first term as a councilmember. He was lovable, charming and relished giving big speeches, she recalled.

“The Town of Parker has been through some crazy things in the last eight years, that’s for sure,” Pope said. “I can’t imagine someone who cared as much for the town and managed it in quite the ways he had.”

Pope, a 20-year Parker resident, knew Waid before he was elected mayor. A family friend since the yWaids moved to Parker, Pope maintains that there is little difference between who people saw as Mayor Mike Waid and the man.

“He doesn’t pretend to be anyone different than who he is: A bighearted guy who cares deeply about everything,” Pope said.

Waid started his mayoral tenure puzzled at his newly elected role.

The Town of Parker’s municipal code’s only stated requirement for the mayor is that he or she be present in town at least once every 90 days. The mayor does not vote on town council matters and, for the most part, facilitates discussion among the public, town staff and elected leaders.

“All people knew about a mayor is what they see on TV or whatever sitcom they’re watching, and (there) the mayor is a CEO of an organization and the mayor hires and fires,” said former Councilmember Joshua Rivero, who served alongside Waid since 2012. “Mike was very good at personalizing the role.”

Waid quickly became known for his hearty, improvised speeches, appearances at local schools, his approachable demeanor — and sometimes by his brightly colored hair.

Four months after taking his oath, Waid founded the “Shave the Mayor” event in partnership with the annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser for cancer research.

Participants shave their heads in solidarity with juvenile cancer patients.

Waid has made “Shave the Mayor” its own spectacle, upping the stakes by offering the largest donor to his fundraiser to choose a color he would dye his hair two weeks before the event. His hair has been blueand-orange, purple and rainbowcolored.

Toward the end of his tenure, Waid used Facebook Live videos to keep people informed of COVID-19 updates during the height of the pandemic. By the time he left office, Rivero credited Waid with improving public engagement through education.

“He could be a college professor,” Rivero added.

One of Waid’s early tests to his wide-open persona came when he received a call from Ralph Neumann in 2015, asking if Waid was interested in performing in an upcoming production of “West Side Story” at the Parker Arts, Culture and Events Center. Waid accepted, wanting to demonstrate that the role of mayor is nothing special.

“I’m just an average guy who happened to be in the right place in the right time who won a popularity contest,” Waid said. “I did a lot of soul-searching and said ‘I need to use this role to have a positive impact on people I never meet.’ ” Rachel Carter, a professional ballet dancer and teacher, later recruited Waid to be her dance partner in the annual Parker “Nutcracker.”

“It scared him to death to get into theater, but he had no regrets,” Carter said. Waid is not a great dancer, she admitted, but he more than makes up for it with his ability to engage with the audience.

“He is so likable, he’s just genuinely nice, and I think people can sense that when he’s on stage,” Carter said. “He’s just genuine.”

His first performance hooked him for life. He performed in “Spamalot,” “Sister Act,” “Footloose,” “Newsies,” “The Nutcracker” and “The Full Monty” at the PACE Center.

“He’s obviously not your typical mayor,” Pope said.

Meanwhile, Parker continued to experience rapid population growth during Waid’s tenure. The town’s population of 24,310 in 2000 grew to 45,297 a decade later. The town’s

unofficial population at the end of 2020 hovers around 56,000.

As mayor, Waid sometimes drew criticism from those opposed to what they felt was a too-rapid pace of growth and development.

Grizzle recalled the only time she saw Waid get upset was when someone threatened or verbally attacked his family or his Christian faith.

Fighting fire with facts

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit Parker, Waid took to Facebook to put the pandemic in perspective. He posted videos explaining concepts like flattening the curve and dissecting language from dense public health orders so people could better understand them.

“I think Mike took a lot of burden on himself,” Rivero said.

At times, Rivero could tell Waid wondered if all that effort was getting through to people.

“The role became putting out fires because folks were attacking from all angles,” Rivero said, “trying to kill a myth before it snowballed.”

But Rivero knows now, with Waid’s tenure finished, that Waid made more of an impact than he may have otherwise thought.

“You have a much more educated populace” now, Rivero said.

Rivero gave a recent example where Waid used two glasses full of

rice to illustrate hospitalization and death rates in Colorado.

“I looked up to the way he valued his community first,” Rivero said.

“It was always about Parker. It was never about getting reelected or making your voter bloc happy. It was about making Parker a better place, daily.”

Waid reflected on his role shortly after his term ended. His favorite parts as mayor were the ones where he could visit a classroom full of kids or make a pediatric cancer patient smile.

Being a good leader, Waid learned, is “about improving the lives of people I will never, ever, ever meet.

The way you do that is demonstrating to those around you what it is to be an amazing leader.”

“If I can help demonstrate to people ‘here’s a conservative Republican who’s in theater or dancing in a ballet’ ... Well, what does one have to do with the other?” Waid said.

“For me, part of that role as mayor is to represent my citizens of Parker — all races creeds, sexes — whenever it’s called upon. The extra benefit of that is that I got to know a world I wouldn’t know anything about.

“I had no plans to go this route …

I have no regrets in my life. The way the world — life — has brought me along has been a beautiful experience.”

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10 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021J

LOCAL

LIFE

‘Viewing the world in a different lens’

Some people like to use trekking poles when they go snowshoeing.

SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGE

Snowshoeing is inexpensive option for socially distanced outdoor activity

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

W

ith health officials continuing to encourage outdoor activities amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there’s one affordable winter activity that’s getting folks outside, active and socially distanced: snowshoeing.

The sport, essentially the winter version of hiking, is a great way to enjoy being outside in the winter without having to empty one’s pockets to buy ski or snowboard gear and pricey lift tickets, said Frank Bulkley, owner of Eskimo Ski Shop in Centennial.

“If you want to get outside and get some fresh air, it’s a great way to do it. It doesn’t have to be a 10-mile hike either,” he said. “It’s a simple way to get out there and do something different in the snow.”

The only things needed to start

snowshoeing are waterproof boots, waterproof layers like a jacket and pants and of course, the snowshoes, which can be rented for under $20 per day.

While hiking boots and shoe spikes can perform well when a trail is packed down with snow or a bit icy, snowshoes really thrive in snow about a foot or more deep, Bulkley said.

