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March 13, 2014 Elbert County, Colorado | Volume 119, Issue 6 A publication of
elbertcountynews.net
So, ‘can you hear me now?’ Elbert County processing steady stream of new cell tower applications By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com County residents have long complained about spotty cell phone reception, especially when passing through some of the more remote areas of Elbert County. But the gaps in coverage are slowly disappearing as the county’s Community and Development Services department continues to process a steady stream of applications for new cell phone towers as well as requests to “co-locate” new equipment on existing towers. Presently, there are 12 cell towers in Elbert County, according to Curt Settle, a supervisor at the Colorado Division of Property Taxation, the state entity responsible for tracking — and taxing — cell towers in each of the counties. “Ten years ago, there were only nine cell
towers in Elbert County,” Settle said. “So, relatively speaking, coverage around the county should be improving.” Settle said Cellco, a Verizon-owned company, operates three towers in the county; T-Mobile has one; and Northwest Colorado Cellular, which is owned by Viero, has eight towers in Elbert. “Most of those entities lease space on their towers to other cell companies,” Settle added. CDS Director Kyle Fenner reports cell tower applications continue to come into her office. “Right now we’ve got three active new cell tower applications going through the Special Use by Review process,” said Fenner. “Two are co-locations and one is for a new tower.” Co-locations, Fenner said, involve putting additional equipment on existing cell towers. Faith Mehrer, an administrative assistant in the CDS department, manages Elbert’s cell tower database and tracks all cell Towers continues on Page 6
Faith Mehrer, an administrative assistant in the county’s Community and Development Services department, processes all cell phone tower applications. Photo by George Lurie
Caucuses see light turnout County assemblies slated for later this month By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com
erated the garden center for the past 10 years. The guy in the truck, Elizabeth resident Mike Lawrence, told Bonds he would like $21,600 for the moose. Bonds said it took a “skid” to get the sculpture, which Lawrence estimates weighs about 800 pounds, from the truck bed to its current perch in front of her business. “That thing is definitely heavy,” Bonds said. “There’s no danger of the wind blowing it over.” Lawrence and his son Matt built the moose from chrome car bumpers, welding them together piece by piece onto a oneinch, internal rebar skeleton. On March 4, when Bonds posed for a snapshot in front of the statue, the moose was sporting a light dusting of snow and a hint of rust around its seams.
This year’s election season officially kicked off with more of a whimper than a bang. Republicans and Democrats gathered at more than two dozen locations in the county on the evening of March 3 for caucuses in each of the Elbert’s 15 precincts. Scott Wills, the county’s Republican Party chair, characterized this year’s Republican caucuses as “pretty low key.” “Turnout was light,” Wills said, “which is about what we expected because, at least so far, none of the Republican races this year (at the county level) are being contested.” Wills estimated “around 300” county Republicans participated in the March 3 caucuses — “about 20 people per precinct,” he said. As of Jan. 1, there were about 9,776 registered Republicans in Elbert County, which comprises 53.9 percent of all registered voters. “Our goal is to get that number back above 10,000,” Wills said, explaining that prior to the 2012 election, there were 10,126 registered Republicans in the county. County Republicans will gather next on March 29 at their county assembly, which will be held at the Elbert County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall beginning at 10 a.m. Democrats around the county also caucused on March 3. A message from County Democratic Chair Jill Duvall, posted on the party’s website following the caucuses, stated: “We intend to continue to hold majorities in both state houses, re-elect Mark Udall and John Hickenlooper (in spite of his frustrating energy policies), and support Vic Meyers in CD4. All of these folks need your support as we continue to turn Colorado into a blue state!” County Democrats will hold their county assembly at 1 p.m. March 15 at the
Moose continues on Page 6
Caucuses continues on Page 6
Kelly Bonds, who together with her husband Jim, owns and operates Holly Acres Garden Center and Nursery, admires Elizabeth artist Mike Lawrence’s “metal moose” that stands outside the Bonds’ business. Photo by George Lurie
Metal moose is on the loose Sculpture an `eye catcher’ for motorists on State Highway 86 By George Lurie
glurie@coloradocommunitymedia.com “People pull off the highway all the time to ask about the moose,” said Kelly Bonds. The moose is a 10-foot-tall metal sculp-
ture that stands sentry at the entrance to Holly Acres Garden Center and Nursery, located several miles east of Elizabeth just off State Highway 86. “One day just before Christmas a few years back, this guy pulled in with this huge metal moose in the back of his truck and asked me if he could consign it for sale with us,” explained Bonds, who together with her husband Jim has owned and op-
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