1-Color
March 6, 2014 Elbert County, Colorado | Volume 119, Issue 5 A publication of
elbertcountynews.net
Ehmann named new county manager BOCC appoints public works director to newly created position By George Lurie Staff writer
Ed Ehmann, Elbert County’s public works director, will have to get some new business cards. On Feb. 26 at their regular meeting, the Board of County Commissioners chose Ehmann to be the county’s new manager. But the decision to promote Ehmann was not unanimous. Saying that he “was conflicted” and “very much respected” Ehmann, Commissioner Larry Ross voted against the appointment, explaining, “I think the resources would be better spent getting our financial house in order.” Commissioners Kurt Schlegel and Robert Rowland voted in favor of promoting
Ehmann, who also will continue to oversee the county’s public works department, at least for the next six months. “We’re going to consolidate some things and streamline operations,” Ehmann said. “This fall, we’ll re-evaluate where we’re at and possibly make some bigger changes then.” Ehmann, 46, has worked for the county for seven years. Since the departure of former finance director Stan Wilmer in November 2013, he has “effectively been functioning as the county manager,” Rowland said at the Feb. 26 meeting. “We could not have gotten through the 2014 budget process without Ed taking the lead.” Ehmann, a fourth-generation Coloradan who grew up in Sedalia, will be paid an annual base salary of $109,000 in his new position. “I appreciate the opportunity and the confidence you have in me in performing the job,” Ehmann told the commissioners. Ehmann continues on Page 5
Ed Ehmann addresses the BOCC on Feb. 26, just prior to being appointed Elbert’s new county manager. Ehmann has been serving as the county’s public works director. Photo by George Lurie
Gardner pursuing Senate
Congressman to run for Udall’s seat, others drop out By Vic Vela Staff writer
County commissioners pose with Eagle Scout candidate Chris Kelly, who wants to build a set of monuments on the courthouse grounds. Photo by George Lurie
Teen asks to build monuments Eagle Scout project would honor Trappers Trail as well as Elbert County veterans By George Lurie Staff writer
Chris Kelly, an area Boy Scout, made an unusual request to the Board of County Commissioners at their Feb. 26 meeting. A member of Scout Troop 148 in Aurora and an Eagle Scout candidate, Kelly, 16, asked the commissioners to approve his
Eagle Scout project, in which he proposes to build two monuments on the west side of the courthouse in Kiowa. The larger of the two monuments, Kelly explained, would commemorate those who traveled more than 100 years ago through Elbert County along what was known as the Trappers Trail. Kelly told commissioners that the trail, sometimes referred to as the Cherokee Trail, was a popular north-south route that predated the Smoky Hill Trail. Home to a number of early trading posts, the Trappers Trail ran along the eastern base of the Rocky
POSTAL ADDRESS
Printed on recycled newsprint. Please recycle this copy.
Mountains, linking “Bent’s Fort in the south to Fort Laramie in the north.” Travelers on this historic trail, Kelly said, included Native Americans, about 500 members of the Mormon Battalion known as the “Sick Detachment,” African-American Buffalo Soldiers, early Spanish settlers of the area as well as pioneers from the east making their way further west. A second, smaller monument, located adjacent to the larger one, “would be erected to honor the men and women from Elbert County who have served in the armed forces of the U.S. military,” Kelly said. The young man proposed using rocks gathered “from the sites of historic forts from Santa Fe on the south to Fort Laramie in the north” to build the veterans’ memorial. “I am (proposing) this project because I like the idea of preserving Colorado history and learning about it myself,” Kelly told commissioners. During his presentation, Kelly showed commissioners samples of signage and materials that would be used to construct the Project continues on Page 11
A head-spinning development in Colorado politics from a game of musical chairs on Feb. 26 resulted in a consensus frontrunner emerging in the Republican field of U.S. Senate candidates. U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner dropped his reelection bid and now has his sights set on unseating Democratic Sen. Mark Udall. Gardner, who represents the state’s 4th Congressional District, takes the place of Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck in the Republican field. Buck — who lost a tight race to Sen. Michael Bennet in 2010 — dropped his Senate bid to run for Gardner’s House seat. “We need to replace Mark Udall in the Senate, and I believe CongressGardner man Cory Gardner is in the strongest position to make that happen,” Buck said in a Feb. 26 news release. Gardner, who officially announced his candidacy at a press conference in Denver on March 1, was elected to the House in 2010 after defeating incumbent Rep. Betsy Markey. Before that, Gardner served in the state House. The Yuma resident is known as a rising star in the GOP and has been an outspoken critic of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. With Buck out and Gardner in, the Republicans stand a better shot at taking Udall’s seat, according to one long-time Colorado political scientist. “I would say Cory Gardner is the strongest (Republican) candidate in the race at the moment,” said Bob Loevy, a retired Colorado College political science professor. “Having a sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the race, that’s a big improvement for the Republicans.” Loevy, a Republican who is well-respected among politicos for his impartial analysis, said the party is better off not having Buck involved in another Senate race. Buck made national headlines in 2010 for Gardner continues on Page 11