Jake Thomas, manager at Mountainside Gear Rental in Golden, says the best way for beginners to try out snowshoeing is to head to familiar territory. “(Go) somewhere you’ve already been, somewhere you’re comfortable with going that’s not super remote,” he said. “Maybe somewhere you hike in the summer.”

It’s also best to go with a buddy and remain within cell service, he said.

“Any precautions you would take while hiking, you should take while

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A pair of snowshoers trek on Mount Sniktau near Loveland Pass. COURTESY OF SYDNEY

on snowshoes,” Bulkley said.

That includes carrying a headlight, being ready for weather changes, bringing plenty of water and snacks and knowing how to react if confronted by wildlife. Those snowshoeing off trails or in the backcountry also need to be aware of avalanche precautions.

Many hiking websites, such as AllTrails.com, will have comments from recent hikers on snow conditions for specific areas or trails.

Thomas likes to recommend Golden Gate State Park, St. Mary’s Glacier and trails around Nederland to those interested in snowshoeing.

How they work

Snowshoeing is largely intuitive.

The shoes snap on and off easily and are lightweight enough to carry in a backpack until needed.

“They’ve come a long way from the big clunky ones that looked like tennis rackets on your feet,” Thomas said.

Snowshoes vary in size based on a person’s weight and the snow conditions. They work by distributing the wearer’s weight across the surface of the snow, preventing the person

from sinking more than a couple inches.

“As long as you’re fit and able to push yourself a little and try something new, it’s really for everyone,” Thomas said. “It is a little more physically demanding than hiking.”

Thomas likes to bring trekking poles when he goes out. They aren’t essential, but they can help with balance, he said.

“In the wintertime, when everything is covered in snow, things are much more serene and quiet. You get to be more in touch with what’s going on around you,” he said. “It’s viewing the world in a different lens. Looking around and seeing untouched snow all around you is a really cool thing.”

Crescent Moon Snowshoes, based in Englewood, also makes foam snowshoes, which are perfect for beginners, said Tanner Dunn, vice president of the company.

The shoes strap on and connect to the heel of the wearer’s shoes, unlike other snowshoes, Dunn said.

“You can give them to anyone, they’re so intuitive and easy to walk in,” he said.

Normally, the company offers direct sales and rentals of these shoes, but this year, their inventory has been depleted as a surge of buyers have appeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunn said.

“It’s one of the few winter activities besides skiing,” Dunn said.

“Snowshoeing is easier to go and grab real quick.”

For Dunn, one major benefit of snowshoeing is how easy it is to feel like you’re the only person on a trail.

“It’s so quiet. I love hiking, too, but it’s really hard to find a trail that’s not packed — whereas snowshoeing, it’s just dead quiet. It really is different,” he said. “So many people hike but not that many snowshoe.”

Elbert County News 11

1January 21, 2021

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12 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021J

C R O S SWO R D P U Z Z L E

‘Apron Chronicles’ exhibit coming to end of journey

H

istory Colorado at 1200 Broadway in Denver is a wonderful spot for family (or individual) visits on a winter — or actually, any — day.

Exhibits take SONYA’S you back to the state’s years-ago SAMPLER history as well as slices of life today, or perhaps just yesterday. “Apron Chronicles,” which runs Jan. 23 to May 9 this year, is subtitled “A Patchwork of American Recollections” (promptSonya Ellingboe ed by aprons), and the traveling show is ending a 16-year journey across the nation. It includes photographs, personal narratives and of course, fabric examples. Open Monday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Members free, other admissions costs vary. 303-447-8679, historycolorado.org.

Book club

We learned of the House Museum Book Club. Join the Molly Brown House and the Center for Colorado Women’s History (Evans House) in a collaborative book club. Free, meets on a Sunday in the even-numbered months of 2021, from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

See History Colorado (www.historycolorado.org/house-museum-bookclub) for titles, starting Feb. 7 with “Sweet Freedom’s Plains” by Shirley Ann Wilson Moore.

Call for artists

The Denver Art Museum has put out a call for artists’ proposals for a large-scale mural for reopening of the reimagined Martin Building and Sie Welcome Center. It will tell a story of the Denver metro area’s vibrant art scene, be about 12 X 28 feet and welcome visitors ... Budgeted at $10,000 plus supplemental materials budget. Additional support for installation provided by the

museum. Deadline is Feb. 12 at 11:59 p.m. Zoom session Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. See RFP on the DAM website, www.denverartmuseum.org.

Piano recital

Pianist David Korevaar will perform a solo recital at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at University of Colorado’s Grusin Hall. The program is called “Variations Fantastiques,” a journey through keyboard music from the Italian Renaissance to the Harlem Renaissance, with works by Frescobaldi, C.P.E. Bach, Mozart, Clara and Robert Schumann and Margaret Bonds. It will be streamed live by cupresents.org. Pay as you can.

Kirkland Museum

Kirkland Museum in downtown Denver offers members free access to the Clyfford Still Museum across Bannock Street from Jan. 15 to 31. Use discount code BANNOCK during online checkout to receive free admission. Reserve in advance: admission by phone and web orders only, 303-832-8576 or www.kirklandmuseum.org.

JCC interactive lecture

JCC Mizel Arts and Cultural Center at 350 S. Dahlia St., Denver, continues events with a social justice theme. Next: On March 24 at 7 p.m., African-American Jewish food historian and James Beard-winning author Michael Twitty will host an interactive lecture in advance of Passover about the shared narratives of diaspora and exodus between African-American and Jewish communities.

Opera competition

On March 20, the Denver Lyric Opera Guild will hold the 2021 final competition for young opera singers. Details on the live-streamed afternoon competition will be coming up on the guild’s website at www. denverlyricoperaguild.org/2021competition.

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PUBLIC NOTICES

Public Notices call Sheree 303.566.4088 Legals City and County Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR SACWIRELESS SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW (CASE NUMBER: SU-20-0076) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PROPERTY LOCATED AT 38555 COUNTY ROAD 29, ELIZABETH, SHALL BE CONSIDERED FOR A SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW, PURSUANT TO ELBERT COUNTY REGULATIONS. THE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE 16TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2021, AT 7:00 P.M. BOTH VIA ZOOM AND IN-PERSON: • ZOOM: o MEETING ID: 927 3180 4644; o PASSWORD: 123123; o PHONE: +17209289299,, 92731804644#,, 0#, 123123# • IN-PERSON: IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 7:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. -ANDTHE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONES ON THE 10th DAY OF MARCH, 2021, IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 1:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE CHECK THE COUNTY WEBSITE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE. CONTACT ELBERT COUNTY COMMUNITY & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION: 303-621-3136.

EXHIBIT A (LEGAL DESCRIPTION) ALL THAT PARCEL OF LAND IN THE IN THE COUNTY OF ELBERT AND STATE OF COLORADO AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN DEED BOOK 434 PAGE 13 AND PARCEL # 7422100424, BEING KNOWN AND DESIGNATED AS: SW 1/4 NE 1/4, SE 1/4 NW 1/4, E 1/2 SW 1/4, AND SE 1/4 OF SECTION 22, TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 64 WEST 6TH P.M., COUNTY OF ELBERT, STATE OF COLORADO. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING THEREFROM THAT PROPERTY CONVEYED BY FREDDIE G. HUDSON AND MARY W. HUDSON TO MICHAEL L. WAGNER AND CAROL E. WAGNER

BY DEED DATED 11/19/2012 AND RECORDED 11/29/2012 IN BOOK 740, PAGE 894, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING THEREFROM THAT PROPERTY CONVEYED BY FREDDIE G.HUDSON AND MARY W. HUDSON TO DAVID L. BLEGEN AND NANCY N. BLEGEN BY DEED DATED 11/9/2012 AND RECORDED 11/29/2012 IN BOOK 740, PAGE 895, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING THEREFROM THAT PROEPRTY CONVEYED BY FREDDIE G. HUDSON AND MARY W. HUDSON TO ALLISON ALAINE ALMQUIST BY DEED DATED 6/24/2014AND RECORDED 6/24/2014 IN BOOK 752, PAGE 807 AND DEED DATED 3/10/2015 AND RECORDED 3/10/2015 IN BOOK 758, PAGE 169, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING THEREFROM THAT PROPERTY CONVEYED BY FREDDIE G. HUDSON AND MARY W. HUDSON TO SARA RENEE HUDSON BY DEED DATED 9/28/2015 ANDRECORDED 9/28/2015 IN BOOK 763, PAGE 81, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS. EXCEPTING AND RESERVING THEREFROM THAT PROPERTY CONVEYED BY FREDDIE G. HUDSON AND MARY W. HUDSON TO ALICIA ANN GUEVARA FLORES BY DEED DATED 4/11/2019 AND RECORDED 4/11/2019 IN BOOK 793, PAGE 722, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS. PARCEL NUMBER: 7422100424

BY FEE SIMPLE DEED FROM JOHN J. QUINN, JR. AS SET FORTH IN DEED BOOK / PAGE : 434 / 13 DATED 02/15/1990 AND RECORDED 02/22/1990, ELBERT COUNTY RECORDS, STATE OF COLORADO. Legal Notice No. 24545 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR ROCK BOTTOM PROPANE SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW (CASE NUMBER: SU-20-0068) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT PROPERTY LOCATED AT 13618 COUNTY ROAD 166, KIOWA, SHALL BE CONSIDERED FOR A SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW, PURSUANT TO ELBERT COUNTY REGULATIONS. THE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE 16TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2021, AT 7:00 P.M. BOTH VIA

ZOOM AND IN-PERSON: • ZOOM: o MEETING ID: 927 3180 4644; o PASSWORD: 123123; o PHONE: +17209289299,, 92731804644#,, 0#, 123123# • IN-PERSON: IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 7:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. -ANDTHE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONES ON THE 10th DAY OF MARCH, 2021, IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 1:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE CHECK THE COUNTY WEBSITE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE. CONTACT ELBERT COUNTY COMMUNITY & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION: 303-621-3136.

DESCRIBED AS: THE NROTHWEST ¼ OF THE NORTHEAST ¼ AND THE WEST ½ OF THE NORTHEAST ¼ OF THE NORTHEAST ¼ OF SECTION 11, TOWNSHIP 7 SOUTH, RANGE 63 WEST OF THE 6TH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, ELBERT COUNTY, STATE OF COLORADO. CONTAINING: 60.15 ACRES MORE OR LESS Legal Notice No. 24547 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News Public Notice NOTICE OFADMINISTRATIVE DECISION FOR A MINOR DEVELOPMENT CASE NUMBER: MD-19-0085 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE 32779 N ELBERT ROAD, KIOWA, CO, PROPERTY SHALL BE CONSIDERED FOR A MINOR DEVELOPMENT, PURSUANT TO ELBERT COUNTY REGULATIONS. AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION WILL BE MADE

BY THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ON THE REFERENCED MINOR SUBDIVISION BY: FEBRUARY 2, 2021.

CONTACT ELBERT COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION: 303-621-3136 LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY: AN AREA OF PREPERTY LOCATED IN THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 20, TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 63 WEST OF THE 6TH P.M., COUNTY OF ELBERT, STATE OF COLORADO BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: COMMENCING AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID SECTION 20 AND CONSIDERING THE NORTH LINE OF THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SAID SECTION 20 TO BEAR N89⁰50’51”E WITH ALL BEARINGS CONTAINED HEREIN RELATIVE THERETO; THENCE N89⁰50’51”E ALONG SAID NORTH LINE, A DISTANCE OF 513.09 FEET TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING; THENCE CONTINUING ALONG SAID NORTH LINE N89⁰50’51”E, A DISTANCE OF 577.04 FEET; THENCE S08⁰23’37”W, A DISTANCE OF 44.18 FEET TO A POINT ON THE NORTH RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF COLORADO STATE HIGHWAY NO. 86; THENCE S89⁰05’40”E, ALONG SAID NORTH LINE A DISTANCE OF 148.88 FEET TO A POINT ON THE WEST RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF COUNTY ROAD 25-41; THENCE ALONG SAID WEST LINE THE FOLLOWING TWO (2) COURSES: (1) S26⁰52’23”W, A DISTANCE OF 372.16 FEET; (2) S27⁰17’36”W, A DISTANCE OF 440.17 FEET; THENCE N62⁰42’24”W, A DISTANCE OF 391.39 FEET; THENCE N00⁰09’09”W, A DISTANCE OF 588.19 FEET TO A POINT ON THE NORTH LINE OF THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SAID SECTION 20 AND THE POINT OF BEGINNING, SAID PARCEL CONTAINING 8.75 ACRES MORE OR LESS, COUNTY OF ELBERT, STATE OF COLORADO. Legal Notice No. 24543 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News

Misc. Private Legals Public Notice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR MESSER EVENT CENTER SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW (CASE NUMBER: SU-19-0099) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE MESSER EVENT CENTER, LOCATED AT 33955 COUNTY ROAD 37, KIOWA, SHALL BE CONSIDERED FOR A SPECIAL USE BY REVIEW, PURSUANT TO ELBERT COUNTY REGULATIONS. THE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON THE 16TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2021, AT 7:00 P.M. BOTH VIA ZOOM AND IN-PERSON: • ZOOM: o MEETING ID: 927 3180 4644; o PASSWORD: 123123; o PHONE: +17209289299,, 92731804644#,, 0#, 123123# • IN-PERSON: IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIR-

legals@coloradocommunitymedia.com

GROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 7:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. -ANDTHE HEARING IS TO BE HELD BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONES ON THE 10TH DAY OF MARCH, 2021, IN THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AT THE ELBERT COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 95 UTE AVENUE, KIOWA, COLORADO, AT 1:00 P.M., OR AS SOON THEREAFTER AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE CHECK THE COUNTY WEBSITE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE. CONTACT ELBERT COUNTY COMMUNITY & DEVELOPMENT SERVICES FOR MORE INFORMATION: 303-621-3136.

LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS: THE NORTH 1/2 OF THE NORTHEAST 1/4 OF THE NORTHEAST 1/4 OF SECTION 13, TOWNSHIP 8 SOUTH, RANGE 64 WEST OF THE 6TH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO, CONTAINING 20.39 ACRES MORE OR LESS. Legal Notice No. 24546 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News Public Notice DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION 1, COLORADO DECEMBER 2020 WATER RESUME PUBLICATION TO: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN WATER APPLICATIONS IN WATER DIV. 1 Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are notified that the following is a resume of all water right applications and certain amendments filed in the Office of the Water Clerk during the month of DECEMBER 2020 for each County affected.

20CW3191 KENT N. HULL, 303 GRINDSTONE ROAD, WEATHERFORD, TX 76087 (All inquiries to: Ric N. Morgan LLC, Atty. Reg #34831 P.O. Box 131, Elbert, CO 80106 (303) 520-6088 morgan@hayday.org APPLICATION UNDERGROUND WATER RIGHTS AND APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR AUGMENTATION, IN THE DENVER BASIN AQUIFERS IN ELBERT COUNTY. Property Description: approximately 146.1 ac in the SW 1/4, S31, T9S, R64W, 6th PM in Elbert County.

2. Applicant seeks to adjudicate the non tributary and not nontributary Denver Basin groundwater underlying a 146.1 acre tract of land lying in the SW 1/4, S31, T9S, R64W of the 6th PM, including the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie Fox Hills aquifers. 3. Source: Groundwater tributary to Running Creek, tributary to the South Platte River. The groundwater to be withdrawn from the Dawson aquifer is not nontributary (NNT) as described in Sections 37-90-103(10.7), C.R.S. and 37-90-137(9)(c), C.R.S., and the source of the groundwater to be withdrawn from the Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers underlying the Subject Property is nontributary (NT) as described in Section 37-90-103(10.5), C.R.S. 4. Estimated Amounts: The estimated average annual amounts of withdrawal available from the subject aquifers as indicated below, are based upon the Denver Basin Rules, 2 C.C.R. 402-6 and the DWR Groundwater Determination Tool.

Applicant estimates the following amounts are representative of the subject aquifers underlying the Subject Property: Upper Dawson, 62.6 acrefeet (NNT), Lower Dawson, 32.6 acre-feet (NT), Denver, 58.4 acre-feet (NT), Arapahoe, 59.8 acrefeet (NT), Laramie-Fox Hills, 44.1 acre-feet (NT), totaling 257.5 acre-feet. Decreed amounts may vary from the above to conform with the State’s Determination of Facts. 5. Well Field: Applicant requests that this Court determine that Applicant has the right to produce the full legal entitlement from the Denver Basin aquifers lying below the Subject Property, through wells which may be located anywhere on the Subject Property, and any additional wells which may be completed in the future as Applicant's well fields. Application will be made for well permits prior to construction of any additional wells in accordance with Section 3790-137(10), C.R.S. Applicants will reserve part of the Upper Dawson aquifer for use through exempt wells. Applicant waives any 600 foot spacing rule as described in Section 37-90-137(2), C.R.S. for wells located on the Subject Property. 6. Proposed Use: All beneficial uses of water recognized under Colorado law, including, without limitation, domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock watering, fire protection, and augmentation purposes, including storage on the Subject Property. 7.

Description of Plan of Augmentation: A. Groundwater to be Augmented: 7.0 acre-feet of Upper Dawson aquifer water per year. B. Water Rights for augmentation: Return flows from the use of not nontributary and nontributary groundwater and direct discharge of nontributary groundwater.

C. Statement of Plan of Augmentation: The 7.0 acre-feet Upper Dawson aquifer groundwater will be used for domestic purposes through one or more wells, on the Subject Property for each of two residences, each residence with the following uses: in-house use (1.0 ac-ft per year), irrigation of lawn, garden, trees and greenhouses (1.0 acft per year), stock watering of up to 100 head of stock (1.0 ac-ft per year), and use in barns and agricultural production facilities (1.0 ac-ft/year), and fire protection (0.5 ac-ft per year. Combined total for the two residences is 7.0 acre-feet per year. Applicant reserves the right to amend the amount and uses without amending the application or republishing the same. Sewage treatment for in-house use will be provided by non-evaporative septic systems. Return flow from in-house use will be approximately 90% of that use, and return flow from outside irrigation use and use in barns will be approximately 15% of that use. During pumping

Applicant will replace actual depletions pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-90-137(9)(c.5). Depletions occur to the Running Creek stream system and return flows accrue to the South Platte River via Running Creek and are sufficient to replace actual depletions while the subject groundwater is being pumped. Applicant will reserve an equal amount of nontributary groundwater underlying the Subject Property to meet post pumping augmentation requirements.

Applicants request the court approve the above underground water rights, find that Applicants have complied with C.R.S. § 37-90-137(4) and water is legally available for withdrawal, find there will be no material injury to the owners of or persons entitled to use water under any vested water right or decreed conditional water right, and grant such other and further relief as is appropriate. Farm Credit of Southern Colorado is a lienholder on the property. The Applicant will notify the lienholder no later than 14 days after filing this application, and file such certification with the Court, in accordance with C.R.S. §37-92- 302(2)(b) and §37-90-137(4) (b.5)(I). Applicants pray that this Court grant the application and for such other relief as seems proper in the premises. (4 Pages) WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THESE APPLICATIONS MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE OR BE FOREVER BARRED. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or an amended application, may file with the Water Clerk, P. O. Box 2038, Greeley, CO 80632, a verified Statement of Opposition, setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions. Such Statement of Opposition must be filed by the last day of FEBRUARY 2021 (forms available on www. courts.state.co.us or in the Clerk’s office) and must be filed as an Original and include $192.00 filing fee. A copy of each Statement of Opposition must also be served upon the Applicant or Applicant’s Attorney and an affidavit or certificate of such service of mailing shall be filed with the Water Clerk.

Legal Notice No. 24540 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News Public Notice DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION 1, COLORADO DECEMBER 2020 WATER RESUME PUBLICATION TO: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN WATER APPLICATIONS IN WATER DIV. 1 Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are notified that the following is a resume of all water right applications and certain amendments filed in the Office of the Water Clerk during the month of DECEMBER 2020 for each County affected.

20CW3192 KENT N. HULL, 303 GRINDSTONE ROAD, WEATHERFORD, TX 76087 (All inquiries to: Ric N. Morgan LLC, Atty. Reg #34831 P.O. Box 131, Elbert, CO 80106 (303)520-6088 morgan@hayday.org APPLICATION UNDERGROUND WATER RIGHTS AND APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR AUGMENTATION, IN THE DENVER BASIN AQUIFERS IN ELBERT COUNTY. Property Description: approximately 160 ac in the SE 1/4, S32, T9S, R64W, 6th PM in Elbert County. 2.

Applicant seeks to adjudicate the non-tributary and not nontributary Denver Basin groundwater underlying a 160-acre tract of land lying in the SW 1/4, S31, T9S, R64W of the 6th PM, including the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie Fox Hills aquifers. There is one existing Upper Dawson exempt well on the Subject Property registered under well permit number #111389. Application will be made for well permits prior to construction of any additional wells in accordance with Section 37-90-137(10), C.R.S. 3. Source: Groundwater tributary to Running Creek, tributary to the South Platte River. The groundwater to be withdrawn from the Dawson aquifer is not nontributary (NNT) as described in Sections 37-90-103(10.7), C.R.S. and 37-90-137(9)(c), C.R.S., and the source of the groundwater to be withdrawn from the Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers underlying the Subject Property is nontributary (NT) as described in Section 37-90-103(10.5), C.R.S. 4. Estimated Amounts: The estimated average annual amounts of withdrawal available from the subject aquifers as indicated below, are based upon the Denver Basin Rules, 2 C.C.R. 402-6 and the DWR Groundwater Determination Tool.

Applicant estimates the following amounts are representative of the subject aquifers underlying the Subject Property: Upper Dawson, 51.0 acrefeet (NNT), Lower Dawson, 31.9 acre-feet (NT), Denver, 65.0 acre-feet (NT), Arapahoe, 64.2 acrefeet (NT), Laramie-Fox Hills, 49.9 acre-feet (NT), totaling 262.0 acre-feet. Decreed amounts may vary from the above to conform with the State’s Determination of Facts. 5. Well Field: Applicant requests that this Court determine that Applicant has the right to produce the full legal entitlement from the Denver Basin aquifers lying below the Subject Property, through wells which may be located anywhere on the Subject Property, and any additional wells which may be completed in the future as Applicant's well fields. Applicants will reserve part of the Upper Dawson aquifer for use through exempt wells. Applicant waives any 600-foot spacing rule as described in Section 3790-137(2), C.R.S. for wells located on the Subject Property. 6. Proposed Use: All beneficial uses of water recognized under Colorado law, including, without limitation, domestic, commercial, irrigation, livestock watering, fire protection, and augmentation purposes, including storage on the Subject Property. 7. Description of Plan of Augmentation:

A. Groundwater to be Augmented: 7.0 acre-feet of Upper Dawson aquifer water per year. B. Water Rights for augmentation: Return flows from the use of not nontributary and nontributary groundwater and direct discharge of nontributary groundwater. C. Statement of Plan of Augmentation: The 7.0 acre-feet Upper Dawson aquifer groundwater will be used for domestic purposes through one or more wells, on the Subject Property for each of two residences, each residence with the following uses: inhouse use (1.0 ac-ft per year), irrigation of lawn, garden, trees and greenhouses (1.0 acft per year), stock watering of up to 100 head of stock (1.0 ac-ft per year), and use in barns and agricultural production facilities (1.0 ac-ft/year), and fire protection (0.5 ac-ft per year. Combined total for the two residences is 7.0 acre-feet per year. Applicant reserves the right to amend the amount and uses without amending the application or republishing the same. Sewage treatment for in-house use will be provided by non-evaporative septic systems. Return flow from in-house use will be approximately 90% of that use and return flow from outside irrigation use and use in barns will be approximately 15% of that use. During pumping Applicant will replace actual depletions pursuant to C.R.S. § 37-90-137(9)(c.5). Depletions occur to the Running Creek stream system and return flows accrue to the South Platte River via Running Creek and are sufficient to replace actual depletions while the subject groundwater is being pumped. Applicant will reserve an equal amount of nontributary groundwater underlying the Subject Property to meet post pumping augmentation requirements.

Applicants request the court approve the above underground water rights, find that Applicants have complied with C.R.S. § 37-90-137(4) and water is legally available for withdrawal, find there will be no material injury to the owners of or persons entitled to use water under any vested water right or decreed conditional water right, and grant such other and further relief as is appropriate. Farm Credit of Southern Colorado is a lienholder on the property. The Applicant will notify the lienholder no later than 14 days after filing this application, and file such certification with the Court, in accordance with C.R.S. §37-92- 302(2)(b) and §37-90-137(4)(b.5)(I). Applicants pray that this Court grant the application and for such other relief as seems proper in the premises. (4 Pages)

WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THESE APPLICATIONS MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE OR BE FOREVER BARRED.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or an amended application, may file with the Water Clerk, P. O. Box 2038, Greeley, CO 80632, a verified Statement of Opposition, setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions. Such Statement of Opposition must be filed by the last day of FEBRUARY 2021 (forms available on www. courts.state.co.us or in the Clerk’s office) and must be filed as an Original and include $192.00 filing fee. A copy of each Statement of Opposition must also be served upon the Applicant or Applicant’s Attorney and an affidavit or certificate of such service of mailing shall be filed with the Water Clerk.

Legal Notice No. 24541 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News

Notice to Creditors Public Notice NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION PURSUANT TO § 15-12-801, C.R.S. In the Matter of the Estate of: BRUCE CULTER RICHARDS, a/k/a BRUCE RICHARDS, a/k/a BRUCE C. RICHARDS, Deceased Case Number: 2020 PR 30039

All persons having claims against the above named estate are required to present them to the personal representative or to District Court of Elbert County, Colorado, on or before May 21, 2021 or the claims may be forever barred.

Holly R. Shaklee & Rebecca L. Richards, Co-Personal Representatives Attorney for Personal Representatives: Phillip A. Less, #3440 HELM, LESS & WILLIAMS, L.L.P. 5400 Ward Road, Bldg. III, Ste. 100 Arvada, CO 80002 Phone Number: (303) 424-4486 FAX Number: (303) 424-4993 E-mail: paless@arvadalaw.net Legal Notice No. 24544 First Publication: January 21, 2021 Last Publication: February 4, 2021 Publisher: The Elbert County News

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Elbert County Legals 1.21.21 * 1

Elbert County News 15

1January 21, 2021

COUNTY FROM PAGE 1

complaint and commendation policy, stating they were revoking the policy because she and other concerned citizens had recently used the process to complain about the BOCC’s dealings with Spring Valley Ranch developer Jim Marshall.

“I called a point of order, which technically I’m not allowed to do,” said Head-Dylla. “I do appreciate his concern with that. However, since we had brought our concerns to them via email and they ignored us, we saw no other way to get them to respond to that procedural violation.”

Attendees sat in silence as the commissioners left the room for nearly 10 minutes, then returned to address the room regarding Robert’s Rules of Order, before unanimously voting to revoke the policy.

“Public meetings only work if everyone if following the rules of a public meeting,” said Richardson.

“There is a portion of this meeting for public comment. Robert’s Rules of Order apply to the parties of the meeting, and points of contention can only be brought by those sitting on this side of the table.”

The complaint and commendation policy was adopted in 2015, and according to Richardson has only been used once during his time in office, and the current policy could be in violation of employment law regulations.

“The two major concerns with the policy was it doesn’t allow anonymous complaints, which can set up concerns regarding retribution, and it required that a report of corrective (disciplinary) action be returned to the person making the complaint and this violates statute as it relates to employment law.”

Richardson said the county receives a lot of feedback from county residents, both positive and negative, through phone calls, email and the postal service, which are addressed without ever having to use the official process.

According to Head-Dylla, the county has not been responsive to numerous complaints and concerns it has received from her and other citizens regarding road developments, and she felt the best way to get officials to respond was to utilize the existing process.

“We filed a complaint, but we have been ignored as we press them to find out why they are not enforcing their current contract with Mr. Marshall to build the roads he’s under

contract to build,” said Head-Dylla.

“We could find no way to bring this forward to them other than the complaint and commendation policy. They just decided to get rid of it, which is fine, but where is the citizens’ grievance policy so we can bring issues of concern to you?”

The second resolution passed by the BOCC was revoking a 1963 resolution abandoning county roads.

The original resolution 63-15 asserts “the present road system on this date is adequate for County needs … no need for any further section, township and range line County Roads other than those which now presently maintained.”

“Regarding the roads, the population was half or less than it is now,” said Commissioner Grant Thayer.

“The idea that we would need more roads, our 2008 plan included a significant number of roads that haven’t been built yet. We need to get our resolutions compatible with all the information we have.”

While Head-Dylla believes the revocation of the resolution is in response to the current conflict with the Spring Valley Ranch development and a proposed amendment to the development guide agreement, Richardson said the 1963 resolution came to light during a previous lawsuit regarding the Development

Guide Agreement (3) with Spring Valley Ranch, but had no bearing on the outcome.

“The resolution stated flatly that the county had an adequate road network and there was no anticipated future need for additional road capacity,” said Richardson. “Clearly that isn’t true, nor was it true then.

My understanding from those that were around at that time was that several ranchers out east were making demands that new roads be built that would have truly been for their individual benefit vs. the county population as a whole, and this resolution took away any basis to claim the county was REQUIRED to build out all the section lines as roads.

However, since we have obviously built new roads, or caused new roads to be built, this was simply an artifact that needed to be removed.”

Richardson said the county does not obtain any right to property or right-of-way by revoking the resolutions, and that the abandonment of any property right from 1963 remains.

“What is gone is a statement that no additional rods will ever be needed,” said Richardson.

The resolutions revoked can be found on the county website at https://elbertcoco.civicclerk.com/ Web/Player.aspx?id=227.

Public Notices Water Court Publication Public Notice DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION 1, COLORADO DECEMBER 2020 WATER RESUME PUBLICATION TO: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN WATER APPLICATIONS IN WATER DIV. 1 Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are notified that the following is a resume of all water right applications and certain amendments filed in the Office of the Water Clerk during the month of DECEMBER 2020 for each County affected.

20CW3204 CONCERNING THE APPLICATION FOR WATER RIGHTS OF Applicants: Fernando Santos Arroyo and Evelyn Marquez. In ELBERT COUNTY. Attorneys for Applicant: Mark D. Detsky, Atty. Reg. No. 35276, K.C. Cunilio, Atty. Reg. No. 51378, Dietze and Davis, P.C., 2060 Broadway, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, Email: mdetsky@dietzedavis.com; kcunilio@dietzedavis.com; Phone: (303) 447-1375. Water Division: 1. APPLICATION FOR DETERMINATION OF DENVER BASIN GROUNDWATER RIGHTS AND APPROVAL OF A PLAN FOR AUGMENTATION. 1. Applicants: Fernando Santos Arroyo and Evelyn Marquez, 724 Pinewicket Way, Parker, CO 80138, Telephone: 720-236-0314, Email: nando.santos01@gmail.com.

Please address filings and inquiries to Applicants’ attorneys: Mark D. Detsky, K.C. Cunilio, Dietze and Davis, P.C., 2060 Broadway, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, Phone: (303) 447-1375, Email: mdetsky@dietzedavis.com; kcunilio@dietzedavis.com. 2.

Background and summary: Fernando Santos and Evelyn Marquez (the “Applicants”) have joint ownership of the parcel subject to this application. This application seeks to quantify and adjudicate the appropriation of Upper and Lower Dawson ground water in the Denver Basin underlying their 6.62-acre property located in Elbert County, Colorado. The Denver Basin ground water in the Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers was adjudicated by prior decree. Applicants’ existing well was constructed in the not-nontributary Upper Dawson aquifer. The application also requests approval of a plan for augmentation for the existing well that allows for non-exempt uses related to two single-family dwellings, watering of livestock and animals, and irrigation of lawn and landscaped areas. I. CLAIM FOR DENVER BASIN UNDERGROUND WATER RIGHTS, 3. Property Description: Applicants own a 6.62-acre lot located in the SE ¼, Section 15, Township 6 South, Range 65 West, 6th P.M. Elbert County, Colorado. The subject property is platted as Smoky Hill Ranches, Lot 2, Block 4, Filing 1, with a street address of 724 Pinewicket Way, Parker, CO 80138 (the “Applicant’s Property”) as shown on EXHIBIT A, incorporated by reference. The Applicants’ Property is located outside the boundary of any service area for water supply or sewerage service by a water district or municipality. The Applicants’ Property is not located within the boundaries of any Designated Groundwater Basin but is located within the Denver Basin. 4. Existing Well. The Applicants’ Property contains a single home that is served by existing Well Permit No. 68737 and is constructed in the not-nontributary Upper Dawson Aquifer (the “Santos Well”). The Santos Well is shown in Exhibit A. The Santos Well is currently operated under an exempt well permit and is attached as EXHIBIT B, incorporated by reference. Applicants request that the Santos Well be re-permitted as a non-exempt well to serve more than one residence, watering of livestock and animals, and irrigation of lawns and landscaped areas within 45 days of entry of a decree in this matter.

5. Source: A. Not-Nontributary: The ground water to be withdrawn from the Upper Dawson aquifer is not-nontributary. Pursuant to C.R.S. §37-90-137(9)(c.5), the augmentation requirements for wells in the Upper Dawson aquifer will require replacement of actual stream depletions. B. Nontributary: The Lower Dawson Aquifer underlying the Applicants’ property is considered nontributary. The ground water that may be withdrawn from the Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers underlying the Applicants’ property is also not tributary to any stream, as was determined by the decree in Case No. 08CW487. 6. Estimated Rate of Withdrawal: Pumping from the Santos Well will not exceed 100 gpm. The installed pump capacity of the well is approximately 11 gpm. The Applicants request the right to modify the rate of withdrawal as necessary to withdraw the entire decreed amounts from the Denver Basin. 7. Estimated Ground Water Available: A. Prior Decree. In Case No. 08CW487, the applicants therein decreed the ground water available in the Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers underlying the Applicants’ Property.

The decree in Case No. 08CW487 was transferred to the Applicants by that certain Special Warranty Deed dated October 30, 2020, recorded in the real property records of Elbert County at reception number 601162. The Applicants request that the Court modify the final decree in Case No. 08CW487 to remove the reservation of 1 acre-feet/year of the available amount reserved for use of permitting an exempt well, if required. The reservation is unnecessary as the Santos Well will be re-permitted as a non-exempt well. This application does not otherwise seek to modify the prior decree. B. Upper and Lower Dawson determination. This decree seeks to adjudicate ground water available in the Upper and Lower Dawson aquifers underlying the Applicants’ Property. The Applicants request vested rights for the withdrawal of all legally available ground water underlying the Applicants’ Property in the Upper and Lower Dawson aquifers in the amounts shown in TABLE 1, below. Such rights may be withdrawn over the 100-year aquifer life pursuant to C.R.S. §37-90-137(4). Decreed amounts for the Upper and Lower Dawson aquifers are subject to the State’s Determination of Facts.

TABLE 1: Groundwater Availability

Note: The Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers appropriations were decreed in Case No. 08CW487. 8. Uses for Upper and Lower Dawson Aquifers: Domestic in two single-family dwellings, fire protection, the watering of poultry, domestic animals, and livestock, fire protection, industrial, commercial, and the irrigation of gardens and lawns. 9. Final Average Annual Amounts of Withdrawal: Pursuant to C.R.S. §37-92-305(11), the Applicants request that the Court retain jurisdiction to finally determine the amount of water available for appropriation and withdrawal from the Upper and Lower Dawson aquifers. Applicants request that they be entitled to withdraw an amount of groundwater in excess of the average annual amount decreed to the aquifers beneath the Applicants’ Property, so long as the sum of the total withdrawals from all the wells does not exceed the product of the number of years since the date of issuance of the original well permit or the date of entry of a decree herein, whichever comes first, multiplied by the average annual volume of water which the Applicants are entitled to withdraw from the aquifers underlying the Applicants’ Property. 10. Well Field. Applicants request that they be permitted to produce the full legal entitlement from the Denver Basin aquifers underlying Applicants’ Property through any combination of wells. Applicants request that these wells be treated as a well field. 11. Owner of Land Upon Which Wells are to Be Located. The land and underlying groundwater upon which the wells are located is owned by the Applicants. II. CLAIM FOR PLAN FOR AUGMENTATION. 12.

Structure to be augmented. Santos Well (f/k/a Painter Well) described in paragraph 5, above. A. Prior Decree: Case number: 08CW487, District Court for Water Division No. 1, dated January 13, 2010. B. Legal description: The Santos Well is located in the NE ¼ SE ¼ Sec. 15, T6S R65W of the 6th P.M., UTM coordinates (Meters, Zone: 13 NAD83): Easting: 530407.1, Northing: 4375098.0. A legible 8 ½ x 11 inch map showing the location of the well on a USGS topographic map is attached as Exhibit A. 13. Water right to be used for augmentation: Return flows from use of the not-nontributary water pumped by the Santos Well and, if necessary, direct discharge from the Santos Well will be used to augment the stream depletions caused by withdrawals during the pumping period. After pumping has ceased, nontributary ground water underlying the Property and owned by Applicants in the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer, which ground water was decreed on January 13, 2010 in Case No. 08CW487, will be reserved as required to replace stream depletions. 14. Statement of Plan for Augmentation. Applicants shall provide for the augmentation of stream depletions caused by pumping of the existing not-nontributary Upper Dawson aquifer well impacting several streams in the South Platte River Basin, as well as Kiowa Creek in the Kiowa Bijou Designated Basin. Water use criteria and consumptive use determinations for replacement of actual depletions for the Santos Well are estimated as follows: A. Uses: domestic/household use, personal large and/or small livestock animals (i.e. horses, sheep, and chickens), and lawn and landscape irrigation surrounding the current dwelling and the proposed accessory dwelling unit. Household use water requirements were conservatively estimated to be approximately 0.3333 acre-feet/year/dwelling for each of the two dwellings. The proposed plan also includes estimated demand of 0.0609 acre-feet/year for livestock including horses, sheep, and chickens. In addition, the plan includes irrigating approximately 0.275 acres (11,990 sq. ft.) of lawn and landscape areas. Per CDWR guidelines for irrigation use, 0.05 acre-feet/1000 square feet/year was used, which equates to 0.5990 acre-feet annually. The combined annual water demand for the proposed domestic, animal watering, and irrigation uses is approximately 1.3265 acre-feet per year. Applicants estimate a 100-year usage of approximately 132.65 acre-feet based on an assumed 100-year aquifer life. As shown in Table 1, above, there is approximately 198 acre-feet, or 1.98 acre-feet annually, available in the Upper Dawson Aquifer to meet the 100-year supply requirement. B. Depletions: As a result of the projected well pumping, a portion of the water pumped will be lost to consumptive use processes such as animal consumption, evaporation, and evapotranspiration. All water pumped for household use is assumed to have a consumptive use rate of 10% of the total volume pumped, with 90% returning to the aquifer via the septic system. All water used for animal purposes is considered 100% consumptive with no returns to the aquifer claimed. Irrigation use is considered 85% consumptive with 15% returning to the aquifer. Based on the projected well pumping, the consumptive use is projected to be approximately 0.64 acre-feet per year. This is approximately 48% of the total annual pumping, meaning that 52% of water diverted is projected to return to the stream system via return flows. C. Augmentation of Depletions During Pumping: The augmentation plan will replace stream depletions using domestic septic system return flows during the period the well is actively pumping. Based on the estimates above, Applicants shall return to the stream approximately 0.6903 acre-feet per year, which is sufficient to replace the maximum annual depletion of 0.0052 acre-feet in the first 100 years. D. Augmentation of Post-Pumping Depletions: For the replacement of any injurious post-pumping depletions which may be associated with the use of the Santos Well, Applicants will reserve water from the nontributary Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer equal to the amount of plan pumping, net of the amount of actual stream depletions replaced during the plan pumping period. The AUG3 model was used to simulate 100 years of pumping followed by 900 years without well pumping. A pumping rate of 1.33 acre-feet was input as the annual pumping volume resulting in 133 acre-feet of total pumping volume over 100 years. A post pumping period of 900 years was simulated after the initial 100-year pumping period. The total volume of stream depletions in year 100 is 0.154 acre feet. An additional 26.63 acre-feet of stream depletions was projected over the 900 years of post-pumping for a total of 26.784 acre-feet of total stream depletions in the 1,000-year period simulated in the model. The total post pumping stream depletion after 100 years of pumping is approximately 132.5 acre-feet. As shown in Table 1, the Laramie-Fox Hills aquifer contains 227 acre-feet available for diversion, which will be more than adequate to replace net post-pumping depletions. EXHIBIT C is a report presenting the modeling analysis. 15. Remarks: A. Applicants request a finding that they have complied with C.R.S. §37-90-137(4) and that the ground water requested herein is legally available for withdrawal by the existing not-nontributary well upon the entry of a decree approving an augmentation plan pursuant to C.R.S. §37-90-137(9)(c.5). B. The term of this augmentation plan is 100 years, however the length of the plan for a particular well may be extended beyond such time provided the total plan pumping allocated thereto is not exceeded. Post pumping stream depletions accrue to a particular well only to the extent related to that well’s actual pumping. 16. Name and address of owner of the land. Applicants are the owners of the land.

WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THESE APPLICATIONS MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE OR BE FOREVER BARRED. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or an amended application, may file with the Water Clerk, P. O. Box 2038, Greeley, CO 80632, a verified Statement of Opposition, setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions. Such Statement of Opposition must be filed by the last day of FEBRUARY 2021 (forms available on www.courts.state.co.us or in the Clerk’s office) and must be filed as an Original and include $192.00 filing fee. A copy of each Statement of Opposition must also be served upon the Applicant or Applicant’s Attorney and an affidavit or certificate of such service of mailing shall be filed with the Water Clerk.

Legal Notice No.: 24542 First Publication: January 21, 2021

Last Publication: January 21, 2021 Publisher: Elbert County News

Elbert County Legals 1.21.21 * 2

16 Elbert County News

January 21, 2021

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